{"id":249,"date":"2024-11-15T23:30:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T23:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/?p=249"},"modified":"2024-11-19T23:29:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T23:29:41","slug":"elrin-daun-and-the-grumbsy-gang-chapter-10-my-comrades-are-dying-but-its-time-to-perform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/?p=249","title":{"rendered":"Elrin Daun and the Grumbsy Gang – Chapter 10: My Comrades Are Dying But It’s Time To Perform"},"content":{"rendered":"

Previous Chapter <\/a>: Next Chapter<\/a><\/p>\n

After a long and painful journey, we finally arrived home. Grumbsy was as vibrant as any day I\u2019d ever seen. Hundreds of people were out and about. Residents, travelers, neighboring settlers, and tribesmen of all kinds.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Normally I\u2019d hop right into the fun, but Yarrick was about to die. I was pretty sure he was already dead. He hadn\u2019t made any noise the whole way home, not so much as a moan. He wasn\u2019t breathing at all, and his body never warmed to the touch. All the symptoms of a dead person.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yet my more magically inclined friends insisted his soul was in his body, he was simply in a \u201cNecrotic State.\u201d I don\u2019t know what the fuck that means. It sounded made up to me. But they\u2019re the experts and I\u2019m an advocate in trusting experts.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vergusson barrelled straight through a decent sized crowd of people, holding our small friend on his back, with our even tinier companion shouting, \u201cOut the way folks we got a thing here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As we burst through the door of the Titan\u2019s Trap, Syrielle shouted out, \u201cMedic.\u201d She shoved her way through a crowd of people dragging the tiny ninja. \u201cWe need a medic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a healer in this bitch!\u201d when I saw people just standing around doing nothing despite our clear and considerably important requests I shouted, \u201cNow would be preferable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Busty Betty came sprinting over to us, being the only person showing the slightest level of concern. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on? How\u2026 Is he okay?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m guessing no,\u201d I told her. \u201cWhere is the nearest healer?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cUhm\u2026\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blondos stepped forth, with a great deal of confidence. \u201cMs. Betty. May you please tell us where those priests of Hades are? We are in great need of their help.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI huh\u2026\u201d She thought for a moment before she replied. \u201cI\u2019m guessing they\u2019re in their room,\u201d She pointed upstairs.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d He took the busty one by the hand and kissed it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She swooned, he ascended upstairs. I didn\u2019t know where we were going, but the demon with a blonde glamor led us straight to the appropriate door we needed to go. Before he even knocked, it swung open to reveal Father Jacob.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHello my friends. Have you completed the task we have asked of you?\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHades Priest!\u201d Blondos shouted and reverted back to his true form. \u201cI need answers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Feeling the need to insert myself I yelled, \u201cOur friend is dying. And we need to make him not dying,\u201d I pointed to the unconscious stranger being carried by the samurai.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh well that\u2019s certainly concerning,\u201d Father Jacob didn\u2019t appear concerned.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Zorthos ripped off the rags covering his upper torso, \u201cWhy does my flesh rot like the walking dead we vanquished?\u201d Half of his left abdomen appeared brown and black. There was a gross white puss oozing out of several spots.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen in Hades did that happen?\u201d Having walked a very long way back to Grumbsy, I figured I would have noticed at some point his body was falling apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we fought the dead people,\u201d He explained.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh goodness,\u201d With just the slightest amount of concern, Father Jacob had leaned forward inspecting the wounds even closer. His facial expression never altered even in the slightest. \u201cThat does not look good. Come in,\u201d He gestured for all of us to join.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Zorthos described the magical attacks that hit both him and Yarrick. The dark fog struck them each of them multiple times, as well as the pointy end of the necromancer\u2019s staff. Looking pretty grumpy after explaining, Zorthos asked, \u201cWhat can we do?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The priest stood back to his feet. \u201cWe must perform rituals. Immediately. First things first. We\u2019re going to need several buckets of water. And wood for a fire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nydorri hopped to her feet. \u201cI\u2019ll go ask Betty for some wood.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWait!\u201d Zorthos shouted before she left, \u201cTell Betty I have some wood for her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I shook my head. \u201cDon\u2019t tell her that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The elf looked me dead in the eye, \u201cI\u2019m gonna tell her that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Father Jacob addressed his two silent comrades, \u201cWhen they give us the supplies we\u2019ll need two piles of wood. The fires need to be the size of their bodies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not liking at all what I heard, I felt a strong need to interject. \u201cHuh\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCan I help you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid you just say two piles of wood the size of their bodies for fires?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d He nodded as if that wasn\u2019t weird or suspicious. \u201cFor the ritual.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A little off put I had to ask, \u201cJust, for my own peace of mind. He\u2019s gonna be alive at the end right?\u201d Yarrick was not immune to fire. It sounded like a sponge bath for Zorthos.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In an unconvincing and confused tone, Father Jacob replied, \u201cYe\u2026 Yes\u2026\u201d there was an unnerving eerie smile on his face.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d Syrielle was also unconvinced.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell I\u2019m not very skilled with the living\u2026\u201d Arguably the most terrifying response.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d I waved my hand in front of his face and then clicked my fingers pointing at my eyes. \u201cI just want to make sure we\u2019re on the same page. Our goal is to make sure he\u2019s alive at the end? We are purging evil from this world without guiding him to hades right?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must save his life,\u201d\u00a0 The priest sounded rather confused, but also sympathetic. It was hard to read, it was like he’d never experienced an actual emotion before and the concept was new to him. \u201cHe\u2019s not bound for the River Styx just yet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAlright, that\u2019s more convincing,\u201d I nodded.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the same thing,\u201d Syrielle added in a comforting tone.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just bad doctors,\u201d I clarified. \u201cBut they want what\u2019s best.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As we smiled at each other, appreciating our own banter, a familiar voice interrupted us. \u201cElrin, Are you busy?\u201d Trant was standing in the doorway sweaty and exhausted.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy comrades are dying,\u201d I replied. \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He looked concerned for their well being, then he smiled, then he was concerned again, then he just spoke, \u201cOkay so I\u2019m sure you saw outside that there\u2019s a huge crowd. Well, we got visitors, big time visitors. Straight from Eurome. I scrambled together a last minute festival. I need you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The assignment was easy to understand. Put on a performance unlike any they\u2019d see on the continent. There was only one problem. \u201cSo as I said, my comrades are dying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah I know,\u201d He tensed up and rubbed the back of his head. \u201cAre you like\u2026 Qualified to help them?\u201d After he asked he realized it was a disrespectful request.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Knowing a thing or two about rituals I figured I could actually be quite helpful at a time like this. I looked to Father Jacob with a smile, \u201cI\u2019m sure I could be of some assistance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He continued to smile back and nodded to me. \u201cNo.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trant definitely grew uncomfortable standing there looking at Yarrick\u2019s cold body, but also had a lot going on. \u201cWell, if this is like a feelings thing just say that. I won\u2019t be pushy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYarrick needs you,\u201d Roan smiled. I waited for him to explain, but as if I knew what he was talking about he said, \u201cWhen he wakes up. He\u2019ll want some good news. Go get em tiger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what that means.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trant however, did, and was very excited to explain. \u201cYarrick has investments in the town. The better the town does the more money for the man himself. If you can\u2019t do anything for his current condition. As Roan put it\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Syrielle nudged me, \u201cPut a smile on his face.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For a second I thought about it, but the whole time I knew what I was gonna do. \u201cOkay, I\u2019ll neglect Yarrick\u2019s condition and go put on the performance of a lifetime. But only for Yarrick. ” Before I left I added, “Also Zorthos, this one\u2019s for him too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Straight out the door I went. Trant led me to his friend Clarence, a very effeminate male hafflin, slightly taller than Glish. With the whiniest of tones the short man shouted, \u201cWhere have you been? We\u2019ve been waiting for you.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to meet you too Clarence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He began walking away loudly explaining, \u201cWe have the stage all set up with a variety of equipment. Some other musicians are out there now, but if I\u2019m honest, there really isn\u2019t a whole lot of talent out here on Kayos. From what they say, you\u2019re it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m told the same.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cRight,\u201d He waved back to me. \u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019re wonderful. And if you\u2019re not. I\u2019ll kill myself. This show is it for me. This is the end of my career. If I can\u2019t make this work, what else is there? I\u2019ll have to go back to smoking and drinking tea on my porch like the rest of my people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was about to go on, but as the performer, I felt no problem being selfish about my feelings, \u201cHey man I kinda got a whole lot of my own stuff going on with my friends being zombies and all so like I\u2019m sure your story is interesting, but like\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes of course,\u201d He said impolitely. \u201cHow dare I have feelings too?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clarence continued to ramble on and I just didn\u2019t stop him. As I suspected, his story wasn\u2019t interesting at all. Even in retrospect I can\u2019t think of a clever way to make fun of how boring it really was.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He led me right to the stage, where different musicians were playing in front of a very unnattentive crowd. Clarence jumped up on a stool so he could stare me directly in the eye. \u201cSo\u2026 You lookin rather moody here. You ready for this?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy comrades are dying, but it\u2019s time to perform.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About a moment later, the musician on the stage ended his song, loudly introduced me and the next thing you know I was in front of the whole crowd. Most had been talking amongst each other, but many of them noticed a new person approaching center stage so they paid attention. Some up front knew me and were extremely excited already. The gathering was well into the hundreds, but probably not peaking a thousand. Still pretty damn big and hard to speak to with my bare mouth. Not that I had any intentions of turning down.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHello people of Grumbsy and Beyond!\u201d I shouted, causing maybe three people to clap. \u201cMy apologies for being late this evening. My friends and I were fighting an army of the undead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not everyone, but many more took a second look, noticing that I was indeed still covered in blood and guts. With my rapier at my side, and my bow on my back. \u201cOh you don\u2019t believe me. You never heard the tales of Elrin Daun and the Grumbsy Gang?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We Were Sitting In The Titan\u2019s Trap<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Drinking Our Merry Heads Off<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Just like Any Other Day<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And Out of Nowhere<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Just As It Always Did<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Aventure Came Our Way<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Priest Of Hades<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

An Agent of The Styx<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Had A Problem With the Dead<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

He Said You Can\u2019t Kill Em<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I Asked What To Do<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And He Said Remove The Head<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And after that melody bombed I put on some more of the hits. People\u2019s booty\u2019s were indeed rocking everywhere. Roan\u2019s more than anyone\u2019s. Giving me the impression that our friends were taken care of.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sooner or later I saw some of the others from the Hades trip show up as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The two happiest men I could see were Trant and Clarence. After a few hours of playing, I finally exited the stage. Both swarmed me with a series of compliments. Along with the pair, was a massive muscular man dressed in highborn clothing who was almost nearly as happy they were. He had guards with him but they looked grumpy.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Simon Carpin, was an incredibly wealthy trader from Halwell, a powerful nation just to the south of Gladland. He was magnificently impressed by the performance as well as the festival as a whole. \u201cAt least for a shit hole on Kayos that is. As long as you keep things secure around here. I\u2019m sure we could do business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m confident there was a whole lot more that went into the negotiations than my performance, but I\u2019m just gonna take absolute full credit all the way through for any success Trant has. It was my singing that did it. That\u2019s why whatever was happening was happening. <\/span>I\u2019m the best.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before I walked away, Simon pulled over a burly man he called Robert the Construction worker. At first glance I thought he was a small mountain dwarf, but he insisted he was just a large man. They started talking about the town infrastructure; I realized I wasn\u2019t actually necessary anymore and walked away.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clarence\u2019s workers attached stereo to some speakers. The man had a reasonable collection of music at his disposal so I hadn\u2019t much to complain about. And neither did the crowd, which stayed very much alive, even if it was slowly dwindling down. But when gatherings are this large it is often that many have too much fun to turn away.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My buddies Barney and Todd were talking to a pair of women who didn\u2019t appear to have a third friend. I thought about walking over and trying to out charm either of them, but remembered that\u2019d be exceptionally douchey behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So I rolled over to Roan, Vergusson and Glish who were sitting by one of the bars.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019d the ritual go?\u201d I asked as a greeting.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPretty well thanks to us,\u201d Roan quipped proudly as if I had somehow sinned. \u201cYou know\u2026 Some people care about their friends’ lives more than festivals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe priorities of peasants,\u201d I snipped as he handed me a drink.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In poor detail, they quickly explained what happened after that.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Zorthos apparently started screaming in pain during the ritual then jumped in the ocean nearby, which began to steam. Then he passed out and Vergusson carried him home. Yarrick\u2019s ritual took much longer, and in fact it\u2019s still going on. But he\u2019s done soaking in the holy flames, which were apparently purple for magic reasons. Now Father Jacob and his men are gathered around him in prayer to help him awaken sooner.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It sounded interesting. I was sad I missed it. We chatted about other things for a few minutes until I asked about the crowd. Roan claimed to have already had sex with a woman there, she allegedly had a friend for me but he lost track of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vergusson asked if I knew anyone who wanted to brawl. I didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Glish told me my music sucked.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We immediately began reminiscing over the battle we had just fought a day ago. After being bloodied and exhausted we spent the entire journey home in silence. Yet I had pondered many things on that walk. \u201cSo?\u201d I pointed to the gloves on Roan\u2019s hands. \u201cHow many tattoos do you have?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA bunch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not knowing what else to ask, \u201cWhere\u2019d you get them?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy Uncle Trick gave me my first one,\u201d He declared proudly. \u201cHelped me figure out how to do the others. Fucking wack that guy. Taught me everything about boats.\u201d After saying that his tone switched to more curious, \u201cYou know, if you\u2019re a reader and stuff. You should have probably heard of my Uncle Trick. Pretty famous seaman. People even wrote about him. Then he wrote his own book. One of those horny smutt things. I loved it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t want to hear more about this.\u201d Though I had no intentions of not looking it up later. I just thought it was weird that Roan wanted to read his uncle\u2019s weird creepy books. Thing is, I\u2019ve heard of several people with the name Trick. Mostly elves.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So I inquired more, and the seaman told me a little bit more about his backstory. I\u2019d known abo<\/span>ut many of his travels, but it was always fun to pry deeper. Problem was you never really knew what was true when he was talking.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The rest of us just went off on a variety of tangents. Mostly making fun of the crowd. We aren\u2019t always the nicest people, sometimes jokes are pretty mean. Glish was irritated that a few of the other hafflins around didn\u2019t want to be friends with him. At one point Vergusson explained that he was talking to members of the Thunktu clan. Apparently he was comparing scars with them, and they showed off some pretty strange looking marks that all looked identical.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When we inquired further our half-orc friend explained, \u201cThey said like a month ago they were all attacked by a few wolf people that started biting all of them. Weird thing was, they weren\u2019t normal beastman. Like the Thunktu killed one of them, and he transformed into a human immediately after. And then the others ran off. Weird right?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Roan and I gave each other the <\/span>Did you just hear that<\/span><\/i>? look. My slightly older friend of the sea turned to our very young friend of Kayos, \u201cVergusson. Buddy, based on the story you just told me. It sounds like you were just talking to a pack of werewolves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cVergusson,\u201d My tone was nurturing, \u201cWere you just talking with a pack of werewolves?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The half-orc began to calculate in his mind like no other before.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Glish stood on a stool that brought him up high enough to pat Verg on the shoulder. \u201cIt\u2019s okay bud.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe said \u2018a month ago\u2019 right?\u201d Horrified, I spun around to look up during the death of daylight. Sure enough, up there in the sky, was a full moon. The first one, since the attack Verg literally just described.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meaning these people shared that information. Meaning they probably don’t know what werewolves are because why would they casually announce it. Meaning we were all about to find the fuck out together.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYup!\u201d Roan took a swig of his drink and pointed towards the crowd. \u201cThere they are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Screams of all kinds, the horrified citizens witnessing a nightmare beyond their dreams. And the howl of demonic wolves. Well over a dozen men and women, scattered throughout the gathering, had dropped to their knees, becoming ever furrier by the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Their mouths slowly protruded into long snouts. Long arms with claws at the end tore into the ground in front of them as they all screeched in pain. Unlike any beastman I\u2019d ever seen, their hind legs bent them forward, much like an actual wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The crowd burst into a frenzy. Most folks sprinted away as fast as they could. Roan turned around to the nearest town worker and said, \u201cHey, we\u2019re gonna need things to kill them with.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSilver!\u201d Glish hopped off his stool. \u201cI got some at the shop.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Roan finished his drink and slammed his mug on the table near him making for a sharp object. \u201cGet to running, little man.\u201d Then he kicked out the stool and grabbed one of the legs as a club.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another loud, yet different roar alerted me to the presence of a bear. Standing next to the bear, Syrielle had a very impressed look on her face. I couldn\u2019t hear her over the roars but she clearly mouthed, <\/span>\u201cDamn bitch.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bear charged the nearest werewolf as it came straight for her. Syrielle took off in a full sprint in a weird direction, I realized she was chasing after a couple of wolves sprinting at full speed, much faster than her, deeper into the village. Vergusson hadn\u2019t even gotten to his feet yet. There were a few other town guards and tribal warriors that were stepping up to the task as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of the wolves was charging at a nearby girl I think was named Tina, barely even a teenager if that. I was closer to her, and dashed as fast as I could. Verg dug his battle ax into the back of the beast before I got there. The wolf was clearly in pain, but didn\u2019t quite die the way things usually do when they are hit with his ax.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A furry arm snapped out swatting the half-orc away. He dropped his weapon but regained his composure and slammed his knee into the beasts face as it came at him. I didn\u2019t know what to do to help him, and another one was also charging down after a different helpless villager.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blasting as fast as I could, I hopped, leapt, and jumped and kicked it in the head.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My attack did nothing but when the monster spun around to tear me apart, Roan stabbed it in the mouth with his broken glass. It barely spit up blood as I rolled away. He smashed it hard several times with the club he\u2019d fashioned probably from a stool, but it just burst into splinters.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Without thinking I snagged a nearby table cloth, and threw it over the werebeast. It was disoriented for only a second, but that was plen<\/span>ty of time for Roan to attack its legs and knock it down.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Verg had thrown the wolf he was fighting through a table and another one dashed from behind. \u201cBEHIND YOU!\u201d My scream was efficient, as he spun around and clobbered it with a back elbow before it could bite him. I grabbed yet another table cloth and tossed it over the wolf Verg just threw. Not knowing what to do next I ran.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It only took the wolf a second to rip the cloth apart to chase after me. I had already dashed towards the stage, diving through a little opening leading me underneath that I could just barely make it through. The wolf crashed into the same opening from beh<\/span>ind me, breaking the wooden barrier that he couldn\u2019t make it through right away. After a few thrusts he’d destroyed the barrier entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There wasn\u2019t a whole lot of room to move underneath the stage, which made it better for me. The wolf chasing me simply smashed through all the pillars. And soon it wasn\u2019t better for either of us, as the stage grew more and more unsteady. I made it out of another tiny hole just as the wolf reached me. As he crashed the whole stage collapsed around him. But he didn’t seem to have much of a problem pulling himself out.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I managed to hop over one of the pop up bars so I could throw mugs and other crap at him. His blind rage caused him to leap at me, which was easy to dodge. He crashed into the wall behind me.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So I hopped back over and ran towards the now crumpled stage. The Werewolf had gotten its bearings and came at me again, though this time Verg sucker punched him.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I almost hopped in to help him but noticed the bear was fighting three at a time. Roan was bloodied, injured and preoccupied with one of his own. The other guards and local tribes had their wolves outnumbered and I didn\u2019t have time to check on the details.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bear tossed one of her foes off with a plop. It scrambled immediately to its feet preparing to jump on her, but I quickly hopped on its back wrapping my arms around its neck. I don\u2019t know what my plan was, but apparently it was stupid. The beast immediately sliced my left arm, dropping me to the dirt behind it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I managed to kick him away, but just barely, before he lunged at me. Right as he did so, Glish dashed in from its side stabbing it in the ribs with a silver dagger. It screeched in pain, so he stabbed it a few more times until it was motionless. \u201cThat\u2019s one,\u201d The hafflin tossed me an identical dagger.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI fought like three without a dagger bitch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse excuses.\u201d He lunged at another wolf fighting the bear.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I scrambled to my feet to stab the other, coming at it from behind. I was able to get a good jab right into its skull. The silver slipped straight through the beast’s bone like paper.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The moment after Nydorri the elf was there jabbing her staff into the ground. I noticed several wolves being tied up in vines. Another one independent of the rest just knocked down an armored guard and was ripping the weapon and shield out of his hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My dagger left my hand right as I realized that was a dumb idea. It stuck into the shoulder of the werewolf. I was already sprinting straight at it before it even saw me, though once it did it pounced before I could react.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His teeth dug into my shoulder as his claws scraped my chest. I threw a punch just as my world faded to black. Though I returned pretty quickly. Nydorri was standing over me rubbing ointment on my neck. She was looking at someone else the whole time, then tossed me a berry and said. \u201cFeed yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She walked away, and I noticed Syrielle was standing over me holding her bloody sword. \u201cI got three,\u201d She was shouting, holding her fingers up.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis one.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou did not get four?\u201d The samurai was known for being exceptionally petty at times.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Especially since I was so badly injured, \u201cAm I gonna turn into a wolf?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI killed the wolf that got you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s a no right?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I have to kill you in a month I\u2019ll let you know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Previous Chapter<\/a> : Next Chapter<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Previous Chapter : Next Chapter After a long and painful journey, we finally arrived home. Grumbsy was as vibrant as any day I\u2019d ever seen. Hundreds of people were out and about. Residents, travelers, neighboring settlers, and tribesmen of all kinds.   Normally I\u2019d hop right into the fun, but Yarrick was about to die. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279,"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions\/279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deficientlyattentive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}