The house stood ramshackle, alone at the edge of a rolling hill. Isa had to admire the strategy of the choice. How would they be able to stealthily approach? She asked Lund as much, and he grunted out a laugh.

“Snake in the grass, little sister. Snake in the grass.”

“It’s sweet and all, but why call me ‘little sister’?”

Lund shrugged. “You have no family, so I’ll be your family. My people, we know what it’s like to be between 2 worlds, yeah?”

“Thank you,” Isa said as she patted his arm. No need to tell him about her family back home. “Now then, your little sister wants to know what you mean about the snakes.”

“The grass is high still, high for fall anyway, so we use the cover the gods have provided. We crawl through the grass like snakes.”

“What about real snakes? Won’t they be crawling around, too?”

“Probably not. Getting cold.” He dropped his pack at his feet. “We’ll leave most of our stuff here. Toss me a piece of that bread,will you?”

“Bread before battle.” Isa felt her stomach gurgle. “I might throw up.”

“Bread will help,” Lund said and tore into a piece and handed the rest back to Isa. “Keep the second one. Mery might be hungry.”

She didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to think it, but Isa said, “What if we fail? Or what if we’re too late? What if--” The words caught in her throat.

“What if we all die?” Lund raised his chin. “What an honor, what a way to go to the Beyonds. Death is - don’t fear it, Isa. Don’t embrace it, but don’t hold fear in your heart. Death is an end for us all. You don’t fear the end of a song. You don’t fear the end of a fine meal. It just is. It just ends.” He took a deep breath. “But let us be smart, stealthy, and wise like a snake. We’ll strike quick and deadly, and then move on.”

“How many guys do you think are in there?”

“No clue,” he said quickly. “Which is why we try to take them quietly. Every one that we kill is one less to fight outright.”

Isa blew out a breath. “I’m so new at this, Lund. I’m afraid--”

“No.” He stepped forward and knelt in the grass.

Isa sighed and followed him.

***

Lund’s path took them behind the house. A lone man stood watch by the back door. Isa realized that she hadn’t told Lund about her archetype. He didn’t know that she could take a little time to study an opponent and use that knowledge to her advantage. Of course, she hadn’t asked Lund about his own abilities. She’d assumed, both from his fighting advice earlier in the week and from the huge sword strapped to his back, that he was, like her, a fighter, but maybe he was a spy or a wizard or one of (Isa was sure) dozens of other possible classes that this world offered.

Lund gestured at the guard and whispered to Isa, “He’s probably not very smart. They put him on back door watch….”

“He’s certainly not very strong.” She’d been studying the way the man held his scimitar - did they issue those at bad guy camp? - and Isa thought that his swings would be pretty weak. His thick neck and sturdy legs, on the other hand, hinted that he might not be a total pushover.

“You go over there,” Lund whispered and pointed to the left. “Make a little noise.” He held his fingers just slightly apart. “Little, tiny noise. Get his attention. I’ll take him.”

Isa nodded and crawled away. When she was about 15 feet from Lund, she gave the grass in front of her a tiny shake. The man didn’t react. Isa shook the grass a little harder. Still nothing. In disbelief Isa dropped her head to her arms. When she looked up, she saw the man staring in her direction.

He can’t see you, she told herself as she tried to stay still. Now she found it almost impossible not to make noise.

The man took two steps toward her and then a third. One more step brought him past Lund’s hiding place, and as Isa watched, Lund rose silently from his spot. He held his massive sword in one hand.

The man took another step toward Isa. If he heard Lund step from the grass, he didn’t show it on his face. He seemed intent on Isa’s hiding spot. She kept a grip on her staff, ready to sweep him off his feet if he got close enough. Of course he could cry out then, alert others to their presence.

Isa studied the man’s neck. She could try to crush his Adam’s apple. That would keep him from calling out, right? She looked at the end of her staff and back at his throat. Maybe. Small target. Would she have enough force to crush it? And that would surely kill him. The man would be unable to breathe if she--

All need for speculation ceased as Lund drew the tip of his greatsword across the man’s throat. Lund removed his hand from the man’s mouth and watched as he flopped to the ground dead. Lund swiftly picked him up and, with 3 strides, he placed the dead man in the tall grass near Isa. “One,” he said. “Come on.”

They opened the back door and were immediately faced with another door. Lund placed his ear by the door and after a moment shook his head. With splayed fingers, he pushed the door open. The kitchen. Empty.

One door lead out of the kitchen and again Lund put an ear to the door. He paused for a second and then silently pushed the kitchen door open.

The fireplace was the first thing Isa noticed, then the man standing beside it. He wore a long, dark robe. The hood was pulled back to reveal his round, white face and shaved head.

“Fuck,” Lund said softly, but he clasped his hands around the hilt of his great sword and stepped into an uppercut swing at the robed man, who hadn’t had time to move or speak.

Lund swing went just wide of the mark, and the robed man said, “Drop.”

The greatsword immediately fell to the floor with a clang. Isa understood in a flash that the robed man had cast some sort of spell on Lund, and all she could hope was that it wasn’t long-lasting.

She came up on the left side of Lund and jabbed at the man with her rapier. She got a solid hit at his shoulder, as Lund bent to pick up his sword.

The man winced in pain and held up one hand, fingers curled as if he were holding a ball in the palm of his hand. “Pain,” he said softly. “Death.”

Isa doubled over as blood poured out of her mouth. She gagged and closed her mouth, but the blood dribbled out the side. Whatever the man had done, whatever spell he’d cast on her, he might get his wish; she might just fall over dead. But before that happened, she was going to try to take him with her.

Only one of her sword blows landed, but Isa did manage to slice at the man’s face, and blood poured down his cheek and chin. She grinned and spat a little blood at his feet.

Lund brought his sword down on the robed man’s shoulder in a mighty swing which made the man drop to his knees. Lund yanked his sword free as the robed man fell over dead.

“Isa,” Lund whispered her name as he turned to her. She looked down at the blood covering her hands. Her blood. She barked out a gasp. “I don’t feel like I’m dying. Am I dying?”

“You’re not gonna die.” Without taking his eyes off of her, Lund reached behind his back and pulled out a small vial. “Drink.”

Isa recognized the vial from her first day. One of Anne’s healing potions. She almost protested the expense and then realized how foolish that was. She yanked out the stopper and downed the potion in a swallow. Warmth spread through her body like brandy on a cold night. The blood ceased to pour from her mouth, and she spat out a gob of red spittle. “I owe you 25 gold."

Spoiler: Isa's Character Sheet

Name: Isa Chamberlin

Race: Human

Height & Weight: 5ft 6inches / 120 lbs

Class: Fighter Level: 3

Alignment: Good

Background: Stranger in a Strange Land

Hit Points: 20 AC: 13

Current Hit Points: 12

Combat: +4 to Hit

Weapons: Rapier (left hand) 1d8 +2 (piercing) / Quarterstaff (right hand) 1d6 +2 (bludgeoning)

Coin: 21gp, 10sp, 22cp

STR

11

0

DEX

14

+2

CON

11

0

INT

13

+1

WIS

13

+1

CHA

12

+1

Saving Throws: Str and Con +2

4

Acrobatics* (Dex)

1

Medicine (Wis)

1

Animal Handling (Wis)

1

Nature (Int)

1

Arcana (Int)

3

Perception* (Wis)

0

Athletics (Str)

1

Performance (Cha)

1

Deception (Cha)

1

Persuasion (Cha)

3

History* (Int)

1

Religion (Int)

3

Insight* (Wis)

2

Sleight of Hand (Dex)

1

Intimidation (Cha)

2

Stealth (Dex)

1

Investigation (Int)

1

Survival (Wis)

Special Attack: Two weapon fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Class Features:

Second Wind - On your turn, you can use a Bonus Action to regain hit points equal to 5 + your fighter level. Short or Long Rest before you can use it again.

(Used) Action Surge - On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible Bonus Action. You must finish a short or Long Rest before using it again.

Martial Archetype: Surgical Fighter

3rd level - Clinical Eye: Spend 1 combat turn studying your enemy and learn one of the following: if the enemy is equal to or stronger than you in strength, dexterity, or constitution. Can spend up to 3 turns to discern all 3. Can be used outside of combat as a free action - spend 1 minute to learn all three.