A Matter of Elf Control (1/2)

They folded camp quickly, and once again Threadbare was in the middle of the pack as they trudged upslope. Many of the crew were moving easier, having leveled in the dungeon and increased their stamina.

Though there had been no orders or requests on the subject, Threadbare found himself more or less in charge of their new “guest.” One of the pirates had unwound her bindings, leaving her arms tied, and handed the resulting leash to him. He'd had Renny take it, because he thought the difference in height between the Celia illusion and his own grip might cause problems if too many people saw him holding a rope.

For her part, Midian seemed content to walk and peer around. Her eyes were luminescent in the darkness, shining a robin's egg blue. Occasionally she hummed a melody he hadn't heard before, one that shifted around so much he wasn't sure if it was a single song or an assortment of tunes. In any case she seemed happy, and was no trouble as she followed him up the trail.

The only trouble came when the mountain air rumbled, a blast of sound and fury rolling down the slope, as a flash flickered in the distance.

“Thunder?” Threadbare asked, though something sounded off about it.

“Nay,” Anne called, as the pirates drew swords and moved into a jog. “Cannon!”

Another blast split the sky, and this time the flickering revealed shadows in the night. That was definitely coming from where they'd left the Cotton Tale. Threadbare picked up the pace himself, and waved a paw at Renny. “Come on!”

That said, the pirates had the speed that only bunny beastkin could muster, and soon the golems were in the back of the pack. They were joined by Glub, who slowed to match their pace and cast them a look. The fishman's leather lips moved, and Threadbare heard the wind whisper in his ear.

“Hey boss, you sure we want to help, here? Our job is easier if that ship is sunk.” Glub asked.

“I'm not sure about that,” Threadbare said, and then he frowned as he heard a familiar bellow shake the peaks. “Oh dear. Those must be matterhorns.”

“Aw shit, not again,” Glub said, so loudly that Renny shushed him.

The motion reminded Threadbare of something he'd been forgetting. “Invite Renny to Party,” he said, as the first wave of pirates shouted buffs, and charged toward the floating, buffalo-like beasts that were starting to swoop away from the ship and fly down to meet the interlopers.

Renny has joined your party!

“People believe there are four states of matter,” Midian said dreamily, as the leading beast bellowed and wind literally blew several of the pirates back down the hill. “But those are only the most observable ones. There are many transitive and subtler expressions, if you know where and how to look.”

“Party Whisper,” Muttered Glub as soon as he saw Renny was in.

Glub: Okay, what do we do here?

Threadbare: Renny, how well does your illusion hold up in a fight?

Renny: Pretty good, since fights are confusing and busy anyway.

Threadbare: Could you make it look like Glub isn't doing anything so he can help too?

Renny: I'm sorry but no, that's way too hard. As it is it'll only be really good if you tell me what you're doing before you do it.

Threadbare: Oh, that's okay then. I'm going to try to save people.

Renny: I meant in more detail than... oh dear.

Threadbare ran toward the line, pausing to check on the groaning crewbunnies on the ground as he did so. Two of them had been blown back and momentarily stunned, but the others were already rising and staggering back up the slope.

The monsters were matterhorns, he saw. Specifically, these were all gasserhorns, the airy beasts which could fly in long, leaping bounds

From what Threadbare recalled, after talking with his old party after the last fight, the gasserhorns weren't as strong as the solidhorns, but they were faster and still had a pretty sizeable strength.

Fortunately, he was both very small, and had a few tricks to get even dodgier. Subtle tricks, that probably wouldn't give away his powers to Anne and the pirates.

“Guard Stance twenty-six, Flex, Flexible Pose,” Threadbare said, and he felt his posture shift as he moved and contorted, pulling in a little more tight, turning as he ran to present more of his side to his enemies, rather than the broadness of his front facing.

Your Guard Stance skill is now level 27!

Your Flexible Pose skill is now level 6!

The trio of skills also had the side effect of increasing his raw agility. So when he outpaced the crewbunnies in the second charge, he drew a lot of attention, and distantly he heard Anne shout “What? Whoa! Hold on there princess, fall back! Belay that!”

Upslope, the cannons on the Cotton Tale crackled a long, ripping roar of flame and smoke and dirt exploded from the mountainside. But the gasserhorns bounded lightly away, all three of them, and Threadbare saw with a glance that they were aiming to slam down in the middle of the line below.

Threadbare squinted between the settling gouts of dirt and snow, took quick stock of where everyone was, gathered his stubby legs beneath himself—

—and leaped.

The gasserhorn in the lead didn't see him coming. It barely felt him, too. Threadbare just didn't have much weight to him, and its armor was enough that the only visible effect to the bear's attack was a forlorn red '6' rising into the moonlit sky.

But Threadbare hadn't been trying to do damage. He'd just been trying to close the distance and grab hold before it hit the ground.

And now, with his paws full of fistfulls of matted, cloudlike puffy fur, he found his way under the enormous beast to a very sensitive spot indeed, poked his head out to check the gasserhorn just above and to the right of it, then gave his current target a very, very uncomfortable poke in a very, very sensitive spot.

Then he leaped off and ran for all he was worth.

Your Brawling skill is now level 77!

It took a second for the gasserhorn to register the pain.

It took another half-second for it to react.

But when it did, it did not disappoint.

The buffalo-like beast, full on half the size of the Cotton Tale, twitched to the right to get away from whatever had stung its balls.

Right into the path of the next-highest gasserhorn.

Instead of coming down on screaming bunny beastkin and squashing them flat, the two gasserhorn crashed to the ground, one under the other, bellowing and kicking and ripping into each other for a percieved attack, while the third one aborted its dive and bounded upwards again, eyes wide and wondering what the hell its prospective mates were up to.

“Get upslope!” Anne yelled, as she sent pistol shots after the descending beasts. “Rally on the Cotton Tale before they turn! And Cecelia ye best be alive or I'll kill ye!”

Renny and Glub followed Threadbare up the hill, and joined the crew clambering up to the deck of the ship. Stormanorm and Harey Karey were already there, tossing muskets and shot to each pirate that arrived, as Anne stood on the prow, reloading her own guns.

And it was only when Threadbare looked to the empty leash in Renny's hand that he realized that they were short one elf.

“Where's Midian?” Threadbare asked, then remembered that his friends really shouldn't be talking around the crew. Fortunately, Glub's Party Whisper skill was still in effect.