Convergence: Eclipse Chapter 16: Chapter 16: The Night of the Blood Moon

Read chapter 16 of Convergence: Eclipse by J.L.Hollingwell on NovelPedia.

SCANNING PARTICIPANTS… LEVEL 5 PARTICIPANT IDENTIFIED… BLOOD MOON PROTOCOL INITIATED Galactic Ordinance Directive, Starting Zone 525. What the fuck is a blood moon? Though the term was unfamiliar, Laurie would have bet his whole potion stash that it was not going to be a good time. Creatures were howling wildly all around them and the air felt suddenly stifling, although it could well be his own adrenaline making him sweat. “Potions?” he asked Maeve, gesturing to his bag, but she shook her head, staring determinedly past him into the darkness. He saw her expression change, but before he could even turn, he felt the rush of Maeve’s wind spell rush past him, flinging back a scale hide before it could lunge at Roland. “We’re going to have to run for it,” Laurie said, trying to sound calmer than he felt. “I’ll take the front and try to get us to Hope’s Dream, you go behind, with Roland in the middle. Okay?” He spoke quickly; it sounded like creatures were all around them, baying and screeching horribly. Maeve gulped and nodded, putting her hand on Roland’s back to push him along. Laurie began to jog forward, but he had taken no more than a couple of steps when a boarling charged out of the tall grass to his left, its small eyes shining with the red glow of the blood moon. Without stopping, Laurie shot out a sol flare, sending the boarling skittering away, blind and squealing, into the grass. They sped up, throwing themselves into the shifting shadows of the long grass. Monsters leaped at them from all sides, but, somehow, they coped, Laurie blinding the beasts and Maeve shoving them away. It was only boarlings and scale hides, to start with - the boarlings were noisy and easy to dodge, but the scale hides were small and darting. Laurie was grateful for Maeve’s quick reflexes. Even in the midst of the chaos, his mind was wondering whether she had been born with them, or whether they were the result of some enhancement. For that matter, were his own? The familiar creatures soon ran out, and they were bombarded by large, bald, ostrich-like birds that squawked and ran at them, their beaks sharp and glinting. Just as it seemed the assault would never end, they broke out into a sudden clearing with an umbrella tree at its centre. The animals didn’t follow, and they had a moment of eerie calm. Laurie bent double, bracing himself on his knees, panting heavily. Maeve was the same. Even Roland was affected, wiping sweat off his pale face. “Are we close?” Maeve asked, but Laurie shook his head, helpless. “I don’t know, I’ve lost track in the dark. Come here, I’ll boost you up and you can have a look.” Laurie made a cupping motion with both of his hands and Maeve hurried over, pushing out of his cupped hands into the tree. She yelped in surprise as Laurie, forgetting his own strength, tried to help, and ended up nearly throwing her into the branches. Right, right, strength stat… Can’t forget that! Maeve steadied herself against the tree and looked around, frowning in concentration. It only took a moment for her frown to turn into a look of triumph - but it was swiftly replaced by a look of confusion and then fear. “What is it?” Laurie asked, as Maeve scrambled back down to the ground. The noise of the beasts was growing again, and he had to speak loudly to hear himself over their shrieking. “I can see the settlement, it’s not far at all, only about 500 feet that way,” Maeve said, pointing. “But it looked like they were under attack. There were beasts swarming the walls, a lot of them. Hundreds, I don’t know. I could see people shooting arrows and magic at them.” “Right,” Laurie said, grimly. He checked his mana. Three quarters down. Not good. “How’s your mana?” he asked, as he took a potion from his bag and chugged it. Maeve did the same. The potion had brought him back to almost full, and he hoped it was the same for her. “I don't know if we can get through all that,” Maeve said worriedly, picking at her empty potion bottle in a nervous gest