Battle Start! Squire Versus Neo FrontDoor!

Squire uses Divine Strike!

Neo Frontdoor suffers 255 point(s) of damage!

Neo FrontDoor counters for 15 point(s) of damage!

Squire's HP is now 298!

Neo FrontDoor slams!

Squire is frightened by the loud noise!

Squire's attack has fallen by 50%!

I thought that I would be ready for the signature attack of my opponent, but it's become readily apparent that I'm not the only one who has grown stronger over my travels. Scary noises aside, they're barely damaged at all! That said, it's only been one round, and their counter attack hasn't grown much stronger... or maybe it has, and I'm just avoiding the brunt of it since I'm fighting with a sword rather than needing to head-butt the door. It doesn't matter. I can handle this.

Squire summons her inner strength!

Attack recovers and increases!

Neo FrontDoor is not impressed

-Do you really think that you've changed? That you've become stronger? What a joke. You're still the same pathetic little coward that you always were. That you always will be.

"Empty words coming from a soulless barrier! Have at you!"

Squire uses Divine Strike!

Critical hit! Neo Frontdoor suffers 403 point(s) of damage!

Neo FrontDoor counters for 29 point(s) of damage! Squire's HP is now 269!

Neo FrontDoor knock, knocks...

Who's there?

A door to the face!

Squire suffers 43 point(s) of damage!

Squire's HP is now 226!

A cheap trick, but it's going to take a lot more than that to stop me! Neo FrontDoor is already showing some minor signs of damage, with two deep gashes torn across its surface. It will still be a while before I can break through, but I haven't even used my healing ability yet. Unlike before, this time I'm capable of outlasting my opponent. Nothing can stop me now!

Angry Neighbor attacks!

Squire is hit with a rock for 11 point(s) of damage!

Squire's HP is now 215!

Huh?

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"What the hell are you doing you rotten mutt?" An exceedingly angry man shouts at me. I look to him with confusion, barely dodging the next rock which is sent flying my way.

"No, you don't understand!" I say to him, "I need go get through here to finish an important quest!"

Unfortunately, as talented and impressive that humans may be in so many different ways, so far as I can tell, none of them have mastered dog-speak. My assessment that he doesn't understand had proven to be correct in more ways than one.

Squire has fled the battle!

Mocking laughter fills my ears as I make my escape around the corner and out of sight. Obviously, fighting a human isn't even close to an option, no matter how much I might want to complete the quest. That said, the necessity of the matter does little to make me feel better.

"He called me a bad dog..." I whine, head lowered as my two comrades return to my side, traveling at a far more relaxed and less urgent pace.

"He didn't call you a bad dog." Vile says, "He called you a rotten mutt."

"How is that better?" I growl at her.

"Oh, I didn't say that it was better."

I can only sigh and again lower my head in defeat on multiple levels. Not only did I fail to complete my objective, and not only did I fail to defeat Neo FrontDoor, but I also got yelled at by a human. Any one of those things would be enough to spoil my day, and all combined made things that much worse.

"I'm sorry Squire." Slave says, patting my shoulder with her small paw, "I know how much quests mean to you, but it looks like you'll need to just let this one go."

I almost say something terribly impolite in response, but manage to catch myself. Sure, she doesn't care about the quest, but she's just trying to make me feel better. Still, I can't completely fight off my still growing sense of annoyance. "Isn't there anything that we can do? Maybe if we try again tonight when there's nobody around?" I say, hopefully.

"I'm pretty sure a lot of people will hear you trying to destroy a metal door with a sword. It's awfully noisy work." Vile says.

I slump further, nodding reluctantly. If anything the humans would be even more angry with me if I interrupt their sleep. I take a careful peek around the corner, and thankfully see that the human (who I can't begrudge, they were just protecting their neighbors property) has left. As for the door, it still stands strong, the flaming quest marker emblazoned upon its surface, a pair of long yet fairly shallow cuts marring its surface.

I guess that someone else is going to have to handle this quest. As optimistic as I try to be, I do still need to be realistic. I mean, what are the odds that the solution to this problem is just going to fall out of the sky?

"Wow... this is getting downright embarrassing, isn't it?" a familiar voice says, following a bump against my side. As poor as my mood might be at the moment, I can't help but smile at the presence of the large, black bird.

"Heh. That's okay." I say with a sigh, the distraction not being quite enough to elevate my spirits. I feel like I should say more, but I'm just not in the mood for proper banter right now. It seems that I didn't need to, however.

"Alright, this was cute at first, but I've had enough." Vile says with a sigh far annoyed than my own as she looks to the newcomer. "Give it back."

"Give what back?" The black feathered bird asks with a tilt of her head.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" I ask the rat.

"Squire, check your satchel. How much gold do you have?"

"Um... two thousand, six hundred and twenty five." I say. Fortunately, I don't actually need to count it out. There is a display set above the pile of coins which I simply needed to parse out. Although that was also a pretty difficult task.

"...and how much did you have when you first entered the city?" Vile asks.

My ears droop in response. "I'm... not sure."

The small rat shakes her head and sighs, "You're suppose to keep track of that stuff. Anyways, feathers over here has been robbing you blind every time she 'accidentally' bumped into you. Slave noticed it early, but didn't do anything about it." she casts an angry glare back to the black cat who hangs her head low.

"Sorry." Slave replies, meekly, "I didn't want to embarrass you."

"This is ridiculous! I don't have to stand here and endure these baseless accusations!" The crow huffs, folding her wings about her chest, looking away.

As for me, I just glared at the bird. Sure, if was her word against theirs, but as much as it hurts me to think that a stranger would take unfair advantage of innocent travelers, I trust the judgement of my companions much more than I do the words of this bird, despite how polite she might have seemed. I can feel my anger growing, to the extent that even Vile and Slave can clearly recognize it, seemingly ready to fight if need be. The sight of them calms me significantly, though, giving me a chance to rethink matters. This is absolutely not a situation worth fighting over.

"If you wanted some money, you could have just asked, you know." I say.

Squire has dropped 2625 pieces of gold!

"What are you doing?" Vile asks, looking very much annoyed at the gesture.

"What? It's just money, and anyone who would steal from a well meaning stranger clearly needs it a lot more than I do." I say with a small smile. It's true, I have very little use for it, and generosity is good for the soul. That said, the coins are awfully shiny... no, no, this is definitely for the best.

"Oh, please! I don't need your charity!" The crow says, her voice sounding nowhere near as warm and jovial than it did before, "It stinks of dog fur anyways. When's the last time you had a bath?"

That wounded me a little, I have to admit. I also can't deny that it's been quite a long time. "Well, I don't want it. If you can steal it, there's no reason that you can't accept it as a gift." I huff back.

"Stealing is an art!" The birds angrily squawks, "It's a valuable trade which is hard learned and nearly impossible to master! Any rewards gained for it are very much earned and thus, by definition, deserved!" she says before clearing her throat and looking away, "...um, not that I would know. I'm not a thief, after all."

"Well, I'm not taking it!" I growl, leaning in to glare into the dark eyes of the bird, my temper rising once again. I can't deny that I do feel more than a hint of anxiety as I watch the pile of coins begin to slowly flash.

"Well, I'm not taking it, either!" The crow responds, similarly angered, her head mere inches from my own, but I can't help noticing that her own eyes are similarly wandering down to the pile of money which is on the verge of blinking out of existence.

It seems like an awful waste. All that gold just going to disappear, when it's so pretty and shiny, and could be used to help so many people... but no, I can't take it. If I did, my act of offering it would seem ingenuine. I'd hardly be better than a thief, myself! Plus, I can see that the bird is similarly torn. She doesn't want to let it disappear either, so there's no need to. All I need to do is wait her out!

"Um... Squire?" Slave says, her own yellow eyes locked on the now rapidly blinking pile of coins set between us, clearly also wanting for it to go unwasted. Neither of us dare to move, however, even as the few seconds it has remaining on this earth slowly begins to tick down.

"Okay, you refuse to take charity, fine!" Vile says to the crow, butting into the argument, "What if we instead used it to... hire your services?"

"Deal!" The crow smiles just as the pile vanishes. I had assumed that they had just gone to... well, wherever it is that objects set on the ground disappear to when left untouched for too long, but I saw the briefest flash of dark feathers before it all went away, as she pulled it into her own inventory at the last possible moment. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

I can only sigh in relief. I really, really didn't want to just let all that money disappear. In truth, it was rather disgraceful to almost allow it to happen over a matter of what I must begrudgingly admit, was simply pride. What happens next makes me feel all the worse.

Squire has completed the path of charity and attained Paladin Rank 6!

Squire has learned 'Smite'!

Sure, it might be a little arrogant to question the will of the divinities, but it really doesn't feel like I deserve that. Well, I guess my original intention was to be charitable, even if I did later get sucked into that ludicrous competition with the strange bird. All's well that ends well, I suppose. Although this does leave us with another little problem.

"Now then, let's get down to business." The crow says with a friendly tone, the smile still worn on her black, pointed beak. "Who is it that you want killed?"

---

Slave: "Okay, so we can't hear the door talking, right? That's basically just in Squire's head."

Vile: "Uh... maybe? It's kind of vague, really, whether it's a psychological thing, has some deeper lore implications, or is just a running gag."

Slave: "Well, we don't hear it, and the 'counter attacks' as just a product of recoil when she attacks the door. That much makes sense. But what about when it attacks? Do we see it slam or actually hit her?"

Vile: "Um... I don't know... Does it really matter?"

Squire: "What are you two talking about? The door is obviously both evil and dangerous!"