When Katula awoke, she thought she hadn't slept at all, for it was still
dark. When she remembered where she was and what she and Kelevandros were
about to do, she quickly shot up and startled Kelevandros out of his
delirium. "Are you ready?" he asked as if it were the most natural thing in
the world to want to lay siege to a dragon overlord's fortress. Katula
looked up at him, and thought he probably hadn't slept at all, "Yes, I am
ready," she said as she stood up, hefted her spear, and hid her pack in a
hollow tree nearby. She looked at her cloak for a minute, sighed, and
stowed it in the tree with her and Kelevandros's belongings.
When she turned around, Kelevandros was already in his dragon form, looking at her expectantly. You never realize how big dragons are, she thought, until you are expected to ride one without a saddle. She clambered onto his back, made sure her dagger and spear were attached firmly in place, grabbed the ridges in front of his wing sockets and nodded.
Right when Kelevandros crouched, about to take off, a deafening roar was heard from deep within the bowels of the fortress. "Beryl?" Katula asked. Kelevandros nodded, and she bit her lip, She knows we're here, she thought. Before she could yell to him to hurry, Kelevandros had taken off and was soaring to a good-sized window decently high up the nearest spire. Katula almost fell off, she had never ridden a dragon or flown by choice, and she was as out of place as a fish in a tree.
Just as Katula was getting used to flying, they stopped in front of the blackened wall of the fortress, right in front of a dark tinted window. Kelevandros reached out his arm and smashed through the window with his fist. Just as a hoard of draconians was flying up the staircase Katula could see through the window, Kelevandros let loose a powerful lightning attack, killing all the draconians and probably all the ones down the stairs as well.
Katula, barely managing to keep balanced, walked across Kelevandros's neck and gently leapt from the bridge of his nose into the room, then reached out the window to take his claw. Within and instant, Kelevandros was back in his elf form, and she was pulling him up through the window. Katula looked around the dark room and crinkled her nose, I was hoping she would at least clean her lair, she thought as she saw several week-old corpses lying around the floor. She looked to Kelevandros, "You lead," she said. He nodded and ran down the stairs, with a very fleet-footed Katula following right behind him.
It wasn't long before they had to stop and fight off another hoard of draconians. The corridors they were in were too small for Kelevandros's dragon form, so they had to fight the way Katula trained for. Spear flailing and sword swooping, the duo was able to defeat the group, by using the narrow hallway to their advantage. When the attack was done, they kept running, always with Kelevandros leading, because he seemed to know the way. Several more attacks were urged upon them, but each was dealt with as the first, and the two warriors made steady progress through the tunnels.
Their journey seemed like it would last forever that way, with them running through seemingly endless corridors and fighting off legion after legion of draconians. It did go on that way, until the duo broke through into a huge corridor with doorways on all sides, this one huge enough for Kelevandros's dragon form and probably for Beryl as well. When they reached this corridor, they broke into a dead run to reach the end before they were ambushed from all sides, but it seemed their luck had ended. Before they had reached halfway through the area, draconians began streaming in through all the doors, including the ones they had come out of and the one they were aiming for.
Kelevandros was instantly in his dragon form, shooting lightning everywhere, and succeeding in doing away with most of the draconians. As for Katula, she had figured out how to control her water powers, more or less, and formed several large icicles on the ceiling. When the draconians were under them, she let them fall with a huge crash, killing all those under them. The bloody ice was bad footing for the draconians, who proceeded to slip and slide all over the room, easy targets for Kelevandros's lightning and Katula's ice.
The battle would have been won for the duo, if the draconians hadn't seemed so endless. They began to tire, and the lightning came less frequently, and the ice began less potent. Katula had already developed several acid burns from dead draconian splatter, and she began to have a splitting headache, she realized that using this much magic when she wasn't used to it was going to be a problem. Katula shook her head to focus her vision, and spotted a leader draconian, running along the ice with sure footing and carrying what looked to be and ivory collar. She knew this must be trouble, and tried to take him out, but her vision was blurring and her headache was worsening.
"Kelevandros, left!" Katula cried, finally realizing what the collar was for. Kelevandros must have been tiring as well, for he didn't turn fast enough to stop the draconian. The draconian jumped into the air and flew straight the Kelevandros, snapping the collar on his neck right before Kelevandros closed his jaws on the menace, which was all he had time to do before the collar took effect.
Kelevandros cried out a pained roar, clawing at the collar on his neck, while Katula could do nothing but watch. He cried out again, then flashed back to his human form and collapsed on the ground. Katula tried to reach him, but was cut off by draconians. Katula cut through the imposing creatures, using her remaining strength and ignoring the tears running down her cheeks. When she had almost reached him, the draconians split apart, revealing another leading draconian holding the limp form of Kelevandros with a curved sword up to his neck.
The draconian began to talk to her in broken English, "Mistress Beryl does not require this one alive," he shook Kelevandros and smirked, "but she does wish to deal with you personally. If you come quietly, I will spare his life, but if you insist on cutting my troops, I will kill him. So, put down your spear, girl, if you want him to live." With that, he and the rest of the draconians laughed menacingly. Katula smirked, So, he's not dead then, she thought, and when they take me, I still have my wild card to get me out. She nearly laughed as she threw her spear at the draconian's feet, who smiled with wicked teeth as the rest of them swarmed in on her and sent her world into blackness.
When she turned around, Kelevandros was already in his dragon form, looking at her expectantly. You never realize how big dragons are, she thought, until you are expected to ride one without a saddle. She clambered onto his back, made sure her dagger and spear were attached firmly in place, grabbed the ridges in front of his wing sockets and nodded.
Right when Kelevandros crouched, about to take off, a deafening roar was heard from deep within the bowels of the fortress. "Beryl?" Katula asked. Kelevandros nodded, and she bit her lip, She knows we're here, she thought. Before she could yell to him to hurry, Kelevandros had taken off and was soaring to a good-sized window decently high up the nearest spire. Katula almost fell off, she had never ridden a dragon or flown by choice, and she was as out of place as a fish in a tree.
Just as Katula was getting used to flying, they stopped in front of the blackened wall of the fortress, right in front of a dark tinted window. Kelevandros reached out his arm and smashed through the window with his fist. Just as a hoard of draconians was flying up the staircase Katula could see through the window, Kelevandros let loose a powerful lightning attack, killing all the draconians and probably all the ones down the stairs as well.
Katula, barely managing to keep balanced, walked across Kelevandros's neck and gently leapt from the bridge of his nose into the room, then reached out the window to take his claw. Within and instant, Kelevandros was back in his elf form, and she was pulling him up through the window. Katula looked around the dark room and crinkled her nose, I was hoping she would at least clean her lair, she thought as she saw several week-old corpses lying around the floor. She looked to Kelevandros, "You lead," she said. He nodded and ran down the stairs, with a very fleet-footed Katula following right behind him.
It wasn't long before they had to stop and fight off another hoard of draconians. The corridors they were in were too small for Kelevandros's dragon form, so they had to fight the way Katula trained for. Spear flailing and sword swooping, the duo was able to defeat the group, by using the narrow hallway to their advantage. When the attack was done, they kept running, always with Kelevandros leading, because he seemed to know the way. Several more attacks were urged upon them, but each was dealt with as the first, and the two warriors made steady progress through the tunnels.
Their journey seemed like it would last forever that way, with them running through seemingly endless corridors and fighting off legion after legion of draconians. It did go on that way, until the duo broke through into a huge corridor with doorways on all sides, this one huge enough for Kelevandros's dragon form and probably for Beryl as well. When they reached this corridor, they broke into a dead run to reach the end before they were ambushed from all sides, but it seemed their luck had ended. Before they had reached halfway through the area, draconians began streaming in through all the doors, including the ones they had come out of and the one they were aiming for.
Kelevandros was instantly in his dragon form, shooting lightning everywhere, and succeeding in doing away with most of the draconians. As for Katula, she had figured out how to control her water powers, more or less, and formed several large icicles on the ceiling. When the draconians were under them, she let them fall with a huge crash, killing all those under them. The bloody ice was bad footing for the draconians, who proceeded to slip and slide all over the room, easy targets for Kelevandros's lightning and Katula's ice.
The battle would have been won for the duo, if the draconians hadn't seemed so endless. They began to tire, and the lightning came less frequently, and the ice began less potent. Katula had already developed several acid burns from dead draconian splatter, and she began to have a splitting headache, she realized that using this much magic when she wasn't used to it was going to be a problem. Katula shook her head to focus her vision, and spotted a leader draconian, running along the ice with sure footing and carrying what looked to be and ivory collar. She knew this must be trouble, and tried to take him out, but her vision was blurring and her headache was worsening.
"Kelevandros, left!" Katula cried, finally realizing what the collar was for. Kelevandros must have been tiring as well, for he didn't turn fast enough to stop the draconian. The draconian jumped into the air and flew straight the Kelevandros, snapping the collar on his neck right before Kelevandros closed his jaws on the menace, which was all he had time to do before the collar took effect.
Kelevandros cried out a pained roar, clawing at the collar on his neck, while Katula could do nothing but watch. He cried out again, then flashed back to his human form and collapsed on the ground. Katula tried to reach him, but was cut off by draconians. Katula cut through the imposing creatures, using her remaining strength and ignoring the tears running down her cheeks. When she had almost reached him, the draconians split apart, revealing another leading draconian holding the limp form of Kelevandros with a curved sword up to his neck.
The draconian began to talk to her in broken English, "Mistress Beryl does not require this one alive," he shook Kelevandros and smirked, "but she does wish to deal with you personally. If you come quietly, I will spare his life, but if you insist on cutting my troops, I will kill him. So, put down your spear, girl, if you want him to live." With that, he and the rest of the draconians laughed menacingly. Katula smirked, So, he's not dead then, she thought, and when they take me, I still have my wild card to get me out. She nearly laughed as she threw her spear at the draconian's feet, who smiled with wicked teeth as the rest of them swarmed in on her and sent her world into blackness.