Pyknic Arms

[Aerial-Rave]

The battle continued as Dame bashed the beast with a swing from her broadsword it slid across the steel armament of the Orc, only managing to knock it back a step. It then quickly retaliated with a swing from its club, meeting the red clad knight's parry. Dame stood fast, taking the blow as Ryven summoned an ice blast that blinded the green behemoth.

Now stunned, the heavy swordswoman assaulted with more thunderous blows but still failed to manage any major damage. “This thing's armor is tough to crack, it's unlike anything I've seen before!”

“It seems resistance to magic as well. Where are the other Krus knights when you need them!?” Ryven commented as she looked to Zoe. The green cloaked archer frowned as there was virtually nothing she could do to help the situation. She was out of arrows and she highly doubt her bow alone could do any damage. “Zoe! Snap out of it, girl!”

“What do you want me to do!?” The ginger replied.

“Distract it or something! Maybe we can at least lead it out of town!”

“You want me to be bait for that thing!? Are you out of your mind!?”

Dame engaged the Orc once more after it had wiped the frost from its eyes. They weapons clashed but Dame's broadsword proved better as she pushed forward, causing the green monster to stumble. “This thing is not a good fighter, that armor is protecting it from its fatal mistakes...” Seeing the beast quickly regain itself, she then raced past her two allies. “Come on, we have to tire it out!”

“Oh boy...seems we both have to run...” Ryven frowned, adjusting her skirt as her flared hips became more apparent.

“Grr, she's a knight so she's built for this...!” Zoe complained but her and the dreadlocks mage decided following Dame was better than facing the Orc alone.

The trio ran through the destroyed square of the town where fires still spread and bodies were sprawled about. It wasn't long before Ryven's excess weight began to anchor her. She suddenly collapsed on her knees, totally out of breath while Zoe stopped to check on her.

“Come on Ry, we have to keep going!”

“I-I wish I could but...this is a painful reminder I'm not cut out for this sort of thing...”

“Ry, archer, what's the hold up?” Dame asked as she stopped a few feet ahead.

“Ryven can't run anymore. If you haven't noticed, we aren't as fit as you!”

“Fitness has nothing to do with it. If anything, I am heavier than Ryven...Still, that thing is way behind us but we still have to keep in its sights to lure it away from the others. It has a Pyknic Arm and it appears it doesn't know the down side to it. ”

“Down side?” Zoe repeated just as the Orc reappeared, tearing through buildings onto the city square. “It's here!”

“Damn, no choice...” Dame unsheathed her broadsword again, blocking a clubbing blow. “You two, get out of here while you...still can! I'll meet you-!” The Orc then broke Dame guard and swattered her into an abandoned kiosk.

“DAME!” Ryven yelled reaching out to the rubble her friend was buried under.

“Ryven, no!” Zoe intervened, holding her friend back.

“No, let me go! I have to help her!”

“We can't we have to get out of here like she said!”

“You can, I'm going to save my friend!” The dreadlocks mage shoved the archer aside and wobbled to the fallen knight. However, Ryven soon saw the Orc begin to swing its club in her direction. She knew she wasn't agile nor resistant enough to survive the blow. Frowning, she closed her eyes and continued to run, preparing for the worst...At the last minute, Zoe came leaping to Ryven's rescue. The two plump bodies hit the ground together and tumbled just out of the range of the Orc's attack.

“A-Are we dead?” Zoe grunted after she hit the ground.

“Z-Zoe...you saved me...”

“Yeah...I wanted to have a friend by the end of this ordeal.” The ginger said with a smile.

“But what about-?”

Dame then pried herself from the destroyed cart, emerging without any visible scars.

“How did she-?” Zoe paused, looking at Dame's rather unique weapon. 'Could she have an Arm...?'

“Dame, you're all right!” Ryven's happiness went unnoticed as the red clad knight advanced with her sword held firmly over her head. She and the Orc clashed several more times, each swing left Dame losing grip with one of her hands, only to come back swinging with the other. Soon, a stray bolt from above rained down on the green monster, stunning it, allowing Dame to get a good full swing that toppled it. With a rousing boom, the monster howled in pain in the wake of its defeat.

The trio gathered in front of the slain Orc, it now a panting heap with its cheeks slightly sunken in. “Something wrong with it?” Zoe spoke up.

“Looks like it. As if it were poisoned or something...” Ryven examined.

“You can say that, or more accurately, a parasite.” Dame concluded as the armor on the Orc retracted into a long gauntlet with a jewel within the palm. “Just as I suspected...” She then slipped the gauntlet from the beast.

“Is that-!?”

“Yes archer, a Pyknic Arm, the one stolen from the Queen's vault.”

“My word...it's beautiful...” Ryven remarked.

“You can say that...think of it as a rose with thorns.”

“How so?”

“Well, we discovered these things grant someone their perfect weapon, usually with a unique ability with it. This Orc seemed immune to everything we throw at it, but it never supplied the Arm with what it needed.”

“What does it need?” Zoe asked.

“Excess body fat. For some reason, these gauntlets use that as an energy source from the user. Strange but more than an easy source with knights like me.”

“You can say that again!” The red headed archer joked, earning a glare from Dame.

“In any case, I should take this back to the Queen before...before...” The tan haired swordswoman then began to fall forward, Ryven rushed to her aid to hold her up.

“Dame! Dame! What's wrong!?”

“N-Nothing...just...tired...”

“Zoe, help me settle Dame down somewhere.” The archer nodded as the pair helped Dame to the edge of town, sitting her down by a toll booth entrance. “Dame, relax. We'll stay here until your troop arrives.”

“N-No...the Queen wants us to press on and find more Arms...However, maybe you guys can...convince her to pardon this town and the others...She has made a grave mistake...and needs to realize her actions in getting these weapons...has gone too far...”

“You think we can convince her?” Zoe questioned.

“I hope so...here, use this pendant of mine to get access to her. As a Knight of the Round, I am her personal guard. Now go, make your way to Kruszevya and bring an end to this madness...”

“Dame...I had no idea it was like this...” Ryven frowned. “If I knew...I would have never-”

“Don't...blame yourself. We both wanted this...” She said with a smile. Petting her dark skinned friend's cheek, she then brought her closing to exchange a kiss. Zoe was initially shocked by the friendly gesture. Not wanting Dame's personal thank, she turned her hood. “Don't worry your little read head, archer. Ryven and I have a special relationship.”

“W-Whatever you say...”

“Oh, I almost forgot...” Dame then tossed Zoe the gauntlet. “Consider that a thank you for saving Ryven...You'll both need it on your travels.”

“We appreciate it Dame...get well and may our paths cross again...” Ryven bid with another kiss that made Zoe gag.

–

With a clear frown on her face, Weaver constructed Fast's lunch already regretting her decision to help the swordswoman. Fast had further explained her odd quest. It seems there was a lot more to these Arms, which made the Witch Queen's motives all the more suspicious. Even worse, Fast had planned on visiting the Queen in her own kingdom...

Weaver was well versed in the rumors that surrounded the current ruler of Kruszevya and they were tales she rather not experience first hand. But Fast seemed determined and she did make a promise. However, the tan swordswoman did agree to fully recover before they would set off. Weaver hoped it would be enough time to convince her other wise. Once she finished preparing the soup and bread for Fast, she returned to a sight that almost made her drop the serving tray. “Fast, what are you doing!?”

The sand haired girl stopped, already clad in her regular attire to give Weaver an estranged look. “What?”

“Y-You're standing! And you...dressed yourself!”

“Yeah, I think I'm old enough to dress myself...”

“No, I mean, you were just in a coma for not even a day!”

“Oh, right...I guess I forgot to tell you what my Pyknic Arm does. You see, my blade can speed up anything it touches, namely I used it to heal myself.”

“M-My word...my magic can't even do that...”

“Hey, food! Good, I'm starving!” fast beamed, shoveling the bread slices between her lips. “Got anymore? My sword uses my extra weight as an energy source and my jacket already feels a bit baggy...”

“I-I'll pack some for the road...” Weaver sighed, realizing what she had to do now. “We...are going to have to see the Queen now, aren't we...?”

“Yup, part of the deal, remember? And don't worry, I have an all access pass for getting us in. A little souvenir from my Mom that gave er full access to kingdoms all around her land in her time. It'll probably work for this place too, hopefully. Once I tell her what Wyrm is up to, I can promise everything will be peachy from then on!” She promised, placing a hand on the blue haired mage's shoulder.

“I hope so...” Weaver exhaled.

“That...soup is for you, right? I rather skip the appetizers and go for the rib sticking stuff.” Fast commented.