The group thankfully went undetected throughout the night. The cold ground, with little more than blankets for comfort, was less than ideal. Mavec sorely missed the comforts of his bed in the tower. He wasn't cut out for this adventuring crap. Yet here he was, traipsing through the woods murdering strange-looking Kobolds who seemed to be either venerating or trying to piss off a giant snake made out of water. He rubbed his temples. He was up surprisingly early, and as much as he wanted to do maintenance on Piquora, he knew better than to do that. It was loud, and beyond being rude to those still sleeping, it also risked drawing attention to themselves. The sort they didn't want or need.

As the sun cleared the horizon, the rest of the group woke up. They ate their trail rations and prepared their gear before packing up and heading further into the valley. A few hours' trek brought the group to a pontoon bridge over a relatively wide river. Several kobolds were milling about on the other side of the bridge, each armed with a bow. A mad dash across the bridge seemed like a poor matchup for their mostly melee-focused group. A shoot-out from this side also seemed improbable. Bait could toss out bullets all day long, but the returning fire from their bows would be a serious issue. As deadly as Bait had proven to be over the last month or so, it probably wasn't wise to take on a pack of Kobolds alone. They wouldn't live to tell the tale.

Alvec could likely be a distraction, but if his spells wore off, he'd be dead before reaching halfway across. All in all, this was a shitty situation.

"Anyone got any smart ideas? I'm drawing blanks on how we handle this," Mavec whispered.

"Bait shoot them? Problem solved?"

"I'm sure you could be killing a great many of them, but they'd be shooting back at you the entire time. Not so sure I like those odds," Illaria said.

"Do we have to cross here?" Naya asked. "I mean, it sounds like we'll be turned into pin cushions for even trying. We could go further up or downstream and see if there looks to be a good place to cross."

"I'm becoming partial to that idea the more I look at their setup. If even two of us were good with ranged weapons, maybe we could force this fight with the rest acting as cover. Still, I just can't see us getting through without taking significant injuries, and we don't have time to rest a whole day after each and every fight. We'll never make it back for the deadline. Is anyone opposed to finding a better place to cross the river?"

"Bait want to shoot things," Bait said, patting his musket gently.

"With only Bait opposed, I say we be getting a move on. Downriver of their position, that way, if we somehow fail and get swept off by the river, it's not directly into them anyway," Illara said as she quietly walked downriver and the rest of the party followed.

Bait shook his head. No shooting yet.

Following the river, while staying safely obscured by the treeline was difficult. There was no pathway here, and the underbrush was thick and as tall as Bait. Illaria spent a lot of time hacking or bending plants out of her way as she moved forward. A good amount of time passed before she spotted a location that seemed far enough away from the pontoon bridge and had the makings of a suitable crossing point. Almost no one in the party was a strong swimmer.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Honestly, Echo was the best one for it. As strange as that sounded, these rocks jutting out of the water were a blessing. A good few hops, and they wouldn't even need to get their boots wet. Illaria leaped first onto the rock formation. She stuck the landing and easily scaled up the next one. Bait got a running start and jumped after her, climbing up high. Naya and Echo did the same. Echo struggled to climb the rocks as his paws weren't made for climbing. Alvec and Mavec both hopped over. Both slipped on the wet rocks, plunging into the frigid water. Naya offered a hand and dragged the two boys onto the rocks proper.

No one had paid any mind to the sky above them. Clouds emerged from nowhere to cover the sun, and a driving rain fell upon them, making conditions even more treacherous. At the same time, a strange flash of purple light sent a shiver up Naya's spine. All around them, a chorus of clattering erupted. Floating teeth drifted about in the air. A huge, elongated human skull floated through the sky. Glancing down momentarily, Naya recognized that the rain was so torrential it was raising the river level, threatening to bring the outcropping of rocks underwater.

The situation was grim as they all drew their weapons and readied their magic. The teeth swarmed in on them fast. Illaria successfully parried the first two and even sliced them in twain. Still, it was clear she couldn't keep up with the pace of their onslaught for very long as two of them bit into her. The pain was minimal; she'd been bit by far worse, but her efforts to move were hampered. She felt like someone had attached hefty weights to her, slowing her down dramatically. She tried to shake them off from her, but they wouldn't let go. "Guys, try not to get bit; they slow you down. I'd hate to see what happens if they get you in the water," she shouted.

The giant floating skull seemed to crunch its jaw together a few times before it rocketed a molar out of its mouth. The shot slammed into Alvec, knocking him backward into the rushing waters. He wasn't a strong swimmer and wished like hell he was. If any of them were going to survive this, whatever this was, they'd need to get to the other side of the river or back to the bank they'd just left as soon as possible. If they didn't, the party would be as good as dead. He could cast a spell to save himself, or he could cast a spell to hopefully save the party. There wasn't a choice. Not really. No matter how much he valued it, his life couldn't outweigh everyone else. He focused on accelerating as many people as he could. He could only affect five creatures with the spell. Piquora was an easy choice to skip as she didn’t need to breathe. Other than that, he chose to skip himself and Rem. They were both already in the water, after all. He still had a chance to get out of this alright. He just had to hold on just another few seconds.

Feeling the surge of energy through him, Bait stood his ground from atop the rock and fired off no less than four bullets at the giant floating skull. The shots crashed into it, but its lack of innards meant the holes it punched were small and seemingly inconsequential. More of the teeth swarmed in, biting at Naya and Echo. She was a whirl of blades striking down two pairs as Echo bit another one into fragments. There were still too many of them; a pair managed to clamp onto Echo and Naya each. The extra speed boost from Alvec's spell meant that Echo leaped for the next set of rocks, leaving Naya behind. Naya whispered the command for him to grow larger, and he did. He was now able to threaten the giant skull floating over their heads.

The skull ground its jaw a few times and, this time, spat a molar out at Mavec, who it struck and knocked into the water below. He managed to swim a few feet to grab back onto the rock as the water swelled and lifted him a bit. Echo, in retaliation, bit the skull. His own teeth grinding on the jaw. He tried to drag it down to the rocky outcropping, but it floated frustratingly above the ground.