Their best bet to make it through the sea-lion attack with the least amount of damage to people or the ship was to drive the leviathan-like creature away before it tried to climb up onto the deck. For that, they needed to be outside.
“Tez! Jumping.” Joe shouted as he grabbed the sentinel’s shoulder. He had found that people could resist being teleported with him if they did not want to be moved. A good chunk of Tezeno’s strengths were magical resistances and preventing others from moving him away from those he was protecting. Hence the warning. Joe really didn’t want to appear on the deck without the guardian.
Teleporting out of the cabin and into the storm, both men flared [Steadfast], a spell they had in common. The rain and sea spray immediately plastered their clothing to their skin as the galeforce winds tried to shove them off their feet. Tezeno’s wiry buzzcut stayed put, but Joe’s scruffy long hair clamped onto his face, covering one eye. As he shoved the sodden wisps out of his face, he heard Tez call out [Unbreakable Bastion]. The sheets of water splashed into a ten-yard plane of force running along the edge of the deck. It blocked the worst of the wind as well, though they were still being buffeted by strong errant gusts.
Joe geared up in an instant thanks to his quick change ring. His light linen pants were replaced by his [Dreadstalker Leggings]. His reinforced gambeson, which had been fully restocked with dragon scales, went over his shirt but under the hairy morphic pelt. Trisynun leapt into his hand from his spacial ring, almost as if it was one of the pack, eager for action. Joe summoned his shield, but it was still the generic item Puqmup had given him months ago. Coating the buckler in the werewolf hide bolstered its relatively weak durability, but Joe doubted it would withstand many hits from the bus-sized monstrosity heading for them.
Dreadjaw Sea-lion: Level 37 - Chimera (Leocampus) - Brute - Strength - HP 4,465/4,465
Hoping to avoid the fight entirely, Joe pushed hard on his [Alpha] enhanced [Pack Master]. His ability to dominate lupine-like creatures had been upgraded to include chimeras when Finn shared one of his racial traits. He would have liked to add the [Band of Beguilement] to this command, but the beast was still too far away.
“Back OFF!” Joe howled into the wind, flaring [Pack Master] for all it was worth.
Your skill [Pack Master] has increased to rank 20.
The massive creature balked briefly, angling its charge away from the Haven, but Joe could feel it fighting the order. It growled and shook its massive head before reorienting on them once again.
“Shit! I was hoping that would work. Can you connect us all, Bud?”
“I’m here,” Hah’roo’s breathy voice answered before Yuk spoke up.
“We’re trying, but the wind is scattering us everywhere. We should have done that before you jumped outside.”
“Sorry, my bad.”
“If we are going to be of any help out there, it will have to be as [Big Bug].”
“Hold off for a second. I’m going to try beguilement when it gets closer. Maybe we can get out of this without fighting at all.”
“Sea-lions are fiercely dominant creatures, Joe,” the wind-dancer stated. “I highly doubt you will be able to charm it for long. Also, I am heavily hampered by these furies. My weapon works as it does because I control the wind. I cannot do so in this gale.”
“This is not good. Just Tez, Finn, and I against that!”
Joe quickly began layering buffs on his allies as Tezeno swung his barricade to interpose it between the ship and the sea-chimera’s new line of attack. Tez needed stamina for almost all of his sentinel abilities, so Joe dropped his now Rare ranked [Efferous Endurance] on the archon. He also tossed one on Finn, too. A self-targeted [Mana Surge] was followed by [Spirit of the Pack] while he accepted the party invite.
P
A
R
T
Y
Name
Level
Classes / Roles
Health
(Current/Max - %)
Stamina
(Current/Max - %)
Mana
(Current/Max - %)
Hah’roo
24
Ranger / Dancer
457/ 457 - 100%
1868 / 1885 - 99%
594 / 594 - 100%
Tezeno Rhal
20
Sentinel / Justicar
1845/ 1845- 100%
3158/ 3393- 93%
768 / 818 - 94%
Yuk
??
? / ?
1985 / 1985- 100%
3141 / 3653- 86%
3093 / 3635 - 85%
Joe
22
Healer / FB Druid
2181 / 2181 - 100%
3374 / 4017 - 84%
9857 / 11304 - 85%
Finn
21
Monster - Brute
2536 / 2536 - 100%
3028 / 3289 - 92%
114 / 114 - 100%
He was gaining stamina through his [Synergistic] trait. The [Efferous Endurance] spell he had dropped on Finn was twice as effective since chimeras qualified as beasts, as well as monstrosities. As long as Joe was within the medium range of the big guy, he would get 10% of that huge influx of stamina coming off the chimeric orca.
“Joe, touch Tez. We have taken over a hefty chunk of the skin mites on your body. Touch Tez, and we can add him to the connection.”
“You know, it’s comments like that that freak the rest of us out, Buddy. I know everyone’s got millions of skin mites, but you have to stop reminding us of that.” Joe sent back. A second later, a roar from the ocean grabbed his attention. The sea-lion was charging them again. “Gonna have to wait!”
Joe bounded across the deck toward the beast, alternating between [Hunter’s Pursuit] for mobility and [Steadfast] to prevent him from falling on his ass. The [Band of Beguilement] only functioned within medium range, around 20 yards. On a heaving sea, while targeting a creature with an enormous scale, gauging that distance was ridiculously difficult. Thankfully, attempting to activate the domination effect did not start the cool-down if the target was out of range; the effect just failed to activate.
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Joe thought about his wording. ‘Leave us alone’ would be contrary to the creature’s nature. He had to pick something reasonable for it. As the mammoth mouth loomed large in front of Joe, he worked out his command.
“Swim out into the deep ocean as far as you can go,” he shouted. Joe’s spirit was more than twice the sea-lion’s, and with [Pack Master] pushing behind it, he felt the compulsion spike through the beast's mental defenses. Even if it broke free of the domination in a little while, they should have time to get the Haven close to shore, where the leocampus would likely be repelled by the additional sea-wards near the beach.
Or that would have been the case if a mass of black and white fury had not rocketed off the deck and landed on the creature’s face, clawing and biting for all it was worth.
“Finn! No! You idiot!” Joe shrieked, throwing his hands up in the air.
The need to defend itself overrode Joe’s beguilement, and the battle was fully engaged.
Even though he wanted to batter Finn with a two-by-four, he was not about to abandon his harebrained companion. He empowered the akhlut’s natural weapons with [Sharpened Scutes] and cast [Savage Claws] on himself. Joe got the [Synergistic] bonus of the Carapace spell on Finn, whereas Finn received the damage buff from the self-only [Savage Claws] spell Joe had put on himself.
Joe spun around and dashed over to the shield-bearing sentinel. He planted a hand square into the defender's chest, startling the archon.
“What the … oh … good idea.” Tezeno’s last two words were sent telepathically.
Joe turned and ran back across the deck, debating whether he should teleport to Finn or stay on the deck. As he ran, he focused on [Sense Weakness] and felt his eye drawn to the man-height gills on the creature's neck.
“Ranu, run,” he growled as he cast [Aspect of the Ape] and hurled the axe at his target. As the bladed weapon spun towards its target, Joe could see the faint image of the translucent ghostly hound sprinting through the air, the epic hatchet wheeled through the middle of its chest. At the last second, Ranu dove to the side, lunging through the flapping gills. The axe did not completely follow the hound's course, but Joe saw it swerve ever so slightly in that direction. He wondered if someday Ranu would be able to home the weapon at his targets, maybe even around corners.
Even though Trisynun did not completely hook around to plunge through the monster’s neck, Joe’s throw was well placed. The blade vanished into the opening, cutting its way toward the next gill. Joe whistled a piercing note, probably unnecessarily, but it was a habit when calling a dog. The fey handaxe tore itself free and flew back to his outstretched hand.
Meanwhile, Tezeno had changed strategies. He had dropped the barrier and instead placed his level 20 ability on Finn. [Guardian’s Mark] manifested as a tiny bright golden shield over the akhlut’s head, only visible to his allies. Being so marked allowed the sentinel to use his shield-based buffs at range on the target. The huge claws of the leocampus raked down Finn’s rubbery, black flesh, and not one of those tremendous talons broke through the monochromatic skin. Tezeno was pouring through his stamina faster than Joe could refill it, but by doing so, the akhlut had become an invulnerable juggernaut.
While the guardian gulped down a yellow stamina potion, Joe wanted to see if Ranu’s tactic was correct. Would the axe do more damage if it went in perpendicular to the gill? He sprinted across the deck and used what he still thought of as [Morphic Form] to empower his legs to bound outward over the ocean. Spinning in the air, he launched Trisynun again. If he managed to time the throw right, from his new angle, the blade would be driving deep into the behemoth’s throat instead of parallel to its mouth. The blade whirled straight towards the gills. Joe wanted to check his timing, but he was now falling. Locking his eyes onto the railing, he teleported back toward the ship.
His plan would have worked if they were not in the middle of a tropical storm. Joe appeared against the railing, but as he swung a hand down to catch the handrail, the ship dipped down in the valley between waves. His claws swished through empty air, and he continued to drop from the sky toward the writhing surf hammering into his vessel.
If a weighted line had not looped around the hand that had missed the railing, Joe would have found out what a cheese grater felt like. The side of the Haven was not smooth planks but knotty intertwined mangrove roots. The ship had been designed for stability, not speed. A smooth hull would have hurt far less than the coarse, rooty pounding he had narrowly avoided experiencing.
Still, he swung down and smacked soundly against those roots.
Your skill [Stun Block] has increased to rank 22.
“Ow,” he groaned. The mesh of mangrove roots had another perk besides stabilizing the Haven. They made climbing aboard easy. After a quick scramble over the roots, a slightly bruised Joe grabbed Hah’roo’s hand a second later as she pulled him back onto the deck.
When he got his feet set solidly, he assumed the pose. Feeling like Thor, he extended his hand and whistled for his weapon. The sea-beast shrieked as the axe came not out of the flaps on its neck, but spinning and spraying blood as it flew out of the monster’s fanged jaws. The blade had sunk so deeply into the brutish leviathan that the path of least resistance was to cut the rest of the way to the creature’s gullet and exit through its mouth.
“That pissed it off,” the windy voice of his savior whispered in his mind. Hah’roo had moved back toward the cabin but resumed her placement just outside in case she was needed again.
“Yeah, but we’re not really hurting it much,” Joe fired back.
The merlion’s health was only down by a quarter, which was almost entirely due to the akhlut’s furious assault. Half of the sea-lion’s face was slashed into bloody chunks. The relentless mauling had kept the far greater beast busy, but it wouldn’t prevail indefinitely. Tezeno was expertly cycling through his cool-downs, but he surely could not keep Finn impervious for much longer.
“We need a big hit.”
“We are the wrong team for that, Joe,” Tez replied. “Kenda and RC have our big damage abilities.”
“We can do it. If someone can get us in there. We may not be Taylyn, but from the inside, the difference between her skills and [Bug Bomb] wouldn’t much matter.”
“I haven't got anything for environmental hazards, Yuk,” the guardian admitted. “I can’t stop the wind from pulling you apart.”
“Barrel!” Hah’roo mentally keened as she thumped a hand to one of the casks on deck beside her. ‘We get Yuk in. Joe jams it down its throat with his gauntlets.”
“That will work!” Yuk shouted back through the mindlink. “Be right out.”
“Stay,” Joe countered. “I’ll bring it in.”
After a quick buff renewal of Tezeno’s stamina, Joe danced across the wet boards to Hah’roo. Like him, she had realized the barrel did not need to be fully intact. Joe had planned to knock a hole towards the bottom of the barrel to let the water out, but the ranger already had done so twice, letting the heavy liquid pour out. When it was light enough, Joe grabbed it and teleported into the cabin.
“How far can you be from the rest of the bomb again?”
“Medium range. We’ll be able to leave a bunch of us on you, Joe, and blow up the rest.”
“Man, I wish I could show you the movie Jaws from my world. It is so fitting.”
“You can tell us about it later,” Yuk sent as they flowed inside the large wooden cask. Joe knew retelling Chief Brody’s classic line would never do the movie justice. Even so, “Smile, you son of a …., ” just kept rolling through his head.
He felt the connections to the others wink out as Yuk pooled his resources for the blast. Only the mind-bond between the two of them remained.
Summoning both gauntlets, he grabbed the barrel and stepped back into the storm. Immediately, the wind tried to yank it away. Joe realized he needed to bring the cask right up to his body and use his own hands, too. The pair of force hands could manage 300 pounds combined. That was more than enough for Yuk, the barrel, and the wind, but Joe was afraid the random gusts might cause him to shatter the object before he could deliver the payload.
Looking toward his destination, he saw that in the minute he had been gone; the battle was already turning against them. Poor Finn had a trio of deep gouges running from his shoulder, curling around across his chest. Luckily, they stayed along his breastbone and ribs, not down to the vulnerable abdomen. His neck had a chunk of flesh missing as well.
“Sorry,” Tezeno shouted, even though he was holding himself against the trunk of the mangrove tree, clearly exhausted. Joe wanted to shout to him to stop being ridiculous. The defender had given everything he had to shield the one thing that was keeping the beast at bay.
“Ready?”
“Ready!”
Joe shouted and projected a sharp command to Finn, backed by [Pack Master]. “Come, Now.” He could feel the chimera’s resistance; the wave-hunter was digging his way through the face of the biggest meal it had ever caught. It was hurting, but Alpha could fix that. Yet the alpha was calling, and it was a call that was not contestable.
As the orca shoved itself backward, tumbling into the surf, Joe launched the barrel. It was an impossible target to miss, considering the great maw was the size of a pair of double barn doors. The Yuk-filled cask flew past the jaws and smacked into the tongue, but Joe kept shoving. His gauntlets had the same attack range as the Yuks trigger. When the barrel was just about to reach that limit, Joe sent the living swarm the one word. “NOW!”
Ready for it this time, Joe dropped to the deck as the thunderous sky was drowned out by the colossally stupendous blast.
Chunks of meat, bone, and brains came tumbling down everywhere. Joe could feel through their growing connection Finn’s initial startled alarm and then his joyous rapture at the ensuing rain of food. Being beneath the surface and often the boat, Joe could not target him directly. Once it was confirmed the sea-lion was unquestionably deceased, Joe dropped a few [Heartfires] to patch up the wounds while the akhlut gorged himself.
The three of them and a significantly diminished Yuk gathered under the tree, somewhat sheltered from the storm. The battle had been long, but everyone was feeling the post-adrenaline slump.
“Is there anything we need to harvest before it sinks?” Tezeno asked the huntress.
“We should probably try and grab the whole thing if we can. Sea-lion leather holds enchantments very well and is naturally water-repellent,” she breathed in a tired reply.
“Ok, give me a sec, and I’ll [Beast Shape] into an otter so that Hah’roo and I can lash it to the Haven.” Joe opened his jaw to pop his ears. “Have you guys noticed we seem to have one common answer to big problems? It’s not fire or dropping the anvil on its head. For us, it’s blowing the bloody thing to smithereens.”
Tezeno, with his head, flopped back against the rough bark, simply groaned, “Go with what works.”