Bounty Hunter Bash Labyrinth Lock Part Four

 Night In The Labyrinth 

They walked on and on making sure that each step was marked and made carefully. They had even started peek down every turn to make sure it did not lead to a dead end. Yet as each hour went by, the day became darker and darker. Then they started to hear the hoot of an owl along with other creatures of the night.

Soon it was night and all of them felt tired and weary. They needed sleep so they set up camp once they could no longer resist the urge to sleep. Yet for some reason Bash had a bad feeling about this. She looked to Chashathrophogh. It was all too clear that he had one too.

So she lay down to rest, as she was far too sleepy to heed the warning of her gut. So they were all about to go to sleep when they heard a high pitched cry. Their eyes opened as they saw a bird-like creature dive down. Yet, upon a closer inspection, the bird had the form of a woman with reddish purple hair and golden eyes. She had a red robe on with a golden broach. The clothes that pointed to her being from Olyma. Her teeth were like the teeth of a parahana. She had long sharp talons instead of nails and feathers instead of arms.

They all dived out of the way and she dived at Strena. Quickly Bash loaded her bow and fired. She was aiming for the heart but she missed and hit the shoulder. She cried out and looked back with vengeance in her eyes. She dived away from Strena and headed straight for her. 

She went to load her bow again until she was struck in the side of her face. She looked up to see another one. She looked identical to the first. She pulled her string back and hit. Then she was struck in the back. That was when Zaryb threw a tiny dagger behind her. She looked back to see another fall back behind her with one in her head.

“Thank-”

Then she saw another behind him. She fired a bow at her and it struck her in the head.

“We’re even!”

Then the first was about to hit Strena again but was hit by Chashathrophogh. Then Strena saw one diving at him. She drew her swords and ran to her. She jumped up and slit her throat. Then two reached Cerpheres. He licked his lips as he pulled out his stars and threw one and then the other.

Then Strena appeared by his side.

“Throw me, I’ll take some out in the air and use your magic to help me land.”

He smiled.

“No. You can use your own.”

She looked back at him in anger. That was when Bash jumped on him and got Strena and kept off him. When they were on the air, Bash fired shot after shot at them as Strena sliced all that came anywhere near them. Soon the harpies were lying dead on the ground. 

Not wanting to sleep in a den of corpses, they walked on. They soon came to a place far from any dead bodies and were about to, again, set up camp to sleep when they heard a high-pitched lion roar.

They became alert. They looked around as another creature landed right in front of them. It looked like a lion, only slightly bigger and with wings like a bat and the tail of a scorpion with a serpent tongue and eyes.

“Urm…Master Zaryb! Is that-”

“A manticor! Yes.”

“Do you think that it’s the only one?”

“Judging by his mane, yes! After all, the male manticor would only meet a female for breeding. Beyond that, they prefer to be alone.”

“Good.”

Bash drew her bow and fired an arrow at him but he struck the arrow down. Zaryb shot out a few tiny daggers at him but he was able to catch them with his teeth. He flew at them. He swung his claws down. Then Strena sliced the middle of his paw and he roared. Then he went to fly at her. Bash drew her bow and hit one of the wings. Then Zaryb threw tiny daggers at the other wing. Strena ran to the side as the manticor crashed down.

It let out a roar as his back was stabbed by the thorns. Then he got up and charged at them. They all split as the manticor reached them, Zaryb and Bash at one end and Strena, Chashathrophogh and Cerpheres on the other. Then Strena ran to the back of the creature. The tail struck down, she dived to the left then went to cut. The tail dived up. She dived back. Then went to cut but then she saw it dive down again. She drew Orion up to block it then used Darkector to slice the tail off at the bottom. 

She noticed that the tail was about to stab her in the back when both Chashathrophogh and Cerpheres caught it. Then she felt the claws in her shoulder and she fell. The two men pulled out a fireball and flung it into his face. He let out a roar as Cerpheres placed a hand on her shoulder, healing her wounds.

They looked up, readying for another attack. Then he fell down. His body twitched as he did then the body stopped moving altogether.

Cerpheres walked over to Bash and healed her wounds. He looked back at the manticor. He placed a hand on him. He could feel that he was cold. He looked up.

“Dead.”

They nodded as they walked on.

“Do you think we’ll get any sleep here?”

“No.”

As they walked on, they felt their eyelids dropping and the fatigue was settling in. They knew that they could no longer go on so they all had to sleep. So they all tried to fall asleep right there and then. Then Bash looked up to see a set of white rabbits hopping on the horizon. They came closer and closer and closer. As they did, they became bigger and bigger until they became massive. Then they saw the purple serpent like eyes and the sharp fangs.

“Urm…what am I looking at?” Bash asked, slightly dazed.

“The rabbits of the Demon Realm.”

“No. They’re rabbits made from rabbits crossed with creatures from the Demon Realm.”

Then Chashathrophogh and Zaryb became alert. Then Bash looked at Strena and Cerpheres.

“Get your violin out, now.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re all tired and we need a boost.”

“Alright!”

He got it out and played. Soon Bash, Strena and Chashathrophogh felt their energy being boosted.

Bash sent fireball after fireball at them as she could not be bothered to use her bow. He did the same. Then one missed and hit the bush. Only to see that the bush was completely unharmed!

So, fire doesn’t affect it. Good to know!

Then the demon bunny hopped at her. She dived out of the way, she fired at it and it hit the stomach and used her magic to make the fire spread. This caused the whole body to bombust. She then looked to the side to see that Chashathrophogh had set two alight. Zaryb shot several tiny daggers at the neck, making several cuts. Yet most of them missed. Chashathrophogh then used his magic to send into the back of their heads. Then pulled them and the blood sprayed everywhere. Then fell.

She looked around to see that one was about to dive at her. She flung a fireball at the head, then used her magic to make it spread. Then she threw another at another head but it missed. She was then hit. She then sent another at it. She then made the fire spread. She did this again and again and again. Even though her fireballs mainly missed and hit the bush the two men were able to increase the fire of the ones that hit. By daybreak they were all gone.

She looked back to see that Strena was already sound asleep.

“Exhaustion.” Cerpheres purred as he looked at her.