On the Continent of the Gods, in the kingdom of Ferrera, in a dungeon called the Howling Caverns, six adventurers stood, facing a mighty Earth Troll, blasts of magic and sparks of steel lighting up the dark cavern as they fought.
"RAGGH!" Will's magic surged into a barrier as the Earth Troll's Mace came down in a blast of sparks. Gritting his teeth under the pressure, Will felt his magic slowly breaking and giving way cracks tracing up and down his barrier as the troll tried to continue pressing down with his mace.
"Will, step back!" Grace called, rushing in under his barrier to the trolls's side. She held out both her hands as fire burst forth in a raging torrent, wreathing up the troll's torso.
"AGHRHHHH!!" The troll roared in pain, whipping his mace towards Grace at an inhuman speed. Grace dove underneath the blow, barely dodging the huge metal spikes as she used her flames to project herself off the ground.
Fth. Fth. Fth. Arrows pierced the troll's thick hide, driven deep by twirling air currents. Almara stood in the back, slowly nocking another arrow into her bow as she carefully watched the troll's movements.
Taking advantage of the troll's focus on Grace, Shawn leapt forwards, racing around the troll's other side, before striking with all his might at the back of the troll's knee. His rapier blurring as his Multi-Strike skill pierced the thick hide dozens of times in the space of a single moment.
"RARRRR" The troll roared again, sinking to one knee as the leg Shawn had targeted folded to the ground.
Shawn was about to go in for another strike, but Leticia suddenly called "Get back!" He didn't have time to do much more than hesitate, before shards of earth shot up from the ground, impaling him in the shoulder and flinging him hard against the cavern wall.
The shards flew up towards the rest of the party too, but Leticia raised a bubble of magic in front of the rear guard that evaporated the shards like dust. Grace, wreathed herself in flames, and the shards shattered, showering her with debris.
Everyone took a wary breath as the troll lumbered back to his feet, his torso still charred from Grace's attack, his gaze now more wary than angry.
"Kelichi, bind his feet. Leticia, Almara, give me everything you've got, I'm going for the strike we practiced!" Grace called, carefully taking a few steps back from the toll as she gauged the distance between them.
"You got it!" Her friends called as the hum of magic began to fill the air. The troll turned towards the source of the magic, narrowing his eyes before preparing to leap towards them in one, charged bound. But when he moved to push off the ground, nothing happened. He whipped his head around, confused, only to find his feet sinking into the ground. He quickly began to fight the spell with his own earth magic, but by the time he had freed himself, it was too late.
Grace, unsheathed her sword, raising it towards the troll as she began wreathing it in flames, she felt flames burn hotter and hotter as Leticia's enhancement magic flowed into her, the swirling vortex of flame growing so bright, it was hard to look at.
She lowered her stance, priming herself for the charge until she felt the click of power in her heels as Almara's wind spell took shape. This was it, their ultimate move that they had spent weeks practicing, and now she was using it on this…troll. She felt the sting of disappointment even as she felt the certainty of victory. They still had a long way to go if she was relying on this.
The troll had just freed himself from Kelichi's earth magic as she sprung forwards unleashing the full might of the triple-fold spell, the lance of flame wreathing her sword pierced straight into the heart of the troll.
BOOM! The flames exploded, blood and viscera showering the cavern as the troll collapsed, a column of smoke rising from the gaping hole in its chest.
"Phew." Grace collapsed to one knee. That had taken a lot out of her. "Kelichi," she tried to keep her wits as the room spun and she clutched the floor. "Tend to Shawn, he's…" she took a breath. "over there," she pointed to the wall, that the troll had blasted Shawn to, and then her vision faded to black as she passed out on the floor of the cavern.
***
"This is what it's about! This! Action, blood, near-death experiences! Rising from the ashes with the grim determination to do better, to be better!" Frenir, the god of the hunt, roared as the sounds of the battle quieted and Grace's friends began to tend to their wounded.
"Oh, and is that why you picked the Almara girl? She hardly contributed to the battle you know, unlike my little flame." Morpha, goddess of flame, taunted, languidly.
"Nonsense!" he retorted, his voice still far too loud. "Almara did plenty, and besides, my blessings are far more suited to smaller targets, you should know this." His voice contained a hint of bitterness.
"Now, now, all of them did quite well, no need to play favorites." Verena, Queen of Spirits, poured herself a drink from the nearby bar. "Don't you think so, Beren?"
Beren, god of the sword, had been ignoring them, his eyes still glued to the large screen as Kelichi chanted magic over Shawn, slowly healing his wounds. His eyes snapped back to the rest of the room as he heard his name. "Oh, yes, yes, they all did quite well." He blinked, readjusting himself to the room of gods he found himself in. "Still many trials to go, but I think they're all shaping up quite nicely. I was a little apprehensive when they wanted to split off from that hero group, but to be honest I'm finding our smaller watch parties quite nice. And they seem to be taking care of eachother quite well."
"Yes, it was quite unexpected when they all took that little runt's death so seriously." Morpha mused. "Still, I don't think the results are undesirable. My little flame burns brighter in smaller company." She grinned, clearly enjoying the prestige Grace held within her group.
"It was to be expected." A deep voice, mused from the back of the room. Venor, God of trees, stood still as a statue. "I never liked the plan to leave a runt for dead. My child has a sensitive heart, and cared for the boy."
"Yes, yes, we all know you didn't approve of that decision, but you're still here aren't you. You've gone along with the decisions, just like the rest of us have." Ceren, Lord of barriers, snapped. As a demigod he tried to keep his mouth shut in gatherings of the gods, but he had always found Venor's moral grandstanding disgusting, as if he was better than everyone else in the room.
"I never said that I regretted my actions," Venor looked at the demigod coldly. "But I do regret my lack of influence."
"Come on lads," Frenir wrapped his arm around Ceren's shoulder as he made his way towards the back where Venor stood. "Let's get along. More fun's to be had in the comradery of shared convictions than the bickering of spoiled gods, let's toast." He raised his glass. "To our children's glorious future!"
"To our children's glorious future!" Some repeated it cheerfully, some reluctantly, and one or two not at all, but they all downed a drink of whatever liquid they preferred. The party, after all, was just getting started.