The Asherouboros charged away from the West Wind at full speed toward the Ürgod, its muscles rippling and its mouth agape. Sea spray flew from its body and foam flew from its head as it crashed through the waves in a collision course with its foe.

Xenophus did not notice the intruder at first, being focused instead on its continued destruction of the brotherhood fleet and in consuming the hapless mariners floundering in the surrounding waters. Five of the thirteen ships had completely disappeared under the waves and four more were taking on water quickly from the countless rips and tears in their hulls and decks inflicted upon them by the relentless destroyer.

The remaining four frigates rode high in the water, deserted by their crews. Lines of skiffs and other small boats radiated from the abandoned vessels like ants fleeing their hives, with beasts rowing frantically for shore and praying that the raging monster would not notice them until they were well away.

The Asherouboros screamed in fury and the Ürgod raised its head, noticing him for the first time. Something akin to a smile formed on Xenophus' hideous visage as it returned the roar at three times the volume. The far smaller Asherouboros darted through the sinking ships and launched himself out of the water, shooting upward toward the gargantuan visage and sinking his teeth deeply into the side of Xenophus' head.

The Ürgod wailed in pain and fury, lashing his upper torso violently to dislodge his attacker. From a distance, the comparatively diminutive Asherouboros looked like a leech, trying to feed off a snake. Ashy held on tightly as the Ürgod continued to jerk back and forth. When the shock of its initial pain passed, Xenophus was overcome with vengeful fury. He dipped his head with the Asherouboros still attached and, using the full length of his body like a whip, jerked his entire body upward with such force that his attacker tore from his body and was launched upward as though propelled from a trebuchet.

The Asherouboros sailed through the air in a high arc and smashed into the cliff-face violently, knocked senseless and coming to rest halfway up the wall on a stone ledge.
Wilbur, Ursamus, and the Scratchbacks had been watching the entire conflict with horrified fascination from their position on the sandbank only several hundred yards from where the violent confrontation had taken place.

When Xenophus tossed the Asherouboros into the air like a rag doll, the great beast had flown over their heads before it's crushing impact with the stone wall.

Wilbur was beside himself with worry and pointed franticly to the ledge upon which the legendary creature lay broken.
"What are we going to do?" he pleaded, "Dat wasn't even close, Ashy never had a chance."

"Is 'e alive?" Salto asked.

Ursamus craned his neck to get a better view of the ledge.
"He seems to be breathing, but he is bleeding as well. I fear he is seriously injured."

"Oi don't thing we can reach him, dat cliff is pretty steep and it roight above da water too, we'd have to cliomb up and den over." Wilbur said shaking his head.

Gella spoke up.
"It wouldn't do us any good if we could reach him. None of us are healers and he's so big that we couldn't move him at all even if we got up there."

"We can't just sit here," Wilbur said in frustration, "we have to do something!"

Ursamus draped his massive arm over his friend's shoulder to reassure him. He pointed out at the West Wind.
"I'm sure they're working on a plan right now. Max and Gladiverserac can certainly reach that ledge, beyond that we will have to trust their judgment."

Ursamus' deduction was correct. No sooner had the violent encounter between the Ürgod and the Asherouboros concluded with Ashy's crumpled form floundering high on the cliff ledge than Max took off from the West Wind to check on their champion's condition. As quickly as the colorful bird had left, he checked the creature on the ledge and returned to give his report.

Chumley was beside himself with concern, fearing the worst.
"Tell me 'e's alive, Max," the rat said hopefully.

Max nodded.
"He is...he is, but he is not in good shape. He hit the wall very hard, hard and..." The parrot lowered his head.

"And what?" Chumley insisted.

Max continued.
"The cliff is not stable...it's crumbling...above and below. A few more good shakes and the top of the plateau could fall down, down...and bury Ashy.

Chumley turned desperately toward Robbi, who was deep in thought.
"We have to do something, don't we? We can't just let 'im be buried alive, can we?"

Thoris put a comforting paw on his friend's shoulder.
"If we could get him to roll off the ledge, he might thurvive the drop into the water, but we couldn't do it by ourthelveth. Climbing up there without getting crushed by falling rockth won't be eathy either...pluth, Max thinkth the whole ledge ith about to colapthe."

Gladiverserac interrupted.
"Fly you up one at a time, I could," She offered.

Robbi finally looked up and addressed her friends.
"First we need to get the potion up there and we need to get it into Ashy. It might help him recover from his injuries and allow him to roll off the ledge by himself and survive the fall, because I agree that we can't roll him off by ourselves, he weighs dozens of tons..."

"Ah'll go," Chumley interrupted, "Ashy's mah responsibility...ah got 'im inta this, ah did and 'e deserves mah 'elp now."

Robbi smiled at her friend and gently took his paw in hers.
"Of course, he knows you," she scanned the cliff face and noted the constant rain of debris cascading onto the ledge, "I'll conjure a shield above the ledge so you won't be crushed from above." The wizard turned to Thoris and the albatross, "Thoris, help Gladis put on her saddle and secure the two flasks to it."

"Will do!" the weasel affirmed, quickly leading Gladis to the storage locker where her harness was being kept. Robbi called to them.

"Gladis!"

The albatross turned and answered.
"Yes?"

"I want you to promise me that you'll leave the ledge as soon as you drop Chumley off."

Gladiverserac looked confused.
"How shall Sir Chumley return to us if I doth leave him?

Robbi smiled.
"Don't worry Gladis, you can continue to circle till Chum is ready to return. I just think it would be wise to have as little weight as possible on that ledge."

The albatross cocked her head and then nodded.
"Good sense that doth make, Lady Veritus. What you request, I shall do." She turned and joined Thoris at the locker.

Robbi retrieved the two flasks of Arisha's essence from below deck and brought them to Thoris who secured them to the saddle which was now firmly fitted to Gladis' back. When everything was prepared, Robbi moved to the bow of the ship and focused her concentration to the ledge upon which the Asherouboros lay.

She began to chant quietly and soon the shower of debris was bouncing off her magical shield rather than raining down upon the ledge. Seeing that the shield was in place, Gladiverserac took a running start down the deck and was soon airborne and heading up to the ledge with Chumley and the two flasks of essence firmly secured.

Gladis swooped high above the ledge, determining the best way to land on the narrow strip of stone upon which the Asherouboros lay. Her first pass was to determine where Robbi's shield would allow her access since she had no desire to bounce off it and possibly plummet into the waters below.

Luckily for the albatross, the shield had been in place for several minutes and the veritable avalanche of dirt and debris from above had provided a visible cover several inches thick making the conjured enclosure look like a large grey and brown tent and clearly outlined the area where access to the ledge was possible. Gladis made one final bank away from the cliff in preparation for her landing, and then turned for her final approach.

Chumley steeled himself. He had seen Gladis land on hard ground before and knew it could be a potentially violent affair. He accepted the fact that he would most likely end up bruised and determined to do all he could to ensure the two flasks remain unbroken.

Gladiverserac veered toward the opening and extended her feet in front of her. She angled her enormous wings to slow her forward progress. Her feet touched down and she slid across the ledge flapping furiously. Several times, her weight almost sent her tumbling, but Gladis managed to stay upright.

Finally, she slid into the Asherouboros' side, not fast enough for injury, but with enough force to launch Chumley off her back and into the shield itself. He ended up on the ground, shaking the cobwebs from his brain. The loquacious rat quickly ran back to Gladis to ensure that the two flasks were still intact and upon seeing they were, he unfastened them and broke into a broad smile.

"Nicely done, old girl. Hardly busted up at all, am ah?"

"My best I have done not to injure thee, Sir Chumley. Thou art quite durable."

"Thank ya for that luv, now you'd best get off this ledge. Ah'll let ya know when ah'm ready ta head back."

Gladis walked to the edge of the ledge and prepared to take off. She turned briefly toward Chumley.
"I shall await thy signal, Sir Chumley." She launched herself from the ledge and began flying in wide circles.

The Asherouboros stirred and painfully opened its good eye. There was not a portion of its massive form which did not hurt. The scales on its body which had impacted the cliff were torn off and the skin beneath them oozed blood and pus. The mighty beast lay sprawled on its back, barely able to move. It could see the harbor below and the continued rampage of Xenophus among the remaining Brotherhood ships.

The Asherouboros tried in vain to work its way to the edge of the ledge in a heroic attempt to dive to the water below and once more engage the vile horror which had so easily defeated him in their first encounter.

It suddenly felt something stroking its head near its milky blind eye and shifted its head to see the source of the contact. It was the odd small rat. Tears ran down the tiny creature's eyes and it muttered unintelligible words while stroking Ashy's brow. For some reason the mighty creature felt comforted by the small one and watched in pained curiosity as Chumley uncorked the two flasks and began to empty them slowly past the broken teeth of the Asherouboros' mouth.

It was a familiar flavor and awakened overwhelming memories and visions within the creatures mind. Wave upon wave of hallucinatory sights, sounds and feelings began to wash over it. His body began to quiver uncontrollably. The pain in its bones, joints, and muscles intensified to unbearable levels and the last vestiges of consciousness left the Asherouboros.

Chumley was beside himself with guilt and concern as the potion began to take effect. The violent convulsions the Asherouboros was experiencing were accompanied by disturbing physical manifestations. Boils and blisters had begun to grow on those areas where the creatures skin was exposed and under his scales as well.

The thick plates which covered its body were being pushed outward by rapidly expanding growths and color began draining from every visible portion of Ashy's body. The creature's quivering became even more violent, redoubled by a new series of earthquakes which now shook the ledge. Chumley continued to stroke the beast's great head.

"What 'ave ah done to ya?" he lamented, "Come on Ashy, fight!"

Even as he urged his ward on, thick dark tears leaked from the Asherouboros' eyes and began to crust over the beast's features. In only a few minutes, the creature's entire face was obscured by the rapidly hardening viscous ooze.

As the tremor continued, the ledge began to crumble at it's edges. Chumley moved back toward the cliff-face. Then, without warning, the entire ledge collapsed.

Robbi did not have time to react, she was still focused on maintaining the shield above Chumley and the Asherouboros when the ground disappeared beneath them. The small wizard tried to snatch the falling beasts, but it was not to be and Robbi realized it immediately.

Thinking quickly she thrust her paws downward, sending the shield which had been above her friends into the water ahead of the collapsing ledge and functioning almost as a cushion to the plummeting beasts. The Asherouboros bounced off the now submerged shield and slid into the depths of the harbor, its skin still boiling, its head encrusted, and its scales popping off like shingles in a storm.

Chumley lost consciousness as soon as he collided with the shield. In a display of bravery typical of her species, Gladis swept in through the falling debris and churning waves, landing on the shield and maneuvering her wing under Chumley's unmoving form. Once she had the small rat firmly on her back, she moved off the shield and paddled quickly with her powerful legs in the direction of the West Wind.

The Asherouboros sank to the bottom of the harbor like a stone. Its body was now a mass of churning, throbbing, pulsating flesh. It was changing both inside and out, forced into some long overdue transformation by the power of Arisha's essence.

The poor beast barely managed to maintain its consciousness as its insides twisted and bloated under the influence of the potion. On the outside, its scales sloughed off as it thrashed along the harbor floor.

The beast's great muscles cramped and expanded. The leg-like appendages near its head and hindquarters grew new flesh, muscle and bone, growing and changing each second.

New scales, thicker and colorless, forced themselves painfully through the great creatures blistering skin across the entire length of its continuously expanding body.

The crusty enclosure which had formed around its head began to crack from the pressure of his skull's growth, chipping off like plaster from a crumbling wall. For the first time since the beast had been hurled against the cliff-face, it could again detect light and the mighty creature was confused, not by the pain, not by the relentless changes coursing through its being, but by the simple perception of vision in both its eyes.

It could see light through the eye which had been dead for over four years, since it had been sliced by Chumley in their first encounter. Not simply light either, but clear vision, better than it could ever recall. It was at this point that the creature realized it was not dying, it was healing. Healing not simply from the injuries it had suffered during its lengthy life, but healing from the confines of a body that was never meant to contain it for this long.

It was becoming the beast it was always destined to be, the beast that had been hidden from the world deep within the churning waters of the Circe Sea.

At about the same time that Gladis was struggling to bring Chumley to the relative safety of the West Wind, Egbert and Bobo were regaining consciousness on the beach to the sound of approaching beasts. Egbert struggled to a seated position, the bleeding from his wound now a mere, albeit painful trickle. He could make out a small troupe of beasts approaching, carrying a fair sized burden.

Bobo moaned and propped himself on the big mole's side. He grinned through painfully gritted teeth.
"Remind me not to do that again." He said weakly.

"We've got company." Egbert whispered, pointing to the approaching creatures.

"Friend or foe?" Bobo asked.

"Oi think we'll find out soon enough." The mole said grimly, trying to right himself enough to defend their position.

"Is that you Egbert?" a familiar voice shouted.

"Who is that?" Egbert responded groggily.

Frega ran up to the mole and nutria's position, followed closely by Willum and Otto. They helped to support their wounded friends.

"What 'appened?" Willum asked.

Bobo smiled bravely.
"Just getting' some sun on the beach...we got in the way of an arrow...think I'll rest a bit now..." Bobo passed out again and collapsed into the sand.

Egbert regarded his fallen friend with concern.
"Is he alright?" he asked anxiously.

"I reckon he'll make it...we'll tend to 'im...and you...that hole in yer belly seems ta still be occupied by an arrer...we'll need ta get that out."

Egbert grinned weakly.
"That's foine, Oi don't think Oi'll miss it," he looked behind Frega at the approaching Lokians, carrying their burden, "what have you got there?"

Frega smiled.
"It's the Abitar. We ran into Willum and Otto in the cave and thought we should save the stone before the whole plateau collapsed."

"And the battle? Are we winning?" Egbert asked in a whisper.

"Them scarlet devils is done," Willum said proudly, "they've scattered to the four winds. All that's left is that demon out there in the sea and that don't seem ta be goin' near as well."

Egbert had become groggy from loss of blood, not really hearing what was being said as he drifted once more out of consciousness.

"That's noice...tell Phoebe Oi'll be late for dinner, Oi think she'll like Bobo..." his eyes closed again.

Frega called back towards several of his wolves.
"Carry these two injured warriors over to those rocks and see to their wounds. We will settle here and see what that monster in the harbor does next."