The arrow exploded into light, forcing Lucy to a knee, blood pouring out the side of her face. Her eyes became focused one more as she blinked away whatever had taken her mind, before her eyes snapped to the Silver Strider.

“I must deal with the spawn of evil!” it cried, drawing its sword as it clashed against Jurot’s axe, who had leapt into action the moment it let loose the arrow. “Stand aside, son of the Iyr!”

Lucy snarled, turning on her heel as she charged towards it. With Destroyer gripped tightly, she swung her greataxe with all her strength, forcing the Silver Strider further back.

“Bastard!” Lucy roared, her flaming axe swinging down towards the Silver Strider. They clashed, but the creature stumbled back from the heft of the blow. “How dare you go for my precious horns! I’ll kill you!”

Taking the onslaught of both the Iyrman and the Demon, the Silver Strider crashed against a tree, blade shaking in its throbbing hand. “Vile spawn! I will sla-“

Warrior Spirit: 2 -> 1

Attack (Flanking)

D20 + 9 = 15 (6)

D20 + 9 = 17 (8)

Miss!

Attack (Flanking)

D20 + 9 = 19 (4)

D20 + 9 = 18 (9)

Hit!

Mana: 15 -> 12

1D6 + 1D6 + 4D6 + 6 = 20 (2)(5)(2, 5)

20 damage!

There had been many mistakes the Silver Strider had made.

One of those mistakes was bullying Lucy for being a Demon when she was minding her own business.

One of those mistakes was making a deal with an Iyrman and breaking it by shooting Lucy’s face.

One of those mistakes was being born.

The Silver Strider had gone to lung for Lucy with its blade, but found that the blade had dropped to its side.

“Sorry,” Adam said, clenching his axe tight in his hand, hearing the arm drop beside his food. “I was getting sick and tired of your shit.”

Adam’s vision had clouded, his forehead pulsed as the anger flowed through his veins.

“Did your parents never teach you not to strike a woman’s face?” Adam asked, his voice low, trying to contain his anger. “Since you were being a cun-“ Adam swallowed, feeling the resistance his throat gave to him. ‘Damn it.’

Jurot stared at Adam, whose eyes were fixated on the Silver Strider. The Half Elf’s face was twitching, and even Lucy, who had been ready and eager to slaughter the Silver Strider, paused long enough for her rage to fade, though she continued to hold her greataxe tight in hand.

“You broke our deal,” Adam said, eventually. “If that’s how you and your kind work, that’s fine. If it wasn’t for Jurot’s insistence we should leave you alive, I would have killed you.”

Mana: 12 -> 9

Spell: Healing Word

3D3 + 3 = 9 (1, 2, 3)

“Lucy, would you mind stepping back?” Adam asked, his axe still gripped tight in hand. The words were a chant for his magic, which healed Lucy’s wounds across her body, barely closing the wound at her forehead.

Lucy groaned, remaining still for a moment. She was still angry, but seeing that the Silver Strider’s arm had been cut, she pulled away.

“You would let her-“

“Who said you could speak?” Adam asked, raising his axe towards the Silver Strider’s neck. “I didn’t give you permission. Jurot, did you hear me give them permission?”

“No,” Jurot replied, staring down at the Silver Strider.

“If you kill me-“

Adam pressed his axe deeper against the creature’s neck, drawing blood. “You have a problem listening, don’t you? How about I take off that helmet and cut off one of those ears?”

The Silver Strider’s steel eyes rapidly filled with fear, and it swallowed.

“Good,” Adam said, having heard nothing escape from its lips. He glanced towards Jurot. “We made a deal and it broke it, right?”

“Yes.”

“So what do we do?” Adam asked. “I’ve taken an arm, and as much as I want to do more.” Adam shifted the axe slightly to draw out a longer cut, his arm tense as he did his best not to kill it. “I don’t think it would benefit us, right?”

“Yes.” Jurot sheathed his axe, crossing his arms as he fell into thought. “Killing the Silver Strider will cause trouble.”

“Yeah.”

“I would like the trouble, but it would not be good for us since we must remain alive,” Jurot stated.

The Silver Strider remained stuck against the tree, its eyes darting towards the Iyrman. ‘What did he just say? He would like the trouble?’ The Silver Strider made to talk, but Adam shifted the axe once again, cutting a longer line across its neck.

“A deal had been broken,” Jurot said, mostly to himself. “If I asked any of the Great Elders what to do, they would say it is within our rights to kill the Silver Strider.”

“Yeah.”

“We must demand compensation,” Jurot said.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Adam said, reaching around back to grab a handful of arrows, before pulling them.

Health: 65 -> 51

Athletics Check

D20 + 6 = 26 (20)

As he did, the Silver Strider pulled upwards suddenly, the axe trailing a long cut along its neck to its breasplate, as it slammed Adam’s thighs with its hoofs, striking him hard as it tried to punt the Half Elf away.

Adam did not budge even a millimetre from where he stood, though he felt his thighs pulse.

“You dare t-“

Attack (Flanking)

D20 + 9 = 29 (20)

Critical hit!

Mana: 9 -> 8

2D6 + 2D6 + 4D6 + 6 = 37 (4, 6)(1, 3)(3, 4, 5, 5)

37 damage!

Adam stepped back and Phantom blurred. The bow the Silver Strider held fell, its last remaining arm falling with it, as it fell to its knees, dripping blue and silver blood under its helmet as its nostrils leaked.

“You… you…”

“You saw them attack me, right?” Adam asked.

“I did,” Jurot replied.

“I left you one arm to show you mercy, but you decided to refuse it,” Adam said, squatting down beside it. “I want you to understand that you could have kept both hands. You just needed to let us go about our business. We just wanted the Twilight Fox, that’s all. You just had to…” Adam grit his teeth, trying to stop himself from getting so worked up.

“We should leave,” Jurot said. “They will not appreciate what we have done.”

“If they have a problem with it, they can come and speak to me any time,” Adam said, still gripping his axe tight.

“Come,” Jurot said, motioning a hand, wanting Adam to step aside first.

Adam walked past the Iyrman to Lucy. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” she said. “You?”

“I’m not the one who got hit in the face by an arrow,” Adam said.

“Lucky you.” She rubbed her horn gently, wincing in pain. “You got any more magical healing?”

“Sure.”

Mana: 8 -> 7

Spell: Healing Word

1D3 + 3 = 4 (1)

Mana: 7 -> 6

Spell: Healing Word

1D3 + 3 = 4 (1)

“That better?” Adam asked, having healed her with the lowest roll twice.

“Yeah. Thanks.” She kept wincing, though didn’t feel quite as terrible. “Did you save some for the tower?”

“Of course,” Adam said. “You’ll heal better in the tower, I think.”

Lucy nodded her head.

They returned back to Sir Landon and the Knights, who had picked up the Twilight Fox, and had watched the Half Elf torture the Silver Strider silently.

‘How many spells does he have?’ Sir Landon thought, trying to count how many times he had used his spells. ‘He should have run out already.’

Victory!

Twilight Fox

XP Gained: +150

Victory!

Silver Strider

XP Gained: +300

“Come,” Jurot said, after confirming they had picked up the Twilight Fox, before following the trail back to the tower. “We should leave this area.”

“We can’t travel for far, can we?” Adam asked. “Isn’t it best to stay here, with the tower?”

Jurot slowly bowed his head. “It will be equally as dangerous regardless of where we are as long as we are in this forest after what we have done.”

“I hope the forest is grateful we showed mercy,” Adam said. “I still have quite some spirit left in me.”

Tough Spirit: 1 -> 0

2D6 + 5 = 15 (3, 3)

Health: 51 -> 65

Jurot still wanted to leave, but Adam was right. Even if they travelled the entire night, it wouldn’t make much of a difference, so they should remain here to rest.

The Iyrman began to butcher the Twilight Fox, allowing them each to eat the smallest portion of meat. The fur was given to Sir Landon, but he held up a tiny gem, the size of a pea.

“What’s that?” Adam asked, staring at the pea. It was dark, but there were small flecks of colour within it.

“It’s core,” Jurot replied. “The deal did not mention a core.”

“So?” Adam asked, turning to look at Sir Landon. “How do we split the core?”

“You’re right that the deal didn’t mention it,” he said.

“The deal was that we hunt the Twilight Fox, you pay us for the fur,” Adam said. “Sounds like we get to keep the core.”

“Will you surrender it?” Jurot asked.

“I will allow you to keep it,” Sir Landon said. “I hope that you remember such a favour, for I may have use for you in the future.”

“You may certainly place forward a request for assistance,” Adam replied, in the same way the Noble had to Jurot’s use of surrender. “We will see if we are willing to assist you.”

“Allowing you to keep the core is no small favour,” Sir Landon said.

“Indeed,” Adam replied. “So if you do have a request for our service, I will certainly hear it out.”

“Very well.”