Blue Raspberry walked through the lush forest happily. They were in a great mood as they strolled along watching squirrels run, listening to birds, eating birds, it was lovely. They felt such a good mood, they decided to get out of their armor for the first time in a long while. The blue goop leaked out of all of the gaps in the metal plates and enveloped it before shrinking down as if the armor hadn't been there at all. The ooze morphed and shifted until it was in the shape of an enormous wolf made of blue, shiny slime.

They focused for a moment and tiny filaments of the blue ooze extended all over the body, mimicking fur, and then changed color. After a moment it looked as if a completely normal dire wolf with blue eyes and grey fur stood in the forest with a big smile on its face. They had decided it'd be nice to shed the armor, but it would be safer to take on some animal form so they wouldn't be seen as an ooze. They decided a dire wolf would be a fun form to take on.

They ran through the forest, tongue flopping out of the side of their mouth.

Stealth and observation are not Astrid's strongest suit. She'd at least like the excuse of having an armor suit as a reason for being less than skilled at both of those things. However, it's not hard for anyone to notice a wolf twice the size of themselves running through the woods with some attempt at a dog-like grin. Has it noticed her? She's not sure. 

Then she decides a tracking animal is exactly what she needs to find the bandits harassing the local villages! Her voice rings out through the trees, almost shrill enough to disturb birds resting in their nests. "HEYYYY! Mister Wolf! Or Missus Wolf! Or- Um... HEY, WOLF! Come here!" Her R's rolling, her arms waving as if flagging down a person, Astrid rushes through the brush after the beast. She doesn't think too much about the potential danger of the situation. She has a brand new hammer, and she'd love the chance to use it! Just... hopefully not against a really pretty wolf.


It's not hard to convince herself that this wolf will definitely be friendly and will definitely help her as she rushes a completely random wild animal minding its business in the forest. It's legs are, of course, longer, and she makes little ground attempting to catch up. "Come back here before I hunt you fer sport insteada some bandits!" 

Blue Raspberry heard someone shouting behind them as they ran between the trees. They stopped and turned their head disturbingly far to the side to take a look behind them and saw a little girl running toward them holding a hammer. They were glad they had shapeshifted into something instead of walking around as an ooze. This would have been very awkward if they hadn't. But now, this girl actually seemed excited to see them and ran toward them.

The wolf turns around to face the girl, their head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. They hadn't been expecting this. If anyone did see them, they'd expected them to run away from them, not toward them. She even threatened to hunt them if they hadn't stopped and, did she mention she was hunting bandits? That seemed far too dangerous for her, even if she did have a hammer.

They just stared at her. She was still pretty far away. They were definitely much faster than her since they were a wolf. It would be easy to just turn and continue running away. But, this girl wanted to go fight bandits, so Blue Raspberry was a bit worried about their safety. They'd learned that bandits are bad people who steal and kill. They didn't want such a small human to fight them alone. A voice in the back of their head said they should go with them and help.

It is much to Astrid's surprise that the large wolf stopped, turned around, and is just watching her approach. She hasn't scared it. Great! It doesn't look aggressive. Even better! Should she keep approaching? Should she throw it a stick? A few pieces of jerky? That's how she's befriended stray dogs in town. Obviously, this very large wolf with bright blue eyes and clear intellect in its expression is the exact same thing as a stray dog. 

When she finally catches up, she first catches her breath. Then she whips herself to stand upright, takes a deep breath, and throws her arms wide in a welcoming motion. "Ya stopped!" she exclaims. This is partially expected, partially unexpected. Who wouldn't stop for a cute and charming girl by herself in the woods? "Oh my gods, yer so fluffy! Can I pet ya? Do ya understand me?" Cautiously, she reaches her hand out towards its neck with zero doubt that this wolf will not take her hand right off. Though she would be a scrumptious meal, it would be a shame to smash it in the face.

Then the strange, sweet, berry smell of the animal hits her nostrils. Nothing could prepare her for what should smell like a wet dog actually smelling like... blue raspberries? Her expression does not hide her bewilderment. 

The child walked up to the giant wolf without any fear. It was a confusing sight. When the kid asked if they could pet them, Blue Raspberry took a few steps backward. They didn't want the little girl to touch them since it might feel like ooze instead of fur and give them away. They'd never actually felt themself while they were transformed, but it was probably better not to take the risk. While they thought that, the girl asked if they understood what they were saying, so Blue Raspberry nodded to say yes without really thinking about it.

Wait, wolves can't talk, can they? Oh, I've already messed up, haven't I? Ah, it seems no matter what they tried to disguise themself as, they just couldn't be very convincing, could they? A wolf also wouldn't have stopped and turned around for any reason other to eat the child, and something told them not to do that.

As they stood there lamenting their terrible acting skills, they noticed that the girl seemed bewildered for some reason. Were they suspicious? Maybe they should just leave. They could outrun the girl if they tried, even if they were so close. Oh, but they wanted to go fight bandits. They started to spin around in confusion while trying to decide what to do.

When the wolf steps away, Astrid pulls her hand back. She didn't mean to frighten the wolf. Well, only a little if it intends to bite her, but that doesn't seem likely with the way that it's acting. She watches as the wolf kind of flails about in its own way, and having never met a dire wolf before, thinks two things: 1) this is a regular wolf, and 2) this must be how all wolves behave. In some attempt to make nice, she also begins to fail about helplessly as if she's confused. Maybe this is just how wolves communicate!

Except it dawns on her that the wolf nodded as if it understood her. She suddenly leaps out of her flailing stance into an excited one, and she points at the wolf. "You understood that, didn' ya!" she exclaims. Her next words come drawn out through her dwarvish tone. "That's incredible. I never knew wolves were so smart!" Astrid claps her hands together affirmatively. "Good! Wolfie, I need yer help findin' some lousy bandits, and yer good nose is perfect fer the job! Think ye can help me with me first solo mission out in the wilds? Yesee, I'm tryna get the funds t'open a blacksmith and make the best armor anyone's ever seen!" 

Ironically, the girl who wants to make armor has no armor for herself. Just a battle hammer and a tool kit on her belt.

Blue Raspberry stopped their spinning and stared at the girl again. They seemed to think they were just a regular wolf. So their disguise wasn't actually that bad. That was a relief. But the girl seemed to have some strange impression that all wolves were as smart an ooze. Well, Blue Raspberry had met other oozes, and honestly wolves were probably smarter than the average ooze. Blue Raspberry just wasn't an average ooze for some reason.

They listened to the girl talk and started sniffing the ground. Did wolves have a good sense of smell? Well, maybe they do, but they weren't sure they would have one just because they looked like a wolf right now. But, they wanted to keep their disguise convincing, so they should pretend. They acted as if they had caught the scent of something and started moving along to follow the imaginary trail. As the went, they scooped up some pine cones and acorns that were on the ground with their tongue and ate them.

The two walked through the forest, Blue Raspberry leading the way, until they came to a small campsite. The giant wolf looked up from the ground to see two people tied to a tree while four men were stuffing objects into sacks. All of them stared at the wolf in surprise. Wait, did they actually lead the way to the bandits somehow? Their sense of smell must actually be amazing! But, they didn't remember smelling anything, though. Oh well, it worked, right?

The wolf picked up a trail immediately! The bandits must be nearby, Astrid thinks to herself, but she struggles to stay quiet. This is an exciting moment for her. She's met a wolf that understands her and is going to help her find the bandits! She can't believe how quickly the wolf picked up the trail, either. "Those bandits must be real smelly!" she buzzes, following her new friend through the woods.


She finds it interesting that the wolf has a taste for pinecones and acorns. She thought wolves liked meat. Maybe this is the wolf's way of preparing its maw for the flavor of fresh bandit blood. While they walk, Astrid muses these things aloud, considering them to be of little consequence since the wolf can't talk. She's so distracted by her chatter, that she runs right into the wolf's haunches. "Oop, what's goin' o-" 

There they are, bandits robbing a couple of merchants right out of their own camp! "Oi, you jerks! Doncha know stealin' is wrong?!" She ignores the fact that she has stolen a few things in her time, mostly out of survival or curiosity. Astrid storms out of the brush, hammer in hand. She is incredibly threatening. "I'm gonna give you lot te the count of three te stop what yer doin' and release those travelers and their belongin's!"

She holds up her free hand and the countdown begins. "One. Two..."

As the little girl that suddenly appeared along with a huge wolf starts counting down, the bandits regain a bit of the composure they'd lost by the surprise of their entrance. They looked at each other for a moment before dropping the bags and pulling out their weapons. Each of the four bandits pulled out a different weapon and held it at the ready.

The bandit that was unluckily the closest to the giant wolf held a short sword that didn't help at all when the wolf's maw clamped over their head. The sword dropped to the ground while the man convulsed as if being electrocuted. The other bandits didn't just sit around and watch though. One bandit pulled out a crossbow and aimed it at the wolf that now had a limp pair of legs hanging from its mouth and fired. The bolt flew through the air, but a faint buzzing sound filled the air and the bolt flew off course and flipped around in the air, missing the wolf entirely.

The other bandits charged forward wielding a hammer and an axe. The axe wielder ran for the wolf, wanting to save their comrade, while the hammer wielder ran for the little girl. The man thought the wolf must be the pet of the girl. If he took her hostage, he should be able to get the wolf to cough up his comrade.

---

Lightning Armor
Static Field

The man with the hammer made a sore mistake coming for a "little girl." He has no idea what's coming for him by thinking Astrid's defenseless. She's carrying a battle hammer, after all, and if there's one thing she's good at, it's using it on knees. "Only one of us can carry a hammer, and I carry it better!" Putting all of her weight behind her swing, Astrid brings the hammer across the side of the bandit's knee. There's a cracking sound that's drowned out by her battle cry, and he falls to the ground with a cry of pain. 

But there's no time to revel in this small win, another man with an axe is charging her new friend, and Wolfie's maw is full of its meat snack! "You leave my Wolfie alone!" she cries, rushing over and throwing her weight against the bandit.

He stumbles, but doesn't fall, and shouts in annoyance. Then he shoves her back and poises himself to strike her with the axe. She instead throws herself at his feet. Go for the legs, that's her best bet since she can't reach their heads. Yet. The axe bandit narrowly misses Astrid, the axe planting itself in the dirt just beside her, and narrowly avoids his own toes. "Damn kid, get off me!" But she has her arm and legs wrapped around his leg, and she grins a devious grin up at him. She twirls her hammer in her hand and slams it right into his nards. The bandit crumples to the ground, a nearly silent scream escaping his lips.

It's not honorable, but she doesn't care. Stealing from merchants and travelers isn't honorable either. With his face near her foot, she boots him in the face for good measure and makes to stand up, having not noticed the last bandit has a freshly loaded crossbow aimed right for them. 

The crossbowman is confused by their last shot suddenly being flung away by some force. He loads his crossbow and aims again at the wolf. The last shot must have been a coincidence, the wind or something. This time it'll hit the wolf straight in the eye. Or that's what they thought until their second bolt flipped through the air just like the first and landed long ways down, harmlessly on the back of the giant wolf. They were baffled.

Well, if they can't shoot the wolf, they'll have to shoot at the girl that had now broken the leg of one of his comrades and the manhood of another. He took one last horrified glance at the wolf whose mouth had closed shut. It was odd that there was no swallowing sound at all, and since when do wolves eat their meals whole, like snakes? Everything about this wolf had been strange and baffling. But, there was no time to think about it. This was a battle. The man reloaded the crossbow and took aim at the child.

Blue Raspberry noticed the man's aim had changed and leapt forward to block the bolt. This time, the static that had been deflecting the projectiles had faded, and the bolt flew straight into the side of the wolf's torso. The bolt sank into the fur and vanished while the wolf stood up and charged at the man. He panicked, trying to reload the crossbow again, but the wolf closed the distance between them in no time. Soon the man was convulsing in the wolf's mouth just as the swordsman had been.

Realizing that all four bandits are dispatched, either eaten by Wolfie or on the ground in pain, Astrid looks around in surprise. They did it! She throws her hands up in excitement. "We did it, Wolfie! We beat the bandits!" But they aren't finished yet, there's a couple of travelers tied to a tree, so she rushes over to them. "Are ya okay? Looks like y'are. Hopefully there weren't more bandits." She chatters on while she works to untie them.


The two merchants seem shocked by the turn of events. A young girl and an enormous wolf appeared from nowhere and saved them and their stock. One of the merchants says in a trembling voice, "T-Thank you. That was... We thought they'd leave us out here to die." When Astrid unties them, the merchants stand up, rubbing their arms and wrists where the ropes chaffed and breathing out a sigh of relief. They do stay cautious of the massive wolf which they witnessed swallow a man whole. "What of these others?" 

Astrid tromps past the merchants to the injured bandits with the rope in hand. She grabs each bandit by the collar of their shirt and drags them both over to the tree and ties them in the merchants' place. Then she starts checking them for any clues, that's something she learned from other companions, always look for clues; small problems could be part of a bigger one. Finally she finds a small pin on each of the bandit's shirts and from one of their pockets pulls out a folded piece of parchment. 

"Hey, put that back!" the broken knee bandit protests through his pain. She elects to ignore him and shows the pins to the merchants.

"Do ya know if this is special?"

The merchants take a look a the pins, and one responds, "That... That looks like the symbol of the Clasp. Of course these louts belong to them..."


The other merchant looks worried. "We should leave," he says. "Before they find out what happened and more come after us!" They give each other a nod of agreement and begin gathering their belongings to get moving. "What's your name, little miss?" 

"I'm Astrid Stormstone," the girl declares proudly, helping them gather their things. "And that's my new friend, Wolfie! At least that's what I'm callin' 'em."

"Well, we are in your debt, Miss Astrid and... Wolfie," the merchant responds. "We'll be sure to tell the guard what's happened here."

"O'course," Astrid replies cheerily. "Tell em I need coin! Fancy me some fancy armor!" The merchants laugh slightly and eventually they're packed and set off. Meanwhile Astrid unfolds the parchment and finds it has some markings on it, though it doesn't seem like writing, perhaps it's a drawing? Either way, it's a clue. She walks over to her wolf friend and shows it to them. "Think we can find this? Maybe there's more bandits there!" 

"No, there's not!" the kneecapped bandit shouts. 

Astrid looks again at Blue Raspberry, not believing the bandit.

Blue Raspberry sniffs the parchment. They're not really sure what they're trying to read. It looks like some kind of drawing and smells like ink and parchment. They're not sure what they're supposed to do with it, at all. They bite down on the parchment and eat it. It doesn't make sense, so they probably don't need it anyways.

"Ha! That big, dumb wolf of yours ate it! Too bad. It actually was a map, but now it's gone. You'll never find the base now." the bandit laughs triumphantly. The other bandit seems like they don't care either way. He might be a bit traumatized, or just doesn't care now that he's been captured. The laughing bandit seems much more devoted to the Clasp than his companion.

Blue Raspberry walks over to the two tied up bandits and opens their mouth. If they're done fighting, they might as well eat. They'd learned that they should protect nice people and eat the bad people. As the giant wolf loomed over the two, they panicked and tried to escape their bindings.

"Call it off! Damn, even after Mike and Jerry, it's not full!? We'll lead you back, just call the beast off! We don't need the map to bring you to the base! Please!" the bandits pleaded with the girl they assumed must be the wolf's master.

When her wolf companion suddenly slurps the map out of her hands, Astrid shouts, "Hey! We needed that probably!" She stomps her foot. That was their ticket to taking out all the bandits!


"Ha! That big, dumb wolf of yours ate it! Too bad. It actually was a map, but now it's gone. You'll never find the base now."

"So it was a clue!" she says, looking at the two bandits. Astrid takes her hammer in her hand in preparation for questioning them. Then the wolf walks over and opens it maw to try and eat them. "No, hey, don't eat 'em!" By then the bandits were begging for their lives. "Or maybe... do eat 'em. Unless they cooperate!" She raises her hammer threateningly. "I'll take out yer other kneecap if ya try any funny business!" The bandits quickly agree to avoid the threat of becoming Blue Raspberry's dinner, and Astrid takes a step back in satisfaction.


"Right. We'll tie ya both up and you there can drag mister broken kneecap behind ya! He'll slow ya down, then ya can't run away from us." The bandits, of course, don't like this plan, but what are they to do against a hungry wolf and a fiesty hammer girl?