The reaching tongues of flame slithered in every direction. Each time the flames touched a surface a hiss filled the air and a new patch of blackness appeared. The spriggan moved slowly when its magic was let loose. Its glowing red eyes were hyper-focused on me as it took one slow thundering step after the other in my direction.
I ran, my eyes searching for the silver sparkles I hoped were here somewhere. The room was so bare though there was nowhere to hide. I looked up at the gaping passageway in front of me that hid the next set of stairs in shadow. Clara was standing there already, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at me.
Isabella dropped down beside her, gesturing frantically for the Nox Warriors to hurry up. Frank still rode on her shoulder, the large bird oddly silent. I could see now how they had made it so high up the tower so quickly. All of them were insanely fast. Their agility ability had to be extremely high.
The Spriggan Wraith behind me let out a long droning roar that rattled inside my head, quieting the noise of the phantom voices jammed in there. A lash of green and brown flame struck the ground beside me with a loud crack. I watched in horror as a patch of grey stone turned black and began to grow, as the spriggan had when it had first appeared.
One was bad enough, I didn’t need there to be more.
The flaming tongues surrounded me, blocking my path to the exit. I heard who I assumed was Isabella scream my name as I skidded to a halt. I looked back at the spriggan, it was still moving slowly toward me, but as I looked its movement started to quicken. The threads of searching magic that spread out like an octopus's arms were beginning to return to the beast.
I spun in place, trying to find a way through the growing shadows but then paused, looking down at the blackened splotch by my feet. I had thought the beast was growing more of its own kind, but I was wrong. The shadows warped and grew but they stopped at the height of my knee blooming outward in a miniature garden of pitch-black flowers. As the mist-like petals opened wide, it revealed a dull red glow akin to the beast's glowing eyes that were instead the flower's delicate filaments.
I eyed the spriggan as I kneeled down, reaching out for the new magical plant. I half expected it to hurt when I touched it but to my relief, it did not. I wrapped my hands around the base of it and yanked it free of the shadowy pretend soil it had grown in.
New item received: Wraith Lily
Description: Delicate and dangerous. The wraith lily is a unique bloom that can only be summoned by a spriggan. It has unique properties and can be used to create powerful potions and potent poisons if the crafter is skilled enough.
I grinned like an idiot as I focused on harvesting the blooms. It was only when a bolt whizzed past my head and the spriggan howled in pain that I realized he had gotten so close. I swore and rushed around the beast snatching up every flower from the scattered patches of shadow the spriggan had left behind.
The spriggan, with its magic returned to it, was quick but large and bulky making it slow to turn about. I took full advantage of its small weakness, dodging around it over and over to clear out all the flowers. I could hear the others shouting and bellowing at me but I ignored them. Something told me this was more important. I needed all of them. Every last one.
The beast grew angry. It howled and flailed, lashing out at me. I should have been scared but for some reason, its anger only made me laugh. It didn’t like that very much.
The branches of green and brown flame returned, lashing out like whips as they slapped the ground around me. I ran in circles, dodging the flames and scooping up the flowers as they appeared. The spriggan was breathing heavier now, it snorted and panted as thick drops of blood began to drip from the hole of the skull that would have been its mouth in life.
Its health bar was dropping quickly from the poisoning. I almost regretted pumping the creature full of toxins now that I knew it gifted me special crafting material.
A rope of fire caught me around the middle, stopping my mad dash. I yelped as I was lifted off the ground, flailing as the beast’s magic drew me closer to its head. Sizzling filled my ears as the stench of burning leather filled my nose. The heat of it ate away at my health but no matter how I struggled I couldn’t break the hold.
“Shut the hell up!” Frank screamed from overhead.
The Spriggan Wraith tilted its head, looking up at the circling bird but it did little more than look.
“Joe, you fucking moron.”
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I wheezed as I looked down at a raging Isabella. At that moment, she reminded me of Nora. I could almost picture her holding an enormous axe instead of the crossbow she aimed at the monster. She peppered the spriggan with bolts. Its health bar dropped even further but still, it didn’t let go. The fiery rope dug deeper into my middle, stealing the air from my lungs. The burned icon flashed up, eating more of my health as the effects took hold.
My mouth was painfully dry. I clawed at the magical rope. The flickering flames warped around my gloved fingers, unaffected by my battering. The monster roared, the sound reverberating painfully in my ears.
“Drop him, you giant, ugly wretch!” Isabella screeched.
Clara joined her. Firing her own bolts at the monster. The skull of the beast lifted, revealing a tunneling mouth filled with hundreds of teeth. I bellowed, and drew my sword, whacking wildly at the monster like it might actually help.
The monster's health bar dropped so low it started to flash. With a whimpering cry, it dropped me and stumbled back. I hit the ground hard, scrambling to get behind the Daughters of Umbra. I didn’t care that I was being protected by others again. Right now, it was the best thing in the world.
The Spriggan Wraith crouched, wrapping its muscular arms around its body and dropping its head until it looked like a ball. It morphed back into a being of pure shadow. Green and brown fire surrounded the spriggan, repelling every bolt that was fired at it. Its health bar was still floating above it.
“What’s it doing?” Clara asked, grabbing Isabella’s arm and pulling her back toward the stairs.
I ran with them, one arm still wrapped about my burnt and aching midsection. Frank flew overhead, screeching up a storm.
“I don’t know,” Isabella answered, her voice low and filled with bridled fear.
I looked back. The spriggan’s health bar was regenerating. The poisoned icon flared and disappeared.
“It’s healing itself, come on, we have to move,” I bellowed.
My stamina bar began to lower as I pumped it into my sprint. I knew the others were holding back so we could all escape together. I’d seen their speed earlier. There was simply no way they couldn’t outstrip me, especially in my injured state, if they had wanted to. I was grateful for their restraint.
The taste of metal filled my mouth. I jerked my head around and spat a glob of dark red blood on the stone floor. Whatever the monster had done to me, it had damaged something deep and possibly important.
My eyes flicked to my own health bar. It was still lowering. The burned icon was still there, the timer on it creeping too slowly around the circle.
Without the benefit of a healing potion I needed to meditate if I was going to survive this but I couldn’t do that in the middle of the room.
Isabella punched my arm almost making me face-plant. “What’s the matter with you? We were almost home free and yet you decided to go flower picking?”
“It was important, I promise.” It had better have been important, I thought, trying to convince myself that my own words were true.
“We should have just left you to die, imposter,” Clara snapped.
“Thank you for coming back for me.”
She frowned at my apology, unsure of how to react to it. I was sincere in what I said but I’m not going to lie, her discomfort was a balm on my bruised and burned soul.
“Come on, just a little further,” Isabella screamed.
“Shut the hell up!”
Frank’s shout didn’t come soon enough. A wall of green and brown fire sprung up in front of us, blocking our path. I dug my heels into the hard stone, snatching at the women and yanking them back before they tumbled right into the flames. They screamed in unison, their wings beating wildly, battering me from both sides. I looked back, knowing what was waiting for us.
The Spriggan Wraith had morphed into another form much more terrifying than the last. It towered twice as high as it had before. Its antlers had spread even wider with a sheet of grey moss draped over them. Veins that matched the glowing crimson of its eyes spread from the center of its chest like tree roots in search of water. From where the roots began its heart throbbed in a shadowy cage, glowing brighter every time it beat. Worse than its dreadful appearance, the monster’s health bar was full again.
Behind us, the Nox Warriors were shouting, their words muffled by the roar of the wall of fire. I dug through my bum bag, yanking out another bottle of poison. I dumped it over the bolt I notched but kept ahold of the bottle, shoving it back where I’d drawn it from.
The three of us spread out like we had when we’d entered the room to begin with. The spriggan stepped forward, spreading its arms as it bellowed.
I was the first to fire my bolt. The spriggan’s arm whipped forward so quickly it blurred, easily knocking my shot aside. Fuck. This wasn’t going to work.
“Cover me,” I screamed, dropping to my haunches.
I didn’t wait to hear their response as I navigated to my crafting menu. Distantly I felt the weight of Frank landing on my shoulder. I placed two of the wraith lilies into the mix with a single nightshade flower.
Potion failed
Double fuck.
I tried again with my only remaining nightshade flower. It had to work. It just had to.
New item received: Wasting Poison
Description: A single drop will render the target immobile as the ravages of decay take hold. Especially effective against creatures attuned to nature. The initial impact is potent but time-sensitive.
Effect: 502 points poison damage.