Chase’s hands were in a white knuckled grip as Dracht charged down the hill into the valley, the giant wolf’s lips pulled back in a snarl. As the two of them got closer, Chase was able to get a better look at the figures on horseback. What he saw made his eyebrows rise up in surprise.
“When did this turn into Planet of the Apes?” he muttered under his breath.
Sure enough, the figures essentially looked like someone had taken chimpanzees and decked them out with weapons and armor that at a first glance looked to be out of Edo Period Japan. Still, Chase put those thoughts out of his mind and refocused. Save sentient magic wolves now, worry about samurai chimps later.
A few of the pack members had noticed the incoming hostiles, and were turning to deal with them. A few moments later, and Dracht was close enough to be seen by them, a few forming sigils aimed at Chase, before the white wolf barked.
“Focus on the Uchmute, brothers!” Dracht bellowed, running past the line of wolves that had started to form and heading right for the approaching cavalry charge.
Chase, for his part, shifted his grip to remain steady as he got his feet under him on Dracht's back. He’d never ridden so much as a pony before, and knew that he’d be much more effective on foot. As the line of shrieking, bellowing chimps drew near, his legs tensed in preparation, leaning into the Path of Precision to know when the precise moment to attack would be.
Shield and pick in hand, he jumped, landing with a roll. In an instant, he was on his feet, the tip of his pick already in place and swinging into the neck of the first horse, his shield raised to block the naginata of its rider.
There was a crack, a spray of blood, and a high pitched cry, as the strength behind the pick tore out a massive chunk the horse's neck, and the rider's blade broke upon his shield. At the same time, a gash formed upon the chest of the rider, and a quiet part of Chase's mind was glad to finally have found something that his Mirror ability worked on.
He’d concluded that the dokkalfar and their shambers had too much magic for the ability to consider their attacks ‘physical’, and the glyoptodon’s defenses were certainly high enough that it could ignore the small amount of damage the ability returned. When he get the chance to upgrade it, he was definitely going to upgrade the attacks it worked on as his first priority.
But before he could get to that point, he needed to finish dealing with the weeb-chimps. He blocked another attack, another gash opening on the chimp's form, and punched with his off-hand, the flat of his shield leading as the dead horse collapsed, its rider flying face first into his shield with a bone shattering crunch.
There was a loud bellow from Dracht, and Chase saw that the wolf had reached the front lines of the cavalry, and had managed to take down a couple of their horses and riders. But there were still many left, and it looked like the wolf was in some trouble.
Gritting his teeth, Chase spun, blocking the blow of another chimpanzee, and taking out its horse's leg with the end of his pick. The chimp let out a cry, and began to fall, the same gash appearing on its torso.
He had just a moment to glance around and see the state of the battle. It was going well, more of the chimps than wolves were down, but the wolves were outnumbered at least five to one. In the distance, Chase was able to spot Muthroth on top of one of the hills, an odd looking rifle braced against his shoulder as he sniped the chimps on the perimeters.
But he didn’t have time to take in the entire situation. Turning back to the fight, he saw a group of three chimps, two on foot and one on a horse, rushing at him. The one on horseback was outfitted differently, dozens of papers with strange writings on them attached to his armor with small circles of wax, and didn't appear to carry a weapon. The two on foot however were carrying massive clubs outfitted with metal knobs all along their length.
The one on horseback took one of the papers off its armor, the writings on it glowing with a red light and the paper stiffening. Chase braced himself, then felt a warning from the Path of Precision, and leapt at one of the two club-wielding ones, narrowing avoiding a pillar of fire that appeared where he’d been standing.
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The chimps seemed surprised that he hadn’t stayed put, but that didn't slow their reactions. Chase blocked one blow, feeling the strike vibrate through his shield, then was forced to dodge again as the second chimpanzee attempted a follow-up.
Gritting his teeth, Chase stepped in, taking the hit against his shield, the strike making him slide backwards, and swung his pick in a wide arc. He caught one of the chimp's arms, and it let out a pained shriek, before the weapon came around again, this time cutting open the chimp's throat.
The remaining club-wielding chimpanzee swung, and Chase ducked under the blow, but the one still on horseback hadn’t been idle. Another paper charm/spell was primed, and Chase screamed as his body was hit with a surge of electricity, his muscles locking up.
As Chase was electrocuted, the chimp in front of him raised its weapon, preparing for a killing blow. Mentally letting go of the Path of Precision, Chase instead pulled forth the Path of Tenacity, and found his body once again responding to his commands. The chimp’s club was currently behind its head in a two handed grip, and Chase didn’t wast how exposed its front was.
The tip of his pick punched up under its jaw, breaking through the roof of its mouth and into its brain. The chimp paper mage on its horse seemed surprised, pulling two more papers off its armor as the horse reared back. A shimmering barrier appeared in front of it, as a ball of fire began to form, but Chase wasn't willing to wait.
He slammed the pick into the barrier, and the spell immediately shattered, the force of his swing continued. It struck the mage's arm, and the limb went flying, the sheer strength behind the blow causing the flesh at the chimp's shoulder to tear away from the rest of its body. The fireball that had been forming dissipated, and the mage looked at the stump of its arm with wide, unbelieving eyes.
That was when the ground underneath Chase exploded, throwing him off his feet and slamming him into the ground. His back had barely hit the ground before Chase was scrambling back to his feet, shield raised and pick at the ready.
He didn’t have time to figure out what had attacked him, because the club-wielding chimp that had gone down earlier was up again. With a wordless cry, it charged at him, only for a white blur to slam into its side and knock it back down.
Glancing to the side, Chase saw Dracht on the chimpanzee, his jaws locked on its neck. A moment later, and the wolf ripped the creature's head off its shoulders. Turning back to glance at Chase, his muzzle red with blood, he gave Chase a respectful nod, before racing off to fight more chimps.
He let out a sigh, then began moving to help the others fight. There were a few more explosions nearby, but he ignored them, trusting in the fact that if they were getting that close to him, they would likely be taken out by one of the pack's spellcasters.
It didn't take long for the battle to come to an end. A few wolves had been killed, as had a large number of chimpanzee troops before the leader ordered a retreat, but the majority of both sides were still alive. Chase had a bad feeling about the chimp leader, something about the way it had seemed to be staring right at him before calling the retreat.
Chase shook his head, dismissing the thought for the moment, and began checking the corpses for any kind of loot. As he did, his mind wandered to his current situation. He hadn’t died, or gotten too badly hurt. More than that, he'd killed enough of the chimps to earn another level, nearly two. He'd allocate the Characteristic points later, for the moment he had some politicking and diplomacy to deal with.
Finding Dracht, the massive wolf gave a tooth-filled grin, the blood covering his muzzle and pelt making the sight even more terrifying than it would have been on a regular sized wolf.
“Well fought, human,” he said as he licked some of the blood off his chops. “Chief Keron will want to thank you.”
Chase nodded, following Dracht as he led him to one of the multitude of black furred wolves. The wolf, that looked to be twice the mass of Dracht, had glowing red eyes and some manner of arcane design on its head just above its eyes, glowing the same ominous red. When the wolf spoke, it was all that Chase could do to keep from his shock from showing in his body language, his jaw dropping under his mask.
“So this is the human you found, Scout Dracht?” came the wolf’s high pitched, squeaky voice.
“Yes, Chief Keron. During the battle, I witnessed him kill a great many of the Uchmute’s soldiers, including a powerful mage. I would ask that he be given a place in our pack, Chief Keron. He could be a useful addition, and would aid us in our fight against the Uchmute,” Dracht said, lowering his head and bowing to the giant wolf.
Keron let out a thoughtful hum, the sound like that of a high pitched whistle, and turned his gaze on Chase.
“Human, Dracht says you could be an asset, but what would you get out of this?” Keron asked.
“Respectfully, I must decline a position within your pack,” Chase said, forcing himself to set aside the sheer vocal dissonance of Keron. “I have a family home I must protect, and many under my protection and responsibility. However, if you would be so inclined, I would not be opposed to an alliance.”
Chase and Keron discussed matters for several hours, Muthroth being brought to join them to provide an insight into the dokkalfar’s stance on a potential alliance. By the time they were done, the sun was setting, and the two were offered to spend the night with the pack, an offer that they accepted.
“Are you sure about allying with them?” Muthroth asked as the two settled down a short distance from the pack.
“Not really,” Chase admitted, shrugging slightly. “But if they and the Uchmute are anything like the animals from Earth that they resemble, I’d much rather ally with the wolves. Chimps are vicious, aggressive, and…”
A sting on Chase’s neck made him pause in his explanation, his hand flying to his neck. Looking at what had caused the sting, Chase felt his face twist in confusion as his fingers came back bloodied.