Sy walked around the perimeter of the village as the sun slunk below the horizon. The smoldering embers of the inn provided plenty of light to see by though. It had been such a day! She had met the current champions and finally been able to put her training to use. Those hook horrors hadn't known what hit them! The thrill of victory sent shivers down her spine. This was life!
From his perch on the tallest remaining house, Mischief sent his partner a telepathic warning. The cat had noticed movement. Turning swiftly, Sy honed her gaze on the location the cat had indicated. There, a kobold was slipping stealthily out of one of the houses. Sy followed swiftly as the kobold made its way to the surrounding woods. Soon they reached a small clearing.
"Hello there," Sy called out as she got closer to the kobold. "What are you doing at this fine hour of the night?"
The kobold froze, then turned carefully to face the elf, its hands behind its back. "Yes? Do you need something?" it squeaked at her.
"I was just wondering what you were doing out here," Sy said. "It's dangerous in these woods."
"Wouldn't it be safer if you put out that fire in town?" The kobold asked, all innocence.
"Perhaps," Sy allowed, "but it does seem rather suspicious to be sneaking out like this."
"You're suspicious to be following me," the kobold muttered. "I know these woods, I come here all the time. Not dangerous for me, though the fire might draw nasty beasts."
"What have you got behind your back?" Sy asked, glaring at the kobold.
"Oh, nothing at all," the kobold assured her in its most innocent voice.
"Well," Sy said, utterly taken in by the kobold's sincerity, "just be careful. I'm going to head back to town to keep watch for the others. I'm too riled up from the fight to sit quietly just yet!"
"Great, great," the kobold said. "Be seeing you."
"At least some of these kobolds seem trustworthy," Sy thought happily as she walked back to the village.
------------------------
The sun broke over a groggy group waking and wandering around the village. The kobolds came and went from house to house, chatting in small groups, while the adventurers began to get their gear together.
"I'm sorry I scared you yesterday," Arnick was saying to Rock. "I didn't mean to, but the building was on fire and we needed to get out fast. I should have just told you what was going on though."
"Yes, you should have," Rock said, keeping a few feet away from the gnome.
Arnick waited, and then sighed when the kobold said nothing more. "Well, I am sorry. I will try to be more forthcoming with you in the future. I'm going to go look for some breakfast."
"Sure, you do that," Rock said, turning away.
With another sigh, Arnick left the house and headed into the woods looking for anything edible.
A moment later a knock came at the door. "Can I speak to Sadun?" Cassian called.
Sadun, sitting in one corner eating some griffin jerky, glanced at Rock and the still sleeping form of Tella. "It's alright, I'll keep an eye on them," Whistle said. With a nod, Sadun stood and left the building as well.
Cassian met her at the doorway. "Come over this way, I'm going to get Sy as well, but I feel we should talk."
"Ok, I'll wait for you by the embers of the inn," Sadun acknowledged.
A moment later, Sy and Cassian joined the dragonborn. "So," Cassian began, "What are we going to do next? Do we have any plans?"
"We are champions, we kill the beholders!" Sy said excitedly.
"We need to find the beholder still," Sadun said. "I'm hoping we might find the secret tunnel if we follow the kobolds, although they seem unwilling to tell us details. It may be best to let them go ahead of us, and track them afterwards."
"If we only had a ranger to help with the tracking," Cassian said sadly. He looked into the middle distance, and a tear rolled down his cheek.
"What if they try to give us the slip? We'd have to follow them carefully," Sy said.
"Could you cat follow them?" Sadun asked.
"Oh, yeah Mischief could do that, and manage it without raising much suspicion," Sy agreed.
"Then we should get ready to head out," Cassian said. "The kobolds have been moving around this morning already. Before we go though, I want to go check on the villagers in the woods."
"Alright, I need some time to find the wood to make a new axe handle," Sadun said. "We can head out once we're done. Sy, can you keep an eye on things here?"
"You can count on me," Sy said. "I'm a champion and I will do everything in my power to help us succeed!"
"Great," Sadun said. "Then lets get to it."
As Cassian headed into the woods, Sadun began sifting through the wreckage of the inn, looking for a suitable replacement axe haft to replace the one she had lost the day before. After a few minutes, she decided there was nothing untouched by the fire and headed to the woods, just in time to meet Arnick coming back from his foraging expedition.
"Hey Sadun, look what I got for breakfast! There's these juicy and totally edible berries, and I caught a rabbit. What are you up to?"
"I'm looking for a suitable piece of wood to replace my axe handle," Sadun explained, showing the gnome the axehead she had retrieved from the body of the slain cultist the day before.
"Oh, I can help! I have a full set of tools for woodcrafting I can lend you," Arnick said happily.
"Excellent. Give me five minutes, I'm sure there is something suitable nearby."
"Sounds good, I'm just going to roast this meat then. How is the inn?"
"Oh, the embers are still warm, you could probably get a new fire going with a little kindling," Sadun said, before disappearing into the trees.
---------------------------
Arnick was sitting by a safely enclosed campfire roasting his rabbit when Sy approached him.
"You're the gnome who fell out of the burning building, aren't you? Are you one of the champions too?" the elf asked.
"I don't think so, how do you know if you are?" Arnick asked.
"Well, you usually come to this world with a mission from your god or gods to help with the beholder menace. That is pretty much the definition as far as I can tell," Sy explained thoughtfully.
"Then no, I'm not a champion. I came here with a teleporting dragonborn to look for my sister," Arnick said. "I guess I got here too late," he added, sadly.
"Are you sure you want to continue traveling with us?" Sy asked. "We face a dangerous foe."
"I can handle myself, don't worry about that," Arnick said defensively. "But I'm really not here to fight."
"Then why do you continue with the group?" Sy asked. "We are here for only one reason, and that is to fight the evil of the beholders."
"I'm here for my sister," Arnick said softly. "I want to keep an eye on her."
"You mean the one trapped in the kobold body?" Sy inquired.
"Well, one of them, it seems complicated. But I know she's there, I can see it in Rock's behavior sometimes. Besides, Elle liked at least some of these people, and if I can help Elle's friends then I will."
"I guess that's good enough," Sy admitted, standing up. "I just like to know the people I'm fighting alongside are not going to abandon me if things go poorly. Sorry to take so much of your time."
"Oh, that makes sense," Arnick said. "I hadn't really thought much beyond Elle before anyway."
Sy walked off, passing Sadun as the dragonborn returned with a hefty tree branch. "What was that about?" Sadun asked, sitting down next to Arnick.
"Just getting to know the newcomer," the gnome said simply. "Want some rabbit?"
------------------------
Sadun was shaving the tree branch down to the right size for an axe handle when Cassian returned, looking thoughtful. "What is it Cass, did you find the villagers?"
Cassian looked up. "No, but there were tracks leading east. The villagers may have given up the village and returned to someplace more populous, like the City of Rebellion we were in awhile back."
"Well, that's good," Sadun said, continuing her carving.
"That's not what's troubling me though," Cassian said, leaning closer and whispering to the dragonborn. "I saw the kobolds leaving the village as I returned. They were going in small groups, twos and threes, but they weren't coming back."
Sadun paused. "I thought it was getting too quiet around here," she said, standing up. "Go tell Sy to get Mischief tracking them, I'll be right back."
The dragonborn walked back to the house she had slept in and peered through the door. Rock, Tella and Whistle were all gone. Arnick ran up behind Sadun as the dragonborn stood in the doorway.
"Rock? Rock!" Arnick called out, noticing the empty house. "Rock! Where are you? Sadun, where is my sister?" The gnome began running from house to house, shouting for Rock.
"Well, now we have a panicking gnome on top of our disappearing kobolds," Sadun thought to herself. "This is not how I'd hoped the morning would go." The dragonborn turned and walked over to where Cassian and Sy were talking in low voices. "Any luck?" she asked out loud.
"Mischief says the kobold tracks go off in at least five different directions," Sy said, her eyes closed. "They may be looping around to join each other but it will be difficult to follow them without some scent to track by. Cats are better at that or tracking moving prey than they are at trails."
"Hmm, and the kobolds seem to have gathered everything with them as they went," Sadun said, thoughtfully.
"Wait, I see stragglers," Cassian said suddenly, dashing towards one of the houses. Turning, Sadun saw the half-orc chase a trio of frightened kobolds into a nearby house. He paused at the door, apparently finding it barred from the inside. As Sy and Sadun approached, the half-orc shoulder rushed the door, then drew his hammer when the door didn't open and bashed it in. He emerged with a single struggling kobold a moment later.
"I caught them boosting each other out the back window," Cassian explained. "This is the last one."
"Please let me go!" the kobold shouted.
"I will, as soon as you tell us where your friends are," Cassian said grimly.
"I can't tell! It is a secret!" the kobold whimpered.
"Well, you know, in my home world we had a game we would play with a ball and stick," Cassian said, lifting the kobold up and pulling his hammer from his belt.
"Oh, you can teach me a game," the kobold said, eager to get the topic off of secrets.
"You throw the ball in the air, and hit it with a hammer as it comes down," Cassian explained.
"But where is the ball?" the kobold asked.
Without warning Cassian heaved the kobold into the air. The kobold screamed in terror as it was flung directly upwards. The hammer whooshed by underneath the terrified creature as it descended again. Hitting the ground, the kobold attempted to scramble away but Cassian was too fast and picked it up again.
"I missed, I guess that's one strike against me," the half-orc said jovially. "But I'm sure my aim will get better next time."
"Is this really necessary?" Sadun asked, looking at the terrified kobold.
"We are in an urgent situation," Cassian said defensively. "Our friends are missing and we might be losing our only lead."
"Let me try something," Sadun said.
"I can't tell you where the tunnel is!" the kobold wailed, it's eyes darting around. Sadun noted that its glance rested most often in one particular direction however.
"It's ok," Sadun explained. "I'm not concerned about that. But you know the kobold with the pitch black eyes?"
"Oh, the newcomer?" the kobold sounded confused.
"Yes, the one called Rock," Sadun confirmed. "He is a friend of ours, and we need to keep him out of trouble."
"He doesn't act like you're his friends," the kobold pointed out.
"That's fair," Sadun said. "But nonetheless I care for his safety. I'm worried that if the Big Eye one sees him, it will notice something special about him."
"All kobolds are special," the kobold said proudly.
"Yes, but Rock has something the Big Eye might be particularly interested in. If I let you go, can you promise to keep Rock away from the Big Eye one? Just, make sure he's not in the group that reports to the Big Eye, I'm sure you don't all need to be there."
"Ok," the kobold said, hesitantly. "I suppose I can do that. And I'm not telling you any secrets?"
"No, you don't have to. Do this and we'll let you go. Here," Sadun took the necklace with a large tooth off of her neck. "This is a necklace I made in my home world. It's very important to me. But I'm giving it to you as a sign of my promise to do all I can to keep you safe." She handed the necklace to the still restrained kobold. "In exchange, could you give me, maybe one of your pouches, as a sign of your promise to keep Rock safe?"
The kobold, bewildered, nodded. It reached down, emptied some herbs from one of its belt pouches into another pouch, and then handed the pouch to Sadun.
"Thank you," Sadun said. "You can let him go now Cass."
Cassian looked unhappy, but complied. The kobold immediately ran away, in the direction it had seemed most interested in earlier.
Sadun watched it go, and as soon as it was out of earshot, she turned to Sy. "Here, I got a scent sample for Mischief. Let's give them another few minutes head start so I can finish my axe and then head after them."
----------------------
"Are you sure this is where my sister went?" Arnick asked, as the group followed Mischief.
"Positive," Sadun said. "Look, there's a trail there, as though one of the kobolds was dragging its tail. I think they may have wanted us to find the tunnel, but were too terrified to actually tell us directly."
"Hmm, you're right," Arnick said. "You know, I found a burnt out cleaning when I was looking for breakfast this morning. It was weird, because the trees were untouched, and it was nowhere near the battle of yesterday."
"Where was this clearing?" Sy asked, suddenly suspicious. Arnick gestured. "That's where that kobold was last night!" the elf hissed. "He was lying to me! Damnit."
"Well we can't worry about that now," Cassian said. "Look, we've joined up a larger trail. It looks like several of the kobolds were dragging tails here."
Sure enough, the group and Mischief were now following behind a wide trail through the woods, with several tail marks dragging along the ground.
"They did meet together again then," Sadun mused. "I'm positive they're all here then. Although what happened to Whistle? Did they take her hostage?"
"I don't trust Whistle," Cassian said. "She has no real reason to be with us."
"We are trying to save her world," Sadun pointed out.
"It just seems so convenient that she showed up when she did," the half-orc groused. "And she stole Pip's sword. She didn't earn that sword. Something just doesn't sit right with me. I saw her steal one of those cultist's souls yesterday."
"Oh yes, she told me about that. She drank the soul to gain its memories, though it was less useful than she'd hoped," Sadun replied.
"She drank a soul?! I really don't trust her. What if it's my soul, or your soul next time? Maybe we should off her when we get the chance."
"I think she's trustworthy, at least in so far as I don't think she'll backstab us. I admit, we don't know much about her. But hopefully we'll learn more soon," Sadun said. "Look, there's the cave."
"That's a large entrance," Sy said with a low whistle. "Are there any guards?"
"I don't see any," Arnick said, looking around. "Wait, there, in the trees. Isn't that one of those small eye creatures?"
The group looked where the gnome pointed and spotted it too. One lone gazer, mostly hidden in the tree line, looking toward the cave entrance.
"Maybe some early warning system," Sadun mused.
"They can communicate telepathically with the larger beholder," Cassian said. "We learned that at tremendous cost, though I do not know how close they need to be or whether it is instantaneous. We should take it out from a distance in any case. Arnick, how good are you with that bow?"
In response, Arnick drew his bow, aimed and loosed an arrow. Despite the small size of the gazer, the arrow flew true and pierces two of its eyestalks. The creatures startled in pain and confusion, but just as it's gaze landed on the adventurers, Arnick's second arrow pierced its central eye, knocking the gazer back and pinning it to a nearby rock.
"Let's hope that's the only guard," Sadun said, approaching the cave entrance.
"I can make us invisible," Sy offered.
"That would help. Can any of us see in the dark?" Sadun asked. The other three all raised their hands. "Ah," she said. "I do have my lantern."
"It will be easier to sneak through without a light source," Sy pointed out.
"I can sit on your shoulder and steer you," Arnick offered.
"Very well," Sadun said with a sigh.
A moment later, the group had disappeared from sight, directly into the cave.
Mischief was able to continue following the kobold scent around several branches in the tunnel. The walls, floor and ceilings were all unnaturally smooth, and slightly rounded where there would be corners.
"Did the beholder make this place with those eye beams the cultists keep using on us?" Sadun wondered in a low whisper.
"Does it matter?" Sy asked.
"It just gives us an idea of what we're up against," Cassian pointed out.
Mischief finally halted in a large cave. There were several branching paths leading away, but the kobold scent had ended, mixed with too many others to be noticeable even to the keen nose of the cat familiar.
"Which way now?" Sy asked. "The way straight ahead looks like it may be a dead end. The east looks to slope downwards, and the west seems more of a straight shot."
"I found a note!" Cassian's voice came from the straight tunnel. "It was in a crevice in the wall." The half-orc rejoined the group, noticeable by the piece of paper dangling in midair. "I can't read it though."
"I can't read anything," Sadun muttered.
"It's in draconic," Sy said. "It says 'do not go further, turn back now. Dangerous."
"Did one of the kobolds write it?" Arnick asked, sounding hopeful.
"Regardless, we have to press on. It's too bad we couldn't find Fei before heading out," Sadun said.
"Well, we know the beholder was located west, so let's go west," Cassian suggested.
"As good a plan as any," Sy said.
The four continued into the dark tunnel for another hundred feet before a strong and terrible smell brought them up short.
"What is that?" Sy wondered, gagging a little.
"I think it's coming from the right," Arnick said. "Let's check it out."
"You two check it out," Cassian said. "I'll stay here with Sadun. We're no good at moving quietly, and we don't want to alert our enemies if we can avoid it."
Arnick and Sy moved silently into what they discovered was another smaller tunnel. At the end of it they found the remains of a body strewn across the floor.
"This is larger than an elf," Arnick said. "And the ends look to be burnt off. Wait, this is a troll!"
"Who killed it though?" Sy wondered.
"The tunnel keeps going, let's see if the culprit is further in."
The pair continued along the path until they reached a dead end. Their sensitive eyes were able to make out a shape slumped against the wall.
"Is that... a rabbit?" Sy asked incredulously.
"Hello?" Arnick called out. The figure moved, slowly, to raise a shield to ward off an attack. "Oh, I mean you no harm!" Arnick said, quick to reassure.
"Who... are you?" The rabbit asked in a weak voice.
"We're the champions," Sy said proudly. "We're here to kill the beholder."
"Oh," the rabbit coughed violently. "Good."
"Are you alright?" Arnick asked, worry tinging his voice. "Do you know what happened to that troll back there?"
"Oh, is it dead?" the rabbit asked, a dry chuckle in its voice. "I'm glad I had some positive impact at the end then. I can't see in this darkness."
"It's very dead," Arnick said. "Good job burning the limbs. Here, take my hand."
The rabbit reached a shaky hand out, and Arnick took it, pulling the rabbit to its feet. "Oh, you're injured!" Arnick exclaimed.
"Yeah," the rabbit said, chuckling. "I was wondering why the brute didn't just finish me off, but I guess it being dead explains a lot. Do you have any healing?"
"Oh, one moment," Arnick reached into his pouch and produced a potion. "Here, drink this. What is your name?"
"Thank you. My name is Poppy."
"Nice to meet you Poppy! I'm Arnick, and this is Sy. We have two more friends waiting for us at the junction, let's go."
----------------------
"Who is that?" Cassian asked, as Arnick and Sy returned with their wounded companion.
"This is Poppy," Arnick said. "They killed a troll back there, but they're a little hurt still."
"Oh, Poppy! I have a letter for you," Cassian patted his pouches a moment. "Here, it's from a rabbit folk I met awhile back. What was the name? Pippy?"
"Pippy is still alive?" Poppy said, their voice ragged but sounding stronger than when Arnick had first heard it. "That is good. I cannot see in here though so I will have to read it later."
"I feel you," Sadun muttered darkly.
"Here," Cassian said, slipping the letter into Poppy's shield hand. "So you know where it is. I am Cassian, by the way, and this is Sadun. We are champions on our way to face the beholder."
"Oh, the champions are still alive? I'm glad to hear rumors of their deaths were false," Poppy said, relief in their voice.
"Yes. We didn't all die," Cassian said sadly. A single tear hit the cave floor beneath him.
"I have a scroll of healing on me," Poppy said. "Could one of you cast it?"
"Ooh, I can!" Sy said, excited to help.
"It's in the writing of the rabbit folk," Poppy cautioned.
"Never fear. I can Comprehend Languages!" Sy said, casting a quick spell. "Behold!" The elf took the preferred scroll from Poppy, and read it immediately. A blinding flash of light burst forth, causing everyone to cover their eyes in surprise. The light suffused the rabbit, dimming as it worked to mend their wounds.
"I'm going to go loot the troll while there's light," Arnick's voice called out.
"So, where is everyone?" Poppy asked, worried. "I can see but I can't see you."
"Oh, we're invisible," Sy said. "I did that. For better sneaking."
"It looks like the path ahead opens up into another large cavern," Sadun said, relieved to finally be able to see her surroundings.
The light faded entirely as the group heard the sound of Arnick's returning footsteps. "Thank you," Poppy said. "I feel much better. Should we be leaving?"
"We're going to keep going," Cassian said. "We have to see this through. You're welcome to wait here for us."
Poppy sighed. "I thought you might say that. No, I will accompany you."
"Here, Arnick you guide Sadun, and Poppy, put your arm on my shoulder and I'll guide you," Cassian offered. Thus arranged, the group traveled further until they reached a very large cavern. Four paths split away from them, and a floor to ceiling stalactite stood just off center. Two paths opened up to the north, one heading east and one west, a third path led almost directly south while the final path led southwest.
"I hear voices from the northwest," Arnick said. "Sy, let's go check it out."
--------------------------
Sy and Arnick moved quietly towards the Northwest tunnel. Treading carefully, they moved down, wary of alerting the source of the voices to their presence. As they moved, Arnick noticed a short side path leading to a treasure chest, although it appeared there was a pit a few feet down that pathway. Deciding it was not worth mentioning, Arnick moved on.
Soon, Arnick and Sy reached a ledge, a ramp leading down into a larger cavern beyond. Voices speaking in goblin echoed from the depths beyond.
"I can speak goblin," Sy murmured too Arnick. "Let's see... 'Soon it will be time to attack the City of Rebellion. We just need to wait for our second army to move into position, and for the go ahead from our leader.' Well, that sounds bad. Do you know about this city?"
"No, never heard of it," Arnick whispered. "But it sounds like there are a lot of them."
"Let me try to get closer," Sy murmured, moving closer to the ledge. As she moved, her foot brushed against some loose rock, causing a small clatter. The voices stopped suddenly, and a shadow moved towards Sy and Arnick. The two adventurers stepped quickly away, pressing against the wall, as a tall bugbear walked between them, looking around suspiciously.
 |
| A Bugbear from the 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual. |
Sy pulled her rapier and swung it instinctively, slashing a deep cut across the bugbear's back as it passed. An echoing boom rang out as Sy channeled her magic into the blow. As the rapier plunged into the Bugbear's heart the echoes died away, replaced by a clamor from the cavern behind Sy. Arnick arrived a moment later with a swing of his staff, his invisibility fading as he swung.
"Intruder!" came several shouts.
"What do we do now? That sounds like a lot of foes," Arnick asked Sy, looking at the now visible elf.
"Uh, I think we run?" Sy said, beginning to run back down the tunnel.
--------------------
In the middle of the first cavern, Cassian, Sadun and Poppy all started at the explosive sound that suddenly echoed around the cave. "That sounds like trouble," Cass exclaimed. "Let's go, hold onto me!"
Grabbing Sadun's and Poppy's arms, Cassian hurried them away, randomly picking the southwest tunnel. They ran into a winding path, following a spiral around until Cassian suddenly stopped short.
"Be quiet," he whispered, "there are sleeping minotaurs here."
Quietly and carefully, the trio slipped past the minotaurs and continued around until they reached a dead end.
"Hide," Cassian said, pulling a cultist robe from his pouch and tossing it over Poppy. Sadun and Cassian crouched down and relied on their invisibility to hide them.
Moments later, a slight puff of silvery misty heralded Sy's arrival as she teleported past the minotaurs. She scurried back to the corner where the other three were hiding, looked around, and cast an illusion to appear as a large rock leaning against the wall. No sooner had Sy's form melded into the rock than Arnick came flying over the sleeping minotaurs, as though walking on air. Upon seeing the dead end and the absence of any allies, the gnome also cast an illusion, appearing as a stalagmite emerging from the floor.
Soon, a large group of bugbears entered the cave, rousing the minotaurs. After a brief exchange, the minotaurs join the bugbears in searching the cave. One of the bull-headed creatures lingered in the back of the cave, staring intently at the odd stalagmite, but the lead bugbear dragged it away.
"One of them is a wizard," Sy hears the bugbear saying. "They must have teleported away. Two of you stay here, the others come with us. They can't have gotten far."
---------------------
Elsewhere in the cave system, a lone kobold retraced its steps along the passageway, only to run into a group of bugbears.
"What are you doing here?" One of the bugbears demanded.
"I heard commotion," Whistle said, doing her best imitation of the kobolds she was imitating. She peered past the bugbears, noticing two minotaurs in the crowd.
"Well, you shouldn't be here, you should be with the other kobolds," the bugbear said, shoving past Whistle and continuing along the corridor. Several of the bugbears followed.
"What happened?" Whistle asked one of the bugbears who stayed behind.
"Intruders are around here," the bugbear replied. "What are you doing here?"
"I got separated," Whistle lied.
"Ok," the bugbear said. It picked Whistle up. "Come on, all kobolds need to go in the portal."
"I can walk!" Whistle protested.
"No, it will be faster to carry you," the bugbear said.
"You should really put me down," Whistle said, weaving a charm into her words.
The bugbear hesitated a moment, confused, then set her on the floor. "Sorry," it said.
"That's ok," Whistle said, patting the bugbear's leg. "Maybe you should see if they ran somewhere else, check some of the other tunnels."
"That's a good idea," the bugbear said, wandering into one of the tunnels the other bugbears hadn't gone down.
Slightly worried, Whistle continued back the way the bugbears had come, looking for her friends. She was brought up short by two trolls blocking her path. She crouched in the shadows, avoiding the trolls gaze, and waited.
------------------
"It's been half an hour," Sy hissed to the others. "I can't stand this hiding. We should be moving forward!"
"I still can't see anything," Sadun replied. "We are at a disadvantage against those minotaurs."
"I still can't see you," Arnick muttered.
"I have an idea," Sy said, a hint of mischief in her voice. With a gesture, she summoned her familiar, Mischief. "Run that way," she whispered to the cat, and let it go. Mischief darted away, out of the cave past the now alert minotaurs.
With a rumble, one of the minotaurs took off after the running familiar. The other one remained, keeping an eye on the corridor outside.
"Should we kill that one?" Cassian asked, drawing his great sword.
"I could use a spell to get rid of him," Sy began, but Cassian was already swinging. The great sword raised and fell, smashing into the surprised minotaur's back. With a sigh, Sy drew her rapier and darted up behind Cassian, plunging the blade repeatedly into the minotaur's back, while Arnick smashed his quarterstaff into the minotaur's head and began pummeling its wounded backside.
"Sadun!" Cassian called in a loud whisper. "It's almost down!"
Stumbling towards the sound of Cassian's voice, Sadun raised her great sword.
"Now, Sadun!" Cassian said, and Sadun swung blindly, managing to land a single telling blow.
Dancing in front of the dazed minotaur, Cassian landed a solid punch to its trachea, killing it before it could cry out.
"Should we stand it back up?" Arnick asked, looking at the bloody mess on the floor. "Trick the other minotaurs, maybe stage an ambush?"
"Sure," Cassian said, vaulting the body to the wall. With Cassian's help, Arnick managed to get the corpse on its feet, leaning against it's axe handle as though asleep.
"Fortunately all the blood is on it's back," Arnick noted. "This is pretty believable actually."
"I wish I could see," Sadun grumbled.
TO BE CONTINUED
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