Dragon Mage 3 Chapter 6: A Feline Problem (Patreon)

369 days until the Arkon Shield falls

The shadowcat did not take his eyes off Ash the entire time I watched it, but it made no move to pounce again, either. Very likely, the blow the creature had taken from the dragonfire orb had installed a new sense of concern in it. Evidence of the dragonfire’s touch was plain to see on the shadowcat’s bloody muzzle—not that it had seemed to have harmed the creature to any significant degree.

A conclusion the creature apparently came to itself. 

Blurring across the cavern, the shadowcat closed the distance to Ash in a fraction of a second. Damn, it’s fast, I had a heartbeat to think before the beast tried to rake its claws through the fire elemental again.

Of course, it failed.

As fast as the cat was, the dragonfire orbs protecting Ash were equally quick, and midway to its mark, the beast’s paw was intercepted. Splashing against the offending appendage, the second of three guarding flames disappeared, leaving an angry burn in its wake as evidence of its passing.

Our foe flinched back.

“Flare, Ash!” I ordered while doing the same myself.

Twin flames of dragonfire burst into existence, one from the fire elemental, the other from me. And given the proximity of our foe, both instantly tasted flesh.

The shadowcat screamed.

It only fanned the flames higher. Almost quivering with hunger, my dragonfire raged hotter, delving deeper into its prey from two fronts. Seeming to realize this was not a battle it was going to win, the beast tried to retreat.

But it was too late for that.

Swooping down from above, Ash perched herself atop the shadowcat even as she kept flames pouring into it. The beast twisted and writhed, but try as it might, it wasn’t able to shake the fire elemental free.

I let my own spell lapse. The shadowcat had backed away far enough to escape my flames—and there was no way I was going to chase down the lithe creature. Doing so wasn’t necessary, anyway.

Finally joining the battle, the party’s archers let loose a torrent of arrows. As many missed as hit, but that was alright. Ash was doing enough damage on her own, and soon, Seasoned rank or not, the shadowcat would perish.

✵ ✵ ✵

Ash has gained in experience and is now a level 33 lesser elemental. Ash’s Attributes have increased, and her agility has increased to level 10 and reached rank 2, Trainee.

My prediction proved accurate, and less than a minute later, our foe lay dead.

Immediately, I recalled Ash to her crystal housing. As handily as we had defeated the shadowcat, we were not yet ready to face another.

The fire elemental vanished, plunging the cavern into renewed darkness. I waited a heartbeat for my night vision to kick in before turning to Tara. “Well, that was…  interesting.”

She snorted. “Not the word I’d use for it.”

Before I could respond, Lance ran up from the party’s rear. “Did you notice its level?” 

“I did.” I glanced at Arneson. “It was a Seasoned ranked creature, which goes a long way towards explaining how it slew so many of your men.”

He grunted. “That and its blasted invisibility. How did it manage to hide itself like that, anyway? It had no magic that I could see.”

I pursed my lips. “It must have used a sorcery Technique.”

Tara’s eyes narrowed. “Is that why it didn’t vanish anew after your spell revealed it?”

It hadn’t been my spell exactly but I didn’t bother correcting her. “Maybe.” Striding to the creature’s corpse, I knelt beside it. “Let’s see if we can’t find out.” Running my hands over the creature’s burnt remains, I inspected it minutely. 

The shadowcat was the size of a small horse. It had shorter legs, though, and was more compactly built. Rippling muscles covered nearly every inch of the beast’s torso, and its paws were nearly the size of my head. Two ivory tusks meant for gorging a kill bracketed its powerful jaw. Lifting up its upper lip, I found a mouth lined with rows of jagged teeth. Thick, velvety, black fur and a long, snaking tail completed the picture. 

A powerful foe, I mused. And one that I was glad was dead.

As I finished my inspection, a pair of Trials messages dropped open in my mind.

You have uncovered a shadowcat Technique: predator’s cloak. Once a day, a shadowcat can turn invisible. It will remain invisible for one hour or until it sustains any damage.

You have uncovered a shadowcat Trait: Nocturnal Beast. Shadowcats favor the dark and do not tolerate light of any sort well. Prolonged exposure to light will weaken and even blind the creatures.

“Ah,” I exhaled and relayed what I’d learned from the Trials about the creature.

“Hmpf,” was Arneson’s only response. 

“Area damage,” Lance said suddenly.

Glancing at him, I nodded.

“What does that mean?” Tara asked, looking between us.

“It means Techniques that deal area damage will work best against the shadowcats,” I explained. “At least until we make them visible. Thereafter, we can target them directly.”

She pursed her lips. “Then, you think we should go on?”

“I do. Nothing has really changed.” I paused. “Don’t you agree?”

“Something has,” she chided. “We’ve learned this creature is rank three. What if we encounter an entire pack at once?”

“That will be problematic,” I admitted. “But if we’re careful, we can use the narrowness of the tunnels to control the encounters and make sure we aren’t overwhelmed.

Tara did not look best pleased by my answer, but before she could respond, Arneson spoke up. “Well, you have my vote. Let’s go on.”

Tara looked at him. “Are you certain you want to do that? It’s your men that are most at risk. Lance, Jamie, and I can take care of ourselves, but I’m not so sure about the rest of you.”

“We’ll manage,” Daryl said stoutly.

“We will,” Arneson affirmed. “And besides, I gained two levels from that thing. At this rate, I’ll be Seasoned soon myself.”

I shook my head. “Don’t forget your new levels won’t really count until you revisit a temple. For all intents and purposes, you will be doing this lair run at your current rank—no matter how many levels you gain.” I paused. “And your gains will slow down the closer you get to the creatures’ own level.

Arneson shrugged. “I can live with that.”

I glanced at Tara, leaving the decision to her.

She sighed. “Very well, we’ll go on—slowly.”

✵ ✵ ✵

It took us only a few minutes to get moving again. With an unknown number of shadowcats lurking in the lair and the mysterious party still to worry about, no one wanted to hang around in the cavern. We didn’t even take the time to skin the shadowcat or retrieve any of its remains. Both Arneson and Tara agreed that doing that could wait for later—until after we’d finished the lair.

And in the end, we paused only long enough for the scouts to mark the walls of the cavern so we didn’t get lost. Then, we made our way down the left fork, dropping into formation once more as we did.

With two minor differences.

This time, Ash ran point while I played rearguard. Both my familiar and I were shielded by guarding flames. The bright dragonfire orbs would not only lure the shadowcats, but they would also reveal them when they attacked.

That was the theory, anyway.

And it was not long before it was put to the test again.

A cry broke the silence. “Company, halt!” 

The shout had come from Tara, and the party responded immediately, freezing in place. The Sierra captain was at the front of the column with Arneson and Daryl. Gripping my staff tightly, I waited impatiently to hear what else they had to report.

“We have another one!” Arneson shouted right on cue.

“Not one,” Daryl added. “There’s two!”

I tensed, and despite myself, I almost dove into motion. We’d drawn up plans for dealing with one shadowcat. Two was another matter entirely. 

Could the others handle two of the beasts on their own? Could Ash?

“Easy,” Lance whispered. “Trust Tara to handle it.”

I shot the other mage a dark look. Like me, Lance had been posted at the back of the column. It was my job to protect the party, and it was his job to protect me. Because despite being lower-leveled, Ash was less squishy than I was. She would fare better against the shadowcat’s attacks—and had already—than I would. A single hit from the shadowcat’s massive paws, I suspected, would be enough to do me in, which was why Lance was here.

“Archers, release,” Tara ordered, her voice thankfully free of distress.

I couldn’t see over the tops of the other soldiers to what was happening at the front of the column. But as much as not knowing what was going on galled me, I dared not leave my position. Trust that they can handle it, Jamie.

“Another!” Daryl cried. “I see another!”

Three? I mouthed in disbelief. Three shadowcats were too many, and I could see in Lance’s eyes that even he was worried now.

Weighing the options, I came to a decision quickly. “Go,” I instructed.

Lance shot me a startled glance. “But Tara’s orders were for me to—"

“Forget Tara’s orders,” I interrupted harshly. “Things have changed. They need your help.” I would have gone myself, but doing so would leave the company’s rear unprotected, and I couldn’t do that.

Swiveling about, I faced the empty tunnel at our backs and advanced a few steps away from the rest of the column. The other man had still not moved. “Now, Lance!” I barked. “Go now!”

Not protesting further, he went. 

Heaving a sigh of relief, I hobbled further away from the company. If the shadowcats attempted to ambush us from behind, I would have to kill them fast while relying on invincible for protection, which meant flaring. And that was best done with no one else close by.

Five yards from the last man in the company, I planted my staff in the ground and stared into the unoffending darkness of the tunnel. Now, it was time for the hard part.

Waiting.

✵ ✵ ✵

No attack was forthcoming. 

That did not make things easier, though. An attack would have been less excruciating to handle than the agonizing wait I had to endure. With my eyes closed and ears straining, I listened intently to the battle raging on the other end of the column.

Men shouted. Beasts shrieked. Dragonfire roared. Electricity sizzled. And weapons clanged.

But the one sound that I did not thankfully hear was the cries of the dying. Under Lance’s watch, no one died. And despite my anxiety and worries, the party triumphed over the three shadowcats.

You have gained in experience and are now a level 77 Trainee. 

Ash has gained in experience and is now a level 40 lesser elemental. Ash’s Attributes have increased, and her strength, perception, and elemental resistance have increased to level 10 and reached rank 2, Trainee.

“That was some fight,” I heard Arneson say as I rejoined the others.

“It certainly was,” Lance said in weary agreement, resting his weight on his enchanted warhammer.

“I advanced eight levels in that fight,” Daryl said in smug satisfaction. “What about the rest of you?”

The others called out their own gains, and it turned out that nearly everyone in the party—including Ash—had progressed more than six levels.

The only exception being me.

“What about you?” Tara asked, noticing my silent presence. “How much did you advance?”

“I got just the two levels,” I replied quietly. Since we were all in a party together, it didn’t matter that I hadn’t contributed directly to the fight; I’d gained experience irrespective. But since I was at a much higher level than everyone else, that experience had translated into far fewer levels.

“Oh,” Tara said, looking disappointed on my behalf.

I shrugged. “It was to be expected.” I tapped one of the corpses with the top of my staff. “The important thing is that we kill all these beasts and claim the lair.”

“Aren’t you forgetting the other party?” Daryl asked.

“I’m not. We slay them, too, if they prove what we fear,” I said grimly. What did not bear thinking about was what we’d do if the mysterious humans were not allied with the orcs. If we wanted to claim the lair, we’d still have to kill them. But I would not stoop to murder. And I was certain Tara wouldn’t either. Arneson… I wasn’t so sure about.

Thankfully, though, the dilemma was not one we had to face immediately, and shoving aside my bubbling concerns, I glanced around and took stock of the party’s state. Lance had already taken care of the most grievously injured and everyone looked hale enough to continue. “Are we ready to move on?”

Tara nodded. “Yes. Let’s wrap this up and claim the lair.”