Summoned by Monster Girls

“I don’t think I appreciated the amount of damage something like that could do when you two described them to me.” I muttered, peeking around the tree at the scorched bit of hillside ahead of us.

“Flame serpents are dangerous. But don’t worry, Liam. I’ll protect you.” Kassandra bumped into my hip with her shoulder, shooting me a playful grin.

“That’s my job, don’t go taking it away from me.” I protested, patting the top of her head lightly so as not to mess up her curls. Kassandra hummed happily and leaned in my touch, while Rieka just rolled her eyes from her spot further back in the trees.

The girls had summoned me back earlier that morning and we’d headed out to deal with the flame serpents. I was again surprised at the fact that there was a dangerous creature like this within walking distance of Juneau, as well as the fact that students were expected to be able to deal with it. Kassandra had explained a bit more while we had followed the road to the foothills where the trees showed up and then went overland along the foothills to try and find the particular little valley where the creatures had been sighted, using a few landmarks that the hunter had given with the report.

“Basically, we get the first shot at these contracts. But the Hunt Guild does have its own specialists who go out to clear away dangerous monsters that stray too near settled places. Juneau might be well stocked on scions of noble houses, but only certain majors are required to actually have field experience. If someone wants to join the army, the easiest way to earn experience is to take hunting contracts. We do it because it helps supplement the mana budget, as much as the need for experience. Basically they let us pick the contracts we want, then the guild handles the rest.” Kassandra had explained, with Rieka adding her two cents.

“The monsters of the wild don’t care if you are trained or innocent when one of them happens to attack someone who is just out for a walk. My mother, the Queen, wanted all of her children to be able to defend themselves so that we would be prepared if our guards were ever unable to watch over us. Plus, since we are all mages, it is important to observe and learn from these creatures. Raw steel is forged into a blade with heat and hammering after all.”

It still bothered me that two young women were allowed to wander the countryside to hunt monsters, not just because they wanted to but also because they needed the pocket money, though less so for their grades. The fact that one was a princess was even stranger when added to the fact that I’d never seen Rieka with a guard of any sort. With both girls agreeing about how dangerous the world outside city walls was, just firmed my resolve to look after them. I don’t know, maybe it’s just a small kingdom? I mean, they were easily able to deal with the kobolds. Remember, don’t judge what you don’t know or understand.

Shaking my head, I brought myself out of my musing and nodded towards the burnt hillside.

“Are we sure that is where the flame serpents are nesting?”

“Sure as we can be. The burn looks fresh and I did some research on them. They prefer bare stone and earth, as it absorbs more heat in the sun as well as from them. Grass and foliage accumulates dew and they don’t like that.” Rieka answered while Kassandra was enjoying her headpats. The wolf-kin girl’s ears were relaxed, though I could see that her eyes were following my hand on Kassandra’s head with a bit of envy.

“Okay, we need to get closer to see them and figure out what to do next.” I glanced back up at the hillside and then across the field that lay between us. The grass here was long, maybe knee deep. Deep enough that the serpents could be hiding in it, but I doubted that given what Rieka had said about them not liking dew.

“We could follow that dry stream-bed. It’s not deep but it’ll give us a bit of cover. Well, me and Kass at least.” Rieka had stepped up on my other side to peek around the thick tree as well. She indicated a small line in the land that I had initially disregarded. Considering it again, I had to agree.

“That sounds like a good idea. Our best bet, now that I think about it.” I said after a minute. “I can bend low to try and keep out of sight. What’s the plan for engagement?”

“Kass is our star player here. She can do the most damage with her ice spells. Lightning will hurt them, but not kill as easily as ice will. If we get a large number of them, I can stun them like I did the kobolds. Otherwise, I need to channel it to do better damage. Them being low to the ground actually makes that harder, as the earth resists lightning and can shield them.”

“Damn straight I’m the star.” Kassandra puffed up her chest with a broad grin that made me smirk in response.

“Yes you are, Kass. So we need to focus and give you the opportunity to shine. I’ll lead. Rieka, can you cover the rear?” I turned my attention back to the pale, wolf-kin woman and got a nod of assent from her.

“Sure. I’ll let you know if I see or smell anything out of place.”

“Sounds good. Let's get moving and see if we can do it without anyone getting hurt and with minimal resource costs. That’s my goal.” Doing my best to be subtle about it, I gently patted the top of Rieka’s head. The blush that immediately blossomed on her cheeks had me worried until I saw the happy squint to her eyes and the furious way her tail whipped back and forth. Rieka had switched from skirts to a pair of close fitting, tan pants of a sturdy linen for our trip off-road. Her boots went as high as her knee and were clearly well worn from use. Kassandra was still in skirts, for obvious reasons relating to the impossibility of a lamia wearing pants, even a dwarf breed.

The distance from the tree line to the dry stream bed was only about thirty feet and we covered it at a careful trot. I already had my sword out and held to one side while I scanned both the hillside and the field around us. Just because it wasn’t likely that the flame serpents were hiding in the grass, didn’t mean that I could be lazy.

The two nights of training with Cerebaton had helped the sword feel more like a weapon in my hand, rather than a chunk of metal to beat people with. While it didn’t feel natural, and neither did my armor for that matter, it did feel better at least. I’d preemptively shifted the skin on my left forearm into crocodile hide again for some extra protection, and that feeling was surprisingly comfortable by comparison.

I made a bit of a racket going through the grass, enough so that I didn’t even hear Kassandra following close behind me or Rieka behind her until I came to a stop in the dry stream bed and they slid down the bank into cover behind me.

The sides of the former stream were high enough that I only had to bend over partially, rather than squat down to stay out of sight. The bed itself was a mixture of dirt and stone that made for some uneven footing but it wasn’t unstable thankfully. Pausing to ensure the girls were close behind, we started to follow the stream bed closer to the hillside that we believed the flame serpents were nesting in.

It took another fifteen or so minutes of careful walking before we were able to get a better view of the scorched hillside and what lay beyond it. And I was glad for Rieka’s suggestion of approaching unseen.

The other side of the hill was just as scorched as the one we’d seen, but with a few notable differences. One being a low, open-mouthed, stone cave in the side of the hill, as well as a couple of large, flattish boulders that lay below it. Half a dozen of the flame serpents were out sunning themselves on the rocks. I could see a heat distortion rising above them that confused me until one of the serpents lifted its head and opened its mouth to blow a tongue of flame over a stretch of rock next to it. The serpent then slithered about to stretch out on the freshly heated stone and go still again. All of the snakes were a dull red in color, like coals in a fire, without any patterning to their scales.

“Ah…and that makes sense why they are a fire danger. I’m glad they had boulders here. I imagine it would cause even more damage than this little flash burn if they were just blowing it into soil, or a forest floor.” I muttered, peeking through the grass on the bank.

“Exactly. Six shouldn’t be a problem, though they are small enough that I think they are juveniles. I am betting that there are at least two larger ones, probably in the cave.” Kassandra pressed herself to my back, using her muscled tail to push herself up higher so she could see the snakes. “I think I can hit most of them from here, do we want to engage them that way?”

“I’d rather not chance them charging us and setting the grass here on fire. It’s dry enough already that I’m frankly astonished it’s not burnt yet.” Rieka urged from my other side and I nodded in agreement.

“The fire line stops about forty feet ahead of us. That’ll give us about sixty or so feet between us and them if we get clear of it. Not a whole lot of time to pick them all off.” Kassandra murmured quietly, the concern obvious in her voice.

“That’s why I’m here. I agree with Rieka though. Staying here gives us a surprise attack and a fire safe area to stand in. But if they get a good brush fire going? It’s going to be devastating and dangerous for us. The trees are only about a half mile back the way we came and if it gets going hot enough then it could do even more damage.” I urged, reaching back to pat her on the side of her serpentine lower half. The brief intake of breath from Kassandra was right in my ear and impossible to miss. I realized that the part of her serpentine body I was patting was more akin to her butt than her calf like I’d been intending. I was about to apologize when she leaned more firmly into my back and I felt something soft hit the back of my ear for a moment. Did she just kiss my ear?

“I’m glad to have you here to look after us, Liam.” Kassandra purred and I felt that soft, warm sensation once more before she leaned back. “Liam is going to be the noisiest of us. I hate suggesting you put yourself in danger, but if you lead the charge, they’ll focus on you as the threat and let us surprise them. Rieka, can you stun the ones on that closer boulder?” Kassandra pointed to a football shaped outcropping that had two of the flame serpents coiled up on it. I nodded in understanding at her request for me to go first.

“Can do. Do you want to get a surprise shot in?” Rieka had been holding her baton at the ready the whole time and she slid the cover open so she could press her thumb to the mana-infused metal tokens inside.

“Ready, Liam?” Was the answer Kassandra gave and I felt my heart lurch in my chest. Excitement coursed through my body at this. I knew I wasn’t ready to fight with a sword yet, but it was that or claws. The sword gave me more range, and the girls needed me to look after them. If being the distraction and bait let them do this, then I was ready.

Our attack was heralded by a quiet chant from both girls and a muffled crack of lightning.

The serpents immediately stiffened and flailed about to orient on the threat. The two closest to us continually flailed as the crackling net of lightning caused their muscles to seize. The four that were further up the hill hissed in fury and launched themselves down at me as I crashed up through the grass to come to a stop maybe ten feet into the clearing of scorched and blackened grass. Having an enemy coming down a hill at you wasn’t ideal, but I settled the sword over my head in a position that I remembered Cerebaton calling a ‘high guard’ and held my crocodile-skinned forearm forward as a shield.

Man, a shield would be nice right now. The thought raced through my mind without warning and I shoved the distraction away as the first ice lance crashed into the serpent leading the charge. The tea-kettle screech the creature made was startling in its own right, but the flame serpent actually came apart while it thrashed and tried to pull the spear of rapidly melting ice from its body. The ice was apparently cold enough that it had flash-frozen the portion of the body it had impacted and the snake's attempts only saw it tear itself to pieces.

Two more lances of ice lashed out, hitting another two snakes and killing them as they charged directly at me. The two on the rock were still twitching but seemed unable to move at the moment. Barely ten seconds had passed in that time and I stood ready to intercept the fourth and last one that was mobile, when the full-sized flame serpent emerged from the cave hissing and blowing fire like a World War II generation flamethrower.

The juvenile serpents were only as thick as my forearm and maybe six feet long. The parent was easily as thick as my thigh and twice as long. It’s gaze fixed on me and the creature let out a rattling hiss that was accompanied by a billow of fire before it joined the charge.

“Kass, hit the big one if you can!” I called before jogging forward to meet the lone remaining juvenile as it charged.

The loss of it’s siblings didn’t slow the flame serpent down and it spat a small burst of fire at me that was similar in heat and appearance to someone briefly shooting spray deodorant through a lighter. The fact that it likely wouldn’t do more than singe the hair off my head didn’t help me resist the urge to duck away from it. Something that the snake was determined to take advantage of.

The juvenile struck at me with a hiss and I reacted instinctively, lashing out with the sword in a chop as if I was swinging at the number three zone, or left hip on a human opponent. Attacking down would only see my weapon hit the ground and that would damage the edge, swinging up would put it out of position, so I’d planned for a horizontal swing from the outset, which was what had the sword ready when I needed it.

I felt the blade impact the creature's scales and jerk from the weight of the blow before something hit my chest like a thrown tennis ball. Glancing down through dazzled eyes, I realized my blow had beheaded the snake, taking the top eight or so inches off its body as well as the head with it. The head that was still trying to bite me as it tumbled down my chest to land at my feet.

“Crap!” I swore and kicked it away frantically. I didn’t know if they were venomous and I was cursing myself for not asking the girls before we started. Another bellowing hiss yanked my attention up once more and I spotted the larger, mature flame serpent barreling down on me. It had a pair of icy javelins sticking out of its hide, but either its size or the heat of its breath was enough that they weren’t flash freezing the creature's body like it did with the smaller ones. They did, however, draw the creature's attention away from me. It was angling to slither around me to get to the girls and I couldn’t allow that.

“Hey, dryskin you forgot your lotion!” I yelled, lunging to try and intercept the big snake. It was moving fast though and curved out to get around me. “Your mum was a handbag and your dad was a pair of cowboy boots!”

Trying to get its attention was failing though, as another icy javelin hit the creature a glancing blow to the head that drove it face first into the dirt. A moment later, a crack of lightning hit the beast as Rieka got a spell off too and the serpent's body seized up as well, but not as spectacularly as the juveniles. But it did slow it down enough that it gave me the time I needed to close with it and I brought my weapon down in an overhand chop at the back of its neck. The blade bit deep, but despite the weight of my blow, it didn’t sever the monster's head. It did bury itself several inches into the animal's flesh and glanced off bone with a toe-curling sensation that rattled up the length of the blade and into my hands.

The blow must have severed the creature's spine though, because it went limp after that. The head continued to hiss and blow gouts of flame over the ground for a bit while blood gouted out of the wound. I yanked my sword clear and dodged backwards, keeping a wary eye on it to ensure it wasn’t faking and didn’t try to go for the girls again.

Turning back to check on those same girls, I saw Kassandra launching another ice lance in an arc over my head, her face set in a grimace of concentration as she aimed it back up the hill. Rieka was standing next to her friend, focused in the same direction as well. They’d cleared the stream and were partway through the still grassy area to the battle zone, ready to head either direction as needed. Neither of them saw the furrow in the grass that was moving rapidly towards their backs from the far side of the stream. I could see flashes of red in the grass occasionally that told me another of the serpents were coming, and the size of the disturbance was enough to tell me it was likely another mature adult.

“Girls! Behind you!” I yelled, hurrying towards them and swinging around the still thrashing head weighed down by the limp body. There was only about twenty feet between us right now, but I felt like I was running through thick mud, my legs refusing to move as fast as my brain demanded of them.

Kassandra’s eyes widened and she turned about just in time to see the form of another flame serpent, larger than the one we’d just finished, rise up from the grass on the other side of the dry stream. The creature breathed a gout of fire that would put a flamethrower to shame, but the distance between it and the girls was still too great. Instead, it just set the grass between them and the dry stream on fire while the creature slithered down into the stream and up into the still burning grass, murder in its beady eyes.

I managed to make it to the girls before the mature serpent did, but only just barely, urging them back towards the already blackened battlefield and out of the area threatened by the newly burning grass.

The creature didn’t try its fire breath again, instead lunging towards us with its maw wide open and long fangs extended. Kassandra slammed a spell out, the ice lance shattering one of the creature's teeth and knocking its head aside. Rieka’s lightning spell raked the creature's side, leaving my already ringing ears even worse off. Neither was enough to finish it off though as they backpedaled to get behind me.

Rearing back, the twelve foot long serpent glared down at us malevolently for a moment before it dodged the next ice lance that Kassandra threw. Taking that opportunity, it jetted out a gout of flame directly at the petite, dwarf lamia. Not thinking, I shifted to put myself directly in the line of fire, quite literally into the line of fire actually.

The heat hit my chest and abdomen, since it was aimed at the shorter Kassandra. I immediately felt my skin begin to blister and knew I had to act quickly. The serpent was already within range and I lashed out automatically with my sword in that same horizontal chop that I’d used on the first one, while shielding my face with my shifted left arm.

A sensation of impact told me I’d hit. A moment later, a second boom of thunder told me Rieka had gotten her next spell off. Another crunch of ice impacting something told me Kassandra was adding in and I blinked to clear my eyes. My face was screaming in pain and so were both my arms, but it was fading rapidly as adrenaline dumped through my system. A crunchy sensation around my head told me that my hair was probably heavily singed.

The flame serpent responsible was sprawled backwards, a notch in the side of its head from where my sword had impacted. One of Kassandra’s ice lances was sticking out of its eye on the opposite side, while lightning continued to play over the creature making it twitch several times before it went entirely limp.

“Liam!” Kassandra’s cry finally got through my ringing ears and I turned to look at the tearful dwarf lamia.

“You okay?” I asked through suddenly dry lips.

“I should be asking you that!” She demanded, pointing at me and I looked down. The blast of fire had singed my leather tunic and blackened it in several spots. I could smell burning skin and hair and my arms stung and burned too. “Why aren’t you more badly burned?” Kassndra didn’t quite crash into me, but her scaled coils wrapped loosely around my legs as she peered at my scorched forearms and face. “Your poor hair…”

“Kass, see what you can do for his burns. I’m sure he doesn’t feel them yet but they’ll make themselves known soon.” Rieka ordered, turning back to the now still serpent on the ground. “I’ll keep watch, then we need to go finish those two left on the boulder above.”

“Got it, milady!” Kassandra sassed her friend, getting an eye-roll in repayment while the wolf-kin stood watch. “Hold still, Liam. You are an idiot, you know! You didn’t have to dive in front of me like that.”

“Of course I did, Kass.” I did as she ordered and stood still, only squatting a bit so she could look closer at my burns. My skin felt tight, like a balloon inflated underneath it. The fact all I could feel was a stinging sensation worried me and I darted a look at my crocodile-hide covered arm, which had a few raised blisters already showing on it. The pain of the initial burns had been intense, until the adrenaline dump had washed it away. Now though, the tingling was returning. “I’m here to protect you two, so my place is between you and danger.”

“Liam…” Kassandra cooed quietly, her eyes moist as she bit her bottom lip. “That is the sweetest thing I’ve heard in a while…unfortunately the effect is ruined because you don’t have any eyebrows.” Her words first brought me up, then slammed me back into the dirt. But her lips pressing on mine lightly dusted me off once more.

“Just doing what you summoned me for.” I said after we separated.

“You are doing far more than that and you know it.” Kassandra grumbled and began to brandish her rod. The pain was starting to finally come through the shock and my whole body began to protest as that tingling turned to rippling pricking sensations and the feeling of burning.

“We will have to find a way to pay you back for going above and beyond. Again, we should have kept a better watch on our surroundings.” Rieka commented from her spot on the other side of us. I could hear the quiet swish of her tail back and forth and guessed she was keeping an eye on the flame serpents further up the hill. Kassandra was right in front of me, and a delicate blush rose up to paint her face before she shot me a cheeky wink, shimmy slightly to make her breast jiggle in her close-fitting top.

“I can think of a few ways that we could repay him.” Kassandra’s voice was thick with sexuality, and when combined with the lusty twinkle in her eye, I forgot about the fact her lower half was a snake and what complications that might present.

“Kass! I was meaning cookies or something!” Rieka’s voice cracked with surprise, the wolf-kin finally having caught on to where Kassandra was going with the idea.

“I wasn’t.” Kassandra made sure to dismiss any possibility of there being a misunderstanding with her words while the cool sensation of her healing spell sunk into my body and washed away the pain there. “I want to make sure our champion is well rewarded for looking after us after all.” The heat in her gaze sent my imagination spinning and helped distract me until the spell finished mending my injuries.