Stone Break!
The boulder shimmered with an amber colored energy and exploded. Thousands of razor sharp pieces scattered in all directions, piercing the giant and throwing it stumbling back. Magda raised her own kite shields up, blocking the majority of the shrapnel from herself. The rest of her allies were far enough away that it wasn't a true danger. The wounded giant, the bastard who took her trainee, he was bent over, unable to fully stand up as a thick blue blood poured from its chest. Its stolen spear fell to the ground with a clatter.
"Had enough?" The giant snapped its eyes up at her taunt, it's wide eyes frenzied and wild. It stood up with significant effort, and Magda saw the results of her attack. Its crude iron armor breastplate had been utterly shredded, the metal pierced by innumerable shards of stone. It roared, loud enough to shake the air, and then bull-rushed the Shieldwitch.
But Magda trained every day with Harn Kastos, who was not only quite proficient in Unarmed combat, but could alter his armor's weight. With a practiced motion, she met the giant by grabbing hold of its upper arms, and with a twist of her own shoulders, she sent the blue brute into the dirt. The monster hit, sending a cascade of ice and dirt fountaining into the air, even as Magda staggered under the creature's immense weight.
Twins' teeth! The thing was heavy. Are their bones made of metal?!
The giant swung an elbow backwards at her, catching her squarely in the chest. Magda was thrown several feet, and a sudden shortness of breath meant it had dented her breastplate. With a grunt of effort, she swung her arm forward, casting the leading edge of her kite shield at the creature's elbow. Even from this distance, her expanded shield hit easily, and the giant howled in pain as she penetrated nearly three inches into the joint.
The giant thrashed, it's body twisting on itself as it tried to simultaneously cradle it's injury and lash out. Magda blocked the haphazard strikes even as she threw up another Force Wall around them both. Straddling their back, she crouched over the eight-foot tall giant and grabbed the stone directly next to their face. Leaning toward their ear she whispered, "Die screaming."
Then she exploded the stone beneath it.
Stone Break!
The cowering giant suddenly hopped and stuttered, arms and legs flailing as the ground beneath it shattered into thousands of projectiles. Barely protected by the flesh of the giant, Magda rode through the explosion like a boat on a stormy sea, holding her kite shields tight beneath her. It's screams of agony were quickly swallowed by the deluge of stone, until everything went still.
You Have Defeated A Risi Warrior!
You Have Gained XP!
"No," Magda gasped. She hadn't been sure.... "Harn! They're Risi Warriors!"
"What!" Harn kicked his opponent away, buying himself a few seconds. "They're supposed to be in the Hoarfrost!"
"The Hoarfrost!?" Atar's voice cracked, strain evident in his bearing as he sent bolt after bolt of fire at the giant attacking Evie. "That's weeks away! Why are they here!?"
"Stop talking! Just keep casting!" Evie growled as she backflipped off the chest of her target, throwing a small dagger at its blue face. The giant snarled and knocked it away with a fist, but was too distracted to defend from the flurry of sparkbolts that lit up its backside. It roared in pain, the off-white fur at its waist finally starting to catch fire. "It's working! Keep it up!"
Atar groaned, obviously pushing the edge of his reserves. He called up another sparkbolt, chantlessly as he had been doing the whole fight. Magda was impressed, to be honest. Maybe the kid wasn't useless.
Then she saw it. Looming out of the fog, the leader of these Risi suddenly leaped toward Atar, ice axe raised above its head. A purple white radiance bloomed from the weapon, dropping the temperature instantly.
"Atar! Move!" Magda cried out and started running. But she was too far away.
Atar looked up, face pale and body freezing as a sudden frost crept up the boy's legs and locked him into place. The massive giant came down, its axe leading the way.
"No!" Magda couldn't accept this...she could make it!
Then a metal club spun out of the fog-filled darkness, smashing into the ice at the boy's feet and sending him stumbling backward. The giant leader's axe smashed into the stone where he had been standing, only barely catching the young mage. Atar fell, blood trailing in his wake as he collapsed onto the ground fifteen feet away. Magda made it to him moments later, recasting Force Wall around them both as she rifled through her pack.
The giant snarled as it stood up, glancing from the metal club to the swirling fog in the near distance. The sound of rubble falling echoed across the area, and a sudden breeze thinned the fog as a man stepped out onto the crumbling edge of a structure. His features were hard to make out at this distance but he was bloody and torn, his clothes barely holding together, and one of his arms was extended.
Then a second figure stepped up beside him.
"Vess!?" Evie joyfully cried out.