Vengeance

Dani slowly let out a breath, sighing with relief as tension left him. The dragon was slain, its vast body sprawled next to its hoard. Golden scales glittered even now that the pulse of the dragon’s heartbeat had faded and died, the body marked by the blows from many a runic axe.

But victory had been at a price. Less than half of the group still lived – Fangrin had all but been split in two between the beast’s jaws, and Bakr had been too paralysed with fear to even raise his runic shield, flames reducing him to ashes in a moment.

He saw Ragni standing over the remains of his brother Bior, cut open by the swipe of a razor sharp talon. His face was cold and sharp; quite unlike the good-natured dwarf he had been when they set out.

Nari and Tukr, both strong and able dwarfs, had fallen in the very moment of victory, their very souls ripped from their bodies by the dragon’s scream as it expended its last breath.

Khorim started humming the song of battles, wiping the blood from his axe and armour, and soon Dani and even Ragni joined in, the humming turning into song. Hadrinn had, despite his injured leg, climbed onto the dragon’s hoard, gathering gold into his helmet.

Khorim suddenly stopped singing, and Dani’s eyes turned to the entrance of the lair.

A human girl stood there, paralysed – her eyes open wide and staring at the body of the great wyrm.

She was tall, even for one of her kind, with long red hair and eyes that shone like gold in the flickering torchlight. She was lightly muscled – making Dani wonder if she was an adventurer, or even a warrior. She was unarmed though, wearing plain durable clothes in light colours, and she looked far too young to be a mage. Dani knew that humans had been known to send their own kin as offerings to beasts, a thought that made his skin crawl.

He smiled, in a way he hoped was calming.

“Don’t worry, lass. There’s no danger here anymore.”

Khorim grinned, as reassuring as a rabid troll.

“Aye, the beast is dead!”

She showed no sign of calming down, so Dani walked closer to her. He froze as the girl’s eyes locked on him as if noticing him for the first time, her gaze taking in the bloodied axe, heavy runic armour and tired face.

The girl’s features grew cold, her eyes narrowed and started to glow – the glow pulsing golden just like the scales of the dragon. She uttered a single word in High Draconic, which melted and flowed into Dwarfish as it entered their minds.

“Life endeth.”

Dani felt like he had been dropped into the Abyss, thoughts and fears flying past. Hadn’t they killed the dragon? Had it possessed the girl, or..?

Hadrinn’s scream ripped him back to the reality of the cavern. The gold around him had started to melt, and knee deep in gold with an injured leg there was no escape. Smoke surrounded his body as his beard and the clothes he wore under his armour burst into flames, and he sank slowly into the liquid metal. The three dwarfs turned as one to the girl, seeing only the dragon in her face.

Ragni watched Hadrinn disappear, and his knuckles turned white around the handle of his weapon. He turned to the girl and ran screaming at her, axe raised. She turned her face towards him, and her eyes blazed like a golden inferno. The stout dwarf was thrown high into the air, his broken body painting a streak of dark red down the far cave wall even before his axe clattered against the cave floor.

Dani’s mind was drawn once more to the old lore – the girl might be possessed, but her actions and eyes reflected only cold fury. He remembered a tome speaking of a dragon god of the humans of ancient times, but it was no more! It couldn’t be...

Once more, reality tore away his thoughts. Khorim was upon the girl, swinging his heavy rune axe in a deadly arc that tore a deep gash in her side as she stepped inside the weapon’s reach. Her hand lashed out, locking the warrior’s throat in a firm grip and lifting him easily off the ground. Dani saw the air shift around her hand even before he sensed the heat. Khorim had frozen completely after a brief struggle, and Dani, unable to bring himself to move, could only watch as the girl’s hand closed into a fist, turning Khorim’s neck into a cloud of red mist as his lifeless body fell to the ground.

The girl looked down at the corpse for a moment, her wound closing on its own accord. Her head snapped up, catching Dani in her gaze. The dwarf turned to the entrance and ran. He was surely no coward, but news of this must be brought to the clan – getting himself killed now wouldn’t help getting revenge. As he ran through the dark tunnel, an unfamiliar voice echoed through his mind.

“Dani, son of Sigur. Where is your courage?”

He saw light at the end of the tunnel, and hurried his step even more.

He emerged, somehow, back in the cave.

The girl turned to face him, a huge sword held in her left hand. Without a word, she hefted the two-handed blade into a ready stance, her eyes like hell-fire.

Dani raised his axe just in time to block the first slash, staggering backwards from an impact much greater than anticipated. She handled the sword with great ease, striking as quickly as if it was a small knife. Slowly, blow by blow, Dani was driven back through the tunnels. As they reached the light of the setting sun the girl paused, looking at him with hateful eyes in an emotionless face. She spoke, once more, in the ancient tongue of dragons.

“Dani, son of Sigur. For each blow you struck, you will suffer.”

She flashed into motion again, and before Dani could react, his body was thrown off balance by the impact of the heavy blade. A deep gash in his side was bleeding heavily, though a mere nick considering the weapon that caused it.

Dani backed away, towards the dwarf tunnel. It wasn’t far now, but he feared he wouldn’t make it.

She advanced, the next blows slashing shallow cuts in Dani’s arm, chest and forehead. Blood flowed into his eyes as his attempts to defend himself were almost casually brushed aside. The dwarf raised his axe, his attempt to strike met with the sword cleaving through the axe handle, and then slicing cleanly through his wrist, severing his hand. As he staggered back, the blade darted forward again, slashing his leg. He fell, and looked up to see the entrance to the tunnel.

Drawing on his last strength, he got to his feet and ran into the tunnel, ignoring as best he could the pain in his leg. He was bleeding heavily, and he knew he was probably dying even if he could escape. He stumbled, looking behind him as he scrambled to his feet. She was standing at the entrance to the tunnel, her eyes blazing – maybe something stopped her from entering, he thought, feeling a glimmer of hope. He was sweating, everything feeling so warm around him... had she poisoned him, or was it just the bleeding? Not far now... what is that heat? There was light behind him, and turning his head to look his heart almost stopped. The walls and ceiling of the tunnel were glowing red hot, dripping lava in places, and spreading quickly towards him. He ran as fast as he could, not far now... he could make it. The runes on his armour fought back the heat, allowing him to continue running for just a bit more...

As the lava flooded the tunnel, Kania turned away, picking up the damaged axe on her way back to the cave... her senses were slowly returning to normal, and she regained control. They wouldn’t find anything, she thought, grief starting to fill her as she walked through the tunnels. Back in the cave, she threw the dwarfs’ weapons onto the hoard, discarding the corpses in the tunnel outside.

She took a deep breath, starting to weave the complex spell. Words spilled from her lips in High Draconic, a circle of light forming along the perimeter of the cave. For hours she chanted, until finally the spell was completed – bringing the entire cave and everything in it to another place, a safe place. Exhausted, she fell to her knees, curling up on the hoard to sleep for a long time, to dream and regain her strength. To maybe fill the void in her soul.