My entry for Round 1 of the Fantasy Smackdown in the Pub, started in Dec 2012. For this round we had to pick 4 of 8 pictures and then use a group picture which had to have a vague mention in the story. My group picture was 'swings'. All five pictures used are included in the slideshow on the right.

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Artefact

The lizard pulled over the motorbike and stopped to take in the view. It could have been anywhere in the New States. Windmills and solar panels provided power to the town, and a few people were walking between rows of neat houses. A children's play area lay empty in the heat of the day, swings hanging listlessly in the still air, and the distant murmur of a tractor drew his eyes to a farm nearby.

It could've been anywhere on Earth until you looked to the sky and saw the dragons, then the reality of the Twinning set in once more. Earth had never had dragons, but many things had changed since the catalyst rise of the Phoenix, and the collision of the two worlds of myth and reality.

Antar leant on the handlebars of the sleek machine, its chrome shining in the desert sun as he looked across the land. A wide toothy smile split his face as a duck and its young brood waddled past, genuine pleasure touching his eyes. His gaze lifted to the small town a few hundred yards down the road. Yet another town called Phoenix, yet another task.

Moments later when the ducks had left, a motor roared and a new dust trail landed in Phoenix.

"... and there shall come the day when the twin worlds are once more ripped asunder and the flaming bird of absolution will deliver us from this living hell. This abomination of magic and sin shall cease, and only the righteous will survive!" Antar paused on his way to an inn and watched the speaker on the opposite side of the street for a few seconds. Bearded, unkempt and flecked with spittle, the man stood on the corner with a growing crowd of onlookers, his ranting diatribe getting more intense as he worked up a belly full of fervour.

"... and there stands the heretic, a product of sin and vile darkness." Antar grinned at the accusatory finger levelled at him, and made a rude sign with one clawed hand.

The bearded man leapt from his rickety podium and flung himself across the street at Antar, a scream of inchoate rage bubbling from his throat, one hand sweeping a dagger from somewhere within his dirty robes. Without drawing his own weapons, Antar blocked the thrust with a forearm, and punched the claws of his left hand through the bearded throat, dropping the gurgling casualty to the ground.

"Nothing to see here folks, my apologies for making a mess." Antar sauntered off towards the pub, his smile still firmly in place, blood seeping soundlessly into the dust behind him.

"Hey handsome, care for some company?"

Astar smiled at the woman who had moved to the side of his table and sipped his ale, gesturing to the empty seat opposite. "You don't appear to be offering any special services, my lady, despite your somewhat revealing attire. Do I take it you're after something more interesting than a quick tumble?"

The woman mock sighed and threw herself into the chair signalling to a bar hand for a drink. "My 'attire' as you so gracefully put it, is part of my calling. We Barbarian women need little in the way of clothing when we have other skills." The woman gestured to the handle of a battleaxe resting between her shoulder blades with a casual thumb.

"In that case my lady, may I know your name in exchange for buying you a drink?"

"You may." She paused as the barman placed a flagon of ale in front of her. "The lizard's getting it," she noted to the barman's outstretched hand.

Antar nodded at the barman who moved to mark Antar's slate, and raised a questioning eyebrow at the warrior woman opposite.

"My name is Lissa, and I am on a quest. As are you."

"And what makes you believe I'm on a quest Lissa?"

"Because I'm working for Lord Apsilon too."

"And how am I meant to confirm that?"

"Because he told me to tell you 'you need to start trusting people'."

"And that's it?"

"No, he said to call you a 'miserable excuse for a stunted dragon'." Antar roared with laughter, his mouth opening wide exposing the sharp teeth and elongated jaw to full effect.

"That sounds like Apsilon. So dear lady, what do you know?"

"I know if you call me 'dear lady' again I'll stick this battle axe somewhere dark and surprising..."

Antar raised a placatory hand, still grinning. "Fair enough Lissa, I will refrain from being overly polite as long as you keep your axe in its sheath.

"Let's start again. What do you want to know Lissa?"

"Earther or Trastan?"

"I was born on Earth. But I don't think picking between our races helps now, does it?"

"Maybe not, but it matters sometimes to me. You say you were born on Earth, so how come you look like one of the Trast?"

"I was close to the Phoenix when she took flight, so I caught a bit of the magical downdraft, as did many others."

"What powers do you have?"

"None of your business." Antar grinned again. "I may come across as open in conversation Lissa, but I'm not so wet behind the ears as to give you any sort of advantage or hold over me. Let's just say I've been in the employ of Apsilon for some time and I've survived everything thrown at me so far. Including stroppy women with axes to grind..."

Lissa's face grew hot with anger and her hand twitched. "Why I ought to..."

"Ought to what?" said Antar, all trace of humour gone from his voice. "You seek to challenge me without knowing anything about me? Are you that impetuous, or merely stupid? I don't need your company, and Apsilon has no right to ask me to babysit you or anyone else." He drained his ale in a swallow and stood. "I work alone dear lady, and I do not need a loose axe waving around. Good day to you and I hope you fulfil your mission."

As he turned and made to walk away, there was a whisper of movement and he dropped full length to the floor as the crescent moon blade of the axe swung through the empty space his head had occupied but a moment before, to bury itself in a wooden beam. Bouncing back from the wooden boards, he leapt inside her guard, and paused with a taloned hand clamped around her face, the other grasping a handful of blonde hair. The point of one talon hovered above her left eye and she froze, wide-eyed.

"Now then, let's come to an understanding here. I may be smaller than you, but I'm quicker and stronger than you. I'm also older than you, which means I'm either lucky or a survivor. If you want to fight, let's take it outside and let the rest of these good people enjoy their ale in peace. If you no longer want to fight, let's have a drink and you can explain why the hell you're in such a bad mood."

A dagger prodded him in the side and he looked down as a slender hand held a wickedly sharp blade against his scaly skin.

"Touché Lissa, I'm impressed. Shall we get another drink?" He grinned again and she nodded, withdrawing her dagger as he let go of her face.

They sat back down at the table, the wary eyes of the barman surveying them as he brought them another ale.

"So Lissa. All blades and bravado aside, what exactly do you want from me?"

"A partnership. Temporary. Just for this job."

"Why the hell should I?" countered Antar. "I think we covered all that a moment ago, didn't we?"

"You know as well as I do that the Stone Witch isn't just some runaway slave or a minor Baron who's got too big for his boots. She is a legend. I think we'd do better regaining the artefact if we worked together."

"What artefact?"

"Oh, don't play coy with me Antar, you know exactly what artefact. I was present when you were talking with Apsilon."

Antar's eyes widened. "You were the guard? I thought the female Praetoriat never left the palace?"

"Well you've learnt something new then haven't you," she noted bluntly. "So much for your long term relationship with Apsilon."

Antar leant back in his chair, and grinned again. "I only usually bother taking money off the man, I don't care about the inner workings of the palace. "Right, so let's assume we're both after the same thing here. How do I know you're not going to try and take the artefact off me once we've retrieved it?"

The emphasis Antar put on 'try' wasn't lost on Lissa and she raised a haughty eyebrow. "You don't. We can swear on it now if you like. Warrior bond. I will not try and take the artefact off you once we're done with the Witch."

"Okay. You're on, but we need to tell each other everything we know."

"Done."

The two clasped forearm to forearm, their fingers tightening around the arm of the other in the traditional warrior grip. Lissa spoke a few words of power and a blue light encompassed their hands for a moment, dissipating soundlessly as they watched.

"And so we are aligned to one cause," said Antar softly.

"Until you call me 'dear lady' again, yes..."

Several days of travelling to the south of Phoenix had led them to a mountain trail. How Apsilon had come up with directions to the supposed lair of the Stone Witch was something neither of them had been able to shed any light on. Antar had left his motorbike hidden in dense undergrowth the day before, and the two were now proceeding on foot up a steep mountain trail. Antar now sported a light pack and assorted weaponry, and Lissa had donned a cloak over her barbarian leathers. The handle of her axe was held firmly in a clenched fist.

Antar, following her lead, stopped abruptly as she halted and held up a clenched fist. Without turning, she motioned to a stand of trees and they both moved silently into cover. A few minutes later, a couple of rock trolls wandered ponderously past them, their gravelly tones masking the crunch of their boots on the path.

"You have good hearing."

"Better than yours Antar."

"No. I'd heard them, but you were in the lead, your call..."

"You're infuriating, you know that?"

"I do. Apsilon tells me the same thing quite frequently."

Lissa glared at the lizardman and he grinned again, and motioned to the clear trail beyond.

They made their way back to the trail and carried on their journey, both silent with anticipation as they neared their goal. Lissa halted and motioned to a smaller side trail, turning to make sure Antar was following. As she did, Antar leapt toward her, a blade appearing in his hand, his gaze focussed over her shoulder. She staggered away from him, lifting her axe and Antar's blade embedded itself in the hand of the massive rock troll who had been silently waiting in the shadows of the cliff. With the harsh grating sound of rock on rock, the troll moved into view, massaging the injured hand and growling at them. Antar whipped another blade from a sheath and stood waiting as Lissa moved alongside. One blade bubbled and smoked with black ichor, the other steamed in the cool air.

"You go left, I'll go right. The quicker we kill this thing the better."

Lissa nodded. "Go."

The two moved apart, and as the troll swung at the fast moving blonde, Antar leapt in. One blade slammed into a rock-like thigh with a hiss, and as the massive form buckled to one knee, Antar leapt, climbing the troll like a pile of stones. As Lissa slammed the flat of the axe into the troll's face prompting a bellow of rage, Antar reached the shoulders and punched his blades simultaneously into the temples of the troll. A rumbling gargle filled the narrow pass, the foul smell of cooked troll blood permeated the air and the creature slumped to the ground. Antar leapt lightly to the shaley path as Lissa stepped back from the corpse.

"Neatly done," she said. "Nice blades too, I've not seen the like before now."

"One hot, one cold. I've had them a long time. You do know the witch will know we're coming now, don't you?"

"Aye, but what choice do we have?"

"There's always a choice."

"Not getting scared now are we Antar?"

"No, merely stating we could always go and have an ale. A drink is always preferable to a cantankerous old crone." The lizard looked at the woman who stood glaring at him, one hand on hip, one clamped around the handle of the battleaxe. "I'll take that as a 'no' then. Fair enough. Lead on..."

The tunnel, when they found it, was a shadowed crack between two massive boulders. Unremarkable yet forbidding and cold. Approaching cautiously, they spied no guards, and after checking for traps at the entrance, they moved into the darkness.

Lissa held aloft a fist sized glow globe and they moved further into the gloom, the light from outside fading quickly and leaving them alone in the pool of light cast by the orb.

The walls of the tunnel had been carved in stark relief, massive stone heads, solemn and eternal, watched their slow progress. There was no sound, no movement, nothing other than the dank smell of cave. Nothing until Antar tripped the wire. There was a deafening grating sound and one by one the stone heads opened their mouths and screamed. Lissa dropped to the floor and screamed along with the heads, her back arching in pain as she dropped her axe and the globe to clamp her hands over her ears.

Antar dropped his head to his chest and clenched his jaw, eyes closing as the grating siliceous scream churned the air and the senses. He could feel the thud of his heart, feel the air coruscating in the confines of the cave, feel the magic feeding the trap. He staggered forwards a few steps and reached out a hand, making a grasping motion with one claw, pulling back toward his body as he grasped the magic. As his fist made contact with his chest, the scream stopped and the heads froze in a soundless tableau of horror. He turned and moved to Lissa's side as she sat up. Groggily she shook her head, blood coming from her nose and ears.

"What the hell was that? she shouted.

"Sssh." Antar made frantic shushing motions with his hands and Lissa staggered to her feet.

"What did you do?" she asked in a more normal tone, as she shook her head again to try and clear the ringing in her ears.

"I stopped it."

"Yes, but how?"

"We don't have time for a chat Lissa, we need to get in there and put a stop to this. Ready?"

The Amazonian woman rubbed her forearm across her face, two bloody traces down her arm looking like battle wounds in the wan light of the globe. She whispered a few words and the globe lifted up and sped down the tunnel.

"Let's go," she said, and the two of them ran full tilt along the stony floor, through and arch and into a massive chamber that stretched out in front of them. The globe lifted up into the roof of the chamber and stopped. Lissa spoke another quiet word and it brightened to light up the entire chamber as the witch attacked.

Dark smoke boiled from a shadowed corner and a giant roiling hand grabbed Lissa by the legs, making her scream in terror as she was lifted from the floor of the cave. Whipping his daggers from their scabbards, Antar charged into the smoke and slashed wildly around him, the screaming above his head changing to a wild shout as Lissa freed a dagger and began stabbing at the smoky flesh clasping her legs.

There was a screech from within the smoke ahead of Antar and he paused and closed his eyes, concentrating on his other senses. Muttered words of a spell in the making came from his left and he changed direction, creeping forward. He opened his eyes, and there amidst the smoke crouched the indistinct true form of the Stone Witch. Anchored to the floor by her lithified lower body, the woman hunched over her cauldron, the green swirling mass of liquid in its stone trough boiling with vitriol and malice.

She gestured with a hand, and a scream from Lissa spurred him into action. The Witch finished her spell and looked up as he reached her, her look of triumphal glee changing to shock as his dagger slashed through her throat. She whispered a few final words and there was a final gurgle, the smoke dissipating to reveal Lissa crumpled on the floor of the cave nearby. As Antar watched, the hunched and bloody form of the witch darkened and froze, becoming another strangely shaped stone amidst the stalagmites.

Antar helped Lissa to her feet, her legs badly bruised but seemingly unbroken. "The artefact," she whispered.

"I have it," said Antar. "I took it off her body before she turned to stone."

"May I see it?"

Antar grinned and held out a small cloth wrapped package.

Lissa sat on a nearby stone and unwrapped it carefully. "I never thought I'd see something like this again," she said reverently. "It's wonderful, my father used to have one when I was a little girl."

There was a rumble and a stone dislodged from the roof of the cave to smash to the floor near the petrified body of the witch.

"We need to go. Can you walk?"

"I think so."

"Good. You have pockets, stow that thing and look after it." Antar slung an arm around her and helped her to her feet again once she'd stowed the package in her travel clothes.

"Antar!"

The lizard looked up and followed Lissa's gaze to where a couple of rock trolls had wandered into the chamber from the side tunnel, a bellow of anger spurring them into action.

"Definitely time to go."

The two of them moved swiftly to the tunnel they had entered by, Lissa's legs moving more surely as the circulation restored itself.

They made good progress for a few hundred yards, and then Lissa stopped at an intersection, breathing heavily. "I need a rest."

"I'm not sure we have time for this Lissa."

"Just a few seconds. You scout ahead and come back for me."

Antar nodded and moved away a few yards, looking intently at the shadows. There was a rustle of cloth and he looked back to see the young woman running away down the intersecting tunnel. "Son of a..."

A shove from behind sent him sprawling, and as the light from Lissa's globe disappeared around a corner, the last thing Antar saw was a massive stone club swinging towards his head.

Lissa sat in bright sunlight astride the bike. She grinned and thumbed the Start button. Nothing. She frowned and tried again, got off, checked the fuel and battery and stepped back from the machine, scratching her head.

"They're a bastard to start sometimes..." Antar moved from behind a nearby tree and limped into the clearing, approaching her with both knives held ready. "That particular machine is a little different though. It only obeys me. You need a very specific word of power to get it going."

"You're alive! That's great, I thought ..."

"You left me to die you bitch. What were you in a previous life, a lawyer? You knew you'd get around the Bond somehow, but I made the mistake and handed the artefact to you thus absolving you of the 'take' element of the Warrior Bond. Clever girl, but I think that the Bond is over now."

"Ah, you got me." Lissa grinned at him. "My parents were lawyers, yes and I was in training. But after the Phoenix I simply swapped the cut and thrust of the courtroom for battle using a weapon. Oh, and occasionally a bit of magic."

She gestured, one hand spitting out a fireball which slammed into Antar and burst into an inferno of flame. She watched in satisfaction as the flames completely obscured the lizard's figure, and turned her attention back to the bike.

"Specific word of power..." she muttered under her breath. "Hmm...I wonder Mr Polite. How about 'Please'."

The roar of the engine made her smile and she turned to pick up her backpack. As the knife slid between the upper ribs with a faint sizzle, her nerveless fingers dropped the bag, and she slumped to the ground, the shadow of Antar falling across her prone body as the spreading cold paralysed her body.

"How?" she gasped, chill blood filling her lungs.

"You were a lawyer: I was a prisoner. I was the only one in the jail at the time of the eruption. They'd felt the tremors and had run away. They left me behind to rot. I was one of the few who saw the Phoenix lift from the volcano, one of the few who was so close to the catalyst that I could feel the heat from its wings. As the boiling cloud of volcanic gas, ash and ancient magic rolled down the slopes of the volcano into the town, the Phoenix circled the Earth and the worlds entwined, I received the full impact. I may no longer be human, but I am a survivor. Magic does not harm me. I am unique... and you are dead."

Plunging the other dagger into her eye with a sizzle, he cleaned his blades on her clothes and reached for her pack. Unfolding the wrappings around the artefact with reverence, he pressed the button on the side, being careful not to damage it with his claws. Spinning the dial on the front, he grinned at the glow from the device and lifted the wires to his ears.

"...your motor runnin'

Head out on the highway

Looking for adventure

In whatever comes our way"

To the strains of an ancient song, Antar gunned the chopper and headed west to collect his reward, a new dust trail in the wake of the Phoenix's passing.

~~~ The End ~~~