Chapter 57: Farm Status
Tulland retreated to the relative safety of his living, writhing plants as he aimed his pitchfork squarely at the center of Necia’s chest. Although his explosion of plants had caught her off guard, she quickly tore free of the briars constricting her. But she was too slow. His tines closed in, a bit closer and faster than she could realistically block.
And then Tulland realized an arrow was aimed directly at his eye. He hadn’t even been aware that Licht was on the attack until it was too late.
“Okay! I’m out of plants. That’s a loss.”
Licht burst out laughing, withdrew his crossbow, and then flopped over on his back, chortling and holding his ribs.
“He’s fine.” Necia panted and wiped the last of the vines away. “It’s just that it’s hard to call what you just did a loss.”
Tulland looked down at the shredded arms of his farmer’s shirt and the dozen cuts that came along with the general change in his wardrobe. “You sure? Because I’m pretty beat up over here.”
“Yes, but.” Necia looked exasperated. “You’ve noticed there were two of us, correct? I kept a few things in reserve, and Licht didn’t hide until the end there. But we also didn’t simply slaughter you. That’s good.”
“Very good, even. One on one, you might have gotten lucky and taken down either of us. Of course, there’s no chance of that now.”
“No?” Tulland sat up and fanned his own shirt to displace dust. “Why not? My plants are going to get stronger.”