Claire saw the creature leap up with its powerful legs and swung her sword with all her might, slashing deep into its underbelly. It all happened in a single moment. She didn't know why it was up in the air, all she knew was that if a monster was going to show her its belly, she was going to slash it.
At the same time she saw an arrow appear and lodge deep into the side of its head from the side, clearly one of Elli's. The battle wasn't going their way, and this would turn the tides. If it got back up from this, it wouldn't be able to fight with the same strength as before.
Her whole body hurt from blocking the powerful attacks, the force radiating through her constantly. She was able to redirect most of it but the fact that she was so hurt just showed how strong they were. Her arms were shaking just holding her sword.
After the blade passed through the belly of the beast and the blood splatter followed, she could see a faint figure past the red mist.
Skye??
What was he doing on top of that thing? Where did he come from and how did she not notice him climbing up it? Too many questions flashed to mind in the limited time she had, because her next thought came with a deadly realisation.
It only takes 600 pounds to crush a human to death. This thing must be over 1000
And it was falling directly backwards onto Skye. She didn't try to hold onto her sword, letting the force of the swing take it as she let go. It flew off into the distance and disappeared into dust as it vanished from reality and returned to her soul.
Her body moved on its own after that, charging directly at the monster without a weapon. She didn't know what she was going to do but she had to stop it from landing on him no matter what.
She launched herself forward and jumped through the air, flying to grab onto the creature to try and tackle it sideways. She didn't have enough time to increase her weight or density to topple the thing to its side, and would only add onto its weight.
She grabbed on to its legs and tried to flip it like a boat, cutting her hands on the sharp hindclaws that ran near them.
All she could do was lean over the side of it and pull as much weight from it into herself so when it landed, the full force wouldn't land on Skye.
If she had only reactivated a few moments sooner, it would have been a perfect plan, but by the time she got ahold of it, Skye was about to connect to the ground.
And connect to the ground it did. With a huge thud, sending the dirt flying in a dust cloud all around it.
"No!"
Claire screamed as she fell and rolled to the side, quickly getting up and rushing back to the leader of the pack.
"Skye! No! Say something!"
She screamed as she pushed with all her might, so distraught that she forgot she had the ability to do so easily. She was too panicked, too frightened that her friend was under that thing dead to even think straight. All she could do was throw her body against it and hit it with her fists.
She yelled for Skye as she pushed and pounded her fist against its thick hide.
"Skye! Say something! Please can you hear me Skye??"
The creature groaned and moved slightly and sluggishly, bringing her back to her senses. In a flash she summoned her sword and jumped to the side, towards its head.
With all her might and built up force, the sword fell on its neck.
It hit right in the gap that Thorn had left and finished the job. The head rolled from the body and blood started to flood into the dirt beneath it.
Claire dropped to her knees and her sword fell besides her. She knew that there was no way for him to survive that, and if he did, that he would die before they got back to Kai.
It was over for him. On a night of many sacrifices, his name would be added to the list.
The sun was now rising and washing out the glow of the portal, which still remained open despite all the other creatures escaping. It was waiting for the leader to pass through, but it never would, and there was a chance it would never close.
The streaks of Claire's tears shined in the morning light, highlighting her dirty face and cheeks turning red. Her sobs were uncontrollable as she raised her head to the sky and let it all out.
He was her first friend. Not only here but anywhere. She struggled to belong in that world of floating iron and eventually stopped trying, hiding herself away. He was stupid and silly, unfunny in a funny way. He appreciated her and she looked up to him. Now it was meaningless.
Elli watched from afar, Skye next to her.
Before the impact she opened up a portal between the ground and Skye, who popped up from the portal next to her like a mole with a surprised look on his face.
She quickly untied him as she couldn't keep it open that large forever, and then closed it.
The arrow that struck the creature carried over her Minion like a passenger on a speeding train.
"You should probably go and console her."
"No, it's making me feel really loved. You don't often get to witness your own funeral."
Elli shook her head and sighed, grabbing Skye by the back of his neck and pushing him forward. She blinked over to Claire and placed her hand on her shoulder and pointed over to Skye, who was walking over waving with a stupid look on her face.
"But…How?"
"I just opened a portal before he hit the ground. Don't worry, I wasn't going to let him die."
Claire looked up with tears and snot running down her face and embraced Elli in a big hug, pulling her down to her level.
"Thank you thank you thank you!"
"Its okay Claire! You did so… ake! Not so tight!"
Elli tried to protest as Claire pulled her tighter into a hug, rolling over to her side unable to support herself anymore. They both tumbled in the dirt and blood, which neither seemed to mind. Over the last month they've become closer than anyone expected.
Claire trusted Elli and Elli relied on Claire.
Skye stopped in his tracks and appreciated the sight, it was good that they were so close, all of them. It was made even better by the fact that they won and they did it together.
The Branded flooded the clearing yelling and cheering, surrounding Claire and Elli and picking them up, placing them on top of their shoulders. They even got Skye and started to throw them around.
"We did it! We avenged our fallen comrades!"
"That will show them for messing with us!"
They celebrated for a long while, refusing to calm down after seeing such a sight. A few Shadows entered the valley and informed them on the clean up. The fires were out, the casualties were reported, and the rebuilding had already begun.
Skye listened in with a somber look on his face. Not because people died, but because something was tugging at the back of his mind, something he didn't understand at all.
A new feeling completely. He tried to listen and pull at the string at the same time, but had to stop and give it his full attention.
"Excuse me for one moment."
He closed his eyes and walked away from the group, following the string. He turned left, and it moved right, took a few steps and it became more in focus. He continued this until he ran straight into the body of the leader of the pack.
The blood pooled all around it and turned the ground into a reddish mud. His shoes sunk in he could feel the wetness through his tattered shoes.
The string in his mind wobbled like it was pulled tight. He placed his hands on the body, the roots that wrapped around it responding to his touch.
Focusing all his mental energy into it he pushed out all other information. Pulling on the string, bringing whatever it was connected to closer and closer to him.
He stood there for a long time, unaware of those around him asking if he was okay or if they could help. Eventually everyone just gave him space, either because of how focused he was or the fact that he was being a bit of a dick by not responding.
Only one Warden thought that, he stood there for a long time with his hand held high waiting for a high five with his shirt off. He would never forget this dishonour.
Still he pulled and pulled, not too hard or else it felt like it could break, and if he pulled too slowly it felt like it was getting farther away.
Eventually he got to the end and found what it was connected to. A sighing green ball with a bulb-like shape at the end was clearly in front of his mind's eye. He tried to embrace it and hold it tighter. As he did he felt his roots on the body spread out and engulf the beast all together, like vines on an old castle wall.
The more they covered the body the more he felt like he was holding it steady, like it was becoming a part of him. They covered the body completely and yet he still wanted to hold it tighter.
In his mind's eye it left the bulb and travelled up the string and into Skye himself. As soon as it connected he heard it. A ping rang loud in his head.
[You have absorbed the essence of an Advanced Creature. Minion count increased by [1]. New Minion type unlocked.]
Skye's eyes fluttered open, the words sitting as clear as day in front of him.
[Add new creature to your Minion type?]
[Yes][No]
He was at a loss, this didn't happen to him when he killed the brood mother, yet he felt an odd connection to it. Was this what he was feeling? That string connecting them? Was he just unable to understand his powers yet to fully take advantage of the situation?
It was odd that he felt compelled to go and touch it. He believed it was to pay his respect, but maybe there was something inside of him that wanted to consume it.
He pressed yes. He didn't care if he lost one of his previous types, he had to learn and couldn't spend his days staying in the dark.
[Additional Minion available.]
[Name Minion]
[Yes][No]
He had no idea what this minion was, he had to see it before naming it right? He did what he always did to summon a Minion. He imagined his mana was a seed and he was planting it in the ground and it sprouted like it always did.
Like all his Minions the sprout was small and popped out of the ground like a dancing stem. With the Flower Boys the sprout grows tall and flowers, with the Chestnut Warriors it wraps around itself and becomes thick and hardens as it takes shape.
But this was growing far too fast and far too large. Roots quickly wrapped around themselves and formed a huge ball in front of him. Gasps and yells could be heard from all around him as people were caught off guard. It was quickly ballooning and towering over Skye.
And then it popped open with steam, the sides falling like flower petals to the ground. And in the middle, the leader of the pack, except it wasn't. It was… different.
Its strong back legs were now made out of vines and wood, the longer front legs were long trunks of green wood connected by brown vines which moved under its skin like snakes. Where it once had sharp features that looked like bone it had now a smooth wooden mask that resembled the skull of a wolf, burnt black and brown. Antlers rose from the top of its head and vines dangled between them. The long hindclaws which slashed at Claire were replaced by long thorns with a sharpened end.
It was beautiful and grand, like an ancient protector of a forest. It raised it's head to howl and a bazar howel came out, a mixture of stretching of vines and smashing of wood that connected the head to the body.
Even Skye jumped back when it did, unsure if he just summoned his enemy back from the dead to finish him off.
Everyone froze, unsure of what to do next. The creature looked around nonchalant, then scratched its head with the sharp wooden claws of its hind legs and laid down.
It was clear it didn't want to attack, maybe it wanted to nap.
Skye pulled himself together and tried to give a mental command.
Come here
The creature looked up at him, snorted, and looked him up and down unimpressed.
…. Please?
It looked like it was deciding what to do, and eventually got up and walked over to Skye. It lowered its head to be face to face with him and the green embers of its eyes locked in with his. He felt like he could hear its voice.
Thank you for asking nicely, what can I do for you?
He placed his hands gently on its forehead and gave it a little scratch. The eyes lit up a bit like it was enjoying it, so he continued.
"Thanks for not being an enemy, I don't think we could fight you twice."
The thought entered his mind but didn't feel like his own.
Thanks for ganging up on me you cowards.
Skye replied out loud to his own thoughts.
"You attacked us with hundreds of your friends, what the hell do you mean?"
His outburst seemed to make the Minion laugh to itself, its face looked like it was having fun. It lowered its head more, inviting Skye to climb onto its back.
He did just that. Placing his foot in the gaps between the hard wood and using them as steps, he was up fairly quickly.
Once up there he realised just how high he was and how surprisingly comfortable it was to sit there.
"Alright. Let's go for a wee run then."
As soon as the words left his mouth the Minion took off, unbound by his root system like the Chestnut Warriors were.
The sudden burst of speed almost knocked Skye off, but his legs were tucked into the gaps of the back. Only his top half was sent back like a rag doll bouncing all around.
He wasn't as fast as the pack leader, but he was faster than anything Skye had ever rode before. They circled the opening around the large tree as everyone watched with a shock expression on their faces, which then turned to cheers as he passed by.
They realised what this might mean for them; no more walking.
Elli and Claire were the most surprised, they had no idea that Minions could work like this. It was a known fact that Skye was the weakest when it came to his powers and abilities, but if he could reproduce this, he might become the strongest person on this dead planet.
The Minion came to a stop just as fast as it started, and Skye slammed forward into the back of its head.
"Owe you dick!?"
He could feel the enjoyment of the Minion. A head wound for a head wound he guessed. He joined in with the laughing.
"I guess that settles it, welcome to the team Vine Trotter. Wait…"
He focused his mana as he did before, summoning the other four minions. Out bloomed four more creatures just like this one, only slightly smaller.
The one he was on must be the squad leader he received. Whenever he summoned his Minions, one was always larger and when he summoned all five of the same type the larger one seemed to improve the capabilities of the other four.
The larger one was also darker than the others and its claws seemed sharper.
"Alright, welcome to the team Vine Trotters."
He patted the Vine Trotter on the shoulder.
"Let's go home."
Not only did he receive a new powerful Minion type, he also now had the ability to summon five. He was feeling more powerful than ever.
Little did he know that Elli was watching from afar, already plotting how to build carts and use these new work horses. Skye thought he had five powerful minions, but he would be lucky if she let him keep one.
—-
The three of them arrived home in record speed, riding the back of the Vine Trotter. The Branded stayed behind to help secure the portal and help with the monster corpses. The guards on top of the walls were terrified when they first saw the Minion, calling for Kai and the remaining warriors until they saw Skye waving form the back of it.
Kai bursts through the gate with spiked knuckles summoned but then was frozen in his tracks when he saw Skye on top of the massive beast.
"Oh hey Kai, look what a little ole worm caught."
He was silent for a moment, then yelled out;
"You got to be shitting me."
Nora appeared from behind him and waved, everyone jumped off the Vine Trotter and rushed to her.
They were over the moon that she was alive and healthy, everyone was worried that Tombstone would be overrun with monsters. Sure her name never vanished from their sight, but anything could have happened.
It turned out they were fine, bored even. They were left alone and the monsters only attacked the main fort where their souls were planted. She did have some news though.
"They've started to move, they couldn't wait any longer. They left yesterday in the early morning. I do not know if they survived the night but it should take them two more days to get here, whoever might be left."
Elli's eyes grew wide, this was not the news she was expecting. Their fort was in shambles and now they were expecting guests.