Chapter 23

  The PUB immediately went into Battle Mode, and an outline appeared in the sky that showed Oskar a pair of humanoid figures somehow gliding way above the dunes. Once he knew what he was looking for, it seemed like a glamour had been lifted.

  Two pointy eared creatures glided overhead on extendable wings made of what looked like leather, stretched under their arms from their wrists to their thighs. Their fur was mostly orange and yellow, but with dark spots. The Hyenas were all low threat, according to a quick scan, but they were too high in the air to attack. Obviously, they weren't out of range for the flyers, though, who could throw at Oskar and his group without having to fight gravity.

  Oskar saw a third creature stomp over the top of the dune ahead, the wind whipping at his back. He was carrying a shield that was made from some large beetle-like carapace and a knotted wooden maul. He stood there grinning wildly, staring down at Oskar's group hungrily through his blocky Goggles. Like the other two, he was mostly yellow and covered in dark spots, but he was much bigger than the other hyenas and sported a wicked, slobbery grin. His PUB flashed a quick red outline of warning around him.

  So, that's a high threat?

  // Barely, but yep. Watch out, he's stronger than he looks. //

  He looks pretty strong...

  // Yeah, I know. //

  Big boy marched confidently towards the two Kobolds, swinging his maul back and forth between him. He was making a sing song sound that Oskar couldn’t decipher, but from the look he was giving the Kobolds, he was definitely taunting Touwon and Fox.

  The creatures looked like hyenas... if hyenas were built like hundred-pound pit bulls with humanoid limbs, and the one carrying the shield was easily half again or more their size.

  These things were all muscle.

  His PUB warned him as one Glider threw another spear directly at him by showing him a misty outline of himself dodging to his right.

  // Pay attention! Get it together, dummy. I can’t keep doing this. //

  As the adrenaline kicked in, he had time to locate the projectile in the air and commit to the dodge. His reaction time was improving. If he’d not been carrying his own spear in that hand, he might have even been able to catch it.

  He pulled the thin spear out of the ground behind him and spun, aimed for a moment, and launched it back into the air at his attacker.

  It appeared to be flying true, but as soon as the spear cleared the top of the dune, the winds overhead flung it wide. Apparently, throwing downward was much easier than throwing upward, but was still possible. He caught a mocking, pitchy laugh on the wind.

  Okay, butt sniffer. Keep laughing.

  Oskar lurched forward and grabbed the first spear that Touwon had dodged, jerking it out of the sand. He spun, steadying his aim, and then launched the second spear a little behind the trailing hyena-like attacker overhead. This time, when the wind caught the spear, it angled towards a hyena wearing painted orange Goggles, the spear scraped its back, scoring a minor cut that likely hadn’t caused the Gilder much pain. However, Oskar had the trick of it now and felt sure he’d be much more deadly with every throw.

  The wind was speaking to him, and he was doing his best to listen. He fought down the urge to run up the dune and launch himself into the air at the Gliders. He felt confident he could do it with a burst of speed like the one he’d used against Vulk, and with the smaller bulk of the Hyenas, he might even avoid injury, but he told himself to be patient.

  All I know how to do right now is go straight and fast. If I miss, I'm leaving Fox and Touwon behind and likely taking myself out of the fight.

  He needed to continue avoiding the spears and keep the Gliders busy while the two Kobolds were wearing down their maul wielding tank. The larger hyena was hurling insults in a language Oskar couldn’t understand. He didn’t know how this group of hyenas knew Touwon and Fox, but this sounded personal.

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  Touwon was darting in, baiting attacks from the big hyena who Oskar named Chonkdog. His taunts allowed Fox to shoot in with her daggers, scoring hits that would hopefully wear the comparatively large Hyena-man down. The big hyena guy was throwing out heavy swings that would do serious damage if they connected, though.

  Chonkdog was holding his own against the two Kobolds, even if it was because they were splitting their attention from him to the Gliders to keep from being impaled. Oskar was going to have to help them with that. You have to pay some attention to the whole fight, but everyone fully splitting their attention was going to get someone killed.

  Apparently, the air currents changed with elevation because the two Gliders were coming back towards Oskar's group from higher up in the sky.

  Hmm, maybe speed and height is what causes the different colors Sora shows me in the air currents.

  His PUB flashed an irritated orange of warning around the edges of his vision.

  Okay, okay, we're fighting, I know!

  The Gliders circled back around to get a better position to harry and attack Oskar’s group. The first Glider, wearing gray gloves, angled low and dove towards Fox faster than Oskar expected, but just as the Glider cleared the top of the dune, Penny exploded out of the sand in a curled-up ball and intercepted him.

  She hit Graygloves dead center just as he passed the lip of the dune like an eighty pound fastball, and the hyena careened into the sand a few feet to Oskar’s left.

  Holy cow. She came in like a wrecking ball. A regular Miley Cyrus.

  Dashing forward, Oskar speared the creature through its back with his divine spear and then turned to locate…

  Uhhh, Orangie? I need to work on my nicknames.

  Greygloves’ crash was obviously enough of a distraction to allow Fox to finally land a solid blow. She moved in low with a wide swing of her dagger with an attack that must have hamstrung the big hyena. The leg collapsed beneath him, and Fox was forced to jump clear of the falling creature. He tried to catch himself, but she was already advancing again. Fox kicked his shield wide, creating an opening, and this time Touwon moved in for the strike. Chonkdog's head lulled to the side as the now lifeless body fell and slid limply down the sand dune to the bottom.

  Oskar, still trying to keep an eye out for the final Glider, grabbed the last two spears off the back of the dead Greygloves, scraping his forearm across the tip of the second one in his haste.

  A notification popped up immediately, but he didn’t have time to see what it was before something happened to his vision. Oskar blinked as everything slowly blurred. He pulled his hand closer to his face and saw a tiny drop of blood trickle down the inside of his arm where the spear had scraped him, and he stumbled a bit as his muscles stiffened.

  At the same time, he felt Orangie crash headfirst into the sand nearby. Fox and Touwon were still making their way down the dune and watched the crash with amused but completely unconcerned faces.

  Fox called to him, but he was having trouble focusing on the words.

  “Nice throw, Oskar. I saw that. I suppose they are not completely immune to their own cowardly tricks. All it takes is a scrape,” Fox said as she looked over to Oskar. Her eyes grew wide in alarm.

  Oskar’s entire body became locked in position. He stood for a few seconds before falling over like a department store mannequin. The two Kobolds rushed over to his side, Fox already fussing at him.

  “You dry brained fool. Know it a truth. You move like a legend the first half of the fight and then poke yourself like a child,” she said as she saw the tiny streak of blood on his arm, still rigidly locked in front of him.

  “I am getting sick of caring for you every time you do something foolish,” she said, but the words carried no heat. “Let us drag him under the tent, Touwon. Again.”

  In a matter of minutes, he felt his muscles finally relax as the sky slowly darkened to red. Since he couldn’t even blink, Fox had helpfully pulled up his Goggles and closed his eyes to keep them from drying out until he could regain control of himself.

  That spoke of experience, and he wasn’t going to let her get away without telling him that story. Especially after all the playful chiding she’d given him constantly under her breath as Touwon had set up the temporary tent a short distance from their battle. Penny and Touwon had then jogged back over to loot the bodies of the Hyenas as Fox waited with Oskar.

  After a few minutes, he regained control over his eyelids and Oskar checked his notifications, trying to ignore Fox, who kept poking him with her foot and calling him foolish, laughing her little barking laugh. The situation was amusing to Oskar, now that he was sure his major organ's weren't shutting down. He'd just been temporarily paralyzed by some type of toxin, and one he suspected Fox had experienced firsthand.

  The notifications were interesting. He’d increased his Sora mastery by creatively using the wind to aim the second spear he’d thrown. Of course, the PUB had to get in its own little dig at his self-inflicted paralysis.

  // Bane: Paralysis Contracted.

  Like, you did that. To yourself. You throw a spear in hundred mile an hour winds and score just enough of a hit to crash that Glider like a boss, and then you poke yourself by pawing around like a doofus who doesn’t know what to do with his hands.

  This is priceless. I wish I had friends. I’m gonna make friends just so I can tell them about this. You know what, I’m gonna send a “Laugh at Oskar” Gambit to Touwon and Fox. It’s gonna be hilarious. //

  Hearing the Kobolds chuckling at him made him smile. Internally, at least. His face was still numb.