Anna

The trek back towards camp took twice as long as their initial estimate. Even though they had a map to follow, the forest floor became an alien landscape that was difficult to navigate at night. As they traveled through the forest, Anna got to know her companions a little better. Miranda, it seemed, was also saved by Helen and Greg during the chaos of their original flight. Helen had used a skill to paralyze Miranda's attacker giving the geckite just enough time to turn the fight around. Greg had then shown her how to properly hold her shield to form a defensive wall.

Kalvin and Hobbes, on the other hand, were just good people. Hobbes told the story of when they first met. They both spent a summer internship together in a rare minerals mine. Hobbes was trying to “find himself,” and instead found a rock-obsessed dwarf and the love of his life.

Kalvin was obviously also interested but it took him weeks to ask the other out. When the couple finally began dating, Hobbes took a permanent position as a mineral evaluator to be near Kalvin. For five years their romance continued, and they had even gotten engaged. Hobbes told the story of how they were eating a specially prepared birthday lunch for Kalvin when the mine shaft they were in collapsed, killing them and several of their friends. Their fellow dwarves were all here somewhere, the couple were sure of it.

By the time they reached their destination, it was near midnight. At least, what they could guess was midnight by their best estimates. The group was exhausted. Not physically, although Anna was starting to feel blisters develop on her feet. The exhaustion they felt was mainly mental. By feeling alone, the humans and sole geckite of the group felt their stamina had depleted by about a quarter. The dwarves, on the other hand, seemed well-rested and ready for more.

Instead of respite, what the crew found was the remains of a battle. Bodies filled the trenches, some frozen in the midst of their struggle crawling out. Most of the dead lay just outside of the camp.

Based on the orientation of the dead, another group had rushed the camp, and walked into an absolute slaughter. The trenches had done their jobs very effectively and scores of the elves were face down in newly churned mud. At some point, however, the camp was overrun.

It was impossible to tell if all of their allies were dead, or if some had escaped, the majority of the bodies were too mangled to discern any features.

Still, they searched in solemn silence for anyone that remained alive. Each member of the seven-man troupe picked one side of a trench. As Anna picked through the remains, she pondered once again the point of such needless violence.

No one is forcing us to fight. The system never said to kill each other, and as far as I can tell, there is more than enough land to go around. So what the fuck gives? Why are we being targeted by so many others?

Kelbyn was the first to find an anomaly. Calling over the others in a voice louder than they had come to expect from the withdrawn dwarf, “They dragged some bodies this way!” The area he pointed out was cleared of damage. A clear trail had been created through the underbrush and into the forest. “They moved debris out of the way to make it easier to drag people. The elves have pretty weak frames, so they can’t actually lift too much weight.”

“You met them for the first time three days ago, and not for that long. How would you know how much strength the elves possess?” Miranda stated, rolling her eyes.

Unfazed by the jab, Kelbyn continued, “I bet I could track them, I was a tracker in my last life.”

“A… tracker? Like a hunter? Or do you actually mean you tracked living creatures?”

What’s with the interrogation?

At this point Greg jumped in to move the conversation along, "If you can track them, great. The question is if we should? We don't know what we're up against and clearly, this isn't some unorganized force. Look around, they're all elves. Who knows how many more of them there are running about?"

"I don't know how many there are, "Anna remarked, "but I know it doesn't matter. I'm not going to be the type of person to leave someone behind."

"And if that means we all die? What if they're already dead? We run in, full tilt, and all we end up showing for it is an early grave."

"You don't need to come, but I'm going. We all came to Helen and Kelbyn's rescue, and this is no different."

"It's vastly different. We were running after some wolves-"

"It doesn't matter." Kalvin interjected, "of course the circumstances are different, with that, I agree, but we don't need to fight some bloody stinkin' elves." He pointed towards the trail as he spoke. “Look there, those are kobold tracks, tiny little bastards, with tiny little feet. I’m guessing we're looking at five or six of them. The tracks are fresh enough that we should be able to catch up in an hour or so.”

“Yep! Just what I was gonna say. We can take on a handful of kobolds.” Kelbyn offered.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“I thought you said that elves took them? Can you not tell the difference between elf and kobold tracks, Mr. Tracker?” Miranda remarked.

“It’s fine Miranda,” Kavlin said, coming to the young dwarf’s rescue, “the boy overlooked them in the confusion, happens to the best of us.”

Anna spoke up before the conversation could get any more derailed, “If it’s five or six enemies, we have the numbers advantage. Let’s go now before they get too far.”

Kelbyn ran forward to take the lead, and the others let him. The trail was pretty obvious once you knew what to look for.

Anna’s curiosity got the better of her, and she fell towards the back of the group to speak to Miranda, who’d taken it upon herself to be rear guard. “Is everything alright? You don’t seem to be a fan of Kelbyn.”

The geckite looked towards the front of the group, narrowing her eyes before speaking, “I’ve met plenty of people like him. Before our first night, he followed Volas around like a lost puppy, constantly trying to talk himself up. When it came time to set-up camp, he repeatedly bothered several of the women, saying he could help them make a lean-to tent. Someone took him up on the offer, and he made a complete ass of himself by screwing it up. It fell on the poor girl in the middle of the night due to his shoddy workmanship, he complained endlessly about how she was, ‘giving him a bad name,’ and that, ‘it only fell because women move too much in their sleep.’ The only reason he was caught by the wolves was because the coward was too afraid to move.”

“That’s quite a scathing review.” Anna replied awkwardly as they walked, “I’ve met plenty of guys like that, so I get it.”

“Thank you, please be wary of the man.”

Giving a nod, Anna moved back towards the center of the pack. If they were going to be in a battle, then it would be a good idea to resummon Teddy. Rotating her man through her palm, she called forth the bear to her side and attempted to infuse part of her soul in the creature.

This time, her efforts were rewarded as her mana connection was suddenly cut and Teddy’s translucent fur slowly became opaque. The transformation ended relatively quickly, probably just under a minute. Walking along her, was her adolescent young bear.

You’re a little taller now, Teddy.

The bear growled in response, a wave of happiness emanating from it. I feel taller too. Looking forward to tasting some more reptiles. He looked back at the geckite as he licked his chops.

Definitely not that one. The small ones with the long snouts, those are fine.

The rest of the group paused in their march to stare at their new companion. “I get a fire hawk with enough Karma, they can be buddies!” exclaimed Hobbes in excitement.

“I’ll get a golem, myself. Don’t know when, but it’s part of my class description.” added Kalvin with a grin.

Helen spoke up next, “Raven! I hear they’re really intelligent.”

Greg, laughing, said, “I’m not sure if Miranda and I will get any critters, but we’ll try our best.”

"Scouts get a hound!" Kelbyn shouted from the front.

The levity of the exchange helped Anna release tension from between her shoulder blades that she wasn’t aware she held. Fighting to save Helen had been a spur of the moment decision, one they hadn’t expected. This on the other hand was a fight they were looking for. If Kalvin was right, then there were several enemies ahead, and the crew would have the advantage.

Greg, seeming to read her mind, spoke up, “Here’s the plan, Miranda and I will take the lead again, this time, Helen and Anna will provide back-up. Have Teddy stay close in case you two get into any trouble. Kelbyn, your job is watching out for the prisoners, making sure that they aren’t killed during the fight. Hobbes, you and Kalvin continue your bombardment from a distance, just like last time.”

After agreeing to the plan, the group fell silent, preparing for the fight to come. The wait wasn’t long, as after only thirty minutes, rather than the expected hour, they caught up to their prey.

The kobolds were in the process of retying ropes around two of the four captives. Anna saw three orcs and a human among them. Thankfully, the captives seemed mostly uninjured, several scabbed covered their exposed limbs, indicating that they’d received some healing. The kobolds finished their knots, making the prisoners hunch over as they marched, each of their mouths wrapped tightly with cloth. In total, there were six kobolds.

Wasting no time, Greg and Miranda ran forward, weapons out. Halfway to their enemies, they were spotted, but by then, the preparation of Anna’s group had guaranteed their victory.

The first to strike were Kalvin and Hobbes, a flaming stone sent into the torso of the rear lizard. The stone lodged itself into its new home and began spreading the roots of its flame. Soon the entire creature was aflame.

Helen was the next to act, her jaw stretching an unnatural length and a piercing wail filled the air. Most in the area flinched at the unexpected noise, but the kobold wielding the prisoners’ ropes dropped his burden and screeched in pain. Miranda took the opportunity to throw a spear at the lizard, slamming it into the ground with the shaft sticking out of its shoulder.

The lizard’s put up no defense, instead, at the death of their allies, the remaining four began fleeing into the bushes.

“Don’t let them get away!” Helen yelled.

Anna sent a message to Teddy to chase them down as she sent out her whip. She managed to catch a kobold around the ankle just as it was disappearing behind a tree. The tug of war ended when Greg caught up and skewered the creature.

Kalvin displayed a new skill as he dug both hands into earth and the ground erupted around his wrists. Overturned dirt shot forward like a fast digging mole in the direction of the fleeing foes. It overtook the lead kobold and coalesced into a large earthen rod that the lizard ran into headfirst, knocking itself out.

The final two lizards were run down by Miranda and Teddy, the latter ripping shreds off of his targets back before beginning to bite down onto his head. Miranda meanwhile threw spear after spear at the small target until one lucky strike pierced the kobold's skull from behind.

While the fight wrapped up, Kelbyn had untied the prisoners, who now laid exhausted on their backs. The female orc Anna now recognized as Johanna, the same person who explained what had happened to their camp while she was out. She was silently crying, but whether it was out of relief or frustration, was unknown.