Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Defensive position

They were re-setting traps when the elf stopped and smiled.

"Pikgra's done it," she reported, clearly relieved.

"How's she?" the drelf asked.

"Getting back. I hope she's ok. Although she's always a bit down after eliminating one of the generals," Goldmi explained.

They all nodded. Even Eldi, who had barely known about the fairy for a short time, had been worried. Now, all that was left was for her to come back.

She arrived when they were taking a break to recover mana, after setting the traps for the third time. They had killed a couple of dozen more using the same method. This time, Goldmi had had to provoke several before a large group came towards them.

In fact, it was better that way. If they were only a few, they dealt with them directly, without leading them into the ambush. It was slower, but much safer.

"Aunt Omi!" Pikshbxgra pounced on her. "Good! There's no bad mana!"

They were resting on a Consecrated Ground, so it was clear of miasma. The fairy had been suffering all the way, as she had been attacked by the corruption continuously. There, she could rest while hugging her aunt.

"Tsch! You've been having fun without me!" the goshawk protested.

She had landed in front of the elf. She was claiming food from her while stamping down with one claw. That attitude made the others laugh, but the albino bird didn't care. She was too busy licking her beak.

"While you were out for a walk, we were working," the lynx criticized her.

"Cruch, yum. Yrou focrhur lecrunchgs jelyum..." the gohawk replied, but she was totally unintelligible.

Although the communication was telepathic, somehow, being focused on her food prevented her from speaking coherently. The lynx sighed. She would have to tease her later.

The elf, for her part, couldn't hold back her laughter. The others looked at her, blinked, and let her be.

A while later, they executed the trap again, this time with the help of the goshawk. It was very easy for her to provoke some losts, make a Slalom between them, and fly away. Evidently getting past the trap wasn't a problem for her.

In the next, with twenty-seven losts eliminated, they rose to 87.

Goldmi regained the Great Shield spell, which creates a huge wind shield capable of repelling or weakening powerful attacks. The projectile must be very special to cross it without being deflected or slowed down. Although she hadn't used it much, it was very easy to level up with the help of her teammates. Therefore, they had brought it up to 10 just by testing it.

As a skill, she had received a similar one, Green Cuirass. This shield of plants is much more solid, and slow to form.

As for Eldi, Magnet creates a magnetic field that attracts metal objects. He was surprised to see that, like in the game, it didn't just work on iron. It was something he would have to study. He had found it fun, especially against heavily armored enemies, so it had been leveled up to 10.

The skill was Distraction. With a spear attack in the middle of a mid-cast spell, it can be canceled by causing some mana distortions. It has great synergy with Javelin. He hadn't used it much in the game, so it was at 4.

After leveling up, they executed one more ambush. It was considerably easier as the level difference had decreased. However, it had also slowed down the experience gain.

After finishing, they accompanied Gjaki to a cave that her Bats had discovered. Goldmi purified a dead end tunnel with Consecrated Ground. Then, they took out a huge stone from the inventory to block it, and pushed it until they were satisfied. Once again, they did the same a little further on.

They weren't totally watertight, but the miasma had to pass through two barriers and corrupt both places. It would probably take months, which was more than enough to leave a Gate there for a few days.

The next day, they took a break, everyone except Maldoa, who needed to do various things, and Eldi. Gjaki lent a hand to the drelf in the afternoon by bringing in some trusted and specialized mages. When the archer saw them the next day, she recognized some of them.

"Lingisa!" she greeted the vislzar woman.

The white-skinned woman smiled upon seeing her.

"Goldmi! Maldoa is so cruel... She didn't want to tell us that you were in on this," she took her hands, smiling.

"It was a surprise!" the drelf defended herself.

"It's nice to see you again," Lingisa's brother greeted her.

There were five of them in all, and the elf knew three. However, the other two had heard of the destroyer of generals, and they greeted her with the utmost respect. They also looked curiously at Eldi, and solemnly at the vampiress. Her power was evident.

They hadn't seen each other for many years, so meeting her again suddenly was a pleasant surprise. Especially, when breakfast time arrived, and Goldmi delighted them with what they ordered.

After that, they gathered the volunteer adventurers. In total, including companions and magicians, thirty of them went there. It was a great opportunity to attack into enemy territory.

With the cave as their base, both as fortress and as resting place, with a fairy assuring them that no general was coming, and a goshawk supervising the operation, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The high density of corrupted beasts wasn't a problem, as the goshawk could easily separate them. She provoked them, and they followed her. If there were too many, she simply moved them away a bit, returned to the sky, and provoked another group.

In front of the cave, the adventurers arranged themselves in front of the wide moat that Eldi had created the day before. He had left some narrow areas as paths, so that the losts could cross. They would meet the adventurers, who would receive them two against one.

In addition, the pit was filled with sharp spikes to receive those which fell, and said paths had been covered with a slippery substance. It was also on the other side of the pit, which was down slope. On several occasions, the losts that crowded together were pushed by the other corrupted beings.

Among the ranged attacking adventurers, the ones with skills to drag their enemies had been specially selected. Thus, more fell into the dangerous pit.

Without a general to guide them, the corrupted army was slowly being decimated. It was like facing a fortress without assault weapons, in a defensive battle,

Perhaps, the group called Elfhumvam could have kept the information to take advantage of it bit by bit. However, it was more important to finish off the losts. Besides, surely, some shadows would drop by to investigate sooner or later.

Most likely, they would do so at night, when Goldmi would have a hard time locating them.