NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Funeris" data-source="post: 2813524" data-attributes="member: 22792">Chapter 12: Bloodshed (Continued)Fitz screamed at the flames.  Tobias had vanished inside along with that dwarf Culite.  Inside the roaring fire, birthed by Magnus’ spell and his carefully designed oil slicks, the Cerian priest could hear metal against metal.Inside that hellish environment, Tobias fought on.  Fitz could not charge in, so he screamed.  He had lost sight of the rest of the battle but he knew Motega could hold his own.And then the sounds of battle mixed with crackling fire died.Tobias fell.  The paladin crumpled to the ground, his feet and half of his legs still in the flames.  Smoke billowed from the holy warrior’s blistered body.  The metal of his armor and his sword—still gripped tightly in his hand—was white hot with rage.Fitz leaned down and grabbed the paladin.  His hands screamed at his brain in protest but the priest ignored them.  He pulled; with all his strength, he pulled.  Fitz moved the heavy body two inches.  His palms were beginning to blister.   The priest released and fell back onto his ass.  Determined, he stood.He grasped the body again and tugged.His eyes and mind were focused on the paladin.  Fitz did not see the smoldering dwarf step from the flames, his double-headed axe practically bonded to his hands.  He did not see the flesh-less skull swivel in his direction.  Fitz did not sense the axe raise up high above the few stray, burned beard hairs and begin its deadly assault downward.     *     *     *     Cochly dodged around the werewolf and the centaur, adding his axe to the fray.  The two beasts—and to the dwarf, they were both beasts—were locked in a titanic struggle.  The werewolf was clawing at the centaur’s throat and torso, tearing long strips of flesh and muscle from its body.  Al’baku swung his axe and reared onto his hind legs to kick at the werewolf like some common dog.The centaur was landing solid hits, too.Several times, Cochly could hear Motega’s ribs shatter under the brutal assault.The Rorn needed his help, though.  Minetown needed Cochly.  And so his blade bit into the centaur’s side.Al’baku shrieked.  Suddenly, the equine body pounded Cochly.  The dwarf, though stout and strong, could not fight the surging strength and sheer mass of the centaur.  He tried to duck, but the centaur pushed him into the flames and against the wall.Cochly’s head slammed into the rough stone, fire licking at his beard and tasting his flesh.  Then the centaur’s body was gone and Cochly hit the ground rolling.His eyes snapped open to see the centaur’s hoof snapping toward his face.The world went black.     *     *     *     Magnus screamed in joy.  The persistent—and stupid, he thought—half-orc had somehow struggled to his feet after the second—or was it third?—fireball exploded in his face.Somehow, the bastard had stood back up.And reached into his pouch; he allowed his bow to fall uselessly to the ground.  But Magnus would not let him drink another healing elixir—not again.  One final ball of flame had sealed the half-orc’s fate.Magnus screamed in joy[1].     *     *     *     Fitz felt a sudden breeze.  He stepped back just as the dwarf’s axe snagged the metal of his banded armor.Falling backward, Fitz could feel the blood pouring from the wound.  The damned dwarf was strong; he had ripped right through his armor!  The Cerian priest attempted to grasp for his scythe, it had fallen uselessly to the ground.  His entire right side was stunned; his arm useless.Fitz did the only thing he could, he scrambled back as Brother Wulffa stepped forward.The seared skull swiveled back and forth, following Fitz’s jerky movement.  The blackened bone still had bits of charred muscle clinging to it, holding it to its stocky body.  A few frazzled hairs jabbed angrily at the air; none were more than an inch or two in length.  The dwarf’s eyes were burned as well, the irises fading into the sickly yellow-white orbs.  It laughed a hoarse, dry, cracked gurgle.  It sounded rough.  The Cerian priest noticed a brief burst of blood from the fried dwarf’s throat as it passed more air through its ruined esophagus.“And now,” it rasped, “now you will taste the bitter bite of me’ axe.  Cula Vak will enjoy the taste of yer soul, harvest priest.  Jus’ as he enjoyed the angel worshipper’s.”  It cackled again—more blood!—as it lifted its axe up for the final blow.A white hot blade slammed through the dwarf’s mouth, destroying the stone-like teeth.  Tobias grimaced, blood pouring from his blisters and his burned flesh.  He jammed it further through the dwarf’s head.  A blast of bloody spittle splashed Fitz’s face.The paladin jerked the blade, severing the top of Wulffa’s skull from its neck.  The skull, jawbone, and Tobias collapsed to the ground at the same time.  They were followed immediately by the paladin’s blade and Wulffa’s corpse.Fitz crawled toward Tobias, the healing wand now in his hand.     *     *     *     Magnus descended toward the main battle.  He saw Fitz tending Tobias near the church.  Cochly was down—the dwarf’s head was crushed; his brains scattered in a gory streak across the dry earth.  The mage shook his head sadly.Motega was locked against the Rorn centaur, his massive talons shredding the horse-man’s back while the horse was trying to pull away.  Time to end this, he thought.  The mage unleashed a series of magic missiles from his hand.  They soared downward, impacting the centaur’s equine body.  Al’baku shrieked and reared up as the energy surged into his body.  Motega’s used that moment to snap his lupine snout down on the centaur’s neck.  Al’baku’s eyes stretched wide in distress as the Rorn lycanthrope grasped tighter and placed his feet solidly against his torso.Motega pushed with his feet, wrenching the centaur’s throat free from its neck and propelling backward into a somersault.  As the lycanthrope landed, the centaur’s body crumpled to the earth, lifeless.A quiet descended onto the street except for the crackling flames.  That quiet was suddenly shattered as Yapper’s spell wore out and the tiny reptile-man, all of maybe eighty pounds soaking wet, plummeted from his position above the city.  The corpse slammed loudly into the overwhelming statue of Morduk, God of justice.  Gravity bent Yapper’s body in half, an unnatural bend possible only through gratuitous shattering of vertebrae.The mage made a low whistle.  “Ironic,” he whispered, wearing his grin, “and yet fitting.”  But even the resounding noise of shattering bones faded quickly.Magnus glanced around, making sure there were no more enemies nearby.  When he was sure, he turned to the north.  There, he could see movement in the distance.  He kicked off, charging forward to search for the remaining enemies.     *     *     *     Tobias and Motega sat beside each other along with Arad, Byk, Devon—who had finally come out of hiding—, and Crazy Cargyle.  Fitz quickly administered healing to the wounded.“Where is that damned mage?” Tobias spit.  His lips had split from the heat and dryness, despite Fitz’s aide.  Overall, Tobias looked a mess.  His long red hair had been incinerated by the flames; leaving only the charred flesh before and the fresh, pink skin now in its place.  Even his eyebrows were gone.“Who knows?” Motega murmured.  The Rorn also was not looking too well.  Although, most of the damage he had taken was diminished by his disease.  He still nursed a broken rib or two while waiting for Fitz’s happy stick.Arad, Byk, Devon, and Cargyle smiled to each other.  Cargyle had been the worst off of the patriots—aside from those that were dead.  Crazy Cargyle, as he was called or wanted to be called, had taken a direct and devastating hit from the centaur’s bow.  As a result, he had missed watching the last moments of the tremendous battle.“Stop smiling like buffoons,” Fitz rebuked.  The four patriots jumped.  “We did not lose our brothers for nothing.  We did it for this town.  And now, you’re just going to sit on your butts while your town burns down?!“I don’t think so.  Get up!  Get up!  Get up!!” the priest bellowed as he swept toward them.  “Get some water, put out those fires!” he ordered.  The patriots quickly dodged out of his way, hurrying to do his bidding.Tobias and Motega chuckled.And then the mage was suddenly among them, his young face pale from exertion.  “We have to go!”  They all looked at him questionably.  “There’s another group,” he huffed, “north.  They ducked into the mine.  We have to get them before they escape.”  “How many?” Tobias questioned even as he stood and sheathed his sword.  “I’m not sure.  They ducked into the cave.  I hurled a fireball after them but didn’t hang around to see the result.  Probably, at least, four or five.”“Not so bad,” quipped Motega.“And one of ‘em is an ogre.”Fitz sighed.“No rest for the wicked,” the Rorn stated as he checked his sword.“Or the righteous,” added Tobias.</blockquote>

Verification