The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage

[8] Hunted

Morning came with the sound of a scream which caused Bjorn to spring awake. He looked around with both heads under his control which he soon relinquished the right one to Failsafe. Only the far wall of the cave was illuminated by the rising sun. The low light didn’t matter because as Bjorn found out last night he can see in darkness quite well. 

It didn’t take much to discover the source of the scream Freja was awake but doesn’t have the energy to sit up with her broken ribs. Her shock and joy quickly turned into confusion as she saw the now two headed Bjorn. She winced in pain as she reached out her hand, following the familiar bond that connected them with her magic. He isn’t gone she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Bjorn?” She whispered as if saying the name too loud would cause him to vanish. “That is you, right?”

Bjorn squawked in response and the girl reached forward despite the pain by infusing her muscles with mana and embraced the lizard. She apologized for not fighting the troll and getting him hurt. The tears wouldn’t stop as the pain forced her back to the ground. The pain not even allowing her to lift her arms and pet the loyal familiar. 

Bjorn knew she was injured but not to what extent. It may be a few days or weeks before she will be fit to move. That means she will need food and water especially after losing so much blood. He needed to do something for her and fast. 

Freja’s breathing was staggered.“What happened to you? The second head is definitely new. Well at least now you are twice as cute.” Freja said with a slight chuckle but winced in pain. “We have to go. My father… my father disowned me. He actually tried to kill us.” She shook her head. “If Helga were alive he wouldn’t… it doesn’t matter.” Her eyes finally darted around the cave. “Did you drag me in here? Good boy. I just need to rest a little more.” She passed out cold.

Bjorn stayed by Freja for a few more minutes then he decided to search around the mouth of the cave. He wanted to get a good lay of the land. He decided to finish gathering the test of Freja’s belongings which included her alchemy set in a rather nice leather bound case along with several notebooks and textbooks. It was a few hours from midday and aside a couple of vultures circling the dead troll not much had changed from the day prior. The clearing around the large rock face stretched out into a short grassland before transitioning to unkempt woodland. 

“Do you think Freja can eat troll meat?” Bjorn asked.

“I don’t know, but you did pump it full of venom so probably not.” Failsafe responded.

“Can she not eat anything I kill with my venom?” Bjorn said as he found a rock that he could climb up to get a better view of the surroundings. “That might be a problem. I am pretty sure I am supposed to be an ambush predator that strikes and wraps my prey up with my long body.”

“We just have to hunt something small like a bird or rabbit after we find some water.” Failsafe added.

Bjorns two heads swing around looking for any signs of monsters skulking around. With each tongue flare he could literally taste the decomposition of the troll along with the frustration of the vultures trying to get to the meat beneath the thick hide. He decided to watch for a few hours just to make sure nothing would show up while he left Freja alone in the cave.

He was satisfied and returned to check on the sleeping girl before he left for the grassland. She looked peaceful but he could taste the turmoil in the air. He walked over to the alchemy case and after a few tries managed to undo the latch and open it. Inside were vials, beakers, a mortar and pestle along with a host of tools, potions and ingredients. Bjorn could tell that the girl was passionate about her use of alchemy and he felt she most likely wanted to learn to cover her deficiencies as a magic caster.

Bjorn took one of the empty glass beakers in his mouth. A runic symbol at the bottom reinforced the durability making it far stronger than the thin glass made it seem. Now that he had a cup he was off to the grassland to find water. The clacking of his talons against the hard rocky ground changed into a much softer comfortable jaunt now that he had soft soil beneath his paws. The lizard decided to use his magic to tug at the familiar pact under the direction of Failsafe. He found that could feel the direction back to Freja so at least he wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost.

The grass was tall or at least taller than he was meaning he had to rely on his sense of the familiar bond like a compass to know he was going in the right direction. Soon enough he reached the entrance to the forest. The canopy was thick making the passage look menacing. Bjorn wanted to test out a theory to determine a possible escape should he encounter any predators. 

He placed the glass beaker down and walked up to the closest tree and sunk his claws into the trunk in an attempt to climb. His first attempt looked more like he really just wanted to give the tree a hug. He tried again this time with a bit of a hop using his front arms to grab on then his hind legs to push up. He found that doing this he could climb pretty well and made it about twelve feet up the trunk but it was too tiring to keep trying until he found water. He used his long tail to wrap around the tree trunk as added safety as he slowly descended.

Now that he had an escape should something happen he felt confident enough to enter the forest with his glass. The darkness didn’t impede his vision and he used his heightened senses to smell out the location of water. Every few minutes he would have to set the glass down and flare his tongue then continue. While he walked he noticed Failsafe chewing on something. He swallowed and looked back at him.

“What?” Failsafe asked. “We stopped moving.”

“What were you eating?” Bjorn asked.

“A beetle we nearly passed, tasted alright I guess.” Failsafe stated. “I have been doing it this whole time, are you just now noticing?”

“Yes. Why are you eating bugs?” Bjorn asked incredulously.

“Uh, because we need to eat to keep up our strength. Lizards eat insects all the time.” Failsafe responded and his head squawked.

Bjorn hadn’t considered insects as part of his diet but the magic construct wasn’t wrong. This was a survival situation and if he could fill his stomach while searching for water, in this case two heads really was better than one. He continued for a half hour until he finally picked up the taste of water in the air. He tugged at the magical connection he had to Freja just to make sure he could get back home then continued.

“We are not too far from water now.” Bjorn said mentally to failsafe.

“Stop.” Failsafe responded as his head swiveled around. “I think we are being hunted.”

Bjorn froze in place then got low to the ground as both he and Failsafe used all of their senses to observe the area. Everything looked normal, the canopy blocking most light but a thick carpet of leaves making nearly every step crunch. He didn’t smell anything but the natural musk of the forest. His tongue tasted the air and sure he could pick up the faintest trace of other animals; they all seemed far away. Then something jumped out at him, the taste of magic so faint he only noticed it because he was focused so intently. 

“Run.” Failsafe screamed in Bjorn’s head.

Bjorn picked up the beaker in his mouth and took off running in the direction of the water just as something lunged out at them so close they felt its breath. As soon as they started running the forest erupted into life Bjorn heard the sound of several things chasing them. He didn’t dare turn around; he needed absolute focus on where he was going. The last thing he needed not was to trip on a root and stumble.

“Shadow wolves.” Failsafe said he was able to turn and look around without impeding Bjorn.

“Go right now.” Failsafe said right as Bjorn narrowly avoided the jaws of the leading wolf. “Left-left.”

Bjorn quickly changed directions again and again following Failsafe’s guidance. The sound of more wolves joining in the hunt painted a grim picture especially when the sound was coming from ahead. Bjorn made a last second decision and turned to the nearest tree and jumped as high as he could. His claws sunk into the trunk as he pulled himself up as fast as he could.  It wasn’t fast enough as he felt one of them bite onto his tail sinking their teeth in deep and start pulling him down off the tree. The pain caused him to release the beaker which fell to the ground.

Bjorn looked back for the first time and saw a pack of at least ten pitch black wolves closing in. Their bodies were like optical camouflage changing to match the shadows round them. The one that gripped his tail was already ripping at his flesh and the pain was intense. Bjorn could feel his grip on the trunk loosening; he needed to do something now or he was dead. 

“Failsafe, poison puff.” Bjorn screamed in his head. “Do it now.”

Poison Puff
Magic Cost: 1
You can mix your venom into the air using magic creating a small area of poisonous gas. This gas will reduce the health of those inside. The wider the area of effect, the less effective the poison.

Failsafe didn’t respond as Bjorn felt the single magic point he had drained from his core and into his other head. A sickly green mist escaped from between Failsafe’s jaws which quickly changed black as he opened his mouth and exhaled. The mist smelled unusually sweet but roiled like a thunder cloud as the magic imbued into it crackled. The mist poured from Failsafe like a waterfall and in a far greater amount than looks like it should have been possible for such a small creature. 

As soon as the mist came into contact with the wolf they heard whimpering and it released his tail. The other wolves ran it to the mist only to also start crying and retreat out. Bjorn looked around and saw the wolves back up, some of them coughing and a few already started running away. He looked out and saw they were only a few hundred feet from the water he had been tracking. It was a large bayou, the wetland cutting through the forest like a knife. 

The lizard looked back down at the wolves they were still regrouping and obviously more wary of chasing him now that they saw he was a threat. He needed to make it to the water before the mist dissipated. He only had one shot and he could lose the wolves in the water. His heart beat in his chest as he weighed the pros and cons; this was life or death for him and Feja. He tugged at his familiar connection to make sure he could feel her direction and he could.

“Shit.” Bjorn said. “Hope I can swim.”

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