The guard manning the gate stopped him before he could enter.
‘Sorry friend, but you’re going to have to come back tomorrow morning, we’re just closing up now.’
“With half an hour of daylight left?” Questioned the man, his hand moving to sit on top of his purse.
‘Bloody guards’ he thought.
The man stood outside a village so small it didn’t bare a name; on the very outskirts of the nation Jackal, which was likewise on the outskirts of the country bloc called Annis. Annis which was, lastly, on the outskirts of the Mono continent. If one were to take the globe and pick a line as the start and end of the world, then said line would not be much further South than Annis.
“Sorry traveler, but the rules are the rules. I’m not gonna get in the mud with my captain just for your ugly mug.”
“What?! The suns barely started to set. It’s been a long road, can’t you just let me in? I’ll buy you a drink, how ‘bout it?”
Just because he could afford it didn’t mean he liked the thought. The guard pointedly looked him up and down. The man was dressed appropriately for travel, wearing sturdy boots coated in the thick dust and dirt, his pants may have once been black but had faded and there were clear signs of stitching on the left knee. His shirt was long sleeved, brown, and also contained similar indications of repaired damages, the right sleeve had clearly been torn off at some point and replaced with a sleeve from a different shirt.
The brown leather gloves on his hands were the only pieces of clothing in a decent state of repair. Over the ensemble he wore a calf length green cloak, its hood covering his face. The cloak was clearly the oldest of the clothing he was wearing, the many patched tears testimony to its use over the years.
‘Well alright, but there is a fee for late entry. 2 silver. I take it you’ve got a sword under the cloak? I’ll have to ask you to leave it with me, we’re an honest sort here so you don’t have to worry about it going missing.’
‘Expensive bribe for such a small village’ The man muttered.
‘What was that?’ Asked the guard.
The man pulled off his hood, revealing his eyes. One a silver blue, the other completely black, there was no mistaking a hunter for anything else.
‘I said I’ll hang onto my weapon, so long as you don’t mind.’
The guard visibly paled and unwittingly rubbed a semi-healed cut on his neck.
‘Ahh y-yes, yes! Of course that’s- why that’s perfectly acceptable and may I just say there’s a d-discount for fine hunters such as yourself entering our village.’ He stammered.
‘How much?’
‘Fif- fifty coppers.’
Fifty coppers was still enough money for a cheap room and a meal, but as bribes go it was reasonable. The man covered his face once more and handed over the coppers, signing his name on the entry paper in a neat hand.
‘Mar, that’s an interesting name. Where do you hail from if I may ask?’ Asked the guard after reading the paper.
Mar shrugged before answering.
‘I spent most of my life traveling around the place, I’m not although that sure to be honest.’
‘Ah! Well carry on then.’ said the guard, waving Mar in through the gate.
Mar moved quickly through the darkening street, although he had never visited the village before the Inn wasn’t hard to find. Following the ruckus made when a few too many people have a few too many ales, he arrived at the establishment with enough time to watch the sun sink behind the horizon. According to the sign outside the Inn was known as the Officer’s Headache and Mar wondered during which war the Inn had picked up that particular name.
Upon entering Mar was assaulted with the smell of sweat and stale booze. The floors were sticky under his feet as he moved through the crowd to reach the bar. He quickly decided to give the ale a miss. He reached the bar with a minimum of shoving and was promptly served by the barmaid.
A tall woman who was almost a head taller than his 5 foot and 4-inch frame, she appeared to be in her late 30’s or early 40’s. From the simple iron ring on her finger, he assumed she was married to the innkeeper.
“What do you want?” she scowled at him as she asked.
‘She’s pretty straight to the point’ Thought Mar.Mar lent against the bar, his posture was fluid, his relaxed stance and seemingly smug smile gave no hint as to the years of practice that had gone into it. Nor did it reveal the fact that the hand so casually rested on the bar would be able to pull the throwing knife strapped to his belt before any troublemakers got within arm’s reach. A wolf wearing a sheep's attitude.
“Would the fine lady of this fine establishment be able to get me a room for the night please?” Mar had figured a direct reply and compliment may get a rise from the innkeeper's wife, instead she replied in the same tone as before. “That’ll be 20 coppers, 50 if you want dinner. Tonight, we’re serving rabbit stew and bread.”
“I’ll just take the room, thanks.” Said Mar, handing over the coins as the barmaid gave him the key, a relentless smile on his face.
“Great, will that be all?” She said, still scowling.
“Are there any Clay bounties you have available?”
The scowl dropped from her face, and she managed a small smile at his expense.
“I’m afraid a pair from the order have beaten you to it.” She said, pointing to the corner of the room where a young man was finishing his meal in front of the empty bounty board.
‘I almost miss the war’ Thought Mar.
‘It’s good to see them taking care of things again, rather than those damned chained. I could have told those council fossils about what happened at Leviathan before it happened. Those things were cursed from the start.’
Mar simply nodded along, keeping his expression neutral. “Definitely, now if you’ll excuse me, I really must be heading to bed.”
The barmaid quickly grabbed his arm as he turned to leave. “Actually, there may be something you can help me with.” She glanced at the noisy crowd behind him.
“Meet me outside, in the stables if you’re interested in making the trip out here worthwhile.”
Mar simply nodded and turned towards the side entrance leading to the Inn’s stables. If the Woman wanted to talk to him out there it was unlikely what she asked of him was going to be legal. Fortunately for his purse he didn’t particularly care. The air outside the inn was cool, but pungent. Horses weren’t the worst smelling animal, but that wasn’t saying very much. Shit still smells like shit.
A few minutes later another man walked out of the Inn, stopping a few steps away from the door he searched the shadows for any sign of another person. The man jumped as a voice spoke from behind him.
‘Looking for someone?’
Mar had been learning beside the door, shadowed from the moon by the Inn’s large bulk. He stepped forward letting the man see him, while also inspecting the man himself. Undoubtedly the Innkeeper and cook if the apron and matching ring was anything to go by.
“I believe you’re the man who spoke with my wife. My name is Vincent, I own this joint.” Vincent stopped wringing his hands for long enough to offer Mar a handshake. A few moments passed before he realized Mar wasn’t going to shake his hand and he returned to wringing them.
“I am that man yes, but what is it you want me to do that has us meeting in such an... unsavory place?”
Vincent tightly clutched his hands once more.
“It-It’s me daughter, Ilivar you see. Her and a few friends used to go to the edge of it -Death Forest and see w-who’d go the longest in there. B-but last time she went in and never came back.”
“...oh.”
Death forest: the forest that cutoff Annis from the desert that had once been the rest of a living continent. It was also absolutely swarming with Clay. Entering the forest was strictly illegal in every nation, and Jackal was no exception. Even with an Inn there is no way the family could have afforded to pay the fines. At best the daughter would be thrown into jail until her family was able to pay the price, but most likely she would be sold as a slave to some noble family.
Mar didn’t consider slavery to be worse than death, but apparently her parents did.
Considering the types of challenges, the young unmarried woman would certainly be facing in such a slavery Mar understood their hesitation to contact the order hunters in the town. Still, waiting before doing so had also put their daughters' life in increased danger. A choice Mar did not envy having to make, and one he wouldn’t judge. Ambiguous morality was well within his nature.
“How long has she been gone for?” Mar asked.
“It was just this morning that she left; we were going to ask that Order group tomorrow mornin’ but now that you’re here… We’ll pay of course! We can’t afford much but considering the circumstances maybe you’ll give us a discount? Not like you’ll find any other work here...”
Mar had traveled to the village hoping to escape the influence and policing efforts of the hunter order. Having an active hunt here actually helped with that particular goal. Once the order had finished showing its necessity to the villagers and collected their taxes most of the hunters would be on their way. Those that would remain in the area would be few and far between, unlikely to be the honorable type. Unlikely to be missed if they were.
But if he wanted to stay he’d need to find a way to pay for lodging, which was exactly what his hunt had been for. This presented a less dangerous option.
“I want a room.” Mar said.
“A room?” asked the innkeeper. Looking at him as if he’d grown a second head.
“A free, permanent, room- and a meal day.” Mar had almost forgotten to ask for food as well, so the last bit was tacked on. He smiled assuredly at the inn keeper, hoping confidence would mask the mistake.
The Innkeeper clutched his hand tightly once again before nodding his head slowly.
“Ok, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Mar shook hands with the Innkeeper. Now all he had to do was friend the missing girl, or whatever was left of her, and bring her back. Death Forest lived up to its name after all.
“Thank you, thank you so much! You have no idea what this means to me.”
The man kept blabbering on for a while until Mar stopped him by raising his hand.
“I’m going to need something she kept close to herself a lot. Preferably jewelry, or maybe a favorite set of clothes she might have worn. Unwashed is best for clothes.” Said Mar.
Vincent looked confused for a moment before shrugging, the how of getting his daughter back less important than actually getting her back.
“We do have something that’ll do the trick.”
He pulled a cloth wrapped package from his pocket. Opening the cloth, he revealed a simple Iron chain necklace. Adored with a shattered crystal in an iron setting.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“She’s worn this every day since we brought it for her tenth birthday. I-I only have it because I was going to get the Jewel in it replaced for her twentieth.” Hope, fear, and dread clashed in the innkeeper's heart. He longed for nothing more than a simpler time when birthday gifts actually mattered.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring her back or….at the very least you’ll have some closure.” Mar told Vincent, as he picked up the Necklace and passed him his travel bag.
“Store that in my room for me, with any luck I’ll be back at first light. Have my payment ready for me.”
With that Mar walked away from Vincent, heading once more towards the village gates. Vincent headed back inside his Inn, another long night ahead of him.
Only those who had been a slave, owned one or who had attempted to free one would have known what the necklace was. Not some mere jewel; the necklace’s gem was used on slaves who had unlocked the magical potential they contained.
Those who learned to do so, either from instruction or from often destructive self-learning experiences were able to wield an incredibly powerful ability. Every human could tap into this power, but each would find a different result. Someone with an Aura alignment of Air would gain access to incredibly fast movement, whereas someone with a nature alignment would be able to control, grow and shape the plants around them.
The gem’s creation was simple, and its goal was even simpler -To stop anyone who tried to wield an ability from doing so, and to cause them a great deal of pain whenever they attempted it.
Whoever had shattered the crystal had done so by releasing so much power the gem couldn’t withstand it, meaning that they had to have been wearing the necklace at the time. Mar shuddered at the thought.
Fortunately, Vincent had been correct when he’d said his daughter had kept the Necklace close to her. The scent of her Aura was strong on it and easily allowed him to track it. Although He did have to leave the village before he was able to properly pick up the trail, as the Aura’s of the villager’s confused his senses. She was a day ahead of him and he didn’t have time to waste. He picked up the pace, settling into a light jog. Content to have an objective to complete and a reward waiting for him doing so.
****
The forest’s floor was littered with leaves and roots, amongst the other debris one would expect in a forest. Where this forest differed from expectations was the complete lack of anything living. No owls hooted, no bats fluttered overhead, there was no scurry from some animal in the undergrowth. For better or worse this forest belonged to the clay. Mar was able to navigate the forest with ease and didn’t slow his pace. Despite the moon's pale light continuously being smothered by a cloud or part of the canopy. He had travelled into this forest many times as a chained, hunting the Clay within.
‘Offense is the best defence.’ he muttered to himself. ‘No need to rest if the jobs not finished.’ Flashes of the pompous men who muttered such things flashed through his mind. Anger distracting him for a moment before following away into a pool of calm, sharp focus.
The trail suddenly deviated, and Mar skidded to a halt before persisting on in the new direction.
‘Hiding from your friend's little girl? Or...’
The trail continued and Mar continued to follow it.
Several hours later nothing much had changed, while the deviations were commonplace originally, after half an hour or so it evened out. What disturbed him was the path continued into the forest.
‘If you no longer needed to evade then why would you continue into the forest?’
****
When a light from a campfire appeared in his vision Mar slowed his pace to a silent walk. Stealthy moving through the undergrowth. Ducking from tree to tree and waiting for the clouds to cover the pale light before moving out into the open. When the clearing became evident, he dropped in a crouch.
It was a large open area; the ground was rocky and one lone tree stood near the centre. Small and malformed, struggling to find moisture and nutrients in the rocky hell it had been placed in, but valiantly struggling, nonetheless. Under the lonely pine a camp had been set up.
A girl who looked to be almost 16 had been tied to the tree, judging from her clothing Mar guessed that she was Vincent's daughter. On the opposite side of the fire sat a pair of hunters, their clothing clearly marking them as part of the order.
Each was wearing a long dark blue jacket, under which a white shirt and a blue vest were located. A set of study boots and dark black pants completed the ensemble.
It was hard to make out much more considering the distance, the hunter pair had picked their campsite well. Mar considered his options, hidden in the shadows created by the trees. He could go back to the inn and inform the keeper that his daughter had already been captured by hunters and would be punished accordingly. Which he feared would invalidate his reward.
He could try and tangle with the two hunters, but they were dangerous and well-trained opponents. Was his reward worth such a risk? Mar pulled the necklace from his pocket and stared at it for a very long time, not caring if the metal might reflect the silver light of the moon. The chain he had once worn hadn’t been visible at all, but the feeling of helplessness would be the same. That made up his mind. It wasn’t for a reward or moral argument that Mar would free the girl, rather it was for himself. Because of his past. He had earnt this much damn it…
For most people breaking out of the tree line would have been a sure way to start either a conversation or a fight. The clearing gave the hunters a fantastic view of anyone who wanted to approach, and the loose stony ground would make moving silently difficult. Fortunately, Mar was light on his feet and was confident in his ability to move without making an overly loud amount of nose. But that wasn’t the only trick up his sleeve.
Mar stretched his hands out and mentally activated his magic. The quick bite of a headache informed him that his meek strength had been mustered. To begin with he slowly compressed the air around him and arranged it into a shield. He then summoned water by pulling the moisture out of the ground below him, he fed the water into the shield wrapping it closely around his body until it was just right. The effect was that of refraction, anyone who looked at him head on would see nothing but the scenery behind him, and perhaps a slight blurring. Combine the effect with a dark night like tonight, slow movement, quiet footsteps, a stealthy attitude, and Mar was now practically invisible. Or at the very least, somewhat harder to see.
Moving slowly and crouched down, Mar made his way into the clearing. He had almost made it about ten paces before realising his mistake. A sharp click under his foot caused a bolt of fear to shoot through him, adrenaline quickly followed.
The hunters had mined the area, which was usual to say the least. Was this a trap? Had they been waiting for him? No, that couldn’t be it. He’d only just arrived and he was too good at blending into crowds to have been tracked from the capital. Forcing himself to remain calm, Mar carefully considered the situation. He could stay put and hope the hunters would move on before noticing him.
However, it was likely they would stay until morning and once the sun rose he’d be painfully obvious. Not to mention exhausted from a night without sleep.
If he asked the Hunters for help, they’d have some serious questions before doing so. Mar considered himself to be reasonably charming -but he wasn’t that charming. He had approached with the intention of getting the upper hand on the hunters. Maybe killing one of them before they even knew what happened. But that plan had just clicked out of the window.
His only option: get off the mine faster than it could kill him. Without magic it’d be an impossible task; with magic it was simply a dangerous and stupid one.
To start with Mar dropped the shield and instead performed a spell called air wrapping. Air wrapping was the process of reducing the amount of air, and by extension air resistance, in front of him. Mar then used the displaced air to propel himself forward.
Now came the stupid and dangerous part. Mar crouched down and launched himself into a sprint. The mines so carefully placed exploded behind him, the force of the fire magic knocking him off his feet in a shower of dirt and stone. Bouncing across the ground, he quickly came to a stop. Mar stumbled to his feet and hastily drew his sword. It wasn’t the most graceful he’d ever been, but he wasn’t dead. That was good. The pain faded away to merely an awareness of the scrapes and bruises he had just earnt.
The pair of hunters had jumped to their feet at the nose, also drawing their weapons but keeping their distance. They seemed surprised to see him, which meant the mines must have been placed for another reason. A clay hunt perhaps? But why lay a trap with the two of them inside of it? Normal hunter doctrine was to flush any target into a mined area, if they were using mines that is.
Now that he was closer, he was able to further inspect the hunters standing before him. The first was a woman who looked to be about 25, her hair was jet black with a streak of blond running through it and was tied in a rough bun. Her eyes were mismatched like his own, one being completely black and the other completely white. A small scar adorned her check. Her weapon was a simple rectangular beam made of sky steel, the tip curved up like that of a hunting knife and was sharpened accordingly.
The beam’s purpose became apparent when the Huntresses’ hand lit up with a blue lightning, the energy flowed from her body and into the beam. Runes curved along its sides glowed and a blade was formed.
A pointed stick in the hands of most, a powerful weapon in hers. Thought Mar.
The second of the two appeared to be a young man who was barely into his twenties. His eyes were a mismatched forest green and silver. His hair was a shaggy brown, contrasting with his black stubble. His weapon was a silver rapier. The sword’s hand guard had been shaped into another rune that glowed red in the night.
‘And just who the hell are you?’ Asked the man. His voice rich and cultured, he was either the son of a noble or that of a general.
‘Ahhh... I’m Mar, a freelance hunter and novice cook. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.’ said Mar with an overdone gentleman's accent.
It was the woman who spoke this time.
‘A pleasure indeed..’ she spoke in a voice laced with sarcasm. ‘I’m Kalier and this esteemed gentleman is Tarix. Before I invite you to join us at our fire may I inquire as to your business in such a forest as this? And why you approached without an introduction?’
Mar’s mind raced to find a good reason for his current situation. If he could join the Hunters on whatever their current mission was then separating the girl from the pair would become a much simpler process.
The only question was what were the pair hunting? A pair of hunters such as these should have been able to face down most prey together, without having to restore to such tactics. Whatever the pair was hunting was big enough that they wanted it to be wounded before they faced it. And a creature like that would be appearing in bounty boards for miles around.
‘Simple enough really. I got a bounty to track down a big clay abomination. Judging from the way you’ve surrounded your camp It appears we may be hunting the very same monster.’ As he spoke Mar lowered his sword. Unfortunately, the pair didn’t follow suit.
‘You’re here for the girl aren’t you?’ Asked Tarix. Mar raised his sword once more.
‘How did you know?’
‘Because this particular Clay isn’t on any bounty list. Trust me when I say it was a most unpleasant surprise.’ explained Kalier. Mar sighed at that.
‘Well it was worth a shot’ he said.
The three stood there for a long moment. Each compared the other, assessing weaknesses and strengths. Weighing up possible attacks and their outcomes, each searching for the best possible choice to make.
A scream echoed across the clearing, shattering the tension. While the three hunters had been focused on each other the Clay beast had used the opportunity to enter the area.
The beast Stood on two legs like a human, but that’s where the similarities ended. Its arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks. Its body made out of twisted grey-silver hairs, course like steel wool. One of its arms reached to its mid-thigh, four powerful claws marking its hand. The other arm contorted into a straight sword-like extension.
Unlike the rest of the monstrosity's body the sword arm was made of a sleek black material that slightly reflected the moon’s pale light. The creature lacked a head, instead a single glowing blue eye appeared in the centre of its chest. The eye unwaveringly stared at the hunters. A clay’s body would only burn in the hottest of fire. Striking the beast felt like striking 5 layers of chain mail. The beast was almost double Mar’s five feet.
Mar had seen beasts just like this one go head-to-torso with a Troop of men. The creature had shrugged off a cannon blast and killed ten men before Mar had managed to take it down. Mar issued orders rapid fire, in a voice that invited no argument. Sorting out their little kafuffle could wait, right now they were all hunters faced with their prey. They were all humans, of a sort.
‘Its bladed arm is too heavy to block but he can’t move it fast. Dodge its attacks and aim for its joints. Cripple it then go for the eye. It’s heavily reinforced. I’ll strike head on, you two take its flanks.’ Tarix ignored the order completely, his rapier glowed, and he disappeared in a flash of red light, reappearing behind the Clay’s right knee. He launched a series of jabbing strikes, attempting to penetrate as deep as possible into the beast's flesh.
The creature raised and slammed its foot into the ground, knocking the Hunter out cold and onto the ground.
“Bloody useless.” Muttered Kalier. “You attack it’s left; I’ll be a better distraction.” She said.
Mar turned to see lightning dancing over her skin, her eyes glowing as if they were lit from a fire within. She channelled the power into her weapon and the energy arced out from it. The lightning bolt struck the behemoth directly in its chest once, twice, another strike glanced up and hit its shoulder instead. The lightening was practically impossible to aim, and had missed the Clay’s glowing core narrowly. The Clay charged Kalier, molten metal dripping from where her strikes had landed. Breathing heavily now she leaned on her sword as Clay charged her.
She gripped the blade tightly as she gathered her strength for another series of blows. Mar didn’t spare the Huntress a second thought as he grabbed his blade with two hands and rushed towards the beast. The clay swung his sword arm in a wide arc and Mar narrowly avoided the blow by jumping over it. Landing heavily on his feet, Mar aimed his counterattack for the clay’s now undefended knee. Using the clay’s own momentum to increase the power of the blow Mar smashed the sword into his target.
The sword cut almost halfway into the beast's leg before Mar was thrown backwards. The force sent both Mar and the clay sprawling on the ground. The clay beast rolled across the ground, its body tearing up rocks and dirt and sending it flying in all directions. The hard meeting with the ground didn’t do a major amount of damage to the Clay and it rolled back to its feet quickly. Mar wasn’t so lucky however, he had landed heavily on his left leg, and was sent sprawling onto the rocks from the hard blow.
Kalier’s second attack was still charging and with Mar down she was alone. Tarix was starting to move again after being briefly stunned by the clay’s attacks, but he wouldn’t be of any help for a few moments more.
As the beast and Kalier studied one another a moment of silence ensued, the only sound Kalier could make out was the thumping of her heart in her chest. Suddenly, in a burst of motion that seemed impossible for a thing of its size the clay shot towards her.
It swung its sword arm over its head, the massive black blade coming at Kalier with frightening speed. Utilizing her lightning energy on her own body Kalier spasmed as her muscles contracted faster than what her body would usually allow. It hurt, a lot, but allowed her to do some amazing things. Even with her sudden burst of superhuman speed the clay was simply too fast to dodge. But speed easily transitions into force when it meets something, and Kalier instead swung her sword fast and hard, putting her entire body’s strength behind the blow.
Her sword shot up, the force it generated scattering the rock behind her feet without ever touching them, before slamming into the Clay’s own weapon. The massive blow deflecting the clay’s sword and keeping Kalier alive.
Kalier was driven to her knees as the clay’s blade was embedded into the ground next to her instead of slicing her in two. She wasn’t unhurt however, her right arm had taken the brunt of the blow and laid limp next to her body, still holding her sword in a tenuous grip.
Tarix teleported to her aid, with Mar getting to his feet and running after him. Tarix appeared in front of the Clay and thrust his sword through one of the holes Kalier had blown through it’s armour before. He aimed for the Clay’s eye through the hole, jamming his sword upwards at an awkward angle. The blow caused a crack to appear across the orb and the Clay to cry out in pain, before twisting its body sharply to the side. The twist caught Tarix’s sword and sent it flying away. A blow from the creatures left arm sent him after it.
Mar had caught up to the creature by now however, and drove his sword into the other side of the leg he had initially attacked. For not the first time, he wished his sword had a pointed end instead of a rounded one, a thrusting blow would have been more effective than what a slashing one could manage against the beast.
What his sword lacked in utility however it made up for in sheer weight, the broadsword smashing into the Clay like a hammer into glass. The Clay’s left leg collapsed, forcing it to its knees. Mar withdrew his sword for another strike, only for the Clay’s eye to sudden appear on it’s back, having rotated through its chest to look behind it. A blue beam of energy issued from the eye and stuck Mar solidly. He was able to block some of the attack with the flank of his sword. But like water around a bolder in a rushing river, the energy flowed around his blade to send him flying to the ground once more.
The Clay’s eye returned to its front, to find Kalier reaching out with her still functional left arm to grab its own sword. With little options left she poured all her energy into it. Her eyes started to bleed as she used up her natural pool of mana and the magic started to suck away at her life. The lightning shot up the sword and across the clay’s body. A human could have simply let go of their weapon. The clay’s body was the weapon.
The disgusting thing let out an almighty roar as the energy tore it apart from the inside out. Molten metal leaked out from beneath its coiled skin. It pulled the sword from the ground and shook it, dislodging Kalier and sending her skittering across the ground. Kalier’s journey was abruptly cut short as she slammed into the tree that the village girl was chained too. Still screaming; the clay pulled itself to its feet and charged the crumpled heap, slower than before. Still wicked fast for its size.
‘Kalier!’ Screamed out Tarix as he ran towards his sword, trying to get it to teleport to her in time. It was impossible for him to make it, however there was one person who was close enough to protect her.
The village girl known as Ilivar was completely trapped. But she was far from powerless. Kalier had somehow managed to keep her grip on her sword when she was flung across the ground but had finally dropped the weapon when she slammed into the tree, so Ilivar had a weapon at hand. Grabbing the sword, she hacked at the chain holding her in place. Aiming for the rusted link that she had noticed a few hours ago.
Paying little attention to the Clay that was quickly advancing on her she grabbed the sword in two hands and swung down. Without lightning magic, the weapon was more akin to a pipe or club, but blunt force was what she needed now more than anything. Her first blow missed her intended target, almost causing her to panic. She forced herself to calm down and struck at the link again, connecting this time. Two more blows later and she was freed from her bondage.
The clay beast was upon her now, raising its sword up in an effort to end her life. Most would have simply dive to the side to avoid the blow or attempted to block it. That’s if they even summoned the courage to face the creature at all, instead of running off into the forest and leaving Kalier to her fate. Ilivar was far from most people, however. Instead of diving to the side or blocking the blow, she ran towards the creature. Ilivar was mimicking Mar’s charge from before, although without the ability to jump high enough to jump over the sword she had to roll under it instead. The creature, struggling with it’s wounds was too slow to hit her.
Once within striking distance of the creature she held Kalier’s sword in two hands and stabbed forward, like she was attacking with a spear instead of a sword. The beam's sharpened tip smashed the crystal-like structure of the clays eye, cracked from Tarix’s earlier attack. Ilivar was lucky that the sword was made of sky steel, any other blade would have been too blunt to do so in a single blow. The creature screamed in pain, reeling backwards as black tar begun leaking from the wound.
Pulling the sword free, Illivar stabbed it again and again, and again, and again. The Clay slowly fell to the ground. Had the beast fell forwards, its weight would have crushed her. Adrenaline racing and wanting to make sure the terrifying creature of monster stories was dead, Illivar kept stabbing, clambering up onto the monster’s body to do so. She was completely oblivious to her surroundings, turning the clays core into black tar and broken blue crystal. She didn’t notice the senseless screaming that was coming out of her month nor the tears that streamed down her face.
A set of strong arms firmly but gently grabbed her, and soothing words were whispered in her ear.
‘Shh Ilivar, it’s ok now. You’ve killed it. You’re safe now.’ Said Mar.
Dropping the sword, she collapsed to her knees. Looking up at Mar the young villager stared into his eyes, shock etched into her face. Slowly the shock and adrenaline faded and Ilivar was able to think once more. When she could, an almost unhinged smile appeared on her face. She looked at the beast, lying still on the ground. She had done it, just like the Hunters and Huntress’ in all the stories. She had killed a clay.
“Holy shit.” She whispered.