126 Manticore

Macha felt disappointed that Tyr planned to miss the Masquerade. His absence made her disinterested in the festivities, especially since she had such bad memories from last year. Instead of staying in Marseille, she persuaded a few of her friends to accompany her on a mission into the Outer-Reaches. Her group included Aierim, Aeson, Palila, and two people Aeson convinced to come along.

When he found out who Macha planned to bring along, he quickly decided that he did not want to enlist in a party which comprised of only women. For diversity's sake, he also wanted a ranger and strong melee fighter to come along. Therefore, Aeson asked Castel and Zian join the group with him. Although being surrounded by women sounded like a dream come true, he did it before and it was not what he expected. In his experience, females usually chatted about things he did not care for. This led him to feel isolated the whole time.

Castel was one of the refugees who relocated from Kochi. He worked as a dock laborer before but wanted to try his hand at adventuring. Aeson was his neighbor and the two of them hit it off. They often went on missions together and shared an interest in fishing.

The mission had been something Zian would have skipped, but Krystof personally asked him to join it. He was Krystof's cousin once removed, but they were not close because Zian's mother married a commoner. Despite not knowing Krystof well, he was willing to go because Aeson begged him to come along. He met Aeson from watching Macha's duels a few months back. They would often talk during the fights and became friends while cheering the small woman on.

The group hunted a dzoavits demon that slipped into their world. This creature had been sighted attacking the rainbird's eggs which lay along the forests of the Kochi border. Before they set out, Macha researched what a dzoavits demon was.

The books Luna provided, explained that these orange or red demons liked to eat raw eggs and children. They had rows of sharp teeth set in a wide jaw and tended to walk on two legs but would often run on all four to increase its speed. The creature fought using its claws or jaw to shred their prey apart.

Macha understood that although it was a low-level demon, at their current skill level, it could be challenging. Since the demon sounded dangerous, the party talked about whether or not they wanted to take on this mission. After a lengthy discussion, they agreed that they wanted to try it.

Zian killed other low-level demons before and felt that this mission was slightly below him. He did not mention his past experience to his teammates but understood why Krystof asked him to come. Since the Captain's woman was here, he realized that he was tagging along to ensure they were successful.

The snow finished melting and the flowers were now in bloom throughout the fields, indicating Spring's arrival. As they rested in a field, Aierim was left awestruck by how handsome Zian was and she admired his brown hair that had streaks of golden strands in it. Although he did not talk much, whenever he did, the sound of his voice caused her to feel warm inside. Just thinking of it made her blush. His calm demeanor also reminded her of her elder brother, who had died a year ago.

The way Aierim looked at Zian did not escape Macha. During lunch, she sat next to her friend and declared sweetly, "Your eyes are giving you away."

A light breeze blew a leaf into Aierim's lap. She did not tear her gaze away from Zian, "Mmm," she sighed. "Do you think I would annoy him if I tried to talk with him?" Just then he glanced at her and she quickly looked away.

Macha though the question was funny because she overheard the guys talking about Aierim. Zian mentioned that she was pretty in passing. Although he said that casually, she noticed the two exchanging longing glances at one another from time to time. "If that's what you want to do, then just talk with him."

A lock of white hair fell from Aierim's braid. She tucked it behind her ear. "You really are too bold. No wonder you get along with the Captain. I'm nervous just thinking about it." She wished she possessed even a shred of Macha's courage.

Macha stretched her legs out on the bright green grass. She did not consider herself daring. If anything, she became nervous when put on the spot. She consciously made great efforts to be brave. "I see it like this, we never know what twists and turns life brings. I prefer to live my life without regrets."

After a pause, she asked, "Would you regret not talking to him if something happened to him?" The fear of death always worried Macha whenever Tyr went out on a mission. Lifespans in this world were long, but mortality also seemed to constantly threaten the people.

The mention of the twists and turns that life brings made Aierim remember her brother. He had been three hundred years older than her but always spent time with her. The reason she joined the Obsidian Dragons was that he had been a member. During his visits home, he talked about how great the Captain was and how much he enjoyed going on missions with him.

Aierim nodded her head, "Yes. I would regret it," she replied. Macha's words convinced her that she should ask him if he wanted to keep watch with her tonight.

The group was packing up their belongings and getting ready to set out when a large manticore prowled out of the jungle. It had a long scorpion tail and its mane had porcupine-like quills. Instead of fur, the creature was covered with scales the color of golden sand that reflected the sunlight as it moved. Its red eyes swept over the party and landed on Macha. A deep roar sounded, displaying its three rows of teeth.

Macha stood frozen by the gaze of the blood-colored eyes which arrested her body. Time seemed to slow down for her. She realized everyone else drew their weapons, but her movements refused to keep up with her thoughts. The roar echoed in her mind and she could not shake the noise out of her head.

The manticore lept towards Macha, spreading its armored wings. Its large shadow engulfed her as the large body blocked out the sun above. She peered down its throat and desperately tried to move, but her feet would not budge.

Castel slammed against the monster, pushing it aside. He did not understand what came over Macha, but she did not move properly. The woman stood there with her eyes wide as if it hypnotized her. Without delay, he reached his hand back and slapped her. "Snap out of it!"

When Castel hit her, she went flying into the grass. The force stung her face, and she felt as if her body was pulled out of quicksand. The roar stopped echoing and her mind cleared. Now she was able to move freely. Macha drew her daggers and stood up. "Thanks," she called.

The manticore snarled as it looked at the party. The ground shook as it whacked its tail against the earth in annoyance. Zian shot an arrow at the creature, but the creature used an armored wing to whack away the arrow. It lowered its head and swung its mane around.

Long quills the size of spears shot out at them.

Aeson cried out as one of the long quills left a gaping hole through his forearm. It flew so fast that passed clean through him. He clutched his arm tightly and began staunching the wound. After being injured, he ran further from the fight, so he would not get in their way.

Castel dashed towards the manticore and drew his heavy war hammer into the air. Its head was made of a milky stone that had been engraved into a skull while the handle had silver embellishments adorning the ebony wood. This weapon cost him his life savings, but because the guild did not charge rent, he felt it was a sound investment.

Before the milky skull hit the creature, a large paw drove it into the ground.

The manticore raised its other claw to shred Castel into two, but Palila kicked it away. Being so close to the monster, she spotted bits of rotting flesh stuck between its teeth. The smell caused her stomach to churn. As she watched the manticore's front half, she did not see the scorpion tail sneaking behind its wing.

Aierim shouted out a warning and made a wall of stone rise up to protect Palila's back. This blocked the attack, but the spell left her drained, and she knew she expended too much energy. Frustrated with her stamina, she hurried to where Aeson stood. If anything else came, she could help him fight it off.

Now that the manticore's tail was out of position, Macha ran behind the monster and jumped onto its back. She raised her daggers, bringing them down between the scaly shoulder-blades. The scales were so tough that her blades barely went into the creature. Only the tips made a mark.

While Macha tried to stab the manticore, Zian drew his bowstring back. A red-hot arrow formed in his hand. He let go of the arrow and it flew through the air, lodging itself deep into the manticore's neck before disappearing. Sweat beaded his brow from the attack. He was still getting used to drawing magical arrows and found these attacks draining.

Castel tried to pull his hammer free, but the manticore held it down. The large hammer looked like a small mouse stuck under a lion's paw. Never in his life had he seen a land creature so massive.

The paw that Palila kicked away now curved back towards her. She ducked to the ground before the attack hit, but her hair got caught in its claw. A painful tug pulled her into the air and slammed her into Castel. They both tumbled across the field from the impact.

Macha saw that her friends were knocked prone and the manticore's sinewy body advanced towards them. She ran further up its spine and stabbed a dagger into the creature's eye. The eye was softer than the hard scales and she felt a slight resistance before her blade pierced through the eye's lens.

A loud roar erupted, and the manticore shook its head furiously to throw Macha off. Quills flew from its head and one went through Castel's leg, pinning him down to the ground. Palila tumbled out of the way but found herself far from the fight.

Macha tried to hold on but when she grabbed the quills, she realized they were not smooth, but had small sharp burrs along it. The pain caused her to let go, and she flew off of the manticore into the grass.

Zian created another magical arrow into the manticore's neck while it was distracted with Macha. While he was forming the projectile, he did not notice the large quill that sped towards him. His arrow hit its target, but at the same time, the stray quill pierced his shoulder and he spun backward from the force.

What seemed like easy prey, now fought back with more ferocity than expected. The manticore decided to retreat. It could no longer see in one of its eyes and had two wounds on its neck. It was angry that it miscalculated its prey. Pushing off the ground, the monster spread its wings and flew off.