Gustavo was the first one out of the portal, crunching the snow under his boots as he stepped out. He was in the armor Lesedi had crafted for him which was a silver breastplate embossed with an eagle on the front and back and chainmail sleeves and a silver set of cuisse that covered his thighs while a pair of black, knee-high boots with silver studs covered the rest of his legs. He carried his large shield on his left forearm and a sword made from a white metal hung at his side.Melissa and Yue were the next ones out and both were dressed in similar outfits of blue leathers. The breastplates and greaves accented their curves with silver details and they both wore fur-lined boots and gloves. Neither of them carried any weapons as Melissa never wanted to actually fight and Yue normally used a set of formation flags which she kept stored away in her ring.
Terri and Lesedi were both in a combination of metal and leather armor, but Terri"s was green and Lesedi"s was a fiery red. Terri had her bow that was made from a silver wood in her hand and had a small bag hanging around her waist with over ten different pockets. Lesedi carried a large great-hammer over her shoulder that was made from black stone, highly polished, and a red wrap around the shaft as the grip.
"G.o.d d.a.m.n, it"s cold," Gustavo swore.
Lesedi chuckled as she let out a deep breath. The air around her suddenly warmed up then spread out from around her to cover the whole group which caused everyone gave her a greatful smile. "So, which way?" Lesedi asked.
"If Becca was here, she would be able to sense where they are," Terri said.
"It doesn"t really matter. The Drekavacs will have sensed us the moment we stepped out and are heading this way," Yue said.
"Heh heh, that means we just need to look for an ambush point," Terri said with a evil grin.
"Where da h.e.l.l are we going to ambush anything in this place?" Lesedi demanded.
Terri looked around the frozen tundra and slowly shrunk her head down. The entire land, as far as they could see, was blanketed in white. Other than a few shrubs that wouldn"t even reach her knee, it was flat and bare.
"You can still set up your traps and I"ll start laying my formations. Lesedi, how about you help Terri by making some earthen walls to funnel them in?" Yue suggested. Growing up in Alice"s care had prepared her for taking a leadership position, so she had no trouble stepping into that role.
"What about us?" Gustavo asked.
"I"ve just got a lookout position for you, I"m afraid, but if Melissa is willing, I do have something in mind that could help."
Melissa gave a light chuckle, "And how can I be helpful?"
"What did Alice always teach you never to do in the "Rift"?"
"You can"t be serious," Melissa said with an exasperated expression on her face.
"Your holy energy would be a beacon for all of the Drekavacs outside of their normal five mile sensing range."
"And also for everything else in a hundred mile radius!"
"You came for a reason, right?" Yue asked with a big smile.
"You"re crazy, even if Alice said there was nothing else in the area, she has been wrong before!"
"I"ve mastered a new set of defensive formation and this is the only way I will ever be able to field test them. I promise, we will be fine," Yue insisted.
Melissa gave a heavy sigh since, not only could she feel Yue"s desire to try out her new formation, but also Gustavo"s excitement at the thought of fighting more creatures. It would just be inviting disaster on them if she agreed, but she also knew that once the other two heard Yue"s crazy idea, they would beg too. While she was distracted with her thoughts, Yue gave Gustavo a push and motioned for him to try.
Gustavo"s shield disappeared in an instant as he stepped over to Melissa. He lifted her chin and kissed her as his other hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. "I"ve already promised you and the others, I will always protect you, so believe in me," he said in a gentle voice.
"That"s not fair," she sighed, laying her head against his breastplate which was warm thanks to a layer of enchantments. After a minute, though, she pushed him away and said begrudgingly, "Fine, but not now. Alice said we had a day and a half, so I want to wait until the sun rises tomorrow. You might be able to last a full day maintaining your formation, but not longer and, once I release my mana, we can"t take it back."
"Thank you, Melissa," Yue said as she walked away to give them some s.p.a.ce.
Gustavo took Melissa by the hand and pulled her close to him again, sharing another kiss. While the pair enjoyed a little moment of intimacy, the other three members of the group worked. Terri was more than happy to draw out in the snow where she wanted the walls built and Lesedi knew better than to argue as she had proven her skill with the tricks inside her tool bag on more than one occasion. They ended up with a simple maze of walls that would channel everything that came to enter through one of two openings to the center where the group was.
While Yue waited for them to finish the walls, she pulled out her formation flags and started preparing them. They were made of pure mithril for the poles and the silk flags were interchangeable depending on which formation she was using. There were three, separate chambers within the shaft which allowed it to store different types of blood, so that she could use different formations with the same flags. She was able to layer her formations so that they strengthened themselves and made up for some of their weaknesses. Once the walls were up, Yue arranged the flags so that they were placed in eight directions.
Terri scattered handfuls crystals, that had been harvested from creatures in the "Rift", all over the ground throughout the maze like they were seeds. Each one had been hand carved with a series of runes that turned them into magical traps. It was a unique magic of Terri"s that even Sophia and Ella couldn"t understand despite them using the same alphabet of runes.
Lesedi built up a platform on top of one of the walls and a set of stairs down. She climbed up then started making a series of bridges, so she would be able to move around easily without touching the ground. When she finished, she stood on an outside wall, looking into the distance. The first of their quarry was slowly stumbling over, a Drekavac. It had the body of a man with blue, s.h.a.gging skin and it wore a set leathers that looked like they belonged to a hunter. A hazy gray mist poured out of its mouth and swirled around its body as it dragged its feet slowly forward. Lesedi lip curled as scarlet ball of flames appeared above her hand and she threw it at the creature. It was consumed by the fire within a minute, but the other heard the commotion and jumped up on the walls.
"It was just a lone one, nothing to worry about," Lesedi said.
"Still, we should start watching," Yue said.
"I"ve got a few more traps to place to the west, so I"ll take that side once I"m done," Terri said.
"I"ll take the south," Gustavo said.
"Then that leaves me the east," Yue added.
"I"ll relax in the center then," Melissa said with a smile then walked down the stairs.
For the next few hours, they picked off the undead that shambled over. It was never more than three at a time from any one direction which gave them plenty of time to pick them before they entered the range of the traps. Melissa spent her time reading in a folding chair with a blanket wrapped around her. Since no one excepted her to fight, it was normal to find her relaxing as she had complete trust in the people she considered family.
The time pa.s.sed slowly in the frozen land, but the eerie glow of sunlight through the overcast sky began to fade and they were plunged into darkness. Everyone pulled out a pair of bug-eye goggles which, when they put them on, lit the world in shades of white and black, not that the present landscape was much different. Once every few hours, one of them would leave their post on the wall to collect the monster cores of the Drekavacs, but even that was forced to stop when night came.
"Guys, something new is coming," Terri said through their ear cuffs.
"What is it?" Yue asked.
"h.e.l.l, if I can say it, but it looks like a werewolf," Terri said as she knocked mithril arrow on her bow.
"It"s a Vukodlak."
"Great," Terri said, rolling her eyes, "now, do I release or not? It"s running quicker than the Drekavacs."
"Kill it! We shouldn"t risk leaving the walls now, they are known to travel in packs," Yue informed.
"How many can there be?" Lesedi asked with a laugh.
Terri released her arrow which she had filled with an unstable amount of fire and lightning mana, so that when the arrow pierced the creature"s chest, it erupted in an explosion that incinerated the entire body. The moment the light of Terri"s attack faded, an ominous howl broke through the silence of the night.
"G.o.d d.a.m.nit, you had to jinx us, didn"t you?" Terri swore.
"It"s just one ho..." Lesedi didn"t even finish her words as another howl answered the first then another until a chorus of howls had joined.
"It seems like my cation was founded once again," Melissa said, snapping her book shut.
"Perhaps, but the Vukodlak will retreat by dawn," Yue replied.
"We must first last until that point," Melissa replied calmly.
Although she wouldn"t fight, that didn"t mean she would do nothing. She walked up the stairs and began chanting under her breath as she stood on the platform with her hands together like she was praying. A series of glows enshrouded everyone starting with gold then blue, green, and finally silver. Each light would either speed up health regeneration and stamina regeneration, or protect against magical and physical attacks. The first of the werewolves came from Terri"s direction in the west, but a few others began appearing in Gustavo"s and Lesedi"s regions. They were able to pick them off at a distance for awhile, but the numbers kept growing.
"I can"t keep up with my mana consumption at this distance," Gustavo was forced to admit after thirty minutes. He had limited spells for ranged battles, so no one was surprised when he spoke up.
"Let"s fall back to the center then," Yue said.
"My traps will slow them down. Lesedi can you make a tower for Yue and me?" Terri asked.
"Got it!" Lesedi agreed.
Everyone crossed back to the center and grouped up. Melissa, Terri, and Yue all stood together as Lesedi dropped her hammer and slammed her fists into the snow. The ground beneath the feet of the trio shot up until the loomed thirty meters in the air. Melissa stood in the center while Terri fired silver arrows and Yue stirred the defenses of her formation.
The eight flags gave off a silver energy, sending a column of light straight up into the air. Yue reached up a hand and the beams of light bent until they collided just over her head. The energy swelled in a large ball then suddenly a pair of illusionary silver wings erupted from the center followed by a long-necked bird head and a set of thin legs.
"Moonlight Crane, dance of the silver feathers," Yue said as the image of a silver crane standing at eye level of her, despite it standing on the ground, solidified. The bird gave a cry as it flapped it wings and over a hundred feathers shot then circled around its body.