The raid group was reformed, led by Ironfist and his guild, the Brutal Knights, and rounded out by independent players who Ironfist had convinced to come. I was given the task of laying out our strategy and I tried to be convincing that our chance were better than they had been before. I was worried that they wouldn't buy it, and that the raid would have to be abandoned. On the other hand, if they did accept it, I was essentially putting them in direct danger. The plan did not guarantee their safety.

In the end they bought it. Final preparations were made; healing items, armor changes, weapon repair, anything the players could prepare they did. This was a new strategy and the best choices were made to fit it. The group had managed its way to the edge of the moors, swiftly taking out any mob that decided to attack us. And now we slowly crept in with our weapons at the ready.

It took less than five minutes for Soul Biter to appear in front of us. The three Vicious Dogs spawning immediately afterward. The hound's aura changed the landscape around us, making everything darker, more foreboding, and transforming what little plant life there was into dried and shriveled versions of themselves. The hound let out a low growl, threatening and taunting us at the same time.

We didn't need any more prompting, we knew what we were here for. "Move to your first attack positions and engage." Ironfist shouted. Karla and I were already heading for our target. We were to take on the dogs as we had done in the previous encounter. Four other players in groups of two would also take a Vicious Dog each. The six remaining players would take on the hound head on.

It started exactly like the first time around, except for one detail: one of the duos was comprised of two blockers, shield bearers that were particularly well adapted to prevent a creature from causing any damage. Combining this with with stunning effects of their attacks, they disabled the attackers sufficiently that only about half the attacks would get through. Their job was to keep their dog occupied, but alive.

We exchanged blows with the dog, switching in and out as fast as we could to do the most damage and quickly get through our foe. It worked, the dog attempted to attack Karla as she switched out and I would come in diverting it's attention, preventing it's attack. I was less lucky, my agility was less than Karla's, I got bitten twice by the dog before we eventually landed a killing blow.

"Clear!" I shouted to indicate our dog was taken care of. "Clear!" another player yelled as the other Vicious Dog was disposed of just as swiftly by him and his partner. Ironfist finished his attack on the hound, took a step back and yelled out, "Move to your second attack positions! Move to your second attack positions!"

Players immediately shifted, some to the side, others to the back, effectively surrounding the hound. With two of the dogs out of commission the hound's right side and rear were left exposed. We were going to take advantage of that. Four players consisting of blockers and hard hitters, those that could deal a lot of damage, would take the brunt of the attack and keep the hound's focus on them. The strikers, those with highest agility, were now able to attack the hound from behind and get out of the way before the hound could turn and attempt a bite attack.

I was helping the strikers as best I could. My sword skill was charged up and ready to strike. "Ready!" I yelled to Karla. She finished her attack. "Switch!" she yelled back. I came in with a crushing blow, a downward swing that left a huge gash in the hound's side. It did leave me vulnerable for a moment, but the head group kept the focus, I was able to back out without getting hit.

Karla scolded me for choosing that attack. "Pick a faster attack. Don't give it any chance to retaliate." she said before doing her next attack. She was right, as always, but the damage caused was worth the risk. "I'll give the head group a hand so they can heal up!" I told Karla as I headed to the front. "Be careful." Karla begged.

The hound was down to half it's last bar of health when it added a new attack. It shook it's head wildly and knocked the entire head group to the ground. The strikers were now exposed. "Look out! He's going to move!" one of the strikers yelled. "Get out of its way!" another screamed. But it was too late. Soul Biter threw itself to the ground and rolled over the players that were still in the way, before getting backup and slamming it's jaws on the nearest player.

"Karla's over there!" I thought to myself. Players screamed as they saw a flash of light and a burst of blue green crystals. For a moment, time seemed to slow down as I began to panic. I got to my feet as fast as I could, and charged the highest damage skill I had, hoping it would make the hound back off a bit. I couldn't see Karla. I hit the hound as hard as I could. The skill hit the target, but I was now helpless. I braced myself for the massive bite that the hound would deliver.

The hound hit metal. "You idiot, you'll get yourself killed! Don't let me lose another man!" Ironfist said furious at me as he blocked the hounds attack. "Get back in position were not finished yet" He yelled to the other players. I took a few steps back and instinctively grabbed a potion to bring my health back up. I watched the head group return to the melee as my health bar got back to the green.

I ran to where Karla was before I had abandoned her. I couldn't see her. "Karla!" I yelled out of despair. I charged another sword skill and attacked the hound. This time I heeded Karla requests and used my fastest skill. Just a basic attack, but a brute force one that was damaging enough. I backed off. I screamed again "Karla!" Tears were running freely down my cheeks.

"Take it Ironfist" cried thunder. I stopped for a moment and looked at the hound and saw it writhe in pain, freeze for a moment, then shatter into an incredible burst of blue shards of light. All the players in the raid group held their breath in anticipation. Large letters appeared in the air where the hound had stood followed by a popup window in front of each player.

The raid group erupted into a chorus of cheers. "Yaaaa!", "We did it!", "Ha ha we beat it!" came the comments through the cheers. I wanted to cheer but not alone, not without knowing if I still had a partner. I didn't know where to look. "Idiot." came a voice behind me that I knew all too well. I spun around and my eyes widened as the figure that stood in front of me simply said:

"Congratulations."