--Squire uses Lay on Paws! Squire recovers 62 HP! Squire's HP is now 112!
--Slave attacks! Critical hit! Squire suffers 10 points of damage! Squire's HP is now 102!
--Vile casts a barrage of Magic Missles! Squire suffers 5, 4, 2, 5 and 3 points of damage! Squire's HP has been reduced to 78!
The battle isn't going well. I can't rely on my Divine Strike ability, as I need the resources to keep myself healed. Obviously, the magic user is the primary target, what with them inflicting the vast bulk of the damage and presumably not capable of enduring much punishment themselves, but as one would expect from a cat, her guardian is surprisingly quick. Getting around it to attack that rat proves to be pretty much impossible, and my efforts just involve wasting combat rounds. Worse, my conventional sword strikes inflict significantly less damage than my Divine Strike, and the cat still hardly looks injured at all.
Things could be going worse, of course. If it weren't for my healing ability, the fight probably would have been over by now, but despite my rapidly replenishing Spirit reserves, I'm constantly trying to keep up with the damage coming my way, and falling the slightest bit behind. Looking behind the smirking feline, I can see Vile casting yet another spell. A familiar one, larger than most. Maybe this is an opportunity.
--Squire grapples Slave! Grapple successful! Slave is pinned down!
"H-hey, let me go!" the cat yowls, thrashing about beneath me as I push it to the floor with my paws, jaws gripping the scruff of its neck. I happily oblige, just as the spell is being cast.
--Vile casts Fireball! Slave suffers 55 point(s) of damage! Squire suffers 11 point(s) of damage! Squire's HP is now 55!
The black cat might be impossibly sturdy, but it wasn't very heavy. I effortlessly tossed it into the path of the coming fireball, forcing the spell to explode in mid air. The direct hit looked extra painful, and I could have easily avoided getting caught in the area of effect, but this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.
Slave might not have been killed by the blast, but they were dazed, and the burst of bright light is rather hard on the eyes, not just for the targets but also the attacker. If offered excellent camoflage as I dove straight through the flames, up onto the barrel, landing behind the surprised rat. I twisted the blade within my jaws, ready to strike. Meanwhile, Vile looked back at me with an expression of both surprise and acceptance, clearly ready to accept that her end had come.
"Stop!" the black cat cried out at me, it's eyes wide, knowing that it couldn't possibly reach the rat in time to protect it. "Don't kill my mistress!" it said, voice filled with despair. "Please..."
There is a clank as I drop my sword. I didn't even think about it, rationally. If I had, I would have known that I was leaving myself open to an attack, and I likely wouldn't get an opportunity like this again. Still, even had I considered such things, I feel that I would have made the same decision. I'll kill if necessary, but would never kill someone begging for their life, and the cry of the cat was so desperate, so pittiful that I couldn't possibly bring myself to.
--- Squire has attained Paladin rank 3! ---
--- Squire has learned the "Holy Aegis" ability! ---