Digital Art Gallery

“What if we could prove that we aren’t useless?” Luke suggests, clearing his throat and standing at attention. “I’m a graduate of Hamilton Military Academy and this woman is an apprentice of Rainbow Tower. Surely these credentials should allow us to join your hunt.”

“Don’t overact,” Nyx mutters under her breath.

“Sorry,” Luke hisses.

Lord Highrider smiles and nods at the bickering half-elves. “The Hamilton Military Academy is a fine institution, but I do not believe I have heard of the other location. From the look of your ally, I can see that she has a warrior’s spirit. It’s a fire in her eyes that many men lack. I wish the looks in her eyes and your credentials were enough to put my mind at ease. Unless you can prove your experience, I must refuse to take you along.”

“Then, I challenge you to a fight,” Luke snaps before he lets the thought fully form in his mind.

“Such action could result in both of us being injured,” the knight states as he turns to leave. “Your mouth betrays your youth and recklessness.”

“Wait. What about this?” asks the forest tracker. He undoes his shirt as quickly as he can to reveal his bright scar. Lord Highrider raises an eyebrow of interest at the obvious battle wound.

“Stripping in public is your last defense?” Nyx groans in embarrassment.

“That looks like a mark left by a magical blade. Did you get into a bar fight with someone?” the half-orc jokingly asks.

“I wish. It’s a present from a Hellfire Elf wielding a Chaoswind blade,” Luke says, buttoning his shirt back up. This news catches the attention of a few other warriors who stop talking in order to listen.

Lord Highrider nods his approval before admitting, “I can believe the part about the magic sword, but not your claim about a demon. I would request that you prove it if such a thing could be proven.”

Luke silently reaches into a side pocket on his pack to pull out the shoulder spike of the Hellfire Elf and holds it a few inches from Lord Highrider’s eyes. A sickly white hue covers the knight’s face as he examines the spike. He pushes it back to Luke without another word and breathes a sigh of relief when it is pocketed. A blind wave of his hand sends the loitering warriors ahead while Lord Highrider eyes Luke and Nyx thoughtfully.

“Can we come along now?” Luke asks with a grin.

“I believe you,” Lord Highrider replies, his face still slightly pale. “I must ask your names, so that I can put them on the official record.”

“I am called Nyx,” she says, giving a stiff bow.

“My name is Luke Callindor, son of Ilan Callindor and the grandson of Talos ‘Doubleblade’ Callindor,” he announces with pride.

“I see. It seems that I have a hero in the making on my hands. May I ask what brings you to this town?” Lord Highrider asks, immediately putting up a hand to stop Luke from answering. “I apologize and retract my question. It isn’t my business and it’s rude to ask. I will put you in one of the flanking groups. I see that your friend is a crossbow fighter, so she can stay in the back with our archers. No offense to your possible talent with that mourning star, but I feel that a solid range attack is essential in these kinds of fights.”

“Wait a second!” explodes Nyx, whose patience finally breaks. “Why does he have to prove himself and I get brought along as an archer? Am I not worthy of a test? Who said I was a warrior in the first place?”

“I meant no offense,” the half-orc swears, a hint of confusion in his voice. “I merely assumed that being with someone like him meant you were also a capable warrior. I promise that it won’t happen again, milady.”

“You’re damn right it won’t happen again,” Nyx snaps. Lord Highrider glares at her before she hops onto the sign-in table and looks him in the eye.

“Your boyfriend must have a god’s patience when dealing with you,” the half-orc quips with a friendly smile.

“He is not, and never will be, my boyfriend,” Nyx proudly declares, ignoring the mortified look on Luke’s face. “He is my adventuring partner. Now, follow me and I will show you just what you have on your hands.”

“Let’s just go and you can prove yourself during the battle, Nyx,” Luke quietly begs her. The furious look from Nyx makes him stop talking immediately.

Nyx cracks her neck and storms off toward the front gate. Lord Highrider and Luke follow her to the front of the gathered army of warriors. People are whispering to each other and pointing as Nyx stands at the front of the army, her arms across her chest. A few knights try to move ahead of her and she starts to motion for them to move away. They ignore her until she angrily curses at them and points to the army behind her. Lord Highrider gives them a signal to obey her before they willingly move away.

“You better have a good reason for being so disrespectful to the knights and warriors who will be protecting you,” Lord Highrider says sternly.

Luke nervously looks at the crowd of irritated warriors. “Can’t you just tell him, Nyx?”

“This way is more fun,” Nyx mentions with a glimmer of joy in her eyes. “You said something about trolls, Lord Highrider.”

The knight clears his throat, determined to regain control of the situation. “Our scouts reported that the camp is of some newly arrived orc bandits. There are signs that they have recruited trolls. It will be a challenge for us to defeat them due to their regenerative and chameleon abilities. Destroying the heart is the best hope we have since none of us have magical weapons and the city paladins are busy with an undead threat to the east.”

“With all due respect, your plan for the trolls is flawed. First of all, a troll’s ribcage is thicker and tougher than platemail. Getting to the heart would require that you immobilize the creature and risk breaking your normal weapons to get through the bone. With their regeneration, this feat would be impossible before all other enemies are destroyed,” Nyx carefully explains, her voice magically traveling across the open area. “Second, you will have to find the trolls if they are hiding, which means getting close to them. This puts you in range of their claws, which cause icy numbness. I spent a month studying troll physiology and I have found that you can only use two strategies with a high chance at success.” Everyone is quiet and listening to her with their undivided attention. She stops to look at Lord Highrider who is as stunned as the other warriors.

“Please continue,” Lord Highrider requests with a beckoning wave of his hand.

Nyx smiles sweetly before continuing. “For warriors without magical weapons, you need to forget about the heart. It’s the brain that controls the powers of a troll. If you stab through the eyes, you will damage the front of the brain. The monster will be confused and disoriented. Regeneration will be slowed since the front of the brain is what controls the rate of recovery. It would have to fix the brain before repairing any other damage that you inflict. Blending into its surroundings will also be limited because of glands behind the eyes that help with this ability. Without these glands, their chameleon ability only works flawlessly when they stand completely still. Otherwise, they resemble large blotches of heat haze when they move. I hope everybody is paying attention.”

“Ingenious. What is the other strategy?” the half-orc curiously asks.

“That one is reserved for me,” Nyx claims, a mischievous sparkle in her violet eyes.

“We might have other archers that can copy you.”

“This isn’t an archer thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“It works off the naturally secreted oils of trolls, which are flammable.”

“Fire arrows are not too advanced for these men.”

“I’m not talking about fire arrows.”

“Then, what are you talking about?”

“I guess I’ll stop teasing.”

Nyx grins wide as she turns to the wilderness around Hero’s Gate. She shakes her arms and stretches a little while letting her eyes scan the area. Many of the warriors pretend to yawn while others hurl mocking comments at the caster. She turns to them calmly before raising her hand to the air. A small glowing dot in her palm catches the attention of a few observant warriors while the rest continue laughing at her. They are all silenced by the eruption of fire from her hand that licks at the sky. Her other hand weaves a web of protection around her, which turns into a dripping shell of acid. The fire continues to spew from her hand, which is the only body part that sticks out of the deadly cocoon.

“I should have mentioned that Rainbow Tower is a caster school in Gaia,” Luke whispers apologetically.