Beginners Luck: The Outsiders 3

Trueno felt his left arm be torn from his body by the force of the harpoon launched at him. He felt his head spin in shock from the pain and sudden blood loss now draining out of him. In this small moment of eternity, Trueno thought of the words he had said. He had never read a book in his life, but somehow in his moment of madness the words had flowed through him like an echo of long-ago ages. He felt that the words were a curse, a biding of fates somehow. He breathed in and smelt iron, dirt, and saw seagulls fly overhead. Reaching across himself he grabbed his own severed arm and yanked it loose from the cobblestone wall. With his last bit of energy he could muster, he threw the limb and harpoon at the beast that was walking towards him. The beast back handed the flimsy attack and the limb arced over its shoulder, clattering to the ground behind him.

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Gettar stood over the wretched human who had surprised him with such reckless abandon. Gettar reached down to pick him up, envisioning tearing him limb from limb, when in a sudden flash the human was flying again, following the path of the rope and harpoon. The human wailed with fury and drove a short knife from his ankle sheath into the slit on Gettar's mask, blinding him in his topmost left eye. Cursing his lapse in judgement as a portion of his vision disappeared, Gettar reached and pulled the human from his face. Ripping the mask from the human, Gettar gazed into the now dead face of Trueno. Gasping between breaths and feeling every wound with every flex of muscles, he was overcome with conflicting feelings. It was the strangest thing, the mask that had once defined the human as an empowered sentient, a dangerous foe who had mastered his trade, had been removed revealing a startling truth. The limp lifeless being in his hands had water running down his cheeks, carving paths through the blood and grime.

The fearsome beast known as human, suddenly looked small and vulnerable. The skies colors shifted, indicating the first of the lower bosses had been slain. Limping back to the rift, Gettar could not fight more, and accessed a menu from inside his mask to send a message to his teammates.

"I cannot continue the fight. I have been gravely wounded. The village has been culled." As he walked, he felt the tug of a rope, tangled on his leg, and bent to pull the harpoon and rope in. The magic binding to the human was gone, and he felt the rope coil itself around him. And as he neared the rift entrance, he examined the weapon through the interface on his mask.

'Ahab's Harpoon. This weapon has been recreated from folklore of human history. It is imbued with a curse of binding. You cannot wield any other weapon and must always carry it with you. When used with a magical phrase, this weapon will guarantee the death of the user or their enemy. It has the special ability of teleporting the user to the weapon, or the weapon back into the hands of the user.'

"I will remember you human, you fought to your last breath... for even the lowly non-sentients beside you. But your kind cannot be allowed free." A crimson harpoon emblem now traced itself down the center of Gettar's mask.

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Migoene and Myene were moving towards the other village when they received a notification from Gettar telling him of his status. They came to a stop just before coming over a hill that overlooked the village. They stood there for a moment in stunned silence. Gettar was the strongest and fiercest of the three, if he had been wounded enough to retreat that meant this culling was absolutely abnormal. Myene crossed her four arms and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Imbecile. How could have been taken out of the fight by a sub boss?! We have two more fights ahead of us and we just lost out tank." She let her arms drop and looked at Migoene.

"What's your call? If we leave this rift, it will grow in strength and unpredictability. If we die, the rift will absolutely grow in strength and unpredictability." She said this shaking her head slowly.

"Sounds like no matter the outcome, it suddenly is no longer our problem. But... I will NOT retreat from these beasts. I say we fight on." He lifted his two right arms beckoning her to return the gesture. She nodded once, and stepped forward and they clasped each others forearms in strength and solidarity. That's when an arrow slammed into Myene's leg.

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Kwernoss had always loved hunting, trapping and being in the woods. Bringing in enough meat for his brethren in the village brought him a sense of accomplishment. When he was trained by the Librarian, they had quickly identified his strengths and weaknesses, and after killing a large feral bear he had earned himself a mask. On his back he still wore the cloak he had made from the bear's hide. His mask bore the pattern of a series of diamonds, each black or green. His right eye had the outline of cross hairs in a dark blood red, and his mouth was not one slit, but rather three arrows pointed down towards his chin.

When the storm had arrived Kwernoss quickly took to the trees near his village, knowing the fastest path towards his home from the gate, and prepared to ambush the invaders. His hunting bow held at the ready he patiently waited for his pray to come to him. Years of patience told him they would come, years of practice steadied his aim and resolve. The advancements on his mask gave him precision, camouflage and three arrows that would respawn in his quiver at his hip. The wind blew rustling the branches of the trees, and then the colors in the sky shifted, signaling to him that his comrade had fallen in battle. Kwernoss scowled under his mask, attempting to steady his hands and heart that now found themselves rattled with rage.