Author's Note: I should probably say that Ceileigh is pronounced like "See-lee", just in case anyone's wondering, because I know it's a weird looking name. Also, I hope all of this action was easy to understand - I reworded it a million times. Please review! Also wanted to say if you're interested in trying them out, two songs that really remind me of Dragon's Dogma (and are awesome anyway) are "Dragons" by Stratovarius and "Tell Me" by Ra.
"Come on!" Ceileigh called to Rook as she ran toward the encampment's west gate.
"On my way, Arisen," he said, following her immediately.
They ran across the encampment and made it through the gate in the midst of another group of soldiers. The cyclops was a short distance away, on its hands and knees, surrounded by a dozen goblins carrying clubs and torches or swords and shields. The soldiers rushed past Ceileigh and Rook to join the handful that were already fighting. Some clung to the monster's legs, hobbling it and landing as many blows as they could. Others were hacking at the arms and face, while the last few fended off goblins. The goblins posed no problem for these trained fighters, and were gone in a matter of minutes.
Suddenly the cyclops got a second wind and rose up, roaring. It swept men and goblin carcasses away with one massive arm and then the other. Of the five men knocked aside, only two got back up. Another two were flattened as the monster stomped forward and roared again. Fearsome yellow tusks protruded from the corners of its mouth and one giant, angry eye rolled back and forth, looking for more victims. Ceileigh's body once again told her to run, but if she did that she would fail the test. More importantly, people were dying.
Ceileigh's gaze fell on a soldier's broken body laying in the grass several yards to her left. The unfortunate man had a bow strapped to his back and the quiver was still half full of arrows. Yes! she thought, feeling disrespectful for a moment. She ran to the body and stuffed the bundle of arrows into her own quiver. Maybe she could contribute while keeping a safe distance.
Ceileigh only had a vague idea of how to use a bow and the cyclops was still swinging its body back and forth, which made for a hard target. Rook was nearby shooting fireballs, but she lost track of him as she concentrated on her weapon. She found it difficult to hold the bow straight and still pull the arrow back fully. She stretched it to her shoulder and aimed for the monster's face. To her dismay the first arrow flew far to the left and only went as high as its waist. She quickly nocked another and let it fly, with much the same result.
Frustrated, she ran closer and aimed for its torso, figuring she couldn't miss that. She raised the bow higher and tried to keep it straighter. She managed to bounce an arrow off of its stomach but the next one missed again altogether.
"Rrgh! This isn't working!" Ceileigh ground out, tearing off the bow and throwing it down. Drawing her daggers, she ran to join the men still hacking at the cyclops' legs. A giant fist bore down on her and she rolled to the side. "Shit!" she squeaked as a flash of gray covered her vision and course knuckles grazed her arm. She regained her feet but was knocked right back down again as the ground shook from the cyclops' steps. One more step and the man beside her was crushed flat. Shock took Ceileigh's breath for a moment, but was quickly replaced by anger.
She jumped up and stuck both her daggers into the cyclops' leg with a growl, but they didn't go very far into its tough skin. Disappointed, Ceileigh pulled them out and staggered back a few steps. She needed to get to its vulnerable parts - the face and eyes. Watching the monster bellow and flail above her, she had an idea. She ran back out in front of it and waited for it to make another sweep at the ground.
The cyclops noticed her and lunged, arms outstretched. She darted to the right and just like she hoped, it stopped and swung at her. She changed direction abruptly, then twisted and stabbed both daggers into the side of the monster's curled forefinger. She used the leverage and momentum to swing herself up onto the hand so she was laying on the forefinger and thumb. She brought her legs into a crouch, holding the embedded daggers to keep steady. At the apex of the swing, she yanked the blades free and leapt onto the monster's right shoulder. From there she half climbed, half crawled, using dagger points and the balls of her feet to scramble up the neck to the top of the head. As she climbed, a white glowing swirl enveloped her daggers and turned them cold to the touch. Rook's work? she wondered in the back of her mind.
Ceileigh held on for dear life as the cyclops roared and shook, trying to dislodge her. Her arms felt like they would pop right off. She pulled herself forward little by little until she reached the softer flesh of the forehead. At this angle she could feel the rest of her body sliding ever so slowly forward. Suddenly she was sliding right off.
"No, no, no - aaaagh!" she cried as she fell face-first. She stabbed desperately at anything and felt her arm punch through a squishy barrier and sink into something that felt like jelly. She was instantly covered in thick fluid from head to toe. She was too scared to be disgusted as she realized she was hanging by what was left of the cyclops' eyeball. Then the beast was falling silently forward; its size made it feel like slow motion. Ceileigh's arm came loose and she fell, barely catching herself on a tusk. She waited and jumped to the ground when she was close enough, trying for another roll but feeling her ankle twist badly and something else snap near her left shoulder.
The cyclops' head smashed to the ground just a few feet away. A red sigil glowed brightly for a second on its forehead, then faded altogether as the beast died. Soon its body was bubbling into a large brown puddle. Ceileigh rolled painfully away to avoid splatter and sat up.
"Please be careful, Arisen," said Rook, appearing at her side out of nowhere. She just looked at him, grimacing. What few soldiers survived were gathering around her.
"You're a hero!" one cried. "That was amazing!" The soldiers all praised her and shook her hand or clapped her on the soldier, making her wince.
"More like desperation and chance!" she laughed, breathing heavily. "I didn't think I would make it through that one!"
A pair of them lifted her carefully to her feet but she stumbled. "I twisted my ankle pretty badly," she said. "I think I broke my collarbone too. I should probably see a healer."
"Leave it to me, Arisen," said Rook. As she leaned on a soldier for support, he quickly cast a spell that enveloped her in greenish light. She gave a start as she felt her broken bone mending and her ankle being repaired.
"Wow! I feel better than new!" she exclaimed, flexing her arms and legs as the light faded. Not only were her injuries healed but she felt overall better than she ever remembered. Every little ailment she didn't know she had must have been healed at the same time.
"Was that you with the daggers earlier?" she asked Rook.
"Yes, Arisen. I enchanted them with ice to help you further debilitate the cyclops," he said calmly.
"Good job," she said, smiling at him. "And thank you for healing me." She felt ashamed for not appreciating him more before. He had useful skills and he'd been right there to help her when she needed it from the moment they met.
Their group was greeted with cheers and handshakes as they went back through the gate. Ceileigh felt embarrassed by the attention. "I don't feel like I deserve this," she said to the soldier next to her. "I'm not some brave hero, I was terrified I would die the entire time. I don't have any training. All I did was run around like a fool, doing my best with what I had and making it up as I went along!"
The soldier winked at her. "Meeting a challenge despite the odds and volunteering to protect others when few others did? Sounds exactly like a hero to me!" he laughed, patting her on the shoulder. "You have a lot of potential in you, girlie!"
Ceileigh blushed, muttered thank you and made for the riftstone. As soon as she approached it the voices returned.
"WITH THAT YOUR TRIAL IS COMPLETE. YOU ARE THE ARISEN IN TRUTH, PROVEN BEYOND ANY DOUBT. NOW, I BID YOU SELECT A COMPANION FOR THE JOURNEY AHEAD. THEY SHALL SERVE YOU AND YOU ALONE, TO SHARE IN YOUR HARDSHIPS AND AID YOU IN EVERY ENDEAVOR."
Another pawn to follow me everywhere? Ceileigh thought. That would be useful. I'd want him to be bigger than Rook though, and fight with a sword and shield, and… She was thinking about all the attributes she would want in a constant companion when suddenly another hole opened right there in the tent and a new figure dropped to the ground.