Samantha raced towards Silas’s qi signature. It had been around 10 minutes since they had first started their distractions, which was more than enough time for a majority of the scorpis population in the city to gather around Silas and Tobias. She could feel Silas’s slight panic at being surrounded by the mass of enemies, but he was doing his best to stay strong and support the guardsman.
As she crossed the rooftops and the pair came into view, she felt her own panic start to rise up. Tobias walked slowly and methodically forward in the middle of the road, seemingly unbothered by the mass of scorpis encircling him. His glaive swung around him in a blur of motion, the defensive movement keeping a small bubble of space around himself clear of enemies. A few scorpis would occasionally probe the defense with an exploratory slash or sting, but would be rewarded with deep lacerations or blunt force that sent them flying into nearby walls. This caused the glaive’s momentum to drastically slow, but the scorpis weren’t intelligent enough to take advantage of the opening and allowed him to build back up the momentum. Stingers shot by soldiers from rooftops or a short distance away constantly pinged against Tobias’s thick, enchanted armor. There were scratches and small dents all across the metal surface, but none had yet penetrated to deal damage.
As the scorpis literally crawled over themselves to try and get to him, Tobias would occasionally release a [Concussive Blast] to scatter and stun the densest groups. The art didn’t appear to do much in terms of damage, but it did send the smallest of them tumbling through the air which gave him some breathing room. Though he didn’t seem to have many injuries, Samantha could tell with each impact of his glaive that he was slowing down and tiring quickly. Once he became too exhausted to maintain the sweeping, defensive slashes, the scorpis would drag him down and overwhelm him with sheer numbers. Those he struck with his glaive were injured by the blows, but very few were killed outright. Most got to their feet quickly and were eager to rejoin the fight.
Silas was doing what he could by shooting spears of antler into the spirit beasts trying to strike out at Tobias’s blind spots, but he was having his own struggles dodging the spikes shot at him from soldiers. Patches of red wetting his green and brown fur revealed he hadn’t been able to avoid everything, but she was glad that the poison resistance training she’d put them through was clearly paying off.
She needed to scatter the group and draw attention to herself if she wanted to give Tobias a fair shot at escape. Checking her qi pool, she still had 228 qi to spend, which should be more than enough for what she had planned.
She jumped down from the roof to the street level and landed quietly to avoid tipping the scorpis off to her arrival. About 100 feet away from the outer edge of the group, she planted herself in the center of the road, pulled her warhammer free from a leather loop on the side of her pack, and began executing a fast spin while holding it out in front of her. As she picked up speed with each rotation she had to lean back further and further and utilize [Swift] to keep her footing.When she was ready to release her payload, she activated her sphere of dominion to speed up her perception. She needed her aim to be perfect. The scorpis were nicely clustered together for her, after all, and it’d be a shame to miss out on the opportunity.
She let the warhammer go while simultaneously pushing against it with 20 points invested into [Telekinesis]. Keeping it on course to where the scorpis were densest, the thrown weapon impacted the mass of insectoid bodies with an explosion of chitin and ichor. The scorpis not immediately blown apart by the impact were flung in every direction away from the line of destruction. The warhammer–or what was left of it–traveled a good distance through the bulk of the crowd before losing momentum and falling to the cobblestones in pieces.
Dropping [Translucence], Samantha let the full weight of her killing intent extend outwards and over the dozens and dozens of remaining scorpis. As they all turned to look at the newcomer, Tobias took the opportunity to slip away into a side alley.
“Stay with him Silas! I’ll buy you what time I can.” she mentally sent, and Silas wished her luck as he flew off to follow the guard.
Pulling the dagger from the sheath at her thigh, she stared down the horde–most of whom were now focused solely on her–and laughed nervously. She’d never faced so many spirit beasts at one time, nor had she ever planned to. Even in the heat of the moment she knew this was a dumb idea. The smart thing would be to leave Tobias to his fate and accept the resource point loss, but she still couldn’t force herself to view him as disposable. No matter how the quest labeled him or how she tried to rationalize these peoples’ existence in the rift, to her, he was a fellow cultivator risking his life under her instruction to save others. If she could save him, she would.
“Come and get me!” she taunted, her voice cracking.
Activating her sphere of dominion once more, Samantha frantically dodged and weaved through a rain of toxic projectiles until she reached and engaged the nearest scorpis. She didn’t intend to fight in the thick of it for long, but if she tried to retreat immediately the scorpis might go back to pursuing Tobias and Silas.
Using her dagger in conjunction with [Swift], [Flurry], [Indomitable Body], and [Hyperfocus], she lashed out in all directions. Raining down attacks on the mass of bodies, she did her best to prioritize finishing off the wounded. She did relatively well with her sphere of dominion propping her up, but once the mental strain of the ability forced her to deactivate it, the tides of battle quickly turned. Without the visceral awareness of her surroundings, it was all she could do to avoid being torn to shreds.
Blow after blow from scorpis blades struck her as she focused more on avoiding the poisoned stingers and projectiles. It was only because the scorpis directly next to her got in the way of the attacks of those behind them that she was able to hold out. Constantly refreshing [Indomitable Body] kept most of her wounds from becoming too serious, but the qi expenditure wasn’t sustainable for long.
Realizing that she couldn’t take much more of this, she repaired her legs with [Flawless Healing Touch] before using [Cloud Step] to jump up out of the mass of bodies. Fleeing to a second story window of a nearby building, she threw herself through the glass and landed in the empty room beyond. She could hear the buzz of scorpis wings and sounds of scrabbling on stone and wood as they climbed up the wall in pursuit. She didn’t have much time before they reached her.
She poured qi into [Jackalope of all Trades] as quickly as she could, and once 44 qi was invested she felt time slow to a crawl. She breathed a sigh of relief as she was yanked along the path of her binding thread at impossible speeds. She was transported back through the open window and through the sky for nearly 900 feet before being deposited beside Silas in mid air.
She caught herself from falling with [Cloud Step], then looked down to see Tobias beating a fighting retreat against four scorpis who had stubbornly chased him despite her best efforts. Coordinating a joint attack with her bond at the speed of thought, Silas dove down to take out one of the smaller enemies while Samantha let herself drop onto the back of an unsuspecting soldier while restraining its poisoned tail. Together, the three of them killed the scorpis in short order. As soon as the enemies in front of him were felled, Tobias collapsed to a knee and panted heavily.
Planting the butt of the glaive into the ground, he leaned against it and wheezed, “Leave me! I’ll only slow you down.”
Samantha pulled him up by his arm and positioned herself under it to give him some support, “Nonsense! It’s a lovely day for a stroll. You’ve got a walking stick and everything.” The words didn’t come out as calmly or confidently as she would’ve liked–her own labored breathing ruining the effect–but Tobias humored her attempts at lightening the mood.
He looked up into the cloudless blue expanse and gave her a crooked grin, “I suppose you’re right.”
Samantha started walking in the general direction of the edge of town, communicating with Silas as she pulled Tobias along, “Can you find us a path out of here?”
“Already on it. Follow me!”
Samantha moved after Silas as quickly as she could, practically dragging the guardsman behind her at some points. It became increasingly difficult to support Tobias and still move at a good pace as her muscles started to tremble uncontrollably, she broke out into a cold sweat, and her heart beat out of her chest, but she couldn’t afford to slow down. She couldn’t tell if these symptoms were from being poisoned or being extremely stressed, but in either case her fear was the same. She was terrified that if she let up even a small bit, she’d lose her momentum and their progress would grind to a halt. That her body would give out on her and she wouldn’t find the strength to be able to pick Tobias back up again.
Though slowed significantly by the exhausted guardsman and her worsening physical condition, Silas’s guidance allowed them to escape the town and start climbing the dune. Once they crested the mountain of sand and saw the rift exit in the distance, Samantha allowed herself to really look back and see if they were in the clear.
Blessedly, there were no scorpis in sight. They had made it.
It was Samantha’s turn to collapse, and she let herself tumble a short distance down the side of the sand dune.
This is definitely poison. I can hardly move.
Tobias slid down to her, “Are you alright?”
Samantha healed what injuries she could with [Flawless Healing Touch] as she waited for her head to stop spinning, “I’ll be fine. I just got… a little poisoned. It’ll pass soon.”
“Take your time. I’ll keep watch while you recover. I owe you that much.”
Closing her eyes to rest, she pulled up the quest information to see how many scorpis they had managed to kill.
Quest progress updated!
Hostiles Remaining: 98/150
Survivors Rescued (Optional - Completed): 8/9 survivors saved
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Not a bad result. Not at all.
Silas snuggled up beside her and laid his head across her hip, “That was really scary, but we did it! What now? I hope we aren’t doing that again.”
Samantha let out a long breath, “Definitely not. That was way too intense. I think we can go back to the original plan of killing them from afar.”
“You aren’t worried about the frenzy?”
“Now that the survivors are out… not really. I might lose some points for structural damage they cause or resources they ruin in the process of searching buildings, but they won’t destroy everything. As long as the queen still lives, we can take our time extracting resources and training attributes–at least until our supplies run out. We might even be able to take a swim in the oasis!” She was mostly used to the unrelenting heat by this point, but the idea of a cool swim sounded heavenly.
Silas shared her excitement over the prospect of a little relaxation and she could feel his anticipation through their bond, “I can’t wait!”
Once the poison had cleared out of her system, Samantha called Tobias down from his position at the top of the dune. She noticed that he had removed his gleaming metal helm at some point–probably to avoid drawing attention with any reflected light–and realized this was the first time that she’d seen him without a helmet.
He appeared to be in his mid thirties and had bronzed, tan skin. There was a long, pale scar on the left side of his face starting from his cheekbone near his ear and ending at his chin. His eyes and hair were both so dark a brown color that they were nearly black, and he had the barest hint of frown lines beginning to form between his eyebrows.
“Are you ready to get out of here? The exit is just over there.” she asked him, pointing in the general direction of the rift in space. “You are officially the last remaining resident of this oasis. All others have been evacuated already, as you requested.”
“As glad as I am to be out of there, I owe you a life debt. Of course, I’ll leave if you request it, but is there really nothing more I can do for you?” Tobias offered.
She was about to decline, but reconsidered. She was planning on staying here for an extended time. It would be nice to have someone else to talk to–even if they ended up being a construct–or to help watch her and Silas’s backs. Tobias had proven already that when properly outfitted he was a force to be reckoned with. Besides, she could always send him out at a later time. What was the harm in keeping him around a bit longer?
“Well, there’s certainly a lot that needs to be done. I don’t know how long it will all take, but I’ll accept the help.”
Tobias bowed his head to her, “I’ll stay as long as you find me useful.”
Samantha nodded, “I’ll come up with a plan after all of us recover. In the meantime, I’m going to use an art to scout the city. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Tobias sat down as she entered spectral form and flew over the dune. Checking over the oasis for scorpis activity, she saw that almost all of them remained in the area where she had left them. Again, she found herself briefly wishing Harold was here. A well placed explosive or poison gas could really make an impact at this moment.
Dozens of scorpis crawled over and into the building that they had last seen her in like an army of enraged ants. Any doors and windows the building possessed were completely torn out or broken, and the rest of the structure didn’t fare much better. Deep gouges were cut into the wood and masonry, and some furniture had been knocked over and damaged during their search.
She inwardly grimaced at the knowledge that she was planning to let this level of destruction potentially happen elsewhere in the oasis, but she wasn’t willing to wade into a sea of spirit beasts again. While she could mostly justify risking herself for qi constructs that were hyper-realistically human, she couldn’t do the same for buildings. She only hoped she wouldn’t be penalized too much for this decision.
----------------------------------------
Her group took up residence in the farmhouse at the outskirts of the oasis for the time being. Though the sun still hadn’t shifted its position in the sky, Samantha had been working non-stop on this quest for around two days. She only knew the passage of time due to her mind meridian keeping track of her qi regeneration during this period. She needed rest.
Closing all the entrances and covering windows, the group took turns sleeping and keeping watch until everyone was recovered. Samantha checked the scorpis activity during her shift awake and discovered that it had normalized while she slumbered.
The overall area the scorpis patrolled shrunk significantly after the heavy losses they had taken, which was encouraging to see. It seemed that they prioritized roaming the area nearest to the queen and her nest. This meant that the more of them Samantha culled, the range of their frenzy–and thus their capacity for widespread damage–would be noticeably reduced.
It was time to get serious about her extermination efforts.
Explaining her plan to Tobias and outlining the scorpis’ current patrol area on a rough map of the city she drew, he agreed to stay in the farmhouse and help protect her physical body until most of the scorpis were eliminated. After a majority of the city was cleared, he would assist Samantha in gathering resources and placing them near the rift exit. From there… well… Samantha didn’t want to get too far ahead of herself with planning.
What followed was a full day of methodical, relentless slaughter.
With 273.6 qi at her and Silas’s disposal and 1.6 qi regenerated per minute while [Sage’s Rumination] was active, Silas’s cooldowns were one of the only limiting factors to their hunt. He could use [Translucence] for an hour at a time before being forced to let the ability cooldown for an equal duration, which cost 30 qi points in total. He could also shoot up to a 2.5 pound antler spear every 40 seconds, but they found through experimentation that was usually overkill. A well placed, 1 pound [Antler Shot] could kill most scorpis, and he could fire those every 16 seconds for the modest cost of 0.5 qi. Samantha used [Telekinesis] to guide and accelerate Silas’s shots, but didn’t need to invest much qi because the projectile was lightweight. The more [Antler Shots] Silas fired, the better they both got at hitting small moving targets with deadly accuracy.
Taking into account the time Silas needed to locate and aim at a new target, they spent qi at a rate of around 3 qi per minute: 1 qi for [Spectral Projection], 0.5 qi for Silas’s [Translucence], 0.5 qi for a one pound [Antler Shot], and 1 qi for affecting the spear’s speed and trajectory with [Telekinesis]. With Samantha’s qi regeneration replenishing just over half of that expenditure, they spent around 84 qi per hour. During the hour cooldown for [Translucence], Samantha would cancel [Spectral Projection] and they would regenerate 96 qi–more than enough to top off their pool and start the process all over again.
Though not every shot was a kill–or even a hit–it didn’t take long for the daunting number of enemies to dwindle. Due to the scorpis’ complete lack of self preservation, no matter how many of them were picked off they never retreated to safety. They were always on the search for the unseen attacker in hopes that they could pass some scrap of information about it to their brethren.
After hours upon hours of diligent effort, Silas and Samantha speared the head of the final scorpis worker and she got the update she had been waiting for.
Quest progress updated!
Hostiles Remaining: 5/150
Survivors Rescued (Optional - Completed): 8/9 survivors saved
Now, only the four queensguard and the queen herself remained in the depths of their nest. And, looking in on their condition with her spectral form, none of them seemed in a hurry to leave. It seemed the queensguard were more devoted to protecting the queen than investigating the devastation going on aboveground, which suited her just fine.
And this was not the only benefit from Silas’s hard work. In the process of flying for extended periods, Silas increased both his Endurance and his Strength once. She pulled up his attributes and smiled.
Attributes:
Aptitude (Approximate Max Value):
Strength: 8 => 9
Average (16)
Agility: 20
Exceptional (28)
Endurance: 12 => 13
Average (16)
Resilience: 10
Average (16)
He still had a ways to go–just like her–but she was happy to see she wouldn’t be the only one improving her attributes during this time.
Informing Tobias of their success, he looked completely shocked by the update, “You mean… all of them? It hasn’t even been a full day.”
“Well, the queen and her four queensguard are left,” she clarified, “but they seem content to remain underground so I’m leaving them alone for now. As long as we monitor the nest and deal with any new scorpis that emerge they shouldn’t be too much trouble.”
He nodded in understanding, “As badly as I want to see my city completely freed and the rebuilding efforts started, I can’t fault you for trying to wait them out. Creatures like that are often most dangerous inside of their nests.” He gave her a look of deep respect and entered into a full kowtow, “Until the day comes when the final scorpis falls dead in this oasis, it would be my honor to lend you my aid. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for saving my home and its people.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed by the older man’s regard, she urged him to stand up, “You don’t have to be so formal. I’m just… doing what I was sent to do. I’m glad I was able to help.”
Tobias stood and observed her expression for a moment before his own warmed into something friendlier, “You’re not quite how I expected you to be.”
“What were you imagining?”
“More…” he gave her a scrutinizing look, “...prideful. Arrogant. Or, at the very least, strict about appropriate protocol. Everyone knows how the army loves its rules.”
Envisioning a near-future where Tobias started asking her questions about the army she couldn’t properly answer, she fell back on the alternative explanation she’d used with the family in the mansion. “I’m not officially part of the army. Just hired by them.”
Tobias let out an amused huff, “In that case, money hungry and opposed to rigid regulations like the army enforces. Perhaps a bit odd in the head, too? Contractors usually are.” Samantha chuckled at that and Tobias grinned. “So, now that the city’s been cleared out I guess it’s time for me to start gathering things up. I’ll take the cart you mentioned out of the barn and load it with anything useful I can find around the city. Where do you want me to unload everything?”
“Just pile them at the end of the pathway near the exit. I’ll go through everything myself later.”
Tobias let out an agreeable hum and turned to leave, but she stopped him, “Oh! Before you go, do you happen to know a good place to train my attributes? Maybe find some alchemicals to help my progress along?”
He rubbed absentmindedly at the scar on his cheek, “Hmm… the training center at the barracks is probably your best bet. Since we’re not in a hurry, I can lead you there and show you around if you’d like?”
She shook her head, “No, thank you. I know where it is! I’ll just have to take a closer look inside. There’s somewhere I wanted to stop by beforehand anyway.”
She waved goodbye to Tobias as they parted ways and she started jogging into town. As she passed through the roads filled with scorpis corpses, she couldn’t help but smile at the morbid joy she felt. She hadn’t done a perfect job with everything in the quest, but things had turned out well for the most part.
It’s time to see what the mansion has to offer… but first…
“Silas!”
Her companion quickly closed in on her location and maintained a glide a short distance overhead, “What is it?”
“...I’ll race you to the water!”
He looked down on her with a playful glint in his eye, “It won’t be much of a race.”
With a strong flap of his wings he began speeding up and Samantha followed suit by activating [Swift]. They both laughed the whole way to the oasis.