Second Wave

All around, the howls of at least 30 kobolds can be heard! Some of them are in the high ground off of the gorge. Althea was pissed that they underestimated the number of scouts. But her priority right now is to heal Terrick before he dies from his wound. She casts Chain light to the six closest kobolds and jumps close enough to Terrick to cast a large Light shield. From under it, she casts Light's blessing. Judging by the severity of the wound, this will take all of her concentration and skill.

Ellie runs out from the outcropping where she was hiding. She could feel her body become warm, then hot. Blue streaks of light crackle through her as she looks around at the kobolds. The five closest to her receive Ice javelins that manifested halfway through hitting their targets. Without wasted movement, she runs towards a nearby tree and jumps off of it. A Water whip lashes through the 3 kobolds in the trees and they fall in halves. 4 kobolds on a ledge further up pelt her with arrows but her Ice armor has been activated since she came out of hiding. Glaring at them she summons Water scald and the 4 beasts boil in hot water that came out of nowhere.

The rest of the kobold have now entered the gorge but seemed to flinch as soon as they see how the others have died. She turns around and creates an Ice wall 15 feet tall and 50 feet across. She slowly walks up to them. The beasts try to run but are trapped by the wall. Giant Icicles skewer them and in less than 5 minutes she has killed all the kobold except one.

Bryce was covering Althea and Terrick from bow attacks as Althea's Light shield did not completely cover them. When Ellie started attacking, he noticed a fearful looking kobold leaving the valley. As soon as Althea was finished healing Terrick, he flickered out to follow the escapee. He can't afford to have the beast reach the main body of the stampede and report what he saw. By the time Bryce caught up with the kobold, they were by the river. It seems that the kobold was not planning on returning to the stampede but was trying to run away. The beast was visibly shaking. Its eyes begging for mercy. From a distance you can hear a singular howl that turns into silence until only the crackling of lightning can be heard.

Althea is sprawled on the ground. Continuous spell-casting and healing was exhausting. She had to use all of her mana to heal Terrick as he was on verge of death. What would have happened if we hadn't reached C rank this morning?! She shuddered to think. Terrick was sleeping beside her. The wound was completely healed but a scar was still visible. She could heal it later when she has recovered some more mana. A crying Ellie kneels beside Terrick, checking on his wound and relieved to see that he is but snoring lowly. Ellie holds his hands and puts it against her face. She looks at Althea who was clearly spent and mouths the words, "Thank you, big sister!" A smile is exchanged between them.

Then without warning a second horde of kobolds mounted on hyena bears surround them. Althea and Ellie are quickly bound while the sleeping Terrick was harder to rouse. The moment he wakes up he opens his mouth and use Fire breath roasting those around him into crispy shells of their former selves. 7 kobolds and 2 mounts die while a handful others jumped out of the way just in time. He proceeds to attack two more but stopped immediately when he sees that Ellie and Althea are being held at sword point. He is gagged, cuffed, and caged quickly.

"So, this is why the advance scouting team didn't return. Children playing at being adventurers! You think you can stand up to me?!"

The kobold with white snowy fur cupped Ellie's face. He squeezed her cheeks so hard that her mouth is forced open. His claws slowly tear her skin. Althea shakes her shackles but her mana hasn't recovered yet. She could feel heat rising from inside her like it's trying to breakthrough. There is little she could do until then. For now, she is trying to pick the lock on her shackles. Across them, Terrick is shouting through his mouth gag. Just then, Althea disappears leaving a small puff of black smoke. The kobold leader is shocked and unconsciously backs away. Ellie also disappears. The kobolds are now on alert and readying their weapons.

In the ridge of the gorge, three people appear out of nowhere. Ellie grabs on to Bryce's arm. She tells him that she and Althea had used up all their mana. Bryce smiles and pats her head, tacitly telling her that everything will be okay. He disappears once again. From the ledge, the two grants look over to see Bryce appearing and disappearing making quick work of the kobolds. However, there's simply too many of them. The best thing to do is to rescue Terrick and regroup.

The moment that Bryce touches Terrick's cage, he is electrocuted. He falls to the floor gasping for air. The kobolds beat him mercilessly. They clear a way once the Kobold leader walk up to inspect Bryce.

"Did you really think I wouldn't use a magic jammer after your friend scorched my soldiers?!" The leader kicks Bryce and takes a giant axe from one of his underlings. "This time, I will not make the mistake of giving any of you a chance to escape. You are dying here, filthy human!"

From a distance, Althea can see that Bryce's life is in danger. She boils with anger and a feeling of helplessness. All of a sudden, the dam inside her breaks. This hot liquid courses through her veins. It happens for only a second, but she is filled with boundless energy. It feels like the world slowed down and that she could move fast enough to reach Bryce in time.

The kobold leader's axe slams down. His smirk fails. 20 feet away is Althea holding a weakened Bryce. She puts him down and raises her hand. The top of Terrick's cage flies off. The magic jammer circle dissipates. Terrick screams and burns through the gag. He roasts all the kobolds reached by his Fire breath. Althea walks a straight line towards the white kobold and six Light chains skewer him. Above the gorge, a complicated multi-tiered magic circle forms and daggers, spears, and javelins of Earth, Light, Wind, Fire, and Water rain down and kill all the kobolds.

Althea was still glowing when she returns to where Bryce is and heals him. Terrick sits right next to the two of them, assessing the damage they have caused. Ellie had made her way to join them as well. They were exhausted and collapsed right there.