Rincon peak was surprisingly forested. Not to Amazon levels of course, a large chunk of the terrain Eric and his friends were going through was actually cactus and scrub-land. But there were trees, even in clumps that qualified as woods-at high altitudes.
They were on high alert, they knew they were playing bait. Tilly and Agent Jenkins were moving their heads constantly, keeping a watch in every direction. Agent Kendra Parks had invested in her shield, and now could wrap it around the group. Eric, well, he was trying to watch out, but he knew he didn't have the skills of the law-keeper or the investigator.
They had started by following a muddy stream uphill, but a dozen feet away, at the top of the ground rather than in the gap where their vision would be obscured. After a mile or so, they left the water, following a dry bed that led more towards the peak. As they moved from scrub to trees, their ability to see any great distance declined. Tilly said “If I were planning an ambush, I'd do it around here.”
The four of them continued to hike until they reached the actual peak. They could see the actual trail to wards Mica mountain. While there was a ridge, they would be dropping in altitude, then going back up. Eric pulled out his canteen and took a deep drink.
The group had found Eric's friend Frob and sold the various animal carcasses and parts for gold coins, which had made the FBI agents happy, but a bit concerned about how to explain the extra wealth. Eric had then dragged the agents to REI and gotten everyone outfitted for hiking. Good boots, canteens, tents, rope, dehydrated food, etc. The only thing they skipped was backpacks, since everyone had an inventory. That gave Eric the ability to put a 10 pound bag of ice and a cooler of drinks in his inventory, including a few intoxicating drinks for once the danger was passed-hopefully.
Tilly pointed her spear at a hissing rattlesnake, but Eric said “it is warning us away, if we move away from it, it won't attack us. Sure enough, when the group moved around the snake, it relaxed.
They only made it a third of the way to Mica when it got dark. Eric had gotten everyone powerful flashlights, but initially they just set up a campfire, eating re-hydrated stew and drinking cold sodas. After agreeing on a watch schedule, Eric, Tilly, and Agent Parks went to bed, Eric alone in the “guys tent,” and Kendra with Tilly in the “gals tent.” A few hours later Jenkins woke Eric, and he stretched and got out of the tent, enjoying the clear night sky. He looked at the stars, then heard the rattle of a snake again.
Which didn't make sense, why would the snake approach, then try to warn him away. Eric made a snap decision, hoping he wouldn't feel stupid for waking people for no reason. “Uh, guys,” he hissed, then reached into his tent to tap Jenkin's feet, “Wake up, I think something is wrong.”
“I feel like I just got to sleep,” Jenkins said, Tilly and Kendra also got up, grumbling softly.
“The snake is acting weird.” Eric explained.
“Long lizards!” Tilly yelled, pointing at what the others recognized as alligators. An animal that was definitely not native to Arizona. Tilly fired an arrow into the closest gator, piercing its snout and making it open its mouth in anger. Three alligators rushed the group, and took a hair of bullets and another arrow, plus a Wind Slash from Eric. Eric suspected they might be weak to his Sun Bolt but was worried he would blind the group.
Black smoke spun off the gators, but they otherwise ignored the attacks, they were far too close.
“Get around the tents,” Tilly yelled, then used her skill, causing two of the gators to stop. Eric decided he had to use his Sun Bolt on the one still charging them, and as the bolt of light hit the head of the animal, it steamed and then faded.
“Fire Blast” Jenkins called, smacking one of the gators who had stopped with his spell. Eric decided he needed to improve Sun Bolt.
Sun Bolt (1) gained, additional bolt and increased damage.
The gator Jenkins hit was moving again, but Jenkins hit it again and it faded away. Eric was about to blast the last one with Sun Bolt, when he realized the rattlesnake was moving towards the group too. He used his spell on both, killing them.
“Death Blow!” a voice called from the dark. An arrow flew out of the dark, headed right for Eric, he had just used his spell and couldn't use Escape. Jenkins dove into the path of the arrow, yelling a warning. His mouth was opened as he yelled, and the arrow flew right into it, exiting the back of his skull. Eric was showered in blood and brain matter.
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Kendra figured out where Cletus had to be hiding, and turned on her flashlight, blinding him. Eric tried to use Lesser Heal on Jenkins, but his HP was at zero and the part of his brain that was hit was the part that told his heart to beat. The spell wouldn't take, it had decided Jenkins was already dead, and as Eric looked at the Agent's glassy eyes, he knew it was true.
Tilly roared as she charged towards Cletus, throwing her spear while using Multiply. One spear became four as they flew through the air, and three of them hit Cletus, one in the arm, one in his large gut, and one in the hip. Cletus just cackled and waved at the group, and a ghostly Jenkins rose from his corpse, turning on Eric.
“Fuck, I'm sorry, Sun Bolt,” Eric said, the close range spell blasting through the undead Agent. Even with two bolts Jenkins didn't go down. Parks looked at her partner and realized that her gun probably wouldn't work, plus she didn't want to shoot at her friend of several years. Instead she fired at Cletus. The three shots hit his gut, chest, and jowls, and the large man screamed in pain and anger.
Tilly was almost on Cletus when she took an arrow through her left arm. Luckily her sword was in her right arm, she chopped down, hitting the bow and the hand Cletus was using to hold it, and two of his fingers fell to the ground.
“Curse Arrow!” Cletus yelled, and managed to fire his bow again, weakly, the arrow only just pierced Tilly in the leg, but she felt a wave of fire rush through her veins and collapsed. Parks hadn't been able to get a clear shot with Tilly in the way, but when she went down, she pulled her new gun, and fired it, a beam of light hitting Cletus. Instead of a three shot burst, Kendra kept the beam forcused on his chest, burning through it with a sputtering hiss of burning fat and flesh.
When the large man fell, the spectral Jenkins faded away, and Eric rushed forward, using Lesser Heal on Tilly. The first arrow wound healed, but the wound in her leg refused to close. Binding it tightly managed to stop the bleeding, but she was still crying out in pain.
Parks called for a helicopter to recover the two bodies and medevac the orc, and after ten minutes, a bright spotlight was focusing on the two tents. Once it landed, Eric and Kendra helped move Tilly and the bodies of Jenkins and Cletus into the vehicle, before it took off.
Eric said “Can you take me and Tilly to the Orc rift?”
“Why?” Kendra asked.
“I can't heal her, it is some sort of dark magic injury, and I don't think any doctor can help, but I bet there are orc healers who can. You take care of your partner and Cletus, I'll take care of Tilly?”
Agent Parks told the helicopter pilot to divert to the Orc rift, and they radioed ahead to Major Abdullah, who agreed not to fire on them. The helicopter landed just outside the razor wire, and Eric helped Tilly out. She limped towards the rift, and a few soldiers helped them to the edge, then stopped, looking at the Major.
Major Abdullah looked at his two soldiers, “It is up to you, I wouldn't mind having troops with classes, I suspect our enemies do. But I'm not ordering anyone through.” One of the soldiers took a firm grip on Tilly's arm and helped her through the rift.
Eric and Tilly were surprised to find a small complex on the Ba'ruq side of the rift. The trader Frob stumbled sleepily out of one of the four large tents, blinking at the sudden commotion. But when Frob saw Eric and the soldier helping Tilly walk, he rushed forward.
“I think she has some sort of poison skill inside her, or a curse, it is preventing my healing from working,” Eric explained to the merchant. “Can I borrow some sort of mount?”
“Of course, it is the duty of every orc to aid the law-keepers.” Frob ran to a tent and brought out an animal that looked like a shaved Bison. The merchant helped Eric onto the beast, then helped him get Tilly mounted in front of him. Eric used Find Ally, and the giant green arrow pointed the way to the town Tilly was from.
It took over an hour for Eric to reach the town. A pair of young orcs challenged him “Halt, who comes in the night?”
Eric said “Law-keeper Tilly is injured, and I need a healer.”
The orcs recognized her, “Molk, stay and guard the south, I will go wake the healer, follow me orc-friend.” Eric followed the young orc to a house carved out of the rock, with detailed carvings around the door. As Eric helped Tilly through the doorway, she screamed.
“Good, good, let the curse die, and the patient live,” an old orc male said, grabbing Tilly and pulling her inside. Her leg seemed to want to avoid the doorway, but by pulling the rest of her into the home, her leg was forced through the portal. Eric swore he saw some green smoke seeping out of her leg as they got her into the home and onto a cot.
The orc used a healing spell, and soon Tilly was sleeping peacefully. Then the old orc pushed Eric onto another cot, and before Eric knew what had happened, it was morning.
“Thank you, Eric, I think you saved my life.” Tilly said to him as soon as he woke up.
“What am I, chopped Zilkmeat?” The old orc asked.
“Oh, sorry Master Koln, of course it was your magic, I just meant that Eric got me to you.” Then she realized the old orc was laughing, “You are just teasing me!” She accused.
“At my age, you get what enjoyment you can out of life, do you really begrudge me my fun? I did save your life you know.”
“No Grunkle, you can tease me as much as you like.”
“Bah, it is no fun when you give me permission!” The old orc laughed.
Eric asked, “I'm sorry, what is a Grunkle?”
Tilly explained, “It is a term for, well, an older orc who is like an uncle or grandfather, but isn't actually a relative. Granunt is the female equivalent. It is just a term of affection and respect.”
“Oh, go on you two, out, I have patients who actually need care. Tilly, say hi to your father for me.”
“Yes Grunkle,” Tilly said, as the pair left the cave home, and found the large beast tied to a post just outside.
Tilly led Eric to the Law-chief's office and reported in to her father. Then they went back to the rift to return the beast they had ridden into town. Gave it back to Frob, and went through the gate, finding Eric's new boss Monika waiting for him.