The young Dornmit ploughed through the Brownwhisker home with the protesting Nosal and Kano in tow. The eager Orc was able to do so even whilst he also deftly equipped the studded leather jerkin and carrying the small metal shield that the children used to protect themselves from the Owlmites.

The basic looking equipment was anything but, with their fine workmanship a result of the hard work of their creators.

The medium sized shield that Dornmit carried sported quite the unusual design. For instead of the usual square, kite or circular shape, this one was a weird oblong shape. If you were to look at the shield from the front, then you would notice that the right side of the shield had quite a larger wing-like tip. Also unlike the rest of the shield that is rimmed in leather, Lok-Tars reinforced the lip of this “wing” with bands of iron that was fastened with rivets so the kids could use it to smash down on opponents. The Orcish blacksmith did agree that it was quite overkill for a children’s toy, but he was using it to experiment with new types of shielding. His own son also used the same design for his village guard job, but one that was much heavier.

The leather jerkin on the other hand was made from cured Rivet Boar hide that Sarking-Tars hunted herself, before having Lorenzo the leatherworker cure and working it into the fine jerkin that it became. The leather pieces were seamless and malleable yet sturdy in the right places. But even with the fine workmanship, the Strigian man had refused payment from Sarking-Tars for the armor. This is due to the Gold ranked Huntress having been kind enough to tutor his younger sister in her Huntress class for so many years free of charge.

“Come on Dornmit! The Blinkers are angrier than all the realms today, let’s just leave them be!” complained Kano as his larger friend dragged him through the back courtyard.

“Then how am I going to show you two my new Double Block?” complained the Orc as he smiled without looking back at his struggling friends. Dornmit had more Strength than the two boys combined and he also had a size advantage over them, so their weak struggling was absolutely futile in his grip. Plus Nosal was just putting up a token resistance and wriggling about for the show, but the boy was laughing merrily as he enjoyed the shenanigans.

“Let me go Dornmit! I don’t want to get shot at again!” protested Kano with his musk of fear as the trio rounded the side of the hay barn.

“Alright here you go,” said Dornmit as he released his friends beside the compost heap. “We’re going to-,” he started before quieting down, for the three kids were now able to hear a ruckus up ahead once they stopped laughing and shouting.

There was the usual warning hooting calls of the Owlmites deeper in the Orchard. But today there was also a strange deep Squawking noise of some unseen interloper. These calls were accompanied by the zipping sounds of the Owlmites shooting their spells as they defended their homes. The boys were even able to see from where they stood, the Stone-spits and stronger Stone-Spike spells flying off into the sky haphazardly as they tried to bring down some unseen menace. But this invader was also defending itself from the onslaught, for the alarming cacophony was interspersed by the sounds of a weird and slightly muted “thaawhouaammph!” explosion.

“Somethings going on in there!” Kano pointed out the obvious as he shifted nervously on his feet.

“What do you think the Blinkers are fighting?” asked Dornmit as walked on ahead, approaching the Orchard with a smile whilst rolling his neck and shoulders.

“I dunno, it sounds pretty scary guys,” complained Nosal with his musk of fear and wringing his hands whilst edging away as another one of the weird explosions went off in the distance.

“Look it’s our Blinkers alright! Nobody messes with them but US! Come’on! Fa’PANCREEDY!” the Orc boy shouted the village guard’s war cry as he grabbed a rock and vaulted over the fence in one smooth motion.

The two Brownwhisker boys looked at each other, before nodding and grabbing their own rocks as they joined their friend. Kano struggled over the fence slightly less gracefully than his taller and more athletic Orcish friend with a few muffed grunts, whilst Nosal just opened the fence gate and walked through. Even in a panic the small Capyban was conscientious enough to latch the gate back as he joined the other boys.

The trio edged through the neat rows of the Orchard that was full of overgrown weeds and littered with a plethora of ripe fruits. Even in his eagerness, the Dornmit-Tars did not forget his training as he slowly edged forwards as the spearhead of the motley crew. They were armed with nothing but the rocks they carried and the bashing edge of the shield. The awkward offensive feature that slightly shifted the center of mass of the shield and made it annoying to carry, now seemed like a boon to Dornmit who did not have his trusty spear to hand against this unseen foe.

The slow advance was halted every time they heard the weird booming sounds that grew louder as they passed each row of trees. The boys were also alarmed by how much the colony of Blinkers hooted in the fight up ahead. They have never heard the colony riled up to this extent in any of their little games before.

Through the foliage up ahead the boys spotted a whole battery of spells being fired upwards into the trees at some large green bird. The creature was nearly the size of Nosal, with a humongous wingspan that creaked and cracked heavily with each wingbeat as it agilely swerved about in the tree canopy.

The large bird squawked angrily from its comically large curved orange beak as spells pelted it’s underside and wings. But the creature did not seem to be affected at all as the multitude of weak Stone-spits smashed harmlessly against its large and coarse green feathers. Only the occasional Stone-spike that connected with the creature seemed to give it any pause, with the more powerful spells smacking into the bird and making it lose a few of its humongous feathers.

“What in the realms is that?” asked Dornmit as the trio gawked at the large creature that was singlehanded assaulting a Owlmite colony and apparently winning.

“A Wotten Lesser-Garuda,” whispered Nosal nervously, as he recalled the entry in the bestiary his grandfather gifted him a long time ago.

“A what?” asked Kano as his eyes stay glued to the strange monstrous bird.

“A Wotten Lesser-Garuda! It’s a steel ranked Beast! We need father to deal with this guys, we can’t fight it with stones!” protested Nosal with his musk of fear as he inched backwards. We’re going to get seriously hurt using just stones trying to fight that! thought the boy as fear started creeping in.

“No we have to help! Look it’s messing up the Blinkers!” shouted Dornmit whilst pointing ahead. His finger was aimed at a small Blinker that crawled through the bushes weakly using it’s paws as its legs trailed uselessly behind.

In the fight further in the orchard, another one of the Stone-spikes hit the Lesser-Garuda squarely on the wingtip and elicited an angry loud squawk from the Beast. It then hovered in place as the normally flattened feathers on its breast stood up to reveal a cluster of small orange globes close to its chest.

The beast then swooped down with one of the globes detaching and sailing through the air towards the ground at the source of the Stone-spike spell. As the projectile came into contact with the ground, unseen to the boys, it created a large “thaa-whoump!” sound along with a small shockwave as the greenery blasted outwards from the epicentre. A few of the Owlmites ran through the bushes towards the boys as they attempted to dodge the attack before the small critters rushed back into the underbrush to re-join the fight.

“We can’t beat that,” whispered Kano as he too, started to back away.

“Come on we don’t need to win! We just need to scare it off!” shouted Dornmit whilst running ahead as Orchish bloodlust filled the youth.

Kano reluctantly jogged through the weeds after his friend as they joined in the fight. Nosal on the other hand lagged behind as he looked on at the crippled little Blinker crawling on the ground. The tiny brown ball hooted in distress as tears flowed from the wounded Beast’s large owl-like eyes.

Nosal looked up at his brother and friend further ahead as they shouted at the bird and attempted to pelt the Lesser-Garuda with stones, before switching to ripe fruits. They were also immediately assaulted with Stone-spits from a few tiny alarmed Owlmites and shouted angrily at the friendly fire. But then Nosal looked down at the wounded tiny Blinker before he decided to help.

“It’s going to be ok,” the boy whispered as he crouched down beside the wounded critter. It weakly attempted to crawl away from him in as it hooted in fear and pain. Nosal scooted closer to the creature before placing a small hairy hand on the blood soaked feathers of the creature. With his small hand covering the smaller creature wholly, he tried to ignore the horrible trail of blood that followed the Blinker as he got to work.

A soft green glow enveloped his hand and the creature as he willed his magic to do its work. Heal, get better, stand up, the little boy thought as he tried not to cry from the sight of the Owlmite in such distress. Perhaps he had more mana to work with or the tiny Owlmite had a lesser amount of health than Dittat or he improved his skill level since last time, but the effect was immediate. The tiny Beast was able to wriggle it’s toes and got back onto its feet.

Then with a questioning and surprised thought of “*hoot* no *hoot* hurt?” coming through the link, the creature quickly scampered away into the underbrush. Seeing his magic work so effectively, Nosal now knew how he could best contribute in the ongoing fight as he searched for more of the wounded to administer aid.

Meanwhile Dornmit and Kano grew increasingly frustrated as their use of the ripe projectiles bore no fruit. It barely fazed the agitated Lesser-Garuda as it continued to attack the colony using it’s explosive bombardment. The only combatants who were making any impact were a trio of larger and darker Bronze ranked Owlmites. The three flitted through the underbrush as they alternated their Stone-spikes to flank the avian assailant. But even those three began to grow sluggish as their stamina and mana pools quickly dwindled. On the other hand, the angry lesser-Garuda still had plenty of health and ammunition to spare.

The humongous bird grew increasingly incensed from constantly missing the bronze ranked Owlmites and decided to change tactics. With a few mighty cracking wingbeats and the snapping of tendons, it lifted itself above the treetops before whirling away. Then the Lesser-Garuda took a large turn in the air, unseen to its enemies that were currently taking a short respite, before sweeping back round for another bombing run. But instead of its usual pinpoint attack, this time it released a whole cluster of it’s tiny bomb-glands as it sought to destroy the cover that the Owlmites were using so effectively to thwart it’s attacks.

Dornmit was the first to notice the bird swooping by overhead before a trail of explosions followed in it’s wake. The underbrush that was towards the woods was quickly blown to smithereens as the cluster of bombs approached him and Kano. He quickly grabbed his friend by the shoulder using his shielded arm and with his free left arm he grabbed him by the waist, before bodily throwing his friend out of fire-zone. Kano was only able to yelp piteously as he landed heavily in a small berry bush. Dornmit then quickly jumped for cover behind the closest tree as he crouched down and tucked his head in behind the cover of his shield.

The Orchish boy waited with bated breath as explosions grew closer and closer, but it somehow never landed on his position. Instead a small orange ball crashed through the branches and leaves above before landing softly in front of him.

What the Realms? Dornmit thought whilst quickly picking up the bomb as adrenaline coursed through his veins. Why didn’t it blow? He thought as he quickly got up. Looking up the answer came to him, the fall through the branches must’ve slowed it down! And now I have a bomb!

“Kano I’ve got an idea!” shouted Dornmit as he hollered towards his friend.

“Anything as long as I can get away from here!” shouted Kano in reply with a musk of fear as he struggled to disengage his cloths from the bush he was caught up in.

“We need that blasted bird to come down lower again!” shouted Dornmit as he surveyed his surrounds and tried to pinpoint the location of the Lesser-Garuda.

Along the row of trees in the orchard was a whole column of blast craters in the Lesser-Garuda’s latest cluster bombing. Weeds, shrubs and grass were scattered everywhere whilst here and there were small prone bodies of Owlmite that were caught in the blast. A unfortunate Bronze ranked Owlmite was also one of the casualties as it lay slumped at the base of a tree with blood tricking out of its beak. It lay there unconscious, after being caught in one of the explosions and forcibly flung into that very same tree and taken out of the fight. More worryingly was how the colony was now on the verge of routing with the smaller blinkers nervously peeking out of underbrush with small nervous hoots.

The situation was looking bad, but Dornmit already had plan in mind. But now the problem lay in the fact that he still needed the bird distracted and drawn closer to the ground.

The moment quickly came as the last two Bronze ranked Owlmites hooted defiantly before stepping out into on of the clearings created by the explosions. One of the two dragged a lame leg behind itself as it aligned beside it’s brethren. The one that was in a better condition used a paw to support it’s mate as the continued to defiantly hoot up into the sky.

Witnessing such an act of comradery and bravery in the face of a unsurmountable foe left Dornmit in awe. His Orchish pride welled up inside him as the Lesser-Garuda answered challenge of the Owlmite duo with it’s own angry squawk as it descended below the canopy towards the ranch. It was getting ready for one last fly-by.

Dornmit-Tars would be damned if he stood by and watched such brave creatures die without helping, so he stepped out in front of the two as he lifted his shield and braced his feet.

The Lesser-Garuda made a series of shrill squawks at such a display of impertinence. Do these weak creatures not know who was higher on the food-chain? The bird thought angrily as it swooped down for one last attack. This attack would use up half a dozen of bombs in one go and blow these three below to smithereens.

Dornmit nervously stood his ground with heavy beads of sweat flowing down his brow as he waited patiently to act out his coup de grace.

To the side and still tangled in the berry bush, Kano watched with bated breath as the two Owlmites began to coalesce a joint Stone-spike. The two were pulling in the green tinted nature mana from all over at a prodigious rate as it funnelled into a whirlpool of magic. The spell was slowly coalescing into formidable arm-length spike that was aimed just over Dornmit’s shoulder and at the approaching Garuda. But the spell was too slow in its completion and the Garuda too fast.

As the humongous bird neared the lower tip of it’s dive, Dornmit watched for the tell-tale angle of base of it’s wings before it pulled up from a bombing run.

“Before an attack will come towards you Dornmit, there’s always signs in your attacker such as the shifting of the feet or the dip in the shoulders! So you won’t have to brace all day but only when the attack connects! This is so you can spend the least amount of energy and tire out your enemy!” came the memory of his master’s voice as the Leonid drilled the painful lessons into him using a wooden sword.

When the bird tensed it’s shoulders, Dornmit shouted out a wordless war-cry as he activated his Taunt skill. It was the most basic spell of any defender such as himself, but one that could turn the tide of battle if used correctly. As the red phantasmal figure of himself exploded outwards and at the Garuda, it was fully caught in the spell as its previously black eyes that were full of intelligent malice grew into a unnatural blood red colour.

The bird abandoned it’s bombing attack as it sought to rend this unforgivable foe with beak and claw as it fumbled mid-air, full of rage. The pull-up manoeuvre from the dive was aborted as the bird creaked it’s massive wings to slow it’s dive into a descent so it can get in a melee instead. It also released a hoarse croaking squawk from it’s beak as it sought to destroy Dornmit.

But the final moment came as the bird momentarily hovered in mid-air with it’s wings fully open, leaving it’s breast full of explosives exposed to Dornmit.

“FA”PANCREEDY!” shouted the Orchish boy as he hurled the bomb with all his might at the Garuda’s own clutch of bombs. But with a sinking feeling in his gut, Dornmit knew that the throw with his left arm was too weak even as the fleshy bomb left his fingertips and sailed through the air.

But with the few seconds bought by the Orc, the Owlmites also managed to complete preparations as they fired the dire spell. The horrific brown spike was more like a pillar as it fired off to the sound of a cracking boulder and speeded towards the taunted Garuda. The spell whistled through the air, and over Dornmit’s shoulder as skewered his bomb mid-air and smashed it straight into the Garuda’s chest. The pillar impaled the Garuda with a sickly wet sound even as the first bomb was set of right in the Beast’s chest with a loud “thaaa-whuuump!”

The Lesser-Garuda was still full of bloodlust even as it died, with the pillar propelling it up into the air before a whole chain of explosions engulfed the creature whole. The explosions continued up into the sky by the inertia of the powerful spell even as the Garuda was eviscerated by it’s own arsenal, leaving nothing but thick green feathers and a shower of blood to rain down upon the Orchard.

“Holy Realms!” exclaimed Kano with a musk of fear as Dornmit and the Owlmites slumped down, fully exhausted from the fight.

“What in Realms was that?” asked Nosal as he emerged from the bushes with a whole platoon of tiny Owlmites in tow. The young Capyban had somehow managed to attain a following of the creatures as he kept on healing. The healed Owlmites rallied and started to assisted him by searching for their fallen brethren for the healer to tend to.

“Oh *Huff* you’ve won’t *huff* believe it Nosal, I beat the – what the Fuck?!” shouted Dornmit in surprise as he struggled to catch his breath before looking up at the Capyban boy.