Piper observed her surroundings; the sun had gone to rest, and one of the moons was high up in the sky. Crickets chirped, and a wolf howled in the distance. Shea insisted on holding the lamp Piper brought.
"Two-Face Ted's the Knight-Sheriff of the village." Shea revealed.
Piper stared forward.
"That is, until the siege." Shea continued. "And all the Knights disbanded and brought out the worst of them. He swore to protect us; I watched him say so myself at his campaign a few years ago. Everyone is scared to speak up; he even locks up rebels for it."
Piper thought there had always been corrupt knights in the order.
Shea glanced at Piper. "What are you going to do at the Spires?"
Piper shrugged. "I'm... exploring."
"What about your parents?" Shea asked.
Piper offered no response.
"The legends have it, there are wild creatures lurking up in the spires; people got curious, climbed, and never returned." Shea explained. "It happened over and over again until it was outlawed."
"I know the legends." Piper retorted. She had read about it in her travel guide.
After an hour, they reached the base of the spires. It had ragged edges; fog was gathering at the top.
Shea said with unease, "Unless you have a death wish, I don't suppose you carry climbing gear."
Piper looked up. "Take the lamp and go home."
Shea shook her head at the teenager in pity and wandered off, back to the village.
Piper drew a deep breath and began to climb. Each step was carefully placed; she tried not to look down. She panted hard as sweat dripped down her temples; each strain was difficult.
Her fingers dug into the edge of the mountain, and the wind howled in her ears. But as she hauled herself up, a deafening shriek pierced the air.
"KRAAAI!"
Piper's head jerked up, and she saw the creature standing on the edge. Its body was a twisted fusion of a beetle and a lion; its pincers snapped wildly.
Before she could react, the creature swiped at her with a blow, sending her tumbling back.
Piper felt the weightlessness for a second, drew out her sword, and sunk it into the mountain; she hung on to it. She gasped as three creatures, which she guessed to be Fangaroths, began to crawl down, salivating while flashing their teeth.
"Terrific." She muttered.
One of the Fangoraths rushed at Piper; she swung her feet and kicked it. The force pushed it to slam against the mountain, sending it tumbling down.
The other two did not hesitate.
"KRAAAI!" They cried out.
Piper knew she had to act fast. She spotted a ledge, swung, and landed on it. She crouched to gain balance. With a swift motion, she drew the dagger from her thigh holster and threw it; it sunk into the second Fangaroth's eye.
It shrieked out of pain and fell to its death, while the other one tackled her.
"Oof!" She grunted, its pincers held on tight, and then with its wings, it flew up and tossed her on the mountaintop. She tumbled to the hard ground and came face-to-face with a human skull.
Piper quickly scrambled up; there were skulls and bones littered everywhere.
The Fangorath landed, shrieking at her.
More of them began to emerge from the dark, circling her; she was the prey tonight.
Piper took a defensive stance, one leg back and bent. She extended her hand, palm forward, in a calming gesture. Her other hand was crooked and held inches close to her chest.
A cave entrance was within sight, but getting past these creatures would be a challenge.
Grimm, give me strength.
She quickly drew out three tiny spheres from her backpack and tossed them. It exploded into a sonic scream. The Fangoraths recoiled, shrieking in fear, writhing in pain; some scattered, slithering back into the dark.
She walked towards the entrance and pulled out a glow stick, snapping it; a green glow appeared. She pulled up her scarf around her neck to her nose to cover up the slight putrid smell of rotten corpses; bones lay everywhere.
She stepped into a tavern, runes engraved on the ground. She began the ritual of lighting up three candles in a triangle.
She pulled out a folded note from her journal. The spell required complete focus. She sat in a lotus position, then began to chant:
Venti dello spazio e del tempo
Escucha mi llamada, tus poderes divinos.
Teleporta me ad Terram.
Ora e per sempre!
The runes began to glow with purple flicks, and Piper felt herself levitate in the air.
"Ora e per sempre!" Piper chanted. The triangle glowed a deep purple. "Ora e per sempre!"
She felt herself being pulled lower, suddenly, wild flicks shot out and sent her flying back. She did a backflip and landed in a crouch. The glow disappeared, and a soft wind blew out the candles.
She tried for the entire night, failing each time.
Piper's knees sunk to the hard ground in defeat, and bowed her head low as she panted, her eyes filled with tears.
* * * * * * * *
Climbing down, she retrieved her sword and dagger and marched back to the village. The sun rose, kissing the sky with amber and orange hues. There was no sign of the villagers; most stores were still locked. Too bad, she needed to refill her supplies. As she rounded into a corner, she paused upon seeing black carriages carrying dragon crests on them.
Monster army guards surrounded the innkeeper, who was on the verge of tears.
"You know the law; taxes must be completed by the end of the month," One of them growled at Mrs. Jenkins.
"But you were already here at the beginning of it!" Mrs. Jenkins protested.
He grabbed her by her clothes as she yelped. "Well now, I demand it."
"Hey, you!" Mrs. Jenkins called as soon as she spotted Piper.
Piper, who had tried to slink back into the corner, froze, preventing the guards from seeing her face.
"You helped Shea yesterday," Mrs. Jenkins called desperately. "Save me from these criminals!"
The guards watched Piper carefully. Piper spotted Shea among the onlookers waiting in anticipation.
Piper spoke up in a deadly tone. "I'm not running a charity case."
Mrs. Jenkins' eyes grew wide; she recalled her exact words said to Piper.
Piper simply turned the other direction, ignoring the woman's screams.