It was late in the evening, the sun just beginning to set off the coast of Azsuna as Tayla settled herself firmly into her vantage spot. Tucking a strand of electric blue hair behind her long pointed ear she casually lifted her gun, checking through the sight to make sure that she had a good view of the road. Satisfied she glanced down at the base of the tree to where Gnasher, her mechanical dog, was waiting patiently as it lay there completely silent. With a sigh Tayla settled back and began to wait patiently, resting her gun in her lap. "Alright girl. Time to make some money."
Though a casual observer might think that Tayla was quite calm and collected at the moment, internally she was anything but. Right now she was on a mission, one that she had picked up from the job postings back at Trueshot Lodge. The Wardens were offering a sizable gold reward for the demise of Warbringer Mox'na, a felguard who had been prowling this stretch of road for the last couple of days and killing any who crossed his path. Though she had considered bringing along some help, she was confident that she could deal with the demon herself. That and if she had brought help then she would have to split the money as well. Part of Tayla did regret that choice as the minutes ticked by, but by this point it was far too late to worry about it.
Finally, after what seemed like hours there was a movement in the fading light. It took a moment for the figure to come into view but there was no mistaking the tall form of the demon, clad in heavy spiked armor and wielding two large and wicked-looking red swords. At both sides he had a felhunter, their scaly, eyeless faces in a permanent snarl as their tentacles swung about as if on the lookout. Tayla felt her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she readied her gun, took aim and began to wait patiently once again. There were a tense few moments when she was sure the demon would see the traps she had laid along the side of the road, or would at least suspect something, but he seemed to be quite oblivious as he strolled into place. The only sounds now were the faint noises of the demon's armor as he walked and the gentle distant movement of the ocean.
Without hesitation Tayla pointed her gun at one of the two felhounds, pausing for only a brief second to steady her aim before firing. The noise tore through the calm, and the felhunter was knocked over by the sheer force of the bullet as it opened a sizable hole in its flank. The creature screeched loudly, and while it did get back up it was clearly wounded badly. While Tayla was hoping that her hiding place would at least give her a moment, she was dismayed when Mox'na looked directly up at her. He pointed up at her as he let out a guttural bark in his demonic language, and both felhunters sprang to life at once, quickly covering the distance to the tree as he ran towards her as well. Tayla felt the first icy fingers of fear grip her when she saw that the felhunter she shot was still quite fast even with its injury. "Shit..." she murmured as she loaded her second barrel, took aim and fired at the Warbringer. The shot had been a bit hasty and was off the mark, hitting the demon in the shoulder but not slowing him down.
"Shit, shit!" Tayla murmured desperately as she began loading a couple more shots into her gun, her hands shaking slightly. Looking down at Gnasher, she let out a loud whistle. The dog sprang to life almost as if by magic, the dark eyes flaring to life as the lights came on. It bounded forward, mechanical jaws opening wide as it charged at the first felhunter. The two met in a flurry of claws and teeth, but Tayla didn't have time to see how Gnasher was doing. She turned her attention back to the other felhunter, who was getting perilously close to her tree. Thankfully for her, she had some secret weapons. Pointing her gun at a barrel hidden in the felhunter's path, she waited once again for the perfect moment. She fired, and shut her eyes against the bright blast that followed. Opening her eyes she saw the smoldering pit where the barrel had been, and lying not far away was a very dead felhunter. Tayla was a bit frustrated, she was hoping to use that on Mox'na himself but she had seen those felhunters climb trees in the past. Better to be safe than sorry.
Looking at Gnasher Tayla was excited to see that the extra weight from his metal body seemed to be winning out over the felhunter. Currently it had the demon pinned down as it tried to grab the thing's throat and the felhunter couldn't seem to muster the strength to push it off. Turning her attention back to the felguard closing in on her position, Tayla whipped her gun up and fired again after a brief moment's aim. The demon stumbled as the bullet tore through its leg, though it unfortunately didn't seem to do much as he actually sped up, roaring with fury. Though she felt nervous, Tayla couldn't help but grin as she saw he was heading right into her second trap.
As the Warbringer's foot stomped down on a patch of grass and leaves, a bear trap sprang to life, stopping the demon fast as it howled in rage. As it dropped one sword and began to pry the metal contraption open, Tayla was already finished reloading her gun. Hoisting it up she fired, the demon doubling over as the bullet tore a hole in his gut. He snarled, and clearly frustrated picked up his sword again and swung it down at the trap, smashing it to pieces. Stomping forward he was glaring up at Tayla with pure hate in his eyes, but she had one last ace in the hole.
Gnasher came bounding out of nowhere, latching its metal teeth onto Mox'na's leg as it began raking the demon with razor sharp claws. It had taken care of the second felhunter, which now lay dead with its throat crushed and its guts strewn about. The Warbringer whirled around and slashed wildly at Gnasher, but the mechanical dog weaved away from the attack before leaping back, snapping and making a low clanking sound. Tayla took advantage of this new distraction to line up another shot, this time at the demon's head and fired. To her dismay the shot pinged off the black metal of the armor, though it did snap his head back and allowed Gnasher to close in, clamping its jaws around the demon's other leg.
That feeling of confidence was returning again as Tayla reloaded her gun for the third time. This was it, she had him now. Even if he did deal with Gnasher she doubted that he could climb this tree and get to her. A grin spread across her face as she took aim and fired twice in rapid succession, both shots tearing into the demon's flank as it tried to rally. That brief bravado was finally shaken however when Mox'na screamed in fury and lashed out with both weapons. Gnasher was caught mid-leap by the first sword, knocking him into the air before the second came down and slammed the mechanical animal violently into the ground. The metal frame cracked and pieces went shooting everywhere, and though Gnasher's jaws still opened and closed weakly he was clearly down for the count. The demon wasted no time, turning and sprinting towards the tree seemingly faster than before.
Now Tayla began to panic as she tried to reload her gun. Her hands were shaking terribly and she couldn't seem to get them to stop. Once again Tayla wished she had brought some help along. Extra gold was nice but it didn't matter much if you were too maimed to enjoy it. As she struggled to reload the gun, Tayla froze as a booming, guttural voice cut through the night. "You're dead, goblin! I'll kill you slowly, break every one of those little fingers of yours!" Glancing downwards as she thankfully managed to load the gun, she saw Mox'na reaching the base of the tree and figured that if he could climb then she probably still had a few seconds. To her dismay however the demon gripped both his swords tightly and began to spin rapidly, his swords flaring a bright red as they began to trail flames. He tore right into the trunk of the tree, rapidly searing huge chunks of wood away.
Tayla felt the whole tree creak as it began to fall backwards, and as it began to plummet to the ground she made a desperate jump, unfortunately dropping her gun in the process as she grabbed desperately to another nearby tree. Her hands sought frantically for a grip to stop herself but she found herself unable to locate one as she slid down, hitting the ground not far away from Mox'na as the fallen tree smashed to the ground. The demon looked triumphant as he stalked towards her, his pace slow and assured as he watched Tayla get to her feet. Reaching down to her belt she pulled out her backup pistol and pointed it at the demon, hands shaking as she kept one finger firmly on the trigger. "Stay back! I'll shoot you dead!" Despite her words, Tayla was beginning to feel despair now. Her pistol wasn't nearly as powerful or as magical as her rifle, so unless she got a lucky shot this was not going to end well for her.
"You have nowhere to run now." Warbringer Mox'na didn't even slow down as he advanced. "Maybe I won't even kill you. Maybe I'll just hand you over to the Shivarra. I'm sure they'd love to spend a day making a little morsel like you scream in agony." The felguard laughed as Tayla took aim with the pistol, already looking for the best way to flee.
There was a flash of movement and Mox'na stumbled, eyes widening in shock. An arrow was buried in his side, and he whirled around with renewed fury. Tayla also whipped her head to the side, following the demon's line of sight. There was a figure clad in dark green standing there, already nocking another arrow in his bow as he fired at the demon again, this time hitting him in the shoulder. "I'm your opponent now, demon!" the figure shouted, reaching down to his quiver. Mox'na looked absolutely livid now as he bellowed and charged this newcomer wordlessly.
