* * *
The Matriarch listened intently as the eccentric spoke.
“I truly have done no magery, Matriarch,” Joe replied with certainty.
The Matriarch considered. The mana disturbance before… Was not of his doing? I am certain I felt some… disturbance of mana here when he began.
“You willed no magery,” she more stated than questioned.
* * *
“You didn’t cast any magic?” the Matriarch asked politely.
Joe noticed her curiosity and he paused, “I… really don’t think I did? I didn’t intend to if I did. I was only attempting to irritate the monsters to attack each other.”
The Matriarch seemed to calm at that, nodding, “You are certain then.”
Joe nodded, “Yes.”
The Matriarch fell silent, looking on for a bit before waving an arm at Gallar who bowed and moved away. She then spoke a bit more quietly, “Would you share… this?”
Joe looked at her, surprised a bit, “Huh? Share what?”
“How you are doing this?”
“Certainly, if I could ask what is a tide master?”
The Matriarch quirked an eyebrow but nodded, “A tide master is the master of the monsters; a general and source of control. If you kill the tide master, the monsters will dispel naturally and the tide will end.”
“Hmm… and let me guess, it doesn’t really show itself until the end.”
The Matriarch chuckled at that, “They tend to be quite smart and will only show themselves when forced.”
“OK. That… kinda make sense,” Joe nodded at that, falling into thought for a bit before the Matriarch coughed slightly to catch his attention.
“So, could you share how it is done?”
Joe smiled at that, chuckling before shaking his head, “Of course. It is simple. I have done nothing more than enrage the beasts with pain. That pain drives them to seek out the nearest objects to vent their anger upon. If I am lucky, I cause the beast pain with my arrow, but it is sticking out of the beast enough that another nearby animal strikes the arrow and causes pain. The beast immediately thinks the other attacked it so it attacks in kind.”
The Matriarch stared at Joe for a moment, then looked back out over the field, surveying it. After a few moments, she raised an arm and sent out some magical projectile… one Joe couldn’t identify at all. It struck a deer… or something like a deer before fading out of sight. Joe shook his head.
“No… no… you can’t use herbivores… they are least likely to attack back meaningfully. Herbivo… plant eaters most likely seek to run, not fight. And besides, it’s best to leave the projectile sticking out so another beast can jostle it and cause pain, drawing the ire of the other animal.”
“Plant eaters do not fight?”
Joe looked at her, “Not really? Most plant eaters don’t have to fight for their food. The only time they fight is to defend themselves from a meat eater seeking to eat it. Well… there are some plant eaters that ‘fight’ each other for control of their herd or team… but they do not usually fight to the death. They only fight to control or frighten the other. Do they… fight here?”
The Matriarch seemed to consider that for a moment before she looked up at Joe, “Almost all monsters are quite… violent. I have noticed no difference between plant… herbivores and these… carnivores. But I am no scholar. So, do you have a recommendation for anything? I wish to attempt what you have done.”
Joe smiled and nodded, “Sure… look for meat eaters, especially meat eaters that live alone. Meat eaters that live together as a team are more used to others being around. Choose those that live alone primarily. They are the most likely to strike back. Hmm… if you can, choose one that can infuse. It will kill the most.”
The Matriarch nodded at that, and began looking across the field until she found a massive bear. She nodded to herself and pointed it out to Joe, “Is that a good option?”
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Joe shrugged but nodded tentatively, “Possibly, but I do not know the creatures of this plane very well. But… if I had to guess, that thing would be a good target. Aim to strike it and leave the projectile sticking out of it so that another beast will jostle it.”
The Matriarch nodded, her eyes turning to the field of monsters. She scanned the field until she picked a monster and pointed it out to Joe, “What do you think of this monster?”
Joe looked in the direction she pointed, but wasn’t certain which one she was pointing out, “Which one?”
The Matriarch glanced at him, then did something which caused a glow to shoot up around the monster she was pointing at. It was large, approaching the size of an elephant, and furred. It looked more like a rounded moving mound than the more sleek bodies of apex predators. Joe couldn’t really notice anything of the teeth, and the feet were hidden behind the mass of beasts around it. Joe looked at it carefully, but then shrugged, “I am uncertain, to be honest. Do they eat meat?”
The Matriarch quickly nodded, “Yes, they do.”
“Do they live alone or in groups with each other?”
“Alone.”
Joe shrugged, “Then I’d guess that would be a pretty good target. But I am uncertain… I have never seen a beast like that before. But if it is a meat eater and lives alone, it is likely to be quite aggressive, especially if it is harmed. But… I really don’t know… there are exceptions to every rule, so…”
The Matriarch nodded at that and gestured in front of her, left arm slowly swirling around her right as if she held something in her right hand. Slowly, a bead of water or ice, Joe wasn’t sure at first, began forming above her right hand, a wobbling shifting sphere almost as if it was in a weightless environment. The blob of water grew then stretched outward into a spike, although it was quite thin. After it was shaped the way she was happy with, it suddenly froze, mist clouding outward in a burst that hid the final product before it was suddenly ejected from her palm like a rocket, no recoil obvious from her posture.
It moved so fast Joe almost didn’t catch it, only the streak of translucent blue caught the corner of his eye, and he was able to flicker his sight towards the creature the Matriarch had pointed out to find the streak of blue ice already spiking into the upper back of the creature, just over its shoulders. It reacted, shrieking in pain before shaking loose the ice arrow and dropping it to the ground.
Joe shook his head, “No. You will want to strike it on the side or feet so that it will be brushed or attacked by another monster. Maybe something like this.”
Joe pulled an arrow out and aimed for the side, further back in the belly where no bones would be able to defend. If it follows typical Terran evolution! Joe snorted after the arrow flew, the extraneous thought bringing humor even as he still struggled with the fact of so many examples of parallel evolution.
His arrow struck the belly and sank in, at a slightly poor angle to offer the chance that it would be jostled by another animal, but luck was with him and the creature on that side slapped it with a wayward tail strike. The creature hit with the arrow flinched, then snapped wildly with the second jolt of pain, jaws coming down on the tail in retribution. That animal reacted wildly, snapping rear legs back to strike at the beast and soon the area was embroiled in several beasts mauling each other. Joe turned to the Matriarch.
“Unless the beast is very small, striking the back would like not be wise as nothing will hit your barb. Aim for the belly, not the chest, as the bones may easily block your strike… unless you are able to strike and dodge the bone or strike into the bone with very high chance. In such case… maybe the ribs would be an excellent place to strike as barbs will more likely stay embedded in the body.”
The Matriarch nodded at that, listening politely, but quite intently, before turning and choosing another target, the ice spike forming once again. Joe was able to watch it a bit but it formed rather rapidly and then was clouded by the moisture in the air forming into mist around the icicle due to the rapid drop in temperature. As before, it shot off almost faster than he could see, but he was still able to follow the general direction and pick out the beast that had been struck, this time in the side just in front of the hind legs, easily piercing in. Only about a quarter of the shaft was still outside the body, but it still proved enough as another beast brushed it and the afflicted animal retaliated, mouth snapping angrily at the shoulder of the other. The two fell into a brawl which instigated others and soon a large mass of creatures tore at each other out in the field. The Matriarch turned to look at him, eyes a bit wide and a deep sense of respect obvious in her look.
“So simple?”
Joe shrugged and smiled, “Animals tend to be simple creatures… even hum… sapients also tend to be rather simple.”
She smiled back, a soft, graceful, and controlled smile, but a truly grateful one. She bowed slightly then turned to leave, “It is simple, but… likely useless except for a weak tide as this, but… still. I am truly grateful. Thank you for being willing to share.”
Joe laughed, “Ah… then tide masters are usually stronger?”
“This tide master has proven to be… quite weak.”
Joe nodded, “Ah… yeah, that … makes a bit of sense. A strong tide master could keep it under control all the time?”
“It appears that way. Few contend for control of the tide against the tide master. People with great control or will can do so, but…”
“Ah. Interesting,” Joe replied and the two fell into silence for a bit.
The Matriarch then nodded and bid her farewell, “Well, I will leave you to your defense.”
He waved as she left, but she didn’t seem to see, and simply went back to her section. Joe watched her go for a few moments before turning back to his area, watching carefully. He pinged monster sense, finding nothing near the walls, and then relaxed. He spent the next half an hour or so sending out an arrow every once in a while to keep all the monsters occupied. But, as happened yesterday, something took control and forced the beasts back to regimented lines of attack. Joe sent out a couple more shots to instigate fights, but found none of the beasts willing to fight so returned to more direct kills, dropping points into his arrows as he’d done before, but this time hoping that allowing his points to recharge while he used his personal mana might give him a bit more longevity for the fight.
He was soon firing arrow after arrow laden with his points in the arrow heads and beasts began dying all around the field, his points flying back to him after killing the beast the arrow struck. Due to his experience yesterday, Joe found himself able to keep the beasts at bay pretty easily, even shooting off a couple arrows into the sections on either side of him to help relieve pressure on them.
* * *