Callahan is a man in his prime- little over-- and having cultivated his instincts and reflexes over time, he was the first to react. His years behind a desk and with his nose in books had not yet dulled his physical prowess.
"Don't just stand there—!"
But the wizard was talking to no one. Nyx. Already flaunting his confidence in front of the simple men, his mind now was blank. Damn. His quick thinking lagged behind for a second, Callahan had closed the distance between them, preparing to counterattack. "Mold Earth!!" Callahan centered himself, improving his base as his hand moved in an arc, simultaneously lifting and reshaping the earth and stones from the small stream and bank.
The beast's speed was true, made the wizard to conjure a pointed monolith protection. The speed of the construction forming matched that of the monster. A perfect counterattack. The hyena made no move to change directions, crashing into the construction, losing direction and breaking a good part of the monolith. Dust and stones were thrown in the opposite direction to where the beast had flown after losing control, forcing Callahan and Nyx to shield their eyes from the fragments.
"Callahan! What is that?!" Nyx needed to regain his composure. Asking questions was the first step for many people. It was clear to both of them the beast was bent on tearing them to pieces, eat them, and shitting them out. "What do we do?"
Now both of them were facing the beast, Callahan becoming the leader of their duo. As if following what was said, the animal got back on its feet. For a second, it shook its huge head, trying to shake off the dizziness and resume its attack. "Just follow my lead!"
His hand rose horizontally toward the beast, now 20 feet away. "Fire Bolt!" Callahan had cast a simple spell, nothing that would drain the wizard of his powers, not yet anyway with power. A spell that to the untrained eye would look like a super-hot coal or a shooting star in red flames flew from his hand, now flexed like a claw, striking the hyena, tearing its ear and hitting the shoulder. Pain shot through its muscles and bones-- all done to lost its balance, tripping over its own paw and falling face-first into the stream. "Girl, GO!"
Nyx was three steps behind Callahan—now ambling straight ahead at the monster that had already stood up when Callahan gave the command. All he had grabbed was one of his short spears. A few feet away, Nyx shifted his weight to his right foot, pushing himself into a last-minute attack on the animal, his spear striking the flesh of its neck.
There was a slight recoil from the hyena, the spear not digging hard enough to push along the muscle, just scraping under the skin, but it was quickly supplanted by a guttural, snarling roar, its fury increasing.
The animal now rampaging against Nyx makes a dangerous move, smoothly surging over Nyx. His spear had been raised as a guard against the huge mass of flesh and power attempting to attack. In the end, it was a serious mistake. The golem's speed had improved, time and diet growing him stronger and more capable of fighting, but in that second, he proved himself to be nothing more than a novice with too much luck and a thick skin.
"NO!" Callahan couldn't believe it. Someone who had made him feel safe had been grabbed by the animal's jaws like a toy caught by a dog.
The animal's upper musculature—its powerful neck and back—was designed specifically to crush and tear things apart, not just with its sharp teeth and powerful jaws. Now it was throwing the 500-pound golem around, lifting it like a stick and smashing it into the ground—again and again and again. The spear had already slipped from Nyx's hand. His quiver of reserves had flown away from the impacts that were becoming harder to bear. His body hit the water, boulders, and soft soil, slowly disfiguring the ground. His now empty hand could grab one of the daggers from his back, but the hyena didn't seem to tire, each time missing the opportunity as he was hit by the ground again, hitting something hard and feeling things break inside his body.
"Отровна спрей (Poison Spray)!"
Callahan had no other choice. In the seconds that Nyx was being toyed with by the monster—that was the only spell—the first spell that came to mind that wouldn't hurt the golem. Unable to breathe, that had saved the golem for the short time.
The gas quickly seeped into the hyena's nostrils, its rapid breathing causing the poison to reach its bloodstream faster. It began to cough, trying to expel the poison from its lungs, allowing Nyx to fly a few meters away, falling on its back on the mud bank of the creek.
"Get up, girl! If you bleed, you can die. You're not bleeding! So you're not dying!"
Of the tricks he had shown, Callahan followed up with a new one. From behind his back, from under his long coat, he pulls out a large hunting knife. "Järkyttävä ote (Shocking Grasp)." The moment he uttered the spell, the air around the blade began to vibrate, tiny sparks of energy materializing and circulating along the blade.
Come on—try me.
Nyx had risen at the same time as Callahan's spell. "I'm here." he shouted at Callahan, now holding both daggers in his hands, his grip tight on the handles so as not to repeat what had happened moments ago.
Callahan had started to run around the animal, trying to regroup with Nyx. The monster's growling showed its impatience as it tried to decide who to attack. "Ukkosenjyrinä (Thunderclap)!" The air had changed again. Nyx's perception was difficult to express—in simple terms, the air had compressed and exploded toward the beast with a boom that was difficult to dispel or resist from ricocheting back at it. "Your turn, Nyx! Cut its guts open!"
Nyx gathered his courage again and ran toward the hyena. "Catapult!" Callahan, from behind the golem, launched the blade charged with the electrostatic tension of the spell.
His plan continued smoothly, the blade sinking into the flesh of the lower leg, the hyena twitching from the static discharge. Only for Nyx to shorten the space between them, reaching arm's length.
Twisting his thorax had increased the momentum of the blow. Both blades tore through the flesh of the thigh, causing the hyena to writhe in pain, jumping from its crouching position and leaving the vicinity of the two. "Nhh—come back here!" the golem snarled at the fleeing behemoth, which had now decided to run away from the two.
"What did you do? I told you to rip its guts out! Didn't I?"
Callahan had approached from the other side of the stream. His friendly attitude had long since evaporated because of the animal, now nervous at its unwanted escape. "I hit its leg! Right where you hit it with the blade--"
"That's not what I told you to do, is it? Now you've let it escape, and we'll probably have problems soon." The wizard had stopped his lecture, now searching for his backpack and picking it up from a thicket of thorns and brambles.
Nyx had followed suit, securing the weapons back in their place and the bag of plants. "Why?"
"Because beastfolk use monsters like that for hunting!"
------------------------
"Have you ever seen one?"
"Nah—but you'll know when you see them. Tall or not—probably scaly."
The golem Nyx and the wizard Callahan followed what they thought was the way back, aiming to regroup with the rest of the soldiers as quickly as possible. "I heard there are more than just lizard people." Jumping over the wide roots of a tall tree—a pine tree stripped of its needles—dried out. "This guy Kol—I think that's his name- said they have minotaurs and cyclops and—bugbears? Have you seen anything like that?"
Callahan just sighed as he kept walking, now seeing through the tree trunks the open plain, the road that would take him back to the city. But they had to turn left to regroup with the soldiers. What to do?
"Hey—are you okay?"
"Shut up!" Callahan let his impulse take over his mouth, furiously whispering back to Nyx. The bear-like man just took a deep breath, letting the moment pass and focusing back on his surroundings. "We need to concentrate—and hurry back to the soldiers." He turned back toward the road, suddenly making a U-turn back to Nyx. "And quietly. Follow the road and look over the hills for anything."
Nyx just glanced back at Callahan, his curiosity cut in half and poetically thrown away. So Nyx just nodded back at the wizard. His silence stretched exponentially from one minute to two, from two to four, and so on. Both of them had now reached the gravel road they had left behind at the beginning of their little walk.
As mentioned, Nyx deliberately followed closely. Time had passed until the hill where they had parted ways with the soldiers was in sight. From a distance, Callahan could see that the men were still intact—each in one piece thankfully. "That's good, I thought we'd be alone, finding a shitload of corpses." But Nyx didn't respond to Callahan's observation, still scanning the surrounding area. "Let's get out of here."
Nyx continued to watch the soldiers, and Callahan, who hadn't waited for the golem to respond, took off down the road toward the soldiers still at work. "I meant to say—I left the viper by the river." Nyx followed the wizard at about the same speed he was running, his true maximum speed greatly improved, just so he could stay closer to Callahan.
He gasped between each step he took, finding it tough to power through the wind at his age, while still keeping a pace that was healthy for his heart. "I don't give a damn about that snake right now. Let's just get back to town."
Dozens of meters away, Bram made eye contact with the duo running down the road, now seeing Callahan waving his hands as if calling out to a market vendor trying to buy the last cabbage. The captain had dismounted, each step making the metal of his armor clank, now a few soldiers turning their attention from their work to Nyx and Callahan, who were running and had stopped near Bram. "You're late. It's way pass our deal. Would you care to explain?" Bram glared at them both, leaning more toward Nyx. His displeasure that the two had skipped work was replaced by suspicion and questions. The golem's pants were filthy, covered in dirt and wet, as if he had been crawling around on the ground like a child. But children don't come back to their 'parent' with their vest in tatters, as Nyx had done. The strap on his right shoulder was destroyed and much of the leather was missing, offering a glimpse of—more skin for the world to see. His hair was destroyed, just like everything else about him. "What happened to you? Did you fall?"
"Like hell I fell! We were attacked! This huge animal jumped on us!" Eyeing himself, Nyx just figured out the way he has been running around the place. Ah shit- Just when I don't have anything better to wear or where to find.
Callahan didn't want to—didn't have time—to correct or report in any professional manner what had happened. "A huge hyena attacked us and we have to GET OUT OF HERE!"
The superior air Bram carried had dissipated with his last exhale, now he felt just as crappy as the two people in front of him. "This is very bad for several reasons. But—"
He turned toward the hill, lookig left and right, licking his lips as he tried to think of a good course of action, seeing that some soldiers were already in the loop of the bad thread of story. "MEN! Quickly, take everything you can! One minute and we're leaving!" he shouted, his voice sounding fearful. "Come on, come on, come on! Leave the trees behind! Just back to the cart and let's go! WEAPONS READY!"
------------------------
"Eeeeh--"
Dörk sighed. His last two hours of life had been spent preoccupied with, ironically, his favorite part of all time. Design—which was mostly just wasting time making decisions. As Nowak had requested—and Dörk had promised—the wizard had gotten to work immediately. In the morning—God forbid.
Thank God he had asked a few colleagues for help. "Dörk, what do you think?"
"Huh?"
BOONG. One of the Skybinders had hit the main man in the head with a book that was on the table. "DON'T FUCK AROUND, YOU IDIOT!"
"Ouch! Hey, you hit me with the corner!" Dörk gave his colleague, Flint, a big pout. Dörk had turned 90 degrees back to the group sitting in a circle, ready to put the finishing touches on their invention. "So, are we sticking with steel or brass?"
"I have no problem with either, but we have plenty of steel from the weapons the soldiers can loot."
The rest of the four wizards agreed to the idea. Now all that remained was to make the filters physically. And then... the harder part—engraving the spell "Purify food and drink" on the metal. Something that, of the six wizards present, only Dörk and Flint could do. The rest would have to learn the spell and then perform it with a magic glyph at a later date.
Dörk was ecstatic at the idea. "Well then, I'm off to find and talk to someone who can get us some good steel." The chair scraped the floor as he got up to leave. "I don't think it will take long, but until then, how about Flint shows you how to make the glyph? Eh? Okay!" The door slammed shut after a second, leaving Flint grinding his teeth hard enough to start a fire.
So the unbeaten wizard jogged, intent on putting some distance between himself and his colleagues-- the actual work that needs to be done, and reached the central square. From there, it was easy to reach the garrison—one of the roofs of its defense tower was visible thanks to its red tiles.
"Good morning."
Some soldiers had crossed from the opposite direction, one fixing his helmet and saluting Dörk. In Dörk's opinion, there was no harm in asking what he wanted to know. "Eh... I hope you don't mind. Which officer is in charge of the barracks at the moment?"
For a moment, the boy who had greeted him paused and tried to come up with an answer, until he turned to his companion. "It's Parka. I saw him this morning when I got off the night shift."
The first soldier nodded as the memory played back in his mind. "Oh, yes... He's hollering to Dirk." Both boys by now were leaning against the wall of a house, ferreting through what they were talking about and discussing how Parka was becoming more and more rancorous.
At the implication about the size of Parka's "timber wood", the wizard just turned 180 degrees and walked back down the road. "Phenomenal story, but I'm leaving now. See you guys—and thanks!" But this time Dörk just took a few short steps, sensing trouble in the air.
Parka. Damn dick. Maybe I can find Nowak or Lenny or anyone else to talk to. He does not care for a word I speak or overall about Nyx. Troublesome ass.
Dörk was thinking at double the speed he was going. Parka is a bit of a jerk, but he respects order and orders—a direct job from the general is sure to be a priority for him, I think.
"Hey! You old biddy! Dörk—wait up!"
The main man was forcibly pulled out of his own squirming thoughts, now noticing one of his colleagues approaching from behind on the same path he had come. Vlad, one of his colleagues in Skybinders, pulled up beside him.
"Good morning, Vlad. What's up?"
The man in question just rubbed his long sideburns, his fingers scratching the skin beneath the strands, and yawned long before answering. "Just a long night. I want to go sharpen some knives. The barracks have a very good stone. What about you?" The wizard's voice was harsh and dry, probably from a long night of work or simply from not having had anything to drink in a while.
Dörk saw the signs in his voice, and once again, curiosity prompted him to speak. "Ohoho—I know that feeling in the throat—you worked really late, eh?" he said jokingly, trying to warm up the atmosphere with some common ground between the two that they could discuss on the way to the barracks. "Really—weren't you and Joan and Korp messing around with Nyx's finger?"
Vald just nodded in confirmation. "We did. But we ran out of material. Turns out your girl—hero—" Vlad whispered to Dörk, raising one of his palms, trying to block the sound from ears that had no need to understand—no one around really—"is made of ankerite."
"Wow, that sounds cool."
Woho! Something cool! A hero—made of stone. Ankerite. It has a nice ring to it. Dörk had put his brain into turbo mode, now producing ideas.
Vlad once again snaps him out of his inner monologue. "Well, it could be better than that, but it's still more sturdy than human flesh."
"Yeah, the girl's tough. Back in Elth, Kason- the captain- said the vampire threw her through my fireplace, broke her back, and she still got back on her feet."
Vlad just nodded again. "No doubt her composition must be more complex than that, but the material is predominant. Although she has to be careful with flames and other things. It's hard to say for sure, but she's very susceptible to fire and acid. She's not gonna explode or something, but she will fragment or crumble under longer contact."
The new information could only have dismayed the wizard. "Aren't we all? But she can tank bullets and swords with her bare skin, so at least that's a plus." The wizard had found the glass half full. But now that was a good thing. Finding the small holes in the net was easy to compensate for by other means.
"And you? Why are you going to the barracks?"
"Eh, me? Just to talk about some steel we want to use. The wells around town have taken on a nasty taste, so Nowak wants us to make some filters to put on to use."
Vlad just shrugged, acknowledging his understanding of each other's business, and they continued on their way in silence. Back at the barracks, they parted ways to attend to their respective duties. Passing through the courtyard, the wizard noticed the small kitchen used by the soldiers for cooking on his right—and the horrible smell coming from the cauldron bubbling over the fire. It seemed that the soldiers' rationing was getting worse—they were now eating whatever was on the fire.
Not knocking, just walking in, Dörk sees no one in the administrative wing, no one in the hallway anyway. His footsteps creak on the floor as he walks, reaching the room where he and General Nowak met for the first time. No one. The next room has two offices, one of which is occupied.
Oh, thank goodness, it's Lenny. The officer was going through the latest reports. Unbeknownst to Dörk, each report represented the status of the other brigades and a report from the capital.
Dörk just pushes on the wooden frame of the door. "Hello, hello. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." He approached, entering the office without asking permission and stopping two steps away from Lenny's desk, the officer gathering the papers and placing them in a box on the table.
"Nothing, no. Just reading letters from home, you know. Where I'm from, winter has set in, and my brother wrote to me. Anyway, what brings you here, Dörk? What's the status of your project?"
He just pointed to the neighboring desk, looking very pleased. "I organized things and came up here with the need for steel." Lenny asked about its use, taking out a small piece of paper and beginning to note the advances the wizards were making.
"And how much do you want?" His pen stopped on the paper, turning his eyes to him.
Dörk could only guess. On his way here and back to the assembly, there was no mention of how big the horn should be. I guess I have to freestyle from here. "Just for a temporary prototype—10 or 15 kilograms?"
Lenny nodded. "Is steel really necessary? Can't something else be used?"
The sorcerer merely stroked his beard, maintaining eye contact with the officer. "It's the best option, besides, their degradation will be extremely sluggish. And it's worth the effort, isn't it? Reshape some weapons collected from the field and refine one here, one there, and that's it."
"You'll need a forge to melt and temper the steel. And fuel, coal. Can you manage that?" Now Lenny rested his head on the back of his hand, waiting for an answer and at the same time trying to find an alternative before Dörk came up with his own answer.
The wizard just gave a pff and waved his hand carelessly. "Nothing like that, we'll just use a little magic. We can finish today if everything goes smoothly."
After agreeing on the size and installation of the chimneys at the wells, they both left the office just as Parka entered the hallway door, neither saying anything—just nodding to each other in greeting.
They left the barracks and headed to the right side of the road, still keeping to the path along the wall. "We have everything we gathered from the outside stored a block down."
The air was calm between the two, abandoning any attempt at small talk, just focusing on the job. "Here." They both stopped in front of a courtyard with an open gate, where a guard remained on duty. To the right was a concrete house with a climbing vine that must have grown grapes, but was now, unfortunately, completely withered. To the left was the barn that the owner of the house used for hay.
"We have several places where we dumped weapons, but this is the closest." Lenny waved to the guard, who waved back and opened the wooden door. The light was dim, but the shiny metal outlined every weapon in the room. In addition to spears and halberds, there were rifles, chain mail, and some metal armor. "Take your pick, wizard, but pick mostly not good armour. I will inform the general that we can have a prototype by the end of the day."
Well fuck me, right?
"And where is the general? He's not still asleep, is he? Ha!" Dörk chuckled, looking at the weapons neatly lined up on the simple racks. Unbeknownst to Lenny, his eyes were inspecting the materials. Some would need to be refined, but nothing he or others couldn't do.
" Quite right. He hadn't slept in two days, so Parka, Polemhin, and I just took care of what we are authorized with." Lenny had just returned to the guard, discussing that the wizard could come and take the appropriate amount of weapons and relay the message to the other men who would be changing shifts. "Anyway, I'm leaving. I'll leave a piece of paper here on the wall, and you write down what you take with you. It sucks, but I have to—eeeeh—keep inventory." He pinched the bridge of his nose with clear frustration.
--------------------------
"No—you can't have a gun."
Bram, the present captain responsible for directing the group back to town—was briefly coaxed out by Nyx to have his own firearm. "You can have one after one of us kicks the bucket heading back to town."
Anyway, all the firearms were accounted for. Seven of the soldiers who had come to harvest trees were riding in the cart—Callahan added, tracking for potential danger.
Callahan maintained his focus, still scanning the hills, trees, grass, and other places where enemies might sneak in, but he kept one ear on the two. "Just shoot stones, girl. But if you want, we can talk in town for one."
The sexy golem just glanced at the wizard in agreement without showing any emotion in his expression, resuming his surveillance of the area along with the rest of the soldiers. Many carried halberds or short swords, and few of them had thought to bring a shield. Why, Nyx didn't know. Perhaps Bram wasn't so uptight about mandatory items, or some of them had trouble carrying one because of an injury they had or injuries they didn't know they had, or some other stupid reason—like the idea that they shouldn't have to.
Gravel scraped between the wheel and the ground. A few moments earlier, the road had become hilly, enough to cause difficulties for the horse pulling the eight men standing guard and the coachman. "Fucking horse—someone has to push because we're slipping."
About five men without heavy equipment lined up at the back of the carriage, pushing. A few of the well-mannered soldiers in the carriage dismounted, pulling it from the side along with their comrades while the others followed as necessary. One was shot in the head, his skull exploding.
"COVER NOW!"
Bram's shout was thrown through the air along with the enemy gunfire. Two other soldiers fell dead near the cart and one more in the cart—now everyone present was jumping off the road. One useful thing that happened was the spray of blood from the musket shell. It gave away the direction from which the enemy was firing. Others missed the soldiers of the 5h brigade, some managing to take cover behind mounds or even ditches from the direction of the gunfire. Some shots killed the horse, two rounds ending the faithful animal.
"AAAAHCH!!!" One of the relatively lucky soldiers had been shot in the leg, his flesh pulverized by the bullet. He was trying to crawl to the wagon. Others were not so lucky, even with shields, as the lead fired from the muskets penetrated both the wooden shield and the chain mail armor. Nyx jumped out from cover. The screaming man was not far from the wagon, so the golem felt he was worth saving.
"ON THE HILL THERE!!"
Other gunshots were heard, but now it was soldiers from the army firing back at possible enemies. Their target was a small patch of dirt. It was far away compared to the golem's untrained eye, but the shooters were hitting the location well, with the lead hitting the top of the hill and perhaps stopping the enemy fire for a short time.
"I've got you. Just hold on to the wound."
"AH--AH... Thank you very much, miss, gods bless you!" the man said in crying pain and happiness to Nyx.
With the man relatively safe, Nyx turned to Callahan and Bram. "Now can I shoot too?" Nyx's voice was strong, demanding respect and a chance to do something in this shitty situation. Callahan hadn't said anything, leaving Bram to continue.
"You can—" but his order was interrupted by another lead bullet that hit the cart but ricocheted off the metal frame holding the whole thing together. "Get a musket from the wagon first." The golem nodded and came out from cover for the second time. He circled around the back and climbed inside, his palm sinking into the pool of blood left by the first soldier killed. Nyx pulled the gun, removing the musket from under the man's corpse and throwing it over the wooden cart onto the road where the captain and several soldiers were covered. "Take the bag of ammo too. Standard, it's on the belt on the right side." Several more shots were fired, now bursting through the wood of the wagon, splinters flying inside and Nyx trying to protect his eyes from possible pieces of lead.
A bag of ammunition was thrown over the cart again, landing in Bram's open hand. "Great. Alexandre, help Gregori return fire." Bram handed the items to one of the men standing with him, now two of those covered by the cart were returning fire at the enemies. "You, wizard, what are your ideas?"
Callahan just nodded. "I do. Right now. Girl, tell us when we're no longer under fire and grab a shield!"
"What for? You might as well use paper! There's no difference."
"Fine. Then conjure up a shield!"
Nyx raised his head slightly above the uncovered wagon just as one of the soldiers in red returned fire at the enemy. "Start now!" At his own declaration, Nyx climbed out the back door of the wagon. A led bullet hit the golem directly in the stomach, making a hole in the right side of the abdomen where a human's liver would be. But the gunfire had caused no gross delay. Nyx raised his hand and cast 'Shield' with his right hand. When the spell appeared, Callahan had come out behind the golem.
Now with Callahan present, the wizard added his own 'Shield' spell, doubling their protection with a secondary barrier around the one already created by Nyx. "Come on, come on."
Now more shots were fired at the two advancing toward the ditch. Callahan's shield held firm, but sweat was visible on the wizard's forehead. "You're okay!" Nyx shouted over the gunfire and the echo of the lead hitting the barrier.
The wizard was still maintaining his concentration. The shield shook with the last bullet blocked. "Relatively, I just hurt my back when I fell from the cart, but I'm okay!" Callahan shook happily, giving the golem a reassuring smile. "Okay! Keep the shield up." Callahan had just let the outer shield fall—preparing his next spell. Nyx watched what he was doing when another bullet hit the shield right in front of his face, where inattention and surprise shook his concentration, almost causing the shield to fall. Now about 15 feet closer to the target, Callahan calls--
"Scorcher of Aganazzar!"
Nyx sees the flame in Callahan's hands, instinctively dropping the 'Shield' and letting the wizard unleash hell on the enemy. A significant flame sprays, gradually striking the target in the form of a wave of fire. Callahan doesn't just maintain a single path, he sprays the area, creating a wall of fire that ignites the ground and vegetation—leaving no clear area for the enemies to shoot through.
"Everyone back on your feet!"
Callahan yells to all the soldiers—Bram following suit. "Now's our chance! Weapons in hand and on them!" The captain is wielding his own long, cross-shaped sword, urging the soldiers to advance toward the enemy.
Nyx was confused by Bram's command. The captain advanced toward the edge of the road before being stopped by Nyx grabbing his arm. "Shouldn't we run?"
Bram was surprised by Nyx's action, which could be seen as insubordination in any scenario—questioning orders and clutch on a superior's arm. Bram wouldn't have admitted it, but Nyx's grip was strong. "Where? We're in open field! They'd just shoot us in the back!" Bram jerks his hand free from the golem's grasp. Being among the first to advance, the rest of the soldiers let out a battle cry and comply with the orders.
"Call!! What do I do?" Nyx had just asked the wizard.
The wizard glanced around; the only men left near her were the dead on the ground, while the living advanced along the side of the hill, avoiding the flames.
"Nothing else we can do."
Callahan just stood up straight and cracked his back several times. "Uh—much better. Ehhehh—Mage Armor!" The air around the wizard glowed for a second, then only a small, super-thin outline remained visible around his silhouette. "Just one good spell and then I'm ass naked. What do you have?"
Nyx just shrugged at the wizard's question. "I don't know. I'm not hungry yet."
The wizard looked across the road a second time. This time, he grabbed one of the short swords left behind by a poor soldier who had been killed. "Good. Let's do this. You're in better shape than I am. Catch up with the soldiers—I'm right behind you."
The golem agreed, so he ran up the hill in the direction Bram was leading the soldiers. The golem jumped the ditch on the side of the road almost 8 feet across, landing in the tall grass and continuing upward. From Callahan's perspective, Nyx tore through every obstacle he passed, his feet tearing up the grass that tried to slow him down, and running up the hill seemed like nothing to the stone creature.
This time, Nyx had grabbed a spear in his right hand and one of the daggers in his left. But unlike the soldiers, Nyx had simply advanced straight through the flames, which had already become more docile. The burning area was wider than anticipated, but all the golem had to do was run straight ahead. Reaching the ridge where the soldiers were firing at, he dug his feet firmly into the ground and climbed up.
The hand holding the dagger was the first to land on the ground—the spear ready to strike whatever lay ahead—
Right in front of him.
Reloading the weapon.
The green scales provided useful camouflage among the branches and bushes of the forest, but only if he had been completely naked—but he was wearing military protection made of both leather and metal, plus chain mail over the base. At second glance—half of what he wore was military in origin, Latarr—with a whole tail sticking out behind him.
His eyes took a second to focus on me, his head turning with the reflexes of a true predator, his previously dilated irises constricting into a sharp line in the middle of his binocular eyes.
The lizard man said nothing beyond a "HHSSSSHH—" His wide mouth just roared in acknowledgment at the golem's sight. The gun was now aimed at Nyx. The golem was still leaning with one hand on the edge of the ground, with his only option to protect himself from severe damage—especially to his face—being to shield himself with his right hand.
The crack of the gun caused a small cloud of smoke to fly from the barrel along with the lead bullet that hit Nyx below his left rib cage. Yet the blow did not slow the golem's advance, the lizard man responding by pulling his own falcata blade from the leather sheath.
With a twist of his palm, Nyx brought the short spear into throwing stance, hurling the weapon at the enemy, luckily hitting the same spot that the lizard had blasted Nyx—ironically, Nyx had wounded the monster's side not much more, but making it more painfully.
"HHSSSSHH!!" The lizard screamed in its natural way, trying to scare the golem and make it lose his cool. Now missing one of his weapons, Nyx did something that would have been considered foolish for a simple soldier. Nyx initiated a powerful dash toward the lizard, causing them to collide with each other. The momentum of the collision pushed them both backward, spinning them around until they came to a stop with the humanoid lizard on top of the golem.
"HHSSS- Die."
The humanoid declared, now with both hands on his falcata, he was thrusting the sword into Nyx's head. Too bad. The tip of the sword only managed to chip a splinter from the golem's forehead above the left eye, Nyx grinning back at the lizard's surprise.
BANG
The humanoid creature lost its balance slightly, adrenaline pumping harder through its cold blood, until it felt the wound made by the lead fired a second ago by one of the allied soldiers. Nyx had made a frontal attack with the dagger still in his hand, piercing the left calf and making the beast cry and scream in pain. With only one leg exposed, however, the humanoid's thrashing and blood caused Nyx to drop the dagger, and he resorted to grabbing the chain mail armor worn around the lower abdomen and swinging again, this time landing on top of Nyx and delivering a swing punch to the monster's snout. The impact of the blow sent the snake-man's head into the ground, rendering him unconscious.
The snake-like man was finished. Almost. The golem's magic called the lost dagger back into his hand—which had an interesting detail.
Mhhhmm... Nyx could feel the blood on his hand. He couldn't feel that blood being absorbed tho. He knelt down, rubbing the grass off his hand, using the moment to look around. This guy was alone left to shoot.
Dozens of meters away, other gunshots were fired and swords clashed and screams and shouts were heard. Seven enemies in total. One unconscious—
Nyx looked at the lizard-like creature at his feet. The thought of killing it did not come easily to him. I never killed someone in their sleep before. Then he got back to his feet. Not gonna make it a first either.
The golem picked up the spear he had lost earlier and searched eagerly for his next target. Then he saw it. A fairly tall and considerably muscular lizard man was surrounded by six soldiers, among whom Bram was fighting alongside them. Despite its size, the humanoid wore only pants and arm guards, leaving its back and face completely bare. Bad move—multiple bullet holes showed they had hit the flesh, but the scales provided high protection and did not hinder its mobility.
"Ray of Frost!"
Bram was the only serious protection against the behemoth of flesh and sharp claws wielding a battle axe. The captain's spell had hit the monster, which had defended itself with its left hand, without casting a spell or other protection but pure power.
I guess he's leading. This time Nyx had secured the dagger back at his back, leaving him with only the short spear in both hands.
"HHYA!" A soldier nearby had been killed by an attack. Around him, groups were trying to attack and isolate different enemies to their advantage. So Nyx had taken a detour. Instead of running straight to Bram, he had stopped at the nearest group of soldiers who were trying to surround a reptilian. He was carrying a bat in his both hands- with nails hammered into the top?
"HHHSSS—" The humanoid struck one of the soldiers carrying a sword with the bat, the nails hitting and piercing through the gloves and causing the sword to be dropped. He was then struck in the face by the reptilian's secondary weapon, the wood and metal breaking through the man's skull and incapacitating him permanently—dead—on the ground. Nyx had just repeated what he had done before with his former enemy. Crushing into each other. But this time Nyx still had the spear in his hand, and this time he thrust his entire body forward, driving the spear through the reptilian's abdomen. Both fell to the ground and separated, and it was clear that the spear had pierced through the stomach, possibly exiting through the spine. The monster's eyes were filled with—nothing. It was breathing violently, its nervous system going into autopilot, but it had stopped.
The two soldiers from the previous trio couldn't have been happier. "Thanks, miss!" Then they ran towards another group that had surrounded another enemy. Next, Nyx pulled the spear out of the dead creature's abdomen and used his clothes to wipe the blood off.
The leader was in plain sight, holding a soldier in his left hand and using him as a human shield against the gunfire. When the gunfire stopped, the behemondu had thrown the dead soldier into the group, causing two to lose their balance and fall to the ground. Bram was still in the lead, casting another spell in a desperate attempt to protect himself and the rest of the soldiers. Like Callahan, the captain shot a Firebolt at the reptilian. But regardless of its size, the lizard was fast. It had effectively dodged the blow, sliding sideways and leaving the fire to strike only the air through which it passed.
Bram was in a protective position. But the leader was powerless against the enemy behemoth. Nyx closed the distance halfway before the reptilian grabbed Bram by the leg and spun him around on the ground. Other soldiers tried to help their captain, striking and stabbing with halberds, but they couldn't stop the axe from cutting through the captain's back. And then cutting the man's head in two. Followed by a third useless blow. Thus killing Bram.
"NOO! SIR! Yo-u... you swamp-crawlin' lizard whelp!" one soldiers cursed at the behemoth in front of them. Two pushed forward with the sharp ends of thei spears-- just for Nyx to close by behind its back.
This time, the golem's spear didn't hit his back or leg—the skin was thick and hung from his body, and the scales were too tough. So Nyx stuck the spear into the creature's armpit, trying to immobilize his right arm.
"SSHAHAHSSAAS!!"
Nyx pushed the spear straight in, piercing the naturally sensitive skin and causing the tip to come out the front under the deltoid and piercing the base of the pec. The reptilian shook to throw the men off balance, grabbed one of the halberds by the blade with his other hand, and knocked it out of the soldier's hands. With his tail, he spun and threw the golem from under his feet and lunged at the previously disarmed man. Biting his larch neck with his jaws, tearing the flesh just above the armor, he followed up by throwing the dying man at his companion, leaving him alone with the individual who had hurt him the most, Nyx.
BANG... BANG...
Two more shots hit the lizard in the back, but its thick scales stopped most of the damage caused by the lead pellets.
Roaring and pain. The lizard leader pulled on the spear, removing the weapon from his shoulder wound. "SSHH--YOU..." His long head turned toward Nyx, the golem now armed with his daggers, waiting for the behemoth's move in front of him. But it turned, dropping to all fours and running away. No—it just changed targets! Now the lizard leader galloped on all fours straight toward the riflemen who had been shooting at it for some time. It showed no mercy to the two men. The first was cut in two with an axe, the second thrown aside, the man trying to escape and crawl away but head was crushed under the monster's boot.
The lizard had made contact with Nyx again, the golem petrified by the violent display of power, but advancing toward the enemy nonetheless. With one of his steps, Nyx addressed the remaining soldier. "No need. Go and regroup with the rest." Nyx could see the man. His teeth clenched, his eyes wide—he was ready to lose his temper. He would only continue to be fragile and easy to kill against the beast. He nodded without hesitation and left the golem behind alone.
Simultaneously, the beast grabbed the rifle from one of the boys. His hands were clearly too large to fit on the weapon's grip or trigger, so he resorted to using the weapon as a club. "You can leave, you know."
The lizard growled loudly, loud enough to be heard from dozens of meters away. Or maybe Nyx's ears were just better now than before. Or his reflexes—no, Kara was better. Nyx didn't think any more about it when he stepped on one of the soldiers' short swords. Now armed with the sword and one of his daggers, the lizard leader didn't waste any more time. It leaped into the attack, crawling on all fours with its weapons still in hand. Nyx hesitated, but only for two seconds before advancing as well.
Nyx launched the dagger with a 'Catapult', but of all the actions he could have taken, the reptilian jumped, avoiding the blade. "Shit." He jumped closer to the side, swinging his sword and hitting the lizard over the shoulder guard. The behemoth stood up on both legs, striking with his rifle over his right abdomen. The impact was hard. The golem felt it.
What should have been his ribs cracked, and at the same time the wooden handle of the weapon broke in half and bent. Nyx responded by touching the tip of his sword to his belly.
"HHSAAH!"
The axe struck the golem, Nyx protecting his body by holding the sword by the hilt and leaning on the forearm of his other hand. The impact struck the golem exactly at the point of the sword's support, Nyx losing his balance but still standing.
Okay... He... Nyx dodged another blow... Damn it...
The reptilian had grabbed the golem by the head in a moment of weakness. Nyx was childish, trying to open the palm that held his head, kicking his legs and luckily hitting the mouth with the sole of his foot and breaking one of the lizard's teeth.
The human-shaped stone structure was slammed to the ground and struck with the axe, cutting the sword in two and hitting his left pec, above the breast. The second blow was coming. But it struck Nyx's shield, and the counter-vibration of the shield exploded in the lizard's ear and jolted his already injured arm, stunning the behemoth in pain, clutching his wound and losing focus on Nyx for a second.
The sword was broken, but it still had a cutting edge. Now Nyx had struck the enemy from the side and managed to grab the back of the scales, his hand now clamped around its neck and the blade cutting into its right shoulder. The increasing pain enraged the monster even more, now rolling over and crushing the golem between the huge lump of its flesh and the ground. The ferocity of the rampage split the two apart, the reptile being the first to attack again.
"Come on! Hit me harder — I've had raindrops leave bigger dents."
Nyx was seemingly tugging the cat by its tail, rubbing shit in the monster's face. "Magic missiles!" The golem's gaze broke contact with the monster in front of him, but not for long. That was Callahan, but before Nyx could find him, he saw three glowing projectiles flying head on at the behemond in advance of him. One of the spells pierced the monster's thigh, while the other two struck its left chest, incapacitating its arm.
The hesitation was just enough to allow the golem to draw one of his spears. He grasped the weapon with both hands and twisted his entire body. Just so the spear could embed itself in the monster's guts. "SSHHRRAAAAA!" the golem had left the spear stuck in the monster's belly. The full force of Nyx's skill and strength was put into lifting and unbalancing the reptilian creature, but the monster struck the golem again with its axe. The blow wounded the golem in the back, this time feeling the full force of the blow shoot through his right shoulder blade and the jolt pass straight through his torso.
"Hmmh--"
A kick sent the golem about 4 meters away, tripping Nyx between his own legs and knocking him to the ground, along with the lizard leader, who was relatively equally exhausted. Gunshots, cold, fire, stabs, and cuts gradually took their toll and increased the monster's fatigue. "Heh—what's your problem? Did you break a toe sending me flying?" Nyx chuckled softly. Inside, his right arm was currently useless.
"HRHRRAA-- I'll kill you--" The lizard turned around, now leaning on his only good hand and facing the golem, but he still couldn't stand up or try to run away until he got that spear out of his belly. "HRSS-- What are you? You're not human... HRRSS..."
Its yellow eyes narrowed at Nyx, teeths showing and still holding to its heaviest wound.
Unlike the monster, Nyx's most limbs were still in good shape, so he managed to get up off the ground, but he didn't walk towards the beast. He checked his gear, this time his vest was badly damaged and his pants were torn in several places, but thankfully his butt wasn't exposed to the world. Many things were screwed up in his body. Bullet holes. A broken shoulder, a cracked face—again—and various missing bits and pieces throughout his body. Despite all this, the golem did not respond or correct anything about the reptilian's question. It didn't matter anymore.
"You know—I would have let you go—it would have saved me a cartload of shit to patch up." Nyx had used his good hand and called back the dagger he had thrown earlier, securing it to his back. "Maybe—"
BANG!
One last gunshot.
Gunpowder smoke appeared to the left of the golem. One of the soldiers—the one who previously left to help others—returned. He shot the leader, the angle providing a perfect opening to shoot the animal-man in the top of the head with led, aftet he collapsed to the ground and not even giving one last breath or rasp.
Treading the grass and walking nearer to Nyx, Callahan looks down at the golem, his eyes faintly illuminated by aura unnoticed by others, but which vanishes after a few seconds. "'You feel like shit? You kind of look crappy right now. It suits your face."
The sexy construction just rolled its eyes at Callahan. "Haha—bite me." His voice was dry, definitely not from the stone that made up his entire being and the lack of water—probably just simple damage.
Callahan just scoffed, turning back to the soldier who was slowly advancing toward the two. "Don't worry. It doesn't look like anything we can't fix in town." But the soldier stopped a meter away from the wizard. "'What you so quiet, lad?"
The male just shot a quick look back at the lizard folk leader before forgetting about the dead beast and shifting his mind to the chat betwixt the two. "He was all that's left. The others ditched him."
Callahan lifted and rubbed his beard with his hand. "Good, good. Things seem to be calming down. Where's Bram?"
"Dead." Nyx replied bluntly. He merely began to collect his lost weapons. Retrieving the spear from the corpse's belly, he stacked it neatly into his quiver. "And now what—" but Nyx could only remain silent, as at that moment, half of the right side of his face and a bit below his nose fell off, reflexively gripping the pieces but dropping some due to his incapacitated hand. "Eeehmm..."
The soldier looked worried and, in all honesty, a little grossed out, but Nyx wasn't shrieking in pain, so he didn't either.
Callahan was just rubbing his neck from all the nonsense they had been through. For the last 15 minutes or so, they had been fighting to stay alive. Now, half of them, plus the captain, were dead, and their current 'hero' was standing on two legs, but useless. "Hmm. Just pack up the injured and let's be on our way. We're letting casualties lie here this time, but there's nothing we can do about it."
The soldier just nodded and left the two behind. "Scch... don't worry, I'll help you." The wizard merely leaned in to carefully approach the golem, intending to help repair some serious damage. "I don't think we can do anything about the face, though." Callahan added to Nyx, who was still holding pieces. More like a broken puzzle with pieces missing. Which Nyx casually dropped to the grass. "What about your back? Huh?"
Nyx still had the ability to mend himself, but if Callahan was giving away free bies, it was only one more chance to bail on using up his scarce power reserves. "What? No 'thank you' for me? What a lousy sense of appreciation you have."
Nyx felt it, his right shoulder blade fixed by Callahan's spell of mending. "Well, where were you? You said you were right behind me." Nyx raised his intact eyebrow. "'We sure could have used some thunder or a little fire, you know?"
The air in Callahan's lungs was heavy. " Sadly, that was my last spell for now. Sorry."
Although Nyx felt his arms working as before, he still felt like he'd been trampled by a herd of cows. "Eh... Thanks anyway. So—back to the wagon?"
"Why? Are you tying yourself to the wagon? Because if you've forgotten—they shot our horse."
"..."