The lake had been visible from afar on the plain. Instead of the individual 5-6 tree clumps that dotted the plains, it appeared first as a bunch of tree clusters relatively close to each other. As the team got nearer, Jonas could initially see small splotches of blue-grey between the trees.

Half a mile out, it was revealed as a kind of expanse of water, bordered by trees, and an irregular border. What attracted the team’s attention, however, were multiple roaming packs of the Hyena dog-like creatures. Clearly, the creatures had made their home at the lake. The team had found small brooks and a few clear ponds to drink from while trekking across the plains, but this was the first time they’d seen a real body of water in the entire zone.

As they got closer, and the descriptors of the roaming critters become available, they immediately noticed that, unlike the plains with their packs of normal and minions, here, the packs consisted of one or two veterans accompanied by a couple of normal-type young Hyenas. The first ones seemed to be mostly packs in the 10-13 range.

“This looks like a serious canine gathering,” Ira said.

“I’d say it looks more like what we got in the cellars,” Jonathan noted.

Guss opined “Who’s to say lairs can’t be outdoors?”

“Your cousin?” Ira joked.

Guss snorted back.

“It seems a good opportunity to try again,” Laura added.

Jonas had to acquiesce.

“It does seem like Guss is right. Normally, you rarely see more than two veterans together, our last camp aside. Here, you get lots of them.”

He watched carefully another pack amble between them and the lake’s border, before realizing, “They’re looking to be a bit lower level than the cellar, and we’re outdoor so we can see them.”

Alton stretched his fingers silently, then settled back, waiting for the rest of the team to talk around. Jonas checked with others, but only Ira seemed to be inclined to comment further on what they were looking at.

“The thing is, they’re in packs and moving around. And more numerous than those badgers. We need to be very, very careful. If a pack spots us while we’re fighting… that wouldn’t be good.”

“Then we make sure those packs don’t come behind us. We simply kill them before moving in.”

Guss had a small laugh.

“We’re a third of the way to 10. The experience from so many veterans will be very large. We can probably make it to 10 easily with those numbers. We pace ourselves, and I should be good.”

“And only five levels to the Milestone, then,” Jonas added.

“Yes. That too. Alton and I can still withstand a normal for a time if the pack is too large,” Laura said.

Jonas looked at the group.

“Then let’s do it.”

 

 

They approached cautiously the lake and kept watching the hyenas. So far, none of the critters had noticed the six figures in the distance. Out in the plains, the pack sometimes immediately rushed them, sometimes ignored them until they were barely fifty feet away.

It quickly became apparent that a pack would run across every two or three minutes. Sometimes another would come from the other side. The team started to fret, but Jonas made a holding sign and kept watching. The packs would sometimes stop, go to the lake, seemingly to drink, before running again the other way.

Finally, he settled on a strategy.

“I’m going to catch their attention with a Fire Blast at my maximum range. Ira, I’m counting on you to distract them before they run to me. As usual, we kill in the weakest to strongest order.”

All opined, and the three melee fights spread around the Defender, as Jonas took point. He no longer felt ridiculous pointing his hand in a direction. He’d tried holding the Depleted Aetheric Focus in his left hand, but the wand provided slippery and uncomfortable there, so he kept it in his right and used his left hand to point – or sometimes just make a grasping gesture – instead.

Finally, a four-critter pack came close enough, and he launched the Fire Blast at one of the young dog-things.

 

 

 

While Ira managed to kick and slash at the two veterans coming in, the two young hyenas bounded past him, aiming straight at Jonas, notably the one whose fur he’d singed with his attack. Alton Raby knifed on the last hyena, causing it to divert its attention. With three hyenas thus occupied, the team immediately focused on the one already damaged by Jonas’ spell. The dog jumped at him, and he was, once again, impressed by the fact that the beast was huge, but not too bulky. Then he stopped thinking about dogs’ masses and concentrated on putting more magical fire in the thing’s ugly snout as he bit at his legs.

Further, in the distance, Guss watched the proceedings. He’d learned by now that his staff was useless in combat, and his fist didn’t do significant harm to the creatures they fought, compared to the weapon-wielders or Jonas. The notifications provided by the Labyrinth helped to gauge that. No points vs six to ten damage? Easy decision.

The time to provide help – as a Mender – would come soon. Or rather, now, as Ira’s health kept falling.

 

 

So far, neither Jonas nor Alton had suffered any significant damage. But Ira was dealing with two veteran hyenas, and both critters were not just using sharp claws. They also had a much sharper mouth.

Putrescent Bite succeeded. Putrescent Bite avoided. -2 physical potentials, -1 health/sec.

“Don’t worry, Ira. I’m on it,” Guss reassured him.

Guss grasped his boar staff in both hands as he fell into the rhythm of applying heals in a chain. He couldn’t simply let healing flow, there was a specific cadence to it. Like taking deep, steady breaths, punctuated by Labyrinth notices which he simply ignored, as he knew perfectly well their content. He didn’t have to point or anything, there seemed no ambiguity to who he was healing. After days of using the skill, it came almost naturally.

Jonas was also paying attention to the team descriptor, and for pretty much the same reasons, although he also kept sending point-blank fire. The balls didn’t splash upon hitting, merely adding more and more blackened fur spots all over the hyena’s skull.

Despite the wounds inflicted by the team, its own attack didn’t slack nor weaken. Jonas was thankful for the fact that his Labyrinth clothes refused to tear. The claw’s raking across his legs and mid-section was painful, but he didn’t have to face the wounds. They’d disappear as health came back up, but you could ignore them. More or less.

The hyena in question had its own health drop to zero finally.

Alton’s still just over half health, Guss won’t waste aether on us, he breathed.

The Piercer suffered less damage since his leathers offered more protection. Not much, but still.

Laura and Jonathan fell on the second young, and the beast’s reported health started to fall seriously. With four on him, the hyena’s health fell far faster than the one Jonas had been tackling.

Finally, the second hyena emitted a last, loud, burst of insane-sounding laughter, and fell on the ground next to his sibling, and the whole team switched to helping Ira. Jonas pointed to one of the veterans, attracting their attention.

“Ira’s been hammering that one good, let’s finish it.”

Once the third hyena fell, the fight’s conclusion was all but assured.

 

4 Plains Hyena, 1547XP/6 contributors = 258XP

 

“Going to need a serious break to recover my aether to full,” Guss warned.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to risk it,” Ira said as he fell on the ground, groaning slightly. He waved a denegation sign at Guss when the latter sent a Minor Heal Wounds.

“Keep regenerating. The putrid bite from the hyenas just vanished from my descriptor, so my health is going to come back.”

“All of the vitals have been coming back faster,” Jonas acknowledged.

He was tapped out of aether. Chain-casting the Flame Bolts did exhaust all of his reserves. Thankfully, they slowly started to come back after a break, but that kind of fight drained him worse than the three melee fighters. Simply using weapons used a bare sliver of endurance.

He pulled out his sleeves, checking one arm that a bite had reached. The red welt was already fading, little trace of the fangs on a still-unbroken skin.

It only hurts a bit, and after the combat focus fades, he remarked internally.

That left him to wonder about the regeneration part. That health came back, and with it, any visible wound would vanish, they’d already known since their first encounters with the small cats. But the speed at which it came now, at level 9, was impressive.

“No wonder Professionals are considered scary,” he said.

“Uh?”

“Oh, sorry. Thinking out loud,” he apologized. “I was watching my health regenerate. Aether might be faster, but health…”

“Make you wonder how the Indians managed to keep them Chinese at bay for two years,” Jonathan replied from where he was keeping a lookout at the roaming hyenas.

“That too. There are probably tactics, but give them a moment, and they’re going to be back in top shape.”

“Give us,” Ira emphasised, hauling himself back up.

 

They did pick two more wandering packs of hyenas, then debated whether or not to take a break at noon. Nobody had had a hunger or similar notice provided by the Labyrinth, and no mundane grumbling stomachs either, but the habits were there, and Jonas agreed they needed one. They finally decided not to chance the roaming dogs jumping on them while they were eating even a light collation. Retreating a bit further into the plains. Jonas had spotted a tree clump earlier, and they sat under the leafy canopy there. Despite the sun at the zenith and the cloudless skies, the day was only slightly warm. A few last berries and the plains-variant sweet apples of the single fruiting tree went down as a light meal.

After the lunch, they moved back to their previous spot out of the range of the roving hyenas, and Jonas started picking up packs as they came nearby.

Surprisingly, one of the hyena packs’ veterans rewarded them with a piece of loot.

 

 

“Lucky,” Laura remarked.

“Yea. The gear still appears, but it’s all down to chance,” Jonas commented.

“Not much,” she replied.

By consensus, this one went to Jonathan who had the flimsiest tunic of the melee group. The newer tunic looked sturdier to Jonas, although he was still baffled by the origins of the leather used in the Labyrinth.

At least I was better than this at the craft after six months of apprenticeship, he noted proudly as the Watcher shoved the prior gear in his bag.

 

 

“We haven’t seen any roaming pack for a while now. Let’s go and check the lake itself,” Jonas offered.

“Packs are mostly a problem because there are more critters, but they’re not that hard,” Ira acquiesced.

While they approached, they spotted a small group of hyenas, with two seemingly trying to sleep, while three were playing with each other. A quick check confirmed that the sleeping hyenas were veterans, while the small ones were minions “cubs”.

Rather than trying to attract their attention from afar, the team rushed to the shore after verifying one last time that their surroundings were clear. The veterans woke up to the frightened yipping of the minions, but the combat didn’t last any longer than the previous ones. They stood on the shore of the lake, looking at the scenery.

Laura pointed out the various irregular bends of the shore.

“Looks like there are more bushes and trees on those semi-islands.”

“It’s called an isthmus,” Guss helpfully provided.

At the interrogative looks, he added, “I had a teacher that said you weren’t British if you didn’t know everything about land and sea.”

Most of the team groaned while Alton took a wistful expression. Jonas surveyed the lake in turn and designated one of the clumped trees to the side.

“This one’s closest.”

“Why are we checking this in particular?” Ira asked.

Jonas almost answered, but Jonathan cut him short.

“If this is a lair, that’s probably the ‘room’ where the elites are. Want more equipment? That’s where it is.”

The team moved clockwise on the lake’s shore, picking fights with two additional hyena packs on the way, and a third roaming one that Jonas noticed coming in time.

“We’re close to level 10? Do we check on the elite right now, or try to get some experience from the last hyena packs?” Laura asked.

“Let’s see if we can spot it from here,” Jonas offered in return.

 

 

The hyena was seemingly asleep on the very shore, and unlike his brethren, alone. Jonas spotted a half-buried moss-covered box a bit further behind the slumped beast.

“Ok, that’s a real lair. The hyena is named after the lake and there’s one of those treasure storage boxes.”

“Good. And it’s a bit weaker than the first badger we did, while we have more levels,” Ira added.

Jonas turned back to the team.

“Guss, try to check if hyenas coming behind us by surprise. You don’t need to look at Ira to heal him, right?”

Guss bobbed his head in confirmation. Ira took a run-up, then rushed.

 

Hyena stink affects you. -1 Mind every 4sec

 

“Now that’s a stink.”

“You got a lake for washing,” Alton joked in return.

Then he frowned.

“Shouldn’t bother me. It was way worse in London,” he said.

Ira pummelled the beast while the team moved in position.

 

 

“Hey, got a new skill!”

“Maybe that’s because you’re using a two-handed sword now,” Alton speculated.

Jonas waved his hand, throwing yet another Flame Bolt.

“Focus, chitchat later.”

 

Plains Lake Hyena: 915XP/6 contributors = 153XP

 

“And that’s it. No surprise attack,” Guss confirmed, pumping back Ira’s health up the maximum in case hyenas came on the small peninsula to investigate their older clan member’s demise. Meanwhile, Laura checked the box behind the hyena’s corpse.

 

 

“Not quality-level stuff,” she lamented.

Alton came to check the knife. With the descriptor, it was obvious which profession would be able to use it. The man looked wistfully at his old iron knife with its worn wooden handle.

“It’s going to feel weird,” he said.

“It’s better?” she asked.

“It’s got no descriptor, but you can guess by the notifications from the Labyrinth. I get between four and eight damage per knife hit. These two will do more, and more regularly,” he replied.

 

 

Jonathan slapped Alton on the shoulder.

“Good for you. And now, we’re only one or two packs away from 10.”

Guss called out from behind.

“Saw one coming around the lake, but they didn’t spot us here.”

Jonas pointed the way right from the group, keeping clockwise around the lake.

“All ready? Let’s go!”