Fight Back

Star fired her bow and looked at the brothers. "That's ten... Lets see you keep up with me." She fired another volley of arrows, smiling as they flew in the air taking down a small group of flyers. "You need to catch up to us... We're at fifty each..." Star cursed and shot more arrows into a crowd of trolaiths. "Don't worry I will." She ran to where the firewarrior was fighting in the middle of the enemy group. "Ass... Throw me... I'll be able to hit more from being in the sky."

She watched as he ducked under the strike from a four - legged trolaith, and tapped her foot in impatience as she fired her bow above the firewarrior into the oncoming crowd. "Just do it... I know what I'm doing..."

"I'm a little busy here, why don't you go ask Harnio?"

She looked at him, smiling. "That's a good idea." She fired her bow and stabbed another trolaith with it, before running towards Harnio. "Harnio... I need a boost in the sky... Can you put me up there?"

"Yes... That's not too much trouble, as long as you don't move around too much... Here." She smiled as she was shot up into the sky, and hovered above the large mass of trolaiths and drones. "This is better... I can see them all now. She started firing as fast as she could at the flyers and those below her. She cursed as she saw a green fireball come towards her direction, and jumped spinning in the air, and returning fire with a volley of arrows. She landed on the wind platform, shooting everything that she could see. "Try that again, you foul beasts." She watched them fall to the ground, and started shooting more of them.

She looked down at the large mass of the unit starting to surround them below, and cursed, as she fired arrows as she could. She watched as they still kept coming for them.

"BOOOMMM!"

"They finally got serious, as a large mass of earth pushed a large group into the sky.

"BOOOMMM!"

She shielded her eyes from large fireball blasts turned masses into ash. "Still... Not enough... They're still coming." She continued to fire her bow as earth, fire and wind roared around her wiping out hundreds of trolaiths and drones. "I can't stop now... I really need to be stronger."

"Priestess, come down... We need to regroup!" She felt herself start to lower back towards the ground, shooting everything she saw that moved. "She looked at their exhausted, and sweating faces. "There's so many... So tired..."

"We need to go back underground... There's just too many for us to handle in our current state."

"I'll deal with the rest of them... Both husband and I can..." She looked at Raven, as she fired at an incoming trolaith. "What can you do to destroy this large number?"

"I'll just be who I am... Like my mother always taught... Husband... Lets go show them how strong we are." She stood as she watched Raven's body start to change, and become larger. She looked at her claws, tail and jaw, taking a step back in shock and surprise. "Hey, don't look like that priestess..." She turned and saw Drummen look like Raven. "Dragons... Mouse was right... There are dragons among men."

"Took you long enough to figure it out... Leave this group to us... Harnio keep those walls up... We don't want them to escape."

"That I can do... No one is escaping from this." She looked at Raven and Drummen started attacking the large numbers of trolaiths and drones, instantly killing hundreds with single strikes."

"RRRROARRRR!"

"I've wanted to do that for a while now." She continued shooting at the troliaths. "Just kill them monk... We don't have time to play around."

"She's right husband... Just focus on killing them... Can't waste too much time doing this."

"STOOMPPP!"

"Fine..." She watched as Drummen struck the ground with one of his feet, and watched as many more shot into the sky." She cursed and fired as fast as she could.

"Star duck..." She ducked, watching as a slash of fire flashed over her. She looked at the firewarrior, nodding. "Not bad... I'll be able to do better than that soon."

"Hurry up and get stronger... We need that strength of yours and your eyes."

Star nodded and rolled out of the way as a troliath jumped at her. She kicked it and shot it full of arrows. "Nice try you piece of shit..."

She rolled backwards and stood up firing again. "YOU STUPID PIECES OF SHIT... COME AND TRY AND TAKE ME!" She ran at the line coming towards her, and jumped over them firing her bow at them. She rolled and kicked another in its back as she shot it's back full of arrows. "Priestess get back to the others... Hard to protect you if you've separated from the others!"

She looked at Drummen's orange eyes. "Don't worry about me... Just hurry up and kill them... I don't want to die here. I still have people to hunt down."

"Just move... Water watcher." She looked at Raven and rejoined the circle. "You listened to her, but not me... Why?" She looked at Drummen. "Because I know she has her reasons."

"Husband... Focus on what you're doing."

"Fine."

She fired arrows and watched as Raven destroyed a large group of them. She sighed as she watched them fight, destroying the army around her. "I'm still stuck in someone's shadow..."

"You're making your own shadow priestess... We wouldn't be where we are, if it wasn't for you, and your eyes" She waved her hand at Harnio. "Fight... Talk later." She searched around and saw a flyer trying to fight through the wall of wind. She rolled and aimed her bow at the target, releasing an arrow, that shot through the flyer and only stopped until it hit the wall of wind. "Hmph... I can still be of use."

"Done... Finally... They're... dead..." She looked around panting heavily. "The both of you took them all out..." She cursed, watching as Raven and Drummen returned to their human form. "Drummen what happened to you? Was this because of the trial?"

"You saw nothing... Harnio... understand?" She looked as Harnio frowned and lowered his head. "I understand... But that doesn't mean I can't forget about it, nor my questions that I want to ask."

"When you finish your trial, you can ask all the questions you want... But at that time you won't have to ask anything at all." She looked at Raven. "Are you saying that if we pass the trials, we'll also be like you?"

"Hahaha... Now they want to be like a guardian... Sorry, that is only for guardians that pass the trial wind walker... If you pass, you'll probably receive a different type of gift."

"This gift of mine suits, my way of fighting... Strong, tough and efficient... However, I still love my gold and shiny things."

"My brother is amazing... So proud of my brother... He was able to do that, and than he fought them all at once... Brother proud of you..."

She watched as Cliffhopper hugged Drummen and sighed as she stared at all the dead bodies around them. "We need to remove these, before they start looking for them... If they see this, than they'll know something is out there looking for them."

"She's right... We have to move the bodies... So they'll never find us." She looked at the firewarrior. "Since you found them... Do you have any idea of what to do to them, now that they're all dead?"

"I do..." She watched as his hand started to glow red, and a large fireball started to move over the bodies, turning them into dust. "Now that's done... Harnio, now its up to you to blow this to the far corners of Athlos."

She watched as the wind picked up and moved the dust away from around them. She looked at the ground, touching it with her hands. "There's no sign that they were here at all."

"There is... But it isn't too much trouble." She looked at Cliffhopper in confusion. "What is it?"

"The smell... It still smells that drones and trolaiths were here... A fight, and death... I can smell it all." She looked at the ground. "You said it isn't too much trouble... So how to solve this problem?"

"With a different smell... Something strong that masks the smell of battle... and death." Star looked around. "All I see is an empty place... Nothing that makes any smells except for the volcanoes around us."

"I have something even better... Do you remember that place we found when Harnio fainted?" She nodded. "Well, if we create that smell here, no matter how many died... They wouldn't know, because all they could smell is cannibals."

She looked at the firewarrior and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see anything bad in his plan... It makes sense, and Harnio even fainted because of that smell."

"Cliffhopper make it so... The rest of us will leave this area, and wait for him to rejoin us, once he's completed his work." Star nodded and looked at Harnio. "You better come with us... This place is about to smell bad... We don't want you to faint again." She saw his nod and smile. "We can talk about your thoughts on who's stronger... The monk or his wife."

"That's easy... The monk's wife is stronger... If you remember her tail had those rings around it." She nodded. "Well those are age rings... They tell the age of a dragon... And I saw." She looked at Harnio.

"One thing I should tell you about women Harnio... You never talk about their age... They become very uncomfortable about it... I'm sure that Raven over there wouldn't mind at all beating us into nothingness if someone talked about their age."

She watched him nod in thought. "That's good advice... I'll think about it..."

"Wind walker... You should listen to the water watcher... She speaks truth... Even my husband doesn't know my age, and I hope you don't say anything... Hmmm, maybe you should be the watcher instead since you see so much, but that wouldn't fit with how things are would it?" She looked at Raven. "Why do you call us by those names?"

"Isn't that who you are?" She looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When you learn to let go... You won't miss anything, just like water... You should learn from it." She turned to Harnio. "Do you have any idea of what she's talking about?"

"I've stopped trying to figure out her words... She's been around for a time, so I assume she knows more than me at this moment... I just have to learn more than her... One day I'll get there." She nodded in thought. "You're right as always Harnio... You seem much wiser than your age."

"I'm the same age as you..." She looked at him. "Remember what we talked about with women and age... It's a topic that should never be talked about."

She watched as Harnio nodded. "Fine, priestess... We're similar... You have to be the eyes and see all that we miss... Just as Raven said, while I'll be the person to understand what you see."

Star nodded. "I like that idea... Just means you have to travel with me as we become stronger."

"Even to the mountains?" She nodded. "Yes, even to the mountains."

"Did you just invite Harnio to the stormy mountains... To that place?" She turned and nodded at Cliffhopper. "I see you're finished with what you were doing."

"Yes... That's all done... If they go through that place in the future, all they'll smell is people who enjoy the taste of other people." She nodded. "Good... We don't need unwanted attention at the moment."

"So, you're going to take him to that place? Aren't you worried that they'll dance for him?" She smiled at Harnio. "I'll make sure they don't... He's too young."

"Hahahaha... If you go to the mountains little brother, don't leave her side... She'll keep you safe."

She looked at Cliffhopper. "You seem quite happy with how the dance turned out..."

"That I am... Very satisfied... Little brother... I changed my mind, when she takes you there, and a dance is called for... Enjoy it... Its something you'll never see again in your life."

"Cliffhopper and priestess, tell me more about this dance of yours."