Journey to Yesod

Art drawn by: Bintang Hamal

Written by: Hunter Ake

Edited by: Lilliana Steele and Dee Dee Davis

Chapter 3 (Part 2)

          A sharp, flying piece of wood lodged itself into Zenebe’s shoulder and he dove for cover and hit the ground with a thud. Sook positioned herself in front of Dulani to shield her from the flying debris. In front of the gaping hole of the shack stood an unnaturally massive Aurevus with two snarling heads. Its muscle definition was clearly visible under the short fur. The Aurevus appeared to be in a berserker state. The adventurers could only hazard a guess at what kinds of stimulants the creature had running through its veins. The beast only felt pain and rage after the horrible experiments it was forced to endure.

          One of the heads zeroed in on Zenebe crawling on the ground in front of it. The other head soon focused in as well and the beast creeped low to the ground. Both heads began growling, their snouts scrunched up baring their fangs. Sook barely managed to maneuver herself between Zenebe and certain death in time. The beast lunged forward, but Sook intercepted, absorbing the full force of the attack under the beast’s weight. Unlike with the Cougnact, Sook rushed so fast she didn’t have a chance to establish her stance. The Aurevus trampled over the Varanian as she tried to position her arms on the inside of the two heads, pushing them outward. 

          Dulani quickly yanked the wooden splinter out of Zenebe’s shoulder before helping him to his feet. The beast began to back up. Sook wrapped her tail around one of its rear legs to keep it from leveraging her position. The beast attempted to swipe at her with its claws forcing Sook to turn her head and allow the blow to glance off of her scales. It didn’t manage to tear off her scales, but it hurt badly.

          Dulani threw her last charkam and hit her mark, the blade cut deep into the beast’s cheek on its left head. The Aurevus howled in pain and leapt off of Sook who let go of its leg. The animal slowly stalked in a circle around the trio watching its prey carefully. Dulani and Zenebe both grouped up on Sook. Each member of the group mentally prepared themselves for the fight, because it could very well be their last.

          The beast lunged again, Dulani and Zenebe both dashed in opposite directions while Sook stood her ground. This time, however, she ducked under the snapping jaws then stood back up, jabbing her horns into the monster’s clavicle. A piercing whine rang out. Dulani rounded the side, producing her rope and running straight for the hind legs. She quickly tied the hind legs together as Sook kept her horns inside the beast’s flesh while wrapping her tail around one of the front paws. 

          Zenebe had been focusing his magic and drew water out of the ground. The water crept just above the ground and over to the beast where it then enveloped one of the heads. Zenebe wasn’t sure if the beast had one set of lungs or two, but that bridge could be crossed later. The Aurevus seemed to freeze, its muscles still tensed against its restraints; the creature was puzzled by its current status. Then it thrashed violently, dislodging itself from Sook’s horns and yanking her along by her tail. The water bubble broke as the beast swung its heads back and forth, one head coming dangerously close to biting Zenebe who had to dive to avoid the jaws. Dulani fell back as her rope snapped and forced her to duck in order to avoid its claws. The Aurevus took a vicious swipe at Sook, throwing her into the air like a rag doll. She crashed on top of one of the cages stuffed with screeching animals. The impact and ensuring bombardment of wailing disoriented her.

          Zenebe got back to his feet and faced the beast as it growled at him and lowered its heads once more. The beast pounced but stopped to howl in pain as Dulani cut into its rear leg with her Katar. The Aurevus spun around and tried to bite at her. It barely missed since she jumped backward, but then its claws ripped her cloak, almost slicing her shoulder. The fabric was caught in the beast’s nails and she was forced to twist out of it to escape. Her form-fitting clothes were now apparent as she moved in and stabbed at the monster’s eye  at an angle. The beast howled as its eye gushed with blood. 

          Dulani’s attack bought Zenebe the time he needed to reach the well in the encampment. Zenebe focused his magic. This spell was the biggest endeavor yet and the strain was exhausting. Zenebe had pushed himself to his limit, the vein in his forehead throbbed as the water from the well burst like a geyser. The plume of water rose further and further before arching over and pouring down on the beast.

           Dulani ran out of the vicinity of the creature and the ensuing downpour just in time before a massive Chondrichthyes, bigger in size than the Aurevus. The monster swam up the column of water and barreled down on the target, biting deep into its back. Multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth tore flesh apart. The beast let out a pained whimper that hurt Zenebe’s soul, but he couldn’t let up. He valued the lives of himself and his allies too much. The water column began to quiver and shake as Zenebe’s strain grew unbearable. The mental exhaustion became too much, his vision faded and he stumbled, catching himself as he took a knee. Zenebe nearly passed out, his ears ringing and drowning out the sounds of the other animal bashing against their enclosures. The water stopped and rained down onto the ground as the Chondrichthyes dissipated back to the realm it was summoned from.

          The  Aurevus panted raggedly as it lay down, its fur soaked with water and blood. Zenebe could barely stand as Dulani rushed to cover him. The beast slowly stood back up, eyeing Dulani and Zenebe with bloodthirst and fury. Slowly, foot by foot it inched forward, Dulani and Zenebe, heaving and sweating, watched the predator approach. Once again, the beast lowered its heads and growled as its snouts twitched and curled. Blood slowly dripped from one eye as it moved forward, closer, closer. 

          Dulani pointed her katar at the creature, barely able to hold her arm up as she gasped for breath, “Come on you big bastard, you want a taste?!” 

          Suddenly, Sook landed on the beast’s back, wrapping her arms around its neck, sinking her claws into its flesh to hold herself in place. Her tail wrapped itself around its other neck and she squeezed with all her might. The beast attempted to throw her off, but it had used up so much energy and lost too much blood. Its movements became more and more sluggish, its breathing got shallower and quieter before it finally collapsed onto the ground. Sook let go of its necks and slowly stood up. The beast’s eyes were still open as it watched Sook. She looked into those eyes, much calmer and more lucid than before, and she saw the sadness rooted deep inside them. She knew this creature didn’t want this. Dulani moved forward with her katar, ready to stab it into the beast’s eyes. The creature didn’t even try to move, it just watched her and resigned itself. 

          Sook returned to her human form and stopped Dulani, grabbing her arm at the elbow, “It’s a wild animal, it only attacked us due to the influence of drugs and torture.” 

          “You already defeated your own argument, it’s a wild animal, it needs to be put down.” Sook and Dulani stared into each other’s obstinate gaze for an extended period of time. 

          Zenebe sighed heavily and managed to stumble to his feet. “I do not want to kill this animal, I want to return to the city as soon as possible and have a word with Mali. Listen to Sook and lower your weapon. Please.”

          Dulani looked at Zenebe and then back at Sook, “Ugh, nobody ever listens to me, that’s how we keep getting into these situations! But fine, you guys win.” Dulani lowered her blades and the Aurevus continued watching them as its body heaved ragged breaths. The other animals had quieted down, the whole situation cooled alongside the Aurevus’ temper. Dulani kept her blades ready as the creature tried and failed to stand over and over. Eventually though, the group watched as the animal limped out of the massive hole in the encampment, tasting freedom for the first time in too long. The beast glanced back at them. Dulani finally looked into its eyes and realized she had made the right decision. 

          “Now for the rest of their victims”, Sook stated while popping her neck with a satisfied exhalation. 

          “Ugh, wonderful. I can already smell the piss.” 

          “We can wash our clothes after we have a word with our “employer”.” Zenebe held onto Sook’s shoulder, still feeling light-headed from overusing his magic.

          By the late evening, the trio were very close to the city walls. They freed the other animals and left the encampment in a state of complete disarray. The remnants of the poachers were nowhere to be seen once the Aurevus was released, and neither was Aahira.

           “Well that counts as our good deed for the rest of the month.” Dulani mused.

 “I’m so sorry you two. This all happened because people had seen me transform.”

          Dulani started to open her mouth with the intention of reprimanding Sook for self-detrimental comfort seeking, but she knew the overgrown lizard better than that.

          “You should never apologize for being the victim of small-minded and violent people,” Zenebe responded earnestly. 

          Dulani rummaged inside her normally concealed hip pouch, “While I do agree with Zenebe, maybe, in a practical sense, you should have a weapon to fight with in your human form.”

          Sook contemplated, “I think that’s a good idea, but I don’t have any experience with weapons, and I obviously don’t have-.” 

          Dulani suddenly presented a rather crude looking dagger that was tucked into her belt, “I nabbed this from the encampment, poachers likely used it. It’s way too big for me to use as an effective dagger but it’d probably fit you perfectly. I’ll teach you how to use it.” Sook looked Dulani in her eyes and gingerly took the dagger from her before grabbing Dulani and embracing her in a tight hug. “Ow, ow, I’m still sore!”

          Later that night, Sook and Zenebe sat at a bar in Banaka, waiting for Dulani to return from her “errand” that she didn’t see fit to tell them about. Sook was wrapped up in one of Zenebe’s cultural robes, doing her best not to stand out in this city of wealth. 

          Sook sipped on her whiskey while Zenebe downed another glass of milk. “This is so refreshing after using so much magic earlier, like drinking water after nearly dying of thirst.” 

          Sook stared down into her glass and twirled the whiskey around; the slight burn still fresh in her throat. Zenebe’s effort to not lay the blame at her feet earlier was very sweet, and they had made it out alive, but she still couldn’t help but blame herself. Little did she know Zenebe was thinking the same of himself. All his light-hearted banter just masked his own shame at being caught from behind. 

          Dulani walked into the bar and tapped them on the shoulders and whispered, “I have something to show you two.” It was a dark night when the two blindly followed Dulani through the still bustling streets. Suddenly, Dulani ducked into a seemingly abandoned inn. After leading the other two down a hallway littered with webs and water-damage, Dulani directed them into a guest room. The whole room was caked in a layer of dust, but you could still clearly see the fancy bedspread and wood furnishings that indicate the inn was once just as fancy as the rest of Banaka. Dulani abruptly broke the silence once she felt safe enough. “So Mali fled her vacation home just as we expected. She was clearly terrified of us.” 

          “What makes you say that?” Sook asked. 

           “Because she fled in such a hurry that she left her home poorly guarded and stocked full of valuables. So, she did end up paying us after all.” Dulani moved a dusty bookshelf, revealing a hole in the adjoining wall and produced two large bags of jewelry and gold. “Bless the nobility and their cowardly ways.”