With his weapon in spear form, Oskar quickly dashed up the dune. The Hyenamen who’d just flown overhead looked back to see Oskar sprinting up the incline but guessed- incorrectly- that he was out of range to retaliate. They’d turned their attention to the rest of the group on the ground, ignoring the Druid.
Oskar felt as though his boots barely touched the ground as he moved the last few steps up the dune and jumped into the open arms of Sora. His earlier assumption that he could jump fifteen feet into the air wasn’t far off at all, and launching into winds above was easier than ever.
I probably didn’t even need to run that far up the dune, Oskar thought, trying not to grin like a maniac.
The Gliders didn’t even consider he might be in the air already after them, and so they closed in on the rest of Oskar’s Collective. By the time one of them thought again to check his position again, Oskar was already above them. Within the shell of Sora, the muted sound of the wind was like a whisper.
Less restricted by the currents and now with more control and power than he’d even imagined, they might as well have been stuck knee deep in the sand below him. His spear took the mangy-looking glider on the right through the back and felt him go limp in the air. Oskar shifted to his next enemy.
Before the other two realized what happened, Oskar was on top of the biggest one that was in the center. The spear shot out twice in quick succession at the Glider, who deflected the worst of the attack by spinning in the air to face Oskar. The Hyenaman lost all momentum, though, and fell behind in a lower current. Moving too fast to shift his attack, Oskar spun around to face the slower Gliders.
The Hyenaman’s eyes widened in fear at Oskar’s unexpected maneuverability but had no time to react as Oskar used Sora to pull the bigger, wounded Glider toward him. This time, his spear went smoothly through the Hyena’s chest on impact. He spared a glance downward to check on the battle below, but it looked like his group had the Crocs well in hand. However, his last attacker, a two-toned runt closing fast from ahead, cackled hysterically and launched a spear, forcing him to refocus on his own battle.
The PUB revealed the spear was poisoned, but Oskar already guessed that. Just in time, he angled the Hyenaman still stuck on his spear between them as a shield to absorb the throw. He felt the thud and then kicked the body free from his spear as the stunned Two-Tone crashed into him.
Somehow, the Glider reacted quickly enough to avoid the hastily raised spear point aimed at him, and Oskar almost lost his grip on the weapon at the awkward impact. He tried dislodging the Hyenaman by using Sora to launch himself skyward, but the panicked Glider latched on painfully with his claws; the fight forgotten.
Cursing, Oskar pulled the Hyena-man close enough that neither could use their weapons effectively and then slammed his forehead into the top of the smaller Hyenaman’s head.
That was a mistake. Runt or not, the Hyena had a thick, ridged line of bone that ran down the top of its skull, and Oskar split his forehead open on impact.
A ringlet of blood swirled out from his head and splashed onto Oskar’s Goggles, and the smaller Hyena-man took full advantage of his stunned reaction. Rancid, yellow teeth snapped forward and latched onto Oskar’s face, and his HUD flashed a warning. His PUB quickly shot up a notification, and his stomach sank in fear.
// Sorry, sorry! I panicked. You’re not poisoned, but that’s absolutely gonna get infected. You should probably wash that out or something. But like, not now. You know. I kinda jumped the gun on the status warning. My bad! Carry on. //
Are you kidding me? Oskar mentally yelled.
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Oskar’s immediate reaction was to jerk backwards, but he’d trained with canines before and knew doing so would have shredded his face as it exited the foul maw of the Hyenaman. It hurt like hell, though.
Oskar felt pressure on the bones in his face as Two-Tone bit down. Frustrated and in pain, he let out a primal yell. For a moment, Sora and Rakiyu spooled around him in a flash, heavily draining his Capacity. Blinking, Oskar felt like he’d been slapped, but the Hyenaman got the worst of it. His beady eyes went glassy through his Goggles, and his grip and bite relaxed.
The Glider’s eyes lit back up just in time for Oskar’s fist to smash down on his neck like a hammer. A second, better leveraged strike followed, killing the smaller creature and shoving the body away at an awkward angle. Unfortunately, that move pushed him even further out of position of the air currents, and without Sora, he couldn’t recover.
He’d lost concentration when he’d lost control of it and caused that pulse of magic, and was now falling ass over teakettle toward the sand. Oskar tried in a panic to call Sora back to himself as he fell, but the best he could do was partially right himself before he hit. Fortunately, he still had his spear in hand and the wherewithal to use Momentum Transfer upon landing.
His spear caused an explosion of sand and air as he hit, and he immediately dashed forward out of the dust to take in the ground battle. Penny was safe, standing near the Kobolds, and Erik was the only one who appeared to be injured. Blood was smeared across one side of his face, but thankfully, it didn’t look too serious. Awkwardly situated on the small bag Erik carried, Sara poked a head up over his brother's shoulder. Sure enough, Touwon's bag was open and on the sand, so the cat had taken the next best thing. Ignoring the big cat hovering by his head, his brother gave him a concerned look, and Oskar returned with a curt nod.
I know my face is a mess, but there’s no time for that now.
// Yeeaaah. You got bigger problems. //
The Crocs were down, but from the same direction they had come, a Drakon stood with a look of disgust at the bend in the dune, huge and hulking. The creature’s hands, with their dark red scales, were enormous as they tightly gripped a barbed spear in one hand and an oval shield in the other. A quick scan showed the weapons were well made; an outline of blue flashed their warnings around the gear.
The weapons were not what kept Oskar’s attention, though, because the Drakon’s size dwarfed both the spear and shield. This one was easily a head taller than the ones he’d seen at the Great Collective, and broader to boot.
And it’s a high threat, Oskar said as the red outline flashed around the creature.
So, I guess the ones at Gramm’s were mages or maybe ambassadors or merchants?
// Looking at this big ol’ Drakon, I’d say that’s a reasonably fair assessment. //
Got any tips for me?
The PUB just flashed the red threat level back up as an answer.
The hulking creature locked its fiery eyes on Oskar, and honest to God sneered. Oskar grinned wickedly back at it.
Erik called out behind him, “Something’s off with him, Oskar.”
His brother’s magic eye must have given him some indication of the threat level, but the big Drakon shifted his eyes away from Oskar to look at Erik, and Oskar had no intention of letting the moment go to waste.
This guy is obviously here for a fight, so let’s make him regret hunting us down.
Oskar darted forward, and if his adrenaline hadn’t still been flowing from his aerial combat, he might have been concerned by the lack of reaction from his opponent. It seemed in no rush as the eyes returned to Oskar and the Drakon didn’t even have the courtesy to look pleased with Oskar’s impatience. Oskar got within striking range and struck out, quick as a snake with his spear, aiming a two-handed thrust at the creature’s chest.
The Drakon made a brief sound of contempt and turned its torso just enough to dodge, not even bothering to raise its shield. Oskar felt Talau being manipulated directly by someone else as his legs abruptly shot out from under him. Oskar landed hard enough to hurt and tried to roll away to stand and gain distance, but he needn’t have bothered. The Drakon showed no interest in pushing his advantage.
What the hell?! He just used Talau! Like, use used it!
// Yeah, I noticed. And he’s better at it than you. Get up, man! //
A deep, gravelly voice similar to the Crocodilian, but much more precise and clipped, said, “Krellum came out for this? This one was told you would be a significant challenge. But in front of me, I find a pink-skinned child.”
The Drakon let out a sigh and then said, “I am disappointed.”
He wasn't gloating; he sounded bored.
Not gonna lie, PUBs. That kind of hurt my feelings.
“Well, you’re not my dad!” Oskar yelled back at him. Erik laughed behind him, but cut it short.