Chapter 7: Unlikely Hero’s

"That was spectacular, brother." Graum complimented, appreciating the talent that he lacked.

"Hey, where did the girls go?" Bjorn asked looking around. All he could see was goblin corpses and trees.

"That way." Graum pointed where he sensed the most negative auras; further into goblin territory..

"Alright let's follow them." Bjorn went to follow Graum's directions but was stopped.

"Look. I know you want to be a hero and all, but we're here ... to kill." Graum's tone was low and harsh.

"I haven't forgotten. It's just....when I saw them fighting...they looked like us.." Bjorn started to explain but stopped. His expression went blank as his memory took him back to days long since past.

"I understand." Graum replied gently pushing his fist into Bjorn's shoulder.

"Thanks, now lets be good for a change." Bjorn regained his composure with a smug grin. They both took a deep breath before proceeding further. Bjorn took the lead into the foliage; Graum followed a few steps behind.

They found themselves at the edge of a clearing, at the center stood a single stone boulder surrounded by an empty grassy field.

"Brother, there." Graum pointed near the boulder where the girls were fighting another group of goblins.

"Let's go help them!" Bjorn chirped then took a step forward.

"No." Graum grabbed Bjorn's shoulder.

"But why?" Bjorn asked sadly.

"Earlier you said we had to help them. But look..." Graum pointed towards the Imalidae girls fighting off the goblins. "They're fighting well."

"..and freaking beautiful." Bjorn acknowledged, encouraging Graum to look closer.

One of the girls had purple free flowing shoulder length hair with orange streaks with purple cat-like ears atop her head. She wore two gauntlets as weapons and seamlessly danced between her victims as she landed deadly strike after strike. She wore some sort of metal breastplate that gleamed against the sun's reflection, paired with leather greaves that were reinforced with the same looking metal. It was light armor overall. Quite strange for a brawler... however it gave her the mobility she needed to effortlessly evade enemy attacks.

The other girl stood on top of the boulder. She too had purple hair but with orange tips at the ends of her hair which she wore in braids. Her ears were more fox-like; tall and pointy. Using a short bow, she let loose arrow after arrow, each shot either killed its target or maimed its victim so her partner could finish the job. She wore traditional elven attire with some sort of metal breast plate overtop, an affixed pauldron on her left shoulder, with leather bracers and boots.

"They are incredible." Graum whispered aloud.

"..their fighting styles complement each other pretty well." Bjorn added. As they watched the two Imalidaes slay multiple goblins.

..Until mighty roars pierced their concentration..

"Hobs.." Bjorn gritted angrily clarifying the origin of the roar. Shortly after, multiple hobgoblins came barreling out of the tree line opposite from Bjorn and Graum.

"That's unfortunate, but they appear to be capable..we best be going." Graum sighed turning around to walk away. Bjorn grabbed his shoulder before he was out of reach.

"Brother..." Bjorn's tone was soft and stern. "We have to help...we know what it's like facing seemingly impossible odds."

Graum looked over his shoulder. Bjorn hung his head low trying to conceal his facial expression.

Though Bjorn tried, he could could not hide the pain in his eyes. The kind that comes from being too helpless and too weak to protect the ones close to you. A pain that Graum and Bjorn both shared.

"Damn you brother.." Graum gritted.

"Please," Bjorn's tone was soft. "For their sake and ours."

"You make... a valid point." Graum gritted trying to convince himself to deny the comforting feeling welling up inside.

Bjorn and Graum turned their attention back to the Imalidae just in time to see the girl on the boulder take an arrow in the shoulder.

The agile brawler noticed her injured companion which distracted her from the surrounding goblins. One goblin took advantage of the brawlers misplaced attention and plunged a spear into her side.

"Noo!!!" Bjorn roared out in anger barreling towards the goblins, greatsword at the ready.

Graum felt his heart sink and in the blink of an eye the memory of someone dear to him flashed before his eyes.

"Not again.." Graum felt like a rock had dropped in his gut. The unyielding anger that sparked action in Bjorn now found its way to Graum. He sprang from the tree line consolidating the surrounding shadows into a bow.

*Shadow Creation: Bow of Scopaesthesia*

"You damed animals!" Bjorn roared hurled his great sword at the goblins, cutting two of them in half. Bjorn closed the distance between himself and his great sword while Graum fired a volley of four arrows. Three of which struck their respective targets in the head, while the forth one hit its target in the leg. That same target had the unfortunate luck of being between Bjorn and his greatsword.

*Soltyr Isa Lagr* Bjorn muttered activating the rune he placed on himself then turning his fist to steel.

With a single punch Bjorn decapitated the injured goblin, its head burst like an egg under a hammer.

The hobs turned their attention to their new attackers from the tree line and charged at them letting out a ferocious roar. Bjorn and Graum watched the fox-eared Imalidae fire two arrows at the goblins that surrounded her companion. With her focus now directed toward the goblin that stabbed her, the cat-eared Imalidae swung her first into an upper cut that sent her target flying. The impact had such force that all spectators saw it shatter the goblin's vertebrae.

Grabbing his greatsword out of the ground Bjorn stood ready as two hob goblins began swinging their clubs at him. He nimbly dodged the first swing, while rolling to avoid the second. Graum offered Bjorn his assistance letting loose arrows at the two hob goblins heads creating the opening Bjorn needed to cleave the legs off of the closest one.

-kerthud-

The first hob hit the ground writhing in agony.

Bjorn shifted his momentum swinging his greatsword diagonally towards the sun slicing the other hob goblin in half from its hip to its shoulder. Graum released two arrows in rapid succession at the hob who was writhing in pain on the ground hitting the vital arteries in its neck. The hobs died as quickly as they bled out.

"Brother, I'll take care of the injured on one the boulder!" Bjorn yelled as he headed towards the injured girl.

"Be careful!" Graum shouted rushing towards the Imalidae that had been stabbed.

Four hob goblins remained. They separated into two groups of two, each group targeting either Graum or Bjorn.

Graum rushed next to the injured cat Imalidae, "Don't move. I'll tend to you after I'm done with these beasts." Graum stated, firing multiple arrows at the two hobs that charged towards him.

He aimed for their heads until they used their clubs to cover his shots. Acting quickly he began aiming for their legs to slow them down. One of the Hobs hid behind the other as they charged.

"Perfect" Graum smirked dispelling his shadow bow. He held his hand out in front of himself waiting as the hobs lined up. They charged closing the distance between them foot by foot.

*Profane blaze*

Black flames hissed as they shot from Graums hand.

Graum grinned as he poured a staggering amount of mana into the hissing black flames causing them to grow bigger and burn hotter.

"Burn!"  

His grin became sinister as he incinerated the monstrous hobgoblins to ashes.

Bjorn stood in front of the boulder guarding the girl as the two hobs charged. "Please give me a moment while I dispose of the vermin." Bjorn said softly to the injured Imalidae.

Bjorn held his great sword in a high stance and gathered his strength for the right moment to strike. As the first hob got into range Bjorn spun in a circle to increase his momentum causing him to slice threw the hobgoblin as well as the club it used to block. The remaining hob threw its club at Bjorn in an attempt to confuse him.

"Weak!" Bjorn yelled as he parried the club.

"You're too weak!" Bjorn provoked as he ran forward plunging Rage into the hobs chest. The hob tried pushing the greatsword out from its body but Bjorn was much stronger. He slowly and forcefully plunged the blade deeper into the hulking hob, its futile attempt to resist Bjorns might only prolonged its suffering. Between the blood loss and the pain the hob died standing up. Bjorn pulled out his greatsword swinging the blood off of it.

-kuh~thunk-

The hobgoblins lifeless body crashed onto the blood soaked grass.

Bjorn looked over at Graum, checking to see if he needed assistance. He watched Graum continuously incinerate the two hobs to ash with his ominous black fire.

"Well ain't that something." Bjorn mumbled to himself. Returning his attention back to the Imalidae he had protected, Bjorn realized she wasn't on the boulder any more; she was on the ground. Sheathing his weapon Bjorn rushed to her side.

"Hey try not to move, your injuries appear pretty bad.." Bjorn told the girl as she struggled to crawl. The wound looked to be festering while secreting a yellow fluid.

"Please..m-my s-sister." She pointed to the Imalidae that Graum was attending to.

"I'll take you to her. Just don't move." Bjorn knelt down picking her up gently in his arms and carrying her over to Graum; who was pulling his knapsack off of his back.

"Brother, she's been hit." Bjorn knelt placing her on the ground next to her companion.

"Please save her.... save... my sister" The Imalidae managed to say before losing consciousness.

"What did she say?" Bjorn looked over at Graum, who had a surprised looks on his face.

"She said, 'please save my sister.' Brother... they look like..." Graum paused looking back at Bjorn.

"..twins." Bjorn finished Graums sentence.

"Shit." Bjorn exclaimed in shock.

"... look." Graum pointed at the guild emblem on the cat eared Imalidae's necklace.

The emblem had a rising red sun on a horizon overlooking a barren landscape with the words 'New Zennith' underneath.