The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage

WM [32] Die on Your Feet

The small hunting cabin had only one window, allowing just enough light to pierce through the thick curtain to cast a dim glow on the room’s grimy interior. It was a pitiful, forgotten place, all but abandoned after a monster attack had killed its previous owner.  There was a strong scent of alcohol in the air mixed with the acrid smell of mildew from dirty surfaces left to rot in the oppressive humidity. The inside was one room which had everything someone would need to stage a hunting trip. A bunk bed sat in the corner next to the fireplace which doubled as the location for food preparation and it had all the tools strewn about haphazardly. 

The center of the room featured a small table, barely large enough for two. Shelves and cupboards that once held the owner's treasures were now barren, scavenged by the next of kin. The cabin was a husk, much like the gnoll who occupied it.

Sabec had found this place and rented it to have a location close enough to the town that he could watch Tanisha and not be caught. The werewolves abandoned him the moment they found the hydra, it was all they were really after. He knew they found out what he was, a gnoll war merchant and as soon as they didn’t need him anymore they cut ties. He didn’t care, all he wanted was for the hydra to die. 

It took everything from him, his mate, his pack and his children. There wasn’t anything left but the burning desire to kill Tanisha. The werewolves had already mobilized to kill Bjorn and he should be dead by now. Tanisha on the other hand was not their target, they told him they would not kill her unless absolutely necessary, unless her mind was poisoned by Bjorn.

Sabec was face down on the table and looked over the surface covered in empty bottles of booze. It wasn’t a celebration for the death of the hydra but a pathetic attempt to drown the regrets he harbored. He wasn’t sure how he would get to Tanisha, Joha was always close by and Sabec knew he was no match for the demon. If Bjorn was dead then maybe she would slip up and leave Joha’s side long enough for him to cut off her head. It wouldn’t matter if Joha found him then, he could die knowing he had avenged his pack.

“Sabec has nothing left,” he whispered, the words catching in his throat between sobs. “Nothing but hatred.”

He closed his eyes, the alcohol dulling his senses but not his pain. If he could just get to Tanisha, if he could just see her die, maybe then he could find some semblance of peace. Even if it meant his own death at Joha's hands, it would be worth it. To avenge his pack, to finally have some closure, it was all that mattered now.

“Sabec will wait,” he murmured. “Sabec will wait and strike when the time is right. This one will not let them get away with it. This one will avenge his pack, no matter the cost.”

He looked through the bottles until he found one that had some alcohol left and chugged it. He threw the bottle against the wall once it was empty. He then found another and drained it as well. He prepared to throw it when the door flung open, startling and blinding him as the light flooded in.

He quickly rose to his feet and reached back for the sword he had laid across the bottom bunk bed. His blood shot eyes had to focus for a moment for the image of the person at the door to finally stop spinning. When it did his expression turned into a growling scowl. He stopped reaching for his sword and instead shambled back to the table.

In the doorway stood the one he was after. The one that ruined everything, the owner of that beast. She was different now sure, a new form likely the result of exposing herself to maya. Joha was a shapeshifter, teaching her to do the same was not so far fetched. She stood straighter, had the walk of a warrior or at least someone that saw themselves as one.

“If this one knew you were coming, Sabec would have cleaned up.” He said as he plopped down in his seat. 

The girl didn’t say anything as she walked closer to the table. Her golden eyes locked onto him like a hawk swooping down from the clouds onto its prey. Sabec grabbed another bottle, trying to keep his hands steady enough to see which had more alcohol. He swigged it and rested it under the table so she couldn’t see his hands.

As she reached the table, she raised a hand and a bardiche appeared as if it were dropped from the celestial planes, its blade gleaming with the churning of her magic. She slammed it down with just enough force to embed it deeply into the wooden tabletop. Some bottles shattered, others were thrown off and crashed onto the ground. All the while, she stared at him, her brow furrowed and jaw clenched.

Under the table, Sabec took out a potion and mixed it into his alcohol. It would sober him up, but he needed to stall long enough for it to take effect. He brought the new mixture up to his lips, his other hand in the air gesturing for Tanisha to wait while he drank.

“Nice weapon. Sabec had a couple of bardiches, they are all gone now, yes?” He slurred his words. “It has been a long time Tanisha,” he said after a long gulp, his voice dripping with sarcasm and bitterness. “Sabec wonders, what brings you here, little wendigo? Have you come to gloat? To finish what your beast started?”

Tanisha didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she tightened her grip on the bardiche, the golden flecks in her eyes seeming to glow. Her aura was almost suffocating, overwhelming as even the ambient mana in the air started to shift with a cold wind.

“You know why I am here.” Tanisha said her voice was as cold and sharp as the blade she wielded. “You could have just left, I would never have found you, I wouldn't have even looked. But now─now you face the consequences.”

Sabec chuckled darkly, the sound hollow; mirthless. “Consequences… consequences, you say? This one has faced many of those. Sabec has lost much. After you killed Sabec’s pack, burned Sabec’s home and spared no one.” He took another drink, feeling the potion starting to take effect, his mind cleared up gradually. “But you are here alone, are you not? No Joha to protect you this time.”

Tanisha again did not respond immediately, she let the seconds pass in silence. Sabec didn’t mind the quiet; he needed more time for the potion to take effect. His eyes looked the girl up and down. She didn’t come ill prepared for a fight; she wore armor in the form of brown gambeson with a blue steel short-breastplate. It didn’t matter, she was a magic caster, he was going to have to sever her head anyway. 

“Your people had been killing and slaving wendigo.” Tanisha said. “Your people got what they deserved.”

“Gnoll children hadn’t.”

Tanisha was silent, she looked Sabec up and down. There was a moment of hesitation as she finally let go of the handle of the bardiche.

“For their deaths I am sorry, but it was not our fault. It’s not even Bjorn's fault. Everything that befell your people was your doing! You are the one that betrayed us, you are the one that decided that the Isi should be slaughtered or made into slaves. You are the one that put that collar on Bjorn that made him lose his mind. You are not a victim Sabec, you are the cause of everything that happened and today you are going to get everything you got coming to you.”

Sabec felt the effects of the potion clear his mind. His vision became sharper, movements less muddled, breath less erratic. He had her where he needed her to be. He could already feel himself snapping her neck and ripping her limb from bloody limb. She was no match for him, not in only a few months of training. The problem was he didn’t know if she was alone but he suspected not. Could he kill her before Joha intervened? He would need to cut her head off to ensure she was dead. His eyes flicked over to the bardiche lodged in the table. He needed her to keep talking.

“And how are the Isi, Joha, Bjorn?” Sabec asked.

“You know damn well how we are.” Tanisha slammed her fist on the table. “You sent your werewolves after us, after Bjorn. You told them lies about him being a bloodthirsty monster. When you knew damn well he…”

Tanisha looked down for a second, finally breaking eye contact with Sabec. It was the moment he had been waiting for and in that instant he struck. He used Flash Step, his chakra igniting as a bright flame as he jumped up onto the table. In a blur of motion he yanked the handle of the bardiche up with an underhand grip.  

He expected to feel an impact, to see her shocked expression as her own weapon severed her head from its body. That isn’t what happened. Just as quickly as he moved the tattoos on her body lit up and shifted around as if alive just under her skin. In a motion Sabec thought too smooth to be used in combat, she didn’t dodge his strike, but deflected it with her bare hands. It wasn’t his full power given the awkward angle he had to strike from but even that should have been impossible. The blade merely slid across her skin and clothing as she redirected all of his momentum.

The table broke under his weight sending him forward as Tanisha ducked under him while disarming him of the weapon. He landed with a roll towards the doorway but before he could even react Tanisha kicked him in the face causing him to tumble outside. He looked around and saw Joha standing at a distance but even more surprisingly he saw Bjorn. He was still alive, how? Did the werewolves fail? Sabec snarled as his anger boiled over and he lifted his arms to protect himself. The two did not move; they merely watched him.

He turned back around to the door as Tanisha stepped out of the doorway. He had seen her in this new form, and watched her from a distance. He realized how different she was from what he thought now that she was here and all of her power and rage was focused on him. The ambient mana in the area was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. As she stepped out she tossed him the sword that he had left on the bed. He looked down at it then back up at her. This was what she wanted, to kill him herself. 

“This is it, Sabec.” Tanisha said. “You can die on your feet or on your knees.”

Sabec’s heart pounded in his chest as he took in her words. Her golden eyes burned with an intensity that made his blood run cold. He picked up the sword, feeling its familiar weight in his hand as he unsheathed the long curved blade. His grip tightened around the hilt as he pushed himself to his feet. If Joha wasn’t going to act he had a chance he could still kill her here and now.