by Sam Ferguson
Augustin rushed in and crushed one with his war hammer while Brian and Mike both fired at the last gnome. The last gnome dodged the ranged attacks, somersaulted forward, and jabbed a dagger up under Augustin’s hauberk.
Brian fired another arrow, striking the final gnome in the head. Most of the creature’s HP disappeared. Augustin finished the thing off with a pommel strike at the gnome’s face, splattering its nose across its gray face before the body went stiff and toppled over backwards.
[+50 XP]
As soon as the battle was over, everyone converged on Rhonda.
“Antidote?” Brian repeated for the third time.
“I need one too if you have it,” Augustin said. “The dagger poisoned me good.”
Rhonda nodded. She had enough for all of them.
Brian sighed with relief when he saw his HP bar stabilize around the fifty percent mark. “So um... have any more of those healing potions?” He grinned wide.
Rhonda nodded again while also giving him a so-so hand signal and pulled out a bottle containing a pale pink liquid this time. She started dishing out potions one at a time. “I have enough for each of you to take a few. We shouldn’t be too far from Bohotes though, so try to go easy on them.”
“Good point,” Mike said as he walked up. “Here, I can heal you a bit.” He turned to Augustin and stretched his hands. A golden white particle stream flowed from his hands to Augustin’s avatar.
“Thank you!” Augustin said.
“Don’t mention it.”
“So, think there’s anything else on the road?” Brian asked.
Cracking stone echoed out over the ravine. Brian closed his eyes and hesitated to turn around.
“Brian, you need to keep your mouth shut,” Mike said. “I’m out of mana. Quick, top off your health with the potions!”
“Rhonda, have any more of those bomb potions?” Brian asked.
Rhonda shook her head as she tossed Mike a radiant yellow potion to regenerate his mana. “They’re hard to make. I have more of the ingredients, but they require thirty seconds of preparation, and they only have a thirty percent chance of success at my current level.”
“I thought you leveled up your alchemy skill a lot?” Mike said.
“I did, but it’s a hard potion!”
The new gargoyle stepped onto the bridge and stretched its wings as it threw its head back and roared.
Brian downed all of his health potions to get him back to full HP.
“Brian and Augustin, you attack. You’re both the closest thing we have to tanks. I’ll try to use my spells to distract it and heal you if I can. Rhonda—”
“Already ahead of you,” she said as her avatar knelt down and pulled out a small alchemy set.
This is going to hurt. Brian and Augustin rushed forward, careful to each stay far enough apart that the gargoyle couldn’t launch at both of them simultaneously. Brian didn’t really like the plan, since he was only really part warrior and had spent most of his time leveling up his assassin skills.
Should have spent more ability points on armor mastery. This leather is going to get totally demolished.
Fortunately, the monster went for Augustin. It launched across the bridge with amazing speed and force, but Augustin leapt atop the half wall just in time to let the gargoyle crash into the bridge. He then spun around and jumped down, using the spike on the war hammer to chip at the base of the left wing.
“Watch out for its countermoves!” Brian shouted as he turned, rushing to Augustin’s aid. The gargoyle flexed its wings, but Augustin ducked low to avoid getting thrown. He came up and chopped at the gargoyle’s side, but the HP bar barely moved. The stone monster spun around and caught Augustin with a backhanded strike to the face. Augustin went down but was quick to roll away.
Brian reached the gargoyle then and, not wanting to destroy his sword, used one of the axes he had gotten from the dwarves. A couple of sparks shot out as the axe blade struck the gargoyle’s shoulder, but the HP bar stayed nearly the same. The left wing shot out and slammed into Brian’s chest. He flew backward and hit the ground with a heavy thump, the vibrating sensation triggering his adrenaline. He jumped up and saw Augustin already standing toe to toe with the beast. The war hammer went in fast and hard, chipping off bits of stone, then Augustin would dodge to the side, avoiding deadly bites and heavy claw strikes. Once, he was grazed, but managed to hold his ground and keep swinging his war hammer. Mike was nearby, sending healing shots when the gargoyle wasn’t blocking him.
Brian charged in again and chopped low at the gargoyle’s leg, and this time a small bit of stone broke off. The beast lashed out with a savage punch that sent Brian several feet back, reducing his stamina by a third and his HP by nearly twenty percent.
Mike was there in a flash, healing Brian so he could get back in the fight.
“Any time now, Rhonda,” Mike called out.
“First one failed,” she said. “Almost halfway through a second attempt.”
The gargoyle lashed out with a front kick that stunned Augustin, then followed it with an uppercut to the chest. Augustin flew up into the air, followed by the gargoyle who was airborne a moment later. It slammed into Augustin once more, throwing him back several yards to bounce on the stone bridge.
“I gotta go to him!” Mike said. “Keep the gargoyle occupied!”
“I just drank my last health potion,” Augustin said.
Mike sprinted to him and Brian pulled out his bow. He fired his second to last arrow, striking the hovering gargoyle in the side. The creature turned to regard him, snarled, and then caught sight of Mike. Pulling his final arrow, Brian aimed for the creature’s head. He fired and the arrow struck true. A yellow flash signaled a critical hit, but the HP bar didn’t look like it moved at all. The gargoyle did, however, turn to fully focus on Brian.
Ah crap.
The gargoyle dove down so quickly that even though Brian jumped to the side, the beast slammed into him and pounded him into the ground. Brian’s stamina bar dropped to twenty percent, and he lost nearly two thirds of his HP.
“GUYS!”
“Second potion didn’t work,” Rhonda cried out.
“Third time is the luck!” Augustin said encouragingly.
“Charm!” Brian shouted, his tone made harsher by his imminently approaching death.
“Ah, yes, charm,” Augustin corrected.
Wait, Brian suddenly realized, luck! Luck would be the charm they needed. There was no guarantee that this next attempt by Rhonda would be successful either unless she had a little luck on her side.
“Mike, I need this guy slowed down!” he yelled frantically, hoping Mike would both hear and understand what he had in mind.
Mike looked confused for only a split second before recognition dawned in his eyes. A scroll appeared in his hand and a blue wave of energy erupted from his hand, enveloping the stone monster as it reared back, preparing to come down hard on Brian.
Brian squirmed to the side to avoid the hit that would be coming while quickly unequipping the ring from Freya.
[Freya’s ring unequipped -5 luck; -1 defense; -1 attack]
He tossed it and the luck blossoms in Rhonda’s direction.
[-3 luck blossom]
[-15 luck]
“Use those!” he called to her. She stretched her body across the stones to reach them and they disappeared into her inventory. She gave him a quick thumbs up and then turned her focus back to her alchemy tools just as the slowing effect on the gargoyle began to wear off. The tiny reprieve did little for Brian. Though the gargoyle’s fists slammed into the stone floor next to him instead of demolishing his face, a bite came only a heartbeat later. Brian used his axe to block the fangs, but he still took damage from the blow and his stamina dropped to ten percent.
“GUYS!” Brian shouted again.
The gargoyle swiped at Brian’s face with a claw strike, but he managed to block it as well. His stamina was now entirely gone. He was left defenseless, and he
couldn’t perform any counterattack of his own.
The gargoyle landed the next claw strike, driving Brian’s HP down to barely above five percent.
Ugh. Brian knew it was going to be over.
Suddenly, a blurred, silvery form slammed into the gargoyle from the side, jarring the beast just enough for a pair of hands to grab Brian and pull him back.
“I got you,” Mike said. Healing energy flowed into Brian’s avatar and his HP bar started creeping up.
The gargoyle roared, spun around, and bit Augustin in the shoulder. He then released Augustin, took two blows from the war hammer spike, and then clawed Augustin across the chest. The first strike showered the area in sparks as the stone claws raked across the breastplate, but the second strike broke the armor.
The gargoyle then whirled around, fully extending its wings to catch Augustin in the torso and launching him several feet through the air.
Mike stood up and fired two lightning bolts at the gargoyle. Tiny scorch marks marred the stone, but it didn’t do much against the creature’s HP. The bar was still slightly over half full. Brian, his HP just above thirty percent, jumped up and charged in to give Augustin a bit of time.
He ducked under the first claw strike, then jumped to the side of the second and came back with a chop of his axe. Another hunk of stone popped loose, but Brian’s axe broke and disappeared from his hands.
The gargoyle lunged forward, head-butting Brian in the face. He fell to the ground, stunned and with barely a sliver of HP left.
Mike sent another couple of bolts at the monster; it turned its attention to him and started stepping his way.
Augustin rushed in once more, but this time the gargoyle turned and used its shockwave spell to throw Augustin back again.
Turning, it used its claw strike on Mike. The wizard went down to the ground.
“I’m out of mana,” Mike said.
“I’m basically dead,” Brian replied.
“I have a bit of HP,” Augustin said.
A bottle struck the gargoyle in the back of the head and shattered.
The beast turned around to face Rhonda. It then jumped into the air and quickly swooped down into its attack dive. Brian watched, eyes wide as Rhonda pulled out an orange bottle.
“Chew on this, big guy,” she said as she under-hand tossed the bottle into the gargoyle’s flight path and then dove out to the side.
The gargoyle dove right into the bottle, his mouth wide open, catching the orange potion inside. As before, there was a brief, faint sound of shattering glass, and then an eruption of fire followed by a shockwave. This time, likely because the potion had gone inside the beast, the gargoyle fully shattered, its head and shoulders disappearing and other hunks and bits shooting out in all directions, leaving only a small pile of stone and dust on the bridge.
[+450 XP]
“That, was... awesome!” Brian shouted. “Well done!”
Rhonda stood up and then took a dramatic bow. “I think I’m catching on quickly.” Little Man poked his head out from her bag and snarled triumphantly.
“I liked the cheesy one-liner too,” Mike said. “Sounded like a good old fashioned action flick.”
Rhonda shot him a look. “Well, I was going to offer to give you some mana potions, but I think I’ll hold onto those now.”
“Just playin’ a little,” Mike said.
Rhonda shook her head.
“My armor is broken,” Augustin said. “Think I can fix it?”
“Or we can buy new stuff at Bohotes,” Mike said.
“Assuming there isn’t anything else between here and Bohotes,” Brian put in.
“Hey, now what have I said about keeping your mouth shut?” Mike teased.
“Seriously though, there are still plenty of other gargoyles adorning this bridge,” Augustin pointed out. “Do you think we should worry about them?
Every member of the party tensed as they surveyed the four large statues that guarded the ends of the bridge and the smaller carvings that sat on top of all the other archways.
Brian whirled around, as did the others, when they heard a clatter along the stones coming from the Bohotes’ side of the bridge. Instead of more gnomes though, a blue-robed Korr’Tai—a wood elf—riding a heavily-laden white llama was coming toward them. He hummed merrily to himself as he swayed precariously back and forth on a brightly beaded, blue-fringed saddle.
“Well hello, young adventurers!” he called out when he noticed them. “Do you seek refreshment?” a slight slur to his speech and a flush in his cheeks that was ever more obvious as he drew closer gave away his current condition. “I have some of the finest wines, spirits, elixirs, and other beverages you could hope to find in these untamed lands! Tell me your price and I’ll find you something to fit!”
“Unless he is selling healing potions for the price of used gnome crossbows, I don’t have time for this,” Brian rolled his eyes and started to turn away.
“Wait, wait, did you hear what he offered? He said ‘elixirs’,” Augustin tapped Rhonda’s arm excitedly. “Does this not seem like a wandering trader who would sell you moonshine?”
“I don’t know, Meredith made it sound like we would probably never meet that guy. The odds were ‘not good’ she said.” Mike used air quotes to emphasize his point.
“Hold on now, between Little Man’s luck bonus and all the luck Rhonda is currently packing around from me, I think there’s a good chance!” Brian was a little excited to see how this played out.
Rhonda approached the elf, who was patiently waiting astride his woolly steed.
“You have a wonderful animal,” she said in a silky voice. “I’ve never seen such a marvelous creature. Did you craft the tack personally?” She fingered the fringe of the saddle as she waited for his response.
“He is rather magnificent, yes. And, indeed, I created everything you see here with my own hands.”
“If my associates here wanted to take it from you, I think it would be no trouble for them,” she continued, her voice just as silky and alluring as before. The merchant didn’t respond verbally this time, but his eyes widened and he flushed an even deeper shade than before. “Don’t worry though, I feel like you and I are destined to be friends. I command dozens more than the drab grunts you see here,” she gestured to Brian and the other two, “and these hired hands would never dare harass one of my friends.”
The elf nodded seriously, stroking his beard as though deep in thought. “Here is a token of my friendship,” Rhonda drawled. Disengaging her hand from the beaded fringe, she presented him the manticore heart Brian had given her earlier.
“I do like to make friends,” the elf smiled broadly and took her hand. Brian couldn’t tell if it was more of a business gesture or a romantic one.
“What a firm hand!” Rhonda exclaimed, using that same sweet, musical voice. “I can tell you use them to do excellent work. I’ve always said, a man with a tool in hand is a valuable find; a man with a sword… is probably just angry.”
The joke was utterly lame, but the elf burst out laughing so hard, he nearly fell from the saddle. Brian looked at the others, completely baffled by what was going on. They didn’t seem to have much more of an idea and simply shook their heads in response.
Still laughing to himself nearly a minute later, the elf climbed down from the llama and shook Rhonda’s hand heartily.
“What can I get for you, friend?”
“I’m looking for an elixir of moonlight,” she said, finally using her normal voice.
“Ah yes, I have just the thing.” He turned to the pile of bags hanging from the back of the saddle and returned with a shining silver phial. “One hundred gold!”
[Only one hundred? I thought Meredith said this potion would be super expensive—Kolvurin]
[Maybe she exaggerated? Either that, or Rhonda really is that skilled at negotiating a good deal.]
“All right, big guy,” Rhonda turned to Mike with an outstretched hand. “Let’s have it.”
“Have what?” he asked, dismay in his voice.
“The gold. You looted that carriage back when we set out from Fezhik, and I just saved your butt three or four times over. I’m broke, and you owe me.”
Mike grunted and dropped some coins on the ground between them. Rhonda added them to her inventory and then bent her fingers expectantly again, training her gaze patiently on Mike.
“Wha—hey I—wasn’t that enough?” Mike stammered in frustration.
“You said you took a thousand gold from that carriage. Hand it all over or the next time you get shot in the chest, poisoned by a lich, or drained from a battle way over your party size and ability level, I will let you rot on the side of the road.”
Mike’s eyes went wide. Brian fought desperately to swallow his laughter. The rest of the coin dropped to the ground and was swept into Rhonda’s inventory. She turned back to the wandering trader.
“Thank you,” she replied sweetly, retrieving five of the phials from him in a row. Just when it seemed the transaction had come to a conclusion, she handed him another pile of coin. “You wouldn’t happen to be willing to part with the ingredient list for this elixir, would you?” she asked in that alluring, silky voice as she turned slightly toward the llama and stroked its neck slowly.
The trader held the pile of coin in his hand, bouncing it up and down as though weighing it. He looked from it to Rhonda, smiling as he sucked at the inside of his cheek.
Nice nuanced animation! Brian thought with surprise.
“You,” he wagged his finger appreciatively at her, “you are a shrewd negotiator, my new friend. And if you are asking for the ingredients, I take it you are also a skilled alchemist,” he stated it more than asked, suddenly seeming much more sober than when he had first approached them.
