Mammoth was on her feet before Fall could process what the sound actually was. She struggled to stand up, and looked around wildly for the source of the scream. At the edge of the Emerald Woods, dark shadows lurked between the trees, and the wind rustled leaves.

Fall drew her spell staff and thought the command to prep her buffing skills. If she and Mammoth got into a fight, she'd do her best to make sure the barbarian didn't run herself too ragged. That was when she realized that she and Mammoth weren't actually partied up. Mammoth had wanted to keep the actual location of the date a secret. If it came to a fight, Fall wouldn't be able to see Mammoth's stats.

"Mei, we shou—"

Another scream filled the air. Mammoth turned on her heel, facing the woods. Her two-handed sword materialized, summoned by her in preparation of combat. "Fall, stay behind me." Her eyes never left the woods, but her body tensed and she lifted her chin. It looked like she was sniffing the air.

"But Me—"

Green light burst through the trees, temporarily blinding Fall. Mammoth stepped in front of her, shielding her eyes from the pain of the brightness. There was a loud snap and the sound of wood breaking. Mammoth shot forward, her sword raised. Fall's eyes shifted to the shadow that loomed in front of Mammoth.

The Boar King.

He roared, and the ground beneath him shook. In the light of the moon, his wicked tusks glinted. Mammoth's cloak flared behind her, a swathe of red in a field of green. The Boar King was a boss, but Mammoth didn't hesitate to attack him.

Why?

Fall scanned the area around them and found what she was looking for. The player was hanging from the lower branches of a tree on the edge of the plains. Whoever it was, they must have been in close quarters with the Boar King to have been tossed like that. Fall grimaced. That meant the Boar King was a physical boss.

Great.

She gritted her teeth and started to run, making sure she circled the combat zone in case the boss had any AOE spells. No need to get caught up in that. Her staff lit up as she cast her first buff, making Mammoth resistant to physical effects. While Mammoth shouted at the boss, pulling aggro, Fall made her way to the downed player.

She reached up and just barely brushed her fingers against the dangling arms of the unconscious player. Ugh. Too short. Being a faerie had its drawbacks. Fall lifted up her staff and tried to lever the other player down as carefully as she could. Wind whipped at her body, and she stumbled backward, losing control of the player's descent and wincing as they hit the ground with a solid crunch.

Whoever they were, they would certainly feel that pain when they regained their connection.

More wind buffeted Fall, and she knelt down to keep from being tossed around as much. Inching forward, she turned the player over and gasped. His golden armor glinted in the dim light. The wings that sprouted from his helm marked him as an Angel, and his equipment screamed Paladin.

Had the Boar King taken down a Paladin?

Panic gripped Fall. She turned her attention to Mammoth, and her eyes widened in shock. Blood dripped over Mammoth, pooling in the grass under her feet. The shout left her before she knew what she was doing.

But the Boar King only had eyes for Mammoth. With her level, there was no way Fall could pull aggro.

The boss launched himself at Mammoth, a trail of blood behind him. He dropped low, aiming his sharp tusks for Mammoth's heart. Mammoth yelled her defiance, and the wind around her caught fire. Her muscles bulged and her eyes became two pinpricks of red. Barbarian rage engulfed her.

All Fall could see was the blood. "No!" she shouted, but no one was paying her any attention. What could she do? What spell did she have that could help against such a high level boss? She looked around, searching for hope, and her eyes landed on the Paladin. She gritted her teeth as Mammoth shouted in pain.

Fall gripped her spell staff until her knuckles went white, focusing all of her energy into her task. Her newest spell glowed in her vision, the runes falling from the sky like small stars. Fall slammed her magic into the Paladin's chest, and her blue light enveloped him. He groaned his way into consciousness.

When her light faded, marking the spells completion, she grabbed the top of his breastplate and hauled him to his feet. "You! You brought this with you."

"Wh-what?" He was confused. Post-resurrection-spell disorientation.

She shoved him until he faced the Boar King and Mammoth. "Fix it!" Fall shoved him into combat.

Mammoth screamed in pain.

The Boar King had impaled her on his tusk. 

Glossary:

Buffing - refers to any skill or spell that temporarily increases (or 'buffs') a player's stats. Some physical characters can improve their speed or accuracy or damage. Mage characters tend to have buffs that increase their magical damage or, in the case of healing focused characters, buffs that allow others to resist damage or special effects like poison or paralysis. 

Aggro - short for 'aggression'. The term 'pulling aggro' refers to a tactic wherein high level  characters will move into a combat area and attract the attention of the boss/enemy so that their supporting players (like healers, who are traditionally less good at combat) don't get into a fist fight with a foe that can pummel them by looking at them. Sometimes, a character will intentionally draw aggro so they can lead the boss away from other, injured characters. This is referred to as 'kiting'. As long as you don't move too far away, you won't lose the enemy's attention, and the people you're trying to protect will stay out of harm's way. 

Boss - much like in any video game, the boss tends to be a very high level enemy that spawns when certain conditions are met. For instance, a Giant Wolf may spawn in an area if players kill too many regular wolves. Or there may be a boss event, where they spawn on a timer. They usually require groups of players to take down, but the trade off is they drop more experience and loot.