Rune Seeker

Hiral quickly reabsorbed his doubles then stepped out into the rain behind Nivian and Lonil, the steady stream of water cold on his bare shoulders. At some point soon, he’d need to figure out a replacement for the clothes he’d lost to the crystal monster.

Though I guess it saved me the trouble of a haircut.

Still, the rain wasn’t so bad—the shower back at home fell about as hard, and his End would make the cold bearable. It was the dark that was the bigger problem. Even though he remembered what the woods around them looked like, it was almost pitch black to his eyes. The few things he could see from the light spilling out of the shelter seemed warped. Sinister. Like there were new depths to things that only came out at night. Add in the way the shadows moved as things passed in front of the light source, and Hiral’s head was constantly turning at some new, imagined threat.

“This isn’t so bad,” Yanily said, following Hiral out of the shelter. “Maybe Hiral has the right idea, though. Clothes are going to be soaked through here in no time.”

“This is not another one of your silly plans to try and get Balyo naked, is it?” Wule asked dryly.

“I’m nothing if not a man of opportunity,” Yanily said, and turned back to the shelter as the others emerged from it.

“Not the time, Yan,” Seena said. “We’re not going to be able to move as fast like this. Running is too risky, even on the path.”

“It’ll be a muddy mess anyway,” Nivian said. “It’s going to take longer to get to the dungeon then we planned.”

“Then we’d best get a move on,” Seeyela said. “Picoli, if you could.”

“Right,” the woman said, more Light Darts appearing in the air around them. “Oh,” she said suddenly, her eyes widening, “I just got an achievement like Seena did. Same one, I think. Outside the Box.”

“Ability mutation and a class-specific reward?” Seena asked.

“Yeah, from the dungeon interface.”

“Those ability mutations might help address our light and shelter issues if they get abilities similar to how they’ve been using them,” Hiral said, and both Seena and Picoli nodded at that, obviously thinking along the same lines.

“They would,” Seeyela agreed. “Picoli, can you spread your darts out a bit more? Good. Lonil, you’ve got the lead. Vix and Fitch behind him. Then Wule, Picoli, and Cal. Rest behind them, with Nivian bringing up the rear. I want everybody keeping an eye out for anything out of place. The mud and dark are going to be bad enough, but if we have Troblins jumping us as well, we need to be ready for them. Questions?”

Nobody voiced a concern, and the group moved out. Hiral settled into step beside Seena, one of his swords drawn and ready in case they ran into trouble.

“You okay with your sister taking charge of your party like that?” Hiral asked quietly.

“When more than one party gets together—usually two, three max—we call it a raid group. Seeyela is always the raid leader for us, so we’re used to working with her.”

“Raid? What’s that?”

“Honestly, no idea.” Seena chuckled, her eyes sweeping along the edge of the light as they got back to the path. “Another one of those terms passed down from our ancestors. Like party, actually. We don’t do much as raid groups other than train together from time to time. It’s helpful since we all have a pretty good idea what each other are capable of, but as you can guess, the Quillback harvesting doesn’t require eighteen people.”

“Why aren’t you the raid leader?”

“She’s the older sister. More experience, though she’s only a level higher than me. Her whole group took some time off when she had Favela, and, on top of that, my party made a lot of progress this year hunting things like Troblins around the dungeons.”

“Why’s that?”

“Caaven wanted us to try something new. Dedicated harvest parties escorted by a combat party to keep them safe. The people in the harvest party have abilities better suited for dealing with the Quillbacks more… peacefully. While they did that, we scoured the area clear of threats. Since we weren’t harvesting, we had more time to hunt.”

“Seems like a solid plan,” Hiral said, scanning the side of the path. With the oppressive darkness, the mud squelching every step, and the rain still falling, even his 18 Atnwas pushed to the limit to detect anything further than a few feet away. The logical part of his brain knew his senses weren’t useless, but they felt limited. The shadows constantly moving with every step sure didn’t help either. “Does Seeyela’s party have a scout like… what was his name?”

“Julka,” Seena said. “And, no. They’re more focused on damage, other than Cal and Lonil. Maybe Picoli would be the closest, but I don’t think she’s put a lot into her attunement. You’re probably the best we’ve got. Why, you notice something?”

“I’m…” Hiral trailed off as another shadow on the side of the road moved.

What was that? My imagination again?

“Hiral?” Seena asked.

“It was nothing,” Hiral said, but kept his eyes moving.

Was the sound of the rain different? It had been consistently pattering against the leaves. Now, was there less of that? Or was he just overanalyzing things? It could simply be that they’d reached a part of the woods with less leaves, and more rain was directly hitting the ground. That would also explain that earthy smell.

Earthy… smell. It wasn’t the same as in the shelter when the ground got wet, or what he’d smelled since they left. It was… warmer.

Another shadow moved along the left side of the path, and this time, Hiral was sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light.

The shadow had moved in the opposite direction.

“Troblins,” Hiral said quietly to Seena.

“You’re sure?” she asked, an edge to her voice.

“I’m sure,” Hiral said while he searched for the telltale green eyes. In the dark like this, they’d be practically glowing, wouldn’t they?

“We’ve got incoming,” Seena said, her voice raised so the others could hear her over the falling rain.

As soon as her words registered, the group tightened up, condensing around Wule and Cal, and all eyes turned out toward the surrounding trees.

“Where?” Seeyela asked.

“Hiral?” Seena spoke up.

“I saw movement over there,” Hiral said, pointing one sword toward the trees while he drew the other. If the Troblins saw the group was ready for a fight, maybe they’d back off.

“I don’t see anything,” Fitch said. “The Islander making stuff up?”

“The Islander is standing right here, and isn’t making stuff up,” Hiral said evenly, his eyes scanning across the edge of the light. “There!” He pointed as a hint of green blinked between some leaves.

“Picoli, darts,” Seeyela ordered, and the other woman sent a trio of glowing Light Darts into the woods with a gesture.

As soon as the firefly-like balls of light reached the treeline, a dozen pairs of glowing green eyes stared back at the party.

“Their eyes reflect light,” Hiral said as realization struck him. “More darts!”

“I’ll do what I…” Picoli started.

“Behind us,” Nivian shouted as the treeline on both sides of the path burst outward in a rush of Troblins.

A dozen. Two dozen. Three. They poured out of the bushes and swarmed at the clustered party in the middle of the path, the same weighted clubs and crude axes held in knobby hands.

“Hit ‘em!” Seeyela shouted.

The two parties took a step forward, lashing out with weapons and abilities in a staccato of pulsing of solar energy.

Light Dartsthat’d been used to guide them suddenly launched out and buried themselves in Troblin bodies, the small, glowing balls burning whatever they struck. Individually, the hits weren’t enough to bring a Troblin down, but rarely did only one find its mark. Four Troblins hit the ground before the horde even reached the group.

The downside was that it got noticeably darker.

No choice but to trust they know what they’re doing, and do my own part.

Hiral’s skin hardened as he got the Nature’s Bulwark notification, and he also stepped toward the nearest pair of Troblins. Out went his sword, twisting around and catching a heavy club as it missed him, then a snap of his wrist pulled the weapon out of the Troblin’s hands. The small monster stumbled forward, off balance, and Hiral slammed his heel into its exposed chest, instantly sending it rocketing back into the other creatures behind it.

No sooner had his foot come down than he pivoted out of the way of a swinging axe, the stone head cutting the air where his knee had been. He followed up with a quick thrust of the sword in his right hand. Green blood, almost florescent in the dark, trailed behind his arcing blade, and then he hit the same creature again with the weapon in his other hand.

Two down.

Hiral ignored the notifications popping up in the corner of his vision as the party behind him cut through the Troblin ranks, instead lashing out at another monster filling the space in front of him. Parry, stab, slash. He dropped it to the ground, then snapped his hip around to catch a distracted Troblin in the back of its head with a kick.

The stunned creature dropped its guard and staggered forward, right into Yanily’s biting spear. Green blood exploded out of its back as the spearhead drove straight through its chest and out the other side, then Yanily shifted his foot and hauled the spear sideways. Using the Troblin body almost like a club, the Grower slammed it into three more of its kind. The whole group tangled and fell to the ground.

Just in time for arm-thick root-spikes to shoot out of the earth and impale each of them half a dozen times.

“Watch out for one of those Shamans,” Seena called. “Hiral, you see any?”

“No. Need more light,” he shouted back while one sword parried aside an axe, and his other sword punched through a glowing Troblin eye.

“Picoli, we’ve got the damage covered—keep your darts on light duty,” Seeyela shouted.

“Understood,” she said, and Hiral felt more than saw a shift of the Growers behind him.

She must be moving in closer to Wule and Cal.

Almost immediately, the Light Darts that’d been used offensively again took position above the group, spreading out along the path to light up the area thirty feet in each direction.

“Hiral?” Seena asked again.

“I’m looking,” he told her, dropping another Troblin to the ground with a pair of swords through its chest while his eyes checked the horde for another wolf’s-head hat.

No, it wouldn’t be part of the horde. Last time, it was hanging back to direct the Pile On. It’s going to be looking for a weak link…

Hiral turned to the side, narrowly evading a vertical club that splashed into the mud at his feet, then backhanded the Troblin in the face with the pommel of his sword. The blow didn’t kill the creature, but it did stagger it back to delay the others behind it. That gave Hiral the seconds he needed to scan further back along the path, and then around to the head of the party, where Lonil’s towering, stony form battered aside Troblin after Troblin like they were nothing more than misbehaving children.

Off to the right, a trio of pulsing red spheres dominated the field, sucking in any Troblins unfortunate to get too close—and doing Fallen knew what to them. There was a kind of pop when the Troblins hit the sphere, then nothing. No Shaman in their right mind would be anywhere near those things.

To the left? Vix and Fitch had things under control near the front, while Balyo and Yanily controlled things closer to the back. Seena seemed to be filling in the gaps while slowing and herding Troblin movements with her abilities, streaming the enemy straight to Nivian, who held the line in the rear.

Hiral’s gaze trailed down the path where they’d come from, but there was no sign of a Shaman in that direction. The forest was too dense on both sides for anything to be able to see the conflict from more than a foot or two further in. Which meant the best place for a Shaman to direct the Troblins would be directly ahead, somewhere past Lonil. Hiral focused his attention in that direction.

Where? Where…? There!

“Found one!” Hiral said.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Seena shot back.

“Uh… right,” Hiral said. “Yanily, I’m leaving. Cover me.”

“Eh? You’re what…?” Yanily said as Hiral arced his blade through the Troblin he’d backhanded a moment before, then spun on his feet and dashed through the Grower party.

He darted between a surprised Wule and Cal, then stretched his hands forward and activated his Foundational Split ability. Lonil, Fitch, and Vix formed a solid wall protecting the two healers from the frontal assault, but it’d be almost impossible to go through them and the wave of Troblins. So, Hiral needed another option.

Good thing he had two.

Right and Left burst out ahead of him at the same time the double-helix pattern wrapped his limbs, then slid to a stop in the mud and interlocked their hands as they turned sideways. Without slowing, Hiral leapt from the muddy path, his feet perfectly finding the cupped hands of his two doubles, and they launched him up and over the backs of the Grower frontline.

Soaring from the combined 36 Str of his doubles, Hiral easily cleared the six-deep mass of Troblin bodies, landed, and ducked his shoulder into a roll through the mud to absorb his momentum right in front of the surprised Shaman. Blades sweeping out as he rose in a spin, he caught the Shaman across its chest—along with one of the two guards—then dove to the side as the other guard swung its club.

A spike of pain lanced up Hiral’s thigh, as he wasn’t quite fast enough, but the Nature’s Bulwark buff had taken most of the bite out of the hit. Hiral rolled again to get his feet back under him, boots sliding in the slick mud. One guard and the Shaman staggered from his earlier attack as he turned back to the trio, but the other guard was already rushing at him with its weapon held high, green energy wrapping in glowing bands around its biceps.

Up came both of Hiral’s swords to catch the descending club in the X formed by his blades, but a stunning amount of strength had Hiral dropping to a knee beneath the weight of the strike. Surprised by the power of the Troblin’s blow, Hiral was too slow to avoid the kick it launched into his lowered chest.

Air blasted out of his lungs as he toppled backwards, his years of training taking over and getting him to rollyet again through the mud—just in time to avoid the club that smashed down right where his head should’ve been.

Muddy path gave way to the bushy side of the road as Hiral made it as far as his knees, the Troblin guard with the glowing green bands around its arms charging after him. Parrying hadn’t worked so well before, but instinct pulled Hiral’s right hand up, and he pushed solar energy into the Rune of Rejection on his forearm. A lot more solar power than when he’d experimented with it in the shelter.

A concussive, conical push exploded out of his hand, along with his sword, blasting the rain aside and slamming his sword into—and through—the rushing Troblin. Green eyes widened in surprise as the guard’s chest vanished in a spray of blood that covered the other guard and Shaman, who were also tossed to the ground by the wave of force.

He wasn’t sure who was more stunned in that moment—himself or the Shaman. That had been a lot more powerful than when he’d used it before.

“Fallen’s balls,” Hiral cursed in surprise, but he pushed himself to his feet and rushed at the Shaman. The knockback likely hadn’t killed it, and this was his chance to finish it off.

Three lightning-quick strides later, Hiral arrived at the Shaman just as it was sitting up. A single, merciless sweep of his remaining sword separated its head from its shoulders. Another quick stab took care of the still-stunned guard, and Hiral turned his attention back to the main force.

He needn’t have bothered; the two Grower parties had already gone through the bulk of their enemies, almost casually finishing off the stragglers who refused to retreat. And there, beside Lonil, were Left and Right, fighting their way past the last line of Troblins to join Hiral.

“Nice trick with the rune,” Right said, green blood soaking the glowing Meridian Line on his right fist and forearm. “Was half-wondering if you’d try those out.”

“It would be prudent to test the limits of your new abilities while outside of combat,” Left added, the liquid Dagger of Sath glowing a soft blue in his hand.

“Haven’t exactly had the chance,” Hiral said flatly.

“True,” Left conceded.

“Thanks for your help getting over the Troblins, though. I wasn’t sure that would work, or that you’d know what I needed.”

“We’re you,” Right said. “Of course we knew your crazy plan.”

“Hiral… and… uh… other Hirals, is it really okay to call you guys Left and Right?” Seena asked, coming to join the three of them.

“It’s fine,” Right said. “We can’t change it now—it’s what our status windows say.”

“Which reminds me,” Left said. “We should spend our attribute points. It will make the next fight that much easier.”

“Sure, in just a minute,” Hiral said. Left had a good point, but first… “Everybody okay?” he asked Seena.

“Yes, thanks to your warning and taking care of the Shaman. We didn’t even have to deal with a Pile On,” Seena said. “And Left and Right here—they aren’t just for show, are they?”

“What do you mean?” Hiral asked.

“They move just like you do. As soon as they joined Lonil at the front there, it was pretty much over. They’re strong.”

“Like I said, we’re you,” Right said, like that explained everything.

“That ability is seriously overpowered,” Yanily said, joining them. “And guess who hit level nineteen from that last fight? That’s right. This guy.”

“Which is good,” Seena said, apparently not as excited as Yanily was hoping, from the look on his face. “I’ve never seen a group of Troblins that big, and we’ve still got a long way to go. I’m not looking forward to whatever other surprises are waiting for us.”