Using the opportunity, she quickly rose to her feet and dived for his legs, slashing at them mercilessly. He shouted in pain, dropping his sword, and fell heavily onto the ground. She scrambled away from him as he pulled himself up and grabbed his weapon again. This time, when he reached for her, she ran away in desperation. Unfortunately, he had other plans. He caught her by surprise as he lunged forward, grabbing her by her ankle. She tumbled to the ground with a startled yelp as his weight hit her with the full force of his body.
Her breath left her as she skidded on the hard floor, his knee digging painfully into her chest. She pushed herself backwards, away from him, and tried to scramble away. However, she didn’t get very far before he lunged once more, this time using his weight to pin her to the floor, straddling her waist with his thighs as she fought valiantly to shove him off. His fist collided with her cheek with a loud crack, and she instantly saw stars, her head spinning violently from the blow. She gasped in pain and struggled desperately to push him off of her, but she couldn’t move his bulk any further.
She felt her strength begin slipping away, and a sense of helplessness set in as his heavy weight pressed down on her chest and prevented her from moving. The only option she could see was to stay still and hope that somehow, he would give up. Her heart sank. This was it. No more running away from him, no more hiding, no more fighting. She was going to die here on the dirty ground beneath her tormentor. Her eyes closed against her will, tears filling the corners. Her lungs burned. She knew if he killed her like he planned to, they would never find her body- it would just be gone, buried under another pile of trash. Another blow slammed into her chin, knocking her head hard against the cold stones. Dazed, she struggled to regain her senses as she watched her assailant approach.
Her hands scrabbled weakly behind her, trying to find something that might help her escape, something to defend herself, anything that might even remotely slow him down. She heard a soft scraping sound behind her and froze as she recognized what it was, what she needed to do. With a final surge, she twisted, flipping their positions so now he was pinned under her. He struggled briefly against her weight and managed to free an arm to grab her wrists, but then she shoved all of her weight into one last push. A sickening crunching noise broke through the air, followed closely by silence. She slowly lifted her head to look down. His face had been crushed flat.
She stared down at it blankly for several seconds before her brain finally caught up with her actions, screaming at her for daring to kill him with such ease. But it hasn't been easy. It certainly wasn't pleasant. In fact, it had nearly killed her, too. And yet… She had done it. She dashed forward, sword drawn, her heavy armor clanking as she moved. The guards, startled by the sudden noise, began to turn, but Seren was already in motion.
“Hey! Over here!” she shouted, drawing their attention fully.
One guard lunged at her, and with a quick sidestep, she dodged his attack. “I’m faster than you think!” She countered with a swift Sword Attack, the blade slicing through the air and catching him off guard. He stumbled back, but not without retaliating. She felt a sharp pain as another guard’s fist struck her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Still struggling to regain her breath, she lashed out with another Sword Attack, hitting the third soldier squarely across the face. He crumpled to the ground, his mechanism stopped working, and she kicked him over with her foot. She moved quickly, her heart racing as she grabbed for her sword. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, she prepared to face whatever came next. The corridor felt darker now, shadows looming around her as she steeled herself for the fight ahead.
As the soldiers charged forward, she held up her sword, ready for them to strike. They attacked in perfect unison - all three coming in at the same time, each one attempting to use their superior numbers against her. She met their blows head on, deflecting them, deflecting attacks from every angle, blocking and countering and counterattacking. They were relentless, and she wasn’t about to allow herself to fall prey to their overwhelming odds. If she couldn’t win, neither could her attackers. Her enemies were determined to break down her defense, though she was unwilling to let them succeed. Every blow brought on another pain. A sharp slice along her arm drew blood.
She bit her lip against the pain, pushing through it. She kept on attacking until she could take no more. As the guards began to wear themselves down, she stepped back. The momentary pause gave her time to catch her breath. She raised her injured hand, her teeth clenched against the pain. Blood dripped from her fingertips onto the cobblestone. Pain bloomed across her ribs as they drove her against the wall, driving her head against the stone. A stab in her side brought on intense agony. An elbow hit her in the throat and forced her to spit blood. Suddenly she was falling backward as one of the guards leapt at her but she managed to dodge his slash. The guard landed and she scrambled to get upright, but then he was charging right towards her again. She rolled out of his reach and got back to her feet. As she turned her attention back towards the others, she noticed that two of the guards were unconscious on the ground, and the remaining two were staring at her with wide grins.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“That one hit really hurt,” she groaned, but she quickly regained her stance, rolling to the side to avoid another blow. The first guard was recovering, and she seized the opportunity, throwing a Firebolt right into his chest. The flames burst forth, sending him flying back against the cave wall. As he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Another guard rushed forward and jumped at her. She managed to dodge his attack and block a second punch before lunging forwards, plunging her sword into his neck, twisting sharply, making sure to cut cleanly through the artery as she did. He dropped to the ground, unmoving, and she continued to fight the remaining soldiers. She slashed her way through a fourth guard, then dodged a sword thrust and stabbed the last soldier through the shoulder, pulling the blade out of his flesh before the soldier toppled to the ground and died. Panting and shaking, she lowered her sword as her vision blurred. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but she could hear faint footsteps approaching.
She looked up in time to see one of the guards who had attacked her rush past her. He was reaching for his belt. With another cry of frustration, she dove for him, knocking him onto his back with a powerful kick, her weight crushing his ribs. She held her sword over his throat, ready to end his life if necessary. She quickly left him there without killing him and walked off to find the guard with the purple sash who had the bottle. She used her Nimble Escape to slip away from the fallen guard, her movements swift and silent. With each calculated step, she darted through the shadows, feeling the tension in the air. She glanced around her in the darkened corridors of the carven to make sure that there weren’t any more guards nearby or waiting for her.
Finally she reached the stairs leading to the cellar. The dim light filtering down to the bottom lit the steps. She slipped inside the room, searching blindly in the dark. After searching frantically for several minutes, she spotted the familiar blue glow shining from underneath a large barrel in the corner. She quickly made her way over, ignoring her wounds. Her fingers brushed lightly along the barrel, testing it to determine whether she was correct. Once she had confirmed that it was the one she wanted, she pulled the lid off gently, holding it above her, ready to swing downwards.
She knelt down beside the barrel and peered underneath. There were some crates piled there and, picking one up, she threw it aside. Inside lay a long length of rope. It took her several tries, but eventually her fingers hooked around the handle of the knife hidden within the rope, and with a grunt of effort she pulled it out of its hiding place. A single blade slid easily free, and she tossed the rope aside, turning her attention instead to the cask at the other end of the barrel. Catching the edge between her hands, she heaved upwards with all of her strength. The container tilted slightly and she strained harder. It tipped over completely and fell heavily to the ground behind her. Quickly she snatched up a crate to hide the weapon while still remaining visible enough to see whoever entered the room. When the figure came into view, her brows rose, her mouth dropping open as she gasped in surprise.
It was him. He stepped forward into the beam of light, revealing himself to her in gray robes and a purple sash. The fabric swayed slightly as he moved, and she noticed the bottle still hanging from his belt. It had the ancient scroll. The bottle's contents glowed with a soft light, hinting at the magic contained within. She focused intently on him, recognizing that this was her chance to turn the tide of the battle. She took a breath, her heart racing, knowing this could be the moment that changed everything. She lunged at him with a speed of 30 feet, her dexterity of 16 +3 giving her a swift and agile edge. With a Strength score of 12 +1, she reached out, aiming for the bottle at his belt. Her heart raced, fueled by adrenaline and a resolve that surged within her. Every ounce of her dexterity and strength focused on this moment as she closed the distance, ready to seize the ancient scroll and turn the tide of the confrontation.
He saw it all in slow motion: the blade swinging down toward him, her eyes fixed on him, her lips curved into a cruel grin, the anticipation and excitement in her eyes. At the very last minute, he instinctively twisted out of the way. The tip of her blade sliced deep into the top of the barrel instead, splintering the wood as the liquid within spilled over. He cursed as she followed up her attack, slashing across his arm and forcing him to drop to the ground, where she pinned his arms with a knee.
“Aww! That was fun,” she said, lifting her arms.
He flapped wildly in the air as his body turned, allowing him to duck under her attack. The momentum of her swing carried her onward, but before she could recover, he leaped forward, landing directly on top of her. In an instant, the world went black, the impact stunning her and stealing her breath away.
As she struggled to regain her senses, her mind raced. She knew she had to use her +5 Acrobatics to wriggle free from beneath him. With a sharp inhale, she focused on her surroundings, relying on her +3 Insight to assess the situation quickly. If she could just shift her weight and use her agility, she might still turn this fight around. “I won’t let you win,” she thought, determination igniting within her as she prepared to fight back. But before she could move, he suddenly released her, taking a step back and letting her fall to the floor. She landed in an awkward position, and her breath caught in her throat as the pressure on her stomach pushed the air out of her lungs. For the briefest moment she considered surrendering, but the words never passed her lips. Instead she kicked backwards, catching him squarely in the knees as he bent over to retrieve his fallen sword.