As he and the akhlut approached the troops of guards, Joe tried to understand what his wound-sight was showing him.
His normal vision told him the force guarding the majority of the wall was comprised of the city guard. Emblazoned on each trooper’s sleeve was an S-shaped snake symbol that declared they belonged to Rattler Squad, one of the six units that protected Fort Coral. Their formation was a triangle. The soldiers manning the wide front along the seawall bore several snake badges, the veterans. In the narrower middle stood the newer recruits, with only one or two serpents on their sleeves. The back point was made up of the specialists. Their emblems had stars, chevrons, or other marks within the loops of the snakes.
When Joe looked over the force with his [Eyes of the Healer], what stood out was that all the members of Rattler Squad were equally wounded. From the fully engaged front line to the far back specialists, all the guardsmen had the same uniform pink aura of minor, edging on moderate damage.
As Joe and the chimera trudged closer through the stormwinds, he saw a frenzied shellycoat drive itself into the line, lashing out with its sharp barnacled limbs. The two troupers it pushed into had flares of red where the sharp-shelled limbs found gaps in their armor. That red flowed away from the wounded soldiers almost immediately and diffused through the whole troop. Joe watched the general aura of the squad grow a bit redder on everyone as the guard’s formation distributed the damage across the entire team.
The specialist in the back went to work. A stocky dwarf and a tall aresa lifted their arms. While the screaming winds drowned out their words, Joe guessed the pair were casting something. In his wound-sight, the auras of the two began to darken, passing through moderated damage into severe. The rest of the squad’s state of injury lightened as the squat man and horned woman drew the collective damage into themselves.
Two more members of the rear contingent also began invoking spells. These were healers like himself. They were standing behind the pair of ‘heavies.’ Once the damage had been drawn into the two high-vigor soldiers, the medics laid their hands on their heavily wounded comrades and repaired the lost health.
This method of combat amazed Joe. There was no pulling wounded off the line and slotting in replacements. They could keep their best soldiers fighting on the front lines while shunting their damage away to be healed in the well-protected rear of the squad.
Not wanting to disrupt their rhythm, Joe could only think of one thing he could do to help. Joe placed a [Heart Fire] behind the force when he and the prime were close enough. The effect of the healing blaze was too far away to affect the front, so he would not be healing the enemy.
The medics looked at the fire, recognized it for what it was, and looked for its source. They spotted Joe, waved, and then alarmedly pointed at the massive black shape next to him. Joe animatedly thumped the akhlut on the leg to indicate he was a friendly before they got the wrong idea. He received a relieved thumbs up back before the medics returned to work.
The mana drain from his spell was brutal, but it was clearly effective. As he watched, the auras of the armed force lightened slightly but steadily. He would not be able to maintain the [Heart Fire] for so many for very long, but he could keep it burning for a few minutes.
Joe considered getting closer to enjoy the warmth of the [Heart Fire]. He was soaked through to the bone. Even though Fort Coral was in a semi-tropical region, the constant howling winds were sucking away Joe’s warmth. His hands were especially chilled. He saw his fingertips turning blue, and each time he had to brace himself against the cool, slick skin of the akhlut, they grew colder. He kept himself back from the enticing flames, assuming that leading the towering predator up to the troop of soldiers could likely cause problems no one needed at the moment.
He still did not know what to make of the burly aquatic brute at his side. While the chimera seemed content to follow his lead, Joe could feel savage urges churning inside the creature. It very much wanted to charge through the mass of soldiers. Part of it was the ravenous hunger that never stopped burning in its gut, but another part of it wanted to play. Trampling the men and women or throwing them high in the air was its idea of fun. It was not that it was itching to fight precisely. It was more a deep desire to ram into the soldiers or smack them around with its heavily muscled tail. The thoughts reminded Joe of Sassy, the cat his parents had had when he was young. Joe would often find the Siamese happily batting moles and mice around, not to kill them, or at least not quickly.
Joe was also surprised at how much he could read from the creature. There was a connection between them and to the rest of the pack, who were joyfully tearing into the shellycoats still in the bay. [Pack Master] had leveled several more times over the last fifteen minutes. Each time the attention of the hunters turned towards the massed guardsfolk, Joe had had to mentally muscle the orca-wolves to stay focused on the shellycoats. The prime surprisingly caused him the least amount of trouble. Maybe that was due to the strength of that first compulsion or the fact it was located right beside him. Either way, Joe barely had to expend more than a gentle desire, and the beast stalked along at a near-perfect heel.
Joe struggled to maintain focus as his mana reserves sunk dangerously low. He knew he had to put out the [Heart Fire] when the low-mana-spins began. Already, the squad was looking better, and Joe did not want to chance losing control of the akhlut pack.
He cut off the spell and reasserted his will on the predators, only to be met with a deep feeling of alarm from the beasts. The sea-hunters had sensed something, something dangerous. Somewhere in the storm, something was changing. A second ago, the typhoon had been invigorating them. Now, they were growing fearful of it.
Joe looked up and saw that something had indeed changed. Instead of bands of circling clouds overhead, there was a dark, rippling pattern in the sky. The coils of darker clouds writhed in a manner that was thoroughly contrary to the blasting winds. As he watched, the tendrils in the sky thickened and grew even darker. There was no question that something was manifesting in the middle of the cyclone.
Joe and the pack were not the only ones to notice. Bells rang out in the night; their profound tolling clamor cut through the screaming winds. Rattler Squad held their ranks. It was the shellycoats that suddenly seemed far less eager to continue their raid. The bedlam of battle died down drastically. Joe had not even realized that half of what he had been hearing had been shouts and screams layered into the howl of the storm.
Eyes turned upwards as the green throng slipped back into the sea. At first, it looked like a massive squid-like shape was trying to crack through the canopy of clouds. The krakenesque form mutated until it looked to be more octopus-like. It changed again to be something Lovecraftian, a twisted, eldritch nightmare. Even that horrid shape flowed into something else, a more segmented form, somewhere between a crab and a spider.
Suddenly, it was flexible again, looking like a cephalopod once more. The bands of dark clouds started writhing downward as if a dozen undulating twisters were seeking the ground below. If each of them became tornados, the beachfront and everyone on it were in deep trouble.
Rattler Squad reformed into a cube as the remaining marauders fled. Joe was unsure what that formation would do for them, but while it looked strong and stable, it did not include him and the prime at his side.
They needed to move. Quickly.
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In Joe’s head, he felt the pack harrying the shellycoats as they, too, sought deeper waters. The rune-wards in the bay let both groups pass out into the ocean as they were only designed to block incoming attacks. Only the prime stayed at Joe’s side. The beast was tense. It was afraid of what was coming, but it would fight if Joe wanted it to. Of all the akhluts, it had the strongest desire to dominate. It would not back down if the fight came to them unless Joe made it.
Knowing he could not help the guards, Joe turned his companion back towards the glowing red bunker. Maybe there he could help or find shelter. He made his wishes to the creature known, and they began to run. In Joe’s case, it was more of a quick stagger. Between the gusting winds and his broken leg, he would not have made it without bracing himself against the prime every couple of strides.
The winds had changed. They were no longer a constant, unrelenting pressure; instead, they were unpredictable gusts that battered them around. In some ways, it was easier to move, but Joe ended up being knocked off his feet repeatedly. Keeping his focus on [Hunter’s Pursuit], he could quickly get back up and moving again, but his knees were taking a severe beating.
When he was halfway to the magical structure, the world was sundered by an ear-shattering roar. Literally ear-shattering.
You are impaired. You have gained the following conditions: deafened.
Joe crashed down onto the cobblestones and clapped his hands to his ears. As he healed, he rolled over and looked up. The thing in the sky had fully formed.
Cauldrakon the Thunder Ravager: Level 314 - ? - ? - ? - HP ?????/?????
‘Holy fuck!’
The thing was still a twisting, rippling nightmare, but there was a solidity to it now that it had not had a moment ago. It looked like an alien octopus-like creature. The basic shape was that of an octopus, but it had spines and bits of carapace. Its flesh was mainly a void-like black with electric blue highlights. Its face was not quite right. It was formed more like the classic gray alien head than an average octopus, though it had a far greater degree of menace and malice.
As it dropped lower, it pointed a tentacle at the city. Joe was expecting it to release some form of energy attack, but instead, the fleshy coil snapped forward like a striking snake, elongating and forming plates of chitin around it. The lance of black skin and blue-tinted shell tore through one of the counting houses near the shore. Stone and timbers exploded outward as the structure practically disintegrated. Looking upward, Joe watched as it aimed more limbs at the building and people below it.
One was aimed at Rattler Squad. Joe’s heart sank as he realized there was nothing he could do to help them. The force of the blow would surely overpower their damage distribution ability. What Joe didn’t know was that the troop had several other formation magics at its disposal. As the limb’s aim centered on the unit, Rattler Squad moved. In a uniform, sliding motion, the whole battalion shot sideways out from under the devastating spearing coil. The soldiers were hammered with shattered cobblestones, but the carapaced tentacle missed the team entirely.
A thunderous boom sounded from further into the city, and half a second later, fire exploded against the colossal creature’s face. The shot came from the direction of the Adventurer's Guild. To Joe, it practically shouted Myllo as its author. A second arcane mortar followed immediately after the first. Thankfully, Joe still had his ears covered and being healed.
Cauldrakon bellowed again, and windows shattered in the buildings all around him. Joe felt terrible for Kendra and her family. That was going to be a lot of glass to replace.
If the town survived.
Joe healed both his and the akhlut’s sonic damage before trying to get to his feet. He had no idea what he could do, but lying on the street was not going to help anyone. The only positive note was that the formation of the Thunder Ravenger seemed to have robbed the hurricane of most of its force. The winds were still strong, but Joe only needed [Steadfast] passively running to keep his footing now.
The storm beast’s now heavily blistered face was focused on the Adventurer's Guild. Joe had read that the building had heavy magical fortifications. Still, considering the beast had obliterated a bank, which should also be fortified, he was unsure how well the guildhouse would withstand one of those strikes.
As the limbs oriented on the building, Joe heard more sounds from the city. The tramping of boots signaled the arrival of not one but two more of the watch forces, the White Wards from West Hills and Council-Guard.
The second unit was deployed around half a dozen individuals. One Joe recognized as the tall silver-haired Guild-leader, Master Septimus. With him was an aqua-robed figure bearing an ornate staff. A full cowl obscured the person's head, so Joe could not tell much about the individual. Glancing between matching soldiers, Joe caught a glimpse of a dwarf in a flowing gray cloak. The fourth counselor was a woman who floated a few feet off the ground. Her long black hair stayed flat against her back despite the remaining heavy gusts.
Both squads were headed right toward where Joe and the akhlut were standing. Whatever was about to happen, he knew he and the chimera would only be in the way. They quickly turned and ran for Vexor’s small fortress. Joe dove through the door, only to be greeted with several surprised expressions.
“Where were …,” Earcellwen began before Kendell’s arms enveloped Joe.
As Joe hugged her back, he felt his whole body start trembling. He had been unconsciously burying a massive weight of tension and terror. The sudden safety and contact threatened to set it all free. Joe really did not want to fall apart in front of everyone, especially Kenda, so he squeezed her once more before breaking free and addressing the sorcerer.
“Vex, can you please open the wall for my friend?” The bunker had enough room for the akhlut if it crouched, but the doorway was far too narrow. Joe sensed that the prime had no intention of leaving him while the battle still raged. He was confident he could force the creature away, but he was almost certain that would shatter the bond they were forming.
“Sure,” the cambion replied, quickly scribing new symbols with his stylus into the wall. “Ker, I’ll hinge the panel next to the door in a second. Push it open and let Joe’s monster in.”
“Is it house-trained, Joe?” asked the knight.
“It won’t bite,” he answered with a shrug, “but I can’t guarantee much more than that. Sorry.”
Outside, Cauldrakon’s deafening howls rang out as more and more detonations sounded in the sky. Some were Myllo’s cannons, but others were clearly spells thrown by the high-level counselors. They also heard the shattering of more buildings as the tempest-fiend fought back.
The prime slid inside, and Joe observed the various reactions of his bunker-mates. The pretty elf scrunched up her face in complete disdain for the beast while RC donned a bright smile and lifted her hand as if she was considering stroking it down the akhlut’s pitch-black hide. The small squad of guards formed into a tight line and moved as far from the chimera as possible in the now cramped space. Kendell looked curious. Kerrig a bit worried. Vexor glanced over and then rubbed at his nose as if the briny scent of the sea-beast bothered him. The irony of Vex of all people being discomfited by a scent made Joe smirk.
“Hey Joe,” Vexor stated, sniffling. “The others know this, but I wanted to make you aware as well. If that thing pointed one of those tentacles at us, run for it. This construct is fine against shellycoats, but there is no way I could make it strong enough to withstand an attack from the storm-beast.”
Joe nodded back. He glanced around. Everyone looked half-frozen, and quite a few were wounded to one degree or another. Having recovered enough mana, he lit a [Heart Fire] for the group. While the interior warmed, the team looked out through the open windows at the scene taking place outside.
The elite Council-Guard and the four council members stood on the shore, practically right under the twisting aerial monstrosity. On one side of him was Earcellwen, who was standing on her tiptoes to see out of the horizontal slot Vexor had shaped. Tight against him on the other side was Kendell. He was suddenly very aware of her. Yet, there was something different in this contact. For most of Joe’s life, whenever he had been touched, it was to offer him comfort. This time, he found that she was drawing solace from him. Her home was under attack by a legendary creature, and she was instinctively seeking comfort from him. He leaned against her and looked at the battle above the ocean.