Drew woke up to a familiar sound. He rubbed his eyes clear and looked out over the cliff. Parrot-like creatures were dropping out of the sky by the handfuls. He glanced over to the side and saw that Sapphire was snipping them out of the air with ease.
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“Getting some target practice in?”
“Yes master, I have been firing upon these parrots for a few minutes now. There seems to be no end to them.” She relied with as much vigor as she could between shots.
He looked over the cliff and saw the verifiable bounty of meat scattered around the floor and on the walkway down the cliff.
Light flashbacks of the penguin fight came to him as he stared into the distance. Now was not the time to lament.
He could see the jungle crawling with activity at the free meals. The salamanders were plump with birds and the frogs attempted to stuff their small stomachs with morsels of similar sizes to them.
“Why am I not getting any experience for this? You got any idea, Sapphire?” Drew looked back at his companion.
“I am unsure. The events of yesterday are the only things that come to mind. The difference I see is that the crowd has thinned immensely.” The plushy paused her killing to converse before moving up to her master's position.
“They seem a little familiar. I won’t lie. I can’t quite place them though.” He pondered on their familiarity. “Whatever, I want to get started early. I'm gonna get changed real quick and then we can go dungeon diving again.”
They pack up and get to clearing the dungeon once again. The night of sleep did wonders for Drew’s mood and performance.
Previously dangerous enemies took much less effort than they did the previous run. They finished the dungeon and sat down to fully equip themselves before leaving.
He changed out of the raggedy jumpsuit and into his original one that contained slightly fewer holes. He was once again caked with filth, but he figured he would learn to live with it.
The fanny pack was bursting at the seams with armor he had been stuffing into it during their fights. He poured it out and watched the contents spill onto the ground in front of him. Items he didn’t remember picking up were interspersed amongst the armor.
A few red vials and some needle and thread were a few of the things he was certain didn’t come from the skeleton.
“Where did this shit come from?” The rhetorical question was quickly answered by the plushy.
“I believe the fanny pack, as you call it, has taken over the role of your inventory.” The helpful elephant waded through the leather to find something to fit her.
The red vials were probably healing potions of some kind if the fantasy nature of this world manifested. That checked out. The needle and thread on the other hand was significantly more strange.
Why would the dungeon think he needs that? He looked down at his apparel and it clicked. Staring at his semi bare chest and torn clothes made much more sense.
He stuffed the unrelated items back into the pouch and sorted through the leather himself. He found all the pieces he needed from the two runs and even got a little bit more coverage than he had before.
Drew cut a helmet to fit the plushies head and made a vest out of some pauldrons to offer her some bulk.
With the pair as protected as possible, they proceeded to the end of the room. He stared down at the stairs leading to the next floor and hesitated to enter the teleportation circle.
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“Master, there is always the next time we return. I understand the appeal, but we have more pressing issues.” Sapphire brought his attention back to the real goal.
“I guess you're right” Drew went over to the runic circle and waited to travel to the beginning.
The light died down and he opened his eyes to a completely unexpected sight. A large parakeet stared at him from the cliffside. Eyes the size of dinner platters looked him straight in the face.
Random patches of feathers were missing around the wheel barrel sized head and it seemed to size him up. A tentacle wormed its way up the side, right below the large beast.
Pieces clicked in place. The burn like injuries, massive yellow head, and huge suction cup laden tentacles finished jogging his memory.
The bird seemed to come to the same conclusion within their stare down. This was the same monster that chased him and Nurgle the first day they had arrived. It turned its head to the side and froze for a few seconds.
The awkward silence lasted only so long as Drew grabbed Sapphire and went on a mad dash towards the dungeon in the hope to flee into its depths.
An ear piercing chirp pounded into his body like a shockwave. The force made him stumble slightly and opened him up to unwanted contact.
The tentacle arm grabbed his leg and dragged them out of the entrance.
Sapphire fired her shot at the tentacle and superficially damaged it in the process. The monster lifted them into the air behind him and tried leaving from its perch.
“Oh shit oh shit oh shit! We are so dead!” Drew panicked at being hoisted 50 feet into the air and struggled to not drop to his death.
“Chop at the tentacle Master! We are above water!” Sapphire’s gaze darted around, gathering all the information available to her.
Drew looked below him and the pond was indeed just underneath them if they took the plunge. The bird thing adjusted itself on the cliff and began its ascent.
Drew steeled his resolve and hacked into the spongy flesh that held him. The deep cut loosened its grip on his leg and dropped the pair to the water.
The free fall lasted a few seconds and then the water encased them. The splash they created sent a large wave cascading around them.
Drew broke the water's surface and looked around to orient himself to the banks. A new nightmare entered his mind as he saw the salamander crocodiles slide into the water from the sandy shores.
“Oh come on!” Drew lifted his plushy friend and paddled to the shore with his legs and single free arm. He looked up and saw the bird looking around the ground for its prey.
He felt the chill of death on his neck as he paddled like his life depended on it because it certainly did.
Fifteen feet from the bank, he heard splashing from behind him. A quick glance rewarded him with the knowledge that the salamanders were nearly within lunging distance.
A loud chirp stung his ears as the bird seemed to finally locate them. A yank from behind took his attention back as one of the monsters had grabbed his new grieves.
The momentum of the monster carried them within feet of the shore and the monster attempted to readjust his new morsel in its mouth.
The split second of freedom was all he needed as he yanked free of his binding and a massive force slammed into the spot he was just stuck in.
The pair broke out of the water in a soaked sprint. Drew turned around to see the parakeet had crashed into the water and began tumbling with the herd of salamanders approaching it.
They used this chance to flee into the jungle while both predators were occupied. The sounds of splashing and chirping grew distant and more faint as they ran with everything they had.
“I thought we were going to die. I can’t believe that thing found us.” Drew struggled to speak his thoughts after running for a few minutes through thick underbrush.
“You have tangled with this beast before Master?” The inquisitive elephant shook herself free from the water stuck in her hair and re-equipped the cap.
“Yeah. Nurgle and I left the place I was transported to and ran into it on the streets. I wasn’t expecting that thing to find us though. I scared it off with a nasty chemical spill and just placed it out of my mind once we left the city.” He thought back to his first real hint of danger and the horrific sight of death.
“So this creature developed a grudge from your previous altercation then? You must have maddened it immensely for it to seek you out so wholeheartedly. Congratulations on your first mortal enemy Master!” Sapphire sought out the positives of the story and glanced around the surroundings.
“We appear to have traveled quite far. Regardless, we should head deeper into the jungle. I have memorized the turns we have taken so we can return when the creature is dealt with.”
“Excuse me? What's gonna take care of that thing? An ICBM? No, we're gonna lose it then circle back around.” Drew was confident they could lose the creature in the jungle. He had traveled through it a few times now and was certain that nothing would be able to easily make its way back.
“Master, it despises you. It will not just give up. If it tracked you for such distances, it will not stop now that it found us. We must fight it off and I have an immaculate Idea.” The plushy stuck her chest out and made a stance as if trying to gloat.