Battlefields were a chaotic thing, but Ulgrin was beginning to get used to them. Whether that was a bad thing or not would be left up to someone else. He was too busy trying to keep his friends alive.
“Alyss, you’re up!” He called, leading the charge to make a path through to the giants. His hammer lashed outwards, batting aside anyone trying to get in their way. Thus far their enemy was an eclectic mix of fey, mercenaries, thugs, and devout followers. Most weren’t armed, instead relying on their innate ancestral abilities to pose a challenge. Others had brought their full regalia with them.
A human man wielding a greataxe stopped his slam with the hilt. Mercenaries like this had decent equipment, but lacked the funds and skill to be called true adventurers. Ulgrin fell upon his old trick, sending a trickle of his mana through his weapon in the form of electricity. The man seized up, collapsing long enough for his hammer to crack him in the skull. The kettle hat wasn’t gonna stop that.
His alchemist ally moved forwards, slipping a bomb into her atlatl. With a heave, the projectile soared through the sky and hit one of the ogres in the face. Chilly vapors expanded outwards as ice formed over the giant's head. It pawed at the obstruction, suddenly choking and blinded. Large hands grasped at the ice, but it was stuck fast.
Saezz took that opportunity to dash forwards and slam into the back of the ogre’s knee. Even outweighed by a factor of two, the sheer momentum still brought the creature to its knees. Alco followed close behind, running up the ogre’s back and gathering strength. His spear punched through the back of its neck and penetrated the spinal cord. They faintly heard a gasp from the ogre before it slumped over.
A roar of fury came from behind the pair as the ogre’s friend witnessed this. Rage overcame the creature and his movements sped up. The two fighters were forced onto the backfoot. They had to dodge, dip, and duck to avoid his swung club.
Alyss threw another frost bomb, but the ogre seemed to have wisened up. It held up a hand, catching the bomb on its forearm. Aside from mildly inconveniencing it, the attack did little to stop the ogre. “Not a lot of those left, I can’t do it without any opening!” She called, digging into her bag.
Ulgrin grunted, charging forwards. A quick nod was exchanged between himself and the other two fighters. They split apart, heading in opposite directions. The ogre paused, confused about who to target. That left enough time for the dwarf to get close enough. He was running on fumes so it wasn’t a powerful attack, but the fireball at close range scorched the ogre’s face, disorienting him.
Saezz and Alco turned again, quickly reaching the ogre. The spearman’s long reach allowed him to cut and stab at the ogre’s face, shredding an eye, while the lizardfolk simply leapt up, digging his claws into the softer tissue of its neck. Ulgrin simply began smashing it in the knee repeatedly. Eventually the ogre fell over, moaning in pain.
“The giant’s almost here!” Alyss called, throwing another frost bomb. It struck the hill giant in the neck, managing to cover their mouth. Unfortunately, it grunted and reached up, simply tearing away the ice as if it wasn’t even there. Incredible strength like that would be hard to beat.
Their lizardfolk friend stopped savaging the ogre. “Friends, we must engage in raptor techniques! Two distractions, one attack!” He turned to Alyss. “And you do whatever you can to aid us!” She nodded, already throwing more bombs. They didn’t have much effect, but it served to cause pain and infuriate the giant.
Leaving the injured ogre to writhe, the three of them moved forwards. Ulgrin could see the twenty-foot tall humanoid wielding a large tree trunk. It had been smoothed and the branches removed, but the top of it still possessed roots. He doubted the makeshift mace needed the extra spikes. It was already lethal to whatever was hit by such an attack.
A vertical swing cut the sky in half, rocketing into the earth below. Even being several feet away from the attack still sent Ulgrin tumbling. Thankfully his stout balance kept him on his feet and he kept running. He waved his staff, sending pesky bolts of light, force, and flame. Even a moderately powerful gout of fire served only to give the giant a sunburn. This thing was tougher than they’d anticipated.
Alco served as their attacker this round. Ulgrin was surprised to see the agile knight leap up and onto the log. He sprinted up the arm, spear flashing and delivering quick cuts as he ran. The giant reached out with his other hand to swat away the fly, but Saezz stepped in. He brought in a double handed hammer fist right onto the Hill Giant’s toe.
He screamed in pain, letting go of the club and clutching at his foot. Alco barely managed to hold on, clutching arm hair with one hand, feet dangling. Just barely, the knight managed to pull himself up and onto the shoulder. “Oh, this is going to suck.” Alco pulled back his spear and then thrust it directly into the giant’s ear.
Another roar came, this one shaking the earth and making Ulgrin shudder. Blood spurted from the wound, but he cursed. Alco hadn’t gone far in enough before the flailing giant threw him off. The knight tumbled through the air before being caught by Saezz in a princess carry. “My thanks.” Alco stated, staring in disgust at his spear. The haft had been covered in various bits of earwax, blood, and stringy hair.
“No problem.” Saezz replied, dumping him onto the ground. “But there’s no time for that! It’s not dead. Saezz will try this time.” The lizardfolk ran forwards towards the angry giant. It had stood back up, furious. This time the Hill Giant began to stomp, causing the earth to buckle.
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Alyss seemed to have a solution for this. She threw another explosive, this one seeming to be… grease? The slick substance spread out, causing the land to become slippery. When the giant brought his foot down again his eyes widened as he fell backwards.
A cataclysmic tremor hit the land as the giant’s full weight hit the ground. It even caused the other battles to grow silent for a moment before yells and screams filled the air once again. “Don’t give it the chance to get back up!” Ulgrin called, running forwards. He sheathed his staff and extended his hammer to its full length.
Hurling a battle cry, Ulgrin brought it down on the giant’s rotund stomach. A ‘woosh’ of foul smelling air wafted over the dwarf as he drove its breath out. Ulgrin reared back, once again putting his full weight into the strike. Over and over, bruising the skin and causing damage to the giant’s internals.
Saezz was close behind, leaping into the air. He hit the giant’s face like a raging cat. It tried to bring its hands up, but the lizard was darting all over, claws leaving thin slices in toughened flesh. His powerful jaws bit down on an ear, and with one tremendous rip, pulled it off entirely. Blood sprayed in great quantities, staining the ground red.
The knight on the other hand had gone for somewhere more… private. Another scream, this time high pitched, filled the air and sent them all stumbling. Crimson blood began to drop from the giant’s crotch. Finally it seemed to get the idea that being on the ground was a bad idea. It rolled, forcing them all to get the hell out of the way. Ulgrin was nearly crushed under its belly, but managed to slip out and away.
The Hill Giant panted on all fours, gasping for air and bleeding from a thousand cuts. It was running out of stamina and fast. The question was; could they beat it before they ran out of stamina? Already the trio were tired, bruised. Even glancing strikes had a great deal of force behind them. A graze of a finger on this gargantuan creature meant they were sent into the ground.
“Any ideas?” Ulgrin asked, wincing as he rotated his arm. Its knee had caught him in the shoulder and the plate there was dented. “I’m almost out of mana, and Alyss is out of those frost bombs. We’re risking death every time we try to get close for a strike.” It was a miracle none of them had been caught.
Saezz pondered that for a moment before his eyes widened. “I’ve got an idea! We get back up.” A grin covered his face.
Their drow companion came in quick from the giant’s side. Wreath was incredibly fast when he got the chance to pick up speed. The party watched as the thornshield slammed his bony head into the giant’s ribs. They all heard a crack as something broke. Falling onto its side, the giant groaned in pain.
Raelza guided her mount onto its neck and reared back with her glaive. The polearm cut down and into the giant’s dinner plate sized eye. Crimson flashed in a spray of dark arterial as she cut its eye. Wreath leapt out of the way of the retaliating strike, dashing over to join them.
“Did I miss most of the fun?” She asked, guiding him to a stop. “It seemed like you folks were having trouble. I’ve been taking care of all the serious enemies here so our linemen don’t have any trouble. They’re all dead. Probably. Some ran, I think.”
“You have my thanks, milady.” Alco said with a brief bow. “But that creature is still not dead. Shall we finish it off together?
“Right!” Ulgrin called. “Charge!” Alyss was the first to attack as the martially inclined members of the party moved in. She hurled sticky globs at the giant’s joints and extremities. While it wouldn’t hold for long, the glue-like substance gave them a chance to attack without fear of injury.
Saezz reached the giant first, leaping onto its face. He mounted it, reared back his fist, and thrust it all the way to the elbow into the giant’s other eye. Liquid burst like a popped balloon. The giant was now blinded in both eyes, a fact that Ulgrin was wincing at. Why is it always the eyes? I mean, it’d be hypocritical of me not to, but still!
Ulgrin stepped atop, looking for weak points. If they worked similarly to normal humanoids, then there were certain parts of the body that were thinner than the rest. “You’re not going to like it, but the nose!” Ulgrin called, bashing his warhammer into the creature’s temple to stun it more. “Alco, stab up through the nose at a forty-five degree angle!”
The knight grimaced beneath his hawkish helm, but complied and climbed up. Steadying his feet against the giant’s neck, he reared back. Alco’s spear thrust was true, punching through its relatively weak nasal cavity and past the relatively thin bone located there, straight into the giant’s brain.
The Hill Giant paused, freezing up. Its hand had just been about to grab Saezz, but suddenly found its mind breaking down. Alco yelled, jerking his spear around violently, turning the giant’s brain into soup. It finally fell, all movement ceasing. Another titanic crash filled the chapel grounds, causing the fighting to pause.
Now, what little forces remained could see that their biggest ally had just gone down for the count. Alco raised his voice in a cheer, which invited the constables to join in. That broke their morale, and what members of the Fallen Court weren’t cut down quickly retreated, making for the hills.
Only for a voice to break their cry of success. “What in the damned hells is all that noise!” A feminine call came from the graveyard. They all craned their necks to see.
Standing there was, at first glance, an old and decrepit human woman. Only she wasn’t so normal once you noticed the fact that she was easily as tall and robust as Saezz, only with a hunch that made her far shorter. Pus-scars covered her sallow face. Piercing, vibrant purple eyes stared at them all. Her hair curled back in a lion’s mane, but hadn’t been taken care of in perhaps centuries. A long, gnarled staff supported her movement, but he could see it rippled with energy.
“Ah. So you’ve come to my lair, hmm?” The woman’s voice was the most normal thing about her. Almost matronly, wise with age.
Alco stepped forward, taking a breath. “Under the authority of the Andiran crown, I order you to surrender. I am the Knight Alco, and we have come to put a stop to this seditious plot. Come peacefully and you will be spared immediate execution as is my right.” He was taking the chance to allow them a moment’s respite. Best to let their foe speak before the inevitable fight broke out.
“Oh, I’ll have the luxury of being executed later?” She laughed. This was a Hag. Not in the manner one would use to describe a terrible person, but a fey being of considerable power. What they lacked in strength, special abilities, or durability, they more than made up for that in their capability to manipulate magic. She was a spellcaster. A stronger one than him, no doubt about it.
Eyes attuned to the aether, he could feel her presence even from this far. A sickly sweet taste on the wind and an eyesore. Toxic spore-like clouds of mana billowed off of her.
And the worst part about it all? She wasn’t alone. Behind her, shambling creatures began to march out and into the graveyard. Undead. But not normal ones. It should have been almost impossible to break the sanctity of such a place, but she seemed to have skipped the whole ‘necromantic magic’ part by implanting them with mushrooms and spores. Each shambling corpse was riddled with stalks, caps, and pouches of the stuff.
“You can have the privilege to know me as Mother Amanita. It’s been a pleasure, but I’m afraid you won’t be living to get to know my humble self.” She raised her staff. “Now go, my precious garden, bring me more fertilizer!”
The battle continues and we meet one of the lieutenants of the Fallen Court. I love mushroom zombies. For these foes I'm taking inspiration from the Fungal Scratchers in Darkest Dungeon. Great game, that. Thank you all for reading! See you next chapter.