Riegert watched on in horror as Fellaroth plummeted to the ground far below. A large cloud of dust and brick particles was thrown into the air from the force of the impact, obscuring Riegert’s view of his injured comrade. Before he was able to react, the massive, winged beast flew past Riegert, passing close enough to him that the razor-sharp tip of its wing sliced open his cheek just below his right eye. With everything happening so quickly, Riegert found himself relegated to the role of a spectator, unable to react quickly enough to be of much use to Fellaroth.
The winged beast had covered half the distance to Fellaroth when Riegert saw a shaft of dust spouting toward it from the cloud. Before he knew what had happened, the beast had been pinned to the wall directly below him, with its own weapon. A moment later Fellaroth had smashed into the creature’s gut with his right knee and had driven his unextended spear up through its lower jaw and deep into its head. As the creature went limp, Fellaroth took hold of its halberd and used it to propel himself back onto the rooftop next to Riegert, taking the weapon with him as he did and leaving the body to drop to the ground below.
Utterly dumbfounded by the display he had just witnessed, Riegert looked up at Fellaroth with blood still dripping from his cheek and noticed that the wound that had been inflicted to his left shoulder was nowhere to be seen, not even so much as a mark on Fellaroth’s clothing was visible to him.
“But… how? How are you standing here right now? That blow should have left you grievously wounded!”
“On your feet, quickly! There are more of them coming!” called Fellaroth, shaking the others from their stupor and making them ready themselves for what was to come.
Getting to their feet, the group looked in the direction from which the last beast had come and saw three more coming in at a high rate of speed. Their tattered wings generated a vile sound as they drew closer, causing the adventurers to grip their weapons tighter and ready themselves for the intense battle that was sure to follow. Each of the beasts flexed a single finger on their bony hands, causing their halberds to rocket through the air, perfectly targeting Jackson, Calvin, and Riegert. Seeing the approaching projectiles, Fellaroth threw the halberd he had taken from the dead beast with such precision that it was able to knock one of the approaching weapons from the air, giving him just enough time to step in front of Jackson and using his unextended spear, deflected the approaching weapon, before leaping across the roof and deflecting the weapon that was fast approaching Calvin.
Having had barely enough time to save Calvin from being pierced by the beast’s weapon, Fellaroth was momentarily distracted, allowing one of the flying beasts to reach them and with its left foot extended, it drove Fellaroth through the structure of the roof and wall of the building, ending with both him and the beast crashing to the ground in yet another dust cloud.
Seeing the second beast approach, Jackson swung the axe he had taken from Fellaroth’s study with such force that it not only cleaved the approaching beast but sliced through the roof below himself, weakening the roof structure and causing himself to fall through into the building. The body of the beast that Jackson had killed, continued on with its momentum, causing its limp body to bounce off of the roof’s peak and subsequently roll off the edge of the roof.
With blood still dripping from his cheek, Riegert smacked himself in the face, bringing himself back to his senses and spreading the blood across his nose and mouth. He then took hold of his sword and rushed in to help Calvin, who had by this time been pinned to the roof by the large claw-like foot of the last beast. Slicing through the creature's ankle, Riegert allowed Calvin enough time to get back to his feet, while the beast recoiled and screeched in pain. As Calvin nocked his arrow and drew back his bowstring, Riegert blocked the creature’s next attack, allowing Calvin to plant his arrow squarely between the beast’s eyes, leaving its limp body to fall from the sky.
“Wow, I can’t believe how amazing this axe is!” said Jackson, upon landing on the wooden floor of the highest level of the building. Coughing slightly, he waved his hand in an attempt to clear some of the dust from his path, only to see that the room before him was filled with humanoids who had been drawn in by the sounds of the battle above. Sighing deeply, Jackson stepped forward and began to attack the advancing hoard as he exclaimed; “No rest for the weary, I suppose!”
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Finding himself completely surrounded, Jackson was soon fighting a battle on all sides, managing to strike down some of his adversaries and block others, before being broad-sided by a particularly large humanoid who had taken up some of the rubble from the collapsed roof and used it as a weapon. Down on one knee and with blood dripping from his head, Jackson attempted to lift his axe to fend off the approaching hoard, only to find that his hand would no longer grip the majestic weapon. Staring down what looked to him like his own demise, Jackson tried desperately with all his might to grapple with his weapon, before receiving a swift kick to his ribs that sent him reeling.
Now lying on his back, Jackson attempted to clear his blurred vision, while reaching for his second axe that was still on his back. Taking hold of the axe with as much force as he could muster, Jackson’s vision began to clear, just in time for him to see the large humanoid who had kicked him, now approaching, brandishing his own prised axe. A look of pure malice and hatred consumed the face of the humanoid as it lifted the axe above its head and brought it down on Jackson with all its might. With the axe baring down on him, Jackson managed to pull his other axe free from his back and lock the shaft and blade of his weapon with that of the humanoid’s. “Not today you disgusting creature! Not like this! Not with my own weapon!” he shouted defiantly, as he slowly began to overpower the humanoid while getting back to his feet. “You think you can take that weapon from me and then use it against me?” he yelled, before using all of his might to force the axe from the humanoid’s hand, causing it to get lodged in the pillar to their left, before placing all of his weight behind his right leg and kicking the creature back.
Taking a moment to breathe and compose himself, Jackson reached out with his left hand and pulled his prised axe free from the wall, allowing its weight to cause it to drop to the floor at his feet. Looking down through a face full of dripping blood, Jackson smiled as he took his favourite axe in his right hand and the other in his left, he then raised his head and said; “I told you that today wouldn’t be the day!” before launching his next attack in which the enemies fell in quick succession.
A sudden gust of wind blew across the square, revealing Fellaroth lying on his back with the creature standing above him, spreading its wings and starting to take flight once again. “Do you honestly think I’m going to allow that!” said Fellaroth, as he reached up and grabbed the creature by its ankle. The beast’s large, tattered wings flapped frantically as it tried to escape Fellaroth’s grip, only for Fellaroth to pull down and smash the beast into the paved floor beside him. Without skipping a beat, Fellaroth sprang to his feet and set upon the creature with his spear in hand, intent on ending the fight before it could go any further. Baring down on the creature, Fellaroth lunged for its head, only to find himself being speared through his chest by the creature’s halberd.
With his spear still in his hand, Fellaroth looked down at the weapon that now penetrated his body and pinned him in place, before he turned and looked at the creature that had by now started scrambling backwards. He then extended his spear and threw it at the creature, pinning its right wing to the ground, before using both hands to pull the halberd from the ground and slowly slide it from his chest. Spinning the halberd in his right hand, Fellaroth walked toward the creature who had started frantically trying to pull his spear from its wing and the ground. Just a few paces away from the beast, Fellaroth wiped his left hand across his open wound, erasing any trace of it ever having existed, like wiping dust from his shirt. Now standing before the beast with its own weapon in hand, Fellaroth drove its halberd through its chest, killing it instantly.
“Are you alright down there?” called Riegert from the rooftop.
“I’m just fine, Riegert. How are you and the others fairing up there?” answered Fellaroth, while pulling his spear from the ground and replacing it on his lower back.
“Calvin and I are fine, and the beasts have been dealt with, but Jackson fell through the roof, and we can’t see him anywhere!” answered Riegert, as the door on the ground floor of the building was sent crashing across the paved square with a humanoid’s body attached to it, moments before Jackson’s large frame emerged into the foggy air.
“I’m a little bloody, but I’ll survive!” called Jackson in answer to Riegert.
“Fantastic! Why don’t the two of you come down here and join us!” yelled Fellaroth as he picked up the body of the beast he had just killed, by the back of the neck and started to walk toward the church. “I think there’s someone that we need to have a little discussion with.”