His leap carried him through the air, and his claws immediately reached for the dwarf’s face. The man never saw him coming, and they tore through his face as his prey squealed in surprise.
You learned Pounce. (Stealth)
You dealt 18 damage to Tower Dwarf with Pounce.
The short man stumbled backward as he clutched at his face. Atlas activated Furious Claws and his body continued the attack. The speed of the fight didn’t allow him to check the details on Pounce, but he figured it must be an opening combo move, similar to his Charge ability.
His claws tore furrows through the metal armor and small rings popped free. Faint tinkling sounds of metal on stone filled the small passageway. A muffled grunt of anger escaped the dwarf’s mouth as it stepped backward and fetched his hatchets from his belt.
“A dinnae whit gowk let a wild animal intae th’ tower bit a’m aff tae crush someone’s skull.”
The baritone voice rumbled through the passageway as he dashed forward and swung his axes. Atlas grinned and flashed his long teeth before nimbly hopping to the side. The man appeared to move in slow motion with his heightened senses. As soon as the axes cleared his body, he activated Counter and dashed forward, claws raking down the dwarf’s leg. He followed with Furious Claws and the warrior dropped to a knee, clutching at his shoulder.
You dealt 6 damage to Tower Dwarf with Counter.
You dealt 14 damage to Tower Dwarf with Furious Claws.
“Ye sure ur a feisty beasty. Think ah will mak’ a cloak oot o’ ye.”
The slow man dashed for him again, and Atlas nonchalantly slid to the side. The dwarf redirected his axes, and one of them clipped him on the side. He hopped backward and a soft growl escaped him.
Tower Dwarf dealt 6 damage to you with Cutting Chop. (Glancing)
“Ye’r sure an odd yin. Even hae yersel’ a name…,” he began as recognition dawned on his face. Rolling his shoulders back, he belted out a quick statement, “Intruder in th’ keep!”
“You’ll regret that, slow man,” Atlas responded.
The dwarf’s face went pale as he stared at Atlas. Surely a talking cat would alarm almost any sane person.
Atlas went in and hit him with another Furious Claws. The attack was infuriating because it’s all he had. It limited his options in this form.
You dealt 14 damage to Tower Dwarf with Furious Claws.
Knowing his cover was already blown, he activated his shapeshift ability. The light flared in the stairway as his body shifted back to size. Now he looked down on a significantly shorter person, holding axes and shaking.
“Shouldn’t have kidnapped people,” Atlas said as he rushed forward and used Triple Threat. His staff spun and blurred as it deftly thumped into the meaty dwarf. Grunts and yells punctuated each hit as the short man attempted to deflect them with his axes. He wasn’t successful. An application of Pursuit followed and then he rounded it out with a Double Slash.
You dealt 18 damage to Tower Dwarf with Triple Threat.
You dealt 5 damage to Tower Dwarf with Pursuit.
You dealt 12 damage to Tower Dwarf with Double Slash.
“Nae mah fault thay didnae wantae pay th’ toll fur passage. We figured her ransom wid pay us back fur oor lost coin.”
“That’s exactly your fault! Because you don’t own that road and, unfortunately for you, it’s my responsibility to keep it safe.”
Atlas taunted as he flashed a grin.
The dwarf roared and charged forward. Following the counter images was child’s play, and he quickly batted the attack away.
“Pathetic,” was the only response he gave before he ran his entire combo. Counter hit, followed by Blade Chase, Triple Threat, Pursuit, and Double Slash.
You dealt 5 damage to Tower Dwarf with Counter.
You dealt 18 damage to Tower Dwarf with Blade Chase.
You dealt 18 damage to Tower Dwarf with Triple Threat.
You dealt 5 damage to Tower Dwarf with Pursuit.
You dealt 12 damage to Tower Dwarf with Double Slash.
Tower Dwarf died.
You gained 75 experience.
The onslaught was too much to handle and the dwarf finally collapsed to the ground. He walked forward and didn’t get a loot box prompt. It seemed strange at first until he reached forward and grabbed the body. He could physically move everything the guy wore.
I guess we can literally loot the playable races as though they were real people?
Shuffling through the dwarf’s pockets, he found a handful of coins and tossed them in his belt pouch. The two hatchets fell into his bag and he left the rest where it lay.
Time to find myself a damsel!
Chapter 20
A Desperate Escape
Atlas ran up the stairs. With the dwarf calling out the alarm, he abandoned all pretenses of stealth. Now he just needed to find the girl and get out. He passed two doors and ran straight for the end of the stairs.
A door waited for him at the end of the stairs. As he closed the distance, the door cracked open and Atlas pulled himself to a halt.
“Whit’s tha noise out ‘ere. Who’s yelling in mah tower?”
A surly-looking dwarf grumbled as he exited the doorway. Their eyes met, and they both froze.
“Where’s the prisoner?” Atlas asked.
“How’d ye git in ‘ere?”
“Hopped in a window. Now your turn, where’s your prisoner?”
The dwarf spluttered in confusion before he growled and reached over his shoulder. When the hand emerged, a double-bladed axe came with it.
“Just one o’ ye fur a rescue party? This shud be easy.”
The little man dashed forward with a wide swing of the axe. Atlas started to intercept the attack before he thought better of it and jumped backward. The blow swooshed past and a gust of air buffeted him from the blow.
That would’ve surely broke through my defense.
He activated Triple
