Path of Dragons

Elijah could scarcely see the girl, as she was hidden in the branches, but he certainly heard her scream. He also saw the small fireball she tossed down at the hydra. It hit with a splash of flames, but the spell had very little effect on the monster.

And it was a monster.

Elijah was sure of that. He didn’t know precisely what made it so different or why he recognized it, but he was absolutely certain that the hydra was not of Earth. Of course, given its appearance, that should have been obvious – but the injection of ethera into the ecosystem had mutated much of the native fauna, rendering many creatures unrecognizable. Yet, it was obvious to Elijah – for some inexplicable reason – that that was not the case with the hydra.

Regardless, he didn’t have leave to ponder the situation, because the creature chose that moment to attack. Not the girl, who was out of reach. Rather, it targeted the tree itself, snapping out with its powerful jaws to chip away at the trunk. One head struck. Then the next. And finally, the third, digging deep into the tree, which shook with every impact.

Given what Elijah saw, he knew it wouldn’t be long before the tree fell.

And then, the girl – Bryce – would be defenseless against such a powerful creature. Elijah represented her only chance at survival.

He needed to act, and quickly. Whatever moral quandaries he’d experienced concerning the fate of the hydra faded next to the immediate danger posed to the Alchemist’s daughter. Fortunately, Elijah was in the proper form for a reckless charge. So, without giving it any more thought, he threw himself toward the hydra.

In his lamellar ape form, he was not sneaky. Nor did he pretend to be. Still, the hydra was so focused on its intended prey – and he moved so quickly – that he managed to take it by surprise. He barreled into the monster, sending it tumbling into the water. But it recovered quickly, one of its heads snapping out to latch onto Elijah’s shoulder. He’d used Iron Scales before impact, but the monster’s fangs still managed to pierce his thick hide. He felt the injection of venom burn its way through his flesh, but he was more concerned with the fact that the other two necks had wrapped around him like constrictor snakes.

The pair of struggling titans splashed into the water, where the hydra clearly had an advantage. Its heads continued to snake around him, and when they’d wrapped around his torso a few times, they started biting. The first bite that managed to pierce his scales sent an injection of potent venom scorching through his muscles, eliciting a burbling gasp.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to breathe. Otherwise, he might’ve drowned. Even so, he couldn’t keep himself from experiencing a brief moment of panic that the monster continued to use to its advantage, snapping out a dozen times in the space of a few seconds. Some of its bites were turned away by Elijah’s defenses, but more than enough made it through.

He wrestled with the monster, rolling through the water as the increasing volume of poison coursing through his veins became an ever-more-urgent issue. It wasn’t debilitating, but if the fight went on much longer, he knew it would be.

Fortunately, Elijah wasn’t without his own advantages.

He used Rage.

Then, he snapped out, wrapping his jaws around the hydra’s nearest neck. Its flesh parted beneath the force of his mighty bite, and he ripped away a chunk of muscle and scales. The monster went wild, its heads writhing. That gave Elijah just enough room for a gambit. He transformed into his human form, giving himself more space, then kicked off one of the rapidly constricting necks and launched himself free just in time to avoid being crushed.

He sailed through the air, then skipped across the water before thudding into another cypress tree. Most facets of his mind went fuzzy, but a couple remained clear enough to cast a pair of spells. The first was Healing Rain, which dumped rejuvenating precipitation on him. The second was Touch of Nature. The combination of the two healing spells was enough to banish most of the poison, but it didn’t get everything.

Without the enhancement of his Crook of the Serpent Healer, even that would have been nearly impossible, especially in the short time he had available. That highlighted just how useful the new staff was, though he had no time to appreciate his weapon.

Once he was healed, Elijah shifted back to his guardian form. But he didn’t charge the creature. That had proven a bad strategy. So, as the hydra righted itself and faced off against him, he approached carefully, his own tail swaying back and forth in the murky water.

The monster hissed with all three heads, though the one from which he’d taken a bite was clearly wobbly. That was the point of weakness. All he needed to do was finish the job he’d started, and hopefully, the monster would bleed out. Already, it was pouring gallons of blood into the swamp. Elijah just needed to hasten its eventual demise.

But he knew he needed a different strategy, especially when he saw that the blood loss had begun to peter out.

He needed to act fast. So, he bent every facet of his Quartz Mind to thinking of a solution. And with all that brainpower working in his favor, it wasn’t long before he chose a course of action. Once he did, he bunched his muscles, then once again threw himself at the monster. It cocked its heads back, ready to strike. Yet, when Elijah had made it halfway, he leaped high into the air, and the apex of his jump, he switched to his draconid form.

Even as he fell, the creature struck. However, it was incapable of understanding why its formerly huge opponent was now a quarter of its size. So, its attacks were clumsy, ill-timed, and poorly aimed. Moreover, in his draconid form, Elijah was far more dexterous, so when the strikes did come, he had no issues with slapping them aside and using his momentum to launch himself at his target.

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But he didn’t attack the hydra again.

Instead, he kicked off the monster, marking it with Brand of the Stalker, then leaped in the direction of the girl. As he flew through the air, he switched back to his lamellar ape form. He landed only a few feet from the tree and shouted, “Get on my back! Your dad sent me!”

It came out in a roar.

But to her credit, the girl didn’t hesitate. Elijah wasn’t sure if she’d seen his human form, and that was why she trusted him, or if she was just desperate enough to trust a lizard-ape. But she leaped from her branch without delay.

Unfortunately, her aim was terrible, so Elijah was forced to catch her. He did, then threw her over his shoulder and beat a hasty retreat.

The hydra followed.

The girl screamed.

She also cast a fireball in its direction, but as before, it was useless.

Elijah wasn’t counting on her help, anyway. Instead, he was wholly focused on running. His reasoning was twofold. First, he hadn’t come just to kill a hydra. His primary objective was to rescue the girl. Perhaps he’d come back and fight the monster, but not until Bryce was safe.

Second, he’d seen something during the brief standoff. The wound he’d inflicted on the hydra was healing, and at a visible rate. Because that was what hydras did, wasn’t it? In mythology, when one head was removed, two more would grow back in its place. He didn’t know if the real version of the creature was the same, but it was clearly capable of healing even from grievous wounds.

That, in turn, meant that any fight against the monster would take some time, and given his most important goal, Elijah wasn’t willing to do that. So, that only left retreat. Unfortunately, the hydra was more accustomed to its natural environment, so losing it – even with his massive Strength to propel him at ridiculous speeds – took quite a while.

Elijah ran deeper into the swamp until he stopped even trying to wade through the water. Instead, he leaped to a cypress branch and channeled his inner monkey, using his long arms to throw himself across the canopy. After that, he quickly left the hydra behind. And even if he hadn’t, it would have been incapable of reaching him.

After all, as the girl had proven, the monster couldn’t climb trees.

Eventually, long after they’d left the monster behind, Elijah spied a bit of dry ground. He landed with a thump, then lowered the girl to the ground. During their retreat, she’d passed out, and it wasn’t long before Elijah realized why.

She’d taken a couple of bites from the hydra, as evidenced by the three puncture wounds on one of her shoulders. They’d already clotted, so the bleeding was minimal. However, one sniff told Elijah that she was under the effect of the monster’s venom. So, he gently lowered her to the ground and shifted back to his human form.

A second later, he used Healing Rain, then started in on her with Touch of Nature. When he did, he couldn’t help but recognize how severe the internal damage was. How she hadn’t already died, he had no idea, but her organs had already begun to shut down. More, the muscle around the wounds had nearly liquified under the caustic venom.

Hoping he wasn’t too late, Elijah continuously cast Touch of Nature. Slowly, the venom retreated, but even after he’d finished it off, the damage it had wrought still needed to be repaired. So, he kept going, one cast after another until, at last, the final wound closed.

Only then did the girl’s eyes flick open.

And when they did, she hastily scrambled away in an awkward crab walk. For his part, Elijah held up his hands and said, “It’s okay. You’re safe.” He looked around at the inhospitable environment. “Well, safe-ish.”

“Where am I? Who are you?” she demanded. Then, she looked down at her ripped shirt. She hadn’t been exposed, but her tee-shirt was in tatters. So, she threw her arms over her chest and hugged herself tightly.

Seeing how uncomfortable she was, Elijah unshouldered his pack, retrieved one of his shirts, and tossed it to her. She caught it.

“For your modesty,” he said. She quickly turned her back and donned it. As she did, Elijah asked, “How did you get the attention of that monster, anyway?”

“You didn’t answer any of my questions.”

“I saved you.”

“You abducted me.”

“You jumped on my back! Or tried to. I ended up having to catch you, though. Your falling aim is terrible,” he insisted. “Why would I abduct a skinny little…you know what? Fine. You’re saved. Make your way back home on your own.”

Elijah shifted back into his guardian form and started to leave. The girl cut him off by screaming, “No! Don’t go!”

He turned back to her, asking, “Seriously? Do you want me to stay? Or do you think I’m some creepy kidnapper?”

Elijah knew she was just a contrary and frightened child, but he definitely didn’t like the implications of her accusations.

“Stay. Please.”

He’d never really intended to leave. If he’d had to, he would have thrown her over his shoulder and taken her back home, regardless of what she said about him. Yet, he preferred it if she went willingly.

“Fine.”

With that, he resumed his human form. “I’m Elijah,” he said. “And you’re Bryce. Your mom sent me after you.”

“And dad?”

“Fine last I saw him. Should be home by now,” Elijah answered. “Which is our next stop, by the way. Your turn.”

“What?”

“How did you get treed by a hydra?”

“Oh. Well, I was trying to get these herbs and –”

“I know why you came out into the swamp. I’m asking why you picked a fight with that monster,” Elijah elaborated.

“I didn’t.”

“Sure. Then tell me what happened. Why did you go anywhere near it? And don’t tell me you didn’t know it was there. I saw that thing well before it saw me, and I wasn’t even trying to be sneaky.”

“I…uh…I tried to kill it,” she said.

“Really.”

“I thought I stood a chance! I have my archetype and everything!”

“That thing is probably level fifty. Wait. Do monsters have levels? Or just sapients? I mean, it makes sense that they would have levels,” Elijah said, tapping his chin. “I guess I could ask Kurik. I think he intimated that animals did. The orcs definitely. But –”

“What are you talking about?” Bryce asked, her hands on her hips. The girl was tall – even taller than Elijah himself, which really wasn’t that big of an accomplishment – and had the gangly awkwardness of most tall teenagers. Otherwise, she was just a normal-looking kid, with blonde hair she wore in a single braid.

“Just saying that you had absolutely no chance of killing that monster,” he said. “You’re lucky you weren’t immediately eaten. How are you alive, by the way? That poison should have killed you.”

“I had a potion.”

“Ah.”

“It’s a good potion!”

“That’s for sure,” Elijah admitted. Anything that let someone as weak as her survive that venom was powerful. Perhaps Konstantinos was a higher-leveled Alchemist than Elijah had originally thought. “But potion or not – that was still stupid. You realize that, don’t you?”

“Maybe,” she said sullenly. “But I didn’t have a choice. It was…oh, God…”

“What?”

“The reason I attacked it. It was heading toward the house…”

“Shit,” Elijah muttered.

If it had been heading in that direction, it just confirmed that it intended to expand its territory. And Elijah wasn’t willing to let it accomplish that goal. Bessie the alligator was assuredly a great protector, but against the hydra, the beast had no chance.

“Guess we’re doing this, then,” he said. “I hope you’re feeling better, because if that thing started back toward the house as soon as we lost it, I don’t have time to drop you off. And I can’t leave you here.”

The last thing he wanted was to bring a teenager along with him in a fight that would almost assuredly take everything he had. But as he’d said, there wasn’t much choice in the matter. So, after giving Bryce the benefit of two enhancements – Aura of Renewal and Essence of the Boar – he shifted back into his lamellar ape form and said, “Hop on. We’ve got a monster to kill.”

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