As Walter and Paige danced together Paige lifted her voice to join with Walter's humming, and they smiled at each other as they stared into each other's eyes, and they continued to dance around the camp fire. As they reached the end of the song they were dancing to they began laughing, and Walter started humming again as they continued to dance, when suddenly there was a loud screech in the distance, and they both stopped instantly as Walter stepped around Paige, and half stood between her and the direction of the sound. They stood there for a moment when the screech happened again, and Walter grabbed the shovel beside the fire pit, "Wake the others." He told Paige as he started throwing dirt on top of the fire, smothering it.
As Paige moved from tent to tent waking everyone Lord Walter grabbed his breastplate and began fastening it into place. The screech sounded again, much closer this time, as Paige came over and helped him finish securing the last few buckles of the breastplate. Walter smiled at Paige and kissed her, "You'll need your lute my Lady, most of the horses will need fortifying to keep from bolting."
Paige ran over to the packs, and grabbed her lute, and ran back over as Cabe emerged from the tent, and began putting on his breastplate as Ralph came out right behind him. Lord Walter stood on the far side of the fire pit watching the sky and Ralph ran over to him, "My Lord?"
Walter smiled, and ruffled his hair, "Do you remember what we spoke about before we left the Keep?"
Ralph nodded.
"Good lad, stand next to my charger, when Happy joins us I will send her over with you. You remember the command word?" Walter asked.
Ralph nodded with a tear in his eye.
"If I tell you, you both get on my charger, and you give her the command word. Now get over there." Lord Walter told him with a smile.
Paige began playing the same melody she played that night as she charged to the great bridge as she made her way to Lord Walter's side. "Where do you want me O'Brien?" Happy asked as she came out of the tent.
"Happy, get with Ralph by my charger, if I give him the word, you get on my charger with him, and she will take you both back to the Keep, if things go ill you'll find all the documents in my private study to carry on the business of the Keep, you'll act as regent for Ralph unless Paige is able to join you." Lord Walter told her.
"Like hell, send Toby, he's the scaredy-cat." Happy demanded. Lord Walter turned and glared at her, "Fine, but it better not come to that." Happy told him as she stalked over to Ralph.
The screech came louder and much closer now. "Can you hazard a guess as to what exactly it is Walter?" Paige asked quietly.
Walter smiled, "Most likely a wyvern attracted by the smell of the horses, they are a nasty piece of work, related to dragons but thankfully no fire or worse. But its poisonous sting and two heads can do enough damage."
"Sir Cabe, take the left flank, Kaylee, go to the tree where your target was. Do not fire at the beast until I engage it. Paige I want you to go with her until I've engage the beast, at that point the horses should be fortified enough and you can switch to attack if you prefer, just be mindful of its tail. Toby, your medicines, we'll need anti-venom for its sting. Sylvester, take up a position before the horses, attack as you see fit, but be prepared to shield Happy and Ralph if need be."
Sylvester nodded as Walter took the bag Raynold had given him and opened it. Reaching inside he pulled out a granite head hammer before securing the bag back to his belt. As he picked up his shield in his left hand they all heard the screech again, much closer now and Happy yelled, "It's coming in from the northwest, about three hundred feet above the trees."
Lord Walter looked and saw its dark form gliding over the trees. He held the hammer up and closed his eyes and focused, "By the grace of Athena," he said, and the hammer began to glow, glowing brighter and brighter with each second. The wyvern saw the light, and screamed again as it veered to its right, and flew right for Lord Walter. Lord Walter opened his eyes as he felt the power coursing within the hammer. As he stared down the monster he drew back, and threw the hammer with all his might, and as the hammer left his hand there was a reverberating crack of thunder, and it seemed like the hammer flew like a bolt of lightning striking the beast between the crux of its necks where they joined its chest. It screamed in pain, and Lord Walter drew his sword as it dropped quickly to the ground, and as it came to rest it raised its heads and screamed and began moving forward.
Lord Walter answered its scream with one of his own as he charged in. Sir Cabe ran in from the side, and Kaylee began firing arrows off in rapid succession. Even though fear for Walter's safety was mounting inside of her, Paige reluctantly waited until he struck his first blow with his sword, and then she charged in. The beast was a good thirty foot long, and she saw Sir Cabe as he hacked at the shoulder blade where its wing emerged from its back on the other side and she began hacking at its left leg.
As one head came down for Lord Water he deflected it with his shield while smacking the other head with his sword creating a gash along its lower jaw and it screamed again, and its tail came over, and down between its heads, and Lord Walter blocked it with his shield but it knocked him back, and he tripped over the fire pit. Sylvester quickly threw out a silvery powder, and spoke words that Ralph wasn't familiar with, and lightning leapt from his hand, and struck the monster, and forced it back long enough that Lord Walter was able to recover, and he charge back to reengage the beast, but this time he thrust his sword up, and a white fire ran down his body, and ran all over the ground in a spidery weave of lines encompassing Sir Cabe, Paige, and the monster and the monster screamed as the white fire began burning it.
Kaylee had managed to put out an eye in each head with her arrows, and she began moving over towards the horses to get a better shot on its other eyes as its hide was deflecting her arrows. Sir Cabe had broken through the thick bone of its wing, and as the wing collapsed over to the ground Sir Cabe ran up the wing onto its back. Lord Walter swung his sword, and cut the neck of its right head as it twisted to attack Sir Cabe. Blood erupted out of its throat as its left head screamed in pain. It moved to strike Lord Walter with its tail again, and Sir Cabe intercepted the tail, and his sword sliced clean through it dropping the stinger and its venom sac onto its back.
The Wyvern began screeching in pain, and was trying to retreat when its left leg broke under Paige's assault, and as it tried to flap its wings, its right wouldn't move, and its left was forcing it to move in a circle, and the monster screamed in pain again. As its left head twisted to attack Paige, Lord Walter swung, and cut through its second throat as Kaylee put out its last two eyes. The beast began thrashing its heads, and it managed to knock Sir Cabe off its back, and Paige was forced to move back as it continued to turn, and Lord Walter pressed his attack as he swung, and took one head off the beast. Sylvester cast his lightning spell again, and the lightning struck the beast's remaining head, and its neck convulsed. Lord Walter took aim with the point of his sword, and ran as fast as he could, and sunk the sword down between the crux of its necks, deep into its chest the tip of his blade pierced, reaching all the way down into its heart.
Lord Walter saw that Sir Cabe was having problems getting back up, and getting away from the beast as it thrashed about, and he left his sword inside its chest and ran over, he grabbed Sir Cabe, and pulled him up, and back away from the beast as it continued in its death throes.
Lord Walter looked desperately across but not seeing Paige he let go of Sir Cabe, and ran back towards the beast, and leapt on top of its back as it continued to thrash, and he leapt off the other side, and he saw she had made it to safety back over by the tree, and he quickly ran over, "Are you okay my Lady?" Walter asked her desperately as he pulled her into his embrace.
Paige smiled as she hugged him back, "I'm fine Walter, are you okay?"
Walter hugged her tighter, "As long as you are, I'm fine."
Toby cleared his throat, "Yea, we're all fine too."
Lord Walter turned and looked at him keeping his arm around Paige's shoulders, "Of course you are; did you even get close to the fighting?"
"That's not the point," Toby said indignantly.
"Why don't you go check on Sir Cabe? He was having some issues getting back on his feet after falling off the beast. Make sure he's okay." Lord Walter told him.
Lord Walter took Paige's hand, and walked over to the horses, and Paige hugged Ralph as he ran over to them. Lord Walter looked at Sylvester, "What would you recommend we do with the body?"
"If we had the acid I would say we cover it in acid but we don't have that much. Fire would be the next best course of action." Sylvester told him.
Lord Walter frowned, "I suppose it can't be helped, last thing I want is a fire getting out of control, but leaving it there rotting isn't an option so, go ahead, be careful though."
Kaylee walked with Sylvester and as they stood before the carcass she noticed something reflecting the moonlight and she walked on up and saw Lord Walter's sword still buried to the hilt into the monster's chest and taking hold of it she pulled it free before walking back over to Sylvester and he smiled before he began his incantation.
Lord Walter looked at the scowl on Happy's face and he smiled, "Do you wish to yell at me now?"
Happy grunted, "No, I don't wish to, but you can bet I am going to. How could you demand I do that? Toby is a more logical choice."
Lord Walter nodded, "In a fight perhaps so, but to watch out for Ralph, and the Keep if things went wrong? Never, he'd bankrupt the land inside a year, and he wouldn't look after Ralph. You know this. So between the two of you I'm going to protect you to protect him."
"Then why not pick his mother, he's her job, not mine." Happy fumed.
Lord Walter smiled as he stepped in and put his right hand on her shoulder, "Because, even if she'd listen to me, which I don't think she would, she'd most likely leave with Ralph once they returned to the Keep, and if I did survive I would want to see her again."
Happy grunted, "Fine, but you better think of something better for next time. I'm not going to keep preparing to run out on you."
Walter smiled, "Happy, how is doing what I need you to do running out on me? You'd have the most important job, helping to raise the next Lord, making sure he found the best teacher to instruct him in what he wants to be. Plus, if Toby did somehow survive, you could torment the daylights out of him."
"Well that would be a small ray of sunshine but I would much rather have my friend." Happy told him with a tear in her eye.
"And so you shall my dear friend," Walter told her as he smiled.
Paige stepped over, "Thank you Happy, I know it isn't what you want, but it means a lot to me to know someone good, like you, would be there for Ralph."
"You're welcome," Happy said shortly, and walked off wiping the tear from her eye.
Lord Walter looked at Ralph next to his Mother and smiled, "You did well my squire."
Lord Walter put his arm back around Paige, and the whole area lit up as Sylvester cast his spell igniting the remains of the wyvern. By the light they saw Sir Cabe holding onto Toby as he hopped back over to the camp.
Lord Walter frowned and moved quickly with Paige towards them, "What happened?" Lord Walter demanded as they drew near.
"He pulled his hamstring when he came off the back of that thing. He'll be out of commission for some time." Toby told him.
"Like hell, you get me on my horse, and I can do anything any of you can." Sir Cabe swore.
Happy stopped next to Sylvester and Kaylee, "You need some better arrows, if we were at the keep I could give you some that would have pierced this thing's hide."
Kaylee smiled, "That would be beneficial, and I'm glad I wasn't alone when this thing came calling." Kaylee handed Happy Lord Walter's sword just before Happy turned to walk away.
Paige smiled, "That won't be necessary, help him to sit down my Lord."
Toby and Lord Walter helped him to sit as Paige lifted up her lute, "I might not have had enough power to save Ralph that day but this I can fix."
Lord Walter smiled but it changed to a frown as he felt something wet run down his face and he reached up and wiped at his brow and found he was sweating profusely. His vision blurred a bit and he grew a bit disorientated.
Paige closed her eyes as she began strumming the lute, and she lifted up her voice to sing with it, and everyone began to feel the magic as it entered their bodies, first it began refreshing them, and slowly Sir Cabe's pain diminished; and his hamstring healed. At first Walter started to feel better but when he looked down as his left arm tingled, and he noticed light shinning through his shield from the wyvern's burning body, and he turned the shield over, and in the middle of the Scorpion emblem there was a hole where the stinger had cut through the steel. His eyebrow twitched, and as his adrenalin wore off he stumbled backwards several steps before he fell to the ground as the venom battled against his system.
"O'Brien," Happy shouted, and dropping his sword as she ran as fast as she could towards him.
Sir Cabe, Toby looked up as Paige turned, and they saw him lying on the ground as his body began convulsing. Happy slid along the ground up to him, and she saw the shield with the hole punched through it, and she pulled it off his arm, and saw the remains of the wound the stinger had made, "DOC." She demanded.
"Walter," Paige screamed, and jumped the short distance over to him, and fell down to her knees next to him. Sylvester turned reluctant to take his eyes off the fire, and Kaylee began running over as Toby ran over to check Lord Walter.
Cabe moved over towards them, "Doc?"
"It's the wyvern venom," Toby told him as he pulled out a small flask, and as he started to unstopper it he saw it was the wrong anti-venom, and he scrambled back to the packs, and dug through his medicine chest trying to find the right anti-venom.
"Are you kidding me Doc? Didn't the Lord tell you to have them ready?" Sir Cabe yelled.
"I screwed up, okay, I grabbed the wrong ones." Toby told him. He finally got it out, and ran back over and broke the seal, "Open his mouth."
Happy opened Lord Walter's mouth; and Toby pour it down his throat. Lord Walter coughed but most of it went on down, and Paige quickly began playing the song she'd been playing as tears ran down her face. He laid there for several minutes barely breathing when suddenly the wound on his arm began closing, and as it completely healed over Lord Walter took in a deep breath; and Paige dropped her lute, and pulled him up, and hugged him tightly to her.
I've been struggling trying to figure out how to rewrite 3x09 'Mother load', but I think today I might have finally come up with an idea that will work. I'll be exploring that today so hopefully if you enjoy my Uncivil War re-imagining you'll have a new story tomorrow. To the Adventure! -Tim
