Hero Scout 84 Chapter 12 - The Raid

"To victory," Elder said before opening his maw wide.
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A werewolf splashed the purple potion within, the Elder's pupils quickly shrinking to dots.

Roaring with a force that sent the stone trembling and Kenji clutching his ears, the Elder arose on all fours for the first time in many moons. His creaking bones healed, the gashes along his sides refused to open and his grey fur sank into a midnight black as if he had transformed into a warrior too.

"I feel...powerful!" roared the Elder, his howl echoed back at him by the werewolf pack, all having transformed as close as they could to their wolf form.

Due to having been plagued that meant a strange in-between of a wolfman with sinewy arms, long claws, and that stood like a man and growled like a raptor.

For Kragg and those others who had healed completely, that was a giant wolf form akin to Tenko's own. Although they too turned into to a humanoid wolf like the werewolves of old, a form suited more to battle then hunting.

Each to their own.

"Atop my back little changling, we ride to battle together!" Elder roared, Kenji barely having mounted his back in the Sun Elf Queen's form before the Elder took off at great speed. Shooting Kenji a hateful glance, Kragg followed right afterwards along with Tenko and the rest of the pack.

Outside hundreds of regular wolves waited, each an intimidating sight for Kenij normally, but on this scale, it became something else completely. The sea of fur howled at the night moon and rushed onward in a tide of fur.

Joining them arrived the young witch, now known as Harriet, riding a dazed stag like a horse, and smiling as she watched the werewolf army run through the thick of the forest as easy as the King's road. Silent as the grave Harriet followed, the werewolf army filled with a l.u.s.t for violence as their hunt took them over the hills and into an area of forest lit with glowing moss and filled with charming moon flowers.

Kenji felt a bit strange not hearing anyone speak, the wolves able to move for hours without so much as a snide comment. Yet as they drew close to a grand wall of thorns, he began to appreciate the stealthy approach as Harriet arrived to the underfended wall and began to cast her magic.

Whispering dark words under the pale moon, she slit the throat of her stag and pulled from the wound a sickly green essence. Casting the essence into strange symbles that blazed in the air, she wrung her hands and hisssed: "[Wither]!"

In the next moment the foliage grew dark in colour, then brown, before wilted to the forest floor. The wall removed, the werewolves could a.s.sault unopposed. Treants of all kinds sprung from the sourrounding landscape, with twisting roots and wooden hands, and yet the werewolves had arrived too fast, and too few were ensared before piercing further within.

A whistling scream announced the werewolves' invasion, and as they approached a land filled with wooden huts bleary Furbolgs folk burst outwards with claw and bludgeon in hand. like hunched over bears that walked on two feet, their thick furs decorated with paw prints and tribal feathers.

Swept aside by the ferocious horde of werewolves the Furbolgs were slaughtered in moments, their muscle-bound bear bodies falling in heaps before they could a.s.semble in the numbers required to form a proper defence.

"Werewolves, the werewolves attack!" roared a Furbolg with a white paw print on his chest. Two werewolves attacked and were swiftly clubbed aside with absurd strength, the Furblog warrior using [Crush] to shatter their spines.

Howling b.l.o.o.d.y murder, Kragg fell upon the warrior with claw and tooth. The two fought desperately, while lessor werewolves and reinforcing Furbolgs crashed iinto one another all around them.

The Elder, however, proved an unstoppable force. The tip of the spear, he pierced through the enemy ranks as Harriet directed.

"Right that way, we're nearly there!" She giggled, letting loose streams of green essence to slow and cripple the enemy, drawing forth more from the dead and dying.

Soon they arrived at a great tree bristling with beautiful white flowers, each pooling a handful of glistening silver water. The werewolves were confused, many muttering "spirit tree" and 'blessed tree" in equal number.

"Destroy it, the orb is within. It is the source of their power, without it they cannot harm you any more!" Harriet cried, flinging green flame at a pair of Treant Guardians that arose from either side of the strange tree to start hurling baulders.

As one of his werewolves was crushed by stone, Elder shook off his doubts and charged. Rolling off his back, Kenji landed to the ground in his Troll form as Elder crashed into one Guardian's side and began tearing into it's iron-hard bark.

Kenji charged the other, and jumped to punch the Treant Guardian, the resulting crack blasting out across the glade and shattering the outer layer of protective bark. The Guardian responded by binding Kenji's arms and legs with various tendrils, then directing a blizzard of razer sharp leaves to wittling away at his flesh.

Kenji howled, several frenzied werewolves coming to his aid by throwing themselves at the vines and roots to cut him free. Free again, Kenji began to beat the every loving c.r.a.p out of the Treant guardian. Punch after punch dazed it, dancing on his toes and s.h.i.+elding his face to block like a boxer, Kenji withstood the onslought of whipping roots or grasping wooden arms. before long the Guardian was left bruised and battered, sap flowing everywhere and it's arms shattered. Yet even then the Guardian continued to fight, buying time for Furblog reinforcements and lessor treants to arrive and begin to push the werewolf forces back.

Growling, Kenji ripped himself free and watched in horror as the Treant Guardian was coated in a bright green glow that saw it's arms returned and it's many wounds regenerated.

"Fear not my old friend, I have you," wheazed a wisened Furblog all in grey and white. Much smaller than the regular, it held a twisted wooden stave with a bright green gem at it's peak. The little old Furlbolg had emerged from a humble little hut next to the great tree, and it's silver necklace with a paw print pendant remained the only symble of the creature's station.

Harriet had informed them all before of how to identify the enemy war leader, and even if Kenji was still stunned how small he was, he coudn't give up this chance. Charging the lone creature down, he noted with a heavy heart that the Furblog continued to send bolts of healing light to his allies across the battlefield as Kenji struck him down.

Dozens of Furblogs screamed, and charged Kenji from every direction.

The war leader himself just looked Kenji in the eye with a sorrowful gaze.

"It's not your fault," the old Furbolg whispered as Kenji crushed his throat.

Holding back tears, Kenji jettisoned his [Forbidden Slot] copy of the Troll body over the top of the old Furbolg, and using that as cover, became him. By the time he was pulled out by the other Furbolgs, the gorgous tree had been split down the middle with writhing green energy, and it's source had been pulled free.

The werewolves had retreated as quickly as they had come, believing Kenji would fulfill his role alone as was the plan. There was only one problem.

"Oh no..." Kenji whispered as the villagers continued to ask if he was alright. "We've made a critical mistake, that wasn't just a powersource for our defenses was it?"

"What do you mean High Druid? Those idtiotic werewolves have allowed the foul Witch to steal the Heart of the Forest, this whole land is doomed!"

Not just that, as Kenji delved into the old Furblogs memories he found nought but kindess, purity, and charity. They had indeed been the ones to convince the fawns, the deer and the rabbits to leave. But the plague?

The Furbolgs had had nothing to do with it.