“Don't stray directly with me, but stay nearby. I don't want us to be more than 50 ft apart, but I also want to make it harder for anything watching us to keep tabs on both of us at the exact same time. That said, we will converge in the other one if we hear the noise of battle or a call for help. Got it?” I said, looking down at Floof.
The look he returned to me wasn't one of complete understanding, but it also didn't have that same air of confusion that I would have expected out of him a month ago. He was learning, and I didn't know how fast or how much he understood yet. Tonight would just be another test of that.
The fading glow of the bonfire showed colors I hadn't seen during the day. Parts of the forest seemed to be much more vibrant under the light of the moons. Some of the darker reds had started pulsating, now that the sun had gone down.
That further solidified some of the thoughts that had been forming. This whole forest was likely from a world dominated by the night, and those same worlds were the places where undead thrived the most. It was possible that some of the unanswered questions I had about what these types of creatures were came from the simple fact that they were new to System-space and were native to one of the planets it had pulled in.
Moving deeper into the strange plants, what little green had existed before was being strangled by thick orange vines. The two different types of nature had gone to war with each other, and I had no idea which would actually win. On our side of the river, the plants had the benefit of us cultivating towards Earth's native flora, but over here, there was no such force. At least there wasn't pushing towards Earth's side. It was entirely possible that something wanted the opposite.
I started my chase after the sounds of the fleeing monsters that had surrounded the house before we started the bonfire. Pushing my way through undergrowth and trees that seemed to shift with my presence, I found the first group lumbering away from me. There were a dozen of the smaller skeletons we had destroyed so many of already, being led by a larger red version. Unlike the one we had seen so many times on the other side of the river, this one was just a different colored version of the odd goat-like ones.
Not giving them a moment's chance, I charged forward, swinging the sword through the skulls of three of them. Their forms instantly collapsed as their heads gave way. The red one turned to face me, just as a wall of fur and teeth exploded out of the darkness, scattering the bones of several more of them.
A blast of scorching fire flew past my head, missing my ear by fractions of an inch. I had only realized what was happening at the same time the fireball left the mouth of the red skeleton. Despite my timely dodge, the skin from my ear to my jaw ached with a burning pain. I was glad it wasn't any worse.
“And just how intelligent are you?” I growled at the monster as I charged toward it.
In response, it lifted a skeletal hand, starting to form another fireball. That did nothing to answer my question. And I wouldn't have time for another one.
I brought the sword down hard into its shoulder joint and threw myself backward before the fireball could detonate. Separated from the rest of its body, it seemed the skeletal arm didn't have the fine control to stop the growth of the magic. The fiery mass grew to three times the size of the last one in a handful of seconds and then erupted, engulfing the remaining skeletons in a small inferno.
The branches of the trees around us seemed to lean lower into the flames. Everywhere their leaves touched, the energy of the magical fire dissipated, and the pulsating of the plants grew stronger. I'd never seen trees capable of feeding on fire, but it was possible they were only draining the magical energy itself, and that I had seen before.
__________
Enemy Defeated
Small Skeletal Goatman [3 Experience]
No Further Information Unlocked.
Small Fire Skeletal Goatman [30 Experience]
Like its much more mundane counterpart, this specialized skeletal creature is created from the remains of cobalt goblin and goat bones. The primary difference is that, when returned to its half-life, a fusion of Necromantic and Fire magic is used in combination to imbue it with its own spell-casting abilities. As it still lacks a strong will and intelligence of its own, what spells it can cast are extremely limited and only able to be used in direct compliance with the orders it has been given.
Further Information Locked.
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Given that the only other colored skeletons we had seen were red, that likely meant either the necromancer itself was also specialized in fire magic, or there was a fire mage as part of the enemy forces. The possibility of what I'd find out here just seemed to keep growing. But the main focus of the night still remained on whatever mind mage was out here.
“Floof, be careful around the red ones. They've got fire magic, and I don't want your fur burnt off. Ash would kill me,” I said to the dog as I reached up to my ear to see just how bad the damage was.
While it hurt, the skin didn't peel away at my touch. That was a good sign. A first-degree burn was much faster to heal. Forcing my adaptations with that fire experiment had proven useful already.
Once the smoke cleared from the remains of the skeletons, I checked that all of the skulls were destroyed. And while the fire had done its job there, it did leave behind a small red mana orb. The find shocked me. Investing that much into a minion like this wasn't normal. They were preparing for something.
Pocketing the orb, I turned, making for the next group of rustling in the distance. Floof had already vanished back into the underbrush, likely after the exact same quarry. It was going to be a long night, but by the time we were done, whatever assault they had planned was going to be massively disrupted.
I lost track of how long I had been at it as the hours rushed past. I had yet to find any groups of skeletons that posed a real danger to me. The rare, smaller red variety now went down before they had a chance to hurt me. But every time I took one of them down, I could feel that gaze weaken all the more. There was just a feeling deep inside of myself that I was getting closer every time.
Floof and I had grown further apart as the night went on, but I could still hear the dog in the distance. Neither of us had needed each other's help since that first fight. And with the way things were going, I wasn't sure we would again.
Chasing after the next bit of noise, I stepped out from the trees into a large clearing. Standing in the center of it was the same gray figure that I had seen outside the cabin. This time, he was wearing a dark brown robe.
“Stop!” its voice screamed in my head.
It wasn't nearly enough to stop the charge that had started the moment I saw them. I had zero intention of giving it any chance to truly get its tendrils into my thoughts. I knew from experience that anything that could get into my mind had to be put down quick.
In one fluid movement, my blade went from head to toe. Whatever form had been holding the robe solid vanished in my attack. All I cut through was empty cloth.
It was about damn time I found the trap. A hint of sun had already started to peek through the night sky. I needed to get back to Ash.
Dozens of the same creature all appeared in a ring around the clearing, chanting. I had no idea what ritual they were attempting to accomplish, though their goal was obvious enough. They needed me dead. I had almost certainly proven far too dangerous for their fear games.
One of these was the real one. I was almost sure of it. The magic they were attempting to channel was too powerful for only clones and illusions. Though I still had no idea exactly what the end goal of their spell was, it was probably best I didn't let them finish it.
“I've had just about enough of you tonight.” I spoke the words without raising my voice, calmly walking towards the outer circle. “If you think you have any chance of leaving here alive, you're sorely mistaken. You lost that the moment you attempted to get into my daughter's mind.”
My words weren't for show alone. There had been a purpose, and it had paid off. Out of the corner of my eye, one of the figures flinched just slightly. The clones weren't afraid of me. They weren't real. But the one who had everything to lose was.
As quick as I could, I turned my momentum toward the real him, grabbing his robe and yanking him into the circle with me. I was worried that the ritual would build too far, that simply killing him would be enough to end it. But I had a strong feeling he wouldn't want to be in the center of it with me when it went off.
To my surprise, as the ground vanished below us, I found myself proven wrong. I held on tight. Wherever we were falling, he was coming with me.
Grimbleflork
He had hoped they'd be back tonight, but also knew Eighdum well enough to doubt it. Gods, it was hard to think of that kid as Adam. Eventually, he managed to force it through, but he'd known the kid so long. And changes like that took time for the brain to adapt to.
As for why he doubted Adam would be back tonight, the monsters lining up on the other side of the river were the obvious reason. He'd never known the kid to back down from a fight. And if those creatures out there had hurt the family in those woods, they'd have hell to pay.
“Get that bonfire up bright. Make sure those skeletons know we're here, and ain't going anywhere,” the old Goblin ordered to his men.
The problem was that there were a lot of skeletons coming out of those woods. The big red one was there too with him. From what the other people were saying, it was more than they'd ever seen before. What the hell was going on in there?
And then, to make it all even stranger, about an hour into the night, horns blasted from deep in the forest. The Goblin braced for the assault that he was sure was coming. Instead, all of the monsters turned and started back into the forest.
“Uh, Boss? Any guesses?” Droffinflelk asked, sounding utterly confused.
“Only one. Adam just did something that made them think they needed an army. Too bad for them. It ain't going to be enough. I don't think anyone on this planet understands what it's going to take to stop that kid.”
The big question Grimbleflork had was just what was going to happen when the rest of his family was finally reunited. Now that this had all started, he knew there was no stopping him. That man would find out what was happening in the wider system space, no matter what it took.
And honestly, Grimbleflork was looking forward to it. Too much strange shit had been happening in his lifetime. It was about time someone poked back.