When it landed, it seemed to be far enough from the creatures it would just have been a question of walking to it and picking it up. I lost track of it after that in us getting across the pit and it being too small to distinguish among the other lines that made up the floor. Also, must have lost track of the creatures while we rested because now that can make out my bow, they are over it, batting it around between them.
It’s silly, but I can’t shake the image of a herd of cats playing hockey with it.
If not for the fact we need to go through them anyway, I suspect Helen would advocate for me letting them have it.
Without my bow, I equip my sword and shield. This is going to put me closer to them than I’d like, but it got to get done. Hopefully, Helen has something with more precision to it than her fireballs.
I nod to Silver, and she plays. When the explosion happens. I run toward the creatures. I get more definition from the lines as I approach and their shapes feel more canine than feline. Also, there’s eight of them and they’re about the size of the warg that nearly killed me. I try really hard to remember I’m now level twelve, and not the noob I was then.
But I did win even then.
I don’t stop at the halfway point; I keep charging. My sword bites into flesh when the swing connects, so that’s good. It shakes, and the motion sends me off my feet. Not so good.
I bring my shield up and it mindlessly snaps at it as I get to a crouch and stab it. I’m on my feet, bursts of heat telling me Helen’s killing some, then I’m reminded it’s only the two of us, against them. One of them bites my ankle and yanks me off my feet. An eighth or so of my health is gone. I sit, stab and it lets go. The other bites my shield arm and throws me away.
Another eighth maybe? And a broken arm debuff.
I’m on my feet, shield arm dangling, against two of them. Really wish my dodge was higher, because each hit I score costs me health.
“Get clear!” Helen yells, and I wish it was that easy. They aren’t dumb animals. Anytime I move in one direction, they both move to intercept me, one in front and one behind, to take advantage of my back. The best I manage is to keep both at my flanks, which is only marginally better as we whittle each other down.
I think they have more health than I do, each, and I can’t tell how close to dead they might be. While I’m close enough to half of it gone my Grit Strike ability kicks in. I hope I remember how it works, because I’m going to need every damage bonus I can get.
I put it behind the slash, and my stamina flashes as some of it vanishes. I connect and short of pulling up my combat log and comparing the damage against everything before—which is going to get me dead quick—I can’t know if it did any good.
The other one takes another bite of my health.
“Damnit Dennis! I can’t hit them safely with you there!”
“I’m trying!” I yell back. Only thing I have going for me is that the lower my health is, the higher the bonus to the damage I do gets. This is why Brandon lets himself get hit so much. He also has a bunch of other abilities that help keep him there, instead of this killing him.
I so can’t wait for my Second Wind ability to be accessible.
I slash and stab; one, then the other.
And my health keeps dropping.
As does my stamina, with each Grit Strike I make.
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When one of the creature falls and doesn’t get up, the relief nearly gets me killed. I’m on my back, the other growling as I crawl away, and it follows.
The fireball that consumes it shaves off more of my health, but at least it’s over.
I force myself to my feet.
Like hell I’m taking for granted this is over. We’re in a dungeon. Monsters could jump out of the walls to finish us off, for all I know.
I’m down to what? The last tenth of my health? Below that? And not one skill level? That’s not fair. I should get something for nearly dying here.
I start falling, then someone’s holding me up.
“Easy there,” Silver whispers. Fuck, I want those lines gone so I can look at her face. She helps me to the wall and eases me down.
“Feels like I was here only minutes ago.”
She chuckles. “You kind of were, but back there.”
“Right.” You know what. Fuck it.
I kiss her.
I almost pull away because she stiffens, but she grabs my head and won’t let me as she kisses me back. Man, this is good.
It takes someone clearing her throat for me to even consider ending it. And Helen doing is a second time, with more insistence before we break apart. Glaring at the hint of Helen through contour lines isn’t the same as doing it to her face.
“I don’t think now’s the time to make out,” she says.
She clearly hasn’t heard some of the stories I have about the people going in the dungeon north of Court. But now that the adrenaline’s dropping, and the bloods flowing back into the rest of my body, the pain’s settling in.
Fuck, I hurt.
I down a healing potion. “Go over the corpses. See what’s left behind that we can use. I’ll help as soon as I’ve healed enough to move.”
“Stay there, lover boy,” she replies. “I can handle looting bodies.”
I am so glad this kind of sight doesn’t come with heat vision. “Sorry,” I whisper to Silver. “I don’t know what came over me.” Oh, that is such a lie.
“I have no complaints,” she whispers back.
When my health stops moving, it’s barely at the halfway point.
Helen hands me a healing potion. “The dungeon has to want people to make it deeper, because those wolves each have a healing potion.”
I drink it and take the other two she hands me.
“Maybe it considers anyone who survives a fight worthy of continuing?” Silver offers.
Helen shrugs. “Dennis, have you considered what were going to do for sleep? We’ve been in here for hours, and you, at the very least, are going to need actual rest at some point if you keep getting in to fights.”
“I don’t think we can head outside for it.” I pull on every thread of memory from listening to people talk about dungeon raids they’ve been on, of have heard about. “I think, that us being in slows the regeneration of the creatures. If we leave, we’d have to fight some to get back here.”
“Would the trap be reset?” Silver asked, and I shrug. I don’t recall anyone going into details about how those work.
“I figure we continue as far as we can, then look for a defensible position. One of us stands guard while the other two sleep.”
“Are attacks while we sleep something we have to really worry about?” Helen asks.
“You want to risk not waking from your sleep at all?” I counter, then get to my feet. “Let’s keep going.” I pick up my bow. “And let’s be more careful about traps. When we stop for dinner, we can see about finding a place to sleep.”
My entire body’s stiff as we get moving, but I stretch as we go, and by the time we find the next pact of wolves, I’m ready for them.
Author's Notes
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