Hounds Rising

Ten feet away, the Dean let the shadows fall from their grasp on his body and clothing and started walking toward Leaf. Mr. Muffins watched as Leaf fell unconscious to the floor in a crumpled heap of appendages and cloth. The Dean waved his hand, and the dragon dissipated immediately. Rhokhishi sighed with disappointment, having probably gotten the creature close to death alone.

He knew the fight was over. The rules were clear enough, so Mr. Muffins walked over towards Leaf, taking his time to check Jimbo. He could feel the eyes of Lyla, who had left the protective dome at the beginning and made her way up to the top of one of the enlarged cages. Myla was still in the dome, keeping watch but drawing in her sketchbook out of habit.

The Dean stood over Leaf’s body, then turned to look at each one of them. His gaze slowly moved from one to other, then finally to Mr. Muffins. The Dean’s hand stretched out over Leaf’s body.

“It wasn’t over yet, but now it is.”

Blackish-green energy erupted from his hand, covering Leaf’s body completely. Mr. Muffins heard Lyla gasp loudly, and he started to run forward. As Archmage Orin’s had only four days ago, Leaf’s body began to crack and turn to ash. He could feel the rest of the party behind him starting to run forward, but even he wouldn’t make it in time. He pulled Jimbo but couldn’t think fast enough to rotate the chamber to a specific crystal.

The Dean turned and pointed to the dome, where Myla yelped. Only two feet from the Dean, Mr. Muffins turned to look and saw that Leaf’s body was lying on the ground, completely safe.

“I told you, no one would be ha…”

Mr. Muffins turned Jimbo around and struck the Dean with the butt of the weapon. It cracked across his jaw, and blood shot out of his mouth and splattered on the floor.

“What the fuck are you trying to do here?” Mr. Muffins shouted at him.

“I… Nothing! I…”

“That was completely fucked. What was the point of this?”

“I told you, it was only a test. Why don’t you calm down, and we can talk about this.”

Mr. Muffins held Jimbo in his hand and could feel the crystals inside vibrating with energy, ready for his decisive action. His hand gripped it, but he didn’t move it.

“I wanted to know his capability and your reactions as his adventuring party. I can see clearly that you all have some work to do if you’re going to be effective, but it’s clear you’re not useless and running to your death,” The Dean stated, his demeanor already turning to calm and calculating.

“That was fucked, and you know it.”

“He did tell us beforehand…” Lyla cut in, now walking between them and looking at Mr. Muffins. “He said no one would be hurt and that it was just a test.”

“That’s not a test. That’s a gross display of power over others,” Mr. Muffins replied to her through gritted teeth.

Across the room, he could hear Leaf’s shakily try to speak.

“What… What happened?”

Myla knelt beside him, checking to see if he was okay. After a moment, Mr. Muffins looked over and received a nod of approval from her. He holstered his weapon, turned, and walked over to the staircase. Without another word, he descended and disappeared to the floors below.

Mr. Muffins crossed the first floor to his room. He closed the door behind him and sat silently at the work desk.