Chapter 63: A Dark Storm (Patreon)

A bolt of lightning streaked through the dark storm clouds above. Then a thunderclap roared like a challenge and we braced ourselves for whatever new attack would come. Expecting at any moment for another monster to descend upon us. This time we would be ready. So we waited. Then we waited some more. But the only thing that fell out of the sky was heavy rain. Small puddles were forming and our clothes were getting drenched. It was time to move on.

“We should keep moving and climb out of here,” I said.

Elise touched one of the rain slick walls and looked skeptical. “I think it’s too wet for me to climb.” She glanced down at her soaked robes that were sticking to her and tried to peel them off. I understood the annoyance as my own wet clothes stuck to her. Elise gave up messing with her robes and threw up her hands.

“Maybe if we wait long enough, we could swim out of here?” she suggested.

“What?! I’m not swimming!” Hugo insisted.

“Well not you,” she said. “Obviously you’d fly.”

“Obviously,” he retorted while not entirely sounding convinced.

The crow ruffled his feathers. He was getting too wet, and it worried him. I remembered how much that had impacted his flying ability before. If we didn’t make a decision soon, then Hugo would lose his biggest mobility advantage.

Hemi looked up at how high we’d have to climb to get out of the cavern and grimaced. “I’m inclined to agree. Not about the swimming, but that these rocks look too treacherous to climb.”

It was unfortunate. They were both magic users, with the bulk of their points allocated to willpower and intelligence. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a basic physical feat for me was something else altogether for them.

I shrugged. “I guess Hugo and I could go on ahead and look for a rope or something.”

Hemi frowned for a second and then his eyes lit up. “Wait a moment,” he said.

The three of us watched as he pulled out his book and started flicking through pages. The paper was seemingly immune to the rain, which made sense. Something so integral to a Class wouldn’t get damaged so easily. It was also curious because Hemi didn’t usually take charge like this. He was usually more passive and in the background. Now he was rapidly skimming pages to find something that could help.

“Ah, found it,” said Hemi. “Everyone stand close to me.”

We did, and a large square of golden light formed beneath our feet. Without warning, we all suddenly shot up into the air. My stomach churned from the elevation, but I was also impressed by the ingenuity.

“You’re using a barrier like a magic carpet,” I said.

Hemi grinned as we slowed our ascent and floated up and out of the cavern. “That’s right. I just had to check the book first to make sure that it could hold our weight.”

We sailed higher, which gave us a better view of the rest of the floor. It was a grassy, mountainous terrain with an abandoned temple at the top of a hill in the distance. The temple was made out of stone blocks with a set of stairs leading up to it that reminded me of an Aztec pyramid. As the only object of interest around, it was clearly where we were meant to go. The area between us and the temple wasn’t empty, however. Roaming across the hills and munching on grass were ram-like creatures the size of large horses with big curving horns. They had white fur with a slight blue glow surrounding their bodies. From a distance, they were kind of beautiful to look at.

“Aww, do you think they’re friendly?” Elise asked.

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” I muttered.

The storm raged on, with wind and rain howling at us. The barrier beneath us wobbled and for a second I thought it might fail entirely.

“Sorry,” Hemi said. “Lost my concentration for a second.”

“Can you get us to the temple?” I asked.

Hemi grit his teeth and nodded. Maintaining the barrier to hold our weight and move it at the same time was clearly difficult for him. The muscles in his body and face tightened as he focused on the goal ahead. There was another crack of thunder and lightning struck the ground behind us. Hemi ignored it while the rest of us looked on with concern.

The lightning strikes became more frequent. A few rams would trot briskly away from any spot on the ground that was hit, but other than that, it seemed like a regular occurrence for them. A bolt struck close to our left. This time Hemi did notice it. He panicked and veered us wildly to the right. Elise stumbled towards the edge and my hand caught her before she could fall.

“Thanks,” said Elise as I steadied her.

I nodded.

“Never trust a non-bird to fly,” Hugo said under his breath.

A few of the large rams glanced up as we flew overhead. We were low enough that I was concerned that a ram could reach us if it jumped, but one look at Hemi’s strained face told me not to distract him.

Another lightning strike close by and the barrier started shaking.

“I don’t know if I can hold it,” Hemi said.

We were a short distance away from the bottom of the temple steps when lightning struck the edge of the barrier behind us. The impact was too much, and the barrier popped like a bubble, causing us to fall. With his wet feathers Hugo might not be able to fly quickly, but he fell better than the rest of us by gliding away.

I saw the earth quickly approaching and aimed my feet to land first. As soon as they did, I went into a roll to soften the blow and was back up with a knife drawn in less than a second. The fall had barely hurt, but the other two hadn’t been so lucky. Hemi had landed awkwardly on some rock and cried out as he fell.

I rushed over to him. He was moaning and clutching his ankle.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I think I twisted it,” he gasped.

“Can you heal yourself?”

“I… think so,” he muttered.

Hemi put his hand over it and muttered something. His hand glowed with golden light briefly and then sputtered out. The pain was interfering with his ability to focus. It surprised me for a moment before I realized that this was probably the first time he’d gotten injured in the tower. Every other encounter he’d been at the back while other team members fought. There wasn’t a lot that I could do to help him.

“Just keep trying while I go look for Elise,” I told him.

That would be easier said than done. As Elise was falling, I watched her try to steady herself by using an air blast from her staff, but in a state of fear she’d used too much power. Combine that with the strong winds, and it had knocked her off course. She was somewhere further down the hill and finding out exactly where would mean leaving Hemi behind.

I was about to leave him when one of the rams stepped up over the rocks towards us and snorted.

*Beast Identified* [Azure Sky Ram] Level 21 – These horned beasts are extremely territorial and will fight any outsiders that trespass on their land. Don’t be fooled by their stocky appearance. These things are light on their feet and their horns can crush rocks. Their weaknesses are… well, I’m sure you can figure that one out for yourself. I can’t do all the work here.

The ram snorted again and scraped one of its hooves back.

Gee, thanks for the heads up that it means us harm. I never would have guessed.

I stood in front of Hemi and drew my sword. There was no way I could leave him now. At nine levels higher, this thing would tear through him like tissue paper. I glanced back to see if I could count on any support, but he was still feebly clutching his ankle while his magic kept stopping and starting. I guess not.

Hugo seemed to have disappeared too. Maybe he’d gone to higher ground or to help Elise. Once the ram lowered its head and prepared to charge, it no longer mattered.