In an instant, the quiet of the brigand camp had broken into the din of battle. Wargs tore into shouting beastmen. Somewhere above, Valtr and Vengarl sniped away at their quarry.
Redmane’s foes were right in front of him.
Two instead of one. How gracious of the gods to serve a side dish.
Gorchist the shaman lifted his staff, his face raised to the night sky.
“Bless us with fury, great Kraal!” he said. “Bless us with rage!”
Blessing of Might
The head of his staff took on a red glow. As did the entire body of Dragunov. For a moment they were both wreathed in crimson light, and then the blaze of the brigand chief ’s eyes grew brighter, wilder. His muscles swelled and he even seemed to grow in stature.
Dragunov roared his approval and ran at Redmane.
Redmane charged back at him.
They clashed, split off and clashed again. Redmane brought the head of Morholt ’s axe straight down and Dragunov blocked it with his sword and axe held in a cross above his head. The two strained against each other, equal in strength, or so it appeared.
“Think your god can save you from me?” Redmane said.
Dragunov laughed. “No matter the victor, Kraal prevails!”
The brigand chief let go of his guard so suddenly Redmane staggered forward, ducking at the last second before Dragunov ’s axe swept through the air his face occupied an instant ago.
Gorchist closed his eyes, muttering incantations and waving his finger in the air with his staff held aloft. Another glow settled over the form of Dragunov as they fought, albeit briefly.
Redmane’s axe struck true, but the blade skidded off Dragunov’s arm. He swept a claw across the beastman’s face and his foe came away with only light scratches. The shaman’s spell had armored him with Gnosis, weakening his attacks.
He was already fed up with it.
Redmane shoved Dragunov aside and sprinted for Gorchist, ready to end it with one stroke of the axe.
The old shaman smiled and let him come.
The axe of Morholt swept through Gorchist ’s form and he flickered and dissipated. A decoy. Redmane wheeled around to find the shaman standing all the way on the other end of the dirt cul-de-sac, already chanting to let loose another Skill.
He tried to catch him before the Skill went off, but couldn ’t. Three missiles of pure Gnosis streaked at him, leaving trails like blue comets, and he evaded them at the last second by gracelessly diving face first into the dirt.
But Dragunov was still on him. The point of a sword bit into Redmane ’s side before he could roll away. When he did push off the ground, it was an instant before an axe struck it, spraying dust and pebbles as he somersaulted backward and sprang to his feet.
A Warg came barreling between them, in pursuit of a screaming brigand who fled for his life from the beast.
Redmane crouched. before it passed, in the instant it stood directly between them, he sprang over its back.
Lion’s Lunge
Halving Dragunov’s armor was the trick. Especially while he held this axe.
Redmane struck diagonally down Dragunov’s breastplate, from left shoulder to right hip. The blow sliced steel right open and bit into flesh, rewarding him with a generous spray of dark blood. Dragunov staggered backward, coughing up blood, and fell to a knee.
Gorchist lifted his staff. “Great Kraal, bless your warrior with vitality!”
Shaman’s Heal
Dragunov’s grievous wound glowed red, and knitted itself together before Redmane’s eyes.
Redmane snarled.
He turned and bolted for the shaman again, and again he cleaved through an illusion. Gorchist now stood upon the roof of a nearby house, chanting to deliver another Skill.
Dragunov came at him the same moment three more streaks of Gnosis streaked through the air in his direction. Redmane ducked to the left, and then the right, but he couldn ’t come away clean. A Gnosis bolt clipped his shoulder, and he gritted his teeth as he felt its fire sear him down to his very soul.
The brigand chief pressed his attack, coming in with sword high and axe low, grunting and barking out mad laughter. He had strength, speed and fury behind his blows. Redmane could see the light of something like religious fervor in his eyes. Remarkable how closely it resembled the basest of hungers.
But he wasn’t like the Gruu. He had a sharp eye for parries and counters. Redmane found he couldn’t simply bait the bandit chief into exposing himself, Dragunov wouldn’t leave such an opening even in his magically enraged state. He struck aside Redmane’s claw with the blade of his axe, trapped the haft of Morholt’s axe in the crossguard of his sword and shoved him back.
An experienced warrior. More experienced that Redmane, certainly. If only he could remove those damned Skills from the bastard …
Gorchist remained on the rooftop, supervising the battle and assisting the beastmen in their struggle against the freed pack of Wargs. He turned and shot more comets of Gnosis down at the beasts, but for the most part they were too nimble to be caught despite their great size. It did, however, give the Wargs another thing to keep track of while they chased down beastmen and gorged on them.
Until an arrow struck Gorchist’s back.
He vanished, appeared on the roof of the house next door, and the instant he re-appeared a crossbow bolt punched through the back of his head.
Valtr and Vengarl were supervising too. And they noted how much time it took Gorchist to re-cast his displacement Skill.
Gorchist stared wide eyed at the night sky above. A line of blood flowed down the bridge of his nose. Then he fell and tumbled off the roof, and lay face down on the grass. Motionless.
Thank the gods!
No sooner did the life leave Gorchist’s eyes did Dragunov’s subtle glow seem to fade. He remained formidable, and the loss of his blessings did nothing to dim his aggression, indeed, it enhanced that, but now Redmane felt his advantage. Raw power. When they clashed, he was the one pressing Dragunov back. When he struck, his axe and claw found armor and flesh and rent them asunder. When he pushed, the beastman had no choice but to give way.
Redmane marched him down, grim faced, hunger boiling up inside him.
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The brigand chief’s face showed the strain of his new situation, but he didn’t try to flee. He stood and made his foe pay for every drop of blood spilt, for every inch of ground gained.
Redmane brought down Morholt’s axe in a final swing, and Dragunov roared and caught it between his weapons. This time the brigand gritted his teeth, face slicked with blood and sweat, and twisted his grip sharply to the right. He wrenched the axe of Morholt free from Redmane’s hands and sent it skidding across the dirt.
Fortunately Redmane had three more weapons, which would not be so easily taken.
Dragunov struck downward from either side, meaning to cut a great X across his foe’s body.
Redmane caught his forearms, one in either claw.
Dragunov gritted his teeth. His arms shook. Veins stood out on his neck.
Redmane stared him down, still as stone. Then he dug his claws into Dragunov’s flesh. Deep.
The beastman tried to hold back a scream, but in the end it ripped from his throat regardless of his show of discipline. Redmane’s claws dug deeper, into the muscle. His grip began to crack bone. Dragunov’s hands went slack, twitching, and both of his weapons fell to the dirt at his feet.
Slowly, Redmane spread Dragunov’s shaking arms apart, away from the centerline. When they were far enough, he dove forward with a killing bite to the neck.
Dragunov’s eyes rolled back in their sockets. He gurgled and strained against Redmane, even with this throat torn out, resisting with everything he had until, at last, there was nothing left.
Brigand Chief Dragunov has been slain
Tasks Completed: 2/3
Level Up
Level 29 —> Level 30
Level 30 —> Level 31
Level 31 —> Level 32
Quality points awaiting allocation: 3
Redmane fell upon his meal.
Corpus: 2118
Nearby lay the corpse of the shaman. When Redmane was finished with Dragunov, he sprinted over and devoured that one as well.
Corpus: 2447
—
Monster Skills Learned
Blessing of Might
Bloodline Skill [Monstrous (Beastman)]
Rank 1 - Evolution Possible
Body Enhancement
Sustained - 10 Gnosis per 30 seconds
The Monster places the [Blessing of Might] condition on itself or a nearby ally, which bestows the following enhancements:
+10 Might
+10 Grace
-Enhanced movement speed
-Immunity to Fear effects
Creatures under the effect of [Blessing of Might] cannot engage in stealth, combat with ranged weapons (unless they are thrown), or invoke Skills which require complex gestures or incantations.
Shaman’s Heal
Bloodline Skill [Monstrous (Beastman)]
Rank 1 - Evolution Possible
Variable Cost
The Monster may channel Gnosis into its body, or the body of a nearby ally, replenishing Corpus at the cost of the Monster ’s Gnosis. For every 1.5 points of Gnosis the Monster spends, it may restore 1 point of Corpus to itself or another targeted creature.
—
Redmane thought there would be more. But then he recalled that the description for Carnivorous Metamorph explained he would receive multiple Monster Skills only if they were tied for highest Rank.
Which meant Gorchist must have used these two Skills much more than his others.
Evidently he liked to hide behind warriors and enhance them, let them do the fighting for him.
A shame. That damn decoy Skill would have been good to have.
But there would be Skills aplenty to eat, regardless. A whole world full of them.
The healing spell wouldn’t be very useful for himself, but now he could heal another if he needed to, which was certain to come in handy.
So long as he solved his Gnosis problem.
Before he forgot about it, he spent his Quality points.
Might 19 —> 20
Grace 11 —> 12
Fortitude 11 —> 12
The battle between the Wargs and the beastmen continued around him. Despite their numbers, the beastmen were getting the worst of it, even though Redmane spied more than one fallen Warg lying still on the grass around the encampment.
There would be another battle to come. He ought to preserve his resources for it.
But Blessing of Might called to him.
He could test it for a bit…
Blessing of Might
Gnosis: 90
He broke into a sprint.
The wind blew his hair back harder than expected. He was indeed faster. And stronger!
He leapt upon the back of a beastman and tackled him to the dirt, eating hearty.
Corpus: 2568
Another two came at him as he rose from his snack. He ducked the swipe of a sword, caught the other brigand by his mail shirt and pitched him one-handed into a tree. The brigand flew like a rock, and when he struck its trunk more than one bone audibly snapped.
His mate took one look at that and exercised the better part of valor. Redmane didn ’t give chase. Instead he darted over and had another snack.
Corpus: 2626
A Warg found itself cornered, hemmed in by half a dozen beastmen with swords and spears, until Redmane charged them from the side and they found themselves in a whirlwind of claws.
This would be a bit more than a snack. But the more he ate, the more his hunger seemed to grow …
Corpus: 3401
You eat fast, said the Warg, as it watched him with its head cocked to the side.
There’s fighting to do, Redmane mumbled between huge bites.
Let’s finish the fight then. You can eat afterward, and enjoy it.
Aye, let’s, said Redmane.
The Warg let him climb onto his back to finish the fight. They rode by the place where Dragunov fell, so he could fetch Morholt ’s axe off the ground. He used a fistful of the Warg’s fur like reins in one hand, as the other delivered flashing blows that split beastmen down the middle wherever he passed.
When it became clear that they had won the night, Valtr and Vengarl came jogging down the canyon and into the middle of the encampment. Redmane steered his new mount over to them, stopped before the duo and hopped off, giving the Warg a grateful pat on the shoulder.
Valtr and Vengarl looked around at the carnage. Big grins on their faces, their eyes full of astonishment.
“Quite the rowdy affair this evening,” said Valtr.
“If only we’d been invited. Alas, we had to invite ourselves,” said Vengarl.
Redmane grinned. “You’ll be welcome at any revel of mine.”
“I may hold you to that,” said Valtr.