Hi guys! Thanks for all the views! Here is the next chapter. This one is a tad shorter than the last, but don't worry. I'm gonna try to stick to a certain minimum. Enjoy!
The village was in distress. They had all felt the out-of-place earthquake that had suddenly surprised them. Nearly everybody was gathered at the center of the village, in front of Chief Vitalstatistix's hut. They muttered and gossiped, each and every one afraid of the unknown. Others were cataloguing if things were damaged, or if someone got hurt.
The earthquake itself was, thankfully, a small one. It had done little damage. Some pots and other things loose had fallen from their shelves, but nobody was injured and no buildings had collapsed. Even the menhir that was left in front of Asterix's hut had survived the tremor, still standing firm in the ground.
When Asterix reached the center, he observed the crowd and listened; trying to discover if the druid was among them. He could easily tell by the sound of the villagers' panicked voices, that there was nobody calming them, so Getafix was definitely not here. He overheard some of the villagers talking about the gods being displeased, while others feared the sky was going to fall; the Gauls' only true fear. He immediately headed straight for Getafix's hut. When he reached it shortly after crossing the small river that separated the villagers' houses from Getafix's own, he bashed the door open without even thinking.
"Getafix?" he called out. He held his breath, waiting anxiously for a reply. After a short moment, he got one, in the form of an annoyed groan. He wandered inside the dark hut, and when he turned to the kitchen section, he found an old, disgruntled, white-robed man sitting on the floor, with iron pans, open books, and broken earthen pots scattered around him. Spices were in his hair, and a bush of mistletoe was tangled in his long, white beard.
"By Belenos," the druid grunted angrily as Asterix helped him up, "would you look at this mess!" The old man was a few heads taller than Asterix when he finally stood upright again. He was quite limber, for his age, the years of experience with magic and potions at his benefit.
"Is everything all right here? There was an earthquake, everybody is worried that..."
"Yes, I felt it too," Getafix interrupted. "Though I'm not sure if it really was an earthquake." He brushed the spices off from his half-bald scalp. "They are not a natural occurrence around here."
"I thought the same thing, but I can't figure out what it could have been. Do you have any ideas, O druid?" the warrior questioned, picking up pieces of broken pot work off the floor. The druid dusted his white robes. "I'm not entirely sure," he muttered, "but we should be careful, and watch for any aftershocks. Come, I'll clean my house later. We should calm the people instead." Getafix said, plucking mistletoe out of his beard. "Knowing them, they're probably causing more panic without even realizing it."
Soon, Getafix was leaving his hut and heading to the village center, with Asterix following behind, sticking close to Getafix like a guard hound. It was like the druid had predicted; now every person, even Obelix (who longed for nothing more than his wild boar), was gathered around an uneasy Vitalstatistix, who stood on a large blue shield, which was held high above the crowd by his shield bearers. Yet the man still had trouble calming his people. His wife Impedimenta was standing on the shield with him, clutching one of his arms nervously. The only one who wasn't in the collective circle was Cacofonix; he watched from his tree-hut quietly, listening in on what was being said.
"Calm down, every one. Calm down!" Chief Vitalstatistix said, his hands were making waving motions as to try and ease the people.
"The sky will fall on our heads!" some of the villagers cried.
"What will happen next?" the young voluptuous Mrs. Geriatrix asked, hugging her elderly husband closely.
"Now, now, friends, the sky will not fall on our heads," Getafix reassured to the crowd out as he entered the circle to join the Chief. Asterix still remained close to him, unable to shake off the feeling of doom hanging over him. Everybody's attention shifted to the druid. "The sky isn't even dark, see?" He raised a finger up into the sunny sky. It was true; there was not a cloud to be seen.
Vitalstatistix cleared his throat, "Ahem, right! There is no reason to worry about the sky. But what about the earth, then?"
"What if it happens again?" Mrs. Fulliautomatix questioned, uneased. Fulliautomatix had his arm wrapped around his small wife in an attempt to comfort her. Unhygienix spoke up next: "Maybe we should move elsewhere."
"Then make sure you're the one moving to Lutetia, then we don't need to smell your wares anymore," Fulliautomatix muttered quietly. But despite that, Unhygienix heard it, and he instantly snapped back at the buff blacksmith. "Do you have something against my wares!?"
"Everybody does!" the blacksmith spat back at the fishmonger.
"Romans! I see Romans!"
Everybody turned their heads sharply toward Cacofonix, who stood at the edge of the platform that held his tree-hut. He was pointing a finger into the south-east. "There are Romans approaching! It's a whole army!" the bard squealed. Suddenly, everybody had forgotten about the events that happened only so recently. The men eagerly started rushing to the village's parapets, while the women coaxed their children to stay close to them, uncertain if they should go into their houses after what happened.
"Romans! How about that, Asterix," Obelix piped up, "They are coming to pay us a visit instead!" He clasped his hands together, rubbing them excitedly.
"Yeah? They picked the wrong time to be visiting," Asterix groaned, "We have more pressing matters to deal with right now..."
A thin, firm hand placed itself on Asterix's shoulder. Recognizing the touch, he glanced up to Getafix. "On the contrary," the elder spoke up, "perhaps this will ease the villagers' minds a bit. Go ahead and stall the Romans a little, while I bring out some magic potion. You know what to do."
Asterix didn't feel like agreeing at first, but Getafix had a point. He nodded obediently. "Come along Obelix, but keep yourself contained. We want the rest to have their share of fun too." He untied the gourd of magic potion hanging on his belt, taking a swig of the concoction.
Obelix clapped his hands in a very child-like manner, "Oh goodie! Fresh Romans! And we didn't even have to go to them!"
It was on the field just outside of the village that Centurion Subordinus first met the Gauls in person. Two men, a little one, a big fat one, and their dog stood at the front of the village gate. He knew these were the ones mentioned by the patrol. The Centurion halted his soldiers, distancing himself from the two by a good two-hundred feet.
"This is it men, our time of glory." Centurion Subordinus declared to his men. Preparing to draw his sword and signal the attacking order, he was suddenly interrupted by the little Gaul.
"Good afternoon!" he called out to the Romans, "It's a nice day, isn't it?"
The fat Gaul shouted after the little one finished, "We wanted to come visit to give you a warm welcome first, but then we got a little distracted! We're really sorry about that!"
The Romans simply stared back at the two in complete puzzlement.
"By the way," the little Gaul continued, "Did you happen to feel that strange tremor earlier?"
Centurion Subordinus just started to get annoyed now. The Gauls were trying to have a conversation with them as though they were good acquaintances, not enemies. He heard some muttering and whispering coming from the legionaries behind him. What tremor? They didn't feel anything. Perhaps it was too small to have ever reached them, or it was silenced in their marching? What if they were just trying to play a trick on them?
Subordinus felt himself fuming with rage. "Don't listen to those two; they are mocking us!" He drew his sword from its scabbard, aiming it to the sky. "Attack, by Jupiter!" And with that, the army began marching forward, intending to wipe the village off the map.
Asterix looked up at his friend who was itching to get into the fun. "Remember Obelix, just stall them until everybody else is here."
"I can contain myself!" Obelix replied. But Asterix shook his head and refocused to the century approaching them, knowing better than to take him on his word when Romans were involved. He could practically sense the emotion of utter glee on the big man without even needing to look at him. Before he could speak up again, Obelix was already sprinting forward, his terrier pursuing him, intending to grab the first unfortunate Roman that would stand in his way by the leg and swing him like a bat to send the others flying. But as he approached, he suddenly felt the ground sink below him again, and he tripped, toppling over. Everything suddenly trembled, and another deafening roar, a terrifying one this time, bellowed out from underneath. Everybody, Gaul and Roman alike, flinched and pulled their hands to their ears, trying desperately to protect their eardrums from the noise.
The seism was far worse this time. Everybody lost their footing and fell over. Some of the sturdier types were forced to their hands and knees. After he hit the ground, Asterix kept flat on his stomach, waiting, hoping, praying. It would stop any moment now. It had to. Earthquakes never lasted for long. He shakily turned his head to look back at the village, and all he saw was Cacofonix's tree hut over the village walls. It quivered like the possessed before the thick oak uprooted in the quake, crashing down and disappearing from Asterix's sight. His eyes widened. The villagers! he panicked. They were out there, in danger! He looked to the other side, spotting Obelix at the same distance as the man was from the Roman army. He too had fallen over, trying to get up, but the quaking made it difficult. "Obelix! OBELIX!" Asterix shouted with all his might to his friend, but in vain; the earthquake roared so loudly that all other sound was drowned in it.
Abandoning his attempts to call Obelix, Asterix crept up from the shaking foundation and tried to reach him instead. But then, a mighty, loud crack: the ground split open between him and his friend. He felt his heart skipping a few beats as he jerked himself back quickly. Chunks of rock crumbled and fell into the gaping maw, swallowing them whole. Then the quake turned into a smaller tremor, then into a light shake, and then it vanished completely. A cloud of dust and sand wafted over the area, obscuring his sight. The Romans stared in shock at the horrific display.
An enormous sinkhole appeared in the middle of the field.
Obelix waited, letting the dust settle. After he finally felt he was in control of his body again, he lifted his upper body and raised his head to look behind him. The hole he saw must have been the size of a large house. The realization suddenly dawned on him that Asterix may have possibly fallen down. He jerked himself up quickly, calling out frantically. "Asterix!?"
"I'm here!" Asterix's voice responded, mixed with some coughing. Obelix immediately sprinted around the crater, finding his friend on the other end, still feeling too disoriented himself to stand up, but he moved, and he didn't look hurt. Not on the outside, anyway. Obelix felt a wave of relief wash over him. He approached him and crouched down to take Asterix by his arms, lifting him gently to help him get on his feet. "You all right? Nothing broken?"
Asterix glanced up at Obelix anxiously when he stood again, scanning the man up and down for injury. It appeared that he too was unharmed, aside from some bruises. "I-I'm fine, but the villagers... We need to help them!" The two were about to break into a sprint, wanting to reach the village as fast as they could. But they were halted by another roar, coming from deep in the maw behind them. They braced for another quake, but none came.
This felt very foreboding to Asterix. He wanted to turn around, but found that he couldn't. He heard another rumbling growl behind him. His helm-wings drooped in an instant. But this... This was a very different sound. It was animalistic, like a hungry wolf, but one that was far greater in size.
He hadn't even realized that his friend did turn to look. Not until he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, shaking him lightly. Asterix looked up at Obelix, who was showing a terrified pale face, an expression that was very rare in the man, and highly uncharacteristic.
He was afraid to turn to look into the same direction as his friend did, but the warrior forced himself to anyway. What he witnessed was nothing like he'd expected. A huge misshapen limb, more hoof than paw, reached out from the sinkhole, clawing out at the sky before pressing down on the ground. It dug into the soil, reassuring its grip. Asterix snapped out of his spell of combined angst and bafflement, realizing that they were about to be in serious danger. He began to tug at Obelix's arm, who still stood frozen in fear as the monster climbed out of the hole. "Obelix, come on! We have to-"
Flashes of purple electricity sparked out from the hole from which the creature rose. It raised its head; huge, curved horns and a hideous face of an animal skull, full of spikes and fangs unveiling themselves in the sun. The creature had the bearings of a lion, its skin was as though it were made of hard, dark-grey bark. Brown-red, sharp leaf-like frills protruded from its hunched back and its legs. But the most notable feature must have been its third set of limbs jutting out from its back like wings; a series of long, separated hard branches, yet they kept close together by some witchcraft, and seemed perfectly mobile. The last branch in each set ended in a long spear-like protrusion, threatening to impale anyone that got in the way. Two sets of small beady eyes gazed at the men. Its snout flared, and the monster hissed a terrible sound.
For the Romans that watched the events play out in the back, this was more than enough to signal a fast retreat. Subordinus didn't even need to issue a command; he ran back into the forest just as fast as his legionaries did. Most soldiers had dropped their shields and pila*, just so they could run faster. "This is insanity! These men are sorcerous villains!"
The creature shrieked a terrible cry, raising its branched limbs and preparing to strike them down on the two Gauls that stood before it. Asterix yanked at Obelix's arm again, desperately trying to get him to snap out of his state of shock. "Obelix! Wake up!" he cried out, but he could not get the big Gaul to move, not even after drinking the magic potion. But then, an idea: this time, he lurched forward, sending his full weight crashing into Obelix's side. The unexpected potion-powered thrust knocked the big man out of balance, sending him stumbling a few meters away. And just in time too; Asterix had barely managed to dodge the monster himself after he had thrown himself right in front of the creature's aim. He wasn't hit by either spear, but the risk he took to save his friend cost him feathers on a now torn helm-wing.
The monster had both its spear-arms driven deep into the earth, growling annoyingly when it couldn't pull them back out. This was his chance. Asterix scrambled up, drawing out his sword, but he stopped in his tracks when the beast started swinging its head angrily.
Right, those horns were still a danger. He wouldn't be able to come close to that thing with only a short sword, not without being torn apart. He'd need something that had a longer reach. Something like...
The glint of metal shined in the distance, behind the cave-in where the creature spawned out of. The Romans had dropped their weapons. A pilum! His eyes lit up, how fortunate it had been!
Obelix sat up, he had finally snapped from his spell of disbelief and horror. He looked around, confused, as if he had just woken from a nightmare, but that nightmare was still very real; he saw Asterix facing off against the monster. His face went white once again, but instead of freezing, he stood up, rushing up to aid his friend.
The village gate flew open with a harsh thunk, and Obelix looked back, watching a small, magic potion-powered army of thirty unarmed men rushing into the battle. Some of them stopped running midway, gasping at the sight they didn't expect or believed to behold. Others made no hesitation, realizing well and fully that people of their own were in danger. "Attack! By Toutatis!" they cried. Those who did hesitate quickly picked their motivation back up, joining in the assault.
Asterix saw the villagers arriving to aid them from the corner of his eye. "Get those weapons! Hurry!" He pointed a finger past the stricken beast. The villagers' eyes followed the direction and spotted the shields and javelins scattered across the field behind the sinkhole. Obeying without question, they sprang into action right away to retrieve the weapons. The beast was still stuck in the ground, yanking, struggling and roaring in frustration. Asterix held his sword out at it, but he didn't attack. It was simply too dangerous. He signed for Obelix to join the rest, to pick up a spear and shield, then come back. The big Gaul felt helpless and weak to not be able to fight the monster the way he was used to. He never carried any weapons. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, but this enemy was armed with horns and spikes all over its body. Attacking it bare handed would be pure lunacy. Left with no other choice, Obelix complied, and he ran to join the other villagers.
Crack!
The monster's struggles were starting to bear fruit; suddenly one limb shot loose from the ground and swung at the warrior, barely missing him. Asterix staggered back, but he remained stalwart, still keeping his sword aimed at the beast.
"Quick, it's breaking free!" Indeed, after the first limb shot free, the second one followed quickly. Now free once more, the creature intended to seize its prey. It stretched its maw wide open, jerking forward. In a stroke of panic, Asterix swung his sword and slashed it in its mouth. A foolish action: the beast slammed its jaws shut, snagging the blade and yanking it forcefully out of the Gaul's grip. The wound that the beast suffered bled golden liquid, but it barely fazed it. It clenched its jaws tighter, snapping the blade in two as if it were brittle bone. Now Asterix was helpless. No magic potion, no matter how strong it might make him, could save him now.
*a pilum (plural: pila) is a Roman javelin.