Path of Dragons

Screams of agony and fear echoed off the walls of the ruined buildings, accompanied by the thudding sound of Grod’s heavy boots hitting the remnants of the flagstone street. The big ogre had already disappeared around a corner, heedlessly charging into danger.

Elijah and Venka were far more cautious.

“He always does this,” the hill goblin breathed. “I think he forgets he’s not a Warrior.”

“Really?” Elijah asked.

“Jeweler, believe it or not. I guess some stereotypes are there for a reason, though. He never met a battle he didn’t want to participate in,” Venka said as the pair trotted around the corner. What they saw was both expected and not – the former, because the people who’d just broken away from their impromptu party had been attacked and were in the middle of losing a fight. The latter, due to the form of their attackers.

There were ten creatures, vaguely humanoid in shape, but with marbled blue-and-white skin, four spindly arms, and skeletally thin bodies. One of them had already wrapped its limbs around the lead elf, but aside from restricting her movement, there was something else going on. Ethera swirled around the two, misting into a visible cloud.

The other five weren’t doing much better, though they’d at least managed a token resistance. However, Elijah quickly discovered that they were far from strong, which probably explained why they were so quick to flee the battle that had erupted back in the domed chamber. The avoidance of conflict came from the knowledge that they would’ve probably lost.

Not so with Grod, who barreled into a trio of those spindly-armed monsters, swinging his huge fists like battering rams. The first went flying into a nearby wall with enough force that it should’ve toppled the ruined edifice. Yet, it held firm – as did the monster, who rose only a moment later to throw itself around one of the other elves.

That was when Venka arrived, suddenly producing a pair of long knives and falling upon the remaining pair of monsters assaulting Grod. Those were far more effective than blunt force, and in the space of only a moment, the air was filled with oddly glowing white blood.

Not wanting to show all of his cards, Elijah cast Healing Rain, then started throwing out instances of Soothe. His first target was Grod, who’d already taken some damage from the enraged monsters. Unlike the method of attack they’d employed with the others, they didn’t try to wrap themselves around him. Instead, they fell upon him, biting and clawing like rabid animals.

Despite his large size and durable appearance, Grod was a Tradesman, and as such, he didn’t have the Constitution one might expect from a being his size. So, the monsters ripped into him without issue, rending his meaty flesh with every attack. Fortunately, his low Constitution also meant that, comparatively, Elijah’s healing spells did more for him than they would have for a Warrior his level. Because of that, he was able to keep up with the damage, especially with the addition of Nature’s Bloom, as well as the enhancement provided by his new staff.

And it was clear that the monsters weren’t entirely unintelligent, because they quickly identified the reason the big ogre remained upright. Two of them raced toward Elijah, reaching him before he could blink. Fortunately, he’d spent quite a lot of time drilling with his chosen weapon, so when he reacted on instinct, his efforts were effective.

His staff swept out, cracking one of the monsters in the hip and sending it stumbling away. Then, he thrust the weapon at the other creature, taking it in its emaciated chest and stopping it cold. That’s when he let loose with Storm’s fury at point-blank range. The spell, channeled through his staff, hit the monster with the force of a sledgehammer, scorching its chest before sending it arcing through the air. It landed, digging a groove in the loamy turf that covered most of the street before coming to a stop only a moment later, where it lay twitching as lightning forced its muscles into involuntary convulsions.

For Elijah, the sight of the seizing monster was enough evidence of the efficacy of his spells, so he aimed another bolt of lightning at his other attacker as it tried to climb to its feet. It never made it, taking a cast of Storm’s Fury in the face. It flipped, end over end, before coming to a rest at the base of a pile of moss-covered rubble.

But none of the creatures had died yet.

Venka was busy ripping into his own opponent, each swipe of his blades tearing vicious wounds in the spindly monster’s body. It proved surprisingly durable, though, and despite bearing a dozen deep lacerations, it still managed to put up a decent fight. Meanwhile, Grod laid about him with fists the size of bowling balls, each blow sending a monster flying away. However, his efforts weren’t very effective, and the creatures recovered from the attacks quickly, rejoining the fight in a matter of moments.

By comparison, though, the ogre and hill goblin were doing far better than the other six. Elijah suspected the lead elf was already dead, and the portly human man leaned against a wall, his entrails spilling out. Meanwhile, the feather-haired women darted around in an effort to avoid the rest of the monsters.

Despite Elijah’s efforts in healing, everyone but Venka and him sported grievous wounds. And though his heals were powerful, Elijah knew that he couldn’t keep up. Not so long as he was trying to heal everyone. Already, casting multiple instances of Nature’s Bloom had taken a bite out of his pool of ethera, and it would only take a few more before he needed to start rationing his energy.

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So, he made a choice. Or rather, a list of priorities. His own health came first, but then came Grod and Venka. A long way after that were the others. They’d made their choice when they had decided to go off on their own, and while Elijah wasn’t quite so petty as to completely refuse to help them, they came in at a distant fourth-place in his list of priorities.

As Elijah healed, he defended himself with his staff. Fortunately, Storm’s Fury didn’t take a lot of ethera – comparatively speaking – so he made liberal use of the spell, sending bolts of lightning arcing out each time he saw an opening.

The first to die was the portly human. Elijah suspected he possessed a non-combat archetype, because he didn’t seem to have much in the way of defense. Perhaps he’d come with a group, thinking that he could rely on his companions to defend him. However, with the randomness of their entry locations – after all, none of the people from Ironshore had been in that domed chamber with Elijah – the pudgy man’s fate was sealed.

After that came two of the feathered women, both of whom died with their throats ripped out. Then, the elven leader finally gave in to the monster wrapped around her. And the final three died just as unceremoniously, leaving only Elijah, Grod, and Venka to battle the remaining monsters.

Six of those creatures had already died, but the four that were left were clearly the most powerful. More disturbingly, the one that had killed the elven leader was among them, and it looked stronger than ever, with its spindly arms and legs having grown a bit of muscle since the battle’s beginning.

Elijah batted one of the monsters aside, then retreated a few feet. He knew they weren’t going to win if he didn’t show at least one more of his abilities. So, he embraced Swarm, and after a few moments, let loose the spell that manifested hundreds of glowing insects. To Elijah, they looked a little like fireflies, though emitting blue light instead of the more natural bioluminescence he was used to. They did not act like the mundane insects with which Elijah was accustomed, though. Instead of flitting around aimlessly, they immediately targeted the blue-and-white creatures and dove. The little insects didn’t bite or sting. Instead, when they splattered on their targets, they did so with an explosion of caustic goo that delivered their afflictions.

In seconds, the swarm was gone, but they left a host of painful damage in their wake. The four-limbed monsters howled in pain, but they didn’t cease their attacks. Yet, with every passing second, they slowed a bit, leaving themselves vulnerable to reprisal. Venka and Grod took advantage of the provided openings, renewing their attacks with even more fervor.

Meanwhile, Elijah continued to heal while using his weapon’s advantage in reach to stave off any enemies that targeted him. Like that, the battle shifted, and all but one monster – the most powerful among them – perished.

That was when that lone survivor grew desperate and threw itself at Elijah.

Of course, he wasn’t taken off guard. Instead, he met it with a baseball swing that hit its surprisingly solid shins. As he made contact with the creature, he used Storm’s Fury, effectively electrifying his blow. Even as the current arced through the creature’s body, its momentum sent it flipping, end-over-end, and into a wall.

Elijah followed it up with Snaring Roots. Thorny, white vines erupted from the ground, wrapping themselves around the prone monster. It tried to break free, but with the increase in efficacy provided by his Staff of the First Dragon and advanced Core cultivation, Elijah knew the spell would hold for a few seconds longer than normal.

That was all the opening Venka needed.

He dashed forward, his knives glowing with black luminescence as he fell upon the helpless creature. Even as it thrashed and tried to rip itself free, Venka slashed into its marbled blue-and-white flesh, sending arcs of pale blood to splatter the nearby ruins. Still, it took more than a minute before the monster finally gave in, its death filling the air with unnatural silence.

Venka’s chest heaved as white blood dripped from his face. Then, he looked back at Elijah and nodded. Upon scanning the bodies all around, he grinned. “We should take their stuff,” the hill goblin said. “Waste not, right?”

Elijah just shook his head, then ran his hand through his unruly hair, his fingers catching slightly on the headband that was part of his Armor of the Boar King set. He didn’t particularly like the addition, but he’d convinced himself that it made him look a bit like Conan the Barbarian. That was enough to assuage any lingering doubts about wearing the piece. Besides, its inclusion was necessary to complete the set.

“I guess,” he said, glancing back at the scene of the battle. They’d been in the Trial grounds for less than an hour, and already, six people were dead. Were they just unlucky to have been attacked so quickly? Or was it truly as dangerous as it seemed? Only time would tell. He glanced at Grod, who was just staring at the dead bodies. To Venka, he asked, “Is he going to be okay?”

“Grod has a complicated relationship with fighting,” the hill goblin said, already kneeling beside one of the slain elves. He unceremoniously stripped her of any valuables, which included a pouch at her waist that clinked with coins, as well as a few rings. He held one of those up to the sun, inspecting it as he explained, “Ogres aren’t known as the most peaceful race, and rightly so. They tend to fight first and ask questions later, if you catch my drift. Grod is different, but he’s not that different. He still feels the urge of his instincts, but he usually feels guilty after he gives in to them. I tried to tell him this place wouldn’t be good for him, but he insisted on coming.”

“You two came here together?”

Venka nodded. “Been friends for as long as I can remember,” the hill goblin said. “We’re a team.”

Elijah nodded, though he didn’t know how a Jeweler and a Hunter might help one another. More importantly, he wanted to know how the two managed to end up in the same place. So, he asked, and Venka gave a simple shrug before saying, “No idea. This whole Trial of Primacy thing was difficult to research. It’s something of a rite of passage for newly touched worlds, but each one is different. So, we didn’t know what to expect. Just got lucky we ended up together. And with you. Don’t think I don’t appreciate all that healing.”

“No problem,” Elijah said. “But I think we need to get this done as quickly as possible, because I can’t imagine we’ll want to be here when more of these creatures come around.”

“Not going to argue with that,” Venka agreed. “We’ll pool all the loot and divide it when we find safety. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Elijah said.

Then, he got down to the business of looting the corpses.

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