Acid dart targeted the now prone troll, but its damage didn’t seem likely to add much of value to the exchange. He could now see nine trolls, all of which were charging towards him while shouting, and he began to cast frostfire storm. He felt reasonably safe since he was three stories up, that was until one of the trolls in the middle of the pack jumped to the top of the playground in a single bound and pulled something out of a pouch at its side.
Frostfire storm was ready right as the troll drew his arm back to throw whatever he had retrieved. Deciding the one on the playground was the most dangerous of the group, he centered it around him, catching five within the blasts of ice, fire, and lightning. Three, including the one who had fallen prone, were caught behind the storm, but the leading troll was still moving towards him. When he was about 60 feet away, he leapt into the air. His trajectory looked like he would land right next to Drew, but a lightning bolt knocked him back and off course. He landed with a cracking sound on the ground 40 feet below.
Switching to cast another storm to get the three stragglers, Drew targeted it near the mouth of the alley, hoping the humans had moved away from it by now. Daryl should have telepathically warned them to back up already, and hopefully, he’d lit a few trolls on fire.
The jumping ability of the trolls had caught him by surprise. He scanned the two surrounding buildings to ensure that they weren’t trying to flank him while his fingers went through the motions of casting the storm but didn’t see any. When the spell was done, he fired another lightning bolt at the downed troll for good measure.
Twelve of eighteen down, that left six to guard the prisoners. Daryl could probably only take out two or three of them, so Drew backed up to the top of the roof and with a gulp of air, he began running down the slope, trying to ignore the pain in his leg as he jumped when he was a few feet from the end. The distance between the houses was around 50 feet, which was just past the edge of his blink step range. When he reached the apex of the jump, he triggered blink step, stumbling a landing onto the eaves of the house’s roof. He scrambled but lost his footing as his boot caught on a shingle, tripping him.
Rolling off the side of the roof, he reached out to grab the gutter, managing to get one hand on it and arresting his fall, but wrenching his shoulder painfully. Kicking off the side of the building, he tried to pull himself up, but the lack of a good handhold prevented him from making any progress. He could feel the winds of the frostfire storm and he looked down; realizing he was twenty feet up and over a concrete pad, he redoubled his efforts to scramble back onto the roof.
Drew caught movement from the corner of his eye and saw two trolls approaching where he had been from the north side of the house he was currently clinging to. He launched a fireball which caught them both unaware, incinerating them.
Deciding that the fight with the roof was a loss, he used gravitas to lighten himself considerably, then flipped over onto the roof. He then carefully began crawling up until he reached the peak, which he straddled, wincing as his leg banged against the roof. He took a moment to steady himself before standing up; he could feel blood trickling down his leg. Gravitas was still active, so he lightened himself enough that it didn’t hurt as he clambered along the roof.
It took him a little under a minute, and he changed elevation five times before he could see the humans he was trying to rescue. There were four trolls surrounding them along with several patches of fire and broken glass. Daryl’s aim was apparently not the greatest. He didn’t see his co-conspirator, and the trolls were spread out enough that he couldn’t catch more than one with a frostfire ball.
“Hey ugly!” Drew shouted as an acid dart hit the nearest one’s face. It collapsed into a kneeling position and covered its face, but the other three immediately jumped towards him. He caught two in midair with frostfire ball, but the third landed next to him with a thump. Cone of frostfire and lightning bolt both shot out of his hands as he turned, throwing the troll off the roof and into the nearly expired storm spell with their impact. He felt rather than heard the fourth troll landing behind him, the force of the blow on his back blocked by his shields as he turned.
The troll was obviously surprised, and blade barrier had done its job well. Drew cast cone of frost and then ducked another fist as it slowed down in the last second, overextending the slowed troll. He returned with a punch of his own, which resulted only in an exclamation of pain from him as he felt a bone in his hand snap from the impact. It had felt like punching a cinderblock wall.
The troll smiled, saying, “Goodbye, Weaver,” before throwing another punch. Blade barrier stopped this one as well and Drew responded by launching a lightning bolt into its face, sending it spinning away from him and off the roof. Turning back to the humans, he looked around but saw no sign of Daryl.
“Behind you!” One of the prisoners shouted as he heard another thump. Turning again, he caught two fists to the side of his head and shoulder, sending him tumbling off the roof and towards the ground below. He triggered gravitas while he fell, keeping him in midair for a heartbeat. He twisted around until he could see a troll with half his face eaten away by acid; the first one he had attacked hadn’t gone down apparently. He launched another lightning bolt and a fireball at it. It disappeared as the air from the explosion buffeted him.
Descending carefully, he landed on his side, unable to move enough to get his feet under him while in freefall. He popped up, looking around, “Did I get them all?” He asked, hoping he had since he didn’t think he could take many more.
Chapter Twenty-Four — Chain
Drew didn’t see any more trolls, and as the adrenaline drained away from him, he sat down on the curb. “So, hi? Any of you lot a healer? Because I could really use one right now,” Drew said, while cradling his injured right hand in his lap. As the adrenaline drained out of him, he realized that he had several other sore spots from the scrambling during the fight.
The group of humans just stared at him, then they looked at each other and started shaking their heads silently. Finally, from near the back, a man raised his hand, “Uh, I sort of have a heal.” Drew looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He was a few inches over six foot, in his late 40s or early 50s, and the exposed portions of his neck and arms were covered in nautical tattoos, and he had a mostly yellow and orange aura. The man was wearing NWUs that had seen better days, bearing the anchor rank insignia of a chief on his lapel, although Drew supposed his own newly appropriated ODUs weren’t in all that much better shape. The crowd parted to let the chief come through.
“Hello Chief, what do you mean you ‘sort of’ have a heal?” Drew asked. He didn’t bother to stand up, knowing that if he did, he would begin shaking from the aftereffects of the fight.
“Well, it’s a heal, I just…” The chief trailed off for a moment and then muttered, “Gotta hug you.”
Drew cocked his head to the side, “Pardon? Did you say you have to hug me?” The chief nodded. “What…What is the skill called?” Drew asked, confused. He hadn’t seen any spells that required anything more elaborate than a hand seal or an incantation to activate.
By now the Chief stood in front of him and was looking down at Drew, “It’s called: Daddy’s Embrace.”
Drew looked up, somewhat intimidated by the large man looming over him. With a grunt, he stood up, “Weird, but I’ll take it. Hug it out?” he said, spreading his arms for the hug. The chief just grunted and hugged him back. Instantly Drew felt better, the pain in his leg, hands, and the other half dozen minor injuries disappearing. He also felt safe and secure, which he assumed was another side effect of the skill.