Author's Note: Longest chapter yet! Hope you enjoy it, please review. :)
The dragon crashed down onto the roof of her house, nearly burying her in rubble. She could see Adaro's bloody hand sticking out like a claw from under a section of wall. Somehow she managed to crawl out and run to the inn. Pablos was there; they both hid behind the counter, barely daring to breathe. They could hear the dragon pacing outside the door, roaring and breathing fire. Then came the beating of giant wings, and seconds later the ceiling of the inn was crushed under the dragon's weight with another huge crash -
Ceileigh awoke with a start, breathing heavily and trying to relax. Just a nightmare, she sighed, rubbing her eyes. Nightmares were part of real life now, it seemed. She couldn't believe she'd seen, much less fought, a dragon, goblins and a cyclops in less than two weeks' time. At least she felt somewhat better equipped after the little bit of training she'd had. Suddenly there was another crash and she jumped up, still half asleep and without any armor on. Leandor jumped up too; they grabbed their weapons and ran outside to see people running and screaming.
"What's going on?" Ceileigh yelled, grabbing the nearest person by the shoulder.
It was a leatherworker, who jerked away and pointed behind them. "Are you crazy?! Right there!" he yelled, running away.
They turned to see a gigantic gray snake rise up from behind a tent to their left. With amazing speed, it whipped forward and barreled into Ceileigh's shoulder, spinning her around and knocking her to the ground. She pushed herself to her feet and controlled her breathing to recover from the impact. She was shocked when a second snake struck the tent and sent it flying. Then a third head rose up, weaving back and forth menacingly.
"Master, a hydra!" Leandor declared, drawing his sword. Ceileigh had heard of them but this was the first one she'd ever seen. It was much, much bigger than she'd pictured. Soldiers were already gathering around them, ready to fight. Two more snakes rose up, hissing. All five were attached to the same body and had gigantic fangs they looked all too eager to use.
"Let's not wait around here!" Ceileigh shouted. "They can't strike you if you're right next to them!" They all ran forward, colliding with the hydra's softer undersides, stabbing and slashing. The hydra hissed and writhed, lunging but unable to connect with them. Ceileigh hoped everyone else had gotten out of the way.
The monster slithered forward steadily, slowed down by the attack but ultimately unstoppable. Men on either side of her were climbing the creature to avoid being rolled over. The hydra was clearly still going to do what it wanted; there had to be another way to stop it.
"Leandor, run out and get its attention!" Ceileigh shouted to him as they stepped back again and again, slashing where they could. "Give me your sword!" she said to the soldier nearest her.
"On my way, Arisen!" Leandor replied, running out at once. He turned and banged his sword and shield together, taunting the monster. One of the heads snapped toward him. It weaved for a moment then lunged, too fast for Leandor to dodge. He had no choice but to jam his shield straight into its mouth; his arm disappeared all the way to the shoulder.
Ceileigh struck from the side, driving the sword into the hydra's neck. In a few pushes she had it all the way to the hilt. The creature let out a garbled hiss and tried to draw away, lifting her and Leandor a few feet off the ground. Ceileigh's weight pulled the sword down through the neck, ripping muscle and tendons and spraying blood all over her. "Help us!" she shouted, grimacing.
Those that could ran to their aid. They leapt up to stab the neck, slicing in half circles to separate the head. Ceileigh swung herself back and forth to cut deeper, finally tearing loose and landing on her back underneath it. She crouched and plunged both daggers into the soft spot between the jawbones, pushing upward with all her might. She flinched in disgust when her hands pushed through as well.
A moment later Leandor let go of his shield and dropped to the ground. The soldiers also dropped to their feet one by one. Freed of the extra weight, the hydra reared up fully, shaking, trying to dislodge the shield in its mouth. It made a perfect round plug to block the throat and that head was choking on its own tongue. Enraged now, the hydra raced forward, weaving and writhing more than ever, like a crazy hand desperately seeking to clutch and destroy. Anyone who wasn't fast enough was pulled under its body and crushed.
The creature quickly wrapped around one of the watchtowers. There were so many heads and they'd only damaged one; the situation seemed hopeless. The four uninjured heads were striking at anything and everything without letup. Tents, fences, shops and carts exploded into the air around them.
Ceileigh shook her head. This can't go on, she thought. This whole place and everyone in it will be wiped out! She wasn't about to let that happen. The hydra was not going to win.
Ceileigh rushed forward without warning, Leandor scrambling after her in surprise. "Keep it occupied in the front, I'm going up this way!" she shouted to him and anyone else nearby. She made for the back ladder of the watchtower and started climbing.
Leandor and the soldiers gathered in front of the hydra again, dodging its blows and slicing it where they could. One soldier caught a head by the corner of the mouth with his sword as it rushed by and opened a huge gash down the side of its face, leaving the mouth hanging open and pouring blood. Another head dove for Leandor but he threw himself backward and stuck his sword into the throat, letting the hydra's momentum slice open several feet of neck on his blade. Still on his back, he looked over to see a soldier get snapped up by a third head, but the tables were turned as the man roared and used all his strength to push its jaws painfully wide.
The head that Leandor gashed was now withdrawing slowly, hanging low and gurgling as blood poured from its neck and jaws. He ran to aid the soldier, ramming his sword into the roof of that head's open mouth. The soldier jumped backward out of harm's way but Leandor lost his weapon when the monster's mouth snapped shut, driving the sword into its brain. Now completely exposed, Leandor hoped Ceileigh was making progress on the other side.
Ceileigh had indeed already climbed the watchtower and was almost at eye level with the heads when they were drawn back. They didn't pay attention to her at all due to distraction and pain. She was pleased to see that her pawn and other fighters had left the hydra with only one functional head. The one with the shield in its mouth was two away and looked like it was hanging by a thread.
Ceileigh leapt onto the nearest neck, again using her daggers to hold herself in place as she crawled across it. When it was level with the next neck she jumped onto that one. She worked herself around so she had a foot on either side of the gaping wound, then planted one dagger into its hide while she gouged through what was left of the meat holding it together. Finally, after a lot of stabbing, wrenching and even kicking at the head with her foot, it dislodged with a loud crack and a wet pop. The rest of the neck and body fell to earth with a thud, throwing Ceileigh off in the process. The hydra retreated then, dragging its dead and injured parts over the large hills at the back of camp.
"Master, are you alright?" Leandor said, full of concern as he rushed to her.
She rolled carefully to her back and laid motionless for a minute on the ground. "Yes. That was very jarring." She groaned, holding her neck. She stood up to see the short-haired foreign woman, soldiers, and others gathered around the severed hydra head. She was surprised to see a mark on its forehead glow red and disappear - the same mark the cyclops bore. A mage waved a glowing staff over the head and some kind of shiny white sparkles settled all over it and disappeared.
"What was that?" Ceileigh asked, stepping forward. She was immediately rushed by soldiers and other grateful folk. She disappeared momentarily in a wave of handshakes and praise. The foreign woman turned toward her, frowning. Ceileigh bobbed her head and murmured thank you until they dispersed.
"It is a spell, to preserve the head," the woman said. "Otherwise it will dissolve like all these beasts do, and never make it to the capital." She waved a dismissive hand in the direction the hydra had gone.
"I am Mercedes," she continued. "I lead the men of the Enlistment Corps. I've heard talk of the Arisen. They say you hold dominion over the pawns." Her eyes flickered haughtily over Leandor. "I've ordered pawns to take up arms and fight myself, but they are a clumsy lot." Her lip curled with disdain.
"I cannot call them into this world as you do or make traveling companions of them. What manner of magick lets you command them so?" She looked sharply at Ceileigh for a moment, then away. "Well, it matters not. The dragon is come. I'll welcome any help, be it pawn, Arisen, farmer or fisherwoman," she said pointedly. Ceileigh raised her eyebrows as Mercedes turned back to the head. There's not a spot of blood on her, Ceileigh thought spitefully. Where was SHE during the fight?
"Ancient tales of the Arisen are all well and good, but make a gift of this head to the Duke, and…people will have something tangible to believe in," she said.
She turned to Ceileigh again. "Prepare yourself, then accompany us to Gran Soren. We leave this afternoon." Mercedes sauntered away after that command.
"What is her problem?" Ceileigh said to Leandor. "All high and mighty just because she has a fancy outfit and a command! I didn't see her chopping up any monsters! And just let her try to get through one day of being a 'fisherwoman'," she said, mocking Mercedes' accent. "What a bitch!"
He shrugged uncomfortably. Humans had a lot of issues he didn't understand and he wanted to stay out of it.
"Shall I show you how to gather pawns from the Rift?" he offered. Amazingly, the tent with the riftstone still stood.
"Sure," she replied sourly, and they headed that way. The next moment she laughed in amazement. "I can't believe we did all that with no armor on! What happened to your sword and shield by the way? Did you see the way that head just popped off!? It was gross, obviously, but also kind of amazing. Ha ha ha! That probably sounds crazy. Man I am starving! We should get something to eat after this…"
Leandor listened patiently as she babbled away like she was on some kind of high. This Arisen very much enjoys battle, he thought, but didn't think she realized it yet. He could sense in her a hunger for challenges and a desire to be the best she could be, a love of winning and pride in doing a job well. These attributes will serve her well in the times ahead, he thought grimly.