Survival lessons

Alex did a quick look around the ground for weapons more suited to fighting the chimera than his sidearms. Running to a great axe laying not far away he lifted it from the dust and saw that the long heft had been broken. It would be unwieldy, but he was fine with that. He also managed to find a halberd laying nearby and grabbed that too.

With the axe in his right and the halberd in his left Alex approached the rear of the beast. Without the serpent head watching this end all he had to watch for was the thrashing tail, which was mostly predictable since it was now just a counterweight for the boar head's attempts to gore everything.

Swaying to the time of the tail he watched it a moment then dove in. With his spell combo still in effect it was an easy maneuver to make.

Alex reached back winding up to strike at the hamstrings of the chimera with the axe. His arm getting wrapped in an ominous looking aura as he dipped into his demon powers just enough to enhance the power of his movement. Black lightning flashed noiselessly down his arm as he released, cleaving through the tendons and burying the axe into the bone.

Trying to remove the axe only resulted in splintering the remainder of the handle. Another curse and Alex abandon it too.

With a leg out of commission the chimera finally broke it's rage, but desperation isn't an improvement, just an exchange. It's relentless focus on attacking came to an end, but it's actions would be much more erratic, and with running not being an option the chimera would behave like a cornered animal.

Rejoining the remaining guards and the two lads Alex called directions to them. "Go for the eyes and the jugulars. I'll hold him down."

"How are you going to..."

Alex didn't wait for the question to finish and hooked the halberd into the nostril, dropping his weight once it was in place.

With a yelp of surprise and pain the chimera's head came to the earth, before pulling back in terror. But Alex didn't let go.

"Edward," he called, "Another halberd!"

Edward toss his, switching to his sword even before Alex caught it. With a halberd in each nostril now Alex wrestled the head by the nose.

Meanwhile everyone else focused on the neck until the blood of the chimera was flowing freely enough to turn the soil black. With the loss of arterial blood flow the daaqda chimera faded into ****.

There was no cheering, there never is after a real life and **** struggle, just relief. No matter how many battles Alex fought even his legs felt numb from the adrenaline. He collected his pack with Demon while the young Alexander and Edward saw to the needs of the caravan.

The surviving guards and merchants were discussing the corpse of the beast when Alex got to them. "If I can make a recommendation," he chimed in respectfully, and when none objected continued, "Harvest what you can transport and take it back to Grumen'Kal. The orcs have a use for everything except the meat, that's highly poisonous and needs to be burned or it will even injure the land. The tusks are immensely valuable, and if you can get a few vials of blood before it's completely drained the orcs use it to make a universal anti-venom tonic. Not sure how but I know they'll part with their greatest treasures for chimera blood...if you have it."

The merchants talked with Alex a little more about the particulars of harvesting the materials before thanking him and setting to work. With his advice they wouldn't just recover the losses of their caravan, but they would gain a substantial fortune. Most of them would probably quit the traveling merchant life, the lifestyle was dreary and perilous, profit could be made more safely from a building if one could afford the purchase. Maybe they would even take the opportunity to start families, Alex doubted that anyone who spent years on the road at a time would have time for a family.

As for the dead, they would be mourned later in private. Lost life is lost and cannot be regained. It's a tragedy that mortal life must come to an end, but there are worse ways to die and Alex learned in the last decade a lesson he should have learned much younger. It doesn't matter how you die, it matters how you chose to live. Legends aren't made in ****, they are made through the choices made while alive.

Alex looked at the two boys he'd been traveling with as they interacted with the people who had been traveling with the caravan, just common folks paying the merchants and their guards for safer passage across the steeps. They were still hopeful and optimistic about life, and Alex hoped that they wouldn't lose that as they got to see more and more just how selfish people could be.

(They did pretty well for their first real fight) Demon was even older and more jaded than Alex, so her praise was rarely anything more than half-given.

(Yes they did) Alex thought back to her. He reached over his shoulder absentmindedly and scratched her head.

She purred. (Time to say goodbye then?)

(Yes it is)