Chapter 22 (The Poachers)

The first time I witnessed a man being gruesomely devoured by a beast, I threw up.

The scene was etched into my memory with horrifying clarity. It was one morning while I trained in the cave. The damp cave walls anchored me as I delved into my meditation. The rhythmic pulse of the earth was my only companion in the darkness, until a series of tremors from below broke that spell. The vibrations, faint but unmistakable, beckoned from the direction of the Pool. Intrigued, I rose and moved towards the source, my curiosity piqued.

The scene that met my eyes was nothing short of terrifying. A majestic female Luminara Drake, her iridescent scales shimmering even in captivity, was ensnared in a cruel steel net, pinned helplessly to the ground. Her piercing shrieks reverberated through the cavern, a symphony of agony and defiance. Below her, three poachers reveled in their triumph, their intentions clear as they eyed her vulnerable hatchlings with greedy anticipation. I could almost feel her pain and terror, not for herself, but for her younglings.

The group was made of a mage, an archer and a warrior. These were not ordinary bandits, I thought to myself. These are organized syndicates that operated in a black market. Their leader, a vagabond mage with no visible tattoos of his guild in both his body and on his clothing, could be one of those mages who failed the guilding process and by extension failed to be admitted into of the magic guild houses. Vagabond mages often resort to heinous crimes recruited by gangs outside the city. He was flanked by a hulking brute wielding a battle axe and a gaunt archer whose eyes were as dark and hollow as the cave itself. This was a well-coordinated group, their skills honed and deadly.

Luminara drakes, as ferocious as they come yet vulnerable creatures during nesting. The female will undergo a profound transformation when they're hatching a brood. Their strength wanes significantly as they tend to their offspring, for they refuse to eat until the eggs hatch and the hatchlings can fend for themselves. These drakes often live in pairs, the male ventures out, hunting tirelessly to provide sustenance for his brood, while the female remains at the nest, watching over the fragile eggs. She guides and protects them with unwavering dedication, even as her own strength diminishes.

The Luminara Drake's weak and helpless call for his partner tugged at my conscience. Though a part of me wished to ignore what I saw and just walk away, the drake's anguished cries and the thought of her helpless hatchlings spurred me into action. Descending toward the poachers, I hoped to resolve the situation without violence.

"Hey!" I called out, injecting as much confidence as I could muster. "What you're doing right here my friends is illegal. I'm with Menelaus training on this cave, you know him, leader of the Magi order. He should be here any minute. Seeing you guys looting the nest of a mystical beast sure could make him angry. You don't want the strongest mage in the kingdom angry, don't you? So, if I were you, I'll leave this instant."

The poachers' laughter echoed through the cave, a cruel, mocking sound. "Menelaus wouldn't waste his time on trash like you," the mage sneered.

Desperation crept into my voice as I tried another tactic. "I'm an Astron mage," I bluffed, hoping to intimidate them. But the mage quickly noted the absence of the Ascendant necklace, the hallmark of guilded mages. "Oh, about that…I uhm...left it, in a…a rock. But you missed the idea here my friends, I am trying to warn you that if you don't leave this cave this instant, bad things will happen to you." Their laughter turned to derision.

"Are you threatening us...friend??? You're asking for your death sentence, kid?" the axe-wielder growled, his voice a menacing rumble. "We'll be happy to oblige," chided the archer.

Before I could react, the archer's bowstring twanged, and an arrow whizzed past my head, narrowly missing. "The next shot will not miss, back off!" he warned, his voice icy.

"No!" Refusing to retreat, I steeled myself for the fight, hoping I could buy enough time before Menelaus arrives. The fire mage hurled a volley of fireballs at me, but I mold the earth, raising a shield from the ground to block the onslaught. "Not bad, kid," the mage taunted, his attacks relentless yet lacking in force. He could well be an Asteri on his level.

The archer and the axe-wielder joined the fray, arrows and heavy strikes bombarding me. An arrow grazed my right foot, pain shooting up my leg as blood seeped into my boot. Gritting my teeth, I retaliated with rock projectiles, striking the mage in the stomach and momentarily halting his assault.

Another arrow clipped my left arm, the sharp sting followed by a numbing ache. My vision blurred, but I fought through the pain. The leader, growing impatient, barked orders to his companions. "We can't let him live now," he declared, advancing with a sinister grin. "He's seen too much,"

I staggered back, firing rocks in a desperate attempt to keep them at bay. The axe-wielder swatted them aside effortlessly, closing the distance between us. Just as he loomed over me, ready to deliver a fatal blow, a thunderous roar filled the cave. A massive male Luminara Drake burst from a tunnel underground and charged in, fury blazing in its eyes. It attacked the archer and the mage with ferocious speed, catching them off guard.

"What have you done?" the axe wielder bellowed, his voice a mix of rage and fear.

"I've been sending vibrations through the ground," I replied, my voice trembling but defiant. "Hoping the male would sense intruders into its lair."

The poachers turned their attention to the enraged drake. Seizing the opportunity, I rushed to free the female Luminara Drake. The steel net was impossibly heavy. Concentrating, I remembered my training, drew on my connection to the earth, channeling my energy to lift the net. The large iron pins in each corner started shaking, my forehead creased, veins visible on my neck as I tried hard as I can to lift them. Finally, the steel net that pushed the female Luminara Drake on the ground was lifted. I fred the beast.

Her screech was ear-splitting, a sound of inconceivable wrath. The poachers, now facing two formidable beasts, hesitated. The female drake, driven by maternal fury, lunged at the archer, snatching him with its sharp talons, lifting him into the air and crushing him in her powerful beak. The man's screams echoed, a chilling symphony of agony. His desperate pleas for mercy were drowned by the ravenous roars of the creature that snatched him from the ground like a bug. I watched in paralyzed horror as the beast tore into him. Blood spilled from her beak as she swallowed him whole.

For a moment, time stood still. It was the first time I had witnessed such a brutal death. The remaining poachers, realizing their dire predicament, stood side by side, fear etched into their faces. The drakes advanced, a growing panic in their eyes. The axe-wielder hurled his weapon wildly, but the female drake caught it mid-air with her beak and flung it aside, the axe flew imbedding itself in the cave ceiling, out of his reach.

Just as the drakes prepared to strike and most probably devoured them like it did to the archer, a blinding light filled the cavern. Menelaus had arrived. He raised his staff, and a radiant flash erupted, enveloping us all. When the light faded, we were outside the cave away from the beasts whose screeching roar can still be heard faintly. Menelaus's stern gaze met mine, a silent promise that he would have words with me later. The two surviving poachers were bound and taken away by the mountain folks waiting outside, destined to face justice in the capital for their heinous crimes of poaching an endangered mystical beast.