Perry stood motionless as the apocalyptic scene unfolded around him. Then, he shuddered.
Vengeful eyes fell upon him and their killing-intent struck him to the core. Despite this, Perry found his hand moving on its own, reaching for the handle of his sword and brandishing it cleanly through the air.
A spray of hot air left the dragon’s nostrils.
That’s right, you accursed thing, Perry said to himself. You don’t command me.
Perry steeled his aching nerves and stepped out of the fountain onto the ground. His boots touched the earth once again, and in response he widened his stance. The dragon eyed him for but a moment before lunging. With splayed wings and an open jaw, the dragon raced toward Perry—
From above came a flash of lightning. The dragon dug its claws into the ground to slow its motion and avoid the attacker, doubling back to create distance. The ground exploded in front of Perry and a blast sent him sliding back along the ground. A booming thunderclap then filled his ears. Razor sharp winds blew passed Perry and cut toward the dragon— within it he could make out a familiar form.
“Telhari!”
Spiraling out of the zephyr, Telhari brought down his blade against the dragon’s body, with sparks jumping out as the two connected. Telhari then kicked off the dragon and somersaulted in the air, landing between the dragon and Perry.
The beast reared back and flared out its wings in frustration. With unnatural speed it swept over the corpses and burning debris toward Telhari. Its jaw unhinged and another blast of flame spewed forth. Telhari dodged the flame and wove a spell within an instant. He then swept his blade across the line of fire. It shuddered a moment, twisting in on itself, before swirling into nothing. The ground shook as the dragon landed suddenly beside him. Telhari spun around all to late as innumerable razor sharp teeth came toward him.
“AHHH!”
Perry charged at the dragon with all the strength and speed he could muster, urged onward by the invigorating call of his Dwarven blade.
Now Perry wasn’t sure what to expect with his attack.
To fell the beast? Surely not.
To land a blow? Hopefully.
But to have the creature pull away and retreat from him? This, he never expected.
Yet it is nevertheless what happened.
Perry looked down at his blade like a wondrous child.
“What—?”
“Dwarven forged steel is quite the menace to face,” Telhari said with a small grin. “I know that first hand.”
“How did you—!?” Perry caught himself and cleared his throat. “Regardless, I gather now is not the time to fuss over such things.”
Telhari held his blade arm outstretched and took careful steps until he was just beside Perry. The dragon hung close to the ground, moving slowly around the perimeter of the town square.
“Ellis and Mary are safe,” Telhari told him. “They ride now with Ingrid and the others down the mountain.”
Perry’s face softened.
“That is quite the burden you have lifted from me. I cannot thank you enough for keeping them safe.”
“You have quite the companions. Had Ingrid and the others not arrived when they did, things might have gone differently.”
“Indeed. I am quite lucky.”
Perry tensed his jaw and stared down his foe once again. “Well then, Master Telhari? Out with it! How do we kill this thing!?”
Telhari looked around him at the devastation— the crumpled corpses of helpless victims, their bodies burnt black as coal.
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Then Perry heard a guttural sound that threatened to drive him mad, emanating from the calamity that rose above him nearly forty-feet tall.
“Do you understand now, Thrice-Born? There can be no victory so long as you cling to these szlag.”
Perry’s jaw dropped open.
“I-it can talk?”
“Indeed it can,” Telhari said as he stood up tall.
“I suppose that there is no reasoning with it?” Perry asked as he drew back his blade.
“Unfortunately not.”
“So what do you suggest?”
The dragon slowly crept toward them— one ghastly, flesh rending claw at a time.
“Ideally,” Telhari said in a voice too low for the dragon to hear, “We would push it to the river to gain the advantage of the water’s edge.”
“That won’t do,” Perry answered reluctantly, “The citizens have evacuated to the river.”
“I see.” Telhari thought to himself, then spoke again. “Our other option is to force it away from the town. Without risk to their safety, we can fight freely.”
“Even if we did that,” Perry asked as he turned to Telhari, “Could you kill it? Really kill it?”
Telhari nodded.
“Well then,” Perry answered as he turned back toward the dragon, “Tell me what you need. I am at your command.”
“We must chase it off the ground and into the sky,” he said, “From there I can force it back toward the mountain.”
“Understood.”
“Though, there is one thing I must do first.”
Perry suddenly felt Telhari’s hand on his back.
“Wha—?”
Perry’s entire body contracted — every muscle from his head to his toes— so suddenly and powerfully that he thought his bones might break. His heart began to pound and his head grew heavy as he fell toward the ground. He reached up to grab the side of his head, but the pain was suddenly gone and his arm felt lighter than ever before. In fact, as he slowly stood up, each one of his limbs felt lighter and more responsive. The sword in his hand felt only as heavy as a dining fork and he no longer felt the heft of his plate armor.
“What did you do?”
Telhari smiled. “I am entrusting our success to you,” he said. “I must conserve my strength for that final strike, but I can still manage this much.” Telhari clapped Perry on the shoulder. “Be careful. This body is new to you, whether you realize it or not. If you make too sudden a move—”
“Ahh!”
Perry, while attempting to test his new strength, had tried to hop. Instead, he flew for well over thirty feet through the air and crashed into a building.
Telhari frowned.
A few moments later Perry appeared at the new hole in the wall of the building.
“H-hah! I’m alright!”
“Watch out!”
Perry felt the dragon’s presence beside him and instinctively lunged out of the way— more agile this time than before. New found speed, combined with his battle hardened instincts, was enough to save him. He tumbled onto the ground and out of harm’s way as the building collapsed behind him into a heap of charred rubble and smoke. The dragon spun around in a fury and launched a bite at Perry. In a burst of wind and gleaming metal, Telhari cut through the air and swung down on the dragon’s neck.
His sword clashed against the hardened scales and was repulsed back; the dragon still had enough power left to maintain its defenses.
Telhari landed and hopped back a few paces to gain distance.
“Perry—!”
As if reading his mind, Perry charged forward, flanking the dragon. He dashed to the side with even faster speed than before and thrust his longsword at the underarm of the dragon.
His speed is still increasing?
Lurching to the side, the dragon stumbled back and drew up its claw to attack. Then came a flash from the corner of its eye and a surge of wind. Telhari was beside the dragon again slashing at its underbelly.
Clash!
Telhari’s blade was repelled once again. He withdrew his blade to prepare another strike but the dragon suddenly cried out with a painful wail. Telhari dashed backward and saw, through the dust and whipping of its barbed tail, Perry sinking his sword into the meat of the dragon’s arm.
Without out even needing to speak, the two had fallen into a perfect rhythm— attacking the dragon’s weakest points one after the other. What’s more, in only a few short moments Perry had become accustomed to the enchantment; and further still, he was even faster than Telhari had anticipated.
Several strikes impacted all around them as the dragon stabbed into the ground with its clawed limbs, trying desperately to kill them. Yet Telhari and Perry avoided each one, dancing between attacks without any waisted movement.
Telhari smiled to himself.
“I am glad to have you as an ally, Sir Perry.”
“As am I, Master Telhari.”
Two malevolent crimson eyes stared down at them in response.
“I will not be outdone!”
Telhari felt a pull on his vest and in an instant he was sucked forward by a compressive vacuum of wind. Lifted off the ground, Telhari could not maneuver well and braced himself for impact as the dragon’s tail crashed into him. The wind was knocked from his lungs as he flew through the air and landed hard on the ground.