by Amy E Hix
Above us flew what appeared to be a dragon, only the tail was much shorter. Then I saw the armor and knew right away.
“It’s a Cerapithalis,” I told him, “It’s circling back, so sit tight.” Like a buzzard over a rotting carcass, the tremendous creature made two wide loops. My heart began to race, and both of us had our hands placed on our swords.
I thought about getting my bow ready, but from this distance, I was sure to miss.
“I’m not sure what it’s flying over, but it doesn’t look like us. We should know with time,” I told Mabashi.
“I say we stay hidden until we do,” he replied. I nodded in agreement, smiling at the hint of sarcasm in his tone.
The rain began to fall a little harder, creating a few small puddles on the ground. We remained alert as the beast above seemed undaunted in its patrol.
It was getting more difficult to see the Cerapithalis through the rain. At one point within its flight path, I could make out the armor it was wearing. Made of heavy leather nearest to the body, there were scaled plate mail pieces attached to the surface, leaving only the creature’s joints uncovered to facilitate movement in battle. The shoulders were full mail with spiked prongs that made decapitation a risky bet, but not altogether impossible.
On its hands it wore a pair of knucks. Its head and feet were bare. As it flew south of our location, it slipped into the clouds, appearing more as a silhouette, and there were a few moments when the Cerapithalis completely disappeared.
The beast flew a little lower, like it wanted to get a closer look at whatever made it circle around in the first place. It was still a little south in the sky from where we were sitting.
Then, without warning, it dived down to the ground below and disappeared behind the fallen debris of the forest. We could hear nothing beyond the pattering rain around us.
More annoyed than anything, but also quite uncomfortable, Mabashi started to get impatient, “Make a run for it?”
He was asking for my advice. I took a deep breath and tried to clear my thoughts. I did not want to be the one to make the call.
“I think we should try to get a better view of what’s going on over there before we rush off. It may be occupied now, but there’s no telling what will happen if it sees us. Besides, there could be someone else in danger.”
I got up on my hands and knees and began to crawl toward a fallen tree south of where we were. I used it to hide behind as I investigated the area around the beast. Mabashi took the cue and moved with me.
When we reached the log, I eased up to look while Mabashi kept a careful eye on me and the area behind us. I squinted from the rain and was scanning the area of debris where the Cerapithalis had most likely landed.
The growls from the hounds came just seconds before the dark shadow. From behind a charred tree, its shadow moved over me, too big to be any further than just a few feet away. Mabashi saw my reaction and grew alert to the presence of the threat.
I ripped out my sword. We both stood to our feet in battle stance and prepared to confront the beast.
Mabashi could now see the monstrous form of the Cerapithalis. It hesitated to make the first move, which gave Mabashi time to back up and draw out his bow.
The moment it started to advance, Mabashi said, “Kill,” in his command tone. Core and Jinx ran in to attack. Mabashi loaded an arrow into his bow and drew back, releasing it into the air toward the Cerapithalis. The beast ducked forward and left the arrow hurtling through the trees behind him.
Jinx jumped into the air and managed to sink his teeth into its left arm, but it grabbed the hound by the throat and threw him straight into the ground below. Jinx hit hard and whimpered, unable to move. Core was behind the Cerapithalis, making his second attempt to attack.
I climbed on the top of a fallen tree and tossed up my grappling hook to catch the base of a branch high above the action.
When I swung down, the Cerapithalis released four nine-inch blades that were hidden inside the knucks. Then it expanded its wings and leapt into the air cutting the grapple’s rope into two pieces, sending me flying to the ground.
It grabbed me up into the air and slung me against the tree and proceeded to come at me with full-force. Mabashi had another arrow in the air by this time, which hit the left shoulder of the Cerapithalis’ armor, striking all the way into some of its flesh; a distraction, but not enough to slow the beast down.
He continued to fire the arrows. Two landed with minimal damage just as the first one, but one caused the beast to jolt and roar with pain.
The Cerapithalis seemed undaunted in its pursuit against me as I lay at the base of the tree, my body resisting the urge to get back on my feet. Then it punched with the knucks and caught my upper leg with two of the blades.
Core had flown onto the back of the Cerapithalis and was commencing to tear into it, creating a huge serration in one wing that left it hanging limp in two sections.
Mabashi decided to approach the beast in order to distract it from bearing down on me. He drew his sword and let out a Dwarven war cry, leaping across the debris.
It worked. The Cerapithalis turned to face Mabashi when a huge cloud of smoke was released from a vial, thrown to the ground, broken below the beast’s feet.
We both moved away from the area. The rain helped to remove most of the smoke, but in doing so it once again revealed the Cerapithalis’ body, standing there as though practically unharmed.
Also standing nearby was a Skadowan Illusionist. She threw another vial to the ground, a yellow sleeping potion, and this time, the beast started to shake its head as if it was trying to stay on its feet. Then she levitated into the air so that she could dodge any attempted strikes given by the beast before it went down.
Mabashi called for the hounds to stand down and Core immediately came to his side but could not suspend his growling.
The Cerapithalis fell to one knee and struggled to hold itself up with one hand on the ground. Ninety seconds is all it took for the potion to take effect, and the Cerapithalis fell all the way down, unconscious.
“Are you all right?” Mabashi immediately asked me.
“It’s just a scratch,” I lied to him, “I can manage. At least it didn’t bite me. You check on Jinx first, he didn’t move after crawling off to the side over there.”
Mabashi went over to the injured hound and began to assess the damage. As Mabashi moved around in the clearing, I could see Jinx had a broken hind leg and a few abrasions to the hip area where he probably struck a boulder after being thrown into the ground. His neck had a few incisions from the claws of the Cerapithalis, but none life-threatening.
“How long do we have until it wakes?” he called out to the Illusionist.
“Six hours, maybe longer,” she replied, “I’m Elonaer, by the way. My companion and I were on our way to Minzkala when we first saw the Cerapithalis. When it came for me, I melded into the debris. My companion decided to attack from behind but was bitten as a result. Then the Cerapithalis scooped him up and flew away. There was no time for me to react.”
My heart leapt, and I asked her, “Did your companion go by the name Cyrow?”
“Yes, that’s him. An Elven Blade Maven,” she answered.
“Then you were partnered with my brother; I’m sorry, I forgot your name.”
“Elonaer,” she replied. She picked up her pack from a few yards away. She had dropped it to free her hands and help us in our battle with the Cerapithalis.
Elonaer was a Skadowan Elf, tall and slender with dark gray skin. The Skadowans got their name from having a shadowy appearance. Their eyes had no iris, only a pupil, colored as hair is colored to distinguish them from one another.
They often wore shades to aid with sight during daylight hours, because they could not control the amount of light that entered. The Skadowan’s ears were longer and pointier than those of the
Forest Elves.
Elonaer was wearing a simple black robe with dark purple accents. Around her waist was a gray leather belt full of vials, and she carried a stave upon her back.
There were various silver bands around her arms and head that possessed the power of the Illusionist. With them, Illusionists could meld, or camouflage, into the area around, seemingly becoming the trees, buildings, cave walls, or whatever was behind them at the time. They could shapeshift into any familiar form. However, Illusionists could not enter an intelligent being.
“We shouldn’t sit too long,” I told the other two as I bandaged up my new wounds, “This battle set us back quite a bit. But with the progress we made this morning, we should still be all right, provided we keep moving.”
The rain was light around us, but the sky showed no signs of letting up anytime soon. Jinx slowly picked himself off the ground after his wounds had been cleaned, his leg wrapped. He hobbled around a little to work on the limp he would need to make to continue.
We loaded up our packs and headed out once more toward the heart of the Mourtaire Forest.
“Elonaer, where were you when Cyrow was tainted?” I asked.
“We were about 800 yards into the edge of the forest, east of here. Afterwards, I tried to make it to Minzkala alone, but I got turned around. There was a huge, steep gorge, no bridge in sight, and no area in which to climb down either. I got lost while trying to go around.”
Elonaer looked down at the ground, “Your brother was brave. He tried to save me. I couldn’t get to him before the Cerapithalis bit him.”
After that, I let my mind wander off in thought as we continued to walk. Seeing the Cerapithalis first hand, I envisioned what my little brother must look like. Still, it would take a full cycle of the moon for the transformation to become irreversible, and I had no intentions of letting that happen.
I thought back to growing up with Cyrow. He and I would goof off together and push our mother’s buttons. She would pretend to be angry with us, but then she would smile and give that look, the one that said she would give anything just to capture the love she felt for us in that moment.
Cyrow was more receptive to her loving moments, as I recall. He didn’t retreat from her hugs; although, I had a justifiable reason. Loren was always around. I had to maintain my manly image in front of her. Cyrow was a big encouragement when Loren came around, and on occasion, just a big tease.
My parents had traveled to Kenkara after a short visit with Cyrow in Vicete before he was summoned to Minzkala. They brought Loren with them. They were still around three days later to hear of Cyrow’s encounter with the Cerapithalis and to see me off on the same treacherous journey.
Leaving my mother when she was full of pain was very difficult; and leaving Loren when I could give no promise of return nearly tore me apart. I didn’t promise out-loud to return with Cyrow, but it was beginning to be my primary purpose. The night before Mabashi and I left, I know they both sensed it.
The rain began to fall more heavily, thumping the ground and a few leaves around us as it landed. The range of sight in the fallen debris was greatly shortened, and we found it more and more difficult to move on. Especially Jinx, who was short the use of one leg.
It was late after midday, and the Sun would be going down within a few hours. We decided to take a small break. We drank and ate and rested, all much needed for our weary bodies.
Mabashi cleaned the wounds on his hound and tied on fresh bandages. This time he covered the bandaged leg with his sash to prevent it from getting so muddy.
“We should have killed that beast back there,” Mabashi said, thinking to himself out loud. Neither of us responded.
Mabashi seemed concerned about my increased solemnity. He said once that my problem was that I always wanted to fix things. He said it would hinder my abilities down the road if I couldn’t understand that some things couldn’t be fixed.
Nearly half an hour later, Elonaer spoke up and said, “We should head out.” She lifted her head slightly to examine the clouds above. The rain had nearly stopped. “There’s still a lot of ground to cover and I for one am anxious to find Minzkala.”
“All right, but first let us dry out our bowstrings,” I told her, “There will no doubt be Digvi’jan minions ahead and we need to be prepared.” I motioned for Mabashi to follow me.
“Good idea,” Mabashi agreed as he released his supply pack to the ground and drew out his bow. We traveled about twenty yards from the hounds and Elonaer and began to flick our bow strings.
Then with cotton cloth, we pressed into the fletching on the arrows to sponge up what we could of the water there. I pulled out a guided arrow that Mabashi had specifically made for accuracy, crafted with perfect shaft balance and straight fletchings. I loaded my bow as Mabashi continued to get his ready.
Then I aimed at a charred tree about fifty yards in the distance and released the arrow into the air. I missed terribly, but when I released the string, more water fell from my bow and I knew better what accommodations to make in my next release.
I took another arrow. This time, Mabashi stood and loaded his along with me. We stood together and fired at the target simultaneously. Mine reached the tree, but the arrow struck the base of it and would probably have fallen to the ground given another yard or so.
Mabashi’s hit dead on its mark. His time spent as a Trueshot was showing itself to be beneficial already. Mabashi chuckled and I smiled back at him.
“Now, without question and without hesitation,” I started to load my bow once more. Mabashi followed my lead. I continued, “I need you to trust me.” Mabashi cocked his eyes at me with initial questions.
I bowed my head slightly with a determined look, “When you release your arrow, I need you to swing around and aim for that yellow vial on Elonaer’s belt. And Mabashi, make sure she does not suspect you.”
Though he still questioned my motives, he nodded. I had never used this tone with him before. I had been nervous about my abilities ever since I was called out by King Naethan. But this had to be done.
Mabashi lifted his head slightly. We both aimed again for the tree in the distance. I began a count after seeing that Elonaer was occupied with something other than watching our practice shots. Mabashi did just as I instructed and swung to his right so that his arrow zipped through the air toward Elonaer’s yellow vial.
She had been standing on a fallen tree. The vial was in plain sight and Mabashi’s arrow crashed through the thin glass container, leaving Elonaer with very little time to react.
Her eyes followed the arrow as it pierced through the vial, through her belt, and into the flesh around her hip. The liquid saturated her robe as it spilled out. Elonaer raised her hand to cover her nose, but there was no escaping the potion’s effects.
She took one last moment to glance over at us as her head was lowering. Then she fell to the ground below the fallen tree, her body limp and lifeless.
“But, why?” Mabashi finally uttered his question aloud.
I threw my bow on my back and told him, “You’ll see, come.”
As we approached the body, hidden by the debris in the twenty yards of distance between us, we realized it was much bigger than Elonaer…furrier, too. There were wings and a tail, and we could see that the body of the creature was none other than that of a Cerapithalis.
“But how did you know?” Mabashi asked me as he stood there in shock.
“Honestly, something kept plucking away inside me, almost like an inner voice telling me to use caution with her,” I kicked the shoulder of the beast to roll it over to its back.
Then I stabbed it through the heart and continued, “Even though no one told us what happened to Cyrow’s traveling partner, they didn’t tell us to look for her on the way. And it was weird that she had survived for five nights alone when you and I and the hounds all together had a hard time in just on
e night.
“Then when Elonaer mentioned the impasse or ravine or whatever it was, it dawned on me that a true Illusionist would have no problem crossing a gaping hole in the ground. Their levitate ability was specifically designed for those situations. In fact, had we been there with her, she would have been able to float us across the ravine with her.”
“So, a Cerapithalis. That must be why she only put the other beast to sleep. She was protecting him while creating a bond of trust with us at the same time,” Mabashi had caught on to her whole plan.
I nodded, “Yes, and when I asked you to shoot the vial, I knew a shot to the hip would not endanger her if she was in fact the person she claimed to be, whereas the sleep potion you released provided an opportunity for the Cerapithalis’ shapeshifting abilities to release the Skadowan form.”
“I must say,” Mabashi looked up at me with a smile, “That bumbling around with the Slicker and the clumsiness with which you acquire so many wounds left me wondering if you could fight off those thoughts about your missing brother and fight like a true warrior. But Kal, it’s very clear to me now that you are wiser than many twenty-year veterans. I am honored to have you as a partner on this journey.”
“Well, I feel the same way about you,” I said, smiling back, “And you see those two green trees over there together?”
Mabashi felt a rush of amazement fill his body when he turned to realize we were only a hundred yards from our ultimate destination. We had seen a few green trees appear as we walked further toward the heart of the forest, but so far all had been standing alone. The rain had distracted him from noticing these two.
Mabashi laughed in delight, “Ok, so how does this work again?” he asked me as we drew closer to the field marker.
“Not sure,” I shrugged, “They just told us to walk closer to the heart of the forest and making sure we passed the two trees growing together there.”
We cleaned ourselves up a little as we walked forward. The rain started falling again, though much more softly. There were breaks in the cloud-covered sky that allowed a little light to fall on the forest floor. We walked in silence realizing this was it.
