NOTE
This story is being rewritten. This version exists for historical purposes only and should be considered an extremely rough draft! If you intend to read this story, please see the new version at coopermidnight dot tumblr dot com.
Chapter 1: Intro
"Rookie, protect…the oracle."
The man collapsed to the floor; his final sight was the brown, furry creature that had pierced him with an arrow just moments before. It and two of its friends stared down the remaining people in the room. A petite, long haired, blonde girl clad in a long, white dress stood frozen in fear, and a sturdier looking figure covered head to toe in battle gear took a spot in front of her. A big cap like the Kobolds wore covered all but a determined pair of eyes; the rest was a mixture of chain mail and leather clothing.
The wooden house shook, and the sound of the bell in its tower fixed on top of the roof rang throughout the place. A giant spider was on the rooftop, and no one knew how much destruction was left to be done before the whole place came down. A wooden pillar came loose and struck the oracle. She whimpered and fell to the ground helplessly. Her companion looked back to check for breathing and then charged at the creatures.
Wonder what got into the Gnolls, the rookie briefly thought before slicing each of them a few times. The rookie grabbed the oracle in both hands and hustled up the floors of the house, clearing more Gnolls on the way. They appeared from the air out of nowhere; the only warning was some black mist forming. Nevertheless, they were not a particularly bright bunch, and transporting the oracle was a simple task. That was until…
Along came the spider. With a tight grip on the limp girl, the rookie reached the rooftop and saw the formerly friendly giant, white spider. It set its sights upon the two and made a loud hissing noise as its eyes glowed with a scary, bright red. The oracle originally wanted to go up there to calm it down, but that was no longer an option. The rookie laid the girl on the ground and took a deep breath before running to confront the beast.
It hissed again. It lifted up one of its huge front legs, and the rookie rolled out of the way to be missed by inches as the leg smashed a hole in the roof.
"Fire the ballistae!" a voice shouted from the ground.
Suddenly, dozens of boulders and huge arrows pierced the building's roof as well as the spider. The rookie held a small, wooden shield up and charged, taking a swing at an exposed leg. The spider hissed in pain and started to scurry up to the large bell looming over them.
The rookie looked up, unsure of what to do. The uncertainty soon disappeared; a new fleet of arrows shot into the sky, and one hit its mark as the spider was halfway up the tower. It staggered and eventually took a plunge back down to the roof. Landing with a booming THUD, it shook the house enough to seal its fate; the beams supporting the bell cracked under pressure.
Falling… Falling… The bell's final ring was heard as it flattened the spider's thorax, and the spider made its final hiss as its life slowly leaked from it.
"No!"
The rookie looked back. The oracle had apparently woken up just in time to see the damage, and she rushed to its side with tears already coming out. She pitifully heaved her body weight into the bell time and time again, trying to free her friend. The spider only writhed in pain while the golden bell stayed in place.
"Who did this to you?" she whispered to it, stroking one of its hairy legs. She gasped a few moments later, shaking her head in disbelief. She continued to try to comfort it, but she ultimately sobbed at its side when its head tilted back to rest on the ground permanently.
The rookie remained still, heart racing, as soldiers appeared from behind and ran toward the oracle. The voices went in and out of audibility.
"You … and faced the spider … protected …"
"… all alone … alright?"
"The oracle … we didn't know … could have saved …"
It was all overwhelming. The rookie looked around, head in hand, and then everything went black.