Chapter Twenty-One
High in the forest canopy, Alex watched for her minions. She'd sent Inky to the west and Clyde to the east, each wearing custom harnesses she'd made with her knife that allowed a single minion to carry bait.
Because she'd moved deeper into the woods, she couldn't rely on the pit trap she'd dug weeks ago. Alex knew she had to find a way to kill the mobs without it, and this was her first test of her new strategy.
When she saw a tall birdlike creature with a huge beak and rough brown fur sprinting through the undergrowth, making dizzying leaps at the fresh meat hanging beneath her minion Inky, she analyzed it.
Angry Ostrizzle, Warped Animal, Level 13
Ability: Leaping Rake
"An ostrich crossed with a grizzly bear," said Alex, shaking her head. "What a nightmare."
It didn't get any better when she saw a spotted brown four-legged creature the size of a mastiff with mottled wings racing with short sprints followed by a few wing thrusts for speed from the other direction.
Ferocious Hyenature, Warped Animal, Level 13
Ability: Scavenging Claws
Standing on her perch high above the forest floor, Alex realized quickly that she wasn't out of danger. The ostrizzle and hyenature both had means of reaching her location through either jumping or short flight. She'd thought that staying high in the trees would let her exploit the terrain, but it appeared that wasn't going to work. But she didn't want to give up the time that had gone into tracking them down.
Alex nudged Inky to drag the ostrizzle past her tree, since it was going to reach the clearing first. From her outstretched hands, a gray cloud crackling with electricity snaked through the air.
You have hit an angry ostrizzle with Cloud Taunt for 8 damage!
The two-legged bird veered towards her tree right as the hyenature busted through the undergrowth. Alex cast Misdirection on it, but the spell fizzled.
You have gained a skill point: +1 Misdirection
"Shit," she said as the ostrizzle came leaping towards her perch. She didn't think it could reach her, but it kept soaring towards her, forcing her to leap off the branch and grab the descending rope, which carried her safely to a lower branch.
The ostrizzle landed heavily on a small tree, snapping it with its powerful legs before its momentum carried it away. The ostrizzle made an earsplitting screech as it circled wide, giving her a chance to deal with the hyenature that had locked onto her.
Alex threw a Dewdrop Orb at it, catching the spotted and winged dog with a watery muzzle, forcing it to slow its charge.
As the hyenature shook its head, trying to dislodge the suffocating ball of water, she checked her faez pool. It was slightly over fifty percent, and in combat faez regen was slow. She had barely enough magic to cast Misdirection again. If it failed, she’d have to find a way to evade two level 13 mobs without dying.
Alex waited as long as she could to cast again, timing the spell right as it leapt.
You have hit an angry ostrizzle with Misdirection!
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Instead of crashing into her with two angry, clawed feet, and probably killing her outright, it veered right into the hyenature.
The angry ostrizzle hits the ferocious hyenature with Leaping Rake for 75 damage!
The angry ostrizzle hits the ferocious hyenature with Leaping Rake for 91 damage!
After ripping the backside off the hyenature with its two feet, the ostrizzle landed in the grass, reorienting itself towards her.
With her faez pool nearly empty, there would be no more spells that would save her butt. Nor was she going to be able to outrun it. Whatever happened next would tell the tale of the battle.
Alex grabbed her whip in the hopes of getting a skill increase before she died.
Right as the ostrizzle stretched its neck and snapped its beak at her, the hyenature, having regained its feet, leapt onto the large bird.
The two creatures fell into a clawing, scratching melee, demolishing the purple-hued saprolings and blue-green grass that made up the undergrowth. The trampled foliage released sharp ammonia-like smells.
The ostrizzle seemed to have the upper hand on the hyenature, which left Alex wondering if she could take it wounded, or if she'd even receive the experience.
She checked with her minions that hovered in the air above the battle. Blinky was high in the canopy, serving as her eyes in the sky.
While they fought, Alex watched her faez pool regen slowly. It wasn't moving fast enough to let her blast it with magic from afar.
Alex decided that the only way she was going to win this was to get right into the thick of it. Against her desires to stay out of the way of close combat, she leapt from the lower limb, reaching the combatants in a few short strides.
With the whip in hand, Alex slashed at the backside of the ostrizzle.
You have missed an angry ostrizzle!
You have hit an angry ostrizzle for 15 damage!
You have missed an angry ostrizzle!
Her damage output quickly made her realize that she wasn't going to kill it. Alex checked her Handysack for ideas, but she didn't have anything that would deal a lot of damage quickly. If she couldn't figure something out, the winner of the battle was going to make quick work of her.
"But what if they can't attack me?" she said, grabbing the jar of Ethel's Adhesive Ointment.
Alex snapped a stick from a nearby limb, quickly dabbing the end into the jar. With a hunk of the sticky paste on the end of her stick, she lunged between the combatants, placing the glue on the ostrizzle right before they collided again.
The stick ripped from her hands as the two creatures rolled into the grass. The larger ostrizzle slammed its enormous beak into the hyenature, tearing at its spotted fur until it was covered in blood.
Standing at the maximum possible distance, Alex cracked the hyenature with her whip, hoping that it would be enough to claim the experience from the kill. At the very least, she wanted to cover the amount of experience that she'd lose when she died from the ostrizzle.
You have hit a ferocious hyenature for 9 damage!
You have hit a ferocious hyenature for 11 damage!
You have missed a ferocious hyenature!
You have missed a ferocious hyenature!
An angry ostrizzle has slain a ferocious hyenature!
You have gained experience: 1,800 XP
You have gained a skill point: +1 Mastermind
Alex pumped her fist when she received both the full experience and a point in Mastermind, proving that her tactics had won the battle.
Then the angry ostrizzle turned, its beak bloody from battle, and released a soul-shattering screech.
"Well this should be fun," said Alex, cracking her whip. "Come at me, big boy."
The ostrizzle tried to take a step forward, but the dead hyenature was still stuck to its round body. The creature made a throaty noise of disapproval and tried to dislodge the body with its beak.
You have missed an angry ostrizzle!
You have hit an angry ostrizzle for 15 damage!
The ostrizzle didn't know whether it should peck away the body or attack her. It screeched with annoyance, its brown fur ruffling.
Alex kept attacking, but the damage was coming slow. She hit one in three times, barely doing any damage since it was much higher level than her.
"This is going to take a while."
Occasionally, the big bird would try to lunge at her, but the dead hyenature unbalanced it, forcing the creature to wobble, making it easy to avoid.
Alex thought about calling down her minions, but she didn't want to lose them when she could kill it herself.
You have missed an angry ostrizzle!
You have hit an angry ostrizzle for 9 damage!
They danced around the clearing, tramping the remaining brush until the whole area looked like a war zone. Alex kept striking the ostrizzle, gaining a skill increase in the process, while staying ahead of it.
After ten minutes of battle, her shoulder burning from the constant overhand whip motion, she finally landed the killing blow.
You have hit an angry ostrizzle for 15 damage!
You have slain an angry ostrizzle!
You have gained experience: 1,800 XP
"Oh, thank Merlin," she said, grabbing her whip arm with her other hand, massaging tight muscles and rotating her shoulder cuff.
Sweat dripped in her eyes as she surveyed the area.
"I'm going to have to find a better way," said Alex.
She was so busy thinking about how to improve her strategy that she didn't know what had happened when it felt like a bubble popped in her mind.
"Blinky?"
Alex looked up in time to see the Ghostly Cobrawasp appear before her. The flying creature went from pale smoke to solid black in a single heartbeat.
She barely had time to lift her whip before the stinger slammed into her, right between her breastbone and her stomach.
Critical Hit! You have taken 75 damage from a Ghostly Cobrawasp!
You have died!
