Chapter 7: Unexpected Help
In a distant land, there was a castle built onto a cliff that overlooked the ocean with walls tall stone walls surrounding it. On one end was the gate, the only visible way inside. At the other end was a tower which was the closest to the ocean. Parts of the castle were damaged and even destroyed, but demons and other creatures worked tirelessly to repair everything.
Inside the tower was a throne room, it was pristine and well maintained, having been spared from the destruction on the outside. Sitting on the golden throne was a young elf woman who had long flowing black hair and brown eyes. She wore a long dark purple dress that was open on the front and the back, barely covering her breasts. She wore matching long gloves that covered most of her arms.
The elf woman lifted her finger which caused a crystal ball to hover in front of her. It then projected an image of the Mage Twins in nets being carried by their captors. The large doors of the throne room opened; an older man entered the room. He wore a dark green tunic with matching pants and a black undershirt that clung tightly to his muscular arms. He too had long black hair, but his was graying.
"Lady Trista, I came as soon as I received your summons" he said, bowing his head lightly.
"Cardexx, punctual as always. Come, I want you to watch something with me!" Trista spoke invitingly as she crossed her legs.
He went to her side, standing next to the throne. "So, they have recaptured them" he said, crossing his arms.
"Yes, they think I don't know they let them escape. I will punish them for hiding that from me in due time. But before that, let's watch. I have acquired some information that leads me to believe something interesting is going to happen with this group tonight, I think you will want to see this too."
"I see" Cardexx responded. Together, he and Trista watched the group and the events that were to come.
Several days had passed since the Mage Twins were recaptured. Their captors set up camp for the night like they usually did, pitching tents and placing lit torches to light up the area. Two of them left to hunt for enough food for all of them. The other four, including the leader, stayed behind to guard the camp. The twins remained trapped within the nets which prevented them from using their magic.
"Cirris.." Mirya timidly whispered, reaching out for her brother's hand.
"I know. Don't worry, we escaped from these dummies before, we just have to wait for another chance to do it again" Cirris replied, taking his sister's hand and squeezing it assuringly.
"Sure is taking those two a long time to hunt. I could have brought back a meal for us all twice over by now!" the female bandit with a mohawk scoffed.
"Maybe they found some poor bastards out there and robbed them. It'd be nice to get some gold!" a male said.
"Hold on, I think I see them, it's about time!" the mohawked female said as she stood up. However, their two fellow bandits came with their hands above their heads, the others rose to their feet. Behind them was Tiafell with his sword drawn at their backs, accompanied by Nadia, who was unarmed. Cirris and Mirya watched, hoping that this would be their chance to escape again.
"How did you let those two women overpower you?" the scarred man asked, clearly disappointed in his men.
"We heard them in their tent fuckin', so we thought we could ambush them, but a swarm of weird bats overwhelmed us and we dropped our weapons. By the time they left, those two had put their clothes on and the elf chick had her sworn drawn!" one of them responded.
"The elf is tougher than she looks, and the tanned one is.." the other trailed off.
"A vampire" Nadia finished his sentence for him with a cocky grin that showed her fangs. Her irises glowed red.
The scarred man seemed unimpressed. "What are a vampire and an elf doing together?"
"I would tell you, but the problem is that it's none of your damn business" Nadia answered, casually observing her fingernails. "Your friends interrupted me and my partner here, so we decided to pay you a visit rather than having all of you ambush us later."
"Nadia, they have hostages" Tiafell informed her.
"I see that, what did they ever do to you?" Nadia asked the leader.
The leader was ready for a fight, brandishing his axe. "Tch, its was stupid of you to come to our base. What are you losers waiting for? Cut 'em down, show 'em who they're fuckin' with!!"
With his command, the scarred man and his bandits rushed Tiafell and Nadia, with the twins watching the battle unfold from their nets. The mohawked female and a bald male attacked Tiafell with daggers. Despite having little actual combat experience, he was able to hold his own against both his opponents. The three other bandits joined their leader to attack Nadia, feeling that she was the larger threat. The Latina vampire swiftly avoided the attacks of all four assailants.
"Typical bandits, none of you know a thing about technique or coordinated attacks. It'll be your undoing!" Nadia smirked as she caught a man's arm, then uppercutted him with enough force to send him spinning into the air before he crashed into the ground in a heap.
"They're awesome!" Mirya squealed excitedly.
"Yeah, I just hope they're on our side" Cirris said.
Another bandit thrusted his spear toward Nadia's chest, only for her to spin out of its way and slam her foot into his face with a roundhouse kick, knocking him out cold. The leader swung his axe toward her neck hoping to behead her, but she leaned back to narrowly avoid the weapon. She landed a punch to his gut that made him take a few steps back, but he was otherwise unharmed.
"I hit him hard enough to put a human on the ground, yet he's still standing. You're not fooling me; I know what you really are!" she thought as she continued fighting. Meanwhile, Tiafell was holding his ground but not dominating his opponents as soundly as Nadia was. He parried or dodged each of their attacks without fighting back.
"Not bad for such a cute little elf, but you're clearly weaker than your vampire friend. Once we overpower you, we'll hold you hostage and she'll be at our mercy!" the mohawked woman grinned.
"I know I'm not as strong as she is, but you would be fools to underestimate me!" Tiafell declared, "There is no need for senseless bloodshed. Surrender and release your hostages, and you can all walk away with no further injuries!"
His opponents looked at each other and laughed. "Your jokes are better than your swordplay! Like hell we're surrendering!" the other bandit mocked as they prepared to attack him again.
"So be it" Tiafell sighed, "I tried to reason with you, so I am not to blame for the injuries you are about to receive". He said calmly as he quickly spoke an incantation. The daggers they were using became so hot that they couldn't hold them. They dropped their weapons and cried out in pain, their hands having the imprints of the weapons seared into them. He then spoke another incantation and pointed his fingers together which caused the bandits to slam into each other headfirst, knocking them both out. Nadia had also taken out another one, leaving only the leader on his feet.
"Well, well, look who's outnumbered now!" Nadia's cockiness was on display.
"Be careful, I sense something odd about him. He's not the same as the others" Tiafell warned her, joining her side with his sword drawn. "I don't think he is human."
"Yeah, I know. This guy's a demon."
"He's a what?"
"It's not something I like to show off, but I can't forgive this humiliation!" the scarred man's voice had deepened and changed to a more frightening tone. He roared as horns grew from the sides of his head. His body grew larger as his legs changed into the hind legs of a bovine, also sprouting a bovine's tail. Reddish brown fur covered his entire body. His face contorted into the shape of a bull's. When his transformation finished, he towered over them both, standing more than eight feet tall.
"A minotaur, huh? I thought I smelled bullshit" Nadia scoffed. Tiafell, however, was intimidated by the sight. This was the first demon he had ever seen in person; his body began to quiver as he tried to steel his nerves.
"I'm going to turn you both into stains in the grass!" the minotaur stated as he rushed to attack the pair, slamming his large fists into the ground. The two of them were able to leap out of the way.
"Tiafell! Don't let him scare you! He may be big and strong, but he's also slow and stupid! Find an opening and take him down!" Nadia instructed her teammate.
"Got it!" he responded. Nadia was right, his large size slowed his movement speed down significantly. If they could continue to outmaneuver him, they could wear him down and win. This gave Tiafell enough confidence to stay in the fight, which he would need as the pissed minotaur turned to look at him.
"I'll kill you first! You'll die regretting having crossed paths with Bovindor!" he huffed as he began stampeding toward his target.
Despite his hands shaking, Tiafell stood his ground, holding his blade firmly. Bovindor swung his fist down from over his head, but the elf jumped to the side, avoiding the large fist as it struck the ground. He slashed the monster's arm but due to its thick hide, he barely scratched him.
"His hide and fur are too tough! How are we supposed to defeat him?" he asked.
"Hey, elf girl!!" Cirris shouted from his net. "If you can free us, we may be able to help!"
"That's right! My brother and I are mages! Our magic may be the answer!" Mirya added.
"Mages, humans that can use magic.." Tiafell said quietly.
"Like I'm letting you two get away again!!" Bovindor prepared to attack Tiafell again, only to have both of Nadia's feet slam into the side of his face, stunning him. She landed on her feet.
"Do it now!" she commanded.
Tiafell sheathed his sword and removed his bow from his shoulder. He readied an arrow, but Bovindor had recovered enough to swing his fist at him once again. In a display of graceful agility, he leapt over his attacker's massive hand and released his arrow while in mid-air. The arrow flew by the nets, grazing them but enough to rip them open. Tiafell landed on his side but was able to roll back onto his feet.
"She did it!!" Mirya screamed.
"You'll stay in those nets if I have to break your limbs!" Bovindor shouted, running toward them. He then roared in pain as a second arrow pierced his shin.
"Nadia!" Tiafell yelled.
