The Deepcombers

Chapter Twelve

The sea drover inhaled and began his sprint. He suppressed his fear and executed his brave attack. He was very aware of the spectacular height at which this unpredictable encounter was set to occur. The mountain's mass loomed behind and the ocean stretched to the sky, but less than twelve paces away was a deadly drop.

Lon courageously ran up the stone ramp and leaped high into the air. He found himself afloat at the top of the world and directly over the thrashing bird. He landed knees-first on the roc's back, right between its wings. Crunch! The skinny youth brought his heavy wood cudgel down hard on the bird's unprotected cranium. Thump! The feathered monster screeched in pain.

Squuuaaawk! The blow befuddled the beast and it released Jarl. The big cat wasted no time and rolled clear of its claws, gushing blood.

The roc was stunned but not defeated. Clyde held fast to its right leg and didn't let go. His weight anchored the winged animal to the ledge.

Lon wanted to whack it again and he grabbed about with his left hand but couldn't get a grip. He fell backwards into its fluffy nest. Cawwww! The critter thrashed about and hundreds of tiny feathers filled the air.

Tharus saw his chance. The bird was twice his size but the skinny lizard bravely leapt over Clyde and grabbed its neck. He body-surfed on it's wing to wrestle her down. The swampkin got the dazed hen in a strangle-hold. The old girl tried to peck him but he squeezed her throat. Twice the beast tried to drag the entire group over the edge; she flapped her huge wings to beat an escape and that upset more stone piles.

In the struggle the reptile got his bony arm all the way around the bird's windpipe and he choked the life out of the mythic flyer. The endgame lasted for another minute as the monster gasped and tried to breath. Lon wanted to crack its skull again, but he couldn't climb its streamlined surfaces.

Tharus won all by himself; he asphyxiated the bird and its eyes rolled back in its head. He twisted the creature's neck to make sure it was dead and then something amazing happened.

The swampkin's green skin went bright white for a second and his body lit-up like he was made of frosted glass. He shone bright white in broad daylight.

Then as if exhausted by the exertion of becoming so illuminated, the reptilian lost consciousness and collapsed on top the corpse. It was the most unusual thing that any of them had ever seen in their lives, but they all knew what'd just occurred. This phenomenon, unique to the island, had been discussed at length in the deepcombers' sheets.

"Was that the..?" asked Clyde. He checked around to see if others had the same idea.

"The body expansion," Lon said. "The Build Out. It has to be that."

Tharus lay still, as though unconscious. Lon waited and then crouched to examine him. Clyde meanwhile moved to the lionfeigor who was badly wounded.

"Ohhh..." Jarl moaned. He lay on his stomach in growing pool of his own blood that dripped from the puncture wounds in his back.

Lon knelt beside Tharus to see if he still breathed. He did.

Clyde knelt beside Jarl and the big cat growled at him to stay away.

"Lie-still if you want to live." The noble forcefully restrained him. "You're losing blood. I can help."

Tharus woke just in time to see Clyde's miracle. Lon watched it too, and Jarl experienced it. The noble laid his big hands on each puncture wound and his palms glowed red. The action removed Jarl's pain and staunched the bleeding.

"Oh, that feels... How did you?" The lion tried to look, but Clyde pushed his head down again.

'It's why I carry around these heavy hands," the noblekin said. "How does that feel?"