Beyond the valley, a conopy of lush green tree's waited in silence.
Hidden in the leaves, three figures watched.
"Shh..." one whispered "they... they here..."
"Who... who Skritch?" Another asked, rustling the branches.
"Humans,." Skritch replied, licking its lips.
"Heh... Dree... you hear?" It chuckled.
"Ghrr," Dree grunted then.
"Shhh" Skritch pointed to the spike valley.
"Money..." it grinned, speaking under it's breath.
The leaves went silent as they raised their bows.
Skritch smiled, its gaze locked to white haired one running at front.
It pulled the string.
then.
"Fire" at its word they unleashed the arrows.
***********
"Because that's where Threx's domain begins," One spoke without looking back.
He smiled seeing the canopy of tree's beyond the valleys gravel ground.
"Who's Threx?" Seven asked.
"TWANG."
One eyes widened.
"Mana barrier!!" One shouted.
A translucent shield formed in front of him.
"CRACK."
The first arrow bounced off the sheild cracking it.
"SHATTER."
The second pierced through.
"Agh!" One jumped aside, but an arrow tore through his leg.
"AMBUSH!" He roared.
Jennifer's eyes widened while Vance and Six jumped behind the remaining spikes.
"Damn it scarvengers," One groaned, draggin himself to a spike.
Three arrows flew past him.
"THUD."
A body dropped.
Silence.
"What happened?!" Six shouted from behind a spike.
"DON'T MOVE!" One shouted.
"Two, you good?" Vance called.
"Yeah!" Jennifer answered.
"Good," Vance said. "get ready."
"One, what's the plan?" Six asked.
"First we have to figure out, how many?!" One shouted.
"Three!" Jennifer yelled, "Three shooters!"
"...We don't have time'' One clenched his teeth as blood ran down his leg.
He looked at Six "You'll charge..."
"WHAT?!" Six asked.
"Listen!" One barked, "We'll draw their fire, you rush at them when they release!"
Another scream.
"THUD."
Then silence.
"Damn it," Six punched the stone spike.
"Two and Sixteen are ready?" One said.
"Yes!" Jennifer said.
"No we're not," Vance said.
"Damn it" Six snapped, "this isn't the time."
"Six," Vance said, "promise me you'll capture one of them for me."
"Yeah, yeah fine" Six said.
The ledger in Vince's hand glowed.
"Understand," Vance said.
"Understand," Six said.
"One, at your command" Vance said.
"He going to be a problem," One murmured looking at Vance spike.
"Sixteen right!. Two left. I'll take center" One yelled.
"NOW!"
They moved.
One stepped out, "mana barrier"
Vance surged forward, ledger raised.
Jennifer burst out rushing to another spike.
"TWANG" three arrows flew.
Six exploded forward. His legs blurred with a grey hue wrapping around them
One's eyes widened, while an arrow cracked his mana barrier.
An arrow grazed Vance's hand, "ghh!"
Six was already in the tree's.
A goblin froze.
Six grabbed it and hurled it aside.
"Thud." It slammed into another.
"Agh" An arrow pierced his shoulder.
The third ran as he turned his gaze toward it.
"Your dead," He charged at it shoulder first.
"THUD."
"Urk," The goblin purked blood as Six towering figure crushed it against the trunk.
Six turned to the goblins trying to stand on the ground.
He jumps down.
A gray hue appears on his feet as he touched the ground.
And instantly he's gone.
"THUD,"
One of goblin's slams against a tree's as Six's hand crushed it's neck.
The other goblin froze as it locked eye's with Six, "...Bad... bad human..."
It ran.
"I guess that's the one that live's" Six grinned as he turned to it.
"What's this strength?" He smiled looking at his hand...
...
.
"Bad... real bad..." it ran frantically, sweat running down it's body.
It glanced back.
Six smirked then.
"THUD"
It's slammed into a tree.
"This speed" Six stretched his leg.
"I've never felt like this" He smiled.
"Sorry.." it pleaded, it's back against a tree "..wro... wrong prey"
Six smiled as it cralwed into a ball with a single gaze.
His right hand balled into a fist, "all I need is a single punch."
He smiled raising his fist.
It shut its eyes then.
"Six, we have deal"
He froze as Vance stood behind him.
He smirked as turned to Vance.
"It won't save you," he said walking past Vance with a glee in his eye's.
'This is going to be a problem.' Vance couldn't help but look back at Six.
'Let's deal with this first' he turned to the shivering goblin.
"Serve me, until death," His eye's narrowed.
"Or die."
"I... I ... gre..." With a shivering tongue it spoke.
The ledger burst with golden light, chains shooting forward binding them both.
-------------------
*******CONTRACT: SERVANT OF THE GRAVE*******
Contractor A: Vance Grave
Contractor B: Skritch
~~~~~Terms & Conditions~~~~~
1. Contractor B will serve until Death.
2. Contractor B must obey all commands.
3. Contractor A will not kill Contractor B directly.
~~~~~Violations~~~~~
1. Disobedience allows extraction of starts, skills or equivalent value.
******To accept, state: "I understand."****
-------------------
Skritch's eyes trembled.
It trembled, "U...stand...u...stand"
"I understand" Vance said.
The chains tightened, then vanished.
Vance looked down at him.
"Good."