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The blood rage screams in your head. His lidless eyes stare and give you an outlet. Your club flies – parrying some of his blows, while others – too many – slip through.
Behind you, the wall is close – while behind him, the rest of your friends are not doing well. You hear a wet yelp from Líkami – a sound you recognize too well.
His short sword cuts low, while his bastard sword goes high. You manage to block the short sword before you realize the feint. Out of the corner of your eye, you see the larger blade coming down. You know what is coming next and you try your best to brace yourself for it.
But it never comes.
Instead, time stops.
Your friends are gone. As is the Betrayer and his mounted “Knights”. The room remains – though it is steeped in a darkness that obscures all detail.
But the pain is gone, too. A very welcome relief.
A weariness settles into your bones and a sense of relief draws you to the floor. You sit down with a thud and sink lower until you rest on your back on the hard, stone floor. A deep sleep beckons. “Just a few seconds,” you think. “Then I can return to help my friends.”
No! You shake the fog from your mind. Your friends need you!
You try to sit up, but your body refuses to answer. The hard ground seems to soften below you and a sensation like sinking creeps over your limbs. Your eyes close despite your will – and the darkness envelops you and sucks you in.
Time passes; but was it minutes or days?
Below you, the sensation of a hard floor remains. You open your eyes to see a tree – with a long, crooked branch stretching over you. A light breeze whispers its leaves. Beyond the branch, a beautiful blue paints the sky.
From your left, something enormous nudges your shoulder.
You crane your neck around to see a massive, reptilian head – as long as your entire body – inches away from your face. A sense of awe and majesty floods your soul, chasing away the instinctual fear. Beyond the head, a massive, golden body stretches beyond the shade of the tree – with the parts in direct sunlight almost blinding. You cannot tell how far the body stretches. A playful voice in your head – a childhood memory? – imagines it to go on for miles!
“Wake up, Yosi”. The lips on the massive head move more naturally than you would expect from a reptile. It's voice is deep, but soothing. And it speaks in your native elven – with a very familiar accent.
You try to stand, but find your legs refuse to comply. As you fumble with your arms, the dragon head recoils – so very fast!
The shade around you deepens and you hear something behind you. In a flash, the gold head breathes in deeply and belches a jet of fire just above your head. The heat makes you flinch, but you manage to turn just as a massive, black shape blots out the sun.
Larger than the tree, a black dragon swoops down, a stream of dark liquid coming from its mouth and striking the gold dragon. A splash of it strikes your face and burns.
The gold steps over you, a massive, clawed leg pinning you to the ground. Is this the end? Do you die here? No. The massive strength is held back. Instead of a crushing weight, the leg and the body beyond shield you. You hear/feel/smell jets of acid and fire. Trees crack and fall as tails lash. The shrieks and hiss of the two combatants echo in what sounds like a small canyon.
You still cannot move and now you cannot see. You close your eyes tight to stave off the fear.
And then, in a gasp, sensation returns to every inch of your body. The pain it brings is deep and overwhelming. The dragons are gone. The tree and the blue sky, as well.
You lie in a small bed. Indoors. A man you do not recognize stands over you.
Behind him is Líkami. He smiles at you as you struggle to understand what has happened. “Welcome back,” the man you do not know says. He turns to Líkami and continues, “He'll be disoriented and in pain for awhile. But you know that well, don't you?”
Líkami smiles knowingly and looks down at you. “Stay still, Yosi. You don't need to go anywhere for awhile. I'll go get Allie.”