Twilight of the Demigods: Forfend Edition - Session 4
Forfend tore its gaze off Melzaryn's bloodied face. "What in the gods' names was that?"
"I'm, uh, not sure," Melzaryn shrugged. "It's never happened before. Let's hope it never happens again." He spun on his heels and made for the exit.
Forfend started to follow, to demand more answers. It thought better of it though. Melzaryn likely wouldn't have more answers. He was probably spooked, even if he did have a strange way of showing it. There were other things that needed tending to anyway.
Forfend limped carefully back to the boy on the ground. He'd passed away some time ago, but it seemed crass to abandon him without even a proper burial. It wished it had something proper to cover him with, but there had been nothing in the cave. All it had was the bloodied patchwork of the demon's cloak. That would have to do.
It hobbled back across the room and dispelled the block of lead crushing the monster, sending the incredible weight up in a hiss of thick black smoke. It leaned down and carefully disrobed the blasphemous creature.
Crossing the room a third time, Forfend's body creaked dangerously. It knelt slowly and leaned its weight away from its damaged side. It had been cleaved nearly in two. It feared it would fall apart if it wasn't aware of itself or its movements.
"Forfend?" Kairi called.
It wrapped the boy gently and respectfully in the cloak before sparing a glance over its shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Kairi asked.
Jayden and Louis eyed Forfend, both silently encouraging it to answer honestly.
"I will be alright, but I would not turn away assistance."
Kairi stretched her arm out towards it. Glittering stars left her palm and crossed the room in a meandering wave. They coalesced around its side.
Within seconds, Forfend felt more solid around its middle. The wound was far from gone. Golden ichor still spilled unhindered. But it was far more manageable now.
"Thank you," it nodded as it lifted the corpse into its arms. "Let us get out of this awful place."
"Wait, the armor," Kairi spoke softly. "It has more of the gems like the one that did this to Kagoshi."
Forfend swore lowly. That was true. They couldn't leave such dangerous things lying around for anyone to stumble across. Someone could get hurt or even killed.
Forfend placed the body next to Kairi and waved the children over as well. "Stay with Kairi. She will take care of you while I handle this." It placed a gentle hand on both their heads.
They nodded.
"Be careful," Jayden pleaded.
"And prepared," Louis added.
Forfend nodded. "I certainly will."
It gathered the armor sets from around the room and dragged the clanking pile back to the large empty crate that had originally concealed the passageway.
Forfend removed the lid entirely, threw the armor inside, and then gathered up all the armors scattered in this room as well before moving to the next.
It caught up with Melzaryn going through all of the boxes on the far side of the cavern, the side they hadn't yet explored, as though he was conducting inventory.
"Valuable things here," he commented idly.
Forfend hummed and continued gathering armor sets. It was tedious work. By the time it was done, it had gathered thirty armors, each one bearing a tiny obsidian crystal with a strange blue sheen. All of them were thrown haphazardly into the crate.
Forfend latched a rope around the box and tied it securely. Dragging the mess in its current state would be difficult, but certainly not impossible.
Forfend returned to the children who were huddled around Kairi and poking curiously at Kagoshi's prone form.
"Alright, now we may go," it announced.
"What do we do with Kagoshi?" Jayden asked.
Forfend sighed like escaping steam. "I'll add him to the crate of armor."
Kairi looked skeptical, but she wouldn't be able to carry him herself so it would have to do.
Forfend hefted Kagoshi up.
Kairi hesitated before lifting the wrapped corpse. She held it against herself with careful reverence.
Forfend returned to the box and unceremoniously added Kagoshi to the contents. He didn't so much as flinch, though his eyes were still open. Forfend wondered if he'd ever wake up at all. It seemed increasingly unlikely.
Melzaryn returned with an armful of miscellaneous items. "I believe this is everything useful." He also jingled heavy pouches of coin. "And we can split this between us too."
Forfend nodded, but it wasn't really paying attention. It tied the excess rope around its box of armor to its shoulders. "Let's just get home. I'm certain we are all sick of this cavern."
Everyone made different sounds of affirmation.
The trudge home was slow. Melzaryn spent it rifling through the things he'd found and distributing them amongst everyone. Kairi spent it downcast and fretting. Predictably, Kagoshi spent it staring into the void with empty, glassy eyes.
Louis and Jayden stuck close to Forfend's side. They were exhausted from their ordeal and flagging quickly. Louis stepped onto Forfend's foot mid-stride and wedged his hands into stone gaps to keep himself balanced.
He weighed very little for a creature of Forfend's size and had rightly earned his rest. Forfend shifted its gait slightly to make the ride easier on its charge.
Jayden took the opportunity to step up on Forfend's other foot. She chose her handholds very carefully and leaned away from the gold-dribbling gash in its side.
"I'm sorry I could not get to you sooner," Forfend apologized sincerely. "You should not have suffered."
"We're gonna be okay. You got to us in time." Loius squeezed Forfend's leg in a cumbersome hug.
It nodded, though it still felt it should've caught on quicker.
Beside it, Melzaryn whipped out a fanciful quill and opened a scroll.
"What is that?" Forfend asked.
"New spell," he answered simply.
Ink rose from the page and funneled its way into the quill, leaving the scroll blank. Melzaryn pressed the quill to an empty spot in his spellbook and scribbled rapidly.
He shut the heavy book with a dull thump and put everything away again.
Forfend returned its gaze to the road. Foumedo's gate was just ahead. Lights were lit and people, shivering in their pajamas in the chill night air, awaited the results of the monster hunt.
Forfend was glad to have mostly good news for them. Circumstances could've been far worse given the dangerous situation they'd been in. Still, they'd caught their share of losses too.
Jessie was chatting with Byr and hadn't yet seen them. He pointed towards the bridge.
Byr begrudgingly headed in that direction, a scowl firmly affixed to his face.
Jessie sighed and glanced up in Forfend's direction. His eyes went wide as he sprinted over. "F-Forfend," he stuttered, staring in shock at the bleeding wedge cut from its midsection. "What happened?!"
"We found the children," it answered.
Jessie blinked, his eyes barely flicking away from the injury to the children clinging to its legs. Relief flooded him, washing away his unnatural stiffness.
"Joel! Rosie!" Jessie called.
Both parents broke from the forming crowd and scooped up their respective children.
Rosie was in tears as she checked Jayden over. She thanked Forfend and its companions in a torrent of completely jumbled gibberish.
Joel was silent as he took in Louis's tired state. He nodded slowly. "You survived and I'm very proud, but you've got to be more careful out there. Check in at home base more often, you got it?"
Louis nodded, wavering on his feet.
Joel picked him up and looked squarely at Jessie. "I told you something like this would happen one day. We've got to be more prepared."
"I understand," Jessie acknowledged. "We'll discuss it tomorrow. The whole crew."
Joel nodded, apparently satisfied, and left to get his son fed and rested.
Avery the Huntress stopped him just long enough to push cured meats into his hand. He humphed his thanks.
She offered the same to Rosie who took them with even more tearful gratitude.
Avery slipped her bow into her hand and pat Forfend's shoulder as she passed it. She stationed herself at the town entrance, eyeing the dark meadow beyond. She was wholly prepared to fight anything that may have followed them.
Forfend doubted anything had.
"So, uh, two things," Jessie mentioned. "Where's Kagoshi and what's with the box?"
Forfend tugged idly at the ropes around its shoulders. "Kagoshi is in the box."
"Why? What happened out there?"
Kairi climbed the edge of the box and watched her comatose friend. "I hope he's alright."
Forfend tilted slightly, its body grinding precariously. "If I'm sharing the whole story, I would like to see Byr while we do it."
"It was... definitely a lot," Kairi agreed.
"Ah, well, I understand since something managed to damage you like that, but Byr's looking at the bridge. He's already busy," Jessie said apologetically.
Forfend sighed.
"What's in the box though?"
"Armor, mostly."
"And Kagoshi," Kairi noted.
"And also Kagoshi," Forfend nodded.
Forfend pulled the wrapped gem from its pocket. "Do not touch this," it forewarned. It held the cloth at eye level and carefully exposed the black gem within.
"All of the armors have these strange obsidian power sources. They're very dangerous and very potent. Touching them causes people to experience intense emotion and do strange things."
"I'll be certain to tell Fletch that," Jessie assured, watching the gem with suspicion.
Forfend returned the item to its folded cloth and dropped it back into its pocket. It hauled the box to the back of Fletcher's Forge.
Fletch halted his conversation to follow. "Whatcha doing?"
"Do not touch anything in this until I can tell you what it is," Forfend iterated carefully.
"Alright, that's fair," Fletch nodded as he hopped up on the side of the box to peer into it.
"And whatever you do," Jessie added, "especially do not touch the blue gems in the chest pieces."
"What, you mean these?" Fletch teased as he reached into the box. He stopped well short of contact with anything, but Jessie snagged his waist and hauled him off the box anyway.
"Be careful!" he admonished his husband.
Fletch chuckled.
Jessie heaved an exasperated sigh.
"Hey," Fletch tapped Forfend's arm. "You need to get some rest. You look like you've seen some shit."
Forfend nodded.
"Byr's busy with the bridge and probably will be for the rest of the night," Jessie reminded. "He's been sleeping a lot lately because he hasn't had much to do, so he doesn't mind working through the night. I'll ask him to come by in the morning, alright?"
"That would be excellent, thank you." Forfend turned towards its home.
"Could you get Kagoshi out of the box?" Fletch asked.
"Ah, right." It scruffed Kagoshi by the back of his collar, which was very nearly the only thing left of his jacket, and lifted him out of the box.
It carried Kagoshi to Kairi and set him down, taking the wrapped corpse from her instead. "Get some rest. We will reconvene in the morning and see if anything can be done for Kagoshi as well."
"Thank you," she said. She hoisted Kagoshi up as well as she could and half dragged him towards the inn.
Melzaryn had already disappeared. Forfend wasn't certain when he'd made his exit, but he was likely in his tavern room by now.
Forfend returned to Jessie and Fletch, kneeling carefully.
"What's that?" Jessie asked, turning his face away from the bloody cloak and covering his nose.
"This is a young boy who we found caged the same way Louis and Jayden were. Unfortunately, he had been there for much longer and has been deceased for weeks. I hope that we can give him his burial rites. He deserves that much, since we could do nothing else for him." Forfend gently laid the child on the ground.
Jessie nodded, sadness befalling his features.
Fletch placed his hand on his husband's shoulder, though he wore the same expression.
"We'll see what we can do," Jessie sighed. "Just rest tonight. You've been through a lot."
Forfend hobbled into its home without another word.
It wanted to lie down on the massive straw bed, but it feared it would struggle to get up again. It settled for sitting down on the soft pile, wrapping its oversized blanket around itself, and leaning against the wall so that there was no weight on its injured side.
The light of its rune flicked out.
Forfend found itself thinking of very little in its exhaustion. It was rare that it wished it could sleep as other creatures do, but tonight was among those rare instances. What few coherent thoughts cut through the droning, muddled tiredness were worrisome, prickling its mind like thorns.
A memory wedged itself into the edge of Forfend's consciousness. It fumbled for the distant thing, desperate for something other than deep-seated concern.
The warmth of its body beginning to slowly knit itself back together fled from it all at once. It felt cold, right into its very core.
Flashes of another place crossed its vision. Somewhere distant in time or space or both. Its imagination was playing tricks on it, likely due to how severely damaged it was. There was nothing to be done for that.
It saw great iron pillars for a fraction of a second, then darkness.
Crucibles, hammers. Darkness.
Iron clanged against iron in the confines of its memory. Steel against steel. The hiss of water steaming off red-hot metal. The sounds of a forge, one so hot Forfend was certain its stone body would melt in the flames.
Had its body always been stone? The thought startled it, but it couldn't hold onto the idea. It was dismissed as quickly as it had arisen. It simply didn't matter.
Forfend wasn't certain anymore that it recognized this memory. It was old. Perhaps older than Forfend truly was.
Darkness filled its mind again, bringing a nothingness with it. Peace, in a sense. Nonexistence, more accurately.
"No, it's not right," a deep voice reverberated into the nowhere the concept of Forfend floated in. "It's the same, same as all the others."
A heavy metal tang sounded, light flashing blindingly across Forfend's vision.
A feeling struck it. Warmth, but not its own.
"Hm. Different," the voice spoke again. "Yes, different. Good."
Forfend should recognize the speaker. It couldn't dwell. If it wondered too far from what it was recalling now, it may not find its way back.
Another heavy strike of a hammer against steel. The metal sang, vibrating in the depths of Forfend's chest.
The same flash of light, this time followed by a thought. A simple one. Acknowledgement of its own existence.
"Yes," the voice brimmed with emotions Forfend lacked the awareness to recognize. "This is good. Almost done. What else?"
The hammer struck. White flashed.
An emotion hit Forfend. Reverence, or love? Love. Certainly love.
"Iron for the body, for fortitude and will," the voice explained. Whether the speaker was talking to Forfend or someone else, it could not be certain. "Magma for the muscle, the ability to change and be grounded all the same. Liquid metal for the heart for strength ever growing, tempered in the first fires of new life. Quenched in tree oil for spirit and clear mind."
There was a pause.
"Hm. What else? Something is missing."
The voice huffed as it mused.
"Ah," it spoke again. "A flame. Not fire as to strengthen, but a flame of its own. Hm. What to start it with?"
Silence abounded.
"Hm. Ah, a flame from the hearth."
A presence Forfend hadn't realized was there left its side. It felt colder and quite alone, missing the speaker with what little awareness it had.
"The first furnace. The birthplace of the forge," the voice said from a short ways away. "This, this will do." The presence returned. "Hearth flame for bravery, for kindness. For soul. Yes."
Warmth of its own filled Forfend once again, traveling through it from its core to the tips of its extremities.
"Ah, there it is. Good, good," the voice praised either itself or Forfend. "Now, what to call it? No, what to call them?" the speaker corrected. "Hm. What would they want to be called? Would they prefer to have their own name? Or perhaps one I give them? Hm."
The speaker paced, humming thoughtfully.
"For now," the voice decided, "let us call you--"
"FORFEND!" Byr shouted.
Forfend jolted upright, the light of its rune flickering several times as its mind struggled to escape the memory. The light steadied, but Forfend's head still felt like it was spinning.
It couldn't speak yet so it just transfixed its gaze in Byr's approximate direction.
"By Fornax's shiny metal head, you got fucked up!" Byr swore irritably and slammed the doors open wider. They banged off the wall, hinges creaking.
"What the hell did you-- What the hell did that to you?" he continued yelling without pause. "Jessie said I should head over to help you out, but godsdamn!"
Forfend glanced around the room, gathering its bearings and assessing its surroundings.
It was morning. The time had gotten away from it.
Byr watched it for a moment, arms crossed. When Forfend failed to respond, he continued talking. "Seriously, I never would've thought something like that could happen. I've seen some shit hit you and it didn't do anything. You never even flinched."
Forfend nodded, distinctly recalling the time it had assisted Byr with a repair and a granite block had fallen from well above it. The stone had broken over Forfend's shoulders. There had been no damage to Forfend. It had regretted moreso that it hadn't been quick enough to catch the stone. At least it had caught the mason.
"Do I need to change everything in town to prepare for something like that?" Byr approached Forfend, staring directly into its face and awaiting an answer.
Forfend realized it still hadn't spoken. A metallic hum rose from its core, its own version of clearing its throat. "The monster that did this is quite dead."
"Well, that's good." Byr leaned back, less concerned now.
He grabbed a stool and sat himself at Forfend's wounded side. "Alright, let's see what we've got to work with here. Who's blood is this?"
"The gold is mine."
"Yeah, I gathered that much," Byr grumbled. "I meant the dark, nasty shit."
"It was the monster's."
"We're cleaning that off you."
"Please," Forfend almost pleaded. The thick dried goop was very uncomfortable against its stone skin.
Byr reached into a bucket of rocks Forfend hadn't noticed he was carrying.
The pieces were raw, unpolished. However, they were remarkable quality. Byr had brought his best.
The first stone was broken into a wide wedge and carefully slid into the depths of the wound.
Golden ichor coated Byr's hands.
Heat flared up in Forfend's side, melding the rock into its body.
Byr broke another stone into the approximate shape and added it as well. He kept observing, breaking, and inserting stone until the heat was more than he could stand.
He sat back, watching Forfend's body transmute the different stones to marble as it incorporated them into its form. Ichor, almost boiling, dripped down its side.
"Took that 'heart of gold' thing literally, didn't you?" he quipped.
Forfend tilted its head slightly. "Literally speaking, I do not have a heart at all."
"You missed the joke," Byr tutted and shook his head.
Forfend lit its chest up, a slight grinding sound emanating from within it. A chuckle, of sorts. "I suppose I did."
Byr carefully wedged one last stone into Forfend's side.
It seamed tightly into place, marbled, and the wound was gone.
"There ya go." Byr pat Forfend's shoulder.
Forfend tested its range of motion. Twisting and bending was easy again and no longer came with ominous creaking. It leaned down and turned to show Byr its cracked upper back.
"Could you fix this as well?"
Byr stood up on his stool and ran his stubby fingers along the thick cracks. "Just needs a little mortar. We'll get you patched up in no time."
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I throw the material at you and you do the rest. Easiest damn repairs I've ever made." He cracked his knuckles and hopped off his stool, gathering supplies. "Lay down. I ain't reaching over my head to do all this."
"Yes, sir." Forfend followed the order.
Repaired and cleaned, Forfend squeezed carefully into the Scattered Hawk Inn. It couldn't honestly say it was excited to be checking in on Kagoshi. Truthfully, it was more worried for Kairi than the feral monster she was charged with handling.
"Oh, hi, Forfend, I don't see you here too often," Narad greeted with some confusion. "What brings you around?"
"Good morning. I am here to--" Forfend paused as it caught sight of Kagoshi and Kairi sitting at one of the tables. "Oh, Kagoshi, you are awake." It was genuinely surprised.
"Yep," Kagoshi shrugged.
Melzaryn sat on the far side of the room. His pointed ears tuned into the conversation, but he continued eating without looking up.
"How are you... feeling?" Forfend asked, trying and failing to keep the suspicion out of its voice.
"I mean, I feel more or less the same as I did when I got up yesterday." Kagoshi glanced sharply at Narad, who raised his hands up placatingly and took his leave to the kitchen.
"Would you like to explain yourself?" Forfend fiddled with the hilt of its mace. It hoped it wouldn't need the weapon, but it didn't feel it could safely conversate with Kagoshi without it.
"What do you want me to explain?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"All of it. Why do you turn into a demon? What happened with that strange gem?"
"Oh." He scowled even deeper, if that was possible. "You won't like the answer to either of those."
"I expect as much," Forfend nodded.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Forfend balked. "You're extremely dangerous. You need to figure that out!"
Kagoshi shrugged. "I've been trying. The gem thing was new. Normally, I don't have any rhyme or reason for what I do when I'm enraged. But that time, I felt pulled in a specific direction. That's never happened before."
Narad slinked back into the room, pretending he couldn't hear the tense conversation from the kitchen. He set down a plate piled high with every breakfast food Forfend had ever heard of.
"It's on the house," Narad smiled. "As a thanks for rescuing the children."
Kagoshi wasted no time digging into the meal like a starved animal.
"Lady Kairi, what would you like?"
"Same thing," Kagoshi mumbled through a mouthful of bacon-flecked pancake. "It's so good."
Kairi nodded. "Same thing," she confirmed.
"Alright, I'll be back shortly." Narad bowed his head politely and returned to the kitchen. "Oh," he poked his head out from the doorway. "Not really any of my business, but, Melzaryn, didn't Jessie give you reward money for those two?" He ducked back into the kitchen.
Melzaryn stood up, waved shortly to Forfend, and left.
"Hey, what the hell?" Kagoshi started to stand until a floating coin pouch bumped his face.
He paused, going cross-eyed to look at the note attached. "'Going for a walk,'" he read. "Is this from Melzaryn? Okay, cool, I guess." Kagoshi snatched the money and pocketed it.
Forfend hummed. "Well, it is nice to see you are up and about, Kagoshi. Now please refrain from causing anymore trouble. I am going to report the full situation to Jessie."
"Yeah, whatever. I'll be fine." Kagoshi dug back into his food, waving Forfend off.
It left, shaking its head exasperatedly.
One lengthy and detailed incident report later, Jessie stood stunned. He swallowed hard. "I'm glad we've got you. Nobody else would've survived."
Forfend nodded grimly. "May I ask what arrangements are being made for the departed?"
Jessie hid his face and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Right. About that..." He trailed off.
Forfend patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts.
"I took a look at him. He's from a noble family. I could tell by the clothes."
Forfend tilted its head. "Yes, I recall he looked as though he may have been affluent."
"I know we haven't told you that much about the ruling families and Tyrwedian politics and all, but we can't bury him here." Jessie shrugged helplessly. "They'd take exception."
"Will you contact them then? And they can perform their own rites."
"I hope it's that simple," he sighed. "I am going to try to get in contact. For now, he's in Fletch's storage building. It's not great, but it's cool and dry. That's the best we can do."
Forfend hummed. "Alright. So long as he gets his burial rites."
"I'm sure he will." Jessie pat Forfend's arm gently. "In lighter news, there's a party planned this evening to celebrate the safe return of Louis and Jayden. You can invite your... friends? Are they friends? If you want."
Forfend rolled its shoulders. The mortar on its back had assimilated into its body and the wound was gone, but Forfend had not forgotten the pain. "I like Melzaryn and Kairi. They are friendly acquaintances. Kagoshi, on the other hand, is quite unpleasant for a number of reasons."
"I can see that," he nodded.
"Nonetheless, he certainly did help us," Forfend allowed. "I will invite them if I see them again today. For now, I need to see Fletch regarding the armor."
"Right. Be careful."
"I will." It lumbered towards the forge.
Fletch was carefully assembling a sculpture of bent nails. He could use them for scrap, but he'd instead chosen to create a shaky tower of odd angles and sharp points. It wasn't far enough along yet to resemble anything specific. Maybe it never would.
"Oh, hey, Forfend. Glad you're looking better!" he grinned.
"I am feeling better as well. If you are not busy, could you help me go through this crate?" Forfend asked.
"The one I'm not supposed to touch? Sure!" Fletch practically bounced up and hauled himself over the edge, staring down at the contents. He whistled. "Tyrwedian military. Gorgeous craftsmanship. We can't be fucking with this stuff."
Forfend grabbed its oversized pair of gloves and pulled them on. It dragged the first armor set out of the box. "I do not intend to have us melt it down or resell it."
"That's good. I'm hesitant to mess with anything here. I don't think the noble houses will take kindly to us having their stuff." Fletch eyed the armor with a rare display of apprehension.
"You may contact anyone you would like about returning it."
"That's probably a good idea," he nodded. "So what's the deal with the little gems?" Fletch leaned down and squinted at the miniscule stone.
"If you touch them directly, they will overwhelm and injure you," Forfend warned.
Fletch pulled on his own pair of gloves and grabbed a set of tongs. "Noted."
"I want to remove them all."
Fletch blinked. "This is looted Tyrwedian military armor. I don't know if we should do that."
"If they wanted these back, they should not have lost them. They are far too dangerous to be left lying around. They are part of the reason the children were kidnapped," Forfend stated firmly.
"Alright, I guess that's true," Fletch conceded. "I'll help you with that, but then we put them back in the box and I'll figure out who to write to come pick up their shit."
Forfend nodded and began the painstaking process of pulling every individual gem out of every individual armor.
The process was significantly easier with Fletch's assistance. Altogether, however, it still took the better part of the day.
When the last armor was freed of its gem and tumbled into pieces, Fletch tossed it back into the box and brushed his gloved hands off. "That does it."
Forfend nodded. It carefully wrapped the last gem in a tiny scrap of cloth as it had all the others and added it to the collective pouch. "I will store these away for now."
"Alright. I'm gonna get ready for the party. You're coming, right?"
"Of course."
Fletch grinned. He headed into the house while Forfend made for its room.
It tossed the bag of obsidian shards into the large chest at the back of the room and, for the first time, it locked the chest closed. Forfend added the key to one of its belt pouches. It grabbed the key to its door next and locked that behind it for the first time as well.
Forfend sighed with the long, slow hiss of a steam leak. It hadn't been so paranoid in a long time. It did not welcome the feeling.
At least the night's party would alleviate some stress. Hopefully.
Avery offered Melzaryn a massive cut of beef almost as soon as he walked in. He took it, nodded politely, and found himself a seat to eat at.
Kairi and Kagoshi followed a few minutes behind Melzaryn. They also made for the food first.
The party was split. Some people were eating. Some were dancing.
Forfend was with Fletch on the dancefloor, listening to its friend laugh and prod it for details on the monster fight.
Jessie couldn't relax and neither could Joel. Both were circling the room every few minutes, making certain windows were locked and doors were closed.
Forfend spotted Mavis and Jace slip in a bit late. It hadn't expected to see them so soon after the incident, but Jace was practically vibrating with excitement.
Forfend made its way to them. "It's good to see you." It rested a gentle hand on Mavis's shoulder. "Are you both doing alright?"
Mavis nodded. "We'll be okay."
"Forfend, you're so cool!" Jace yelled. "I didn't know you could get hurt."
Forfend hummed. "It has been a very long time since I have been hurt."
"Did you kill the big blue thing?"
"Yes, it is quite dead."
"How'd you do it?" Jace's eyes sparkled, wide with wonder.
"I dropped a block of lead on it," it answered simply.
"Did you pick it up and throw it at the big monster because you're so super strong?"
Mavis smiled apologetically, but Forfend wasn't bothered by the deluge of questions.
"Something to that effect, yes."
"Did you use your magic?" Jace asked next.
"I did."
"What did you make with it? Did you make fire?" He mimicked tossing fireballs.
Forfend nodded.
"Was it scary?"
"It was very scary. I am glad everyone is safe." Forfend lightly tapped Jace's helmet. A steady orange glow spread across the surface.
Jace grabbed the helmet and took it off only long enough to look at it. "It's glowing!"
"It will wear off in a while, but enjoy it while it lasts." Forfend's chest lit up the same color.
Jace squealed. "Mom, look!" He barely gave Mavis a chance to glance before he took off like a shot, showing everyone in the room in turn.
Forfend chuckled with a sound like grinding stone.
"Thank you for looking out for him," Mavis said seriously. "If it weren't for you and those travelers, I would've lost him."
"We only did what needed to be done."
Mavis smiled. "I'm going to try to catch up to him before he bumps into something."
"Best of luck," Forfend chuckled again.
Mavis had barely passed it before the telltale ting rang out.
"Jace, be careful!" Mavis called with much exasperation.
"I'm okay!" Jace yelled back.
Forfend checked in on Loius and Jayden next.
Louis was eating and chattering. He kept trying to get his father to stop pacing and sit down. Fletch was having the same argument with Jessie just a few feet away.
Jayden was stuck to her mother's side. Rosie encouraged her to talk and enjoy the company.
Forfend spoke with them for a bit, but eventually it decided it needed to help Fletch.
Forfend found Fletch following Jessie on his hundredth circuit around the room.
"You gotta enjoy yourself. You're gonna worry yourself to death," Fletch complained.
"It's basic safety precautions. Somebody has to do it," Jessie argued.
Forfend picked Jessie up off the ground.
"What, hey?!" He kicked at the air.
"Have you eaten?" Forfend asked.
"Well... I will," he mumbled sheepishly.
"You will," Forfend repeated and carried Jessie to the table.
"Yeah, that's my boy!" Fletch cheered.
It plopped Jessie down in a chair right between the two affected families.
Fletch sat next to him and hooked their elbows together. "Sit. Eat. Enjoy yourself. It's a party!"
Jessie sighed deeply, running his hand down his tired face. "I dunno."
Joel watched the ordeal suspiciously before slowly giving in to Louis's begging. He sat down as well. Sharp eyes kept darting towards the doors and windows, but he ate and spoke with his son.
With even Joel giving up the endless rounds, Jessie had no excuse.
Fletch pushed a full plate in front of him as Forfend sat down on his other side.
"Alright, okay, you got me." Jessie dug in, suddenly starving now that he wasn't otherwise focused.
Forfend awoke early. All in all, it felt less on edge than it had lately. It was a good sign. Things could go back to normal.
A rapid knock sounded on Forfend's door.
It hauled itself up. "Is something wrong?" it asked as it crossed the room, unlocking the door.
Fletch opened the door as soon as the kerchunk sounded. "There's a whole caravan coming."
"I'm not sure they're merchants," Jessie added fretfully.
Forfend hummed. "We should greet them and find out what they need."
Jessie nodded.
"I'll stick by the forge. Keep an eye on all our stuff," Fletch offered.
"Thank you." Forfend followed Jessie into the town square.
It wasn't long before the caravan entered the city proper. The astounding twenty soldiers escorting the three wagons were worryingly well armed and dressed in the flawless armor of Tyrwedian military. It was certainly a far more serious display of force than a town like Foumedo needed.
Forfend wondered where they were heading.
They stopped. Five knights stepped out of the middle wagon and stood in careful formation. The middle one stood slightly more forward than the others, a scroll in hand
He unraveled it and read, despite how difficult it must've been to see the words through the slats in his helmet's visor.
"In the name of Lord Clayton of House Galloford, merchant house and vassal under King Falco Feldrian, we request the leaders of the town of..." the Knight trailed off, squinting at his scroll. "Fou...mee-do," he mispronounced, grumbled under his breath, and continued, "to present themselves."
No one moved.
After a moment, Jessie hesitantly stepped forward. He was the only leader this town really had. He lacked official titles, but filled the role nonetheless.
The knight waited, watching the rest of the crowd.
Melzaryn opened the tavern door and stepped outside. His eyes flicked over the commotion briefly. He spun on his heel and went back indoors.
Kagoshi and Kairi stepped out shortly after. They watched whatever was about to unfold. Kairi looked curious. Kagoshi wore his ever-present scowl, arms crossed tightly over his chest.
Remiss to leave Jessie alone, Forfend stepped up behind him and to his right like an assistant.
"Alright," the guard started slowly, realizing no one else would be joining them. "Very well. Leader of Fou-mee-do, we are in search of a shipment of Tyrwedian military goods. As per our orders from Lord Clayton, we are to search the merchant route that the shipment traveled upon and recover the shipment. Upon arrival into each town we are to request an audience with the town's leadership and receive a detailed report of the last five weeks. We will remain in Foumedo until we receive the report and a full search of the town has been completed." The man rolled his scroll back up and stood at attention.
"I can show you precisely where the caravan crashed and where most of the supplies are," Forfend offered.
If that's all they were looking for, the knights would be in and out very quickly. They could return home. Forfend and its companions had already handled the hardest part for them. Fletch and Jessie wouldn't even need to contact anyone anymore. It was a stroke of luck.
"I see," the man spoke, slightly startled. He scanned the crowd, overlooking Forfend each pass in his search of who spoke up. "That, uh... And the goods are present here? Is that correct?"
"We have some of the armors in a crate by the forge. We only found them the night before last."
The knight continued to look right past Forfend. For some strange reason, he was wholly incapable of pinning the voice down as belonging to it.
"Hm. I see." The knight took a deep breath. "In the name of Lord Clayton of House Galloford, merchant house and vassal under King Falco Feldrian, I hearby place you under arrest for theft, possession, and use of military property, kidnapping a noble, and ransoming."
Gasps and murmurs ran through the crowd.
Forfend was stunned. The only thing in that list they were technically guilty of was possession and even that had been a faultless happenstance. They'd done nothing wrong.
The knight continued, "You are to be transported to the Tyrwedian royal capital of Cragwall and, further, the castle of Feldrian to be held under trial for your crimes. This action will be carried out immediately."
"Oh hell no!" Kagoshi yelled out.
The knight ignored him and approached Jessie, pulling manacles from his belt.
Kagoshi rushed forward with Kairi right on his heels. He glowered at the man with unbridled contempt.
Several guards intercepted, suddenly on edge. Tension filled the air.
"Wait, wait," Kairi warned.
"Oh good, you've got shields. That means the rest of your buddies have got something to carry you home on," Kagoshi threatened darkly.
The tension sharpened rapidly. Every single soul in Foumedo was overwhelmed with apprehension.
"Kagoshi!" Forfend and Kairi yelled at the same time.
"What?!" he yelled back. "They're trying to make an arrest on falsehoods!"
"Yes, but this is not a problem one can solve with violence," Forfend argued. "They will perform an investigation and find that the wreck happened weeks ago and was only recently discovered. No one here was involved. None of us are guilty of anything."
The knight shifted his focus from Kagoshi back to Jessie and continued his advance.
"Wait, Jessie had nothing to do with this," Forfend insisted.
"As the leader of this town, he is held liable for everyone within it," the knight explained loudly, still blindly failing to acknowledge Forfend as the speaker.
"Oh, fuck," Jessie swore, panic in his eyes. He stepped back and bumped into Forfend.
Forfend pushed Jessie behind it and stood staunchly in front of him.
The knight paused. He looked Forfend up and down.
"And where did you procure this golem?" he asked suspiciously.
"I am not a golem," Forfend responded evenly.
"It speaks," he marveled.
"It has been speaking for a while." Forfend gazed stiffly down at the man.
He seemed to realize all at once that Forfend had done most of the talking thus far. He cleared his throat and eyed Jessie where he nervously stood against Forfend's back.
"Leader of Fou-mee-do, if you do not command your golem to move out of the way, we will have to take more forceful methods."
"I am not a golem," Forfend repeated adamantly.
"If you do not order this construct to stand down," the guard enunciated, "we will be forced to escalate the situation."
The sound of stone cracking resounded from somewhere within Forfend's body as its frustration peaked. "Jessie, give the order."
Jessie inhaled sharply. He glanced at Forfend, then at the guard, and back again. "Forfend, get out of the way," he whispered shakily. It was only just loud enough for the knight to hear.
Forfend held its ground without a word.
"I see," the guard said slowly.
Fletch pushed through the crowd behind the guard and locked eyes on Forfend. He caught sight of Jessie next and Forfend knew his desperate expression was a plea to protect his husband.
Forfend nodded so subtly no one but Fletch would catch it.
"I just wanna punch him. Just one hit," Kagoshi announced aloud.
Kairi whispered something to him.
"I'm not gonna hit these two," he waved dismissively at the guards directly in front of him, their spears crossed and their anxiety skyhigh. "I just wanna punch him." He pointed at the knight currently stalled uncertainly in front of Forfend.
"Kagoshi, you are not helping," Forfend admonished harshly.
It knelt slowly and hunched its shoulders until it was nearly eye level with the guard.
"May I ask that before you make any arrests, you investigate for yourselves," it requested.
The knight sighed. He turned to the guards and nodded.
The guards and a couple of the other knights scattered to scour the town.
The head knight returned his attention to Forfend. "These are orders from our lord, golem," he scathingly emphasized the last word. Forfend had no intention of letting the man get a rise out of it though. "We are to arrest this person immediately and transport them to the royal capital."
"Why is that?" Kagoshi called.
"We are given strict orders. It is our duty to adhere to them," the knight responded sharply.
"I understand this, but you do not have all the information you need to make a judgment here," Forfend said carefully. "I will tell you everything that we know about this situation. I only ask that you allow me to share our story before your guards return. I am quite certain they will find nothing that contradicts what I will tell you."
The knight looked irritable, but he motioned for Forfend to keep talking.
"Alright, from the very beginning." Steam hissed as Forfend gathered its thoughts. Jessie pressed against its back, both giving and seeking comfort. "Two of our town's children recently went missing. We were on the hunt for them when a third was nearly kidnapped. Myself and a handful of companions were able to prevent the kidnapping. The perpetrator was a strange blue demon-like creature. I have never seen such a thing before. If you would like to see it for yourself, the remainder of its body is likely still in the back of a cave due north from here. My companions and I tracked it there after it escaped from us during the attempted abduction."
Forfend paused. It was already getting ahead of itself.
The knight crossed his arms skeptically.
"During our initial hunt for the children, we stumbled across a cart wreck also perpetrated by this same creature and its will-o-wisps. The wagon was destroyed and everything raided from it already. We found evidence of a previous wreck as well, though the wagon itself was gone. We found it later in the monster's lair, similarly raided. Most of your missing goods are likely still scattered around the cavern, though we do have what I believe to be your armors here in town. You will find them in a crate behind the forge, dismantled but undamaged."
"Why are they dismantled?" the knight asked suspiciously.
"To better fit in the crate. Storage space for that much armor is not something a town so small as Foumedo has in abundance."
The knight nodded, apparently satisfied with that response.
"In the back of the cavern, we caught up with the monster and slayed it. The missing children were there. We were able to bring them home safely. However," Forfend sighed like a rush of steam, "there was a third child in the cave. I believe him to be the child of one of the merchants from the caravans and he has passed away. He had already been deceased for weeks when we found him."
One of the passing guards still searching the town snapped his head up and stared at Forfend, concern clear even through his visor.
The head knight held a carefully neutral stance. "So, golem, it was you and your companions who commenced this investigation. Is that correct?"
"Yes," it nodded. "Jessie was not among those companions. No citizen of Foumedo save for myself was."
The knight glanced briefly at Kagoshi, who was being mercifully silent, and Kairi. He seemed to glean the unspoken identities of Forfend's companions quite easily.
"Everything he's told you is true," Kairi piped up. "We were there."
Kagoshi nodded.
A number of the townsfolk shouted their support, backing up every aspect of Forfend's story.
"I see," the knight hummed. He looked around at all the people nodding and yelling. Every testimony matched every other and they all matched Forfend's. "It would appear this golem is telling the truth."
He nodded at one of the knights that had stayed behind.
She nodded and set about rounding up the guards and their findings.
The massive crate of armor was hauled out. One of the guards also carried the carefully wrapped corpse of the young noble. He held the body at arms length, apparently apprehensive to touch the bloodied cloth.
"What the hell is he wrapped in?" the head knight asked.
"The monster's cloak," Forfend answered. "It was all I had for him. There were no other blankets or articles of clothing in the cavern. Please, just make certain he gets his burial rites."
The knight nodded. He took a deep breath. "I've made my decision."
Jessie peeked out from behind Forfend. All of Foumedo leaned in to hear the verdict.
"Our orders still stand."
Foumedo erupted in indignant swears.
"However," the knight shouted over the din, "in accordance with our laws, you may be able to travel to the court itself and make an appeal. That is all. Our orders still remain."
The crowd quieted down. It was a chance, a reason to hope.
"Now will you continue to obstruct the official business of the law?" he asked Forfend. "Or will I have to resort to more forceful means?"
Forfend sighed deeply, steam whistling for a long moment. "Please. Do not take Jessie from this town. I am more than happy to go with you, but Jessie was not involved and Foumedo needs him here."
The knight looked Forfend up and down carefully. "You are not willing to relinquish the town leader, but you are offering to travel in his stead. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Very well then. In that case, I will permit it." The knight nodded to another who spoke into a rune-marked stone.
"You are to travel to the Tyrwedian royal capital of Cragwall and seek audience with Lord Clayton Galloford. We will remain here to make certain you complete the journey." The head knight cocked his head. "Is that agreeable?"
"It is. Thank you, sir." Forfend bowed slightly.
"You and your companions must depart immediately."
"May I have half an hour to gather my things for the trip?" Forfend asked.
"That will be allotted," the knight nodded.
"Thank you," it said again.
Forfend took its leave immediately. It headed straight to its home and unlocked the door.
Luckily, it looked like the guards hadn't been too keen on damaging property in their search. They had left the building alone.
Forfend unlocked the chest in the back of the room and added the sack of obsidian shards to a pouch on its belt. It grabbed its shield and a handful of other supplies it might need.
All in all, it was ready to go in less than fifteen minutes.
When Forfend went back outside, the guards were escorting Jessie into his own home. Thankfully, they hadn't shackled him.
"Be careful! Stay safe! And come home!" Jessie yelled.
"I will," Forfend called back.
Melzaryn, Kairi, and Kagoshi were already at the town gates. As was Fletch.
When Forfend approached, the former three struck out immediately. Forfend started to follow, but Fletch's hand grazed its arm.
It turned.
Fletch had tears in his reddened eyes. He swallowed thickly and wrapped his arms around Forfend's waist.
It placed an oversized hand gently on his back.
"Thank you, Forfend," he managed, his voice cracking with emotion. "If they'd taken Jessie, he... They never would've let him come home. I never would've seen him again. I don't--" A sob cut him off. He dug his fingers into the cracks of Forfend's body, trying to hold it tighter. "I don't know what I'd do without him."
"Everything is going to be alright," Forfend assured. It pressed Fletch into its chest.
Fletch stepped back, sniffling and wiping at his eyes. He looked directly into Forfend's face. He had never looked so serious before as he did now.
"You'll come back to us, right?" He barely got the question out before he had to grit his teeth to bite back another sob.
"Of course."
"I'm gonna hold you to that. Alright?" He took Forfend's hand. "Come home."
"I will," Forfend nodded.
"That's a promise?"
"It is. I will return." It lightly squeezed Fletch's hand and gently pulled away.
"You got everything you need? All your supplies? Your mace? I guess you don't really need any food for the road, huh?" Fletch sniffled, trying out a weak smile. He was prolonging the moment.
Forfend allowed him to do it. It didn't want to leave anymore than Fletch wanted it to.
"Do you have stuff to repair your body with? Your shield? Ya know, just, have you got everything?" he continued his line of questioning.
"I have everything I need. I am certain of that."
"You're, uh, you're really gonna leave," he said softly. Tears brimmed in his eyes again.
Forfend picked Fletch up and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him as much as it safely could.
Fletch sobbed against its chest. "Come home. Please come home," he begged.
"I will." It set Fletch down and kept its steady hand on his shoulder until he composed himself a bit.
"You better. That's a promise. Okay?" Fletch shook with emotion, trying desperately not to fall apart for a third time.
"I will. I swear to you, I will return," it promised.
"Alright," he almost whispered. "Alright. I'll, uh... I'll let you go." He pat Forfend's arm one more time and trudged back toward his home, which was already surrounded by guards.
Forfend pulled its gaze away. It couldn't risk seeing the gathering of somber citizens there to see it off. They were all its friends and its family. And it knew Jace was crying. It couldn't stand to see him in such a state.
Forfend followed after its companions, jogging to catch up. Its metal core had never felt so heavy or so low in its chest. It was scared, worried, and remarkably alone despite the group it traveled in. Already, it missed home.
"Gods, what a pain in the ass," Kagoshi remarked of the road ahead.
Forfend glanced up, distracted from its thoughts. The first day of travel had been wholly uneventful, though very sad. It had watched everything it knew disappear over the horizon.
The second day, however, was going to be a long, strenuous hike.
Ahead of them was a sheer dropoff. The road zigzagged carefully down it.
Shortly after they began the descent, a voice called out from below.
"Hello? Is anyone there? I'm quite stuck!"
Forfend leaned over the edge of the cliff, followed by Kairi then Melzaryn and finally Kagoshi.
"Hello! Help!" Despite the calls for aid, the deep voice sounded more inconvenienced than endangered.
It took them all a moment to spot the man. He was at the very bottom of the cliff, firmly embedded up to his shoulders in a crater in the ground.
"How did that happen?" Forfend wondered aloud.
"Hello?" the man called again. "Is anyone there? I could use some help!" He slumped, mumbling to himself too quietly for Forfend to hear from so far above.
"We're here!" it called down. "We can help!"
"Oh, good! Ah, are you at the top of the cliff? I can't see you!"
"We are!" Forfend answered.
"When and how?!" Kagoshi yelled.
"Oh, well, I assure you when I travel this is usually faster! Um, but I would appreciate if you could help me out of this hole!" The stranger wiggled ineffectually.
Forfend tilted its head. Had he jumped? It seemed likely based on his predicament, but it should be impossible. From the top of the cliff to the bottom was easily a hundred feet. Maybe more.
"Ugh, fine!" Kagoshi responded and continued the path down the cliff.
Everyone followed, picking up their pace to keep the man from waiting too terribly long.
"Ah, hello, friends," the man grinned when they finally reached the bottom level.
"Hello," Forfend greeted, taking in the stranger.
His eyes were a striking steel color and his shaggy brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. He had a scar notching out a small section of his eyebrow. If Forfend had to guess, he was a survivalist like Joel and Louis.
"If you could just help me out of here, that would be greatly appreciated. If I could move my limbs, I could free myself but I cannot. They are quite pinned."
"Do you have any particular method you'd like us to use to free you?" Melzaryn asked, pulling his spellbook from a holster on his belt.
"Oh, not really. I'm quite sturdy. There's no need to worry about hurting me," he responded earnestly.
"Oh, good." Kagoshi reached down and snatched the furs around the man's shoulders.
"Oh, you're just going to pull me?" the stranger asked incredulously. "Are you sure you're quite strong enough?"
"Ready? One... Three!" Kagoshi yanked sharply upward, straining against the tight hold the earth had on the stranger. Slowly, the ground cracked and gave way.
"Oh, you're very strong," the stranger complimented.
As soon as his arms were free, the man hauled himself the rest of the way out of the the pit.
"Oh, thank you!" the man shouted, stretching stiff muscles. He popped his neck, then braced his hands on his back and popped it with a series of loud cracks. "That's much better."
Forfend began dutifully refilling the deep gap left in the ground. This was the middle of the main road. Such a dangerous hazard couldn't be left for cart wheels to get stuck in, or people to fall down, or horses to trip into.
"How did you end up in this situation?" Forfend asked.
"Well, I travel a lot and I usually find that it's faster to just jump off the edge of the cliff."
Forfend craned its head up to look at the top of the cliff face.
"I can take the fall," the man assured.
"Correct me if I am wrong," Forfend started, "but I do not believe that is something a normal human could survive."
"Well, you see, I'm very durable." He smiled proudly.
Forfend looked him over again. He wasn't wearing a shirt, only a fur wrap around his shoulders. Muscles bulged from his chest and arms. It had no doubt he was durable, but this was not the kind of thing human durability would let a person do. This man was more than he was claiming.
Kagoshi eyed Kairi, a hungry look in his eyes.
"If you ask him nicely, maybe," Kairi answered a question that hadn't been asked.
"Mm," Kagoshi responded and turned to the stranger. "I have an important question for you."
"Yes, my friend, uh..." He tilted his head quizzically.
"Kagoshi," Kagoshi supplied. "We're not friends."
"Ah, but we will be. I am Callan. Callan Hearthborn."
"Sure, I'll try to remember that. Listen, I want to fight you. I wanna test your durability claim." Kagoshi cracked his knuckles.
"Good! I was about to ask the same! Would you like then--and I hope it's not too presumptuous of me to ask--to partake in a friendly bout?" Callan was rocking on his heels, getting just as excited as Kagoshi over the prospect of a fight.
Kagoshi glanced at Kairi, a spark in his eyes.
"Go for it," Kairi encouraged.
Forfend shifted nervously. It did not like the idea in the slightest. It didn't understand why Kairi would enable his violent behaviors.
"Let's do it!" Kagoshi smirked.
"Excellent! Let us get into our starting positions." Callan took a fighting stance.
"Not on the main road," Forfend interjected. "I have just filled the hole you put in it. We should not damage it further. It is needed."
"Oh, that is fair," Callan acknowledged. He moved a good distance off the road.
Kagoshi followed and both got into position.
"Well then, friend Kagoshi, do you have a title perhaps?" Callan asked.
"No. None at the moment," Kagoshi answered somberly. Forfend couldn't read the sudden distant emotion in his eyes.
"That is fair. You see, I have not been officially recognized by the Celestial Summit to have any titles either," Callan shared. "But I hope to be recognized soon and named Callan Hearthborn the Unbreakable."
"Celestial what?" Kagoshi asked.
"What is the Celestial Summit?" Forfend inquired.
Callan looked wholly puzzled and very caught off guard. "How..? What..? Do you..?" He shook his head. "Ah, questions for later. For now, let us spar. What rules are we using?"
Kagoshi shrugged. "I dunno, just whoever gives up first."
"Oh, perfect!" Callan clapped and assumed a wide stance, arms outstretched. "Perhaps, would one of your companions like to start the countdown?"
Kagoshi tilted his head at the stance. "Oh, you're a confident bastard. I like you."
"You're quite confident as well," Callan returned. "Let this duel be something to remember."
Forfend fretted at the sidelines. Its fingers tapping nervously on its shield. It hoped Kagoshi would stay under control.
Melzaryn tilted his staff forward.
A glowing three appeared between the two fighters with a beep. It faded. A two appeared with the same noise. Then a one. When it faded, a loud ding rang out.
Kagoshi charged across the field without a moment's hesitation.
Callan made no motion to get out of the way or strike back.
Kagoshi reeled back and slammed his fist into the man's face. A surprising metal twang rang out, rattling up Kagoshi's arm.
Kagoshi swore and bounded back, hands still up despite his undoubtedly bruised knuckles.
Callan leaned forward slightly, adamantine slowly being replaced by skin once more.
"That was a good first hit, friend," he praised. "Do you mind if I take mine?"
Kagoshi looked a bit bewildered.
"I can tell that wasn't your full strength. Are we doing this or not?" Callan cocked his head.
"Don't ask him for full strength," Kairi warned.
"Alright, fine," Kagoshi growled and rolled his shoulders.
"No!" Forfend yelled.
"I guess it is your turn," Kagoshi said.
Forfend and Kairi both breathed a sigh of relief.
Callan crouched low and aimed a devastating uppercut to Kagoshi's stomach. The distinct sound of dull metal against flesh resounded across the clearing. When Callan pulled his adamantine fist back, Kagoshi had burns on the front of his shirt.
Kagoshi doubled over, staggering a bit.
"Alright, this is just trading blows. Are we actually going to fight?" Callan asked idly.
Kagoshi gave a wheezing laugh.
"Do not!" Kairi yelled.
"C'mon, friend, I know you've got more in you," Callan egged him on.
"Please do not ask him for more," Forfend shouted. It feared what would happen.
"He's obviously having a good time! Let him have a good time!" Callan argued.
"You don't understand," Kairi shook her head.
"No one else will have a good time." Forfend edged sightly in front of Melzaryn in case it needed to protect him.
Kagoshi looked up, fire spilling from his mouth and a wild look in his eyes.
"You have your own unique abilities too! C'mon, use it!" Callan was practically jumping with excitement. "C'mon! Do not worry, everything will be fine. I can take it. In the battle between you and I, nothing else matters."
"'Everything will be fine,' he says," Kagoshi chuckled darkly. "Let's see if you can deal with hell on earth!" he roared, his body contorting as it grew.
Callan stared with wide eyes, a grin plastered to his face as Kagoshi burst into flames and doubled in size.
The sky darkened, turning the same violent red as Kagoshi's pulsing scars.
"Fantastic!" Callan screamed. "I feel a shiver run up my spine. This is fear! This means this fight is worth undertaking!"
Kagoshi growled, breathing heavily.
"Look at this, we do have a title for you!" Callan announced. "Kagoshi the Giant!" Callan slammed his fists into one another, a metallic clang ringing out as adamantine crawled up his arms and covered his entire body. "Versus Callan Hearthborn the Unbreakable!"
Forfend stared at the sky, shock and fear filling its body. It readied its shield and pulled its mace from its belt. If Kagoshi came toward it, Forfend would be prepared.
A magic flash reading "Round 2" appeared between the fighters, accompanied by a loud ding.