Return of the Runebound Professor

“We need to get back to camp quickly,” Noah said, though they were already running back toward it before he’d even finished speaking. “I can’t believe it just went right through your Shield.”

“It’s at least a Rank 3,” Moxie said with a grimace. She increased her pace, pulling ahead of Noah, and he winced at what he saw. The back of her shirt was ripped to shreds, cut apart by the panther’s large claws.

If it had managed to do that much damage to her through a Shield, then it had some serious destructive power. Moxie had made it sound the like the wound hadn’t been that bad, but it had clearly been pretty deep judging by the amount of blood on her back.

“How did you even hear I was fighting?” Noah asked, speeding up to match Moxie’s strides.

“You weren’t that far from the camp, and I figured I’d come find you before something inevitably went wrong. Clearly, I had the right idea. Lee’s still with the others, so they’re protected.”

They ran out of the tree line, arriving at the edge of the clearing a minute later. Lee stood near the campfire beside the students, who sat around it in a triangle. There was no sign of the panther. Noah let out a relieved sigh, slowing to a stop together with Moxie.

“What happened?” Todd asked. “You look worried.”

“There’s been a chance of plans,” Noah said. “We ran into a monster that’s a lot stronger than it should have been.”

“We need to leave the forest,” Moxie said with a nod. She paused for a moment to scan the surroundings, but clearly found no more than Noah had. “Immediately. We’ll head elsewhere to continue our training.”

Isabel shot to her feet without more than half a second of hesitation, joining them in looking. “I’m ready. What did you run into? Is it a Great Monster?”

Todd and Emily both rose as well, worried expressions crossing their features. Everyone squinted into the darkness and Lee tilted her head to the side, sniffing the air before shaking her head.

“I don’t smell it.”

“It was a ways away from camp,” Noah said, pausing to concentrate on his tremorsense. There was nothing of relevance near them, but that didn’t mean the jaguar wasn’t close. “A few minutes. And no, I don’t think it was a Great Monster. It was intelligent, though. Looked like a jaguar, but much larger and with way too many teeth.”

“It can jump through shadows,” Moxie added. “It backed away when we ganged up on it, but it’s strong. If it was just Vermil, Lee, and I, we could handle it. But the three of you aren’t ready for this. Stay close together and be prepared. We’re leaving immediately.”

The students fell into a close formation and they all set a brisk pace out of the camp. Noah didn’t remember what the fastest way out of the Vibrant Woods was, but Moxie took the lead without hesitation.

Maybe she somehow knows more about where we are because of her Runes? I wonder if she can speak to plants.

Noah shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for him to start wondering about arbitrary things. He turned his attention toward his tremorsense, feeling the vibrations in the dirt beneath his feet.

“Damned Plains,” Emily breathed, looking at Moxie’s back for the first time since they’d returned. “Moxie, your shirt!”

“Its claws went through my Shield,” Moxie said, not looking back. “It’s a Rank 3 monster. I’m quite certain it is, at least. I don’t think it had a domain or it would have done a lot more damage to Vermil and I.”

“Just focus on your surroundings,” Noah said. “And if you see anything, call out. It’s fast. Really fast.”

They were at least several hours away from the edge of the Vibrant Woods. And, while Noah suspected that the jaguar would be unlikely to leave its territory to chase after them, the trip out was fraught with shadows to hide in.

There’s a good chance it doesn’t try anything again. I’m not sure why I’m so worried. It backed off when it was just me and Moxie. Now there are six of us. There’s almost no way it would ever be motivated to attack. It’ll just go find easier prey.

Noah’s mental assurance did little to make him feel any more comfortable. It wasn’t like the monster posed him all that much threat himself, but its speed and stealth abilities made it a nightmare for the rest of the group – other than Lee, who would probably end up smelling it coming.

“Anything, Lee?” Noah asked in a hushed whisper.

“No,” Lee replied, her brow furrowed in concentration. “Maybe it isn’t chasing us.”

Noah grunted, but he didn’t believe his own actions. The jaguar hadn’t just been any monster. Something about it felt sinister and malevolent, and he refused to let his guard down until they were well out of the forest.

Several minutes spun by in the blink of an eye, and the forest was still silent. There didn’t even seem to be any monsters in their path – not even Snakes. If anything, that only served to put Noah’s nerves even more on edge.

The forest was just too quiet.

A shadow flickered in the trees. Noah froze and his head whipped toward it, but it was just a stray branch swaying in a gentle breeze. His lips pursed and he jogged to make up the few steps he’d missed.

Over the course of the next hour, every single stick cracking beneath their feet and abnormality at the edge of Noah’s vision yanked his attention, but nothing ever amounted to anything.

By all means, it just looked like they were panicking as they took an intense jog through a colorful forest in the night. Not exactly an activity meant for the whole family, but hardly one to be concerned about.

“You’re sure it’s after us?” Todd asked in a whisper. “Maybe it gave up?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Moxie replied primely. “There are other locations we can train that we were already planning on visiting, and remaining in the forest with a monster like that isn’t acceptable. We–”

It happened so fast that Noah’s tremorsense barely picked up on it – and by the time it did, it was too late. A paw pressed into the ground right at the edge of what Noah could sense. He ripped magic from his Runes, calling out a warning, but the jaguar had already struck.

A black blur erupted from the ground behind Isabel. Todd, who had been standing directly beside her, drove his shoulder into Isabel and threw her out of the way. The monster slammed into him, driving Todd into the ground like a child’s doll with its massive paws.

Noah lunged for the monster, but it vanished back into the shadows so quickly that he didn’t even get a chance to release the magic he’d gathered. All of them rushed to Todd and Isabel grabbed at the healing potion at his side – then froze.

Todd’s uniform was undamaged. He didn’t have massive, gaping wounds in his chest or shoulders. The worst that had happened to him was that he looked a little winded. Todd looked down at his body in disbelief and patted his stomach, as if to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

“What in the Damned Plains?”

“Did it forget to bring its claws out?” Isabel asked, relief evident on her face as she pulled Todd to his feet.

“That’s a pretty big mistake to make,” Emily said, swallowing heavily. An ice bow materialized in her grip and she turned in a circle, squinting into the dark forest around them. “It won’t make it again. Where did it–”

Noah’s tremorsense screamed a warning and he dove forward, tackling Isabel and Todd to the ground. The jaguar leapt out of the shadows at their feet and redirected itself, batting Emily to the side.

She let out a startled yelp as her bow shattered and Noah leapt to his feet, but once again, the jaguar vanished before he could even try to counterattack. Moxie rushed over to Emily.

“I’m fine,” Emily said, sucking in a breath and patting her stomach as if to reassure herself. “It… just slapped me. Did you injure it in the fight or something?”

“It’s strong enough to pound you into paste if it wanted to,” Moxie said curtly, vines curling at her feet and rising into the air around her, waiting for the next attack. “That’s not the case. Is it playing with us?”

“No,” Noah said, a chill running down his spine as he finally realized what was going on. “It’s not playing with us, and it isn’t injured. Not seriously, at least.”

“What’s going on, then?” Lee demanded. “I can’t smell it at all!”

“It’s making a threat.” Noah’s fists clenched at his sides. The jaguar had first attacked him after he’d Sundered a snake. The monster might not have known exactly what the Rune did, but it might have figured out he had a Great Rune. “I think it’s telling us that it’ll kill the students if we try to leave.”

“What? Why?” Isabel demanded. “What kind of monster does that?”

“One that realized it couldn’t win a fight against both me and Moxie at the same time,” Noah said, clenching his fists. “And one intelligent enough to recognize that, if it kills you, it loses its bargaining chip.”

“Then what does it want?” Todd asked. “If it knows it can’t beat you working together, then why even bother with this? It can’t win!”

“Not against all of us,” Noah agreed, becoming more sure of his words the more he spoke. “But we don’t have a way to keep it from killing any of you.”

“It’s trying to make you and Moxie fight it one by one,” Isabel muttered, realization sparking in her eyes. She frowned and glanced at Emily, taking a moment to choose her words. “Can you defeat it?”

“I’m not sure,” Noah replied. “I was barely holding my own before Moxie came to bail me out, but I didn’t play all my cards either. But… I’m not so sure we’re going to have a choice here.”

“We could just try to run for it,” Lee suggested, but Noah shook his head.

“You can’t smell it, and I can’t warn you fast enough. The kids are in danger. I’ve got to try to fight it while you escape.”

“How are you supposed to beat something like that, though?” Emily demanded. “You’re just a Rank 2! If it hurt Moxie, then you stand no chance.”

“As long as it’s preoccupied with me, it doesn’t matter. The rest of you can leave,” Noah said, his features going flat. He pulled his travel bag and gourd off, tossing them to Lee. “Go. I’ll catch up with you.”

A low growl echoed from the forest. They all froze.

“I… don’t think it’s going to let us just stroll away,” Todd said.

Noah swore under his breath.

Can the it understand the common tongue? Just how smart is this thing? Even if the others try to leave after I start fighting, it could just run back and attack them. Moxie herself should be safe as long as she’s paired with Lee and vice versa, but the only way to keep the students safe is by doing what it wants.

“Right. Stay here,” Noah said, rolling his shoulders. “We’re at the disadvantage, so I’ve got no choice. If it wants to play, then I’ll play.”

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