Chapter 4: Splish-Splash
She was running as hard as she could, through a maze of darkened tunnels. Behind her, shapes galloped, relentless in their pursuit. She saw others running too, hulking shapes similar to her own. A cry as one went down, and others swarmed around it. Screams echoed, but she was too busy fleeing to see what was happening.
One by one, she saw others falling, screaming. Try as she might, she eventually stumbled, fell. They were on her in a flash. And her world exploded into pain as claws and teeth tore into her. She could see them, huge Trolls, ripping pieces of her away, stuffing them into their mouths, or just biting them off.
She tried to fight them off, but the pain was too great. All she could do was scream and feel her flesh healing again and again, only to be devoured anew. Dimly, she realized this is what she had been eating in her previous dreams: other Trolls. Through the haze of pain, a deep and ominous laugh echoed.
THIS IS WHAT AWAITS THE WEAK, THE COWARDLY. THOSE WHO DO NOT KILL AND EAT ALL THEY SEE. WHEN YOU DIE, YOU WILL BE FOOD FOR THOSE WHO WERE STRONG IN LIFE. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE! YOU WILL BE MINE!
She awoke, screaming. Her arms thrashed around her at imaginary Trolls while her body still burned with the memory of pain. Heart hammering in her chest, sweat covering her, she panted as she realized it was a dream. "Shit. Holy fucking shit." she stammered, wiping her face.
As she calmed down, she remembered the words of that thing - god? - and felt a knot of dread. Was it telling the truth? Was she doomed to join it in death, no matter what? It was a very unsettling prospect, and one that ate at her while she broke camp and fished for breakfast.
Once she started feeling more clear-headed after those nightmarish dreams, she noticed she had grown once more. A quick check alongside one of her spears confirmed it. She was taller, and while she felt heavier, she also felt more balanced and responsive.
Sometime later she came upon a creature with a familiar shape that surprised her to see roaming wild. She could swear it was a cow. Of course, she was used to thinking of cattle as purely domesticated animals. But they had to have come from wild ancestors at some point. It stood there in the shallows, drinking from the river.
While she was considering that, the large bovine looked at her, its long, up-curving horns pointed in her direction. It gave a snort and started to turn in her direction. She reached over her shoulder for a spear, when from the brush nearby another familiar shape leapt and collided with the bull. This one, though, was only known from movies.
The huge talons on its legs and razor claws tore at the bovine, which lowed in terror, before the dinosaur sunk its teeth into its neck and it collapsed to the ground. It stood on two legs, and it looked at her with a quick, birdlike alertness. It leaned forward and let out a loud hiss, spreading its clawed forearms wide, stalking to one side.
Valerie could hardly believe it. It was a raptor, like from the Jurassic Park films. It didn't look exactly like them, but the shape was unmistakable. With a sudden screech, it charged forward and leapt into the air, talons, claws and teeth all striking at her. Its talons raked at her flesh, but the claws and teeth merely scraped her skin or struck air.
As she prepared to strike back, she heard rushing steps from behind and saw a second one leaping at her! Surrounded, she wasn't able to defend herself nearly as well, so this one landed both talons as well as a claw and bite. Valerie let loose the fury inside her and hauled her arm back, drawing on that curious tensing snap she'd used before.
Her claws and teeth dug into the saurian's flesh, though it seemed the snapping power of her blow had little effect. It didn't matter, as the ferocity of her attacks wounded the creature so much that it dropped over. She turned, able to focus on the sole remaining raptor as it leapt up to attack her.
Its talons tore at her anew, but she was not so easily dispatched. Another assault of claws and teeth saw the raptor joining its mate on the riverside, bloodied and still. Her fury left her, and she crouched down, catching her breath and looking at the two dead animals.
"Real dinosaurs." she said in wonder. This was more amazing to her than the fantastic things she'd already seen, as this was an extinct creature from home, still living in this place. "Maybe this is what happened to them? They travelled to this world somehow?" If she could do it, why not dinosaurs?
For that matter, what about other extinct creatures? Or maybe things from this world crossing over to hers. Could that explain some of the myths they had? She pondered that as she went to the carcass of the bull and drug it up the shore enough to get it out of the water, so she could set to butchering it.
She supposed eventually she might find out. She hoped to, anyways. For now, the prospect of having a nice bit of beef to eat was good enough. She cut up enough to wrap in the creature's hide, then resumed her travels, following the river. When she felt it was getting near time to stop and make camp, her trek inland from the river brought a sound to her ears: a buzzing drone.
"Bees?" she wondered, and then a smile came to her face. "Honey!" Valerie had never been a pig for sweets, but she did enjoy them, and the lack of any in her diet recently made the prospect of some of the sticky substance very welcome. She set her bundle down and tracked the sound to its source.
She was disappointed to see it wasn't a beehive. It looked more like a wasp's nest, albeit a really big one. As she looked at it, a flash of movement in the air drew her eye to see a huge wasp hovering there, the size of a bird. It flitted from side to side, and she could smell a curious odor on the air.
Within moments, three more had joined it and were circling around nearby. She started to back away, but the wasps flitted closer. Then they flicked their abdomens in her direction, as a series of glowing projectiles swarmed towards her! Eight in number, they struck her skin with a numbing burst of force, although two of them seemed to have no effect on her.
It felt like something had blocked it, something she hadn't been aware of having. Not having time to contemplate it, she withdrew, hoping to avoid a fight, but the strange wasps pursued her aggressively. Her injuries began to heal, but before they were recovered the wasps fired those projectiles again.
She tried to dodge them, but they changed course to strike unerringly at her. Again, two of them seemed to do her no harm, but the other six burst against her skin again. Valerie wasn't going to put up with this. She tried to leave them alone, but they weren't letting her. "Fine! My turn!" she snarled, and pulled out a spear.
She tossed it, and the wasp avoided it easily. As they circled her, staying out of her reach, she drew another and tried once more. It too missed, as did her third. "Fuck!" she swore, before the wasps threw another volley at her. This time, only four projectiles struck. She threw her last spear and the point skirted the side of the wasp, hurting it.
As the frustrating insects continued to circle and pursue, Valerie sought out one of her spears, recovered it and hurled it at the one she'd already hit. It missed, and she yelled "COME ON!" in exasperation before the wasps fired anew. Four projectiles struck, and Valerie snarled in anger.
Trying to find her spears and keep throwing them was time-consuming. If she wanted to kill these things anytime soon, she needed a steady supply of ammo. Inspiration struck, and she turned to flee down to the riverside. Splashing into the shallows, the wasps pursued before she could gather any stones, firing once more.
Six projectiles struck, and Valerie was beginning to tire, despite her fearsome regenerative ability. But now it was time to squish the little bastards. She grabbed a nice smooth stone from the water, wound her arm back, and hurled. It barely skimmed the side of the pest, but the satisfying crack it made when it struck a tree downrange gave her a grim smile.
Spirits lifting, she grabbed another rock and struck the wasp she'd hit before, this time knocking it from the sky with a crisp crunching sound. She whooped as she grabbed another and took aim at a second. It missed, but her resolve was firm. She was going to fastball these little bastards right out of the sky or go down trying.
The wasps kept firing, four projectiles striking her. She still felt weak, but she wasn't about to stop. She hurled a rock and hit one, knocking it for a loop, though it stayed airborne. Obviously it was badly hurt, it started trying to fly away. She wasn't about to make it that easy, a second rock taking it out of the air.
"Eat that, assholes!" she cried as she took up another rock, hurled it and struck a third wasp down. The remaining wasp fired at her, and Valerie laughed when its projectiles splashed harmlessly against her tough hide. Taking up another rock, she fired it off with a fury that would've made Major League pitchers as green as her in envy and splattered the last wasp.
"Wow! That was amazing!" called a voice from behind her, making Valerie jump and stumble forward to spin around, then stare at the sight there in the river. An almost equine head with large black eyes and a delicately scaled, iridescent pale yellow-green hide was protruding from the water.
Again, recognition flooded into her that this was another language she hadn't realized she knew. As she continued to gawp, a pair of large pale green fins - wings? - rose from the water, rustled and settled. It had a long, serpentine shape, from what she could see of it.
"Where did you learn to throw like that?" it asked her, writhing in the water and coming closer to shore. Its voice had a higher pitch to it than she'd expected, and even though it had a mouth full of teeth, it had a certain innocent cuteness about it that reminded her of a young animal.
Still thrown off-balance by the sudden arrival of the odd serpentine creature, Valerie stammered "Uh..I...just practice a lot." The creature said, "Are you a Troll? My mother told me Trolls were big green things with long noses and big claws and teeth. She said they were evil, but you're not evil. I can tell!" it drew itself up and bobbed its head back and forth.
"Uh...yeah. Well, I am now. I wasn't always one." That made the serpent-thing turn its head sideways. "Really? What did you used to be?" Valerie raised a clawed hand and scratched at her scalp, "I...I was a human." She suddenly felt more naked than she had since she first arrived. Even with the Elves, the way they'd driven her off so quick hadn't given her time to get self-conscious.
"So you were cursed by a bad spellcaster? My mother said that happens sometimes. I wish I could help you, but I don't have much magic."
To hear something talk openly about magic like that was a surprise, but not as shocking a revelation as it might've once been. "Thanks. No, I just fell into some kind of...magic door or something. When I passed through, I changed and wound up here."
"Oh. I never heard of that happening. Was it scary? I bet it was scary."
"Yeah, it was." She looked back to the woods, thought of her spears and her food. "Look, I need to get my things, I left them back up there." she pointed into the trees.
The young creature bobbed its head up and down, "Okay! You're gonna come back, right?" it asked, a hopeful note in its voice.
Valerie nodded, "Yeah, I will." She turned and went into the woods. Something else to talk to! She could hardly believe her luck. Even if it was some kind of river-serpent thing, it at least was better than talking to herself. She hurried back, scenting her gathered beef, then scavenged around the wasp's nest.
Fortunately, no more of those giant wasps showed up, and she was soon returning to the riverside. When she arrived, she saw the serpent there in the shallows. It was longer than she was tall, with four short, stubby legs, and if those finlike things weren't wings, they sure did a good job looking like it.
It kept bending its head down to pick rocks up and toss them by whipping its head sideways. She couldn't help but smile at the sight, and when it saw her return it opened its mouth in a smile and writhed side to side, splashing its webbed feet in the water. "You're back! I was trying to throw rocks, but I'm not very good at it."
Valerie laughed, "I wouldn't be either if I was using my mouth." The serpent gave a series of honking snorts, "I guess not! What's your name? Mine is Sarsplishagustarix, but you can call me Splish!" The odd name gave Valerie pause, but the nickname made her smile again. "Hello Splish, my name is Valerie Bridgewater, but you can call me Valerie."
"Hello Valerie! It's very nice to meet you! I never expected to meet a Troll, especially a nice one like you!"
"It's nice to meet you too, Splish. It's been a long time since I had anyone to talk to, much less a..."
"I'm a river dragon!"
"A river dragon." Valerie slung her sack of meat down, and Splish approached it, sniffing. "Oh, landwalker meat! I almost never eat landwalker meat! Usually just fish. But sometimes I'll catch a little landwalker. They tickle my mouth with all those funny scales on them!"
Valerie undid the hide and removed a chunk, "Would you like some?" she asked, and the little dragon's eyes brightened. "Oh yes, please!" She held out her hand, and in a flash, Splish nipped the piece of beef out of her palm before chewing it. "Mmm! It's good!"
"It's even better when you cook it." Splish's head turned to the side again, "What's that?" Valerie said, "I'll show you." She went up the shore and scavenged some wood before returning to make a fire. Splish returned to the water, rolling around in it, but watched as she set up the sticks and stones, coming out of the water when she brought out the tinderbox.
"What is that?"
"Just watch." she replied, and struck the stone to make a spark. Splish jerked back, but when the smoke rose and a flame flickered to light, that series of honking snorts came again as Splish wriggled and hopped around. "I've never seen that magic before! How did you learn to do it?"
Valerie shrugged, "Just something I was shown a long time ago. And it's not magic, it's just..." she struggled to find the right word to describe it, and the best she could find was "natural." Splish nodded, "It's a good trick, being able to make fire like that. But fire is dangerous. My mother told me to stay away from it if the forest caught fire."
Valerie took up a spare bit of wood and worked it with her claw to make a skewer, putting some meat on it. "She was right, it is dangerous if you're not careful. But if you are, it's very useful." She held the meat over the flames, and the smell of it roasting soon filled the air.
Splish sniffed at it, "The meat-smoke smells good! I've never smelled anything like that before!" Valerie gave a grin, "It tastes even better." Splish hopped around again in excitement, "This is so fun! I'm glad I met you, Valerie! Thank you for showing me such fun new things!"
Valerie nodded, "You're welcome. Maybe you can pay me back by answering some questions?" Splish nodded, "Sure!"
"Okay. Uhm...first, are you a male or a female river dragon?"
Splish gave more of those honking snorts that must've been laughter, "I'm a male! You can't tell?"
Valerie shook her head, "No, sorry. I've never seen a river dragon before."
"What about you? Are you a male or female Troll?"
That gave Valerie pause. "I'm...honestly not sure. As a human, I was female. But now, nothing about me seems...familiar in that way."
Splish settled down onto the ground, watching the meat cook. Valerie turned it, and asked "Have you heard of a place called Earth?"
Splish shook his head, "No. Why? Is that where you're from?"
"Yeah. I wanna get back home, hopefully find a way to turn back to human."
"Oh, magic can turn you back! Magic can do anything, if you know the right spell!"
Valerie perked up to hear that, "Really? Do you know anyone who could do that kind of spell?"
"No, sorry. We river dragons don't really work spells like that. We have a kinda natural magic we can do, like spells, but that's it."
"Oh. What about going back home? Do you know any way to do that?"
"I guess maybe there's a portal somewhere? There are portals all over the Beastlands, and the river Oceanus goes all through the Upper Planes."
"Beastlands? Is that where we're at?"
"Yeah, it's one of the Upper Planes."
"What's...never mind. Is this river the Oceanus one?"
"Kinda. It's a side-river that flows into it. It's not real far off, though. It's much bigger than this."
"It's just downstream?"
"Yeah. You keep going downstream and you'll find it. Once you do, if you wanna go to Arborea, you keep going downstream. If you wanna go to Elysium, go upstream. Just be careful, the way between planes is kinda rough going."
"How so?"
"There's rapids you have to travel. Not a problem for us river dragons, but for you landwalkers it can be dangerous."
"I see. And if I go to one of these other...planes...I might find a way home?"
"Maybe! I dunno a lot about where the other planes go. Just what's on the river."
Around that time, the beef seemed to be done enough, and Valerie took it off the skewer. She cut it in half, and tossed a piece to Splish. He caught it, chewed it. "Mmm! That's really good!" Valerie ate her own piece, and nodded. "It is. It's been a while since I had beef."
"Is that what it is? What does a beef look like?"
Valerie laughed. "The animals aren't called beef, just their meat. They're...I dunno, I guess you could call 'em cows? They have four legs and a thin, limp tail and a kind of short, square snout. The males have big horns on their heads."
Splish scratched at his side. "I don't remember seeing one. But if they taste like this, I'll have to look more for them!"
Valerie set to cooking another piece, and Splish asked "How do you make the fire from rocks?"
"It takes a special kind of rock. We call it flint. I seem to remember if you can find chalk, you can find flint."
"What's chalk?"
"It's...like a white, powdery rock. The flint is a grey rock inside it."
"Okay! And you just beat the flint rocks together?"
"Well...I think you need some metal. See?" She took out the tinderbox and showed Splish the bit of steel.
"Oh. I think I've seen some of that before. Landwalkers make things with it, right?"
"Right. If you can find something, like a knife or an arrowhead, you could use that."
"And then you use wood, and what was that other stuff? Feathers?"
"No, wood shavings. Little thin flakes of wood."
"Ohhhh! Okay! And all that together makes fire! Thank you for teaching me the magic, Valerie! I wish I could teach you some of mine in return!"
"That's okay. So do any humans live in the Beastlands?"
"Maybe! I don't see them much. I see Elves more."
"The people with the pointed ears?"
"Yes! They can be nice, but mostly they stay on the land. My mother told me to watch out for the black ones, though. They're evil and like to trick you so they can kill you and sacrifice you to their spider-god!"
"Black-skinned elves that worship spiders. Right. So gods are real here?"
"Yes! Weren't they real where you came from?"
"I dunno. People said they were, but there wasn't any proof."
"Huh. Well, I know Bahamut is real. He's the good dragon god. So is Tiamat. She's the bad dragon god."
"So are there other kinds of dragons?"
"Oh yes, lots! There's red dragons, and green dragons, and blue dragons, and gold dragons, and silver dragons, there's the beast dragons who live here on the land, and the arboreal dragons in Arborea." Splish gave another honking laugh, "And there's Elysian dragons too! They're funny!"
"So lots of dragons. I guess not all are as nice as you?"
"No, the red and green and blue and black and white dragons are all bad. They all follow Tiamat. But the gold and silver and copper and brass and bronze dragons, they're all good. They follow Bahamut, like us river dragons do. Well, us Oceanus river dragons. The Styx river dragons are bad."
"Where is the Styx river?"
"It's down on the Lower Planes. They're all bad places where bad creatures called fiends live. Sometimes they try and come here to the Upper Planes and cause trouble. But us river dragons, we help the celestials fight them off!"
"What are celestials?"
"They're all the good beings who live on the Upper Planes. The Angels, the Guardinals, the Eladrin."
Valerie divvied up more steak with Splish as he told her about these things, and sat back to keep cooking and thinking it all over. "This place is very different from my home. We don't have all these plane places like you do."
"There's a lot more places, too. Like the Elemental Planes. I'd like to see the Water one. I bet it's fun to swim and swim and swim like that."
"Can you breathe underwater?"
"Yes, our magic lets us do that. We can even use it to let landwalkers breathe water, too. But it's only for a little while."
"So why doesn't the sun move in the sky?"
"I dunno. It's just how the Beastlands are. My mother told me the other layers are like that, but the sun's in a different place. Or it's gone and it's all dark and this white thing called a moon and these really little white things called stars are there instead."
"I've seen those other...layers. I went through portals by accident, but I found one a while back and went through it on purpose to get here."
"That's good! I'm glad you did, so I could meet you, and learn about fire and beef!"
"Do you know anything about any other gods? Like Troll gods?"
"Nope. I know Elves have gods, and I think humans do too. I don't know much about Trolls. My mother said they were a kind of giant. I guess maybe there are giant gods?"
"I guess so." That seemed to confirm her suspicion about the dream she had of the world and what she now was sure were gods. "So if a god created you...do you go to that god when you die?"
"I think so. I'm not sure."
Valerie nodded, feeling a spark of hope. Maybe she wouldn't be doomed to end up in that awful place of her dreams. "Are there any other people you know of?"
"Yeah. There are Dwarves and Gnomes. The Gnomes have a plane beyond Elysium called Bytopia. My mother said the land is in the sky there."
"In the sky? What about underneath?"
"Oh, it's there too."
"So Dwarves are short people with beards that mine for things?"
"Yeah! How did you know?"
"Lucky guess. We have stories back home about Dwarves and Elves, but they're just stories there."
"Oh. What about Gnomes?"
"I...think so. I'm not sure about them, really."
"My mother said Gnomes can be nice, but they can also play jokes if you're not careful. Just like the faeries in Arborea."
Valerie considered that. Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, faeries, dragons. Too many things of make-believe back home that were real here for her to not think there'd been at least some contact from this world and hers. That boded well for a way back and forth, but the fact it was a secret still made her concerned.
"So...I know this sounds silly, but what language are we speaking?"
"You don't know that either?" Splish laughed.
Valerie scowled, "No, I don't know a lot of things. It's just in my head and I don't know how it got there."
Splish ducked his head, seeming contrite. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad."
Valerie took a deep breath and sighed. "No, I'm sorry, Splish. I shouldn't get mad at you like that."
The young dragon bobbed his head, "It's okay. Hey, I can help you calm down!"
Valerie gave him a puzzled look, "How's that?"
Splish drew in a deep breath then, and when he exhaled, a strange mist came pouring out of his mouth, flowing over her. She felt a curious sensation of swimmy-headed lightness, and a tranquility. It reminded her of a time several years back when she'd tried pot. The sensation only lasted a few moments, and it was gone.
"What the Hell was that?" she asked, surprised. Splish said, "One of my breath weapons. We river dragons can breathe a special gas that makes things peaceful. It's better to stop fights if we can." Valerie nodded, and suddenly thought of the old cartoon, Puff the Magic Dragon. Once that came to mind, she began to laugh.
Splish turned his head sideways, "What's so funny?" he asked. It took Valerie a while before she could calm enough to say, "Sorry, I just thought of a story from back home about a dragon, and you reminded me of it." Splish replied, "Oh. Well, it sounds like a good story, if it makes you laugh!"
"It does. And I'm very grateful to have something to laugh about. You don't know how much it means to me that I can sit here and talk to you. I've been so lonesome wandering around here, in the Beastlands."
"You're welcome, Valerie! Oh! This language is Celestial."
"It is?" She thought for a moment, and tried the one she'd spoken with the Elves. "What about this one?"
Splish gave her a confused tilt of his head. "I've never heard that one before." He then spoke in a different tongue she didn't understand, and when she told him so, he said "That's the Draconic tongue." Then spoke another, that he identified as Aquan. "That's what water elementals speak."
Sharing more food, Valerie soon began to get full, and sleepy. She had learned a lot talking with the young dragon, but also realized there was far more still to discover. She yawned, and Splish looked at her curiously. "Do you need to sleep?" She nodded, "Yeah, I do."
"Okay! I'll go sleep too. Have a good sleep, Valerie! I hope I see you when I wake!" The dragon bobbed his head again, then turned and waded into the river before making a plunge, then splashing up a final time and submerging. Valerie shook her head in wonder and wrapped up the rest of her meat before settling down to rest.
When she awoke, she tended the embers of her fire, kindling them back to life, then began cooking more of the beef. As she laid pieces aside and skewered more, the water of the river rippled and Splish's head jutted forth. He gave a broad smile and swam sinuously to shore, calling "Hello Valerie! Did you rest well?"
She smiled to see the cheery young dragon and replied, "I did, thanks. You?" Splish waded onto shore, bobbing his head. "Yes! I dreamt of tasty fish that were like the beef!" Valerie laughed to think of beef-fish, and said "Here, have some more." She tossed a piece his way, and he snatched it from the air.
"Thank you!" he said once it had been chewed and swallowed. She had a piece of her own, as Splish tilted his head to one side. "Can you cook fish like you do beef?" She nodded, "Yes, you can cook all kinds of meat." Splish bobbed his head, "I want to try a cooked fish sometime!"
Valerie looked again at the things on Splish's back, and asked, "Are those wings? Can you fly?" Splish regarded them, "Yes, they are! But I'm not very good at flying. Mother says I should practice more, but swimming is so much easier." Valerie nodded, "Do you still stay close to your mother?"
Splish held his head up, "Only sometimes! I am growing up and soon I will have to find a place to call my own and protect!" Valerie smiled, and asked "What about your father?" Splish said, "I don't know him. Mother told me about him! He is a very brave and strong dragon! He once fought off a powerful demon all on his own!"
It was obvious to her Splish thought highly of that, and the excited way he said "When I am fully grown, I want to be brave and strong like him!" just confirmed it. Valerie chuckled and tossed another piece of meat to him, chewing on her own. "How long until you're grown?"
"We dragons grow our whole lives! But if you mean until I am mating age, that's not for another forty years. I will be ready, though! I will make a good lair and show what a good mate I can be!" The young dragon drew himself up proudly and preened in the sunlight.
"How long do dragons live?"
"Oh, mother says we can live past a thousand years! Some live much, much longer than that! But eventually the twilight comes and we must pass on. I am not afraid, though. I know Bahamut will take me into his home when my time is through."
"So did Bahamut make the dragons?"
"Oh, no! Io, the Ninefold, made the first dragons. Bahamut and Tiamat are his children. He charged them to rule over the dragons in his stead, but Tiamat was jealous and wanted all dragonkind to worship her. That is why the dragons make war with each other to this day."
"Huh. Do you know anything about other gods?"
"Not very much. I know Elves and Dwarves and Gnomes all have their own gods, and there are gods humans worship, but I don't think there are any humans-only gods. Even Bahamut is not just for dragons. Other beings who believe in his principles worship him too!"
"I see. So, can you tell me more about magic? Where does it come from? How does it work?"
"Mother told me some magic is just part of the world, and those who study it can learn to use it. Some are born with a natural talent. That's called sorcery, she said. Many dragons have sorcerous magic. Another kind, one you learn, is called wizardry. And another kind is given to those who worship the gods. That's divine magic."
"So people who worship the gods can be given magic. Makes sense, it'd be a good way to get believers. Gods want believers, right?"
"Oh, yes! Mother said some are very greedy for them, like Tiamat! Others don't care as much, like Io. But Io is very powerful, he does not need worshippers like less powerful gods do."
The notion of gods competing for worshippers mulled around in her mind as she cooked and ate, shared her meat with Splish. It made sense, even if it all seemed like make-believe, despite living talking proof of the fantastic right before her. She had her fill of breakfast soon, and packed up the leftovers.
Splish rose, "Are you going to travel now?" Valerie nodded, "Yes." Splish said, "I will swim along with you, if that's alright." Valerie smiled, "Of course, Splish." The young dragon wriggled and hopped around in excitement, "This will be fun!" he said, before going back into the water.
Once she had her things gathered, Valerie set out along the shore. Splish kept pace with her, though sometimes he would drop back and catch a fish, showing them to her, or race ahead. Sometimes he would challenge her to race him to the next big rock, or a tree. He was faster in the water than she was on land, but she enjoyed seeing how much it pleased him to play simple games like that with her.
Truthfully, she welcomed the distraction, too. It was strange to think of the playful and cheery young dragon as a friend, but he was. A very welcome one. She stopped to make camp, and Splish brought a particularly large fish out from the river. "Can we cook and eat this one? I think it will be very tasty!"
"Alright." agreed Valerie, and she considered how best to do it. "Can you find a big, flat rock, Splish? One from the river? I think that'll work best for cooking it." Splish bobbed his head, "I will look!" He went into the water, while Valerie got the fire going and cooked the last few pieces of beef. Splish had quite the appetite too, and she'd gone through it faster than she'd expected to.
Splish returned shortly, carrying a rock like she'd described in his mouth. He set it down, "Will this do?" Valerie nodded, "I think so. Let's dry it off first." She rubbed it with her sleeping fur gently, making sure no stray hairs stuck to it, then set it close to the fire. Once it was fully dry, she gingerly handled it, giving herself a small burn of the fingers.
However, it healed up in moments, so she handled it more confidently. It stung, but as with all pain she'd encountered so far, it was temporary. With Splish's help, she stacked a few rocks up to place it on, over the fire. Then she cut the head, tail and fins from the fish, tossing them to Splish. "It should cook easier when we cut it up."
Splish nodded, and watched her work. "Your claws are very sharp, Valerie! I wish mine were so sharp!" She said, "It's funny, I don't really think about it. But they are." She took a stray rock, poked her claw into it, and easily cut it in two like it was just a bit of soft dirt.
"Wow!" marveled Splish, then he settled down to watch the fish cook. It wasn't long before the sliced sections were starting to sizzle, and he beamed as he sniffed them, "Oh, they smell so good!" He wriggled with excitement. "Are they done?" She looked at them, "Almost."
Several moments passed. "What about now?" She shook her head, "Not yet." Several more moments passed, and he again asked "Now?" She laughed, "No, we're not there yet." He gave her a confused look, then honked with laughter. "I see! Mother says I must be patient! But it's hard when the fish smells so good!"
Valerie was hungry too, and after poking at a piece and seeing the white flesh flake, said "Alright, that's good enough." She plucked one up and popped it in her mouth, tossed one to Splish. He ate it with relish, "It's very good! I will have to cook more fish in future!"
Valerie nodded and had another piece, then focused on finishing off the beef while she let Splish have the rest of the cooked fish. Once it was all done she cleaned off the rock in the river, though Splish insisted on 'helping' by licking it once it had cooled enough for him to do so. She laughed, glad again for the dragon's company.
The two parted to rest, and the next morning Splish brought out more fish to cook. Once they'd feasted, she resumed her travels, stopping again to camp, cook and rest. Splish asked her about her home, her family, and she told him what she could.
He marveled at the 'strange magic' she described, though the idea of doing some of the things they did wasn't so alien to him. Flying, or being able to send and view images and sounds over long distances. The idea of basketball made him smile, and he wished she could show him, but she had no ball to use.
They traveled together for a couple more days in this fashion, until midway into the third day, the river course was widening further and further, and...they came to the Oceanus. Valerie had seen pictures of large rivers before, but she'd never been to one this huge in person. It flowed, pristine and deep, through the land.
While she marveled at its width, Splish took off, showing her how fast her could go from shore to shore. He swam all about, then dived down. Several minutes passed, and he returned, seeming muted somehow. "What's wrong?" she asked, surprised to see him looking sad.
"I have to go. Mother left the signal rock in the special place. That means I need to see her." Valerie felt a pang then, and asked, "You mean...upriver?" Splish nodded. Valerie said, "I see." Splish said, "But I'll come find you when I'm done, I promise! I really like traveling with you, Valerie!"
She smiled, "I like traveling with you too, Splish. It means a lot to have a friend." Splish beamed, and came up, tucking his head up under her chin and rubbing his scaly, slightly oily head there. "I am glad we are friends, Valerie. You have been very good to me. No matter what anyone says, I will always say 'Not all Trolls are bad' thanks to you."
Valerie nodded, and put an arm gently around the affectionate little dragon. The gesture made him start, but he quickly took its meaning and pressed firmly against her. She felt a sadness fill her, but resolved not to show it and upset him. Instead she smiled when she withdrew, and said "You stay safe, Splish. Be good and mind your mother."
Splish nodded and gave her another playful bump under the chin, "I will! Thank you for all you shared with me, Valerie! I hope I will see you again soon! If I do not, I will pray to Bahamut you find your home and family again." Valerie gave him another pat along his neck, "Thank you for all you shared, Splish."
With that, the dragon withdrew to the water, and looked back as he swam upstream, "Good-bye, Valerie!" he called. She raised a hand, "Good-bye, Splish!" She watched him swim until he was out of sight, and wept a few tears as she found herself alone once more.
Then she drew a deep breath, sighed, and turned to resume following the river course again. Her progress was slow, as she kept looking at the water, expecting Splish to pop up at any moment. He didn't, though. It was just her and the expanse of the Beastlands once more.
A dinner of mostly-uncooked fish led to difficulty going to sleep, as she found herself missing the little dragon. But exhaustion soon took her away, and she awoke the next morning. Sadness rose anew when Splish was not there, but she forced herself to push it aside. He had his own life to live, and she had a home to get back to.
However, part of her hoped he wouldn't be the last friend she made, if she was going to be stuck here for a long time. Several days passed, the lack of the dragon's presence dulled, but she still felt that loneliness again more acutely, like a wound freshly re-opened.
Growing tired of fish, Valerie moved further inland from the river when she came to a more open plains area between the forest cover. She found a game trail and followed, hoping to locate some other kind of meat to hunt. She caught the scent of wild pig, and the thought of roasting some pork livened her step.
Ahead, she spied her quarry, foraging among the grasses. Drawing a spear, she prepared to throw, when the ground under the pig burst asunder and a large set of mandibles grabbed it. She saw an insectile head, the pig squealing as it thrashed in vain before disappearing into the ground.
She rushed up to find a large hole disappearing down into a tunnel. "What the Hell?" she murmured. Below, a long dark shape scuttled. A huge insect, covered in a dark brown carapace, paused to look up at her. She started to back off, before it seemed to draw itself up, and from its mouth spewed a yellowish fluid at her!
She dodged to the side, but still it spattered upon her skin, burning with an acrid odor. She snarled and hurled her spear down at it, wounding the creature. Strangely, she noticed the burn wasn't healing up. But she had no time to really contemplate it as the insect rushed up the tunnel at her, jaws working those mandibles.
She dodged its attack nimbly, answering with her claws. two swift blows felling it to the ground. She recovered her spear and grimaced. "Shit! The Hell did it spit at me?" She could still smell that sharp odor and was reminded of a mix between vomit and chemistry class in high school. "Some kind of acid?" she wondered.
Concerned, she returned back to the water and washed the burn off as best she could. Having gotten used to healing up in seconds to a minute or two from any injury, to have one persist like this was strange and a little scary. It didn't seem very severe, but it made her realize she wasn't quite as unstoppable as she thought she was.
She wished she had some kind of bandage to wrap it up with, but the best she could do was keep it clean and try to make sure it didn't get infected or anything. Deciding weird acid-spitting bugs were better off left alone, she went downstream further and fished once again rather than range away to hunt.
Making camp and resting, the next morning her injury felt better, though still a little raw and irritated. She washed it carefully again before she set out once more. Down the riverside she went, pausing in her travel to kill a deer. Venison wasn't pork, but it sure as Hell wasn't fish. She welcomed the change in diet.
A few days later, all sign of her acid burn was gone, just the lingering memory. As she traveled, she kept an eye out for her little friend Splish, but no sign had been forthcoming. She hoped he was safe and well. She would smile to think of his antics, especially when she cooked on her flat rock 'grill'.
She awoke in the middle of her sleep to a loud rustling sound, like something shaking a bush. She looked around, and spotted a tall, vine-like plant nearby that hadn't been there when she laid down to sleep. It was shifting and writhing on its own, with what looked like clusters of grapes growing upon it.
She got to her feet, unsure what to make of it, when suddenly, all around her, grasses and other flora shot up to grab at her, trying to tangle her, wrapping about. One of the vines of the strange plant lashed out like a whip at her, but she managed to avoid it, struggling to break free from its grip.
It held fast to her, lashing out again and striking her with that tendril. It struck and wrapped it around, squeezing tightly. She drew out the fury inside herself, trying to break the tendril's grip, get free of the vines grabbing at her feet. She succeeded, but they tried to grab her once more.
This time she avoided them, but the vine slashed at her again, grabbing and squeezing. Her struggles to escape caused it to constrict further, but she finally got loose and advanced on it as quick as she could through the grabbing tendrils of plants from the ground.
It lashed out again as she drew close, but she dodged it and prepared to try and mulch the foul overgrown weed. It tried to whip her with its tendril again, grab hold of her, but she avoided them all once more before giving a loud roar, lashing out with her own green limbs.
Claws and teeth tore into the frustrating plant, until its movement stilled and the plants around it returned to their normal state. She crouched down, catching her breath and recovering, studying the strange bush. "Even the plants are dangerous." she muttered with annoyance. Idly she fingered one of its fruits, but decided against trying it.
"Probably poisonous." she opined as she settled down to rest once more. Continuing her travels, by her estimation it had been nearly two weeks since she last saw Splish. She had to assume the little dragon was busy with other things. She had hoped he might keep his word to find her, but he was obviously young still.
"Easy promises broken the same." She didn't seem any closer to getting to these planes he'd mentioned, but the scenery was changing, at least. The land was much flatter and more open here, with branches sprawling away from the river into wet, swampy regions.
She thought of her early encounters with the crocodile and the bat-squito things, and kept a close eye out for any potentially wallowing reptiles or lairs of blood-sucking monsters. None of those were forthcoming, so she kept her pace through the marsh, finding a nice dry place to make camp and rest.
She awoke to hear a splashing sound, and her heart leapt. Was it Splish? She rose quickly to see a large shape that was most definitely not him. A heavy four-legged brute was there in the nearby shallows, a gray-brown hide covering its twenty-foot body. A long tail drug back into the water behind it, but what as most striking were the heads.
Five in number on long necks, each sporting mouths full of needle-like teeth, one was busy devouring half of a fish. Another chanced to look her way, then the other four quickly followed suit. "Shit." she muttered. With a chorus of low growling hisses it lumbered forward, those heads all lashing out at her and biting away.
While she managed to avoid or fend off four of them, the fifth latched on and gave her a savage wound. She gave a cry of pain, then snarled as she stepped in, unleashing her rage to strike back, driving in her first claw with that tensing snap of her arm. She tore into the creature, but she saw its wounds beginning to heal almost immediately.
"Shit." she muttered, fearing this thing would be next to un-killable like she was. The cluster of heads came in to bite once more, this time scoring two more tears in her flesh. She ripped at it anew with claws and teeth, but it remained standing, still trying to tear her to bits with all those teeth.
Three heads bit into her, and she was beginning to feel weak. But she threw herself into it once more, failing to find purchase with her teeth. The creature cried out and started to topple, but at the last second roused itself for another assault.
Two heads dug in and she felt in danger of collapsing. Digging deep, she made what might be her final effort to slay it, tearing into its torso, yanking out any bits of gore she could. At last, the creature could take no more and tottered over, thumping into the wet ground and splashing her with water and mud.
Covered in blood, hers and the creature's, she slumped down to the ground, panting heavily. As she felt her own wounds heal, she watched the creature. Its injuries had stopped regenerating. Whatever the reason, it was dead. She drug herself up and half-walked, half-crawled to the water, sliding in and submerging.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the muted quiet and darkness, then worked her hands all over, washing herself clean. Surfacing, she walked back to shore, settled on her fur and relaxed in the warm sunshine, drying herself off as she finished recuperating from her battle.
She could swear she'd heard of something like that multi-headed thing in myth and legend, but its name escaped her. Well, its name was Big Ugly Dead Thing now, far as she was concerned. She considered trying it to see if it was any good, but decided to stick with what she knew.
Rising once again, she gathered her things and resumed her trek, deeper into the Beastlands. A chance kill of a large wading bird brought some welcome variance to her diet later when she again made camp, before settling in to rest once more.
