‘Well. Shit.’ Ted muttered, as the three monstrous beasts came at him as if synchronised, streaking across the ground in a blur. Their dark fur blended with the muddy ground, making it tricky for Ted to keep his eyes on them. They cleared the distance in moments.
Suddenly he found himself surrounded by the long, furry monsters. He could see what Cam was talking about with the crocodile references now; they had the clawed, stubby legs, and the long, triangular jawed snout that would have given them the same silhouette as a croc; the sleek fur and muscles gave more of an impression of an otter or walrus. Or a bear. Or something terrifying.
Cam had told him that the animals were small pack hunters, working well in numbers of up to seven to take down much larger foes, whether that was an animal or a wagon of goods and travellers. They didn’t have any offensive powers, but they were very quick, and much more intelligent than other beasts they might come across.
What that meant to him now was that they would likely attack all at once, but with some level of coordination. And they’d probably be faster than him.
On all fours, they were all about knee height; this quickly changed as the one in front of him reared up, suddenly towering over and collapsing towards him, its jaws opening to a terrifying 90⁰ angle that displayed its huge, curved teeth. He went to take a step back, but an instinct made him sidestep to the right instead, narrowly avoiding the lizaloth that barreled through where his legs would have been, as the one that had reared fell forward to land bodily where he had stood.
Unfortunately there were three of them, not two, and the third hadn’t committed to an attack. He felt his legs get swiped from underneath him by the huge tail of the third lizaloth, and suddenly he was on his back, too surprised to even use his Break-Fall ability to recover. That was a huge mistake, as the fall knocked the wind out of him and jarred his back. He yelled out in surprise and pain, and the realisation that this was probably it. He’d managed to hold on to his spear, but it would be little use now.
Like the worst and best jack-in-the-box in the world, Cam suddenly appeared standing above him.
‘Three may have been too many, my friend. I forget that you’re only learning. I will take one off your hands.’ he said, looking down at Ted, offering him a hand up. Ted took it, wondering why he wasn’t already getting swamped. He went to pull himself up, but found that Cam’s strength was monstrous, and he ended up being thrown up into the air.
‘Land properly!’ Cam shouted, before whipping into action. The lizaloths had been slow to act, Ted suspected from some Technique that Cam had that stopped them just pouncing on him, but whether that was the case or not, they suddenly started swarming him again. Cam drew a single dagger and easily danced around the lizaloths even as they coordinated their attacks against him. Almost casually he threw the dagger down at one of the moving flashes of brown fur; the dagger buried itself in what turned out to be the neck of the lizaloth, causing its motion to move from smooth scurrying to a tumble and then skid. Cam held his hand out, and the dagger flew back to his hand.
Ted landed on the scrubby grass with the grace of an arthritic donkey, but managed to maintain his footing enough to not fall over again. He watched Cam kill another lizaloth before withdrawing again, retreating from the fight in an overelaborate series of flips, the same way that he’d first entered it. Somehow, once again, the lizaloths didn’t seem to see him go. They did not stop to mourn their fallen comrade. They both stopped their circling of the area Cam used to be, and turned to Ted. Then they charged, their jaws snapping, wicked fangs flashing.
Over the last 3 minutes Ted had started to appreciate that Cam was a lot more than the simple wagon-driver/trader that he’d spent the last week with; even having known about Cam’s previous role in the military, he’d never properly believed in Cam’s capabilities as a fighter. This had all changed, and Ted found himself trying to emulate the agile Asian man as the two beasts came for him. He had a range of Agile Manoeuvres, he was pretty good with a spear; why couldn’t he casually outmove these monsters just as well as Cam?
As the lizaloths got closer he channelled Jump to leap forward, over the creatures; he knew that with a full boost of mana he could easily leap 3 metres, with about over a 2 metres of height. The height was fortunate, as both lizaloths reared up the moment he moved, their mouths almost catching his boots as he sailed over them.
He landed and rolled with Break-Fall, manipulating the move to allow him to end up standing and facing the lizaloths, who themselves were landing and turning to face him. He knew he needed to be quick, so he used Charge to power forward at a breakneck speed. He aimed for the lizaloth on the left, the spear pointed slightly downwards to catch the low height of the creature, both of which were already sprinting towards him.
Just as the creature was about to get impaled by the spear it moved, adjusting its course ever so slightly to the left, leaving his spear trailing through empty air. The other lizaloth managed to do likewise, but instead using its change in direction to thunder into Ted’s leg.
It felt like being hit by a sledgehammer, and Ted once again felt himself flying forward onto his face. This time he had the presence of mind to Break-Fall before he hit the ground, and his recovery, whilst not perfect, was quick, the impact of the fall lessened, and he was back on his feet again, the spear, having fallen, snatched back up. His right leg, however, felt like it had been shattered, and he leaned on it heavily. How the hell had Cam been able to do this? He’d been so fast, had made it look so easy.
Ted snatched a health potion from his pouch, thankful that he’d practised rapid inventory withdrawal, and downed it, feeling warmth and healing energy radiate through his body and into his leg. Moments later it felt as good as new. He was fighting fit and back to full strength.
Unfortunately, the two remaining lizaloths had never left full strength, and they were charging towards him again, their clawed paws moving rapidly, propelling them forward as their thin, muscled bodies seemed to work like a snake’s to push them even faster.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
He had seconds to think of what to do. He ran through his options. Stand Your Ground? They’d be too strong, surely? Charge hadn’t worked, and Fire Spike sounded cool but it still required him to actually hit the bloody things. His Spear Throwing was nowhere near reliable enough to even consider trying, and everything else he had was basically just useful for getting out of the way.
And it seemed the lizaloths were almost too fast for him to do that well.
The monsters neared him and he Dashed sideways at full mana power. Dash was his highest level Technique, and therefore the most likely to actually be faster than the lizaloths. He used it to sprint sideways, away from the creatures, and give himself more ground. He started noticing that his mana was now over half used. That was worrying. He’d yet to do anything so far except get hurt.
He tried to think again. What were the weaknesses of the lizaloths? Was there anything in the way that they attacked that he could use?
They mostly seemed happy to attempt to batter him to the ground with their bodies or tails, so that they could presumably finish the job with their teeth.
But he’d also seen them both rear up onto their hind legs, to attack and grab him. They’d presented their whole chest and stomach, a perfect target that he’d been unable to make use of because of the other attacker, or the fact he was flying through the air. Could he make them do that again?
The lizaloths were nearly on him again, having slowed and changed direction towards his new location before once again increasing pace. An idea came to him, and with no time to think about whether it was any good, he went for it. He channelled Fire Spike, and the end of his spear became a glowing white-red blade. Holding it down and just in front of him, he started setting fire to the scrubby grass by his feet. He’d tested the heat of the Technique before, and had been surprised at how hot it could get if he channelled a good chunk of mana; he’d been able to boil water in seconds, though doing so had seriously drained him. This time he went through as much as he dared, turning the muddy scrub grass into a scarred burnt and flaming turf.
He withdrew the spear and stopped the channelling just as the lizaloths arrived; one going straight for him, the other peeling off. As the first crossed the ground just in front of Ted it let out a shriek, and, just as Ted had hoped, reared up.
The second part of the plan followed just as Ted had hoped, as he slammed the spear into the ground for Stand Your Ground, positioning the spear just below the ribcage of the reared up lizaloth, its sleek brown fur now blackened and singed. The small shockwave that Stand Your Ground created seemed to put it a little off balance, almost giving it more time before it slowly, inevitably fell forwards onto the spear. It let out another shriek as it was impaled, the spear driving straight into its vital organs, causing a quick death.
Ted let out a cry of victory that immediately became one of pain as his legs were once again battered by a powerful body, sending him staggering. But it was just a stagger, not a complete fall, and he managed to maintain his footing and remain standing. He wondered briefly whether the shield effect of Stand Your Ground had protected him, but he didn’t have time to think about it for too long; the last lizaloth was coming. And he was weaponless.
He really needed to find a way to beat enemies that didn’t leave him with his spear stuck in their bodies, unreachable.
He stood looking at the lizaloth that was once again snaking his way towards him. Crouching slightly, he prepared himself to Dodge, hoping that another idea would come to him before it was too late. Could he kick the thing to death?
Would you ever try to kick a crocodile to death? Even a furry one?
Obviously not.
He had no useful combat magic or combat Skills. How on earth was he supposed to be ready to fight in the army? It was utter madness.
The lizaloth came; he felt the tug of it being the right time, and he Dodge right, like a matador avoiding a charging bull. The tail of the lizaloth swung for him, but he leapt over it, landing on his feet. The lizaloth turned again.
‘Cam? A little help?’ Ted called out, watching the lizaloth carefully, as it moved, unsure if Cam was even within earshot. The beast seemed to have come to a decision on a new tactic, perhaps recognising that Ted had been defanged with the loss of his spear. The lizaloth had started slowly moving towards Ted, with an inevitability radiating from its snapping jaws that was far more terrifying than the high speed charge it had done just a moment earlier. Ted just wanted to run.
Cam slowly walked into Ted’s peripheral vision, and Ted saw that he was holding a spear. It was Ted’s spear in fact; the lizaloth that it had been impaled in was now resting on the floor a few metres away.
‘Here you go, my friend. Be more careful!’ Cam said, passing Ted the blood soaked spear like he was just passing the salt at dinner. Ted grabbed it, gratefully, never taking his eyes off the approaching lizaloth, whose pace had slowed again as it now viewed the two enemies in front of it. Its concern was diminished quickly as Cam silently left the battlefield, leaving Ted standing there alone.
‘All right you bastard.’ Ted growled. ‘Come on then.’ He took a step forward, more confident now that he held a spear again, now that it was one on one, and now that he knew Cam was somewhere in very close proximity. It would be okay.
The lizaloth continued its approach, getting closer and closer, until it was just two metres away. Then suddenly it rushed forward with a burst of speed that almost caught Ted completely off guard.
Almost.
Before it shot forward Ted felt a little twinge that he was starting to rely on, a little hint that something was going to happen, that he could be guided towards reacting to. Time seemed to slow, as he followed the twinge, setting his legs into a defensive stance that could be used against a rush attack. He started into the machine gun style kata that he’d instinctually learnt on his very first day with a spear. The lizaloth rushed right into it, finding its charge arrested by a dozen rapid jabs to the head and neck with Ted’s spear. It let out a yelp and backed away, now bleeding from several puncture wounds. Ted, for the first time, went on the attack, at first then stepping forward, then increasing in pace as he channelled Charge, more confident in his ability to target the monster now that it was clumsily moving backwards. The move was going to use the last of his mana up, but he felt confident as the magic boosted his speed and the power behind the attack, and he caught up with the retreating creature, and was able to stab the beast with one last, final movement straight through the brain.
The creature shuddered, and died.
Ted fell down onto one knee, panting. His head was aching, his forearms and calves burning as if on fire. The back of his neck felt like someone had just stabbed a needle into it.
He threw up.
*Mission Complete*