You have defeated a Dune Giant! You have gained 30 experience points.

Sean rode their fallen opponent all the way down to the ground. Its body crashed into the ground with enough deafening force, and he rolled off the side leaving Gel’s cracked, crimson axe lodged firmly inside its skull. The gelaton surveyed the battlefield as he rose to his feet, twin burning orbs alight with fury. In the corner of his vision, the health and mana indicators on his HUD revealed the heavy costs they had just paid for the win.

Current Health: 4 / 27

Current Mana: 0 / 5

That’s… not good. Sean thought, grateful he couldn’t get physically exhausted any longer and that his undead form was highly resilient to pain. He was a tough bastard, if the rest are all like him…

Both small and wide cracks leaking black mist covered Sean’s entire skeletal frame. He had been fortunate enough to not have any of his limbs broken beyond use again, but it had been a near thing. He had been forced to summon another bone shield at maximum durability just to survive after the first had been shattered by a particularly brutal blow, but even his latest was now crumbling off his left arm. White splinters of bone fell harmlessly to the ground, useless to him now.

Dune giants were faster than their bulk made them look. Gel hadn’t escaped injury in this fight, either. The slime’s health had fallen to 8 points, just under half. One more full-on strike could be his friend’s end.

“Alright, let’s get what we can from this big bastard.” Sean said, reaching over and placing a hand on the giant’s face. He wiped dark blood from his brow. “‘Cause it looks like he had friends.”

“Oh, perfect! He’s next, then.” Gel said, immediately latched onto the body and began consuming it as fast as he could to regain them some mana. “Just give me a second to dig in here…”

At least he can get some health back from it. Sean thought, not missing the false bravado the slime had filled his voice with.

That was reassuring, in a way. Gel knew exactly how dire their situation was. Even he was taking it seriously, pressing both slime whips into the giant’s carcass to consume it as fast as inhumanly possible.

Another blow or two… and that might be it for me. Especially if I lose it again.

Sean’s inner fury had taken over only once, when the giant had used some ‘unknown ability’ to temporarily accelerate itself. He’d taken that blow on the shoulder, where the force of it had pushed him two feet into the ground and cracked both his knees. If the oasis itself hadn’t been on their side, the next giant’s next blow might have killed them. He had been all but a sitting target.

Things had gotten hazy after that, but the important part was they were back in the game.

Rastegar was still up, though only barely. The manticore was lying in the dirt now, his tail flashing out in time with the rising grass and splintered trees doing their best whomping palm impressions. Two of his former opponents lay dead, but only two. Warabe had made it over to him, and from what Sean could see the turtle-man was the only reason the pair of them weren’t dead already.

Auntie Ta was the giant’s primary target now, and the gelaton couldn’t blame them for it. She stood in the dead-center of the oasis: pure, unbridled fury given human form. Shining emerald water whirled about her as the druid summoned angry, crackling lightning down from the skies to fry her opponents. Growing tornadoes formed out of biting wind, sheering grass, and other detritus whirled around the field.

Blood, both dark red and grey, caked her face and arms. Deep purple bruising marked her face and the visible portions of her legs. She had lost her palm-leaf robe at some point, revealing sweat-drenched inner wrappings smothered in blood and dirt in equal measure. Her staff floated next to her, a halo ring of fiercely-glaring floofs orbiting it. Her hands were a blur of motion he couldn’t follow.

But her eyes.

Her eyes blazed with emerald fury that sent an involuntary shiver down the gelaton’s spine. Even from all the way over there. Even though she wasn’t focused on him.

She is got-damn terrifying. Thank the gods Auntie Ta is on our side. Without her…

Only a scant few beasts of the desert remained to defend elsewhere. Bodies of all shapes and sizes littered the chaotic oasis battleground like stones in a pond, but the giants had paid in blood to make it as far as they had. The sheer number of broken trees and impaled members of their monstrous humanoid race told how most of those fights had ended. Even so, more were coming. Sean could see reinforcements astride sand wurms riding literally up and out of the sand at the edge of the oasis.

He didn’t have enough time for a quick count with their opponent on the way. All he could do was hope the rampaging druid would be enough to hold them back. Because right now, both he and Gel were at their limit fighting just one of these oversized cretins at a time… and their next opponent was currently barreling towards them, enraged at having seen its companion’s fate.

Sean refocused his attention on their opponent, just as Gel finished consuming what the slime could reach for now. A much-welcome prompt appeared as his friend slid back into place between his ribs. It contained a surprise at the end, one that might just have saved their lives.

Gel has partially absorbed a Dune Giant, earning 2 mana and 10 experience points. Due to your symbiotic nature and bond, you have been granted the same boon.

Note: Gel’s ‘Sharing is Caring’ title has activated, granting you a total of 5 mana from this exchange.

Perfect.

The gelaton spent three of his remaining mana on resummoning another bone shield as he dashed over to a nearby stand of three palm trees. Behind him, the furious giant slowed its rumbling charge and raised a wary, oversized club in both hands. Clearly aware of exactly how dangerous the trees were. Even so, a vicious grin spread across its stupid face as it lumbered forward. There were no more trees they could run to for aid, and even the grass around them was thinning out. It had them.

Or so it thought.

Keep comin’ big guy. Sean thought, turning back to face it. I’ve got what you’re looking for right here.

“Alright, we swap to spider climb and then I’ll get us up to this tree here.” Sean said, laying out his suddenly improvised plan as quickly as he could. He gestured at the palm tree next to them that was already bending backwards in anticipation of a strike. “When it goes, we go. It’ll fling us high, and I want you to grab onto the giant and bring us back down. It’ll probably try to intercept us, so we’ve got to be prepared for when it does. Now, hand me another–”

Gel solidified another crimson axe in Sean’s right hand before the gelaton could even finish.

“Perfect. Now, we’re going for its face. Give me as much strength as you can. We’re going to cleave that stupid look off it’s stupid fucking face, and then eat the pair of them after. Ready?”

“Ready!” Gel all but shouted, swapping their abilities out.

Sean turned towards the tree, activating spider climb and climbing the nearly 45-degree angle trunk as swiftly as he could. Behind him, the giant barked out an amused snort. It advanced again, battering aside a blow from one tree and taking a full swing from the other on its shoulder. Wood snapped, and the giant’s amusement grew to full on laughter.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Probably some damned defense ability. Sean thought, scaling up towards the kutrilons as the palm tree neared a 90-degree horizontal from its base. He settled in amongst the leaves and readied himself. Both feet pressed to the tree, shield raised, and one slime-wrapped hand holding his battle axe.

Keep laughing, asshole… and keep walking.

Later, Sean would swear that the palm tree had known what he was planning. The tree launched forward to smash into the giant at the perfect moment, and Sean released spider climb at the apex of its arc – sending them both soaring high up into the air above the giant. To his dismay, his foe must have guessed the plan as well.

Moving faster than anything its size had a right to, the dune giant spun its upper body into a rising blow with its club that met the palm tree halfway– snapping the top half of its trunk clean off. Splinters of wood flew in all directions. The giant spun again, this time in the direct opposite direction as it stepped up and used the knockback momentum to bring its massive club into a reverse swing directly at Sean. A blow moving with enough force to batter them all the way out of the oasis.

A blow Sean met with his raised left hand, directly on his shield.

“Impact shell!”

Gel’s shout brought a wave of crimson energy out from the slime, forming a half-shell interspersed between them and the rising club. The massive club struck the shell of energy– and stopped mid-swing. The dune giant furrowed its burlish brows in confusion, but the pair weren’t done. Sean battered the club away with his shield, just as he moved all the energy from momentum shift into his next attack. Transferring the dune giant’s own fury into the crimson axe in his right hand, dark mana shimmering at its edges.

“Slash!” Sean roared, spending his last point of mana to bring the axe crashing down directly in the center of the giant’s face. Its gleaming black edge splitting the monstrous humanoid’s surprised expression in half as their combined might sent grey blood spurting through the air.

YOU HAVE USED THE ABILITY ‘SLASH’ ON DUNE GIANT FOR 62 DAMAGE (62 TOTAL, BASE 15 PLUS 16 FROM MOMENTUM SHIFT [CAP REACHED], DAMAGE MULTIPLIED 200% DUE TO A CRITICAL STRIKE!). YOU HAVE CUT YOUR TARGET’S SKULL IN HALF.

True to the prompt’s description, the black-and-crimson edge of Sean’s battle axe cleaved through the rest of the dune giant’s skull like a hot knife through increasingly messy butter. Sean rode his opponent down to the ground again, leaving the now-snapped axe buried hilt-deep into the back of the monstrous humanoid’s neck as he rolled into a patch of grass that rose to meet him. Another death prompt appeared, granting him another 30 experience, but Sean dismissed it without a glance as the sound of a horn blowing echoed out through the trees. An instant later, a voice screamed in grief and outrage across the battlefield.

A female voice. “Nooooo!!”

Sean looked up, the cold, logical side of his nature already planning for what they should do next if Rastegar and/or Warabe had fallen… only to be puzzled by what he saw. The dune giant reinforcements, the ones who had tunneled up and out of the sand, were gone. They had fled the field. Retreating into the desert sands alongside every one of their still-living comrades who could manage it. Fleeing like cowards atop the very sand wurms they had rode in on.

Rastegar lay in a half-cocoon of emerald grass, an abandoned club sunk into the meat between his shoulder blades right at the base of his battered wings. Warabe leaned up against the manticore, all limbs save his right arm broken. The turtle-man held tight to his friend’s fur by his teeth, and appeared to be struggling to move the club off – but to little avail. Behind them, a single bruised and bleeding giant held its weapon aloft. Poised to kill.

The last dune giant left standing in the oasis never finished its intended blow. Twin bolts of emerald lightning flashed down at the same time, flash-frying the monstrous humanoid where it stood. Sean felt the accompanying thunderclap this time, as Auntie Ta’s voice sounded out again – though the words were lost on him. She ran towards her injured friends, but Gel nudged the gelaton’s attention elsewhere.

“Look, over there!” Gel said, pointing with his whip to where a clearly beaten dune giant was writhing all over the ground. “She said ‘Bind him!’ and, well, it looks like the oasis took her seriously.”

“No kidding.” Sean said, as the pair watched dozens – possibly hundreds – of thick green, cord-like vines ensnare the giant. “Smart move, taking one prisoner.”

In seconds, the giant was wrapped up all the way from its ankles to its overly thick neck. Its own club jammed against the side of its face, revealing teeth as its lips were forcibly pressed apart. A vine covered its mouth, and it bit down – only for a half-dozen more to immediately gag it. The druid gestured again, and the grass itself surged up around the monstrous form of the now-gift-wrapped giant. It began to move, gliding across the oasis and delivering her quarry to her. Sean followed it, jogging quickly.

“We’ll eat them later.” Sean said quickly, heading off any possible dissent from his companion now that the battle appeared to be done. “I don’t want to miss whatever’s about to happen here.”

“Hrnngh… fine. Let’s go.” Gel admitted, with only a glance or two of longing at the massive sections of recently-slain meat they were leaving to cool behind them. “But not too long! We still need the mana in their bodies, and I want their mass to replace what I’ve lost. Why are you so interested in that last one, anyway?”

“Because I get the feeling those giants didn’t just attack randomly.” Sean explained as he ran, outpacing the grass holding the giant. If I keep this pace up, I should make it there when the giant does. “There were too many of them, and then– did you see that? All their reinforcements just… ran off? That’s not how you win if your goal was to take this place over, so why leave?”

“Because ‘Ta over there was still building her storm of terror up?” Gel guessed. “You saw that thing. It was getting bigger the longer she was over that water. Maybe they saw that and ran off. Did you see how she was feeding the water into her spell? I didn’t even know you could do that. Maybe she’ll teach us!”

“I doubt we have what it takes to pay her for a lesson like that.” Sean quipped back. “Even after all this. But I am sure she’s about to interrogate that jumbo-sized prick, and I want to be there when she does.”

“You don’t think she’s going to eat him?” Gel asked, sounding confused.

“... No? Rastegar might, though.”

“Well if he doesn’t, then I call dibs!” Gel announced brightly, before dropping the enthusiasm a bit and adding more solemnity into his tone. “I hope he makes it.”

“Me, too.” Sean responded grimly, crossing the last dozen or so meters to the heavily wounded trio before slowing down. He raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture, hoping not to accidentally spook the powerful druid. “Hey, uh… Gel? Mind asking Auntie Ta if there’s anything we can do here? I’m no healer, but I’m happy to help out.”

Gel began to do just that only for Auntie Ta’s entire body to whip suddenly around at the sound, her expression furious and her eyes still blazing with emerald light – though both faded quickly when she saw them. Sean wasn’t sure how much of the blood she was covered in was hers or not, but even if you went by low percentages in her favor she had to be in bad shape. She relaxed a fraction, seeing the pair of them. Gel repeated what Sean had asked him to say, and the powerful druid didn’t hesitate.

“Help Warabe get the club out, then lay him on the grass. The oasis will keep them both breathing for now, until I can see to them proper.” She spoke in clipped, harsh sentences, all traces of her usual softness gone. “They will both need my attention for some time, but they will survive. The two of you should– well, I suppose you don’t rest, do you? Fine then. You want to help? Follow me.”

The druid straightened her back and made as if to roll up her sleeves – only to find she had none. She tisked, and then brushed her hands clear of the gore that stained them. Without so much as a sidelong glance, she strode towards the still-struggling dune giant who had just arrived. Sean followed, taking a position on her right. He noted there was no empathy in her gaze, only more of that wild fury – now smoldering.

It seemed fitting. His own nature wasn’t even bothering to check his inner rage right now. A fact that bore more investigation, later.

“Why?” Auntie Ta asked, that single word echoing through the oasis like the command it was. She gestured, and the vines gagging the giant removed themselves. The blood-covered woman stared down at the interloper to her territory like an executioner holding the axe high.

“We had a pact.” The druid said, softer this time, but no less threatening.

The air around her stilled as she spoke. The tornadoes she had summoned earlier dissipated, and even the running water of the oasis seemed to calm. Sean noted the few remaining beasts of the desert were retreating cautiously back from where they were – from the druid. Her staff found its way into her hand somehow, sprouting up from the ground like a flower through heavy snow. A trio of floofs rested atop it, their expressionless gaze intense.

“Your people broke it.” Auntie Ta repeated, and Gel nudged Sean to look up. He glanced in that direction, finding unnaturally dark clouds forming above them out of the otherwise clear sky. Sean took a tactically-sound step in a safe direction. Definitely not a retreat.

The tip of Auntie Ta’s staff found its way beneath the ensnared dune giant’s chin. Emerald light crackled from behind her eyes as she looked down at him.

“You will tell me why.”