The Proving of Champions, Chapter 5

Shaw yanked the fire screen down, red light spilling across the tree's upper reaches. From all around, dark, monstrous shapes weaved through the orange glow and the web of shadows cast by branches. Several tiger-striped wasps the size of eagles buzzed angrily from above, like the sawing of logs. A monstrously broad gorilla with scales grunted as it tested a low branch that snapped under its weight. It continued climbing up the trunk towards the camp. Darting around the camp was an iridescent black shadow with expansive, bat-light wings and a cat's body.

While the camp's soldiers groped for their swords and stumbled after their spears, Fleta pulled river stones out of her pack, sending a volley into the delicate, transparent wings of the wasps. The wasps plummeted or fled. Fleta threw another pair of rocks at the gorilla and bat creatures. The bat feline tucked its wings, rolled away from the stone, landed on a nearby branch, and hissed. The scaled gorilla didn't bother to flinch or grunt.

Alexei grabbed Fleta. "I fight several at once, but not all. I try to get big ones and throw them down. You," he pantomimed Fleta throwing rocks. "Get animals that go around."

"I'll help gather the men by the trunk."

Alexei shrugged. "That's good, too."

As Fleta zipped over to help Terrel and Hereward organize the disciples, Alexei's body began to bubble and expand, new limbs bursting outward. He dropped down a branch to confront the gorilla with two saber arms. The gorilla swatted the first away and grabbed the second—a third shot out, slicing the guerilla in the side. While Alexei engaged the guerilla, the bat creature swooped in with a hiss. A well-timed stone from Fleta caused the beast to fall back, and Alexei grabbed the leg of the distracted batlike shadow and swung it into the open, tusky mouth of the gorilla.

The Thorgarick camp retreated to the trunk of the tree, weapons out, surrounded by giant beasts. Two furry, antlered snakes, thicker than a man's thigh, slithered across branches towards the camp. Opposite the snakes, a bear covered in yard-long quills crawled towards them. A featherless owl, serpentine tail coiling dangerously close to their heads, circled above.

Below, the gorilla spat out the bat feline as it yowled and scratched the ape's scale-armored face. The delicate wing bones of the bat snapped as they hit a branch, and the creature fell from the flickering orange firelight into the shadows below. Alexei gripped the gorilla, squeezing with a dozen limbs ending in scythe-like blades, and ripped it free from the trunk in a shower of bark. The gorilla roared, and Alexei launched it towards the snakes. As the gorilla reached out to the branch to stop its flight, the branch snapped, the serpents hissing and coiling around the gorilla as all three plummeted.

Fleta's rocks kept the oversized, leathery owl at bay but glanced harmlessly off the bear creature. Fleta had only a handful more rocks left. She interspersed her rocks with chunks of bark, but the bark did little more than make the owl flinch. Terrel and a Hereward moved to harry the spiked bear with spears jabbed at its face.

As Alexei crawled back up the trunk towards the Thorgarick camp, a bark ridge stood up, its colors bleeding from dark brown to red. A wolf-sized, crimson chameleon hissed at Alexei. The chameleon bit one of Alexei's arms, clamping like a bear trap onto the arm as Alexei tried to retract the limb into his side. He could not dislodge the lizard. Instead, Alexei cut off the trapped arm, and the chameleon fell, shreds of Alexei's arm still in its mouth. Alexei climbed under the porcupine bear and snapped his scythe arms into it from both sides. The spiked bear roared and flailed as Alexei threw it off the branch, anchored by a dozen bladed arms hooked into the tree trunk. A dozen smaller hands groped from his ribs to pull yard-long quills out of his bladed arms. Terrel and Hereward momentarily stared in shock at Alexei before returning to the trunk.

Shaw had retrieved a bow and shot two arrows into the owl creature, but it was still aloft. While Fleta hit the beast with a chunk of bark between the eyes, Shaw used the distraction to hit the owl in the chest. The owl screeched, its right wing collapsing, disappearing into the darkness below.

"Is that it?" Terrel called. "Are there any more creatures?" The darkness was eerily silent. "Where are Teon and Wade?"

"An insect got them; it looked like it was made of sticks and leaves," replied a grim, blonde woman Fleta recognized as Bernia. "It came out of nowhere and latched on to Teon. Wade tried to grab Teon, but he lost his balance."

"We lost three men tonight—three good men." Terrel turned toward Alexei, the firelight exaggerating the deep shadows under his brow. "I hope you got your satisfaction from the duel. There is little but mourning left for tonight."

"The mourning will have to wait," Shaw said in a quiet, clear voice. "This wasn't a normal animal attack."

"What do you mean?" Fleta asked.

"Have you ever been attacked by so many animals, especially different animals, all at once?"

"No..."

"The animals here are indeed bloodthirsty monsters, but they generally attack alone or in small groups of similar species." Shaw's eyes darted around the now silent battlefield of empty branches. "The four wasps or the two snakes might have attacked in their individual groups, but together with all those other creatures? Someone who didn't want to fight us directly whipped them into a frenzy and released them into our camp. At least..." Shaw closed his eyes, picturing the fight. "...6 groups positioned above, below, east, and west."

Hereward nodded darkly, his broad, blunt face weighed down by a grim frown. "If there were at least two handlers per animal, plus additional soldiers or scouts, we're looking at a group of at least 20-30. The animals could have been a strategy to soften us up for their attack."

"They have taken great pains to remain unseen," Shaw replied. "And our defense may have been strong enough to give them second thoughts. Let's hope it was just a test."

"Still, we are surrounded," Terrel nodded stiffly. "Get your packs. Distribute Alber's belongings. We have no time to bury our dead. We move immediately."