With the War Weapons in hand, Kaldalis left the downed guard, moving back to Balrim’s side. He handed the daggers off to Dalgaard, who suddenly looked much more comfortable with this situation once they were armed as well.

“Courbois,” Kaldalis called. “Incoming!”

He sent the staff on another flight towards his fellow tank. She was in bad shape - a cut on her forehead was dumping blood into one eye, and her armor was badly dinged and scratched - but she still reached out and caught the weapon with a deft fluidity, absorbing the impact that had broken the knee of the guard only moments ago.

That fluid catch immediately transitioned into the weapon whirling around her like she was born with it in her hands. The fight on that side suddenly went from a ragged band losing ground to an even fight. And when the first guard with a War Weapon hit the ground with a rising lump on the side of his head, one of the others took the weapon up, turning the fight into the adventurers’ favor.

On the other side, Martok was still manhandling the guards with his unarmed fighting style, though he was slowed down by the intermediate step of ripping the weapons out of their hands first. The group with him started taking up the discarded weapons, turning the fight there into a cakewalk, even though Myrin was no longer shoring up that side.

With a War Weapon sword and shield, Kaldalis was ready to fight again, but as he watched, it was clear that the battle was already won. Once the adventurers hadn’t been held back by having to fight bare-handed, their expertise made them beyond deadly. But at the same time, Ess’s warning had held them back from killing.

Enemy numbers were thinning. And when they went down now, someone wrenched a War Weapon from their hands, making Kaldalis’s force that much more effective.

He tried not to think too hard about that. These weapons represented the ultimate destructive force and the ultimate temptation. He had been hesitant to hand them out, and absolutely opposed to handing them to people he wasn’t sure he could trust. Holding one of them made him nervous, let alone the two that he’d had just a moment ago.

Now Kaldalis and friends were building a pile of them after this fight, with more on the way when they pushed towards the Contender himself. When Martok finished curb stomping guards with his bare hands, he was going to have his pick of what remained. Dalgaard’s forces were going to be armed with them as well.

And there were at least three people here who were only with them because they’d been swept up in the same net as Martok. Three near-strangers who would have the power to turn any town of NPCs into a loot pinata of experience points.

Kaldalis was going to need a long-term plan for how to handle this. Perhaps he could get Garyung to confiscate them and put them under official control of Cotanaku.

Before that could happen, though, they were still in the middle of a crisis. They had to make sure that Garyung was the one they were turning the War Weapons over to, and not the Contender.

Despite the southern and western fronts being well in hand by Martok and Courbois and their respective teams, Reno and Myrin were insufficient to cover both other flanks. Guards emerging from those sides were able to leak in. Kaldalis feared that they might move to outflank and overwhelm the other sides to turn the battle, but the Contender’s forces had no field commander here. There was no leadership to see the big picture and make tactical decisions.

Instead, those who managed to slip through the cracks quickly identified Kaldalis in the middle as the largest threat and charged right for him.

It was, honestly, a pretty nice ego boost. Whatever the Contender had said to his men, it had impressed upon them that he was the most dangerous man in the world. Unfortunately, Kaldalis didn’t get to demonstrate that he deserved the honor. Because at this moment, Balrim very firmly held that title.

With his high Bow skill and the gnarled War Weapon Kaldalis had taken from Demriv, Balrim was a terrifying force of nature. Shields and armor turned aside his arrows, but every time he pointed at a target who wasn’t focused entirely on deflecting his attacks, they took a disabling shot to the arm or leg and went down with a pained shriek. The tempo of the whole battle shifted, and everyone who didn’t show fear and respect to Balrim was asking for an unexpected wooden shaft to be inserted somewhere uncomfortable.

Kaldalis didn’t need to protect Dalgaard and Balrim when all their foes only had eyes for him. And as he danced around, using his new shield and sword to parry and swat aside attacks aimed at him, Balrim thinned the herd. Kaldalis just had to move so that they couldn’t watch both him and Balrim. Either they took an arrow to the knee, or Kaldalis would shield bash them in the back of the head with all his might to take them out of the fight that way.

One guard tried to rush down Balrim, but he couldn’t close the distance before Dalgaard made their presence known. Kaldalis feared what those rough-hammered kukri would do to the man, but while the healer was swift and brutally efficient, they were also merciful. The blunted spine of the weapon smashed into the side of the guard’s head, ringing his helmet to stun him so that Dalgaard could drag the blade ends down the back of his armor with calculated precision, cutting open the leather straps holding it together - and the cloth coverings beside - to send the lightly concussed man to the floor struggling to hold his clothes on while standing a half-dozen yards away from the most dangerous archer on the island.

It was only a few brief moments before there were none of the Contender’s men left on their feet. Some were pretty badly injured, but Kaldalis’s team had done their jobs well. None of the injuries were immediately life-threatening. And while the adventurers were a little bit battered for their trouble, they were all still in fighting shape for now.

“What the fuck are we gonna do about this mess?” Reno grumbled as the group gathered together once the fight was done. “Did we just take like twenty prisoners?”

“We can’t take prisoners,” Kaldalis said firmly. “Especially not this many. We’ve lost too much time already, we can’t take the time to get this much rope together and tie all these guys up.”

“We can’t leave them here,” Reno pointed out. “If they come at our back while we’re trying to push into the Syncoresi den, we’re gonna get sandwiched.”

“Dangerous,” Ess said, nodding. “We have to do something.”

“Kaldalis is right. There’s no time for it,” Martok cut in. “But we can take the teeth out of that attack.” He broke away from the group and started to gather up the discarded War Weapons that hadn’t been taken up by the adventurers.

“Right,” Kaldalis nodded. “It’s not ideal, but it’s by far the best we can do.” He gestured to the others. “We have thirty seconds. Grab all the weapons you can. The less time the Contender has to prepare for us, the better.”

The group scrambled to follow Martok’s lead, grabbing whatever they could find in the grassy clearing, picking their way over and around the downed guards. Kaldalis took the opportunity to address them.

“Those of you who are still conscious,” Kaldalis barked into the clearing, “you just got your asses kicked. You might feel a little bit like you want to go after some revenge as soon as you can get your feet under you again, and I don’t blame you. I don’t like getting my ass kicked, either. But you’re all wounded, winded, and you’re looking at a long recovery period before you’re in fighting shape again.” He made a dismissive gesture. “Right now, I’m considering the possible consequences of my actions. You were all just following the orders of a corrupt leader. You’re basically innocent Zarans. I have no personal grief with you, and wish you no harm besides what was necessary to stop you from murdering me and my friends. But if I see your faces again? If you come at me again with intent to harm?” He drew out his new black-bladed cutlass. “Maybe follow my example, and consider the possible consequences of your actions.”

“Ominous,” Reno remarked. She passed him back the red spear that he’d handed her. “I have something more in line with my preference. You can have this back.”

“How did it feel,” Kaldalis said, putting the spear away. “You like being the hero?”

“I could get used to it,” Reno said with a smirk. “But I think I need you to ease me into it.”

“Considering they were rushing down my ass whenever they could get past you?” Kaldalis said, sharing the smirk. “I think we can confirm that you’re the smart one.”

She gave him a playful punch in the shoulder.

It was a little thing, but it felt like old times.

He only hoped all the interpersonal conflicts he had going on could be resolved so easily.

“Thirty seconds are up,” Kaldalis announced, calling to the others as he started to lead the way north, towards the Syncoresi den. “We’ve got to get moving, and we need to move fast. Every second the Contender has control of Cotanaku is a second he has to find a way to fuck over everything we’ve worked for!”