DF215 - I'm On Fire (Patreon)

Anton wished he knew what was going on. Situational awareness was something that had been drilled into him by his parents, something he practised. Normally, he was pretty good at it, but this fight was pushing him to his limits.

Samira bint Kareth, Level 42, Human, Lioness of Tiait, Hunter (broken) / Warrior of the Sands/Dune Skirmisher/Moon-Marked Fighter/Lioness of Tiait, S: 36 T: 39 A: 40 D: 32 P: 32 W: 30 C: 30

He didn’t need to use Delver’s Discernment again; the numbers were burned into his mind. As were his own.

Overall Level: 27Paths: Delver/Adventurer/Heroic LiberatorClass: Heroic LiberatorStrength: 41Toughness: 41Agility: 32Dex: 32Perception: 29Will: 27Charisma: 22

He had his Epic Class to thank for the fact that their stats were as close as they were, despite the disparity in levels. Her skills were pretty close as well, which Anton wasn’t used to. Warrior of the Sands and Dune Skirmisher spoke of extensive experience fighting in the desert, and she did seem unused to fighting in forests. Anton’s tactic of jumping into a tree and then back down to attack had rattled her at first.

She adapted quickly, though, and she had her own tricks. Like her speed on the ground was even faster than her extraordinary Agility could account for. She had a lightning-fast attack trait and a dodging trait that rivalled Anton’s. Her long, heavy daggers—almost long enough to qualify as shortswords—were poisoned. A magical effect according to Delver’s Discernment.

Fortunately, starting your adventuring career in Kelsey’s dungeon meant learning to always have an antidote potion on you.

As for Kelsey herself, she was being—Anton wanted to say “like Kelsey,” but she was normally more… helpful. In her own way. Filling the forest with smoke, and then fire wasn’t helping him at all. It cut off his lines of sight and made it harder for him to see. It wasn’t the same choking black smoke that she’d used before, but it wasn’t pleasant to breathe, either.

It wasn’t until he heard Kelsey returning with Elara that he realised Kelsey had a plan. Which was foolish, because Kelsey always had a plan. If she wasn’t sharing it, then it was because he wouldn’t approve of it.

Something like burning his forest down in order to catch both the Tiatians and the Lancers in the flames.

Anton cursed silently to himself. Instead of pulling back from Samira’s slash, he dropped low, hoping that Aris would be able to take the opportunity. She did, snapping off a Trick Shot, but Samira blocked it with the bronze-coated bracer strapped to her wrist. Her other hand came down and blocked Anton’s Quick Attack with her dagger.

She let the momentum push her back, and Anton rolled to his feet, already readying his next attack. He wished Aris could use something more damaging, but Samira was just too quick, and too adept at keeping Anton between her and Aris.

He felt a surge of interest from his Class. Now that he was defending Elara, freshley liberated from captivity, he was following the directives laid down by his Class. It wasn’t experience yet. He still needed to succeed and save the girl from captivity. But it gave him hope, hope that he could succeed.

He switched things up, closing the gap with a direct Leaping Attack, and then following up with repeated Quick Attacks. He buried Samira in a flurry of blows, forcing her back and keeping her on the defensive.

It frustrated her, Anton could tell. She had two blades and a fast attack of her own, but Anton’s Quick Attack was faster. And endurance was one area in which he held an edge. Not much of one, probably not enough for this to work, but for just a second, she doubted.

In that moment, she used a Tier Four Trait for the first time. Anton hadn’t been sure if she had been holding back out of pride, or if her Tier Four Traits just weren’t useful in a duel. Higher-tier soldier types tended to be about command.

She had this combat Trait though. She let out a roar, loud enough to damage his ears if he hadn’t had protection. A blast of wind came with it, pushing Anton back, and almost knocking him over.

The blast went out in all directions, clearing out the smoke near her. Anton risked a glance behind him, but his companions were all sheltering behind a sturdy tree. They were fine.

He readied another Leaping Attack, trying to pick an unexpected angle to strike from.

“Commander!”

The call came from behind the desert warrior.

“What?” she snapped, never taking her eyes off Anton.

“The fires—they’re spreading—we can’t put them out! If we don’t retreat we’ll be trapped here!”

Samira grimaced. “Looks like we’ll have to finish this some other time.”

“You think?” Anton let Voice of Rebellion into his words. It was a long shot, but if any of her soldiers harboured resentment against her, it might make them less likely to follow orders.

“That’s twice you’ve attacked somone under my protection,” Anton stated. “There won’t be a third time.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” the woman said. She straightened her stance, and let her daggers point to the ground. “You’re good, and this has been fun, but—”

Leaping Attack.

Anton shot across the gap that separated them. With her guard down, he might have a chance. Instead of bringing her weapons up, though, she just looked at him scornfully.

Anton’s sword hit, cutting through her with no resistance. Which… wasn’t right? Even as he tried to react to the unexpected result, the figure of the woman in front of him collapsed, leaving only a pile of sand.

“We can take this up some other time, Baron!”

Her voice came from deeper in the forest, behind Kelsey’s flames. She’d gotten away.

Anton froze for a moment more. He didn’t stare at the sand, he kept his awareness out and looking for threats, but he did keep his eye on the pile, in case it did something else extraordinary.

“We should go, boss,” Kelsey called. “Take the win. I think the Lancers are leaving as well.”

Anton couldn’t tell, but he wouldn’t have been surprised. The sounds of fighting had been drowned out by the sound of spreading fire.

“What did you do to the fire, Kelsey?” he demanded.

“To the fire?” Kelsey evaded. “I’ve been here since the fire started, lending aid and support to your future—”

“They said it wouldn’t go out,” Anton said. “So it’s some kind of special fire. So fix it.”

* * *

It turned out that Kelsey had a different type of smoke that put out fires. It wasn’t as effective as Tyla, though. With a single spell, she could snuff out an entire burning tree. When it came to the core of the fires, the places where Kelsey had set off explosions, Tyla was at a loss.

“It doesn’t go out,” she said with concern.

“It will burn itself out eventually,” Kelsey said. “But I’ve got this.”

She summoned a skeleton and handed it a device not unlike the smoke-spewer she’d been using to put out fires.

“You know what to do,” she told it. The skeleton grinned with delight at it’s mission and saluted. It stalked over to the fire while Kelsey watched and provided commentary.

“Not on the wood! On the white bits! Don’t let yourself get lit up!”

Despite setting itself on fire, the skeleton did manage to pour some kind of blue liquid on the fire, which did smother the flames. Kelsey made it gather the ashes before making them disappear.

“It’s still dangerous stuff,” she said.

“And you were just going to leave it out here to burn?” Anton fumed.

“Well sure! Once it’s burnt its safe. Safe-ish. I think. I don’t think I ever tested it…”

Anton gave her a final glare for the sake of it, but he let himself relax. The Lancers seemed to have fled at the same time the Tiatians. They might come back now the fires were out, but not soon.

You have reached Level 13.

Applying Benefits for Level 13

Strength +1 Toughness + 1Agility + 1Dexterity + 1Perception + 1Willpower + 1Charisma + 1

Please allocate free Ability points

Anton put both of them in Agility without hesitating. Samiria had just been too quick, and he was sure he’d be seeing her again.

“Right,” he said. “Is everyone else all right?” He looked around and did a headcount. Everyone seemed to be here, and no one reported any injuries. Most of the fighting had been between the two invading forces. “Zaphar… report?”

“Um, well…” Zaphar looked back at the two scouts he was leading. “We found the Lancers. Their camp, I mean. Not the same place where you ran into them.”

“Do you think they’ll still be there in the morning?” Anton asked.

Zaphar scowled. “Maybe not,” he admitted. “Aside from everything else, I wouldn’t want to be in the same forest as that fire. They didn’t stick around long enough to see you put it out.”

“Fair enough.” Anton sighed. “At least we know they’re still here. Finding them can wait until later.”

“Sure. Found a traitor, too.” Zaphar fended off Anton’s glare with raised hands. “Easy there, I never vouched for her beyond what I saw her do.”

“True,” Anton allowed. “There was a reason I didn’t host her in the castle… I never dreamed she’d find her own way inside.”

“I’m just glad you managed to save me,” Elara put in. She was looking very unprincess-like, dressed in an oversized coat and boots. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Lord Nos.”

“We’re not back to Lord, are we?” Anton complained. “Just Anton, please.”

“Very well… Anton,” Elara conceeded. “I will try to remember.”

“Okay, everyone, let’s all head back in together. We’ll head straight back into town instead of going through the tunnel.”

“Kelsey, can you check on Cheia?” Aris asked as they started to move.

“Don’t worry,” Kelsey assured her. “She sent off some transmissions that I picked up back in town. Once she lit them up with the spotlight, they veered off before she could close. She’s back on station now.”

“A flawless victory,” Anton mused. “That should be good for her Class.”

“Pshaw!” Kelsey exclaimed. “She didn’t even kill anyone!”

“That’s what makes it flawless, Lady Kelsey,” Princess Elara said hesitantly. “She achieved her goals with no deaths on both sides. A perfect result.”

“You say that, but do the gods agree?” Kelsey countered. “It’s death that brings in the experience.”

“Not just death,” Anton argued. “I just got a level from fighting of Samira. Neither of us died.”

“Would have got more if she had died, though.”

“I would have done more if I’d managed to kill her,” Anton replied. “It would have been harder—I’m not sure if it was even possible—and it would have been a bigger achievement. Killing—or capturing—her would be a huge blow against the Tiatians.”

“Original Gunslinger was a Class that wanted me to kill,” Aris said. “I recieved experience for using guns and that was about it.”

“That’s what guns are for,” Kelsey sang.

“My new Class, though, I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it,” Aris continued. “The only levels I’ve gotten are from killing monsters.”

“New Classes don’t appear very often,” Elara said, with just a hint of jealously. “It’s thought that the reason we all get experience from killing is so that you can still advance, even without knowing the demands of your Class. Father…”

Her voice dropped off, but she rallied and continued.

“Father gained his third Tier, despite having few chances to show leadership,” she said. “That was from his dungeon expeditions.”

“Is that all I am, to you and the gods?” Kelsey asked sarcastically. “A default means of advancement?”

“That’s your monsters,” Anton said wryly. “You, I’m not sure they have a use for.”