The forest was silent.

Even after several hours of hiking, Telhari had scarcely seen more than the occasional squirrel, and only then at a great distance from where he was. There was an abundance of decaying plant life: moist and rotten and teeming with mushroom overgrowth. The closer he came to the foot of the mountain, the more the stench of death lingered. Telhari was sure he knew the manner of creature he was hunting, but never before had he heard of one with such a presence. Still, he was confident that he could handle things. As he walked onward, the bubbling of a nearby river sounded in the distance.

It is just as he said.

Telhari followed the sound and soon came upon the river’s edge. From the edge of its banks, he traced its path up the mountain. Some way off in the distance, a few thousand feet or so, the river disappeared into the rock face. Near the mountain’s base, Telhari saw a cave mouth open to the waiting forest and headed towards it. Littered around the threshold were the carcasses of dozens of small animals in various stages of decay. Telhari gripped the handle of his sword tightly and stepped into the dark.

The grasses and dried foliage of the forest floor gave way to cold dirt and stone. After a few more paces inside, he came upon a pile of ash and burnt wood. There were claw marks etched into the walls of the cave, which were painted over with rust colored remnants of blood splatter. There, against the wall beside the ashes, were the remains of a human body— both its legs, as well as the left arm were missing.

Telhari knelt down to examine the body; the bones had been crushed and ripped by something with a large bite and strong teeth. What was left of the victim had been fed on by smaller scavengers and was nearly picked clean. A few yards further inside the cave, there was a second body. This one was missing all four limbs and was in a similar state of decomposition. The first of these appeared male and the second female.

The first couple.

Telhari continued on.

The entrance to the cave had been nearly eight feet across, but as he continued deeper, the passage began to narrow. Now as little as five feet across, he could see strange markings appear— depressions that rippled like waves along the rock. They began when the cave had narrowed to about six feet and continued for several hundred feet more, before disappearing as the cave widened again.

“Its scales are quite hard…” Telhari muttered under his breath.

Six feet’s breadth was certainly a larger size than he had ever heard record of. These mountains did not have very large fauna; at least not large enough to sustain the creature’s apparent size. And based on the testimony of the locals, it hadn’t been here for more than a year.

So, what else are you feeding on?

Eventually, the cave began to widen again, and this time Telhari slowed himself. He had good vision, better than a typical human, and could see reasonably well in the dark. But, in the heart of this cave, the light was low enough that even he was having trouble seeing. In response, Telhari began an enchantment. A slow weaving together of syllables, layering one on top of the other until they took on a life of their own. Suddenly, he struck the tip of his blade against the rock face. A spark burst forth; but instead of fading immediately, it lingered, crackling first, then expanding slowly. It grew warmer and brighter in color, settling finally as globe of white and yellow which shone in the air above him. He sent it with his mind up high into the air until he saw the cavern ceiling.

The cavern was fifty, maybe sixty feet wide, but made of terribly uneven ground. There were columns and pillars of rock rising from the floor and descending from the ceiling. A dampness hung in the air, and he could see the reflections of his enchanted light glittering off the surface of the rock formations. A large portion of the cavern was not yet visible to Telhari, as it was hidden by large edifices of stone, some almost ten feet wide.

Plenty of places for you to hide, eh?

Technically, he was at an overwhelming disadvantage. This was the ideal environment for such a creature to hunt in. Under normal circumstances, there would be no light by which to see. The floor was slippery and uneven, and without proper footing, it would be difficult to keep one’s stance in combat. Telhari began with a slow stroll, moving heel to toe as he went, until he had adjusted to the unevenness. Coming around the perimeter of the cavern, he happened suddenly upon another body.

This one was much larger than the others. The man had been relieved of his four limbs, as well as most of his innards. However, due to the moisture inside the cave, he was even more decayed than the first two. At his side lay a large hammer. It had a head of solid iron and was bound with metal bracing to a substantial steel handle. The steel was not as strong as that which Telhari’s kin were capable of rendering, but it was impressive nonetheless. This man must have been very capable to have commissioned such a weapon. Looking closer at the hammer’s head, Telhari could see several dents and teeth marks.

A valiant effort.

Taking one last look at the man’s corpse, he saw a shining brass engraving— “Grob the Smasher”.

She was right the first time.

Telhari continued to creep along the edge of the cave, watching carefully for any hint of movement. If the creature was sleeping, he may be able to end things quickly. He reckoned it was blind, and so the presence of his glowing orb shouldn’t disturb the creature. The orb gave off little to no heat and was floating almost twenty feet in the air, near the top of the cave ceiling. As he turned the corner, however, Telhari saw something strange. There was a pile of bodies that were unlike the others. All of these victims were young, no more than eleven or twelve years old by Telhari’s estimate. The corpses were clustered beneath a ledge that was over ten feet from the ground. Several of the long bones were splintered or had fractures running along their surface.

What is this?

As Telhari looked closer, he could see that their abdomens had been violated, but not by scavengers…

Suddenly, a guttural sound filled the cavern.

Telhari whipped around and drew back his blade. He stared intently in front of him, but he saw nothing. He listened carefully, just barely making out the low rumble of the creature’s breath. Telhari localized the source and began to move silently towards it. Then, the sound began to evolve— from a low grumbling into a visceral symphony.

The creature was feeding.

Coming fully around the nearest column of rock, Telhari could finally lay eyes on it.

The creature’s long, leathery tail wormed back and forth along the floor, gliding against the slick of moist rock. He could hear it greedily sucking down air between bites. The muscles of it’s neck rippled as the creature tugged and pulled and crunched down. Telhari heard bones snap like twigs between its crushing jaw. Finally, it ripped away the flesh, sending a spray of fluids onto the adjacent wall. The metallic scent of fresh blood wafted over to him.

Telhari squeezed his hand around the fine leather embroidery of his blade’s handle. Everything about it, from the ore of which it was forged, to the enchantments placed upon it, was designed specifically for him.

Designed to do one thing.

The warmth in the palm of his hand spread like a fire down the blade and it began to vibrate. Crudely at first, but within a second it had become a precise and rapid oscillation that made his whole body tingle. It produced no sound as one might expect, but it carried an undeniable presence to any who had the sense to perceive it.

And at this, the creature stopped feeding.

Telhari jumped to the right and planted his foot on a platform of rock several feet off the ground. Sensing his movement, the creature spun around roared at the place where Telhari had been. Its face was ghastly: mottled, uneven, and littered with scales, punctuating slick black skin. Its mouth was dripping with blood and viscera. Rows of fat, jagged teeth stuck out at crooked angles from inside of its jaw.

All of Telhari’s muscles were humming now— he felt light and quick. His whole body was singing. In an instant he had chosen his mark. Telhari pushed off the rock face and shot towards the nape of the creature’s neck. It wailed terribly as steel cut into flesh. Yet, even with his enchantment, Telhari was unable to sever cleanly through the creature’s tough skin. He quickly withdrew the blade and kicked off the creature’s back, just in time to avoid the lashing of it’s serpentine tail.

Crack!

The tip of the tail snapped against the creature’s back and whipped around, moving as if it had a mind of its own. Telhari landed on the top of a nearby boulder, out of reach and unharmed.

Under normal circumstances, his spell weaving should allow him to pierce the creature’s hide in a single swing. But his technique has suffered greatly, ever since that day…

Memories of flame and loss threatened to overtake him. So Telhari fought bitterly against their tide, willing himself out of the past and back into the present…

He was greeted by the soft rhythm of the creature’s blood as it dripped from the end of his sword and splattered against the rock. Squatting low once again, he studied the creature. As it snarled at the open air, its tongue darting out, trying to sense him. There were two large, swollen masses on either side of its head. They captured the light of Telhari’s spell-woven globe, still floating high in the air, and spun it around, reflecting it in myriad combinations and giving an illusion of movement. These were the “eyes” the man spoke of.

The creature sniffed at the air.

Having trouble?

As it turned its head toward him, Telhari could make out an indent on the side of the creature’s face.

The hammer strike.

There was a healed gash on the side of the creature’s jaw and it was still missing teeth. If he could aim at the weakened tissue, he could pierce into its skull from beneath and deal a killing blow. Telhari placed his fingers inside of the pouch he kept buckled to his belt. He pulled out something small— a pungent smelling powder wrapped in thin cloth. He pinched the end with his fingertips and concentrated. The tip of his fingers heated up, and a red embers began to singe the cloth. The creature turned toward him, and he could feel its murderous intent moving outward like a wave. Telhari then flicked the ball to the creature’s right side. It hit the ground and exploded.

The pop startled the creature. It turned reflexively toward the sound and, sensing the heat of the explosion, chomped down on the air. With its attention shifted, Telhari dashed toward the creature’s left side. He planted his foot and drew back his blade.

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It’s over—!

CLANG!

Telhari stopped, startled by the sudden high-pitched sound that echoed throughout the cavern.

What!?

It was only a second — less than a second— but that was enough. The creature sensed Telhari’s presence, and before he could react, it’s tail whipped around and struck Telhari across the face. He felt the warmth of his blood begin to run down his cheek. The vision on his right was stained red. He then heard the sliding of the creature’s tail across the floor and he ducked.

Crack!

Telhari tumbled out of the way, jumping back into his stance in time to see the tail come toward him again. This time, he instinctively swept his sword across its path. The creature wailed in pain once again and shuffled back, drawing up the spines on its back. It flicked out its tongue and barred its teeth. The severed part of its tail whipped around violently on the ground, leaking blood and something else.

Damn!

He saw for the first time that the tip of the creature’s tail had a small spine at its end. It was dripping with a liquid of a different density, which floated on top of the pooling blood.

Poison!?

He touched the wound of his face.

How long do I have before—

“I can’t see anything!”

“There! It’s down there, Mary!”

Telhari could hear the voices and footfalls of two other people, who were walking clumsily through the cavern.

“What’s that strange light up there?”

“Shh!”

“Oi, stop shh-ing me!”

The fools!

There was no time.

Telhari filled his lungs and yelled as loud as he could.

“RUN!”

Immediately, the creature lunged at him. Telhari saw it coming and moved out of the way of its bite. He attempted to jump back and regain his positioning, but his body did not move as he was hoping. And so he staggered for a moment as weakness overtook him. Within seconds, a claw cut through the air and he was unable to fully avoid it. It tore through his leather bracers and into the muscles of his forearm. Still, he managed to slash back at the creature, cutting through its hide and taking off a piece of its arm.

Telhari’s heart was pounding, now.

Even breathing was becoming difficult.

The creature’s miasma was far more potent than he had anticipated. This entire cave must have been filled with it. It was dissolved in the water on the ground and was floating in the moisture of the air. And now, it had been introduced directly into his blood stream by the tail strike.

Gathering his strength, he took off running toward the edge of the cavern.

“YOU TWO! GET OUT OF HERE! GO!”

Telhari’s legs became harder and harder to control as the poison spread. He was panting heavily while he ran; there was no way he could hide any longer. He could hear the creature cry out and slither across the floor towards him.

“Who is that!?”

“Telhari!?”

“We’re coming to help!”

“NO, YOU FOOLS! RUN!”

Telhari turned around: the creature was not far behind. It moved across the wet rocks with its belly to the ground, gliding like a foul serpent: using its six — now five— legs to propel itself forward. He turned away from the creature to look for Ellis and Marybeth. They wouldn’t have much longer before the poison takes them. Listening carefully, he could hear them fast approaching.

There!

“Telhari! There you a—”

Ellis stopped dead in his tracks. Gazing past Telhari, he saw the immensity of the chimeric, reptilian creature burst from around the corner. Telhari wrapped an arm around Ellis’ waist and hoisted him up. Marybeth was close behind. Before she could speak, Telhari shoved her out of the way.

Snap!

The creature’s jaws closed at the space where Marybeth had been only a moment ago. She staggered backwards, laying eyes on the creature for the first time.

“RUN! NOW!”

Telhari extended his blade toward the creature and wove a spell as quickly as he could. Spiraling from the hilt of the blade were three streams of glowing light. They curled in on themselves, shot out at once and impacted the creature’s face. Marybeth, fear taking hold of her, scurried to her feet and bolted from the scene. The creature drew back defensively and flared its teeth again. Telhari then set Ellis down on his feet and stood between him and the creature.

“Go. Now!”

Telhari drew up his blade and remained fixated on the creature. His arms grew heavier with every pounding beat of his heart, sending the poison further and deeper. He heard no footsteps.

“GO! Are you so stupid!? Do you not know death when you see it!?”

Marybeth, who had managed to put a good bit of distance between herself and the creature, heard Telhari’s voice and stopped.

“Ellis! Come on!”

Something was wrong.

“Ellis…RUN!”

But it was impossible. Telhari did not need to look behind him to know what had happened. Ellis had become paralyzed.

“Leave him, girl!” Telhari shouted, “If you linger too long, the poison will take you too!”

At least one of them will make it.

The creature began to creep closer to Telhari— it could sense him growing weak. Telhari’s arms started to shake, even the wait of his sword was becoming too much.

Still…to think it would end this way…

“Ellis!”

Telhari heard the girl’s voice come from behind him— right over his shoulder. He spun around to see Marybeth tugging at Ellis. She ripped off his weapons and pulled on him until he began to fall over. Tears were streaming down her face.

“Move, you idiot! MOVE!”

What is she doing!?

The creature lunged at them; Telhari somehow found strength enough to grab hold of Ellis’ body, and the two fell forward, just out of reach of the creature. Marybeth, having jumped back to avoid the creature’s bite, ran back toward the two of them.

“What’s wrong with him!?”

“The poison has afflicted him, as it has me…” Telhari managed to rise to one knee. “…Run girl, while you still have the strength. Our time is up.”

“No!”

“Don’t be foolish—”

“NO! I’m not gonna leave him!”

Her voice was breaking.

“I told you both…” Telhari said with panting breaths. “This life only ends one way.”

Struggling to lift Ellis’ body, she began to sob.

“Get up Ellis…come on!”

“We should not fear death. His time has come. Leave him be.”

The creature’s tongue darted out from behind the wall of teeth that caged it. It crept closer; hardened scales scraped mercilessly across the cavern floor.

“But…” Mary looked up at him with tearful eyes. “I can’t leave him…”

In her look of desperation, Telhari could see something which he had buried within himself for so many years. He knew her pain well. And through the pounding of his heartbeat, he felt time slow. Visions of the past could be kept at bay no longer. Slowly, they crept in upon him: faces lost and failures forgotten.

In a flash, the creature launched forward taking a glutinous bite out of the air. It drew back its head and cried out— its mouth was empty.

Against all reason, Telhari was standing once more, and in his arms he held Ellis.

I won’t let it happen again.

“How…?” Marybeth sniffled.

“Get ready…” he told her.

Telhari’s entire body was pulsing. He fought every second — between every breath— to keep himself standing. The blood continued to flow from the wound on his face, dripping off his chin and onto his tunic.

The creature lurched back and forth in frustration. Within seconds, it could sense them again. All three bodies clustered together, with the warmth of their flesh begging to be torn into. Its forked tongue shot from its mouth and flicked at the air, tasting them.

“GO!”

They ran just as the creature lunged forward, narrowly avoiding its bite.

Move! Move! Move!

It was through sheer force of will that Telhari could control his legs, though they were heavy as lead to him. Marybeth, having taken the lead, turned around to see that Telhari had fallen behind. She doubled back and began to pull him along.

“Come on!”

But it was no use. Whatever second wind had filled him before, was now quickly disappearing. Ahead of them, the light of the sun was becoming visible through the dim of the cave. Then, Telhari stopped in his tracks.

“What are you doing!?” she cried. “We’re almost out!”

“Take him the rest of the way.”

Telhari hoisted Ellis into Marybeth’s arms; she sank under his weight.

“But…I can’t go alone!”

“You can. I will stop the creature, and you will escape. Both of you.”

Mary looked up at him.

“But, we can’t leave you!” she cried, stomping her foot. “He wouldn’t want it!”

Through the darkness, Telhari could see the glowing “eyes” of the creature— he could hear the sound of its scales scraping across the cave walls.

“You two are friends, correct?”

She nodded.

“Good,” Telhari said with a smile. “Then you must do everything in your power to save your friend.”

He drew up his blade and began to walk deeper into the cave.

As she watched him go, she felt a coldness run up her body. At first, she thought she was imaging it; until she saw her breath grow frosty in front of her. A chilling wave swept across the ground, as frost scattered over the grass and rocks, and the puddles froze over. The wave continued, picking up speed as it entered the cave. She then heard something she had never heard before, like the sound of a string being plucked to a particular tune. But there was more to it. Words, in a language she did not understand, were layered in impossible complexity between the vibrations. Yet somehow, though she knew not their meaning, she was soothed by them as they flowed over her.

Within the deep of the cave, both the song and its melody found new fervor, rising and swelling in intensity. The icy winds began to whip into a spiral with Telhari at their center. She realized then that he was the source of the wonderful music. Soon, the wind began to pull at her hair and kick up loose bits of grass and dirt. Yet even with the sound of the melody filling the cave, she could still hear Telhari’s voice clearly.

“I have no fear of death, Mary. And I should die happy, knowing that you two were able to live.”

The creature was nearly upon him. It gnashed it’s teeth wildly, salivating at the prospect of a fresh meal. Bursting into view, Telhari could see the mesmerizing luster of its false, glowing eyes.

The creature unhinged its jaw and opened wide—

Telhari felt a stillness overtake him as he reached the last syllable. Then, time stood still for but a moment.

A familiar face flashed before his eyes.

It seems you were right…

A blast of frozen wind engulfed Marybeth. She threw herself on top of Ellis and shut her eyes. There was a terrible sheering sound from within the cave, and the high-pitched wailing of the creature was cut off suddenly by the crackling of ice shards.

Then the world fell silent.

Mary waited a few moments. Her body began to shiver and her lungs started to burn from the chill in the air. Finally, she sat up. Looking down, Ellis remained still, but he seemed no different than before. The cloth tying her hair back had been blown loose, and so she drew her hair from her eyes as she looked around. There was frost everywhere, as if a blizzard had come and gone. The moisture in the air had frozen over and snowflakes floated slowly to the ground. Then, she spotted him.

“Telhari!”

Mary ran at full speed toward him; but as she got closer, she slowed her pace. The entirety of the cave, from wall to wall, ceiling to floor, was encased in ice. Though, if not for the coldness in the air, she might easily have mistaken the glacier before her for a massive diamond. Carefully, she approached, looking on in awe through the frosty veil that hung about her.

Inside the clarity of its glittering ice prison, the creature was frozen dead.

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