The other children scrambled through the opening she made in the dome, dashing towards them for safety. There were wounded among them, having to lean on their allies as they made a mad dash for her.
Deka drew his sword, disappearing in a flash of red light. In the blink of an eye, Deka was standing atop one of the Oskuutors, sword driven through its skull as its invisibility waivered.
Why did Deka’s attacks always reveal their forms for a brief moment? Neither Corvio, nor her own had that effect. She pushed the thoughts aside for now, she had to help. Kaara jabbed her spear forward, sending a sharp spike of ice through the Oskuutor. She had to be careful with how much magic she used on them. The more they were destroyed, the stronger they became.
And yet Deka was relentless. Though he used his magic to bolster his physicality, he avoided blasting them with lightning. The Oskuutor were cut to pieces, screeching and lashing out at the young prince who darted between them. Hunks of steaming Malaki meat slopped onto the forest floor. Severed limbs wriggled and thrashed about, still attempting to find purchase on a victim.
Corvio used his magic to blow the pieces as far apart as possible as the group of noble children arrived.
“Thank you,” One of them said, “We didn’t think we would make it.”
Deka reappeared, his black blade glowing a faint red, “Consider this an investment towards the futures of your clans.” He sheathed his sword, “We have no more time to waste on the weak, let’s find either Tulos or Vilka and gather the means to kill these creatures for good.”
The group of nobles muttered amongst themselves, one of them coming forward, “My Prince, if you are looking for Tulos Xirxus, he left our party to search for the rest of his family.”
“Well, Kaara, it looks as if your actions were useful after all. Which way did Tulos run off to? He is the key to surviving this night.”
The noble boy pointed, “That way, though I know not if he’s been followed by those monsters.”
“Then we’ve no time to waste. Let’s go.”
“Wait! My prince, allow us to accompany you.”
“You will only slow us down, begone.”
“But where can we go?”
“Figure it out. Pitiful worms. Are you so brazen that you would cling to my strength and drag me down with you? You’ve been offered a second chance at life. If you are so weak that you would die now, then you deserve it. Your lives are better used as fodder for the strong.”
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Kaara’s jaw flickered, “They can come with if they can keep up!” She said, knowing Deka would not accept anything less.
“You are testing my patience, cousin. Fine. Either keep up, or be left behind. At the very least you can give your lives as warriors.”
“We will not obstruct you, my prince.”
“Good, because those monsters have nearly finished regenerating. Try not to be the slowest runner.” The prince said, taking off at full speed.
In a panic, the crowd of nobles nearly trampled Kaara in an attempt to keep up. She looked back to see the flickering pieces of the Oskuutor as they slowly crawled towards them. Corvio pulled at her collar, “Come on, no one gets left behind, especially you.”
Kaara nodded, running with the crowd. Deka was too fast for any of them to follow. Was he trying to lose them, or was he more focused on finding Tulos as quickly as possible? Whatever the case, Kaara made a silent vow that she wouldn’t leave anyone to fend for themselves. It was her fault they were so outnumbered anyway.
Their party burst through the trees into a clearing. Kaara’s heart sank as she took in the scene before her. Dozens of people, some wounded, some already dead, were locked in a fierce battle with the malaki. These were not simple Oskuutors, though. They were crawling humanods with boney armor and jagged maws. The foul creatures towered over them, snapping their mangled needlepoint teeth in the air as the other xiozians held them at bay with their spears.
What were these things? These were not Oskuutor. Kaara spotted a few familiar faces among the crowd. Gornax and Rixam fought back to back against the armored Malaki, narrowly avoiding their intimidating bites.
As Kaara stepped into the clearing, there was a clear shift in the Malaki’s attention. One by one, the armored Malaki broke away from the fight to charge at Kaara. As she braced for a fight, however, a series of boulders came crashing down over their ranks. Though many were crushed under the powerful spell, still more crawled out from the crevices.
Kaara could sense the fear paralyzing the others. The maleficent aura these things radiated was a dark miasmic cloud around their bone-white bodies. She would not let that happen. She had to break them from their fear!
She raised her spear with a mighty shout, “Chompy! Dinner time!”
The ground trembled beneath their feet as the armored Malaki slowed their charge. A crashing roar rumbled through the forest. Kaara had not realized how much bigger Chompy had gotten until now. No, that was not quite right. Something was off.
The earth itself split open, a towering geyser of steam pouring into the night sky as two glowing golden eyes penetrated the darkness. Rivers of light ran through the elemental’s form. There was no ice in its body, but instead a wrathful steam. Kaara gasped as she saw the creature. The temperature rose dramatically as its steaming aura warmed the air. The serpent rose higher into the air, coiling its massive body around the clearing they stood in. The snow pulled towards its boiling body, as the towering serpent let out another forest shaking roar.
It was only now that Kaara realized what felt so off. As the steaming serpent loomed over her, its jagged jaw agape and primed to consume, she realized she had no control over the beast. This was not Chompy.