Juan sighed, clutching his contract, “That’s hamartia for you~”

Coming to Fluv, his only magic from this contract, a book named Sly, a familiar who looked like a spider and terrified him so much he couldn’t summon the nerve to actually use her powers. He was going to die here for sure, the lost human in a magical world. Some hero, he couldn’t even use the gifts he was given, the most tragic thing.

“Wha about a party?” Maple asked aloud.

His only friend in this crazy magic world, a Kinnaras woman, some kind of half animal half humanoid, she had the head and claws of an eagle, but was otherwise human as far as her body. And she was very fussy about her robes.

“No, I said hamar~oh, nevermind. I was just thinking this may be our tragic heroes fall.”

“Why’s tha?”

The sound of the basalisk hunting them, its hissing and groaning growing louder as it neared the pile of rubble they had taken cover behind.

Juan looked at Maple, “Just a thought…”

But Maple just shrugged, and stood up, closing her eyes.

“When we fall…”

The creature bellowed.

“It is only ye another opportunity te rise.”

Juan watched in awe as she chanted.

“Combine stoic, and welkin element.”

Fractals of white light, and splitting green prisims of magic drew through her bow as she sought magic from her contract. Elemental forces of wind and earth gathering as she drew back one of her magical arrow.

“Release, Demiurge Gale,” with a light twang she released an arrow that became a roaring storm of rock shards blowing out the back of the basilisk’s head as its tounge lept to snap her up. It froze in place, tongue falling limply, just one eye still in its place in the beasts mouth, the other rolling across the dungeon floor.

“Did I get it?” Maple squeaked happily, “I don’t hear it.”

Juan looked, the creature stood frozen, a hole in the back of its skull.

“Uh, yeah, I’d say so.”

He was so intrigued he couldn’t tear his eyes from its corpse. Reaching up to pat her leg though, he instead ended up patting her backside by mistake.

Maple shot him a glare, and he backed up.

“Sorry, I meant~”

“No victory snogging till we’re back at the guild.”

“Snog, oh! No, I was~”

“We still need to find this ones mate forst pretty boy.”

Juan fumbled a bit but stood, “Well, then let’s get too it.”

She looked down at him with a wink, “Eager are we?”

“No, I just meant~”

“Steel your silver tongue, I have no time to spare for flirtations now, onward.”

She started down the hall the way the creature had snuck up on them, only…

“Uh, Maple?”

She turned to look at him, and he pointed the other way.

“Right, I’d forget my head if the gods hadn’t glued it to this big breasted body.” She giggled cheerily and hopped over the rocks, catching her own feet and falling flat out.

Juan stopped to help her up, still chuckling if only a bit.

It was a good thing he thought, that she was a bit of a clutz that was…

She towered over him, her clawed hand bigger than his shoulder as she gave him a little side hug. Power and beauty, for a bird brain, she may have been too dangerous if she was also smart.

“Lead on boss,” he said, “let’s hunt us another basilisk.”

“Sounds great, but can you please use some of that crazy magic I saw you use before?”

He stooped and picked up the basilisk’s crystalline eye, a blithely grim smile on his lips.

“Oh yeah, with this for sure,” he held it up over his Contract, the pages stiring to life as his little spider woke.

“Invoke umbral… Uh, invoke,” he faltered, his arachniphobia getting his tongue.

Maple put her hand on his, holding up the book with him.

“You’ve got this,” she was his only friend here.

The roaring tuba like call of another basilisk rang from deeper down the dungeons path.

He looked away as she came to him.

“I call on you Sly, to pierce the veil, invoke nox element, Rise.”

The threads shot into the basilisk’s corpse, it’s body twisting and cracking like a wooden puppet, it made him cringe feeling her threads twisting about his fingers as she gave him control of it, turning the dead monster into his little shadow boxer.

“Now I can help,” and that made it alright having to deal with Sly.