The Beast Within

Chapter Twenty-Eight – The Mask Fragment, Pieces of Whole

A loud bang thundered through the sky and slashed down, hitting Leela fast and hard. The air genasi was sent flying backward, sliding across the glade and landing in the nearby bushes. Her armor sizzled and had smoke pouring out of the gaps. She grunted and coughed, trying her hardest to stop her head from spinning. Nearby, Juraj's iniquitous laughter echoed through the glade.

"Cha-cha-cha-cha, the sweet little genasi is down! Look at the smoke! Tsk, tsk! Will she come back up and play? Or should I go play with the pretty boy instead?" She sneered.

"Leela!" Gannayev cried out. He was pinned on the ground by Ivoi and Zarakh, unable to untangle himself. Both former Spirit Eaters waved their free weapons, trying to hit the blue hagspawn. The dreamwalker let out a frustrated yell. A surge of energy whooshed through his body. His lips moved soundlessly, and the next thing his enemy knew was there was a circle of fire covering a least half a meter radius. They leaped back and hissed in pain.

The hagspawn quickly got back to his feet and approached his companion in a few short strides. Juraj still hovered over the druid, snaring wickedly, her hand rose high and was about to cast another fatal spell. He swore and threw out his quarterstaff. The weapon hit the former Spirit Eater on her back and pierced her right through. Her eyes widened with shock as she collapsed on the ground. With the blink of an eye, her body turned into a cloud of black dust and evaporated into the thin air.

"Leela!" Gannayev cast Acid Rain spell on the remaining three, temporally distracted them a little, and knelt down next to Leela. He bended over and inspected her injuries, while his hands shimmered in glowing light, healing most visible wounds in the process. The air genasi moaned and finally managed to sit up.

"Y'alright?" Asked the blue hagspawn.

"Breathing." The air genais smirked a little. She bent over to pick up her katana and tossed it in her hand slightly, before grabbing it firmly: "Let's see…one down, three more to go?"

"Oh, yes." The dreamwalker's deep velvet orbs glittered with certain excitement: "It's been a while that I actually had had to fight somebody in the dreamscape!"

Leela grinned, before calling Ice Storm upon the former Spirit Eater ghost. Ivoi growled and recited a spell in Rashemi. Very quickly a shadow cloud appeared near the edge of the glade and shifted toward them soundlessly.

"Shadows…" The air genasi frowned and surprised: "You are a Shadowdancer."

"This one is smart" Ivoi sniggered: "Let's see if she's as smart when she fights!"

He left his right arms and several daggers flew out of his sleeve, all whooshing toward the druid's direction. Leela waved her katana and fended off most of the attacking weapons. One of them managed to zoom past the katana and cut through her upper arm. She hissed, launched forward and began her attack at the Shadowdancer. Zarakh and Koszik next to Ivoi shot a few purple magic bolts toward the air genasi. They were bounced off by Gannayev's spells.

"Oi!" He barked: "Not a nice way to treat a lady, you three!"

He hovered his magic staff and cast Flame Strike on Zarakh. The poor Divine Champion burst into flames for the second time and screamed in pain. The dreamwalker spun and unleashed a dagger hidden in his sleeve and threw it toward Koszik. The small weapon synched deep into the area between his brows. The berserker swayed and fell backward, flat on his back. His body also turned into a cluster of dust and returned to the earth beneath him.

Ivoi's shadow companion slid across the glade and suddenly wrapped itself around Leela. The druid could see nothing but absolute darkness. She tried to swing her swords but the blades did not hit anything remotely solid. Ivoi sneered loudly somewhere near. Several sudden sharp pains indicated as he had just inflicted some injuries on her.

The air genasi bite her lips and hissed. She noticed she could still hear sounds quite clearly. Very slowly, she turned the katana in her hand and held her breath. There were small thuds behind the loud, whoosh noises. The druid looked over her shoulders slightly, waved the katana and stabbed toward her back. A low grunt and the sound of heavy object fell indicated she hit her target. The shadow clouded her soon disappeared. She blinked her eyes and checked her surroundings; saw Gannayev was now dueling with Zarakh. There were no sign of Ivoi. She must have successfully killed him.

"Need help?" Arms folding, Leela arched one side of her eyebrow as she watched Zarakh slowly pushed the blue hagspawn toward the corner.

"Humph…" The dreamwalker shot a jet of snarling vines at the Divine Champion and immediately the crawling plants were all over his body, tightening him with every breath: "No thanks. I think I am alright."

"Okay." The air genasi smirked as Gannayev advanced his attack and pushed Zarakh backward. The remaining former Spirit Eater snarled. A dagger slid out of his sleeve and he used it to cut off the vine.

Gannayev pulled out his crossbow and fired at Zarakh. The Divine Champion dodged and rolled to the side. He began to wave his shield and using it as a weapon, attacked the blue hagspawn. The dreamwalker returned his crossbow to his back and drew out his quarterstaff. He leaped, avoiding Zarakh's shield while trying to push his weapon through his back. The Divine Champion blocked it off with his sword.

"This one is good." Leela glinted her eyes toward the battling two and rubbed her chin thoughtfully: "Are you sure you don't need help, Gann?"

"Nope." Gannayev sprung his heels and went on another round of the attack.

Zarakh sprung his shield over his head and attempted to bash it against Gannayev, who quickly dashed away. The two of them fought for a while, managing to block each other's attack every time. Finally, spotting an opening, unguarded weak point, the blue hagspawn spun his quarterstaff, forming an beautiful circle in the air, before his grip on the weapon tightened and stabbed it toward the former Spirit Eater. This time the blade successfully scythed into the Devine Champion's body. The last Spirit Eater ghost's eyes widened in surprise. His mouth opened and closed purposelessly as he turned into a cloud of black dust.

Panting like a dog, Gannayev collapsed onto the ground, unable to utter a single sound for a while.

"Gods," He still tried to fill his lungs with air when Leela approached him, clapping: "I don't remember the last time I fought this hard in a dreamscape!"

"Nicely done!" The air genasi leaned over and smiled at him: "I've never seen you fight this good since I met you!"

"Is that implying you underestimated me?" The dreamwalker rested his hand on his forehead and grinned back.

"Humph-humph." Leela made a non-committal noise as she reached out and pulled Gannayev up. His hand was surprisingly large and strong, a bit different than what it looked. Her hand lingered on his grip for a brief moment before letting it go.

"Now what do we do with her?" The blue hagspawn cocked his head toward the woman in crimson robe.

The air genasi turned her attention toward the woman, who was now beaming with delight.

"Thank you." She smiled: "I've been waiting for you. For a time, I feared you would not find me before…. before the hunger took me."

"Huh?" The druid frowned.

"She's not a spirit." The dreamwalker observed: "She's…an echo of some sort. An echo from afar. Does she remind you of somebody?"

"Safiya." Leela chewed one side of her lips and side-glanced at the woman thoughtfully: "You look a lot like Safiya, but a lot older. Who are you?"

The woman's smile suddenly seemed fading and her eyes were brimming with tears. She lowered her gaze for a moment before opening her mouth again: "Safiya…you really think we look alike?"

"Yes. And it's not just because you are wearing the red robe, either." The air genasi frowned: "You two have the same eyes."

The woman returned her gaze at the druid: "I…I am only a memory... a memory of love, lost but not forgotten."

"Huh?" Leela's snowy eyebrows shot up.

"It doesn't matter." The Red Woman stepped forward, reached out her hand and placed something in the druid's palm: "I've been wanting to give you this."

Leela glared at her hand. Darkened with smudges and grime, it was a piece of something that was difficult to identify. Something that was really ancient and old. The object was carved with beautiful elaborated pattern. A few worn twigs suggested it was once decorated with feathers. The air genasi turned and flipped the artifact several times before glanced back at the woman again.

"What's this?" She asked.

"It is a fragment of a mask." The woman explained: "It…it contained my essence."

"Riddles." The druid mumbled: "More riddles."

"It may not make any sense to you now." The Red Woman nodded slightly: "However, it will make sense when the time comes."

Leela's brows arched even higher toward the sky above: "Huh?"

"Interesting." Gannayev took over the mask fragment from the air genasi's hand: "Someone give something to you in the dreamscape. This usually means something."

"Yeah, I know that. But…" Her words trailed off. She looked at the woman in bewilderment: "Are you sure?"

"Oh, I am absolutely certain." The blue hagspawn smiled.

"But why me?" Asked the druid.

"That I don't know." The dreamwalker shrugged.

"This…I saved it for you." The red woman's voice sound faded: "Please keep it hidden… in this remote and forgotten place…"

Leela half-nodded and watched as the woman's feature slowly disappeared. She seemed aware of what was happening to her. Her hands were in fist as she began to shout.

"We will not see each other again." It got more and more difficult to distinguish the woman's voice: "not until you must draw on the memory of what once was. Know that I will be safe, while the mask is in your hands."

"The memory of what once was…what?" The air genasi began to shout as well: "How many of them are there? And what do you mean until the time come?"

The red woman smiled. Her lips moved, but Leela could no longer hear anything. Suddenly, she noticed the landscape surrounding her became blurry. They started to swirl and spin. The Sun above them also became hazed.

"What's happening?" The air genasi was nervous; she jerked her head around to look for her only companion in the dreamscape.

"Leela," The blue hagspawn's image was fading, too. He reached out his hands and grasped her shoulders firmly: "Don't worry, we are exiting the dreamscape."

"Now?" Leela didn't notice her voice had gone a few pitches higher.

"Yes, my sweet." The dreamwalker smiled.

"But…"

"There is nothing for us to dwell on here, is there?" Gannayev continued to smile: "Now just relax," He drew her near him as the dreamscape was now become a shade of grey: "We are going to wake up soon."

Fear suddenly griped the air genasi's heart: "Gannayev…"

"I am here." Now even the blue hagspawn's voice began to fade: "I am not going anywhere, my sweet…"


When Leela's eyelids fluttered open, the first thing she saw was Gannayev leaning over her, head slightly tilted sideway, and looking at her worriedly. His hair draped over his shoulders, slightly touching her face. The sun drizzled generously on everything around her. She heard the birds tweeting, the bees buzzing, and the gentle warm sea breeze breathed around her ears. For the first time ever, the air genasi appreciated those sounds in the mortal world.

"Hi." The blue hagspawn grinned. An expression of relief appeared on his handsome features.

"Hi." The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

"Had good dream?" The dreamwalker winked.

"Oh, yes." The druid's smile deepened: "Not every day you see a hagspawn dueling with a ghost and winning."

Gannayev laughed. They both heard footsteps drawing near; the next thing they knew was Safiya's elegant porcelain face emerged behind a fern tree.

"Arh, there you are." She smiled, showing her pearly teeth: "The breakfast is ready…did you sleep under this rock last night?"

"Yep." Leela nodded and pulled herself to the sitting position: "And you will not believe what I dreamt…"

The air genasi related everything to the Red Wizard as they walked back to camp. The unusual ancient Ashenwood dreamscape, 'Spirits' of the former Spirit Eater, the intriguingly strange woman in red, the fragment of a mask, and the woman's 'We shall meet again' speech just before they exited the dreamscape. It was the most bizarre dream she had ever had in her entire life, and she remembered every detail. Safiya listened quietly without much interruption as she spoke. Only when the story was finished, she raised one finger thoughtfully and began to asked question.

"She looked like me, you said?" Queried the Thayan wizard.

"Yes, the tattoo, the robe…everything." Leela frowned, trying to describe the woman so vivid in her dream just a moment ago: "She even got the same dimple. The only thing that differentiate you and her would the a few extra wrinkles on her face."

"You do know that's not a very nice thing to say about a lady." Gannayev pointed out.

"Yeah, like she's going to pop out right in front of us at this point and time." Safiya twisted her nose playfully: "Where is this artifact you mentioned?"

"Well, she gave it to me in the dreamscape, so I am not sure if…" The air genasi reached for her waist pouch and paused. Her eyebrows arched. She extracted her hand from the pouch and opened it in front of her companions. It was the fragment of the mask.

"Is that...?" Asked the Red Wizard.

"Yes." Leela handed over to the Safiya: "According to her, there should be more than one."

"This is…old." Kaelyn leaned near the Thayan wizard as she flipped the artifact over and back for a good look: "I've never seen anything like this before. It doesn't look like something that belongs to this Plane."

"Dreamscape object." Okku grunted: "And a broken one. I wonder if it means anything."

"Well," The air genasi shrugged: "I suppose we will find out the next time I have another one in my dream, aye?"

"Humph…" Gannayev tabbed his chin: "Indeed, and meanwhile, we have a ice hag to chase."

"Must you mention that?" Safiya sighed, handed the fragment back to the druid: "Gods, I hate wild goose chase."