Master of the Hoard - Chapter 18 (Patreon)

The moment I poked my head back inside the doorway to the throne room, I was met by the sight of a fireball flying my way. Not a recommendable experience for your mental health. I managed to pull my head back in time to avoid the blast. However, even pressed up against the side of the hallway, the wave of flames washing by me hurt.

I ignored the pain and sprang into motion. My only hope was that her breath weapon had a cooldown like mine. As soon as the wave had passed, I charged into the room, only to see the majestic dragon thundering down at me like an off-rails freight train. I spat a hurried Weakening Fog at her and dodged for all I was worth, ducking behind a pillar. I had no time to see whether I had hit or not, and a stab of pain in my hind leg held me from looking back. I sprinted as best I could to the other side of the room before I allowed myself to look behind. She was following, slower than me, but she was just so big. Her front legs must be half again as long as mine and my head would reach the top of her chest.

There was no denying that I was faster than her and more agile. When I sprinted around the room, she had trouble turning fast enough to keep up with me. However, that helped me little. The throne room was maybe ten dragon lengths – mine, not hers - end to end, and she could comfortably stay in the middle, allowing her large size and reach to do the trick for her. Meanwhile, I was forced to dodge and weave along the walls and in between the pillars, using their limited protection to my advantage. Every half minute or so, I was forced to jump for my life as we traded potshots. She spewed fire at me and I unleashed my Weakening Fog on her. Two minutes later, I knew that my time was running out. My right side was covered in ugly blisters and my tail had three long claw marks where she almost managed to grab hold of me. I did manage to land another Weakening Fog on her hindquarters and she was definitely slowing down - it was just all too little. My mind was starting to feel frazzled too - whether it was from the constant pressure or the smoke building in the room from the multitude of small fires everywhere, I didn't know.

At that point, a single mana point ticked back in, and a desperate inkling of a plan manifested in my brain. At the cost of a clawed strike to the side, I checked out the situation on the minimap and then sprinted to place myself at the opposite side of the exit from the Clencher Cavern. Then, with every inch of my mental capacity, I let out a mental shout. "Flee! Through the throne room!"

The big red paused to laugh uproariously. "Flee? My Crawls will have finished them all by now. You will not-"

I never did discover what she meant to say as my Talpi started appearing through the Shadow Door, pouring into the throne room. First one, then a deluge of tiny, furry creatures sprinted through the opening and towards the entrance corridor and the exit of the domain. Spotting the draconian giant in front of me only made them sprint harder.

I took advantage of her distraction, sending a Weakening Fog in her direction before dodging to the side once again. The flames dogging my heels missed me entirely and I laughed in a crazed, adrenaline-filled high. The last of the Talpi were exiting from the Clencher cavern now and I started sprinting along the wall to reach the opening they had just vacated. I had one chance at this. Anything could still go wrong. The Clenchers could all have been killed. The shamans could have caught them in rock again. But if this was to work... as I ran, I unleashed a Deafening Roar, drowning the bestial dragon in an avalanche of noise. Obviously, she was way too tough for my shout to stun her, but I did receive an unexpected bonus as she staggered for two steps, allowing me to increase the distance between us. Shuffling sounds from within the Clencher's cavern erupted and I knew that I would have my chance soon. I sprinted past the entrance and gave the Clenchers a wide berth, putting on speed to reach the exit towards the entrance hallway. The timing for this was going to be a bitch, but... crapola! The fire breath erupting from her effectively cut me off from the exit, trapping me in the corner of the throne room, with her lumbering forward to stare down at me from the other side of a pillar. Trapped! If I were to sprint to either side, she would have ample opportunity to strike at me - and staying wasn't an option either. This was the exact moment a couple of Clenchers came lumbering out into the room and spied two extra-large snacks, one liberally doused in bloody scratches right next to them. With furious, resounding roars, they charged straight at us.

I wasn't going to get a better opportunity and went for it. The Illusion skill came with one serious limitation - you couldn't cast it while somebody was looking straight at the illusion. As soon as the Clenchers made their entrance, I dove behind the nearest pillar and used my entire mental focus to create a single illusion of myself and made it storm out into the room, right past the dragon and towards the Clenchers. The illusion was terrible. The detail was non-existent, perspective was off and I could feel the control slipping from me. That final detail was unimportant, given that my single mana point only allowed for 10 seconds of illusion anyway. It did not even grant me 10 seconds. But it did give me half a second where my adversary wavered between attacking my illusion and the incoming monsters - and that was all the time I needed to slide behind the huge animal.

Fun fact. Where the bellies of dragons are less armored than the sides and backs, they are also hard to get to. The back of the legs, however, are easier targets. I put my entire strength behind my attack, slashing my claw at the flesh and tendons of her hind leg. I could feel something give in her leg. It buckled under her and she almost fell, regaining her balance even as she fended off one of the furious Clenchers. Even as I eyed the chance to finish the battle, however, the red exploded in a huge, pain-filled roar - and the world exploded along with her in a fiery inferno.

I could easily debate making Agility one of my chosen attributes. Arguing that Mental Power would have been a better choice in the past battle would be fair, and I definitely needed my skills and spells to have a lot more oomph going forward. Still, this one time, there was no discussion that my Agility saved my life. The moment I saw the burst of fire emanate from the injured dragon, I scrambled backwards as fast as I could. It was not fast enough, though. The entire front of my body was badly burnt and I could barely see. Through the smoke and flames, I barely spotted the big red picking herself up from the ground. A Clencher corpse lay next to her, becoming increasingly barbecued in the haze of fire that still blazed around her.  The one leg couldn't carry her weight and she growled in pain as she slowly hobbled closer toward me.

My health wasn't looking good. Maybe a third left and my head... the heat was getting to me. Light-headed, I almost stumbled as I fled further back. Behind my enemy, the Clenchers kept back - and with good reason. The fires still circled around her, surrounding her in an impenetrable circle. Of course she would have an extra ability like that. New plan, same as the old one. Encircle her and bring her down with my breath attack. I started scrambling to the side and almost fell. Lying down suddenly felt like the best idea in the world, but I squashed that desire, releasing a Weakening Fog at the stubborn beast. My aim was decent, but the fires surrounding her evaporated the mist even before it fell on her. Not fair. Not fucking fair!

My injured adversary was indomitable, limping towards me between hisses of pain and anger. In between steps, she adopted a toothy grin and started talking. "I should thank you, really. I have been told the first time feeding on the flesh of kin is an experience unlike any other. I did not expect it to take place so soon."

I dodged another fire breath with a desperate leap, but slammed my head on a pillar. Head swimming, I let my mouth run on autopilot as I tried to add to the distance between us. "Oh, well. I'm sorry if I aim to let it be just a bit longer. We haven't been introduced, though. My name's Onyx."

"What a silly name. Onyx is black. Everybody knows that."

"Shouldn't I know your name though?" Maybe I could get her talking until that damn spell of hers stopped working.

"Prey need not know the name of the predator. Prey just needs to stand still."

My shoulder hurt. I realized through a haze that I had retreated back into a corner. Again, my adversary held the advantage with her long reach, and my body wasn't working properly.

"We are family, though. Shouldn’t that count for something? "

"You are not of the clutch. I know every egg that hatched, their strengths and flaws. Your defeat will allow me to lead the race.” The predatory smile on the majestic dragon's face showed that she was very well aware of my precarious situation and her massive form limped closer to loom above me.  She flung her head back, preparing to end this once and for all. I sped along the wall in an attempt to avoid her strike, but slipped and fell, to gaze into the massive maw yawning high above me. Her jaw opened wider, shot forward and... stopped. A series of shudders went through her, and we both looked down in amazement to where handfuls of missiles struck her - a barrage of rocks and spears. Three of the stone spears impacted her lower back, but even as I looked one of them clattered to the ground. Incredulous, she turned her neck further, to where a group of Talpi were scrambling in all directions. Even crazier, it looked like two of them continued our way. "Talpi? You dare?"

Head swimming, I managed a warning. "Run away. You can't possibly fight her. It's no use."

Her massive grin returning, she turned her head back towards me. I could hear the sneer in her mental voice. "That's right. You can't possibly fight me. I'll- Hrngh." The last bit was clearly a grunt of pain and her head swiveled back down. I recognized Arthor and Creziel who stood just out of her reach, arms outstretched, grimacing with effort - and as I watched, the stone spears traveled further in, twisting and turning along the way. Miraculously, as the spears delved deeper, the fires of her spell dimmed and disappeared.

I marveled at the audacity from the shamans. They were clearly manipulating the stone in the spearheads - except, it would take only the slightest glancing blow from the red to end them. I found the strength for another Weakening Fog, unleashing the fog straight into her face and body. From this distance, even in my disheveled state, it was impossible for me to miss. And this time, the attack took its toll. I could see as her entire body sagged and her neck waved dizzily back and forth. I struggled to get up and, miracle of miracles, managed to find to my feet, throwing myself at the larger dragon. Her body was still faced in my direction, and I flung myself over her, getting most of my bulk to rest over hers, pushing her downwards.

I've never been to a rodeo, but I expected that it would have a certain resemblance to our struggles. If all participants were drunk, four legged and injured, that is. She kicked, buckled and struggled with all her might to throw me off of her and I did my best to keep her down while avoiding the worst of her attacks. This feat wouldn't have been possible just minutes ago, but now I managed to keep the larger, stronger dragon down, if barely. Her reach was still better than mine, and bites appeared along my body in testament to the fact that she was both larger and a better fighter. However, with my position half atop of her, she only had access to my powerful back armor - and through her body, I felt the occasional trembling spasm as the spears worked their way deeper.

Where before, the red fought with a stubborn tenacity, she now struggled with desperation to get away as she realized her predicament. She drew back her neck, out of my reach and I could feel the heat as a fire built from the inside and exploded towards me.

I had no time for finesse and simply threw my own neck forward, pushing her neck out of the way with my own neck, even as my teeth found her lower jaw. The gout of flame that appeared flew straight over my head, and I managed to keep her head averted. Even so, the heat was almost too much to bear and I felt blisters appearing on my face in what felt like a never ending pain-filled avalanche. Finally, however, the fires died down and I could feel the red dragon's pulse between my teeth, its frenetic beat fighting in a sprint and then suddenly, blessedly slowing, dimming. A final few twitches made their way through her body as the spears worked their way even deeper until finally, she died and I allowed my jaws to release their clamp-like hold on her neck.