Sera, Cabrin, and Akane moved quietly along the path through the ruins, following the map that led them to the place Damien had called the "Great Chamber." The landscape was a labyrinth of broken stone, crumbling walls, and the skeletal remains of once-grand structures, all slowly being reclaimed by nature. The air was heavy with a sense of foreboding, the weight of their recent battle against the Chimera still fresh in their minds.
As they walked, Sera couldn't help but reflect on the harrowing fight against the monstrous creatures. The terror of facing such abominations was still palpable, and she shuddered at the thought of what might have happened had luck not been on her side.
"I feel like I shouldn't even be alive," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Cabrin glanced at her with a weary grin. "Just be glad a Centaur wasn't involved," he said.
Sera gave him a worried look. “A Centaur?”
Cabrin nodded.
"The Chimera we fought earlier are called Satyr.” He explained. “They're typically very animalistic and driven by instinctual response, alone. They’re not very intelligent. But Centaur are a much more cunning form of Chimera. They are able to command and direct lesser kinds of Chimera, like Satyr.”
“Hai.” Akane confirmed in an inappropriately cheerful tone. “Encounters against Chimera when a Centaur is present are much more difficult."
As they continued on their journey, Sera looked about at the piles of leaves here and there amongst the ruins, which she knew covered the corpses of the Reclaimers who had died there seventeen years ago when the Chimera attacked. She wondered aloud about how many people had been killed.
Akane shook her head somberly. "Chimera don't leave corpses.”
“When they kill,” Cabrin added, “They bring the bodies to their nest to be fed upon and used to create more Chimera."
He paused, as he looked around at the unmarked graves. "All the Chimera who attacked the Reclaimers must have been killed in the process. Not every corpse here is human."
Sera's thoughts were a whirlwind of horror and sorrow. The idea of the Chimera taking the bodies of their victims away for such ghastly purposes made her stomach churn. It was a fate she couldn't even begin to fathom, and she couldn't help but shudder at the thought of so many innocent lives lost in such a horrifying manner.
At the same time, Sera felt a deep sense of relief that the Chimera who attacked the Reclaimers had ultimately been defeated. However, this relief was overshadowed by the knowledge that the remains of those who had perished were still hidden beneath the piles of leaves, their final resting place a grim testament to the cruelty of their fate.
Cabrin whispered a short prayer as they continued. Though she couldn’t understand the words of his language, Sera understood the sentiment. Along with Akane, she nodded in agreement to whatever well wishes the ranger offered to the dead.
When they finally arrived at a ruined building marked on the map as the location of the Great Chamber, they stood in awe of it.
The ancient building stood proudly amidst the ruins, a testament to the architectural prowess of a bygone era. Its once gleaming facade, now worn by time and weather, retained a sense of grandeur and awe that commanded respect. The structure loomed over the surrounding ruins as if guarding the secrets of the past.
Its exterior, despite the heavy scars of time, showcased a sophistication and elegance in its simplicity. The massive stone pillars that flanked the entrance were expertly crafted, a tribute to the skill of the builders who had shaped them.
As the trio stepped inside, they were greeted by a spacious atrium. The high ceiling was supported by a series of elegant arches, dim sunlight pouring through holes upon the rubble beneath. The floor was a seamless expanse of polished stone, reflecting a minimalistic aesthetic that held a certain timeless charm.
The building, though in a state of decay, still exuded an atmosphere of reverence and power. The air was heavy with a sense of sacredness, as if the very essence of the gods still lingered within the building.
To Sera, Cabrin, and Akane, this ancient edifice represented a connection to their distant past, a tangible link to the gods who once ruled over all Soror long ago. The stark beauty of the building held secrets and stories that had long been forgotten, waiting for the day when they would be uncovered and brought to light.
Their awe was to be short lived, however. From beyond a curtain of light, a Satyr slowly crept into view, her hauntingly human-sounding call beckoning in her companion, a male, from somewhere previously unseen. As the three of them backed away slowly, neither of them daring to make a sound, a noise was heard behind them as three more of the terrifying creatures revealed themselves.
They were surrounded. Cabrin and Akane drew their weapons as the pack of Satyr cautiously circled them. As she stowed Damien’s journal into the nothingness from which she then drew her own blade, Sera wondered in silent terror why the Chimera weren’t immediately attacking as they had before. She soon got her answer when the sound of a falling rock drew their attention to a raised chunk of the collapsed ceiling.
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Sera's eyes widened as a monstrous creature stepped up into view. Its upper half resembled a thin, yet muscularly toned man, while its lower half was that of a large, hairless elk. Its skin was a pale, sickly white, and it had cloven hooves for feet. The creature's head was long and eyeless, like the skull of a raven or crow with skin pulled tightly over it. The upturned hook at the end of its “beak” was complimented by two pairs of ridged tendrils which served as its lower jaw, and it had wide shoulders with long sinewy arms and monstrous hands. The only hair on the creature was a thick mane of bleached matted hair that ran down its back.
"Cabrin?" Sera whispered, her voice quaking with panic. "What is that thing?"
"That," Cabrin said grimly, "is a Centaur."
The Centaur stretched out its hand towards Sera and her companions and answering its silent command, the Satyr acted. Like trained dogs, eager for their hunt, three of the five sprang towards Sera and the two rangers, each one picking a target.
Cabrin and Akane swiftly engaged their respective opponents with practiced ease. As they deftly parried and countered the Satyr's relentless attacks, the remaining two Satyr joined the fray, leaving both Cabrin and Akane a pair of opponents each.
Sera, still inexperienced with combat, struggled to find her footing against the creature’s newfound discipline. She managed to jump over a low-sweeping blow from its powerful tentacles but caught another across the chest. The strike flipped her over onto her back, the wind driven from her chest as she landed. Frantically she scrambled backward trying to get away from the monster when one of its prehensile appendages came down with a slap between her legs. It curled, grasping the fabric of her dress and pulled her back towards it.
The Satyr bore down over Sera, its tentacles wrapped around each of her limbs as it held her down. She screamed in terror as it loomed over her, its dripping mouth full of pointed teeth breathed hotly over her face. It was a familiar feeling. Images of the scene from the night before flashed in her mind.
“No!” She shouted, as a faint rippling in the air sent the monstrous Chimera onto its back. Sera was on it in an instant, screaming with each thrust of her blade as she drove it into its chest over and over again. Its tentacles wrapped around her waist, they squeezed and slapped at her body in desperation as she stabbed it, each protesting strike weaker than the last until they fell limp.
Her chest heaved as she clung with both hands to the hilt of her sword when she heard Cabrin’s voice calling out to her from his own fight behind her.
"Sera, the Centaur!" he commanded, his voice filled with urgency.
She hesitated, but then determined to prove her worth, Sera scrambled to her feet and charged at the Centaur which stood defiantly adamant. As she swung, the creature effortlessly side-stepped out of the way. Again and again, she screamed in helpless frustration as the Centaur casually avoided her undisciplined strikes, seemingly regarding her with a malevolent sense of amusement at her attempts. Almost tauntingly, it danced around her as Sera swung her blade until finally, Sera managed to graze the Centaur's flank, drawing blood. The Centaur immediately backed off, and motioned towards her with a wave of its hand.
This battle was a ruthless dance of death. The Centaur's intelligence was evident as it strategically commanded the Satyr, directing them to attack with unrelenting precision. Sera, Cabrin, and Akane were lost to the flow, fighting with every ounce of their strength and wit to counter the coordinated assaults of the Chimera.
Just as Sera charged to re-engage her cunning foe, something thick wrapped around her waist. one of the Satyr who had been fighting Akane had answered the Centaur’s silent command and broke off, targeting Sera instead.
Akane, having one less enemy to deal with, made short work in dispatching the remaining Satyr that had been attacking her, and she quickly started toward Sera who screamed in terror as the Satyr restraining her hauled her back. With both hands holding her katana in a firm grip, Akane raised her blade to strike across the creature’s back when it suddenly spun around, a tentacle whipping back across her chest. Her blade clattered out of her grasp as the ranger fell backward onto the stone floor.
Cabrin was cornered by a male and female Satyr. He spun around, narrowly avoiding their tentacles, and slashed his blade across the male's midsection. The creature shrieked in pain, and Cabrin quickly pivoted to deliver a swift kick to the female Satyr's face, sending it reeling backward.
As Akane scrambled back toward her katana, Sera fought helplessly against her captor’s grip. A tentacle snaked up her bloody and torn dress and wrapped around her thigh. As it pulled, Sera knew she had to do something before it could tear her apart and through the pain in her hip, she managed to send a wave of repulsion against the Satyr. The pulse knocked the Satyr back and forced it to release her.
As she dropped from her restraint, the Centaur, sensing the tide of the battle turning against it, attempted to retreat. However, Sera, her heart pounding with adrenaline, hurled her sword at the creature, striking it in the neck. The Centaur staggered, its hand desperately trying to stem the flow of blood as Sera called her blade back to her, spinning just in time to sever one of the tentacles of the stunned Satyr that had been holding her. The monster howled in pain before a blade blossomed from its chest. Three tentacles and one stub went suddenly limp and the creature’s body crumpled to the ground as Akane drew her blade back out of its corpse.
Sera and Akane quickly converged with Cabrin and the two remaining Satyr. Sera threw her sword which struck one just above its hip while Akane slashed at the back of the other’s knee. The two monsters, distracted by their sudden unexpected injuries, quickly fell to a single flash of Cabrin’s blade.
Their opponents defeated, Cabrin and Akane turned their attention to the wounded Centaur. The creature stumbled away, blood pouring from its neck as it attempted to escape. Cabrin and Akane swiftly closed the distance and finished it off their katanas slashing in unison, scissoring on either side of its neck, relieving the cunning monstrosity of its head.
As the Centaur’s headless body collapsed in a fountain of blood, Cabrin and Akane looked back at Sera in awe. Her dress was torn and bloody. Her sword hung limply in an unsure hand. Tears streamed down her face as she panted heavily with exhaustion. But her face bore an adamant look of determination.
Her time as an innocent barmaid was over, this was her destiny, and she was going to see it through.