[Book II Chapter 80 part 1] DYLAN: Blue-eyed Reindeers
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Dylan rolled the eight-sided quest stone in the palm of his hands.
QUEST: Evacuate Cavelan
STATUS: Uncompleted
GUILD ESTIMATED DIFFICULTY: S
ACTUAL DIFFICULTY: —
When Free had thrust the role of leader on him, he hadn’t been entirely thrilled, suspecting it would involve making decisions he didn’t care for. His fears were proven correct when they’d asked him to name their party. He’d chosen Necessity, and surprisingly there’d been no objections.
“This is exciting.” Nang stood besides him at the front of the ship. “Our first quest.”
He nodded with mixed feelings. Never would he have imagined he’d be on the other side of Enera escorting a backwater town to safety. The only upside was that Dowart had finally stopped laughing.
After battling demonic beasts on Tulven’s front lines for the past few days, today the adventurer’s guild had announced the surrounding Twisted Lands were too dangerous and all settlements were to be relocated. They’d been selected to facilitate Cavelan’s evacuation and had been provided this small airship. Most will have to walk, which will be slow and perilous.
Free walked out on deck. “The captain says to have a look below.”
They peered over the guardrail. A herd of four-legged creatures was galloping across the broken landscape, conjuring ice bridges across the gaps. “Blue-eyed Reindeer.” Darius stated, appearing from nowhere. “They’re not native to this region. From Mount Gull most likely, heading to our destination.”
“Not good.” Free dashed back inside. Dylan felt them accelerate, but still not fast enough.
“Should we jump off?” Nang asked nervously.
Dylan frowned. There are hundreds, if not thousands, down there. Can we afford to exhaust ourselves to arrive a few minutes early?
Free came back out. “See the floating mountain up ahead?” She pointed. “The entrance is there.”
That’s fairly close. “We’ll disembark there.” Dylan decided. “Tell the captain to keep the ship way until we’ve secured the area.”
While they waited, Free and Nang fashioned their wings, one set green and one set white. For his part, Dylan prepared the Greater mystery of Magma. Only Darius stood back impassively, showing no signs of impatience.
Soon Dylan saw the opening the reindeer were pouring into. “Let’s go.”
Leaping off, he extended his senses and pulled himself inside with telekinesis, running along the wall. The sunlight fading, a legion of glowing blue eyes stared up at him from below, and chilly blasts of magic curved up, freezing patches of bedrock.
He burst into a large hollow space at the mountain’s center and saw the demonic beasts surging up a hill towards a settlement, circling around the remaining wall-mounted cannons to invade by the rear. At least there are survivors.
“Darius go on ahead and secure the town.” Free shouted. “We’ll stop the herd.”
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Wasn’t I the leader? “Nang go help him.” Dylan called out. “Set up silkmoth barriers to prevent more from entering.”
Free drew her wings in forming a protective shell and crashed into the stampede. A gnarled tree sprung up from the impact, its branches sweeping the demonic beasts back.
I should go wild too. Dylan dropped down and smashed his fist into the earth, the shockwave reducing the cavern floor to uneven rumble. All around reindeer went stumbling. This confusion didn’t last long, with dozens of antlers shining blue to conjure a smooth layer of ice.
It won’t be that easy. Channeling through Resplendent Delusion, he summoned jets of magma, swinging them around like whips to destroy the reindeer and their footing. His foresight flared as one got close and lowered its antlers, the tips extending towards him at a lightning pace. He backpedaled deflecting the bony spears.
“Watch out, they can stab from a distance!” He yelled.
“I know, but my roots are longer.” Free answered. “It’s their ice which I find a pain.” Dylan saw his companion’s vegetation struggling against gradual encasement and directed his lava tendrils to break their prison.
Damn their numbers. More reindeer were arriving every moment. While they’d felled plenty, the corpses were disintegrating, making it tough to determined how many. Despite this, the amount of foes kept increasing.
Dylan was considering retreating to the town when a dark figure slipped into the enemy ranks. With each stride, he swing his scythe and claimed multiple lives. Antlers turned on him, but he appeared not to care, slipping between the spears.
“Cavelan has been cleared. I left Nang to handle the rest.” Darius reported. “I’ll go thin them out.” He disappeared into the passage to the outside and the number of reindeers emerging dwindled by half. That solves the problem, I suppose. Darius’s strength had been apparent when he’d chased off the infiltrator on the airships. This just cemented Dylan’s opinion. He’s stronger than me and Free put together. Maybe Nang too.
While the battle was now considerably easier, Dylan realized it wasn’t entirely due to Darius. The raindeer were growing lethargic, their reaction times falling and their attacks losing steam. Soon they could barely stay on their feet. He stopped fighting, watching the beasts keel over with blood flowing from their mouths.
<
Free’s plants had also gone dormant, and she observed the last of the dying demonic beast with a keen interest. What did she do?
Darius returned. “No more are coming.”
“Great. Give me a second.” Free constructed an enormous white magic circle above her head. Dylan felt magic wash over the caverns as it burst. “That should do it. Let’s go.”
While those in the shelters were unharmed, most of Cavelan’s defenders had fallen in battle. On the walls, in the streets, figures of men and women were frozen solid. More were laid out near the central square, bleeding from puncture wounds. Nang was tending to them, and she rushed over upon their arrival.
“I did what I could.” She explained. “Free, can you help?”
“I can.” Free started singing. Her voice sounded like a mash-up of wind and string instruments melded with an underlying animalistic quality. The unearthly melody was beautiful, dipping in and out of the range of hearing.
A warmth enveloped all present, slowly mending injuries. The ice melted, and there were gasps as those trapped within began to stir.
<
When Free finished, most of the town had gathered around her. Dylan heard whispers of about a ‘goddess of healing reborn’. Not surprising considering what we witnessed.
One woman pushed forward. “Excuse me, my husband hasn’t gotten up. Could you sing some more?”
Free shook her head. “If the brain froze completely, there’s nothing I can do.”
The woman was crestfallen, but said nothing more. All told, three dozen remained dead. Nothing to be happy about, but it could’ve been far worse.
Several hours later, the inhabitants of Cavelan marched across the Twisted Lands. Nang was at the front of the long procession, weaving mothsilk threads to form tight stable bridge across the scattered landscapes. Their airship hovered above, with children and elderly on board. Dylan and Darius stood on the deck.
Everything is fine here. “I’m going to check on Free.” Dylan said.
(continued in part 2)