Monsters

by Viktor Zólyomi

  `Flora, this is a dragon you're speaking of! You can't just...'

  `Of course I can, Jase!' I tell him, as I take off my sash and unfold it into the cloak Belwor gave me, and then place it around my shoulders. `You just watch me!'

  *

  I transform into bat shape and fly up before Jase could say another word. I still see how he begins to run up the path, but he slowly vanishes from view. I fly higher, trying to spot the dragon. I don't see anything in the generic direction from where I heard that loud roar earlier. It can't be very far...

  I keep looking. Minutes pass, and suddenly I spot the creature. Not far from the mountain, like it just returned home and is heading for its nest. A huge beast it is indeed! It's got to be at least thirty feet tall standing, but flying it seems even bigger. It's wings, when spread wide, must reach thirty-forty feet. An impressive sight, indeed! What a trophy it will make...

  I fly towards it. It notices me. As I get close, it turns its head towards me and tries to catch me between its gigantic teeth. I quickly avoid it and fly above its head. I transform back into my normal shape and grab hold of the dragon's thick neck, sitting on it like some dragon rider would.

  `Hey Jase!' I shout off into the distance. `I win the first round!'

  I strike at the dragon with my vicious vampire claws. The thick scales protect the beast, but then I try to rip one of these scales off. After a little pulling, I succeed. Then I strike at the revealed skin of the dragon and drive my claws deep. The dragon roars in frustration, and tries to shake me off its head.

  `Jase! I win the second round, too!' I shout, while trying to hang on. It's not easy, the dragon is violently trying to shake me off. Finally it succeeds, and I fall down.

  I land hard among the trees, but the fall does not harm me at all. My body is much stronger than to be hurt by such a fall. It couldn't have been more than a hundred feet. Maybe two.

  I stand up, and see the dragon swooping down with its mouth wide open. I quickly crouch and cover myself with the cloak Belwor had given me, and wait. Sure enough the dragon breathes fire at me and the trees surrounding me. The trees catch on fire, but I am unharmed. Truly, this cloak is a life saver! At least Belwor wasn't a liar...

  A few moments later the dragon breathes fire at me again, this time from much closer. It landed in front of me and its mouth is just ten feet away... but the flames still don't harm me.

  As it stops breathing fire, I arise and unwrap myself from the cloak. I stare into the dragon's large reptilian eyes, and see that the beast is frustrated and angry.

  `Is that spicy breath all you can do?' I ask, taunting it.

  `Foolish vampire!' says the creature. `I will eat you before you could even regret attacking me!'

  Then it lunges forward and strikes at me with its claws. The magics of my armor protect me from that blow, but it knocks me off my feet. I roll aside, jump up, and rush close to the dragon. It tries to strike me again, but I evade it, and approach the beast's belly. I strike it as hard as I can, and my claws rip several scales off. My next strike cuts deep into the dragon's flesh. Before I could strike again, it raises one of it's hind legs and sweeps its tail towards me. It comes so fast that I am too late to avoid it, and it knocks me away.

  I land on my back, and the dragon comes after me at a speed which belies its size. It stomps one of its forelegs on me and holds me down, Then it strikes towards me with the claws of its other foreleg. My armor protects me, but I still feel the overwhelming strength of the dragon's attack. I may be strong, but this dragon is a completely different story...

  It strikes once more and I feel it even more than the previous blow. Before it could strike again, I quickly focus on transforming into mist form. A second later, the dragon roars aloud in frustration as I become a gray mist that it can no longer harm.

  I move away from the dragon, seeking a good place to assume my normal form. But the dragon follows me and awaits my transformation, ready to strike me down as soon as possible.

  Now this is not going to be easy. Perhaps I should move towards it instead, and try to get on its back while in mist form, but it will notice my attempt. I need a distraction. I need...

  Suddenly I hear a sound that reminds me of some kind of magical attack spell being cast, and a moment later the dragon roars aloud. It turns around and I see that Jason is attacking it with some kind of magic. He holds his left arm forward and glowing magical missiles come out of his fingers one after the other. These missiles then fly towards the dragon and strike it unerringly, leaving a small burn-mark behind on every scale that they strike. I do not know how much that hurt the dragon, but it certainly got its attention.

  `What is this? A puny mage? Come, let me destroy you!' exclaims the dragon, and it attacks Jase. Before it could reach him, he pulls a wand from his belt and fires it at the dragon. A bolt of lightning emits from it and strikes the dragon in the chest. Electricity crackles all over the beast, and it stops in its tracks briefly, but just for a second. Then it proceeds towards Jason again.

  Jase fires the wand a second time and the dragon is halted once more. Then, as the beast moves closer to him again, he fires a third lightning bolt at it. Again, it only slows the dragon briefly. Then I see Jason taking a new hold on his wand, grabbing it in a way like he wanted to break it. But that's nonsense. It would explode if he...

  Suddenly a violent explosion shakes the ground and the dragon roars aloud, as if in pain. I feel a strong shockwave coming against me, but whatever it is it can't hurt me while I'm in mist form.

  Jase broke the wand, it seems...

  Why did he do that? He certainly knew what would happen... Even I knew what would happen. The mages in my village always warned us when I and my brothers were young that if we ever find a wand abandoned somewhere, whatever we do we should never try to break it, as it would release its charges in an uncontrolled explosion. Jase is a mage of sorts, he had to know... Is he alright?

  I move past the dragon and towards where Jase was standing before the explosion. I spot him a bit further away, on the ground. He lives, and he seems unharmed. He's slowly standing up, shaking his head. He seems a bit dizzy, but he's okay. He probably had some kind of magical protection.

  I assume my normal shape and turn back to the dragon. Its body is shaking from the aftereffects of the explosion. Much of the scales were ripped off by the blast, and the beast is now much more vulnerable than before. It also seems to be dazed by the blast...

  Good.

  I lunge forward and attack it without hesitation.

  I strike hard, driving my claws deep into the dragon's flesh. I draw its blood with all my strikes, and after a while I realize that I have not yet tasted it...

  For a moment, I stop attacking, and lick some of the creature's blood off my hand.

  Delicious... No prey I've hunted before had blood like this...

  I climb to the dragon's back and start ripping the scales off from its neck one by one. I try to expose a large enough surface on its skin so that I can try to feed on it effectively.

  In the mean time, from the corner of my eye I see that Jason is slowly approaching. Still dizzy, but with his sword drawn.

  I'd better kill the dragon fast. Before he does...

  Finally a nice large piece of the dragon's skin is exposed. I strike at the creature and cut a deep, profusely bleeding wound into the exposed part of its neck. I sink my teeth into its flesh and begin sucking out its blood.

  It is... inexpressible... The blood of this creature is unlike anything I ever tasted before. It makes me feel so much stronger... Stronger than ever before!

  Suddenly the dragon violently shakes its head. It has come to. Now it's trying to shake me off.

  Jason sees this and he jumps forward quickly. He strikes his sword hilt deep into the dragon. His sword pierces through the thick scales of the dragon with ease. He pulls it out and strikes again and again, relentlessly. The beast has to contend with the both of us now. The deep cuts of Jason are caus
ing the dragon to lose a lot of blood, and the blood I'm draining from its neck is only weakening it more. It knows this, and desperately tries to shake me off, but I hold on to it tight, hooking my legs around its neck.

  Suddenly the dragon flaps its wings and flies up. It must have realized that it can't keep trying to fight off Jase and trying to get rid of me at the same time. It flies up quite high, and forcefully tries shaking me off its neck. But I just keep feeding...

  Over a minute passes like this and I realize that I can't drink any more of the dragon's blood. It has much more blood than let's say a human does, and my body does not need so much at one time. So, I stop feeding. The beast is still trying vehemently to shake me off, but no use. I think it's time to end this.

  I climb to the top of its neck and hang on with my legs hooked around it. I grab one of the large horns of the creature and pull on it forcefully. A moment later it breaks off. This horn is thicker than my arm, and just a little bit longer as well. And extremely sharp...

  I crawl back to the part of its neck where I exposed the skin. I raise the severed horn high and strike it into the wound with all my strength, pushing it all the way, making it pierce the throat of the dragon completely. The beast lets out a loud roar, but unlike any roar it made before. Slowly it goes silent and it stops to flap its wings. It falls down.

  I let go of it and change into bat form as I am falling down. I witness how the dragon crashes into the ground, and eventually lands on it's right side. I fly down, and arrive just a few seconds before Jason. I turn back into my normal form.

  `Is it dead?' I ask him.

  He examines the fallen beast. He touches the creature's closed eyes and some parts of its neck.

  `Yes.' he says finally. So, it is done. I killed it. I killed a dragon, one of the most dangerous beasts in this world. What a glorious hunt this was!

  `I win, Jase! All three rounds, just like I said I would...' I tell him, laughing lightly.

  `Is this all just a game for you?!' he asks, like he was angry.

  `It's a hunt, Jase! A hunt. That's all there is left for me now. But that's alright. I've always been a hunter. I always will be.'

  He looks at me for a long time in silence, like he does not know what to say. Then he finally speaks.

  `You could have died.' he says.

  `Of course, but that's part of the hunt. Why should I hunt a creature that does not have a fighting chance?'

  *

  We rest for a few minutes, and then Jason takes off a pouch from his belt. He opens it and widens its mouth greatly. It seems to be one of those magical pouches that can hold much greater objects within than the pouch itself.

  `Can you hold this for a minute?' he asks.

  `Sure.'

  I take the pouch, and he draws his sword. He stabs it deep into the dragon's chest.

  `What are you doing?'

  `I'm cutting out its heart.' he says, and he proceeds to cut through the dragon's flesh. It seems he knows what he's doing, like he's done it before. A minute or two, and he cuts out a large bloody pile of flesh from the beast.

  He brings it to me and puts it in the pouch I am holding. Then he seals the pouch and hangs it back on his belt.

  `That was the dragon's heart?'

  `Yes.'

  `What do you want with a dragon's heart?'

  He pulls a small gem out of his pocket and shows it to me. It's got an eerie glow, and I see four strongly glowing white spots inside the gem.

  `What is this?' I ask.

  `It's a cage gem. It is a special magic item which is capable of holding powerful creatures within. Once broken, the creatures can be released from it.'

  `How does it work?'

  `It's hard to explain. I myself don't fully understand either. The magics of the gem can transform a creature into a small, wisp-like being, and the gem can then seal the wisp inside itself. Once the gem is broken, the wisp is released and it transforms back into what it was.'

  `So, those four white glowing things inside are four creatures?'

  `Yes. This stone can hold up to five creatures within.'

  `Do you want this dragon to be the fifth?'

  `No. The dragon's dead now, and it would not have been of help to me anyway. No. I need a different creature. But before I seal it in the gem, I must force it to serve me. I need the heart to act as a catalyst to achieve that. There is a powerful creature that I need to help me. I need five, in fact. Four I already have. I had to kill four dragons to be able to enforce my will upon them.'

  `You killed four dragons?'

  `Yes.' he says, so casually that it almost shocks me. I have completely forgotten what he is like. But truly, I no longer mind.

  Besides...

  `You killed four, and would have envied the killing of this one from me? You are so greedy, Jase...'

  `It was dangerous, Flora. I didn't want you getting hurt.'

  `I'm not some weak little girl, Jase. I never was, you know that... And now, I'm much hardier than before. Now tell me... What about the dragon's heart?'

  `It's a catalyst that enables me to cast a very powerful spell even with what meager magic skills I possess. The spell will force a single powerful undead creature into my service. I will use this heart to enslave such a creature, then I will seal it in the gem, and release it along with the other four to aid me when the time comes.'

  `When the time comes? I see. What kind of creature is this that you want to enslave?'

  `A lich.'

  `A lich, huh?' I ask, wondering...

  `Yes. An undead mage of great power who...'

  `Do you have a specific target, Jase?'

  `No, but I know places where I can find liches. I found four already, they are locked in the gem now. I'm sure I can find another. Any lich will do.'

  `Follow me, Jase! I have just the thing for you!' I tell him, and I begin to walk down the path.

  Monsters

  Belwor's crypt, Kh'Tal, present day (1 year, 1 month, and 10 days before Twilightfall)

  Flora lead me down from the mountains and back into the forests of Kh'Tal. We traveled for a week, and we fought several battles along the way. I almost felt like she intentionally lead us into these battles. She looked like she enjoyed the fights, and each time she told me of how she enjoyed the hunt.

  The hunt, she called it. She spoke to me so much about how this is what she lives for now. That she's enjoying her new life. I do so wonder if that's really true, or just something she would like to make me believe. I do not know for certain. She has changed greatly, I can see that clearly. And it's all because of me.

  I should never have brought her here. I brought disaster upon her, nothing more. She would have deserved a better life than this...

  It cannot be undone any more. We both must look forward now. Especially me. If I get the fifth lich under my power, I will be ready to go to Re'Cas. When I kill Jenathar, I will remember to kill him not just for all the things he'd done to me, but for all the lives I've touched and ruined in the past sixteen years... Including Flora...

  After a week of travel, we finally arrived at a crypt hidden in the forest. She told me to mold into my shadow and follow her, unseen. I did as she asked. We entered. She pushed a brick on one of the walls, and a hidden passageway opened up for us. We descended a set of stairs, and proceeded deeper.

  She is now moving forwards in the dark corridors of the crypt. She seems to know her way around well. She claims to know the lich that lives here. I wonder how she came to make acquaintances with a lich, or why she chose to let me enslave the creature. She walks ahead boldly, fearlessly, like she does not expect a battle. Or like she doesn't care. It's hard to say, she has shown how much she revels in combat now. Or the hunt, as she calls it.

  She walks forward and I follow her, hidden well in my shadow. We arrive in a larger chamber with a stone throne at the far end. There is an undead creature resting on the throne. A humanoid skeleton with rotting flesh hanging from its bones, and eerie light
glowing in its eye sockets. Yes, this is a lich. The magical power I sense in it seems to be more than sufficient for what I need.

  Flora greets the lich.

  `Hi there, Belwor! Been a while, hasn't it?' she says. So, the lich is called Belwor.

  Whatever.

  `Greetings... Young one...' replies the lich. `Why... you have brought a friend...'

  So, he senses my presence even as I am hidden. No matter. I know what to do.

  I come out of my shadow and show myself to the lich.

  `What a... strange... creature... you are... shadowy one...' he says.

  `Cut the crap, Belwor!' says Flora. `Your time in this world has come to an end.'

  `You wish... to destroy me... young one? How... ungrateful... you are...'

  `Destroy you? No. That would be too simple. Come on, Jase! Do what you want with him. He's all yours!'

  I stare at the lich and see that he is surprised, but certainly not unprepared. A moment later, the door through which we entered closes shut, and two doors to the left and right open up. Slowly, dozens of skeletons begin to pour in through the doors.

  `You... disappoint me... young one...' says the lich. `Whatever... you want... from me... you will... not have... without... a fight...'

  He slowly rises from the throne, and Flora stares at me with fierce eyes as if she was saying: What are you waiting for? But it's not as simple as she thinks.

  The skeletons approach us threateningly, and she decides to attack them. She moves quickly and fights lethally. A few kicks and punches and a skeleton falls, just like that. Skeletons can be dangerous and hard to kill, but Flora is so strong, so powerful now. I've seen her battle that dragon, I could tell just how strong she really is... These skeletons are no match for her. She breaks their magically strengthened bones like thin dry branches of a dead tree.

  I let her enjoy this hunt, as she would call it, and stare at the lich. He has not yet tried to attack. It is as if he's waiting for me. Perhaps he doesn't understand why I have not yet drawn my sword.

  `Do you know what I am?' I ask of him.