Chapter 34: Interlude: Predator and Prey

Ysbail
The Realms
Secondday, 4th week of the 7th month, Godless Age 597
Morning
Starchaser Territory, Mistvale Highlands
The blizzard drake trumpeted in anger, scattering the nearby wildlife. Birds launched into the air in panic, rabbits ran blindly down the hill, and even a lumbering gaidhealach paused in its foraging to look for the source of the disturbance. Ysbail grinned and rolled her shoulders. "You led me on a merry little chase, but there will be no more running away for you!" The monster bellowed its fury again, raging at her with its wings spread to their full sixty-foot span. Thick red blood seeped from a deep cut along its shoulder; it wouldn't be able to fly except in short bursts.
Ysbail couldn't afford to take it for granted, though, a fact the beast proved by leaping at her and spinning in mid-air, immense ice crystals forming along its tail as it whipped towards her. She sprang to the side, feeling the frigid shrapnel deflect off her armor as the overgrown lizard's tail slammed into the ground with an earth-shaking thump. She spun on her hind legs, the momentum of her three-quarter-ton bulk lending extra force to her gleaming greatsword as she swung it over and down. Her foe was quick, already hopping backward to avoid her strike, but Ysbail was ready for it. She followed through on the right-to-left overhand swing by shifting her right hand, raising the hilt of her sword to bring it under her left shoulder and then back and up, over her head and down. The follow-up strike lacked the momentum of the first blow but still managed to cleave through the drake's arm-thick horn just above its skull.
Ysbail's quarry reared back and launched itself skyward. Its flight was erratic, hindered by the wound to its shoulder, but it didn't need to fly for long. It clawed at the air to gain height, then dived at Ysbail, maw distended like a snake's. Was it trying to swallow her whole? No, she could see the frost coursing up its neck. Ysbail thrust her sword into the ground in front of her and ducked behind its broad blade, sheltering behind it as the drake let loose a blast of frigid air cold enough to flash-freeze its prey.

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"Fuck!" Ysbail shouted, "I hate elemental drakes!" She rose from behind her temporary shield, grasping the hilt of her sword and tugging it free of the frozen hilltop. Her eyes flicked to her Health display; she'd lost a good chunk even without taking a direct hit. Worse, the cold would weaken her sword, making it more likely to break if it hit one of the drake's armor plates. She searched the skies for the drake, quickly spotting it as it wheeled in the air and dove towards her again. This time it wouldn't be the breath; it took time for them to recharge after unleashing a blast like that. Ysbail raised her sword to shoulder height and pointed the tip at her quarry. If it tried to eat her, it was going to get a nasty surprise.
The drake must have realized the same thing because it pulled up short, beating its wings to skid to an inelegant stop fifty feet in front of Ysbail. It screeched at her again, giving Ysbail time to chant a quick spell to reinforce the metal of her sword. She was under a time limit now; if she let it get off another breath attack, she might actually lose. It was time to go all-out. She raised her hands, lifting her sword upright over her right shoulder, and charged.
Drakes were among the deadliest predators in the Highlands not because of their size, ferocity, or powerful innate magic—although all of those played a part—but because they were intelligent. They weren't smart enough to qualify for Skills and Classes, but their cunning exceeded that of other base monsters. Ysbail received a reminder of that when the blizzard drake sprang its trap. The beast crouched as if to meet her charge, waiting until she was fully committed to her attack, then sprang into the air.
"Shit!" Ysbail spun to the side, falling into a painful slide that was all she could do to avoid the field of razor-sharp icicles that the drake had created behind itself. The only thing that saved her was that the spikes angled upward, so she crashed through their bases instead of impaling herself on the tips. Even so, the intense cold of the ice as it shattered shaved more of her Health away. She pushed off the ground, heaving herself upright, but even as she got her hooves back under her, she felt the drake's talons pierce through her chainmail. Ysbail gritted her teeth and yanked herself out of the drake's grasp before it could lift her off the ground. The pain was intense, and the Health loss worse, but it was better than being dropped onto a field of broken ice from a hundred feet up.
Ysbail spat blood out of her mouth and grinned at the drake. "That was your last mistake, asshole." She felt the energy of her Down But Not Out Talent filling her, increasing her Might, Agility, and Speed based on her missing Health. It wasn't much of a benefit until she crossed the 25% threshold, but it was currently almost doubling her Attributes. She blurred into action, slicing diagonally upward with her sword. This time she was too fast and the drake was too close for it to evade; it screamed as her blade crunched past its scales and into its ribcage. The beast fell to the ground, and only her enhanced Might and Agility allowed Ysbail to maintain her grip on her sword. With a grunt of effort, she yanked it free, then, panting, brought it around in a savage overhand chop that cleaved through the monster's neck.
It took the damned thing another two minutes to stop thrashing, but the threat was over, and Ysbail was victorious yet again. "Hah...hah... Fuck you, fucking lizard. That was for Padraig. And now I need a bath. Fucking drake bleeding all over me." She fumbled in her hip pouch and pulled out a metal flask. "Which one is this?" Ysbail twisted the cap off and took a swig. "Ah, whiskey! Best idea I ever had. Warm me up and heal my wounds!"
Zurai

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