Kelski didn’t have time to think. She was still trying to adjust to her change of vision. And she’d been stupid, learning to morph into infravision but virtually having no time practicing it and using it in a combat life-or-death situation. She also wasn’t that great at her crossbow, though she had drilled in reloading it rapidly over and over and over again. She knew she needed to get better. It was a stronger weapon ranged than the daggers she could throw and she was reluctant to part with the daggers on flying creatures she wasn’t sure she could retrieve them from. But she had to try… had to get these animals out of the air.
Kelski did what she could do, firing again coming out of her acrobatic dive, aiming at the one that was nearest too her and scrambling up to her feet as soon as she could. It wasn’t the quietly take sight down the barrel, exhale, and gently caress the trigger like she’d been taught. It was down and dirty combat, aim close, aim in the general direction, and try and fire. She did so repeatedly, over and over, until her bolts grew thin then the sheath empty.
She’d just pulled her throwing daggers – one for each hand – when the sounds of yelling and light of torches hit the scene. Their crew – the people that had come to stay with them and work for them – people that had become family – burst onto the scene. Weapons were various, from shovels to short bows to longswords and axes. Kelski crouched panting, dumbfounded, as the crowd joined them. The people split up, faces coming into focus even with her unusual morphed eyesight.
Hattie and Mosa lead them, as frail as the two were. Dess’ cousin and the three generations of women in Hattie’s family joined in. The blacksmith had his enormous hammer and the Dhani had a trident. They waved the weapons, made a big show of being an army, and the Zith that weren’t wounded or dead all turned as one and fled.
Kelski had never seen anything like it. She stared, trying to understand what was happening. Something had threatened the Demesne and as one the Demesne… for surely these people were all the Demesne… turned out as one to defend it. They didn’t leave Alex, and Anja hanging. They turned out in mass to help, and together even though not a single one of them was very skilled in weapons – the sheer mass was enough to deter the Zith and send them flying.
And when the skies cleared and Kelski looked around, she could see a lot of Zith were indeed dead. They’d taken out a vast majority of what might have been an entire colony since a dozen lay dead or dying scattered about the freshly cleared land. Far less than that had fled. Kelski could see the single digit numbers flapping awkwardly away. Their wings were not like bird wings and for a moment, watching them with her Akalak Infravision, the Kelvic almost felt pity for their awkwardness. But the fleeting thought only lasted a moment before she turned and did what needed to be done.
She moved among the clearing, dispatching the wounded and those that were down but not dead. She showed no mercy and left nothing alive. Zith, she had learned, were not the type of creatures to forgive and rehabilitate. They were violent bloodthirsty creatures that made humans look tame.
When Kelski was done with her gruesome work, she began to drag the bodies into a pile. The others helped, and when they had them all gathered, she sacrificed a precious gallon of lamp oil – dousing them in flammable liquid, and lit up the pyre.
Hopefully, no Zith would bother the Meraki and The Empyreal Demesne again.
Kelski did what she could do, firing again coming out of her acrobatic dive, aiming at the one that was nearest too her and scrambling up to her feet as soon as she could. It wasn’t the quietly take sight down the barrel, exhale, and gently caress the trigger like she’d been taught. It was down and dirty combat, aim close, aim in the general direction, and try and fire. She did so repeatedly, over and over, until her bolts grew thin then the sheath empty.
She’d just pulled her throwing daggers – one for each hand – when the sounds of yelling and light of torches hit the scene. Their crew – the people that had come to stay with them and work for them – people that had become family – burst onto the scene. Weapons were various, from shovels to short bows to longswords and axes. Kelski crouched panting, dumbfounded, as the crowd joined them. The people split up, faces coming into focus even with her unusual morphed eyesight.
Hattie and Mosa lead them, as frail as the two were. Dess’ cousin and the three generations of women in Hattie’s family joined in. The blacksmith had his enormous hammer and the Dhani had a trident. They waved the weapons, made a big show of being an army, and the Zith that weren’t wounded or dead all turned as one and fled.
Kelski had never seen anything like it. She stared, trying to understand what was happening. Something had threatened the Demesne and as one the Demesne… for surely these people were all the Demesne… turned out as one to defend it. They didn’t leave Alex, and Anja hanging. They turned out in mass to help, and together even though not a single one of them was very skilled in weapons – the sheer mass was enough to deter the Zith and send them flying.
And when the skies cleared and Kelski looked around, she could see a lot of Zith were indeed dead. They’d taken out a vast majority of what might have been an entire colony since a dozen lay dead or dying scattered about the freshly cleared land. Far less than that had fled. Kelski could see the single digit numbers flapping awkwardly away. Their wings were not like bird wings and for a moment, watching them with her Akalak Infravision, the Kelvic almost felt pity for their awkwardness. But the fleeting thought only lasted a moment before she turned and did what needed to be done.
She moved among the clearing, dispatching the wounded and those that were down but not dead. She showed no mercy and left nothing alive. Zith, she had learned, were not the type of creatures to forgive and rehabilitate. They were violent bloodthirsty creatures that made humans look tame.
When Kelski was done with her gruesome work, she began to drag the bodies into a pile. The others helped, and when they had them all gathered, she sacrificed a precious gallon of lamp oil – dousing them in flammable liquid, and lit up the pyre.
Hopefully, no Zith would bother the Meraki and The Empyreal Demesne again.
