Once More, Unto the Breach

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 9

It was not a pleasant fall. The pit smelled worse on the
inside then standing above it. The sides were slimy with
what I didn't want to know about, and it had a few strait
down falls that jarred the top of my spine into the base of
my skull.

Eventually though I finally landed on solid ground, after
dropping about five feet down from the end of the pit.. It
was dusty, dirty and smelled slightly musty. I was just glad
that the camp's refuses had petered out after the first
drop, I really didn't want to land in the stuff.

Rolling over onto my back I rubbed my shoulder where It had
meet the wall with some force on my way down, and was
already starting to throb. Winching as I touched it I also
was informed that the back of my head was also in pain.

Reaching back with my other hand I lightly touched my head,
I was rewarded with an even strong shot of pain and a light
sticky feeling on my fingers. Pressing a bit lighter I felt
the stickiness in my hair.

I gave it a quick taste, it was blood. I swore softly, just
what I needed now, I concussion or a cracked skull. Neither
one a good thing to happen.

With a groan I stood up, quickly getting a rush of vertigo.
Leaning up against the wall I held the back of my head. I
was going to need to see a doctor some time soon. As the
vertigo past I dug into my pockets. I had a small first-aid
kit in my jacket, but that would have to come later.

I pulled out a small band out of one of my upper pockets,
and pressed the only none smooth place on it. There was a
soft buzz from the band as it light up.

I smiled a bit, pulling it over my fingers and tightening
the strap around the palm of my hand. The light-band was a
cute little toy I had keep around for years, it wasn't as
breakable as a flashlight and looked like a inch thick wrist
band, just far more useful.

Going back into my jacket I found the first-aid kit.
Swallowing a set of pain killers I pulled out a small
towelett of anti-biotic. I rubbed it against the wound on
the back of my head. It stung badly, which made me stomp a
bit from the pain, but it faded fast.

Stuffing the rest of the kit into my pocket I finally looked
around the cave I had landed in. It was large, water-worn
cave, it was bone dry, with no stalactites or 'mites. The
floor was covered in a thick layer or some kind fo dust. Not
actually dust, it wasn't that fine, but there was still a
good layer of it. There were two exits, other then they way
I had come in. One exit though had a set of footprints
leading though it!

I looked close at the prints, they where fresh, the floor
was clear under them, with the dust piled up to the side.
They where not feet though, or sandals, but looked like a
pair of shoes.

Shoes with a tread... which don't exist in this world. It
_had_ to be Sora!! She was still alive!

I felt a surge of relive, where I didn't even know I felt
guilt. She was still alive down here, which was a boon to
me, we had a better chance of getting out alive, and if I
kind find her, and get lucky enough to find a ripple, I can
get both of us out of here.

Holding my hand up, casting the light in front of me. I
yelled Sora's name, hearing my voice echo though out the
caverns, vanishing and coming back to me a few seconds
later. No response came, though caves can swallow sound in
some corners, and my voice my not have reached where ever
she was, or she could have been asleep or something of the
like.

With a smile I started after her, keeping my pace up a bit
more then she had walked. She had been down her for who knew
how long, at most though it was half a day, which was the
length of time sense she had been kidnapped.

I only got about ten feet into the new tunnel before the
light-band snapped out. I swore again, taking a step back.
The light-band flickered back on. Reaching my hand forward
again the light shut down once more.

I pulled my hand back. "Fuck," I whispered. This was very
very high on the bad thing scale. This had to be magic,
things like this didn't happen by any know type of
technology. But why make a spell to stop this type of
electricity... or was it just for light.

Digging out my portal controller I turned it on. Holding it
out I moved it past the point where the light had shut off.
It shut off as well. I put it away and sighed.

This was a spell to stop all none-biological electrical
energy. It wasn't a very easy spell to do, a bit of in any
direction and things short out, or you kill anyone walking
though the field.

Either way someone went to a lot of trouble to set up this
spell, in the middle of a cave. The type of electricity it
was stopping hadn't been discovered on this world yet! I
could only think of one reason why anyone would have this
spell here and now.

Someone was expecting me. Switching the light-band to my
left hand and pulled out my gun, holding it in my right,
pulling the hammer back but keeping the safety on.

Holding it prone I headed into the darkness.

* * *

"DRAGONFIRE!" A voice yelled from the outside of the castle.

I lifted my head from the stack of papers I had been buried
in. Looking out the turret's window I saw a trio of dragons
flowing low over the castle, burning the ground under them.

They where past the castle though, why were they attacking?
Walking over to the window I cast a small spell to improve
my vision I looked out at the damage. The dragons had each
cut a swath of destruction though thick crop land.

A second trio of dragons flew over the castle, burning more
farm land and pre-cooking a couple cows.

Finally I shook off the quick shock I was feeling. Sweeping
of the spell on my eyes, I grabbed a handful of papers I had
been stacking and dashed out of the room I was in and
exploded down the stairs into the castle.

Jumping over the last few stairs I burst past some startled
servants and though the corridor. I keep running until I
burst though the one of the side doors and into the dinning
hall.

Draz and Kalie were already there, looking over a set of
maps. As I made my entrance they both looked up. "Ken,"
Kalie said with a bit of a frown, "You saw happened?"

I nodded, twisting a chair sideways and sitting down in it.
"How could I not?"

Draz nodded as one of the servants whispered into his ear.
He frowned. "The dragons have banked back to there camp. A
next flight could be on there way already."

"I hope not," I whispered, dropping the papers onto the
table, spreading them out a bit.

"You found something?" Kalie asked, leaning forward towards
me.

"I... I'm not sure." I said pulling around some of the
papers. "I think I found something that looks like some kind
of dragon repellent spell, I'm not sure though, I can barely
just read the written language."

Kalie winches. "The translators, I forgot about that." She
turned to Draz. "You can read, yes?"

He coughed a bit. "I'm not royal by birth... I've learned a
few things, but not enough to understand something like
this."

Kalie frowned. "Then get someone here who can read, right
now we need to protect this castle!"

Draz shook his head. "It's not the castle there attacking
right now, it's the farms and crops in this valley. If they
destroy all of them we're not going to survive this coming
winter."

I pulled out a paper from the stack. "From what I can read,
I think I can get this spell expand to cover the whole
valley, but I'm going to need someone who _can_ read."

Draz snapped his fingers and one of the servants came
running to his side. He spoke to him for a second then the
servant ran off.

Another servant ran up to Draz as the first left. He
whispered something into his hear then back away.

He stood instantly upright. "Thrysten is heading back this
way."

"I think it's safe to assume that Fox's meting with Krege
didn't go well," Kalie quipped as she stood.

"Brilliant observation," I said, standing on my own. All
three of us ran out of the hall, up the same stairs we had
first come down, and onto the battlements of the castle.

Draz ran to the east side of the castle, facing Krege's
army. The dragons were no longer in the sky, but something
else was. Putting the same improvement of vision on my eyes
I traced the sky. Thrysten was coming, flying in her
none-morphic form (a rather amazing feet, I really want to
get my claws on that stone of hers). I also saw that she had
Oriana perched on her back.

She was struggling to stay in the air, betting the air
instead of trying to glide. There was no beauty in her form,
just force. I snapped my vision back. "She has Oriana on her
back and is going to be landing hard."

Draz paled a bit. "Spread back a bit, she's never been good
at tight landings."

Kalie looked puzzled. "How can she fly?" She demanded.

I moved back a bit. "Stand back and watch."

Thrysten was now viable as more then a strangely shaped
bird. He form was growing quickly as she tried to slow down.
Stepping forward I moved to just to the side of where she
would skim past the battlements. I opened my arms and
yelled. "Jump!"

Oriana must of heard as when they flew past she leaped from
Thrysten's back and against me. She missed my arms but
smashed into my chest, forcing me onto my back. I rolled,
taking Oriana's momentum from her leap. I flipped about
three times before finally hitting neck first into the stone
wall.

Suddenly Kalie was by my side. "What the hell was that
about?" She asked, prying my arms from around Oriana,
rolling her onto the battlements.

"Basic physics," I muttered, blackness creeping around my
vision. "If she had been on Thrysten's back when they
crashed she would have flow off and break her neck, not to
mention Thrysten's."

She nodded, patting my head. "Smart idea then."

I chuckled a bit. "Thanks," I whispered as the blackness
took over my vision and I passed out.

-----

This story is (c) 1997 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.