The wolf Eddie had contained in the thorns stopped moving. Eddie's viewpoint shifted to Lucky, encircled by the wall. He cast something else, Aaron assumed a healing spell, then turned. As he did, Aaron realized that Eddie was in trouble. There were a number of other wolves, some with Orcs riding them, and one other just as large as the one Eddie had just finished off.
“Uh-oh,” Lydia said. “Looks like he might have a problem.”
“More than you might think,” Aaron said, gesturing towards the other screen.
Karl was still stalking the eight foot Orc. Because of that, Aaron saw that it was now trotting towards Eddie and the remaining wolf riders.
~ ~ ~
Eddie heard the people back within the walls yelling and hollering. He couldn't make out what they were saying though, due to the pounding of his pulse in his ears. He spared a glance back and waved in return when he saw that they were waving and pointing.
Are they cheering for me? he thought for a moment.
Then he realized that they weren't pointing at him, or at least not exclusively. He followed the fingers that weren't pointing at him and saw the huge Orc, trotting his way. The wolves were still moving in slowly, reminding him of the way he'd seen a pack of wolves take down their prey in a cut scene once.
I'm an egotistical moron, he thought. They aren't cheering for me, they're trying to warn me. Probably a few of them are making bets as to whether or not I'll survive. I'm sure as hell not going to take all these opponents down with my sword, so I better start figuring a way to get out of this.
It didn't matter if he could get away or not he was going to see some combat even if he did. He drew his sword, the grip of Opron's gift sitting comfortably in his hand. He glanced around and noticed that the melee fighters were doing what they could to heal up, looking at the wolves. The adventurers had an uncanny eagerness in their eyes. Since they were all close together, guarding one another, Eddie thought he might be able to help them out some.
He edged towards their clump, not getting too close, but close enough to thrust the tip of his sword into the soil and cast an Accelerated Healing spell centered on their group. As his hand went to the grip of the sword again, the first wolf, one without a rider, leapt towards him.
If he tried to dodge away from the wolf's attack he was going to end up close to another of the wolves in almost every direction. Instead he went low, diving into a roll under the leaping wolf. As he stood again, he felt the urge to spin around and thrust with his sword.
The wolf yelped as Eddie's sword thrust into its hindquarters. It spun around almost as quickly as Eddie had, but no longer had any room to leap. Instead it went low to the ground, its fangs bared, its slavering mouth only inches from the ground.
As it prepared to leap, and probably bowl Eddie over in the process, Eddie moved even more quickly. He threw himself forward and into the air in a forward flip that he intended to end with him landing on the wolf's back.
Please let me be right and have acrobatics up high enough to combine with attacks, he thought.
He landed astraddle the wolf, his sword held with the point straight down, one hand bracing it by resting atop the pommel. The sword slid easily into the wolf's back and the creature let out a louder yelp, then fell to the ground beneath him, limp and unmoving.
“Phew,” Eddie said aloud. “Glad that worked.”
He raised his voice as he looked around at the other wolves.
“Alright, who's next?” he called out, flicking his sword so the blood flew off its length.
He was bluffing and he knew it. His sword skill wasn't good enough to hold off these wolves, even if he'd gotten lucky with the first one. Even so, he had to try.
Three of the wolves, two with riders still and one without, started moving towards him. A plan sparked in his mind. It was ludicrous, but it was the only thing he could think of that might save him from three attackers at once.
As the wolves picked up speed headed towards him, Eddie gathered himself and crouched slightly. As they got near enough to attack, he leapt straight up. It was high enough that when he pulled his legs up he would clear the wolves. Hopefully they'd pass right through the spot he'd just been in.
They didn't. The two ridden wolves bumped into each other and spread out a bit, but the third, the one with no rider, stopped dead. Gravity wasn't something he could argue with so Eddie fell, right in front of the wolf.
It leaned its head forward and snapped its jaws together on his sword arm. They closed tightly, the teeth not penetrating his bracers, but the pressure by itself enough to cause damage. He heard the bones grind and the jaws continued to close. A message flashed in the lower left of his screen.
Health: 321/350
The notification told him what he already knew, that he was going to be in a world of pain if he didn't do something fast.
Eddie reached over and grabbed his sword with his off hand. When he spun it around and pushed the tip towards the wolf's muzzle, he nearly stabbed himself. The wolf ground harder and Eddie felt the first hint of a sharp tooth pushing against his skin as the attack penetrated his bracers.
Health: 297/350
He couldn't help himself, he let out a yelp of pain. Then he tried to thrust the sword at the wolf again. He thrust farther down its body this time, where he wouldn't risk stabbing himself if he missed.
The tip of his sword scored a line across the wolf's body which only caused it to grip his arm tighter still.
This time his reaction was more of a yell than a yelp, and there was an answering cry. The answer was all hiss, spit, and yowl. A second later the wolf's back sprouted a massive bobcat, one that was using all its claws and teeth furiously.
The wolf let go of Eddie's arm to respond to Lucky's attack. Eddie glanced back to see the ridden wolves closing in again, having turned around for another attack. But he broke into a grin when, behind those wolves and their riders, he saw the front person in the melee adventuring group give him a thumbs up.
As the ridden wolves accelerated back towards Eddie the melee adventurers let out a cry and began to rush forward towards the wolves. Eddie turned back to the wolf that Lucky was on and, switching his sword back to his primary hand, thrust forward, landing a solid hit.
You have upgraded the skill Short Swords to (5). About time you fought like a warrior should.
As Eddie thrust again, he realized that the skill level of five must be some sort of threshold. It had allowed him to use attacks with acrobatics, and now, much like when he fired his bow, his hand adjusted slightly as he thrust forward, the attack striking and sinking several inches into the wolf.
The wolf was snarling and snapping at Lucky on its back, but after Eddie hit it again, it turned its attention back to him. Eddie took a pair of steps, so the wolf was between him and the ridden ones, then started dodging. Lucky had dug in with her front claws and jaws, her rear claws raking the wolf's back again and again. So if he could just dodge its attacks it would drop soon enough.
A loud yelp rang out from the other side of the wolf and Eddie risked a peak. The ridden wolves had stopped when he'd put the other wolf between him and them, then the adventurers had caught up to them from behind, striking while they were surprised. Both of those wolves were riderless now, the Orcs down for good, and the adventurers had the wolves surrounded.
Eddie dodged another bite from the wolf, but took a hit from a paw.
Health: 288/350
He let the paw send him well away from the wolf and looked around. There should be one more normal sized wolf with a rider, plus the other massive wolf that Lucky hadn't attacked earlier. It took him a moment to find them, they'd gone over to the huge Orc that Eddie assumed was the leader and the leader Orc was currently in the act of mounting the large wolf.
He fell backwards as he tried to mount and Eddie couldn't help but grin when he saw Karl shimmer into existence behind the fallen Orc.
“Karl, over here! We've got backup,” Eddie yelled, waving frantical
ly at the scout.
Karl looked up at the yell and started trotting towards Eddie. As the leader scrambled back to his feet, the wolf rider nearby started going after Karl.
“Faster, Karl!” Eddie yelled, then turned back to his own wolf.
Lucky was making her way up the wolf's back and when she reached its neck she stretched out and clawed its ear, making the wolf rear its head. Eddie saw the chance and dashed forward, thrusting towards the outstretched neck.
His sword sunk half its length into the wolf's neck and Lucky jumped free as the wolf staggered and fell. Eddie pulled his sword out and looked back to the other two wolves, currently surrounded by adventurers that were out for blood.
A glance at Lucky showed that she was still a little banged up, but moving easily on all four legs again. When he looked back to Karl he reached for his bow, only to realize that he'd left it on the wall walk, and remember that he was out of arrows anyhow.
The wolf rider was about to catch up with Karl and the scout had only cleared half the distance to Eddie so far. The leader had mounted the other wolf and was starting to give chase as well.
A flashing notification light began to blink in Eddie's vision and he called it up and skimmed it before dismissing it.
[group chat: Tiana - If you can drag the leader type in closer to the wall, we've got a surprise for him.]
Eddie couldn't take the time to reply, instead he thought quickly about how to grab the leader's attention.
Mana, he thought.
Mana: 24/374
Well, spells are out, he thought. I'm glad I didn't try to cast any more than I did. I could probably get a couple of Arcs or Nature's Bindings, but I don't know if that would do it. Wait, I got it.
Eddie pulled his old throwing sticks out of his inventory, slinging them on his belt.
A couple of Arcs, a few hurled missile attacks, that ought to do it, right?
Eddie started running towards a spot between where Karl was and the castle walls. Karl looked confused as Eddie sprinted past him on the diagonal, but veered to keep up with him.
“Gotta get them near the walls,” Eddie said as Karl got close.
Karl nodded and kept running.
When they'd closed almost half the distance to the walls, the first wolf rider caught up to them. Karl whirled, a sword in either hand, and struck at the wolf. Eddie grabbed one of his throwing sticks and hurled it at the rider. He leaned to one side to dodge, and as he did, Lucky leapt up and dragged the Orc down off the back of the wolf.
The leader looked as though it were having a hard time choosing between chasing Karl or going after the clump of adventurers that were just finishing taking down the other wolves, but when a throwing stick struck him in the side of his head, his decision was made. He turned towards Eddie and his wolf started accelerating.
That was what Eddie had been hoping for. With a whistle to Lucky to follow, he took off at a sprint on a path that would take the Orc leader right past the corner of the castle walls. Karl, he noticed, was nowhere to be seen again.
Please tell me he stealthed and is going to do something to that wolf. Otherwise I'm not going to make it to the walls before it catches me, Eddie thought.
Lucky was easily keeping pace with Eddie, not even trying hard.
If they catch me, I'll come back if they kill me. She won't, Eddie thought.
“Go Lucky, don't wait for me,” Eddie said, starting to pant a little from the extended sprint. His cat ignored him, staying right beside him.
“Shit!” Eddie cursed, trying to eke out just a touch more speed from his sprint. Then he heard the crashing noise from behind them.
He took the risk to glance behind himself and saw that Karl had managed to trip up the wolf somehow. The leader had gone spilling from the back of the wolf and the wolf was only slowly trying to get back to its feet.
Karl was sprinting again, starting to gain on Eddie. So Eddie turned around and pumped his arms as hard as he could, trying to fulfill Tiana's request without getting caught by the Orc leader or his wolf.
He slowed as he reached the corner of the walls and Karl passed him a few seconds later. Having achieved his goal, he turned to see what surprise was in store for the Orc leader and his wolf.
“Get farther away,” Tiana called down from the wall walk. “I don't know just how much this will spread.”
Eddie was confused, but he kept trotting for a few more seconds, then stopped and turned back. The Orc leader had remounted and was just reaching the corner now. He saw Tiana raise her hands and then a torrent of flame streamed down out of the sky to surround the Orc leader and his wolf.
The two of them staggered out of the column of flame, still burning in places. The wolf was in worse shape than the Orc, all its fur gone. It staggered and fell, the Orc sprawling on the ground. The Orc pulled itself back to its feet and Eddie released his last throwing stick, striking it right in the forehead. With a growl, the Orc pulled out a massive sword and started stalking towards Eddie.
Oh, come on. He can't have that much health left, Eddie thought.
As the Orc closed Eddie waited until it was just in range and released an Arc spell. The leader's body twitched from the tiny arcs of electricity dancing along it, but it kept advancing. Eddie danced backwards again and released another Arc spell.
That's it, I'm out of mana, he thought.
Eddie drew his sword, hoping against hope that the Orc leader was close to falling.
“Get him out away from the wall,” a voice called out from inside the walls. “We can't target him where he is.”
Eddie swerved, his feet taking him out farther away from the walls. As he got far enough out he saw that the wall walk above him was filled with archers, all of them with arrows nocked and ready. The Orc leader staggered out after him and Eddie kept going. When he thought a few more steps would get the leader into the sights of the archers, he stopped, sword ready.
He pretended to pant, although it wasn't hard since he was nearly doing it anyhow. The full out sprint and adrenaline of the battle had him close to that state without any pretense on his part. The Orc leader took one long step, then another. He raised the sword over his head and, with a final step towards Eddie, swung it down at him.
Eddie simply side stepped and then stepped closer and thrust his own sword. A moment before he landed his strike, he heard the discordant sound of tens of bowstrings releasing almost simultaneously.
As he thrust forward his off hand went to the medallion on his neck and he thought:
Hit or Miss.
He figured it was worth the gamble. Even if the special from his Gambler's Medallion didn't go off and caused him to miss entirely, the archers were there to back him up. If it did go off and he got a critical hit, maybe that would finally be enough to drop this Orc.
As his sword sunk in, he released the grip and jumped back. The Orc leader was swinging sideways with his massive sword and Eddie's jump took him back to a spot where the tip of the swinging sword missed him by only the breadth of a hair.
Before the leader completed his strike he was riddled with arrows striking him from behind. Eddie had to dodge one poorly aimed arrow that completely missed the leader and almost skewered him, but then he simply watched as the leader fell forward, driving Eddie's sword even deeper into his body.
As he panted, trying to regain his breath, his vision flashed in and out, letters spelling 'Wave 10' filling it for a moment before he could see normally again.
~ ~ ~
“So, when Eddie started moving at top speed towards the castle again, I just stealthed since Eddie had gotten the Orc's aggro,” Karl said. “I got right next to their path, crouched down and got ready to call out the ten foot pole from my inventory. Never leave home without one, you know? Everyone laughs at me when I bring a ten foot pole, but I planted that thing in the dirt and braced the other side with my weight right before the wolf got there and it ran straight into it, dumping wolf and rider both.”
Edd
ie looked Karl and shook his head. Somehow Karl actually had an audience and they were hanging on his words.
Must've been that stupid catapult trick. Once it got around that he'd done that, people weren't sure if he was brave or crazy. I could tell them that it's both, but it's his audience, not mine, Eddie thought.
He'd had his own crowd right after they looted the Orcs when the battle was done. When he simply told them that Lucky was in trouble and he wasn't about to let his cat die, and that was why he jumped off the wall, the questions stopped. He didn't know if it was because they thought he was crazy or they agreed with him, but he wasn't worried about it either way. He'd been in the limelight plenty in this game and was more than willing to let Karl get his share.
He'd heard from almost all the adventurers that they'd be at the last wave later on tonight, and now he was frantically trying to make himself more arrows. He'd had a bunch of branches stored in his inventory to use for them. Even so, he and Tiana had detoured to the Rat Woods to get more on the way home.
Tired of being inside the inn, something he never thought would happen, he moved outside, leaning against the wall as he carved arrow after arrow. He'd managed to put the Arc spell on a few before running out of mana again, and now he was just trying to make enough arrows for all the arrowheads he had stored in his inventory. He'd gotten a few arrows back after the fight, but a lot of what he recovered ended up being just arrowheads since the shafts had broken.
As he carved, one of the residents walking by stopped for a moment.
“What are you doing, Mayor Eddie, sir?”
“Carving arrow shafts. We expect one more attack tonight and I want to have as many arrows as I can.”
“Hmm, got some more of those branches? I can help if you like.”
Eddie pulled out a stack of branches from his inventory and laid them on the ground.
“I'd be grateful for the help,” he said.
Defender Light Online Four Page 18
