If the shattering glass didn’t catch their attention, then the spell did. A dull ring of a handheld cowbell called out a warning to the others, as I ducked back into the house, hid behind the wall that led into the stairwell, and clutched the old spear to my chest to hide it as well.

2/23 Enemies Killed flashed on the Shard and in my mind.

Did that kill both of them? No. Something was approaching. The soft pit-pat of padded paws. I gripped the spear all the tighter to my chest as the sounds neared the door to the house. Glass crunched, and a pained whimper let me know whatever was out there had come in. Sounds like heavy snuffling came from the door, as the wooden floor creaked, and the elongated shadow of a dogman stepped into the house.

It wasn’t long before it came into view. Pitch black, scruffy fur. Pointed ears, and a pair of gray eyes. I sprang forward and stabbed with all my strength into the neck of the dogman. The point pushed through its tough fur and punched through its flesh. Dark red blood poured out of its neck as I pulled the spear point back out.

3/23

A ratman: pulling shards of glass out of its exposed feet, glanced at me and hurriedly fumbled with his weapon: a rifle. I sprang forward and jammed the spear point straight into its chest.

+1 Reflexes

It grabbed hold of the shaft of the spear: its eyes widened in disbelief as it tried to pull the point out of its chest. I pushed harder as it lifted its rifle up with one arm: a grim determination painting its ugly face as it pulled the trigger. I let go of the spear as the bullet slammed into my stomach. The invisible shield shattered, and I fell back and onto the ground.

4/23

I ran my fingers over the wound, and I could feel the bullet: barely an inch or so in the fat of my gut. Had Repel slowed it down that much? Still, it hurt like all hell, and it took all the mental fortitude I could muster to not writhe on the ground. Some barking commands drew my attention down the street as a group of Efrans rushed out of the plaza and down the street: led by the two guards that I presumed came from the other street.

I picked myself off the ground and clutched my stomach as I pulled the spear out from the chest of the Ratman, and picked up the rifle. Like the one before it, I found the ammunition in a small pouch on its belt. I took all three items back into the house as quickly as I could: the patrol was already halfway down the street, and a bullet slammed into the plaster by my head. I ducked and hurried inside: stepping over the corpse as I climbed the stairs, and pushed the bed in front of the staircase to act as a kind of barricade. I brace it by laying the bookshelf on the ground and wedging it in between the small frame and the wall.

By the time I was done with that, and with recasting Repel, the first Efran yelped in pain as it stepped on the glass shards laid out. I ducked behind the wall and fumbled with the rifle for a moment. How did this work? I flipped it over in my hand until I saw that it had a crack on the barrel. I pulled it down, and it opened up, revealing a small hole at the back of the barrel.

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I shoved my hand into my pocket dug around the pouch therein for a single lead bullet, and pushed it into that hole with my thumb before peeking out. A dogman had already begun to climb the stairs, and four others were coming up after it. I took quick aim and pulled the long trigger.

The kick was manageable, considering my body size, as the gun roared to life, and parts of the dogman’s skull splattered against the bright plaster. Its body rolled down the stairs and impeded the others, but not for long.

5/23

By the time I had another bullet loaded, a ratman was already beginning to climb over the makeshift barricade. I pulled the trigger and a golf ball-sized hole was blown open through its chest.

6/23

A hand reached out and grabbed hold of the rifle, and yanked it out of my grasp while it swung its curved sword down. Repel blocked it and knocked the weapon out of his grasp. I shoved the dogman backward with my elbow, hoping to push it clean down to the first floor. It punched forward into the wound on my stomach, and I nearly gagged as I fell forward, and clinched the creature’s neck. I pulled the wavy knife out of its sheathe in my pocket and jammed it forward into the creature’s gut as I gritted my teeth. It howled and clamped its jaws around my neck. I slammed the knife into its side to kill it faster as my repel slowly cracked from the force applied by its jaws and finally shattered.

I nearly screamed as the dogman’s teeth dug down deep into the flesh of my shoulder. It shook its head from side to side, like a terrier that caught its prey. By this time, other Efrans had piled in the house and were slowly making their way up the stairs. A ratman and a dogman had crested the barricade and were approaching from behind the dogman clamped down on my neck. I stabbed the knife into the creature's side and pulled my wand out with my other hand. I couldn’t get a good shot out through the creature's body blocking me, I needed a different spell.

One word and I already had an idea I wanted to try out.

“I allow the breath of the salamanders to flow around me.”

Flame Burst Created

+1 Creativity

A small wave of flame spat out from my feet. It was enough, as the kerosene-soaked legs and feet of the creatures around me sparked to life. They howled, and the dogman finally released its jaws around my shoulder. A forward kick sent it stumbling backward as the fire began to climb up their bodies. One of the more obstinate ratmen rushed forward despite the pain no doubt being inflicted as its fur and flesh burned away, and clutched onto me with its pointed claws dug into my flesh as if to say, ‘If I’m going to die, so will you.’

No, I won’t. I stabbed my knife into the creature’s throat and pulled it backward toward the window: cutting a long, red line through its flesh. It collapsed onto the ground off of me, and its blood dripped through the floorboards as it took one final, wheezing breath. I slid the knife into its sheathe in my pocket.

7/23

The dogman was currently leaning against the banister: patting the flames out of its fur desperately, while the other rolled around the ground: spreading the flames along the second floor. I fished around the satchel hanging on the wall by the window pulled out one of the glass bottles of kerosene, and tossed it at the feet of the dogman leaning on the banister.

The glass shattered and quickly caught in a small puddle of liquid flame. A single drop was all it took to flow down to the lower floor and catch the kerosene-soaked blankets and sheets. A massive ball of flame spat out from the bottom floor, as the Efrans that could, turned tail and fled the house as the wooden interior quickly caught hold of the flames.

I grabbed hold of the satchel and hung it over my neck before guarding my face and breaking out of the second-story window. I attempted to slow my fall by grabbing hold of fistfuls of thatch from the building next to this one, but all I managed to do was go down with a fistful of straw, and land on the ground just as hard in between them.

8/23

9/23