Beast Slayer
The moon hung lazily in the dark night sky, its small crescent shape barely illuminating the city below. Stumbling out of the tavern was a young man, his breath heavy with the stench of alcohol and his walk thick with the effects of it. He stumbled forward, barely noticing the young woman sitting on the fountain edge as he sang as loudly and off-key as he could, until he tripped on an uneven cobblestone and fell face first into the path.
He sat up, rubbed his forehead, and looked around, his eyes landing on the woman’s wide blue ones that stared at him. He watched her for a moment as his vision blurred in and out of focus until he noticed a large dual-wield sword strapped to her back. He tried to speak but the words were lost on his tongue and soon they were lost in his head.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice soft and gentle to his pounding head.
“I’m… I’m fine.” He managed to say as he attempted to stand only to immediately fall forward again. She rose to her feet, strode over to him, and firmly lifted him up.
“Come now.” She murmured half to herself as she steadied him. “You don’t want to be outside for the next few minutes.”
With a firm grasp she took most of his weight and steered him towards the closest building: the church. As they reached the front step a deep howl rung out that echoed off the moon and down into the city. The woman froze, her body stiffening as she glanced around, her eyes searching every alleyway she could see, as the man blinked up at her, unsure as to why they had stopped moving. The woman’s glance caught on a dark shape looming in one of the alleyways on the other side of the fountain.
Emerging from the darkness, its body larger than anything the man had seen, including himself, was a wolf; its eyes an electric yellow that seemed to almost glow in the low light. The young man could feel his blood run cold as he realized that the wolf was not a hallucination and was in fact the creature that had plagued the crops and fields of the farmers outside the city. His breath caught in his throat as he blinked at the creature, his hazy vision making it difficult to see. The woman let go of the man, letting him tumble to the ground as she reached for her sword, the sound it being unsheathed echoing around the square.
“I speak to the old gods and all others who hear my call.” She whispered; her prayer barely audible above the growling of the wolf as it stepped towards the fountain. “I ask for your power in slaying this beast, I ask for your protective hands to guide my blade, and I ask for your honesty to guard these people. But most importantly, I ask that Lady Luck is on my side.”
The creature howled again, its cry hollowing out the man as he felt it go through him, the fear of the situation rising into his brain and finally sobering him. He pushed himself backwards towards the wooden doors of the church as horror etched its way across his face. The woman readied her stance and raised her sword.
“Let’s dance.” She murmured with a smile.
She ran forward, making it to the other side of the courtyard in a matter of seconds and easily swinging her blade towards the wolf in a powerful blow. Her blade clashed with its claws, ricocheting off to collide with the fountain. Rubble and water exploded across the square as the blade skidded across the cobblestone and landed at the base of the church stairs. The wolf growled low as it turned its eyes on the girl and the girl gasped as horror fluttered across her face. In one swift movement the wolf lurched forward, swiping at the girl as she quickly dodged, and sprinted towards her blade; ahead of them, the young man clambered to his feet, burst the church doors open and stumbled inside as quickly as he could manage.
The beast stooped and with his powerful hind legs, lunged forward, catching the girl ankles, and making her tumble to the ground in a heavy thud. It loomed over her as she rolled over, their eyes locking for a moment before she kicked it in the snout. It whimpered as it stumbled backwards giving the girl the opportunity to get on her feet again, and the moment she needed to reach her blade. With a swift and powerful tug she lifted it from the broken fountain as the wolf began his pursuit again. She lifted her blade just in time as his claws came tumbling towards her and she sliced the wolf’s arm making it howl in pain as it stumbled backwards.
She readied herself, strengthening her stance as she waited for the wolf to turn on her again. The wolf turned, catching her off guard as it lunged for the blade, ripping it from her grasp and tossing it towards the church doors; it thudded through the doors and skidded across the tile disappearing into the depths of the church. With a strong and quick hand, the beast clutched her throat, squeezing tightly as it lifted her before slamming her into the church steps.
The girl, coughing and wheezing from the impact rolled, dodging the wolf’s claws as she sprinted up the steps and into the church. She slipped into a dark corner and hid as the beast thundered inside the holy walls. The girl spotted her blade lying underneath a seat a few meters from her; and hiding on the other side of the room was the man from the bar. He whimpered as he watched the beast prowl through the chairs, sniffing at the air trying to find the girl.
Reluctantly the girl sprinted forward, rolling at the last second to avoid the beast’s claws once more as she grabbed her sword and heaved it behind her. She turned to face the beast, it’s yellow eyes staring at her as it snarled angrily. It raced forwards, swiping vigorously as she jerked backwards, narrowly avoiding its attack before pulling her blade forward and carving it through the air, its sharp edge slicing into the beast’s chest. With a quick twirl she swung it around herself before plunging it into the beast’s chest. Its jaws snarled and snapped at her as the life drained from the creature along with its blood. When it finally stopped moving, she pulled her sword from the wolf’s chest.
“That was incredible.” The man called from his hiding place making her jump. He clambered towards her, stumbling over his feet as he went until he almost crashed into her. “Who are you?”
She smiled at him as she wiped the blood off her blade, it’s surface left gleaming in the candlelit church. Behind her the doors to the church began to open as the townspeople crept inside, gasps filling the air as they spotted the dead beast bleeding out onto the floor.
“I’m the beast slayer.” She replied sheathing her sword as she stood.
With a small nod to the man she turned on her heal and left; the money she had earnt safely hidden in her bag, and the reputation she had gained trailing behind her as she disappeared into the night.