Chương 53: Between a Roc and a Hard Place

A rush of wind swept across the clearing, followed by the crackle of an approaching storm. For a brief moment, everything went still. Even the fire we had lit vanished beneath the sudden gust, its flames snuffed out so completely that only a thin ribbon of smoke remained above the blackened wood. A shadow passed over us. It spread across the field until the warm afternoon light disappeared. High above, where the sky had been clear moments before, thunderous black clouds now churned against one another.

Lightning flickered through their depths, illuminating the undersides in brief white flashes. I noticed something odd. Darwin was shivering… but I saw him clearly. His body glowed with a faint silver sheen. Before I could question it, a bolt of lightning struck the ground nearby. The impact sent dirt and shattered stone spraying into the air. Thunder followed immediately, loud enough to rattle my teeth. Moolisa stomped to my right.

Before I could calm her, she bolted down the dirt path, the cart bouncing violently behind her as its wheels struck ruts and stones. I grabbed my knife and one of the heart skewers. Moonedge gave off a faint white glow in my hand. I ripped a piece of heart from the skewer with my teeth and swallowed. The buff activated. My Dexterity surged, and I launched forward. I leapt… and went far higher than expected. For a moment, the road dropped away beneath me.

When I landed, I expected my legs to buckle from the impact, but they held. Darwin's tongue struck my back. A moment later, he swung onto my shoulder.

"Moo-Moo scared," he said.

"Darwin too!" I pushed myself faster. With the buff, I was just able to catch Moolisa, who had broken into a near-mad dash. I jumped onto her back, leaned against her head, and whispered calmly into her ear. She slowed— Slower… Slower… Until she finally stopped. She breathed in short, heavy bursts, lowering her head toward the road. Each breath from her nose sent loose dirt scattering beneath her. Another bolt of lightning flashed overhead. The sound of thunder nearly sent her running again.

I needed to get her out of the open. Nearby, a small cluster of trees stood just beyond the road. I jumped down and hurried her toward them. Luckily, she still wore her nose lead, and I tied it around the trunk of the thickest tree. She stared at me with betrayal in those wide brown eyes.

"It's for your own good," I assured her, rubbing her neck. She gave me a derisive snort.

"Darwin, watch over Moolisa."

"But—""No buts. Watch her. If anything comes for her, distract it. If you can't, let her loose. I'd rather she run away and brave the storm than be killed by… whatever this is." Darwin didn't like it, but he allowed me to place him on Moolisa's head.

"Stay quiet. Stay hidden." I turned back toward the road. Water poured from the sky. Within seconds, my clothes clung to my skin, and muddy streams formed along the sides of the path. Through the rain, I saw quick shadows in the distance, darting in and out of the clouds and diving toward the ground where we had been— Sable and Vaelith! I ran toward them, propelled by my Dexterity buff. It was easy… Sort of. The harder it rained, the more difficult it became to keep my feet beneath me.

Mud sucked at my boots, and I slipped back and forth across the road. Water… I'd hate to think what would happen if one of those lightning strikes hit— A blast rattled through me. It felt like being struck everywhere at once. My body locked. My heart stopped for a moment, and darkness closed in around my vision. Beat… Come on… Beat. No. I wasn't dead yet. Rapid Healing. Thank the gods I'd eaten that rabbit heart, or I really would have died.

When my eyes opened, I was lying on the ground with cold rain pelting my face. Mud soaked through my clothes, and the air smelled sharply of scorched earth. I had only been down for a few moments. When I rose, I could still see two figures ahead. Sable and Vaelith were fighting three enormous shapes that repeatedly plunged from the storm clouds. When I reached them, Vaelith took a wild swing. She missed. Her axe struck the cart and buried itself deep in the wood.

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"Hey!" I yelled over the rain.

"Careful!"

"You try hitting them then!" she protested. I raised a hand and launched a Wild Firebolt. There was no Surge. The flame traveled only a short distance before the rain smothered it into a trail of steam. Vaelith clapped sarcastically. Then she ripped her weapon free, tearing a long splinter from the cart. Sable began to strum. Her playing grew faster and louder until she struck every string at once. A concussive force pushed me backward.

The rain rippled outward with the sound, droplets briefly suspended in the trembling air. Before the note reached the clouds and the dark shapes circling within them, lightning struck nearby. Thunder erupted through the clearing and swallowed Sable's song in a deafening crash. Sable lowered her lyre and shrugged at me. Shit… nothing was working. Two of the creatures dove. Between the rain and darkness, I could only see their looming shadows. Suddenly, I was on the ground, staring upward. Vaelith stood over me.

She had swept my leg. A moment later, I felt my stats drain away. One of the shadows appeared through the rain. Vaelith moved faster than before and slammed her axe into it. There was a loud crunch. The blade nearly cut the creature in half. Bone snapped, and blood sprayed through the air before the rain washed it from the axe and road. Sable landed near me. The second creature had struck her, leaving a deep cut across her shoulder. Blood ran down her arm, diluted to pink as rainwater streamed over her skin.

It climbed into the sky again. Then it dove, slamming into Vaelith just as she missed her next swing, dropping her next to us. The shadow landed on the cart. Wood creaked and snapped beneath its sharp talons, which crackled with electrical energy. Lightning flashed. For a fraction of a second, the creature was fully revealed. Rainbow plumage covered a broad, muscular chest. Its eyes were dark and small, while its long blue beak faded to white at the tip. It looked like an enormous eagle.

"Storm… Roc…" Sable whispered, clearly hurt. The monster raised its wings high. It let out a piercing screech as electricity jumped between each feather. Something snapped through the air behind us. Something long… a tongue. It missed the Roc and struck the back of the cart. As it withdrew, I saw something wrapped in its tip. The transformation stick. I turned just in time to see Darwin disappear in a puff of smoke as the stick struck him. From the smoke, a dire-rabbit leapt toward the roc.

It was smaller than the ones I remembered, but no less vicious. The roc didn't notice it until the rabbit's teeth sank into its neck. Another puff of smoke erupted. Instead of a rabbit, a scorpion clung to the creature's plumage. Its tail snapped forward, plunging into one of the roc's beady eyes. Vaelith recovered first. She reclaimed her weapon and drove the axe head into the roc's face.

Another puff of smoke appeared, and Darwin returned to normal, falling aside as Vaelith pushed through and cleaved the roc in half. Two down. One to go. The third roc remained a shadow in the clouds above, circling without diving. Unlike the other two, it had a pair of long, flowing tails that trailed behind it like ribbons. Lightning rained down around us. The four of us rolled beneath the cart. Bolts battered the wood overhead, and the entire frame shook with each impact.

Smoke drifted from the planks, carrying the faint scent of burning wood into the cramped space.

"What do we do?" I asked between the crashes of thunder. Vaelith and Sable stared at me blankly. I saw the transformation stick in the mud nearby… but Darwin had already used it. It needed time to recharge. What was left? My attention shifted to the Dire-Rabbit Heart Skewer lying in a puddle. I reached out, grabbed it, and handed it to Sable.

"Here. You need the healing." She nodded and took a bite, swallowing without tasting it. Rapid Healing would help her. But it didn't matter if we couldn't reach—Wait. That wasn't the only thing the recipe did. I lglanced at Vaelith.

"I need you to throw me."

"What?" she replied.

"I need you to take all my Strength, throw me into the air, and then give me every stat you have. I'll have one shot." Vaelith stuck her head out from beneath the cart. She stared up at the circling shadow before meeting my eyes.

"Fine. One shot."

"On three." One Two Three I rolled out from under the cart and found Vaelith already kneeling in the mud, both hands held low like a platform. I placed my foot in her hands and stared up at the roc. I held Moonedge close against my chest—then I jumped. For a brief moment, all of my Strength drained away. Vaelith threw me. The sharp, icy pain of rain struck my face at high speed. Wind rushed through my hair as the ground vanished beneath me. Darkness swallowed me. I had entered the clouds.

Lightning crackled through the mist, briefly illuminating the swirling rain around me. And then I saw it—the storm roc. It was at least twice the size of the others. Bright rainbow plumage covered its enormous body, while twin ribbons of lightning trailed from its tail. Its beady eyes locked onto me. Then it charged, lightning cracking around its wings. My ascent ended. Gravity took hold. For one brief moment, everything within the clouds seemed still. And that was when I saw it. Faultline. Moonedge's ability.

I could see the weakest path through the storm roc's tissue, muscle, and bone. I knew exactly where the knife would cut. I began to fall. Everything snapped into place as the roc charged through the air, screeching its fury. I twisted through the air, bringing Moonedge down just beside its neck. I screamed as I pulled the blade through its body. The knife moved as smoothly as if I were slicing through heated butter. In a single motion, I cut straight through the monster.

It released one final screech as the clouds burst outward in a spray of water and blood. Then, suddenly, I was staring up at the sky— Blue Pristine Beautiful Sunlight warmed my face. I screamed as I fell… until a bit of blood touched my tounge. System Ę̷͙̙̌͋̕r̶̩͍̍̑r̷̺̾̀o̷̤͓͍̐r̸̜̂̀̓ I laughed. Laughed like a madman. I didn't fear death—death should fear me! The ground rushed up towards me. I took offense to its arrogance. I lowered my legs, wishing tos tomp the ground into submission— I hit! Both knees buckled…

and then both legs shattered.