Esther and Royal both were spared bad dreams through the long night. But the real scare was waiting for them in the morning. Royal slowly blinked his eyes open and started to sit up, when he was startled by Eldrie hovering 5 feet away.
"Eldrie, what the hell?" He said, louder than he meant. Esther stirred and started moving from the disturbance.
"It's not polite to wake someone who is sleeping. So I waited here instead." Eldrie replied curtly.
"It's weird to watch someone sleep like that!" Royal protested. "Did you even sleep yourself?"
"Of course I did. To not rest is foolhardy." Eldrie crossed her arms, waiting for Royal to calm down and get a move on.
"Yeah, but..." Royal didn't know what to say. He was so interrupted anyways by Esther yawning.
"Royal, who's there?" Esther looked around blearily.
"Come on now, stop procreating and get your things. We have a task to do." Eldrie said dismissively, turning to go. She flew quietly out to leave Royal and Esther to their business.
Royal swore his heart was going to explode. He had never been even half that embarrassed before. What made it worse was that Esther started asking him what Eldrie meant.
"She implied something improper, that's all!" Royal quickly answered, red in the face. He grabbed his gear with high speed to pop out and take a quick breather.
Standing outside while Esther got ready, which somehow took long despite her having nothing to put on or anything, Royal sighed. Eldrie was a force of nature too much for most people to handle. He couldn't help but wonder where she came from to think that saying things like hat so casually was normal. If anything, it was the time that made it that bad.
His thinking was cut off by Esther tapping his shoulder. "I'm ready, let's go help Eldrie now..." She said, with a notable lack of confidence.
They didn't have to look far to find Eldrie, who was overhead. "Good. Now let us make haste." She flew off. Royal and Esther did their best to keep up, not that they had much success. Eldrie was always far from view. Nonetheless, they rendezvoused near where Eldrie wanted to go. She found them huddled by some bushes, talking strategy.
"So. Past these bushes is the Golden Lotus lake, and the forces of the void that taint it. Do what you must to exterminate them." Eldrie said.
"We had to fight these creatures once before. They're weak from behind. Do you think you could keep them facing away from us?" Esther asked tentatively.
Eldrie mulled that over. "Very well. Do me a favor and don't die." She flew off. A few moments later, a loud cacophony of noises was heard from the opposite side of the lake. The monsters stared at the source, not yet moving.
Esther took her chance, and targeted the closest one with her focused light beam. While it left a definite mark, it didn't go through, and the monster turned around. However, Royal had flanked it, and struck from behind, aiming for the mark. His blade found purchase, and he started impaling the monster when he was bodily thrown away from the lake, and left to roll through the brush, battered and bruised.
Eldrie flew back quickly. "What did I just say." She groaned, before her hands emmitted a gentle green glow. Royal felt the wounds abating, and stood back up.
"That's a handy trick. Thanks." He said, before facing the monster that was now marching towards Esther. Her attacks were useless from the front. Fireballs and Shadow Bolts bounced off wildly.
Royal crept up behind the monster and stabbed it again, getting it to turn around. "Hey, stop going after them. I'm the one you want!" He provoked, faking every ounce of his bravado. But it worked, and he raised his sheild to block a hit that otherwise would have buckled his ribs inwards. As is, he was tossed back. But while the monster was thrashing Royal, Eldrie was healing Jim from the shadows, and Esther had started another Focused Light Beam, which was causing havoc in terms of wounding the monster.
It flailed as the pain registered, but Royal smacked it with the flat of his sword to keep it's attention. "Hey! None of that, eyes this way." He made several stabs just to keep it distracted.
The beam went through, and the monster recoiled in pain, before growling in rage and slamming Royal away. By now the other monsters had noticed him too. They made no moves yet, but both started readying ranged spells.
Royal coughed as Eldrie healed him again. Heals aside, he was feeling the abuse now. That was a cracked rib, definitely. He didn't try to stand up right away, instead throwing a rock and hiding under his shield.
The monster stepped on him, trying to squish him. It was heavy for sure, but the pressure let off soon as Esther tossed a Fireball to disrupt it. But Royal didn't peek out, saving him from a pair of magical bolts.
"Eldrie? Please tell me you have an idea!" He said nervously.
Eldrie thought fast. "Mage, cut a tree down, and drop it on the thing."
She felt disgusted by giving a command like that, but it was clear Royal and Esther did not have the offense needed to face such a mighty adversary yet.
Esther obliged, using a few magic missiles to weaken a tree to the point that a good push would topple it.
Royal meanwhile was just sitting and taking the abuse. His sheild was fairly dented from repeated heavy impacts, and his sword was cast to the side, as it had no purpose in his situation. He bashed with his sheild to get a moment to breath, and was immediately hit by a magic bolt. He groaned. And the monster reared back to strike him again.
However, it was interupted by a tree dropping on it. This wasn't enough to finish it off, but the weight kept it down, leaving it as a sitting duck for a pounding. Royal hacked and slashed, and Esther threw a barrage of her assorted spells. Eventually, the monster slowed it's movements, going from raging growls to weak protests. It came to an end and Royal impaled its neck.
"It's so much better when they don't just grow back together..." He said, before being broadsided by another magical bolt. He was downed hard from that one, as Eldrie was running short on healing.
Esther's breath hitched as she saw her friend drop to the ground. Using her sorrow and sudden anger at the offending attacker, she tried to use her modified Lightning Ring. Key word tried. While she did make a ring of strong magic attacks, it had 3 bolts instead of 8. She took what she had and launched them at the other monsters, before running to Royal and trying to pull him away.
Eldrie pitched in, while creating a wall of brambles to hide behind. "Come, this way. We must go around them to escape. They'll do through my wall soon."
The pair made a quick escape with the unconscious Royal between them. They hauled him back to the cave, where Eldrie started looking through some bottles she had hidden in her outfit.
"Excuse me, what are those?" Esther inquired.
"Potions. Elixirs. Flasks. Catalysts." Eldrie said. "The true source of my capabilities. My magic is weak, so I make up for it in other ways."
Esther noted that bit of wisdom. Compensating for a weak attribute with the right tools... It was good advice. And whole she was mulling that over, Eldrie shoved a bottle into Royal's mouth, making sure nothing spilled.
"Hey! What's that supposed to do?" Esther asked, startled.
"It's supposed to get him to wake up, but it might take a bit. Normally it is used immediately." Eldrie grunted. She was irked that her new hires help couldn't defeat the problem right away. But she had to admit, they had accomplished something. Her investigations had shown that those monsters would not call for backup for a mere pond. In fact, Royal and Esther had taken out the main muscle already.
While Eldrie was lost in her head, Esther was curled up by Royal, hoping he'd be ok. And he was. Coming to a few hours later, he looked around wearily.
"What happened..." He asked.
"You sustained a large amount of damage because you weren't paying attention. I explicitly told you not to die. You're not great at that." Eldrie said dryly. Esther sobbed and squeezed Royal tight.
"We took you home. I was worried! Are you ok? Does anything hurt?" She looked into his tired eyes with her wide, teary ones.
"Yeah... A few bumps here and there, and I think I broke a rib... Or two." Royal groaned. "Its very uncomfortable..."
Esther did not let up on her hug, however. But Eldrie came acting like a medical professional. "Your ribs may be cracked at most. They would be causing protrusions and immense pain if they were broken, especially under pressure such as this." She pointed to Esther.
Roy sighed in relief. "Can you heal that?" He asked.
"It will take time, but I can do it." Eldrie said. "Take your tunic off so I can see what I'm doing."
Royal went red. "What?" He asked, embarrassed.
"Do you want me to heal your ribs of your outfit? Get it out of the way." Eldrie replied flatly.
Royal reluctantly took his shirt off. He was confused for a split second when neither Esther nor Eldrie reacted, as that's how girls acted in shows he watched. Then he realized he did not have muscles. That would be why.
Eldrie felt around until Royal winced, and concentrated a healing technique on the injured area once she found it. Royal felt his sore bones grow less pained. When Eldrie finished, she pulled away and stood up.
"I don't suggest moving for a day or so. As much as I dislike the circumstances, it cannot be helped. I will be watching the remaining servants of the Void. Mage, keep an eye on him." Eldrie said, leaving again.
"Why can't she call me Esther?" Esther pouted, asking Royal.
"I think she has less 'people skills' than we do." Royal replied. "It's ok. Don't cry."
"But you got very hurt! I was scared!" Esther insisted.
"I promise, I'm ok now. I just gotta stay here and lie down." Royal countered. "Don't worry about me." He smiled.
Esther did worry about him, and decided to get a few things prepared. "If you insist..." She half-lied. She started making some mushroom stuffed gourds, mainly to shake things up, or at least try to. For all intents and purposes, it changed nothing. But Royal ate it for Esther without complaint. And Esther snuggled up by Royal's side to keep the nightmares at bay for another night.
Royal just sat awake, staring at the cave roof for a while, before drifting off due to Esther's body heat. Got him every time.