Arc 10: Hero For Hire

Chapter 1: Slayer

“You are bigger than the other morsels that roam these tunnels tasty one”. The voice was deep and echoed against the cave walls like the sound of the Monastery bells. She felt her muscles tense under the cuirass. She felt vulnerable; this job was not like the other ones. This job could eat her in one bite and wouldn't even have to chew. She knew that against a foe like this, in the best case scenario heavy armour would slow her down, and in the worst it would be the oven that would cook her flesh. No, this was better, movement was key. She dodged another jet of flames, she was getting tired, she felt the hairs on her neck curl and the smell irritated her nostrils, but the heat was welcome. The cave was cold and she had been hiding and running for almost two hours, waiting for a time to strike.

“You are a slippery one little mouse”, the voice boomed, she could hear the pitch shift; she knew that this meant he was moving away. She had tried to learn his pattern, but it was difficult because she could not risk looking at him, least her head would be burnt to a crisp. She would only get one chance, but that would have to be enough. The dwarves had said that this crystal was the only thing sharp enough to cut through the scales of a dragon, and she was betting her life that they were right. “I know you're in here morsel, these games are boring me, come out and face me!” She heard it, the pressure was pushing in her eardrums and she felt a sharp pain as the right one burst, this could be it, much longer and she would be too tired to apply enough force to cut. Her muscles tensed again and she started to sprint across the narrows bridge, his size was his weakness, the momentum would make changing direction too slow, but she had to make it. She saw the head, his pupil instantly turning into a slit as he spotted her. She could smell the sulphur, and felt him draw in his breath as his ribcage expanded, it was now or never.