One-Shot Wonders! @woo1shots - Tumblr Blog

Level Up!

Altogether this little number only took a few hours to write. I was struggling with finding a starter topic and a friend suggested I write about our FFXIV characters.

Word count: 1,898

Warnings: minimal cursing

A/N: This is essentially a glorified dungeon raid that gives it a bit more of a realistic setting than just killing everything in sight.

“By the Twelve! When are you ever going to shut up about that damn book of yours?” she asked at her wit’s end.

“When I feel like it I guess,” he replied ever so nonchalantly. They had been walking for what seemed like days when they reached the top of a hill, a small port town visible not too far off. “Finally!” Hawke exclaimed, happy to see the various boats docked below.

“Yeah, finally you’ll stop bitching for once,” Cassiel muttered under her breath. As they made their way closer to the sanctuary of the town’s walls, it was made clear that this town was one that was quite frequented. “Now all we need to do is find a-” she cut herself off as Hawke took off running, “Merchant…” she finished with disdain before trailing after him slowly.Deciding to follow suit, Cassiel left her gear and weapon with the merchant along with Hawke’s while the two of them explored the likes of the town.

“Aleport,” she muttered through a mouthful of raisins.

“Excuse you?” Hawke gave his typical asshole look. Cassiel rolled her eyes and pointed at the plaque on one of the stone walls.

“The town is called Aleport, you ass clown,” she said through a more raisins before chomping down on a few more.

“I don’t see how you can eat those things Cass. It’s not like they really do anything for you.” His tone of superiority was really starting to piss her off. She rolled her eyes once more before responding.

“I do what I want,” she retorted as she continued to pop more raisins into her gob. The two of them spent nearly an hour walking around before making their way back to the merchant. Cass was pleasantly surprised to find that both their gear and weapons had been repaired so quickly. After paying the quiet man, they made their way back to the town’s gates. “So where to now?” Cass asked her companion reluctantly.

“Overheard some guys talking about a cave just past the top of the hill,” he pointed straight ahead. “You up for it?” She gave him a small ‘like I have a choice’ smile before hooking her cane in place and the two were off. As they neared the bottom of the hill Cass stopped. Throwing his hands up, Hawke turned in protest. “What now?” he huffed.

“What exactly did you hear about this ‘cave’,” she questioned, making air quotes. Walking back to her, he grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her along beside him.

“Don’t be a baby about it Cass. Besides, you can handle yourself,” he started. “Plus, I need someone to make sure I don’t die,”

‘That’s not all I’m good for you know!” she protested, jerking her arm away.

“But if you don’t keep me alive, then who will?” he questioned jokingly. Shaking her head, she swallowed her frustration to indulge him and the pair set off once more.

Nearing the entrance to the cave, the two met a man by the name of Garrat, who just could not stop boasting about the wonders of his newly-acquired aetherial shortsword. Cass had to pull Hawke away before anymore could be said and off into the cave they went.

As they delved deeper, they noticed two people up ahead. Cass drew closer to her companion, unsure of who in their right mind would be in a place like this before laughing at herself. As the two came into view, her face brightened with lit eyes and a smile. She felt suddenly foolish for being cautious of the two before her. She knew that tall, dapper figure anywhere. Without thinking, she hugged the man’s waist from behind. Cass could feel the man’s entire body tense suddenly and a quick jolt went through her before the man lifted his arm to see who dare be so foolish.

His body, however, was quickly lax with a faint expression when the realization hit and he turned to greet his old friend. “Cass my love, it has been too long!” he proclaimed. Leaning forward, he brought her in close for a warm embrace.

“Senh’a!” Cass exclaimed, breaking the hug. The short Miqo’te gave a sheepish smile and returned her friendly hug. “What brings you and Thibault here?”

"Oh you know, just moseying around. Heard some guy going on about this place and decided to check out. What about you two?" he questioned. "I’m Sen, by the way, and this is Thib," he offered to Hawke. The unusually quiet Miqo’te nodded in acknowledgement.

"He’s not much for chatting with strangers," Cass jumped in. The near instance friendship formed with her companion never seemed as simple to others as it had to them. The two made an oddly decent pair. "so who’s up for seeing what this place is all about?" she offered, trying to change the subject.

"I’m down," Sen jumped in, before turning to Thib.

"As am I," the tall gentleman added. Cass turned to Hawke with a more cheerful look in her eye. She was suddenly far more willing to discover a place unknown with more than one familiar face.

"Do you even have to ask?" Hawke questioned with oozing sarcasm. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed him by the arm once more to drag him along.

The crew had been walking for nearly 20 minutes before Hawke cleared his throat to break the silence. “So I guess I should probably tell you the real reason I wanted to check this place out…” he trailed before giving Cass an innocent grin. Her expression teamed with frustration and a look that demanded he explain himself. Ignoring her anger he continued. “Well I guess there’s been a group of pirates terrorizing that little town. And I guess someone watched them as they fled and rumor has it they always come running back to this cave,” he finished proudly. Like a cat awaiting gratitude from its owner after bring in it a dead bird, Hawke watched Cass closely, waiting for her response.

Cass rubbed her temples in frustration as the group rounded a corner. But before she could respond, they were confronted by two reverants of a hefty build and their very wild looking dog. “Don’t know how you found us,” one of them started.

"But you sure won’t leaving!" the other added before lunging at Senh’a. Their swords met with a clash as he blocked the attack. As if reading Senh’a’s mind, Thibault’s quick mind and words cast a sleeping spell and both the first reverent and the dog and they instantly appeared to be in a hypnotic slumber. Following suit, Hawke pulled his book from his waist and began casting spells at the pirate who initiated the attack. The three of them made quick work of the firat man. But just as it seemed he would be defeated, his hound and companion were roused from their hypnotic state. As the first main fell, the three shifted their efforts to the next man. Cass made sure to heal any wounds that her comrades had acquired, occasionally casting a spell or two of her own. A swirl of fire erupted around the foes as Cass caught the end of a quick smirk from Thibault. Senh’a continued to make short work of the remaining foes and a whine of agony echoed from the dog as Cassiel finished a curing spell.

"Well that was certainly unexpected," Sen said with a laugh as he holstered his sword. The group continued to round the corner only to find themselves at the entrance of a massive opening in the cave. The ceiling above them seemed to instantly jump to nearly fifty feet above them. The vastness before them had the makings of a treasure room. Chests and piles of all sizes lined the room’s edges.

"Anyone else get the feeling there’s a reason no ones ever found this place?" Cass asked suddenly.

"Oh no they found it alright," Hawke replied. "But I’m guessing THAT," he added, pointing, "Is the reason they never made it out of here." The others turned simultaneously in the direction he was pointing. Before them stood a giant of a beast, almost twice as tall as Thibault (and he was no small gentleman either!)

"There," Thib gestured as he spoke. "Beyond the beast lies our salvation," he added, giving awareness to the narrowing tunnel just past the montrous fish of a man.

"So to get out of here we pretty much have to take that guy out and make a run for it?" Sen spoke up. Cass gulped. "Well I’m down," the Miqo’te gave a smile and a swish of his tail.

"I gotta say, I’m pretty disappointed," Hawke added "I was expecting something way more complicated than this to grt out of here. Those guys back at the town are definitely going to get an earful.”

"Let’s just get this over with, this place is starting to creep me out," Cassiel pleaded. Thibault gave a nod of affirmation as the they sneaked their way through the milling pirates to the gated entrance surrounding the montrous creature. Sen shut the gate loudly and locked it just as he gained the attention of both the beast and his pirates. He drew his sword as the fiend turned its attention to them.

"You dare challenge me?" it questioned in shock.

"Oh we don’t just dare," Hawke jumped in brazenly. "We’re gonna take you down fish bitch."

Cassiel paused, “Fish bitch, really? Of all the things in the world you could possibly come up with and you go with fish bitch?” Hawke shrugged and the comrades were off.

Their blows were swift and harsh. This amount of damage would quickly destroy any normal enemy, but the strength of their foe was greater than anticipated. Every so often large, swollen flames would erupt around the beast, followed by a sudden formation of solid ice encasing the monster that seemed to vanish almost as quickly as it had appeared. Thib and Hawke were vigilant in their spell casting, pausing in their words only long enough to take a necessary breath. Cass focused most of her efforts on keeping Sen and the others healed while still managing her own damaging spells.

Just as the group was starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, the four surrounding grates were forced open by geysers of water and smaller looking versions of their foe came rushing towards Cass. Looking up mid-cast, she shut her eyes quickly in wait of a shortly anticipated blow. Cassiel peered through half-closed eyes in time to see Sen slice into each of the minions. A swell of fire sprang forth once more and two of the lesser foes fell. Cass focused all of her energy on keeping Sen alive. This was one friend she refused to see die at a time like this.

Suddenly, as if the heavens themselves had opened up, a thunderous rain of earth fell all around and crashed into the remaining beasts and they collapsed in domino formation. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Sen replaced his weapon and cheered alongside his friends. It was then that a bright light danced around Hawke and he could feel the weight of his book grow ever so slightly. Cass’ eyes lit up at the realization and jumped joyously for her friend.

"Level up!"

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

One-Shot Wonders!