Pieces of Sonder

Despite surviving the trap, a twinge of cold fear crept through Freya as the orcs marched forward. 

K13’s Red Aura was still in effect, but his health was too low. Still, he stood and started to take blows from the orcs.

“Bis! Healing!” Freya shouted. 

She used her Shockwave against an orc about to hit K13. But that didn’t stop three other orcs from attacking him. The berserker’s health bar was just a sliver.

Freya looked back at her other party members. They were still knocked down on the floor on the far end of the room. 

“Come on, guys! Get up!” she screamed frantically.

Finally, Infamous Biscuit twitched and struggled up off the floor. Swaying, he looked at the situation in front of him. Then, he scrambled to get his staff that had fallen out of his grip.

“Nature’s Blessing! Energy Boost!”

Freya used her Implosion skill on another orc. She noticed that despite being within range of K13’s aggro, the Orc Lord was still staying at the back of the fight. He also had no weapon at hand.

An arrow whizzed above her head. Heilong was back on her feet. 

“Heilong use your Mark, Freya stay close to the fight. I’m going to create a storm! K13 use the storm to take that vitality potion!” Infamous Biscuit called out.

“Urlaken murak! Clea-ek!” the Orc Lord shouted.

“Induction Storm!”

Two orcs leaned towards Infamous Biscuit. K13’s aggro still held them, but Freya could tell they were itching to attack a different target.

drip drip

The odd sensation of not-wet rain began. Freya paused in her attacks to recover her stamina a little before going all out in the upcoming storm. Unfortunately, the orcs seemed to know what was coming. 

One used its spear to knock down K13.

Another prepared to stab him in the head. 

Freya intervened, using a shockwave to stun the orc. Still, K13’s Red Aura faded. The two orcs that had been eyeing Infamous Biscuit charged.

The wind began to pick up. 

“We can handle these two. Take care of K13!” Infamous Biscuit called “Healing Sage!”

A green-leafed plant sprang up next to K13. Freya pulled K13 to his feet, then yanked him to the side to avoid a spear thrust. By the time he was fully back on his own feet, the storm was raging around them.

At the edges of her vision, Freya noticed the light green glow from the healing sage. Her hands itched a bit as they healed. K13 needed the healing more than she did, but the summoned plant equally healed all allies in its range. Luckily, K13’s health bar was filling up fast.

Trying to remember where she saw the orc with Heilong’s Mark, Freya squinted through the wind and rain. 

“You go left; I’ll go right,” Freya said to K13. He stood just close enough that she saw him nod. 

Freya charged towards the faint red glow she saw through the downpour. The Mark combined with the Induction Storm allowed her to quickly slaughter the orc. Turning to the next orc, she kept attacking, finding her punches and kicks still remarkably effective.

Finding no other orcs around her, Freya turned back to the direction K13 went. The storm seemed to have passed its peak, but the effects were still in place; K13 was hacking away the HP of one orc while another struggled to stand in place.

She launched herself at the latter. After getting an easy knockdown, she noticed the High Orc Lord standing away from the rest of the fighting, watching. It walked over to the Healing Sage plant and stepped on it.

The High Orc Lord stomped the plant to dust. As the rain cleared, he locked his gaze on Freya.

“Filthy humans, you will not send us back!”

Just as the storm stopped, the High Orc Lord grew. Laughing with its black robes billowing around it, the high orc grew from Heilong’s size to the height of a two-story building. Towering over its minions, it yanked a spear away from one of them. Raising the spear, it bellowed, URRUU URRUU!

Freya winced and covered her ears from the booming roar. 

The behemoth grinned at her response. 

Grimacing, Freya sized up the high orc’s change. Besides growing in height, the High Orc Lord also grew in bulk. Green muscles bulged from under its black robes. Freya flashed back to the last Orc Lord they’d faced. That one had been able to throw barrel sized stones with ease.

The tiny spear it took from its subordinate looked like a toy in its hands. Still, Freya slowly backed away.

URRAA!

The High Orc Lord ran towards her.

K13 stepped in-between them. The High Orc Lord sneered at the tiny presence below him. Undeterred, K13 chucked one of his axes at it. Despite not wearing any armor, the ax bounced off harmlessly. But the move did successfully gain the orc’s full attention. 

Forgetting about Freya, the High Orc Lord hurled its tiny spear at the berserker. 

K13 flew back, spear impaled in his chest.

[K13]

[Lvl 16 Berserker]

[85/725 HP] [25/60 MP]

He laid unmoving on the floor. His chest armor was crushed inwards with the spear still sticking out. Freya looked at Infamous Biscuit, but he was out of MP.

The High Orc Lord stomped towards K13. Freya charged, unleashing a Shockwave, followed by an Implosion. Heilong hit with a qi arrow and threw a stun trap between the orc and K13. 

All of their skills had an effect. The High Orc Lord’s HP lowered, and it staggered a little. But they did not stop the High Orc Lord. It continued its slow, deliberate plod.

Infamous Biscuit stood in front of K13. 

Hurk, Hurk, the giant orc boomed with laughter. Freya tried one last Shockwave, but her cooldown timer was far from over.

The High Orc Lord plunged its spear over Infamous Biscuit’s head into the figure on the ground.

K13 jerked from the impact. And then disappeared.