Welcome back!
Aside from introducing Welf early, not much is exceptionally different on the time line. A few other small changes have also happened, but only people who have read the books would have a clue. :)
The party only stops, when the healer is dead and we've run out of potions.
Chapter 13
As usual, Bell and I sparred in the early morning chill. I was having an easier time following his movements, but I couldn't keep up with him. My enhanced toughness made up for my lack of speed, but I knew that it wouldn't always be the case. I would have to find another edge soon, or I simply wouldn't be able to keep up with Bell enough to remain an effective sparring partner.
Even though we were planning on going to the dungeon, I started to draw on my magic to boost my speed, and was just able to keep up with him by the time the sun peeked over the wall, ending our sparring session.
"Bell, you're amazing." I said, shaking out the tingles in my limbs from the magic adrenalin. "I'm going to have to work even harder to keep up.
"You're amazing too, Miss Kodori!" He said with his usual mix of humility and sincerity, "It felt like I was hitting an wall when I punched you." He shook his hand out for emphasis.
I rubbed my side where he had landed his only really solid strike, feeling a little tender. "Still hurt a little. Shall we go?"
I was kind of funny, seeing Welf and Lilly waiting on opposite sides of the fountain. Welf was watching the sunrise creep over the wall, while Lilly was sitting down, her pack resting beside her. Being familiar with Welf, Bell and I split off, his white hair bobbing as he walked towards Lilly, and I to the smith.
He had an impressive looking broad sword resting over one shoulder. The blade was fairly long and wide, making me think of a titanic carving knife. Welf himself was dressed in sort of black half kimono shirt and tough looking pants and boots. I wondered why more people didn't wear armour, but didn't think on it too hard.
"Welf." I called out, his eyes turning towards me and widening slightly. As usual I had put on my armoured gauntlets and arm guards, as well as plated shin guards. But I was also wearing what I felt was proper clothing. Our style of shirt matched, though mine was 'Hostess of Fertility' green. And I wore black pants to go with them. Black goes with everything.
"Looking good." He replied, picking up a small backpack from the ground and shouldering it, "You had a partner?"
"Other side of the fountain, getting our supporter." I replied, walking around, "Let's get you introduced."
A brief introduction later, and we were off to the dungeon. I walked ahead a little with Lilly, while Welf and Bell talked shop. I let them have their space, figuring that Bell knew what he wanted, and didn't need my input.
"What do you carry in that anyhow? It's huge." I asked Lilly.
By the time she had finished telling me, we had walked to the tower. She would have put an entire boy scout group to shame with all of the things in that giant backpack. It made me even more confident about our upcoming trip.
"Oh?" Welf stopped just before we were about to take the path down to the first floor, head turning and feet stopping to read a poster that looked like a wanted sign. "Warning to all adventurers, several out of place monsters have been witnessed near the upper floors. Do not engage unless you are confident in your chances. A hunting quest has been issued." He read aloud, "Huh."
"Well, let's be careful then." I said, practising my reading skills on the poster myself, trying not to mumble the words too loudly. "Wonder if they have a printing press..." I murmured in English.
"What was that?" Welf asked, shrugging when I shook my head to brush it off. "Yeah, let's just be careful. We all know the upper floors pretty well right?" We all nodded, "So if there is a problem, we run. Easy right?"
We didn't linger on the upper floors long. I had handed out the salamander wool cloaks to Bell and Lilly, and Welf had one ready in his little pack, so if we wanted to travel down even further, we could. I was pleased at how light it was, the weird fabric not tangling around my arms as I did a little shadow boxing.
"Wish we had these a few days ago." I said, nudging Bell.
"Yeah." He replied, rolling his shoulders.
It was around the middle of floor eight when we really started to notice the monsters. Having only an animal like intelligence, meant that weaker monsters usually didn't bother attacking stronger adventurers or parties. Though, the bigger the monster, the more territorial it was, and would usually attack, no matter the perceived strength of the trespasser.
The first real challenge we encountered was a pair of those hard armoured beasts. These were slightly larger than the one I had fought, but proved to be much easier.
Bell led the encounter with a firebolt. Welf got his first surprise of the day when the white haired boy just called out his spell with no chant, and scorched a line into the side of one of them. Seasoned veteran that he was, he didn't question it, just got ready and took his place to assist Bell. Welf also proved himself with that great sword of his, wedging it between the armoured plates of the monster with a single sideways swing, leaving it open for Bell to find a soft spot with his dagger.
All the while that was happening, I was playing tag with the other. Once I saw that the two of them were well into handling the first one, I stopped distracting the second, and started my own offence. Like I had with the first one, I dodged to the side and tipped it over by striking the top as it spun.
Unlike last time, I simply spun on my back leg and gave it a roundhouse kick with as much strength as I could. My kick made it roll crazily, breaking its curled up shape and making it slam into a wall near where we had entered the room.
I got in close so it wouldn't try rolling up again, and started dodging its beak like mouth and digging claws while kicking it every time it missed me.
I waited until I had hopped back just right, both feet lining up just so, before springing forward and slamming my fist into the shell just above its head. It felt like the wood log I had cracked, except this time, I split the shell, my hand plunging into the monsters body.
It flailed about desperately, its head slamming into the side of my leg, a claw scraping against my shin guard, before I found what I was looking for, and ripped the magic stone free. With a gasp, the monster dissolved into black powder, thankfully taking the gunk I had just had my arm in with it.
Bell clapped, Welf gave me an impressed whistle, and Lilly put the stone I handed to her in her giant pack. I was rather pleased with myself, and the others. We had handled something that Eina had warned us against, hardly breaking a sweat. So after a quick discussion, we headed further down.
I'd never been past the seventh until today, but with the four of us, working together and carefully, we managed to reach the tenth without using any of our supplies. As we descended the ramp to the tenth, I noticed something very odd.
It was more like an open space than a dungeon, with petrified trees springing up from the landscape here and there. A thick mist clung to the floor, obscuring the floor almost completely and thinning out as it got to just above me knees.
"This is..." I mumbled, looking around like a tourist, looking up at the oddly high ceiling.
"Miss Kodori and Master Bell? This is your first time here?" Lilly asked, her white robe blending in with the mist until only her head and shoulders were really visible.
"Down here," Welf started, "You have to worry about orcs and bats. Occasionally imps too."
"Wonderful." I sighed, "I can't even throw things without them breaking uselessly. Does anyone have a bow?"
"I can use my magic." Bell said, without a hint of pride. "Lilly?"
"Lilly has this." She pulled a little crossbow from her robe, it didn't look very strong, but she sounded confident enough.
"Plenty of rocks around." Welf answered, "I've got a pretty good arm, if I do say so myself."
"Good enough." I said. "I suppose I could just jump after them if I had to." We all nodded to each other, and started to walk away from the entry to the floor above.
"These are orcs?" I asked, looking at a group of five humanoid pig faced monsters wearing nothing but scraps of leather around its hips. I frowned as two of them each grabbed a petrified tree and simply plucked it out of the ground, making it into a large and crude club. "They are huge."
"Take it easy girl." Welf said, standing beside me, "They swing hard, but aren't very fast. The trees are like stone, so if you can punch through a hard armoured, you should be able to break those too."
I felt my tail twitch at him calling me 'girl' in such an easy tone. But I took in the advice from some one who knew what he was talking about. Ego has no room on the battlefield. "You've got the reach, go after that one. I'll try to keep those ones occupied, Bell? Last one yours?"
"I think I can." He replied with his usual humility.
"Lilly? Keep an eye out." I said to her, giving her a thumbs up.
"Lilly is ready." She replied seriously.
I picked up a loose rock from the ground, tossed it lightly from hand to hand, and then gave it my best overhand throw. With my new strength, I could have easily doubled the world record for 'fastest ball thrown' back home, but for all its speed, it simply tapped the nearest orc on the side of the head and exploded like a handful of chalk. As one they all looked towards us, then started stomping towards us with hostile purpose.
Welf Bell and I dashed forward to meet them, veering off as we got closer to our intended targets. Welf and his club wielding opponent slammed together with the sound of metal on stone, the orc's club shattering in a spray of rock a moment later. I lost track of Bell as he started to dart and weave around his opponent's much heavier weapon, his long metal dagger glinting in the dim light. As I got to the first of the three weaponless orcs, I did a few quick sliding steps, braced my front foot, ducked under his first punch, and gave the monster's closest knee my best right hook.
I felt the impact all the way to my left shoulder as my fist connected. The knee itself seemed to explode under the orc's skin, and I was able to follow through with my punch instead of stopping cold and probably breaking my arm. It screamed in pain as it fell, a long porcine squoink noise that hurt my ears.
Undeterred by their now falling comrade, the other two closed on me, forcing me to hop and twist around grasping hands and swinging fists. I was thankful they were built like humans, saving me the trouble on how to figure out how they would move. Welf was right, they were slow, but strong, and after dealing with people much faster than myself I was able to dodge freely.
Until something like broken glass being scrubbed against a blackboard assaulted my ears. I think I heard some one yell 'bats', but I was now stumbling around trying not to get squashed by two angry orcs. The sudden noise had completely thrown my balance off and the slow orcs were catching up to me.
I stumbled out of the way of a fist, managed to lean past a shuffling kick before the noise simply clicked off. I caught sight of a blue shape falling out of the air, and Lilly holding one side of her head and the little hand crossbow.
One of the orcs tagged me with a meaty fist before I could catch my balance again, and I ended up rolling along the floor a few times before popping up to my feet and facing them again.
And then the noise happened again. Ears still ringing from the first one, I managed to fight through the noise, but only enough so I didn't get hit again. Frustrated, I bit my lip until I tasted blood, focused on the sharp pain instead of the ringing one, and tried to block it all out by getting angry at it. I dodged again, slamming my shin angrily into the side of one of the orcs feet, tripping it and making it tumble forward. I hopped onto its back and brought my heel down on the back of its neck, not pausing to see if I'd killed it, and rolled to the side. I was lucky I hadn't stopped, as I watched a stone tree pass through where I'd been an instant ago.
Growling, I got to my feet again, kicked the head of the downed orc, then jumped at the third one. It had picked up a tree and was getting ready for another swing. I did a forward roll under the swing, and as soon as my feet touched the ground again, I straightened them as hard as I could and launched myself at the orc, driving the heel of my hand into its chin with a straight armed strike. As my jump carried me past it, I watched its head twist around, and heard the snap, even over the high pitched noise.
I didn't celebrate after I landed. I looked for what ever was making the noise, and saw the two boys dealing with a small flock of large bat monsters. Bell was being his acrobatic self and timing his jumps with Welf, who was throwing rocks. He was indeed a good shot, but the bats were pretty agile. But when he did miss, Bell was already in the air, cutting the bat out of the sky. Lilly was also timing her shots, shooting as fast as she could reload. I couldn't really hear anything over the occasional new screech and the already vicious ringing in my ears, so I keep lookout. The orcs were all down, the one I had first hit had its head mostly cut off by what was probably Welf's great sword, and the others were wounded enough to certainly not be getting up again. I checked myself for injuries while I watched, thinking the bruise on my shoulder wouldn't hamper movement.
"..." I heard something, but couldn't make out the words. Some one tugged my sleeve by my elbow, "..." I looked down to see Lilly, who offered me a potion. She tapped her ear and offered the potion again when I shook my head.
So I drank the potion. And all at once, my hearing restored itself. It was like taking my head out from under a pillow and surfacing from under water.
I looked over to Welf, who was casually tossing a handful of stones up and down with one hand and pointed, "We are making a sound proof helmet later!" I said, making him jump a little as if I had actually poked him. "That was the most awful thing I have had happen to me." I looked to Bell and repeated myself, "Most, awful!" Bell flinched at that, scratching the back of his head nervously.
Even getting cooked by the fire, I at least saw it coming, and tried to do something about it. That noise was like being next to a fog horn you didn't know was there.
I felt a vibration in the floor, and turned to see more orcs stomping towards us. My knuckles popped as I curled my hands into fists.
"Wow." Welf commented later, as we sat near the tenth floor entrance. "Remind me never to get you angry."
The ringing in my ears had just died down again from the most recent encounter. The three of them were sitting across from me as we made ready for lunch. I felt like I was getting teased, but we had been fighting on and off for about four hours now, and those bats had finally set me off to the point of drawing on my magic. Bell had to tell me I was glowing again before I had calmed down enough to stop ripping wings off of every bat I had managed to grab.
I realized that they were indeed teasing me, so I played along, trying to restore the mood of the party by pouting as comically as I could.
"So you actually stood in the way of a magic sword?" Welf asked at some point after we had eaten.
"Bats still worse." I said, though I rubbed a hand through my shortened hair. "Aside from the missing clothing, at least." I gave Lilly the lightest of punches to the shoulder, "It was for the best cause though."
Our party's mood restored, Lilly grabbed her shoulder and fainted against Bell, who blushed amazingly as Lilly said, "Master Bell, save me from the scary fox."
"Yes, save her, or I will carry her away and pet her ears! Mwahaha..."
Welf was laughing at us, slapping his knee.
"Alright alright." I said after a moment, "Should we con... What was that?"
As one, we all stopped laughing and looked around, there it was again, a vibration in the floor that I felt go right up to my knee. Through the mist, I spotted what looked like a torchlight, an instant before it got bigger, and much brighter. Welf, facing me, saw the look on my face and turned around quickly, "Drake!" He yelled, an instant before something in the distance roared like an bus sized lion.
He spin around and tackled me to the ground, hands reaching behind me and grabbing a corner of the salamander cloak I was wearing, I saw Lilly cling to Bell, the little palum girl grabbing her own salamander cloak and Bell's at the same time, wrapping them both up, before Welf obscured my vision with my own cloak.
The heat passed over head, and it felt like my partially exposed legs were exposed to a blowtorch before I could curl up properly under my cloak with Welf. The instant the heat passed, he flipped the cloak off of us, and shoved me as hard as he could. I rolled with it, catching a glimpse of him frantically pulling his own cloak out of his pack. I bounced to my feet as fast as I could, and nearly fell when my leg faltered under my weight. My boots, a gift from Mia, were charred black, and one of my pant legs had been burned in a few places, my skin feeling blistered. "Now what?" I yelled as Bell and Lilly got to their feet and split apart, trying not to line up with Welf and I.
The drake lumbered out of the mist. It was at least as tall as an orc, with a body as long as a bus, with a tail that swept back and forth angrily. Huge and scaly, mouth full of fire, I felt my scalp itch as I broke into a cold sweat. I shook my head angrily, yelling again, "Well?"
"FIREBOLT!" Bell answered, his lightning encased lance of fire slamming into the shoulder of the drake, making it flinch and growl, but not much else. It turned away from Welf, the closest, and looked at Bell, hand still outstretched, "FIREBOLT!"
Welf shook his head, his face looking how I felt, afraid. Admiring the crazy white haired kid, but afraid. "We can't kill it!" He yelled over the drake as the second firebolt made it roar at us. "Our cloaks won't stop a direct hit! It's body can boil water instantly! My sword won't scratch it!"
Welf didn't run, but he didn't get closer. The long neck of the drake tracked Bell as a third firebolt crashed into it. It took a deep breath, its body behind the shoulders and its belly near the ground glowing red hot.
We all got out of the way, the burning stream of fire scorching the ground and partially melting a stone tree that was caught in its path. "It has its weaknesses!" I said, pointing to the still red hot spots on its scales, "The red spots! They have to be thinner to light up like that. Thin metal heats faster!"
Bell let out a few more firebolts as Welf and I got closer. I felt like an idiot, like I had when I chased after the now dead Soma Familia member. But this time I had a plan. Sort of. "Watch out for the tail!" I yelled at Welf as the drake curled its body first one way then the other.
I realized an instant too late that I should have taken my own advice. The second shake of its rear was followed by its body curling the other way, sending its tail lashing like a snapped cable towards me. I couldn't jump it, so I desperately curled my arms in towards my chest, arm guards out, feet braced, and pushed as much of my magic to the surface of my skin as I could.
Had I not been superhumanly tough, I'd likely have left nothing but a pair of boots behind. As it was, I was lifted into the air, and sent backwards in a crazy twisting spiral that left both arms numb, ribs screaming in pain, and my back feeling scraped raw when I came to a stop some where past where Bell was throwing out firebolts. I coughed once, tasting blood, ribs feeling jagged against my sides.
A little hand entered my vision and all but forced a potion past my teeth and down my throat. I heard the rush of displaced air, and my brave little supporter covered us both with her cloak. "Lilly thinks we should run!" She said into my ear over the roar of flames as they past nearby.
"It will probably just follow us." I coughed again, but the potion had done its work and I was breathing without feeling anything sharp inside. I pushed away from Lilly as gently as I could and faced the drake again. "Give me one of those new potions." I said, holding out a hand, "A mind potion too."
I took the potions in hand, still watching the battle. Bell was panting hard, running sideways and bringing a mind potion to his lips. Welf was almost in the drake's face, taking swings at its nose when it tried to bite him. I could see a long slash on the drake's flank where one of those red hot spots on it was. It looked like it was bleeding lava.
"Hey Lilly." I said, watching Welf cut another line into the drake, "When we get back, I'll let you pet my ears." I smiled at her and ran back towards the drake, downing the dual potion and taking a deep breath as the double rush of healing tingles and mint rushed through me.
Welf was suddenly batted aside, even though he managed to interpose his sword, he was launched into the air as a great clawed foot swept him away. Bell spotted me, and ran towards Welf to help him recover, "Be careful!" He yelled as I ran past.
"Hit it in the chin." I said in reply. "I am the hand of my Goddess!" I yelled, downing the second potion before breathing in again. "I carry Her hope!" I downed my own mind potion, watching as the drake focused on me. I could see my arms glowing as I ran forward, "I deliver Her wrath!" I saw the beast breath in, the cuts where Welf had slashed the thinner scales spurting a sudden gout of lava like blood, "None shall ignore Her judgement! And I pass it now!"
I saw the flames in its mouth, and I almost faltered, imagining the sudden rush of fire cooking me alive. I felt my magic surge wildly, untamed within, but a sudden lance of red shot past me and slammed the drake low on the mouth, pointing its head suddenly downwards. Bell had just returned the favour, and I raged at myself for even thinking of running away. "GUILTY!" I yelled, at myself, and the drake, throwing my magic down to my feet, and towards my arm, my blazing purple fist crashing into the top of the drake's skull, an instant before a deafening boom split the air around me.
".., ..e's w.. .p." some one mumbled.
".hat ..s .ra.y." Some one else muttered.
I cracked open an eye, seeing the misty ceiling of the tenth floor and some white hair just to my right. I started to move, but felt a lancing pain in my right arm, nearly screaming at its suddenness.
"Whoa!" Welf said, putting a hand on my left shoulder, "You nearly tore your own arm off. Just lay back a moment."
I didn't resist the push and settled back down. "What..." I started, "It's dead?"
"Miss Lilly is working on it right now." Bell said, putting something in my mouth. It tasted like leather, "Bite that. Mr. Welf? Hold her down?"
'Oh crap.' Was about all I could think before I bite down on the leather and felt new pain explode inside my arm. I did my best to push myself back into the ground, to not struggle, as Bell set my arm. Three times.
Blinded by tears I looked up at Welf, who lifted off my shoulders and took what ever it was out of my mouth. "We can't give you any more potions until that is looked at. Or it might heal badly." He explained, "Worst is over though."
"Lilly needs help!" our supporter said, calmly. "Lilly is too short!"
"I'll go, Bell, you talk to her." Welf said, giving me a light tap on the shoulder and moving away.
Bell nodded in agreement, "Miss Kodori is amazing. But Lady Hestia is going to be mad." He said, making my heart sink. "When you hit the Drake, you broke its skull. But your arm..." He moved over a little, and put his hand under my head, then very carefully lifted a bit.
My eyes teared over as more pain crawled under the skin of my arm. After I was mostly sitting up, I looked down at it. They had cut off my gauntlet and forearm guard, and the sleeve of my shirt. They were in a neat pile to the side. My arm itself looked like something had broken through from underneath in no less than three places. I didn't dare try and twist my arm to see if there were more, but I thought I could feel them.
"Yes... She is going to be pretty mad." I said, trying to make light of the situation, "Guess this is it for the day. Do you think that is the monster they were talking about?"
"I don't know." Bell replied. "Here, slowly..." He got around to my left and helped me to my feet. "See?" He pointed at the beast, as it lay on the floor.
Body as long as a bus, tail as long as its body. Neck about half as long as either, and topped with a veritable forest of dagger long teeth. The drake was dead, its head caved as if the hammer of Thor had taken offence.
Or the fist of Hestia.
"Welf made sure, I see." I said, pointing with my chin at Welf's great sword sticking out from behind the dragon's skull, right where I'd imagine the brain to be.
"Yes. It was still moving a little after you hit it. He just wanted to make sure." Bell replied, letting me walk on my own, but staying within arms reach of me as we walked over. "Miss Lilly? Mr. Welf?"
"How are we going to get this all back upstairs?" Welf complained, "Teeth, hide, claws... I've never heard of anyone getting so much out of a drake before.
"Lilly did want to see one bite me." I commented, making Lilly blush and look away from me. "Well too bad." I used my good hand to pat her head, "You had a couple of hiding blankets? We can wash or replace them later. If we really must, we should just leave what we can't take behind."
"Are you kidding?" Welf asked. I could almost see the smiths eyes change into sparkles of lust for the materials, "The things we could make of this..."
"Yes yes." I replied, wincing as I almost used my broken arm to wave at him. "Lets hurry then. I'll yell if I see anything."
I insisted on carrying something, so Welf loaded my small pack with all of the small little back teeth that we could pry out of the drake before it finally dissolved. Lilly's massive bag was almost bursting, and both Bell and Welf had make shift bags made from dungeon floor coloured cloth that Lilly had said were used for hiding under.
"Those new potions Nazza gave us work really well." I commented, "When she makes enough to start selling them more openly, I'm sure she will pay off her Familia's debts easily."
"So that's what you drank." Welf commented. "It didn't look right for a healing potion, or a mind potion." He laughed, "You had that, and two mind potions?"
"Until recently, I would mind down when I used my magic." I replied, "I didn't want to pass out if I didn't kill it." I sighed, "I did anyway, but at least it died."
"No kidding. You really hit that drake hard."
We were about half way back, moving from the sixth floor to the fifth, when I felt something weird. It was almost like a change in pressure, like some one opening a door out of hearing range.
And Welf was suddenly swatted away with a great metallic clang.
I felt something hot sliding down my side, and my legs gave out. A great horned bull head filling my vision before I flopped onto my back, fresh pain lancing up my arm.
"FIREBOLT!" Flame filled my vision this time, the bull head staggering away before Welf gasped out, "Minotaur!"
Something told me not to move. I heard Bell yell, Lilly scream, and Welf swear. A clash of metal, the bellow of something not quite animal, not quite human.
"Lilly! Bandage!" Welf said, I a strong hand grabbing my left hand and pulling me along the floor. "Bell! Hold it off!"
I convulsed as something touched my side, lighting up my nerves from my left heel to my right ear. "Lilly, get help, give me that. You know the way up best. She's going into shock! Water water..."
A hand covered my nose and mouth, and some one poured water onto my face. I shook my head and blinked rapidly to clear my vision, but a hand kept me from getting up. "Bell is keeping it busy." Welf said into my ear, "Bastard nearly cut me in half, and got you across the side. Bite."
Mind simply taking things in, I tasted leather again and bit down, then something cold splashed over my side. I heard fabric rip, and Welf swear again. Going more for speed, he pressed something against my side, and started looping a bandage around my middle. Bell was fighting, his distinct style of hit and run unmistakeable even if I could only listen. He was pulling out all the stops to keep the minotaur at bay.
"You owe me a drink after this lady." Welf said to me, tying the bandage, "Come on, say something."
Realizing suddenly, that he was talking to me, I said, "Ow."
"It's a start, sit up, slowly! Put pressure here." Hand moving on automatic, I pressed down where he put my hand. I was a little worried that I could hardly feel it. "Bastard..." Welf cursed. I looked at his sword, seeing that the blade had been cracked.
"Can you help him?" I asked, my voice sounding like some one else was speaking.
"I can try." He said, "But I can hardly stand right now. And my sword won't last."
The minotaur was huge. Almost as tall as an orc, it was basically a walking bull, with muscles that would outclass even the best body builders back home. It was swinging a huge sword too. The blade itself was probably longer than I was tall, and the edge of its great blade was chipped and abused. I noticed absently that there was blood dripping off the tip.
Bell was panting hard, his body and clothes torn and bloody. I watched as he defended himself and while he blocked the blow, he was sent flying into a wall, his chest plate falling off of him as the front cracked and the straps could no longer hold it in place.
"Here!" I heard Lilly. "Please! Save Master Bell!"
"Oh... Hello." I said, feeling like I should be waving, but deciding not to. "Ais! Hello! Welf! That's Ais. She's with Loki Familia."
Welf was crouched near my foot, on one knee and using his sword to support himself. He waved weakly. "Sorry, she's in shock." He said, voice strained, "Could you please help?"
Everyone from the Loki Familia party was there. I felt my tail wag happily as the severe looking elf walked over to me before she knelt and put a hand on my head. "Your name is... Riviera, right? Syr from the Hostess told me. Oh, that tingles."
I couldn't stop myself from chattering. My days dormant logical side was yelling and screaming for me to shut up, but the rest of me was holding its metaphoric hands over its ears going 'lalala I can't hear you.'.
"She's in shock... Who set this?" A pause as she lightly touched my arm, making me shiver. "Good work. Here. Hold still, then hold her still." I liked her voice. It reminded me of my favourite teacher back in grade school.
"What are we just going to watch? You think he can beat it?" I heard some one ask just before Welf hugged me tightly around the shoulders.
"Hey, I said no hugging." I giggled, an instant before my arm felt like some one had put a porcupine inside of it. Welf hugged me tighter as I struggled, and a hand held mine, and I couldn't help but squeeze as hard as I could.
"Done babysitting yet Riviera?" That arrogant voice said again. "What's all this stuff anyhow."
I looked over to see Bete nudge a drake tooth with his boot.
"Open your hand." I heard my favourite teacher say into my ear. Not wanting to disappoint her, I did. "Close it again?" Again, I obeyed, closing my hand on something that felt like a ball. "As hard as you can?" Still watching Bete complain, but not really hearing him, I squeezed down with as much strength as I could, hearing something crack. "Good, relax."
I felt a hand on my forehead, "Help her up." Welf got under my left arm and helped me stand. Once satisfied I wouldn't pass out or fall over, he moved his hands away, but I could feel his body heat next to me. "Give her a little time, her head will clear."
"Thank you teacher." I said, smiling at Riviera, making her frown but not angrily.
"Thanks. Are you going to help?" Welf said, helping me walk towards the others who were standing out of reach of Bell and the minotaur.
"He doesn't want it." Ais said, hand on her sword, a long rapier.
I looked over to where Bell was fighting. Be was even worse looking now. All that was left of his clothing was his black undershirt and pants. His long dagger was broken and discarded off in the corner, and he was holding his Hestia dagger firmly in his right hand. Both of them were breathing heavily, the huge minotaur's breath steaming in the cool dungeon air.
"You can do it Bell! Think circles around that beast!" I yelled out, Welf holding my shoulder so I wouldn't jump up and down.
"Is this fox stupid or something?" I heard Bete say, "What's up with her?"
"She killed a drake earlier." Welf said, turning to face him.
"Her? A drake? Bullshit!" Bete spat.
"Lilly saw it too. Miss Kodori punched it." Lilly defended me.
"Ha! What idiot punches a drake?" Bete snorted.
I was too busy, or at least, my mind was too focused and underpowered, to take in more than the fight before me. The two combatants had taken about thirty seconds to simply stare at each other after I yelled my encouragement at Bell. Both shouting, they rushed at one another. I saw the minotaur swing that massive sword sideways, looking to cleave Bell in half, but Bell dropped both knees, sliding like some dagger wielding rock star across a stage, catching his balance just as the sword swung over his head, and jamming the Hestia knife into the minotaur's wrist. Dark blood sprayed from the wound as his momentum and the dagger's keen edge opened the beast right to the elbow, the giant sword falling from numb fingers.
It only went down hill for the monster from there. Heartened by his fist truly solid strike, Bell spun and cut the beast along the back of its knee. He twisted away from a clumsy sweep of its mangled arm, and rolled, picking up the fallen great sword with his free hand.
Using its good leg, the minotaur tried to gore Bell with its horns, but Bell met the horn with a great one handed overhead swing of the huge blade, smashing against one of its horns and cutting it clean off its head. It roared as the blade followed through and gouged into its shoulder.
"Holy... Shit." Bete said.
I had apparently drifted slightly over, and only really noticed when I was standing next to Ais. "Hey Ais." I said, once I did notice.
"Hm?" Her eyes were still on the fight, the tension in her body making me think of a coiled spring, even though it looked like she was standing still.
"Thank you for helping Bell." I said, "You're the second best thing to cross his path."
Behind me, I heard the other elf, Lefiya, I think her name was, gasp and grumble quietly at me.
Ahead of me I watched as Bell had the great blade shatter and leave bloody shards behind as he cut into the minotaur again. He threw what was left at the beast, creating an opening for him to cut into its belly. It screamed, surprisingly high pitched for something so big, as Bell crammed his hand into the wound and shouted.
"FIREBOLT!" It screamed again, its body expanding slightly, its chest glowing, "FIREBOLT!" Bell yelled again, flame bursting out of the minotaur's shoulder and some of the the cuts on its chest. "FIREEEEEEEBOLT!"
The minotaur simply exploded. Its upper body bubbled like some bizarre marshmallow, before it simply let out the flame Bell had forced into it, vanishing into black mist, leaving behind a magic stone, that clinked to the floor, loud in the sudden silence.
Welf told me later, that I was jumping up and down like a very happy idiot at that point, but I didn't really remember.
Those from Loki Familia helped the four of us gather up our scattered loot, and escorted our broken party back to the surface, before doing what ever it was they were going to do, and heading back into the dungeon. Eina was just happening by when Welf took the poster we had passed on the way in down, ripping it into little bits with a grin.
Understandably, she was a little upset at our appearance. I was covered in blood. Bell was covered in blood with no armour on and almost no shirt. Welf's sword was a lost cause, the blade having been cracked half way through. Lilly's hood and the front of her robe was bloody, and her giant back pack had scorch marks all over it, though it was still able to hold everything.
We didn't have to say we were all idiots who almost got ourselves killed. Our appearance told that tale loud and clear.
I surprised everyone, by apparently giving the very angry guild employee a giant hug, and telling her that she was really adorable when she was mad, and lessons in dungeon survival should be given an award.
Welf also told me that later, though I didn't remember that either.
I don't remember how we got everything home. I think, Lilly and Welf took what they could to his workshop for storage. Bell helped me home, as I (Bell told me this one) was singing in English some song that sounded really heroic. I was probably very tired and suffering from blood loss and shock still.
I do remember, however, part of a conversation.
"I remembered." He said, smiling up at me. His red eyes just as honest and clear as always, even though he looked like he had fallen through a very tall tree. "You did the same thing to me once."
"Hm?" I was holding his shoulder for support, just in case my legs gave out, or I started to drift sideways (again.)
"You ducked under my arm and hit my elbow. Then tripped me from behind." He replied.
"Oh!" I did recall that. He had tried to swing his dagger at my chest, but I ducked and swept out his legs, "See? Bruise now, win later."
"Kodori is very wise." He replied with that smile again.
I wanted to disagree, but I couldn't, not in front of that smile. "I try." I said instead, "And I'm glad you're there to help me when I'm not so wise."
I couldn't remember much past that, though the fog suddenly cleared when a bucket of ice water splashed against my naked side.
"Bwah?" my most coherent sentence of the hour I'm sure.
My face was suddenly filled with divine anger, as Hestia grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me as hard as she could. I'm sure the words 'idiot' and 'stupid' and 'grounded for the rest of your life' were in there some where, but I let her rant at me as much as she wanted.
I was all those things, after all.
Eventually, she calmed down, and she gave me a hug. As I did last time, I pet her hair until she stopped sniffling, and then pushed her away gently.
"I already owe Lilly an ear pet." I said, "So today, I will wash your hair."
I couldn't apologize for what I had done today. It was something I had to do. Or at least try. I didn't want to worry my Goddess, but that was the nature of our job.
So, while I had her sitting in front of me on a little stool, at my hair washing mercy, I told her about my day. Confident that she wouldn't turn around and start yelling at me again. After I was done, and rinsed her hair, I stopped her from getting up. "Hold still. I'm going to try something."
She and I emerged from the shower, squeaky clean. I was wearing a fresh set of clothing, while our Goddess was in set of pink P.J.'s, "Well Bell? What do you think?" I asked, giving Hestia a little nudge forward.
While she was at my mercy, so to speak, I had taken her usual twin tails and braided them. She had a lot of hair, and the result was close to what I had, before all my hair got burned off. Her sleek black hair was now braided almost down to her knees. She did a little spin in place for the boy, just for show.
I kind of wondered what she would look like in a pair of square rimmed glasses.
I don't think I will ever get tired of watching Bell blush. His almost white skin and snow white hair made him look like some kind of beacon. He stammered out something that sounded suitably complimenting, before I smiled my 'about to be mean' smile, and said, "I'm going to stretch a little outside. Don't be too hard on him, he's been the best team player all day today."
Watching Bell go even more pale than he usually was already, was also very amusing.
Notes of noteworthiness.
I know the tone of the story took a bit of a silly turn near the end. But, since this is also done in a first person perspective, and our hero(?) was suffering from shock, blood loss, and coming off of a potion induced high, I was trying to capture the feeling of that in words. I am also trying to very gently compress a few smaller events, to make up for the Hestia Familia's new members. I'm honestly wondering if I'm doing it right.
I'm also wondering if I'm getting some of the interactions right. Welf always struck me as a confident, competent person, who would still talk sense instead of letting pride take over. Lilly makes me think of a very VERY smart person, who is sometimes very down on herself. Bell... Well, he's the hero. He does heroic things and manages to survive, while never compromising when his sense of justice is tested.
Anyhow, rant over. Look forward to more, dear readers.