《Delvers》Chapter 11 - Capture
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It was strange really. Not even 10 minutes ago he had hoped they would stay out of this fight, now he had never been happier to see they were here. The situation had changed, sure, but this was more than that. He wasn't just grateful that he had been rescued, he was happy to be together with them again. Hell, he would probably get ripped a new one when this was over, but it would be worth it. Maybe he would look them up after this long as mission was finally over, they seem like the people who wouldn't mind staying in touch.
The Fire Druid got back up, the hit against the wall had hurt a lot, but nothing had broken as far as he could tell. It would hurt for a while, but he could still fight. All three turned and faced the enemy. He didn't know what the assistant had become, but he was definitely stronger than a regular human. The wall had stunned him more than anything, but from where The Light Cleric had hit him a burn could be seen on his skin. That was the good news, the bad news was that he looked pissed off.
Even from this distance they could see the change, no longer did he stand perfectly straight. No, his stance shifted to something else, something feral. His finger lengthened slightly and curved into semi-formed claws. His eyes turned fully red with blood and black veins became visible over his face and hands. His canines were also more visible, they were not the large tusks often seen in film, but they were getting there. It was a stunning transformation, and it wasn't just physical, when he finally spoke it was different. Gone was the calm demeaner, in its place was a raspy voice that spoke with a fast, halting tone. It immediately sent shivers down the spines of the three teammates.
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"You shouldn't have done that. Now you cannot leave. Now you will become my food. Now you will die."
At these final words he sprang forward faster than they thought was possible. The Paladin had been ready though, apparently he hadn't learned about monologuing, he had taken the shift in form as a possible attack and had been waiting for this exact moment. A streak of golden light later and the assistant spun back against the other wall, now with a cut over his back. The wound was shining with an inner light, this light suddenly began to shine brighter and burned more skin on the body of the assistant. He screamed in pain but got up fast. Another charge but they were all ready for it now. Together the three all released their own spells. Fire, light, and steel shown forwards in a flash, and it was over.
The assistant was badly burned over half his skin, patches of holy energy and flames could still be seen as the effects of the spell died out. His right arm had been severed in a clean stroke and the stump had been cauterized with holy power. Even with all this damage, the assistant still lived. Walking forward, The Fire Druid laid a hand on the man and spoke in the silence of the room.
"You are under arrest for I don't even know how many crimes. It's over, you're done."
The others were slightly surprised at this. Both would later say that they had expected this, but in reality, they thought he would burn down the body of their target. A new sound cut through the remaining silence as all their tablets let out a small beep.
--- Mission Complete ---
--- Well Done ---
--- Rewards will be deposited on return ---
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--- We hope you enjoyed beta testing this latest innovation from Delver Inc. ---
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With that they found themselves on the path of light, slowly moving away from this new dungeon. The Fire Druid didn't have a lot of time, the path would soon accelerate them all back and speaking would become difficult and those speeds. He still waited, having trouble getting the words to move past his lips.
"I want to apologise for my behaviour at the end there. I was reckless and mean to both of you and you didn't deserve that. I hope that if we meet again in the future, we can start fresh." He meant it too. Well maybe not all of it, but at least 80%, that counts right?
The Light Cleric responded after a while. "You apologised huh. I didn't expect that. Thank you for your honest words, I often visit The Bazaar during the weekend, if you ever want to tell you can probably find me there."
The Paladin was next. "Light Cleric, you owe me 50 bucks."
"WHAT. What did you two bet on?"
"Whether or not you would try to actually kill our target once we got there, instead of arresting him."
"And you bet against me doing that? Why? Even I thought I would burn the living shit out of him."
"Anyone can be redeemed. It just takes time and effort."
With that it become too hard to speak and soon they reached the wide passage that signalled their return to Earth. He all veered in different directions, to different parts of the planet. He found himself back under the bridge he had left from, looking at his creation from more than a week ago now. As he pulled out his phone to check his bank account he looked once more at the burning phoenix he had graffitied on the wall. Smiling he pulled out the tablet and looked for the nearest gate to The Bazaar, maybe it was time to reach out. A new start would do him some good.
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