“Precision Strike!”
James heard Archibald shout out a casting, the elf’s rapier glowing a bright blue before it pierced into the flesh of the Lovecraftian abomination. It screeched in its many voices, the sounded unbearable to James’ ears. Despite the grating noise, James pulled himself together enough to dodge another strike from the thing’s crude club. The crystallized arm struck against the cave’s ground, sending stone fragments everywhere. James felt the pieces strike his helmet, pinging it as they bounced off the steel. He watched as Archibald tried to go for another strike; his rapier aimed for another spot.
“Precision Stri—” Archibald was interrupted mid-stab, getting hit by another of the thing’s arms. Its mangled fist struck the elf in the chest and sent him flying back. Thankfully, the strike wasn’t fatal, as the elf gasped for air a few seconds later. Still, he was far from the clear. James saw how the creature tried to rush at the fallen elf, only to be distracted by a thrown rock courtesy of Edmund.
“Over here!” The young mercenary shouted, his voice cracking as he kept his distance. The creature roared at Edmund but didn’t charge at him. James felt sweat run down his temple, watching how the creature stared intensely at Edmund.
‘Why isn’t it taking the bait?’ James wondered, dread filling his heart.
Suddenly, the thing’s eyes shifted, one of its many arms reaching out and grabbing at Brant, who was doing his best to sneak behind it. The broad-shouldered man struggled as the thing clicked excitedly, its crude arm club raising.
‘He’s going to die if I don’t do something!’
“Hey!” James shouted as he rushed forth. His callout caught the abomination’s attention, its eyes turning to focus on James, who held his sword so that it seemed like he was going for a stab. It reacted by raising its blunted arm in defense.
James, however, wasn’t planning on attacking. He instead raised his shield, bashing it against the creature. It was a desperate attempt to knock it off its balance. It didn’t work. Instead of falling over, the abomination retaliated, knocking the shield away and swinging its crystallized arm at the young man.
James felt his body forcefully drop to the ground, his ass hitting the ground hard. He felt something strike against the top of his helmet, causing the steel piece of armor to fly off instantly and leave his blond hair open to the cold air.
‘Faust, thank you.’
James quickly moved to Brant, sword in hand. He could see how the other man was struggling to get the creature’s hands off of him, one of its hands even choking Brant. With little hesitation, James swung down at the black arms, his sword slicing through the dead flesh and freeing the trapped man. Brant gasped as he tore the limp arm away from his throat, panting heavily as he fell to his knees.
“James, I—”
“Drop!” James tackled the man, feeling the air behind him whoosh as the abomination swung its club again. It roared in anger right after.
“Edmund!” James shouted, hoping the young mercenary knew what to do.
“Night Spray!” Edmund’s voice rang out before the creature roared in anger once more.
James picked himself and Brant up, pushing him to move. Without thinking, he risked a glance at the thing behind him. The abomination was now focused on Edmund, purple flames licking at its flesh and bloody eye sockets. James left right then and now, heading to where Brant was.
‘Plan A seemed to be a failure,’ Faust mentioned as James reached a safe distance.
‘Yeah, but it seems like Plan B worked well,’ the young man thoughtfully retorted.
‘You almost lost your head…’
‘And I thank you for helping avoid that.’
James slowly caught his breath before looking at Edmund, who dropped the now useless rune on the ground.
“How’s Archibald?” James asked Brant, looking over at the man. He was currently picking up the elf, who was breathing raggedly.
“Alive,” Brant answered.
The elf stood straight, controlling his breathing as he looked at James. “You said we have to destroy its head, right? How are we going to kill this thing if it has multiple heads? I barely managed to pierce a few of its skulls, and I almost died!” The elf looked back at the creature, his eyes focused on his fallen rapier. “I doubt I’ll survive another hit like that.”
James looked back at the creature, furrowing his brow. Edmund slowly backed away towards the group, sword at the ready, as the creature’s eyes moved around unnaturally. It was as if it was examining everyone.
“That was our last rune, James. Do you have another plan?” Edmund asked. James swallowed, trying to think of anything that could help. He could feel the Carapace spell idly working its magic, giving him a sense not too dissimilar to a warm blanket wrapped around his body.
‘Multiple heads. Need to destroy them all somehow.’
James noticed his shield lying on the ground next to the creature. An inkling of an idea formed in his head. It was a crazy one, but it was better than nothing. James reached into his leather bag, searching through the contents before he felt the rough grid pattern of the orb Dahlia had given him.
“Alright, I have a plan that could work,” he started before he turned to everyone. “But I need you all to trust me, alright? It could mean life and death.” James wasn’t kidding, as this hastily put-together plan could mean death for all of them. The only way it would ever work was if they all trusted him. The group all seemed conflicted, hesitant even. Brant, however, spoke up.
“I trust you,” the older man stated, looking at James with a look that said, ‘Don’t you dare lie to me.’
Edmund let out an exasperated sigh, clenching his jaw as he looked at James. “I trust you.”
James looked towards Archibald, who averted his eyes as he muttered.
“Fine… I trust you.”
----------------------------------------
Dahlia dodged the paw of the crystalized bear, watching as it tore out a chunk of the tree that took her place. It roared at her once more before a throwing knife struck its flesh, making a sickening noise as it did so. Dahlia turned to see Miles throwing another knife at the bear, running around it as he tried to get its attention. It worked as the creature turned to face the mercenary, standing on its hind legs. Before it could rush, however, Bjorn came out of nowhere, holding his steel shield as he charged at the bear. The dwarf bashed against the abomination, causing it to lose balance and fall on its side.
“Power Strike!” Bjorn shouted, his ax glowing red as it swung down at the malformed bear, striking against its flank. Still, despite the magically enhanced strike, the ax’s blade buried itself halfway into the blackened skin, not gutting it as Bjorn had hoped. The dwarf tried desperately to pull the ax, failing as the bear growled and raised its claws.
“No!” Dahlia shouted, running at the dwarf. Thankfully, Bjorn was pulled back by Finn, the bear’s sharp claws barely clipping his steel helmet.
Dahlia quickly changed direction, withdrawing away from the bear as it moved to charge at her. She grabbed the rune she had in her belt’s pouches, fumbling as she backed away. Still, the shaman knew she wouldn’t have enough time to use it against the bear as it suddenly galloped at her at frightening speed.
Dahlia gave up on the rune, dodging the bear’s charge by leaping to her right. She landed on the snowy ground, scratching up her arms and face. She turned to the beast, scurrying away as it skidded to a stop, sending snow flying as it changed direction. Suddenly, a glass bottle shattered against its snout, causing the creature to roar in anger as it shook its head.
Dahlia noticed the viscous liquid staining its snout, a result of the bottle’s contents. Smoke emitted from it as it sizzled against the beast’s flesh. Another bottle hit it, this time contacting its shoulder. It had the same effect as the other bottle, its contents burning through the rotted flesh.
“Get up!” Miles’ voice rang out behind her. The shaman did as suggested without question, her gaze turning to see Miles with another bottle in hand. He threw this one as well, the vial making an arc toward the crystallized bear. It broke across its torso, burning through more flesh and causing it to roar in pain.
“We should run,” Miles panted, his chest moving rapidly as he caught his breath. “That was my last one.”
Dahlia felt a bit of despair, hoping that the man had a sort of plan. Still, she had her own projectiles. She reached into her belt’s pouch again, pulling out the rune she was fumbling with earlier.
“Here, it has a casting of Night Spray,” she explained. She handed it to Miles before pulling out her second and last rune of Night Spray. “I’ll do my best to distract it. You and the others should have enough time to devise something.”
Miles looked down at the rune before pocketing it. “Good luck,” he managed, his breathing returning to normal. “Don’t die,” he quickly added before Dahlia ran off.
The shaman circled around the stunned bear, grabbed a random stone from the ground, and threw it at the creature.
“Over here! Come and get it!” Dahlia shouted.
The bear turned its attention to the shaman, its cold blue eyes haunting. It felt as if it was staring right into her soul. The bear growled loudly before it charged at her. Dahlia turned and ran for it, her hand gripping her last rune as she zig-zagged through the trees. She was careful not to trip as the sound of wood splintering and dirt being pulled became closer and closer. She quickly made a sharp turn, hoping to gain some distance as she rushed to a nearby opening.
Once reaching the snowy clearing, Dahlia risked a glance at the bear, her eyes widening as she noticed how close it had gotten. The shaman aimed her rune, focusing her will as she shouted.
“Night Spray!”
The rune activated, a swarm of purple fireflies firing from the smooth glass surface. Dahlia watched as the bear skidded to a stop, roaring in pain as the small projectiles struck its rotted hide and crystalized bits. Bits of burning flesh and crystals flew off as the swarm of minor explosions ripped at its body.
Dahlia dropped the hot stone before sprinting past the bear as she tried to head to where her group was. However, she would regret doing so as the abomination swung its paw at the shaman. Fortunately, she dodged it by centimeters, feeling the claws clip her arm.
Unfortunately, she didn’t expect a second swing, as the creature brought back its arm like a pendulum, affecting her and sending the shaman rolling toward the trees. Dahlia felt her body tumble and impact against bark and ground, the world spinning before her head hit something, sending her into darkness.
----------------------------------------
“Just pick yourself up and press forth.”
James repeated those words in his head, the memory of his father’s voice comforting in a way. Well, almost. James took a deep breath and shook away all fear he felt in the moment, his focus on the creature in front of him. It stayed its distance, its eyes looking at everything. James glanced at the rest of his group, all spread out in the cave.
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‘Let’s do this.’
James let out a shout, loud and full of adrenaline. Without giving himself a chance to hesitate, his legs moved, carrying his body into danger. He rushed the abomination, short sword aimed at its flesh.
The monster focused all of its eyes on James, widening as it moved to retaliate with its club. James felt Faust force his body again, making him drop and slide underneath the crystalized arm. James watched as his nose barely brushed against the crude club, his hair sweeping back from the wind it caused.
Once clear, James enacted his next action, his hands positioning his sword’s hilt. With a thrust and shout, he drove his blade deep into one of the creature’s eyes, the steel only sinking in halfway. The crystallized monster screeched in pain, all of its eyes turning to focus on James again. It swung its club once more, aiming at the young man’s torso. However, James was counting on it as he ditched the sword for his nearby fallen shield, holding it up against his chest just as the club’s swing came in.
James felt the impact just milliseconds later, his body flying back from the hit as the shield snapped. His Carapace spell then broke, a sound like shattering glass filling his ears as he hit the stone wall. Blue magical shards flew out from his overheating body as the taste of berries filled his mouth. James was still alive, his chest begging for air as he fell to his knees.
‘Breathe!’
“Now!” James shouted once air reached his lungs. He watched as Brant came in, bashing his shield against the creature as it tried to reach James. The abomination turned to the man, raising its club before Edmund arrived, the young mercenary grabbing at the short sword James left in its side. Edmund screamed as he forced the blade across its flesh, tearing it open with a sickening shink. The monster screeched again, its eyes widening as it made agonizing sounds. Archibald came in right after with his rapier.
“Multi-Strike!” the elf shouted. His rapier turned into a blueish blur of machine-gun-like blows, its fast-moving tip stabbing out eyes on the creature’s opposite flank.
The abomination would try to get the elf but would be interrupted by Brant, then by Edmund, then by Archibald, leading it to be ganged up on by all three men. In Earthly terms, the thing was basically stun-locked. However, even James knew it wouldn’t last for long. Brant and Archibald were at their limits, their exhaustion apparent in their sluggish strikes and movements.
Still, they wouldn’t need to hold the line much longer as James dug through his leather bag. He brought out the orb that Dahlia had given him, his hands twisting the gridlike surface. It made a loud ‘snap,’ almost like it had been broken. James knew better, however, as he rushed at the abomination. He could see how Edmund forced the short sword to cut deeper into the monster’s flesh, opening it up even more.
“Get out of the way! Now!” James shouted at the men. He held up his broken shield with his left hand and held the orb in his right. The men did as told, scurrying back as James shouted again, this time at the creature.
“Over here!”
The abomination stopped his pursuit of the men, looking back at James with hostile eyes. Despite it’s
‘Drop!’ Faust mentally shouted.
James took the advice immediately as he dove to the ground, avoiding the club’s swing again. He gritted his teeth as he focused on the open wound, picking himself up as he rushed forth. Another swing came into his peripheral, but James didn’t drop. He couldn’t afford to.
James raised his broken shield, ready to take the hit. He didn’t have to, however, as Brant moved in. The older man came in out of nowhere, bracing himself with his round shield. The club struck true, the sound of steel and crystals clashing filling the cave like thunder as Brant flew back, shield destroyed and splintered. James didn’t even have time to thank the man as he looked at his goal.
James finally reached the gash, his right hand shoving the orb as deep as possible. The abomination roared, the sound of its many voices crying out in pain. It was a disturbing sound, one that almost shook James. Yet he didn’t falter one bit. His focus was on killing this thing once and for all.
With the orb deep in the abomination’s core, James tried to pull away. Instead, small blackened hands reached out, grabbing at his arms and shoulders. The otherworldly man tried to escape the horrifying situation, his arms thrashing and swinging. The abomination only tried harder, its hands grabbing at James’ head.
Everything went white. James could feel how his mind clashed with many, his body jolting suddenly as he felt the rush of adrenaline and fear enter his body. It stopped as quickly as it had shown up, his mind reeling back from the force of what had happened. The creature’s many mouths suddenly screeched, the sound echoing in the cave with a thunderous volume.
‘What the hell was that?!’
James didn’t have time to process what happened as the small arms pulled him closer to the abomination’s many maws.
“Fuck!” he cursed, fully expecting the creature to use this chance to take a bite at him. Instead of feeling its teeth, however, he heard Archibald’s voice.
“Multi-Strike!”
“Keep it distracted!” Edmund’s voice came right after.
James’ eyes widened.
‘They’re risking themselves to give me more time…’
“Get away! NOW!” James shouted as he ripped away from the many small hands that were pulling at him. He was already rushing to Brant, picking the injured man up as he tried to distance himself from the thing behind him.
The orb he had shoved in there earlier was courtesy of the two gnomes back in Nathan’s shop in Vindis. They had filled it to the near brim with a special powder they had borrowed from their cousins from the north. The artificer-made grenade was activated by twisting its outer shell, activating its runic ‘circuitry’ and sending it into a countdown of sorts that lasted for a minute. After that…
James felt the world shake as a deafening BOOM sounded out in the cave, the heat and shrapnel reaching his back as he covered Brant.
His world was plunged into darkness.
----------------------------------------
Dahlia suddenly awoke. Her vision blurred as she crawled. She could feel something warm run down her temple, the taste of metal apparent in her mouth. Dahlia’s vision slowly cleared as she looked down at the snowy ground, drops of red staining the glistening snow.
“Blood,” she dumbly realized. Dahlia looked up, the events of that day coming back to her. The bear, her attempt at distracting it, the impact of its paw against her back.
‘How am I not dead?’
She soon got her answer. Dahlia looked upon the scene to her right, specifically the clearing she was in earlier. The three men were fighting the bear, shouting incoherently at each other. Finn had a nasty gash on his side. Bjorn had lost his helmet at some point, using his dented shield to block the claws of the abomination. Miles was slashing at its side, a spent rune in his hand. Judging from the purple flames and torn flesh, Dahlia guessed that the bear was heavily wounded. It had even lost one of its eyes at some point.
It wasn’t enough, however, as even she could see how one-sided the fight was becoming. She saw how Finn tried for another strike but instantly faltered as he grabbed at his bleeding wound. The bear attempted to swing at the man, but Bjorn’s shield bash interrupted it, causing its claws to miss Finn completely.
The abomination growled as it swung its arm back, just like it had done to Dahlia. Its blackened and crystalized arm jolted against the dwarf’s shield, sending him flying back. Miles rushed and sank his strange blade into the thing’s side, drawing a roar.
Miles tried to pull his sword out before it suddenly kicked him away, his short sword ripped from the flesh during the movement.
‘They’re going to die if I do nothing.’
Dahlia raised her hand to the creature and tried to form the runic symbol for an Ignition spell. However, her fingers shook too much, and the symbol came out false and useless.
“Dammit!” Dahlia cursed under her breath. She attempted to still and focus her fingers. Still, she couldn’t focus enough to form the spell, her fingers and hands shaking uncontrollably.
‘What can I do? I’m useless…’
Dahlia stared at her shaking hands. She clenched them tightly, enough to make her knuckles turn white. She then suddenly recalled the artificer-made device she had gotten from the gnomes at the Vindis. What were they called again?
“Doesn’t matter,” she muttered, wincing painfully as she tried to stand. Her hand went to her belt to search for the orb in question. Nothing. Her eyes widened. She looked down at her waist as fear gripped her heart. Her belt and satchel were gone, along with all of her potions and sheathed dagger, possibly thrown off of her person when that damned creature knocked her out.
“Fuck… Fuck!” Dahlia cursed. She looked around the forest to see if it was nearby. Her eyes widened, finally focusing on the lost piece of apparel, only to find it around the crystalized bear’s hind legs, half-buried by snow.
“Dammit,” Dahlia panted, her breath coming out in puffs of steam as her lungs stung from the freezing air. She looked back at the fight at hand, seeing how Miles was precise with his sword, doing his best to stab at the creature’s weak points. An idea appeared in her head.
Dahlia turned to Bjorn, who was getting back up again. She made her way to the dwarf, controlling her breathing as she did so.
“Bjorn!” she called, catching his attention. Bjorn looked at the shaman with a surprised look, which turned into an excited grin.
“You’re still kicking, it seems! Good! This creature ain’t going to go down so easily…” The dwarf chuckled before he punched out the dent in his steel shield with the pommel of his ax.
“I have a plan,” Dahlia said. She looked back at the creature as Finn and Miles held it at bay, which would not last very long. “You need to listen very carefully.” She looked down at the dwarf, who regained his breath and composure.
“I’m listening,” Bjorn huffed.
“I need you to aim for its hind legs with your Power Strike,” Dahlia explained in strained breaths. “After that, Miles is going to come in and blind it. Once that’s done, you all need to hold it in place, keep it distracted.”
“What’re you going to do?” Bjorn asked, curious.
“I’m going to destroy it for good. Use a little trick up my sleeve. But I need you to run as soon as I say so.” She gave the dwarf a look. “This is important. Do not wait for me. Do not save me. Just run when I say so, and don’t look back. Tell this to the others, too. Got it?”
The dwarf nodded, readying his shield and ax. “Just say the word, and I’ll get it done,” he said, returning his attention to the clearing. Dahlia nodded and looked at Miles.
‘I really hope this works.’
Dahlia silently offered a prayer to Freyja before she breathed in the cold air. Her eyes examined the fight ahead, looking for the perfect moment for the mercenary to step in. She didn’t have to wait long as Miles dodged a desperate strike from the crystalized bear, leaving a window where it was wide open.
“Do it!” Dahlia called to Bjorn, who rushed at her signal.
“Power Strike!” The dwarf cast, his bearded ax gaining a red tint as it aimed for the thing’s left hind leg. The attack struck true, making a sickening sound of flesh and steel as the abomination dropped low, leaving its head open.
“Hey!” Dahlia called to Miles, catching the ex-follower’s attention. “Aim for its eye!” She shouted, forcing herself to move as she took one more deep breath. She had only one chance at this, so she needed to make it count. Dahlia watched how Miles took her advice, moving in with his sword.
Dahlia took it as her queue, forcing herself to run at the reanimated bear before her. The shaman saw how the abomination turned to look at her, its lone eye burning into hers as it prepared to meet her sprint. Fortunately for the shaman, Miles’ attack had already reached the thing’s head, his sharp blade sinking into its only remaining eye.
“Do what you need to do!” Miles shouted as he held onto his sword’s wrapped pommel, the creature roaring as it swung Miles around. Dahlia gritted her teeth as she rushed at the creature, seeing how it blindly swung at where she was initially headed towards. She slid underneath its crystalized arm, feeling the wind from its missed blow as she dodged its attack.
Once close enough, Dahlia reached for her half-buried belt and satchel, her free hand quickly searching through one of the pouches. She did her best to avoid the abomination’s lumbering form before her fingers grasped onto the familiar orb. Dahlia quickly pulled the gnome-made device out of her belt’s pouches, using her remaining strength to twist it in half.
She heard a loud snap from the device, signifying it was now armed. Dahlia silently started counting the seconds, reaching into her belt for her gauze. She kept close to the dangerous abomination, avoiding its wild swings as she wrapped the orb in the bandaging, adhesive side out.
‘48… 47… 46…’
Dahlia mentally counted before moving to attach the gnomish creation to the bear’s side. She made sure the orb was snugly fitted onto its frostbitten and crystalized skin before moving to get the hel away from it. She glanced at her group, who were still too close to the creature’s proximity.
“Get the hell away from it! Now!” Dahlia shouted.
‘30… 29… 28…’
She silently counted as she turned tail and ran, nearly tripping over rocks and raised roots as she did so.
‘25… 24… 23…’
Dahlia risked another look. She could see how everyone was hauling ass, getting far from the blinded abomination. Dahlia suddenly tripped, her knees and elbows scraping against the ground as her foot caught a root.
‘20… 19…’
“Fuck!” she cursed. She scrambled to get up, her knees buckling under the pressure and stress of the situation.
‘14… 13… 12...’
Dahlia was still close to the abomination, barely ten meters from the clearing. If she could make it just a little farther…
BOOM
There was then a loud explosion, bits of shrapnel grazing the shaman as the explosion’s heat reached her. Dahlia wasn’t sure how, but she lost consciousness then, her entire world going dark.