“YOU WAKE AGEMMAR THE GREAT!” The Earth Elemental roars above us. “NOW YOU BE RETURNED TO THE EARTH!”
“Get back!”
As a boulder-filled hand raises to pancake both of us, Myrathellon’s blade sings with power and she unleashes a [Glittering Thrust] strike towards the center of the thing’s palm.
“ARGH!”
Its hand falls apart in the instant the light strikes it, every rock coming crashing down around us.
We both watch as one boulder flies towards our faces.
And as Myrathellon looks on with fear, I tense up and do what I do best.
[Blink]
Get the hell outta dodge.
“Woah!”
Myrathellon gasps as I grab hold of her leg and activate my [Blink], sending us both flitting through the air to the Earth Elementals’ hulking shoulder.
“Wh-what are you doing?!” she screams.
Damn. Can’t get us all the way to the other side through a [Blink] alone like I thought. [Tailcopter] it is.
“Trying to get us outta trouble!”
Myrathellon shoves her blade into the Elemental’s shoulder, holding on for dear life.
“Then why did you teleport us TO the monster!?”
“I’ll be honest, Master!” I shout back. “I didn’t give it much thought…”
The wind lashes up here at our brows. This thing’s getting madder by the second.
“Listen!” I shout as the giant’s hollowed out eyes turn to see us hanging on right beside it’s face. “It’s now or never – we gotta fly!”
She aims her blade at the Elemental’s mouth when it opens and roars its fury at us.
“Don’t think me a coward!” She yells. “Myrathellon of the Glenmaidens does not run from a battle.”
THIS. GIRL.
The Elemental’s hand has begun reconstructing itself beneath us – attracting all the pebbles and stones it lost and even tearing up the ground nearby like a magnet.
It rises to slap us from his shoulder…
“Alright!” I shout. “Any better ideas?!”
She blinks, watching the creature carefully as it opens its mouth again and throws a torrent of pebbles at our faces.
“There!” She shouts over the raging creature’s furious call. “In the center of it’s mouth – the spirit’s core!”
I follow her eyes to see what she’s referring to – a glowing bulb of amber that’s lighting up the beast’s eyes from within its great black throat.
She aims another thrust at its mouth and lets her blade sing while I do the same, drawing my sword and managing to tear apart the thing’s hand again just before it smashes into us.
She, however, has less success. As her strike flies towards the creature’s throat, it shuts its mouth abruptly and gives a grim smile as her light beam is totally rebuffed.
“It defends itself…” she murmurs.
The being sways wildly, trying to detach us both as we cling to its shoulder for dear life.
“FEEBLE ELF!” he roars. “AGEMMAR IS ETERNAL! AGEMMAR RULE THIS FOREST!”
We can’t get a shot in between his swaying and his defensive abilities. Even when I try, he simply shakes his head to rebuff the thing. Myrathellon goes flying from the shoulder and only just manages to jam her sword into a crevice just below the thing’s clavicle.
“AGEMMAR IS IMMOVABLE! AGEMMAR SHALL RULE!”
Immovable…
“Hey!” I scream at Myrathellon as she barely manages to stay grasping her blade’s hilt. “I have an idea!”
She screams. It seems she’s made the unfortunate mistake of looking down…
“Hey!” I shout. “Look at me!”
I dig my nails into the thing as its other hand comes to slap us away. This time a [Swallow Swipe] tears through its fingers and it cries out in pain.
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“D-do what you must!” I hear Myrathellon cry out.
“You’re not gonna like it!” I tell her as they creature begins spinning uncontrollably in a desperate attempt to dislodge us. “When I give the word, grab on to my back leg!”
She looks at me – her face a strange mix of fury and desperation.
“You don’t trust me, but you probably don’t wanna die, right!?”
Both Agemmar’s hands re-materialise with even more sharp, pointy rocks than they had before.
And this time he’s bringing them both down to strike…
“AGEMMAR CRUSH! AGEMMAR RULE FOREST!”
But through his battlecry, there’s only one voice I’m listening to.
“OKAY!” Myrathellon shouts, hoisting herself up on her blade’s hilt. “DO IT!”
And as the hands of a rocky God come down upon us both, I jump from it’s shoulders, breathe in, and do the second thing I do best:
[Repulsive Bark]
The creature’s mouth goes wide and its arms fly out to its sides. The shockwave from my bark hits it square in between its eyes and it starts tumbling back, blinking in confusion, while I slowly feel myself falling through the air.
Then an Elvish hand grabs my leg, and my fluffy tail starts going wild.
[Tailcopter]
Through Myrathellon’s constant screams, I gently begin lifting us both above until we’re level with the giant’s snarling, confused face.
“Ready?” I shout, the blade in my mouth already twinkling with energy.
She looks to me, back to the faltering Elemental, and then draws her sword with her free hand.
“T-together! And don’t you dare let go!”
Wouldn’t dream of it, ‘Master’.
Without another word we take aim, I fly us just close enough so that my strike will hit, and we both let loose two spears of dazzling light that pierce through the sky and break apart every stone in the Elemental’s jaw.
The glowing amber bulb in its throat dims to nothingness.
“BACK!” Myrathellon shouts. “GET. BACK!”
I do as she bids when I look up to see the creature give an uncertain gulp.
“AGEMMAR…AGEMMAR…WILL..!”
Then, with one final blink, the giant explodes in a hail of flying stones that come cascading towards us.
“H-hang on!” I yelp, weaving between each superheated rock that throws itself in our general direction, all the while trying to block of Myrathellon’s screams of sheer panic.
Come on…just a little more…
[Blink] Cooldown: 15 secs…
HURRY THE HELL UP!
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Myrathellon shouts – my own personal Elvish echo – “GET US TO THE OTHER SIDE!”
“YOU TRY FLYING US!” I bark down at her, inching us both away from another cluster of flying rocks that smash into the ledge we’d hopped from.
Through the haze of molten stone, I can see that the creature is still breaking apart at the seems – each stony limb exploding with more force and unleashing a barrage of boulders towards us.
Damn it…come on…come…
[Blink] Cooldown: 5 secs…
COME ON!
[Tailcopter]
Deactivated
DAMN IT!
We start plummeting to the ground, bashing against stones and waves of pebbles as we go.
As the black abyss of the crater fills our vision below, and a sky full of thundering rocks dominates the sky, I feel Myrathellon’s arms tighten round my neck.
So this is how you want to end me? Just as we’re about to die anyway?
Then I look to see that she’s closed her eyes, screaming in total terror. Not a murderess – but a girl who’s holding on to the only companion she’s got.
And her face is stained with tears…
What the…
[Blink]
READY
Oh…oh yeah! Hero time.
I close my eyes, grab Myrathellon’s arm with my paw, and focus on the other side of the chasm just as we disappear below its edge.
“RAZIEL!” She cries out.
“Don’t worry!” I yelp back. “Remember, just don’t look down!”
Aaaaaaaand – [Blink]
Next thing I feel is the wet brushing of grass against my paws and Myrathellon’s frantic panting beside my face.
Her eyes are still closed. Her body is shaking. And her cheeks are still wet with tears.
Um…ok. This is…well…
I glance back at the Elemental’s remains just as it plummets right back into the chasm from whence it came.
“AGEMMER…FALL…”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “Agemmer do be falling.”
COMBAT ENCOUNTER: CORGI (x1)/ELVEN WARRIOR (x1) vs (LESSER) EARTH ELEMENTAL (x1)
ENCOUNTER RESULTS: CORGI/ELF VICTORY
[CORE SKILL INCREASES]
[Tailcopter] Lvl 3 -> 4
Duration increased: 45 secs
[Repulsive Bark] Lvl 1 -> 2
Range increased: 40ft
[Blink] Lvl 2 -> 3
Range Increased: 35ft
[WEAPON ART INCREASES]
[Swallow Swipe] Lvl 3 -> 4
Range Increased: 30ft
Only then do Myrathellon’s eyes flick open and her breathing slowly begins to steady itself.
“A…are we safe?”
I decide, right here and now, to do what a dog would do.
I nuzzle against her wet cheeks and wipe her tears away.
“Yeah,” I say. “We’re safe.”
She relaxes, her arms still tight round my neck, one hand slowly reaching for the top of my head…
“AH!”
I’m promptly kicked away by a foot just as rock-hard as the giant we just escaped from.
I fall beside an old tree and am left staring in disbelief at the red-faced Elf.
“I – we…” she rambles, face stretching into a smile. “We flew!”
She turns and looks over the lip of the cavern, watching the final boulders of the great hulk rolling their way down into the depths.
“We actually flew!”
I laugh with her, overtaken by her sudden explosion of energy.
I can’t believe what I’m thinking – but she looks genuinely excited right n-
“HOLD IT!” she snaps, turning and drawing her blade at me. “Why were you holding me when we landed here! Who gave you permission to rub your mongrel face against mine?”
I blink up at her, dumbfounded. “Last time I checked, you were holding on to me…Master…”
She grimaces, blade wavering in her hands.
“And to be honest,” I add, taking a chance. “I’d appreciate it if my Master got off my back. I just saved her life, after all.”
She watches me intently, eyes fiery and nostrils flaring with barely suppressed rage.
“O-or,” I stutter. “Maybe I owe Master an apology…”
She scoffs, sheathes her sword, and then simply begins marching on towards our destination – wherever the hell that is. Like a dutiful hound, I pick myself up and follow her deeper into the woods, wondering at that face I saw as we fell into the cavern. Wondering how that face truly belonged to her.
“Myra,” she says.
I literally stop dead. Even though I know they’re always right, I don’t believe my flappy Corgi ears.
“What?”
She stops but stares straight ahead of us.
“You will call me ‘Myra’ from now on,” she says. Then, with a sudden explosion of fury. “That’s not a request!”
When she marches on, I look after her for a few seconds, snout twitching in sheer disbelief.
Well, that’s something…
Then, with a little chuckle to myself, I fall back in step with Myra.