"You dwarves are just... where the hell is this damned door?!" Rynar snapped, clearly losing his patience.
"Uh, you'll only see it when the moon comes out. It's a moonlit hidden door..." Balin shrugged.
"Great. Caslow, order everyone to rest against the wall for now," Rynar sighed as he removed his helmet for a breath of fresh air.
"Understood," Caslow nodded.
...
Plop! A few idle dwarves were sitting by the lake, casually tossing stones into the water. Rynar caught sight of this and felt his blood pressure spike. Why were these dwarves so twitchy—like hyperactive hobbits from the tales of the Ring? Were they just born fidgety?
"Stop that!" Rynar barked, trying to halt their antics, but he knew immediately it was too late.
"Something's coming! Away from the lake!" Caslow suddenly unsheathed his longsword and dashed over, shielding Rynar as they backed away.
"Move! There's something in the water!" boomed Omsk. At once, every Zaltarion soldier retreated in perfect coordination, forming a defensive line.
"What happened?" Balin gripped his battle axe, asking Rynar with urgency.
"Nothing much—just your lads being a little too playful. They stirred up a big guy in the water! Caslow! No holding back! Mount up!" Rynar's instincts screamed danger. Whatever lay hidden beneath the surface of Mirrorwater Lake, it had likely grown for centuries. This Watcher in the Water was no ordinary beast—it could rival a high-tier magical creature.
Splash splash splash~ The lake stirred violently as ripples spread across the surface.
"It's coming!" Caslow said coolly, blowing his dragon whistle. As a fierce dragon's cry echoed through the air, he mounted his saddle and pointed his dragonlance toward the water.
"This is bad! That thing has to be the Watcher in the Water. Judging by its size, I wouldn't be surprised if it's classified as a super-beast. And you dwarves—you let this thing grow here?" Caslow shot the last line at Balin.
"How should I know? It's not like we raised it as a pet to guard the door. Be careful!" Rynar said, gripping his Dragon Slayer sword and forcing a wry smile.
"I'm heading up. That thing's scared of Kaldor's dragon aura for now, but it won't last. I'll flush it out!" Caslow said gravely. He didn't have time to play hide-and-seek.
"Be careful!" Rynar replied, worried.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. That thing can't really hurt a dragon knight. Infantry, on the other hand... that's another story," Caslow shook his head.
"Let's go! We're hunting it down!" Caslow yanked the reins.
Rooaar! With a high-pitched, powerful roar, the dragon soared into the sky, wings outstretched. Balin watched with a look of pure envy.
"Jealous? What's there to be jealous of? Don't you dwarves have gryphon knights? Unlike us, with only a few dragons, you guys can actually train whole squads of gryphon riders," Rynar quipped.
"Heh, King Rynar, you jest... Raising a gryphon is ridiculously expensive," Balin grumbled. Even for wealthy dwarves, maintaining gryphon stock was a costly endeavor.
BOOM! As Balin and Rynar talked, Caslow and his dragon hovered above Mirrorwater Lake. With a breath of searing dragonfire, he churned up great waves and launched a school of fish corpses into the air. Rynar twitched—why did this look like someone taking their pet out to burn off excess energy?
WHAM! Suddenly, a massive tentacle shot out of the water, aiming at the airborne dragon knight. The Watcher finally showed itself.
"Grilled calamari?" Rynar blurted, staring at the limb that looked suspiciously appetizing.
The tentacle, dozens of meters long, shocked the foot soldiers but ultimately missed—Caslow's dragon was too nimble. With a sweep of its wings, it easily dodged the blow. Windblades flared to life and sliced clean through the most active tentacle, drawing a guttural, furious roar from the Watcher.
"It's charging!" a dwarf shouted, pointing to the advancing ripples. The Watcher had noticed the juicy little targets along the shore.
"Shield wall! Prepare to engage! Watch the water!"
"Tentacles incoming!"
"Cut them off! Dodge quickly!"
Everyone scrambled to counter the assault. Many Zaltarion soldiers and dwarf warriors were smacked aside by thrashing tentacles. The line turned chaotic, with men hacking desperately at the monstrous limbs. Occasionally, someone got dragged from the formation, forcing comrades to sever a tentacle just in time to save them.
"It's chaos... complete chaos..." Rynar held his Dragon Slayer sword aloft but didn't know what order to give.
"Oh! By Durin's beard! Gotcha, kid! Wait—someone help him!" Balin ran frantically across the battlefield on his stubby legs.
"Caslow! Do something about that thing!" Rynar shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Too close! I can't attack!" Caslow called back. The Watcher was entangled with allied troops, dragging soldiers underwater. There was no way to strike without risking friendly fire.
"Where are the rangers?! Shoot it dead!" Rynar yelled in frustration.
"We're trying! Its hide's too thick! Unless we hit the eyes, arrows won't work!" came the reply from the archers, who were loosing arrows with all their might.
Rynar looked at the creature's eyes—tiny, like green peas—compared to its massive body. Seriously? Its eyes were even smaller than the one in Fastflow River?
"Omsk! Hit it!" Rynar called for reinforcements.
Only to turn and see Omsk was already busy hacking at tentacles, rescuing drowning soldiers.
"Rynar! We can't go on like this! Our fighters will wear out struggling in the water! We need to lure it away from the lake!" Balin shouted.
"Retreat! Rescue the fallen! Everyone pull back!" Rynar barked, forcing himself to stay calm. Curse that hidden moonlit door—its activation was finicky, and worst of all, it was too close to the shore. Or maybe the lake had risen. Either way, there was hardly any dry land left. With everyone crammed into a tiny space, they were perfect targets for the Watcher.
"Wait for nightfall! Get everyone out of the water! We're moving!" Rynar commanded.
Immediately, ropes were thrown, hands reached out, and some soldiers acted as decoys while others pulled comrades from the depths. Rangers fired lines to fallen men farther out.
"Omsk! Regroup the troops! Balin! Count your dwarves! Caslow—shove that thing back down so I can get my people out of here in peace!" Rynar roared, swinging his Dragon Slayer sword and lopping off another tentacle.
"Move it, soldiers!"
"Oli! Oin! Get the lads out of here! We'll come back tonight and finish this!" Balin shouted as he led his dwarves to safety.
"Fall back! Caslow!" Rynar called as the troops retreated to safer ground, leaving Caslow to handle the Watcher for now.
Ah-ha! I survived today. Been coughing up blood non-stop lately... feels like my time might be near.