//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven, Shrew-d Operator: A time for action! // Story: Airship Mauled // by Darkonshadows //------------------------------// -Kuril- Okay, my daughter just took a punch to the spine that dented metal and sent her flying. I was thankfully preparing a griffon feather for a cast already and stopped her from getting injured even worse. Fizzle was climbing down in a panic to go pick Jade up as she wasn’t getting up from her fall. Jacky just jumped off the building after I caught her, she floated down while the feather falling effect was still going. I assumed that she was going to help Jade out as well. We helped rescue Tarsus’s girlfriend, can’t we just leave this place now before Jade or any of my other girls get injured or worse? Jade was on the ground and wasn’t getting up, but at least she was breathing. The shield on her back had an imprint of the knuckles from that large monster in it, I didn’t need to know what would have happened if that large pig had decided to skewer her with the pitchfork’s blades instead. I considered myself lucky that my poor daughter was still alive. The big pig I assumed to be Gonnan jumped off the second story balcony and entered the fray started by The Desert Shrews. The pigs weren’t having a good time of fighting the more agile shrews in the streets, but the arrival of Gonnan made the shrews start backing off immediately and they gave the large boar a wide berth. Why wouldn’t they back off? His landing created a shockwave that knocked down everything within twenty feet of him, he was also large, muscular and quite threatening. I had to get down there and make sure Jacky and Fizzle didn’t get hurt helping Jade out, what to do though? I’m a magic user… think. I did not want to stay close to that monster for long after seeing what he did to my daughter. You better believe I was going to get my pound of flesh from his hide for that! That monster has earned my ire. Gonnan not only looks tough, but he was taking various sword hits like a champ. The shrews weren’t putting a dent in him and he wasn’t even wearing any armor. The guy probably didn’t need it anyway considering how many hits he was handling with his thick hide. Fizzle and Jacky have reached Jade, it looks like they’re checking her over. Fizzle seems relieved and a little worried about something. Jacky was soon carefully lifting Jade up and over Fizzle’s back. I turned back to the fight. Gonnan wasn’t weakening and some of the shrews were cutting their losses once they took serious enough injuries trying to do something to that hulking boar. Gonnan knocked several of them back with a single swing of his weapon. There were a bunch of downed pigs and the shrews were beginning to flee in various directions after getting in a few more swings at the crime boss. Gonnan let loose a roar of rage, then he turned his sight on my girls. Fizzle was securing my unconscious daughter on her back and Jacky turned to him holding the recently acquired spear protectively. Leaning forward, Gonnan scraped his right foot against the ground. I pulled out a griffon feather and cast it at myself, I took a few steps back and gauged the distance and where I would be landing. I pulled out the waffle mallet and started sustaining it, its hammer time! I ran forward and leapt from the building, my current given arc was not going to land anywhere near Gonnan unless he did what I thought he was about to do. “With each hit of this power I do hope to break a mental cog, let the mind hopefully become like that of fog!” He charged forward and I came down on his right shoulder, he had been a bit too focused on the girls to really slow down and deal with me. I started to rapidly tap my mallet against him as much as I could. It doesn’t matter how hard I hit, just that I hit until the effect eventually takes hold. At some point his straight line for my girls turned into swerving left and right down the street wildly, eventually it turned into a U-turn. That’s when I leapt off and landed on my paws to watch him run a tight circle and then subsequently ram face first through a buildings wall. Despite a good portion of the building collapsing in on him, within seconds he just bursts from the rubble and staggers about looking dizzy. “Kuril, look out!” I turned to see what Jacky was warning me about and almost received a sword to the back from an armored pig, only it was stopped by a shrew intercepting him. “We got your back lady.” It seems the shrews were trying to regroup and had just rotated in a fresh uninjured squad, he pushed the pig away from me. “These streets aren’t very safe at the moment.” I turned my attention to the stumbling crime boss, he shook his head rapidly and then glared at me. I glared right on back, nobody threatens my girls! He started to charge for me and I raised my right hand and almost closed my eyes completely, I waited until he was close and performed a cast with the evening sunlight. “Sunlight that is already quite bright, create an incredible blinding sight!” I fully closed my eyes as a bright light flared from my hand in the direction of the crime boss’s face. I opened my eyes after the light died down and saw him clutching at his face in pain. He had fallen and was roaring angrily, that had temporarily blinded the monster that hit my daughter. I quickly made my way over to the girls. “That was awesome Kuril!” Thank you Jacky, I did find out what casting sunlight does and it apparently creates a blinding light as bright as a solar flare. I was more careful with that this time than the last time I used it, poor Sekhet. “No wait, he’s getting up again.” “Fizzle dear, please imbue your sword with ice.” The large pig was brawny, I’ll give him that. What Gonnan clearly had in brawn and endurance, I could match with my brains. “Huh… okay, I’ll try.” She made sure Jade was securely on her back as she pulled out the sword with her hoof and concentrated. “Think about this guy almost killing Jade and use that to influence a literal cold rage.” What I just said had sparked something in Fizzle, because her eyes narrowed and the glow of her horn strengthened. I turned away from Fizzle and to the approaching boar monster. “You are an interesting one cat.” My does he seem to be quite brutish, even in the way he spoke as he stomped towards us wielding that bladed pitchfork of his. It looks like he was wising up and wasn’t just going to rush me again. “Join me and we could rule this town, or you can perish here.” “How about no.” He grunted at me in anger, I stood tall in the face of the danger he represented. “I’m the witch of good taste, Kurilian La Perm. I think you have a horrible sense of taste after you hurt my daughter and because of that I will never join you. You will also sadly never know the taste of my food, it’s quite good from what I hear.” “Got it, now what?” I turned to see that Fizzle had gotten the sword glowing in the colors of white and pale blue. “Give it to me for a second.” Though she was curious as to what I was about to do, Fizzle still dropped the sword into my right hand. “Back off and leave us be, or else.” “A magical sword, do you think that you will truly get close enough to harm me with it?” Not that Gonnan knew this, but I didn’t need to get close. He took a few steps forward and I invoked my next rhyme. “Imbued this sword of icy wind, through you breaths of sharpened water I do send!” Sustain my fish scale necklace and… I rapidly spat multiple times into the blade until the magic on it ran out. I had sent a number of sharp icicles screaming through the air, all of which pierced a surprised Gonnan’s hulking mass. Gonnan let loose a scream of pain as the icicles buried themselves in his body, he stumbled backwards and away from me. After my volley ended, I calmly hand the sword back to a surprised Fizzle and stared down the pockmarked enemy before me. “Thanks for the help Fizzle, try to figure out lightning next. Jacky you’re going to throw the spear over his head, so get ready for that.” I kept my eyes on Gonnan and moved to stand in front of my girls, both Jacky and Fizzle gave me a confused looks. “Never underestimate the power of a good witch that’s angry, especially not if you attempt to hurt that witch’s family.” “I have a score to settle with him, back away and let me handle this.” I turned to the approaching male shrew with the scar covered body and stared at him flatly, so this was Soricini Sorex. He was a tad handsome, but I don’t think I’d ever want my daughter to look as scar riddled as him. Hopefully Jade’s escapades never ruined her beautiful personality or her tom cat nature. “You can have at him after I’m done with him myself.” I glared at the pig, the icicles had done quite some damage and were melting in his wounds opening them up. He was wary of approaching me now, he had good reason for that. “Got it, what do I do with it?” I turned to see that Fizzle had the sword crackling with energy, perfect. I pulled out my raven feather and sustained it to give them both an idea of what I wanted to do. “Yikes, remind me to never make you mad Chief Cook.” Sorry for the imagery Jacky, but it needed to be seen so you could do exactly what I wanted you to do. I put the feather away. “I don’t know about you Blackcap, but I can get behind that.” That’s only because of how much you like my daughter Fizzle. “Last warning, turn away from my family or else what we’ll do next will leave you in a worse state than you already are.” He looked at me and took a single solitary step forward, I inhaled and blasted him with water. I started slowly walking forward. The water hadn’t done much to him, but I had soaked him. “Girls, if you will.” I took my hammer in my right hand and waited. Jacky took a javelin throwers stance and ran forward to toss the spear over Gonnan’s head. Fizzle swung the magically electrified sword upwards, then she spun around and quickly threw it to Gonnan’s right. I tossed my hammer to the left and what happened next was spectacular. The crescent bolt of raw energy struck his soaked body and the lighting ran through the ice chunks that hadn’t melted yet. The electrical energy running through his body leapt off and into the three metallic weapons surrounding him in a triangle formation. It was a triangle of raw energy for a few seconds that got worse when the weapons struck the water on the ground electrifying him even further. After that he was swaying on his feet before he fell to his butt. I calmly walked forward and picked up the sword, the spear and the hammer. I then made my way back to the girls quietly with the brute stiffened up from the shock. “Okay, now he’s yours.” I walked on by Soricini with confidence in my steps. “Take your daughter to our compound, tell someone ‘the desert left salt in the wounds’. She will be seen to quickly.” I nodded and tipped my hat to him, I continued on my merry way while giving the spear and sword back to my girls. “I just realized that I could have done worse, I could have thrown the shield too.” I said looking at my daughter draped over Fizzle’s back. “Come on girls, let’s go.” Gonnan wasn’t finished and he struggled to stand up, but it was too late. We were no longer part of the battle. We did what we came here to do, it was now up to Mr. Sorex and his people as to how things went. -Fizzle- “The desert left salt in the wounds.” The shrew nodded to Kuril and quickly left, eventually several shrews came and took Jade from my back. After they pulled the shield off of her they went to work checking her over. “How did someone manage to knock her spine this badly out of alignment, she’s practically paralyzed.” Minute's later they were standing over a stripped down Jade and looking her over, I stood behind them nibbling my lips with worry. “Her only other injury is a light slash to the chest.” “Is she going to be okay?” I turned to see Tarsus coming up to me, beside him was Merriami. “We can pop her spine back into position, but she will be in large amounts of pain when she wakes up and she’s going to need a nice place to rest. Preferably not here in Klugetown, we’re going to prescribe some powerful painkillers for her.” The doctor started to pull out a strange substance and rubbed it into Jade’s fur, after that he started to pulling and pushing on Jade’s back. There were several sharp cracking noises that made me feel uneasy. “The air here in Klugetown isn’t going to do her any favors, I’d recommend moving her to a more hospitable climate as she’s not in a critical condition.” “Well it seems we’re going to need that airship like yesterday, I know a good place to park my daughter for a nice relaxing day or two.” At least Kuril had an idea of what to do. “Would a coastal venue be good for my daughter?” “Yes, as long as the air isn’t dusty where you’re going, her spine being knocked out of alignment messed up the rest of her body. Which includes her lungs.” The doctor gave Jade a pitying look. “She’ll need two weeks to recover from her injuries, so you better force those painkillers I’m going to give you down her throat. She’ll need them.” “But she was only hit once!” I exclaimed. “Yeah and that one hit really did a number on her.” The doctor replied. “Who did she even get hit by to cause this much damage?” “Gonnan, the big pig himself.” Everyone turned to the sound of Soricini’s voice, he was being carried in by his people. He looked like a mess, but he was smiling. “Get them an airship.” “Yes, that would certainly do it.” The doctor nodded before turning to Kuril. “Look the sooner you can get her out of here, the quicker she can recover in that place you have in mind.” -Klugetown- Thanks to the actions of Jade and the others, Klugetown would still be run by criminals. Only it had changed for the better, if ever so slightly. Thus started the rise of the naked mole rat crime boss, Verko. Said crime boss would eventually meet an Abyssinian named Capper Dapperpaws.