Chapter 259: A Game of Cat and Mouse (Patreon)

In the wake of the near miss, my heart pounded furiously, and my adrenaline surged. That was too close, I thought. Staying under, I waited for my pulse to slow and reflexively cloaked myself.

You are hidden.

The shadows wrapped comfortingly around me like a warm blanket, and almost instantly, I felt calm descend. I was far from safe, but as much as water was the hags’ ally, darkness was my friend, and in its embrace, I felt my worries fade.

My foes would not easily find me—no matter their numbers.

Still submerged, I relocated position, slipping carefully between the reeds. While I did, I took stock of the situation.

Before diving beneath the water, I’d spied three sea hags approaching, and more were surely on the way. It had been my plan to quietly stalk the witches and pick them off one by one. But them coming to me… that could work to my advantage too.

They deserve a proper welcome, I thought savagely.

First, though, I had to make certain I was ready to face the newcomers. Turning my focus inwards, I pulled up the flashing Game messages and checked on my status.

Warning! Your health is at 30%.

Your dodging has increased to level 109. Your sneaking has increased to level 104. Your two weapon fighting has increased to level 105.

Your chi has increased to level 107. Your telekinesis has increased to level 112. Your insight has increased to level 125.

Your elemental absorption has increased to 17.

Void armor inoperative. Current charge: 0%. Replenish your mana to reactivate!

Damnation! I cursed. My void armor had been exhausted, and my health was low.  I was in no condition to continue the fight just yet.

Recuperate and replenish first, I decided.

Directing my thoughts to the potion bracelet still snug on my arm, I willed it to inject a potion into my bloodstream. It cost me a valuable consumable, but chi healing would take too long.

You have restored yourself with a full healing potion. Your health is now at 100%.

I only had one mana potion on my belt—a full one—and while I was loath to use it, finding a quiet spot to channel mana was also out of the question. Yanking the flask free, I set it to my lips and swallowed its contents while still underwater.

Your mana is now at 100%. Void armor restored.

That done, I stole into a dense clump of reeds. It was past time to come up for air. Unbending carefully, I pushed upward until my nose rose above the surface.

Multiple hostile entities have failed to detect you! You are hidden.

A sea hag was skimming across the marsh a few yards to my right. A pair passed by on my left, submerging their heads every few seconds to search the water’s depth. A few feet in front of me was another hag. She, remarkably, was standing on the water.

All of them were absent from my mindsight.

Not daring to move—or even breathe deeply—I kept my gaze fixed on the water-walking hag. Her eyes narrowed to slits, the witch was pivoting about in a slow circle.

How many foes surrounded me? I couldn’t tell, but I was sure there were more hags to my rear as well. How did they converge on me so quickly? I wondered.

Another sea witch glided across the marsh and stopped before the one in front.

“Have you found him yet?” the water-walking hag hissed.

The second hag bowed deeply. “No, mother.”

My ears perked up. Mother? Was this the leader of sea hags, the one whose scalp I needed to collect? It seemed likely. Judging the risk acceptable, I reached out with my will and analyzed the hag.

The target is a level 140 hag mother. Hag mothers are notoriously vicious. They tolerate no contenders and demand unquestioning loyalty from their followers. Consequently, it is rare to find more than one mother in any coven.

The Game’s response provided the confirmation I needed. Dismissing the message, I returned my attention to the pair’s conversation.

“… is he, Malina?” the mother demanded.

“We’re not… sure,” Malina replied, ducking her head to avoid her leader’s penetrating gaze.

The hag mother took a step forward, flexing her claws. “Don’t tell me you let him escape?”

Malina jerked back. “No! He must still be in the grove. The outer wards were activated when he was spotted, and they have not been tripped.”

The hag mother tilted her head to the side in consideration. “Is he sheltering in the trees?”

Malina shook her head. “We’ve thought of that. Caulis has communed with the worms. They sense no one nearby.”

“Are you sure?” the mother pressed. “The grubs’ thoughts are not easy to interpret.”

“Caulis is sure,” Malina said, stressing the other hag’s name in an apparent bid to disavow responsibility. “She is the worm keeper.”

A frown flickered across the mother’s face, but she didn’t refute the other hag’s assertion. “Find him,” she ordered in what was a clear dismissal.

The second hag inclined her head but didn’t move.

“Is there something else?” the mother asked, studying her subordinate in surprise.

Malina hesitated. “Caulis can’t be certain, but she thinks… she thinks…”

“Spit it out,” the mother snapped.

“Our intruder might be a wolf.”

The hag mother blurred across the intervening space and, in a prodigious display of strength, picked up the other hag by the neck. “What?” she hissed.

“O-one of-of the… worm-s-s tasted him-m,” Malina gasped as she struggled to breathe in the mother’s chokehold.

The mother squeezed, digging her claws deeper into her captive. “One worm?” she scoffed. “That’s hardly a reliable indicator.”

Malina bobbed her head. “I ag-g-ree, mother, b-but Caulis insisted I tell you.”

For a drawn-out moment, the hag leader said nothing. Then in a sudden burst, she opened her hand and spun around to consider the vacant marsh. “Is he here for the other one?”

Malina picked herself up and massaged her bloodied neck. “He must be.”

“Excellent,” the mother pronounced. “That raises the stakes. Find him and bring him to me—alive.”

“Yes, mother,” Malina replied. Bowing deeply, she began to slip away.

“Oh, and Malina,” the mother said without turning around.

Her subordinate paused.

“If he escapes, I will hold you responsible,” the hag mother finished.

Malina stiffened, and her face twisted in a snarl, but she said nothing as she retreated from the hag mother’s presence. A moment later, the hag mother left, heading in the other direction.

I watched them both go, a thoughtful look on my face. The trip into the marsh was turning out to be a lot more interesting than I’d anticipated.

✵ ✵ ✵

My first instinct was to follow the hag mother, but I squashed the urge. As tempting as the idea of cutting off the head of the snake was, I could not bank on scoring a quick kill against the hags’ leader, and the fight was sure to draw the rest of the sea witches.

My second thought was to go in search of the other ‘wolf.’ Whether it was a real wolf, a werewolf, or another Wolf Marked player, I had no idea, but all three possibilities were equally intriguing. Still, I didn’t act on that urge either.

The mysterious wolf would have to wait. First, I had to deal with the hags. Remaining where I was, I laid my first trap.

You have connected a trap element to a sound glass trigger.

A poison cloud trap has been successfully configured!

Unfortunately, neither the trip wires nor the pressure plates were suitable for the marsh’s environment, and given the unpredictability of the water’s movements, I didn’t think it was wise to use the motion pins either—which left only the sound glasses to employ as triggers.

My choice of trap elements was similarly restricted. Still, I felt the poison clouds and fire enchantments would do well enough. Swimming underwater, I came up for air in another clump of reeds. It was only a few yards away from the first trap.

Cautiously, I scanned the area. The hags were still looking for me, probing both the waters beneath and the trees above, but their search cordon had spread out to cover more ground, leaving me more freedom to maneuver.

Turning a slow circle, I tallied up my foes. There were twelve hags, but Malina and the hag mother were not among them, so I could not count on the ones I could see being the entirety of the coven’s strength.

Were fourteen hags too many? I didn’t think so.

Bending down, I placed the next two enchanted crystals, affixing each to a reed stalk.

A firebomb trap has been successfully configured!

Lifting my head, I searched for another viable location. There, I thought, spotting another promising mass of bulrushes.

Slipping deeper into the water, I moved on to set the next trap.

✵ ✵ ✵

Remaining stored traps: 0 of 20.

Your thieving has increased to level 89.

Ten minutes later, all my traps were set.

I’d employed every enchanted crystal in the trapper’s wristband and seeded a large area, transforming it into a killing ground.

Rising higher out of the water, I surveyed the innocuous-looking reed patches. Unlike on previous occasions, I’d not concentrated the traps together. I’d spread them out deliberately, leaving a safe path—if a crazily contoured one—through the trapped ground.

Ducking back down, I opened my backpack and, retrieving three major mana potions, slotted them in my potion belt. I would have no time to mediate or channel mana in the coming clash.

I was almost ready. Casting my buffs, I focused on the closest hags—a pair about forty yards to my left.

Time to get this show started, I thought and summoned psi.

Twin psionic daggers materialized, one appearing in my right hand, the other in the left. In one smooth, unhurried motion, I let both blades fly.

The ethereal violet daggers flew true and struck both my targets dead center.

A tidal hag’s spell: impervious ice has triggered. Backstab failed! Your target’s spell has blocked your attack.

A coral hag’s spell: water shield has triggered. Backstab failed! Your target’s shield has blocked your attack, absorbing its damage.

Multiple hostile entities have detected you! You are no longer hidden.

Both hags spun around and, seeing me, screamed in warning. The cry was quickly taken up by the other witches in the grove, and I could almost feel the spells being directed my way.

I remained where I was.

Taking my deception further, I grinned and waved insouciantly at the pair I’d attacked. Despite the surprising nature of the second hag’s spell, the astral blades had done precisely what I hoped: they had triggered my quarries’ defenses.

The two hags raised ice-rimmed hands.

Now, I thought and stepped into the aether.

Blinding white ice lanced out of the witches’ upraised palms. But I was no longer where they aimed.

You have teleported 41 yards.

You have evaded a tidal hag’s attack.

You have evaded a coral hag’s attack.

I emerged behind the first hag and, before either witch could so much as register my presence, lunged forward with ebonheart.

This time, my blade encountered no resistance.

You have killed a level 124 tidal hag with a fatal blow.

The coral hag spun around. I didn’t bother facing her, though. Burning through her shield would take too much time, and I was acutely aware of the other witches racing toward our position.

Diving into the marsh, I wrapped myself in shadow.

You are hidden.

It was time to lead the hunters on a merry chase.