Book 3. Chapter 34

Book 3. Chapter 34

Brin woke up suddenly in a cold sweat. The nightmare that had awakened him faded from his mind, but it hadn’t really been about anything, just a sudden spike of fear and panic that pushed him out of slumber.

The camp was quiet and dark; it was still a few hours before dawn and the bonfire that they made each night had sputtered out, but from what he could tell the night watch was still in place. A guard visible past the ring of wagons scanned the forest, moving his head back and forth slowly the way they had been trained.

He should probably go back to sleep. He'd stayed up late hunting monsters with Hogg and now it was way too early to be awake, but he didn't know if sleep was an option. His heart was still racing.

Before he had a chance to decide, the guard he could see stepped backwards to knock on the wood of the wagons. Some answering knocks came from around the circle of wagons.

What would the guards do if they saw a monster at night? Would they wake someone up to go after it, or would they--

"Alarm!" the guard shouted. "Wake up! We're under attack!"

Brin heard a squeal, as Big Ron was the first to react to the alarm, and then suddenly everyone was shouting. Zerif stepped out of his tent, still wearing a plush nightgown. He clapped his hands once and then said, "Organize a defense!"

He didn't speak in the Language, but it almost felt like he had. The words had the weight of a Skill behind them, and the effect was immediate.

People launched out of their bedrolls as if carried by psychic force. Brin found his weapon suddenly in his hand as if it had jumped there on its own, and he found himself moving to the outer ring of the camp, sure of where exactly he could best pitch in without really understanding why.

Jeffrey's lute sang out over the din, and Davi's joined it. The song washed away the last remnants of haziness from his mind and reinforced the impression that Zerif's Skill had given him. He knew exactly where to go, and felt overflowing with energy.

He couldn't see what had attacked, his view blocked by the running adults, until he reached the outer ring of the caravan and saw the enemy.

Snakes, hundreds of them. They moved in a roiling mass, tumbling over each other like a green wave. They were all different sizes, but most of them were foot-long babies, no wider than his pinky. Only the numbers were a problem.

He saw the guards to his left and right pale at the sight and take a step back. Both were just [Merchants], neither of them had any combat skills past the spears in their hands.

Brin shouted, "Close your eyes and cover your ears!", using Sound Amplification to make himself heard. He blocked his own ears with sound magic and then flung two glass balls at the swarm and cast a Flashbang into each of them.

Even through his eyes the flash was painfully bright, and when he opened them he saw the swarm scattering. They fled in every direction, including towards him, but at a manageable number now.

He stepped forward and started stabbing and slashing at the snakes. They were surprisingly hard to hit, and a few got passed and simply slithered under his feet.

"Protect the goods!" he heard Zerif call, but it's not like he wasn't already trying. There were just so many!

Once they had recovered from the flashbang, the two caravan guards near him started stabbing and slashing with their own weapons. They worked methodically, cutting through the snakes with surprisingly dexterity. One of them hissed and pulled a biting snake off his thigh to toss it into the swarm, but then he stoically kept fighting.

Brin heard a high-pitched roar, and Marksi crept up to stand next to him. He was moving slowly, no doubt still digesting that beast core they'd given him last night. Brin was honestly surprised to see Marksi up and moving at all. From the corner of his eye he could tell that Marksi was barely staying on his legs, but the few times a snake got close enough to reach his feet, the little dragon snapped out and ended the things in one vicious bite.

As the swarm died down, Brin started to realize that the Flashbangs hadn't completely scared away any of the snakes. The ones who'd run at first were slithering back around to attack from a different angle. He'd cleared his area, but at the expense of the rest of the camp. About when he made that realization, he felt a hand clamp on his shoulder.

It was Pio. "Bang balls. You have more? Give some to me!"

Brin handed all of the sound-enchanted balls he had left, six of them. Pio threw all six to the far side of the caravan, where they exploded.

By the time Brin released the silence spell around his ears, Pio was already shouting. "--to me! Come! Come all snakes and follow me! This way, yes, come!"

Pio ran into the forest, and the swarm of little snakes followed him. He pulled them from all directions until it looked like a green stream following him through the woods, and ran out of sight though Brin could still hear him yelling.

He noticed at once that not all of the snakes had followed Pio. Three much bigger ones must've had the mental fortitude to resist [Beast Master] Skills, because they held their spots, shifting around in the forest nearby. They watched Brin and his companions, maybe hoping or waiting for an opening.

Brin heard a soft growling sound, and looked down to see Marksi. His lips were peeled back in a snarl, and there was hate in his eyes.

Did Marksi hate snakes? Brin had never heard Marksi growl at anything before, and he hadn't even hated the undead this much.

Since it didn't look like the giant snakes were going to strike, Brin took the time to summon a pair of glass javelins. ""

Both javelins speared the snake he was aiming at, killing it on the spot. The other two ducked to the ground and darted forward quickly, so Brin held his spear, ready.

Marksi took a couple steps towards them, but then tripped on his own legs. He slunk back weakly, looking ill at trying to move too quickly on a full stomach.

The guard to Brin's left waved his spear, causing the snake on his side to slip back, so Brin joined the guard on his right to stab down at the other snake. It evaded Brin's spear, but the guard stabbed straight through it, pinning it to the ground. With it held in place, Brin pumped some mana into his spear and slashed, cutting it in half.

The three of them worked together to take out the last giant snake, cornering it and killing it quickly.

That was it for the immediate danger. Should he join the fighting somewhere else? The music was telling him to stay in place, but that was general orders for the entire caravan, so that no part of the perimeter was left uncovered. He should probably stay where he was, but he wanted to see what Pio was going to do with all those snakes following him.

Brin picked up Marksi and put him on his shoulders, and then ran towards the head of the caravan.

Zerif and Hogg stood over a carpet of dead and bleeding snakes, and past them there was an [Earthmover], probably the caravan's only one, digging a hole. The man pulled on his magic while miming pulling the earth with his arms, casting intuitively without the Language. The hole was twelve feet deep, six feet wide, and growing every second.

Pio arrived. The shirtless man was sprinting across the ground, chased by a writhing mass of slithering forms. "Big enough. Get ready to close it!"

He leapt over the hole, clearing it with a foot to spare. He turned and threw both hands out wide. "Come in! Come inside!"

Jeffrey and Davi's music faded from Brin, leaving feeling oddly hollow, but the song didn't stop. Instead, all of the power seemed to concentrate on Pio and only Pio.

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Brin stabbed the monster as it tried to press the advantage. It hissed in pain, which gave Pio a good idea where it was. He slugged it in the face, knocking it off balance.

Zilly [Dashed] back and landed a [Kick] square in the thing's chest. It rebounded by clawing at her again. She actually managed to parry one claw with her sword, but the other slashed her again.

She [Dashed] away.

Brin stabbed out with his spear, but the Snake King ducked under it and slithered back, satisfaction glowing in its slitted eyes. It thought it was winning.

It slithered around to Pio's right, and the [Beast Master] made no indication he noticed it. Brin called out a warning, but the monster was already attacking. Quick as lightning, Pio grabbed the snake around the neck, and held it pinned where it couldn't bite or scratch him.

"Now!"

Zilly [Dashed] at them and Brin could feel the sudden pressure from her sword that meant she was using [Overload]. She cut straight through the monster's throat, but she was being over-careful of not hitting Pio and didn't go very deep. It thrashed in his grip, slipping away.

Brin got there just in time, stabbing the Snake King as soon as it left Pio's grip. Even then it thrashed and fought, but Brin's spear kept it in place long enough for Zilly to finish it off with another [Overload].

You have defeated: Snake swarm. You have defeated: Basilisk (17)

Level up! 33 -> 34 +5 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

[Call Sound through Glass] has leveled up! 28 -> 29

He'd leveled. He couldn't believe he'd already leveled up again! He only had one level to go for 35 and some real [Illusionist] utility.

Basilisks must be powerful, because even at only level 17, he hadn't gotten a message telling him his experience was reduced. A high level one must be an absolute nightmare.

The music stopped, and Zerif called out to tell everyone they could open their eyes again.

Brin stepped towards the corpse, wanting to see it now that it was safe to look with his own eyes and without [Directed Meditation] keeping his thoughts focused.

It didn't look like much now that it was dead. Marksi hissed and spat at the creature, still furious at it even though it was dead.

"You really don't like other snakes, huh?" said Brin.

Marksi twitched his tail for no, then huffed at Brin in annoyance. He pointedly walked back to Pio's wagon, and climbed up on top to go back to sleep.

"It's possession," said Pio. "This caravan is his, yes? He doesn't like others of dragonkind to contest his claim."

"Hm." Did Marksi think that Brin was his pet? Well, he supposed it didn't really matter as long as he behaved. "So what would've happened if we looked at this thing? Do they really turn people to stone?"

"Paralysis and death," said Hogg.

"Not likely with this one. It's a juvenile," said Pio.

Zerif stepped forward, dabbing his brow with a handkerchief and looking down at the dead basilisk in alarm. "I still call it an excellent precaution. Thank you, Hogg. Not a single member of my caravan lost their life today. You promised not to let anyone die, and you have kept that promise. Indeed, you have!"

"It is good. It's good that we killed it," said Pio, still looking at the basilisk.

"Yeah," Brin agreed.

"Even a juvenile is a danger. If not to us, then to others."

"That's true," said Brin, not quite getting what he was aiming at.

"A basilisk is too dangerous for a [Beast Master] to tame. They are too dangerous to keep." Pio looked like he was trying to convince himself.

Brin understood. He put a hand on Pio's shoulder consolingly. "You did the right thing. But tell you what: Next dragonling we find, I promise we'll try to take it alive so you can keep it as a pet."

"Thank you," said Pio.

Zilly stumbled over to the base of a tree and collapsed, breathing heavy.

“Right!” said Zerif with a cheery smile. “We should tend to our injuries. Starting with your village girl, I think.”

“Right,” Hogg agreed.

Zerif winced. “I only wish we knew what was causing all these attacks. First the bandits, now this...”

"Me too." Pio nodded.

Hogg nodded.

Zerif crooked an eyebrow, then sighed and shook his head.

The three of them split apart, to go help the wounded.