by Tao Wong
“Well, what next, Mr. Lee?” Rob said, arms crossed over his body. With breakfast finished, the team sat around the low fire, wondering what to do. Well, all but Omrak who sat above them to watch for potential trouble.
“I’m not sure,” Daniel said. This was a siege situation, and he was not a general. It was not as though being a miner had offered much knowledge in siege tactics. While he mulled the topic over, Asin broke into a toothy yawn and pointed to her bedroll.
“Go ahead. You too, Tula. And thank you,” Daniel said.
“For what?” Tula said and slinked off dispiritedly. Daniel watched the Ranger for a moment but chose not to say anything comforting – after all, he knew how she felt. Staring at the fort, day in and day out, being unable to do anything was dispiriting. Especially for Adventurers like them who were more used to action.
Daniel fell silent for a time, pondering their options. With a quick movement, he unrolled a map that he had drawn of the surroundings, looking at the details once again. As much as he hated to admit it, the fort before them was a significant issue. Outnumbered as they were, they could not attack it directly. The occupants of the fort itself did not need to leave – they were not a guard or a projection of force, unlike real kingdoms. Even the thought of depriving the Dungeon residents of water might be problematical. Dungeon creatures did not necessarily procure their nourishment as normal but subsisted on the Mana fed into them via the Mana stone in their bodies.
In any normal Dungeon run, the solution to this perplexing problem would be simple. The Adventurers would leave, coming back another time to clear more raptors and Orcs in other locations until they gained sufficient strength to face the Dungeon fort directly. Or perhaps they would purchase the necessary equipment to do so – repeating crossbows, a large quantity of area of effect enchantments, maybe oil and fire to burn the courtyard down. There were sure to be a significant number of situations to the problem, but none of them were available to them right this second.
Which, perhaps, Daniel considered, was the point of the Dungeon. Sometimes, you just had to make do with what you had. Even if the Dungeon was an artificial construct, the clergy of Panqua often reiterated that his actions were to strengthen humanity. A Dungeon that was too easy would be the opposite of that.
Of course, none of that helped Daniel find a solution.
“We are graced with company,” Omrak said calmly. As the giant was not reaching for his sword, it was clear that the company was friendly. And in this Dungeon, friendly obviously meant the Fallen Leaves.
Soon enough, the members of the Fallen Leaves could be seen. Daniel was somewhat surprised to see that the entire team was here, a fact that put the healer slightly on guard. If they were here to talk, it seemed a little extravagant to bring everyone.
“Mr. Chai?” Gerardo said, stomping up to Daniel and stopping before him.
“Gerardo.” Daniel inclined his head. “Fallen Leaves.”
“I do not like this, but it seems we have little choice. I do not agree with your methods or your presence here, but we have a job to do,” Gerardo said.
“Wasn’t that what we said earlier?” Tula whispered not so quietly to Asin. The yawning Catkin who had just managed to bed down could only nod while Gerardo’s face tightened briefly at the Ranger’s words before he allowed it to relax.
“Will you work with us?” Gerardo said.
“Yes, of course!” Daniel replied, smiling. He offered his hand but dropped it after a moment when Gerardo made no move to take it.
“Then let us begin. Rita and Asin will be required for the initial assault. Tula and Casey will provide cover fire at the northeast…” Gerardo said, striding forwards and using the tip of his sword to point to the locations he spoke of on the map that Daniel had been poring over. Gerardo barked out orders while the Adventurers moved to listen.
All the while, Daniel gritted his teeth. While the other party was more experienced, they were no slouches either. Yet, in light of the sudden change in attitude and the need to clear the Dungeon, Daniel kept his mouth shut. His ego could take a little snubbing, so long as the plan was safe.
And if not, well, then he would object.
Running alongside Tula and Casey, Daniel had his mace held alongside his body and shield held to the front at the ready. A part of him was truly regretting not taking the Titan Shield Skill right about then, especially considering his current role. But, if wishes were stones, everyone would be king. On the opposite side, the silent dark-skinned spearman – Camilo - ran beside Casey, his spear held loosely in one hand as he carried a large kite shield with the other.
“Here!” Casey barked, and Tula and he skidded to a stop. Moving as though they had practised the motions, the pair withdrew a half dozen arrows and stabbed them into the ground. Even as the archers readied themselves, Daniel and Camilo strode forwards and placed their bodies ahead and to the side of the archers, their shield at the ready. Not even their fast advance was sufficient to keep the Orcs surprised forever, and arrows began to fall around the group.
“Ready?” Casey asked. Tula just raised her bow slightly, arrow already nocked.
“Loose!” Daniel swung his shield aside at the command, opening the way for Tula. The Ranger quickly sighted and loosed her arrow even as Daniel swung his shield back into place. He noted absently that one of the Archers above was huge, larger than the rest. Not a moment too soon as an arrow slammed into his shield, making the healer grunt.
“Ready.”
“Loose!”
In time, the group got into the rhythm of the attack as arrows landed around the group. Each time Daniel shifted the shield away, he took the time to look at the gate, waiting. Even as the arrow fire intensified as more archers arrived, Daniel could not help but glance at the gates.
A long beat, a pause and another three arrows landed. Casey’s lips peeled back into a wolfish grin, the Adventurer having anticipated the Orcs own judgement of their timing.
“Loose!”
Again, arrows flew and a shield slammed back into place. A stifled grunt from the side caught Daniel’s attention. By the side, Casey continued squatting while the edge of an arrow sat beside his leg, having scraped the side of his body before ending its flight.
“Ready!”
“Loose!”
Daniel snorted slightly as the loud creaking of uncared for hinges informed him of the opening of the gates. No need to pay attention, even a sleeping dragon would wake from that racket.
“Up! We retreat together,” Casey ordered. Tula swiftly stood, snatching three arrows into her bow hand another two to fit to her bow. At Casey’s look, she drew the arrows to her cheek, awaiting his command.
“Loose.”
Arrows spun through the air, the three arrows flashing through the sky towards the grouped archers. Tula engaged Arrow Storm immediately, making her arrows double, her face paling as the Skill drained her Mana and Stamina. Beside her, Casey’s enchanted arrow hummed as it flew, a shriek that grew in pitch and sent the opposing archers to clutching their ears. Daniel risked a glance towards the gates where the cavalry had just begun to ride out.
“Back!” Casey took a step back, his motion followed by Camilo immediately. Tula and Daniel were less co-ordinated, but together, the group slowly backed off. A loud crack echoed through the field a moment later followed by a wash of hot air, dirt and leaves.
“What was that?” Daniel said, forcing himself not to rub at his eyes.
“Kelly,” Camilo said with a grin.
“Loose!” Daniel snapped his shield aside again. At the front of the gates was a small hole which the cavalry fought to control their raptors around. Beside the hole, Daniel could see the still forms of raptors and Orcs while even more bled from injuries.
Automatically, Daniel brought the shield back to cover Tula. As he stepped back, he felt the hard rap of an arrow landing flush on his leg armor before the pain arrived. A look down indicated that th
e arrow had embedded itself, but the pain told him it was not deep. Resolutely, Daniel ignored the matter, forcing himself to take another step back with the group.
He just hoped that the rest of the plan was going well.
“What a powerful spell,” Rob said, stroking his slick beard. He eyed Kelly, the Burning Field’s mage, who smiled wanly at him. It was obvious, even to the untrained, uncultured Adventurers, that this was not a spell that she could cast often. As Rob eyed the results, he mentally added – or accurately.
“They’re regrouping,” Omrak, standing beside Rob, growled. The big Northerner’s eyes flashed between the small retreating party of archers and the now re-organised cavalry and added. “They won’t make it in time.”
“No one expected them to,” Gerardo said with a sniff. Beside the Leaves’ leader, Farhad just stared at Omrak before he went back to staring, hands on the hilts of his sword. “Not without help.”
Omrak huffed but fell silent for which Rob was only thankful. The big Northerner could be annoyingly loud at times, and right now, silence was required. If nothing more than to give him the time to concentrate on his own spell. It would be embarrassing to be so completely upstaged by another Mage.
Admittedly, Mana Manipulation was not exactly a spell. It was a Skill which gave him greater control of his Mana than most Mages. In particular, the Skill allowed him to extend the threads of Mana that he wove into the middle of the field. There, he began to weave Magic Arrow, once, twice and then again, stopping at the last junction for each.
“Now!” Gerardo called. Not that Rob required the signal. Pushing one last time on the Mana, the spells snapped into place, forming in the middle of the field and firing forwards and upwards. Directly into the bodies of three different raptors. Only a last moment jerk by a raptor saved it, leaving two injured creatures and one unraptored rider.
Once again, the cavalry group was thrown into disarray as they searched for their hidden attacker. Even as Rob began to smirk, Omrak spoke.
“Second cavalry group,” Omrak said.
Gerardo cursed. The Orcs were moving faster than expected. Worse, there was a Raptor Rider in the second who wore leather armor with purple highlights and rode a larger than normal raptor, waving his arm to command the other group. It was not possible to see the details about the Raptor Rider at this range, but instinct told Rob that the rider was not a normal one.
Even the initial group of cavalry riders had regained their sense of balance, willing to rush the group down. This was the danger of setting up an archer duel – getting caught in the open field by the cavalry, being forced to fight uneven odds. All the while being pinned down by the archers on the walls.
“Are we ready?” Gerardo called, eyeing the distance between Daniel’s group and the treeline. Too far for them to make it to the trees. If they rushed out to help, the entire group might be in danger. As the raptors shrieked and rode towards Daniel, Rob licked his lips in dry-mouthed anticipation.
Chapter 13
Asin pulled herself up on the wall, dropping down onto the wooden rampart and keeping low. For a moment, she stayed tense as she listened for cries of outrage or any other acknowledgement that the Orcs had noticed them. Rita, already on the walkway shook her head, waving the Catkin along.
Keeping her body bent, Asin ran along beside the Helbing, the tiny Adventurer not even needing to duck to stay hidden. It was a somewhat unfair advantage for these kinds of activities. Considering the pair were running along the rampart directly above the boiling mass of Orc infantry, Asin could not help but wish that she be that small.
Together, the pair continued their run, rushing around the wall to the side where the archers had clustered. Lousy discipline or overconfidence, in either case, the rest of the wall was currently empty. Even as they ran, they could hear the screams, grunts and clash of battle from the field. A quick glance as she ran informed Asin that the initial cavalry group had managed to catch Daniel’s group, hemming the group in as they rode around and the archers continued to pepper the stalled team.
Asin found herself snarling and inadvertently speeding up. If they did not get into position soon, the Adventurers would die. Her longer legs at first allowed her to overtake Rita, but the Helbing put on a burst of speed, coming side by side with Asin in the next moment. In seconds, the pair were near the archer line where Asin noted the larger than normal Archer and the prettier than normal bow. A look was sufficient for its status information to come to her.
Orc Archer Sargent (Level 14)
Health: 170/170
Together, the pair of Adventurers hit the Archer line without warning. Rather than using her throwing knives, Asin wielded her long daggers, darting through the group as she triggered her Skills one after the other. Backstab, Cripple, Bone breaker. Each one used on a new Archer, each blow crippling and throwing the group in disarray even as the lightning aura from her enchanted bracers added their own dosage of pain.
Beside her, Rita attacked as well. The smaller Adventurer dual-wielded a pair of knives which were large enough to be short swords in her hands. Using them, she struck at unarmored lower bodies, slicing Achilles, hamstrings and sliding the blades along their inner thighs. Each attack left sickly green skin, veins and arteries almost immediately darkening as Rita’s Poisonous Sting Skill took effect.
Confusion and pain. The Archers reacted slowly, surprised by the sudden appearance of the pair of Adventurers in their midst. As she neared the Archer Sargent, he swung his bow at Asin who dropped sideways, letting one hand land on the ground to prop herself up as her feet bunched against the nearby wall. A moment later, after the strike had passed above her head, Asin kicked off the wall and threw her weight against her attacker. The Sargent staggered for a second, recovering right at the edge only to be tipped over as the tiny Helbing stabbed his knee. Balance lost, the Sargent fell back towards the courtyard below with a scream.
Shouts from below accompanied the thud, but neither Adventurer paused. Their job was to injure, cripple - kill if possible – the Archers. But most importantly, they had to distract them long enough for the teams.
Breath exploding from her nose, tail curled up against her body, the Catkin danced.
Daniel snarled as he deflected the sabre cut struck at his head. However, his defense left him open to the attack from the raptor, a clawing strike that raked alongside his breastplate. The screech of claw on metal made Daniel wince, but he crouched lower to regain his balance. Even as he did so, another arrow landed on the shield he still kept alleviated over Tula’s crouched form.
“Lizard death,” Tula snarled and released the draw on her bow. The arrow flashed forwards, the arrow punching through thick scales to pierce the raptor’s chest. The raptor hopped backwards, taking its rider with him and roared in anger.
“Thanks,” Daniel panted out, shifting the shield slightly to check for more attackers. Unfortunately, the four riders kept circling, forcing Daniel and Camilo to constantly shift their defense. Even with the continuing fire from the archers, the cavalry members continued to harass them. Even at the risk of taking arrows to the tail or shoulder.
“They’ve stopped,” Casey said with a grin. Instead of firing on the raptors and their riders that surrounded them, Casey fired a flame-filled arrow at the second group of cavalry reinforcements. His burning arrow sunk into the chest of a rider, sending him sprawling to the ground and screaming as the Orc’s flesh burned. Even then, the charging reinforcements looked unstoppable.
Daniel sucked in another breath, lowering the shield slightly to release the ache in his arm. Just in time to see another raptor rider duck in, a sabre swinging for his body. Just before it landed, a roar from the treetop distracted the Raptor Rider, offering Daniel time to raise his shield and lash out with Perrin’s Blow to shatter the raptor’s chest and throw its rider off.
“Omrak.” Daniel breathed in relief. He did not need to turn around to know that the team which had hidden at the
edge was now rushing out, crossing the distance to lend their aid. As the raptor struggled to its feet, Daniel lashed out with his foot and kicked it to the ground again. Letting his foot drop on the squirming monster, Daniel spun the spike on his hammer into the creature’s skull. The dazed Raptor Rider slowly sat up, only to take an arrow to his face from a waiting Tula.
“Heal!” Camilo cried out, making Daniel turn as he retreated back to reinforce their line. Tula darted back too, nocking another arrow as Daniel turned to look.
“Damn it. Guard!” Daniel said. Once Camilo readied his spear to cover both sides, Daniel ducked low and placed his hand against Casey’s exposed leg, forming the spell in his mind. Moderate Healing took longer to cast than Minor Healing, but it had the benefit of fixing larger and nastier wounds. Like the cut that ran from just above Casey’s neck all the way down to his hip, tearing through the light armor that he had worn as though the leather armor had been cloth itself.
Power pulsed through the archer’s body, making him shudder. First, blood stopped pumping for a brief moment as the wound began to close and heal at a visible rate. Guided by Daniel’s knowledge, nerves, veins and arteries connected first before the muscle that connected it all began to grow. Wounds stitched themselves together as new cells linked, forming weak, newly healed muscles. With a shudder, Casey started breathing again as blood flowed through his body. Daniel’s lips thinned, professionally eyeing the wound and dissatisfied, he threw a Healer’s Mark on the archer before he stood again to face their opponents.
By his side, Tula was panting, her arms trembling as exhaustion overtook her. Numerous arrows littered the area in front of them, a testament to the overuse of her Skills and the desperate defense she had put up in the short while that Daniel was distracted.
“Rest. I got this,” Daniel said as he stepped forwards, eyeing the trio of riders left. If this kept up, he might need to use his last trick.
