Name: Charisse Race: Human

Ht: 5’6, Wt: 130, Sex: Female,

Archetype: Rogue

HP: 5 / 7 Mana: 0 / 0

Stats:

Physical: 2, Moxie : 3, Spiritual: 2, Luck : 3,

Agility : 3, Magic : 2, Mental : 2, Energy : 2.

Relevant Skills: Agility - Dodge, Agility - Jump, Agility - Shortsword, Archetype - Awareness, Moxie - Deceive, Physical - Drag, Physical Melee - Knife, Ranged - Dagger, Stealth - Hide, Stealth - Move Silent

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Spell Effect: Healing Touch, heals 5 damage. Excess lost.

Cool energy flowed from Jax into Charisse. She reflexively stretched her neck muscles.

"Heal Frederick," Charisse said as she pulled an unconscious person from under a bush. Jax put away his maul and stepped closer. Several of the villagers nearby kept their weapons out.

"Your hiding skills are getting much better," Jax said, passing by Charisse. He knelt by Frederick and touched him. A long second passed before coughing from the fallen trainee. "His injury will need time; my power is not enough."

"I can walk," Frederick said, "maybe even dance if motivated."

"Alright, let's have some villager take him back, I need to talk to Todd," Charisse said. Glancing around, she didn't see her friend. "Todd," she yelled. "I saw him on the trail." Her eyes rested in the direction where the village and goblins were;

She didn't see any sign of her friend. Branches and leaves swayed as of from a breeze, the sounds of people nearby, nervously shuffling as they stood ready for an attack, masked the sounds of the forest.

"Hold still and be silent," Charisse hissed as she cupped a hand around an ear and slowly turned in a circle. No sound, even the animals were completely silent. "Fuck, Jax, where is Todd?"

"He was running in the front, did you come out of hiding after he passed by?" Jax said as he looked around as well. His eyes rested for a little bit on the hiding spot Charisse had been, the bough of a tree gave lots of covers.

"My," Charisse started to say;

"Hiding place obscured my vision; I didn't see where he went, just that he passed by." Charisse finished. She made sure she didn't move or pat the pocket with the magical ring. Internally she sighed in relief when Jax nodded his head.

"He must have kept running," Jax pointed to the villagers. "Protect your friend and stay here. We'll fetch Todd and bring him back. We'll come back for you guys when we re-take the village."

Several villagers nodded their heads, except for Frederick, Xantha, and Sirah. Sirah opened her mouth to argue, but Charisse met her eyes and shook her head. She stepped toward her trainees and beckoned them closer.

"You two stay here, need you to keep a watch to give a warning if anyone comes. The last thing we want is you guys to get ambushed by a goblin patrol. Jax and I will be fine; once we find Todd, we'll come right back, and then we can begin the homecoming party." Charisse said. The trainees smiled and nodded as Frederick nodded. Charisse looked at him and shook her head. "Not you, you're going back."

"Not enough people to stay here and take me back, I can still fire a bow," Frederick said.

Charisse shook her head at Frederick. Before she could open her mouth, one of the trainee's cleared his throat.

"What do we do if you guys don't come back?" said one of the trainees, an older man with salt and peppered hair. Charisse couldn't remember his name.

"Telius start a five hundred count. If neither," Jax said, looking directly at the older man. "Ooof!" he said as a man-sized, red, and grey blob slammed into him from behind.

Charisse instantly had her daggers out, ready to strike once she saw an opening. Red splotches covered the grey creature in an odd camouflage pattern. Several spikes poked out from the pack of the beast. Small branches and leaves were plastered or stuck to it. The creature rested on top of Jax's legs, which, while falling, managed to move partially out of the way. The humanoid-shaped attacker didn't move as it lay there.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Todd," Charisse said as she began to make out recognizable features on the armor. The spikes on the back where several arrows sticking out from where they'd lodged into the armor. Large plates of steel only covered the chest, and most of the back, the rest were strips of metal with a tightly woven chain holding everything together.

As Todd lay there, Charisse quickly turned around the way he came from and peered into the forest.

The forest refused to give up any secrets; several pools of black gazed back at her. She turned around to her friend; Todd was moving. Jax sat up, his legs still under Todd, and had a hand resting on the back of Todd's neck.

"He's alive, at least," Jax said when he looked up and saw Charisse was looking down.

"He may have been followed, spread out, weapons at the ready," Charisse said. Bending down, she grabbed Todd's shoulder and pulled. "Let's get him behind a tree, at least."

Jax helped roll Todd off of his legs. Together they dragged their unconscious friend. The largest nearby tree was maybe a foot across, motioning in that direction; they pulled Todd to it. A few soft groans eeked out of Todd they moved him.

"Is the healing not working?" Charisse said.

"I'm not sure, it is like he is still being damaged, I'm sinking everything I can into him." Jax shook his head and touched Todd on his head.

"Where's his character sheet?" Charisse knelt and pulled on Todd's backpack, an arrow had pinned it to the armor, and several small branches were lodged into its straps.

"With Mark and Reggie,"

"Fuu," Charisse yelled, caught herself mid-curse, then silently said the rest, "uck."

Thump! Something large hit Charisse in the back, knocking her to the ground. The weight on her back moved, then rolled to the side. "Sorry," Frederick groaned then yelped in pain.

"Goblins!" someone yelled from the woods.

"For fuck's sake," Charisse said. Looking at her trainee, she was relieved when he smiled at her.

"Third time, I make you my wife", Frederick said.

"I'll kill you myself." Charisse grinned around her threat. She stood up and first looked to Jax. Her friend was kneeling next to Todd behind a tree. One hand on Todd, the other on a tree branch. Movement in the forest caught her eye, a group of four figures appeared to be working around the left. Six were coming head on from the front.

"Get everyone and retreat," Charisse whispered in Frederick's ear. When he didn't move or respond, she brushed his long hair away from his face, the skin was pale, and his eyes were closed. "Seriously," she said, and without looking to seeing if the coast was clear, she stood up, grabbed Frederick, and pulled.

Throwing her whole weight into the drag, she felt her unconscious friend move. With part of him lifted, she saw two arrows poking out of his back. Carefully she turned him facedown and raised his arm high enough to keep his face from dragging in the dirt.

As she stood up, an arrow hit her in the left shoulder. Screaming in pain, her left hand lost its grip, and she pulled with just her right hand. Frederick groaned as he was pulled, his hand twitched as she pulled. Quickly getting to Jax's position, she deposited Frederick on the ground near him.

"Arrows in the back; we are being flanked left side." Charisse paused to pull the arrow out of her shoulder. Gritting her teeth, she still screamed in pain, but thankfully the tip was not barbed. "I'm gonna stop the flankers." Throwing the arrow at the ground, she turned to run into the woods.

"Wait," Jax said, "high-five?"

"What," Charisse turned to her friend. His hand was raised in the air. "This isn't," Charisse slapped her open palm against her friends. Healing energy flowed into her.

"Thanks," she said before running away from the goblins. Twenty feet from Jax, she slowed, then turned in the direction of the four flanking goblins. A dagger in one hand, padding from tree to tree, trying to keep the trunks between her and her quarry.

Screams of pain and battle cries from the battle, starting back where her friends were tugged at her heart. Each cry she compared to her memory of voices to see if it was someone she knew. They were all voices she knew; just none were from Jax or Todd. Slowly moving forward, she worried she missed the flankers. She hadn't been able to see them since the first glimpse after Frederick was hit.

Pausing near a large pine tree, Charisse leaned into the tree to hide. Rustling from the otherside of the tree pulled her attention to the bower. Crouching down, she peered under the thick branches. A pair of yellow eyes slowly turning red the head poked further into the shadows under the tree.

Charisse dove under the tree toward the eyes, dagger ready to skewer the goblin. Still several feet from the goblin, the creature lifted it's bow and pulled back the ready arrow.

Rolling to the side to avoid the arrow placed her further from the goblin. Springing to her feet, she sprinted to the goblin, pulled out another dagger, throwing it ahead of her.

Leaning to the side, the goblin easily dodged the blade flying toward it, passing between the two goblins standing behind the one she was fighting. Charisse was standing in front of the first goblin and could see the smile on the other two as they examined the odds.

Mentally cursing, she swung at the first goblin with her remaining blade.

The creature swung it's arm around to block the strike. Charisse avoided the arm, but the bow it was holding knocked her strike off. Before her weapon cut into the creatures shoulder, it severed the string on the bow.

The other two goblins stepped to the side of Charisse, each holding a shortsword. One growled something, and they both swung.

Swinging its weapon with both hands, the goblin on the right caught one of the lower branches on the swing. As its blade slowed, Charisse was able to step out of the way.

Goblin on the left swung low, causing Charisse to lift a foot to avoid the swing. As the goblin leaned in, the tip of the blade caught her calf muscle. Gritting her teeth, Charisse threw her remaining dagger at the first goblin with the broken bow.

The dagger covered the short space quickly, sinking into the creature's chest. It gurgled and coughed up blood as it fell to its knees. Leaving her blade, and praying she had her shortsword in her backpack, Charisse took a queue from Todd's playbook.

Jumping upward with both hands stretched out, she grabbed onto a branch and pulled herself up. An arrow from outside of the tree thumped into the trunk near where she had been standing. Only six feet from the ground, she felt a little safer. Below, the two flanking goblins looked up at her and growled. She reached into her backpack, smiled as the feeling of a shortsword hilt filled her hand. Pulling the weapon out, she steadied herself.

One of the goblins backed up a few feet, then ran and lept, one hand grabbing onto the branch. It swung itself upward; sword arm pointed at Charisse as it stood upon a limb to the side of her.

Lunging like a fencer with the shortsword, Charisse managed to burrow the tip a few inches into the goblin's chest. As it's wide eyes stared at her for a moment, it released it's grip on the tree and fell to the ground. Charisse moved back, closer to the trunk, and looked for the other goblin.

Two goblins stood on the ground, looking up into the tree. The flanking one had sheathed its sword and pulled out a bow. The new goblin also had a bow in hand, pulled back with an arrow notched. With no goblins in the tree, the ones on the ground fired.

The new goblin fired it's arrow first—a straight shot through the branches and into Charisse's stomach. Moving to the side, the blade cut a long deep line along her side, before hitting the trunk behind her.

Another shot fired up from below her, the flanking goblin had several branches in the way. As the arrow came up, it skipped off of another branch, allowing Charisse to easily dodge it.

"You take that one," Charisse said pointing toward the flanking goblin, then pointed at the other. "That one is mine."

Both goblins glanced behind them to see who she was talking to. Charisse dropped down from the tree and slashed at the flanking goblin.

With the creature distracted, it didn't see the shortsword blade coming for its head. Charisse felt a thump as the sword cut into the creature's neck. Briefly, the weapon was stuck, but as the goblin fell to the ground, the corpse released its grip upon the blade.

The last goblin took advantage of Charisse's stuck weapon. It pulled out an arrow and quickly fired at Charisse.

Unable to move, Charisse leaned to the left, but the arrow hit her in the right shoulder. The fingers in her right hand went numb, loosening her grip on her sword. Switching hands, she growled as she swung.