by Sean Oswald
Karl shouted out once the creature was fully in view, “It’s a felstier.”
“And what is that for those of us that don’t live in the wilds?” Leyna asked. “And even more importantly does it have any weak spots.”
Dave chimed in, “It looks like it’s made of rock.”
“They are a form of earth elemental. Not intelligent at all, but hard to kill. No one knows exactly how they detect things, but they don’t have an appreciable sight or hearing.” Karl shouted out the information he knew about the creature, no longer concerned about being quiet. “Your best bet for attacking them is to try to hit the spots where the head or legs connect to the body or at least that is what I’ve been told. I’ve never actually fought one myself.”
“Do we even have to fight it, it doesn’t look very fast.” Leyna asked.
“No we don’t have to, and no it isn’t fast, but if it's like most elementals, it will never stop tracking us and has no need for sleep.”
“We are going to face it here in the open while we are all alert rather than have it come upon our camp at night while only one of us is awake.” Dave matter of factly gave the command. He knew that as a baron they were now obligated to defer to him, but it wasn’t really that which caused him to assume command. The simple fact was that this mission was to save his daughter, and he had no room for anyone who wouldn’t listen to him.
“Whatever you wish my Lord Baron…” And there she was again, the always alluding Leyna.
There was no time to worry about that though as Dave first cast Assess Enemy and got back a notification in light blue:
Lesser Felstier
Level: 18
Health: 2400
The beast was within fifty feet of them now and still moving slow but directly at them. Level eighteen meant that it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for their team ranging between level eleven and seventeen. The only really concerning thing was the amount of health that it had. He had to assume that they were just going to have to chip away at it bit by bit, which seemed apropos for a creature made of rock. As party leader, Dave quickly assigned Leyna as a melee damage and Karl as a ranged damager. He toyed around with assigning himself the tank slot but while that would increase his durability it would also decrease his damage.
Sword drawn, he cast his go to battle spell, Minor Enlarge. He shuddered like a horror movie’s sorority starlet after seeing the red shirt cut up on the floor. The magic of the spell coursed through his veins. It was still an eye widening experience to feel his skin stretch, bones lengthen, and muscle fibers grow denser all to shape his six foot frame into a nine foot goliath.
As the spell’s transformation ended, the beast seemed to become surer of where its intended prey was for it picked up steam. The little legs moving like that rhinoceros creature from the old cartoon Herculoids. Which is to say far faster than seemed reasonable and thus the felstier was upon Dave. What seemed like a lifetime ago, Dave had learned to pivot to the side and dodge that first boar they had encountered, so he attempted the same tactic again. If the creature had poor or non-existent eyesight, it seemed a good idea. And sure enough, he slid to the creature’s right side bringing his sword down in more of a testing strike as the main body of the creature passed by him. What he hadn’t counted on though was when one of the ball like nodules which rimmed the creature’s body shot out at him. The blow caught him squarely in the chest since he hadn’t been expecting it, and the ball moved far faster than he could have reacted. His armor absorbed most of the damage, but he still took (8) damage from the attack.
After striking Dave, the ball fell to the ground at his feet where it twitched back and forth as though it was alive. Dave didn’t know what to make of that but rushed forward and brought his sword down harder this time aiming for the beast’s right hind leg before it could turn. Dave had originally intended to get a backup blunt weapon since a sword was hardly equipped for bashing so many of the different types of monsters they had encountered in Eloria. Max however had convinced him that while that might be a good idea at some point down the road that now with a magical sword looted from the death knight that he would be fine. Dave learned in one of the many informative lectures Max gave him about the nature of Eloria that magical swords, while not indestructible, were very hard to break. In fact, this was one of the reasons why some nobles, despite having much higher levels and stats than lesser soldiers, weren’t actually all that good in a fight. They often had access to magical weapons from an early age and never had to worry about learning how to fight without dulling the edge of a blade, or about snapping a sword with the wrong type of thrust. Max had insisted and Dave agreed that it was still important to treat a magical sword as any other and to learn to use the weapon artfully and skillfully rather than merely relying upon brute force. But for this fight, Max would have to forgive him. That type of brute force was exactly what was called for.
Dave’s cut was right on point, and it accomplished its intended goal of cutting between the space where the leg was connected to the body. What was depressing was the notification he got that it only caused (34) damage. If taking off a leg caused that tiny amount of damage then this was going to be a hard nut to crack. The beast had some intense resistance to slashing damage.
Worse though was that as soon as the hind quarter hit the ground sending the creature into an out of control skid, another one of the nodules along its rim rolled down and shifted in shape to replace the missing limb. Dave stared on in slack jawed dismay, but was at least heartened by a pair of arrows which blasted into the beasts opposite side with explosive force sending four of the small spheres flying and clearly causing damage to the side. Even as the beast was rocked by Karl’s attack, Leyna rushed forward, somehow almost invisible until the instant that she attacked. Her twin daggers, one pearly white and the other ebony black both thrust into the wound created by the ranger’s arrows. Coruscating strands of energy danced along the side of the beast as she released some sort of skill into it. The intertwined pale and dark flashes of energy cracking its shell and threatening to burst the creature apart. The popping sounds coming from the creature as it thrashed about in the web of energy sounded like an exaggerated version of the noise ice cube trays make as you pop the cubes out. But then, the energy faded as the battle between nut and crusher went to the nut.
Dave pulled up the notification window from his Assess Enemy spell and discovered that the enemy was down to 312 health. So, the combo attack from Karl and Leyna may not have finished it but had come close. Oh wait, not 312, now 400 and climbing. Shrinking the window again, Dave saw that the spheres along its rim and each dropped to the ground and started to absorb varying amounts of the rock and soil around them, only to then roll back up and begin to spread out plastering the cracks in its shell back together. Just great, not only did this thing have a massive health to begin with but it also had some sort of self-healing ability. Wanting to put a stop to that, Dave quickly cast Minor Binding on three of the spheres on the ground even as he stepped forward swing his blade to shatter each of them in sequence. It wasn’t enough to stop all of the healing, but at least that was a little less health the monster would get back.
This was enough to get the creature focused on him. He would have thought that the massive attack Leyna performed on it would have made her number one on its hate list, but she must have some skill that defused aggro beyond what her class role of melee damager gave her. He made a quick mental note to talk to both Karl and Leyna about what skills they had. It was stupid to go into battle not knowing all the strengths, and for that matter, the weaknesses of your team. When the beast charged his this time, instead of trying to pivot around it, he jumped up and drove his sword straight down while casting Sure Strike. His blow hit it squarely in the top of what he took to be its head. His blade went straight through the skull and impaled it to the ground. As he did so, he triggered the flaming ability of his new sword and as the flames burst into life along the blade, the stone head sha
ttered and flew apart. (65)
Dave yanked his flaming sword back up and held it high over his head, and he let out a shout of triumph, only to be shaken from the creature’s back. Now sprawling on the ground, he looked on as one of the few remaining spheres rolled around the rim of the body and took up the place where the head had been. The new sphere flattened and took on the shape the head had before, even acquiring the etchings where one would expect the eyes to be.
David cursed in frustration. What would it take to kill this thing, but he couldn’t just sit on the ground as it was coming for him again. Thankfully he got more time as another pair of explosive arrows blasted into the beast’s side rocking it. Cracks rapidly spread through some of the newly sealed portions, but once again, the remaining spheres went to work repairing the shell.
Seeing this again, Dave shouted, “Aim for the little balls on its side.” Hoping that his allies would join in with him, Dave again cast Minor Binding as quickly as he could on as many of the balls as he could to keep them from rolling back up and healing the earth elemental with material looted from the ground beneath it. This time, he was able to bind four of the spheres. He was definitely loving the extra mana from the reservoir in his sword. Dave was able to slash through two of them before the beast charged into him. In the collision, his sword was stuck part way into the third sphere. Now though, he was engaged in a grappling match with a creature made of earth and stone. The charge had knocked Dave back but his enhanced Strength had enabled him to not completely lose his feet. He was partially splayed across the beast’s back as he reached his arms around it trying to fully grasp it. If only he could lift it up off the ground, it might weaken. At least he thought that might be a thing for earth elementals.
Dave flinched a bit as first Leyna jumped in and slashed at two of the spheres near where his left hand was trying to wrap around the creature and then even more as arrows burst through two others near his right hand. This left only one of the ball-like nodules left, which instead of dropping to absorb earth for healing purposes rolled up the back of the shell and slammed into his face. Now his head knew what a pool ball felt like when it meets the cue ball. His head ringing, it was all he could do to hold onto the back of the creature. It was starting to buck wildly, and he felt his feet lift up off the ground.
This was not going to plan at all, but as he held on for dear life with his head pressed against the shell, he was able to see inside through one of the unhealed cracks. The center of the creature appeared to be hollow and there within, suspended by slender earthen supports was a brownish glowing orb about six inches in diameter. Dave’s mind went into overdrive as he let his body do the hanging on for him. So far, the creature hadn’t had any weak spots. Not its head, or back or anything. That just didn’t sit well with Dave. Biology told him that almost any living thing had to have sensitive spots or vital organs, and the gamer in him said that every monster was built with a weak spot. That brown sphere at its core had to be the weak spot.
Just then though, his spell’s duration expired, and he shrank back down to his usual size. No longer able to maintain his grasp around the beast, and shocked by the sudden unexpected transformation, he was bucked off and flew fifteen feet through the air only to land on his back with a sudden explosion of breath as all the air in his lungs was forcibly pushed out. The felstier charged at him, and he wasn’t able to move or avoid it as it brought one of its stubbly legs down on his right lower leg with a cracking sound. (64) He would have screamed out in pain but for the fact that he was still trying to suck in some oxygen.
You have received the debuff: Broken- Debuff customized to match which bones have been broken. You have broken your right leg. Movement rate reduced by 60%. Running is not possible.
You have received the debuff: Pained- A pained creature is in great pain and unable to act normally without making a successful Concentration check. You take 1 pts of non-lethal damage each round and get -20% on AC, -20% to atk and -30% on concentration checks.
Crap, more debuffs. Dave was saved from another blow by Leyna jumping onto the back of the felstier. Dave could only think that say what you will about her constant flirting, Leyna wasn’t a coward nor was she one to let down a team member. That respite gave him enough time to breathe deeply and yell out, “There is some sort of core at its center. I think that is the weak spot.”
Karl came running forward, bow drawn and clearly looking for the “core.” He must not have found it since he didn’t launch an arrow. For her part, Leyna must have seen it, but apparently couldn’t reach it due to the length of her daggers and was doing everything she could just to hang on.
Dave pulled a small red potion from a pouch on his belt and popping the cork downed half of the contents. He immediately felt relief as the potent Excellent Healing Potion restored all of his lost health in one instant. Dave stood up, and staggered in pain. The health may have been restored, but apparently the potion couldn’t mend a broken bone. Still, the restored health reduced his pain enough for him to make the Concentration check as he cast Minor Enlarge again. However, he hadn’t thought about how painful it would be to enlarge with a broken bone and caused himself (55) damage as he grew, almost completely undoing the healing he had just received.
He wanted to say that he leapt forward into the side of the beast to bravely rescue Leyna, but the truth was that with the pain and shock he was in caused him to stumble into it. Either way, once his chest hit the creature’s shell, he slid his arms up and shoved his hands into the space between two of the cracks, never stopping to think if this was a wise decision. He yanked with all of his enhanced Strength and with a herculean effort forced a wider space. That was all that Karl had needed because an arrow whistled right past Dave’s ear and thudded into the core inside.
As a rumbling sound began and the creature started to convulse, Dave hobbled as far away as he could. Leyna tried to assist, but her petite frame wasn’t up to the task of supporting his enlarged weight. So, he only made it a few feet away before his back was pelted with an assortment of small rocks, the apparent remains of the felstier. One of the rocks hit the back of his head with enough force that he blacked out even as his face rushed forward to meet the ground below.
Your party has defeated: Lesser Felstier Level 18. XP: 216 x .8 (numerical penalty) = 172.8 /3 = 57.6x racial bonus 50% 86 XP
Chapter Five
“A child fears the monster under the bed, but the light of day often reveals a toy or crumpled blanket rather than a fiend of claws and fangs. Best to always examine your fears before letting them carry you too far.” — Saying attributed to Eris, servant of Shanelle prior to his ascension
Sara raised her head up groggily in response to a noise she heard outside. She had to look around to get her bearings as at first she didn’t recognize where she was. When she didn’t hear the noise again, she plopped her head back down on the wadded bundle of cloth which was serving as a pillow. The cloth had a faded scent of body odor. It had probably been much stronger in the past, but now, it was only a mild annoyance. It didn’t bother her anymore. For a child of her age, yesterday, today, and tomorrow all seemed pretty much the same, and she didn’t know how many days had gone by. For her time was much more a jumble of timey whimey stuff.
What Sara did know, as she slowly became more alert, was where she was. She was on a cot in a mountain hut belonging to Balayria. The dawn light filtering in through the clouds brought with it not only an awareness to location but equally to her situation.
For what must have been the thousandth time, she played in her head the chain of events that had brought her to this place. The memories came with great upheavals of emotion. She remembered how scared she was when she saw Jackson get stabbed by that evil brute of a goblin. Even now, she almost couldn’t think of it without tears coming to her eyes. Jackson had never been particularly kind to her, at least not for the past few years. She vaguely remembered that when she was very little he used to play with her and carry her around
on his back. But he kept getting bigger and never had time for her. At least he was always kind in the way that he ignored her, unlike Mira who had always seemed to say the meanest things to her. Sara never could understand what she had done to make Mira so angry, but that was exactly the way that Mira always seemed to be around her. Angry if Sara tried on her clothes, angry if Sara jumped on her bed, angry with Sara tried on her nail polish. It wasn’t Sara’s fault if she made a mess. How was she supposed to know how to do the nails right when Mira would never show her the right way.
Even in Eloria, Mira had acted annoyed to have to watch over Sara. It cut Sara to the quick in ways that she didn’t have the words to verbalize. After all, she wanted nothing more than to be like her beautiful, older sister, but whether on Earth or Eloria, Mira didn’t want anything to do with Sara and only cared about boys.
It didn’t matter now though. There had been so much blood when Jackson got stabbed. Sara remembered the strange tangy smell in the air, like what pennies tasted like. The red was so bright spreading all over the leathers that Jackson was wearing. It gushed out everywhere. The thing that stuck out more than anything though was the noise. She heard the attacking goblin snarling, Krinnk’s brave yell, and the other adults shouting and moving frantically. The one noise that she didn’t hear though was any screaming or crying from Jackson. She had been standing right next to him against the tree. She should have heard something. It somehow seemed scarier that he hadn’t made any noise.
