As the fallen knight writhed beneath the fallen wooden beam like a hare caught in a trap, the earth he lay upon suddenly shook as four legs crashed down upon the grassy ground – two bearing long, wickedly curved claws and the other two ending in cloven hooves. All of the chimera's heads then turned their gaze upon him, saliva dribbling from three hungry maws as they each licked their lips...

But then, their growls of hunger suddenly changed into yowls and snarls of pain as a black-feathered bolt whizzed through the air and buried itself in the monster's shoulder!

Stalk lowered his crossbow from his eye as he knelt in the grasses nearby, gaze still fixed on his quarry. He was hoping that his shot might have done some actual damage, but all he seemed to have done was piss the monster off.

Seeming to forget about the knight entirely, the chimera leapt forward and spread its wings as it lunged through the air fast as a lightning bolt. Dropping his crossbow, Stalk dove to one side, shredded chunks of earth spraying everywhere just behind him as he got out of the way at the absolute last second. Rolling across the floor, he then whirled around to face his attacker again, taloned hands pulling his shortswords from their scabbards.

As he brandished his blades, the lion and dragon head roared at him. The goat seemed about to do much the same, but then Stalk saw its ears perk up and its horned head twist to look into the distance. Coming over the top of the hill came two shapes wreathed in shimmering armour, followed by a third in a flowing, brightly-coloured dress.

Logan, Technus and Arabella.

'Hard to hide from three sets of eyes, I guess...' Stalk remarked to himself. 'Not that they were doing much to hide anyways...'

But then, the kenku's eyes snapped back to his companions as he realized that someone was missing.

Ren's absence he could excuse but... where was Finnan?

A roar to match that of the chimera's shook the ground, and then bounding past the others came an enormous bear, wreathed in brown fur and snarling ferociously. Before even their monstrous foe could react, Finnan fell upon him like an avalanche, locking his jaws around the goat's neck and grappling the rest of the chimera's body with his claws. Howling, the chimera lurched sideways from the impact, and its long tail lashed to one side, swiping through the foundations of the windmill and tearing another chunk from the building and sending cracks slicing through the remaining stonework.

Stalk couldn't help but clack his beak. 'Question answered' he told himself before yelling "No reason to wait, people! Let's take this fucker down!"

~~~

Finnan's explosive attack wasn't something Logan had expected, but it was more than welcomed. Amidst the sound of smashing and roaring, the battlefield was now a mess of scattered rocks and wood – all the remained of the windmill as the structure completely collapsed behind the two beastly forms, toppling like a toy building being kicked by a child.

Sadly, it didn't come down on the chimera. But gladly, it also didn't come down on Finnan as a result.

Golden eyes flashing across the area, Logan quickly located the trapped knight and immediately felt a plan surge through his mind.

"Arabella! You get to the knight and try to free him! Heal him if he needs it!" he yelled. "The rest of us will help Finnan!"

Immediately Arabella nodded and began to rush towards where the arms of the mill had fallen. Meanwhile, beside Logan, Technus was already taking aim with his firearm... only to shift his aim around without pulling the trigger.

"Target keeps moving," he intoned aloud. "The druid is causing the beast to keep shifting position – clear shot unattainable."

Logan could plainly see Technus meant – whenever the chimera pounced on Finnan with fang and claws tears shreds from his bear-form's fur, or Finnan outright bitch-slapped one of his opponent's heads with a paw as hefty as a club, both of them lurched about so unpredictably that it made accurate targeting impossible.

Giving the cyborg the side-eye as he drew his family blade, Logan's response was "Then try something else. Something that won't risk all our lives save yours, ideally." And as Technus fixed him with a look of indignation, Logan charged forward. And on the far side of the chimera's legs, he could see Stalk rushing in to fight alongside him.

The monster's three heads were to the side of Logan's shield while its lashing, scaly tail was on the same side as his sword. Barrelling across the field, Logan locked his eyes on their enemy's exposed flank and pulled back his blade as he aimed to thrust it between the ribs of his foe.

But then, there was a tremulous groan in his left ear, and he flicked his head in that direction to see Finnan shoved onto his hind legs before tumbling onto his back as the chimera lunged towards him, planting its leonine paws in his ursine chest and unleashing a horrific noise as each retractile claw was unsheathed right into Finnan's body. It was one wound too many for the druid, and as he toppled over, his great coat of brown fur shrivelled away while his body returned to its usual form of yellow hair and leafy attire.

The sight of this made Logan rush even further into the fray, only to skid to a halt when he was greeted with three sets of hideous yellow eyes as the chimera twisted around to face him head-on!

Throwing up his shield, Logan went on the defensive just in time as the lion head darted forward, fangs flashed as it locked its jaw around his forelimb – the panel of oak and iron was all that kept the monster from ripping his whole arm clean off.

His instinct took over then – calling to his god, Logan swung his family longsword and cried out "Thunderous Smite!" at the top of his voice. Sacrifice's blame hummed with raw energy, and as his brought it down on the lion's snout, that energy exploded into a wave of deafening sound that blasted the chimera backwards, claws and hooves scrabbling at the ground as it tried to keep its footing.

Dark brown gouges were torn through the grass as it slid away, but the enormous beast did not fall. Instead, within the blink of an eye, it lunged forward and raised its right paw. Ducking down at the last possible second, Logan felt the rush of air slice across his forehead and saw a few jet-black locks fall down past his eyes. But he had no time to worry about his hair – at least he felt no warm liquid running down his brow – for as the chimera's first swipe missed, a second one was coming right for him!

Logan threw his shield into the path just as the five gleaming black claws were inches from his face. Sparks sprayed through the air as bone shrieked against the aegis' iron rim, falling on Logan's face and spattering his skin with bursts of heat and shards of metal. Then the paws pulled away and the goat head lowered to slam a third strike into his shield with its curling horns.

Burning agony shot through Logan's left arm as the blow hit him like a battering ram, but he fought to keep his guard up, straining with all his might to hold back his attacker and thrusting Sacrifice forward desperately. He hoped to strike the goat head and unleash another smite, but his blade hit nothing but empty air - it was nearly impossible to see his target past his own defence.

But the paladin knew better than to drop his guard. If this creature could tear through solid stone, his armour would be nothing against it.

~~~

The paladin was doing an admirable job keeping the chimera distracted as Stalk rushed in, hoping to use the speed from his potion to get in close before the three-headed bastard could react – no doubt at least one of its heads could hear him sprinting in right this moment.

Logan had guts, Stalk admitted, rushing in head-on like that. But he didn't know how much longer that would be remain the case, with the paladin trying to face a chimera one-versus-one.

As said chimera bombarded Logan with strikes from its front paws, Stalk hurtled straight for the monster's flank, body leant all the way forward and arms held out behind him, a blade in each hand. Talon-tipped legs pumping, the world turned into a blur around him, and by the time he glimpsed a flash of yellow as the lion head turned his way, he was right where he wanted to be – between the monster's front and hind legs, its belly exposed to him.

The chimera twisted its rear half sideways, one of its hooves lashing out and its scaly green tail cracking through the air like a whip in his direction. As both came speeding towards him, Stalk threw his body backwards right down to the floor and pulled his legs upwards until they left the ground and he landed on his back.

From there, his sheer momentum carried him forward like a toboggan across ice, though his beak twisting into a grimace of pain as mud and stones ran up his back, ruining both his feathers and his spine. As he dropped flat to the ground, the chimera's tail swatted harmlessly above his head, and as Stalk looked up, blades still held out to his side...

The absolute second the chimera's stomach was within reach, he thrust his curved shortswords upwards and dragged them both through the monster's flesh, gouging a pair of long, red lines across its cream-furred belly. A yowl, a bleat and a roar of agony all filled his ears then as the beast lurched away.

As he skidded to a halt on his back, Stalk's gaze met another pair of yellow-gold eyes, and a brief spurt of alarm went through him before his vision panned out and he realized he was looking at Logan. The paladin sheathed his longsword and grabbed Stalk's arm, pulling him roughly to his feet.

"Nice move..." Logan said, watching as blood ran down from under the chimera's midriff, painting the grass in a glistening crimson sheen.

Stalk smirked "I was aiming for the balls."

Both warriors then stood ready, facing down their foe as they brandished their weapons once again. The chimera stared them down, three heads against two... only for its gaze to widen as it suddenly became outnumbered!

A rush of green and yellow swept past Stalk's right side as Finnan jumped by, landing just in front of the kenku. The injuries in his bear form not having passed to his halfling body, the little guy was right as rain and sprightly as he'd always been.

Not only that, but Stalk heard Logan gasp on his left, and turned his head just in time for the paladin to exclaim "Ren!" out loud as the eponymous grey-skinned elf appeared on the far side of Logan's shield arm, staff slung on his back and spellbook resting in his hands.

'Well, at least he didn't try to run away this time...' Stalk remarked in his head.

His soft hands making his tome's pages blur as he folded them over one after the other, the chimera's growling clearly incentivizing him to get a rush on, Ren seemed to find what he was looking for. Reaching down to a pouch at his waist with his right hand, the wizard dipped his fingers in for half a second, only for their tips to come out glistening and shiny.

The pouch was full of... water?

Stalk was about to wonder why they'd even bought Ren along at all when the wizard raised hand, the dampened digits flicking in several precise movements, and his mouth called out the words "Ice Knife!" Immediately, the water on his fingers crystallized, and as they began to close, a long shard of ice, as sharp as a speartip, slowly formed within his grip.

Not only that, but when Ren's thin arm whirled forward in an overhead arc, the ice shard sailed towards the chimera, flying straight for its target as a trail of blue magic trailed behind it. The beast spread its wings and took flight to get out of the way, but as it rose into the air, the Ice Knife struck one of its hooves, driving straight into the cleft between the two slabs of keratin. The goat head cried out as pain shot up its leg, and then all the other heads followed suit as, with a sound like exploding glass, the shard burst open, embedding sharpened chunks of ice all across the chimera's body, some of them even punching into the wounds the monster had suffered earlier.

Watching, even Stalk was impressed – finally, Ren did something!

~~~

Logan was smiling as Ren's spell struck its target, but he remembered that the fight wasn't over yet. And, looking up at the chimera as its eyes blazed and its wings beat the air, he could tell that they'd really pissed it off.

For half a second, he wondered if their foe might take the hint and piss off, but he knew chimeras were unlikely to do that. They had all the worst qualities of all their heads combined – the ferocity of a lion, the stubbornness of a goat, and the cruelty and arrogance of a chromatic dragon.

They didn't back down.

'Good,' Logan thought, fixing the chimera's gaze and slamming his sword against his shield. 'Neither do I. And there's more glory in a fight to the death.'

The Galehaut sigil was a griffin – they too had the ferocity of a lion, combined with the pride of an eagle. And Bahamut, his deity, was the foe and the bane of all chromatic dragons. The Platinum Lord was the ruler of metallic dragonkind, while white, blue, red, green and black dragons were ruled by his rival and sister, the wicked goddess Tiamat.

His mind returning to the fight as the steady rhythm of the chimera's wings beating the air suddenly vanished, Logan watched the three-headed beast descend upon the party like a bird of prey diving for a hare. He and the others leapt out of the way, and as Logan rolled back onto his feat, he heard the crackle of electricity as Finnan raised his hands up to the sky. Charges of arching energy flashed throughout the druid's body as he suddenly called out "Call Lightning!", thrust his hands forward, and an ink-black cloud suddenly materialized before a bolt of blinding white as thick as a tree trunk slammed into the ground...

But all it did was scorch the earth black as the chimera flapped its wings and leapt back, escaping the strike. Then, in the blink of an eye, the beast locked onto to Finnan and began to lope towards him, claws extending.

Heart racing, Logan hurried forward, and he saw Stalk do the same in his peripheral vision. Hurrying in front of Finnan, both of their blades flashed through the air as they tried to drive the monstrosity back, but again, its leonine body reared up and their attacks found no purchase.

Finnan shifted away, still bursting with lightning as he concentrated on his spell, and Ren was nowhere to be seen. Logan was about to lunge forward and strike again when the chimera, stood on its hind legs, descended and its dragon's maw opened and unleashed a raging cloud of green gas that engulfed Logan's vision, blotting out the world in a sickly darkness.

A rancid, clawing stench filled his nose, and he heard Stalk began to squawk and splutter beside him. Logan felt his heartbeat pulse faster within him, and he tried to cover his mouth with his hand when suddenly his neck and chest began to burn as if hot oil had been poured down his throat. A terrible thirst overcame him, as if weeks spent in a desert had suddenly afflicted his body within a few seconds, and he felt his vision darken and blur.

A horrible realization fell upon him – poison!

Gasping for what was left of his breath, Logan threw his head around. Through the noxious fog, he saw Stalk drop onto his hands and knees, beaked mouth retching, and a distant shape of what looked like the chimera's wing. His legs shook where he stood, panic gripping him for both his own life and his comrades as he fell to one knee and his sword tumbled from his fingers...

But then, a whirring and clunking began to drone in his faltering ears, and his eyes glanced up to see a figure garbed in bronze and teal striding slowly and unflinchingly through the fog. Even as the tendrils of viridescent venom seemed to claw at its body, the figure didn't falter for a moment, the mask over its hooded face meaning the airborne toxin had nowhere to seep in and inflict its damage.

Technus!