Ewan didn’t return that evening, but arrived in the very early morning just as we set off for the day's travel.

“I apologize for not coming last night. It was not intended to cause worry, but there was a minor breach within the peaks. No one on our side was hurt, you will be relieved to know,” he explained, more for the worried-looking Olata. “I could locate a group of Wodalfar a day’s travel, south west. They are traveling north, much like the Goblins.”

“Cool. How many?” I asked.

“Four hundred and one,” Ewan replied seriously. “I’m not sure where they have been hiding. I had not noticed them before yesterday, but clearly they have been displaced.”

“And Wodalfar. I assume Wood Elves?”

Ewan smiled.

I didn’t like the smile at all. Olata snorted, but Danivra remained passive. I looked at Sania and Grigor who both shrugged.

“It amounts to crazy Elves,” Olata said.

“Oh, of course it does,” I laughed. “And why are they crazy, exactly?”

“They’re not crazy in the insane sense,” Ewan replied. “More in the energetic, offbeat meaning of the word. I admit they are not ideal troops, but they are good fighters, nonetheless. They haven’t survived the battlefields of Kalabri this long without a good amount of martial skill.”

“Right. Fair enough. So we’ll have six-hundred Goblins who are as mad as a box of frogs, and four-hundred crazy elves. This is not what I’d envisioned. I’ll check them out, of course, but I’m not exactly swelling with confidence here,” I replied. “Can we have some warrior elves next, or even more Fensalfar and Dokalfar.”

Ewan nodded with a smile. “That I can do. Right now, these are the closest people for us to take in and it will be worthwhile, I’m sure.

“Three days' travel south there lies an old human fort which is under siege by Destruction. There are over two-thousand elves within. One-thousand Drengalfar discovered the abandoned fort and have held out there since. Later, over one-thousand Dokalfar from Rushing found them on their flight north.”

I felt the surging force of Danivra’s emotions clearly through the bond, at the news.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” I replied excitedly. “Shouldn’t we go get them first?”

“I mentioned that they’re under siege by four-thousand battle hardened warriors, didn't I?” Ewan asked. “You will need numbers to free them and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to leave un-homed refugees to roam the wastes of this area simply because they are… energetic, would you?”

I sighed. “No, I wouldn’t. Let’s get them. Oh, and what the fuck are Drengalfar? I’m not even going to guess, this time.”

“Ah, perhaps this time you will not be so disappointed. They are Battle Elves.”

“Battle elves! Now that sounds more like it. Though, all the elves seem to be shit hot in battle. So what does a battle elf do exactly, to deserve that epic name?”

“They look more like humans,” Danivra answered. “Much broader across the shoulders and well-muscled compared to your standard elf. They live for battle, and they tend to wear lots of very heavy armor, and use… oversized weapons.”

“That sounds pretty damn tasty, right about now.”

“They are, however, more arrogant than even the High Elves,” she added. “What we should be the most excited about is the thousand Dokalfar. I assure you, they will be more reliable and responsive to instruction.”

I nodded in agreement. “I’ll trust your word. And hell yeah, I’ll have as many Dokalfar as we can find. You guys rock.”

“On that note,” Ewan said. “I shall leave you to your travels. Head south-west predominantly, as the Wodalfar are moving quickly.”

“Can you not tell them to head this way, Ewan? In fact…” I paused, having an epiphany. “Can’t you just tell them to meet up with us?”

He smiled at me sadly. “I’m afraid I cannot. There is much to do, to keep my people safe and I’m afraid there are few that will heed my words.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Danivra said. “Most races are distrustful of Wultr. The Wind in the Wild is a horror story for most. And with good reason. Isn’t that right, Ewan?”

“Ah, shit,” I groaned. “What have I missed?” I asked.

“My young and angry youth left a lasting legacy. Do not worry though, Clive. Those days are far behind me.”

I didn’t have a chance to push him on it any further before he vanished, so I turned to the others.

“Okay, that was weird. What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Danivra replied. “Wind of the Wild has been peaceful for a long time now, but he once led huge armies of Wultr across the lands, slaughtering and killing everyone in his path. He was responsible for a great deal of death.”

“In Kalabri?” I asked. “Wouldn’t the dwarves sort him out?”

Danivra shook her head. “Ewan was once the King of Ceral, a small kingdom between what is now Malatia and Holse.”

“Holse?”

“The country where the Goddess of Light’s followers reside. A High Elf mage from Holse cursed him for reasons lost to time. The fact that his bite allowed him to create Wultr is believed to have been an unexpected side-effect, but with it enabled him to attack Holse. Other Gods brought their own forces forward, to quell his response, and in the end he was pushed northward, killing as he went until they reached Kalabri. The rest is history.”

“Oh, is that all? And no one felt like covering this, like months ago, when we were picking suitable candidates to fight Natom?”

“You requested the strongest,” Danivra stated with a gentle smile. “And this was so long ago that the kingdoms of the time don’t even exist anymore. Only the memory of the carnage. He may have had a good reason for his actions.”

“He will have,” Sania said firmly.

“Agreed,” Grigor added with just as much conviction.

“Well, it doesn’t much matter, does it?” This is where we are. And I like him, so we’re going to go with it. Still, good to have all the info, guys. If you think of anything else, just drop it into a conversation here and there.”

Despite now traveling at a slower pace, because of the addition of the Goblins, I was impressed with their Stamina. They ran tirelessly and without complaint. At around midday, I dropped to the ground to run alongside Glaunk and Freeler for a while. “Hey guys, I notice you don’t have any women or children. What gives?” They both looked at me as though I was mad.

“We have plenty of women,” Freeler grunted. “What you talking about?” he said pointing around at the Goblins. They all looked the same to me, and then I realized that I’d made an embarrassing mistake.

“Kids?” I asked moving the subject swiftly on.

Glaunk shook his head, sadly, as Freeler put his full focus on running.

“None. We won’t have any more until Rattayak is safe. The children that we had, died in the Old Rattayak. The one before the one you met us. Much further west.

“So you guys had been pushed on by Justice, once already?”

Glaunk nodded. “Yes. We lost many and it wasn’t pleasant. We moved this way, and I went to find help from Akomoka. It didn’t work out.”

I sensed his pain as he spoke, and I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like, losing all of their children. “Ah shit man, I’m so sorry. We’ll get you safe and you can start having kids again. Deal?” I said, thrusting my hand out as we ran.

“Something to look forward to,” Glaunk replied, shaking the offered hand.

I glanced on Freeler and saw a tear spill from the corner of his eye. I wondered what pain the big, alcoholic Chieftain was carrying with him. It added a different perspective on his heavy drinking. I ran in silence with them for a while. I wasn’t sure why. Perhaps just to show them we were together, I supposed. I didn’t want them to feel separate from the group. Not when they’d be fighting, and possibly dying, by our sides.

When Olata shouted down to me, I shot up into the air to re-join her and Sania.

It was Sania who spoke first. “Damn sight more than just four hundred elves,” Sania said, pointing into the distance. I followed her finger toward a black, roiling mass of bodies. From this range, I could see there were two Gashadokuro and at least five Baatazu Demons.

“Shit. That looks like a whole load of trouble,” I said.

“There’s at least a thousand of Destruction’s troops,” Olata stated. “Are we going to engage?”

“With the power that we’ve got? Sure, let’s do it.” I said. “I’ll let those below know what we’re facing.” I dropped in front of them and pulled them all to a halt. “Okay guys. Trouble ahead. We have enemies to kill.”

The goblins cheered. Stupid fuckers. Everyone else looked serious, which was the reaction I expected to see.

“We don’t know exact numbers,” I went on. “But there’s at least two Gashadokuro over there that we’ll need to deal with. Olata, you and I will take one of them.” As Olata nodded, I saw both Sania and Danivra visibly recoil. “Sania, Danivra, you take the other Gashadokuro?” They seemed happy with that. With the use of Neuma and flight, Sania and I were the next strongest here, despite a few members being of a higher level. But even so, neither of us could take a Gashadokuro by ourselves.

“All those of you who have reached your second evolution. You need to focus on Baatazu. Everyone else, fight everyone else. And we go full speed. The base level Goblins won’t be able to keep up, but that’s okay,” I said, making eye contact with as many of the little guys as I could. “Because I want you guys coming in as a second wave to support those who need it.”

They garbled happily at their role, and I felt confident that they would carry it out well.

“I kill Gashadokuro with you,” Freeler said. “Bone Breaker good at breaking big bones, you see.”

I was about to protest, but by the time he made it into the fight, I hoped the Gashadokuro would already be dead. “Sure, Freeler. But we’re flying full speed, so you’ll have to get those legs pumping.”

“Freeler be there,” he said, and set off running before I had the chance to tell anyone to go. All of the other Goblins followed immediately.

“Ah, fuck,” I said slapping my head. “Come on, everyone. Stay safe if you can. No carless risks.”

“That goes for you, too.” Sania added, which brought a laugh from everyone. At least we had good spirits. We surged forward, Danivra morphed into her fifty-foot Dokala form. Her head almost reaching to the height at which we flew.

As we approached, the scene unraveled before us. A running battle with the Wodalfar, spinning, long staffs, striking, and jumping like fleas around the frontline of the Demons, Hycantha, and other creatures whose names I didn’t know. It appeared their numbers were already down from the four-hundred that Ewan had seen.

Danivra spat a huge white ball of webbing at their Gashadokuro target. Sania split off to the right and fired a barrage of hunters' flames. Then, as the bone giant fell, to my utter fucking astonishment, a leaping Freeler sprung from nowhere. He cleared at least eighty feet in the air with his jump, glowing club held high above his head as he descended toward the falling giant. I didn’t see the result of his incredible leap. I had my own job to do, sending out a stream of black and gold balls as we approached our own target. The Gashadokuro staggered backward from the assault.

“Arms first, then head,” Olata said, before shooting forward at an unbelievable speed. Not one to ignore the advice of a level 169 Warrior Queen, I hammered its left arm as she hit the other, moving so fast that she was never in any danger as she began slashing into the tendons of its elbow joint.

I copied and refocused my attacks on the elbow joint, and to my surprise, after around ten direct hits, the lower part of the arm fell free, crushing Hycantha and others below. Not pausing for a moment, I began firing at the head and its huge horrifying, single eye. It was screeching an ungodly sound from the moment its arm fell off.

Seconds later, Olata had the other arm free. I wondered what Olata would do next and was amazed to watch her put a shield around its head. It looked like a huge bubble, only visible from how the sunlight glinted off it, creating a mirage of swirling colors. I kept hammering spicy balls at its chest, but needn’t have bothered, as Olata raised her arms sharply, yanking the bubble upwards. At first the bubble barely moved, but on the third yank from her, it moved high above the Gashadokuro headless body. Olata then dropped the huge skull over the soldiers positioned at the back, away from our people, crushing a good few of the lesser Demons and Hycantha.

I gave her a thumbs up, then turned my focus on the remaining Baatazus. Just in time to take a blast from the closest one, square in the chest. My old Clive mind told me I was dead. My new Clive body told the blast to fuck right off, and my mind quickly caught up. The Baatazus attack was like pissing in the wind against my high Constitution and Racial Demonic Resistances giving an extra +160 Constitution against Dark and Fire Damage. I gave him a feral grin, then hammered only golden spicy balls into my level 85 foe’s face.

He howled in pain and anguish, desperate to find a way to reach me. Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t alone. Olata shot past me, like a bullet and sliced his throat open with her swords. He flailed around, wildly but my next two golden spicy balls to his forehead sealed the deal, causing his whole head to slowly peel back, parting along her deep cuts.

I risked a glance at where Sania fought. She was only around thirty feet away, hammering out hunters' flames at the enemies below. All the Baatazu were dead now.

I saw the wild figure of Freeler, sweeping foes out of his way with wide, powerful sweeps of his club, until he came up against an equally leveled Pit Demon who had a slight height advantage. Deflecting the blow of Freeler’s club with his sword, the Pit Demon quickly reversed the blade to strike at the now off-balance Bugbear. I sent down a spicy ball to help out. But needn’t have bothered, as Freeler head-butted the Demon in lieu of a weapon, sending him sprawling backward. My spicy ball still hit, helping the Demon descend to the floor where Glaunk zipped past and stabbed down into its throat before moving on.

As I surveyed the battlefield, firing down the odd ball at fleeing Demons, I took in the carnage with satisfaction. It had become a rout. Sania came to stand alongside me. “Just killing the fodder now,” she said.

“That was impressive,” I said, and indicated at Grastad with a nod of my head. He was alone in the center of the battle, some of the weaker Hycantha and Demon bodies flying around like leaves on the wind, as he rived them with his paws, looking like a true God of Battle. I watched the Wodalfar, helping to clear up the remnants. They all fought with staffs, as long as they were tall. They were devastatingly effective with them and moved better than any gymnast I’d ever seen.

As the last of Destructions forces were killed, the notifications poured in.

Congratulations. You were part of a team that defeated a Level 108 Gashadokuro. Based on your contribution, you have been awarded 440 Experience Points from the 1080 Experience Points available.

Plus 10 bonus Experience Points for every level your opponent was above your own. +550 Experience Points

Congratulations. You were part of a team that defeated a Level 85 Baatazu. Based on your contribution, you have been awarded 600 Experience Points from the 850 Experience Points available.

Plus 10 bonus Experience Points for every level your opponent was above your own. +320 Experience Points

Hero for the ages! Epic Achievement! You struck the killing blow against a foe at least 25 levels above your own.

Epic Bonus: 1000 Experience Points.

Congratulations. You were part of a team that defeated a Level 68 Pit Demon. Based on your contribution, you have been awarded 50 Experience Points from the 680 Experience Points available.

Plus 10 bonus Experience Points for every level your opponent was above your own. +150 Experience Points

There were several lower leveled assists, but because of their low level it amounted to a total additional 60xp. Giving me a total of 3170 and taking me up to level 54 and a further ten points to allocate. I spread the points equally between Strength and Perception.

Physical statistics:

Strength: 65

The capacity to exert and resist force.

Dexterity: 28

Skill and ease in hand-based activity.

Agility: 28

How effectively the body can move into a range of different positions.

Speed: 58

Rate at which the body can move.

Stamina: 58

Period over which the body can effectively sustain prolonged activity.

Constitution: 208

The ability to withstand physical punishment.

Mental Statistics:

Intelligence: 45

Knowledge and its application

Charisma: 38

Charm, coerce, inspire.

Perception: 33

Awareness of surroundings

Spiritual Statistics:

Ethereal Awareness: 0

Attunement with the Gods and spirits of Gulithea. (Necessary for Ethereally supplied magical ability.)

Internal Connection: 50

Attunement with oneself. (Necessary for cultivation of one’s own inner power)

Singularity: 15

Innate understanding of universal essence (Neuma). Will increase with personal level. (Cannot be leveled by other means.)

World sense: 6.8% Knowledge of Gulithea.

Experience Points to next level: 1270/2700

Satisfied, I checked on Sania who had leveled, too. “What did you pick?” I asked.

“I brought Intelligence to 40 and my Constitution up to 113. That'll do for Intelligence for a while. Constitution and Strength now. What about you?”

“Perception and Strength.”

She gave me a satisfied nod. “Good. Shall we greet our new recruits?”

I agreed, and we flew down to add close to four-hundred Wodalfar to our ranks.