Dragon In The Darklands

by Bruce Leslie

  The Lump pointed and shouted. “We’ve got some kind of trouble approaching!”

  Flynn’s face blanched at the sight of the creature. “It’s a giant crab!”

  The Lump furrowed his brow. “A giant what?”

  “Crab,” answered Flynn. “We have them in Silverport.”

  The Lump opened his eyes wide. “You have those in Silverport?”

  Flynn shook his head. “Nothing like that, our crabs don’t get any larger than a man’s hand.”

  The giant crab skittered across the sand and toward them with surprising speed. Though it appeared incapable of facial expressions, the Lump thought it looked hungry.

  Flynn glanced at the beached ship, then back to the fast approaching giant crab. “What should we do?”

  The Lump pulled his tiny sword from its loop. “Meena, can you help us with this critter?”

  “I don’t feel any connection.” Meena gripped her staff in both hands, across her body. “I also see neither fur nor feathers.”

  The Lump flared his nostrils. “Then we got to do whatever we can to keep it from eating us.”

  Flynn slid his bow off his torso and nocked an arrow. “The crabs I’ve seen have very thick shells.” He loosed his arrow, and it flew straight at the creature.

  The missile bounced off the giant crab’s carapace as if it had struck stone.

  Flynn frowned. “This fiend appears well armored.”

  The Lump groaned. “We have to chase it off so we can get our boat fixed.”

  Meena crouched down and bared her teeth. “Let’s hope we can.”

  The crab swung its larger pincer as it charged the three, now only a shadow’s length away.

  The Lump raised his arm and braced himself for a powerful impact. The hard-shelled claw crashed into his shoulder and sent him tumbling to the sandy ground.

  Flynn leaped out of the way and scrambled to the left side of the creature.

  Meena jumped the other direction and rolled to the oversized crab’s right flank.

  The crab jabbed its smaller pincer down at the Lump.

  The Lump rolled aside to avoid the strike.

  The pincer stabbed into the sand and sent up a shower of grit.

  The Lump bounced to his feet and thrust the point of his sword at the pincer still planted in the beach. The blade struck the claw and made a small crack in the thick, red shell.

  The crab unleashed a series of earsplitting clicks and swatted the Lump aside with its injured pincer. The swipe put the big man on his back once again.

  Meena smashed her staff into the shell covering the crab’s right flank, but the monster failed to take notice.

  The Lump scrambled back to his feet as the creature sent another stab toward him. He avoided the blow as he ran to the far side of the dragon’s cage.

  Flynn loosed another arrow, but it had no more effect on the crab than before.

  The Lump shouted, “Maybe we ought to run away!”

  The crab poked one of its pincers at the cage that stood between it and the Lump. Its antenna swept forward, dancing in the air near the slumbering wyrm.

  Flynn nocked another arrow. “What about the ship?”

  The Lump lumbered to the far side of the cage, putting as much distance between himself and the crab as possible. “We can hide in the trees until the ugly ox-sniffer goes away.”

  “He’s right.” Meena backed away from the crab’s flank. “Let’s flee while we still can. At the very least, we can allow ourselves time to devise a better strategy.”

  The Lump eyed the crab, its attention remained focused on the caged dragon. He took a deep breath, then shouted, “Now! Run for the dunes!” He sprinted for the tree line as fast as his thick legs would carry him.

  Flynn pivoted in the sand and ran after the Lump. Meena also fled toward the dunes that marked the boundary between the beach and the trees.

  The Lump felt the sand fly up behind him as his boots beat against the beach. He was not as swift as his companions, and they passed him during the flight. Much to his relief and satisfaction, the crab did not seem interested in pursuing, instead occupied with the cage and its contents.

  Meena and Flynn stopped near the top of the dune to wait for their slower moving cohort.

  The Lump climbed up the sandy mound on all fours, still hesitant to slow down for fear the crab may lose interest in the dragon. He waved his hand forward as he approached Flynn and Meena. “Go on, into the trees!”

  Flynn held both his arms out. “Wait!”

  The Lump ignored the warning and pressed on. He looked back over his shoulder as he crested the dune. “Let’s get into—” His feet slid out from under him and he clutched Flynn’s arm.

  Flynn squealed and reached for Meena. She slid forward in an attempt to help.

  Within a heartbeat, all three of them tumbled down the unexpectedly steep far side of the dune. They rolled in a pile of arms and legs unable to get any purchase on the slope of loose sand. The trio crashed down into a trench lined with vines. The lengths of vegetation were woven together into something not unlike a primitive shelter.

  The Lump rose and dusted himself off. He lifted his face and looked directly into a set of big, angry eyes.

  8: Jungle

  “Sweet greasy cheeses!” The Lump raised his sword. “It’s a booger-bear!”

  A crude club crashed into the upraised blade.

  The Lump stumbled back and surveyed the thing that wielded the club.

  The thing was tall, taller even than the Lump. It stood upright like a man, but covered in a thick coat of black fur like a beast. Long, pointed ears rose up at either side of its head, and its mouth sported fangs like a wolf. It boasted broad shoulders and a barrel chest giving it a girth that nearly equalled its height. Its only semblance of clothing was a length of crude rawhide that girded its loins. The strange creature unleashed a guttural snarl and swung its club again.

  The Lump blocked the club’s wild swing with his sword. He balled his free hand into a fist and drove it into the fiend’s gut.

  The beast emitted a pained groan and bared its fearsome fangs.

  Flynn launched an arrow at the strange monster. His aim was true, and the missile struck its target in the shoulder.

  The beast opened its blood-streaked eyes wide and stared at its wound in surprise.

  The Lump seized the opportunity provided by the unexpected arrow and made a hasty retreat, trotting back until he stood between Meena and Flynn.

  Flynn asked, “What did you call that thing?”

  “A booger-bear,” answered the Lump. “Wendy told me about them, they take away bad children at night.”

  Flynn wrinkled his forehead. “I think that was just a story.”

  The monster reached up and pulled the arrow from its shoulder. It opened its mouth and released an angry wail.

  The Lump winced at the sound. “It looks real enough to me!”

  The booger-bear rumbled forward.

  Meena stepped in front of the Lump and Flynn. She gripped her staff tightly and held it across her body. Her jaws clenched and teeth gritted as she glared at the approaching beast with a fiery intensity.

  The fur covered beast-man froze in its tracks and met Meena’s stare with its own blank expression. After a few motionless heartbeats, the beast shook its head and exchanged the blank expression for one of rage.

  Meena groaned. “This thing is too close to a person for me to connect with it.” She raised her staff in time to shield herself from the crash of the creature’s crude club.

  The Lump thrust his blade at the angry beast to pull its attention away from Meena.

  The booger-bear snarled at the Lump and pulled its club back behind its ear.

  Meena swung her staff low and struck the beast in the back of its knee.

  The booger-bear’s leg did not move with the blow, planted against the ground as solidly as the trunk of an oak tree. It slammed its club into the Lump’s shoulder and sent the big man to the gro
und.

  Flynn hit it with another arrow, this one struck the thick hide of the monster’s chest.

  The beast snorted and looked down at the arrow, again seeming confused by the injury.

  Meena turned toward the trees. “I think we should try running away again.”

  The Lump nodded and scrambled to his feet. “As big as that ugly furball is, it can’t be too fast.” He sprinted into the dense trees that lined the strange, vine-woven trench.

  Flynn loosed another arrow at the creature before turning to run alongside the Lump. The shot provided the beast with another moment of confusion allowing the trio to flee.

  Meena tucked her staff under her arm while she ran. She easily caught up to the Lump with Flynn close behind her.

  Through heavy breaths, Flynn asked, “Do you think it will pursue us?”

  Meena gave her head a quick shake. “I think it just wanted us out of its dwelling.”

  A ferocious snarl, followed by the rumbling of something large moving at speed through the dense vegetation, proved Meena’s theory wrong.

  The Lump chanced a glance over his shoulder. He saw not only the booger-bear pursuing, but doing so at a surprising speed given the size of the beast. He grimaced and said, “This thing ain’t going to be so easy to shake.”

  “My arrows seem to slow it down,” said Flynn, with obvious worry in his voice.

  “But they don’t seem to hurt it none,” said the Lump. “What will you do when they’re all gone?”

  “I don’t know,” answered Flynn. He leaped over a brown- spotted, fallen tree trunk across the narrow path through the dense woods.

  Meena jumped over the trunk without breaking stride, her green cloak billowing behind her.

  The Lump, still looking over his shoulder, failed to avoid the fallen tree. His shin smashed into it, causing him to send up a shriek of pain as he tumbled forward onto the floor of the forest.

  Meena stopped and looked back at her fallen companion.

  The Lump raised himself up with his arms and looked back. He saw the rage-filled booger-bear charging with its club raised and it fangs bared. As it came within a few paces of the tree trunk, it stopped in its tracks. The beast’s snarling expression fell into one of shock, and its angry growls transformed into whimpers. The creature turned about at once, and ran back in the direction from whence it came without slowing its pace.

  Meena furrowed her brow and extended a hand to the Lump. “That was certainly odd.”

  The Lump took the offered hand and climbed to his feet. “It’s odd alright, but I’ll not complain if a monster runs the other way.”

  Flynn placed his bow back across his torso. “I wonder why it turned about so suddenly?”

  The Lump laughed. “Maybe its mum told it scary stories about these woods.” He wiped sweat from his brow with the back of one hand. “In any case, I’m happy to wait here until we can sneak back to the boat.” He sat on the tree trunk over which he had just tripped.

  The Lump was grateful for a moment of respite, no matter how strange the circumstance. The log upon which he perched was softer than expected, likely some strange kind if Darklands tree. He slid his sword back in its loop and rested his hands on the log. His hands gripped the bark, and it felt strangely like leather. His heart jumped into his throat when the tree moved.

  The Lump shot to his feet. “Great gobs of mud on a loaf of half-baked bread!” He pointed at his recent seat. “That log’s alive!”

  Meena gasped when she looked where the Lump pointed.

  The brown spotted obstacle sped by as the cylinder they once believed to be a log slid through the trees. The rapidness with which it moved was surprising.

  “What is that?” asked Meena.

  A noise rose up from the trees behind the party, it was a hiss as loud as water rushing over a cliff. The Lump turned toward the noise and saw a massive, spade-shaped serpent’s head swaying in a gap between the heavy branches. The head was easily as large as his torso with eyes that looked like yellow slits.

  Flynn took a step back. “Is that a titan snake?”

  The Lump pulled his small sword from its loop, though he wasn’t certain how useful it would be. “I can’t think what else it could be!”

  Meena crouched and brandished her staff.

  Flynn left his bow around his torso and held his empty hands out by his sides.

  The sound of leathery skin sliding through the vegetation all around made it clear the snake had encircled the three.

  Flynn flashed a nervous peak over his shoulder. “Perhaps we can run back to the beach?”

  The Lump drew his eyebrows together. “And fight the booger-bear again?”

  “I’d gamble we could sneak around it,” answered Flynn.

  The titan snake’s head weaved side to side while its eyes fixed on the Lump. A dark-red, forked tongue flicked out every few heartbeats to taste the air.

  The Lump didn’t look away from the giant serpent. “Lead the way, Meena can follow and I’ll protect our rear.”

  Meena arched an eyebrow. “You think you can protect us from this monstrosity?”

  The Lump groaned. “Just go!”

  Flynn turned and darted away from the serpent’s head. When he came to its thick body stretched across the ground he leaped, hoping to hurdle the scaly obstruction.

  The spotted section of giant snake twisted up and slammed into Flynn, tossing the leaping man back toward his companions. His back crashed against the damp soil and he let out a murmur of pain.

  The titan snake’s head struck at the Lump. Its mouth opened wide and revealed long, narrow fangs that looked like sabers.

  The Lump slashed his undersized blade through the air and spun aside. His blade’s edge bit into the snake’s scaly face while the creature’s fangs sank into the soft floor of the forest.

  Meena whipped her staff around and it whistled as she swung it. The length of ash smashed against one of the over-long fangs and snapped it in half.

  The titan snake drew its snaggle-toothed head high and struck at Meena. She leaped away and the intact fang sliced through the outer cloth of her cloak.

  The Lump slammed his blade against the snake’s body, but the blow had no affect.

  Meena pivoted and jabbed her staff at one of the scaly monster’s eyes, but the snake’s face twitched away before she hit her mark.

  The titan snake kept its head low and slid toward Flynn, the fair-haired man still lay on his back breathing heavily.

  Flynn rolled across the ground to evade the massive serpent, but the snake caught up to him easily. He closed his eyes and abruptly rolled back toward the creature and spread his arms wide. When he met the snake, he brought his arms together and embraced the underside of its jaw.

  The titan snake let out an angry hiss and whipped is head side to side.

  Flynn lost his grip and fell back to the ground.

  The Lump heaved his body toward the snake and drove his shoulder into the side of its head.

  The mighty serpent twitched from the force of the blow, then wrapped its tubular body around the Lump’s middle.

  The Lump kicked his feet and jabbed his sword against the snake, but it only seemed to make the creature squeeze tighter.

  Meena rushed forward and slammed her staff into the scaly monster’s face.

  The titan snake ignored Meena’s attack and wrapped another coil around the Lump, now covering the big man’s shoulders, head, and neck. Only black boots and the hand gripping the sword remained visible.

  Meena raised her staff high and screamed, “Stop! Stop it! Stop that snake!”

  A series of short hoots rang out from the forest canopy. Overhead, leaves rustled as unseen movements in the tree tops brought something, or several somethings, nearer. The hoots grew louder as the mysterious creatures approached, and within a few heartbeats black balls of fur fell from the branches like fruit. When the fur-balls hit the ground, they stood. Each looked like a small man, only standing as high as a pers
on’s knee. There were eight of them in all, and they had long tails nearly equal in length to their bodies. Their faces were covered in bright, white fur that contrasted with the rest of their bodies. With Meena’s encouragement, they leapt onto the titan snake at once.

  The strange creatures filled the air with their excited hoots while they dug their fingers and teeth into the titan snake’s scales. The attacking fur-balls clustered around the coiled segment that squeezed the Lump.

  The big serpent did not relent in its grip around the big man. It ignored the new beasts that now attacked it and continued to squeeze.

  At the bottom of the snake’s coil, The Lump’s feet stopped kicked. His hand still clutched the sword at the other end, but his grip appeared tenuous at best.

  Meena looked at Flynn. “We need to help him! He’s dying!”

  Flynn gave Meena a quick nod, and they both rushed forward. Before they reached the titan snake, a gust of cold air stopped them.

  The long-tailed creatures attacking the snake let out a round of panicked hoots and fled back into the trees.

  Dangling about at the top of the snake’s coil was the Lump’s tiny sword, and it glowed. The gray light grew brighter until a glowing orb shot out of it and spiraled toward the sky before it showered back down like mystical water dumped from a spectral bucket. When the glowing fluid splashed against the ground, it swirled around itself and rose up into a vaguely human form. The light danced about the shape until its lines grew more distinct and it took on a familiar appearance.

  The form extended a glowing, crooked finger and screeched, “What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?” The crone’s specter stood with a sneer and awaited a response.

  9: Direction

  “The Lump!” shouted Meena, too concerned with the present peril to offer the spectral guest a proper greeting. “He’s dying!” She pointed to the giant serpent coiled around her colleague. “That snake is squeezing the life from him!”