A week had passed as the family cleared one hill after another. They worked diligently for sixteen hours a day killing hundreds of wolves a day. They lost count after the first day, but Lith had kept an average tally. Each time they traveled between the hills, they fought roughly fifty Pale Wolves, as Enki had identified them. When they got close enough to a hill to be attacked by the Den Guardian Wolves, the Pale Wolves stopped attacking. Every Hill had five Den Guardian Wolves and one Alabaster Wolf. After the Alabaster Wolf was dead and the Alabaster Core formed, they were attacked every five minutes by a pack of six wolves, possibly trying to take the place of the six wolves that previously held the hill. In total, they killed roughly one hundred and twenty-eight wolves between each hill conquering.
All of this had brought them to the threshold of level 10 as they sat on the last hill for their quest to collect ninety-nine Alabaster Cores with less than three minutes left on the clock. Something wasn’t adding up. They had killed ninety-nine Alabaster Wolves, and were almost done collecting their ninety-ninth core, but they were short one Alabaster Wolf to kill. Were they supposed to find another hill to capture and kill the wolf? They had been making their way around the hills in a circular pattern, treating their first hill as the center of their conquest. As they made their way to the outer hills, they had discovered that the Alabaster Fields were actually a valley surrounded by tall, flat cliff walls. Many of the last few hills were fully surrounded by the Pale Wolves, as if they were running out of safe places to safely stay. All the wolves could do was watch as one hill after another was conquered, watching as their impending death was inflicted on the group before them.
“So, what are we supposed to do about the last wolf?” Asked Matia.
“Maybe we missed a hill.” Guidry offered.
“Not possible.” Said his grandmother. “We started off pretty much dead center. There aren’t any more Alabaster Wolves to kill that live on a hill.”
“Maybe some of them were brave enough to retake a hill.” Suggested Enki.
“Possible, but unlikely.” Lith said. “No wolf has crossed the red for even a moment. Not even on this last hill.”
“So how are we supposed to complete the first quest?” Trevor asked.
“Eat up and rest.” Lith said as he tossed each of them some dried meat and hard tac from a pouch. He was more thankful than ever for Anthropo, who had suggested bringing supplies to last them several days. They would eat three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but found that their appetite was slowly dwindling. They also never felt thirsty, despite sweating from the physical exertion of combat. They definitely needed a shower when they got back to their house. Lith took a bite of the dried meat. “I get the feeling something dramatic will happen after we claim this last core.”
He put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder and cast Balm. The pained look on her face subsided. At first, each core she absorbed caused a massive amount of pain before subsiding, but now the pain was constant, although not as powerful. His casting of Balm seemed to temporarily lessen the pain she was in, so he cast it on her every time his mana topped off. They were all wondering what was going on in Matia’s body. She was getting paler and paler with each core she absorbed, but other than the pain, there was no sign of injury. Lith had tried casting Heal a few times, but when nothing changed after the first few casts, he stopped casting it. This clearly wasn’t a wound Heal could handle, and Lith was starting to regret not taking Purify instead of Enfeeble. Just a few more kills and he would be at level 10. Hopefully there was another skill selection that would let him help his daughter more.
They watched as the counter reached zero and the red roots gathered and grew the final Alabaster Core. It immediately threw itself into Matia who shuddered from the joining. Lith immediately cast Balm again.
Quest Complete:
Gather 99 Alabaster Cores: 99/99
New Quest:
Slay The Alabaster King
The quest update and new quest immediately made itself known as they were all looking at the quest screen.
“What is an Alabaster King?” Guidry asked as they all stood.
“The last wolf we have to kill.” Fayde answered.
“Look at the plants at the edge.” Trevor said pointing towards the cliff walls.
The once white, now red grass was wilting and withering, turning black as they quickly lost all semblance of vitality. The grass wasn’t wilting only at their hill. Every hill along the edge of the valley was starting to turn black as the tall grass died for seemingly no reason.
“Alabaster King?” Lith asked looking at Fayde.
“I’m not making a bet with you about it.” She spoke. When Lith was confident about something, he would make a twenty-dollar bet, even if it was obvious to everyone else too.
The black grass soon passed them as the red died. It seemed that the blood the grass had collected was flowing back towards the center of the valley. Was the blood being used to summon the Alabaster King or resurrect it? Either way, they had to kill it and following the wilting grass to the center of the valley was currently their best bet to find it. They began to walk after the dying grass. Its pace was easy enough to follow at first, but as they moved further to the center they had to jog to keep up with the receding line of grass.
By the time they were a few hills from the center they were in a full sprint, with their stamina draining from the exertion. In the distance they could see a hill larger than any they had come across before, certainly not one they had conquered. As they drew closer, they began to notice that the hill was moving. It looked like an embryo in the womb. Something, probably the Alabaster King, was growing in the writhing mass of vines, drawing in the blood of all of the fallen wolves that was previously in the Alabaster Grass.
Cresting over the last hill, they watched as the last of the grass turned black and died. All that remained was the large moving mass of blood red roots. The roots writhed as the growing beast inside of it moved. Soon, the roots too started to turn black, and the movement inside stopped, turfing into dull thuds against the roots.
“Weapons out.” Fayde commanded as she unsheathed her shashka. “Everyone be ready.”
They all brandished their weapons, Enki notching an arrow and Guidry charging up a Shock bolt. They watched in eager anticipation as the thudding inside the roots slowed and then stopped. They looked at each other for a moment, a question passing between Fayde and Lith. Had the roots smothered the beast in its wound?
Suddenly, the roots shattered to pieces as a howl louder than the first howl of the combined Alabaster Wolves was let loose. Splinters of roots rained down harmless upon them as a wolf three times larger than any of the Alabaster Wolves towered above its rooted womb. This wolf was not covered in rocks like the ones before it. It looked more like the Pale Wolves, covered in fur.
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“Well,” started Enki, “That’s definitely the Alabaster King.” His eyes flashed as he activated Identify. “Seems that’s its name. Says Alabaster King, Alabaster Wolf.”
“Splendid.” Fayde said.
The wolf turned, focusing its head sized eyes on them. The beast shook its body, flinging the blood off its fur and creating a deafening rattle. It sounded like millions of stones clattering on each other. As the wolf stopped its shaking, they realized that the loud clattering was coming from its fur. Every hair on the wolf’s body was made of alabaster stone.
“Damn.” Said Enki. “With fur like that it’s no wonder it is called the Alabaster King.”
“Think it’s slow?” Matia asked.
And then it moved. With three strides, the beast was right on top of them, its fangs bearing right for Guidry and his charged Shock Bolt. Matia let out a Taunting Roar, and while the beast paused a moment in its attack, it quickly refocused on Guidry as he released a spark bolt, immediately following it with Mana Shield. The bolt of electric energy was fast and accurate, but not as powerful as Mana Bolt. It hit the wolf but was rendered useless against the stony fur. The wolf’s claws were equally accurate and fast, striking Guidry’s Mana Shield with so much force that it shattered. The claw pierced straight through and struck Guidry, sending him flying back with gouges down his chest.
“Guidry!” Trevor called out to her son. She started running towards him.
“Trevor focus!” Her own mother called out to her. “You dad is already moving. Focus on the wolf.”
Trevor took a quick glance and saw Lith moving towards Guidry with a heal spell already charged in his hand. Matia and Fayde had already rushed over, standing next to Trevor, between them and the wolf. They would have to be the wall and keep the beast away from their family until Guidry was healed. The beast came at them and swung its mighty claw. Matia reared her shield back before swinging it at the incoming claw. Shield met stone covered paw as she bashed it away. Between her toughness and strength, Matia managed to successfully stop the attack from doing any damage to her but was pushed several feet for her effort. Fayde and Trevor took the chance to close in on the underside of the wolf, Fayde moving quickly with Swift Stride to appear by the back feet. Trevor unleashed Flurry of Blades at its front paws, hoping to chip its nails at least and blunt its blows. As quickly as the wolf pulled its claw away, Trevor was right on its heel, pressing her attack. At the same time, Fayde was working on its back feet, focusing on vertical slashes and thrusts to weave her blades past the rock-hard fur and into its hide.
While the wolf was distracted by the attacks of the women of the family, Lith applied a Heal spell to Guidry’s wounds directly. The claws of the beast had cut straight through the skin and muscles on Guidry’s chest and cracked a few bones, causing him to cough up blood. As the healing took effect, Guidry’s wound rapidly closed. He coughed up a bit more blood before gasping for air to refill his lungs.
“You ok buddy?” Lith asked his grandson.
Guidry nodded as he charged up another Shock Bolt.
“Don’t think the shock spell isn’t going to work on this guy.” Lith said as he pointed to a small scorch mark on the fur of the wolf. “Seems like the rocks are helping to insulate the electric energy. Switch to Mana Bolt while I try to weaken it.”
Guidry nodded again and began to stand, Lith helping him up.
“Figured out how to double cast yet?”
“Going to have to if I want to avoid another one of its paws.”
“Atta boy.” Lith said patting Guidry on the shoulder one more time. “Back to work.”
Lith ran full tilt back towards the wolf. He watched as Fayde nimbly moved out of the way of the kicks from the back paws using Swift Stride. Trevor and Matia teamed up to whittle down the claws of the beast, Matia block bashing the nails to weaken them followed by Trevor using Flurry of Blades to chip away at the cracks. Seconds drew out as Lith approached. Even with his higher dexterity, he still felt slow as he returned to the battle.
“Matia!” he called out. She looked back for a moment after recovering from being pushed back again. “Shield Vault.”
“Stop doing crazy shit dad.” She said turning away from him, heading back into battle.
“Gotta weaken a vital spot.”
Matia rolled her eyes as she slowed her run. She lifted her shield above her head as she squatted down in a wide stance. Lith maintained his pace before jumping up onto the shield in a crouch. Simultaneously, Matia extended her bod upwards using her boosted strength attribute to practically throw her father up while he leaped forward. He charged an Enfeeble spell in his hand. The wolf was currently trying to snap its jaws at Fayde who had already managed to open a few small wounds in the wolf. Small streams of blood were trickling down its leg, proof of her efforts. Lith let out a yell, drawing the wolf’s attention to himself as it whipped around its head. He slapped the wolf on the side of its muzzle and started tumbling head over heel down for his efforts. His strength was not insubstantial, but compared to the Alabaster King, it might as well have been a tap. But a tap was all he needed.
Lith landed on his back and let out a grunt of pain as the wind left his lungs. The wolf lifted its paw over Lith to crush him with a stomp, but as the wolf’s clawed foot came down Matia stepped in, delivering another bash with her shield. She repelled the foot, only having to spin away once to recover. Lith’s spell had worked. The Alabaster King now had one stack of Enfeeble on it, and that was enough to stop Matia from being pushed back several feet from each blow of the wolf’s claws.
“I swear you’re gonna get yourself killed if you keep being this reckless.” Matia said with concern on her face.
“Forge your path is what the door said.” Lith quoted as he got back to his feet. “Besides, I have a strong daughter to watch my back. I’m not dying anytime soon.” He pulled a few stone quills from his hand and flexed it. The alabaster fur of the wolf wasn’t only hard, each strand was adorned with a sharp, needle like point. The cloth rope on his hand was thankfully helping to stem and catch the bleeding, but a few more slaps and he might lose all ability to use his hand. He could heal himself, but that could wait. The charge of Enfeeble he used just now ate a noticeable potion of his available mana. We would only manage three more stacks before being tapped out. He tapped his daughter on the shoulder. The slightly pained look on her face alleviated. Two more charges now.
“Thanks. That thing is so strong I think the impacts were starting to fracture my bones.”
“Should be a little easier from here on out. Let’s get back to work.”
Matia hadn’t taken her eyes off the wolf who was currently back attacking Fayde as she targeted its hind legs. Mana Bolts from Guidry started to land on the side of the wolf causing loud clatters of stone from their impact. Stone fur started to rain down from the force of the spell causing Matia to block herself and Lith with her shield. When the rain of stone stopped, Lith rushed forward and slapped the wolf’s massive leg, adding a second stack of Enfeeble to the beast and weakening it further. Two arrows quickly followed and sunk into the flesh of the wolf, one piercing further than the other. Enki was stating to help out, letting loose regular and Power Shot infused arrows.
Realizing that the mage from earlier wasn’t dead, the wolf’s attention turned towards Guidry again only to have an arrow blind its left eye. It howled in pain and tilted its good eye towards Enki before running off in their direction. Enki was standing next to Guidry who unleashed more Mana Bolts at the wolf. As much as it was enfeebled, the Alabaster King still managed to dodge a few of the bolts. The bolts that did hit managed to land on one of its forelegs, slowing it down a bit and sending more hails of stone fur flying as it ran. The wolf was faster than any of them on foot at the moment and was upon the top of them before the rest could catch up. It opened its maw wide to bite at both of them but was stopped before its mouth could close by two mana shields.
Guidry pushed the shields outwards, locking the jaws of the jaws on the beast in place as the shields caught it behind its massive canines. Enki charged and released several Power Shots into the open mouth of the wolf making it gag and whine with each shot. Maintaining both shields with one hand, Guidry followed Enki up by unleashing Spark Bolts into the mouth of the beast. It let out gurgling sounds as it writhed, trapped by its own folly.
By this time, Matia, Trevor, Fayde, and Lith had all caught up with the beast.
“Matia,” said Fayde. “My turn.”
“Your turn for what?”
“Shield Vault.”
“You are both insane.” Matia said as she assumed her previous vaulting position.
Fayde used Swift Stride to appear on top of Matia’s shield and was launched into the air. Lith charged up his last Enfeeble and released it as he touched the injured hind leg of the Alabaster wolf. Fayde landed and ran along the curved body of the Alabaster King crushing the now brittle thin strands of fur with each step. Lith’s Enfeeble had weakened the wolf plenty, and now it was time for Fayde to capitalize on it. The wolf shook ferociously as it tried to make Fayde fall off its body, but it was too late. Fayde was already between its shoulder blades. She plunged her swords deep into both sides of the wolf’s neck and pushed her hilts together. Her swords acted like scissors as she severed the spine of the wolf. As its body collapsed lifelessly to the ground, Fayde was endowed with the biggest rush of energy from any kill she had performed yet.