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Chapter 8 - Ambush!
The Echo of Infinity: Chapter 8 - Ambush!
Elara moved first, a predator uncoiling. She flowed around the rock outcrop, sword held low, using the camp's own shadows and noise to mask her approach towards the Shaman. Finn took up position slightly behind her, bow drawn, scanning for guards near their target.
Kael, melded into the shadows via [Shadow Meld], had a terrifyingly clear view. His vantage point covered the Shaman, the cage, and a significant portion of the surrounding camp. His [Detect Presence] painted a map of hostile auras – the Shaman, powerful and erratic; the nearby Hobgoblin guards, strong and alert; the slumbering Goblins in tents, numerous but currently inert.
The Shaman seemed engrossed in its ritual, staff pulsating sickly green. Two burly Hobgoblins stood near it, acting as bodyguards. Elara targeted them first. She moved with blinding speed – a [Swordmaster] skill Kael didn't recognize – closing the distance silently. Her blade flickered, a silver streak in the firelight. One Hobgoblin collapsed without a sound, throat slit.
The second Hobgoblin reacted, turning with a bellow, raising a crude axe. But Finn was ready. *Thwip.* The sleeping arrow hit the Hobgoblin squarely in the neck. Its bellow turned into a gurgling sigh as its eyes rolled back, and it crumpled to the ground.
*Two down. Clean.* Kael watched, impressed by their coordination.
The Shaman finally realized something was wrong. It spun around, staff flaring, chanting shifting from a drone to a sharp, barking command. The sickly green energy coalesced around its staff head.
Elara didn't give it time to cast. She lunged, sword aimed at the Shaman's heart. *‘[Shield of Decay]!’* the Shaman shrieked in the Goblin tongue, and a wave of foul, shadowy energy erupted from its staff, forming a crackling barrier.
Elara's sword struck the shield. A clang echoed through the camp, louder than they'd hoped. The shield held, but buckled under the force of the blow. Elara was thrown back slightly, landing lightly on her feet.
The noise and the Shaman's cry alerted the camp. Goblins boiled out of tents, grabbing weapons. Hobgoblins roared, converging on the central fire. The element of surprise was gone.
"Finn, the Sprite! Kael, watch for encirclement!" Elara yelled, re-engaging the Shaman, her sword a blur against its desperate defenses and clumsy staff swings.
Finn dashed towards the cage, fumbling with the crude latch while keeping his bow aimed towards the encroaching Goblins. Arrows started flying towards them – poorly aimed in the initial chaos, but numerous. One skipped off the rock near Kael's head.
Kael gritted his teeth. His role was to observe, but the situation was deteriorating rapidly. Goblins were swarming from all sides. His [Detect Presence] showed more Hobgoblins charging from the ravine entrance – they must have heard the commotion. Elara was locked in combat with the Tier 1 Shaman, Finn was exposed trying to free the Sprite, and they were about to be overwhelmed.
*Inaction means death.*
He had to act, but how? Revealing his Tier 1 speed or mana abilities would expose him instantly to Elara and Finn. He needed something effective but deniable.
A Hobgoblin brute charged towards Finn's exposed back, axe raised. Finn, focused on the cage lock, hadn't seen it. Elara was occupied. The Hobgoblin would cut Finn down in seconds.
Kael reacted on instinct, fueled by adrenaline and his hidden power. He dropped [Shadow Meld] to conserve mana and move. Channeling mana through his [Mana Weaver] class, he formed a small, compressed [Mana Bolt]. It wasn't powerful, but accuracy was key. He aimed not at the Hobgoblin itself, but at a stack of precarious, greasy cooking pots near its feet.
*Fzzt-CRASH!*
The Mana Bolt struck the pots, sending them clattering loudly across the rocky ground. The sudden, unexpected noise and motion startled the charging Hobgoblin. It faltered for a crucial half-second, its axe swing momentarily interrupted as it glanced towards the sound.
That half-second was all Finn needed. Alerted by the crash, he spun around, saw the threat, and loosed an arrow at point-blank range. The arrow sunk into the Hobgoblin’s eye socket. It dropped like a stone.
Finn shot Kael a wide-eyed, questioning look. Kael just shrugged frantically, pointing towards the pots as if to say, 'Lucky break they fell over!' He hoped Finn would buy the coincidence.
Meanwhile, Elara landed a solid blow, shattering the Shaman's [Shield of Decay]. She pressed her advantage, her [Swordmaster] skills overwhelming the Shaman's clumsy defenses. With a final, precise thrust, her blade pierced the Shaman's chest.
The green glow in its staff sputtered and died. A collective groan seemed to rise from the Goblins and Hobgoblins, a palpable wave of confusion and fear washing over them as their leader fell. Some hesitated, looking uncertainly at the fading bonfire.
"The cage!" Elara shouted, pulling her sword free.
Finn finally ripped the cage door open. The tiny Wood Sprite zipped out, chirping frantically, and flew straight towards Elara, hiding behind her shoulder.
"Withdraw! Now!" Elara ordered.
But the Goblins, recovering from the initial shock and enraged by their Shaman's death, surged forward again, blocking their retreat path back up the runoff channel. Hobgoblins from the ravine entrance were closing in from the other side. They were trapped.
Arrows rained down. Elara deflected several with her sword. Finn shot back, taking down Goblins, but they were heavily outnumbered. Kael felt a searing pain in his shoulder – a stray arrow had grazed him. Not deep, but it bled freely.
*‘Accumulator, modify fabricated status. Show [Basic Combatant Lv. 2], HP: 75/100. Status: Bleeding (Minor).’*
He needed the injury to look believable for his weak persona.
But believability wouldn't save them. They were surrounded, their escape route cut off. Kael looked at Elara's determined face, Finn's desperate defense. He looked at the terrified Sprite clinging to Elara. He couldn't let them fall here.
He would have to take a calculated risk.
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Publishment Date: 4/4/2025
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