by KJ Harlow
With arms outstretched, Cal lumbered towards it. He grasped thin air as the chatterling jumped again, yanking the satchel up with it. Cal stood at the bottom of the cliff, staring up at little thief. The blue moon – Flulia – shone straight down, bathing it in shadow. With one hand tightly clasping the shoulder strap, it continued its ascendance until it disappeared out of sight.
“Shit…” Cal swore. What would he tell Keizen? That her bag was stolen by a football-sized mountain bandit? She had trusted him. No one trusted him. Someone had shown him faith and he had messed up.
No. He hadn’t. Not yet. He wasn’t done. He looked up. The cliff was almost vertical. He had to find a way to get up there. He put his hands on the rugged rock. He tried to get a foothold but couldn’t drag himself up.
He smacked his head. Cal, you idiot! He sheathed his hatchet. He opened up his palms and directed them towards the ground that he stood on. “Earth Wall!”
The earth rose, taking Cal along with it. It shot up quickly at first, causing him to almost lose his balance before Cal throttled the speed. His attention bounced between his mana bar, the small platform on which he stood and where the chatterling could have escaped to.
The cliff face eventually ended. He stepped off, watching the earth wall crumble back 30 feet down, just as a familiar figure appeared on the ground beneath.
“Hey!” Kai yelled. “What in Karst’s name are you doing?”
Cal hesitated. Did he tell him the truth? “A chatterling stole my hatchet. I’m going to get it back.”
“A what?”
“Just get up here.”
Cal ignored the werejaguar and started looking for the chatterling. He was now on some sort of plateau. Sparse plants desperate for water extended needle-thin leaves out of the ground. Cal could see all the way around the Valley of Anguish. That was the problem: there was nothing up here except the spiky shrubs and a big, round rock at the edge of the plateau. There was no sight of the satchel or the chatterling. Where had that damn thing gotten to?
“Ow!” There was a sharp pain on Cal’s neck, like a bee sting.
-1 Damage!
He ran his hand over his neck, wincing as his hand bumped into something sticking out of his neck. He yanked it out, raising it in the air. It was as thin like an acupuncture needle – no, even thinner.
Cal’s mind flashed back to moments earlier when the chatterling shot something out at him. Was that what it was? That meant that it was still here somewhere!
“Argh!” Cal raised his hands.
-1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage! -1 Damage!
Cal backed up, trying to avoid the needle spray. “Earth Wall!” He stood a foot away from the edge of the cliff. The Earth Wall wouldn’t stay up forever, but it would buy him some time. He gritted his teeth while he pulled the needles out, one by one.
“What happened to you?” Kai was crouching to Cal’s right, a look of amusement on his feline face.
“That fucking, little shit…” Cal pulled a needle out that had embedded itself between his eyes, “Has got reinforcements.”
“The creature that took your hatchet?” Kai asked. Cal nodded ruefully.
“Listen.” He placed a finger on his lips. The sound of miniscule projectiles pinging into the Earth Wall, could be heard, but only for a few seconds. “Maybe they ran out of ammo?” Kai had a confused look on his face again. Cal released the Earth Wall slightly, letting it drop until it was about five feet in height.
Kai swung his spear, both hands at the base of his weapon and connected with something at the top of the Earth Wall. Its screech bounced across the valley. “What in Karst’s name was that?”
“That was–”
The Earth Wall shattered, two long, pitch-black arms reaching through and clawing wildly at the air. Kai leapt back instinctively, only to plummet back down the cliff. Cal leaned back, almost mis-stepping. He pulled his iron axe out and swung down at one of the hands. It came off cleanly, falling to the ground. White blood spurted out from the wound as the severed hand skipped and writhed. The being gave an almighty roar that seemed to grip the mountains and shake them to their core.
Cal was frozen to the spot. He peered through one of the holes in the Earth Wall, left behind by the creature. A large, round thing was hunched over, nursing its injured arm. It bayed heavily, roaring intermittently. It twisted its entire body towards Cal. It had black arms, black legs with a black, neckless head that sat atop a beach ball-sized body.
“Examine,” Cal said, his voice shaking.
NAME: Chattox
LVL: 12
AFF: Earth
HP: 80/80
MP: 75/75
ABILITY: Scream
The Chattox leads Chatterling communities. Essentially a bigger version of the Chatterling, it is no less adept at blending into mountainous environments, often resembling a boulder. It wields no weapons but instead relies on its cry to momentarily stun its enemies. Its size makes it a hard adversary.
So he had just cut off the hand of the boss of that little shit that stole the satchel. Cal’s Earth Wall collapsed, his mana spent. The plants rustled and close to twenty chatterlings emerged. They all turned their attention to the Chattox. One by one they looked at Cal. Their tiny hands grasped the needles that grew from the plants, yanking them out.
Cal charged, making a beeline straight for the Chattox. He was only a target if he stayed still. Surprised by the orc, the chatterlings started shooting their needles. A couple hit, but they weren’t enough to stop Cal. Cal raised his axe.
The Chattox roared right in his face. Cal’s muscles tensed up, as if the Chattox’s sound froze the orc blood that ran through him. He fell to the ground, getting a mouthful of gravel. The chatterlings plucked more needles, firing them into Cal. ‘-1 Damage!’ appeared more times than he cared to count. The Chattox breathed heavily, making its way towards him. Cal gritted his teeth, trying to free his muscles.
It was no use. He still couldn’t move. The Chattox now stood right above him. He could feel its dark, soulless eyes staring into him. How would it kill him? Cal closed his eyes. Oh well, at least the check point wasn’t too far from here.
Another roar pierced the dark sky. Kai landed back on top of the plateau and went to town. He sped from chatterling to chatterling, thwacking each one off the plateau. Needles whizzed all around but if any had struck him, it didn’t show. The crack of his spear against the chatterling’s body sounded like a sweetly timed shot of a golf ball with a 9 iron, except golf balls didn’t screech as they flew through the air.
The Chattox hesitated, its good hand inches away from Cal. That was all the opportunity he needed. Feeling the stun effect wearing off, he got to his feet and with both hands, rammed into the Chattox. It was surpringly quick, bringing a foot back to brace itself. At the same time it sidestepped, pushing Cal into the ground. Cal fell onto his stomach but kicked back blindly as hard as he could. One leg came into contact with the Chattox. The ground shook as it fell onto its back.
Cal scrambled to his feet. The Chattox stared up at him expressionlessly. It opened its mouth, preparing for another ear-rending scream...
“Earthquake!” With both hands on the hilt, Cal jumped into the air and brought the iron axe thundering into the ground. He held his position as the plateau shuddered about him. After a few moments, he stood up. The Chattox’s legs and arms stuck out, locked at the joints. It stared at Cal, dark eyes brimming with contempt.
Kai walked over to Cal, holstering his spear. “You going to finish it off?”
Cal looked at the werejaguar. “Yeah.” He put both hands on the side of the Chattox. He rolled it towards the edge of the plateau. He drew his hands back, staring at the Chattox. The moment it began to flail, Cal pushed it off with the bottom of his boot. Cal closed his eyes, letting the Hyten breeze soothe him. Seconds later, there was a thud and a crack.
“Why did you lie?”
Kai had planted his spear into the ground, as if he had just conquered new land. He stared at Kai, arms crossed, eyes blazing with suspicion.
“I…” Cal mumbled. “I don’t know.” I didn’t want to feel like I was incompetent. Cal didn’t know whether his thoughts or the fact that he allowed himself to go on a wild chatterling chase all over the valley was more pathetic. “Where were you anyway?”
The fire in Kai’s eyes seemed to fade somewhat. “I went to find more prey.”
“You know that we’re in a party together, right? That means that we gain experience together.”
“I need to get stronger,” Kai snapped. “I’m not going to let a lazy orc hold me back.”
“Damn it, I’m not an orc,” Cal said, taking a step towards Kai. “I’m a human.”
The two locked eyes, neither willing to back down. “‘Human’, you say? That would explain the lying.”
“As if you don’t lie.”
“There’s no reason to lie. Werejaguars aren’t manipulative, unlike humans. We’re direct, to the point. If there’s a disagreement, we settle it right there and then.” The Werejaguar’s pupils had narrowed into slits, letting as much of Hyten’s light in as possible.
Cal was the first to back down. “Whatever.” He trudged over to the spot that the Chattox had initially occupied. A chest, no bigger than a toolbox sat on the ground, a faint ring of light emanating from it. He put both hands on the box, gauging its weight. He jiggled it slightly. Things slid around, knocking into one another and the sides of the chest.
Cal flipped open the latch and the hinges squeaked open. Cal reached in with both hands and pulled the Adventurer’s Satchel out.
Gong!
You have recovered the Adventurer’s Satchel! Check inside to make sure everything’s still there.
Cal flipped it open and plunged his arm into the other dimension. Potions? Check. Rations? Yep, there as well. “I got it back, everything’s in there,” Cal said, unable to keep the relief from his face. Kai didn’t hear him; he was standing at the edge of the plateau, arms still crossed. After securing the satchel around his shoulder again, he bent back down. “What else we got in here?”
EQUIP. Featherfoot Boots x1
HERB Dotesprout x2
MISC. Chatterling Hide x10
MISC. Chattox Hide x10
SHARDS x234
Cal opened the satchel, putting the Dotesprout and hides inside. He plonked himself down, pulled off his boots and grabbed the Featherfoot Boots. Sensing Cal’s orc feet, they reshaped to allow him to slip them on. The upper layer was paper thin, while the sole was as thick as a hiking boot. His senses told him he wasn’t wearing any shoes while he could see that he had a pair on. Crazy. He took his worn, leather boots and pushed them into the bag.
At the bottom of the chest lay a variety of small, multi-coloured crystals. Was this ValorValian currency? He dug his fingers in and grabbed out a handful. It was hard to tell by the moonlight, but it looked like there were predominantly three colours: most of them were green, then blue was next with red being the fewest. Clasping the shards, he put his hand into the satchel and dropped them all in.
The ring of light around the chest faded away. Cal stood up and started walking towards Kai. “Any lucentleaf in there?” The werejaguar asked.
“Nope, just dotesprout.”
He laughed derisively. “Then I guess I’m still stuck with you.”
Cal resisted the urge to sigh. The wind suddenly picked up, gusting over the plateau. Despite the increased weight of the items inside, the satchel flapped about as if it was empty.
“Look.” Cal held down on the satchel as he looked at the werejaguar. Kai was looking straight at Hyten, or rather, at the ground beneath it. Tiny lights twinkled in cottage-style houses. There were hundreds of them, all huddled together. He could just make out a watchtower jutting out in the middle of them all.
“Is that Gresshia?” Cal asked.
“There’s no other village in the Valley of Anguish.” Kai padded over to where his spear was. Gripping it with one hand, he pulled it out of the ground. “There is a path we can take from this plateau that will cut through the valley. It will save one moonshift. Kai walked back to the edge of the cliff. He looked up at the sky, then abruptly jumped off.
“Hey!” Cal yelled, his voice echoing.
“Follow me.” Kai replied. He had landed on a ledge 10 yards away and about 20 feet down.
‘Follow me’, he says. Cal looked out uneasily over the edge of the plateau again. He couldn’t see the bottom of the valley. How could he create an Earth Wall if he couldn’t see the earth? Kai had already leapt from the ledge out of sight. Cal paused. Maybe I could try… he looked at the side of the cliff he stood on, directing his mana into it.
An Earth Wall pushed out from the wall tentatively, as if it wasn’t sure it could grow out horizontally. Cal directed it with his hands. It extended all the way to the ledge, pebbles and sand falling soundlessly to the ground below. Squalls of wind decided it was the right time to buffet the earth protrusion. It swayed precariously, as if the pleateau was a giant dog with a tail made of stone. Cal felt his already low mana drain faster as he fought to keep the earth compacted.
He held his breath and stepped out onto the makeshift bridge. It was about a foot and a half wide. Any wider and he couldn’t get it to extend to the ledge at the other side of the valley. He took one step, then another, arms outstretched. The wind stilled, Hyten itself watching the curious orc perform the trapeze act. Cal scurried across, jumping the gap that had begun to form when the Earth Wall started collapsing. He pressed himself into the cliff face, watching earth, dust and rocks rain down into the fathomless darkness.
He leaned back, waiting for his mana to regenerate. Wind started whistling through the valley again, more powerful and insistent than before. Cal looked out to Gresshia in the distance. He pushed himself off the wall and stood at the edge of the ledge, eyes disbelieving. What the hell was that?
“Come on, Orc!” Kai barked. “The next moonshift beckons!”
Cal jogged towards the werejaguar. The cycle of draining his mana and letting it regenerate so he could create bridges left him exhausted. He noticed a notification pulsing in the top-right:
Skill Up!
Skill Up!
Skill Up!
You have gained three (3) levels for your Skill Earth Wall! Mana Usage -3%/sec, Mana Regeneration +2%/sec.
He passed Kai and kept following the path. “We need to move.”
Kai caught up. “About time you showed some urgency.”
“I can’t be sure, but…” Cal swallowed, not daring to look at Kai. “I think Gresshia’s under attack.”
The werejaguar slapped his hands onto Cal’s shoulders, razor sharp nails digging into his skin. “Do not jest with me.”
“I’m not,” Cal said, shaking himself free. “As I was coming down, I think I saw…”
“What?”
Cal hesitated. “A tornado.”
“What on Terrafaytum is a ‘tornado’?”
Right. So meteorology hadn’t been quite fleshed out in ValorVale. “Ugh… big, spinning wind… thing.” Kai stared at Cal a moment longer before sprinting away. “Hey, wait… damn it…” Cal resumed his jog, following in the wake of the werejaguar. Even with the featherfoot boots on, he lagged far behind. He stopped and leant on a rock face, taking off his shoe and shaking a small stone out. By the time he put it back on, Kai was already gone.
There were no more stonecritters, chatterlings, direwasps or other damned creatures for the rest of the trip. Kai was way too far in front, so Cal just kept jogging. He focused on his breathing and the rhythm of his feet pounding the earth. A stupid smile crept onto his face. Try as he might, he couldn’t wipe it off. A freak tornado might have destroyed the village they had spent nearly 20 moonshifts trying to get to and he was smiling. Maybe this was what they called the ‘runner’s high
’.
He spoke too soon; his breath was becoming more laboured. The incline of the path became steeper and steeper every few steps he took. No good. He slowed down, breath wheezy and tight. The path started bending, curving around a hill. Darkness fell like an ebony sheet over Cal; Hyten and the other three moons were on the other side of the hill, as well as Gresshia. He kept his eyes transfixed on the blade of light slicing the shadow on the path where the hill couldn’t block the moonlight, just ahead of him.
A roar pierced the sky and the moons themselves seemed to shiver in their sockets. It was Kai, no doubt about it. What made Cal’s stomach turn was what he heard. This wasn’t anger, frustration or triumph in his roar. Cal broke out into a run again, ignoring the stabbing pain his chest. He turned the corner and entered the moonlight.
9
Black Gauntlet
20,155th Cycle
6-Hyten
Unlike Rawdriad, Gresshia didn’t have the luxury of a forest to protect it from invaders. It also didn’t have 30-foot high walls made of thick tree stumps as a final level of defence. Its picket-style fencing was modest – had been modest. It now lay strewn all over the area, some jutting out of the ground at odd angles like broken limbs.
The cottage houses laid bare and exposed. Some looked fine, structure still standing with very little debris laying around. These were the minority. Most either had their doors smashed through or ripped off. Some had roofs taken off, as if a cliffogre had a tantrum while playing with its dollhouse. The watch tower that Cal had spotted from the top of the plateau now lay on the grass, snapped into two pieces in the middle of the town.
Like the rest of their village, werejaguars of different colours lay broken and unmoving. Most were on the ground, but a few hung out the sides of windows or on top of houses. Some of the outer fencing still stood at the far end of the village. A green werejaguar was impaled on it, hanging limply, its wide unseeing eyes forever staring into the boundless sky.
