Outnumbered
The Meandering Adventurers just might have bitten off far more than they can chew. Can I ragtag bunch, all with their specific niche and style of fighting take down a tyrant's small army?
A spring green orb streaked across the sky. The humming of rapidly moving wings could be heard as the orb reached our heroes. A flash of similarly colored light followed and a figure took form from that flash of light. Standing a few inches shy of five feet stood a green haired woman with bee-like features including antennae, wings, and a second abdomen, complete with a stringer. As soon as she took form, everyone's eyes were drawn to her, some from afar. "Oh man, you guys. I think you bit off more than you can chew. That tyrant... the one who's men have been terrorizing the village, they're coming back and in force."
A fiery redheaded neko stared at the bee-like fairy girl for a moment. She seemed a tad anxious at first. However, a smirk crept up on her face, especially as a taller, bear-like woman began to laugh boastfully. "Ah, fooey. We'll take 'em." She leaned against the hilt of her weapon, a halberd. The end of which rested on the ground. Another voice rang out in protest.
"This is serious. Judging by Oleetha's voice, I would assume there's more than just a small regimen. What's the damage?" This voice belonged to another redhead, though one with a more earthy tone of red. The Hoxion seemed concerned. She lightly examined her Lucky red. The rune of which seemed to shimmer a light red hue. "Ah, fire's next... That might help but..."
The small green-haired girl shook her head. "It has to be at least a couple hundred, maybe as much as..."
"We can still take 'em. Right, Nakita?" the Urseus boasted.
The redheaded Neko shook her head dismissively. "There's only six of us. A small regimen... maybe... but this... At least, the town's folks evacuated. They expected this. They probably think the town's a total loss at..."
"Ahahaha! With Marcos and me... and don't forget the special tricks Selphie and you can pull off. We'll take several of them at a time." Valky raised her weapon up and held it. "Remember, the more rage that builds up, the more strength and speed I acquire. I even manage to project an aura on this bad boy, extending it's reach enough that it might as well become two Halberds, wielded almost one-handed. That's Urseus strength for you and it helps when you have a specialty like mine or my younger brother's."
The raven-haired man glanced over his shoulder at the others and solemnly shook his head. Not a word fell from his mouth.
"What? You're a fraidy cat to? I'm sure breaking the ground and creating a bunch of spikes will wipe a bunch of 'em out in one go. That's not even considerin' the fire. Perhaps, our nature wielder can whip up a bunch of trees for you to set on fire. I'll rip up from the root once I'm far enough along and throw them at 'em. Perhaps, our dear Selphie will get the luckiest draws and help expedite our efforts. You forget I'm also a top tier tactician or damn near it. We're a ragtag bunch o' elites, each with niches."
A dark-haired human rolled his eyes. He seemed to be on a hill. It seemed he saw some of the incoming men. "Even so, what if they have archers or mages? I highly doubt he'd send just footmen that'll be fodder for us to mow down."
"Ah, tall dark and handsome finally speaks up?"
The young man disappeared from his spot and appeared a few feet away from Valky. "Yes, we have our specialties but there's always the risk of us losing a member. Even one would be a devastating blow to the morale. Granted, I'm a gambling man so I'll play. I don't think Marcos expected to make it this far. I'm sure we could cut our loses if the worse came to pass. You best be prepared either way." With that, he teleported again, this time to a steady branch in some trees. He looked through the sites of his vintage rifle at the approaching soldiers. "Ha... no guns so far... possibly a few archers at least... Perhaps, I should kick things off."
The Urseus began to laugh. "Of course, you'd want to pick 'em off early, Tobias. You never were one to get too up..."
"Well, I'm a sharp-shooter. My only melee option besides fisticuffs is a 10 inch hunting knife. Speaking of range, have ya fixed that revolver, Marcos? Ya might need it." Both young men were the only two with guns. However, Nakita had her own ranged weapon, a repeater crossbow that could change form into dual scimitar-like weapons.
The raven-haired man let out a sigh. "Well... at least I may go down fighting and with friends at my side. Never thought I'd ever..." Valky slapped Marcos on the back. "Ya not gonna die. We're going to send them packing and wipe 'em out completely. Quit yer moppin' Same goes for the rest of ya. Bring 'em on!"
Finally, the one who passed the message in the first place spoke up again. "There's only six of us. Whether they have any users of magic, archers, or none, we're vastly outnumbered."
"But of course... but like I said, we're one of the most elite ragtag bunches ya ever seen. We know our ins and outs, how to compliment the others."
Oleetha shot Valky a glare. "And I'd rather you not destroy the foliage I grow like that. I prefer whatever I put my energy towards be something that'll stand. Besides... besides... I can't grow a whole damn forest. Vines... maybe some smaller trees..."
"Well, we got cover around us."
Oleetha growled under her breath but relented. She was clearly not too fond of Valky misusing her powers or destroying nature for their gain. She sometimes wondered why she tagged along, especially now knowing the risk. However, one glance over to Marcos and Selphie gave an idea why. At least, those two were tolerable and Marcos was a cutie. Tobias was a diamond in the rough. She was friendly enough with Nakita. Valky was the only one who grew a little grating at times. She was extremely confident in herself and the others. Oleetha felt Valky was far too overconfident for her own good. Why did the Urseus almost always come off as so prideful of themselves and their comrades? Just then, a shot rang out. Oleetha's gaze shot up towards where she last saw Tobias but saw he was gone, having already teleported to another vantage point. Beyond the cover and across a field one of the soldiers fell straight to the ground.