Arnkatla's Semi Heroic Quest(s)

Oddball

"Ready yet?" Neb asked, staring up at Dragon but addressing Arnkatla with a flick of his finger.

"Sure" Arnkatla replied before taking another step towards the tower's entrance, Dragon outstretched his arm to block her path "don't" he said "it's way too dangerous with your injuries" he added. Arnkatla took a step back as Dragon entered the tower, Neb shrugged his shoulders, looking at Arnkatla before following Dragon within. Upon reaching the tower's cavernous foyer, Dragon and Neb were greeted by a naked elf who stood roughly 4 feet tall "lemme guess...Elec-Trick?" The elf said in an inquisitive tone.

"Yep, give us the scoop" Dragon replied, lowering his gaze to meet the elf's eyes.

"No golems, no reviving, no undead warriors, that's all" the elf stated, Dragon looked back at Neb who was slightly trembling with anxiety. "Don't worry, I'll take most of the hits while you heal me" Dragon reassured before the tower's pitch black interior abruptly shifted into stark white, the elf had also disappeared. "Wait..." Neb said after noticing Dragon's eyes darting left and right, suddenly a hotchpotch accumulation of dark spruce wood and copper coils manifested itself on the floor just 10 metres from them. The six foot cluster vaguely resembled a crab with alligator clips in place of claws "What in Odin's name is this?!" Dragon exclaimed, outstretching his wings and taking to the air, nearly touching the ceiling. "Elec-Trick, obviously" Neb pointed out, widening his stance in anticipation of an attack. As if on cue, Elec-Trick began to rapidly scamper her way towards Neb who had gradually begun to back himself into a corner. "Back!" he exclaimed before casting a moderately sized fireball squarely onto Elec-Trick's eye stalks which took on the form of rusted tesla coils. The projectile met its target causing it to mysteriously vanish in a burst of electricity, shocking both Neb and Dragon. "Get up!" Dragon yelled after springing back onto his feet and noticing that Neb still lay unconscious in the corner, blood oozed from his nostrils despite his nose being undamaged. Elec-Trick was still nowhere to be seen so he tried listening for the sound of her metal feet clacking against the floor but to no avail, he heard nothing. In panic, Dragon broke into a sprint towards Neb as his wings were still far too stiff to fly after being shocked only to be shocked yet again as he collided with the still invisible Elec-Trick. He clumsily rolled onto his back and slid the remainder of the distance towards Neb, nearly colliding with him "Neb! She's visible again! Get up!" Dragon exclaimed. Pinching his nose, Neb steadily rose to his feet and rubbed his eyes to clear his vision "son of a bitch!" he called out after noticing Elec-Trick who stood only four feet from them. Acting quickly, Dragon engulfed the space in front of him with a roaring flurry of white hot blazes, Elec-Trick had made no attempt at evading the attack and instead had vanished once again. "Just shoot everywhere!" Neb hollered as he slung a barrage of miniature fireballs in nearly every direction, Dragon followed by example, clouding the air with his flames in a sporadic manner. To their surprise, a moderately loud explosion erupted in the midst of the flames, scattering wires and coils about, Elec-Trick was finished. "Whew, thank the lord it's over" Neb sighed as he used the sleeve of his cloak to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

Dragon and Neb had come out of the tower a lot quicker than I thought they would but I'm not gonna complain, I was really worried about them since I had no idea what Elec-Trick was able to do. Neb told me it was "no sweat" which I thought was kinda funny since he was covered in it, I didn't give him any flack for it though but I'm sure it wouldn't have upset him anyhow. I'm really glad that Dragon was able to help with W.A.G.E.D but I just remembered that now we've gotta go to the Hard Ass Gauntlet which sounds scary, it has hard in the name which isn't promising but Dragon says not to worry. I just asked Radioactive Mind what the gauntlet was all about but he refused to tell me because apparently it's "against the rules" what a bunch of bullshit...anyway, Dragon told me to transport him back to the village in Scotland so he could go get someone to help us with the gauntlet. I opened a vortex which was actually harder than usual since the pain makes it difficult to focus but I managed. I decided to step through the vortex after him so I wouldn't have to hold it open the entire time he was there, that was definitely the right choice. Neb had followed us through the vortex which I wasn't expecting but I'm glad he did anyways, I enjoyed his presence "holy crow" is what he said after setting foot in Scotland. Dragon had rounded a bend followed by another avian lizard with vibrant red scales and a pair of yak like horns, she introduced herself to us as "Fizzle" what an odd name...

"She's gonna help us win the gauntlet" Dragon pointed out to which Neb replied sarcastically: "ya don't say?"

Fizzle looked over at the vortex which Arnkatla had just closed "so, you're an alchemist?" she asked, pointing to Arnkatla's knife "that's a good skill for someone your age, don't stop practising!" Fizzle said. Arnkatla nodded in agreement trying not to look nervous, Fizzle was quite imposing even compared to Dragon, she would serve useful in the Hard Ass Gauntlet. "Since we're all gathered here, we can enter the gauntlet via Scotland's tower of ancient magic as opposed to Iceland's" , Radioactive Mind said insightfully.

"What're you supposed to be? Funky lookin'..." Fizzle inquired to which Radioactive Mind uttered no response and instead returned to the paragon of magic. "He's a bit of an oddball, don't hold it against him" Dragon said, beginning to climb towards the mouth of the volcano within which the tower of magic was suspended, the others followed. "So...Have you been inside the tower before?" Arnkatla asked Fizzle in an attempt to break the awkward tension between them, she answered after a moment's silence "no, but don't worry, I'm a fighter". They had reached the volcano's peak and Neb had already mounted Dragon in preparation to descend onto the tower's surface. Arnkatla followed suit and without hesitation, they dove into the chasm and landed gently on the tower below, it swayed slightly from their weight but they weren't bothered. The deep orange lava beneath the tower bubbled and swirled with unrivalled heat and rage "holy crow, that's awesome!" Neb called out, pointing down at the lava above which the tower on which they stood was suspended via thick tungsten chains. "Y'know what, I don't think Radioactive Mind told you guys to bring food, you really should" said Screwface matter of factly, holding up his index finger.

"Screwface, what the hell? Get back in the box and stay there until I call you back out!" Arnkatla said assertively, referring to the paragon of magic, Screwface's disobedience came as a surprise to Arnkatla; she was under the assumption that the reaped killers lacked free will. "I'll get the food, don't worry" Dragon said, gesturing for Arnkatla and Neb to dismount before he rigorously beat his wings and took to the skies, leaving swirling currents of heat in his wake. "Scared?" Fizzle asked Neb, her strikingly pale green eyes pierced his soul and made his blood run cold "of course I am, if you were in my shoes I'm sure you'd be scared shitless as well" Neb replied.

"No need to get defensive, I'm not judging" she reassured. Small clumps of snow began to fall through the mouth of the volcano as Dragon drew closer to the ledge before eventually plummeting downwards with his wings outstretched. He gradually descended through the chasm before landing amidst the group carrying two gargantuan polished burlap sacks.