Its head could only be compared to that of a majestic lion; its body resembled a great bear, only larger with claws that bore many inches into the ground. A tail whipped around its body and Garren gasped.
A serpent.
Its tail was a massive slithering black snake, lashing out and snapping its fangs at the fleeing villagers. And as if that wasn’t enough to make a grown man cower in fear, its mighty lion head roared, breathing fire from deep in its lungs, setting several of the rooftop gardens aflame. What in the name of the Gods is this beast?
“Hurry!” Oriana bellowed. Garren watched in awe as she sprinted for the monstrous creature, sword in hand. Where the hell had she gotten a sword? Garren reached over his back and pulled his own longsword free, steel singing as it released from its sheath.
Oriana slashed at the beast’s side, and it roared in pain. The snake head on its tail clamped its fangs around her torso, ripping her through the air in an upward arc before slamming her down onto the dusty dirt streets of the town.
“Fuck,” Garren breathed before charging into the fray.
The creature’s head turned to him, its lion’s mane rippling in the breeze as it sucked in deeply. Garren picked up speed, but as the beast exhaled, opening its jaw wide, it spewed forth a stream of fire. “Shit!” Garren dove to the street, the flames singing the sleeve of his tunic. This creature was the most horrifying thing Garren had yet faced.
“We must lead it away from the village!” Oriana yelled, back on her feet. She stood with glowing locks blowing behind her, sword in hand once again, battle ready. Like a goddess come down from the heavens. She was breathtaking.
Garren watched in stunned panic as Oriana ran in front of the beast, waving her hands like a mad woman and screaming for its attention. To Garren’s distressed annoyance, it worked. The creature roared. Oriana took off, and the beast took off after her, blowing fire as it went.
He groaned, pushing himself up to his feet. The town square was in ruins. Nearby buildings had crumbled, a few others were ablaze, and the heat of the flames flicked out toward other nearby homes and buildings. Garren’s heartbeat quickened in his chest, adrenaline soaring through his veins. These poor people. Where had this beast come from? It was almost as if it had just appeared out of nowhere.
Orrick, he suddenly thought. This was his doing, his “parting gift” as he had put it. But how? What was going on? What sort of freakish world had he immersed himself into by coming here? There was far more to this town and forest’s story than he or anyone knew.
Garren was thrown back into the present at the sound of more screams of terror, snarls, roars, and sparks coming from the direction in which Oriana had led the beast. He sprinted toward them.
Debris lined the way as Garren sped down the streets. Everywhere he looked, injured people lay in the road, others trying desperately to put out the flames that consumed their homes.
It was chaos.
One of the young boys Garren had spoken to in the market square stood covered in soot but unharmed amongst so many wounded, his eyes searching anxiously over the scene of destruction around him. Garren stopped and knelt beside the boy, placing a hand on his small shoulder. “Are you alright?” His words came out short and rushed.
The boy’s large blue eyes held fear mingled with a trace of hope as he looked at Garren and nodded.
“Can you run?” he asked the child.
Another nod from the boy.
“Go then, quick as you can. Get the healer, Haldis. Help her get to these people. Help her save them.”
A spark lit behind the lad’s eyes as he took on the challenge and sprinted off toward Haldis’s home in the opposite direction of the beast.
Beyond the chaos, Garren could make out Oriana locked in battle with the monstrous creature. It was a sight to behold. With each swing of the beast's snake head tail, Oriana slashed and dodged. She was so small compared to the beast, it could surely swallow her in one giant gulp.
It roared in irritation, its serpent tail striking out, poison dripping from its fangs. He noticed that she was playing the defensive, more so than the offensive, dodging breaths of fire and swipes of the creature’s lethal claws. She needed help.
As he snuck up behind the beast, its tail locked eyes on him, tongue flicking in and out of its mouth as it slithered through the air.
It coiled back and struck, snapping long shining fangs. He swung, cutting clean through its thin forked tongue. The lion head swiveled, growling at Garren and revealing a devastating set of monstrous sharp teeth.
Garren peeked a quick glance at Oriana. She had dropped her sword, her eyes were closed, and she stood completely still. What is she doing?
He turned his attention back to the monster, just in time to see its gigantic paw poised to shred him to pieces, but it stopped short, colliding with…a stone wall. Where the hell did that come from? It appeared out of thin air. “What in the name of the gods?” Garren marveled.
“Come and get me,” Oriana bellowed. “You don’t want him. It’s me you want!”
The creature snarled, serpent tail hissing in her direction.
“Well come on then, you daft beast. Come get me!” She cast a fleeting glance at Garren before taking off into the forest. The beast barreled after her.
“For fuck’s sake!” Garren huffed before he followed suit.
