I tensed up, every nerve in my body on high alert as the nightmare of mist and pulsing energy surged towards me.
Time was slipping away fast. My mind was what some might call a ‘whirlwind,’ but that didn’t stop me from trying desperately to soak in the information around me. Maybe Marshlore could… I stopped considering that, though, as I quickly realized Marshlore wasn't going to cut it in this here showdown. I knew, deep in my damn bones, how it worked—at least at the basic level that had been imparted to me. Unless I got stronger with it, it was largely useless at this current juncture. What I really needed right now was something to keep me from becoming this thing's supper.
My thoughts snapped to Elemental Shield. My fingers itched, almost reaching for the attavita, but I knew I had to move first. As quick as I could, I rested the club against my leg and made the necessary motions to begin Mist Veil. My arms flashed around as quick as I could while still demanding accuracy, and once I finished with the ‘scattering’ breath motion, watched as the fog rose up around me. The Will o’ Wisp dove forward, but I moved out of the way, seeing its illuminated outline produced by the spell—allowing me to see what was in here with me. I’d been worried it would just meld with the fog, but it seemed the beast was of a slightly different material, or something. I wasn’t going to ask questions, really. The monster stalked forward, head whipping from side to side, but didn’t strike. I assumed then and there that it couldn’t see me—or at least I hoped that was the case. It took a tentative swipe, and almost took my damn head off, I felt the strange hair-like tendrils on its arm brush against my cheek. But I wasn’t here to play patty cake—no, I needed to create some tracks!
With my bore club in one hand, I broke into a run, emerging from the cloud of fog I’d summoned while trying to put some distance between me and the beast. But damn, it was fast. Too fast. Before I could even think about summoning that shield, the monster had leapt out of the Mist Veil and was on me, its claws raking across my back with a pain fiercer than hell. It also knocked me off my feet and I hit the ground hard, the pain in my side flaring up again, reminding me of its unwelcome presence.
Great, I thought, Two wounds! I ain’t gonna make it.
I flipped over onto my back as the Betri Will o’ Wisp bore down, big ol’ wolfy teeth snapping toward my neck. Through gritted teeth, I thrust upward with my spear, aiming for the heart of the mist. But my weapon found nothing solid, just passed through like it was swatting at air. Curiously, the teeth of the beast seemed to disperse around me at that moment as well. But I was too distracted to think on that, fully. Fury bubbled up inside me. How in the big, blue Baby Jesus was I supposed to fight something I couldn't even touch?
The beast reared back going for, I assumed, another snarling bite. So I took that opportunity to scramble up to my feet, ignoring the pain searing its way into my back and side and leaped as the creature struck forward again. Fortunately, the sumbitch chomped down on only air, ‘cause I was already flying across the arena as best I could. I looked over my shoulder and saw it moving again, its strange shape making it look like a sleep paralysis demon come to life.
“Aw, goddamn hell!” I shouted.
Not wanting to give it unrestricted access to carving up my backside again, I turned to face it down. The club in one hand, my other was on the compass in my bandolier next to where I’d had the sense to replace the spear, focusing on the Galdur of the Elemental Shield. A sensation bubbled up, down along my arm, radiating from my skull, across my neck and down to the point where my hand was on the attavita. Like…I dunno, carbonation—a lot like what I had felt in the healing pool earlier. Only, instead of on my flesh, this feeling was like it was moving through my blood vessels. This was the Galdur in me, feeding this power through the medium of the compass. At least, I thought that’s what it was. My understanding of the process was more nuanced now, but there were still some gaps. Man, instant learning sure had its perks, but it left a lot to the void. Regardless, I had begun casting Elemental Shield. It would take ten whole seconds, and only last for three, so I really, really had to time this right.
Come on, now. Nine…eight…seven…
Then the beast was there, all fog and light and tooth and claw. I swung the club—but one-handed, it was unwieldy, and I ended up only flashing it through the creature’s shoulder just as it tried to slash me with its claws. It didn’t seem fair that the thing could bite and claw, but hell, weren’t nothing for it—I just had to deal with this combat disparity best I could. I winced in preparation for the searing pain in my torso, but as I looked down, the Will o’ Wisp’s mighty paw passed harmlessly through me. I still had my club in its general shoulder shape, inside the mist. But it was heavy with only one arm, and after a second I was forced to let it drop to the ground.
Four…three…two…
“Back off, ya foggy fuck!” I shouted, backpedaling while dragging the club along with me and trying to raise it. I think I’d done myself a disservice designing a weapon that was only fully operable with both of my hands. Well, no time to worry about that now because—”GAH!”
It struck again, this time its claw nailed me in my shoulder. Tit for tat was the name of the game, I guess, and thankfully, this one didn’t hurt nearly as bad. I still hissed in pain, though. Also, it was unfortunate because that was when the Elemental Shield roared to life in front of me. Mist and water swirled around me, coalescing into a two-by-two oval barrier.
I was taken aback for a second, the shield’s form was not what I expected. Then, I recalled the nature of the spell: it used the Galdur of whatever elements were in the compass. Since that was simply ‘nature,’ I had to assume it had drunk its fill of that and gone on to gorge on the next available stuff—the spells in my Deep-Rooted Array. Waterwalking and Mist Veil—water, and of course mist. Wait…I figured water counted, but, was mist also an element? I didn’t know, nor did I have the time to actually care, because now this magical buckler was floating around me, moving seemingly of its own accord—you know, a moment after I actually needed it.
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Ah, damn, you couldn’t have been one second sooner, could ya?
However, something odd happened. The Betri Will o’ Wisp struck at me again, and I gasped as its claws drove toward my face. However, at that exact moment the shield moved on its own, quicker than I could track—blocking the blow. I stared, mouth open, gaping. That was close!
The creature, though, undeterred, instantly shifted its whole form to the right, phasing through itself so that it was no longer directly in front of the barrier and tried to bite me this time—but the shield was there again. In less than a blink, it had traveled the foot-and-a-half to my other side smashing into the monster’s teeth with what looked almost like teleportation.
Damn, that sumbitch is quiiiick!
The thing was, the Elemental Shield was making contact with the monster, and I noticed that when it did connect, the shield had bashed it so hard its “nose” area brushed by me. I’d felt the sensation of the ‘snout’ as the creature careened away for a moment. Then the shield was gone, essentially evaporating right in front of me just as I felt the little bubbling connection from skull to compass dissolve.
“Fuck,” I breathed.
I was left wide open, no protection for the next ten seconds at least. But my mind was working, gnawing on something important. I’d felt the brush of that muzzle…and I thought back to when I’d summoned the Mist Veil a moment ago. I’d felt the brush of the tendrils from its passing arm…
Shit! I thought. I think I’ve figured something out.
Summoning that shield again seemed like a fool’s errand, so I hatched a different plan. So, I hefted my bore club up and then hurled it overhand, watching as it flipped end over end before slamming into the dirt about fifteen feet away. Then, I bolted toward it, my boots squishing in the boggy ground. Now, that might seem like a weird-as-shit thing to do, but I needed my hands free, and I didn’t want to lose the club.
As I ran, I started the movements for Mist Veil, my arms weaving patterns in the air, a dance of desperation and hope. Behind me, I could hear the monster, its growls and snarls close on my heels, but I couldn’t spare it a thought. My focus was razor-sharp on the spell I was casting.
Wisps of fog started to build around me, thickening with each step. Just as I reached my club, it became a full obfuscation again, and a moment later, the Will o’ Wisp burst into the fog, flailing wildly, biting, gnashing, slashing at anything it could find. It was a maelstrom of fury and mist.
I ducked and dodged, feeling the rush of air as claws and teeth swiped inches from my skin. It didn’t like this mist—hell, it might’ve thought it was its long lost brother or something. That amused me to think about, but not for long, because one of the claws caught me in the leg and with an ‘oof!’ I went down. Blood was all over the dirt as I landed and I could feel the terrifying sensation of lots of it pouring down my surgical scrubs. This was bad. Had it nicked my femoral artery?! My breath came fast then and I forced myself to look down. It was bleeding…but it was no where near where the artery was, and honestly, wasn’t gushing like I’d feared it might be. Instead, it was a light trickle.
Well…shit. That was a close one!
Fortunately, as I struggled to stand back up, the fog was my ally, obscuring the monster’s vision, giving me the tiniest moment to recover. I was breathing hard, probably ‘cause I was all skin and no meat—but hey, at least I looked great in a men’s smedium t-shirt. That hardly helped me right now, but, allow me a little bit of vanity—I didn’t have much going for me right now.
As the creature's attacks grew more frenzied, I decided to try something. Gathering all my strength—of which was admittedly, greatly depleting—I lifted the bore club just as it went for a frantic snap of its jaws near me.
SMASH!
I connected with its stupid wispy head, my club clobbering the damn thing so hard I heard its teeth rattle as they cracked closed.
“Hell yeah, ya sumbitch!” I shouted.
My hypothesis had been correct: the creature had to become solid in order to attack me. I’d originally thought it had something to do with the mist, and had been working with that measure…but realized that didn’t account for the beast’s snout grazing me as the shield bashed the bejesus out of it. So, now that I knew what to do, I just had to…do…it?
As the Will o’ Wisp let out a howl, I noticed—true to what I’d assumed—the monster’s form became less corporeal, and the club passed harmlessly through it. With less solidity, I lost my grip on the weapon and it slipped out of my grasp and into the dirt. The Betri, seeming to notice, suddenly wheeled through its own body and came at me. This was a surprise—it shouldn’t have been, but it was. As such, I wasn’t quick enough to move out of the way and it slammed into me, knocking me to the ground as the mist around me began to disperse.
The monster didn’t have as much weight as I thought it should, but it had some, and because of that, I was left struggling in the wet earth as its claws bit further into the flesh of my shoulders.I roared in pain. This was getting to be too much, and I was definitely going to get an infection.
One of my hands was free, the other was pinned to my chest. Lord, I wished right then and there for some easier method of dealing with the beast. If only I had some…I dunno, fucking fire, or some way to burn away the mist monstrosity. The thought lingered in my mind, a tantalizing what-if as the area cleared itself of fog, leaving just the beast and I. Of course, that notion left my brain the second it bit down on my neck.
Or it tried to.
WHAP!
The haze-and-water Elemental Shield slammed into the Will o’ Wisp’s semi-corporeal skull just before the fangs touched skin.
“Jesus Christ!” I shouted in relief, thankful I’d started calling the shield when I had.
The monster howled, releasing its grip on my shoulders slightly enough for me to move the arm on my chest. It went for a bite again, and the shield zipped in front of it and I watched its face collide with the barrier.
Now!
SLUNK!
The creature screeched. For a moment, all it did was release a blood-curdling cry of pain and anguish that devolved into a gurgling rasp. Then, its eyes rolled back in its hazy head and it slumped. I looked down. There was no blood, but apparently it didn’t need any to die. There, right above its throat, where its tendrilly head met luminescent neck was the spear. The point had disappeared within the beast, reaching the center of where I’d assumed its brain might’ve been. I could still see a vague outline of it, as the monster was still semi-transparent.
“YES!” I shouted, rolling out from underneath the beast as the shield dissolved and the sensation of power faded from my limbs. I’d done it, goddammit! I’d killed the miserable sumbitch and now, despite the incredible and debilitating pain in my shoulders, side and back, I felt fucking amazing.
“Betcha ain’t gon’ mess with me again—tell ya that much, ya ornery cuss!”