We found the monster on a rocky ledge high above the lake. For three days my brother and I had tracked it through the maze of caves to its lair on the mountains summit. And now we beheld it, curled atop its treasure its pale fur and scales ablaze with moonlight.
It knew we were there. Doubtless it had smelled us coming, its flared nostrils drinking in the sweat of our and fear. Its crested head lifted slightly, almost lazily. Coins and jewels clinked and shifted as its body began to uncoil.
"Kill it!" I roared. My sword was in my hand, and my brother was at my side, his own blade flashing. The speed with which the beast struck was incomprehensible. I tried to throw myself clear, but its muscular neck crashed against my right arm, and I felt the arm break and dangle uselessly at my side. But my sword hand was my left, and with a bellow of pain, I slashed at the monster's chest, my blade deflecting off its mighty ribs.
I was aware of my brother striking at the beast's lower regions all while trying to avoid its lashing tail. The monster came at me again, its jaws agape. I battered its head, trying to stab at its mouth or eyes. but it was as quick as a cobra. It knocked me sprawling to the stone, so that I was perilously close to the precipice's edge. The monster reared back, ready to strike, and then it shrieked in pain, for my brother had severed one of its hind legs.
But still the monster faced only me - as if I were its sole adversary.
I pushed myself up with my good hand, Before the monster could strike, I hurled myself at it. This time my sword plunged deep into its chest, so deep I could scarcely wrench it out. A ribbon of dark fluid unfurled in the moonlight, and the monster reared to full height, terrible to behold, and then crumpled. its head shattered on the ground, and there, among the bloodied fur and cracked crest, was the face of a beautiful girl. My brother came to my side, and together we gazed at her, marveling.
"We've broken the curse," he said to me. "We have saved the town. And we have released her."
The girl's eyes opened, and she looked from my brother to me. I knew she didn't have long to live, and a question burned inside me. I knelt.
"Why?" I asked her. "Why was it only me you attacked?"
"Because it is you," she whispered, "who is the real monster."
-This Dark Endeavor
It knew we were there. Doubtless it had smelled us coming, its flared nostrils drinking in the sweat of our and fear. Its crested head lifted slightly, almost lazily. Coins and jewels clinked and shifted as its body began to uncoil.
"Kill it!" I roared. My sword was in my hand, and my brother was at my side, his own blade flashing. The speed with which the beast struck was incomprehensible. I tried to throw myself clear, but its muscular neck crashed against my right arm, and I felt the arm break and dangle uselessly at my side. But my sword hand was my left, and with a bellow of pain, I slashed at the monster's chest, my blade deflecting off its mighty ribs.
I was aware of my brother striking at the beast's lower regions all while trying to avoid its lashing tail. The monster came at me again, its jaws agape. I battered its head, trying to stab at its mouth or eyes. but it was as quick as a cobra. It knocked me sprawling to the stone, so that I was perilously close to the precipice's edge. The monster reared back, ready to strike, and then it shrieked in pain, for my brother had severed one of its hind legs.
But still the monster faced only me - as if I were its sole adversary.
I pushed myself up with my good hand, Before the monster could strike, I hurled myself at it. This time my sword plunged deep into its chest, so deep I could scarcely wrench it out. A ribbon of dark fluid unfurled in the moonlight, and the monster reared to full height, terrible to behold, and then crumpled. its head shattered on the ground, and there, among the bloodied fur and cracked crest, was the face of a beautiful girl. My brother came to my side, and together we gazed at her, marveling.
"We've broken the curse," he said to me. "We have saved the town. And we have released her."
The girl's eyes opened, and she looked from my brother to me. I knew she didn't have long to live, and a question burned inside me. I knelt.
"Why?" I asked her. "Why was it only me you attacked?"
"Because it is you," she whispered, "who is the real monster."
-This Dark Endeavor
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