by Rosie Scott
I gave Calder and the other two beastmen shields, because I could tell they were more apt to rush into battle in their strengthened forms. Between them, we had a horned lizard, a golden eagle, and a black panther on our side. All three of the shapeshifters were larger and more muscular in their beast forms, and it became apparent that any four-legged beasts were also able to move along on two haunches. I had only ever seen Calder walk on two legs as a lizard in the past. Now, he crouched on the ground on all fours, his long, thick blue tail twitching with anticipation as two red reptilian eyes stared sharply into the brush.
Then, Calder launched himself off the ground with a single leap, his sharp claws gleaming in mid-air. At first, it seemed he had jumped toward nothing, but in a millisecond, our foe lurched forward from the other side of the clearing to meet him. It all happened so fast, and I struggled to wrap my mind around how a creature so large could move so quickly. Our foe was a snake as black as the night with scales shimmering a dark silver in the morning sun, with a body at least three feet wide and a head slightly larger than even that. From here, I could not see how long it was, but given its body extended past the brush despite the curl of its neck in the clearing, I figured it to be at least one hundred feet long. It wasn't the largest creature we'd ever fought, but it was clearly the fastest.
Calder's leap had been calculated accurately, for his claws were sunken into the snake's large head even as it unlocked its jaw to grasp his scaled body within. The spitting hiss of the snake fought for precedence over his growls as the two wrestled with each other, Calder's midsection in its jaws as he sliced at the foe's solid black eyes with acuminate claws. An ear piercing screech echoed against the trees behind me, before the eagle took flight in a rush of whirling air, and dived toward the snake's head. Thick golden talons ripped and tore at the snake's left eye as the eagle's wings flapped loudly in the air, its cries screeching loudly through the swamps in every direction.
The snake's head crashed back down to the earth, bringing Calder with it. Its left eye was gouged and leaking pus, but it still was intent on eating the lizard, swiveling its jaw left and right around the edges of his body, attempting to find his head. The rest of us burst out of the brush with weapons and magic alike, rushing in to help our friend as the snake started to curl its body, trying to pull Calder within a deathly grasp to constrict his blood flow.
Cerin had the right idea, and immediately went to work hacking at the thick black scales of the snake's midsection with his scythe. He probably meant to pin the creature to the ground to inhibit its movements as it tried to eat. Anto, Jakan, Nyx, and the melee sailors followed his example, using piercing thrusts to break through the reptile's natural armor. As much as I wanted to pierce the creature's head with ice to get to its brain, it was too dangerous with Calder still within its jaws, so I used the water magic on the snake's body instead, shooting through its scales with icicles.
Our foe was frustrated and in pain, and could not focus on constricting its prey with the group of us attacking its back end. It dropped Calder from its grasp in a puddle of sticky saliva and blood, before it slithered quickly through the clearing and into the brush, the tip of its black tail swiping past us, causing a few sailors and Nyx to trip up as it left.
Anto and Cerin rushed by me to follow the creature, but Calder held out one webbed hand, as if to stop them. The other hand came up, and a red energy formed in the air before it, giving away that the snake had not fled completely. My eyes caught on Calder's chest, which leaked red blood from two puncture wounds. Life energy spread over the injuries from my palms a moment later, encouraging them to close even as anxiety built in my chest, knowing the snake would strike again.
And then it did, in a flash. Its head bolted out of the brush, immediately latching over Jakan's head and chest, pulling him back into its grasp as it curled itself around the Vhiri. My heart rose into my throat, and my ears were filled with Jakan's screams as I thrust more water magic at the creature, desperate to stop it. Anto's roar was thick and enraged as the orc went berserk. He rushed forward, both arm blades flashing forward to cut and slice through scales and muscle, red blood splashing over a dozen different types of plant life.
Jakan's normally youthful and happy voice was hoarse with panic as he screamed in the snake's mouth, his legs kicking desperately between the jaws for some sort of control. As I watched in horror, the snake readjusted its lips, pulling the Vhiri farther into its mouth before it tightened its body around him.
Crack! Another scream, this one of agony as one of Jakan's bones were crushed. Anto's arm blades were covered in thick blood and broken scales as he sliced at the reptile in winds of red rage. The scales and muscle were split with trauma, but the snake curled ever tighter, determined to eat after killing its foe. We were all fighting it, but it regarded us with little more than annoyance. Cerin had finally pinned the snake to the ground with a stab of his scythe, but the reptile wasn't determined to move right now, anyway. Its method of killing required it to be quite still. I heard the snap of another bone. Jakan's screams combined with sobs, and the kicking of his legs started to slow.
“Why won't you die?” Nyx screamed, hacking at the snake's wounds to deepen them, desperate to save our friend.
In the next moment, the snake froze, its jaws left open around Jakan's body as stiff as a statue. With a glance to Calder, I realized that whatever spell he'd used on the kraken back at sea was the same one he chose here. It was like the snake had lost all control of its muscles and movement. I remembered that the spell didn't last for more than a minute or two, so I ran to the snake, reaching between its massive body to grab Jakan's legs.
“Jakan!” I screamed, pulling at him. I could see no further than the lower part of his torso armor. I had to imagine it was hard for him to breathe in the midst of being swallowed, and I had no idea which bones of his were broken. “Come on, Jakan! Help me!” I tugged at his legs desperately. Cerin came up beside me, grabbing Jakan as well, and starting to pull. He was much stronger than me, so I let him pull as I directed life energy toward my friend, trying to keep his body nourished as it lost its circulation.
“Gaaah!” Anto's scream preceded a loud schlop as one arm blade finally broke through the snake's body, cutting the creature completely in half. Blood and a thick mixture of undigested food slowly seeped out of the open stump. Even still, the snake did not die, and it didn't let Jakan out of its bite. We were running low on time. I knew that Jakan could only last a few minutes with his circulation cut off, and his movements were already slowing.
Cerin jerked hard at Jakan's legs again, and his body budged slightly, slipping toward the open jaw. The necromancer grunted with his efforts. We couldn't decapitate the snake from here. Its body was coiled around itself, providing multiple barriers to the back of its head. My eyes heated with sadness as I continued to give Jakan energy, hoping it would help him hang on. I leeched from the snake with my other hand, using our enemy's energy to keep its victim alive.
Then, the snake jerked, coming to from Calder's spell. Cerin's hands were forced from Jakan's legs as the snake reattempted to constrict. As it readjusted, its head moved loose from its body for a moment, leaving it vulnerable.
“Calder!” I yelled back at him. Two red reptilian eyes found mine, before they dilated into slits in the sunlight. “Use that spell again!”
Though he could not reply in his beast form, he understood. He forced a webbed hand out, and emerald green energy shot toward the snake. It stilled again, its head out in the open and free.
Anto was on the head in a heartbeat, his arm blades slicing through scale and flesh at the back of the reptile's neck. I heard Nyx screaming at him to be careful. Given that Jakan was partially swallowed, we needed to make sure we didn't cut through the snake just to hurt him. Perhaps Anto heard her warnings; perhaps he hadn't. He brought down his arm blades over and over again, until finally, the snake's head fell to the grasses below, separated from its neck.
“A
nto, help me!” Cerin pleaded, pulling at Jakan's legs as he pointed to the head. Anto heeded the advice, and grabbed the decapitated head from the back, jerking it toward him as Cerin pulled Jakan from the other side. With the combined efforts of both men, Jakan's body slumped out of the head a moment later, collapsing on the ground amidst a heavy puddle of saliva and blood.
“Jakan!” Anto fell onto the ground beside his lover, his wide green hands immediately pulling the Vhiri's head into his lap.
“Don't move anything,” I blurted to the orc, falling to the ground beside him. My eyebrows dipped together as I focused on healing my friend. Jakan's left arm was broken between the elbow and shoulder, a knob of bone pressing toward bronzed skin which had bruised a deep purple. On the same side, Jakan's collarbone was sunken in. What little I could see of his skin over his armor was also bruised.
I went about unfastening his armor, loosening it from his body. Sounds of the beastmen transforming back into their original forms reverberated painfully through the brush around us from three different voices. I tried not to pay it too much attention. The others needed healing, but Jakan was closest to death. I cleared the snake's saliva from his nostrils and mouth, ensuring he was able to breathe.
“What can I do?” Anto asked, his normally calm voice shaking with fear.
“Just hold him and talk to him, if you want,” I murmured, continuing to remove his armor. “Try not to move him.”
“Okay.” Anto leaned forward, brushing Jakan's hair back from his face and whispering words of love.
Cerin came up beside me. “How can I help?”
“Heal the others,” I told him. “I'll handle this.”
“Surgery?” He asked, his silver eyes on Jakan's collarbone.
“Gods, I hope not,” I replied distractedly.
The constriction of the snake had thrown Jakan into unconsciousness, but I used the spell he'd once taught me to dull his senses. I didn't want his body going into shock when I set his broken bones. The constriction had lessened his blood pressure and slowed the liquid's course to his brain. Thankfully, we had pulled him free before it could kill him. He would need rest, but for now, my biggest concerns were his bones.
“Calder,” I called, even while in the midst of lifting Jakan's broken arm.
“...yeah?” The Alderi's voice was rough with pain and fatigue. He pulled a shirt over his head, since Cerin had finished healing his open wounds.
“Was that snake poisonous?”
“No,” he replied, which was good news. “That is why it constricted.”
I was thankful for his knowledge of the creatures here. I had no methods of removing poisons from the body, though I didn't doubt a life spell existed for such a reason. I adjusted myself under Jakan's arm, letting it lie across my thighs for support, before I snapped the bone into place. The illusion spell I'd used prevented him from feeling most of it. Holding his arm in place with both hands, I slowly fed the break with life magic, watching the white energy sink into his skin and warm it beneath my touch.
Over the next few minutes, the others were mostly quiet as they watched me work. Jakan's arm healed easily enough, though the bruising and pain would continue to plague him for some time yet. I found that his collarbone injury needed no surgery. Because his body had been constricted and unable to move in the snake's mouth, it had kept the bone relatively still despite the break. Applying slight pressure to one side of the bone to align the break was all I needed before that wound was healed as well.
We had defeated the creature, but we were now even further behind schedule. Jakan would need rest before we continued on our journey. The delay barely felt like a frustration, however, since our entire trek since leaving Nahara had been filled with hurdles and detours thus far.
After I stood up from my place on the swampy grass, I watched Anto cradle Jakan in his lap as the smaller man slept. The orc took a moment to look up at me and smile softly with thanks, his thick fingers still pulling through his lover's hair carefully. I would take any number of hurdles and delays if it meant keeping my friends safe. I found myself immensely thankful that I had the skill to save Jakan after being unable to do the same for Theron.
“Could I bother you a moment?” Calder came up beside me, his gaze following my own to Jakan.
“Sure.” I turned to him, my eyes moving over his torso to try to find wounds, though he had already dressed. I remembered how the snake had bitten him and drew blood. He'd been in his lizard form then, though the dried blood was now crusted beneath his light tunic, stuck to his skin even after it had softened from scales. “Do you need healing?”
“Cerin healed me, but I'm still in a lot of pain.” Calder grimaced at me, both due to the pain and his embarrassment over asking me to help him. For such a confident man, I was learning that he didn't like to rely on others or expect things from them. It was a trait which gave him humility.
I immediately reached up, lying a palm across his forehead. “Muta te sensa,” I murmured. Calder exhaled in relief as the illusion magic sunk into his head and dulled his body's messages to the brain.
“I can always count on you to make me feel real good,” Calder teased, before grinning toward Cerin, who attempted to ignore the innuendo with a roll of his eyes.
“You know alteration, Calder. I don't see why you can't learn illusion. I can teach it to you,” I offered.
“As much as I appreciate the offer, love, I've already tried.” He lifted up a blue hand and said, “Muta te sensa.” No energy appeared over his hand. He shrugged at me.
I frowned. “That's odd. I know some of the Seran mages wielded both.”
“Yes, but magic is finicky,” Calder replied, raising his eyebrows as if to acknowledge I would already know that. “Illusion does not work with me. I tried to learn charm decades ago to aid Koby and I in our escape, and it just wouldn't work.”
“I was even going to suggest that you knowing shapeshifting might be a disadvantage to you there, but that was before you knew alteration,” I commented. “Some things just can't be explained, I guess.” I nodded back toward Calder's sailors. “Cerin and I can teach your people magic. Surely one or more of them could learn it to help you in the future in case I cannot.”
“How much would this cost us?” He questioned.
“Nothing, Calder. You're my friend and ally. I'd do it for free.”
“I'm not your ally yet, love. I have no power,” he reminded me.
“Yes, but I was once told the same by a friend of mine long ago, and now I've gained it.” I feigned interest in watching my other friends and the sailors set up camp in the clearing, now that its occupant no longer lived. “You're like me, Calder. You have a goal in mind and you're set on achieving it. Together, we'll kick ass and take names.”
“Is that so?” He laughed boisterously.
“Yes. Besides, I feel I owe you for the trouble I've been.”
“And the gold,” he added, light-heartedly.
“And the gold,” I repeated with agreement. “Though short-changing you was Nyx's idea.”
“Ah. Thank you for telling me. I'll be sure to use that as leverage.”
I smiled at his humor, though I doubted Nyx would need much convincing if I had judged the direction of Calder's thoughts correctly. “Speaking of spells, what is that green alteration spell you keep using?”
“Paralyze,” he replied. “And I'll offer the same thing you offered me, if you think you can learn it.”
“I don't see why I couldn't,” I pondered aloud. “I have already learned illusion spells. If I can learn alteration, perhaps my god blood truly knows no bounds.”
“Don't overdo it,” he warned good-naturedly. “You may be a god, but that doesn't mean all this magic use isn't taking from your life.”
I chuckled softly. “You forget I am also a necromancer, Calder. My lifespan will be what I make of it.”
“This is true,” he admitted. I felt his eyes on my back as I went to help the others finish unpac
king our things for the day. With a tone of amusement, he called after me, “I'm glad you're on my side! I'd hate to be your enemy.”
I laughed and called back over my shoulder, “Me too, friend!”
Seventeen
61st of Red Moon, 419
Misu was the smallest city of three in the wildlands, and sat nestled within the embrace of multiple rivers which managed to cut through the swamps with a semblance of identity despite being surrounded by wetlands. We arrived there on the 61st of Red Moon just as the sun passed the center of the sky, letting its light shine through the canopies of gnarled trees and attempting to dry out some of the moisture of the land.
The city was mostly built over drier sections of swamp grasses, which wasn't saying much. The buildings here were round and wooden, and they were raised many feet above the wetlands on wide pilings made of whole tree trunks. Raised walkways connected between buildings and gathering places, most of them lined on both sides by haphazardly placed railings. Farther north past the city, the water deepened into troublesome wetlands again, fed by multiple rivers running inland from the coast.
As we neared Misu, its populace and their activities were revealed to us. It was a melting pot here, with people of all races. There were quite a few Vhiri here, having migrated south from Eteri for their own reasons. There were also many Alderi men which escaped the underground within decades or centuries past. The rest of the populace was a mixture of humans, and I was sure I even spotted a Celd or two. I didn't find any orcs, dwarves, or Icilic elves in the mix.
“See those higher homes?” Jakan asked me, pointing toward the round huts which sat above the rest of the city, stories higher than the rest. Rickety wooden staircases and ladders led to their high doors from the walkways below.
“Yeah,” I said.
“I would bet you ten gold those are the homes of the Vhiri here,” he went on. Anto listened curiously beside him. I could tell the orc was interested in learning more about Jakan's people and homeland, even though we would not visit it for a while yet.