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// 37 - Trust Building 
// Story: Bind on Pickup 
// by David Silver 
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The starting fields held no threat to them. What few monsters dared to come close were swatted back with childish ease. Fortunately, they were moving through it instead of trying to train there. Smolder pointed ahead. "Now, we could go back in the tower, but we agreed to not try that chance until after at least a little practice first, so today, we plunder the forest. Tomorrow, the tower if we're ready for more."

“You agreed to not try the tower,” Garble grumbled. “I don’t see how a forest could ever compete with how dangerous the tower is.”

“Some adventurers never even step foot in any tower, you know that, right Garble?” Sandra said. “The tower is it’s own… thing. Other adventurers spend all their time in caves and forests and out fighting other adventurers.”

“Besides,” Smolder piped in. “We’re here to practice working together, not fighting the hardest stuff in the world. If the monsters here aren’t any tough, we spend some time, leave, do something harder next time.”

Aiden appeared without being called, looking towards a portion of the forest they approached. Sandra followed its gaze and it dawned on her. "Oh hey! Look." The others looked towards the trees, but there were just trees. "Guys, this is where the burnt patch was. It's been healing while we were away."

Spike smiled with genuine joy. "That's great! Is it all better? Looks like a lot of trees to me."

Sandra shook her head. "Close, but wow, definitely on the way." Her steps became more confident, knowing she had played some part in the restoration of the forest. Aiden played silent vigil, watching the place where he had been born.

With a sudden piercing wail, they were set upon just entering the cover of the trees by angry, big-eyed monkeys with flailing hands. They would not have to search long for practice. Instead of hanging back, Spike charged right alongside Garble, leaving Sandra and Smolder behind.

Smolder edged just in front of Sandra. "I'm basically the back guard. Anyone tries to get on you, they're getting cooked." She twirled her suddenly present daggers in ready position. "I do mean that literally, of course."

"Of course." She thrust out a hand and Aiden launched free of her arm. "Let's get you some cooking supplies."

The monkeys rushed out, their fists crashing into the front line. Neither Garble nor Spike were bat away, but they were outnumbered and hit. Garble sliced at the nearest one, landing a decisive slash, but the monkey didn’t fall from the hit, merely hesitating a vital moment in the wave of simian flesh.

Spike was glowing brightly, a strange white/green hue that echoed more dimly in his party mates. His staff flared as he brought it in a two-handed arc, knocking one right off their feet as it crashed into their knees, but another was practically climbing over the body before it finished hitting the ground.

Then the fire came, Aiden soaring just overhead, sheets of heat and flame raining down from its spread wings on the enemies below. The fire was a living thing, clinging to and attacking the monkeys and turning away from the dragons, even if they held no particular fear of flames.

The now flaming monkeys flailed those fists and met with Garble's blade. In an arc of crackling precision, he removed several fists in one cruel motion. "Such a good audience, giving me a hand like that."

Spike, for his part, was doing his best to knock heads with his staff, swinging it, the new gemmed head glowing as he beat away the assailants. With a moment of free time, he sent a quick healing pulse to Garble, who no doubt needed it, but went straight back to hitting.

Fire continued to rain down on the monkeys, while the two in the front clubbed and sliced their way through the enemies.

And Smolder was actually kind of bored. None of the monsters had gotten past anyone yet. She huffed. They needed a plan for when protection wasn’t needed, huh? Aiden's cry signified that change, a smaller chunk of the swarm following it as the fire bird came flying towards them.

Even as Smolder charged with a rejoiceful cry, Sandra slashed the air with a hand, Aiden vanishing in a bright puff and the ground erupting in stone, her rock golem climbing free, jewels glistening with the promise of solid defense. Monkeys crashed against twirling knives and great crushing fists.

Not only were they holding their own quite well, and little floating fires proving as gravestones, er, future meals, but their antics took enough pressure off the two in the front, allowing Spike and Garble to start beating back the diminished horde, the flames weakening them when bludgeoning staff strikes and dismembering blades weren't doing the job fast enough.

A loud ring of steel echoed out as a clenched fist larger, and stronger, then the others met Garble's blade and did not yield. Its owner was a huge arm, attached to the running, burning, mass of the others, flowing together into something greater and more terrible than the many others that had been slain so rapidly together.

Sandra hissed a breath. "Looks like we managed to do it again…" Much like when they had first started, the mass killing in such a short time had called a sudden boss to face them. "This time we'll handle it," she said, as much to bolster herself as anyone else that could hear her.

Garble, however, bellowed a laugh. “Would ya look at this! I thought this was gonna be just us whaling on some kind of little loser monster.”

The manamerged monster roared, finally coalescing into a huge monkey, as large as the monster in the tower, wreathed in flowing flames. It rose it’s huge fists, and slammed them down, barely missing Garble and Spike as they lept back. But... Garble felt strange. It felt a little like being in a magma pool but bad, instead of good.

Garble spun around and cut at its arms, biting into the skin but not slicing through it like it’s smaller form. The wreaths of fire lashed out, and Garble paid no mind, slashing again, right until they collided with him, sending him off of his feet with a sharp slap.

Garble cried out. “Ow. What the hey?!”

Spike ducked down underneath another fist, a wave of flame washing over him, which hit him and stung. It was a new feeling, and he had to grit his teeth to bear it.

The monkey brought its arms back up again, roaring and the flames gathered, and as it prepared to slam it down, Spike brought his staff up, ready to absorb the attack.

Garble pulled himself up and braced himself just in time for the second burst of flame to wash over him, the same stinging inflicted on him, but only pushing him back instead of knocking him off his feet. “What the hey is this.”

Spike sprang forward gritting his teeth through the injury, thrusting his staff into the monkey, a burst of magic blasting it’s leg backward, causing it to fall over. He hopped back. “I think the fire is burning us!”

“Excuse me?!” Garble shouted, looking over for just a minute, but trying to press the advantage on the tripped monkey. “I’ve bathed in lava.”

“I dunno!”

Great vibrations of the ground were the first hint before the thuds of the approaching crystal golem announced the arrival of their backup. "Snack time!" called Smolder, riding the shoulder of the charging strone warrior. With two quick thwips, she sent fried morsels flying into the waiting maws of her frontline. "Time to get back in it!"

Sandra had not ridden, racing as quickly as she could across the grass between her and the forest where the fight had begun. Though she was not quite there yet, her presence was felt as her golem crashed into the monkey-amalgamation, buying a precious moment to regroup. Smolder landed neatly where it had stormed through. "Miss me?"

“Careful of the fire!” Spike said, as he dodged a puff of it landing at his feet.

“You weren’t that far away I could hear you yelling.” Smolder spun her daggers, finishing with them brandished. “It’s just like any normal fight then. We had a plan for this kind of thing, right?”

“Right!” Spike and Garble said together, and the two of them split up, running around the monster. The three of them spread out, surrounding the beast, which spun itself around for a moment, as if having to choose who to attack. Eventually it turned to Garble, bearing down on him, flailing and punching.

Smolder and Spike both took this opportunity to slash and bash at it, both going for strong attacks with glowing weapons.

The monster roared, twisting around to swipe back, flames lashing out at Smolder, who backed  out while Garble pressed inward, hitting the monster with another crackling attack on it’s back.

Sandra caught up as she watched the three of them continue the assault, with her rock monster being pelted by flames as it less adroitly punched the giant monkey too. When the monster would focus on one of her party, the others would press the attack. Spike would throw out some heals too, when he wasn’t focused on.

Sandra conjured up a magic missile, pelting it, but with her rock monster out it was hardly much of an attack, making a little paff at the side of the enemy.

The monster roared, placing its hands on the ground, a wreath of flames rushing up out of it, causing all three of the nominally-immune-to-fire members of her party to wince back.

“What is it doing now?!” Garble yelled. “It’s friggin hot!”

Sandra looked down, and had a suspicion. She extended her senses, and saw just a bit of tendrils of magic flowing from the ground into its hands, red hot. She widened her eyes. “It’s absorbing magic from the burnout from before!” She looked around in a panic. “You have to get its hands off of the ground!”

"Nice idea." Spike jabbed his staff forward with a brilliant glow, returning the pain he had taken in addition to the firm thrust he delivered. "But how do we do that? I don't think any of us are that--woah!" He jumped to the left, avoiding the great slam of a fist where he had been standing.

Sandra turned her magic away from trying to send little useless pellets. "You are my magic." She extended her hands towards her golem. "You are my strength. We are one."

Suddenly there was no Sandra. The golem looked up, its eyes glowing with a fierce new light. "We are one," it spoke with Sandra's voice as if filtered through grinding stone. Sandra-Golem moved with grace the golem never had, imbued with the will to move of a human. "Get it still for just a moment."

Garble's sword clanged against the arm of the monster, hissing in pain. "Is this what being burned feels like? It sucks." But he held firm. Smolder came in on the other end, catching its other arms between her daggers for what little distance that afforded her. Spike came up behind it, battering at it with his staff.

Sandra-Golem closed its eyes, earthen magic flowing from it to the ground and back. It opened its eyes, rushing at the monkey’s head, close to the ground. It crouched down, and the earthen magic turned the soil to rock, pressing up and supporting the golem’s feet. The golem and the earth rose together, a continuous force from earth to fist, colliding with the monkey’s face. The bundled up magic was similarly thrust up, dry heat and flames being blasted into the sky by the earthen magic in a magnificent plume.

The monster’s flesh grew cracks as it’s magic was flung away, being torn up by its own improper release, flame magic pouring out of it up into the plume, burning itself up and away, it’s body losing form.

Dropping down from it was a single crystal, glowing inside as if on fire.

Sandra suddenly appeared in a flash of light, slumping to a knee. Her golem fell to pieces that faded away, leaving nary a trace.