The difference in levels among our group showed in the most mundane way. After the first ten miles of walking, the five natives to Falritas were tireless. Romping along with no discomfort. I hadn’t drunk too much yesterday, so I was fresh and kept up comfortably for around half an hour, but beyond that I started struggling badly. We knew from our trek though the forsaken lands that we could walk at a steady pace, but this was more like a jog to us.

Daz and Joel struggled even more than me as they were the lowest levelled and way more hungover.

I was ready to put my foot down and call the adventurers to a halt so we could rest. Maybe a little talk on compassion, while we were on about it. Of course, that was around the same time as Angelica pointed off the road to our left.

“Saleel,” she shouted. Everyone spun to look where she had pointed. All I could see was a continuation of the barren countryside. A sea of brown and green grass competing for superiority.

The five adventurers leading us however must have seen something. Elsbeth turned urgently. “Run! We will head to those rocks over there. She said pointing to a rocky area that must have been a mile distant. Then they all took off in the direction she had pointed. They quickly outdistanced us.

We did as we were told, terrified by this unseen enemy that a dark elf and three half ogres were running from.

Mal came alongside me, running easily. “So what the fuck are we paying these people for? The first sign of trouble and they’re legging it away, leaving us behind.”

“I noticed,” I replied sourly as our hired help pulled further and further away from us.

Checking over my shoulder on Daz and Joel’s progress, my concern deepened. Joel was a few meters back, blowing out his arse. Daz, with his armor and sword was way back and beyond fucked. His luminous red face gasping as he laboured after us.

And that’s when I saw what we were running from. Kind of.

There was a section of ground rippling like an actual wave, heading directly towards us. It was moving insanely fast.

“We’re gonna have to stop and defend… won’t make it, running.” I forced out between deep lungful’s of air.

I came to a stop and turned back to at least stand with my friends as we probably died. Better than being picked off individually. It took Mal a few more footfalls before he turned back. “Are you crazy? Whatever the fuck that thing is, it’ll get Daz first, and hopefully be satisfied.” He said with a terrified grin, pulling out his crossbow as he spoke. Boris padded calmly alongside us as Mal then produced my hammer, thrusting at me before giving me the Buckler of the Desperate, which was fitting. Joel joined us panting heavily. He still had the wherewithal to pull his swords out. Though he had to drop to one knee to rest while he did so.

Daz was still a meters away, and the Saleel was almost upon him, and us.

Waiting in petrified anticipation, I knew Daz wouldn’t make it to us, and quite frankly, judging by the size of the earthen wave, I didn’t know what good it would do him if he did.

Joel surprised the shit out of me when he yelled right next to my ear. “Daz! Remember Tremors? Stand still!”

Daz may or may not have heard the suggestion, but he did fall over, which constituted as the same thing. He lay there like he’d been shot, and the land wave hit under him.

We all stood and watched in awed silence. Also following Joel’s advice. It did look like there was something burrowing under the ground after all.

The wave appeared to have passed Daz by. Proving Joel’s theory was right. Until a huge hand erupted from the ground taking a hold of Daz and hoisting him up in a one-handed grip. It didn’t stop there, as the rest of the beast emerged from the ground to stand maybe 20 feet above us. Humanoid in shape, it appeared to have a carapace made rock.

“Tremors, Joel?” I hissed. “You absolute tit.”

There was little choice but to accept our fates now and I was proud of Mal who still petulantly fired his crossbow up at the thing. The arrow bounced harmlessly off. And the giant, or Saleel as it was, laughed at us. I saw his tag and it didn’t make good reading.

Erimu: Saleel, level 37

“Give us Daz back, now you massive prick,” I screamed as I took a step toward him. Brandishing my hammer and buckler in the most threatening way I dared.

“Tell me where assassin is first. Erimu knows she left town.”

“Assassin?” Mal asked. “She wasn’t a Dokalfar by any chance?”

“Yes, Dokalfar is who I hunt.”

“She’s that way,” Mal said, pointing in the direction our paid protection had run. “Now give us back our friend.”

I couldn’t fault him for selling Angelica out. None of this would be happening if not for her, and they’d been quick enough to desert us.”

“Here,” the Saleel said lazily. He held the panicking Daz forward toward us, his legs flapping wildly out the bottom of the giants fist and only his head visible from the top. His eyes were wide, and his face was turning an unhealthy shade of purple as he suffocated in the grip. Just as it looked like the giant would put him down next to us, he clenched his fist.

Yes, the one Daz was held in.

The crunching sound was sickening, and the brutal image of Daz’s head popping off in a fountain of blood would haunt me for the rest of my days.

The Saleel did it so casually. As if Daz was nothing more than a sachet of ketchup and the result were grotesquely similar.

I’d love to tell you that our collective blood boiled with righteous anger and indignation at what had been done to our childhood friend. That we attacked with all of our skill and might.

That’s not what happened. We stood rooted to the spot in complete shock. Like three sticky toffee puddings ready to be served. Only covered with warm, salty blood instead of toffee sauce.

Purely on the basis of me already holding my buckler up, did it come between me and the Saleel’s backhanded blow. It did… partially, help to defend the giant’s blow. I’m pretty sure if it hadn’t been there, I’d have been paste, instead of careening through the air.

I hit the ground like a sack of hammers, knocking the wind from me. That only my shield bearing, demon cursed arm was broken was amazing. Even more-so because I couldn’t feel any pain.

I suspected that the rest of my bones would be following in its footsteps very soon.

I was snapped out of my disoriented self-assessment, when Joel landed next to me with a heavy, “oof.” The noise told me he was still breathing, at least.

I sat up to see Boris attack. Only to be sent promptly flying through the air with a yelp of pain. Mal cried out in anguish, but was busy doing everything he could just to stay alive himself. Ducking and diving away from heavy-handed blows.

Struggling to my feet, my right knee, producing a troubling symphony of grinding and clicking. I knew I should have been sitting this dance out. But only certain death waited for us all if we each didn’t try. I spotted my buckler lying completely shattered on the ground. While I mourned its loss, my left hand wasn’t responding at all.

So, about as enthusiastically as a tax fiddling accountants debut in the prison showers, I approached the Saleel, holding my hammer up like it was a magic fucking wand.

Mal was backpedalling in the opposite direction, away from me, so the giant couldn’t see my movement towards him, but they were moving both moving too fast for me to catch up in my current state.

With limited options to help Mal out, I raised the hammer up above my head, took a deep breath and hurled it with all the force I could muster at the Saleel’s head.

I scored a solid hit in the small of its back and to my utter astonishment, it actually had an effect on the big, craggy bastard. Stopping his attempts to catch a hold of Mal, he turned to face me.

“You hurt Erimu!” He roared.

I couldn’t help but feel his words were a little childlike and petulant. He repeated himself again and again, like a weird chant as he stalked toward me. “You hurt Erimu!”

“If I had my hammer. I’d do it again, you massive tosser! You killed my fuckin’ friend! “I screamed back at him.

As he moved within range to hit me again, I knew I was doomed. Mal had reloaded his crossbow, but the bastard had run to where Boris lay whining. In his defence he did fire at the Saleel, but the bolt again bounced harmlessly away again.

Erimu ignored it. He was focused entirely on me now.

“You hurt Erimu!” He said more calmly as he closed the distance.

“You killed my friend for no reason,” I seethed.

Erimu wasn’t fucking around with conversation now, though. No sooner than I’d finished speaking, he brought a massive hand around in an ungainly but life ending slap. I was done. No way was I dodging this shit. I closed my eyes and waited for the end to come.

So I completely missed the blue fireball that smashed into Erimu’s descending hand, pushing its deadly course wide.

As I heard his screams, my eyes snapped open. A ball of green fire smashed into his face while blue fire scorched his chest and arms.

Two bald siblings of the human-ogre variety set about Erimu’s knees with their hefty two-handed battle axes.

I took the opportunity to close my eyes for another second and reflect.

Thank fuck for that.

I could have cried right there and then. But I held back the flood of relieved tears to assist in the fight. I may not have been able to help much, I had to still try.

Scanning the ground for my hammer, I staggered over and snatched it up from the ground. My left arm still hung limp and I was strongly considering, after this fight. It might be a good time to just chop the bastard off and work on getting the hell out of this place.

With Hammer now in hand, I turned grimly back to the fight. Tracy had been booted by the Saleel and was currently sailing through the air about twenty feet off the ground. I was astonished when they somehow landed on their feet and darted straight back in to the fray. Screaming in something like joy as they re-joined the battle.

Remus was keeping his distance, firing the green fire balls into our foe’s face. To my stunned amazement, Elsbeth was the one firing the blue fireballs, and she was fucking flying!

I scanned around for Angelica and was unsurprised by her absence. When she finally came into view, she was riding on the back of an extra-large baboon grey with purple stripes and the image left me bemused and oddly impressed.

As she closed the distance, she hurled bolts of dark purple lightning.

I could clearly see the effectiveness of each of their magical attacks was relative to their levels. Elsbeth’s blue fire was dealing comfortably more damage than the others. But Angelica’s bolts weren’t too shabby either.

The enormous Baboon or Karucja as it was apparently called, jumped over fifteen feet in the air onto the Saleel’s back. From there, it raced up towards the giant rock monster’s head and started pummeling with both long arms while Angelica continued her own assault with purple bolts. I wondered how she stayed on the thing as it pounded its fists down erratically.

When I finally sorted my shit out enough to stop gawking like a damn idiot, I ran in to offer what help I could to take down the now seriously injured Saleel.

As I approached, I realized my folly as George and Tracy were swinging their weapons indiscriminately, and there was no room for a Clive in the mix.

I was left with the same option again. Time to throw the Fledgling hammer of pitiful absorption and hope I didn’t hit anyone else. It wasn’t that I was a bad shot. I just didn’t have much experience with throwing War hammers.

I hurled the bastard as hard as I possibly could at the Saleel and heard a heavy thunk as it powered home into the Saleel’s meat and veg.

To my utter astonishment, that blow seemed to be the one that brought him to his knees. I knew that was ridiculous, considering the abuse being hurled at it from all angles by people way more powerful than me, but for a glorious second, I felt like an absolute boss. Until it dawned on me that I was suddenly in shadow.

Without further hesitation, I ran like a… gentle breeze, diving at the last moment as a Saleel shaped shadow closed quickly over me.

While legends may not be sung about how I avoided that final if unintentional attack from the defeated Saleel, I knew how impressive it had been for me. I rolled away, panting like a dog in a dessert, amazed to still be alive.