Path of Dragons

Book 2: Chapter 54: The Nemean Lion

Pain erupted in Elijah’s back as his attacker brought incredibly sharp claws to bear. Due to his high Constitution, he wasn’t ripped to shreds, but the claws still scraped against his ribs. As the creature – whatever it was – tore his flesh to ribbons, one facet of Elijah’s mind focused on casting Form of the Guardian. The second he finished the spell, his body started to morph.

First, he grew scales. Then, his arms extended, his hands becoming vicious claws. His legs didn’t grow any shorter, but the effect was the same due to the lengthening of his torso and the sheer amount of muscle that came with the form of the lamellar ape. The moment the transformation was complete, Elijah used Iron Scales. It didn’t do anything for the ruin that had already been wrought on his back, but it would hopefully prevent more damage in the immediate future.

But only for a few seconds. Then, he would have to cast it again, which was not a viable strategy. Using the ability in quick succession would drain his stamina very rapidly, and if he employed that approach, he would quickly wear himself out. As a result, he was on the clock.

With that timer occupying one facet of his mind, Elijah used the second of solace granted by his ability to shove himself to his feet. With his long arms, he tried to dislodge the creature on his back, but it was both too small and too awkwardly positioned. So, even with his extended reach, he couldn’t get ahold of the thing. So, after spying the nearest tree, he launched himself backwards. Just before he crashed into the massive trunk, the little monster on his back leaped free.

That was when Elijah got his first look at the thing.

“Is that a housecat?” he murmured, his transformed voice coming out as more of a growl.

Indeed, the supposed monster was clearly a housecat, though Elijah wasn’t certain of the breed. With an extraordinarily fluffy coat of tawny fur, it would’ve looked like a stuffed animal if it wasn’t for the blood splattered across its chest. The animal was also more than twice the size of any housecat Elijah had ever seen, which meant that its stature was similar to a mountain lion.

“Don’t hurt her!” screamed the boy, his voice cracking. Then, he added, “No Artemis! Bad girl! Leave the man…er…monster alone!”

The cat, which Elijah belatedly recognized as a Maine Coon, briefly shifted its focus to the boy. That gave Elijah an opening he wasn’t going to squander. So, he launched himself forward, intending to end the fight with a single blow. With the increased Haste effect from Sash of the Whirlwind, Elijah moved with incredible alacrity, and he managed to take the distracted cat by surprise.

His claws glinted metallically as they swept out, but when he made contact with the little monster’s tawny fur, he got the surprise of a lifetime. The sound of metal scratching against metal filled the air, and though the momentum of the blow sent the cat sailing through the air, the attack did not bear the results Elijah had anticipated.

The little creature twisted, hitting a tree feet-first, then launched itself back at Elijah. He barely had time to once again use Iron Scales before it hit him like a launched missile. Despite its comparatively small size – after all, even a bobcat was tiny compared to his lamellar ape form – the impact of its attack sent him staggering backwards. Then, it savaged his chest with its sharp claws, though most of the damage was mitigated by the still-ongoing Iron Scales.

But it was set to end soon.

To avoid having his chest shredded as thoroughly as his back, Elijah clambered for a grip on the little creature, and to his surprise, he managed to grab ahold of its great, bushy tail. However, when he did, he felt something that, once again, filled him with surprise. Instead of fluffy fur, the cat was covered in something more akin to the bristles of a steel brush. When his claws closed around the tail, he felt those bristles painfully digging into his palm. Yet, he wasn’t going to let such a perfect opportunity go to waste. So, despite the annoying pain, his grip tightened. And when he had a good hold of the tail, he ripped the creature away from his chest and slammed it against the ground.

Once.

Twice.

Three times, channeling his inner Hulk. The little monster yowled in agony, but Elijah wasn’t rewarded with the sound of breaking bones. Instead of being crippled by being slammed into the ground multiple times, the cat had gone wild, clawing anything that came into range. That meant that, as soon as Iron Scales wore off, the creature tore into his wrist and forearm.

Elijah’s Constitution was high, so those claws didn’t sever tendons, but even if it wasn’t permanently damaging, it was more than enough to frustrate him. However, just before he took his anger out on the cat via another slamming attack, something hit Elijah in his already wounded back. The smell of sizzling meat assailed his nose before the blistering agony reached his mind. And when it did, he reacted reflexively, loosening his grip just enough that the cat was able to wriggle free.

“Leave her alone!” screamed the boy.

Elijah stumbled to his knees as the flesh of his back smoldered. Then, another attack landed, and the molten pain shot through the roof. He collapsed onto his chest as another fireball sailed overhead, hitting a nearby tree and setting it alight. Elijah tried to rise, but with the muscles in his back having been destroyed, he couldn’t move more than a few inches.

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His options were limited. Touch of Nature was powerful, but the healing it offered was far from instantaneous. Given that he could scarcely move, and he had two enemies bearing down on him, that just wouldn’t work. So, without any other choices he could see, Elijah used Guardian’s Renewal.

Guardian’s Renewal

Instantly and completely regenerate. Cooldown affected by Regeneration attribute. Current: Once Per 6.7 Days.

The ability was instant, and his body immediately recovered. Muscles mended, flesh reformed, and his scales were quickly restored. Yet a lingering pain persisted, almost as if he had a pulled muscle. As far as Elijah knew, that shouldn’t have been possible. Fortunately, it wasn’t enough to hinder him, but in one facet of his Mind, he was definitely concerned.

More distressing was what he finally allowed himself to notice. The pervasive, sickly sweet scent of rot filled the air, and beneath the cat’s fur was a series of familiar, black tendrils. Now that he saw it – albeit only barely – Elijah knew the source. He’d seen such a thing before, and the encounter had been significant and terrifying enough that he would never forget it. Clearly, the cat had run afoul of a dimensional rift, which had infected it with the madness Elijah had seen from the bear back on his island. Back then, he’d managed to close the rift before it had spread too much, but from the looks of it, wherever the cat had been infected had probably been there for quite some time.

“W-what? How?” breathed the boy.

Elijah rose to his feet, completely restored. That prompted another attack from the young man, who summoned a ball of blue-white fire and tossed it in Elijah’s direction. Now that he could see it coming, he had no issues dodging it, and when he did, Elijah darted forward to wrap his massive claw around the young man’s waist. At the same time, the cat managed to push itself to its feet and flee into the surrounding forest. It used some sort of ability, because it even disappeared from One with Nature far before it had time to leave the area of effect.

So, with only one enemy left, Elijah turned his full attention to the young man. He squeezed, then growled, “Why did you attack me?”

“Please…she’s just sick…she’s not…she’s not bad! Don’t hurt her!”

The fury of the lamellar ape threatened to overwhelm Elijah, but he shoved it aside in favor of human calm. Still, he was prepared to rip the young man in two if the situation called for it. In fact, he craved that outcome in ways he didn’t want to think about.

“Explain,” he growled.

“She’s…she’s my only friend! Please don’t hurt her anymore!”

“I won’t,” Elijah snarled. He fully realized that the statement was entirely contrary to his tone, but he didn’t dare switch back to his much more vulnerable human form. That fire would have eaten a hole through him in a second if he hadn’t been in his Guardian shape. He unsuccessfully tried to soften his voice as he once again prompted, “Explain. Now.”

“O-okay. Okay. Just…just don’t hurt her…”

Then, the young man launched into what sounded to Elijah like an unlikely tale. According to Atlas – which Elijah surmised was the boy’s name – the animal was his cat, Artemis. Just after Earth had experienced the touch of the World Tree, the cat had started to level via hunting various pests in Argos. It had also become the young man’s protector, keeping him safe until he was old enough to take an archetype. He’d chosen the Sorcerer archetype, though he didn’t specify his class. Elijah got the feeling that most people kept that information to themselves, at least in Argos.

“Then, Artemis started hunting other cats. Even dogs,” Atlas explained. “She kept getting stronger, too. So did I. And when we found out about the tower, I was one of the people asked to go. I…I was the only one who made it back. When I did, Artemis was gone. And all the animals in the city had been killed. I don’t know if that was before or after she got…infected.”

Elijah sighed, which came out more like a growl. Then, he finally let the young man fall from his grip and made a choice that, in a vacuum, was probably stupid. However, the alternative was something he didn’t want to consider. He shifted back to his human form, which caused Atlas to scramble backwards in fear.

Holding up a hand, Elijah said, “Calm down. I’m going to heal you, okay? And then you’re going to show me where the rift is. Once I close it, we’ll find your cat, and I’ll try to remove the infection.”

“What? How? You’re not a Healer.”

“You’re not wrong. But I’m close enough,” Elijah responded, already casting Healing Rain. As the soothing precipitation started to fall, he added, “See? Healing Rain. Feels good, right? I’m here to help.”

Elijah was well aware that his bedside manner left a little to be desired, but he hoped that his calm tone, human visage, and healing would bridge the gap and allow the young man to trust him – at least enough that he wouldn’t start tossing more of those blue-white fireballs at him.

“I…I…”

He didn’t get anything else out before Elijah took a step forward and laid his hand on the young man’s shoulder. He wasn’t going to push his luck by insisting on a proper examination, so he settled for the untargeted form of Touch of Nature. That was usually fine for self-healing, but when he was trying to mend someone else’s injuries, it was decidedly less effective. Still, he made do, suffusing the young man’s body with rejuvenating energy.

Atlas gasped and flinched before he was beset by a series of tremors as his body mended. In the end, it took six casts of Touch of Nature to heal the boy, which was a testament to Atlas’s level of power.

“That…most people have trouble healing me,” he muttered, looking down at his bloodstained clothes. “Because of my class…”

Elijah could tell that the young man didn’t want to talk about that, so he asked, “What’s your real name? And don’t tell me it’s really Atlas. I know that’s bullshit.”

“Oh. It’s Isaak. The Atlas thing wasn’t my idea.”

“Well, Isaak,” Elijah said, holding out his hand. “I’m Elijah.” When the young man grasped his hand, he pulled Isaak to his feet and added, “Nice to meet you. Now, let’s go find that rift. With any luck, we’ll have your cat healed by the end of the day.”