Completed Looks Like Meat's Back On The Menu!

[Esme]

Esmeralda frowned, biting back slight frustration. "I can. But beyond that, nothing more. Dian was stupid and burned through it all in one go, it'll take me weeks to regain that level of strength." At that level of strength she was a real force to reckon with, many forces would crumble to the abilities she had managed to stock pile and hold.

But she was not at that strength. She could barely think past her injuries to stand.

"I need a life, Ragna. I need to take it in exchange for magic. Otherwise, it's all on you to get us out of here," she told the woman grimly.

 

[Ragna]

The giant's face again was impassive as Esmeralda raved about her employer. She knew little of the ways of mages, it was none of her concern. The blonde repeated her demand and the giant listened. She nodded in slow understanding, blood for blood. It made sense.

"I need you little one" she grumbled, "Come". She moved back from the lip of the rise in an awkward crouch. She looked ridiculous trying to move at a stoop among the huts. "Must you kill them?" she sounded dubious. The little mage seemed weak as a kitten.

 

[Esme]

"No," Esmeralda whispered, her voice rasping at the thought. "But I likely will. Why?" She asked, her brows furrowing as she glanced up at the woman. "Do you care for them?"

If so, that would make things complicated. She didn't have to kill them, but she was hard pressed for a reason not to take as much energy from their bodies as she could before their heart stopped. It wasn't blood magic, but it was close enough. The more strength she stole from one, the stronger she would become.

Otherwise, she'd need more than one. That would get annoying.

 

[Ragna]

The giant shrugged. The killing wasn't of consequence to her. "I do not. I just wonder are you strong enough" she explained. Mortals were such small weak things. The little blonde looked frail enough to be snapped in two like a tree branch. How was she going to be able to kill an orc head shoulders taller than her?

Sneaking through the camp proved harder and easier than expected. Only a few weren't at the ceremony but with Ragna larger than some of the huts, it took immense care. The first sentry was knocked senseless, being struck by a fist the size of his head. The second Ragna seized, the orc's strength puny against his attacker. Ragna kept him silent while twisting him to face Esmeralda. "Yours" she said.

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda grimaced, not making an effort to look the Orc in the eyes as she pushed up her sleeves and stepped forward. In truth, she didn't need to push up her sleeves. She didn't even need to approach him. But it felt like an appropriately serious response to what she was about to do, her expression growing somber as she place a near shaky hand over his thick skin.

Nothing happened, at least not to Ragna. But the girl's tired expression soon melted away, a pendant under her shirt glowing as the orc grew limp in Ragna's arms, then collapsed dead.

Esmeralda gasped, wavering in place, her chest fluttering with an over abundance of energy. She let out a shaky breath, jittery. "T-Thank you, Ragna." She stooped, trying to keep her hand steady as she pressed it to the knocked out sentry to repeat the process.

 

[Ragna]

The orc squirmed but he was powerless in the giant's grip. Ragna mighty brow furrowed in puzzlement at the sight of Esmeralda but she blinked when the orc suddenly went limp, the body cooling rapidly as if it had been dead for hours. She lowered the corpse, grunting at the thanks from the mage. The blonde killed the other sentry and swayed on her feet, Ragna's hand moving to steady her in case she fell.

"You are well?" it was direct. "You see below. What we do? How we do?"

 

[Esme]

"I am fine," Esmeralda dismissed, feeling in that moment like she could genuinely fly. She shook out her hands, bouncing on her feet as she tried to readjust the energy placement to a more comfortable ratio between her and the pendant.

"I know what we have to do now," she answered, as if seeing past the woman's words and into her thoughts themselves. "Are you ready?" She asked, fire in her steely blue eyes as they turned to Ragna.

 

[Ragna]

The giant shrugged, dull reactions compared to the more energetic mage. She cradled her maul in her hands, her mighty fists clenching as they gripped the handle. "I am" she said, preparing to rise to her feet. "You go, I come".

The chanting below was rising to fever pitch as the orcs went into a frenzy.

 

[Esme]

She took a deep breath in and out ... then took off, her small form fast. She spilled into the clearing where the ceremony was being held, a fantastical display of fire at her heels as she soared through the air.

She held out her hand, summoning a dagger to her and whipping it out end over end to embed into the rope holding Diam to the pole. Meanwhile, fire erupted form the ground around Diam, quickly growing out around her in a vicious circle, trying to push back the crowd. A single line of unburnt space broke free from the circle-- a walkway that led directly to Esme.

Well. Dian had said they were afraid of magic.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Flames, fire, smoke. Dianaimh screamed as the ground erupted around her. The crowd shrieked as flames scorched orcs who'd been too close, falling back into each other. Furs sparked up and panic driven orcs pushed back to get away from the hateful flames.

Her bonds fell, severed by a knife. The flame formed a corridor, the heat searing to her bare skin. Panicked and desperate, the mage made an awkward clumsy run uphill, expecting to be engulfed by fire at any moment.

 

[Esme]

Esme was there, arms out to grasp onto her a burst of strength being gift to Dian through their skin to skin contact. She said nothing, grimacing at the chaos on the foul smell of burning flesh as she quickly tried to lead Dian away.

"Ragna," she pleaded, sensing they'd need their backs covered as she released her magic and left the fire to flicker and burn out naturally over those afflicted.

How fast could they run? Time to find out....

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

The woman half stumbled, half staggered up to Esmeralda, collapsing into her arms with a sob. Her skin was warm to the touch from the heat of the flames. She seemed relieved just for the touch of another human.

The giantess rose at the blonde's command. Her speed was frightening for something so large. The giant went over the lip of the crater and down into it. A moment later screams sounded as she crashed into the orcs, her maul rising and falling.

Dianaimh's nails dug into Esmeralda's skin, desperate to escape.

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda gritted her teeth, an ever so small wave of exhaustion returning to her limbs. Magic came easy to her, and she naturally had built quiet the endurance to do a large amount of spells before the tasks became taxing to her strengths. But episodes like the day before always left her raw and weak afterwards, no matter how much magic she had managed to regather.

It felt a bit like sandpaper had rubbed against her soul.

If she even had one to begin with.

"Dian," she hissed. "I cannot carry you. If you want to live, use your own damn two feet! Now!" She jolted her with a wave of strength, stolen from the bodies of orcs as she half dragged the larger woman along.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh wasn't a large woman but Esmeralda was even smaller. The blonde gritted her teeth and heaved her upward, barking at her companion to carry some of her own weight. Dianaimh sobbed but stumbled along, ignoring the pain on her bare feet. The jolt of energy from Esmeralda wasn't pleasant but it did help her force strength into her movements.

"Wait!" she tore at the other, "We need to get the chest! They put it in the chieftain's hut!" she said, jabbing her finger at one of the larger ones on the rise.

 

[Esme]

"Are you fricken kidding me?" Esmeralda snapped. "You were about to be eaten and all you care about is the chest!"

She released her anyways, not at all opposed to being paid. She glanced a touch frantically over her shoulders at the fuss Ragna had created, then pushed Dian towards the tent.


"Hurry!" She scrambled after her.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Screams and roars sounded from behind them. An orc corpse came sailing through the air and crashed into a hut roof, falling out of sight. Dianaimh stumbled as she was released but made for the hut. She ignored the mage's barked commands and half fell into the hut. The chest was still there and she grabbed one side of it, dragging it out.

"Help me!" she demanded, hefting the chest up higher.

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda scowled, raising a hand and lifting up the chest with a wave of magic. "Are you fucking kidding me? You can't even walk!" Though for a moment she wanted to see Dian try to escape dragging the chest across the ground, if just to see her struggle a little.

"Go." She gave Dian another shove, manhandling back out and onto the path.

"Ragna!" She called out once they were moving, calling out for her retreat. A slight worry for the gaint's state filled her. Weird.

 

[Ragna]

Dianaimh squealed but stumbled onto the path, obediently fleeing up it under Esmeralda's command. Behind them the screams continued. As if summoned by the mage, Ragna emerged from the crater, walking at a brisk pace. She was covered in blood, mostly on her legs and hands though it dripped from the head of her maul as well.

A half dozen orcs pursued her but the giant turned and casually swiped her maul across. Some ran back, some ducked. Two weren't fast enough and the sound of bone breaking was audible afar. Resuming her unhurried stride, the giant advanced on the women, her steps making the ground shake slightly as she drew closer.

 

[Esme]

The chest went magicked into Ragna's hand, granting Esme some reprieve as they fled, no dignity to the affair. Esmeralda drove them forward unrelentingly, using her magic to sustain Dian where she had to. It wasn't until they had put distance only a horse could cross easily between them that she allowed them their respite, her own limbs shaking as she slid to the ground.

"T-Thank you, Ragna," she gasped, feeling abruptly cold.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Esmeralda drove them hard. Dianaimh sank onto her knees, teeth chattering with the cold until the giant dropped a fur for her. Ragna sat with her back to a tree, showing little signs of weariness. The chest had been a negligible weight for her and she tasted the blood on her maul, probing it with her tongue. She grunted at Esmeralda's thanks.

Dian forced herself up, draping the fur around her like a shawl. Her bare feet stung from cuts and the cold. Both the mages looked exhausted. "What...what was that thing you did back there?" the sorceress demanded as she looked back to her charge.

 

[Esme]

"What thing?" Esmeralda gritted, ignoring the ache it caused her to warm the air around them with magic. Her hands were shaking, unable to be controlled. She tucked them into her arm pits and resisted the urge to lie down, suspecting if she fell asleep now she'd enter a slumber that would be hard to drive her from.

She didn't look at Dian, fury in her gut for the position her employer put her in.

 

[Ragna]

"Come here". The booming voice made it clear it wasn't a request.

The giant rolled her eyes at the weakness of mortals. A mild night in the foothills of the Spine and they both looked like they were going to die of hypothermia. Smallfolk always struggled with the elements. They were tired now after a brisk walk, both looking on the verge of collapse.

She used the tone an owner would have used with a pet or a parent to a child. Putting down her maul, she undid one of the furs around her and dropped it by her side. She had her shoulders and arms bared to the cold now but the giant didn't seem to feel it. The heat coming off her was palpable.

"Sit" she said, pointing at the fur by her side. Dianaimh seemed uncertain but she crept closer and sat down by the monster's bulk, pulling the fur up around her. It was large enough to cover two or three humans. "We rest, then we go again" the giant said before turning back to cleaning her maul with some of the light dusting of snow on the ground. She went back to ignoring the two humans by her side.

Dian's voice was meek now, both from Ragna's command and Esmeralda's barely concealed rage. "The fire, the flames" she explained, "How did you get away from your bonds?"

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda didn't come. But she seemed well able to take care of herself, the air slowly warming to a palatable state. Still, she did not stop shaking, the strain coming from a different place.

"Ragna came and set me free. She fueled my magic," she told Dian briskly. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have. You've already be dead." She finally leveled her a heavy look, her green eyes sharp and disapproving, not unlike a parent chastising a child.

Dian was getting it from both sides tonight.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh's shivering slowed as she wrapped herself up in the furs and rested back against Ragna. She listened to the blonde mage as she snapped at her, biting her lip until it was her time to talk. "So you didn't escape on your own" there seemed to be some smugness there to her voice. She glared at the reminder, "Do I have to point out that you'd have been next for that ritual?"

She took a deep breath to calm herself. Behind her, Ragna seemed solid as a rock, untroubled by the bickering humans. "I can't go on like this" she said in an even tone, "I don't have any clothes!" she sounded scandalised.

 

[Esme]

Esmeralda gritted her teeth. "Unlike you, I would have been fine. I only needed one of them to touch me."

She ignored the rest of the woman's protests, half rolling her eyes at them. Good. She wanted her to be miserable. She wanted the woman to understand the severity of her actions. You don't play with lives and chance death if you aren't willing to bit the cost.

"Where is camp?" She asked Ragna, clearly intending to drive them forward soon again.