Brian Pratt - Warrior priest of Dmon-Li

Raising his staff, he cries out as a flash of light leaps from the tip of his staff to the nearest mud creature. When the light hits the creature, it looses all cohesion. With a sodden plop, the mud which had formed the creature falls apart and splats with a sickening sound as it forms a pile upon the ground. The light flashes again and again until all the mud creatures have been reduced to a pile of muck.

He turns back toward their hiding place as he points his staff in their direction. A yellowish beam of light flashes in their direction but is deflected by an unseen barrier.

The villagers begin crying out as the women and children get up and run off the island, using paths leading away from where James and Miko are hiding. The warriors grab their spears as they begin racing toward them.

“James!” Miko says urgently, “they’re coming this way.” He waits a moment but James fails to respond to what he’d said.

As the warriors come closer, a stick flies up off the ground and begins twirling above the path, blocking their way. A warrior comes close and tries to strike the stick, only to end up being struck himself. The force of the blow could be heard even from where Miko sits and the warrior reels backward into his companions.

Miko sees James remove one of his slugs from his belt and watches as it flies toward the witch doctor. Inches before it hits him, it’s deflected away.

The warriors holding Jiron take him back to the cage and lock it before joining the others who’re trying to get past the whirling stick. Miko sees Jiron begin to regain consciousness and stands up groggily, holding onto the side of the cage as he surveys what’s going on.

The witch doctor again let’s loose a bolt of energy which is once more deflected before it even gets close.

A violent tremor suddenly courses through the ground and Miko has to grab hold of a tree next to him in order to remain upright. The warriors trying to get past the whirling stick begin to fall as the shaking of the ground throws them off balance. One unlucky fellow stumbles near the water’s edge and trips over an exposed tree root. Crying out, he falls into the water which suddenly roils with movement as hundreds of tiny fish begin biting him. Miko watches in horror as the water turns red and in less than a minute, the water again grows calm and naught but bones can be seen.

The shaking had rocked the island as well, causing the witch doctor to stumble but had somehow managed to remain standing.

James is beginning to pant from the exertion of maintaining the whirling stick that’s blocking the warriors’ way and in dealing with the witch doctor. The familiar headache caused by too much magic usage begins to make itself known, his vision is starting to blur as well. He’s not going to be able to continue much longer, he needs to finish this quickly before he passes out.

Miko watches as the island stops its shaking and the witch doctor steps closer to the edge of the island. Suddenly, the pool of stagnant water near him erupts, throwing muck and water into the air. A good portion of the eruption arcs through the air toward the island where the witch doctor is standing.

Trying to get out of the path of the swamp water, he back pedals quickly, but not quickly enough. The water falls upon him and suddenly he starts to scream as dozens of small fish attach themselves to his exposed flesh, their tiny sharp teeth digging in hungrily. He begins trying to tear them off when a hole suddenly opens up in his chest. A spray of gore explodes out his back as one of James’ slugs exits his body.

The witch doctor falls to the ground in a pool of his own blood, the little fishes continue biting and wriggling into his body. The warriors, who’d been trying to get to James, stand in stunned silence upon seeing their witch doctor fall. They begin crying out in fear as they turn tail and run, following the paths the women and children had taken earlier. In short order, the island is clear of everyone except Jiron who’s still in the cage and now more alert.

With Miko’s help, James gets up and makes his way along the path over to where Jiron is being held.

When he sees them emerge from the swamp, a big smile breaks across his bloodied face. “Thought that might’ve been your handiwork,” he says to James when they get closer.

“Couldn’t leave you to be their dinner, now could I?” James asks as he begins to unlock the cage.

Getting a whiff of the bug repellent, he goes, “Gah! What did you guys fall into?”

“Pretty bad, isn’t it?” Miko says. “It may smell bad, but it keeps the bugs off,” he explains. “James did it.”

“Got any more?” Jiron asks as he kills yet another mosquito who’d tried to make a meal of him.

Nodding, James concentrates and the mist appears. Jiron’s nose wrinkles as it begins settling in upon him.

When James sees his reaction to the smell, he smiles and says, “You get use to it.”

“I sure hope so,” he says.

“We better get out of here before they come back and bring friends,” James tells them. “I doubt if this is the only village in the swamp.” He gazes around the island at the many paths leading away.

“Which way?” Miko asks when he sees him considering their choices.

“We came from the south,” he says, “nothing there but beach. The villagers took the paths toward the east, so maybe we should follow the one to the northwest.” He points to a well used path that leads in that direction.

“As good as any,” Jiron says as he goes over to the mat on the ground near the cage where his knives had been placed. Strapping them on, he turns to leave and notices James’ leg for the first time. “What happened to you?” he asks.

“Big lizard came and took a bite out of him,” Miko replies for him. “But we took care of it,” he says as he glances to James. “Didn’t we?”

Giving him a slight smile, James says, “We sure did.”

Hobbling, James continues to use the stick to aid him in walking as he and the others leave the island on the northwest path.

Leaving the island behind, they set out upon the trail as they keep an eye out for any warriors who may return, seeking retribution for the death of their witch doctor. On Miko’s mind however, are the rhino-lizards who seem to pop out from the trees with little or no warning.

A couple of times they observed one of the natives moving among the trees off in the distance, but none ever came close enough to pose a threat.

“They must be keeping an eye on us,” assumes James.

“As long as that’s all they want to do,” Miko says as he continuously scans the sides of the trail, as well as behind them, for natives and rhino-lizards.

“Think they’ll attack?” Jiron asks.

Shrugging, James replies, “Who knows? I wouldn’t think so since we took out their most powerful person. Though, you never know.”

“They may be out there preparing to attack us at any minute!” asserts Miko.

“If it happens, it happens,” James tells him, annoyed at his negativity. “But until it does, there’s not much we could do in anticipation anyway, so relax.”

Miko is anything but relaxed as he continues to jump at every noise coming out of the swamp.

The trail suddenly begins to run along the banks of a larger waterway that’s moving very slowly, almost like it’s standing still. Large creatures can be seen out in it, cow-like creatures that act an awful lot like hippos, though they sure don’t resemble them very much. They seem harmless, only lifting their heads when James and the others pass by on the trail.

“The fish aren’t eating them,” observes Jiron.

“No, they’re not,” says James. Taking a closer look at the water, he continues, “It doesn’t look as if those fish are in these waters. Maybe they prefer the stagnant water in still ponds.”