by C. M. Carney
“The others?” Gryph asked.
“Holding their own for now, but the ruckus is bound to draw more of these foul creatures,” Tifala responded.
“Then it is time to end this,” Gryph said with a scowl. Gryph dumped more of the stored mana into his spear and advanced on the wolf. He spun the shaft of his weapon in furious arcs as the wolf regained its feet. It backed up under the spinning fury of his assault, but then bared its teeth and stood its ground. The look in its corrupted eyes sunk tendrils of fear into Gryph’s soul and for a moment Gryph sympathized with the beast.
The wolf launched itself at him again, moving with insane speed. Gryph tried to Dodge, but this time the wolf somehow predicted his motion and turned with him. His Dodge attempt had left his spear in the wrong position to bring to bear on the wolf and Gryph panicked as the ichor covered teeth filled his world. Desperate, Gryph punched forward with his free hand. His fist entered the wolf’s ravenous mouth, which was the last place any sane being would have put their hand.
The wolf seemed shocked by the silver-haired elf’s stupidity, and its eyes narrowed to slits as it prepared to savor the free meal. It had no time to wonder what happened as its head exploded outward in a halo of bone, brains, and gore.
Gryph held his fist for a moment as the blue light flared from the ring on his finger and then dimmed again. The Ring of Air Shield had quickly become one of Gryph’s favorite tools, and he wondered if whoever had crafted the useful trinket had imagined it would one day be used as a weapon.
Tifala sent a bolt of green energy towards a wolf facing off against her and the beast dodged aside. If it had been human Gryph was sure that the creature would have laughed at the purple coiffed gnome woman. That laughter would have been short-lived, however, as a tangle of thick green vines exploded from the spot the spell had hit and wrapped themselves around the wolf. Thorns dug into the thick fur and Gryph could see a yellowish sap leaking from their tips. The wolf howled in anger and pain as the constricting vines stole both its mobility and, slowly, its life.
Gryph saw Wick and Ovrym standing back to back. Ovrym’s saber was a blur of crimson and Wick’s staff pulsed with the reddish hell light of the chthonic realm. Both men surged forward at the same time. Ovrym’s blade sliced through the forelegs of the closest wolf as Wick’s charged staff exploded into the chest of the beast leaping to tear away his throat. Wick’s wolf died with a smoking crater of singed fur in its chest, and Ovrym quickly ended the crippled wolf’s misery with a downward thrust of his sword.
Even Xeg was surprisingly effective. Gryph watched as the diminutive imp leapt from a tree branch. He landed on a nearby wolf’s neck and pumped crimson chthonic energy through both hands into the animal’s head. Pain caused the wolf to snap and snarl, as it ran and bucked like a bronco at a rodeo, trying to hurl the tiny demon aside. It failed and the wolf’s legs collapsed, and its eyes turned blank as its face hit the ground digging a rough furrow in the soft leaves and earth. Its tongue lolled from its mouth as its last breath left it. Xeg leapt up landing on a branch a dozen feet above the ground. He looked at Gryph and made a gesture with two of his fingers.
Dammit, the little bugger must have seen me flip Wick off. Does he see everything? Gryph shook his head in bemused irritation and looked to Tifala.
Only one wolf remained, and Tifala claimed it. She yelled in a language that sounded like the wind and breaking branches and a sphere of earth pulsed upwards from the ground like a boil. It pulsed as if something inside it was desperate to be born, and a moment later the moist soil and grass split. A squat creature made of earth and vegetation erupted from the ground and launched itself at the last wolf.
Almost unbidden, Gryph’s curiosity activated Analyze and Gryph learned that the beast was a Minor Nature Elemental. It looked for all the world like a small, roided up chimp made of dirt, sticks, and grass. True to the image, the elemental pummeled the wolf with powerful overhand blows. After several thunderous attacks, the final wolf joined its fellows as a ruined corpse. A surge of pride in his team filled him as he surveyed the bodies littering the ground.
In the back of his mind, he noted that a prompt had not come up when Analyze had triggered. Can I control how my prompts appear and when? He had no time to dwell on the concept as another wave of wolves entered the fray. Blades spun, spells cast, and soon another half dozen wolf corpses bled into the grass. Ovrym and Wick had one last wolf cornered. It bled from a shallow gash in its foreleg and had backed itself up against a tree, fangs bared. Wick began to cast another spell.
“Wait!” Gryph yelled. “I want to try something out.” His team looked at him, but all nodded. Gryph pulled the coil of rope from his waist and tossed it towards the wolf. Then he cast Animate Rope and pushed his mind into the length of spider silk. It slithered its way at the wolf, like a hunting viper. The wolf eyed it warily, lips curling up around ichor laden teeth. The wolf snapped at the rope, but it moved with preternatural swiftness and wrapped itself around the beast’s legs. Soon it had the creature immobilized.
Gryph approached the creature with caution, nodding at Tifala’s reminder to stay clear of the wolf’s corrupted bite. He knelt and took the trapped beast’s head in his hands. He pushed his will into the rope’s Compel ability and the beast calmed.
Gryph then sent mana pumping into his mind and activated his newest perk Soul Bind. Suddenly he could feel the beast, not just its mind, but its very soul, the anguish that the proud animal suffered. Gryph searched for any evidence of how the beast had been corrupted, but the animal’s brain did not hold memories the way a sapient being did.
Instead, he eased his will through the maelstrom of anger, pain, and confusion swirling in the animal’s mind and found the core of its being, the small fragment of eternal all that was its soul. It appeared as a small sphere of golden light, but an alien presence writhed across the surface staining its purity. Gryph felt a moment of sympathy for the beast. Even though it had just tried its damnedest to kill him, nothing living deserved this fate.
Gryph sensed the dual surges of resistance; one the animal nature of the wolf and the other a malevolent intelligence behind the stain of corruption. He forced all his will into the battle and his soul screamed. Bits of the beast’s soul grasped for Gryph while the stain assaulted him with psychic spikes.
Gryph could not say how he knew, but he now understood that Soul Bind was as dangerous as it was powerful. It could allow him to tame and control a creature, but if his concentration slipped for even a moment the beast, or worse yet the corruption, could take him.
He wanted to vomit as the tainted knives of the otherworldly energy spiked at him, but he blocked and pushed back each one, while slowly easing his own tendrils into the wolf’s soul. The wolf’s own essence fought against the infection, leaving Gryph alone. Perhaps the beast knew that Gryph's domination would be better than the corruption.
Gryph pushed himself into the center of the sphere of soul light, and the wolf gave itself over to him. United, man and wolf turned upon the infection, unleashing the pure power of life and sentience upon the twining tendrils of burnt orange. They slowly burned away under their combined might and soon no trace of the stain remained.
Congratulations! You have Soul Bound a dire wolf to your will.
This soul bound creature will serve you faithfully and respond to your mental commands. Over time, your bond with your soul bound companion will grow as will the beast’s intelligence and power.
He had done it. He had soul bound this wondrous beast to him and somehow had cleansed it of the corruption. Gryph’s eyes snapped open, and he fell to his knees.
Wick rushed to his side. “What the hell was that?”
Gryph quickly explained what he had done. All three of his friends stared in wide-eyed amazement, and perhaps a bit of fear. Tifala noted that Gryph had somehow cleansed the creature.
“That may be a much-needed ability,” Ovrym said as he grimaced in pain. He removed his left bracer to reveal
several inflamed puncture wounds on his forearm. Necrotic stains of deep orange had already spread outwards from the bite. Tifala rushed up and took his arm in her hand.
She hummed in a low murmur, and golden light flowed from her hands and into his wound. The holes closed, and the bleeding stopped, but the orange corruption remained.
“Will he be okay?” Gryph asked, concern digging at his gut.
“I don’t know,” Tifala said. “I’ve healed the wound, but the infection is a total mystery to me. I believe it is under control for now, but if it spreads, then…”
“We’re in a world of shit,” Wick finished.
Gryph wanted to uncover more about this new danger, but the question forming on his lips was silenced by the roar of the corrupted baalgrath. A roar that was far too close for comfort.
4
The baalgrath roared again, and this time the sound was much closer. Gryph helped Ovrym to his feet as several trees crashed to the ground. The sounds of other beasts joined the baalgrath’s horrid chorus, and Gryph knew if they didn’t leave now, they’d be surrounded.
“Time to go,” Gryph said and helped Ovrym to his feet.
“It must have heard our fight with the wolves,” Wick said and kicked one of the dead wolves.
Xeg jumped down and did the same, moving from one corpse to another, kicking them as he passed. He walked close to Gryph and kicked the soul bound wolf. The tamed creature growled, but Gryph held it in check. Gryph stared down at Xeg. “Cut that out.”
The imp tossed a rude gesture Gryph's way, showing him exactly what he thought of him and Gryph made a mental note to watch his language around the infernal pest. It's like being around a child, Gryph thought. An obnoxious spawn of Satan child, but still a child.
The baalgrath’s head poked above the closest copse of trees and spied the group. It roared and ran towards them. Its strides were much longer than Gryph’s, but its size and lumbering clumsiness forced it to smash through or bounce off trees.
“Run!” Gryph yelled, and all his companions sprinted away from the corrupted beast. Branches whipped at Gryph’s face, leaving tiny wounds that did little damage, but seriously irritated him. As they ran, Gryph saw blurs of motion from the right and the left. He didn’t get a clear view, but they were larger than the other wolves they’d slain.
They crested several hills, crossed a small stream and finally emerged into a clearing. Had Gryph not been running for his life the ruins that surrounded them would have wowed him. Crumbing walls and the fallen remnants of two large towers lay before them. Gryph had seen enough ruined castles during his youthful travels in Europe to recognize that this structure had once been a mighty fortress.
Vines and moss covered the scattered stones, suggesting that whatever had destroyed this once mighty defensive edifice had happened a long time ago. I wish that made me feel better, Gryph thought. He weaved through several downed bulwarks. Behind them, the snarls and roars of a variety of beasts were getting closer.
We need to find a defensive position, Gryph sent through the group’s mental link.
Ahead and to the left, Ovrym sent.
Gryph turned that way without looking, trusting Ovrym’s instincts. As he got closer, he realized that his trust in the xydai had been well placed. Ovrym had spotted a ruined tower. Its rounded walls were mostly intact, at least at the back, where a crescent moon of an ivy-covered wall would provide excellent protection.
Gryph got closer and skirted between a pair of stone walls he imagined must have once been part of the tower’s internal support. They provided some protection and would force most of their pursuers into a bottleneck. Gryph sprinted through and turned. He quickly assessed the position of his friends and the enemies bearing down upon them.
The baalgrath was loping towards them in a clumsy and ungainly fashion and remained the greatest danger, but a host of other beasts sprinted in front of the massive creature. Gryph recognized the bears, stags, wolves, but the others were mysteries. A large leopard creature with tentacle-like appendages sprouting from its shoulders slunk towards them from the right. A disgusting two-headed flying beast that looked like the product of a psychotic child’s imagination flapped overhead. The beast was covered in scales, and the talons on its feet could rend a man from belly to neck. Something else that may have been a shambling mass of trash came toward them from the left. Gryph had no clue what the hell it was and had no time to use Analyze.
Wick get behind us and summon Avernerius. Tif and Ovrym, you’re with me. Create a defensive perimeter around Wick until help arrives. Xeg, go high and be my eyes.
Xeg ain’t no ugly haircut elves’ servant.
Gryph sighed in annoyance when Tifala’s sweet mental voice chimed in.
Please Xeg, we need your help.
Fine, Xeg help, but only for pretty lady. Xeg no help blue-haired midget.
I really need to find a way to send you back to Bxrthygaal, Wick sent.
Ha, ha, no can send Xeg back. But maybe Xeg take you back. Fun be it to hear screams from you.
Enough! Gryph sent. We are out of time.
Gryph sent mana down his right arm, and it became as heavy as a stone before a two-foot-long spike of rock flew from his palm and impaled a stag that had lowered its antlers to gore him. Flying Stalactite had been his first offensive spell, and it remained his favorite distance attack.
The stag stumbled as the stone split its skull. As it fell, its legs tangled up with a corrupted wolf that was hot on its heels. The wolf stumbled and fell with a crack of bone and a howl. Gryph’s wolf leapt over the stag's corpse and tore a ragged chunk from the other wolf’s throat ending its life.
On his right, Ovrym unleashed a glowing arrow at the tentacle panther. Just as the arrow was about to take the creature between the eyes, it suddenly stood several feet to the right.
Phase Panther, Ovrym sent.
Are those snakes protruding from its shoulder? Gryph sent in panic.
Yes, ha, Xeg find funny. Very poison is those snakes. Maybe silver head goober should let snakes bite.
Gryph wondered how Xeg knew so much about, well everything, but his annoyance at the imp’s jacked up sense of humor pushed that thought away. He fired several more Flying Stalactites into the fray, dropping several more beasts.
To his left, Tifala was battling the two-headed bird monstrosity. Gryph’s Analyze skill clicked into gear, and he knew the beast was a Vulture Harpy.
She sent Life Bolts skyward, but the bird evaded most of them. Then it opened both mouths and screamed. Gryph couldn’t see the sound waves that pummeled Tifala, but he could see the wake they left in the air. Tifala brought her hands to her ears, and her mouth opened. She looked to be screaming, but whatever noise those screams made was drowned out by the foul creature’s sonic assault.
Gryph stabbed his spear point down into the dirt and grabbed two throwing knives from the bandolier at his chest. He pumped mana into his bracers and threw two of the knives, using the magnetic properties of the bracers to provide extra oomph to his throws. The thin slivers of metal bore serrated edges that would cause extra bleeding damage.
The missiles impacted the flying beast below one of its two necks and tore into the scaly flesh. The beast’s sonic attack ceased, and both heads reared back in shock and pain. One head turned towards Gryph, and he saw the same dark orange corruption coursing through its eyes. It howled in rage at him and prepared to unleash another sonic attack.
But Gryph was far from done. He pushed more power into his bracers and pushed with both hands. Inside the avian monster’s body, Gryph felt the serrated knives forced deep. The harpy screamed again, but Gryph had no sympathy and pulled and twisted his hands back towards him. The metal blades twisted again, forcing their way through more flesh, ripping and shredding as they ripped free of the creature’s body, tearing away one of the wings as they did.
The harpy squealed in agony as it spun and fell. It hit the ground with a wet thud, and Gryph smiled. He would hav
e cheered save for the thundering stomp of the baalgrath’s foot as it came down hard on one the harpy’s skulls. The avian beast twitched and died. The baalgrath swung a fist at Gryph, who jumped back a second too late. The meaty fist, the size of a bowling ball, smashed into his breastplate with sternum cracking force.
The crushing blow knocked the air from Gryph’s lungs, and he wheezed in agony. His health dropped by 25%, and worse yet he was prone on his back, suffering from a debuff.
Debuff Added. You have been stunned. 50% penalty to movement speed for 10 seconds. Confusion for 10 seconds.
Gryph coughed as his entire world turned to pain. He knew he should do something, should be worried about something, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what that was. Then he was lifted off his feet, and he had his answer.
Oh, yeah, baalgrath, Gryph thought with an odd detachment. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should care more about the massive beast and the decreasing distance between him and its rancid maw or jagged ichor covered teeth. He grinned stupidly, and a wolf’s jaws clamped down hard on the baalgrath’s arm.
The meaty fist holding Gryph released, and he fell to the ground in a heap. He looked up to see a wolf, his wolf, the wolf he had yet to name, digging its jaws into the baalgrath’s arm. The stupid reptilian troll was spinning and flailing with its other arm, trying to detach the fierce wolf. It was only mildly successful as the agile wolf used its claws to find purchase in the baalgrath’s back and side.
Gryph stumbled to his feet and saw Tifala do the same. Whatever sonic attack had devastated the gnome woman abated. She looked at him with concern and Gryph gave her a foolish thumbs up. She clearly did not buy his assurances, because a scowl crossed her face and she ran towards him, golden light infusing her hands.
