The mont Kase looked back, Colin understood what the Half-Orc was thinking.
He was hesitating.
Kase no longer trusted any promises from Lady Ri or Her followers. He was likely debating whether to pretend to accept her offer, only to find an opportunity later to lead his Orc Tribe away from this place.
If everything went smoothly, they wouldn’t be harassed by Lady Ri’s followers for the rest of their journey.
’Honestly, the plan has so rit.’
’And judging by the scale of that Illusion Technique just now,’ Colin thought, glancing at a nearby rock crevice, ’that Druid probably used the Tier Four Magic, Illusion.’
’Being able to use that kind of Magic ans she could take down a Winter Wolf single-handedly. She might even be stronger than the Skeleton Centurion we ran into a few days ago.’
’Pretending to agree to her terms isn’t an irrational choice.’
’But we have too little information right now.’
’And besides,’ Colin told himself, ’think about the Ri Ritual we saw a few days ago! We don’t know what trouble the Frostland Druids are in, much less whether the Orc Tribe is safe... The only thing we know for sure is the pure, unadulterated malice Lady Ri and Her followers hold for every living creature.’
Colin whispered to Kase, "If you tried to negotiate with a bear for its fur, do you think it would agree, Kase?"
"You can’t trust bad guys!" Orelia chid in.
Ale, anwhile, said nothing. She simply stood her ground, carefully studying the Half-Orc’s expression.
After a mont of silence, Kase spoke.
"So, what do you think we were punished for in the first place?"
As he spoke, Kase set the Insect Shell Shield down by his feet. With a flick of his toe, he kicked the fallen Longbow into the air and snatched it.
"Can’t you feel it?" the Druid shouted. "The Lady’s Power has reached an unprecedented level! The cold winds are spreading south... Only by embracing the ice can you have a future!"
Judging by her expression, she seed genuinely surprised that the Half-Orc would make such a choice.
’Co to think of it,’ Colin mused, ’Lady Ri’s Curse has afflicted Kase for so long. For one of her Druids to actually co asking him for help now must an they’re in trouble they can’t solve on their own.’
’So,’ Colin thought, ’she was just bluffing from the start. That Illusion Magic was just an attempt to intimidate us!’
Kase, standing nearby, nocked an Arrow to his bowstring.
With a WHOOSH, an Arrow sprouted from the Druid’s shoulder.
The Druid suddenly threw her head back and let out a sound like a wolf’s howl. Imdiately after, a giant white bear appeared high up on the valley side. The beast charged madly toward them, icicles of frozen drool hanging from the corners of its mouth.
’No ti to worry about that thing now!’
Colin and the others began chanting a Spell, while Kase nocked another Arrow to his Longbow.
Facing their hostility, the Druid remained unflinching, reciting a prayer in a northern tongue.
WHOOSH!
The mont the Arrow flew, the spellcasting finished.
A golden fireball and a red one flew alongside the Arrow, speeding toward the Frostland Druid.
In that sa instant, a powerful gust of wind, visibly laced with countless white threads, materialized out of thin air. It blew the Magic and the Arrow aside, and only Sacred Fla managed to hit its target.
Before Colin could even react, he felt a heavy impact on his right side. A violent gust of wind imdiately followed, knocking him to the ground. Countless tiny pellets of snow struck his hood with a sharp RATTLING sound.
Colin quickly yanked his Helt on.
At the sa ti, the Half-Orc’s burly arm shot out, grabbing Colin by the collar and yanking him forward. Colin, in turn, grabbed Orelia, who was behind him, and the group staggered forward a few steps.
After they had taken just two steps, the gale blowing from the side abruptly subsided.
Colin looked around through the visor of his Helt.
At so point, a visible gale laced with white threads had ford a wall, completely encircling them.
The swirling snow was like a thick fog, making it impossible for them to see anything beyond the wall of wind.
As he recovered from the shock, Colin felt a throbbing pain in his arm.
He looked down to see his forearm bent at an unnatural angle, with an odd lump swelling on it.
"Your arm is broken, Colin."
"I’ll drink a Potion. Help set the bone." Colin reached for the Weak Healing Potion on the bandolier strapped to his chest.
The Tiefling quickly complied.
A pulsing pain from screaming nerves shot up his arm to his brain. Colin frowned, bit open the cork attached to the vial by a small chain, and downed the Potion in one gulp.
The throbbing pain vanished, replaced by an unbearable, numb itching.
Orelia, unable to take the strain, coughed up so blood and quickly drank a Healing Potion of her own.
"It’s a special Tier Three Magic, Wind Wall," said Ale, who had sohow managed to get outside the vortex. She patted down her skirt and elegantly dropped her pack on the ground. "Its range is larger than normal. Our Magic will have a hard ti reaching her."
The spell had left a small bruise on her face.
Kase lowered his Longbow. "She’s a skilled Druid. We..."
"This was a decision we made together," Colin interrupted. "If we had agreed to her terms, it would have been even more trouble when you tried to lead your tribe away. Besides, those scoundrels probably would’ve just stabbed us in the back while we were ’helping’ them!"
Colin continued, "I know this spell! We just have to charge through it! We can’t let that Druid keep Casting!"
Before they could finish, the Druid’s voice echoed from outside the Wind Wall.
"Since you refuse to cooperate, I’ll just have to sacrifice you, you foolish ’Cursed’ one! The Goddess will grant even greater favor for it, and I’ll be able to complete my mission all the sa!"
The next mont, a sharp crackling sound echoed from high above their heads.
Looking up, they saw a pale vortex swirling in the air.
The light snow that had been drifting through Snow Deer Valley was violently drawn into the whirlwind, where it condensed and coalesced into sharp, crystalline icicles. The icicles covered a circular area fourteen ters in diater, hanging over their heads like a Sword of Damocles.
’Dammit, another Tier Four Magic!’
"It’s Ice Storm! Use your necklace and Potions!" Colin yelled.
With a re thought, he activated the ability of his Winter Wolf Necklace.
The hanging icicles were now fully charged. Propelled by a white vapor coalescing behind them, they began to shoot downward one after another like sharp, icy arrows.
Kase and Orelia raised their Shields. The Half-Orc also found a mont to gulp down an Extrely Weak Cold Resistance Potion.
Colin and Ale huddled beneath their respective companions’ Shields.
Icicles exploded all around them.
Colin felt a series of stinging pains as shards of ice, like shrapnel from a grenade, peppered his body and cut into his flesh.
The frigid wind that propelled the icicles surged past him. He could clearly see Kase’s skin begin to frost over where it touched the white vapor. This was obviously a magical frost wind that could inflict real Damage on living things!
According to the books he’d read, this frigid air was actually the primary source of the spell’s Damage.
With their gear, Colin and Orelia were immune to this type of Damage, but the other two...
"ROAR—!"
Before Colin could even begin to worry about his other two teammates, a bear’s roar echoed from beyond the barrier. The massive white bear from before tore through the snowy Wind Wall and charged straight for them.
Colin watched the nacing beast and let out a deep sigh.
’This damn Druid, can’t she give us a mont to breathe?!’
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