“Do you know what they are?” said Dreu as he took cover from the projectiles following a quick peek.

“Fel Spiders,” responded Ragellon. “Their projectiles are venomous but they are only good against lightly armored foes. Faced with heavily armored foes, those spiders flee at once.”

“So we are considered easy prey by them.”

Dreu never imagined he would be pinned down in a tree by giant spiders but, for the last couple of minutes, that was the exact situation he was in. His group members all laid low to avoid any projectiles that made it into the tree. Thus far, the walls had been holding. However, the green ooze had been building up within the hollowed tree so it was a matter of time before the ground was covered with it. The young man knew that none of them would want to find out what happened if they touched the ooze.

Do these things never run out of projectiles?

Unsure if he wanted to find out, Dreu looked to Zog. The demon worm had been hovering near an opening while he fired fireballs at the enemy without once exposing himself to enemy fire. Since he couldn’t peek without risking getting hit, Dreu had no clue if any of the fireballs landed. Dreu then took a moment to check on the other demon worms. He ordered them to take cover and protect Aggich.

“Can you fight?” he asked Ragellon.

“No,” said the demonic child in a low voice.

Damn it!

Dreu considered all the options before he turned to the demonic child again.

“Ragellon, are you familiar with demon hound howls?”

Ragellon’s puzzled expression disappeared when her eyes turned to Ilveroz beside Dreu.

“My father said howl is a self buff demon hound cast upon itself. The stronger the demon hound, the stronger the buff.”

“And there are no downsides?”

“Only downside I can think of is attracting the natural enemies of demon hounds. There are certain creatures that would go out of their way to kill even a single demon hound. If there’s even a single howl, that will invite trouble. I fear the trouble would be a lot worse than those spiders out there.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Don’t use howls, Ilveroz. I doubt we can handle anything more powerful than those spiders

Dreu then formulated a quick plan. He needed it to be as simple as possible as he was no tactician. His side also had limited options. He and Ilveroz were the only frontliners, though he knew neither of them could really hold the front line against any foes. The demon worms and Aggich were the supports but, with the exception of Zog and Aggich, the rest would have limited contributions to the combat. Ragellon was out and her participation would have shifted the battle more in their favor. Overall, it wasn’t hard to come up with a plan with so few pieces.

Zog, use your lesser barrier ability on me and Ilveroz. After that, coordinate with the demon worms so the rest of you can engage the spiders once us two distract the spiders.

At the mention of his name, the demon hound leaped beside Dreu. Ilveroz’s ears went straight up and a low growl became audible. The two of them waited for the barrier to be active before they dashed out the tree through two different exits. As Dreu dashed towards the spiders, he noticed the spiders’ fangs vibrated at a slower speed than earlier.

Glad I can count on you, Aggich. I need to make this moment count.

Due to the spiders firing fewer projectiles, Dreu dodged most of them while the barrier stopped the few that got through. Yet, the young man knew he would be facing another barrage of projectiles before he could reach the closest spider. Given that the barrier stopped a few projectiles, he was unsure how many hits his barrier would last before it shattered. Then, multiple fireballs flew at the spiders, hitting all of them squarely. Dreu wished he could see who did it but he had to focus on closing the gap. Luckily, the distraction worked because the spiders turned their attention to whoever casted the fireballs, though it was clear the fireball had no effect on them. The opportunity allowed him to close the gap and swing down his blade at the first spider.

You’re as good as dead!

Unsure where to strike, Dreu first targeted one of the spider’s legs. The blade failed to get through the chitin protecting the legs, surprising Dreu who had confidence in the sharpness of his weapon. Stabbing at the head yielded similar results. With no more fireballs as distraction, the spider could turn its attention to the young man. Before it could take a leap at Dreu, Ilveroz got beneath it and clawed at the underbelly of the spider. Hissing loudly, the spider leaped back leaving a trail of its body fluid behind. Having inflicted actual damage, Ilveroz became the new target of the spiders’ projectiles. The demon hound nimbly avoided the projectiles and ran away from Dreu. Determined to hit the demon hound, the spiders all had their back to Dreu.

You’re pretty good at this, Ilveroz.

Using the brief respite, Dreu studied the wounded spider. The body fluid was exiting from the wound on its underbelly. The spider desperately tried to close its wound but Ilveroz’s sharp claws left a deep wound. Moments later, the wounded spider had its legs all curled up and no longer moved. Dreu used this information by getting low and stabbed his blade into the underbelly of the nearest spider. The blade easily penetrated and, to be safe, Dreu swung the blade to leave behind a nasty gash. Like the other spider, this one hissed in pain and leaped away from the young man. Dreu took care to not get any of the body fluids on him. This action angered the remaining spiders but they seemed divided between him and Ilveroz. Lacking the speed Ilveroz boasted, Dreu dashed behind a nearby tree and felt the impact of the projectiles hitting the tree.

Two down. Many more to go...