Skyeyes took off running toward where Snowball had gone. He didn’t look back or wait. Instead he shouted as he ran, “Snowball! Trouble!”


    Everyone moved. Mina scooped up Drox as she ran by him. The bear was already pulling out his book while riding on her shoulders. Josh and Adam were hot on Skyeyes’ heels. He moved fast for a goblin though. It wasn’t long before they saw the first enemy patrols. They were similar to the goblins from the other tunnel. Each stood and waited as if they were nothing more than constructs.


    Skyeyes was nowhere in sight when Adam and Josh barreled into the goblins. A pack of six corrupted goblin warriors were caught wholly off guard by the sudden blitz attack. Josh’s sword glowed with a glint of blue on the edge as he brought down a Power Strike on the first goblin. It was heaved in two. Adam was right behind with a flying punch to the face of the next foe. He did not one-shot the monster though so he followed it up with his new skill.


    Adam landed from his flying punch and the goblin stumbled back slightly from the blow. He planted his feet and pulled a fist back. He felt the energy gather around his hand. Faint blue sparks flashed in the air around him. He rotated his body pulling the fist back even further and allowing the energy to build. Now the blue sparks were a swirl of light leading into his hand. Then, like a rubber band snapping from pressure, he let loose. He opened his fist and struck his palm out toward the goblin.


    “Palm Strike!” yelled Adam.


    His palm struck the monster with a flash of blue light. It almost looked gentle as light as Adam seemed to only touch the goblin. As his palm landed on the goblin’s chest though a burst of blue erupted from his hand. The goblin flew backwards from the force as its chest was crushed inward. It knocked two of its companions down as it flew into a cavern wall. There was a splattering sound, but Adam didn’t have time to look as he continued to the next goblin. Mina and Drox were coming up behind them now.


    “Go,” were the only words Josh said as he blocked a sword slash from one of the corrupted goblins.


    Mina moved past the fight running as fast as she could with Drox on her shoulders, his book at the ready. She moved down the tunnel expecting to find another pack of monsters guarding, but there were none. She could see the tunnel opened up ahead and she ran on her legs pumping to the point where she felt like she was flying.


    When she breached the opening there was chaos. The barking and snarling of hounds filled her ears as she took in the scene laid out before her. Snowball was surrounded by a pack of at least ten hounds. Several lay dead near her. Her normally pristine white fur was stained red from blood. She kept her front leg slightly off the ground as blood dripped down from a wound. Skyeyes was there, but there were several more hounds keeping him from Snowball.


    Behind them all was a massive figure standing eight feet tall with a wicked looking black whip. Mina could see glints of white throughout the whip at intervals. She thought for a moment it was some sort of stone, but then the dim light hit the whip just right and she was able to get a clear view. They weren’t stones at all, but instead fangs from some animal. As she noticed the figure a notification appeared in her vision.


    Corrupted Bugbear Houndmaster - level 8 - Elite Enemy


    Mina moved toward the group of hounds circling Snowball, ignoring the bugbear. She could see the wolf’s HP was bleeding down from yellow into red. She wouldn’t be able to take another hit. As Mina got close though a flash of black crossed her vision and she instinctively raised her shield to her face. There was a grinding sound like a saw on wood as her buckler was rented by a black whip. Splinters of wood flew through the air as Mina’s arm was pulled by the force. She stumbled a bit before righting her balance. Her shield had a large gash in the wood, but it was otherwise unharmed.


    The Houndmaster strode through the gap between Snowball and Skyeyes toward Mina. She was able to get a better look at the monster now. Where the foreman had been all bulk and hair the houndmaster was slim and hairless. He had dark green skin the color of moss that was covered in lines of pulsing black. On his face he wore the skull of a hound that had been carved into a mask. His mouth was the only thing visible on his face behind the mask, and it was set into a wicked grin as he looked down at Mina.


    “Help Snowball,” whispered Mina to the bear on her shoulders.


    “Aye lass, watch yourself.”


    Drox slid off of Mina’s back and moved toward Snowball as Mina charged forward. That was all Drox saw as he focused on the hounds circling Snowball in front of him. Skyeyes was slashing and weaving around some others as he desperately tried to get to his bond. Drox could see he was bleeding from a vicious bite on his leg. The goblin’s HP was already 80/130. Snowball was in much worse shape though. So the bear turned and tried out his new spell.


    “Summon Flame Spirit,” said Drox. His mana dropped a hundred points leaving him 100/200.


    There was a loud crack. It echoed through the fighting, growling, and battle cries of the cavern. A moment of eerie silence followed as Drox watched a fissure appear on the ground. A moment later fire spit up like a geyser. Out of the flames walked the form of a Teddy Bear that was made of white hot fire. It was a mirror image of Drox in every way except it was made entirely of white hot flame. Drox instinctively knew what to do. He sent a mental command to the spirit.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    A hound leapt toward Snowball’s exposed flank, but she was too weak to dodge away. She knew it was coming but she couldn’t do anything about it. Instead, she let out a growl and braced herself for the impact and the pain that would follow. While the hound flew through the air at her she closed her eyes and waited. But the pain didn’t come


    She felt the heat before she opened her eyes. A flaming white teddy bear crashed into the hound wrapping its fiery paws around the beast’s neck. A moment later the hound was nothing more than ash. The flaming bear didn’t stop though. It moved toward the next hound that had been circling Snowball. This one was quicker and leapt back away from the dangerous fire spirit.


    Snowball’s legs gave out as she bled onto the cave floor. She wasn’t aware of her HP, she couldn’t see the menus, but she felt the weariness, the pain. She knew she was dying and she would fail her master. She didn’t want to fail him. He had been so kind to her, but all she could do was watch the fight unfold before her.


    The whip flew through the air at speed far beyond what Mina could dodge. Instead she lifted her shield and tried to block as much as she could. It was hopeless though. Everytime the whip would carve her shield up further and snake around to dig into her flesh. She felt the wicked fangs sink into her shoulder as the whip once again found its way past her defenses. Her HP dropped. She was at 150/200 now.


    The fire spirit took all of Drox’s attention to control. It had proven useful though. There were too many enemies though. It had already downed three of the hounds, but there were still another ten left. Drox had at least prevented them from attacking Snowball any further. He saw that the hounds were wary of his summoned spirit. They kept their distance as it moved protectively around the downed wolf. Drox had a bad feeling though. He knew time was almost up. He felt the power fading quickly.


    Skyeyes flashed his dagger out at the three hounds blocking his path. He had to be touching Snowball to heal her. He had to get to her. He instinctively knew if he lost a bond it would be like losing a piece of himself. She was his first bond. She was his first friend again after he had left his home. He wouldn’t, no he couldn’t, lose her.


    One of his daggers sank deep into the side of a hound. It let out a yelp as a dying gasp. Another of the beast barreled toward him and he pulled up his other dagger to block. The teeth clamped down on steel, but the momentum sent them both tumbling back into a ball of dirt, fur, and pointy ears.


    Just as Drox felt the fire spirit’s power fade it burst into a cloud of black smoke. He felt the mental strain of commanding it release from his mind. His mind cleared and he acted.


    “Flame Shield.” A fiery shield sprung up hovering in front of Snowball. Drox wasn’t finished yet though. “Fire Bolt!” he yelled.


    The flaming missile shot toward the group of hounds. They tried to move, but Drox hadn’t aimed at their bodies. Instead the flaming projectile hit the ground right before the pack and exploded into a spray of fire and sparks.


    The hounds let out yelps and howls as they moved back smoking and charred from the blast. He had hit a good five of them with that. Even if it didn’t do any significant damage. He looked at his MP and sighed. He was sitting at 20/200 now. He had no spells he could cast while his MP regenerated.


    Drox plopped down next to Snowball. He was spent. He had nothing left, but he wouldn’t leave the wolf. He had a connection with the beast no matter how hard he didn’t want to admit it. He liked her. She was part of the team even if it was such a short time. She was a soldier.


    Flame Shield hovered around the pair for a moment before it finally extinguished, running out of time. The hounds, sensing weakness, moved in without hesitation. Ten corrupted slavering maws rushed forward toward Snowball and Drox.


    A howl split through the cavern echoing off the walls of the room. The hounds froze in their charge as if they’d hit a physical barrier. Drox turned to find the source and spotted Pork Chop and Jerky at the entrance. They rushed toward their down companion. Adam and Josh were right on their heels.


    Adam took in the chaos around him. He saw Mina getting battered by a massive goblin holding a whip, hounds surrounding Drox and Snowball, and finally Skyeyes on the ground just inside the cavern. Adam saw Skyeyes holding a single dagger up with both hands blocking the maw of a hound that was eagerly trying to snap at the goblins. He was trying desperately to keep from getting his head crushed under the jaws of the beast.


    “I’ll help Skyeyes,” said Adam. “You back up Mina.”


    Josh nodded and he was off without a word.


    Adam moved toward Skyeyes as the two wolves raced toward Snowball and Josh moved to help Mina. The hound came about waist-high to Adam and he knew punching it could be an issue. So, as he got close he skipped slightly as if running up to a ball and pulled back his leg. His foot flashed as he brought it forward into a kick smashing the hound atop Skyeyes in the side. There was a crunching sound and the hound went flying. It skidded to the ground five meters away, its HP bar dropping to zero in an instant.


    Skyeyes was up in a moment and moved to his downed wolf. He had one dagger now, the other lost in the side of a hound somewhere. His HP was 60/120 and he couldn’t care less. He moved with eyes only for his bond. Adam was by his side as two more hounds came at them.


    Adam’s foot moved out into a straight legged kick as the first beast came close. Hit the hound directly in the head and it crashed to the ground. It was dazed by the impact but the other was right behind it. Teeth sunk into Adam’s outstretched leg, digging into his calf. He felt fire as the teeth penetrated past his leather boots with ease.


    Adam’s fist came down on the monster’s head like a hammer. The first hit made the hound let go. Adam followed it up with another and another until the beast was little more than blood and fur under his constant barrage.


    Skyeyes ran on. He had finally made it skidding to a stop in front of his companion. He instantly activated his Cure Bond skill and his hands lit up with a soft green glow. They hovered over his friend as he watched her HP slowly move up. The wound on her leg closed and her HP went from 10 to 20 to 50 before Skyeyes collapsed back in exhaustion. He had no MP so his skill used his HP and directly transferred it to his bond.


    Snowball’s eyes opened and she stood on shaky legs as her master, her bond, sat next to her. She knew he was weak from what he had done. He had sacrificed his lifeblood for her. Drox got up with Snowball from where he was leaning on her. He helped Skyeyes to his feet. Pork Chop and Jerky stood in front of them all staring down the pack of hounds.


    Snowball raised her head to the moon. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel it. She knew it was shining bright against the darkness. Then she let out a howl that pierced through the cavern. It was long and sharp and rang through the cavern like a call to arms. It struck the hounds to the bone as they all froze in fear for a moment. The sound stopped abruptly and the group charged toward the frozen hounds.