Chapter Four
"So, wait, your dad's a river god?" said Finn.
"Huh? Yes, didn't I say that? He's the Ancient Sleeping Guardian of the Glowing River," said Huntress Wizard.
"Wow, that's bizz-onkers," said Finn.
Then, a horrible idea occurred to him.
"Uh, H-Dubs, the 'Glowing River' wouldn't happen to be that same one where I go to play the flute, would it? You know, in the nude?"
"That's the one."
Finn blushed furiously.
"Um, so does that mean-"
"Relax, Finn. I bathe in that river sometimes. It's not weird. Besides, my dad's been asleep for like, six years now."
"Six? But didn't you say fifteen? Did he wake up?"
"I'll get to that later."
"Okay...so what happened next? You and Pablo were dating for a while?"
"That's right. We dated for about two months, and everything was fine. I mean, I see now Pablo was always kind of an arrogant butt-lord, but I...I was in love with him. Love makes people stupid, Finn."
Finn reached out and placed a hand on her knee.
"You're not stupid, Huntress Wizard. Believe me, I've been there. Only, I was the butt-lord."
Huntress Wizard took Finn's hand and smiled.
"You mean your break-up with Flame Princess? You'll have to tell me that story someday.
"But anyway, about two months later we were hunting a monster that was skronking up the local ecology. It, uh, didn't go well…"
A heavy mist hung over the murky woods, though it was almost noon. Heather padded through the forest beside Pablo, her bow at the ready and nerves tense. Tabitha led the party by several yards. Now and then Heather would glance over at Pablo. He'd give her a little reassuring grin, but Heather could tell he was nervous.
This hunt was no elk or bear; this was a professional monster hunter's job, a commission from the Hunters' Association. The monster had yet to be visually ID'd, but it was huge, and seemed to crawl along the ground like an amorphous mass. It had devoured a farmer's entire flock of sheep in the dead of night, swallowing them whole. To help bring it down, the H.A. had issued each of them an explosive spear, in case it was too large for arrows to be effective. No wonder, then, that Pablo and Heather both were feeling a little out of their depth.
If Tabitha felt the same, she did not show it. Her quiet, unperturbed demeanor was reassuring. She had picked up the monster's tracks early in the morning and had led the party north all day.
Suddenly, Tabitha held up a fist, and they came to a halt. Tabitha knelt down and inspected the ground.
"There's a fresher trail here that doubles back over this one, due West. The beast is near. This is probably its normal hunting ground."
"What if it's actually another monster that made that trail?" Pablo said, glumly, "What if we're walking into a whole den of these things?"
"Unlikely. There's little enough game in this area as it is. A creature this size must maintain a huge territory."
"What if it's a mated pair?" said Heather.
"I've never seen tracks quite like this, before. I doubt it has a significant breeding population, if any. It might be a unique. I'm guessing an ancient, sleeping evil now awoken or a mad wizard's experiment gone rogue."
"Ha ha! Yeah, no big deal, or anything," said Pablo.
Tabitha turned and eyed him critically for a moment, and he flinched. She looked away and pointed to her left.
"Right. West, then. Let's pick up the pace. We need to catch up with this thing before it knows we're here. And remember, don't light your spears until I tell you to."
Tabitha began walking briskly down the trail. Pablo and Heather followed at a distance. Heather leaned in close to Pablo and whispered.
"Are you scared, Pablo?"
Pablo laughed nervously.
"Scared? Not I, m'lady. Never. But I'll sure be glad when this is all just a tall tale to tell by the fire."
Another reassuring grin. Heather leaned in and kissed him on the lips.
"My brave adventurer," she said.
They pressed on, and the land began to slope downward, becoming looser and muddier as they went. Soon the trail led them into a gully, with walls of damp earth looming on either side. Far ahead was a bracken-choked clearing, and a billowing plume of mist that seemed to indicate a pond. A foul stench of rotting meat hung in the air.
"If we catch the monster here, there's only one way we can run…" said Pablo.
"Shh! Quiet!" said Tabitha, "I think I hear something."
They all stopped and held their breath. Though she strained, Heather heard nothing but the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
Yet the mist was as thick as ever. There was no breeze. With a start, Heather recognized the sound.
Hissing.
It was as if dozens of snakes were all furiously hissing at once, and at all different pitches. The sound emanated from the fog bank ahead, somewhere beside the pond. Then came the sloshing of water, and a sucking sound like something dragging through mud.
There was no cover, so they stood in the open and waited. Tabitha had taken the explosive spear from her back and held her tinderbox at the ready. Pablo and Heather stood behind her at either side, bows drawn, trembling.
Suddenly, a raspy, inhuman voice split the air.
"Murderer!" the voice cried.
A dark, towering shape resolved from the mists. It appeared as cluster of snakes of all different sizes, wrapped around each other in a ball. The largest snake was nearly three feet in diameter, with a massive head full of dripping fangs hanging roughly ten feet from the ground. More than a dozen smaller heads hung nearby, and all of their gleaming yellow eyes were fixed on Pablo.
"That scent! I know that scent!" the largest head snarled, "It's you! At last we meet!"
"M-me? What do you want with me?" said Pablo.
Heather felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her gut as she made the connection.
"Pablo…" she said, voice trembling, "your boots."
They both glanced down at Pablo's boots. Though stained with mud, the mottled, double-diamond pattern was unmistakable. The snake Pablo had killed at the tournament was of the same breed as the one they faced now.
"It was you! You, who slew my sacred consort! Know me, vermin! I am the Snake Queen! And you will die for your transgression!"
Pablo was stammering something, and taking a few tremulous steps backward, when the hiss of gunpowder joined that of the snakes. Tabitha had lit her explosive spear. Sparks poured from the fuse near the head. She spoke in a calm, commanding voice.
"As long as I live, you will not hurt this child, monster. Now die."
Tabitha hurled the spear, and the monster attempted to dodge. Though it was surprisingly agile, the gully walls hemmed it in, and the spear struck somewhat left of its center of mass. Two of the smaller snake heads thrashed violently for a moment as they were pierced, and then the spear exploded.
Heather shielded her face from the explosion, and the sound left her ears ringing. When she looked up, she saw Pablo and Tabitha were cautiously moving backwards.
Black smoke joined with the mist and brought visibility near to zero, but a chorus of hissing confirmed the beast was not dead.
"Heather! Light your spear!" Tabitha shouted.
Heather pulled the spear from her back and began fumbling for her tinderbox. Just as she found it, the smoke parted, and the Snake Queen and her consorts appeared, bearing a bloody crater in their side where the spear had exploded. They surged forth, angled directly towards Pablo.
There was a bright blue flash of light as Tabitha used a magic arrow. The Snake Queen was stuck fast in a low wall of ice. Pablo was firing away with his own bow, but to little effect.
Frantic, Heather managed to light her spear, and she threw it. Her throw was too high, though, and the shaft of the spear bounced off the bed of snakes, only to explode on the ground behind them, dealing minimal damage.
The ice wall cracked and broke, and the Snake Queen was free again. Tabitha was forced to dive out of the way, lest she be mowed down by undulating mass. With nothing in its way, it bore down on Pablo, and the largest head struck.
Tabitha dove into the path of the Snake Queen's head, shoving Pablo out of the way. She held up her bow with both hands and wedged the grip between the glistening fangs, while catching the lower jaw with her foot. Straining, she held outraged serpent's jaws open.
"Now, Pablo! Throw your spear down it's gullet!" Tabitha shouted.
Heather looked to see how Pablo fared, only to realize, with a start, he was gone. She looked around and caught glimpse of his back, retreating into the mist.
"Wait! Pablo! Where are you-"
There was a great, roaring hiss, and Heather turned just in time to see the massive jaws clamp down on her mother, sweeping her off her feet.
"No!" Heather screamed.
With an indifferent flick of its head, the Snake Queen tossed Tabitha aside. Tabitha impacted the gully wall and collapsed in a heap.
Heather ran to her mother's side, and looked up to face the Snake Queen. The many heads glared down at her for just a moment, then lost interest. The monster slithered away in the direction Pablo had gone, and soon passed from view.
"Ma...mama?" said Heather.
Tabitha coughed, and blood ran down her chin.
"I'm here, for now," she said weakly.
Heather helped her sit up against the trunk of a tree. That was when she noticed the blood soaking the front of Tabitha's vest. It welled from a circular hole, right in the middle of her abdomen.
"Oh no, mama, oh no," said Heather, "We...we've got to get you back to Greenville. Maybe the doctor can-"
"Child, hush," said Tabitha, "I just took a mondo megadose of snake venom, right in my aorta. I already can't feel my legs..."
"But...but…" Heather gasped.
Hot, desperate tears began to stream down her face, and she sobbed.
"No, no, baby, stop that. Come here."
Tabitha held out her trembling arms, and Heather buried her head in her mother's chest. Tabitha held her and stroked her hair.
"Wait, what about Pablo? Where's Pablo?" said Tabitha.
"He...he ran away…" Heather said between sobs.
"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry…" said Tabitha.
She was fading fast. Her voice became a breathy whisper.
"Baby...my baby girl. Mama loves you. I'm so proud of you, Heather…"
And with that, Tabitha breathed her last.
Author's Notes
Oh man. I actually teared up when I wrote this part. I hope it actually comes across as emotionally impactful, and not just maudlin. Fan works, I've observed, are often terribly maudlin affairs. The problem, I think, is that fans try to deliver an emotional pay off comparable to some of the highlights of the show, without any of the requisite build-up.
On a sunnier note, there's a couple of video game references in here. The Snake Queen is based off of that snake ball enemy from Bloodborne, and the whole concept of the Hunters' Association is based off of the Hunters' Guild in Monster Hunter. So yeah. That's pretty neat, I guess.
