A/N: Now for Lance. This story has him a lot closer to his actual characterization than 'An Epic Retelling' did, though I like his personality better over there. Oh, well, his normal one fits better here. Have fun reading!
Lance stormed through the dark woods furiously. He had woken up completely ensnared in a bramble bush with the mandibles of a giant bug of some sort inches away from his torso. Needless to say, both the bug and the bush were still there, only they were much crispier than when he had first awoken.
"The only thing worse than nature is being stuck in nature," gunner snarled under his breath.
He hadn't been able to spot his friends nearby, which was probably a good thing. He had a feeling Matt would be slightly holeyer than before if he were there, and not in the saintly way. A giant moth-like insect swooped down.
Lance hardly looked at it as he shot it with his gunblade, the blast echoing through the trees. "At least these bugs are weak; though a bit of a challenge would be nice," he muttered.
The gunner walked for hours, but saw no changes in the dark trees surrounding him. The only difference was a darkening of the already dark forest signaling that the sun was setting beyond the leaves and a thick mist rising to swirl between the trunks. Lance sighed and slowed to a halt, looking around for any place to sleep that didn't include some kind of plant.
A strange chill crept up the gunner's spine and he spun around to see absolutely nothing behind him. Despite the absence of anything being there, Lance could feel a presence. Something ancient and powerful was watching him. He gripped his gunblade tighter, suddenly highly aware of just how vulnerable he was on his own. Swallowing his unease, he glared into the foggy trees, daring whatever was there to come out. A bead of sweat trickled down the back of his neck as he waited.
All of a sudden, there was a loud bird-cry and his attention was momentarily diverted. When he snapped his mind back to the situation at hand, the oppressive presence had vanished, along with the mist. Lance's shoulder's tensed even further as the significance of that fact settled in. He took one last look around and decided sleeping was probably a bad idea.
Resigned to a night of walking, Lance pulled an energy drink out of his Adventure Pouch and popped the tab. He sipped at it as he walked, welcoming the familiar rush of caffeine in his system. He didn't see the strange mist or any more giant monsters for the rest of the night. By the time the trees had lightened with the sun's rising, Lance was exhausted.
The gunner hiked up a small hill, pausing to lean against a small vine-covered cliff at the top. He let out a surprised gasp as he tumbled into a small cave that had been covered by dangling tendrils. He groaned and sat up from where he had fallen on the floor. Looking around, he realized the cave was little more than a deep depression in the wall. He stood and poked his head out of the curtain of vines before ducking back in.
Deciding it was as good a place to rest as any, and knowing he needed the break, Lance leaned against the back wall and shut his eyes for a quick nap, his hand resting on the hilt of gunblade. As he rested, the strange mist from before seeped in under the tendrils and wrapped thickly around him. When the cloud slipped away, the gunner was gone.
Lance woke lying on his side, blinking at a clear line of rock and sky. Immediately he sprang up and twisted around, gaping in disbelief at the rocky landscape that surrounded him. He had somehow been moved to a high plateau that offered a view for miles.
"I fell asleep in a cave in a forest, how the heck did I get up here?" Lance muttered aloud in shock.
Shaking his head with a swallow, the gunner checked to make sure he had all of his supplies. To his immense relief, he was still holding his gunblade, Super Snipe was still strapped to his back, and his Adventure Pouch was still tied to his belt. Lance relaxed slightly and looked around again. There were several crude torches erected around a stone altar at the center of the summit, suggesting that people came up there for some kind of ritual. Looking over the side, the gunner was surprised to see a natural stone wall curving all the way around the plateau. In the distance, he could see patches of farmland, rolling hills, and a long river snaking its way from north to south. A small village was nestled at the base of the plateau, just outside the stone wall. To the north, there was a long, jagged mountain range.
The gunner walked around the edge of the platform and found a narrow trail twisting clockwise down one side. He made his way down, mindful of loose stones and highly aware of the sheer drop on his left. A strong wind whipped along the cliff face and tugged at Lance as he descended. He passed more torches wedged into cracks along the cliff. Finally, the trail leveled out to head into a narrow cave through the wall. Lance stepped into the cave, gunblade raised in preparation of any trouble, heading for the bright light at the other end. His footsteps echoed in the darkness, but nothing jumped out to attack him.
Lance stepped out of the cave, blinking to adjust to the bright light. He found himself looking at two stunned guards on either side of the opening. The gunner raised an eyebrow at their stunned looks before throwing himself back into the cave with wide eyes as they attempted to take his head off with their swords. He twisted around and sprinted back through the tunnel as they shouted after him. At the far end, Lance spun around and fired a few shots into the darkness. A couple of surprised yelps rang out, but they didn't sound injured and the gunner didn't hang around to see if they still wanted to come after him.
He hugged the inside of the stone wall and ducked behind a large rock, peering around it to watch the entrance. One of the guards poked his head out of the cave and Lance fired a bullet at him. The shot pinged off of the stone inches from the man's face and, with a loud curse, the guard pulled back in. Lance stayed where he was, intently watching the cave entrance, but no one else came through.
After fifteen minutes had passed with no sign of any further attackers, Lance carefully slipped out from around the boulder. He made his way around the entire inside of the wall, searching for a different exit, but he made a complete circuit and the only way out was through the cave. Lance sighed and moved further away, out of sight of the cave entrance.
He settled down on a flat rock to think, "Only one entrance, huh? I guess I'll have to wait until nightfall and try to slip past them." He eyed the smooth stone walls blocking his escape, "That, or scale the cliff. I don't think that will be possible, though." With another sigh, Lance pulled a bag of chips out of his Adventure Pouch and munched on them absently.
The gunner spent the entire day keeping watch for any further attacks from the guards or anyone else, waiting for nightfall. Towards sunset, a large bird with four wings soared overhead. Lance shrank back into the shadow of the cliff wall keeping a close eye on the creature as it flew past, searching for prey. The bird circled the plateau once before wheeling off. Lance relaxed and tilted his head back to rest against the stone behind him.
"Why is everything giant here?" the gunner grumbled, "For that matter, where even is here?" He frowned, realizing he hadn't recognized anything since waking up in the woods. With a shake of his head, the gunner stood straight, he could figure that out when he had escaped. The sun had set; it was time to try sneaking out.
Lance silently walked over to the cave, staying near the cliff where the shadows were deepest. He slipped inside the opening, and headed for the far end; taking great care to set his feet down lightly to avoid making any noise. The gunner hadn't gotten very far when he spotted flickering light at the far end. With a silent curse, Lance backtracked as quickly and as silently as he could. He ducked behind a rock back in the box canyon and watched the cave warily, but no one came out.
"Great, they're watching the entrance," Lance muttered. He resigned to try escaping later when they would hopefully be more lax about their guard. That, or wait for them to try storming the canyon. Suddenly, the fact that the cave was the only entrance became a good thing. They'd have to enter through it if they wanted to kill him. The gunner made his way back up the plateau and set up his Super Snipe facing the cave entrance.
Three days passed in total boredom for the gunner. He had already poked around the entire canyon and most of the attached cave to see if there was anything of interest. There hadn't been much, although he had been relieved to find a small trickle of water running in the cave. Every so often, he tried his luck with getting through the tunnel, but it was always being guarded. Lance ate the snacks he had packed sparingly, but he knew that when they ran out, he'd have to force his way out of the canyon.
On the fourth day, a group of heavily armed people entered the valley. "We know you're here, demon!" one man called.
Lance had been waiting for the attack, though, and was already positioned on the plateau. He frowned at their call. "Demon?" he thought, "Talk about jumpy, superstitious idiots." Shrugging, he peered through the scope of his Super Snipe and fired a quick blast of fire at the party's feet. He chuckled as they jumped and ran back into the cave, screaming about demons and damnation. There were no further attacks that day.
The next evening, Lance ate the last bit of food he had on him. He sighed and packed up the gear he had laid out and slipped down from the plateau. Under the cover of darkness, the gunner moved across the short expanse of open ground, headed for the cave. He carried his gunblade at the ready, prepared to force his way out with a show of power. He had just stepped in front of the cave when he spotted a torch headed his way. With a silent curse, Lance ducked back and hid in the nearby shadow of the cliff face to watch.
Soon, a group of hooded figures carrying baskets came through. They walked in a straight line, following the leader who carried a torch. Lance watched curiously as the group made no motion to check the area, heading directly for the winding trail leading to the plateau summit. They reached the first torch and began chanting in some strange language. Lighting the dead torch, they made their way up the trail, lighting the other torches and chanting, until they twisted out of sight around the edge of the cliff face.
Baffled, Lance shook the strange scene from his mind and headed into cave again. Unfortunately, he could spy a person wearing armor standing at the far end holding a torch. With a near silent groan, the gunner stepped back outside again.
"Great, now what? That guard will be there at least until they're back," he grumbled quietly to himself. He absently noted that the worshippers had come back into sight on the cliff and were almost at the summit. Since he couldn't leave until they were done with whatever their ritual was, the gunner decided to see what they were doing and headed up the trail.
The wind had put out a number of the torches on the way up, but it was of little consequence to Lance's hike; the moon was full overhead, providing plenty of light for the climb. Soon, the gunner crouched at the head of the trail, watching the hooded figures. The group had set their baskets down and were kneeling in a circle around the stone altar with their hands raised to the sky, still chanting in the strange language. Their voices rose to a crescendo before halting entirely. One man rose to his feet, arms still held high and spoke.
"We gather here to give praise for the reappearance of the mighty lord of Swynhill," he called loudly. He paused as the other's added their own voices to the tribute waiting until the sound had died out before continuing, "Oh, great Sath, lord of smoke and fire and chaos, please accept this humble offering from your mortal servants! Forgive the unwashed men who would slay you as a common demon! We know you are great and offer ourselves as your faithful subjects!" The speaker knelt down again and they all began chanting.
An evil smirk spread across Lance's face as he had a horrible idea. "Good thing Natalie and Anna aren't here for this," he murmured, "I just know they would find it questionable." He reached into his adventure pouch and pulled a few smoke bombs out along with a flare. The gunner pulled the pin on a smoke bomb and rolled it gently towards the worshippers. Soon, the bomb detonated, filling the area with a cloud of white smoke. As the worshippers cried out in shock, Lance stepped forward and lit the flare, dropping it behind him. Instantly, a red light lit the smoke and made him a silhouette to the worshippers. The gunner let out a low laugh and spoke in a raspy tone as the men threw themselves into bows.
"Your lord is pleased with your offering, mortals. However, I do not see why I should spare you or your village. The blasphemy of attacking one such as I is nigh unforgivable," Lance said.
The men stayed bowing, but the leader spoke in a trembling voice, "Please, my Lord! They did not know any better! They saw your eyes and believed you to be a man possessed!"
Lance replied in a scathing tone, "I would have hoped that in the time since my last appearance you would have reminded your people of my form. To have them fear my crimson gaze and denounce me as some lesser demon—I fail to see any reason why I should not rain fire on your homes." He eyed the smoke as it began to dissipate and popped the pin on another bomb and dropped it.
"We will speak to them! Please, Lord Sath, please!" the man cried, "It may take time, but we will make them see!"
The gunner remained silent, letting them stew for a moment as he thought rapidly. Finally he released another laugh, "Very well, your offering appeases me enough to offer a chance to curb the actions of the unlearned. I grant you a month to show the worms the errors of their behavior. In that time, I demand weekly offerings." He lowered his voice further, "If you fail to correct their faults then there shall be a burning such as your village has never seen. Now be gone from my sight!"
With that, he stood aside and dropped the third smoke bomb. The worshippers stood and bowed their acquiescence before hurrying through the smoke and down the path.
Lance waited until he saw they had entered the tunnel before falling onto his back on the plateau and bursting into laughter. "Beautiful, I've never had worshippers before," he chortled, "And I got them to bring me food while I'm stuck here! Awesome." The gunner rolled over and pushed himself up. He walked over to the altar and poked through the baskets to find that they had indeed been stuffed with food.
Grinning, he snagged an apple and began to munch on it, still mentally patting himself on the back. "I was thinking I'd have to fight my way out, but if I can get them to convince the townspeople down there that I'm the return of some kind of damnation-bringing god, maybe they'll let me through," he mused. He didn't particularly relish staying in this canyon for a month, but it beat trying to fight through an entire village by himself. Besides, it was always possible that the others three would come in hopes of beating another god.
DDDDDD
The next day, Lance was bored out of his mind. He sat on the summit organizing the food he had gotten by what would spoil the fastest and what could be stored for a long time. At one point he thought he had seen some small movement in the rocks on the plateau, but when he turned to look, nothing had been there. The gunner had shrugged the movement off as a cloud of dust and leaned back on his hands to look at the clouds drifting past.
A small scraping noise came to Lance's ears and he whipped around with a glare, gunblade in hand, to see what it was. He lowered the weapon with a surprised huff as he spotted a small creature creeping towards the baskets of food—it looked like a tiny red dragon about as long as his arm from nose to tail-tip. Standing up, the gunner moved forward to inspect the thing, only to frown as it startled and spread its wings, taking off.
"Weird," Lance muttered watching, somewhat enviously, as the creature soared over the wall and dipped out of sight. Shrugging the small animal off, the gunner decided to pack the food in his Adventure Pouch. He didn't want larger monsters being attracted to it.
Two days later, Lance saw the tiny dragon again. He had just finished running up and down the trail and had settled down to eat. The dragon poked its head up over a rock and eyed the bread in the gunner's hand. Lance glanced at the small creature and tore a chunk of bread off to toss its way to see what the dragon would do. The creature shot up with surprising speed and caught the piece, landing on the rock it had been hiding behind to gulp the food down. It finished the piece quickly and turned a hopeful look on the gunner only to be ignored. The dragon let out a trilling chirp.
"I'm not feeding you anymore," Lance said, "You can fly; go find your own food."
The dragon seemed to disagree with him, choosing instead to crawl a little closer with another chirping noise. When the gunner proceeded to ignore the creature, it began chirping constantly. Lance's eye twitched at the noise and finally he snarled and threw another chunk of bread at the dragon. With a happy trill, the creature caught the food and gobbled it down. It spread its wings and took off as soon as it was done.
"Stupid dragon," Lance grumbled.
Two hours later the dragon was back with something shiny grasped in its tiny front claws. It landed next to the dozing gunner and chirped. Lance cracked one eye open to glare at the dragon and rolled over onto his side. The dragon shuffled closer, chirping insistently. Shooting to his feet with a growl, Lance whirled on the dragon and leapt for it. The creature squeaked and shot into the air, dodging the tackle and hovered overhead as the gunner crashed into the ground where it had been. With a trill, the dragon landed on Lance's back and set a gold coin down on his head before taking off again.
With a groan, Lance reached up and snagged the small object. He stared at it as he sat up before looking around for the small dragon. Pocketing the coin with a shrug, Lance settled back down to his nap.
The monks came back two days later and left offerings of food for their god. Lance chose not to 'appear' before them, instead staying out of sight in the shadows at the base of the plateau. As soon as the people filed out of the canyon, the gunner hiked up the trail to find the little dragon was back, nibbling on a peach.
"Hey! Those are my offerings! Get your own cult!" Lance yelled, storming forward. The dragon simply looked up from the food and chirped a greeting. When the gunner swatted at the thing, it belched a small stream of fire at him.
"Holy-!" Lance shouted in surprise, leaping backwards. He glared at the dragon, "Fine, take the stupid peach." The dragon nodded with a chirp and continued eating. "Cheeky bastard," Lance muttered.
He awkwardly uncapped his canteen with one hand, and poured a little water on the burn across his fingers sighing at the temporary relief. Lance sat down and dug through his Adventure Pouch for something to wrap his hand with. At that moment, the dragon dropped the pit of the peach it had eaten and soared off. Lance paused in his search to glare after the small creature.
An hour later, the gunner had packed away the food, one hand stinging and wrapped in a strip of bandage he found in his bag. He stiffened at a now-familiar chirp that came from behind him.
"You have three seconds to take off again or I'm blasting you," Lance snapped, glaring over his shoulder.
The dragon chirped and took to the air. Lance grunted and turned around to find the creature hovering in his face with a small jar filled with some kind of green paste in its claws. It offered the container to the bemused gunner who accepted it with a suspicious glare at the dragon. Unscrewing the shiny metal lid from the jar, Lance sniffed at the paste inside and his jaw dropped as he recognized the scent as Aloe Vera. He stared at the jar and then over at the dragon now perched on the altar.
"Thanks, I guess," Lance murmured. He unwound the cloth on his hand and smeared some of the paste on his burn.
The medicine felt blissfully cool on the injury and he sighed in relief. Tucking the jar into his Adventure Pouch, Lance turned to the dragon. He watched it for a few moments and the creature stared back. Finally Lance dug into his Pouch again, withdrew another peach, and held it out to the dragon. "Truce?" he offered.
The small dragon looked at him with its head tilted to one side as if to say 'about time' before nodding with a chirp. Lance moved to sit next to the creature on the altar and set the fruit down for it. "I guess if I'm going to be stuck here for another three weeks with only you for company, then I might as well get along," he mumbled.
The dragon snorted out a puff of smoke and finished off the peach. Lance closely looked the small creature over for the first time. The sun glinted off of the dragon's ruby-red scales and there was a small darker red ridge running from the creature's head all the way down to taper off at the tail tip. The dragon's wings were currently folded against its back, but Lance knew they were red, bat-like, and about twice as long as its body. Small white horns poked out of the back of the dragon's head matching the tiny white claws on each of its feet. There were spikey ridges over its eyes and its irises had a red ring on the edges that faded to orange at its slit-pupil. Lance had to admit that the creature looked pretty cool and it was definitely intelligent.
"You need a name," he said suddenly. The dragon cocked its head again and blinked revealing a second set of eyelids that closed vertically behind the first set. "I somehow doubt you want me to call you pest all the time," Lance explained earning a small sort of fire from the creature. "Thought so," he muttered. The gunner chewed on his lip thoughtfully for a while. "How about Sath?" he finally suggested, "That's the name of the demon-god of fire I'm impersonating." The tiny dragon's lips pulled back in a grin, revealing sharp fangs. Lance grinned back, "Sath it is, then. My actual name is Lance."
Sath chirped and laid down on the altar, side pressed against the gunner's leg. Lance reached down and ran a finger along the dragon's back. The scales were dry to the touch and radiated warmth. "Well," Lance mused, "if I'm going to have a creature pestering me, then at least it's a dragon."
DDDDDD
Lance spent the rest of the three weeks blasting monsters that passed over head out of the sky with fire and talking with Sath. The dragon definitely understood Lance, but unfortunately it wasn't the same case in reverse. Generally, the gunner could figure out what the dragon wanted by his body language, though. Every day, Lance shared some food with the dragon and got some kind of shiny trinket, usually gold, in return; he wondered where the treasures came from, but of course had no way of knowing. He had become rather attached to the small dragon and he hoped Sath would go with him when he finally left.
The gunner had 'appeared' before the cultists once more to assess their progress with the villagers as well as to reinforce the idea that their god was still there and waiting. At that point, the men had only managed to persuade about half of the village. Tonight was the deadline for their orders from him and Lance hoped they had convinced the rest of the villagers not to attack the next time he left the cave. He'd rather not have to actually torch the village. He'd do it, if he had to, but he didn't like the idea of burning houses down when they wouldn't be able to defend themselves. Plus, he knew Natalie and Anna would have his head when they found out; maybe even Matt would, too.
The sun was setting when Sath came streaking down to land on the altar where Lance was waiting, chirping frantically. "What's wrong?" Lance asked in confusion.
He eyed the dragon as he took off again and wheeled around in the sky before diving down to hover by the cave entrance. The gunner jogged to the edge of the plateau and peered down, but didn't see anything that would be worth getting upset over. Sath soared back up, still urgently squeaking and chirping. Lance frowned in frustration, "I wish I could understand you."
The small dragon landed and began scratching on the ground. Lance watched in fascination as the creature drew crude figures with equally crude swords on the stone. He frowned as he finally figured out what Sath was trying to tell him.
"They're coming to kill me, huh?" he said with a sigh. The dragon bobbed his head rapidly and chirped. Lance headed down the slope with Sath gliding alongside him. "Well, I guess I could try busting out now, but they'll probably be right on the other side," the gunner muttered, "I'll have to set up a defense, I guess. Good thing we have a lot of food saved up, huh?"
Lance reached the entrance of the cave and stood before it, chewing on his lip. If it weren't the only way in and out, he could just collapse the thing, but because it was, that wasn't an option. As he stood there pondering, he heard a massive explosion come from the other end and felt a shockwave travel through the ground. The gunner staggered and gaped down the tunnel as he heard a cracking-rumbling echo followed closely by a cloud of dust.
"They didn't…" he murmured in horror. Sath gave a confused chirp. Lance swallowed, "I think they collapsed the tunnel. Wait here, I'm going to go check." The dragon obediently settled to sit on the ground, watching as the gunner cautiously stepped into the cave.
Lance's heart pounded with every step and he was constantly alert for any sounds that could signal a cave-in. He froze when he reached the point where he should have been able to see the exit and only saw blackness. Swallowing heavily, the gunner turned back around. Sath was waiting still for him outside and let out a happy chirp when he emerged. Lance flopped onto a nearby rock and buried his face into his hands. With a soft, concerned trill, the dragon flew over to press against Lance's side. The gunner lowered his hands and ran one over the dragon's ridge.
"They blocked off the only way out," Lance murmured flatly, "I'm stuck here." Sath squeaked and rubbed his head against the gunner's thigh. "At least you'll be okay," Lance said with a weak smile, "You can fly out whenever you need or want to."
The gunner froze, his hand stilling in the middle of a petting motion. "That's it!" he exclaimed. Sath craned his head up and chirped a question. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before," Lance muttered. He frowned, "It's a very long shot, though."
He jumped as he felt a nip on his hand and looked down at Sath. "Sorry, here's the plan," the gunner said, "If I described my friends to you, do you think you could fly around and try to find them? It might just be one wild goose chase; I don't even know if they wound up near here or not." To his immense relief the dragon nodded, "Great, I'll give you a something to tell them you came from me." After a brief moment of deliberation, he pulled the metal cross off of the front of his coat and attached it to a strip of cloth that he then tied around Sath's neck.
"There are three of them," Lance explained as he worked, "They might be all together, they might not, but even one of them will do. One has long blond hair and uses a big sword with a golden and red hilt, he's a guy named Matt. Next, there's a female mage named Natalie. She has long orange hair and carries a red staff with a blue crystal on top. Finally, there's a female archer with long green hair. Her name's Anna; she uses a wooden bow with red and white feather's attached to it. Any one of them should recognize that badge. When you find them, get as close as you can without them spotting you until they can clearly see the badge. Do you understand?"
He smiled as the small dragon nodded. He dug an apple out of his Adventure Pouch "Okay, you'd better eat before you go." He watched as the dragon gobbled the apple down—core, stem and all. "I have enough food to last for a couple of weeks," he said, "Good luck and thank you."
Sath spread his wings and rose to hover by the gunner's face. With one last quick nuzzle, the dragon chirped before darting away into the night sky. Lance watched his newest friend fly away and hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't be the last time he saw him.
DDDDDD
A week and a half had passed with no sign of Sath. Lance carefully rationed his food during that time and figured he had about three or four days left in store. He spent his time mostly in the cave to stay near the water source; thankful that the cave-in hadn't covered it up. Alone with nothing but his thoughts to distract him, Lance wondered if the others were even nearby at all; wondered if Sath was okay, or if he had been caught by some monster. He hoped that the little dragon had found at least one of his other friends, that they didn't kill him, and were already on their way to rescue the gunner. Sath was a fast flyer, but Lance didn't have much of clue on how much stamina the little dragon had.
Six days later and Lance lost hope. He had eaten the last bit of stale bread three days before and his stomach ached with hunger and the muscles in his arms and legs trembled. There still hadn't been any sign of Sath or his friends and he dismally figured that that meant they weren't coming. He supposed starving to death was a just punishment for impersonating a god and threatening to burn the village down if they didn't let him leave.
Bitter tears prickled in Lance's eyes, "Figures that after all the crazy fights and adventures we got into I won't die in combat, but of starvation, alone, in a cave." He sighed and glanced out at the red light reflecting off of the stone from the setting sun. "Good bye, guys," he murmured, "It's been fun."
The gunner had just hunched into himself when he heard a frantic chirp come from outside the cave. His head snapped up and around, thinking he had been hearing things. Lance stayed frozen for a few seconds until a second, louder chirp called out. Scrambling up, the gunner ran out of the cave and nearly crashed into Sath. The small dragon was carrying a roll of paper in its claws. Lance took the paper with a hand that shook from both hunger and disbelief and unrolled it. As soon as the letter was in the gunner's hands, Sath landed on his shoulder and wrapped his tail loosely around his friend's neck, trilling happily.
"'Lance,'" the gunner read aloud, "'We followed your pet dragon (which Anna is very jealous of, by the way) and we're assuming you're stuck in this weird canyon. The villagers outside seem to think you're some kind of demon-god and won't let us unblock the cave to rescue you. Short of killing all of them, I don't think we can get in that way. Luckily, your dragon led us to a ledge along the back of the wall and we've thrown a rope over from there. Here's hoping you aren't dead. –Anna, Matt, Natalie.'"
Releasing a shuddering breath, Lance reached up a hand to scratch Sath's neck earning him a delighted rumble. "You did it. Thank you," Lance murmured. He headed for the back of the canyon using the stone wall for support when his trembling legs occasionally faltered. Each time he stumbled, Sath dug his claws into the gunner's shoulder for stability, pricking the skin. "I'll need to get a shoulder plate or something if this is going to be a common thing," Lance thought, but he didn't have the heart to tell Sath to let go just yet. The small dragon had definitely saved his life and a few small nicks on his shoulder-turned-perch were a small price to pay.
They finally reached the back of the wall and spotted a rope dangling down to brush the ground. Lance stuffed his gunblade and his rifle into his Adventure Pouch before he grabbed the rope and tied it firmly around his waist before giving two tugs. Instantly, the rope began to pull up and he walked up the cliff side with one hand gripping the line. Sath finally leapt off of the gunner's shoulder to fly next to him as he slowly made his way up the cliff.
It was a long climb and Lance slipped twice, slamming into the cliff side with a low groan before regaining his feet and continuing; Sath giving encouraging chirps each time it happened. He finally reached the lip of the wall and hauled himself up onto it. The rope fell slack as he lay there panting for a few moments. Lance heard a very welcome and familiar voice call up to him.
"Lance? Are you okay?" Natalie asked.
The gunner chuckled and pushed himself to sit up. He peered over side the narrow ledge to see his three friends standing barely six feet below him. Matt still loosely held the other end of the rope in his hand. "Now that you've fished me out of that canyon, I am," Lance said with a relieved grin. He slid his legs over the edge and dropped down stumbling slightly until Anna steadied him. Sath swooped down to land on his shoulder again.
Anna grinned at the small dragon as she stepped forward to untie the rope knotted around Lance's waist. "He's very smart," she commented, "He knew exactly what direction to take to get here from the village we were at, and when the idiots on the other side of this canyon wouldn't let us in, he guided us here."
Lance reached up and rubbed Sath's chin fondly, "I had just begun to think he couldn't find you guys, or that he had died when he came swooping in." The dragon gave an indignant trill and dug his claws into Lance's shoulder. "Ow! Okay, I'm sorry for doubting you," the gunner said with a wince.
Natalie laughed, "I want to know how you found him, but for now you look about to fall over."
As if her words had been a reminder, the hunger Lance felt came back twice as strong and he swayed lightheadedly before Anna reached out to steady him again. "Whoa, what's wrong?" the ranger asked as she carefully lowered him to sit down.
"Hunger," Lance mumbled, "I've been rationing the food I had for about two weeks now."
Natalie gave a low whistle, and admitted, "I wouldn't be able to manage that. I have some jerky on me for you to munch on while we get some actual food ready." She smiled as Lance nodded fervently and accepted the dried meat before standing up. "Anna, come with me; let's see if we can bag one of those wild pigs we saw earlier. Plus, I want to check on Triff," the mage said and led the way down the steep slope.
Lance ripped a piece of jerky off and handed it to Sath before stuffing the rest in his mouth. As he chewed, he regarded the silent swordsman standing nearby. It was weird to have Matt be quiet for very long except during rare instances of being angry.
"You okay, man?" Lance finally asked. He frowned as Matt simply nodded, "Are you sure? It isn't like you to be quiet for so long." The swordsman twitched slightly, but didn't say anything. The gunner glanced up at Sath in confusion, but the dragon merely blinked back.
Before Lance could prod further for an answer to his friend's weird behavior, Natalie returned and motioned for them to follow. She explained as they slid down that it was easier to go to the fire than it was to haul bunch of wood up for them to cook with. The gunner temporarily forgot about Matt's silence as the smell of cooking meat came to his nose. He followed Natalie around a large rock to see Anna keeping an eye on a roasting pig with a black and white dog chewing on some raw meat next to her. Lance eyed the dog with a puzzled frown before shrugging and flopping down to sit across from the two. Sath flitted down to sit next to him.
There was silence around the camp fire as they waited for the meat to cook. Normally, a little quiet wouldn't bug Lance, but he had spent the last few weeks in mostly silence, and before that the only interactions he had had with another human being were when he had posed as the demon-god, Sath; he craving some conversation. "So, did you guys all end up near each other?" Lance finally asked.
Anna glanced over from where she stood turning the meat on a make-shift spit. "No, we all ended up relatively close, but we didn't find anyone else until after six weeks or so. I had only just met up with Natz and Matt a couple of days before your dragon found us, in fact," the ranger said.
Natalie nodded, "You were the furthest from the rest of us, by far."
"Huh," Lance grunted. He frowned in thought, "I actually started out in a forest, though. Maybe that was closer to you guys?"
"A forest? Did the trees have black trunks?" Anna asked sharply. She gaped when Lance nodded, "Damn, I must've just missed you, then! I woke up in a tree there."
"I woke up in a bramble bush with a bug about to eat me," Lance grumbled. He glared over at Matt, "That reminds me." The gunner grabbed a nearby stick and threw it at the swordsman.
Matt yelped as the branch hit him on the arm. He glared over at Lance, rubbing the new bruise, "What was that for?"
"It was for not listening when we said don't poke magical objects with your sword! I thought you would have learned your lesson with Akron," Lance said flatly. He frowned when Matt gained a puzzled look, "And don't try to claim you forgot, because I know you didn't." His frown deepened, but lost the angry edge when the swordsman stiffened and looked away.
"Actually, Lance…" Natalie mumbled trailing off. The mage avoided the sharp look the gunner gave her.
Anna sighed as she determined the meat coked and sliced off a chunk to hand to Lance on a sharpened stick. "Matt's had… a bit of an accident," she murmured, continuing to hand out portions. She set a chunk down for Sath and smiled weakly as the dragon trilled happily before he began tearing off chunks to swallow.
Lance paused in his ravenous devouring of the first hot food he'd had in months to stare at the ranger, then at the mage, and finally at the swordsman. He stuffed the last little bit in his mouth and swallowed. He eyed Matt, "So, you got amnesia, huh? I guess that explains the weird behavior. Finally hit your head on something harder than it, I guess."
Anna and Natalie stared at the gunner in surprise.
Lance scoffed, "Don't give me the stunned looks. You guys are about as subtle as my tank." He turned back to Matt, "Sorry for hitting you, then. Hardly fair if you get punished for something you don't recall. When did it happen?"
Matt blinked at how calmly Lance took the information, but didn't seem overly-surprised. "When I first got here, I think. I've remembered a lot since then, though. Natalie and Anna have been helping fill in the blanks," he said with a shrug, "They told me about our adventures, but it seems more like a fairy-tale than something I actually had a part in."
"It won't be much longer before you've gotten it all back," Lance assured him gruffly, "If it doesn't happen soon, then maybe you'll just need another whack on the head." He smirked as Matt laughed while Natalie and Anna spluttered and glared at him.
"Lance! How can you be so callous?" Natalie snapped.
"Yeah," Anna said, "I'm stunned that you can say he just needs another slam to the head."
"And I'm stunned that you two are stunned," Lance snorted, "I'm not going to start coddling him; how would that help his memory?" He waved over at where Matt was grinning and laughing, "Clearly, he's the same guy as before just slightly dumber, and he still doesn't seem to mind my attitude."
Matt quirked an eyebrow as he chuckled, "I guess I should be insulted by that, but somehow I think you're right."
"See? All good—pass me another chunk of meat," Lance said.
Anna muttered about insensitive jerks under her breath, but passed another skewer of pork over. "So you said you woke up in the woods, but the villagers seemed to think you just appeared in there," Anna mentioned with a jerk of her head at the stone wall behind her, "Why'd you go in there in the first place?"
Lance scarfed down his food before answering, "I went to sleep in a cave in the woods and woke on top of a plateau in there. Don't ask me how it happened, because I have no clue."
"You just… showed up there?" Natalie said with a frown.
"Yeah, and when I tried to leave, some guards attacked me. Apparently having red eyes means I'm possessed by a demon," Lance with a scowl.
"Wouldn't surprise me," Anna muttered. A second later and she tumbled backwards with a yelp as a small stream of fire shot passed her face. "Lance, control your dragon," the ranger snapped.
"He isn't mine," Lance informed her calmly, "You must have said something to upset him. Maybe you should control your tongue." He grinned down at Sath who gave him a fanged smile in return.
Natalie blinked in surprise, "Wait, he isn't yours? How'd you get him to come find us then?"
The gunner shrugged, "We got to be friends while I was stuck in the canyon. I fed him, he brought me shiny things." He glanced down at the dragon as the creature trilled happily.
"So is he staying here, then?" Matt asked.
"If he wants to," Lance said, "I'd like for him to come along, but it's up to him." The small dragon sprang back up onto his shoulder and curled around his neck chirping. The gunner grinned, "Looks like he wants to stay."
"Welcome to the team… err, what's his name?" Natalie asked with a sheepish grin.
"I've been calling him Sath. He seems to like it," Lance answered.
Matt grinned, "Welcome to the team, Sath!" The little dragon chirped happily.
Anna tilted her head, "How'd you come up with that name?"
"Oh, it's the name of the demon-god thing I was impersonating," Lance said nonchalantly.
"You impersonated a god?" Natalie asked flatly, "You know, it will be just our luck if that god decides to come and try to smite us for that."
"Hey, I needed food! It isn't my fault that they have no clue what their god actually looks like," the gunner defended.
Anna's eyebrows shot up, "We heard that the demon of Swynhill was going to torch the village if they didn't stop trying to kill it. What part of that has anything to do with food?"
"They were holding me in a canyon with no plants or animals in it," Lance explained slowly as if talking to a child. "I needed food and since they weren't letting me out, terrifying them into giving me offerings seemed like the best solution. I didn't actually plan to burn their houses down. Mostly," he muttered the last part. He had decided that, if the villagers were still guarding the entrance, setting a few houses on fire would have been an ideal distraction; not that the others needed to know that. He shook his head and added, "It wasn't like I started demanding live sacrifices."
Natalie sighed, "Whatever. Next time try talking it out."
Lance rolled his eyes, "I would have if they hadn't tried killing me as soon as I poked my head out."
"Anyway, how long were you in there for?" Matt asked.
"Er, about as long as I've been here, I guess. I was in the woods for a couple days, but the rest of that time was spent in the canyon." Lance replied. He glanced over at Anna, "You said you were in that forest too, right?"
The ranger gave a small shiver, "Yeah, I woke up there. I didn't stay very long, though, and I don't want to go back. The merchants I traveled with told me it's called the Helfrond Woods, and they had some rather terrifying legends about the place." Her voice fell, "Normally, I don't put a lot of stock in rumors, but I think they were right about some of the stuff."
"Like what?" Natalie asked, "You never actually told us much about the forest."
"Did you see any strange fog while you were there?" Lance added.
Anna gave him a strange look, "Not that I can remember." She frowned, "Wait; there was some mist when I killed a giant bird, but it looked normal to me. It even dissipated by the time I woke up. Why?"
"Around night fall, I was looking for a place to sleep for the night," Lance answered, "There was a fog that rose up, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. I… felt something there. Whatever it was, it was old and powerful." He shook his head slowly, "I got distracted for a second or two when I heard a loud bird-call. When I looked back down, the presence was gone and so was the fog—completely—and I never saw or heard anything. It wasn't natural so I decided not to sleep and kept walking for the rest of the night. I took a quick break in a cave and when I woke up I was on the plateau."
Anna stared at him wide-eyed, "I killed a giant bird before I fell asleep and it fell to the ground. In the morning the corpse was gone and there were no tracks. I never saw or heard anything either." She shuddered, "The people I traveled with said that there's a legend some kind of ancient monster in the woods, but no one had ever seen or heard it; they called it the Mistclaw. Lots of people go into the woods and, apparently, most don't come back. I wonder if that fog was the monster."
Natalie made a small noise of distress, "Can we not talk about this before bed? I want to be able to sleep."
Lance grinned, "Sure, we wouldn't want you to be grouchy in the morning. So I've told you my story of landing here. What're you guys' sides?"
Matt shrugged, "Nothing much more to tell from me. I stayed with a family for the time I've been here. Natalie found me about two weeks ago, we found Anna with some guards shortly after that. Sath showed up outside the village as we were leaving to search for you and we rushed here."
"What was Anna doing with guards?" Lance asked in confusion. He grinned, "Can't fight on your own, huh? Had to hire some bodyguards?"
"Hardly," Natalie snorted as Anna puffed up indignantly, "She was their prisoner. She got in trouble for killing a group of the king's guards. They stopped by the village Matt and I were at needing some healing for a couple arrow wounds she'd given them during the capture." The mage grinned, "It was a lucky break for us. They needed healing and I had made a bit of a name for myself and was nearby when they caught Anna."
"Wait, there's a king now?" Lance asked, baffled, "Where the heck did we end up?"
"The land is called Garthram," Anna told him, "And the king is an asshole."
"You killed his men because he was an asshole?" Lance asked skeptically, "That sounds like something I would do, not you."
"I didn't kill them because they work for a jerk," Anna snapped, "There were ten of them attacking a group of three guys who were out hunting monsters. I couldn't just walk away."
"Technically, you could have," Lance said with a shrug. "Why were they attacking the three hunters?"
Natalie was the one who replied, "The king has been gathering up able-bodied men for his army. You don't get a choice in the matter, either. It's join up, or be locked up." She frowned, "He's also been demanding more and more money from people and if they don't pay the guards have free leave to use force. Matt got seriously beat up defending the people he was staying with; bad enough that they sent someone out to find me to heal him."
Lance frowned, "Sounds like this king is preparing to go to war with someone. Bad time to upset the people."
"There's actually a rebel group already working against the king," Anna informed. She frowned, "The people think I'm part of it after I took out those guards. I still have a bounty on my head for that, too."
"So Anna's a rebel, Matt's an amnesiac, and I'm a god," Lance summed up with a smirk, "Natalie, I think you're slacking; you haven't picked up any new roles."
The mage gave him an unamused look, "We aren't here for new jobs, Lance. Triff, give him a lick for me."
The black and white dog sprang up and bounced over to the gunner, but shrank back against Natalie as Sath raised his head and hissed. Lance grinned, "Looks like dragon beats dog; better luck next time, Natz. Good work, Sath." The dragon trilled and curled around his neck again.
"Why are we friends again?" Natalie grumbled. Triff's ears lowered in dejection. "Not you, girl," the mage assured the dog, rubbing her ears. She eyed the content dragon and gunner, "I guess I can't complain about your new friend if I have one, too."
"I won't complain if you don't and that dog doesn't try to lick me again," Lance agreed.
"So, now what?" Anna asked, "I haven't been able to find any leads home and neither has Natalie."
"And I doubt we can cross any borders as long as Anna's wanted," Lance mused, "The only way to fix that would be to smuggle ourselves out or turn her in."
"Not happening," Matt instantly rejected, "I refuse to turn Anna over to the king."
"I know," Lance sighed, "I guess we head for the nearest border and see what the situation is like. Anyone have a map?" He frowned as they each shook their heads, "How have you guys been getting around? Talk about poor planning." He suddenly smirked, "Let's go demand one from my worshippers. We can send you three in as my chosen acolytes."
"So you can order us around?" Natalie asked in a flat voice, "I don't think so."
"Fine," the gunner sighed. "Then let's head to a different village and see if anyone is willing to sell us one." He yawned and added, "Tomorrow." Sath stood and stretched on Lance's shoulder, digging his tiny claws into the human's arm, before flitting down to sit on the ground by the fire. With a wince the gunner muttered, "And get me a shoulder pad of some sort."
The four friends laid out various blankets and bedrolls around the fire. Triff curled up against Natalie's back. Sath waited until Lance had lain down then crawled onto the gunner's chest, curling into a small ball with a contented warble. Soon, the group was asleep.
A/N: Every time I see little dragons in any series I go: 'Waaannnnttt~' Why are they not a thing in real life? :| Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Lance's stint as a cult idol I thought of it in passing and decided that it had to be so. And I hope you love the little dragon; I certainly do. NoLegs will be back later for Matt, and I have a thing planned for Anna. Everyone gets little animal followers/helpers! ;P
This is the last chapter I have written, but the next chapter is mostly done. Don't expect weekly updates after chapter 5, anymore; at least, not until I'm done with Retribution. Also, the chapters will almost certainly be shorter. 10k, (or thereabout) per chapter is difficult to to do. :P
