Chapter Eighteen
They passed like the wind through the grasslands, following the stream.
As the cool, refreshing breeze brushed pleasantly against her face, Maxi was surprised to feel a smile tugging at her lips.
This was not the time to be enjoying herself, but she had never ridden across an open plain on her own horse like this before, so free.
After two days of narrow mountain paths, her heart swelled, and she looked at the vast landscape with shining eyes.
The clear sky was a brilliant blue, and the stream that flowed across the moss green field shimmered as though sprinkled with silver dust. Wildflowers turned their blooming faces toward the early summer sun.
Maxi closed her eyes and did the same, enjoying the beauty surrounding her.
It was difficult in a moment like this to remember to be afraid of monsters.
“I think it would be best to prepare yourself to use defensive magic at any time, my lady.”
Maxi had been basking in the sense of freedom when Gabel, riding ahead of her, turned and gave her the warning.
She answered him with a puzzled look. There were no wild animals about that she could see and certainly no monsters.
Wondering if a beast lurked somewhere that she could not see, Maxi looked about in terror.
However, to her surprise, Gabel pointed upward.
Her gaze followed his finger, and she barely contained her scream.
Six bird-like creatures circled above them, but they were like no birds Maxi had ever seen or wanted to see again. Enormous and grotesque, they filled Maxi with dread.
“They are harpies, my lady,” Gabel said, answering her unasked question. “I do not think they intend to attack, but it is best not to let your guard down.”
If she recalled correctly, harpies had the body of an eagle and the face of a human woman. Squinting upward, Maxi thought she could see a pale female face, but the creatures were too far away for her to see clearly. Her grip tightened around her reins as a chill ran down her spine.
Ulyseon brought his horse next to hers. “Do not worry, my lady. Keep your gaze forward. The slope up ahead is more dangerous than those beasts.”
Maxi snapped her eyes back ahead. True to Ulyseon’s precaution, a precipitous cliff soon came into view. The company led their horses along the edge and stopped next to a steep slope. At the foot of the road that plunged down was a deep, rocky valley.
“I suppose we’ll have to get rid of those pests first,” Hebaron grumbled, grabbing the hilt of the claymore slung over his back. “We turn our backs on a flock of harpies and they will start slinging boulders down on us.”
Riftan raised his hand at the burly knight. “It is not them we should be concerned about.”
The knights followed his cold gaze to the bottom of the cliff. From the rear, Maxi was unable to see what had captured their attention. She strained to hear their conversation when Riftan turned and gave his command to the full company.
“There are five drakes at the bottom. The first two—no, three rows will prepare for battle. The rest shall cover us from the ridge and keep an eye on the harpies.”
The knights drew their swords in unison.
Maxi stared open-mouthed as twenty knights stirred their horses down the steep and rocky path in unison, as nimble as acrobats and as swift as the wind.
The remaining knights drew their bows and divided their aim between the harpies and cover for the attack party.
Maxi was half out of her mind with panic at the sudden reality of her first skirmish. “Wh-What should I do?”
“Just stay put until everything is over, my lady, and be prepared to cast your barrier,” said Gabel, drawing his sword.
The harpies suddenly let loose a chorus of horrifying screeches that had Maxi’s hands flying up to cover her ears.
Somehow, the flock had grown by at least twenty in the span of seconds.
Maxi took a deep breath and followed Gabel’s advice, focusing on flowing her mana along the lines of the defensive rune.
She was distracted by a cry even louder than the harpies coming from down the slope. What she saw at the bottom of the cliff turned the blood in her veins to ice.
Monsters.
The creatures were massive, over twenty kevettes at least. They were covered in scales that gave them the appearance of roughly hewn stone. The sharp horns, the razor-sharp teeth, Maxi knew there was only one kind of monster they could be.
So that is a drake….
Illustrations did not do the drakes’ ferocity justice, but the knights did not seem intimidated by the yellow glinting eyes or stomping heavy enough to shake the ground. The knights did not look concerned as they scattered among the rocks to confuse the beasts.
The knights cantered about the rocky terrain as though they were one with their horses, nimbly scattering among the rocks to confuse the beasts. Skillfully, the party lured the gigantic creatures together until they were cornered, making it look as easy as an afternoon boar hunt.
“Commander!”
One of the knights dodged a massive tail and wrapped an iron chain around the monster’s leg. Riftan seized the opportunity and plunged his sword into the drake’s throat, spraying dark red blood in every direction. Maxi stared aghast at the carnage.
“My lady!” Ulyseon called. “Please do not stand so close to the cliff! The harpies might charge and knock you off.”
Startled, Maxi hastily moved away from the edge. The harpies were now close enough that she could clearly see their faces. The knights took aim, but Gabel waved them off.
“Not yet. We will be outnumbered if they join the fray this early.”
“But they are—”
“It is not us they are after.”
His calm voice was drowned out by the cries of the drakes. Beside herself with worry for Riftan, Maxi prayed quietly. The knights’ shouts, the drakes’ stomping, the clang of swords rang in her ears for far too long before a shout from below finally announced the end of the battle.
“It should be safe now, my lady,” Gabel instructed. “Follow the junior knights. They will lead you down.”
Maxi dismounted and carefully led Rem down the slope. She was not a skilled enough rider to gallop down as the knights had done. When she finally reached the foot of the cliff, one of the knights clearing the drake carcasses rushed over to take the reins from her.
“Are you hurt anywhere, Lady Calypse?”
“I-I should be the one…asking you. Has anyone been i-injured?”
“Sir Edon Crude has a burn from drake gastric fluid. He could use your help.”
Maxi nodded and rushed to Sir Edon, who was removing his breastplate and tunic with the help of his comrades. She stifled a gasp as his ghastly wound was revealed. The skin from his left shoulder to his chest was as raw as if it had been drenched in sizzling oil.
Hebaron merely clicked his tongue at the gruesome injury. “Good job getting yourself hurt in our first battle, Sir Edon. Why did you let a drake puke all over you like a fool?”
“Harsh, Sir Hebaron,” Edon grumbled as he groaned in pain. “Especially when you missed that gutter snake lurking in the cave just as much as I did.”
Trying to ignore the drake carcasses strewn across the valley floor, Maxi inspected the wound. Nearly all the skin on his shoulder had been burned off, revealing red muscle underneath. She reached for the wound, but Hebaron stopped her.
“Do not touch it, my lady. The fluid might burn your hand as well.”
“Th-Then we must cleanse the wound of the fluid immediately.”
At her instruction, the junior knights brought clean water for Maxi to wipe away the fluid from the burn. Although the contact must have hurt terribly, Edon endured it with a clenched jaw. He even managed to give her a smile.
“It would have been a disaster if you had not come with us, my lady. I’m grateful you agreed to come.”
Unable to fathom how he could sound so collected in the face of such a gruesome injury, Maxi focused instead on healing the wound. As the skin knitted itself back together, the tension in Edon’s face eased.
“Thank you, my lady. I feel much better now.”
“If you are all fixed up, then hurry up and get suited back up,” Hebaron chided gruffly.
“We set out as soon as all the magic stones are collected. Who knows when those pests are going to start acting out.” He pointed to the harpies who were now perched on the edge of the cliff, their faces silhouetted save for the barest hint of blood-chilling smiles.
Maxi shuddered and tore her gaze away to search for anyone else in need of treatment. Thankfully, no one else seemed to have so much as a scratch. With relief, she noticed Riftan by a pool, washing drake blood off his armor, but he did not return her gaze.
The rest of the knights went about slicing open the chests of the dead drakes and harvesting their magic stones. The ritual baffled Maxi. She knew that dragon organs could be worth their weight in gold, but why were they wasting time ransacking monster carcasses when their comrades were in peril?
“M-Must we…collect the stones? I know they are valuable…b-but should we not hurry…?”
“It has nothing to do with value,” said Hebaron.
“If we leave a stone, it will soak up surrounding mana and create an undead. In fact, if we were strict about following Orthodox doctrines, we would burn the carcasses to purify the area. Incinerating such a huge beast without magic is nigh impossible, though, so we extract the stones as the next best option.”
“Those pests will take care of the carcasses.”
Maxi jumped at Riftan’s voice, suddenly so close to her and Hebaron. Up close, she could better take stock of her husband’s injuries in the wake of the skirmish, but other than being soaking wet, he appeared to be unharmed.
Running a hand through his sopping hair, he regarded her briefly before turning his gaze to the cliff. “The harpies followed us in hopes that we would kill the drakes. Once we are gone, they will stuff themselves cleaning the carcasses.”