Even with a warning, Cain suspects that at least one of the Guards might have wet themselves when the pair of Divine Fire Dragons appeared. These are copies of the enormous red-scaled beast that guards the entrance to the dragon-filled dungeon in the Blood Sands Castle. That dungeon is still walled off since the dragon at the door is over level 400, but he is of Legendary quality, and Cain can at least summon a copy of him now.
Once the dragons appear with an echoing roar, the entire area around the village gets suddenly silent. Not just the wildlife outside, the residents all disappear into their homes and turn out the lights, afraid of annoying the mighty beasts. After a few minutes, they realize that the village isn't under attack, but that still isn't enough to risk wandering about at night. For the most part, once the sun goes down, so do the locals.
Nothing dares to approach them that night, and with the coming of morning, Cain calls back the dragons in to [Merger] with him instead of dismissing them. If they are attacked by the crazed during their journey today, he has every intention of roasting them all. They can save the [Crushing Tentacles] area spell as a surprise for later if necessary. A good dose of Mythic Dragon breath should be enough to convince even most dungeon-crazed monsters that attacking is a bad idea. Especially the Divine Fire Dragon, whose breath is a combination of holy and fire damage.
The crazed were said to be mostly demonic criminals that were exiled, so the holy damage will cause them an extra dose of agony, and bypass some of their natural resistances.
The guard patrol arrives at the outlying farming village a little under two hours after sun up, already showing some signs of combat this morning, and calls out for any travelers and wagons that are headed to the city today to join them for the journey. The farmers that set up stalls in the city usually stay there for a few days at a time until they sell out, being replaced with another farmer in the same stall, splitting the cost between them, and keeping it stocked all week.
Today, only Cain and a group of young men carrying bags of tea on their backs are leaving this village, so the trip to the next stop should be a quick one, with no heavy wagons to get stuck along the way.
The tea sellers are a fun bunch. They raise the tea leaves on their farm at the west edge of the village, and only come in for two days a month, due to the rate at which the leaves sell, and the time it takes to get more ready. They are considered a delicacy in the city, and Cain trades some fresh meat for a bag full, intending to compare them to the Elven Tea when he has time.
The second village isn't sending anyone today, though they do stop the tea vendors to make some trades. Living at the last stop along the route really pays off for this group, and Cain can see why they keep it on their backs out where it's visible instead of lightening their load and buying a wagon. The bulk bags work like a billboard to advertise their presence.
Not long after they exit the second village the trip takes a turn for the worse. Rain starts to fall and the path gets muddy, with standing water in the ruts left by the wagons. The rain makes all the locals a bit nervous, and Cain sends Evangeline and Nemu to the middle of the group, so they aren't the first targets of an ambush.
One of the patrol members leans over to whisper the explanation for everyone's nervousness to Cain. "The dark clouds feel like nighttime to the crazed. It draws them out in much larger numbers. I'm glad you're with us though, the guard is good, but adventurers are unpredictable, and that keeps the crazed off balance. They have fought us so many times now that they have a pretty good idea what to expect."
As they walk, the sounds in the woods become louder and louder until finally the Captain calls a halt and comes back to talk to Cain while the guards circle the group.
"I see you're awakened. Do you have attack-type skills or defensive?" He whispers as the sounds in the woods become discernable as a foreign language.
"Both. But I can start with offense if you prefer? My defense isn't a barrier, though Evangeline has both barriers and healing skills." Cain answers quietly and the demon gives a grateful glance at the Seraphim, disguised as a lovely blue feathered Parrot Kin.
"Ancient quality barriers and healing? Can't argue with that. If you have an area attack skill, use it on the woods when they attack, the buggers are good at hiding in the trees. Some sort of invisibility granted to them by the madness." The Captain informs Cain, finalizing his plan.
The crazed are starting some sort of battle chant, out of sight in the trees, and Nemu counters with a jaunty tune to boost morale and attack speed, nullifying the mild fear effect of the crazed's chant. The tea sellers smile, hearing the beastkin playing her tune and taunting the demons with her song. It's enough to draw the front ranks of the crazed out to attack, and Cain jumps up in the air, using his wings to hover five meters up, before spinning in a circle and filling the woods around them with dragon breath.
The water on the branches vanishes in a cloud of steam before the forest catches fire, a raging inferno that momentarily sears even Cain's durable skin a little before spreading further out.
The crazed in the front ranks are trapped now, fire at their backs and guards at the front, while howls of pain fill the area as their reinforcements burn. The guards charge at them in a well-practiced maneuver that wipes the crazed out in seconds. Seeing that the battle is all but over, Cain calls for [Acid Rain] into the forest, stopping the forest fire from spreading too much, and a few last howls of pain rise in the distance as the acid blisters the skin of fleeing crazed.
"That went well. I thought for sure you were going to burn half the bloody zone down though." The Captain laughs, watching as Evangeline heals the few injuries that his men sustained.
"No worries of the leaves becoming tea before we get to the city either, they are good and dry now." The farmers laugh, spreading back out into traveling formation.
News of the fire reached the next village before they did, and the Guard Captain took a moment to assure them that it had been thoroughly put out and that the rain was still falling on the region. A forest fire is a dire threat to the local farmers' crops once it spreads. Even with magic, there simply aren't enough of them living in the small village to deal with hundreds of acres of fire. At this stop, as well as the last two before the city, they pick up a few wagons full of food and goods, slowing their progress to a crawl, but brightening the mood and giving them more people to talk to as they walk.
A large group of crazed find the large and slow-moving convoy just as the city comes into sight, with a much better plan than the first group. It's possible they communicated with the survivors, because without warning a half dozen winged demons launch themselves out of the trees and directly at Cain, ignoring the rest of the group.
Without much time to respond, Cain draws his new spear and scimitar and parries the first few attacks before countering with a straight blow that impales a crazed demon. That was what it wanted though, and the dying demon grabs Cain's hand, preventing him from withdrawing and holding the spear within itself as the others move past to attack the others.
More demons pour from the woods, piling on Cain, who fires dragon breath straight into the air, killing those above him and sending ashes flying. Unable to retrieve his spear, Cain simply unequips the weapons and extends the onyx-black claws of his demonic form for a down and dirty melee.
There is screaming and clanging all around him, but Cain can't tell what his happening as he fights. His claws tear through crazed demons with ease, but those that survive are healing unnaturally fast, and Cain realizes that they must have a Mythic healer with them. There is no easy way to tell where the healer is, so Cain calls for the [Crushing Tentacles] and the screaming only gets louder for a few seconds, before Cain finds himself back to back with Vala, finally gaining enough breathing room to see that Laura has taken to the sky and has filled the area with Ice Breath, while the remains of the guard force have encircled Nemu, Evangeline and the remaining farmers that they have picked up along the way.
Reinforcements are rushing to them from the city, but more and more crazed are charging into battle, heedless of the danger, simply intent on killing as many as they can.
"Everyone, make the field of Tentacles," Cain calls, knowing the companions will understand his garbled commands and cast the [Crushing Tentacles] all around the defenders and clear out the area.
Shadowy tentacles fill the area, tearing and throwing the crazed between them, while Cain and Vala charge past their perimeter, both deciding that the combination of Claws and Mythic Grade Pestilence is the best bet in this situation. The Blood Dancer form is one of the faster-moving demons, on par with the Oath Breakers at Legendary Quality, and the crazed are having no luck trying to escape as the two agile Wrath Demons tear them apart.
Once they have cleared the area, spearing any bodies which might only be playing dead, Cain and Vala return to the group to take inventory.
Nemu is still slowly healing from wounds, while Evangeline opted to ride Laura to get up and away from the crazed since she wasn't quite fast enough on her own wings in this form. The shimmering scales of the Opal Prismatic Dragon look fine, but the same can't be said of the other members of their traveling group.
They have all been resurrected now, but they look like they bathed in gore, and there are tea leaves everywhere, scattered through the puddles of bloody water and crushed under bodies. Not the greatest defence they have ever staged.
