Hey guys! Welcome back to Hear a Tale - a new chapter on a new upload day! So sorry that I've been away so long; I've been busy dealing with some health stuff (nothing serious, just annoying/energy draining) as well as work, but I finally got the time to start writing again! I can't promise that uploads will be completely consistent on a weekly basis, but I'll certainly do my best :) That said, review time!
Thanks so much to CitrusChickadee (Thank you so much! I did have fun picking scenarios for each of the characters, I'm glad you liked them! :), Guest (Tressa and Alfyn are the team cinnamon rolls, that's for sure! XD), and Don'ttellmybrotherIwrotethis (Haha, he's doing his best XD) for reviewing!
With that, on with the tale!
Relevant Events: Tressa's Chapter Three
49. Stripes
Tressa shrieked as a massive paw, studded with razor-sharp claws, swiped inches away from her face, the woosh of air from the attack smelling of acid and stinging her eyes. As the merchant scrambled backwards, using a gust of wind magic to further propel her, the Venomtooth Tiger roared, exposing fangs dripping with violet poison.
"W-Where's H'aanit when you need her!?" Tressa gasped, stumbling briefly on the uneven cave floor. "O-Or Alfyn!?"
A hand rested on her shoulder to steady her, and Tressa looked up to see Primrose at her side. "At the inn, right where we left them," the dancer replied, lifting her other hand as darkness swirled around it. "As helpful as a huntress' expertise would have been, I'm afraid the four of us will simply have to get through this on our own…though I suppose we should have brought a healer." She flicked her wrist, sending a bolt of darkness towards the colossal tiger, striking it across the face and causing it to reel back in pain and anger.
"N-No kidding…" The merchant winced. "And here I thought this was going to be easy…"
"In fairness - !" Cyrus called out from across the cavern, "- we had no indication that this cave was home to such a fearsome beast! Of course, I suppose we could have surmised as much, given the scarcity of other monsters that we encountered along the way, but with such little evidence, it would have been difficult to - ah!"
The scholar was cut off as Olberic grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to safety, just as the Venomtooth Tiger pounced. The big cat landed right where Cyrus had been standing moments before, and, muttering a quick apology under his breath, the warrior tossed the smaller man back towards Tressa and Primrose before spinning and slashing at the beast with his blade.
Both women darted forward to grab one of the professor's arms, successfully catching him in a semi-standing position before his momentum could send him sprawling to the floor. Cyrus blinked several times, stunned, before quickly clearing his throat and standing up straight.
"Er, th-thank you!" he called, half to Olberic and half to Tressa and Primrose. "Right, ah…probably not the time for reflection quite yet."
"Probably not," Primrose agreed dryly.
"Oh, Professor!" Tressa spoke up, though she kept her eyes on the tiger and Olberic, who was holding the creature's attention, dodging each of its attempted slashes and bites while striking out at its striped flanks whenever he could get an opening. "You're smart - do you know anything that might help us defeat this thing?"
"Hm, excellent question…" Cyrus put a hand to his chin and narrowed his eyes, studying the tiger from afar. "I'm admittedly unsure if this creature would fall more into the 'animal' or 'monster' category, but…I do have one theory that seems plausible regardless." He held out his other hand, a flame appearing just above his palm. "Perhaps it's flammable?"
"Well…worth a shot!" Tressa said with a shrug. "Come on, I'll back you up!"
Without waiting for a response, she took off running towards the Venomtooth Tiger, spear held aloft. "Heads up, Olberic!" she shouted. "We're gonna light this thing up!"
The warrior looked up, eyes widening slightly, but quickly nodded. "Understood!" He parried a blow from the big cat's unusually massive dewclaw, then struck out at the underside of its paw. The tiger roared and reared back onto its hind legs as blood sprayed from the wounded paw pad, and Olberic used the moment of distraction to deftly leap out of its reach, leaving it completely open to further attack.
As Tressa ran, she heard the distinctive crackle of flames behind her, and felt heat on the back of her neck. She ducked to the right as a torrent of fire surged past on her left, soon engulfing the beast with its furious blaze.
The magical flames worked quickly, burning away much of the tiger's lavender fur, leaving even the stripes on its bare skin scorched and angry. The creature wailed its pain and collapsed, writhing on the cave floor as Tressa finally reached it.
The merchant winced. "So sorry about this!" Careful not to let its flailing claws and tusks scratch her, she swiftly raised her spear and brought it down hard into the Venomtooth Tiger's chest. With its thick fur no longer protecting it, the spearpoint went in easily. The sudden burst of blood told her that her aim was true - the beast's heart had been pierced, and soon, its body stilled.
Tressa stood for a moment, staring at the blood-soaked tip of her spear as she recovered her breath, before exhaling hard and sinking slowly to her knees. "W-Whew…" she stammered, wiping sweat from her brow. "That was…a lot…"
"A decisive final blow," Olberic said approvingly as he came to stand at her side. He offered a hand to help her up, which the young merchant gratefully accepted. "And a swift death, at that. You did well."
She smiled weakly. "H-Heh, well…couldn't have done it without Cyrus." Her smile faded as she glanced back down at the fallen tiger. "I-I do feel kinda bad, though…we're the ones who pretty much broke into its home…"
"That may be true," Primrose said, she and Cyrus both walking over to join the merchant and warrior, "but consider that, had we not fought back, the tiger would have not let us leave here alive." She put a comforting arm around Tressa's shoulders. "It's unfortunate, of course, but we certainly could not have outrun a beast like that. We had no choice but to defend ourselves."
Tressa sighed. "Yeah…I guess so…"
"Try not to let it dampen your spirits too much, Tressa," Cyrus added sympathetically. "We came here to find a legendary treasure, did we not? Let us collect what we came here, so that our striped friend's death may not be completely in vain."
Taking a deep breath, the merchant straightened slightly. "Okay," she said, pasting on a small smile despite her lingering regret. "Let's get that treasure…for Mr. Leon's sake."
See you guys next time for Tale 50: Breaking the Rules!