The Narg looked like a troll with an amphibious frog-face. It wore flattened metals as armor on its body and had spikes protruding from the back of its prodigious head. Its eyes were uncanny, small, round, and on opposite sides of its head like a mix between a spider and a toad. The Narg had too many fingers and toes with wretched long brown nails, giving Zalan an uneasy feeling about knowing what kind of movement the creature was capable of. Sharp teeth poked out both its top and bottom lips as it snored contentedly through large, flaring nostrils while it leaned against the castle gates. The gates weren’t very wide, maybe large enough to let in two horse drawn carts next to one another, with walls extending past the gate on both sides. In one hand, laying flat on the Narg’s open palm, was a spiked wooden club. The spikes were made from bones of various creatures. Zalan shuddered, thinking the bones might be a collection of previous victims.
“Anything I should know about this thing?” Zalan asked immediately. Gorb was quick to nod to give him some context.
“It is powerful. One bad strike and it will kill you instantly. And it can leap very long distances,” Gorb said.
“Maybe there’s another gate we can go in through?” Zalan suggested.
“And risk giving the Narg time to wake up?” Fran asked.
“It won’t matter if it wakes up when we find another way in,” Zalan replied.
“If we find another way in,” Rep corrected nervously.
“Look, we can overwhelm it and kill it before it even has time to stand up!” Fran said.
“Is that how you beat them before?” Yelsa asked.
“Oh, I have never seen a Narg before in person,” Fran replied casually.
“What?” Zalan said, stunned. “And now you just want to pretend you’re confident?”
“I am confident,” Fran said sternly. “Let me just think of a plan and you can tell me if you dislike the idea.”
“I dislike the idea,” Zalan replied immediately.
“Maybe after I spell out the plan,” Fran rolled her eyes.
“Just look at it! That thing is easily the size of the Giant Gargoyle. You told me to run immediately as soon as you saw that monster. Now, you don’t even recognize this one and you want to try and take it on?” Zalan said.
“Yes! This time we will not be ambushed by a creature we do not know is there,” Fran said.
“The best way to learn about a creature that you have not yet fought is to fight it,” Gorb chimed in stoically.
“You two are impossible,” Zalan hissed.
“Look at the size of this castle!” Fran said. “It could take the rest of the day to find another way in. A wasted day where the Satiator may run out on us and we could begin to go hungry. Or we could maintain our strength and go in immediately.”
“In addition, going off the paths between cities and castles is dangerous. More powerful monsters tend to live along the roads less traveled,” Gorb added.
Zalan looked at the massive castle with its many towers and thought that taking a day to survey the walls was probably a conservative estimate. It could take two days to find another way in. He glanced at Rep. Rep was biting his lip, his eyes analyzing the scene. Zalan sighed, unable to think of another way out. He looked upon the menacing Narg in its temporary slumber and reminded himself that all of this was a dream. He’d had plenty of nightmares before. He could take this thing on.
“All right,” Zalan said to Fran. “But you better give us a good plan.”
“Excellent!” Fran rubbed her hands together in anticipation and narrowed her eyes in thought. She looked between her companions and the Narg a few times as she processed her ideas. At one point, the Narg shifted in its sleep and Yelsa, Rep, and Zalan flinched in fear, but it remained asleep.
“I have an idea,” Fran said. “Yelsa takes on firing at one eye and Zalan goes for the other with some lightning. Gorb ensures that the creature cannot reach its club by blasting it away with air and redirecting its fists when it tries to strike empty-handed. Rep works on burning the club to a crisp so that Gorb can focus on leading a frontal assault with me. Then, he and I go for its head.”
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“So… None of us are attacking head on? We get to keep a bit of distance?” Zalan asked, gesturing to himself, Yelsa and Rep.
“It was my first idea. I can come up with more if you need,” Fran offered.
“No, no, I like the plan, it’s a good plan,” Zalan stammered.
“It sounds very achievable,” Rep nodded.
“What if the creature does not get hurt from our attacks?” Gorb asked.
Zalan shuddered at the idea, not having considered it a possibility.
“Then we change tactics. Get out of range immediately. I throw fire in its eyes and you use your Air Power to help the others run as far away as possible. Then, you and I retreat with them,” Fran said.
“What will we do then?” Yelsa asked.
“Let us decide on how to deal with scenarios that actually come to pass. As for now, do we all agree to the plan?”
The travelers nodded or shrugged without any better ideas.
“Very well, we will all begin our assault after Zalan lets out his first lightning strike,” Fran said, smiling. She was shaking in anticipation.
“Why me?” Zalan asked.
“Your power has a chance to stun the Narg, giving us an extra second before it can come to its senses and rise for a fight,” Fran replied.
Zalan nodded fearfully. Four of them began creeping forward as Yelsa nocked an arrow and began to take aim, readying herself to draw the bowstring as soon as Zalan was in position. The Narg snorted on their approach and everyone froze. It didn’t breathe for a moment more and Zalan felt like he should throw lightning before it had the chance to wake up. Maybe his lack of aim would be compensated by the possibility of it being stunned.. He clenched and unclenched his fist, not sure what to do.
Until it began breathing calmly once more. Zalan got within about twenty feet of it before he was comfortable with knowing his attack would reach its target. Fran crawled squarely in front of the Narg to act as the first thing it would see when it woke and Gorb and Rep moved up next to the club. They all watched Zalan for a signal.
Zalan raised his hand, focused his energy, and fired at the Narg’s left eye with a bolt of lightning. The Narg immediately reacted, its right eye coming open and its hand going for the club. Gorb had already pushed it aside a few feet and Rep set the base of it on fire, sending more fires up the rest of the club. The Narg croaked in frustration and then shrieked when an arrow was fired into its left eye, blinding it. Fran ignited her sword in flames and waved it to distract from Yelsa.
“You were supposed to hit the other eye!” Zalan called back to her in panic.
“Your lightning came and went in a flash! I could not tell which eye you hit!” Yelsa snapped, putting on another arrow to her bowstring.
Zalan turned around and threw another blast of lightning at the Narg’s other eye, but it leapt up to its feet too quickly and Zalan missed. Fran was charging at it for a frontal assault, sword raised high. The Narg stomped powerfully with one foot, kicking up a bit of mud into Fran’s face and rumbling the earth enough to make her lose balance. As she tried to regain her footing, the Narg’s fist came down toward her and she was blasted away by Gorb’s air, tumbling to the side as the Narg’s fist destroyed the mound of dirt she was standing on the moment before. The Narg twisted its face in time to avoid another arrow from Yelsa. Its one eye scanned the five fighters around it, then focused on Rep burning its club. Rep made eye contact with it, then took a few steps back in fear.
The Narg croaked angrily and then jumped five feet in the air, landing next to its burning club.
“It’s beginning to jump!” Rep shrieked in fear.
“Gorbonifus, help him!” Zalan cried.
Rep fell over from the rumble caused by the Narg landing. Gorb stumbled, but ran up with his two swords drawn and managed to stab the monster in its back leg with two deep slashes before he was swatted a dozen feet away by the annoyed creature. It looked back to Rep who decided that enough of the club was ablaze and began running away from the Narg. The Narg grabbed the blazing club, then released it when it realized it was too hot. It decided to use its hand as a weapon instead, raising it to smash Rep. Instead he was zapped in the hand by lightning and then struck by an arrow in the same area, giving Rep enough time to get out of the way of the downwards strike. The Narg turned around and croaked.
“Is it time to run?” Zalan asked.
“No!” Fran said, having cleaned off the mud that was blinding her face. “Gorb did well to cut its leg. It is no longer leaping. I think we can continue our assault until it is dead.”
“It only jumped the one time, how can you be sure it’s immobilized?” Zalan asked.
“If it is not, then running away would be fruitless! It jumps much further than anticipated. It would be too fast!” Fran said, charging ahead with her newly flame-imbued blade.
Zalan took a few steps forward to make sure he was close enough to continue firing, throwing as much lighting as he could to paralyze and distract the creature. He was in front of the castle gates now, close enough that he could run inside if he wanted to. It might even be safer within the gates than outside. He considered telling his companions to cut their losses and rush inside, but didn’t want to confuse them in the heat of battle.
Gorb assisted Fran as she jumped. She sailed in the air and landed on the Narg’s back. It twisted itself to try to get her off as she climbed up the back to stab its throat. She appeared over the Narg’s shoulder with a look of glee and her eyes flitting upward for an instant. Instead of immediately striking, her face went white and she screamed at Zalan.
“Another Narg!” she exploded, screaming as the Narg was able to throw her off its back.
Zalan felt the new Narg before he saw it, the floor rumbling as it stood to full height. Zalan turned and stared as the Narg came around the wall on the other side of the castle’s entry gate and brought down its bone-riddled club, crushing the gate in a single swipe then stepping over the bent metal to assist its fellow Narg.