Duelling an Eldritch Alien

Sir Danielle Longbow’s sword rose to meet a foe unimagined in her worst nightmares. On the alien world designed by hatred and hunger it was no wonder that the beast was an eldritch abstraction.

            Butterfly wings tipped with claws fluttered at the speed of a hummingbird. Eyes blinked on stalks with lamprey mouths.

            A purple fanged stalk lurched towards Danielle with the speed of an arrow. She slashed at it with her sword, cutting the flickering neck. The mouth and eye fell to the ground. Instead of leaving them there, the beast dragged its own severed debris into a larger mouth that hid behind a vertical jaw of yellow interlocking barbs.

            Colours began to move across the beast in waves. The sight, though beautiful, was distracting. Another mouth managed to grab at Danielle’s shield, teeth locked around the edge. The force pulling the shield away from her seemed impossibly strong considering the snake like limb was no wider than her wrist.

            Cutting the attached mouth brought a scream that made her involuntarily close her eyes in pain. The wince gave the beast a chance to skirt her sword arm and wrap a biting limb around her wrist. The pulsing squeeze opened her hand. The sword clattered from her hand to the crimson rock at her feet.

            Danielle’s desperate eyes darted to the world below as she stepped back towards the edge of the cliff.

            “It doesn’t look good, little knight,” said the creature who had taken her to that dreadful world. “No sword. How will you fight.”

            The monster moved closer, bringing more of its mouths into range. Danielle smashed the edge of her shield against the pulsing limb that was bruising her arm. It loosened. She ripped herself free of its grip.

            “You still don’t have a sword,” said the mocking voice.

            Danielle pressed a sabaton beneath the blade of her sword and tried to get her foot under. Mouths flew at her three or four at a time. Her trusty heater shield met them. Each swing was exhausting. Her father’s shield was all steel and beyond heavy.

            “Tired already? This is just monster one of five, remember? Don’t die so soon.” He laughed. “Or do.”

            With her foot beneath the sword, she lifted it and bent to grab the handle. Two fanged limbs with eyes grabbed the shield, blunting their teeth as they tried to wrestle it from her. Reforged from the steel of her father’s sword, Danielle’s blade cut both limbs away.

            She advanced, swiping at the snakelike eyes and mouths.

            “Be careful, human, my kind attack those with long spears. Range is the key.”

            “Fuck off. I don’t have a spear. I don’t even have my bow.”

            “Is it my fault you didn’t come prepared.”

            “Yes. You didn’t give me time.”

            “Correct.” He laughed somewhere above and behind her. His maddening, musical voice drew the attention of the beast.

            Danielle used the distraction to cut closer to the monster’s body. Articulated stingers appeared from within the mass of limbs. Being closer meant being close enough for them to strike.

            “That’s why we use the spears,” said the messenger of a hateful god.

            “Fuck off!”

            His echoing laugh made her blood boil. Her teeth ground as she thought of his glee at watching her die.

            Heavy thuds against her shield jolted Sir Longbow’s left arm. The unicorn on the blue field was taking a bettering from the monster.

            “What is this thing called?” Her sword hacked at the stingers but the chitinous armour around them only chipped under her blows.

            “You want to know its name?” Her tormentor’s voice was dumbfounded.

            “Yes.” She saw a weak point at the joint of a stinger. A heavy blow from her sword caused the beast to retreat with a limb dripping yellow fluid.

            “How about Darren. Darren the Danielle slayer.”

            “I didn’t mean name it, moron. I meant what is the name of this kind of monster?”

            “A lesser chatter-jaw.”

            “Lesser?” Her sword took the end from the last of the flailing mouthed limbs.

            “Yes, the biggest variety is three times the size. Oh. Now you’ve upset it.” He spoke as if she was a rowdy inn patron getting their comeuppance for appalling behaviour. She wanted him to swallow all his razor-sharp teeth. She wanted the blood from the cuts it would cause to spill up out of his hateful mouth.

            After wounding all its limbs Danielle was beginning to wonder how she might finish the creature off. It turned and started to fly away.

            “Fuck off.” She wasn’t letting it go. She was under no delusions that it’s retreat would count as a defeat for her.

            She hacked at a beautiful wing. The colours flashed across its body again, in a new pattern. Danielle cut a claw from the edge of the wing. All the wings began to curl back around her, the claws swivelled to impale her as they drew closer.

            “Spears are far better than swords for facing monsters.”

            “Fuck off. What’s your name? Will you tell me that?”

            “A mortal like you doesn’t deserve to know the name of a god or their servants.”

            “So, you think I’ll live.” She tried to sound as smug as he did. She wanted to goad him into a response. Her sword cut one of the four wings clean off. It flew sideways as two wings on the right-hand side overbalanced the one on the left. It hit the cliff top.

            Stubbed limbs clawed their way to the edge. Whether it thought it would survive the fall or would risk death to be away from her she didn’t care.

            Putting all her strength behind the slash, Sir Longbow’s sword cut both wings on the left down to flickering stumps. She kicked the twitching wings off the cliff.

            The point of her sword found no purchase on the hard shell of its back. Resting the flat of the sword on her foot as she pressed the tip to the shell, she hammered it. A grizzly crunching sound rewarded her. The crawling monster was still closing in on the edge of the cliff. A mangled stinger curled around the stump of a wing to swipe at her. She slapped it aside with her sword and plunged into the broken shell again.

            Oily yellow liquid poured out of the wound. Red gore began to fill the gap. Blood flowed from the muscle and sinew. Dying moans of agony made her stomach clench. Hair on her neck stood on end.

            “Do we call it dead yet?” She asked.

            “It’s still moving.”

            She smacked the shards of shell. As it groaned, she pitied it. It was an animal. Instinct, not choice had guided it against her.

            “Remember Crann,” she told herself. “Remember Lupita. Remember Nettle and Carl.” Twitching limbs began to slacken. Its fight was nearly done.

            “That’s right,” he said. “Remember your country, your lover, your daughter, the boy you saved from death. Their lives will be the price of your failure.”

            “Fuck off. Get out of my head.”

            “As you wish, buttercup. Not much in there anyway. That creature that you’ve put to agonising death has more mind left than you’ll ever have.”

            All life poured out of the beast. It was done.

            “One down, four to go.” She turned to look at the agent of a murderous deity. His chalk white skin was red in the light of that world. His eyes looked a reddish gold. They were fixed on her as he sat on a rock above. Two sarcastic claps and a grin to match slipped on and off his face.

            “Let’s not hang around then,” He grinned, showing all the fangs in his mouth. “Your next opponent awaits.”

            A bloody portal wreathed in flames appeared over the edge of the cliff. The gap of a foot spelled death in no uncertain terms. The ground somewhere below was lost in darkness. Silhouettes flitted in the shadow.

            “Just a little step for you, Sir Longbow.” He jumped and floated down to the ground. Strolling past her he took the step from clifftop to the ground beyond the portal casually. “Would you prefer to walk? It’s only half a mile down to the ground from there. And five hundred miles east.”

            “Fuck off.” She stepped through the portal, across the alien world.

            Carved stones surrounded her. A hunter dressed like the evil emissary held a long spear, watching her. His skin was the same pallid white of her tormentor. His spear was double his height. His eyes reflected Danielle as the portal snapped shut behind her.

            “Now you will-” Began the envoy of destruction.

            “You said monsters. Are you calling this man a monster?” Sir Longbow looked at the spear wielder. She had no intention of starting a war with its people to sate a god’s masochism.

            “This is your second fight, Danielle. Kill him and you’ve only three to go.” Her guide looked at the local and spoke a language that was hideous insult woven from the song of birds.

            The spearpoint lowered. The warrior took a defensive stance. All choice was fleeing.

            “Wait,” said Danielle. She held out her hand.

            The spear jabbed towards her, she had to jump back to avoid being skewered.

            “Fuck it.”