The wall of fire won’t last long. We need to kill the hag quickly. The group splits in two. Fetu, Samson, and Klaneste rush the hag and try to separate her from the hydra. They can handle her magic. Typhoon and I will deal with the hydra. Typhoon's hands are covered in blood. This is by design as they erupt into flames with his use of blood magic. The problem with hydras is if you cut off one of their heads two more will grow to replace them and that means even more attacks. One of the ways to prevent this is with fire magic. He will be the damage dealer and I will act as a grappler and use my tentacles to restrain the heads.
The hydra's heads collide with my tentacles in a tangle of teeth. I bite them and they bite me. This is some of the first real damage I have taken. I have been slapped by the octopus and alligators. I dodged the dire wolf. My training with the Zho has left me bruised, but this is the first time I have started to bleed from combat. 5 sets of teeth chew upon alligator skin and tear into my flesh. At the same time, I move myself around the hydra and use my two free tentacles to secure myself on his back. I use my anchored position to lift the hydra back exposing his belly a bit. Typhoon then comes in with claws and teeth and cuts up the hydra. His flaming claws should mitigate some or all of the creature's regeneration.
The hag has taken to a flying broom and is assaulting the other three with magic. Lacking the ability to fly themselves they are returning her spells with magic or arrows of their own. Klaneste calls down a pillar of fire and scorches the hag. Wheezing from the attack, Fetu uses the opportunity to fire a rope arrow. Hag sees this in time and the arrow barely misses her. Samson tries to fire more eldritch magic but the hag surrounds herself in a magic shield. She then retaliates against all of them by casting a spell of her own. Shadowy tendrils burst out of the ground and bind Klaneste and Samson. Fetu was able to dodge in time but with the other two restrained like it's just him against the hag.
The hydra has not given up on winning this wrestling match and decided to pin me. He puts some strength into his legs and flips onto his back, squishing me between him and the ground. It's unfortunate for him that octopi can squeeze through any hole they can fit their beaks into. This is because they have no bones. Other than the heads on the ends of my tentacles the rest of me is boneless. I let go and continued this dance. Bite, squeeze, ouch, retaliate. I haven't found out how much blood I can lose or replace but I fight with the strength of a dozen creatures. This hydra will not beat me. Typhoon continues to gut the hydra from all sides. It is best that he doesn’t damage the heads so that they don’t get the chance to multiply.
The others are not doing great as the hag has capitalized on the bound party members and thrown a fireball at them. Samson and Klaneste have taken some damage. They don’t look the best. If Klaneste can get free she can heal some of the burned flesh but the hag isn’t letting them go. I might try and give them a reprieve but the hag is staying out of my reach. I said to Typhoon,” I will deal with the hydra, find the Vestige.” Typhoon looks at me and then at the others. He might be a raging werebear barbarian, but he isn’t stupid. He books it for the house. The hydra tries to snap at him when he leaves but I use the horse-headed tentacle to restrain it. Horse teeth are powerful and I demonstrate that to the hydra by ripping his throat out.
The hag notices Typhoon’s dash to the house and tries to pursue him. Fetu takes the opportunity to fire an arrow when her back is turned. He manages to sink it right into her shoulder. The hag screams out in pain and the magic around Samson and Klaneste shimmers then fades. Okay, so that's a rule from 5e that remains true in this world. Some spells require the caster to concentrate for the spell to remain active. When the caster gets interrupted, like taking damage, they need to try and retain concentration on the spell. If they can’t, the spell fades. With the spell broken Klaneste unleashes a magical pulse that heals only the people she chooses. I regain some blood and the wounds begin to close. The same is true for Fetu, Samson, and herself. Samson runs after the hag separating these two combats.
The hydra begins to drag me with him as he chases the hag. I moved onto his back again and let him go after the hag. Fetu and Klaneste follow behind us firing arrows and magic into the hydra. Samson is engaged in a spell duel with the hag as they move. Typhoon reaches the hut, rips open the door, and disappears inside. I manage to crush the skull of two hydra heads and they go limp. With the extra tentacles free I wrap even more of his body up and begin to try and finish off the other heads.
At this rate, I will kill the hydra before we find the vestige. But then the hag might just fully give up and run. Or she has some kind of trap in her hut. I need to grab her before then. I feel a sudden need to hurry and I go for a risky move. I unshift all transformations except a single tentacle to hold onto the hydra. With the sudden weight gone all the hydra heads fly around and look confused at the loss of their prey. At that moment I extend my arms and from there, I create 6 tentacles. Three with alligator heads and then three normal. The normal tentacles wrap the remaining three hydra heads together. The hydras squirm and bite me but I work through the pain and send the three alligators after a head each. I grab the hydra by the back of its necks and I shake. I will tear off the heads and hope that Klaneste can burn the heads. I shake and spin my tentacles and then a loud cracking and the taste of blood enter my mouths. The hydra flips forward as he now has no brains to control his massive body. His heart will still beat and his blood will try to split the heads in two.
“BURN HIM!” I scream to Klaneste and Fetu and jump away from the hydra. I undo all transformations.
With a few chanted words and some weird hand gestures a pillar of fire descends onto the hydra burning it. The heads squirm and the body curls on its side. I turn into the weregator and rip into his chest. It wasn’t hard as there were numerous gashes that didn’t heal from when Typhoon was cutting him up. I find a slowly beating heart and I rip it from his chest. I know I didn’t have to be the one to kill him but I became accustomed to going for the kill. If only to gain their form. Plus there is a chance this was a victim or more of the hag. I can guarantee a happy afterlife for them if I kill them.
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We had stopped moving to finish the hydra. I look forward and see the hag fly into her hut. Samson isn’t that far behind. I look back and I see the wall of fire is gone. An army of swamp creatures is now approaching the path we took. I look at the others.
“Go. We can handle this,” Klaneste said.
“Ha, speak for yourself. But she is right, GO!” Fetu said. I think that was the first time I have ever heard the stoic man complain. I will make sure it is not the last. I rush to the hut.
………
The hags hut was a mess of the most occult stuff I had ever seen. I didn’t have time to ponder what the hell any of it was as I searched for the others. Eventually, I saw a hole in a painting that led to a tunnel. There was a ladder that I sped down. The dire wolf was the best form to run through this cavern. I saw scorch marks on the wall. More signs of the battle ahead. I leaped over a branch and saw Samson and Typhoon fighting the Hag. She didn’t have enough room to fly here so she was trying to fight both of these monster hunters in hand to spell combat. They have trained for this day I am sure. The hag was going to die but I needed to make sure no one else did. I looked at the room quickly. It was a large oval. Black tree roots covered the walls and floors. They connected to a dark purple portal in the center of the room. That is probably the rift into the feywilds. I looked and saw a second place they connected behind the portal.
They had noticed me entering. Samson and Typhoon kept the hag busy as she eyed me greedily. The portal will close if I get the vestige. That cuts away her retreat. I ran to the other side of the room letting the others handle her.
I saw a large wooden growth in the back. It glowed with green energy that pulsed like a heart. 50 gold says that was my target. Strength was the way to go. I armed myself. Hehe, armed. I created tentacles with teeth for extra grip. I used them as a saw and cut at the trees.
"NO! Stay away from that, you freak," the hag screamed. Too fucking bad bitch.
She teleported a short distance away from the others and grabbed a crystal. It was a sickly green color and looked to have a dark green mist inside. She threw the crystal on the floor near me. Like a smoke bomb, it spread out everywhere. It began to fill the room. If I had time to prepare I might have figured out a combination that would have let me hold my breath for a while but I am stuck with just my normal capacity. The hag took the opportunity to cast more spells. Another fireball hit Samson and Typhoon. They both dodge but I could see them lose focus on holding their breath. They begin to cough and their movements slow. I keep tearing into the tree knot. I can feel openings in the wood. I am this fucking close. I can reach it………
……
I was almost there I just needed… a moment. Wait, something isn’t right. Everything feels funny. Almost like I am underwater. I look around and I am not in the cavern anymore. What's happening?
“Ƀꝋꞩꞩ. Īⱦꞩ ⱥ đɍēⱥᵯ.”
Who said that?
“Ƀꝋꞩꞩ ⱳⱥҟē ᵾꝑ,”
Wake up? Why? I don’t sleep. I haven’t slept in months. I have always been awake in either Exandria or the Soul Dream.
“BOSS!!”
Rubert? Is that you? Why can I hear you?
“The hag. She has cast a spell on you and is killing you right now!”
The hag? THE HAG! A damn night hag. Fey creatures that kill you in your dreams and steal your soul. But I don’t dream. Not anymore. And I can hear you Rubert, that means I am connected to the Soul Dream. Which means here, I AM GOD!
I will the night hag to appear. Wherever she is it won't matter. I am the shepherd for the dead I claim. I am the protector of her victims. I am their vengeance. I am the creator of paradise. A place where the dead can rest and enjoy a peaceful existence. Even if only for a little while. This world is mine bitch. Get out.
I think these thoughts and they are made real. The hag appears screaming but she is holding something. A memory orb. Has she been fucking with my realm? I reach to take it from her but stop. The orb is black. Her screaming stops.
“That's right, mutant. I found this. A trauma so great you can’t even stop from feeling it right now. Your weakness,” the hag says.
I stop. I know this memory. I can never forget it. The day my life ended. The day my mother died. The day I killed my father.
The hag approached me. I could not move. She spoke,” I can feel your power in this realm. It is magnificent. The vestige called to you. When it did I felt the barest hint to what you could do but I didn't see. This world. It’s divinity. A demigod walking the material plane. Unaffected by the divine gate. And this power will be MINE!” She cackled. I didn’t care. I tried to stay away from this orb. Just being near it was painful. My failure of a father had returned to my and my mother's life after 22 years. And what did he do but complain. He demanded money. His share of my hard work and the life I had built. When my mother would not give it to him he hit her. The drunk asshole kept hitting her. I tried to stop him but I couldn’t. When her body lay there on the floor I couldn’t do anything to stop him. So I went into the kitchen and got a knife.
And right now, I reached into the orb and grabbed that knife. The hag stopped. I grabbed her and stabbed her throat. I really hated this memory. It was not who I was. It was not who I wanted to be. After that day I did not end up well. I barely respond to anyone. I didn’t get a lawyer and there wasn’t much evidence I could have used. I didn’t bother with a trial and took a plea deal for a few years. It was a horrible mistake, but I didn’t mind. Jail taught me many things and I managed to keep up with my interests just a little. Up until I got stabbed though.
The hag was holding her throat as blood was pouring out. She might be a powerful spellcaster who specializes in dreams, but this isn’t a normal dream. It might not even be a dream. I hadn’t considered or rather I didn’t want to consider what she said. But there might be some truth to it. Why me though? I didn’t bring myself to Exandria. How could I? So someone else had given me the potential of divinity. I stared down at the sad fey creature. I took the knife in my hand and stabbed her heart.