Landasy Reality: Angel's Escape

by Fredrick Stokely

  Landasy Reality

  Angel's Escape

  By Frederick Stokely

  Chapter 1

  A dragon's head was nestled quite comfortably on a pile of assorted bones. Lava dribbled down from the roof of the massive cavern, keeping her nest at a temperature that would kill lesser creatures. The monstrous reptile slowly got to her claws before spreading out her wings like massive, powerful clouds. With a low guttural growl she began to stretch her body. She was Niohoggr, ruler of dragons.

  She felt the creatures that dared to intrude on her lair, like so many before whose bones now lined the massive stone chamber. The dragon spread out a single paw, which was large enough to pick up a carriage and crush it in a single motion, to scrape deep gouges across the stone floor. The monster slapped its tail once against the chamber's walls, crushing rocks to dust. Slowly she walked towards the center of the chamber and waited, as she had a thousand times before. Niohoggr didn't mind waiting. After all, when entire kingdoms could rise and fall in the span of one of your naps, of what worry was a few minutes or hours of waiting for a tasty snack?

  Besides, most who traveled through the dungeon made their way to the dragon eventually. Very few survived the encounter. What creature would be both foolish enough to intrude on a mother's nest, and mighty enough to survive?

  ------

  A small band of six walked through underground tunnels, high on alert. One of them stopped and her hands began to lightly tap on the air. “I think we're almost there, hold on,” the woman said. Her body was covered in jagged scales and she was easily the tallest of the group. A reptilian tail with long spikes poked out through the back of her armor. She wore thick metal scalemail that covered her entire body, molding to her natural scales. In her free hand she held a black axe with a blade nearly as tall as her. Despite the heavy weight of the weapon and armor, she didn't seem the least bit tired. The woman started walking again after a moment and they soon came to a divide in the tunnel.

  “Okay,” the woman said as she glanced back. “We have to split up here and kill the lizards in the next rooms at the same time. I'll go right. Hale and Caelite, you're with me.” She motioned towards two near the back.

  “Hold on,” said the man beside her before he held up his hands. He was short, his entire body covered in orange fur with black stripes like a tiger's, and he carried no weapon. Instead his hands ended in long, powerful claws and around his wrist he wore golden bracers. He wore a thin cloth robe. He also had a long thin tail that flicked around behind him as he walked. “That's not fair, Deva. Why do you get all the healers? You're a dragon, you don't need that much,” the unarmed man said before he crossed his arms.

  The girl sighed before she brought her scaled palm to her face and shook her head. “Because, Rake, you'll need the leviathan's protection spells more. If I take the fae instead of the demon, I'll have all ranged and not enough up close fighters if things get bad. Don't worry, with the three of you it should be fine.” Deva again motioned to the other two to follow.

  Caelite stepped forward first toward the scaled girl. He was a tall man with the physique of a bodybuilder. In his hands he held a large glaive, the blade of which was almost as big as Deva's axe. He was dressed in full black plate mail, covering his entire body aside from his head. Red tattoos flowed across his cheeks, huge horns protruding from his forehead and sharp teeth flashed when he smiled. Narrow red slits for eyes glanced towards the woman. His tail was extremely thin and ended in a small spade. “I'm sure you'll be fine, Rake.”

  Hale chuckled as he walked up with them. “Of course he will. A holy beast's regeneration is nearly as good as my healing.” He was only of moderate height, and quite thin. He had a rapier strapped to his waist and was wearing a white robe that flowed around him. Long feathery wings were closed against his back. A light glow emanated from him.

  Deva, Caelite and Hale headed down the path on the right as Rake shook his head and called after them, “Fine, whatever. You better not die! It's going to take all of us to face Niohoggr, and I don't want to have to wait for you until you're back and able to fight.” With those parting words he headed down the left, the other two following behind him. After a few steps he glanced back. “Hey, Skyth, are you going to be okay as our only support? I know leviathans aren't the best at it.”

  “Huh?” the woman asked. She was much like the Deva, except her scales were blue, smooth and soft-looking as opposed to thick jagged scales. She was of average height. The leviathan girl was wearing plate mail, made of a light blue material that molded to her skin. Her tail also ended in two fins as opposed to being covered in spikes. She held a small metal mace in her right hand and a thick crystal shield strapped to her left arm. “I'll be fine. If anything happens, I can take a few hits while you recover.”

  “Okay. Media, you feel like you'll be able to hit things without hitting us?” Rake joked.

  “I think I'll be fine,” the last member of the group said with a roll of her eyes. She was a tall, thin woman. Her skin was perfectly smooth, and with no scars or the smallest hint of a blemish, creating an unnatural beauty. She wore brown leather armor, covered in small studs. In her hands she held a small bow, with a quiver latched onto her back. “I wouldn't be much of a fae if I couldn't hit my target. Just don't jump in the way of my arrows on purpose.”

  The path soon opened into a large stone room lined with torches. A massive metal gateway stood across from the chamber. Once Rake, Media and Skyth were inside, thick metal bars descended from behind to lock them in.

  Small red lights flashed as nine little creatures appeared. Bipedal green reptilian humanoids wearing brown loin cloths and wielding small butcher knives. They only came up to Skyth's chest, though their sharp blades were warning enough not to underestimate the creatures.

  After the creatures appeared, a large red light formed in front of the exit. A creature much like the smaller lizard-men formed. Its scales were red and it towered over the party, almost as tall as the three of them put together, with arms like tree trunks. A massive blade materialized in its hands before it let out a bone chilling roar. “Bloodfang the Ripper,” Skyth said as she lifted her shield up. The monsters charged.

  “I'll handle the big guy, Skyth start your spells! Earth spike!” Rake yelled before he put his hands together. The ground shook before a circle of spikes shot out of the ground around them, stabbing into the creature's ranks. The beasts studied the deadly points, before trying to climb over without getting skewered.

  Skyth lifted her mace into the air. “Hydra's armor!” Water shot up from her her weapon to form a small fountain, coating the ground in water. A small film of liquid formed across the three before turning into thin blue scales under their respective armors. The scales flowed around them like water, not impeding their movements. The leviathan then placed the mace head onto the ground. “Ice path!” she yelled before a path of ice flowed along the ground towards the largest creature. The ground under Bloodfang was soon completely covered in ice, forcing it to slide and struggle to get its bearings. “Hurry up, the effects won't last long!”

  “Got it!” Media said before she drew back the string of her bow, an arrow disappeared from the quiver and formed in her fingers once the string was fully nocked. “Tornado shot!” the fae yelled before she let the arrow go. It flew straight at Bloodfang, slamming into its chest. The arrow exploded into a maelstrom of wind, barely damaging the creature, but sending it spinning across the icy floor.

  Three of the smaller creatures managed to climb over the spikes and charged from the right. The first swung its knife at Rake, who ducked under it and drove his right claws straight into the creature's stomach. The claws pierced its hid
e, but the creature didn't stop. It slashed down with its blade and cut the tiger man with the serrated edge of its knife across the face, drawing blood.

  Rake kicked out and knocked the creature's legs from under it, bringing it crashing to the ground. His left hand formed a fist and he drove it into the creature's head, crushing it. The creature disappeared in a splash of red sparkles.

  The other two were locked in combat with Skyth, slashing their blades at her while she deftly blocked with her shield and parried with her mace. She slowly backed up, biding her time until she was able to catch both butcher knives on her shield. The leviathan shoved forward as hard as she could, knocking them both back before she drove the mace down on the head of the closer one. A moment later five arrows jammed into the creature's side and it burst into red sparkles. The blue girl gave a small wave to Media, who drew her bow string back again.

  “Two down,” Rake said. The cut on his cheek had already healed completely, even the blood disappearing. “We need to speed this up, before the boss gets back on its feet. Stone crash!” The tiger man lifted his foot up before slamming it back into the ground. A second later a wave of stone shot up under a group of three of the creatures and sent them hurtling backwards. The circle of spikes then melded back into the ground, leaving the floor smooth again as the remaining four creatures charged at the three.

  Skyth yelled out another quick spell before she charged at the creatures. A blue glow covered her weapon. As the creatures swung, she lifted her shield up to block the strike and brought her mace across the hip of the one on her right. Ice burst out from the mace and pelted the monsters in jagged shards. She ducked down as Rake jumped over her, bringing a clawed foot down on one of the stunned lizard's skulls. It disappeared in a shower of red sparkles.

  “Get down! Both of you!” Media yelled before she pulled her arrow taut. “Multi-shot!” The other two dived to the ground. She released the string and the arrow flew. A green glow coated it and it split into a hail of arrows, impaling the creatures. All three burst into red sparkles.

  Rake and Skyth jumped to their feet and ran back with the archer. The team watched the remaining three creatures and Bloodfang, the latter now on its feet after shattering the ice coating to pieces. It roared and charged straight at them, sword raised high. The smaller creatures charged from the groups left, struggling to catch up with the larger monster.

  “Okay, you two take care of the little guys. I'll try to stall the big guy as long as I can. Nature's sustenance!” Rake said before he lifted both hands to the air and a brown glow formed on the ground around him. He charged forward and, the brown light following under his feet, slammed his fist into Bloodfang's stomach. It didn't so much as flinch from the blow and brought its sword down on him.

  The blade dug into his back, piercing through the magical scales from the blue girl's magic like warm butter. As the sword was drawn out, the wound rapidly began to heal. It was little more than a shallow slash across his flesh by the time the edged weapon came down a second time. He punched with all his might and fury, landing blow after blow into the creature's stomach and legs as the two fought.

  His back was quickly covered in the large slashes and his left arm soon lay limp at his side, his rapid regeneration unable to keep up with the powerful strikes. Even the scales were doing little more than dampening the blows. “Are you guys almost done? My HP is almost-- Gah!” he cried out as he was knocked back, hitting the ground and lying limp. A large red gash laid across his chest, his body now threatening to completely give out.

  Bloodfang lifted its sword high into the air before bringing it down at Rake with a triumphant roar. It was stopped as a dome of ice formed over the fallen fighter. The creature brought its blade down on the ice repeatedly, creating cracks. The other smaller lizard-men were gone, leaving only the large one.

  Skyth ran forward and stood over her wounded comrade. When the ice shattered, Bloodfang's sword was brought down yet again. Skyth dropped her mace and used both arms to support the shield, taking the blow. Even with both arms she was driven to her knees, barely managing to avoid falling on Rake. “Hurry up and heal yourself, I can't keep him like this forever!” Skyth yelled in frustration.

  “I'm working on it. Without my main regeneration spell it's slow,” Rake said as he crawled away from the fight, the creature still pounding on the girl's shield. He got out of range and crossed his legs as a light surrounded him. “I'll try to meditate to heal back up. Hold him back as long as you can.”

  Media drew her bow string back as quickly as she could and shot arrow after arrow into Bloodfang. The arrows barely phased the lizard-man as it beat its blade across the shield over and over. Finally, with a powerful swing, the shield was shattered and the blade continued through the woman's arm. No blood was spilled as the separated limb disappeared into red sparkles.

  Skyth screamed and fell, clutching her arm. She stared up just in time to see a giant sword hurtling down at her head.

  The blade stopped mid motion, the beast man now under the creature's arm, holding the creature's hand just below the wrist with all his might. “I don't know how long I can hold it, this thing is tough. Hit it with everything you've got!” Rake yelled. His arms trembled with exertion against Bloodfang's might.

  Skyth glanced back to Media. They shared a quick nod before she slammed her remaining hand on the ground while the archer held out both her hands. “Combination activate! Hurricane!” the two said in unison. Water formed around the creature. It started as a small puddle but began to swirl around the creature's feet and lift into the air until small blades of water were spinning around and slashing through the locked combatants. Soon the two fighters couldn't be seen behind the razor winds.

  “I-I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. My MP is almost at zero,” Skyth said to her comrade.

  “Just a little bit more! If we can just hold it a bit more then we should be fine,” Media yelled as she watched the spinning destruction. After a few more moments the winds broke apart, splattering them with water. Bloodfang had gone limp, panting and gasping for air while leaning on its sword. Rake lay on the ground, unmoving, but he hadn't disappeared into red sparkles.

  “You gotta be kidding me! How much health can this thing have?” Skyth screamed before she ran forward. She wobbled a bit from side to side with her balance damaged, but still managed to grab her mace as she ran past it. The leviathan woman jumped into the air and brought the mace down on Bloodfang's skull. The blunt weapon crushed the creature's skull, causing the boss to disappear in an explosion of red sparkles. In its place a small treasure chest materialized. Skyth failed to catch her bearings in time and landed on the chest stomach first. After a few moment the leviathan let out a pained groan, before rolling off it and collapsing on the ground.

  “Well... I guess that's that. I hope the others had an easier time than we did,” Media said as she moved over to nudge Rake. “You okay? Regeneration kicking in?”

  “All my world is pain and suffering...” the beast man groaned. “How did you two even pull that spell off?”

  “Oh, stop your whining, I lost an arm but you don't hear me complaining, do you? Also, we set the spell up while we were fighting the smaller creatures,” the girl said as she puffed out her chest proudly. Her left hand reappeared with a sudden white glow. “Fight is officially over now. Wish my shield regenerated like my hand though. It's going to cost a fortune repairing that.”

  “Losing a hand just does a one time pain burst. That was dozens of pain bursts,” Rake said as he slowly got to his feet. “It's not like you'll need your shield for the next area. Me and Deva will be drawing the focus of Niohoggr. Why didn't you bring a spare?”

  “That shield was expensive! It took almost all of my gold and I couldn't afford a decent spare. If you hadn't spent so much time regenerating yourself, it would've been fine,” Skyth said as she glared at the man and stomped her foot on the ground.

  “Will you two calm down? We've won, it's
fine,” Media said. “So long as the others beat their boss we can move on and get the egg, then you'll never have to deal with each other again.”

  “Wish my guild could have come for this. My shield wouldn't have broken if I had them,” Skyth grumbled as she kicked the chest. It popped open to reveal a ruby encrusted dagger. “Do either of you use daggers?”

  “Nope. You should be thankful anyone came here with you at all. Getting the keys was such a pain in the ass,” Rake said.

  “I'll take it, if that's okay,” Media said. “I could use a dagger for when I work on angel.” The other two just shrugged and she took the blade. It disappeared into red sparkles a moment later. The large gate opposite of where they had entered slowly lifted up, revealing another stone tunnel ahead.

  “Let's go,” the beast man said as he walked through the tunnel. It soon opened up to another large chamber. In the center was a large fountain encrusted with gemstones and sparkling with clear spring water. Their second group was already sitting on the fountain's edge, chatting away. A tunnel much like the one they came out of was across the room from them. Equally distanced between the two tunnels stood a massive door, with a golden dragon carved into its surface, locked and barred. Rake let out a low whistle at the sight. “How did you guys fare?”

  “Easy. I barely even had to heal the dragon,” Hale said before he gestured towards the red scaled girl.

  “Yeah, dragons are so over powered. Only way they could be worse is if they could turn into the same type as the bosses,” Skyth said.

  “Oh, shut it,” Deva said with a roll of her eyes. “If dragons were really that over powered, everyone would use them. Let's get this over with so we can get the eggs and go home.” The dragon girl got up and walked to the door. She held out her hand towards the door and a large red gem formed in her grasp. The others walked behind her and held out their hands, gems forming as well. Blue for the leviathan, green for the fae, brown for the holy beast, black for the demon and white for the angel. The gem stones disappeared. A few moments later the door began to shake and rumble before opening. Hot air billowed out from the room, the chamber slowly revealed to them.