Round Two: Fight!

Turning, I quickly noticed the pair of gargoyles that stood at the edge of the alleyway, blocking us in. Stone figures of differing shapes stared at us eagerly. The first was tall and slim, the other squat and plump, both with long, twisted smiles and flimsy wings. Standing behind them, a scaled figure with chiselled teeth and a familiar hungry look pushed towards the front.

The basilisk…

Glancing at their clawed hands, I noticed all three wore thin, red wristbands. Thanks to my triop, I had learned that this meant these were upperclassmen, one year our senior, who had been transformed into monsters to help train lowerclassmen. I had also learned that most of the time, these students were nothing more than bullies looking for extra credit.

“—What have we got here?” The second gargoyle finished his friend’s introduction as they posed like cheesy anime villains.

“Hey, we don’t want any trouble.” I tried to persuade them.

From what I knew about writing these enemies, they would likely be a dangerous meetup. One of us could even fall in battle, which would be bad for group morale—and me, considering I was the tank and most likely to be tribute.

“You hear that, Bralwynn, the little First Year doesn’t want trouble. Where’s your triop First Year? Why are you hanging with some misfit Second Years?”

“Who are you calling misfits, Calix?” Rionriv shot off. “It’s pretty impressive coming from a Druid who can barely get their own tiny root to grow.”

The basilisk at the front of the group released a chuckle that sounded more like it was preparing to cough up a boulder-sized hairball. Unimpressed by the comment, the offended gargoyle instigator slapped against the haunch of the beast before pointing towards us.

“You’re going down, Singlemoo—”

His head snapped back before he could finish her name as I struck him with a decisive blow.

I could read the writing on the wall. We weren’t going to talk our way out of this, so I figured I would enact my first strike rule.

Hit first. Hit hard.

Bounding off the basilisk, I landed before the gargoyle leader and springboarded myself up with a readied fist. But I wouldn’t stop there, as I continued onward with a powerful kick. Connecting with its rocky chest, I watched as stress fractures splintered out from where my heel connected, forcing it back and down to the ground.

“Go all out!” I screamed to the triop. “Just this once!”

I experienced a sense of déjà vu as I remembered the feeling of making a good decision only to realize it was a poor choice mere seconds later. This time, I felt it in the form of the downed gargoyle I stood before, raking my leg with its chipped claws. Simultaneously, the one at my side bit down on my shoulder aggressively.

Something crackled that shouldn’t have, and I felt an excruciating pain surging through my right arm.

“Fuuuu—” I screamed and took a knee.

“Iz!” Aes cried out as I saw her draw her bow from the corner of my eye.

An unusual glow that I had never seen before crackled at the edge of the arrowhead before igniting it with a writhing, emerald energy. Releasing the arrow, it left a glimmering trail in its wake before connecting with the gargoyle that decided to dine on me for lunch.

I felt another new sensation—that of a section of my shoulder being ripped away in the jaws of a gargoyle. And, spoiler, it wasn’t pleasant.

As I yelped, I watched the arrow push the creature from me, pinning it against a wall where thorny vines crawled from the stone in an instant. The once free beast was now ensnared and no longer a threat.

“You good?” Aes asked, nocking an arrow.

“Am I good?!” I cried back as blood poured from two separate parts of my body and wooziness began to settle in. “No, I’m not good!”

Pulling a healing potion from my bag, I downed the elixir, promptly burping peppermint.

“Bleck.” I instinctively reacted to the flavourful taste.

But once again, I had little time to prepare for anything as the gargoyle beneath me stood and took me with him. Grabbing at my chest, he raised me into the air and then threw me down to the ground, following it with a powerful punch.

Hitting the earth, the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth as I coughed up my own life essence over my face and shirt.

“Punk! I’m going to teach you a lesson.” The beast grumbled through his shattered jaw.

Raising a clawed hand, he prepared a heavy swing for my head. And as I watched, my life didn’t flash before my eyes. No. Instead, all I could think in that moment were the few logical questions that any sane person would have asked me about this part of my story:

So, wait, it’s okay to kill the student body if they aren’t permanently killed? Honestly, how is this appropriate for school? Like, where are the teachers to say this is too much? Who approved this as a good idea?!

Luckily, it wasn’t my day to return to the infirmary. On the other hand, the gargoyle ringleader would, as Sharzin’s arrow found its target deep within a narrow crack that I had created in the bully’s rigid chest plate. Stumbling back, the monster collapsed to the ground.

“Awesome.” I coughed, popping another potion into my mouth.

Sitting up, I then watched Aesandoral release her next arrow.

This one pooled with a different form of energy. Instead of green, it was a liquid silver that exaggerated the sharpened tip of her arrowhead. As she released it, the arrow reached its target in the blink of an eye.

The head of the gargoyle suddenly hung stationary as the arrow pinned it to the wall.

“Godsdamn—overkill much?” I exclaimed, directing my attention to Rionriv and the remaining threat of the basilisk.

What I then witnessed was terrifying. The sorceress was standing in the middle of the alley with her hands pointed down at the basilisk that was, at this point, pressed against the wall. Blasting forth from Rionriv’s palms was fire, but not a tranquil orange and red campfire. No. The inferno that came from her was a blue flame with the intensity of a propane torch that melted through the thick hide and bubbled the insides of the creature.

The enemy was not making a sound, nor was it moving anymore. But that fact hadn’t stopped her.

“My gods…” I whispered.

“Hey, Iz. You were right. Other elements are fun too!” She announced with a smile as she released the flame and listened to the crackling fire. “I used fire!”

“I see that...” I replied, not even attempting to conceal my terror.

Looking around the battlefield, I felt my stomach drop as I couldn’t shake the thought of us just murdering three kids.

“So…so do we take them to the infirmary now?” I eventually asked as everyone grew eager to move on.

“Who? The monsters? Noooo—” Rionriv looked back at the bodies. “Those wristbands act as restoration charms. An hour post-death, the participants will be brought back to life in their original bodies in the exact location they took on the monster skins.”

“Do they remember?”

“The students? Eh, probably. But enough about this, I’m hungry.”

“Mimic café?” Sharzin spoke softly as she appeared.