Quest: Hobbe Scotch

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

Another day, another tavern. The Pirate Captain Pluto Savant sat the bar, but didn't have a drink. He was waiting for something.

His blond hair was once again covered with a traditional pirate's hat, but his garb was a bit different than his traveling clothes. While usually, Savant wore light, comfortable clothing, today he was wearing light leather armor. The dark skin covered most of his body, allowing protection from harm's way. After all, today he was going to complete a quest.

His cutlass slung in its scabbard on his back and his beloved pistol strapped to his belt, Savant seemed entirely ready for battle. So the barman asked a question he'd been wondering about since Savant, otherwise known as the Hero Smoke Bullet, arrived.

"What are you waiting for?"

And Savant's lips curled into a peculiar smile. When he spoke, it was just one word: "Company."

Just a day earlier, he had met two interesting people--Hero siblings. They were both over-emotional and rash, but Savant had taken a strange liking to them. He guessed it was the common goal they had: that of finding Sparrow.

Nonetheless, Savant had been waiting all day for them. He was sure they were going to show up, so he waited. But it was getting late. And those Hobbes weren't going to kill themselves--or at least he didn't think they would. As far as he knew, Hobbes were anything but suicidal.

While his mind wandered, he made a subconscious note to head out in fifteen minutes if those two didn't show up by then.

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

Quest: Hobbe Scotch 200901_V-Magazine----dev-patel

Rookridge was far from beautiful. The lone tavern was swamped in mud, the dock was falling apart and the water was gray and polluted. Hammer stood on the hill overlooking the small town. His short black hair was covered in a red bandanna, a khaki scarf shielding his nose and mouth from the burnt charcoal in the air. He bore armor across his shoulders and chest. While at first glance he would appear to be well equip, one only had to look closer to see his armor was shoddy and frail. It could withstand hobbes, but after that it would have to call a quits. His boots, steel toed and black, dug into the mud as he trudged down the path, the large hammer swung over his back, not replaced by the Obsidian he so desired.

Mystic followed behind him, managing to remain cleaner than her brother. Her face too was shielded in a white veil, leaving only dark eyes visible to travelers. Her hair billowed softly against the wind, settling against small fragments of golden armor that adorned her shoulders and chest. It was little, but Mystic had never been close enough to put herself in real danger. She always worked at a distance, using long-shot Will, or spells that would cast a shield around her and the others. Her pants were cropped, made of the same white material that covered her face and chest, and came just above her knees. Black boots came mid calf, but managed to stay relatively mud free as she followed Hammer, scowling along the way about his stubbornness.

Arriving at the tavern, Hammer set his weapon down with a dull thud, to his dismay causing bits of the tavern to shake. Mystic followed behind him, hidden behind his arm. Hammer towered above his sister by almost an entire foot, and her face was hidden by his bicep. "You're always drinking," she noted of Smoke Bullet, "Is that the only passtime you know of besides plundering?"

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

Ten minutes had passed, and he has succumbed to the allure of alcohol once again. Though this time it was a mug of ale instead, Savant drank as heartily as if it was the rum he so craved. As he took a rather large gulp from his mug, the arrival of the two Heroes from Bowerstone--whose names he had yet to learn--caused a rush of excitement to flow through his veins. Or maybe that was the ale.

Deciding to finish the ale right then instead, he slammed the empty mug on the table and tossed the barman a single coin for his troubles. Savant stood now, shaking off the slight tipsiness that had struck him, when the girl spoke.

Instead of arguing, he simply smiled, showcasing the pearly teeth that so many pirates went without. "Pirate!" he called matter-of-factly, as if holding that profession gave him the right to drink his troubles away. In his mind, it did, of course.

"Anyways," he said, "shall we get started?"

And with a bounce in his step--for he was going to take care of the Hobbes he had been waiting all day to eliminate--he exited the tavern and headed for the cave the Hobbes were said to live in.

"Apparently the children of this shoddy little place are in danger of kidnapping by the two dozen or so Hobbes living in a cave not far from here," he explained, for they had not seen the warrant. "Our job, obviously, is to eliminate them. I could, of course, do it myself. But what's the fun in that?"

The truth was, Savant was interested in seeing the fighting styles of the two. If he ever had to deal with them, he wanted to be in the know.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the entrance to the cave. With a smirk, he looked to the girl. "Ladies first," he said sarcastically, with a mock-chivalrous wave of his hand.

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

Hammer picked up his weapon, swinging it over his shoulder and watching Savant bounce past him, raising an eyebrow but saying nothing. Mystic followed behind him, tugging Hammer close to her. She pulled her veil down and whispered to him, "Keep an eye out on that one. Pirates are mischievous bastards and will do what they can to suckle gold out of you." Hammer shrugged, following in Savant's steps, only half listening to the warrant. All he knew was that there were hobbes to be slain. He didn't need to know why.

"Hobbes," Mystic began, trailing between Savant and Hammer, "Those little nasty creatures. They turn children into more hobbes don't they? That's why they're kidnapped." She repressed a shudder as they approached the cave, piles of wood around it proof of failures to board it up. Her katana lay across her back, unused. Instead, she opened up the palm of her hands, slowly curling up her fingers as if stretching them. The veins that ran along her dark arms began to glow a dull blue, unused yet.

She rolled her eyes at Savant's insistence. He was probably too chickenshit himself to go first. Stooping a bit, she stepped across the rocky entrance and found herself in a small dimly lit cove, winding passages just a few meters from the entrance. Torches on the walls flickered, and she could see the bones of humans piled in the corner, as well as stolen trinkets. "Smells lovely in here," she called back, referring to the pungent smell of feces and burnt flesh. Hammer had managed to squeeze himself through the tiny entrance way and stood at Mystic's side, examining his surroundings. "Guess they're deeper in," he noted obviously, gesturing to the passage that lay before them. Scratches and rustling movement could be heard echoing beyond, and even the malicious chuckle of a hobbe himself.

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

Savant didn't hear the remark she had made behind his back, but already knew what people thought of him. As a pirate, he had been the butt of an uncountable number of insults. Though it was true he was all about the coin, that wasn't the only aspect of his personality. There was a lot more to him than met the eye.

When the girl had actually moved forward ahead of him, he was quite surprised. He wasn't expecting her to take him seriously. Nonetheless, he watched as she crawled through the small gap in the mountain's side, noting her thin structure and tight backside.

Climbing in after the boy, Savant found himself in a tiny entrance cavern. What the girl said was right--it smelled rank in here, worse than the bilge-rats back on the Red Sparrow. He noticed small trinkets and such lining the walls, but saw nothing that looked especially valuable.

As he reached down to examine a small medallion, he heard the shuffling of footsteps further in the cavern, and the laughter of a sneaking Hobbe.

"Be on your guard," he said, pulling the cutlass from its scabbard on his back. He moved forward, leading the pack. If he going to be in front, his pistol just wouldn't do. And despite what most thought of him, gunmanship wasn't his only forte.

As he took a few steps into the cavern further along, he looked to the girl. "It's going to be dark in here. You're a Will user, right? How about lighting our way?"

But before he could expect the girl to light up the room, the shuffling of footsteps came quite close. They were in a small cavern again, and three gross little Hobbes were making their way to the group.

Each of the Hobbes dashed at a different member of the group, unarmored but wielding maces and pipes as weapons. Savant's Hobbe swung its mace at him, to which Savant met in mid-swing. Without a single thought, his pistol was drawn in his free hand and had fired a couple shots at the creature's face. In an instant, it had crumpled.

The adrenaline was rushing from the surprise attack, and Savant looked over to see how the other two had fared. Now was, after all, his chance to see their fighting styles at work.

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

Hammer's eyes narrowed at Savant's wandering gaze. As he passed Savant to stand by his sister, he gave the pirate a hard shove, playing it off as an accident. Mystic sniffed the moist hot air of the cavern. At Savant's request, she snapped her fingers, a small ball of fire on the tip of her index finger. It lit up the passage, though the sight nearly caused her to snuff the flame out. Three hobbes (almost wrote hobbits lol) charged out of the shadows, bursting from barrels, evidently planning for the invasion on their cave. Mystic stumbled backwards, and it was good that she did, as Hammer's hammer swung just above her head, smashing into the attacking hobbe's skull. With a sickening crunch he flew across the cavern, colliding with the wall, blood oozing form beneath his shoddy helmet and mouth.

Mystic was quick to recover from her stumble, and she muttered "Inflame" under her breath, Hammer acting as a shield. A fireball illuminated in her palm, the shadows dancing across her face and creating an ominous glow about her. It shot forward, catching the final hobbe on fire. Yelping, he began to dance around the cavern, his tunic ablaze. Two more fireballs flew from Mystic's hands, the veins now glowing brightly in blue, her eyes shining a bright violet. After the third, the hobbe fell to the ground, greatly singed and stinking of burnt flesh. Shaking her head, her eyes recovered to the brown color, though the blue veins remained.

"Well," she began, stepping over the smoking hobbe and lightly kicking him. "How many were there, you said? Two dozen?" Hammer scoffed, turning over another, but finding no loot for him to be hoarding. "Blasted things are useless."

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

He had to admit, they knew what they were doing. If they had to, they would work as quite the team. Savant noted that, just in case things ever turned around on him.

The boy was brutal as all hell. His hammer smashed one Hobbe's face entirely in, as evidenced from the blood oozing from beneath its helmet. As for the girl, though... She was took the Hobbe down just as easily as her brother, but with three separate balls of flame. She took a little longer to take down her enemies, which is something Savant thought was a bit of a weakness. Staring at the smoldering body, he noted that when she did kill her enemy, she certainly didn't leave any wiggle room for life.

"Efficiently brutal, you two," Savant said, not even having to fake his astonishment. "That reminds me, I don't believe I ever caught your names."

While they answered, he looked around the room. The burning body was casting a flickering light around the dark room. He expected that it would continue to cast that light for a short distance, and even when its light faded, he expected the girl to continue lighting the torch-like flame she had cast earlier.

He spotted the next stone corridor and began to move down it. "How long have you two been active?" he asked, trying to make conversation. He spoke quietly, even though he knew the Hobbes were aware of their presence.

Before long, they came to a larger room with torches hanging on the walls. Just like the rest of the cave, it was littered with gadgets and junk all about. It was about four times the size of the last room, with a stone incline wrapping around it, to the next passageway about thirty feet above the ground. And just as he noticed the passageway, eight or so more Hobbes entered the room, followed by one armored in red metal.

"Here they come!" he called, smiling wide. This excitement was exactly what he lived for. And as the creatures dashed down the incline, two were already bleeding from bullet holes, crippling them to the floor.

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

A smile curled on her pink lips, though she quickly bit it back. She pulled the scarf back around her face, long lashes blinking at him. "That would make sense, sir, for we never gave them." She proceeded along the corridor. Instead of igniting her finger as previous, a small sort of blue heavenly glow was cast around her. It was more dim but seemed to save more energy, for her cheeks glowed and she had more of a spring to her step. Hammer was wiping the blood from his weapon, using a small handkerchief, then giving up and tossing it onto the body.

"Hammer. That's Mystic." He pointed gruffly to his sister, who he trailed after into the second chamber. "No need to know our real names," he said, almost in a grunt. "Yet," Mystic corrected. A certain bitter fondness for the pirate had grown on her, though she didn't let it show. They stood in the middle of the new chamber, Hammer's eyes following the rampant path circling the room. " 'Active'?" Hammer asked, as if unsure of Savant's meaning. "As Heroes," Mystic butted in, though she brought a finger to her lips, the scurrying of feet and gibberish giving away the place of the hobbes long before they appeared, "We've had the blood all our lives. Been about five years since the bar."

Savant's gun shots announced the arrival of more hobbes, these more generous in numbers. Hammer gripped his weapon with both hands, raising it above his head. But before he could act, Mystic had crouched to the ground, slamming a fist into the rock. Shattering the stone beneath her hand, a pulse of Will Energy, the Force Push, shoved the hobbes backwards, stumbling over their clutter. Hammer proceeded to leap forward, his hammer crashing down on one Hobbe and smashing him flat as a pancake into the ground. Blood and other parts splattered from beneath the massive stone. But as he lifted it, his strength still building, another launched itself at him, sinking it's teeth into his unprotected forearm.

Mystic spun around, fire flying from her hands, tackling both the one on Hammer's arm and one that was advancing on Savant. "Watch it!" she called out to him, sending a second fire ball for good measure to ensure the attacker was rightfully singed.

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

As Savant had walked down the corridor, following the girl--not to his disapproval--he couldn't help but smile at her response to his question. It was almost playful, he noticed, which gave him a sense of what he could only define as safety, which he thought was severely misplaced.

The boy spoke then, explaining their Heroic names. Hammer and Mystic. Though he decided Hammer was unimaginative and self-descriptive, he realized those qualities also existed within the boy himself. He was, after all, quick to emotion and just as quick to divulge his past. The name Mystic, however, suited the girl. She was mysterious and alluring, with a sense of wisdom above her brother's.

Then Hammer surprised him. He chose not to tell Savant their true names, which meant he still had some sense of privacy among his openness. And Mystic surprised him as well, with that simple word tagged on to the end of her brother's speech. That simple word was enough to not only make Savant feel welcome in the group, but to make him question the girl's motives.

Once they had reached the large, circular room, they didn't have much time to talk, though. Savant had taken two of the creatures out by the time they had barely reached the incline. Immediately after firing the weapon, Savant began to focus his Will energy.

As he watched Hammer crack the skull of the first Hobbe to reach the bottom of the incline and Mystic launch a wave of forceful energy at the targets, Savant noticed another Hobbe dashing directly for him. He couldn't stop charging for just one little bugger--that would be a waste. Lucky for him, Mystic had launched a fireball directly for the creature.

"Thanks! Now get out of the way!" Savant called, looking to the remaining four or five creatures. The Will was charging quickly as air rushed to the space between Savant's hands. The brim of his hat blowing in the building wind, Savant opened his hands with a sudden burst of energy toward the Hobbes. Though his Will wasn't enough to kill unharmed creatures, it was more than enough to cause havoc.

The blast of wind, the result of Savant's Tempest Will, launched the small group of Hobbes in all directions like bowling pins, lifting them off the ground and smashing them against walls and such. He once again drew his pistol and fired four more shots into the pile of crumpled bodies, until he was forced to reload.

"Take out the ones that aren't finished, Hammer," he said, more of a request or a suggestion than a command. "Nice work, you two."

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

Catching herself, Mystic tossed a few more fireballs towards two of the hobbes, disheveled by Savant's Tempest. While the veins on her arms did not bulge, the Will had spread, blue like a spider web stretching across her neck and reaching the middle of her cheeks. She stopped for a moment, leaning against the room's wall, exhaling slowly to regain energy. It had been a while since she'd use that much Will in one instance in combat. It was much more exhilarating and consumed more energy.

Hammer happily obliged Savant. With a hearty swing, two hobbes that were still ablaze from Mystic went flying across the room, their shrilly screams echoing down the passages, as did the clanking of their feeble armor. The remaining three he chased around the room, chortling like a child chasing butterflies, knocking them around one by one, and smashing the last flat into the ground like a pancake. He wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a whistle. "It's hot in here," he laughed, suddenly wincing. The uncovered part of his forearm had a gash, blood dripping and staining his tunic.

Mystic left the wall, arriving at her brother's side. "Hold still," she warned before letting her hands hover above the wound. Her fingertips began to glow a light pink, and the skin slowly but surely began to repair itself, cell by cell. After it had finished, it was bruised and scarred, but healed. Hammer raised an eyebrow at the wound, prodding at it. Mystic scoffed, "What? I'm working on it." She turned to Savant, who had almost seemed overwhelmed at one point. She held up her hand, still pink, "Need any help?"

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

Will certainly wasn't Savant's chosen tool, for good reason. Even a single use of Will like the Tempest he had just utilized was enough to wipe him out for a little while. He collapsed against a stone wall, landing on a small wooden crate that the wind had likely pushed up against the wall. He was breathing hard, but wasn't wiped enough to miss Hammer's childlike beating of the remaining Hobbes.

When he had finished, he watched as Mystic's fingers lit with a dull pink light. As she moved them along a small wound on Hammer's forearm, Savant saw the separated skin form back together as one. Though it wasn't a perfected skill, as evident by the mark that remained, it was certainly useful. When she looked to him, Savant smiled wide. He wasn't going to show his exhaustion.

"Neat trick," he responded. "But I'll be fine." He couldn't hide the fact that he was sitting, but made it off to look like he was just reloading the magazine in his empty pistol. "Just needed to take a breather. Let's keep going. There can't be many more left."

He stood up, a little woozy. He felt drunk, but was determined to shrug it off. He began toward the incline, drawing the cutlass from the scabbard on his back while he walked. Savant looked back to the other two when he was about halfway up the incline, realizing something.

"I thought I saw an armored Hobbe in that group? Where'd he go?"

And just as he spoke, the armored Hobbe emerged from the raised entrance way at the top of the inclined stone. And he brought friends--five or six more Hobbes, and a second armored one. "Dammit. Spoke too soon," Savant spat, frowning. He wasn't in the condition to fight again just yet.

He drew the pistol from its holster with his free hand and began to fire at one of the armored Hobbes. Sure, the bullets dented the armor, but didn't pierce it. Savant hated to admit it, but it looked like this battle was going to be ones of close combat--that is, assuming the siblings behind him didn't take care of them before he could.

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

Will was a tough ability to master. Each spell drew it's energy from the user's own well being. Often, spellcasters were seen as thin, harrowed looking creatures. It was common for a Hero who's primary ability wasn't Will to feel a bit worn after using a few spells. Mystic could sense this in Savant's body, just by reading his actions after the fight. He was fatigued, if not just a little, enough to be noticeable. She walked to him, shoving him back down onto the crate before he could get up. "Shut up," she muttered, moving her hand to rest against his forehead as if reading his temperature. "Don't try to be tough," she half scolded, the warm energy from her fingers transferring to Savant's body. Though he would not feel completely refreshed, he would be competent enough to handle himself in battle for the last few hobbes.

She stood back and let him get up, looking around the room for the armoured hobbe he spoke of. "Shit," she cursed, biting her lip. "Must've slipped away in the ruckus." Hammer cracked his knuckles, flexing his fingers before curling them around the hilt of the hammer. He trotted up after Savant, a smile spreading across his lips as the hobbes emerged. "Allow me," he volunteered, and swung his mighty hammer. The weaker hobbes were knocked off to the main floor, while the two armoured ones had enough sense to step back from him. Lunging forward, Hammer grabbed one of them round the neck and smashed it into the wall with his fist, repeatedly. The armor began to crack, but did not give way.

Meanwhile, Mystic stood in the middle of the chamber, suddenly surrounded by hobbes. "Nice going," she spat at him before conjuring the Inferno. Her eyes glowed again, the energy causing her hair to billow past her. She slammed her hand into the ground, a circular wall of flame erupting around her. This was more powerful than the previous fires, as the hobbes exploded with contact, singed and sprawled about, though it only fully took out two. It had exhausted her, and took a little while to stand up, a tad bit woozy.

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

This girl Mystic was certainly a sight to behold. She wasn't like any other Hero he'd met--not that he'd met that many. When people heard stories of the Heroes of old, many were the best people in town. They'd take a bite from a Balverine if it meant saving a village. And Savant would take a bet that Mystic would do just that.

The pink light emanating from her fingertips seemed to energize him a little, which he much appreciated. "Thanks," he muttered. He didn't like the idea of submitting to another person's help, but he felt something for the girl. He wasn't sure if it was some sort of attraction, or if it was just a kind of fondness. Nonetheless, when he stood up, it was with more energy than he had had when he sat down.

As Hammer charged forward to deal with the armored Hobbes, Savant just about dashed to help him out before noticing most of the weaker ones were going after Mystic. As he watched her magnificent display of power, he was quite taken aback. She never ceased to amaze him.

The blast of flame made him wince. Savant turned his head away from the sudden flash of heat, and when he looked back it was to see two of the five attacking Hobbes dead. The remaining three, though weakened, were getting back up. And Mystic was drained. She had been using a lot of Will power. And even a trained Will user like her couldn't stand a loss of energy like that. She wouldn't be able to handle three Hobbes as well as Hammer could handle his two armored ones.

So in a split second, Savant made his decision. He jumped down from the incline, landing on the back of a Hobbe and knocking back into the ground. Sinking his cutlass deep into its singed back, he drew his pistol and fired twice, in a fluid motion, at another Hobbe who had already gotten to its feet.

The first bullet gashed a hole into the right shoulder of the Hobbe, and the second caught it in its lower abdomen. The creature crumpled to the ground with a sloppy sort of sound, blood trickling from its wounds into a pool of red that surrounded it.

"You OK?" he posed to Mystic, ripping the blade from the Hobbe at his feet with a sickening ripping noise. He stashed his pistol back into its holster and advanced on the third one with a quick dash. In an instant, he tossed a smaller, weaker blast of wind at the creature, which was already standing.

It wasn't enough to knock it over, but simply to get it off balance long enough for Savant to impale it through the chest with his cutlass. Twisting the blade inside the creature, he lifted his foot and kicked it away before looking back at Mystic.

He moved to her aid and held out a friendly hand for her to grasp for balance. "Let me help," he said, his eyes trailing up the incline to the top, watching as Hammer dealt with the armored ones. If he saw Hammer in desperate need, he would help him. But for now, Savant was fearing for Mystic's well-being more so than Hammer's.

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

The head of one hobbe came raining down to area that Mystic was inhabiting, the helmet still in tact. Hammer, with his foot on the second armored hobbe's chest, ripped off the helmet and a bit of hair. The ugly wrinkled face beneath shrieked, like a scared piglet. Raising his hammer high and letting out a bloodcurling roar, he slammed his weapon down on the hobbe's face repeatedly, flecks of blood and bone flying up to stain his cheeks, raining down maliciously with no self control. Only after the hobbe's head had become jello did he realize he had put his sister in danger, and spun around, eyes bloodshot and crazied, searching for the girl in the white veil.

No sooner had Mystic pushed herself up did she stumble back onto the ground. She barely had the energy to be scared as a hobbe lunged toward her, but enough to let out a scream as Savant stabbed him in the back, taken aback by his sudden heroic appearance. Soon the gunshots deafened her ears, and she winced, the stench of gunpowder burning her nose. She saw the outstretched hand of Savant, gratefully taking it to hoist herself up.

Hammer made his way down the slope, his boots causing pebbles and dirt to fly about his feet. "You alright?" he asked her. Suddenly, the brash, hotheaded warrior was gentle and defensive. He 'lightly' shoved Savant out of the way, giving Mystic his arm to hold her balance. "Brilliant sis." He complimented, patting her hand before looking up at the rampart. "I think I still hear a few more scratching around. We're not done yet."

Mystic let go of Hammer's arm, dusting off her white trousers. They were in need of a good wash, all covered in blood and dirt. "Right." She held out her hand, and a fireball appeared, a small orb about the size of a dog's rubber ball, and began the ascent of the ramp, to what she hoped was the final room.

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

Savant was glad to have lent a hand to the struggling girl, but was also happy to oblige her brother's protective nature. Hammer's push was certainly constituting the definition of "shove," after all.

As if the exchange between them had never happened, Savant was squatted down, examining the body of the nearest slain Hobbe, the one he had shot twice in the chest and shoulder. He reached into the shirt, his fingers grasping around what he believed to be a ring of some sort. When he pulled it out, he stood up to view it in the torchlight. It was small and rusted, which upset him a little. There had once been a gem of some sort laid into the metal, but it had long since gone missing.

"Worthless!" he scoffed, flicking it like a coin onto the floor nearby. "These useless creatures don't have anything worth even a few coins on them. No wonder they're so angry!"

Savant sighed, following the two up the ramp into what he hoped was the last chamber of the cave. As they walked, he saw sunlight in the next room, which hit him as peculiar. As they got closer, he realized why.

The final chamber was circular as well, and much larger than the previous rooms. This room was similar to the last one in that it had two stone ramps carved into the sides of the walls, leading to the exit, which appeared to lead outdoors--probably to a cliff overlooking the cave entrance.

The sunlight was all that was needed to light up this chamber, so there were no torches hanging on the walls. However, there were chains hanging, which led Savant to believe it was a room for torture. Unlike the other chambers, there was very little clutter in this one. Lining the walls were about eight barrels.

"They're in the barrels, I'm sure. Get ready!" he warned, lifting his pistol, which he had reloaded on the way in. In an instant, the room echoed in the sound of gunfire, and the immediate air reaked of gunpowder. He fired four times, striking four separate barrels.

Over the span of a single second, the Hobbes had emerged. All eight barrels smashed open, revealing three armored Hobbes and five unarmored ones. Luckily, three of the barrels he had shot at had housed unarmored Hobbes--and the bullets had instantly killed one of them. The seven remaining creatures advanced rapidly across the chamber.

Savant tumbled away from the doorway to allow Hammer and Mystic easier access to the targets. Crouching on one knee, he fired the remaining two shots in his magazine at another Hobbe, crippling it with direct hits to its knee and throat. Blood spurted from the gaping holes as it fell to the floor.

Six Hobbes remained, and he was already moving toward his target, one of the three armored ones. "I get one of the big ones!" he called, smirking as he pulled the steel cutlass from its scabbard.

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

Trying very hard to pass of Hammer's rudeness as concern, Mystic turned, catching Savant searching the bodies of the slain hobbes. "Honestly?" she called down to him, watching him flick away the useless 'treasure' the creatures had been hoarding. "The least you could do was respect the dead and leave their assets to themselves." Hobbes were garbage. Mystic knew that. There were certain creatures that deserved no sympathy, that would kill you in an instant without a second thought of remorse. Bandits, Balverines, hobbes, trolls, these were the plagues of Albion. While they weren't always an imminent threat, they were everywhere, ransacking everything. The hobbes stole your children away. Bandits raided your stores, stealing your produce and clothes right from your home, killing anyone in their path. And just thinking about Balverines made Mystic shudder, her flame flickering in her palm.

But the truth was, if anything in this world was bestowed with life, the life they lived should be honored and respected, even if it meant not urinating on their corpse. Hammer, other the hand, felt that if something had a life given to it, they were fair game. He called down to Savant, "I've already tried. They have nothing...I got a rusty necklace off the faceless one...but that's about it." Hammer had much less respect and regard for the dead than his sister. That was her job. He could be seen as a hack and slash type guy, he could also be seen as a brainless brute. It was only because he rarely spoke, and when he did, it had to do with carnage. He felt his thoughts were best kept to himself.

And now they stood in the final room, the sun hitting their eyes. Hammer's hand came down and snuffed out Mystic's flame, since she needn't waste energy on lighting their way now. He turned his head, and saw her hands were the tingly pink again, her veins glowing. She was healing herself, little by little, at least to remove the exhaustion. The gunshots brought Hammer back to the reality, and he raised his hammer, ready to attack.

At once, seven of the hobbes burst from the barrels, the eighth barrel toppling over and rolling dully. Exhaling slowly, Mystic smashed her hand into the ground, the Force Push shoving the advancing hobbes against the walls. They had separated into pairs, leaving each Hero to deal with two, Hammer being stuck with the odd third one. As one hobbe, an unarmored one, began to stand, disheveled, Mystic reached behind her back and pulled two katanas, coming down on him and slicing across his chest in an X fashion. The second, an armored one, leaped towards her. A swift spin kick sent him sprawling back onto the ground. She jumped on him, planting a foot on either arm to pin him down. Placing her hands on the armor, she gradually began to heat it. The hobbe shrieked in pain, the sizzling of his flesh and tunic evident by the smoke coming from his body. Eventually, the tunic burst into the flames, and she stepped off of him, dusting her hands as if doing a job well done.

Hammer was having issues. One hobbe had managed to jump onto his back, and was wailing at his head with a tiny hammer made of rocks. The armored one was dancing around him, prodding him with a small cutlass, and the last had latched onto his leg, trying to chew through his boot. "Goddamn hobbes!" he roared, before slamming his back against the wall. He did this with a bit more force than he expected, and felt the blood of the now flattened hobbe dripping down his neck. "Eugh!" he exclaimed, peeling the body off his shoulders. With a forceful lever, he kicked the leg with the hobbe, sending it flying into the armored one. The two smashed into each other, dizzy. The armor of one knocked out the other. He pulled out his pistol, firing three shots into the unconscious one, securing his fate. Hammer launched forward, and with one solid punch was able to knock the helmet off of the hobbe. Grabbing it, he threw it against the wall, and repeatedly smashed it with the hammer until all that was left were fragments of armor and a large stain on the wall.

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

In Savant's opinion, Mystic was trying too hard to be the good Hero. Shaking his head at her response, he looked up at her from the center of the chamber, now littered with the corpses of dead Hobbes.

"See all these bodies?" he motioned. "We didn't respect them in life. Why the hell should we respect them in death?" Savant sighed, kicking one of the corpses lightly. "Besides, they don't need their stuff anymore. It's not like they're getting a proper burial or something."

He listened to Hammer speak then, which made him smile. Each time the siblings disagreed, he decided they were more and more yin to each other's yang.

In the final chamber of the cave, Savant saw his calling of one of the armored Hobbes go unheard. As he dashed forward, he called on his most powerful Will. As this was the final battle for the day, he had no problem exhausting his energies.

His veins began to glow an extremely faint blue--one a person would only notice if they were really searching for it. As he dashed forward toward his final target, cutlass drawn, he seemed to speed up. If either of siblings were to see the pirate, they would swear he had just earned a ridiculously powerful adrenaline rush.

In reality, Savant had slowed the time around him as he moved. His Time Control Will was a mighty asset to his melee fighting. In slow motion, the armored Hobbe turned its head to face Savant. Just as it noticed his advance, Savant had leapt into the air, his feet colliding with the Hobbe's upper body.

As it toppled backwards, still in slow motion, Savant was able to catch a glimpse of its exposed neck. Sinking the blade deep into its throat, Savant realized a peculiar sensation. As the monster was falling in slow motion and he was practically standing on it, he would easily have lost balance and had fallen off, it not for the weapon sticking out of its neck. He was putting all his weight on the weapon to stay balanced.

And as if it were a bottle of champagne, the creature's head sort of lobbed off, red liquid squirting rapidly, even in the slow motion Savant was experiencing, from the now gaping hole where its skull had been. Savant landed square on his feet as the only thing holding his weight collapsed from under him. And just as his feet touched ground, his perception of time returned to normal.

He looked over, just in time to see the armored Hobbe Mystic was taking down burst into flame. He had to admire her style. He glanced over at Hammer, stifling a laugh at the sight of him practically wrestling with the beasts like they were children. What laughter would have ensued was cut short when Hammer brutally smashed one against a wall, fired a pistol into the flesh of another, then repeatedly and savagely mauled the final one. Hammer, too, had style--sometimes.

Casting an interested eye around the room, and listening for any more cackles of still-living Hobbes, Savant's lips curled into a victorious smile. "Looks like we did it," he said to the others. "You two really know how to handle yourselves in a scrap. Glad to have you on my side."

Hero Posts : 108 Renown : 135 Age : 33

With a gust of wind brushing past her neck, Mystic turned, glimpsing a blur that was Savant as he used his Slow Time to finish his hobbes. She nodded in approval, hiding a grin. It took novice users a while to get used to the Slow Time spell. Half the time they would speed teleport and throw themselves off a cliff, or something comical in that nature. But he used it as it was supposed to be, as a charging sneak attack on unknowing enemies.

Hammer had taken a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his face of the hobbe grime that decorated his forehead and cheeks. He clapped his hands at Savant's impressive use of the Slow Time spell, though the moment only lasted a few seconds in the present time. "Bravo!" he chortled, tossing the kerchief onto the ground and walking over, thumping a hand on Mystic's back, congratulating her at the same time. Mystic smiled, gesturing to the light that filled the cavern. "Let's get the hell out of here," she suggested, "I'm starting to stink like hobbe."

They made their way up the incline, stepping out of the entrance into a sunny day. They stood on a small ledge, the path beneath them not a far drop. Hammer turned to Savant, shaking his hand gruffly. "Good times," he laughed, "We'll be making our way back to the Guild so to collect our part." Nodding, he leaped from the small ledge onto the path, beginning to make his way towards the town.

Mystic too took Savant's hand. Though, instead, she leaned forwards, her cheek against his. "Church," she murmured into his ear before letting go of his hand and jumping delicately to follow her brother, not turning back to see a reaction.

[Mystic and Hammer OUT]

Chicken Chaser Posts : 36 Renown : 43 Age : 34

Savant's expression turned from ruthless to overjoyed when he saw the praise he was receiving. Hammer and Mystic seemed thoroughly impressed by his show of dealing with the beasts, which made him feel pretty damn significant.

He was pretty wiped by then, but that was to be expected. Wiping the sweat from his brown with his hand, Savant pulled it down to see it mixed with the blood of today's victims. He was definitely in need of some cleaning. And some rest. And a great big mug of rum. Yeah, that would be nice.

When Mystic suggested to leave, he could do nothing but agree. "I would like nothing better," he responded, "than to leave this hellhole."

He followed the siblings up the ramp to the outside, where the mid-afternoon sun shone down. It seemed like forever since he had seen the outside, and it took a second to adjust.

A moment later, he was shaking hands with Hammer. His hands were surprisingly large for the thin fellow, but Savant noticed they were also much gentler than he expected from such a big brute. "Yeah, maybe we can do this again some time. I know who to call with news of Sparrow."

Hammer turned to leave, and then it was Mystic's turn. With a shake of the woman's hand, she whispered the simple word "Church" into his ear before departing. He was confused for only a moment before realizing it was her name. How sly. Savant couldn't believe himself, but he felt his cheeks blush in a sort of juvenile way.

He stood there on the cliff, watching the two head back to the Guild to get their rewards. And as they walked, he couldn't help but notice neither one of them turn back.

"Good riddance," he scoffed. Traveling companions would just slow him down, he assured himself. But somewhere deep down, he knew that wasn't true.

[SAVANT OUT]

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