Chapter 25: The Yiqu

Miguel slashed at another of the bat-like creatures and missed, wondering to himself if he should drop the torch and use his bow. But then – he only had eight arrows. And there were at least fifty of the bats.

He then mentally called the command that Sid had previously mentioned: Enemy stats!

Attacker profile Type: Yiqu (43) Maximum hit points: 6 Current hit points: 1–6 Speed: 20 Attack: Bite Maximum damage: 4 XP gain: 5

”Yiqu? Doesn’t look like more than a bunch of bats,” Miguel murmured to himself. “Or bat-dinosaurs. Surely you can beat them...” But then another attack hit him from behind:

You have lost 1 hit point You have 12 hit points remaining

“Get back against the wall,” he called out sharply to his companions.

He hit out three more times, only one of them connecting with the attacking ’yiqu’ creatures.

Notification: You have gained 5XP

Sid slashed another of them with the axe, killing it with one blow. The companions were having an impact, but it was a battle of attrition – could they kill all of the yiqu before running out of hit points? And where would the battle leave them in terms of the overall competition?

Miguel hit out once more, twice, three times, with only the third leading to a glancing blow. He hit one more, killing it outright, and then made a decision.

Notification: You have gained 5XP

He placed the torch down on the ground, sustaining another hit as he did so, and then called for another weapon:

You have lost 2 hit points; You have 10 hit points remaining

Equip bow

Equip arrow

He might only have eight arrows, but at least he was more likely to hit with the arrows than with the torch. Now, he focused as one of the yiqu flew directly towards him, and he sent an arrow right through its body. The target was almost too easy... and the arrow followed through and killed a second yiqu, too:

Notification: You have gained 5XP Notification: You have gained 5XP

To his side, Aluna was having some success with the daggers. She was quick and much more agile than Miguel, and she danced around, slashing the creatures and lopping off heads and wings. A pile of the wounded and dead was growing around her boots.

Miguel took aim, this time at the flock of remaining yiqu which were slowly circling above them. His first arrow missed, but the second found its mark, as did the third. With his fourth shot, Miguel again took out not one but two of the creatures again; their skewered bodies fell and landed with a splash in the pool that dominated the cave floor.

Notification: You have gained 5XP Notification: You have gained 5XP Notification: You have gained 5XP Notification: You have gained 5XP Feat: Sharp shooting. You have gained 50XP

“Sweet,” said Miguel to himself.

Sid brought his hand axe down on another, and at this, it appeared that the yiqu had had enough. The flock broke apart, and its various members flapped frantically towards the cave roof. From there, some of them left via the broken area that Miguel had fallen through, and others took shelter in nooks and crannies, out of the party’s reach.

Notification: You have gained 3XP

The three companions looked at each other panting. “Wow, three experience – that’s generous,” said Aluna.

“I guess we only get a portion of the enemy’s experience value when it flees, or when we evade it...?” said Miguel speculatively.

“Right,” said Sid. “I’d say it’s about ten percent. A nice bonus, because those fuckers will be back soon, and then we can get further experience for killing them. And we can’t stay here with them ready to pounce on us in the night.”

Miguel peered up at the gap in the cave roof he had created. “In that case,” he said slowly, “we are going to need to patch up that hole. Keep out the ones that flew out that way already. And as for the ones that stayed... well, I might need you to help look for the arrows that I’ve used. I’m down to three now, and that won’t do.”

“Fair enough,” said Sid, with a curt nod.

“I’m getting low on hit points,” said Aluna.

Miguel looked at her, now noticing that her face was streaked with blood. “How low?” he asked.

“Three left.”

“Right. I got ten or so.”

“Don’t suppose anyone has a healing kit?” asked Sid.

Miguel shook his head. “No kit, no potion, and no skills either.”

“Then just keep a low profile, Aluna. I’ll go hunt for arrows.”

As Sid moved off, Miguel raised his bow again.

Equip arrow

The yiqu at the cave roof were difficult to see now, being almost out of the range of the torches. He raised one hand to cover the light from the gap in the roof, trying to avoid it dazzling him. He peered from one side to another, then decided to check how many they were still facing.

Enemy stats!

Attacker profile Type: Yiqu (11) Maximum hit points: 6 Current hit points: 2–6 Speed: 20 Attack: Bite Maximum damage: 4 XP gain: 5

Eleven, he thought to himself. That didn’t seem bad – it meant they had already killed around ten each, or perhaps a little less, accounting for the ones that had fled the area, and presumably now wouldn’t be counted.

Then he saw movement, and let fly. His arrow missed, but when it sparked off the cave roof and fell, a momentary light shone on the area where most of the remaining yiqu were gathered close together.

Equip arrow

He shot again, and again. This time, his arrows fell with yiqu bodies alongside, in one case skewered upon the shaft.

Notification: You have gained 5XP Notification: You have gained 5XP

Miguel looked around. Sid was returning, but he was only holding one additional arrow. “I’ll see if I can find more,” said the big man.

“Thanks.”

Equip arrow

Miguel shot again, and hit again.

Notification: You have gained 5XP

The latest slain yiqu fell with a splash, but perhaps more importantly, a further three or four now fled the area via the hole.

Sid returned, and handed over another three retrieved arrows. “Doing well, Miguel. Hey – that rhymes.”

“Hmm.”

Miguel was still scanning the cave roof. He had killed a further three and around the same number had left, meaning that there must still be at least four or five remaining. But he was struggling to see them.

“Well, Sid, I can’t see shit.”

Sid nodded. “Time to get the spade and go fill that hole, then.”

“Yeah. But what about Aluna? Think she is up to defending herself?”

Sid looked over at the woman for a moment. She was slumped back against the cave wall, rubbing at her wounds. “You could stay here to help her against these creatures,” he said after a pause, “and I could take the shovel.”

Miguel scratched at his stubbly chin, looking up at Sid. The man might be an asshole at times, but he had flung himself at the giant centipede, and had led a group of companions in the earlier trials. He was brave, and a good leader when it counted.

“Tell you what – I’m quicker than you,” said Miguel at last. “I should do it. If that razor-lizard is still out there, I can probably evade it. And you can use the axe to defend Aluna. Teamwork and all.”

“Fair enough. I was kind of hoping you’d volunteer.” Sid pointed to the ground, where Miguel had dropped his torch earlier. “Take a torch. And good luck.”

“Keep it. I’ll try to grab one of the ones I dropped earlier.”

Sid nodded, and Miguel began to walk from the cave.

Unequip bow

Miguel soon saw what the others had meant about the small entrance that they had crept through. He had to get down on his hands and knees, and then right down to a prone position to wriggle back out to the hillside.

When he got there, he noticed the sun was going down, and that it was falling in the direction of the lake. Soon it would be dark. He should act quickly if he was going to block up the hole.

Then it occurred to Miguel that it would be difficult – perhaps even impossible – to find the small gap again in the dark. It would be hard enough in daylight. The others had just lucked upon it.

He paused, listening hard. Currently, he couldn’t hear any of the monstrous thumping footsteps that might indicate a razor-lizard. There were various cries and shrieks from the direction of the trees. That could mean birds, insects, or something more sinister. It was hard to know.

Regretting not taking one of the daggers back from Aluna, Miguel turned and looked back down at the hole he had just crept out of. As the others had said, it was just below a bush, with small rocks on either side. It was clear enough for now, but would be very hard to see from a distance.

Perhaps he should have taken a torch to mark the way in the dark. But on the other hand, he didn’t much feel like going back now. He wanted to get this over with. And besides – a torch could attract enemies as well as guiding his own way.

What else did he have? He tried out the command, inventory.

Inventory: arrows (3); backpack (1); bread (1); composite bow (1); shovel.

Not much, in short. The shovel might be the best marker, but he needed it. In the end, he decided to use an arrow, equipping it, and then plunging it into the earth a yard from the hole. It was better than nothing. He also took a moment to gauge the distance he now was from the edge of the trees and from the huge boulder that they had sheltered behind before. About fifty yards from both, at his best guess.

He moved along towards that large boulder. His heart leapt in fear for a moment when he made out a large dark shape in the gloom, but then he realized that it was just the carcass of the fallen razor-lizard. Good to eat? Who knew. Its rival had eaten a lot of the flesh, but there did seem to still be plenty of meat on the bones.

Miguel moved on past, only to see a notification:

Incoming message from team headquarters: You can use the blood of the razor-lizards as a healing potion. - B.

Wow. Now that was useful. Miguel paused, looking at the slain beast. Had it been left too long for its blood to have that potency? And had Razor-lizard Rex left enough behind? Did it in fact heal enemy monsters as well as players?

Whatever.

He would have to find out more on the way back – for now, he had a hole to fill. And besides – he had nothing to carry lizard blood in. Then he paused again. If he could at least test it on himself...

He stepped closer, only for two yiqu to rise up from the carcass and flap away, and a much smaller two-legged dinosaur scuttled away, too.

Notification: You have gained 2XP

“The rats of this world,” Miguel muttered.

The carcass stank. Holding his breath for a moment, he took one more glance in every direction, then leaned over and reached inside the area under the creature’s head, which had been partially ripped from its neck by Rex’s claws. There, at the terminus of the neck, Miguel placed his hand into the fleshy area, and squeezed.

It made him squirm inside, but when he drew his hand back, there was a small pool of blood in the palm of his hand. He raised it to his mouth before it could run away, and then drank it down.

It burned, like the strongest and cheapest of whiskeys. But almost immediately, Miguel saw another notification.

You have gained two hit points; You now have 12 out of 19 hit points remaining.

“Nice,” he murmured to himself. “That’s poetic – slay the monsters, and we get a chance to heal. Now, if only I had a vial.”

With no way of storing the blood that he could think of, Miguel managed to squeeze out another few morsels of the stuff, bringing him back up to almost fully healed, before nothing more would come out:

You have gained two hit points; You now have 14 out of 19 hit points remaining. You have gained two hit points; You now have 16 out of 19 hit points remaining. You have gained one hit point; You now have 17 out of 19 hit points remaining.

Miguel decided that this would do for now. He really didn’t want to delve deeper into the recesses of the slain body, and he had a more pressing job to do, anyway. Besides, the scavengers could soon be back, and in greater numbers.

Skirting the edge of the huge boulder, he began to make his way up the rocky hillside once more.