Spear of Destiny by James Baldwin (little bear else holmelund minarik .TXT) 📕

will take you back to your shipwreck. You will be able to purchase parts to repair it, and then you must leave.”

“You know about the shipwreck already, huh?” Gar swung his legs morosely, bouncing the heels of his boots off the side of Karalti’s saddle.

“Of course. We are Forest Keepers.” The Captain shrugged. “Come. Mount your dragon, and we will walk you to the city limit. And while we walk, think of your best stories.”

I waved my hands. “Stories about…?”

“Crimes, of course!” The Forest Keeper exclaimed. “That is the only reason humans come here. It is not against our laws to smuggle, but it is a great dishonor to attempt the arts of theft and grift and fail. So perhaps do not mention the airship crash to the Priest-Queen, yes? The women of our land are fickle, and not opposed to taking human slaves.”

***

We heard the sounds of combat from half a mile away; the howling screams of Meewfolk and the roars of monsters. Large, angry monsters.

“What in Lua’s name...?” The captain of the Forest Keepers muttered. “Quickly! Something is attacking the city!”

Karalti put her head down and picked up speed as the Forest Keepers launched into the surrounding air, their pterodactyl mounts quorking cries of alarm. We ran straight into a pitched battle below the beautifully carved red walls of Ru Waat. Animals of all kinds—from small monkeys to velociraptors—were pouring out of the lush jungle beyond the city, attacking the gates in a rabid rage. Several dervishes were fighting a pair of chimera. Part lion, part goat, part snake, they bounded back and forth, striking up at the parapets as Meewfolk guardswomen fired down on them with a steady stream of arrows. The beasts were starting to drop health, but they weren’t alone. Four huge dinosaurs were shambling toward the tall red stone walls of the city from the forest line. These shaggy black monsters looked like someone had crossbred Godzilla with a chicken, given it a pair of long beefy arms, and welded katana blades to each finger. I knew them from other dinosaur-inclusive games I’d played: they were Therizinosaurs. But something about them wasn’t right, and as they got closer, I spotted why.

These [Zombie Therizinosaurs] were also extremely dead.

Bloated from the jungle heat, putrid from the moisture, they were little more than waddling sacks of fluid as they charged the wall. They didn’t seem to notice us: instead, they began to belch missiles of black filth at the city walls, trying to strike the archers still raining fire down on the chimera. The blasts managed to hit one archer, who fell back with a shriek of pain.

“To battle!” The Captain of the Forest Keepers cried from overhead. “Defend the walls!”

More decaying animals and monsters swarmed out of the jungle toward the city. The stench was unbearable.

“Suri! You and me can take on that spare chimera! Gar, Rin, go back up the Forest Keepers with enfilade support! Karalti, tank for the ranged units if they draw aggro!” I rattled off orders, already moving for the front. More surprising was that no one argued with me. Rin didn’t know what enfilade was, but Gar seemed to, because he called for her and the Meewfolk to follow him to a position where they could fire on the Therizinosaurs from the side.

Suri stripped her armor and psyched herself into Primal Rage as I activated Mantle of Night, boosting my speed and attack power just before my first Jump. I landed right on the Chimera’s back, driving the spear in where the scales ended and fur began.

[You deal 2025 damage! HP: 8,277/12,747]

The Chimera screamed from three different mouths, and I realized I might have made a mistake when the snake-head tail of the thing darted toward me. I was still under the influence of Mantle of Night, so instead of sinking its six-inch fangs into my neck, they hit me in the ribs. Yaola’s chiton scale armor did its work: instead of plunging into my chest, the tips barely scraped my skin.

[You take 290 damage!]

[Virulent Poison! 2HP damage per second for 300 seconds.]

A wave of cold numbness spread through my arm—I leaped off as I saw Suri charge in from behind, her red aura flaring just before she brought her sword down in a huge cleaving strike. The massive blade took the snake’s head right off, sending it flying and shooting a jet of black acidic blood into the air.

[Suri deals Critical Hit! 2571 damage! Chimera HP: 5,706/12,747.]

The injured Chimera roared, bucking like a bronco with me on top of it as I chugged an antidote and rode the damn thing like a stunt bike, surfing its back as it kicked and reared. Suri came around to the front: the chimera tracked her, then opened its lion mouth and released a stream of fireballs. She tanked them all, grunting as the fire splashed over her bare arms.

“I got this! Go back up the others!” Suri swept the lion’s paw to the side and headbutted it right in the face.

Karalti waded into the small army of undead creatures, blasting a pack of [Zombie Deinonychus] into ash before they reached the wall. The rest of the party had drawn the aggro of the Theris. They were unloading on them with everything they had: the rangers with bow and arrows, Gar with his pistols, Rin with her turrets. Every hit picked away at the monster’s health, but they had huge HP pools and were unaffected by pain or fear. The line of dinosaurs kept marching toward them, hocking gouts of black slime. One of them hit Hopper’s kinetic shield wall. Another of them struck Rin, causing her to cry out as her skin began sizzling.

“Time to blow some shit the hell up!” I launched off the furious chimera, pivoted in the air, and concentrated. Shards of black energy rained down