The Adventurers Bond

by Tao Wong

  “Damn,” Daniel said. He then looked at Tula who shrugged her shoulders.

  “I could take an Orc or two out with my bow, but it would still leave the gate locked,” Tula said.

  “Ah, that I can help with,” Rob interrupted. “A simple application of Magical Hand will allow me to engage the bar and move it aside.”

  “Aren’t those things heavy?” Daniel said.

  “Yes. But well within the limitations of my spell,” Rob answered with a sniff. “If needed, I can open the gate - providing I am close enough to cast my spell.”

  “Stealth. Mage. Not good,” Asin pointed out. Rob could not help but nod at that, willing to concede that his ability at sneaking – as shown in the last few weeks – was less than spectacular. Dismal even.

  “Could Tula and Asin deal with the guards? Allowing the rest of us the opportunity to sneak closer,” Omrak said, pointing at the fort. “We then open the gates and slay all those within.”

  “Which we don’t know is how many,” Daniel pointed out with a grimace. “There could be quite a few.”

  “And I would prefer not to charge into a fully manned fort,” Rob added. After that, the team fell silent as they pondered what to do, Tula continuing to watch the still fort. A few minutes later, Daniel looked up and excitedly repeated his idea.

  In truth, the plan was simplistic. If they did not know how many were within, they should find out. And the easiest way to do so was to bait the Orcs out. With that in mind, the team had taken a short journey down from the hill to set up a trap before sending Tula and Asin back up the hill. Tula would take the shot or shots, killing as many of the sentries as possible before the Orcs were alerted. Eventually, they conjectured, the Orcs would send someone after the lone Ranger. Asin would stay hidden, there as backup and to flank the monsters when they launched their attack.

  Waiting at the bottom of the hill, lurking behind a convenient tree, Daniel could only hope that his plan worked. It was predicated upon the fact that the Orcs would react to some extent like their non-Dungeon counterparts – that is, with thinking grace and flexibility. No sentient race would allow an archer, especially one as skilled as Tula to continue to provoke them without retaliation. The Orcs could, perhaps, send archers or crossbowmen of their own against her – but a lone archer of her Skill would easily outmatch and depart if they chose that route. No. Mounted cavalry or light infantry would be the best option.

  Soon enough, Daniel heard the sound of growing clamour from above. Indistinct shouts laced with anger and fury bore down upon them, the loud – very loud – creaking of the gates as they swung open and then the quick pitter-patter of feet running down the hill as Tula came. Occasionally, Tula would stop and the twang of a bow followed by muted shouts would appear. A short while later, the Ranger appeared at the top of the path, jogging lightly with a smile on her face. She jumped lightly over the line of flowers, then weaved past the other traps before skidding to a stop just beside a boulder, crouching low and nocking another arrow.

  Following the Ranger were a half-dozen Orcs clad in chainmail tunics, padded pauldrons and a gorget. A banded metal and leather skirt helped protect their lower body while the majority of the Orcs carried spears. All but a single mace-and-shield wielding leader who bled freely from an arrow that jutted from his stomach.

  Orc Sargent (Level 14)

  Health: 184/210

  Orc Spearmen (Level 11)

  Health: 140/140

  The moment the Orcs rounded the path and began to shake out into formation, Tula loosed her first arrow. This time, rather than targeting the Sargent who hung towards the back of the crowd, she sent an arrow into the calf of one of the spear-wielding Orcs, forcing it to kneel as the arrow lamed it. The Orc Sargent roared, and the group finished setting up quickly and began a fast march towards Tula even as she nocked another arrow. This time, when she launched the attack, an Orc in the center glowed with a green light and the arrow deflected into the air as its Skill functioned.

  Without breaking stride, Tula immediately drew and nocked another arrow as the group rushed her. As she drew and sighted the bow, she hesitated on loosing just long enough for the fast-approaching Orcs to hit the first line of traps. The lead Orc kicked the strung wire, triggering the enchantment laid beneath their feet which exploded from the ground in spikes of ice. Reacting instinctively, the Orcs jumped and twisted, disrupting their formation in an attempt to escape the attack.

  It was then that Tula loosed her arrow, drawing and nocking another even as Daniel and Omrak stood up and attacked with their own ranged weapons. Daniel’s long-unused crossbow twanged, its deadly bolt winging through the air to take an Orc in the stomach where the bolt punched through the chainmail links with ease. Omrak’s throwing axe was less successful as it was deflected by the haft of a spear to land harmlessly on the ground. Immediately, Omrak reached for his second throwing axe while Daniel dropped his crossbow and exited around the boulder to take station in front of Tula.

  “Invaders!” One of the less startled and injured Orcs shouted as he struggled to his feet, the spear levelled. In seconds, the remainder of the surviving Orcs lined up. There was a total of three Orc Spearmen in line now, one of which favored a lamed leg where an ice spike had punched through its reinforced boots. A second Orc Spearman lay on the ground, doubly lamed from arrow and ice spike. Behind them, the Orc Sargent looked on grimly at his diminished troop.

  “Traps,” the Orc Sargent hawked and spat. As if the curse was a command, another Orc Spearman strode a single step forward over the triggered ice spike trap and slammed its spear into the ground, angled towards Tula. It then jerked backwards as Tula’s arrow smashed into its shoulder, embedding itself. Injured or not, the Orc’s Skill sent a ripple through the ground and triggered the remainder of Rob’s enchantments, releasing their stored energies uselessly.

  “What a waste!” Rob snarled as his set traps triggered with little result.

  Daniel almost cursed him out for revealing his presence, but decided against it, keeping his focus on the now fast-approaching Orcs. Even Tula had decided against staying on the front lines, having slung her bow over one shoulder and proceeded to scramble up a nearby boulder for a better vantage point for the ensuing melee battle. Omrak strode forward, all of his throwing axes expanded with little to show for it, and joined Daniel on the front-lines.

  “Charge on my command,” Daniel bit out. Omrak offered a slight nod in reply as he readied his greatsword.

  “Now!”

  Together, the pair charged the group of four Orcs. Another arrow whizzed by the pair, splitting in mid-air as it approached the group and forming an Arrow Storm. Without shields, the Orc Spearmen could only weather the attack and charge forwards. Even the disciplined monsters could not help but slow slightly, disrupting their formation as the empowered Piercing arrows in the Arrow Storm struck, injuring another pair. Then the charging parties met.

  Daniel ducked at the last moment while bringing his shield upwards, deflecting the spear over his head. The rush of air as it skimmed above him set Daniel’s heart hammering in his chest. Staying focused, the stocky Adventurer put his shoulder into the shield as he rushed the Orc Spearman, over-running the monster and leaving a wildly swung hammer strike on the Orcs shoulder as he passed. Spinning on his heel, Daniel barely managed to deflect the mace strike from the Orc Sargent before he set himself behind his shield, ready to buy time for his friends to finish off the Orcs.

  Not that the Orc Sargent was going to give him a significant amount of time to watch the rest of his party as it launched attack after attack against Daniel. A sudden flicker in the Orc Sargent’s body was the only warning that Daniel received before the Orc Sargent suddenly sped up, the first strike sending his shield out of place. The second and third smashed into Daniel’s chest, the last slightly deflected as he felt his breastplate warp and his breath explode from his chest.

  Before the Sargent could take further advantage of
Daniel, a throwing knife flashed forwards and struck his shoulder, punching through its armor under the effects of Asin’s Skill. In the meantime, Daniel automatically reached inwards with his Gift to heal the damage done to him. The Catkin loped forwards, throwing knives spinning out to harass the other Orc Spearmen who fought Omrak. Together with the Enchanter and the Ranger, the Northerner had managed to lay low one of his opponents already and was fending off the attacks of the other pair.

  Seeing that his friends had the other Orcs managed, Daniel focused on the Orc Sargent. His Find Weakness Skill blared at him, but amusingly, offered little additional knowledge that he did not know – temple, armpit, groin, knee – all the areas where the monster had less armor. Instead, Daniel waited until the Orc Sargent was forced to block a throwing knife to his face before he acted. With the monster’s shield in its face, it could do nothing when Daniel triggered Shield Bash to slam the offending piece of defensive equipment into the Orc’s snout. As it staggered backwards, Daniel swung his hammer upwards at an angle with full strength, impacting the monster’s kidney and shattering its armor as he triggered Perrin’s Blow. The powerful attack Skill lifted the monster off its feet before it crashed to the ground, stunned. With a quick step, Daniel placed his weight on the monster’s mace and began to strike at the prone monster which struggled to hide behind its shield.

  A few blows later, including one that struck the crown of the Orc Sargent’s head, Daniel finally killed his opponent. Of course, he could have finished it a little earlier, but he had taken the time to check on his friends as a good healer was supposed to. That his friends had done fine - their combined attacks having firstly injured then killed the Orcs - had allowed the Adventurer to focus on his own attacks.

  Daniel gulped some air down, the helmet once again stifling his breathing. He frowned up the pathway and then glanced at Tula who had a better viewpoint. She shook her head in the negative. It was then that the healer began to relax and review his friends. After a moment, he smiled as he realised no one was injured. Well, other than him.

  “That was a glorious battle!” Omrak said, grinning widely. “Now what?”

  “Now…” Daniel paused, considering. “We do it again. Rob?”

  “I’ll recharge my enchantments. Not that it mattered,” Rob grumbled as he walked towards his traps. Asin happily ran around picking up the Mana stones from the dispersed monster bodies, pocketing them after a brief inspection. By this time, the better than normal drops had become routine.

  “Skirt?” Asin said as she trotted back, holding one of the armored skirts up for the group. After a moment, Daniel realised that the delay in Asin joining the battle had been due to her backstabbing and killing the injured Orcs. Nasty, but effective.

  “Cursed?” Daniel shot back. Asin shrugged and walked to Rob to interrogate the Enchanter. A minute later, the Catkin was back, grinning widely.

  “No. Not enchanted,” Asin said and offered it again to Daniel.

  “Not me. Omrak?” Daniel said. The skirt would do little to add to his defense and just slow him down with the additional weight.

  “Mmm…” Omrak took it from Asin, eyeing the entire ensemble before he shrugged and put it on. He posed for a bit, tapping and banging on the skirt and adjusting his belt to ensure it kept his pouches within easy reach. “Thank you.”

  Asin nodded back with a grin, crouching back down as she waited for Rob to be done.

  “Anything?” Daniel called up to Tula.

  “Nothing. They seem to just be waiting,” Tula said.

  “Okay then. We’ll take the gift,” Daniel said. “Once Rob is done, we’ll hit them again and see if we can draw more out.”

  Chapter 8

  “Nothing?” Daniel grumbled when Tula came back. It seemed that the Orcs had decided not to be baited a second time, even when Tula had shot at their men. They, in turn, had chosen to pull their people off the walls. Without a target, Tula had eventually decided to make her way back to the team to report in, leaving Asin to watch the fort for changes.

  Tula nodded, and Daniel sighed. He had hoped the Orcs would have been ‘kind’ enough to donate a few more bodies to the cause, but a single squad seemed to be the extent of what they could expect. Decision made, Daniel waved the group up the hill where they crouched at the same location they had been at earlier in the day. As they eyed the seemingly deserted fort, Daniel could not help but frown at the slowly darkening ‘sky’.

  “We need to finish this before night comes,” Daniel declared. “We’ll use Rob’s plan.”

  “It’s not…” Rob began to protest but the rest of the group had already started moving out. “My plan.” Rob finished to empty air before he sighed and followed after the group.

  With Tula watching over her, Asin quickly scaled the fort’s wall silently while the team gathered at the bottom of the wall, hiding near the gates. Rob had already begun channeling his Magic Hand spell to pull the bar of the gate off. When Asin was just below the edge of the wall Daniel nodded to Rob who released his spell.

  A giant, floating hand appeared, glowing with an ethereal power. With a grunt, Rob shoved the hand into the gate itself, the semi-solid hand passing through the wooden gate with resistance. Surprised shouts erupted from within the fort at the intrusion. An Orc decided to push its head above the fort’s walls, only to fall backwards with an arrow sticking out of its eye. Taking the Orcs sudden presence as the sign to move, Asin clambered the rest of the way up the wall to provide an additional distraction as Rob struggled to open the gates.

  Muted shouts and screams continued to filter through the wooden walls before a loud boom of the gate’s bar falling alerted the party of Rob’s success. As the Enchanter jerked his hands back and yanked the gate open, Omrak and Daniel scurried out from their hiding spot, ranged weapons ready.

  What greeted them as the doors swung wide open were a line of Orcs and raptors. Except, these raptors were larger than the four-foot-tall creatures they had initially met with bigger heads but weirdly proportioned tiny arms. They were so large in fact that a trio of Orcs sat on the raptors and, when the doors opened, they kicked the raptors to charge the pair. Behind the trio of charging Orcs, a quartet of Orc Spearmen charged after, goaded on by another Orc Sargent.

  Lomak Raptor (Level 14)

  Health: 190/190

  Orc Raptor Rider (Level 13)

  Health: 160/160

  “Ba’al’s Curse!” Daniel shouted as he threw himself out of the way. Omrak, on the other hand, chose to stand his ground, moving only at the last moment to cut with his great sword at the Lomak Raptor’s foot as the monster charged past. His movement was executed beautifully, perfectly timed and it sent the raptor sprawling, its rider forced to throw himself into a roll to avoid being crushed. But this action left Omrak vulnerable to the Orc Spearmen that charged after, one of whom managed to sink a spear into the upper left of the Northerner’s chest.

  Bleeding and stuck, the Northerner was pushed back by his attacker as the other spearmen began to crowd the giant and stab at him with their spears. Each strike that drew blood increased the red glow around Omrak. With a snarl, Omrak grabbed the spear tip with his left hand, using his greater strength to pull it out of his shoulder as he set his feet. As the Orc Spearman attempted to wrest control of his spear back, Omrak chopped downwards, parting the Orc Spearman’s hand at the cost of another spear strike burying itself in his torso. As Omrak groaned and battered another spear away, a white wave of power washed over him, visibly healing some of his wounds. Another moment later, a pulse of healing energy filled him.

  Spells cast to keep his friend alive a little longer, Daniel crouched again behind his shield as the remaining pair of Orc Raptor Riders came by for another pass, hammering his shield and attempting to bowl over the stocky Adventurer. Luckily for Daniel, the raptors themselves were less interested in forcibly running over the Adventurer, content to run past him and claw at his armored body. Even protected by
shield and plate armor, Daniel received a few surface cuts and significant bruises as the enemies charged pass. He knew that he would not last another such charge.

  Luckily, he did not need to do so as Tula and Rob focused their efforts on one of the raptor riders as he rode away, launching arrows and spikes at him. Their attacks drew the Orc away from Daniel as he then proceeded to charge Rob who stood before him, weaving an empowered Ice Magic Arrow. The Orc had only a brief moment to realise that the Enchanter was smirking slightly before the Lomak Raptor he was riding hit the prepared Spike Trap, laming the monster and throwing him from the beast to land beside Rob. As the Orc Rider struggled to its feet, he received the Magic Arrow to his face, the empowered Ice enchantment spreading to cover his nose and throat, suffocating the monster.

  As Daniel stood up and watched the other Lomak raptor turn around to charge him, he briefly eyed the fight around him. Asin had dropped down from behind into the now-abandoned fort but was engaged in a duel with the Orc Sargent. The fast Catkin evaded the monster’s attacks with ease, content to ‘kite’ the monster and occasionally send a throwing knife into the tense melee around Omrak.

  It was Omrak – who now fought both the remaining Spearmen and the unraptored Rider – whose position was most perilous. Against the spear wielders, the giant’s greater reach was negated, leaving him constantly backing off to stop from being surrounded. Even then, blood streamed from the Adventurer, muscle and flesh hanging from wounds torn open. The dark red glow from his rage ability surrounded Omrak, a testament to the amount of damage already done.

  “Omrak!” Daniel’s eyes widened, fear showing as a spear plunged into the Northerner’s foot, pinning him. Before he could cast another spell, the Raptor Rider was back, the momentary distraction sufficient to let the rider slam his sabre into Daniel’s helmet, making it ring.