The hag was softly muttering to herself while Rod gripped a hatchet in his hand. He was ready to act at any moment.
The time was now.
The hag let out a shriek as an arrow buried itself in her back. As she quickly turned away from Rod, towards the direction of her attacker, the Axe Master threw out the hatched.
He was a bit further away then he would have liked. As the small axe spun trough the air, it found purchase in her leg.
Rod was already running, his large axe in hand, he initiated the skill Charge.
His speed doubled as he emerged from his hiding place.
The hag turned towards him and raised her staff, preparing to cast before getting out of the way. As she was about to finish her chant, a small bolt of lightning struck her chest. The damage was small but the momentary shock, paralyzed her for an instant before she shook it off, but that was enough to interrupt her casting.
*Bang*
Rod lowered his shoulder and plowed into her, knocking the hideous creatures off its feet. When she fell to her back, she couldn't right herself quick enough to dodge the axe that followed.
He tried to disengage but wasn't quick enough. While on her back, the hag let out a viscous howl that was induced with magic.
He was thrown off his feet as the hag returned to hers.
Cindy and Lord Titters were running forward with saber and sword.
Neither had mastered the charge skill but both moved quickly.
Both managed a strike as she finished casting her next spell.
Thorning vines began to wrap around the woman like a suit of armor. As the father and daughter struck again they felt the sharp barbs dig into their skin.
Dirk continued to fire arrows but was careful not to catch his companions.
Every half second a spike of ice was flying towards the hag.
With her enhanced agility she was able to dodge them occasionally, but with Lana's skill in aiming, the hag was forced to dodge towards the melee based classes.
The hag waved her staff as 3 crows dove from the trees. As they entered the range of the magic, their bodies began to change. They quickly became 3-foot-tall humanoid creatures covered in feathers.
They surrounded the green hag and reached out towards her thorny armor. They withdrew wooden shortswords covered in sharp barbs.
"Caw!" The raven creatures screeched and then dove towards the Weapon Masters while the Hag took a few steeps back.
Orbs of green energy launched from her staff towards the archer and the mage on the other side of the melee that separated the ranged combatants.
The Titters family was trying to dispatch the fighters as quickly as possible.
"Lana, use Icey Rain." Rod yelled out. He didn't hear a reply but the ice spike were no longer be launched past him.
10 seconds later, a frozen rain began to fall. When it did, the Titter's jumped from the crows while Rod charged the Hag.
The creatures were caught in the large area slowing spell and weren't able to catch them right away.
Dirk and Lana shifted their focus and unleashed their attacks on the crows.
The creatures were nimble and fast in a melee, but now that they were slowed, and after a few ice spikes their agility was non-existent. Dirk was able to land critical hits with each arrow. They quickly fell one by one.
The caster they were fighting didn't have a lot of health compared to the other bosses. Her thorn armor provided a bit of defense but the true protection it offered was a deterrent since it would cause damage to the attackers whenever they struck her.
But that meant little to the hard headed weapon masters of the Titters family.
Cindy poured her energy into her saber. The steel in her hands began to glow as she charged her attack.
When Rod noticed she was no longer attacking he leapt away and warned his father.
The father and son made it out of the way as Cindy brought down her saber.
A white curved light was launched forward and met the hag who was slowed by the ice that was beginning to cover her skin once 5 stacks of slow from Ice Bolt were achieved.
The hag let out a wail as a large portion of her health disappeared in an instant.
Cindy bent over gasping and was immobilized by the energy she spent on that last attack.
Lord Titter didn't waste the opportunity of the Hag recoiling in pain. He active Swift Blade and began to cut and stab while his sword moved at double its normal speed.
Rod quickly pulled his sister behind a tree so she could recover while Dirk continued his arrow assault.
Lana had started to used Ice Spark, her combo skill. It took less than a second to cast but wasn't as quick as Ice Bolt or spark but it had better damage and both spells special effects had a chance to trigger.
Lord Titters groaned as Hag created space between them. A ball of green energy slammed into his chest and sent him sprawling backwards while leaving a burning feeling all over his body.
"She is trying to run!" Dirk yelled.
After the hag had thrown Lord Titter's back she gave an inhuman leap towards her hut.
"Fuck." Cursed Rod. His Charge skill had come off cooldown, but the hag was out of his range and moving faster than him. After she had cast aside her thorn armor her speed increased even more.
The green witch dodge an arrow that was coming her way but steeped right into an Ice Spark. Rod's eyes went wide when he saw the creature suddenly become frozen in ice.
He saw a chance.
Continuing to run forward, he was in range when the ice cracked and shattered.
The Hag continued to flee but his Charge skill had already been activated. He was locked on and his speed had doubled.
He rammed into the back of her. His axe was overhead and swinging down.
This time he didn't try to escape. He was able to bring down another large swing before she unleashed a magical wail that sent him tumbling. He dropped his axe and grabbed a pair of hatchets and leapt at the hag that was trying to get back to her feet.
She screeched and used her talon like nails to claw at him, but Dirk ignored the pain as he hacked into her.
His father and Cindy appeared by his side. When the Hag managed to kick him off, they brought down sword and saber on the wretched creature.
Dirk and Lana were sending projectiles through the gaps at the downed target.
Rod was barely holding on but managed to climb to his feet and pick up his axe.
As he raised it overhead, the Hag let out another wail. But this one wasn't laced with magic. It was a dying cry. She fell to the ground limp and didn't move.
Wanting to be sure, Rod brought down his axe. With a *thunk* like cutting wood, her head rolled away form her body.
Falling to his butt, Rod let out a laugh. "We did it."
Dirk and Lana came over to check the body. "Wow." Dirk said.
"That was great timing on the freeze." Cindy said to Lana who happily smiled.
"Thanks, it was luck really. I don't know if we could defeat her again without getting luck." The young Mage replied.
"Sometimes Luck is one of the most important things there is." Lord Titters said while putting his sword into his scabbard.
As the 5 caught their breath a large archway began to appear in front of them. Through the magical film, they could see a hazy village square.
At this the group cheered. It was official confirmation that they had defeated the boss.
Cindy was the first to step towards the portal.
"Wait." Rod yelled out.
"What?" She asked.
"Let's check out her hut before we go." He said.
The others quickly agreed. Inside was a nasty hovel that was cramped and filed with the clutter of small animal bones.
Rod wasn't expecting to find anything since all rewards were given at the redemption center in the village, but her was surprised to be wrong.
They found a bag filled with 45 dungeon coins and a spell book. The book was strange though. It couldn't be opened and the wording on the cover was hazy and unreadable.
Seeing Lana pout when they couldn't find out what it was, Rod spoke up. "Let's take it to the redemption center and find out if they know anything."