Elysia, the former Bandit Queen, blinks her eyes as her iris' take a few moments to focus. The next thing is that she arches her brow as she regards the young fey before her. "Are you so ready to throw your life away?" she asks next, her voice a mere whisper that only Hannah can hear clearly, "I remember you from the forests, child. You once swore vengeance on me, if I remember correctly. And now you claim to have no quarrel with me? A brief chuckle follows before she adds, "Hawks, always willing to trade their lives for another. But no matter I have only one question for you: will you trust me?" And as Elysia waits for Hannah's reply, the turns the knife over in her hand, feeling its edge and balance.
Meanwhile, Valanice is watching the two talk with wry and perhaps sadistic pleasure. Her crystalline head rolls back around, icy gaze looking from Peaches and Rosy, to Eis, to even the pillar that Sam is currently hiding behind. "Now, aren't we all having fun? Why, I haven't had so many great playthings all at once in what seems like an age. Come now, Minstrel, why don't you step out and present yourself to me? I promise everything will be painless. And just think once you are part of my collection, you no longer have to fear aging."
Sam retorts while staying steadfastly behind his pillar, "Great, I'll be fixed forever in a curmudgeonly old age, rheumatism an' all! Let me just nip out to the Fountain of Youth before I take you up on that offer, eh?"
"Come and play something, Sam," Rosy hisses to the minstrel. "You're a bard, so.. charm her or something!"
The old fae laments, "My charming days went away with my fair, unblemished skin! Now the bar maids just think I'm a harmless old man."
The dragon literally roars with laughter. "Such a sense of humor. Really ... do you think that pillar can protect you?" Valanice asks as she actually starts towards said pillar. "If you make this difficult, I won't be so nice..."
Unbelievably, one corner of Hannah's mouth quirks upward in a small smile as she shakes her head. "That need for vengeance is long past, as you ought to know," she says softly. "It disappeared in the light of the blessed Grail. Therefore, I have no reason not to trust you."
"Good, then you had better be ready for a fight. Draw your sword and face me. I need some time," Elysia says as her lips draw back into a devious smile. "Lets put on a show for our captor, shall we?" she adds as she takes a step back and raises the dagger Hannah had given her. "Besides, I'm curious to see just how skilled the new generation is..."
The minstrel gulps as he hears the ice dragon coming closer. He peers around the pillar toward Hannah and her new friend. Hope they have a plan 'cause I don't think a firebomb or two is going to cut it here...
Eis utters a low growl and moves to intercept the dragon. As large as he is, the dragon still dwarfs him.
"Move, cat. I don't have need of a new rug yet and I do not wish to damage my pets' new playthings. Take a lesson from the sad Knightsteed and her dog and just stay out of the way," Valanice warns.
"Well then, this will be a short fight," Hannah jokes as she pushes aside her heavy cloak and draws her rapier. "The legend against the nobody. Ah well, on your guard!"
Peaches neighs at being called sad, while Rosy.. is sneaking around towards the pile of treasure while the dragon is distracted.
"A legend is just a nobody who grew old," Elysia quips as she hops back, making a point of causing a lot of noise in the process. This, thankfully, causes Valanice to turn her head away from the Pillar. The dragon then practically purrs as she sits back on her haunches. "Oh, good, this should prove entertaining. I do hope it lasts a few minutes and the screams are delicious."
Sam peeps out as interestedly - he's going to have to write this up someday! Or perhaps he's eying Hannah and Elysia in search of an actual plan for escaping.
For the moment, Valanice seems to be paying no attention to the sneaking doglin.
Once she gets to the edge of the pile, Rosy tries to burrow her way into it as quietly as she can.
After a swift salute with her blade, Hannah takes the initiative and the first thrust, aiming for her opponent's shoulder.
Shoop! In goes Rosy. She doesn't so much as make even a rustle of coin.
Peaches is focused on Hannah, and gives the Bandit Queen an uncertain glare.
Either Hannah is having problems focusing, or Elysia is simply that good. She has already moved by the time Hannah's blade even comes close. "Surely you can do better than that," she says ... and in a lower voice, adds, "You have to make it look real. Otherwise she'll notice my preparations..." And that's when the former Bandit Queen darts in, moving close to the inside of Hannah's extended arm to prevent her from being able to follow up with any sort of slash...
And the next thing Hannah knows ... the world seems to be going upside down as Elysia catches her as she rolls by, sending the young fey backwards and onto butt. Elysia, for her part, ends this maneuver with a graceful roll and comes back up in a crouch. Her legs shift as she rotates, then flips the dagger so that she's holding it reverse-style. "If you're the best the Hawks now offer, they have fallen far indeed. I remember Randall; now he could wield a sword," she says loudly.
"Hannah, be careful. The legends speak of how much she liked to ... play her opponents," Eis roars and takes a few steps forward, only to be blocked by the large tail of Valanice. "Now now," the dragon rumbles, "Don't interrupt the show."
"Never knew the guy. Before my time," Hannah grunts, swinging one hand backwards as if to push herself to her feet again. Instead, she grabs a handful of the dragon's treasure from the edge of the pile and flings it into the older woman's face!
With all attention diverted from her for the moment, Peaches works her glamour to give the impression that Rosy is actually huddled atop her saddle.
Minstrel Sam, inspired by the fight or perhaps just wanting to make sure Valanice's attention is away from Rosy, swings his lute around and bursts into song.
o/ Two swords hang from her hip
Each one has a thrusting tip
Gold chain hangs from her neck
When she fights, it's lives she wrecks
Her face as pale as snow
She's the Bandit Queen, don't you know
She's the woman that robbed Fort Knick
Queen of the Bandits! o/
Hannah's attack elicits a laugh from Elysia and the coins and gems are easily deflected away. It does give Hannah enough time to regain her footing, at least. "Dust and sand works better for that trick," the former Bandit Queen comments as she now rises too.
"Come, come, draw some blood," Valanice rumbles as she licks over her lips.
Hannah merely smiles as she raises her sword again. "True - if blinding you had been my intention. It wasn't." Then she bravely closes in again and aims for Elysia's chest.
The old faerie continues his playing as he repositions, moving over to Eis where he can whisper to the large cat.
o/ Her foe's a King's Explorer,
Young in years but a born roamer,
Don't think her sword is slow
'Tis just setup for her true blow o/
Maybe she's feeling a bit more on her toes now, for Hannah darts in before Elysia can get completely out of the way. Hannah's rapier strikes in, catching her shirt and sliding into it as the former Bandit Queen sidesteps. Hannah doesn't feel the blade actually cut flesh and in the next moment, she's eye to eye with Elysia. "Better," the older woman says. "And a bit longer..." she adds in whisper.
Hannah suddenly feels Elysia's knee pressing hard into Hannah's knee, causing it to start to buckle. Either Hannah will have to step back or she'll be on her backside again...
Hannah huhs and does backstep slightly, but not before bringing the elbow of her sword arm up hard, towards Elysia'a chin.
Hannah's elbow connects, causing Elysia's jaw to whip backwards. The older woman actually stumbles backwards and drops down to one knee. She shakes her head, then rolls her jaw. "Not bad," she remarks as she flips the dagger that Hannah gave her earlier in her hand a few times. "But ... I think there is one more lesson you need to yet learn..."
Sam whispers to Eis as he drums the lute harder, building the music up to emphasize the intensity of the fight, "Tell me they have a plan?"
"They must ... a killing blow could have been landed by now," the cat rumbles as he watches the exchange.
Rosy is still unnoticed as she decides to gopher through the pile of treasure towards the fighting women.
Hannah quickly backs up another two steps and brings her rapier to a guarding position again. "And that would be?"
"How to duck," Elysia says rather pointedly. She even hesitates to give Hannah time, then draws back and throws the dagger right at her head!
"Psssst" hisses the pile of treasure near the two women, and something pokes out slightly - the tip of a bow, from the looks of it.
And ducking is exactly what Hannah does, going down to one knee herself, and swiftly!
The minstrel grumps about people who keep plans to themselves, then resumes singing:
o/ They played before an ice dragon,
Who thought 'twas all in fun,
Hannah thought to cut to the quick,
The Bandit Queen had other plans -- o/
The dagger goes zipping over Hannah's head ... heading straight for Valanice. The dragon is amused by this and actually laughs. After all, no small dagger could possibly hurt her. Except a few inches from the dragon' the dagger suddenly glows white hot and explodes on impact with the dragon's chest. A chunk of ice explodes into mist as Valanice falls backward, shrieking in anger! Fragments of the now obliterated dagger spray outward in a line and where they hit the floor, a wall of flame explodes upward, putting a barrier between the small group and their sadistic captor.
"People forget that I was also known as the witch queen for a time. I still remember a few tricks," Elysia says as she stands up. "Everyone, gather!" she then yells, "We have less than a minute before the shield fails and Valanice is up. And now she's going to be mad."
Minstrel Sam doesn't have to be told twice, jogging over to them quickly.
Peaches is on the minstrel's heels, and Rosy pokes her head up out of the treasure. "What happened? I found a magic bow.." she says.
"Appears the Queen of Bandits managed to work a spell into her dagger while they were fightin'," Sam says dryly as he comes up. "It'll buy us a few seconds... To run?" He looks hopeful.
Hannah gets to her feet again and asks Rosy, as she sprints over to the others, "Do you even know what its arrows will do?" Then she says, "We have to try to free these others trapped in the ice! I think those shed scales of Valanice's may do the trick but I don't want to become frozen myself!"
"Right, now listen. We have no chance of killing Valanice. I made the mistake of trying the first time," Elyisa says quickly as she eyes the already fading firewall. "That dragon is ... she has protected herself by placing her heart, her essence away from her physical form. We can damage that form, but she'll just repair it in seconds. We also can't run ... outside of this fortress she would hunt us down on the mountain top, or have her pets do so. So ... we now have to work together. I can keep her distracted for a time ... with some help. A few of you will have to travel deeper into this fortress, locate her heart, and destroy it. Do you understand?"
"Umm.. arrows?" Rosy asks, handing over the bow.
Eis eyes Elysia, ears flicking and laying flat against his head. "I cannot move easily through smaller passages," he rumbles, "I will remain and help."
The old fae gulps. "I don't think I can do much more than provide musical accompaniment to your fight, milady," he says. "Just point us which way to go."
"I'm good at finding things!" Rosy notes, wagging her tail.
Elysia tears her eyes away to examine Rosy's prize. She nods approvingly, saying, "That may come in handy. Its enchanted to produce its own arrows. A bolt of light, for a quick explanation. Works well against creatures who follow the dark paths. They have limited uses, of course, but ... it still may prove effective."
"Pet me!" Rosy barks, running up to Elysia. Who knows, maybe the Bandit Queen remembers her from the keep.
Hannah nods her understanding, taking the bow from Rosy without even thinking about it. "Then we shall leave Eis with you. Perhaps also the Princess, for if small passages are involved, she could not travel them, either. Sam and Rosy will come with me. If you can manage to free Eis' great-grandfather in the meantime, he could aid you, as well. Try pushing one of those stray scales up to his pillar with another object and see if that will work. If you can in the midst of all this!"
Peaches whickers at the suggestion she abandon Hannah by staying behind, but also looks a bit resigned to it.
Minstrel Sam hustles off for the passageways, but unable to resist finishing his song, his voice fades into the distance.
/o "I've got the skill, got the speed,
got more power than you see.
There's just one thing you should know,
I've got magic to back my blows!"
And so she stood against the dragon,
Bought the rest time to run,
She's the woman that robbed Fort Knick,
Queen of the Bandits! o/
Elysia nods just before she gives Rosy a single pat on the head. "Then get going. Valanice will be past the shield at any moment ... and this time she will be mad," the woman says grimly. And of course no sooner as she said that than the dragon roars and the fiery wall explodes in a spray of cold mist. A nore very mad dragon comes sauntering through the cloud, her lips drawn back and face contorted with rage.
"How ... DARE ... YOU!" Valanice roars, causing the room around them to shake violently. "I will suck the marrow from your bones while you live! I will while away hours and Years while you scream from the pain of the torments I will bring upon you!"
"Right-let's-get-going! Don't-worry-Peaches-I'll-watch-Hannah!" Rosy yelps and runs into the passage that Sam vanished into.
"God's own luck be with you!" Hannah says to those staying behind, meaning every word as she takes in one last glance of a very angry dragon. Then she sprints after the others, gripping the magic bow and sheathing her rapier all at the same time.
"She must have had dwarves carry her heart to wherever it's hidden," Rosy chatters back to Hannah. "So there are probably traps and stuff. And we should look for short skeletons to know when we're close!"
As Hannah leaves the room through one of the small side exits after Rosy and Sam, she can spot Elysia thump Eis on the shoulder. What she then says to him ... well, she may never know. Elysia as now gone from sight as they head down the twisting passage. She can hear a roar behind her, then the building around her shakes violently. Even with all the legends about the bandit queen, Hannah knows that Elysia and Eis won't last too long against Valanice. Time is ticking and lives are at stake.
Hannah follows the passage as quickly as she can while looking for anything that may warn of danger ahead. Also, she says to Rosy, "I'm only a fair-to-middling shot with a bow, actually. How about you?"
"You don't hunt rats with a bow!" the doglin replies. The bow itself is too big for Rosy to handle anyway.
Its not just possible dwarves they may have to worry about. The Wyverns also probably patrol these halls, given the claw marks in the floor. Sam is taking up the rear and keeping watch for anyone sneaking up on them.
The twisting passage abruptly ends at an open doorway. Ahead is a curving stairwell that goes both up and down. Time to choose ... which way would the heart likely be?
Hannah eyes the bow dubiously but says, "Well then, I guess this is where I learn to improve my skill." Upon noticing the claw-marks, she adds, "Keep your sniffer primed for wyverns, all right? We may have their company at any moment."
Sam adds, "I can handle a bow - it's not unlike plucking a lute, right? Just don't ask me to do the 'pick an apple off someone's head at fifty paces' thing."
"I'm sure the targets will be much bigger and lunging straight at us," Rosy says, and adds, "I vote for.. up! We came up through the lower levels after all."
Hannah gives the minstrel a grin. "Then if I fail miserably with this thing, guess who gets to try it next?" After examining the stairway for a minute, she says, "I vote for up, too. I think that's the direction a flying creature would most likely stash something it may need to get to quickly."
There's another roar in the distance, followed by a thunderous boom. Sounds like quite a battle back the way they came.
Sam nods nervously. "Except dragons who like burying their treasures, but never mind that. Lead on! Follow your heart! Trust your instincts." He rambles with more Tom-inspired aphorisms.
Rosy heads up the stairs, leading with her nose. At the sound of the battle, she notes, "Don't worry! Dragons can be slain, after all! It's happened before.."
Hannah mutters, "Yeah, in stories they can. Please, let them be protected..." Then she starts climbing the stairs, as well.
Up the stairs they go and the sounds of battle fade behind them, though they never quite go away completely. This is a good thing, as it lets them hear that something ... or somethings is now pursuing them up the stairs. It sounds like claws on stone. To make things more worrisome, ahead the group spots a series of small skeletons laid sprawled out on the stairs further ahead. Dwarves from the look of it ... but what killed them?
"Aha!" Rosy barks at the sight of the corpses. Her tail wags, and she pauses to sniff at them briefly.
Hannah goes back down a few steps now and edges past Sam to stand at the rear. "Rosy, it's time for you to look for traps while I see what this bow can do!"
There's not much left of the corpses to smell. There is a hint of ... almonds? though.
In the distance below, Hannah can just make out several reprilian creatures scrambling up the stairs after them. They look dragonish ... except smaller and somehow less civilized. If such a term could be applied to a dragon, anyway.
"Wait!" Rosy barks. "I think these guys were poisoned!"
Elysia said this bow made its own arrows...so let's test that theory, shall we? Hannah holds the bow in position and starts to pull back on the string...
The doglin goes about looking for darts among the remains, or holes in the walls where something could be fired from.
As the bow string draws back, a shimmering beam of light appears between the bowstring and the arrow guide on the body. While the 'arrow' looks insubstantial, there is some weight to it.
Hannah gasps at this and her grip wavers for an instant, but the sight of the approaching wyverns firms her resolve - and her grip - once more. She takes aim as best she can and releases the arrow of light.
Sure enough, there are little black darts laying near the bones. Had there still been flesh, it would likely be embedded in it. Not only that, Rosy notices some tiny holes in the walls of the stairwell...
"Cyanide trap!" Rosy announces, as she starts looking for pressure plates in the stairs. "Don't know how long the stuff lasts though.." she notes, and then starts collecting finger bones to plug the holes with in case she can't find the triggers.
The arrow practically explodes away from the bow in a screaming streak of light. The wyverns in pursuit don't even have a chance to react. The arrow strikes the one in the front square in its chest. The flesh sizzles and tears as the bolt of light rips through, sending the wyvern over the edge of the stairwell. The bolt doesn't stop there; it continues on and strikes the other one behind the first. This time the bolt explodes if a flash, blowing the other wyvern backwards and sending it tumbling.
Not only does Rosy discover that the stairs themselves are the pressure plates ... she also finds the fingers block the holes nicely. As for a way to disable the trap, nothing is readily obvious.
"Rats, the stairs are the triggers," Rosy notes, and starts jamming finger bones into the nearest holes. "Maybe we can put something on the stairs to trigger it until it runs out of darts though!" she suggests.
After the shot is fired, Hannah can't help but to stare after the arrow in amazement. "Now that's handy!" she says at last, in an awed tone. "If my aim holds up, of course..." Seeing no more wyverns advancing for the moment, she climbs up the stairs once more but stops several steps below Rosy. "Well, if other wyverns appear, I could try leading one up here to take the darts for us?"
"How would you let it get past us?" Rosy asks, and lobs a Dwarf skull up ahead to see if it's heavy enough.
Oof. The skull is rather heavy.
It only makes it up a few stairs, too. There's a low thunk in the wall and one of the fingers Rosy stuffed in the hole pushes out slightly as something impacts it within the wall.
Hannah shrugs and says, "I didn't think the dwarf skeletons would be heavy enough to trigger the trap again. I mean, they're lying on the stairs now and nothing's happening. But judging from the effort you just exerted, maybe I'm wrong. Want to try tossing up a skeleton together?"
"Aha!" Rosy barks! "Start chucking skeletons, yeah! At least until we run out or the darts stop."
Hannah nods and takes hold of the legs of one of the closest skeletons. She waits to lift it until Rosy grabs hold of its other end.
The next few minutes plays out like some demented musical, what with the sounds of bones plinking across the stairs and the resultant thumps, twinks, and pffts from the wall. By the time they're out of skeletal parts, they might have exahusted the dart supply ... but it's rather hard to tell.
Hannah looks at Rosy, panting from their efforts. "Guess I'll try to go up a bit more? I don't see anything else we can do, unless we turn around."
Grabbing some finger bones, Rosy nods. "Jam these in the holes as we go," she suggests.
The group make their way slowly up the stairs, stuffing finger bones into deadly holes. The only good thing is, they can still hear fighting ... so Elysia and Eis are probably still alive. Good ... so tha now leaves the next obstacle, before them is a door. Beyond it may be their goal or may not. And for some reason, both Sam and Hannah are feeling very uncomfortable right now. Somehow in this cold building, they're feeling hot.
Hannah approaches the door, pushing her cloak back as she goes to cool off a little. Then she puts her hands near it but doesn't touch it, wondering if the heat is coming from the space beyond that door.
It's not quite like the head from a fire, but its definitely coming from the room ahead.
"What's the matter?" Rosy asks as the fey girl pauses.
"Don't you feel the heat coming from behind this door?" the girl asks in surprise.
Rosy puts her hand to the door.
"Nope, feels cold to me," the doglin says. "Ohhhhh... I get it! Dwarves used iron, right? You guys are fey, but I'm only half goblin, so it wouldn't affect me, right?"
Hannah stops to mop her brow with her sleeve. "Ah, right. That could be what's beyond. Well then, I guess you get to lead again. I'm not sure how far Sam or I are going to get into this next room."
The doglin tries the door to see if it's locked or trapped.
The door swings open easily enough; it appears neither locked nor trapped. The room beyond ... is the top of a tower spire. Thirty feet across and brightly lit by sunlight that pours through iron-bound windows. In the center floating is a large glowing crystal. If they had to guess, at least three feet wide. The air around it shimmers oddly. At equal spacings around the room itself are pillars of stone that hold the roof. Each of these pillars is banded in iron and on each of those pillars rests a great war-hammer of the dwarves. A stout wooden handle with iron studs in it and a dark iron head. They look to easily weigh twenty points on their own. The sheer amount of iron in this room makes for a very uncomfortable feeling for those of pure fey blood.
"Think those hammers could break the crystal?" Rosy asks Hannah. "Maybe the bow.."
Hannah edges inside the room, feeling the feverish sensation increase but not to an intolerable level...yet. "I could try the bow first," she says, pushing her cloak back even more. "If that doesn't work, you're on your own with the warhammers, I'm afraid."
Once more Hannah draws the bow back and an arrow flares into life. She takes careful aim at the crystal and lets loose! The arrow strikes the crystal dead center. It flares brightly then dozens of duplicate arrows launch outward from the crystal! They go bouncing and zipping all over the room, causing Hannah and Rosy to both hit the floor or be shredded! All around them the glass windows shatter, stone chips and sprays debris. This lasts for easily several minutes before the remaining bolts spray out the now destroyed windows. Its a good thing Sam remained outside the door, really.
"So.. think that did it?" Rosy asks. She's still got her hands over her head and hasn't looked up yet.
Very, very slowly, Hannah lifts her hands away from her head and raises it. Then she looks at the crystal.
The crystal remains floating in the center of the room. Somehow, even a dragon's heart manages to be mocking.
The fey girl sighs. "Not even a scratch, I think. I hope you can lift a warhammer!"
"Mmmm," Rosy goes, eyeing the heavy hammers. "I can try!" she says, getting up and going over to one. "Oh.. hey.. do you suppose Valanice noticed the blast?"
"If either she or more of her minions suddenly appear, we'll know for sure," Hannah replies grimly.
The screams of wyverns from somewhere outside seems to imply that if she didn't ... her pets sure did! There's the sound of approaching wings. Rosy can manage the hammer off the wall, but she quickly finds she won't be able to swing it effectively. She will need help.
"Uh, it's harder swing than a passed out goblin," Rosy complains. "Someone bigger has to help! I wish the horse was here now."
Hannah takes a deep breath. "I can try to help if my hands only touch wood. But there's no guarantee I'll even get that far. Let me see what I can do before the hordes show up." Bracing herself, she tries to put a hand on the hammer's wooden handle, carefully avoiding the studs.
Its virtually impossible to avoid the studs, alas, though Hannah's gloves are preventing direct contact to the studs. It burns. Oh Gods does it burn. She can feel the blisters forming on her palms already and getting worse. She has only a few seconds she thinks she can bear to hold onto this hammer along with Rosy's help. She can hear the approach of wings ... in fact, she can feel the wing from their wings flowing through the shattered windows. Its now or never for Hannah, will she hang on and make a swing at the heart ... or will she let go. Its also in this instant Hannah realizes something ... the fight below has gone quiet.
Hannah's own heart cries out for the ones who may have been lost below. Then she shouts, "Rosy, swing now!" She hoists and swings the hammer with all her strength, blinking back tears of pain from the burns.
All around the room Wyverns land on the shattered frames of the windows. They growl, then roar loudly as Hannah and Rosy charge the central crystal. Rosy stumbles and staggers, her shorter legs having a hard time keeping up with Hannah's. The pain for Hannah is nearly unbearable as they pair manage to swing the hammer hard towards the heart. Its then that Hannah's hands release in spite of her will to hang on. Rosy too can't seem to hold her grip and the hammer flies free from their hands. It arcs through the air and strikes the crystal square with a resounding crack. Both the fey and the doglin go sprawling on the floor as the hammer falls away from the heartstone. It hits the floor with a dull thud ... and all the crystal has is one large crack in its center.
All around them the wyverns now approach, their jaws snapping and snarling with their sharp teeth. Some practically drool in anticipation of devouring such warm and fresh prey.
"Shoot it again!" Rosy tells Hannah. "Remember what it did last time?"
"I'll...t-try," Hannah stammers, reaching for the fallen bow with searing hands covered in blisters. She feels some of them break open and sart to weep pus and blood as she rises to her knees and attempts to draw the bowstring back...
Drawing the bow hurts, nearly as much as holding onto that hammer did. Her arms shake under the strain; being so close to so much iron and her hands hurting so much ... that she cannot hold the bow steady. A bolt fires from the bow in a bright flash ... and then the bowstring snaps. It looks like that was the last of the power within the bow. It strikes the crystal. This time the crystal shudders violently. That one long crach is somehow holding the energy arrow and its pounding around inside the dragon's heart. It starts slow at first, an odd sound like cracking ice ... but it grows quickly. The large crack in the heartstone is spreading; branches spidering away as the energy arrow fights for freedom. Hannah collapses on the floor and Rosy ontop of her to try and protect her from the approaching Wyverns. Each can feel the hot breath wash over them and the sounds of their tongues licking over their teeth. It looks like the end has come...
Only the end if for the wyverns. The heart at the center explodes in a spray of shards and streaming energy. The wild bots spray and bounce around the room, pounding into the wyverns, shredding them in a spray of blood, bile, and chunks of scaley flesh. Hannah barely clings to consciousness and yet she hears it. A shriek of pain and surprise. A wail of disbelief. A wail of death. Valanice's death cry.
"I'm sorry I lusted after Tristan's hair, Hannah!" Rosy confides in what may be their last moments. "And I chewed on your boots a little while you were bathing that time.."
Despite the pain and the heat and the noises booming around them, Hannah's lips twist into her usual, crooked smile. "S'allright Rosy," she murmurs. "I can forgive...such small things. Thank you for-" Whatever else she meant to say is lost as the girl closes her eyes and her head rolls to one side.