The gnoll rushed out, claws extended and before the other monsters could get a handle on the surroundings. Heat rolled from the creature as its flames licked and left ashes in its wake. But it had barely fully exited the tunnel when it was ripped through by a whirl of claws.
The sharp weapons tore through the legs, body and head of the creature. Sending gouts of flaming blood in every direction. Its form shuddered under the sudden assault but didn’t buckle. A geyser of flames fell upon the gnoll, who managed to dodge it before the spider began its true counterattack.
The flames that surrounded and seemed to be infused within the spider’s body and blood, pulsed and roared, like someone had tossed new logs on a faltering fire. A raging storm of fire and violence fell upon the gnoll. A current of fire descended upon and swallowed the monk.
Fur burned, skin charred, throat stung as a wave of fire drowned the gnoll momentarily. In the same moments, the other two spiders charge for the monk as it rolled away from the fire, trying to put it out as pain racks their body. The giant spider's legs swing down with the force of an army’s battering ram. Sending shudders through the ground, and barely missing the crispy monk.
The monstrosity, the warespider, phased into reality behind the gnoll, landing their first swinging strike that burrowed into the gnoll’s back. Before phasing out of reality yet again. Leaving the monk struggling to stand as more attacks from the elemental and behemoth began to fall.
Making another dash into the legs of the fire spider, she raked her claws through several legs, severing them in a frenzy as the movement of air across their fur and skin felt like shards of glass being dragged over the fresh, blackened wounds. Once again, the creature erupted with a gout of fire, before a bonfire consumed it and its faltering legs.
The gnoll was forced to dash out or be engulfed as well. And from the fire, the spider hissed and stepped out, chasing the pest with their legs whole once again. Its jaws snapped down at the gnoll as the flames under it began to build, before spewing forth after the monk barely avoids the maws of fire and sparks.
With a quick dodge, the gnoll rolls under the massive behemoth, escaping the flame, but putting themselves at its mercies instead.
Its massive legs rose and fell again, clipping the gnoll’s leg and creating an opening for the phasing monstrosities to appear and stab out again.
This time, the monk was prepared, spinning and moving to grab the spear from the spider. Forcing it to abort the attack or lose the weapon.
Dashing out from under the giant, she engaged the fire spider for a third and final time as it began to form a massive vortex of fire.
With a flurry of ripping claws, she tears through the spider, ripping from it a crystal organ that crashed to the floor and shattered. In a flash of fire, every spark of heat that shrouded the elemental disappeared, leaving a thin, ashy corpse to fall to the ground.
But not given a moment to breathe, she was under the crushing swings of tree like legs. She dodged, avoiding them before being caught by a spray of webbing from the phasing monstrosity.
She fell to the floor and had to struggle frantically on the sands to free themselves as the leg hung above her. Claws extended, she ripped the webbing apart and rolled. A chunk of fur and skin were ripped from her back as the attack came so close to crushing her entirely.
A second one came down before she could react and crashed down, clipping her sternum and shattering ribs and blood vessels.
And before the gnoll could even let out a groan or shout of pain, the phasing warespider appeared directly beside them. And with a bite, clamped down on her arm. Leaving a rotting, necrosis mark with his maw. Before backing away and phasing out again.
Rolling and forcing ki through their body, the gnoll felt their energy pulse and buckle for a moment. And the surge through them, easing some of the pain before the spiders began to attack again.
Forcing themselves to their feet, the monk leaped, barely dodging the falling legs. Crashing into continually grazing or tripping the gnoll. Slowly, the pain and injuries were adding up. The burns were extreme and ki could only do so much.
Yet again, the phasing warespider exited into reality, attempting to gut the monk where she stood. Only to watch her grab onto and fling herself up the massive legs with claws digging into and ripping bits of flesh free as they climbed up. Climbing up, she reached the face and head as the behemoth began to frantically hiss and stomp, trying to shake off the monk, crush it between legs, or even biting its own leg trying to knock the gnoll off.
Without any hesitation, she tore into the face of the spider. Ripping at its face and thorax, trying to frantically rip and destroy anything she could. Managing to rip up a large section over the connection between the head and thorax. Exposing the nerves and organs beneath. When the shapeshifter slipped free of the aethereal plane and tried to stab into her side.
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No mercy or hesitation, she clapped her claws onto either side of the spear, catching it in her palms. With a powerful twist and pull, the spider is drawn closer. It makes a quick decision and attempts to bite the monk with its occupied hands. Only to have the monk release the blade and catch both opening mandibles. Before the gnoll had a chance to attack again, it shifted out of reality once again.
No wasting a moment as her strength was fading and the giant was moving, angling itself to smash against the wall to try and throw her. With a surge of ki through her limbs, she gritted her teeth and began to eviscerate the insides of the giant. Ripping flesh, organ, brain and vessels from their insides and throwing them behind themselves, as if the internal organs were that dirt and the monk an angary dog with too much drive to find its lost bone.
The massive hulk started to move towards the wall before everything went limp. Its legs lost strength and direction. The wight of its body carries its last momentum. Throwing it towards the nearest wall of the pit, only for it to crumple short of it.
As the earth shook and dust rose, the gnoll tried to escape the corpse when the warespider appeared again. Trying to catch her as she leaped from the corpse. It gave up the small advantage the phasing gave it to complelty try and tare into the monk. Stabbing fast and precisely, only to have both stabs be simply side stepped. Its jaws snapped shut again, trying to crush her arm or neck. Only to be grabbed and twisted, throwing it off balance.
Two quick strikes spun the creature on its heels. Before it tried to retaliate again. Two stabs that couldn’t touch the gnoll, and two more bites that came down on only air.
Over and over, for minutes this pattern would continue. The spider would try and land attacks, barely scratching the gnoll, or dripping her with poison as she slashed and struck him. It would try its webs, failing. It would try fleeing but could not run faster than the gnoll. And its handlers wouldn’t let it leave the pit.
It was a humiliating crushing of this shape shifter. While it was powerful, physically stronger and with more tricks at its disposal, none of those would save it. The monk did not fall into a blood thirsty frenzy, but rather an emotionless focus. Nothing else but the destruction of the spider mattered.
She hounded it, chasing it, not letting it escape her in the slightest. The gnoll became the haunting shadow of death for the drow shifter and slowly ripped it limb from limb. It tried to phase up and into the webbing above, but after twenty seconds, was forcefully pushed back into the material plane. And the monk climbed the walls to hound it again.
Up in the webbing, with its abilities to traverse webbing, it was still slower than the gnoll. One spider leg after another was ripped from its back. One more claw mark slashed or pierced into its chest. It could not escape. It was trapped into the pit, the home to relentless monsters and beasts who would kill for the sport, for the money, or for the practice.
The shifter would meet its end face down on the webbing, the gnoll pinning it there while her teeth bit into and ripped free its throat.
Once again, the gnoll stood victorious. But her task was far from over. Her body was riddled with bruising, swelling, stabs, burns, and rotting flesh. Her body was a mess. And was in desperate need of energy and rejuvenation.
She looked up at the Pit Master’s booth, waiting for the promised potion.
***
Tina, the Dancing Wind Pit Queen, stared down at the mutt who was nothing more than a lowly stray dog. He should not be there. He was a beast that dared to speak and flirt with her like an equal. It was a rutting beast with strength and speed. And the fact it was still alive drove her heart to beat with such rage she could barely hear the words the minotaur spoke.
“Dagger Glora, you have exceeded our expectations and predictions. The Blood Drowning is an event meant to last six hours. My predecessors and myself have made mistakes and had challengers who have exceeded such expectations. You are one of them!” He and the other spectators present clapped politely in acknowledgement and agreement. “You have slayed half of the prepared challenges in just a single hour and a half! While this is not the most someone has exceeded the pit’s expectations, it is the most recent! We congratulate you on your efforts. And expect this event to be done with half the original time, if you do survive to the end.”
He stepped towards the edge of the booth and withdrew from his chest pocket a crystal vial with a stylized A on it. The liquid inside looked like a pink tree sap, cloudy and with a few odd bubbles. The mutt held out his hands in acceptance of the potion, and the pit master tossed it down.
“If you survive to the final stage, killing all remaining challenges without another potion, you will receive another potion like this one before the final challenge. Are you ready challenger?” He waited and the gnoll finished downing the vial and tossing it back up to him. Where he caught it with a booming laugh. “Then, let us begin, bring out the next waves!”
***
The Claws of Glora could have orgasmed as the potion coursed through their body. Aches eased, wounds closed, nutrients required to replace blood pumped through her as magic and alchemy brought a new sensation of life through her veins.
Her body was not restored. Burns and scabs remained, but as her heart beat with new vigor, and her ki buzzed with life and energy, she felt strong enough to continue. Even if she didn’t know if she would succeed. Completing it faster was not better. She did not get rewards for it. It was only a display of skill and ability. Most who could kill quickly did not have the stamina to continue fighting this long. Few fighters, who killed at the same pace as she could, would survive. Having burned themselves at both ends to finish with such speed.
The monk could feel it. These battles were draining her. Another hour like this last one, and serious exhaustion would start to set in. She would lose combat readiness, and it would start a downhill spiral. Swearing to do better, she dropped down from the webbing above, having killed the spiders before they had a real chance to use the webbing properly. And landed in the center once again as doors began to open.
And from them poured out dozens upon dozens of small shtacor, tiny rat men all around the same height as a goblin. With the majority brown colored fur, and a single black branding on their foreheads. The image of a chained sun, the sign of slaves captured and punished for their evil worship with lives of permanent slavery.
Their black, beady eyes all turned to look for the one they had been equipped, with rusted swords, spears and bows, to fight. Nearly one hundred of the once cultist creatures, squeaking and whispering before one especially thin and gaunt one screeched in the common tongue.
“Infect for the Plague Dragon!”