Swwy :3
...
The goblins surged forward, worgs
Fin moved first. He vanished in a blur, Flash-Stepping up the side of the crumbling hill. He dropped-kicked into a goblin archer's chest, sending the creature off the slope and onto the plateau. He landed smoothly, pivoted, and lashed out again, another goblin crashing down to the dirt below.
Karlach was waiting, axe already in motion. Steel met flesh with a cleaving roar, splitting one goblin clean and carving another down with the backswing. She roared, flames licking off her skin as she pressed forward like a battering ram.
Wyll charged a worg, rapier flashing. His blade struck true, biting into its shoulder. The beast snarled, lunging to tear him down, only for Wyll to brace, shove, and drive the rapier through its chest in a clean thrust. "Taste the Blade!" he barked, ripping free to face the next.
Shadowheart hung back, eyes narrowed, mace sweeping to intercept a charging goblin. The mace cracked against the goblin's head, and brain matter and blood stained the grass nearby.
"Fools," she muttered, stepping over the body.
Alfira, trembling but determined, swung her lute like a club. The instrument cracked against a goblin's temple, sending it reeling. She followed with a sharp kick to its ribs, knocking it down cold. "Stay...down!" she gasped, breathless.
"Ha! That's the spirit, Alfira!" Karlach roared, cutting another worg from the air as it leapt.
Fin blurred forward, boots hammering the dirt as he tore into the goblin line. A kick to the jaw sent one spinning to the ground, and a stomp drove into another's ribs with a crack. Karlach had her axe sweeping wide arcs that split goblins apart like dry wood.
Wyll's eldritch blast pierced and sent a worg before turning to parry another goblin's strike.
At the back line, the leader stepped forward. He dragged a pouch out. With a wicked grin, he pulled it free — runepowder, its fuse already sparking. He raised it high, about to hurl.
Fin's eyes locked on him.
He raised his hand. A single line of Dismantle ripped forward, the wick split in half with a faint snip. In the same breath, the goblin's head separated cleanly from his shoulders and dropped with a wet thud, silence spilling across the ruined square. The bomb dropped harmlessly into the grass. Its light fizzled out.
Fin turned the runepowder bomb over in his hand, admiring his new find. He twirled it once, then slipped it into his pouch with a satisfied pat. "Waste not, want not."
Shadowheart's head snapped toward him, eyes narrowing. "Did you seriously just pocket that?"
Fin smirked. "Of course. Perfectly stable."
"Perfectly stable, he says!" Karlach scoffed with a sarcastic grin.
Wyll stared at him like he'd sprouted a second head. "You're carrying live runepowder in your bag? With your coins? And your rations?"
Fin shrugged. "Adds a little spice."
"You're insane." Shadowheart sighed, pressing a hand to her face.
Astarion wasn't there, but his voice seemed to echo in her tone.
Alfira blinked at him wide-eyed. "You're not worried it'll… You know… explode?"
"Meh"
Wyll muttered, "One day, that pouch of his will take us all to the Hells."
Karlach barked another laugh, slapping Fin's back while shaking her head. "Gods, I love this lunatic."
Shadowheart groaned audibly, glaring at Karlach when she snorted in amusement. "Don't encourage him."
But Karlach only grinned wider, embers still flickering faintly off her shoulders.
Fin leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head with mock innocence. "Face it. You'd all be bored without me."
The creak of the windmill cut through the banter, a reminder of the deep gnome still spinning and screaming with each turn.
Karlach tilted her head toward it. "Speaking of not boring…" She jabbed a finger at the windmill.
The others followed her gaze.
The sails creaked as they turned, slow and steady, and tied to one of them was the deep gnome. He spun in a dizzy loop, shrieking each time he rose into the sky, then again as he swooped back toward the dirt.
"Let me down! Gods, please, let me down!" he wailed, flailing uselessly against the ropes.
"Hells, he's louder than the goblins!" Karlach noted.
The gnome swung past again, upside down this time, his voice breaking.
Alfira's jaw dropped, somewhere between horrified and stifled giggles. "Is… is he going to be alright?"
Fin folded his arms, tilting his head as the gnome made another squealing circuit. "Depends on how many more spins before he hurls himself unconscious."
The windmill groaned, carrying the gnome up for another spin. His panicked screams echoed across the ruins like some grotesque carnival ride.
...
Alfira's hands trembled as she yanked the brake lever down with all her weight. The windmill shuddered, sails grinding to a halt with a groaning creak.
Above, the rope binding the deep gnome strained, fibres taut and fraying. Fin raised his hand, cursed energy sharpening along his fingertips. With a quiet hiss of air, a thin line of Dismantle sliced clean through the rope.
"Got you," he muttered.
Barcus Wroot plummeted only for Karlach to step forward and snag him out of the air one-handed. She cradled him under her arm like a runaway chicken, grinning as she set him on his feet.
The deep gnome staggered, knees wobbling. He swayed, nearly pitched forward, then braced himself with both hands on his thighs. His hair stuck up at wild angles, his round spectacles cracked across one lens.
"Urrrgh… magga cammara—those pustulent thugs!" he spat, spittle flying. His voice was hoarse from screaming.
He looked up at Fin, still pale and dizzy, but with a sharp flash of irritation in his eyes.
"Well? Get on with it," he barked.
Fin arched a brow. "Get on with what?"
Barcus glared up at Fin, still brushing dust from his sleeves.
"This is where you extort me, isn't it?"
Fin raised his brow. "Do you… want me to extort you?"
The gnome blinked, taken aback. "What? No!" His eyes narrowed. "You're teasing me, aren't you?" He huffed, then waved a hand sharply. "Fine. I'll give you the courtesy of keeping my pack. Goblins hid it somewhere. You find it, and it's yours to gawk at."
Barcus began rambling, something about finding a missing friend. His words spilled into the air, but Fin's mind wandered almost instantly. Everything was in one ear and out the other.
His gaze drifted across the ruined village.
When Fin tuned back in, Barcus was already adjusting his sleeves, bowing stiffly. He gave them one last sharp nod, then shuffled off, muttering to himself as he vanished toward the treeline.
"Let's keep moving before we waste more time.", Shadowheart urged.
And so the group continued.
...
A small band of goblins stumbled out, blades flashing in the dull light.
"Ambush!" Wyll called, rapier already sliding free.
But the fight was hardly worth the warning.
When the dust settled, Alfira stood once again clutching her lute, chest heaving. She'd swung it hard enough to knock one goblin flat on its back. Her eyes were wide, but a proud spark burned there too.
"You're getting the hang of it," Fin said, brushing blood from his knuckles. "Though we'd best find you an actual weapon, aye."
She flushed, nodding quickly.
Later, in the far end of the village, they came upon three hulking shapes gnawing on bones beside a collapsed cart. Ogres. One wore a horn strapped across its chest, a curved bone.
Karlach tightened her grip on her axe. "This is going to be messy."
But Fin raised a hand. "Wait. Let me try something."
He stepped forward, hands open, grin easy. "Friends, right? No need for trouble."
The ogres paused, blinking down at him. The largest leaned forward, meat still hanging from its tusked jaw. "Friend?" it rumbled.
"Sure," Fin said, nodding quickly. "Big, strong friends. And that horn…" He gestured casually. "Very impressive. Bet it calls more of you, yeah?"
The ogre puffed up with pride, thumping its chest. The others grunted in agreement. For a moment, it seemed like Fin had pulled it off.
Then his mouth betrayed him.
"Though," he added without thinking, "you don't really need it, do you? You're scary enough already."
The ogre froze. Its brow furrowed. "Scary… enough?"
Fin blinked. "Uh—"
The ogre roared, spittle flying. "You think us, not scary?!"
The ground shook as the beast lurched forward, club swinging.
Karlach groaned, rolling her shoulders as embers flared bright. "Well, so much for friends."
Wyll sighed, sword raised. "Here we go again."
Fin set his stance, cursed energy sparking around him. "Alright then. Plan B."
Karlach grinned, axe ready. "My favourite plan."
The lead ogre charged, its club sweeping a wide arc that could've flattened a cart. Karlach met it head-on, axe braced, sparks bursting where steel kissed wood. The impact rattled her arms, but her grin widened.
"Finally! Something that hits back!"
The other two ogres bellowed, stomping forward with bone-shaking steps.
Fin narrowed his eyes, dropping low before the closest one could reach him. He didn't bother closing the distance. Instead, he raised his hand, cursed energy flaring sharply.
A clean black line ripped across the ogre's thigh, shallow but enough to stagger it. The beast howled, stumbling sideways.
"Stay out of their swing range!" Fin barked. "They'll crush you if you trade."
Shadowheart shifted behind Karlach, shield raised. "Finally, some sense." She casted Guidance, which struck an Orge right in the chest. She then darted in, her mace crunching into a knee already weakened by Fin's strike. The ogre buckled, roared, then collapsed to one side.
Another came lumbering for Fin. He blurred sideways, cursed energy sparking again.
Dismantle.
This one dug deeper, tearing a thick groove across its chest. The ogre reeled but didn't fall. Its hide was tougher, the line fizzing out sooner than usual.
Fin nodded. "Mmh… takes more juice to cut through, I guess."
He rolled his shoulders, then snapped another slash across the air.
The second line bit deeper, carving through fat and muscle. Blood sprayed in a hot arc. The ogre stumbled, clutching at the wound, then toppled to the dirt with a thunderous crash.
Karlach whooped, cleaving the orge's arm off at the elbow. Wyll darted in beside her, rapier sliding clean into its ribs. Together they drove it down, Karlach roaring, Wyll grim-faced.
That left the third.
It swung wildly, howling in panic at the sight of its brothers bleeding out. Fin didn't bother letting it close. He crouched, the next dismanlte carved straight through its throat. The beast gurgled, staggered, then fell like a felled tree, shaking the ground.
Silence followed, broken only by the crackle of Karlach's embers. She leaned on her axe, chest heaving, sweat running down her brow.
Wyll wiped his blade, eyes narrowing slightly at Fin. "You seemed to burn a lot of strength on those cuts."
Fin shook his hand out, flexing his fingers. His knuckles still tingled from the cursed energy coursing through them. "Yeah. Ogres are thicker. Needed to push a little more than usual," He smirked faintly. "Worth it, though."
Shadowheart's lips curved in a dry smirk. "Well, at least you didn't try to 'make friends' this time."
Alfira peeked out from behind a wooden support beam, eyes wide. "You all… You made that look easy."
Karlach barked a laugh, clapping her on the shoulder hard enough to almost knock her over. "Stick around, girl. With us? It is easy."
Fin let the smirk linger.
"Well, that's that part done," he said, rolling his neck. "We keep moving."
...
After a quick, short rest, the group were picking their way past shattered carts and leaning shacks. Smoke still clung to the air, and the stench of goblin cookfires lingered.
They were about to slip through a side alley when muffled sounds drifted from a boarded-up manger tucked against a sagging barn. At first, it was hard to place, low grunts, rhythmic thuds, and the occasional squeal. Then Karlach's eyes went wide, a wicked grin tugging her mouth.
"Ohhh no," she whispered, trying not to laugh. "That's not fighting."
Shadowheart groaned, already pinching the bridge of her nose. "Please tell me we're not stopping for this."
"Absolutely not," Wyll muttered, his face already red. "We keep moving."
Fin nodded quickly. "Agreed. Whatever's going on in there, it's their problem." He stepped aside to skirt around the structure—
—and his boot slid across a slick patch of mud. He stumbled forward, shoulder slamming into the door. The wood creaked once, then burst open.
The sight that greeted them was… not glorious.
A bugbear and an orge bent over, straw stuck out of the fur in every direction. The stench of sweat and musk rolled out into the street like a physical blow.
For one long, horrific second, nobody moved.
Shadowheart turned on her heel, face twisted in disgust. "I did not need to see that."
Wyll covered his eyes with one hand. "By the Nine Hells, close the door!"
Fin shoved it shut in a rush, his face burning. "I slipped!"
And poor Alfira, her head looked as if it was going to explode
The female ogre stood up from her position.
"Go, go, go!" Fin hissed, pushing the group forward down the street, as they all ran away
...
Now, having left the Blighted village on their way to the Goblin Camp, the stink of mildew was instead replaced with smoke. It crawled in their nostrils and clung to the back of their throats. The mighty forest they'd previously been passing through was now thinned where fires had torn through. Embered trunks jutted like spears from the blackened dirt, their crowns long since eaten by flame. Ash clung to the air, drifting lazily in the air.
The group, under Fin's order, had crouched low just before the checkpoint ahead, which was guarded by a few worgs and goblins. In his head, Fin was already mapping the options.
First time through, you have to talk your way past them. No choice. Unless you get clever. Feather Falling potion, cliff jump to the side, I'd done that in a few playthroughs.
The others glance between themselves. Karlach tilted her head, axe resting against her shoulder. "What's the plan, Fin?"
Wyll frowned, hand resting on his rapier. "We're about to be seen."
"I know," Fin said, his tone sharp. "I just… want to try something."
Shadowheart groaned, already pinching the bridge of her nose. "Here we go. Another one of your 'brilliant ideas.' Probably something magical and ridiculous again."
Karlach smirked, embers flickering on her cheek. "What, you gonna try shapeshifting into a goblin? Please tell me no."
Fin's mouth tugged into a faint, dangerous smirk. "Oh, you'll see."
The group exchanged groans, mutters, and one long-suffering sigh from Wyll. They hunkered lower behind the brush, waiting.
At the barricade, two goblins leaned against the arch. One scratched idly at his shoulder, eyes half-lidded.
The other goblin blinked, eyes narrowing as his lips moved soundlessly in thought. Finally, he grinned. "Easy. That's a horse."
The first goblin scowled. "Horse? What kinda horse got two legs, you bleedin' dolt?"
"Yer the dolt! It's a dog, then."
"Dog? DOG?! Dogs don't—"
BOOOOOOM.
The world split open in fire.
A column of searing light roared outwards, a sunburst ripping through stone, wood, and flesh. The shockwave evicted the checkpoint and the already singed bushes, sent nearby birds shrieking into the sky, and tore the barricade apart as if it had never existed. The earth itself shuddered underfoot.
For a moment, the forest glowed as though it were a second son. Heat washed over the party in waves, their eyes stinging as the air burned. It was insane. Akin to something like a fireball, but infinitely more destructive and scorching. Not some drunken wizard's spell gone wild.
A weapon meant to erase anything it touched.
If it wasn't already obvious enough, Fin had used Divine Flame, a much more scaled-back version than the one Sukuna used in Shibuya. Given the lack of a binding vow limiting it to a 1v1, the arrow wasn't as destructive to point it at a whole city. Yet as an AOE damage spell, it worked perfectly.
What would've been another menial combat encounter was instead a one-sided eviceration. The goblins, the worg, even the barricades, are gone and vaporised in a single breath. Fin was still in position, one hand drawn back as if holding an invisible bowstring, the other extended like he'd loosed an arrow at the heart of the world. His chest heaved, eyes wide, the afterglow of flames faintly along his arms.
Then his hands fell.
He stared at the ruin, throat dry.
'That… was Divine Fire Arrow. My first time using it. And even then, it wasn't at full strength. Not Sukuna's. No vow to fuel it. And still… this much?'\
The silence behind him was deafening.
Karlach's mouth hung open, axe forgotten at her side. The runes across her weapon dimmed in comparison to the inferno they'd just seen.
Shadowheart's eyes were wide, shield still half-raised, her lips moving soundlessly before she finally whispered, "By Shar…"
Wyll had frozen mid-step, his rapier lowered. His gaze flicked from the ruin back to Fin, disbelief painted across his face.
Alfira clutched her lute to her chest like a shield, her knuckles white.
None of them spoke. None of them even breathed.
They just stared at him.
Fin's jaw tightened as he forced himself to look away from the destruction, back at them. He managed a breathless, almost nervous laugh.
"…So. That worked."
...
End of Chapter