Not Mairwen

Renat peered through the wood to try and spy the body buried in the debris.

An eye suddenly opened and looked at him. It was large, slitted and yellow.

"That's not Mairwen!" He yelled as he jumped back.

The branches suddenly shivered below Renat's feet.

"Whoa!" The scientist shifted his weight quickly to try and save himself from falling.

"Back up!" Alaron called unnecessarily. The elves were already pullling their swords.

Despite the lanky man's best effort, the ground became as unstable as if he were standing on water. The world around him spun as Renat's hands flew into the air.

Or rather…they hung toward the ground. Having been woken by the people's digging, a behemoth that the Sprites did not feel comfortable unleashing on the Harpies now rose from the wood pile. Any bindings that had kept it in place snapped under the sudden movement.

Coming free, its clawed foot closed around Renat's ankle before the monster rose to its full height. Dangling in the air, the scientist met the eyes of the behemoth. The golden orbs were roughly the size of the man's head.

Renat shivered. 'He looks very angry.'

And why wouldn't he be? The world had come crashing down on the monster's head and the first thing he had seen upon awakening was Renat's pale face.

The creature had—not unjustly—blamed the scientist for the huge pile of wood that had fallen upon its head.

The black scales on the body rippled with anger as the tentacle-like whiskers on his face twitched. A deafening roar pierced the air.

As his ears felt like the might bleed, Renat got a healthy look at hundreds of triangular teeth. Soon enough, the rest of him would be bleeding in earnest.

If the beast didn't swallow him whole.

The bohemoth snarled, but it was suddenly cut short. The creature swiped with his free hand at the she-elf who had stabbed him.

A thin stream of blood ran from between two scales on its back. Lilith's sword had been sharp, but the bohemeoth's hide was tougher. It would take hundreds of those strikes to make a real difference.

Renat swung wildly through the air. "Leave without me. Save yourselves," he screamed.

Nath and Alaron gave a determined nod. There was no way they were leaving the other male behind. Both of them surged forward and slashed at the monster's tough hide as many times as they could before being repelled by a swing from the creature's left paw.

The force of the strike knocked the wind out of both of them, which was an entirely new sensation for Nath. He laid there for a second, stunned.

The monster rolled his shoulder, whipping his arm around to crush the he-elf into the ground. Nath came to his senses at the last possible moment.

The bone crunching crash sent splinters in every direction. The onyx monster turned his head to protect his eyes, giving the Guardian enough time to get the elf to his feet.

At the same time, Lilith made another attempt at the beast. Her blade flashed in the sunlight as she made an impossible leap onto a vertebrae protruding from the creature's scaly spine.

The sword pressed into the behemoth's tough hide. More blood flowed. Arching his back, the monster threw the she-elf into the bramble of the collapsed wall.

Her sword bounced from her hand while her armor caught in the briar-branches. For a moment, all three attackers were unable to fight.

The monster lifted the helpless Renat high onto the air, opened his mouth and prepared to feast.

Despite the circumstance, the scientist did wonder when the last time the creature had eaten. 'Must be quite some time for him to settle for a bony thing like me…'

Renat closed his eyes. He had no desire to see the rows of teeth as they closed on his body.

The monster cried out in…pain?

The scientist opened his eyes. An arrow protruded from between the tentacles on the monster's left cheek.

Another arrow quickly met the first, nearly splitting it in two. Renat recognized the fletching of the bolt. He craned his neck to see his wife nocking a third shaft to let fly.

Running past the princess, Eira drew her sword to face the beast. Beside her, an elf that Renat did not recognize held up his fists, ready to take on the monster with his own bare hands.

The behemoth was surrounded. Realizing it was even more outnumbered, the creature snarled. The easy meal was becoming anything but…

The third arrow dug even deeper than the first two in the soft spot in the tentacled whiskers. The bohemoth plucked the shafts from his cheek and threw them at the beautiful archer.

Mairwen didn't flinch. She drew her fourth arrow and leveled her gaze at the monster. Their eyes locked.

Lilith began to speak in the ancient tongue. While the monster was not capable of conversing, the soft tone of the elf caused the creature to relax its muscles.

The fury in its eyes cleared enough that it seemed almost friendly. Almost. Mairwen wasn't fooled. The creature was sizing her up to see if it could take her down before being shot another time.

The princess could have gone for the monster's eyes, but she was reluctant to kill it for a couple of reasons. For one, she doubted there were many of this fantastical beast and it was truly a wonder to behold.

But more importantly, killing the monster would most likely end with it landing on Renat as it tried to break its own fall. Mairwen had no doubt that her husband would die or at least be severely injured in their current position.

The beast snorted a couple of times, then stomped his feet. Then, wishing to live for another day, the bohemoth fled.

Tossed aside, Renat went flying through the air.

Alaron dashed out of the monster's way and towards his brother-in-law. The two collided in a heap.

"Are you alright," Eira went running toward the men.

"I don't think anything's broken…" Alaron, who ended up on bottom, twisted his back back and forth as he stood. "How are you?"

"Mostly unharmed," Eira looked toward Mairwen. Renat was already running to her side.

Lilith and Nath ran to embrace Uri. Relieved smiles were on all three faces.

"It is good to see you, old man!" Nath patted his friend on the e back.

"Old? I'm like three days older than you. But if that means you'll feed me and take care of your elder, then sure, I'll be old!" Uri laughed.

"My love! I thought I had lost you." Renat embraced the princess and she melted into his arms. "I am so glad to see you are safe. And you saved me! I would be lost more than once without you." 

"I...you... You are welcome," Mairwen managed. 

Renat pulled back and looked his wife in the eyes. Her pupils were big and her irises were only tiny rings around the black orbs. "Mairwen?" 

Mairwen faltered as she shook her head. "I...don't feel quite right..." 

Although the princess's mind had been tugging her into the unfocused darkness, seeing her husband in danger had given her new clarity. It was as if the Maker had cleared her muddled brain for a moment to allow the dark-haired woman to focus. Now that the danger was past, the sensation came back with double force. 

The world around her felt hazy and unfocused. Was she dreaming? It felt like she might float away and be thrust into the ground simultaneously. 

"I think...I... I am going to be sick..." The princess leaned over and wretched. 

Rena grabbed her hair to keep it out of the way. Mairwen screamed and pulled away swatting at the man as if he were an insect.

Renat's expression darkened. He swept up the woman in his arms and turned to see the confused and concerned faces of the others. 

His face turned grim. 

"We have a big problem."