Pieces of Sonder

“Why don’t we just create a ring of fire around them?” Nightscythe suggested.

Red Star Lightning’s guild, along with Freya, Indrek, Nightscythe, Infamous Biscuit, and Botan, were strategizing a plan to deal with the demon bison herd. There were at least a few hundred of them, and they were not weak demons. Most of them were at level 16, making it hard to hunt them down individually. It would be great if they could take care of them in one swoop.

Indrek shook his head, “Bison are afraid of fire, but if cornered, they can run through it.”

“Plus, that big of a fire would get out of control,” Infamous Biscuit added.

“It would be great if there were a cliff we could drive them over,” Indrek said. “That’s what we do with herds larger than five demons.”

Everyone looked around at the flat rolling hills. The largest drops in elevation might trip them but certainly not cause death. Infamous Biscuit moved his hand in front of him, looking at his mini-map. 

“I don’t see anywhere close that has a sharp drop off,” Infamous Biscuit said, pinching his fingers together. “The closest possible place is miles away. I don’t think we can manage a cattle drive that far.”

Freya sighed in agreement. They’d either have to lure the demons to follow them or use a lot of fire to steer them. Neither sounded feasible for such a large herd of aggressive demons.

“We can slowly whittle them down,” Red Star Lightning suggested. “We’ll separate a few at a time and take them down.”

A few of his guild members slumped at the prospect.  Freya was surprised they were so reluctant. Usually, game players relished any opportunity to gain experience by fighting demons. They did say it was much easier inside the dungeon to kill them because they had a high-ground advantage. Are they that discouraged just because they’re on an even playing field?

But without any better ideas, it sounded like the best plan. With all of them working together, they could get it done.

“Could we use that thing I traveled through?” Indrek asked, looking at Lady Merlin. “Can demons travel through it?”

To reach this location, Lady Merlin had used a skill to open a portal. This had allowed Indrek to essentially fast-travel without being a game player. If demons could enter the portal...

Lady Merlin tapped his chin in thought, then smiled, “I don’t see why not. If we can herd them into it, I could link the other end to a cliff.”

Nightscythe slapped Indrek on the back, “Hey, nice idea!”

Everyone enthusiastically agreed. Indrek kept a stern, professional expression but nodded his thanks. The tips of his ears had a hint of red from everyone’s praise. 

“We’ll have to funnel them into it,” Lady Merlin said. “I can expand the size of the portal, but not by that much.”

“Hm, that will be difficult,” Indrek said, back into deep thought.

“If only they were like normal cattle,” one of Red Star Lightning guild members lamented. “They’re more likely to charge us than run away. Maybe if we make loud noises or something?”

Indrek shook his head, “I think that would make them more likely to attack.”

Suddenly, Freya smiled. An amusing thought passed through her mind. She turned to Red Star Lightning, “Your aggro was pretty effective in getting them out of the dungeon. I’m sure it could attract them into the portal.”

……

In the end, it only took two people to deal with several hundred bison. Freya and the others watched from the edges of the trap. Lady Merlin made a portal at the point of a V-shape made of fire. The bison watched them set up the fire trap with uninterest until Red Star Lightning shouted with his aggro skill. 

The smoke from the fire made it difficult to see, but the bison began to snort and paw the ground. A few nearest to the trap began to jog forward. Then the rumbling stampede began. 

Red Star Lightning dove into the portal. He planned to sidestep away from the portal on the other side. Lady Merlin had set up the portal to have a meter of solid ground before a sharp cliff. 

Freya almost felt sorry for the monsters. Almost. As soon as Red Star Lightning vanished into the portal, the aggro disappeared. Luckily most of the bison were still stampeding forward. Only a handful of stragglers at the back of the herd refused to enter the portal.

“Yesterday, eight demon bison would have seemed like a lot,” Indrek said, smiling mournfully. “And I wouldn’t have let my apprentice join the fight.”

Poised to spring into action, Freya paused at Indrek’s words. Indrek had been protective of the demoniclast apprentices. Although he recognized their strength, he believed they were inexperienced. Before they left Corrin, he had emphasized her only goal was to survive their mission. Little did he know Freya’s personal goals were far beyond that.

She couldn’t meet his eyes, but asked, “Am I still your apprentice?”

“I don’t know, are you?”

She bit her lip, “I don’t plan to be a demoniclast, but I would still like to learn from you.”

Despite her lowered gaze, Freya could still feel Indrek’s measuring eyes. She heard the shing of him drawing his sword.

“Earlier, did you use qi to protect yourself from Kamdale’s sword?” Indrek asked.

“Yes.”

He laughed. Freya looked up. Indrek continued to chuckle while looking at his sword. He softly smiled, “That’s quite a feat to block a demoniclast’s sword.”

“Well, I got cut a bit,” Freya admitted. She hadn’t been able to spread her qi all the way through her skin. 

“But you didn’t lose your arm–or your life.”

“But that was all I could do. I couldn’t fight back.”

Freya finally met Indrek’s gaze. She was sure there was more she could learn from him. So far, she hadn’t accomplished much on this trip. The demoniclasts with player cards were still a threat. She had grown a little stronger with Indrek’s help, but she was still too weak to stand on her own in a fight. 

“If you’re not going to become a demoniclast, I don’t think you’re a demoniclast apprentice. Demoniclasts don’t have the time to train people who aren’t going to become one of us. It’s why we hold the demoniclast trials.”

A stab of guilt hit Freya’s side. She had taken advantage of the demoniclast trials without any intention of becoming a demoniclast. Originally, she planned to keep her identity a secret longer just to obtain what she wanted. She had given little thought to the demoniclast organization.

“However, our number one priority is to protect people against demons,” Indrek continued. “I already agreed to teach all these people about qi because it will help that goal. I think your potential is too great to ignore. I’ll still be your teacher.”