The orb has spoken. A hero must rise, and unite all the creatures of Ammertia to face a greater, ever growing threat to the south.
However, tensions are growing to an all time high between the races. The elves have separated themselves from society...
"Absalom first, then I'll consider," the King said curtly, as Dirella lifted her spell from the door and allowed the group to pour outside into the chaos.
And chaos was the only way Sylvia could describe it.
The party members were all fleeing, scrambling in every direction to get away from something. As the group made it to the end of the hall, the gruesome scene unravelled before them.
Three wolves had made it into the party. They had ripped their way through the crowd, leaving a trail of blood and entrails from the front doors right down to the dance floor. Those that had survived were fleeing for their lives.
In the middle of the dance floor were Mr and Mrs Jenkins, battling the three wolves but clearly on the losing side. Mrs. Jenkins had a large gash on her thigh, the wolf having torn straight through the armour. These were no ordinary wolves at all.
Fleur, on the other hand was trying to help the frantic people escape, guiding them towards the back of the castle. It was a futile effort with everyone in such hysteria, but Sylvia knew Fleur had been out there to keep her out of harm's way.
The group leapt to action. Darian, drawing his great axe, hurtled over the rail to land on the dance floor with a thud. Zane, running towards one of the walls, drew a rapier from one of the decorative pieces and rushed to the floor.
Sylvia and Dirella remained above, with Sylvia placing her tiara on. But as she felt the tiara's magic course through her, she felt her blood turn cold.
"What is it?" Dirella asked, hands raised but clearly noticing Sylvia's expression.
"Their blood... It's tainted by magic. These aren't regular wolves, they've been bewitched..." Sylvia gulped, knowing her tiara would have no use here. Instead, two scimitars were drawn from her back as she too leapt over the rail. She landed a bit more gracefully than Darian, but was already missing out on the battle.
Darian brought his axe down hard, the flames created an arc in the air as it cleaved one wolf in two. It was still instantly, and imbedded so deep he had to pry it out using his boot for leverage.
"About damn time," Mr. Jenkins gruffly huffed. Looking around, Sylvia noticed that there were already three wolf corpses littering the ground, with Darian making it four. Mr and Mrs Jenkins had been busy.
At that point Mrs. Jenkins used her shield to block a wolf that lunged at her, fangs bared. She shoved it back, using her shoulder to bare the brunt of the hit. She then brought her single handed axe down, decapitating the beast.
Mr. Jenkins too finished his own wolf problem off, using his two handed axe to kill it. Sylvia couldn't help but stare as she was reminded so much of how Darian fought. The way they held their axe was so similar, and the way they used it so gracefully despite the hefty weight.
"I feel almost useless," Aliyah said, finally joining them all on the dance floor. Zane too had made it downstairs, rapier in hand. Sylvia shrugged, realising she had just sort of stood there while the action took place.
But then there was another bang.
And a roar.
Before the doors to the hall were ripped from their hinges, sending splinters flying in every direction. Three large bears barrelled into the room, shoving aside tables and chairs in their rampage. Each was easily the size of a carriage, and probably packed just as much of a punch.
Two bears hurtled down the stairs, quick despite their evident weight. They roared as they approached, with the group pulling their weapons out ready for action. It was clear this fight wasn't over.
However, the other one was heading towards where the guests were fleeing.
Towards Fleur.
The two bears on the ballroom floor charged, Sylvia and Aliyah were barely able to roll out of the way. However, Mr. Jenkins wasn't so fast. The bear barrelled him over, sending him flying backwards to hit the wall. He let out an audible gasp from the impact, clearly winded from the experience.
Darian went to aid his father, however heard Zane behind him. He turned, to see the other bear had cornered Zane and was advancing slowly. Darian glanced back at his father, who was now pinned by the bear, before racing to Zane's help.
Mr. Jenkins was pinned to the ground, and the bear went to bite him with it's mighty jaws. Luckily, Mr. Jenkins managed to wedge the hilt of his axe in between the jaws of the great beast. They struggled there for a moment, before Mr. Jenkins then twisted, butting the head of the bear with the head of the axe and using it's surprise to pry himself from out underneath it.
"Go help her! I'm alright!" Mr. Jenkins called out to his wife. Mrs. Jenkins nodded, before quickly traversing the trellace to get upstairs.
But Dirella was already on it. While Sylvia and Aliyah helped Mr. Jenkins with his bear, Dirella's hands glowed purple. The bear that was running towards Fleur slowed, clearly straining against an invisible entity. Yet still it advanced, and Fleur used her shield to block the bear, while her single handed axe swung wildly. It was not as refined as the older hunters, however her hunter strength was evident as she carved rivers in the bear's skin.
Darian raced towards Zane. He ran diagonally towards the wall of the room, then used it to kick off and launch himself at the bear. He landed between the bear and Zane, great axe lit and ready.
"I've got you," Darian said with a smirk, although he was unsure if he was addressing Zane or the bear. Nontheless, he hit the bear in the forehead with the butt of his axe, sending it reeling backwards as he advanced. The bear lunged, but Darian was too fast. He spun away from the danger, and mid spin raised his axe to bring it down as the bear dashed beside him. It cleaved the bear's head clean off. The body dropped instantly, blood pooling underneath the body.
Eventually the two other bears also fell. Teamwork between Fleur and her mother brought theirs down, while Aliyah had managed to vault on top of their bear and impale the damn thing.
The group stood panting, looking over the ball room. It was now littered with corpses. Human, wolf, and bear alike. Blood was strewn everywhere. It was splattered on the walls, staining the paintings. It was also pooling on the floor. It was simply put
A mess.
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Sorry for the delay guys, hope this chapter was worth the wait! I'll upload another one right now to make up for it :)
