"What exactly are Spriggans?" Modryn asked as he and Acado trudged through the woods.
"Walking trees that look vaguely like a woman. No, don't take this lightly!" Acado said sharply, seeing Modryn's unimpressed look, "You saw those marks. Besides a nasty set of nails, those walking trees can throw a pretty nasty spell. They also can summon a black bear to come aid them in battle. I don't know if you've seen a bear before but those things hit harder than you will ever be able to block. One Spriggan is a pain…several are simply dangerous."
Modryn fell silent, digesting Acado's words. However, he wasn't too particularly worried. He was feeling confident, not anxious and worried like he had before going into the Ayleid ruins, and he felt that, between him and Acado, they could take on anything.
Acado glanced over at his young friend, wondering if he had caught on to the seriousness of this situation. He felt his heart fall when he saw that Modryn hadn't, that he, in fact, looked rather excited at this new adventure. He had tried not to let his anxiety show, tried to keep himself calm and confident, but he was fast losing that battle. Something just didn't feel right to the wood elf…something was sending off warning bells in his mind, but he just couldn't place it. He couldn't stop now; he had already committed to his decision. He would sorely regret doing so later.
XxXxXx
The Breton woman nearly danced in glee when she saw the two elves make their way through the woods. Her plan would work! She noticed one of them, the Bosmer, Acado, was lagging a little behind, almost as if he were hesitant about this whole thing, unlike his Dunmer companion, who plowed on with obvious eagerness. When they got a little closer, she could see the lines of worry etched onto his face, confirming her suspicions. A wicked smile spread across her face when she saw that; she wanted him to feel nervous.
They passed by her and continued on their way, quickly disappearing from sight in the dense trees. It always amazed her how they never noticed that they were being watched. Never in the whole time since she had started to watch them…
The Breton woman didn't follow them, though she wanted to. She had to wait a few moments…
A rustle in the foliage behind her made her spin around, a dagger suddenly in her hand. She relaxed however, when the intruder came into view, though her dagger remained in her hand.
The young girl from the village stepped up to the older woman, her face much harder and colder than the teary scared one she had presented to Acado in the village.
"They almost didn't go." She said as a way of a greeting, "The one in charge, the wood elf. He wanted to go back and get more people."
The Breton woman raised an eyebrow and glanced towards where the two elves had just disappeared just a few moments ago before casting a look at the young girl.
"Ha! You know those Fighters Guild boys…all iron and no steel." She replied with a smug smile, "All I did was play the poor panicked village girl and he crumbled like a week old sweet roll. Now all you have to do is not screw it all up."
The Breton woman sneered at her. She had wanted to do this project all by herself, but the master had wanted to ensure that it went through without any complications. While she understood the master's caution given all that depended on the outcome of this mission, she still didn't like having to work with this bratty girl.
"What does the master want with these two anyway?" The young girl wondered out loud.
"That's none of our business." The Breton woman snarled, "When we bring them back we'll know. It's not our place to ask questions. Just get everything ready. We'll have them in an hour at the latest."
XxXxXx
Modryn belly-crawled up a small ridge and carefully peered over the edge to the clearing below, careful to keep out of sight. In the middle of the clearing there was an old oak tree much like the one in Chorrol, except this tree, instead of being surrounded by people, was surrounded by Spriggans. Modryn frowned as he took in the scene. They really did look like walking trees, but more like a tall sapling than a tree, but he kept himself from being too skeptical as he looked at their claws; nearly half a foot of wickedly pointed wood. He also reminded himself that these things could cast spells and summon a bear, whatever that was. He took a deep breath and focused on his task at hand, taking a quick head count of the creatures; 8. He took one last look at his opponents and then belly-crawled back down the ridge to where Acado was waiting.
"We'll have our hands full with that many of things crawling around." Acado whispered after Modryn had reported what he had seen, "We'll need the element of surprise if we want to win this with minimal injuries."
Modryn frowned. Acado's emphasis on those last words had been totally unnecessary. But he didn't press the issue…there would be time later to pick up that argument.
"Here's what we're going to do." Acado continued on, "We need to get rid of as many of those walking twigs as possible before we go charging in. I know you know how to cast a fireball. How strong is it?"
"I'm not a battle mage, if that's what you're asking," Modryn said, "but they are made out of wood, Acado. I could throw a candle at them and still cause a good amount of damage."
"Right then," Acado said, smiling, "I want you to just keep throwing fireballs at one until it falls or until you get another Spriggan or a bear in your face, then start tearing chunks out of them. But not until then, ok?" Modryn nodded. "Alright, I'm going to be on the left side of that ridge, you go down and sneak around to the right. Hopefully, we'll meet in the middle. Go to it."
The two elves split up and moved stealthily to their positions. Acado chose a spot on the ridge with a good view of the entire clearing. He wanted to keep an eye on his companion when the fighting started; more to make sure he didn't accidentally hit him with his own arrows than anything. He slid his bow out and ran his fingers up and down the taunt string, feeling a slight heat from the magic in it. Satisfied that it was tight and ready to go, he pulled out an arrow and knocked it but did not bend the bow. He waited a few more moments, giving Modryn plenty of time to get into position. He could feel the heat rising in his magical bow, getting stronger every second that passed, as if it was eager for the impending fight. In actuality the heat was intensifying with his own mounting anticipation. Finally Acado, feeling enough time had passed, raised his bow and bent it, sighting the closest Spriggan and let fly.
XxXxXx
Modryn picked his way carefully to the bottom of the ridge, staying close to the slope where there were less leaves to crunch underfoot. He got the end of the ridge and carefully peered around it, almost startling himself when he realized how close he was to the Spriggans; there was one not ten feet from where he was. His frown was quickly replaced with a grin. That would just make it more fun to watch the Spriggan run around as it suddenly found itself on fire. He quickly checked his mace, making sure it was loose in his belt just in case he needed it earlier than he anticipated, and then raised his hands, concentrating on the spark of magicka within him. He carefully started to form the fireball but then held it. His hands started to feel warm, but not overly so. He waited for Acado to start, the fireball literally at his fingertips. He really wished Acado would hurry as his hands started to feel uncomfortably hot.
Suddenly a fiery streak flew from across the clearing and landed with a loud Thock onto one of the Spriggans. It shrieked as the arrow, shot from the enchanted bow, sunk up to the fletching and burst into flames. It was immediately followed by others, each finding their marks. Modryn, slightly relived to be getting rid of the now burning fireball, quickly threw his fireball at his target, watching in delight as it burst into flames. He didn't hesitate long before throwing another.
XxXxXx
The effect of the surprise attack was immediate. Spriggans ran around in confusion, trying to keep away from their burning companions while trying to find the source of the flames. They shrieked and growled in their rough tongues but it didn't do them any good. The flames just kept coming.
XxXxXx
Modryn threw yet another fireball and discovered, to his utter annoyance, that the fireballs didn't even faze the Spriggan one bit. While the flames were certainly hurting it, the impact of the spells weren't. Unfortunately for Modryn, his spells were just serving to annoy the Spriggan further. Then it turned to face him, those wicked looking claws glowing.
"Oh no you don't!" Modryn growled, throwing fireball after fireball at it, trying to channel his anger into his spells to make them stronger. But before he could, he heard a roar. He had absolutely no time to react or reach for his mace as the bear charged at him.
XxXxXx
Acado saw the bear appear and start to charge Modryn from his spot on the ridge. He whipped his hand back, reaching for another arrow but he knew he wouldn't be in time; the bear was already far too close and he risked hitting his friend in the process. He hoped that Modryn could react in time. Mivryna wouldn't be too happy if he brought Modryn back in several pieces.
XxXxXx
Modryn found himself looking down the open maw filled with far too many teeth and instinctively held up his hands to protect his face, almost inadvertently shooting off a fireball straight down the creature's throat. The bear roared, or tried to anyway, and broke away.
With the bear ultimately distracted, Modryn pulled out his mace and caved in the bear's skull, marveling at how hard it was. It rivaled that of some Kagouti he had known back in Morrowind.
The bear, after having its head crushed, evaporated abruptly, leaving no trace of its existence behind. The singed Spriggan, seeing its summoned bear disappear, shrieked again and charged the dark elf itself, its long claws reaching for him.
A wild adrenaline-charged cry that rivaled that of the Spriggan's shriek escaped Modryn's mouth as he leaped to meet the creature head-on, his mace knocking its claws out of the way and throwing his weight against the creature. The force of his momentum knocked the Spriggan backward into a boulder lying near the ridge. It was then that Modryn, his arm dragging across the wooden skin of the Spriggan, discovered that Spriggans have skin like an old piece of wood. Only the adrenaline pumping through his system kept him from feeling the splinters that lodged themselves underneath his skin.
The Spriggan, though dazed by the crash, was already starting to regain its footing and was hissing at Modryn. He returned the hiss, though it came in the form of his mace hissing through the air rather than in words. Soon, the Spriggan was nothing more than a pile of kindling. One down, seven more to go, Modryn thought, or make that four more to go, he corrected himself, turning around. Acado's deadly marksman skill and fiery bow had wreaked havoc on the Spriggans, cutting down three of them fairly quickly. Modryn grinned and, not wanting to be outdone by the archer, plunged in the midst of the Spriggans, planning on evening out the score.
He would get his chance easily enough; the remaining Spriggans had summoned their bears, thus returning their numbers back to eight again. Up on the ridge, Acado quickly saw the problem in this; the Spriggans weren't stupid. They would end up going after the dark elf on the ground, the bears too, quickly over-whelming him. Acado needed to distract them, but he was starting to run out of arrows…
He growled and reached for another arrow. He would continue his sniper duty until he ran out of arrows, and then he would join Modryn down in the clearing. Besides, he needed to get his numbers up while he could; Modryn was fast catching up to him and he wasn't as good with melee attacking as his companion was. He really didn't want to give Modryn bragging rights for the next month or so.
He raised his bow again and was about to let it fly when he suddenly heard something behind him. He spun around quickly, only to get spun back around as a bear swatted his shoulder. The blow knocked him off balance and he started to fall off the ridge when the bear hit him again, making him cry out involuntarily, knocking him to the side. The much smaller Bosmer landed hard, forcing the air from his lungs and sending his bow skittering off into the brush. He looked up to see the bear reared up in front of him, mouth open in a loud roar. Then it dropped and came towards him, saliva dripping from its mouth, its teeth bared. He tried to reach for the short sword at his belt but pain lanced through his arm, making it impossible for him to move it, let alone wield it. The bear came on and opened its mouth.
Just then a ghost appeared in front of him and blasted the bear in the eyes with a powerful frost spell, giving Acado the time he needed to gulp in a lung-full of air and roll out the way, drawing his sword with his left hand this time. He still had a Spriggan to face, though how it managed to sneak away from the battlefield and around behind him he didn't know. He crouched in a defensive position and let the Spriggan come to him.
XxXxXx
Modryn grunted with pain as Spriggan claws found a way past his armor and sliced the skin beneath it. It wasn't very deep, but Modryn despised the feel of blood running down his skin. This only served to irritate him and forced himself against the Spriggans harder. He crashed his mace against the offending Spriggan, enjoying the crunching vibrations sent up his wrist by the impact as it slammed through the Spriggans body, dropping it. At the same time, another bear vanished. For a brief moment, he wondered if that would count as one or as two. He shook his head and turned his attention back on the remaining two Spriggans.
Two!? Modryn leaped back and did a double-take. Sure enough, there were only two Spriggans and two bears coming at him, with one pile of splintered wood behind them. He chanced a look around while knocking away sharp claws. He wasn't afraid for himself; he had a boulder against his back to prevent any of them from surrounding him, but he was more worried that the missing creature would somehow slip around behind Acado on the ridge. Modryn had seen his friend in close combat and, while he wasn't bad at it, he was defiantly a much better archer. But then, Acado could see the whole clearing from his vantage point. He would have seen the Spriggan leave…
Suddenly, his sensitive ears picked up a cry that was not bear or Spriggan, but elven. He glanced up at the ridge and saw a bear rearing up. He couldn't see anything else, but he knew that his fear had come true. Thinking quickly, he called upon his ancestral guardian.
"Up there!" He screamed at it, pointing up to the ridge, "There! Get the bear!"
He threw his attention back to his own opponents, trusting that his ghost would do what he had asked. Suddenly infuriated he crashed through the two Spriggans, destroying them before they even had a chance to move, the bears disappearing with them. Before one of the bears evaporated, however, it managed to get in past Modryn's defense and slapped him across the face with a rough heavy paw, breaking his jaw and leaving four jagged bleeding lines across his face.
Stunned, Modryn fell back against the rock he had been using to guard his back. He spat out a mouthful of blood around his swelling tongue that he had bitten when the bear had swatted him. For a moment, he just sat there, recovering from the blow and soaking in the sudden silence. Then he grinned, wincing slightly as he did so, and ran up the ridge to Acado.
XxXxXx
The young girl watched silently as the two mer, tired and battered from their fight, turned to leave. Undoubtedly they believed their job done and were heading to the village to tell the people there that the Spriggans were gone before heading home. Too bad for them that that wasn't going to happen.
She raised a small whistle to her lips and blew. A high shrill note pierced the forest, silencing all the birds within earshot instantly, but the girl couldn't even hear it, so high was the note that her brain couldn't register it. But Acado and Modryn did with their sensitive elven hearing. She watched in sadistic pleasure as both doubled over suddenly, hands over their ears. She then quickly switched to another whistle and blew three short notes, these audible to her this time. A few seconds later, a huge Minotaur came crashing through the trees, its horns nearly crashing into her hiding place in the tree, a heavy war hammer clutched in its huge hand.
She re-arranged herself on the limb, frowning a little, but her frown disappeared when she heard the roar of the Minotaur, drowning out two other shouts of surprise, and two soft thuds. She smiled then, knowing that she and her partner had been successful. Oh how their master would be so pleased!
XxXxXx
Author's note; Muwahahahahahahaha! Oops! I mean; read, love and review XD! (Especially the review part XD!)
-Vanillathunder215