Born a Monster

464 River and Queen

It wasn’t hard to find the trail of the lizard riders. Adapted as they were for the sandy dunes, their lizard’s footprints were painfully obvious in the loosely wooded thickets of western Whitehill.

And... there was at least one set of horseshoes among them.

That also meant, more than likely, at least one lance.

Hey!

Black Leg said.

I asked.

Achmed said.

I asked.

Black Leg responded.

.....

I sighed. I said.

I said,

Spiders shrug by bobbing their bodies down and back up. Seven Eyes said.

Black Leg twitched.

He snapped his mandibles together.

Achmed said.

Black Leg climbed a tree.

I said.

he fell to the ground.

Seven Eyes chuckled. And to me,

I promised.

It was less than an hour later. I said.

Black Leg asked.

Seven Eyes said,

I smacked my lips.

Wicker Flicker, my flaming flower, sent.

I said. I walked over to where the singed paper stubs littered the plants.

I didn’t even need to sniff to smell them.

Achmed asked.

Seven Eyes said.

I said, picking up the twisted ends of the butts.

I felt their eyes on me, so I continued.

Achmed blinked.

I admitted,

Achmed bent forward to sniff the ground.

I said.

I whipped my head over my left shoulder, turning my ears to better hear.

I followed my own advice, knowing it would be useless. The lizards had some way of scenting my magic; they would know that I was there.

invoked Seven Eyes.

I looked at the younger, healthier spider image.

he said,

His eyes lost focus.

Black Leg warned,

I relayed.

Achmed said.

I walked down the embankment.

Wicker Flicker screamed.

Then I waded into the river, and slid forward under the surface.

“Waahgh.” I said, or something similar. The spring season was a hot one, and I hadn’t thought about the sweat pooling on my skin until it all washed away.

I wriggled my toes, flexed my fingers. And then, the riders and mounts were on the slope’s crest, well above me.

“It is him.” the lead rider said, as though scarcely believing it himself. “Nameless Father be praised. Each of us is soon to be a rich man. You two, take the far bank. We must not let him escape.”

The two he indicated dashed almost directly through the newborn; they jumped and leapt and mostly missed, landing behind the speeding reptiles. Those few that landed on the riders were brushed off with casual disdain.

They came at me, two from upstream on either bank, two from downstream, arrayed likewise.

“Caution, my brothers. Keep your bows at the ready, and your mounts...”

One of the mounts jumped at that time, thinking to be the first to injure me. The stream was neither deep nor broad, but the lizards were clearly not familiar with fighting in such an environment.

Still, if they had charged all at once, if the riders had kept control...

It could have ended differently, is my point. As it was, they launched arrows and circled, surprisingly agile and light on their feet.

“Damn it!”

“I can’t get a clean shot!”

But surely you see the way this went. Four dead lizards, four dead Kathani (three Buramin and a Defari, if skin tone matters to you), and no credit toward my quest for killing ANYONE.

Dang it.

[You have 6/80 health remaining.]

Cripes, it would almost have been better to have been knocked out and waken having been washed downriver.

As it was, while there was no immediate evidence of whom they had fought, a quick examination of the bodies would reveal the bite marks; mine in particular were distinctive.

said Black Legs.

The arrowhead not having sunk to the barbs, I removed it from my back.

he insisted.

I said.

Black Leg said.

Seven Eyes said.

Black Leg began wrapping up one of the riders.

But it was not Black Leg who found me, nor Achmed. It was Seven Eyes, sticky with his own blood.

he said.

I said.

he said.

So I set about hunting for food, and found only more spiders. their queen said,

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