Sizzle of Combat

Charging forward, I channelled as much magic as I could spare into my forefoot. It pulsed, scattering the sand as I soared over the marina. For that brief moment, it was as though the wind of Rionriv’s magic was pushing me to run faster than ever before.

I was less than thirty feet away now, my arm outstretched in a failing attempt at rescue while the dragon's mouth prepared to wrap around Aesandoral’s fetal body.

It was too late. I was too late.

Disgusting embarrassment—weakness—no son of mine—weak male— My mother’s words cursed the back of my mind. I wanted to cry. To scream.

Aesandoral weakly opened an eye as bloody tears rolled to the ground. Her hand slowly reached out to mine as she whispered muted pleas before her image began to disappear behind the cage of teeth—

An arrow flew over my shoulder from behind. A single, precise shot from Sharzin pierced the dragon's left eye. The massive jaws twitched as its head pulled back from Aesandoral in shock.

That was all the time I needed.

“No!” I screamed out, banishing the thoughts from my head. “Stop it!”

Launching forward, I dove into Aesandoral’s body, grappling her in my embrace as I allowed the momentum to carry us forward. We tumbled away just as the jaws of the disoriented dragon snapped down, missing us entirely.

Sliding a safe distance away, I jumped back to my feet and protectively stood over the archer’s body. With heavy, angry breaths, I looked back at the dragon.

I will protect her—I will protect all of them! I’m not weak!

I could feel my heart racing, pounding against my chest as I held my fists up. But the wyrm had yet again gone away, disappearing back beneath the sand.

“Aes—” I panicked, placing a hand to her face.

My divine magic pulsed faintly, already running low from sending too much to my extremities. But thankfully, it would still be enough to heal her horrific wounds and nullify the acid.

A sense of relief washed over me. The thought of losing someone who I—

Thuh-thump! Thuh-thump!

“You’re going to be okay,” I said, focusing myself. “Take this and get to cover. Aim for the eyes and acid dewlaps.”

I handed Aesandoral one of my healing potions and turned to face the marina. As I did, I caught the shadow of something hastily rising.

“Move!”

Once again relying on the strength of my potion, I pressed a foot to Aesandoral’s chest and, with as gentle a shove as I could manage, thrust her to the side.

She was out of the way just in time as another blast of acid washed over my body. Ill-prepared for this assault and not channelling my own magic into defences, Rionriv’s shield flared. It collapsed in an instant, allowing a deluge of corrosive bile to coat me with agonizing pain.

“DYAAAAAAH!”

Crying out, my knees gave way, and I collapsed to the ground. Weakly looking down, I lifted my bubbling arm and placed it on my chest. A flicker of healing magic surged through me, mending some of the wounds and nullifying the acid. But with the little magic I had left, what I could spare wouldn’t do much to heal the pockmarked holes on my body, but I’d have to worry about that later.

If I survived.

I looked up just in time to see the dragon’s toothy maw preparing to clamp down over my body. With acrobatic finesse, I rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the blow and leaving a layer of flesh in my wake.

But I had to ignore that. Ignore the pain of skin tearing from legs and arms. I had to keep going. I had to win. For them. For me.

Rebounding towards the wyrm, I focused some of my remaining magic to strike at the arrow still protruding from the dragon’s eye. With a trio of punches, I rammed the wooden shaft deeper into its skull before bouncing backwards and collapsing to the sand.

The dragon roared, raising its head and snapping once more for me. And, had I been alone in this fight, its attack would have gotten me. But at that moment, Aesandoral let loose a pair of liquid-silver arrows that, in the blink of an eye, connected with the scales of the dragon's throat.

I watched as they pierced through the patch of leathery skin, lodging into place and spraying a combination of blood and acid around me. With a thunderous cry, it withdrew once again, diving back into the safety of the sand.

“What’s going on over there?” Rionriv’s voice cried in the back of my mind. “Do you need help?”

“Hold position,” I winced as I tapped my temple, scanning the fog anxiously. “Ri, it’s tougher than expected. When it’s time, light it up with everything you’ve got.”

Uncorking a healing potion, I chugged the elixir and tossed the bottle to the sand. Then, as I had when we fought the crocmaws, I inhaled deeply and focused.

Listening to the world around me, I could hear the faint water splashing in the distant pool. Gentle waves lapped against the sandy shore. Then I noticed the heavy breathing coming from Aesandoral’s direction, along with the faintest creaks of the ancient crates she pressed against for cover.

There!

“Iz, behind you!” Aesandoral yelled into my mind.

We had both heard the slightest sound of sand shifting over my shoulder. It was to my right, towards where Sharzin had been hiding.

More magic surged through my body, and I could feel the exhaustion gripping my legs. I moved as fast as my feet would take me; this was all I could do. All I had left.

With a somersault, I retrieved my staff from the sand before lunging into the air, gripping my primed weapon firmly. I was ready this time. Ready to strike.

The dragon’s head rose, clicking excitedly as it prepared to spray down on a boulder where I assumed Sharzin hid. But I was already mid strike, and with a wild swing, I brought the staff down hard across the wyrm’s head. Attacking with enough force to snap the weapon in half, the wyrm wrenched its snout away at the last moment and instead splashed its acid against the wall.

Falling, I channelled nearly the last of my magic and strength into a final throw of the splintered staff. The fragmented javelin struck true, driving into the wound Aesandoral’s arrows had opened in the throat of the monster, spilling more blood across the sand.

Then, in response to my assault, the beast swung its head around, snapping at my helpless body.

This was bad.