Fantasy Cursed Island

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa tilted her head before fluttering closer to check whatever was poking out. She couldn’t dig it out herself, but maybe she could identify it and see if it’s worth alerting the others.

Shuffle braced herself as she collided with the snake, quickly pushing away to avoid ending up in its mouth. As soon as she was clear, Asta followed up. He charged the snake, aiming his horns for the scales that had been touched by acid.

Meanwhile, inside the hydra, Poli has just finished solidifying sharp spikes all around Jerry’s suit. They thrust the spikes out all at once, trying to sink them into the beast’s flesh to anchor them.

 

[Darkling0096]

The thing poking out looked metallic, and not too different from one of the components of Raine's crossbow. In fact, the wood branching off of the metal piece looked very similar to the arms of a giant crossbow.

The hydra's head flailed as another of its heads shot at Asta to take a bite of the chimera. As big as Asta was, the hydra was bigger, its scales thicker. His horns penetrated, but not far enough to do real damage, and when he pulled back, came off, impaled on his horns, and were visibly growing back. Hydras regenerated, the blood of a weaker one was where Shuffle got her own regenerative abilities, this larger one was no doubt far more potent.

The gastric juices of the hydra were making quick work of the broodmother around Jerry and Poli, breaking it down into digestible sludge for when it eventually got to the stomach. Poli's anchors melted away almost as soon as it could pierce them. The mimic and its now unconscious charge were steaming as Jerry's ring did its best to protect them against the gastric acids in the beast's esophagus, but it wouldn't hold out forever. Like Niudisa said, brief exposure wouldn't hurt, but you didn't want to remain there for long. And there wasn't anywhere to go to get away from the juices, the only light coming from Jerry's necklace going haywire to make sure the two could still breathe, her fading light ring, and the faint light leaking out of the pouch she carried the crystal paints in. The only places they could go were further down the hydra's gullet, or try to climb back up, and the hydra's saliva was making it difficult for Poli to hang on and support its own weight, let alone Jerry and the remains of the broodmother's bones slowly dissolving around them.

 

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa quickly headed back to the group on the ground. “Hey, I might have found something useful, but I can’t dig it up. Someone give me a hand.”

Asta scowled before flapping his wings to move out of the way of the snake’s attack, kicking off the side of its mouth to get clear. Shuffle attacked the head that had lunges at Asta, coming at from the side to claw at its eye with her acid cloak still on.

Well, that wasn’t good. Deciding to conserve mass, Poli went for less of a bodysuit and more of a protective shell around Jerry, stay on her just enough to still benefit from the protective enchantment on her. Looking the way they came, Poli extended a tendril as far as they could reach, hoping they’d be able to grab onto something in the mouth.

 

[Darkling0096]

Joanne glanced over at Niudisa's shouting. Half the party couldn't even reach the thing, anything useful in this case was a dire necessity. The paladin shot over as fast as her legs could carry her, "What'd you find?"

Now occupied with the fliers fluttering around its head, the hydra's heads snapped and twisted around at Shuffle and Asta, sensing magic working within them. Calorically, the two weren't worth this much effort, but magical food satisfies more than just meat. Nalla shifted out of eagle form, to plant her staff square in the middle of one of the heads, surrounding both goliath and head with her green magic.

One head occupied, one head marked, the other three taking snaps at the chimera and flesh golem. Down below, Lyak finally finished whatever spell she was working on. A summoning spell that, by the size of the circle appearing in Etch in five layers around the goblin, put anything Adran could summon to shame. Rocks, dirt, wood, and even water all rumbled and moved into vaguely humanoid forms. Elementals, the little goblin was summoning elementals, the type that Shuffle's late pet the Larvis could have only hoped to match up to. Goliaths of rock, wood, and mud. Almost as soon as the elementals were active and she barked a command, the summoning circles vanished and the little goblin fell back on the cart fighting off mana exhaustion. "What did you just do?", Emfa shouted.

"I... I woke up the elementals," Lyak panted, "Made them angry at the snake."

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The hydra's gullet didn't seem too keen on this morsel getting caught in its throat. As Poli reached up for something to grab, it managed to snag something solid sticking out the side of the esophagus, just as the thing's throat muscles began jerking, trying to force its food down. The acid was starting to sting, that ring's protection from the acid wouldn't last much longer.

 

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa guides Joanne back to what she’d found. “A crossbow, I think. Maybe a ballista.”

Asta and Shuffle remained evasive, attacking when they could but mostly just trying to avoid following Jerry.

—————

Poli gave a grunt before they started pulling, hoping whatever they just grabbed was sturdy enough for them to pull up. They also tried hardening some blades along the sides of the shell, hoping that if they made themself unpleasant enough, the snake would just spit them out.

 

[Darkling0096]

'I think' wasn't exactly a vote of confidence, options were limited. Putting her sword away, Joanne started scraping away the nest and pulling the thing out, "Emfa! Get over here!" The minotaur ran over to help the paladin unearth this object. It was definitely a ballista, at least as large as the one that had pinned Shuffle to the wall back at the hollow village. "If this thing shoots straight we might be able to kill the hydra with it."

The glowing green head faded, and the head was covered in roots and branches, Nalla wild-shaped back into an eagle to do the same to get away from that head and join Shuffle and Asta in harassing and distracting the other heads. Lyaks elemental wandered out in search of the thing's body to climb on and attack the base of the necks.

---------------------
Poli did seem to have something solid, although their shell blades did little. Snakes swallowed things like rats, turtles, and alligators, with sharp edges, usually without injury. This one's swallowing-tube was more than sturdy enough to resist Poli's cutting efforts as it pulled up. They were a long way down the thing's throat, though, getting up to the mouth and out would take a while they might not have.

 

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa nodded. "Good. Hope one of you knows how to use it."

----------

Poli pulled with all they had. Whatever energy reserves they had, now was the time to use it.

 

[Darkling0096]

"I'm trained," Joanne nodded, before grunting as she and Emfa hoised the thing out of the ground. The ballista was part of a whole set-up, relatively undamaged despite the potential years of being buried in mud and whatever Saurians built their nests from. Even the bolts were intact, although it looked to be a model capable of firing multiple bolts in succession were it in top working order. Once that was out of the ground, Emfa loaded a bolt as Joanne sat down in the shooting seat.

"Loaded!"

"Firing," the bolt shot out of the ballista screaming towards a hydra head's eye. It pierced through and the beast screeched, turning it's heads towards the offender.

"Baby wants to travel!" Another bolt blinded the other eye. The head covered in roots fell to the earth as they reached the inside of its spine and paralyzed that head, easily accessible to those on the ground now. One head disabled, one blind, three remaining, all angry.

"We're gonna need to be able to move this thing," Emfa realized.

-----------------------------------------------------
As the broodmother's final bones melted away, Poli was able to pull itself and Jerry up the hydra's mouth, finding gripping point after gripping point. The further up the throat they got, the harder it was to maintain a grip. Not because the holds were fading, but because they were closer to the thrashing head that had just received a ballista bolt to both eyes.

 

[Fangs9090]

"Gimme a sec. Try to keep it back." Niudisa dropped to the ground and put her hand against the mud, searching for any bones that may have been buried. If she could get enough, she might be able to make a temporary bone wagon of sorts.

Asta and Shuffle did their best to be distracting. Shuffle kept switching between fire and acid, fire to get its attention and acid to discourage it from eating her.

----------

Poli continued struggling to the best of their ability. They made to grab the next hold before letting go of the last one. At the very least, they were able to avoid getting any further down the throat.

 

[Darkling0096]

There were a multitude of bones beneath the surface. Humanoid, animal, big and small. "Sometime today!", Joanne called as another bolt left the ballista, the heads were getting closer. Paying Shuffle, Asta, and Nalla less and less attention the closer they got to the construct that was hurting them. The blind head was the only one taking interest in Shuffle and Asta, running completely on smell and touch. As it took another snap, Shuffle could see something come up into its mouth out of its throat. Poli, steaming with acids as it worked its way out of the thing's throat. As soon as it made it into the mouth, though, there was a sound of shattering glass around the mimic as the armor field broke, and the acids that once steamed futilly against the enchantment were now burning against the mimic and its charge freely.

 

[Fangs9090]

"This is a process!" Niudisa started working her magic as she floated back up. The bones started to surface beneath the ballista, forming a platform under it with rickety legs to lift it up. It was really only staying intact through Niudisa's magic. "Ready to move!"

If Poli had teeth at the moment, they would be grit. With no more time to spend inside this thing, they went for one final push, lashing out a tendril to grab anything they could use to pull themself out. Seeing Poli inside, Shuffle dismissed her cloak as she flew right to the mouth, landing with her feet on the bottom jaw and her hand on the upper jaw. Poli's tendril wrapped around her other arm, pulling together with her to get out.

 

[Darkling0096]

"Then GO!", Joanne barked back as a hydra head came streaking towards the ballista.

If the head could see, it would have bitten Shuffle into a grease stain as she flew into its mouth. As it was, with her position on the edge of its jaws and reaching within, it didn't really understand what was going on until it felt the burning sensation of its own gastric juices in its mouth, and reeled around in pain and confusion, sending Shuffle, Poli, and Jerry flying out of its mouth.

 

[Fangs9090]

At Niudisa's command, the bone walker jumped to the side to run out of the way.

Shuffle spread her wings after they were thrown, trying to stabilize herself. Poli let go of Shuffle's arm and expanded into a bubble, holding Jerry in the center to keep as much of the landing impact off of her as possible.

 

[Darkling0096]

The head slammed into the ground just where the ballista had been previously, hissing as another bolt punched through it's eye. "Here it comes," Joanne warned as another head approached. They had to kill this thing, somehow.

Adran sprinted over when he saw Shuffle and Poli falling out of the sky. Poli managed to absorb most of the impact, any injuries either received in the fall seemed to be more from gastric acid burns than from the impact, though both were severely injured.

 

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa stayed with them, keeping watch on the snakes and making sure the ballista kept out of the way.

Once they’d settled onto the ground, Poli reverted to their true form next to Jerry. They were tired and in pain, so keeping a form was just too much.

Shuffle stumbled as she landed but stayed on her feet, quickly going to check on Jerry and Poli.

 

[Darkling0096]

While Joanne and Emfa kept the heads busy, blinding them with Ballista bolts and avoiding the attacks thanks to Niudisa's bone walker, Veo rushed over to see what she could do. They were momentarily safe as long as the heads were blind and distracted and the body was nowhere near. Hurriedly she forcefed the stronger potion from the magic bottle down the two's respective throats to try and heal them, before picking up Jerry, "Get Poli," she barked at Adran. Adran nodded and summoned a floating disc under the mimic to move them and they carried the injrued party members back to Erina and the carts for treatment.

They were both covered in heavy burns. Poli was burned all over, while Jerry was burned in all the places Poli didn't generally cover. About the face, hands, tail, and wings. Her hair was steaming and burnt, and her horns were sizzling.

------------------
The hydra was bleeding profusely from the wounds to its eyes. If Niudisa attempted her blood spike spell, it might turn the brain in the head she used it on to a cheese grater, but there were still four that were active.

 

[Fangs9090]

Poli formed a mouth to take the potion but otherwise just laid still to rest.

Seeing that the two of them were being seen to, Shuffle took flight to join Asta again.

Niudisa saw the opportunity for blood magic, but without her actively keeping the bone walker walking, it would just fall apart under the weight of Joanne and the ballista. She looked to Joanne and Emfa. “I might be able to take out one of the heads, but that’ll leave you stationary and risk losing this ballista.”

 

[Darkling0096]

Adran deposited the mimic on Amdis' cart, summoning the nightmare in turn as Veo laid Jerry down on Erina's.

Up in the air, the hydra heads, now blind and running on smell, were still trying to take snaps at the ballista. If Shuffle and Asta wanted their attention again, they'd have to provide a more immediate annoyance. "Not yet," Emfa replied as she loaded another bolt.

 

[Fangs9090]

It took Shuffle a bit to notice the hydra heads couldn't see, but once she did she started getting more daring, charging them more frequently. Asta did the same, but being slower and less agile than Shuffle, his attacks were less frequent than hers.

 

[Darkling0096]

a hydra head each took after Shuffle and Asta, no longer focused on food. The group had long exceeded the viable opportunity cost of pursuing as prey, now the hydra was after them to kill the things that were hurting it. One of the heads hissed and crashed down to the earth, bolts in it's head. Emfa reached to load another but found the box empty, the bolts in the heads of the hydra numbering all they had.

"That's a problem!", Emfa hopped off the cart to go retrieve however many she could carry while the bone walker dodged the head still going after the smell of Joanne, Niudisa, and the Ballista.

 

[Fangs9090]

Shuffle and Asta focused on keeping the heads busy and avoiding their attacks. As they flew about, they caught each other's eye before changing direction and crossing their paths, hoping to draw the head into each other.

 

[Darkling0096]

The heads twisted around each other, the three remaining heads almost seemed to be making knots and braids as they worked to get at Joanne, Shuffle, and Asta respectively. Failing, and eventually getting tangled, the mass of necks crashed down to earth on top of the falling head, hissing and snapping at each other as they untangled.

"Go, while it's busy!", Joanne barked at Niudisa while the heads were unable to attack them. Emfa tossed a bolt, which Joanne slotted into the ballista and took aim again.

 

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa left the bone walker to fall apart as she fluttered over to the hydra heads. There was plenty of blood to work with thanks to the ballista. Drawing up to her as she flew over the heads, Niudisa formed a giant spear, though it was more like a needle. Making the point as sharp as she could, she aimed it for a spot where it would pierce most, if not all, of the heads or necks. From there, she detonated it just like with Urodor, sending blood spikes through the creature's veins.

 

[Darkling0096]

Like the fatal attack it was, Niudisa's blood spike found its mark, cleanly punching across the top of serpentine tongues as heads hissed at each other, and then the hissing became more frantic as their own healing ability worked against them here. As new tissue grew in, so too did new blood vessels, and those were shredded as well in a cascading descent into decay. This much blood continuing to loop into a cycle took an obscene amount of mana, draining on her pool like an engorged mosquito. Until finally the brains died, too much damage, and cell repair soon followed.

The hydra was dead. One head slain by the ballista, three by Niudisa, and he final head covered in roots split apart as Nalla's magic finally ripped it open to reveal a large tree growing inside.

"Is that it?", Emma glanced around for more heads before throwing her hands up and whooping. "We did it!"

 

[Fangs9090]

Niudisa panted as she smiled down at her handiwork. "Man, that was satisffff... fuck." She dropped a ways before Shuffle flew over and caught her, carrying her back to the group.

Once was sure the creature was dead, he too returned to the group to find Jerry.