Morgan’s eyes widened in disbelief, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and frustration. She couldn't believe that Aiden had with an ill-timed kick, managed to draw not one, but all four remaining Emberwisps towards them. The thin fiery forms turned to face them and even from a distance they shimmered from the heat they radiated. One of them let out an angry screech as it watched them and then one by one the other let out the same eerie cry.
Unable to hide her annoyance, she shouted over at Aiden, “What are you doing? We’re not ready for all four of them!”
“I didn’t know that was going to happen,” Aiden answered looking over at her with surprise. “It just happened.”
Morgan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was nothing to do about it now.
Stepping back, she noticed Elara also retreating a few steps to her right. Morgan could hear Elara's bracelets chiming softly as she moved away from the wisps and closer to Morgan.
“Well,” Morgan said softly, trying not to let the others hear, “Are you convinced now that he’s not the Champion?” Morgan looked over at Aiden.
Aiden was just standing there, staring at the creatures obviously unsure of exactly what to do next. His clothes looked so unusual, and it didn’t help that the only heat resistant gear he had was what they had been able find in their pockets for him. His should she had enchanted herself, but she had to work with what he already had and it wasn't her best work. The Scald Shield High Tops had tall yellow tops and their bright shiny sides and white rubbery bottoms that just seemed a bit off. Elara’s old Smelt Shield Artisan Gloves matched the bright purple that Elara favored, but looked awkward and unnatural on Aiden.
Aiden took a step forward, as if ready to take on the imps and Elara looked over at Morgan getting her attention and then shrugged, “I don’t know, I mean, maybe he could be?”
Morgan frowned and looked back over at Aiden. Two of the creatures noticed Aiden’s movement and turned toward him screeching with anger at him. He took a step back.
Morgan returned her attention to Elara, “Really, you think Aiden’s the Champion?”
“I know it looks bad,” Elara answered with a tight apologetic smile, “but when I cast The Call of the Champion, it said the champion would appear pretty quicky and we did run into Aiden right after that.”
“So what?” Morgan said dividing her attention between the approaching wisps and Elara, “it said the champion would appear, but it didn’t say where. For all we know, the champion showed up across Etheregia in Dragonvale. Prophecies and World Spells can be like that. They are clever, but never clear.”
Elara's dark eyes darted over to Aiden again, “Okay, so you may be right,” she said as Aiden made a slow retreat away from the creatures, “He doesn’t seem much a champion. But then what about my quest?”
"I don't know what to do about that, but right now, we are all going to need to fight these things,” Morgan said as she eyed Elara critically, her gaze sweeping down the full-length gown that dusted the broken cobblestones beneath them, "and you aren’t dressed for this kind of fight."
Elara didn’t answer immediately, a frown knitted her brows and she shifted her stance absentmindedly from side to side, her long purple dress swaying gently. Morgan just waited. Elara looked beautiful, but she looked like she was getting ready to go to a party rather than a battle. Coming from a family of tailors, Morgan appreciated the craftmanship in the long flowing gown with its delicate silver accents, and the way it complemented her dark skin and hair, however, it was not the most practical outfit to fight Emberwisps. Not that either of them were dressed for a battle. Morgan certainly would not have worn her favorite lace cuffed blouse or a thin pair of trousers if she had known she would be fighting Emberwisps in the afternoon, but Elara needed to change.
“But, it’s so pretty and…”
Morgan cut her off, “It’s gorgeous, you look amazing and your Galvanite Gown was good enough when we were dealing with the imps. But did you see how the first Emberwisps moved? These things are a whole different breed of fast. It would be too easy for them to reach a hand out and burn you, or your dress.”
Elara frowned and looked down at the many layers of silky fabric and smoothed the skirt just a bit, “I don’t want my dress burned,” she admitted.
Although she was disappointed, Morgan could see that she was convinced.
Elara reached for the chain belt that hung lowest, encircling her hips like a small metallic cascade. As Elara tugged at the chain, it began to shimmer with a soft, silvery light and the small silver sparkles in the dress also started sparkling as if in answer. The loose flowing fabric of her gown changed slowly at first. The fluffy purple dress that had encircle Elara began to flatten, little by little, making the top layer thicker and darker until it was one hung down the ground in one smooth, leather like piece the material much thicker and stronger than it had been before.
Around her waist, the fabric tightened and began to mold itself against Elara’s hips, following the curve of her legs down, as the once-flowing gown transformed into dark purple pants that seemed to be molded to her body.
The process was amazing to watch even though Morgan had seen it many times before, but this time she couldn’t help being a bit impatient. The wisps that had been approaching Aiden were now turned toward Elara.
"Can it go any faster?" Morgan asked, “I think at least one of those Emberwisps noticed you.”
“I’m almost finished,” Elara called back. The pants were nearly fully formed, and the loose chain belt that had been hanging on her dress had transformed into thick metal links that laid on the hips of her pants. Elara ran her hand over her hip and smiled looking satisfied. She touched the chain lightly again and it whirled around her once more and then locked into place with a faint, musical clink.
“Done,” Elara said with a deep sigh and looked at Morgan, “Well, what do you think?”
Gone was the cumbersome folds of a full gown, and instead, she had replaced them with sleek form fitting pants.
“That is better,” Morgan answered with an admiring smile. "Don't you think so?"
“No,” Elara said with a pout, leveling her dark eyes at Morgan. “But it is more practical,” she admitted with a shrug.
“Well, your timing is perfect because I think they are getting ready to charge,” Morgan said.
She scanned the rapidly closing gap between them and the Emberwisps and noticed that the air carried the faint smell of ozone and charred earth.
“If we each take one, we should be able to handle them,” Jabari said.
“Eventually, but not quickly,” Morgan answered. “My hammer will work, but they are Level 3s, which means that each hit won’t do much damage and the longer it takes the more likely the Emberwisps will find an opening.”
“I think I can take them,” Aiden volunteered, “besides, I’m the reason they are all attacking at once.”
“If you still had that club, maybe,” Elara said wistfully, “but without it, you would have to get too close to fight all four.”
Morgan considered their options, “Aiden’s kick worked on the other Emberwisp, so, it should work on these too. If each of you takes one and just keeps them away from us, I’ll work with Aiden and see how quickly we can get him to level. If we do this right, he should be able to finish the last ones with just a few good hits.”
Elara nodded, “that sound like it will work.”
“It’s a plan,” Jabari agreed.
“We’ll take the two on the right,” Elara said gesturing at the angry creatures closest to her, “You and Aiden take the ones on the left.”
“I’ll just need a minute or two to get their attention,” Morgan said to Aiden.
“Got it,” Aiden answered.
The Emberwisps, lithe and almost ethereal in their fiery forms, advanced with slow, menacing grace. The closest one to Morgan leaned back, its body flaring with intense heat, and released another screech, but this time, it turned into a loud, angry howl.
When it looked back at her, the Emberwisp closed the distance with alarming speed, its lithe form moving fast until it was standing just in front of her.
Morgan’s heart pounded against her ribcage, adrenaline surging through her veins as she gripped her hammer tightly and swung it at the creature. It connected with a satisfying thud that sent sparks flying. Quickly adjusting her stance, she aimed at the second Emberwisp that was going after Aiden, her hammer arcing through the air and landed another heavy blow.
The attack seemed to have worked and Morgan found herself facing two incensed opponents.
The Emberwisps circled her, a swirling mass of fire and rage, their movements erratic and unpredictable as they clawed toward her. She swatted back with her Small Tack Hammer and wished, not for the first time, that her parents had been willing to unlock at least one or two offensive skills. They had insisted that the forests were safe, but the forbidden areas, well those she realized now were different.
She hit them again and again, wondering if she was doing any damage at all. 'Power Track', she thought, and instantly two bars appeared above each of the creatures, augmenting her view of them. She shook her head. It was as bad as she had feared. Even with two solid hits, both of the creatures were nearly full of the magic that powered them.
“I’ve got their attention, Aiden,” she said. “Now, make it count, Aiden! Aim!”
Aiden nodded, then squared his shoulders and delivered a well-aimed kick to one of the Emberwisps, his foot connecting with a force that made the creature reel backward. Quickly he followed up with another kick.
Morgan kept one eye on Aiden and the other on the creature’s Power Tracking Bar. She could see the impact of his hits; his hits were effective, causing the Emberwisp's health to visibly drop, the glow of its form dimming slightly with each impact.
“It was working!” she shouted, “Aiden you’re finally doing some damage!”
Morgan tried to keep the attention of both imps, but the more he hit them the more he took their attention and the harder it was to keep them on her. Each time she hit one of the Emberwisps she noticed, a slight decrease in its vitality, but it Aiden's attacks were far more effective, his damage already three or four times greater than hers. She wouldn’t be able to keep their attention long.
“Aiden, I can’t keep both of their attention,” she shouted, as she dodged another swing and the second wisp turned away from her to face Aiden.
“What do I do?” he asked, taking a step back.
“Just pick one and keep doing whatever you can. Keep hitting it until it bursts!” Morgan called.
She looked at the Power Track of the imp she was facing:
Creature: Emberwisp Level 3 Power Track: 89%
She was making progress, but each hit was doing so little damage that she wondered how long it would take for her to deplete its power fully. She wondered if she would even be able to do it before she became exhausted. If she tripped, or fell, or if it reached her… she didn’t want to think about that.
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The heat emanating from the creature was intense, almost unbearable, forcing her to take a step back.
Glancing over at Aiden she hoped he was doing better and looked at the power track for his creature:
Creature: Emberwisp Level 3 Power Track: 57%
“It’s going down, Aiden,” she called, “keep it up!”
Her eyes flicked from Aiden to the wisp she was engaging, doing her best to keep track of both battles simultaneously, but when she looked over, she could see Aiden's hesitation, his movements were still a fraction too delayed. If he missed or hurt himself, they might not make it out of here.
"Aiden, use your environment! Don’t just back away, lead it to where you can do more damage!" she called out sharply hoping he heard her over the creatures hissing and shouting.
Aiden seemed to nod and understand. She watched as he swiftly maneuvering around a fallen, charred tree trunk that lay smoldering nearby. With the Emberwisp momentarily disoriented by the obstacle, Aiden seized the opportunity to land two solid blows against the fiery creature, which recoiled against the unexpected assault.
Morgan looked at the power left of Aiden’s attacker:
Creature: Emberwisp Level 3 Power Track: 43%
“That’s it! You’ve got this, Aiden,” Morgan encouraged, her voice lifting above the roar of flames, suddenly hopeful.
“They are just so fast!” Aiden shouted back, frustration edging his voice as he dodged another swipe. “I feel like I’m missing as often as I’m hitting them!”
Morgan, watched as he kicked it then kicked it again, and shouted back, "Did you try punching them? It’s easier to vary an attack than to just try to use the same thing over and over."
“Well, no,” Aiden admitted looking toward her and then ducked, just barely dodging a lash of fiery tendrils.
“Then try it!” Morgan pressed, parrying a blow from her own Emberwisp.
“But I don’t want to damage the gloves,” Aiden replied, and he moved away from his ember-lit foe.
“What?” Morgan frowned, “Why?” she said with confusion as she swung her hammer, and connected with a resounding thud.
“It says they are expensive to repair,” Aiden answered, a note of worry threading through his words as he backed away from a another aggressive advance.
Morgan's frustration peaked. "Elara! What did you say to him?" she called across the road to where Elara was skillfully managing her own wisp dancing out of the way and the back again to get off a hit.
“Me?” Elara shouted, “Nothing!” she answered defensively as she ducked under a fiery arc. “They were expensive, but they aren’t pretty well worn,” she added quickly, flinging a spell that sent her opponent reeling. “I didn’t give you my ‘good gloves’. Those are my old gloves, just use them, I wasn’t even planning to ask for them back!”
“If you’re sure,” Aiden said hesitantly.
“I’m sure,” Elara shouted as she dodged another of the large claws. “Just hit it before one of them hits us!”
Morgan watched as Aiden seemed to make a decision and pulled back his fist. The Emberwisp turned toward him and screeched, but Aiden landed a solid punch to its head, stopping the offensive sound.
"It worked!” Aiden shouted excitedly, “I just gained Punch Level 1!"
“Keep going,” Morgan answered, but realized she didn’t need to say it. As she watched as he dodged another attack, and then, went on the offensive. Aiden delivered a powerful punch, followed swiftly by another hard kick.
Morgan kept an eye on the creature’s power as Aiden began varying his attacks and hitting it more often than he missed. With each blow the creature’s power was dropping faster and faster:
Power Track 1: 19%
A few more hard hits from Aiden and then the Emberwisp, that he had been struggling with, staggered. Its inner light faded and dimmed, and Morgan watched with relieve as it landed in the ground and became another melted mess.
Party Announcement:
Your party has beaten a Level 3 Emberwisp!
“I did it,” Aiden said, “I defeated the Level 3 Emberwisp!”
“Great! Now, help Elara,” Morgan ordered.
“On it,” Aiden answered.
Morgan looked over at Aiden as he approached the next fiery fey. He was still approaching it carefully, but he was more confident now. The Emberwisp that had been clawing toward Elara, despite all of her hits and attacks the Emberwisp was still at 88%.
But as it swung its claws at her again, Aiden was there next to her. He punched the wisp hard twice in rapid succession.
“It’s working,” Elara said with a shout as she cast another spell on the wisp, “52%” and Morgan felt relieved and for the first time, confident that they might actually get out of this situation.
But then Morgan heard a shout.
“My hands!” Aiden cried out.
Morgan, looked over and Aiden’s gloves were glowing and she knew the kind of heat it would take to get through those gloves.
Aiden's face contorted in pain as he struggled to remove the glowing gloves, “They’re burning me!” he shouted in desperation.
With a frantic urgency, he tugged at the cuffs, then flung them to the ground, where they landed with a sizzle, small wisps of smoke rising from the smoldering leather. The Emberwisp they had been fighting turned its attention fully on Aiden and Elara went after it, hitting it with her Ring Sizing Mandrel but it was focused and determined.
“Lookout, Aiden,” Elara called and Aiden backed away, his steps unsteady as he distanced himself from the advancing Emberwisp.
Morgan watched with horror as the creature swooped in, but just as it got close, Aiden pulled his foot back and aimed at its middle. His heat-treated high tops connected with the creature’s middle and even from where Morgan was standing, she heard the hit crack across the creature’s side.
The force of hit sent the Emberwisp reeling backward, its fiery form flickering erratically.
Party Announcement:
Your party has kicked the spunk out of a Level 3 Emberwisp
“I got the second one!” Aiden yelled.
“Morgan, I’m coming,” Elara shouted and she immediately turned toward Morgan’s attacker.
“Aiden, help Jabari,” Morgan called.
“I’m fine,” Jabari said, “Loot it first!”
“Jabari!” Elara and Morgan said almost at the same time. “We have to fight now, he can loot later,” she added and hit the wisp she was fighting a bit harder out of frustration.
“Loot, Aiden,” Jabari countered, “It could have dropped a weapon!” and then a bit softer added, “Or something even better, like coins.”
Morgan made a face but she didn’t say anything. If it did have a weapon, Jabari was right, it could be helpful. Of course, it would have to be something Aiden could use, but he had been able to use a club, so it was possible he could loot another.
The Emberwisp hissed at Elara and then screeched at Morgan. Morgan hit it again and it backed off.
“It did drop something,” Aiden shouted and Morgan looked over to see what Aiden was holding in his hand. It was long silver curved blade of some sort, “It’s a Scorching Scimitar.”
Morgan’s heart sank, “A scimitar?” she said, disappointed it wasn’t another club. “I don’t suppose you can a scimitar?” Morgan she said doubtfully.
“I’m not sure,” Aiden answered as he held the sword experimentally in his hand, “but I can try,” he offered. He swung the weapon awkwardly, the weight and balance of the clearly unfamiliar.
As Morgan parried another attack from the Emberwisp she was engaging, she and Elara were making some progress, but it was still slow, very slow.
Power Track 1: 73%
Hopefully, she divided her attention between managing her own fiery opponent and watching Aiden who had joined Jabari in his fight. The initial swings were clumsy, almost too broad, causing him to miss a couple of times as the Emberwisp darted agilely around him.
“I missed again,” Aiden said concerned.
“It’s probably a skill that’s not unlocked,” Elara offered.
“Or maybe he’s just not swinging it right,” Morgan said, “try it again, this time, remember, it’s not another baton, so don’t use it like the club. It’s a sword, swing it like one!”
Aiden tentatively swung the scimitar, each movement hesitant as he tried to get a feel for its heft and the way it sliced through the air.
“Keep your swings tighter, Aiden!” Morgan called out, ducking under a swipe from her own wisp.
Suddenly, Aiden’s seemed to get the feel of it; his next attack was a fluid, controlled arc. The scimitar connected with the Emberwisp, and a shower of sparks erupted from the impact. The wisp recoiled, its form flickering from the blow and Aiden’s blade of the scimitar glowed red-hot as it seemed to absorb the fiery essence of the wisp.
“I can use a scimitar!” he shouted.
Morgan watched intently as Aiden squared off against the Emberwisp. With a deft movement, Aiden parried the Emberwisp’s aggressive dive. The blade of the scimitar clashed against the creature’s fiery body, sending a cascade of sparks into the air. Aiden took the opportunity to lash out, kicking the side of the creature and it took a step back.
Jabari was still attacking, but it was no longer paying him any attention, its entire focus was on Aiden.
Aiden parried, then hit it again, and finally, brought the scimitar down in a powerful, sweeping motion, the edge of the blade slicing into the fiery creature.
The Emberwisp emitted a shrill, otherworldly scream, its form collapsing into itself before its shell hit the ground and slowly deflated. The fallen wisp melted down into a mesmerizing puddle of colors, its fiery reds and oranges fading into a soft, shimmering gray, much like the embers of a dying fire.
Party Announcement:
Your party has taken down a Level 3 Emberwisp!
“Last one,” Aiden said as he and Jabari approached Morgan to help her with the last of the wisps. She glanced at the power, they had been holding their own, but progress was slow…
Power Track: 67%
But with the four of them against the one Level 3, Morgan’s watched the wisp’s health drop precipitously.
When it was down to only 3%, Morgan gave it one more solid thump, and then it fell to the ground.
Well Done!
You have beaten back a Level 3 Emberwisp!
“It’s over,” Elara said as she caught her breath.
Relief washed over Morgan and her friends as the last of the Emberwisps dissolved into nothing more than a puddle of muted colors on the charred earth. The once menacing creatures were gone, and the path to the runeportal was finally clear.
"Let's not hang around for any more surprises," Morgan suggested, her voice carrying a tired edge.
The group nodded in agreement, and together, they started down the empty, ashen road that led to the runeportal. Their steps were cautious, each shadow and rustle in the underbrush making them jump, their nerves still tingling from the fight.
Suddenly, a small, dark figure darted out from under a bush and the system popped a new message:
Creature Name: Odoriferous Forager Description This enigmatic quadruped, marked by contrasting black and white stripes, is active mainly during twilight hours. It employs a rare defensive tactic among local wildlife—a pungent spray that can deter even the most determined predator.
Startled, Morgan instinctively reached for her hammer. She didn’t know what it was, but after the day she had been having, she wasn’t taking any chances.