Chapter 17: 17 – Just Fireball

Tess’s hope had been that the Jaria still couldn’t make it up the steep hillside. She was proven wrong immediately. The singular Jaria before had been too large, its center of mass unable to stay steady as it attempted to scale the hill. These smaller Jaria had none of that disadvantage.

They still needed to be careful, a few Jaria that moved too fast found their bodies flipping backside first down the hill. It kept the monsters at a crawl, which let Tess and Mirari reach the hilltop.

The other side of the hill ended abruptly, replaced by a sheer cliff face that traveled further down than Tess expected. Trees grew out of the cliffside, bravely latched onto rocks like free-climbing moutaineers.

“You should have left,” Mirari said.

Tess turned, her face steely. “And you should have listened. I had ways to kill this thing. I still have ways to kill this thing. Why didn’t you think I could help?”

“I won’t let others face danger and death when I can deal with it,” Mirari answered.

The woman frowned. It was a valid argument. In fact, it was her valid argument. She had expected Mirari to answer like one of the punk teenagers she’d sometimes taught on Earth. Brazen self-assurance was so often the response that Tess had forgotten Mirari had experience in these woods.

“We’re not done talking,” Tess said. “But right now there are more important matters.”

She turned to look at the Jaria climbing the hill. “I have some abilities that would let me take these out, but the main one involves fire. Do you have a way to contain the flames if it spreads?”

Mirari nodded. “I can funnel the air around the area.”

Tess opened her skill sheet. “Good. Then give me a moment.”

The skill list appeared in her vision.

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