For slaying nine Winged Koolari, you have been awarded 22 (base 45 x 0.5) War Points!
Total War Points: 23.
You have been awarded 48,245 experience (base 1,102,749 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 34 Winged Koolari.
You have been awarded 38,330 experience (base 876,114 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 31 Winged Koolari.
You have been awarded 53,683 experience (base 1,227,036 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 35 Winged Koolari.
You have been awarded 28,783 experience (base 657,900 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 28 Winged Koolari.
Congratulations! Your familiar has reached level 36.
Congratulations! Your familiar has reached level 37.
You have trapped the soul of a Winged Koolari! Soul level: Luminous. x 6
He was almost one hundred and seventy thousand points closer to paying back his experience deficit. Alma had also managed to level up twice! Fighting these high-level creatures was profitable… as long as you could ignore the “human” cost.
Moans of pain and cries for help echoed up from the wounded. Thankfully, there was no shortage of healers in the group. In addition to the village guardsmen, at least fifteen of the sprites from Hisako’s host had Life magic. That did not even take into account the Hearth Mother herself. Watching her was a true wonder. Without hesitation or squeamishness, Richter saw her push a woman’s intestines back into her body before uttering a spell. A few moments before, the guard had been at death’s door. Now, not only had the wound closed, but the villager was back on her feet and color had started to come back to her cheeks Blood covered Hisako’s hands, face, and body, but she simply moved on to the next injured person. The sprites knew without being told to bring her the worst cases. Richter ran up and handed over three mana potions which she downed without comment and just continued healing. He drank one himself, eager to get his forces back to fighting shape as soon as possible.
The final count was nine dead, three of Hisako’s sprites and six guards, one of them an Air caster. There was also a wood sprite missing, telling the tale that at least one of the koolari had escaped before Hisako’s spell went up. The shield was dropped as soon as the last monster they could find was killed, but they still could find no trace of the poor sprite. Hisako looked around with a silent fury on her face that she would not even be able to honor her dead. She ordered the bodies of all of the dead gathered, enemy and ally alike.
When they were done, even the uninjured were covered in blood from helping their fallen comrades. Richter cast Far Light multiple times, and several aeromancers cast Gentle Rain. Everyone tried to wash the blood off as best they could.
CHAPTER 22 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 15,386 EBG
The good news was that they lost no one else due to injury. Richter and the other biomages were able to stabilize or heal most wounds, and Hisako performed miracles when needed. Sprites that Richter had thought were already dead were soon back on their feet. After about thirty minutes, he had done what he could and went to find the Hearth Mother. She had gone behind a dense thicket, and the worst of the wounded had been brought to her. Dozens of sprites surrounded it. To his great surprise, when he walked closer, one of the sprites held a hand out, “I must ask you to come no closer, Lord Richter.”
“What are you doing?” he asked in extreme confusion. The sprites had never refused him anything before, least of all the right to walk in his own forest. Before he could protest, however, Hisako’s weary voice came from the thicket.
“Let the lord pass.”
The sprite whose hand had been on his chest nodded and stepped to the side. Still confused and now somewhat irritated, Richter walked by. Ten exhausted sprites walked past him in the other direction. A quick use of Analyze showed that almost all of their mana had been depleted. Ten more entered with the chaos seed and, without being asked, formed two lines of five. Each held hands, and the leader of each group laid a hand upon one of Hisako’s shoulders.
The Hearth Mother looked at Richter and said, “Know the truth, my ally.” Then she began to chant. The body of a dead sprite was laid before her. His chest had been ripped open by a koolari’s claws, and the sprite’s eyes stared sightlessly off into the ether. Richter didn’t know what she was doing, but he understood that he was being allowed to see something secret. The chaos seed kept his peace.
Her casting went on for a full minute, then another. Richter’s amazement at her abilities grew. Even a ten-second casting pushed his own control to the limit. The Hearth Mother showed no signs of stopping. The golden luminescence on her hands grew brighter and brighter. After another thirty seconds, the arcane words rose in volume, and Yoshi took a small glowing root from a pouch. He placed the herb upon the dead sprite’s forehead. Hisako finished her spell and clapped her hands together. A ripple of barely tangible force emanated from her hands, and the golden light shot towards the root.
What happened next changed Richter’s view of The Land forever. The dead sprite breathed! Color made its way back into his ashen cheeks, and the rent in his chest closed. He sat up quickly, hacking and coughing. To Richter’s disgust, a thick black substance flew onto the sprite’s chin. The resurrected fighter quickly reached up and began to pull. The dark goo was slowly drawn from his mouth. It fought his efforts, like a parasite that did not want to leave its host.
Richter moved forward to help, but Yoshi stopped him, “No. He must do this himself. The final choice, of life or death, is his alone.”
The sprite continued hacking and coughing. His fair face turned red from lack of air, and more than a dozen sprites watched their fellow struggle to survive. With a last forceful exhale, the sprite forced the last of the black substance from his lungs. Richter’s Herb Lore skill triggered.
You have found:
Rejected Death Shroud
Durability: 2/27
Herb Class: Rare.
Quality: Poor
Weight: 0.2 kg
Traits: This shroud has come back across the veil with one who has been resurrected. It is pure Death. It can be used as part of a summoning ritual for such creatures or to make a nearly incurable poison. If left unattended, it will search for another victim to ride back through the veil, causing the death of the one it finds.
“Is it an herb or is it alive?” Richter asked in confusion. The thing was moving like an amoeba.