Chapter 17: Porcs

Riley charged forward to meet the Porcs partway down the canyon. He slammed his shield into their front line. The combined weight of his armor and his momentum enough to stop the charge of the Porcs. Their swords cutting into but failing to penetrate his rock armor.

Casey was only a few steps behind Riley and took advantage of their focus on Riley to stab one of the Porcs through the face.

The Porcs moved quickly pulling back their deceased companion and another stepped forward in line. Riley stepped to the side letting Casey take her place next to them and they began the fight in earnest. Arrows and spells flew over their heads to land among the back ranks of the Porcs. Screams of pain could be heard but Riley couldn’t see the actual impact through the press of bodies.

Riley focused on the enemy in front of him. His rock armor providing a layer of protection that allowed him to be more aggressive than he had been previously. He traded blows with the Porcs earning his armor new scars but he always returned worse than he got, their leather armor not nearly as effective.

Still his job wasn’t to kill but to hold the line and took every opportunity he could to help Casey out. Using his shield to shove his foe making them stumble into the 2nd line Riley’s sword thrust towards Casey’s enemy which gave her the opportunity to step in close and thrust her dagger through its chin and into its brain. The creature was pulled back and another stepped forward, Casey forced to dodge its attacks.

Riley hunkered down behind his shield as his Porc tried to take advantage of his distraction, but Nermit’s spear was there catching the Porc in the shoulder and sparing Riley’s armor another mark.

The group fought on. Arrows fell down on the back lines like rain and their shields were raised like umbrellas. But that left them vulnerable to Heather’s mana bolts, each one flying true and striking a Porc in the head.

Riley caught a sword on his pauldron to return a fatal strike back when his rock armor finally failed, the sword cutting deep enough to reach his flesh. He cried out in pain but the pool of healing energy which had been gathering in his core reacted immediately flooding the area. He was back to full health immediately, but it wasn’t a good sign. He looked past the first row of Porcs and still saw the canyon filled all the way to the back. The 30 enemies they had killed had all been replaced, they weren’t even making a dent in the enemy force.

“Heather, I think we could really use that Obliterate spell right now.” Riley called out as he blocked another attack on his shield, the force of the blow leaving his arm ringing.

“I don’t think I can,” she called back. “My mana channels feel strained from the first use, I don’t think they can take another.”

Riley swore under his breath. He saw Casey almost get skewered by a sword out of the corner of his eye but she turned into a blur of motion dodging the sword just in time. She retaliated immediately and the offending Porc was dead. Casey smoothly transitioned her motion into an attack on Riley’s Porc who fell soon after.

She moved like a specter of death. Her dance reaping the front line of the Porcs like wheat. Riley took this opportunity to refresh his Stone Armor skill. The scarred and chipped armor regrowing back into perfect form. Before too long Casey’s movements turned back to normal and she had to retreat back to Riley who was ready to cover for her.

With his refreshed armor Riley threw himself back into the fight killing the Porcs which seemed to flow without end.

The group continued to fight their way through the mob of enemies. Nermit casting the occasional healing spell on Casey as she started to tire and grew too exhausted to dodge. Eventually Nermit had to take over for her, stepping next to Riley to tank the front line.

No one in the group was unfamiliar with melee combat. While they had been sticking to their roles so far that didn’t mean they didn’t have the ability, lowercase, to cover for the others as needed. Still Nermit was not as lethal as Casey had been and their killing speed slowed somewhat for the switch.

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Riley started to pace himself, realizing that this was a marathon and not a sprint. His armor spared Riley the need to dodge which helped with his endurance, but he didn’t think he would be getting a reprieve any time soon.

Eventually Casey recovered enough to take back over for Nermit who picked up his spear again. Heather was also forced to stop her casting and grabbed a spare spear to assist as the second line. Only Scott was left to deal ranged damage but that didn’t mean much as the line of enemies were never ending.

Time passed and injuries started to accumulate in the group. Exhaustion was setting in and everyone was making more and more mistakes. Nermit was forced to cast his healing spell more and more often, almost bottoming out his mana. The group spared a moment in the fighting to send their points to him to buy some mana potions. One went to Scott who had long ago ran out of regular arrows and needed the mana to keep generating the wind arrows for his bow.

Black clouds formed over the group and Scott’s shout was their only warning before a bolt of lightning struck the party. Riley was the only one protected from the attack, his rock armor insulating him from the blast. Still he felt the wave of heat and the concussive force hit him. Casey, who was the target of the strike, was completely knocked out. Riley couldn’t spare a glance to see what became of Nermit or Heather, he only knew he couldn’t let the Porcs get to Casey. He threw himself forward, heedless of the attacks which fell on his armor.

Riley fought like a demon, his sword taking a life with every strike. Still for every one he gave he received 5 in return. Soon the damage became too much for his armor and attacks started slicing through the failing protection. Riley’s world became nothing but pain and death. He screamed as swords rent his flesh asunder but the healing energy stored within him soon brought him back to full health only for the pain to return again. Riley fought on like a maniac, unwilling to drop his armor to resummon it.

A shout from Heather brought Riley back to his senses and he saw that he had pushed forward through the canyon, leaving his group behind. Casey was back up, scorch marks marring her leather armor. That was when Riley felt the exhaustion hit him. He stumbled backwards towards his party, almost tripping on the bodies left behind from his rampage.

He was tired. More tired than he had ever been before. He looked at the wall of enemies. They were hesitating to follow him but that wouldn’t last long. At the rear of the group was a Porc wearing a multi-colored feather collar. Bone charms pierced its nose and ears and it was rallying the other Porcs for a continued assault. This was a shaman Porc, and likely the source of the lightning attack.

Scott’s arrows pinged off of a magical barrier protecting the shaman who looked smugly at Riley.

“Heather,” Riley gasped out as he reached the group.

She must have noticed the pleading in her eyes because the refusal died on her lips. Instead, she gave Riley a quick nod. She downed a mana potion and then Riley felt the mana build up as Heather began channeling Obliterate.

Riley turned and faced the wall of Porcs who were now charging the group once again. Riley’s arms trembled just from holding up his sword and his shield, but he held on knowing that relief was soon coming.

A thunderclap deafened Riley and he looked up to see a glowing golden barrier dissipating above their heads protecting them from another devastating thunder strike.

Riley just had to hold on. He counted the seconds as he sluggishly raised his shield to block the Porc’s attacks. Each second felt like an eon and after counting to 10 Riley was convinced that time had broken. He was certain it had been much longer than that. Still, he fought on. His healing pool had long run out and there was no more healing coming from Nermit who had to spend their time focusing on protecting the group from another lighting strike.

After what felt like hours Heather gave the signal and Riley stumbled backwards just in time. He averted his eyes this time avoiding the worst of the blinding light. The shadows had long since covered the entire cul-de-sac as the day was nearing its end. It was only with the brief light of the spell that Riley noticed something strange. About halfway up the cliff wall was Dr. Funk’s head sticking directly out of the stone, watching him.

Then the world turned back to darkness and Riley looked towards what was left of the Porcs. The entire corridor was scrubbed clean of the enemy. Heather’s spell had broken through each line in turn killing them all. The shaman’s shield had protected them enough to keep their body intact but that was about it. The only evidence left of them was a burn husk leaning against the far all.

Heather collapsed on the ground next to him, gasping for air. Riley let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground with her, his breathing coming in heavy.

Heavy footsteps broke through the silence and another line of Porcs turned the corner. And another. And another. A second shaman appeared, inspecting the burnt husk of its former companion. They were doomed.