Ettamri Belarence

---

She sighed, before sitting on the grass.

"Alright," Ettamri started speaking to everyone, loudly this time, enough for everyone to hear her. She wasn't straining much to raise her voice, but her voice was nonetheless much much louder, as if even her lungs was stronger than normal. "We take a short break, before we resume marching towards our next bounty. Gather what you can, prepare what you can, for we might need to camp later on."

The next one... should be the undead adventurers... if no one had already beaten them to the bounty. It will be a problem, for the rest of those small fries in her party; two of them might even die. But that will not do, she still needs them for the rest of the bounties. The priest was a given, considering her skill, but if the bladedancer or thief died, that wouldn't be much of a loss. But... if they all manage to survive, those undead adventurers might have something useful to be scavenged. The hunter... well the hunter had some promise at least, so perhaps...

She shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts.

"First... preparations..." Ettamri started packing everything in preparation for the next march, feeling at least some bits of gratitude for the hunter retrieving her lance for her. Horsey was already pacing around leisurely trying to eat the choicest of grass, so she'll let him do that for a bit more.

The chewy toad meat was good. It was something different from the cheap bread Ash had been subsiding on for weeks. That was enough to propel it from 'kind of bad' to 'good enough'. Again, she had left a small portion for Kur-Inuus, even after she had cooked enough meat for all of them. It wasn't a full meal, but it was enough to keep energy up. It was more calories than if she didn't eat any.

Now was the time to cleave and chop some skin off. Carefully, she hewed ragged lines into the skin of the toad. Forming a rectangle of cuts, she carefully pulled the sheet of flesh off. After all, she didn't quite want to mess her hands up from whatever caustic goo remained. What use was someone who couldn't use their hands, after all. It wasn't cut very well, though. If she had a proper knife, if she had a river nearby, if she had this, if she had that. She was pretty much running off of nothing. More of an janky trapezoid rather than a rectangle. Still, it was a sheet that she rolled up into something she could easily carry with her.

They had felled the toad in no time. The act of which made Ash feel incompetent. Severely. The three of them could barely manage to kill a simple goblin. Sure, it was their first time. But they were absolutely demolished by the goblin. It was horrible. And here came the knight, able to easily fell a massive toad in less than ten seconds.

Incompetence thy name was Ash.

Still, she followed these feelings. If it meant she would get money and a fraction of safety, she would easily lower her pride below the earth. Subterranean pride.

He chewed. He swallowed. He savored every bite. After all, who knew when he’d get another one? The only thing he found himself wishing for was some bread, though that was a goal far on the horizon for someone capable of actually making money. Too bad. This would make a great sandwich. Then again, maybe bread would make him even thirstier than he already was.

Despite having had little to no part in the victory, Matteo couldn’t help but feel his spirits rising. It was secondhand success, but damn it, it was still a success. They hadn’t died. He hadn’t died, despite being weak and half-starved and brand new at this entire bounty-hunting business. There were benefits to being protected by more experienced veterans at this craft. Matteo knew instinctively that if Gwyn and Ettamri had been there by the little stream when the two goblins had jumped them, the story would have been very different.

His brief high was dashed when the lady knight made it very clear that their day was not over, however. Matteo felt immediately inclined to argue and couldn’t quite catch his incredulous “Another one?” in time before it slipped out. The relief he’d been feeling at having the first bounty over and done with vanished as he pictured going through the experience all over again. Of course, we’re taking a break, but still… He hadn’t been doing anything more strenuous than waving down passerby for the last several days. Just turning back and retracing their steps to Andeave sounded exhausting.

But he’d begged for this, and they needed it, so Matteo hastily rephrased. “Ah, I mean, of course. I’m sure we can do that, don’t you agree?” he glanced casually at Ash (who was collecting toad skin) and Muu (who thankfully looked like a real person again.) “Eating should get our strength up. What direction do we head next towards the, ah, target?” This was his passive way of asking what the next bounty was. He hadn’t expected the experienced duo to actually take them on, so (as usual) Matteo hadn’t done his homework.

Ettamri Belarence

---

"Oi! When you're done, pack the meat up for later. Save me some of the cooked ones too." She shouted towards the hunter, now on back on Horsy, who seemed impatient to set off. "We might be able to get there before it gets dark. Our chances against the undead becomes much lower then."

Ettamri had already finished packing up, and cleaned off most of the traces of the fight. After all, she wasn't gutting a frog or had unpacked anything; she certainly didn't need to bring out her traveling bag to fight a toad after all. She was very sure a tent wouldn't be much good against a giant creature.

"Sunface, if you're done, get ready, and gather the rest of the lowlives around you. Should at least serve as a meat shield if there's an ambush." She muttered the last part under her breath.

“Eating should get our strength up. What direction do we head next towards the, ah, target?"

"Westerly, towards the old mines." She turned her gaze towards the thief. "Do not fail this time. You were lucky enough the priest saw fit to save you, but against these, show that sort of weakness again and you'll find yourself disemboweled."

She left it ambiguous about who would be doing the disemboweling, now waiting impatiently for the rest to get ready so they can march again.

While Muu felt, indeed, better, she certainly didn't feel great. Everybody did something. Everyone was useful. But she? Nothing. There was nothing she could do. This was bad. The entire trip was terrible. Not to mention that the hag's words hurt. Even if they were true.

Ultimately, Muu could only find some solace in the healer's words. She was a nice person. A warm person. But these words weren't enough for Muu to gather enough courage to simply take some of the food. Too scared, she was, of the potential backlash of filling her belly as the one adventurer who had done no work at all.

Some ate. Some didn’t. The difference it made was marked.

With food in their stomachs, Ash and Matteo made good time as they followed after Ettamri, who, on horseback, was still the one that covered the most ground, the most easily. For all the dangers presented in their battle against the giant toad, the fight itself had been over almost immediately, with the few injuries accumulated wiped away by their priest. As they headed northwest through the plains, the thief and the hunter could even spare a bit of time to enjoy the heavy scenery, green grass contrasted to thick clouds. Behind them, Muu, with her muscles atrophied over seven days of unconsciousness and no substantial food to keep her engine going, marched at a slower pace. The pain was gone, but the memory of it remained like the afterimage of a lightning bolt, and the wind that blew over the plain seemed sharper than it used to be, slicing into freshly regenerated flesh. She was still able to keep up, however flagging her stamina was.

As the adventurers travelled in relative silence, however, the rising winds made it clear that the weather was not to last. The first drops of rain came unassumingly, bouncing off the tip of Gwyn’s mask, but from there, the deluge began, sheets of rain pouring from the heavens, followed by the unpleasant chill of damp clothing and mud, as the plains turned marshy from precipitation.

Really, it was a question, ultimately, of what they, no, of what Ettamri valued. Arriving at their destination faster, or keeping dry? At least, in such weather, starting a fire to dry off was going to be fairly unlikely.

Ettamri Belarence

---

She looked upwards towards the rain with displeasure. Ettamri could simply reach backwards and unfurl the travelling cloak from her travelling gear, which she did almost immediately. But for the rest... well, she could see some of them had barely anything on them. What sort of idiots go out without a small travelling pack? One of the very basics was any sort of cloaks, of which she was sure those smelly woollen cloth squares was available for cheap. That said, the best decision right now would be...

"Tch... Of all the times for rain... Oi, if you still have that toad skin, and if none of you have your own cloak, you best huddle under it while we keep moving." A moment of pause, as she took a deep breath, before continuing. "And one of you... who don't have a cloak, take my hand. If.. If you wish for my assistance."

The reason for keeping on the move was very very simple.

Meadows and plains like these has a tendency to become very very muddy once it rained, and once the surface has been stepped on by enough feet. It would become a quagmire of mud, and a nightmare to deal with if one were to pitch a tent upon it. Considering her experiences alone in the field before, it didn't take much of a genius to figure that out. They would need something solid to camp on, like in a small cave or in the forest where the canopy can be taken advantage of, and the roots of trees could be sat upon.

Ash held the toad skin above her head with what little pride remained. With the sudden rain pouring down on them, the disadvantage turned to advantage as the skin slowly but surely lost the layers of mud and blood. While the rectangle she cut wasn't huge (at least, compared to the froad), it was large enough for two people, three if they really tried.

While visibility was cut, smells were also a victim of obfuscation. This meant that Ash didn't have to smell that eye. It was pleasant. The feeling of mud on her shoes and water permeating throughout her clothes wasn't a bad feeling. It was uncomfortable for sure, but it beat many things. For instance, getting stabbed by a goblin. The rainwater was also pretty nice. With her head leaning out from underneath the safety of the toad skin, she could drink the occasional collection of raindrops. It was water and it was nice.

Well, it was the calm before the storm. Or possibly, the storm before the even bigger storm of skeletons and zombies.

How many hunts did the hag plan to do again? Two, three? Or maybe even four? Despite setting one foot in front of the other, over and over again, like a machine, the brunette's hair thoughts were elsewhere. Scattered. The singing sensation that still lingered on her face was actually a warm welcome compared to the dead silence that hung over the group.

As it started to rain, the girl simply pulled up her trusty muffler. At least something. She couldn't really do anything about the rain, much less complain, and as Ettamri offered help, her face sank even deeper into the crimson red. Surely, it was just an evil ploy of hers!

Matteo was perfectly content to enjoy the safety of their locally provided toad-skin umbrella, but he was a little curious about what assistance Etramri might actually provide. Since he was a little taller than Ash and it was slightly awkward to hunch under the ranger’s flapping animal skin, he ducked out and reached up innocently for the knight’s hand. If she didn’t break his wrist, maybe he’d actually be treated to a respite from the downpour. If it had been up to him he would have suggested they stop and look for shelter, but Matteo was just a lowly beggar looking for handouts from those much more qualified than him. ”I don’t have a cloak,” he said innocently. The rain probably could have washed the stink off him, but he didn’t care. It was also nice that Muu hadn’t taken the proffered bait, since she was the most vulnerable one. More charity for him! ”I appreciate it.”

Rainfall continued, turning the plains into a marsh. Boots squelched against the mud, streams fell down makeshift umbrellas, and all around, the smell of the wolrd filled their senses. A verdant, mossy aroma that only intensified as they got closer and closer to the treeline. Pushing forward may not have been the best idea, but as muddied dirt turned into soft, bouncy moss, travelling became more pleasant, at the very least. Now, it was only going to be another half hour or so of travel before they reached what remained of the Redstone Mines.

What plans they'd wish to concoct would have to happen now. With Ettamri's steed, a stealthy approach was going to be rather unfeasible, no matter how dulled the senses of an undead may be.

Ettamri Belarence

---

She pulled him up, towards the saddle in front of her, before spreading her cloak wider, covering both him and her, facilitated by her height and size. It wasn't a move she was fond of doing, but it was something she needed to do to ensure they'd be healthy. Healthy enough to face the undead in front of them. That was all. Being in front of the group meant she didn't see the blade dancer sulking behind them.

They rode in silence for a while, the smell of damn earth and the fresh smell of the forest filling her nostrils as they got further. Soon however, she could see the remains of what seemed to be the mine they were looking for. There were dillapitaded buildings outside, probably the place where they stashed whatever they found and a house for the foreman to record their gains and work in. There should be a bit more buildings for the miners to sleep in, but that was probably either inside the mine itself, or it was one of those buildings that had fallen to no more than rotten planks.

"We near the place. Rejoice, you worms, when we finish off those undead, we make camp and rest for the day." There was but a hint of strain in her voice by now.

"I will go first. You, Sunface, will get the magic caster. You lot help her take them down, then we can mop up the rest."

A simple plan, but it meant... .

Well, she was sure she could handle it. Those fools will get gutted the moment they try something against those trained soldiers turned undead.

The squishing of mud and the uncertainty of the ground certainly wasn't the best, but Ash couldn't help but feel brief moments of pleasure from the rain. The muffled steps, the scent of earth, fauna, and rainwater, the cool chills. While having below the shins soaked was unpleasant, the feeling often vanished as an unnatural calmness took place. Only moments before, they were hunting a massive frog that could kill them in one hit. Now, they were simply together in the world. No enemies in sight to make her remember the harshness of the world. It was pleasant.

Ettamri proved herself to be capable - a god amongst rats as she gave the battle tactics going into the next fight. It was a plan. That's what Ash knew. She wasn't experienced enough to know what a good plan was. Having their fierce knight go in to do most of the work while the rest of them assisted their healer in taking down their caster. The entire plan was to get a quick advantage and push it until they won.

"Okay." The simple response was enough. There was no point in dwelling on such things.

To claim their strategy had been hashed out was an understatement, but when less than half the team could be viewed as ‘competent’, perhaps it was for the best that Ettamri carried the greatest burden in the upcoming fight. This time, at least, they were up against creatures that weren’t the size of a boulder. This time, at least, they didn’t have to worry about anything like tongues with massive range or poisonous secretions from the skin.

Shedding their ill-gotten goods from their last attack, the group approached as carefully as they could, as close as they could when one of them was a mounted knight in shining, white armor.

Once upon a time, the Redstone Mines had been constructed in search for deposits of iron and coal. The mountains around Andeave had been thoroughly quarried to construct the great walls of the fortress-city, but no mineral deposits were found in the area, prompting great difficulty for craftsmen who had come to the new continent for new materials. To meet their demands, mages contracted with earth spirits discovered an area where many earth spirits converged, and work began on the construction of a mine. But frequent monster attacks within the forests, combined with low initial gains, ended the project soon enough, leaving nothing but an opening in a mountain and a couple of half-rotten shanties sticking around.

Any bit of humanity’s mistakes, however, could be used as cover.

Ettamri, atop her steed, burst through the treeline first, her mighty mount bounding over the bushes before thundering down the gravelly path. The information had been good, and the habits of the undead were usually predictable: having being left where they died, they now solely roamed where they died. Though their deaths must have been recent, the lingering curse of the King of Corpses had already stripped them of much of their flesh, leaving behind skeletons with skin drawn taut over their bones, gaping, black holes where their eyes once were. Two warriors surged to meet her in battle, one bearing a shield and spear, while another hefted his well-used battle axe. Death may had come upon them, but the skills they had in life was still present, and warriors on the Empire’s frontier were well-accustomed to fighting creatures larger than themselves.

As all eyes were drawn towards Ettamri, Gwyn clutched her staff, leading the others as they skirted around the perimeters. Her black robes were being soaked through, now that she had discarded her cloak in favor of mobility, but the chill kept her calm. Another downtrodden shanty stood before them and the mage, who was accompanied still by a swordsman in rusted chainmail.

The threat of a single foe didn’t mean they would discard all protection for their mage. Their battle instincts were sharp, and they were once experienced. It had only been luck that failed this particular group of Silver Moon recruits.

But each second wasted meant more time for the mage to act.

So Gwyn turned to her junior soldiers with a small, reassuring smile, before breaking off into a sprint, mud splattering her boots as she rushed down towards the mage.

Ettamri Belarence

---

A charge straight towards the middle of the group.

Her blood was beating.

She would have taken the lance first, but she wasn't an idiot. With her strength, and the greatsword's reach, it was better than a lance for this particular encounter. Just as she almost reached the two undead who moved to intercept her, she jerked her legs, Horsey moving immediately to rear towards the right, veering away from the reach of their weapons. With her left hand gripping the sword, it swept out towards the spear and the shield, aiming to simply crush the weapon, its hand holding the spear, and its protection at the same time.

There was no thinking, just a job needing to be done. And if the others chickened out? Well, she'll just ride them down and kill them herself.

"If the spear and axe rush Ettamri and the sword goes for Gwyn and I," Ash whispered to her cohorts, "rush the mage. Matteo, try to sneak around to the mage anyways."

The natural quiet of the rain was a great way to remain unnoticed. Abusing Ettamri's wild charge towards the part of undead, Ash quickly dashed towards the next shanty. Gwyn took the vanguard alone there. With Ash there, she could protect both Gwyn and Ettamri. Hurriedly, she drew her bow and nocked an arrow. This one was meant for the mage. However, it wasn't meant to kill the mage. Ash was unsure if a simple hunting bow could pierce the skull of an undead, or even if it would damage it. Instead, it was meant to interrupt whatever magic it would cast. The second she saw the mage cast something, she would fire the arrow. In case the undead with the sword charged at her and Gwyn, she would drop the bow and defend their healer.

Ettamri's armour could probably take a few blows of an axe and spear. Magic was an entirely different story. If it was a powerful spell or debilitating effect, that would mean that Ettamri would be harmed enough for the axe and spear user to clean up.

As they snuck through the thicket, it became soon apparent who the most important enemy was. Something inside her told her that a mage was likely the most dangerous target. And as now even those people she thought, hoped, to be closer to her than at least the scary woman, she couldn't deny it hurt a bit.

It was just a little thing. Not even important in the grand scheme of things, yet, it had been enough. Added with everything else together, as being hungry and drenched clearly didn't help, the usually timid girl could feel anger welling up inside her. It wasn't really directed towards the undead, even her own group - with the exception of one single sunshine.

Part of her wanted the priestess to smile at her. To praise her. To acknowledge her. No matter what it would cost. And right now, her anger turned into a double-edged sword. She was determined, but likely also reckless.

Finding this sort of resolve didn't even take all too long. With eyes that wanted to hurt something, Muu drew her scimitar and rushed with firm steps towards the caster and the swordsman.

Gwyn shot past the first shanty, then the second, her arrival impossible to miss. Sliding the grip of her staff down to the very base, she hefted it back as the swordsman surged forward, blade at the ready.

“Bash!”

At maximum reach, her staff far out-ranged that of a sword, and with all the momentum gathered in the head, any attempt to block would be thwarted as well. There was an echoing crack as it smashed into the skull, bits of bone bursting off, but while such an attack may be crippling for a living being, the undead warrior shrugged it off, delivering a sweeping swing that forced Gwyn to stop as well. For a moment, priest and undead were stalemated.

But then, a gurgling melody, a perversion of an incantation to force a contracted elemental to act, rang through the air. Ash’s bowstring twanged in response, an arrow flying into the eye socket of the undead mage. Such action was meaningless though. The undead felt no pain and could not be stopped even when pulverized into bits. Only with the blessing of Alri-Qua could those cursed by the King of Corpses be put to rest. And Ash’s arrow certainly wasn’t anything blessed by the First Light.

As Muu rushed in, a wave of cold emanated from the undead mage, the wet ground beneath freezing over, slick. Suddenly, her violent ambition worked against her, her feet finding little purchase as she slipped and slid towards her opponent. But natural athleticism saved her from a fall, and she slammed into the shanty instead, keeping herself upright in the process.

Ettamri was less fortunate. Her greatsword roared through the air, vicious and unrelenting, as her steed reared to the side, but the undead warriors responded in kind, hopping towards their right. The tip of her sword clanged against the shield of the spearman, leaving a scar birthed from sparks, but no greater damage was dealt. They had done well enough, ensuring that Ettamri couldn’t charge straight into their mage, and now, their diversionary tactics bore fruit: as thick ice coated the area around them, the white warrior’s steed couldn’t keep on its feet anymore and tumbled downed, the rider falling with it. It was fortunate, at least, that she hadn’t been crushed under the weight of her own steed, but now grounded, Ettamri faced the spearman on equal footing, as the axe wielder rushed down towards Muu, who was still trying to find her own balance on the icy terrain.

Matteo, meanwhile, stayed where he was, all under the guise of being stealthy. He probably should do something soon, but he was a thief, and no one in the party had asked him to sneak ahead or anything. It wasn’t even like his small knife could do anything against this group of unbleeding, undying monstrosities.

So for now, he bid his time in the back, hoping that his more combat-savvy party members would be able to figure something out.

Ettamri Belarence

---

Her temper flared immediately as soon as Horsey fell over. How dare they!

"COME AT ME YOU CRETINS!" She roared as soon as she got up, her voice ringing like a clap of thunder. If her companions thought she was loud before, now her voice was more akin to an explosion, blasting through the area. The ice did not matter, for she took in a deep breath, before slamming her feet onto it, exhaling her breath through clenched teeth as she sought to simply cleave through the shield, the skeleton and its weapon with her strength and weight behind her sword.

Her plan failed. Skeletons were much tougher than she had thought. They were unstoppable forces of malediction. Her plan instantly went into stage two. Discarding her bow to the ground (as it as entirely useless), she leapt to Gwyn's aid. If Gwyn needed the time to bless the 'un' out of undeath, then Ash would buy her that time. Sword vs Machete wasn't the most difficult match up. The large size of the sword made it easier to block, as compared to the dagger of a goblin. Even if the blows were harder, she would stop them. She could do that much, at least. After all, she considered herself stronger than the healer. If they were evenly matched, then Ash could easily deal with the sword skeleton. Enough time, at least, for Gwyn to do what she had to do.