One of the two ferretinas came leaping out of the grass, going into a roll as it closed the distance on Pawly. Pawly hissed and slapped at it only to have to spring to the side, avoiding its attack. Pawly spun, her other tentacles lashing down as the second ferretina charged out of the grass from her side.
Stern threw one of his daggers, which just missed the monster, but made it break off its attack. He raced forward to get his dagger back and guard Pawly’s back. “I’ll be behind you!” he told Pawly.
Pawly attacked the ferretina over and over only to have her tentacles miss by inches each time. She yowled and pounced forward, but the monster jumped backward into the grass. Inching back, Pawly’s tail lashed side to side, her ears laying flat on her head.
“Wish I had fire magic,” Stern exhaled angrily. “Then these damned things wouldn’t have an easy way out.”
Cyra swallowed and stayed where she was. The ferretinas were focused on Pawly and Stern, and there weren’t any others nearby.
Suddenly, both monsters rushed out of the grass— they weren’t spinning or rolling, just rushing forward, their bellies low to the ground. Pawly yowled, her tentacles lashing out. She missed both of them as they darted to either side of her.
“I got the right!” Stern shouted as he stepped up beside her.
Pawly leaned back, then slashed forward with one massive paw at the left ferretina. The creature tried to dodge, but Pawly’s extra-large paw slapped the beast. Though the creature managed to get a bite on her paw, its blood went flying as Pawly’s claws sliced deep into it, killing it.
The second ferretina darted at Pawly. Stern kicked out, but it leapt over his foot. It landed on Pawly’s neck, latching on, as her illusionary placement had been displaced by the bite to her paw. The ferretina failed to account for the thick fur that surrounded her neck so, instead of tearing a chunk of flesh out, it only gashed her.
Yowling, Pawly shook her head and sent the ferretina flying.
Unluckily for it, it flew at Stern, who snagged it behind the head and stabbed it in the gut. He yanked his knife down and the monster lashed before it went limp. Stern dropped it to the ground, looking around.
“Both are dead,” Cyra said with a deep exhale. “Oh, Pawly, hang on.”
“Go home,” Stern said.
Pawly faded away.
Cyra blinked. She’d been about to heal Pawly, then remembered that she got healed if Stern sent her away. “Right. I forget.”
“It’s fine. If the fight was still going, it would be a good thing, but at the end of one, it’s easiest to let her go home and pull her back.”
Cyra stepped toward Stern, then pulled back. “What’s that smell?”
“Scent glands,” Stern said with a grimace. “Give it a minute and it’ll fade. Weasels have scent glands in their ass. It’s nowhere near as bad as a skunk, but these guys can still make your eyes water. Luckily, they only do it when frightened. If they did it during the fight, it’d be worse.”
Stern summoned Pawly back, and she sat down and stared at him.
“Sorry. They’re a bit too agile for me to kick, so it seems,” Stern told her. “Nice toss, though.”
Pawly sneezed and looked away.
“Pawly, he did try,” Cyra said.
Pawly yawned and glanced at her, then to Stern. With a sigh, she moved over and bumped his leg.
“Love you, too,” Stern said as he added her buffs. “Now we know what we’re facing. This is going to take longer if we’re going to do it safely. I’m going to say just scythe it all down as we move. We’ll need the open space when we fight them.”
Pawly chuffed and her tentacles patted the grass down.
“Cyra, are you okay?” Stern asked.
“I’m useless...” Cyra said softly.
“Not at all. We knew they were coming because of you. Imagine if Pawly hadn’t been able to clear any space before they got to us? And if things go bad, you’ll be able to heal us.”
Seeing his earnest expression, she nodded, pushing her self-loathing down. “Okay. If you say it, I’ll believe it.”
“No pressure there, then,” Stern chuckled awkwardly.
Cyra giggled.
“Okay, Pawly, I’ll try better, but I’m just a clumsy human, so be understanding, huh?” Stern asked.
Pawly chuffed and bumped his thigh.
“Thanks, furball. You’re on point again.”
~*~*~
Hours passed by as they worked their way around the outside before slowly spiraling toward the middle of the dungeon. Stern told Cyra about the squirrels he’d faced and what the last fight might look like.
Cyra worried about having to fight five of the ferretinas. “We can do it,” she said, but her uncertainty was high.
“With Pawly, we can do it,” Stern agreed. “You should be picking up signs of life soon.”
When they got closer to the center, Cyra’s eyes went wide. “One... it’s big!”
Stern inhaled sharply as the beast in question stood up to look over the grass. “Boss!”
The giant ferretina chittered angrily before dropping briefly out of view. Its back was just under the top of the grass so, when it began its war dance, it became easy for them to see where it was coming from.
Pawly yowled, her tentacles clearing a wide space around her.
“Pawly, it might be able to mesmerize you! Be careful!” Stern yelled at her. “Cyra, turn away from it! If you can’t see it, it won’t mesmerize you. I’ll yell if you need to move.”
Cyra swallowed, spinning around. “I’m ready!”
Stern took a deep breath and focused on the fear radiating from Cyra and the anger coming from Pawly. If I can hold onto their emotions, maybe I’ll be able to resist it, he hoped.
With a spinning leap, the five-foot ferretina came into the clearing Pawly had made. It lashed out at Pawly, but its attack slid through the illusion. Pawly’s return strike landed— the claws on her tentacles barely cut into it as the beast was already rolling away, disappearing back into the grass.
Pawly let out a yowl of frustration and got ready for it to come back. Stern stood back, ready to throw his daggers if the creature paused even for a moment.
The ferretina bounded into and out of the grassy clearing, but only partially before it vanished. Stern blinked, realizing he had lowered his guard. Pawly’s tentacles were drooping as she watched.
“Pawly, snap out of it,” Stern said, trying to push his mind free of the effect. He settled on closing his eyes.
Pawly shivered at Stern’s command and was just shaking off the edges of the mesmerization when the mob came rushing out of the grass. With a hiss, Pawly shook her head, but the ferretina wasn’t heading for her.
Stern opened his eyes just in time to see the large, furry monster leaping at him. “Fuck!” He threw his right arm up to cover his neck and lashed out with the dagger in his left hand. The monster latched onto his arm for only a moment, but its teeth cut right through the hardened leather, sinking into his flesh. Fortunately for Stern, it couldn’t yank a piece of him away, as it would need to jerk back to free itself. Stern planted his dagger into its side once, and almost managed it a second time when the four clawed feet hit him. With a spring, it flung itself away, leaving gouges in his leather armor.
Pawly launched herself after the ferretina. Her claws left gashes in it, but it managed to slip away from her. With an angry yowl, Pawly backed up, putting herself in front of Stern.
“Cyra, heal me, please?” Stern asked with a grimace. His right hand was not gripping his dagger as tightly as it should.
Cyra spun to him, her eyes flying open as she used Minor Life to send him some healing. “What happened?”
“Its teeth can bite through the leather, but its claws didn’t manage,” Stern told her. He watched the grass shift and shudder as the ferretina moved. “Okay, this is going to suck, but it’ll be easier this way. Pawly, I’m going to grab it next time. You need to get its neck quick, okay?”
>
Pawly hissed in anger and crouched.
“What? No!” Cyra cried out.
“It can only bite. I’ll let it bite my arm and then grapple it to immobilize it. Its claws will rake me again, but I’ll be fine. Pawly can kill it quickly if I can hold it still for her. A minor injury for a win is worth it,” Stern told her.
Cyra didn’t like the idea of Stern getting injured, but she knew he had a point. She clamped her mouth shut so she wouldn’t argue. She glared at the shifting grass, getting angry at the beast.
Stern felt her growing anger and sighed to himself. She’ll forgive me afterward. She knows I’m right.
The grass shuddered close to the clearing and Stern stepped past Pawly. Pawly crouched, getting ready to spring, and Cyra closed her eyes, ready to use her healing.
The ferretina came then, but not for Stern nor Pawly. It came bounding out of the grass and to the side before lunging for Cyra.
“Cyra, get down!” Stern shouted in horror.
Cyra didn’t open her eyes— she just fell to the ground, hunching up to minimize what might happen.
Pawly launched herself at the ferretina. Her tentacles raked the side of the beast, but it still managed to get past Pawly.
Stern had seen the change of direction and shouted to Cyra before he took a single step and lunged. His left arm crossed in front of the monster and it latched onto the offered limb. Stern jerked himself backward, falling and getting ready to take hold of the beast.
Cyra cried out as pain lanced through her side, though it was not as bad as it might have been. Stern’s cry made her eyes open in an instant and she spun on the ground, wincing as her sliced side protested. Stern had fed his arm to the beast and was grappling with it, trying to hold it against him. Its back claws were bloody, and a scrap of her shirt was caught on one of them.
Pawly landed on top of the ferretina and Stern, biting down hard on its neck. She clamped her jaw shut as hard as she could as she pulled back and shook. Stern’s scream made her thrash harder, wanting to punish the creature for hurting him. She didn’t understand that it was her thrashing making him yell.
Stern screamed as Pawly thrashed, the beast’s teeth digging even deeper gouges in his arm. He let go of the ferretina with his right arm, as Pawly had it, and slammed his fist into its snout. The creature unlatched its jaws, allowing Pawly to pull it off him as she killed it.
“Stern, hang on!” Cyra cried out as she used Minor Life twice in a row on him.
The pain dulled and he sat up. Seeing her bleeding, he lurched over to her. “Use your healing on yourself!” he told her.
“Can’t,” Cyra grimaced, tears forming in her eyes. “Ally only, and I used all of them on you.”
Grabbing at his bag, he yanked the healing salve out. “Hang on, I’ll get it.”
Cyra’s shirt had been torn down the side, and it was soaking up the blood from her wound. He pulled her shirt up and saw the gouges running down her side— they weren’t as deep as he’d feared, but they were still bad. Yanking the lid off the ointment, he rubbed it over her wound.
Cyra was shocked when he pulled her shirt up and froze in fear, but he wasn’t looking at her chest— he was staring at the wounds only. When he spread the ointment on, she whimpered and twitched.
“It’ll fade in a moment. Hang on, Cyra,” he said softly.
True to his word, the ointment dulled the pain, and she began to breathe easier. She watched his face as he worked, seeing the worry and tenderness in him. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart beat faster.
Stern smiled when he felt her fear and pain ebb away. Those two emotions were replaced by a tangle of worry, and possibly love. Blinking, he looked away from her as he put the lid back on the salve jar. “Umm… I’m all done. Give it a minute to heal up a bit more.”
Pawly came trotting over and sniffed Cyra’s face.
Cyra laughed and reached out to pet her, failing to find Pawly’s real body. “You got it for us?”
There was a chuff, and Pawly gingerly pushed her head into Cyra’s questing hand.
“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Stern exhaled. “I should have had you come closer to us. Sorry.”
“It could have gone much worse,” Cyra said softly, using her free hand to tug her shirt down. “We’ll need to see a clothier about repairing my shirt.”
“There is that,” Stern agreed. He glanced at her and saw her smiling as she stroked Pawly’s head.
Cyra looked his way and blushed slightly. “Thank you for saving me again.”
Stern looked away. “It’s my fault you got hurt to begin with. Come on. It’s time for you to pick your perk.”
Cyra got to her feet shortly after Stern and touched his back. “It wasn’t your fault. If any of us knew it would attack me, we would have done things differently. I don’t blame you, so you shouldn’t blame you, either.”
Pawly chuffed and bumped his thigh.
“Two on one, huh? Okay, I’ll try to see it your way.” Stern started to unbuckle his bracer so he could check his own wounds.
“Good,” Cyra smiled. “I’ll see you in the shop.”
“Be right there.”
Chapter Thirty-three
“Sorry for the delay,” Stern said when he finally appeared in the shop. “Ria, how are you?”
“I’m well. Cyra was just going over her choices.”
“I’m going to take this one,” Cyra said, pointing at a page.
Stern gave it a look and nodded. “Being able to heal yourself is a very good call.” Glancing up at Ria, he asked about something he’d been wondering about, “Ria, who writes these?”
“All perks come from the Goddess,” Ria said with a hint of a smile.
“So the Goddess wrote, ‘Healer, heal thyself’?”
“In a way,” Ria replied with a grin. “I can’t say anymore.”
Stern looked at the page again. Self-help; Don’t I count? Able to target yourself with any perk or spell that you use.
“It’s a good call. What about the others?” Stern asked.
“Not as useful,” Cyra said. “After being injured, I kind of want this one.”
“It’s your call and I support you.”
Cyra touched the page and, a second later, it burst into light and entered her. Grabbing the counter, she shuddered as her very being was altered to allow her new perk to work.
Ria collected the other two pages and waited for Cyra’s upgrade to finish. “Now that you’re okay, we can discuss dungeon points. The ferretinas were dangerous mobs, and the boss even more so because of its ability to mesmerize. You both earned ten points for completing the dungeon. Cyra earned thirty-three points for healing her crew. Stern earned one hundred and fifty for defeating the mobs. The crew earned four hundred and fifty for the dungeon.”
“I give all mine to Stern,” Cyra said.
Stern started to object, but stopped himself, instead changing what he was going to say to, “Cyra, you don’t have to keep doing that.”
“Until I feel like I have repaid you, I will continue to give you mine,” Cyra said simply.
“I won’t argue,” Stern said. “The total is six hundred and fifty, right?”
“Fifty-three,” Ria corrected him.
“Lesser runes,” Stern said, looking down at the case.
Ria smiled as the case filled with lesser runes. “Which type would you like?”
“I’d personally go with fire, but I’m not sure Pawly would appreciate that. She’d be fine with dark, though.”
The runes under the glass faded until only one was left. “This is the one you want?”
“For now. It’s honestly surprising we could even get one before the next tier,” Stern said.
“Couldn’t we run all three dungeons one more time?” Cyra asked.
Stern frowned, then shook his head. “I need to keep my last run of any dungeon open.” He looked away from the two women. “I might have to come back to get my siblings out.”<
br />
“Oh, right,” Cyra nodded. “I’ll keep mine open, too, then.”
“To verify, you want this rune?” Ria asked.
“Yes, please,” Stern said.
A rune slightly larger in size than the ones he’d collected before appeared on the counter. There was a black disk in the center, signifying it to be a dark element rune.
“What would you like to do with your remaining one hundred and fifty-three points?” Ria asked.
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