17

Road to Ashbourne

Frigid water splashed against Aviana’s face. She dipped her hands into the cool stream again, the early morning sun sparkling off the bubbling surface, and washed her face some more. What an awful dream. She hadn’t had one like it in many years. But what disturbed her the most, was she knew it wasn’t just a dream.

Since she’d started this journey with Temperance, Aviana received more warning and prophecies than she’d ever experienced in a decade, let alone the same year. One had even come while in the wagon traveling to Kirdarim, when Orsik happened to be paying attention to her. Luckily she’d been able to deflect, but it also wasn’t her best half-truth.

Guilt made that difficult. Orsik felt like a man who could be trusted with her secret. The way he spoke to her, it was as if she were talking to an old friend—like she were speaking with Akorith, as odd as that was to think. And as a holy man, he wouldn’t pull away from such an ability.

But even still, she kept her secret, and the unease of the increased frequency didn’t leave her. Meeting Galinndan didn’t help the matter either.

Seeing his face surprised her. And hearing his name, confirming his identity from that terrifying vision dream she had back in Windshire. She still wasn’t sure if it had been a past event or not, but Aviana was sure it was an early sign to keep an eye out for the old man. She wasn’t sure why, as he wasn’t all that impressive. And frankly, his lecherous ways irked her.

She didn’t care he wanted women to share his bed. It was no different than what she did. What got to her was his cocky insistence. Whereas she would move on and not let rejection bother her, he took it as a personal slight and it made him insist more. Akorith, why am I supposed to meet him?

“Take the stranger’s hand and rise.”

The line from the prophecy surfaced in her mind. Was that the answer? She’d met many people in her travel, but Orsik was the first stranger to stick around, and he’d been quite helpful. Not only that, but he claimed his goddess wanted him to stick by her and Temperance. Why, she didn’t have the answers for that question.

And now she crossed paths with Galinndan, a paladin of Akorith, after receiving a vision of him so she could identify him when they finally met in person. It wasn’t a coincidence. She was meant to meet these two unusual men. But why?

All these questions made her head hurt. I need to focus on something else. Her hand fell onto her sword hilt. That’ll work.

All her life she’d focused on mastering the blade dancing art on her own. Without a teacher, it left her neglecting any other possible style to take on. And since it relied on a second weapon, both balanced to each other, losing one put her in a precarious situation.

Sure, she had her staff, and both Bryson and Cryson taught her how to use it in a way that was similar to her blade dance style, but it wasn’t the same, nor had she focused on mastering the style.

Aviana drew her blade and poised herself into her typical stance. The off-balanced feeling hit her immediately. She thought of the different ways her brothers fought and tried to mimic, but found herself struggling. Muscle memory told her to move one way, and her mind, knowing she needed to adapt, said to go another way.

She ground her teeth in frustration. This isn’t working. She may have to accept she wouldn’t be using her blade for some time. It wouldn’t be the end of Aecis. She’d already traveled as Gimor’s hired help for almost a moon now with no issue, on account of not running into any trouble. And she had her spells and could take forms of animals. Both she did effectively.

Aviana turned at the sound of approaching footsteps, to find Asher following the path of the stream toward her, his hair and bare chest wet from a possible wash. Why he’d be crazy enough to bathe in a stream, she couldn’t fathom. Sure, the moon of Alacia was proving to be a bit warmer than the previous three winter moons, but not enough for Aviana to risk freezing to death. Maybe those who live this far north have grown accustomed to the colder months they aren’t bothered as much by freezing water.

Aviana allowed her eyes to wander over his fine physique to distract herself from her current thoughts. Over the past few weeks she’d gotten to know the man quite well. He was humorous, thoughtful, excellent swordsman, and overall would make a fine husband for some lucky woman out there. She wasn’t a candidate of course, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look, and maybe touch for a bit after the job was over.

“What are you doing over here, Aviana?” Asher asked, standing a few feet away from her.

She gave him a pleasant smile. “Couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d get a little sword practice in.”

He looked her over with captivating brown eyes. “How’s the working out?”

Aviana glanced down at her weapon. “Honestly? Not well. I lost my other curved blade during a harpy attack. And unfortunately, my style requires that counter balanced weight.”

Asher approached. “So your sister told the truth then, about the harpies?”

Aviana nodded. “She did.”

He looked to her weapon. “If another weapon is needed, I carry a spare sword in the wagon. Never know when you might need it.”

A chuckle escaped her lips. “I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately the weight and balance of the sword has to be specific. It’s why I didn’t buy a replacement in Kirdarim. They didn’t have what I needed.”

Asher nodded his head toward Aviana’s staff lying on the ground a little ways away. “And the reason for not using that?”

“I’m better at defensive maneuvers with it, than offensive.” Aviana looked away, her cheeks warming. These inquiries weren’t making her feel better about her skill. She always had to struggle to get what she wanted. Nothing came to her easy.

It made being around others with great skill difficult for her. Even watching Temperance excel in everything she did, hurt Aviana in some way. She only ever wanted to prove she was good at something. Prove everyone wrong and she had a place in life. Of course, I’ve gone and overcompensated by trying to be great at everything within my grasp hoping something would stick.

At nearly seventy-years-old, and nothing better to do with her life than study and practice, it made it easier to make progress on that long list that others wouldn’t be capable of achieving in their lives. It wasn’t like she’d grow old and die anytime soon.

Large arms wrapped around from behind. A strong hand clamped down on her hand, positioning it better on the hilt of her scimitar, while another rested on her shoulder, moving her into a better position. “Standing like this, might help you.”

Aviana turned her head to glance at Asher. “You’re offering instruction?”

A half smile spread across his face. “Only if you’re willing to take it. If you’d rather struggle on your own, that’s fine with me too.”

Her eyes turned up and a deep grin appeared on her face. “I’d be more than happy to learn from another swordsman.”

Their eyes lingered on each other for a moment before Asher fell into step instructing her. His technique and advice came easy off his lips, as if he’d trained others before. Understanding his training wasn’t complicated for Aviana, but applying it was another story.

Her decades of single style training worked against her to the point she had to laugh off her embarrassment every time she messed up the simplest of moves. Standing so close to him didn’t help her case either—his strong, tantalizing scent the worst culprit. How someone smelled greatly affected her choices in bed partners.

An image of Xalanath popped into her head, which she quickly banished. She didn’t need such a distraction. He and his nice smell didn’t matter. Damion, on the other hand… She banished that as well. Such thoughts risked attachments, and she knew that wasn’t an aspect of life available to her. Had she been born in a different era—a better time of her clan’s existence where she would have been seen as a sacred individual—it would have been different. But that wasn’t her reality. Not yet at least. One day I will find the missing piece to this puzzle.

Asher titled his head. “Are you all right, Aviana? You seem… distracted.”

She stepped away and hid half of her face with her hand, glancing away. Great, now I’m not even paying attention to Asher when he should have my undivided attention. “I’m sorry. I was thinking a little too much. I don’t mean to be wasting your time.”

His hand touched her elbow, light and uninvasive, but attention grabbing. “You’re not wasting my time. You’re a great deal older than me. That’s a lot of training time to block out so you can learn another fighting style. I would never expect you to master this in one day. That’d be impossible.”

He had a solid point. So why did Aviana still feel like a failure?

Asher left her side and retrieved her staff. He kicked it up with one foot, catching it and twirling it in his hand. Aviana’s back straightened, her eyes pinned on him. Impressive.

He looked to her and smiled. “Frustration isn’t good for progress, so let’s try something different.”

He tossed the staff to her. She caught it with ease, adding a flourished twirl for fun. “You know, if you’re trying to get me to fight with both, that’s not going to happen. I’m not that coordinated.”

Asher laughed and took the scimitar from Aviana. “If you could do that, I’d be mighty impressed, but no. I want to see how well you defend with that.”

“I’d rather not mar my staff unless my life is at risk,” Aviana said.

“Does it have sentimental value?”

“Well, no.”

He grinned. “Then when we arrive in Ashbourne, I’ll have a new one made for you. You can even have it personalized. Aisha is quite good at her craft.”

Aviana twirled her staff. It’d be nice to have something of better quality—something that could hold up against the tropical climate back home preferably. As it stood, Aviana had to replace the staff every few years. “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

Asher continued to smile and fell into a fighting stance similar to what he’d tried to teach her. Aviana fell into a defensive stance, one of her hands held out and the other holding the staff behind her. She eased her weight evenly between both her legs, ready to spring in either direction. Asher gave her little time to prepare more as he lunged forward.

Aviana stepped aside, her body moving in a fluid, twirling motion like her blade dancing stance. She swung her staff around and hitting the top of his blade, sinking it toward the ground. She noticed Asher lose balance from her defensive maneuver. Aviana made note as she fell back on her stance. She had no intention of trying any offensive maneuvers. Defense was the purpose of this exercise, and unless she was confident about overtaking Asher, she wouldn’t spring any rash movements.

Asher righted himself and came at her again, this time arching his swing wide. It was much quicker than she anticipated, and she barely managed to deflect the attack. Interesting. She expected him to be slower with the way he held himself. Sure, he had a leaner form than more fighters she’d met, but he had to have the strength to wear his plate armor. Wait, that’s it. Without his armor weighing him down, his movements weren’t as impaired. Aviana made note of that as well.

Another swing from Asher, and this time she calculated correctly, her staff redirecting the blade. This threw Asher’s stance off again and this time he recovered from it slower. He’s off balance. She could spot that a mile away. But was it him or his stance that was the issue?

Asher came at her with three consecutive swings, forcing her to parry and dodge. Her last deflection allowed her to find a weak point in his attacks that left him open for a counter. She took it.

Aviana spun around him, slipping her staff between his legs and sweeping them from under him. Asher crashed to the ground and she followed up by pinning him, using her body to hold him still, and the staff long ways to keep his arms from using his sword.

She grinned and leaned close to him. “I win.”

Asher abandoned his weapon, leaving both his palms open and facing out, and gazed up at her. “That you do. I concede to you. That was mighty impressive, Aviana.”

Aviana shrugged, not pulling away, but easing up on her staff’s hold. “You don’t pay attention to your balance when you attack. It makes for an easy counter for someone whose style is all about balance.”

He reached up and touched her golden hair, tucking some behind her pointed ear. “I’ll have to keep that in mind when I’m fighting someone other than you.”

She chuckled. “If I didn’t know any better, I might think you enjoyed me putting you in this position.”

A deep half grin slipped up the side of Asher’s face, those deep eyes of his drawing her in. His hand brushed against her cheek. “Perhaps I do.”

Someone cleared their throat. Both looked to see Galinndan standing by the tree line. “Sorry to interrupt your private affair, but Gimor is ready to head out.”

“Private affair?” Asher blinked. “We were merely training.”

Galinndan stroked his beard and winked. “I’m old, not blind. If she gave me the time of day I’d be trying to sneak off with her too.”

“I’m right here you know,” Aviana said.

The old lecher chuckled. “I’m not saying anything you don’t expect from me.”

It was true.

Galinndan turned and headed back to camp. “Now let’s go. You’ll have more time later to gallivant.”

Aviana grunted as she stood. “And you won’t be part of that.”

“We’ll see.”

She shook her head and offered her staff to Asher to help him up. He accepted the help, grasping the wooden weapon with one hand and pushing off the ground. He returned her sword and the two of them returned to camp.

Upon arriving, their noses were met with an unusual smell. They found Orsik busy scooping some sort of gruel out of a pot over the campfire. Aviana guessed that to be the source of the smell, making her a little leery of the contents.

Draeon assisted Gimor tack up the horses. Galinndan worked to put items back in the wagon. Temperance was nowhere to be found. “Uh, where’s my sister?”

Orsik looked up from his work. “Tha lass said somethin’ aboot a wolf an’ ran intae tha forest.”

Aviana pinched her nose. “Of course she did. I’ll be back.”

“Lass, before ye gae”—Orsik came up to her with a bowl filled with the gruel—“Breakfast fer ye.”

Aviana went to speak when someone cleared their throat a little too loud. Her eyes darted to Galinndan who shook his head “no.” This perplexed her. Why didn’t he want her eating the food?

Draeon looked up from his work and also shook his head. Okay… Was there something wrong with the dwarf’s cooking? If there was, it’d be rude to refuse the food at least.

She took the bowl and smiled. “Thanks, Orsik. I ate earlier, so I probably won’t be able to finish it all, but I’ll have some as I go look for my sister.”

The stout man smiled and he resumed his work around the campfire. Aviana walked off into the forest. She lifted the spoon out of the discolored thick liquid and her nose scrunched. It smelled all kinds of foul, and it didn’t run off the spoon right. Well, I might as well try it. For all she knew, it could taste good. She’d had many interesting meals in her time. Some that didn’t look or smell appetizing, but ended up being quite delicious.

Aviana scooped a spoonful into her mouth and instant regret singed her tongue. Or was it the slop? She wasn’t sure. All she knew, her stomach twisted in knots and the horrendous liquid in her mouth needed to be expelled. She was too close to camp and didn’t want to offend Orsik, so she rushed into the forest and found a place for her to spit the gruel out. She nearly gagged. That was awful! No wonder the others told her not to eat it.

A distant sound of a man retching caught Aviana’s sensitive ears. Seems like Asher also tried the food. Aviana dumped the slop onto the ground and reeled back as the sound of the plantlife hissing and shriveling up. By the gods! Aviana made a mental note to not allow Orsik to cook ever again. Whatever he made, was better used as a tool of war, not sustenance. She also prayed for nature’s forgiveness for poisoning it. I can’t believe I tried to ingest something that can kill plants like that.

She shook her mind free and went about her original task, finding her sister.

It wasn’t hard. She sat in a tree staring off at something. Aviana slowed her pace to keep herself quiet and made her way to the tree. That had been easy enough, though climbing up proved to be a more difficult issue. She ultimately chose to stay on the ground and look to where Temperance watched two wolves interacting with several pups. Temperance found a den!

She looked up to find her sister painting, a big smile on her face. This was the exact inspiration Temperance needed to hone that skill. Though, what her sister may not realize, it helped her understand the canines better, to one day become them.

Temperance insisted she’d been able to take on a puppy form of a dire wolf when those bandits attacked, but Aviana didn’t believe her. She hadn’t finished teaching her sister how to take on the shape of animals. And most druids couldn’t make it a common place occurrence until they went through a particular ritual. This ritual bonded their spirit with nature, connecting them to the land and spirits of animals forever. Well, not forever… There were some who broke this bond, and to do so had horrible consequences.

“Temperance,” Aviana whispered. “We have to go.”

“I need to finish this picture,” Temperance said, furiously scribbling away. Instead of using her paint, she appeared to be using her bricks of pigment directly on the parchment.

I’m interested to know what she’s creating. Aviana shook it from her mind. “You’ll have to finish it later. We have a job to do.”

“Kyanite, tell Miss bossy britches I need to finish this.”

Irritation flared up in Aviana. “Get down here now, or I’m sending you home.”

Temperance gasped and looked down at her. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Aviana’s eyes burned. “Try me.”

The two of them fixed hard stares at each other for a long moment before Temperance sighed. “Fine.”

She collected her things and jumped down, sticking her landing as if it were nothing, and stalked off back to the camp. Aviana shook her head and followed. At this rate, it’d be difficult for Temperance to pass her test. It wasn’t that she couldn’t retake it, but Aviana wasn’t sure how well her sister would handle failure. She so rarely failed at things, she hadn’t learned how to cope and learn from it. And with so much pressure by the clan to complete the trial the first time around, even though it was mandatory—ready for it or not—that kind of pressure could have a profound effect on many.

The two returned to camp, finding it all packed up and everyone waiting for them. “My apologies for keeping you all waiting.”

“Did ye take care o’ ‘em wolves?” Gimor asked.

Temperance held up her sketch. “I got the best view to draw them!”

Asher strolled over and leaned down to get a better look. He clasped his chin with his gloved hand. “I’m impressed. The detail is quite nice.”

Temperance beamed. “It’s not done yet, but I should have it done the next time we stop.”

“You’re quite talented, Temperance.”

Aviana patted her on the head, the redhead smiling wide from the compliment. “That she is. Now hop up into the wagon so we can leave.”

“Okay!” Temperance scrambled into the vehicle and took guard position as a rear lookout.

Aviana accompanied Asher to the front of the wagon. Orsik sat up with Gimor, but there was still room for her to climb up as a lookout. Since he was there, Aviana handed him the bowl.

“What did ye think?” he asked, his bright eyes making her uncomfortable.

“It had an interesting flavor,” she said. “Though, I think the meals I’m used to at home made me a little too soft to handle such a strong meal.”

That was the most diplomatic way she could put it to him. Aviana didn’t want to be rude, but she didn’t want to risk him trying to feed her again thinking she’d enjoy it.

Gimor chuckled and got the wagon moving. “That be one way tae put it.”

Orsik seemed unfazed by hers or Gimor’s words. “What be tha food like in Starglade, lass?”

“We use a lot of spices to give the meals flavor. Fish, goat, and fowl make up most of our meat diet, along with whatever else we can procure from the forest. Fruits and nuts are a heavy staple as well.”

He nodded. “Sounds interestin’. I wou’ like tae try ye food sometime.”

A light went off in her mind. Aviana smiled. “I have a lot of those spices with me, actually. Why don’t I make dinner tonight? Temperance and I are the only ones at this point who haven’t cooked for everyone.”

Galinndan leaned back in his saddle. “A nice meal cooked by a beautiful woman? Sounds like my kind of night.”

Aviana’s eyes narrowed at him. “That’s all you’re getting, you dirty old man.”

He winked at her. “I’ll win you over, you’ll see.”

Aviana scoffed and turned to look out for any potential problems. Her eyes caught Asher looking at her, but the moment he realized, he averted his gaze. It brought a smile to her face.

♦ ♦ ♦

A black bird winged its way across the clear sky. Temperance kicked her feet over the edge of the wagon beside Orsik, humming to herself and her toy dragon in her arms. He smiled. Her mood helped him stay in a positive one. Some bickering between Aviana, Draeon, and Galinndan had threatened his serenity. Temperance hadn’t been in a good mood to start when he joined her back here, something about being bored and wishing for a way to prove herself as a valued member of the hired help, but seeing a fluffy rabbit changed that.

He thanked Ildri for that change. Orsik did all he could to be positive and happy, it was some of the best medicine anyone could offer. It brought light to the most darkest of places.

Temperance’s singing ceased and her eyes scanned the forest around them. This made Orsik uneasy, especially when Draeon fell back with them and did the same as her.

“What be goin’ on, lass?” Orsik whispered.

“Something doesn’t feel right in the forest,” she said. “All the birds stopped singing.”

“Aviana said the same,” Draeon said. “She ran off as a wolf to investigate the brush.”

Orsik swallowed and made sure his shield and mace was were reach. If both of them sensed this, then they weren’t alone in these woods, and as much as he hated the idea of taking a life, it may be inevitable.

Some bushes rustled nearby. Orsik grabbed his weapon, his nerves going on end. A gray wolf popped out of the underbrush and ran up to them. It made strange noises to them. To his surprise, Temperance made some noises back, though not quite the same ones. Wait, Aviana? Of course it was. No wild wolf would do this.

Temperance snapped her head back. “Mister Gimor! Avi says you need to get the horses running.”

“What? Why?” he asked. “What be goin’ on?”

“I’m not sure, exactly, because I don’t understand some of the druidic she’s using, but something about ene—”

Aviana yelped and fell to the ground. An arrow protruded from her shoulder. Temperance gasped. “Avi!”

“Go!” Draeon shouted. “It’s an ambush!”

Gimor slapped the reins and pushed the horses into a gallop. The cart shook and creaked, not designed for such a speed.

“Wait, but my sister!” Temperance screeched.

“No time.” Draeon pushed the wagon to help the horses, displaying impressive strength and endurance. “Our job is to keep Gimor and his cargo safe.”

“But—”

Orsik pointed to where Aviana pulled herself back up. “Look, lass. Ye sister can handle ‘erself. One measly arrow ain’t gonna stop ‘er.”

Temperance frowned. “Yeah… but—”

She shrieked when two arrows whizzed through the air and sunk into the wood of wagon with a thunk. To Draeon’s surprise, but not Orsik’s, instead of fleeing into the wagon, she drew one of her throwing daggers and flung it out of the vehicle. Orsik watched it sail through the air and hit a small moving being peeking through the underbrush. The creature yelped, but was caught off when Aviana jumped on it and tore her teeth into the creature. Impressive! These two ladies had quite the teamwork. And he had to give extra points to Temperance for spotting whatever it was.

Temperance turned into the wagon again. “They’re goblins!”

“Goblins?” Gimor mimicked. “Why we be runnin’ from goblins?”

More arrowed hit the wagon. A few bounced off of Draeon’s tough hide and armor, and a couple tinged off of Asher and Galinndan’s armor as well.

Gimor rolling into the wagon, taking up a strange driving position under the cover of the bonnet, and then pushed the horses on. “Oh, a hoard o’ them. Makes sense.”

Orsik may have laughed if the situation weren’t so dire.

Aviana caught up with them, but she didn’t shift out of her wolf shape. She limped but otherwise looked okay. Orsik surmised she may have more endurance capabilities in that form. He just wished he could get that arrow out of her—Draeon reached out and ripped the projectile out of her shoulder, unprompted. Aviana yelped in pain, but didn’t retaliate, even though Orsik could see the removal had done some damage to her. Why did she allow him tae dae that? He didn’t know anything about this shapeshifting ability of hers, so he had nothing to base her calmness around such reckless behavior. At least tha lass be runnin’ better.

More arrows rained down on them. Aviana used the cart to shield her, and Draeon relied on his own armor, though on arrow did manage to get him in the arm. It didn’t sink in deep, allowing for easy removal.

Orsik pulled up his shield and held it up to add some cover for those in the wagon. Temperance once again threw one of her daggers into the forest, mumbling about the goblins owing her replacements.

Aviana rushed up to the front with Asher and Galinndan. From what little Orsik could see, the two were swiping at goblins that now rushed out into the road. From the sound of it, Aviana had also entered combat with them.

“Bugbear!” Draeon hollered.

Before anyone could react, something heavy slammed into the wagon. It came up off two of its wheels and then slammed back down on the ground. Gimor struggled to keep control of both the vehicle and now the panicked horses.

Draeon let go of the cart and engaged with the creature that’d hit them. In doing so, he fell behind and became surrounded by swarming goblins, small, yellowish-green skinned humanoids with sloped faces, pointed ears and sharp toothy teeth.

The bugbear made it difficult for Draeon to handle everything at once. Bugbears were large goblinoid creatures, standing two feet taller than the average man, with sickly yellowish-green skin, paw-like hands, massive underbite and serrated teeth and long tusks. They had a great deal more strength than goblins, making them formidable opponents, and some even claimed they had intelligence, though Orsik didn’t know enough about them to be sure. In the very least, they were smarter than goblins.

Temperance threw a dagger again, missing this time, and unfortunately grabbing the attention of a few of the goblins. She squeaked and ducked behind Orsik to take advantage of his shield.

The wagon lurched again, something large hitting it again, and this time, it didn’t come back down the way it was supposed to. Temperance screamed as the wagon tipped over and crashed onto its side, the yoke holding the horses breaking. Orsik and Temperance went flying, as did Gimor.

“Gimor!” Asher yelled.

While the wagon horses thundered away, Orsik could hear Asher’s horse rushing to them. He wished he could see, or even move for that matter, but the contents of the cart had fallen on him.

“Hold on, I’ll get you all out of there,” Asher called out. The sound of his blade clashing with something came soon after. “After I deal with this issue.”

“I’ve got your back,” Galinndan said.

“I can get us out, don’t worry,” Temperance said.

She huffed and groaned and complained as she moved heavy things. She then screeched. “Get out of here ugly goblin! Get out. Get out. Get out!”

Orsik heard the goblin cry out in pain and then nothing. Good job, lass.

The heavy items on top of Orsik moved and eventually Temperance’s cute face peered down at him. “There you are, Orsik!”

She continued to move things around until he was able to pull himself out. “Where’s Gimor?”

She pointed to the front of the toppled wagon. “I found him over there. He’s breathing, but he’s not moving.”

Panic rose into Orsik’s shoulders and he made his way to the front where Gimor lay. As Temperance said, he lay there breathing but unconscious. From the looks of it, he’d his hit head. “‘Tis okay, lass. He’ll be fine. But we neit tae focus on helpin’ our friends.”

Temperance nodded, her excitable demeanor gone and replaced with an eerie serious one. The two of the turned at the sound of a wolf tearing into a goblin. The creature had tried to climb into the front of the wagon.

Aviana dropped her kill, her mouth and body dripping with blood, and lunged at the bugbear Asher engaged with, while Galinndan swung his flail at any goblins in reach. Unfortunately, Aviana misjudged what the large goblinoid would do and went flying when his club back swung into her. She hit the ground hard, coming out of her form, but refused to stay down.

To Orsik’s surprise, she didn’t appear hurt at all. He was going to have to understand how that shapeshifting worked—but later. Asher looked worn out and needed some assistance. Orsik summoned energy within him and offered a prayer to Ildri. The spell leapt off his lips and a white-blue energy briefly enveloped Asher, mending some of his wounds and restoring a bit of his stamina, perking the young man up.

Temperance jumped out of the wagon and stabbed a goblin trying to sneak up behind the bugbear to surprise Asher.

Orsik cranked his head to the back side of the vehicle when a multitude of goblins screamed. He watched at least three of them run off into the forest, their skin singed and melting. Draeon, his mouth dripping with a green substance that burned into the ground as it dripped, breathed heavy and then reengaged with the bugbear, who appeared to have also sustained some damage. Acid breath if I be right. Much like dragons, dracarthian’s could produce an element internally thanks to a special organ and spew it from their mouths.

Ice slammed into the large goblinoid engaged with Asher, Aviana having had cast some sort of spell. Ice coalesced over its back, slowing the creature a bit. A few pieces splintered off and smacked a few unsuspecting goblins. Galinndan also found himself hit, but his armor protected the short elf from the attack.

More goblins swarmed in, forcing Orsik to take drastic measures. He prayed to Ildri for forgiveness and asked her for the power to smite their foes. Warmth radiated within him in response, her blessing and forgiveness for such a situation given.

Energy grew within him and he raised his hand to the sky. A brilliant light fell down on a goblin he focused on, and several others as well, all of the creatures screaming in pain, their bodies burning away to ash. This took Orsik aback. He’d never seen that spell affect so many at once.

A warm feminine voice hummed in his mind. “A freebie, my devoted follower. Do not squander it.”

“Thank ye, Ildri.”

It wasn’t often she spoke to him this way. A gift in itself. It meant he followed her wishes, but now he and the others had to survive this ambush to see her plan come to fruition.

A bugbear sailed through the air, crashing into the one Asher and Aviana engaged with. Draeon rushed after his quarry, his breath heavy, and his body battered. Orsik summoned more energy and healed the dracarthian. All this spell casting took its toll on Orsik though. Weakness flooded over him. Nae, I canae fail here.

Temperance screeched out her sister’s name and ran to help the older sister as goblins jumped on her. The red head half-elf’s blades burst into flames and she lashed out at the tiny goblinoids, the heat of her flames scorching their skin. Aviana produced a cloud of pale green color, sending a few goblins into a coughing fit. These ladies had all kinds of tricks up their sleeves it seemed. Which was good, since the warriors here where one trick ponies.

Galinndan swung his flail at one of the bugbears, the spiked back striking a blow and sending the large goblinoid into a howling rage. It turned on the short elf and bashed him with its club. Galinndan utilized his shield to better protect himself, but the beating did cause the older man some issues.

“Aviana, behind you!” Asher called out.

Orsik turned to see another bugbear crashing out of the forest, its weapon at the ready. Aviana didn’t react quickly enough and the large creature’s club slammed into her, sending her flying. She landed hard on the ground and didn’t get back up. Nae…

“Avi!” Temperance screeched. She slashed at the bugbear with her flaming daggers, but they didn’t do much, and it only made her its new target.

Everything slowed around Orsik as the bugbear attacked her. He didn’t have time to cast a spell. He could only watch as the young woman slammed into the ground and didn’t get back up. Dun ye two die on me.

Galinndan broke away and rushed to protect the half-elf as the large goblinoid went to hit her unmoving body for an extra measure. Orsik’s heart stopped. The bugbear’s weapon slammed into Galinndan’s shield with a resounding clang, bouncing off the hard surface. The old elf breathed heavy, but wasn’t ready to admit defeat and retaliated on the goblinoid. This was getting bad.

Some weird chittering caught Orsik’s ears. The bonnet of the wagon shook, and before Orsik knew it, a swarm of goblins surrounded him. They jumped and clawed. Orsik swung his mace and held his shield tight, but there were too many. The small creatures overwhelmed him, their bodies covering and weighing him down, biting and striking him with pointed objects. Nae, it canae end like this!

Darkness overcame him. Ildri, protect us…