It was a creature unlike anything Opip had ever seen before. No eyes, no arms, no mouth, nothing except a round black shape. Hovering silently above. "What is this thing?" She said, looking at the elf beside her.
"A creature of forbidden magic, a Black egg, it can take the shape, form and power of anything which has killed it" Neyman said, watching the black orb with opportune caution.
"What is it doing?" The creature which was simply hovering did not seem to perceive them, or at least it didn't seem to wish to fight just yet.
"Calculating, since we broke its mirage it's likely working to change its shape along with its strategy to one which can kill us" Neyman took the opportunity to sit down and catch his breath now that the other enemies were gone. And the immediate deadly threat wouldn't move until someone else did.
"Then shouldn't we attack it now before it's finished calculating a way to split us open?" Opip had seen far too many great warriors fail just because they let their enemy finish transforming. A mistake she wouldn't make.
"Baraka de raparda hunde, y agg nero poja de spir" Polak said. A thoughtful remark and a soft explanation as to why she shouldn't attack the egg.
"What did he say?" Opip turned to Neyman.
"Oh, he said you're dumb for wanting to attack it" Nayeman knew it wasn't exactly what his friend had said. But he enjoyed screwing with both of them.
"I'm not dumb!" Opip got just a little bit frustrated. It was clear there was a reason for not attacking the creature but couldn't they just say why instead of mocking her for wondering? It was true what they said about elves, selfish and arrogant people. Neyman found amusement in her behavior and Polak only confusion.
"A black egg needs power to transform, and a black egg can only die when it runs out of fuel, so letting it be and letting it consume as much energy as possible before actually fighting it is for the best" Haparanda entered the battlefield.
"So the only way to beat it is by fighting until it can no longer fight back?" Opip wondered if there truly wasn't a better way to go about this. "Dosent it have like a core or something like a golem or something like that?" The standard for monsters that couldn't be killed by normal means were for them to have some special win condition like a golem's core or a vampire's weakness to silver and sunlight.
"No no core, its a being made out of magic, it's also very important that you don't let it kill you because it will try to absorb your soul to turn it into more fuel" Haparanda had fought one of these before back in a black dungeon in Cezens northern region. However, that was on the fifth floor of that dungeon. This black egg couldn't have gotten here naturally but then again there were a lot of strange things happening in this dungeon.
"But it has to have a soul right? My party's mage Jakurk once ate a monster's soul to replenish his own energy, if the Black egg has a soul couldn't we destroy that?" Oppi's brain worked overtime to retrace her old memories.
"No core is the same as no soul, but did you say that you were traveling with a mage called Jakurk? Is his full name Jakurk Naitch?" The tone in haparands voice changed. Just briefly his face dropped into a cold frown before returning to normal.
"No Jakurk Mianta, Why do you ask?" Opip found the change unsettling for it wasn't just his face that changed but also the grip on his halberd. A halberd made of skymetal same as her lost sword she had yet to relocate. A metal so sharp it could cleave right through her new warhammer if they clashed.
"Because Jakurk Naitch of the third prince's cohort killed my father, and we have been tracking that same man across three continents all the way here" The focus had shifted from the black egg to the conversation between the hound and the Elf. "If you don't mind me asking, does your mage friend wield Iron magic in combination with high level illusions and can he chant magic without the need of a personal torch"
"No, he mostly uses wind, and he wields a fine iron torch he won in a duel, which i saw myself" Their names were different but only slightly by their last name. And while Jakurk never used iron magic, when Opip remembered his smell it was one of iron purely.
"I see, well Jakurk is a common dulvelskan name, so common that six out of ten dulvelskan boys have it, its not strange for their to be two mages of the same name at the same place, but just in case, id like to meet your mage friend, face to face" For now it wasn't the top of their concerns. Whether it was just a coincidence or something else it would have to wait until the egg had been defeated.
"Its hatching" Neyman brought their attention back to the sphere. Across its black shell white lines began to appear as cracks. Light shone through them white like moonlight. And what emerged from the black egg was the shadow of a hound.
"How creepy" Opip said as she gazed upon her doppleganger. Seeing a version of yourself that is not you is said to be a bad omen. And Opip couldn't agree more. The creature stood still on the ledge to the hole down to the third floor. It took from the ground a spear belonging to one of the petrified guards. Lifted it, checked its weight and then threw it.
The elves and Opip all readied themselves to dodge to block to parry or to strike it down but the spear wasn't intended for them, no the creature threw it towards Tristin further back in the room, before it could turn Tristins head into red mist it was stopped by golden thread magic of the barrier but with that single attack it shattered. The same barrier that had kept away waves of living armour shattered under a single throw from the creature. Now it did not shatter because the attack was stronger than the ones it had held back, nor did it shatter because the mag upholding it was low on energy, no it shattered because the attack itself was perfect.
The others who turned away to see where the spear had landed soon regretted their choice as even if they looked for just a second that second was enough for the Creature to close its distance. When Neyman looked back he felt a black hand of sharp claws clutch around his head.
Just as the hand clutched Neyman brought forth his sword directly into the creature's stomach, yet it did not care for it wasn't a creature which could die let alone feel the pain or fear that came with it.
The crack from the snapping of Neyman's neck was loud enough to be heard through the entire ruin of August's drop. Leaving all the remaining adventurers in astute horror.
Immediately Polak threw his fist into the creatures side causing it to be thrown of his dead friends husk. Right into Opip's warhammer which brought the creature down into the earth once more. But when she went for another strike it was blocked by two swordlike arms as the creature once more changed its shape to that of Neyman. "Dammnit!"
It flung back up on its feet just in time for Hapara to cut off its legs with his halberd. "Keep it on the ground, don't let it regenerate" He shouted as he drove the halberd into the creature's torso, the skymetal halberd might be the only weapon in the ruined hall that could cut the creature's hard black skin.
But even then the creature retaliated pushing its hand up along the halberd twisting like a snake before unraveling into a teethfilled maw that did its best to remove Haparandas face, had Polak not dragged him back he would have lost that pretty face of his along with his life. Sensing their weakness the creature tried to get up but as it stood it was sent flying once more with the force of the hound blunt instrument, Although the warhammer could not pierce or slash its blunt force trauma was enough to crack bone, the sound of the creatures inner workings breaking and regenerating echoed through the cavernous space.
Meanwhile, under the guise of the golden barrier Tristin could only watch and hope as the battle unfolded. He couldn't stand on the same level as those three still fighting. His body was weak, his combat skills a minimum, all he could add to the battle was another corpse. Yet the person besides him who had healed the injuries of four people with her own magic, the mage Fidel could probably be of better help out there then in here. Her expression spoke of it.
"Arent you going to help them?" Tristin felt angry at his lack of power his inability to ever be of help. To be the one who was the cause of problems rather than the solution. So when he saw someone with the power to help, with the power he so desired do nothing he couldn't help but feel a sort of cold envy.
The elf looked at him with a piercing glare which softened as she looked towards the battlefield. "If I were to help them, I could kill the egg in a single attack" With such a bold statement Tristins envy and his anxiety for what would happen if he found his friend dead in his arms again only intensified. "But then, when it regenerates it will no doubt be in the possession of that very same attack" She turned to face the grumbling hill folk. "It would mean the end of all of us"
Tristin had no choice but to stand by didn't he? Even as the others fought for his and the injured safety, the few adventurers remained within the barrier. The ones who could be of more help then he but who covered under this golden halo of protection, praying for a miracle to save them.
No he couldn't just sit there watching, there had to be something. Something only he could do, a scheme or a trap. A chance to be of use. A shot in the dark. A crossbow laid motionless just outside of the barriers hue. And as Tristin watched the creature throw Hapara to the wall just to turn around to claw at Opip he knew what he could do.
He was out of the barrier within seconds. He loaded the crossbow even faster, it reminded him of the days long gone. Back when he went exploring with his brother he had a crossbow just like this. Same weight, same string. It felt right in his hands. And when he fired it pierced the creature's neck. Not once but twice, this crossbow was enchanted firing two bolts for one. One normal and one of magical origin.
The creature was caught off guard. Letting Polak crush its inhuman arm, while Opip slammed the warhammer into its chin. For a moment the creature was motionless until it turned into a black sludge of brine and slime.
As Opip tried to strike with her hammer the goo melted it with acid. Causing her to abruptly abandon her new weapon, luckily the floor was filled with Items, weapons, armours and rocks that could be used instead. A sword, then a shield, then a large rock, All into the sludge-like creature who then expelled them with enough force to send them deep into the chambers stone where they would remain for the rest of the fight. Snarling, the creature turned into the shape of a wolf, a four legged beast that raged as another bolt hit his chins.
With its tail it flung Opip to the side, with its claws it cut deep into Polaks flesh yet even covered in his own blood the tall elf continued to fight without fear. Haparanda cut off its hind legs causing it to let out a horrendous scream. It turned into a dove, then a fish then a tall cat and finally a boar that pushed aside even Polak as it ran towards the source of its new found rage, the hill folk and his bolts.
Yet everyone could see this was the end. The creature had run out of breath, its transformation was half assed, melting and grotesque, its movement easy to read and follow, its sight impeached by the light. It was dying perhaps just a single blow away from damnation.
But the question was, who would be first, The rampaging beast or the hands of the hillfolk as he readied his bolt. Of course it was the hill folk. With precise handiwork and a hunter's eyes readied his shot. But then it transformed with its final resources, its face twisted and turned. Until. "Brother?"
For a moment tristin flinched. His eyes fully opened to the sight before him. To his brother's warm smile in the hideous beast charging forward. With this one moment this one failure would have cost him his life if it weren't for the hound. Who at the final moment managed to catch the rampaging beasts tail holding it back with all her strength she shouted "FIRE"
And the hillfolk hesitated no longer. His finger pressed down the trigger on the face of his own brother. And with that the siege was over. With a population of eighty people what remained of August drop was less than ten. Yet still they emerged victorious against the horrors of the deepest dark. But for how long only time will tell.