Vera smelled the bandits sooner than she saw them. A woman crouched at the other end of a short corridor, fiddling with something on the floor. A trap, perhaps? Two men stood halfway down the corridor between Craig and the woman, hastily raising their small shields and readying their weapons. By the looks of it, neither of them expected Craig and Vera to defeat their comrades so fast—or defeat them at all.

At least the woman had a good reaction time. She drew her bow as she straightened back up, and loosed an arrow at Craig without hesitation. The projectile flew past the duo of bandits with the shields and hit Craig's right leg with so much force that he staggered, falling down to one knee. Vera's companion roared in defiance, touching the ground next to him and launching a pair of boulders at the bandit guards. The men took the attack in stride, pausing only briefly under the impacts before lashing out at Craig with their sword, chipping off chunks of rock from his shoulders and arms.

There was no time to be cautious now, Vera decided. Any hesitation on her part, and Craig would be out of the fight. She burned her [Fearsome Blade], activating its secondary effect. Her feet suddenly felt lighter, time slowed around her, and she broke into a sprint. Craig was getting back to his feet in slow motion as Vera ran towards him, dropping to the ground and sliding forward between his legs. She shot past two very surprised bandits, then did a sharp turn, pivoting on one feet and jumping off the ground towards one of the men's back. Her dagger glowed with dark power, unbearable to look at—not that the bandit had any chance see it, as Vera plunged the blade into his back.

+2 EXP

The archer at the back cried out in alarm, shifting her bow to aim at Vera, but she was too slow, much too slow. Vera reached out with her mind, casting [Parasitic Influence] on the archer and forcing her one step forward.

"Hyah!" the woman screamed as razor-sharp spike erupted from the device she'd stepped into. Definitely a trap, then. Vera's eyes flashed across the floor, noting that there were two other traps as well, right between the screaming woman and the door to the next room. She drew her dagger out of the dying bandit's back—his buddy was so slow that he was only now swinging his sword at her—and kicked herself off the bandit's back, activating [Feedback Loop]'s secondary effect. The sword coming at her sailed past her feet harmlessly as Vera flipped in the air, landing nimbly on the other side of the set of traps.

Gasping painfully, the archer tore her leg free quickly and swung her bow, using it like a club to block Vera's strike—a strike that never came. Still under the effect of her [Feedback Loop], Vera passed through the bow to get behind the woman. Both of them whirled in the same time as Vera struck, but the archer wasn't able to block the attack properly; caught off-balance, she stumbled and fell backwards—straight into the other spike-trap. She didn't even have time to cry out before she died.

"Rumbling Avalanche!" Craig bellowed, and the entire corridor began shaking as he marched down the corridor, spraying earth and floor-tiles everywhere. "Going in!"

"Dammit, Craig!" Vera cursed as she barely managed to dodge Craig's charge. The big guy burst through the next door with the momentum he had built up, dust flying everywhere. Vera took this opportunity to look at her abilities.

Available Active Inert Exhausted Empathetic Assault   Parasitic Influence Perverse Edge Submissive Affliction   Feedback Loop Into The Night     Scurry Fearsome Blade       Gnawing Horde       The Mind's Weakness

[Recharge] or [Refresh], that was the question. As the dust settled, Vera went over her options. Craig had obviously chosen to [Refresh], with the way he didn't even stop before entering the next room—and perhaps he was right. A [Refresh] would be enough for Vera too, since she didn't need to heal up at the moment. Her only magical item—the Minor Stamina Potion—didn't need to be recharged either. Losing a random ability instead of one selected by her could hurt, but that's what she had her potion for. In all fairness, she'd be fine with a quick [Refresh] after her next move.

"What the hell?" Vera asked, peeking inside from behind Craig's legs. As the dust settled, the two of them found themselves face-to-face with the reason these bandits had chosen this particular hole to nest in. A pair of skeletal creatures looked back at them with glowing red eyes, their three or four arms sporting a weapon each.

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"Get him, boys!" Two bandits stood at the other end of the room, jeering as the animated bones ambled slowly closer to Craig.

"Well, then," Craig rumbled, crunching his rocky hands into fists, "Nothing more to do but lay them to rest—along with the remainder of this troublesome rabble!"

The big guy launched himself at the skeletons, alongside with a pair of floating boulders. Vera's attention was on the bandits, though. One of them nocked an arrow to his bow, ready to shoot Craig in case he cleared the skeletons. Vera targeted the other with [Submissive Affliction], turning him to strike the other, only for the man to miss completely with his sword.

"Crap," Vera cursed, casting [Refresh] quickly to get her abilities back. She lost [Scurry] in the process, which was an acceptable price this time.

"The fuck are you doing?" the archer asked, tossing his bow away and fumbling for his sword. The controlled man's head twitched, breaking out of Vera's ability.

"It's not me, man, it's that little fucker!" he yelled, pointing at Vera, who was trying to hide behind a nearby table.

Meanwhile, the skeletons were a whirlwind of bones and steel, and though Craig held his ground valiantly, Vera knew she had to do something about them. Activating [Feedback Loop], she passed through Craig and the animated bones. The bandit duo raised their weapons and got ready for her arrival, she however surprised them by turning around and hitting one of the skeletons from behind. The empowered strike—the secondary effect of her [Submissive Afflicton]—shattered bones, destroying both of the creature's legs at the same time.

+1 EXP

Craig crushed the second skeleton at the time, and Vera whirled around to—

-3 HP

Her vision went red as the swordsman slashed at her torso, spraying blood everywhere. Her blood—the only kind of blood Vera couldn't stand to see. She grit her teeth against the pain, and focused on the other bandit's strike that was aimed for her head. However, before the strike could have connected Vera sacrificed one of her available abilities in order to avoid taking damage.

[Empathetic Assault] exhausted

"Fucking Chosen," the bandit spat as his sword failed to penetrate Vera's skin, bouncing off her harmlessly.

"V!" Craig bellowed, "Final move, stand clear!"

If Craig meant that he was out of abilities too, they were in big trouble. Still, with only one ability remaining and with Craig's warning ringing in her ears, Vera didn't have to think much about what to do. She smashed her Minor Stamina Potion's vial on her belt, energy flooding her and allowing her to regain her exhausted [Scurry]. Then, she . . . well, scurried out of the way. One of the bandits attempted to grab her, but with a quick [Parasitic Influence] cast at him Vera was able to hold him at bay. With no available abilities left, she was forced to do a [Refresh] and gain back her [Feedback Loop] and [Parasitic Influence] in the process.

Available Active Inert Exhausted Feedback Loop     Perverse Edge Parasitic Influence     Into The Night       Fearsome Blade       Gnawing Horde       The Mind's Weakness       Scurry       Empathetic Assault       Submissive Affliction

Bam! The ground shook once again, making Vera almost lose her balance. Craig had smashed into the ground behind the bandits, forming a small crater and making them fall to the ground. He didn't give them any time to recover either; clasping his hands together in an overhead strike, he smashed them to the ground in an explosion of earth-energy that briefly blinded Vera. 

Action Sequence Finish

Glorious Gatherers win!

Achievement unlocked: First Steps

"Oh, thank the gods," she sighed. She wouldn't have expected this to be such a close call—and they didn't even find their quarry! It was an uncomfortable thought what would have happened if he was here also.

"Woo!" came Craig's weak cheer from amidst his dust cloud. He hadn't been kidding when he said this would be his final move; he was clearly exhausted. While Craig rested, Vera took a look around the room, not letting her guard down despite the gods' message. Aside from the tables and a dusty chest in the corner, the chamber was utterly empty. There was only a single door besides the one that Craig had burst through, so there was no question which way the bandit leader could have gone. It would be easy enough to follow him—after both of them rested, of course.