Mirror (part 2 of 28)
Back to Part 1 'It looks like Naga wasn't exaggerating,' Lina quickly
skidded to a stop, 'there really are dragons here.' The fiery
reddish brown haired girl cupped her hands to her side, focusing her
will as she cried out, "Fireballs Charge!"
The red dragon that was chasing after her had only a moment
to look startled before her spell blew it away. All around the
battlefield the bodies of the other dragons lay, smoldering or
bleeding out into the dirt. The land just beyond them seemed nearly
dead, the usual consequence of a band of dragons living in a place
overlong.
"Now where's my new partner?" Lina looked about her
irritably.
There was the sound of running feet and a cry, "Watch
yourself, Inverse!" Lina spun around, just in time to see Naga's
sword coming down on to the dragon that was about to strike her.
Naga had leapt up, her blade driving home into the beast, and now
she merely let her weight pull the blade down through the thick
flesh.
'She saved my life,' Lina blinked in surprise, 'maybe she's
going to be useful after all.' Clearing her throat, "Thanks, Naga."
With a single motion Naga pulled the longsword free, then
shook it off a bit to get most of the dragon's blood off before
sliding into it's sheath. "You're welcome," she said calmly. Naga
scanned the ruins around them for the enemy, soon fixing on the
entrance to the underground that was likely the dragon's
den. "They've retreated to there," she nodded.
"Well, if we want the treasure," Lina looked at the den
thoughtfully, "we'll have to go in after them." She gave Naga a
look, "How many do you think there are?"
"I did a rough count when we started," Naga looked around
them, "I'd say there's at least three left." She frowned, "Is the
treasure the only reason you're doing this?"
"You fight them for your reasons," Lina gave her a
look, "and I fight for mine." She smiled wryly, "I'm just glad that
these aren't the intelligent type of Dragon, though. That would make
this all just a bit more complicated."
"True," Naga admitted. The black haired warrior reached up,
unclasping the tattered remnants of her cloak and letting it flutter
to the ground. Her leather vest and pants were blood splattered, but
she still looked ready for battle. "Shall we?"
"Let's," Lina agreed, and the two strode into the opening.
As they passed into the darkness Naga cupped her hands in front of
her, a softly muttered word creating a sphere of light to guide
their way. "So you do still use magic," Lina murmured.
"Rarely," was Naga's calm answer, her eyes searching the
shadows for any sign of movement. A slight smile, "I usually don't
need it."
"Heh," Lina smiled. It was true, the woman really was good
with that sword. Fast, strong and agile, she probably didn't need to
use her magics to win in battle. The cavern's air was cool, damp,
and the faint scent of rotting meat hung in the air.
"They've been bringing captives in," Naga's face was grim.
"We'd better find their den," Lina said coolly, "fast." She
gestured, her cloak billowing around her as she concentrated, softly
murmured words as she formed her spell, ending with a shouted, "Show
me where my enemy lies!" From her hands a ribbon of scarlet snaked
out, extending into the darkness as they heard faint cries of alarm.
"Now they know we're coming," Naga growled out as she drew
her longsword, running forward into the darkness of the tunnels.
"They also can't hide from us," Lina shot back, running
along beside her. The path led into a larger chamber, where the
remaining dragons waited. Piles of gold and other treasures filled
one corner, but just beyond that a circle of human captives
cowered. "Damn," Lina swore.
"Distract them," Naga ordered Lina even as she ran towards
the captives.
"Great," Lina muttered, running in front of the
dragon's, "just great." She raised her hands above her head, "Flare
arrow!"
The dragons looked confused, blinking away momentary
blindness while trying to decide whom to chase after, even as the
women moved to opposite sides of the remaining monsters. Naga put
herself firmly in front of the captives, noting their weakened
condition with a glance.
"Save us," a wizened old man managed weakly.
"I'll do my best," Naga raised her blade.
The dragon's curled up together, guarding each other's backs
as much as they possibly could from the two fearsome warriors who
had killed so many of their clanmates. They had never faced such a
thing before, never known humans of such power. The pink things were
just meat, only food to be taken at their leisure, not a threat.
"Explosion array," with a throwing gesture Lina detonated
the rough stone floor, driving the three Dragon's off balance.
One of the beasts stumbled towards Naga, and she was ready.
Her sword swept up and over, ripping through the dense flesh to
sever the neck, the staring head dropping to the ground as black
blood stained her. "Ptou!" Naga spat to clear her mouth, then smiled
a truly nasty smile. "Two left," she said thoughtfully, "one each."
"Lets go," Lina charged at them on one side, Naga on the
other. She threw a bolt of lightning, the one dragon's body
convulsing even as Naga swung up then down, cutting the last of
them. There was a long moment of silence in the darkness of the
caves, then the surviving humans cheered.
Lina ignored them, of course, moving right over to the piles
of treasure. Naga frowned, then she turned to the captives, quickly
checking them over for serious injuries. "When she's done going
through the treasure," Naga said to them , "go over and take
whatever you can carry. I suspect much of it once belonged to the
local people, before the dragons slew them."
"Will you not take anything for yourself, noble warrior?"
one of the young women stepped forward to ask softly, the blonde
looking up at Naga with adoration in her eyes. "And what is your
name, handsome one?"
"Naga," a slight blush appeared on Naga's cheeks as she
looked away shyly. "I don't have much need of treasure, m'lady," she
answered the girl softly.
Lina finished getting the most high quality gems from the
piles, then frowned slightly as Naga gestured the captives towards
the piles of treasure. 'Definitely different than the Naga I once
knew,' she mused. Naga gave her a wave and Lina walked over, "Yes?"
"There are bodies down here," Naga nodded towards a darkened
corner of the cave, where the smells of decay were coming from, "and
I fear that there's no way to move them." Her expression was
sorrowful, "Could you give them a funeral pyre?"
Lina looked up at Naga a moment, then nodded slightly, "Of
course." The fireball spell lit up the cavern, the remains reduced
to so much ash. The captives finally moved away from the piles of
treasure, and Naga walked over. Some pieces of gold, a few smaller
gems, and she was done.
The young blonde was watching her, and moved up to Naga's
side to loudly say, "I hope that you and the sorceress will come to
our village later for a victory feast." She smiled up at Naga and
dropped her voice to a whisper, "And I, Carolyn, hope to thank
you... personally."
Naga went red, "I.. you don't need to..."
"Of course we'll visit your village," Lina had overheard
enough of the conversation to speak up, "we'd love to join your
victory feast."
Naga gave Lina a glare, but the sorceress ignored it. She
looked back at the beaming blonde and sighed, "I guess we'll be
joining you, then."
"I look forward to it," Carolyn sighed happily, running over
to help the other captives.
Lina and Naga walked along with them, magic lighting their
way back towards the daylight. "You remember what I said about
dumping you before?" Lina asked softly.
"Yes?" Naga looked at her curiously.
"I've changed my mind," Lina quietly admitted. "Watching you
in battle, you could be pretty useful, even with all of your
irritating morals."
"Thank you," Naga looked ahead into the shadows. "I'll
continue to travel with you, but only because my Lina-sama has
commanded me to." She seemed to soften just a bit as she added, "It
seems we can do some good together."
"Good enough," Lina agreed. She smirked, "Maybe I can
convert you back into a double of your other self."
"Maybe so," Naga agreed, "or maybe I can make you into a
noble person like my Lina-sama."
"Anything's possible," Lina smiled wryly as they walked out
into the daylight together.
Onwards to Part 3
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