12. The Reptid Queen


Zael ran down the tunnel as fast as his legs could carry him. Was the girl okay? Was she alive?

What was going on down here, anyway?

He'd use stealth, he decided. If the Reptids and Gurak were collaborating, as Arganan mentioned earlier, there were probably more Reptids coming from this area.

Up ahead, he noticed Reptids, all gathered together in a group. Some of them were specifically standing in front of an altar, chanting in a strange language Zael had never heard before.

What caught most of his attention, however, as he started sneaking closer by hiding behind various rocky pillars and so on, was a little girl, stuck in a cage.

That must be the one that fell down the well, he realized. She's still alive.

The girl looked scared, huddled up in her cage, and Zael got close enough, while staying hidden behind various rock formations and other miscellaneous things, to get a good look at her. She had tears in her eyes, and despite her trying to wipe them away with her hands, it was clear the tears kept flowing.

Two Reptids approached the cage holding the sobbing little girl, and Zael wasted no time shooting both Reptids down with his crossbow.

"What the hell happened to using stealth to get to her!?" Zael heard Arganan shriek, but Zael ignored him (and was grateful that no one could hear or see him except for Zael himself) and ran straight for the cage, trying to soothe the little girl.

"Hey," He whispered, and the little girl stared up at him with tearful eyes. She had a couple bruises on her arms and face, and Zael wished he knew healing magic. "I'm gonna get you out of here, okay? I promise you'll be safe. Keep quiet unless there's Reptids coming your way, okay?"

The little girl nodded softly. "O-okay, mister…"

Zael looked towards the rest of the Reptids, still occupied with their odd altar. There was one particular Reptid that finished chanting, and waved their arms in the air.

Smoke emerged from the altar. The Reptids surrounding it scattered as the smoke rose high in the air, several feet above them all. A loud roar shook the area, and Zael shuddered as he almost fell over from how the roar shook the ground underneath him.

A large Reptid, larger than any other he remembered at all, emerged from the smoke, smashing the altar underneath her with her massive feet.

That…did not look good.

Zael heard Therius growl slightly.

"That's her. The Reptid Queen." He spoke, and Zael noticed that Therius' voice grew gravelly. "She's the one that killed me."

"What!?" Zael stared up at the beast. "The…Reptid Queen?"

"I doubt you remember, but I bled out after I took that hit for you and retreated to the sewers to recover. There was only so much the civilians and few knights left could do to help me while we all hid here. But in my last moments, this beast emerged and slaughtered many of the citizens. I could do nothing but watch as they died, before it faced me and gave me the killing blow." Therius actually chuckled, but it was weak. "I never thought I would ever say this to someone who once was a mercenary, of all people, but…avenge me, Zael! Avenge me and everyone that died here, one-hundred years ago!"

The Reptid Queen roared and ran at Zael.

Zael ran out of the way, and he noticed a few bits of rock and debris rise in the air as it went up and past him. He looked back to see the debris travellign into the Reptid Queen's mouth, and Zael grimaced.

Would she do that to the little girl?

A scream made Zael pay attention as two Reptids lifted the cage holding the cage with the girl in it, holding it up enough so that the Queen could see it. The Queen hissed, facing the two Reptids holding the cage, and…

"No!" Zael shot one of the Reptids with an arrow, forcing them to drop the girl, but the other Reptid still standing got sucked into the Queen Reptid's mouth. The sounds of chewing and swallowing made Zael almost puke, but he ignored the sensations as he raced over to the caged girl, dragging the cage out of the way of the Reptid Queen's attack. He managed to hide the poor girl behind some larger debris for now, too heavy to be sucked up by the Queen, and he emerged from behind the larger rocks.

"Zael!" He heard Arganan yell, and he turned to see Arganan gesturing to some other material. "There are some spare stunning bombs down here! Get her to suck up one of these things!"

Zael wasn't sure if it would work, but it was better than nothing. He ran towards the stun bombs, picking up one of them.

"Hey!" Zael yelled. The Reptid Queen turned towards him upon hearing him yell, and began trying to suck up anything and everything in his direction. Zael took the opportunity to throw the bomb at her, and it immediately got sucked into her mouth…

Only for the Reptid Queen to screech in pain afterwards as it exploded within her, falling backwards onto the ground.

"Perfect!" Zael heard Arganan yell. "Now's your chance!"

"Right!" Zael ran for the Queen, climbing ontop of her massive belly while she still lay there stunned. Without any further hesitation, he started stabbing down at the flesh, hoping to hit vital organs. Despite the Queen's screams, he kept going, even with blood gushing out of her wounds and spilling onto the ground underneath her.


The fight was over in minutes.

Zael stared at the bloodstained sword he held, and then down at the dead Reptid Queen, bleeding out entirely. The other Reptids fled after their Queen was dead, and Zael hoped it would be enough to deter them from kidnapping and/or killing any humans for a while, if not permanently.

"M-mister…?"

The child! Zael quickly rushed over to the cage, and he saw the girl shrink back in her cage upon seeing his bloodied form. He doubted it was comforting for her to see him covered in blood, but he couldn't do much about it right now.

"I-it's okay, I'm not injured." He managed. "I just had to fight a lot of Reptids, okay?"

The child didn't seem so appeased by that, but at least she wasn't trying to run from him anymore. He quickly picked the lock with shaky hands, and he offered her his least bloody hand, taking a deep breath.

"Let's get you back to your mum, okay?" He breathed. "You're safe now. They're not going to hurt you anymore."

The girl paused, swallowing, but she nodded, taking his hand into hers.

Zael carried her all the way home, even as she sobbed into his shoulder.


After emerging from the well, the mother was relieved that her child was safe, thanking Zael. Zael tried to deter the woman from giving him anything as thanks, but she insisted on giving him a whetstone to sharpen his swords for any future enemies as payment. Zael accepted it. At least it would be useful.

Besides, he was killing a lot of enemies, recently. Never hurt to keep your weapons sharp enough.

Zael watched the mother and child leave, before looking down at himself. Not only was his clothing bloodstained, but judging from Arganan's wrinkled nose and frown upon staring at him, Zael guessed that he reeked from being underground for so long. Hopefully Ariela wouldn't have a huge fit and/or ask too many questions about where he was.

"Zael."

He turned to see the white knight standing there. He was so familiar, but it was his voice that truly made Zael recognize him. Like Arganan and Asthar before him, he, too, was also translucent in appearance, and also dead.

"Therius?" Zael breathed.

Therius nodded. Though deceased, he looked rather pristine, dressed in that white armor of his. "It is me." He managed. "And thanks to what you've done, you've freed not just the girl, but me as well. I..." He paused, then released a breath he'd been holding, rasping, "Thank you, Zael."

Zael offered him a soft grin. "I'm just glad I could help. What now?"

"Well, it seems that I'm capable of roaming freely." Therius noted, looking around, and then he looked towards Arganan and Zael again, eyes widening with realization. "What happened to the others? Are they…?"

"Dead. For a hundred years, now. Same goes for you." Arganan managed softly, and Zael saw Therius swallow. "Asthar's in Lazulis Castle. We technically freed him already, but he's waiting for us before we go activate Lazulis' half of the Outsider, deeper in the castle."

"Allow me to go with you." Therius quickly requested. "I don't know if I can participate in combat like you can, considering my deceased state, but at the very least, I can keep a lookout for enemies."

Zael looked between Arganan and Therius, before nodding, looking towards Therius.

"Honestly," Zael admitted, "I would be happy to have the company. And I appreciate the help, too."

"Then I'll join you. Thank you." Therius bowed lightly. "I promise I'll do all I can."

Zael had a feeling that things were only going to get better from here. He could remember now that trusting Therius was a good idea. That Therius hadn't liked him before, for reasons of Zael being a mercenary while Therius was a knight, but they'd worked past that.

It would be fine, Zael told himself. He had reunited allies by his side. If things kept going on like this, with fighting enemies and freeing his friends, at least he could give everyone the satisfaction of a peaceful aftermath–even if it was late.