Melusine bolted awake, writhing in unfathomable and excruciating agony. Baugulf woke with a startled yelp, and hurriedly crawled to Mel's side, skidding to his knees. Unlike other times, Melusine was aware of everything that was happening around her, but her heightened senses provided no comfort.

Once more, her bones broke, sinew ripped, and skin ruptured, then it all healed again. Seeking any kind of solace, Melusine gripped onto the underpadding of her bedroll. Baugulf stuffed a balled up handkerchief into Mel's mouth. Mel's legs kicked up unbidden before they were secured down by her knight escort. Not being able to clearly scream and wail like she wanted to, Melusine bit down hard onto the cloth soaking up her saliva. Every cell underneath her skin burned.

Mel thought that she was getting her punishment from the heavens. Oddly enough that helped to calm her panic, and she collapsed face first into the bedroll. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, but she couldn't lose consciousness. Aware of every stinging nerve and electric firing of neurons, she lay helpless and unable to respond to the world outside her own body.

When the pain itself finally receded, the sun had peeked over the horizon. Mel tugged out the wadded up cloth in her mouth. Her lungs labored to recover from the strain, and her eyes took a few minutes before they were able to focus.

On Mel's left middle finger was a glimmering ring. It appeared to have been braided out of solid malachite, translucent polished stone weaved into a band just for her. Set into the braid was a gem of the same composition, possessing a deeper hue and a pearlescent shine.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Melusine studied the dragon's gift. The handkerchief was gently pried from her grip, and Baugulf's hand felt her sweaty forehead.

"Am I to assume that you figured out how to turn back into a human? Because you look blessedly less reptilian now, Miss Melusine."

"I don't think it had anything to do with me." Melusine pushed herself up to her now human feet. "Like I said, maybe Ekaitz decided that I'd suffered enough."

Baugulf's attention was caught by the ring, and Mel hid it behind her back with a sour scowl. The knight closed his eyes and stood up as well.

"Alright. As long as you're stable, we have a long journey ahead of us." His hand ruffled Melusine's soaked bedhead. Mel whined, he chuckled, and they began to pack up.

Melusine was handed a bag of jerky scraps before she swung herself onto her horse. There was still a long journey ahead of them before they reached the capital. And it wasn't wise to brave the world full of monsters, undead, spirits, and demons on an empty stomach.

"Let's get started, Miss Melusine."

Mel lifted her head from resting against the face of a spearhead shaped boulder. She was leaning against the large stone, her arms crossed over her chest. The horses were taken to a stream for water, and the humans were taking a meal break. Baugulf held out a stick of venison jerky and a chunk of sharp cheese.

They were on a hillside next to the small tributary water source by the road. The vivid spring grass tickled at Melusine's boots and skirt. The road at the edge of the hill's slope was empty of other travelers, not a caravan or escort in sight. Clouds dappled and stretched across the sky in arcs overhead, signs of a coming storm. The sun's brightness and warmth coupled with the steady drop in temperature and humidity made for a pleasant afternoon—albeit temporarily. The only thing that took away from the moment was the stillness of the wind.

"Get started on what?" Melusine asked, accepting the food and tearing off a piece of jerky with her elongated canines. She was still clawed and fanged, but the scales, horns, and animalistic legs had vanished as far as Mel knew.

"Learning proper techniques, of course. I favor the shorter swords, obviously, but I do know how to fight with longer blades. You won't always be able to rely on your brute strength to hack away at your enemies. Some will be faster, and I mean no offense when I say that they will be smarter."

"Some taken," Mel grumbled, stuffing the cheese into her mouth next. "But I understand your meaning. I'm inexperienced and uneducated. Where do we start?"

"With the basics of all swordplay and combat—guards."

"As in defensive positions?" Mel hastily chewed up her food and swallowed, then pushed herself off of the rock.

"Yes, but they can also be used as the start of offensive maneuvers." Baugulf reached over and unsheathed Spider while Mel wolfed down the rest of her jerky. "There are four main guards for longswords; upper guard, the ox, the plow, and the fool. There are plenty others that I think will suit you better, but for now we'll focus on these four today."

"Then, let's get started." Melusine was handed her longsword, and she stood at the ready. Baugulf stepped around Mel so he was positioned at her side, hand on her sword arm.

"First, don't hold it with your hands together, it throws off the balance. One side of your palm up against the pommel, and hold the other end of the hilt close to the sword's guard. Thumbs up towards the guard, don't clench your hands into tight fists. You want your wrist to be elastic so you can easily switch and adjust angles. Good," he praised when Mel followed his instruction. She received a pat on the head, and he was awarded with a grumpy grumble.

Baugulf guided Melusine's arms into position as he directed. "Now hold it above your head, blade point directed behind you. There, you have the upper guard. You can strike down and block most frontal attacks and jabs, and also come at an angle."

Baugulf continued to guide Melusine through the impromptu lessons while Wolf and Marie frolicked along the nearby stream. After Melusine learned a few basic strikes and drills, Baugulf drew his shortsword and stood with his free hand held behind his back.

"Care for a friendly spar?"

Melusine scoffed out a laugh, her lips pulling up into a cocky smirk. She got into the second guard position that she'd learned, dubbed the Ox. Her sword was held up near her face, pointed directly at Baugulf.

"Care to have your ass handed to you?"

Baugulf merely grinned back at her and then struck with his sword, deliberately testing her reaction time rather than facing her as an equal. Melusine swung her sword in an arc downward to meet Baugulf's blade on the swing up. "Come to think of it, you've never told me your sword's name, Sir Knight."

"Promise never to call me that again, and I'll tell you," Baugulf quipped before he slid his blade down the edge of Melusine's, forcing her sword tip down. Mel gritted her teeth as she pushed against the move with a quick thrust up. The knight took an involuntary step backwards, and Melusine seized the opportunity. Her sword whisked down once again, blocked just before it made contact with Baugulf's shoulder.

"I promise," Melusine cooed, taking a few steps forward and pushing Baugulf to retreat in order to keep his footing.

"Easy now, you don't need to kill me."

"I'm not." Mel lifted her sword away from Baugulf's blade edge, and returned to her previous spot on the hill. "I'm simply a novice giving it all I've got against an expert." She held her sword down in front of her, tip inches above the grassy ground. Baugulf's sword lowered, the knight's expression one of offense.

"I'm not falling for the Fool, Melusine."

"This is practice, isn't it? Come on, play with me," Melusine goaded with a sly and impish grin. Baugulf sighed, and with the lazy movements of a slacker, struck towards Mel's face from the side. It was quickly parried with one strike up and across, sending Melusine into a giddy little dance with her footwork.

"There, happy?" Baugulf couldn't help his amused grin as he watched her bounce around like an excited child. Mel pointed at him with a playful glint in her blood-red eyes.

"Not until you tell me your sword's name."

Melusine calmed down and got back into the Ox stance. Baugulf rolled his eyes and struck at Melusine's side with the flat of his blade, too quick for her to react in time.

"Breathtaker—that's what I named my sword."

"Quite the dark name for such a happy-go-lucky knight," Melusine remarked as she stepped further back, rubbing at her aching waist.

"I wasn't so happy-go-lucky when I named it," Baugulf admitted. He retreated, sheathed his sword, and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "That's enough for sparring. You should work on your drills and get a few more victories under your belt before you dare to face me again."

"But we just started!" Melusine pointed her sword at her knight escort in lieu of a finger. "And you challenged me!"

"That I did, and thoroughly won. Had this been real, you would've been sliced in two."

"Maybe if I were a regular person," Mel muttered as she sheathed Spider.

"Alright, perhaps you would've put up more of a fight. But the fact remains that I won, and we have to continue our trip. We can't be lollygagging about all day."

"Agree that it's a tie and I'll come quietly. You didn't give me a chance to beat you."

"Come along now, Miss Melusine, don't be difficult." Baugulf gently pushed her towards the streambed by her shoulders. The horses were waiting for them and Marie nickered at her owner.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're treating me like a stubborn animal?"

"Only because you're acting like one," Baugulf teased with a lilted voice.

"Hey!"

"Save your hay for the horses, Miss Melusine."

Meanwhile, the clouds above had grown darker, and the breeze had picked up with a chill.

Rain pelted down on their party of two, beating at their backs and stinging their faces. The horses were pushing forward, blinded in the harsh gales and rainfall like their masters.

"We need to stop!" Melusine shouted over the wind, barely able to hear herself. "I told you this would happen!"

"I'll admit, I was hoping to outrun this!" Baugulf's response was a mere faint whisper, like he was miles ahead of her instead of by her side.

Mel's neck prickled, and her head turned unbidden towards the darkened eastern sky behind them.

A massive beast of a creature lumbered along the road, as large if not bigger than Ekaitz. It was vaguely reptilian with azure-blue scales, stocky and clumsily moving limbs, as well as a narrow head with a crested frill. Every time it opened its warped maw full of fangs, rattling echoed in the vast wilderness and lightning struck anything it could reach. A brush fire had started, leaving a trail of ash and death in its wake.

It was a monster that famously exacerbated lightning storms. The strange rattling cry it made could call forth bolts of electricity to randomly strike. While it wasn't known to chase after humans, or even prey on them, its proximity alone could lead to disastrous consequences.

"Storm Kraken!" Melusine warned, grabbing onto Baugulf's shoulder and tugging. Her desperate pointing and gesturing to the way they came convinced Baugulf to take a look. He squinted, unable to make out the creature, surrounded by low and dark clouds as it was. But when he finally recognized its legs moving out and in, crushing trees and boulders, he urged the horses into a gallop.

Reaching the point where the now gushing stream flooded over a stone bridge, the horses reared and began to panic. Melusine was fairly sure she heard Baugulf curse, but it was hard to make out. "We can either jump or make a run for it off of the road," Melusine suggested.

"Do you know how to jump?"

"Not really." Mel had to scream her answer over the fast-approaching thunder.

"Then we're making a run for it. We'll wait out the storm downstream."

Melusine nodded, and tugged on Wolf's reigns to their left. Her poor beleaguered horse was more than happy to follow the alternate route south, galloping beside Marie to relative safety. They raced downhill, weaving through trees. Baugulf led the charge, Melusine struggling to keep a visual on him in the heavy downpour.

By the time they reached the edge of the raging tempest, they could see the Serpents Tail on the horizon. The Serpents Tail was a river that ran from Hathorn to a lake dubbed the Serpents Body. Melusine looked back the way they'd come, but could only make out the raging flames and not the Kraken itself.

"I've never been more terrified in my life," Melusine breathed out, feeling sweat rolling down her back. She felt a massive shiver run through Wolf, and she patted his shoulder. "Easy, boy."

"That's the first time I've seen one of those too," Baugulf admitted. "I had no idea... whew... that's definitely going in my report. Hopefully some relief funds and repairs will be sent."

"Hopefully?" Melusine wished she could be surprised at his word choice, but she was not. The king's coffers were famously tight, after all.

"I'll have done all I can by that point. I'm a knight, not an advisor," Baugulf reminded her with a shrug. Melusine chose to only hum in response, her focus on the burning horizon.