Hello, Everyone!
Are you reary for another part of Mary Windfiddle’s adventures?
Here it comes!
Last time, she and her companions arrived in Meraket. They witnessed the locals celebrating the end of the drought that had plagued their lands for months and, later that night, while drinking in “The Stern Mistress”, they ran into the people responsible for the magical rain – a dragonborn man and a human woman from Zerakas tol. During their talk the ground shook and the floor of the tavern suddenly erupted.
Content warning: The text below contains descriptions that might be upsetting to some readers (blood, death, paralysis). Proceed at your own caution.
The roar of the ground bursting up echoed through the tavern. Debris flew everywhere. A half-elf who had the unfortune to stand on the point of impact was crushed to death by what came out of the now gaping hole in the ground.
It was a creature, bigger than a full grown ox, grey and lizard-like, with four limbs ending with massive claws, and skin that looked like plated armor. Mary had seen it on an illustration in some book. It was a Bulette, the so-called ‘land-shark’.
Several smaller, humanoid figures climbed out of the hole in the ground. Short and thin, grey skinned and white bearded. Duergar.
“Don’t move!” one of them shouted. “Give us your money and nobody gets hurt.” He glanced at the bloody mess at the Bulette’s feet. “Well, nobody else.”
Mary looked at her companions. This was the same as that time with the Carrion crawler and lord Dwendel’s chest. The duergar were stealing money and this was obviously just another one of their attempts to do so.
“Don’t do anything rash,” Lady Kaire warned, seeing them ready themselves for action. “We’re waiting for Genos.”
It was just now that Mary noticed the dragonborn missing. She looked around and couldn’t see a trace of him. They waited for a few seconds, people were screaming, some were even crying. The grey dwarves started to shout something about order.
And then, a blade appeared out of thin air. It slashed in between the lead duergar’s head and his body, blood splashed everywhere and, behind its falling figure, Sir Genos appeared, eyes flaring and fangs gleaming in the light of the tavern’s lanterns. He roared in delight and that was the signal for the fight to begin.
Mary’s first thought was about the bystanders. She shouted for them to run away and then prepared herself for combat. She had a new spell to try out. She moved her hand in a circle around her face, uttered a few words and cast Mirror Image. Three other false Maries started dancing around her, confusing the eye about who was the real one.
Unfortunately, this movement attracted the Bulette’s attention. It growled, ran towards her and leaped…
She saw it land on top of her and crush her…
She tumbled on the ground and saw in her peripheral vision Lady Kaire’s eyes flicker from white to their normal brown color. Mary didn’t know what had happened but she didn’t lose any moment to wonder. She quickly teleported away and ducked behind the bar.
“Hey! That’s my hiding spot! Go find another!” an angry voice scolded her and she saw the halfling bartender crouched on a shelf just next to her.
“I’m not hiding!” she whispered, “I’m finding a better spot to fight from!”
“That’s even worse!” he said. “You’re going to lead them to me!”
“No, I’m not! You’ll be fine.”
The halfling thought for a second.
“If you break anything, you pay for it” he said and pulled a sack of potatoes in front of himself.
Meanwhile the fight was continuing. Bruno and Aurum were next to the Bulette. The bard was sending Thunderwave after Thunderwave, pushing the beast away but holding his ground; and the dwarf was swinging his hammer back and forth. Lady Kaire was attacking from a distance, using a series of darts of white light.
Mary saw her eyes flash white a few more times, and every time it was like there were two versions of the same event happening – one awful and disastrous and the other just good enough to avoid it. She remembered reading about wizards who could see the different paths of the future and choose which of them to bring forth. Lady Kaire was probably a Divination wizard.
Sir Genos was guarding the hole and exchanging blows with the charging duergar. It wasn’t going well for him. He was bleeding from multiple wounds but at the same time seemed exhilarated by the action. Mary saw him cut a duergar in half, laughing in delight when the blood spattered his face.
She shuddered.
She peaked out from her hiding place and used an Eldritch blast to help Bruno and Aurum with the Bulette. Right at this moment, the beast opened its huge mouth and descended upon the bard. The bite was aimed at his head and was going to decapitate him but the inertia of the movement took the Bulette out of balance, it slipped on a puddle of half-elf blood and collapsed on the ground.
“That was lucky!” Aurum said and laughed, before sending another Thunderwave at the beast.
A growl came from Sir Genos’ direction and attracted Mary’s attention. The dragonborn was currently fighting the last remaining duergar. Bruno had healed him a few times and he wasn’t bleeding so profusely as before, but he seemed tired.
In her desire to help him, Mary dug her hand in her component pouch and took out a nail. She pointed it at the duergar and cast Hold Person.
The grey dwarf froze in place, his eyes wide with surprise.
Sir Genos bared his fangs in a predatory smile, grabbed the duergar by the back of his neck and jabbed his blade into his head from the bottom up. The dragonborn started laughing maniacally all the while the dwarf bled on top of him.
Mary dropped the nail in horror. She didn’t mean to…
Right at this moment a crack and a roar echoed in the tavern. Mary whipped around, ready to help whoever of her companions was in trouble but it was the Bulette who had suffered damage. One of its hind legs was sticking out in a weird angle, broken by Bruno’s hammer. The dwarf swung again and broke the beast’s other leg.
Then it was just a matter of finishing the creature off.
Another fight down, another creature defeated. It’s just that… do you think this Genos guy is a bit too much? I enjoy writing about him but I think Mary is a bit apprehensive. I wonder why :)
Anyway.
Thank you for reading!
See you next time!
Take care and be well!