First, I needed to test the limits of this creature.
I ran toward him and sprang into the air, leg extended for a flying kick. My foot smashed into the spirit’s head. Sand burst apart, and I hurtled through. I had expected the jolt of an impact to stop me, so I had to adjust as I went, but I managed to make a controlled landing on the packed earth, rolling forward and using a break fall to absorb some of the impact. Even so, it left me bruised on my arm and back as I sprung back to my feet.
I twisted around, expecting to see the spirit headless. Could I really have succeeded already? I had been getting a lot of practice fighting spirits in general, and at fighting earth creatures in particular over the past couple of days. It seemed unlikely that I would have won so easily, but I had just destroyed my opponent’s head. Except I was expecting that it would grow back.
And that’s exactly what I saw as the spirit turned to face me. His head was rising once more, a new one forming from the sand of his upper body. The only thing to show for my apparent success was a small pile of sand on the ground, the remains of what I had kicked away. At least that wasn’t rejoining the spirit but lay as a pale trail against the dark earth, just like the sand from his footsteps.
This time, I approached the spirit more cautiously. As I got close, he swung one fist around in a slow punch from the left. I dodged right, only for two more fists to sail at me, and I had to leap back, somersaulting clear of the creature’s reach.
The earth spirit ran at me, all four arms flailing. I bobbed and weaved as I blocked some strikes and dodged others. Darting from foot to foot, trying to avoid being overwhelmed by the blows, I barely had a chance to strike back. With twice as many arms as me, the creature had a constant advantage. But I managed to get a kick in, and my foot slammed into his hip. Again, there was a spray of sand, and again, the wound healed up as more sand flowed in to fill the gap.
With one leg still extended, I was caught off balance for a moment, unable to dodge one of the spirit’s attacks. His fist hit me in the middle of my chest and sent me flying. I slammed into the packed dirt, my head collided with solid ground, and stars danced before my eyes.
I stumbled to my feet and shook my head in a desperate attempt to stop the world spinning. The spirit was almost on me again, so I backed hurriedly away, arms raised defensively, fighting for time while my head slowly cleared.
Near the edge of the lake bed, a boulder rose from the ground like a thick finger pointing into the sky. The earth spirit came lumbering after me as I dashed around the boulder, moving faster than the spirit could, and came in behind him. With my opponent’s back to me, I had the perfect opportunity. I hammered at him with fists and feet, punching and kicking in a rapid flurry of blows. Sand flew and got into my eyes and mouth, but I didn’t slow for a moment. I wanted to do as much damage as I could while the creature was vulnerable.
The earth spirit turned and raised his fists. I backed off and paused to survey my handiwork.
I’d definitely achieved something. The spirit was a few inches shorter than he had been at the start, with trails of sand showing where that height had gone. Even as he followed me again, he was leaving some of itself behind.
That gave me hope. There were no critical points to strike, and the creature could recover from any blow I made against him, but he was clearly falling apart. Every blow I struck and every step it took diminished him a little more. The problem was that it was slow going. At this rate of loss, I would be here for months before the spirit was defeated. In the meantime, I would become exhausted, and the spirit would win.
He advanced on me again, and I blocked a series of attack from the fists to my left, but then one came in from the right and grabbed my arm. The creature lifted me off my feet and flung me across the lake bed. My skin scraped across rough ground like I was rubbing across a cheese grater, leaving a row of bloody, dirt-filled scratches down my arm.
The spirit thundered toward me. I pushed myself up to my knees, but I was too slow. His foot connected with my jaw, and I went flying back again to lie sprawled in the dirt.
The creature reached down and wrapped two of its hands around my face. Sand flowed into my nose and mouth, choking me, and when I tried to pull the hands away, my own hands passed through the sand. I felt like I was drowning, and there was no way out.
But if my hands could pass through the sand, then surely my face could too. I rolled to the left, and the creature’s grip slid off me. Spitting sand, I stumbled to my feet and ran off across the lake bed.
Once I was far enough away I stopped, spat the sand from my mouth, and caught my breath. This fight wasn’t like the ones I’d
