Illuminaria [LitRPG Fantasy Healer Adventure]

40 - Twilight Hunter

Joe pushed back from the table, holding his stomach, which was on the cusp between comfortably full and overstuffed. "Those dumpling-like things are amazing, Hah'roo. Oh my gosh. I ate way too many of them."

Hah'roo had come to his place with a basket full of dinner for them both, just as Joe was thinking about what he wanted to make for a meal for himself and Mojo. He had stocked the kitchen more than he had planned to, but he couldn't help it. To be honest, he was well aware that he was a very mediocre cook at best, but what he lacked in skill, he compensated for with enthusiasm. Joe enjoyed making meals, even the disasters that his limited culinary talents produced from time to time. His cupboards were now well stocked with all sorts of staples and goodies.

Even though he hadn't gotten to use any of his new groceries, he was by no means disappointed. The fare Hah'roo had shown up with had been ridiculously delicious.

"Moonducks are one of my favorites," she stated, plucking up just one more of the filled doughy balls. "The winds have been whispering about a shop two streets over since we got here. They serve them and soups. I am not at all disappointed. These are as good as any I have had from the Small Kingdoms," she stated with a far-off look in her eyes, before nodding her head toward the old couch that came with the apartment. "Mojo seemed to like them as well."

Joe looked over at the sleeping shug-monkey. After practically inhaling an order of the moonducks, the changeling let loose a stunningly loud belch before curling into a ball and passing out in a food coma.

As he and the huntress were cleaning up, they heard the door open behind them. Young Mahq had just wandered in without a knock. The young man crossed the room to the window, leaned way out, and looked up into the sky. Joe saw the youth's brow was furrowed in a concerned expression. He walked slowly up to the young druid as Hah'roo went to close the door..

"Heya, Mahq. You ok? You look worried," Joe noted in a gentle voice.

"Tusked Tarz is hunting tonight. No moon to show him. The owls and loons are talking about him. Tarz likes to hunt people, but he hates the fey most of all. I wanted to see if Mojo's spirit was strong enough to bring him here." Mahq delivered these lines without looking at Joe. He kept his eyes focused on the night sky.

When Mahq stopped speaking, Joe realized [Morphic Form] had perked up his hearing to the point he could make out the sounds of night birds. Normally, he would have barely noticed the triple hoots of some far-off owl or the mournful loon calls. Now that he was aware of them, they did seem to be sounding an alarm.

"Who is Tusked Tarz?"

"Old manticore. Wily. Knows where the gaps in the wall-wards and the guards are. He isn't coming here. Mojo is safe, Joe. He is heading into Rockpoint to eat someone there."

The Abbacka House was right on the border between the three districts of Kilning, Seaside, and Rockpoint. Kilning was predominantly the crafting district. Seaside catered to the ship crews. Rockpoint was the oldest section of the city. The homes and shops there were more meager. It wasn't a slum by any means, but it was definitely the least prosperous district inside the small city. Only the shantytown of Cliffside, outside the city walls, was actually impoverished.

"Should we tell the guards?" Joe asked both the youth and Hah'roo.

"Gran and Gramp say I shouldn't go out at night, even though I like the night. Did you know plants dream?"

"Let's unpack that later, bud," Joe stated, trying to stay on the topic of a flying man-eater entering the city. "I'll go, Mahq. I should be able to make it to the Adventurers Guild and back in a few minutes."

"You could, but you'll be too late. Tarz just flew over the wall," Mahq uttered, pointing east.

Joe shared a look with Hah'roo. With a gliding grace, she crossed the room and yanked open the door, only to see him smile and shake his head.

"Look after Mojo for me, Mahq," Joe requested, before jumping out of the open window. [Hunter's Pursuit], [Morphic Form], and [Steadfast] all activated; the first two eased his landing while [Steadfast] gave him the traction to start sprinting immediately.

A gust of wind ruffled his hair as Hah'roo joined him, almost surely having used the window as well. She adjusted their angle, and Joe followed, trusting her sense of direction far more than his own.

Scanning the sky, Joe's night-hunter-enhanced vision picked out a large shape against the backdrop of clouds, soaring over the buildings exactly where Mahq had indicated.

"Holy crap!" he muttered. Joe drew a stone out of his bullet bag, just carrying it for now. He held off on starting the spell until he was closer, knowing he could only charge [Grit Razor] for so long. Too long and the spell failed.

The streets were fairly empty, so they could pour on the speed. Fort Coral was also not so huge that Joe had miles to run. In just a minute, he was running past the small houses of central Rockpoint.

Whenever he passed a startled resident, he called out to them, "Manticore is hunting," and pointed. Most of the folks jumped inside, but to Joe's surprise, a few of them latched onto his wake and followed. One of them had a large machete, two others scooped up spears before running after Joe and Hah'roo. The fourth invoked a spell, causing spectral blue pauldrons to appear on his shoulders. He drew a pair of wavy knives from his belt as he dashed along with the group.

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One of the spear-wielders spoke up. "Where is it?" she asked.

Hah'roo and the knife-fighter both pointed and said "There," at the same time.

The group was closing on the soaring form, just a few blocks separated them. Unfortunately, at that very moment, the black-winged hunter dropped into a dive.

"Damn it!" Joe swore. The knifeman's expletive was far less tame.

Activating [Grit Razor] and pushing [Hunter's Pursuit], Joe shot forward, hoping to get there in time. The woman with the spear kept pace with him as sparks of mana flickered under her bare feet. Hah'roo leapt into the air and disappeared over the rooftops.

He and the spearwoman zigzagged through the last few blocks as a scream cried out. Turning the last corner, Joe got his first good look at the manticore.

The creature's countenance was savagely bestial. Its face was split by a mouth full of long, crooked fangs. There was a hint of human-like qualities to that face, but they were so twisted and malicious-looking as to make them barely recognizable as such. The creature's body was tiger-like but almost twice the size of the biggest big cats. It had mottled dark fur from head to mid-chest and chitin covering parts of its back half. Between a pair of massive leathery wings rose a long, deadly-looking scorpion tail.

A man and a woman stood with their backs to a small building. Standing in front of them was the white-skinned huntress, her rope dart whirling angrily between them and the beast. Another man lay on the ground beneath the feral hunter's taloned paw, blood coating his still-moving chest.

The street brightened as a man with a torch and a large sickle stepped out of his home. The spear-wielder beside Joe did not hesitate. As soon as the torchlight illuminated the huge beast, she launched her weapon. The old monster was faster. Its wing flicked downward, slapping the missile away and snapping it in two.

There were too many people around for Joe to hurl his spell. The arc of stone shards would almost surely hit someone here and quite possibly pass into one of the homes behind the monster. He was not going to be responsible for friendly fire. Joe had a brief thought about aiming high for the wings, but he had just seen how fast the creature had moved. He would not get another shot with his slow-to-charge damage spell. If he did not drive it away immediately, it would grab the bleeding man and fly off with its prey.

He had an instant to consider curses, but was quickly struck by a better idea. Joe surged forward and dropped to his ass, sliding along the ground, feet first. 'Baseball be very, very good to me,' Joe silently prayed.

Mid-slide, he focused on the spot of ground just beyond the wounded man. He vanished and reappeared below the manticore. Immediately sweeping his arm up, Joe unloaded [Grit Razor] directly into the creature's belly. Tarz howled and launched himself into the sky, his stomach a mess of torn skin. The wounds looked more painful than life-threatening, but the blast worked to drive the manticore off his victim. As a rain of bloody droplets spattered them both, Joe slapped his hand to the man beside him, loading him up with [Healer's Touch].

Two of the others who had run with Hah'roo and Joe reached the intersection at that point. Their weapons soared up at the winged predator. The second spear was also batted away, but one of the kris knives found the monster's flank. The magically armored warrior twitched his hand, recalling his blade from the creature's flesh.

As Tusked Tarz rose in the sky, the monstrosity's hate-filled gaze never left Joe.

"Hasth akkat bekunerak, sheqk," the monster hissed before wheeling away into the night.

"Oo. He's pissed at you," the woman who had kept pace with him remarked, her eyes following the retreating monster until it vanished into the cloud cover.

Joe layered a second heal on the trembling man and asked the spear-woman, "Do you know what it said?"

"No idea. I'm just going by that death stare it was giving you," she chuckled. "You really pissed Tarz off."

"It said 'I will eat your heart' and then used a chimeric slur for elves. You don't look like an elf, but maybe he didn't get a good look at you before you gut-shotted him with that spell. Nice move by the way," the machete man stated. "Thanks for the warning. Tusked Tarz is a scourge. This is as close as we've come to killing that old beast. He's a sneaky one. Never stays past the first wound if he's outnumbered." The man reached out a hand and pulled Joe to his feet. "I'm Brayrrem. Nice to meet you."

"Joe," he replied. Introductions were passed around. The man Joe had saved was named Noogelam, and Joe found himself enveloped in a huge bear hug from the grateful villager. Hah'roo was likewise being embraced by those she had shielded. Once released, Joe tried to untangle himself from the group and head back home, but the growing crowd was having none of that. The swelling mass swept Joe and Hah'roo with them a couple of blocks over to a ramshackle tavern named Rosiline's Ring, and drinks began flowing.

There was no option for Joe to chip in. As a matter of fact, without [Purge], he would have been under the table with all the free drinks he was being plied with. Surprisingly, Joe found himself enjoying the raucous attention of the residents of Rockpoint. They were loud and friendly, quick to laugh, even though their lives were a bit harder than those of their wealthier neighbors. This group seemed to look out for each other, and Joe had won a lot of favor from them for coming out of nowhere to their aid.

The retelling of Joe's magical slide and gut punch to Tarz ran around the room every few minutes, usually followed by a fresh drink.

Joe also tried to subtly cast [Purge] on a few of the more inebriated celebrants, but he noticed that they just drank all the more for it, so he stopped trying: only shielding himself and Hah'roo from alcohol poisoning.

As generous as they were, Joe found himself quickly burning out in the crowded tavern and being the focus of the conversations. He finally managed to bid farewell to the party, promising to return the next day and perform some healing.

He and the huntress staggered out of Rosaline's Ring hours after the fight. Joe tried to orient himself towards his new home by the sound of the ocean, but of course, Hah'roo immediately knew the way back. His magic and the clean night air helped clear his head somewhat, but both of them were far from sober. Realizing even [Purge] had its limits, they made the walk back to the Abaaka House with very wobbly strides.