Snippet #2348678

As Jo-Jo and Flake were talking, Raleigh shifted her eyes across the village, noticing the imps' way of life. For fearsome creatures, their lives seemed fairly normal. She could make out one imp preparing a large cauldron of soup, and another sharpening a wooden spear with a stone. It felt momentous eating lunch in a place that was usually avoided by other creatures, but it was also exciting. The problem was, Raleigh didn't know if she could feel both emotions at once. Whatever she was feeling, she knew that it was all so strange.

After Jo-Jo had introduced himself, Flake had turned to Raleigh and folded his hooves unto the table.
"So what i was about to mention to you earlier; when i was walking back to you yesterday, these imps dragged me off to their camp. Long story short, they sat me in a throne, put a crown on me, and started to bow. I guess I look like some sort of god or something. At first I was scared, but then I realized something. These imps have been living in poverty, resorting to stealing traveler's goods and trinkets. If they only had a system, a government, then maybe, just MAYBE these imps could change from being feared creatures to creatures of intelligence. I was thinking that maybe i could start that. That's not too unrealistic, is it?"

As he grinned at Raleigh, she could barely let out a laugh before his throne was lifted and moved away by a small group of imps.
"Sorry, forgot to mention that after the feast there's this sacrificial ceremony to their gods! That big pile of fruit over in the center of the clearing is going to be 'given to the gods' in some really interesting and sacred way or something...Come on! You'll see what i mean!"

With a smile on her face, Raleigh followed the wooden thrown over to the clearing where the ceremony was being performed. She took a glance back at Jo-Jo, who was still sitting by Chrissy and talking to her. She felt bad for him, he was going to miss out on the action.
Once the throne was positioned in its rightful place, Flake lifted his hooves out, closed his eyes, and started the ceremony.
"We gather hear today for the sacrificial ceremony of raising the fruits to the heavens....I think..."
Raleigh smiled at her companion with joy. However, there was a chill, a twitch in her spine that seemed to tell her that something was wrong.
"Oh gods of above, please accept our humble and delicious offering of the finest fruits we could offer. In return, give us your amazing powers and keep us alive....or something..."
Raleigh watched as a group of imps gathered around the fruits with spears and sneers on their faces. She gasped. The cauldron of soup, the spears, the throne, the crown, THE FEAST....it all made sense now.
"Ready? Oh gods, we give you this sacrifice in THREE,"
The imps raised their spears.
"TWO,"
Raleigh could hear the imps' laughter throughout the camp.
"ONE!!!"

Flake made a loud grunt as Raleigh had jumped, slammed into him, and knocked him to the ground. The lamb got up rather quickly, and shouted at his partner-in-crime.
"WHAT IN THE BUTTS WAS THAT FOR!?!?"
Raleigh in turn got up on her two feet, and pointed at the throne. In the center of the cushion, a sharp wooden spear stood up on its tip. An imp was on the top of the chair, shocked.
"Don't you get it Flake? The fruit wasn't the sacrifice, YOU WERE!"
Flake's eyes had lost their usual sparkle, and his face had turned a pale white.
"But.....why?"
Raleigh turned around, backing up into Flake. Around them, an angry coven of imps started to surround them.
"I'll explain that later, Flake, but right now, I think this feast is over."

Quickly, Raleigh was able to reach one of the many piles of golden trinkets and items. She reached for a baton that she could use for a weapon, but as she pulled it out, she realized that the heavy item was nothing else than a huge, over-sized hammer with the mallet being made of gold as well as the handle.
Raleigh felt energy radiating from this new weapon. It wasn't a sword, but it was the next best thing.
As the imps started to charge at her, she swung the hammer with her man-hands, sending the imps flying. Clearly, she had underestimated its power. As she got used to the weapon, she started to perform aerial attacks by jumping up and flattening the imps into pancakes.

"RALEIGH!" Flake called. She turned to find him out of his daze, and the crown of skulls off of his head, "IM GOING TO TRANSFORM INTO A LARGE CREATURE IN THE CENTER OF THE CAMP THAT WILL HELP TO KEEP THE IMPS AT BAY! I NEED YOU TO COVER ME!! CAN YOU DO THAT?"
She nodded, and replied, "YOU GOT IT, QUEE...I MEAN, KING FLAKE!!!"
As she knocked the tiny imps off their feet, she caught her companion laughing as he ran over to the center of the camp. Raleigh moved as well, luring the little red creatures in. A new wave of them appeared, this time, wielding small daggers and spears. During this battle, she had completely forgotten about Jo-Jo and his archery skills.

"JO-JO!" she called, "A LITTLE HEL-.....WHAT THE NUTS?!?!"

Imps were running all over the place, trying to get away from a white-winged creature that was flying through the air, clawing an unfortunate imp and revealing its monstrous face. Raleigh's eyes widened and she cringed as she realized that this horrifying creature was Chrissy.

As the imps around her paused and trembled in fear, she took a moment from fighting to glance down at Jo-Jo. Had he known about this? There were so many questions running through her head. Was Chrissy cursed? Was she conscious? Was this even like her to be killing an imp? Most importantly, was she evil?

Suddenly, Raleigh felt pressure around her neck as an imp had jumped up onto her back and was attempting to choke her. She knocked the mallet of the hammer unto the ground, and flipped, sending the attacking imp flying off of her back. While it was still in mid-air, she knocked it with a swing of the hammer. With the chaos that had been brewing from Chrissy's dramatic change, Flake had transformed into a large, tentacled monster with multiple heads and spooky yellow eyes. Although it was frightening, it wasn't near as frightening than what Chrissy had become. Flake was grabbing little red creatures with his tentacles, and throwing them off into the distant woodland. With the imps being launched into the horizon, this offered Raleigh a clearing to get to Jo-Jo.

"Alright, I have no idea what's happening..." she said while swinging her weapon and dodging enemy attacks, "but clearly Chrissy isn't her normal self. It's not like her to make that grand of an entrance if you know what I mean...."
She socked the hammer past Jo-Jo's shoulder, knocking out an imp that was right behind him. As she turned around, she spotted a giant, muscular imp with large fangs and a long spiky tail located on the opposite side of the camp. It would be approaching them soon.
"You handle Chrissy. We both know that you can calm her down better than I can. I'll take care of that guy over there..."

She left his side, sprinting and swinging her mallet as fast as she could. She'd never fought this much in the longest of times, and though there was an enormous amount of danger, she was quite frankly enjoying herself.