Howdy again!  Chapter 28 has arrived and its a long one.  I really don't like leaving cliff hangers and I did not want to split it into the next chapter.  Other stuff can be found on https://yougots.wordpress.com/

Enjoy and I will color code later.

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The consumption of another's mind made him nauseous and not the fake kind of nauseous that he was just grossed out by what he had just done.  Well, there was that too.  Otis doubled over and heaved the little bit of contents that were in his stomach.  He ripped the gate open and left his cage.  A few more Neuromancers tried their luck only to have their minds ripped from them as well.  It made him sick each time.

[+1 Intellect]

[+1 Intellect]

“What the hell is going on?”  Otis wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.  “I don’t have time to worry now but I have to be careful.  I can't be vomiting in the middle of a fight.  I just need to get out of here.”  He took the dwarfs clothes, they were dirty and short and wide in all the wrong places.  Just as he was about to discard his clothes he noticed some extra weight to his old pants.  He found a bag in the left pocket and a letter in the other, he shoved them both into his new pants.  The bag had a four items and some [Mana Crystals].

[Rantide Language Tome]

[Archian Language Tome]

[Book of Inspection]

[Recall Stone]

He circulated his mana through his body to heal any long term damage that Violam had done.  After a few minutes his ashen skin became pink and new but the scars from Violam’s torture had remained even after the mana had finished its work.  The dwarf’s clothes had left his midriff exposed leaving them unpleasantly displayed.

[-10MP]

He needed to be careful with his mana usage.  He only had a little over 1700 mana points and he could not regenerate it while he still had a Moocher in him.

“How did this get here?” As he dressed he realized that the necklace that he had stolen in the dreams was on him.  The necklace looked different than it had in the dream.  It still was a silver chain with an almost round red jewel on the end but now the red jewel was trapped inside a small silver bird cage.  

The sound of the guards screaming outside drew him from his reverie.  He shoved the necklace under his new shirt and stumbled through the door of his carriage.  The guards ran past him to check the fallen Neuromancers.  It was a good diversion but it would eventually attract unwanted attention.  He needed to move away from his carriage.

Otis pulled a shadow over himself and quietly ran to the shadows of the next carriage.  He connected it to his mind and stepped into it to move to the next shadow.  An alert entered his vision as the shadow resisted his call.

[Shadow Walk and Shadow Vision not available in physical world.  Shadow Affinity requirement not met.]

“Well there goes that idea.  Let’s use what works, I still have to find my friends.”  Otis closed his eyes and focused on his [Aura Sense].  It was the first time he had used it like this but Violam had marked all of Rose Team’s auras and those markers still remained.  He followed the markers through the drone of the Legion’s aura.  Their rhythm carried from a carriage two carriages in front of his own.  Now that he had located them he tuned into those nearby.  There were half a dozen Neuromancers and a few guards that surrounded their carriage.  Captain Umaiko was in the carriage with them while Mort stood outside.

The Neuromancers detected Otis as soon as he entered their range.  It did not matter that he was covered in shadow as they keyed into his mental energy anyhow.  He consumed them almost immediately so they could not raise the alarm.  They screamed and dropped to the ground as the rest had.  

[+1 Intellect]

[+1 Intellect]

[+1 Intellect]

[+2 Intellect]

[+2 Intellect]

[+1 Intellect]

Otis fell to the ground too, his reaction to the mental energy became more violent.  He clutched his stomach, it felt as if his stomach was being pulled out through his navel.  The pain subsided after a minute of writhing on the ground.  He counted himself lucky that his shadow had remained to cover him.

The guards were still busy with the Neuromancers when Otis slipped past them.  He dropped his shadow as he turned the corner to the front of the carriage.  Mort stood at the door and had not noticed Otis’s approach.

“Hey Mort!”  Otis gave him a short wave.  “Can I get in there?  I think there are some things we need to sort out as a team.”

Mort’s eyes when wide as he saw Otis.  “You.  What are you doing here?”  He reached for his sword.

Otis circulated his mana and took a jump step to cross the distance between the two of them.  He pushed the half drawn sword back into its sheath.  “You don’t want to do that.”

Mort eagerly nodded and released the hilt.  He had seen what Violam was capable of in the cave and wanted no part of it.  “W-Why are you here?”

Otis looked into the man’s eyes.  “I came to get my friends.  Do you want to leave the Legion?”  He doubted Mort would accept his offer.

“I-I...”

“I know you don’t have to run like we do but think about it.  First, let me inside.  I need to see them.”  Mort moved to the side of the doorway.  “Knock if anyone comes.”  Otis opened the door and went inside.

“Get out don’t you think they have had enough.”  Captain yelled, never looking up as she bandaged Caeanos’s wound.  They were in worse shape than they were at the execution grounds.

“Calm down Umaiko.”  Otis raised his hands to show that he was not a threat.  She recoiled away from him as she finally noticed that it was Otis.

“You here to finish the job?”  She sneered as she moved in front of the Linnare to protect them.

“No, I am here to get you guys out of this place.”  He moved to step into Caeanos and Kavdiir’s cage but Umaiko stood in the way.

“How do you expect them to move in this condition?  The condition you put them in.”  Her hands were balled into fists as she glanced at the hammer in his hand.  “Why aren’t you in your cage?  What did you do?”  Her eyes narrowed.

“I did what I need to do, now let me heal them.”  Otis pushed past her to Caeanos and placed his hand on the Linnare’s shoulder.

[Holy Healing]

[-107 MP]

Caeanos glowed golden for a brief moment, his bruises faded, flesh knitted together and bones mended.  His health bar was nearly full when it finished.  Caeanos did not wake but he was healed so Otis moved on to Kavdiir.

[Holy Healing]

[-107 MP]

Kavdiir woke in fright and hastily crawled from Otis to check Caeanos.  “What did you do?  Is Caeanos dead?”

Otis shook his head in response.  “I healed you both and he is just sleeping.”

“H-how?”  Umaiko finally recovered from the shock.  

“I have always been able to it's just the Moocher worm stopped me.”

“And it’s not stopping you now?”  Umaiko’s slightly sucked in her breath as the accusation hung in the air.

“Things happened,” Otis shrugged.

She moved out of Otis’s way so he could go into Sonashi’s cage.  Otis did not wait for Umaiko to unlock the gate instead he ripped it from its hinges with a jerk of his arm.  The sound woke Sonashi and Caeanos.

Sonashi’s eyes showed her alarm as he approached but she did not run from him, though her injuries were too severe so it is not like she could have even if she wanted to.  He quickly held her hand and healed her.  All eyes were on Otis in the silent carriage.  

Their time was short so Otis spoke first as he looked at Sonashi. “I am sorry what I have done to you.”  He traced around the carriage looking at the others.  “I am sorry for what I did to all of you.  I was not in my right mind but that is no excuse.  I wish we could hash it out right now but we don’t have the time.  We need to move and get out of here.”

“How do you expect to get away from the Legion?  It stretches out for miles in every direction.  And then there are the Neuromancers.”  Umaiko crossed her arms and eyed him suspiciously until something dawned on her.  “Wait!  Where are they?  Why haven’t they come after your display of magic?”  

“I have dealt with all the Neuromancers in range of this carriage.  As for the rest of it I am sure Rose Team can figure it out.”  He flashed them his winningest smile which unfortunately elicited no reaction.  Then it struck him, this carriage looked awfully familiar.  He took another step into the cage and crouched down.  Sonashi scurried out of his way not willing to touch him.  This was Violam’s old cage, he pushed the hay to the side and pulled out a misshaped slat of wood.   Inside the hole he found a bag, Otis had almost forgotten that he had Violam hide bags all over camp.

“If this bag is still here then maybe…”  Otis spoke to himself while the others doubted his sanity.  

“Did they crack your head when they threw you in the cage?”  Otis ignored Umaiko’s taunt and placed his hand on the wall of his old cage.  There was a trap seal on the other side, one of his traps but the magic in it had faded.  The seals were like the bags, they were spread all over camp and with the magic faded he would have to be close to it to feel its presence and trigger it.

“Kavdiir and Caeanos, here take an agility potion.  Umaiko I have never seen you in a fight.  What are you, strength focused?  Yeah that feels right.”  Otis said as he handed out his potions without waiting for a reply.

“Sona, do you want agility or a way to use your magic?  They did give you another Moocher didn’t they?”  He stared at her for a second then stuck out an Elixir of Intellect but then thought better of it and pulled it back.  “Can you wait to kill me until after we escape?”

She gave him a slight nod.  “But give me strength too. I need some energy.”

Otis handed it over and immediately rounded on the group.  “Okay Rose Team what’s the plan?  We need to get out of this carriage before the guards show up so think fast.”

The carriage fell into silence the moment Otis stopped speaking.  They all stared at him suspicious of his motives, to them his personality had changed too quickly.  For months now Violam had taken to being silent and brooding.  He only came out of his shell with a large amount of coaxing from the others.

Umaiko drew her sword despite its uselessness in such a cramped space.  “Who are you?”

“I am O, me.”  His face cramped as he almost told the truth. He planned to tell them everything it's just right now was not the correct time. So he stuck with half-truths to keep them moving.  “I just shut off the Bloodrage, it had clouded my mind for so long it almost destroyed me.  All of us.”

She relaxed a bit at his answer but did not return her sword to its sheath.  “What do you expect us to do?  Run out there swinging sword and hammer until we run out of enemies.  Sorry but I will tell you right now, that is a quick way to an early grave.  We might as well just die here and now.”

“Wait that reminds me I have more stuff.”  He summoned the [Book of Inspection] from his bag and consumed it.

[Active Skill: Inspect Learned]

Otis heard the gasp and question but he summoned the next object, from his bag.  It was a curious rainbow colors.  He ran his newly acquired skill over it.

[Inspect]

[Recall Stone:  Returns you, your party or whoever you are physically connected with to the town you have designated as your home.  Cannot be used while in combat.]

Otis held the stone up for everyone to see.  “This is a [Recall Stone], it will send me and whoever is connected to me to the human settlement on the other side of the mountains.”

They all sucked in their breath simultaneously.  “Are you sure?”  Umaiko was the first to recover.  “Could you imagine such an object in the hands of the Ambassador?”

Otis shook his head.  “I am not sure if it would work for him and if it did who knows where it would send him.”

“How does it work?”  Umaiko took a step forward, her eyes never left the stone.

“I just have to have it in my hand and want to go home.  You all would have to be touching me to go too.”

“Who cares let’s leave now!”  Sonashi leaped up from the ground and left her cage.  Otis sent the stone back to the bag for safe keeping which stopped Sonashi in her tracks.

“No these ones cannot leave before the Gate has been destroyed.”  Caeanos spoke with authority.

“Why do we have to destroy the Gate?”  Sonashi hissed and Otis nodded in agreement.

“Because the Legion refills its ranks every day.  If the Gate is destroyed they will not be able to send soldiers through it.  If these ones run without destroying the Gate the Legion will just follow us.”  

“Where is the Gate?”

“Most of it is stored in the carriage 42 as long as they have not set it up.”

“Okay we get weapons, armor and hit the carriage.”  Otis summed it up like it would be a walk in the park.

“Do you think I will just let you all just destroy the Gate?”  Umaiko spoke but there was no force behind her words just annoyance.  

“You are still here aren’t you?  So you are at least complicit in our plans.”  Otis gave her a wink.  

Umaiko exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose.  “It is not that simple.  The Ambassador has the plans to construct a gate in his safe and there is enough parts to make a second.  You would have to destroy the plans and even then the engineers can still build a new one but it would take much longer.”

“Ugh.”  Otis rubbed his forehead.  “Okay so get weapons, armor, hit the carriage and raid the gray man’s tent.  Anything else?”

Umaiko was confused by Otis’s wording but ignored it.  “You forget they change the location of the command tent every day.”

“Then we lucked out.  I know where it is.  Violam was there earlier today.”

“You mean you were there today?”  Kavdiir question, his eyes filled with suspicion.

“That’s what I said.”  Otis faced Violam’s former Captain.  “Umaiko are you coming with us?”

Her eyes crinkled in thought before she frowned.  “No, I cannot leave my father behind.  He would become the target of the Ambassador if I go but if we are together we might be able to work something out.”

Otis nodded and reached out to shake her hand.  “I promise to come back to help you.”

She slapped his hand away.  “I don’t want your help.  In fact, if you never help me again I am sure things will work out for the better.”  She said flatly as she crossed her arms.  “I wish I had never helped you that day on the frontlines.”

“In any case,” Otis said ignoring her anger.  “I will come back for you.  I also plan to make the same offer to Mort but I believe he will feel the same as you.  You both will need to leave this carriage and act like you were never here.  I will get rid of all the guards who may have seen you two.”

“Fine.”  She turned to wish the others good luck and readied her things to leave.

“You three are stuck with me until we get out of here.  We will take out the guards, grab their weapons and clothes, and then move on to the carriage.”

“These ones will not follow your orders.  You are not to be trusted.”

That out of everything had hurt Otis the most.  He considered them friends but that was lost now.  He could not blame them for their anger, Violam had betrayed their trust.

“Okay Caeanos, you guys pick a leader and let’s go.  The guards are coming back.”

There was a knock at the door, a signal from Mort that guards were approaching to check the carriage.  Otis already knew four guards were approaching but it was good to know that Mort was with them in this.  Otis tugged on the shadow hidden under his right foot to cover himself.  He ignored the gasps and backed into the corner.  “Hurry, get back in your cages we have company.”

The room was a tight fit as the two guards stepped into the carriage.  “Why are your cages open?”  The guard snarled as Otis closed the door behind them.  He snapped the first guards neck with one hand and swung [the Crippler] with the other caving in the second guard’s head.

[Overkill!]

[Critical]

[-2223]

[Overkill!]

[-2462]

[Critical]

They were only level 20 maybe I over did it, Otis thought.

“You think?”  Umaiko said and expelled her breath in an exasperated sigh.

“I say that out loud?” I need to work on that.  I am not alone anymore.  “There are the first two sets of armor.  Caeanos take it off of them.  Kavdiir and Sona take their weapons.  Uh Umaiko you didn’t see any of that.  You know for plausible deniability.”

She snorted in response and back away to let them go about their business.  It was not like she was unfamiliar to killing, in the Legion there was no avoiding it.  It was just a way of life.  But Otis had already asked her to leave with them and she refused.  There was no reason to drag her any deeper into their escape than she already was.  Besides, they both knew that the gray man would come for her and her father, Gutgash.  This way when the gray man called she would not have to lie.  Otis broke in, killed the guards and ran off with the prisoners.  Plausible deniability was the least he could do for her even if it made no difference to the gray man in the end.

Caeanos had pulled the bodies into his cage and was stripping them of their goods.  Kavdiir and Sonashi had their new weapons at the ready.  Otis opened the door and grabbed the guard closest.  He pulled her in and tossed her into Sonashi’s cage.  Sonashi stabbed the female guard almost immediately.  Otis threw the second guard to Kavdiir before Sonashi had finished.

“Get dressed, I will be right back.”  Otis tossed on his shadow and jumped out the door.  There were at least twenty guards who were aware that Umaiko and Mort came to see the prisoners.  He promised her that he would take care of them but it would be difficult to take care of them quietly.

Otis circled around to the side of the carriage where his trap had been set.  It was a fire seal, the fire magic it triggered depended on the amount of mana the seal had injected into it.  Otis touched the seal and pumped more mana into it.  He was going to have to use a considerable bit of mana to wipe out the guards.  He also changed trigger from manual to proximity and removed his hand.  He did not have to touch it to change the trigger only to add mana.  Though, these seals would require him to close to change the trigger because a lot their mana had faded out.

[-500MP]

“Down to 800 mana and I only have two more bottles of the [Lesser Elixir of Intellect] in my bag.  I will have to find some more while we move so this works.”  Otis whispered to himself as he returned to the carriage.

Otis quickly changed out of his dwarf clothing and into the spare armor.  He kept the dwarfs belt though because it had a strap for his hammer.  [Inspect], he thought of the command while looking at the clothing.

[Common Legion Armor - No Level Requirement Durability 18/20]

[Common Legion Pants - No Level Requirement Durability 19/20]

[Common Legion Boots - No Level Requirement Durability 12/20]

[Common Legion Sword - No Level Requirement Durability 7/10]

[Dwarf Smithing Belt - Level 5 Durability 26/35]

[the Crippler - Level 24 - 2% Crippling Strike, +1 STR, +3 STAM][Attribute Points Not Applicable]

“Tsk, no better than my starting equipment.  The dwarf armor is better but hell no I am not dressing like a belly dancer.”  Otis spoke to himself while the others backed away.

“We ready to go?”  Otis pulled his shadow back over himself.

“Violam.”  Caeanos gave him a concerned look and took a step forward.  “Are you okay?”  He placed his hand on Otis’s shadowed shoulder to give him some reassurance.  The shadow extended over his hand and traveled up his arm.  Caeanos yelped and jumped back in shock.  “What?  How?”

“I don’t know.”  Otis grabbed the Linnare’s arm and pushed his shadow over Caeanos until it covered him.  “This might work!”

Kavdiir led them from the carriage into the shadows.  Umaiko and Mort headed in the other direction wary of their surroundings.  Kavdiir was the natural choice for leader.  He may not speak much but he makes quick decisions and when he does speak it always matters.

The moved in line each one with a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them.  Kavdiir turned to go to the other side of the carriage but Otis stopped him.

“Go the long way around or we will all have a fiery death.”  

Kavdiir invisibly nodded in agreement.  “Keep watch on these one’s surrounding.  Make sure we do not run into any challenging individuals.”

Under Otis’s instruction they made it to Carriage 42 without incident.  He had been particularly wary of the Neuromancers but lucky for him the range of his [Aura Sense] was far greater than their [Cognitive Range] as they call it.

Otis felt the trap trigger.  The ground rumbled, the air pulled away as if being sucked in by a vacuum.  A pillar of flame shot hundreds of meters into the sky then exploded outward.  Wood and Farg were blasted away in every direction leaving only a crater behind.

[-20HP]

Otis struggled to stand, they were on the edge of the shockwave.  The force had thrown them into the side of the carriage.  He brushed himself off and helped the others out of the rubble.  They were all fine with only some minor scrapes and bruises.

“They know we are out now we have to hurry.”  They all stared at Otis with their mouths agape.  

“What the hell was that?”  Sonashi shoved her finger into his chest.

“An accident?”  Otis scratched his head looking confused.  “I honestly didn’t expect that.  But if it takes an explosion or two for you to talk to me again I’ll take it.”

Sonashi stared at him as her eye twitched.  

“What too soon?”  Yea way too soon you idiot.

“Are you two uglies done flirting?  These ones have a job to do.”  Caeanos grinned in attempt to bring some levity to the atmosphere.

Sonashi changed her target to Caeanos and stared him down.  “We were not.”

Caeanos shuddered and looked away.  “Brother Kavdiir you called.”

“No”

“Gack!”

Otis followed suit.  “We should get started while they are busy with the fire.”

“Brother Caeanos is right these ones need to get moving.  The Legion will be looking for us now.  Next time you plant a bomb let these ones know.”  Kavdiir stared daggers into Otis.  

“Ah, so you were upset about that.  I set a few more on the way here.”  They went rigid at Otis’s admission.  “But they won’t be nearly as large, they will be pretty small actually.  A lot of mana has already faded from them.”

They visibly relaxed in response.  “Violam, where is that stone?  Are you sure it will work?”  

“Kavdiir, it’ll work.  The stone is in my bag so no one but I can get to it.  I did not want anyone to do something stupid and leave someone behind.”  Otis quickly looked at Sonashi.  He had already caught her staring at the bag earlier and honestly, he could understand her need to get out of the Legion.  But Caeanos was right if the Legion cannot get a resupply of soldiers their chances of defeating the gray man go up incredibly.

“So, you do think we can use it.”

“Probably but I don’t know where it will send us if you do.”  

They entered the carriage and were welcomed by stacks of supplies, boxes and one smelly shivering dwarf hiding behind them.  “Oi! What are you doing here?”  The supply master stood up from his hiding spot.  Kavdiir was on him as soon as he finished speaking.  It was a feral and instinctual lung that ended with Kavdiir’s mouth clamped down on the dwarf’s hairy throat.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“You really didn’t like that guy.  So should I just burn it all down?”  Otis asked as he moved away from the gruesome scene.

Kavdiir dropped the dwarf and frantically grabbed Otis’s raised hand.  “No the Gate cannot be destroyed by burning but other things in here are combustible.  Leave it to this one and Brother Caeanos, these ones can disassemble and break it.  You and Sonashi will watch the door.”

“That’s convenient.”  He said before going to look out at the door.

“I guess it’s too much to ask for you to at least say something.”  Sonashi did not even show that she registered what Otis said.  She just intently watched the terrain.

“I finally can talk to people and no one wants to speak to me.”  Otis mumbled.  He caught sight of the slight raise in Sonashi eye brow but she did not respond.  “I guess I have to keep blowing things up until you do.”  Otis placed his hand on the door frame.  He stuck a wind seal to it and fed a bit of mana into it.

[-25MP]

“That should be enough to wreck whoever enters and some supplies.”  Otis removed his hand and smirked at Sonashi’s worried expression.

“What did you just do?”

“This little thing?  It's just a nasty surprise for the first person who comes by after we leave.”  He turned to look at the Linnare who were busily deconstructing the gate.  “Hey Kavdiir just so you know I have set up another bomb.”

“What?”  He hissed in return stopping what he was working on.

“Don’t worry it's not set to go off just yet.”  Otis’s [Aura Sense] flared as he was speaking.  “Kavdiir you guys almost done we have a party of Neuromancers coming our direction.”

“No these ones need more time.”

“We don’t have time.  My shadows cannot hide us from them.”  Otis rushed through the supplies to the Linnare.  “Move!”  Caeanos stepped out of his way and Otis grabbed the large elbow shaped part of the gate that Caeanos had been working on.   It was unnaturally heavy and impossible for him to pick up in such a tight space.  He tore at the silvery metal, it had an ancient script carved into it, something similar to the seals he used on his magical traps.  It was unlike anything else he had seen made by the Farg.  

Otis attempted to bend it or snap it in half but it did not budge.  “What is this thing made of?”  He gave up on using his hands and kicked at the device.  It made no difference to the metal gate.  He kicked at it dozens of times and with each kick he put more strength behind it but he left no mark behind and the gate only shifted slightly.

Otis roared as he kicked putting every bit of strength he had behind it.  He felt his leg snap under the strain but more importantly so did the gate.  Otis tumbled to the floor crying out in pain.  Caeanos rushed over to help him stand, there was a second piece to the gate but he did not need to destroy both of them.

“Are you okay?”  Caeanos asked shaking his head.

“Yeah, now let’s get the hell out of here we are almost in their range.”  Otis circulated the mana in his body, every minute counted so he could not wait for his regeneration to kick in on its own.  The bones snapped together and mended instantly.

[-43MP]

He sighed at the loss of mana.  Their group lined up again and he pushed his shadow out to cover them all.  They left the carriage behind but not before Otis enabled his new trap.  It was not long before it triggered, the miniature tornados it released wiped out four of the Neuromancers and at least half of the carriage.  Otis came into range of several more of Violam’s traps, he converted those to proximity as well.  They exploded in into stone spikes or frozen blasts seconds later.  They were nowhere near as damaging as the earlier traps but they still added to the chaos.

The Legion was confused by the attacks this was the first time since Otis had been with them that they had a direct attack on their camp.  It was not something that happened that often and if the gray man was to be believed the last instance was after the Farg captured the Beastmen.

“Dodge!”  Kavdiir hissed, but it was too late an Ogrite bowled into their invisible train breaking the shadow.

“This is not working.”  Sonashi stated as she stabbed the confused soldier.  “We are moving too slow.”

“She’s right there is too many of them and we can’t move fast enough in the shadow.”  Otis complained as Sonashi caught another Ogrite that ran in between them and stabbed it in the throat.

“This one agrees but stop doing that!  Many of them do not know who we are but dead bodies will attract attention.  We need to run, only kill if we are attacked, and otherwise just avoid them.”  He ran through the crowd of confused Ogrite soldiers and Rose Team followed.  Kavdiir was right the chaos was better cover than the shadows.  Otis switched the triggers on a few more traps but as they left the supply carriages there were no more traps set.  Violam rarely traveled into this area and when he did he definitely did not have mana.

The common Farg soldiers had not paid much attention to them as all of the explosion had kept them occupied.  After half an hour of fighting through the crowd they reached the command tents. The area was different from what they had expected.  They had expected there to be dragons, hundreds of them, they usually accompanied the command center.  Now a many of them were missing.

“W-where are the dragons?  Aren’t there supposed to be more?”  Otis asked as they stared at the empty fields and the untethered chains on the ground.

“They must have finished breaking them, only the small and the land dragons remain here.”  Kavdiir spoke in concern.  “Dragons have great pride their training takes a long time.  The Ambassador was furious because you killed one.  It was the Legions only flying dragon at the time.”

“I have often wondered why the Ambassador did not just use the dragons to transport the Legion over the Mountains.”  Sonashi asked in a moment of interest.

Kavdiir shook his head still staring at the remaining dragons.  “It is not just that, even after they are brainwashed the dragon's still will not allow riders and many of the dragons are sent through the gate.”

“Where do you think the dragons are brother Kavdiir?”  Caeanos asked but only received a shrug in response.

Otis had a sinking feeling in his gut.  He was afraid he already knew where they went.  He swallowed his dried saliva.  “They went to kill the humans, they went to destroy my home.”

The two Linnare grabbed Otis’s shoulders.  “Violam, that is even more reason to destroy the gate and its plans.”

Otis exhaled swallowing his frustration.  “You’re right.  Let’s keep going.”  He took a step forward only to be hit by his [Aura Sense].

“They have found us.  Neuromancers are coming from the front and behind us is something worse.”

“What could be worse than the black ones?”

“The Butcher and his twisted amalgamations.”

“What do we do?”  Sonashi asked looking to Kavdiir.  “Let's just leave!  We cannot get trapped in-between the two.”  She growled.

Kavdiir responded with the barest of nods and Otis summoned the stone.  “Everyone hold on!”  Otis had not realized it but they had all reached for him as soon as the decision was made.

Get us out here stone!

[Cannot be used while in combat]

“Was something supposed to happen to these ones? We are all still here, right?  Why am I not surrounded by your ugly humans yet?”

“I don't know it’s not working.”

Let’s go!

[Cannot be used while in combat]

“Crap, I will make a hole in the Neuromancers, you all go ahead.”  Otis answered.  

“Do you expect me to trust you?”  Sonashi snarled as she tightened her grip on Otis’s arm.

“Yes. Yes I know but there is no time to plan.  The gray man’s tent is the third from the end on the second row of tents.  It is one of the smaller ones.”  Otis gave [Recall Stone] to Kavdiir.  “Wait for me if you can.  If not, I will buy you some time besides I have an account I need to settle with the Butcher.”  He gave them all another round of agility potions to improve their speed.

“Now, get behind me and brace yourselves.  Run through them when you get a chance.”  He spoke as he looked over his shoulder at his friends.

Otis sent a bit of mana to his legs and pushed off the ground launching himself into the air.  Even though Otis did not travel that high the enemy looked small beneath him.  He used the wind to steady his freefall aiming for the Neuromancers.  There were ten squads and Otis crashed down in the middle of them, his feet crushing one instantly.

[-10MP]

[-10MP]

He used his Earth Affinity to amplify his force controlling the ripples of the ground as it cratered.  Rocks scattered, stone pillars and spikes jutted outward killing all of the low-level Neuromancers.

[-69MP]

A golden sword slashed at Otis before the dirt had settled.  He stepped out of the way the attack but a knife stabbed at his back.  Otis twisted and grabbed the Neuromancer’s hand.  He broke it and threw the Neuromancer into the one with the sword.  Otis finally got a good look at them.

[Jale Taza - Level 38 Neuromancer of the Farg]

[Captain Lathin Fengus - Level 42 Neuromancer of the Farg]

Otis’s localized earthquake had knocked the mask from their faces.  Their faces were twisted with cracked red lines carved into them.  Their faces matched their ugly minds.  There were other Neuromancers that had survived but these two creatures were by far the strongest.

Otis pulled [the Crippler] and his short sword out.  The Neuromancers pricked at his mind but none dared commit to a full attack.  They must have already heard of what I did to the others by the carriages.  He summoned an [Elixir of Intellect] to his lips, drank it and spit the empty bottle to the ground.

[+15 Intellect]

Otis sneered at them.  “You creatures too afraid to come?  Well then don’t mind if I do.”  He leaped at them swinging his sword, it met the golden sword before it could find flesh.  Otis pivoted out of the block and swung [the Crippler] to crush the second Neuromancers kneecap.  Otis kicked him out of the way as the six remaining Neuromancers joined the assault.  He slashed his sword and took one of them in the ribs until the sword snapped.  He threw the broken blade at an attacker sinking it deep into his chest.

The amalgamations finally made it to the fight, they filed into the crater.  “What are you going to do now human?”  The Captain Neuromancer yelled as he swung his sword to take Otis’s head.

Otis deflected the blade with [the Crippler] while his free hand grabbed the Necromancer's throat.  The shadows laced with his own mental energy took over, they raced into the Captain’s mind reaping the creature’s mental energy.  Otis absorbed the energy as the Neuromancers body shook and its eyes rolled up.  Otis threw the creature away and the pain hit his stomach.  It was not as bad as when he had consumed six minds together but it still dropped him to his knees.

[+28 Intellect]

Otis rolled out of the way of an amalgamation’s clawed hand while clutching at his stomach.  He quickly wretched and stood up.  The amalgamations had flanked him either side of him.  With the last [Intellect] he received his mana was nearly at where he had been.  Otis pulled air around him whipping it into a frenzy, it picked up the amalgamations and threw them away.  The wind quickly built upon itself needing less and less of Otis’s encouragement.

[-168MP]

Otis fed earth and fire into his growing tornado, soon he could not see anything but the swirling of earth and flame.  The sky darken as Otis stood in the vortex.

[-230MP]

[-201MP]

[-80MP]

Some of the amalgamations made it through the storm.  Otis circulated his mana through his body, reinforcing and enhancing it.  His balled fist smashed into an amalgamation’s beaked face.  He rotated and used the [the Crippler] to crush the next amalgamation’s chest.  Another one charged Otis, it had a rhinoceros head and an Ogrite body.  Otis stepped to the side and grabbed its horn and redirected it into a different attacker.  He set them both on fire then turned the fire shooting from his hands on a couple of the amalgamations that had rushed him.

[34MP]

I may have put too much into that, he quickly thought dismissing the fire before the flames got out of hand.  He dodged another attack and shattered [the Crippler] on the assailant’s jaw.  A golden knife bit into his side, the Bloodrage flooded into him causing his mana to falter and his body to weaken.  It was the Neuromancer with the broken hand.  Otis thought about consuming his mind but there were too many now, he did not have the time.  He pulled the Neuromancers head back and jammed the broken shaft of the hammer into the Necromancer's eye socket.  He threw the creature into the tornado of earth and flame that had begun to destabilize.  Otis removed the knife from his side and threw it at the next amalgamation.  The pain ruined his aim and the knife hit it in the stomach.  Its eagle head shrieked in pain as its body ashed over and cracked away into dust blown into the storm.  The last of the amalgamations made it through the tornado. Otis unleashed fire and wind from hands and feet burning them down.

[-43MP]

Otis cut the magic and dropped to his knees out of breath.  He took stock of his current mana.  “590 mana points left, not bad.”  He frowned as he looked up to see a perfect cube cut from his tornado and in the center was the Butcher.

[The Butcher Elite Level 57 Gray Human Commander]

[Inspect]

[Wielder of the Dissection Skill.  It is a lesser form of Body and Mana Manipulation.  Wielder of this skill can physically manipulate all things within range.

Range: ???

Name: ???

History: ???]  

“Great leave out the most important part.”

“What?  I can’t hear you over the storm.  Mind if I get rid of it?”  The Butcher yelled as he dusted the dirt from his shoulders.  Above him pockets of the tornado were cut away leaving blank spaces in the storm.  The tornado grew unstable and collapsed upon itself.  Wind, fire and earth hit Otis from every direction.  His resistance was high enough to ignore any damage but it did not apply to his clothes.

Otis dusted himself and patted out his burning sleeve.  “A little warning next time would be nice.”  Otis coughed to expel the dirt from his throat.  He summoned his last [Elixir or Intellect] and quickly drank it down.

[+15 Intellect]

“So Violam what is all this about?  I see no reason why we can’t settle this amicably.”  The Butcher took a step forward.

Otis stepped backwards to maintain the distance.  “I don’t think so.  You see there is a bit of an outstanding debt between us.”

“Debt?  Are you still concerned about that time in the forest?  If I had not caught you then you would never have become one of the Farg Legion.  You should be grateful to be one of us at least that's the nonsense Edgar would try to sell you.”  He said with a lopsided grin.

There is that and the time in the throne room as well.”

“Throne room?”  The Butcher echoed in question as he scratched his chin.

“Yes where I cut off you arm.”  Otis flashed the large man a smile of his own.  He’s build like a tank, he thought.  Should I really be taunting him?

The Butcher nodded his grin growing far more menacing.  “I see so you have two personalities in that head of yours.  Do you really think you should have told me that?  After I am done with you, you could have hidden this personality away or hell, you might be able to escape you know but it's highly unlikely.  Now that I know it will be easy to kill either of your personalities.”

“It doesn’t matter I am going to end you today.  I have had a long time to think about this day.”

“I like it!  I am going to enjoy seeing the inside of that head of yours.”  The Butcher roared as he charged.

Otis leaped back continuing to maintain his distance.  The small rocks around him levitated into the air and fired at the Butcher.  They exploded into dust around the Butcher as he laughed.  “Is that it?”  

Otis shot another round of sharpened rocks but none made it through the Butchers defense.  They all just dropped to dust around the large man as he charged.  

[-93MP]

[-90MP]

“Not fast enough boy!”  The large man shouted as he stripped away a layer of skin from Otis’s stomach.

[-195 HP]

Otis screamed as he dropped back.  He flung more sharpened rubble mixed with wind and fire at the Butcher.  The Butcher shrugged the fire off but one made of the bullets made it though and pierced his shoulder  

[-108MP]

The Butcher yelled in anger pausing a moment to fix the wound but Otis continued his barrage of stone and fire.  The Butcher took a few more wounds until he ripped a rock half a man's size from the ground to shield from Otis’s assault.

[-110MP]

Otis turned the shield against the Butcher, he reformed it binding the Butcher’s hands and renewed his bullet and fire barrage.  The rock that bound the Butcher fell away in shambles and Otis’s bullets exploded into dust as the Butcher intercepted them.  Some of them had made it through to hit his knees.

[-35MP]

[-83MP]

The Butcher fell to his knees and quickly tried to repair the damage.  He stood as he spoke.  “You done?”  The ground fell away from under the Butcher at Otis’s command and the Butcher dropped in.  Otis collapsed the hole and hardened the earth crushing the man within.  

[-101MP]

“Stay Down.”  Otis said attempting to catch his breath.  Something’s wrong, he thought. I shouldn’t be this winded.  “I-I should have recovered by now.”  Otis tried to take a deep breath but there was not enough air.  He scrambled forward to get more air as he struggled to even get half a breath.

“It’s not going to work.”  The Butcher rose up from the ground just to the side of Otis.  He brushed away Otis’s weak punch.  “No, no none of that.”  He said with a malicious grin.  “I won’t kill you, you are too valuable.  So just go to sleep.”  He brushed away another weak punch and watched Otis fall to his knees.  “Go to sleep Violam. Oh wait, your name was Otis right?  Go to sleep Otis.”

“I...you...reckless.”  Otis tried to speak as he struggled to stay away.

The Butcher frowned.  “Don’t speak you will only waste your valuable air.”

“I...you...reckless.”

“What?”  The Butcher leaned in so he could hear the boy’s words.

Otis’s conscious was fading fast and he barely managed to squeeze out the words.  “I needed you close.”  A hole opened up in the Butcher’s chest.  Otis created another telekinetic lance and stabbed into the Butcher’s throat.

[-113MP]

[-104MP]

The Butcher could not maintain Otis’s isolated space and dropped it so that he could heal himself.

Otis coughed and took huge gulps of air as he stood.  “Y-You’re not going to be able to heal those wounds.”  He created another invisible telekinetic lance and stabbed it into the Butcher as the man tried to run staking him into the ground.

[-106MP]

“I told you I thought about this fight for a long time and I figured out that you can’t manipulate what you can’t see.”  Otis took another deep breath.

“Telekinesis is my weakest magic, I really only used it to carry things.  It by itself is only useful at an extremely close range.  I can only manage a single pea sized bullet at a distance which I mixed into the stones earlier.  I needed to piss you off so you would be reckless enough to get within arm’s reach.”

“That’s funny I never thought about you one bit.”  The Butcher spoke, his eyes looked heavy and half opened.  

“Your loss.”  Otis shrugged.

“You may run now but you will come back.  No one leaves the Farg, they always come back.”

“How are you even talking right now?  You must be using everything you have to stay alive.”

“Back up is coming soon.”  The Butcher said with his eyes nearly shut.  The blood had pooled in his mouth as he had stopped it from leaving his body.

“It won’t matter.”  Otis grabbed the lance and sheared the Butcher’s head from his shoulders.  He did not cancel his magic instead he set both parts of the Butcher on fire.  

“You can’t be too safe.” He opened two pits and buried them separately.

The battle did not last long but Otis was running on empty with only 53 mana points left.  He summoned a Strength Potion to give him some immediate energy.  It was also the only potion he had left.  As he chugged it his [Aura Sense] screamed at him.  It directed him to the sky to see the long winged silhouettes in the sun.  The dragons were returning.

Otis burst into the gray man’s tent startling the Linnare and Sonashi.  “We gotta go!”

“These ones cannot get the safe open.”  Caeanos shouted as pulled on the safe’s handle with one leg anchored to the cabinet beside it.

“You didn’t have a way into the safe?”  Otis yelled in shock.  “This was your idea!  Did it not cross your mind that it would be locked?  Otis was stunned and would have been speechless if there had been enough time.  “The dragons are coming back.  We are dead if they arrive before we are gone.”

“How did you escape the Butcher?  Did you bring him down on us?”  Sonashi interrupted Otis’s panic attack.  Her hand had a firm grip on her sword.

“He’s dead.  Caeanos move out of the way.”  Otis looked around briefly until he found the gray man’s canteen in the desk drawer.  

“It’s only half full but it will do.”  Otis mumbled as he opened the canteen and summoned the water out of it.  The water floated through the air and spread out over the door of the safe.  Otis consumed some of the little bit of mana he had left to freeze it.

[-42MP]

He smashed the door with his foot.  Inside the safe was a sabre, a couple of books, one of which had the plans to the gate, some strange currency and six bags.  They were the bags that Violam had hidden all over camp

Otis pocketed the items and sheathed the sword.  “Kavdiir time to go.  You got the stone?”  He took the stone from Kavdiir and grabbed the half drawn map on the gray man’s desk.

“Alright Rose Team I don’t know how this works but hopefully it will this time.”  The tent shook as the dragons started to land.  Everyone hurriedly grabbed a hold of Otis.

Otis closed his eyes.

Take me home.

[You do not have a home set!]

Home.

[You do not have a home set!]

“It’s not working!”  A roar in the background drowned him out and it was getting closer.  “It says I don’t have a home.”

Otis opened his hand to reveal the stone, they all reached for it and vanished.

----------------------------------------

Sorry forgot to italicize the thoughts earlier.  Hopefully its easier to read now.