Tyris, Surry and Trip scouted 100 yards ahead. The distance was shorter then Fetch wanted but they were moving fast, and he wanted them to stay together. Ymir produced a small statue and created a fearsome black goat, with smoking hooves. She hopped on the creature's back as it reared back and struck a fearsome pose. Despite the odd combination, the dwarf maid in black skull armor riding a fire snorting, smoking hooved goat was a scary combination. Frank tried to one up her and took out a carpet . He rolled it on the ground, sat on it, and said a command. The carpet flew like lighting , flipping Frank to the ground and flying off in a random direction out of sight. Frank cursed ...ranting at the purchase he made at the magic store in Karlston. He had to sell some of his extra magic items to afford it.
"You didn't buy that at Dimitri's did you?", asked Ymir. Frank nodded, and the Grommers all groaned as one. The magic store in question apparently had a reputation for less then quality goods.
Before they were able to tease their gullible companion. Surry fired an arrow above them. Fetch saw the sign and signaled them to stop, and slowly crept forward. Tyris met them, and waved them to remain low. Ymir sensing battle was near dismissed her goat to her annoyance, she thought it would have been cool to ride down her enemies on it.
"A dozen men in Grom uniforms down the road with corporal Samuel. Some more in the woods, numbers unknown. ", Tyris reported .
" Another group half a mile away coming our way. Looks like merchants.", added the warforged . Fetch was surprised Trip could see so far. He looked at the little warforged and his eyes were extended like stalks. Fetch assumed he must have climbed a tree or something to get that much information. He had to make his decision fast. Was Samuel working for the snakemen? Was Hakon working with the snakemen? Were they both in on it? Were they both manipulated? Maybe this was a legitimate Grommish patrol sent to reinforce the area because of the snakemen danger. But Fetch was told this was a safe mission. They wouldn't send trainees vs Snakemen. Unless it was a mix up.
He considered the variables and decided his course of action. He told the others what must be done.
"Hey Samuel!", yelled Fetch walking with Frank down the road. " We have a problem with the tower, and we need either you or Hakon to straighten it up."
"What are you doing here! You were told to guard the tower!", exclaimed a surprised and angry Corporal Samuel. The Grommish guards next to him, seemed quite unsettled by this interruption. "Get back to the tower, and I'll handle it later! ...Now Soldier!"
"So...whatcha doing here?", said Frank as he approached the guards. Fetch and Frank hadn't seen them before, but upon closer observation they were still unsure if they were snakemen. Small scales on their skin and slitted eyes were hard to detect unless they were specifically looked for. The guards did a good job of hiding it though, if they were indeed snakemen , their hands and arms were well wrapped despite the temperature. Even their faces had a thick matte of make up to disguise them. Fetch knew he had to play his ace in the hole.
"All hail Sertrous the slumbering god! May his venom drown the world and rid us of the pale ones!", Fetch said in rough Yuan ti.
The guards and Samuel turned collectively at him, that was expected. A few hissed and muttered some yuan ti in response to his proclamation. Samuel was puzzled and asked "What did you say?" in perfect yuan ti in response. That was all that Fetch needed. The cleric and the knight both dived to the side of the forested path.
Several loud cracks and twangs erupted from the far side of the road. The dwarves and Grommers unleashed dragon golem fire, crossbows, bows, and even a fireball at the false grommers. 3 snakemen fell immediately to their volley. Ymir had fought them before and told them to concentrate fire, they were a lot tougher then they appeared. To their credit, the snakemen recovered from their surprise quickly. One of the snakemen that fell even got up from the ground. They charged their attackers in a strange slithering run. Samuel paused and held his fingers to his head. Whatever spell or mental attack he was preparing was interrupted though. His head was suddenly jerked back, and a dagger sliced through his throat in a swift fashion. Samuel choked and fell forward silently , as Tyris emerged seemingly from the shadows behind him .
The dwarves and Grommers, managed another volley before the snakemen's charged impacted. 2 more snakemen fell from the second volley . The creatures hissed in triumph as they approached their prey, but suddenly they began toppling and hissing in pain. Their front ranks were thrown into disarray as hidden trip wires, and caltrops stopped their advance mere feet from their foes. The obstacles weren't lethal, but managed to stop their attack effectively. One snakeman fell face first and hissed in pain as his body was embedded with spikes . Another used his fallen comrade as a bridge, and jumped over his down allied. The creature lunged at the Grommers, but the massive form of Sir Branndr awaited him with a large tower shield. Branndr timed his landing and smashed the lithe snake men directly in the chest as he landed. The reptilian attacker flew back and landed on his back against the caltrops it was so careful to have avoided. It writhed briefly , but a third volley from the dwarves and grommers shattered their remaining morale. Of the 12 that started the charge, only 8 remained. Half made their way past the caltrops by going around them and engaged their enemy but the other half started to retreat.
Fetch sensed an easy victory but suddenly a primeval, almost prehistoric roar filled the forest.
Frank stopped "Squirrel?" he asked nervously.
Up the side of the forested path 3 monstrous bestial snakemen burst through. They were as large as mammoths, their upper torsos could be best described as ogre like and their lower torsos were that of a giant green python. They wore leather harnesses and wielded massive curved swords. In front of them were 2 dozen human sized yuan ti. These snakemen wore little clothing, and had similar harnesses as their abomination leaders. They were much more bestial then the ones Fetch had saw. It would be impossible for these ones to hide in public, unlike their cousins . Fetch could see from their cold hateful eyes, that they weren't here to talk and negotiate, they sought only death to their enemies.
Frank breathed a sigh of relief ." Wheew...I thought we were goners, I thought it was a squirrel"
The fleeing yuan ti stopped their retreat, whatever fear that Ymir's group brought to them, paled compared to their fear of their more bestial brethren. They circled around again to engage the dwarves and Grommers with renewed zeal
.
Frank dodged a halfblooded snakeman with a simple motion. He slashed at that creature but its thick scaly hide absorbed most of the blow. He was careless though, he left his flank wide opened for the halfblood's attack. The yuan ti seized the opportunity but it was a ruse, Frank whipped around and caught the snakemen behind his neck with his flaming sword. It bit deeply into the creatures neck, severing arteries and veins, while setting the flesh on fire. The creature crashed and writhed painfully. It lashed madly with its tails, claws, and teeth. Frankly calmly gave the creature a solid kick and it rolled to the side of the bloodied road , its death throes far away from anyone it could hurt.
"Did you see that Ymir! Did you see that!...damn, I don't think she saw that. what a waste of my time. ", Frank complained as he began parrying another snakeman, disappointed that no one saw him imitate Hildraxel's signature move.
"It was a good attack, Frank. ", spoke the metal shard on his neck appreciatively .
Fetch was getting annoyed at his companion's banter. They were outnumbered and cut off. Things looked grim and Frank was yapping away seeking attention. He swung his hammer in a wide arc at the head of halfblood. It thought it could easily dodge his slow moving hammer, but at the last moment it erupted in lightning and struck the creature with explosive speed and force. Its skull smashed and bits of its brain and blood squirted out of the cracks, like a smashed watermelon. Fetch knew they were powerful casters, and took the breathing room he just won and invoked a prayer of conviction to aid his allies. The small group briefly glowed blue, but his action singled him out as a caster.
A cobra headed snakeman lunged at him with lightning speed with its scimitar. Fetch barely raised his shield in time, but the cobraman struck again and again in rapid succession. The creature was driving Fetch back, he could hear the hiss of another yuan ti behind him. Fetch could tell they were maneuvering him into an unfavorable position. Suddenly the cleric saw Tyris step behind the cobraman while engaging a pair of snakemen in front of her, all the while singing an Elvish war song . She gave a wide extended slash with the tip of her rapier. One snakemen parried the blow, the other was too slow and the blade slashed lightly into its face. It screamed and staggered back as the blow tore out an eye. With her other hand she stabbed the dagger backwards into the cobra mans shoulder . It struck deeply and cleanly into its shoulder. Before the cobraman could react, she gripped the dagger and flipped lightly onto its shoulder. She kicked the wounded snakemen with her heel as she flipped up , sending it staggering backward from the blow. She performed a quick jab into the top of the surprised cobraman's skull while she was perched crouched on top of him, and then once again lightly flipped backwards again, withdrawing both her blades. She crossed her weapons as she landed behind Fetch. He lost sight of her briefly , but heard a gurgle as he glanced back. She landed behind the yuan ti that was outflanking him and had both blades in a cross position sliding quickly out of the surprised creature's neck.
"Oh...Frank can't have his fun and be the hero can he? Someone is always showing off. Have some consideration people!", Frank commented with a laugh.
One of the large abomination snakemen roared at the 3, and a wave of green bile spewed out of his mouth at them. A bestial yuan ti was also caught in the breath, and he screamed as his torso and arms began to melt away. Frank raised his shield and it absorbed the bulk of it. But Fetch could see his unprotected legs and sword arm began hissing and smoking . Fetch invoked a quick prayer of protection and the acid splashed harmlessly off him. Tyris spun like a top, while still singing , and the acid somehow missed her altogether. Fetch shook his head at how lethal she truly was , any doubts he and Earl had about her background were dispelled. Her victory was short lived though, as a massive curved blade swung at her with deadly swiftness and accuracy. She barely managed to step back from the blow, but a large tail lashed at her while she was off balanced and struck her heavily in the back. She gave a pained grunt as her song was interrupted as she fell to the ground in a heap. A snakeman seized the opportunity and leaped at her prone form with its blade, plunging it into her back.
Ymir barely blocked the flashing blade of the snakeman. Her ornate hand axe and its scimitar were locked for a second , then it lunged at her with its fang filled mouth. She shifted her shoulder , and it missed her neck and it bit instead into her steel shoulder pad. Its teeth cracked on the metal armor to her approval. The dwarven warrior maiden then threw the dazed snakeman back with a mighty shove, and swung at it with her waraxe. She slashed it deeply in the chest , rending scale, muscle, and bone. The creature however just took a step back and appeared unfazed from her attack. Ymir then threw her ornate handaxe , and the creature ducked , but it was not her target. The handaxe swirled like a vortex of steel and flew with a swerving but unwavering path. It struck a snakeman that was taking the long way around the caltrops and snares. It tore ribs and armor from the creature as it impacted. The wounds inflicted were much greater then a handaxe should have been capable of. The axe continued on its path then curved backwards and flew unerringly back into Ymir's hand. The snakeman slashed again at her with its blade, but Ymir once again parried with the returned axe. The creature learned from the last exchange , and closed the range to Ymir while axe and scimitar locked, and pinned the waraxe with its shield. The two were engaged in a duel of strength , Ymir's power was great, but was no match for the supernatural might of the bigger snake man. It forced her back a bit, its jaws hovered mere inches from her face, Ymir grunted and kept the creature from spanning the last few inches. As they were locked in their test of power, it smiled and spat poison and bile directly into her unprotected face .
The creature grinned , but suddenly the dwarf rammed her iron tiara into its face. Its nose and skull cracked under the great force. It stared at the smiling dwarf , she seemed unfazed by the deadly poison dripping off her eyes and face. Their weapons still locked, she brought her iron boot into the creatures groin. She wasn't sure if the creature could be affected by a groin kick, but her foot was 30 lbs of steel spikes and mail . It struck the creature like a sledgehammer, and it tumbled onto its back.
"Don't you know us dwarves love poison, I pay 30 gold for a poison facial once a month.", she said while stomping the creature head in with her steel spiked boot.
The snakeman she struck earlier with the returning axe, stopped in its tracks and held its side painfully. It spoke some words of power, and some of its wounds started to mend. But before it could continue, a small ball of wood and metal struck it from the side. The surprised snakeman lurched to the side and screamed as it landed onto the caltrops it so carefully avoided . Trip jumped onto its back, driving the caltrops deeper and further in. A man or a dwarf would have been felled or crippled , but the creature continued to struggle to raise itself. The small warforge then unslinged 2 dragon golems from its side, and aimed them point blank at the back of the creatures head. It fired them both simultaneously, splattering the resilient yuan ti's brains onto the bloody road.
Trip dropped the dragon golems and drew a more conventional crossbow from his back. He surveyed the battlefield for targets. 4 dwarves laid dead or dying scattered around him. Commander Ymir had just finished one with a stomp to the head. Counting the one he just finished that was 2 dead snakemen. The warforged halfling saw the twins fighting back to back against 3 snakemen. 2 dwarves were fighting a lone injured yuan ti near the back of the group . Finally Branndr and 2 dwarves were engaged with 2 snakemen in a chaotic melee near him.
Branndr suddenly chopped at the snakeman before him with his battleaxe. The big knight's blow, cleaved the creatures arm and side and severed part of its spine. It fell backwards flailing and lashing. Its wild sword blow caught a dwarf deeply in the leg. The random attack must have severed a tendon or an artery , because the dwarf toppled to the side clutching its leg. The other yuan ti seized the opportunity and slashed the falling dwarf across the throat. It turned to the roaring Branndr and spat a bolt of poison to his face. The big knight yelled in pain and stumbled backwards from the venomous strike. The snakeman leaped at the unbalanced knight and sent him crashing to the ground with his weight. The creature stood over the blinded man, but an injured dwarf with a knife hopped on its back with dagger and hand axe. The dwarf wrapped his strong legs around the creatures waist and slashed and pierced several time into the creatures sides with his weapons. The snakeman was angered, it smashed the prone Branndr'ss face with his shield, and twisted its arm unnaturally and pierced the surprised dwarfs side. The dying dwarf strength rapidly faded, he dropped his weapons, but his legs still wrapped tightly onto the snakeman. The creature extended and rippled its spine in a grotesque and natural motion, tossing the dying dwarf to the side. It roared in triumph, but suddenly Trip's crossbow bolt imbedded itself into its neck.
The stunned and dying creature , just stood there for a second , it couldn't believe it just dropped 2 foes only to be taken out by a mechanical halfling. Branndr, shifted his weight and the creature tumbled lifeless to the ground. Half of the large knights face was covered with ugly purple molts from the poison , the other with a deep gash from where the shield met his cheek. His one eye was swollen over with poison, but he spied the twins fighting a desperate battle with 3 yuan ti. He also spied Trip giving him a nod as he loaded his crossbow again, while standing atop a snakeman surrounded by a barrier of caltrops. The big man rolled himself over and quicker then expected was on his feet. He tried giving a battle cry , but the poison was already swelling his tongue and sapping his strength.
Surry and Agni fought back to back. They had fought yuan ti before and knew the power and danger of their foes. The ranger mage placed several enchantments on them before they engaged, she knew they couldn't fight them one on one , their magic and strength were greater then theirs . They had to rely on guile and deception . Surry's form shimmered and split into four exact duplicates , confusing her attackers. Agni's image faded, flickered and blurred. The snake men facing them were wary of them because they were obviously magicians of some sort. One lunged slashing like lightning at the ranger, it connected with an image and was rewarded by a kick to the face. The half elf warrior swung his bastard sword with both hands at the creature, but it quickly withdrew. The other 2 yuan ti sensing their foes misstep swung their blades at the warrior . Agni's image faded and vanished before one, but the other struck his leg, his light armor no match for the creatures steel. Surry began chanting, while the first snakeman jumped back into the fray, once again slashing and disrupting another of her images . Agni's wound was deep but he cared not anymore,as blood lust seized him. He swept his blade in a wide sweep at the creatures legs. They both jumped back, but the one that hit him was too slow. The great blade tore and almost severed its leg. The warrior quickly recovered his blade and followed up with an overhead swing onto the reeling creatures shoulder. The impact jolted it suddenly and it collapsed onto the ground . His victory would not go unpunished though. His overhead swing left him open and his blade engaged. The snakeman that hopped back suddenly jumped back in , piercing his side cruelly with its blade. The halfelven warrior could feel his lifeblood fading from him, as he collapsed from the last attack . The snakeman prepared to make sure the warrior was dead with a stab at his downed foe, but suddenly a large hunting cat , glowing with a holy aura, leaped at it. Both the snakeman cat tumbled to the ground a mass of claws, teeth, fur, scales and steel. Surry satisfied with her magical summons turned her attention to the snakeman harassing her. Its tactics changed. It lashed wildly at the images with scimitar , shield, and fang. It was less worried about lethal strikes then simply just striking the images. In an instant her last images failed her, and she was battered on the side from the creatures shield. She invoked missiles of force to strike the creature, and they flew straight and true, but the creature ignored its wounds and just smiled its fang filled maw and prepared to finish the defenseless mage.
Before the snakeman could strike Surry down, Sir Branndr's shoulder crashed heavily into the creatures side. His mass and speed sent the creature tumbling sideways to the ground. He swung a wild swing at the prone creature but his swollen eye foiled his blow. The creature rolled onto its feet, and sprang at the knight. The large knight swung again and missed, as a scimitar tore upwards into his armpit. Branndr silently locked his arm, trapping the creatures blade and brought his heavy axe downwards onto its head. The creature eyes bulged in surprise, as its skull was cracked, but it flailed madly in its death throes. It struck Branndr a few times before it fell, but its blows were trivial compare to the ones the knight had already taken. The knight fell to his knees but did not fall. His arm was almost torn off from trapping the blade, and his face and throat was now fully swollen with poison. Surry tearfully attempted to pour a healing potion down his throat, but the big knight's mouth was too swollen to drink it. She looked around for help , and saw Ymir and 2 dwarves corner and tear apart the last snakeman standing over her defeated cat. Trip had hopped off his "island" and was tending to Agni's wounds. Down the road she could see a dozen bestial snakeman and a monster that could only be described as an abomination stand over the fallen bard.
Tyris rolled away from the downward swinging blade at the last moment . She evaded most of its force, but it still slashed cruelly into her back. Wordlessly she rolled backwards into a ball and stopped with her feet angled towards the ground. Taking only a fraction of a second to regain her balance she sprang at her attacker silently with her yellow piercing eyes seemingly ablaze. A large tail once again swung at her, but she timed the blow and skipped effortlessly over it. The bard pierced the shoulder of the smaller snakeman who slashed her back with her rapier. With its shoulder pinned she stepped spinning backwards against her own blade and slashed at its pinned shoulder with her dagger . Her blow was strong and accurate and its limb was severed. She swiftly withdrew her rapier and spun again, in mid swing she pierced its other shoulder . The creature was still in shock from losing its first arm, it hissed futilely as she repeated the move and sliced its other arm off. It fell backwards, but the rapier jabbed its leg. She twisted it, to slow its descent and was about to sever its leg, when a huge curved blade came crashing down at her. She was long gone before the blade struck. Only the mutilated snake man collapsing in a heap was evidence of her passing.
Fetch had summoned the righteous might of his god , he grew over 12 feet tall and towered over the attacking snakemen. With his height he could get a better sense of the battle. Ymir's group were finishing the last of the disguised yuan ti. 2 of the larger abominations and over a dozen of the bestial snakemen had charged down the road , probably towards their primary target. There was still 1 large snakeman and about 5 of the bestial snakemen engaged with them. The cleric threw his hammer and crushed an injured one with blood coming out of its eyes. Better to take the wounded ones out first, he thought . Frank tried to engage the large one, but the abomination seemed more concerned with Tyris. It easily fended off Franks attacks while pursuing the leaping and spinning bard. Fetch briefly met Tyris's eyes and he was shocked to see they were chilling orbs of amber and fire. He had only seen her like this a few times, no was safe when she was in this state. He knew he had to end this battle quick. The cleric began reciting the words for the ring of blades. A snakeman rushed him, but he casually kicked him away with his now massive foot. The blades burst out from thin air around Fetch and he brought his hammer down on the snakeman he had kicked. It dodged his blow, but his blades tore mercilessly at its flesh. The wound did not deter it as it jumped towards Fetch and slashed his leg. Its bravery was rewarded by more blades slashing at its sides and face. It stumbled out of the blades, Fetch timed his attack better this time, and caught the creature in the back. It was knocked flat, bones , and organs shattering from the blow of the massive hammer.
Frank was annoyed at the abomination he faced. It wasn't taking him seriously. He lashed again at the creatures tail and drew a deep wound, but it seemed unconcerned with him. The abomination simply swung its blade at the leaping Tyris and missed its target once again.
"Hey the lady doesn't wanna tango bud, but you have a willing dance partner right here!", he said while jabbing its tail once again. "Hey I'm easy ...You only need to give me a drink or two and I'm ready for some action. Even on the first date.", he said with a wink.
His verbal barbs finally did the trick, instead of engaging him with tail and sword though, it turned its gaze on him. The creatures eyes seemed to multiply to Frank and soon he was surrounded by eyes. He was powerless and couldn't move under the mind shattering gaze of the creatures eyes. The abomination turned its attention back to the rogue and left Frank to the mercies of his minions. A bestial snakeman seized the opportunity and ran towards Frank , scimitar aimed forwards for a deathblow .
"Snap out of it !", an elven voice whispered to him, " The consort guardian of Galatea will not be felled by a simple half blooded yuan ti.". the shard around Franks neck briefly glowed, and he swung into action. The charging snakeman met a solid shield across the face. The creature spun around from the force and a flaming sword burst through his chest. The dying creature was kicked off the sword, as Frank chased after the abomination once again.
A snakeman sprung with lightning speed and matched Tyris's pace. It slashed at her, and she parried with her dagger. She slashed at it , and it blocked with its shield. The creature hopped back and spat poison into her face, but she was gone, and it found it couldn't close its jaw. It looked and saw a dagger hilt protruding from its mouth. The bard had thrown it while his jaw was opened when it was launching its poison. A sudden kick to the face, drove the dagger through the back of its head. Before the creature fell to the ground the bard simply used her rapier and lifted the dagger quickly and smoothly by the hilt and flicked it up and caught it with her free hand, before rolling away from another massive falchion blow. She turned to the abomination and gave it an evil grin . Her eyes blazed like a cruel cat playing with its prey, she was going to kill it last.
Fetch's body ignited from fire, but it didn't hurt. He had placed simple fire protections on his group before the melee started. He turned to see a snakeman mage hiding in the woods. He recalled how one almost took him out at Mammoth Keep a few months ago, and he promised he wasn't going to make the same mistakes. He smiled and remembered how he was blinded by poison. He invoked a prayer of shadow, and the creature suddenly clutched his head. Fetch leaped towards the blinded mage, and battered it against a tree with his hammer. The amazingly tough creature still stood , even while the clerics magical blades cut his flesh mechanically . It shouted a few invocations and suddenly Fetch felt his magic fading. He shrunk back to normal size and his blades were gone. The creature was mad and it hissed at him. It sprang forwards at him with dagger in hand and fangs ready. At this close of range, the spells either of them were able to cast would be quite limited. Fetch figured it thought it had the advantage in this type of fight.
They rolled and grappled on the forest. Fetch was strong, but the creature was stronger. Fetch was quicker then most knights but this creature was lightning fast. The creature bit and slashed with its dagger at the cleric. Fetch could feel its bite against his arm, it pierced the steel, but the leather underneath barely stopped the deadly fangs. The creatures teeth were momentarily stuck and Fetch took the opportunity to swing his arm and the creature towards his chest. He had the creatures back , and wrapped his other arm around behind its neck, cutting off its air like a vice. Several knees to the small of the back , disorientated it as it tried to break free. After what seemed like an eternity he felt the creatures grip suddenly grow limp. The cleric thought it fitting that he employed the wrestling move called the Cobra Clutch , which was taught to him by Lord, on the snakeman. Fetch normally wouldn't strike a down foe, but he felt he had no choice, it was a creature of evil and a mage, it was a battle to the death and he would give them no quarter . He took the unconscious creature and drove its head with all his might into a tree. Its jaw was crushed and its head crushed. He smashed it again to be sure, and dropped the limped creature onto the forest floor and quickly recovered his hammer.
Tyris dispatched the last snakeman as she silently taunted the abomination. She didn't say a word, but her smiles and glances at the abomination drove it to a rage. Frank finally caught up and slashed the creatures back as its concentration was held. The creatures tunnel vision was broken and it slashed down at the knight with his falchion. Franks shield met the creature's blade, but the force almost knocked him down. The creature swung its tail in a wide arc at the knight. Franks sword bit deeply into the tail before it smashed him into the ground. The force knocked the wind out of him, but he still managed to roll to his feet. He readied for another blow, when suddenly he was kicked to the ground by Tyris.
She was angered that Frank took her prey. "I'm on your side you dumb bitch!", Frank yelled angrily. Her eyes blazed at him, but he didn't recognize the danger they represented. He was the type of guy that didn't look at a woman's eyes . He always looked a bit lower.
The Abomination invoked a powerful spell and both were covered by a billowing cloud. The bard spun again to attempt to avoid it , but the acid burned her skin painfully. Franks skin burned but pain was the knight's constant friend. If you felt pain you were still alive his trainers taught him. He got up and charge out of the cloud towards the abomination. He would have words with Tyris later.
The knight's charge caught the creature by surprise . Frank evaded the creatures over sized sword, and stabbed deeply into its chest. The creature tried to bite him , but Frank wedged his shield painfully into its mouth. It tried to pull out, but the shield was firmly wedged into its fangs.
"Wow, I didn't think that would work. Wonder what would happen if I did this. ", Frank said as he violently twisted his shield. Fangs flew from the creatures mouth as the shield burst free from its jaw. It wasn't a killing blow but the pain drove the creature in a frenzy. It lashed its massive tail in wild convulsions. Frank stepped out of the way, but it caught Tyris as she stumbled from the cloud.
Tyris was driven to the ground by the blow, but hoped up nimbly onto its tail. In an absolute gravity and reality bending maneuver, she quickly sprinted up the thrashing creature's long spine. Seemingly jogging as if on a flat road, despite the creatures convulsions and random lashings. She flipped once again when her road was nearly at an end, and landed behind it. Suddenly a flaming longsword burst from the creatures head and it sliced downwards while ignoring the creatures iron hard bones and leather like flesh.
Frank was clearly angry now" First she kicks me, then she steals the spot light, now she steals my kill. FETCH control your woman!"
She suddenly appeared next to Frank, holding her blazing hot sword. Hey eyes gazing at her next victim.
"WHaaa.? She even has a better flaming sword then me! Whats going on!", Frank continued still unaware of the danger.
She thrust the sword directly towards Franks head but stopped in the last second. Fetch had interposed himself between his wife and friend. The fire faded from Tyris's eyes as she realized what she had almost done. She dropped the sword and it clattered inert on the ground. She held her hands to her face and began to sob.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry", she cried as Fetch held her close.
"Aww...Im sorry for calling you a bitch, I was just goofing off and a bit jealous ," Frank said sensing an apology was needed. He was secretly glad Tyris was Fetch's woman and not his. She would have driven him nuts.
"The blade of the Dragon's Flame", Galatea said in a tone that bordered on fear and awe."She wields Dragon's Flame."
Tyris shook her head, and picked up the sword. White hot flames flared from the blade, she took the blade and gave it a mighty throw into the forest. Its flew out of sight behind the thick vegetation. She held onto Fetch tightly. "I'm sorry..I'm sorry" she repeated tearfully.
Ymir and the remaining troops finally caught up with Fetch. "THAT WAS AMAZING!" 13 of us barely took out 12..but you 3 killed like a dozen by yourself , including one the size of a house. No wonder they made you Warmaster!" She stopped and saw Tyris crying . She saw Frank look away and came to her own conclusions. She kicked Frank with her heavy boot, and went to hug Tyris. "There there, the big dumb knight didn't mean it. "
Trip interrupted their small victory hug. " The rest went to engage the merchants. What are you orders ,...", he was about to say squad leader but instead stated", Warmaster."
Fetch took stock of his remaining companions. Frank, Ymir, Surry, Trip , 2 dwarves and Frank were still able to fight. Agni was barely standing, Branndr and a dwarf looked to be in critical condition. Tyris seemed to be in no condition to fight as well. Fetch invoked several prayers of healing and poison remedies. The wounded were remarkably revitalized. "I don't have any diamond dust, ", he said in a resigned tone to the dead.
The dwarf was surprised he still lived . He saluted Ymir and Fetch. Branndr had expected to be in the Halls of Rawk after such a glorious battle. Frank told him its not all that its cracked up to be. The lines were long, and no snacks while your waiting. It was mainly a dude fest, all dicks no chicks. Surry was in tears and thanked Fetch for saving her dying brother and Branndr. For some unexplained reason Fetch had a soft spot for those two. Maybe because he never had a sibling and admired their bond.
Ymir shook her head,"People in our profession know that dying is the only sure thing in life. Even if you come back that's a rare thing. Make your peace when you die , and live for the battle, you can't depend on the fact you might come back.", she said unexpectedly sagely.
Tyris looked at Fetch, her eyes no longer flared in anger. sShe nodded her head . The cleric knew that meant she was alright . Trip came out of the woods, carrying Tyris blade. "This sword ...it called to me...it says it belongs to you. It told me to return it to you .", he said offering the blade to the bard. She looked at Fetch and he nodded back. They didn't need words to know the others thoughts. She took the blade and it seemingly was placed into an invisible or extra dimensional scabbard. Trips mechanical eyes almost fell out of his head at that sight.
"Ok, lets kill a few more snakemen.", ordered Fetch as his band continued down the path.