Faro stared hard into the waning light to see what he was up against as the moment before attack hung in the air. The tiny wolverine man stood at the front of the pack. He was wearing a small leather outfit with fur shoulder pads. His extremely fluffy head and pointy ears would almost be cute if not for the glowing yellow eyes narrowed in such malice, along with the insanely long claws that were braced for attack, his lips curled back in a terrifying snarl.
Surrounding the wolverine were at least a dozen of the most horrific beasts Faro had remembered seeing, though that wasn’t saying much. Their faces appeared to be ribbed skulls, with beady blue inset eyes and a gapping hole with razer sharp teeth where a mouth should be. Their bodies almost appeared to be made of stone, save their razer sharp claws that rivaled that of their wolverine leader. They had huge spikes protruding from their back, and Faro noted it would be hard to get his hands - paws - around to toss out of his way.
The wolverine’s sneer turned into a slight smile, and in a snap he lurched forward to get down on all fours and close the gap in short order and he ran this way at full speed towards Faro. The lion had just enough time to glance at the tavern one more time to see that help wouldn’t arrive in time before the wolverine lunged forward, it’s claws spread out, aiming for the bigger beast’s throat.
Faro swiped his paw wide, trying to catch the little creature in the air and knock him out of the way before he reached him. Instead all he managed was to knock his aim off slightly, and the claws sank into his left shoulder instead of his neck. Faro let out a roar of pain. The wolverine was fast. Faster than Faro could manage to combat. Being barely the size of his torso, Faro was having a hard time pulling the ravenous animal off him.
The creature was clawing his way around him and all Faro could do was scramble to use his own claws to try and catch the assailant. The wolverine paused for a second and drew his head back to sink he sharp teeth into Faro’s neck when a long wooden stick came out from below and knocked the creature back.
Faro glanced down to see Tobi had arrived and had used the handle of his axe to butt the creature away from him, apparently fearing the sharp end might catch Faro if someone moved too suddenly. Faro nodded his thanks, and glanced at the other object in the dwarf’s hands. It appeared like a battle hammer, one flat, blunt end for smashing, and another end that was sharp for piercing. The only thing was, that it was more sized for a dwarf, and when Faro grabbed it from his new friend, it looked more like a club hammer than a full war hammer.
Still grateful for the weapon, he gave it a quick swing to test it’s weight, and something in his brain told him he’d used a hammer before. It felt so familiar.
Bracing himself, he squared off against the strange creatures that were about to reach them. With all the strength his new, bulky lion body could muster, Faro gave the hammer a huge swing and it came crashing hard into contact with the tall creature.
A tingle of reverberation shot up Faro’s hand as hitting the creature felt like he had smashed his hammer into a solid mountainside. The tingle ran up to his shoulder, and he took a step back to recover from the shock. He looked at the beast and could see a decent sized crack in the thing’s chest where his hammer had landed. Other than the crack, the creature seemed unfazed and quickly advanced again.
Next to Faro, Tobi had his axe swinging at the wolverine who had gotten angry at the dwarf for getting between him and his target. The axe clinked against to cobblestone of the town square with each swing as Tobi missed the quick Wolverine. Whenever the creature would move it to attack, Tobi would bunt him away with the axe handle, keeping him at bay. The similarity in size made the foe a little easier to handle.
The rock creatures were almost surrounding them now, and Faro’s smashing attacks didn’t seem to deter them as he only smashed little bits of them away. Though they were starting to overwhelm him, Faro felt like he was in some kind of gear he didn’t know he had, yet still seemed familiar, like he was used to fighting. He was taking on three at once now and holding his own, but could feel the other’s pushing in. He heard one creature roar from behind him as it went in for the kill, and then heard a quick swishing sound through the air.
Thhht… Faro turned to face his new foe, only to see an arrow sticking out of the creature’s beady eye hole. The other blue eye flickered in and out for a second, and then the light of the eye went out completely and the creature fell to it’s knees before doing a face plant right next to the lion. The thud of stone on stone echoed through the town square.
Glancing up Faro followed the arrows only possible trajectory for that shot and saw the elf lady, Lena, standing atop Tobi’s bar, her bow and arrow in hand. Realizing the eye was the weak point, Faro flipped the mini war hammer quickly around in his paw and drove the point directly into the eye socket of the next approaching creature. It too dropped to the ground, the light in it’s eyes put out.
“Go for the eyes!” he yelled to Tobi. Tobi grunted in understanding, but was too occupied with the swift little wolverine to care about the big rock monsters. The wolverine, however, turned to look at Faro and saw now that a few of his creatures were on the ground. Malice returned to his face, his eyes went wide, and a hiss like nothing they had ever heard before left his mouth.
The wolverine, hate still filling his eyes, stopped pursuing Tobi and started swirling his arms through the air, speaking some foreign tongue so loudly that it could be heard over the ongoing fight. Black flames began to surround the wolverine. Tobi lunged forward with his axe blade, but was too late. With one last scream, the wolverine cast a deep black fireball into the nearest structure, which happened to be the Graeton General Store. The black fire quickly caught the building on fire, and it went up in flames at an astonishing rate.
“No! Thora!” Tobi screamed. The store was right next to his tavern, and they could see Lena struggling to find a way off before that building too was consumed. Tobi quickly bolted towards his tavern as fast as his legs would carry, leaving Faro alone.
The wolverine howled with laughter. “Vorath shadruul!” He screamed into the fray. “Surround him! Kill him!”
Faro turned from the scene and smashed the point of his war hammer into another rock creature, the thing the wolverine had just addressed as a vorath, killing it, and creating an opening that he could retreat from. Lena and Tobi spilled out of the tavern as Faro ran past. The building was now being overtaken by the magic, black flames. Between the pair they were dragging Thora out with them. The young girl had obviously been told to stay inside by Tobi, which Faro now knew had caused the delay in getting the weapons.
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“To the church!” Lena yelled at them, pushing Thora away from the advancing vorath. They all took off in a dead sprint towards the towering structure. Faro’s long stride got him there first, and he yanked open the large wooden doors, ushering the other three in past him. The vorath were hot on their tail, but he was able to step inside and slam the door shut before they thudded into the other side. He dropped the lock bar across the door, locking them out, at least for the moment.
Being as strong as they were, Faro knew it wouldn’t be long before they reduced the door to splinters and overtook their position in the church. They didn’t have much time.
As they all entered, hurried steps came from the nearby stairs, and Mathias came barreling down. Seeing the party of familiar faces, he waved his arms frantically at them. “We’ve been betrayed!” he screamed at them. “The mayor sold us out! The people who sent the assassin know Faro is here!”
“You think?” asked Faro raising a furry brow, pointing to the door that was shaking from the impact of the stone creatures on the other side.
“Faro?” asked Lena and Thora at the same time.
Faro threw his hands up and stared pointedly at them, as if asking this was the proper time to question his name change.
“Right,” said Lena, snapping out of it. “Everyone get into the auditorium!” she yelled over the clanging of the door, gesturing to the ornately decorated nave. They all rushed in, but Faro was unsure how the open, circular room would be of any strategical advantage to them. To him it just seemed like they could be easily surrounded. Taking the stairs and narrowing their formation seemed to be the better strategy. Taking them on one-by-one. That he could do. Still, he trusted the resolve in the elf’s voice and did what she said.
They all moved to the center. Mathias was shaking with rage. “In front of his own granddaughter! That son-of-a-bitch Thornvale sat there in his office, right in front of his little granddaughter, smuggest fucking smile on his face, and told me that he’d sent his little messenger to sell us out to Eli. Said he was getting a pretty payment and protection under the new regime!”
“We don’t have time to dwell on that,” said Lena. “Everyone get to the side furthest from the door. Stay here in the center chamber so we can lure them in. Don’t go out the other side until I say!”
Faro looked at Lena, the spindly looking, aged elf standing before him. Sure she could shoot a bow, but she seemed to think she could take on the remaining vorath, and the feisty little wolverine, by herself.
“With all due respect…” Faro started, but he was quickly cut off.
“Do as I say! Now!” the old elf barked back with the ferocity of a being half her age.
Faro, seeing her resolve, nodded and used his wide arm span to herd the rest of the group to the side of the chamber furthest from the front door. No sooner had they taken position then the doors burst open, splinters of wood flying, and what was left swinging inwardly weakly on their hinges.
The vorath ran into the circular center chamber where Lena stood in front of the others. They formed two ranks of four in a semi-circle, standing as tall as Faro, nearly immovable walls. One remained by the door to prevent any chance of an easy escape. The wolverine came up to the archway of the main chamber and assessed the situation.
“You cannot protect the lion, elf,” this last word seemed to hold some disdain as he spoke. “Give us Faro, and we’ll be on our way. The High King still needs subjects to serve him. No sense in more bloodshed here today.”
Lena put one leg behind her and raised her arms. Her hands were empty as she had strung her bow back across her back. She held them up in a fighting stance, as if she was going to knock the wolverine and the rock creatures out with her bare hands.
The wolverine just smiled. “You just met this… thing,” he said, gesturing behind her towards Faro. “You would give your life for him?”
Lena narrowed her eyes as she stared back at him through her clenched fists. “I will always give my life to do the right thing,” she said acidly at him. “Move! Now!” she screamed. Faro pushed Thora, Tobi, and Mathias back out of the nave as Lena began waving her arms and speaking in tongues similar to what the wolverine was spouting out in the square.
The party watched as their friend’s hands began to glow bright white. They watched until they couldn’t anymore for how bright the light was. They heard the wolverine yelling “Attack! Kill her!” as the vorath sprung forward to tear her apart.
The building began to shake and a glowing from the ceiling caught Faro’s eyes. He glanced up and saw the brilliant, radiant, golden eyes of the god, Solana, come to life in a brilliant bright light that matched that of Lena’s hands. The light built until it shot downwards and filled the circular chamber. They could hear sizzling and falling rock as the light burnt through their adversaries and reduced them to rubble.
When the light finally subsided, smoke filled the room. Piles of rock surrounded the center of the chamber, where Lena still stood, unscathed. Out by the entrance stood the wolverine, his jaw agape. Before he could say anything, a shriek rang out over by the stairs. Everyone turned to look and saw a small, blonde girl standing in the stairway. She had obviously been roused from her grandfather’s office by the shaking of the building, and had rushed to evacuate with him. She was screaming in shock at the site of the wolverine and the one remaining vorath that blocked her and her grandfather’s path outside. Mayor Thornvale could be heard whimpering and cowering behind her.
“Seize the girl and kill the man!” the wolverine snarled at his one remaining soldier. The vorath lunged for the stairs and grabbed the girl with one arm, smashing a rock fist into Thornvale’s head, sending him crumpling to the ground on the stairs.
No one in the party dared move for fear they would hurt the little girl. The wolverine snarled at them. “Meet me at Umbra’s Veil, Faro. Alone. Or the girl dies.”
With one last demonic hiss, the wolverine and the vorath ran out of church, their captive in tow, through the splintered door. Lena made a move to run after them, but Faro had come up behind her and grabbed her by her cloak.
“Don’t,” he growled. “No more damage today. No more blood.”
She nodded and he loosened his grip. Mathias, Tobi, and Thora all moved to the center of the room, looking about themselves in amazement.
Finally, Mathias was the one to speak. “How, in the Maker’s Realm, did you know that it could do that?” he asked egregiously, pointing up at the hanging statue that still looked as beautiful and pristine as ever.
Lena took a moment to straighten her cloak that Faro had wrinkled by grabbing it. “How do I know? I should know! I built the damn thing.”
Mathias' mouth dropped open. “What? How?”
Lena opened her mouth to answer, but a noise from the doorway cut her off. They all turned to look. The sound came again, a faint whimper echoing through the church. Faro nodded at Lena, signaling to move. Together, they rushed to the broken doorway.
As they stepped outside, Thora let out a cry. Lying in the town square was their farmer friend, Osric, blood seeping through his fingers as he clutched his chest. They hurried over, and Mathias dropped to his knees beside his old friend.
“Tried… tried to stop… them,” Osric wheezed, his voice barely a whisper.
A tear rolled down Mathias’ cheek. He looked up at Lena with desperation in his eyes. “Do something!” he shouted.
Lena’s expression faltered, her hands trembling as she shook her head slowly. “I can’t… I’m sorry.”