Chapter 23: Heroes Rise (1/2)

”Alright everyone stay quiet. If we are lucky the creature won't know we are here until we get close.” Morris whispered when the group reached the mouth of the cave.

Mike glanced back at the two following them, to see how they were holding up. Will look terrified, but determined. Randolph was clearly working hard to control his emotions, but worry was still visible on his features.

As the group entered through the mouth of the cave, Mike noticed long scrapes in the wall and floor. He tried to imagine the kind of creature that would have claws capable of leaving those kinds of marks.

The air in the cave was cold and wet. It smelled stale, musty, with a faint hint of rotting meat that got stronger the farther they went. As a naturally formed cave there were several branching tunnels and narrow points, but the group was able to follow the obvious path left by the vargul as it forced itself through.

Eventually the path they were following opened in a vast open cavern. The light of Mike's fireball barely illuminated it reaches, but covered enough to show piles of decaying animal corpses and bones. The stench of rotting meat was almost overpowering, but for some reason Mike wasn't bothered by it as much as he had expected. Will and Randolph were gagging, barely holding it together, so Morris motioned for them to stay at the entrance while the pair advanced further.

There was no sign of the vargul. After a few moments scanning the cavern they spotted a huddled figure in corner. They hurried over to find a young girl in a tattered and blood-spattered dress trying to hide herself in a small alcove.

”Hey there,” Morris whispered. ”We're here to help. You father and brother are just back that way. Come on, we'll take you to them.”

The girl shook her head, still hugging her knees.

”I know you are frightened, but don't worry we'll get you out of here before it comes back.”

The girl looked up at them, terror evident in her features. She whispered, ”No, you don't understand. It hasn't left yet.”

Mike heard the clatter of a loose stone above them. He felt the hairs raise on the back of his neck as he slowly lifted his head to look.

Hanging from the ceiling was a massive dark form. Mike only had time to take note of a pair of bright red eyes and a mouthful of fangs before it was sweeping down at them.

”Move!” Morris yelled as he pushed Mike to the side. The vargul let out a terrible screech as it smashed into the floor where the pair had been.

Mike momentarily lost concentration on his ball of fire and it went out. In a panic he brought it forth again while scrambling to his feet. In his rush he once again put too much mana into it and a brilliant light flashed into existence in the dark cavern. The vargul hissed and squinted its eyes at flame, giving him a chance to examine it momentarily.

The creature stood nearly 2m tall and probably weighed more than a fully grown horse. It resembled a giant bat, but its face was disturbingly human. It was covered in a fine black hair that was caked in gore and filth. A pair of massive, folded, membranous wings supported it like forelegs, two clawed hands digging into the stone floor of the cavern with terrifying ease. It had a grotesquely massive chest situated above a stunted looking lower body, two short legs were barely visible.

Leaping into action, Morris attempted to slash his sword across the beast's face, but the creature was too quick, and was able to shuffle back in time to dodge. It opened those horrible, red eyes fully and fixed its gaze on the pair of them. Suddenly, Mike felt paralyzed, fear crushing him completely. He could see the two red orbs as they slowly approached him.

Something clicked within him, and the fear abated enough that he could move again. Not wasting any time, he called for a fireball and launched it at the vargul. It once again tried to dodge with superhuman agility, but couldn't get out of the way completely as the fireball exploded against the creature's left wing.

It unleashed a horrible screech in pain as the fire scorched much of the appendage, before rushing at Mike in a rage. He tried to avoid the creatures rush, but was knocked aside anyway. He felt lines of pain cross his chest, and he could only assume he'd been injured. As he rolled through the detritus spread about the room, he tried to channel some mana into healing his injuries.

With a thunderous screech, the creature launched itself into the air, chasing after him. Just before it was able to do so, Morris delivered a blow to its injured left foreleg, throwing its aim off. The vargul crashed into the ground next to the prone Mike, but nevertheless scrambled to get its claws into him. There was something almost instinctual in its single minded hate for him.

Somehow, Mike had managed to maintain his grip on his sword, and after bashing up against the cavern wall tried to drive it into the beast. Fear seemed to lend his arm strength as it stabbed deeply into the vargul's neck. It jerked back in response, tearing the sword from Mike's grasp before he had a chance to pull it out. The creature reached around with its mouth and removed the weapon, flinging it away, the injury already healing. Mike felt a splash of wetness across his face and the coppery tang of blood entered his mouth, as the creature reared up to deliver him a terrifying blow.

Summoning as much fire as he could manage, Mike unleashed a cone-shaped blast of flame directly onto the vargul's head and torso. The fire rolled over the creature, causing it to utter an unearthly howl of pain. He poured almost every remaining ounce of mana into the attack, and managed to maintain the intensity for a full three seconds before he had to stop.

Consciousness dimming, Mike struggled to stay awake as he beheld his handy work. The vargul had been utterly blackened from the head down to its chest. Scorched bone could be seen in several places and both eyes had shriveled in their sockets. The stench of burning meat filled the air as the creature collapsed to one side, twitched a few times, and then laid still.

Mike sagged in relief. It had been a close one, but he had managed to pull it off. He glanced around the battlefield and located Morris. The older man had evidently been clipped by the vargul as it leaped at Mike. He had a gash above his right eye and was staring around dazedly. Seeing that he would probably recover given time, Mike went to check on Tillie.

The girl had curled into a ball, too terrified to even make a move during the confrontation.

”Hey, it's alright now.” He tried to say in his most comforting voice. ”That thing can't hurt you anymore.”

She looked up at him while blinking away tears. ”It's safe?” She asked plaintively.

”Yeah, now let's get you out of-”