Three and a Half Elves Chapter Two: Flight From Fort Fearsome Episode Three: The Mediocre Escape
The lizard's boots dug into the soft earth with a metallic thud. The Sun stained his scales with its bloody light as it fell. He regarded the Elves with a menacing mix of superiority and disgust. He sized them up, planting his fists on his hips. The Elves mostly shifted their weight about and glanced at the ground, hands wriggling in their bonds. The lizard cleared his throat.
"You look stupid with your hands like that." Zorthar said, staring guiltily at the ground.
"Oh, your look stupid with your face like that." The lizard chuckled, using a flippant gesture to cover the fact that he removed his hands from his hips. Zorthar chuckled.
"I see you took your hands off your hips, though." Zorthar caught him.
"Well I'd be pretty stupid to ignore free fashion advice from a sorcerer of your caliber. By the way, that's a snappy jacket." the lizard hissed, words -- and fangs -- dripping with venom. Zorthar raised an eyebrow, but made no further comments on the lizard's dress or demeanor.
"Tell me, what did you hope to acomplish?" the lizard hissed after a pregnant pause, "surely you didn't think three elves could hope to--"
"Two." Miu interjected.
"What?" the lizard said with bewilderment.
"Two elves." Miu stated. "I'm a half-elf." The lizard blinked.
"And I'm the Yrthak." it replied calmly.
"What is your name, anyway?" Erinanka spoke finally.
"My name," the lizard hissed, drawing his thin green sword, "is Zis-Boom-Ba the Starstruck, leader of the Murky Marsh Mercenaries, slayer of dragons and scourge of the Utopian tyrants!"
"Nice sword." Erinanka gawked.
"Dragons?" Miu asked.
"It's called Salivating Swamp." Zorthar corrected.
"My people called it something else." Zis-Boom-Ba hissed.
"Good for them." Zorthar chuckled. "We call it Salivating Swamp these days." Zis-Boom-Ba made a sound part way between a hiss and a roar. As the lizard man launched into a tirad about the oppression of human invaders, Erinanka began to struggle furiously against the ropes securing her wrists. Miu caught on as Zorthar began to belittle the accomplishments of an entire culture. Miu wrestled a finger free from the rope, grimacing at Erinanka as the coarse materiel rubbed her skin. Erinanka flashed a pained smile, knowing Miu's discomfort as she twisted against the knots. Meanwhile, Zis-Boom-Ba brandished his sword dangerously close to Zorthar's throat as he detailed how his people were driven from their homeland and into soul-crushing poverty. Zorthar calmly explained that the lizards should have mastered the arcane arts if they really wanted to compete at a global level.
"Magic's gone mainstream, man." Zorthar explained, ignoring the accounts of genocide and slavery. "And trust me, mysticism is out. In modern society, there is a very clear distinction between mages who wield the ultimate power of arcane magic, and those who don't." Delicately, Miu wrenched a hand free. Erinanka nodded at her as she carefully untied the rope. Miu watched impatiently, rocking side to side as Erinanka tried to break the bonds through brute strength. Miu stamped a foot and glared at Erinanka's clumsy hand work. Erinanka shrugged, rotating her wrists. Finally, Erinanka freed her hands as Zorthar explained that, while the events of the past were not the lizard folks' fault, they had no one to blame but themselves for everything that had transpired. Erinanka and Miu glanced at each other and dashed, heading for the ornate stone walls of a building to the north. Zorthar broke off mid sentence as he saw them running.
"Soljinn!" he growled, easily ripping his hands from the ropes. A sickly yellow mist surrounded them as he brought them down to deliver a double palm strike to the lizard's chest. It stumbled backwards as Zorthar joined the other two in their mad dash for freedom.
"Get," Zis-Boom-Ba paused, doubling over. "Get-" he threw up rather violently. "Get them!" he final screeched, bits of vomit spattering his muzzle.
"Nice Pestilence." Miu smiled as they ran.
"It was Contagion, but who's counting?" Zorthar ducked a crossbow bolt. Mud flew through the air as they fled while missiles fell behind them. Erinanka hopped to avoid the prongs of a flying trident as they closed on the gray stone walls.
"Two sentries. Polearms. Type unknown." Erinanka barked, more to herself than the others, indicating the two men standing near the gate.
"This way!" Zorthar shouted, changing course toward the corner of the temple walls. The guards were apparently too dazed by the odd procession to give chase to either the Elves or the gaggle of lizards. The Elves rounded the corner, temporarily abating the hail of darts, javelins, and bolas. Hugging the wall, they continued sprinting until the reached the next corner. Zorthar slowed to a jog as the rounded it.
"Okay, okay, slow down, guys." The mage panted, clutching his side. "Can't run anymore."
"Too bad. We have to get away." Erinanka grabbed his arm.
"If we run into the brush, they will find us. If we swim, we'll be eaten by something foul. If we go for a clearing, they'll shoot us." Miu said flatly. "Might as well rest."
"Thanks for the input, Miu." Erinanka rolled her eyes. "Let's assume we do escape them for a minute. Then what?" Miu pointed towards the horizon, stained purple by the last light of the Sun.
"Eaten by swamp trolls." Erinanka grimaced.
"I vote brush. We might get away." Zorthar huffed.
"You think you can handle a swamp troll?" Erinanka demanded.
"Trust me, we don't need to worry about swamp trolls." Zorthar chuckled.
"Right, let's do it." Erinanka clapped, starting off towards the nearest dense underbrush.
"I just wish there was some sort of nearby structure in which we could hide ourselves." Miu sighed. "Preferably with walls or something." Erinanka blinked at her.
"Fine, we'll scale the stupid walls and lay low until this all blows over." Erinanka agreed, fishing a rope from her bag. After a moment's consideration, she tried to scramble up the wall.
"Miu, give me a boost." Miu gave her a boost. With a mix of a jump and a toss, Erinanka's fingers caught the top of the wall. She pulled herself up, dragging the rope behind her. Rather fortunately, a large, square gray structure had been built directly into the wall.
"That's it, come on." Erinanka grunted as she pulled the others up with the rope.
"Pretty podunk setup they got here." Zorthar observed, getting to his feet. Below them, a courtyard was filling with orcs. Beyond the walls, the lizards massed.
"In through the roof?" Erinanka suggested.
"In through the roof." Zorthar confirmed.
A minute of magical blasting, brute force assualts and prying later, the Elves had a sizable hole and two broken spears. Leaving the useless weapons, the Elves lowered themselves one at a time into the hole. The dropped into a small, dark room. The scents of spices and meats filled their nostrals as they glanced around. The walls were lined with shelves and cabinets, each displaying varied foodstuffs. Zorthar whispered an incantation, illuminating the room. On the opposite end of the room, near a simple, wooden door stood a slender man, long blond hair tied back into a ponytail. His large, dark eyes glinted in the pale light as a smile crossed his lips.
"Evening, ladies."
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I sort of lose steam near the end of these.
