[h2]Blighted Woods[/h2][h3]Hazel vs Twig Blight A[/h3]
The Twig Blight, already battered from its exchanges with the Striker and weakened from the friendly fire, could do little as Hazel charged in with death in her eyes. Her sword swept its head from its body with a snicker-snack, and as the head bounced between the trees, the corpse collapsed into a bundle of dead wood.

[h3]Joe vs Twig Blight B[/h3]
The Twig Blight's legs were no good to it, and it was thrown to the hard earth before Joe put his full weight on its chest and let the fists fly. It was barely able to shield itself from the first few blows, but its skinny arms soon gave out just like its legs had from repeated strikes, and from there on it was almost cruel how the Striker beat his opponent to death blow by blow. Eventually the Twig Blight was little more than kindling. When he felt satisfied, Joe moved to help out the party's summoner...

[h3]John and Joe vs Twig Blight and Needle Blight[/h3]
When John cried out for help, Joe came running. Grappled by two at once, the Twig Blight's struggles were for naught as John held it so Joe could break its legs, something that seemed to be turning into a favorite tactic. The Needle Blight, seeing that its last attack had worked, was about to prepare a second volley when it saw the Cactus Cat coming for it. With a cackle it made to move out of the way--only for Joe to swing its companion into it with a crunching impact! The Cactus Cat's thorned kick slashed across both monsters and sent them sprawling. They were tangled together, and slow to get up from this vulnerable position...

[Needle Blight and Twig Blight have low HP!]

[h3]Soka and Hayato vs Vine Blights A&B and Needle Blight[/h3]
"Don't lose focus!" Hayato shouted back when he heard Soka's anger. But the Adept seemed to be planning something big, and given that most of his metal attacks were as good as a sword, he might be able to turn the tides if he had time to finish the spell. 

Well, that was what Knights were for, wasn't it!?

Hayato jumped in front of Soka as the Vine Blights continued to lash at them, using his sword to slash and deflect what he could and taking the hits with his body when he couldn't. Vines lashed across his shoulders and arms, tearing his blazer and the undershirt beneath to leave welts and shallow cuts on his flesh, but he grit his teeth and pressed on. Not a single blow reached Soka, not even when the Needle Blight, unable to move on the ground, managed to fire another round of projectiles. The needles embedded themselves in Hayato's non dominant arm, not enough to disable him but enough to slightly throw off his swordsmanship, and a vine whipped across his face, causing a steady drip of blood that blurred his vision in one eye. 

[i]My first trip to Excaledvol isn't going so great, bro...[/i] he thought, refusing to budge and slashing another vine that came at him. [i]But you're somewhere out here, aren't you? So I can't give up, not before I've even taken the first step![/i]

Vine Blight A sent out a lash that wrapped around his left arm, the same one injured by the needles. Hayato let out a roar of defiance and pulled, dragging the creature towards him so that he could run it through the face with his sword. The monster gave a loud screech, and Hayato pulled it in front of a second volley from the Needle Blight, then tossed the corpse aside when it went heavily limp.

"Lookin' forward to that spell!" he yelled over his shoulder.
[h2]Fire Rat Extermination[/h2]
The rat that Taeion hadn't targeted leaped out of the way, up to the top of a pile of barrels, but the other wasn't so lucky. The ninjato skewered it, and though it was tougher than an earthly rat the bleedout from the wound was just too much. It died scrabbling at the blade of the sword, and now Taeion only had one opponent to deal with.

However, at his back, there was a sudden bout of shouting from the docks, and a thick plume of black smoke rose from somewhere to the west.

The remaining Fire Rat turned and began to run, but the barrel it was on wasn't quite stable, and began to roll underneath it. With a worried squeak, the rodent put on a burst of speed and finally managed to hop away; in the process, it sent an avalanche of heavy aluminum containers towards Taeion.
[h2]Cockatrice Hunt[/h2]
Thanks to Rian's spells and Ryouta's distraction, the Cockatrice barely even saw the rest of the group coming; Winnifred's blast took it in the eye, blinding it one one side, and Haruka's attacks left a long slash mark down its back. As the strange bug began draining its energy, the creature let out another screech and stumbled. 

When Ryouta played the rooster's crow again, the Cockatrice froze up. The call wasn't fatal to it like the stories said, but something about it was like a dog whistle, driving the beast mad with pain. It screeched again and began rubbing its head against the ground in an attempt to block its ears, as it couldn't cover them with its "hands" like a human could. When it rose again its head was covered with bits of dirt and grass, making it look ridiculous but dulling the sound. Opening its beak wide, it spat its poison at Rian, the one slowing it down so much and preventing it from evading the other's attacks.

[Cockatrice uses Petrifying Spit on Rian!]