So the king was also an Isekai and they called the goddess heathen- I'm curious what bits of culture he may have brought with him. It'll make for an interesting meeting with out protagonist for sure.
Honestly it would be so hype to bring back some like classic 70s Arthurian fantasy vibes of the Noble Savage Pagans being pushed out by the coming hegemony of the White God and the Civilized But Blindly Zealous And Statist medieval church. The good shit of the fantasy pastiche narratives that birthed the cliches that birthed now gamified Isekai setting elements.
It's not quite like that, but there's definitely going to be some interesting interplay between the old heathen gods and the new Church of Our Lady of Light.
So the king was also an Isekai and they called the goddess heathen- I'm curious what bits of culture he may have brought with him. It'll make for an interesting meeting with out protagonist for sure.
I hope he's not just a typical harem power fantasy dude protagonist, if only because that could end... poorly for Iris here, and who knows, maybe he wants to meet somebody from a world with working plumbing for once.
Honestly it would be so hype to bring back some like classic 70s Arthurian fantasy vibes of the Noble Savage Pagans being pushed out by the coming hegemony of the White God and the Civilized But Blindly Zealous And Statist medieval church. The good shit of the fantasy pastiche narratives that birthed the cliches that birthed now gamified Isekai setting elements.
I don't know why, but I hate the kinds of gamification that Isaeki stories( in other genres as well) do, it just feels like taking mechanics that are already meant to represent attributes and making them literal, it just pulls me out of the story, it just makes it feel fake and like it's not real to me, so I'm glad to get a classic fantasy story without that, those can be great.
Iris filed away bits of information, like that the use of "we" probably meant Alessa had not come alone, and that this was the temple of a war goddess, which could not have been a coincidence.
The King's first meeting with Iris is one of the scenes I'm most excited about.
It's not quite like that, but there's definitely going to be some interesting interplay between the old heathen gods and the new Church of Our Lady of Light.
The "Church of Our Lady of Light" almost sounds like something from Final Fantasy. For real though, I've not a clue besides that it's monotheistic and perhaps inspired by Christianity. As for the King in question, I guess he could either be someone of no particular historical renown or a famous person, or perhaps even from a world that is neither that of Earth or the one Iris is in now.
Presumably she didn't want to think about that her new friends/allies/people she just met would have "opinions" if they knew about her "heathen" nature.
Also I suspect that the Lady of the light is the god who sent the king to this world and he established her as the sole religion when he had taken power.
Brief combat against the requisite giant slime. I literally rolled on a random encounter table for this!
This dungeon had levels to it. Each was composed of long halls with empty rooms opening up on either side, with intersections taking the form of junctions with many doors and halls branching off them. The first set of stairs they came to was blocked, the stairwell filled in by collapsed rubble.
"We'll have to find another way down," Alessa said. She was on point; it was decided that since Iris didn't know how to use a weapon properly, she would only hurt herself if given one. Instead, she was to stick next to the knight and hold her lightstone, the magic item the party used in place of a torch. Iris felt dumb and helpless, but she reluctantly decided the others were right; if she started swinging a sword around, she was going to do the exact opposite of help in a fight.
"Who was this goddess, anyway?"
Alessa turned her head, her voice echoing inside her helmet.
"Her name has been lost to history. This temple was raised a hundred and forty years ago, at the height of her worship, and had fallen into decline even before the Great Plague."
In other words, the goddess that now inhabited Iris' body may have lost all her worshipers in this world — maybe everywhere. That may have explained why she wanted Iris to become her avatar.
Bors brought up the rear, and the squires flanked Iris as she shadowed Alessa. The teenagers seemed to treat Iris with a kind of awe — to them, she was just another magical being they had encountered on their first great adventure away from home.
"We encountered some goblins nesting in the upper levels," Alessa continued, "But since then, nothing. I wonder why…"
Iris shuddered; she didn't know what kind of goblins this world had, but she definitely didn't like the idea of having to fight them.
"There were the bats," said Alexa, "Lots of them! But they didn't bother us."
"Animals usually don't," Bors said. "If something down here's trying to kill you, it's either smart or desperate."
Alessa turned to look at Iris. She was doing that frequently, but her expression was unreadable behind her visor. Iris tried to avoid staring back; for one thing, she was keeping her head on a swivel looking for threats. Whenever she noticed Alessa staring, she just gave the lady knight an awkward smile and glanced away.
"Are you feeling better?" Alessa asked.
"Huh? Oh, right. Yes, thank you for the food." It had been hardtack and salted beef; tough and bland, but filling. Iris felt better with a full belly.
Iris was noticing piles of small bones pushed into the corners. Rats, or bats maybe — she didn't want to look too closely.
"Alessa?"
"Madame Alessa."
"Right. What do you think left all these bones?"
"Vermin eating vermin," Alessa said confidently. Iris wasn't so sure.
Iris heard a sound like the world's biggest drain being unclogged. Everyone froze.
"Um. Did anyone else hear that?"
"Aye," Bors said, raising his shield and loosening his sword in its sheath. "That'll be what we call a problem."
Around the corner ahead of them came pouring a wave of semi-translucent slime. It was bluish-green and oozed slowly forward, and Iris had the sudden hysterical thought of that industrial disaster in the 1800s that flooded a whole neighborhood with molasses.
"Bors, what do we do?" asked Alessa, trying to keep her voice steady. "Run?"
"Running won't help, it's a persistence hunter."
"And I don't think swords will be of much use," the knight added.
Iris wanted to run. She wanted to live, and getting consumed by the fucking Blob wasn't part of the plan. She didn't even know why she was here — to be who she wanted to be? She didn't even know who that was!
You're brave, Iris, you can do this.
"Fire!" Iris blurted out, "Drive it off with fire!"
Bors and Alessa looked at each other, then the older man nodded.
"That could work. Squires! Torches, now! Madame Alessa, we'll fend it off."
Alessa and her man-at-arms drew their swords and stepped forward, putting themselves between the slime and the rest of the party. Iris saw Bors land a heavy, sure cut across the front of the slime wave; it split apart like jello cut with a knife, and it drew back slightly and started globbing back together. So, the slime could feel external stimuli. This would work.
Iris drew her attention over to the teenage squires, who were fumbling with the baggage. Iris was holding the lightstone, feeling stupid.
Robert was trembling as he bound together a torch, while Alexa grabbed the tinderbox, casting worried glances at the looming wave of slime. Iris suddenly remembered they were kids, and she didn't want them to die either. She didn't want any of them to die!
She looked at the baggage; an earthenware jar rolled out, and Iris stopped it with her foot. On instinct, she dropped the lightstone – the shadows jerked and danced and loomed eerily, the whole hallway illuminated with a green glow as light was refracted through the semi-translucent slime.
"It's trying to get in my armor," Alessa said, fighting to keep her voice from rising to a high frantic pitch.
Iris bent down and opened the jar. It was oil! The squires must have used it for polishing Alessa's armor. Iris immediately stood up and threw the jar. It was a perfect throw; she lobbed it overhand, and it arced right between Bors and Alessa and spilled oil all over the slime. A second later Robert appeared at her side with a torch; she grabbed it from him and lunged forward, stabbing at the slime with it, and it went up like a crème brulee. Flames licked across its surface, cooking it.
The slime moved, faster than Iris could have imagined, retreating up the corridor, still burning, filling the air with a noxious, savory smell.
Iris was breathing heavily, her hands shaking. The torch slipped from her fingers and guttered out.
She looked at Bors and Alessa, who were gazing at her with surprise.
"What?" she asked, "What just happened?"
"You saved us," Alessa said, leaning on her sword. She shook a bit of errant slime off her boot, while Bors cleaned his sword and sheathed it.
"Didn't think you had it in you," he said.
Iris looked around. The young squires were looking at her with something like awe.
"It just uh…seemed like the thing to do," she said.
Iris has never picked up a sword, Alessa is highly trained but lacks actual experience, and the squires are literal children, so...yeah.
Notice that Iris is the only one panicking. Alessa only starts freaking out when the slime starts trying to get inside her armor, the literal teenagers are nervous and fumbly but are otherwise following orders, and Bors knows you can get away from a slime at a brisk jog (the problem being that you get tired and it doesn't, and it has excellent pathfinding abilities). Bors is sort of based on old-school murderhobos where he believes actually facing something in an even fight represents a failure state - typically you kill slimes by baiting them and then dumping hazardous chemicals on them.
But Iris has never been in a fight before, of any kind, and she's not used to fearing for her life. So, she starts panicking. Iris is still a fairly normal person and not a badass action hero...yet.
I'd ask Bors, "if you don't think you can make it to the surface at a brisk jog and get topside where the slime presumably won't chase you, just how far are you-all underground?"
Then again the answer might be "what makes you think slimes won't chase you aboveground?"
Though I can't imagine that an aboveground environment is good for them. There's lots of UV light, and they'd constantly be flowing over little things that might make them leave bits of themselves behind, or getting foreign bodies absorbed into themselves faster than they can excrete.
I'd ask Bors, "if you don't think you can make it to the surface at a brisk jog and get topside where the slime presumably won't chase you, just how far are you-all underground?"
Then again the answer might be "what makes you think slimes won't chase you aboveground?"
Though I can't imagine that an aboveground environment is good for them. There's lots of UV light, and they'd constantly be flowing over little things that might make them leave bits of themselves behind, or getting foreign bodies absorbed into themselves faster than they can excrete.
Oh fleeing the dungeon entirely is an option, but Alessa wouldn't have allowed an admission of defeat like that. Bors is more experienced, but his job is to keep the noblewoman alive as she makes decisions based on his input (which she respects, but ultimately she has to trust her own judgement).
Also kinda sounds like this is her still really making a name for herself and really earning her spurs- with that much to prove honor probably restricts her much more than say the grand dame and reigning lady of the keep, who can afford to be generous and gracious in gift-giving and magnanimous and chivalrous in victory or defeat and has enough showpieces on her mantle her honor doesn't suffer that much when making the most tactically sound decisions.
Bors is sort of based on old-school murderhobos where he believes actually facing something in an even fight represents a failure state - typically you kill slimes by baiting them and then dumping hazardous chemicals on them.
He was right; they had finally found a set of stairs that led them down to a large landing, with stone tables and benches. Hallways branched off on either side, and there were doors in the walls.
"I'm worn out," Iris said, "Can we rest for a minute?"
As soon as she said it, she yawned. Alessa turned around and unbuckled her helmet. It was the first time Iris had seen her without it; as Alessa let the mail coif slip from her head to rest around her shoulders, she revealed white-blonde hair bound in a tight, high bun. She scratched the back of her neck and sighed.
"We should sleep here for the night," Alessa said, "I'm unsure how long it's been outside, but it feels like we've been exploring all day."
"Aye," Bors said, "I'd say it's been ten hours or so." Iris was beginning to respect the old veteran; he was clearly a couple decades older than Alessa and was experienced in dungeon-delving, and she got the feeling he had been sent along as her minder on her first quest.
The party explored the adjoining rooms to make sure there were no unwelcome surprises. There weren't; instead, they found what seemed to be bedrooms or the ancient cultic equivalent of a rec center. There were a few ancient, rotting bits of furniture in some of them.
"Lady Iris and I will stay in this one," Alessa announced, "Bors, you and the squires take the next one."
"Um." Iris shuffled her feet. Alessa looked at her, one eyebrow raised curiously.
"Is that a problem, my lady? I thought, for your modesty…"
"R-right. Thank you. Hey, awkward question. Where do we use the bathroom?" Iris asked. She was starting to realize that adventuring in a fantasy land may actually be gross and uncomfortable sometimes.
"This temple was built with living quarters in mind. It has latrines," the squire Robert offered. "We found one over there."
"Oh, good."
"It's a hole in the floor over a deep pit," Bors added, laughing.
***
It was a harrowing experience, frankly. Iris kept expecting a giant slime or a goblin or some other monster to come crawling out of the latrine. When she finished, she walked into the room that Alessa had decided they would share, probably out of some overabundance of chivalry. She took off her helmet and ran her fingers through her hair; it was becoming tangled, which made her feel super gross.
"Can you help me out of my armor?" Alessa asked.
Iris felt heat blossom in her chest.
"Uh…I- I guess?"
She stood behind Alessa, reminding her how tall Iris was in comparison. She found the buckles and started fumbling with them.
"There. No, there," Alessa said sharply.
"Sorry," Iris said. She finally finished and helped remove Alessa's breastplate. The lady knight sighed and rolled her shoulders; under her armor she wore a padded gambeson, and under that she wore a long tunic and leggings, blue with white chevrons. Under that she was stocky and muscled. It was kind of nice, watching her stretch, but Iris decided to show some restraint, and walked over to what she decided would be her side of the room.
"Trust me, you do not want to sleep in armor," Alessa said as she unpacked her gear, "I don't know how Bors does it."
Iris looked down at her mail shirt.
"Oh, right."
Irish slid her chainmail over her head, and she had to admit she did feel a lot better not having to carry that heavy metal around. She sighed and flopped to the ground. She felt so tired…
When she looked up, Alessa was kneeling close to her, cleaning and sharpening her sword.
"Lady Iris," the knight said, glancing up. Her soft blue eyes shone in the light. "I'm sorry for my mistake when we first met. It's not that I'm unaware of those who change their sex, I just didn't expect—"
"It's fine," Iris said. The apology was nice, and Alessa had been more than polite about it. She ran a hand over her face and flinched as she felt the stubble growing in there. Fuck.
"Is something the matter?" Alessa asked.
"Yeah, it's just been a while since I shaved."
"Ah. Here, would…this work?"
Alessa drew a small, sharp knife from her belt, and tested the edge to ensure it was razor sharp. She handed it to Iris hilt-first. Iris held it carefully; she'd never shaved with a straight razor, but it wasn't like there was an alternative - unless she wanted to try using a slime as Nair.
"Thank you, Alessa, that's very kind – uh, chivalrous of you."
"Madame Alessa," the knight said, but under her breath. "I think I have a mirror in my baggage, you can use that."
Alessa handed her a small, square mirror. Iris held it in one hand and looked at her reflection in it. She grimaced at what she saw there.
No wonder Alessa mistook me for a man, she thought bitterly. In addition to her stubble, her face was filthy. She splashed some water from her canteen into her upturned helmet and scrubbed her face. Then, she took up the knife and got to work.
It was an arduous process, and Iris cut herself more than once.
"Shit. Fuck."
"Here," Alessa said, handing her a small earthenware jar, "We use this balm for cuts and scratches."
It helped a lot, and when Iris looked at herself in the small, square mirror, she actually felt like herself.
"Thanks," she said, sitting back against the wall again. Alessa had finished seeing to her gear and was kneeling, staring at the wall in what Iris thought was a form of meditation. The two sat there in a surprisingly comfortable silence, until Iris decided to speak up.
"Is it…difficult here? For people like me?"
"Not at all. When we get out, I'm sure we can find you some magician who can help you. That's why I was surprised – it's usually easy and common to get that treatment, if someone doesn't…"
She trailed off, looking at Iris with her big, soft eyes. Iris felt the heat in her chest again.
"In the world I came from it's a lot harder. I was never able to transition, there's all these hoops you have to jump through, and it can be expensive, and it takes a long time..."
"That sounds terrible," Alessa said, "I swear on my honor as a knight that nothing shall impede your…transition."
"Do you really want me to stick around when we get out of here?"
Iris thought she saw a bit of blush creep into Alessa's cheeks.
"You have nowhere else to go. It would be dishonorable to ask you to part ways. U-unless it was your choice, of course."
Iris smiled and laid back on the ground. It was hard, and a little damp, but she was so tired she felt like she could sleep anyway.
"We'll see," she said playfully. After a period of silence, Alessa picked up the lightstone.
"Light," she whispered.
The room was plunged into darkness.
***
Iris awoke from dreams of running down long passages, hounded by wolves. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep — time was somewhat meaningless in the dungeon. She did, however, feel rested, although she was still sore. She got to her feet and padded as quietly as she could to the door.
It didn't work out, and she stumbled and bumped into the wall and cursed as she fumbled for the latch, she was sure that in her attempt to avoid waking Alessa she almost certainly woken her up.
The door screeched as she shut it behind her and stepped into the common room. Bors was there, leaning against a wall in his chainmail and helmet, a lightstone at his side.
"Hey," Iris said, "What watch is it?"
"Third," the veteran said.
"I'll take it from here," Iris said.
Bors raised an eyebrow.
"Where's your gear?" he asked.
"Uh. I took it off to sleep and-"
She hadn't wanted to fumble with the chainmail in the dark.
"Word of advice, never let your guard down in a dungeon." He sighed and got to his feet, his gear rustling softly. "But you did good against that slime, so I guess you're not useless. Alright, I'll catch some shuteye. Thanks, m'lady."
Iris sat there in silence. She heard the drip of water, the whisper of air in the passages, distant echoes. Once, she thought she heard the scuffling and chittering of a small animal.
Alone in the dungeon, she had time to take stock. She was definitely here on purpose; the goddess who'd brought her back had dropped Iris in the ruins of her old temple, where she had been discovered by an adventuring party of sorts. Their leader was a particularly cute — albeit overly formal — lady knight. That had to have been intentional. The goddess clearly wanted them to be companions.
Iris felt dysphoric and sleepy and hungry and sore in weird, new ways, but she also felt alive. Sooner or later, she was going to get out of this dungeon and find out what she wanted to be, and maybe Alessa would play a role in—
Eyes. There were a pair of eyes in the dark, glowing yellow as they caught the light. They stared out at her from the opening of a passageway, their owner shrouded in shadow.
Iris felt her heart pounding in her chest. There was an animal out there in the dark, watching her. Hunting her. Something deep inside her was preparing her to fight, even though all she had was her fists and teeth. Deep in her brain, something awoke—
The door next to her opened, and Iris practically jumped out of her shoes. Bors walked into the commons, yawning.
"Slept longer than I thought! You should go back to sleep, m'lady, you need it more than me."
"Wh-what?" Iris asked. She glanced back and saw that the eyes were gone. She felt herself shaking as she got to her feet.
"You alright, m'lady?" Bors asked. He looked skeptically at the spot where the eyes had been, fingering the hilt of his sword.
"I thought I saw something," Iris said, "An animal, maybe."
"Hm. There's some pretty big rats down here," Bors said, though he sounded unconvinced.
I love the idea of the wolf-goddess just loafing around following the party out of the corners of their eyes and staring unblinkingly at Iris every witching hour, not for any cryptic prophecy reasons or creepy eldritch points, but just because wolf.
I'm liking the dynamic so far of an enthusiastic but inexperienced lady knight, a divinely ordained outsider who has only the slightest inkling of what she got herself into, and a competent Alfred Pennyworth type in Bors. Oh and the squires.
I'll echo that the character dynamic is really engaging. I remain curious to see where this goes- both what they find in the temple and what Iris find when she enters this society.
This has been the conclusion of the first dungeon, and with it the first chapter!
"This would have been the fane," Alessa said as they walked into the cavernous space. "The center of worship."
It was a vast hall, lined with columns that supported a vaulted roof. The light from their lightstone didn't reach the ceiling. One end of the hall was dominated by a statue of a wolf-headed goddess, naked, muscular, with four outstretched arms.
Yep, that's her, Iris thought.
"You said she was a war goddess?" Alexa asked. "I wonder what kind."
"A heathen one," Bors said, spitting.
Iris was barely listening. She walked up to the altar and put her hand on it. It just felt like cold stone.
"I think she was a protector goddess," Iris said, "Wolves are loyal to their pack, you know?"
She turned around; Bors looked skeptical, and Alessa's face was unreadable as ever behind her visor.
"I mean, I'm just guessing," Iris added lamely.
"So, why are we here again?" the squire Robert asked. Alessa tapped her fingers on the hilt of her sword.
"The diviner said there would be a weapon here that would change the fortunes of our house…I figured if there were weapons of power anywhere in the temple of a war goddess, it would be the fane."
"Our Lady of Light!" the squire Alexa swore. The others turned to look at her, staring in horror at an open passageway leading off the fane.
"Light preserve us," Bors spat, drawing his sword. Alessa followed his lead, raising her shield and placing herself between Iris and the monster.
It wasn't a wolf, not quite. Its fur was dull and matted and it was terribly emaciated, and that gave it a gaunt, unhealthy appearance, but more than that its proportions seemed…off. Iris felt a sudden revulsion as she pictured it as a person that moved like a wolf. And there was something in the eyes…
It quickly turned and fled, vanishing from the reach of their lightstone. Everyone drew their weapons and gathered in a tight circle, facing outwards.
"That's the thing I saw," Iris said, fighting the panic in her voice.
"What?" Alessa asked, snapping her head around to look at her.
"I didn't know it was a monster!" Iris said defensively.
"Aye, Madame, the fault is mine as well," Bors said grimly, "I didn't know it'd be something…unnatural."
"It seemed wrong," Alexa said, her voice sounding small. Whose idea was it to bring children here? Iris felt her hand settle on the knife at her belt, the one Alessa had given her to shave with. It wouldn't do much good as a weapon, but it did ground Iris and give her some comfort. She scanned the fane...
"There!" she said, pointing at a pair of closed doors, "That's what we're looking for!"
"How do you know that?" Alessa asked, but Iris ignored her and rushed across the hall. The doors were wood, their locks smeared over with clay that had been stamped with a seal. The seal was cracked and crumbly. Bors looked at them skeptically as he and the others joined Iris.
"I've seen these before. They're usually curses…we should have brought a priest."
"What kind of curse?" Alessa asked. Something shuffled in the darkness, claws on stone, a rasp of breath.
"I can't tell. Frankly, they're so old the magic may have gone out of them..."
"Do you want to risk it?"
"It won't hurt me," Iris said. She'd never been more certain of anything in her life. "This is why I'm here."
She grabbed the handles and wrenched them. The door was old; clay, rusted metal, and rotted wood all gave way under her hands, although she was still shocked at her strength. The doors swung open, and the light landed on shining metal.
It was an armory. Once there must have been racks of weapons, but during the temple's long decline most of them had vanished, carried off by worshipers or looted. There were still some weapons left, though.
"Oh, nice," Bors said as he picked up a war ax, testing the heft. Despite long years in a dank dungeon, the blade shone brightly and the edge was sharp.
Iris, though, only had eyes for the sword. It was lying on a stand, a sheath on the stone shelf next to it. The sheath was intricately-worked leather, with designs that Iris couldn't make out in this light. The hilt was worked in the same dark red leather, with a red stone set in the pommel. The bare blade glimmered, with a bright red fuller. It was a one-handed arming sword, and it fit Iris' hand perfectly. Next to it was a suit of armor – missing a helmet, but the rest of it was articulated plate, the metal enameled in reddish-brown with bright red and gold highlights.
"This armor was fitted for me," Iris said, "I know it was."
She turned around; Alessa was staring at her. She'd raised her visor and had a look of confusion on her face.
"Lady Iris, what aren't you telling me?" she asked. Iris bit her lip and hefted the sword in her hands. It already felt like a part of her.
"I…"
Alexa screamed. Bors was first out of the armory, followed by Alessa and Iris side-by-side. The monster was back, dragging Alexa away by her ankle. Its teeth scraped against her armor, and she screamed and thrashed, trying to kick the monster's head with her other foot.
"Squire Robert, find a spear!" Bors yelled as he jumped forward. He swung his ax, and the monster snarled and reared back. Iris had dropped the lightstone, and the light fully fell on the monster now. She could see all its ribs beneath its matted fur; its jaws were full of curved teeth. It was indeed emaciated, but taller than Bors. And its eyes…they were bloodshot, feverish, but worst of all, it had a human's eyes. Human, but without intellect behind them. This was a feral animal, starving and desperate.
Bors swung his ax, parting the skin, but it was a shallow cut. The monster had reach on its side — it was taller, with long arms, and at the end of them were terrible hands with long, slender fingers and thumbs. It lunged forward, leaping on top of him. He screamed as its fangs tried to sink into his arm, but his vambrace saved his flesh. The hands scrabbled at his head, grabbed his helmet, and wrenched it off, snapping the strap under his chin. The monster threw the helmet away and dove for Bors' throat.
It happened so fast, but Alessa was faster still. Her metal boot lashed out and struck the monster in the side. Iris could have sworn she heard cracking ribs. The monster whimpered and looked at her with hate, and reared up again. It pounced on her, grabbing at the wrist of her sword arm and the rim of her shield, trying to tear them away. It wasn't a contest; Alessa was garbed in full plate, and the monster was weak, driven by desperation more than anything.
Still, Iris saw red. Her pulse was pounding in her ears, and her grip tightened on her sword. She stabbed at the monster's unprotected back with far more strength than she knew she was capable of, a full foot of metal protruding from its chest. She wrenched the sword to the side in a burst of freakish strength that snapped ribs and tore muscle and tendon. She freed her sword in a spray of blood and gore.
The monster dropped to the ground, trying to crawl away on all fours with half its ribcage torn open. It looked up at her desperately, its eyes almost pleading. It coughed up a gout of blood before its limbs finally gave out under it, and it twitched and lay still. Its eyes stared up, uncomprehending and lifeless.
Iris felt a sudden rush of pity for the monster. She imagined what it must have been like, living alone in the dark, barely surviving on rats and other vermin. That wasn't living at all. It wasn't supposed to be like this, it wasn't supposed to die scared, miserable and alone.
Iris felt tears on her cheeks. She scrubbed at her face with the sleeve of her hoodie and looked at Alessa. The visor of her helmet was still pushed back, and her eyes were wide with some undefinable emotion. She wasn't afraid of Iris, just…surprised, and not just at her sudden burst of violent strength.
Iris looked down at her sword. It was dripping blood, and the sleeve of her hoodie was soaked with more of it, already dark and sticky as it dried. The air was filled with the stench of death.
Bors got to his feet, and Robert came running up behind them, carrying a spear from the armory.
"Well, that's over," Alessa said, blinking away the sweat that ran down her forehead. "Let's take what we can from the armory."
"Let's get out of this place," Iris said, giving one last glance at the dead monster. "It's miserable here."
