A Quest for the Stars

~Alistair~

The circle of flames roared as the giant finished declaring the doom of our young adventurers. There was a notable absence of smoke, but not heat; the level of heat ensured neither Alistair or Lenoria even thought about taking a chance to cross the circle without the risk of severe burns. On the plus side, the fires were their source of illumination in the darkness of the forest, allowing the two to fight on more equal ground.

Alistair stood in front of Lenoria, who had already drawn her pistol. Chestnut neighed behind them outside of the circle, having survived the impact but anxious to be separated from his master. The giant in front of them held a battleaxe for someone his size.

Worried this could turn ugly, Lenoria had one question in mind. “Any ideas?”

Unafraid, Alistair assumed a defensive stance by raising his shield to conceal his face from the giant. “I know little about giants, but he’s old. He must be experienced in battle, judging by his age and scars. We’re not coming out of this without some scratches, but we can win this.”

“I’ll follow your lead, then.” A silver ring gleamed on one of Lenoria’s fingers, and she raised it to Alistair’s eye level. “Brute force?”

Alistair did the same with a ring of his own. “Indeed. But first.” Alistair lowered his shield. “Giant! Why do you attack us?”

“Why else?” The giant patriarch grinned evilly. “We must feed. My family has simply grown tired of underground food and decided to move to…greener pastures.”

“You speak without remorse. I will need you to face the reality of your situation.” Firmly gripping the pommel of his mace, Alistair stretched his weapon hand forward as if to point at the giant. “Your friends have been dealt with and only you remain.”

The giant’s grin disappeared.

Lenoria was, unsurprisingly, beaming. “Oh my gosh, he’s gonna ask him to surrender in the coolest way possible!”

“Things don’t need to end with bloodshed between us. Lay down your weapon, submit quietly, and-”

“-turn myself in to human authorities, right?” The giant mockingly asked.

“No.” Alistair paused. He didn’t always do this, but he knew what must be done. “You have slain an innocent man, and you have tried to do the same to us. As a paladin of the Hammer, I’m afraid I have to respond in kind. Your own words have condemned you, and now it is time for you to die.”

Lenoria’s expectations shattered like glass during a wine tasting gone south. “A death declaration. W-we can work with that.”

“Why you little-” The giant took a step forward. “I am bigger and stronger! I will crush you and your concubine!”

A pillar of flames surrounded the giant, turning his frame into a smoky black and creating an eruption of fire as tumultuous as his rage. The rising flames reached their peak right above the canopy, after which they descended on Alistair.

Alistair raised his steel shield, but the heat of the flames spread through his shield and armor. His skin sizzled from the very thing meant to protect him.

"A pyrokineticist..." Gritting his teeth, Alistair made the choice to tough it out and withstand the pain.

“I am the furnace of the Laester tribe! I provide heat for them and the means to defend themselves! And tonight, you shall be food for them!”

“This is…nothing!” A holy light emanated from the tip of Alistair’s mace, and soon afterwards a similar light appeared on the giant’s forearm. The image of a hammer was etched on it, something that no amount of scrubbing could take away.

The light from Alistair’s mace disappeared, only to reappear as a thin sphere around Lenoria.

Moving his hands in a very specific pattern, Alistair ended the motion by pointing a finger at the giant. “Spineless coward! Are you afraid to fight me in melee?!”

But the giant didn’t take the bait. “I’m fine right where I am!”

~Lenoria~

“C-concubine?” Lenoria could barely contain her excitement. “That’s a step in the right direction, at least!”

“Lenoria, time and a place!” Pearl scolded.

“Right! I’ll tease Alistair about that later!” Lenoria took careful aim at nearly point-blank and pulled the trigger on the pistol she obtained from the dog couple on that fateful day at the park. A loud BLAM echoed across the forest, mitigated slightly by the sound of the crackling fire. Nearby birds fled from the trees while Alistair recoiled slightly from the sudden shot.

The puncture wound from the gunshot released drop after drop of blood from the giant’s left bicep. Breathing through his teeth for a moment, the giant bellowed an anguished cry. “Humans and their toys! I’ll crush them both!”

~Giant Patriarch~

With one foot forward, the giant leapt forward and brought his axe down with a mighty swing. Alistair tried to block the attack, but the axe hit its mark.

The thinly present sphere Alistair used earlier paid off. Lenoria was struck but the sphere blocked most of the impact. However, a short strand of her hair was lost in the process and a small nick on her cheek released a few drops of blood.

Images of her own death flashed before her eyes. Lenoria shook it off for now and focused her gaze on the enemy before them. “I owe you, Alistair!”

~Alistair~

“Your fight’s with me, coward!” Alistair placed himself between Lenoria and the towering giant. “Take this!”

A bludgeoning blow blew the wind out of the giant’s sails and body. The giant looked down just in time to see Alistair prepare another attack, to which he sidestepped from in time. The giant stumbled in his step, his ankle nearly contorting.

“Fool! Did I not say I was the furnace of the Laester tribe?!” Another pillar of flames formed around the giant. This time, the cloak of flames did not erupt but rather kept Alistair from getting too close.

For his trouble, the young paladin recoiled from the intense heat and nearly dropped his mace. His armor glowed with a menacing red light, which was followed by the sound of his skin sizzling. "What would...Lord Beau say at a time like this?

-----------

“Gaaah!”

A year back, Alistair’s body had been flung across a courtyard where he landed face first on the grassy field. His mace and shield clanged on the stone pavement nearby, rendering the young paladin defenseless.

“Get up,” Beau harshly demanded. The big man placed the hilt of his axe across his shoulders. “We’re not done yet, Alistair.”

“Lord Beau, this is insane!” The boy weakly planted a foot on the ground and a knee with the other leg. “Knocking you down is a tall order! I can’t do it!”

“Not with that attitude. You’ll be facing bigger foes than me if you continue on this paladin road. Will you whine to them, too?”

Grabbing the knee of the leg with its foot on the ground, Alistair pushed himself back up. “N-no, but…”

“Then suck it up. If you start complaining and continue to think you can’t do anything, you’ll just pave your own road to defeat. Those who admit defeat without even trying cannot expect to win even when the odds are in their favor.” With one impatient move, Beau heaved his axe forward. “Again!”

“What do I do, then?” Alistair begrudgingly picked his mace and shield back up. “What do I do when an opponent is bigger than me?”

“Figure out the enemy’s source of power and their weaknesses. If he relies on melee, use missile weaponry. If his eyesight is weak, hide. If he’s a dumbass, outsmart him. Every situation is different, so be sure to adapt accordingly.”

----------

“What’s wrong, little warrior? Even we know sticking your hands into the fire is dangerous,” the giant taunted.

Alistair could only grunt in exasperation. “What is his weakness?”

~Lenoria~

Pearl spared no moment in grabbing Lenoria’s attention. “I’ve identified the Soulstone! It’s Fornax, the Furnace!”

Lenoria exhibited very little surprise. “Really? I couldn’t tell.”

“Be quiet and listen! The giant wields a burning aura around him, but more importantly he benefits from the stone’s power for being a pyrokineticist! He’s able to launch blasts even if he wields a weapon in hand, and on top of that anything who makes contact with him will get singed.”

“That doesn’t sound like good news at all. How do we beat him?”

“Alistair seems to be able to hold on, but those flames are annoying for sure. However, the stone has a weakness; it can be powered by the wielder’s virtue or vice. You take that away, and the stone becomes useless!”

Virtue or vice. It wasn’t too vague to work with, but Lenoria had a feeling Pearl wouldn’t elaborate more than that. It boiled down to a strong belief - or even a strong feeling - or a bad habit.

Lenoria’s mind got to work, and it didn’t take long for her to lock on something.

You made a mockery of my tribe.

Anyone would feel slighted after what Lenoria and the pirates had done. But Lenoria had a feeling, nonetheless…

I am the furnace of the Laester tribe! I provide heat for them and the means to defend themselves!

Was there a need to identify himself so loudly…

Fool! Did I not say I was the furnace of the Laester tribe?!

…Or repeat himself, for that matter? But thanks to the giant’s boasting, the girl made a calculated guess.

“Eureka!” Lenoria grinned. “It’s pride! The stone’s gotta be powered by pride!”

“A reasonable guess. How sure are you?”

“60%, but this is better than having no leads! But how do we knock him down a peg?”

Clara.

“I have a hunch! Pearl, I’ll need you to help Alistair.” The giant was distracted, allowing Lenoria to safely set down her leather bag and rummage through its contents. Inside, she found a vial with clear liquid inside. “Bottom’s up!”

Meanwhile, Alistair stood his ground and not once had he looked back to check on Lenoria. The giant was strong, but the boy’s armor would not be pierced or dented in any way. With the surrounding heat, it appeared the giant had hoped Alistair would remove his armor.

That was not happening, if only for the simple fact heavy armor like Alistair’s took a minute or so to remove. The boy had to tolerate the heat until one side died or surrendered.

~Giant Patriarch~

The giant shifted his weight to his left to catch Alistair off-guard. The boy had little time to react and couldn’t block the axe’s blade in time. The blade from the axe collided with a portion of his left cheek and then his chest, the blow weakened by the armor but still having enough to power a cough out of him.

Just as swiftly, the giant went for another slice, but this time Alistair blocked it in time. “Pitiful little human. All you’ll ever be is coke for my flames. You abandoned your friends to save your own skin? At least I care for my family, and I’m the monster.”

The giant’s strength pushed Alistair backward by a few inches. The struggle created a trail of dirt and mud from Alistair’s feet. Alistair tried to push back, but there was no budging the giant.

And most confusing of all was Alistair’s sudden smile.

“You’re mistaken. We didn’t abandon our friends, but rather kept you away from them. Without your leadership, your family’s bonds will crumble!”

The giant scoffed. “You humans and your speeches.” The giant shoved Alistair away. “This is not like literature; your speech will not strengthen you, and you will still fail.”

“I didn’t even know your kind could read literature.” Alistair pointed his mace at the giant once again. “O Hammer, please give me strength!”

New confidence surged through Alistair. His armor was red hot, his chest was hurting, and yet he remained on his feet. From his point of view, he felt himself a new man.

From the giant’s perspective, however, two corvids perched on his shoulders.

~Alistair~

“You put so much weight and trust in your family, but if they’re only as strong as you are, then I’m confident we can win!” With a spring in his step, Alistair launched himself forward. “Allow me to show you why evil will never prosper!”

“Why are you not afraid, you runt?!” The giant shifted his feet again to try to dodge Alistair’s blows. “You’re a fool! You would give up your life for theirs?!”

But the blows came. First, Alistair went for the shin. If sufficiently crippled, his foe could not walk away once he realized the danger he was in. The sickening crunch from the impact of his mace sent the giant into an agonized howl, bending his knee to reach for the affected area. It instantly became purple from the internal bleeding.

The giant’s mistake was putting his head within reach of the boy. The second blow came just as swiftly, and while the giant saw it coming and weaved seemingly on time, the ravens’ eyes briefly turned green to guide Alistair’s weapon to his intended target.

Several teeth popped out from the impact and the giant’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Head trauma busted the giant’s head open, and blood now trailed from the side of his head. The flames from the giant died instantly, but in their dying moments they burned Alistair’s mace hand with each strike he landed.

Alistair pulled his arm back to place the bloodied mace vertically just inches in front of his face. “Not my life. I offer yours!”

~Lenoria~

Lenoria sighed a little and moved forward. It was time to enact the penultimate stage of her plan. With the buff from Clara’s fire-resistant potion, she was ready to jump into melee.

“The giant’s flames are dying! It appears to me he’s been humbled enough.” There was pride in Pearl’s telepathic voice, ironically enough.

“They could flare up at any time, though. I’m not taking any chances!” Adjusting her glove again, Lenoria then tapped Alistair on the shoulder as Poe returned to her arm. “Alistair, tag out! I’ll finish this!”