Woodland Warfare

The trek through the thick wood was a slow one, both by necessity and due to the congested terrain. It was mainly John’s trek to make, as the tightly packed trees and root-broken ground made it hard for Aeolia to walk and left flight to something she could only do in her natural size. So, to conserve her strength, she reverted to that small size and perched herself on John’s shoulder.

“Man,” John said, keeping his voice low, “that Scout really was a long way from its base. We’ve been at this for at least twenty minutes.” He kept to himself the nagging feeling that they weren’t going in the right direction, even if Aeolia’s deduction felt like the right one.

“That’s their job, isn’t it?” Aeolia commented from her perch. “Hopefully, their base isn’t…”

She trailed off and leaned forward, tilting an ear slightly to their left. “I think I heard something. You’ll be alright waiting here while I check it out?”

“I’ll be fine,” John said, holding back his apprehension at being left alone in the woods.

Evidently, he didn’t hide his discomfort well enough as Aeolia shot him a reassuring look. “Whatever I heard isn’t that far off. I’ll be back in a few.”

Aeolia jumped off John’s shoulder and flew after the sound, leaving the Gamer alone with his thoughts.

‘Okay, just keep calm,’ John chided himself after taking a deep breath. ‘You handled the Scout well enough, and now you’re a bit better with the knife. Aeolia will be back with news before you know it.’

To keep his mind off the phantom enemies lurking behind the trees, John elected to check the status of his knife, given it was the piece of equipment he had used the most.

‘That can’t be right,’ John thought as he saw how much durability remained. A tap on the bar revealed he’d only worn the weapon down six percent. ‘I used Shadow Snare long enough to have taken off three or four percent and hitting things should have taken off some too. It should be a little lower.’

Despite the old adage of not looking a gift horse in the mouth, John couldn’t help but question, the inquiry helping to keep his mind off the hostiles that may or not be around. The only thing John could think of after a quick review of what he knew about the knife was the one thing he didn’t know about it: the final and unreviewed Attribute.

Well-Crafted: Made of quality material, this object is 25% more resistant to durability loss and costs.

‘Okay, should have checked that a while ago,’ John thought, dismissing the Attribute display. He was about to close the knife’s Observe page when his eye caught something that irked him.

‘I really should rename this,’ John mused as he eyed the overly long name. It was not the most pressing issue, but referring to it as just ‘knife’ rubbed him the wrong way. Too many years of games, anime and books with coolly named swords had made him partial to the personalized touch, and he wondered if he could re-name his items, and if so, what to call his first weapon.

A quick tap on the name portion of the Observe sheet evoked a keyboard above the sheet, blocking out all but the name of the knife, which now had the blinking insertion point waiting for input.

‘Okay, but what to call you?’ John wondered. In prior namings, he liked to name it in reference to what a weapon did or what effects it had. ‘Dark Mana reserve, casting cost reduction, highly durable and a shadowy binding ability. Hmm, shadow.’

The darker aspect of his knife brought back a memory of a dark horse he had purchased as a mount in an RPG. As a young teen, the stereotypical name would have been something like ‘Shadow’ or ‘Nightmare’, but John found that to not be interesting enough. So a quick search of the internet had brought up a much cooler sounding name, even if it was just shadow in another language.

‘Senka’. John fondly remembered that horse, she had kept with him through most of that playthrough, only falling to the mob of enemies that preceded the final dungeon. ‘Yeah, I’ll go with that.’

Nimble fingers erased the initial name and replaced it with Senka. Satisfied, John confirmed the name change and closed the displays. With no sign of Aeolia’s return, John shifted slightly, his now unoccupied mind conjuring unsettling scenarios, fingers fiddling with the ring on his finger.

‘I don’t have any way to see Aeolia’s condition when she’s not in view,’ John worried after a brief attempt to call up a party menu of some kind met with nothing. John’s worrying was reduced as a glance in the direction Aeolia had darted off to heralded her return, flying at a good pace in her small form.

Before she reached him, she shifted back to her full height, landing as gracefully as one could on the rough terrain. “Well, I found what looks like their base.”

“That’s great,” John said before noting Aeolia’s somewhat grim countenance. “Not great?”

“Obviously, I don’t have your ability to look up something’s power level, but what I saw looked really strong. Big hulking guy, built like, well, a tree trunk. And a smaller one riding one of those damned Vine Hounds with spikes for hands.”

“Just three, huh,” John commented, frowning as he mulled over that info, limited as it was. “Well, we’re not going to make any progress just standing around here. Observe might give us an idea on how to beat them.”

“Right,” Aeolia said, shrinking down and flying over to John’s shoulder. “Should be about a ten-minute walk.”

“Ten minutes?” John echoed. “Let’s get going then.”

The trek indeed took the estimated time and John and Aeolia found themselves at the edge of another clearing. This one, however, wasn’t empty. A lone tree dominated the center of the grassy field, though it was obvious that it wasn’t something that grew naturally. Four massive roots lifted the tree off the ground, forming a cavernous chamber under the tree marked by the tall arches the roots formed. The leaves of the tree, in contrast to the greens of the surrounding wood, were a bright gold, flashing with light every few seconds.

Sentinel Tree: A magically grown Aurem Maple tree, it stands as both a sign of the expansion of the Woad’s Elven masters and as a relay station for updating their orders.

A circular path of grass had been worn down, large enough to pass around the whole tree, roots and all. A moment later, the Vine Hound riding Woad emerged from behind the cover of a root, traversing the well-worn path.

“So, he’s a level ten,” Aeolia remarked, reading the Observe from John’s shoulder, “then what level is the big guy?”

“Where is the big guy?” John asked in a hushed whisper, dismissing the window.

“Look under the tree,” Aeolia responded in turn, pointing to the dark expanse under the roots.

John returned his attention to the arboreal cavern, right as the Knight neared the opening. From out of the shade, a large figure stepped into the sunlight, standing tall over its mounted compatriot.

“Level thirteen, damn,” John quietly cursed as they watched the Commander stand resolutely as the Knight passed before retreating back into the cavern.

“Thought your powers said they’d be at level ten,” Aeolia said, before hastily adding, “not that I don’t think I can handle the big guy. Just saying.”

“Their levels average out to about ten,” John retorted, eyes focused on the details of the Observe. “One lower, one at, and one, the boss, higher. What do you think about this ‘Encounter Event’?”

Aeolia bent over to fully read the sheet. “I mean, disarming the guy sounds like a nice idea, but I don’t know how we’re supposed to manage that, especially with his buddy there. Hells, I don’t even know how we’re supposed to beat them normally.”

John hummed, watching their unaware enemies, the Knight continuing its patrol and the Commander stepping out only when its subordinate passed in front of it. As the Commander walked back into the tree, John’s eyes widened as an idea began to form.

“Got a plan?” Aeolia asked, reading his expression.

“Maybe,” John muttered, eyes focused on the routine of the Woads. “These guys did the same thing when you scouted over here, right?”

“Yeah,” Aeolia replied. “The mounted guy kept circling and the big guy popped out only to head back in. Is that important?”

“Might be,” John mused. “How smart are golems?”

“Um, not really,” Aeolia said, her face scrunching up in thought. “They can follow simple orders and commands. Stand here, attack that, listen for a passcode. Thomas spent a lot of time trying to upgrade Clay for more, but only really got him to react to music. Foot tapping and head nodding, stuff like that. Why’d you ask?”

“I’m thinking these guys aren’t any smarter,” John asserted. “They’re called golems by Observe and are just following a pattern. The Knight patrols, the Commander steps out for a second then retreats, over and over. If we can **** that, we should be able to deal with the Knight first, then tackle the Commander.”

“And how are we going to do that?” Aeolia asked with a frown. “Can’t say I want to play decoy, but if that’s the only play…”

“We’ve got another option to try before that,” John said, cutting her off and lifting his right hand, displaying his ring. He threw an Observe on it to bring up the display to reveal its Evocation for Aeolia to read.

“So you’re going to summon this Phantom and have it run in as a decoy,” Aeolia surmised. “Draw away the Knight for us to ambush?”

“Basically,” John said. “We need to see if the Commander’s actions are tied to the Knight’s. Sometimes, drawing the attention of one enemy will trigger other enemies to pathfind to it. If they move as a pair, then our plan is dead in the water.”

“I like that plan more than flying into the line of fire,” Aeolia commented. “Can that summon of yours do any damage? Knocking off a bit of health never hurt.”

“Don’t know,” John admitted. “First time giving it a whirl. It’s only going to have ten HP, so if it doesn't have a ranged attack, then it might only be a lure. Anyway, we should aim to attract the Knight while he’s behind the Commander’s back.”

John began to circle around to what he was calling the rear of the clearing, careful to not make any sound, in case that drew the attention of the Woads.

“You know,” Aeolia quietly said, her voice barely above a whisper, “you’ve got a good mind for this kind of thinking.”

John flushed under her light praise. “It’s nothing really special. You play enough games, you get used to figuring out the tells of an enemy. Let’s just hope it works.”

Aeolia lightly rapped a knuckle upon John’s temple. “Don’t sell yourself short. Thinking up a plan is a good trait to keep yourself alive.”

John didn’t miss the hint of bitterness in her tone, but opted to not mention it as they got into position, about a meter beyond the edge of the clearing.

“Ready?” he asked his companion, who promptly jumped off his shoulder, landing lightly on the ground at full height.

“You bet,” she answered, glaive pointing towards the clearing, poised to strike.

Before John cast the ring’s Evocation, he double-checked his Mana, finding he had regenerated back up to 58.

‘I’ll be at half after I do this,’ John thought after a quick bit of math. ‘Which means only one shot with the Goggles if things get dicey. And it means I can’t summon a second Phantom or use most of my other moves if I want to keep that trump card in play. Shadow Snare is probably the one I could get the most mileage out of with the limited supply I’ve got. That might be a good move to make. Trip it up for a second, then wailing on it while it's stunlocked.’

John took a breath and refocused his mind. They had made a plan, and it was time to follow through, and react accordingly. He clenched his fist and willed his Mana to trigger Mana Phantom.

An instant later, a faintly glowing white figure bloomed into existence, his form a copy of John’s silhouette. He stood passively, a declining bar above its head like John and Aeolia’s HP and MP bars, marking its remaining duration. As he wasn’t moving, John decided to issue an order, right as the Knight trotted into view, “Approach that guy and lure him here. Pull back once it starts to go after you.”

The Phantom turned on the spot and moved with a degree of swiftness into the clearing. He had only ventured a meter in before the Woad Knight’s canid mount turned sharply, howled, and barreled towards the magically manifested specter. Per his orders, the Phantom began to reverse course, and in the trees, Aeolia and John tensed for the fight.

Despite the distance between the Knight and the edge of the woods, the mounted Woad quickly neared the specter, drawing back a lance arm to strike the retreating summon.

‘Just a little further,’ John thought as the Woad was bearing down on his summon, his grip tightening on Senka. ‘I know he was only a lure, but if he lasts until the Knight gets in range, I can let him attack before he despawns.’

The Knight sped past the one-meter mark, weapon arm springing forward as it attacked the Phantom, its back a few scant centimeters from the treeline. Then, its mount pitched forward, black tendrils wrapping up the hound’s legs for a second.

“Dodge and attack,” John shouted at his summon as he cast Shadow Snare, the dark rope already fading as he stopped fueling the effect. The Phantom reacted with near robotic movements, diving to the side as the Knight’s momentum drove it into the ground, wooden lance digging effortlessly into the dirt.

2 DMG

Toppled over and stuck in the dirt, the Woad was unable to stop the Phantom as it punched the Knight in the side, the strike flashing bright, like a camera flash, upon contact.

2 DMG

Before the phantom could attack again, his time meter hit zero and he faded into nothingness. The Knight wrenched its arm free and its mount was righting its footing as Aeolia rocketed out to face it, glaive glowing with gathered Mana. She brought the blade down upon the Knight, who despite being off-balanced, managed to bring up a weapon shaped arm to block the strike.

Wind enhanced steel met magically animated wood, and unlike the Scout, the wood held up to the attack, only digging in a few centimeters.

6 DMG

Aeolia pulled her weapon free and pushed herself away from the Knight before it could retaliate. John slipped out from behind the trees, ready to support Aeolia and attack the Knight while it was distracted. He got only a step into the clearing when he heard heavy footfalls. Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach as John turned to see the Commander step out of the tree, its dominant stride carrying it towards the battle.