CH 50: How to Adapt

Both women were stunned as the yelling woman charged the bigger troll. Her axe at the ready as the troll charged to meet her. They met in a clash as the troll tried to swat the woman which she was able to jump over. She swung her axe, lodging it into the troll’s collar. A fountain of blood poured out as the woman was pushed back.

“We should help. This is suicide without poison or fire.” Jasmine whispered. She was readying her bow as Claire was pulled back in. She reached for the satchel, picking one of the vials up and readying herself. She was watching the smaller troll as it hung back while Jasmine was focused on the troll fighting the woman. “Ready?”

“Yes, I’ll make a break for the twins after distracting the other one.” Claire said, her eyes moving to their location.

“Good, stick to our previous plan while I help with the other troll.” Jasmine said.

Then she fired her arrow. Claire heard the arrow whistle and then she threw the fire potion at the smaller troll’s feet. She heard it cry out as she raced past it. It sounded like it was throwing a tantrum as Claire slid behind the tree the twins were at.

“You two okay?” She whispered. Their heads popped out from behind a bush, they nodded and they grouped up.

“Who’s that? What happened? Why are there two?” Elsie asked in rapid fire.

“I don’t know, they woke up and we got bad intel.” Claire said before looking at the trolls. The larger troll had backed off from the yelling woman as it ran to the smaller troll. The bigger troll patted out the fire on the smaller’s skin. It let out a howl that made Claire wince.

“Meit On fire! Fuck Fire Hueman!” It cried as it turned in Claire’s direction. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand as its eyes zeroed in on her. “Fire hueman.” it said in that vaguely human tone.

“You two retreat. Elsie, get some distance and help with this one. Ana, make sure that woman is okay.” Claire said, pointing to the axless woman. They nodded and sprinted to safety. Claire gripped her shield tightly as she felt her nerves take over.

The troll bounded towards her as her mouth dried. She could feel a fear she hadn’t felt in a long time. A fear that paralysed her. Only for a moment as the troll made it to the thicket, she ran to her left. Hoping the troll couldn’t change directions very fast.

It managed to, though. It grabbed a tree to stop its momentum and turn. She could hear the cracks and aches of the tree as the troll used its arm and the tree to turn. She ran away from the twins, hoping to get into a denser part of the woods, as she heard a fireball sail through the sky.

“AAAGH!” The troll cried out. Its voice reverberated through her bones and hurt her ears. She glanced back to see the troll gaining on her, its hair on fire now. She managed to direct it away from both the twins and the other troll, hoping that Jasmine and the other woman could kill that one. The trees grew denser as the troll began to struggle to keep up.

“Huueemann!” it cried out, Claire turned to face it. Her fear took over as it pushed aside trees. It dwarfed her and its menacing hands looked like it could crush her in an instant. She gripped her shield, waiting for the troll to approach. She was surrounded by trees and obstacles for the troll. She could use them to keep it distracted while Elsie hit it with her magic.

Right as it got within 25 feet of Claire, it was suddenly struck by a lightning bolt. The forest was illuminated for a brief moment as the troll was electrocuted. The stunned creature fell on its butt, shaking the ground as it did.

“Tiny hueman.” Claire’s blood ran cold when she heard that. It looked in a direction away from Claire as it recovered. It got up to charge at Elsie’s position. Claire moved before she really thought about it, her feet pushing her forward as she charged the troll. She had an overwhelming urge to protect Elsie that she didn’t even think about it. The troll turned to face her, a jagged smile on its face and time seemed to slow down. She watched as its hand moved to hit her as she was swatted.

She felt the force of its hand crash into her shield as the wood shattered. Her mind blanked as the pain took over. She was flung into a nearby tree, her back slamming into it. She lay limp at the feet of the tree as she tried to comprehend the world. Her vision blurred and ears rang as pain took over, her body wanted to run, but she couldn’t.

She slowly gained her vision and hearing back as she heard the thumping footsteps of the troll. It laughed in that vaguely human manner, sending shivers down her spine. She could feel pain emanating from her left arm, where her shield was, but she knew not to look at it. It would cause her to puke or panic further. Her sword was nowhere to be seen, but the satchel was still attached to her belt.

She latched onto that. She still had the firebombs hopefully. She checked the satchel, recoiling as her finger was cut. She moved and dumped the vials onto the ground. She was able to find two vials that were unbroken. She grasped them in her hand as she staggered to her feet.

“Hehehe. Stuepid Hueman.” The troll chuckled, causing Claire’s body to tense. It was mocking her as it slowly approached. She felt pain on her back as well, but ignored it. She’d deal with it later. Survival mattered now. She waited as the troll approached, gripping the vials. It stepped forward as Elsie’s firewall appeared on its foot.

It howled in pain for just a moment, before recovering. It picked up a big sized rock and threw it in Elsie’s direction. It sailed through the sky and smashed into a nearby tree. Claire heard Elsie yelp, hoping to her Goddess she was okay.

Her anger began to rise now. This troll was not only mocking her, but attacking her lover. It turned back to her with that jagged, vaguely human grin before it recoiled. Claire was glowing in Ana’s radiant yellow as her pain started to numb. She still didn’t risk looking at her left arm, instead testing to see if she could move her fingers. She nearly fainted as her pain flared. Her eyes blurred so she gave up on the arm for now.

One arm down, limited mobility and only two fire potions. She was screwed unless Jasmine or Elsie could do something. The troll approached too fast for Claire to be fully healed or check her remaining health. She flung herself to the right, ignoring the sickening pain she felt as the troll lunged for her. She rolled the best she could, but the pain nearly caused her to pass out. She let out a wail as she rolled onto her left arm. She got to her feet the best she could right as the troll turned to grab at her again. She was just out of reach thankfully.

An arrow hit its eye as it recoiled back. Claire felt relief at seeing the arrow. It slammed its hand to its face and recoiled back with another deafening wail. Before it could recover, a fireball smashed into its other eye. Claire backed up the best she could as Jasmine’s arms wrapped around her. “Goddess Claire… Get back and let Ana heal you.” Jasmine said to her, she could hear the fear in her voice.

She nodded and retreated behind a tree. Her hand was still gripping the vials as Jasmine took over for her. She watched as Jasmine disappeared in the darkness before the troll recoiled. It tried to swat at Jasmine, but she was nowhere to be seen. It looked like the troll was swatting at nothing as wounds started appearing. Claire tried her best to find Jasmine, but the assassin was either too quick or too stealthy for her.

Its wounds however, didn’t stay open. They quickly closed moments after Jasmine cut its skin. The only ones that remained was the one that had the axe still lodged into it and Elsie’s fireballs. Whatever that axe was made of or coated in, caused the wound to stay open. She focused on it as Jasmine continued to fight. She slowly felt the pain ease as her left fingers began to move. Her breathing felt normal and she felt better. She checked her sheet to see her health at: 11/21

She froze as she thought about how close she was to dying. Nearly half her health was gone after Ana had been healing her. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Now wasn’t the time to think about that, Jasmine would need help. Her eyes refocused back on the axe as the troll began to get frustrated. It swung its arms wildly as a mix of fire and lighting struck it. Its wounds from Elsie were healing up. Claire would have laughed at the display had the situation not been so dire.

She got to her feet, ready to get back into the fight as Jasmine appeared next to her. She whispered in her ear for a moment, “Get that axe.” before disappearing. Claire nodded as she took a moment to check her mobility. Her left arm could move and grip, but she still didn’t dare to look at it. Her back felt better, enough for her to bend over. She got ready and placed the vials back in her satchel as she waited for Jasmine.

Jasmine was keeping the troll distracted from Claire. Striking at its joints and pressure points to deal as much damage as possible. She was avoiding the tendon she and Claire were going to strike, wanting to keep that as a surprise for the thing. She had to admit, this troll was intelligent as it was able to bait Claire in.

Claire was ready now as Jasmine made her move. She struck behind the troll’s knees, causing it to fall. It landed before Claire as she gripped the axe. She used all her strength to pull as the troll tried to recover. She pulled it free in time to dodge the beast’s hand. She rolled backwards before going for her satchel. She threw a vial of fire at the troll’s feet to ward it away from her. The beast screamed as it avoided the fire.

It felt heavy in her hands and required both of them to function, but Claire was ready. She trained with more than just a sword and shield. Though it wasn’t her favorite style, Jasmine had her train in two-handed weapons. She faced the troll, axe at the ready, as Jasmine struck at the tendon connecting to its heel. It was mid stride too. The troll’s eyes widened as it fell backwards, its balance completely cut off as Claire charged.

She brought the axe down on the troll’s shoulder, intending to immobilize the limb. She did so two more times for good measure before retreating. She glanced back to see the mangled shoulder of the troll.

Thankfully, the axe wounds weren’t recovering as its right arm lay limp at its side.