The Autumn Mage

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Something whistled through the air glinting in the faint light of the moon, striking the Chimera in its right eye. It shook its head in surprise, and then looked around to find the source. It growled and began to walk in the direction that it had come. Exhausted the men dropped what remained of their barrier, hunching over and breathing heavily. Orpheus reached down and took the object turning it over in his hand inquisitively.

"It's a crossbow bolt," he said softly in amused confusion. He looked over at the Chimera, who had walked over to the perimeter wall around the center building. It sniffed the air, and then let out an aggravated roar. Another bolt whistled from behind, catching it behind its ear. Its serpent head hissed, bobbing towards one of the remaining abandoned homes. The Chimera ran towards it, roaring again. It sniffed the entry, annoyed that it could not pinpoint the source. A large shadowy figure leapt off of the roof and landed on its back facing the rear, their legs wrapped around it as if it were saddled. The large figure punched the snake's head narrowly missing its right eye. The Chimera bucked, attempting to throw the mysterious assailant off but instead they smoothly slid off to their left and wrapped their arms around the Chimera's throat from behind its shoulder. The monster kicked them with its hoof thrice, but they would not let go. It blew another plume of fire upwards in desperation briefly illuminating a tall and stout green hooded figure with grey leggings and black knee-high boots.

They flipped the Chimera forward and stomped on its throat, the beast fighting to keep breathing. The figure grabbed the Chimera by the throat, forcing it to keep its mouth open. Then they lifted their right fist and pointed it at its mouth, and another black metal bolt flew inside of it. The Chimera tensed and began to convulse. Blood and vomit poured from its mouth and its breathing became erratic. Its body lurched several times before it fell to the ground. The hooded person watched it a few more moments before turning towards Aki and Orpheus the wind sending their clothes fluttering behind them as they slowly approached. They walked deliberately, and Aki nervously swallowed.

"Sorry for cutting in," a contralto voice said. "It looked like you needed a woman's touch." The tall figure slowly pulled their hood back, revealing short dark purple, almost black, hair fastened into tiny black bows up top and falling down to her thick eyebrows. Her eyes were large and black, blending in with her pupils, giving them an otherworldly quality. Her skin had an odd grey color, as if it were made of ash with arm hair thicker than Hume women. Now that she was closer it was obvious that her tunic was more of a skirt with a hood attached to the top, ending at her upper thighs. Large leaves appeared subtly across her outfit in varying shades of green, a pattern hunters use to hide in the woods. Her boots were well worn but in good shape, housing the largest feet Aki had seen on a female. She stood slightly taller than Orpheus but also stouter with a naturally toned body. Her sleeves were loose and flowed in the breeze, revealing two dark bronze attachments to her wrists, which must have been the source of the bolts. She also had a thin apparatus over her hand, which did not constrict her flesh but looked like it was mirroring her own fingers. The "claws" came to a blunt point, allowing her to pierce or bash, depending on what she was striking and they gave her hands a sinister quality.

"Who are you?" Aki finally asked breathless, completely unaware of how long his mouth had been open.

"I'm Pinga. Pinga Mundi. And I'm here to help you finish the job," she exclaimed cheerfully.

"How...how did you even get in here?" Aki asked, wincing as Orpheus healed his back. Aki had his hand over his nose which had finally stopped bleeding. His head throbbed from it slamming against the hard ground and he was having a hard time staying focused. Pinga reached around to her back and pulled out a black metal hook attached to a long black rope.