The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage

[38] Not Without a Fight

Blood ran down Tanisha’s arm as she carried the injured Helina, screaming for help. Helina looked pale and barely cognitive; she needed a healing potion yesterday. She winced in pain with every step Tanisha took.

The warriors in the refugee camp were quick to react; Tanisha could see one person running towards her. Sabec’s wagon was gone before she even made it to the camp. Her heart sank when she realized they just abducted Bjorn. She had to focus, though, Helina was dying in her arms and she wasn’t going to let that happen. 

Joha appeared next to her as she entered the merchant camp. His eyes were focused elsewhere in the darkness as the maya circulated around him like a typhoon. There were four howls that broke the night, each from a different direction encircling both camps.

“Helina, Helina sweetie!” Owen yelled as soon as he saw the bleeding woman. “What happened? Higher Planes above wh-what, what happened?”

Tanisha put her down carefully as Owen ran to her and grabbed Helina’s hand.

“I have healing potions. I will be right back!” Tanisha yelled.

Tanisha ran into Joha’s carriage and found her bag. She dumped the contents on the ground, not bothering to dig through it. She found her last two lesser healing potions. Helina would only need one given the size of her body. She left the other in an easily accessible spot just in case, but didn’t want to risk breaking it if she were attacked.

She ran to the downed goblin woman; her family had surrounded her. They all looked at Tanisha expectantly, eyes wet with tears. Tanisha prayed fervently to the Forest Father that her potion would work as the boys backed away so she could take their place at Helina’s side. She gently lifted Helina’s head,  pulled the stopper of the potion with her teeth and spat it to the side.

“Helina, can you hear me? This is a potion, drink it slowly,” Tanisha said.

Helina didn’t respond but her eyes showed she had some fight still in her. Tanisha put the potion to her lips and poured a small amount of the bottle at a time. She saw Helina struggle to drink the potion so she went even slower, giving the goblin woman time to breathe between sips. Color returned to her green skin after a few minutes, then her breathing finally normalized and the bleeding stopped. The woman winced as organs mended, but relief washed over her face once she could sit up on her own.

“Sweety,” Owen said as he hugged his wife.

“Mom,” Caleb and Wyatt both said as they joined in the bear hug.

“We are still in danger, get the children inside your wagon.” Joha spoke as his eyes continued to focus out into the distance. 

Tanisha followed his gaze and saw the gnoll woman standing in the field, watching them. As she went to stand she felt a small hand grab hers. She looked down and saw Helina staring up at her.

“Thank you,” Helina said. “You saved me. Thank you.”

“Of course; we still have to celebrate when we get to the fort city, right?” Tanisha responded. 

The goblins retreated to their wagon and took their sons to secure them inside. Tanisha noticed that Tyr was there. He was the man she’d seen running towards her when she called for help. She had been so focused on saving Helina she hadn’t even realized he showed up.

“Tyr?” Tanisha questioned.

“Glad you’re okay. What is going on? Druids?” Tyr asked. 

“Gnolls. I think Sabec is working with them. They took Bjorn,” Tanisha stated.

“Damn-it,” Tyr said. 

“Get ready; they are coming,” Joha said, his voice cold and decisive. “We will get Bjorn back after I kill these ones. Stay here Tanisha.”

Tyr brandished his blade, a thin double edged sword with runes running up and down the fuller, as two figures stepped into the camp from opposite directions. The one facing Joha was the female that had attacked Helina. The shorter one wore light armor and had two sickles gripped tightly, ready to charge. Tyr stood in front of Tanisha, ready to spring into action at the slightest motion.

Tanisha pulled out her combat knife, which thankfully she kept on her person. She had to leave her war staff at the tub when she fled with Helina. She prepared to resummon her Infernal Hands when she felt the connection to them in her magic core. The normal Mystic Wind Hands would have been destroyed when she attacked, but these seemed far more durable. She could also tell that their range had increased. Before their max range had been ten feet, now it was twenty. Those changes, coupled with the fact they were invisible to the eye and magic senses, meant she could be a real threat.

“Rakshasa, Losi does not wish to ruin her prize. Come quietly and Losi will not hurt you or the wendigo girl bonded with the hydra,” the taller gnoll said.

“Bring Bjorn back and fuck off and I will let you live,” Joha responded in a growl. Maya escaped him with every word. “Anything else and you die tonight, dog.”

The gnoll warrior laughed. “You talk big, demon. Losi will find many buyers for you.” She howled. “Kill them all. I will take the Rakshasa.”

Both gnolls exploded into action faster than Tanisha could even register; wait, no, actually she saw the motions clearly. They were fast, yes, but Tanisha could follow the movement. She had to focus on the sickle wielder as she knew Joha could take care of himself. It took less than a heartbeat for the sickle wielder to dash the twenty feet to Tyr, both implements swung in a wide arc, closing in like scissors.

Tyr's forearms glowed as lines of power flowed from him into his sword. It wasn’t magic but instead chakra from his training as a mystic swordsman. Energy flowed into the blade, connecting him and the weapon, making it an extension of himself. The temperature around him dropped as he dodged low under the swinging sickles then jabbed forward. 

The gnoll pivoted and turned her body, dodging the stab and swinging her blades back around to catch the swordsman in the side. Pain suddenly erupted in her arm as she felt heat; her wrist was burning due to some unseen force that felt like it had latched on. Her instincts screamed at her to dodge to the side, which she did, throwing her attack off course and giving the swordsman time to evade. 

The gnoll dodged again, to her left this time, and slashed at Tyr. The speed of her attack was also amplified by her use of chakra. Tyr avoided the wild swing, only for the gnoll to kick him in the side, causing him to fly back a few feet. He hit the ground once and flipped, still carrying the backwards momentum.

The gnoll focused on Tanisha, who continued to try to grab her with the invisible Infernal Hands. The burns were not insignificant, but she couldn’t hold on to any part of the gnoll’s body for long enough to cause lasting damage. The warrior's instincts prevented Tanisha from grabbing her face as she dodged and weaved. 

The sickle wielder closed the distance between them in an instant. She  swung one of her weapons around to remove Tanisha from the equation so she could focus on the swordsman. Tanisha made a split second decision to jump forward between the gnoll’s legs. The sickle whistled through the air where her neck had been a moment before. Tanisha latched both of the Infernal Hands onto the warrior’s legs.

“You fucking mage! Fuei will kill you!” The gnoll screamed as she whipped around.

She tried to stomp Tanisha, who rolled out of the way. Fuei then had to turn her attention back to Tyr, who used a skill to increase his speed and re-engaged in the blink of an eye. The swordsman was outclassed in strength and experience, but not in ability. Each time his blade met with his opponent’s, the icy chill of his mystic swordsman’s technique crawled deeper into the gnoll’s form. 

“You okay?” Tanisha questioned.

“I am, stay back but keep doing whatever you’re doing,” Tyr responded.

Tanisha had to keep her distance as the two fought. The last thing she needed was to get too close when her best attack right now was her maya. The gnoll was now used to her interference and could dodge the invisible Infernal Hands with instinct alone.

The tide changed abruptly as she channeled chakra, causing her sickles to glow with a burning heat which countered all of the effects Tyr had managed to place on her throughout the fight. She knew his style now and was ruthlessly punishing every opening with a cut or slash. None were deep but the heat seared his skin. The only reason he wasn’t dead was because of his reflexes, honed to a knife's edge through training. He was slowing down as damage stacked up, and one decisive strike was incoming.

One of Fuei’s sickles whistled through the air as ice and fire clashed. Tyr moved to dodge only for the feint to leave him open; Fuei’s other weapon was too close to evade and was aimed right for his torso. The weapon stopped inches from puncturing his heart as a spear humming with magic flew between them and stuck into the ground.

Fuei jumped to the side using speed to her advantage, reassessing the situation. Owen collected his spear, the goblin now in leather armor with a steel helmet. Fuei wasn’t a mindless beast she needed to size up her opponents and strategize her next move.

“Looks like I made it back in time,” Owen said. “You two alright?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Tyr said. “I would have been a goner.”

“Thank me after we kill them and get out of this alive,” Owen responded. “Tanisha, what about you?”

“Wish I could help more, but I am fine. I really need more offensive spells,” Tanisha responded. “I am here for support though.”

The gnoll warrior laughed. “Fuei get three of you now? It is Fuei’s lucky day to spill so much blood.”

“You are not spilling any blood today. Not without a fight,” Tyr snarled.

The gnoll licked her lips. “Fuei is counting on it, wendigo boy.”