It had been two weeks of traveling for the mercenary duo, Lila and Tyremus: an arduous journey through a snowy mountain pass to reach the small town of Davensbrook on the other side. The client requesting their services there was said to be a portly bald man with missing teeth but very full pockets teeming with gold. Getting to the town had been more of an annoyance than the two suspected the actual job would be. Poor weather, sleepless nights, and a variety of monster attacks all stacked together to make the journey quite miserable.
The mercenary company Lila and Tyremus were a part of sent them specifically because they had complementary skill sets. While Lila was skilled in the use of a variety of magics, Tyremus was an adept warrior who specialized in melee combat -- specifically with a spear.
"Is it much farther?" Groaned Lila, whose knees felt like they were about to crumble.
"No. It's just up ahead." The burly centaur Tyremus responded, the slightest hint of annoyance in his voice.
Much like the two had different specialties, their appearances were vastly different as well. Anyone who spotted the unusual duo walking side by side tended to either gawk or quirk a brow. Some were simply prone to moving away quickly from them, afraid of the two unfamiliar races.
Lila was an amalgamation of a human and a lioness, the unusual result of a spell gone awry. Her head was feline, similar to a lioness, including everything from a muzzle to sharp white fangs. But her soft hazel eyes -- a remnant from when she was fully human -- were inviting and betrayed her body's rather animalistic nature. Most of her entire hourglass-shaped figure was covered in soft, short white fur, and swaying behind her was a long tail that often helped with feats of balance. Despite being an oddity among human folk, she still had no difficulty entrancing men with her curvy form, including her lush breasts and shapely backside. This was especially true when she often playfully goaded them on with some suggestive body language.
Tyremus was an uncommon humanoid as well, and not completely unlike Lila's fusion of two species. But he was instead born a centaur, which most could immediately recognize as a combination of horse and man. The species was known as generally being rather reclusive in their ways, keeping to themselves in the deep forests and living off the land.
Tyremus himself was particularly imposing even among centaurs, tall and stocky, with a hair-dappled barrel chest covered with various scars from battle. His face looked like it had been chiseled from granite, framed with shoulder-length black hair and a full thick beard. Many would find themselves trembling beneath his stoic gaze, his vigilant eyes unceasing in their search for impending dangers.
His lower half was entirely equine, albeit most horses would have difficulty matching up to his chestnut brown, burly form, which exuded raw strength. Resting along his back and haunches was a long grey caparison that housed multiple attached bags as well as served to cover his genitals from prying eyes.
The duo was trekking along a snow-covered road, surrounded by rows of pine trees and further beyond the unyielding walls of the mountain pass. Above them, the setting sun dictated a sense of urgency, lest they be caught traveling in the dark with both the frigid temperatures and unfriendly wildlife to deal with.
"Now you said you owned this cabin, right?" Lila asked, bundling her arms across her chest to alleviate the cold. Even with fur and her oversized coat, the still air nipped at her flesh.
"It was a gift." Tyremus began, his voice deep and authoritative. "A human I helped many years ago gave it to me as recompense." He turned his head down to look upon his ally as they walked. "Of course, we had to make some adjustments to better suit it for a Centaur such as myself..."
The two turned the corner of a wall of trees, revealing an unassuming little cabin nestled beneath a snowy hill. It seemed ordinary enough, composed of many stacked logs and having a few frost covered-windows embedded between the walls. A little chimney poked out from the top of the blanket of snow covering the roof. Perhaps the most striking feature was the metallic front door, which took up the majority of the wall and looked entirely out of place.
"...Such as the entrance." He stifled a chuckle and transitioned into a trot towards it.
Lila smirked and followed behind him quickly, needing no incentive to escape from the cold. She didn't care what the cabin looked like so long as it offered shelter and comfort, both things that their journey so far had lacked.
As the two drew closer to the massive door, an arrow suddenly sliced through the air over Lila's head, sinking into a snow bank nearby.
She jerked her head back, eyes widening at the sight: a pack of scowling, unkempt men had emerged from the cover of the trees and were closing in on them. Many were armed with swords or daggers, but a few of them carried bows that were poised to fire.
"Bandits! It's an ambush!" She shrieked at Tyremus and rushed to his side.
Tyremus whirred around to face them immediately while drawing the iron spear from his back. Lila ducked behind his massive frame, her head poking out behind his caparison to keep the bandits in sight.
"I should have known this pass would be prone to robberies. It does see frequent travel by merchants," Tyremus muttered. Tightly holding his spear in front of his chest, he was ready to strike at a moment's notice. He glanced from bandit to bandit, sizing them up both in armaments and physical appearance, planning out his attack.
"We're good in a fight, but not that good!" Lila stated with a panting breath. "We should retreat into the cabin. I have a spell that should be able to hold them off!" Her hand jabbed inside one of the small bags attached to her companion. It rooted around inside it for a moment before pulling from it a simple silver key.
Another arrow was loosed, soaring towards Tyremus this time. It was precisely aimed, but he twirled his spear gracefully and deflected it with ease. A few of the bandits exchanged worried glances as the muscled Centaur grew continuously more intimidating by the moment.
