I decided to post in third person again! Sufficiently disturbing, I suppose.
A sharp, hissing voice came from just beyond the light of the torch, "Ceru, I swear that if we get lost in here you will be the first one to be eaten."
"This place isn't that big, but fine. You can have me, if you can take me."
The dragon woman chuckled at the idea of being beaten by a human female. True, Ceru was powerful enough to challenge anything on this plane and undoubtedly the hero it needed, but she was just a human, and human females were always weaker. Because mammals are strange like that.
"It's called a labyrinth for a reason though. If this doesn't pan out the way you promised it would, our people will refuse the arrangements." Oleen had begun to lose control of her anxiety, unlike Raz who had been dead silent the entire time.
"I know my way around. You two just stay close and you'll be fine."
Ceru continued to scribble on the parchment as they traveled each passage. Her father had taught her how to correctly map a complex area as she went, and she'd used it every time she encountered a labyrinth like this one. The only difference now was that every tunnel here was literally enormous, and nobody had ever come back alive to say exactly what sort of monster was skulking around down here. From what she had gathered, it was probably a shape-shifter of some sort, or else a magic user equally talented. The dragon men simply wanted this beast dead. And judging from the corpses lying around, the trolls did as well.
The group continued for some time, Oleen mumbling to herself and Ceru scribbling furiously, reducing each piece of coal to a smudge on her fingertips. The labyrinth was vast, twisting through itself with huge wings of passages, every dead end a hollow feather, but they had mapped every accessible part of the first level before finding a stairway down into the second. Again Ceru mapped a wing that seemed to comprise the entire western edge of the labyrinth before returning to the stairway and turning East. She mapped two short dead ends before coming upon a large chamber surrounded in cluttered shelves, themselves lathered in corpses of men and fey folk, dragonmen, trolls and other beastmen, and all of their belongings. This was the lair of no simple killer. It's resident was surely responsible for deaths even in lands Ceru could never give name. And that slayer sat in one corner on a hoard of gold and valuables; a humanoid of average size.
Two vibrant golden eyes peered at her from the darkened figure for but an instant, and the cavern suddenly erupted with the sound of a terrible roar and powerful vibrations. The mountain of treasure was flung across the room and in it's place stood a massive draconic form. The group jumped in unison and fled down the hall a short ways, but they were not pursued.
Raz finally spoke, shaking her head; "That's no mere monster! It's a dragon emperor! Has to be! We can't fight it; they are probably the oldest beings still alive in this world but the titans, and wield magic to challenge gods! Ceru, we should leave. I'm sure our leaders will understand. It simply can't be done."
"I liked you better when you were playing dead. I only jumped because... Because it surprised me. I can beat it, just watch your backs, and mine. Even it's fire can't harm another dragon, so that's one thing you don't have to fear."
Oleen was hyperventilating now, quaking in fear, "I don't care about that! It's getting stomped to death that scares me!"
"Ceru, even if your shields will block the fire directly, they'll set everything else in the chamber on fire, burn away all our air, and you'd end up cooked alive in the heat. Let's just go. There has to be another way to do it."
"You're correct... Let me get a good look at the place, though." Ceru began to walk back towards the chamber, silent and vigilant. When they got there, it was empty, and both Raz and Oleen crept in beside Ceru, searching the room for signs of life.
Suddenly, the beast appeared on the southern wall of the chamber, charging towards them. Oleen dodged to the right, met the wall and was kicked in the chest and smashing the staff she'd brought as the dragon bore down on her. It smashed through Raz's staff with it's claw. Ceru got an excellent hit on it's right rear foot, damaging some bone but failing to hinder the beast in the least. It backed away as she then bore down on it's pelvis, ripping a hole through the only soft spot on the creature - it's cloaca - and twisting upwards, shredding the intestines for some length along it's belly. The dragon women could do no serious damage, but honored Ceru's request to cover her back by clawing at any weak scales and generally providing excellent distractions. The beast finally noticed who was causing the damage when Ceru dug her pick into it's skull, directly between the eyes. Unfortunately, this did nothing to stop it, and the group soon realized this wouldn't end quickly, but they were now too dedicated to flee. The fight was long and they seemed to do no serious injury to the creature that had since failed to land a single blow. Until, that is, Raz failed her dodge roll against the foot she was gnawing on, and the beast smashed her head and neck into the floor, killing her instantly. Oleen soon passed out from the pain of moving with her shattered ribs, and Ceru was left to fight alone.
Fortunately, the beast was lying on the ground at this point, offering little resistance and writhing as if it didn't know which wound the party was currently clawing at. Ceru tore at it for a short while as Oleen finally started moving again. Eventually the beast's head became a viable target again, and she dug her pick into it repeatedly, punching holes through the skull but apparently failing to damage it's contents. Oleen continued shredding the beast's backside. With her teeth. Such bravery! soon it ceased to move entirely, ignoring the fact it was still breathing. Even this seemed pained and ragged.
Unfortunately, it eventually began squirming again and smashed Oleen's hand, sending her to the floor once again. Ceru smashed at it for a while, finally coaxing it to loose it's dragonfire, which did nothing to Oleen, who was the only thing laying in it's path. Ceru could tell she'd shredded all it's major organs, just looking at the gaping holes in the beast's chest and belly. The heart ceased to beat, the lungs ceased to hold air, but still the beast was conscious, glaring at her with hatred and occasionally squirmed to swat at her ineffectually. It spoke for the first time;
"I am Ushrir Siezeglow the Cremated Scratches. These corpses you see around you are all my doing, and I will never repent. Your tortures do not affect me so much as it may appear, even though I will die. I will take you with me to my grave."
Ushrir withdrew her claws from Oleen's hand as Ceru hooked the beast's intestines around the iron pick, drawing them out from it's backside and dumping them across the ground. The adventurer could only chuckle at the idea of this miserable pile of blood and guts threatening her. A bucket in the corner had been set ablaze and provided just enough light for her to see the dragon wincing in pain. But the beast spoke one last time; "Kill me, but please, do not harm my eggs. They are now all that is left of their father and I. If you were to raise them yourself, they would surely accept you as their mother..."
Ceru finished shredding everything between Ushrir's throat and tail, and let the beast lay as she found a single egg and contemplated exactly what she could do. It was already dead and rotten... Knowing a very small morsel of mercy, Ceru held her tongue as the dragon finally closed her eyes for the last time.
Oleen took her time coming to, and the first thing she wanted to know was whether she had died and gone to hell. And of course, the answer was yes. This world was nothing but a living hell, after all...
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Topic: What's going on in your adventure? (Read 2096717 times)