by Tom Hansen
In unison, they nodded.
Around the corner was a warzone.
The turned over boats had been laid out as an arena, leaving a large circular space in the center. In the center stood the massive yellow shard Scarhoof had seen from the sky, bathing the whole place in an eerie glow. This one wasn’t being held up with logs and supports, it floated by itself.
But the battle wasn’t focused on the shard, it was off to one side.
The entire perimeter was still made up of beached hulls of ships. The other half of his raid stood atop one of those ships.
Beneath them, a throng of Nagos soldiers looked almost green in the yellow light. The ranged lobbed arrows and tossed spells. The melee were left with no alternative but to throw rocks, boards, and other debris at the Tau’raj.
It was a solid strategic location for his party. The ranged were obviously a threat, but only a couple melee soldiers were able to get within striking distance, a spot that Bloodhorn defended with his large shield.
Jaxyl occasionally disappeard and reappear in the crowd, taking a soldier or two down before teleporting back up to the safety of the ship again.
He was targeting the ranged. That little goblin had been making a difference while the rest of them ran to catch up.
Hillbender even joined in the fray, jumping off the boat to the middle of the crowd, then porting back to the boat with a bewildered Nagos in tow. He had to have bound himself to the boat.
Very clever.
The occasional fireball flew from the crowd at the ship, trying to light the ship on fire. Each time they did, Eldermother promptly extinguished it with an air spell.
He knew she had specialized in Air magic, which was an odd choice given the Tau’raj propensity toward Spirit, but as he watched her put out another fireball with no appreciable dip in her mana pool, he realized she was sporting a similar buff to his.
She had utilized the innate air buffs from the Air Shard in the center to give her a boost to her abilities.
No wonder she was DPSing so well. The Air shard buff increased her power significantly, causing spells to tear through her Nagos targets.
Scarhoof limped along behind his party, being this close to the water aggravated his leg more than when he was in the middle of the Plains.
Maybe after all this was over he could finally move back to the Plains once and for all.
But the quest from Spirit weighed on him, reminded him of the bigger problem. He wasn’t going back, not anytime soon.
Scarhoof chastised himself for allowing his thoughts to get away from himself. There was a fight to be won.
“Focus on the ranged first. I’ll try to round up as many of the melee as I can.” Skysong announced.
“Wait.” Scarhoof pointed to the shard in the center. “If we can to turn that shard into powder and get it into their faces, mouths, or eyes, we can get them to turn against each other.”
Firemane spoke up. “Don’t we need seawater for that?”
Scarhoof smiled. “Of course, we do, and look what is all around us.”
They all looked down even though it should have been obvious. They were right on the beach, and the years of using the arena had worn down the sand in the immediate area so that parts of it were below the water table. This meant pools of seawater littered the arena, particularly around the entrances, which is what they huddled behind right now. Exactly the sort of place a contingent of sea-based snake humanoids would want.
“Dump your water and fill the skins with seawater. Break off the shards into their faces, then follow it up with a squirt or mouthful of sea water. It should be enough for them to lose control and take out their own soldiers.”
“And what if that smoke hits us?” Xanovi asked. “Last time we did that, you and I lost a lot of DPS and healing.”
Scarhoof held up a handful of bandannas he had brought along for just an inevitability. “My skin is filled with Tears of the Mother augmented with Eldermother’s special blend of herbs. If you soak them in it and wear it around your mouth and nose, you should be safe. Any of the dangerous smoke that gets near you will be neutralized when it passes through the fabric.”
Xanovi punched Scarhoof lightly on the shoulder. “I knew there was a reason I liked you, man. Gimme one of those.”
They all donned the soaked bandannas and discussed strategies to take out as many as they could in their initial attack.
Xanovi had an area of effect ability he said he could use.
Firemane smiled when they all looked at him. “Oh, I have something special for them.” He looked at Skysong. “Stampede?”
It was the first time that Scarhoof could remember ever seeing Skysong crack a smile.
“Just what I was thinking.”
“What’s stampede?” Xanovi asked.
Firemane, his grin suppressed, wiggled his eyebrows. “Jaxyl isn’t the only one with stuff to show off.”
Skysong and Firemane took off shoulder to shoulder. The pair of hulking Battlemasters tore across the expanse and slammed into the back of the throng with such speed that Scarhoof stood dumbstruck for a moment until he realized they were now engaged in a fight for their lives.
How had these two hulking brutes managed to traverse the terrain with such speed?
Two waves of snake-like bodies flew in arcs from the dual epicenters. The ground shook, and the boats on that edge of the arena creaked and teetered.
The remaining Nagos around the two infiltrators were stunned, unable to move.
Scarhoof and Xanovi sprinted across the arena to catch up while both warriors took up defensive stances.
“Pull them back to the shard!” Scarhoof yelled as he veered off course to arrive at the shard at the same time as his companions.
He glanced up at the rest of their raid atop the wall to the arena. Eldermother nodded at him as their eyes met, her welcome face warming his heart. The grim expression on Hillbender’s face told a different story. He looked exhausted, and maybe a bit relieved.
We tried to get here as fast as we could.
Suddenly bereft of enemies, the six atop the overturned wooden boat leapt down and began hacking at the rear of the Nagos crowd.
Scarhoof fell in behind their two new tanks and began tossing heals. They backed up toward the shard, working diligently to keep the mass of enemies at bay. The surprise attack had taken out nearly a dozen of the Nagos before they could properly respond.
That still left them with at least fifty Nagos against the ten of them, but it would have to do. Scarhoof stood near the shard, glancing at the fight around him, but mostly watching health bars.
Skysong drew the mass around the shard. She toppled an enemy and turned. She swung the dull side of her scimitar at the shard, showering the enemies’ heads with a shower of yellow shard chunks. Firemane sucked seawater into his mouth and sprayed it into the mass of angry faces in front of them.
Five Nagos took a face full of the dust, and raged, turning on their brethren. They attacked whoever was closest, helping take out another three enemies before succumbing to his party’s attacks.
Fifty became forty. Then it was thirty.
The other party members caught up, joining in the slaughter.
Then it was just too easy.
Scarhoof didn’t even need to heal. He joined in with the rest of the casters, using his once precious Mana to Spirit Shock the last of the Nagos into the afterlife.
Chapter 41
Chieftain Bloodhorn wouldn’t hear any apologies for the delay in reaching them.
“I was the one that took the portal on the left. It could have just as easily been you. I’m sure the mages did the best they could, given the circumstances. We all know it’s not an exact science.”
A chill ran up Scarhoof’s spine at the thought that it could have been his less experienced team that had to hold off the hundreds of Nagos remaining in the arena. Both Eldermother’s and Hillbender’s mana was nearing exhaustion by the end and they both took to immediate meditation to re
cover.
They surveyed the arena. Hundreds of dead Nagos bodies glinted a sickly green in the moon-and-shard light. To the east, the orange crack of dawn was just beginning to hint on the horizon.
The whole place reeked of dead, fetid fish. What it needed was a good solid bonfire and a tsunami to cleanse this place.
The tide was beginning to come in, and the lulls in the ground swelled with seawater. He wondered how deep the water got in the arena. They were at least fifty meters from the shoreline, so how was this area so close to the water table if the land sloped up and away from the coast?
It had to be from the ten years of Nagos occupation. They had completely taken over this region of the Plains, turned it into their base, their home. They had changed the very landscape by living here, forever marring this beach.
He thought of the Nagos children hiding in the overturned boats. How many of those were children’s parents were at war? Orphans now that their parents were dead? How many families had come to live on the shores of an enemy territory to support their soldiers’ efforts?
A sadness swept over him. It was so easy to think of the enemy as just evil, but these soldiers had families and lives. They had loved ones who were waiting for their safe return.
A safe return that would not happen today.
He pondered what would draw a family to come to these shores, leaving the safety of their homes to raise their children around death and war? Was it conquest? Greed? Or maybe it was something else?
Xanovi interrupted his thoughts when he yelled into the air. “Hey Grath’gar! Where is our big bossman?” He turned to the party, an irritated expression on his face. “Didn’t we come down here to take the fight to him?”
Chieftain looked around the arena. “Our spies said he was here, but even if he’s not, we have just cleared out most of the Nagos army’s base, and we have infiltrated behind enemy lines. We’ll begin taking them out from behind and smash them into the shields of our army.”
He punctuated this with a fist into his palm.
Right as his fist hit, the ground shook and an enormous blare from a horn filled the arena.
The water in the pools rippled from the concussion. Scarhoof stumbled from the quake, barely catching himself with his bo before falling over.
A familiar sickening feeling pooled in his stomach. Grath’gar the Impetuous had to be close. He could sense the dense magic.
From across the arena, a hulking mass appeared around the corner of one of the entrances.
Scarhoof gripped his bo tighter. He had to purposefully slow his breathing lest the nerves overtake him.
It was the same Nagos he’d seen before; first in the Kobold cave, next up atop the cliff in the shard quarry stealing the other shards. Now he was here again. The same bastard that had killed his guard mates, Kardkaw and Sonvey. He thought about his fallen comrades and let anger wash his mind.
The enemy was much larger this time, huge in fact. Scarhoof didn’t know how he had managed to make himself so large, but he had a clue. Grath’gar’s one good eye glowed blue with an intensity that rivaled stars. He had to be sucking the power out of shards.
Grath’gar’s huge form filled the entrance. He stopped to take a long look at the infiltrators.
Scarhoof dug around in his bag. He soaked bandannas in Tears of the Mother and passed them out to the remaining members of the group. The others took theirs off, and he soaked them again.
The Nagos Commander spoke, his voice a deep bassoon that sent shock waves through the scattered pools of water on the ground. “Well, well, well, look at this ragtag group of calves. They think they can stand against the army of the Collective?” He raised his arms at this, a broad smile on his reptilian face.
Bloodhorn yelled back. “Show us your worst, you snake! We are strong, and valiant. We are a team, and you are just one.”
Scarhoof felt like he’d been in this exact situation before. Nagos boss, shard in the middle. Ocean water.
“If the Nagos only have this one trick, then we can take them out.” Scarhoof eyed the previous members of his party. “Just like last time?”
Firemane knocked his fist against his chest. “Just like last time.”
Jaxyl twirled his blades in his hands, a somber expression on the goblin’s face. “For Hanrahan.”
Only it wasn’t like last time.
Grath’gar’s huge form filled the entrance. He stopped to take a long look at the infiltrators.
Scarhoof dug around in his bag. He soaked bandannas in Tears of the Mother and passed them out to the remaining members of the group. The others took theirs off, and he soaked them again.
The Nagos Commander spoke, his voice a deep bassoon that sent shock waves through the scattered pools of water on the ground. “Well, well, well, look at this ragtag group of calves. They think they can stand against the army of the Collective?” He raised his arms at this, a broad smile on his reptilian face.
Grath’gar chuckled, a low, belly-shaking laugh that shook the rising water in their puddles. “You think I am scared of you? A bunch of low level cows who are barely learning to walk?” He pointed at Scarhoof. “And you, I know you. You were in the cave, and you also destroyed my airships.”
Scarhoof felt anger well up in his stomach, a deep rending tension that urged him to attack. A vein throbbed in his forehead and he yelled back. “I remember the cave. I remember every one of my friends that you have slaughtered. I remember you were not strong enough to kill me. I also remember you giving me my scar, and I took your sight. Each time you slithered away like the snake you are. So, what will it be, Grath’gar the Shameless? Grath’gar the Slimy, or Grath’gar the Cowardly? Choose what you want on your headstone, for I will carve it myself.”
Grath’gar stopped laughing, and a serious look spread over his oversized face. “Enough small talk, let me introduce you to some of my friends.”
Behind him, a small army of Nagos appeared, each one a hulking brute. Still he towered over them, almost twice the size of his soldiers.
Scarhoof swallowed. It was an imposing sight.
“I have enjoyed bathing my weapons in the blood of your race, and I will enjoy taking down the entire head of the Tau’raj army in one easy swipe.”
Behind his party, more enemies showed up, filling up the two other entrances with Nagos. Hundreds of Nagos soldiers poured into the arena, the noise behind them told of more to come.
Scarhoof’s raid tightened their grips on their weapons. Leather creaked, and nervous glances passed around the group.
The previous methods were going to take a bit of tweaking to work this time.
The Nagos boss reached behind him, pulling out two massive axes, each one nearly the size of one of the Nagos to his side. His massive arms bulged with blue veiny muscles.
Scarhoof glanced at Skysong and Bloodhorn, their two tanks. How would either of those be able to handle the strikes? How was he going to be able to heal keep either of them alive? He wiped his sweaty palms on his skirt.
Skysong held out a hand. “Easy, everyone. Take the fight one step at a time. We’ve all seen insurmountable odds before, and we have made it this far.”
Eldermother cooed. “How do you eat a whale?”
“One bite at a time.” Scarhoof replied.
He knew what she was doing, distracting him. He was glad she was here to lighten his mood.
Forty years alive and Scarhoof couldn’t think of a time he’d been more nervous.
He thought of Nitene, still at Sunset Cove. If they didn’t manage to win this fight, there might not be a Sunset Cove to retire to. He needed to keep them safe. Here they were, ten Tau’raj, surrounded by hundreds of Nagos soldiers. Somehow, they had to make it through this.
He wondered where the rest of the Tau’raj army was. Were they still fighting on against the rest of the Nagos army, or were they on their way here?
Beside him, the pools of water continued to rise. He picked up one leg, judging the water to nearly b
e up to the top of his hoof. Realization dawned on him as he watched the seawater drip off his fur.
“They timed it perfectly so that we would be trudging through water while they could easily glide.” Scarhoof said, realizing their mistake. “We’re vulnerable down here and they know it.”
Everyone looked down at the watery ground, realization and panic spreading across their faces.
“The longer we wait, the worse it will be.”
Bloodhorn tightened the grip on his battlehammer. “Then let’s not make them wait any longer.”
Chapter 42
His raid readied their weapons and formed a circle. The throng of Nagos began marching forward in a slow, methodical manner. They spread out to fill the entire perimeter of the arena, completing their circle of death. Then they began slithering toward the group of Tau’raj in the center.
Grath’gar joined in the march, towering over his fellow Nagos. A satisfied smile grew on his serpentine face as he watched his hundreds of minions pouring into the arena from the three different entrances. His deep, bellowing laugh rocked the whole area, causing ripples in the rising water that flowed ahead of his horde of underlings.
“What are we going to do?” Xanovi whirled back and forth, not sure where to point his bow. “We don’t have enough tanks for the three sides.”
“Wouldn’t matter anyway. They will soon encircle us.” Firemane answered.
“Backs to the shard! At least it will give us some kind of protection.” Scarhoof suggested.
Scarhoof glanced up at the shard looming behind him. It was a dozen meters tall, and he was the only member of his raid that could touch it without receiving a painful shock. If only there were way to smash the entire thing into dust with a single, incredibly powerful blow. Anything less than that would simply break the shard into smaller pieces. Still somewhat useful, but not enough to wipe out an army. The only one in the arena that could possibly do that kind of damage was Grath’gar with his massive weapons, and even then, it would take a perfectly aimed strike to shatter it.
He glanced back up at the looming shard behind them. His raid members fidgeted with their weapons. They had to be aware that the chances of surviving this weren’t very high. Still, none of them showed it. They were here to the death.
