We had sat there full of anticipation, holding our breath until two cups were lifted. The result of those dice felt life changing but in the end, seemingly regardless of the result the outcome was nearly the same. One ended up far more giddy than expected.
“Thank you once again, Agazuul. This will go a long way to establish my business. If you had only left me some time to explain myself before challenging me to a gambit I could’ve told you I was taking the Miner’s Trail down to Durnaelf anyway.” Ambrose explained as he loaded up his cart with empty barrels from the Cnocham Inn. The Rastaytan Rookie Soldiers helped out, eager to get going. Did Agazuul intend to stop there? Go all the way back to my farm far to the north or were we to follow the Sovereign’s Saunter to the old castle behind the aggrandiant range? Carl couldn’t help but ponder.
“Are we going back to my place up north?” Carl couldn’t help himself from asking.
“No, why would you even think that,” Agazuul said as he heaved in the last barrel.
“Yes indeed that was beyond stupid,” the devil in Carl’s head added.
“Weren’t you supposed to drop off the full barrels?” Agazuul asked Ambrose. Ambrose snorted out a laugh in lieu of an answer. As horses pulled the cart Ambrose got out a few cups and tapped the barrel,
“mead for the journey ahead.” None seemed too eager to down another cup anytime soon and instead took to taking a hearty sip of their waterskins after holding it up in mock cheers. Agazuul let his fire-wolf walk next to him, while Carl attached his horse to the drayman’s cart. Their journey and sobering took them along the Miner’s Trail, past the old tower of Gorgahld. A lone tower which jutted out over the surrounding mountaintops, a reminder of a far flung past. Rumors spoken at late hours in taverns for those generous with their coin would have you believe the tower still lights up some nights, giants made of clouds and beings of pure light and magic would continue the work and research of Gorgahld. What that research was would vary with each telling, storyteller and tavern. Most agreed it was to do with a magical artifact capable of changing reality itself. As strange as that might’ve been, Carl and Agazuul had once encountered a magical machine that had been broken beyond repair capable of magics that even the most powerful mages in stories, legends and history would be bewildered by.
Their journey seemed to be going fine, as the hours passed and more people got sobered up, the gray clouds made way for a clearing of blue and the warm embrace of sunshine. The path crossed by the mountains, the point known as Wyvern Crindlecrag. Agazuul looked a bit unnerved as they started seeing shadows looming above them hiding in the light of the sun.
“Why are they so close?” Ambrose managed to utter, as they swept down towards them. The sun at their backs made it hard to gauge their distance. Alma was heard shouting as talons grabbed her by her armor and lifted her from the ground. Eerik only a second later was heard screaming as he was grabbed up by a second wyvern. Agazuul drew his blade across his arm infusing the blood upon the blade, lightning crackled across it as if his sword had become an active thundercloud. The blood dripped in heavy blots upon the ground.
“Here I am, come get me you bastards!” Agazuul climbed on his fire-wolf in one smooth motion. As he transformed the fire-wolf to a flying mount, the wyvern carrying Alma had already retreated to the cover the sun provided. What do I do? Carl thought, and mere seconds later Eerik fell his armor providing a sickly crunch as an end to his screams.
“Oh, too late to save that one. I think you should just cower and wait till there’s none left.” The devil in Carl’s head suggested sarcastically. The wyvern made for Ambrose, stalking across the ground its heavy legs pushing the lifeless body of Eerik deep into the mud, splintering his unused shield. Mirva shouted out towards Kaino, and he immediately jumped from behind rock cover to slash at the wyvern’s left wing. His grey-green eyes widened in horror as he felt the tail slam him off his feet, a large tear was made in the wing and the beast had immediately responded. The focus temporarily off Ambrose, he jumped off his cart and ran towards the nearby trees to hide. Kaino’s ochre-beige skin turned pale as the wyvern raked the wing claws across Kaino’s surcoat. Patrik came from the nearby brush and swung a heavy two-hander towards the dragonbeast, the sound of the blade was enough to draw its attention. His saddle brown eyes stared the dragonbeast down, Mirva rushed from the brush north of the road, the brush towards the south gave signs of life as the underbrush was crushed. Not more enemies, Carl pleaded as he kept surveying the situation.
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The sounds from the brush heralded a charge as Mirva and Patrik tried to hold the dragonbeast back. Mirva swung her mace at the bony structure of the wyvern, trying to get a good hit in but the dragonbeast covered its body with its slashed wing. Patrik seemed none too inclined to hit the dragonbeast as his slashes only drove the wyvern further back, blade and beast never connecting. The wyvern roared its protest, but Mirva shouted above it as soon as the wyvern reached the southwestern brush,
“Now!” two well aimed arrows flew, one emerging the southwest brush another from the northeast brush. The wyvern roared in pain, its tail slashing wildly around it, not hitting anything. The dragonbeast stood on its legs as it craned its neck to grab at the arrow that had hit muscle on the left wing, Matteus rushed in, having hid behind a section of fence that outlined the road. Mirva shouted out towards him to stay back, but the warning had come too late, as Matteus was slammed by the slashed wing and sent flying back over the fence from where he came, it was difficult to tell if anything Matteus broke or just the fence as his plated body lay there still. The wyvern had been made only more aggressive by this as it kicked its left leg towards Mirva wildly breaking off the arrow that had been lodged in there against her round shield.
Paula pushed an advance and looked bewildered at Carl still hiding behind the cart. Her bow had already been drawn to full and forced to loosen under a cloud of confusion. The dragonbeast shrieked out, the arrow hitting its slashed wing, another arrow flew true and hit the wyvern in its tail. Mirva could not help looking back at the origin of the arrow, having only just missed her head. There she saw Paula taking a second glance behind the cart, enough distraction to not get her shield back up in time as the dragonbeast lashed out wildly around it, Patrik was the one being driven back now. Mirva had fallen as the wyvern pressed the attack by slamming its left wing claws in the ground towards her, Mirva tried rolling out of the way but eventually the claws found steel and pressed hard. Patrik took a few steps back and swung the two-hander above his head making a loud whoosh noise. The wyvern drew its head towards Patrik for a moment and Eira, who had sent arrows flying its way, stopped her assault to access the situation away from the brush.
It was Patrik’s turn to look surprised as he caught Carl behind the drayman’s cart. As he lost focus for just a moment he had to quickly step away as the wyvern pushed its advance pushing over the cart, Carl leaped out of the way as the cart almost fell atop him. The wyvern mounted the cart standing atop it as if a felled foe and surveyed the surroundings. Paula and Eira had taken to dragging Mirva and Kaino to safety. It only took a moment and a lot of bravery for Mirva to shout out over the roaring wyvern,
“get in the fight damn you Carl!” I’d be dead if I did that, Carl thought as he slumped down, behind the overturned cart.
“I do hope you caught the sarcasm earlier, you hold so much power in your hands you worthless lowlife.” The devil in Carl’s head commentated. They’re all dying. The wyvern took a swipe at Patrik with its left wing only to have the slash torn wide by the opening it left. Patrik backed up more and unbuckled the strap that held his crossbow as he tried holding the two-hander with one arm. His arm wavered under the weight but he got the strap loose fast enough to intercept the next strike of the wyvern, his crossbow sent falling on soft long grass. Patrik swung wide his blade making a deep gash across the thick scales that ran from throat to groin. As the wyvern took a single step back, Patrik threw the crossbow belt towards Carl. He nodded solemnly as the belt fell in front of Carl and focused once more on the wyvern. Ambrose tried to escape the battle through the brush but as he passed the wyvern fully in the cover of nature, the dragonbeast wasn’t fooled and grabbed Ambrose in the talons of its right leg, crushing the unarmored drayman before throwing him aside. The dragonbeasts stance had changed as it got fully on legs and wings setting its wings out in front to serve as tower shields its head set back just behind ready to spring out to its full length and crunch a combatant in one fast nigh-unstoppable attack. Carl had underestimated the wyvern thus far, it favored putting its left wing forward as if it knew it was already lost. What drove this creature to risk losing flight permanently to press this attack was beyond what Carl could understand. As Carl shoved the crossbow aside, getting ready for the assault his hand was already glowing with burgundy flames; he saw a wyvern falling and a flying flaming beast approaching fast. Carl had taken cover once more before realizing what just happened. The wyvern didn’t stand a chance as Agazuul took swipe after swipe against the dragonbeast the firewolf digging its teeth in the right leg of the wyvern the blood boiled as it streamed from the open wound but the firewolf did not let go. This weakening in its stance gave Patrik an opening as he swung the two-handed blade down in a flurry of aggressive attacks, each cleaving into more scale and flesh than the one before. Carl climbed atop the cart to send out a trio of burgundy blasts towards the dragonbeast laying the wyvern low.