Private - Back To Back, Shield And Sword.

The grass was sparse and the rocks more prominent in that craggy corner of the foothills of Pormont. That had been their secret, they had used the terrain to their advantage. Even now it was working to their favor and Alex's ill fortune.

Each hastened step through the rocky turf was accompanied by a clattering of many plates of heavy armor and the jangling of layered mail. Inside her helmet Alex breathed through her teeth against the searing pain of a powerful stitch in her side. Still there was nothing she could do but press inwards, running as fast as her legs would allow in the armor. The overcast sky above rumbled in the distance threatening thunder but closer were the barks, yaps and joyful howls of the pursuing gnolls communicating to one another. Their numbers spoke of danger, and the terrain was their advantage. Alex could not maneuver well... in general, but specifically not among these craggy rocks. While her utter faith in her armor and her shield were enough to face most challenges, she had sense enough to know not to take every Gnoll on when they could surprise her around every protruding boulder.

Alex trundled and clattered past another jagged mountain stone and the shaft of an unseen spear struck out at her legs sending her toppling forward. To her credit the diminutive fighter managed to change her stumble into a roll that was all the more impressive considering her bulky and cumbersome armor. The offending ambushing gnoll tried to strike at her back but was not swift enough, as it had been expecting more vulnerable prey. Alex heard the head of his spear scrape against one of her oversized pauldrons as she turned her body to face him. With her turning momentum she extended an arm and brought with it her weighty shield which struck at the protruding joint of one of the savage beast's canine legs. A disconcerting cracking sound came from the beasts leg, followed quickly by a harrowing howl of distress from its maw. Its body dropped to the ground. The howl was cut short as the fully plated Faerin angled her shield and punched at its throat with the edge, crushing its windpipe and ending its life. A notification only visible to her warned Alex of what she already knew, her energy was getting low, nearly down to a quarter of its reserves, and she knew at least three more of the slavering beasts were after her. She did not have time to rest after so small a victory, she needed to find more advantageous ground.

That opportunity was not afforded to her as a second Gnoll that had been on her trail came round the boulder and pounced. The beast was used to attacking softer targets and so by grace of Alex's fully armor based approach to life, she was spared a quick and savage death by its glistening fangs and instead the gnoll chipped a tooth on the armored plating and what should have been a savage attack turned instead into a forceful shove. While her life had been spared, Alex's footing was not and she fond herself clattering and rattling unceremoniously, as she tumbled end over end over end over end down the mountainside and into a valley below.

The world was spinning to her dizzied eyes and her lungs struggled to draw in breath. Somehow, Alex had managed to maintain a hold on her shield through the entire undignified fall. She raised it first to protect her from the rain that began to fall when heralded by a much closer booming crack of thunder, but then also from a stone that had been cast by a sling from a gnoll among the rocks.

The light was growing dimmer, as the clouds grew thicker in the sky, and so Alex could see the glint of at least four pairs of bestial eyes were descending the slope. Dark shapes against the shadowy hillside were cautiously advancing. Those dimly glowing spheres spoke only of malice and hunger as the hyena-like laughs, barks, and yelps bounced back and forth from one figure to the next.

It was when Alex had scrambled to her feet again that she noticed it. The barking, growling and laugh-like yapping was coming from more than just the four in front of her. As she raised her shield and began to back away from the advancing foes, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end and a cold shiver ran down her spine. The sounds of more gnolls were coming from behind her. She was surrounded.

Fear was threatening to encroach on thoughts that were usually occupied by heedless bravery as the reality of the situation sank in. With a feat of strength and a good story to tell later she might have been able to take on the four she saw in front of her, but who knew how many had plotted this ambush and surrounded her even now. Alex could not afford to take her eyes off the ones she could see to take stock of the others. She could only back away, step by step, slowly, her metal plated feet sinking slightly in the ground that was softening under the ministrations of the drizzling sky. Expecting that at any moment she would hear the excited sound of a howling gnoll lunging at her from behind.

Then she felt it, her back bumped into something. Not something, she quickly realized, but someone! It had too much give to be a stone, and were it a gnoll then a spear, or mace or set of claws would already be trying to rend her armor open and get at the flesh inside. Perhaps, just perhaps, fortune had favored the bold and she'd found an ally in this, the least likely of all situations. There would be only one way to know.

“Hail, friend. It seems we are both ill favored by fortune today, if you were lured into an ambush by these craven beasts, same as I. Perhaps together, however, we may yet make fortune our own. If you have a weapon, tell me how many do they number on your side?” Alex's voice was both muffled and resonated by her helmet so that when it departed to the outside world it was robbed of any sign of age or gender and gave it instead a metallic quality that was uniquely its own. In the sound of faint wind and drizzling sky that threatened to turn to rain as another crack of thunder peeled from the sky, she held her breath and hoped that whomever stood behind her would answer favorably.

@Solaria

 

No matter how experienced a fighter was, there would still be a weakness to keep them from succeeding against what seemed like it should be a weak enough opponent. Even as her sword gleamed, she was beginning to regret her choice of clothing in the game for that moment, even if she'd been able to handle herself on the steep incline of mountains in worse conditions.

She cursed as a spear blocked her blade, a strike she'd been certain would be perfect to startle it. She wanted to switch swords, but she didn't get a chance when their numbers increased from two to three to six, the spears dancing at her faster than she could maneuver in her UI. I shouldn't have assumed I'd be fine with this newer sword. I should've brought Duo out from the beginning!

Slowly, the dance sent her backward. She was barely able to keep her footing as she was seemingly being pushed further and further into a corner, the rocky path trying to trip her at times as the enemy continued to attack, leaving her no time to regain her stance. She was able to block an attack or two, but with so many at once aiming at various spots, she just couldn't swing fast enough to fight them all away.

Stumbling back as a jagged rock caught the toe of her boots, she found herself against what felt like a sheet of metal. Turning her face for a moment to peek at what she'd crashed into, she was surprised to find a metal frame, height below her own. Is this a kid playing soldier...? This just went from bad to worse, I'd say...

As the voice echoed on the light drops of rain that just started to fall in her mind, she realized she'd been too focused on the battle to notice even weather was threatening her life now. The metal suit spoke with a tone that tingled her ears somehow, almost robotic in sound to her as it broke the stressful silence of her mind.

"There's six on my side... So they got you too, huh?" She could see over the armor's head, there were about four on the other side, behind her. She muttered to herself her surprise that these gnolls had been so bright to use an old tactic of combat, before blocking a spear once more with her sword. "I have six on my side, so far all spears. Six is a bit much for one sword to fight away, it seems- and with how quickly they get back up, I can't cast anything to help fight them faster. The weather isn't doing any good for us compared to them, either, I'd say... Got a plan to get luck on our side, stranger?"

 

Six behind. Four in front. Ten in all. Ten against two. Alex could run the numbers in any way she wanted, all the equations pointed to the same result. They were in trouble. Not doomed, not yet, but even Alex had to admit the present situation was a grim one.

Alex's new ally of circumstance asked if she had a plan. She knew she did not, but such an answer would only be disheartening to her ally so she kept silent for a moment instead. Holding her shield further out in front of her Alex twisted her body and chanced a glance to her side. For her trouble she was answered by the barking of a gnoll on her side who tried to take the opportunity to lunge. Alex was able to buffet them away with her shield, at the cost of a touch more of her precious, fleeting, reserves of energy.

Due to her large pauldrons and limited field of vision thanks to her helmet, Alex was not able to get a look at her companion. However had managed to glance a portion of blade belonging to a long sword, so at least she knew what her ally was working with. Probably not a shield; but now was not the time for lectures about proper adventuring equipment.

“Six you say? You shouldn't be so greedy. I've only got four over here.” Alex replied, trying to keep her tone confident in spite of their odds. Still struggling for a plan she did her best to try to say something encouraging in the meantime. “Interestingly, a sword like yours was used long ago in far off lands, to counter groups of enemies with spears. Its length gives it reach to be used like a spear, but unlike a polearm is more useful up close. A single swordsman would devastate the enemy pike line.” Alex knew that such a tactic would not quite work here. The gnolls were fast and not pinned tightly by formations on either side. They had room to back away from a sword that got past the end of their spear. If their sword wielder behind Alex was able to get in close and begin dispatching one of the gnolls, the other five would have ample room to attempt turning them into an overlarge pincushion. Still, she hoped that the thoughts of how a long sword could triumph over spears would at least inspire some confidence.

Spears. That felt like the key. On Alex's side the gnolls had swords, maces, and one even held a battleaxe, but no spears. Those weapons did not have the reach of a long sword, save perhaps the crudely shaped and oversized axe. The sword wielder would have a better chance against these four than the six spears at Alex's back.

“Friend, I know not who you are or from where you hail, but if we wish to survive this night then we will have to trust one another.” Alex paused for a moment to hear a response but if there was any it was drowned out by a tremendous boom of thunder. This time Alex had noticed that for the briefest moment the sky had lit up in a flash of white just before the thunder called. Alex raised her voice to be heard louder over the increasing pour of the rain. “On my signal! Jump backwards and turn to face these enemies. I will protect you from the spears!” Alex took a breath, allowing herself just a moment to brace herself, and her ally a moment to understand her words. “NOW!”

Hoping the stranger had listened, Alex grabbed her shield, ducked low, and attempted to spin around to face the enemies behind her.

 

It wasn't a good time to laugh, but she still ended up doing it anyway. She'd never been called greedy for the number of monsters that aimed at her life before- no, just insane for taking them on all at once, that's all. She hadn't a thirst for blood unless it was to protect others- and this time around, she hadn't intended to get into this fight, or so she'd claim.

"If you want 'em, you can have 'em, but I don't think they'll be nice to either of us in the long run." As one tried to attack in her sentence's space, she had to block awkwardly with a slight grimace. Yep, nice was not a word to describe these beasts.

Internal dread slowed down slightly. Four on one side, six on the other. Two of them and ten of the enemy. That meant in averages, she happened to get one taken away. That wasn't much help based on their angry movements. One less was useless if five were as strong as they seemed.

In the heat of battle, the stranger began speaking aloud- speaking thoughts of the little she'd seen of Solaria, thoughts that she prayed would lead to some sort of plan- because in this world, in this situation, planning really wasn't her strong suit personally. Instead of a plan, she heard information about her weapon itself.

Paling, she sputtered as calmly as she could manage, "I'm interested in the history you mentioned, but let's save the lesson for later. I love my sword, but while others might not believe it, I do like my life as well."

It was then that the bulk of armor gave her a plan like she'd asked- one that sounded pretty crazy, but probably had something to do with the spears. Not sure if her jump would be enough, she still did as she was told, pushing as deep against the soil as she could to make sure she had the air to get over her new ally. Seeing the weapons of the four on the other side, she grinned.

"I see why you got me on this corner. Sure you can handle that lot alright? I'll watch your six with these four, but I can't help with that half until these guys are down. I hope you're prepared for that." Smirking, she prepared her sword for a horizontal strike. One of the knolls was injured, though her timing had been a bit off. Injured was not her aim.

A soft grumble left her lips despite the grin that followed. "And this is why no matter how long you play, the game just keeps surprising you...By trying to kill you when you're feeling adequate and reminding you no matter how high your skill level, it can still screw you over if it pleases."

 

When Alex did not feel herself crashing into the stranger's legs or feel their feet crashing down on top of her as Alex ducked and twisted around to face the other way, she was relieved. However her sensation of triumph was small and fleeting at best. As she had expected, the moment they changed sides, the gnolls had made their move as well. There was no time to think, only to raise her shield and brace herself as hard as she could against the combined impact of all five gnollish spears crashing into her shield.

Alex's plated boots sank into the mud as she tried to dig in against the earth and prevent being pushed back into her ally's legs. She narrowly avoided what would have been a fatal tumble for them both, and knew she could not spare any hesitation in countering. Pushing back with everything she had, Alex was able to give herself a step or two of room away from the stranger, to make sure the enemy could not turn her into a tripping hazard. She managed a fleeting grin as she heard the other exclaim understanding and satisfaction with her plan. However when they asked if she could handle her end of things, Alex was too busy to respond with more than one word. “Certainly!”

The five gnolls all lunged, not quite in unison this time and Alex was able to just barely deflect the blows. This time she had to raise her shield against the first few strikes, and then move it to smash into the head of the spears that followed, trying to take advantage of an opening. Already Alex could tell her solemn oath to defend others would be put to a true test today, and she forced back the growing doubts in the wisdom of her choice to forego carrying a weapon beside her shield.

Channeling her frustrations with the situation into her actions, Alex seized the opportunity as the gnolls pulled back their spears, to make an attack of her own. With a shout she rushed forwards and slammed straight into the nearest gnoll with her shield, like a living battering ram. Due to her height and the way she angled her trusty metal guardian, the gnoll was caught in the ribs by the edge of the defensive plate and the popping sound of a few ribs cracking could be heard over the increasing drive of the rain. That gnoll was sent sprawling backwards, down but not slain. However in her calculated charge, Alex had know she left an opening for the other gnolls to try to get around her to her exposed companion.

She knew the risks but tried to turn them into another advantage. The gnoll to her right that attempted to lunge past, was caught hard in the side by an unexpected punch from the edge of a shield. The gnoll yelped in surprise and pain, and since it had been in mid-leap it was knocked off course and crashed into the gnoll on its other side, preventing either of them from being able to close the distance as they both fell to their side. The attack had not been without sacrifice, as the gnoll's yelp of pain would have been joined shortly by another pained cry; but another crack of thunder exploded overhead and momentarily drowned out all other sounds.

Alex bit her lip to prevent another sound from escaping her mouth, without the cover of thunder. When she had turned to punch the gnoll, its two companions on her other side had taken the opportunity to lunge with their spears. The first blow had been glancing, scraping the outside of her armor as it had been made from a farther distance and in haste. The other, however, had been a direct hit in the joint at the back of her leg. The pain had been intense, and Alex tried to ignore how her hp meter had lowered while she turned away from the blow and staggered backwards so that the opening to attack her ally which she had made was now closed again. Alex tried to tell herself the wet feeing in her boot was from the rain having found its way into her armor, and the feeling of warmth was in her head.

She took stock of the exchange in her mind as she tried to think of a new plan, while the gnolls rallied themselves. One down and injured, but not out. One bruised and angry, but just as able bodied as the other three which had gone entirely unharmed. One quarter of her HP gone from a critical hit. If she traded like that with every attack, she'd die before she finished eliminating the threat.

At some point in the chaos, Alex thought she heard her ally's voice, but the drive of the rain, the clash of metal on metal, and the snarling of their enemies made it hard to hear. Alex hoped they were not calling for more aide, and had to blindly trust that no attacks would come from behind her. All she could do was focus on the opponents in front.

The gnolls lunged again, staggering their attacks even more this time. Alex saw what they were doing this time, but could only recklessly react to stop it. Two spears thrust in, straight for her head and Alex rose her shield to block them. The next spear came sailing above her and the faerin had to shove her arm straight up into the air to bat the spear out of the way so it would not get by over her head. This left her completely open to a frontal assault from the fourth spear which struck her in the gut. The blow did not get through her armor to pierce her gut, but the shock of it still struck her. Alex saw her HP lower again in the corner of her vision. In response she slammed her shield down hard, as her lungs fought against the pain to suck in air again. The shaft of the crudely made spear that struck her, was broken by the descending weight and force of Alex's shield. Now wielding a headless stick, the gnoll was only slightly less of a danger.

To the mercy of the two outnumbered fighters, gnolls were aggressive and brutish creatures that acted on impulse more often than tactics. This advantage of restraint and reason over brute force and savagery showed itself when the now disarmed gnoll lunged ahead of his companions in an enraged fervor. It barked viciously as it lowered to all fours and hurled its weight at Alex. Extending its clawed hands and opening its fang filled mouth the gnoll's slavering jaw flew at Alex's face with terrible swiftness. The jaw was slammed shut so close to her face that bits of saliva flecked her face through her visor as Alex managed to shove her shield upward in time to crack the beast mightily in the jaw. Once again the sound of breaking bones reached her ears, as Alex saw the gnoll's eyes roll up in its head in unconsciousness as it went limp and crumpled. Still the loss of consciousness was not the loss of momentum and inertia. The full weight of the gnoll slammed against Alex's shield and despite her best efforts to dig in she felt her body skid backwards. To her mercy she did not feel herself crash into the stranger's legs behind her.

Shoving the unconscious gnoll away from her, Alex looked up in time to see two gnolls. Two! Not Three! Quickly she searched for where the third had gotten to in time to see that it had backed up and circled around to her right. It was now rushing in to an unseen target behind Alex, likely her ally, and it was too far away for her to intercept. Even if she tried, it would only leave the other two with a clear opening.

“ON YOUR LEFT!” Alex cried out in a desperate attempt to alert her comrade, just as thunder again boomed overhead possibly drowning out her last minute warning. Just as she shouted, the other two gnolls lunged for her again.

 

She was getting hit as she made her mark on the enemy, but her mark was barely adequate even with a fairly decent sword and skills to match. She could barely hear over the rain and the thunder on the horizon, lightning blinding her enemies more than her enough to help her get a few good strikes in that would otherwise have been easily blocked, she believed.

There was little room for error and equally little room to move. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and she wasn't sure which side was which, within reason. Planning, in this world, was not her strong suit- she followed the armor's words when she could hear them, but with the noise getting louder as the thunder grew closer to their ears, it was only a matter of time before this battle got downright impossible to focus on.

Luckily, Knolls weren't exactly the smartest creatures. They were set in their ways worse than Solaria was, and they didn't even try to communicate with each other. In fact, that they'd had an ambush planned at all was a bit of a stretch. This entire battle was starting to feel like a case of incidentally bad luck on both her side and that of her armored ally.

A sudden screech to focus on her left caught her attention, and when a spear-wielding knoll tried to attack her, she used the pommel of her sword to block its attack slightly, throwing her wrist out somewhat when she tried to disarm it with a wild flick. In rage it rushed against her again, only to be knocked back by the pommel on her way into another slash at two others trying to make another desperate move. She'd never been so happy she tried to learn and practice using the pommel as a counterattack as well.

With her most recent slash and the distraction of the thunder, she managed to destroy one of her attackers with a deep sigh of relief. There were still more, but one down was still a good change. "One down, three to go..." Grabbing the back of her blade with one hand, she held her sword horizontally to bunt when the next two came, before swiping left to send them flying into a rock formation, watching them cringe and struggle back to their feet.

The struggle was going to be a bit longer yet, she came to realize. "I don't know your name, friend... But I know there has to be some other way to get rid of them. How are they so focused on us? The thunder's close enough to kill them- and us, too!" She knew it was strange that she couldn't comprehend monsters not salvaging their own lives in a moment like this- she was a martyr, so why would she expect others to want to protect themselves from a storm? Still, she wanted out of this situation quickly. "If I weren't holding my sword, it'd be a damn good lightning rod to shock them..." Grumbling low, she mused a final thought before charging against one of the relentless foes that had managed back into reality. "The best laid plans of mice and men, huh? Wonder where Knolls fit in..."

 

There was no time to see if her warning had been heard over the thunder in time to help her ally. The remaining two gnolls had moved in to strike. They seemed to be growing more vicious as their numbers decreased. One went high and the other low. Had it been a properly planned and coordinated strategy this would have certainly resulted in more damage to Alex. However the gnolls were not coordinating their attacks so much as scrambling over and around one another to go after the same prey. Gnolls were certainly smarter than the unbelievably incompetent goblins or the bumbling kobolds; but in battle their animal side tended to take over and aside from the tactics of practiced hunters, when they fought they fought like beasts.

Alex was able to block the lower strike with her shield, in time to again raise her shield and batter the higher strike out of the way. Alex barely had time to react before they lunged again, one spear being blocked by her shield and the other striking into one of her oversized pauldrons. Alex took the opportunity to punch her shield into the side of the spear that had slipped past it, as she winced from the pain of the blow. Knocking her enemy's weapon to one side and then swinging her shield back, keeping the face against the side of the other spear. With this, Alex had created an opening where it was her turn to advance. Moving in close allowed her to get past the spears areas of threat and provided her with an opportunity to attack. With only two of them standing, it was still risky, but more possible to end this quickly with an assault than it had been when they had greater numbers.

Lowering and angling her whole weight into the action, Alex leveled her shield at the gnoll to her right and hurled herself into it. Bowling over the gnoll and sending it topping to the ground, she rolled over top of them, raised her shield arm in a mighty arcing punch, and brought the edge of her shield down on the gnoll's snarling face with a sickening crunch.

Alex didn't look at the result of her assault. She didn't want to know, didn't want to see. It had been their life or hers. She strived to be a protector, and sometimes, against dangers that refused to back down, that meant extreme force was the only option. The faerin did not have time to reflect on such thoughts however. The other gnoll had not played along with her gambit. It had not taken the bait and gone after her, but instead was charging on the sword wielder's exposed back.

Alex heard them say something to her, but could not hear what it was over the sounds of storm and violence. Any further sounds were even more drowned out by the clattering of her armor as she got up and ran as fast as she could to intercept the charging gnoll.

Her lungs burned, her muscles screamed, and her side ached as Alex pushed her body to its limits to get every ounce of speed she could. Rain water splashed in her face through the holes in her helmet as she collided with falling raindrops and her eyes closed involuntarily against the water that got in them. The sound of wind rushing around her helmet as she ran whistled in ear ears along with the pounding of her own pulse. Despite her armor, for just a moment she felt as light as air as she leaped, lifting her shield and bracing herself for the impact she hoped against hope would come in time. Alex managed to open her eyes just before the collision, and saw that the gnoll's spear was moved off course at the last second and managed to thrust past the woman's head, just a hair's breadth away from making any kind of contact.

The spear was pulled back and away from its target as its wielder's body was knocked to the ground by the weight of a fully armored faerin flying through the air. She came down shield-first on top of the gnoll and heard it yelp in pain and anger. There was only time for a single breath before the beast dropped its spear and reached over her shield to claw at her armored body with its hands.The other arm began struggling to get free so it could help the first while barely restrained jaws snapped and barked promising they would soon be close enough to add fangs to the number of dangers.

As imposing as it looked Ursula was aware that Alex's low tier armor could not hold up under prolonged assault. This was a game after all, if armor protected from everything it did in the real world, she would face no danger. Second by second hit points decreased as Alex's head bobbed up and down under repeated blows from the clawed beast's free hand. She could not avoid them, not if she wanted to keep its dangerous head and other hand pinned. It was a loose loose situation and she was choosing to drag out her inevitable demise.

Then the world exploded. Or that was what it felt like. For an instant light filled Alex's vision accompanied by a deafening sound. Alex could swear she felt the overwhelming heat that accompanied a lightning strike so close that it was only a miracle it had not connected with her. Ears ringing, vision dim, she realized only one other thing. The beating against her head had stopped. For just a brief instant, the gnoll was also stunned by the threat of nature that had come so close to killing them both. Its eyes had been turned skyward and likely were more directly facing the flash when it happened. It was likely blinded.

Not missing her only opportunity, Alex rolled to one side, and hefted her shield. With all her might she brought down the face of it on the gnoll's head. Without hesitation she did this again, and again, and again, until she felt like her arm would fall off, and did not feel movement beneath it. Unconscious, or dead did not matter to her now. As long as the threat was neutralized.

Rain splashed against her helmet and into her visor, making her ponder if she could drown in her armor if she remained like this. It didn't matter. She felt too tired to move. Alex could see her energy meter. The small remaining sliver was almost invisible. The empty portion of the meter had turned red and was blinking to alert her to just how low her reserves had become. Alex chanced a look at her Hit points to see they were not doing too much better.

Breathing heavily, and listening to the rain plink against her metallic shell, Alex rested, hoping that if death was coming it would be soon and sudden. She was too tired to handle suffering. Too tired to much of anything. She felt dizzy, nauseous, and weak. It was over right? Six gnolls had fought, one had gotten through, she'd taken out... THREE!

Trying to will her body to react appropriately to the fear she felt, Alex barely managed to sit up. Back lit by another flash of lighting she saw the gnoll whose ribs she cracked skulking up over a nearby hilltop. It seemed that unlike some of his companions, that one did not see the need in fighting any further. Alex felt like she was moving through unseen mud, the way her body responded so sluggishly to her attempts to control it. Still she managed to turn her head, looking for the sword wielder. Had they survived? Had they taken down their foes? Or had she failed to protect them, despite her best efforts to do so?

 

The rain that threatened her footing wasn't helping her, but so far, it didn't seem to be helping her last Knoll she had to defeat either. The more they killed, the more the ones left were finicky and easier to read. They were easier to avoid, but also far more dangerous. The danger lit a fire in the Solaria's eyes, though- not just to protect the stranger behind her, but the many people these brainless beasts might try to attack if she let them go.

Though she wanted to take a look at the armor behind her, she couldn't let her eyes look away from the vastness of the remaining battle. When lightning struck nearby, she rolled out of the way with a loud shriek, startled audibly both by the shock and the mace-holding bastard still left on her side, which had tried to use the timing to catch her off guard.

She couldn't make her chants audible, but it didn't really matter at that moment. She had enough time to get on her feet and use a spell to blind her enemy with light since it clearly hadn't been yet. The blindness setting in helped her take it on from behind, cutting at it's neck to cleanly kill it in one last go.

Panting, she looked at her need meters. Her energy was depleted to a massive amount, having been moving around a bit more than she realized. Fear and her death affliction- a need to protect others that was coded into her skin- weren't so good for her mind. And when the mind was weak, battle took a higher toll than usual.

That toll, however, was not enough to make her ignore her innate worry now that the chaos had died down. Seeing one of the Knolls trying to escape, she used her minimal energy supplies to use a pure illumancy spell- one that shot a bolt of physical light at it, so that it fell to the ground, at least slowing it enough to die on it's way home. With a deep sigh of relief and ire at the same moment, the woman looked around for the armor she'd been fighting with while sheathing her sword. The battle was over, but the war with survival was far from won just yet.

"You look horrible- and that's saying something when I can barely see you!" She sputtered it rather awkwardly as she rushed to the armored stranger's side.

She could see clearly just how low the stranger's health had gotten. With that and a lack of energy on either's side, they surely had a problem to deal with that would need some more of her skills that didn't involve her blade. Digging into her inventory, she took out two identical bottles, holding one out to the stranger.

"Drink this to get some of your stamina back. It doesn't taste good, but it does the trick. Let's get enough energy into us to get somewhere a bit safer to hold out in the storm. I saw a cavern not far from here that we can use as shelter. When we're there, I can heal your wounds up properly... But until then, we'll just have to lean on each other to make it through. I'm not sure I feel safe healing you when you could become a living lightning rod at any moment."

 

“Thanks” was all a woozy and exhausted Alex could manage to say in response to a comment about how she looked. She was too tired to even wonder how they could tell. In truth her armor was dented in places, scraped in others, and large dents and divots littered the front of her shield so much that it resembled a model of the moon's surface.

She felt that kind of tired that was not dissimilar from drunk. It put her in an agreeable state where any instruction she was capable of following was one she was willing to follow, because she was too tired to think for herself. Left to her own devices she might have just sat, deliriously, in the storm until it passed or she expired. So when a small bottle was handed to her, Alex accepted it without question, and when told to drink, she attempted to do just that.

Clumsy exhausted hands encased in clunky segmented gauntlets were not quite suited for delicately opening bottles. Despite the rain all around, it was only with something to drink in hand that Alex realized she was quite parched from all the exertion. Her hands in the gauntlets could not open the bottle; but Alex was too tired to fiddle around. Gripping the glass container tightly in one hand, Alex turned the bottle sideways and chopped the neck of the bottle off with a slap from her other metal-encased hand. The strange yellow potion began to slosh out and quickly Alex brought the bottle up to her face. Only her helmet had no slot for her mouth. In a flash of lazy, exhausted, sloppy “brilliance” Alex brought the bottle up to one of the sockets for her eyes and let the potion pour down onto her face. She opened her mouth and let the potion flow down into it with assistance from her tongue. As soon as she got the first clumsy swallow of the potion, and her head began to clear, Alex regretted a lot of the decisions she had just made. The woman had not been lying, the potion tasted as thick as cough syrup and twice as bitter. Her whole body shuddered in disgust, and she gagged once but forced herself not to vomit as she drank the rest and could smell its pungent aroma from where it had gotten on the inside of her helmet, and dribbled down her chin.

Still, results were results. Alex's meter had raised enough to stop blinking alarmingly red. Her body still felt sore and achy but she had energy enough to stand. “You have my thanks.” she tried to say over the storm, only to have thunder completely consume her words. “THANK YOU.” she shouted this time, over the storm and quickly added “LEAD THE WAY.”

There would be time enough for pleasant and proper conversation and introductions when they got out of the rain. The thought of getting someplace possibly warmer and drier made Alex shiver a little in her armor at the realization of just how cold she was getting now that the action had died down. So she did her best not to knock over the taller woman as they helped her to her feet and they did their best to support each other as they limped their way around the hillside and to a fissure in the rocky surface of the mountain. Alex shivered again as she looked at the crevice. The last time she entered a cave in this region.... it was not something she wanted to remember, let alone re-live. Still she forced back the memory of that time, and followed the woman inside.

The cave was not too deep. A torch from Alex's inventory allowed them to see that. It seemed to be abandoned by any wildlife, and was large enough for the two of them to retreat into it, while also making the storm less loud. A bit of mutual rummaging through inventories later and they had an oilcloth strung up and securely fastened over most of the entrance to the cave, and had just gotten a proper fire lit in the back so that both of them could easily see and begin the process of making their temporary shelter a warmer place to be.

When they were done with the small amount of busywork, there was an awkward silent pause between the two strangers that Alex broke with a clearing of her throat.

“I am Alex Marquardt. Thanks for all your help back there.” Alex's words sounded sincere but awkward, in addition to their usual metallic echoing quality. It was normally easy for her to just barge in and introduce herself to a group as a hero and defender, but this time it felt strange and clumsy. Probably because introductions normally came before mutual combat and life saving endeavors. Not after.

 

Despite knowing full well why the stranger struggled, Solaria stifled a giggle that wanted to escape by covering her lips until she drank a potion of her own- the same kind, the same disgusting taste. Her lips just slightly puckered, showing signs that this was not nearly as gross as others she'd tasted or made. If anything, this one was actually on the tastier side. Tasty with a slick, awkward coating on her throat from the texture.

After hearing the stranger's cries to lead the way, she couldn't be bothered to fight the thunder and used body language the best she could to show to follow her- and that she clearly still wanted to help. It wasn't a long distance, but with the rain drenching her clothes it felt far more of a struggle. When they finally got to the cave, she took a moment to collapse to the ground, griping audibly to her ally. "Ugh... This rain is just too much... I'm gonna get sick at this rate..." Could you actually get sick in this game? Solaria didn't want to find out, though she highly assumed the possibility was there.

They had torches and some other general supplies when pooled together, and one of the things Solaria had noticed in their pile of possibly useful survival gear was an old-timey tarp- one she remembered getting as loot from a giant monster recently, though she was still trying to figure out how it was made into a proper oilcloth by the system in an instant.

"This should help us keep the noise and wind out," she thought aloud, picking it up and moving to set it up as a screen by the cavern entrance. Over her shoulder, she called to the stranger to set up the fire, because there was no way Solaria could manage that with her limited skill set. Sure, she didn't know the armored Faerin's skills either outside her shield techniques- but she was more likely to manage than Solaria was. She was useless with a fire without a ticking bunsen burner or something of the sort.

She was starting to regret not having a portable one away from her shop, as she thought it over.

Their setting up was flawlessly finished in the Yladian's mind. Her body crumbled below her with relief as she fell near the fire, moving to undo the buckles on her shoes to pull them off along with her long socks. "Don't mind me, I won't strip completely. I just don't wanna keep these wet clothes on too much, so I'm layering down a bit."

It was during the awkward silence- which she presumed was due to her getting to just the lower level dress she had, which was barely damp compared to her outer layers of Victorian styled garb- that she finally found out her combat comrade's name. "Alex Mur- how do you say that again?" A timid laugh left her lips as she felt her face flush idly, trying to make sense of the name. She repeated it over and over in her head before she was able to say it properly, following up with her own.

"I'm Solaria. The pleasure's all mine. After all, you did a fair amount of work watching my six too. I'm lucky I bumped into you, all points considered."

 

Alex's cheeks had flushed just slightly pinker inside her helmet as she realized her companion had stripped down to their under layers but what little flustered embarrassment there had been, had passed very quickly. After all, they were both girls, and her under layers were nothing untoward. In fact it had been an intelligent and reasonable thing to do.

Intelligent and reasonable did not appear to be the course Alex was ready to follow herself as she continued to stand in her soaking armor, her personal temperature gague warning her that proximity to the fire was only slowly helping due to all the layers it had to work through to warm her frigid core.

Alex did her best not to laugh as well when her new acquaintance stumbled over her last name, and quickly pronounced it correctly for her. Some people had difficulty getting their tongue around Marquardt. Mostly people whose meatspace players were not German or Scandinavian.

“Well met, Solaria. It was a fortuitous turn for us both that we stumbled together into the knoll's trap as opposed to alone. I feel it may well have been the end of me otherwise. But instead of a cruel fate it seems we have instead found friends. For that I am most grateful.” Alex's voice continued to echo metallicly within her helmet, but even that distortion did not hide the occasional involuntarily shiver.

Trying to play it off dismissively she added “Now if only the heat could find me just as easily, all would be well. Perhaps a more lively conversation could take my mind off the damp and cold while the fire does its work.”

Alex glanced away from the flames and towards where Solaria's equipment was resting. The long sword she carried reminding her of what skill it must have been wielded with to have carried Solaria through the fight with five ferocious knolls.

“You handle your sword well, what b-brought you out to th-this place.” Alex's stutter due to cold became more noticeable the longer she stood as the heat of all their exertion and the distraction of her mind faded away to tell her just how cold and wet it had gotten within her cumbersome armor.

 

It wasn't as if Solaria hadn't noticed the stranger's seeming discontent with taking off a layer or two of their metallic coating. In a way, the Yladian could only imagine it being quite warm in there, making her want to sneak into the armor herself- if there'd been room, of course. She was too tall to fit such things, and it just didn't really fit her methods in general. She'd live with lighter armor, overall. Leather was fine and dandy, wasn't it?

"It would've been the end for either of us. They were hard enough with two people. Alone? I don't know how I got as far as I did on my own, and I'm not sure I want to try it ever again."

She laughed a bit as she let out the truth, a smile on her face from being deemed a 'friend' so quickly. It was something she always worked for, but a title rarely earned so soon. She'd have preferred better circumstances to have met, but it was true there was luck in the mix.

"Still, the fire would warm you up faster if you took off some of that armor. I know it might be embarrassing to strip, but I promise not to stare, you know." Her words were said unusually flat, no real cheer or solemnity to them at all. They were simple words based on her personal interest in the fellow's health.

"I may not look it, but I'm a nursing student. I know even more than normal just how bad wet clothes are for hypothermia. The faster you get out of wet linens, the better. You're just going to let the cold seep further into your bones the way you are now. Heck, if I really want to warm up, I should be naked. But... I suppose even I have my limits, huh?"

Not pushing the particular conversation further, she'd happily grant Alex's request for more active conversation- at least for the moment. Distraction wasn't necessarily bad for the body either, after all. In fact, this entire world was partially meant to be one, wasn't it? It was what got her playing in the first place, at least. A way to relieve the stresses of life weighing her down by distracting her self from them.

How wrong she'd been to think that was all it would be to her.

"Oh, you think so? Well... I do have a pretty high level with my slash mastery, but... I've been taking kendo for a number of years in our world, too, so it kind of ends up showing in my swordplay in game. I guess it's muscle memory related? I do my best work when I'm using a more kendo-styled stance. I think it's helping me at kendo practice too, though. Sadly can't get illumancy the same way. It'd be pretty handy, y'know?"

 

As fascinated as Ursula might have been to learn how the real life of a fellow player affected their combat ability and choices, she was having difficulty listening. As both Ursula, and Alex, she was much too distraught by the other prospect they had proposed.

“T-T-Take off my armor?!” Alex repeated dumbly stuttering from both surprise and the cold. “N-No I c-couldn't. I mean I-I-I c-can't!” Alex's cheeks felt hot despite how her temperature gauge informed her that this could not be farther from the truth. The numbers were still slowly dropping. A grim and stern way of forcing Alex to make the distinction between would not, and could not.

“W-well I-I-I mean I can. I j-j-ju-just w-w-on't. Shouldn't!” Alex was quick to correct herself despite her shivers. Surely this would go away. The fire should be more than enough to heat its way through metal plating, leather linings, and thoroughly soaked wool and cotton padding. Right? Alex looked down at her gauntleted hands. Water had soaked her so thoroughly because of how long she had spent in the downpour, that even her gauntlets had taken on the cold and her fingers were numb. Unsure what to do with her hands as she was trying to shift attention off herself Alex tapped her metal clad fingertips together in a gesture she hoped was natural.

“I'll be f-f-fine s-soon. I'm sh-sure.” Alex insisted, despite the stammering in her voice putting more evidence to the contrary. After all the nurse was right. Hypothermia was not something you wanted to play with. But this was a video game right? In reality Alex knew there was always a divide between systems and reality, even in sophisticated interfaces like Terrasphere. Surely any time now the heat from the fire system would count enough to begin to warm her. She just had to tough it out. Her temperature gauge disagreed. “A l-little c-c-c-cold won't st-stop me!”

Alex sneezed inside her helmet.

 

Solaria felt her lips curl into a pout, downward pointing as she kept herself focused on the issue at hand: the armor that was quite clearly ruining any chances Alex had of surviving this storm. This was a major issue- particularly for someone with a martyr complex as deeply rooted as an ocean trench. There was no way in hell the elf could let this small fellow die from the freezing temperatures of the rain drenching them inside.

In hopes of getting her way and protecting her new friend, she tugged on just the metal glove that covered the small frame's hand. "Sorry, but I'm a nurse in training. I won't take no for an answer. You're going to let me protect you- even if it means showing me your face. If it'll help, I wont't look. But I'm at least making you take off your gauntlet to start the process. After that..."

She let her voice trail off, her hands tightly squeezing the gauntlet in hopes that the person inside would feel her warmth, her sense of urgency, passing through the tight grip. She held it as strongly as she would the hilt of her blade, and that was a pretty rough hold overall.

"I don't know what you're afraid of me seeing, but I promise you... I won't laugh, I won't judge you... I just want to see you healthy. And that sneeze is proof this needs to be taken off pronto. No lying to your nurse."

 

Alex jumped back and wrenched her hand away from Solaria as if she'd touched a hot stove. The jolt of shock and surprise sent her pulse racing at the threat of someone stripping away her armor, her protection that shielded her from the world in so many ways. Her grip had been like a vice, but Alex's fear had been greater and her knowledge that the thumb was the weakest point of any grasp had made it possible for her to break free. “Alright. ALRIGHT!” Alex called out her acceptance of her fate as she pulled away. Her agreement seemed to be enough to slow down the larger person's advance.

“I'll t-take off my armor. J-j-just... you can't l-look. P-promise?” Alex clutched her hands close to herself while she asked the question, as if afraid the other woman would make another move for her extremities. Despite her cringing and cowardice, she remained resolute until Solaria agreed to her terms. Alex made no move to disarm any part of herself until the yladian turned around to face the wall. Only then, did she begin the process of disarming.

When she felt safe enough to proceed the first thing Alex did was remove her gauntlets. They clattered nosily on the floor. Hesitating, her eyes darted from the metal plated gloves to the other girl, to see if they had turned around on instinct, but it seemed that Solaria was a woman of her word. So Alex continued. Piece by piece the complex layers of excessive armor were shed and allowed to fall to the floor bit by bit. Heavy thudding of larger plates falling or being set on the ground were preceded by the sounds of belts and fasteners loosening and unlatching. All that was followed by the particularly jangley sound of her chain shirt under-layer being carefully removed and set up as best she could in the cave, to allow it to dry.

“No peeking!” Alex called out at one point, as she thought she saw the Yladian move. Her voice still echoed metallicly, because she had put her helmet back on her head after removing the chain mail. However it did sound slightly different than when her armor was on, just a little less muffled.

Thanks to the layers of moisture that had gotten through, all the clothing Alex had under the armor was completely soaked through. With her torso free from the cumbersome weight of most of the armor her body felt strangely free,and more mobile than she was used to. However any desire to explore this mobility was curved by the stiffness that racked her body and the aches and pains that shot through her limbs as a form of objection both to the cold she had been subjected to, and the deep bruises that painted her flesh in various places. The chill of open air touching her skin beyond her face felt almost completely foreign when it was not the privacy of a tent or inn room to herself. Still the proximity to the fire was much more noticeable outside of her frigid layers and helped to encourage Alex to continue disarming.

Her upper body was clad only in a plain white satin camisole with a bit of lace trim. A simple undergarment / nightwear piece she'd had the foresight to purchase back during a more optimistic time, when she'd told herself she wouldn't always hide from the world inside her armor. The delicate feminine fabric seemed to clash starkly with the large and weighty helmet on her head, and the layers of armor and cloth that still shielded her entire lower body.

“You're right It's better th-this way, warmer at l-least.” her stammer had diminished some already as her body was slowly warming up. A process that was sure to become faster as Alex finished peeling away the soaked and frigid layers. Her skin seemed paler than she remembered it being, but Alex chalked this up to the cold as she freed herself from her faulds and bent at the waist to unfasten her greaves.

Finally able to rid her sabatons from her boots, Alex noticed a noticeable pain in one leg and winced as she began to move. Inside there were traces of red on the inside of the left sabaton, and when she removed the boot from that foot, these were no longer traces. Her foot was covered in red. Blood had mixed with water and Alex remembered the warm sensation running down her leg from during the fight. It seemed the gnolls had scored a better hit than she had been willing to believe.

“Ow! Qwowowow!” she hissed under her breath as she shifted to a seated position and slowly, painfully, managed to free herself from the chain pants, and other layers covering her bottom half. Some light peach undergarments were all that remained to preserve her modesty. While the camisole had a matching pair of bloomers to go with it, Alex did not want to put them on with her leg in its current state, as it would only stain the fine fabric red. She did not have a good enough grasp on her more magical talents to treat this kind of injury, there was only one thing to be done about it.

“O-oh kay... I... I think I need your help, BUT y-you have to promise.... you can't tell anyone... you can't tell anyone what I look like.” Alex bit her lip, still wearing her helmet, and waited for an answer trying to ignore how childish she felt.