//------------------------------// // (21) Attack of Opportunity // Story: Canterlot High's D&D Club // by 4428Gamer //------------------------------// 3rd Person POV Sweet Apple Acres Barn Story looked across the small audience around him as a wide span of reactions emerged from the scenes as they played. He took a moment to pride himself on it as he readied his things from behind the screen. He didn't actually plan on gunning them with the Redbrands like this. He set it up so that when they visited a set number of places in town, that's when the Redbrands would confront them. Except, they visited Leanne's store, the inn, the townmaster's hall with Stostine, the townmaster's house with Vareén, Eglath's orchard, the old hunter's lodge, and the mines all in one day. That was seven places. He didn't expect them to split up that much so soon. So if he was going to be consistent, that meant the Redbrands were getting pushed forward. Meanwhile, Thorn Wielder's bugbear was just poor luck for her. Now then. Story sat back. Providing the worst doesn't happen, this shouldn't take them all down. And if it does, not all of them are in town. He eyed Applejack while she talked amongst the others. She'll be the failsafe. Should the worst happen... "Alright." Story said after a second. "Give me a minute to set the maps." He got up and reached for the pile of black voids beside him. "Map-sah? As in plural?" Twilight bit into her knuckle. "Yep," Story confirmed as he scooped up a handful of the top maps and started sifting through them, finding the first one to put down. Where there girls once saw an endless void now revealed itself; a simple dirt path that curved to the left. It was drawn on pale yellow construction paper and as Story reached for a few more things, the lines that were drawn onto it began surging faintly with magic. Like previously, the game did its best to bring the visuals to life. While it still wasn't perfect, everyone saw the rigged dirt of the earth and tufts of grass that grew natural and uneven across the map. A tree stump even grew from the paper as Story brought out a cinnamon stick from his bag and placed it on the map. It represented the tree trunk Ravathyra sat on. As the magic enveloped it, the cinnamon began growing bark. The illusion was cleaner than last time and, for a simple map setup, looked as realistic as video games from the late 2000's. Last time it only managed colors and poorly-detailed images. It's gotten stronger, Sunset noticed as Story brought out miniatures. One for Ravathyra and three more for the bandits attacking her. Since the game had garbled what Rainbow and Story said, this was how everyone else discovered what happened to her. It's not the extra supplies Story brought. That wouldn't make sense, Sunset determined. This proves it. This isn't illusion magic. If it was, the magic wouldn't grow and improve like this. It's definitely dunamancy. While Rainbow was calming a few of the other girls who were getting worried for her, Story put out the next map. One of a somewhat dense forest. The map was drawn onto this long rectangular piece of cardboard paper that made the ground seem rough even before the magic changed it. The dozens of circles drawn with sharpie began sprouting holographic-like visuals of trees that were as detailed as the first map. They only grew about two inches off the map before the magic faded but its point was made. Then there were the low-resolution bushes and patches of grass that covered the cardboard. The magic even tried adding flowers but all it could manage was messy colored blobs without detail. Story added three more minis to this map. A wolf for Fluttershy, a bugbear, and a small human child. When the group saw that, the child was the first thing all of them started asking about which only confused Story to no end. The child was the whole reason Fluttershy was fighting. Did I screw up or something? Sunset, meanwhile, brought her hands under the table and pulled out her phone as stealthily as possible. There it is. That's what I was afraid of. When Sunset told the others they were perfectly safe playing this game, that was the absolute truth. They were safe from this game. To them, it might as well have been illusions. That was proven when their characters got hurt or passed out and yet they were unaffected. As Sunset started typing, Story laid out the last map. A large square room with different sized circles that the magic quickly transformed into tables and chairs. There was then a large rectangle that became the bar and about a dozen lines Story had drawn in multiple colors to resemble glass bottles behind the bar. All of it redefined with magic as well. This was the inside of the inn Stostine, Vareén, and Ricven were stationed. The magic even tried forming the walls of the building and the doorways leading into the kitchen and downstairs rooms, one of which Vareén and Sildar were inside of. But like the trees of the forest, they only went up so far until fading out. That's when Story brought out the final set of minis. The three players, the multiple bandits, and five innocents left completely at the mercy of this game. When Sunset saw the innocents, her hands started shaking. Them, plus Sildar and the child in Fluttershy's fight, make seven. Seven people. All of them in danger. Sunset quickly finished her message and glanced over it to make sure it was short but direct enough to make her point. Then she hit send. Simultaneously, the phone of every girl in the room began to buzz, chime, or beep. Story looked up from her screen and across the table as some of the girls started checking their phones. "Everything alright?" Story asked, instinctively checking his own phone that lay beside him. "It's nothing," Sunset assured, pretending to check her own phone as she gave a curt nod to Applejack who was visibly displeased. "Ms. Cheerilee's just asking if our game's going well." As she explained that, Rarity and Twilight caught on and reaffirmed Sunset's lie. They didn't need to context to know to trust Sunset's command. "Oh, alright." Story chuckled. "I almost feel left out or something. Tell her I said thanks for encouraging us to play." "No prob," Rainbow told him, playing along as Gilda slyly glanced at the message from her own phone. Reading it out, she figured it was because of the magic but she didn't understand why it was that important. 8 People: You, Flutter, Twi, Sunset, Rarity, AJ...: Whatever you do, dont let innocents get hurt. Keep acting as characters. Well get through this. Sunset told them they were fine. But anyone else? That's what scared the fiery-haired girl. "I think everything's set," Story announced while the girls started tucking their phones away. "Now then, for those of you on the maps? Roll initiative." "Do ya want Pinkie an' Ah ta step out like last time?" Applejack asked while the sound of dice echoed. "I'll leave that up to you," he told them. "We'll probably have a break not long after the fight though so everyone can get some fresh air." "Sound good to me," a young dog's voice called from under Twilight's chair. "I've had to go for a while." Several of the girls started screaming in their minds as Twilight quickly reached down to lightly put her mouth over Spike's muzzle. "Who was that?" Story asked. "Oh, i-it's just. He, erm. Well. He. Is. M-Myyyyyy..." Twilight's stuttering turned to a single held note as she looked around the table. Rarity and Fluttershy were silent, Rainbow was biting her lip, and Applejack held her face in both hands. "It's not important right now," Sunset said bluntly, earning an off look from Twilight and Spike alike. "How's about we talk about that after the fight. Okay?" "Talk about...what, is there someone in here?" Story asked, making a confused glance around the room. Then, in a lack of what to think, he bent down to look under the table only to lock eyes with Spike who matched his owner's concern. "Story?" He sat back up and looked to Gilda who shook her head. "Trust me, Bacon Hair's right. Do the fight first, they'll introduce ya later." "Do you have to call me that?" Sunset's focus faltered for a moment as she bore a thin smile. Without a proper reason, Story was forced to play along. "Alright, erm, if that's what everyone wants. I guess?" He shrugged. "In that case, uh..." Story reached down for his dice and started rolling for the enemies. The moment the first die landed, four spindly tendrils of dull red, almost like bloody brambles, extended out and at the girls, regaining all of their focus and nearly startling Gilda out of her seat. Three were pointed at Rainbow Dash alone and the remaining tendril split towards the end to point at Twilight, Rarity, and Sunset. Story rolled again. This time, a bulky brown tendril grew and writhed like a wild animal as it was pointed tall and daunting for the moment. Fluttershy hated to look at it but she was pretty sure it was the bugbear. Finally, with one more roll, something entirely different happened. Rather than aggressive tendrils, seven plant-like stems grew out from behind him in a row; five tall ones, one short, and another that looked ready to break. Each, like the tendrils, symbolized characters from the fight but these were the innocents Sunset was concerned about. Once they were done growing, the bugbear tendril whipped around and pointed at the smallest stem as though poised to strike. The bugbear after the child. That made Sunset turn to Fluttershy to meet her gaze. It's up to you Fluttershy, Sunset said inwardly. I believe in you. You can do this. "Alright then. Let's get started," Story said indeterminately. "Anyone above twenty?" Story looked up, entirely unaware of the tendrils and stems. "...No? That's alright, neither did they." The girls all took a collective sigh of relief at that. "Twenty to fifteen?" "Seventeen," Sunset spoke up with a raised hand. But still none of the others answered. "...The commoners are at fifteen," Story told them. "They go before any of the threats." "Oh. Thank goodness," Fluttershy said in a huge breath. Story nodded. "Fifteen to ten?" "I'm ten! Ten." Rarity practically lunged at the chance. "Anyone else?" Story called. When, again, no answer, he nodded. "Bugbear got an eleven. Ricven's right after." "But I'm not fighting...that, correct?" Rarity asked as the bugbear tendril coiled in response, still focused on the child. "Nope," Story responded, not looking at Rarity as he continued writing, "Now then. Ten to five?" Twilight and Fluttershy gave their numbers while the bandit tendrils swayed about as well. As Story wrote it all down, Rainbow Dash let her head hit the table as she groaned. "Ya do realize yer fightin' three of 'em by yerself, right?" Applejack asked her. "Do you think I wanted to go last?" Rainbow countered, turning her head so she could see the cowgirl from the table's surface. Then, when she saw Story finally catch up on numbers and glance at her, she sighed. "Four." Story wrote the number and tossed his pencil away. "Okay. Now that we got that, let's take it from the top. Stostine, as you snap your fingers, the man takes an arrow to the shoulder from across the room..." 3rd Person POV Inn Stostine quickly stepped out from her seat and backed away. As she did, she glanced out the window and noticed two more bandits perking up at the sounds of screaming. The red tendril focusing on Twilight, Rarity, and Sunset, split apart fully, revealing five dull red vines that twisted in a frenzy between each of them. Rarity put a fist in front of her mouth, hiding her emotion while Sunset gripped the edge of the table tightly. Need to save them. Save them all, Sunset chanted in her mind, rethinking her stretegy. "Guys," Stostine shouted. "More outsi—" She cut her warning short as the bandit swung wildly with one hand while trying to reach for the arrow in his back with the other. Stostine ducked and weaved best she could, narrowly dodging each attack as she focused her mind on the water gathering up and freezing against her fingers. Then, as the man missed his fifth swing, Stostine took her chance. The sound of cracking ice echoed as a Ray of Frost glinting across the bandit's sword. Ice froze the whiskers off his face but missed as it sailed across the room. Elsa gave out a scream as she held up a platter to shield herself. Thankfully she didn't need it when the ray came nowhere near her and instead smacked into the wall, pooling outward into a frozen puddle. That was enough to distract the Redbrands. "Everyone," Stostine screamed towards the patrons. "Get to a room or upstairs! NOW!" "That includes you Dahlia," Ricven told to the young woman standing next to his table. Before the Redbrands arrived, he was having such a lovely chat. But with magic and arrows flying across the room, that hardly mattered anymore. So instead, Dahlia obliged and rushed into the first open door closest to her; Sildar's. "Woah, watch it!" Vareén shouted, pointing her bow to the ceiling as Dahlia passed right in the line of fire. "SORRY!" Meanwhile, the rest of the patrons did the same. Elsa threw her platter at the bandit closest to her, distracting him long enough for her to safely run behind the bar with Stonehill before they both ran into the kitchen. At the same time, the two patrons trapped at their table took the same chance to start up the stairs. One of them made it up in record time while the other tripped at the landing halfway up. "Right then." Ricven spun on his heel, facing out to the crowd of bandits and allies as he put the violin back to his chin. "Let's start this brawl right! Ready?" Rather than voices, Ricven's illusions gave off the affirming sounds of accordions and lutes. "Good! One, two, one, two—and!" The party started. Ricven let his band play their part as he instantly brought his violin three octaves higher. The sound was more akin to a screech that seemed to burrow into the ears of the bandit at the doorway. She desperately clutched her bleeding ears to shut out the song but it only made the notes rupture her mind it seemed. After biting into her lip, drawing blood there too, she glared at Ricven with contempt. "I'm gonna chop those kiddie fingers right off!" "Jus' try it," Ricven challenged as he fell back in a rhythm with his illusory band. As the two readied themselves for a duet, Vareén stepped out of the room as Dahlia slammed the door behind her. "Thanks," the archer curtly responded, readying to fire once more at the bandit on Stostine. However, on her right, the bandit Elsa distracted noticed and chucked a tankard at her. The mug then slammed into Vareén's bow, forcing her to release the arrow into the ground. "You're all mine, wench," the man called as he closed in, Vareén dodging his blade and returning with a punch across the face. "I think I prefer Knife Ears to that," she bit back. He chuckled darkly before bringing his blade back for a stab. With a table beside her, her only option was to bring up her bow to block it. It protected her neck but the iron still cut across her wrist, making her hiss in agony. "What's happening in here?!" The bandits from outside ran in, screaming over the music as they eyed their friend holding her still bleeding ears. "Kill 'em all" she demanded before rushing Ricven with one hand on her ear and the other on her sword. When she reached him, the lady used all her momentum to severe his shins. Unfortunately for her, all Ricven had to do was jump over the obvious swipe before landing and ducking low, dodging both her and the crossbow bolt one of the new guys at the entrance fired. To finish up his retort, Ricven jabbed the woman in the eye with his bow, making her step back to recover as he stood up "WOO! Don' know 'bout y'all, but this is gettin' fun! That the best ya got?!" The second bandit from the entrance ignored him and went to back up the guy squaring up on Stostine, making it a two on one fight as he brought up his blade to chop her in two. With a frightened shout, Stostine brought up her hand with a sign and watched as the weapon bounced off an invisible force. As it did, the first man came to stab at her and hit the same force. Although, rather than let it bounce, the man took the handle in both hands and put his weight behind the blade, plunging deeper. Right as Stostine turned and realized what was going on, the blade was shunted through like a nail through a wall, stabbing the mage in her hip just as a javelin had once done. "GAAAARGHHH!" She screamed. "Same spot, really?!" Her cry was ignored as the guy kept pushing, shoving Stostine into the wall before pulling the blade up, taking her up off her feet as she slid up the wall. Stostine tried to speak but her words devolved into screaming as she thought fast. Instead of talking, she brought her hand up to her mouth and wiped off the spit before crystalizing into a vicious, jagged Ice Knife. She began stabbing the bandit stabbing her one, two, three, as many times as she had to into until he finally stepped back and took his sword with him out of her abdomen before letting her fall to the floor. Adrenaline pumped blood faster, making the whole situation worse as she glared up at the two criminals standing over her. In an act of defiance, she used her dwindling strength to fling her knife at them, only for them. All the guys had to do was lean in opposite directions as the knife flew between them. Then they snickered. "Ya missed." Stostine let out a delirious cackle as she got up into a kneel. "Did I?" Confused, the second attacker turned back to observe the Ice Knife as cracks formed across its surface. Meanwhile, the man with the reddened blade watched Stostine shield her face. Magic, he realized. Shit! "Wayne, get away from—" 'Wayne' didn't hear him. Instead, the rigged icicle shattered and exploded in a field of shrapnel like a grenade. Shards of ice forced themselves into Wayne's eyes and throat while also pelting the other bandit's back and legs without bias. Other pieces clawed the floor, the furniture and anything else nearby but the last few shards were flung at the window, slicing it like paper as Wayne thrashed about, clawing at his face before tripping out the now open window feet over face. "...What are you?!" The bandit took a few steps back as Stostine found the strength to climb up to her feet. By the halfway point, the woman reached her hand into her mouth and pinched her tongue. "Mame's Thothine," she said with her fingers in her mouth. The bandit then watched in horror as she drew another Ice Knife out of her mouth like a sword swallower. "And you are my pincushion." The Forest A filthy javelin cut through the air, sweeping through thin branches and leaves before descending and striking the ground at a sharp angle. Specks of dirt spat up, splattering the young boy's face and startling him so much that he tripped over his own feet. There was no chance of him catching himself. Instead, the boy tumbled forward and split his cheek open on a sharp rock as he skidded to a halt. His hands and knees were red and scratched up but still he used to try crawling himself back to his feet. "YOU NOT FLEE!" A booming voice roared from behind. "SPY BE KILLED!" The boy turned his head for a moment, watching as the matted hair of a tribal bugbear settled underneath blood-dried armor. The monster's longer legs made it easier to chase down the child, even as it dragged a rusty metal club behind it. The only saving grace the child had was his small size that let him slip through tight trees and past clumps of bushes. But the further he ran, the further the trees got from one another. The forest was thinning out and the boy was growing tired from running away. So, in a moment of desperation, he ducked behind a larger tree ahead of him and clutched his chest. "P-Puh-Ple-ease go away...go away," the boy wept into his hand. "I-I wanna go ho-ho-hooome..." His lungs cried as much as his eyes. He wanted to look around, to try figuring out where he was but he couldn't focus. In all his fear, he didn't run back home, he just ran. And now he had no clue what to do. I'm...I'm lost, he admitted, wrapping his arms around him. Where do I go? Can I go? He's gonna catch me. He's gonna get me. What now? What now? What now? What...What? Through his sniffling, the child heard shifting grass and a low growl. He didn't bother waiting. He turned to run again even as blood kept spilling from his cheek. He didn't make it very far. "RAAAARGH!" Three steps away in, an arm longer than the child's entire body reached around the tree, grabbing him by the shoulder and yanking him back. The boy screamed, throwing his arms and legs out to catch anything but the bugbear simply spiked the brat on the ground like a fleshy ball. His entire weight fell onto his arm, making his scream become a sad yelp while he folded up into a ball. And standing above that sniveling ball was a shadow looming like a monolith. The kid tried crawling away but the bugbear pinned him to the ground with its sasquatch foot. When it was sure the kid was trapped, it hoisted its morningstar as far back as it could to break him open. "DIEEE!" The bugbear tightened its arms and swung, hearing the child scream in terror at the same time as the wolf lunging at the bugbear from behind. "Fluttershy," Story said as her shaking hands took up one of her dice. She tried not to look at the scary-looking tendril readied to shatter the short stem behind Story while Sunset stared with hollow eyes. "As a wolf, you have an ability called Pack Tactics. Which means if you have an ally next to your target, like, technically speaking, a child, you get advantage. Roll two dice." Upon hearing that news, Fluttershy was so distracted that she didn't realize that she picked up the magic die in front of her. So she rolled both dice, watching as the seed pod landed on high enough to flash in success. It was almost enough to distract from the tendril suddenly revolving to bare down on the meek girl. However, when she opened her mouth to shriek, Fluttershy's jaw tightened as her taste buds were caught off guard by the sharp taste of copper flooding her tongue. Thorn's fangs sank into the beast's arm, tearing muscle and sinew as it cried out in surprise. The moment she fell back to the earth and her claws dug into the ground, she began twisting and pulling the bugbear in an effort to take its arm off. "GAH! NO! OFF! OFF," It thrashed around trying to throw off the auburn mutt but it only let Thorn sink her teeth deeper into its arm until she started reaching bone. Amongst the ripping and tugging, the bugbear was pulled back enough where he stepped off the boy, giving him the chance to start crawling away. Thorn Wielder wanted to bring this Infestation to the ground so she could go for the throat but the monster held its ground. Then, when it finally had its bearings, the bugbear stomped his feet to the ground and tore his arm free, opening his arm further while loosening a few of the wolf's teeth in the process. It only lasted for so long before Thorn leapt for him again, this time going for the knee. With the two locked in combat, the boy scuttled further before jumping to his feet and fleeing for his life. He didn't bother running around the bush ahead of him and simply ran it over, tripping all over again as he hit the dirt. But this time, he dragged himself behind the larger tree beside him. After taking a minute to calm himself, his curiosity outweighed his fright and he found himself peeking through the bush to watch from his hiding spot. Unfortunately, he looked just in time to see the bugbear slamming his spiked club into the wolf's shoulder, breaking it as Thorn struggled to keep herself from tumbling over. With adrenaline numbing the pain, Thorn started ducking around each wild swing the bugbear brought down at her in its attempt to smash her to a pulp. Thorn would try closing in but the bugbear would notice and swing widely in a way that forced her to back off and start all over again. "Wa...Wait," the boy mumbled, something dawning on him. "Is it. Helping me?" Again, the bugbear tried squishing the mutt, getting angrier each time it missed. And when a clump of grass was knocked free of the earth, it roared like a wild animal. "STAY! STILL!" The bugbear swung horizontally, and the wolf ducked. It tried smashing again and it would side-step. Then he tried to kick it in its dumb, pointy dog-face but the wolf would jump back and let the bugbear stumble forward. Whenever that happened, the wolf would rush to take its chance only for the bugbear to scare it off with another swing of its club to start the cycle over again. That pattern kept going without either side making headway. Swing, smash, kick. Swing, smash, kick. Swing, smash, kick. Swing, smash, stuck. Stuck. Stuck? Stuck! Thorn noticed as the bugbear struggled to tear its morningstar free from the ground. Its dented spikes rooting the weapon in place. With a bark, Thorn rushed one more time. The bugbear saw this and tried to kick again but in refusing to let go of its weapon, it was off balance. That left Thorn ducking under the massive foot and— She was both laser-focused and distracted at the same time. Fluttershy was biting her nail and tapping her heel as her nerves started to settle. Every sign of anxiety once seen on the girl was slowly nullifying as Fluttershy kept staring at the little bugbear and wolf minis on the table. So much that even without advantage, she had used the magic die each time by complete accident. When it was her turn again, Fluttershy picked it up and rolled it like a skilled craps player wanted one more game, her hand staying held in the air as she twitched one finger with more purpose than the others as her eyes darted across every number to add them up. She started getting something the others had never seen on the girl before. A competitive edge. Rainbow, knowing her friend better than anyone, smiled a little. She never told a soul how strangely committed Fluttershy got with games of chance. Or how she would get these small ticks that Rainbow was sure even Fluttershy wasn't aware of. Or rather, that's what Rainbow thought was happening. And while that certainly wasn't helping, instead, what was going on was the magic die sent another sharp taste of blood across Fluttershy's tongue as the die landed on a favorable number. The fourth time she rolled it that die in the last five minutes. "I hit," Fluttershy told Story, not even bothering to call out the number. "Rolled higher this time." Then she rolled damage. "Six piercing. Make a Strength save and I end my turn," she said in a breath of relief before sinking into her seat. Story quickly obeyed, too busy focusing on three battles and narrating the action of everyone's attacks to question much else. Thorn spun around from under the bugbear and jumped, clamping her jaw into the underside of the bugbear's leg and trying to tear out a chunk of meat. Large clumps of hair were plucked off, either lodged in the wolf's teeth or littered across the ground, but even then the bugbear kept its balance. It gave another roar when it finally tore free its morningstar and swung with all its strength. It failed to connect but it was still enough to force Thorn into letting so she could dodge the nails carving her face. Unfortunately, that also gave the bugbear a chance to curb stomp the poor wolf in the face, dazing her. Come on wolf. The boy leaned out from his cover. Come on, you can do it! "You...You let spy escape!" It took the morningstar in both hands one more time and wound it up so far behind it the head of the morningstar tapped against the back of his armor. "I told kill spy! You stop my kill! I KILL YOU NOW!" "Watch out wolfy," the boy screamed from the top of his lungs. "Huh?!" The bugbear glanced over his shoulder, spotting the kid right away as he screamed in a panic. "Spy!" In that moment, Thorn shook off her daze and sized up the bugbear who was unfocused and also now completely defenseless since its arms were back behind its head. So she reset her footing and let out a snarl. "Wha..." The bugbear turned back to see Thorn lower herself for a pounce and felt his throat grow tight. "No! No come cloooaaaaaAAAAAARRRGHHH!" Mining Trail One sword cut across a pauldron in a spray of sparks as another clanged off the chain mail against Rava's back. As she came back at the latter with a stiff elbow, a crossbow bolt scraped along her shield before snapping into mulch and spraying the three pathetically. Next, Rava spun around, catching a new sword swipe with her hammer and meeting the first thug in a deadlock. Following that, Rava redirected the sword to parry the second one that was coming down on her scalp. The two bandits locked eyes with each other as Rava stepped out from between them and put her shield out to guard against the other Dwarf bandit was loading her next bolt. "This is yer last chance," Rava warned them. "If ya don' beat it, Ah'll be breakin' ya down! Now get!" "You think yer takin' all three of us?" The Dwarf asked as she finished loading her crossbow. She was letting the guys cut her up while she 'supervised' from a distance. "Fat chance, Cavern Dweller." Rava tried leveling her temper with a breath as she leaned back from a blade aimed at her face. "Yer makin' it real hard not ta let loose me demons, lass." But the other Dwarf let out a fat laugh. "The woman covered in symbols? Havin' demons? Guess yer not as clean as the armor you're sportin' after all!" "Stop talking," the taller of the two guys, Ralf, ordered while going in for a cleave towards Rava. The lass merely swung her shield, batting away the strike and following up with her hammer. With Ralf entirely defenseless, the flat end of it drove into his ribs, breaking a couple of them as he withered back for a moment. From Ralf's left, the second human came forward cautiously as he tried to look for an opening rather than brute force his way through. That made Rava steady her emotions. I might not last after all. But, if I can pull off those ceremonies, I wonder if this trick works. "Ulaa, Ah beseech," Rava spoke low and fast, her holy symbol glowing brightly in a way that made the bandit pause. "With faith ta give, grant me yer aid." As Rava went to grasp her necklace, the human took his chance. Closing in, he brought up the end of his blade and went to drive it through her face only for Rava to ignore him. Worse than that, she turned away and let the man have his chance. So when the sword closed in, the man only watched as this deep red forcefield revealed itself around Rava like a geode. The sword slammed against it, with not even a ripple effect, and the tip broke off in one chipped piece. As the man watched, the geode-shaped forcefield brightened until a blast of force collided with the bandit. The human was thrown back, sliding on his boots for a few feet until he fell forward on his hand. He quickly recovered back on his feet but everyone saw him get tossed back. Instantly, Ralf tightened his stance while their boss tried firing another bolt only for it to go wide from how distracted she was. "Dillard! What are ya doin'?!" "An-Anbera! She's got magic!" The bandit blurted out. "I got bounced off!" "Yer about ta get shot off if ya don' quit wastin' me time!" Ralf moved in, making small jabs and swipes as he tried feeling out exactly what he was dealing with. Whatever Rava couldn't block herself, her Shield of Faith filled in the blanks for her. But by the time Rava made an attack of her own, Ralf had already backed off. "No stabbing," Ralf told them. "If you can't stab her right, it blows back at ya." "Really now?" Rava grinned dopily. "Good ta know! This is new ta me too." Anbera readied her next shot. "Well, glad we were all here ta witness it. Kill 'er!" Dillard and Ralf moved in from opposite sides and forced Rava to split her attention. Knowing better than to stab her, the two went in heavy swings and chops that had the armored Dwarf take the defensive. She angled her shield to let Dillard's swing pass over her before using her vambrace to deflect Ralf. But Ralf recovered. As Rava shoved Dillard away, Ralf went for a low slash that nearly sliced through Rava's leg had it not been for the Shield of Faith. It didn't chip his sword like what happened to Dillard but it forced him back a step. Rava saw this and seized her chance, swinging as quick as she could only to throw herself off balance. As she teetered on one foot, Ralf came back to chop at her spine the same time that Dillard returned with a downward swing, executioner-style. With little choice, Rava got unorthodox. She dropped her hammer on top of Ralf's foot, making him recoil and pull his sword back and missed Rava's spine by inches. After that, Rava let herself fall onto all fours before throwing out her metal boot and kicking Dillard in the knee. Both bandits relented, hopping or leaning off of their bad legs like a cartoon before Rava retrieved her hammer and threw herself forward like a boar, tackling Dillard to give herself some much needed breathing room between the two. "Aww, did yer bum rushin' plan fail?" Rava teased as she looked between the two sad humans that were almost standing at her height now. "Fight wit' me all ya want boys, ya ain't gettin' past Ulaa's power that eas—urgggh!" "Ah, lookit that," Anbera hummed as she eyed the bolt driven into Rava's thigh. She fell to one knee, sucking in air through her teeth as her beloved Shield of Faith began to flicker. "I got past it." Rava grunted, staring back as Anbera began nonchalantly reloading her crossbow. "Don' be too proud, lassie. That was, what, yer fifth shot? Ah'm not that concerned." "Yeah, yeah, whatever ya say." Anbera smirked. "Too bad yer magic bubble can't fix that." But this time, Rava smirked. "Well...Yer half right." Feeling full of herself, Rava reached her hand down at her leg and took hold of the bolt, ripping it away with a yelp. But once that was gone, she held her hand over the wound and focused as her gauntlet began to glow with a warm red tint; burning ruby. They three watched in disbelief as Rava's wound sealed itself up and within seconds she was standing tall and tapping the tip of her boot on the dirt trail. It was the only wound they made on her and it was completely healed. "There we are! All betta'," Rava told them. Anbera felt the corner of her mouth twitching when she saw that and, almost like a middle finger, Rava's Shield of Faith stopped flickering and was at its full glory once more. "...I was bein' sarcastic, ya cheatin' dick!" Anbera cried before firing again. Sadly, that one bounced off the aura and went flying far off. Ralf shouted in defiance as he closed in, followed by Dillard immediately after, as Rava used her shield and hammer to bat at one before blocking the other; the whole thing flowing in a renewed rhythm with neither side letting up. Each time Ralf or Dillard thought they had their opening Shield of Faith was right there to protect her. Anbera was left watching the brawl unfold as she loaded the umpteenth bolt and waited for the next opening. Keep smiling Cavern Dweller, Anbera sneered inwardly. That armor's gonna be mine. Inn The seven fighters, three outsiders and four crooks, devolved into an all out brawl. The bandit that started it all shoulder bashed Stostine into the wall and went to behead her where she stood with the girl barely ducking down in time before slicing him above the knee as the explosive Ice Knife crackled in her hand. Vareén shoved back her Redbrand by clocking his jaw with her bow and then using it to catch his blade before it could cleave her arm. Then there was Ricven, whistling his next song while his magical band joined in behind him. In the midst of that, he kept switching back and forth between audible illusions for visual ones, using flashing lights or sudden noises that worked to confuse his attacker whenever she came close to cutting into him. Each matchup was viewed by the owner of the bar, Toblen Stonehill, who watched in absolute terror from his kitchen doorway while his taproom fell apart. Wild sword swings would chop into a table. Someone would get thrown into and then through an old chair. And then there were the blood stains currently painting his floor while the original coat was setting in. The entire place was going to wind up a disaster and the only thing Stonehill could hope for was that none of the three outsiders fighting for their lives would wind up a lifeless decoration. Stostine took a reverse grip of the dagger and cut upwards in a stiff manner, not used to the hand-to-hand activity and it showed as all her target had to do was lean back and take his chance to cut her back down only for a spray of frost to burst from Stostine's hand to chill the blade and have him miss. The remaining bandit who wasn't fighting with anyone directly kept taking shots whenever he could; careful not to hit his own allies in the process. Only, that was proving difficult for him. Every time he looked to Ricven, the gnome would send some of those flashing lights at the crossbowman that disoriented him. Then when he looked to Stostine, his fellow Redbrand was always in the way never giving her a chance to run away from him. As for Vareén, she'd somehow know every time he was lining up his shot and would make sure he never had a clear shot. So instead, he fired at Stonehill. He had no hope of hitting the man but it made the owner duck back into his kitchen from fear alone. Finally, after two minutes of utter chaos erupting across the place, Vareén's Redbrand began making progress. Since she didn't want to have her bow chopped up into bits, Vareén eventually had to keep evading. Each swing or thrust from the bandit made her step back another foot and she was slowly running out of room. Across the room, Vareén and Ricven were about the same. Since she had come out with her bow, Vareén didn't get an opening to draw her blade as the guy fighting her never let up. Ricven faired quite the opposite. He didn't even have to bother counterattacking the Redbrand. Instead, he was almost entirely focused on his music and each time the bandit took a swing at him, Ricven just stuffed more illusions in her face every time. A sudden trumpet to her ear, a flash of light in her eyes, the sound of one of her allies screaming behind her. It was nearly enough to make her rage become a rabid frenzy while Ricven just kept dancing on the table to dodge her every sad attempt. But when he saw the state his allies were falling into, Ricven leapt off the table to aid them. But not before creating one more illusion of the woman's cloak catching fire, sending her down a fit of mania long enough for Ricven to escape and slide up beside Vareén. When Ricven took a moment to admire the scene around him, he suddenly grinned up at the archer. "Heheheh. Remind ya of the other day, Miss Vareén?" She gave him a bored look. "You're never letting that go, are you?" "Ya kiddin'? I'm fixin' ta make that a song! I'm gonna call it 'A Slip o' Vareén.' What'cha think?" "I'm thinking about smashing that fiddle over your head when we're done." "It ain't a fiddle," Ricven snapped back, dropping his jovial attitude for a moment. Then, when the two bandits finally regained their senses, they squared off against the two of them. "What's your move now, Lightweight?!" the bandit fighting Ricven challenged. "Can't keep using your stupid tricks forever!" "Hey, the others want him alive," Vareén's target told her. "Too bad! Besides, he's got magic," she alerted him. "Boss doesn't take chances. I'm killing him, and you can all rip Robes apart." "I got magic?" Ricven blew a raspberry. "Them parlor tricks? Ya ain't seen nothin' yet darlin'." "Hey. If you think this is old times," Vareén started. "Maybe push them back then?" Ricven's jolliness returned. "My, what a delightfully grand idea! Yo Stonehill!" Ricven screamed towards the kitchen. "Sorry fer the mess!" Ricven passed his violin to Vareén, who took it in her free hand, and blew into his hands, making this visible soundwave form across them like a second skin. "Stop him!" The bandit at the door demanded. That was all the two crooks needed to rush the gnome with swords ready. Rather than react, Ricven pulled his hands apart like he was about to slam two cymbals together. "Vareén?" "I know." She tucked her bow and his violin under her arm and covered her ears as Ricven threw his hands together. "Boom," Was his last word before— BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The sound made Stostine, her attacker, and just about everyone all throughout town flinch as the two running bandits were thrown off of their feet and sent flying along with chairs and silverware. The entire room became ground gained a new layout instantly as even oak tables started carving along the floor a couple of feet. Bottles from behind the bar rolled off their shelves, shattering on the floor as the window to the immediate left of Ricven shattered from the Thunderwave. Eglath's Orchard BOOOOOOOM...! Eglath and Glemerr both stopped in their tracks and looked around. They were in the process of carrying several buckets worth of water back to Eglath's house when that sound echoed across the valley Phandalin found itself in. "Huh. Dat's weird," Glemerr thought aloud as she glanced up at the sky. "Dere ain't a cloud in da sky." "...No." Eglath frowned. Then he glanced at the town. "That wasn't from the sky. Kid, you said you were with a group, yeah? Any of 'em got magic?" "Oh, sure! Most of 'em actually," she replied happily. "Vareén's tryin' ta learn dis new spell, Stostine chucks fire all ova' da place, Thorn turned into an animal yesterday! Ricven's even got all these fancy sounds an' shapes! Heh, he even made this huge crash a. Thunder. Wave. In the caves..." Glemerr's head didn't have to turn the gears too much further beyond that for it to dawn on her. "Uh oh." Eglath swore under his breath, dropping the buckets on the ground and marching into his sunken home. "You know where they are now?" "Well, Ricven should be back in da inn we slept at," Glemerr told him. "Why, do ya dink he's in trouble?" Eglath reemerged a second later, his heavy axe slung over his shoulder as he used the pommel to flick the door closed behind him. "I think he met the locals. Come on." The wizened goliath started down the trail at a brisk pace with Glemerr following close behind. Mining Trail The ground shook suddenly as a distant boooooooom! rang across the fighters on the trail. Anbera flinched and fired off a bolt, missing Rava by a mile. "Wh...What was that?!" The other bandits felt it too, flinching as Rava drove the top of her hammer into Ralf's hip, taking him to the ground as Rava delivered a stiff boot to the head, knocking him out. Then Rava squared up against Dillard and chuckled. "Sounds like yer friends met mine," she told them with a great big smile. "Guess Ah was worryin' fer nothin'." She swung heavily, making the thug jump back with a scream while Anbera screamed in frustration. Rather than bother reloading her crossbow, she chucked the useless thing and ran to take Ralf's spot with her own sword drawn. Forest With this heavy, guttural cry, the bugbear finally made progress. It slammed its morningstar into the ground and then swung in a massive uppercut, kicking up dirt and catching the wolf's chin. There was little resistance as its neck snapped backward in a sudden angle. What was left of the swing drove the nails further through Thorn Wielder's muzzle, past the chin and through the roof of her mouth, piercing her brain. Simultaneously, she was lifted up off the ground and skyward for a moment before the bugbear turned the momentum around, spiking the wolf's lifeless body into the ground. It broke a few other bones in the process as Thorn's neck remained at this fatally impossible angle. The bugbear huffed, staring over the corpse to make sure his work was done. It was this bittersweet feeling of being pleased with itself and furious a single wolf had done so much damage to him. booooooom... "Huh?" The bugbear glanced up at the sky visible from underneath the forest canopy. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. "No storm..." "No. No storm." The bugbear glanced down in fright as Thorn Wielder stood back up, rubbing her chin with the back of her hand as if it were a mild ache. Though, at the same time, any signs of a wolf had fully dissipated. Except for the rage that remained in her eyes. "Thunderwave," she explained vaguely. "You...You not wolf," the bugbear pointed out. However, it was too tired to do much else. Its limbs were bleeding by the liter and its breath was ragged. With each beat of its heart, it could feel the adrenaline in its system running on empty while it tried standing tall only to hang limply like a rotting scarecrow. Then, standing across from the beast and unraveling a part of her vines, Thorn seemed perfectly fine. She showed no signs of exhaustion and the only wound she had was her lightly bleeding chin. "No. Not wolf," Thorn admitted as she began unravelling some of her vines from around her arm. "I Thorn Wielder." "You...You elf!" She paused for a moment before nodding comedically. "Also yes." Then she took her vines in both hands. "I Thorn Wielder. I elf. And this?" She held up her arms, purposefully mimicking the bugbear as he had done with his morningstar before. Only this time, the bugbear was flinching. "This Thunderwave." With a heave, she cracked her vines down against the soil like a set of reins. KRAKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Inn krakooooooom... Vareén gave Ricven a look as she passed back the violin. "Was that...?" "Not me." Ricven shrugged. "It's faint but that thunder had a different tone to it." As the two bandits brushed the debris off of them, the bandit at the door stuck his head out for a moment. "Guys!" He shouted. "I think that came from the base!" "You have gotta be kidding!" The guy on Stostine asked. "How did they find it?!" "You think we are the only ones?" Stostine seized on their fears. Him and the rest of the Redbrands gave her a look, then glanced between one another before suddenly an arrow found itself in the lower back of one of their backs. Curtesy of Vareén who had climbed up on top of the bar in their distraction. "Go ahead and run," she told them. "We're right behind you." "...Forget this!" The guy chucked his sword at Stostine, making her scream and cover as he made a run for it. "You're all on your own! I'm outta here!" Vareén smirked. "Pluvv." In an instant, Vareén's vision tunneled on the fleeing man as the veins around her eyes became clearly visible. Though the man turned and ran off the moment he was out the door, it was as though Vareén could sense him and the movements he was making. Like tracking a wounded deer. The Redbrand nearest her, the one she had just shot, scoffed. "Fine by me." He turned his attention back on Vareén who wasn't watching him and kicked a stool standing in his way. When he closed in, the man swung to cut Vareén's foot to knock her off the bar. Except, without looking, Vareén rose up her boot and stomped on the blade, pinning it as her veiny eyes glanced down at him. "My turn," she said, drawing her own sword and dropping her bow behind the bar right as she parried the Redbrand's next strike. Ricven watched the two lay into their sword fight only for his opponent to use it as the distraction she needed. Weapon in hand, the Redbrand brought it down on Ricven in a scream. And unfortunately, the gnome wasn't fast enough as the blade came down onto his neck, cleaving halfway through before getting wedged. Well, wedged until the Redbrand tore her sword free with a horrible noise screeching from her opponent. "Ricven!" Stostine cried as she was trying to stand on her own two feet from all the blood she was losing. Her shout made Vareén pause too, glancing over as Ricven fell to his knees, chocking in disbelief. "Ye...ye...you" Ricven looked up at the Redbrand that stood over him with a look of arrogance clear on her face. "You...Y-You broke my violin!" Ricven clutched the poor instrument in his arms; it's neck chopped halfway through. Had it not been for the copper strings, the whole neck might have been severed! The Redbrand scoffed and rose her blade again, this time to chop at the actual pain in the neck, but Ricven was surprisingly quick. Dropping the violin, he grabbed the handle of his mace and swung in a flourish, deflecting her strike and then bringing it back in a loop to take out her knee, reducing her to Ricven's height. Ricven huffed and dropped the mace on the floor uncaringly. Then he stepped forward, looking in her eyes. "Ya really should learn ta quit while you're ahead." Before letting her retort, Ricven clasped his hands against either side of her skull and pulled her in close. Then he leaned into her ear and spoke a Dissonant Whisper at her. "You seem well put together," he complemented with his voice seeping into every nerve of her brain. "Too bad you're fallin' apart." ...fallin' apart... ...fallin' apart... ...fallin' apart... The woman stared back at him in confusion as she opened her mouth to answer. Only for a few teeth to fall out onto the floor. She glanced down but then watched as half her vision went blank when her eye spilled out in a dripping paste. She brought up her hands up to feel her face only for her fingernails to crumble away before her jaw detached itself from her face with her tongue lulling out and hanging well past her collarbone. She gasped but all it did was make one of her lungs pop in her chest like a dying balloon as she struggled to stand. She let out this sick wet scream as turned to flee from the still-grinning demon standing in front of her but her boot was left behind with her foot still inside. She quite literally crumpled to the ground as her face liquified through the floorboards as she finally succumbed. Thankfully all of that was in her head. Instead, what had happened was, Ricven stepped back as the bandit convulsed and frothed at the mouth before her heart abruptly stopped beating. Ricven looked back at Vareén, whose swordfight had paused as she and the other Redbrand both turned to stare at the woman sitting there in a macabre camel pose. "How long have you been able to do that?" She asked. "All along," Ricven replied neutrally. "It ain't somethin' I take pleasure in. But she broke my violin. Ya don't. Mess. Wit' a man's violin." Suddenly, Stostine let out a cry as she teetered back; a crossbow bolt lodged in her stomach curtesy of the armed thug at the door who was feverishly reloading his crossbow as he looked across the room. Their numbers were cut down drastically. Two of them were dead, one had run away, and the last guy was still in a daze from Ricven's magic that he didn't notice Vareén dropping off the bar as she plunged her her sword into his clavicle. When that Redbrand slammed to the floor, a puddle of red forming beneath him, Vareén and Ricven turned to settle their attention on the last threat at the doorway. "St-Stay back!" He screamed before reloading his crossbow. "Don't come near me!" "Near you?" Ricven scoffed, rolling his eyes so heavily he turned his head to Vareén. "Ya believe this guy?" "You came here to kill us, remember?" Vareén reminded him. "The girl on the floor said so. Was she your boss?" "Fuck you!" Rather than retort, the archer and gnome watched as a crystalized knife submerged itself into the man's gut at the speed of a bullet, cracking on impact. "You may want to step back," Stostine told them as she held the bolt in her gut. Right away the two obeyed, backing up behind a tipped over table. When the armed thug saw this, the gears in his head spun. "What? Wait." He clutched the handle of the knife, the ice instantly giving his fingers frostbite while he yanked and tugged to no avail. "No. N-No. No! No! N— As predicted, the ice became shrapnel, most of it cutting deeper in the man's torso as he flailed and writhed. To his credit, even with wounds worse than Stostine's, he was still standing as he forced himself to stop screaming. "N-No.." He heaved for a moment. "I'm not. I don't wan..." A splatter of blood coated his chin as he weakly steadied his crossbow at the mage. She gasped, turning to take cover only to realize the table beside her was thrown away at the very start of the fight. So instead, she was shot in the chest. As Story turned Stostine's model to lay sideways on the map, describing the impact of the bolt, Sunset watched in morbid curiosity at everything in front of her. Each die in front of her became solid voids of space as at the same time an entire section of the table gained this grayscale look that spread like an infection. Pinkie and Rainbow brought it up after their last game. How this pulsating darkness appeared for them. But unlike them, Sunset wasn't afraid of it. In fact, she started prodding at it. Despite her initial concern of this magic, she seemed somewhat intrigued by this. More illusion magic, she discovered. The game has it sprinkled between the dunamancy. Not a safe combination. "And after spotting the two of you," Story went on, pausing for effect as Twilight and Rarity tensed up. "...He leaves." Abruptly, Story reached out and turned the bandit mini around, tapping it down the map as it left the incorporeal tavern and down the road towards the edge of the map. "Wait, he's just leavin'?" Applejack asked. "Well, yeah." Story shrugged. "It's two against one and they're virtually untouched. Not to mention one of them melted his partner's brain and made an explosion with his hands. Would you stay?" "Admittedly, no," Twilight reasoned. "I mean, it makes sense. They're not goblins this time." Story took a moment to let them all take that in before settling on Sunset. "Top of the round. Sunset? Death save." She watched as one of her dice regained its typical appearance, almost like it was also asking her to roll. So she obliged, watching as it landed on an eighteen, she sat back and gave a thumbs up as the gray colored shrunk back. Stostine fell on her back clutching the bolt dangerously close to her lung as she tried desperately to keep her breaths short. Meanwhile, the culprit turned on his heel and made a run for it. Immediately, Vareén rushed to not help Stostine and instead reach for her bow, only to find it wasn't on her back. It was back behind the bar where she left it. She clicked her tongue. "Great. He got away." "Not yet." Ricven forced a glass vial into her hand. "Help the poor mage, would ya? I'ma make a friend." Ricven was already on his way out the door before Vareén could start objecting. So instead she glanced down at the red liquid in the vial and then the quick-breathing girl on the floor. Great. Medic duty. She grimaced before jogging over to Stostine as her eyes settled on Vareén's through her dizziness. "H...Hel...He-Hel—" Stostine's hardened voice was cut off when an uncorked bottle was shoved halfway down her throat. "Shut up and drink," Vareén ordered, glancing around them. None of the corpses were moving and aside from the owner peeking out from the kitchen, no one was there. "Aw, come on fella! Ya don' gotta run!" Ricven's voice shouted from outside. "I'm sure if ya play nice, we can come to an understandin'! Would ya kindly come back?" "Mind control, huh?" Vareén thought aloud. "Wonder if it worked. Oh, you done?" She glanced back to Stostine as the vial was now empty and Stostine's eyes seemed to gain some clarity as she used one hand to get the vial out of her hand and the other to grab the bolt in her chest. "Wait, what're you—" Stostine didn't wait for Vareén to finish before ripping the bolt out as quickly as she could, taking a heavy breath as the wound the bolt had plugged up was now open wider. "You just made it worse!" Vareén told her before Stostine looked her in the eyes before her own started to glow like tiny suns. Vareén stared as Stostine tossed the bolt away, removing the top half of her robe to reveal a simple shirt underneath. One with multiple cuts and tears on it. Not only that, but her shirt was now heavily stained with fresh blood thanks to her open wound. Then, to remedy that, Stostine placed her now glowing hand against the wound and took a deep breath as the light traveled from her hand into her torso. Vareén watched the blood flow stop entirely in a matter of seconds while Stostine's tense jaw softened into one of relief. As she removed her hand, it was covered in blood but Vareén saw that not only was the wound but it was like it never existed. "You. H-How'd you..." Vareén focused on the girl for a time. "That wasn't magic, was it?" Stostine opened her mouth to answer but all that came out was a heavy breath as she glanced down at the other crossbow bolt still embedded in her; right above her hip. "Not my typical magic. If that is what you mean." "Can you do it again?" Vareén asked awkwardly as now both of them were staring at the second bolt. "No," Stostine admitted pathetically. "But it was...stronger than last time." Stostine didn't bother deciphering that any further. Then the human began to sit up with Vareén eventually deciding it would be faster to help Stostine up on her feet rather than watch her struggle. Vareén then proceeded to go the extra mile of helping Stostine into a chair to let her sit down. Stostine flinched for an instant as the bolt shifted in her side and sent pain up her body, but then she was able to relax. "Thanks. You're a good friend." "You keep using that word," Vareén pointed out, not caring enough to correct her. "And you can try to use it all you want; I'm not touching that bolt." Stostine giggled offkey. "That is fair." Then, her face darkened when she studied the bodies in the room. "This was not an impulse. They came here on purpose." "You noticed too, huh?" Vareén flipped a chair with her foot, taking one more look around the taproom before sitting down. "They were looking for us specifically. Wouldn't be shocked if they sent someone for the others." "Should we go find them?" Vareén made a not-so-obvious glance back at Stostine's bolt and the human's anxiety flattened. "You shouldn't. And I won't. Glemerr took on a goblin ambush single-handed and the Dwarf's a walking armory. They won't break a sweat." Ravathyra's POV Mining Trail Dillard fell back, clutching his knee that I may have broken in that last swing. He was still breathing though which was all I was really going for. With him down, I turned in time to duck under one sword before slamming the second with my shield. Anbera, after taking Ralf's spot, put his sword in her off hand, giving herself two blades to work with. Crossing them like a pair of shears, Anbera brought them up and caught my hammer between them before giving me a swift kick to the gut. I heaved, leaning back in time to watch a sword glance across the magic aura before the other pierced through, cutting between two ribs. I cried out, swinging my hammer weakly to make her get back but all it did was leave me exposed for another swipe across the arm. "Was tha' a scream I jus' heard?!" Anbera didn't let up. As my Shield of Faith flickered, her swords came to cut at me more. One off my shield, the next parried, the third I dodged and the last one I leaned in, letting the brunt of my chain mail catching it. With that opening, I swung wildly and caught her hip, feeling a slight give as she nearly toppled. With my hammer too heavy to turn back on her, I fell into a shoulder bash. She tried bringing up her swords, but my aura finally stopped flickering and acted a barrier that I smashed into Anbera's face. When she fell back, losing her grip on one of her swords for a moment, I stepped back as far as I could before setting my hammer down head-first and muttering another prayer under my lips. A warm glow then went down my form, glossing over each cut I earned from not only Anbera but the second bandit as well. Most of them were healed up but I was still out of breath. Not only that but a few of the places felt tender as I picked my hammer back up and leveled it at Anbera as she chuckled. "That ain' as good as last time, is it?" She managed to grin through her panting. "Let me guess. Ya ran short?" "You don' look so good yerself, lass," I returned in a pant of my own. "Do us both a favor an' turn yerself in. Ah'm already bringin' these two chuckle 'eads in fer their crimes. An' ya can' run from the law ferever." "Run from the law?" She let out a screeching laugh. "Who's runnin'?! I'd never run from a fun bout like this!" I gave her a careful look. "Are you one a' them Hydra Pit folk?" "There's a name I haven' 'eard in a while," she admitted. "But nah. Yer the city-dweller here, not me. I've never gotten ta set foot in Cragen, much less them fightin' pits. Shame really. Sounds like my kinda party." "It's not your kind..." But the more I thought about it, the more I nodded. "...Nah. Nah, yer right. You'd fit pretty well actually." "You've been?" She paused, eying me up and down for a second. "Didn't think you'd be the type." "Then ya don' know me." I beamed. "Ah'm always up fer tryin' anythin' once." She let out this friendly scoff. "You know, I like you. Now I feel bad I gotta kill ya." "Ya say that like ya can pull it off." She took the challenge. Closing in the gap, Anbera brought a sword to my temple on to be ducked as its partner carved against my shield before they both clashed against my hammer to block my own swing. Anbera then took it a literal step further by closing in the full distance and slamming her forehead into my nose. I reeled back before headbutting her in return, my bloody nose now staining both of us before I drove my hammer into her boot, probably smashing a toe or two before I shield bashed her away from me. Using that, I thrust my hammer and caught her in the sternum the same time she found an opening and gave me a shallow cut against my shoulder. The two of us kept going back and forth for a while, trading blood as we gained ground with each strong hit. There was a time I tripped over Ralf's unconscious body and Anbera capitalized only for her blades to bounce off my Shield of Faith and grant me an opening to kick out her bad foot from under her. Both of us fell hard on the floor, forcing us to race to see who would stand up. Only for us to tie, clash weapons, and start over again. On my right, I watched Ralf slowly waking up to look up at us. When he saw Anbera with her and his sword and still losing ground on me, he slowly laid his head back down and tried playing dead before his boss could notice. At one point, my hammer tapped her wrist and made her lose the grip on one of her swords. I tried pushing the advantage but all it did was give her the chance to cut me on my elbow. "Ya havin' fun yet?" Anbera cackled as she swerved under another swing and came up to cut my arm once more, failing as the magic stood firm. "Shut it lass," I ordered, coming hairs away from clocking her gut before her sword carved across my magic shield in this beautiful display of magical aura flaking off into sparks that illuminated the space around us. The view was short-lived when she sidestepped another hammer swing to her shoulder and I battered away her attempt. She went for an uppercut next, hooking under my shield and flinging it up nearly out of my hand but at the same time she went for a forward thrust the chest. In desperation, I swung my hammer and let it go, watching as the weight of it slammed into her leg and threw her back. "Hah!" She let out a single scream of a laugh, dropping her sword and picking up my hammer instead. "Thanks fer the improvemen'! I'll be sure ta. Put it ta...?" A resounding clang echoed across the trail as my shield slammed with all my strength behind it against the girl's skull. She wanted to use my hammer to block it but the weak fool wasn't ready for exactly how heavy it truly was. So instead, it fell from her grip as she collapsed on her ass, clutching her ringing, bleeding head as she failed to put together anymore snide remarks. When I was certain she was still breathing, I took a moment to feel out every cut on my body and have my temper cool. She and her entourage nearly had me. I was covered in blood and almost all of it was mine. My damage was all internal for them. I put a hand on my holy symbol and tried channeling any more of Ulaa's strength to try recovering any more strength, but no use. I couldn't rely on her always. I just had to get better. "Urgh," Ralf groaned, taking the chance to push his face up off the ground when he saw Anbera knocked flat. "S-So...What now lady?" I walked over to his boss and rescued my hammer, putting it back in its place as I did with my shield. Then I turned to look at him. "Now, Ah take the lot a' ya ta town," I told him. "Once yer all settled, me an' me friends will 'ave some words." Anbera barked a a dizzy laugh. "Sure, try it. We might be too battered ta run but I don' think ye can lug us all yerself." I chewed the edge of my lip and kept my thoughts to myself. I might've been strong enough to move in this armor and swing a hammer but carrying three piles of dead weight was a different story. I would need help to carry them back. I scanned the area for a moment, trying to spot anyone. Maybe a miner coming home early that could give me a hand. Instead, I was on a lonely trail far between a few of the mines and the town proper. Although, ahead of me, the path forked. One way led to the miner's exchange outside of town and the other towards a few of the more distant farms. And as luck would have it, I did spot someone. A little more than a hundred feet away were two heavy figures currently jogging towards town. The larger of the two had some sort of implement slung over his shoulder; maybe some sort of tool. Meanwhile, the other one was ahead of him by about fifteen feet with a healthy dark green skin and white arm wrappings that I recognized immediately. "Glemerr," I gasped happily. "H-Hammer? No hammer," Dillard muttered, not conscious enough to add anything. "GLEMERR!" I shouted, drawing my shield and hammer out again to start banging them together like a dinner bell. Right away, Glemerr skidded to a stop and turned, spotting me and waving frantically. Then, after saying something to the person behind her, she took off straight towards me. I leaned back, watching as Glemerr charged through the uneven ground, running faster than I could really focus. In the span of a few seconds, she cleared the space between us almost as if her feet weren't touching the ground. The bandits littered around me watched too, none of them having any words as Glemerr got to me in ten seconds flat, sliding to a halt in such a way where I had to use my shield to keep the dirt out of my face. "Rava! Ya okay?!" The half-orc took a moment to assess the damage and then gasped. "Ye're bleedin'!" She took a step towards me and whispered so the bandits couldn't hear. "Which one a' d'em was it? Who's Glemerr poundin'?" I chuckled, tucking my weapons away for a second time. "Oh, Ah took care a' that meself, Glem. But Ah think these folk need a proper place ta steam over their loss. Ah don' mean ta bother ya, but—" "Up, up, up," Glemerr shushed me, waving her hand in front of me. "Ain't a botha' ta help! We're on it." Without another word, Glemerr bounded over to Ralf and then Anbera, scooping them both up like dumbbells and onto her shoulders; their groans or complaints going entirely to waste. Not too much longer after that the other one behind her caught up to us and with a quick request from Glemerr, he reached down and Dillard by the collar of his leather armor and threw him up over his shoulder in a way where the Redbrand was face to face with the blade of his greataxe. "Rava," Glemerr started. "Dis is Eglath. Eglath? Rava." Eglath the goliath gave me a serious look as he sized me up. "Nice work takin' 'em down. But, uh, are you good ta walk?" My teeth peeked through my grin. "Fer 'ow many miles?" He matched my grin. "I like you." "Ah always try." "Come on," he told us. "That Thunderwave was your friend's, yeah? I think I heard a second one." The both of us agreed and, as fast as we could go, bounded into town with our complaining company groaning every step of the way.