Fulmination
"Holy crap," Skoven swore, appearing from out of nowhere. "It's the Southswarder secret weapon!"
Sebias did a half-turn, finding to his surprise that the squirrel was not the only Nestene present. He raised an eyebrow at Bard. "Wait, you two were here this whole time?"
"Not the whole time…" Bard mumbled, awkwardly twiddling his claws.
"Then why weren't you helping us?" demanded Fret, "I had to Raise Kio like three times!"
"We were off at the Perched Bird," Skoven replied.
"Sko won four thousand Gold at the Chinese Poker table!" Bard cheered. His shoulders sagged."I lost nine thousand."
"What the heck, dudes?" Sebias exclaimed.
"Last time I checked, you were also at the Bird when Nest fell," Skoven snapped. "Didn't know 'Taggerung' meant 'giant hypocrite' in Juskain!"
A weather-beaten Juska poked his head into the conversation. "Well, it actually means-"
"SHUT UP!" the assembled creatures (and the shadowy sphere) roared in unison.
Pin-drop silence filled the air. It was broken by the return of the dilapidated vixen, Meliandre. "Well, it's a good thing she's just standing there, letting us get away without any consequences and wasting her opportunity to kill us," she said, speaking of Kezda. "Totally not going to backfire on her." The vixen placed her head between Skoven and Bard. "Leg it."
The assembled party turned tails and raced away into the sunset. All except for Kio, who looped backwards, snatched a crateful of crystals from the nearest groaning Juska, and soon followed his comrades out.
Kezda shrugged. "Welp, whatever. I got what I wanted. Toodles!" she zipped away.
0000
"So Sepulture, Inundation and Furor all got absorbed by the weapon, Kezda's getting closer to taking over all of Mossflower, and I lost nine thousand Gold at the Bird." Bard sighed heavily.
"Wow," Forsyth whistled. "Sounds rough, buddy!"
"Not as rough as getting your head bitten off," Skoven muttered darkly.
"Too soon," chirped Mekai.
The hare blinked. "I don't get what you mean."
"Whatever," replied the squirrel.
"What were you even doing this whole time?" Sebias demanded of Forsyth. "Getting a drink with Mekai?"
"Actually," the sable corrected. "I was talking to the heads of the Mossflower Alliance. They're all too willing to get an army together to create a diversion while we sneak into Loamhedge to rescue Eula."
The game decided to enter a flashback, and Seb thought better than to skip it this time.
"Well," said a otter clad in official-looking armour, the representative from Craylock. "I think we're all in agreement. Surrender."
"Surrender," agreed a similarly-dressed squirrel, the otter's Kalnese counterpart.
"I can't believe you pansies are just gonna surrender like a bunch of wimps!" snapped a Ferthorper ferret, also wearing par-for-the-course armour (complete with shoulderpads as wide as he was tall). "But yeah, we should totally surrender. Oh, and the fact that I have more lines than everyone else should clue you to the fact that I'm actually important in a future expansion, unlike these two. But nothing of that yet!"
Mekai sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't surrender."
"Kezda has a freaking god-killing nuke for all we care! Are you seriously considering we take them on?" demand the ferret.
"Yes," said the sable.
"Well, I'm convinced!" declared the otter, slamming his fist on the table.
"Can't argue with that!" agreed the squirrel.
"Good point…" the ferret mused, stroking his chin in a totally non-villanous gesture.
The flashback ended just as abruptly as it begun.
"Forsyth was getting drinks though," Mekai admitted.
"Wow." Fret breathed. "I wasn't expecting you Nestenes to do something useful for once."
"This is the power of doing stuff offscreen, Taggerungs."
0000
"My lord, with the Devourer fully powered, fear shall be released into the atmosphere," said Naron, "ensuring complete. Global. Saturation." The shrew ended the last three words with very dramatic sighing.
"Very good indeed," said Kezda briskly clapping her paws together. "Rainald, go to Saint Ninian's Church to stop the Nestenes from approaching me. Do. Not. Mess. Up."
Rainald saluted. "Yes boss! I will!"
"No!" Kezda shrieked. "Don't!"
Rainald rubbed at his chin, and after a full ten minutes finally came to the wrong conclusion. "en I'll do nothing!"
Kezda facepawed. "Whatever… just get out of my sight."
0000
"Thank you for saving me, brave warriors!" Eula cried, wrapping the Taggerungs in a bone-crushing hug. "Now let's get outta here," she said briskly, promptly dropping all four of them.
"Whoa, that was quick!" Sebias whistled, nursing his ribs.
"Ja. Ich habe mehr Widerstand erwartet!"
Jared shrugged. "Well, it's a prison in an MMORPG! Of course there's an easy way out."
"Stop talking and start walking!" Fret snapped, rising to his footpaws.
"Yes. Let's go," said Mekai, likely to fulfil her quota of lines.
"Hold it right there! In the name of the realm, I arrest you!" shouted Liska, appearing right in front of the adventuring party, her weapon of choice at the ready.
Fret scoffed. "Wait, really? Just you?"
"Er, yeah."
"You're armed with a crossbow." Fret explained. "With a reloading time of five seconds."
"So what?" demanded the species, suddenly unsure.
"So you're gonna shoot at one of us, and you're going to get mobbed by the rest." Fret ferretsplained.
"Oh, shut up!" she snarled, firing a bolt, which flew harmlessly several inches above the ferret's head. She slumped forwards, her ears drooping. "Well, I'm screwed, ain't I?
"Yep!" Fret grinned, cracking his knuckles.
Happy birthday, One-Eye. Have another great year, yadda yadda. You don't seem like the type to enjoy long birthday speeches.