It was late afternoon, and my stomach had been rumbling on the regular. Harper had spotted some rabbits and deer, and we were going to hunt for our dinner to refill our dwindling food stores. The site Juan led us to was a well-used camp, situated under the boughs of a large tree. It was a pretty area, with the sound of a creek not too far off. Everything had seemed normal until I noticed the spoor of some large canines and the dropped quills from what had to be the largest porcupine I’d ever seen.

  “Looks like some coyotes got a porcupine,” I stated, holding up a rather large quill.

  Harper spat a curse and asked, “How many?”

  “I’d say eight, maybe 10 by the tracks,” I said. Harper looked at me like I was an idiot who had fucked up big time. “What’s the big deal? Coyotes won’t bother us. I don’t see a den, and there’s lots of game around here.” I shrugged. “What’s the big deal?”

  “Those aren’t coyotes, Finn. Those quills point to something worse.” Juan replied grimly. “It’s a pack of quillotes. Nasty, aggressive creatures, constantly pissed off with those things sticking out of them. And they are surrounding us right now.”

  The strange, high-pitched growls I heard around us were punctuated by an odd slipping sound and rattling of something like loosely tied sticks or dried reeds. There were many more than ten stalking towards us, and the horses were not happy with it at all.

  They looked mostly like coyotes, in size and sort of in shape. The mass of quills on their backs and tails changed that view entirely. You know how a cat puffs out when startled or pissed? Imagine that, only coyote size… with large, long quills. Drool dripped from their teeth-filled, snarling jaws. I’d never seen a healthy coyote that was that aggressive, and coyotes were everywhere back home. Whether or not you saw them, coyotes were there. Even in some grocery store’s produce sections.

  These quillotes looked extremely aggressive with their quills sticking out through their fur. They also had very healthy coats. My horse, which Harper had named Gonna Bite It, was not having it. I struggled to keep her somewhat still, but she had backed up. “Can I hit them with chain lightning? Might get a few of them quick,” I asked worriedly.

  I heard Juan somewhere behind me. “Yes, muchacho, my bow’s not ready. See how many you can get!”

  They moved toward me, weaving around each other, making it difficult to count them. I think I faced nine of them. Bracing myself, I aimed at the one in the middle and cast my Chain Lightning spell. The power swept through me, tingling down the nerves of my arm. I hadn’t noticed the sensation when facing the wolves, and the release was almost pleasurable.

  In mere moments, the jagged brightness slammed into the beast, forcing it to seize up while the lightning jumped instantly to the rest, instantly killing the targeted one plus another. They stopped their forward momentum for that moment, and I aimed my palms and shot firebolts into the two next to the dead quillotes, killing one. I tried and failed miserably to shoot two others, setting some trees on fire. Oops.

  It became obvious why Harper was not happy about facing these things. While there were only six of them still alive, their attacks were brutal. They started peppering me with quills while one tried to bite my horse. Gonna Bite It lived up to her name, literally biting the closest quillote and sending it whimpering into the trees, tail between its legs. I ducked as another tried to knock me off the mare, and I sent firebolts after it before aiming at another.

  The quills kept hitting me, and I almost took out another of the spiky bastards, but Gonna Bite It danced around trying to sink her teeth into another one. The world tilted when I tried to cast another Firebolt, and I felt lightheaded from being out of mana. I quickly pulled my only mana potion into my hand, popped the cork out and drank it down. Along with the feeling of being refreshed, annoyance filled me. I hadn’t tracked my mana better and should’ve avoided the vertigo.

  Before I knew it, a gigantic fist knocked me off my horse, and my back slammed against the ground. The air fled my lungs loudly on the hard landing, and I struggled to breathe because of the mass pressing down on my chest. Quillotes circled as I recognized what pressed its weight down on me as another of the beasts. I grasped the fur of its neck to keep it from biting or ripping my throat out.

  It stopped struggling once the ice shard severed its spine and its pack mates’ quills peppered it. The quills meant for me ended the limp, snarling beast. I pushed it off with a gasp of sweet air and staggered onto my feet. Three more Ice Shards left my hands, though only two connected. I barely registered the other shattering against a tree, just not the one I’d set on fire.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  More quills hit my chest and stomach, and I staggered back a step. The pain was too much. My breath wheezed and gurgled, my lungs filling with blood and the pressure in my chest forced air and fluid out around the quills. I couldn’t breathe! Desperately, my hands plucked at the long shafts protruding from my torso feebly. I needed to breathe. Why couldn’t I breathe?

  In a moment of brief clarity, I remembered I had an out and drank my only health potion. A wet scream erupted from my throat as most of the quills pushed out of my body. The world spun as I tried to cast Ice Shard again. “I’m out of mana again? Fucking math!” I coughed and tried to steady myself on the swiftly tilting ground.

  More quills hit me as two of the monsters rushed me. There was no time to adjust to my lack of balance, so I pulled my short sword out, hoping the minor instruction from Harper had been enough. I side-stepped the first one as it charged me, clumsily running it through. The blade came out of the quillote’s body with some effort as the other monster came for me.

  It jumped back easily from my shaky, poorly aimed slash. I cried out in anger and pain as five more quills pierced my skin and I stumbled toward them, somehow ducking more quills flying past me. As I killed another with a lucky strike, the rest of the bastards turned and ran.

  I fell to my knees, exhausted. Grateful to be alive and not sure how. My hands gripped my short sword with the last of my strength, its point stuck in the dirt. I knew once the adrenaline wore off, the pain would return and I would fall into the sweet darkness of unconsciousness. My horse snorted and stamped, but she was several feet behind me. I heard Juan leading the other horses toward me. Harper crouched down beside me, and she graced me with a grin.

  “That was pretty intense to watch, New Guy. Juan and I dealt with our share of the quillotes several minutes ago,” she said and laughed when I looked at her with something akin to horror.

  “You were just watching me fight for my life? While I almost died? What the fuck is wrong with you?” I gasped. The pain was rearing its ugly head, and the memory of the coursing magic faded.

  “Oh, don’t worry. If it looked like you were in trouble, we had your back. Just had to see how much you could handle. I’m impressed. You killed most of them all by yourself. And the rest fled, injured. We won’t see them anytime soon. Good job, New Guy! Here,” she said cheerfully, and she handed me a heath potion.

  I looked at the potion in my hand in shock. They had more? I had thought it would take weeks to recover. As painful as the last one was, the tradeoff was worth it. I popped the cork and drank it down. Immediately, I felt the last quills as they pushed their way out of my body. The bite on my thigh that I hadn’t realized was there, knitted together. I doubled over in pain, groaning.

  And just kneeled there, swaying unsteadily. “I wish… I wish this didn’t wear me out. Or hurt so much.”

  “Everything has a price, New Guy.” She continued, “The energy to heal has to come from somewhere, and it’s not in the juice,” she said with a dramatic gesture.

  “Um, the juice? What kind of fruit does this come from?” I asked. If there were fruit —

  Harper laughed at me. And kept laughing.

  “She just calls it ‘the juice.’ It’s an alchemical concoction. Are you going to be okay?” Juan asked.

  I stopped glaring at the giggling Harper and looked up at him. “I think so. Now, at least.” I replied, turning to watch Harper fall back onto her rear, still laughing.

  Juan nodded. “Good. Then loot your kills quickly. This site is no longer safe, and we need to move on.”

  It didn’t take very long. Packed a few handfuls of the quills, using one of the wolf hides in my pack to protect myself. I also found 5 gold, 12 silver, and 80 copper coins on the ground near two of the dead monsters. Not much, but every bit helped. Gonna Bite It was more than happy to leave the area. I was really getting attached to this horse and gave her a comforting pat on the neck as we got back on the road. All I got was a quick snort, so I guessed we were cool.

  We traveled for a couple more hours before finding a place nearer to the road. It was occupied by what appeared to be a group of colorfully dressed people with wagons and horses. We approached slowly, and a middle-aged woman stepped forward and bowed to us.

  “Welcome, weary travelers! We are but a humble troop of performers, making our way across Marea from Kathelon. Then who knows? Please join us and share your stories and news from the road!”

  Juan returned the bow. “Thank you, mistress. If you have food to share, that would be most kind. We can pay, of course, so as not to put a strain on your company.”

  “Nonsense! Please be our guests and share our camp.” The group seemed very welcoming, and Juan wasn’t worried, only formal. He pulled me aside when we tied our horses to their horse line.

  “Finn. A word of warning: do not share too much about your current circumstances with these folks. Traveling performers like this are good people, but they do like their stories. And sharing them. Be polite, and if you must share something, make sure it is from home,” he said low enough that only I could hear.

  I looked at him curiously. He shook his head. “Trust me in this, boy. It will be better for all involved.”

  We walked over to the fire, where Harper was sharing out a few bottles of wine. The troop also had wine and enthusiastically went from settling in to partying. A friendly young woman pulled me down next to her on one of the logs around the fire. Her hair was sun-kissed light brown, curly and full; her dress tight and loose at the same time in ways I did not understand. Her beauty instantly fascinated me. She gave me a cup of wine and clinked her cup against mine with a giggle.

  “My name’s Arilyn. What’s yours?” she asked with a coy smile.