Galactic High

Jack, what are you doing with those spears? Chiyo asked as Jack gathered up a bundle of them and slung them over his shoulder.

“Defences!” He reasoned, adrenaline pumping as he looked to Elysandra. “You’ve been using your abilities to make those Twigspawn things even while showing us the armoury and answering our questions. If we can hold the gate for as long as we can, could you use your powers to make more? Maybe even give us a fallback position for when they break through? Ditches, walls, pits and stuff? We have a druid friend that can kinda do that kind of stuff...”

“I can.” Elysandra nodded, seeing the logic. “I’ve done it before when I’ve been able to, but this siege has been relentless and unending!”

“How the hell have you lasted this long?” Sephy scoffed. “Damn, woman…”

Elysandra’s expression shifted slightly as she moved her hand, warping several of the trees into growing a set of stairs for easy access to the wall. “My bond with nature, and the will of the Nurturing Mother, has kept me going thus far. Stall and hold them off for as long as you can from the wall, the Twigspawn will remain at the gate while I summon further defences!”

“Sounds like a plan.” Nika nodded. “Can the Twigspawn understand and take orders from us?”

“No, they’re simple-minded automatons.” The druid shook her head. “But they can use weapons. Is that your intention with the spears?”

“Depends, can they form a phalanx?” Jack asked. “I saw them use spears when we got here, but no formations whatsoever!”

“A what?” Elysandra asked, confused.

“Line of shields at front, spears in the rear line poking out,” Jack crudely explained. “If they hold tight they’ll be hard to budge. And you can use these spears in a ditch or something, maybe have a few handy?”

“Your formation idea has merit, it will be done.” Elysanda nodded as she ran to some strangely-shaped hedges. “Good luck!”

“God speed!” Jack replied with a nod as he and the others headed to the gate.

“Doesn’t sound like they’ve reached us yet,” Nika called over comms, having sprinted ahead of the others and climbed the tree to the top of the wall where they’d be holding out. When they caught up, the Kizun was fiddling with some items and laying things out for them.

“Good.” Alora nodded. “Sephy, how many drones did you bring?”

“Three, but my Overwatch Drone got hit by one of the Hags and needs repairs,” the Skritta reminded the Eladrie. “I just have a my two Scout Drones left.”

“Send them up and keep them behind the shrine’s protection!” Alora ordered.

“Sure, but they won’t be as good,” Sephy warned as she quickly reached into one of her pockets, pulling out an object the size of a phone and a smaller one the size of a credit card. Quickly placing them on the ground, they automatically unfurled, the Skritta not watching to observe them as they linked with her mind and promptly hovered up into the sky.

“Anyone got anything we need to know about?” Alora asked. “I’ve got a staff that can help manipulate the weather. Dante has a new collar, it’s magical but I don’t know what it does. All I know is it isn’t bad!”

I have alchemical vials that’ll cause damage, Chiyo told the others who didn’t already know. I’ll use my powers to best place them, and I can mark targets now, though I don’t know what form that will take. I’ve also taken some wands I think I can use.

“Got some sick new knives!” Sephy grinned, before her expression faltered slightly. “But I sure as hell don’t want to be getting close to those things to need to use them! Nothing else exciting.”

“I haven’t got much outside of some more ammo.” Nika shook her head.

“Neither have I,” Jack confirmed. “Some more shots for the boomstick, but don’t forget we came well prepared. I’m thinking if we need to break out, we did agree back at the house I’d take-”

Suddenly he was interrupted as an unnatural screeching howl loudly bellowed out, soon followed by many, many more.

“Shit! They’re close!” Jack cursed, following the others as they bounded up the ‘stairs’ along the trunk of one of the trees at the gate, two at a time.

So it begins, Chiyo grimly announced.

As everyone reached the top of the wall above the shrine’s entrance, the tension in the air was palpable. The ancient metal of the strange wall beneath their feet seemed to hum with the anticipation of what was to come, as the thick blankets of ‘mist’ clung to the ground below, swirling in ghostly patterns. Since the howling, the night had turned eerily quiet, with the only sounds being the distant rustling of leaves in the dark forest beyond.

“Pick your spots.” Nika told them, pointing out the best places for cover just above the gate. “Don’t get too comfy, we might need to fall back soon.”

“Stall them for as long as you can.” Alora whispered as she took a spot close to one of the great trees in heavy cover. “Give Elysandra the time she needs!”

“Xanuria, Lady of Night.” Sephy palmed her hands together in a quick prayer, muttering under her breath so nobody else could hear. “I walk in your shadow and strike in your name. Guide my hand, steady my heart, and veil our souls from those who seek to do us harm. Your darkness is my shield and your silence my strength. And if we should fall, grant us your mercy.”

“Come on you motherfuckers…” Jack growled under his breath as he kept his gun raised, scanning the darkness for any signs of movement.

The eerie silence was slowly broken by the soft sound of footsteps crunching against the brittle leaves scattered across the ground. Several figures strode out of the shifting fog, all stepping in sync, before collectively stopping just at the edge of the closest treeline. Out of this group, three figures gradually took shape - the crooked, skeletal limbs and sharp claws of the Skinwalkers glinting from Alora’s Dancing Lights circling above.

“Hold your fire for now…” Alora whispered to the others, itching to engage. “They’re not in a hurry, we need to stall and they’re at a far range. Something’s up.”

“Range isn’t a problem for my sniper rifle,” Nika whispered back, “but I’ll take the one in the middle when they move.”

“Left.” Jack growled, switching his gun to full auto.

Right, Chiyo confirmed, drawing in power.

“Careful,” Sephy warned. “No way this is gonna be that easy. We don’t have the damn luck for it…”

“Woof…” Dante quietly barked as the three Skinwalkers looked up towards the group on the wall with their glowing red eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” Alora called out to the silent creatures. “What do you want?”

The Skinwalkers did not answer. What the hell were they waiting for?

“Hey! Arseholes! We asked you a question!” Jack called out.

The heads of the Skinwalkers immediately snapped towards him with a low, barely perceptible growl of anger.

“This…land…is…ours...” A malicious blend of voices rasped, spoken in unison by the three Skinwalkers they could see, and echoed by other sources out of view. The sound was collectively dry and hoarse, but still just loud enough to be heard by all of them.

“Really? Why is that?” Alora called back.

“Things...weak...blight…strong…” The collective hiss replied, voice laced with mockery.

“Alora, there’s no diplomacy with these guys,” Nika warned.

“Picking up movement on the drones,” Sephy warned. “They’re positioning.”

“You…will…die…” The voices taunted again.

“Engage!” Alora ordered. Jack’s plasma rifle crackled with energy, unleashing a barrage of bright, lethal rounds. The shots tore through the air with a high-pitched him, aimed directly at the left Skinwalker, in perfect timing with everybody else.

The moment his first bolt connected, it flew straight through the Skinwalker as if they weren’t there at all. The figures’ forms rippled and twisted into clouds of vapour, leaving nothing behind but swirling mist as the three figures seemed to dissolve into thin air.

Illusions! Chiyo warned, as the familiar giggling of the Death Candles returned.

“They wanted to stall us too!” Alora realised, as the silence was quickly broken by the sounds of many feet trampling through wet underbrush.

“You won’t hide from us!” Alora spat as she raised her Staff of Weather, focusing her powers as hard as she could into picking up the wind, blowing away the spore clouds acting as a smokescreen, which revealed many of the small Myrelings keeping low as they rushed forward to engage the Twigspawn standing in formation at the gate.

“Let’s go motherfuckers!” Jack yelled out as he took aim at the largest cluster of advancing enemies he could see and squeezed the trigger, sending a bright burst of plasma lighting up the night for a brief moment as it tore through the corrupted creatures, vaporising many on the spot, their bodies disintegrating into a puff of spores and ash.

“Anyone have eyes on our targets?” Nika called out as several of the Myrelings made it to the Twigspawn, throwing themselves at the formation in an attempt to disrupt it. The Kizun saw several of the Blightcaps in the distance holding back, as many of the smaller Myrelings attended them, using their own blighted natural abilities to begin changing them…

‘Shit, that can’t be good!’ Nika thought to herself as several of them then advanced forward, much larger and better protected than others they had seen before, while many smaller Myrelings hid behind them in cover as they advanced. She quickly switched to her sniper rifle still latched onto the parapet, and put a shot straight where she thought the creature’s face would be, leaving a smouldering, blackened hole, but cursed as the thing kept advancing.

“They’re getting tankier, watch out!” she called to the others.

‘Alright, they’re adapting to our tactics.’ The Kizun reasoned to herself as she quickly aimed again. They know we instinctively aim for the head so what if…’

In the microsecond it took for Nika to think that, she quickly adjusted her aim and fired, the sniper shot this time taking the Blightcap in the ‘leg’, causing it to stumble and fall.

“Nice try!” She grinned as she rapidly switched to her plasma rifle and took out several of the Myrelings too slow to find new cover, aided by several of the Twigspawn that were joining them on the wall with bows and arrows dutifully firing away, though without any sense of prioritisation.

“At least make these guys use flaming arrows…” She grumbled, though cursed on seeing several of the Myrelings attending the vanguard of Blightcaps working on strengthening their limbs too…

‘Damn. Where are they?’ Chiyo cursed to herself, desperately looking for priority targets, knowing they had to be around somewhere. Spotting movement at the edge of the forest that looked like a flowing robe, Chiyo quickly sent a water blast at it, cursing as the illusion puffed out of existence. ‘I have to take out these Death Candles, before we run out of ammo shooting their illusions!’

The Ilithii narrowed her eyes, focusing her senses as they cycled through different Transitional Planes, trying to find one that could allow her to see the Death Candles even when they shifted in and out of normal sight. Finding one and reaching out with her mind, Chiyo focused her ‘Third Eye’ into the Ethereal Plane.

‘Makes sense you’d use this place.’ Chiyo thought as she could sense the Death Candles manifest between this Plane and the Physical, but being able to see them on both sides at once as they flitted about like invisible ghosts, projecting their illusions to aid their fellow monsters. With a deep breath, Chiyo extended her mental focus and the world around her slowed.

She locked her eyes onto a spot in the mist where one of the Death Candles was manifesting, timing it just right as she raised her hand and launched a pulse of kinetic energy, smacking the skull-like spirit dead-on, sending a ripple through the air that tore the Death Candle apart.

‘One down’ She thought to herself, her focus intensifying as she drew in more power. She had to quickly duck down as a ball of ice was flung at her by another Death Candle, and she returned fire with another kinetic blast that disrupted the creature, killing it for good, to which the remaining Death Candles that she could see pulled back.

That’s a few fewer distractions for now, Chiyo told the others. But where are the damn Hags?

The question was immediately answered, as suddenly a bolt of dark, cracking energy streaked through the air, aimed directly at Jack.

Jack! Watch out! Chiyo warned, as she also sent her will through the Ring of Marking towards the robed Hag hiding among the trees, who began to glow as wisps of blue spiritual flames covered them from head to toe. Everyone! Target marked!

Jack barely had time to react to the spell flung his way, reflexively twisting his body to avoid the brunt of it as it grazed his side. “Fuck!” he grunted as a cold, numbing sensation tried to spread through his body, sapping his strength and energy before he focused his mind and ignored the pain, returning fire on the Hag that had attacked him.

“Jack, are you alright?” Alora asked, quickly placing her palm on his side where the spell hit and channelling some radiant energy to numb the sensation.

“I’m good!” He confirmed as he let loose another burst of plasma fire, the shots smacking into the tree the Hag was trying to hide behind, before a series of warning barks from Dante roared out.

“Below!” Sephy alerted them, as a formation of Blightcaps made it to the bottom of the earthen ramp, pushing up towards the gate, forcing everyone to concentrate their fire on the immediate threat as the giant mushrooms fought their way ever closer to the gate...

Using bombs! Chiyo warned, raising a hand and focusing her telekinetic powers as she floated several of the alchemical devices and acid vials around her. Keep them off me!

With sharp mental commands, Chiyo began launching the concoctions straight into the advancing Blightcaps, ignoring the Myrelings for the moment. The first acid vial spun through the air, propelled as fast as the Ilithii could manage, before it smashed into the face of a lumbering Blightcap, its thickened fungal hide sizzling as the acid burned though. The creature flailed back, its club-like limbs smashing into the Myrelings around it before it collapsed in a heap, the acid eating away at its form.

Next, she sent a cluster of alchemical bombs shooting forwards, slamming down into the densest part of the horde at the foot of the ramp, exploding in a bright flash of fire and smoke, engulfing the creatures below in a fiery inferno. The Myrelines screeched and flailed as their bodies ignited, fully consumed by the blast.

“Keep going!” Alora called out as the Eladrie then began casting, finishing the spell by raising her wand and shooting a red bead down towards the ground before snapping back into cover.

Chiyo gritted her teeth as she took up several of the grenades with her powers, raising them up and hurling them with precision into the biggest clusters of Blightcaps she could see. They detonated with a deafening roar, sending chunks of fungal flesh and spore-cloud spewing in every direction, mixing with the acrid smoke of the blast.

“Well done!” Alora praised. “Keep it up everyone! We’re doing well!”

As the battle raged on, the horde abruptly surged forward with renewed aggression, as a massive Blightcap lumbered up to the front, its bloated, spore-laden form pulsing with an ominous glow. The group barely had time to react to the sight before the creature picked up speed, rushing straight toward the last Twigspawn defenders down below in a full-on sprint…

“Look out!” Nika shouted in warning as the Blightcap’s body swelled grotesquely as it neared the entrance, its fungal sacs expanding like overfilled balloons. “Shit! Take it down!”

Sephy and Jack immediately unleashed bursts of plasma, trying to take the creature down before it reached them, but it was too late. The bloated Blightcap charged and slammed into the formation of Twigspawn, its body expanding rapidly as it reached the breaking point. A sickening, wet round echoed through the air, followed by a deafening *BOOM*!

The Blightcap detonated in an explosion of spores, acidic slime and shrapnel-like fungal matter. The force of the blast shook the ground and sent shockwaves ripping through the battlefield as debris flew everywhere, taking out the last defenders at the gate, and several of the attackers nearby.

Sephy was flung backwards off the wall with the force, quickly unfurling her wings to control her descent to the ground below. Alora was pushed back to slam painfully against the tree until she was steadied by Jack, who just about managed to keep his feet. Dante quickly blinked back to him mid-fling, while Chiyo safely floated to the ground with Nika desperately clutching onto her.

“Everyone, fall back!” Alora shouted, clutching her side as pain lanced through her body, though she quickly had the wits to cast a healing spell on herself. “We can’t hold here! Who’s hurt?!”

“They’re below,” Jack told her as he took aim down range and unleashed a full-auto volley at the monsters climbing the dirt ramp, while Dante barked, sparking with electrical energy as he summoned several balls of lightning amidst the growing sea of enemies, visibly draining him as the ‘Tesla Coils’ struck out all around them. “Go! I’ll hold them off and follow behind you!”

Alora nodded, not wanting to argue as she quickly made her way down the steps of the tree, maintaining her focus as she reinvigorated the divine protections she had cast over the group. Dante followed her as they reached the bottom and quickly ran to the secondary defences - a hastily constructed barricade made of thick roots and unearthed stones.

“Took out a bunch of them but they’re still full of surprises,” Nika greeted her as she reloaded her plasma rifle. “Lost my sniper rifle, probably somewhere on the ground, but we don’t have time to look.”

“Jack, hurry up!” Sephy called as Jack pelted towards the barricade, just as another loud explosion rocked the gate. He didn’t reply as he breathlessly vaulted the barricade, quickly reloading his now depleted heavy plasma rifle.

“More of the bigger ones coming this way,” The human gasped out. “They’re adapting.”

“Sephy, what do your drones see?” Alora asked.

“Myrelings bolstering the Blightcaps, they know they’re having an effect,” Sephy confirmed, before her face dropped. “Aww shit! We’ve got a full pack of Skinwalkers incoming! At least a dozen!”

They’ve been saving their elites for this! Chiyo realised.

“We’re not out of this yet!” Nika shouted, her voice filled with determination as the wooden reinforcements around the gate splintered with a powerful impact. “Ready for round two?”

“Ready,” the voice of Elysandra called to them as she joined them, flanked by several large plant creatures almost twice the size of Jack that looked to the human like a sheep made of twisting vines, branches and entire bushes. “The Twigspawn served their purpose, but these Baromets should help here!”

“How are you holding up with the other defences and fallback positions?” Sephy asked. “We’ve got worse incoming!”

“Trenches and pits are by the third position,” Elysandra told them. “They’ll allow us all to pass without harm if we need to run there. I have something else which is building. If we can hold off until it is complete, you can make your push to the ritual site.”

“Got it.” Jack nodded, refraining from making a sarcastic comment in the moment, before another explosion blew the defences wide open.

“Hold the line!” Alora yelled, her wand and spear at the ready, as Myrelines and Blightcaps flooded through the shattered gate, surging forward, before Jack unleashed a grenade from his launder, blasting the front line to smithereens.

“Use the bottleneck!” Nika told them as she threw an incendiary grenade, the device detonating in a flash of white phosphorus. Meanwhile, vines and roots from below entangled any that managed to get through, summoned by Elysandra, slowing their enemies down but not stopping them as they continued to press forward.

“Fuck, they just keep coming!” Jack cursed as he unleashed a raging torrent of full-auto, cursing again as he ran out of ammo and slapping another battery in. Damn, how much ammo did he even have left? Was it enough?

The group held on, fighting with every fibre of strength and skill they had left as wave after wave of Myrelings and Blightcaps kept coming, spilling through the gate like an unstoppable tide.

“Keep it up!” Elysandra yelled out, before noticing the sudden appearance of several pairs of glowing red eyes, as the pack of Skinwalkers emerged through the gate.

They weren’t out of this yet…