Perils of the Heart

Allemare was true to her word, in more ways than one. Her companions had in fact taken you on their journey, based on her word alone. You were both elated and surprised to be among such daring and storied company. Alongside Allemare the daring warrior of Bronzebark was Filegash the Wizened, a sage Orcish wizard from the northern Mintaleian Provinces, Vilenna, a dwarven cleric dedicated to Hjanda, the Goddess of the Dwarves and Fourth of Six Sisters, and Yozin, a Halfling Druid. Each of them had extensive war stories and accolades for a bardic storyteller to tell; if you could get any of them to speak. While they were amicable enough and immediately brought you into the fold, you quickly saw why Allemare drew them to her; they were the quiet and humble types. These were not the types to seek glory or fame, likely because they already had more than most could accomplish in a lifetime.

Their skills and prowess did not actually fill you with a great sense of confidence, it turned out. In this mysterious cave, full of dangers immense and rare, you felt a liability more than you did an asset. Your occult magic was bringing some talent into the situation that wouldn't otherwise be available, but beyond chasing off the kobolds at the mouth of this cave, you were under prepared. Woefully, dangerously unprepared. Worse than the feeling that you were less than helpful in the situation, was knowing that you were off on this adventure without Trevolia and the others knowing where you were. The notion that you might never see your beloved princess again filled you with insurmountable dread. Seeing her beaming smile in your mind's eye, followed by Joan's, Clodagh's, and Lita's sent shivers down your spine and gave you serious worry. Maybe you weren't really cut out for the adventuring world, you reckoned. Perhaps Joan had been right all along.

"Fuck" you muttered to yourself "What am I even doing here?"

"This is neither the time nor the place to lose your spirit, Silve" Filegash spoke up, having overheard you. "There is no community of our kind that takes kind to cowards, you know."

You could feel your throat tighten, words unable to escape, at the prospect of that label. Allemare, silently, glanced your way, having a knowing, foreboding look about her. Perhaps she should have been more explicit; perhaps you should have done more to recognize the threat, either way, here you were, in over your head again.
"Hey, listen here" Vilenna spoke up as she closed the distance, giving a soft jab to your arm above the elbow. "This is what adventuring looks like for real, right. You haven't done anything like this before, have you?"

You shook your head "No, not quite. Took out a Tyrant Spider, and fought off a demonic incursion."

"Right, I heard about that. Back in Yokono, I think. That wasn't small doings, but this is a whole other level, isn't it?"

"Ya, and we're not even done yet" You nodded, putting your eyes beyond the group, worried about what danger lay deeper on "This is beyond me right now. I feel like I'm just getting in the way, or that I'm one bad step away from this all being over."

"Have I told you that you were getting in the way?" You shook your head in the negative "Right, has Allemare, has Yozin? Filegash is an ass, and even he hasn't told you that, so I don't know what you're on about. This is new, and I'm sure it's pretty scary for you. This was scary for all of us the first time we dealt with something like this for the first time. I'll let you in on a secret Silve. It's _still _scary." The dwarf rose her shoulders up, as if asking an open question. "Cause you're right, you know. This is extremely dangerous. A bad trap nobody saw, an enemy gets the drop on us, who knows? It could all be over for us, just like that." She lead with a strong snap of her fingers, which let out a unique tone from her metal hands in the echoing space "That's why we gotta look out for each other, why we gotta trust the gear we brought, the skills we have, and why gotta have faith."

"She played the faith card" Yozin snickered as he rolled his eyes "Look big guy, ya gotta get out of your own way. You're already here. You made it this far. We wouldn't have let you come along if we didn't think you could come out the other side in one piece. Believe it or not, we're not overly fond of telling girlfriends and family members that their cherished person got roasted alive and having to recommend that they do a close casket funeral, okay?"

"Okay" You nodded. The thought of being buried by the princess and your other dear friends wasn't where your mind should have lingered. Rather than dwelling on it and sending yourself backwards, you focused on what the dwarven cleric had said. Faith; tools. Family.

"Alright Hjanda" you thought yourself "I need to get back to my family. Please, with Vilenna, help me do that, okay? I'm just here to try and make that an honest reality. Doing it your way..."

Having steeled your mind, you continued deeper into the monstrous cavern. The threats had seemingly stopped, as corpses of unfamiliar bodies lay fragmented across the floors and against the walls.

"I guess we've gotten over the hill now" You let out, hopeful "the threat must be mostly over now"

"That's not how I would look at it" Allemare rebutted "This is all of the people and things that came before us. Some of them are people who tried like us to defeat the threat, and failed. Some of them, are poor saps that happened to be in the wrong place and the wrong time, and became one of these things lunch."

"One of?" You asked, quizically "I thought we were dealing with one threat? What's going on?"

"Depends on how you want to look at it" Filegash chimed in "One threat, three mouths. We're putting down a Chimera"

The reveal of the threat caused your heart to sink again. "Fuck" the word came out of your mouth reflexively. These were the types of monsters that you hear from legends and scary stories. Tales have been told of known heroes who have faced against such beasts and failed. A three-headed monster, on a large, quadripedal frame of that of a great cat of prey, with functional wings of a dragon. The center head was that of a lion, paired on either side with the head of a small dragon, and the other of a great ram; some of the most fearsome and ornery beasts in all of T'sara, sharing one body, one mind, and one unsatiable apetite. There would be no reasoning with such a thing, no using your bardic charm to talk your way out; not that your new friends would give much chance for such a thing. The best your bardic traditions could do would be to serve as a distraction; which you were completely unprepared for. Allemare and the others were reputable heroes, but in the time of action, you found that you couldn't trust them with something like that.

Never again, you told yourself. From now on, you were going to stick to working with the people you knew; the ones you could trust with anything, including your lives. If that meant being less dangerous, or staying away from adventuring, than so be it. If that meant that Joan was right about you, than at this point, so be it.

The path took a sharp turn to the left before taking a steep decline. As the tunnel narrowed, the walls became black and scorched; clear sign of the chimera's handiwork. This was clearly it's territory now, which might work to your advantage. You step forward, leading the group. All of your comrades were surprised, but silent.

"I have an idea, just keep me safe in case this doesn't work" You said to Allemare, who nodded as she rose her shield. Drawing your instrument, you used your flute to cast a spell of mimicry; of sorts. You were familiar with how Chimera's looked, at least according to books and scrolls back home. How it would sound, you had to imagine in your mind, at least until the beast itself known. That, you hoped, would become evident. You were certain that the sight and sound of a fellow of its kind would provoke it, and in so doing, would distract from the rest of you.

A horrid, fictitious sight appeared before you all, trudging ahead down the pathway. Your plan perhaps worked too well, as you could hear the steps of the real beast almost immediately. Even as you and the illusion continued forward, you braced for the worst. A rush of foolish energy overtook you, leading you with the illusion to charge forward. In your mind, taking the first attack was the superior choice. Attacking viciously, the mirage swiped with it's vicious paws as there was a fierce tangle of angry heads vying for space. Despite the illusion, the real Chimera was convinced it had suffered real damage; at least until it struck back, biting nothing but air. The illusion dissipated, but had served it's purpose long enough. Filegash used the opportunity to cast and lob an immense fireball at the enemy.

Quick to follow up, and keep the beast disoriented, Yozin cast his own magic. Relying on the primal magic of his druidic training, the halfling created a near flood of water rushing from him at the Chimera. The **** of impact knocked it from it's feet, slamming it into the wall. Vilenna and Allemare came forward, side by side, shields raised, standing in front of the others. The cleric, not to be left out, threw a glass vial from her belt. As it broke upon the floor, the holy water inside mixed with the water on the floor, creating a blinding warm light. Although the Chimera was not an 'unholy' being like a demon, the blessed energy of Hjanda still had a damaging effect.

The horrid beast, for all of its fearsome tales, was being badly damaged, before it had a chance to retaliate. Now that it had it's chance, it struck with all of the ferocity their kind was known for, made all the more **** from being close to ****. Taking a deep breath in, the dragon head spewed out a terrifying cone of fire. The shields helped protect from the worst of it, but the even the residual heat was painful and overwhelming. As the breath stopped, Allemare staggered; the residual heat in her armor was almost cooking her. Seeing the vulnerability and opportunity, the Chimera charged forward, all three heads eager to devour the attackers.

In the moment of stress, you acted on instinct. You reached for the elf's sword and took it as you met the beast head to heads; much to the shouting of your compatriots. Vilenna moved up with you, trying to attract the attention and be the bigger target, despite being the smaller individual by far. Having three heads made the distraction effort moot point, as there were plenty of teeth for both of you. The warrior's broadsword was bulkier than you were used to; having trained with the more noble and artistic weapons like rapiers. It was a worthwhile trade off, for the moment, as the wider and bulkier blade would provide for a greater slicing movement, rather than a precise stabbing action. Your wild swing didn't strike as well as you wanted, but found the target near a critical point; just above the ram heads eye. All heads roared in pain, as you became the singular point of attention. The Chimera turned its full body, and all heads in your direction. The lion in the middle struck out first with a biting attack, that you were unable to repel. Massive teeth pierced your skin all around your torso, leaving you unable to focus. Your eyes closed in reflex, stomaching the pain. What happened next was unclear; there was a wide variety of noises, between metal on flesh, and the casting of wild arcane magics. There was an even tighter clenching into your body before it was all over, as the Chimera's body went limp and lifeless, the mouth opening to let you out.

Your fellow adventurers huddled around you, to inspect your health and ensure your well being. You were worse for wear, but surviving, for now.

"That was quite brave" Filegash remarked at you, as you lay on the cold, wet ground. "Foolish, perhaps, but none would describe you as cowardly."

"Thanks, I think" You smiled through the pain. You weren't entirely sure if it was a compliment, but you weren't in a position to call him out.

"That was surprising, for sure" Allemare added as she looked over your myriad of wounds "for someone full of such doubt as to whether you belonged, you came through when you were needed."

"Ya, I make great bait" You remarked, regarding how you've developed a bad habit of taking the hits for others. The others laughed mildly.

"Don't you worry" Vilenna added as she removed her metal gloves "You'll be back to normal in no time, although you'll need help with a tailor." The healing power of the gods coursed through your body, and it felt as though an immense weight had been lifted from you. You rose to your feet, good as new, though your clothes were full of holes from where you were bitten, which you couldn't easily hide without your magic.

"I think needing a tailor is going to be the least of my problems, but thank you. If it's all the same to you all, I'm more than ready to be back home, where I belong."