Burrows and Badgers: Hunt the Witch!

Berry looked at the village. It was a lovely settlement that had taken days to reach, but something felt wrong. The gang had been in good spirits all the way, lightheartedly ribbing Flint Browncoat, the new mouse, about his beliefs, especially that he had a holy spear (which Bowie had 'donated' to him). Berry thought was a bit unfair, and even more unfair on the innkeeper of the 'Drunken Weasel' who no longer had a broomhandle and potato peeler. But, the new mouse gave as good as he got, especially about Bowie and his preening and boasting of his looks and how that vanity was a sin.

"So, we need to deal wit' a witch." Ouseux asked for about the fiftith time. The gang hoped it would not be some old and poor rabbit, fallen on hard times, gibbering in a corner, that a local landlord wanted evicted as they could not pay their rent.
"Isn't it ironic we have an arch-mage in our midsts, and we get called in to hunt a witch?" Abby added from near the back of the party, she only had little legs.
The gang shrugged, as long as their bar tab was paid, they didnt mind where the money came from (mostly, slave traders were a no).
"Hey, if it pays your bills Snappy, we might be okay!" Sneaker chipped in this time.
"I'm not the one with a taste for bramble gin!" the squirrel winked at Berry.
L'Otter sat, looking at a Tarot set, making divinations. "This is wrong, I'm really not sure what I am being told." Her cards were all over the place, rather than her usual secure grasp on her hand. This was the second time it had happened, and had left them unsure.
"I can't abide this reliance on magic!" Flint added, the rest of the gang, not sure whether he was joking, rolled their eyes, "it does not feel like we are doing the gods' work."
"Let's do this the old fashioned way then," with that, Sneaker slapped Bowie on the back and he and Snappy shouldered their quivers and disappeared ahead of the party to scout out the ground.
L'Otter looked up from her cards, it appeared as if her fur had become paler and her eyes looked sad. "I have just realised what this is telling us! It is my old classmate, Lord Corvus d'Raven, a spellcaster almost as strong as me! I heard rumours he had been looking down the dark path of necromancy. I warn
all you Freebeasts that you should approach with extreme caution."
Berry looked over at Abby and the Lady Door, he knew they would give as good as they got, but he felt he should keep a weather eye on them.
L'Otter smiled and gestured his way, Berry suddenly felt supremely confident about his role, and he knew that the magi's Luck spell had worked perfectly on him again.

Ahead, Snappy and Sneaker had both snuck ahead, taking cover and spying out what the Necromancer was up to. They waved the gang forwards, Big Ouseux and Batty both took to the air, dropping in to assist from on high.
As Berry advanced through the head high crops, he heard Abby muttering under her breath "A bloody raven mage, they're huge and powerful, we're in trouble!" The sound of a well applied boot told him that the Lady Door had silenced her.
In the distance, Berry could see Snappy taking a few well-aimed shots through the window, from the sound effects eminating from the hut, it was obvious the party ranger had caused a wound on the mighty arch-Necromancer, then ducking into cover as a ball of liquid fire returned through the window, nearly singing his tail. "Bloody hell! You weren't kidding when you said he was dangerous!" he groaned as he found a wall without a window for safety.
"No egress there then!" Bowie noted, "We will need to go in mob handed. Flint, stay back and guard L'Otter, let the experienced fighters deal with this."
"Egress, you could have just said door!" Flint replied, it was hard to tell whether he was afronted by the idea or releaved.
"Didn't want you attacking our Lady Door!" Bowie grinned, showing maybe a few too many fangs.
Berry leaned over and whispered in a loud stage whisper "Don't worry Flint, Bowie only just learned an egress isn't a bird of prey."

"Can you see Batty and Ouseux?" Lady Door asked. "Normally they're knee deep in corpses by now!"
"Yeah, sometimes their own!" Abbey chipped in.
"Look, across the hamlet, the flying pair just dropped in on the alter to the lost gods, obviously just to make sure they had cover, not read the other team roster!!" Berry laughed under his breath.


From the other side of the building, Corvus had, looking to make a break, had poked his head out the furthest door, to be met with a barrage of crossbow bolts and arrows from the approach of another gang.
"Oi, L'Otter, I thought we had an exclusive contract hunting down the witch." Sneaker bellowed, "I've got a shrew and a weasel out here with arrows but who can't hit for toffee!"
"The reward was high, so was the risk," Berry mused, unsheathing his wicked blade.
"They must have decided to have a go too." L'Otter nodded sagely to herself. "They look local, their heraldry matches that village we passed a day or so."
"Then who blabbed it in the bar that night?" Bowie demanded.  
"There's only two of them it will be fine." Flint chipped in from the back.
The gang moved as one, pointing at Bowie. "Oi!" he moaned as they sheltered behind a neighbouring hut.
"Knowing our best hope we need to go in mob-handed, hope the flying guys realise that and cover the other door." Abby pulled a throwing knife, ready.


Flint cried out, pointing to the gang's left, "That house just moved!"
The others cautiously peaked round the corner of the hut they were sheltering behind, wondering what on earth he was on about. As they did, a barrage the arrows and bolts flew at them as the other gang's shooters made themselves rather well known.
There was a goodly amount of swearing, mostly from Lady Door. Abby intoned "Guess they aren't going to team up and share the bounty then?"
"Any one any idea what the mouse's going on about," Bowie muttered under his breath.

TWANG! Through a window, Snappy buried another arrow into the dark mage, muttering 'Got ya!"
But as he stood their, he curled backwards, leitating up, surrounded by a sickly glow, his life essence pulled out of him by the Necromancer as it unleashed the dark 'Life Eater' spell, sucking back life energy from the squirrel. Thankfully the ranger slumped down at the last moment, the Ncromancer was sated.
"Bastard," Lady Door screamed.

There was a fluttering as the two fliers dropped in, securing the furthest door.
"Right, on me!" Bowie called and advanced to the other door. Berry, Abby and Lady Door joined him, ready weapons, and breathing as silently as possible.
From the other side of the hut, a scream erupted from Ouseux as he suddenly realised what that hulking shape Flint had seen had been, "Beaver!" It came round the corner, armed with a massive warhammer. A blow landed heavily, even with his fearsome visage distracting the huge rodent, Ouseux's enhanced parry, shield and skills, the blow smashed down onto him.
"Aaaaaahrmoured Beaver!" screached the sparrow as fearsome wounds opened up.

"What the hell is that?" bellowed Sneaker as he unloaded arrow after arrow at a strange creature that followed the fearsome rodent. Each arrow bounced off it's armoured shell as it waved two sticks embedded with strange, glinting black stone. It uttered weird and foreign curses as it charged into the sparrow."Crivens!" Big Ouseux swung his shield in the air, rapidly catching both blows while his crushed wounds streamed blood.


Another arrow thrummed in from Snappy, hitting the black feathered mage, cursing under his breath as he struggled up.
"That's enough!" Bowie cried, kicking the door down and springing at the arch-necromancer. His beguiling self forgotten as his warrior roots came through. His blade swished through the air and bit deeply into the massive corvid.

But an arrow thrummed through the far door, piercing the Raven and he slumped down on the hut floor. Bowie and Snappy's faces fell, their kill had been stolen from them!
"What!" hissed the cat, his tail fluffed up to the threat. "How?"

There was a hiss of wings as Batty flitted away from the danger, then Big Ouseux stepped away, and took flight to L'Otter for safety and healing. Again, uttering strange curses, the strange armoured creature rounded the corner and swung at Berry.
"Woh!" The shrew raised his sheild and sword, blocking the blades of the foreign beast, who looked shocked at the snarl on the tiny creature's scared face. "What are you..." Berry uttered, as his luck allowed him to pause and look at the strange figure.
The Beaver stepped around the corner of the mage's hut and swung at the tiny shrew, his steps shaking the ground as he did, the blow casually throwing the warrior backwards. "Noooo!" Berry felt something bruise, maybe break...

"We need yer help Otter" Ouseux fluttered limply in to the shadow of the next hut. The Otter archmage muttered a few words, and the brave sparrow's wounds healed over allowing him to dive straight back into the melee and attempt to hit the armoured beast. His sword connected, but despite it's master forged
state, it could not penetrate the creature's built in carapace.
Batty, after a short skirmish with the weasel crossbowman, had come off worst and flitted back to L'Otter for healing.
"What am I, a cleric?" she moaned as the agrived wounded bat was restored to full health.
Meanwhile, in the hut, Abby joined Bowie, yelling at him, "Get out there, they need your help, Bowie, I hate to admit it, but you're our best fighter!" He spun on his heals and sprinted out the door to engage the two monsterous beasts, while Abby knealt down over the body of the archmage..
 

"Get them, everyone in!" Berry yelled at the others. Bowie swung at the armoured creature, passing all his defences but only scratched him. As the foreign beast shreiked in mock pain, the two creatures backed carefully away.
The armoured thing muttered something, doffed his cap and bowed. The huge beaver smiled and uttered "He said thank you for the lead, we will spend our reward well!"

A few minutes later, the gang slumped on the grass, exhausted. L'Otter passed round a flask of the best liquer while curing wounds. Flint leaned on his spud-peelerspear. "What WAS that thing?"
L'Otter looked up at the sky; "I believe they call it an armoured tato".
"Armadillo!" Batty added, "definitely Armadillo, I'm sure that's what that shrew called it."
"Did not expect to see a beaver this far south." Lady Door mentioned, "they're rare here."
"Rare!" Big Ouseux interjected, taking a slug from the flask, "Next time I catch up with him, he'll be endangered!"
"I'll join you in that!" Berry agreed, his wounds healing, "at least no one got taken out this time."
"Apart from that Raven!" Bowie grinned.
"Yeah, about that" Abbey poked her head out the door of the hut, "there's nothing left in here apart from feathers and whatever it was I took out of his pockets about ten pennies and a scroll. There's no body any more!"
"Don't touch THAT scroll!" L'Otter shot upright, "It could be pure evil!" .
"We have a plan for that" Flint grinned, Abby and I will work on a fletcher's workshop, that way we get armour piercing arrows for the scouts, no more bouncing arrows off that barrel on legs!"
"Thankfully, we got paid," L'Otter chinked a heavy purse up and down. "Doesn't surprise me if D'Raven pulled a fast one!"

The way home was almost as leisurely, Snappy reaquainted himself with his 'friend' the postmistress, gathering useful information about other gangs movements. Batty spied a sunken ship and salvaged nineteen pennies. Sneaker met and escorted an alchemist to a convention, to be rewarded with five healing potions. Big Ouseux took a trip home to his family nest for a well earned break. No one was recruited as the gang was already full, so he came back with a full tummy instead. Berry met and 'helped' a money lender with a little local trouble, scaring off a hustler who was threatening him, and was rewarded with another ten pennies. L'Otter earned ten pennies at the local toll booth and curried favour by using her magic to repair the road. Bowie, in pennance for his loose tongue, went and helped at the local tin mine, picking up the six material that the mice needed to build their fletcher's workshop.
As he was leaving the mine, he bumped into a trader who sold him a set of mastercrafted heavy armour for thirty-five pennies, so now he clanks slightly, but is even better protected. His old mail was cut down and passed on to Big Ouseux, who now is tougher than ever!!

The gang relaxed at the 'Drunken Weasel' at a lunchtime some days later, comparing adventures off duty, when Batty flitted downstairs with bleary eyes, "Where's that otter, I'll kill here! I wish our mage would not chant all day, some of us are nocturnal and trying to get to sleep!" he moaned.
L'Otter turned around from her drink, puzzled. "Erm, Batty, I'm right here, I haven't been upstairs all day, as I knew you were asleep!"
"Then who is it?" Sneaker asked.
Berry sat back with his bowl of corn kernals, watching the brewing row and stroking his whiskers. He grinned, not enough to scare the others, but enough to show that for once, he knew what was happening before them.
Eventually, Bowie out of the corner of his mismatched eyes, noticed, "Berry, what's going on? Spill it or you'll have another scar!" Bowie laughed.
"Like to see you try!" Berry smirked. "The news is, we have another mage in our group. Someone found they had abilities while wandering. Might need a roll-call!"
A quick count, and "Lady Hazel Door! Get down here now!" L'Otter called.
An embarressed shuffle and Lady Door appeared at the bottom of the stairs, clutching a scroll to her chest.
"We congratulate you on joining the magical side of life, if is a great honour to meet another mage, but save the chanting for later!" L'Otter bowed low and grinned, offering a congratulatary paw. "Berry, get your girl a decent drink, hell,  get us all a drink, put it on my tab!"
The cheers almost drowned out his embarressment, but his pride definitely did!