Full of my mana, the net responds eagerly to my intentions, expanding and tightening. Interestingly, it was minimally affected by the dragon’s acid attack. I don’t know why – it’s made of almost-spider silk, so surely it wouldn’t have been treated differently from any other organic matter. Then again, the danaris’ pieces of chitin weren’t badly affected either, so maybe it’s something about the danaris.
Still, I’m grateful for it – I don’t have to waste too much mana replacing burnt sections at the same time as healing myself, and can instead focus on my task: trapping the dragon.
As the net slithers around its body like light snakes, the dragon seems to realise that there’s something wrong and begins backing up again. I work as quickly as I can. Just as the head clears the tunnel and starts to crane itself backwards, I pull the threads tight.
The dragon lets out a sound of surprise as the net closes in, pulling its wings in tight to its body. I’ve managed to feed it under the dragon’s body, through the gaps between limbs and the ground. I’ve also woven it around the tops of its legs, so when the threads draw in close, the limbs are half-trapped against it. Its wings were already folded, but the net makes sure they stay that way.
It’s not immobilised, far from it, but it’s more constrained than it has been all fight. Unfortunately, its head is still free since there was no way of getting that in the net without tipping it off to what I was doing, and arguably that is the most dangerous part of the dragon’s body.
But this is an opportunity for more than one thing. My first action is to send off a quick Inspect as I scramble off its back, getting out of its immediate attack range. The tip of its tail has fortunately been caught by the net since it was curled up next to the dragon’s body when I was expanding the danaris silk.
Alcaoris
Tier 3 Beast (enlightened)
Special abilities: Acid Jet, Acid Cloud, Intelligent Acid, Unknown, Unknown
Health: Unknown
Mana: Unknown
Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: Unknown
Part of a complex society which balances extreme competition with strong family bonds, this beast is one rarely found outside areas of high Energy saturation due to its need for significant Energy to grow. The difficulty this beast has in growing is compensated by unusual power at even the initial stages of each tier.
Close message? Y/N
Not a dragon, then. Not according to the System, anyway. Still, it’s similar enough to one to make no difference to me.
It’s not particularly informative, and that makes me hesitate with the next move. The two unknown abilities are particularly disconcerting. However, if there’s a peaceful way of resolving this, that would be good.
When I fail this, get me out of the way as quickly as possible, I say to my Bound who are already approaching. Attack while you can.
Then, meeting eyes with the dragon, I activate Dominate.
True to expectations, the moment the grey world forms around me, I’m already being shoved backwards by the pressure. Immediately, I crouch down and dig my hands and feet into the ground below me.
The pressure still pushes me back, especially since, this close to the starting point, it’s stronger than it would be when I’m on the point of being pushed out completely. Surprisingly, the resisting force isn’t actually quite as powerful as Kalanthia’s, though the difference is very slight. Certainly, I don’t expect to win here, but where Kalanthia’s resistance pushed me to the edge and almost over it within a very short space of time, here…I’m able to resist.
Even not being pushed out of this space is a win: every second I’m here is a second my Bound might be able to land a decisive blow on the frozen dragon – alcaoris. I know that it will fail, and not in the too distant future, but I’ve done what I can for now.
Gritting my teeth, I dig my fingers into the ground more firmly and focus on keeping the world intact around us, and not giving a single inch which I don’t have to.
Distant from my opponent, I can only see its vague outline. Not expecting to feel anything, I am surprised when I’m hit by a wave of incandescent fury, its force only enhanced by the underlying layer of frantic worry.
My surprise makes me lose focus for a moment; by the time I’ve regained it, I’ve slid back a good metre from where I was. I dig my fingers even deeper into the ground, but don’t try to regain the lost distance – releasing even a hand to move it forwards is likely to lose me more than it will gain me.
Another wave hits me a moment later, but this time, I’m braced for it and it doesn’t affect me. A third strikes me shortly after, but this time it’s more focussed – an emotion which expresses a thought.
How dare you do this!
I’m surprised, but maybe I shouldn’t be. If I’m right, this beast is only a little weaker than Kalanthia, or perhaps stronger in some areas and weaker in this particular one, and its description did say ‘enlightened’. Does that mean that it’s capable of telepathy like her? Or at least something of that sort.
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“You can talk?” I grunt out, most of my focus still on simply not moving.
How dare you stand in my way! it cries again through a lash of outrage and fury.
“Because your actions are creating a problem in the local environment,” I say. I’ll admit, if only to myself, that that’s only half the reason, and even then only because mentioning the quest would probably be more confusing than anything else. Getting access to the Pure Energy and Energy Hearts is the other main reason.
My eggs need the power, and I am too weak to establish a territory in a better area. I created this incubation space; it’s mine!
So, it is a parent with eggs, though its presence feels distinctly…male? Can a presence feel male or female? Well, thinking about my previous experiences, yes. Kind of, anyway. So this is a male with eggs. Maybe. After the samurans, though, I’m not assuming anything. Either way, it’s not really relevant to the situation at hand.
“Yeah, but by blocking off the Energy stream, you’re creating a significant amount of pressure upstream. That’s already created problems and will continue creating more. If the flood of built-up Pure Energy attracts another beast even stronger than you, we’re all going to be in trouble.”
Searching for an argument which might have an effect on the beast makes me slip another couple of inches back, focus having shifted to my words rather than staying in place. But I can feel the strain from holding this space at all, especially since my opponent is fighting it harder than Kalanthia must have. One way or another, this is going to be over in a very short time. If the draconic alcaoris is willing to talk, maybe we can find another solution to the issue.
That’s why I brought the seed of the trap trees, the alcaoris says dismissively. They hide the traces of my incubator. At least, they would have except that they appear to have been destroyed by one of my enemies. An enemy who may have found my eggs. I must check that they are well and that their growth has not been impeded. Get out of my way or I will destroy you!
I gape at the creature for a moment. The vine-stranglers were intentionally brought here? Then another thought occurs: should I reveal that it was me who destroyed the trees? On the one hand, it could prove my power. On the other, it might automatically put me in the category of ‘enemy’ – if I’m not already. For now, I decide not to. If I stay silent now, I can always change my mind later.
“I can’t let you continue blocking the Energy stream,” I tell the beast. “But do you really need to block it? Can’t you just…put them in the Energy stream and let it continue?”
The stream is too small for that, the alcaoris dismisses. I’m wasting time. Every moment I spend here with you is a moment my enemy could be attacking my eggs!
“I’m the one who burned your forest, and I haven’t damaged your eggs,” I tell him, deciding to go ahead with revealing it. “Look, make a deal with me and I promise we’ll find a way for your eggs to get what they need without causing so many problems for the area. It doesn’t have to be a Bond,” I assure him, fearing that I might be sounding a bit too desperate. But if this could result in me succeeding in the quest and getting access to the area without losing any more of my Bound? Then yes, I am desperate for it to work.
The emotional lashes pause for a moment. I find myself more than halfway between my starting point and the point where I will fail the Battle of Wills – this conversation has definitely taken its toll on me. Though I don’t think that will be the end of it: I sense that the strain of holding this world together will overwhelm me in a few more moments.
I do not believe you, the alcaoris says finally. I sense your weakness. I do not believe you could have destroyed the trap trees, not with how widespread they had become. Perhaps you are allied with my enemy, distracting me while they attack my eggs. I will destroy you now as I should have done from the first, then rip apart any who have touched my eggs!
Wanting to argue with him, I feel the world fracturing around me. I’ve held the space for too long, and it’s ejecting me prematurely. Frustration wells up inside me: I don’t think that the conversation has done anything but make things worse.
I could have done that better, I think as the last of the Battle of Wills vanishes like wisps of fog being blown by the wind.
I’m hit by the post-failure paralysis, slumping to the ground helplessly. The alcaoris opens his mouth, preparing to obliterate me with his weapon.
A moment before the jet of acid hits me, I’m hit by a truck which sends me out of its path. At least, that’s what it feels like. Instead of a truck, it’s Shrieks who has barrelled into me, grabbing my prone body and carrying me out of the path of danger.
He dumps me on the ground roughly at the edge of the forest, but I don’t blame him for the heavy landing: I see the pain tightening the lines of his face. When he turns around to defend against any oncoming attack, I see it. He’s been hit by part of the acidic jet, a nasty wound that’s sizzled its way through his scales and into his muscles from his shoulders to his tail tip. His tail is the worst affected, now only half the size it was before.
Come closer to me, I order him urgently and he shifts back so that my hand is in contact with one of his feet. Sending mana through his system, I do the little for him that I can. Mostly just numbing the pain. Still, he sends me gratitude which I don’t feel like I’ve earned: it’s in my defence that he was injured when, so far, he’s managed to escape it. And what has that little stint achieved?
The rest of my still-mobile combat Bound – now reduced down to nine figures, of which only four are Tier two – are attacking the alcaoris. The one good thing is that our Battle of Wills must have given them the opportunity to attack its weak points without fear, as the draconic creature is bleeding from several different points.
The downside is that even with that advantage, the injuries don’t seem to be enough to make the creature pause in any way. In fact, it’s the reverse. The alcaoris goes still for a moment and then, a moment later, three Bonds go dark.
It happened quicker than I could track, faster than my Bound could react. Scythes of green were flicked from the alcaoris’ claws, killing and injuring any they came into contact with.
As soon as its attack is done, the alcaoris roars with angry satisfaction and strains against the net binding it. The spider silk holds. For a moment, I dare to hope that it might continue to hold – spider silk on Earth is stronger, relatively speaking, than steel. Then, the first strands start giving way.
No longer in contact with the net, and feeling numb from the losses, I’m unable to fix the net, and can only watch as we end up right back at square one.
Come back, everyone, I order them numbly.