By the time I’m circling over the battlefield itself, I have a good idea of how things are going and I’m pleasantly surprised by how well everyone is working together. My ‘maze’ is definitely helping, but it doesn’t solve every problem. One of the main issues it creates is that it limits the space for my companions, just as it does for the yelnas.

  I’d expected that, so I divided the party up into multifunctional groups which seem to be working well enough. But it still means that we can’t bring our whole force to bear on each yelna and some of my companions’ attacks are limited. Catch in particular is finding it harder to wield his club in the confined space. I wince on his behalf when he misjudges the distance and catches it against the wall, almost being struck by a taloned paw as he offers an opening. Pride deflects the attack with an angered hiss, but I see Catch making a decision.

  A moment later, he hooks the club onto his back and focuses on using his shield to intercept attacks – no longer a rough wooden piece, this is one he got from the armoury back at the manor. It’s nothing fancy, just a rectangle that’s long enough to cover him from shoulder to mid-thigh, and enchanted for durability.

  Since he’s fighting with Bastet, Pride, and Lathani, his role is as the tank to allow the others to get in their strikes. Bastet is using her speed-enhancing tattoo to good effect, moving fast enough that she almost blurs even to my eyes, and Lathani is using her shadows to limit the owlbear’s movements even more than the maze and Catch. Pride is ripping and tearing at the yelna, using his venomous fangs and the venomous sting at the end of his frog-like tongue to weaken the beast.

  They seem to have the battle well in hand, as do the Dragon team. It made most sense for the four of them to act as an independent unit – they know each other’s fighting style far better than any of my companions do. Sorya’s vines snake around the beast with poisonous thorns sinking deeply into its flesh, limiting its movement and weakening at the same time. Sulir shoots it with a crossbow and the Warriors hack into it with axe and sword. And their efficiency is plain – they’ve already left one yelna dead behind them and are attacking a second.

  Struggling a bit more is the other team of my companions. Fenrir, Artemis, Orion, and Noir are fighting together. Their main problem is that Fenrir isn’t nearly as good a tank as Catch – he just isn’t big enough when faced with a yelna who’s closer to a polar bear in size than a grizzly. He’s currently using his tattoo shield to protect himself from being ripped to pieces, but that’s only a temporary measure. My heart rises into my mouth when a strike from the yelna makes it flicker.

  His teammates seem to be stepping up as much as possible. Orion is already glowing with the dark fire that is his own tattoo’s offensive ability, and Artemis has enacted both her enhanced speed tattoo and her Rip ability – something that enhances her teeth and makes the wounds worse than they would usually be. Noir, too, is doing his best to distract the yelna to give Fenrir the opportunity to briefly drop his shield and sink his venomous teeth into the yelna’s throat.

  Of course, that only accounts for four out of the twelve yelnas that we need to deal with. Aingeal is working on his own – if that’s a good description considering that his recent developments have allowed him to create a mini twin who seems able to act semi-independently – to distract the ones that are not already in battle or dead. He’s doing an excellent job, stopping the other teams from getting overwhelmed by two yelnas at once.

  I hesitate for a moment, uncertain whether to go and help Fenrir’s team or take on a yelna myself. Then, as I see what the smallest owlbear is doing, I make my decision.

  Noir, consider dropping things on the yelna’s head – if it’s stunned, it’ll be easy prey, I point out to him, sending a couple of arrows its way. They’re loaded with the same poison I used against Valence – the one that transforms stamina to acid. Since it will continue acting until the beast has no more stamina left or the beast is able to fight it off, it’s ideal for this situation. Careful not to get any of this in your own wounds, I warn. Tell me if you do.

  Then I head to where I’m needed more, shooting arrows at the yelnas I pass on the way.

  It seems that Sorya isn’t the only plant mage here – as I suspected, at least one of the yelnas is magic-focused. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one of those caught in the cliff trap. Hopefully it’s the only one because this is going to be annoying enough to deal with.

  The yelna is already destroying the walls I’ve raised around it by sending out roots to find all the little cracks in the rock and make them bigger. Destroying one wall won’t do much for it, but if it cracks up more and helps the other yelnas work together? We’ll be back to square one.

  Summoning fire, I make sure I stay out of reach as I reach out to burn the roots to ashes. The owlbear screeches up at me angrily and I take advantage of the moment to trigger Dominate. The others are doing fine by themselves – at least for now. If I can get this one on my side….

  The usual grey space forms around me and I push against the sudden pressure assailing me. It isn’t anything like Kalanthia’s pressure, and pales in comparison to Nicholas’, but is nonetheless far stronger than I was expecting from a mere Tier two.

  The owlbear is a hulking form on the other side, though this one is closer to a grizzly bear in size than its brethren. As I stride closer, not wanting to spend too long in this, I feel the outrage and stubborn resistance that emanates from the being on the other side.

  Begone! I hear it shriek as I reach the halfway mark. I have had enough chains!

  That makes me raise an eyebrow.

  “What do you mean?” I ask sharply. “What chains have you experienced before?” Is this an escapee from another Tamer, like Kalanthia?

  It ignores my question, merely shrieking at me in a wordless blast of rejection and anger.

  “Is it to do with why you are here with so many of your kind?” I guess. The hesitation that causes almost confirms my supposition. “Tell me what chains there are that bind you. Perhaps I can free you of them.”

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  After all, if the yelnas are willing to leave peacefully, that will be a net benefit for us. While fighting is good practice for my companions, our objective here is to find the rift.

  This actually seems to make the yelna stop to consider the question. Then it sends me negation.

  You cannot, it responds, sounding regretful.

  “Why not?”

  It is bound to my blood, to my life. The human feared me above all others and made sure I could not betray it.

  My eyes narrow, not overlooking the very clear evidence of human intervention here.

  “Then you are bound more tightly than the others? Could they be released?”

  Easily, the owlbear replies, more subdued than previously. Merely destroy the chain around their necks. As for I, doing such would be my life.

  I nod slowly. I doubt that this is someone with a Tamer Class, then. I would have no need for what sounds like a talisman of sorts – those are taming strategies I’ve read about for those who don’t have access to Tame or Dominate. So a non-Tamer – probably a Classer, because who else would be able to get close enough to put something around a yelna’s neck?

  I pull my thoughts away for later consideration. If destroying the talismans is enough to remove the chains binding the yelnas, maybe we can drive them away rather than killing them all. That would save time and allow us to continue our real objective.

  But for now, I have another beast to deal with.

  “I am a healer,” I tell the beast bluntly. “Perhaps I could stop the talisman from killing you.” It seems unconvinced. “What other option do you have?” I demand. “Without a Bond between us, we are enemies. It is your death for certain if you do not accept this, but if you do, you have a chance.”

  I am strong. Perhaps our battle will go differently than you expect, the owlbear screeches defiantly.

  “We’ve killed Tier threes before,” I tell it. “And we have a Tier three with us, on our side.” It gazes at me, perhaps testing the truth in my words. I sense it wavering. “If you really don’t like being part of our group, then I will release you before we leave this area,” I promise. It hesitates, but I sense that it’s on the verge of giving in.

  I consider what might push it over that edge, then almost smile as I think I hit upon just the thing. “And if you survive, you may get a chance to have revenge on the one who chained you,” I offer persuasively.

  That does it. I feel the agreement of the yelna before it even speaks.

  Very well. Under the terms that you will release me if the chain is unsupportable, and that you will search for the one who did this to me, I agree.

  “Happily,” I assure it, then focus. Nicholas said that I shouldn’t need to actually touch the beast’s body with Dominate at Master. Instead, the Bond should snap into place with just my will once my prospective Bonded has accepted it or its defeat.

  Sure enough, it’s easier than I thought – all it takes is a minor flex of will, easier than imposing an order on an uncooperative Bonded.

  The grey space fractures around us and I find myself still in the air, staring down at my newest Bonded. Surprise emanates from my other companions, along with a tentative sense of welcome of those who have a good idea of who our new companion is.

  “Are you forced by the talisman to fight us?” I ask the plant-controlling owlbear urgently.

  I am not, it screeches quietly.

  “Then wait here. I will free you when the battle is done.” Without waiting for it to acknowledge me, I shoot over the maze towards the Dragon team. While I do that, I pass on the information through the Bond network. They’re kept here by the talismans hanging around their necks, but they’re not forced to fight. If we can destroy the talismans, we may be able to chase some away.

  Hovering over Sulir’s team, I give them the same message. Sorya meets my eyes and nods even as she twists her hands in odd contortions to direct her plants. They’ve heard it.

  Now I’m looking for them, I can see them – twists of bone and feather and leather that are almost hidden underneath the owlbears’ feathers. Focussing on Aingeal, I direct him to concentrate on destroying the talismans, over and above distracting them. He sets to with determination and efficiency, he and his twin zooming quickly between the yelnas that aren’t yet fighting.

  With that communicated, I send a quick look across the battlefield to make sure that no one is in immediate danger. The Dragon team are on their next yelna, working methodically to take it down. I suspect that they’re starting to tire, though – their movements aren’t quite as fluid as they were before. Even as I watch, Sorya throws back a mana potion.

  Catch’s group are on their second yelna, the one they had been fighting lying bleeding and dying behind them, still twitching but no threat any more. Fenrir’s group are winning against their first yelna – it’s swaying drunkenly as either Fenrir’s venom or my poison is having an effect on it.

  Seven are accounted for, or almost so. Six more.

  While flying towards where three yelnas are close to each other in a section of the maze, movement catches my eye. I turn just as Kalanthia lets out a spine-chilling snarl. Her domain explodes from her and blankets the battlefield. Not far from me, the Dragon team members flinch into a defensive formation. Alarm shoots briefly through the Bond, but, apart from my newest Bonded, it dies away almost immediately after.

  The yelnas are a lot more affected. They start clawing and even running at whichever wall is the furthest from Kalanthia. I quickly drop to the ground and focus on the remnants of my magic, pulling away any barriers to their escape. Accidentally, I end up lowering all of the walls, leaving little but stumbling blocks in their place.

  Five of the yelnas run away without a backward glance, including the ones the Dragon team and Catch’s team were fighting. They disappear rapidly into the forest. The sixth instead runs straight towards me, its eyes maddened. I take one look at the oncoming polar-owlbear and decide that there’s no way I’m going to try to take this one on with my spear. Not even with my shield tattoo available.

  Instead, still in contact with the earth magic around us, I twist it into something else even as I jump back into the air.

  The owlbear screeches in fury as it misses its prey by an inch, then chirps with surprise as the ground beneath its feet explodes into spikes. Like the lizog leader over a year ago, it drives itself onto a spike with its own momentum, but, unlike that lizog, this time that’s just the beginning.

  Its hide is thick, but the spikes I’ve triggered to pierce it are hard and sharp, sinking deeply. Its high health pool works against it – even when I add more mana and grow the spikes further, it still takes far too long to bleed out. Only when I’ve managed to pierce its heart, its major organs and then also its brain, does it finally stop fighting. Still there is light in its eyes for a good minute afterwards.

  I consider offering it a Bond, but the madness in its eyes and the historical difficulty in Taming yelnas gives me pause. I’ve already got a Bond with one – pushing my luck and trying to add two is probably not the best of ideas.

  On that note, when the owlbear finally goes limp, I turn to fulfil my promise to the plant-mage yelna.

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