The Land: Forging (Chaos Seeds Book 2) Read online

  Lif’alt activated another Warrior ability, Lunge, triggering an unexpected burst of speed. He crossed the six feet in under a second, the sword leading with a straight thrust. He followed this with a sideways slash, a shield bash and then overhand chop. Yoshi barely dodged the first strike and ducked under the second. Richter saw that the bugbear had waited until Yoshi was backed up against a large stone. The first two attacks of the combo had just been a distraction! The shield bash connected and flung Yoshi back. Richter resisted the impulse to look away from the last attack that he was sure would cleave the half-human in two.

  Once again Richter had underestimated the sword adept. The shield had indeed connected, but it had not knocked Yoshi off balance. He used the force of the shield bash like a spring board to propel him to the stone. He quickly kicked off the large rock and jumped over the bugbear.

  The invader’s downward slash had brought his body forward and made him bend down to a certain extent. As Yoshi passed over the bugbear’s head, he stabbed down with one sword, two feet of the icy blade entering just above the clavicle. The blue blade sunk two feet vertically into his opponent’s chest, leaving frost at the penetration site. A startled grunt escaped the raider, but Yoshi was not done. He maintained his grip on the imbedded sword, using it as a fulcrum. He ended his flip by hanging crouched on his enemy’s back. One hand was holding the handle of the buried blade and his other sword was poised to strike. A moment of stillness came and went, ending when Yoshi thrust forward. The tip of his sword entered through the base of the neck, traveled up at an angle, and then fangs, blood and glowing blue metal exploded from the bugbear’s mouth. That was how the story of Lif’alt ended.

  Richter had been totally distracted by this battle between two fighters and came back to himself with a start. Though it had captivated his entire attention the fight took less than one minute. The other bugbears upon seeing the death of their strongest fighter seemed to deflate and lost some of their intensity.

  Death of an enemy Champion: -100 Fighting Spirit points for enemy forces for the duration of the battle! +50 Fighting Spirit points for allied forces for duration of battle.

  He finally felt like the battle was going their way! The only real question was… when would he stop making stupid assumptions? The sudden absence of a particular sound caught his attention, and he realized he could no longer hear the angel’s sword banging upon the enemy wizards’ magic shield. Turning his head he saw the cherubiae raise his crystal sword in salute to Hisako.

  “Good luck, Daughter of Light.”

  The angel faded from view, its time on this plane done. Large cracks could be seen in the black shield that the mages had huddled behind. The disappearance of cherubiae created an unspoken cease fire. The remaining bugbears broke off their attack on the remaining sprites, backing up towards their casters. Their large shields were dented from blocking imbued magic strikes. The sprites broke off to form around Hisako and Richter. Yoshi stood in front, both swords glowing softly blue in the darkness.

  No one spoke at first, and the two groups just glared daggers at one another. Richter took the opportunity to drink several mana potions. Something about this particular piece of land tickled his memory, but he stopped thinking of it when the female caster said, “Hello Hisako. It has been a long time.” Her voice was a sultry syrup. The kind of tones that everyman thinks he wants to hear.

  “Hello, Modara,” Hisako replied with venom in her voice. Richter looked at her surprised. He hadn’t ever thought he would hear such vehemence coming from the kind and matronly sprite. Her face was a mask of stark anger. Richter looked back at Modara who seemed amused by the Hearth Mother’s fury. “You will not escape this time!”

  Modara just laughed. She held up her staff, “I think you might be overconfident, or do you not recognize what I am holding?”

  “I see your new bauble,” Hisako said in the same tone as before. “I also saw how much you strained to keep the angel at bay. There can’t be much mana left in it. You WILL die!”

  Yoshi spoke up, “Let me take her head now, Hearth Mother! I know what this whore of darkness has done.”

  “Watch how you speak to your betters fool! I will drink the fluid from your eyes,” she spat back at the sword adept. Turning to look at Hisako again, she resumed her previous languid tone of voice, “You are quite right Hisako. I have used most of my reserves, but I have enough for one last spell.”

  Modara raised the staff in the air and shouted an incantation. The sprites started firing at the mass of bugbears, but they huddled behind their shields. Braced by their massive strength, the shields protected them from harm. The two casters were behind the warriors, and the fighters seemed content to let Modara finish casting her spell. After a few seconds, she let loose a shout and thrust the staff into the air. Dark streamers of energy plunged into the ground between the two groups. The earth immediately started rumbling, and then a bony hand shot up, followed by another and another. That was why this patch of ground had seemed significant. It was where Richter and Sion had burned the bodies of the goblins they had killed cleansing the forest!

  Modara’s laugh rose into the air. “You really should be more careful where you put a mass grave!”

  In no time at all, dozens of skeletons had climbed out of the ground. The sprites started firing at these new enemies, and the first volley dropped several, but the Dark mage had not been sitting idle. He finished his spell and dark tendrils wrapped around each skeleton. Whereas before the sprites’ imbued arrows had caused the skeletons to collapse, now they caused much less damage. The defenders would have been overrun, but Hisako saved them again.

  The Hearth Mother raised both arms in a “X” in front of her face and then spread her arms wide. A large gold panel like the ones she had cast before flashed into existence. This was much larger however, and covered two dozen yards in width and ten feet in height. She gave a second and a third shout, each magical yell starting with making another “X” and ending with an open armed stance. The shield became more substantial and glowed brighter at the end of each of her movements. The golden panel was a formidable defense, but the strain of such a large shield was clearly telling on the Hearth Mother’s face. Richter could see the bugbears had joined the skeletons, and all were beating against the wall of light.

  Modara laughed again, “How long can you last Hisako? And just how are you going to kill me after my minions rip you into little pieces? Hahaha.” Hisako didn’t answer, the stressed look on her face did that for her. Richter knew she couldn’t last much longer. Both enemy casters began firing dark beams of energy at the shield. The impact points of their blasts created a fine series of cracks that grew by the second.

  Yoshi spoke up, “The Hearth Mother cannot fight on her own. Form up! We will send these evil creatures to the hell of their choosing. Foresuto No!”

  The sprites responded, “Foresuto No!” Richter translated the phrase silently, ‘For the Forest!’

  He readied himself to fight. He wasn’t concerned about his own life; he would be reborn. The thought of the sprites dying though, filled him with horrible guilt. He couldn’t even think about what would happen to the villagers once the fighters were dead. He knocked an arrow to his bow and prepared for Hisako’s shield to collapse. The sky began to lighten as the assault continued against the gold plate, making it even easier to see the wide spread cracks. It wouldn’t be much longer.

  Wait, lighten?! The sun was coming up! Richter accessed the town interface and checked the mana available. 517! With his personal mana pool he was over 800! He began to laugh. First the sprites, then the bugbears, and then the casters, started to stare at him. The only person that didn’t seem to notice was Hisako, who was fully committed to their defenses.

  Modara shouted, “Do you think the sun will save you idiot? You’ll be dead before it is fully up!”

  Richter held up his middle finger. “Modara,” he paused to make sure he had her attention, “you’
re fat.” She looked at him with utter shock on her face, then her expression twisted into something truly ugly. She screamed in rage. The magical attack from her outstretched hand grew thicker and darker. Richter just laughed evilly, and then threw his hands up above his head. He cast Confusing Mist.

  Thick mist shot out of his body in all directions. It penetrated the golden shield and continued on. Visibility was soon zero for everyone present. He concentrated this time, and mentally focused on making the mist permeate to the boundaries of his domain without leaving a clearing in the middle. As the mist flew faster and faster, he selected all of the sprites and gave them immunity. He also thought of Alma giving her immunity as well. The skeletons had continued to pound at the shield, but the bugbears had stopped in confusion and the two streams of black magic had stopped as well.

  Richter moved to Yoshi, “We need to retreat with Hisako. Tell everyone to be as quiet as possible so that we can loose them in the mists.” The sword adept nodded and spoke quickly to the other sprites. All shouldered their bows, and Sion came to stand next to Richter. Alma alighted on his shoulders hissing at the enemies on the other side of the golden shield. A glowing grey orb was also floating thirty feet away. Richter shouted, “Futen!”

  The orb flowed towards Richter, “Yes, my Lord?” The remnant’s deadpan voice sounded even stranger than normal against the screams of outrage and bloodlust coming from their foes. Modara’s voice rose above the others as she threatened the bugbears with painful deaths if they let Hisako flee.

  “We need to escape. We are going to run as silently as possible. Lead them off in another direction by imitating our voices.”

  “As you wish, my Lord.”

  At a nod from Yoshi, Richter picked up the Hearth Mother and began running. They quickly reached the range of her ability to maintain the shield, which shattered to golden pieces. She cried out at the spell backlash and lapsed into unconsciousness. The fragments dissipated before striking the ground. As soon as the wall was down, the skeletons and bugbears surged forward. Blasts of black energy shot in their general direction. One caught a sprite in the shoulder throwing him to the ground. The brave fighter didn’t make a sound however and regained his feet quickly. Yoshi moved to support him, and they all continued forward. The increased agility of the sprites let them outstrip the bugbears and skeletons. After a minute, voices issued well to the left, and the sounds of pursuit followed it. Once again Futen’s ruse was working.

  They ran for another five minutes until there were no sounds behind them. Stopping to assess, Richter looked at Hisako. She still had not regained consciousness, but she didn’t seem to be in any distress. He waved to two of the sprites and whispered furiously, “Take the Hearth Mother to the meadow. Stay there and protect them all.” He carefully handed over her body. A thought occurred to Richter, and he spent a few seconds giving immunity to the sprites that were guarding the villagers and all of the villagers he could remember.

  Sion came close and asked softly, “What do we do now, Richter?” Yoshi and the other sprites looked at him as well.

  He looked at his best friend, and the other fighters with a harsh glare, “We kill them all.”

  CHAPTER 9

  Yoshi made eye contact and nodded once. Bows were unlimbered, and the fighters walked back towards the distant sounds. There was more blood to be spilled. Yoshi separated the remaining sprites into three teams. The order for the other two groups was to find pockets of attackers. They would fire and retreat, using the concealment of the mists for protection. Richter advised all of them about the properties of his spell.

  “They won’t be able to see you unless you get too close, within five or ten feet. Once you attack though it negates the enchantment for a short while. Also, if you imbue an arrow, they may be able to detect you despite the mists. If that happens retreat until they lose sight of you, and then attack again. They ALL die!” The sprites had no objections. They had lost treasured friends and comrades.

  The final group was comprised of Yoshi, Richter, Sion, Daniella, and a fifth sprite named Red. Richter guessed it was because he was wearing a red shirt. When Daniella had asked what their mission was Yoshi had simply said one word, “Modara.”

  They all moved off into the mists following the distant sounds of shouts. Richter had handed out his last mana regeneration potions to his group. They drank the potions on the run. Each group separated from the others as they ran. Being able to see through the mists meant the sprites could move much faster than the bug bears. It wasn’t long before Richter saw blue flashes in the distance to his left, followed by shouts of pain. Thirty seconds later a similar scene unfolded to their right. Yoshi didn’t pause. He kept running with the rest of his party right behind him. They passed two more pockets of enemies, but still the half human didn’t slow. He wanted the Death mage.

  They finally found the hooded caster at the boundary of the village. She and the black robed mage were surrounded by five skeletons and three bugbears. The rest must have gotten lost in the Confusing Mist. Richter expected Yoshi to rush in, but he waved them to stop once they had found their quarry. The mages would most likely already be gone if not for the trench. Bugbears on the other side were bringing up another make shift bridge though. The casters would escape in mere minutes.

  Yoshi turned to Richter, “We need to remove one of the casters quickly. If we imbue our arrows, they’ll see us and I don’t think we can stand against both Modara and the Dark Mage. Do you have a way to take one out quietly?”

  Richter thought for a moment going through his skills and spells. Nothing came to mind except… He pulled an arrow out his bag of holding with a smile. Yoshi looked at and then smiled in return.

  Arrow of Stun. Chance to stun target for 3-5 seconds.

  “This will do,” the sword adept said. Turning to the other sprites, he said, “Poison your arrows. The first two volleys will be done without imbuing. After that, just fight well. Do not risk yourselves unnecessarily, but you all know what that dark elf bitch took from the Hearth Mother. The goal is to kill her. All else is secondary. Lord Richter has a stun arrow. Red and I will approach them from the south. You begin firing from the north. The signal for both attacks is when the first caster falls to the stun arrow. Lord Richter I suggest you target the weaker caster, the Dark Mage. The risk of Modara resisting the effects of the arrow is too great. I will finish her myself,” he said as he held his two blades.

  They quickly rebuffed, and then Richter gave the dangerous sword adept a simple nod. Richter took aim on his target. Yoshi and Red faded to the left while Sion and Daniella moved to the right. Counting to ten to allow everyone to get into position, Richter then drew his bow back and sighted on the black robed Dark mage. His breathing slowed. He drew in a final breath, and then let loose his bow with his exhale.

  The arrow pierced the Dark mage in the chest. The simple robes she was wearing were no match for Richter’s Recurve Bow of the Wood Sprite. It penetrated and she collapsed to the ground not moving. At the same time, Alma swooped down releasing a burst of psychic power that made Modara shriek, and two of the bugbears drop to their knees screaming. Sion and Daniella sank arrows into and the final bugbear. One sank found a home in his furry throat, and he fell back with a wet gurgle. The critical strike coupled with the poison on the arrow heads ensured he would not rise again.

  Modara thrust her staff at Alma in a rage, unleashing a dark destructive beam. Much to Richter’s relief however, his agile familiar was able to avoid the attack and flew off into the mist. Thank god she had cast Haste again! The skeletons started moving towards Sion and Daniella. That was when Yoshi attacked. He flew into their midst and his twin swords flashed in every direction. Bones flew off as he deconstructed the skeletons piece by piece. The Dark magic that had initially made the undead stronger had since faded.

  Red ran into the fray, swinging his sword. He was able to dodge the swings of the skeletons easily. The Dark mage was starting to rise, but
Yoshi broke off his attack on the undead and stabbed him in the heart. With his death, the remaining skeletons dropped to the ground in a clatter of bones. Sion and Daniella’s Imbued strikes were keeping Modara huddled behind a spherical purple-black shield. She was chanting a spell, and with a shout her hand extended out in a claw. Two beams made of silver black fire shot from the chests of both bugbears to her hand. Pulses shot from their bodies towards Modara, and the energy gathered in an expanding ball centered on her hand. The two bodies slowly rose into the air, as their life energies were drained away by the Death mage. Unfortunately, Red’s dash brought him within the radius of Modara’s spell as well, and a third tether shot from his chest. The sprite’s back arched in spasm.

  Yoshi yanked his gaze up from the Dark mage’s body and seeing Red being attacked reared back and threw his sword at Modara. Seeing him start his motion she snarled and yanked her arm down. The black ball of energy became a tear in space that she fell through. The tear closed and Yoshi’s sword flew through the space she had occupied only a moment before. The bodies of Red and the two bugbears dropped to the ground. Yoshi said nothing as he walked stiffly to where his sword had fallen. Richter ran over Red, but there was nothing to be done. The sprites skin was pale and cold. His expression was frozen in a rictus of pain.

  Sion and Daniella joined Richter looking at their red-shirted fallen comrade. Yoshi started walking towards the trench. The area that Modara and the others had been trying to cross was actually not far from the ruined gate. The original bridge was just to the side of the gate, and would have given them an easy escape from the village it only they had seen it through the mist. Yoshi sheathed his swords and picked up one corner of the heavy log bridge. He looked back at them, “Come.”

  “Come where,” Sion asked with sadness in his voice. He was kneeling beside Red, holding the dead sprite’s hand. “Modara has gone. Probably miles away if she is even still on this plane! Where are we going,” Sion’s voice was stressed and fatigued.