Chapter Six:

Resolve

At first, a tremble. Then it grew. Then it drowned out all other sensation. The palace shook and the very floor I stood on quaked, throwing me from my feet. A loud rumble called from the earth; a rumble that was answered by a high pitch shriek that deafened my ears. The deafness was replaced by a ringing sound while the world continued to protest my very existence. Dizziness assaulted me and I thew up. In tears, I crawled across the quaking ground to the closest wall and curled myself into a ball.

I waited. What else can one do?

After what felt like an age, the earth's wrath faded. It took even longer for the ringing in my ears to fade. All the while I hugged myself, covered in tears with the remaining flavor of bile in my throat.

Get up. Leave this place and never return. Some god was punishing me for claiming my ill-gotten riches, for challenging my station.

No, there are no gods, only the Emperor. But these aren't his lands.

No, you're panicking. Think. I clasp my hands together to stop their shaking. Think, breath. My trembling body slowly calmed, the queasy feeling in my stomach settling.

I right myself up and wipe my face, but still can't bring myself to stand. Eyeing my pack, I steel my resolve. This world has done me no favor. I only found this blasted city because I was afraid of running out of supplies this coming snowfall. Damn any false god, damn the Emperor himself if he wants to curse me. Even if the earth I tread revolts, I will not be content returning to my life as it was.

Matheus comes to my mind. Powerful, rich, handsome. Slaver. If the world can reward him for his sins, then why not I? Surely, I am no lower for simply relieving the long dead of their riches. So, I stand and retrieve my pack of said riches. I will be powerful. I will be rich. Handsome? We'll work on that, I guess.

There is no trembling, the world does not protest. Silence. It's time to go home. And soon, so very soon, we'll claim a new home. The first step is to get out of this palace area without waking up that massive bat monster thing.

Wait. That shriek. I feel my blood run cold.

Racing to the entrance hall, I steal a peak at the courtyard. Empty. Where is it? I quietly move throughout the palace, peaking through windows to steal a glimpse of the monster to no avail. A voice in the back of my mind screams to run now, I ignore it. The memory of my first excursion comes to mind. A bat silently swooping down to fetch a nice pig-like snack. They favor perching on buildings while they hunt, and what bigger building is there for this biggest damn thing I've ever seen than this palace?

That shriek that deafened my ears. I guess I'd be grumpy too if I woke up to whatever that earthquake was. Okay, there are two scenarios to my mind. Either it's perched on top of the palace somewhere, or its somewhere about the city that I can't see. Waiting as long as possible would be best in the first scenario, it would eventually calm down and maybe even go back to sleep in the courtyard. The problem is that I don't have enough supplies to wait forever, maybe a few days before I at least need water. The second scenario means I should leave as soon as possible before it returns.

The only way of knowing what to do at this point is to actually go outside and see if the bat-dragon is actually perched on the palace, risking also being seen.

Stop it. I can't have some inner monologue about seizing my destiny only to coward out now. Worst case scenario, I am seen and get torn apart and eaten. The more likely bad case scenario is that it sees me, and I move back into the palace. Then risk trying to wait out the monster and most likely dying of thirst in the process.

Forget scenarios. They don't change the fact that I really have one legitimate action. So, I leave through the same service entrance I entered through. Slowly. Very slowly. My fears are proven with the large frame of the bat-dragon clinging to the peak of the palace spire. That said, it's facing away. Towards the palace entrance. Not sure why. The gates are closed, why else did I waste all that time getting a grapple hook to scale the wall with? Does it know that the gates are an entrance, how smart is it? Maybe it's just coincidence, but that doesn't change the fact that it can't see me as I cross to the palace walls as noiselessly as possible.

It's a different place from where I scaled initially, I'll just have to risk crossing the gap into the city area. My grapple latches on the wall with a dull thud. Of course it makes a sound, metal hook on a stone wall. Still, it's a long way up to the top of the spire. There is no way the bat-dragon heard it. Right?

Holding firm to the spire's top clings its massive form, one ear pitched towards my direction. Then its head turns. My body moves before my brain, and I realize I am practically scrambling up the wall. The pack is too heavy, drop it.

Don't. I scream at my body. I don't drop it. By the time I reach the top I hear the thumping of leathery wings. Apparently, the monsters massive form robs it of the silent flight but hearing certain death approaching doesn't particularly relieve me.

It does let me know to dive as massive, clawed feet seek to pluck me from the ground.

Angry, it lands before me. I'm still in the open area between the palace and the city proper. If I can just get to the buildings, I might be able to lose it. Having ended its flight after my failed capture, it is turned away from me. The seconds it takes to turn could make the difference. I see it turn right so I go left. I'm just out of reach as clawed wing swings at me, its attempt to make a blind attack earning me a few more seconds while it tries to face me. Close, the city is close.

A strange draft pulls behind me, and I instinctively glance back. The massive bat swells up as its breaths in. Large ears flatten firmly to its head as it lets out a shriek.

A blast of air throws me the rest of the way toward my goal and beyond, slamming me violently into a building wall. One of the large residential homes owned by affluent. Stumbling, I pass by it. My brain feels numb, but some part tells me I have to keep moving. A warm fluid leaks from my ears and I feel dizzy. The street feels like it's moving though my eyes tell me differently. My limbs feel weak, so I stumble into the closest building. Seems like a store of some sort. Unimportant. Hopefully far enough into the city to throw off the monsters. I can't hear it. I can't hear anything. The fall of my feet, my short quick breaths, my racing heart.

It hurts too much to breathe deep. I'm feeling faint. Still have my pack. Maybe someone else will discover this place in the future and my loot can be the headstone of my grave, reading: here lies a greedy fool. Collapsed on the ground my hand finds itself shifting through the silently humming enchanted treasures that would have made me rich. Screw it, at least I tried.

My hand chances upon a smooth flat object. The journal. What would its writer think, it being so deliberately placed only to wind up lost in some random building in the grip of some random dead person. And near it, a vial. I shudder as I grip it. Deliberate. A journal meant to be read, a vial meant for what? I can't read, but I can drink. To hell with it, what's the worst that can happen?

The inky black liquid flows down my throat. My body begins to heat up. It itches, then it burns. I do everything I can not to scream. My consciousness fades away into darkness.

Copacetic_Emu

Hmm, not sure how I feel about this chapter. A pretty significant tonal shift in the series, but I did want to have the character steel their resolve before we move into the adventure proper. So, we end up with the protagonist being edgy, an eggs and bacon MacGuffin, and a fade to black. I would like to note that our guy here has no idea the earthquake is a world event and not just a personal punishment.