So my next door cave was inhabited by a rare and hard to find creature known as the Tatzelwurm. And not only one but what is most likely a breeding pair, with one of these rare creatures having an even rarer venom ability. Well I guess I’m just blessed by the unluckiest gods. I watched the 2 forces face off, trying to see which of my creatures are still there and which had perished. I immediately noticed my female bat guiding the group with the first Tatzelwurm, but her male companion was missing. In the second group was my female Kobold and the female Guardian centipede were together with 4 of the bats. That meant I had lost my male bat and one of my Kobolds in the void beyond my vision.

I felt bad for the Kobold, but losing the male bat was heart wrenching. He had been my second creation, meant to be the pair for my female. Though it would seem they never actually paired up, I could feel the grief from my female at losing her companion. Feeling her grief and my own merge, I swore that I would do everything I could to recover his body and bring him back. He would probably lose a level or 2 but that was nothing compared to the fact he would be back.

But that would have to wait as right now there was a standoff. I could see cuts and bites on my remaining Kobolds, and my bats were obviously tired. The male centipede seemed to be missing some of his back end, much like the female had in the skink battle. The only one who didn’t seemed too damaged was the female Guardian, though closer inspection showed she was missing a few legs and had light markings on her exoskeleton. She and the male had similar skills, though the female had the ice element imbued into hers. It would seem having an element was a very powerful boost.

Either way it would seem my war band was worn out. The first Tatzelwurm wasn’t doing all that well itself, having multiple lacerations on its torso. It was also slightly swaying, something I first thought was normal, until I noticed the second one being near perfectly still. It would seem that either the first one was either worn out or my guardians had gotten some venom into it. Either way I feel that if it had been the only one my party wouldn’t have had a problem. But the second one seemed much more alert, with very few marks on it. I figured that meant it was extremely skilled, or more likely it arrived later in the fight and was what turned the tides. I could see one of the Kobolds in the first group was also swaying, so it would seem it had been bitten. A quick look at its status confirmed it.

Name

No name (female)

Species

Lesser Kobold

Level

1/10

Family

Canidae

Life Points(LP)

8/18 (Poisoned)

Mana

1/4

Skills

Stealth, Dark-Vision, Harden Claw

The fact that the poison showed up next to its health was an interesting fact. Either way it would seem she wasn’t doing so well, as I watched her health drop another point. I couldn’t be sure how often it would drop since I couldn’t stay focused on her. Pulling up a status was like a game where it just stayed there floating in my vision. I had to focus on whatever it was I wanted a status from and hold my focus until I was done.

Either way I felt that the first Tatzelwurm was able to be defeated, it was the second one that would be a problem. The venom, plus the fact it seemed relatively fresh would cause problems. But it seems that my preparation while waiting was not for naught. I sent out the other 2 Kobolds that were waiting at the entrance of the hole, plus the 4 Guardian centipedes. I sent 1 pair of Guardians to the injured Tatzelwurm and the rest to the second. I felt that just having another pair of Guardians would be enough to finish the first off, especially with a fresh female that was the same size as it. If she could get a hold of it, the others should be able to kill it.

Sending the others to the second one should help keep it at bay, finally allowing them all to gather to finish it off. I then tried to make another Guardian, but felt my Formless skill being blocked. At first I was confused, the Tatzelwurms weren’t in my caves, but I realized that by filling the area in the new cave claimed it. Well, there goes the idea of flooding intruders with monsters, though I can’t say I was too surprised.

Either way, watching the new creatures join up caused both Tatzelwurms to tense, seeing their odds drop. I wasn’t sure if they would continue to fight or would run, but then I watched as the weaker one pounced at my male centipede.

That seemed to start it off, causing a chain reaction. My female bat immediately launched a Ringing Blast at it, catching it mid-air. IT didn’t push it, since it was sound waves, but it did cause it to flinch in the air, allowing my male a chance to dodge. Instead it used the chance to lunge at the Tatzelwurm itself, dodging the sway swipe from its claws to latch onto its neck. It bit with its leg fangs, catching the Tatzelwurm in the shoulder. The Tatzelwurm used its other paw to grab the back half of the Guardian, tearing off another 2 inches of its tail end. While it grappled with the male Guardian, the other 2 Guardians launched themselves at it, the male biting at the tail, while the larger female grabbed at the back of its neck and began wrapping around it.

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At first I thought that was it, but I noticed that the female couldn’t actually grip the Tatzelwurm due to the film of mucus on its body. Even the male on its tail wasn’t able to hold on, being flung a few feet when it whipped its tail. It hit the wall, but immediately got up and scuttled back. The female was struggling, but held on due to the fact that it was heavier and the same size. My bats kept flying around, none of them diving down to attack though. I was confused at first until the male Guardian that was flung got close. As it lunged to bite again, the tail once again whipped across, catching it in the face. This time the Guardian didn’t immediately rise, the hit catching it off guard and stunning it slightly. But now I knew why the bats were staying away, as the tail whipped around wild and unpredictably. But that meant that they were currently unable to do anything, but keep watch for an opening.

The Kobolds also kept back, unable to get in a strike without possibly hitting the Guardians. Seeing this I sent the 2 guards that had been my eyes over to the second battle that was ongoing, leaving the 2 that had been part of the war party back to help. They were still weakened, but with the 2 Guardians I felt that it was now only a matter of time before this Tatzelwurm would fall. The other battle was a different story.

I felt as another 2 bats fell dead, leaving only 2 more in this fight. I still had 7 bats in my cave, but seeing how they couldn’t do much in these battles I held them back. Still I could feel another of the bats fall, leaving only more in the second battle. At first I was confused, as I could only see some light claw marks on them. They didn’t have any real defense, but a scratch shouldn’t have killed them. Then I watched as the second Tatzelwurm quickly licked its claws. I thought it was tasting the blood before I noticed that the claws now had a coat of film on them. It was using the venom it produced to coat its claws! As I realized that I watched my last bat fall, their low health and small bodies unable to keep up to the venom.

The poisoned Kobold also fell to its knees, still alive, though its status showed only 2 health points left. It had only been maybe 2 minutes since I first looked, meaning it lost 6 health in that short time. Considering it was significantly tankier and larger than the bats, losing 3 health a minute was a lot. I quickly checked my first Kobold, wanting to make sure she was ok.

Name

No name (female)

Species

Lesser Kobold

Level

3/10

Family

Canidae

Life Points(LP)

13/24 (Poisoned)

Mana

2/6

Skills

Stealth, Dark-Vision, Harden Claw

First thing I saw was her raised level. She must have been a big contributor to the Carnivorous Cave Crawler for her to have jumped 2 levels. That or maybe there was other Crawlers they had fought. Either way she had jumped quite a bit in health, no doubt a major boon with the poison in her system. Unfortunately being poisoned meant she only had 4 minutes or so before she fell. And that was only if she didn’t receive another attack.

Unlike the first Tatzelwurm, my Guardians were unable to latch on, as it kept them at a distance with the threat of venom. Only my first Guardian, with her Ice, dared go head to head. Using her Frost Shield skill in turn with her Parry was allowing her to turn the claws away, but the Tatzelwurm was nimble enough to keep away as well. Both of them squared off, trying to find a chance to get a strike in.

That’s when my female Kobold came up with a new idea. She had picked up a chunk of rock and threw it at the Tatzelwurm. She didn’t have great aim, missing the creature by a decent bit, but the unexpected attack cause it to flinch away. That was the opening my Guardian needed, lunging in and Parrying the wild claw strike from it. She couldn’t quite get to the shoulder like the male had on the first one, she instead grabbed what she could. Latching onto the arm, she quickly bit down, pushing her poison through it. The Tatzelwurm yowled, its voice slightly echoing in the cave. It clawed at my Guardian, aiming for the face attached to its arm. My guardian employed her frost shield, but I could see it wasn’t going to last long. That’s when she whipped her tail end around brandishing a stinger I had never taken notice of. I watched as it was coated with Ice as it plunged into the side of the Tatzelwurm, causing it to coat over in ice where it stung.

This caused the Tatzelwurm to shudder, as I watched what had to be some kind of venom course through the tail of its body. Its veins seemed to slightly glow a light blue, causing the thrashing of its body to slow down. That’s when the others joined in. all of the remaining guardians jumped on it, doing their best to wrap around the mucus coated body. My female Kobold also jumped in, grabbing the body where the ice had formed and lashing out with scratches and bites.

The Tatzelwurm struck out where it could, catching the male Guardian in its claw, before bringing it to its mouth to bit down on. The Guardian tried using its own shield, but the jaws of the Tatzelwurm was much more powerful than its claws, breaking the shield before it broke through its exoskeleton. The venom coursed through its body, while the Tatzelwurm shook its head around tearing the Guardian apart. Letting it go it flung it into a wall, finally killing it.

While that happened I felt my experience rise as the first Tatzelwurm died. I could feel the power flood my core, feeling my level rise. It would seem the poisoned female Kobold had jumped in spending the last of her life to tear into the body of the Tatzelwurm, ripping it in two. It would seem my female Kobolds could be absolutely vicious when needed. Unfortunately that last bit of energy let the venom finish it off.

Or at least it would have if her level hadn’t risen. She didn’t gain full health or get cured but it would seem that she gained the 3 extra health points that came with her level up. That gave her a chance, but only a minute. Unfortunately I had no way to cure the venom in her body. She had just gained a level, only to still lose her life. I still didn’t know how much a penalty she would get if I brought her back. To be honest I had no idea how the whole respawning thing worked at all. Either way the fight wasn’t quite over yet, as I felt one of my kobolds die fighting the second Tatzelwurm.

It would seem that it had finally thrown my Ice Guardian off and had lunged onto one of the Kobolds that had been to the side. The unexpected attack caught it off guard, allowing it to grab its neck, snapping it in one stroke. But that was the last thing it did as my female Kobold took the chance to climb the rest of the way up the body, mirroring the act of grabbing it by the back of its neck. Where the Tatzelwurm had just snapped the other Kobolds neck, my Kobold used her Hardened Claws to rip through its skin, before extending her claws into its spine. With that the Tatzelwurm slumped over, no longer able to move with the spine severed. My female Kobold didn’t stop there though, twisting and pulling until she tore the head right off. Howling she lifted it into the air like a trophy, before dashing it onto the rocks. The other Kobolds and creatures joined her, howling and screeching their war cries of victory.

The second big battle of control was over, my creatures overcoming the Tatzelwurms with much less difficulty then I had expected. And with their deaths the dark veil lifted, revealing the cave to me, in all its cave like glory.