Chapter 87: Manticores

We entered Lyonis' small cabin. It was not as orderly or as well constructed as Maveith's. It also had a strong smell of ammonia, like dried urine. He had a single table and a small bed in his cabin as his only furnishings. Maveith sighed deeply at the mess and smell, "Tell me what happened from the beginning."

Lyonis sat on his bed, cradling his arm. "Klinton said he found several mauled deer with their guts eaten. He thought a dire wolf had moved south after that torrential rain. We tracked the creature to the rocky hills. It was sunning itself on a rock, and we were not sure what it was. We didn't see the second one coming from above. Klinton took a tail whip to the chest, and the barbs pierced his heart. He died quickly." Klinton was shaking slightly at the memory.

He compartmentalized the trauma and continued, "I got my spear into its hindquarters and ran into the trees. The beast and I fought among the trees. I was only saved as the one that had been resting started to eat Klinton. The one I was fighting was larger and returned to claim its kill, I think. I ran as fast as I could here."

It was quiet for a time. "Manticores are all over Stone Mountain Island, where I am from," Maveith said heavily. "They are rare in this part of the world. I know some things about their nature."

Lyonis nodded, "The only time I had seen one before this was at the New Year's Games in the capital when I was a child. It took seven men in the arena to take it down, and not all of them lived.

I looked back and forth between the two wardens, "I have never seen one. What do they look like?" I asked.

The gray-skinned man sighed, "Manticores are as malicious as they are ugly. Their body is as large as a horse but akin to a lion." He looked at Lyonis, "That is why you confused the prints, Lyonis. A wolf's and a lion's prints are very similar."

The goliath folded his legs under him and sat so he would no longer have to duck the low ceiling, "A manticore's head is a grotesque thing, though. It looks like an ogre's head with a wide maw full of sharp triangular teeth made for cutting flesh and covered in a mane of foul-smelling hair. They can also attack with their claws and a barbed tail. They fly as well, with thin, leathery wings made more for gliding than flying. If they are mature enough, those tail spikes on the tail can be flung like arrows and contain a corrosive poison. Small amounts of the poison are not fatal but target your muscle tissue, weakening you and creating excruciating pain."

"Have you ever hunted manticores?" I asked Maveith.

"No," he grunted, "Climbing the mountain to find a nest was for warriors only. I was too young to hunt one before I left my people," some sadness crept into his voice. "On the bright side," he cheered up a little and talked about harvesting a manticore, "The tail barbs of a full-grown adult make excellent arrows. Their hide can make excellent armor. And the wings make prized cloaks and pouches."

Maveith shifted on the floor and removed a pouch from his belt, and he had a familiar vial of myconid powder. "I think we will head to Trek's house tomorrow, and then we will all go to the city and seek the aid of your mage commander."

Lyonis immediately perked up, agitated, "You want to bring a useless legion company out here!" He was angry but, in his depleted state, lacked real energy to show it.

"Cool yourself, Lyonis. We can not handle a pair of manticores ourselves. The new Duchess is prepared to give you a free writ to live here," Mavieth growled at the man. Lyonis relaxed some.

Maveith looked at me with seriousness, "Lyonis does not like legion mages. They were responsible for the deaths of his family."

"Cursed legion mages were more concerned about protecting the Imperial buildings than saving the lowly citizens of my town. My family was burned alive by the flames of a rogue fire drake training to be part of the Dragon Legion." His veins were bulging, and his anger had risen again at the telling. Even I knew there were no right words to say.

Maveith calmed him, "Lyonis, relax. His mage commander was not one of them. I already asked." Maveith had already tested the waters in preparation for recruiting the other wardens into the Duchess' service. "We will sleep tonight and make our way tomorrow. I will spread the powder and return shortly. Which direction did you come from?" Lyonis pointed in a direction, and Maveith nodded.

Maveith left the cabin, and I was alone with Lyonis. "I am sorry for the loss of your friend." I finally said.

He grunted and tried to study me, but his eyes wouldn't focus. He must have a concussion. I thought about offering him one of my lesser healing potions but hesitated. The man finally said, "Klinton wasn't the best man, but he didn't deserve to die like that. The nasty weather has stirred all kinds of ill tidings. Probably some mage was playing with power beyond his control."

"It was the Bartiriaden mages. They were angry at losing Macha to the Duke's army," I informed him. I decided not to tell him that the Telhian mages had torn down the city and likely killed dozens, if not hundreds, of the civilians. "The torrential rains were not the only incident. Numerous foul weather erupted across the Empire. They say a lot of the crops will be lost this year."

"And the people will suffer—not the First Citizens or the nobles. Just the people that keep this Empire afloat!" His anger had risen, and his pale face was turning red again.

"I completely agree," I replied, trying to calm him down. It seemed to work as the warden eventually lay prone on his bed and fell asleep; his anger had consumed his remaining energy.

Maveith returned an hour after leaving and did not look happy. Lyonis was asleep, so he spoke to me softly. "I caught sight of one of the beasts, maybe four miles north of here in the twilight sky. It was circling, and I am assuming its partner had taken down prey. It was probably waiting its turn to feed."

"What does it mean? Are they tracking Lyonis here?" I stirred uneasily.

"Yes, but they are not the best trackers. They mostly spot their prey from the air and swoop down on it. They will fire a barrage of barbs and then barrel into their prey. My guess is that since they wounded Lyonis, they think he will be an easy kill. They are not the smartest of creatures." Maveith seemed uncomfortable at the prospect of fighting.

"Should we leave tonight, then? Before they find us?" I asked, ready to grab my pack and leave.

"No, clouds are moving in. It will be too dark to make our way without a glowstone. And a glowstone would be a beacon. Hopefully, the neutralizing scent powder I spread will prevent them from locating us." He did not sound too optimistic. We were only twenty miles from the city, but I could not think of a way to safely reach it. The weasels were also going to be out, so it made sense to remain where we were.

"Get some rest, and I will keep watch." He moved to one of the windows with a chair. When he sat, the chair strongly protested his weight.

I would have liked to use my amulet, but if someone did come tonight, then I wanted to be able to respond. I removed a large hot meat pie from Maca. At this point, there was no point in hiding my space from Maveith. Maybe Castile had already told him anyway. His surprised look said he was unaware, though. The scent in the room was such that Lyonis drooled in his sleep, and Maveith kept giving me side glances. I ate half of it before giving it to a confused Maveith.

I explained, "I have a small spell form for a dimensional space. The size of the herb crate I had when you found me."

His eyes narrowed some, "And you made me carry the crate all the way back to the city for you, legionnaire?"

I shrugged, "You looked capable enough, goliath." I returned with a smile. He grunted but hid a small grin at being dupped. At least now he had a chance to enjoy a good meal.

He quickly finished the meat pie. "That was amazing. Do you have any wine to wash it down?" He had a joking tone, not thinking I did.

I had the bottle of wine from my interview with the Chancellor. I produced it, and his eyes went wide. He quickly dumped the water from his canteen and emptied half the bottle into it. Returning the half-full bottle to me. He sipped on the wine and smiled. "It is excellent."

I drank from the bottle, still not appreciating the wine. After Maveith finished his wine, he softened a little. He admitted, "We will have to fight them tomorrow. Come to the window and listen." I did as he instructed.

"I don't hear anything," I said after straining for minutes to hear.

"Exactly. The insects, night birds, and creatures know a true predator is in the area. If it were just the weasels, the insects and night birds would be active. No, the manticores are close. I do not think they will assault the cabin. They prefer to attack from range with quills before moving in for the kill." Maveith looked at the other warden. Lyonis was drooling but sleeping soundly. I handed Maveith a lesser healing potion.

He turned it in his hands, reading it. "For him?" I nodded. "It will cure his head wound and bring his senses back but not heal his broken arm. Are you sure?"

"If you are right, we need everyone as capable as possible," I confirmed.

He moved, woke him, and administered the potion. Lyonis fell asleep again. "Thank you, Eryk. I do not have many friends, but I count Lyonis among them." He faced me, "Tomorrow, at first light, I will rush into the woods to draw them out. I will circle back to the cabin, and maybe we can fight one of them together. Lyonis should be able to swing a blade. If we can disable the larger one, we may scare the smaller one into fleeing."

I did not sleep at all that night as I waited for dawn with Maveith. We woke Lyonis, and he went into his root cellar to feed us. He was much better and talking clearly. "I should be the one to run out there, Maveith, and circle around to draw them out. I can not use a bow, and you can."

"You are too weak. The healing potion drained your frail body already," he let out a soft chuckle to indicate he was teasing the man.

It was not long before Maveith opened the door. The fresh air outside rushed in with the morning light. We didn't see anything suspicious. He pointed, "I will enter the woods there and circle around and come back from the right. I will take a position there behind that rock and use my bow. When it comes into club range with me, rush out and attack it." He sounded more confident than I think he was.

He took a deep breath and sprinted across the small clearing into the trees, and I could see his large body moving among the thick trunks. A commotion in the woods came from the left as he moved right. A large creature pursued him, but it only looked like one. Where was the second creature?

Maveith ran his circle, came out from the right as planned, and slid on the wet grass to take shelter under a tree and behind a rock, pulling his bow. The creature that followed him out was as grotesque-looking as he had described. The mashed, semi-human-looking face was covered in a tangled mane of dark brown, shaggy hair. Dried bits of flesh and blood hung from the mane. The first arrow Maveith fired landed solidly in the shoulder, and the creature wailed.

In response to the wail to responding, screams of anger came from over the cabin. Maveith turned and looked. Even at almost thirty yards away, I could see the color drain from his face. "Two more above the cabin!" He fired an arrow above us, and a wail erupted, and then a storm of quills landed around Maveith. Three ended in his upper torso and one in his calf. He immediately began pulling them out.

The two new manticores landed between us and Maveith, their backs to us. They were much larger than the one that had chased Maveith through the woods. From behind, I could tell one was clearly male, and one was female. Maveith was in big trouble. The smaller one struggled to move with the arrow in its shoulder, but these two parents were unhappy.

"Come on, legionnaire, they are not going to kill themselves!" Lyonis moved, and I moved with him. The female turned her head, and I really wished I had my armor on as she raised her tail and whipped it at us, releasing a half-dozen two-foot-long barbs.

I activated my air barrier, and all four barbs were halted in the air disc. The female turned to face us, and I noticed it was not as messy an eater as its child. Its mane was clear of debris. Lyonis had stumbled with two quills in his body. He was incapacitated with pain. I had no choice but to take one creature down immediately. I pulled a pilum into my hands and pocketed a lesser healing potion before using my dimensional ability.

The female looked too confident at my approach. That was until a good portion of her chest was moved into my dimensional space. The creature strongly resisted my removal of her organs, and I knew she had much stronger aether resistance than a human. I still was able to overcome her aether resistance. Her expression became shocked as she stumbled, then collapsed. The familiar bottoming out of my aether happened, but I barely stumbled, expecting the slight dizziness. I was already rushing to take the male from behind.

The pilum is an interesting spear. The tip is basically a two-foot metal rod made for piercing shields. I threw the pilum from fifteen feet away with all my strength. Even I could not miss this close, and I did not want to get any closer with the threatening tail barbs. My aim was a little off, but it had the effect I wanted. The creature reared and howled as the pilum entered three feet into it from behind. It spun and bit the wooden shaft, shattering it but not removing the true cause of its pain lodged deep.

I moved left to see Maveith struggling with his bow, but he fired another arrow and hit the male in the chest, joining his first arrow. It was unphased and focused on something else. The male was trying to reach the remainder of the spear, spinning in place like a dog chasing its tail. It would have been comical, except we were still in extreme danger. Lyonis was on the ground, in pain from the manticore poison, and not going to contribute.

My only remaining weapon now was my short sword. I circled to join Mavieth, who was leaning on the rock for support and trying to get another arrow strung. I reached Maveith and handed him the potion with the stopper off. While he drank, I watched the angry male give up and turn his focus on me. The female was dead, and their child had Maveith's arrow lodged deep in its shoulder and was crying for its parents, having difficulty walking.

Maveith rasped, "Give me a moment, and I should be able to draw my bow again."

The manticore then did the unexpected. It spoke.