Dominant Species
Issue #9
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter Eleven
Retribution
With the boars gone, the chief is on the ground, looking for
food. While the boars did a good job of eating any dropped fruit, they cannot
get the fruit in the trees. The chief looks around for a fruit tree he can climb
and pick the tasty fruit. He looks around and finds an apple tree. As he looks
up there, he sees allot of large, ripe apples. He looks around to make sure no
animals are around and starts to climb the tree. He only gets up a few feet when
a powerful wind blows through the forest. All the trees of the forest sway as
the wind pulls at them. He is not prepared for this powerful wind and is knocked
out of the tree. As he falls to the ground, swirls of leaves fly around and blow
into his face. Then the wind is gone as quickly as it came. But before he can
get up, he is pelted with some fruit that falls from the tree. He quickly grabs
some of the apples and puts them in his bag. He then looks around to see what
made the powerful wind. He sees nothing in the forest as it is deathly quiet.
Even the birds are quiet. That is not good. He thinks for a second and then it
hits him. The dragon has left the mountain and is headed towards the village. He
wonders if Derrick succeeded in his mission. Something must have happened as the
dragon left the mountain in a hurry. Now he wonders if Bearslayer and Howlingmad
are safe. They were headed back to the village. Will the dragon see them? There
is no way they made it to the village yet. But if they are in one of the
openings in the forest, they could be in trouble. He doesn't know what to do.
Should he go and see if he can find Derrick or try to warn Bearslayer. As he
thinks about it, there is no way he could get to Bearslayer in time. He just has
to hope he is hidden from the dragon's view. He decides to head towards the
mountain and see if he can find Derrick.
Derrick and Scott climb out of the mountain and look down.
They are both breathing hard as they ran up the stairs as fast as they could.
"We need to get down in a hurry." Derrick says as he looks down. "Any
suggestions?" Scott asks as he looks down as well. There are numerous jagged
rocks below and it is a long way down. "We are invincible, so I say we jump."
Derrick says as he looks at Scott. "I have a better idea. I have a float spell
that we can use." Scott adds. Derrick looks at him and says "You have a float
spell and you made me carry you down from the cage?" Scott smiles and says "I
don't know how many times I can use it per day and wanted to save it for this."
Derrick looks at him and says "What level was your priest?" He thinks for a
second as it has been a long time since he thought about it. "I think I was
twentieth level, why?" Derrick gives him a duh look and says "Float is a third
level spell. You have at least ten of them at your level." Scott laughs and says
"My bad. It has been how many decades since we played the game?" They both
laugh. Scott then lifts his hands and chants some words and light comes out of
his hands. The light bathes the two men and they begin to float. They then both
start floating down the mountain towards the woods below.
The village is buzzing with excitement. They see the dragon
in the distance and are excited by its visit. Quickly, they leave their houses
and stand in the town square, looking up at the dragon in the distance. Little
do they know the visit will be anything but pleasant. As the dragon nears, the
crowd grows larger and larger. As he arrives at the village, he circles the
village once and then hovers above the town square. He stares down at the crowd
of people who are cheering the great beast. But their applause means nothing to
him. He wants one thing and that is his pet. He stares over the crowd, looking
to see if he recognizes his pet. The puny humans look alike to him. There are
male and female ones and large and small ones. Other than that, he cannot tell
them apart. Nor does he want to. The only reason he ever singled out his pet was
he was the sole survivor of an attack on a village. While everyone else perished
in his flaming breath, the one boy was hurt but not killed. This amazed the
dragon and he decided to make him a pet. He received great satisfaction out of
torturing the poor kid. Often, he would burn him with his breath to watch him
writhe in pain and slowly heal. Dragons can be quite cruel, especially to
humans. Many dragons have fallen prey to humans who are their only real
predator. A single human is no threat to a dragon, but hundreds of humans can
and have taken down dragons. Some dragons hunt humans in hope of making them
extinct, while others lord over them and hope to control them. But deep down,
all dragons fear humans. They may not show it, but they do.
As the dragon looks down at the crowd, he yells out in his
powerful voice "Where is my pet? Return him to me." His great wings beat slowly
as they keep him afloat. The dragon does not like to be on the ground around
humans. He would rather keep to the air where he has an advantage over them. The
chief of the village steps out and says "Great lord, we do not know of the pet
you speak of." The dragon looks back and forth over the crowd. He is looking for
weapons or anything that may cause him harm. While their normal weapons cannot
pierce his armored hide, magical ones can. And in this world, there are many
magic items. "My pet is a young human who cannot be harmed. Bring him to me
now." They all look at each other. They have never heard of a human who cannot
be harmed. The chief then calls a few men over and they talk. He then says to
the dragon "We do not have such a person." The dragon keeps moving his head back
and forth. He does not trust them and suspects they may be stalling. "We had a
pact. You did not enter my lair and I protected you. But filthy humans have
snuck into my lair and released my pet." Everyone looks scared as they do not
know how to appease the dragon. "Oh great one, we do not know who could have
entered your lair." The dragon is getting angry as he wants his pet back and is
getting nowhere. The dragon then rises in the air and circles the town. The
people look up at him, wondering what he will do next. He then unleashes his
fiery breath, incinerating the village. The flames pour out of his mouth and
burn everything they come in contact with. The people try to run, but there is
nowhere to go. Within seconds, the entire village is engulfed in flames. The
sound of screaming people can be heard for miles as their flesh is melted off
their bones. The dragon continues breathing fire for a few minutes, until he is
confident that everyone in the village is dead. When he stops, he looks over the
roaring inferno and makes sure no one is alive. All around, the houses are on
fire while the people are reduced to smoldering bones. Not a single person
survives the mighty onslaught of the dragon. Satisfied that they are all dead,
he circles the village one last time and then takes off for his mountain home.
The sound of screams rushes through the forest. Bearslayer
hears them and wonders what it is. He is only a few hundred yards from the
village and wonders if it is the village. He was resting by a tree when the
attack happened. This prompts him to get up and see what is going on. He picks
up Howlingmad and rushes towards the village. He runs as fast as he can, but the
combination of fatigue and the extra weight slows him down. As he leaves the
forest, he sees the village for the first time. Across the field, he sees the
flames that shoot up in the air. The dragon is already gone but he knows what
caused it. He walks up closer to see if he can find any survivors, but as he
nears the village, he is greeted by Eightdigit. "They're gone, every one is
gone." he says as he looks at the inferno. Bearslayer looks at him and asks "Is
Spearfisher with you?" He starts to cry as he thinks about his friend who is
among the dead. "No, I left the village this morning but he refused to come."
Bearslayer puts down Howlingmad and puts his arm around his shoulder. "What
happened?" Eightdigit continues to cry as he looks at the flames that cover the
city. "I overheard the elders say they were going to sacrifice me to the dragon.
I told him but he did not believe me. He was in love with a girl and would not
leave." He breaks down in tears as the reality of the situation sets in. If he
did not overhear the elders, he would be in the village right now. As lucky as
he was to get out, he does not feel lucky. His good friend is in there and he is
dead.
The chief is hiding in a tree when Derrick and Scott pass
him. He is near the camp where they parted ways, but he has moved on. After the
black dogs, he decided it was safer to find a new location. As they look for
him, he drops from the tree and startles them. "Is this your friend?" is the
first thing he says as he lands behind them. "You scared us. Yeah, this is my
friend Scott. Scott, this is the chief." The two shake hands as Scott says "Good
to meet you." The chief responds "Are you also from the old world?" Scott looks
puzzled. He then asks "You mean before all this?" The chief nods. "Yeah, I am
from the old world." He then asks "Are you also invincible like Derrick?" He
stops for a second and says "Not sure if I am completely invincible as the
dragon did hurt me." Derrick looks at him and asks "The dragon could hurt you?"
Scott lowers his head as he thinks of the pain he suffered the past five years.
"Yeah, every few days he would burn me with his breath and it would burn my skin
and hurt me real bad. I would use heal wounds spell to cure myself and he would
do it again." Derrick responds "Man, that sucks. We should kill him for that."
Scott smiles at Derrick and says "Thanks man, but I just want to get as far away
from him as possible. I suffered enough." Derrick then looks at the chief and
asks "Where are the others?" He turns to him and says "Howlingmad was injured by
those black dogs and Bearslayer took him to the village for help." Derrick's
face turns white as he says "The dragon was headed to the village and he looked
mad." The chief looks down as he says "I heard him fly by and hoped they did not
reach the village." Scott looks depressed. "He is looking for me. I am his pet."
Derrick puts his hand on his shoulder and says "You were his pet." Scott looks
up and smiles and says "OK, I was his pet." The chief then steps in and says "We
better head to the village and see if we can find them. As they start walking in
the woods, they feel the familiar wind blow through the trees. The powerful wind
rushes through the trees, breaking off smaller branches and sending leaves and
fruit flying everywhere. They are all knocked down by the strong wind. As they
get back up off the ground, they look at each other and then start running
towards the village.
Bearslayer and Eightdigit are walking away from the village
as they see some of the animals of the forest come out to see the fire. The
first one on the scene are the unicorns. The two unicorns walk towards the
village but stop a good distance from it. They are used to traveling this way to
the river with the herd of horses. But with the village on fire, they have to
find a different route. They also have to wonder how far the fire will spread.
Will the forest be in jeopardy from the inferno or will it burn itself out? When
the unicorns look over and see Bearslayer and Eightdigit walking, they start to
kick their hooves and snort at them. Bearslayer stops and looks at them and
wonders if he should be afraid. Are they warning him to stay away or are they
blaming him for the fire? He does not know which it is and decides it is best to
keep walking. He is not too familiar with unicorns, but he knows they are in no
shape to be battling anything. As they reach the tree line, the unicorns go back
to looking at the fire and ignore them. With their horns so prized, they have
learned to not trust any humans. They don't go out of their way to attack
humans, but they have been known to attack humans if they get too close. Many
men have learned the hard way that a unicorn is not just a horse with a long
horn.
After a few hours of running through the forest, Derrick sees
the others. He is ahead of the chief and Scott and is the first to see
Bearslayer and Eightdigit. "Bearslayer! Over here!" he screams out. This
startles both of them as they are both on edge. When they see Derrick emerge
from the shadows of the forest, they stop and wait for him to come over. "We
have been looking for you." he says as he stops in front of them and catches his
breath. "Where are the others?" is the first thing that Bearslayer asks. "They
are coming." he says as he takes a few more deep breaths. He then looks at
Eightdigit and asks "Is the village destroyed?" Eightdigit just nods yes. He is
still shaken up by the whole thing as he was close to Spearfisher. While they
are conversing, the chief and Scott emerge from the forest. They followed the
sound of voices. As they join in the conversation, Bearslayer asks "Is this the
one we were looking for?" The chief handles the question "Yes, he is Derrick's
friend." Bearslayer reaches out his hand and says "Hope all is well with you."
Scott smiles and says "Now that I am free from the dragon, it is." Bearslayer
then asks "You were a prisoner of the dragon?" Scott nods and says "He kept me
locked in a cage and burned me every few days." Bearslayer is intrigued by this,
especially the part about being burned. He saw first hand the power of the
dragon's breath. To think a human could live through that is amazing to him. "So
you are unable to be hurt like Derrick?" Scott's smile leaves his face as he
says "I thought I was until I met the dragon. His breath would hurt me, but I
cast a spell to heal my wounds." Bearslayer's eyes light up when he hears this.
"You can cure wounds? Can you cure our friend here?" He then points to
Howlingmad who is laying motionless on the makeshift stretcher. "I will try." he
says as he comes over and places his hands on his chest. He then closes his eyes
as he concentrates on the spell. Next, he whispers something in a foreign
tongue. His hands begin to glow with a white light. The light slowly spreads
from his hands to Howlingmad's body and soon it covers his entire body. After a
few seconds of the body glowing, it goes away. Scott then opens his eyes and
looks down at the body. He lifts his hand off the body and stands up. They all
look at Howlingmad, who remains motionless. The wounds on his arm are gone, but
he is still in a coma. Derrick then asks the chief "What did the black dogs do
to him?" The chief then replies "After he killed the dog, a spirit version of it
rose from the body and attacked Howlingmad." Derrick looks at Scott and asks
"Doesn't that sound like a soul hound?" Scott thinks for a second and then says
"Didn't they put a curse on you or something that would make you die and then
they would return for your soul?" Derrick smiles as he remembers them from the
Into the Catacombs game. "Yeah, that's them. Couldn't a remove curse spell help
him?" Scott puts his hands back on him and says "Let's give it a try." Once
again, he closes his eyes and places his hands on Howlingmad. He mumbles a
different spell and once again, his hands glow and the glow then covers
Howlingmad's whole body. But this time, something different happens. The skull
on his forehead glows red. As it glows brighter and brighter, it grows larger
and larger. Then it explodes as a bright red light rises from it and fills the
surrounding forest with light. It glows brightly for a few seconds and then it
just disappears.. Once it stops, the skull mark on his forehead also disappears
and Howlingmad's eyes begin to open. They are heavy and he is groggy but he
looks around and sees his friends looking down at him. "What happened?" is all
he says. They all laugh and welcome him back.
That night at the fire, the men reunite and enjoy a feast of
wild deer and mushrooms. They were able to kill a deer and found a bunch of
mushrooms besides a tree. Scott has a spell that detects poison and was able to
insure the mushrooms were edible. So they all feasted that night. They spoke
about their journey and about the loss of Spearfisher. While Howlingmad is still
weak, he is doing well and in good spirits. He is smiling and enjoying the fire.
After the meal and conversation, the men prepare to sleep for
the night. They head up their trees, looking for a good place to rest. Derrick
and Scott decide to go for a walk and talk before they retire for the night. "So
the dragon really tortured you with his breath?" Scott looks down at the ground
as he answers. "Yeah, it hurt bad, real bad. I want this to stop, I really do."
Derrick looks at him and says "We freed you, so you should be safe." Scott looks
up with a sad look in his eyes "I know, but I meant everything. I want this
whole world to stop. I want the old world back. I thought it would be fun to
live in the world of Into the Catacombs, but its not. It's horrible." Derrick
also gets a depressed look on his face "I agree with you. I was stuck under a
boulder in a cave for thirty years." Scott looks up at him and there are tears
in his eyes. "We really screwed up. I wish we never found that stupid genie. We
screwed up bad." Derrick pats him on the shoulder and says "That is why we are
looking for the lamp. We just need to find the others and we can hopefully get
the lamp and make things right." Scott tries to smile as he says "I sure hope
so, I miss my old life. I miss my mom." They both have a good cry as they think
about all the things in the old world that they missed.
Dominant Species ©
Tom Zjaba 2006-2008