Turning back, I wait for the moment they actually figure out where I am. This is a stalling tactic since I do want to give my party time to free themselves up and help me. It also lets me overcharge a couple more spells. I guess they lose track of the snake as well in their distraction because a moment later the poisonous reptile springs from the side to sink its fangs into the leader in the back. The snakes fangs pierce the leg of the Sonic Fencer, as evidenced by his pained grunt. Quick as lightning the water snake draws back, avoiding a saber swing, and strikes again at the juggernaut this time. It buries its fangs into a gap between armor plates just above the boot of the heavily armored tank. Prepared this time, the Sonic Fencer’s blade glows and starts making a whining sound before blurring into action. His sword bisects the snake and it starts to fade out to wherever it came from.
The knight is stabbing my salamander through the head as I look over, causing it to fade out as well. Turning around at the bite from my snake, the juggernaut finally sees me. I see his bloody eyes nearly bulge out of his head as he opens his mouth to yell. I don’t wait any longer and release the overcharged spells I was holding on to. A wrist thick bolt of golden electricity arcs from my right hand into the juggernauts unprotected chest, moving too fast for him to bring his shield to bear. From my left hand a spear of ice twice as long as my normal Ice Lance speeds away. A blue streak through the air, the icy projectile takes the leader through the lower back. He is turning at the time from the attack on his compatriot so when the large shard of ice connects with his armor it shatters the front half. The rest of the projectile penetrates at a nasty angle that has the thin tip protruding near the center of his stomach.
Releasing a grunt that is more of a growl the swordsman uses his off hand to snap the front of the icicle off from his belly. Then with a smooth motion that makes it look like he has done this sort of thing before his sword swings behind him to lop off the majority of my attack still lodged there. Now all that is left in him is a cone of ice that is mostly inside him, allowing him to fight unhindered. Stunned a little at the practiced ease of such a thing I snap out of it as they charge me, the juggernaut behind the others as he overcomes the effect of my Lightning. I guess they don’t want to give me time to escape again. As they charge at me I can see the walls I raised start to fall back into the stone wall we stand on. Without any time to look around at the situation I start casting again.
With the apparent leader out front now I focus on him. Raising both arms to him I cast lightning from both hands. I aimed one spell high and another low on his chest. The high one connects just above his heart around the collar bone. The low one did something interesting though. When it hits the fencer in the stomach there is a puff of steam and I can see smaller arcs of electricity jumping around the area. Blood starts flowing freely from the wound where the Ice Lance pierced him and I can guess that the more recent spell reacted to the frozen water, flash boiling it and multiplying the damage. Then he is on me.
He leads with a swing that is too far away to connect, but sends a shockwave that does. My barrier flares up as it absorbs the hit. The glowing backswing from the saber connects with a skill empowered impact that leaves spider web like cracks all over my protection. Then the Knight is next to take a swing at me, but I’m able to get the active skill of my staff there to intercept. The mana drain from absorbing the blow is large and makes me a little dizzy for a split second. Unfortunately, that is when the big juggernaut arrives to take his turn. With the disorientation I am unable to do anything and the big guys metal banded club shatters my shield, striking me in the right side. I can practically hear the ribs that snap as the force of the blow sends me tumbling to the side.
I roll over a few times and come to a stop on my back, agony radiating from the massive blow. My HP shows I’m down to about half, but I feel like I am dieing. My vision is blurry and I can hear someone yelling. I think I recognize the voice but before I can grip the name in my mind I see a man carrying only a sword and baleful red eyes approach. He is already swinging the sword in my direction while still out of range. A distortion in the air springs forward and I’m hammered by force again. There is a shrieking sound so loud all I can hear is a ringing when I tumble to a stop. Head spinning, I can only tell that my health is down low.
Fully expecting the end to come any moment my vision goes white for a second. A moment later my head clears a little as my vision returns to normal. I see the club wielding juggernaut standing over me. There are the sounds of fighting nearby and the towering brute above me takes second to bash a guard with his shield and knock him away. A green glow suffuses my body, clearing the rest of the malaise clouding my mind. As my wits return, the juggernaut above me raises the heavy club over his head, preparing to deal a powerful blow that will no doubt kill me. The distraction he had and the preparation for a death blow the large shieldman took gives me just enough time to cast Folded Space and roll to the side.
When I roll onto my back again it’s with great relief that Azzaria is the one to be standing over me now. Both her and Gem look down to me and I get a dose of green healing magic from them as I get to my feet and observe the situation. There are still regular blood thralls on the wall but they are being teamed up on by multiple guards each. Grondar is going toe to toe with the juggernaut as we speak, and winning. Timbre on the other hand isn’t doing so well against the illusion using knight. To top it all off, the Sonic fencer is headed this way. He is below half when it comes to his HP but that isn’t much comfort as his whole body glows and he sprints toward me.
I cast another Mana Barrier, but before I can do anything else he is on me again. Reaching out my arms I call to my staff, which snakes off my arm and changes from its form as a bracelet to its normal form in my hands. I’m just in time to block the skill enhanced overhand swing. The power behind it is too much though. The force of the blow drives me to my knees and makes my arms numb. His saber glows again and the slash is too fast for me to get my staff in front of it. The impact shatters my newly cast barrier and sends me onto my side. The barrier soaked up most of the damage but I’m down to below a quarter of my HP again. Lightning crashes into the leader of the attacking force followed by an arrow and a blade of darkness that I haven’t seen before. None of it seems to do much damage and he shrugs the attacks off as he reverses the grip on his weapon and drives it down toward my chest.
A flash of gold, and a splash of red. The next thing I know I’m holding my familiar in her elfin form as the Sonic Fencer draws out a buzzing sword blade. She used Ride the lightning to throw herself in front of me. Her face is a study in immense pain until the blade leaves her breast completely. After that she goes limp in my arms before locking eyes with me. She gives me a last, warm smile and her body fades out of existence. “THIA” The tortured scream that comes next is echoed behind me as well. A rage I have only felt once before when clearing what is now my keep overcomes me. Faster than I knew I could move I snatch up my staff and swing it across the swordsman that killed my woman. My love. The swing opens up a wound along his side from the sharpened wings on the staff head.
It isn’t enough. He is too strong and even though he is low on health he just swings again and knocks the staff from my hand. A moment later his sword glows once again as he rears back. Tip pointed at my chest. Faster than I can track, the sword is thrust forward. I can only tell what happened by the trail of light that follows the weapon as it pumps forward multiple times. The strikes don’t do a lot of damage but the sheer number drives a horrific agony through my entire being. When his skill runs its course and stops I only have a sliver of health. The only thing keeping me on my feet at all is the pure hatred that occludes my rational thought.
Wobbling as I stand there, I can see the fencer nod, almost as if in respect, before pulling back his arm for the finishing blow. Just as he is about to behead me though, blood sprays across my face a second time in the last minute. Four thick roots are now protruding from different places in the thrall’s b
ody. One is in his sword arm, another in his left thigh, and the last two protrude from his chest. Despite the horrific wounds as the roots go through his body, expanding the holes they created, he is still not dead. A groan comes from his lips as the roots lift him off the ground so he can’t move around.
My vision still red with the molten heat of my anger, I stumble forward. I quickly yank the dagger at my hip out while activating the burning blade enchantment, sending flames up the blade to the tip. Without any parting words, I punch the tip if it up through the soft spot under his chin all the way through the mouth and into the brain. His whole body freezes at this point and I growl at him as I twist the blade. Smelling the stench of burning flesh I rip the poniard from his skull. Hanging limply from the roots now I confirm his death using Identify.
I look around just in time to see the Mirage Knight bash a wounded Timbre to the side. Timbre is bleeding badly and struggling to get up as her opponent closes in to deliver the coup de grace. Out of nowhere Grondar’s hammer bashes in the skull of the knight before he can finish Timbre. The juggernaut lay dead behind them. Looking around once more I find the number of thralls greatly reduced and the last ones are getting swarmed by the remaining guards assisted by the last few remaining automatons.
Seeing that everything appears in order and the battle is winding down I take a moment to close my eyes, breath, and calm down. As I do, there are a couple flashes of light as a warm feeling spreads through my chest. No doubt it’s healing magic bringing me out of danger. Soon I can think logically as the last of my rage fades. Thia is my Familiar and that means she isn’t dead. Killing her here just means she gets banished and I can re-summon her. Having never dismissed her or had her forcibly returned before I had forgotten that tidbit of information in the heat of battle. Opening my eyes I find Enora nearby and walk over. “Thanks a lot for the help there. That guy really had my number.”
She looks at me a little funny and asks “Your number?”
I shake my head, realizing that it probably isn’t the same saying here. “It’s an expression where I’m from. It just means he had a significant advantage over me, or something similar at least.”
“Ah. You’re welcome Vol.” She looks around a little and turns to me “It looks like the fighting is over. I will take the ladies here to help with the wounded.”
I nod and step over to Gem and Azzaria. “You can go and help. I’m going to summon Thia back in a moment after I check on Timbre. I’ll catch up with you in a little bit.” Azzaria gives me a hug and Gem just looks at me funny for a moment before leaving with Enora. Gem probably doesn’t know that Thia is my familiar. I’ll leave that up to Azzaria to explain. Timbre looks up to me as I approach. “Hey babe. How are you holding up?” She is kneeling on the ground and hasn’t moved since the fight ended. The only answer I get to my question is a dog-like whine. I know she isn’t in danger at the moment because I can see the HP bar for her in the corner of my vision. It’s over a third full now. More evidence that Azzaria and Gem were pitching in.
I kneel next to her and use a hand to tuck some hair back so I can nuzzle into her neck. She returns the gesture and grips me in a tight hug as we sit there for a few moments. When I lean back a little she clings to me tighter so I can’t look at her face while she keeps it pressed against the side of my neck. She is breathing deeply and I can feel her arms trembling. I reach up and start rubbing her furry ears how she likes it to help calm her down. “Let me look at your wounds Timbre, and you can tell me what is wrong.” She lifts her head after another moment and leans back so I can see the different cuts along her body.
As I start to heal her, she begins talking with a shaky voice. “You nearly died. I was so worried about you but we were too busy to come help you. Then the first thing we see of you again was when you got overwhelmed by those three.”
“It’s okay now. I was able to hold them off long enough and everything worked out.” This experience did emphasize what I already knew though. I need to get stronger. Even with the advantages I have and the gear I’m wearing I was still outmatched. If I want to protect myself and my people I need to focus on getting stronger. I can’t help but wonder if this would have been better if I had focused more on leveling. I finish healing her and give her a gentle peck on the lips. “Now I need to summon Thia back. Can you watch over me as I do?” With a nod she gets back to her feet and takes a position near me. “IMA, are there any other enemy signatures within your range?”
“No Vol. All clear and none of the intruders fled either” Is her quick reply.
Feeling better now at the confirmed end of the confrontation I take a seat on the stone of the wall and get comfortable. Drawing on the implanted information of the familiar summoning spell I begin casting. This time it’s a lot less visually spectacular than the first time when our bond was created. Channeling mana into the spell formation I direct it into the air in front of me and keep feeding in more mana. A portal that shows only black within begins to grow larger and larger the more mana I feed it. When it is a few feet in diameter it stops growing, and a second later a golden Thunderbird comes through with its wings tucked in. As soon as she is through she flares her wings open and swings around to land on my shoulder. The portal winks out of existence and Thia bends her head down to nip at my ear before nuzzling into me.
“I was worried” is the only thing she says through our bond.
“I’m fine Thia. You did good.” I scratch her on the feathered neck for a minute before she shifts to her elfin form and plops down in my lap. Squeezing back in a tight hug I grab Timbre’s hand as well to pull her in for a three way embrace. Comforted by each others presence we release our group hug and move around to see what we can help with. I find that there is a place on the ground near the gate but off to the side where all the injured are being brought to. Azzaria and Gem are already there. I get to work on healing a few of the injured as my girls all share another hug. The second person I come across that needs healing is Derl, little Zia’s father. He looks exhausted and has a gash across his cheek that continues down across his chest at and angle.
“Hey Derl. How is Zia doing in her training?” I mainly ask to distract him, as he looks like he is experiencing intense pain. His wounds still ooze blood.
He turns his head at the sound of my voice and the corner of his mouth turns up a little when he sees me. “Amazing my lord. She is really focused on improving.” He is stopped by some wheezing. The cut across his chest may have hit a lung.
“Just hang on there for a minute while I get started here. Hope you don’t have desire to keep those scars though.” I put my hand over his face and start casting Reverse Pain. I cast it multiple times as I go and trace the cut down until it is gone completely. “There you go. All fixed up. Now Nira won’t be able to tell you were even hurt. Maybe it will save me from getting an earful from her about nearly getting her husband killed.”
He chuckles a little and carefully stands. Squeezing my shoulder he says “Thank you my lord. I’ll go to make sure that my family is okay, if that is alright with you?”
“I insist actually.” I pat him on the back and he walks off. At the last cot I’m surprised to see someone else standing next to it. Steve the human is holding the hand of Elisia, who is the one on the cot. Her other arm is clearly broken and there are cuts on her in different places. Her broken bone reminds me of my own broken ribs and I wince. Thankfully the healing I received has already fixed most of my bones. Elisia’s arm is in an odd angle though. She was obviously up on the wall defending the town. Steve is also a little beat up and has a bow slung over his back. That makes me feel better about my decision to keep him around. “Hi Elisia. Looks like you got yourself into a little trouble. That arm is particularly bad so I’m going to leave it to Enora to look at. The rest of these shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Will she be alright sir?” This from Steve.
“Of course. I can handle most of this and I’m sure that Enora will be able to ha
ndle the arm with no problem. She’ll be good as new in no time.” After that I focused on healing all the cuts on her legs, arms, and torso. As I work I listen. Listening to their conversation I’m able to discern that Steve followed Elisia to the wall when the alarm went up and helped out. Finishing what I can, I step back and let Enora take over when she arrives a minute later. Exhausted, I tell Enora I will meet the council tonight for a meeting and start walking back to the keep. The girls all fall in with me on the way back, even Gem. Back at my suite of rooms we clean up to get the blood and grime of battle off. Then all of us collapse into bed.
I don’t know how long I was out but when I came to I was wedged between Timbre and Thia with Azzaria snuggled up behind Thia and her arm draped across both of us. I lie there for a while just trying to decompress and think out the implications of the attack we just repelled. Eventually I decide to distract myself by looking at my messages. I gained a lot of levels in my magic. Makes me think that the intensity, or how tough a conflict is may have an effect on skill or ability experience. I gained two levels in Time, Space, Water, and Neutral type magics. Bringing them to level 13, 16, 14, and 15 respectively. My Air and Fire elements also reached level 15 while Earth got to 18. Thia also improved almost all her skills. The next notifications are the truly welcome ones.
A Mage Rising: (The Chronicles of Herst 2: A LitRPG Saga) Page 42
