Rampage, page 43
part #1 of Land of the Elementals Series
“You ready?” Ramona whispered.
Arbor nodded, and they rushed in, ready for a fight.
They had both left their main weapons back at the base, as they would be too large and cumbersome, especially on an assassination mission. They came into the darkened tent, both carrying daggers at the ready.
Nothing happened.
They stood there for a moment, looking around the interior. It was large for a tent. There was a table laden with food in one corner, and a large plush rug was spread across the parched ground.
Arbor heard a loud snore then and spun quickly, his dagger raised for a strike. A fat gremlin lay amidst a pile of blankets, fast asleep. Arbor wrinkled his nose as he approached. The gremlin stunk of wine and spoiled food. He looked to Ramona. As she approached silently, she shook her head in disgust, then plunged the dagger into the gremlin’s eye, twisting it savagely for extra effect. He died instantly, his body going slack and the snoring coming to an immediate stop.
Arbor flinched a bit at this. He was all for killing an enemy of the battlefield, but he had no stomach for killing unarmed sleeping gremlins, even if they were enemies.
He followed Ramona out of the tent, his mind troubled.
“I know what you’re going to say,” she said, heading to the next tent in the row. “I don’t enjoy doing this either, but this is war.” Her voice hardened. “We must do what is necessary to win, even if it’s not honorable.”
Arbor didn’t answer. He knew she was right but killing sleeping and defenseless enemies just didn’t sit right with him.
The next few tents were just like the first. They moved quickly, going through another seven tents in rapid succession. As it turned out, some of the tents had several occupants. It looked like the gremlin mages had been throwing parties last night and had invited their friends over.
It was quite a stroke of luck on their part, as the other seven tents had contained a total of forty-three gremlin Mages. After they left the eighth tent, Ramona began moving faster, looking around furtively as though afraid they’d be caught.
“What’s wrong?” Arbor asked, stopping right outside the next tent.
“The longer we take, the greater the chance we’ll be discovered,” she said, throwing back the tent flap. “Better get this over with quickly.”
Arbor was about to follow when he heard a voice from inside the tent.
“Who are you, and what do you think you’re doing?”
He froze, quickly feeling for his second Origin and using it for his magical sight. His heart skipped a beat as he counted, a mounting terror building within him.
There were over twenty gremlins in the tent, and they were all awake!
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“Well, explain yourself,” the same voice said again from inside the tent.
Arbor’s first instinct was to go charging in, but he quickly squashed that thought.
Ramona was disguised as a gremlin. She might be able to talk her way out of this, but if he charged in and started killing them, they would have no chance.
He quietly backed away from the tent entrance and walked around to the back. As far as he could see, most of the gremlins were on one side of the tent, with only one being at the rear.
“Oh, I was sent to see if the esteemed Mages needed anything,” he heard Ramona answer.
“Everyone knows not to disturb us during breakfast!” another voice answered. She sounded suspicious, and Arbor didn’t think she’d be able to fool them for long, illusion or not.
He quickly plunged the dagger into the side of the tent and cut downward, doing his utmost not to make any noise. Thankfully, the blade was sharp and slid through the fabric without a sound.
“Is that right? Well, the cook told me to check up on you.”
Arbor slipped quietly into the tent and crouched behind a small table. All the gremlins were facing away from him, and none saw him as he entered. They were all seated around a large table laden with food. One gremlin was standing, a serving spoon in hand.
“You said the cook sent you?”
The question came from the gremlin who was standing, and Ramona nodded.
Arbor realized her mistake too late. When he’d scanned the tent from the outside, he could only count sources of magic and had assumed that all the occupants were Mages. Now that he looked at the standing gremlin, he couldn’t see even a speck of magic on him.
“I’m the cook,” the gremlin with the serving spoon said, stepping forward, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he reached for a knife at his waist. “Who are y…”
Ramona didn’t wait for the cook to finish his sentence. She leaped forward in a blur of motion and slashed the dagger across his throat. The gremlin went down with a gurgle, blood spurting from his open throat.
The other gremlins were still in shock as she ran towards them. She stabbed one in the side of the neck and another in the eye before they could even react. She was on top of third, cutting his throat when she was forced to dodge out of the way to avoid a small ball of iron that shot towards her head.
She rolled to the side and came up in a crouch, just in time for a gremlin to grab her by the arm. Not wasting any time, she plunged the dagger into the hand, and when the gremlin let go with a screech of pain, spun and cut his throat. She turned then, her back to the tent wall and saw the rest on the gremlin Mages standing in a semi-circle around her, their hands outstretched as they prepared their magic.
They looked angry and were sneering as they prepared to kill the insolent traitor. There was one thing they didn’t see, and Ramona had to suppress a grin. Another gremlin was slowly approaching from behind the group, a dagger clutched tightly in his hand.
Arbor could see that this was going bad, quickly. Five of the gremlins were dead, but sixteen Mages had now surrounded Ramona, and he could see their magic becoming active through his magic sight. They were all at the 4th Tier, and two were at the 5th, but not a single one was stronger than that. His sight wasn’t yet good enough to tell their classifications, so he just had to hope that none of them were above the Enhanced class. He quickly let the magic in his eyes fade. It would be too distracting to fight with it on.
Clutching his dagger tightly, he slowly approached the group from behind. He saw that Ramona had spotted him. They made eye contact, and she nodded almost imperceptibly. Then, a gigantic beast stood inside the circle, and all the gremlins took an involuntary step back, with screams of terror.
Arbor had to suppress a grin at the Co-founder’s imagination. A gigantic hairy war ape with large curling ram’s horns stood in the tent, baring its fangs at the Mages.
He didn’t waste any time. Concentrating on his Perception Core, he flooded the streams throughout his body with magic. He pumped as much as he could into his arms and legs without overdoing it. He also sharpened his vision and slowed his perception. Sweat beaded his brow and steam began to rise off him in waves.
Using this much magic, and concentrating it in so many points at once, was extremely taxing. He was right on the edge of the 3rd Tier, but not quite there yet. He wouldn’t be able to hold it for long, but if he worked fast enough, he wouldn’t have to.
He shot forward, the world seeming to move very slowly around him. He plunged his dagger into the back of a gremlin’s head, his increased strength easily cracking the skull. He turned the dagger to the side, cutting clean through another’s spine at the base of her neck. He ducked a slashing sword strike and cut the gremlin’s arm to the bone, then, stepping forward, crushed his face with a palm strike, killing him instantly.
He danced through them, cutting, stabbing and slashing. He used his fists, elbows, and knees almost as much as the dagger, trying to do as much damage as he could in the time he had. When he pumped his strength up this much, he could kill just as easily barehanded. He didn’t know how to fight very well, and just added that to the growing list of things he needed to learn.
Even with his enhanced reflexes and perception, he couldn’t avoid blows altogether, not in such a confined space. An iron ball slammed painfully into his side, and if not for his armor, would have gone clean through him. As it was, he heard the distinct snap of breaking bone as one of his ribs cracked from the force of the blow.
He dodged to the side and caved in the gremlin’s chest, sending him sprawling and coughing up blood. He narrowly avoided losing an arm, as a green lance of energy flew at him. His reflexes saved the arm, but he felt a searing heat burn across the skin, leaving an angry red welt in its wake.
He ran forward and nearly cut the gremlin’s head off, the blade not being quite long enough to finish the job. Blood and gore showered the walls and ground, staining the once opulent tent and furniture. He stabbed another gremlin, but this time, the dagger blade snapped as it struck bone, the steel unable to handle his increased strength any longer. He cursed as his concentration slipped and the magic flowing through him slowed.
He stumbled back, his arms shaking as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up to see that there were still three of them left, and they were all looking at him. That was a big mistake on their part, as they seemed to have forgotten the enemy at their back. Three quick dagger strikes later, and the last of them lay on the ground, bleeding out.
He sat heavily on the ground, wincing at his injuries, but Ramona wouldn’t let him sit for long.
“Come on, we need to go now!” she said, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him to his feet. “The noise from our battle has surely attracted attention by now, and reinforcements will be here any second!”
Arbor rose shakily to his feet. He felt so tired. His body was aching all over, and his side was screaming in pain.
His stomach growled loudly, and he looked towards the table laden with food. Most had landed on the floor or was inedible due to the fighting, but he could see that some meat still looked good.
“Just need a minute to catch my breath,” he said, stumbling towards the table. “I used too much magic at once and now my body is punishing me for it.” He groaned, grabbing a piece of steaming beef and shoved it into his mouth, chewing quickly.
Ramona stared at him in disbelief.
“What the hell are you doing?! This isn’t the time to be stuffing your face. We need to go!”
Arbor grabbed a jug and took a deep draft, almost choking on the foul taste.
It was wine. He hated wine.
He drank the entire pitcher anyways, and a warm feeling soon filled his body, seeming to wash away his pain.
“I’m too tired to carry you right now. We’ll never make it,” he said, stuffing another piece of meat down his throat. “Besides, don’t we still have more Mages to kill?”
Ramona glared at him but took a deep breath and seemed to calm down somewhat.
“We can’t kill the others now. There’s no way they’re still asleep after that,” she sighed and sat down next to him. “We’ll just have to settle for the ones we’ve already killed. We did get more than half of them.”
Arbor nodded as he ate. He could feel an odd sensation taking hold as he continued to eat. He felt his strength returning as his hunger was satiated. His stomach stopped growling and he sighed in relief as his magic began healing his body.
“You almost done?” Ramona asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Just another minute,” he said through a mouthful of meat. He was biting into another piece when the sound of loud voices could be heard approaching the tent.
“Damn it all! I told you so! We need to go! Now!” Ramona said, getting to her feet and grabbing Arbor by the arm.
“Just one more piece!” Arbor groaned as Ramona yanked him away from the table and towards the hole he’d cut in the tent wall.
“You can eat all you want when we get back to camp, you insatiable glutton!” She hissed, dragging him through the opening and out into open air.
She stopped short when she saw who stood there, apparently waiting for her. Over fifty gremlins blocked their path, and at their head stood a gremlin nearly six feet tall.
Arbor stumbled out after her, still clutching a strip of meat, and froze as well. He’d never seen a gremlin that tall before or that muscular. The gremlin was dressed in gleaming plate mail painted a deep red.
“Why, if it isn’t the Co-founder herself.” The gremlin’s voice rasped, as though nails were a usual part of his daily diet.
“General Sor’shin,” Ramona replied, nodding at him. “Didn’t expect you to show your ugly face.”
Arbor was shocked to hear Ramona’s voice instead of Grak’s. He’d been so distracted by the gremlins in front of them that he hadn’t noticed her illusion slip. Looking quickly down at himself, he was surprised to see that his disguise was still intact.
Why would she keep me hidden while revealing herself? he wondered.
“I would ask how you’d gotten into my camp, but I can see that we have a traitor in our midst,” he said, turning to look at Arbor. “Tell me, traitor, for what possible reason would you betray our glorious king?”
He waited for a moment, but when Arbor couldn’t formulate an answer, the general just shrugged.
“I suppose it doesn’t really matter. You’re both going to die here, anyway.”
As soon as he said this, the gremlins behind him leveled their spears at them and began advancing. Arbor looked at Ramona. She had a grim expression on her face and had taken up a fighting stance.
He knew there was no way they could win. Their only hope for survival was escape. He popped the last piece of meat into his mouth before drawing his dagger.
No sense in it going to waste, he thought as his plan solidified in his mind.
He brought the dagger across in a slashing movement. The advancing gremlins froze in confusion, as Ramona’s breastplate hit the ground, leaving her in a clinging cloth undershirt.
“Arbor! What are you…?” she exclaimed, but he ducked down, quickly cutting the straps of her greaves. Then he brought it up and cut the straps holding her steel studded skirt in place. She stood there in shock, all her armor on the ground and staring at him in disbelief.
“Looks like you decided to make it easier for us,” Generals Sor’shin said with a grin. “Maybe we’ll let you live, after all.”
Ramona looked at him, betrayal and hurt written on her face, as Sor’shin motioned his men forward.
Arbor wasn’t about to wait. He grabbed Ramona by the arm and threw her over one shoulder, then spun and ran back into the tent. He heard shouting from behind him as he came out the front, and took off running, dodging around tent and gremlin alike, as he ran for the open Flatlands.
He burst from the line of tents a few moments later and pumped more magic to his legs, the wind whistling past his ear as he ran. He heard Ramona’s protesting voice, but he didn’t dare slow down to hear what she was saying. He could hear horns blowing behind him and knew that they would be gathering their horses to follow them.
He took a deep breath and clenched his teeth, pouring on even more speed. He ran like that for the next few minutes before the pain in his legs forced him to stop. Wincing, he put Ramona down, panting for breath.
His magic might make it easy to run, but even he had his limits. For now, anyway…
“What the hell was all that about?” Ramona screamed, glaring down at him. “Why did you cut off my armor?”
Arbor took a few more deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart, before straightening.
“Come on, Ramona. You’re smart. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
He normally wouldn’t be this disrespectful to her, but he was in quite a bit of pain and knew that before the day was done, he’d be in quite a bit more.
Ramona took a moment to calm herself and thought.
“The added weight of the armor would have slowed you down,” she said with a grimace. “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t warn me about it first. I thought you’d betrayed me.”
“When would I have had time to tell you about a plan I came up with on the spot?” Arbor asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Would that be before or after we were dead?”
The last of Ramona’s ire leaked away, and she blushed, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment.
“I guess I wasn’t thinking very clearly. I thought that since I’d left your disguise intact, you would betray me and get away free.” She stopped here and laughed. “It really does sound pretty dumb when I say it out loud.”
Arbor smiled at that, his anger leaking away as well.
“It was a bad situation, and you thought we were about to die. I can hardly blame you for that. But I do have to know, why did you let your disguise slip?”
“Did you already forget?” she asked with a smile. “I was disguised as Grak. If we ever need her to infiltrate an enemy camp again, it wouldn’t do to have her be recognized.”
He nodded once, then looked out towards the gremlin camp. He could now see a faint plume of dust rising off in the distance. He turned his back on her and bent slightly.
“We should get moving. I can already see them pursuing us.”
She quickly clambered onto his back, and he winced as he stood.
“Are you alright?” She sounded worried.
“That gremlin with the iron ball definitely broke a rib, maybe two,” he said as he adjusted his grip and felt her tighten her arms around his neck.
“Well, at least you’ll get the chance to feel me up, since my armor is gone,” Ramona said, trying to lighten the mood.
Though it was true that Arbor could now clearly feel her thighs through the thin material of her underclothes, he was in too much pain to care. Seeing that he wasn’t answering, Ramona decided to change the topic back to the problem at hand.
“Will you be able to outrun them?”
Arbor winced again as he started walking, concentrating his magic into his arms and legs. He still couldn’t break into the 3rd Tier, something which he was sure would make this entire situation much easier. At the 3rd Tier, he’d have access to more power, and therefore, be able to use more without risking his body.
