Ikfael signed that the invaders were approaching from the southeast. I climbed an oak at the top of the cliff for a better view, but there wasn’t any sign of them yet. The woods were still riled up from the storm earlier, so my spirit eyes weren’t of help either.
Ikfael hid in the bushes below the tree. She chirruped to get my attention. “Wolves,” she signed. “At least five.”
Yuki had already passed a warning to the blynx, so she and her kittens were safe inside the cave. How safe would depend on how we handled the wolves. Five was… an uncomfortable number. I quickly climbed down to get ready.
I dabbed chishiaxpe poison onto my arrowheads just as a wolf carefully stepped out from the greenery surrounding the pool. There was just one for now. He was taller than me—about four feet from the ground to the base of his ears. His coat was a mix of platinum and gray fur, and even at a distance, I could tell his paws were enormous. He paused to sniff and listen.
Silver Wolf (Animal) Talents: Gifted Tracker, Keen Senses, Hardy |
I took a breath and mentally ran through the order of spells I’d be using: enchantments on my bow and arrows, then Dog’s Agility, and as many Spiral Pierces I could release before having to reposition, then Camouflage and Scentless Hunter. But first, the other wolves had to show. I didn’t want to waste the ambush.
The wolf scout approached the pool to drink. That must’ve been a signal, because three more wolves followed him into the open. They were of a similar size and coloring, but some had spots. No… those were clotted wounds.
I readied my draw, but hesitated. Where was the fifth wolf? A quick glance didn’t show anything approaching my position.
Yuki?
There are no disturbances in the qi nearby, they said.
I checked the other wolves’ statuses for anything out of the ordinary. There were talents like Swift, Relentless Hunter, and even a Playful Mouser, but nothing resembling hiding skills, invisibility, or anything like that.
The wolves stayed at the edge of the pool. Two, the ones with the most apparent injuries, laid down to rest while the others stood watch.
I glanced at Ikfael. She held the magic knife in her paws, but her posture was a thinking one. She must’ve felt me watching, because she looked my way.
“Where is the fifth wolf?” I whispered.
Ikfael nodded to show she’d heard me and gestured toward where the wolves had first emerged. It was still in the bushes, then. Maybe it was shy?
“Well, I’m not going to wait any longer. Four is good enough.”
Ikfael nodded and readied the knife. The scent of water mana wafted from her. As I drew the bow and clad the arrow in Spiral Pierce, the fifth wolf stepped into the open. My target shifted, and I blinked to get a read on his talents before releasing.
Moonlight Wolf (Animal, Dawn) Talents: Moonlit, Discerning Eyes, Uncommon Wisdom, Leader of the Pack, Beloved of Leiluminwei |
His eyes immediately snapped to our position. Already at the edge of releasing, I loosed the arrow. Dog’s Agility sped through my limbs and fingers, and I almost instantly had another arrow nocked. The target, however, was gone. The moonlight wolf—all the wolves—vanished, and my arrow broke against the stone.
“Oh, hells.” I covered myself in Camouflage and Scentless Hunter, grabbed Ikfael, and dashed to a hiding place farther upstream. It was the same spot where we’d hidden when we killed the unideer.
Breathing hard, I settled into position and readied to draw again. A minute passed. Then two and three. Ikfael squatted alongside, peering with me into the darkness. After a half hour of waiting, nothing had emerged.
Yuki, can you ask the blynx to investigate? I hesitated to make the request, but I figured she’d be able to stay hidden through Camouflage and blink away if she was spotted. However, it would mean leaving the kittens—
We have talked to the kittens, and instructed them to hide under the bed. They were admonished to be quiet.
What? How?
With their mother’s permission, of course. Don’t worry, we were careful not to harm them while inside their bodies.
I… okay, that’s fine. What about the mother? I asked.
One moment…. Yuki’s attention focused on the blynx. She’s puzzled about the promised protection. Hiding is acceptable, but there was an expectation that the spirit’s defense would be more active.
We’re working on it! I said, frustrated. It’s why we’re asking for help, so that we can move to the active phase. We just need to know where the wolves are first.
One moment… Oh, that’s interesting… We wonder…
What? What’s going on?
There’s a wolf out in the open, Yuki said. The moonlight one.
And the others? I asked.
Gone, Yuki said. Or at least nowhere the blynx can see.
I didn’t trust that the wolves weren’t somehow in earshot, so I put down my weapons to free my hands for signing: “Yuki says there’s only one wolf by the pool. The others are gone.”
Sitting on his haunches, Yuki said. Like he’s waiting.
Oh, I didn’t like that. Not one bit. I asked Ikfael, “Can you send a water projection to see if we can bait them out?”
“Yes, I’ve learned a trick or two recently.” Ikfael’s smile was wicked, and I was reminded of just how sharp her teeth were. “This will be a good mission for Knight Otter.”
We snuck back to the edge of the cliff to overlook the Glen. The moonlight wolf sat exactly where Yuki had said he was. I readied my bow and nodded to Ikfael. She nodded back, and suddenly there was a disturbance in the pool below.
An otterized human pulled herself from the water along with a spear. My breath caught—that was Bearbane, the spear she’d been gifted by Inleio. A quick glance to the side showed Ikfael grinning wide. She’d never been able to carry something as heavy as a spear with her water creations before.
The Knight Otter strode toward the wolf. I prepared to draw, but the wolf didn’t react to her approach. None of the other wolves appeared either.
“Does he know she’s not real?” I whispered.
Ikfael didn’t answer. She had the knight strike a pose, a hand on her hip and spear resting on the ground. The wolf watched her, and his head quirked to the side.
The knight reached down and flicked a pebble at the wolf. His form shimmered as it passed through. I sighed in understanding—what we were seeing was an illusion.
Then a small stick flew out from the bushes. It bounced off of the knight’s body, but caused the impacted area to wobble. I caught a hint of spirit from where the stick had originated, but it was gone before I could react.
We were at an impasse—both their illusion and ours were recognized. I tossed aside several plans as unfeasible or reckless given how little we knew about the moonlight wolf’s abilities. Unless… the wolf’s name is literal and his ability is tied to the moon? In that case, we could wait him and the other wolves out. Dawn was only an hour away; the sky was already starting to edge lighter in the east.
I whispered to Ikfael. “Let’s wait to—”
A wolf came out of the bushes, one of the injured ones. His steps were tentative, but he approached the Knight Otter and lay down in front of her.
What’s this? A sacrifice? Payment to let them stay in the Glen?
Another Knight Otter appeared, shimmery and not as stable as Ikfael’s creation. She stroked the injured wolf’s fur. The area where her hand touched glowed, and the injuries healed. A second injured wolf appeared, and the scene repeated itself. A third wolf stepped out from the bushes, carrying something in his mouth. I couldn’t make out what exactly, but she placed the item in front of the second Knight Otter. It looked to be a payment in exchange for the healing.
The wolves promptly vanished, along with the second knight. They’d fooled me again; I had been sure the injured wolves were real.
The illusion of the moonlight wolf reappeared and waited for the Knight Otter’s response to their offer.
“What do you think?” I asked.
The knight gestured to the wolf to wait, then returned Bearbane to the pool. Once the spear was safely stowed, the knight dissolved, the water spilling back into the pool.
“I don’t know,” Ikfael signed. “What do your eyes tell you?”
“I see: Moonlit, Discerning Eyes, Uncommon Wisdom, Leader of the Pack, and Beloved of Leiluminwei.”
Ikfael seemed to be startled by the name, quickly signing, “What?”
“You know this Leiluminwei?” I asked.
“He is another spirit of the land,” Ikfael said, tapping her chin in thought. “His avatar is a great egret. I’ve met him once or twice.”
“Does that mean he can be trusted?”
Ikfael looked at me, her eyes stern. “No, of course not. But if it’s an exchange, it should be all right.” She gazed at the wolf below. “That he has chosen a beloved is surprising. No wonder the wolf’s ability is so strong, Leiluminwei invested his power in him; I wonder what the wolf gave up in return.”
There was a lot to unpack in what Ikfael had just said, but my curiosity would have to wait—at least until the wolves were gone. I cleared my throat. “Let’s skip this fight if we can. No need to offend another spirit if we can avoid it.”
“I agree,” Ikfael said. Her next signs were brisk, like she’d made her decision. “Follow—I may need your hands—but stay hidden until I call for you. If things go badly, I’ll pull them into the pool while you attack from Camouflage.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Not a good one, but it will do for the situation we’re in.”
Ikfael hiked down to the pool with the magic knife still in her paws. I took a more surreptitious route, sneaking from one tree to the next.
The illusory wolf perked up at her approach. A stick flew from the bushes, but Ikfael batted it aside. She snorted loud enough for me to hear it from a hiding spot behind a maple tree.
The wolf bowed as if in apology, and his body dissipated like smoke. His likeness then stepped from the bushes and laid something at Ikfael’s feet. Metal glinted at the end of a… strap? Maybe it was a belt? I couldn’t quite tell.
Ikfael squatted to consider the item. The moment drew out, and the wolf shifted a time or two, waiting for her decision. Another wolf came out into the open and placed a second item on the ground. That one was too small for me to see.
Ikfael nodded and placed both items in her pocket. The wolves visibly sagged in relief, and the remaining members of the pack came out of hiding. They fell in exhaustion at the otter’s feet. All except for the moonlight wolf. He remained standing, even as the illusions surrounding his body evaporated and revealed his wounds.
He was covered in burns and cuts, and his silver fur was mangled and matted. It was a wonder that he was still alive. The other wolves were just as bad, the true extent of their injuries revealed at the same time.
Ikfael sighed. She gestured for me to join her, and I stepped out of hiding, letting my spells and the land go. The blynx continued to watch from Camouflage, and I was okay with that. It didn’t hurt to keep a card hidden away just in case.
I brought out the Grace bowl too, but Ikfael nixed the idea with a quick shake of her head. “You share yourself too easily,” she signed. “For this, healing only.” She gestured to one of the injured wolves, and said, “Start with this one. We’ll meet in the middle.”
The wolf eyed my approach but didn’t shy away from my hands. His ribcage was exposed by a gash, and there was a cut across his nape. Another couple of inches and it would’ve severed the blood vessels leading to his brain. Had it been the giant owl? That would explain the cuts, but what about the burns? Given the way this world works, it might still be the owl.
“You’re lucky to be alive, aren’t you?”
The wolf quirked his head, not understanding my words. I kept talking anyway, keeping my voice low and gentle. Ikfael snorted, but that didn’t stop me either. I cast Healing Water twice on the wolf to close his wounds, and when I was done, he popped up to stand guard over us.
I moved on to the next wolf. A bad burn had devastated this one’s face; one of her eyes was gone, the flesh blackened and suppurating. It smelled like burnt hair and bad barbecue.
The Healing Water spell couldn’t save the eye. Instead, the flesh and skin closed up, leaving the socket otherwise empty. Thankfully, the pus that’d started forming was gone, as were the other signs of infection. Two more casts of the spell and I was out of mana. The wolf was still injured, though, with more burns on her body. I’d need to meditate to recover my mana for more healing spells if I wanted to see her healthy.
A quick glance toward Ikfael told me that she was still working on the moonlight wolf. He was surrounded by five bowls, each with a different item suspended in water. It was the first time I’d seen the ritual being used on someone other than me.
I would’ve loved a closer look, but my questions would have to wait until the wolves’ suffering was eased. I closed my eyes to meditate—
—and opened them up again only a few minutes later when Ikfael placed a paw on my shoulder. The wolves were all on their feet, staring to the south. The light surrounding them shimmered, and they disappeared. They must’ve had the power to turn invisible in addition to being able to create illusions.
“Another creature has entered the Glen’s territory.” Ikfael wrinkled her nose. “It smells of undeath.”
“Back to the top of the cliff?” I asked.
Ikfael nodded, and we hiked up for the second time that morning. By that point, the sky had lightened—the clouds’ edges turning rosy pink—and I was able to see well enough without having to enchant my eyes.
We waited, but whatever the creature was, it was slow. A ponderous amount of time passed.
I found out why when a giant… Brussels sprout about eight feet tall became visible through the foliage. The creature had four stubby legs attached to a square-ish base, and the whole body flexed as it moved, stepping with two feet at a time like a caterpillar inching forward. Except, each time the body bowed, a maw at the top opened to release a hazy gas.
A bird fell from a branch above, and a vine snagged it out of the air and stuffed it into the creature’s maw. The vine had whipped out almost too fast to see. Four of them stretched from each of the creature’s corners.
Hellmouth (Undead, Dusk) Talents: Poisoner, Choking Death, Death Grip, Whirling Death, Flourishing, Death Incarnate, Smoldering Rage |
What the hell? Like seriously… what the hell? The hellmouth zombie owned three talents with the word death in them. It would’ve been four if one hadn’t been crossed out.
The trees and bushes around the hellmouth withered. Where it passed, the living died.
I glanced at Ikfael, looking for reassurance that we could tackle this thing, but she gazed down at the creature with troubled eyes. It was the first time that I had ever seen her truly disturbed.
“Do we run?” I asked, whispering.
“I can’t,” Ikfael signed. “I made an exchange to protect this place. But I can release you from yours. You won’t be able to live here anymore, but you’ll be safe.”
“No way. I won’t leave you to face this thing alone.”
“Don’t be a fool. Take Yuki and the blynxes and run. You don’t need me anymore. With your skills and talents you can easily make a life in Voorhei.”
“Ain’t happening, my dear Dr. Otter. I made a promise to help you defend the Glen, and I keep my promises. Besides, I’ve already died once before. I’m not afraid to do it again.” That was a big fat lie, but it sounded cool.
“Can we expect any help from the wolves?” I asked.
“Not if they’re as smart as I think they are,” Ikfael signed.
“What about the elder under the pool?”
“She will not be disturbed, no matter what.” Ikfael made a chopping motion to cut the idea short.
“I see. Okay, then what about you? Any hidden abilities or secrets to make this easier?”
“No.” It was a flat denial, but she glanced sideways at me. “Not yet, anyway.”
“So it’s hit and run, then,” I said, ignoring the trembling of my hands. “And we hope for the best.”
“I’ll fight from the water,” Ikfael said. “The poison won’t affect me, but you need to keep your distance. Stay out of reach of the vines too. Tell Yuki and the blynxes to do the same.”
You heard that?
Yes, but we should also join consciousnesses. It’ll help us better coordinate.
Right. That made sense. I should’ve thought of it myself, but the animal fear chittering in my head was making it hard to focus. Merging, we closed our eyes to send a prayer to Helen and our grandparents, to Diriktot and Meliune, and to the Deer God.
Our body hummed as the qi conserved within Yuki surged into Ollie/Eight’s body. It flowed in the intricate pattern of Dog’s Agility combined with Spiral Pierce. We opened our eyes and drew the bow. The arrow thrummed with power.
We smiled, though our expression was grim. “Showtime.”
A loud crack disturbed the early morning quiet. Our arrow punched through the mist and into the hellmouth, then sank a quarter of the way into the creature’s carapace. Our smile turned into a frown, and we released another arrow. This one sank halfway—still not deep enough to disrupt the zombie’s core.
Beside us, Ikfael disappeared into the stream. In her place, down below at the pool’s edge, Knight Otter appeared once more with Bearbane in hand. Her thrust was clean and elegant.
A vine knocked the spear aside before whipping back to cleave the knight in half. The two sections re-formed in the vine’s aftermath, and she thrust again.
We sent another two arrows downrange. Flexing the qi within Spiral Pierce to the utmost, we aimed for where we’d struck before. Both arrows punched into the carapace within inches of each other, but the creature buckled as it moved, making it impossible to ‘Robin Hood’ our arrows and hit the exact same spot each time.
The hellmouth’s vines whipped through the knight like a blender, and Ikfael couldn’t maintain the cohesion of her creation’s body. Bearbane dropped to the ground, water splashing around the spear.
The creature trundled in a circle to point itself toward the hillside. Knight Otter re-formed behind it, picked up Bearbane, and attacked. Except, the hellmouth sensed the approach, and blended her once more.
The hellmouth took a step to approach the hillside, but the knight wouldn’t stay down. She thrust, and the vines whizzed through her. Yet again, her body was disrupted, causing the water to fly in all directions.
We let Dog’s Agility go. The hellmouth was slow, and Ikfael was making it even slower. We did not need speed for this fight. No, this was a battle of endurance and attrition. It was also a puzzle; we had to find a way through the creature’s defenses.
We could continue casting arrows in the hopes of creating a weak spot in the carapace and breaking through, or we could attack a natural weak spot—say, the hellmouth’s maw. That idea appealed to us; it would be so satisfying to drop down on unaware prey like we had done so many times before as the uekisheile.
We looked at our bow. Though it was a friend to us, it didn’t have the weight of a proper hunting bow. Even if we managed to weaken the carapace, there was no guarantee our ensorcelled arrows would pierce deeply enough.
So, from above it would be then. How nostalgic.
“Lead the creature to the cliff face! We’ll attack the mouth!”
The Knight Otter nodded and dispersed—flowing across the ground to rise up closer to the cliff. She stayed out of the vines’ reach in order to lure the hellmouth in.
Yet the creature refused to approach. The knight was out of vine’s reach, but the creature was also out of her spear’s reach too. Nothing she did could threaten the hellmouth without coming closer. The only real damage done to it was through our arrows, and the creature was intent on heading in our direction.
Until the moonlight wolf arrived, appearing in the air. His illusion snapped at the hellmouth before reappearing beside Ikfael. Four more wolves followed, each seeming to attack before teleporting to a new position next to her. The wolves harried the hellmouth; their illusionary bodies didn’t do any damage, but they didn’t take any either. The vines whipped through them, just as they whipped through the knight.
They created a distraction for Ikfael, though, and the little minx made good use of it. She had a hidden card, after all—a stone javelin shot from the cliff face to blast into the hellmouth’s side.
The knight stopped moving then, and Ikfael materialized out of the cliff face to fall to the ground, gasping. That attack must’ve drained her.
The hellmouth shook in rage and began a slow charge toward Ikfael. We expected her to shift away, but the otter seemed to be struggling to pass through the stone. She laid her head against the cliff face, but nothing was happening.
Dog’s Agility flowed through us, and we dashed down the hillside. It was just ten steps altogether—a single heartbeat under the influence of Dog’s Agility—but it was enough to reach the area above the hellmouth. Then, we forced qi into our core, back, legs, and arms—we tugged our muscles close to our bones and balanced the push and pull within our body—to bring us to a sudden halt and create a stable firing platform.
We focused so intently, our qi tasted of ozone and nitrogen dioxide.
The world went still. The thrum of power disappeared. There was only us, the bow, and our prey. We drew. The hellmouth’s maw lay below us, open and belching poison.
A crack echoed like thunder, signaling to the world our determination to hunt. Our arrow descended like lightning.
The impact rippled through the hellmouth. The carapace bulged, and then sagged. The vines buzzing around its body slowed. As if it couldn’t believe the reality of its situation, the creature slumped. The massive weight of the bulb was suddenly too much for the stubby legs to carry. The shattered core’s darklight escaped into the air.
We had pushed too hard—the muscles all across our body felt like they were on fire. The stable platform we’d created collapsed, and we lost our footing, tumbling over the side of the cliff. Ikfael, exhausted, saw us. Her paw reached out, and a billowing wave of water broke our fall—like splashing into a giant bowl of jelly—then carried us to where she lay slumped on the ground.
We smiled, satisfied. “It was a good shot.” Then we grimaced as a wave of pain overwhelmed our body. We’d managed to sprain so many muscles; truly it was a remarkable feat.
Ikfael shook her head in disbelief, but said, “Yes. Yes, it was.” Somehow, she found the strength to splash us with Healing Water, and the pain receded.
We looked in concern at where the hellmouth lay dead. “What about the poison gas?”
Ikfael closed her eyes, the exhaustion plain on her furry face. “We should be safe as long as we don’t get too close. The gas will dissipate in about an hour or two.”
“Oh, good.” We lay back beside her, just as exhausted as she. There wasn’t anything else left for us to say or do, so we let our merged consciousnesses divide.
I looked over with worry at Ikfael. “You okay?”
“Tired,” she signed.
“Yeah, that stone javelin must’ve taken a lot out of you. I thought you said you didn’t have any secret abilities?”
“Not a secret,” Ikfael signed. “Just something I’ve been reluctant to practice. I… I’ll tell you about it sometime.”
The wolves came out of hiding then. For some reason they were wary of me, which I found funny.
“Peace, friends.” I gestured toward the dead hellmouth “Everything’s taken care of.”
Ikfael nudged me. “Not quite. We need to move the body. It stinks.”
“But it’s enormous,” I said. “And still releasing poison gas for another couple of hours. That’s what you said.”
Ikfael quirked her head at me and waited.
“Oh, all right. Fine. As soon as the poison is gone, I’ll deal with it.”
Ikfael smiled, pleased with herself.
“I just want to clarify. There’ll be no poison remaining in the body once the gas is gone?”
Ikfael nodded. I passed the message along to Yuki, who passed it onto the blynx, who in turn made sure the kittens behaved.
There was much to do—a carcass to haul away, silverlight to collect, and wolves to heal—yet none of it could happen immediately. The poison had to dissipate first, and our magical energies needed time to recover.
The wolves didn’t rush us. Instead, they watched with thoughtful eyes as Ikfael and I leaned against each other in the early-morning light.
