[Rumblings about the Barghest reached Finn all the way in the Nimble Nightingale; an old man was going group to group, begging for help dealing with a barghest that was extorting his family for food and gold. He had no spare gold to offer and was growing desperate. Most turned him away politely, but one group of heavily armored men deep in their cups laughed loudly at the man, shouting that no adventuring party would ride fight a Barghest for nothing and only an idiot would face one alone.
Well, lucky for the old man, one such idiot was in attendance that night.
He'd been camping in the woods near the old man's cottage for several days, waiting for the Barghest to reveal itself. Once the sun slipped behind the trees and the moon rose overhead, Finn was on his guard -- what little he'd learned about the creature was that it only moved at night, and had a bevy of magic at its disposal to deceive and discombobulate any aggressors. They were supposedly quite evil, which had Finn almost giddy. Surely something so obviously bad would be the perfect creature to eliminate his doubts about killing. He could practically taste victory over his own mental block, humming a song to himself over the fire as he waited.
A few hours later, panting and bloody, Finn wasn't quite so sure this was going as planned.
The Barghest was in fact tricky, able to lunge in impossibly huge strides and cut Finn off at every turn. The teenager was practically tripping over himself to stay ahead of his own demise, swinging his sword with a chaotic lack of aim. He had his chance to kill the beast a little over an hour ago, back before it had sensed his presence. Again, like had happened over two dozen times this mission, the sound of Fern's disappointed, frightened voice sounded in his head. Please don't kill me, Finn. Please--
Now he was crammed inside the hollow of a large tree, listening to the sound of splintering wood as the Barghest begin digging its way inside. Finn had hoped it would lose interest and run away as many other monsters had over the past week, but clearly this creature intended to send a message to the old man about bringing any more monster hunters around these parts. Finn cringed, sword tucked awkwardly against him, trying to will himself to just stab before the beast successfully made its way into his hiding place and tore out his jugular. Even with that delightful image playing out in Finn's head, the sword stayed frozen at his side.
Felix
Well, lucky for the old man, one such idiot was in attendance that night.
He'd been camping in the woods near the old man's cottage for several days, waiting for the Barghest to reveal itself. Once the sun slipped behind the trees and the moon rose overhead, Finn was on his guard -- what little he'd learned about the creature was that it only moved at night, and had a bevy of magic at its disposal to deceive and discombobulate any aggressors. They were supposedly quite evil, which had Finn almost giddy. Surely something so obviously bad would be the perfect creature to eliminate his doubts about killing. He could practically taste victory over his own mental block, humming a song to himself over the fire as he waited.
A few hours later, panting and bloody, Finn wasn't quite so sure this was going as planned.
The Barghest was in fact tricky, able to lunge in impossibly huge strides and cut Finn off at every turn. The teenager was practically tripping over himself to stay ahead of his own demise, swinging his sword with a chaotic lack of aim. He had his chance to kill the beast a little over an hour ago, back before it had sensed his presence. Again, like had happened over two dozen times this mission, the sound of Fern's disappointed, frightened voice sounded in his head. Please don't kill me, Finn. Please--
Now he was crammed inside the hollow of a large tree, listening to the sound of splintering wood as the Barghest begin digging its way inside. Finn had hoped it would lose interest and run away as many other monsters had over the past week, but clearly this creature intended to send a message to the old man about bringing any more monster hunters around these parts. Finn cringed, sword tucked awkwardly against him, trying to will himself to just stab before the beast successfully made its way into his hiding place and tore out his jugular. Even with that delightful image playing out in Finn's head, the sword stayed frozen at his side.
This was probably it, huh?]