A leader that wore the same armor but had a breastplate and a two-handed sword walked beside the column, and his visor was up. They were ratkin.
Ratkin Infantry
Level 22
HP: 6814/6814
Abilities: Formation, Tail Whip, Charge
It wouldn’t be too much for us to handle.
They began to pass our position, and I counted their numbers. Two, four, six… The end of the group came in sight soon after. There were only twelve of them. Though they would outnumber us, I was hoping that Hana would be bold enough to attack. If I jumped out with Tejón, the ambush would be far less effective. But Hana, with her bow…
A twang cut through the air, and the leader’s head snapped to the side. He clattered to the ground.
“Ambush!” one of the soldiers screamed, and the group stopped their march.
Another arrow took a ratkin in the neck, cleverly finding the gap between armor. It fell to its knees, clutching at the shaft.
“Archer, over there behind those rocks,” called another voice, this one louder and more confident. It came from a figure I hadn’t seen originally, another troop leader who had caught up to the group and drawn its huge sword. “Charge!”
That was our cue. I nudged Tejón and ran out from my hiding place, axe in hand.
One of the ratkin turned towards us, no doubt having heard us explode from the brush. His sword shone in the sunlight, and he opened his mouth for a battle cry. I sunk my axe into the side of his head, caving in his helmet.
Tejón barreled over a ratkin and tore out another’s throat with a devastating slash of his claws.
I heard a third arrow land, followed by screams that sent a few birds exploding from a nearby tree. Then Pachi used her flashing ability, dashing past the first of the ratkin who were charging and pushing down another.
I had to brace my boot on the leader’s breastplate to pull my axe free, and I did so just in time. Four of the ratkin soldiers turned on me and Tejón, and advanced as a group.
My Rampage ability shot fire through my veins, and I bellowed my own cry. I had to use Dodge twice to avoid getting stabbed with their long spears but managed to bat one aside so hard I slipped into his guard. My axe came up below the ratkin’s chin and split his face in two.
Tejón took a spear thrust, but luckily, the point glanced off of his bone plating, and he pounced on the man. His now massive body caved in the breastplate and crushed the beast’s chest.
Then Hana dropped one of the final two that faced me, her katana cleaving through the chainmail gorget and nearly decapitating the ratkin.
The final soldier stared in dismay at his fallen comrade, giving me the perfect opportunity to end him. I flipped my axe and used the spike at the back to pound through his mail, directly into his heart.
And then it was over.
Dust hung in the air, and Tejón groaned, nursing a shoulder wound I hadn’t seen. I was surprised to see I hadn’t gotten a single scratch. Pachi looked likewise unharmed, and as I looked up at Hana, I noticed something fascinating: She was covered in plated bone armor from head to foot.
Even as I noticed it, the armor collapsed and disappeared into thin air. Smiling self-consciously, she offered, “That new ability I told you about. Figured we needed to kill them fast, so I took a few hits and went all offense. I got five myself. We did good, yeah?”
I laughed, my stomach cramping a bit with the unexpected exertion. “Hell yes we did. That was awesome. Great job, Pachi. You too, Tejón. Man, you just smashed that dude’s chest in.” I pushed at the bear before inspecting his wound closer. “You’ll be fine. This isn’t deep enough to complain about. Got any herbs or poultice?” I asked Hana.
We patched up Tejón, and after a few minutes, he seemed good enough to travel. But there was an issue with all the gear we now had, and after looting the bodies, we found ourselves with a pile of armor that weighed five or six hundred pounds.
“Let’s take the weapons and the helmets,” Hana suggested pragmatically. “We can leave the rest of the armor behind those rocks and tell someone from Benham to come and fetch them. It’s all good steel, so it would be best not to waste it.”
I didn’t argue, and we set about our task.
A few minutes later, Tejón was grumbling again, a large pile of gear strapped to his back.
“Hey, don’t make a fuss,” I said, rubbing the bear on his forehead. There was a soft patch of fur just above his nose and below the bone plate that was perfect for such affections. “I’ll make sure you will get two whole deer to eat when we get to town. I’m sure they will thank you for your tireless service.”
Tejón chuffed happily. Could I have been luckier? Who else besides an even-tempered bear could put up with my crap?
I checked on the progress of the skill that had popped up when Tejón had first bonded with me.
Pet Bond Level 1: You have convinced a companion pet to trust you enough to travel and fight at your side. The struggles and trials you face together will continue to build trust.
Damn! Still not Level 2. Hana told me that was when her and Pachi could Mind Speak. I was looking forward to being able to do so. What was I missing? I stared at Tejón’s slowly shifting backside as he trudged ahead of me and thought with my mind, What do you need from me? Why don’t you trust me?
To my surprise, the bear stopped in its tracks and turned to face me. Had that actually worked? We stared at each
