Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Waiting for birth (II)

Most were coming from the east, although there were a few approaching from the north and south, so making it more difficult to control.

The lynx had moved closer to the east, but hadn't strayed too far away from the defenseless unicorn. She was using all her power and concentration to give strength to her baby, to reverse all the effort she had previously made to keep him inside her.

The first beast to come within range of the arrows was a kind of gazelle, with four horns curled on and on the side of its head. Its dull eyes and its dark and unkempt fur denoted that life had long since left it.

It was level 28, one above the archer, and quite a bit faster than most other creatures. That was the reason because it had arrived earlier and was isolated. So, they could focus on it, but its level was bad news, especially if the others were similar.

Although not by much margin, the corrupted gazelle managed to dodge the arrows she shot at it. Unlike the air forces, it didn't have the unicorn in sight and hadn't started attacking, so it wasn't blinded by its own actions.

Goldmi frowned slightly, and understood that she should attack when it were a little closer if she didn't want to waste her mana and arrows, while her sister drew a few steps closer.

She waited for it to cross the place where the barrier had been, the clear line that divided life from death, the corrupted forest from the one which was still struggling to survive. She then invoked the power of nature through Tangle.

At that point, the vegetation wasn't very dense, but it was enough to momentarily restrict the corrupted beast's movements, to destabilize it and trip it, thus becoming vulnerable.

The arrows pierced the corrupted being's legs, so making it difficult for it to get up, although they weren't yet enough to end the threat.

Suddenly, a new shadow appeared, and closed her jaws on the gazelle's neck, while her claws tore the side of her prey. Maybe the lynx was a level below, but she was attacking by surprise, to a being that was originally a herbivore, and that was also injured and its movements limited. So, she dominated the fight from the beginning.

The struggle didn't last long, after which she withdrew. It was true that the elf could have killed her enemy herself, without much risk, but it was also true that, this way, she could save some mana.

Soon, more began to arrive, and less and less dispersed, so Arrows Rain had begun to be efficient, especially when several of them were Tangled. Most were below level 25, but not all. There were even some at level 30.

She used Nature Wall to prevent them from approaching the unicorn, in addition to grouping them. She was too far away to use Light Pillar, but the continuous Arrows Rain were effective. While those attack without Purifying Touch were just enough to wound them, by piercing their enemies, the arrows were also helping to restrict their movements, either by getting in the way or by pinning them to the ground.

The lynx was in charge of finishing off those which were more immobilized, while several Ethereal Arrows were weakening and killing others, but too little by little. Only thanks to the Nature Walls they were managing to hold them back, but there were more enemies than they could handle. There were too many, and if the Walls gave, they couldn't stop them.

As if that wasn't enough, Goldmi felt the Alarm call, which warned her that something was coming from the west. She turned and soon spotted two wolfpines, whose spines seemed sharper than those they had faced in the past.

This area was less protected, which meant that it was necessary to kill them, so she fired several bursts of Ethereal Arrows that took them by surprise. Despite being level 26 and 28, they were pinned with Tangle. With several mana arrows stuck in them, it was only a matter of time before those arrows drained their corrupted vitality. She had undoubtedly halted their dangerous advance, but at the cost of squeezing her mana, which meant there was less left for the rest.

She used Life Link to share her sister's damage, so partially healing her. The feline might be agile, and was attacking those which were immobilized, but she couldn't help but take some damage, and it was piling up little by little.

She didn't heal herself, since she couldn't afford to waste mana, so she gritted her teeth and kept attacking and summoning Tangle and Nature Walls. Naughty Branches wasn't effective enough, so it was a waste of energy except for emergencies, such as avoiding a sudden attack on the feline by a newcomer.

The truth was that the Walls could barely contain them for a few minutes, so she had no choice but to erect others shortly after, a little further back. This meant that, little by little, they were getting closer to the unicorn, as they weren't powerful enough to shrink their numbers further.

"Dammit. If Eldi and Gjaki were here..." the archer sighed, while remembering her former companions.

Suddenly, a huge reptile, similar to a crocodile but with smooth skin, some spikes on the tail and a slightly less elongated mouth, stopped attacking the Wall in front of it, and turning against its companions.

It was one of the first to arrive, one of the ones that had been there the longest, in an area full of vegetation and free of miasma.

"It has awakened!" the lynx was surprised.

"Yes! That's it! If we can hold them, we have a chance!" her sister exclaimed.

They had heard it from the Oracle, that they could awake and turn on the other corrupted ones if driven away from the miasma, though they would never come back to life. It was only one last glimmer of their essence, before they reverted to their previous state, or died.

She freed it from the roots, so it could face the other corrupted ones, and help them buy time and weaken their enemies.

Although one alone could not do much. They needed more of them, which meant holding them back longer, something that was much easier said than done.

They could barely hold them out. It would hardly be enough to awaken the corrupted beings necessary to face their comrades. Besides that, more kept coming.