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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7305039" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 102</p><p></p><p>Once more the chimera came tearing down out of the sky, but this time Bredan could sense that it was done with tormenting them, that this time it was going to stick around until they were all dead.</p><p></p><p>He was about to run toward it when he felt a presence at his shoulder. Glori’s touch was light, but he felt a familiar sensation of power and potency as her magic flowed into him. “Stand fast,” she said.</p><p></p><p>There was no time even to thank her for the intervention. He drew his sword as he ran forward, but he saw he would not reach it before it landed, near where Quellan and Kosk were standing further up the slope. The cleric held his ground, presenting his holy symbol to the monstrous beast. There was a familiar flash of golden light, and for a moment a beam of radiant energy seemed to connect the half-orc and his foe. The <em>guiding bolt</em> surrounded the chimera with a limning glow, but that was not enough to get it to change its course.</p><p></p><p>Even as Quellan reached for his mace the creature landed a few paces short of him and charged forward. It lowered its goat head as its momentum carried it into the cleric with the force of a battering ram. Quellan was lifted off his feet and flung flying back into the rocks. He bounced hard and flipped over before coming to a shuddering halt a good ten paces back from where he had started.</p><p></p><p>The chimera did not get a chance to exploit its advantage as Kosk came barreling into it from the flank. The dragon head swiveled on its longer neck to face him, but he smacked it hard with his staff, knocking it back. He followed that up with a kick that smashed into the chimera’s knee. Bredan had seen that blow crumple joints, but it barely seemed to faze the monster. It reared up and lunged at the monk. Kosk tried to dodge, but the lion head’s jaws snapped down onto his shoulder, yanking him up into the air. Even held he tried to punch at the lion’s eyes, but the chimera flung him into the air right in front of its claws. Kosk twisted in mid-air but could not avoid both sets of claws. Even from ten steps away Bredan could see the bright droplets of blood that flashed in the air from the grievous wounds it inflicted.</p><p></p><p>As the dwarf fell to the ground Bredan shouted a cry to draw the chimera’s attention away from his friends. The dragon head turned toward him, and for a moment he felt a terror that it would unleash another blast of fire upon him. But instead all three heads focused on him, and the lion roared another challenge as it reared back and then sprang forward to attack.</p><p></p><p>Bredan’s uncle had trained him to fight with all sorts of weapons and against all kinds of foes, but nothing could have prepared him for this. But even so he stood his ground, and at the last moment he ducked low and darted to the side, avoiding the chimera’s rush. He stabbed blindly with his sword; he felt the jolt of impact shoot through his arms and it was all he could do to keep his grip on the weapon.</p><p></p><p>The chimera recovered quickly and came at him again. Gods, the thing was <em>fast</em>. If he had hurt it the wound hadn’t slowed it down, and he stumbled back as first the dragon head and then the goat head snapped at him, the former trying to bite, the latter trying to pound him with its horns. He pivoted to face the lion before he realized his mistake. Too late he stumbled back, too late to avoid the claws that tore into his legs. His long coat of mail kept him from being shredded, but he still felt the gashes that the sharp claws tore into his flesh.</p><p></p><p>The chimera followed him as he gave ground, knowing that one misstep on the uneven ground would end it for him. But even if he remained upright, he knew there was no way he could withstand another assault like that. The creature was just too powerful, and even with Glori’s <em>heroism</em> spell bolstering him there was only so much damage his much smaller body could absorb.</p><p></p><p>But even as those thoughts flashed through his mind, Bredan detected movement out of the corner of his eye. To the creature’s left he saw Quellan and Kosk, both bloody but moving back toward the fight. That was impressive but not unexpected given what he knew of both men. But to his surprise he saw movement on the far side of the creature as well. He only barely caught himself before making a telltale shift that would have warned the creature. He already knew that its three heads gave it very sharp senses.</p><p></p><p><em>Have to keep it busy</em>, he thought.</p><p></p><p>So instead of continuing to retreat, he attacked. The battle cry he made was hardly more coherent than the creature’s roar, but it surely got its attention. It was clearly wary of his sword; now that he was facing it he could see a deep gash in its chest where his blind thrust earlier had scored. He targeted the dragon head, considering it the greatest threat, but as he lunged the chimera reared up and batted his sword away with one massive paw. Bredan stumbled to the side, clearly knocked off-balance by the maneuver. The creature immediately surged forward to take advantage. Bredan’s lips twisted into a slight smile.</p><p></p><p>“Got you,” he said.</p><p></p><p>Twisting his body, sliding back the leg he’d not so carelessly placed when he’d fallen, he brought the sharp point of his sword up to meet the chimera’s rush. The creature, caught by surprise, tried to shift its momentum but still impaled itself on the steel shaft. Bredan could feel that it wasn’t a killing blow, but the monster couldn’t shake off that deep wound so easily. But while his stratagem had been successful, it had left him well within the chimera’s reach. Another claw struck him, and he felt a crack in his forearm as the bone snapped. Then his vision was filled with the sight of the creature’s goat head driving down to meet his.</p><p></p><p>The next thing he knew he was on his back, dazed. He somehow managed to bring his eyes back into focus, but he almost wished he hadn’t. The chimera was still there, still alive and fighting, all three heads still facing him.</p><p></p><p><em>Oh, well,</em> he thought.</p><p></p><p>But when he blinked and looked again, he saw that monster was having its own troubles. The goat head that had just knocked him down was hanging at an odd angle. A moment later saw that it wasn’t his own thick skull that had broken it, but Quellan’s mace. The half-orc pressed forward as Kosk appeared in his wake. The reason why the chimera hadn’t been able to turn to face the pair became evident as Bredan saw that the dwarf had repeated his trick on the creature’s other knee, leaving both of its front limbs damaged and unable to react as swiftly as it had.</p><p></p><p>Still it tried to turn, flapping its wings in an attempt to compensate for the damage done to its legs. But as it rose up Bredan saw another face he hadn’t expected to see. It was Rodan. The ranger looked a mess, his cloak and armor a blackened ruin, his exposed flesh almost as dark where the chimera’s fiery breath had seared it. But he was still fighting, and he’d fitted a new string to his bow that let out a sharp twang as he fired an arrow directly into the creature’s back. He must have hit something important, for the chimera was suddenly convulsed by a titanic spasm. It reared up again, but this time there was no fury in its assault, only an instinctive response to pain. Bredan felt a moment’s horror that its wild struggles would crush him, but at the last instant it toppled over the other way, almost knocking over Quellan before its chaotic movements came to a halt.</p><p></p><p>Bredan tried to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth a wave of pain surged through his body. He was barely aware of someone calling out his name before blissful unconsciousness swallowed him up and carried him away.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7305039, member: 143"] Chapter 102 Once more the chimera came tearing down out of the sky, but this time Bredan could sense that it was done with tormenting them, that this time it was going to stick around until they were all dead. He was about to run toward it when he felt a presence at his shoulder. Glori’s touch was light, but he felt a familiar sensation of power and potency as her magic flowed into him. “Stand fast,” she said. There was no time even to thank her for the intervention. He drew his sword as he ran forward, but he saw he would not reach it before it landed, near where Quellan and Kosk were standing further up the slope. The cleric held his ground, presenting his holy symbol to the monstrous beast. There was a familiar flash of golden light, and for a moment a beam of radiant energy seemed to connect the half-orc and his foe. The [i]guiding bolt[/i] surrounded the chimera with a limning glow, but that was not enough to get it to change its course. Even as Quellan reached for his mace the creature landed a few paces short of him and charged forward. It lowered its goat head as its momentum carried it into the cleric with the force of a battering ram. Quellan was lifted off his feet and flung flying back into the rocks. He bounced hard and flipped over before coming to a shuddering halt a good ten paces back from where he had started. The chimera did not get a chance to exploit its advantage as Kosk came barreling into it from the flank. The dragon head swiveled on its longer neck to face him, but he smacked it hard with his staff, knocking it back. He followed that up with a kick that smashed into the chimera’s knee. Bredan had seen that blow crumple joints, but it barely seemed to faze the monster. It reared up and lunged at the monk. Kosk tried to dodge, but the lion head’s jaws snapped down onto his shoulder, yanking him up into the air. Even held he tried to punch at the lion’s eyes, but the chimera flung him into the air right in front of its claws. Kosk twisted in mid-air but could not avoid both sets of claws. Even from ten steps away Bredan could see the bright droplets of blood that flashed in the air from the grievous wounds it inflicted. As the dwarf fell to the ground Bredan shouted a cry to draw the chimera’s attention away from his friends. The dragon head turned toward him, and for a moment he felt a terror that it would unleash another blast of fire upon him. But instead all three heads focused on him, and the lion roared another challenge as it reared back and then sprang forward to attack. Bredan’s uncle had trained him to fight with all sorts of weapons and against all kinds of foes, but nothing could have prepared him for this. But even so he stood his ground, and at the last moment he ducked low and darted to the side, avoiding the chimera’s rush. He stabbed blindly with his sword; he felt the jolt of impact shoot through his arms and it was all he could do to keep his grip on the weapon. The chimera recovered quickly and came at him again. Gods, the thing was [i]fast[/i]. If he had hurt it the wound hadn’t slowed it down, and he stumbled back as first the dragon head and then the goat head snapped at him, the former trying to bite, the latter trying to pound him with its horns. He pivoted to face the lion before he realized his mistake. Too late he stumbled back, too late to avoid the claws that tore into his legs. His long coat of mail kept him from being shredded, but he still felt the gashes that the sharp claws tore into his flesh. The chimera followed him as he gave ground, knowing that one misstep on the uneven ground would end it for him. But even if he remained upright, he knew there was no way he could withstand another assault like that. The creature was just too powerful, and even with Glori’s [i]heroism[/i] spell bolstering him there was only so much damage his much smaller body could absorb. But even as those thoughts flashed through his mind, Bredan detected movement out of the corner of his eye. To the creature’s left he saw Quellan and Kosk, both bloody but moving back toward the fight. That was impressive but not unexpected given what he knew of both men. But to his surprise he saw movement on the far side of the creature as well. He only barely caught himself before making a telltale shift that would have warned the creature. He already knew that its three heads gave it very sharp senses. [i]Have to keep it busy[/i], he thought. So instead of continuing to retreat, he attacked. The battle cry he made was hardly more coherent than the creature’s roar, but it surely got its attention. It was clearly wary of his sword; now that he was facing it he could see a deep gash in its chest where his blind thrust earlier had scored. He targeted the dragon head, considering it the greatest threat, but as he lunged the chimera reared up and batted his sword away with one massive paw. Bredan stumbled to the side, clearly knocked off-balance by the maneuver. The creature immediately surged forward to take advantage. Bredan’s lips twisted into a slight smile. “Got you,” he said. Twisting his body, sliding back the leg he’d not so carelessly placed when he’d fallen, he brought the sharp point of his sword up to meet the chimera’s rush. The creature, caught by surprise, tried to shift its momentum but still impaled itself on the steel shaft. Bredan could feel that it wasn’t a killing blow, but the monster couldn’t shake off that deep wound so easily. But while his stratagem had been successful, it had left him well within the chimera’s reach. Another claw struck him, and he felt a crack in his forearm as the bone snapped. Then his vision was filled with the sight of the creature’s goat head driving down to meet his. The next thing he knew he was on his back, dazed. He somehow managed to bring his eyes back into focus, but he almost wished he hadn’t. The chimera was still there, still alive and fighting, all three heads still facing him. [i]Oh, well,[/i] he thought. But when he blinked and looked again, he saw that monster was having its own troubles. The goat head that had just knocked him down was hanging at an odd angle. A moment later saw that it wasn’t his own thick skull that had broken it, but Quellan’s mace. The half-orc pressed forward as Kosk appeared in his wake. The reason why the chimera hadn’t been able to turn to face the pair became evident as Bredan saw that the dwarf had repeated his trick on the creature’s other knee, leaving both of its front limbs damaged and unable to react as swiftly as it had. Still it tried to turn, flapping its wings in an attempt to compensate for the damage done to its legs. But as it rose up Bredan saw another face he hadn’t expected to see. It was Rodan. The ranger looked a mess, his cloak and armor a blackened ruin, his exposed flesh almost as dark where the chimera’s fiery breath had seared it. But he was still fighting, and he’d fitted a new string to his bow that let out a sharp twang as he fired an arrow directly into the creature’s back. He must have hit something important, for the chimera was suddenly convulsed by a titanic spasm. It reared up again, but this time there was no fury in its assault, only an instinctive response to pain. Bredan felt a moment’s horror that its wild struggles would crush him, but at the last instant it toppled over the other way, almost knocking over Quellan before its chaotic movements came to a halt. Bredan tried to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth a wave of pain surged through his body. He was barely aware of someone calling out his name before blissful unconsciousness swallowed him up and carried him away. [/QUOTE]
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