"!"

Two empowered casts of the Skill ripped through my mana pool. Each hoisted vegetable and soil alike two feet up in front of each of the attacking creatures. The wolfhound tried to react in time, but only managed to get its front paws over the mound. It left a trail of frost in its wake as it tumbled and tried to catch itself. The Earth Attuned deer cleared the hurtle with no issue at all. Thankfully, it gave me enough time to superimpose myself between its wickedly sharp antlers and the orc teens. The impact pushed me back a full five feet. I was sure if the rows of vegetables hadn't caught on my boots, I would have been pushed further.

As the momentum died my shield let out a ripple of heat. The deer back pedaled long enough for me to disengage the top prongs of my H-shield. With my arm free, I let loose a pair of into the creature's neck. Its head thrashed about, but I caught its attempts to gore me on my shield.

"Daniela get the--" I started to shout before I saw the woman slice clear through the wolfhound's head without pause. "Cart. Go! Sam, defensive !"

I gagged as some of the deer's blood got in my mouth, but the creature stopped struggling when I managed to impale it one last time with my pickaxe. When I took a step back, the madness around me finally clicked into place.

Danny was flying down one of the rows. Her wisp was already ripping small blasts of fire across the space. The men under the cart had apparently been emboldened by the charging brunette telling them she was coming and were lobbing some of their scattered potatoes at the squirrels.

A smattering of people were rushing out of the gate and leading the farmers back into town. I recognized the Orc woman as her fiery hair slapped a squirrel out of the air. A series of commands spilled out of her mouth to the varied people around her.

When a vine as thick as my leg slapped a squirrel out of the air above me, my drifting eyes focused.

"Ronan, get your head in the game!" Sam shouted, superimposing himself in the way of a fireball aimed at the orc teens. Human Tendrils had reached the fight and brought friends.

My stomach really didn't like it when I cast magic close together, but I didn't care what it thought. Instead, I double cast a V-shaped fortification right in the middle of the field to help cover the teens and Sam. The life mage had already hit himself with a to mitigate the burns of the fireball.

The sharp crack of a rifle took down one of the blue humanoids before they lobbed an ice attack at the defenders. Not to be outdone, I provided some defenses for them as well. Six half powered flanked the road. One of them even managed to impale a Dreg Ant that hadn't been quick enough to get out of the way.

The orc woman spotted my Skill and gave me a deliberate look as the spell chain faded and I coiled into the fetal position. My Mana pool hovered in the 10s and the pain had taken me out of the fight momentarily.

Thankfully, Sam had enough presence of mind on the farm-turned-battlefield to save me from a sweeping squirrel. Vines wrapped around my ankle and dragged me roughly out of the speedy rodent's path.

"Get it together, Ron! You three, make sure he stands up. He'll take it from there."

I'd never heard Sam so commanding, but it served its purpose. The three men, mostly the younger orcs, helped me to my feet. I was still suffering from the casting backlash. A deep breath helped some, but I knew I'd be aching for a while.

The teens received a sharp nod from me and I leaned against my makeshift defenses.

"Danny, Blobby and Anthony are pinned at the cart. The people from the town are holding at your spike defenses but there are too many humanoids on that side. I've been able to slap away the animal Tendrils, but I can see more in the woods. They are holding back."

"Where the heck did all of these things come from? We should have seen a force this large heading this way." My mind was racing as I watched Daniela lob two condensed into a humanoid fire Tendril. The attack didn't seem to bother the creature overmuch, but it caused its own attack to fly wide.

The pink man from before threw his hands out to sprout wood supports between my spikes. I watched him swoon before one of the dwarves held him steady.

"Sam, we need to get together with them."

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" he asked. A whip crack marked the blonde's control of his Skill as it smacked another deer away. The top chunk of his vine burst into green plant goo, but he kept them poised to strike. The assorted animal Tendrils eyed our fortification warily without approaching.

"You can trust the Wild Guard. They would never betray you!" One of the teens said. His voice cracked but he met my eyes when I turned. I weighed the risks and came up short on many options. With less than fifteen defenders between us and this 'Wild Guard' we would be hard-pressed to deal with the Tendrils as it stood.

"You two, hold Gramps there tight. Sam what's your range on the vines?"

"With them getting more expensive, I say about twenty feet before they tap me out of Mana." Another whip crack smacked an over eager tortoise, forcing it into it's defensive shell.

"Shit. Here, you two hold on to this shield and put it between you if something throws magic at you,' I said. I slid my arm out of the enarmes and slapped it into the closest teen's hands. "Cut the vines off Sam. If something else jumps at you, snag it but keep moving."

"What about you?" He asked, his eyes drifting from his vines to me.

I barely heard his question as I cast my newest Skill in combat for the first time. flowed out of the pores on my left arm even as I flinched from the pain in my abdomen. With it positively entombed, I yelled at the group to move before I could pay much more attention to my near empty mana.

Sam dropped his arms and slapped me in the back of the neck before turning. A tingling surged through my body, as if someone had dumped choco-coffee beans straight in my bloodstream. My senses sharpened for the moment as I watched my friend.

The blond helped the teens move the older gentleman. His vines thudded against the ground as his control over them faded. The teen who I'd given the shield held it up with a steady hand, glaring hatred in the Tendrils' direction. Unsurprising to no one, the creatures charged to the attack.

"On me!" I roared in their faces. Moving with my left arm locked wasn't the most convenient or comfortable thing, but when it smacked the deer in the head I felt pretty good. The creature was nowhere near dead, but it was stunned enough to leave my friend alone.

A second after, the tortoise got the courage to tilt and roll it's crystalline bulk in my direction. From experience I knew that was less than great. I swung with the widened chisel end of my pick into the ground in front of me. The reptile hit the tool-turned-spike trap on the head and pushed me back as I attempted to arrest its momentum. The muscles in my legs strained even more than with the deer. I was ready to pop a blood vessel.

The creature's momentum plowed a new row diagonally across the field until it stopped. Two ants scurried past me, one the dull red of a fire ant and the other a midnight black I wasn't familiar with. I was able to react fast enough to hit the fire ant with a kick before the tortoise wanted some more attention.

A crystal the size of my fist ejected itself from its shell and punched through most of my vest. I growled in frustration just to ignore the pain as hot blood dripped down my side.

Hoping that Sam could deal with the two ants, I planted my feet and punched the tortoise back a foot. Some of my Earthen armor crumbled, but it had been worth it. The brief reprieve gave me enough time to extract my embedded pick from the tortoise and deliver a devastating horizontal blow into it's exposed underside.

My Perception practically screamed at me. All I had time to do was put my arm between me and a deer's crystal rack.

My pickaxe flew from my grip and I tumbled through a cabbage patch. My Shell crumbled to dust but not before I managed to smack myself in the face with it. The iron taste of blood bloomed in my mouth as I tried to get my bearings. That instantly failed as rough green hands pulled me back before the two dwarves blocked off the creatures. Each was kicking the dirt at their feet to pepper semi compressed soil at the creatures that had given chase.

The deer used its antlers to hoist a section of the ground like a shovel scoop, nullifying the attacks but failing to let it advance. The sharp crack of gunfire followed by a pained wail told me something else had been hit.

"Who in the hell are you and what are you doing here?" The person whose hands had dragged me away dropped me unceremoniously on the ground.

"Can... we go with friend... And figure it out from there?" I managed. My head was still ringing and the world hadn't stopped spinning.

"Please, a moment." Sam's sweat covered face appeared in my vision before he slapped me on the face. Relief flowed through me and my thoughts sharpened. I still felt like someone had thrown me in a dull-bladed blender, but at least I could string thoughts together.

"What kind of healing is that?" The pink colored man said, leaning over Sam's shoulder to watch me. Before we said anything I wanted to discuss with my friends. Our poor attempt at surveillance now had us tangled up in a pseudo standoff with Tendrils and little to no explanation for the surface people.

"Maybe questions after we don't have murderous animals on the prowl," I said, taking my friend's hand to get on my feet.

"You better believe there will be some questions squirt," the orc woman said. From up close I realized just how much more intimidating she was. And at least a full head taller than me. All I could do was offer a weak nod in return.

"What's the status? Do you guys know what's going on?" I said, trying to get my thoughts back in order.

"Those blasted Tendrils said we needed to up tribute. When I told them that wasn't possible they responded less than positively. Based on what I've seen, you had a hand in us making it back at all," the Orc woman said. "I'm Sarah. We appreciate the assist."

The woman was halfway to shaking my hands when she snapped away. Her fiery hair formed in a moment and slapped a squirrel from the air. The attack drew my attention back to the field and the unusual level of intelligence the animals were showcasing. It was a mixture of their primal instincts, rolled with a hefty dose of aggression and bound within a previously unseen discipline.

It was the worst kind of standoff.

Now that we'd vacated my V-walls, the deer and two wolfhounds hunkered down there. One humanoid blurred across the farm fields before leaping into a roll behind my own fortification. The rest hovered amidst the trees with a smattering of creatures. I could have sworn I saw another boar, a rabbit and another tortoise slinking in the shadows. My eyes lingered on the expressionless humans Tendrils as they watched Danny's charges. Smoldering squirrel bodies lay at her feet.

"Can you two do that large Skill you did before?" I asked, watching my own Mana pool creep upwards.

"Yeah kid, but it's not got much range and it takes time," the dwarf on the right said.

"Okay. First, we aren't children or squirts. If we are going to follow through we need to be on the same page. The only thing we need to do is get to the cart and retrieve the others then we can back up into the town."

"Problem, Mr. Not-A-Child. Those are all ranged Tendrils, they'll cut you down before you get anywhere," the pink colored man said. The other people in the group, an orc man and someone who looked vaguely reptilian, nodded at the man's words.

"Give me a distraction and I'll get them out," I said.

"Fine, but you're paying for Gallow's brew. The heartburn this is gonna give us after twice in one day..." the left dwarf said.

Him and the very similar dwarf clasped hands. The large spell chain wobbled around them. Now that I was only a few feet away, I could tell it was the primal version I'd seen on animals and not the crisp patterned one of my friends and I.

My Mana ticked past the fifty percent mark and I retrieved my shield from the teen. He didn't look like he wanted me to take it, but he didn't resist when I did. These people don't have more defenses? How have they survived so long?

The simple answer was the 'Wild Guard', but I had a sneaking suspicion there was more to it.

Regardless, Mana flowed through my pickaxe as I shaped a small crystal umbrella at its head.

"," Sam said, slapping me in the back of the head once again. The adrenaline boost flowed through me again. His Skill use explained how I managed to survive holding the creatures off.

"Thanks. If you've recovered enough, throw some heals at the injured and slap some Tendrils."

Sam struck a mock salute and made his way over to the older gentleman as well as some of the others who'd sought shelter with the Guard.

I watched as the two men unleashed rock hail once again. Their complaints didn't even wait for the Skill to land. With stone hail falling down in a wide area around the cart, I clambered over our defenses.

The response to the attack and my subsequent approach was immediate and intense. A lobbed fireball splashed against my H-shield while I batted a crystal shard from one of the tortoises out of range. I made note of the range on the creature's attack but pushed forward. Another fireball went way off course as the humanoid Tendril got hit in the chest by the rock hail.

An icicle that had no business existing in Florida materialized in front of me. Instead of trying to dodge, I braced myself behind my shield and forced the attack to skim off the chitin. Since the attack wasn't braced against the ground like my own pointy stabby Skill, it dropped to the ground half melted. The heat pulse from my shield had liquefied the surface faster than I thought possible.

That barrage dealt with, the mounds created by the rock hail gave me just enough cover to make it to Daniela. Blobby jiggled in joy at my appearance. I patted the slime gently on its absent head before focusing on my friend.

"Why haven't you guys retreated?" I asked, crouching behind the cart as another icicle tried to take my eye out.

"The cart, sir. We need these potatoes for the town. We can't just leave it to the Tendrils!" One of the odd colored people said. He sounded younger than I would have expected for his size.

I gave Danny a look and she gave me a quick summary rolling her eyes all the while. "Bad guys take food from good guys. Good guys no have enough food. Bad guys go rarrr."

"You can be a real pain, you know?"

"Redeeming quality," she replied. She flicked her hand in the air and a leapt from her hand. It wasn't her condensed ones with more precision but a weak splash that detonated three fire attacks sent by the human Tendrils. "And this is what I've been dealing with. Blobby has taken on the rock projectiles and Anthony is watching for icicles to melt. Don't know how we can retreat while we are surrounded like this."

A frown deepened as I considered what we should do. " Is there no one else in the town that can help?" I asked the two men.

"The other Wild Guards are out hunting and one is on expedition duty. We've never been attacked like this!" The same man answered. He had a potato in a death grip, which told me just about how well he was dealing with the stress of combat.

My eyes roved across the space until they landed back on the rock hail. I eyed my mana pool and the distance I'd covered before making my decision.

The slight static of the comm-plant buzzed in my ear as I contacted Sam. "Don't react. Pretend I am signaling you to do exactly as I say." While communication via the Implant, I pantomimed rain with my fingers then pointed at the rock hail and spun my hands in a circle.

“Tell those two grouches I need another hail. Plain and simple.”

Sam immediately turned and relegated my message. The complaining was loud enough that we heard it from the cart, but they complied. Less than a minute later, condensed earth was pelting down around us.

"I want you two to pull as hard as you can. We'll provide cover from anything that approaches," I said to the villagers. They barely nodded, but took positions opposite the cart.

With a flick of my wrist and a twist of my entrails, I raised to fill in the gaps the hail hadn't. Earth rose out of the ground as I pushed on the cart to move it. A moment later, the odd colored men tugged and the thing lurched forward slow but steady. Using the last of my mana I dropped two half powered as a minute amount of cover from the rear. And it was necessary.

Our actions were obvious for the Tendrils to see. They surged the attack. An icicle that Anthony wasn't fast enough to melt whizzed by me and Daniela grunted with each she used. The sweat that covered her brow steamed as the heat of her body rose with each attack. I even noticed the gills flare with each of her breaths.

When the road inclined a bit I had to brace the wooden construct with my back and I watched as the Tendrils attacked. After having lost their surprise advantage, and a few of their number, the humanoid Tendrils remained near the back to lob magic while they let some of the animals loose. Several shapes were still watching from the treeline and it worried me that they hadn't attacked. However, we managed to make it back to the Wild Guard without any crazy happenings.

The two potato men slumped to the ground with the other civilians. Daniela joined them on the ground as she gulped air from both her mouth and gills. Steam was rising off her body in droves. She spotted me watching. "Close to tapping out my mana."

"We'll handle the rest. The others should be in position by now," the orc woman said. She wasn't looking at our group, but instead focused on the animals who'd stopped their advance. They were reversing their steps when a barrage of wind threw one of the boars onto its side. What looked like moss clung to the creatures before blooming. Like green silly string bombs, the moss crawled all over them. Squeals, yowls and angry chitters echoed from around them as the tendrils struggled against the growing mound of vegetation.

Just as they were freeing themselves or rolling out of the wind, a gunshot snapped through the clearing. Each shot took one of the creatures down, leaving several bodies strewn about the farm fields. When I managed to rip my eyes away from the sight, I followed the origin of the wind to see three women and a man leaning over the palisade. The man held a rifle slung over his shoulder while one of the women towered over him. She also had the pointed ears, but only the upward point. The second woman was blue, and the last I could only describe as a Satyr. As I watched, the man put a conical device to his mouth.

"Surrender and you will not be harmed," he said in a hollow tone. I couldn't tell if it was his voice or because he was using the megaphone.

The Wild Guard around me tensed and I followed their gaze to a figure striding out of the woods. The palm-winged humanoid stared us down from several hundred feet away, which was impressive. Goosebumps crawled up and down my arms as it included me in its piercing gaze before addressing us.

"Perfection does not subject itself to mediocracy. Rebellion does not become you, town of Wildwood. You will pay for your insolence." Without another word, the Tendril turned around and disappeared into the woods. Its other Dreg corrupted brethren followed after. Trails of fire, splotches of frost and churned earth marked their passage.

No one in our group moved. I wasn't in much of a shape to fight anything, but I would certainly give it hell. However, when clearly nothing was going to attack, the orc woman struck a conversation with the man on the wall. Almost as if it was deliberate, the elf in their group kept her hands moving slowly and air buffeted around them. My increased Perception failed to catch anything they said, their words snatched away by the wind.

With a start, I remembered that I hadn't seen anything come from the direction of my makeshift fortification. The sight that greeted me was not what I expected. A dissipating mist clung like a blanket to my . Something tall and azure flashed within the mist but the next blink it was gone. The icy air evaporated under the heat of the sun. In its wake were the wind human Tendril, the deer and two wolfhounds. All four dead.

Before I got a chance to ask about the strange occurrence the orc woman had returned. Her finger wagged in my face. Normally I would have focused on the appendage commanding my attention, but my peripheral let me watch her fellow Wild Guard flank around my friends. It was an attempt to intimidate if I'd ever seen one. The slight smile I'd allowed myself after the victory slipped into a flat line. All actions had consequences, and there was now no way for us to meet the town's inhabitants on our terms.

"You have some questions to answer. First and foremost is: why do you look like the old humans?"