The Pact

Chapter 16: The Barn's Horsey General

Kyon POV:

I killed a few hellhounds while walking and almost tripping over a few roots. I kept my left hand on my head wound, placing pressure. I didn't want to die of blood loss or grow so dizzy I couldn't fight.

I reached what appeared to be a farm like structure. A barn, maybe? It was huge. I wasn't sure how I didn't see it from my vantage point before I fought the drakon.

There was a four-legged figure on top of the tall barn, and I squinted up at the figure, then I saw the head move. A horse head. What was a horse doing over thirty feet in the air? On a barn?

Then the horse head lifted its head towards the sky and bellowed out a rooster crow. I immediately grew confused. The horse just crowed like a rooster, a cock-a-doodle-doo at that. Then as if waiting for me to get to a height of confusion, wings spread from the horse's body.

Then the horse leaped from the roof and repeatedly flapped as if the wings could do little more than glide. The horse touched down on the ground and walked oddly up to me, like half of its body was walking like a rooster, but the other half a horse.

Then the horse came into the light, and I realized what I was seeing, a Hippalektryon. A half horse, half rooster hybrid. The horse parts were the front half, two front legs, the head and neck, and the body leading to the halfway point was all a beige color. The rooster part took up the backside, from where the horse part ended, the back legs were horse-leg sized rooster feet, claws and all. The rear end was a mess of feathers, just like a rooster. The wings sprouting from the horse's back were the same black, white, brown, red, green color as the rest of the rooster feathers.

Suddenly the Hippalektryon was joined by an assortment of other creatures. A herd of katobleps, around fifteen bull-shaped shaggy beasts with noxious breath and could kill when looked in the eye, and the birds of Ares, around ten arrow-feathered birds who aimed for the kill.

I sighed as I looked at the assortment of modified farm animals. Then the Hipppalektryon huffed, and the birds attacked.

Swooping in like a storm, I barely had enough time to dodge as they stopped abruptly and let their wings shoot arrows. I rolled behind a nearby rock just large enough to hide my body. I heard the flapping of wings and knew I had only a few seconds to think of a plan.

From the stories, the warriors who went to get the golden fleece banged shields and spears together to scare the birds away. But they were killable just as normal monsters were. I'll need my chest plate for the fight against the Hippalektryon, but I might have enough time to put it back on.

I quickly untied the vines on my chest plate and set it on the ground. I really hoped that this didn't dent it. I picked up a nearby rock and saw the birds get into position. I took one second of silence and hit the chest plate, creating a dull gong sound. I continued hitting it and heard screeches from the birds and wings flapping. I looked up to see all the birds gone.

Suddenly there was a shadow overhead, and as soon as it showed up, it disappeared. I looked forward and saw the Hippalektryon in front of me. I grabbed my chest plate and wrapped the vines around my arm like a shield and stood up.

I heard a sniff from behind me and held my breath, not inhaling. Turning in a half-circle, I saw the too close herd of katobleps. I avoided looking at the nearest beast and quickly stabbed where I thought it was. I felt my sword connect, and I took a lungful of fresh air, happy to be breathing again.

I saw the katobleps take a full step forward, and I knew I couldn't continue fighting between these two forces. I needed them together so that I could focus. So I stepped backward toward the rock I was hiding behind earlier and kept my makeshift shield out in front of me.