(Not) The Warmest Welcome

"AARGH!!" cries Walter. The halfing falls back onto the dirt as a creature comes charging into his direction at break-neck speed. At first glance it appeared to be two men on a horse. Then they came galloping back towards us. That's when I realized the creature was a centaur, on it's back was a dirty looking child clinging onto their side. The centaur stood at a huge seven feet tall.
 
Out of nowhere, a bludgeon flies straight towards me, nearly hitting me dead in the face. A loud "WARGH" comes from the surrounding forest. Fierce looking warriors reveal themselves from the foliage. They form a semi-circle, blocking out path forward.
 
"AWOOOOOO!" cries the warrior covered in animal pelts and bruises. The rest join her call. "I thought we'd be eating leftover mushroom again but meat is so much better! Look it! They's fancy meat too!", says a skinny warrior swaying from side to side in a frenzy, his eyes twitching in delight at the sight of us.
 
There's about eight warriors total, including the centaur and the child, but there's no telling how many more could be hiding. Considering they used their ambush to scream at us, I doubt these are the type to strike from the back. Before anyone can make sense of the situation, I see Walter stand up.
 
"DIE!" he yells. A ball of fire shoots from his hands straight into the chest of the centaur point-blank. The magic kills it instantly, knocking off the child. The child runs off back into the forest. That's when it hits me, the smell of charred flesh wafts in the air confirming a direct hit. Oh how I miss the smell of the salty ocean breeze.
 
I pull my moon-blade daggers from their sheaths and run towards the skinny looking warrior. My daggers find their mark and sink into him like a snake's fangs biting into a juicy rat. His surprised expression leaves me thinking that he's shat himself. Speckles of blood cover his face and his tongue sticks out halfway out his mouth. "Sorry guy, I don't appreciate being dinner," I say.
 
Around me are sounds of bones breaking, swords piercing flesh, coughs of blood, crazed screams, and clinking armor. We continue to fight past these warriors until reaching a clearing with structure made of stone in the middle. It looked like a raised pyramid of medium size for rituals of some sort. Suddenly more cries come from the distance, it's the same "WARGHH!!!" but this time sounding much deeper. I see Tsabi sprint through the chaos and up the pyramid. She disappears from sight when a dark blot in the sky catches my attention. I watch the tiny blot gradually grow in size until it becomes a gigantic boulder about to crush me.
 
I run up the pyramid to see what, or who, was responsible for that boulder. Reaching the top I see Tsabi wrestling with a woman dressed in heavy pelts and a necklace of bones around her neck. She has a head dress with all kinds of colorful feathers. Before I do anything, I'm stunned by the sight of two giant ogres walking towards us. That explains the boulders. On the shoulders of one of them, I see the child from earlier. They are looking right at me with a deadly smirk on their face, they point their finger at me and the ogre starts charging across the river.
 
"Tsabi, we gotta go!" I yell. I kick the woman off Tsabi and the woman falls off the pyramid. She is alive but looks in anguish. The grass must have softened her fall. After that, we run down the pyramid to regroups. That's when our druid, Jeonji, transforms himself into a titan. His size now roughly the same as the ogre. As we descend, more boulders fall from the sky and shake the ground with enough force that I almost lose my footing. I see Jeonji step into the river to face the ogre while the others focus on handling the one throwing rocks. The battle between the titans is epic. Each massive swing sends a tremble in the air causing echoes over a distance. I spot Eirik running towards the woman I kicked, a shadow follows from behind him.
 
More of these shadows appear. I look into the sky and see giant birds moving in a 'V' formation. The tip of the formation breaks off and comes swooping down at the ogre butting heads with Jeonji, the rest of the formation follow and dive one after another. The battlefield is awash in gold and red light that comes glinting off the armor these bird riders are wearing. I see their blades aflame, somehow imbued with fire. They leave dazzling trails of vibrant orange, yellow, and reds with every swing.
 
The ogres begin to panic and flee the area, leaving fallen trees in their haste. I don't know what happened to the woman but she was no longer where she landed. The rest of the pelt wearing warriors had ran back into the woods. "Round up as many as you can, we've got enough warrants to fill two detention centers with these Gruul," says a dark skinned man with a shaven head. "They're on the run again, Captain!" replies a woman. "Take the squadron Corporal, it's be easy to find the big ones. Arrest them first. I'll have a chat with these people," says the Captain. "Yes sir! Company Two, on me," says the Corporal. They fly off, back in their 'V' formation.
 
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"Visitors huh? This damn city has plenty of trouble as it is with the riots. Leave this forest, it is Gruul territory. The city is still a kilometer north. And mark my words, you all may look like you can handle yourselves in a fight, but don't ever make the mistake of forgetting what you are. Civilians. Leave the fighting to the real heroes. That is the duty of the Boros," says the man. Jumping back on his giant bird he flies in the direction of his squad.
 
This city just feels like trouble. I'll bet on that.
 
--Signed O.J