Chapter 27

  “This is Brotherhood territory, are you trying to get yourself killed!?” The stranger asked. They wore a mask over their face with the sweatshirt hood up, making it hard to get a good look at them.

  “Yeah, I know,” Danny said. The person was smaller than him so he tried to buck whoever it was off, but surprisingly, they overpowered him.

  “So you’re one of them?” The masked stranger’s voice turned dark. Their knees began to dig into Danny’s stomach, making their opinion of the Brotherhood very clear.

  “No! A— Ash, do something!” Whatever he tried, Danny could not get free. The wolf sauntered out of the woods and growled. With an acrobatic movement, the masked stranger released Danny and faced Ash, all while unsheathing a sword and putting it between her and the wolf.

  “Monster,” She said. The stranger made a hand gesture with two fingers. Two arrows shot down from above. Ash barely managed to dodge any serious injury. The two arrows were buried to the feathers in the ground. A thin red line ran down the front of her left leg.

  “Stop!” Danny shouted. “She’s with me!” The stranger paused mid-gesture. In the commotion, the hood had fallen and a ponytail of long black hair had spilled out. Heat gathered in his face as Danny realized that he had just been pinned by a girl.

  “And who are you?” The stranger asked in a voice that Danny now registered as feminine.

  “Uh— I’m Danny?” She began to lower her hand in a signal to shoot another volley. Danny collected himself. “My friend got taken by the Brotherhood. We’re on the way to save him.”

  The stranger scoffed. “You and the wolf? You two are going to take on the whole Brotherhood?”

  “Well, I did bring some friends.” The Wyrmling army approached the edge of the forest and became visible. The stranger was stunned. With the mask, Danny couldn’t tell what she was thinking, so he added, “They’re also with me. Don’t shoot. Please.” This silence stretched on. “It’s my class, Beast Tamer, I can—”

  “You can control monsters?”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that, but yeah, I can control monsters,” Danny answered.

  “And you’re against the Brotherhood.”

  “Yes!” Danny said, somewhat exasperated. Is she even listening?

  She seemed to consider him for a moment. Then, lowering her weapon, she said, “I guess we don’t have a problem then.” There was still no sight of whoever had been loosing arrows at her command. Despite that, the tension began to melt away. Now that the standoff had ended, Danny asked who the stranger was. She took off her mask, revealing a round face with soft features and large brown eyes, and answered.

  “Not everyone is willing to stand by and let the Brotherhood do whatever they want.”

  “Does that mean you are going to help?” When he had first assembled his army, it seemed like an overwhelming force, but the Brotherhood camp was much larger than he had thought. There had to be at least a hundred people living there. Danny could easily make short work of one of the Wyrmlings, so they would likely not put up much of a resistance against the ones who had managed to kidnap Mario. More allies would be welcome.

  After a moment of consideration, she said, “We’ve never met before. I can’t go around promising aid to the first person I see, can I? If you are serious about stopping the Brotherhood, we’ll be in touch.” Suddenly, she threw something to the ground, and an obfuscating smoke spread through the area. The tree tops rustled. Danny couldn’t see anything. When the smoke cleared, she was gone.

  “That was a little extra,” Danny muttered. Although he realized it was a long shot asking strangers to assault a camp of buffed-up bikers, Danny had hoped for some added assistance. Time was of the essence though, Mario was sure to be in unfortunate circumstances… if he was still alive. Danny tried not to entertain that thought. He turned to the Wyrmlings. “Alright guys, change of plans…”

  ___________________________________________________________

  The Wyrmlings poured from the treeline like bees from a hive. Starting as black dots on the horizon, they quickly approached the camp outskirts. One was larger than the others, the Wyrmling Warrior, and threw back its head in a war cry. The sound was a mix between a hiss and a growl. It echoed throughout the charging horde as the lesser Wyrmlings answered. Danny was shocked that he could hear it from so far away. They are definitely leaning into the whole ‘distraction’ thing. Rather than a united frontal assault, the Wyrmlings would serve as a distraction. He would sneak into the camp from the side and find Mario. Together they would escape before the Wyrmlings died. It felt a little callous to just throw away the lives of his newest companions, but they weren’t alive. Not truly. Even their battle cry felt forced and stilted. Still, if they weren’t so pressed for time, or he had other options, Danny would never have resorted to this.

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  Refocusing on the task at hand, Danny noted the movement within the camp. While his army made their move, he had concealed himself in the forest. The Wyrmlings were ordered to be defensive and refrain from dealing any serious injuries. There was no way for them to distinguish between Brotherhood members and innocents, so Danny figured this would be the best way to avoid unwanted casualties. It would also allow the Wyrmlings to survive longer. They were quick. Even Danny would struggle to land a clean strike if they were fully committed to evasion. Hopefully, the Brotherhood would fare similarly. Once he was certain that whoever guarded the camp was sufficiently occupied, Danny made his move.

  He sprinted towards the camp. Ash was alongside him. Danny hoped that she would be able to sniff out Mario. With each hurried step, Danny felt more and more exposed. The campsite was well-selected. There was a significant stretch of open area between the forest and the camp, making it nearly impossible to go unseen under normal circumstances. On top of that, it was the middle of the day. Broad daylight was not exactly conducive to successful stealth missions, but had already committed to this course of action. There was no telling if Mario would last until nightfall. Danny hoped his distraction would be enough. Just in case, he had brought his staff.

  As he got closer, Danny noticed the rather dilapidated state of the tents. They were stained and erected hastily. He could hear hushed voices from within them. At least five or six people were crammed into each tent. Even with just himself, his tent wasn’t exactly spacious and these weren’t much bigger. Ash nudged Danny, pulling him from his thoughts. She caught Mario’s scent. Weaving deftly through the haphazardly placed tents, Ash led Danny through the camp. Everything was going according to plan. It seemed that any guards were responding to the Wyrmlings and the other residents were hunkered down in their tents. Danny began to believe his first rescue would be an easy one. Then he felt it.

  A sharp pain froze Danny in his tracks. A piece of him had been torn away, like a tooth pulled without anesthesia. An emptiness was left behind. Then another. In quick succession, two of his Wyrmlings had died. Ash looked back at him, noticing he had stopped. It was hard to breathe. Danny began to suck in air. In, out. In, out. But the emptiness was stealing the air from his lungs. He collapsed onto his hands and knees. What happened when one of his Bonds died was something Danny had never considered. This wasn’t normal. Deep in the middle of enemy territory, Danny’s spirit was assaulted as Wyrmling after Wyrmling fell in battle.

  Ash nudged the heaving Danny with her snout. Finally, his gasping was noticed. A voice from inside one of the nearby tents said, “I think I hear someone out there…” Danny knew he couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t be discovered. Clenching his jaw, Danny rose to his feet, using Ash as a support. Each step felt like a Herculean task, but they slowly progressed through the camp. The frequency of the pains began to lower. At first, Danny was relieved. The onslaught was subsiding. Then he realized what that meant.

  Danny redoubled the pace of his hobbling. There was no way to keep track of his Bonds except, apparently, when they died. With no way to know the status of his distracting force, panic began to set in.

  As they approached the center of the camp, the tents became cleaner and more organized. Fewer people were crammed into each one. The central tents were also bigger than the ones on the outskirts. Danny figured this must be where the Brotherhood members live. The rest of the camp was resigned to squalor. The message was clear. It was the Brotherhood’s world; everyone else was just living in it.

  A landmark stood out over the tops of the tents, some sort of wooden pole. Ash was heading straight towards it. The pole looked like someone had torn a tree out of the ground, cut off the branches, and stuck it in the ground. When the pole came into full view, Danny saw Mario. At least, he thought it was Mario. The man had his hands tied around the tree. His head hung, defeated. His face was bruised and bloody, even worse than when Danny had first met him. Gone were the leather jacket and the boots. Barefoot and bare-armed, the man was filthy.

  “Psst. Mario, is that you?” Danny whispered. The captive didn’t respond. Danny tried again. “Mario it’s me, Danny. I’m here to get you out of here.” At the mention of freedom, the man’s head turned slightly. One eye was swollen shut. From busted lips, the man whispered something, but he broke off into a coughing fit before Danny could hear. “Look, don’t talk.” Using his hunting knife, Danny cut the restraints.

  “Thank you,” Mario said. It was barely audible. He rubbed at the raw red rashes the rope had left.

  “Come on,” Danny said, “We’ve got to go.” It had now been a very long time since he had felt one of the flashes of pain signaling the fall of one of his army. “There’s no time.” After a futile attempt at trying to help Mario to a stand, Danny looked to Ash. “Can you carry him?”

  Yes.

  “Come on, big guy.” Danny huffed as he situated Ash’s new passenger. From the way she walked, Danny could tell she was struggling under the load. The escape was painfully slow. Ash’s gait caused Mario to moan out in pain periodically. Danny felt too bad to try and shush him or cover his mouth. A ripping sensation in his chest caused Danny’s legs to go out from under him. The taste of topsoil entered his mouth, but it hardly registered as Danny was reeling from the most intense pain yet. A system message appeared.

  [Class Ability: Pack Tactics Lost]

  Danny built up to an elbow before he had to take a moment to breathe. The final Wyrmling had died. Judging from the severity of the backlash, Danny assumed that had been the Wyrmling Warrior. With the Wyrmling boss gone, it would not be long until the Brotherhood returned. The adrenaline was the only thing that allowed Danny to rise to his feet once more. Ash had paused to wait for him but continued ahead now that Danny was upright again. Danny shuffled after her.

  The beleaguered trio crossed into the open space between the Brotherhood camp at the forest. “All clear!” A shout rang out from much too close for comfort. Several more came after. “You can come out now.” “Monsters are dealt with.” and other assurances began to stir the people from their tents. Ash was entering the trees when Danny heard a voice behind him.

  “Where are you going?” Danny turned to see a man wearing a leather jacket. Mario’s leather jacket.