Sledding the Matterhorns (1/2)

It took five days to travel to Bigstump Outpost. The path got worse the farther they went, eventually turning into a rough, overgrown trail. There was little reason to build a road out this way; the wilderness was untamed, still, and the outpost could mostly take care of itself. There was a monthly caravan that dropped off supplies and swapped out personnel, but aside from that few travelers came this way.

The wilderness did not disappoint; Screaming Eagles attacked on the third day, bent on carrying off the small, moving things that would make perfect prey for their young. Buttons got to shine there, picking them off at a distance with her gun. The few that got in close were soon scattered by Dracosnack's fiery bolts. It wasn't much of a challenge, and the birds quickly winged away, seeking easier prey.

It wasn't until the next encounter that the group found themselves somewhat hard-pressed.

On the morning of the third day, while they were climbing a long switchback up a green-stubbled mountainside, Glub stiffened up and pointed.

“Dude. We're being watched.”

The group looked up at the peak of the mountain.

What they'd mistaken for a rock formation up at the top was, on closer examination, moving slightly.

Then it was moving more noticeably.

Then it was moving rapidly, and getting bigger as it approached.

It had horns, and a low-slung, furry brown body, that they could tell. And it was heavy enough that as it charged, the mountain started to shake.

To Threadbare it looked something like a goat, or a sheep, but it was a ruminant the size of a hut.

“It's probably a bad idea to let it hit us,” he said, scurrying off to the side. “Scatter!”

They did... and as they did, it scattered too, seeming to come apart into round fragments that rolled even faster down the cliffside..

“Boulders!” Apollyon shouted. “Give me a second to work here—”

“We don't have a second!” Buttons hopped up on his back. “Run!”

Threadbare scurried for all he was worth, and managed to get clear well before the boulder aimed for him rumbled by.

AGL+1

He saw at a glance that Apollyon and Buttons had made it as well, though theirs had been a closer call. A glance to the side showed Dracosnack flapping his wings furiously, well above the cliffside as his boulder went under him.

And Glub had somehow managed to get ON his boulder. He was running frantically to stay in place as it carried him down the cliff and towards the valley below.

“Help! I can't get off!” the wooden fishman croaked, voice trailing off as he was carried away.

Threadbare ran for all he was worth, readying to heal his friend the second things went wrong.

To his surprise, the cliffside in front of the boulder suddenly shot upward, forming a wall in front of the falling rock. Stone cracked and flew as the boulder rammed into it and stopped...

...but Glub kept going.

“Dracosnack! Catch him!” Threadbare yelled up.

The little toy dragon was nowhere near the flying fishman, and he wasn't fast enough to catch up. But he was a Wizard, and he had learned his lessons well.

“Magic Fingers!”

Glub halted in midair, then drifted down as his friend deposited him safely on the ground. “Thanks dude!”

“You can do earth stuff?” Buttons shouted. “Holy shit why didn't you tell me you were useful!”

Threadbare looked over to see Apollyon kneeling, both gauntleted hands slammed onto the ground. As he shifted his arms, the wall of earth retracted, and spikes started cascading up from where it had been toward the creature that had bombarded them with boulders.

And it was about that point that Threadbare realized it hadn't slowed. It was in fact charging straight toward him.

The creature bellowed as it came, its ringing voice shaking the hills.

You have resisted Solidhorn's Brutal Bellow!

You take 45 points of Moxie Damage!

Buttons screamed and ran for her life. Apollyon gulped but held firm. Glub and Dracosnack, fortunately, seemed to be unaffected. Were they far enough away? Threadbare had no time to check as he dodged...

...too late. The Solidhorn rammed straight into him, scooping him up with long, stony horns, gouging chunks out of the mountainside as it sent him flying upward...

“Magic Fingers!”

...and then he was caught, as Dracosnack deposited him on the ground. Threadbare checked himself, found his tummy a bit torn where a horn had caught him, but he was otherwise fairly intact.

The creature continued its charge, slowly curving around to arc back up the slope...

...and the boulders that had rolled down were rolling back up, now, defying gravity.

Then Apollyon's earth spikes caught up to it, rocking it to the side as it bellowed. A red '12' floated up from it.

“It's resistant to earth!” Apollyon said, scrambling up and drawing his shield and sword. Flames blazed up as he held it well away from his face. “Let's try fire!”

“Agreed!” Dracosnack called back. “Create Fire! Manipulate Fire!”

“Definitely an earth critter!” Glub yelled. “I'll have some ice ready for backup! “Create Water! Manipulate Water!”

A roiling mass of fire descended on the thing, as Glub held a smaller set of icicles and freezing vapor in reserve. Threadbare nodded, and ran towards Apollyon, as the creature swerved to ready itself for another run.

But as he went, he saw two smaller forms coming down the mountainside. They were white-and-bluish, and for a second he thought they were low-flying clouds, but no, they were very much horned creatures like their current ruminant foe.

However, unlike the Solidhorn, they could fly.

“Dracosnack! Trouble up the mountain! Turn the fire that way. Glub, ice the Solidhorn. We'll keep it busy. Buttons, can you hear me?”

One of the flying creatures staggered, as a gunshot echoed through the mountains.

“Nevermind then, keep doing that,” Threadbare called back.

Apollyon finished muttering his defense buffs, and shot Threadbare a glance as the Solidhorn closed on them. “Do you have any instructions for me?” he said, as he used his earth manipulation to cover himself with a skin of stony armor.

“You're doing fine,” Threadbare said. “Try not to get hit head on, and don't die.”

“Surely you're not going to block it?”

“No,” Threadbare said, but then the thing was on them, and there was no time to explain his plan.

Buffed up as he was, Apollyon was able to catch the creature's charge at an angle and slide it off his shield, slowing it just enough as stone chips flew from his armored shell. A red '68' still drifted up into the air, but the youth was doing his job.

Threadbare didn't have time to watch, though, as he finished dodging aside from those stamping feet, then leaped for all he was worth.

The creature's fur was stiff, streaked with dust and mud, and it gouged into his fluffy paws as he grabbed hold. But he tightened his grip and ignored the rips, clambering up onto its back and heading for its head.

Your Ride skill is now level 18!

And once he was there at the base of its neck, he popped out his claws and got to work.

It didn't take too long for the Solidhorn to notice that something was wrong. And when Glub started slamming icicles into its side, and coating the mountain with ice to make it slip and lose traction on its charges, it lost the will to fight and fled. Threadbare leaped from its back as it charged away, content to let it flee. The little bear took a moment cleaning and pressing himself to get the blood off his arms.

Sparing a look around, he saw that the cloud-like monsters were in full retreat as well, chased by tendrils of flame. More gunshots echoed as Buttons added her shots to the mix, giving them more incentive to keep going.

“Well,” Threadbare said once the group had gathered again, picked up their packs and healed up, and resumed the walk. “That was exciting. I think you all did very well.”

“I ran like a little bitch,” Buttons said, kicking a rock as they went. “I hate moxie attacks. I don't have much of that.”

“I would never have guessed that your charisma was low,” Apollyon murmured.

She socked him in the greave, and he chuckled as a red '0' drifted up. “Too much armor, sorry.”