Conversely, Stephanos looked like he couldn’t wait to fire his, and they both looked back at me one more time. I gave a sharp nod and they moved, stepping out into the open.
They paused for barely a second to aim, before the sharp ‘thwack’ of their bow strings hitting the inside of their bracers, followed a second later by a meaty smack as Miren’s arrow hit its target, and Stephanos’s swearing as his missed. We rushed forward, Stephanos getting in the way as he tried to get a second shot off to make up for his miss, while Miren stepped aside as ordered.
The confusion in the entrance as we surged forward slowed us all, and by the time we got through and into the room, all three Drow were on their feet. The Drow closest to the Nightwolves spat an order at them, and they lunged to their feet, rushing us.
It was chaos as we entered, and I barely got ahead of the group in time to bring my naginata up across my chest.
The closest Nightwolf was in the air already, but my companions were too close, and I couldn’t twist my weapon around in time. I barely managed to get it high enough to stop the damn thing from tearing my throat out, and I twisted from the hip as much as I could, tossing the wolf aside. It landed, rolled over, and howled, the air seeming to shake, as a wave of sound poured over us, and I saw a flashing symbol appear on my HUD.
Fear the Pack:
You have been afflicted with an AOE; ‘Fear the Pack’, and suffer a 10% Agility and Strength debuff for the next 10 seconds…9….8…
I barely had time to make sense of it as I was already bringing the metal-clad base of the naginata around.
I tucked it behind the third wolf’s front leg as it lunged at me and lifted as hard as I could, flipping it over and drawing a surprised yelp from the wolf as its world spun out of control.
The first wolf crouched, ready to jump at me, only to find Bane blurring out of stealth and sinking all four of his daggers into its side. He ripped upwards with the first two, and down with the other pair, in an alternating pattern that turned the wolf’s budding snarl into a wet yelp of confusion and pain. One that ended very quickly.
I stepped forward and, wincing slightly, punted the wolf before me as hard as I could in the side of its head, causing it to roll over and into the path of the Drow that were rushing forward. I had a split second to think about how stupid it was to feel like I’d just kicked a dog, instead of the damn horrible thing it was, then I moved on. The assumed Beastmaster was standing at the back of the group now, frantically yanking the table up and over to use as a shield. The other two were sprinting forward, spears lifted.
Lydia had taken her Nightwolf’s jump on her shield, using it to batter the wolf out of the air, and Jian had stabbed it twice in rapid succession, the silvery scythes dipping in and ripping back out with a surgeon’s precision. The blades slipped easily past the ribs, before tearing back out, the jagged rears of the weapons taking a much larger cost in health as they left than when they entered.
Cam stepped forward and brought his axe down hard, the thick ridged bone that covered the Nightwolf’s spine doing little to stop the massive axe’s impact. I heard the bones fracture and the sickening whistle as he levered it back out, the air rushing into the severed windpipe as the body flopped around.
Arrin blasted a trio of Magic Missiles into the table, but the thick material held, and we heard the Beastmaster screaming orders at the animals in the pens. Most roared in response, slowly shuffling forward, but at the back of the pens, a pair of silver shod hooves smashed a thin wall into kindling.
“Fuck!” I said concisely, “What in the name of Odin’s left nut is that!?!” I pointed to the back of the cave, where a huge red and black metallic creature surged forward.
It looked like a horse, but one made of black steel, red and gold highlights marked the spinning discs and pistons that flashed and glowed as it barreled forwards.
“Shit!” Cried Barrett. “Kill him, fucking kill him now!”
I gritted my teeth and ran forward, filling my naginata with lightning magic and jumping over the still-stunned wolf as it rose to its feet. I trusted the others to deal with it as I slashed wildly out, blocking a spear aimed for my groin.
I landed, skidding, and reached out, grabbing the nearest Drow’s shoulder guard as he spasmed, my lightning having discharged down his spear and stunning him.
I yanked him forward, growling, and rammed the tip of my naginata up through his jaw and into his skull, the tip crunching as it punched through the soft palate and sank into his brain.
“Sneaky cocksucker!” I growled at him, the knowledge of his point of aim removing any lingering dislike for killing sentients I had left.
I shoved him back, then met the flashing hooves of the horse, sending me flying across the cave and into the wall.
I flailed about as the world seemed to shift. I’d hit the wall and then fell to the floor, but my chest wouldn’t move. I looked down, frantically trying to breathe, and saw the dent in the middle of my breastplate, the Cuirass of Night’s Embrace deformed and blatantly badly damaged. I’d lost my naginata at some point during my flight, and I frantically grabbed at the hinge and clasp under my right armpit, tugging as hard as I could.
It took three attempts, but eventually it came loose with
