Clay stared through the trees at the camp of swinefolk, watching them as they moved.
It had been a handful of days since the first time he’d visited the bowl. The others had all finished reinforcing their [Achievement] the day after he’d first scouted the place, leaving yet another quartet of towers burning in their wake. The day after, he’d given them a brief day of rest, mostly meant to help them reach the point where they had mastered the combat [Chants]. It had been a sight to see, watching them begin to channel the powers he had relied on so long ago. Even the Baroness had taken part, though she’d mostly been limited to minor [Chants] only.
Once they had finished, he’d gathered them to assign them a new task. While he gathered more information, they would scourge the outer rings of the Lair’s defenses and kill as many swinefolk as they could.
He’d meant it as a way to help them adjust to using [Chants]. It wasn’t a meaningless exercise; every swinefolk they killed was one less that the Guardians could send out as an army against them, and the fewer towers remained, the easier it would be to reach the bowl.
What Clay hadn’t expected was for the Baroness to join their cause immediately and lead the whole group on a mission of eradication. They had declared it their goal to wipe out every swinefolk they could find short of the bowl, with enough enthusiasm to make him worry about their safety.
Just in case, he had shadowed their first attack on the next day. He’d been expecting them to encounter a little trouble as they approached that first great tower.
Instead, he’d been left a little stunned by the efficiency that they’d shown. They’d started the fight by using Pursuing Leap to scale the hill in a single jump. Then, as the swinefolk had tried to adjust to their sudden appearance, the [Commoners] had all channeled the Drums of the Earth. Alone, they couldn’t have done much of anything. Together, on the other hand, they had shaken the tower badly enough to cause the shoddy construction to break, sending the place collapsing to the ground.
As the surviving swinefolk had staggered free of the rubble, they met a hail of spears conjured by the Canticle of Ice. Those who survived charged into streams of fire from the Flame-Tongued Song, creating overlapping waves of devastation. The entire battle had lasted a bare handful of minutes, and the group had left the smoldering wreckage on route to the next tower before the smoke had even climbed high into the sky.
He’d been left both reassured and intimidated by the brutal effectiveness of the gathered [Commoners]. Once they grew even stronger, he wondered if there would ever be a Lair that could stand against them. It had been an amusing diversion to imagine them tearing through a place like the Tanglewood in a single week, though he knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
With the others blazing a burning path across the countryside, Clay had been free to infiltrate and observe his prey. The reverse of Mischief’s Ladder, a [Chant] he’d been calling the Prankster’s Rope, had actually allowed him to find a way down one of the massive cliffs, which meant that he’d been free to stalk beneath the strange canopy of too-broad leaves in order to approach one of the barricades from behind.
For the past hour, he’d been watching them, marking how they moved and where they were located. There were about three dozen lesser creatures, along with his three actual targets. All of them obeyed any apparent command without hesitation, and almost all of them were stationed along the barricade while the larger monsters stood some distance back. It made him wonder if the more advanced creatures were intending to use their smaller companions as disposable shields of some kind, allowing them to avoid being taken from ambush.
If so, they’d ironically left themselves open to an attack from behind. Clay had slowly crept up closer to them, reaching the very edge of their camp. At first, he’d worried that they would notice him, but the swinefolk were too obviously distracted to notice anything aside from what was directly in front of them. He’d noticed that they grew increasingly agitated as the day wore on and more and more smoke filled the sky. Perhaps they were expecting a frontal assault to hit them here.
Clay watched them move and came to a decision. He’d meant to watch for a while longer, but if he had a perfect opportunity here, it would be foolish to ignore it. Besides, if he delayed too long, the Lair might end up sending some of these things out to hunt down his students as they punched through the outer defenses. Better to start now, rather than later.
He quietly started the Canticle of Ice. It might have been wiser to strike with the Canon of Rock, but he wanted to see something of what the greater monsters could do in combat so he could warn the others. The Canticle would kill many of the mid-rank enemies and allow him to focus on the greater threats alone.
The instant he started the [Chant], the screecher’s movements came to a halt. Its head tilted back as it sniffed at the air, its snout wavering back and forth as it tried to track whatever it was. Clay remembered the way some of the ironslimes had been capable of smelling magic and grimaced. Apparently, he wouldn’t be able to strike entirely from ambush this time.
Before the things could find him, Clay broke from cover at a full sprint. He headed straight for the screecher, spear held ready to impale it. To his disappointment, it spun around the instant he left the shadows, its bloodshot eyes widening in shock and rage.
Then it moved, and Clay nearly lost track of it as the screecher became a blur of speed. It charged at him, but not directly. Instead, it curved around from the side, trying to catch him across the torso with the double-blade it gripped in its over-large hand.
He reacted immediately, twisting to bring his spear around to counter its attack. The screecher clashed with him before breaking off, curving around in another smooth arc to come at him from another angle. Clay could hear the air crackle as it moved, and the wind of its passage whipped past him.
There was a roar to his left, and Clay winced as he realized that the other creatures were also now alerted. He’d only have a short time before they would interfere. The eater was probably the worst problem, but—
Clay heard a crack loud enough that it made him glance behind him. The shaker had brought its hammer down on the ground, well short of him. Its eyes were fixed on him and glittering with malice, though, and Clay’s eyes widened as he saw the ground ripple on its way towards him. Acting again on instinct, he jumped up and away from the spot where he’d been standing.
It was almost too late. Just as he cleared the spot, a gigantic spike of rock erupted from the earth where he’d been standing. As he watched, the shaker reared back again, bringing its hammer up for another strike, and Clay realized he was in a much more serious situation than he’d seen before.
He landed, ready to charge towards the shaker, only to hear the screecher coming back around towards him again. Clay spun, smacking the thing’s blades aside a second time. It bounced back from the attack and then stopped for a moment. The screecher seemed to vibrate in place for a moment, trembling as it sucked in a breath.
Clay leapt backwards just as it screamed. The force of the sound slammed into him with actual, physical force. His head rang like a bell, and his vision blurred. He just barely kept hold of the [Chant] as he tumbled across the camp.
He rolled to his feet, already bracing for the screecher to come at him again. Instead, stone sprouted beneath him. Only a last-second pivot kept it from skewering his legs; the stone spike still slammed into his chest, denting a metal plate inside his armor. Clay was sent flying across the camp, barely able to hear the victorious roar of the shaker.
As he flew, however, he saw the eater. It had been standing back until this moment, but now three full orbs flew from its fingers. They shot straight towards him, the energy in each one enough to tear a massive hole through him. Clay had no chance to dodge, not while he was still in midair, and this time the spheres were moving fast enough to catch him before he reached the ground.
Then he groaned out the last syllables of the [Chant], and spears of ice gathered overhead.
Three of them shot through the air to strike the incoming orbs. They vanished in a crack of displaced magical energy, the spears shattering as if they’d struck a wall. The rest sped past the trio of elite monsters to lash out at Clay’s original targets. Mid-ranked monsters that had just started to turn back from the wall were struck down in a wave of glittering death. Clay saw them collapse as he hit the ground feet first, skidding backwards along the rough earth as he fought to stay upright.
{Feral Shrieker slain!}
{Land Eater slain!}
{Land Eater slain!}
{Wild Crusher slain!}
{Land Eater slain!}
{Feral Shrieker slain!}
{Wild Crusher slain!}
{Feral Shrieker slain!}
{Wild Crusher slain!}
Clay barely had the time to register the wave of notifications before the screecher was back, howling in at him from the side. He snapped out a quick thrust that forced it to dodge aside, and then was forced to throw himself out of the way of another burst of stone. As he moved, he started the Refrain and tried to ignore the ache in his chest. There were too many monsters still; the lesser creatures were running towards him, and he couldn’t afford to worry about them for long, not with the larger threats hounding him. The screecher struck at him again, and Clay smashed it aside. It reared back to scream, and Clay dodged around the spike of rock to shield himself. Sound still battered at him, but it didn’t throw him across the camp again.
Another trio of orbs snapped out at him, and he dodged, keeping his back to the rock. The orbs struck at the stone, taking bites out of the spike. Chips of stone scattered from each impact, skittering off his armor and helmet. One jagged piece glanced off his cheek, drawing a bit of blood. Clay took a step forward, intending to charge.
Then he caught a hint of a ripple off to the side and dodged, just barely escaping the fate of being crushed between the previous spike and a new one. The screecher returned a heartbeat later, catching him as he was still rolling away. He barely managed to stab at it, drawing a flash of blood as its blade tore across his back. It didn’t pierce the armor, but it still left him off balance and staggering.
As he stumbled, the lesser creatures began their own charge. Squealers howled, smashers roared, and the eaters began their own spells. He saw all of them, ready to throw themselves into the battle and weigh him down while their betters continued to pick him apart. In a flash, he pictured himself, broken and bleeding, surrounded by monsters who would kill him.
He saw, in his mind’s eye, Olivia weeping.
His foot touched the ground. He dug into that first step.
Clay moved.
It was more than a stride. He lunged, his jump carrying him across the camp and into the thick of the approaching monsters. The squealers recoiled, their eyes shocked. They died before they could finish skidding to a stop, his spear flashing out to strike among them like lightning.
When the screecher struck a heartbeat later, Clay was ready. He waited until the last possible moment and then shot the butt of his spear out towards the thing. It had chosen to strike at his back again, wanting to cut him apart where he couldn’t see it.
The screecher hit the butt of his spear and rebounded. Something broke beneath the blow, and its hissing scream spoke of deep pain. Clay didn’t chase after it as it lurched away. Instead, he took another lunging step, launching his entire body in a horizontal jump deep into the ranks of the smashers. He saw orbs flickering as the eaters launched new spells, seeking to kill him. Behind him, the earth cracked as the shaker’s late attack found nothing but air. He killed the smashers and made their bodies his shield, shoving their corpses into the way when the orbs sought him. They thrashed and exploded and died, and then the Refrain finally completed.
He sent the ice spears on their way. Eaters died, impaled and broken. The soul eater backed away slightly, its upper eyes blazing. Sheets of darkness formed to intercept the glittering projectiles. They broke and were torn to pieces, and Clay took another leaping stride towards the eater, hoping to finish it himself.
When the shield dropped, however, the eater had already summoned another two orbs. It lashed out with them, and Clay was forced to twist to avoid them. One brushed his helmet, and slivers of metal rained down as it tore past.
He landed and paused for just a moment. Information about the monsters was being catalogued in his mind, now. His thoughts raced as his eyes darted around the camp, tracking the remaining swinefolk.
The eater had new eyes. It could probably see through the magical shield that the eaters used. His strategy of blinding it, then striking, would not work.
Clay felt the earth crack, and he jumped away. To the side, he heard the screecher sucking in breath for another scream. He deliberately put his back to it and rode the blow, letting it fill his ears with ringing. When he landed, he was still on his feet, and ready to dodge the next blazing orbs.
The screecher’s scream was awful, but it wasn’t using it to shield its own attacks. It pushed him with it, positioning him for the other creatures to attack. Canceling his [Chants] and disorienting him was worth the time it took to pause and strike. He hadn’t seen it move while it breathed in.
He saw the orbs come in and felt another tremble beneath his feet. This time, he jumped back, and watched as the orbs smashed into the emerging spike. Rock splintered, and he thought he saw one of the magical bursts carve all the way through it. Still, he was safe, just for the moment, and he used that chance to look in the shaker’s direction.
It hadn’t moved all that much during the fight. The magic it was using was subtle, and he’d felt the weight of it in its steps. Getting close was likely as hard as staying distant, but if he let it, the thing would keep defending its comrades and making more of a mess of the battlefield. If he wanted to win, he needed to break its control of the fight.
The spikes had always come from the same direction as the hammer swing. Interesting.
Clay landed again, and this time he started a new [Chant], this time for Floating Step. He turned just in time to fend off the screecher and ran back towards the eater. After only two strides he heard the ground fracture beneath him again. He jerked to the right, towards the shaker, and snarled in triumph as the spike erupted in the opposite direction. The eater unleashed its orbs again, hurling them straight at him.
Which meant that the screecher couldn’t come at him from behind. There was a spike to his left, which meant the only remaining direction was…
Clay jerked back and to the left, tucking himself in behind the new earth spike. He shifted his grip along his spear, gripping it closer to the end of the weapon. As he did, the orbs sped past his cover. One of them clipped the stone, sending splinters of rock across his vision.
Despite that, Clay saw exactly what he had been expecting. The screecher streaked in at him, clearly having hoped that he would be distracted and open. It veered to the side, ready to break off for another strike. He watched as it skidded to a stop, sucking in its breath for the next scream.
Then Clay lunged, hurling his spear with all of his strength. The weapon caught the creature square in the chest, right before the thing could unleash its scream. He expected the spear to sink in up to the crossguards, perhaps before knocking the monster backwards.
It did not. The spear penetrated so far that it burst out of the screecher’s back. Clay saw the creature’s eyes go wide. Its hands scrabbled at the air as it tilted backwards, and its throat made a horrifying rattling sound.
Then it fell, and Clay grinned as something appeared in his vision.
{Feral Screecher slain! Soul increases by 80}
{Commoner reaches Level 16!}
{Maximum level for all Stats is now 31!}
{Experience gained (Hiker: Gain 5% bonus to all skills inside of a hilly area. Gain extra 15% bonus to the Tracking skill in a hilly area.)}
{Experience gained (Spear Expert: Gain 10% to damage when wielding a spear.)}
{Achievement Unlocked! Traveler: Gain 10% faster movement speed. Gain additional 15% movement speed in forests, tunnels, and hills.}
As the screecher fell, Clay heard the shaker roar in fury. The swinefolk began smashing his hammer into the ground in a blind fury, sending waves of spikes headed for Clay. At the same time, he could see the orbs curving around to come back at him from the other direction.
Clay didn’t wait for them to arrive. He sprinted straight at the shaker, drawing his knife as he ran. The spear was too wedged in the screecher’s corpse to retrieve, but the knife would work well enough in close quarters.
A forest of spikes rose behind him, bursting from the ground with all the fury the shaker could vent. Clay heard the orbs smash into them, and the eater’s frustrated squeal. He ignored them and kept running, closing the distance as he completed his [Chant].
The shaker’s fury stilled as Clay drew close. It raised its hammer in one hand, and malice entered its narrow-set eyes. Just as Floating Step completed, the shaker lifted one heavy hoof and slammed it down on the ground in front of it.
Clay saw the ground ripple, as if it was a lake and someone had dropped a rock into it. The shaking ground would have been sure to topple him, at which point the hammer might have come down on top of him. It might have killed him immediately.
Instead, Floating Step let him skid along above the shaking surface. The trembling earth’s agony was buffered easily by the spell’s effect, and Clay saw the thing’s eyes suddenly widen as he slid in close to it. Clay dodged a hasty, surprised swing, and then darted in close.
The smell of the creature hit him like a hammer all its own, but Clay ignored it to lunge in closer. He saw the shaker’s free hand coming around to try to grab him, to crush him close with its sheer strength. Clay ducked beneath it before lunging up and grabbing the back of the shaker’s arm. His Pell knife plunged into the joint of the thing’s elbow, and it roared with pain and tried to swing its arm in a wide arc to get rid of him.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Clay rode the momentum of the arm up long enough to get behind and above the shaker. Then he lunged for the monster’s back. The shaker had just enough time for another enraged roar before Clay grabbed its armor by the shoulder and wrapped his right arm around its head to plunge the blade into its neck.
He didn’t strike just once, either. Clay stabbed and ripped at the thing again and again as it dropped its hammer and reached upwards for him. When its massive hands grew close, Clay let go of the thing’s shoulder and jabbed the knife into the back of its head.
On the third strike, the shaker abruptly went stiff. It was dead before it hit the ground.
{Wild Shaker slain! Soul increases by 80}
Clay didn’t wait for the thing to fall. He lunged off of it just a hairsbreadth ahead of the eater’s spells. The orbs exploded into the shaker’s flesh, blasting holes in it as it fell. He hit the ground and rolled back to his feet, his knife still in his hand.
The eater watched him across a distance now clear of other obstacles. It was already summoning a new set of orbs, and Clay saw it take a single step back. Obviously, it wasn’t going to let him get closer easily.
Fortunately, Clay did not need its permission.
He began the [Chant] of the Canon of Rock and drew out his bow.
The eater snarled the sounds of its spell, and three new orbs sprung to life. Clay shot an arrow at the eater and one of the orbs vanished. He loosed twice more again to pick off the other two orbs as they spun towards him and walked towards the swinefolk. It backpedaled, resummoning its orbs and trying again.
They stood that way, with Clay picking off the orbs and steadily closing the distance, and the eater retreating. The eater looked desperate—until an ear-tearing shriek tore the air. Its satisfied expression told Clay that his time was going to be running short soon. More swinefolk were coming. He needed to finish the fight and be done.
Fortunately for him, he was already nearly finished.
The Canon of Rock took hold, and the boulder formed above his head. Clay saw the eater’s eyes go wide as the projectile took shape. It sent all three of its orbs at him, speeding them along in panic.
It was too late. Clay hurled the boulder straight ahead of him. The massive rock absorbed the impact of all three orbs, one after another. A heartbeat later, it struck the eater’s shield, shattering in a shower of rocks and dust. It did break through the shield, however, and Clay saw the eater stagger backwards, trying to fend off the shower of debris and raise another.
The eater was still trying when Clay’s arrow caught it between all four of its eyes.
{Soul Eater slain! Soul increases by 80}
Clay looked around the now-destroyed camp, still breathing a little hard. He was down about half his arrows, his chest and side hurt, and his ears were ringing. Aside from that, he was intact.
It took a moment to finish the [Chant] of the Flame-Tongued Song, but a moment later, the entire battleground began burning merrily. As yet another column of smoke rose into the sky, he headed off into the forest, wondering if he could take out another group before the gathering reinforcements chased him out of the bowl.
He did, in fact, kill another barricade’s worth of swinefolk, though it was not under the best of circumstances. With search parties hemming him in, he’d had to strike at another barricade and slaughter his way through just to escape the bowl, something he decided he needed to avoid the next time.
At the very least, he could say that he’d made progress. Two of each type of elite creatures were now dead. All he would need would be to do it another handful of times, and he’d already have the kind of power that he would need to finish the Lair easily.
Still feeling satisfied with himself, Clay checked the status of his [Gift], wanting to review what he’d gained.
[Clay Evergreen]
[Class: Commoner] {Level 16} (All Stats have a maximum of 31)
[Subclass: Laborer (Gain 10% bonus to all skills when performing repetitive tasks)]
[Soul: 430/1600]
[Stats] {Might: 30} {Fortitude: 30} {Insight: 30} {Memory: 30} {Valor: 30} {Will: 30}
[Experiences]
{Farmhand: Gain 10% bonus to all skills when performing Farming activities. Gain Planting, Harvesting, and Husbandry skills.}
{Hunter: Gain 10% bonus to all skills when hunting wildlife. Gain Trapping and Tracking skills.}
{Slayer II: Gain 20% bonus to all skills when hunting monsters.}
{Forrester: Gain 5% bonus to all skills inside of a forested area. Gain extra 15% bonus to the Tracking skill in a forested area.}
{Watcher: Gain Analysis Skill. Gain 10% bonus to Tracking skill}
{Ambusher: Gain Hide Skill. Gain 10% bonus to all attacks from hiding. Gain 10% bonus to Trapping skill.)}
{Exterminator II: Gain triple the bonus from all Bane Achievements.}
{Determined: Fatigue lessened by 10%. Wounds heal 5% faster. Gain 10% bonus to repetitive or familiar activities.}
{Defiant II: Gain 40% bonus to all skills when facing an opponent of a higher level.}
{Smallmage: Can chant minor Chants 10% faster. Gain 20% effectiveness for minor Chants.}
{Valiant: Gain 10% bonus to all skills when facing multiple opponents.}
{Warsinger: Gain Lyricist Skill. Can complete all Chants 20% faster.}
{Mentor: Gain 5% bonus to all skills when leading lower level heroes. Allied heroes gain 20% bonus to all skills.}
{Unseen: Gain 20% to all attempts to hide. Gain 10% to all damage and skills while hiding.}
{Banisher: Gain permanent access to the Chant of Garden’s Peace. Gain 10% speed and effectiveness for all Chants.}
{Seeker: Gain Ethereal Sense Skill. Gain 10% bonus to all skills when hunting monsters.}
{Leader: Gain Inspire Skill. Gain 5% bonus to all skills when leading heroes. Allied heroes gain 10% bonus to all skills.}
{Stubborn: Fatigue lessened by 20%. Wounds heal 10% faster.}
{Whisperer: Gain 10% bonus to minor Chants. Gain 10% bonus to the speed and effectiveness of all Chants.}
{Duelist: Gain 10% bonus to all skills when facing an enemy one on one.}
{Relentless: Fatigue lessened by 15%. Gain 15% bonus to repetitive or familiar activities.}
{Guide: Gain Mapping Skill. Gain 20% bonus to Analysis and Track Skills. Movement speed increases by 10%.}
{Tunneler: Gain 5% bonus to all skills inside of an underground area. Gain extra 15% bonus to the Tracking skill in an underground area.}
{Champion: Gain 20% bonus to all skills and damage when facing a Guardian.}
{Follower: Gain 20% bonus when being led by a higher-level hero.}
{Dungeoneer: Gain 10% bonus to all skills when inside a Dungeon.}
{Stalker: Gain 10% bonus to Tracking, Hide, and Trapping Skills.}
{Scout: Gain 20% to Tracking and Analysis Skills. Gain 10% to all skills when alone.}
{Weathered: Gain 10% resistance to disease, heat, and cold.}
{Spectral: Gain 20% resistance to ethereal senses.}
{Hiker: Gain 5% bonus to all skills inside of a hilly area. Gain extra 15% bonus to the Tracking skill in a hilly area.}
{Spear Expert: Gain 10% to damage when wielding a spear.}
[Achievements]
{Spiderbane: 30% increase to all skills and damage against spiders. Bonus increases to 60% versus Mantrap Spiderlings, Troll Spiderlings, Mature Mantrap Spiders, Mature Troll Spiders, Elder Troll Spiders, and Elder Mantrap Spiders.}
{Corpsebane: 45% increase to all skills and damage against Undead. Bonus increases to 90% versus Rotted Levies, Wretched Corporals, Weary Horses, Skeletal Riders, Corpse Hounds, Condemned Foragers, Corpse Birds, Condemned Hunters, Skeletal Scouts, Wretched Sergeants, Wretched Marshals, Condemned Marksmen, and Skeletal Lancers}
{Lizardbane: 15% increase to all skills and damage against lizards. Bonus increases to 30% versus Flame Wretches, Flame Devils, and Flame Horrors.}
{Slimebane: 15% increase to all skills and damage against slimes. Bonus increases to 30% versus Small Ironslimes, Large Ironslimes, and Giant Ironslimes.}
{Swinebane: 30% increase to all skills and damage against swinefolk. Bonus increases to 60% versus Wild Smashers, Feral Squealers, Flesh Eaters, Land Eaters, Feral Shriekers, and Wild Crushers.}
{Paragon: All skills gain 30% effectiveness around fellow heroes.}
{Combat Generalist: Gain Tactician Skill. Gain 10% bonus to all damage in combat.}
{Warrior Poet: Gain 40% bonus to Lyricist Skill. Gain 10% bonus to the speed of all Chants.}
{Unyielding Spirit: Fatigue lessens by 5%. Wounds heal 10% faster. Gain 10% damage resistance.}
{Commander: Gain 10% bonus to all skills when leading a group of heroes. Allied heroes gain a 20% bonus to all skills.}
{Assassin: Gain 40% damage to initial attacks from hiding.}
{Traveler: Gain 10% faster movement speed. Gain additional 15% movement speed in forests, tunnels, and hills.}
He could already feel the bonuses from [Traveler] helping him along as he made his way back towards the camp. Of course, he was also still tired and his chest still ached, but at the very least he’d taken the next step to purging this place of the evils that infested it. He’d even reached a new level, and at this rate, he’d reach another before the end of it. Of course, Olivia and the others would probably pick up another two or three at least, but it wasn’t a competition—and if it was one, he had quite a solid head start.
With a silent whistle on his lips and a cheery tune in his heart, he made his way back north, where a massive number of columns of smoke were burning. It had been a very productive day.
The absolute massacre of the swinefolk continued for another three days without much change, beyond the increasing scarcity of the swinefolk themselves.
It turned out that the others had proven themselves quite capable of destroying the swinefolk’s towers, to the point where, by the time they returned on the third day, they found the monsters had abandoned their second ring of guard posts. The Baroness and the [Commoners] had conducted a brief vote, and then proceeded to demolish parts of the third and final ring of towers instead. Clay had found out about the plan when he’d seen the columns of smoke march that much closer to the bowl. A part of him had been worried that they would attack the bowl directly, but they had apparently agreed to hold off on that for the moment.
For his part, Clay had wiped out another four barricades. The swinefolk had been kind enough to try to reinforce the places he’d hit, which meant he didn’t have to travel much further into the bowl to launch his attacks. His other confrontations with the denizens of the Lair’s inner defenses hadn’t been nearly as difficult. Now that he knew what they were capable of, Clay had resorted to killing the most troubling targets from ambush, usually by shooting the screecher or soul eater dead and smashing the shaker to pieces with the Canon of Rock. Cleaning up the remnants afterwards was becoming easier and easier as he worked through them.
In fact, the hardest part of attacking the bowl had become not killing the swinefolk. If he destroyed too many of them, it would leave his students with fewer opportunities to increase their level and put the Lair on high alert early. He remembered the groups that the Lairs had sent in the Tanglewood and at Rodcliff all too clearly. Pushing too hard, too fast, would only trigger a counterattack that might hurt some of his people, or worse, reach all the way back to Janburg.
So instead of indiscriminately attacking, Clay began to memorize the pattern of the swinefolk reinforcements. He counted how long it took them to reach the barricades after they were attacked, and how many responded. When he destroyed some of them, he tried to see how they adjusted their patrols. When he had the chance, he got close enough to the tower in the center to peer at it, and look for ways inside. After all, destroying that place was the entire point of the exercise. It wouldn’t do him any good to kill swinefolk for the next week and leave the Lair itself alive.
Besides, it seemed like the swinefolk were a bit too uncoordinated to respond to what was happening. The destruction was happening too quickly outside the bowl, and inside it, they were being picked off too easily. If nothing else changed, then he hoped it would all be over before the month was done.
The fourth day was when things changed.
Clay had just finished destroying a second barricade within the bowl, and was headed back out towards the others when he noticed an unusual trail on the ground. It showed a large number of swinefolk headed out from one of the destroyed barricades, heading roughly in the direction of the area where the columns of smoke were still rising.
He froze for a moment, realizing what had happened. The swinefolk had finally sent out a hunting party, and they had gone for the most obvious signs of invaders rather than tracking him down.
Then he was running, following the trail as quickly as he could. The swinefolk could move fast when they wanted to, but they still weren’t nearly as fast as he was now. Besides, they had to slow their pace to allow smashers and crushers to keep up, and no group that large could move quickly, even if they simply stomped their way through everything.
At least, those words were what he repeated to himself as he chased after the swinefolk, hoping he’d reach them in time.
It was something of a miracle when Clay found the monsters he was searching for.
Not that he’d caught them, of course, but that he managed to do it without literally stumbling into their midst. They had apparently paused at the bottom of a hill, and were peering up at the tower on the summit. Clay very nearly ran out of the grass and into the middle of them; only a very desperate stop kept him from a far less pleasant end.
At the same time, things were looking a little grim. The columns of smoke had been marching west today, and the last of them had risen from the hill just to the east. If Clay had to bet on which of the towers the others would hit next, it would be this one.
Which meant that unless he struck down these swinefolk first, they would charge up the slope and attack his friends right when they were most vulnerable.
Clay shook his head and considered his options. If he struck at them and retreated, he could lead them away from the towers. He could also try to wear them down better that way, though he was already beginning to feel the strain from his efforts that day. Maybe if he led them on long enough, the others would destroy the tower and be gone before they gave up and came back.
Abruptly, the screechers in the group sniffed at the air. Above, Clay thought he heard a rumble of shaking earth.
He grimaced. The other option, of course, was to just try to kill them all right now.
With another grimace, he started to recite the Refrain. His last [Chant] had been the Madrigal of Ash, which would be good enough to start with. At the very least, it would keep them from swarming him, even if it wasn’t the best for dealing with some of the worst offenders.
The screechers twitched and seemed confused. Their attention wavered from the top of the hill, where the tower was already starting to crumble, and the grass behind them, where Clay was hiding. Before they made up their minds, however, Clay fired a single arrow from his bow.
His shot struck a soul eater directly in the head. Its whip fell from its hands, and the eater sunk to its knees, already dead.
{Soul Eater slain! Soul increases by 40}
The other swinefolk spun around in alarm. They were still searching for him, when Clay had set aside his bow and taken a running start. By the time they saw him, he’d already leapt into the middle of the crowd.
Swinefolk all around him screamed and grunted in alarm as he landed. All around him, they started to take steps back to gain distance, began sucking in a deep breath of surprise, or froze in place.
The next moment, the Madrigal began, and the air was suddenly a cloud of ash.
Clay kept moving despite it, heading straight for the other soul eater. The creature had been just in front of him, not quite close enough to kill with his spear when he jumped. Now, however, it staggered out of the ash cloud, all four eyes blinking and choking noises issuing from its throat. He struck it through the head in a single blow.
{Soul Eater slain! Soul increases by 40}
{Feral Squealer slain!}
{Feral Squealer slain!}
{Flesh Eater slain!}
{Achievement Reinforced! Swinebane: 35% increase to all skills and damage against swinefolk. Bonus increases to 70% versus Flesh Eaters, Feral Squealers, Wild Smashers, Land Eaters, Feral Shriekers, Wild Crushers and Soul Eaters.}
Some of the lesser creatures were falling inside in the cloud of ash, their lungs filling with smoke and heat before they could escape it. Others of them staggered through the ash and were rewarded with a terrible, brief moment of clean air before he struck them down. More and more notifications swam past, but he ignored them to focus on the fight.
Then he heard a dual scream that tore across the edges of his concentration, together with the sudden scream of a chorus of shriekers. Clay fought against the sound, but it was so vicious that the waves of noise were actually pushing his ash cloud back. A moment later, the [Chant] failed, and Clay staggered into clear air again.
Both screechers were still alive, along with both shakers. There were a number of lesser creatures still standing as well, though many of them were still choking and staggering from the ash. Clay killed the closest of them in a blur of stabs and swings, even as he fought to start another [Chant]. He chose the Melody of Frost, hoping he’d be able to finish it fast enough to avoid dealing with the disruption again.
The swinefolk shook off their struggles before he could kill most of them, however, and in the next moment they were swarming all around him. Their squeals, grunts, and roars filled the air, even as he tried to fight them back. Clay lost count of the number of broken, bleeding corpses he tore through on his way towards one of the shakers. Ahead of him, the massive creatures were already rearing back, ready to unleash their power. Beyond them, the few remaining eaters were summoning the spells that they could, ready to unleash them on him.
Clay killed another smasher, ducked below a lunge from a pair of squealers, and threw himself into a crusher. The swinefolk warrior staggered as Clay stabbed it, and then fell when he pulled himself up the thing’s body and launched himself over the crowd. He landed a little poorly, rolling through the legs of a pair of unfortunate eaters, and by the time he’d regained his feet, the crowd was already surging towards him again.
More importantly, the ground was crackling beneath his feet.
He shoved the eaters in the direction of the sound and threw himself in the opposite direction. Stone burst from the ground, killing both creatures, and Clay felt the wind of it pass him as he tumbled backwards.
When he came back to his feet, he felt two sudden blows across his back that set him staggering forward. A glance back told him the screechers had struck at him, and were already veering around for a second set of blows. Bracing himself against the jagged edges of the stone spikes, Clay could see the other enemies making their way around the spikes as well, howling for his blood.
The shakers hadn’t forgotten him either. Both of them struck the earth again, their rage making itself manifest in the spikes tunneling through the ground. Clay forced himself to move. From the angle, the spikes would erupt out to his left and directly in front of him. He needed to move to the right, or he’d be caught in it.
Sure enough, both screechers were sprinting at him from that direction. He could tell what their plan was, easily enough. They’d come to a quick stop, scream him into the shaker’s spikes, and then finish him off if they could after that. It wasn’t a bad plan.
As long as they could stop.
Clay completed the Melody of Frost, and the ground beneath the screechers’ feet turned to a sheet of ice. He shouldered his way past their flailing limbs, accepting another cut across the shoulder in exchange for sliding out of harm’s way. Behind him, he heard the ground erupt into a thicket of stone spears. At the same time, the screechers’ voices cut off.
{Feral Screecher slain! Soul increases by 40}
{Feral Screecher slain! Soul increases by 40}
{Commoner reaches Level 17!}
{Maximum level for all Stats is now 32!}
{Experience gained (Infiltrator: Gain 15% bonus to Hide and Analysis Skills.)}
{Experience gained (Slaughterer: Gain 20% damage resistance versus monsters affected by Bane Achievements.)}
{Achievement Reinforced! Swinebane: 40% increase to all skills and damage against swinefolk. Bonus increases to 80% versus Flesh Eaters, Feral Squealers, Wild Smashers, Land Eaters, Feral Shriekers, Wild Crushers, Soul Eaters, and Feral Screechers.}
He turned from the dead screechers, and for a moment the swinefolk seemed to hesitate. Uncertainty had filled their eyes, and for a moment, they seemed to recoil away from him.
Clay didn’t give them a chance to escape. He lunged into the middle of the crowd, spear whirling and destroying in a blur. The words of the Ballad of Air formed on his lips, even as he tore through their ranks. Smashers, crushers, squealers, and shriekers died in waves of screaming flesh, barely able to lay a mark on him, let alone stop him. The remaining few eaters fired their spells, but the orbs seemed to move so slowly now, like they were moving through mud instead of air. Panic infected the monsters as they charged and died. More and more of them were hesitating before they leaped to their deaths, giving him that much more time to forge ahead.
Then the ground cracked, and Clay leapt aside as the shakers resumed their barrage. They seemed not to care about the number of their own kin that were caught in the forest of stone spikes; in fact, they barely seemed to recognize the situation in front of them as they hammered the ground time after time, sending numberless spears of earth to impale him. He dodged easily, but the swinefolk were not nearly so fortunate, and in the end they killed nearly as many of their own kind as he did.
At the same time, their relentless barrage forced him back. He couldn’t charge forward, not with the number of incoming strikes, and the orbs of the surviving eaters were distracting him just enough to keep the shakers from being outmaneuvered. Clay remained focused, however. He heard roaring fire and crackling ice on the hill above, and knew that the people he’d come to protect were still in danger.
Then the Ballad of Air finished, and Clay reached out with nearly a dozen tendrils of air. He wrapped them around the shakers’ hammers. Their expressions grew baffled as their weapons were caught, still raised over their heads. He could feel their muscles strain, fighting against the invisible hold that he had on their weaponry. Given enough time, they would break free of him, just like the scaled tyrant had in the mines of Rodcliff.
He didn’t give them the chance. Dodging another barrage of orbs, he sprinted straight towards them, seeing their eyes grow wide. They slammed their hooves into the ground, trying to shake it enough to stop him.
They failed. Clay kept his feet—even just barely—and darted into range for his spear. He struck immediately, tearing through the closest one in moments as it tried to strike at him barehanded. It fell to its knees, and he darted past it to kill the other one as well, leaving it to spill the last of its lifeblood on the ground while he turned back to face the remaining eaters.
{Wild Shaker slain! Soul increases by 40}
{Wild Shaker slain! Soul increases by 40}
{Achievement Reinforced! Swinebane: 45% increase to all skills and damage against swinefolk. Bonus increases to 90% versus Flesh Eaters, Feral Squealers, Wild Smashers, Land Eaters, Feral Shriekers, Wild Crushers, Soul Eaters, Feral Screechers, and Wild Shakers.}
The eaters backpedaled, their eyes wide and panicked. As they cast their spells, he grabbed at them with the tendrils of air he still controlled. They screamed and squealed as he dragged them in front of each others’ blasts, killing them as he walked over to confront them. A wounded shrieker came charging at him, trying to disrupt his control of the [Chant]. Clay barely noticed the effort it took to kill it.
When he drew close enough, the handful of remaining land eaters tried to use their ravaging shields to strike at him, but Clay was ready for the move. He waited until they were blinded and then darted around to kill them from a different angle. Their whips lashed at him, but he just used them to pull the creatures closer. In the end, they all fell.
Clay stood for a long moment, fatigue dragging at him as he gasped for breath in the middle of a field of corpses. His arms trembled, at least until he tightened his grip on the spear. Then he sighed and used the Cycle of Return to recall his shortbow to him. The others had already started to burn the bodies above on the hilltop. He’d do the same here, and then join them.
He looked up and paused, seeing a figure with a war scythe staring down at him. Clay grinned. She had to have heard the noise and come to see what had been making it. With one weary hand, he waved up at them and forced himself to grin.
Tomorrow the last fights for the Lair of Zelton would begin.
