Chapter Thirty Two - 032
"Rokta fo valla, humans," the giant snarled, its voice suddenly dipping into English. Or whatever they call English here. Wait is it English? Or am I speaking another language?
Magda and Harn didn't stop running, though they shared a look.
"You have come too late, prey. We are nearly finished." The giant continued, its arms never lowering it's two handed axe.
"Too late for what?" Magda laughed. "You're already dead, frostborn!"
Felix could just barely sense it, powerful swirls of purple-white Mana and a familiar crimson congealing along the edge of the Risi Commander's axe. A shimmering blade, conjured from Mana, nearly invisible.
He isn't sure what was about to happen, but it wasn't going to be good.
Influence of the Wisp!
Blue-white fire flickered around Felix before it guttered out.
No Effect
Shit!
The giant was already swinging. Magda and Harn were within ten feet of the giant, too close to dodge, going too fast to stop.
Reign of Vellus!
Felix poured the pitiful remains of his Mana into the spell, yanking upward with all of his mental might. He twisted his body too, muscles straining as he fought against the incredible weight and inertia of the icy weapon.
The greataxe and the Mana blade at its end tilted ever so slightly up.
With an explosion of crimson and purple light, a blade made of bloody ice screamed through the air. It tore across the thoroughfare, neither air nor stone ruin any impediment to its furious speed. The edge traveled for nearly 100 yards, shearing straight through several buildings before it dissipated into purple-white vapor.
Still not stopping, Magda and Harn moved through the giant's body as if he weren't there, blunt force and slashing trauma shattering limbs. The giant recoiled, losing grip on its weapon as it pulled back on itself. A solid, powerful kick from Harn sent it tumbling backward. Barely able to stand, the giant looked drained of something vital. Its cheeks were hollow beneath it's stained beard, and it's eyes were dull.
Without another word, the Commander fell to the ground, its body shattering like ice itself.
An Unknown Risi Commander is dead!
XP Earned!
You Have Received A Quest!
An Incursion of Risi - The giants are descending from the Hoarfrost, threatening your home. Find out their purpose and eliminate them before they achieve it.
Purpose 0/1
Risi Killed 5/500
Reward: Title, Varies
Accept?
Yes/No
Felix's eyes bulged at the sudden prompt, his eyes zeroing in on the most important number.
There are 495 more of these guys?!
He fell back onto his ass, legs suddenly weak. Felix dismissed the quest notification without choosing an answer, resolving to worry about that later. Lying down and taking a good long rest was all he wanted right now.
And of course, that's when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Punch mage? You alive up there?" The voice was slightly strained, but he couldn't mistake the raspy voice.
"Yeah, still alive," Felix mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"Good. Come down. We have questions," Harn added. Part of Felix rankled at the tone. He wasn't being asked, he was being ordered. With an effort of will, he shrugged that off and stood up. His head throbbed, but not as bad as before. After 10 seconds, his Mana was already back up to 5%.
Felix half slid, half walked down the crude stone ramp he'd made, a portion of his mind marveling at that fact. The rest of his thoughts were turned toward meeting all of these people outside of combat. What was he going to say to them?
Hello. I'm from another planet and I have no idea what's going on. Also I'm human. Or I was. Before. On the alien world that I mentioned...?
Felix palmed his face, groaning. This is impossible.
By the time he came down the ramp, most of the adventurers had gathered together. Felix approached them cautiously, noticing how they all grouped themselves. Evie and Vessilia stood together, the former whispering something to the latter that Felix couldn't make out. Atar sat on an overturned column, head in his hands, but looked up as Felix stepped forward. At the fore, the large framed Magda and heavily armored Harn stood like powerful sentinels. Surprisingly, Harn had a giant axe made of ice hanging across his shoulders, though it seemed...reduced somehow.
"Uh, hi," Felix managed a small wave. For the first time in a while, he was acutely aware of the state of his clothing. His tunic was just a collection of rags at this point, and his pants were torn up to the knees. His hair was a shaggy mess that stuck out in all directions, and he had at least two weeks of un-groomed facial hair.
"Who are you and why are you here?" The shield warrior stepped forward, her face only partially visible through her half-helm. She looked like a viking mixed with a brick house, physically huge and topping him easily by half a foot.
"I'm Felix and I, uh live out here." Felix decided to lie, unsure whether he'd be believed or branded as crazy for claiming to come from another world. He could always revise his story once he figured this all out.
Acting is level 6!
Magda raised her eyebrow, visible through her helm's protection. "Live? For how long?"
"How long? Well, it feels like my whole life--"
"We can chat later," Harn interrupted, looking off into the distance. "More are coming. We need shelter."
Felix swiveled in the same direction, suddenly hearing the stomp of large feet and light clatter of metal armor. When he turned back, all five of the adventurers were moving down the shattered lane. He hesitated as they walked away, unsure if he should call out or ask permission to follow them.
"What have you been doing out here?" Magda asked.
"Exploring, I guess you'd say. I've even got a Skill for it." Felix was kinda proud of that one. Didn't even have to lie, not really, though his Acting Skill didn't level. A downside of being truthful, or being himself? Wow that's a dangerous rabbit-hole to wander down. Magda was still talking.
"That is strange. Exploring is usually a Henaari Skill. You don't look particularly Henaar. Too short."
"So I've been told," Felix laughed. "Despite your obvious distrust of me, this is really nice. You're the first people I've spoken to since...in a long time."
"Since when?"
"Do monsters count?" That brought her up short, for some reason. Magda suddenly loomed closer.
"Explain."
The gut-flutters increased, and Felix shrugged. "There was a monster, a giant weasel thing called an Orit; he spoke. Didn't have anything nice to say, so I don't really count him."
"Interesting." Magda sat back, mouth turned up at the corners. "So, mini farwalker: have you explored this area?"
"No, I just got here. I had heard there was a city here...didn't know it was a ruin."
"Of course it's a ruin. Hasn't been anything in the Foglands since the third age," added in Evie, who was across the small chamber and stuffing her face with some sort of biscuit.
"How silly of me," Felix deadpanned, then brightened. He was determined to make the best of this. "But at least I found you folks."
"So you haven't seen any other humans?"
"No you're the first, but I just got here. Do you expect to find others in the city?"
"Not sure we could find anything with this blighted fog," muttered Atar, rubbing his arms as if cold. Maybe he has low Vitality? Or just not enough meat on his bones. He's pretty spindly.
Wait.
"The what-now?" Felix asked. This wasn't the first time he'd heard mention of it, and even Balfur's memories featured a heavy fog he still hadn't experienced.
Magda looked at him, eyebrow raised. "He said the fog. You should know, being out here so long. It's murder on Perception and fouls even the best tracking."
What fog? he asked. This time, everyone looked at him in varying degrees of confusion. "Wait, is that why you all keep squinting?"
"What do you mean, 'what fog?'" Magda asked, slowly.
"I mean, I didn't see any sort of fog. It's was a clear night out tonight."
Magda rocked back on her heels, face clouded.
Should I have kept that to myself?
Abruptly, terrible howls echoed into the night. The sound pierced from outside, muffled but unmistakable.
"Those sound...big," noted Vessilia, her hand already holding her spear.
Ice crackled, and in the dim light of the wardstones, Felix could see trails of frost begin to form along the ceiling. They gleamed purple-white in his Manasight. Shortly thereafter, the howling faded off into the distance.
"Noctis wept," cursed Magda.
Noctis? God, I'm gonna run out of pages in my notebook for all these questions.
"Hoarhounds," rasped Harn, a grimace crawling across his face.
"Hoarhounds? Here?" Atar gasped, eyes wide in the dim blue light of the wardstones. "First giants and now hoarhounds? What is going on here? Why would they stray so far from the north?"
"Why indeed," Magda mutters, and Felix sees her eyes linger on him for more than a moment. Then she turns back to her bedroll, already laid out, somehow. "Get some rest. Harn'll take first watch, then me, Evie, and then Atar."
"Aw beans," Felix heard Evie mutter, already bundling herself up in her thick woolen blanket. Atar also looked peeved, but didn't say anything, only rolling over with a humph.
Settling back against the softest rock he could find, Felix found himself too worried to be tired. Pit was out there, with what sounded like giant wolves. Wait, no, giant ice wolves. Felix was a worrier by nature, and this grated at his mind.
"He will be safe," said a soft voice.
Felix turned to see Vessilia half sitting on her bedroll, watching him. She was very well lit in his Manasight, the soft blue water Mana of the wardstones underlighting her sharp features.
"Who?"
"Your...friend."
Felix smiled. "Thanks. I'm sure he will, but I can't help but worry." Vessilia laughed, a deep throaty chuckle he didn't expect. "What?"
"You remind me of someone."
"And that's funny?"
"It would be if you knew them." Then she rolled over and, apparently, went to sleep.
Felix sat up for a while longer, mind turning over, not because he had fallen in with aliens from another world or because their leader seemed to distrust him entirely.
Nope.
It was because he wasn't sure if he had just gotten dunked on or not.
