The sun hammered the white covers of their new wagon and the slightly furred back of the cliff striders, their clawed feet leaving furrows deeper than the wagon wheels on the hardened path.
The travel back home took them by many flourishing fields. The sector-exclusive grape grew like bloody blisters on thick vines alongside the more common plants. The vines were quite interesting, they could be grown anywhere, with people back in Crimson Commons often having small patches growing in their gardens and even inside their homes. They only needed some blood every once in a while, they didn't just survive, they thrived with minimal effort.
Sitting on her mother's lap with her eyes closed in concentration was Mara. She visualized their home, getting the details of her room and the kitchen. She fervently ignored the outside, going as far as removing the door and windows from her mindscape.
"So?" Elara asked, letting go of the reins momentarily. Watching how the beasts would react with some freedom.
"I finished my room!" Mara's eyes snapped open, "I'm now working on the kitchen." her senses, muted when visualizing, slowly returned to her.
With the return of her sense, came the insufferable itchiness. "Are you sure, there's no way to stop the itching?" Her new ring, something that looked to be made of rust and kept together out of spite, itched like hells.
"You said many times you wanted a cursed weapon." a sneaky smile formed on Elara's lips, "This is a small price to pay for one."
"Yeah, I said weapon," Mara pouted. "W-E-A-P-O-N, this is not a weapon, this—" To her mother's worries, Mara's expression suddenly perked up and her eyes took a shine that she knew all too well as a half-eaten-brained idea.
"What are you thinking?" Elara cautiously asked.
"Mommy..." Mara's pupils grew three sizes, her lips trembling as she looked up like a kicked puppy. "Can you forge a spike for my ring?"
"Oh," Elara was taken aback, she expected a much larger request. "I can ask Mr. Frodger if I can use his forge. If you want I could make some matching rings to fill your hand. Or even better, I could measure your hand and make some knuckle-dusters."
"YES!" Elara's eyes sparkled. Positively vibrating with excitement, she started punching the air. "Can we add poison to them?"
This was more along the lines of what Elara expected. "How would we do that? If you want the spikes to be extra deadly we would need special metals or coat them in poisons. I don't know how to make poisons and they don't sell any special metals here."
"I already thought of this!" Mara scrambled out of her mother's lap, almost sending the reigns to the ground.
"Calm down! The world is not gonna end."
After a short moment, Mara came back holding a scribbled piece of parchment. "We just make a glass inside the spikes to hold poison!"
Taking the paper, Elara couldn't comprehend what the 'schematic' showed. But her daughter's words were not without merits, she already saw things like that before. She still has the sword she lovingly calls 'Mosquito', hidden in a hole hidden behind their house, inaccessible by anyone without the capability to teleport, and even then they would need to move the heavy furniture around to find the hidden hole.
"There's one problem," Elara began, and Mara leaned closer, waiting for her mother to finish speaking. Only to be disappointed when no more words were said.
"Where? What's the problem?" Mara anxiously asked, pulling and ripping a piece of the paper.
"That's for you to discover. Take that as another lesson." A devious smile formed on Elara's face when Mara started looking her schematic up and down, a look of slight despair but concentration present.
Shadows from the forested hills slowly covered the cart, the peaks obscuring the radiant warmth and sending a slight chill down Elara's spine. Decades of risking her life and the years spent traversing this same path told her something wasn't right.
"Go inside," Elara ordered, her voice tight with unease. "Something isn't right."
Ignoring her mother's words, Mara continued looking at her paper. "I know you can protect me," she said confidently, her trust unshaken from the day before.
To Mara's surprise, her mother roughly grabbed her by the arms and shoved her inside the Ridgecrawler.
"When I order, you listen." There was an edge to Elara's words, something Mara had never heard before. "That's a new rule. When traveling, if I say jump, you ask how high."
They broke past the forest, starting to go uphill and turning to circle the first hill. Gathering herself, pouting, angry, and a little scared at how her mother was acting, Mara nodded from inside the cart.
"Did you hear me?" Elara asked out loud, not taking her eyes away from her surroundings. "If I say to jump, what do you say?"
"How high," Mara murmured.
Her hair stood on end, and a strange feeling settled in her stomach; her mother was acting too strangely, and she didn't like it one bit.
Elara's hand inched closer to her dagger as she detected a strange smell. Part of her mind was directed to forcefully take control of the magical tendrils inside her.
"I didn't hear you," Elara said loudly, her eyes scanning the surroundings. "IF I SAY TO JUMP, WHAT DO YOU SAY?" Her scream echoed in the forest, slightly amplified by magic.
Something was startled, orange moved through the forest.
"HOW HIGH!" Mara screamed in anger, her voice breaking as she shoved her head past the covers just in time to see a glimpse of steel, then a single strike of her mother's dagger cutting an arrow out of the air.
Mara's breath hitched, her heartbeat quickening. Too many arrows to count flew in their direction. Without a word, Elara tackled her daughter back inside the cart, keeping her pinned and safe.
The muted impacts of the arrows filled the cart, and two heavy thuds followed soon after.
"Mom..." Something wet and warm dripped down her mother's back.
"Shhh..." Her mother's hand gently cooed her. "I won't let them touch you."
Two sets of hidden tattoos started glowing. The arrows creaked before breaking as Elara's flesh knitted itself together. After the wound was gone, the tattoos became invisible once again, entering a recharging state.
A soft light filled the inside of the cart as another tattoo glowed, forcing Mara into unconsciousness.
"You won't get hurt."
—————
As the sun ascended shadows stretched into dark pillars across the hills. A soft wind danced through the trees, rustling leaves and bushes in time with the movements of the small group.
Bushes rustle, grows echo, and murmured voices blended together with the ambient. Breaking this veneer of stealth was a horde of restless orange-furred beasts. Their agitated paws shuffled through the unfamiliar underbrush while their golden eyes took in the unfamiliar wood. These frenzy hunters were so similar to wildcats, yet different in so many ways. They were sweet and gentle; for now.
"This job better be worth it," a young dwarf muttered, clutching his crossbow tightly.
"It’s two thousand gold." a human replied, trying to sound confident but failing to hide the tremor in his voice.
'Just follow Garrick's orders, and we’ll get through this." a half-elf added, casting a wary eye toward the dragonborn.
The group was perhaps a dozen strong with double that number in new hires; desperate people scrapped from the mushroom-infested walls of the undercities. The group was made of the common fare—humans, down-to-their-luck dwarves, half-elves, and even one with fiendish blood in their veins.
Standing out amidst the mixed group was a white dragonborn.
Although nervous, the group eased the nervous knots by engaging in hushed conversation or playing with the frenzy hunters.
The dragonborn did neither. He was the picture of calm, a marble pillar standing in the forest, with clothes five steps above the rest in quality, and lacking the rugged look or scars that painted the bodies of the rest of the group.
"I'll name you... Goldy Eyes," Vael the tiefling declared, watching with glee as the newly named Goldy Eyes pawed her head, playing with the decorations on her broken horns.
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"You know we probably won't be keeping them, right?" Tess, a human thin like a stick, said while hiding a strangely colored beetle from the frenzy hunters. "Even if we do, most of them have to go."
"Why?" Vael asked, protectively holding onto Goldy Eyes, who purred in pleasure in her tight hug.
"Logistics," Kaelin, with his awkwardly sized limbs and short stature, explained. "Do you know how much these little shits eat? Not to mention the fur they shed and their terrible smell. They hold more worth as sold pelt."
The discussion expanded, involving the rest of the group, the noise becoming on par with the noisy beasts.
The constant noise grated on Garrick's frayed nerves. Whirling around, he locked eyes with the restless hunters, and then he glared at his crew.
"Shut the hells up!" His voice erupted with the barest hints of magic, echoing loudly in their hiding spot and beyond. "A deaf and blind barbarian could find us with all this racket!"
A nervous human piped up, "We’re just trying to stay calm, boss."
"Stay calm by staying quiet," Garrick snapped back. "We need the element of surprise, not a bloody circus."
The frenzy hunters flinched, their eyes widening momentarily before they settled back down, not daring to make a sound. The group exchanged looks with one another, the new hires lowered their gaze while the oldest ones looked annoyed but complied nonetheless.
Garrick's hand clenched and unclenched with wet squelches. Taking deep breaths, he steadied his fraying nerves as he cleaned his sweaty palms on his pants. "Just one more job. Get through this, and then you can find something more worthy of you."
Just then, they saw someone approaching in a bulky carriage. At the reins sat an imposing orc with her daughter. Garrick turned to look at the dragonborn and froze in fear.
A cold smile formed on the dragonborn's reptilian face, his rows of teeth glinting like steel. His draconic eyes locked onto the Garrick's, and with a simple nod of his head, they knew the next step.
Vael held Goldy Eyes firmly with one arm and lifted her wooden staff with the other, sending the command to fire via magic to all.
The crossbows and bows were shot while Vael held her staff high, sending a formless magic. One projectile was cut out of the air while the others found their mark on the orc's back before she threw herself inside the cart. The formless wave of magic hit the startled beasts of burden, sending them into a deep slumber. No reason to kill them if they could be sold later.
Garrick got up, pulling two shortswords. One was battered, worn, and with its edge mostly gone, while the other was made of unblemished copper, faint runes shining along its edge.
Tess held his beetle high, whispering words of power before crushing it in his palm. Opening it, the beetle was alive but lost all its splendor but his hand was now filled with a fine layer of colored dust that he blew around him.
Creaking and groaning echoed as five centipedes grew to the size of large dogs, their feet tapping like sharp blades against the ground as they rushed forward. The dragonborn lazily moved his hands, pulling out a strange flask and holding it tightly. In the next moment, a golden light covered Garrick, Kaelin, Vael, and Korrin, a man built like a dwarf but the size of a human.
A cleric? Maybe a paladin then? Garrick analyzed. Holy people were not many in this sector, and the dragonborn looked like neither. He certainly didn't know of any blood deity to make sense of why he used a vial of blood as his spellcasting focus.
Garrick waited for the giant centipedes to reach the wagon, and as they jumped, he got up and charged. His men followed soon after, the new hires standing behind, shakily holding their crossbows.
"Remember the orders!" Garrick screamed when he noticed the hesitation in his men's steps. "Think of your families! Four thousand gold for just two lives!"
The centipedes broke past the covers, taking the top of the wagon with them. In less than it took for the top to fully collapse, the group reached the wagon with their weapons held firmly.
The covers burst open, showing the orc woman crushing the head of a centipede with one hand while another was impaled by her dagger. Greenish blood covered her, almost blending with her gray skin.
Her eyes held cold determination as she stepped onto a wriggling centipede, crushing its head with a loud crunch.
"If you step back, I can act like nothing ever happened," Elara's voice echoed in their minds. Her stance was open but exuded an air of surety that made the men unsure.
"I don't know who you pissed off, lady, but we can't let you leave here," Garrick said, hardening his heart and straightening his back. He couldn't let his men be intimidated or the whole thing could fall apart.
From the corners of his eyes, he saw the Vael let go of an unconscious Goldy Eyes and become invisible, her steps cautious and causing minimal disturbance in the forest around her. The new hires drew their bows back or struggled to reload their crossbows.
"One more step," Elara warned.
Garrick took a step forward, instilling confidence in his men. "Oops."
"I wasn't talking about you," Elara said, whirling around with a clenched fist.
How!? Vael thought as Elara's fist connected to her chest. She flew back, her chest caved in. A wave of scorching blood left her mouth, hitting Elara and burning her. A set of tattoos that ran up Elara's neck lit up, absorbing some of the damage.
Another wave of arrows flew, and more than half were cut out of the air or dodged. Two hit her, digging less than a fingertip into her skin.
Elara launched herself towards Garrick, moving with the speed and precision of a seasoned warrior.
Garrick barely parried her first strike with his copper shortsword, his arms shook and his bones groaned to stop the charge. His other sword glowed softly as he aimed at Elara's unprotected side. Elara twisted, bringing her free hand up to deflect his blow, and drove her knee into his stomach.
Gods, she's strong! Garrick thought, the wind knocked out of him. He staggered back, his innards hurting like he was run over by an elephant-drawn carriage.
As Elara went to capitalize on her blow, a mountain of a man charged at her. Korring barreled towards her with a roar. Elara sidestepped the charge, but he swung a heavy mace, catching her in the side and knocking her off balance.
Seeing his moment, another man rushed, cutting Elara twice in the back. Pain flared through her, but she gritted her teeth and pushed it aside. She couldn't afford to lose focus now.
Frederick, a quite buff half-elf, also went to cut Elara, but he got too close. His sword was deflected by her free hand and she stepped closer. They were chest to chest when Elara kicked his leg, breaking it and stepping on him falling. A nauseating crunch was heard as he was embedded into the ground.
Forcing himself straight, Garrick lunged with renewed vigor. His strikes guided by the Bless helped greatly.
Dodging a mace strike, Elara accepted a shallow cut to step closely to Korrin's and land a devastating punch on his throat. To make space, he shoved her and swunk his mace while gasping for air.
Kaelin attacked, taking her focus away from Korrin. Elara managed to parry his attack, but that was Kaelin's objective. His blade skitted over hers, almost taking out her thumb, reaching her arm and taking a layer of skin before he quickly backed out.
Taking a step forward, Elara took a grazing mace strike and cut to land a heavy kick on Korrin's face, sending him flying back with teeth missing.
Blocking an attack from Garrick, Elara received a blast of fire to her back. Leaning against a tree and breathing heavily, but alive, Vael started charging another attack.
Suddenly, a spike of pain shot through Elara's head, making her vision blur. Tess was now focusing psychic attacks on her, trying to break her concentration.
I hope I'm up to your standards Mom, because my and your grandaughter's life depends on it.
"Vow," Elara called, and a bright light temporarily blinded those around her. When the light died, a double-edged sword was in her hands, a thin line ran from the tip of the blade to the end of the pommel, and a grey orb sat in the middle of the guard.
Elara's heart quivered with grief at the weapon's appearance. Vow was back in its original form, which meant that the wielder of the other half was no longer alive.
"I'll never forget you. I hope Vow helped you to the bitter end," she whispered, dropping her dagger and pulling the weapon apart. The blade split cleanly down the middle while the orb dissipated as if it never existed.
The tendrils of her magic still flayed wildly outside of her, but Elara managed to force enough of them into her control. She swung both halves in wide arcs that were easily dodgeable by those in melee.
But her targets didn't dodge; barely visible violet daggers hit the archers and crossbowmen. Blood exploded from their ears and dripped out of their eyes. At least six died in that single strike. But that attack wasn't repeatable, what little tendrils were inside of her spilled out, and she had no hope of regaining control in a short time.
The remaining new hires saw their comrades fall and started to flee, their morale shattered.
With the threat reduced, Elara pressed her advantage against Garrick and Korric. She was gaining ground, her twin blades a blur of deadly steel.
The dragonborn watching the fight from the shadows, turned an eye to the running men and lazily swung his hand as the collar on his neck lit up. Gravity doubled over those running, forcing them into a pile of limbs unable to move.
He then moved his full attention back to the ambush. She hasn't lost much of her touch. Why is she still holding herself?
Then, a series of fiery rays hit Elara. Two struck her back, making what little intact clothing she had burst into flame, and the large twin flames tattoos burst into life. All the fire was sucked inside them, and they now burned brightly in her back.
Simultaneously, another psychic spike from Tess pierced her mind, causing her to stumble. Pain radiated through her skull, blurring her vision and slowing her movements.
Kaelin saw his chance. He backed away from the melee, reaching for one of the frenzy hunters who had been watching with curious eyes. "Show your worth," He grabbed the creature by the scruff of its neck and hurled it at Elara.
By reflex, Elara slashed at the creature, almost cutting it in half. Instantly the beast's eyes became bloodshot, its fur shot up and its claws grew in size as it raked her face, almost taking her eye with a swipe before it landed dead on the forest ground.
Elara roared in pain, but another frenzy hunter was already on its way. Her last set of healing tattoos burst into life, healing her almost blinded eye and most of the cuts gotten until now.
Soon, the frenzy hunters grew berserk even without being hurt, clawing at the Kaelin as he went to grab them. By the end more than two dozen of the beasts were thrown, demanding all her attention. But Kaelin was out of the fight, his arms and chest bled heavily from the berserk frenzy hunters.
The melee combatants backed off, taking the opportunity to recover as the crazed creatures occupied Elara with their full offensive. This was the creature's nature, they never backed out, once hurt they or their assailant would die. No other outcome was accepted.
Elara was forced on the defensive, her blades moving in a desperate dance to fend off the relentless attacks.
Elara cut down another frenzy hunter, its body falling in a bloody heap, but another leaped at her from behind, sinking its teeth into her shoulder. She screamed, the pain nearly overwhelming her.
Another fire blast hit her side, and she felt her strength waning. Her vision blurred again, and she stumbled, barely managing to keep her feet. The psychic spikes also continued to assault her mind.
We can wear her down, Garrick thought, his confidence returning as he saw Elara struggle.
Seeing his chance, Garrick charged at Elara with a roar, his swords glowing with divine light. Elara twisted, using her remaining strength to parry his blows.
A feral smile formed on Elara's pained face. "I guess Mom was right," She said, to Garrick's confusion. "A barbarian can't change."
Elara's mouth opened uncannily wide, and a deep, ground-shaking roar echoed in the forest. Even in their berserk state, the frenzy hunters felt fear and halted their offensive.
Elara's hair grew wildly, her eyes turned red, her teeth sharpened, and a reptilian shot off of her. Vow grew in unison with her, their bladed edges growing heavier and blunter. A low growl escaped her throat, and she charged Garrick.
The berserk state soon won over the fear. A frenzy hunter lunged at her, only to be swatted out of the air by the new tail and be sent flying in a mess of broken bones.
Garrick, momentarily stunned by Elara's transformation, barely raised his swords in time to block her ferocious strike. Her strength had increased tenfold, each blow forced him back. Only thanks to the Bless did he keep his swords in his grip.
"She's turned into a monster!" one of the remaining bandits yelled, his voice shaking with fear.
"Hold your ground!" Garrick barked, trying to rally his men. "We can still take her!"
The bandit, frozen by fear, couldn't form any defense when Elara backhanded him. He bounced a few steps away with his head now turned at a grotesque angle and his expression frozen in fear.
Vael, gathering her remaining strength, sent a ball of chaotic magic toward Elara. This has to hit, she willed desperately.
"Get her!" Vael screamed, urging the others to attack.
Elara sidestepped the projectile and lunged at the tiefling, closing the distance in three strides and impaling Vael against a tree in the stomach with one-half of Vow.
Vael gasped, eyes wide with shock, How... how is she this strong? before collapsing.
Korrin was right behind her. I can take her, He tried to kick the back of Elara's legs and break her balance while also throwing a punch to the back of her head.
The punch landed, almost blacking Elara out.
Stumbling, Elara barely recovered in time to deliver an elbow to Korrin's chest that left him gasping for air. She followed with a devastating jaw punch that knocked him out and dislocated his jaw.
Garrick, seeing Elara struggling to stay upright, charged. His raised sword was stopped by her weaponless hand and his midsection was hit by the flat side of Vow. He held his ground for a few breaths, the blessing allowing him momentarily redirect her attacks momentarily despite the debilitating hits. But Elara's ferocity was too much. She grabbed one of his arms and, with a powerful swing cut through his copper sword, stopping only after cutting his arm at the elbow.
Another hit with the flat side of Vow sent Garrick to the ground unconscious.
Seeing everything going wrong, Tess turned to run, his heart pounding in his chest. I need to get out of here. This is a nightmare. He barely made it a few steps before a clawed hand grabbed his head.
The dragonborn stepped out from the shadows, revealing himself to Elara. "Good to see you, Mrs. Elara," he said with a cold smile, his eyes scanning her battered and nearly naked form. "The young master is not here, why the indecency?"
The words stoked the flames of her rage higher than the attempts at her life. Elara prepared to attack, her rage barely contained.
The dragonborn then raised his hands, declaring loudly, "As per law, those caught disrupting public order, especially in such a violent way, are to be apprehended and judged by Vivin Obsorn."
The declaration had only two listeners, yet the dragonborn spoke with his full chest as if he was talking to an army.
"What? But you—" Tess tried to object, only to be silenced by the dragonborn increasing the strength of his grip.
The dragonborn looked around at the fallen bandits and then at Elara, "In the name of Tharros Redrock, the newly appointed head of all adventurer and exploration-related matters, the brave people who dealt with these criminals are invited to dine at his estate atop Crimson Guard.
Elara tensed, ready to run at the dragonborn, but he lifted his free hand, and several rings on his fingers glowed. Something was lifted from the inside of the ruined Ridgecrawler. After a moment, there was a shattering sound, and the invisibility and sleep spell on Mara disappeared. Her rage burned hot, but seeing her daughter slowly waking, she stepped back. Her wild hair and sharp teeth began to revert, she didn't want Mara to see this side of her. Her reptilian tail lashed out one last time at the fallen Garrick, shattering his shoulder before retracting. Her growls gave way to heavy breathing.
The still alight tattoo on her back, which had absorbed the fire blasts, pulsed, releasing the accumulated fire she held to use in a sneaky attack into the air.
Now devoid of animalistic traits, Elara limped towards Mara, her heart aching with every step. She gently cradled her daughter, relief washing over her as Mara’s eyes fluttered open.
The dragonborn looked over the barely alive bandits, and with a shake of his hand, they were covered in a thin black veil, stopping their bleeding and keeping them alive with a spell that delayed their deaths without healing them.
"Why are you doing this?" Tess gasped, his voice weak as the dragonborn tightly held his head.
"Scum like you have no right to know," the dragonborn replied coldly.
Elara observed him, her mind racing. What is Kurno's dog doing away from him?