“I think that these four plates are activated by pressure, I stood on the first and then heard noise from this other identical one.” Pio explains to the others “They are in the room corners, seems too obvious.” Jade proclaims.
“There are only three, How will all four activate?” the druid asks but the two seem to already have an answer. “Our only option is our equipment.”
After too much careful planning the three are ready to approach the situation. The druid suggested the three ate what rations they have brought but the adventurers insist that their weight is essential for the plates to trigger.
The time has come. The three put all the objects in a pile on the floor tile and a slow decline can be noticed until a clicking sound makes under the druids feet. A decline barely noticeable starts until a clicking sound under Jade and lastly the tile under Pio clicks and soon something will “Arhh-“
The floor beneath our feel collapsed and the three found themselves in another room much like the last, but a lot bigger, and the immediate thing that all three notice is the giant toe with weird frog like limbs in the middle of the room. As big as the three combined and drawing closer, the three could not assume anything but a threat coming their way.
“Bubo, can you cover us with your magic until we put our gear back on?” Pio nervously screams.
“The druid cannot, for all his ingredients are in his satchel”
The big toe reaches the three, hopping along. The druid tries to run around it but the toe cleverly tosses itself to the side and thumps the druid to the wall. “Pio, I’ll hold it off. See to bubo and get geared up.” Jade yells at his friend and courageously runs for the toe,kicking its leg with his bare foot. “Come at me, you damn monster!” He backs away after he clearly got it’s attention.
Pio runs from the pile of things to the druid. “Are you alright? can you talk?” He nervously asks the druid.
“The druid is alive. Quite hurt but not injured. The back of the druid might be bruised.” The druid assures the adventurer who holds a bottle in hand, clearly he thought the druid might need a potion of healing but the druid presumes they might need it later on.
Jade managed to climb on the big toes top and hangs on to the nail as the toe tries to shake him off. “Pio, you must go to the gear and help Jade.” The druid helps Pio make the decision to act. Indeed after a short moment Pio wears his armor and holds a sword and shield at the ready. The druids managed to get up and find his way to the corner.
“This must go better than the monkeys.” Pio tells himself as he charges forward. “Jade, leave it, I will deal with it. Go get you own gear.” He yells as he charges towards the giant toe. A slice through the air sends the toe hurling back, enough retaliation to make it easier for Jade to climb off and head towards the pile of objects. The toe almost tries to chase him but another slice through the air reminds it of the threat already there.
Soon enough the two find themselves at the ready together against the big toe “I don’t want to do this! I don’t want this day to be more gross than it is.” Pio tries to reason with the toe but it does not listen. The toe pounces in their direction. In unison Jade and Pio shield the attack and retaliate with thrusts, they immediately plunge it harder. After the toe stops moving and falls to the floor both adventurers pull their swords and rest.
“Bubo!” after a slight pause of relief they rush toward the druid, still idle at the corner of the room. “You said you are not injured, But I can now tell it’s bad. Take the potion!” Pio hand the druid a potion. The druid clearly ready to refuse but Jade says to him “Just take the potion, there isn’t any need for a friend in arms to refuse help.”
The words make the druid think. Think about how adventurers help each other, and how they help themselves get help. Perhaps taking this potion is the right thing to do… The druid can’t explain the logic, but he accepts the help, even when he thinks he doesn’t need it. The druid gets up, but before a proper thanks.
“Well done” A voice comes up through the room in echos. “You did well, and quite amused me, although not as hilarious as the monkey fight, Big Toe was quite climactic, and the friendship you made along the way! priceless.” As the voice continues to talk it narrows down to come from one location in the middle of the room as a silhouette emerges there and slowly solidifies.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, your kind call me Nanoglich, the most powerful god to ever not exist!” The three stand in shock, the god who’s corruption plagued the forest stands himself. A rush of anger showers the druid for a moment “I have been watching you so, it has been such a delight, albeit slightly boring at times, like when you” He points at the druid “used your clairvoyance or what you call it to combat my maze… but all in all, it was fun.”
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“It was? so… is it over?” Jade deduced from his words “Yes, unfortunately all fun must end.” A happy grin rises on the threes faces. Was this amusement enough to get the god to leave the forest alone? Just hand over the artifact resonating with the corruption and allow the three to leave? “Of course, I will end this after this one final battle.” what does he plan? “You will fight… the rage ham” he says and the rooms walls fall, outward and a black background surrounds.
A house sized piece of meat, seemingly cooked and ready to serve falls behind him from the sky. “Do you think you have what it takes? be careful or it will chew you out!” he says as he starts to fade away laughing all the while.
Jade and Pio look grim, as they watch the giant piece of meat wiggling it’s way toward us quickly, cooking oil dripping, the smell is evidence that this is really cooked meat.
“Just a moment!” the druid says “If it is amusement you seek, what about we settle this with… a joke?” the druid loudly calls to the spot where the adversary was before vanishing.
“A mere joke?” his voice can still be heard, this is not beyond hope. “Will you deny yourself the chance to laugh? or will watching the three getting hammered by that thing so important?” the druid emphasized the word meant to intrigue the adversary.
As the druid suspected a laugh is heard, leashes appear to grab the giant hunk of meat held by small creatures of some sort. The adversary materializes again before the three. “That was funny, I’ll give you that complement. I assumed you were not a funny man.” He states as he looks waiting for another quip.
“I thought we were dead meat right there.” Pio continues with the joke and get a “Nice, it was begging to be said” the adversary said. “after the last battle I was getting cold feet” Jade continues and gets a big laugh “Ha! I wish I had thought of that one!” the adversary laughs hard.
A few minutes later, the three still made jokes, to appease the adversary, to make him leave. “…they’d be running with their tails between their tails.” The adversary is sitting on the floor laughing. “I love it! I love it! hahaha that’s the best!”
“The druid feels it is time to finish this.”
“Yes, hehe” the adversary dries his tears, or rather looks to be putting out fire coming out of his eyes in the form of drops. “I did keep you long enough. here you go.” from the ground an ornate table rises carrying a sword holder with a sword that seems to look like an elongated molar tooth.
“This is the sword of tooth, one of my artifacts. It’s funny how this came to be, a paladin with a speaking problem asked the dragon god of wishes, a good friend of mine, for the ‘sword of truth’. Long story short he called me and I made this for him, we both love jokes so much! the paladin less so apparently”
“Does this item make the forests magic reading go wrong?” Jade asks “We were asked to find the item that does that.” Jade and Pio walk up to it and Pio picks it up slowly and carefully examines it.
“Yes, I assume it is, just take it, it’s yours now. It was fun, enjoy it while it lasts.” The adversary waves to us and he slowly fades away… everything does actually, the entire horizon fades and the three find themselves out of the way they entered the blue material cave but the cave seems to have vanished as though it was never there to begin with.
The three look at each other baffled, it seems to have gotten dark, it is twilight time. “Should the three head back to the hut?” The adventurers look exhausted.
“We… we need to get back, we don’t have a lot of time to waste, payment needs to reach each of our villages only after we finish the quest.” Jade says, Pio nods in agreement.
“Are the two sure? will a rest not be more important?” the druid asks.
“The payment is more important, besides… we don’t mean to offend but… we really don’t like your herb mixture.”
“It has been an important experience for the druid.” and perhaps the visions that harass him will finally come to an end.
“Yes, for us too, Bubo. Most druids are… kind of scary, but you’re a good person, we're glad to have met you, may we meet again, under more joyous circumstances.” Pio says, it seems to come from the heart. “We’ll figure out what to do with this sword, most likely sell it to the royal court, but for certain make sure it does not bother you again.”
The three part ways, a calm wind blows upon the druids head.
…
Fire emerges from the ground, a black and white flame engulfs the horizon, the sky are alight with red frightening colors, the kind to remind of blood and mortality, the ground reminds of death. The tree tops are gone and the trees are charred grey husks.
The feeling that fills the druid is a painful hot burn inside, and a cold bone-breaking shattering impact in his bones and joints.
Most of all, it is the feeling of despair, the feeling of impending doom, not just for him but he knows that the world would suffer. The druid turns around to, the vision becomes a haze, all looks like the background and two figures walking away, Jade and pio.
The druid sees them walking away with, Jades face attracts his attention, and a vision of a village covers everything. The Flames turn around it in a cyclone and rise, from beneath, beneath it lies death, a more powerful feeling of dread rises as the druid realizes this is the origin of the vision. Jade’s village, the danger comes from there. Doom that cannot be suppressed.
“Jade, Wait! Before you go! where are you from?! Don’t go!” The words enter the druids head but not exit his mouth. He stands still, unable to move, in fear, in agony. Slowly the two figures move past the horizon and will never be seen. The druid will miss his chance, to warn them of the coming doom. He cannot move his feet.
They finally vanish, and for what seems like minutes, and as if waking from a dream, day breaks. He stood there all night, unable to move.
“The council must listen! this is an ill omen beyond any the druid has ever witnessed.”