Rae returned to her space, leaving the blood behind, then came back out clean and fluffy. Well, as fluffy as she got, as her fur was rather stiff and not as thick as a furry mammal’s.
The High Priest smiled as he realized the beast was doing the equivalent of getting dressed up to meet them, and decided formal introductions were in order.
“I am High Priest George, of the Main Faith. I believe you already know Tori, who is an Ascended Rank senior at the academy, and these are Yuri, Petrov and Ivan.” He explained, gesturing to each in order.
Tori was a blonde, who, even in this cold, was still showing cleavage, while the other three mages were all similar in their skinny and acne riddled appearance, as young men at the Ascended Rank. They should be past the youthful acne phase, but for them, it had lingered well into their twenties.
“Karl, Dana, Ophelia, Sister Tessa and Sister Lotus.” Karl introduced.
For a second, Karl thought that Tori looked jealous, but she was in the mirror of his position, the only woman in an all male group, instead of the only man in an all female group.
Maybe it was the group composition she was jealous of.
Hawk came down to land on Dana’s backpack, and the mage gently stroked his head, while Lotus climbed up on Rae’s back.
Karl looked at the other group, who were still recovering from the battle, and too exhausted to go far.
“What are your plans? Are you going to head back to the main lines, or are you going to remain out here behind the lines and keep hunting? I know you had a tough break with your position during the fallback order, but with a bit of effort, I’m sure you can dodge the wandering Frost Giant patrols.” He asked.
High Priest George looked at Karl like he was crazy. “You’re planning to stay out here? We’re behind the Frost Giant lines. If we get attacked, there’s nobody else to come help. We didn’t know you were nearby, but the other groups are together on the far side of the line, a whole day’s walk from here.”
Karl nodded. “Yeah, we’ve got things to do out here, and we have been asked to see if we can find out what is causing the change in temperature before we head back. If you have any ideas, that would be great, but the temperature seems to be dropping before the Frost Giants appear, so it has to be some sort of area effect.”
The mages all looked a little traumatized, and Karl knew that they wanted to just go home and not be out here anymore. That may or may not be an option for them, but at the least, he could help them get to the human lines.
“Why don’t we help escort you south, and then you can make a run across the open ground between the lines? The Frost Giants shouldn’t chase you, and you’ll be back in the safety of the main force.” He suggested.
“And how do you plan to get away after you help us get past the main line? They’re not going to just let you walk by.” Tori asked.
Karl smiled, and the mages shuddered a little at the aura of a predator that he gave off.
“I think that we can handle ourselves long enough to get out of sight.”
The other group shared a concerned look, then shook their heads before High Priest George answered.
“I think it’s better to merge the groups until there is a better opportunity to rejoin the main force. We will assist with your mission, and the extra numbers should make it safer for everyone.”
Karl wasn’t convinced that was true, the other group didn’t look all that competent, but telling them that would probably lead to a bout of severe depression and someone doing something stupid to prove themselves in combat.
“Alright, welcome to the party. What is everyone’s specialty? I recall that Tori uses orbs that fire multiple magic missiles, but what is everyone else good at?” He asked.
One of the mages, Yuri, Karl thought, gave him a rueful smile. “We’re all Fire Element specialists who know the Golem Spell. In theory, it should be as good as having three warriors with us, but that group just demolished the Golems.”
Dana frowned. “They’re a whole Rank higher than you. Do any of you know [Durable Constructs], or an upgraded barrier spell instead of the basic one?”
They all shook their heads in shame.
Karl shrugged. “Alright, I see where the issue is. The Special Forces Team, as you called them, simply outmatched you, even though you had the right basic stats for the mission. We can’t teach you new spells right now, but with three more Golems and three more Fire Spells, we should not have any troubles with future teams.”
Of course, he had a Royal Rank [Flaming Body] ability of his own, plus Hawk’s fireballs. While the skill was a Rank higher, his own mana output wasn’t quite up to the standard of a Royal Rank mage or beast using it. So, the maximum output was limited, but it had greater penetration and mana efficiency than the Commander Rank version had managed.
“What was that ability that you used to toss a Frost Giant across a clearing?” George asked.
“Ah, it’s this fancy new hammer I got from some Frost Giants. It can stack an ability on it multiple times. It’s brutal on the mana usage, but when multiple instances hit at once with the force of the maul and my upgraded strength, they fly pretty well.”
Tori looked Karl over. “You don’t look like the sort that got big strength increases from your class.”
Karl just shrugged, but Dana laughed.
“He didn’t. He’s got two Giant Strength items on, and he could probably body slam a Frost Giant without using a skill.” She explained.
“Speaking of which, check those bodies. The Commander Rank giants usually have good stuff on them.” Karl added.
Tessa pointed to the bodies. “And take the cloaks. Not only are they warm, they blend in with the snow, so you aren’t as easy to spot. If things get dangerous, we will bring up a snow storm of our own to hide in.”
Even Thor was wearing one, while Rae and her Golems blended in with the snow on their own. From a hundred metres away, it was difficult to see Karl’s group, even on a clear day with no blowing snow.
The cloak went well with the white cleric robes that George was wearing, and the four mages quickly got theirs on and put up the hoods to gather a bit of warmth to themselves.
“We were going to head away from the main lines to attack supply lines and keep the main lines from receiving their food deliveries. Are you ready for that, or should we allow you a bit more time to recover your mana and stamina?” Karl asked.
George gave them a confused look. “Is regenerating stamina so easy? Once you’re tired, you’re tired. Or do these Sisters know refreshing spells?”
“Both of them, plus the Lightning Cerro, actually. Thor, can you extend your Lightning over the whole group? They could use the help.” Karl replied.
Thor didn’t really trust strangers, but Karl had asked, so he covered them in Lightning, and then detached it from himself. If the barrier broke, it broke. He wouldn’t use his own energy keeping it active until he trusted these new humans who weren’t part of the pack.
Thor was usually much more welcoming, and he liked to bump up against people and beg for attention, so the wariness put Karl on guard. If there was something wrong with this group, he wanted to understand what it was before it got them all in trouble.
After another minute’s rest, the group was ready to move again, and Karl took the point position with his bow in hand, then sent Hawk to scout.
[Find us a supply convoy small enough that our group could fight it alone. Just in case.] He directed their scout.
[Got it. There is one with these pigs, the size of Thor. Do you think they taste good?] Hawk asked.
[There is only one way to find out.]
“Alright, we have our target. It’s a small supply convoy bringing boars to the Frost Giants. If we can intercept enough of those, it should destabilize their lines.” Karl explained to the newcomers.
Tori nodded in understanding, while the others got sour looks, while the High Priest looked a bit defeated. That was strange, attacking supply convoys was a great way to resupply your own group, so most people should want to fight them instead of active military units.
