This is a $1 Legend commission done for  TateLugia and  Danny_the_blue_fox from our recent Free Contest. We hope you enjoy reading it!

The Legend of Tate and Danny

A quiet day like any other, nobody suspecting any adventures or twists and turns out of the ordinary. Life goes on peacefully around the village: farmers tilling, lords and ladies socializing, merchants haggling, life is bustling uneventfully. All it took was a cloaked stranger and the promise of riches to change that. Called by many names—Teacher, Master, Sorcerer, Witch, Sage—this figure ventures town to town recruiting local adventurers on a quest for epic loot and legendary renown. This time was no different from any other: the one called the Guide Healer made his post in the Square, recruited a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed following, and marched them into the Dungeon.

Slots in the party were filling fast! Magic-wielders, sneak thieves, mighty warriors, and more joined the forming Charred Toad Party, but it was still missing some dynamic… Something to set it apart from every other party… A synergy of sorts between tank and support. Thanks to Tate the bard and Danny the warrior, this would not be a problem! Complimenting each other’s battle styles and equipment, the half-magic-half-muscle pair joined ranks in the Charred Toad Party and set out on a grand quest for success and fortune!

Upon starting the adventure, the duo did not find much that was remarkable on the first floor. Standard dungeon-esque stone floors and pillars, braziers keeping the environment dimly lit, bits and pieces of equipment or supplies from previous adventurers, and of course, the goofy little slime goo guarding the exit. Other members of the Charred Toad Party were quite gung-ho when it came to engaging the monster, including Danny, but in the enthusiasm, he ended up tripping on an errant root creeping up from the floors. Tate noticed his friend stumble and quickly stashed the canteen he was using to go help Danny. By the time the two recovered, the monster had been slain and the party was advancing deeper.

The next floor was certainly punishing for each member of the Charred Toad Party. High heat, flowing magma, geysers of fire, and a wretched demonic fire beast blocking the door made clearing this floor no easy task! Danny rushed right in for the attack, landing some solid initial strikes. The monster, recognizing the threat Danny posed, quickly targeted him with some blazing breath, incurring serious burns for the warrior… Defending his friend, Tate immediately began pointing out the monster’s weaknesses for the party to capitalize on, drawing attention off Danny in the process too. Tate rushed over to Danny to help him stabilize. Plenty of sips of water later, from both individuals, Danny was able to shake off the daze from the burns and power through the injury. The process left Tate rather exhausted, but not too exhausted to belt out one last magical weakening spell on the monster! With that final spell, the Charred Toad Party was able to finish the fiend promptly.

Like a breath of fresh air, the cool damp of the following floor washed relief over the Charred Toad Party, but only for a moment. Lustrous and slippery, a fierce water dragon stood before them to prevent their advance! Taking after Tate’s example, Danny chose not to rush into combat headlong this time. Instead, he formed a solid strategy with a few of the other party members, scoped out the best way to damage the dragon, and then dashed in to land a calculated blow! Meanwhile, Tate was busy helping the party as best as possible. Providing musical healing, searching for extra rations, and even landing an arcane pot shot on the monster, he was all over the place! This eventually caught up with Tate though and forced him to lay down for a very brief catnap to regain some stamina. Meanwhile, Danny continued to take advantage of his surroundings: he found an old moldy treasure chest and looted a gilded flintlock from within and tapped into the floor’s magical influence, gaining mastery over the Element of water! Shortly after, Danny hurried over to Tate to wake him up with the party just finishing the battle with the monster.

Next, after entering the rocky landscape of the Earth floor, both Tate and Danny took advantage of the monster’s slumber to support the party and prepare for battle. Tate was busy searching for wild edibles to pad their ration stash, incidentally snacking on a couple in the process too; Danny felt the same magic pull he did on the last floor and tapped into it, combining his internal aquatic prowess and the rough, rigid strength of the floor’s Earth element. The resulting combination provided him with elemental mastery over Ice, though the process left him a bit parched ironically… By then, the Charred Toad Party had awakened the skeletal Terran beast and had commenced combat. Tate wasted no time lashing out with his whip to crack and tug at the monster’s stony limbs. After a bit, the monster did catch the end of his whip and use it against him, tossing him into some sharp rocks. Thanks to the party’s healing prowess, the injuries were not long term. Enraged by the monster hurting his friend, Danny let out a battle cry and blasted shot after shot at the monster. Inspired by the battle cry, the Charred Toad Party really started to bring the pain on the beast! Feeling threatened, the monster let loose with a punishing dust devil strike, leaving much of the party temporarily incapacitated, Danny included. Tate, on the other paw, chose to take advantage of this, getting a feel for the elemental magic orchestrating the dust storms. Eventually taking control of them with his music, Tate successfully attuned to the pure Earth element! Once the dust settled, the Charred Toad Party made quick work of the monster. Both Tate and Danny chose to survey the landscape one final time before advancing, hoping to find more goodies and to spend some quality adventure time together too!

Going to a water floor again, the duo set off for another difficult encounter. Tate immediately played a song of feebleness on the monster, making it weaker to the party’s attacks; Danny meanwhile elected to reattune to the pure Water element, preferring its flexible nature over the rigidity of Ice. Then, the awful aquatic slime let out a resounding shrill tone, forcing much of the party to cover their ears and leaving them in a daze…Tate included! Danny made a break to help out his friend, but slipped on the floor and twisted an ankle… Still crawling over to Tate, Danny was determined to help him recover. Then, at the very last moment, the monster manifested tenacles, grabbed Tate, whacked Danny with him, and then finished Tate off… It truly was a devastating loss, one that left Danny stunned from the emotional and physical blows… Soon after the monster’s brutal display, the Charred Toad Party took it out and moved along quickly so as not to linger.

The next floor was certainly a temperature shock! Snow and ice all around! Danny knew this would make conditions tougher and did just what he thought Tate would do: support the party and gather supplies! Finding some extra provisions and rallying the Charred Toad Party to fight for the fallen, mainly with Tate in mind, he found new strength and took up his weapon, charging in to avenge his friend. Dodging, shooting, reloading, Danny fought with flawless prowess for physical combat, but then the monster unleashed a powerful magic ice beam, incapacitating Danny and a few others… Frozen to the ground, Danny retaliated as best as possible until the cold bitter end in the beast’s cold bitter fangs…

A while later, Tate and Danny woke up back in town, side by side in an infirmary. As it turns out, the party had been revived after the Guide Healer transported their spirits back to town as well as their loots! Many were gathered there almost as if it were a tavern! Stories were swapped, advice and plans were composed by party members, and here and there, both Danny and Tate could hear inklings of how their efforts truly helped carry the Charred Toad Party as far as they did. Proud of their accomplishments, they exchanged a friendly look and a high five, optimistic for the adventures yet to come.