Following Baz’s grand entrance, Mylon and Aisha both rushed in after him. After a brief scan of the room, Mylon and Aisha identified the enemies and began their assault. Mylon tapped his right foot on the ground, sending a wave of stone spikes towards the soldier, knocking him back. Aisha quickly followed up by hurling a fireball at the same soldier. Right before he was engulfed by the crimson flames, he cried out, “NO! PLEASE!”
Unfortunately his cries fell upon deaf ears as Mylon and Aisha turned their attention to Zycor. They both rushed over to Zycor and Dreiford to make sure they were all right. Baz, rising from the rubble of his demolition stunt, stood tall and pointed his axe at the three soldiers who were stumbling to their feet. Baz bellowed a ferocious war cry and charged them. With the sound of magic and steel clashing in the background, Aisha knelt down, grabbed Zycors shoulder, and began to shake him as she yelled, “Come on you idiot, wake up!”
After a few seconds of no response, she stopped shaking him and began winding up to slap him. She angrily shouted, “Wake up!”
Groaning back to consciousness, Zycor slowly opened his eyes. Zycor groaned, “Can’t. Move. Everything. Hurts.”
Alternate Zycor having lost control upon falling unconscious, Zycor woke up confused and wondering why he was in pain all over. Mylon chuckled, “Well, considering the size of that lightning bolt you fired earlier, can’t say I’m surprised. Looks like we are going to have to add another tally to the coma list.”
Zycor slowly turned his head to look at Mylon and groaned, “Piss off.”
“I am happy you guys are having fun,” Baz grunted as he continued to fend off the remaining soldiers, finally cleaving one in half, “but is it too much trouble to ask for some help!?”
Aisha and Mylon stood up, the former taunting, “Oh~, but I thought the great and mighty Bazmahl Dragonaxe didn’t need any help.”
“Ohoho, I am SO kicking your ass later, dog ears!” Baz shouted as he giggled angrily.
As he took a step back, Baz’s left leg faltered momentarily due to an injury sustained fighting these soldiers and ended up throwing him off guard. One of the soldiers capitalized on this and shot a volley of fireballs. As they traveled, the fireballs began to inexplicably implode and diffuse. Mylon stood in front of Baz with his hand outstretched, having shot compressed air into each fireball. “About time, you walking flashbang.” Baz chuckled.
Mylon chuckled, “what’s the matter, poking fun at my armor like that? Could it be that you are jealous?”
A lightning bolt streamed through the air towards Mylon as a wall of stone suddenly erupted, intercepting it. Mylon, lightly tapping his sword on his shoulder, stated, “I had that.”
“Sure you did.” Aisha responded sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
The fireball soldier tried to run, but stopped when Mylon fired a rock bullet at the ground in front of him. The soldier turned to face Mylon, but was instead greeted by the hulking half orc bringing his massive axe down upon him, cleaving him in half diagonally. While Baz dispatched that soldier, Aisha vaulted over the stone wall using the “Ignition” command word and lit the remaining panicking soldier on fire as he fled. Caught completely off guard, the soldier died without so much as a fight.
As Aisha looked at the scene, she grimaced. “Now that’s brutal, and this is coming from the guy who just cleaved someone in half.” Baz morbidly remarked.
Aisha exclaimed, “Oh shut up! How was I supposed to know he wasn't even going to try and defend himself?”
Mylon brought the roof above the burning soldier down, ending the mans’ suffering. Baz looked at Mylon, and grumpily exclaimed, “What the hell man! I know I said it was brutal, but that’s what made it entertaining! How often do you get to see a guy burn alive!?”
Mylon, turning to walk away, waved as he responded, “I know, that’s why I ended it… consider it payback for insulting my magnificent armor.”
“Oh you prick!” Baz angrily shouted.
As Baz and Mylon began to argue, Aisha walked over to Zycor. Before reaching him, a shadow figure manifested from one of the rooms’ corners. Baz and Mylon immediately paused their bickering and readied their weapons as did Aisha. Breaking the tension, a woman began to speak, “You five should leave. The authorities are on their way, and I am sure you would not want to cause trouble for Miss Adria. I have already cleaned up the backup these men had.”
Finishing her warning, the mysterious lady sank back into the shadows. “Well, as ominous and disturbing as that was, the mystery lady has a point. I think I would rather fight a dragon unarmed than upset Adria.” Baz remarked with a chuckle.
Mylon nodded in agreement, “I second that sentiment. Despite our differences, I believe we can all agree on that.”
The five of them hurriedly exited the building using the back door into the alleyway. Dreiford handed Zycor off to Baz and thanked the group profusely for their help. “I genuinely wish I could accompany the boy back to his home, but at the moment I believe it better to wait and see if there are any more of those scoundrels lurking around. Let Zycor know I will be visiting soon to thank him personally for his help.” Dreiford explained before he departed for the merchant guild.
As the group ran towards the guild, Baz peeked down an alleyway and saw a pile of twelve or so bodies, all wearing the same Velathrian armor as the soldiers they just fought. He did not stop however, knowing the authorities were nearby. He chuckled to himself as he thought, “Guess those were the ‘reinforcements.’”
Finally arriving at the guild, the party was suddenly overwhelmed with fear. Adria stood in front of the guild, arms crossed, waiting for them. “You four must really enjoy causing trouble for me.” Adria complained. Noticing Zycor passed out and slung over Baz’s shoulder she nearly flew into a frenzy, but managed to control herself… barely. “Is he out?” Adria questioned.
Baz, assuming his life was riding on his answer, replied, “Y-yes ma’am. But it was not our fault!”
Closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh, Adria remarked, “Why am I not surprised. Don’t worry Mr. Dragonaxe, I am aware you had nothing to do with it… this time. Aislin! Come grab my child and tend to his wound…again. I have a couple other children in need of some guidance.”
Mylon patted Baz’s back and, with a tone of acceptance, sighed, “It was a good run my old friend.”
Baz nodded as he solemnly replied, “That it was.”
Aislin came out to retrieve Zycor while she complained, “Did he not just finish recovering from his last fight!? I thought we had talked about the hooligan trio keeping an eye on him?”
Adria nodded as she terrifyingly calmly responded, “We sure did talk about that. Which is why I need to remind these lost children what happens when they break their word.”
Not wanting to pry further, Aislin shrugged and took Zycor from Baz. Aisha asked Aislin to take the bag she had with her up to the room with him.
—
Inside of his head Zycors’ head, both he and his alternate version were in the midst of a discussion. “I am just saying, calling me ‘alternate Zycor’ is rather annoying.” the latter stated.
“As I said before, I am in complete agreement. But why do you want ME to do it? Why don’t you do it? It is your name.” Zycor questioned.
“You seem to be forgetting the small detail that we are the same person.” alternate Zycor said.
Zycor, continuing to be stubborn, reiterated his question, “Right, so if that is the case why does it matter if I am the one to do it?”
Seeing the alternate Zycor reaching the end of their shared sanity, Zycor finally gave in and sighed, “Fine. How about… Greg?”
Alternate Zycor stared at him for a moment before Zycor backtracked and said, “Yeah, I didn’t like that one either.”
After some more deliberation, Zycor began, “Ok, how about Zweicor.”
They stared silently at each other for a minute before the alternate began to remark, “You do realize that-.”
Before he was able to finish, he was cut off by Zycor who replied, “I know what it means.”
With a sigh, Zweicor commented, “I suppose there are worse names.”
Authors note
Yay! Zweicor has a name!
Thanks for reading and hope you are enjoying the story!
Side note: Beware of Greg.
Following Baz’s grand entrance, Mylon and Aisha both rushed in after him. After a brief scan of the room, Mylon and Aisha identified the enemies and began their assault. Mylon tapped his right foot on the ground, sending a wave of stone spikes towards the soldier, knocking him back. Aisha quickly followed up by hurling a fireball at the same soldier. Right before he was engulfed by the crimson flames, he cried out, “NO! PLEASE!”
Unfortunately his cries fell upon deaf ears as Mylon and Aisha turned their attention to Zycor. They both rushed over to Zycor and Dreiford to make sure they were all right. Baz, rising from the rubble of his demolition stunt, stood tall and pointed his axe at the three soldiers who were stumbling to their feet. Baz bellowed a ferocious war cry and charged them. With the sound of magic and steel clashing in the background, Aisha knelt down, grabbed Zycors shoulder, and began to shake him as she yelled, “Come on you idiot, wake up!”
After a few seconds of no response, she stopped shaking him and began winding up to slap him. She angrily shouted, “Wake up!”
Groaning back to consciousness, Zycor slowly opened his eyes. Zycor groaned, “Can’t. Move. Everything. Hurts.”
Alternate Zycor having lost control upon falling unconscious, Zycor woke up confused and wondering why he was in pain all over. Mylon chuckled, “Well, considering the size of that lightning bolt you fired earlier, can’t say I’m surprised. Looks like we are going to have to add another tally to the coma list.”
Zycor slowly turned his head to look at Mylon and groaned, “Piss off.”
“I am happy you guys are having fun,” Baz grunted as he continued to fend off the remaining soldiers, finally cleaving one in half, “but is it too much trouble to ask for some help!?”
Aisha and Mylon stood up, the former taunting, “Oh~, but I thought the great and mighty Bazmahl Dragonaxe didn’t need any help.”
“Ohoho, I am SO kicking your ass later, dog ears!” Baz shouted as he giggled angrily.
As he took a step back, Baz’s left leg faltered momentarily due to an injury sustained fighting these soldiers and ended up throwing him off guard. One of the soldiers capitalized on this and shot a volley of fireballs. As they traveled, the fireballs began to inexplicably implode and diffuse. Mylon stood in front of Baz with his hand outstretched, having shot compressed air into each fireball. “About time, you walking flashbang.” Baz chuckled.
Mylon chuckled, “what’s the matter, poking fun at my armor like that? Could it be that you are jealous?”
A lightning bolt streamed through the air towards Mylon as a wall of stone suddenly erupted, intercepting it. Mylon, lightly tapping his sword on his shoulder, stated, “I had that.”
“Sure you did.” Aisha responded sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
The fireball soldier tried to run, but stopped when Mylon fired a rock bullet at the ground in front of him. The soldier turned to face Mylon, but was instead greeted by the hulking half orc bringing his massive axe down upon him, cleaving him in half diagonally. While Baz dispatched that soldier, Aisha vaulted over the stone wall using the “Ignition” command word and lit the remaining panicking soldier on fire as he fled. Caught completely off guard, the soldier died without so much as a fight.
As Aisha looked at the scene, she grimaced. “Now that’s brutal, and this is coming from the guy who just cleaved someone in half.” Baz morbidly remarked.
Aisha exclaimed, “Oh shut up! How was I supposed to know he wasn't even going to try and defend himself?”
Mylon brought the roof above the burning soldier down, ending the mans’ suffering. Baz looked at Mylon, and grumpily exclaimed, “What the hell man! I know I said it was brutal, but that’s what made it entertaining! How often do you get to see a guy burn alive!?”
Mylon, turning to walk away, waved as he responded, “I know, that’s why I ended it… consider it payback for insulting my magnificent armor.”
“Oh you prick!” Baz angrily shouted.
As Baz and Mylon began to argue, Aisha walked over to Zycor. Before reaching him, a shadow figure manifested from one of the rooms’ corners. Baz and Mylon immediately paused their bickering and readied their weapons as did Aisha. Breaking the tension, a woman began to speak, “You five should leave. The authorities are on their way, and I am sure you would not want to cause trouble for Miss Adria. I have already cleaned up the backup these men had.”
Finishing her warning, the mysterious lady sank back into the shadows. “Well, as ominous and disturbing as that was, the mystery lady has a point. I think I would rather fight a dragon unarmed than upset Adria.” Baz remarked with a chuckle.
Mylon nodded in agreement, “I second that sentiment. Despite our differences, I believe we can all agree on that.”
The five of them hurriedly exited the building using the back door into the alleyway. Dreiford handed Zycor off to Baz and thanked the group profusely for their help. “I genuinely wish I could accompany the boy back to his home, but at the moment I believe it better to wait and see if there are any more of those scoundrels lurking around. Let Zycor know I will be visiting soon to thank him personally for his help.” Dreiford explained before he departed for the merchant guild.
As the group ran towards the guild, Baz peeked down an alleyway and saw a pile of twelve or so bodies, all wearing the same Velathrian armor as the soldiers they just fought. He did not stop however, knowing the authorities were nearby. He chuckled to himself as he thought, “Guess those were the ‘reinforcements.’”
Finally arriving at the guild, the party was suddenly overwhelmed with fear. Adria stood in front of the guild, arms crossed, waiting for them. “You four must really enjoy causing trouble for me.” Adria complained. Noticing Zycor passed out and slung over Baz’s shoulder she nearly flew into a frenzy, but managed to control herself… barely. “Is he out?” Adria questioned.
Baz, assuming his life was riding on his answer, replied, “Y-yes ma’am. But it was not our fault!”
Closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh, Adria remarked, “Why am I not surprised. Don’t worry Mr. Dragonaxe, I am aware you had nothing to do with it… this time. Aislin! Come grab my child and tend to his wound…again. I have a couple other children in need of some guidance.”
Mylon patted Baz’s back and, with a tone of acceptance, sighed, “It was a good run my old friend.”
Baz nodded as he solemnly replied, “That it was.”
Aislin came out to retrieve Zycor while she complained, “Did he not just finish recovering from his last fight!? I thought we had talked about the hooligan trio keeping an eye on him?”
Adria nodded as she terrifyingly calmly responded, “We sure did talk about that. Which is why I need to remind these lost children what happens when they break their word.”
Not wanting to pry further, Aislin shrugged and took Zycor from Baz. Aisha asked Aislin to take the bag she had with her up to the room with him.
—
Inside of his head Zycors’ head, both he and his alternate version were in the midst of a discussion. “I am just saying, calling me ‘alternate Zycor’ is rather annoying.” the latter stated.
“As I said before, I am in complete agreement. But why do you want ME to do it? Why don’t you do it? It is your name.” Zycor questioned.
“You seem to be forgetting the small detail that we are the same person.” alternate Zycor said.
Zycor, continuing to be stubborn, reiterated his question, “Right, so if that is the case why does it matter if I am the one to do it?”
Seeing the alternate Zycor reaching the end of their shared sanity, Zycor finally gave in and sighed, “Fine. How about… Greg?”
Alternate Zycor stared at him for a moment before Zycor backtracked and said, “Yeah, I didn’t like that one either.”
After some more deliberation, Zycor began, “Ok, how about Zweicor.”
They stared silently at each other for a minute before the alternate began to remark, “You do realize that-.”
Before he was able to finish, he was cut off by Zycor who replied, “I know what it means.”
With a sigh, Zweicor commented, “I suppose there are worse names.”
Authors note
Yay! Zweicor has a name!
Thanks for reading and hope you are enjoying the story!
Side note: Beware of Greg.
