XII
It had taken them until midday to prepare for their assault, and then the rest of the day to travel through the heavy snow and across the rocky terrain. With the potions of cold resistance, the three travelers had been protected from the bitter weather, but Crispin could only hope that the potions would still be effective when they made their attack. Now the sun was setting over the Khairathi Mountains, its light rapidly disappearing behind the jagged peaks as Crispin, Talia, and Rachwal took cover beneath an ancient, enormous spruce only a few dozen yards from the abrupt cliffs that rose out of the ground. With any luck, Crispin's woodlore and spells would keep the winter wolves to their east from finding their trail, but for the moment the ranger pushed the secondary threat to the back of his mind as he studied the Goblin Stones.
Set against the base of those cliffs, Goblin Stones was a formidable natural defensive position. A narrow shelf of rock jutted out from the rock face, almost twenty feet above the forest floor. Boulders from long ago rockslides littered the plateau, providing more than adequate cover from any sort of missile attack. The only easy approach to the ledge was a narrow, rocky slope on the south end of the ledge, forcing any invaders to bunch together as easy targets for any kind of ranged defense.
"How do we get up there?" Talia asked quietly, looking over Crispin's shoulder as the ranger took stock of his options. Only a few yards away, Rachwal also sized up the formation, looking for his own route of attack.
"Looks like five winter wolves," Crispin said quietly, speaking as much to himself as to Talia. "And Elec is probably hiding somewhere back beyond the rocks."
"Crispin, that… that's the biggest wolf I've ever seen," Talia whispered, pointing to an absolutely monstrous canine lying near the center of the ledge.
"It's not that big," Crispin said, hoping that his statement sounded honest. The winter wolf he had fought in Falloux had been larger than most, but this one seemed to dwarf the pack leader from the slaughtered town. Easily larger than the biggest draft horse, the mere sight of the beast had almost made the ranger reconsider his assault, but there was no turning back now. The best he could hope for was a quick, debilitating strike against the huge canine, before it could tear him to pieces. And if that was not enough, the ranger knew that Elec would summon his dire bear servant as soon as he realized that Crispin had brought the fight to him.
"I take tree," Rachwal said, interrupting Crispin's thoughts as the goblin edged back to the pair. The raider pointed to a copse of trees growing along the edge of the rock shelf. "I shoot druid from tree."
"You can see him from there?" Crispin asked, looking to the spruce that Rachwal had indicated. The goblin shrugged.
"We will find out," he said.
"Give it a try, then," Crispin said with a nod. Rachwal turned without another word, sneaking through the trees to the spruce. Crispin inched forward a few more feet, to the edge of his cover, and slid his bow carefully off of his shoulder. "Talia," the ranger said quietly, glancing back over his shoulder.
"What is it?" the mage asked nervously, cautiously moving to her companions' side.
"I'm going to open fire on the wolves first," Crispin explained. "They'll have to come down that path to reach me, or they'll be sitting up there all night absorbing arrows. You have a lightning bolt?"
"Two," Talia corrected. "Maybe three."
"Maybe three?" Crispin repeated.
"Well, two for sure," Talia explained. "I tried to memorize a third one, but I don't know if it stuck or not."
"Then we'll count on two," Crispin said. "Wait until they start down the path. Once they commit, they'll have to come through your lightning to get to us. Don't bother holding anything in reserve. Just hit them as hard as you can before they reach me."
"Okay," Talia said, trying to drive the nerves from her voice. Crispin hesitated for a moment, studying the Arcanist.
"You'll do fine," the ranger said, patting her on the shoulder. "None of them can get to you while I'm in the way. Just go through your spells nice and easy, and don't hit me with anything."
"Okay," Talia said again. Crispin drew an arrow from his quiver, and glanced over to see if Rachwal had made his way up the tree yet.
"You ready?" the ranger inquired, peeking back over his shoulder.
"I don't think so," Talia answered.
"Well, you'd better get ready," Crispin said. Slowly he drew his bowstring to his cheek, sighting in on the largest of the wolves.
The arrow whistled in unerringly in on its target, hitting the huge winter wolf at its shoulder. Before his first arrow hit its target, the ranger was drawing back and aiming a second shot, hitting the same wolf yet again as it leapt to its feet in rage. Elec appeared suddenly with the wolves' howls of alarm, his shocked expression melting quickly into fury as he spotted the ranger edging forward beneath the spruce for another shot. For an instant Crispin thought of firing on the elf himself, but the sight of the winter wolves turning to charge down the path forced him to keep all of his attention on his initial targets. The ranger let two more arrows loose in rapid succession, then turned back to Talia.
"Lightning! Now!" he ordered. Despite the fear in her eyes, the mage took two steps forward and chanted through her spell, unleashing a perfectly aimed bolt of lightning up the path and straight through the winter wolves. Crispin kept on firing as Talia readied herself for a second spell, keeping one eye on Elec as the druid hurried after the charging wolves. "Hit them again! Quickly!"
Talia's second lightning bolt was not as well directed as her first, but the streak of electricity still did its job admirably. Elec tried to stop before he ran into the bolt, but the elf was still knocked back by the lightning. The wolves also slowed, their fur smoking from the damage that Talia's spell had done. Crispin took aim quickly, aiming once more for the large winter wolf, but changed targets as he saw Elec begin to cast a spell of his own. Crispin let his arrow fly, aiming for the elf, but Elec managed to throw his shield up in time to deflect the arrow only inches from his face. Somehow the druid managed to keep his spell, and within moments all of the winter wolves were beginning to heal the damage Talia had inflicted.
"Crispin?" Talia prompted, seeing the wolves recovering from the first two lightning bolts.
"If you have that third bolt, now would be a hell of a time to use it," Crispin said, firing one last shot at the charging winter wolves. Talia backed up a step as she cast again, but instead of lightning, glittering golden dust suddenly coated the wolves, blinding all but the largest one. Bracing himself for the brutal assault, Crispin discarded his bow and drew his sword and axe only a heartbeat before the monster reached him.
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From his vantage point in his tree, Rachwal could easily see the fight unfolding before him. Talia's lightning had cut into the winter wolves with brutal efficiency, and Crispin's arrows had almost all hit their intended targets, but the elven druid's healing magic had restored in moments much of the damage that the two humans had done in their initial assault. Within moments the wolves had recovered from the two lightning bolts, and were charging back in on his two allies, but Talia's glitterdust spell brought all but the largest to a halt, pawing at their eyes as they tried to regain their sight. Snarling in anger, Elec raised his hands to the sky, summoning his druidic powers to direct another spell against the humans. Rachwal drew an arrow to his cheek as he sighted in on the druid, taking careful aim as he steadied himself in the tree.
The goblin's arrow streaked out of the spruce only a heartbeat before Elec could finish his spell. The shaft drove through the elf's hand just as he began to throw his hands outward, destroying the druid's concentration and ruining his spell an instant before it could be completed. Elec turned on the goblin, cradling his injured hand as his features twisted into a mask of rage, but Rachwal simply drew another arrow and quickly released his shaft. The druid skipped back, out of the way of the incoming missile, and spat out another spell at the raider as Rachwal hastily reloaded. The goblin pulled his bowstring back as he nocked his third arrow, but before he could release the shot his bow distorted and warped in his hands. With a growled curse of his own, Rachwal threw the useless bow away in disgust and quickly started down the spruce, trying to reach the ground before Elec could target him with a more lethal spell. The elf was already chanting the words to another spell as the goblin slid halfway down the tree, but Rachwal stopped as he heard a thunderous roar below him.
Waiting at the base of the spruce, another of Elec's summoned dire bears glared hungrily up at the descending raider.
Rachwal cursed again as he drew one of his daggers and hurled it down at the bear, but the tiny blade simply bounced off of the monster's thick skull without dealing any real damage. The bear roared in fury as it swatted at the blade, then grabbed the spruce in its powerful paws and began to shake the tree with all of its might. Rachwal could do little more than hang on for dear life as the tree swung wildly about, but fortunately the bear could not tear the spruce out of the ground or break the trunk. Rachwal relaxed slightly as the monster gave up trying to shake him out of the tree, but his relief was extremely shortlived as the huge bear began to climb up the tree to reach the goblin. With all the speed he could muster, Rachwal began a second, far more hasty ascent into the tree, stopping only when he reached the very top of the spruce almost sixty feet from the forest floor. The bear roared as it reached the midpoint of the tree, and once again began to shake the tree. With his summoned monster taking care of the goblin and a quick healing spell to deal with his injured hand, Elec turned back to the battle raging below, ready to support his winter wolves with a new barrage of spells. With the elf's back turned and a loud crack signaling the spruce's inevitable doom, Rachwal took the last option left to him, and launched himself out of the tree at the unsuspecting druid.
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She had hoped to blind all of the wolves, but the apparent pack leader seemed to be far more resistant to her spells than its subordinates.
Talia cringed as the huge winter wolf slammed into Crispin, but any thoughts of trying to come directly to the ranger's aid were overruled as she saw the blinded wolves trying to fight their way forward into the fray. With as much speed as she could muster Talia flew through another spell, and within seconds the blinded wolves were also trapped in her web spell, howling in frustration at the newest impediment. With the other monsters taken care of for the moment, Talia spun back on Crispin and his opponent as the two battled through a haze of snow and frost, just in time to see the huge wolf clamp down on Crispin's left arm. The ranger let out a scream of pain as the monster's teeth dug into his flesh and crushed his arm, but still managed to slam his sword down on the beast's back with a powerful overhand strike. The wolf backed off for only a moment as it reacted to the fierce attack, but without her magic missile spell the mage could think of no way to adequately aid her companion. An all too familiar roar of fury echoed off of the stone walls of the peaks, and the mage nearly panicked as she saw the dire bear trying to shake Rachwal out of his tree. Unable to think of anything else, Talia tried casting a simple flare cantrip on the winter wolf, hoping to buy Crispin a second or two to sneak in a debilitating strike, but the pack leader did not so much as blink as the burst of light flashed into existence in front of its face. Talia turned back to the winter wolves trapped in her web as the creatures began to fight their way free, but before she could even begin her final lightning bolt spell the trees and bushes around her began to wrap around her arms and legs, trapping her as effectively as the her web had the wolves.
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The dire bear's roars and Talia's cry of alarm had registered dimly in the back of his mind, but Crispin could not so much as hazard a glance to either of his allies as the huge winter wolf drove in again and again. Crispin may have scored a half dozen deep cuts to the monster's flanks and shoulders, but the winter wolf had also managed an equal number of powerful bites to the ranger's arms and chest, augmented by two furious bursts of icy breath. While the potion of cold resistance protected him against the worst of the wolf's breath weapon, the ranger was still chilled to the bone and beginning to lose ground to his opponent. Stubbornly the ranger forced himself to keep on his feet and fighting, looking for the opening he needed against the winter wolf's furious assaults. Slowly the ranger began to favor his sword arm, trying to lure the wolf into attacking his left. Although the monster was brutal and relentless, the winter wolf quickly began to fall for the ploy, and finally sprung at his left to exploit the apparent weakness.
With all the speed he could muster Crispin dropped beneath the pouncing wolf, slamming upward with both his sword and hand axe as the beast passed overhead. Blood sprayed out over the ranger and the huge wolf roared in pain, but the monster spun back on its enemy as it hit the ground in preparation for a new attack. Crispin rolled back to his feet in the snow, barely able to get his axe in line for an awkward backhanded swing at his foe, but the wolf circled quickly around the weapon and drove in low at the ranger's legs. Once more Crispin dove desperately to the side, rolling through the snow only a fraction of an inch below the winter wolf's gigantic maw, and bounced back to his feet just as the first blinded wolf pulled itself free of Talia's web.
Still covered in glitterdust and unable to see, the freed wolf charged blindly forward at the ranger, but Crispin easily dodged to one side. The ranger's relief in sidestepping the assault faded, however, as he saw the blinded monster driving through the snow towards Talia, still fighting to free herself from a dense tangle of underbrush that stubbornly coiled around her arms and legs. Without another thought Crispin charged forward, intent on mauling the wolf from behind, but the huge pack leader suddenly leapt in his way to continue the fight.
"Talia! On your right!" the ranger shouted. The mage looked in time to see the wolf covering the last yards between them, but Crispin had no time to see if she would react before the pack leader pounced again. The ranger ducked low and brought his sword up in a brutal underhanded swing, but this time the wolf was ready for the assault. Crispin's blade whistled up from the ground in a huge arc, opening up his entire right side to the pack leader's assault just as the wolf rammed into him. Crispin was ripped off of his feet by the force of the wolf as it bit down on his hip, certain that he heard his bones breaking under the force of the wolf's jaws.
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The dire bear and the top half of the spruce crashed to the snowy ground with a flat thud, but Rachwal tumbled onto the ledge with his sword and Emeri's oversized shield in hand. Halfway through a spell, Elec turned a stunned look on the goblin as he stumbled back to his feet and pushed himself forward into a charge. Grinning maliciously, the druid simply changed the target of his spell, thrusting his hands out and upward at the goblin.
Rachwal raised his shield, ready to deflect an attack from the druid, but the threat came from behind instead. The raider sprinted forward for all he was worth as a column of white flames slammed into the ground behind him, billowing out in a wave of fire. The flame strike scorched his back and burned off his hair, but Rachwal somehow managed to avoid the worst of the mystical assault as he closed the distance to his opponent. Snarling in anticipation, Elec drew a beautiful, silvery scimitar from the sheath on his side as the goblin covered the last of the distance to him, ready to meet Rachwal's attack.
Rachwal cut his charge short at the last possible moment, sliding beneath Elec's blade and lunging forward with his short sword at the druid's chest. The elf twisted awkwardly, trying to escape the goblin's attack, but Rachwal's sword tore a line of crimson across Elec's side. Gasping with pain and surprise, the druid whipped his scimitar back into line and chopped down at the diminutive fighter, but Rachwal threw his shield up just in time to deflect the blade. Frost rippled out from the scimitar as it met the wooden shield, but the goblin had no time to admire the weapon as he scrambled back to his feet to face a renewed attack from his foe. Elec came back with a second, sweeping slash, pushing Rachwal back two steps as the goblin tried to bring his shield back in line with his opponent. Elec's scimitar slid across Rachwal's shoulder in a glancing blow, but the frost that shimmered out from the blade had no effect on the goblin as he ducked low and scored another hit on the druid's thigh. Elec staggered back a step, forcing out another spell as he favored his injured leg, but Rachwal refused to allow the druid any time to recover as he pressed the attack. Accepting another glancing blow from his enemy, Rachwal lunged forward with his sword, aiming for the elf's heart.
Elec caught the goblin's blade in his hand, accepting a vicious gash to his palm in his desperate attempt to steer the sword wide of his body. With the elf stumbling back and cradling his wounded hand, Rachwal drove forward once more, but found himself swinging nothing more than a brass hilt as his short sword's blade rusted away to nothing. What was left of the weapon shattered against the stiff leather of Elec's armor, but Rachwal barely had time to register surprise at his weapon's destruction as Elec resumed the offensive. The goblin backpedaled as his opponent charged forward, barely knocking away Elec's sweeping slashes with his shield as he fumbled for his last dagger. With each strike the elf pushed Rachwal back another two steps, forcing the raider dangerously close to the edge of the plateau and the dire bear roaring in fury below. Rachwal hazarded a glance back, to see the huge monster clawing its way out from under the toppled spruce, but could spare no more time as Elec brought his scimitar down in a heavy, overhand chop. Rachwal threw his shield up in time to deflect the blow, but the force of the strike and the weapon's supernaturally sharp blade splintered the wooden defense and drove Rachwal to his knees.
"Goodbye, defiler," Elec spat, drawing his scimitar back for a final strike. Without any other recourse, Rachwal turned and jumped for the broken spruce, hoping that he would not fall short. But without a good running start, the goblin managed to grab only a few twigs before he thudded into the snow only a few yards from the waiting dire bear.
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Even if she had not been entangled, she knew she would never escape the charging monster.
Talia gave up on pulling herself free and instead focused on another spell, frantically tumbling over her words and components as the winter wolf bore down on her. Only just recovering from its blindness, the huge canine nonetheless was charging directly at her, frost beginning to build up in its mouth as it prepared to tear the mage to pieces. The wolf was only a yard away from her when Talia shoved her hands forward, shooting out a fan of flames straight into the wolf's eyes, nose and mouth before it could snap its jaws shut on her arms. Already badly injured from the earlier lightning spells and Crispin's arrows, the beast stumbled backwards, whimpering in pain as it shoved its huge maw into the snow with its dying breath. As the monster finally fell on its side, Talia breathed out a sigh of relief.
Her relief was extremely shortlived, however, as she saw the other wolves break free of the web and turn on the mage.
Talia raced through another spell, barely coming up with the components for an obscuring mist, but the vines wrapped around her arms jerked her hands out of position at the last moment and ruined the spell. Seeing the spellcaster and remembering the lightning, the three remaining wolves turned on her as one, ignoring Crispin's desperate battle with the pack leader in their hurry to kill the mage. Fighting through her fear, Talia once again raced through a spell, casting her mirror image only seconds before the wolves could reach her. Suddenly faced with six targets, the wolves hesitated for a moment, but then resumed their assault. Within seconds, three of Talia's images had been destroyed by her attackers.
"Please Pelor let this work," Talia begged, finding her components for a lightning bolt spell. The mage had hoped that her images would buy her more time, or perhaps allow Crispin to join the fight on her side, but at their current pace the winter wolves would destroy her final images in a matter of seconds. All three wolves were on her right, directly between her and Crispin, but the mage could only hope that her lightning bolt would not hit her companion when she cast it. Already the wolves were racing towards their targets, giving Talia precious little time to complete her spell. Once again she threw out her hands, unleashing her lightning almost directly into the gaping maw of the wolf that had been attacking her.
The lightning bolt tore out along the ground, slamming into all three wolves with enough force to hurl them back into the snow and kill them instantly. For a long moment Talia simply stared at her handiwork, amazed not only that the spell had worked, but that all three wolves had been slain by the spell. Her elation died as soon as it came, however, as her worst fear was realized. Her lightning bolt had apparently reached Crispin and the pack leader. The huge winter wolf had dropped into the snow as well, and Crispin was nowhere in sight.
"You are talented, young one," a quiet, melodic voice said behind her. Talia whirled, suddenly finding herself free of the entanglements that had held her through the battle, and found herself facing what could only be Elec. The elf smiled slightly as he raised his scimitar, ready to take the mage's head from her shoulders. Talia tried to begin her last spell, but Elec struck as soon as she had begun her spell, nearly cutting off her hand with a single stroke of his blade. "But now, it is time for you to die."
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Cursing and grunting into the heavy snow, Crispin clawed his way out from beneath the huge winter wolf with the last of his energy, his muscles still twitching from the impact of Talia's last lightning bolt. While his opponent had taken the brunt of his companion's spell and shielded him from the full force of the lightning, the bolt had still thrown Crispin flat on his back a moment before the monstrous wolf had fallen on top of him. With his ears ringing and only half certain that the roars that he heard were actually from Elec's dire bear, Crispin reached into the pouch on his side and scooped out a bit of the healing salve for the worst of his injuries.
"I'll thank her, then I'll stab her," the ranger muttered, smearing the healing salve across his torn and bleeding hip. He could feel the flesh and bone begin to mend almost instantly, stealing away the worst of the fiery pain tearing through his side. Uncertain if the battle was still raging around him, and with the winter wolf still lying across his legs from the knees down, Crispin simply collapsed back in the snow, allowing himself a moment to try to recover from the vicious beating he had taken.
Talia's scream of pain had him up in a heartbeat, fumbling to pull his axe and sword free of the winter wolf's flanks as he tried to stumble forward. A dozen or more yards ahead of him, Talia stumbled to the ground as she clutched her arm in pain. Standing over her and already drawing his scimitar back for the kill, Elec was too focused on his current target to see the ranger struggling to his feet. Without a second to lose, Crispin yanked his hand axe free of the winter wolf and hurled it at the druid, praying that it would reach its target before the elf could finish the job on Talia.
Elec seemed to sense the danger at the last possible moment, looking up in time to manage an awkward dodge away from the weapon. Instead of planting itself firmly in the druid's side, Crispin axe glanced off of Elec's shoulder and headdress before it spun off into the dense forest. Crispin had no time to worry about his errant throw, however, as he charged through the snow toward his opponent, drawing a dagger to use in place of his lost axe. Without time to cast any further spells, Elec turned to meet Crispin's charge with his scimitar at the ready.
Crispin's sword met Elec's scimitar with a tortured screech. The druid dropped low, trying to sneak under the taller ranger's defenses, but Crispin spun aside before Elec could land a solid blow. The ranger whirled back on his opponent even as Elec regained his balance, scoring a deep gash through the druid's leather armor and drawing a line of blood across his chest. Elec dropped back a step, crying out in pain, but Crispin refused to give the druid any time to recover as he stabbed forward with his dagger. Elec fell back with a tortured shriek as the blade sank to the hilt in his shoulder, tearing free of Crispin's hand as the druid scrambled away from his opponent. Still hampered by his badly injured leg, Crispin nonetheless rushed forward for all he was worth, trying to reach the druid before he could cast another spell. Already the elf was racing through a chant, throwing his arms up to the sky as the ranger covered the last feet of distance between them.
He almost made it to Elec in time.
Crispin screamed in pain as a wall of brilliant golden flames shot up from the ground directly under him, catching him in the middle of a wall of fire. The ranger dove through to the other side as quickly as he could, but the flames had scorched him across much of his body and burned off most of his beard and hair. In his desperation to put out the flames covering his body, Crispin dove into the deep snow on the other side of the wall, burrowing as far beneath the melting snow as he could. Within moments his burning clothes had been extinguished, but the damage had already been done. Crispin could barely even struggle to his knees as Elec limped forward, a grimace of pain on his face as he gingerly touched the hilt of the ranger's dagger stuck in his shoulder. Without a word the druid stumbled towards the ranger as he lifted his scimitar.
A disgusting thud sounded just behind the druid. Elec's eyes widened slightly in shock, but the expression lasted for only a moment before the elf collapsed into the snow. Standing behind him, Talia wavered unsteadily on her feet, Crispin's axe in her hands.
"Are… you okay?" the mage asked, staggering towards the crippled ranger.
"We're going to have a long talk about where you aim your lightning bolts," Crispin said simply. Talia's mouth dropped open.
"I… I'm sorry," the mage said, dropping to Crispin's side. "I thought… well, I hoped you weren't in range, but I… well, the other wolves…"
"It's all right, Talia," Crispin said with a bit of a smile. "It helped more than it hurt. Well, almost."
"What about Rachwal?" Talia asked, looking up from the ranger. As if in response, a terrible roar echoed through the forest, evidence of the dire bear's rage and frustration. Crispin made it as far as one knee when he saw Rachwal limping towards the pair, burned and badly wounded but still alive.
"I trick bear," the raider said, stopping in front of the pair. "It in hole now. Cannot get out."
"Good," Crispin said. "Because I'm almost dead and she's out of spells."
"Elf is dead?" Rachwal inquired, pointing to Elec's corpse in the snow.
"Yeah, he's dead," Crispin confirmed. Rachwal hesitated for only a moment before he walked over to Elec's body and pried the scimitar from his hand. The raider examined the weapon quickly, then turned back to the pair of humans.
"I go now," Rachwal said simply. Without waiting for a reply, the goblin turned to the south, setting off for his distant home. Talia and Crispin watched their ally go for a minute, until the mage turned back to Crispin.
"Do you think it's a good idea to let him go?" Talia asked. Crispin shrugged as he watched the raider disappear through the trees.
"I'm in no condition to stop him," the ranger pointed out. Talia smiled as she sat down next to him.
"I guess you're right," she said, appraising the badly injured woodsman. "Do you think you can walk?"
"If it's all right with you, I'm just going to lay here for a little bit," Crispin answered, falling back into the snow. "Let me know when spring gets here."