Blackrock Mercenaries

My shout was still echoing around the battlefield as Lord Henry rushed in to face the monster. He ducked under a swing, his spear point glowing as he plunged it into a spot between the wooden upper body and the foliage-based tail. The Tyrant didn't appear to notice his strike, its attention focused on the downed Cathinil.

Rita was struggling to get to her feet. Both of the shield knights appeared torn on who to help. I wanted to curse at them, my emotions getting the better of me, but Lord Henry got to them first.

"Cover her until she's on her feet!"

The sheer strength of the command got them movement, and they were barely in time. A wooden fist was coming down from the sky, ready to crush her into paste. Both knights dropped to a knee, their shields up to take the blow. Wood met metal, and the knight's entire armor took on the glow of an enchanted item activating.

They strained, but it was enough. Rita managed to get away, and get to her feet, though her breathing was heavy. From my vantage point, I did my best to look her over for injuries. Fast forming bruises and torn clothes were all I could see. A defensive skill was possible, but I wasn't sure.

Blow after Blow hammered onto the knights shields, as the Tyrant roared in frustration. The monster's gnarled hands grew thornes even as pieces of them flaked off to reveal jagged edges. It switched from smashing to clawing, and with a shrieking sound that made my teeth rattle it tore deep rends into the metal shields. One knight let his drop, doing his best to get away as the other attempted to cover his retreat.

It didn't end well. A vicious sideswipe caught the shewild from beneath, and the unlucky knight found himself airborne. Penny shouted as the knight flew across the clearing and smashed down with a clatter. He lay still, and I glanced at Sasha. We were told to stay out of it, but someone needed to check in on him.

"Not my job," I reminded myself, as I let myself refocus on the battle before me. "We have to let the—"

Sasha bolted. I tore my gaze away from where Rita and Lord Henry fought side by side in an attempt to whittle the Tyrant down. Penny shouted after her, but the yellow eyed woman ignored us as she raced towards the downed knight. A hand grasped my sleeve and I found myself being pulled forward.

"Are you crazy? He told us not to interfere," I barked at Penny who was showing more strength then I expected.

"We're helping Sasha, not him." She spat back at me as we followed a winding path towards her target. "He can't complain we're keeping her safe."

I didn't answer, knowing that was untrue. He could complain, maybe demand less money. That would mean we wouldn't be able to pay off the debt. All of this would be for nothing. Nobles weren't all known for their generosity and honesty. Even when Penny let me go, I found I couldn't stop.

We reached the downed Knights side, and I helped Sasha get the man's helmet off. He was staring at us, pale blue eyes unfocused, as he reached up with an arm. It was still strapped to his buckled shield, the metal plate almost squeezed around his wrist. From the way he kept it still, I could tell it caused him pain.

His whisper came out more of a groan as he looked at me, a tinge of desperation in his eyes. "Get it off."

"Chad." Sasha snapped my name before I could respond. "Do it. I can't give him a healing potion until you do, unless we want it to set wrong. Penny, cover us. If anything changes, I want to know about it."

"On it." Penny didn't bother to salute, as she got into position, ready to fire at anything that came close.

In my opinion there was little to worry about in that regard. The Tyrant didn't appear to care about a victim that wasn't trying to get up, or the new group in its midst. All of its attention was on Rita and Lord Henry who were attacking with the same level of ferocity they were receiving. When a sharp claw almost gouged Rita's stomach, I winced, until Sasha barked my name again.

With effort, I refocused and began to pull on the straps. It was slow going, and each movement was met with a grunt of pain from the Knight as Sasha asked him questions. Nearby the battle raged, as the last strap finally pulled through the metal clip.

"Alright, slip your arm out."

I watched as he tried. It took some wiggling, but eventually we managed to get his wrist unjammed from the curled metal. The wound made me wince, almost as much as the shout of alarm from behind me. When Sasha was distracted, I looked over my shoulder.

The two crossbow wielding knights were no longer firing, as they tried to dodge a new threat on the battlefield. Small trees had sprung up. Covered by sickly yellow leaves, they swayed in an unseen wind, buffeting against the knights with heavy branches. Thankfully, both of Lord Henry's defenders had short swords as backup weapons and were doing their best to cut them down.

A snapping sound brought me back to our situation, and I spotted the knight's arm was no longer in an awkward position. Sasha slipped away a small potion bottle into her bag as she watched the knights arm with intensity.

"How does it feel? Do we—"

"What out!"

Penny tackled her to the side as the ground rent beneath her. I scrambled backwards alongside the knight as a sapling burst from the ground. It began to grow at a rapid rate, moving through its various forms with an unnatural pace. Soon it stood at the height of the average man, and I watched as the trunk bent as it attempted to slam down on us.

"Move!" The knight was taking his own advice as he yelled it out to me.

I didn't need telling twice. We all got away, as more and more began to grow around us. We couldn't fight these, they were trees, and it was clear they were products of whatever skill the Tyrant had. They wouldn't go away until the main threat was defeated and we weren't allowed to help with that.

"Back to the edge of the clearing," I called out, and then I looked towards the knight. "Are you—"

"—going back to the fray," he cut me off.

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Penny moved beside me, flipping over a branch to do it. "Alright, we need to go."

No one argued, and we raced towards the edge of the clearing where we started. Across from us, the battle against the Tyrant changed once again. More of the trees had sprung up around it, and they bent and twisted to act as makeshift shields. Ritas and Lord Henry were using them as well, mostly as ways to climb higher and get closer to the monster's tree stump face.

It screeched, an arm coming up to try and swat them away. Lord Henry stabbed into it and lifted himself up on his spear, pulling it out as he landed on the beast's shoulder. Below him, Rita was slashing at anything that got close. Though her weapon didn't show any signs of enchantments, branches and trunks were severed in equal measure.

Awe filled me at the display, and I held my breath as Lord Henry shouted. "Give me an opening!"

"On it!"

Rita moved while I was still trying to figure out what he meant. Her sword cut across the creature's face, and a line opened up. Yellow sludge poured out, as the Tyrant flailed its arms and tried to dislodge Lord Henry at the same time as it slapped out at Rita to get her away from it.

She got away quickly, but Lord Henry didn't. He slipped, but forward, and he used the movement to his advantage. Once again, though far brighter, the glow of his speartip lit up the area around him. He roared, a sound of victory, and sheer release, as he stabbed it into the cut that Rita had made.

The Tyrant seized up, and everyone took advantage. Rita cut at the tail, and the knights, able to get past the defense of the trees, battered at whatever parts of it they could reach. Flames licked at the monster's face, as Lord Henry continued to stab into the crack. The fire surged downwards enveloping its limbs, and causing the others to back off.

Soon the air was filled with the sound of crackling wood, and I watched as Lord Henry was forced to vacate his perch on the creature. That didn't stop the others from attacking where they could. Sparks of fire flew into the air as Rita cut away burning sections of leaves. More as the knights fired bolts that had started punching through.

They were winning, and it was only a matter of time before they wore the monster down. Beside me, Penny cheered them on as Rita raced around to the creatures back. Though destroyed, it again tried to plant its tail back into the ground. Before it could, she cut through it, chopping it down into small and small pieces.

Just like that, a monster that had scared me so badly when I had first seen it dropped to the ground. It shifted, trying to crawl away, but anywhere it went someone was attacking it. Smoke curled into the air, darkening the sky as the grass and new trees began to catch alight. Sasha cursed, and I was with her.

We moved in as a group, and I took the vial of fire suppressing foam that she handed me. As the others fought to wring the last dregs of life out of the Tyrant, Penny, Sasha and I, fought to stop a forest fire. The heat licked at my skin, and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back.

No matter how many of the purple vials I tossed, it didn't feel like enough. Not when the source of our issue wasn't stopping its movements. It amazed me that The Tyrant was still alive. There was almost no part of it that wasn't burning. One of its arms lay on the grass, severed by Rita's sword.

"Why won't it die?" I called out, as I tried to put out the flames that devoured another nearby tree.

"If I knew, I'd kill it!" Rita shouted back. "Keep working on the trees!"

I did so, not wanting to be responsible for burning the woodlands down. Lord Henry was like a machine, stabbing around the creature with a look of pure irritation on his face. Three more stabs, and something popped out of the burning shell. It was a small timberaine, almost worm-like. It raced across the ground as the Tyrant's shell fell apart.

Both Rita and Lord Henry stabbed out of it, but then a familiar bang sounded out. The creature was flung into the air, and I saw it was split nearly in two. Penny stood, her rifle on her shoulder as she stared at Lord Henry as though daring him to complain about it.

He didn't, and with a nod, he puffed out his chest. "The Tyrant is dead! We are victorious!"

"That's great," Sasha shouted over the crackling flames. "A little help?"

Penny laughed, and soon we were all in on putting out the flames. By the time we were done, it was late afternoon and everyone was exhausted. I panted, as I sat next to Rita who was looking at the charred mulchy corpse of the Tyrant.

"It'll stay dead, right?" I asked, glancing over at Lord Henry who was posing nearby as his knights congratulated him.

"Yes." She gave a tired laugh. "Thankfully. What happens now?"

"We get paid, and we celebrate."

"Party!"

Penny's excitement was infectious, and I looked over at Rita. "Party?"

"Party." She nodded.

The sentiment was shared by all, and though tired, we made our way back to town, ready to share our good news.

***

Lord Henry embellished a lot of the details during his speech. To hear him tell it, we did little but guide him to the event and stood back while he single handedly killed the monster. His knights cheered him on, as we sat outside, tables ladened with food and drink supplies by Ted and Hester.

Sasha was off somewhere, and Penny was in the middle, dancing with Jenkins as Reeds and Sheryl moved together nearby. I sat next to Rita, a glass of wine in my hand, as the music washed over me. There was something in the air, and as I looked over at her I couldn't help but grin.

"You feel better now that he's paid?"

She glanced at the Mayor's Office where the chest of the gold was locked up tight. As we were going to be leaving for Crecia tomorrow with the Mayor, we had put it there to discourage thieves and also as a show of trust. He had taken the box, and from the look on his face I knew he wouldn't touch it.

"I do." Rita shifted in her seat. "Though I'm glad this is over."

"Me too. It's been a long time coming." I couldn't quite keep the relief out of my voice, and she raised an eyebrow at me.

"Ready to leave?"

"Ready for this bit to be over." I paused, as I watched the dancing. "Not sure I want to go back to what I was doing though."

The eyebrow raised further. "No?"

"It's not that it was boring, but I liked doing all of this. I think." There was a pause. "Ok, a lot of it wasn't great. But I enjoyed travelling."

"There it is."

She laughed at my words, and took a sip of her own drink. We fell into silence, and I let the music wash over me. Thoughts of what to do next washed over me. Did I stay in Ophilim? Come back? Try and build something myself? That last had some appeal, but I wasn't sure it was what I wanted.

My foot tapped along with the beat, and I let myself drift through my ideas. None of them gripped me, but something else did. A hand took mine, and I looked over at Rita who was nodding towards the dancers. They stood still as the musicians changed songs. Lord Henry was still holding court nearby.

"Come on, you look distracted. It's a party."

Her mouth had that slight curve to it, her small smile. I shook my head, and let her pull me up.

"I'm surprised you're still energetic enough for this." My words were soft, as she got us a space near the edge.

"Adrenaline." There was a touch of humor to her voice. "Even now all I want to do is move."

I laughed. "You'll sleep well then."

"That would make a nice change."

Before I could ask what she meant by that, the music started. The Dragons Lament played, and we got into position. We danced together, and I knew as we did that I wasn't going to stay in the city. No. She would bring me back out, and there was no point in fighting it.

By the time the dance finished, I found myself tired, but she didn't stop. Twice more, we went through the motions, and then Penny wanted her turn. By the time I managed to collapse into bed, I was thoroughly exhausted, and when I slept, I dreamed of the party and the trip to come.