Arvium [I.L.S. Beta Game #1]

42: Boar Fight

Month 1, Day 4, 12:05:12; Arvium, Arvium Forest

Aella yelled as she swung her bow up, matching the targeting grid with the boar's face. She released the bow, her eyes widening as it bounced off the boar's head.

Run.

She turned and ran, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch as her feet pounded the ground. She yelled as she heard the boar squeal behind her, crashing through the underbrush behind her. The ground changed beneath her feet, turning from dirt and leaves to rock. She glanced up as she saw an outcropping of rock on her left, some of the smaller ones loosely perched on top of the others.

"Defense spell," she said, throwing her hand up. She ran forward as the rocks rumbled and fell, blocking the path behind her. The rocks turned into a narrower path that led uphill, showing she was climbing a cliff that extended to a plateau.

She paused for a moment, looking to the expanse on the right. In the distance, over the tops of the trees was a city on a hill, gleaming white in the sunshine. Arvium, and home. She reached her hand up to her helmet,

"Get a move on, Princess," Garron said.

She jerked, her mouth open as the rocks rumbled and suddenly blew over the edge of the cliff, and the boar plowed through toward her. She turned and ran, scrambling up the steep path. As it turned more vertical, she slipped and ripped her pants and she winced as pain flared along her leg.

She screamed as the boar jumped, landing on her legs. She turned, jamming the end of the bow into its eye and it roared, its fangs inches away from her face. She pulled the bow away and blood spurted onto his face, burning wherever it landed. The boar leaned to one side and Aella screamed as they both fell off of the cliff.

She landed on the rough skin on the boar, and bounced off to the side, the momentum flinging her off into the underbrush. She lost the grip on her bow and flew into the underbrush. She groaned, multiple points on her body stinging from where her chain mail had dug into her skin. The boar started to move, and she rolled over, shaking her head as she started crawling through the ferns and roots away from the animal.

She paused, her hand moving to the sword on her hip. "Menu on," she whispered. She glanced up as an abbreviated version of her player menu appeared on her visor. Her health bar was halfway empty, but she still had most of her magic left.

Think, think. She nodded and turned around, pulling an arrow from her quiver.

"Assemble bow," she said. Useless Alpha. She grabbed the handle as it appeared in front of her. She nocked the arrow and pointed it at the boar, lining the grid up with its other eye. She released, and the arrow sunk into the target, making the animal scream with pain.

She winced, and shook her head, pulling another arrow from her quiver and nocking it. She paused as the animal stilled, it's head laying on the ground. She lowered the bow, and lowered her own head. I wouldn't have had to kill it if Garron hadn't made up that stupid alibi. If he hadn't kidnapped me.

The boar made a soft moan, its head moving slightly.

Her eyes widened as she saw the movement and she dropped the bow, scooting forward. She paused just in front of the boar's face, feeling bile rise in her throat as she saw the arrows. "Assemble half of the moonflowers," she said. A small pile appeared next to her knee, and she picked a few up in one hand. She crushed them in her palm, then sprinkled the dust on each of the boar's eyes. It whimpered for a moment, then its tail wagged in a slow arc. She pulled one arrow out, then the other, laying them aside.