Rescue

Eric ran all the way, so exhausted that he'd forgotten what being tired even felt like. He had only one thought now: get to Darnassus City as fast as he could, find reinforcements, and save the boss.

The place where the caravan had been attacked wasn't far from Darnassus. Eric had only been running for a little while when the city gates came into view. He'd often heard people say they'd run with every last bit of strength they had, but today he finally understood what that felt like. Words like utterly exhausted couldn't describe how he felt anymore. In truth, he couldn't feel anything at all. The stress of the attack, followed by a desperate, all-out sprint, had drained his strength badly. The only reason he could still keep running was that sheer determination was driving him forward.

"I can see the gates! I can see the gates!" Eric encouraged himself. "Almost there. Hang on! The boss and the others are still in danger!"

"Andy, we got quite a haul today!" Hilar walked alongside Andy. He'd already explained the matter with Larsen from a while back to Andy. He didn't know why he'd felt the need to explain himself, only that it had seemed important. Andy had merely smiled faintly when he heard the story. He wasn't about to stoop to the level of Larsen, that self-important Elf. Larsen would get what was coming to him soon enough.

"Yeah, we did pretty well today. Looks like my combat skills have improved a bit, too," Andy said with a smile.

"Looks like we'll have to head back to the city first. If we keep going, we won't be able to carry all this," Hilar said with a grin. "Maybe I can ask my teacher to make us a magic bag sometime."

Andy smiled and headed out of the woods.

Eric's whole body had gone numb. He tried to shout as he ran, hoping to get someone's attention, but he couldn't hear his own voice anymore. Both his ears were ringing. Maybe all he was managing was a series of groans. He kept forcing himself onward, his vision growing blurrier by the second. Suddenly, Darnassus City's gates, which should have been within reach, seemed impossibly far away.

"Is anyone there?" Eric managed a faint, barely audible whisper. Then his foot slipped, and he pitched forward like a discarded sack, hitting the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Through Eric's eyes, two figures drew closer and closer, but he couldn't hear a thing. A hazy beam of light shone over him for a few seconds, then faded away.

"Wake up!" Andy cried, slapping Eric's face.

"Andy, let me try again!" Hilar said, sending out another beam of light. A hazy green glow enveloped Eric for a few seconds as Andy tried to rouse him again.

"It's no good. My healing spell isn't as strong as Big Brother's. I don't know if he'll wake up!" Hilar looked worried.

Suddenly, Eric, whose head Andy had lifted, cracked his eyes open and murmured in an extremely weak voice, "The boss... the boss and the others... they're in danger..."

Andy put his ear close to Eric's mouth and strained to make out his words. Alarmed, he asked, "Where are they?"

But Eric went still, as though he'd used up the last of his strength. "Hilar, take him back to the city. He came from this direction, so I'll follow the road and see what's going on!" Andy said, getting to his feet.

"All right. Be careful," Hilar said with a nod. "Don't push yourself if things get bad. Wait for me to come back!"

Andy replied, laid Eric across Hilar's back as he shifted into a leopard, slung his bow over his shoulder, and sprinted down the road Eric had come from.

"Elf, pinpoint their location," Andy ordered the Monster Spirit in his mind.

"I object! You can't keep treating me like some electronic device! First I was an alarm clock, and now I'm a GPS!" the Monster Spirit grumbled in Andy's head.

"Save your damn objections!" Andy shouted. "Saving people comes first!"

The Monster Spirit liked to complain, but it still did its job well. "They're not far ahead, but I suggest you think carefully before you act!"

Andy didn't ask the Monster Spirit what was going on, because he could already see the scene. Several wagons lay scattered by the roadside, and people were sprawled all over the ground. He couldn't tell if they were alive or dead. A ring of monsters with bear heads, wielding weapons made of stone, surrounded the group and hammered at them savagely. Cries of pain rang out every so often.

Hawkins' heart had sunk to the bottom. At this rate, he probably wouldn't live long enough for Eric to bring back reinforcements. Several of his men already lay at his feet. Every minute, someone cried out in pain and fell. They were all old comrades who'd served under him for years, and every one of them was risking his life to protect Hawkins.

Hawkins was full of questions. The Furbolgs had never attacked Elves before. They depended on the Elves to survive. They had no language or culture of their own, yet they'd developed into a tribal people and had always lived in the forest. What had made them turn so savage today, attacking his men with such mindless fury, as if they wouldn't stop until everyone was dead?

When the middle-aged Elf who'd been driving a wagon cried out in pain and collapsed in front of Hawkins, all those questions turned into rage. His long sword flashed forward and pierced a Furbolg's chest. The wounded Furbolg roared, dropped the weapon in its claws, and grabbed Hawkins, lifting him high above its head, ready to toss him into the deep ditch beside the road.

"Roar!" A short, sharp cry rang out. Hawkins had closed his eyes, but now he felt as though he'd been dropped back where he'd started. He hurriedly opened them. A streak of light flashed deep green and pierced another Furbolg's throat. The creature grabbed the arrow lodged in its neck and tried desperately to pull it out, but that was as far as it got.

Hawkins thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Then he saw a second arrow, followed by a third, and realized that the survivors were saved. Reinforcements had arrived!

Andy hadn't rushed in blindly. First, he'd set a trap five meters in front of a large tree at the edge of the woods. Then he'd used the method Nathas had taught him to imbue it with magical power, relying on the Monster Spirit to provide the magic. He hid behind the tree, drew his bow, and took aim.

Three or four Furbolgs fell in quick succession, leaving the rest stunned. There had only been about thirty of them to begin with, and the Elves had already killed more than ten. The survivors were blinded by rage, and now several more had fallen in the blink of an eye. One Furbolg waved its claws and roared toward Andy's hiding place. At once, several of them broke away and charged toward him, howling.

Andy kept his distance and shot down three more Furbolgs, but they soon reached him. One of them was terribly unlucky: it stepped into Andy's trap and instantly turned into a massive block of ice. The remaining Furbolgs shouted to one another and swung their stone weapons down at Andy from every side.

Andy shouted and quickly rolled aside, dodging their attack. He scrambled to his feet and ran out of the woods, putting distance between himself and the Furbolgs. He ran toward the group that was still attacking Hawkins, firing arrows as he went, though he couldn't guarantee his aim. The Furbolg leader over there froze in surprise when he saw an Elf break through the encirclement and charge toward them. "What are you waiting for? Get him!"

Hawkins' relief instantly turned to despair. Why was there only one man? Where were the reinforcements? Where was the main force? He felt as if he were about to pass out. Had even the Moon Goddess abandoned them?

Andy kicked a Furbolg that charged at him, sending it flying. Then he stepped on the creature and leaped high into the air. His gleaming black bow seemed to flash. With a piercing whistle and a burst of blood, an arrow shot straight into the Furbolg leader's throat.

The Furbolg leader probably never understood, even as he died, how an Elf who looked so skinny could jump so high or shoot him so accurately in midair. The surviving Furbolgs weren't the only ones stunned by the sight. Hawkins, the victim of the attack, was stunned too. Who was this guy? How was he so powerful?

When the remaining Furbolgs saw their leader fall, they let out a cry, dropped their weapons, and scattered like birds and beasts.

Andy raised his middle finger at the fleeing Furbolgs and shouted, "You bastards! Let's see you come around here again!"