New Life in a New World Ch. 05

"Is there anything I can do?" Sirenia finally asked.

"You've done enough!" Mira replied angrily before looking at Sasha. "You, dragoness, come help me gather ingredients."

Sasha nodded apprehensively, briefly looking at Lydia and Sirenia who sat on either side of her. She eventually got out of her seat and followed the older necromancer into the other room. The wolf girl and the necromancer both glared at each other from the corners of their eyes, both of their hands seemingly beginning to slowly reach for their daggers. There suddenly was the sound of a bowstring being pulled tight. Having almost forgotten about the young elf, both girls looked up to see Faelar sitting across the room with his bow drawn but not aiming at anyone yet.

"You will keep those weapons sheathed unless you want an arrow through the chest," the elf warned.

"As long as you shoot her first," Lydia grumbled as he reluctantly moved her hand away from her blade.

Sirenia simply looked away, crossing her arms and sighing frustratingly. Gods, what more did she have to do get an ounce of forgiveness from Lydia? Alright, so maybe she did really screw up by forcing herself on John...twice. But she was going to help save his life, isn't that enough to deserve a little bit of slack?

She intended to keep her promise to leave the group once they got the young soldier back. But in her heart, she really didn't want to leave. Perhaps John could convince Lydia to let her stay knowing that she saved his life? But what if the half-lycan is determined to drive her out? He has stood up for Sirenia so far. Why can't Lydia see that she's not the only woman who loves this man?

The long silence was interrupted as Mira and Sasha walked back into the room, both with disappointing looks on their faces. Both the wolf girl and necromancer stood up. Lydia rushed toward them looking distraught, "Can you not save him?"

Mira shook her head, "I have everything else but I'm missing one crucial ingredient."

"Gia's tears," the dragoness jumped in.

"Gia's tears?" The wolf girl replied confusingly. She turned to Sirenia who also wore the same look of confusion.

"It's a rare flower," the older necromancer continued, "The nectar of this flower is the last ingredient required for the potion that can save your friend."

"The good news is that Lady Mira has seen a patch of these flowers and it's only a half-day's walk," Sasha replied, yet strangely her voice was not filled with excitement.

"What's the catch?" Sirenia asked, biting her lip nervously.

Mira stepped forward, "I have learned that a group of highly aggressive minotaurs have now occupied that area."

Minotaurs usually stay away from populated areas to prevent villages sending armies after them. Because of that, sightings of minotaurs were few and far between. Though, that was partially due to the fact that those who encountered them rarely survived to tell the tale. The bipedal, bull-like monsters were one of the most dangerous creatures in existence next to dragons. Their strength was immense and were incredibly ferocious. Lydia recalled when her father talked about a time when it took three lycans to take down a single minotaur.

"May we borrow him?" Sirenia asked softly as she nodded over to Faelar.

Mira shook her head, "No, he stays with me."

The wolf girl looked back over to the bed where her lover lay motionless. She knew that if it were any one of them in his place, he would risk everything to save them. "That's fine, we don't need the elf. No offense."

The young elf warrior held up his hands showing that no offense was taken. Lydia quickly grabbed her bow and checked her sword. Following the half-lycan's lead, the other two girls grabbed their weapons and headed out the door and into the night.

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Lydia looked upwards and could see the back sky of night being slowly replaced by the pink glow of dawn. While the sky began to paint itself on its own canvas, down in the narrow canyon it was still quite dark. The walls of the canyon jutted upwards about seventy feet and was barely wide enough to allow the three women to walk side by side.

The half-lycan and the dragoness led the way since their night vision was much better than the human necromancer. Sirenia found herself stumbling close behind, grabbing one of Sasha's wings for support at times. They had agreed to not light a torch to prevent any unwanted attention. However, the necromancer silently cursed the sunlight for taking so long to fill the canyon. They had traveled all night, nonstop, in order to reach their destination. According to Mira, at the end of the canyon was a small patch of the flowers they needed to collect.

At one point, Lydia had suggested that Sasha take on her full dragon form. But the dragoness quickly advised against it. For one thing, the canyon walls were too narrow for her larger form to navigate. She did consider flying above the cliff walls to keep overwatch. However, it would make her clearly visible to any enemies in the area. Also if they did run into any trouble the only attack she could use would be her fire breath and she couldn't risk burning her companions.

"I'm honestly surprised that you've never heard of Gia's tears," Sasha remarked.

Sirenia rolled her eyes, "As I explained before, there was a lot that Mira kept from me."

"I've never heard of them either," the half-lycan chimed in, "My father has never spoken of that flower before."

"Well that's understandable," replied the dragoness as she continued to lead the way. "Legend has it that Gia, the goddess of earth, fell in love with a mortal. A human warrior of all beings! Usually gods bedding mortals was forbidden. But when Adonis, the god of life, saw how deep their feelings were for each over. He gave their relationship his blessing. One day, an army of barbarians threatened to sack Gia's most sacred temple. If they had succeeded, her power would have been greatly diminished. But her human lover fended them off. She had begged him to not partake in the battle. But he loved her so much, he fought the oncoming horde with all his strength. While he won the battle, he did not escape unscathed. The human warrior, the man she loved so dearly, died from his wounds. Gia roamed the land, mourning the death of her lover. Wherever her tears hit the ground, beautiful flowers bloomed. So it is said that wherever someone sacrifices themselves for someone they love, Gia will weep and her flowers will bloom."

As Sasha finished her story, she suddenly realized that Lydia was no longer walking beside her. She glanced back to see the wolf girl staring at the ground, motionless. Her thoughts going back to John, who's life currently hung by a thread.

"It's just a story," the dragoness said softly, "That's not going to be John, we will get him back."

Lydia held back her tears and reluctantly nodded. Even with Sasha trying to comfort her, she couldn't help but reflect on that story. Isn't that exactly what John did for her when he begged her to strike him down? Sacrificing himself because he loved her. Because he couldn't fight back against the entity that possessed him and saw death as the only way out.

Light finally entered the narrow canyon as the morning sun rose higher. Sirenia closed her eyes as she felt its warmth against her face. As they turned a corner, the walls widened as the end of the canyon closed off. The ground flowed upward to a small hill where the cliff walls dead-ended. Up at the top of the lightly grassed hill, they saw what they were looking for.

The patch of Gia's Tears was very small indeed, only three flowers stood at the top of the elevated ground. Blue, bulb shaped petals with a white highlight in the center of each petal. A bright, yellow stamen protruded from the center of the bulb. So beautiful, yet looking so lonely with no other flora surrounding it.

"S...So who died here?" Lydia stammered.

The dragoness flashed a wry smile, "I said it was only a story, it doesn't mean that someone actually di..."

"It was a loving husband," Sirenia interrupted. The other two girls looked in her direction, the necromancer's hand extended outward as if she was reading the aura of the place. "He was with his wife and child; they were chased into the canyon by a group of bandits. With nowhere to escape, he had his wife scale the cliff. While she climbed to safety with their child, he remained down here to try and fight off the attacking bandits. He stood no chance against them, but he willingly gave up his life to provide his family with time to escape."

Lydia then saw something she never expected, tears welling up in the eyes of the necromancer. She could see Sirenia trying to hold them back, doing her best to keep that serious look on her face. But the half-lycan could tell that she was deeply moved by the scene. Even Sasha had a hard time believing what she was seeing.

"So you can see the memories of the dead?" the dragoness asked.

"Not exactly," the necromancer replied, turning away to wipe the tears without her companions seeing. "Necromancers can see someone's final moments. We use it to help determine who they were and how they fought, so we can learn from their skill before reanimating their remains. Helps us make sure that we are reanimating the body of a person versus someone's pet dog if they are buried."

"Do you feel their final emotions in any way?" Lydia asked, "If they died with or without fear?"

Sirenia looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at the flowers, "Let's just collect these for Mira so we can get John back."

The dragoness and the half-lycan both nodded in agreement. But before they could continue further, they heard a sound above them. Looking up, a few loose rocks began to fall; bouncing off the sides of the cliff where they made contact. There were figures above them silhouetted against the morning sky, looking down and watching them. The wolf girl was about to reach for her bow when the four large figures jumped down from the top of the canyon and landed on the ground with an incredible thud.

Four minotaurs stood before them. At nearly twenty feet tall, they easily towered over the three young women. Large cow hooves firmly planted on the ground, supporting their massive bodies. Red eyes glared from their bull-like heads. Long, pointed horns protruded from their heads that could easily gore their prey. Each of them held a weapon; a massive longsword, two with sharp axes, and one carried large two-handed battle hammer. Each of their weapons were stained with blood from their prior victims.

Lydia tried to reach for her bow when the first minotaur attacked. As the large beast swung his axe, she had no choice but to haphazardly roll backwards to avoid the strike. As she rolled, her bow slipped off her shoulders. Shit! She made a scramble to recover it, but the 'taur swung at her again. The heavy axe raised up over its head and coming straight down toward her. Rolling to the side, she managed to miss the blow as the blade sank into the ground. Her bow was almost within reach, but she suddenly retracted her arm as a large hooven leg came stomping down. There was a loud snap as she watched with dismay as the wooden bow was smashed under the foot of the heavy beast. Her mother's bow, handed down to her by her father. A master-crafted weapon and priceless heirloom now destroyed. She had no time to reflect on the loss of the heirloom as she felt a shadow over her. The minotaur's other hoof was coming down to stomp the half-lycan out of existence. Once again, the wolf girl rolled away in time, feeling the heavy thud next to her. This time she rolled onto her feet and in one swift movement, she unsheathed her katana.

Another 'taur lunged at Sasha, it's longsword slashed at a downward angle as the beast tried to slice the dragoness in half. She flipped backwards, jumping high enough for the blade to pass underneath her. The dragoness folded her wings around herself to avoid injury.

"Nice sword," the dragoness laughed as she landed, "Now here's mine."

She pulled out her own sword as the minotaur brought his own weapon back above his head. The creature sliced directly downward, aiming for the top of her head. In an instant, she dug her claws into the ground to secure her stance. She brought her sword up defensively above her head. There was a loud clang as steel collided together. While her dragon strength allowed her to successfully block the attack, the beast was still incredibly strong. The blow pushed her back a few feet, leaving deep ruts in the ground where her feet dragged. Her arms already ached from the hard impact and were starting to strain against the 'taur. She managed to angle her sword and with a strong push, she deflected the attack. The minotaur's weapon swinging to the side. But then the creature reversed the swing, brining the blade back at the dragoness. However, Sasha saw her opening to take advantage of an ability only she had right now...her wings. She leapt into the air only a moment before the minotaur's sword would have sliced her. Using her wings, she flew straight up until she was well above the creature. Sasha smiled for a moment as she hovered over the minotaur, seemingly baffled as to where she could have gone. But eventually, the beast's eyes made their way upward. The dragoness pointed her sword straight down and tucked in her wings, allowing gravity to do the rest. She dropped like a rock on top of the 'taur and drove her sword deep into the creature's skull. A small fountain of blood geysered as she withdrew her blade, crimson droplets covering her white skin. She rode the beast for a moment as it staggered around, taking it's final breaths. The dragoness hopped off as the minotaur collapsed onto the ground.

"All yours Sirenia," Sasha shouted to the necromancer.

The necromancer was struggling to deal with the two minotaurs going after her and did not hear the dragoness. The other axe wielding 'taur directly in front of her and the one armed with the battle hammer moving to flank. She had a bigger disadvantage than Sasha or Lydia. Being merely human, she did not possess the half-lycans agility or the dragoness' strength. She was also only armed with her dagger, nowhere near enough to take down one of these beasts. For a moment, she thought about raising the corpse of the fallen husband. But that would not be nearly enough to make a difference.

Sirenia then saw a blur of white out of the corner of her eye. Sasha was racing towards her, heading straight for the attacking monsters. Letting out a battle hardened scream, the dragoness leapt into the air. She gave a hard kick to the face of one minotaur while slashing a huge gash in the arm of the other. Neither action did any serious damage, but that was not the goal. Both minotaurs turned their attention to the dragoness, she quickly backed away as they moved toward her. She was drawing them away from Sirenia, giving her an opening. But for what? To flee and leave her companions behind? No, she needed to stay and fight for John. Her attention was quickly drawn to the dead minotaur on the ground. Of course! Raising her hands, she moved them eloquently like a skilled puppeteer. At first there was only a twitch, then the limbs began to move. Very soon, the beast became fully reanimated and was standing with weapon in hand.

The necromancer glanced over and found her first target. Not too far away, the dragoness was doing her best to avoid the attacks from the double team against her. Rolling out of the way of the battle hammer swinging down on her, then having to dodge the sharp edge of the axe as it grazed her skin. The 'taur swung its battle hammer at her again. Instinctively, the dragoness raised her sword to try and repel the attack. However, her weapon was easily knocked from her hands. Now unarmed, she had no choice but to use her claws. But despite how sharp they were, they would only be able to scratch the hide of the creatures, not rip in as deeply as she needed. Sasha dodged the hammer, but found herself directly in front of the other minotaur, his axe raised high as the beast towered over her and swung down. There was no way she would be able to move out of the way in time. Suddenly, the minotaur froze. Its hands loosened on the axe and it clattered to the ground. Sasha's eyes moved downward to see a large, longsword skewering the monster. The reanimated corpse of the dead minotaur standing directly behind it. As soon as the sword was removed, the 'taur dropped to the ground. A smile spread across the dragoness' face, now the battle had changed. Soon she and the reanimated corpse, controlled through Sirenia, were ganging up on the other minotaur.

Lydia dodged another attack from her minotaur, her katana no match for the large axe. She had already shed her large, fur pelt to allow better movement. But she still found herself constantly on the defensive. Her quick reflexes gave her an advantage over the slow, lumbering beast. However, the creature was relentless. She could never get the right opening to make an attack and she knew she could not keep this deadly dance up forever. The beast swung high for her head, as she ducked she found her opening. Darting forward, the half-lycan rushed for the legs of her opponent. Her other hand reached for her belt and she pulled out her dagger. When she reached the legs, the wolf girl suddenly dropped to the ground and slid feet first under the creature, the rough ground tearing at her fair skin. Reaching out both arms, her katana slashed deeply into the minotaur's leg and her dagger caught the other. Just after passing underneath the creature, the beast stumbled forward and wailed in pain. Her blades had cut the tendons in its legs and after a few seconds of trying to remain on its feet, the beast collapsed to its knees.

The half-lycan immediately got to her feet and bolted for the creature's back. Grabbing a tuft of the 'taur's short hair for leverage, she climbed on top of the creature. Scrambling up the minotaur's back, she climbed up until she was nearly behind the beast's head. The minotaur shook violently, trying to throw off the wolf-girl. But Lydia hung on. With deadly accuracy she aimed her sword for what she could make out as the base of the skull, where the head and neck met. With a loud battle cry, she sunk her blade into the neck. The hide of the beast may have been tough, but it was no match for the sharpness of her katana. Her sword had pierced the creature's skull and dug into its brain. All movement ceased immediately as the beast collapsed on the ground in instant death.

"Great hit, Lydia!" Sasha cheered as she looked back over her shoulder.

However, the dragoness' lapse of concentration would prove to be a fatal mistake. While she was watching the half-lycan battle, she didn't see that the beast she was fighting had knocked back Sirenia's revived 'taur and had turned its attention directly on her. Sasha turned back to see the large battle hammer swinging directly at her. She tried to dodge the incoming attack, but her foot slipped on some loose rocks. The hammer impacted the side of the dragoness full force, sending her flying across the canyon like a ragdoll. She impacted the cliff wall with a sickening thud where she collapsed to the ground.

"SASHA!" Lydia screamed in terror.

The half-lycan cried out to her friend again, but the dragoness did not move. She could see little streams of crimson flowing down her arms, standing out against her white skin. Her wings folded limply over her body, one of them looking slightly mangled from the impact. Lydia cried out once more, but Sasha did not respond. Not even a twitch of movement from the dragoness' body, she remained motionless.

The minotaur was now heading directly for Lydia, it's eyes narrowing as it anticipated another kill. Sirenia glanced over and shifted her hands in the air. Just as the beast swung back its battle hammer to crush the wolf girl, a pair of hands reached from behind the creature and grabbed onto its horns. The necromancer's minotaur held on tight as the other 'taur feebly tried to shake its horns out of the other's grip. But instead, the necromancer controlled the corpse to pull back even further on the horns, exposing the beast's vulnerable neck.