Along the way to the Orc encampment, we were able to avoid the first Orc patrol about 3 days from our destination. As we continue our approach, we see more patrols over time and continue to evade them as they are spotted.

Most of them are not directly headed towards us anyhow, we're just getting close enough that we see them heading in a variety of directions both to and from their encampment.

On the third day we are expecting for the encampment to come into sight within the next few hours, and we finally run into an Orc patrol we cannot avoid. This one seems to be coming from where we expect the camp to be, and we are completely exposed when they come into sight.

Unlike most patrols we come across, this one is moving fast. Even with Regina scouting, there simply isn’t enough time from when she sees them and is able to return to us for us to move the carriage out of the way and find a place to hide. We are stuck with yet another Orc battle.

I would say that I feel bad for picking on the Orcs, but the truth is that for our levels most Orc Patrol are too difficult for us to take on, and we really shouldn't win any of these fights. It's remarkable that we've been as successful as we have been, for instance we were lucky that the last patrol we fought was a particularly small and slow group.

While this group is even smaller, there are only 5 Orcs, these 5 are riding dire wolf mounts. 5 of the normal Orcs would typically not be a problem for us, but dire wolves are huge; they probably weigh close to 400 kilograms each, and are both significantly faster and more observant than the Orcs.

From what I have seen and heard, each dire wolf is probably about as strong as the patrol leader from our last fight, and possibly slightly stronger individually. Although it's hard to say with certainty, this is probably going to be a tougher fight than our last fight with an Orc patrol, and the only real saving grace here is that we're better equipped than we were for the last fight that was worth discussing. Will it be enough?

Regina rides close and lets us know they are coming less than a minute before they come into view. Joaqim and Bucky bring the carriage to a stop, while Regina dismounts. None of our horses, including hers, are trained for battle, so it is far more dangerous to stay mounted in battle than it would be to tie them off and hope for the best.

“Similar concept to before,” I say, “Face the carriage away and then get behind it, then we focus fire on their mounts, from closest to furthest back.”

Joaqim turns the carriage where Bucky and I draw their blinders. By facing the horses away from the action, we can hope that they will not notice the wolves and become frightened, because that is practically guaranteed to cause a panic and none of us want to try and chase them down or see them overturn the carriage in their flight.

Even under ideal circumstances we wouldn't want that, and it is even more true now, when we should only be a few hours away from a large group of enemies whom are demonstrably working to secure the area via active patrols.

After reversing the carriage the Orcs are already in sight, and at their current speed I won't have enough time to use a spell release. One minute spent concentrating may not seem like a long time, but if you had to focus on something and avoid distraction while someone is actively trying to kill you, one minute becomes a very long time indeed.

We take our positions, Regina walks to the front of the carriage, meaning opposite the Orcish approach, while Joaqim, Bucky, and myself all position ourselves along the back of the carriage, with Joaqim in the middle and slightly behind me and Bucky relative to the Orcs.

Since they already see us we begin to let loose. By this point they are about 200 meters away, so we are firing long before we have any real chance of hitting them, but we have the ammunition to spare, and it is within our theoretical range, especially with our new ranged weaponry, so we might as well soften them up as best we can. The wolves move so fast that even shooting so far beyond where we are comfortable with, the number of volleys we will get to make while they close is limited.

As expected Joaqim and I miss horribly, but even from this distance, both Bucky and Reginas arrows fire true and strike the lead wolf, the one that I expect is carrying the leader of this small group, hard in the chest.

To hit at all from this sort of range is remarkable, to make those hits count is even more so. Crafting their bows to allow them to use their full strength makes a notable difference in their effectiveness. Their arrows drive deep and the wolf breaks its stride for a moment before catching itself and resuming its charge. The tales of Dire Wolf durability are not exaggerated, we've killed several of them before in our smaller fights that Regina picks out for us, though we only engage them one or two at a time.

I think we should be able to get about 6 shots in over the course of their 200-meter dash. Even someone as incompetent as I am can fire and reload quickly with enough practice, and with repeating crossbows that is more true than ever before, the remaining delays come from trying to aim and anticipate well enough to actually hit.

The next volley lets fly, and every one of our missiles misses its target. The riders and wolves are doing their best to dodge our attacks now that they know we can hurt them from so far away. Dodging arrow fire is not easy, but it is achievable when you have so much distance to make your adjustments.

The next volley only Regina manages to sink a round in, though the wolf is still going strong. 100 meters to go, and they are coming in fast. On our next volley only Joaqim continues his trend of destroying the air, while Bucky sinks another arrow deeply into the chest of the charging wolf, followed by my bolt which pierces into its eye, causing the wolf to tumble over ignobly.

Wow. Rationally I know that was just a lucky shot, but it sure felt good!

Regina was the last of us to fire, but she must have managed to guess that our attacks would end up being enough to take the wolf down, because her arrow was directed at the second wolf approaching, bouncing off its head and leaving a vicious gash. Our next Volley is brutal, with every shot, even Joaquim’s, landing cleanly. It's hard to say who struck the killing blow, but this dire wolf also falls. As a credit to the rider, this one manages to vault off of his wolf and doesn't skip a beat in continuing on foot. It doesn't matter too much, the wolves are much faster than the orcs on foot, and having them trickle in after the initial charge won't make nearly as much impact as if they'd reached us alongside their allies. We don’t have time to celebrate, the remaining wolves are almost here.

Joaqim flies a little high this time, but the rest of our attacks are clean hits, making the third wolf begin to look like an angry porcupine. The final volley of pure ranged attacks commences, and not a one of us has a problem connecting from this range. The third wolf goes down.

And then, the last 2 wolves and their riders are upon us, all of whom are in perfect health. Normally I would expect for the Orcs to release javelins along the way, but considering how fast those wolves are I guess they just wanted to get into melee as fast as possible. Our shields pop out and everyone except Regina and I pull out our melee weapons. Things are going to start getting very, very ugly from here.

Joaqim swings his mace at the dire wolf charging Bucky, but the wolf digs its claws into the soil during the last moments of the charge, throwing off Joaqims timing and causing him to miss. It also prevents the wolfs initial lunge from reaching Bucky, and throws the orc on top off balance. He keeps his seat, but he has to waste precious seconds doing so, which prevents him from bringing his falchion to bear.

The Wolf charging me tries to bite me in the leg, but since it did not slow down, I’m able to step to the side of its slavering jaws and counterstrike by digging into it with my own teeth and claws. My right hand causes some scraping, and I easily sink my teeth into one of its legs, but this skin is tough and I had to pull back as soon as my teeth made contact to avoid whiplash, so I do not think my efforts caused extensive damage.

More than that, I feel a searing coldness cross my back, where the Orc Riders’ falchion slashes into my leather. 9 Damage? Well, being a Rider does give you great positioning, I can't say that it's unexpected, it was just difficult to see and react to with everything else going on, such as my face being buried in wolf hair. 9 damage though. Cool, I can take another hit and maybe two as long as they are close to the same level. Sadly, I know all too well that they can hit much harder than that.

Bucky cuts his falchion deeply into the stomach of the wolf he faces, but even with his ridiculous strength, the skin on these wolves is just so tough it will clearly take a lot more punishment than that to put him out of the fight.

Regina fires an arrow that passes just over Joachims head, I think she might be circling to the other side of the carriage making the shot unnecessarily difficult. Is she planning to try and take out my wolf, then? I hope not; I will not be able to stand here long enough for her to succeed.

It is more important that we take the number of wolves down as fast as possible, which means we need to keep focusing our attacks. She is a fairly intelligent girl, she must know that, right?

Buckys wolf and rider combination seem to have their act together this time around, with the wolf latching onto his leg, biting down hard, and then jerking him forward, I think it is trying to bring him to the ground. Trying to yank Bucky around is like trying to yank a tree trunk around, so he keeps his feet, but the bite itself is still powerful and it causes him to flail his arms to retain his balance.

Flailing links are more than enough of an opening for the rider to get his own cut in, jamming his falchion into the joint of Bucky's arm pit. On earth that would be a death sentence. Even here it is a grievous injury. I dig my claws back into my wolf, once again causing little more damage than a couple abrasions; and in return my wolf also bites into my leg; it hurts about as much as one would expect to have a 3 meter long, 400-kilogram beast savaging your leg. And the follow up slash from this wolfs rider is not doing me any favors either, my back is getting absolutely shredded while I'm focusing on this wolf.

Why am I on my back? Oh, right I'm not Bucky, so the wolf was able to pull my legs out from under me fairly easily. That's not all, either. It’s no wonder I managed to lose track of reality for a moment, my health is at -2. Of course. I am getting very tired of this fighting style; falling asleep every time an enemy breathes on me just isn’t as much fun as it sounds.

When do I get to become the powerful main character and start running over all the enemies I come across? Aren’t I about due for that fortunate encounter that gives me a super OP ability that I constantly complain about how limiting it is, but which makes me completely unbeatable?

Yes, I know my class has incredible potential, especially now that I’m finally able to start making items that are worth having and even casting spells,, albeit indirectly. With the experiences I am going through here, I know I am becoming stronger, and I know that I shouldn’t be overly upset that I’m still of limited use once the fight is joined… but this just really, really does not feel heroic to me. The tattered fragments of my consciousness are fading, I’m off to sleepy land. Wake me up later and tell me how it went, ok?

I wake up to the all to familiar warmth of heali… Wait, what? There is no warmth. Why is there no healing magic? Why am I cold? Why is it dark outside? And why do I hurt everywhere? I know I already asked this, but I just can't wrap my mind around it. Even if Joaqim were to be rendered unconscious, every one of us has potions of healing in their possession. Why did I wake up naturally? Why is there no healing magic?

I have been injured enough times over the course of my lives to know that I should limit my movement until I have a firm grasp of how seriously I am injured and where those injuries are, but it is quiet. Very quiet. I turn my head to look one way and then the other, and I discover that I am currently in what looks like a shallow hole in the ground.

What the hell? Was someone starting to bury me or something? Did we lose? If we lost, why am I alive? What about everyone else?

I do not call out. I have no idea what's going on right now, and attracting attention to myself might be a bad idea. If we lost, I should be dead, not laying down in this shallow little hole. If we won, I should have been healed.

Was I captured? Orcs aren’t known for taking males captive; though they may not realize I am a male. Even so, I don’t feel any ropes or shackles around my hands, or any other bindings for that matter, so even being captured doesn’t make sense to me… I have no idea what's happening right now, but there is at least one thing I am confident about. Something has gone very wrong.