Chương 39: Chapter 38: Head to Head

Gelidia and I stepped forward, and our friends moved a little distance backward, Roxala's Inn closing for the night with a latching sound as her twin door shields shut tight. Walking side by side towards Sir Little, I glanced at Gelidia.

"It's going to be alright." she reassured me. I told her I knew by wagging my tail a little and taking her hand in my own giant paw gently, prompting a narrowing of the floor boss's eyes and a little frown on his sharp features. With his broad hat and high collar, he looked like he had prey in the past who could fight him, but... I had to admit, it was a pretty awesome look for him! To be honest, I was sort of excited! I'd never really gotten much chance to cut loose in this form.

Sure I'd gotten in a couple fights, but... they'd been short things, or against enemies who were no match for me at all, like the skeleton guards, or that had died in just one hit - like the deer! This wouldn't be like that at all. This guy could probably kill me, but... I was her champion. MINE. PROTECT. That's right! We're her champion, and we're going to defend her. WILL THERE BE BLOOD? Be ready, there might be. Ours, probably! WE ARE READY Let's pick a fight.

I let go of Gelidia's hand, and nodded to her, stepping towards the armed guard commander, my arms loose at my sides as I stood tall, letting them hang down in a relaxed pose as I advanced, a growl starting in my throat. Gelidia raised her hands, shaking them once as she did so - the magical equivalent to checking the action of a shotgun, I figured.

"En Garde!" the Commander said and simply charged. I did the same. Tipping forward slightly, I coiled my legs under me and shot a burst of stamina into my legs. I jerked suddenly towards him with a speed that seemed to startle him! My claws had been reaching to rake and to smash, but his sword had come around just as quickly, showering sparks with a GLOINK noise as he... he parried it! It caught me off guard, and then it was his turn to strike back!

I kicked off, gaining just a little space, which was good, because his sword described a glinting silver arc that crossed where the tip of my muzzle had been a moment before! He pursued me, and the fight was simply on. He wasn't just fast, he was -big-. Strike and counter, parry and dodge, it was all I could do to keep afloat! It rapidly became clear to me that while I was far from helpless to him, he was faster, he was better, and his sword gave him the edge of reach.

I had pure strength on my side, and I clearly had better senses than he did, but that didn't make up the difference between us, and he was aiming to kill me. I hardened my body, dropping a surge of stamina to protect myself just before a slash appeared across my left breast and across my thigh, and my blood splattered across the flagstones with the strike, while I had yet to even lay a finger on him. This looked bad! Good thing we weren't alone in all this!

And then he suddenly broke from me, jumping backward and bringing his sword around, green light calling into the fluted edge before he flicked it out. A swirling little gust of green light was rent aside by the flick, and it carved a gouge into the stone a foot to his left. I spared a moment's attention to see Gelidia with my Wolf-Ren, doing... something that resembled a punch in a tae kwon do class I'd taken when I was a kid. She stepped forward, and punched forward again, and again Sir Little reacted.

I jerked forward as he did, and just before the blade hit, I came at him again! This time, his eyes flew wide, and he tried to jerk back again to avoid me! This came with only partial success - I still contacted him solidly, imparting even more force into his movement! This gave him a ton more momentum than he'd meant to gain, but he controlled it with a gesture and natural grace that was beautiful with his flying cloak to lend it style, letting him land it. STRIKE! PURSUE!

I let the Wolf's wisdom guide me, and another little burst of stamina sent me rocketing after him with a ripping battle-snarl! I crossed twenty feet of distance in a moment, and pursued the Guard's descent with a swipe of my paw, throwing my hips behind it! I missed as he kicked off the ground sideways, and brought a knee directly into my solar plexus with a burst of green light on his foot! I had an instant to see it coming though - a moment of 'OH HECK' - and it was just enough time to throw stamina into a guard.

The belly isn't the best place to guard from, turns out, it still hurt... but at least it didn't wind me. My paw came around, and gave him a right hook that sent him tumbling as he lost his footing! At the first bounce off the ground, a stroke of lightning struck the guard full-on in the chest, and he cried out in... laughter? I didn't pursue him this time as he regained his feet before even coming to a stop, stabbing his green-glowing sword into the stones to arrest his momentum...

and carved a line in the flagstones as he ground to a halt.

"You two work together surprisingly well! I think it's time I take things a bit more seriously!" he said, and... honest to goodness green lightning crackled around his body as he rose fully to his feet. He grinned, flashing his teeth, and I swear even his tongue flashed with lightning as he spoke next.

"You're fast like a harrier... but you're no harrier, Goldtail." he said.

"You're a brute - sadly with no real technique as such. Did nobody teach you how to fight, madam? Just speed and strength. A talented amateur." leaving me to take that to heart, bobbling my head like 'yeah, right on the money' I HAVE IDEAS BUT I HAVE NEVER TRIED THEM We need to practice, to get better at fighting like this. SOUNDS LIKE FUN! And then there was only the dust where Little been standing, and a strong scent of ozone!

My eyes flew wide, and on pure instinct I pumped a surge of stamina and raised my guard! It probably saved my life as he reappeared close to me, and brought his glowing sword around! Hardened fur and flesh took the hit, but not without damage as I watched forty points of health vanish abruptly, so quick that I didn't even feel pain from the blow as physics took over, and I lost my footing!

Gelidia was crying out, but I couldn't hear what she said as suddenly he was dropkicking my crossed arms with both feet, giving me additional momentum to send me flying backward in a tumbling mess! My body gave me confused messages as I tried to get a grasp on the situation, but he clearly had no intention of letting me get my feet again!

A burst of swirling energy I could only sense in my Wolf-Ren had him land from his kick on his feet, and then he went from a man landing, squatting on the ground, to a pressure wave rocketing towards me as time slowed down. And here I was, back down and chest up towards the sky, flying backward as he came for me! He wasn't the only one moving though.

Gelidia was advancing towards me as well on an intercept course, her hands raising as she dragged a pressure wave of her own behind her as if dragging a huge sail in both hands. For my part, I tried to shoot my hand out, claws extending to snag a passing flagstone, kicking up four lines of sparks as my claws raked and sought purchase, trying to slow my momentum.

"GAME SET!" the Guard said, eyes blazing as he, gripping the sword in both hands, brought it around towards me in a swing that would have landed him in the major leagues, and there was me, bracing to soak it all up with my FACE and my CHEST and my NECK like a dingdong! Without Gelidia's timely intervention, I had no doubt at all he'd have killed me then and there. She brought a titanic gust of wind... and my own forgotten Lucerne Hammer!

I hadn't even fully realized I'd dropped it, but I must have when I'd started to change, when I'd taken off my tunic! She had it now, and swung the hammer savagely into the man's shoulder, jerking him sideways with a strange expression of shock on his face... and then hit him with the charge of air she'd been dragging with her! ALL of it. Mid-gloat, mid finishing stroke, he got swatted like an uppity beetle, walloped by a surge of power that had him skip gracelessly across the flagstones several times.

His hat bounced from his head after the first blow, and his sword spun several times before clattering away some distance from him as he came to rest on his back, cloak flopping to the ground at Gelidia's feet where it'd been left behind! Man alive she'd smacked the man so hard she'd knocked his cool cloak right off of him! He began to struggle to his feet again, clearly slobberknocked, but the Shade had bought a little time for something she had in mind. She stared at the Lucerne Hammer a moment, and nodded.

"Time I used this skill for something useful." she said, and gently pushed on my shoulder until I knelt before her. She raised the hammer in both hands, as if offering it to me, and said"With this weapon you shall defend the house of Windbinder in my name, Goldtail Twice-cursed, hound of Lambstock." she said, and presented it to me. As she did so, it swelled with green light, with... her power. I took it. My great hand closed around it, and... it changed shape.

It grew to my size, for one thing, and that meant the thing was HEFTY. The head had to weigh at least 100 kilograms on the hammer head alone, and the pick head became a beak-shaped spike - a Stormhawk I noticed. The whole thing was shod in iron, and... strange, I could still see the original item underneath. [Haunted Boon of the Loyal Hound] Collapsing Lucerne Hammer, uncommon, crafted by Snorri Snorrison. A polearm with a weighted spike for piercing armor. [Enhanced for personal use in form: Hybrid. Magical conduit for Gelidia Windbinder.]"Wh-what?!" our opponent said, watching me as barding began to shimmer into existence around me. Armor - armor shaped for this body. It was Gelidia my senses told me, this was her doing, and she was going to do everything she could. Sohei chimed in - Lightweight armor like this was not going to be a problem at all. The armor had her power, but more importantly, it had her scent. Gelidia smiled, and a green scarf appeared with it. It was fluffy and soft, and it was hers.

The man before me looked as though he could barely believe his eyes. The hammer went onto my shoulder and I grinned at him, eyes flashing green. I felt... Good. Gelidia was gone. I tensed, but then she said'Silly, I'm with you.' she said. And, she was. Wolf greeted a new presence in my... bedroom, I supposed. I'd never really thought about the chamber, but here she was in it. It was a room of cedar, and smelled amazing.

Or, it had - I'd soaked into it a fair bit, and I realized with a shock that it was a hotel room I'd stayed in once, when I'd been little. And here Gelidia was in it. And there was my Wolf, bounding around her as she laughed. I found her at last and took her in my arms. My lips found hers, and pausing only to try and scoop up my wolf as if she were a lapdog - and succeeding, to the creature's delight! - she followed me inside and I shut the door. Time seemed... to slow.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. THIS IS GOOD! It is! Welcome, my lady.

'Thank you!' she said, her eyes training on the ornate silver and moonstone mirror near the bed a moment.

'This is a council of war.' she announced a beat later. WAR MIGHT BE FUN! my Wolf said, delivering this with a snarl and a snap at an unseen foe that showed her sharp white teeth. Agreed - let's make war.

'Firstly, Movement. I will enhance our movements. I'm giving you access to a pool of energy. Use it to supplement your own stamina.' she said, and I felt the energy. It was... hers, stored, and represented what had to be about 50 stamina worth. Sohei and the Beast would work together with Gelidia to make the most of it!

'Second. He is a beast hunter. He is prepared for tooth and claw - they are his usual foe. But you are more than tooth and claw. You are stronger working together, right? Use this Bec De Corbin, this Lucerne hammer.' I can fight with this. ITS A GOOD STICK! And just look at that spike. Like a tooth or a claw, only it's huge and heavy. The wolf gave that due consideration. OH THAT IS A GOOD STICK! and just like that, she understood the hammer bit as well. Sohei lets me fight with this.

THEN LETS FIGHT TOGETHER and with a snarl, I raised my hammer and pointed at the hunter with a talon. He took it for what it was, drawing his sword as he did so. His armor's left gauntlet included some kind of heavy gauntlet, with a thick pad on the outer edge. It also had a whistle hooked to it, and the man blew on it. When he did so, green light pulsed outward. I tensed to strike while he was waiting, but Gelidia bid me not to with a plea, and a phantasmal tug on my arm.

'Wait. Let him do this. He deserves all respect, even if he is our enemy.' she said, and turned her gaze outward. She was right - it was only fair, and stood down to watch him call what power he could. I stilled, but watched keenly, letting my body settle to wait as I crouched. Dark wings flitted, and a Crow landed on his arm. It had a green jewel around its neck, and was easily twice the size of a normal crow, but it was still a very good bird.

Unhurried, Little pet the thing's beak and gave it scritches in just the right places, and the thing playfully bit him and made happy noises. His bird got a treat, and the man picked up his cloak and hat. The sky began to mutter, and a wind began to howl around us. He tossed his hat into the air and the wind caught it, but he had his sword in just the right position to catch it neatly and sweep it back onto his head, but it was newer. As he'd done so, the bird flew from his wrist, and grew.

The necklace became a set of barding as all around us, the landscape changed from this... strange, surreal sea of flagstones stretching out endlessly, into... a forest. THE forest, in fact - the one just outside the gate near the inn. There was a stretch of it outside the wall that had a meadow of flowers. It was beautiful, but... in this moment... it was something else, too.

'It's holy.' Gelidia said, and that went for all of us. The peace of it was unbroken on a fall afternoon, and here we were, drinking it all in, standing in the meadow in full combat gear.

"This place is where my father took me, long ago." Little said, and as he walked along, his bird fussed over him as if he were a chick. His hat was lighter now, and his armor looked less... worn, less battle hardened. He was less rugged, he was younger. But he was just as sharp-featured and stern as he was today in this previous self. The bird was as huge, but its plumage was more vibrant - a time in the past.

"He told me to look out for miracles." he said"The world is speaking to us with every choice she offers, offering to show us what comes next. She is our biggest fan - and we should make her proud of us, for she is our mother." he said.

"By my Father's name." he said"Lady, you invested her with Arms, and... the world recognized that strongly. That is significant."

"Awful lotta talkin' in this fight! Are you going to fight them or what, kiddo? If you kill Goldielocks, you bet your ass another duel is in the mix." Roxala snarled from the sidelines. Sir Little smiled ruefully, and shook his head at Roxala's outburst.

"And still pales in comparison to this first miracle: You are whole." the young knight Sir Little said, sheathing his sword.

"And your friends speak highly of you, even now with no possible doubt about your nature.

"he said." I don't like this. Everything in my bones is telling me that you are as real as you seem, and noble besides, but I have my heart, and your word, Lady, even the very evidence of my eyes, against the will of my Lord and my honor." To my shock, he was shaking. He wasn't crying, but that wasn't quite the same thing as... well, not crying. His voice cracked a little"I do not know what to do, Lady." Gelidia manifested as a shade before us.

She hadn't given up the shape of the armor, and her expression was grim as she said"My teacher... my oldest friend. We have to do things the right way - we are not better than the people we serve. That's what you taught me. We are all cut from the same cloth." She said, and pat his hand, gripped his fingers in hers. The bird nuzzled in against her, and she reached up to pet it with her other hand.

"We are not yet fully tested, my friend. Be strong. My Lord Father is the one to whom you swore loyalty. It has ever been my family that you have served, old friend. I remember it - I know it well. Are you scared?" she asked, voice soft. He thought about that. and nodded.

"I am, lady, scared for what this could mean, scared for your family, and equally horrified that my family is dead... and the possibility that they might not be." he said, and Gelidia hesitated before wrapping her arms around him. Gelidia knew. I could read it on her, I just knew. We, still in full armor, nestled down as we watched, patient and attentive for the will of the shade, our beloved Lady.

In the mind the mirror became a moonlit lake for us to rest beside, my hands dug into the wolf's fur, getting her exactly where I knew we liked it best. Gelidia reached a decision, and simply told him.

"They fled. They heard the first watchmen who responded to the attack, and fled, per your standing instructions. Their descendents and your granddaughter, now a great great grand mother, lives alone in Rucksberg, a town that cropped up after the Greater Demon was killed and the landscape healed." Sir Little was baffled completely. His jaw worked a bit, his eyes huge, and I could see the moment he believed her as he asked"How?" in a tiny voice.

"You remember young Master Stockpot, don't you?" Gelidia asked, and he looked like he'd licked a lime for a moment as he flinched, surprised.

"Oh, him? I remember. Son of a minor noble, picked on you when you were children, but you outgrew him physically, and turned out to be the princess? Whole debacle about it and now he runs a renegade press against the crown..." and he trailed off. Gelidia smiled at him, let him work through things at his pace.

"Turns out... he's got incredible deduction and organizational skills, and manages information well. I'm hopeful - he would make an excellent wizard, I think." She smiles.

"He says 'being dead is the best thing that ever happened to me, I think so clearly now'" she said, and the smile was fond, I thought.

"He's accounted for all of our citizens who were in the town at the time, simply with numbers and reason."

"Remarkable." the Guard Commander said, and ran his hands through his hair. He looked a little older now. Was I seeing, even feeling, him here and now? Or was this some kind of projection onto my senses? If so it was working - my Wolf-Ren saw him changing before my eyes.

"Thank you, Lady." he said, and let out a sigh. A weight released. Not everything off his shoulders, his feelings were clearly complicated on the subject, but they seemed to weigh heavily on his heart. Better, but not all the way, I thought. I didn't want to fight him, but my Lady receded from him. He didn't really want to fight either. But his honor won't let him yield when he had the strength. I'm supposed to fight him anyhow? Kill him? ITS SIMPLE. WE HAVE DUTY! HE IS HIMSELF, AND WE ARE TOGETHER. Its horrible.

'It is. But if we truly trust in the World... we must commit.' Its horrible! I don't want to kill him! Sir Little looked up at me sharply as I shoved the butt of my weapon into the dirt, and looked away a little. I shook my head. Wolf trusted me, deferred to me immediately, and stood down - we were a team. Suddenly, with Wolf's trust, I could speak. I just knew. And I knew it was Gelidia. She smiled at me, her eyes bright. Her power poured into me, allowing... this. Helping us - wolf and I, to speak.

She told me just what to say!

"Yield to me, then." I said, following Gelidia's instructions to speak 'stridently' - I just kinda growled it at him, he seemed to get it!

"Either you yield to me now, or you yield to me later, but with the can kicked out of you." I said, tail waggling excitedly! Gelidia grinned and bounced up and down clapping her hands, in the privacy of the mindscape.

'He said that to me once, when I was a teenager and learning from him. Of course I got angry and offended at something he said and picked a fight with the teacher, as you do. Lady or not, he let me have it, but he wouldn't hurt me. So, you just told him we're not playing for keeps, but you do have to beat him up for it first.' Sir Little blinked, then threw back his head and laughed. He laughed and laughed as he stood away from the table, laughing still, as his bird nuzzled up to him.

In the past few moments I saw the armor forming upon her, and knew - knew - that she was getting ready to fight. All of this was the body language before- A FIGHT. Then it was like no time had passed, and Sir Little was mounting his raven, but it was bigger, tendrils of green-tipped black energy made up its wings, and its body was longer, like a serpent - more like a dragon than a crow! It was gorgeous, a thing of magic and shadow and it had big black and green birdy eyes, too!

God help me, the thing looked so adorably serious as Sir Little mounted up.

'Hello, handsome!' I said to the huge dragony crow thing, and the bird blinked at me, baffled.

'Rude! What a way to talk to a princess!' she replied, and I had no idea how she had done so. Instinctively, I replied.

'Hello, beautiful?' I tried, and shrugged.

'I just think your feathers are pretty, and that your armor looks nice today.' I said, and I still had no idea how, but she understood.

'Well, thank you.' she said, puffing up a bit and clicking her beak.

'I'm still going to destroy you, but nothing personal. It was nice to meet you.' and I couldn't help but nod.

'Yup! Time to fight.' I said, and felt an eager sort of excitement in my chest!!

'Not yet, they decide that.' was her prim reply.

"Aaaaand they're talking to each other." Gelidia said, entirely derailed. Sir Little was, too, and both of them were looking a bit stunned.

"Can you understand?" she asked, and the man shook his head, stunned.

'Hey they're staring at us.' I said, and the crow dragon wiggled her tail-feathers as she shook like a cat, ready for a fight! She hissed at me'That's because we are TALKING when we should be LISTENING and you are WEIRD AND I' M NOT SURE I APPROVE OF YOU.' she said, 'quite calmly' as, tail still wagging, I got up to my feet.

I didn't reply, I just wagged my tail and stood ready, ears perked and swiveled towards the knight and his steed, shifting so my hammer was gripped in what Roxala had called a medium grip when she'd taught me to use it. I let Sohei guide my feet in how to stand. The skill felt awkward somehow, as if unsure about helping a great big beastie do this, but she did teach me, even so. Feet just so. You are bigger, so use that. Use your hips. The teachings were generally like that, and I took them as gospel.

I began to circle a bit, taking my eyes from what I was increasingly thinking of as a play partner rather than a boss who was going to try his hardest to kill me. Gelidia's favor made the Lucerne hammer feel... hefty, more right in my hands. I had little basis for comparison - I didn't exactly reach for the hammer in this form so far, but... I hadn't had it long, either. Now, it was enchanted by the favor of my Lady, and it was like I was holding her hand!

The mounted Commander slowly gathered up the reigns on his mount, and I could see him adjusting his feet in the stirrups a bit, a grin still plastered on his face. But the time for words was over - now it was time for strife!