A Monster Life Ch. 70-72

Limbs thrust out from the ground along with more snakes and sand crabs. 'Not again.' grumbled Ulric.

A shock ran through the cave when a large section of the ground burst upwards, and a giant snake skeleton rose up in the middle of the dirt rain.

'I didn't mean to say we really needed some bigger monster instead.' Ulric said as he transformed his fur into scales all over while muttering 'Badger badger badger badger badger.'

Caylais unleashed her lightning at it at once.

The barely affected snake shot forward. Ulric bolted towards it at the same time and collided hard against the snake's nose. It jerked back but attacked him again straight away.

Caylais shot her lightning and stunned the undead along with the snakes and crabs around them, but more kept coming. Iphigenia, Elzbieta, and Oono stepped in fast to finish the stunned ones off. Even Tipper needed to join in and swing her spade around to prevent the attackers from overruhelming them.

Valdys shot fire and ice at the creatures in the rear. 'If I put up a barrier, they'll likely turn against Ulric, so we have to hold them off until he takes out that snake.'

Ulric jumped around to deflect the snake's attacks. 'Crap! I hardly scratched it!'

'It is cursed just like the others.' said Valdys. 'But there must be something around here to break it.'

Ulric looked around for anything that could be the source. 'There's nothing here but these creepy undead things and posts.' he said, then looked closer at one of the posts again and noticed the rune on the flat top resembling a snake. 'I'll be damned.'

The snake dove at him again but he dodged and rolled away, ran towards another post, and kicked it hard. It cracked into pieces and the snake jerked violently for a moment. 'It's the posts!' he said, and bolted for the next one.

He destroyed it and the skeleton snake jerked frantically around more. It lashed out with its tail and swiped anything nearby aside.

Ulric lured it away from the girls during each attack of the snake and towards groups of undead creatures to take advantage of its reaction.

He broke the last post and the snake thrashed around, sending crabs, snakes, and other unfortunate corpses flying in all directions. Ulric jumped up aiming for its neck, and one fierce kick cracked it in two.

The snake pulled violently away at once and rose its head. Ulric braced for an attack, but it turned and whipped its tail at the girls instead.

Valdys pulled up a shield spell at once but she and the others were still slammed aside, apart from Tipper. She grasped her spade in front of her when the snake's tail snapped into her direction.

It broke against Ulric's wing.

Tipper looked up at him in front of her. 'You saved me?'

Ulric poked her forehead with a finger. 'I'm not in the habit of letting women come to harm if I can help it. Even if they're out to kill me.' he said, then charged at the snake. He dodged a hit by its tail again, ran up along its spine to the back of its head, and punched the cracked vertebrae with a loud snarl.

The head broke from the spine, and the lifeless bones fell down onto the ground in clouds of sand dust.

The girls didn't delay at eliminating the rest of the cursed creatures, and Valdys gave him a big kiss when they were done. 'That's our mighty lover.'

He grinned a little in embarrassment. 'But you all took care of the rest.'

Iphigenia wrapped her arms around him from behind. 'The most important thing is we have something to celebrate to exhaustion about later, Wolfie.' she said, and growled playfully in his ear.

He sniggered as he reached behind him and pat her rear. 'Let's think about leaving this place first, my little honey butt.'

They went over to the tomb and gazed at the lid that had been moved aside. Valdys looked quickly inside. 'It's empty.'

Elzbieta looked around. 'Where's that dwarf?'

They all scanned the area and Caylais pointed at tracks leading to the back of the column. 'There!'

They followed them and ended up at a passage in the back of the chamber. 'Quick! Before she reaches the dig site.' said Ulric and hurried inside.

They ran along passages and hurried up stairs, and ended up in one of the rooms near the secret entrance where they entered the temple. When they reached the hall, the dwarves were already gone and their equipment abandoned. 'Shit!' growled Ulric and kicked a wall. 'I'm going up.'

He stepped into one window but Valdys took his arm. 'We're too late. I sensed a teleport spell.' She took out the one artefact she had brought with her and laid it on the palm of her open hand. It trembled, then rotated and lay still. 'The artefact is in their hands now. This one is pointing into a new direction.'

Ulric grumbled while the others sighed. 'I should have kept my eye on her.'

Iphigenia ran her fingers through the thick fur in his neck. 'We all should have, but we already had enough on our minds, Wolfie.'

He caressed her cheek. 'We'll just have to learn from this mistake and do better with the next one.'

***

They arrived during the night at another town a couple of days later, and stopped to buy some supplies. Ulric rounded a street corner after they had filled the bags he carried on his back at the local shops, and bumped into the back of someone standing there. 'Sorry.' he said before recognising the scent.

Tipper turned around. 'No, it's my fau-' she began. She spun around to run away.

The frightened dwarf yelped when Ulric snatched the chain mail at her firm behind between his teeth. 'Not this time.' he growled.

Tipper stood with her back against the wall while Ulric and the girls surrounded her. She averted her eyes from their gazes while clutching her bag in front of her. 'I don't have it.' she muttered.

Ulric huffed. 'We know that. Where is it now?'

She glanced up at him. 'I brought it to our lord when I reached the surface.'

'And?'

She slumped her shoulders. 'You were right.' she sighed. 'I left his tent but then heard a voice that was not from a dwarf. It was cold and lifeless and scared me, but I still peeked inside the tent out of curiosity.' She shuddered at the chills running along her spine. 'It was a lich.'

Ulric glanced at the others. 'Did you catch his name?'

She shook her head quickly. 'No, but he said our lord would receive a reward if he could also deliver the heads of the party travelling around with a pair of bloodwolves. After that, he vanished with the artefact.' She looked up at Ulric. 'I confronted him for working with the demons, but he said this was all to gain strong allies and secure safety for all dwarves in the near future. Then he called out the guard to lock me up for threatening him as treason. I escaped by throwing up a cloud of sand, then rode away.' She looked down again. 'That's how I ended up here.'

'We won't be able to retrieve it.' said Valdys. 'This also means we'll likely see our demonic friends again.'

Ulric nodded slowly. 'Yeah. Then there's the question of how many similar searches like this one they've begun.'

'Nothing we can do about that.' said Elzbieta. 'We must assume they'll have a few pieces in their possession in the end.'

'I don't like the mention of gaining allies and securing the dwarves in the near future.' said Iphigenia. 'It sounds like something big is going to happen.'

'I fear the worst.' said Valdys.

Ulric turned away from Tipper. 'All right, we're done here.' he said, and walked away with the girls.

'Wait!' said Tipper. They looked back at her. 'Are you going to search for more of these artefacts?' she asked.

'Yes.' said Ulric. 'We have to prevent the demons from retrieving all of them.'

She gripped her bag. 'Can I come with you?'

Ulric chuckled in disbelief. 'With us?'

She took a step forward and gripped her bag. 'I know you don't like me but you told the truth and even saved me twice and I want to repay you by helping in any way I can. I need to make my mistake up to you.' She sighed and slumped again. 'I also want to restore our dwarfish pride in doing the right thing.'

'You'd be better off going somewhere safe.'

She looked down again. 'I don't have anywhere to go.'

'No family, friends?'

She shook her head. 'I have no family left, and my friends were at the dig site. They won't trust or help me now.'

Ulric looked up at his girls. Iphigenia tilted her head. 'Guess we might as well take her along. It wouldn't hurt to have a dwarf on our side.'

He gave her a nod and looked at Tipper's hopeful expression. 'Don't forget to take everything with you.' he said, and moved on again, while a relieved Tipper quickly gathered her other pack and her spade.

***

'All hail king Quanda!' the dragon commander shouted when the king of Jaitii , the dragon country, arrived at the unit stationed close to the border with his adviser Bashou.

All the dragons present bowed their heads as the king passed by and entered the commander's tent before the other two. He laid sideways on one of the large and sturdy pouffes. 'So, how does it look, Tiambo?'

The commander poured wine for his guests. 'So far it still looks as if the demon beasts and the orcs are fighting between themselves. Although it's relatively quiet now, there are still violent incidents between groups meeting just over the border.'

The king looked at his adviser. 'What do you think of this?'

Bashou took a sip from the offered cup of wine. 'Those demon races have always been on bad terms with one another. Their skirmishes can go on for a long time yet, but I recommend keeping enough forces here to stop them from thinking they could cross the border for some manoeuvrer against the others.'

Quanda nodded. 'Agreed. I don't want any of them setting their foul feet on our lands. Let them slaughter one another on their own lands.'

'Commander?' called out a voice in front of the tent.

Tiambo sat up. 'Yes, come in.'

The dragon who entered gave a quick bow to the king, then addressed the commander. 'We have word that groups of demons are fighting at two places near the border.' he said, and gestured in opposite directions.

The commander glanced at the king and his advisor. 'Send some of the men to both places. If the demons cross the border, kick them out, otherwise only observe them.' The dragon acknowledged with a nod, and left the tent. The commander drank his wine. 'The demons are restless. I hear of violence and troops moving around in more countries.'

Bashou nodded. 'As far as I can tell there's much unrest between them and it looks like we might see some civil wars break out.' He sipped his wine. 'At least that'll keep them busy.'

The king chuckled. 'I won't regret it if that keeps them from trying to invade our country and needing to meet them in battle again for as long as I live.'

The commander raised his cup. 'I'll drink to that.'

***

After reminiscing about old events, king Quanda and Bashou retired to a tent set up for them. Bashou poured one last wine for themselves and handed a cup to Quanda. 'It's a shame in a way, that those old days of glory are only a thing of the past for us dragons.'

The king drank and looked puzzled at him. 'What do you mean, past?'

'We're growing old. There are less of us than there used to be, and the young ones aren't as quick to begin families of their own. They want to experience more life first, especially in other countries.'

Quanda laughed once. 'Nonsense! We're still strong and prospering. Dragons will always be around.'

Bashou put his cup aside. 'What if I tell you the demons have been quietly waiting for the balance to tip in their favour? That there are more of them than anyone suspects, and that there are vast numbers of them?' He gazed at the wine jar. 'Vast.'

The king yawned and his eyelids drooped lightly. 'You speak as if they want to go to war again.'

Bashou turned to Quanda. 'They do, sire. In fact, they already are prepared to make the first strike.' he said, and gestured in the air. A little blue bird popped up, and disappeared after flying away.

Quanda shook his head when his vision swayed once. 'Wait. How do you know this?'

Bashou smiled slightly. 'They asked me for advice on how to do it.'

Quanda's vision wobbled more and he dropped his cup. He glared up at his close advisor in realisation. 'You! You're betraying our country!'

Bashou picked up a dagger from the table. 'I see it more as securing the future. Mine, that is, with my new position as liaison between the new demon rulers and any dragons that are left.'

Quanda barely heard the voices around them, shouting about a large number of demons attacking suddenly from the border, before his vision turned dark for the last time.

***

The watch guard atop the royal dragon palace noticed the feverish flight of the dragon coming towards them, and recognised her as one of the messengers. 'Messenger coming!' he shouted down to the regular guard.

The young female tumbled at her hard landing and panted hard. She swallowed and took a couple of breaths before she could speak to the alarmed guards rushing towards her. 'The demons attacked us at the border.' she gasped. 'We barely repelled them but the king and the adviser are dead!'

Garlac, the captain of the guard jerked back. 'The king is dead!?'

The messenger nodded rapidly and pulled a golden emblem from her pouch. 'Assassin, in his sleep.'

The captain stared in horror at the emblem the king always wore on his chest, spun around, and bolted into the palace. 'Queen Giuang! My lady!'

He stormed into the royal quarters, startling the queen and princess Yingshien into sitting up straight on their pouffes. 'Queen! Princess! Terrible news!'

The two ladies had never seen him so alarmed. 'What is it, Garlac?' asked the queen.

He nearly slid into a genuflection in front of her and held up the royal emblem. 'Demons attacked our border and murdered your husband.' he panted. 'I'm so very sorry.'

Yingshien jumped at her mother's side and gazed at the insignia passed on by generations in her mother's hands. 'It can't be!' She looked at her mother. 'Tell me it can't be true!'

A tear ran down her mother's cheek as she knew what this meant. She had experienced the same situation when her grandmother died so many years ago. She looked in great sorrow at her daughter. 'We have work to do.' she said softly.

A horn sounded outside and the three looked up. 'Alarm.' said Garlac. 'Stay here while I see what's happening.' He rushed outside to see his men holding off three different demons moving fast on top of the palace wall with their breaths of fire, ice, and poison. The skeleton cast rapid blasts of lightning and spears of bone, while a nimble black feline attacked a guard with his sword and a succubus shot a volley of arrows. 'What in ancient terror is going on!?'

Yingshien hurried to the window to look at the ruckus. 'Demons! They're attacking us here directly! Are they insane?' she said, then spun around when a demon canine jumped through a corner window and pulled out his daggers.

72 - Enter the Dragons

Yingshien wasted no time in blowing a very focussed stream of fire at the intruder. Tarrence did not let the attack slow down his momentum and ran across the royal quarters to place the queen twice his size in the line of fire. He was told her daughter was only half the size of a normal dragon but more fierce than the largest. He trusted the information about the queen's inability to spit venom for a long time as it came from multiple sources, and moved close enough to use her as a shield without coming in range of her dangerous tail.

Queen Giuang did not sit still. She jumped up, and with a fast swing threw her pouffe at the demon intruder. He dove and rolled away as it smashed into pieces against the wall above him, and jumped away at the next beam of fire from Yingshien. Giuang threw another pouffe at him, but this time he jumped up, launched himself from the wall, and went straight for her. She dodged his daggers and he ran out the door.

Yingshien rushed to the door. The canine was gone and she looked back. 'Mother! Are you all right?'

The queen sat down. 'I'm all right. Don't worry.'

Yingshien went over to her. 'They're trying to assassinate you, those vile scumbags!'

Giuang looked up at her daughter. 'We all are in danger, Ying.' she said.

Yingshien gazed at her mother's chest. 'Where is your pendant?'

Giuang slapped her hand at the place where her round golden pendant should have been. 'He stole it! We must stop him!'

Tarrence rushed down the wide stairs into the underground area of the palace unhindered by the guards who would have been there in normal circumstances. Two large passages went left and right to more passages and store rooms, but he went around the back of the stairs and followed a smaller passage there. He ended up at a thick, iron door, stuck the pendant into the designated hole in the middle, and pushed two of the knobs at the circumference of the jewellery. Pins shot out of the pendant into holes inside the lock. With a twist, Tarrence unlocked the door.

Inside, he scanned the collection of jewellery and chests marked with a gem or coin to indicate the contents. One smaller chest placed on a square pedestal at the back was marked with a dragon sign for special items. He opened it and cursed inwards when there was no sign of the artefact between other magical stones. Footsteps came from the bottom of the stairs and he looked back at the passage. He contemplated taking up the fight, but thought the risk to him was too high, and slipped into a shadow to retreat.

Yingshien hurried into the secret treasure chamber but found no thief. 'How did he escape?' she said while her mother came up behind her.

Giuang looked into the small chest. 'More important, how did he know about my pendant and this place?'

***

Ulric sat on a fixed bench on top of Cat at the back, staring at the rocky landscape surrounding him. Cat was partially hidden by large boulders halfway up a low hill and some of the prickly bushes found scattered around the wide area. A small family of hares moved around at a short distance as they nibbled on sparse grass. They were undisturbed because couldn't see him, thanks to the space distortion magic cast on Cat. More dangerously, they also hadn't seen the predator sneaking closer towards them. Ulric looked up the weasel like creature, twice the size of the ones he knew, in the library. He wasn't in the mood to see it kill and feed on a hare in front of him. He tossed a pebble at the ground in front of the light grey furred animal, and both it and the hares jumped up in alarm. The hares ran off before the big weasel could react, and it drooped off in search of prey elsewhere. Ulric leaned back and sighed.

'Are you all right?'

He had heard Tipper come up to the covered top and walk towards him, so he wasn't surprised by her question. 'It's just the failure of retrieving that last artefact.'

Tipper looked away at the desolate landscape. 'Yeah, sorry about that.'

Ulric looked up at her. 'Oh, I didn't mean that. It's just that I blame myself for forgetting you were there at the time as an enemy, and not someone who reluctantly needed help. I didn't make sure you couldn't run away undetected like you did.' He sat forward with his elbows on his knees. 'We can't afford mistakes I should have thought of avoiding. The demons are clearly adamant at retrieving the stones for themselves by any means necessary.'

Tipper pulled her spade from her back and sat down next to Ulric. 'I regret that I didn't see the truth of what was going on at the dig site. I should have known when we were ordered to eliminate any witnesses. This is not the dwarf way, but I just blindly believed in our lord and his wisdom.' She sighed as she held her spade in her hands. 'I should also confess I'm not a real earth magic user.'