Chapter 249: Battle of Dragons and Worms

Bren Hedera

“That scaled newcomer and Alruna are going to fight!”

The exclamation came from a woman wearing two aprons across her two torsos. Her three arms waved frantically as her two-and-a-half heads glanced around nervously. Besides those obvious mutations, she was fairly normal with long brown hair and the pale skin one would expect of someone who lived underground.

Eldest of All rumbled in a sound Bren now recognised as exasperation. The exhalation of breath was sharper when he was annoyed, and had a higher pitch when whistling through his metal teeth. “Was it agreed upon?”

“By all accounts, yes.”

“Then why the concern?”

“Well, most of our fighters and the Annita lady are out on patrol. I thought someone should be there… just in case?”

Bren closed his book with a snap. They’d been going over recent events in Korvas. Eldest of All was intrigued by the assassination attempt on the Farragher King and the subsequent attempt on Annita. The nation was moving towards war, and in such dangerous times, it might be necessary to further increase the town’s obfuscation from the outside world. “Very well. I will attend and act as an intermediary. Should things get out of hand, I should be able to, at the very least, provide enough distraction to diffuse hostilities. Lucia, would you like to accompany me?”

He felt the familiar sense of eagerness through their bond. “Yes,” was all she said, though the emotions he felt told him she was eager to see Kat and Alruna fight. Lucia got up from her perch on the stool she had taken. Perch was becoming a far more apt description of the position as her feathers came in. She smoothed them back with her hands before nodding, letting the glittering copper and teal plumage settle back. She was glad it was mostly lying flat at this point, and not standing up like some show-bird. Still, as they grew, Bren suspected they would rival the length of her old hair, just less greasy and far more colourful.

She had been messing with it for the past few days, and Bren had the front-row seat to her mental litany of complaints. They were stiff, they made noise when brushed against, they weren’t sharp like the Phoenix, they didn’t adjust their direction, they were too bright, they were too short, they made scratching her head annoying, and so on. Thankfully, she had begun to see them more positively in the last few hours, practically preening when Eldest called them beautiful.

“Oh, thank the Gods. Normally, I would go and get Eyes, but she’s gone too,” the woman sighed.

“Fear not. We will handle this. May we be excused, Eldest?”

The dragon nodded his massive head. “You may. Tell the Daughter of Worms to report to me once she is finished. I have some matters to speak with her about regarding our discussion.”

“It will be done,” Bren said, bowing to the ancient creature.

A massive bleeding talon waved them out.

Kat was, as nearly always, armed. She had chosen her old sword, and not the brutal weapon she had been gifted in their latest Seed. Not only that, but she had taken the time to get her armour on as well. It looked like these two were really going to have at it.

“Kat! A moment, please!” Bren called, jogging up.

“Ah, figured ye’d be busy wit’ the ol’ boulder!” Kat laughed, waving.

“We received word of your fight, and since most fighters are out at the moment, I volunteered to halt things should they get out of hand.”

“Bren, I love ye, but ‘ow are ye gonna do that wit’ me an’ Alruna? I wanted a real scrap wit’ ‘er. Even put me armour on fer it, so she could really swing.”

Bren rolled his eyes. “I can still stop your sword if needed. My barriers are not that weak. Hells, I can probably stop Alruna’s hammer if she is not using skills to break through them.”

“But where’s the fun in tha’?” Kat groaned. “I want ‘er tae be usin’ what she’s got!”

“I, too, would prefer not to hold back,” Alruna said. Her raspy voice sounded eager. “Our fighters are on the wild side. I am looking forward to testing myself against a trained martial fighter!”

This could be a problem. “Lucia, how well does that vine shot work?”

“Can stop. Stopped Guardian. Can stop Kat, Alruna.”

“Please have that ready just in case,” Bren requested. “Very well. I will keep anything from getting out of bounds. Do not get too wild. This is still a home for people.”

Alruna nodded, then walked calmly over to her end of the empty patch they’d chosen for an arena. “We shall not. Control is ever necessary both in combat and in life.”

“But cuttin’ free’s damn fun, too,” Kat grinned. Her singular eye never left Alruna as she walked to her spot.

Both warriors took their stances. Kat had her shield up and sword out to the side. A standard defensive stance when facing an unknown opponent. Alruna held Complacency in both hands, her body parallel to Kat, with the hilt pointed at her opponent.

Most would not catch what began the duel, but Bren had been watching Kat enough to see the tiny movements her type watched for. Kat let her shield drop about an inch, doing the same with her sword. She loved this move, as it baited in all but the most cautious opponents.

Alruna took the bait like a Snapjaw Trout. She charged in, more kicking off the stone than running. When she planted her feet, that momentum went directly into her hammer swing.

The meaty thock of the hammer hitting Kat’s shell shield echoed multiple times in the cavern. Kat easily caught the maul and shoved it aside, thrusting her sword in the same motion.

Alruna used whatever skill she had to stop the momentum on her hammer and used the hilt to deflect the strike.

Kat had used it as a feint, however, and threw her weight behind a shield strike.

Alruna had obviously been watching closely when they fought together as she reacted to the shield. Worms erupted from her shoulder and elbow, allowing her to shift her grip to a single hand, and she caught the shield with her other. The follow-up hammer swing from above forced Kat to disengage by a few steps, giving Alruna the advantage.

Using Kat’s retreat, the Daughter of Worms came in low, still holding Complacency in one hand. Either a leg sweep or an upward strike, Bren guessed.

Kat was thinking the same as her legs tensed, and she tried to get her shield up in time to block any upward swings.

Alruna had just enough time to swing her hammer, scraping it across the ground, up in a vicious arc. Kat braced for a hit that never came. At the last second, Alruna had used her worms to adjust her grip, shortening her reach by an inch! As Bren marvelled at the creative use of her body, he realised what was about to happen. Gripping the haft with both hands, sans worms, Alruna brought the maul down hard.

Kat’s Reactive Defence flashed brightly as she took the hit on her ironwood pauldron. Bren couldn’t tell if she used Stand Your Ground, but the impact staggered the princess regardless.

Alruna would not give up that advantage. The hammer was large enough to be unwieldy in close quarters, so she shifted her grip up again and thrust the head at Kat’s chest.

Kat recovered in the nick of time, parrying the strike with her sword this time. This sent Alruna off course. Kat kicked at her legs, disrupting her stance as she dodged. The shell shield struck home with its edge catching Alruna in the centre of the chest.

Alruna grunted, a particularly ugly sound from her normally ragged voice, and took a couple of steps back.

“Ye hit damn hard, an’ ye’re creative,” Kat laughed, spinning her sword. It was a bad habit, but Polaris had been unable to train it out of her when she felt cocky. The way Kat’s eye shone told him that the woman was having a blast. “But ye’re not as fast as I thought ye’d be. Get why ye said ye needed a team.”

“You are skilled as well, but let us not call this decided as of yet,” Alruna laughed. “This was only a warm-up, correct?”

“Ye’re bleedin’ right! Let’s ‘ave some fun.”

Kat charged forward, shield first. Alruna prepared to meet the charge, but Kat’s endless drilling with Polaris would see her through this exchange. Polaris loved her larger weapons, and a hammer was her default when she was not taking random weapons to display her versatility. Kat stepped forward quickly, got inside of Alruna’s range, and cut a line through the woman’s shoulder. The hammer tried to rise, but could not get any momentum because a shield was blocking the haft. Alruna was not out of tricks yet, though, and she rocked Kat with a painful-looking headbutt.

Well, it looked painful for Alruna. Kat had always possessed a thick skull, and now she had scales to back it up. Even then, her neck snapped backwards with the impact. Alruna was bleeding from her forehead, though.

Kat’s grin was wild as she returned the headbutt, then kicked Alruna in the stomach, forcing them apart. Normally, this type of manoeuvre would push both combatants back as the kicker only had one foot to stand on. Kat had skills to change that. Her balance never faltered, and she leaned forward to drive her weight into a lunge.

Alruna groaned as she took the strike in the side. Black blood dripped from the wound as she twisted, taking Kat’s sword with her! Kat let out a yelp of surprise as the blade was torn from her hand. Alruna was not done yet. As she twisted, she used the haft of the hammer to get a solid blow onto Kat’s arm.

“God’s damn ye,” Kat grunted as she quickly regained her balance.

With all the calm of someone removing a splinter, Alruna pulled the sword from her side and tossed it to Kat. “Remember. I am not just me.”

“Point made. Now let’s get better at this.”

Alruna took the first move, stone cracking under her foot as she ran forward. A few people in the watching gaggle of Warped groaned at the damage. Still, Alruna’s red-ringed eyes were wide and focused. It was obvious she was enjoying the contest, but her face could have fooled Bren. It was stoic, blank, like all of her personality was pushed back in the face of a threat.

Kat raised her shield to block the hammer, already shifting her weight to counter. Again, Alruna feinted with her momentum skill being used to stop the hammer before it hit. To Bren’s surprise, she dropped her weapon and closed on Kat. Two heavy blows got Kat in the chest and shoulder.

The armour did its job, stopping the punches. Kat was far from helpless in this position. Her sword could not be used as effectively, but she didn’t need the blade. She twisted the blade to the side and rammed the hilt into Alruna’s head. Two quick strikes with her shield’s edge followed, then an uppercut with the hilt! Light flashed with the shield hits, battering Alruna with increased damage. Guard Crush fit Kat’s normal fighting style incredibly well.

Alruna was losing control of the fight. She had fallen back under the relentless assault and managed to retrieve Complacency. There was black blood leaking from several cuts and bruises, but the wounds themselves were already closing. Bren was not certain if this was a full restoration or simply stopping the bleeding. Enduring another hit from Kat’s shield, the woman raised Complacency high and brought it down with blinding speed.

Kat was forced to dodge the blow. Bren doubted that even with her defences, she’d be able to take that strike on her shield without her arm breaking. The hammer shook the ground as a crater was blasted into the stone. Alruna was still moving, however. Worms surged from her arms to enhance her strength as she jumped forward. Using Complacency’s hilt, she swung herself upwards, body rising feet first into the air before arching down at Kat.

“No!” Someone in the crowd cried.

Kat reacted instantly. She saw what was coming as surely as Bren did. She dove forward. The ground where she’d been standing a moment before exploded, sending stone shrapnel flying in all directions.

The crowd ducked, but no shards made it past the arena. Bren’s wand flicked in an arc as he scattered shields to protect the onlookers. Only dust washed past the shimmering barriers as he sighed. These two were past the point of holding back. Damage was going to start stacking up.

Speaking of, Alruna’s attack wasn’t over. She landed near Kat, her hammer’s head still resting in the rubble. As she did, her worms diverted from her arms, lashing out and grabbing Kat. Bren and Kat knew those things were strong, but not quite how strong. They were strong enough to pull Kat forward into a mean elbow strike to the gut from Alruna. With the worms, Complacency got even more dangerous. While Kat was recoiling from the blow, Alruna’s right arm wrapped itself up again. The huge hammer hummed through the air as she swung it with a single hand halfway up the haft.

Kat saw the swing coming. Bren saw her eye flick back and forth in that split second. Her sword burst into a brilliant blue light as she swung it at Alruna’s feet. It missed, obviously. Kat was not one to seriously wound someone, but Alruna forcing her to this point was impressive. All In shattered the stone, breaking Alruna’s footing. Kat tackled her in that moment. They both fell into the cloud of dust.

“Yield!” Kat shouted.

“I yield!” Alruna replied.

As the dust cleared, the final result revealed itself. Kat had pinned Alruna, her sword at her throat as she straddled the woman. Both women were breathing heavily. Dust stuck to their sweat as they smiled at each other.

Kat stood and offered her hand to Alruna. Both winced as Kat hauled the shorter woman upright, then helped her dust off.

“Ye’re a mad woman!” Kat laughed. “Gods above, me shoulder is gonna ‘ave a bruise even wit’ Bren’s healin’.”

“I have no doubt my own hide will bear a few as well. You are truly a skilled fighter, Katlyn. I thank you for this bout.” Alruna gave Kat a slight bow. When she rose, she was all smiles. The way her vertical eyes squinted when she was happy was such an odd look. “I feel as if I outperformed mine own expectations. How would you assess this engagement?”

“Well, tha’ momentum skill is a feckin’ tricky one that ye’re good at usin’. Usin’ it as a fakeout makes any sort o’ blockin’ a complete pain in the arse. Still, when ye commit tae a hit, shite’s easier tae predict an’ block. Think we’d ‘ave a different result if ye came out wit’ the worms at the start.” Kat started wiping off her face, making sure to get the inside of her scarred eye socket.

“I disagree. If I had started with the worms, you would have adjusted to them far quicker than you did here. You becoming accustomed to my movements before they were used was critical to usurping your control. That rush you achieved nearly defeated me. The overhead strike really was from desperation. I do appreciate you not using your blade for that.”

“We weren’t ‘ere tae kill eachother,” Kat shrugged.

Bren had let them talk long enough. Letting Lucia know she could stand down via a mental sense of calm, he approached. “That is not how it appeared to others, I imagine. Look at what has become of the street.”

Kat and Alruna both cringed as they beheld the three craters and several chunks of the road now scattered as rubble.

“I have seen enough in my time to know the difference, however,” Bren sighed as he started channelling healing magic into the two. “Alruna, you were reckless with that huge swing. Becoming airborne removes your ability to avoid attacks or alter your course. Even with your momentum skill, you may not be able to avoid someone striking you then.”

“Would be best time. Could see arc easy. No chance,” Lucia agreed. “Dangerous move. Only use when safe.”

“I know,” Alruna sighed. “It is my most damaging skill by far and requires the manoeuvre to trigger. If I can, I usually use the stomp before to stagger and disorient the enemy. I did not want to damage the road overmuch, as that would have cracked far more than a couple of craters.”

“If Rosalyn or Lucia got someone pinned down, though, that’d be a brutal finisher,” Kat nodded. “Wit’ the big attacks outta the way, ye really did use yer entire weapon real well. Strikin’ wit’ the haft is gonna catch so many people off guard. Most people expect it tae be a shove fer distance, but ye can really do some damage. Hells, bet ye can impale somethin’ with the butt if ye really tried.”

Bren nodded. The force Alruna exhibited, exerted at a far smaller point, would impart immense piercing pressure. “Kat, you also let her hit you a couple of times to get inside her reach. That was foolhardy.” He knew Kat’s response before she even opened her lips. Her bad habits of ignoring danger for a better chance at winning always won out. The ability to shrug off most damage did not help. Bren prayed to Illdall that he let the woman become more resilient so he did not have to worry as much.

“Lurin’ ‘er intae a false sense o’ security.” Kat smiled smugly. “Like ye said, Alruna, gotta let ‘em think they know yer moves afore bringin’ out surprises.”

Bren smacked Kat’s arm. For once, he could actually get a wince out of her. No defensive stats meant minor blows definitely hurt more. “Bad.”

“Fiiine. I’ll be more careful. Still, was sparrin’. Best place tae try the stupid grosshite an’ see if it works. Better than against a real enemy, an’ it turnin’ out tae be bunk.”

She was right. It was the place to make mistakes and learn to be better. He just wished that Kat would learn not to be so reckless. Instead, she kept pushing her limits and seeing where she could exploit her abilities to deal serious damage. She had a defensive Path, but was always focused on the damage. It frustrated Bren to no end.

“You have three teammates to be doing the damage. None of them have your ability to take damage. Katlyn, your role is to make openings for the rest. Please try to focus on that more in the future.”

Kat rolled her eye. “It’s ‘ow I’m a pest. Lay off, mum.”

There it was. Bren chuckled quietly to himself. She always referred to him as her mother when he lectured her on fighting. Manners and decorum got him called her father.

At last, most of the wounds on the two women were healed enough to stop any internal bleeding and repair muscle damage. As both had said, it was likely for bruises to remain, but he was not wasting further Mind on such minor injuries.

“Alright, I’m gonna go take a bath. Ye wanna join me?” Kat invited Alruna.

“That sounds lovely. I do need to wash this blood off. Shall we ascend, or bathe down here?”

“Up tae ye.”

“Come with me. My home is better suited to washing each other. Bren, thank you for your assistance in keeping the others safe. Lucia, thank you for keeping an eye on us.”

“Is fine,” Lucia waved off the concern as she popped the round she had loaded from Fillianore. “Save ammo.”

“Well, I shall return to Eldest of All now. We still have details regarding politics to go over.”

“Don’t bore ‘im tae death! Would be a real dumb way fer him tae die!” Kat shouted as she walked off with Alruna.

“He seems fairly engaged,” Bren grumbled to himself.

“Not me.”

Bren glared at Lucia.

“What? All talk. Boring. Take nap.”

“You were napping?”

“Can do sitting.”

“I thought you were meditating with how quiet your mind was.”

“No. Sleep.” Lucia yawned and stretched as they walked. “Hurry. Want to get more.”

This woman…Bren thought, being careful to shield that particular comment from her. He found himself chuckling again.

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Bren laughed. They really were polar opposites. “Let us get you back to the couch. I will quiz you on the discussion in our residence later.”

Lucia groaned.

“I can quiz you naked.”

Lucia’s gait changed significantly, becoming far more eager as she climbed the front stairs of Eldest’s mansion.

Bren couldn’t help the smile as he walked past her.