George seemed to think so as well, “I’m sure he was just spooked by some shadows in the dark. Firelight can make you see strange things.”
The merchant nodded but looked unconvinced. “Perhaps, but he lost some of his creatures that night, the ones he puts on for a show. Lions and great snakes. Many were slaughtered right there in their cages, but some appeared to escape. So now there’s that to worry about.”
Now Una could understand why the man looked so tired. He clearly had a lot to get off his chest. George thanked him for the meat and liquor, before readying to continue.
“You all be careful,” added the merchant right before they parted. “Not many headed in that direction, especially nowadays. You’re better off to head west, or south, far south. Beyond the country if you can. This place isn’t fit for people who seek honest work.”
With that, he continued on, grumbling under his breath about something while he went. Una frowned at him as he left. Were all the people this scared of the Saxons now? Or was it the superstitions surrounding the Forest of Arden that spurred such reactions? Things had indeed changed since she’d left her home.
They stopped for a moment to cook some of the meat they had just purchased. The added salt in the meat made it all the better, and George wasn’t that bad of a cook, for a knight. And Una was honestly impressed that he’d never once asked her to do the cooking. He’d never even appeared to consider it. That elevated him a little in her book.
“Why don’t you have a squire?” Una asked after a while. “Don’t knights have squires?”
To her surprise, George went rather cold at the question. “I’m...not exactly a knight.”
“You mentioned that when I was still imprisoned. So, what exactly are you?”
“I…” He looked around uncomfortably, as if searching for a reply, but of course there was none to be found just lying around. “I’m just searching for a reason to make a name for myself, you know? Fortune and glory and all that?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. He stated his goals far too simplistically. There was more to his story for sure.
“I will admit though,” he said, picking the rabbit meat off a bone. “It would be nice to have a squire again. It’s incredibly hard to put on my armor on my own.”
“That makes sense.”
“Right now, the mule is the closest thing I have to a squire,” he said with a slight upturn of his lip.
“The mule dressed you too?”
He laughed, a clear note of joy. It surprised Una how pleasant George sounded when he was happy. Gone was the momentary darkness that had lingered when he hinted at his past.
Despite herself, Una joined in, though softly. She chuckled and went back to her meal.
They spent the next hour or so enjoying the break, though Una was eager to get underway again. Any time spent resting was less time they had to reach Castle Silene. The midsummer solstice would be gone before they knew it, and they couldn’t afford to wait too much. Still, the break was a pleasant one.
Yet not long after they finished eating, thunder rolled in the distance, and Una looked up to see enormous rain clouds approaching fast. She sighed. Perhaps the day wouldn’t continue to be pleasant after all.
7
Thunder rolled through the night and nothing but flashes illuminated the path ahead. For the first time since leaving Londinium, Una longed for the relative dryness of her old cell. The place had been horrible in winters, true, but it had been three years since she’d even had to worry about the rain. This was miserable.
It poured around the pair of them, both soaked from head to foot. Even the wool of the knight’s gambeson was of little use now. Una clutched at her arms and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
“We might be better suited to turn around and stop at that inn a few miles back,” George yelled through the crack of thunder and the hammering of rain. “We can’t guarantee that there will be any safe place to stay ahead.”
Una almost wanted to agree with him. However, with the muddy roads, it had taken them hours to get this far since passing that inn. By the time they returned, the rain might have let up.
“Maybe if we just go a little farther,” she said. “We’ll find something.”
“We’re too close to the Forest of Arden,” he countered. “We’ll encounter fewer and fewer people we can trust from here on out.”
Una scowled. Once again, he was right. Few wanted to actually live in or near the forest, not after all the stories of monsters and fae destroying crops and stealing children. And now that they had been traveling for several days, they would be lucky to find much more between them and the forest. Unfortunately, the forest was the quickest way to get to Castle Silene. It was either that, or go around into Saxon territory, and that was even more perilous.
They had to either push on or pull back.
Something caught Una’s eye, a light in the distance, one that remained constant unlike the flashing of lightning.
“I think I see something,” she said, her hopes lifting.
She darted forward, not bothering to look behind at George and his horse and mule. Yes, there was a light ahead, a warm light. No, two warm lights. They…
The lights moved.
They rose as if attached to some great creature, half as tall as a tree, perhaps larger. They looked less like lights now and more like...eyes.
Those eyes did not see her, instead they moved off the path on the left side, mildly illuminating the grass and trees in that area.
The knight caught up with her, and it was only then that he noticed she had stopped pushing forward.
“I saw it too,” he said. “Two lights. Gone now. Probably one or more people holding lanterns.”
“I’m not sure those were lanterns,” said Una, peering off into the distance where she had last seen the lights. “They belonged to something living.”
“Well, be it human or demon, it must live somewhere,” said George with an air of forced confidence. This time it was he who darted forward, leading his horse with some enthusiasm, despite all the rain.
“Wait,” she called, but he was already gone. Cursing, she grabbed the reins of the neglected mule and sprinted to catch up with him, pulling the animal along.
When they had moved forward by several yards, roughly arriving at the same spot where Una had first spied the lights, she found the knight carefully observing what appeared to be a clearly marked path through the woods.
“The trees here are thick,” said George. “The ground is almost completely dry.”
“I don’t know, George,” said Una. “What I saw…”
“I can deal with it,” he replied. “Whatever or whoever it was. But even sleeping on the dry ground here will be better than the road. And someone has clearly used this path before.”
Despite what she’d seen, a dry bed of earth did sound good to Una. And the knight seemed competent enough. He could probably handle any wolf or bear that they encountered, if that’s what she had seen. But those eyes had almost seemed to have a light of their own, rather than reflecting light as an animal’s eyes would have done.
But she was being silly. What would they encounter here that was out of the ordinary? They were still miles and miles away from the dragon and Castle Silene. And George was right. The path leading off the road was well marked. Someone had come through here plenty of times before.
“Okay,” she said. “But we move slowly.”
George agreed, and they stepped onto the dry path.
It wasn’t all that bad. The rain stopped falling on their heads almost immediately, though they still dealt with the discomfort from their soaked clothing. But there was also plenty of room on the path, as if someone had cleared it of branches and brambles deliberately.
At first, progress was extremely slow, as the sun had recently gone down and would not rise for several hours yet. The moon was completely covered by storm clouds, and the thick leaves of the trees all but blocked out li
ght completely.
“I think there’s a clearing up ahead,” said George.
Una peeked around him to see that he was right. There was just the subtlest difference in the light coming from the path in front of them, enough to indicate a break in the trees.
When they emerged into the clearing, rain halted their progress. Already Una’s face was dry, and even her shirt was beginning to feel less soaked through. She didn’t want to undo all that just yet.
“Maybe we can just settle down on the path itself,” she offered.
But the Red Cross knight was not looking at her. He was peering off in the distance. “Do you see what I see?”
Una followed his gaze, and found that she could actually see something, which in and of itself was hard to believe. Across the clearing was a hill, and at the base of that hill, there appeared to be some kind of cave. But the reason Una could make it out in the darkness was due to a warm light that filtered out from the depths of the cave.
“Whoever took those lights must have gone in there,” said George. “We have to investigate.”
Without waiting for permission, he stepped into the rain, taking long strides to the other side of the clearing.
“Wait,” she said, trying to keep her voice low. “We don’t know what’s down there.”
The Red Cross knight turned to her and grinned. “You haven’t seen me in action.” With that, he pulled his sword from its scabbard, and marched towards the cave opening.
George felt his heart leap into his chest as he closed the distance between himself and the cave. Hopefully the source of the light was something friendly, a fellow traveler perhaps. But one could never tell. And if it was dangerous, this would be his chance to prove to Una that he was really a knight to be reckoned with. She hadn’t seen him in combat yet. He would have to fix that.
At last, he reached the edge of the clearing where the cave stood. That strange, warm light continued to radiate from deep within, though he could not see its source. He thought idly about going back to retrieve his armor from his horse. But no, gambeson should be enough for now. His padded armor was sufficient against most common enemies outside of a true battle.
But he wasn’t without caution. Raising his sword in front of him, he took his first few steps into the mouth of the cave.
It wasn’t until he was several feet inside, that the stench finally reached his nostrils. It smelled like dead things, yet far worse. Not even a battlefield smelled this bad after several days of fighting. Not even his…
He put the past out of his mind and focused on the present. That smell indicated something foul lived down here. The rain and wind from outside must have blocked out the scent before he entered. But he would be even more cautious now.
“George,” came Una’s voice behind him. She had followed him inside.
“Stay back,” he said, putting out a hand to caution her.
“I’m not going to stay back, you nitwit. Judging by that smell, you’re probably going to need help.”
“I can handle myself,” he emphasized.
“And you can handle yourself even more with help. What we saw earlier...well you might need every spare blade you can get.”
“I…” But just at that moment, George rounded a corner and came face to face with something enormous.
Both he and Una immediately fell silent. Whatever it was, it hadn’t noticed them yet. They now stood in a larger cavern, but in front of them a massive shape sulked. Its body was coiled like a snake. In fact, it looked very much like a large snake, though George could make out two muscular arms at its front. And instead of scales, it had multiple wavy protrusions, almost like hairs but thicker and made of the same tough material. The warm light came from its eyes, which were half shut, as if in sleep.
“What is this?” he said, almost in awe. Such a creature simply did not exist. Where had it come from?
The giant snake’s nose...twitched.
“We need to get out of here,” said Una in a hoarse whisper.
For once, George completely agreed. He began to turn, ready to put as much distance between himself and this thing as possible.
But then, the warm light that softly illuminated the cave grew suddenly brighter, and a low hiss that was almost a growl sounded behind him. He turned to see the snake’s head had risen, its eyes open and staring right at the pair of them.
“Run!” George yelled. And in that same moment, the serpent struck.
Instinct took over, and George immediately leapt out of the way, bringing his sword to bear and stabbing it, point first, towards the space he had just occupied. Its tip glanced against something soft, and the serpent hissed. It recoiled and retreated to the back of the cave.
But it wasn’t done with them yet. Gathering itself on its two forward arms, it raised its enormous tail to reveal a long spike, dripping with what could only be poison.
The tail whipped at George, and this time he couldn’t dodge. He raised his shield and was nearly thrown backward by the force of the spike hitting it. Staring down at the shield, all he could see was the creature’s sting embedded through the wood, its tip barely missing his right thigh. The shield wouldn’t be able to take many hits like that.
With a great hiss, the monster recoiled its tail, dragging his shield along with it. The force was enough to pull him forward as the shield was wrenched from his fingers.
This wasn’t good. He was good with a sword, but in close quarters like this, and against a monster this large, he would need to change the setting.
Without another word, he dashed back up the entrance, ignoring the sounds of the great lizard with two arms. Thankfully, Una had already retreated. That was good, though it meant she would have missed his first scuffle with this monster.
His horse was still there at the mouth of the cave, though it was neighing and lifting its front hooves into the air. Undoubtedly it knew that danger was near. Una held its reins, trying to keep it calm. The mule was equally as scared, but could not go anywhere the horse did not go.
But George was after one thing, a long parcel, strapped to the horse's side. He grabbed it and cut at the ties with his sword, so that the wool unfurled, revealing a glimmering spear.
Just at that moment, the monster arrived from behind. He twisted his body to bring the spear into position just in time to catch the tail as it barreled into him, swiping at him like a bug. He flew through the air and landed several feet away. In the fall, his sword fell from his grasp, but he held onto the spear for all he was worth as he tumbled to a halt.
He wasted no time scrambling to his feet. Thankfully, the poisoned tip of the tail had not been what hit him. But now they were in the open, and he had his spear. He could keep a short distance at least.
Yelling, he charged the beast, his spear at the ready, until the tip embedded itself in the side of the great serpent.
Like before, he was surprised to see the tip penetrate the serpent. It was like those strange, tendril-like scales did nothing to protect it.
The monster swerved, and with the spear embedded in its side, it went with the beast. George tried to hold on, but the beast moved so fast that the weapon was wrenched from his grasp. The serpent only continued to hiss as the spear remained.
What was he going to do now? He had no spear, he’d dropped his sword, leaving him all but defenseless.
He had no choice but to run. Hopefully he could get to his sword before the monster got to him.
He was dimly aware of the beast charging him, pulling itself forward on its two arms like a weird snake-human hybrid.
The sword was just ahead. He reached out one hand…
A crushing force lay hold of him, and he was lifted up in the air. Glancing down, he could see the lower body of the snake had coiled around him, preventing him from moving.
But he still had his arms free. Desperate, he beat at the creature’s odd, wavy scales, and was surprised to see some of them break off.
The beast roared, and its hold
tightened.
George’s breath escaped as a massive amount of flesh and muscle enveloped him. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. All he could see was the creature’s head attached to its long neck, staring him down as he struggled to find breath.
He tried to pull at another of the thing’s scales, but every time he reached for one, the creature would tighten its grip further.
“Choke it,” came a cry to his right. Una stood there, her hands to her mouth. “Choke it!” she repeated.
He still had his arms, and the beast’s neck lay right in front of him.
Without pausing to think, he wrapped his arms around the beast in a bear hug and squeezed for all he was worth.
At first, the tail tightened even more, enough that he would break a rib with much more pressure, if he didn’t suffocate first. But he pushed back, squeezing harder and harder, his fingers just barely touching on the other side of the serpent’s neck.
For the first time, its coil loosened. George took in a gasping breath, and it was just enough to give him the strength he needed. He squeezed with every ounce of strength in him.
But the serpent swiftly changed its tactics. Even as George managed to loosen himself from its grip so he was perched on top of its coils while still clinging to the serpent’s neck, the tip of its tail came hurtling towards him. Immediately he was forced to let go, losing balance as he did so and falling to the ground.
The beast let forth a bellowing hiss, so loud it was more of a growl, or a rumbling cry.
And suddenly its flesh began to crawl.
No, not its flesh exactly, those tendril-like scales writhed and fell from its body as the serpent itself shivered as if in ecstasy.
George could do nothing but stare as the miniature scales lifted themselves up from the ground and faced him with pinprick eyes.
These weren't scales. They were the serpent’s children.
Dozens swarmed him, while more fell from their mother’s body. George scrambled backwards on his hands and feet, but several of the horrid creatures caught up to him, slithering towards his face, biting through his trousers like hungry leeches, but far deadlier.
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