Atlas couldn’t argue. Between the money they looted from the gravestones, the money he had left from his crafting sales, and the money from the quest rewards, he almost had 1 gold.
Less than ten minutes later, the remaining four members of the team burst through the trees and nearly barreled over Gemma. They came to a quick halt as everyone took a quick breather.
“No time to waste. We don’t know if we are the first to this stage or not. Let’s get going,” the other healer, a man named PiousOne, said.
They all agreed and left at full speed for the final quest location. The zone to search was much smaller for the last creature, so it didn’t take long to locate him. It also made it easier when they heard the sound of battle. As with Black Widow, they peered through the trees to see another group in combat with an enormous bear. Goreclaw stood a good eight feet tall at the shoulder. When he reared up on his hind legs, that length almost doubled.
“How the hell do we fight something so large?” CalvinBoy asked. He was the final member of the other team and played the role of ranged attack.
“Carefully. Rag, do you and Pretty think you can hold its attention while we attack?” Atlas asked.
“Not sure,” Rag answered, “that thing looks awfully powerful.”
Pretty only gulped and nodded in agreement.
“We may not get the chance. This group only has five members left, but they are holding their own right now. If they kill him first, it’s game over for us,” Gemma said.
“Do we want to stop them?” Jammin asked.
“We can’t attack other groups. It’s against the rules,” CalvinBoy reminded the assassin.
“I know, but I don’t remember them saying anything about a little sabotage…” Jammin said with a grin.
Atlas perked up at that. They couldn’t afford to lose this fight, but if they could keep this other party from winning first, all the better. At least, as long as they stayed within the rules.
“What do you have in mind, Jammin?” Atlas asked.
“I can redirect threat to one of their healers. If he gets mauled and taken out of the fight, their party will crumble.”
“It’s a solid plan,” Quelin agreed, “but let’s observe the fight to figure out our strategy before we do that. If it looks like they may win the fight, we can intervene sooner. Redirecting the threat shouldn’t count as us fighting them, since it wouldn’t do direct damage to anyone. Would be like one of us casting a buff on one of them to help.”
The group all agreed, and they watched the fight unfold. Goreclaw could use four hit combos, as they quickly discovered. This meant that blocking and countering his attacks was vital to keep him from adding up damage. The current party fighting him didn’t grasp this concept.
“Don’t think we’ll need to intervene,” Atlas finally told them, “Their warrior is taking far too much damage and the healers will run out of mana soon. This party is going to die.”
“Rag, do you have any counterattacks?” Atlas asked.
“I have Counter that I learned from the Weaponmaster. I haven’t been able to learn any of the combo attacks that work with it. Spent the money I was saving on them to enter this contest.”
“Anyone else?” Atlas asked.
“I have two counterattacks,” Quelin said.
“Great. The healer and mage are the only ones right now. PiousOne, you think you can hold the fort on healing if I charge in with Rag? I need to hold some threat of my own to counter the attacks. Jammin, if I get in trouble or we need the extra healing, you can redirect my threat to Pretty.”
“I don’t like our druid healer tanking a fight, but it seems the best option. I watched how well you deployed those counters in our last couple attacks. With your new weapon, you should do even more damage,” Gemma grumbled.
A triumphant roar echoed through the trees and the group turned to see the bear standing victorious over the broken bodies of the party. Their conversation caused them to miss the end of the fight. Small gravestones lifted from the bodies, waiting for someone to loot them.
The group reluctantly agreed to the plan, and Atlas nodded to Rag. The two charged for the now healed bear and began the attack. Atlas used his Triple Threat while Rag swung with his own combo. Arrows and spells entered the battlefield from all angles, and Atlas had trouble keeping track of the action. Blades flashed as their melee fighters attacked from the animal’s flanks, and Atlas had to tune out the distractions.
The first heavy attack came in and Atlas had no choice but to drop to the ground and let the swipe go over his head. The flashing red told him he couldn’t possibly block it so he wouldn’t take that chance on a monster this big. Dodging the attack allowed him to activate Counter, and his staff popped the bear in the nose. Activating Blade Chase allowed him to go on the offensive. Flesh rippled from the attacks as his heavy blows hit the thick layers of hide and fat on the monstrous animal. Triple Threat followed until the last hit struck the beast’s head.
You dealt 5 damage to Goreclaw with Counter.
You dealt 20 damage to Goreclaw with Blade Chase.
You dealt 20 damage to Goreclaw with Triple Threat.
Another attack came for him, but this one didn’t flash red. Figuring he’d be okay, he blocked the attack with his staff. The force of the blow sent him stumbling sideways and before he could recover, a claw swiped across his body. He fell backward in time to avoid the worst of the attack, but rents in his armor and the burn of some bleeding cuts marked his failure.
Goreclaw dealt 10 damage to you with Swipe. (Glancing Blow)
Holy crap! Ten damage on a glancing hit. I better watch
