15.

“Bobby, let's go!” I sprinted past her as she came staggering out of the library. I raced to the armory, I could hear Bobby’s steps behind me as she followed. I didn’t give myself time to think as I grabbed a fresh shield, one that didn’t have slivers of wood raked out of it. A second spear and then I was flying past Bobby again, who looked like she was struggling to figure out what was going on. The first few times I had used the translation skill on the information stones had left me confused as well.

“We have to buy the survivors time to get here. The sun is setting faster here,” I explained as she found her hammer leaning against a wall in the main hall. She hadn’t asked for an explanation, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before her mind cleared and she’d be wondering why we were sitting in front of the gates.

All the gates on the ramp up to the courtyard were unlocked and I jogged up the ramp, already breathing heavily. Endurance, I couldn’t wait to add more points into endurance. This huffing and puffing from running up a gentle slope was irritating.

“Surprised you’re willing to stick your neck out for them,” Bobby said. She wasn’t breathing hard at all.

“Need all the bodies we can get. Can’t man all the forts and keeps in the region without them. Simple math that’s been lurking in the back of my mind since we found the survivors from the mountain. It took ten bodies to hold a keep, and there were three keeps for every fort. Eight forts and twenty-four keeps. Two hundred and forty bodies needed to hold the forts alone. The tutorial was pushing us to make alliances somehow. I’d rather do it with other humans.

“I like that about you. How practical you are. Not someone who wants to be a hero.”

“Heroes die in real life. I’d rather be a fat and rich politician.”

“Who hurt you?”

I laughed at her joke. Glancing out the corner of my eye, I saw she had a small grin for herself. I couldn’t remember the last time I had truly laughed. For a moment the craziness faded away and it was like any normal night back home joking with friends. Then we cleared the ramp and the slap of the arctic wind on my face sobered me. What we were about to do could easily be considered heroic. Also dumb and vaguely suicidal. It went against every instinct I had. It needed to be done though.

A horn sounded from the direction of the sea, deep and mournful as it hung in the air for a moment. We were opening the gates, looking at the first wave of the refugees running toward us. Three hundred yards, maybe less. I couldn’t make out their faces, but I could see them staggering and limping as they came toward us. Agatha and her granddaughter were only forty yards away. The old lady was jogging, her granddaughter's hand clenched on her own. Agatha’s crossbow was hanging from a strap around her shoulder.

“Move it! They’re coming,” I yelled as loud as I could while waving my arms. Bobby walked around the corner, putting herself between the corner of the fort and the door. I had figured we’d hold the doorway, but now staring at it, I realized we would need to keep it clear to let the mountain people in. We’d have to protect both sides of the fort, just the two of us. I hoped that the few scorpions we had working were going to be enough for now. I positioned myself so my back was to Bobby; I impaled my spare spear in the earth and rolled my shoulders, trying to dispel tension.

“Agatha, take command of the scorpions. You hold the final gate before the main hall. If there’s any fishmen coming, seal the door.” I had forgotten the granddaughter's name already. Red-faced, Agatha just nodded while pushing the girl in front of her as they raced in.

“What do you think that horn was about?” Bobby asked. The wait was wearing on me already, watching as the last flames of daylight left the sky, the ever closer runners, and the corner of the fort where the foe should come from.

“I don’t know. Tonight is the first night with one of the forts and all its keeps occupied though. Maybe a bump in difficulty?”

“That’s fantastic,” Bobby groaned.

“Just think of all the levels we can get.”

“Why? Won’t be using the levels yet.”

“Yeah, but when we do. It’ll be a huge boost to our power.”

“This is a terrible idea.”

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“Yeah.”

“We’re still going to stand here and hold these doors?”

“Yup.” It was the most I had spoken to her in a sitting. I was debating whether I should use the points myself right now. The long term benefits of being able to eat mana hearts to gain stat points would be good, saving us levels of stat point allocation, but would that matter if we didn’t have the ability to survive the night?

“If you think you need to use them to survive, use them.”

“That was the plan,” Bobby said with a short laugh. I would use points for endurance myself; if I was going to die, it wasn’t going to be because I ran out of breath. The last of the light faded, the stars and moon offering their meager light to us as the mournful horn rang again. From the direction of the walls, I heard the whump of a scorpion firing. Wouldn’t have to wait long now.

“If you need help, just yell for me,” Bobby said. I could hear the smile in her voice.

“If you need help, we’re fucked.” I told her. That managed to pull a laugh out of her. As of right now, she had more stats than I did. She was faster and had more endurance than I did, though I was stronger. I was thinking that the speed and endurance would be better for this sort of fight.

“Got one!” Bobby said. I didn’t turn to watch even though I was desperate too. I kept my eyes locked on my corner and the trail of people who were getting closer and closer. Only a hundred and fifty yards now before the leading edge would be able to enter the gates. Hopefully there’d be a few who would pitch in and help us hold.

From behind me I heard the sounds of fighting. A grunt of exertion, shuffling feet, then the sound of metal on flesh, bone breaking and a gurgling scream. I tensed, ready to turn to fight if it had been Bobby who had lost the exchange.

“One!” Bobby declared.

“Are we competing?”

“It won’t be much of a competition, but sure. Scouts honor for the count.”

“Sure.” I smiled. The longer the tutorial dragged on,as the shock faded, the more I got to see my new companions' personalities. Bobby was apparently more competitive than I had thought.

“Another!”

As Bobby raced to keep her count ahead of me, my first foe came around the corner. I got my first look at these far North fishmen. Ours had been a green, this one was a royal blue with black patterns around its head, and a white throat. Same bulging eyes and shark teeth, though it was wearing primitive armor around its torso made of pale pink rock like coral. Its trident was longer and seemed sturdier than the ones we had taken. Was this a region wide upgrade or was it that this far fort had better equipped foes?

It came at me in a shambling run, it’s webbed feet not suited for sprinting across the dirt. The pale stripe on its throat was flexing with every step, while previously discrete gills flared open. Not slowing down, it thrust its trident. I blocked with my shield, the force of the blow making me grunt in pain. I had never fought them hand to hand before, there was no baseline for me to compare to.

Knocking the tines away from me, I stabbed at it, my spear a dark shadow in the poor light. It swayed back, the blow that was targeting the white stripe of its throat instead crunching into its armor. Bits of it fell away as it stumbled, but it was unscathed. Poor armor, but it had done its job. I was a little envious of Bobby and her warhammer, nothing was withstanding the blunt force of that thing.

It tried to slide between me and the gates, and I was forced to cut it off, leaving me less room to maneuver as the fort’s walls were now only a few feet from my back. It stabbed out a few more times, each blow rattling my shield. My spear had a longer reach, and I could be patient, waiting for it to make a mistake.

I didn’t have to wait long.

It overextended with its lunge, its awkward feet failing it as it stumbled. Swinging my shield wide, I batted the trident away from its body and stabbed down as it fell to a knee. The blade punched through its flesh skull with barely any resistance, the fishman freezing for a moment before toppling over, my spear pulling free with a sickening sllrrrp.

“One!”

“Four! Stop playing with them. They’re coming faster on my side.” Bobby was panting slightly, and I risked looking over at her. She still stood only a few feet away, the long haft of the warhammer clutched in both hands. Four still bodies lay scattered around. A fifth rounded the corner and she waited for it to start sprinting at her before rushing to engage it. I turned away before the opening blows. Just in time.

Two of the fish monsters had rounded my side at the same time, one limping as its leg dragged behind it. Both were armed like the first I had slain, and the uninjured one broke into a sprint toward me. The second one staggering behind, the distance growing between them during its thirty yard sprint. I would only have a few seconds before the second one caught up, I would have to be more aggressive than I had been with the first one.

Jogging forward slowly at first, I waited until it was right outside of spear range before surging forward. The change in speed startled it, its thrust was slow and aimed at my torso. I angled the shield and let the trident slide off, my spear thrusting up, targeting the inviting white stripe of its throat. It tried to dodge, but my sudden burst of speed threw it off. The spear tore apart its throat, blood rushing out as its legs folded almost instantly. My speed hadn’t bled off, I had to jump to the side as its body collapsed. I stumbled, an error that almost cost me my life.

The following fishman hadn’t been as far behind as I had hoped. Its trident scraped the metal rim of my shield, mere hairs breath from my throat as I fell and rolled. I had to drop my spear in the roll, landing heavily on my right shoulder. Popping back to my feet, I pulled the ax I had been keeping tucked in the weapons belt, the leather sheath fighting me as I tried to get it free. The injured fishman attacked with a flurry of blows. I managed to keep my shield up under the barrage, the blows numbing my left arm.

Finally, I got the ax free. I spun to the left, using my battered shield to redirect the latest attack far to the side. The fishmen stumbled from the lack of resistance, its bad leg partially folding. My ax was rising and falling, one, two, three catastrophic blows. Hot blood splashed over me, the heat of the three kills infusing my body. Adrenaline was raging in my veins, a smile creeping free to spread. Again, the freedom of the fight was calling to me, the simple battle, no wits or plans. A brutal supremacy reigned here.

My spear was only a few feet away and I grabbed it, looking at the refugees. They were staggering as their tired legs were failing them. Their low levels and a week of the tutorial was weakening them. It’d take many minutes for them all to get here, to get inside the safety of the gates. As another of the fishman cleared the corner and came at me, a loud part of me was glad the refugees were so slow. I would get to continue this dance, to keep seeing my foes fall in front of me, to stand supreme. I ignored the quiet part of my mind telling me I was being an idiot.