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“Emma Glade Flower,” the leprechaun said, slowly turning atop his pot of gold. “Tip of the afternoon to ye.”
The leprechaun’s back was now to the party. But, of the other three, only the lizard man had turned to face the fairy fluttering a half-dozen feet above the ground, where the meadow grass began.
Someone else on their side would certainly help, Glenn thought. He was pretty sure things would come to blows. Sucking it up, giving the leprechaun his coin, and letting Marigold continue in the game world a foot taller than before seemed like a viable option. But Glenn knew how bullies were. Show weakness, and giving the coin despite the fact that Bata Fidil had broken his end of the deal would encourage him to greater boldness. Probably sick his three goon monsters on them anyway once he had the coin in his greedy little hands.
Yeah, a fight was coming. PCs in a game—no question, they’d fight for Stephi’s honor, and because the creepy leprechaun was trying to cheat the party. But the stakes were higher. A player character in a game dies? Roll up a new one. If his party died, there wouldn’t be any new PCs for them to run.
The gnome healer gripped his cudgel. A fight was coming. One based on RPG rules. Armor Class Tables and Character Stat Modifiers, unseen Dice Rolls and Saving Throws. Intellectually, Glenn knew that was going on all the time, every interaction with NPCs and action, including combat. But he ignored that reality whenever possible. Now, he couldn’t. All the tables and charts and dice were weighted against him and his party, and in the leprechaun’s favor. One small fairy added to their side wasn’t going to change odds.
Glenn realized he hadn’t been listening to the conversation between Emma and Bata Fidil. He’d been thinking, and keeping an eye on the ogre and troll, trying to be ready to get Initiative, if—when—they tried something.
“Yer mistaken,” Bata Fidil said. “I did return her to her former size and self, as agreed. Then added a bit.” He lifted a hand to show a small space between his forefinger and thumb. “No more than a firkin of a hogshead.”
“They bargained in good faith, and upheld their end,” Emma said. “A cradling bough of a hundred-year oak could’ve held up no better.” The fairy remained at a distance while tipping forward to look down at Bata Fidil. “You spurned their effort to return to you your heisted coin.”
“The elf maiden has the stain of greed on her hands.” He stomped a booted foot on his gold coins, causing them to tinkle. “She plotted to take all of me gold.”
“For which you turned her into a fairy,” Emma said. “Then you used that to prod her and her friends like a spotted dog herding sheep to do your bidding.”
“She, and they, need a reminder,” Bata Fidil said, looking back over his shoulder at the party. “Sure as night follows day, me three friends’ll take back me coin, if they refuse to hand it over.”
At that, the troll flashed his pointed teeth and the ogre thumped his spiked club against the ground.
“You will risk every coin of your gold, for one?” Emma replied. “Based upon a slight already punished?”
“Risk?” The leprechaun tilted his head, focusing his senses to the left of the fairy. “The unseen one standing next to you has to be the forever-meddling Lovelace.”
Glenn noticed some of the grass there appeared trampled.
The leprechaun laughed and spoke to the spot. “You must realize, Lovelace, here your spells will have no effect upon me. And raising fire among the trees, should you wish to harm my companion?” He held his arms wide and slowly turned. “Certainly the wood nymph protecting this grove will frown upon that. Or worse.”
Keri, the Glade House owner, was with Emma? Maybe she was using a Render Unseen Spell. That gave Glenn some hope—but not much. The leprechaun was right. He’d planned all the angles. It took a powerful magic user to reliably affect a leprechaun. Magic Resistance was how Ron and Kirby explained it. And Fire Blasts to battle the troll? Even if the party avoided the magical flames, the trees would certainly suffer.
The leaves in the canopy above began rattling, as if a breeze ran through them. The branches were moving, but not back and forth. They were stretching inward. The leprechaun looked up and realized this a fraction of a second after Glenn did.
The sun’s rays blocked, the rainbow faded to nothingness, stranding Bata Fidil atop his pot of gold, along with his nearby enforcers.
The stakes just got higher. Bata Fidil couldn’t use his summoned rainbow to escape. Without it, his pot of gold wasn’t going anywhere—unless the ogre or troll carried it for him.
“Turn me back,” Stephi interjected. “Like you promised.”
Still atop his gold, the leprechaun spun back around. “No, me tall elven maiden. You’ll be handing over me stolen coin.”
Stephi held up a fist and shook it. “How about I hand you a fat lip!”
Bata Fidil’s held his sides while emitting a scornful belly laugh. The ogre, troll and lizard man joined in.
“Come ahead, ya saucy tart,” Bata Fidil said, gesturing her toward him. “I’d like to see ye tr—”
Before the leprechaun finished his taunt, Stephi bounded ahead, planted a foot and performed a lightning-fast, spinning wheel kick.
Her heel struck Bata Fidil in the head. The blow knocked the leprechaun from his perch atop his pot of gold and sent him tumbling.
Glenn knew what a solid hit looked like—one that did hit points of damage—compared to when a creature immune to normal weapons took a hit and sloughed it off. Bata Fidil lost hit points.
Stephi turned and pursued the leprechaun as the little man got to his feet and stumbled back, left hand cupping his thumped ear. Surprise and awe filled his face as he processed what just happened. So intent on dealing with the leprechaun, the towering elf maiden was oblivious of the ogre’s backhand blow, until it sent her tumbling.
The leprechaun shouted, “Take the coin!” and the fight was on.
Derek hadn’t waited for the leprechaun’s order to his goons. He intercepted the ogre before the brute it could follow up on its successful attack.
Kirby shouted, “Lizard dude’s mine,” and loosed a spread of darts as he charged.
Glenn didn’t shout or wait. He pounded toward the leprechaun, cudgel held high.
A stream of four emerald-green Mystic Missiles slammed into the ogre’s back. That same instant, the source of the attack appeared. Keri Lovelace. On the far side of the meadow, she pulled her curved dagger and began striding forward while speaking the words of her next spell.
The fairy, Emma, shot ahead of her partner. Building up as much speed as her iridescent wings could manage, she zipped in front of the fierce troll’s face and released her Dazzle Spell at pointblank range. Unaffected by the spell, the troll sprang after her and snaked out his long arm. He snatched the fleeing fairy from the air and slammed her to the ground like King Kong did to bi-planes that strayed too close.
Ron hurled his silver dagger at Bata Fidil, grazing the leprechaun across the shoulder. It wasn’t much, but the single hit point of damage foiled the spell the leprechaun was casting.
“Jax, assail him with vigor!” Ron shouted the instructions while racing, spear raised high, to save the imperiled fairy. “Inhibit successful spellcasting.”
Glenn intended to do that. He closed and swung his cudgel, but his nimble foe sidestepped. The gnome cocked back again, pressing his attack, but the leprechaun got initiative, and finished a brief spell. He followed it with a swing of his shillelagh. Glenn interposed his shield. The move saved his life. Upon impact, the gnome’s shield, forearm and shoulder shattered in a clap of thunder.
Glenn staggered back, somehow managing to hang onto his cudgel. He knew the magically-enhanced blow had bludgeoned away all but a handful of his hit points. He shook his head; he wasn’t done with the fight. Muttering the words to cast a Minor Heal Draw Spell upon himself, the gnome healer dropped the wrecked remains of his wooden shield and, with grim determination, stalked back toward his smirking foe.
Kirby was locked in combat with his own foe. They went at it toe to toe, like gladiators. Kirby’s nimbleness and slashing cutlass against the lizard man’s superior strength and the longer reach of his wicked trident. Although he was third rank, the thief’s inferior ‘to hit’ chart and lesser damage inflicted by his weapon ultimately destined him to defeat—barring a Natural 20 Roll. Of course, the lizard man could just as easily roll a 20.
Derek and Stephi battled against the ogre. Despite his magical sword, and being two on one, the big warrior stood battered and bruised, while Stephi was down on one knee, struggling to get back to her feet. Giving up on that, she loosed one of her pink Mystic Missiles into the brute. Although the ogre had taken several powerful sword blows, the single bolt of energy wasn’t nearly enough to take him down.
Ron and Keri battled the troll. Ron did his best, wounding the troll consistently with his spear but, as anticipated, the wounds quickly closed up. The powerful, regenerating monster ignored the warrior druid and went after Keri. She’d cast Flame Blade upon her dagger, and the flames that coated the curved blade ensured every successful strike didn’t automatically heal. Because of this, the troll focused his fury on her. And his nasty-sharp teeth and two clawed hands backed by tremendous strength dealt out far more damage than a flaming dagger.
Emma had backed away from the battle, one wing broken. But the tiny fairy hadn’t quit. She seemed to be concentrating, chanting the words to form some sort of enchantment.
After ducking under a clawed fist that hooked several strands of her straight brown hair, Keri loosed a sharp, trilling whistle.
Was she calling in reserves? Glenn sure hoped so.