#dnd based

The man halt’s all movement, and you see two glowing silver eyes staring at where Kilan stood, frozen in panic.

“U-Uh, guys?” Kilan says nervously.

The man shifted, looking around at the rest of the group. He’s still growling, but it doesn’t seem to be directed at any of them in particular. His back is still hunched due to the lack of space for him and his wings, and he doesn’t react as Kilan approaches.

As Kilan nears, she is able to make out more details. The man’s face is bruised and there’s many small cuts and scrapes across his entire body that she could see, along with the harpoon that was stuck through his calf, forcing him to put all his weight on one leg and his chained wrists. It was obvious that the man had put more weight onto the chains than his leg, as the area around his wrists was rubbed raw and even bleeding in certain places.

Kilan gasps and ran over to the cage, turning back to her friends. “Oh my god! Guys, he’s hurt!” she whisper-yelled to them. “We need to help him!”

The man, in response to Kilan’s sudden closeness to him, growls out another string of words and thrashes against his restraints, causing the chains to dig deeper into his skin. He lets out another almost feral growl, his barring his teeth and lifting his good leg to kick at the cage.

His kick just barely misses Kilan’s head, his kick landing solidly on the metal bar just to the right of her head, the impact making it creak and bend outwards a good couple inches.

Kilan tries her best not to flinch, however she fails to do so and jumps backwards. The Tiefling is aware of what he is saying, having known the same language as him. Kilan is abruptly pulled back as a familiar human pushes the Tiefling behind her, Mathilde brandishing her quarter-staff in preparation to fight, if needed.

Kilan places a hand on Mathilde’s shoulder and says quickly; “Wait! He thinks were one of the slavers, let me try to convince him the we’re trying to help.”

Mathilde looks back at Kilan with a skeptical look. “You sure about that?”

The Tiefling nods and puts a little more pressure on the human’s shoulder as a silent plea.

Mathilde, reluctantly, puts her arm down for Kilan to go, keeping her staff at the ready.

As Kilan approached once again, this time she stuck her hand through the bars and said quietly in Infernal; “Don’t worry, we are here to help you. We are good people, I promise. We did not put you here.”

The man, originally very wary of her, perks up a bit at the sound of his own language, however he pushes himself away from her outstretched hand. He doesn’t get very far, as his wings make it hard to maneuver in the small area he is trapped in.

Kilan slowly reaches up to the man’s bound hands and her hand starts to shake as the man’s gaze never leaves her own, his bright silver eyes slightly intimidating her. He finally looks away when his hands are suddenly free with a quiet CLINK.

After so much weight being put on only one leg, it gives out from under him and he falls suprisingly gracefully to the floor of his cage. He is no longer growling as he was when they had first found him.

Before any of the group have time to react to it, the man reaches back and yanks the harpoon out of his leg with a guttural yell, quickly tossing it aside and placing his hands on the wound. Only moments pass as his hands glow and pulse with a fiery light, and he pulls away. His wound is now healed, nothing, not even a scar. It looks like it never even happened.

The man looks up at Kilan and his gaze no longer seems as frightening.

Kilan turns back to her team. “We should help free him,” she says.

“Are you sure about that?” Graham speaks from Mathilde’s left, startling her. “He seems very strong, and if he turns on us it won’t end well.”

“Yeah, it won’t end well for him,” Mathilde adds quietly.

Graham goes to give her a pointed look only to realize that she won’t see it because of his invisibility.

Anaya, who had been silent until now, steps forward. “I say we help him. Who’s with me?”

Kilan, Anaya, Mathilde, and, although unseen, Graham all vote yes.

“This is so stupid, why am I doing this?” Graham whispered to himself as he stepped forward.

This was bad. No, this was worse than bad, this could be a death sentence.  

Oh calm down Sky. You’ve been in worse scrapes.

Right. I had survived worse than this.

After jumping down a hatch first for my friends in this vampire castle, I met the eyes of some being. Now everything was dark and I couldn’t find anyone. I could just keep moving forward. Not even my dark vision was a match for this.

Just breathe. You know you can handle this. You’ve survived on your own for so long.

I nodded to myself slowly keeping the panic under control. After working around them for so long, it was a bit scary not having their backup around. I could do this tho. I was The Ranger from Faedan Hollow.

“Seems you found your backbone human.”

“Let’s see if I can find yours! Where are you!?” I had to keep my voice strong. Show no fear and they would feel it instead. Fake being brave and soon enough you will be. The voice laughed, a dark deep chuckle before slowly going to a little girl’s laugh. One I knew.

“Oh sissy, don’t you recognize my voice?” My breath hitched then. I heard footsteps in front of me and suddenly she was there. A simple pink and white dress, those adorable pigtails. Her smile.

“Sophie…?” She smiled then and suddenly turned before running. I took off after her. She was alive!?

“Sophie!!!” I couldn’t hide the desperation. She had survived. I wasn’t alone.

I hardly felt the ground change. I didn’t know where I was till I ran out of the woods and saw the scene before me.

The burning village. Everyone screaming and crying.  The roar of the fiends. Sophie had gone straight into town. I could see her running and laughing as people around her were murdered.

“No….”

“These deaths still haunt you, Ranger. The deaths of your village and family. You carry this like a millstone around your neck. Or more appropriately your shoulders.” 

I wasn’t ready. I felt something swipe into my back making me scream as I fell forward. Blood was coming right where I knew my only tattoo was. The voice laughed and I turned and froze. It was him. The fiend that caused all of this. The one that slumbered deep in the woods. I felt the same fear I did that night before I got my feet and ran. He laughed following me. All around me, people were dying, screaming for me. They knew it was my fault. I had woken him up. I should have never made it out of his cave. It was only pure luck I made it home. Then that night…

I fell over a dead man and hit the ground hard. I gasped and tired to get up. Only his foot hit my back and I couldn’t. I could barely even breathe. I could see me with Sophie running just ahead. My little seven year old legs running as fast as they could in a panic.

“No…!” I choked out as tears came. I knew what was coming. Sophie’s hand left mine right as a bounding demon tackled her. I could hear my own scream over the others. I let my head fall then as the tears streamed. I was only seven. I didn’t know a thing. How could I have protected us? Even if we had made it to the next village, we would have been casted out. The only survivors of a horrific attack. I could barely hear him laughing as he got ready to kill me. I always knew this was going to be my fate.

“SKYLAR!” I flinched hearing that voice. Axel!? There was no way. How did they get here!? Suddenly the weight on me went flying and I was pulled up. Someone was healing my back and I looked. Axel had my arm, worry in those dragon eyes.

“Wake up dumbass!”

“Huh?” I looked back out and It started shifting. I stopped breathing for a second and the scene around me shattered like a mirror. A vampire wizard was there laying, blood drooling out of his mouth. He smiled at me then and I felt Axel let me go.

“He’s all yours.” I nodded then flipping out my daggers and just ran.

A swift kick to the gut doubled him over. A knife to the neck paralyzed him. A knee to his head forced him back against the wall as I held the poisoned one to his neck.

“Why!?” He smiled then.

“About time someone took the mighty hunter low. Murderer.” I growled then and just got up and kicked him as hard as I could.

“Shut up!!!!! Just shut up!!! You disgusting monster!” I just kept kicking him until someone pulled me back by my arms and tossed me to the other side. I landed sliding on my feet and I quickly let a dagger fly right in between his eyes. I could barely see from all the tears. I hit the ground on my knees and tired to stop them. I felt someone come close then and barely touched my shoulder.

“Sky… Who’s sophie…?” I clenched my pants into my fists then. I knew that voice. It was Seth. He was worried.

“My sister….. I…. I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t save any of them! It was my fault! I woke up the fiend and he came after me!! I didn’t know! I didn’t know and I couldn’t save her!” I was almost screaming. I couldn’t stand the guilt.

“It won’t ever leave… They said it would! That I would forget! But I will never forget! I can’t!!! I destroyed their lives that night because I was stupid! I can’t risk it ever again…. I can’t lose you idiots too….” I was breaking down. I couldn’t stop it. I was so scared of losing my new family. I felt an arm around me then and  a tight squeeze.

“It’s ok…. Let’s take a rest… Took us a while to find you. It’s only when you screamed for her, we heard you…. So calm down… because we’re not going anywhere. You’re not alone…”

“Yeah! And you’re smarter now! So I doubt you’ll do that again! You know how to track demon things better than anyone!” I laughed a bit then hearing my friend Insi. She was always so happy go lucky. I looked up then and she was smiling. She pulled out a spoon then.

“And if they do get the best of you, we’ve got this!” Everyone laughed then and I nodded.