“That sounds absolutely fucking terrifying.”

-”It would be one hell of a fight!”

“Maybe- maybe if we could separate it from the others, it would be possible… but it has an army of monsters. It’s not like it will sit around while we kill them all, or just come out to meet us.”

-”I think we can figure something out. We’ll need more than just us, but if we cut off the head of that leader, the rest will be disorganized. Easy pickings for us.”

It’s a weird feeling to be tempted with glory and reward but still feel petrified with fear. It isn’t something that happens frequently in life that isn’t governed by magic, survival, and death. It unnerves me how tempting the idea is, even while the back of my mind warns me against prideful folly. Lauren’s suggestion is accurate, though; this would all be over quickly if the thing behind the Carnines’ seemingly organized movements was removed… but she might as well be suggesting we just ‘go back to our own planet’ in terms of how possible it is. That being said, I can’t dismiss the idea because we will have to do it eventually. That quest needs to be completed, broken or otherwise, if we’re going to ever get to that tower Zathis mentioned, and that’s the only way off this place.

We need more information first. Scouting, training, fortifying… everything needs to be better.

“Ok, we should meet regarding our next steps. We need to give everyone an idea of what needs to be accomplished and push them to fill in where they’re needed. Especially now that… well, we need to reestablish some kind of structure. Help me gather everybo-... shit. Ok, one thing first, I have to take on Dean. Mind refereeing?”

-”Wait what?”

“He’s… a dick. And he’ll be a problem unless he and I can work something out. I don’t know what’s been biting his ass lately, but he’s gotten too belligerent. I think I might be able to fix it, but… I’m going to need to fight him.”

-”Uhh… ok…? Guys are fucking weird.”

“I swear it’s not a posturing thing. I mean- look, tell me honestly that you respected me, in the slightest, when you thought I couldn’t fight worth a damn, despite the fact that I could regrow limbs.”

-”...Point.”

“It’s a warrior thing. Fighters respect strength.” I hope.

---

+”It’s about time you showed up.” Dean scowls at me but doesn’t look at Lauren.

I really wish I felt as confident as I need to look.

“Alright. I’d rather use blunted weapons, but neither of us have blunted swords. With that in mind, no cuts above the naval. I can probably keep someone alive if they don’t die immediately. Any fuckups in that regard will result in Lauren sending the living one to hell where they belong.

Also I’m going to talk the whole time, so if you want to shut me up you’re going to have to make me try.”

Dean looks taken aback for a moment, before a sinister grin spreads across his face.

+”Ready?”

I draw my sword. We stand in a valley, not too far from where blood was spilled earlier today. There’s plenty of room to move around, and Lauren, in addition to being a ref, is also keeping watch for sudden monster attacks. As there doesn’t seem to be much else going on, most of the others are nearby, either watching, or, in Marie’s case, repairing and reworking the barricades. On my way out, I had mentioned some improvements I had thought of (spikes on the ceiling, projectile defenses, arrow slits for our ranged combatants) and the vague list of ideas had sparked some inspiration in her. I made a mental note to get her more raw material as soon as I was done with Dean. If I can walk, that is.

“Ready.”

He didn’t wait for a moment, launching toward me with all the speed he showed last night. I slash up, attempting to fully stop his strike. A moment before impact, I realize he greatly outclasses me in Strength, and turn my sword slightly to deflect instead. The sword grazes just over my head, and I side step and rush forward, running the length of my sword along his side. The cut is shallow, but I landed the first strike.

+”Ack! Bastard!” He roars, and swings his sword around, however I continue moving past him, easily getting out of range of his follow-up. I whirl. “You’re underestimating me. Fight like you mean it. I don’t even have the Greatsword Proficiency skill, isn’t that crazy?”

His eyes narrow in anger, but his stance changes. He hold his sword at eye level, two handed and ready to respond to any strike. He waits, but I don’t make a move.

“What the fuck happened between the first time we met and when Rav and I set out on a hunt?”

He doesn’t respond, but his glare intensifies. He moves slowly towards me, and I move just as slowly away. His frown deepens.

“I had thought you were pretty cool when we first met. You talked to me when it was clear I was uncomfortable and alone within the group.”

He rushes forward again, intent on stabbing me directly. I push the hilt of my sword to the left, parrying with the base of my blade, but before I can counter, Dean whirls with the momentum of my parry and strikes at me significantly faster than before. I turn my downward slash from an offensive strike into a defensive one, smacking his blade low as I just manage to jump the strike. His attack moves smoothly into another strike, and we exchange a flurry of blows. His speed keeps increasing, but mine evens out fairly quickly, and I quickly start losing ground. I feel lines of fire appearing on my arms and legs as I end up losing more and more exchanges. My grip tingles, getting more numb with every overpowering strike I try to move away from me. Dean’s wicked grin has only gotten darker, and the first cut I landed isn’t slowing him down at all.

I couldn’t get much experience reading body language when I trained with Zathis, so it’s only with my Intelligence stat letting me analyze more than I should in less time, combined with my high Perception from Kaythe that I can even do this much. I have to keep predicting his attacks perfectly so I can just barely escape with minor wounds, despite the skill difference. I’m mostly acting on instinct, while he seems to be barely trying.

He feints, and I misread. Badly. The real strike isn’t hard, but it gets me in the side. I correct fast enough that I can dislodge his sword from my side before it gets more than an inch in, but I feel my core muscles stiffen. Energy already rushes to take care of it, but it isn’t a job that can be fixed in mere seconds, and that mobility was the only thing keeping me in the fight. Fortify activates as Dean takes a moment to relish what he surely believes to be the beginning of his victory. He jumps back, raises his sword, and executes a powerful overhead strike. He knows I’m not strong enough to stop the attack, and I wouldn’t be able to deflect and dodge with my wound.

His surprise clearly shows as my counter not only stops his strike, but also sends his sword back the way it came. He barely holds onto the hilt as the weight of the sword and the sudden change to his center of balance sends him stumbling back, but I don’t stop. I follow up mercilessly leaving shallow cuts all over his body, smashing his sword over and over. He clearly has never encountered someone stronger than him, so his deflections are insufficient and absorb too much of the attack’s power, failing both to protect him and knocking his guard away.

“You changed, all of a sudden, and you act like you hate me. For what? Why? What did I do that wronged you? Fuck! I’m really, truly sorry for whatever it was! But I can’t ask for forgiveness for something I don’t understand. Talk!”

+”Fuck you!”

He desperately strikes at me, and I feel my Energy waning. This needs to end.

I put everything I have into attacking his blade directly. I mimic his motion in the exact inverse, and the collision is nearly deafening.

My sword rests at his neck. His sheathed itself in the grass a few feet away. The only sound is our heavy breathing. The tension in our eye contact suffuses the air. None of the spectators dare make a sound. I toss my sword to the ground, letting Fortify deactivate before I exhaust myself.

Dean doesn’t move for another second, but without warning, he launches forward. My world jars suddenly, as I find myself on my back with Dean on top of me. I bring my hands up barely in time to block the first of a barrage of punches. Some get through, or target my chest instead of my head, and I can’t see where his strikes are targeting with my hands in the way.

+”You smug son of a bitch! I had one thing! One person that relied on me! One person who couldn’t live without me, and you took him away! You sick son of a bitch! Then you closed me off, denied me when I tried to help, you fucking shut me out! Now?! You ask why?! WHAT YOU DID?! How dare you take the high road with me! I’ll kill you, you fucking monster!” His ranting ends as his voice cracks and the hurt becomes evident in his voice. I taste blood in my mouth. My arms radiate pain. My beleaguered Energy supply flows to assist, but it's not important right now.

Finally having gotten the ‘dialogue’ I wanted, and the opening I needed, I spring up, into his blows, and wrap my arms around him in a sort of hug. He keeps trying to punch my undefended head, but he can’t get effective leverage anymore with me so close to him, so they’re weak at best. I twist to the side, bucking my hips. He tries to throw out a hand to stabilize himself, but I’m already rolling with him. I pull his stabilizing hand in, causing him to fall hard. Hand to Hand Proficiency was 100% worth it.

“Then *thud* fucking *smack* talk *crack* to me *thud* you stupid *THUD* bastard!”

I disengage from the pin I had him in and stand over him, his face bleeds profusely and his eyes are squeezed shut. “I didn’t mean to take Rav from you. I don’t think Rav even knew you thought that, cause I sure as hell didn’t. But this isn’t something you should talk to me about, it’s him. I think you’re probably an alright guy, Dean, but not like this. Now, do you want me to heal that for you?”

+”FFfff-...”

He instead takes a few more breaths, cringing in pain.

+”Yeah… just a bit.”