Chapter 225: A Part to Play (1/2)
Mike was hanging upside down, doing his best to cling to the back of his mount when the signal started ringing in his head.
[What the? Red! There is a problem back at the boat!] He urgently messaged the dragon, not trusting himself to speak under these circumstances.
In a maneuver that would have been virtually impossible for a bird, let alone a massive reptilian creature, Red performed a complicated midair flip and completely changed directions in about a second. This of course had the side effect of putting a great deal of pressure on Mike, so much so that he felt his vision narrow for a moment.
[Damn. This must be what it feels like to be a fighter pilot.]
They shot over the enemy fleet, barely visible to the Tenundian gunners, who had been attempting to fire on them for most of the last ten minutes to no appreciable effect. Despite doing little in the way of actual damage, Mike and Red's presence had apparently been sufficiently distracting to occupy almost all of the enemy ships. Only a handful had gone after the Huntsman, and those looked to be having trouble taking it down.
[They seem to be alright. I wonder what the issue is?]
Just to be on the safe side, he had Red rake the closest enemy ship with dragon fire, setting their rigging alight. It quickly started falling behind as its crew began focusing on keeping themselves from burning to death. Perhaps out of concern for a similar fate, the other two nearby ships fell back a bit, keeping a wary distance.
Mike hopped off his mount, landing on the Huntsman's deck with a blast of Air Magic. ”What's the problem? Is someone hurt?” he demanded as soon as he had his legs under him.
”You have to go back to the city! They need you!” Came Sera's reply as she ran up to up to him.
”Huh? Did you...” He leaned in close before whispering. ”have another vision?”
”Yes, and we don't have time! You need to move. Now!”
He took a moment to look her over. Although she appeared uninjured, she was pale and there were tears in her eyes. Worse yet, he was shivering uncontrollably. Whatever she'd seen had shaken her terrible.
”What is it?”
The Oracle shook her head. ”There's no time. If you want to have any hope of stopping this thing, you need to leave!”
He glanced back at the Tenundian ships. They were still keeping their distance, no doubt worried about provoking the dragon that was still circling the Huntsman in a somewhat lazy manner. However, as soon as he left, the pursuit would no doubt continue. Even as he watched, some of the lead elements of the blockade fleet changed began moving to intercept.
[If I leave now, they'll be on their own against them all. Unless...]
”Alright, but you three are coming with me.” He said while focusing his mana. The very least he could do now, was to leave the ship with some protection.
Sera hesitated, then nodded. ”That's fine, but we need to leave soon.”
”Just give me a moment.” He replied while concentrating. This would be the first time he attempted this particular spell, but hopefully, it would turn out alright.
He started chanting. ”I call thee noble protector. Come forth and guard my chosen comrades. Render them safe from harm and bring despair to their enemies. [Conjure Guardian Monster]”
This particular spell was designed to increase both the relative power of the summoned monster, and the length of time it could remain in effect as compared to other more common summoning spells. The only downside, was that the monster's actions were limited towards protecting a particular location or person. If it was ordered to do anything beyond that one specific function, the spell would fail.
A large amount of mana flowed out of him. So much that he actually wondered if he'd overdone, until the stream eventually stopped as the creature took shape. The water next to the ship began to froth as a large serpentine head broke the surface, rising out of the ocean.
It was sleek and distinctly snake-like, with a oddly dragon-like head. It vaguely reminded Mike of the being he'd somehow summoned back in the dungeon below Wyrport, especially in terms of the long, sinuous bodies and the adornment of crested frills and horns. However, this new monster lacked the former's elegance and beauty.
Nevertheless, it was an impressive beast, towering over the ship even with the majority of its body still underwater. It was about 3m in diameter, and had to have been dozens of meters long, judging by how easily it was able to lift its head above the gunwale.
Knowing that he didn't have long to tarry, but unwilling to completely ignore his curiosity, he used Appraise while signalling Red land on the other side of the ship in preparation for their departure.
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Sea Serpent
Age: 0
Race: Sea Serpent
Class: Sea Serpent
Title: Draconic Summon
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[Huh, I guess that's-]
”Sea Serpent!” Someone yelled in panic, causing the several of the sailors on board to stop what they were doing, and grab a number of long, wicked pikes that seemed to be designed for fighting off large enemies.
”I need the cannons loaded, now!” Captain Xander commanded over the noise. ”We need to scare the beast off if we want any chance of survival!”