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// 46 - Source of the Fire 
// Story: Ponyfinder: Roots of Stone 
// by David Silver 
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Maud burst free of the tall grass, the smell of burning thick around her, some of it including her own hide. She felt the approach before she saw it, two rapid beams of fire arcing towards her with uncanny accuracy. She dived forward as the grass where she had been standing moment earlier exploded into fire. Coming up onto all fours, she sprinted towards where the bolts had come from, which meant inside the house.

There were no other orcs challenging her. Had they defeated them all? Besides the last two, any they had beaten unconscious were cooked by their leader's flames, the same flames that still ached through her entire form. It hurt, she hurt, and she was feeling... eager... to be done with the battle.

Back in their clearing, Tree was seeing to wounds as quickly as she could, running through her stamina rapidly. She quickly had Paul back to his feet. "Song of the trees, get this dude off his knees." She gently pressed her hooves to his breastplate, and the green energy washed through him. 

He sat up stiffly almost immediately. "It's not perfect, but I'm not burnin' to death no more. Thanks."

Tree gave a little smile. "Doing what I can, dude." She turned from him and reached for Fast, but Fast was already galloping away, following Maud. "I hope they'll be alright..."

Tabitha grabbed one of Tree's forehooves without asking. "We have to have faith, in ourselves and them. They'll pull through it."

Tree flinched at the sudden contact, but the words rang true, and she gave a slow nod instead. "I dig it." She gently extracted her hoof from Tabitha's grip. "Personal space though, please."

Maud went from room to room without sign of the unidentified spellcaster, until she heard someone intoning. She braced for the attack she thought was coming, but it never did. With her eyes drifting upwards towards the source of the chanting, she spotted a ladder heading up to an access to the roof and quickly scrambled up along it, throwing aside the hatch.

"Damned horse!" The leather clad orc Tree had spoke of was up there. With a quick arcane word, several bolts of magic emerged from his hand, one to a finger. She tried to dash around them, but they turned with her, coming at her unerringly and slamming into her chest, her barrel and one came down on her back, rocking her around.

It hurt.

She was tired of hurting, both inflicting and receiving. Why did this world require so much of it? She charged for the orc, hooves almost stomping on the roof to propel her forward, but he had more of those streaking arcane bolts. She ducked and rolled, but the missiles refused to be shaken for even a moment. They came for her, and they slammed into her with more force than their almost sedate pace implied.

It hurt.

She staggered towards him, only to collapse a few feet away. It hurt too much. She couldn't move.

He drew a dagger as he approached her prone form. "Hardly an even trade, one horse for all of my men, but it'll have to do, won't it?" He held the dagger in both hands. holding it as if to sacrifice Maud to some dark god. "Rest in His searing fires, pathetic kindling."

She closed her eyes, but no more pain came to visit her. Instead, a loud caw, and a string of curses from the orc.

Fast hoisted herself up onto the roof with a heavy clank. "Thank you, friend Bright Feathers." She readied her lands and pawed at the ground. "We have an account to settle. This is the part where you surrender if you have any sense left to you, orc."

He began to invoke his spell at her, neglecting Bright entirely, to his detriment. Before he could even finish the quick words, the bird dug in its talons into his shoulders and tore into his neck with a sharp beak. The phrasing was ruined with a loud cry of pain, and Fast was charging in with her lance aimed for him.

Her aim was true, her lance sharp, and the wizard's sternum was not nearly hard enough. She drove into him with all the force of her spirited charge. It was only luck or perhaps training on the orc's side that allowed him to turn a lethal heart piercing into an equally frightening, but not immediately lethal, chest wound that perforated a lung.

Forcing the words out, he grabbed the lance that pierced through him, sending a powerful jolt of electricity through it. Fast howled in pain as it coursed through her, but took a step forward despite it, driving the lance deeper. "Damn orc, die or yield. Choose one and be quick about it."

"Possibly." Bright spun around to be in front of the orc's eyes, hindering his view for a moment before razor-sharp claws found thrashing eyes. While he didn't manage to pluck them free, blood ran free from dirty brows, blinding the orc almost as surely. Even for the painless orcs, the birds savage atttack could not be entirely ignored, but he had very little space to go, or cards...

He began intoning in orcish, but Fast would not abide it. She reared up, lifting the orc from the roof and giving him a heave. He flew off the end of her lance and tumbled off the side, crashing to the ground below. "Bright, finish it off." She turned back to the ladder, then paused, seeing the still form of Maud and turning to her instead. "I'll see to Maud. Go!"

Bright launched himself over the edge and came upon the orc just as he staggered to his feet, wobbling and broken, wheezing for breath through his severe injury. He began to move away from the house, to flee, but Bright came upon him, clawing and driving his beak into his skull as if he had a nut inside he wanted to gain access to.

It was too much. He fell to a knee, and tipped over limply, all his reserves spent and dead on the spot.

Tree was quite surprised when Bright came flying back, bloody beaked and proud looking. "Dude... What have you been doing? Did you need to hunt?" She tilted her head.

"Possibly."

Paul shook his head at the sight. "Did you see Maud and Fast?"

"Possibly."

Tabitha laughed at the whole thing. "Do you know any words besides possibly?"

"Possibly."

Tree tapped the ground. "That's enough. Relax and recover." The tall grass shrunk down to its normal height, except where it was scorched and burnt. "You did good, thank you, enjoy the crash."

They could see the house, still standing, and Tabitha clapped at the sight of it. "Good to see the home's still standing, even if I do plan to give it up. Say, while we're here, why don't we give it one more night? I'll cook for you, least I can offer, seeing as I'll be joining you."

"Hold a second there." Paul frowned. "First, let's find our friends, second, no you ain't comin' with us."

"Yes I am."

"No, ya ain't."

She frowned at him, then turned and began walking to the house. "We'll see what her highness thinks about it. You shouldn't be so loud and rude to the lady that saved your life today."

Paul and Tree fell in behind her. Tree smiled a little. "That was very brave of you, but we're in for a real trip, like, totally cosmic levels of scary. Why would you want in on that ride?"

She waved a hand over her shoulder, showing off the back of her hand. "I already said that. Living out here's no vacation, and it's ruined anyway. Either I stay, and die miserably, or I come with you on a grand fey adventure, where I might live on, and maybe become a pony princess of my own."

Tree raised a brow. "Do you mean princess of ponies, or a pony who is a princess? You're not a pony, little sister. Sorry."

"I could be."

Paul put a hand over his face a moment. "Let me get this straight. You wanta follow us on the off chance bein' 'round them is enough to get hooves? Do I even have to go into why that's daft? Do you think being around the orcs may get you green skin if you try hard enough?"

Tabitha shrugged. "That's my problem now ain't it? I'll be helpful, promise, starting with making a nice dinner for the lot of you tonight and providing a nice warm place to sleep fer a change if you're getting used to sleeping on rocks."

Tree accelerated to her side. "Hey, little sister, I appreciate that you like ponies and all, we're a cool people and everything, but you really aren't one. There's nothing wrong with being a hip human. What you need are some friends, not a tail."

She paused a moment, bringing them to a halt as she looked at Tree. "Will you be my friend then?"

Tree considered a moment before she nodded. "I don't know you that well, but that will change." She saw Tabitha coming in close and held out a hoof. "Personal space, little sister. We're not at hugging level."

Paul grunted. "So you plan on taking her?"

"We either keep her close, or she'll hurt herself following us." Tree shook her head a little. "Not much of a choice."

They arrived at the house, to find the bloodied body of the leader sprawled on the ground. Tabitha made a face at it before scooting closer and beginning to rifle through his pockets, procuring coins and pulling the rings off his fingers. "Waste not, want not."

"Why are you letting her do all the looting?" called down Fast from the roof. "Get to it, meet inside. We earned what we got by personal pain, so don't go leaving it laying on the ground for scavengers."

Looting began in earnest, picking the orcs clean of anything they had worth taking.

Tabitha walked inside when it was all done, looking to Paul as she went. "Even I know that's part of being an adventurer. Surprised you didn't beat me to it."

Paul darkened slightly as he balled his fists. "Look, I jus' got into the whole thin', alright?"

Fast was waiting for them in the living room, sprawled out on the couch, helmet removed, but the rest of her armor still worn. The armor resisted the scorches of battle, and looked as clean as the day she bought it. The rest of her didn't fare as well. She was singed and sore and looked quite tired. Maud was laid out carefully on a cushion, just as burned, and unconscious under Fast's watchful gaze. "Tree, tell me you have some healing left in you. Maud needs it most."

Tree's eyes widened a moment as she hurried to Maud's side and gently ran a hoof over her. "Sleep, dear sister. Let the healing power of rest take you." 

Maud's breathing became gentle and relaxed, along with her entire posture. She was resting and recovering.

Paul hiked a thumb at Tabitha, who was heading into the kitchen. "She plans on comin' with us. I tried to git her to stay but she wasn't havin' any of it. By the hells, she even wants to be a pony."

Tree waved at Paul. "Don't pick on the girl. She can have all the dreams she wants. One of my best friends dreams about being a tree." She gestured at Maud. "And another has visions of being stone. Who are we to say what they dream? They're all righteous people. Maybe she has something in her, something she can feel."

Fast shook herself out. "Maybe." Her expression was that of pain. She winced before she settled back down and flopped out. "For now, rest. If she can cook for us, she has my thanks for tonight."