Their progress through the woods was slow, as the three male mages were dragging their feet, unwilling to go forward into battle, but not brave enough to say anything. That continued for about five minutes before Karl had enough of it.
"Look, if you don't want to go into combat, that's on you. You don't have to join our mission. But I'm not going to stand for dragging feet and dawdling. Either you get with the program or you stay behind." He insisted.
The men of the other group looked shocked and insulted, but Tori might not have noticed, as she was busy talking about magic missiles with Dana.
She did notice when the group came to a halt, while Karl waited for their answer.
"As I said, it's up to you. If you don't want to be here, then don't be here. But screwing with the attack schedule so you can slack off isn't acceptable. You've got ten seconds to decide before I leave you behind."
Tori snorted with laughter and the rest of the group glared at her, then the other three mages promptly sat down, while the High Priest glared at them.
"Understood. Brother George, if you would be so kind as to remain and keep them safe. We will come back to check on you in a few hours." Karl declared, then returned to the front of the group and moved forward at a jog.
Dana pulled Tori up on Thor with her and Tessa, while Ophelia fell in beside Karl at the front of the group.
"Are you certain that is wise?" the Berserker asked.
"It is for us. If they're too cowardly to fight, and they won't even walk toward a battle properly, they're a liability, and it is safer for everyone if they're here in the middle of nowhere." Karl whispered back.
The supply convoy was not even staffed by Giants. It was Ice Trolls and Yeti, which enraged Hawk to the point that he was ready to launch the attack on his own. These were all Ascended Rank or lower, but Karl had told him to scout the area and pick targets, not to attack before everyone arrived.
[We're about to leave the trees and approach the trail. Once I launch the first attack, you can join in and prevent them from running away.] Karl instructed Hawk.
[Finally. What took you so long?]
Karl went right as they reached the road, while Ophelia and Rae went left, with Thor charging straight up the road, while Tori did her best to hold on to Dana, as she hadn't learned the trick to remaining seated on the Cerro yet.
The Ice Trolls saw Thor a few seconds later and began to charge.
That was when Dana grabbed Tori and jumped down from Thor, tucking and rolling, while using the Lightning Barrier to prevent injury. Tessa would ride him into melee combat, but that wasn't Dana's style.
She sent her armoured Golems forward to flank Thor, and Tori began to create orbs around herself in preparation for the battle.
Karl let the first arrow loose, hitting a Troll at the back of the line. The arrow that had been coated in fire was engulfed in ice for a few seconds after it embedded itself in the Troll's chest, then the flames began to spread, lighting the creature on fire.
Trolls had no immunity to fire, and they were quite flammable once you got them lit, especially the Ice Trolls.
Hawk predictably vented his fury on the Yeti herders, while Remi went straight for the enormous pigs, unwilling to let them get away before she found out what they tasted like. Some thin slices with broadleaf spirit grass seemed like it would be a wonderful combo to her.
Karl hit one of the lead Yeti with [Chain Lightning] on an arrow right before Tessa's mace, coated in Lightning and Holy Light, collided with its face, briefly setting the beast's fur aflame. He hadn't known her ability could do that, but it was an impressive trick for these flammable monsters.
The fight only lasted thirty seconds, and Tori had three hovering orbs for her magic missiles in the air when they finished. She seemed both confused and startled as she realized there was nothing left moving. She turned to Dana for answers, but the other Mage wasn't sure what she wanted.
"That's about how it always goes. They're a rank lower than Karl and the beasts, so they're not going to last long against their area attacks."
Tori shook her head. "That level of attack power is just insane. Like those Spider Golems. They just touch things and they fall apart. That can't be normal."
Rae laughed in Karl's mind, while Lotus laughed from her back.
"They are affected by the Bloodbath Spider's [Offensive Adaptation] skill, so the more they fight a target, the more damage they do to them. They've been fighting high ranked Ice Element targets for a while now, and they're naturally higher damage than most Commander Rank skills, even before Rae added the [Durable Constructs] skill to them to increase their armour and attack even more.
It really is unfair how much damage they do, but there's only so many of them. If we had like fifty tiny ones, it would be even better." The nature cleric joked.
Tori shuddered in revulsion at the thought of a battlefield overrun by tiny murderous spiders.
"Well, it would certainly have a psychological effect." She reluctantly agreed.
"But what are we going to do with all this? It's right on the road, and the next patrol will see it in minutes."
Rae grabbed all the pigs and threw them into Hawk's space, except one for Remi, while the four Golems worked together to pile the rest of the bodies for Hawk to create a bonfire.
"They burn really well. In fifteen minutes, they'll be ash. After that, none of the other patrols will have any idea what happened here." Karl explained as the team worked.
Then he gestured south. "Let's go check on the idiots. They likely want an escort back south past the lines by now. I don't suppose you have any idea what their issue is, do you?"
The last bit was directed at Tori, who sighed and nodded.
"I may have led them on a little to get them to agree to go along on a mission with me. There were supposed to be two mages and one Paladin type warrior, but he pulled a no show and sent another mage in his place. Then, when the mages figured out that I actually just needed a group for the mission, and they weren't going to get laid, they started pouting and looking for reasons to go home.
High Priest George has been sick of all of us since about noon on day one, and I suspect that he's planning to report us all for conduct unbecoming an Elite when he gets back." She explained.
Karl's look made Tori flinch a little. "Look, I know it was a scummy thing to do, but I wanted to fight at the front and get some credits before I graduated. If they had just sucked it up and did the job they agreed to, it would have been fine."
"Well, we will see if their attitude has improved when we get back. If not, we will have to do something. Either find a safe spot to hide them, or a way to get them back to the main lines. At least you managed to get a few kills in before you had to go back." Karl replied.
Tori sighed and nodded, not eager to go back to her group, who obviously weren't going to be welcome with a proper group like Karl's who were here to kill Giants and help the war effort.
Only, when they got back to the spot where they left the group, they were gone.
[Hawk, find the idiots and let me know where they are.] Karl ordered.
Karl checked the snow, and saw three sets of running footsteps headed southeast, toward the secondary valley, and a fourth set moving slower behind them, but probably tracking the mages.
[They're still running toward the secondary valley entrance. The cleric is way behind them, but he's following their footprints. Should I keep tracking them?] Hawk replied.
[Give us a minute to decide. We might just let them leave and keep their other mage for a bit.] Karl replied.
All four pets laughed at that. Why would they want the useless ones back? Besides, they weren't even cute or scaly.
Lotus pointed to a set of symbols drawn in the snow. "That's clerical shorthand. It says the mages deserted, and he is required to go after them, then what, I think, should mean to watch over Tori."