GERVAIS.

Gervais battled as he thought things through. He knew his opponents well enough that this fight was going to be more show than tell.

Leőn was being his usual self; intentionally obvious in his unpredictability, feinting where he could strike, striking where he knew he wouldn't hit. Gervais was glad this wasn't a serious bout, the Elf had progressed since they'd last met.

The White Orc was playing the same game too, though applying himself far more rigorously. In fact the Orc had made the opening attack, that had been a surprise. He must have been working hard on his stats to influence his initiative… and now that Gervais thought about it he would also be getting a proximity buff from all the battle-crazed Orcs and Goblins in the caverns. Greenskins got excellent group bonuses to all sorts of stats. It was still impressive though. Gervais' own initiative was very high, and he'd never had an Orc best him.

Whatever the case, they were all locked in combat now, and there were only two possible outcomes: Someone had to defeat, or someone had to retreat.

A perfectly aimed crossbow bolt from Leőn missed him by a hairsbreadth as he summoned brightarc and threw it back at the Elf, the powerful electrical charge branching from the thick pulse that left his staff into smaller and more numerous arcs as it travelled, until it was an unavoidable wall of crackling electrical needles. However Leőn seemed to just blur and slide through them. The White Orc punched a hole through with his vortex. He expected the Orc's flying hammer and readied a counterattack. It arrived as expected, just in time for him to fend it off effectively.

That was a strong throw though! He made a mental note.

They had no chance of beating each other. Gervais was stronger, but not strong enough to beat them both. Not in a real battle. Not with kind of skills they had. They were working together, buffing each other, keeping in tight proximity, timing their attacks very closely. They were coordinated. He was better, but they had each other. He was well matched.

But this wasn't a battle to the death. This was a battle to delay. Gervais knew what they were up to. They would fight him for as long as it took for the troll to escape.

This was also a battle for the onlookers. The Elf and Orc were showing enough power to ensure the soldiers who watched on now would be reluctant to chase them into the caverns later. They were also fighting to keep him, Gervais, locked into taking his turns until they decided it was time to retreat. There was no way he would retreat. Not with his soldiers watching on. Power was vital. Soldiers respected power, and respect was supreme. Not retreat. That would kill their respect, and the Orc and the Elf knew it.

Tzzzzzzzzzzzt!

Gervais directed a solid, powerful bolt of condensed electricity at the Elf. It was sharp and focused and powerful. It shot across the distance between them like a glowing lance. With exceptional dexterity the Orc stepped forward between the bolt and its target, shielding him with his dense vortex shield. The spinning blackness of the shield absorbed the bolt into it, dispelling it completely. And impressively.

He wasn't surprised to find the White Orc here in Goblin Town, although he hadn't expected him to be involved in whatever this was... certainly hadn't expected to be battling him over it.

He was very surprised however, to have found Leőn here. This was no place for a lone Elf, even a strong one like him. Coming here by himself had been high risk, and Leőn never took any risk without a high reward. But this whole situation had Leőn's fingerprints all over it. His style was all about confusion and chaos, and that's exactly what they had walked into. Fires, a rampaging troll, panicking townsfolk already fleeing the markets, infighting between local factions… it was supposed to be a straight up raid. A surprise attack. Not this. This was typical Leőn. He'd turned the surprise back on the surprisers.

But the question really was why? What did the Elf have to do with this? His kind had nothing to fear from the High Councils decree. And how could he have possibly known anything about the troll runt?

And where was Kylie in all this? He knew she was here, he could sense it. He'd be able to find her and probably that runt of a troll and have the whole thing over and done with if these two would just get out of his way.

He lobbed a thunderorb up into the smoke for some air support. At the top of its arc the crackling blue ball burst into a rolling dark thunder cloud that shot bolts of lighting down onto his opponents.

In answer, a glowing green gout of toxic looking liquid geysered up from the White Orcs outstretched arm, splashing the thunder clouds with green spray, damping the lightning to ineffectual crackles and causing a brief shower of acid rain that splattered, hissed and stung a few onlookers.

The Elf and the Orc were both very powerful. Both more advanced than when they'd last met, the White Orc in particular had obviously been progressing. All of his signature moves were still there, seemingly unchanged over the course of a few years, but they were all much tighter. Much faster and more honed. Effective enough that though Gervais was keeping up, he had to admit it was taking some effort to ensure it looked effortless. He wondered how much the other two were holding back. They'd all come a long way since… then. But none of them were all in right now.

Why were the Orc and the Elf even together? As far as he knew, and he knew a lot, Leőn and the Orc hadn't seen each other since they had all parted ways. Hadn't even communicated. What stroke of fate had brought them together? Here? Today!?

A hammer flew right at him, blindingly fast, knocking his staff out of his hand, distracting him. He reached for it, recalling it back to him even though it was in mid flight in the opposite direction. Suddenly the Elf materialised directly in front of Gervais' face, giving him an actual shock. The Elf sliced some of the hem off Gervais' purple cloak, then disappeared again with an infuriating grin and an echoing chuckle.

"THAT'S MY BEST CLOAK!!" he yelled in frustration, following the Elf with a blinding flash.

They had taken him by surprise there. Cutting up his cloak was just immature. That Elf was a damn child.

In theory the Orc and the Elf together could overcome him eventually. They probably couldn't ever kill him though. Wouldn't ever kill him. There was little point battling anyone your own level to death… not if they had a balanced, aligned progression. Not unless the stakes were very high. The Spheraxis didn't work that way. Every aspect if the system favoured progression and balance over destruction. Especially at high levels.

Battling imbalanced or unaligned fighters or monsters, was a very different matter. Even if they had high stats in a specific area, if there was an imbalance in them, and you exploited it, you could definitely destroy even a more advanced enemy or creature. Detecting imbalance or misalignment was THE primary confrontation strategy. It was a skill in and of itself. In the dungeon it was the difference between survival and certain death.

However, a powerful, balanced, aligned individual battling an equally powerful, balanced, aligned individual, no matter their stats and skills, could only ever ‘whittle’ each other down point by point. With the stats, balances and alignments of the three of them battling now, it would be a long grind with a mutually unbeneficial outcome.

So this was a stalemate. But Gervais still had to fight it. All the more now as the onlookers had been steadily increasing in number around them as they fought. This was more about avoiding reputational injury as it was about preventing personal injury.

He was very literally 'locked in combat' until he either ran away, which they knew he wouldn't, or they chose to, which he was waiting for.

Waaaaaaaaaagggggghh!

The White Orc charged into contact range with a shout. He swung his runic hammer in a rising underarm swing.

Claaaaaanng!

Gervais blocked it with his staff, and released the full force of his Sphere. Seventy six thousand balanced and aligned experience points lit up the space around him with a cracking blue aura, physically pushing the Orc backwards with a grunt, and knocking the onlookers who were within its range off their feet.

Releasing one's Sphere as a physical manifestation was a standard skill in a battle if your enemy was better than you at close quarters, and you knew overall you were higher statted than them. In other words, if you wanted to keep them out of contact range. The size of the Sphere that could be released was the same as the sum total of all your stat points across MIND BODY, SPIRIT and ARCHETYPE. In other words your total XP. It did of course reveal something about yourself to your opponent, which could be good or bad depending on the size of your Sphere, but Gervais had a big sphere and he knew that everyone here that mattered already knew it. He was most interested in seeing the White Orc's.

The Orc countered in the usual way, releasing his own Sphere with a forty two thousand point explosion of dark green swirling energy that flung itself against the barrier of Gervais', eliciting a

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Crack!

where they collided, and an

Ooooooooohhhh!

from the spectators, who had now backed off considerably.

Gervais had to admit it was also impressive, but was glad to see it was still well below his own.

Releasing a Sphere was the most common personal buff a Warrior or Mage had, and it could be sustained turn by turn as a single attack. As Gervais had several attacks, he could sustain it indefinitely with only a minor reduction in his fighting capacity.

The Orc wasn't going to be getting back into contact range today.

GROOOOOOAAAARRRR!!!

GROOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!

There was a frustrated bellow from behind him. Nothing to be concerned about. Just the forest troll. Joss had it covered.

Just before Gervais had found the Orc and the Elf and this battle had commenced, Joss and her army had successfully caught the two headed troll that had been terrorising the markets and brought it to him, chained and held by fifteen strong soldiers, and bellowing angrily. She had been very pleased with herself for coming though and keeping their agreement to 'deliver the troll to him alive'… she'd even lost a few good men in the process.

Until he'd told her they'd caught the wrong troll.

He'd never seen her look so angry. He'd told her to keep it and sell it. Two headed trolls were rare and oddities could bring surprisingly good prices if you put them in front of the right people. He'd estimated a number in gold coins for her, and she hadn't seemed quite so angry after that.

That beast was just a normal forest troll, it looked like the Goblins must have had it down here for sport, it's claws had been sawn off recently as they were still regenerating. Probably for pit fighting then. The troll he had actually come here to find, the reason he had forced the matter with the High Council and pushed so hard, almost pushing them too far to let him be here so quickly and with such force, that troll, hadn't been found.

That troll was the focus of a shocking QUEST of an infuriatingly unknown origin that had been nagging his Spheraxis for months now:

Find the DIVERGENT troll. BRING IT to Cragtop. Time remaining: BEFORE XXXXXXXXXXXXX Condition: TOP SECRET. Quest failed immediately if revealed.

It was the most frustrated Gervais had ever been by a Quest. When Quests appeared they were usually relevant to one progression path. They usually made sense. Not this one. Not as far as he knew... it seemed random and offered nothing that helped explain it. It had a concealed deadline! How was he supposed to work with that!? And he'd never had a quest with a failure condition before, he couldn't even consult the upper Mages of the Bright College.

However, he had dropped everything in his life to complete it. He had pushed every boundary to complete it. And he didn't even know why. But if there was one thing he had learnt in his life, it was that you NEVER failed a quest. EVER.

On the day they had raided the troll den, he had been looking for an unusual troll. As soon as he had seen the two headed brute, he had assumed that was it, and he had held back from killing it. Until he had found Joss holding the little runt. He found it! He thought right then and there he had completed the quest. Fate had other plans it seemed.

Fate seemed to be getting involved in this Quest a lot. The appearance of a second troll here in the caverns, even the same troll by the look of the thing, was a confusing coincidence that had upset a clean rout of the town…

Or was it a coincidence? You never knew when Leőn was around. He was a cunning manipulator of the world around him. How deeply involved in this was the Elf?

No sooner had that thought left his mind, the sound of the Elf's voice, but different to his real voice; a haunting whisper carried through the air. Almost everyone in the cave seemed to hear it, even over the sounds of yells and battle, and many paused what they were doing to look around themselves and at each other. It didn't seem to come from anywhere, but from everywhere all at once.

It was hard to make out but the whisper seemed to be saying

"mmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaatttttttt!"

Suddenly as if enraged, the two headed forest troll bellowed from somewhere behind the smoke. There were clunks of chains popping, and yells and even screams of soldiers as the great beast thrashed so hard that it broke free of its shackles. It burst out of the smoke with a wild look on its face, swiping and smashing everything around it.

WER DA MEEEEEEEEEEEEET HIK!

YEAH WER DA MEEEEEEEET DA FUZY GUY SAY BAZ!!

Gervais was distracted for a moment as it charged towards him. Turning, he levelled his staff at it and a bolt of powerful energy arced towards it, electrocuting it with a

Tzzzzzzt! Sizzle!

There was a moment of silence as it slumped to the ground. It was as if the whole cavern had stopped to watch. The great beast lay still.

Then,

"oooooowchy dat hert hik…" a pained groan came one of the creatures heads.

"yeah, owwchy dat hoomin in da perpel dres awayz herts us baz…" groaned the other head.

Without needing to turn and look back towards his opponents, Gervais knew the Elf and the Orc were gone.

----------------------------------------

GOB.

Gob and Kylie waited for Leőn and the White Orc outside the concealed and locked entrance to the White Orcs cave.

Gob had staggered away from Goblin Town, hardly able to walk from the throbbing in his head from the comedown of his Toast of Krunch and his multiple broken bones and stab wound.

Kylie had told Gob he needed to use his spelunker skill to get them back to the White Orcs hideout, but when he had tried to sense the right way to go, he couldn't sense anything.

Remembering that Leőn had told them to ask the scroll to show you, he had shown Kylie the parchment the Orc had given her as the replacement for the magic shard, and it had revealed a map that lead them to the concealed entrance to the White Orcs cave.

Gob had been thinking about the battle and the skills he'd seen the Elf and the Orc using against Gervais. He'd been thinking about it the whole way back through the caves. He'd never seen anything like it. He was amazed, and excited by the possibilities… it was as good as the White Orc had described to him in his story earlier, but to see those real powers in action…! He'd proudly tied the purple hem of Gervais' robe around his bicep as a reminder of how cool powers could be.

“yoo too iz powaful!” was the first thing out of Gob's mouth when he saw the White Orc and Leőn again, as the Orc opened the secret door and let them in to his cave.

“Oh it's adorable!” said Leőn looking at Gob properly for the first time, “In a dirty, ugly, endearing sort of way.”

“Watch it Leőn, there's more to him than meets the eye” Kylie said, from her usual spot on top his head, sitting cross legged with her chin in her hands. She’d missed being up here.

Leőn looked at her distastefully. “What are you even doing with it anyway?”

“I think Gervais wanted him for something…" Kylie said, "Something important enough that he parted with me in the hope that I'd help him get it."

“Then why not give it to him?” asked Leőn. He snatched the ragged, stolen corner of Gervais' purple robe, off Gobs arm and waved it at her “Why all the cloak and dagger?"

Gob growled at the Elf. He was powerful, and Gob respected that… but he was a bit off. He was too twitchy. And he smelled like… sweet… like flowers.

“You're doing the thing” growled the White Orc.

“Yeah, Leőn you're doing the thing” echoed Kylie.

Leőn rolled his eyes. "You know it's much easier being myself when I'm not around people who know me.”

“You mean people who know who and what you are, but love you anyway?” countered Kylie.

The White Orc laughed.

Leőn gave her a scathing glare.

"You know, for a familiar you've got a real mouth on you." he said.

“wot fing he do?” asked Gob not following.

“Leőn is a master of NEFARIOUS Might." Kylie explained lightly, "Part of that skill set is manipulating the world from behind the scenes. One of his habits is asking you questions he already knows the answers to, just to see what he can find out about you... And, Leőn, I'm no ones familiar anymore."

"See?" said Leőn smugly, "I just found that out about you!"

As they had been talking the Orc had been preparing more of his stew over the fire, which he ladelled into big bowls.

He offered to Leőn who waved it off. He offered to Gob who took it hungrily. He was ravenous and had broken bones and a gut wound still mending.

"So why don't you tell us why you're actually here Leőn?" said the White Orc as he ate.

Leőn took a deep breath and looked around, considering them all.

"Ok." he said. "But it's weird."

No one said anything.

"I've been working on my Magic."

"Really?!" said Orc with interest, "Was that the whisper skill you used in the cave? I was going to ask you about that. It was powerful. Raw, but powerful."

"Yes," said Leőn, "it's called blessing:transcendsuggestion. It's recent, and I do not have control of it yet. It was a bit of a gamble using it public like that, but hey, 'working it out as you go' is the best way right, Kylie?!"

"You taking a leaf out of my book Elf?" she shot back.

"The skill's rooted in my high connection, and persuasion stats," he continued, "but manifested as a completely separate magical blessing out of my nefarious feat:subconsciousallusion. It allows me to whisper ideas to people who I've made a connection with. Initially it was only people who I knew, but as it's progressed it's range has increased, and the need for the quality of the connection has decreased. Now, I can reach people even if that connection is only casual… it seemed like just the fact that I had passed through Goblin Town meant it was received by nearly everyone there! I haven't fully got my head around that yet... I was only trying to connect with that troll."

"Not you" he said looking at Gob distastefully, "the BIG troll…"

"yoo smel lik flowas" said Gob.

"Bite me" said the Elf rudely.

"i don eet flowas"

"Interesting…" said the Orc, ignoring their bickering, "But why is that 'weird'…"

"Oh sure, wait for it..." Leőn said. "I was practising that skill about four days ago, and all of a sudden I heard a deep growling voice say:

HA HA HA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU LITTLE GIT?!