Chapter 21 E.

 

       Citrus and flowers tickled my nose. The soft itch of hair on my face brought my mind back to my body.

 

       “Three alphas outside…” the gruff voice of Lucius whispered in the warmth of the tent.

 

       “Sippsie’s asshole, you’re sure?” Titus responded.

 

       “Yeah, big enough definitely.”

 

       “Best wake the others then. Time to get up.” Came the unmistakable voice of Titus.

 

       “I’m up,” I said, rolling side to side and waking the curled forms of Ashley and Rachel. Each had had their faces pressed firmly to me under each arm.

 

       “What is it lovesss.” Branwen asked.

 

       “Three Alpha’s outside. They can’t get in, so they are waiting.”

 

       “Ugh… More sleep…” Ashley moaned loudly. 

 

       “Got a few things to kill; best get up.” 

 

       “Can’t you do it…” 

 

       “Don’t be a baby; we will make cossa after their deaths.” Rachel said, reaching over and pinching Ashley’s butt. 

 

       “Eee…Fine. I am going to kill those fuckers. Before cossa, they are asking for death.” Ashley said, a hint of icy rage wafting from her.

 

       “Armor on,” Titus commanded.

 

       Everyone got ready, strapping on their full gear and checking to make sure they were prepared for a fight. Milly still looked half asleep as she strapped her shield to her arm, though her tongue poked out between her lips in concentration.  

 

       We stood by the door and listened to Titus, “Right, Lucius, take the left, I’ll be center, Chariklia, and Clymiphae to the right of me. Branwen, my love, I want you behind us but go high, make sure nothing is going to drop down on us. The rest of you come out behind us and take them down when you get the chance. We’ll hold them for as long as we can to let you get the kills.”

 

       We all nodded our understanding as we lined up in front of the tent flap. Untying the leather thongs that held the door closed, Titus counted down, “3, 2, 1….”

 

       They dashed out, each of the Titans shield members taking their assigned place. I was the first of our group out into the dark cold. The low light slightly disorienting for a second. 

 

       Branwen was up on the top of the teepee, and Sasha flung herself up after the catkin as well. The woosh of arrows soon followed.

 

       Reverberating growls filled the air from the mouths of the wolves. Their bodies were easily half again as tall as me. White fangs bore down on the shields of the group while heads tried to shake loose the blocking appendages. 

 

       “Just as We practice, Brie!” Lucius yelled over the rumble of the dark gray wolf attached to his shield. Brie was a fast blur of red tails, swords coming up from under Lucius to stab into the underside of the wolf. 

 

       Allie held one paw at bay on her shield, with Clymiphae blocking the rest of the stark white wolf. Her sword was darting out to rend the flesh of its leg and along the side of its body.

 

       Chariklia and Milly took hits on their shields; Chariklia’s spear was used for blocking as Millys newfound love of smashing was being demonstrated by the wet-sounding smacks of her hammer. The skull of the wolf her target, but the neck or side of its body just as good of a resting place for the head of her war hammer.

 

       I lunged in next to Titus, taking the moments of distraction provided to nick the exposed throat of the black wolf towering above us. Thrusting and slashing blood found its way to the ground and on my armor. The steady rhythm of arrows firing, pin cushioning the wolf’s body played a cadence to my cuts.

 

       The wolves, once latched onto the shields, were single-minded in their attempts to dislodge the items. I lost track of what happened as Titus brought the head down in a cross hold with his shield and spear, laying the flayed head of the monster near my feet. Without hesitation, I plunged my sword tip into the eye of the beast, stilling it as the brain was destroyed.

 

       The crackling buzz of lighting filled the air as two stun disks were thrown by Rachel. Lucius and Chariklia’s wolves convulsing as blue lightning tore through their muscles. Allie, Brie, and Milly fell on their incapacitated foes. Whimpered cries whined from the dying wolves, the smack, smack of Milly’s hammer undulating the pitch of one.

 

       “Everyone good?” Titus asked.

 

       “Yes.” The group answered, sounding in better spirits.

 

       You have killed a:

           Lupus Alpha. Level 32. 9500 XP.

 

     You have leveled. Level 34. 100/40000.

 

     “I leveled again,” came the voice of Brie and Allie. 

 

       “I gained a level also, Master,” Milly said, walking up to me as Sasha dropped down to the ground with Branwen.  

 

       “Cossssssaaaa…” Ashley moaned out as she stomped back into the teepee. 

 

       “I’ll butcher the wolves. We can have them for breakfast.” I said as I moved to the bodies and began dismantling them with my spell. 

 

       Teeth, claws, hides, and meat secured in the saddlebags, we all sat around the warmth of the fire-eating. Hot black cossa washed down the wolf meat and jerky we all ate. Vegetables had been lightly grilled, and the meal was not the worst I had ever had, considering the circumstances.

 

       Walking from the tent in a much happier mood, Ashley and the rest of us got ready to head over the bridge. The poles and furs of the teepee were stored, and soon a depression in the ground was the only mark of our passing. Long walkers on, we all headed for the open space before the bridge. 

 

       Standing in a line, we scanned the area, searching for anything that might chase us over the bridge. With determined nods, we all set off towards the oversized bridge. The moonlight let us clearly see our path as we approached. Without the shadows of the trees, it felt nearly like daylight to be able to see so far. 

 

       Skis came off as the gray stone came up under our feet. Noise felt wrong being so exposed, the cleared area letting any creature see the direction of our passing. I felt little walking over the bridge; the side rails were more than twice my height. The space between railings large enough I could fit between them. 

 

       “Giants use this, don’t they?” I asked.

 

       “Yeap and this is the smallest of the bridges. The next two have guards most of the time as well.” Lucius answered, breaking the silence not as bothersome to him. 

 

       “How do we kill a giant?” 

 

       “HA…With a lot of dogging. Titus here is probably the only one who could block a direct attack on his shield from one.” Lucius chuckled.

 

       “I guess that works.” The click of boots giving way once more to the crunch of snow when we were across. 

 

       “We’re going to be moving faster from here on out. No more ice pools after the bridge, Clymiphae; you still have the even weight dispersal ability?”

 

       “Yes, sir.” She answered. 

 

       “Good, if anyone falls or can’t keep up, say something; you don’t want to get left behind on this level. You see that great tree up ahead, sticking out of the forest. That’s our meet-up point if you get separated. Just head to it, and we will find you.”

 

       I gazed out at the massive tree; it was easily ten times the size of the others in the forest in front of us. Shaded purple bows and needles made for the only visible landmark. Reattaching our long walkers, we moved, staying vigilant as we crossed the baren snow on the other side of the ice water river. 

 

       Our pace was a steady gliding jog, Clymiphae keeping up with our strides. Large shallow depressions in the snow were keeping her aloft on the crunchy fresh powder. Plunging back into the forest, we formed a half oval. Titus led, with Rachel and me back a pace and to either side. Chariklia and Lucius were behind and to the sides of us, with Allie and Brie behind them on the inside. Milly and Ashley followed the two Kitsune as Branwen and Sasha danced in the trees to either side of the group. 

 

14:12

 

       “Sciucurs,” Branwen yelled from our right as the dark shapes of the squirrels glided down from the trees.

 

       My shield arched around my back and punted the tiny creatures in the air, which Placed them at the perfect height for my long sword to cut them in two. Dozens fell from the trees, threatening to overwhelm us. Precise arrows skewered their bodies to trees. Jabbing spears and sword slashes halted the descending frozen venomous tree rats. 

 

       Blood mist froze in the air, the ghastly bisected bodies falling limply to the forest floor. One, two, five, then ten of the monsters fell to my blade alone. The rocketing forms of the freezing fur balls crashing into trees and each other memorialized in splatters of blood with Milly’s baseball bat approach to the attack.

 

       “Ahh. My leg!” Shasha yelled from the left side as the last of the sequels died in the hurricane of our blades. I turned to my kitsune companion. One of the half-dead rodents hung from her upper left leg. 

 

       “Sasha, you’re alright; I have you,” I said, sliding on my knees to her side. Ripping the creature from her leg, its small fangs having just been able to pierce her armor and the top layer of her flesh. 

 

       “Awo…It sort of… Burns Eric.” She said as I laid her on the ground. 

 

       “I need to see the damage to heal it,” I said, undoing her belt and sliding her pants off over the frozen wound. 

 

       She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side as the rest of the group secured the area. Ashley fell on her other side, stroking her hair and looking far more distraught than Sasha did. 

 

       Her quadricep was a discolored black; a 20-centimeter oval was completely discolored; the skin, muscle, and fatwas hard as a rock. I placed my hands around the frozen wound and activated my [analyze body] spell. Frozen ruptured cells and torn membranes became clear in my mind’s eye. The damage was nearly complete from the frost venom the Sciucurs had injected. Luckily the depth of penetration was only a few centimeters deep. 

 

        Channeling my [focused healing] spell, I started on the outside edge of the damaged skin. Working from the outside in, I moved the coin-sized area of healing magic in a spiral, working towards the inside of the oval. 20 seconds later and 150 mana down, Sasha’s leg was completely healed. 

 

       “I didn’t know you could heal. So completely also.” Ashley questioned from where she was affectionately stroking Sashas hair.  

 

       “Useful thing to be able to do in a dungeon. Should we rest a bit, Eric?” Titus said as the rest of the group gathered around us.

 

       “No, I am fine. Sasha, how is the leg?”        

 

       “Feels good as new Eric. Can I pull my pants up now? My ass is cold?” Sasha smirked out at me.

 

       “Oh…yeah,” I said as I got up and helped her to her feet as well. Pants covering her once more.

 

       “Hate those things; theyss are so annoying,” Branwen said, adjusting her bow and arrows. 

 

       “Back to it, we’ll head for the giant camp, clear that out then make camp.”

 

       Jogging through the trees, we headed at a slight angle from the massive tree we could see occasionally. Its high limbs glowed in the moonlight, forming a beacon that guided us. Hours passed in the stillness, the silence. The crunching of snow was the only soundtrack to our passing. After six hours had passed, the warming effect from the jerky began to wear off, and we stopped for lunch.

 

14:42

 

       “Mana stones can only be found in dungeons?” I asked.

 

       “Yes and no. You can find them outside of dungeons; it is just the only place you can collect them are inside of a dungeon.” Rachel said as she tore into a piece of jerky. 

 

       “Where can you get them?” I asked, looking at Titus.

 

       “Depends on the level. There are a few where you can mine them, but most are found in chests. On this level, for example, there will be a few small ones in chests if where lucky. But the real place to get them is at the giant temples.”

 

       “Giant Temples?”

 

       “Yes, there are three of them on this level. Hard to clear out. The giants on this level use a form of ice magic, the priests? Shamans? that are at the temple all use magic. Their alters and buildings have dozens of small and medium-sized mana stones, though.” Titus said as we slowly started moving again. 

       

       “Two more hours, and we should see the camp,” Lucius told Brie, who was still skiing alongside him.

 

       “Why haven’t there been more attacks?” I asked the bundled, rugged form of Titus next to me.

 

       “Remember, these beginning levels are all about enduring the elements. The fact we have had so many is more unordinary. We have been through this level multiple times where the only fight we have had was the giant chief.”

 

       “Ah, easy to forget.”

 

       “That it is.” 

 

       The hours passed, the heat from my body working the skis staving off the cold. Clouds began swirling overhead, and a snowstorm looked to be in our future.

 

       “There it is,” Titus said to the group. Through the trees, the leather huts, massive in size, stood out in contrast to the white landscape.

 

       “Shall I scout it out, love?” Branwen asked.

 

       “Yes, but Sasha stays here. We do not want to tip them off that we are here accidentally.” 

 

       Branwen glided down from the hill, her from fading from view as an ability activated. The impressions of her skis fading as well. We waited, taking comfortable positions up against a few trees. The cold tried to creep in, but with all our enchantments and buffs from the food, it was held easily at bay. 

 

       Moonlight shifted as they followed unseen paths across the dungeon ceiling. Ashley and Rachel found spots on either side of me, under a thick blanket Ashley had pulled from one of her bags. Milly and Sasha, along with Allie and Brie, all huddled together close to us as well. There was no cold felt by the group, but the dim light and stinging inhalation of the frigid air made everyone hold close to each other while the Titans shield stood guard. 

       

15:00

 

       “I count only four giants. Three male and one female. Six tents, the extras are for food storage and crafting.” Branwen said as she materialized just on the outside edge of the party.

 

       “Good, not too many for our first fight with them. what types?” Titus asked, his bearded face red from the cold. 

 

       “One is a guard; two hunters, and the female is just a brood mate.” 

 

“let’s get ready then,” Titus said as we all got up from the ground.

 

       Rearranging our armor and weapons, we all clustered together, preparing for the fight. From the size of the tents, I could tell this was not going to be easy. ‘I am going to have to let out more of my power probably… Considering that what the Titans’ shield is involved in, I think it will be alright. I do have leverage on them if it comes down to it.’ I thought to myself as soft flurries of snow began to fall. I flexed my mana internally, feeling the unending course of mana pulsate through me. The ring would help, but fuck it, I was about to kill a giant. 

 

       Titus gave me an odd look as a predatory smile fell across my face as I closed the face guard of my armor.