The Foolhardies 202 Redcap

"We know!" I answered. "Back-to-back formation!" 

At my command, Luca, Aura, Edo, Thom, and Thor pulled pack toward me, and with our backs against each other, we formed a tight circle formation that gave us a clear three-hundred-sixty view of our immediate surroundings. 

The fairies that had jumped out of the sand were short, thickset creatures with skinny limbs armed with talons and grisly hair streaming down their shoulders. They had wide murderous-looking faces with bulbous red eyes and mouths filled with rows of fangs. 

"They're redcaps!" Edo warned. "I hate redcaps!"

Edo called them redcaps on account of the pointed red caps on their heads that was the signature mark for an organization of highly-proficient goblin a.s.sa.s.sins known to work exclusively with the northern clans. 

There were twenty of them, all armed to the teeth with sharp-edged shadowblades to supplement their other signature mark, the scythe-and-chain weapons they were now twirling in the air. 

"Ah, I haven't seen a kusarigama in a very long time," Thom noted as he pointed toward the chain weapons. "These redcaps mean business."

Somehow, I didn't get a sense of danger from his tone, almost as if he wasn't at all worried that we were outnumbered and in a really bad position at that moment. 

"Dodge the iron weight at the end of their chains or it'll be hard to remove if you get entangled," Edo recommended. "Now!"

More than a dozen heavy iron weights were launched from one end of the attackers' chains, all of them headed toward our collective heads. Luckily, we all heeded Edo's call and ducked at the same time to avoid them 

The sound of metal slamming against metal above us reached our ears but it was quickly replaced by the rattling of chains that were being dragged back through the air. 

"What's the plan, Dean?" Luca asked as our heads came up once more.

Even with Fool's Insight activating almost instantly, seconds were all I had to take everything in and then translate all that visual information into a viable plan that hopefully wouldn't get us all killed. But at this point, I'd become a master of on-the-fly tactics. 

"Aura, prepare your Heat Mirage and let's give these guys something to think about," I ordered. "Edo, you watch her back until her spell's finished." 

I raised my falchion forward and adopted the high-guard stance. 

"Luca, go Primal and bleed these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds with your reckless attacks," I ordered. "Thor, you watch his back…"

Ordering my brother to activate the new power of his fairy gift, Foolish Strength, was basically asking him to hulk out on the battlefield. It was a double-edged sword, one I loathed to use, but times were desperate. 

"Thom, cover our backs with your bow," I said lastly. 

No, the enemy didn't just watch and wait for me to formulate that plan. All my orders had been given out in a matter of seconds that was just enough time for the enemy to launch their chains at us again. 

However, none of us dodged. We didn't need to as we'd switched mindsets from prey to predator. Edo blocked several of the heavy iron weights with a sweep of his glaive. I parried five on my own. Luca and Thor dealt with the remainder. 

We took extra care to only divert the attacks out of our way so our own shadowblades wouldn't get entangled by the enemy's chains. But we also had to watch out for the chains jerking our way as the enemy manipulated their weapons while in flight. 

"Spirits of the sacred flame, let hear scorch my enemy's vision and bring to life what I envision," Aura chanted. "Heat Mirage!" 

The last of Aura's newest spells was more of a utility spell rather than one that caused damage. However, if used in the right circ.u.mstances then it becomes far more useful than summoning an efreet and going overkill. 

With a final snapping of fingers, Aura's spell was cast, and it was a doozy to watch. 

Suddenly, there were two of me and two of Luca and two of Edo and two of — well, you guys get the picture. 

Aura had created doppelgangers of us, and although these were nothing more than mere illusions, I bet they were more than enough to confuse the enemy — which is exactly what happened, and if things weren't so dire, I'd have laughed out loud at this interesting spell. 

That said, I and my doppelganger charged, and just like a certain orange-jacket-wearing ninja from my favorite anime, I used the other me to distract the two redcaps who went ahead and attacked him. 

And even after their shadowblades went right through the illusion, they still kept hacking at it. 

This got me thinking — for celebrated a.s.sa.s.sins these guys were sort of dumb. Not that I was complaining as their lack of awareness made it so much easier to dispatch the two redcaps in two swings of my falchion. 

"Do not be gentle in thy fight," Luca and doppelganger Luca chanted together, "Rage, rage against evil with all thy might!"

That was the chant that signaled Luca was now raging against the redcaps on his side, and I expected to hear many death screams soon. 

"Death to the heathen!" A redcap roared in its guttural tongue just as it leaped toward me with the scythe part of its weapon aimed for my neck. 

"I've never been called a heathen before!" I replied as my falchion parried his attack. 

Then came the chain that would have wrapped around my neck and choke me, but I pulled back at the last second to avoid. This, unfortunately, put me in the path of the heavy iron weight that would have knocked my head off its shoulders if Fool's Insight hadn't predicted the chain's flight path. 

I ducked. "Muddamit, you guys have got some interesting moves!" 

However, before I could retaliate against my attacker, I raised my eyes to him only to find two black-feathered arrows sticking out of his back. 

"Better late than never, Thom," I yelled in grat.i.tude. 

I looked over my shoulder to check on the others and discovered I didn't have to worry because they were all doing just fine. 

There were four dead redcaps near Luca's spot, and although he was bleeding from a few cuts on his arms and leg, he was eagerly hacking and slas.h.i.+ng away at a fifth redcap with his claymore. 

Watching this scene, I kind of pitied the redcap. It was getting overwhelmed by Luca's reckless attacks and it was only a matter of time before it — and~~d its head just went flying — geez. 

I turned away from the gruesome scene and switched to watching Thor parry the scythe a redcap had thrown at Luca's back. Then, in a quick flick of his arm, Thor threw one of his scimitars straight into the chest of the redcap that had attacked them, killing it just like that. 

My gaze switched to Aura and Edo who worked very well together. No, I wasn't worried about them, but I did want to see how they were doing. 

True to form, Edo had already dispatched half a dozen redcaps with his glaive, and I suspected by the way they were lined up in a loose circle around him that he'd used his Death Cyclone move that I renamed for him. 

Aura was standing where I'd left her and twirling her staff around to fire firebolts at redcaps hanging around Edo. 

A redcap managed to get under Edo and attack her but it was quickly dispatched by an arrow launched from the drow behind her. 

Immediately after he'd killed the redcap that had lunged for Aura, Thom turned in my direction and fired another arrow my way. 

Luckily, I didn't move and let the arrow just zoom past my head to hit the redcap whose ragged breathing I could hear behind me. 

I turned around and watched the redcap — whose neck had been pierced by Thom's arrow — stumbled to within my range. I didn't even mean to slash at him but I did. 

The iron scent of blood wafted up to me from the body falling by my feet, causing my nose to wrinkle in disgust. 

"Let's wrap this up!" I ordered. 

A chorus of "Ayes!" reached my ears, causing me to smile. 

Another a.s.sa.s.sination plot foiled. Well, based on the intel Thor and Thom had given me, I guess a.s.sa.s.sination probably wasn't the end goal here. Abduction was more likely the case. Either way, the enemy failed yet again, and we Foolhardies triumphed once more. 

Speaking of the other Foolhardies, as I stood there slightly covered in redcap blood, my eyes gazing out at my surroundings while my companions slaughtered the remainder of our enemies, I noticed that to the west of us, riders bearing our banners were making haste toward our party. 

"Cavalry's here!" I yelled.

"Better late than never," Aura yelled back. 

"Yeah," I chuckled. 

It was very short-lived, for as I watched our riders come closer, further behind them I saw the signs of battle beginning. There was just one problem with this scenario. We were in the reserves, toward the very back of our center army's line. So who the h.e.l.l was my unit fighting against?