Finishing our sprint towards the oncoming wave of invaders, Amaranth and I slowed just short of them, sending out twin waves of fire in their direction, the flames washing over their leading ranks. Combined together, the magic was enough to kill a handful of already weakened spirits and shadows among them while badly singeing others in the process. But that single spell was all that we had time for, both of us then blink stepping away, regaining some of the space that we’d surrendered in order to attack.
I knew if Amaranth and I absolutely had to, we could easily outpace the creatures chasing us, simply blink stepping or Jumping farther and faster than they could follow. The major downside to doing that, however, was that it would leave the creatures running loose in the heart of Aldford, allowing them free rein to attack whatever and whoever they wanted. Past that option, the next one that came to mind was to see if we couldn’t drag the attackers with us until we found enough defenders capable to help us fight them all. But as I considered that potential approach, I realized that the path that Amaranth and I set ourselves on didn’t have anyone nearby, the closest group to us being those defending Aldford’s northern gate, which given their importance in our defense made them a poor choice. The last thing that I wanted to do was to lead a train of twenty-some-odd attackers that they weren’t expecting into their rear ranks and hope that they weren’t too overwhelmed by the attacking orcs to somehow help.
This meant that Amaranth and I had to figure out a way of taking care of them without relying on anyone else.
Talking quickly, I filled Amaranth in on my idea as we continued our sprint between the longhouses, while keeping a wary eye on our pursuers. Fortunately, though, it only took the cat a few seconds to grasp my plan, so that when we finally erupted out onto the street again, I was able to cut away sharply from him to the right. The move temporarily put me out of sight of those behind us, giving me the opportunity that I needed to check my speed and cast Jump on myself. From there, I was able to leap straight up onto the roof of the longhouse we’d just passed and take cover before a stream of shadows, spirits, and dervishes rushed past me, none of them so much as glancing my way as they continued to chase Amaranth.
So far, so good, I thought as I counted them all go by, biding my time until I saw the last of the group, a corrupted beetle spirit, burst free of the alley and chase after its companions. It was the second that I saw him pass by me that I leapt, managing to clear the dozen or so feet that separated us before landing practically on top of it with Savagery in hand. Slashing at the creature as I hit the ground, I managed to strike it twice before it even registered that I was there, its frenzied movements coming too late to save it. Easily dodging a lunging bite from the creature, I was able to sweep my sword through the length of its body, causing its form to waver and then finally disperse as I thrust my hand into it, drawing forth a surge of mana to replenish my reserves.
And just like that, one of the pack chasing us was down.
Pushing myself back into a sprint, I then repeated the process once again, managing to chase down another pair of spirits in quick succession, taking advantage of the straggling line that they’d formed in pursuing us with those who moved slower falling towards the rear. It was as I finished off my third victim that I was finally spotted by a quartet of shadows, the lithe creatures breaking off their pursuit of Amaranth to chase after me instead.
Trusting that the cat would manage his end of things, I timed my pace so that I crossed the laneway he was rushing down just seconds ahead of his arrival so that when he finally reached its end, he reached it at the same moment the shadows chasing me did. Turning so that I could watch what came next, I saw my familiar burst free from the alleyway just in time to catch the four shadows with a point-blank Flameburst, the fire sweeping over them before they could even react. Then, just as I had a not even half a minute earlier, I sharply turned down the laneway on the opposite side of the longhouse and used my still-active Jump spell to leap effortlessly upwards to its roof, effectively resetting myself to repeat the same tactic again.
Which is exactly what Amaranth and I did over the next few minutes to slowly whittle down the numbers of those pursuing us.
Leaping and weaving through the abandoned streets of Aldford, we took ruthless advantage of our attackers’ singularly focused nature as well as our ability to communicate on the fly to lead them into split-second traps and ambushes. Attacking them with whatever we could muster—be it a blast of magic, a sweeping claw, or a slash of Savagery—they slowly fell, one by one, until only four dervishes remained. By then, however, Amaranth and I had about reached the end of the running that we were capable of, the constructs proving to simply be too fast for us to trap as we had with the other spirits and shadows. All our efforts thus far had resulted in a handful of injuries for us, which combined with my nearly empty mana pool, the two potions I had earlier now a fond memory, meant that it was time to head towards the arena.
Receiving a mental growl from my familiar, we then put the last leg of our plan into motion, taking advantage of a sharp turn to once again split up. This time, however, instead of circling back to attack, I ran ahead towards Aldford’s arena, our wild journey through the town having taken us gradually closer. Sprinting through the empty streets unopposed, I easily managed to make my way towards the open clearing, my path taking me directly to the stands where I knew the cache had been placed. Spotting it easil
y by virtue of it being the only box by the bleachers, I slowed down as I approached, my heart fluttering as I saw that it was already open.
Damn! Looks like I’m not the first one here! I thought as I arrived at the crate suddenly fearing that it would be empty. Fortunately, however, that fear was short-lived as I dropped to one knee in front of it, seeing that while its contents had been strewn about wildly within, it was still fairly well stocked.
All right, phew, it’s not empty! Now let’s see what we have in here to work with, I promptly thought as I started to dig into the container, grabbing whatever I felt Amaranth and I would need for the coming battle. Let’s see here. Okay, we have a couple of healing potions left, always useful, I’ll take both. Then here we have an assortment of battle potions. I guess I can refill my pouch with these. Okay, next thing we have here is a…tenacity totem, sweet! That’ll be helpful! Then right beside that…that’s a tranquility totem. Not quite what I need right now, but those two healing totems right there definitely won’t go wrong. Wait, hang on, is that it?
Ah, crap! I cursed as I finished searching the cache, a grimace coming over my face. Whoever raided this thing before me took all the mana potions and mana totems! That’s going to make things more than a little difficult.
With a loud sigh rushing out of me to echo my disappointment, I didn’t waste any more time pining over the missing supplies, knowing that every second we had would count. Instead, I forced myself back up to my feet with a tenacity and healing totem in hand and rushed to the open arena ring, stopping briefly at one of the thick wooden posts that marked its edge.
My eyes suddenly widened as his voice abruptly cut off mid-speech, a flare of pain shooting through our link before vanishing.
I answered back as another grimace passed over my face, this time accompanied by a surge of anger at the man’s constant presence throughout the battle.
Shit, of course he survived getting hit by the siegebreaker! I thought as I bent down to stake the two totems in my hands just behind the post I’d stopped beside, hoping that the elbow-high wooden pillar would somewhat conceal them from sight. That’s fine though if he wants to come for another fight, then this time we’ll be ready for him. More than ready, in fact.
Feeling the totem’s magic flow into me, I rose from my position and stepped into the arena, feeling the two totems’ energy both strengthen my movements and start to heal the injuries I’d taken on my flight through the town with Amaranth. As I did, I took a second to skim over my combat log to check in on their effects, trying to see if there wasn’t anything else I could do to prepare.
You are affected by a [Totem of Tenacity]!
You gain a temporary +30 bonus to Strength and Agility while within its range.
You are affected by a [Totem of Healing!]
[Totem of Healing] heals you for 350 points of damage.
[Totem of Healing] replenishes you for 150 points of stamina.
[Aldford’s Aura of Magic] replenishes you for 50 mana points!
Okay, so Strength and Agility have been sorted out by the totem, and its effect doesn’t stack with battle potions, I thought as I finished reading the text, taking note of the tree’s more than welcome mana regeneration effect before I promptly dismissing everything from my vision. That means my choice is between Constitution or Intelligence for the coming battle.
Pausing for a second to consider my options, I realized after a second that there was an obvious choice, given that Amaranth and I were about to go toe to toe with not only Carver but four dervishes as well.
We’re going to need each and every single hit point that we can scrounge up, especially in the early moments of the battle, I mused as I palmed a pair of the Constitution battle potions as well as a health potion that I’d taken from the cache, readying the latter to feed to Amaranth as soon as he arrived.
Then with that done, there was nothing left for me to do but wait for everyone to arrive, the next few seconds passing rapidly as I sensed Amaranth rapidly close in on my position, eventually appearing in the distance as an azure blur. Continuing to sprint as fast as his legs would take him, the cat ate up the remainder of the distance separating us in seconds before practically collapsing on the sandy arena ground in front of me. Hearing him breathing heavily, I didn’t waste a second in bending down towards him as he crouched low on all fours, offering him the healing potion first.
“Drink this, it’ll make you feel better,” I said to the cat, who readily obliged without so much as an ear flick in my direction. Once he was done with the healing potion, I offered him the battle potion without pause, already spotting fast-moving figures appear in the distance rushing towards us. “And this one too. Something tells me we’ll need it.”
Maybe I did end up trapping him with my spell just before the siegebreaker hit, I thought as I saw him and the other dervishes slow in their approach towards us, Carver glancing around suspiciously as he inspected the arena’s grounds. The opportunity gave me a chance to see that one of Carver’s antlers had been broken at its tip and that his body itself seemed somewhat ragged in appearance as if patches of it were thinner in some places than others. But that brief delay to ensure that we were alone only lasted for a handful of seconds, Carver and the group of constructs all lunging forward at the same time, sharing some unspoken signal amongst them as a sign to attack.
“Well, this seems a fitting place as any for our final battle, Lyrian!” Carver exclaimed as he charged towards me, the dervishes fanning out on either side of him. “Too bad the stands are all empty, though! This would only be better with an audience!”
“Oh, we have an audience, Carver,” I called back as Amaranth and I rushed to meet the group, quickly exchanging a plan of attack between one another through our link. “One that’s filled with millions of people that will be watching every move you make here today.”
Rapidly building speed as I spoke, it was with those words in the air that Amaranth and I abruptly triggered Blink Strike as we charged towards Carver and the constructs, the two of us leaping into the air as we did so. With my familiar leading the way as we shifted places, the next thing I knew as my vision snapped back into focus was the cat slamming into the two dervishes to the left of Carver, hitting them both in a flying tackle. Armed with a potent momentum and his not insubstantial weight behind him, the impact allowed Amaranth to completely knock the two constructs off their feet, sending them crashing ont
o their backs on the sandy arena ground.
And thereby putting them in prime position for my arrival.
Landing in front of the dervish, I had enough time to see Carver and the other constructs rush by us as I lunged forward to attack the fallen creature, the momentum of their reckless charge towards us carrying them past us in the blink of an eye. This gave Amaranth and I a much-needed opportunity to slash, stab, and bite at our two victims before they recovered from their prone position, landing a flurry of attacks on them while dodging their flailing attempts to retaliate. But that advantage was all too fleeting, as, after a loud curse from Carver as he realized what we’d done, he and his entourage wheeled to turn back towards us, shedding the momentum of their charge. Which, in turn, was my cue to move once again.
Breaking away from the dervish that I’d chosen to attack, I rushed to meet Carver’s advance, this time tapping into Alacrity for a pair of seconds to give me a much-needed boost of speed. But much like the last time, I didn’t want to completely close with the group, at least not immediately. So instead, right before I entered melee range, I slowed, stretching out my hand and sending a timely blast of freezing cold towards them, catching all three within its effects. It was then, once they were all covered in a layer of frost, that I darted in close, slashing out with Savagery. But as I did, I focused my attention on the dervishes next to Carver, going as far as to dodge around him completely in favor of putting the constructs between us.
“Argh! Why do you keep running?” Carver barked in sudden frustration as I slashed at the two frost-covered dervishes, the cold from my spell slowing their movements enough that I was able to hit them both twice while running around them. “Stand still and fight!”
“You know, Carver, I think the better question right now is ‘why are you chasing me so hard?’” I replied, feeling my now ravenous hunger sate itself as I struck each construct, draining a surge of both mana and corruption from them with each strike. Between the rapid castings of Blink Strike, Alacrity, and Cone of Cold, I’d managed to burn through almost the entirety of what little remained of my mana pool, leaving me with barely more than a couple dozen points left. “You could be anywhere else in this battle right now—in fact, I’m certain you should be—but you’re not. You’re here. Why is that?”
Glory to the Brave (Ascend Online Book 4) Page 92