The Land: Catacombs (Chaos Seeds Book 4) (22 page)

A new spell was now in his mind, ready to be used.  The next thing he had to do was load his Ring of Holding.  He went through his spell list, weighing the pros and cons. 
Charm I
had been his go-to spell, but it wouldn’t work on whatever monster they were probably going to find.  His eyes landed on
Paralysis Beam I
and he decided to give it a shot. 

Focusing on the spell, he summoned the energy but didn’t finished the casting.  After three seconds, his mana dropped by thirty-nine and the clear gem on the ring became filled with a faint green light.  The spell had been stored. 

He handed the Mapping Ring to Sion and explained its use.  The sprite happily accepted and slipped it onto his finger.  Richter looked at his Map and saw that large sections of the forest lit up brighter than before as the Map updated itself with Sion’s travels.  Some rivers widened, and the density of trees changed as those areas of the Map came to reflect more up-to-date information than what had been seen by the Traveler who made the map hundreds of years ago. 

As a final preparation, Richter handed out his remaining health potions to everyone and also gave each a Potion of Clarity.  They all downed the experience potions and he gave another to Alma, who tilted her neck back and quaffed the contents of the vial. 

With all that done, Richter smiled, looked around and said, “Let’s do this!”

CHAPTER 14
 

The war party took off at a jog.  Sion, Alma, Jean, and Richter cast
Haste I
on everyone in a round robin to increase their speed.  Terrod led the way, heading south and east.  The hunters had told the captain that several monsters had been seen in that region in the past few days.  It seemed like a good place to start.  While they moved, Richter pulled up next to Terrod.  He wanted to discuss his questions about being a war leader and also to put some space between himself and Beyan.  The gnome was already complaining about having to move quickly while in armor.

“I had no idea how useful the War Leader skill was.  I don’t know what it meant by badges and promotions though.  Do you have any idea from your days in the Yves army?”

“Only loosely,” his Companion replied.  “I was never high enough in the ranks to work under a war leader, so everything I know comes from soldier’s gossip.  Basically, whenever a war party fights there is a chance of them gaining a group ability called a promotion.  I don’t know what earns it, but I do know that it usually has something to do with how they fight.  Mountain fighters can get +10% to attack in the mountains.  Survivors of a siege can get +10% defense in a city.  The promotion only works if the fighter and the war leader both have it and are working together.”

“Okay, promotions definitely sound like they could come in handy.  What about badges?” Richter asked.  He marveled at the capabilities of his body here in The Land.  There was no way that he could have held a conversation like this while running with his old Earth physique.

“I know even less about that unfortunately, my lord.  The basic difference between promotions and badges is that while promotions require both the war leader and fighters to have gotten the bonus, badges only require that the war leader has gotten a bonus.  I heard that General Jameson has a badge that drastically increases the movement speed of his armies.  He is famous for quelling an uprising in an eastern duchy and then force marching his men to the other side of Yves to fight off an incursion of Gold Plains raiders.  Again, all this is hearsay, my lord.  I am afraid I do not know anything more.”

“It’s more than I knew. Thanks, man.”  Richter sped ahead.  As he looked around, he noticed a new icon in the corner of his vision. It was an axe and hammer crossing over a shield.  He focused on it and a translucent window appeared.  

*Base Values not adjusted for Characteristics or War Leader bonus

**Cumulative Armor Base Value not adjusted for Characteristics.  Damage will only be calculated based upon the specific armor piece struck. 

The War Leader skill could apparently give him an abbreviated status page for each of his party members.  Terrod and Sion’s info was clear, but when he tried to access the values for party members other than his Companions, he just received a short message saying his rank wasn’t high enough to have that information.  Just another reason why he would have to level up the skill as quickly as possible.  Richter dismissed the window and bent his attention to examining the tracks that he could find. 

He saw plenty of small game trails.  Squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits abounded through the verdant forest.  Following those small prints were occasionally the tracks of wolves and foxes.  He saw another set of prints that he didn’t recognize, but that Sion identified as a mountain lion’s.  They found nothing that seemed beyond the capabilities of village hunters, so he kept the party moving. 

After a while, Terrod pulled up next to him again. “Can I have a word, milord?”

“Of course, Terrod.  What’s on your mind?”

“I know you have a lot on your mind, your lordship, but I’m still worried about the people we left behind in Yves.  Saving them won’t fix all the ills in the world, but it will make a world of difference for them.  I can’t sleep some nights, thinking about what they must be going through.”

Richter nodded grimly. “That’s been in the back of my mind as well.  Between the bugbear attack, your abduction, and the new villagers, though, there barely seems to have been any time to think.”

Terrod stopped running, an alarmed look on his face.  The other members of the war party slowed as well, but Richter waved them on, saying he and the captain would catch up.  The other fighters moved on.  Terrod said, “My lord!  I never meant what I said to sound like a recrimination.  I am so very thankful that you saved me from that crazy woman and the Warrior she was with.  I know that you have done your best.  You saved my Isabella and so many others.  You must beli—”

Richter held up a hand to stop his captain’s babbling. “I didn’t take it as an accusation, Terrod.  Before I say anything else, I want you to know that I am always willing to listen to you.  If there is anything that is concerning you, anything that you want to discuss with me, not only are you welcome to, but you are ordered to.  Okay?”

Terrod looked relieved. “Thank you, my lord.” 

“Meanwhile, I’ll tell you that I gave Randolphus some papers I had taken from Count Stonuk.  He told me it was encoded, but that he would try and crack it.  I confess that barely a day goes by without me asking him to do something else.  Despite everything that needs to be done, you raise a good point, Terrod.  We can’t just forget these people.  Will you give him the ledger you took from the Night Blades’ chest?”

Terrod immediately agreed, confessing his frustration that he had not been able to decipher any more of the encoded text.  Richter nodded and called out, “Futen!”

The glowing ball floated up. “Yes, Lord Richter?”

“When you see the chamberlain again, tell him I want the Night Blade ledger to be made a priority.”

The remnant voiced assent and Terrod looked at Richter with grateful relief.  The two men quickly clasped wrists and then took off, quickly catching up with the other members of the war party. 

The Air casters re-upped the
Haste I
buff on the party regularly as Sion and Richter kept searching.  They staggered casting the enchantment, buffing half the group, then five minutes later buffing the other half.  It let them get around the one-minute cooldown on the spell and keep up a fast pace.  Richter was delighted when he found an unexpected benefit of the speed they were going—Beyan ran out of breath and so could no longer complain. 

They kept up their pace for about thirty minutes.  The speed was well below Richter’s top mph, but he was planning for a marathon, not a sprint.  The tracks he found continued to be relatively benign and he started to wonder if they should search in another direction, but then Sion called out.  They slowed to a stop, and Richter jogged over to see what his Companion had found.  

Richter bent down and examined the print on the ground.  It glowed faintly just as all of the other tracks he had seen, but the color was slightly darker.  It didn’t have the intensity he had seen in the tracks of sentient beings, but the difference between it and the tracks of normal animals was clear.  The print looked a lot like bear tracks that he had seen, but it was twice as big and the claw imprints were much more pronounced.

“What is it?” he asked Sion quietly.  He had no idea how far away this thing was.  The track looked reasonably fresh.

“It appears to be a really big bear,” Sion said.

“Thanks, Kemosabe,” Richter said sarcastically.  “I thought you might have something more to add.”

“Well I don’t,” Sion snapped, matching Richter’s sarcasm with irritability.

“Hisako said you sprites fought off monsters around the Hearth Tree all the time.”

“Yes we do.  In case you have forgotten though,
Lord
Richter, the Hearth tree is more than a hundred miles south of here.  You live in the shadow of the mountains!  Who knows what monsters could have come down into the forest because some gyoti decided to reawaken a sleeping Place of Power?”

Richter glared sourly at the sprite before saying, “I can’t hear you from all the way down there.”

“You will hear me!  You will hear me when my arrow goes up your—”

Sion’s shouted threat was interrupted by a deep and bellowing roar.  Then they heard the sound of snapping branches not more than forty yards away.  The two Companions looked at each other and said simultaneously, “Look what you did!”

*Big bear!  Big bear is coming!
*

Richter and Sion straightened quickly.  Sion ran to a nearby tree and scurried up into the branches.  Richter drew his elementum short sword and shouted, “Something is coming!”  Most of the party formed up into a loose line with him and prepared their weapons.  Beyan hung to the back, cursing and holding his crossbow, and Jean took position beside him.  Another roar sounded and then the beast came into view.

Barreling through the thick foliage came a wall of fur and muscle.  The basic structure was of a bear, but rather than a shaggy coat, its skin sat taut over powerful muscles like the hide of a lion.  Two round ears framed its head, and its large mouth was open and slavering.  Richter could see four massive fangs as long as his forearm, two protruding from the bottom and another set in place of its incisors.  Each fang was a pure white, like fresh cream.  The pelt was brown in color, and a stripe of spiky hair ran down its length like a Mohawk.  Three wicked and long claws tipped each of its four paws and were the same color as the fangs. 

Richter
Analyzed
it.

Saber Bear.  Level 19. Health 810.  Mana 120.  Stamina 710.  Saber bears are dangerous predators that are fiercely territorial.  They are often found near mines of metallic ore.  They are able to ingest this ore and through a passive use of magic, can digest it to grow their claws and fangs.  These natural weapons will be made of the latest metal the bear has ingested. 

Once the saber bear saw the war party, it stopped and looked at them before letting loose another bellow.  With its powerful forepaw, it swung at a nearby tree.  The trunk was five inches in diameter, but it was sliced in half by the razor-sharp claws of the monster.  The top half fell to the ground with a resounding thud that they all felt reverberate through the ground.  The bear looked at them again.  The message was clear: “Ya’ll stepped into the
wrong
neighborhood!”

Richter looked at the downed tree, then back up at the ten-foot-tall animal.  “Kill it!” he shouted.  Raising his hand, he unleashed his stored
Paralysis Beam I
at the same time that Ulinde fired an ice arrow. 

The beam struck the bear in its side as Ulinde’s arrow struck its right shoulder.  The arrow had more of an effect.  The bear seemed to just shrug off the paralysis spell.  The ice arrow sunk in two inches and frost spread out from the wound.  The arrow was just a small irritant to the bear, though, only taking off a small fraction of its health.  With an irritated bellow, it charged forward. 

The saber bear crossed the distance to the fighters in two long bounds.  It had its arm raised to strike Richter when a lightning bolt struck it in the back of the head.  Alma pulled out of her bombing run and swooped past the stunned monster.  Krom struck it with his hammer as it slumped, and Sedrin jabbed his large spear at its neck.  The hammer sunk into the meat of the bear’s shoulder with a wet
thwack
, but even Krom’s ebony hammer couldn’t force the giant bear to fall.  Sedrin’s spear pierced its skin but caught on the collarbone, which stopped the thrust before it could sink too deep. 

At the same time, Jean the Air mage and Beyan loosed their crossbow bolts.  The shots went wide thanks to the panic both men were experiencing.  Thankfully Terrod and Caulder kept their heads and moved to either side of the bear, hacking at it with their swords. 

Richter took advantage of the bear’s disorientation to cast
Slow I. 
His fingers moved into a new configuration and a word of Power flew from his lips.  One second after he began, the spell completed and a blue glow enveloped the bear for a split second.  The stun from Alma’s lightning bolt wore off, and it rose to its feet, but its movements were noticeably slower.

It roared in anger and pain and swiped at Richter.  The chaos seed was too close to dodge, but he had enough time to swing his sword up to meet the blow.  Green elementum met white moonstone and the glass blade cut into the bear’s paw and severed all three claws.  Guess you should have snacked on titan steel, Richter thought grimly.  The saber bear screamed, and as soon as it brought its paw back down, it surged forward to bite Richter.  Its movement was too slow, though, and this time Richter was able to dance back out of the way. 

Ulinde shot another arrow, which tore into its cheek and got caught in its thick jaw muscle.  Sedrin had lost his spear when it had attacked Richter, so he faded back, but the captain and sergeant continued to attack it from the sides.  With a quick dart forward, Caulder stabbed it, the blade sinking through muscle into the organs beneath.  A gout of blood covered the guard as his weapon did its brutal business.  Terrod’s target was more surgical.  He sliced along the back of the beast’s right leg, cutting through muscles, but unfortunately no major tendons were severed.

Jean and Beyan were still reloading their crossbows, which actually pleased Krom to no end.  Without having to worry about being shot by some amateurs, he raised his heavy weapon again.  Howling, he brought the hammer down on the bear’s front elbow, which crumpled inward from the blow.

The bear crashed to the ground with a deep-throated scream.  As soon as it collapsed, a glowing blue bolt struck the creature’s back with a loud boom.  Caulder and Terrod were knocked off their feet by the resulting shockwave and fell onto the ground. 

Richter moved back in as the creature mewled piteously and cast
Soul Trap. 
Looking up into the trees he thought, *
Finish it, my love.
*

Alma swooped down and latched onto the bear’s head.  The pitiful mewling turned into a strange keening as Alma mentally drank all of its experiences.  Richter moved around to the side and drove his elementum sword into its side.  He poked around a few times until the tip of his sword punctured the large monster’s heart.  It gave a final sigh and died.  A rainbow swirl of color rose into the air, spiraling around all of their heads before diving into his Bag.

Richter withdrew his sword and looked at it.  The beauty of its green glass was obscured by bright red blood which extended down to his hand and wrist.  He realized with an odd detachment that he must have pushed his hand inside of the animal’s body while he was trying to reach its heart.  Behind him, Sedrin cheered.  To his side, Caulder and Terrod good-naturedly argued over whose sword thrusts had been better.  He looked to the left and even saw Beyan and Jean exchange sheepish smiles. 

Richter looked back at his bloody hand and remembered the horrible sounds the animal had made before the end.  He understood that this thing was a danger to his people.  He understood that he had a responsibility to deal with these kinds of threats before one of his villagers was killed.  The animal had seen so much more… real than his other enemies though.  Fighting skeletons, ghouls, rock giants, or a giant skeeling had always seemed like he was battling something unnatural.  Like he was fighting against the powers of darkness or something.  Even killing sentients like the bugbears, Night Blades, and kobolds hadn’t bothered him overly much.  Those situations had always been kill or be killed.  Seeing this bear being slowly and bloodily… deconstructed, though, shook up something inside of him.  It had just been an animal.  A baleful, savage, and magically enhanced animal, but he couldn’t say that it was evil.  He couldn’t justify calling it a monster. 

Richter looked at the bloody meat in front of him and then back at his red hand, his red sword, and the small drops of scarlet that were dripping from the blade onto the green earth.  In his mind, Richter replayed the scream as its elbow snapped, the pathetic mewling as it collapsed to the ground, and soft
wmpfh
as its last breath left its body.  The smell of hot copper was filling his nose and his tongue experienced the faintest taste of pennies to mix with the nausea broiling down in his stomach.