Okay, how much of that repellant do they have? I didn’t consider it at first, but they may have enough to use until they leave the whole forest.

I wasn’t going to tire any time soon, and I could literally eat on the run. So I wasn’t going to be left behind, especially now that I started knocking over trees. At first it was hard to get far enough ahead of the repellant they were using to have time to cut down the tree. But once the wind changed I could do it over and over.

Despite their best efforts I had slowed them to a crawl, they were forced to stop and row around the fallen trees or destroy them with swords and magic. The few times the were too slow left them caught in the branches till they could hack their way out. They had tried to stay on the far side of the river, but I just used a tree I knocked over as a bridge and started cutting the trees on the opposite side.

It was morning now, and they were visibly tired. Not physically, These people were probably the warriors I had heard about; they had enough strength to actually fight me after all. However, my attacks on their state of mind were brutally effective. I had already driven one of their mages temporarily insane just by making noise and a couple of the others looked so deeply traumatized that I doubted they would be able to fight. I am an amazing horror movie monster.

The drug they had given the kid had worn off and she was awake. She seemed shocked and confused about what was going on but wasn’t scared. I guess the fact that it was light out and the fact that her kidnappers were almost wetting themselves made my noises and the situation less scary.

I was beginning to wonder if I needed to take the fight directly to them. I didn’t know how much more forest was left, I guessed that it was a lot, but I wasn’t sure. This war of attrition and psychological warfare wasn’t going to keep working either. They might do something to the kid if I drove them crazy enough.

As the weather warmed up the bees were starting to become more active as well. I didn’t pay them any attention at first but they started to gather quickly. They soon formed a colossal swarm that clouded the sky. They were held back by the same smoke cloud that kept me back but obviously were intent on attacking the humans if they were given the opportunity. I needed to get the kid away from the swarm as well as the kidnappers now.

That’s when I heard the eagle.

I turned to look upriver and saw two utterly massive birds flying at breakneck speed. One of them was Phene the vulture, actually carrying Mero’s dad in her claws. That must mean that the other pair was Periphas and Mero’s mom.

Compared to Phene’s well over twelve foot wingspan Periphas was even larger. Periphas seemed to be an eagle, though I wasn’t sure about the type, his wingspan must have been well over fifteen feet. I could only estimate using the people they were carrying as a guide.

They were a fair distance off right now and the kidnapper’s hadn’t spotted them yet, but I couldn’t expect that to last. I needed to help them somehow.

I decided to finish the tree I was sawing through and run farther ahead.

*Crrk*

*Krrrrrrrrr*

“Pull back!”

*Smekasshhhh*

I let them deal with that and ran even further ahead. I needed to stay out of sight to set this up.

The river was winding more heavily as time went by, turning swamplike as we travelled further down it.

I ran until I reached a curve, making sure to project my friday the thirteenth noise out behind me. Luckily on the other side of the bend there was a tree suitable for my plan.

The tree was a nice big one. Ragged, leafless branches stuck out over the water. I selected a thick, lichen covered limb that stuck out far over the river and climbed to the end.

I camouflage myself as the end of the bough with my head as the stump and my arms as branches. Then I boosted my legs until they are incredibly thick and large for my size. I hid them by disguising them as cracks in the tree limb with sections of wood exposed.

I was barely finished with the changes when the first boat passed around the bend.

They were on the far side of the river, not a surprise since they had to steer around my roadblock. That was fine, I hadn’t expected them to be within reach anyway.

The kid was in the second boat, and there was one less mage in that boat. Although the mage in the second boat was still sleeping off his panic attack so I could count him out too.

Mero’s parents were close now, the kidnapper’s still hadn’t spotted them. With the bees acting as a living smokescreen they were able to ride their birds quite close. I could only see them since the bees weren’t bothering to hide them from my angle.

The two of them were actually hanging upside down from each raptor’s claws. The man was holding a bow and had an arrow notched and ready. The lady was holding a wand and carefully drawing a symbol onto the empty air.

I waited, the boats were almost in position. I could only work my strategy around their’s. If they didn’t start the attack before the boat moved past him I would have to initiate things.

I didn’t have to wait long, the bees parted for a moment before an arrow shot down and skewered one of the mages in the first boat. It seemed that the elves approach to negotiations was pretty brutal.

The kidnappers freaked out. Their mental states were stressed to their absolute limits. That single arrow nearly drove some of them to jump into the river. Never underestimate a jumpscare with proper buildup.

They actually seemed relieved that they were only being attacked by elvish beastmaster trapeze artists. ...Never thought that particular word arrangement would come out of my mouth.

They rallied slowly but they managed to prepare themselves. The remaining mage shakily drew a magic symbol and put up a shield. The only reason he was able to complete it was due to the others shielding him despite receiving injuries from badly blocked arrows.

Any attempt to return fire was deflected by Mero’s mother. Phene and Periphas were perfectly coordinated. They flew as if one, looping over the boats with the bees periodically obscuring them from view.

It was time for me to move, I could see the leader in the second boat moving to grab the kid. The elves had been trying to get rid of the last archer but now it was unlikely. The kidnapper would want to use the kid as a hostage before the elves realized the second boat had no conscious mage to shield them.

That’s when I moved.

I jumped off the branch, firing myself towards the second boat. I pushed off so hard it looked like the branch exploded and the wind from my passage blasted a momentary hole in the repellant smoke.

“AAAAAAAH! NOOO!”

One of the kidnappers turned towards the sound and saw me. They screamed in horror. The leader barely turned to see me before I hit the bow of the boat with a bang.

I swept an absolutely razor sharp claw across one of the kidnappers necks as I climbed over him towards the leader. The leader was barely ready for me as I lunged towards his face.

*Shunk*

*Shchkk*

Gaah!

I manage to stick him with the point of my claw, it wasn’t lethal, but he certainly wasn’t going to be shrugging it off. Unfortunately he got me too. He took off my claw about where the bicep would be on a human. I was beginning to choke on the smoke as well. Okay, new strategy.

I shifted past the staggering leader and the screaming men and hooked my remaining blunted claw into the ropes holding the kid. I boosted my size and held the kid close. Pushing past the now attacking kidnappers, I climbed to the edge of the boat and braced myself for another jump.

The kidnappers' swords were cutting into my exoskeleton. These guys were stronger than the two that I ate first but a lot weaker than their leader.

I jumped off the boat, heading for the closest shore. We barely made it to the river's edge. I immediately carried the kid far enough into the woods that I didn’t have to worry about any arrows.

Every bit of me hurt, I was covered in wounds and the wounds had the smoke seep into them. I had lost an arm and and a leg, the rest of me was pretty much shredded.

I shrank back to my normal, waist high size and used my remaining arm to cut the kid free. A little elf girl popped free of the blanket she had been wrapped in when I cut the rope.

I saw the kid reaching for me as I fell over. I was falling unconscious as the kid touched me. The last thing I saw was the tiny hand placed between my eyes and a descending cloud of bees.