My shoulders heaved and if my teeth could, they would crack with how hard I grit them. The arrow lodged in my arm throbbed, and as I press my hand over the flowing wound on my side. I grab hold of the shaft of the arrow and pull. The barbs rip flesh as they’re dislodged from sinew. I curse myself for not grabbing the mail as I pull the shaft free from the gap between two of the segmented plates of my gauntlet.
My hands shake as I pick up my wand from the ground beside me.
“By the light of Yahweh, God of Gods, King of Kings.”
I direct the flowing mana into my arm, cast it again, and direct it into my side. It’s enough that they’re not bleeding, so at least I wouldn’t pass out. The creatures' bark to one another carries to my ears. I go down the hill a little and move out of the large circle of scorched earth and wait. My head throbs as the last of the mana leave my body. One of the Dogmen begins to climb the hill, I slide the Kris from its sheathe and hide it under my body so that the glimmer doesn’t catch against the light, and wait as I watch from the tall grass. Even the thought of drawing mana in causes my head to ache all the more, so I just wait as it approaches.
I fight the urge to book it down the side of the hill and continue searching for the temple, but I knew two things — one that if I did manage to destroy the temple, these two things would likely intercept me on my way back, and two that I’d be seceding the high ground to a pair of archers who have already shown great precission My arm still aches beneath the segmented plate to attest to that fact. So I lay in wait.
It steps into the ring of charred grass. I dig my fingers beneath the soil and fish out a small stone buried a few inches in. And, while its back is turned, I toss it down the hill a bit away from me. Its head jerks in that direction. It begins to take steps in that direction while I rise in a crouching position — just low enough, so the top of my head didn’t peek out from the crest, and I approach it in that low crouch.
Video games made it seem a lot easier than it actually is. By the time I was close to it, my legs felt as if they were on fire, and my heart was beating so loudly that I thought it might give me away. I held my breath and sprang up from behind, the kris grasped strongly in my grasp. The curvy blade bit deeply as I wrap my arm around its neck and thrust the blade into its throat just above the collarbone. Once. Twice. Three times. The bright white foam flows out with the ruby blood. I push it forward down the slope and duck as I hear the snap of a bowstring. A whistling arrow sails through the air, as the gurgling Dogman falls forward and slides to a stop a few feet away, twitching in the grass.
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I huff loudly as I try to still my thumping heart. The exhaustion seemed to make the headache all the worst. I peer through the grass toward the archer, who stares into the grass where I had just ducked. It raises its snout skyward and lets out three loud barks, followed by a prolonged howl. Shit. In this situation that could only mean one thing. The howl echoes across the grasslands and rolls down the hill like thunder. I should have finished this more quickly. Shit.
From that same, large farmhouse, a pair of shadows dart out into the grass and toward the direction of the howling. Shit. Should I just retreat? No. No. Clio still needs my help. I had to get through this somehow, and quickly. I crawl away; still on the crest. It was all I could do for now. At least until the headache fades. Perhaps it was time to retreat. The garrison there must be drained, after all. I crawl on my belly down the hill, making sure that I didn’t roll forward, and didn’t cross paths with the climbing Dogmen.
I lay still as soon as they begin their climb, and only start crawling again once they were passed me. By the time I make it to the bottom, only the vestiges of the headache were left. At least I’d be able to defend myself soon. I glanced back and the archer was on the top of the hill; scanning the land. The three barked at one another in conversational chirps and rumbles.
The archer’s eyes lock onto me during its scan, and its maw opens up in a mocking grin as it draws an arrow and puts it to the bowstring. I have enough time to mutter out a curse as a whistling arrow sings its way through me. I roll over, as an arrow thunk into the ground where my head had been.
“Dance for me, o’ daughters of the wind.”
The wind picks up around me and knocks back an incoming arrow. The action drew the attention of the other two Dogmen. While maintaining the flow of mana through my mouth, I aim my wand again.
“By the order of Gob, King of the spirits of the Earth, I order you, oh gnomes, seize my foe.”
The mana coming up from the earth and through my feet collides with the mana coming into my nose. The latter pushes the former down and out of my feet in an explosive manner. Pain surges up my legs as I leave the earth and am flung backward. I crash against the ground in a roll; tearing up clumps of grass as I groan. An arrow whistles and soon a sharp pain bursts through the thigh of my right leg. The Dogman lets out a chittering laugh that carries to me. The padded paws of the other two approached as I writhed on the ground. Completely overwhelmed I utter a small, shuttering cry. I'm sorry Clio.