Chapter 68 – Magic Gatling Gun

  Rayne and Sylvian scouted ahead as the others followed behind them. Elizabeth and Sia stayed behind with Daniel and Reuf to help protect them, but it was up to Rayne to find the quickest and safest way back. They already confirmed that they weren’t being followed. But it wouldn’t take long for the Wenduags to catch up to them if they wanted to.

  They weren’t running for long before they came across a Wenduag blocking their path. They came to a stop, halting the others as they caught up. The Wenduag wasn’t looking in their direction. If anything, it seemed lost.

  “Do we try and take it out?” Sylvian asked.

  “No,” Rayne said. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think it is looking for us. We should leave it alone.”

  “You’re sure,” Reuf asked. “If it sees us and calls for reinforcement, we won’t be able to get away.”

  “It would be faster to take it out,” Daniel advised. “A single Wenduag shouldn’t be too much for us to handle.”

  Rayne observed the Wenduag for a few more moments before answering. “I don’t think we need to. Call it a hunter’s instinct, and fighting will only help Clayton find us faster.”

  “Very well,” Reuf said. “We’ll trust your instincts.”

  They moved around the Wenduag giving it plenty of space, but it saw them immediately. They stared at each other for a moment, before the Wenduag took off into the jungle.

  “Did it go to get the others?” Elizabeth asked.

  “No,” Daniel answered. “It would be running towards the camp if that was the case. It ran in the opposite direction, away from the camp.”

  “But why?” Reuf asked.

  “Don’t know,” Sylvian said. “Something must have happened. We shouldn’t waste this opportunity.”

  “Agreed,” Rayne said.

  “Best hurry then,” Reuf said.

  They picked up their pace. They saw several more Wenduag running off into the jungle and spiders leaving in swarms. The spiders and Wenduags ignored them when they saw them, and they did their best not to get in the beasts’ way. This continued for a while before the jungle became quiet once again.

  They didn’t slow their pace but now with none of the Wenduags and spiders appearing to slow them down they were able to cover the distance easier. It took another hour of traveling, but they eventually managed to make it back to the entrance of the tunnel they created.

  They were supposed to return directly to the camp, but Rayne needed to know her people were okay. So, she had brought them back this way instead. Bryant should have managed to get the others through the tunnels by now, but there was no sign of them. She searched the ground, trying to see the recent activities that had taken place here.

  She found what she was looking for right away, as the tracks of several people passing by recently appeared in her sight. They tracked them through the jungle. It looked as though Bryant was leading them back to camp as was expected, but several times he had deviated from the expected route.

  “Perhaps he is having difficulty finding the path back,” Sylvian suggested as Rayne related her findings to the others.

  “He knows the way back though,” Reuf said, sniffing the ground. “It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to at least get to Reynard’s land. I don’t sense any predator on their trail.”

  “Maybe, but Bryant told me this was the first time he ever been in anything other than a city,” Elizabeth said. “I don’t think he has a lot of experience finding his way around without a gps.”

  “What’s a gps?” Sylvian asked.

  “It’s a map you can look at to see your current position in the area,” Daniel said. “Most will also direct you how to get to other places as well. They are common on Earth now.”

  “All he needed to do is look to the sun for guidance,” Reuf commented.

  “I don’t even know how to do that,” Elizabeth whispered.

  “We should catch up to him,” Rayne said. “Before he stumbles upon a beast’s den or something worst.”

  They followed Bryant’s trail through the jungle. After a few minutes of searching, they heard the sound of fighting coming from up ahead.

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  “Eat my magic gatling gun!” they heard Bryant yelling.

  They rushed towards the sound. Finding him and the other elves surrounded by three Wenduag decked in leather armor. Bryant was shooting a stream of Mana bolts into one of the Wenduags forcing it back while the elves fought against the other two.

  They joined in, adding their own arrows and spells to the fight. Their arrows might as well have been bug bites for how much they affected the creatures. The stone arrowhead often shattered on the Wenduag’s skin. Still, their help was a welcome reprieve for the other elves.

  It only lasted for a moment though as the fighting started to escalate again. The Wenduags were holding nothing back as they grabbed and threw anything they could get their hands on, sometimes the elves themselves. They fought back, as swords and clubs cut and smashed into the Wenduag from dozens of elves.

  Reuf immediately set to healing all he could. Several tendrils of light sprung from him and connected with different elves, sending a constant healing stream into them. Once they were healed enough to stand, the tendril would switch to the next injured person.

  Elizabeth took to the air hovering above everyone as she shot sonic blast from the fan down at the Wenduags. The blast served to help push the Wenduag back and stunned the beast. That gave the others a chance to get their own attacks in.

  Daniel channeled his spells from up in the trees, focusing on single target spells. There were too many friendlies for him to use his biggest spells and too few targets to make it worth it. Instead, Daniel focused on aiming his Lightning Bolt to taking down one Wenduag at a time. He started with the one Bryant was focusing on. It was the only one isolated away from the others and less of a chance he’d hit a friendly with his spells.

  It only took a single one of his spells to drop the creature, allowing Bryant to shift his focus to the next Wenduag. That helped to take the pressure off the elves. Physical attacks were having little effect on the hulking brutes, but magic was causing them a lot of pain. Something that became more apparent as the fight continued.

  They had to focus on taking down the Wenduags one at a time as the elves kept them distracted. They took several bad hits in the process, but Reuf was always there in time to heal the worst of their injuries. Seeing this, the Wenduags shifted their attention.

  A rock caught Reuf off guard as he was helping another fallen elf up. It slammed into him. Reuf let out a howl in pain as the impact of the rock carried him away. Sia screamed at seeing Reuf disappear. No one was certain he had survived the strike.

  One of the Wenduags made to chase after the tyrian. To make sure the healer was dead, but Sia leaped down on it slamming into its back. She slashed into the Wenduag with her claws and teeth, cutting through its flesh in a frantic series of swipes and bites desperate to keep it away from Reuf. The Wenduag couldn’t pull her off it as it struggled to fight back. She wouldn’t let it. Sylvian tried to stop her, but her words met deaf ears.

  A long piercing howl cut through the air. Sia looked up over her now dead prey, meeting Reuf’s eyes. He said something to her in Tyral that none of them could understand. Sia let out a low whimper as Reuf placed a hand on her head. “Please! We are so close. Don’t let it take you now.“

  Nearby the elves had finished taking down the last of the Wenduags and were watching Reuf and Sia, unsure what to do. Reuf broke the tension. “It’s alright. It will be fine. A small set back, but we can come back from this.”

  Sylvian let out a sigh of relief along with everyone else. Now that the fighting was over, they had the time to take in everything.

  “Then it was true what that human told us,” Alzona said, greeting Rayne and Sylvian with a hug. “You did manage to escape. These people are with you?”

  “They are,” Rayne said. “But we are not alone, and we have a lot to tell you about.”

  “Many of it might seem concerning in the next few hours,” Sylvian said. “But trust in us right now and we will explain when we can.”

  “I can do that,” Alzona said. “But first we need to get our people somewhere safe.”

  Everyone looked to be exhausted from the ordeal, but they had managed to make it through with three dead Wenduags to show for their effort. Reuf worked to heal everyone who still had injuries as they took a moment to rest. Once he was done, he went to check on Sia, who wasn’t looking great.

  “Will she be alright?” Bryant asked.

  “She will with time,” Reuf assured them. “She lost control, and the feral part took over. It will have increased her risk of change, but she hasn’t given in completely. We haven’t had the territory long enough to correct what has already happened, but with its help, she should eventually be able to recover.”

  “That’s good,” Bryant said, wiping sweat from his face. “Thought we were done for. Glad you guys found us. You wouldn’t happen to know the way back as well? I’m a little lost.”

  “We thought that might be the case,” Elizabeth said.

  “We need to teach you a few basic survival skills,” Reuf said. “This jungle is not a place you’d want to be lost in.”

  “I hear that,” Bryant said. “How are the others?”

  “On their way back as well,” Daniel said. “Might already be back by now. We were supposed to go directly back to camp.”

  “Well, I’m glad you all swung by to check on us,” Bryant admitted.

  “You can thank Rayne for that,” Sylvian said. “She deviated to make sure.”

  “If everyone is okay,” Daniel said. “Then we should start moving again. Before any more Wenduags show up.”

  “As ready as we can be,” Rayne said.

  “I’ll leave the communicating to you,” Bryant said. “Hand signals are not great.”

  They made sure to loot the three Wenduags before leaving. Each of the Wenduag disappeared in a cloud of yellow and brown smoke. Afterwards, they made their way back with Rayne leading the way this time.

  It wasn’t long before they were back on the right path once again and had made it to Reynard’s territory. He was waiting for them there. Upon seeing the Beast Lord, Alzona and the other elves stiffen, and many looked like they were about to run. It was only when Sylvian and Rayne greeted the Beast Lord that they relaxed a little.

  “Then the operation was successful?” Reynard asked.

  “So far,” Daniel answered. “Are we the first ones back?”

  Reynard nodded. “Has something happened. I don’t see Jack among your numbers.”

  “He was with the others last we saw,” Reuf said. “But the signal to retreat was made so we had to leave. All we can do now is wait and hope.”

  “I see,” Reynard said. “In that case, let me lead you through the illusions back to Phoenix. We can wait for them there.”