The metro rumbled loudly as it exited the tunnel. The sudden change in elevation as the train ascended into the sinking orange daylight, causing a few of the folks who were previously peering out of the windows at seemingly nothing to shift backward a few feet. A Kobold fell off the seat at the shock of the bright orange dusk.
“You’re always bragging about your vision, moron! See where it gets you!” A haughty Wood Elf laughed at their friend’s sudden tumble, her pale ears wiggling slightly and shifting the brunette hair around them as she did.
“I-it was just the train going over a bump!” The red-scaled, diminutive lizard responded, picking themselves up off the floor of the relatively empty traincar and brushing off their clothes. “And besides, I have incredible vision in the dark! I’m not really great with bright lights…”
Both of them stopped upon hearing a light, friendly chuckle from across the traincar. It appeared their on-the-spot comedy routine managed to reach someone. On a small seat towards the door connecting to the next car sat a blonde-haired dragonkin, who, upon realizing the pair were staring at her inquisitively, covered her mouth in embarrassment, immediately stifling the laughter.
“Oh! Don’t mind me! I was just listening to something funny.” The tip of her tail shook back and forth frantically like a rattlesnake as she replied quickly, pulling out her earbuds and showing them to the duo, doing her best to clutch them between her scaly fingers. She wasn’t sure if either could tell, but there wasn’t anything playing. The Elf and the Kobold both kind of just shrugged, and turned back to their bickering. Content in her mild deception, Oprim turned back to her studying of the subway map. According to its detailed instructions (written in Common and Koboldi!). It seemed she was less than a stop away from her destination.
“Ah, maybe I should get up…” She thought to herself, standing up to her full height. Her small spines poked out of her long blonde hair and fell back down as she relaxed. She grabbed her large gym bag and went to stand by the traincar exit, sighing quietly. It had been a few weeks since she’d moved to Bay City, and Oprim had given herself a few goals for the first month. She wanted to start going for runs around her neighborhood, but after an older Kikimora woman and her husband politely called the dragon chubby during their apparently “customary for new tenants” surprise dinner party, She’d resolved to find a gym close to her. That was, of course, after a few nights of contemplation, sat in front of her collection of horror DVDs and telling herself she was going to do it. She was certain the little European house spirit hadn’t meant anything by it as she shuffled about the kitchen.
"Ah! You look like one who carries a child! Did you not say you were alone?" The thought of the remark brought a blush to Oprim’s pale cheeks, thankfully concealed by her long blonde hair.
The sound of the train braking as it screeched into the station shook her from her silent recollection. “West End Street. This is West End Street Station.” Spoke the train conductor in a rather charming deep voice. Oprim wondered if they hired people with certain vocal magicks for jobs like this, or if it was coincidence. She had heard that Bay City employed vocal magic practitioners able to project their voices in the listener’s primary language. People of various shapes and sizes filed out of the cars’ various doors in a rush, and Oprim shivered a bit as the late Autumn air caressed her bare, scaly legs. The rather large dragonkin had just started out of the doors when she nearly tripped over what appeared to be a common house cat and it looked up at her and let out a hiss, stepping over her large, clawed feet.
“I’m so sorry, kitty! I didn’t see you don’t there.” She apologized, kneeling down as close as she could to the cat’s height. It was a large, fluffy gray cat with whiskers that looked like they were caught in an egg beater and twisted about.
"How did a puss like you get on the train, huh?" Oprim beamed at the feline, pleasantly surprised to see it on the bustling platform.
“Think me a mere cat, do you? Purrrrrhaps one as large as you could be a bit more observant for “kitties”, yes?” Oprim could do nothing else but nod at the cat as it turned its nose up, which brought it face to face with the much larger dragonkin.
"I’ll be more careful!" Oprim piped up, almost dutifully.
"Rightfully so!" The feline chirped, narrowly avoiding a goblin sprinting for the train before the doors closed. The train dinged as it began to leave the station, grabbing Oprim’s attention briefly. As she turned back to her current situation, she found the cat had begun walking away, gracefully hopping onto the railing on the outside of the train platform overlooking the street below, the little backpack sitting upon it jingling as it moved precariously along.
"Even the cats are in a rush here, huh?" The pale woman said to herself, quietly. She got back up from her squatting position and started on her way to the gym.
A few rather chilly blocks down and a few moments later, Oprim had reached the location she was looking for. Positioned perfectly next to a strange brownstone that looked more like a family home than a shop, with a large, gaudy awning that read “Akikaze Magicks”, Oprim peered upwards at the incandescent sign, which obviously illuminated itself at night.
“DEZZ’HAI’s DOJO”, The sign seemed to scream at her. Something about the combination of the completely unchanged Impact font used for a sign with lights felt oddly aggressive, and somehow inept. The building looked older than the rest on the block, with the exception of the strange magic shop next door. It was two or three stories tall, a normal reddish-brown brick building with decades of wear and tear on the exterior. It was unclear exactly how many stories it was because on top of the sign were the normal row of windows, but above that was about ten or fifteen feet of just solid brick wall. Oprim was certain that wasn’t how buildings were constructed, but perhaps Bay City had some kind of weird zoning laws.
Shivering one last time at the seeming blast of cold air from between the tall buildings on West End Street, Oprim passed through the glass doors, one of many for various demi-human sizes, and held it open for a fairy who had called out to her as she moved, she sighed in relief as her body was gently embraced with the warm, temperature controlled air of the gym lobby.
"HI! Welcome to the Dojo of DESTRUCTION!" An Orc woman popped out of seemingly nowhere, catching the already jittery Oprim by surprise. She was about half a foot-taller than the Dragonkin, and more built by any measure. Broad shoulders, like those of a minotaur protector, toned leg muscles barely concealed beneath tight exercise shorts, and a solid core that would’ve made Oprim grab her own stomach pudge in shame were she not so shocked were on full display.
"Eek!" The jumpy dragonkin felt her soft body tense up, years of training kick-starting her forgetful muscle memory like a centaur hoof to a ragged old engine. Oprim yanked the arm of the Orc and pulled her close, her opponent squished right up against her chest, following the maneuver to disarm, and only stopping when the gym trainer’s clipboard clattered to the floor, echoing loudly in the nearly empty lobby.
“Er… Miss!?”
“Ah… wait. I’m so, so sorry!” Oprim’s pale face flushed a bright red as she released the woman and quickly knelt down to pick up the Orc’s clipboard and, unsure of what to do in her panic, held it out towards her, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. After a moment of regaining her composure, The dragonkin’s mistaken assailant stared into Oprim’s bright, golden eyes.
And smiled.
“You’ve got to be here for the MMA course! Are you a veteran!? That was a military-style disarming grab! I’d know it anywhere! I’ve been looking for someone like you!” The Orc was all smiles, practically beaming, sharp canines flashing.
“Nothing like that, no!” Oprim waved her scaly hands dismissively. “I was recommended this gym, so I decided to pay it a visit. And besides… it’s been a while…”
In truth, Oprim had only been home for a few months. Bad habits quickly took over when she wasn’t forced to wake up at five in the morning, run drills, and stand guard. Most prescient, however, were the remarks by a fellow Dragonkin she was often stationed to guard with.
Oprim distinctly recalled her saying “When we’re not in the military, how’re you going to stay in shape?” And genuinely not having an answer. Normally right on top of things, Oprim just shrugged. Being one of the only dragons capable of producing dragonsbreath composed entirely of holy water, Oprim often had a great way of burning calories. What purpose did she have to bathe the average pedestrian in pressurized holy energy?
The Orc woman, seemingly unphased by Oprim spacing out, grabbed her attention once more.
"Well, if you’re just here to try things out, we have a normal gym through this door! I’d be happy to get you started. We’re even doing a free trial program for newbies!” The Orcish woman seemed to have lost some of her previous pep, but still seemed excited to see her.
“Oh! I don’t see why not, then.” the ever-positive dragonkin replied, revealing a sharp-toothed smile.
The orc woman walked to the left of the reception desk, beyond which lay a clear glass door leading into what looked like a room full of exercise equipment. Oprim peered over to the right briefly.
“The MMA course, huh?”
“Oh, so you are interested, then?”
Oprim shook her head, opting not to say anything that could be taken as a “Yes! As soon as…” Knowing this Orc, she’d absolutely hold the dragonkin to it.
“And here’s the main gym!” The Orcish woman spoke, widening her arms as if to welcome Oprim. “And I’ll need your ID to register you as a member."
Producing her ID, the Dragonkin was surprised to see how quickly the Orc woman processed everything.
"I’m Dezz’Hai, bee-tee-dubs!" This is my Dojo, you know? Just ask me if you need anything." Oprim nodded at the Orc’s admittedly cute introduction, and turned to the gym. It was a medium-sized open area filled with equipment. Directly in front of her were various machines made for working out the legs. At the far end of the first row was a single thin-looking Drow, pedaling away exhaustedly on an exercise bike.
“It’s not very common, is it, ma’am?” Oprim began, peering over at the elf, who seemed to be in a world of his own, headphones dangling from his long, pointed ears. Sweat rolled down the sides of his face, sharp features beneath a somber, determined expression. His dark purplish skin stood in stark contrast to the yellowish glow of the dim, humming incandescent lights above.
“What isn’t very common?” Dezz’Hai responded, following Oprim’s gaze towards the Drow.
“To see a Svartalf.” Oprim replied. I reckon there’s not a dank, dark underforest near this city, right?”
“Svartalf? Is that another dialect?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Oprim had picked up many words for things while deployed abroad. Her accent being distinct to the southern part of the continent as it was, it managed to shine through despite the language she was speaking.
“Ah, yeah. I figured! I’ve never heard it before. Is it Dalish?”
“To be quite honest with you,” the Dragonkin began, putting her gym bag on the floor next to the cycling machine and scratching the side of her head in a comical manner. “I don’t remember…” She kind of trailed off.
“O-Oh!” The reply seemed to have shaken the Orcish woman’s cheery demeanor for a moment. She was quickly all smiles again, though clearly a little confused by Oprim’s sudden airheaded dismissal.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it, then! Feel free to call for me if you need anything!" Dezz’Hai said, giving Oprim a little salute.
"No need for that, ma’am…" Oprim blushed a bit at the show of reverence. By no means was the dragonkin ashamed of her service, but given that she wasn’t exactly raiding enemy encampments or engaging hordes of foes in combat, she didn’t feel like she had earned the respect.
"Especially since it doesn’t seem like she’s served in a while." Spoke a voice from behind the dragonkin and orc.
The Drow, or Svartalf, had gotten off the exercise bike and was clearly holding back exhausted panting. He tried his best to look a little smug, but it was very clear he didn’t have the stamina for it. Oprim gazed at him curiously, tilting her head in a manner similar to a dog until-
“Oh! Oh. Well, it hasn’t been that long, mister…” She replied, realizing a few seconds later what he meant.
“Oh, that’s Yuta. Forgive him his angst, I think it just comes with the territory.” Dezz’Hai replied, shaking her head. “He can just be like that, sometimes.”
"The territory?"
"Yeah, Drow are just like that. Brooding. Kind of rude. Truth be told, he’s never been mean to me."
"I’m right here, you know!" Yuta had pulled off his hood and revealed shoulder length white hair tied into a bun underneath. His headphones fell out of his pointed ears and dangled against his chest, hanging out of his hoodie. He seemed completely disarmed once the orcish woman had his number. A slight red tone could be seen on his dark, purplish skin
"See what I mean, Miss Dragon?" Dezz’Hai chuckled. "He’s harmless. Don’t let him bother you."
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mister Yuta! I’m Oprim!” Oprim held out a scaled, clawed hand in a gesture of good will to the Elf. He reluctantly took it, glancing at Dezz’hai briefly as he did.
“Yuta. Wait – you knew that.”
“I sure did! I don’t mind you saying it again, though.” Oprim flashed a soft smile. What she was interpreting as the Drow’s attempt to appear aloof was actually him not being particularly good with meeting new people.
The pair’s newly formed acquaintanceship was interrupted by a loud crash from upstairs. Several bangs rang out from the ceiling above the trio with seemingly no rhyme or reason, causing the Elf to look up, annoyed. The Orc sighed loudly.
“Dezz, it’s happening again. Want me to check it out?” Yuta asked, cracking his knuckles.
“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be there in a sec. I hope we don’t have to get dirty like last time.” Dezz replied.
“And you, Miss Oprim! Just get started on the treadmill for warmups! I can help you figure out the best workout course for your personal needs in just a moment! We’ll have you as fit as you were in the military!” The Orc gave the Dragonkin her best service smile before helping Oprim to a treadmill and hurrying away after Yuta, who had already walked out of the door back into the lobby.
Oprim’s large reptilian feet slammed against the treadmill rhythmically, a piece of exercise equipment clearly made for Greater-sized demihumans, which held up perfectly against her strong legs. She was soon in the flow with her running, doing her best to ignore the noises from upstairs. Her headphones in one ear, she was surprised to hear what sounded like Dezz’Hai from the other side of the wall of well-kept mirrors in front of her.
“Need you guys to clear out again.” She said, a bit reluctantly.
“It’s back, isn’t it? Why didn’t you hire that fox woman next door?” Proposed another voice.
“She’s a fuckin’ extortionist is why! She wants to expand her shop to my second floor!”
“Look, We pay good money to practice our Mixed Magical Martial Arts here!”
“Then why don’t you use your little Wandkata against our friend upstairs!?”
“Our martial prowess is only used for-”
“Self-defense. Yeah. If you go up there, You’ll definitely be under some kind of attack. Just hit the bricks for about an hour.” Dezz sounded serious. Oprim, deciding it was none of her business, continued running. The sounds of several upset muscle wizards filing into the lobby could be heard on the other side of the windowed exit.
“Ah, Yuta. Can you convince her to just hire the hag next doo-” The same displeased male voice echoed through the now extremely populated lobby.
“She probably heard you call her a hag. Don’t be surprised if you wake up with your mouth zipped shut or something.” Yuta responded, and beyond her own loud stomps, Oprim could hear Yuta walk into the room on the other side of the mirror. Her tail began to sway to and fro in interest. The lizard-woman silently thanked the terrible acoustics in the building.
“Alright, Yuta, the usual ward.” Dezz’hai spoke with a commanding tone. It reminded Oprim of her superiors back when she was deployed. It almost made her stand at attention. The dragon cursed her military training and stopped her hands, which was poised to start tracing signs in the air.
“You gonna jump into my arms when that thing comes down again, Dezz?” Yuta chuckled. His gloomy demeanor from earlier seemed to have faded.
“You talk a lot of trash for a guy who almost got folded like a napkin.” She replied.
“Hey, it’s how I cope.”
The low hum of defensive magic filled the building. The mirrors rattled a bit, and unintelligible muttering could just barely be heard on the other side.
“Dark magic…” Oprim thought to herself. “That, or old-school chanting. Either way, this Yuta guy has to be the kind of person who spends all day learning stuff from the internet.” Despite not being particularly adept at magic, She could probably cast a more efficient ward.
“I’m opening the door, Yu.”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you send the wizards home, dude?” Dezz asked, and Oprim could hear a series of loud, rusty locks and chains jostling.
For a moment, the Dragonkin stopped running, sweat glistening in her arms and chest and catching in the dim incandescent bulbs above. Somehow, just hearing conversation a room away was making her tense up, too. Oprim recalled a day just like this patrolling the swamps, and quickly shook her head of the notion.
“Nah, I didn’t. They wouldn’t leave even if I told them to.”
“Those guys really aren’t shit, huh?”
“It’s what happens when you take up magic after a decade doing nothing but browsing the bodybuilding forums.” Yuta said jokingly, though his voice was shaky.
The terrible feeling in the air was becoming quite clear. Oprim shivered a bit, and the lightbulbs hanging above her shook on their thin wires. The sound of something hard smacking against the ground resounded through the gym. The practice room began to rumble as the source of the noise seemed to proceed down the stairs. The Wizards chattering in the lobby quieted down as the steps grew louder. One of them, a large, musclebound man with a white beard, walked into the exercise room. He walked over to Oprim, who was staring intently at the mirror, completely spaced out.
“Hey, miss, you’re gonna wanna get out of here?”
“HUH?” Oprim jumped and almost swung her broad tail at the man, who took a few steps back.
“Whoa, whoa. I was just getting ready to get the boys and head out. I thought you’d wanna know it’s gonna get kinda rough.”
“Hey, you! I thought we told you to leave my second floor!” Dezz yelled from the other room.
“Can’t be rougher than one of the swamps down south. I’ll take my chances, sir!” Oprim responded, regaining her composure.
“Uh, alright, then…” The Wizard hurriedly headed for the exit. Oprim, feeling a little self conscious of her love handles, which were extremely visible against the fabric of her shirt clinging to her skin, grabbed her workout towel and held it at waist-level.
“I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose to an Orc again!” a booming voice shook the walls.
“Dude, the owner told me you’d go away if we beat you!” Dezz responded, definitely not happy.
“You cheated. I want a fair goddamn fight. Put me in the ring against that little Drow there.”
“You’d snap him in half. How is that fair?”
“Hey! Dezz, I could probably… well, nah, you’re right.” Yuta spoke up.
“What about one of those musclebound losers I hear grunting down here day in and day out!?” The booming voice spoke up. In an instant, Oprim could hear several sets of footsteps, followed by the bell that rang whenever you opened the front doors to the gym ringing repeatedly. She chuckled to herself, wiping the dripping sweat from her forehead with the tower and walking into the now empty lobby.
“They’re gone.”
“Well, I’m not going to face a cheater again.”
And then, an idea. Oprim, curious as ever, walked over to the door on the right after moving into the lobby. The anticipation of identifying whatever creature could be demanding combat with an Orcish bodybuilder was just too much for her. The entrance to the training room didn’t have a window on it, so Oprim wrapped her clawed hands around the doorknob and opened it in one quick movement.
“Ah! Miss Oprim! There’s no reason for you to be here! You can go back to the treadmills! Or… Maybe you should switch to lat pulldowns?” Dezz’Hai seemed shocked to see the half-dragon standing in the doorway.
“Well, I was curious, and wanted to see what had scared away all those wizards…” Oprim placed her index finger to chin innocently. Her golden eyes quickly met with the subject of the muscle wizards’ fear and consternation.
Across the room stood a massive skeletal Undead. Around his ivory-white neck hung several medals, all gold, though tarnished by age and lack of care. Dezz’Hai, easily six-foot-four, was looking up at the collection of massive bones. He could’ve easily been made from a minotaur’s skeleton, let alone any kind of man. But there he stood, normal, but massive footbones, tattered boxing shorts rested on narrow hipbones, tied as tightly as possible with the drawstrings hanging out of the front. Within the interloper’s sunken eye sockets were two pale blue ghostlights the creature clearly used for vision. His gaze shifted to Oprim, who stared at him with genuine curiosity.
“Oh, hello. You must be the cause of all the noise, huh?” She asked, tilting her head a little.
“So you did bring a new challenger!” The Undead piped up, pointing his bony (lol) finger at Oprim.
“No, no, she’s a goddamn gym patron.”
“I say she’s eligible! She’s a little bit meaty for my tastes, but I’ll take her on just the same.” The skeletal man laughed, his bones rattling loudly in place of any kind of exhalation of oxygen.
“Hey! Look here, sir.” Oprim’s voice lowered a bit. “I may be a bit out of shape, but that’s just me adjusting to things.”
“Ooh, I’m so sorry, Miss…?”
“Oprim. That’s Oprim to you, you bag of bones!” The extremely polite lizardkin had a red flush to her cheeks. It seemed calling her “meaty” was all it took.
“Bones, eh? Oh, it seems I haven’t put on my Sunday best.” With that, the towering living skeleton punched his fists together, the worn boxing gloves letting out a dull thud. He began to glow a sickly green, and his body started to… fill out? It was the closest comparison Oprim could come to. It had reminded her of how quickly her chest had grown over the summer of her eleventh year. She chuckled to herself quietly, before gazing upon the true form of the golem. Yuta and Dezz’Hai had taken several steps back. The windows on the far side of the practice room rattled violently, and for a moment, it seemed they’d shatter. Holding steady, it was clear they were built with this creature in mind.
“You moron! I’m definitely going to find a way to banish you this time!” Dezz’Hai yelled, fighting against the sudden strong winds swirling around the undead combatant.
“Dezz… We could just pay for it.” Yuta replied, quieter due to his proximity.
“Not a chance! I’d be losing all the money I saved buying this place in the first place!”
“Look, I love you, but you can’t keep skimping on the damn exorcist! There’s one next door, for the love of The Goddess!”
“You what!?”
Before Yuta could think of a clever cover-up for his verbal blunder, he was interrupted by the ear-splitting yell of the undead flesh golem standing in front of the trio. Muscles that looked more like uncooked beef rippled as if someone slapped a bowl of gelatin, pulsing outward from the joints as he flexed.
“And you two… fight this guy all the time?” Oprim sounded a bit nervous as she sized up her would-be opponent. Yuta and Dezz’hai looked back at her and nodded silently. It would seem it was the best they could do to banish him back up the stairs from time-to-time.
“Yeah, except the Orc cheated last time!” The golem spoke up, two glowing orbs in place of eyes directed right at Dezz’hai.
“I knocked you on your ass! You’re just a sore loser.”
“Well, we’ll see. You’ll have your chance when I’m done knocking over this fat lizard.” He chuckled in response. “Anyhow, onto bigger things. Literally!” He laughed maniacally at his rude pun.
“What’s with that look? Think I won’t show you the boss of this gym?”
And it was the last laugh he’d let out.
In an instant, Oprim was upon him, the spines lining the top of her blonde head to the tip of her tail standing on end. Scaled hands and claws wrapped around the frighteningly tall undead abomination and squeezed at the back of his knees, buckling his legs, lifting him up for a split second and bringing him down with a massive thud below his chubby opponent. The dragonkin brought her large, reptilian foot down where a normal humanoid’s solar plexus would be, releasing a disgusting squelching sound where she made impact. The golem, rather than look pained, had a blank expression of sheer surprise at what had just occurred.
“Quickly! What is his name?” Oprim yelled out to the Dezz’Hai and Yuta. the pair had gone from onlookers to absolutely flabbergasted.
“That’s morote gari!” The Orc yelled out, excitedly. She could barely contain her surprise and nearly leapt up upon fully analyzing the situation. The golem struggled to move itself from under Oprim’s powerful legs, and she glared at him.
“Onto bigger things, right?” There was almost a pleased look on her face as she taunted her opponent. She had excelled at hand-to-hand training while deployed, though rarely had a chance to use it outside of sparring. Allied camps were rarely, if ever breached during the campaign, so Oprim had spent a large amount of time holding bases, and not much else, aside from the occasional skirmish.
She became known as a terror during sparring matches due to the amount of steam she’d let off. She wasn’t even remotely warlike in nature, but the expression of physical prowess against anyone, friend or foe, left Oprim visibly excited. Her pale face flushed a vivid red and her spines stood at attention atop her head and back. The glint in her golden eyes made Yuta take a step back.
“What in the- another cheater, eh!?” The golem practically spat from the ground beneath Oprim’s claws.
“Not a chance! There’s absolutely no excuse that could explain the position you’re in right now.” Dezz’Hai replied tauntingly. Yuta nodded quietly, still a bit threatened by Oprim’s sudden show of dominance.
“A-alright! Look. I’ll call it a draw for now! Just don’t bring back the scaly meatbal-”
Golden steam began to billow from the corners of Oprim’s mouth, flowing unevenly between the airheaded Dragonkin’s sharp, gritted teeth. A low growl emanated from within.
The golem began panicking, trying to shift a little to the right and left.
“Whoa, Whoa, Miss Oprim! I don’t have insurance for fire damage!” Dezz exclaimed, her look of excitement from the previous events replaced by worry.
“I could probably extinguish it.” Yuta said quickly, but quieted down just as fast. It was clear Dezz’Hai the Orc would rather the gym not catch aflame rather than have it extinguished quickly.
It was growing clearer by the second, however, that the gym was headed towards a worst-case scenario. The mist rising from Oprim’s mouth grew thicker. Golden smoke was odd enough, but the fact that it sparkled a bit in the dim incandescent light of the gym’s training room was an even stranger case.
“Y-you mentioned you were from the swamp, right?” Yuta stammered at the dragonkin, who glanced at him for just a second, sweat dripping down her body. She nodded, and returned her focus to her opponent, eye sockets filled with ghost-lights glaring up at her from below, with a sort of indignance one untrained in magic likely wouldn’t be able to detect.
“Do you… breathe poison?”
“She probably breathes gravy or something!” Called out the golem, getting one last chuckle. Always the type to get the last hit, even if it cost him the match.
Oprim’s normally kind eyes thinned at the remark.
“Think I can’t handle some fire, dragon? I like it hot.”
“I’m trying to lose the weight! First that nice old lady, and now this guy. Undead champion or not. You look like a lump of uncooked hamburger. But I won’t say that out loud, will I? It’s called common decency.” Oprim’s thoughts ran a mile a minute.
She had been trying to hold back the heat that built up in her belly since the golem had first insulted her. Her hair rose on end and she bared her teeth. The ghostlights seemed to retreat further back into the undead pugilist’s skull as Oprim opened her mouth. Wisps of golden steam billowed out like a snowy mist at the base of an avalanche, engulfing her opponent and the rest of the room. Yuta and Dezz’Hai retreated to the cheap wooden door. The Orc nudged at her Drow companion to place a ward as they found themselves peering at the scene from behind a ajar dojo entrance.
The golden light filled the room, a radiance previously unseen within Dezz’Hai’s Dojo until this point. Perhaps one of the muscle wizards doing wandkata had shot some bright sparks during a training match, but this was on an entirely different level. The Orc was sure that even with the light of the sun sinking behind the buildings outside, this was noticeable to any onlookers beyond the gym.
Yuta, the more frail of the two, protected his face with his hands, muttering behind them to reinforce his ward, hoping none of the mist could escape. Dezz put her strong, calloused hands on his back, rubbing it gently. His purplish skin had a small bit of red at his companion’s gesture.
The pervading mist slowly cleared out of the small training room. When Yuta had finished blowing the remnants of the glittery, golden mist out of the area, the pair saw Oprim, who was just standing in the middle of the room, hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Beneath her clawed feet was a pile of ashes that had once been the Undead Champion, bane of Dezz’Hai’s dojo.
“Miss Oprim! Are you alright?” Dezz ran over to her newest patron, who had opened the water bottle she had never put down by her feet and began chugging it like she’d just been through a desert trek.
“He…He’s gone.” Yuta said, two fingers held in the air to see if the signature magical vibrations associated with their pugilism-inclined interloper still reverberated. Detecting nothing of the sort, a smile crossed his face, a genuine one, uncommon compared to the normal worried or dour expressions he wore.
“You evaporated him!” Dezz looked down at the dragonkin, who barely had enough energy to smile brightly back. A loud sizzle from Oprim’s mouth could be heard as she continued to down water from a gallon-sized bottle.
"He’s not dead… undead… don’t exactly die? He’ll be back." Oprim replied.
"Well, at least you didn’t erase him from existence. What did you do, anyway?" Dezz’Hai asked, somewhat relieved.
“Turns out… Undead don’t react too well to holy water.”
“You breathe holy water? How’s that?”
“Long… huff… story.” Oprim began, still panting. “It burns a lot of calories, though.”
“Yeah, I can tell! Your gut is like, almost gone!”
“Oprim’s eyes widened at this. She peered down. Beyond her sweat-drenched exercise shirt, her stomach looked smaller than it had in months. Oprim’s tightly-pulled ponytail was loose, and stray hairs were facing every which-way, but it didn’t seem to bother her much.
The training room looked completely spotless. It almost sparkled. The plumes of holy mist Oprim had shot out moments ago seemed to have completely cleansed the room. The mirrors and windows were spotless, as well.
“So… you were ex-military? Are you sure you weren’t some kind of heavy-duty exorcist?” Yuta chuckled, his smile still evident.
“I mean… Do you have any other undead you want taken care of, sir?” Oprim seemed genuinely excited at the prospect. Her normal, airy demeanor had returned in a heartbeat.
“Uh… Not that I know of. But how about you keep coming to the gym, just in case?” Dezz’Hai asked, putting her powerful arm around Yuta’s bony shoulders. He blushed a deep crimson.
“You don’t even have to ask, miss!”
Leave a Reply