A Bored Lich

Frey and Doevm were sat down on their Amphiboards next to a pile of long, straight sticks that the group had gathered. They were pulled via rope by Elero and Thomas, who were paddling on their Amphiboards. Even the sun, which had barely peeked over the mountains, could not pierce through the thick early morning fog. If one ignored the bugs buzzing around the group and the occasional gust of wind, then the swamp was mostly quiet. The further down the shallow stream the group went, the less trees obstructed them. "So why exactly are we pulling the two of you?" Elero asked over her shoulder, at the two passengers.

"Because we need time to make more spears, and we need to arrive while it is still early in the morning," Doevm responded as he ran his dagger down the tip of a long stick, peeling off another section of wood. He inspected the sharp tip and nodded before putting it with the pile of improvised spears to his left. After, he took another stick from the pile to his right and began working on it. Frey repeated the same actions only instead of a dagger, he had a borrowed throwing knife.

"I understand that," Elero yawned. "But why can't we all help make those spears before we leave? Then we can ride faster to where we saw the Bullfrogs." Then she said under her breath, "All this pulling is putting strain on my braces."

"Reason number one," Doevm began.

"Oh I don't need to hear it," Thomas shot back. "I'm sure you'll just say something I haven't thought of and that I can't argue against, so just save it." Doevm, Elero, and Frey sent a look at Thomas, who sighed. He rubbed his tired eyes and yawned. "Sorry, I just didn't get much sleep last night." He stopped paddling for a second and stretched out his back, which gave several audible cracks. "How can you guys sleep on hardwood and call it a bed? It is probably the most uncomfortable I've ever been in my life."

"I can only imagine." Elero gave a soft smile. Thomas glanced down at her braces before shutting his mouth.

"And you didn't get your morning bacon either," Frey said under his breath, but the others heard him and chuckled. Thomas scrunched his lips up and splashed Frey's leg with his paddle.

"Extra grumpy today, aren't we young lord?" Elero said before leaning over to Frey and whispering just enough for everyone to hear. "I think the frog isn't sitting with him well. He's hopping mad!" The group let out a collective groan before they all splashed Elero, who gave a quick yelp. "Hey I'm trying." She reached down and rubbed her legs, now covered in goosebumps. "Goddess this water is colder than a Lich's heart."

Doevm halted his cut. "What kind of a saying is that?"

"A common one," Thomas titled his head to the side. "You've never heard of it? I thought you had heard of everything?"

"Must be new," Doevm said before putting his hand in the water. He immediately withdrew it. "You're right. Even by a normal morning's standard, this is colder than my…a Lich's heart. Guess winter is coming faster than usual." He frowned for a second and his eyes went off into space.

Elero however, waved her hand in his face. "Pay attention when you're cutting something." She pointed at the cut on Doevm's finger. "I didn't peg you as someone who would make a small mistake like that."

Doevm shook his head, regaining his focus. "No that's from earlier. I was just thinking about something else." He glanced at the overcast sky. "Winter huh? Guess we should be a little more careful." He set another completed spear down and began working on another stick. "Miss Mech, Thomas, do the two of you know how to throw a spear like this?" Doevm stood up and held out the two parts of the spear: the launcher, which was a much shorter rod with a part jutting to the side at the end, and the simple throwing spear.

"Are these for the Bullfrogs?" Elero asked as she took the launcher and a spear. Thomas got his from Frey.

Doevm nodded. "We used these on the front lines. They're great for long distances and it can penetrate a Bullfrog's soft stomach…probably."

"Probably?" Elero raised an eyebrow. She held both the launcher and spear like she was about to throw both of them at once but halted before she let go. She turned the launcher and spear around and inspected them at different angles. "How do I throw a spear like this?"

Thomas loaded a spear into the launcher: "I think like this…" Doevm, Frey, and Elero looked at each other before giving Thomas some room. As Thomas reeled the spear back, the Amphiboard shook, so he stepped on a patch of solid soil. "Should I aim at anything? What is the range like on this thing?"

"Anything in view," Doevm waved his hand at the thick fog.

"That's it?" Thomas asked. "I bet I could throw it farther than that." Before Doevm could argue, Thomas got into a stance. He put most of his weight on his rear leg as he reeled back, the spear overhead. He held onto the launcher and supported the spear with just enough pressure to keep it in place. As he extended his front leg and arm out, the howling wind sent his short blond hair around.

The spear whistled into the distant fog and disappeared. Several seconds later, the spear slammed into something, which gave off a shrill cry. The launcher fell out of Thomas's grasp and he picked it right back up. "Like that right?" Thomas turned to the rest of the group and found their jaws on the ground.

Doevm handed Thomas another spear and pointed at a tree in the distance: "Hit the hawk sitting in the parting of the branches." Thomas shrugged before launching the spear. The Hawk turned its head to see a spear flying at it. It spread its wings. Too late. It exploded into a mess of bloody feathers. Doevm nodded and held out another spear, which Thomas immediately prepared. Doevm didn't say to throw it. He instead took it right back. "Change of plans. You're going to be the only one throwing the spears."

"Wait what?"

"You are the only one with enough speed and accuracy to handle all of the spears," Doevm said. "And when you are out of spears, the frogs will only be looking at you. They won't expect us hiding below the water's surface, waiting for them. Just leave everything to us after you do your part. All you have to do is stand your ground. And if you can, distract a few."

"Hold on," Elero stepped in front of Thomas. "You're going to trust the guy who almost ran away from a single Bullfrog to take down a bunch of other Bullfrogs while we just wait in the water and close our eyes? I know he's the best one physically, but not mentally. How do we know he'll fill his role? Shouldn't we change the plan?"

Thomas sighed. 'She's not wrong,' he thought. 'But at the same time, I want to prove her wrong.' He looked at the many spears still laid down. 'And I don't think throwing from a distance is so scary. But there are going to be a lot of Bullfrogs, not just the one.' "Doevm can't you-"

Doevm walked around Elero and held out his hand to Thomas. "Give me the artifact that General Marble gave us." Thomas handed it over, and Doevm handed it to Elero. "If he fails, use it. Problem solved."

Elero thought for a moment and took the artifact: "Thank you."

Thomas's stomach sunk.