Zeke pulled Keelie through as Kip shut the door with his remaining hand. The gargoyle circled overhead. The rest of the troupe made their way up the waterfall to join in on the action.

  “She makes doors with her hands!” said Kip, “Grab her hands!”

  Zeke grabbed her arm with one hand. The direwolf squeezed her other hand with his large mouth, biting down on it, drawing blood instantly, “I got her,” Said Wolfgang.

  “Me too!” Said Zeke.

  Keelie struggled against the two brutes, both three times her size. Kip grabbed her scabbard and held it against his chest, almost as if he was hugging it.

  “We don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You’re hurting me!!!” Said Keelie.

  “Well, we don’t want to!” Screamed Kip.

  Keelie did not stop struggling against her captors. Storm and Jasssper tried to approach to help with the legs but she kicked them both in their faces, knocking them back.

  “Uh, guysh?” The direwolf said while his open mouth clamped on her hand, “She’sh knocking on the roof of my mo-”

  Sea water exploded from out of the dire wolf's mouth. He was forced to release her hand. He pointed his mouth upward to quell the spigot but it did not work. The extra dimensional door ejected seawater so hard that it pushed the direwolf further into the ground. Wolfgang felt the disgusting brine of sea water enter his throat at a vicious velocity.

  “Someone close Wolfgang’s mouth!” yelled Kip.

  Jasssper wrapped his body around the wolf’s maw and attempted to shut it but the spillage would not stop.

  “The door’s inside his mouth!” Said Kip as he turned away from Keelie. Keelie grabbed the end of the scabbard that Kip was holding and pushed it up, jutting Kip’s chin. She then pulled it forward, using his own body as leverage to yank it out of his grip. She slammed the scabbard against Zeke’s large fingertip.

  “Ahh!” Zeke yelled. Keelie, now with appendages free, twisted over her back and landed on her feet. She took out her sword.

  Kip fell backwards after the blow. His head fell back and he saw his severed hand hiding in between some bramble.

  “Guys! It’s my hand! Azami probably needs this, right?” Kip ran up to grab the hand. It was still bleeding, like his stump. He looked at the serration on the hand. It was clean. For whatever reason, some instinct took over. He placed his hand back on his arm. He held it there. The cut was so perfect that it was like it it was never cut. He kept his arm in there and… moved his fingers. He released his hand and moved his arm around. His arm was back intact. “I think while my hand is stretchy… it can heal itself? No clue.”

  “Help, please!” yelled Stormbristle. Stormbristle shocked Keelie with a dose of lightning,

  “Sorry!” Yelled Kip.

  Keelie fell to one knee. She sliced at Zeke as he tried to approach. Mason landed and assaulted her.

  “Enchanted blade, stony. Negates natural defenses. Just try it.”

  Mason still tried it. Keelie sliced and the blood behind Mason’s stone shell started leaking.

  “Guys, she’s right!”

  “You should have listened to me! Quit chasing after me and I’ll be on my way. You got that?”

  Jassser wriggled inside of Wolfgang’s stinky mouth attempting to reach the door. The pressure of the water from the roof was causing the water to flood all directions, pushing Jasssper out of the mouth.

  “Jump in the river!” Kip yelled, “That will equalize the pressure!”

  The dire wolf leapt into the river and was swept down the waterfall.

  Zeke approached and She swung her arm again.

  “Come on,” Zeke said, “You want to go against this? All of us? Put the sword down and the fewer people that get hurt, the better.”

  Keelie had her blade still in a defensive posture, but it lilted a little.

  “Zeke, you’re learning!” Storm said.

  “Yeah, conflict ain’t everything. Kip taught me tha- OOWW”

  Keelie had stabbed Zeke in his butt. Zeke grabbed at the wound, covering it.

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  “I’ll KILL YOU!” Said Zeke as he reached over with his hands. She slashed, Zeke dodged and tapped her side with his large foot. It was enough to unbalance her and Zeke dropped the horns on her. He struck her and she fell again.

  The pit demon threaded his chain through the gap of the rocks, then grabbed the end of it and tossed it across her body. The hook attached itself to the exposed root of a tree and he pulled on the start of the chain, tightening them and pinning Keelie down.

  “Who do you work for?!” Kip asked.

  “Who do YOU work for?” Keelie asked.

  “We work for this guy!” Said Zeke and he pointed toward Kip.

  Kip started, “And I work for the lifeblood of the good people and monsters of-”

  Keelie spit in Kip’s face.

  “Hey! You going to spit on my leader’s face?” Zeke barked, “Fine! Then you tell me who leads you and I’ll spit on their face!”

  “I’m not telling you anything!” Yelled Keelie, “I’m part of a secret organization and we don’t say anything.”

  “Which one?” Jasssper asked, “I know ssseveral. Could it be the Jade Spider? The Jack of all Tirades? Unlikely… I imagine you’re here because you’re working for some kind of government. Isss that the case?”

  Keelie attempted to yank herself up to pull the chains up, but the pit fiend had pulled against that. Even still, he needed the help. Mason grabbed the end of it and pulled.

  “She’s incredibly strong, lord!” Said Akun.

  “Please tell us,” Kip said, “There really doesn't need to be any fighting.”

  “Don’t tell them anything, Keelie.”

  They all looked up and saw another woman. Wearing the same uniform and red haired instead of blonde. Locke had arrived, “All this trouble and for what? For you to ruin all chances of our stealth. You’re looking at a warning from our superior officer or maybe even a demerit.”

  “If you’re with the Ulmund kingdom you legally have to identify yourself.” said Zeke.

  She pulled her blade out, “Zeke the Freak. You’ve sent some of our most promising heroes to an early grave.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re going down first.” She locked eyes with him. He smiled, eager for the challenge. While his smile remained, his eyes suddenly went wide. She walked toward them and took her blade out. Zeke did not move.

  “Move, Zeke!” Said Storm.

  Storm jumped in the way and shot lightning at her. She leapt out of the way.

  “Get them, Locke!” Keelie yelled, her efforts to knock on the ground were thwarted by Kip interlacing his fingers with Keelie’s hands.

  “Can I interest you in peaceful talks?” Kip asked.

  “I hate you, you scaly creature!” Said Keelie.

  “You smell so good.” Murmured Kip.

  “What!?”

  Once Locke stopped looking at Zeke he could move again. She diverted her attention to Storm. Storm attmempted to run away, but two leaps and one bound and she was already by him. She slashed at the pork’s cloudy hide and he fumbled. He faced her “Zip Zap Slop!” He barreled toward her, landing his tusks to her belly, but she did not budge.

  “Oh, no.” Said Storm. She slammed the hilt of her sword on the top of his head.

  “OUCH!”

  Zeke went in to punch her, locking eyes with her as she did. His fist stopped in mid air. It was the same feeling as before. The fist stopped an inch before hitting her. She took out her blade and punctured it into Zeke’s forearm. Zeke winced in pain but did not move until Locke blinked. Then he buckled, grabbing his arm in pain.

  “Entry level… Promising heroes, Zeke. Promising. At the end of the day you’re still just a two-bit boss for the early levels. Don’t forget that.” She whipped her blade and an ‘x’ of blood spurted from Zeke’s chest. He fell backward. And called out to the others.

  “Guys! Don’t look in her eyes! It’s some kind of boon! You can’t move if you look into her eyes.”

  “Hmm, not as dumb as you look.”

  Zeke smirked, “Just barely.”

  He jumped back, then grabbed a bandana from his denim sleeveless vest and tied it around his eyes, “Now I can fight you.”

  “Maybe you are as dumb as you look.” Said Locke.

  Before she could swing her blade again, Mason dive bombed her. Slamming his horns into her and putting her into the ground. She grabbed his horns and yanked his head so his eyes locked with hers. She slashed Mason and kicked him down, breaking her hold on him. Locke had made her way to the pit fiend. Akun was currently detained while keeping Keelie down. She swung her blade, he dodged, “A little help!” Said the pit fiend.

  She stabbed him through the leather vest, piercing no internal organs. The pit fiend didn’t have any. She yanked her blade up, lifting the skeleton. He lost his grip on his chain hook. Keelie just had to take care of Kip.

  She picked up Kip and said, “Little creep!” She kneed him in the stomach. He dropped down, gripping his stomach.

  Keelie scanned the area for her sword. She saw Jasssper had knotted himself around it and Swiff and was taking it away hovered over the river. Jasssper dropped the blade in.

  “I don’t have a weapon, Locke.”

  “They know our boons, Keelie.”

  Slowly, the troop of monsters had recovered and surrounded Keelie and Locke. The pit fiend had collected his chain hook and spun it, ready to launch. Zeke was walking toward them with his eyes tied by his bandana. Mason was once again taking flight to dive bomb them.

  “Can we fight our way out of this?” Keelie asked.

  “Keelie, start making a door.” Locke said.

  “Locke.” Keelie said.

  “What?”

  She whispered but knew the monsters were close enough to hear, “The wolf… his door is still open. I can’t open another one.”

  Locke sighed, “We’re in enemy territory. Surrounded. One of us without weapons.”

  “I’m sorry, Locke.”

  “Don’t apologize, Keelie. It’s one of the first rules in our handbook. 'Never admit fault.'”

  “Protocol?” Keelie asked.

  “I couldn’t do that to you. Could you do that to me?.” Locke said.

  “No. I couldn’t. For what it’s worth… they said they’d be reasonable.”

  Locke nodded. She placed her sword down and stuck her hands up, “We have a preapproved slate of information we are allowed to share if tortured. We will give you that and extra if you spare us the torture. If you’re truthful about not wanting to hurt us, we can get out of here, relatively scott free. What do you say?”

  Kip rested his hand against the pit fiend’s chain hook and lowered it, “We accept. What can you tell us?”

  “Be firm, Kip,” Zeke muttered through his bandana.

  “If it’s good enough.” Kip said, “If it’s good enough we’ll let you go, but it has to be juicy.”

  “The information will be sufficiently moist. We’ll start with who sent us. Then move onto why we were spying on you and why we attempted to interfere with the games. We can even talk about potential countermeasures.”

  “We’ll take it!” Said Kip.

  “It seems you all are more reasonable than the rumors have made you out to be. I can see you have a good head on your shoulders.”

  “There’s nothing we want more than… I'm sorry, do you hear that?”

  “BLLLLLLAAAAAAADEMAAAAAAAAN!”

  Blademan jumped through some brush, diving head first into Keelie’s back, piercing her narrow frame and entering Locke’s as well. The tip of his headblade exiting Locke’s chest.

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