Chapter 57 – 10 Seconds

  They chased after the creature once again, but this time it found them first. It appeared out of thin air, knocking Sia and Elaine to the ground, slashing at them with its claws and trying to bite down on Rayne at the same time. Jack summoned his Stone Shield blocking the creature from reaching Rayne. It bit down on the shield instead trying to break through it, but it didn’t budge. The immovable object factor of the spell proved itself and created an effective muzzle over the creature’s mouth.

  Thinking fast, Jack shifted to its back and summoned his net spell wrapping it around the Ushi’s head and his shield tying them together. Jack gripped the ends of the net, using all of his strength to keep the Ushi held down as it struggled to escape. It bucked and slashed with its claws trying to reach Jack and break free of the sudden entrapment.

  “Zyne,” Jack called to the Familiar. “Going to need some help here.”

  Zyne was there, helping to add its own strength to the bindings holding the Ushi in place, as everyone quickly took advantage of the creature’s helplessness. With the shield covering its mouth and Zephyr constantly shining bright light in its eyes, it couldn’t properly react to the other attacks.

  “Just hold on as long as you can,” Teresa called to him. Arrows started pelting the creature once again now aiming for its eyes.

  Savgar started wailing into the body of the Ushi with Thurg, causing several cracks to start to appear along the chitin plating. Elaine followed up by stabbing into the cracks and chipping pieces of armor away for the others to shoot arrows into. She was able to expose the Ushi’s vulnerable interior flesh for everyone to focus on. Arrows quickly found these spots, punching into its flesh and making the Ushi yell in anger and pain. It started to become more desperate and frantic in trying to escape, causing Jack to struggle at holding the creature in place.

  “Let me know the moment you are about to lose control,” Elaine yelled up to Jack without slowing in her attacks. “I can’t use my taser ability while you are on it.”

  “It won’t be much longer,” Jack yelled, the muscles in his arms were bulging with the effort. As though in answer, the Ushi let out another scream, shattering the stone shield and breaking Jack’s net at the same time. Jack was flung from the creature’s back only to be caught by Sia.

  This time everyone was expecting the scream and managed to stay on their feet, not giving it a chance to escape. The Ushi started spitting its acid blobs again. Almost everyone jumped away to avoid the caustic spray, but Elaine ran forward instead. She shifted past the spray and appeared on its unprotected side, stabbing her daggers into one of the opened cracks in its armor while at the same time she activated her taser ability.

  The creature spasmed, as electricity filled its body. It stopped mid-spit, but it wasn’t enough to stop it from bringing one of its claws down on Elaine, ripping through her armor leaving several deep cuts from her shoulder down through her torso.

  Jack shifted over and summoned his shield again to block another claw attack. He stabbed into the same wound Elaine used with his spear. He could see the poison from his spear surge into the creature’s flesh, finally having a place to go. Red and black lines started to appear around the wound. Jack didn’t stay long to test his luck. Grabbing Elaine, Jack shifted them out of the Ushi’s reach to have a chance to recover. The Ushi moved to follow, but Savgar was there to intercept it.

  “Ay, vomit eater,” Savgar called to it.

  The Ushi tried to ignore the dwarf, as it tried to get to Elaine. In response, Savgar slammed his Warhammer down on one of the creatures’ legs, causing it to partially collapse and angering the Ushi, but it was enough to draw its attention to the dwarf.

  “I think it has to know it’s been insulted for that skill to work,” Teresa yelled to him, referring to the skill, Insulting Taunt, Savgar had gotten after the battle with the goblins.

  “Worth a try,” Savgar yelled back. “The skill didn’t say they needed to understand me.”

  Several more arrows were now sticking out of the creature. Zephyr continued to move around the creature as she shined light in its eyes and blasted it with gusts of wind. It did little more than infuriate the creature, but every time it tried to bite or scratch at the Sylph, Savgar would slam his Warhammer into it with enough force to stun it.

  Jack was focused on healing Elaine. His Mend spell was doing work, but the cuts were deep and slow to heal. Elaine pulled out a healing potion as well, downing it in one swift motion. Between the potion, Jack’s healing, and her new Regenerate skill, Elaine was beginning to recover.

  “Watch out!” Savgar yelled. “It’s going to scream again.”

  Savgar was half-right. The Ushi let out another screech, but this one was different than before. A pulse of concentrated sonic air too fast to evade shot from the creature. It slammed into the dwarf. He tried to withstand the blow, but the force of it pushed him away, leaving tracks in the earth and cracks in what remained of his armor. The Ushi didn’t stop there. It continued to send out its sonic blast angling them to hit each person in turn. Sia and Rayne were thrown out of the trees landing hard on the ground.

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  Teresa managed to get behind a tree in time, but Jack barely managed to get his shield up to cover him and Elaine. The shield cracked and started to crumble to pieces from the blast. It continued to let out a long high shriek trying to break through Jack’s shield, but Jack pushed every bit of Willpower and Mana he could into the spell trying to make it last.

  It started approaching Jack, as it continued to wail. He could only try to keep his shield up as the Ushi came after them. It was almost upon them, when Savgar’s Warhammer came flying through the air, slamming into the body of the Ushi and knocking it away and into the jungle.

  The screech came to a stop and Jack let the shield crumbled apart. He looked up, but the Ushi was already gone. He glanced around to see how everyone else was doing. Everyone was alive, but with blood running out of their ears. Elaine was trying to say something to him, but he couldn’t hear her. Casting another Mend on himself, his ears repaired themselves a moment later.

  “Did anyone see where it went?” Elaine asked.

  “Nope,” Savgar grunted. “Don’t know what it is doing. That throw didn’t do that much to it. It should have tried to finish us off.”

  “It’s being cautious,” Rayne said. “We are just as alien to it as it is to us. It probably doesn’t know what we might be capable of. It looks like it prefers ambushing its targets.”

  “Need to find it quickly then,” Teresa said.

  “I found it,” Zephyr called to them. “I think it is heading back to the others.”

  “Must be going for the crystal,” Rayne said. “It is here for a reason. Taking out the crystal might be all it has to do, and that is safer than risking a fight right now. We need to stop it before it can get to the others.”

  “Can you move?” Jack asked Elaine.

  “Yeah, I’m almost fully recovered,” Elaine said. “Going to need some new armor soon though.”

  “Should start a club,” Teresa said.

  “You two head after it then,” Savgar said. “Can’t let it get back to the camp, they don’t know what it can do. We’ll be right behind you.”

  “Let’s go,” Elaine said.

  “Come on Zyne,” Jack called his Familiar.

  “Coming!” Zyne said quickly moving to rejoin Jack as they chased after the Ushi.

  They took off through the jungle, letting their Shadow Shifting ability help to increase their speed as they chased after it. Zephyr flew overhead, tracking the creature as they followed.

  “Just hit and run tactics,” Jack said as they got closer to catching up with it. “In and out.”

  “I’m not sure we will be able to stop it from reaching the others,” Elaine said.

  “We can try slowing it down,” Jack said. “Zephyr, can you rush ahead and let everyone know what is about to come crashing in on them.”

  “Kay!” Zephyr said. She disappeared from their sight, and Jack and Elaine moved to engage the Ushi.

  Elaine started the fight, shifting in and activating another of her taser shots into the creature before shifting away again. The shock of the attack was enough to cause it to stumble. Jack was there to take advantage of the opening. He got in close, stabbing with his spear into the cracks in its chitin armor. Fire and poison burned into the Ushi with every cut as Jack’s blaze ward continued to burn into its body.

  Jack only stayed long enough to land a few quick stabs, before the Ushi was back on its feet once again. It tried to grab them, but Jack was already shifting away from it. The Ushi started to shimmer in the air, becoming a distortion and disappearing from their sight.

  “Where is it?” Elaine asked. “My True Sight isn’t seeing it.”

  “It’s not invisible,” Jack said. “It’s distorting our visual sight around it. Like active camouflage, you can still see its outlines if you look closely. Focus on anything that looks wrong. If that doesn’t work, we still have its trail to follow.”

  They resumed their chase. Jack’s Tracking skill proved adept at helping him stay on the creature’s path when there was less to look for.

  “I think I see it,” Elaine said. She pulled a knife from her Storage and threw it ahead of them. It bounced off what appeared to be nothing. That was enough for Jack to locate it as well. It was still running toward the crystal. If they didn’t stop it somehow, it was going to come crashing straight where the crystal was being held.

  Jack summoned his shield, making it appear right in the Ushi’s path. It ran straight into the unexpected obstacle, tripping over it and falling to the ground. Elaine and Jack appeared next to it once again striking with several quick attacks. Jack was trying to load up as much poison as he could, and Elaine was trying to keep the creature down long enough for rest of their group to catch up.

  In the distance, Jack could hear Savgar and the others getting closer, something the Ushi was also aware of. It spewed out more acid, forcing Elaine and Jack to shift away again. It didn’t waste any time. It launched itself towards the camp at a frenzied pace. Jack managed to shift onto the Ushi’s back riding it like a bull, trying to slow it down.

  “Zyne, can you hug it’s legs together?” Jack called.

  “I can’t hug for long,” Zyne said. “It’s too strong.”

  “That’s alright,” Jack said. “All we need is another moment. If we time it right. Wait until I tell you to. Then get away once it falls to the ground.”

  Jack continued to hold onto the Ushi, waiting for the right moment to act. He saw Elaine running alongside them, but she couldn’t act while Jack was on it. She looked like she was trying to tell him something.

  “Ten seconds,” he heard her yelling.

  Jack started counting. He had to trust everyone was ready. There was no way for them to stop it completely, but if he knew the others, they were setting up their own ambush. Jack kept the count. The moment he got to one, he called out.

  “Zyne now!”

  Zyne shot from Jack, moving around the creature’s body and wrapping itself around its legs. With one quick tug, Zyne constricted its legs as Jack summoned another shield at the creature’s knees. It started to fall from Zyne’s trip before slamming into the shield and being sent tumbling. They flew across the ground, the momentum carrying them further and out of the jungle to where the others were waiting. Jack managed to jump just in time, so he was still air bound when the Ushi finally came to a rest.

  “Time to get away,” Jack said midflight. Zyne rejoined him in the air and disappeared back into Jack’s body. He shifted away and at the same time dropped a net to over the creature. It wouldn’t be enough to hold it, but he only needed to buy a moment. Every second counted right now.

  The Ushi was already starting to recover as a large fireball soared through the air. It fell down slamming into the creature and exploded on impact, engulfing it in fire.