"You have no idea how happy we were to get that message. So we cut around and strapped things together and voila, the clothing just reshaped itself in our hands," Eliana added, much to Laney’s annoyance.
It wasn’t jealousy Kaden observed, she probably wanted to be the one to tell him about their new crafting skill. Despite feeling Laney’s evil stare, Eliana’s smile didn’t falter as she leaned back and kept on smiling.
"So you’ll be able to make us better clothing?" Kaden asked, ignoring both women’s attitudes.
"I guess. We discovered it a few hours ago, so neither of us has any idea how it will get any better. Maybe we need to produce some more before learning new stuff? Who knows."
"Laney is right, but don’t we have more important issues to discuss?" Eliana butted in.
"Yes, we do!" Kaden stretched himself out. "What skills do you possess? I mean, what is your fighting style, or whatever you want to call it? We need to know what will and will not work. Up until now, it has only been us two against whatever we faced."
Eliana chuckled and snorted like a pig. "Don’t get worked up, I understand the need and I sense there is no ill-intent from your side, so I'll be very honest. I have two skills that focus on damaging the target. One you have already seen in action is the [Accuracy Shot]. It hits any specific part, but the offset is that the damage done is usually lower than with a random shot. Then there is [Power Shot]. It's a skill that won’t necessarily hit the target, but if it does, then they will most likely die or get crippled. In your case, I did not want to take the risk, so I planted two arrows in that Orc’s eyes to make sure he would die."
"Very interesting. So basically, your skills let you focus on one target at a time. My skills are mixed," Kaden explained, describing his and Laney’s skills.
"Quite unfair, don’t you think?" Laney asked after he was done. "Some people hit it big, while others get to sit on the sidelines and be a target."
"Do you think that he would be as proficient and able without your buffs? From what I can see, everything gets amplified by your skills, Laney. He on his own wouldn’t stay alive for very long, that much I can promise you. But nevertheless, you already have seen one of my recovery spells. I have another spell which is very handy besides the spirit one. Its name is [Bliss]. It can do all sorts of things, both good and bad."
Kaden frowned at her explanation. "What do you mean both good and bad?" he asked.
Eliana sighed. "For example, it made one of my targets fall asleep, while it caused another to go into a rage, making him attack without even thinking. I've cast it on myself a few times, with differing effects. Once, it gave me a speed bonus which doubled my running speed for half an hour. Another time, it healed me fully."
"So, a wildcard then?" Laney asked, her lips slightly curled into a smile. She enjoyed being the one who would be giving our small party positive bonus buffs, unlike Eliana. Then, her face changed into a strange expression. Her lips seemed to be moving by themselves, as if talking to herself.
"Can you read her mind?" Kaden asked Razor over their link. The bird dug one of his nails into Kaden’s shoulder, drawing on some blood. He winced at the pain but didn’t let anyone notice.
"Before you ask anything, yes, I had to. If I'm to use magic like that, it needs a catalyst. In this case, your blood." Kaden sighed inwardly, reminding himself to ask next time in a way that explains it all. A moment later, Laney seemed to focus herself again, and a smile appeared on her face as if nothing had happened.
"That woman is a liability, I tell you. She is very unstable, and will most likely end up hurting herself or one of you two, maybe even all of you," Razor conveyed his findings.
"Huh? What do you mean, Razor?" Kaden asked, shifting uncomfortably where he sat. The bird shifted his weight slightly as well, and replied.
"The thing is, she may have multiple personalities, at least I think that's the case. She had been leading a conversation about you and Eliana within her mind, and I heard at least three different voices speaking up in there. Her thoughts weren’t anything to write home about though, they were dark, void of emotion."
"Do you think she will do something stupid?" Kaden asked, his heart beating faster.
"Calm down. I think that the dominant personality is the one you are facing now, and possibly this whole time. There is no saying what would happen if another took over control. Just be careful with her if she has any mood swings."
"Right. Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?" Kaden was brought back by Laney’s coughing to draw his attention. He focused his eyes on hers and smiled sheepishly.
"I’m sorry. Got lost in my thoughts."
"Yeah, I could see that much," Laney replied. She was annoyed, that much was certain, but he couldn’t help it. "Anyway, what now?"
"Would you ladies like to scout the village with Razor’s help? I think it’s time we get this ball rolling."
Chapter 12
The band of three sat up high on a tree, overlooking the village. There was a mass of activity within the stockades as Orcs worked diligently on restoring the village, the walls and archer towers. The stockade and village resembled something that looked like a half-box, and half an egg. The first row of the wall had been repaired and was even higher than last time they had seen the village, towering over the village buildings. The second row was mostly done, with the third row just beginning
At every point where the village looked like a box was an archer tower, and they were quite large, making it four in all. They were placed strategically, so that any two towers could cover every corner and approach. There were only two ways to enter the village; each gate was built at the northern and southern parts of the village, and they both were made out of logs that were reinforced with steel bars.
The buildings themselves were mostly torn down, except the four that weren’t totally devastated: a town hall, a cafeteria, a communal building and something that looked like a bathhouse. The Orcs themselves though seemed to live in raised tents and huts.
"There are about thirty of them, and a good two dozen birds. They do seem to lack the discipline, but that doesn’t mean anything at all with those numbers," Laney commented.
"Oh yes, it does mean something, namely, we’re screwed," Kaden replied. The feeling he got from almost dying was still engraved in his soul. He didn't want to go at it without a plan this time, and a damn good one at that.
"The main issue here," Eliana said as she got up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "is we have to be careful not to let the villagers die. Without them, there is no need for a village at all, as the three of us can comfortably live in a treehouse. Why bother with a whole village?"
"I sleepwalk," Kaden replied, a dead serious expression on his face. In return, he got an ‘are you retarded’ look from both women. He sighed and shut up, staring down at the roaming birds.
"Mind if I butt in?" Razor spoke out loud for the first time. The two women jumped up as the hoarse voice caught them off guard.
"Shit, it can speak?" Laney squealed at the bird, holding her hands out in front of her. The sight was rather comical, but Kaden refrained from laughing at her.
"Yes, it can speak," Razor snapped. "I'm a majestic Blackbird and your partner's soul-bond. Show some respect!"
At this, Kaden burst out laughing. "Show some respect? You serious? They don’t give a shit about me, why would they care about you?"
"Because I'm divine and you are not. Anyway, I'll fly down in this shape and circle around a few times until I hook something. In the meantime, you should wait for me to show up with the pursuing birds, or Orcs, and dispose of them."
"And if by some miracle we succeed in disposing of the Orcs or birds, and they don't come back to the village, the rest will kill off the villagers. Bad idea," Laney replied.
"Not necessarily. I'll tell you a small secret. Being a part of this world, I know things you do not. There is a line of sight for all of the inhabitants of Maelstrom that are ‘not senti
ent’, as I will call them for now. It's different for everyone, even you will not see something beyond your sight or hear beyond the range of normal hearing. So if they follow me far enough, the rest will not hear or see anything, and by this world’s logic they will not suspect anything."
Razor’s words kicked in some new hope, as they really had no idea how to tackle such a task. They were wearing what could be counted as armour, but that wouldn’t do them much good against such odds.
"So what you are saying, Mister Bird, is we can theoretically pick them off one by one, or with worse luck, groups at a time?" Eliana asked.
"Exactly, Miss Bunny," Razor replied.
Eliana went red and chuckled in embarrassment. She did not give him a hard time, as she rather liked the way the bird had said it. "In that case, I could take them out one by one if you could lure them that way. We wouldn’t draw any attention, and if some do turn back, Kaden could kill them with his magic."
"I honestly have no better suggestion, as this is a situation that needs luck in order to pull off." Laney’s main and only real job would have be to buff them, and she felt probably very annoyed at the role given.
"What do you think?" Kaden asked as his eyes met Laney’s. She didn’t seem to care outwardly and just shrugged, though he knew very well by now that she wasn’t alright with it.
"How about we eat first and then rest before we tackle this thing?" she asked. Something within Kaden told him that she wouldn’t just let it go, but there wasn’t much he could do. Without her buffs, they would have an even harder time, and their chances would fall from slim to nonexistent.
Night faded into dawn as the first rays appeared from the north. The light had barely shone through the dense fog that lingered at the southern gate of the village. It would be an understatement to say that they were very happy at the fog’s appearance. Their plan was simple, so every little bit helped.
The biggest problem up until then was where they should position themselves. At the southeastern part of the village, about five hundred metres away, was a cliff that bordered a rough and violent sea. To the northwest was dense forest as far as the eye could see, with small patches of grass here and there.
Eliana would be hiding some hundred metres to the south in a very dense tree with a great vantage point, leaving her room to run if need be, while Kaden would be around twenty meters to the east of her position, hiding within a big, hollow tree. Laney would be somewhere between the two, hiding up in a tree as well.
She had taken most of the throwing spears with her, which would be invaluable in the upcoming fights. If all went according to plan, the birds would follow Razor towards them in small groups, which they should be able to handle with ease.
They buffed up and readied themselves in their positions nervously. Razor flew some rounds over the village, studying the layout as well as movement of the Stone Beaks. Smaller groups ran between the buildings and around the cage. When one of the groups had splintered off, he grew to his normal size and darted into the group, grabbing one of the birds and lifting it in the air. It screeched and cried out in pain as Razor’s claws shredded it apart, but not before the bird had slammed its beak in its underbelly.
Kaden curled up in agony, as the bird was too far away from him. They couldn’t risk fighting any closer to the village, so he would have to suck it up. Why does he have to circle around so long, it fucking hurts. But good thinking about the hollow tree, at least no one can see me, he thought to himself while waiting for the first group to pass. Razor sent him a confirmation that they were inbound. For a brief moment, the pain lessened during their transmission until it went away fully.
"What a fucking great idea this is!" he groaned, getting up from the ground. He saw what Razor had towed behind him through his soul-bond’s eyes and cursed.
"Could you draw any more of those things?"
"Of course I could, but then we wouldn’t have much of a fighting chance, right?" Kaden sighed as Razor flew past him, and tensed for battle. The flock of Stone Beaks stormed right past him as he got out from the tree and ran after them.
A leap from one of those things could bring Razor down, so he was careful with being a target and occasionally flew up higher to gain some ground. Just as he reached the clearing where the ambush had been prepared, Razor shot up into the air and disappeared. The Stone-beaks stopped as if confused and turned around, bumping into each other.
THWANK
The sound of an arrow being released caught their attention. The first bird dropped dead with a critical hit to the head. The six remaining targets scattered momentarily in all directions, searching for their assailant.
SWOOSH
A throwing spear pierced a second bird furthest from the back of the group. The spear went straight through its wing and embedded itself into the body. The target didn’t fall over dead as planned, it started thrashing around. Two of the other birds that had come up to it, turned towards Laney and zoomed in on her as she was far too exposed. A second later, their mouths opened up, forming a bright light within their beaks. The light made a loud buzzing sound that became worse by the second, before it finally released.
A second spear came flashing down onto the same bird, killing it with the second blow. Razor flew in from above and grabbed one of the two Stone Beaks preparing some kind of attack, dragging it up into the air and shredding it into pieces. The second bird managed to finish a moment later, shooting a flash of thunder out straight from its mouth into Laney’s chest. She dropped like a fly and hit the ground with a loud thud three seconds after getting hit.
"No!" Kaden cried out as he caught up. A pain constricted his heart as he unleashed two [Ice Orbs] in close succession.
You have inflicted 477 damage to Stone Beak.
You have inflicted 491 damage to Stone Beak.
They slammed into the remaining stone-beak that was targeting Laney. It toppled over with one of the attacks exploding from within after penetrating its skin. The Stone Beak died from the wound a moment later.
Kaden fell down beside her, thanking god for her survival. Her health bar was in the orange-yellow zone, probably courtesy of their new outfits.
"A little help?" Eliana called out as two lightning bolts flashed just above her head. Kaden angrily turned around and released two more spells into the backs of the creatures, striking them in close succession. The one hit with the orb toppled over with half of its health bar intact, whilst the one slammed by the bolt turned toward him. The lightning flash charged just as Razor swooped down again and picked the creature up, shredding it with his talons in mid flight.
"Thanks Razor, I owe you one," Kaden thought, turning back to Laney.
"Why so worried? She will make it, just look at her," Razor replied and flew off into the sky again. As the last bird was about to stand again, two arrows struck its neck and head, one after the other. The first wave had been killed, but barely.
Eliana ran up to Laney and cast her spirit buff on her. Laney groaned, trying to push herself up, but instead went limp. Her health bar filled itself slowly as Kaden took her in his arms. A chime drew his attention.
You have received experience. You have gained a level and one skill point.
Kaden checked out his stats to see if anything had changed, and to his surprise it had.
He looked up at Eliana, who gave him an appraising look. "What level did you get to?" she asked, her smile replaced by curiosity.
Kaden found it rather strange to hear such a question from her, in addition to the look she gave him. "Level ten. How about you?" he said.
Her smile made its way back as she replied. "Level eight. For a moment there, I thought you were lower than me."
Why would it matter if I was lower level than her? he thought.
"Maybe she has some strange kind of fetish for stronger people? Or an aversion to weaker leaders? She sure is weird no matter what the reason," Razor replied to his unasked question.
"Razor–" The bird cut him off befo
re he could even ask the question.
"Everything seems to be alright in there for now. It’s a jumbled mess, but no ill-intent that I could detect." Kaden sighed as if a weight had fallen off his chest. Maybe he had just imagined the whole situation, and it was nothing more than a regular question?
"Oh shit, that hurt!" Laney groaned, wiggling around in his arms. Kaden noticed her health bar had changed to a light green color, and let out a sigh of relief. She got up from his lap and leaned on him for a while longer.
"That was a close one," he said, giving her an honest smile.
In return, she frowned as if it was his fault she had been hit and fell from the tree. "Yeah. I don’t want to get in this situation again, so I'll stick to you or to Eliana. I’ve had enough of near-death experiences for the moment."
"Kaden, it's one of her other personalities that's doing the talking. Her emotional status doesn’t seem different than the other, but be careful nevertheless," Razor warned.
"Shit. As if we needed this now." Laney waved a hand in front of his face as if drawing his attention.
"I asked you a question. Do you want to go on?" she asked. He blinked three times in rapid succession, trying to gather his thoughts, and just nodded. "How about you, Eliana?" she asked again.
The woman shrugged and patted her quiver of arrows. "Enough here for all of those crazies," she said, chuckling weirdly.
"Why do you all act so unnatural around each other?" Razor asked out loud, startling everyone. The three looked at each other as if surprised, but then shied away as if embarrassed. All three of them were guilty to some extent.
"What do you mean?" Kaden asked, caught by surprise.
"It's obvious to me there are trust issues, but none of you will gain anything by doing harm to the others. Maybe it would be smart to rethink everything, and then go on?"
"No," all three said at once, drawing a strange chuckle from the bird.
"You have five minutes to get in place. I'll gather the rest of the Stone Beaks. Get in to place then, will you?"
Maelstrom Page 13