Matthew Nesheim
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Chapter 50: Calista - The Rock Centipede
🕑 Added 2023-11-07 18:00:01 +0000 UTCThe moment the fae woman disappeared, the sound of the clicking legs returned. As Calista listened to the monster’s many legs travel over the rocks, she ripped her sword free and turned to face the sound. Beside her, Grumner readied his axe, Cat’s Eye held his short sword, Lefty gripped his staff, and Feathers hopped up onto the mage’s shoulder. The clicks and clacks traveled right to left and then faded. Through the gloom, she thought she spotted the shadow of a hulking carapace pass over a rock but then it was gone.
Then something from the fog hissed.
Beside her, Lefty was shivering with fear, “I don’t know much about rock centipedes, but I know that whatever is out there sounds really hungry.”
“Well lets make sure we’re not on the menu,” Calista said.
“What she said,” Cat’s Eye added.
Lefty looked worried, “I didn’t know we had advanced to the point of light hearted one liners before the battle. I feel like we need to advance a little more before we start spouting chippy jokes before something tries to kill us.”
Feathers gave a contradictory warble.
“Well that’s just your opinion,” Lefty snapped. “It happens to be my opinion that we shouldn’t be talking trash just yet when we don’t really have the means of backing it up.”
Calista sighed, “Take it easy, okay? It was a spur of the moment thing.”
Lefty whined, “I’m just saying …”
Grumner cut him off, “You’re overthinking things. It’s an insect.”
Lefty raised his voice, “I’m just saying as a point of emphasis for future …”
This time he was cut off by a loud, vibrating hiss as the centipede came at them over the rocks. Twice the size of a warhorse, the giant insect’s hundred legs clattered over the stones as its mandibles opened wide. Grumner let out a cry and brought his axe around to strike the giant insect across its face. The axe blade stuck home and took a chunk out of one of its mandibles. Calista, flanking to the centipede’s left, tried to stab it in the eye but the monster ducked its head as her blade only nicked its armor.
A chittering, vibrating hiss echoed against the rocks as the centipede reared back. This thing is huge, was all Calista could think before the giant insect brought itself down and knocked both her and Grumner to the ground. Two of the insect’s legs were pinned against her chest while a third held her leg. She swiped at the closest limb with her sword and was rewarded when it sliced through the monster’s knee.
Behind her, Grumner let out a cry of pain as the centipede bit into his arm. The dwarf’s axe was pinned to the ground while his free arm tried to fight off the centipede’s jaws. He was losing.
“Look out!” came Lefty’s voice. Calista saw Grumner pull back his arm just in time for a wave of fire to hit the centipede right in the face. The monster let out another vibrating hiss as it shook off the fire, bit down on Grumner’s shoulder, and tossed the dwarf against a rock. Then the giant insect charged the mage.
Calista, still lying on her back, stabbed twice at the centipede’s belly as it skittered away and on the second stab, her point hit home as she buried the sword to its hilt. With a jolt, the sword hilt flew from her hand and she rolled over the ground as several of the centipede’s legs stepped on her back and then kicked her across the rocks. Rolling, her momentum carried her over a stony step and slammed her head into a rock. Stars and bright lights flashed across her vision. Blinking hard, she shook her head to stave off the concussion. She needed to stay awake. She needed to fight.
As her sight returned, she turned to see the centipede had Lefty pinned against the ground. Then the mage summoned another flash of magic that burned the air and struck the giant insect in the face. Just above him, Cat’s Eye stood atop a rock where he was swatting at the centipede’s backside with a short sword to no avail. As Lefty’s fire spell faded, the centipede gave out a long, vibrating hiss and bit down on the wizard’s forearm. Lefty cried out in pain.
Calista pulled herself to one knee and then felt a tug on her boot. It was Feathers and he was pointing to something on her back.
“Hey, I don’t speak duck,” she said.
The duck, ignoring her, quacked and pointed again with his bill, this time at the giant centipede. It took one look for her to realize what the duck was talking about. Whatever magic Lefty had hit the centipede with had burned the chitinous armor just enough to open a fist sized hole on the left side of its head.
The duck tugged at her boot again and again pointed to her back.
“Yeah, yeah … I got it, I got it …” she murmured as she unslung the heavy crossbow from her back. Pulling back the lever, she loaded a quarrel, hefted the weapon against her shoulder, and took aim. Taking her time to get the centipede’s head in her sights, she took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and pulled the trigger.
With a twang, the crossbow released and in a blink the quarrel appeared in the hole in the armor of the centipede’s head. It was buried all the way to its feathers as the metal tip appeared on the other side of the centipede’s head. In an instant, the vibrating hiss fell silent as the huge insect rolled off Lefty and then lay on its back as its legs twitched in the air.
Calista dropped the crossbow and rose to her feet. Behind her, Grumner was lying wounded against a rock. Before her, Lefty lay bleeding against the ground. As she walked up to the centipede, she braced her foot against its belly and pulled her Emberblade free. Then, taking aim for its head, she held the sword downward in both hands and drove the point between its jaws. In an instant, the twitching stopped.
