Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus

by Blaise Corvin

  Henry drew his machete from its sheath. As some of the villagers gasped, Jason realized that while everyone in the caravan had seen him wearing it the last few days, most of them probably hadn't realized it was steel. Oh, that's right, "blessed" steel.

  The demon wolves were huge. Each of them probably weighed at least three hundred pounds. They were the size of Great Danes with the build of bulldogs. Each of them had dark, mottled fur that would blend in well with the forest, and between each of their shining pairs of eyes, a horn grew from their foreheads.

  Next to him, Jason gasped, "Horned wolves!"

  Henry blinked. He stood with Jason between the monsters and the wagons. Out the corner of his eye, he saw George nervously holding a cudgel, obviously wondering whether he should be standing with them. Henry called back, "George, guard the wagons and get a few people to help you."

  As Henry watched a handful of the wolves watching him right back, Jason pulled his bronze sword out of its crude sheath. "Horned wolves, wow. I always thought that monster type was kind of stupid, but they are in a lot of fiction."

  "Stupid how?" asked Henry. "They look dangerous to me."

  Jason warily watched the wolves as he talked, "Yeah, but that's because they're big and they have teeth. Why the horn, though? Like, what purpose does a horn serve on a canine's head other than to get caught on stuff and slow them down?"

  "Well..." Henry though thought about it. "That's a good point. Maybe they hit things with their heads?"

  "No, no, that makes no sense. Wolves already have big teeth. They drag prey down, and wolves hunt in packs. Apparently even demon wolves do."

  Henry conceded, "I see your point. Um... I guess they look cool in a fucked up kind of way?"

  "Exactly! That means these things were probably manufactured. They aren't natural. Nature doesn't build for 'cool' unless it's around mating. Wolves with horns don't make any sense."

  "Dude, they're called 'demon wolves,' and their fucking eyes are glowing. What was your first clue they weren't natural?"

  "You wouldn't understand," Jason sighed. "Demon wolves are a trope in fiction. Seeing them in person, especially the horned variety, is scary, exciting, and confusing all at once."

  "It must be tough being such a geek."

  Jason nodded seriously. "It can be. On a more serious note, why are they all just standing there, staring at us? I count about fourteen of them."

  "I got the same number," replied Henry. "You know, if we hadn't taken our orbs, we would be totally fucked right now."

  "Yeah," said Jason. "Let's not go congratulating ourselves until we survive this, though."

  "Good plan," growled Henry. "Come on, motherfuckers, let's tango!" he yelled at the wolves.

  And suddenly, every giant, slavering wolf monster looked directly at Henry before attacking at the same time. As each of the terrifying, angry creatures seemed to make a beeline directly for him, Henry thought, Sometimes I wish I could keep my mouth shut.

  Battle with the Demon Wolves

  The demon wolves pounced, most of them focusing entirely on Henry. He used magic to pump his body with power from the earth and sprang back, his speed and strength far exceeding normal human limits. It drained a lot of his magical energy to boost himself like this since Earth school was not his focus, but he didn't see any choice. The demon wolves were too big, too fast, and there were too many of them to do anything other than go all-out from the beginning of the fight.

  Three of the demon wolves collided where he'd been standing and snarled at each other as they disentangled themselves. Henry saw vicious intelligence in their glowing eyes and felt a chill. These were not stupid dogs, not at all.

  He used a bit more magic to map the area. The effect was immediate; Henry knew every stick, every rock, and every tree for a hundred yards around as if they were a part of his own body. He couldn't afford to trip in this fight. Emotionally, he reacted the way he usually did during life and death situations--his thoughts turned cold. His normal personality was replaced by ice, and he became hyperalert.

  Henry had a moment before the demon wolves near him could attack again, so he changed the skin on his forearms into metal then extended large spikes from the outer sides. The metal shone, the dense steel shimmering in the noonday sun. Henry's available magic power was reduced to about half at this point. He spared a glance to look for Jason, but his friend was already gone. He was probably helping protect the civilians.

  Henry would have to fight on his own. He was so, so very screwed, but he would do what he could. Maybe if he killed enough of these unnatural four-legged fucks, Jason could save the villagers. That way Henry's life wouldn't have been wasted.

  He smiled viciously; his grin showed all his teeth, and his eyes were wild. He had unleashed the beast. In the back of his mind, he could hear, "Blood, blood, blood makes the grass grow green, Drill Sergeant!" Old training asserted itself in a moment, and Henry became a different person. His heart burned like fire, but his mind was still so cold, so very cold.

  The demon wolves cocked their heads and looked confused, almost as if they were wondering why the man was not retreating from them. They probably had never encountered such a thing before.

  Henry sprang forward, screaming his old battle cry, "Rain god's a bitch!" The first demon wolf didn't have a chance. Henry hit it like a pissed off Japanese wrecking ball of flashing blades and killing intent. His cheap, generic, magic-sharp machete cleaved right through his first target's skull. Without pausing, he fluidly blocked a set of snapping teeth with his bladed left arm and hit another demon wolf with a side kick so hard the creature practically bent around a tree ten feet away.

  Unfortunately, the creatures adjusted quickly, and Henry's element of surprise lasted as long as a fifth of whiskey at a kegger. He barely dodged several more attacks and quickly found himself on the defensive. The huge, lupine creatures relentlessly pursued him, their glowing eyes tracking every move. It seemed most of them were chasing him.

  Henry used his earth area map to find a stone in the underbrush, grabbing it as he narrowly evaded yet another set of snapping jaws. He stowed his machete, cocked his arm, and let fly, using one of his magic abilities to accelerate the stone to truly frightening speed. The power was amazing; the stone created a sonic boom, and its path could easily be seen by the line of tree trunks exploding into jagged pieces.

  Unfortunately, the demon wolf he'd been aiming for was completely untouched. It hadn't even dodged. The monster stopped for a moment and glanced at the path of destruction before turning back to glare at him.

  "Well... fuck me," muttered Henry. All the power in the world wasn't very useful if he couldn't hit anything. And unfortunately, Henry had always had terrible throwing aim. "You know," he addressed the blinking demon wolf, "I really wish you'd jumped in front of that thing, you mangy piece of shit."

  Suddenly, his discussion with the offending and still-very-alive demon wolf was interrupted when another monster jumped at him from the shadows, almost taking his arm off. His only warning had been the slight rustle of the nearby bushes. Henry jumped straight up and used his powerful legs to springboard off a tree, landing almost twenty feet away.

  Henry's mind was still cold as he pondered ways to most efficiently kill his enemies. As he continued to dodge around trees and narrowly avoid being bitten in half, he came up with an idea. He didn't like his plan, but he couldn't think of anything better, so he ruthlessly suppressed his fear and acted. He grabbed two more stones from the ground. The demon wolves were obviously somehow coordinating their attacks, so he would use that against them; it was going to require using a lot of magic, though.

  He threw a stone at nearby demon wolf, and like last time, the projectile didn't even come close to hitting the creature. He'd tried to dial down power in order to conserve magic but still used a lot of juice. As soon as he threw the stone, he acted tired and waited a couple seconds.

  Two demon wolves practically appeared out of nowhere and attacked fr
om both sides. If he'd attacked or blocked one, the other probably would have gotten him.

  Unfortunately for them, he'd been expecting this sort of strategy. Got ya! He slashed at one monster, warding it off, and in a blur of motion, threw his remaining stone at the second creature. Point blank range, ha!

  The hapless creature made a wet, squelching sound as it was torn apart. The raw power of the stone's impact and sonic boom sprayed viscera everywhere. The tree behind it violently exploded and wounded another monster with wooden shrapnel. The shattered body of the stone's target crumpled to the ground.

  Henry jumped away while trying to clean his face with a gore streaked sleeve. Blood and monster parts were in his hair. It was disgusting, but he didn't have time to deal with it as he tracked another two creatures trying to box him in.

  The next few minutes were a madhouse of howls, chaos, and fear. The murderous creatures didn't rush him quite so aggressively anymore; they'd learned to fear him. Still, it seemed like all Henry could do to avoid dying every few seconds. There are just too many of these damn things!

  Henry mentally took a kill count. He'd killed the first wolf he targeted when the battle started, one with a stone, and most recently taken out a third with an arm blade slammed into its head.

  He suddenly had a premonition and turned to see massive jaws coming for his throat. He knew he was going to die. His weight was shifted forward, and his body position was completely wrong to block or dodge. The monster caught him. There was nothing he could do.

  In a moment that seemed to last forever, Henry resigned himself to death. He mentally shrugged. He'd had a good run and he wasn't going out like a bitch. However, right before his life was snuffed out by enormous, hungry teeth, Jason appeared out of nowhere above the monster, driving a bronze sword straight through its back with all his weight.

  The move was perfectly executed, and the demon wolf crumped around the blade, its lungs and heart pierced. Henry was so shocked he barely managed to get out of the way as the monster slid to a stop with Jason on top of it, covered in gore.

  Henry wasn't sure what surprised him more: the fact that he wasn't dead, or his friend's appearance. The normally mild mannered Jason had wild eyes, teeth bared in a snarl.

  Jason ripped his sword out of the dying monster and flicked the blood off. He turned to Henry and asked, "How much magic do you have left?"

  "A little less than twenty-five percent, I think," answered Henry. "How many are left?"

  "Eight are dead, so six are left. Just keep doing what you've been doing, keep them busy. I have about the same amount of magic left as you. It will be close, but we have a chance." With that, Jason disappeared again, air rushing to fill the space he'd just occupied.

  Henry was shocked, and he barely got his mind moving again in time to dodge another attack. This time, he wasn't being pressured as much by other creatures, so he was able to counterattack. His machete neatly lopped off a leg. The monster snarled in pain and snapped its teeth at Henry, but he danced to the side and kicked it in the head. His earth-enhanced foot slammed into the demon wolf's head with tooth-shattering force. The creature somersaulted backwards, and as it came to a stop, Jason briefly appeared again. His blade moved in a blur, taking a slice out of the demon's head before he used his magic to vanish again.

  Henry shook his head and realized his friend was turning into a very scary dude.

  Almost immediately, he was being attacked again, a monster snapping at his heels while he ran. He was beginning to tire. His Endurance skill could apparently stave off exhaustion to a certain degree... but not forever. He was starting to approach his limits physically and magically.

  Henry was dodging a demon wolf and trying to attack another from behind when he made his first big mistake. He failed to notice bushes moving to the side, and a demon wolf's ambush worked. Its jaws closed on his leg, and he could feel its teeth puncturing his flesh as his bones shattered. Henry screamed and managed to kick the creature away before it could do any more damage, but he was hurt badly.

  He stood up slowly, glaring at the three demon wolves surrounding him. They growled deep in their chests, their eyes flashing, and once again, Henry knew he was going to die. He was almost out of magic power, and his body strengthening was beginning to fade. With an effort of will, he used the very last of his magic power to lengthen the blades on his arms and curve them forward. He couldn't put any weight on one leg, which meant he couldn't dodge, but that also meant he wouldn't need to worry about longer arm blades getting in the way.

  Then suddenly, once again, Jason was there beside him. His bronze sword was twisted and covered in gore. He was facing to the rear, watching Henry's back. Jason said, "I won't have much left after this, but I am going to try something. Get ready and make it count."

  Henry nodded and felt Jason's magic surge behind him. Then a curious thing happened--Henry's mind expanded. He didn't really feel different, but he was aware that his thoughts were much faster than normal. The world seemed to slow down around him, and when the first of the three demon wolves jumped, it almost seemed like it was in slow motion.

  Henry swung his arm blade at the monster's face but realized he was moving slowly too. Ah, time had just changed, not my speed. Jason must have buffed him using magic.

  Despite his new ability to see in slow motion, the demon wolves were still strong and fast while Henry was down to one useable leg. He really didn't have many options left, so he decided to make the best of a bad situation.

  He waited patiently, weakly waving off attacks as if he was barely conscious. He carefully watched the monster in front of him, looking for the perfect moment to strike.

  Then it came. The creature overexposed itself, went just a little too far forward while snapping at him, and Henry seized his chance. He put as much of his fading strength as he could manage into his remaining leg to lunge forward, punching with his arm blade. The shimmering, magically-formed steel slammed into the demon wolf's mouth, and Henry's forward momentum forced the blade through the back of its head. It immediately went down, painfully wrenching Henry's arm as he went down with it.

  Henry no longer had the energy to get off the ground. He could feel the dead creature's paw hitting his back in its death throes. What a shitty place. I really hate Dolos, was his last thought before passing out.

  * * *

  When Henry woke up, it was nighttime, and he knew he was probably awake thanks to his Endurance skill. He'd been beaten up badly before, so he knew if he were a normal person, he'd still be unconscious for at least another day. Well, if he were still a normal person, he'd just be dead. He chuckled without humor as he checked his magic reserves and discovered he'd regained about a third of his maximum power.

  His leg was thoroughly bound and wrapped with linen. He put a hand to his head and realized someone had washed him too. He no longer had guts in his hair.

  As he looked around, he realized he was lying in one of the villager's tents. He and Jason usually just slept under the wagons, so this was new to him. He propped himself up and slowly made his way out of the tent. As soon as he gimped outside, he saw the villagers standing around a fire in the middle of the wagon circle. A child standing saw him and gave a squeak before running off. The kid looked scared.

  Well, I probably do look like hell, thought Henry. He popped his joints and stretched for a moment, breathing the cool night air and studying the stars. The sky was beautiful; the unfamiliar constellations were like celestial glitter. Well, maybe this world isn't all bad.

  A few minutes later, Jason hurried over, and Mareen followed closely behind. They both looked relieved. Jason came to a stop and said, "We didn't know when you were going to wake up. I wish I'd known you were just going to take a short nap."

  "Well, what can I say? I guess my body knows I got stuff to do."

  Jason smiled but then sobered. He said, "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that your leg bone is in pieces and it's not something Mareen can heal, althou
gh she did take care of your cuts and bruises."

  Henry sighed and asked, "Am I ever going to walk again?"

  Jason answered, "If you didn't take the first rank in the Self-Healing skill, probably not. Luckily for you, your body is repairing your leg. Mareen says you should be limping another half day. You'll probably be starving tomorrow and have to eat all day, though."

  "I can live with that." Henry was feeling pensive. "So the healing ability isn't based on magic power, eh? Last thing I knew, I was completely tapped out and about to die. What happened?"

  "The three demon wolves we fought were the last ones left. You killed one, I killed one, then the remaining one went for you on the ground. I was barely able to take it out before it got you." A shadow crossed Jason's eyes. "That whole thing was a mess. It made the goblin cave seem like a walk in the park. If you hadn't been here, we all would have died."

  Henry snorted, "What are you talking about? You teleported all over the place, and by my count, I only got four of them."

  "No, you have it all wrong." Jason shook his head. "You outright killed four, sure. However, you critically wounded three of them. They would have died anyway if I hadn't finished them off. You also singlehandedly saved all the villagers by pissing off the demon wolves so bad they all came after you.

  "Almost every creature I killed I was able to get the jump on because they were so intent on you. With the exception of the one George brained with his club, I'd consider every dead demon wolf at least partially your kill. You saved the day, man!"

  Henry blinked and looked at Mareen. "Is he telling the truth?"

  Mareen nodded, spots of color appearing on her cheeks. Henry immediately felt bad for startling her and didn't ask any other questions. He seemed to be making her uncomfortable for some reason.

  "Wow," Henry sighed. He regarded his bandaged leg before gazing up at the night sky again. "That was a hell of a thing. I wish we had cold beer. With the stars and a beer and no more fucking demon wolves, maybe this world wouldn't suck so bad."