Trial 5: Tricky River

The path downstream had been calm so far, which made John nervous. A condition Rowan shared, given how often she kept scanning the area around them with attentive eyes. Tok, however, was a bit more relaxed.

“You guys know we don’t need to act like a whole horde’s about to come streaming out of the jungle,” the dwarf said.

“I think you’re being a bit too flippant, especially since we’ve been caught flatfooted three times already today,” Rowan cooly countered. “The lesson there seems to be to not rest on one’s laurels while in hostile territory.”

“Got to agree with Rowan there,” John added. “If this was going to be a walk in the park, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

“Yeah, it’s not been a cake walk, but we’re in the home stretch,” Tok argued. “I think we can relax a little.”

The words had scarcely left his mouth when the water to their right exploded, a spray of riverwater raining down on them as squid-like tentacles burst out. The tentacles lashed out like heat seeking missiles, at least two of them heading right for each of them.

Tok, the least ready for an attack, was unable to raise a defence or dodge and was knocked to the ground by one tentacle before a second one wrapped around his legs. John and Rowan were more prepared and were able to evade the strikes. John quickly summoned his wand to hand. He wasn’t sure what trying Flame Spike with water mana would do, but he wasn’t going to do nothing while Tok was being dragged towards the water.

Instead of a shard of solid fire emerging from the tip of the wand, a small ball of steam shot out, moving extremely quickly. The sphere hit the nearest tentacle and a great plume of steam erupted over the sodden tentacle. As the steam traveled, John felt himself able to control its movement and he wrapped the expanding steam around the tentacles, searing the rubbery flesh with the superheated water.

The still mostly unseen creature flailed the wounded tentacle and let go of Tok as it flinched away from the pain. John quickly dashed to the prone dwarf before the monster could recover, ready to either help him up or cover him while he got up himself. Despite his stout physique, Tok was able to get back to his feet quickly.

“Come on,” he snarled as he picked up his ax, his teeth clenched together. “Let’s see how tough you are, huh?”

“I really think we should fall back,” John advised. “Getting dragged into the river is probably a **** sentence.”

“I don’t think we’re getting a chance at a clean retreat,” Rowan said as she tensed her stance. True to her observation, the monster was hauling itself from the water. And it was far from what John expected. The tentacles were attached to a creature far outside the norm for that kind of limb. Its body was crocodilian, but about halfway down its long body, instead of hind legs and a tail, it was all tentacles, at least eight but their long sinuous forms all writhing together made getting a definitive count impossible. The upper body of the monster was closer to its mundane counterpart, though it had a number of smaller tentacles growing from around its neck and was more in line with the Lake Placid movie monster than anything found since the end of the dinosaurs.

Cephalodile
Lv. 16 Reptile/Mollusc Hybrid
An odd combination of crocodile and squid, born from some strange confluence of magic. It’s usually a patient hunter, but can become overly aggressive when pressed.

‘Wish I could have Observed that before it attacked.’ John grit his teeth as the battle truly began. The cephalodile half crawled, half slithered up the bank of the river, its neck tentacles stretching out in front of it, whipping the air as it readied to grab them.

Rowan glanced over to John. “Any ideas?”

“Range would be good,” John answered. “Staying as far from those tentacles as possible sounds like a good move.”

“Doesn’t give us a lot of options,” Tok grunted, but still he took a step back. John spent a moment to survey the area through Candle’s eyes, the spirit lingering near the treeline.

“The underbrush's thick here,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll be able to get deep enough in before it gets close enough to snag us.”

“So fighting’s all we can do, eh?” Tok remarked, his arms tensing. “I suppose now I have to ask if you’ve got anything big up your sleeves?”

“I’ve got a few ideas,” John said. “But no silver bullet. Rowan, you got anything?”

“I think I could power my way through a few of those things, but I can’t keep my physical enhancements going long enough to stay safe from them,” the Order squire plainly said.

‘I think it’s time for me to make my grand entrance,’ Senka remarked, her idea flowing into John’s mind.

‘I think that can work,’ he thought back. ‘You sure you can handle all of them?’

‘I believe so,’ the spirit assured him. ‘At least long enough for everyone to get a few good hits in, should it not have any more tricks.’

‘Then let’s do it.’

The air beside John was displaced as Senka manifested. What surprised him was her outfit of choice. Instead of her usual kimono, she was wearing a stereotypical rogue’s outfit from every fantasy game out on the market: dark clothing under leather armor and a dashing cloak.

Rowan and Tok jumped slightly when she appeared, causing John to sheepishly smile at his companions. “Sorry, no time to give you the head’s up. Senka’s got a plan.”

“I can tie it up better than John can,” Senka explained, lifting her hand to show wisps of shadow rising from her fingers. “Once I’ve got it held, you two hit the flanks. John’s got the head.”

John lifted his wand up as Senka finished, giving them a signal as to what his attack would be. Tok and Rowan understood his move and they readied themselves to strike. The monster, undeterred by Senka’s sudden appearance, lunged at them, its great maw wide and neck tentacles spreading out like a grasping hand.

Senka dramatically brought her hands up, the coiling dark mana around them growing in intensity as black vines shot out from the ground under the charging monster. Senka’s Snaring Shadows quickly wound themselves around the cephalodile’s front limbs and rear tentacles, halting its charge. More dark mana vines ensnared the front tentacles and the monster’s open jaw, wrestling them into a contested stillness.

Tok and Rowan sprang into action, mana boosted speed propelling them into the fray, weapons gleaming in the light as they swung at the monster’s flanks, scoring weighty blows against its scaled sides, but the tough body was barely scratched by their blades.

‘Hope the insides are a softer target,’ John thought as he lined up his wand with the monster’s open jaw. Senka’s hold there was straining, the idle factoid that crocodiles and alligators had tremendous bite **** but could have their jaws held shut by a normal human crossed through John’s mind before he aimed his shot.

A bead of compressed steam shot out from the wand and struck the back of the monster’s throat. The steam expanded with **** and John willed it to flow down towards its lungs.

Senka let its jaws snap shut and bound them a moment after as it began to flail about as the hot steam burned its insides. John stowed the wand and gripped his sword with both hands. If the cephalodile followed its reptilian upper body’s respiration system, the steam would compromise its lungs and leave it unable to breathe. And with no air, it would perish without them needing to **** their way through its tough hide.

But John wasn’t going to leave things to fate so he charged in. If the monster’s breathing was dangerously compromised, forcing it to expend more energy would hasten its demise. Already, the snorts of the creature were sounding raspy and just wrong and John felt a pang of sympathy for it. It would be best to end things quickly, even for a conjured enemy.

John rushed in even as Tok and Rowan kept up hacking at the monster’s flanks, slowly carving their way through its tough, scaly hide. He focused in on its head, and Senka held it as steady as she could as the cephalodile thrashed against her hold. With an overhead strike, John brought down his blade. Magical wood propelled by the enhanced strength it innately gave crashed against the cephalodile’s skull, a meaty thwack filling the air.

The blow, on top of the rest of the damage they had done, seemed to take the fight out of the cephalodile. Its head slammed down onto the shore and the struggling tension in its tentacles went slack.

John drew back, ready to snap back into the fight, but it seemed their enemy had reached a tipping point and had given up the ghost. Senka kept her binding in place, just in case it was some last ditch effort, but the cephalodile’s languid movements soon ceased and it faded into nothingness.

140 EXP Gained

With the threat gone, Tok lurched over, turning his ax into a crutch.

“Tok!” John shouted as he dashed over to the hot headed dwarf.

“Really need to stop me from jinxing us,” he bantered through pained breath. “Think that first hit might have broken something.”

“You shouldn’t have pushed yourself to keep fighting then,” Rowan remarked, but her tone was one of concern.

“Didn’t feel right to sit things out,” Tok grunted out.

“Hold still, or lay down if that makes things feel better,” John ordered, casting Spring Blessing. The four bubbles that manifested quickly floated over and attached themselves to Tok. With each one healing a point of HP per second, John was sure he could get Tok into a good spot quickly enough.

“It’s a good thing I can put all of these on one person,” he said, even as Tok let out a groan of relief as his wounds were mended. “Four points a second is better than being capped at one with three points being wasted.”

“Is your mana going to be okay?” Rowan asked.

“I’ll be fine,” John replied, even as he eyed his quickly dropping mana bar. “But after this, I think taking a moment for me to recover would be in order. I’ve got a meditative skill that can let me recover but I need to actually stop and be still to use it.”

“I think a bit of a rest won’t hurt,” Tok remarked. “And if anyone has anything to say about it, I’ll take the blame for it. It was my big mouth that got us into this.”

“I think that thing would have attacked regardless,” Rowan said softly. “We weren't exactly moving around with stealth in mind.”

“It is a bit hard in the armor,” John joked. “How are you feeling, Tok?”

“Way better. Thanks, buddy,” Tok said as John let the spirit magic fade. Tok was not at full, but was just above three-quarters on his heath bar and it seemed the regeneration magic fixed the worst bit of the damage first, leaving the dwarf bruised but not limited in any way.

“No problem.” John grinned at him, before doing a quick bit of math in his head. “I’m going to need five minutes to do my regening.”

“A few minutes to rest isn’t something I’m going to complain about.” Rowan smiled at John. “Going from one fight to another without any rest is a great way to lose a protracted engagement.”

John smiled back at her and settled down, placing his sword in his lap. If he was going to spend time regenerating mana, he might as well get the best out of the weapon’s buffing capabilities.

Calming his mind, John let Bask activate, letting the mana of the area flow into him. Strong vibrant warmth and flowing cool washed into him in equal measure, the confluence of the river and jungle filling John with a sense and desire to move. The rush of the water, of prey scurrying about, of predators lying in wait, coiled like springs ready to be released. And for most of John’s meditation, it remained that mix of active and waiting energy.

As the four minute mark neared the five and the limit of Bask, something else cut through that energy. It was a cloying smoke, slowly creeping in and suppressing the other flows of mana. Before Bask hit its cut-off, it felt like small, hot pin-pricks crawling over him.

And then it vanished, leaving only the usual mana.

John’s eyes snapped open, though Senka’s calm presence reassured him that they were in no danger.

“Something the matter?” Rowan asked, quickly picking up on his distress.

“Sensed something weird,” John informed them, going into detail just what he felt. “Thought something was coming but…”

“We haven’t noticed anything,” Tok said, pivoting around as if he expected enemies to jump out at them right then and there.

“Yeah, it’s not there now,” John reiterated. “I’m sure you would have pulled me out of my meditation if there were.”

“Could it have been something from the outside?” Senka proposed. “Them tweaking the barrier for some reason?”

“They can do that,” Tok said with certainty. “Maybe they thought we breezed through that croctopus too easily.”

“Do you have to keep jinxing us?” Rowan sighed, shaking her head. “In any event, staying here isn’t going to accomplish anything. We should get moving. That temple should be close.”

John nodded and they set off again.

‘You’re not comfortable with leaving what you felt unexplored,’ Senka noted.

‘I know I’m not the most knowledgeable on barriers and magic, but I can’t stop thinking that wasn’t normal or some planned thing making itself known,’ John remarked. ‘Maybe getting ambushed a few times has left me on edge, but I can’t shake the feeling that something’s up.’

‘I can’t say it isn’t odd, but I think it was just a glitch,’ Senka thought. ‘It was only for an instant and you only sensed it because you were focused on the mana.’

‘And what if it only ended because I was paying attention?’ John rebutted before mentally shaking his head. ‘But in the end, there isn’t anything I can do besides be on the lookout for anything really out of place. And hope that if someone’s trying to fuck with the barrier, one of the clan’s mages notice and stop it.’

‘No point in taking on battles we can’t even fight,’ Senka wisely intoned. ‘But, to help ease your mind, I’ll keep a sharp eye out for anything off too.’

‘Thanks,’ John thought to her with a smile then trained his eyes forward. Their path began to slowly pitch up as the river began to grow more tumultuous below them. They climbed up the hill, carefully avoiding the edge. The crash of water began to drown out every other sound, which led John to believe they were closing in on a waterfall.

‘Suppose that means we’ll have a good vantage point to look around,’ John thought as they hiked higher. As the roar reached the point of almost becoming painful, the hill leveled out, giving them a vantage point down into a deep valley, the river widening into a large and placid lake.

And sitting in the center of that lake was an imposing stone temple, connected to the shore by a number of bridges, some looking in better condition than others.

“It’s just like the stories described it,” Tok said, his voice breathy from either awe or the exertion of the climb. “‘Built in the classic style with eight outer walls topped with a tower at the center of each.’ They really put in the work.”

“It is impressive,” Rowan agreed before she looked at John. “I think we should look down with those goggles of yours before we find a way down.”

“Very good idea,” John agreed, swapping his helmet for the goggles. “Let’s see if there’s anything of note down there.”