Silver Peak, page 35
part #2 of Sky Realms Online Series
The woman, on Cronet’s left, was tall and thin. Long black hair and pale skin. She wore a long black form-fitting dress of some shiny material, a leather belt around her waist with a wand tucked through it. There was no ornamentation along the dress, just black. She wore no earrings or rings and didn’t carry any visible weapons. Laying across her shoulders was a long cat with an equally long tail that ended in a point. She looked at them like they were beneath her. When her eyes found Sabine, she sneered.
Skill Gain!
Identify Rank One +.3
Councilor Cronet (Orange)
Yorvgr The Warden (Blue)
Keyley The Black Witch (Blue)
“That’s a Minx Cat,” Sabine whispered, just loud enough that her companions would hear. “A familiar for the Witch. It’ll make her attacks stronger.”
Cronet and his bodyguards were higher level but outnumbered. If it had been three on three, Hall would have been more worried. The high levels would be negated by the numbers. It should be an even fight. A tough fight, but he thought they could still pull it off.
“Who are you?” Cronet asked. “Are you the ones that have been causing me so much grief?”
The man spoke calmly, getting his anger under control. He was trying to get control of the situation, and Hall had no desire to let him. He watched each of the three across from them and saw the Black Witch’s fingers start to move. In one fluid and quick motion, he grabbed the javelin from over his shoulder and threw it at the Witch.
She hadn’t been expecting the attack but was able to avoid it anyway. But that interrupted her spellcasting.
“Attack,” Hall yelled.
Jackoby charged at Yorvgr, who also charged at the Firbolg. They met in the middle of the room, a tremendous slam. Shield against shield, the clang of metal was loud. The Firbolg was pushed back a couple of feet, the momentum of both Warden’s Battle Rushes lost.
Activating his Battle Rush, Roxhard ran at Cronet. Booted feet slammed against the wooden planks as the Dwarf barreled at the Councilor. Roxhard got close, shoulder leading ready to slam into Cronet, but the man dodged. Roxhard crashed into the back wall, breaking through the wood planking.
Hall Leapt into the air, the high ceiling allowing him a high arc. The ceiling came fast and he came close to hitting but started the downward side of his leap, just missing hitting it. He set his spear, aiming for his target. Thrusting the spear forward, using Leaping Stab, Hall scored a hit on one of the two identical targets in front of him. Keyley had used the Witch Ability of Shadow Self, creating two of her.
She cried out, taking some damage as the spear stabbed through the image, which wavered slightly. Landing, Hall pulled the spear back and used his attack of opportunity. He struck again, aiming for the other image. It wavered, the spear piercing the illusionary figure. Keyley groaned. Neither attack had done anywhere near full damage.
Hall was about to take a couple steps back when the images of the Minx Cat on the Witch’s shoulder blurred and disappeared. He felt claws scraping across his arm, drawing thin lines of blood as the cat appeared. It was attached to his arm, small claws dug in deep. The cat was a dark green, with purple stripes, bright yellow eyes. Large ears, ending in tufts, grew out of the small head. It hissed at him as he tried to shake it off.
MINX MAUL!
You have been struck by a Minx Maul attack! The claws of a Minx Cat contain a powerful toxin that weakens the blood and increases damage from Shadow attacks.
Shaking his head, Hall tried to push the long cat off. It struggled but he pried the beast off, the claws digging long cuts in his arm. He growled just as a black bar of energy slammed into his chest. Intense cold spread out from where the bar had struck, numbing cold. He fell to the ground, managing to hold onto his spear. He’d been hit by a Shadowbolt before, but this was so much worse, so much colder.
He looked at his status and saw his Health bar drop.
As he fell, Caryn jumped over him. She slashed out at the Witch, causing the black-dressed woman to step backward. One of Caryn’s swords caught an attack by Cronet, and she twisted out of the way of the other attack until she brought her second sword in to block. The two Duelist traded blows, faster than Hall could follow.
He pushed up to his feet, seeing Roxhard stepping out of the hole he had made in the wall. Behind the Dwarf, Hall could see someone in the back room, cowering in the corner. Not attacking. Roxhard had ignored the person so it had to be a non-combatant. They’d worry about who after the fight was over.
Holding his spear in both hands, Hall stabbed out at Keyley, keeping an eye out for the cat. There were still two of the Witch, her cruel face sneering at him as she easily avoided the spear. Hall wasn’t trying to attack but was working to keep her from casting a spell. He angled his body, moving to the side and rotating Keyley so she was exposed to Sabine and Leigh.
A swarm of splinters shot out toward Keyley, the Black Witch somehow seeing them. Dodging Hall’s thrust, both images raised their hands and barked a single word. Darkness seemed to follow her hand, but only one, as she waved it in a large circle, Smokey blackness gathered, a mass of cloud. The splinters struck and disappeared as they hit her Shadow Barrier. Keyley’s form blurred, shaking, as the two images slid together. Details focused and there was one Keyley the Black Witch staring at Hall with hate-filled eyes.
Glancing past her, Hall could see Cronet somehow fending off the attacks from both Caryn and Roxhard. The Councilor was fast. Incredibly fast. As a Duelist, quickness and speed of attack was his main offensive and defensive capabilities. Duelists were so fast they were hard to hit, evading attacks instead of taking damage. On the attack, they used that speed to move faster than the opponent could follow. When a Duelist attacked, it was sometimes called dancing because that was how it looked.
Cronet was dancing. Caryn, almost as fast, was a blur. She moved in patterns, swords swinging and striking, blocking and slicing, each movement shifting effortlessly into the next. Roxhard just swung with strength. Each swing of his axe, while not fast, had strength and power behind it. But somehow Cronet was faster and stronger. Where Caryn was grace, Cronet was form and function. There were no wasted movements. Every placement of sword or kick of leg was planned to be precisely where it needed to be. There was a beauty to his dance, but it lacked grace. It was effective. Somehow the thin long swords were able to deflect each of Roxhard’s attacks, managing to score quick ones of his own.
Not deep wounds, just glancing cuts, but they would add up as the fight went on.
Hall felt more coldness along his shoulder. He had let himself get distracted, catching a Shadowbolt in his shoulder. He felt the muscles contract, stiffen, as he tried to move the arm. The numbness spread, more Health dropping.
Stupid, he thought, concentrate on your opponent.
He turned his spear lengthwise, fighting against the numbness in his shoulder, holding it across his body and pushing it out toward the Witch, who shifted her hand and moved the Shadow Barrier to block an attack from Sabine. Small blobs of energy streaked into the Barrier, disappearing in the black cloud. Drawing his sword, Hall took a couple steps closer to Keyley.
Swinging the sword, he aimed it along Keyley’s chest. She stepped back, moving her hand across the sword’s path and caught the blade in the long folds of her dress. She twisted and tried to yank it out of Hall’s hand, but he was stronger and pulled it back, slicing a long line through the thin fabric. Quickly, Hall changed the angle of his swing and sliced back in the same path. He scored a hit on her arm, drawing a bloody gash.
Keyley shrieked in pain, and Hall gasped as the Minx Cat darted out of nowhere. It jumped up and its claws raked across his arm as the creature bounded back onto the Witch’s shoulders.
Cursing, Hall sent his thoughts out to Pike. The dragonhawk screeched from outside the building.
Growling, the Witch drew her wand. Hall couldn’t react in time as a ball of energy shout out and slammed into his chest. He was pushed back, landing hard, losing his grip on the spear. His chest felt like it was on fire. His shoulder was numb from cold while his chest was hot from the ball of light. Another globe struck him and more of his Health dropped. He was at fifty percent. Before Keyley could attack him, Pike streaked into the room. The dragonhawk let loose with a bolt of lightning which Keyley absorbed in the Shadow Barrier. The smoky cloud looked thinner, wispier.
Pike swooped out of the way as Keyley launched another globe of light from her wand. She threw another at Hall, who rolled out of the way.
Angry, the Witch stepped backward toward the wall. Her eyes darted around the room. Cronet still held his own against Caryn and Roxhard but was beginning to tire. His attacks were no longer as smooth, a fraction slower. Near the other wall, Jackoby and Yorvgr exchanged blows. Hammer on shield, sword on shield. Leigh and Sabine stood in the middle, alternating between targets. Whichever of the three enemies presented an opening, the Druid and Witch would take it. It was hard for them, though. The group had Cronet and his cronies outnumbered, but two of their forces were hindered by the layout of the room.
But it was only a matter of time before Hall and his companions would get the advantage. It would happen soon. There was a chance one of his group would make a mistake and Cronet or his cronies could take advantage, but the chances were greater that one of the three would make the first mistake. And once they were down to two, the fight would end soon after.
Hall stood up just as Keyley got to the wall. Smiling evilly, the Black Witch ran her free hand through the blood dripping down her arm from Hall’s attack. She held up her palm, covered in her own blood and slammed it against the wall. The blood flowed down the wooden planks and stopped, hitting a barrier.
He had to turn away as the wall erupted in a bright light. It flared and died down, still glowing but now a deep red. Hall watched as the Witch’s blood flowed around into a circle and then flowed down the wall. Everywhere the blood went, defying gravity, it left behind shapes. Lines and swirls, borders of rings.
“Stop her,” Sabine yelled, somehow her voice carrying over the sounds of fighting. “She’s summoning.”
Hall cursed, recognizing the symbol now. Summoning was a Magic Skill that Witches could learn. It allowed for the Witch to call on aid from any number of creatures. Low Skill, it summoned animals from the surrounding environments. Small rodents to larger wolves as the skill progressed. At the higher skill levels, the Witch could summon a demon from weak to stronger. But each summoning took some time to prepare. It appeared that Keyley had taken that time before they had attacked.
The warning came too late. The circle and runes of blood were completed. The glowing red flared, not as bright as before, and a bright black line of energy appeared in front of it. The line grew, longer and wider, until a door was floating in space. Five feet high, three feet across.
Time seemed to slow, the fighting stopped as all eyes turned to the black door. Hall held his breath, afraid of what would come out.
They saw the foot as it came out of the blackness.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
The foot ended in a hoof, black with dark blue fur on the leg above. Tall and thin, with a backward working knee. Rough fur covered the legs and waist as the body came out of the door. Light blue, bare-chested, covered in scars of all sizes, lean but muscular. A long tail ending in a point waved in the air. An arm appeared, wrist covered in the dark blue fur, ending in a five-fingered hand with long claw-like nails. A dark blue fur-covered shoulder came followed by the head. Yellow eyes glinted from the hairless head, thin black irises moved across the room. The mouth was open, revealing sharp teeth and long canines. Horns grew out of the temples, curling around to the back over the pointed ears. Thick and black-colored bone.
It stood fully out of the door, which shrank behind it. The red glow of the runes faded, disappearing as the door did. Keyley’s blood stayed smeared to the wall, dried in the shape of the runes and rings.
The demon stretched, standing about five feet tall. Its eyes moved from person to person, a split tongue darting out and licking its lips in anticipation.
Skill Gain!
Identify Rank One +.1
Lesser Cobalt Koracki Demon (Orange)
Hall watched the demon, momentarily frozen in shock. The creature growled, speaking rapidly in a language that hurt to hear. Even though the demon had done nothing yet, the momentum in the room shifted. It still hadn’t moved, and Hall could see a waviness to its features. The demon was not fully on this plane of existence.
Not yet.
The blurring stopped, all the details of the demon coming into focus.
But Hall had recovered from his shock.
His javelin soared through the air, slamming into the demon’s shoulder. The creature growled, pulling the weapon out. Silver blood dripped to the floor, smoke rising from where it struck wood. A small amount of red disappeared from its Health bar. Holding the javelin in both hands, the demon bent the weapon. The wooden weapon snapped in half, small splinters flying into the air. The Koracki threw the ends, looking around for the one that had thrown in. Looking for the one it would attack first.
Hall didn’t give it a chance.
He pulled one of the throwing knives from his bracer, launching the small weapon at the demon. The small blade struck the demon in the chest, exploding in a spark of lightning. The flare was brighter than Hall had expected. A Koracki Demon had lightning affinity so he hadn’t expected the lightning damage from the throwing knife to do any damage. A Critical Strike must have hit as more silver blood dripped from the wound and smoke curled up from where the lightning had struck.
More red had dropped from the demon’s Health bar. It had lost close to 10% of its Health in Hall’s two attacks.
The Koracki seemed confused that lightning had done any damage to it. It looked down at the wound, touching it with one of the clawed hands. The head shot up, focusing on Hall, hate in the yellow eyes.
Hall activated Leap and jumped into the air. He drew his short sword while in the air. On the downward side of the arc, he stabbed out with the spear. The tip slammed into the Koracki’s shoulder, the special attack activating and leaving a large splinter in the demon’s shoulder. Pulling it out, Hall gashed the blue skin of the demon. Landing, he used the attack of opportunity and stabbed out with the spear, scoring a hit in the demon’s chest. He pulled the spear back and sliced out with the sword, slashing a line of silver blood across the demon’s arm.
The creature roared, a sound with power behind. Hall felt like he was hit by a gust of wind. He was pushed back, trying to maintain his footing. He slid back a couple of feet, using his spear to brace himself. The wind tore at him. He could feel it against his skin, cutting him like knives. His Health dropped as the wind cut into him.
Seeing that its sonic attack had hurt Hall, the Koracki smiled. It licked its sharp teeth and pounced on Hall, who barely got his spear up in time to block. Held across his body, the spear caught the leaping demon. Hall tried to hold his arm straight, the weight of the demon pushing him to the ground. He could feel his elbow wanting to bend, the demon’s shorter arms trying to slash Hall’s face and across his chest.
Hall managed to stab at the demon with the sword in his free arm. The angle was off, but he scored a light hit. Enough to make the demon move and Hall to push it to the side. He stood up quickly, jumping back to give him some space before the demon could attack again.
The Koracki crouched low, almost on all fours, as it watched Hall.
It wasn’t paying attention to anything else. It didn’t see the furry blur charging its way.
Angus slammed into the side of the crouched demon. The sound of breaking bone filled the room, the crack and the snap louder than the clash of metal on metal from the other fights. The demon rolled to the side and came up facing Angus.
Pointing its clawed fingers at the cow, it barked a word in the hideous language. Bolts of black lightning shot out from the fingers and struck Angus in five different spots. The crackling of energy wrapped around the cow, causing him to moo in pain. Angus spasmed as the energy snapped and cracked, burning the cow’s fur. Smoke rose up as Angus dropped to the floor, mooing quietly.
Pike swooped in with an angry screech. The dragonhawk slashed across the Koracki’s back, talons drawing lines of silver blood. The demon growled and swiped at Pike, barely missing. Turning back, Pike opened his beak and shot out a bolt of lightning. The attack hit the Koracki in the shoulder. Sparks erupted on the impact and smoke rose up from the wound, but the demon was barely injured.
Hall mentally shot Pike a command. For the first time ever, Pike argued. Hall could sense the dragonhawk was angry about the injury to Angus and wasn’t listening. Pike’s lightning was useless against the Koracki but not against others. Hall pushed hard at Pike, mentally telling him that he could help Angus more by attacking a different target.
The resistance faded and Pike spiraled to the top of the buildings where, with another screech, he dived down at Keyley. The Witch got her arms up in time to block Pike’s attack, the sharp talons ripping her robe’s sleeves to shreds.
Watching the bird attack the Witch, the Koracki took a step toward them. Hall threw another throwing knife, catching the Koracki in the back and doing minimal damage. But it got the demon’s attention. Turning, yellow eyes focused on Hall. Which is what he wanted.
He took a couple steps back, drawing the Koracki away from the others, getting the demon lined up just how he wanted.
Hall activated Leap. The Koracki’s eyes followed the Skirmisher as he jumped into the air. The demon braced itself for Hall’s attack.
Landing behind Yorvgr, Hall stabbed out with his spear. He caught the Warden in the back, earning a flanking and critical strike bonus. A large chunk of the Storvgardian’s Health disappeared. Hall wished he had been able to use Leaping Stab but had been unable to when he switched targets and the angle of his jump.
