Banagan cautiously walked up the rocky path, his sword held at the ready as he scanned the terrain in front of him. A few meters ahead, a rock tumbled down the hill and came to rest in the middle of the road. The paladin held his hand up and he heard the group behind him stop. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see the small group of Niffen he was leading looking around nervously. To the rear of the group was his Drakthyr friend, Skold.
Banagan adjusted his grip on his great sword as he watched the hilltop ahead and to their right. He didn’t have to wait long as the large crackling hound crested the top and looked down at them. Several of the Niffen gasped as the beast growled and lowered itself to the ground in preparation to pounce.
Banny raised his sword and let out a battle cry, charging directly at the beast. It stopped growling momentarily, not expecting its prey to react this way. But the moment passed quickly as its instincts reasserted themselves and the beast let out another deep growl before lunging at the paladin.
Banny brought his sword up parallel to the ground. He put his gloved hand behind the blade and held it flat side facing the beast. As the beast leapt with its paws outstretched, Banny used his sword to block its attack and then twisted to his side to knock aside the blow. The beast landed close to the Niffen, causing them to cry out and scatter. Skold brought up his staff and swung it wide, striking the beast on the side of its head.
The crackling hound snarled at Skold and swiped out with its paw. The Drakthyr easily stepped back out of range of the strike. Before the beast could reach out to strike again, Banagan let out another roar and raced at the beast. The paladin raised his sword and swung down at the beast. It struck a glancing blow on its back hip and then dug into the dirt. The wound bled, but caused now significant damage and only infuriated the hound more. It spun around quicker than the paladin expected and swiped its paw against his shoulder. Banagan was knocked back and tripped upon one of the many rocks the were strewn across the landscape. The paladin tumbled to the ground and landed on his back.
Banny brought his sword up and held it in front of him to block the hound’s attack. The beast leapt on him, its paws pushing at the sword and pressing the paladin into the dirt. The beast’s jaws snapped at Banny and leaned in to bite at the prone human. Then there was a blast of fire and the beast howled in pain. It turned towards the Drakthyr in time to take another blast of fire fully in its face. The heat of the blast washed over Banny, causing him to turn his head away. The beast growled again and started to turn towards Skold. Taking advantage of the hound’s diverted attention, Banny twisted his blade around and drove it into the beast’s flank. It stumbled off of the paladin, but before it could move far Banny pushed on his sword and drove it further into the beast’s chest. It gasped and then fell to the ground and ceased to move. Banagan got to his knees and yanked his sword free.
“Thanks,” Banny said in between gasping breaths. Skold nodded and started looking around for more attacks. The paladin rose to his feet and watched as the Niffen that had scattered were now quickly returning to the group. “Is everyone okay?” Then he stopped and gave the group a confused look. He then turned to the Drakthyr who returned Banagan’s gaze and tilted his head slightly.
The paladin pointed his finger at each of the Niffen in turn. “Ten. There were only four of you. Where did the rest of you come from?”
One of the Niffen stood a little straighter and replied “The lady told us to run, so we did. And we ended up here. And we saw more of us. And we are here now.” The Niffen added with a little nod at the end of his explanation.
“What lady?” Skold asked, staring intently at the one who had just finished explaining.
“She was the one helping us.” All the new members of their party started nodded, and soon all the Niffen were nodding in agreement as well.
“Where is she now?” Banny asked.
“When we were attacked, she told us to run. But she did not run,” He added solemnly.
“Who was she? What was her name?” Banny asked, his voice getting more anxious.
“We do not know. She is a tall like you. But not like you,” the Niffen added, looking at Skold. “She was helping us to Loamm. But then attacked. She said run, so we run.”
“Where did this happen, little one?” Skold asked.
“That way,” the Niffen said, pointing away from the direction of Loamm.
“How far?”
The group of Niffen looked at each other and talked quickly before turning to look at the human and Drakthy and shrugging their shoulders.
“We ran as quickly as we could,” another Niffen offered.
Banagan and Skold looked down the road and then looked at each other. Both had a concerned look in their eyes.
“We can’t leave someone out there alone,” Banny said first.
“There is no telling if this person is still alive,” Skold countered.
“But if they are, they’ll be outnumbered.”
“And if we go to them, we could be outnumbered as well.”
“They could be hurt.”
“We have to get our friends here back to safety. They would be a liability if they came with us. And I do not know if they could make it to Loamm on their own.”
“We have to do something,” Banny said in a tone that Skold assumed meant he’d made up his mind.
“What do you suggest we do, my friend?”
Banagan stood, looking first to the group of Niffen, then to the road that they had been traveling from, and then finally back to his friend. “You lead them back to Loamm. Find some more people and come back this way. I’ll head that way and look for her. Maybe if I can find her, I can get her on the road safely and we’ll meet along they way.”
“There seems to be quite a large number of ‘ifs’ in your plan.”
“I know,” Banny answered with a frown. Then he turned back to the Niffen. “Was this person on the road when you started running?”
“Yes. We were traveling on the road when the attack happened.” The Niffen started pointing at the road again, all of them nodding.
“Okay,” Banagan said. Taking a deep breath, he turned to his friend and gave what he hoped would be a reassuring smile. “Get them there as quick as you can and then come after me. I’ll find her and either get on the road or find someplace safe to hide.”
“Should I contact your Meddler friends?”
“If we do, I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of it from them or my father.” Banny shook his head and gave a very brief chuckle. “If you see any of them, tell them. Don’t waste time hunting for them, though.”
“Understood. Be safe, my friend. Let us go, little ones. As quickly as we can muster.”
“Light protect you, Skold.” Banagan watched as his Drakthyr friend began moving the group of Niffen in the direction of Loamm. Once the group had started making its way, the paladin turned. With his sword still in his hand, he began jogging away in the opposite direction.
