Three on One

As Natalie set fire to the three remaining corpses, Helena, Liam, and Dolan took up positions to fight back. The hole that they hade come out of was too small for the Slasher to squeeze through, so even if they couldn't take it down, they could still potentially retreat after Bristol was evacuated. But they had to buy Brintley and her team time. The beast charged and Helena moved to meet it. She parried one scythe and dodged another, then Liam flew past her and blocked the third scythe with his daggers. The blades quicly retracted and struck out again and it was all Helena could do to keep them from cutting her down.

Dolan had disappeared into the darkness once the fight started, but soon materialized behind the beast in a pincer attack. It screeched in pain as his blade took a few limbs in a surprise attack, but the beast quickly shifted focus to the knight commander. The experienced warrior nimbly evaded it's attacks and countered, keeping the Slasher distracted for a moment before Helena and Liam once more pressed their own attack. The beast suddenly began flailing wildly, and Helena was knocked back. She stumbled and lost her footing. The Slasher saw her go down on her ass and charged her. She thought it would finish her, but suddenly vines burst forth all over it. The beast gave an angry scream as it tried to tear away the vines. Liam rushed to her side and pulled her back to her feet.

"What the hell happened," Helena asked in shock.

"I brought some seeds with us to use for nature magic. I'm not as good as some of the Elves that live in the forests, but I can do a few tricks."

Behind them, Natalie called for them to fall back. Dolan had put himself between Liam and Helena and called for them to run. Helena turned and ran for the hole that they had originally came through and saw both Brintly and Natalie with arrows ready. Both fired and she heard a sickening thud and screech of pain. Liam outpaced her and made it through the hole first, with Natalie and Brintley following behind. Helena and Dolan slipped through the right as the Slasher crashed into the wall. Reese and Liam cut away the tentacles that reached for them, until Brintley yelled for them move. Helena watched her friend lob another alchemist fire into the opening. The Slasher screeched and fled, leaving the party with a hard fought victory. Bristol lay propped against the wall nearby, still **** from her ordeal.

"W-we didn't m-make it in time..."

"We made it in time. We couldn't stop what happened, but we can still bring her home and she will live through it."

Helena knelt down and hugged her Gnomish friend, letting her cry out her feelings for a few moments. The journey back was thankfully uneventful. Bristol was brought to Fort Helena to be cared for, while Brintley and Liam left to find Morco to tell him what had happened to his wife. It was close to dawn at this point, and Helena was beyond tired. She quickly bathed and retired to her loft in the fort for some much needed rest.