[ OOC: Continued From (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=27089.0) ]
Kahroan started slightly at the unexpected voice. It hadn't occurred to him that other beastspeakers could listen in. Do you see any traps or alarms we should be aware of? Mages and archers too.
Thrax raised a concerned brow. "Everything good?"
"Oh, nothing's wrong. Aside from there being a lot of bandits," Kah answered.
Basic wire traps along the northwest edge of the camp, River reported.
Hana chimed in again, They seem to be expecting an attack from the north, this northeast edge has a pitfall. Think they're running from something?
River chuffed softly. I think we should come in from the south is what I think.
Agreed. Try to eavesdrop and find out what they're expecting. But if you even suspect you might be about to be noticed, pull back immediately. Kah hated to take any unnecessary risks, but they didn't want to be caught unawares by a potential unknown force.
Both women gave him affirmatives as they crept closer to the camp.
River only managed to hear a brief snippet of conversation about a "next mark" before one of the bandits began a guard patrol and came uncomfortably close to her hiding place. She pulled back, relaying, They're planning to hit a caravan tomorrow morning, but I didn't get anything else.
Hana was gone a while longer, but when she returned to the group she was grinning a fox's sly grin. "They are being hunted," she informed them proudly. "Apparently they stole something big from some associates in Zantaric. Sounds like an old friend is rather displeased with them."
Zeldrinn nodded at Hana grimly. "Pity they won't get the chance for vengeance."
Kah held out River's bow, either unable or unwilling to suppress the tender affection in his eyes. "So, do you have a plan besides coming the south?"
River stretched up into her human shape and took the offered bow with a quick kiss to his cheek, evidently unembarrassed with the small displays of affection. "If someone can get through and either disarm or trigger the traps, that would probably be a good start," she mused. "But that needs a distraction from the rest of us, which puts us sixteen against four. We need to move smart, pick them off from a distance as much as we can before we risk an open fight."
The three men all looked at Hanako. Thrax was the first to actually speak. "That sounds like a job for the natural trickster."
Kahroan made a thoughtful rumble. "How big can your illusions get? Could you make it look like their anticipated enemy has arrived?"
The kistune considered, "hmm"ing softly as she tilted her head back and forth. She took what she referred to as her "half-way" form, three tails flicking as she thought. "Maybe," she said eventually, "but I would need to be vague about it--since I don't actually know who these people are or what they look like, my illusions won't either. I could maybe lure them away from the main camp with, like, generalities. Footsteps in the trees, voices, shadows, that kind of thing."
Kah nodded. "That should keep their attention divided long enough to gain an advantage."
He looked at River. "You and Zeldrinn should start picking off as many as you can with arrows, then Thrax and I will charge in once Hanako starts her show."
"Any suggestions?"
The group exchanged looks, then nodded. "That all sounds good to me," Hana said with a quick grin.
The two named archers gave nods of their own. "You should fall back once the melee starts," River suggested to the half-elf.
He gave her an arch look. "Wouldn't have thought of that. Thanks."
"Then let's take our positions," Kah declared.
A pair of bandits on patrol crossed paths on their circuits around camp. They were bored and itching for action, anything to stop patrolling. Unfortunately, they were never to see it, as a pair of arrows took them out in a synchronized display of expert marksmanship.
If the team moved quickly enough, there wouldn't even yet be an alarm. But as Kah and Thrax attempted to hide the bodies, the alarm was raised. They had been seen.
Hanako had circled around to the more heavily fortified side of the camp, and when the alarm went up she sent out her illusions, the sound of a dozen or more people creeping through the trees, flickering shadows accompanying the noise.
The bandits seemed momentarily confused, but then someone snapped a command and their forces divided, half forming a wedge to approach Hana's illusions, the other half heading toward the fallen guards.
River lined up another shot, knowing she needed to take advantage of their range while they had it. Kah, pull back, wait until we thin them out before you engage.
Kah acknowledged her, and the two fighters pulled back. The half headed their way came upon the half-hidden bodies and fanned out to hunt down the enemy. Zeldrinn took out on with an arrow, and all hells broke loose as one glimpsed the ranger and shot back. They charged his position, protecting a mage in back as she charged up a fireball.
Damnit!
River managed to take down one of the charging bandits with her bow before they were too close. She dropped the weapon, taking wolf form and leaping forward to bowl over one of the fighters who had hung back to protect their mage.
Hanako, we need some help back here!
Working on it!
Zeldrinn struck the mage in the shoulder, disrupting her spell, which exploded in her hands. The blast knocked over the other fighters swarming towards River.
Alerted by the blast, Kah and Thrax joined the fray. Thrax played a magical riff to energize the team, while Kah froze an archer's drawing arm with a breath attack before tail-swiping another.
As she snapped and snarled at the fighters around her, River called again, Hana! Any time now!
Nothing.
No response.
The wolf looked around for her mate, even as she bit down on a swordsman's calf and brought him down with a scream.
Kah! Where's the fox?
Kah took down the archers as Thrax swung his large axe through one of the fighters. I can't get her to respond either. It's making that suspicious part of me go crazy. Do you think she sold us out?
Thrax chased down the one of the last two fighters, who had decided to run. The bard played a violent riff, causing a bolt of lightning to fly from Stormsong and strike his target down. "Nobody can resist the power of the mighty Thrax!"
I don't know, but...
There was a sound, floating incongruously over the din of the battle. Light and airy, it was...music?
River found herself slowing, then stopping, turning her head toward the sound. What...is that...?
She felt suddenly heavy, sleepy. Behind her, Zeldrinn seemed to be slowing as well, blinking and shaking his head as though trying to clear disorientation.
Thrax staggered mid-swing, the final fighter scrambling away before he, too, became sluggish.
Kahroan wobbled on his feet and dropped to his knees next to River. "Some kind... of... spell..."
Thrax shook his head. He couldn't concentrate enough for a bard spell, but maybe...
Maybe...
He strummed his axe-lute next to his ears, temporarily deadening his hearing in the hope to resist.
River whined and shook her head, trying to clear it, but the music seemed to have seeped into her mind.
...now...move...
She shook her head again, pawing at one ear.
Move!
A massive vulpine shape slammed into her from the side, knocking her out of the way of a swipe from a wickedly curved shortsword.
Hanako took her more humanoid shape , ears pressed flat to her skull and her hands pressed over them. She gave Thrax a quick, approving nod, but didn't speak: she seemed to be too busy belting out a bawdy tavern song at the top of her lungs.
And, amazingly, River felt her head start to clear. Enough that she could stagger toward Kahroan, growling, We can't fight like this, we need to fall back.
Thrax cursed himself for not thinking of that and, though he could barely hear her over the ringing in his ears, joined in the singing.
Kahroan put himself between River and this new arrival as the group pulled back. Was this Validor? If so, he was big for a half-elf. Kah blew a warning gout of frost and shouted to retreat.
As the group began falling back, River noticed that their opponents didn't seem to be as disoriented from the music. She still wasn't fully lucid enough to process that, but a part of her brain filed it away for later.
Wait.
"Where's the archer?" Hanako called, risking a break in her song now that Thrax had joined in.
I don't see him either, but we're of no help to him if we die here. Kahroan's beastspeech cut through the noise. The mind of a dragon could be a powerful thing, with his own recovering quickly from the spell's effects. He just had to hope Zeldrinn got away.
Thrax's earlier energizing spell probably slowed the effect. But not for him; he had taken it in full until he temporarily deafened himself. He would have to kick himself later for not just singing, though he suspected he wasn't thinking straight.
"C'mon, party boy," Hana said, grabbing Thrax's shoulder and hauling him back out of the way of a throwing dagger. She was certainly stronger than she looked. "Snap to—you're too useful to get offed here."
They're on our tail, River snapped to those who could hear her, risking a glance back as she dashed through the undergrowth of the Draconi. With every step away from the music she grew more clear-headed, but at least six of the bandits were pursuing them through the trees.
As he ran, Thrax nodded in gratitude and gulped. "Th-thanks. I owe you one."
They raced into the clearing and Kah turned to face the enemy. "Get behind me!" he shouted. He shifted into a dragon faster than he ever had, roaring as his shell of ice crumbled. "Turn back or die!"
River shifted behind her mate, having snatched up her bow as they ran, and without thinking she swung herself up onto his back and drew, eyeing the bandit in the lead down the length of her arrow.
"Oh, damn. That was hot," Hanako muttered, seemingly to herself.
The pursuing bandits had the sense not to face a full-grown dragon. They fell back, raining half-aimed arrows and chucking fire and lightning from their mage as they retreated to their fortified camp.
Thrax nodded slowly, grinning. "I know, right?"
Kah barely flinched as the arrows bounced harmlessly off his scales. Only the lightning bolt that struck his breastplate produced a reaction. He winced, making a lightly pained grunt. "That was too close. Is everyone alright?"
River grunted an affirmative and Hanako sounded off, "Pissed, but fine."
The kitsune looked around, her expression sobering. "...We left Zeldrinn."
The archer didn't seem to be catching up with them. River felt her chest tighten and her shoulders slump.
Kahroan made a sad, guilty sound. "Damnit. I was hoping he was ahead of us."
"I'm sure he'll be fine... right?" Thrax tried to sound nonchalant, like he was too tough to worry about someone he barely knew, but he failed spectacularly. He felt like he should want to save his own skin, and yet, he knew he wouldn't do that.
Stupid humans are rubbing off on me.
Hanako made a small noise in agreement with Thrax, but her expression said that she didn't believe it.
River closed her eyes, breathed, then shook her head. She slid down from Kahroan's back, laying one hand against his scaled shoulder for a moment before she started walking.
"Come on, we should get some distance. They may decide we're too dangerous to let go once they regroup."
Kahroan followed after them as a dragon, not willing to stop shielding the others with his large body until they reached the far tree line.
Thrax looked sidelong at Hanako as they walked. "Don't worry. We'll... go back for him. We just need a plan."
"Mmm." The kitsune walked with both tails and ears drooping, her arms wrapped loosely around her middle. "M'sorry," she mumbled eventually to the others. "That--that music. Whatever it is, it...I couldn't think straight. They kept me back too long, I wasn't quick enough to warn you..."
River glanced back at her. "That wasn't your fault. None of us knew they had magic like that on them."
"Seriously. What are we supposed to do to fight that? Stuff acorns in our ears?" Thrax frowned. Thinking, his face suddenly lit up. "What if I just play louder?"
Kah gave a deep chuckle. "No Thrax, that..." He groaned. "I can't believe I'm considering this."
"I guess now we know why none of the other groups came back," River sighed. "But the gang--they must have some way of tuning out that magic--no pun intended. They were still fighting."
Hana gave another little "hmmm". "I wouldn't say they were entirely unaffected," she murmured, "but you're right--they were way more lucid than we were."
Kah paused to retake his hybrid form as they entered the forest on the opposite side of the clearing. "It could be resistance from repeated exposure, or some magical trinket they carry"
Thrax scratched behind his ear. "That one survivor from the first wave was pretty well effected, so my money's on a ward or counterspell that was cast before the others used that bardic spell. Or maybe some artifact they acquired. At least, that's what my shamanic training is telling me."
Both River and Hana cast the bard mildly impressed glances. The kitsune smirked. "Not just a pretty face, are ya?"
River gave her a sharp look, which didn't seem to have much of an effect. "All I know is we need something similar if we even want to try taking them on again." She sighed and rubbed at the back of her neck. "I dunno. Maybe we should cut our losses."
Thrax had just given Hana a look that said, "So much more, if you know what I mean," when River brought up quitting. He grew serious. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but that doesn't sit right. Zeldrinn deserves better. He was going to retire after this job. And, hells, he probably had kids."
Kahroan didn't expect magical knowledge, let alone noble sentiments, from the gnoll. Those weren't things they were known for. He was suddenly struck by the irony of the thought, since he was hardly the typical example of his kind either. That was something to work on. He sighed. "Of course it doesn't, but unless you can pull a counter off the top of your head, what choice do we have?"
Hana winced, though she nodded along with Thrax's assessment.
River glanced up, then sighed and noted, "Whatever we decide, it'll have to wait until morning. We all need to recover, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I think we need some wards. Anyone know how to guard a camp."
Hana shrugged. "Not my specialty. You got anything?" she asked Thrax.
Thrax chuckled awkwardly. "I'm, ah, not so good at wards, but I can try. They should hold out long enough that they won't catch us unaware."
"It'll have to do," Kahroan sighed. "And I can sleep in dragon form. That ought to give them second thoughts about attacking."
Without thinking, River crossed the small space between herself and her mate and reached up to touch his cheek lightly. "You sure?" she asked quietly. His shifts seemed to come easier each time, but she worried he may not be entirely comfortable with them yet.
Hana cast a glance in Thrax's direction with a small smirk. "Painfully adorable," she said softly with a dramatic eye roll.
Kah nuzzled into River's hand. "I'm not going to suddenly forget how. I'll be fine. Really."
"Yeah, just disgusting." Thrax chuckled, smirking. "And epic love song material."
Kah made a noise that River understood to be a blush. "Please don't."
"If I hear my name in a song, your tail is forfit," River informed the gnoll without looking at him.
Hanako snorted and mouthed, "Busted" at him. She flicked her own tails.
"Alright. Well, some wards and a dragon will certainly help keep us safe," River decided as she stepped back from her mate with a nod. "Hanako and I can start building a fire."
When they found a defensible spot, Kahroan shifted back into a dragon and curled up on the open side of the rocky cleft they had found.
A thunderous cacophony resounded from Thrax's trap wards, alerting the party to danger. Kahroan's eyes shot open, and he hurriedly rose to his feet. Everyone up! We have company!"
Thrax had awoken confused, but hearing the dragon cleared the cobwebs from his thoughts immediately. Gripping his axe, he scrambled to his feet. "I'm up! I'm up!"
River had been sleeping in wolf form, curled up not far from Kahroan's head. She jolted awake with a snarl, immediately in the defensive. Across the campfire, Hanako snapped awake and almost instantly into her larger fox form, nearly twice River's size with all three tails lashing.
Fire rose just behind the wards when the massive fox yipped, but she warned, "I can't keep that up forever!"
Kahroan quickly scanned the approach as Thrax joined the others in their strange defensive line.
"Orders, boss?" the bard asked Kah.
"Me?! She's the experienced one!" Ka answered.
"Well, somebody better come up with something fast!"
We need a count. River sniffed the air. More than before—we took out at least eight, but there's ten...maybe a dozen. Hana, flank left, try to use the fire to herd them toward Kah. And tell Thrax to keep one hand on the strings in case they start that spell up again.
Hanako nodded, reaching the order to Thrax as she bounded off in an arc to begin popping fireballs off at their attackers.
"Got ya!" Thrax nodded, ducking behind Kah. He flipped Stormsong around and kept one hand hovering over the strings.
Kahroan planted his feet in preparation as a group of bandits fleeing the fire came into range. Before they could take cover, he exhaled a bright gout of icy flames.
The bandits split to try to avoid Kah's fire, but only a handful of them did. River lunged at one who skirted too close to her mate with a glaive.
Hanako warned, "Music incoming!" half a second before the melody began trickling through the air.
River pressed her ears back flat, as though that would help, and began howling wildly even as she pounced on another bandit.
Thrax began playing the loudest, liveliest, and hardest-to-ignore song he knew. So far, at least, the enchanted music couldn't be heard over his playing.
Kah grabbed one in his jaws and bit down with a wet crunch. He flung the body at the rest of the enemies and prepared to unleash a second blast. That was when the lightning bolt struck between them and the bandits, momentarily blinding the party members facing that direction.
Hanako gave a startled yip, flinging herself away from the lightning strike. River screwed her eyes shut, but a fraction of a second too late—the after-image burned hot behind her eyes.
She barked, trying to let the others know where she was as she did her best to navigate away from the thick of the fighting while her vision began spotting back.
Kah groaned, shaking his head as if that would help clear his vision. He managed to bat away a bandit with one paw without hitting an ally, but that was the best he could do.
"Kill them all!" shouted the large half-elf from before, and the rest of the gang charged.
Thrax had one job, to keep the song going as long as possible. His fingers could bleed, but unless the fight was over, there was no stopping. He retreated further into the cleft, strumming with intensity.
Suddenly, a figure jumped down behind him and held a curved dagger to his neck. The second the music stopped, the charge halted. The leader spoke up with a voice like iron. "I don't typically accept surrender, but you lot seem... valuable. But not the gnoll, he's of no use to us alive. So if you resist, he dies first."
It was the tense, uncomfortable break in a fight that kept River's hackles raised, her whole body still thrumming with adrenaline. She carefully took her human form, hands up to show she was unarmed.
Hanako had her lip pulled back over her teeth. "Let him go," she snarled at the leader, a hint of flame flickering around her paws.
The hooded bandit pressed the dagger closer, drawing a drop of blood. Thrax gulped. "Guys. Just remember why we all agreed to do this."
Kahroan raised a brow slightly. That was an odd thing for the gnoll to say.
Hanako frowned at the bard, unsure what he was getting at. River found herself in a position that she never enjoyed: frozen in place.
"Look, we aren't fighting," the shifter snapped at the bandit leader. "Just...let him go. Let's...talk about this."
Valdor smirked. "That's better. Now... you, dragon, take a more manageable form. We can't have you pulling a fast one."
Kahroan nodded slowly and shifted to his near-human form. He then thought over Thrax's words. They took the job for the--in his head, he heard the two women saying "coin" at the same time in response to...
Zeldrinn! he cried out in beastspeak. That's no bandit.
Both Hana and River twitched, heads turning toward him fractionally as they tried to acknowledge the words without giving too much away.
Do we have a signal? River asked quickly.
We really should have worked one out. Kah pondered what to do. I wish we could ask him through beastspeak.
Validor was none the wiser as he motioned his men closer. "Tie them up. Use the spellbinding ropes." The man himself walked confidently toward Thrax and "Zeldrinn."
Hana pulled a face in agreement, though to the bandits she likely just looked frustrated. River was thinking quickly.
Spellbinders will stop Hana's illusions, but not our shifting, right?
The kitsune agreed, eyes fixed on their bard. Should be fine—might dampen my fire a bit, but shifting should be alright.
Okay. So we play along a bit longer. Get them to let down their guard.
The bandits bound the three shifting creatures' arms behind their backs with the shimmering anti-magic rope.
Validor stepped up to the gnoll, looking over the bard's shoulder at the hooded rogue. He studied the man intently. "You--"
Suddenly the dagger was withdrawn, and Thrax headbutted Validor.
At the same time, the rogue drew his bow and shot the bandit still binding Hana.
"Fuck yes." Hanako leaped and twisted away as the man binding her wrists fell. She landed in a crouch and immediately fired off a blast of blue flame at Validor's back.
River was less showy; she just turned and snapped her suddenly wolf jaws closed on her captor's throat.
Kah, can you cover us? If they could hold the bandits back long enough for everyone to scramble onto the dragon's back, they should be able to get away.
Kah tripped his captor with his tail. Nodding, quickly shifted to his hybrid form to snap his incomplete binding. He sprayed icy fire in the direction of the rest of the gang before shifting again. The bandit beside him scrambled away, but Kah finished and bit down around his head, killing him with a spray of arterial blood.
Thrax brought his axe down on Validor, only to be blocked by the bandit leader's large, curved sword. The man grinned savagely, somehow pushing the larger gnoll back. The brutish bard seemed surprised by this development. "How..."
With three sets of claws and fangs and two different kinds of fire being tossed back and forth, it didn't take long to at least work out a bandit-free circumference around the bounty hunters.
Hana seemed to noticed Thrax was in trouble first. She had fallen back toward Kahroan's left flank, but she saw Validor start to push the gnoll back.
"Oi, party boy! Duck and roll!" she called, tossing a fistful of foxfire at the bandit's back in an effort to distract him.
Thrax dove and rolled under foxfire, which Validor cut through with his blade. As his malice grew, his voice took on a deep, threatening reverberation. "Nice trick, fox, but you're going to have to try harder." The voice came with a vague feeling of dread.
Zeldrinn stepped back suddenly. "No... it ca--" Validor dashed at the ranger with terrifying speed, impaling him with an upward stab that lifted him off of the ground.
Hana screamed and River gave a brief yelp even as she tried to roll away from Validor's charge.
"Zeldrinn!"
She was in human form in a breath and grabbed Hanako before she could run for him. "He's gone," she hissed, "I'm sorry, he's gone. Thrax needs help."
The kitsune whimpered, then shook her head and whirled to run to Thrax, trying to cover him with tossed handfuls of fire so he could fall back in with the group.
Validor freed his sword and blocked a flame. He was distracted just long enough for Thrax to get off his concussive force spell, flinging the unusually large half-elf against the rock wall of the cleft. Thrax ran to join the others with one last sad look at Zeldrinn's body.
"How the hells is he still moving!" the bard asked desperately as Validor rose to his feet.
Hana snarled—sounding more animal than human, despite her currently humanoid form. "He smells...different," she muttered.
River sniffed. The fox was right; something about the half-elf's scent was off. She couldn't place it, but it brought her hackles up even higher.
Keep your guards up, she warned in beastspeech as she backed up a step toward Kahroan.
The surviving bandits appeared to rally as Validor's fearful presence grew. Yet, they kept back, content to fence in the party. Validor strode forward, eyes turning black as night with veins of darkness pulsing out from them.
Thrax gulped, eyes wide. "Storm protect us. He's a demon!"
River pressed back close to Kah's chest, teeth bared even as fear thrummed through her body in an echo of her heartbeat.
Hana looked momentarily panicked, but then her expression shifted. "Yeah?" she growled, sinking into a crouch. "Well, so am I!"
She lunged for the demon, changing to her monstrous fox form mid air.
Kahroan, get them in the air, now!
What about you?! Kah asked, scooping up the others with one leg.
Thrax struggled to get free. He had seen too many die; he couldn't do it again. Not again. "What are you doing?! We can't leave her too!"
"Go!" Hanako urged; she and the demon were circling each other, two predators wary to make the first move. "Go, now!"
River found herself in sudden and firm agreement with Thrax. "Don't be an idiot!" she called to the kitsune.
Hana spared them a brief glance over her shoulder. In beastspeech, she said with a kind of tired resignation, Even a dragon will have trouble against a demon. I can keep him distracted. Just go.
"I'm sorry..." Kahroan said before--
A small form materialized upside-down in the air before Validor in a puff of inky black energy. "Boo!" He fired a crossbow bolt directly into the demonic bandit's right eye before vanishing again.
Validor roared in fury, pulling out the bolt. Then he saw the lit fuse vanish into the explosive strapped to the projectile. It exploded in his face.
The form reappeared leaping passed a bandit to cut his throat with a short, curved blade of exotic design. The black-furred weasel-like humanoid landed on a rock, looking over at the party. "Don't just stand there you ninnies! Fight!" He jumped and teleported again and again, taking out several men before the smoke of the explosion cleared.
Validor laughed darkly, his bloody face already nearly healed except for his eye. "So... the Shadows have finally tracked me down, have they? I wasn't aware they employed vermin."
"Can it, ugly!" The new arrival pulled down one eyelid and stuck his tongue out.
Hanako blinked. "What in--"
River loosed an arrow at one of the few remaining bandits, catching him through the throat as he tried to charge their diminutive rescuer. "No time, Hana, fight!"
The kitsune growled an affirmative and charged at Validor, sparks flying from her paws.
Kahroan let Thrax go and breathed freezing flames out over the dregs of the gang, freezing them solid.
Validor swung his sword, only to have it hit with a lightning bolt from Thrax. The shock made his arm seize, leaving him wide open. Burning hot claws tore his chest open.
The small, deadly being paused to shout as he brought a series of weapons out of a pocket of nothing, searching for something. "Don't let up! I have a plan, but I need time."
"Needs time, he says," Hana huffed as she danced around Validor, trying to bait him into attacking her, leaving openings for the others.
River joined her, once again in her wolf form, using typical pack tactics to try to push Validor back, darting in and harrying at her legs and ankles and then twisting away again before he could land a proper hit.
The Ranger whistled, and a ghostly blue wolf bound from the trees to assist the shifter as if it were a member of her pack.
Kah found an opening and sprayed a gout of frost at the demon. For the moment, anyway, Validor was frozen. But the ice was already melting as his fiery cracks appeared in his skin.
"C'mon Mei, where is--ahah!" The Ranger held up a long silver dagger etched with unfamiliar writing. "Now which of you wants to do the honors? I don't think I have the strength to pierce his heart with this."
River grinned a wolf's grin and glanced back over her shoulder. Kah? she called to her mate, with a toss of her head in the newcomer's direction.
Hanako whooped, practically bouncing around Validor as she pounced back and forth in front of him, sending flames licking up from where her paws landed.
Kahroan and shifted down to his hybrid self. He hurried over to the Ranger. "Please, allow me."
"Nice trick." The stranger smirked appreciatively as he handed over the dagger. "Make it count, good dragon."
"I plan to." Kah nodded and hurried back.
Before he could make it, the ice shattered and hellfire erupted from Validor. Red skin, horns, hooved legs—the form that emerged was very clearly a demo. He laughed darkly, bearing sharp teeth. "Ahh... It's been ages since I've taken my true form. Pity you won't live to tell anyone of my grandeur."
His burning sword cut an arc towards them, sending out a wave of crimson flames.
River tried to throw herself backward, but she knew she was too slow. And she had no idea what demonic fire would do to an ice dragon, but she was not anxious to find out.
Before she could even fully process the flare of heat across her back, it was gone.
Hanako had somehow planted herself between the demon and the rest of their group, hands outstretched to draw the flames into herself. She was panting, skin lit up from the inside, red eyes burning bright.
"Get...back," she gasped to a frozen River, then looked to Thrax. "I can't...hold this in..."
The others gave Hanako room to release the evil fire trying to burn its way out of her.
Kah gripped the dagger tight, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The fire exploded out of her with a cry, momentarily blinding. River cowered back against Kahroan's legs, squinting into the light.
And then the air was clear, a path directly to the demon as Hanako staggered back out of the way, closer to the slender weasel-like figure who had given the dragon the dagger.
Validor, staggered by the force of the blast, was left wide open. Kahroan exploded forward towards the demon, charging as fast as he could. With a roar, he drove the dagger deep. Immediately, the writing on the handle grew bright white as glowing cracks spread from the wound.
"No! What—what is this?!" The demon roared, white light pouring from his mouth. Then, he was enveloped as the light turned him to ash. The melted remains of the dagger dropped onto the pile. All that remained was his oversized, curved sword.
There was nothing much the others could do save watch, agape, as the demon disintegrated into a pile of ash.
River blinked, then suddenly she was rushing forward. "Kah? Kah!"
She caught him around the waist, holding on tight for a brief heartbeat before starting to run her hands over his body searching for injuries. "Are you alright?"
Kahroan's clothes were a little singed, but he seemed unharmed, even if a little tired from the drain on his magic it had taken to be unharmed. "Relax. It's okay." He chuckled. "Really. Hanako directed most of it away from me."
"Yeah, yeah. Dragons are tough; we get it." The weasel grumbled, packing away his pile of deadly objects into the same space he had pulled them from.
Thrax stared at the little warrior, head tilted in confused awe. "That. Was. Awesome."
"We're good? Everyone's good?" Hana asked as she looked around, still panting lightly. Her eyes fell on the weasel. "Also--and no offense, we definitely owe you one--but who the hells are you?"
River was still busy looking Kahroan over, not quite ready to take his word for it. She eventually stood back with a small nod.
The weasel smirked and bowed. "Ankoku Uzumaki, Shadow Ranger."
"Seriously?" Thrax asked, almost perplexed. "Shouldn't you be... I dunno--"
Ankoku rolled his eyes and frowned. "Shouldn't you be trying to eat a baby or something?"
Thrax sighed. "Fair..."
Hana looked back and forth between the two of them. "Sooooo...I'm missing something here," she noted, one eyebrow quirked. "Also: is anyone bleeding? Do we need healing? And holy shit was that guy really a fucking demon?"
Thrax's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You've seriously never heard of the Vigilant Shadows? They're these total badassess that stalk the night, knocking off murderers and crime bosses and generally saving peopleby kicking ass with their shadow magic."
"I mean, I've never seen one, but gods damn, this is the real deal."
"Yes, that is very impressive." Hana gave the Shadow Ranger a quick nod. "And really, thanks. You saved our hides. But I'm still a little caught up on the fact that he was a fucking demon?!"
She threw her hands wide and looked around at the group. "Is no one else freaking out over this?"
Thoroughly exhausted, River just leaned against Kahroan's side with a shrug. "Honestly? I'm too tired to be shocked."
Kahroan put his arm around his mate, gently stroking her arm. "I'm just glad the rest of us came through alive." He sighed. "Poor Zeldrinn."
Thrax's enthusiasm evaporated in an instant. "If he hadn't come back for us, he'd still be alive."
Ankoku looked away as his phantasmal wolf returned to his side. "I apologize for not arriving sooner. I had an... unanticipated delay."
River shook her head. "No. You saved our asses back there. I just wish..."
Hana nodded as she trailed off, her expression morphing from ecstatic disbelief into something solemn. "Do we...know if he had family?" she asked softly. "We should let them know--give them his share of the coin."
Thrax frowned at the pile of ashes and sighed disappointedly. "I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but we don't have any way of proving we took him out."
Kahroan winced. "Well, shit."
"How much was it? The reward?" the Ranger asked, feeling badly about screwing them out of the reward.
"Fifty silver crowns."
The Ranger stumbled. "Fif--fuuuck that's a lot." He thought. "Take what's left of the dagger. It's not worth that much, but a chunk of astral silver that size ought to soften the blow."
Hana whistled lowly in appreciation, but River was shaking her head. "No, we can't take that—you saved our lives, you shouldn't owe us anything."
The kitsune briefly looked like she wanted to argue, but then she sighed and nodded. "She's right," she muttered, not sounding entirely thrilled with her own agreement.
Thrax swallowed his disagreement, muttering something about throwing away good money. "At least there's loot..."
Kahroan rolled his eyes. "As you can see, good Ranger, we'll manage."
Ankoku laughed—an oddly gruff sound from such a diminutive figure. "Good. Because my sister would be quite cross if I came back without it. But at least you can probably get good money for his sword... should you find someone willing to take demon-touched steel off your hands."
"Probably in Zantaric," Hanako said with a small shrug. "They don't ask many questions there."
For all her wanderings, River had never actually been to Zantaric. She tensed subtly against her mate, but didn't argue--the fox was right.
"Isn't that where Validor was running from?" Kah asked. "If whoever he crossed was dangerous enough to scare a demon... then is that really the best idea?"
Thrax shrugged. "Who knows how demons think? Besides, we haven't crossed anyone from Zantaric."
Ankoku nodded in agreement. "The gnoll is right. Keep to your own business, and you should be fine."
"We probably need some proper rest before we do that, though," River said briskly, finally pulling away from Kahroan. She glanced at the fallen bodies around them and winced. "And I for one don't think I want to camp here."
Hanako nodded. "Which direction you headed?" she asked Ankoku. "Safety in numbers seems to be the way to go just now."
"The opposite direction, I'm afraid." Ankoku scratched his head. "But I could delay long enough for you to make camp. I could use a rest myself."
Kah nodded gratefully. "We would appreciate that, Ser Uzumaki."
Thrax tentatively touched the demon's sword as if it might bite him. Then, thinking better of handling it, he ripped the cloak off of a dead bandit and carefully wrapped the sword in it, just in case. "There. Hopefully that will keep us from getting cursed."
"I'd stick in in a pack, just to be safe," Hanako muttered, curling her lip at the thing. "If feels...angry."
River shot her a wary glance, not entirely sure she wanted to know what she meant by that. "We should get some distance from this place," she murmured. "I don't like the idea of sleeping near so much death--particularly with whatever residual demonic energy might be around."
Thrax nodded and slipped the evil sword into his pack, as much as it could fit. Then he turned to the rest of the group. "We should at least see if they have anything else valuable. Such as whatever was making that damn music."
Kah didn't like stealing from the dead, but without the reward they needed to get something for the trouble. He was happy to keep his moral reservations to himself. "Then let's make it quick. We don't want to be here when the people they crossed show up."
Murmured agreements all around as they set to work scrounging what they could. River, who had never really been much of one for material goods, focused on gathering up what supplies she figured they could salvage, things that would have practical value while they traveled.
Hanako, by contrast, was a large, silver-white magpie. Anything with a glimmer went into her pack, until: "Hey, guys? Think I found it."
She was crouched over one of the bandit archers, holding a small, round object between her palms. It was encrusted with green and blue gems, with a bronze base, and a thin seam nearly all the way around its circumference.
"A music box?" River blinked. "Are you fucking kidding me? It was a music box?"
Thrax was giving Hana a run for the klepto award, taking everything that looked remotely like treasure. He paused in his rummaging to take a look at her find. "I mean... it did sound like one." He gave River a defensive look. "And, hey, don't underestimate the power of music. Even if it is in the form of a stupid music box."
Kah, meanwhile was enough of a practical soul that he wasn't quite so easily tempted by shiny things as a natural dragon. That isn't to say he didn't occasionally catch himself staring jealously at a gold and jewels, but it didn't drive him to start his own hoard just yet. "Does it matter how exciting it is? It's clearly valuable."
Ankoku popped from corpse to corpse, tossing knives and daggers into his Shadow Barracks. He even grabbed a few shortswords. You never know when you might need a--relatively--big blade.
River shook her head. "I think I dislike feeling thoroughly outclassed by a box that could fit in the palm of my hand," she grumbled.
Hana chuckled a bit as she wrapped a spare leather strip around the box--ensuring it wouldn't accidentally pop open--and tucked it into her pack before she stood. She looked around, then swallowed and asked softly, "Does anyone...what--what should we do with...Zeldrinn?"
Kah looked over at the body and sighed sadly. "We can't take him with us, but the least we can do is give him as close to a proper burial as we can."
"And gather some of his personal effects," Thrax added, heading over to do just that. "I know who in Ketra I can ask about his family once I'm back in town."
Kah returned to his dragon form and walked after the gnoll. "Secure him to my back. We shouldn't bury him here."
Hanako and River nodded agreement and moved to help Thrax fasten the half-elf's body to Kahroan's back.
"Did he...have a favorite flower?" River asked softly after a moment. "Something we could..."
"He said he liked woodsweet," Hana offered. "That little white flower that grows with moss? He--he said it's useful for wounds and stuff, but he liked the way it smells.."
Kah stood back up and nodded. "Alright. Let's get moving before we find ourselves in trouble."
Ko rode ahead of the group on the back of his ghostly wolf. "I'll scout ahead for a good spot."
"... now I've seen everything..." Thrax said quietly, chuckling.
Hana chuckled a bit with him; River offered a brief smile, but seemed to be more concerned with getting the group moving.
She took her wolf shape as they got some distance from the site of their battle, walking either just beside her mate or almost directly beneath his scaled belly, reassuring herself with the closeness.
Not long after, Ankoku returned from scouting ahead and led them to a nice spot surrounded by a large number of woodsweet flowers. He stepped into the small glade and motioned around. "I thought your friend would like this spot."
Thrax smiled. He wouldn't want something so boring, but that was hardly relevant. "Yes. I think he would."
Kah nodded approvingly and kneeled down for the group to unload the body.
Hana and River murmured their thanks to the little ranger as they helped Thrax lower Zeldrinn's body.
Both women started digging in their animal forms--it seemed the easiest solution, as no one exactly had a shovel handy.
Once the hole was dug and the body placed, the three men bowed their heads.
After a moment, Thrax asked, "Shouldn't somebody, I dunno, say something?" The bard didn't know what he could say; he never got to bury his family or his clan.
Kahroan didn't have the words either, so he hung his head lower.
"I--I don't really know," River murmured. She had stepped back to her mate's side, once more in her human form, and was leaning against him lightly.
Hana sighed, melting back into her halfway form. "I guess we just...say goodbye?" she murmured uncertainly, kneeling and reaching out to touch the disturbed earth of the grave lightly. "And...thank you."
Kah kneeled as well, muttering a Yoreiqi prayer. It wasn't much, but it was all he had.
"How about a song?" Thrax asked. "Something slow and peaceful."
River nodded, and Hana murmured, "Go ahead."
The kistune stood a little to the side of the group, arms wrapped loosely around her middle, and River found herself glancing at her in a way that she was unfortunately suspicious might be like how a worried Elise would have. She looked at Kahroan, and without thinking reached out to take his hand.
Kahroan, back in his nearly human form, took his mate's hand and gave it a squeeze as Thrax began to play (https://youtu.be/mVvTWK9Ghas). It was a gentle, bittersweet melody, vastly different from anything they had heard him play before. There were no words, only emotions, but it was clear that the rowdy gnoll had suffered unfathomable loss. He had been set adrift in an unfamiliar world with nothing but the instrument on his back and a song in his heart.
Kah squeezed a little tighter, finding himself moved. He had felt much the same when he was cast out of Yoreiq, but not as deeply as that.
River looked at Kah's face and returned the squeeze, leaning her shoulder against his in quiet solidarity.
By the time Thrax had finished, Hanako was crying silently. She moved up to the bard's side and leaned into him a bit, letting her head rest against his shoulder with her ears pressed flat back to her hair. "That was lovely."
Kah sighed sadly. "It... it really was."
Thrax took a moment to respond, his throat too tight to speak and his eyes too watery to look anyone in the eyes. He blinked the wetness away and took a slow breath. "Thanks. I... don't play that one often. It hits too close to home."
Hanako glanced up at him, then slipped her arm through his and hugged his arm lightly as she leaned a little more heavily into his side.
"You did good, party boy," she told him quietly, giving his arm another brief squeeze before she pulled away.
River waited a breath, two, then sighed and murmured, "We should...get moving again. We should make camp before it's full dark."
Thrax smirked, very much liking where this was going. He fell in beside the kitsune as they started moving again.
Kah put an arm around Riv as they walked, content with the contact.
Ankoku rolled his eyes. "Just remember to get some actual sleep, okay?"
River blushed brightly at the ranger's words, she she pressed a little closer to her mate all the same; it had been a long time since she'd had the reliable comfort of another, and she wasn't so embarrassed that she would minimize that.
Hana, on the other hand, laughed outright, both at Ankoku's quip and at the way Thrax fell into step with her. She flicked all three tails and smirked briefly at the bard.
"I make no promises."
River groaned quietly and turned her face into Kahroan's shoulder with a quiet chuckle. "Where did we find these idiots again?"
Soon finding a place to camp, the group slept in shifts until mid-morning. Ko, on final watch, was already packing away his camp supplies when they awoke. He was, apparently, preparing to return to his own business.
Kah stretched, having slept while embracing his mate. He gave her cheek a kiss as she stirred. "Good morning."
Thrax sat up with a yawn, scratching his chest under his shirt. "Easy there, lovebirds. Some of us want to stomach breakfast," he teased.
Hana had taken the last watch before Ko, so she was the groggiest of the bunch when she finally woke, yawning and stretching in a manner that could only be described as "extravagant".
River rolled her eyes at Thrax, but the more pressing issue in her opinion was her growling stomach. "What is breakfast, anyway?"
She looked around and saw the ranger packing. "You're leaving?"
"I've already tarried long enough. I really do have to be headed home now. But I wish you well." Ko shot her a look that said "it is what it is" and went back to packing.
Kah gave him a respectful nod. "Well, thanks again for pulling our assess out of the fire."
"I was just doing my job. I neither expect nor need thanks." Ko smirked faintly. "But it is a nice thing to hear."
"I'd say that I hope to meet again, but I'd much prefer that you are never in such need that you are in need of a Shadow Ranger." His expression grew grim. "More still, that none of you find yourself on the other end of what we do."
"Well, not that I expect you'll need it, but if you ever find yourself seeking safe harbor in the Kilanthros, find the Longfang Pack. Tell them you're a friend of River and Kahroan," the wolf shifted told him with a grateful smile.
"And let's say I owe you a favor, on the record," Hanako added with a slightly more playful grin and a nod in his direction. "Safe journey, mate."
"I'll be sure to remember that." The Ranger shot them a casual salute before teleporting onto his wolf spirit. "Let's go, Kiba." The wolf immediately bound off to the west.
"Okay, now that he's gone... what? since when are vigilante assassins cute?" Thrax said in wonderment.
River gave a brief, startled staccato chuckle, nodding agreement. Hanako mock pouted at the bard and teased, "What, you don't think we're cute? Mercenaries aren't all that different from vigilante assassins."
River rolled her eyes. "I can only really speak for myself, but I don't think any of us are that well-trained."
"I'm sure not," Kah chuckled.
"Me neither." Thrax admitted casually, turning to Hana and using the conversation as an excuse to look her up and down. "What about you? Not holding out on us, are you?"
"Shameless," Kah muttered quietly to River, smirking.
River gave another theatric roll of her eyes as she nodded in agreement. "Tell me we've never been that bad," she muttered to her mate with a smirk.
"Me? Holding out?" Hanako pressed a hand to her chest in faux affront. "Why, I would never. I am nothing if not an open book."
From behind Thrax, the illusory double she had abruptly summoned added brightly, "Or two!" before the Hanako he had been speaking with faded from view and solidified in the illusion's place.
"Whaa?" Thrax whirled around with a grin. "Did you just teleport?! Dude!"
Kahroan chuckled. "I swear, he's like a big kid. A really big kid. Of course, I hope ours isn't quite so noisy." When his brain caught up to his mouth, his eyes went wide and he stammered, "N--not th--that that is happening any time soon!"
Hanako giggled and replied, "Not exactly." Clearly pleased with Thrax's interest, she began explaining excitedly how she used multiple illusions and classic misdirection tactics to make it seem like she teleported--as far as she knew older specimens of her kind could actually travel short distances by magic alone, but it would be a while before her own power allowed that...
River was chuckling at the two of them when Kahroan seemed to slip--or, not slip, exactly, but...something. Her laughter choked off and she whipped her head around to stare up at him, mouth slightly open but no sound coming out.
Finally, she managed a shaky, "R-right. Not...soon. Right. Ahem."
Oh dear. Aside from her family's teasing--and her own confessions about Thorn--they hadn't really talked about this! Should they?
They probably should be talking about it! It was obviously on his mind on some level. And it was better to discuss it before fate or simple biology decided it for them.
Kahroan rubbed the back of his neck, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "S--sorry. I guess the pack's ceaseless hinting has lodged itself in my brain."
Meanwhile, Thrax absorbed Hana's every word with enthusiastic interest. He then began animatedly explaining how his own magic worked. While he had some meager talent of his own, his curious axe was the real star of the show. He hadn't had a chance to learn all of its secrets, but knew enough to keep himself alive in the majority human world.
"No, don't apologize," River murmured quickly. "We should--I mean, at some point it would makes sense to...talk about..."
Hana's eyes were sparkling, and she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! I bet, if I tweaked it a bit, I could call my foxfire and you could use Stormsong to supercharge it--"
Whatever River had been trying to say was brought to a screeching halt as she called, "No! No, you are not doing that particular experiment in the highly flamable woods, thank you very much!"
Thrax had started to grin just before River put her foot down. Deflated, he sighed dramatically. "Fiiine. We'll be good. If we must."
Kahroan laughed. "These two. I swear... Surprisingly good parenting practice, though."
River chuckled, nodding her agreement.
They had apparently underestimated Hanako's hearing. Her ears flickered toward them and she suddenly spun, clapping her hands together.
"Oooohhh oh oh oh, I knew it! I didn't wanna say anything but I knew it!"
She suddenly darted forward to grab River's hands, bouncing excitedly on her heels. "Officially congratulations! I knew I smelled something on you!"
"Wait, no, I'm not—" River started to correct her, laughing, then suddenly drew herself up short. She smelled something? But...okay, it was easier for someone to smell a change in hormones that wasn't in their own body, but surely she would have noticed...something...
She started counting backward, frantically doing math. When had she last bled? Four, five, six...
Oh dear.
All the color drained from her face, and Hanako looked between her and Kah, puzzled. "Ahhhh...I'm sorry. Was it supposed to be a secret?"
Kahroan felt his blood run colder as he watched the realization creep over his mate's features. Excitement warred with dread as he processed what was being revealed, and a nervous smile crossed his lips. Was he really going to be a father?
He gave her a questioning look. "Is she...? Are you...? Am I...?"
"Looks to me like it was a secret... to them!" Thrax laughed with a grin.
"I—" River swallowed. "I don't..."
She looked at her mate with wide eyes. "I'm not...sure. I..."
Hanako winced. "Oops," she muttered, stepping back. Looking around to the bard, she said quickly, "Why don't we, ahhhhhh, break camp? Come on!"
She grabbed Thrax by the arm and hauled him away from the dragon and the wolf shifter, attempting to give them some semblance of privacy.
Kahroan cupped her cheek in one hand, stroking her with his thumb. His smile was bright, determined to face whatever may come. "Hey... whether you are or not, I'm not going anywhere. You know that, right?"
River found that her breathing was becoming a little jagged, eyes wide and approaching frantic as she met Kahroan's. She forced herself to nod, leaning heavily into his hand on her cheek with a quiet sound that was embarrassingly close to a whimper.
"I can—I can see a healer on our way to Zantaric," she said a little numbly, still not fully processing. Her hands had come to rest on her mate's waist without her noticing, automatically seeking comfort and stability. "Just to...be sure..."
He put his brow against hers, happy to be a source of comfort. "Just breath. We can get through this. It's going to be okay."
They had taken to the air as soon as Kah had space to take off. They made a stop in Ketra to sell their non-magical, common loot and resupply for the trip to Zantaric. It was also a good time to conduct any personal business they might have, such as River's visit to a healer or Thrax hunting down Zeldrinn's next of kin.
Kahroan waited in the front room of the healer's shop, nervously studying the various apothecary goods for sale. True Mandrake? That was rare and interesting—not that he wanted to hear it scream. And what did eye of newt actually do?
Hana had walked the pair to the door, then said she was going to find Thrax and help him with finding Zeldrinn's family.
River was in the back room of the healer's shop for a while—long enough that she was half convinced Kahroan would be asleep by the time she was finally allowed back out.
The healer they'd found—a brisk person in their mid-twenties—emerged first and immediately began sorting through some bottles behind their counter.
"Congratulations, Papa," they told Kahroan casually by way of confirming the results.
River made her way back out to the front of the shop a bit more slowly, looking a tiny bit dazed.
Kahroan's expression as he stared at her couldn't decide between shock and joy. He was going to be a father. This was going to change everything.
"I... I'm going to be a dad..." he muttered blankly. A grin creeped over his face, and he rushed over to lift her off her feet, laughing joyously. "I'm going to be a dad!"
River made a breathless sound that was caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob as he swept her up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.
"You are," she whispered, clinging to him.
The healer let them have a moment, then cleared their throat pointedly. "You're still only a few weeks along," they told River as they seemed to finish their bustling behind the counter. "And to be honest, I don't know too much about shifter pregnancies. Particularly hybrids. You'll probably want to speak with a specialist as you enter your second trimester. But for now, a dose of this should help when the morning sickness starts."
Kahroan couldn't stop smiling as he turned to regard the healer. "Thank you. We'll make a point of finding one." He gave River a supportive shoulder bump and took her hand as soon as she was done putting the medicine away.
After they left, he embraced her again. Chuckling, he asked, "The pack is going to just love this, aren't they?"
As they left the shop her expression was still a little dazed, but at his words she seemed to snap back to herself, laughing in an almost bewildered way. "Gods, they are, aren't they?"
She shook her head. "I—I'll have to post a letter home before we leave the city. Nora's pups are technically shifter hybrids, maybe she knows someone..."
Her eyes were getting progressively wider as they walked. "Oh gods. It's a half-dragon. The baby is half dragon."
Kah suddenly barked a laugh. "It is, at that! A half frost dragon, no less. So... at least they won't be starting fires."
"Gods, this is going to be crazy. We're going to need to read up on how to raise a half-dragon or we'll go crazy. Assuming Ketra actually has books about that."
"I suppose if anywhere does it would be Ketra," River laughed, still a little disbelieving. She shook her head and said again quietly, "Gods."
A baby. A half-dragon baby. A half-dragon wolf shifter baby.
They were having a baby.
Quite abruptly, her eyes got very watery and her throat went a little tight.
"We—ahem—do we know where Hana and Thrax wound up?" she asked, trying to dab subtly at her eyes.
"I think Hana said they'd meet us outside the Peach. I..." He paused, voice cracking a little bit. "Ahem. I wasn't paying much attention at that point."
"We probably have a little time to compose ourselves and procure a few supplies before they're done."
"Oh. Right. Good." River nodded, then suddenly paused. She looked around, spotted an appropriate alcove, shadowed and mostly out of sight from the main thoroughfare, and quickly dragged her mate into it.
Then she rocked up onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him firmly but briefly before she turned her face into his shoulder and just held him, her own shoulders shaking gently with repressed sobs.
"We're having a baby..."
Kahroan embraced her, holding her close and tight. "We are," he said with awe, his eyes moist. In spite of every bad thing that had ever happened to him, he felt like the luckiest man alive.
Once the party reunited and finished getting supplies, they spent the night in a decent inn. The next day, they set out by air for Zantaric.
[Continued here (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=27105.0)]