Haralda runs across the cell with no hesitation and thrusts her large sword into the Nidhogg's eye. Thick, green blood runs down her sword and drips off her arm. The Nidhogg screeches and flails, dislodging itself. Haralda dodges its retaliation and it's head crashes into the wall, destroying the three cells to our left. The castle shakes violently. Chunks of the ceiling fall like rain and crash into the ground with heavy thunks.

"Move your asses" Haralda screams at us who remain frozen in shock and runs out of the room. Even Bo who normally emits no emotion stands like he has been frozen in time.

"Let's not have her show us up," pesters Frode who follows behind her.

What am I doing? Am I always going to be like this? Doing nothing and letting everyone else pay the price for it. Even if Bjorn was an ass, he didn't need to go down like that.

We all pile into the hallway behind her. The Nidhogg still wails in pain, flinging its massive body into the sides of the crevice. Debris flies around us and lands in the half-destroyed hallway we run in. I grab onto Langley's shoulder and pull him towards me, saving his head from colliding with one. Iver unleashes one of his arrows and it lodges into the other eye of the Nidhogg, blinding it completely. It gives out one last shriek and crashes into the hallway. Its head carves another small ravine into the castle as it falls to the floor.

The walls of the hallway shatter and the floor crumbles under our feet. We are falling, following the destroyed hallways decent. We land several stories to the bottom floor with more debris continuing after us. Silence. Tiny rocks trickle down from the upper hallways stirring up dust when they land.

My body screams. It pleads for just one moment to not be thrown around. I'd be lucky if only a few of my bones are broken. I lift my head slowly, my companions lying motionless around me. Their chests subtly lift, disturbing the rocks collected there. Good, at least they are breathing. I sit up and lean on the large pile of collapsed hallway behind me. I focus on my breathing, struggling to push air through my shattered ribs. The bones move underneath my fingers when I apply pressure. Hopefully, this can be a problem future me will have to handle.

The bottom of the castle is barren. A few snakeskins are all that remains of the thousands of snakes that once lined the floor. They all must have fled when the Nidhogg arrived. Afraid of being indiscriminately slaughtered in its rage. The ground is black and cold. Its metallic chic reflects the little light that seeps in from the ceiling. The Nidhogg's body lays still on its surface.

"What happened?" Langley coughs out, using the debris to sit himself up. His face twists in pain as he moves his hands over his body, checking for any serious damage and luckily finding none. Haralda and Frode start to stir, coughing up the dirt in their lungs.

"That could have gone better," grumbles Frode. He stands using his sword to hold himself up.

My body creaks as I stand up, "Is everyone okay?"

"Over here," shouts Haralda. She stands over Bo who still doesn't move under one of the larger pieces of debris. "Give me a hand with this."

We all rush over and each grab a part of the large debris, "Three... Two... One... lift." My muscles tear under the weight of the debris. My arms almost leave their sockets before it slips from our grasps and lays back down on top of Bo.

"I think he is breathing," Frode assures us. "Is there anything we can use as leverage?"

We all frantically search but there is nothing. Is there even a way out of this place?

"Hey guys, where is Iver?" Langley asks while looking around.

We glance between us but Langley is right. Iver is not among us. He was right next to me. He had to have fallen with us. "Look around. He has to be buried somewhere too." I say, diving my hands into the pile of rubble to my right. We can't lose both Bo and Iver. We are still like like babies taking their first steps in this new world. Without them I'm not sure we can make it.

The sharp edges of the rocks cut my hands and crack my fingernails. Frode and Harald fumble through their own piles of debris while Langley watches over Bo and looking for a way to free him.

"He isn't here!" Haralda shouts to the group.

"He has to be! He didn't just disappear and we can't leave him here!" I bark in frustration. The words roll desperately off my tongue.

The ground shakes again and the Nidhogg's body begins to drag across the floor. Large pieces of debris shed from its head and it escapes the ravine it carved in the castle. We stand silent, motionless. Afraid that even a single breath would give away our location to the beast. The Nidhogg shifts its body, sniffing the air. It's scales fluctuate like a wave rolling down its body.

It brings its head down until it is level with us. Steam sizzles from its wounded eyes with one still harboring the arrow that Iver shot previously. How much longer do we have until it can see? The Nidhogg continues sniffing the air around us. Its head moves dangerously close, within inches of my body. The beast lets out a deep breath that blows past me. The expelled air freezes the sweat covering my body and a shiver creeps down my spine.

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It shifts it's head toward Langley who is standing between the Nighogg and Bo. His arms ready to strike as if that was going to do anything against this undying monster.

My eyes meet those of my companions. Our thoughts being collectively transmitted through an invisible link. Don't move. A slight menacing purr escapes the Nidhogg's mouth as it bares its massive fangs. It lets out a growl as it reels its head back, ready to strike. It's found him.

"Move Langley! Run!" I scream taking a few steps toward him. If I run now I can make it in time but my legs betray me. They stop their advance and my whole body freezes over. The thought of self preservation slithers into the back of my mind and I am unable to move. I thave something important to get back to I can't die here it whispers into my ear. My heart sinks into my stomach knowing there is no chance I was going to continue. Coward. Is this how you are going to repay them.

The Nidhogg lunges towards Langley who stands there still wanting to protect Bo. Haralda tackles him to the ground and they slide a few meters to the right just as the Nidhogg crashes into the pile that was housing Bo. My chest tenses knowing there was little chance Bo survived. Coward. Coward. Coward. Do something.

The beast lifts its head again destroying more of the wall. Damnit just move! My body grows warm and I unsheathe one of my axes and charge Nidhogg. Come on don't stop. Both my hands tighten around the handle of one of my axes and I thrust it into the Nidhogg's body. The handle vibrates in my hand and the blade shatters on its thick, black scales. The pieces ring as they cascade onto the floor, leaving not even a scratch on the beast's body. Shit.

"Run!" I holler at them as the Nidhogg turns to face me.

The steam emanating from the beast's left eye ceases. In its place, a new vibrant blue eye sits glaring down at me.

"We can't leave Bo!" Shouts Langley as Haralda drags him away from the battle.

"Move boy there is nothing we can do for him now," yells Frode wrapping his arm around Langley to help drag him away.

The beast's gaze pierces my body as it's massive body covers every means of escape. The Nidhogg teeth click as if it was laughing at the state of its prey. The beasts strikes. I tumble backwards and it's head crashes just before me. More debris flies cutting and bruising my skin as it passes. I grab on the scales on its face and squeeze with all the strength my fingers can muster.

The beast lifts it ahead and my feet leave the ground. When it stops I can barely see the floor. It's one working eye focuses on me and the Nidhogg violently shakes to buck me off. My grip loosens and I launch over the beasts head and tumble down its back. It's scales are rough as my body scrapes against it on my decent and I crash onto the floor slightly behind its main body. I shuffle to my feet, ignoring all the pain my body wishes I would acknowledge and run after the group.

Over here!" A voice shouts out to my right. The tension and anxiety built up in my body releases slightly when I see Iver's face. Iver points into the hallway he is in front of, "I found a way out!"

The beast howls behind me and I pick up the pace towards Iver, to an exit. My feet glide underneath me. I can make it. Iver sends a flurry of arrows towards the Nidhogg, interrupting its chase. The beast quickly dodges any arrows that fly towards its head, probably remembering the sting they once delivered. The rest of the arrows ricochet off its scales and then clatter on the ground like a metallic melody. I rush into the hallway just before the Nidhogg smashes against it. The entrance crumbles with the Nidhogg left screeching on the other side.

I turn to face Iver, "How are you here? You were right next to me when we fell. I thought you..."

The Nidhogg crashes into the wall trying to tunnel away into the collapsed hallway. Crying and thrashing harder each time creating large cracks that spiral through the hallway.

"Let's talk later," Iver responds and then takes off down the hallway.

Cold air rushes past me from the frigid air that awaits outside the door at the end of the hallway. My heart flutters seeing Frode, Haralda, and Langley standing there unharmed. Finally free from the walls of the castle and the horrors they held.

Outside is the same dark sky above a thick forest. The trees tower into the sky and are at least a couple of arm lengths wide. One of these trees could easily build a whole longhouse in my village. Each tree is topped with a dense, copper canopy, unlike any tree I have seen before. Heavy Fog shifts between the trees, forming an almost opaque wall throughout the forest. In the distance, sharp, spear-like mountains surround us, positioned like they are attacking the sky.

The castle thunders behind us, beginning to collapse from the Nidhogg's wrath. The beast plows through the castle walls towards us, slamming on the ground in front of us. Behind the beast, the castle completely collapses into a cloud of dust and smoke. The Nidhogg lets out a powerful screech, shaking the leaves in the trees. This screech rings different than previous cries, almost desperate. The beast doesn't even focus on us in its anguish, instead it just squirms on the ground completely ignoring its prey.

We all stand with our weapons drawn ready for it to direct its pain towards us. The Nidhogg finally ceases its high pitch shrieks and its body falls limp to the ground. Its head sinks into the dirt. Its blue eye remains open, glaring at us with a lifeless stare. The beast's scales fluctuate from something moving within its body until they finally crack and green blood spills onto the ground. A figure covered in the insides of the beast and green blood steps out of the large hole that has been ripped into the Nidhogg.

"You can not cage Bjorn!" Shouts Bjorn. His clothes and skin stained green from the blood of the beast.

We all stand in disbelief until Frode breaks the silence, "Now how in the gods did you manage to do that. Apparently, this beast can't even digest your smelly ass."

"Drop dead. You wish you could be half the man that could conquer this beast." Bjorn retaliates, flinging blood and guts from his arms as he speaks. "Hey, Is this one of those key things you spoke of?"

His hand holds a large golden key. Its design is simple, yet intricate. Two teeth jut out from its slender body with a series of loops housed on its top. An unfamiliar language is carved into each one.

"Maybe the gods have not forsaken us after all," cheers Iver bringing tired smiles to everyone's faces.

Our celebration is short-lived, ending as the Nidhogg's wounds start to steam. Maybe we shouldn't push our luck. We run into the fog of the forest, hoping to put enough distance between us and the beast.