From the shadows stepped another man, and he swung his sword at Lund, chopping at the half-orc’s leg. “You’ll regret coming here,” he said softly.

Lund turned to swing at this new foe, but he winced in pain and missed his mark. Isa whipped her rapier tip at the enemy’s throat and saw blood began to seep from the wound.

“Ha!” the man said and swung at Isa. His swing missed and hit the fireplace mantle. As he finished his swing, Lund brought his own blade up and buried it in the man’s stomach.

The violence, which had started so swiftly, was just as abruptly over.

Lund pulled his blade free of the dead man, and Isa heard the metal scrape against bone. “Oh god,” she muttered and doubled over again.

“Isa?” Lund put his hand on her back. “I have another potion. Do you need it?”

“No, I - I don’t think so. I just….” She sat down suddenly as her legs gave out. “That man,” she pointed at the robed figure. “He was some sort of mage, huh? He said a spell and the blood….” She looked down at her hands which were still sticky from the outpouring from her own body. Her own body had rebelled against her.

“Yeah. Spellcasters are bad news. Squishy, but damn you gotta get ‘em fast. Right?” He knelt beside her. “We’re not done. You gonna be OK?”

“Yes. But what about you? He sliced you pretty bad.”

“Nah,” Lund waved away her words. “Just a scratch - like literally a scratch.” He touched the rip in his pants. “Not even bleeding anymore.” He rose and held out his hand. “Let’s find Mery.”

Two door led out of the room and there was also a circular staircase opposite the fireplace. Isa stepped to the closer door and listened as Lund had done. She frowned and shrugged, trying to indicate that she hadn’t heard anything. With careful fingers, she turned the doorknob to reveal an empty dining room. The other room was also empty.

Lund sighed and pointed up. With him in the lead, they climbed the stairs, taking each step slowly to avoid making noise. About halfway up Isa thought she heard piano music, but it was faint, and besides, that seemed absurd.

As they reached the top of the stairs Lund froze and then he was running. Isa heard a man shout, “Hey! Help!”

It was only as Isa got to the top of the stairs that she saw the bald man at the door to the left. He had his hand on the door as if Lund had surprised him going out or coming back.

Either way was bad news, and Isa sprinted past Lund and reached the bald guard first. She made to jab him with the staff and then drove her rapier into the seam where his leg met his groin. The bald man doubled over in pain, making him unable to return a blow.

Lund pushed past him and threw the door open. Inside Isa saw a man in a long blue coat holding a dark sword. He had long hair that was tied back. At his elbow sat Mery, bound to a chair with a gag in her mouth.

The man flung a knife at Lund, but it missed and hit the injured guard in the throat. “Sorry, Stephen,” said the man in the coat. The bald guard didn’t reply because the knife finished what Isa had begun.

Isa stepped into the room. With her rapier held out she said, “All your men are dead. We just want our friend. We don’t want to hurt you.”

The man laughed. “Been rehearsing that speech? Need more practice, love.”

Lund charged at him, and the man easily stepped to the side. Isa saw a flash of dark material and shiny metal as the man moved. He must have armor underneath the coat.

As Lund passed, the man flashed his thin, dark scimitar and caught Lund on the back. The blade easily sliced through Lund’s leather jacket.

As the man’s sword swung into Lund, Isa saw her chance to hit him. She plunged her rapier into his side for a solid hit. He shouted in pain. The blow brought Isa close enough to Mery that they made eye contact. Mery’s eyes went wide, trying to communicate something to Isa, but Isa was too busy to understand.

“Rah!” said Mery. “Guh grah huh.” She hopped a bit in the chair. Her bound legs bouncing as the chair lifted off the ground for a moment.

“Yes!” Lund grinned and ran to Mery. He sliced through her bounds easily, and Mery pulled the gag from her face. With one hand she snatched the javelin from the side of Lund’s pack. “This will do.” She grinned and twirled the spear once.

The man in blue growled. “I am unhappy now,” he said. His dark scimitar flashed out, and the tip caught Mery’s arm. Quicker than Isa thought possible, his sword moved back and caught Lund on the side of his face.

“I didn’t know what you were saying!” Isa yelled to Mery. She tried to step to the side and tripped on one of the piano feet. She fell against the keys and made a loud “BAH Dah, bink” with the keys.

Somehow Lund was able to stay focused on the man. He brought his sword around for a killing blow, and he did manage to slice a path down the man’s chest, leaving a trail of blood. The man looked down at his now-tattered armor, and Isa thought she saw fear in his eyes.

Mery used Lund’s spear to strike at the man, and she made a solid connection, but that didn’t stop him lashing out and catching Isa with the tip of his sword. The weapon cut a gash 4 inches long on Isa’s thigh. She dropped her rapier to grab her leg. “Oh fuck,” she said. This reminded her of when she fought and lost to the gnoll. It was worse somehow, than the spell downstairs. Maybe it was seeing the separated skin and the flowing blood and wondering if he’d hit the femoral artery.

Her hands started to shake. Was that blood loss? She felt cold sweep across her body, and through chattering teeth she said, “Second Wind, Second Wind. Sec--” The leg wound didn’t seal up magically, but the blood stopped, and Isa felt a millions times better.

She pulled her staff into a fighting stance and focused on the man in the blue coat. As Isa lunged toward him, her foot caught the leg of the piano bench, and she fell. With her hands wrapped tightly around the staff, she couldn’t break her fall, but instinctively she tried to anyway, and landed with her full weight on her right hand. She heard rather than felt the bones of her hand break.

Rolling to a stop, she came up hard against something and looked up. Her eyes met the man in blue’s eyes. She’d come to rest at his feet. His face went from shocked to gleeful in a second, but before he could raise his sword, Lund was there and swung his own sword at the man.

Lund’s swing caught the man in the same place as before and from Isa’s ground floor perspective she saw the cut across his chest get deeper. Blood ran down his body, making his beautiful blue coat look almost black.

The man put his hand on his stomach, but the blood seeped through, and as Isa watched, a spear came through his stomach and impaled his hand. He fell forward over Isa, and one of his boots caught her chin.

He kicked once more and then a shadow passed by Isa, and Mery landed on the man’s back and drove the spear forward.

Spoiler: Isa's Character Sheet

Name: Isa Chamberlin

Race: Human

Height & Weight: 5ft 6inches / 120 lbs

Class: Fighter Level: 3

Alignment: Good

Background: Stranger in a Strange Land

Hit Points: 20 AC: 13

Current Hit Points: 13

Combat: +4 to Hit

Weapons: Rapier (left hand) 1d8 +2 (piercing) / Quarterstaff (right hand) 1d6 +2 (bludgeoning)

Coin: 21gp, 10sp, 22cp

STR

11

0

DEX

14

+2

CON

11

0

INT

13

+1

WIS

13

+1

CHA

12

+1

Saving Throws: Str and Con +2

4

Acrobatics* (Dex)

1

Medicine (Wis)

1

Animal Handling (Wis)

1

Nature (Int)

1

Arcana (Int)

3

Perception* (Wis)

0

Athletics (Str)

1

Performance (Cha)

1

Deception (Cha)

1

Persuasion (Cha)

3

History* (Int)

1

Religion (Int)

3

Insight* (Wis)

2

Sleight of Hand (Dex)

1

Intimidation (Cha)

2

Stealth (Dex)

1

Investigation (Int)

1

Survival (Wis)

Special Attack: Two weapon fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Class Features:

(Used) Second Wind - On your turn, you can use a Bonus Action to regain hit points equal to 5 + your fighter level. Short or Long Rest before you can use it again.

(Used) Action Surge - On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible Bonus Action. You must finish a short or Long Rest before using it again.

Martial Archetype: Surgical Fighter

3rd level - Clinical Eye: Spend 1 combat turn studying your enemy and learn one of the following: if the enemy is equal to or stronger than you in strength, dexterity, or constitution. Can spend up to 3 turns to discern all 3. Can be used outside of combat as a free action - spend 1 minute to learn all three.