For once I didn’t freeze in the face of death. Instead I leaped to my paws with a shout and scrambled over to my discarded belt and the forgotten sack of practice slabs. Autumn snatched her bow and quiver off the ground. Then we scattered, the cabra hesitating only for a moment before swerving after me. I fumbled the belt, dropping it and instead used both hands to tear open the sack.
A bloodthirsty bleat rang out at my tail and I flung myself to the side, turning the momentum of a half-roll to bring me back to my feet. The cabre’s strange hoof-claws tore through the earth and screeched against stone as the creature struggled to arrest its momentum. Some fifty feet away Autumn had drawn her bow with a newly fletched arrow at her fingertips.
You just learned how to shoot yesterday! My mind screamed as Autumn let the arrow fly. It wobbled sideways and up in a slow arc, and to my surprise, descended directly atop the creature’s rump… and bounced off.
“What are you doing?” I shouted in a panic, tearing one of the tablets free from the bag even as I sprinted towards a pile of scattered stone blocks. The cabre, head down, renewed its headlong charge.
“Give me a moment!” Autumn shouted back, knocking another arrow. “I thought you were ready for this!”
“I had a trap planned, but you distracted me!”
“So that was my fault then?”
Instead of answering, I threw myself behind a massive block of stone to land on my back in the dirt. My fingers fumbled across the inscribed tablet, finding the start of my rune just as the cabra leaped atop the barrier. Without a moment of hesitation it descended teeth-first at my throat.
Mana surged from the core and through my inscription where a blade of arcane power materialized, pushing up towards the descending beast. Magic blade met cabra flesh and won, impaling the creature as its weight slammed the stone slab down against my chest. The creature slid halfway down the blade before I felt the last dregs of my mana begin to waver. The blade winked out, sending two hundred pounds of snarling beast and blood crashing down atop me. For a terrifying moment sharp teeth snapped at my neck, but then the massive wound in its chest seemed to catch up with it. The creature screeched in pain and tried to scrabble away, but its movements slowed until it collapsed to bleed out upon the earth.
You have defeated the mountain cabre. Extra experience gained for defeating a foe above your level.
Level up! Vul’heli has increased to level 7.
Attributes:
+1 Intelligence
+2 Free
Autumn appeared above me with a familiar dagger in each hand.
“I’m okay.” I wheezed and Autumn visibly relaxed.
“I told you this was a stupid idea.” She said, eyeing the cabra.
“It worked didn’t it?” I retorted. I sat up, swallowing back nausea from the mana expenditure.
Mana: 4/80
“Let’s get our gear.” Autumn said and I nodded in agreement, pulling out a quartz pebble from the bag and using it to replenish my mana reserves. It certainly didn’t make me feel less nauseous. If anything I felt worse. My blood-drenched fur didn’t help much either.
Mana: 47/80
I reached down to pick up my belt of daggers from the ground only for another bone-chilling cabra bleat to split the air. This time I tossed the belt over my still-bare hips before glancing up at the two mountain cabras staring at us from the safety of their burrows.
Mountain Cabra: Level 13
Mountain Cabra: Level 16
I took a step back while my fingers found the groove on the practice plate. Beside me, Autumn had already drawn another arrow from her quiver and knocked it against her bow string.
“You sure you can fire that thing?” I whispered, remembering her last attempt.
Autumn glared at me. “No, but it can’t hurt to try.”
“It can when I’m standing in front of you!”
“That was a mistake. I panicked!”
The two cabre stirred at our bickering, stepping out onto the crumbled stone of the ruin. Autumn’s bowstring thrummed as her arrow sped through the air toward her target. This time the arrow flew straight and true, burying its head in the right cabra’s shoulder.
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“Got em!” Autumn shouted as the creatures screamed again in unison and charged. She dropped her bow and grabbed her daggers from her waist and followed me behind yet another pile of stone and rubble. I braced the practice slab against the wall and waited.
The uninjured cabra reached the rubble first, not slowing as it darted around the edge of the pile. Just a bit longer. I thought, feeling Autumn tense beside me. Now!
I poured my replenished mana into the slab only for a fresh wave of nausea to drown me. For the second time in two days I spewed my breakfast across the ground. Still, I held on as the arcane blade carved into the cabra’s flank.
Mana: 2/80
The bIade flickered out. I stumbled sideways as the last of my mana gave way to a hollow feeling in my chest. Autumn shoved me out of the way of the enraged and injured mountain cabra. She faced it with a growl of her own and two daggers in a white-knuckled grip.
The cabra charged forward, but Autumn danced around it, slicing a thin line across its uninjured flank. It roared and limped towards its assailant, but Autumn stepped back out of range of the snapping teeth. She drew another line of blood as she went.
My eyes widened as the second injured cabra rounded the pile of stone at Autumn’s back not ten feet away. Autumn stared down her prey, oblivious to the predator behind her. I need to move. I thought, forcing myself to my feet and scrambling across the debris. The last cabra closed in on Autumn’s back and I leaped, both hands clutching the hilt of a single dagger.
I landed dagger first on the creature’s back with my weapon driven to the hit between the creature’s ribs. It bleated and spun, threatening to toss me off as I held on for dear life. Each kick and bounce drove the wind from my lungs and tore the dagger further through my adversary’s flesh. One hand slipped and in a panicked reflex built of inhuman dexterity, I snatched my second dagger from its sheath and drove a second handhold into the cabre’s flank.
My adversary bleated in pain and danced sideways, bashing my dangling lower half against the rubble. Still I held on. With every passing moment I felt the creature weaken beneath me. Blood flowed freely from its wounds and its breath came in great labored gasps. The mountain cabre stumbled, sinking at first to its knees before collapsing upon the now stained grass.
The plateau fell into silence.
Autumn stood watching me in amusement beside her own fallen beast. I looked up and met her gaze, realizing that both of us still stood clothed only in blood and dirt beneath the summer sun like true greek warriors. Through our soulbond I could feel Autumn’s embarrassment and amusement mingling with my own.
Level up! Vul’heli has increased to level 8.
Attributes:
+1 Intelligence
+2 Free
Level up! Vul’heli has increased to level 9.
Attributes:
+1 Intelligence
+2 Free
I grinned and looked at Autumn.
Sek'heli: Level 9
A giggle deep in my gut turned into a roaring laughter that only ended when my adrenaline fled, leaving only exhaustion in its wake.
“That had to be the worst trap I’ve ever seen.” Autumn said as we walked back to where our clothes lay strewn about the camp.
“I told you I didn’t have time to set it up.” I grumbled. “I had mana gems and everything prepared.”
“You can’t always prepare for everything.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. I may not be able to prepare for everything, but the least I could do was prepare for the worst.
“We should probably get back to the camp.” I said. “The sentries must have heard something from the fight. They might be looking for us.”
“They will be.” Autumn agreed, eyeing the rapidly drying blood on my pelt. “But first a bath.”
I couldn’t help but agree.
**********
Damp and clothed but free from the worst of the blood, Autumn and I marched up the ramp together, trying to exude confidence in the face of the lecture I was expecting. A passing sek’heli glanced from us to the top of the ramp with amusement.
That wasn’t a good sign.
Atop the plateau we headed for the central clearing where the other ‘heli expedition members not excavating the ruins watched us pass. Several broke from their tasks to follow along at a distance, yet close enough to watch the show. That really wasn’t a good sign. Rather than pretend nothing happened, I instead marched into the central clearing. There at its center stood Earth with her vulpine features schooled into neutrality, but a spark of anger burning in her eyes. I swallowed, resigning myself to the berating I knew would come.
“There are three Cabra’s on the west rise.” I announced, deciding to own our success. “They were too big for us to carry back with our attributes.”
For a long moment Earth said nothing. When she spoke, her words came slow and simmering with anger.
“I expect a small measure of intelligence and self-preservation from the members of this tribe. It seems for some my faith is misplaced.” She stared directly into my eyes as she spoke.
“We discussed the risks and decided the benefits outweigh them.” Autumn said, her words drawing Earth’s ire upon herself.
“Gaining a couple levels is ‘worth the risk’?” Earth roared. “How is taking on three creatures twice your level with only a scant amount of training worth anything! Your actions should have ended in your deaths.”
“And yet here we are unscathed.” I retorted, my eyes full of defiance. “I planned-”
“You planned? With what? A dagger and a week of inscription training? Not only that, you dragged Autumn into this.” Earth took a deep breath as if to calm herself. “Don’t give me that look, River. Of course I know it was your idea, no one else here stubbornness and lack of foresight to do such a thing. I expected better from you.”
“You expected better?” I snorted. “No, you expected nothing from me. How else was I supposed to stop you and the others from looking down your noses at me?” “Did you expect me to just shrug my shoulders and move on after disparaging my ‘talent’? Did you really think I would be content as a nobody, drawing magical shapes in some stuffy office for the rest of my life? Besides, I didn’t ‘drag’ Autumn into anything. I was fully prepared to fight alone and risk only my own hide!”
“And how is risking your own hide any better!” Earth exploded. “How would your death not affect her! With your…” Earth stopped herself, glancing back at the small crowd gathering behind us. Her next words dripped out of her mouth so low that I knew only Autumn and I could hear her. “A soul bond connects two souls to make a whole, and half a soul cannot survive alone. Your death, River, is Autumn’s death. Your life is her life. Savor it.”
I tensed, blindsided by that revelation, but Earth continued before I could begin to process the implications of her words.
“And don’t think for a moment the entire camp doesn’t know what transpired before your scuffle with the cabra.” Earth continued louder now that our gawking crowd might hear. “I’d hoped you’d heed that warning as well, but what’s done is done.”
“Before the cabra…” I whispered. I felt my cheeks flush red with embarrassment. Or they would have if they weren’t covered in fur.
“Yes, your mating with Autumn.” Earth said rather bluntly. “We ‘heli have noses you know. Although, there isn’t time right now for a Joining ceremony with everything lingering over our heads.”
“Joining ceremony?” Autumn squeaked. I could feel her blush through our bond if not see it.
“Yes, it’s only proper for a mated pair. I’ll see what I can do about a tent.”
“A tent?” It was my turn to squeak in embarrassment. “I don’t know heli culture very well.”
“There will be a lesson later.” Earth said before glancing up at our little crowd. “And for the rest of you the show’s over. Get back to work.” She turned and stalked back to her tent, muttering something about ‘stupid impulsive teenagers’ under her breath. Then she was gone.
I buried my face in my hands. There was no hiding anything here was there? But if everyone knew I guess there wasn’t any need to hide. Gods.
I felt Autumn’s shaky hand on my shoulder. I grasped it as a small measure of comfort in the silence. A silence shattered moments later by my sister’s scream from the edge of the crowd.
“River! You and Autumn did What?”