Chapter IV ~ Snakes on the Plain

There were bodies everywhere, an entire army of the Luminoc Architect diminished within the span of a day. The caravan moved slowly, the hexocelots and feligars no longer attacked in waves, but in individual broken groups, in attempt to stop this dangerous foe.

The barbarian swung his mighty axe, beheading them all with ease; his thick armour made him a moving fortress. Neither stones nor claws could penetrate it, his strength and stamina beyond the measure of anything they have ever seen; even the generals of the army avoided his path.

Eventually the caravan made it out of Dragon’s Wilderness, and then the caravan gave him their thanks. When they stepped into the caravan to get his payment, he waited then with a crack of a whip, they sped away from him.

The barbarian would have chased after them, had he not been so tired, and his armour been so heavy. Feeling a drowsiness coming on, he attempted to lie down, but unfortunately he found that his armour was making it impossible for him to bend down. Night was falling, and he just walked towards a tree where he stood.

A rumble of thunder was approaching, as the barbarian let out a heavy sign and began to snore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Strider, Goon, Rebel and Furry looked and scoped the entire island, finding nothing but carcasses of monsters filled with small holes.

“Uhg what happened here?” Goon asked, stepping over bodies. “Looks like they were stabbed with a pole.”

“That would explain why the damages go right through them, but look it’s not the same cut as a pole, it burnt right through them.” Rebel examined the bodies, “just like it was magic.”

“You think that they were here?” Furry was running around and jumping bodies on bodies in her fox form.

“I doubt they could have taken down all of them like this.” Mr. Strider searched the grave battle scene. He then spotted something, a carrot shaped arrow. “Uhhh does Lagalos use carrot shaped arrows?”

“No he uses carrots, cause it’s safer since he’s blind.” Rebel examined it carefully “Unless by some magical reason he can see again.”

“I think I know what happened.” Mr. Strider said, “And if it’s what I think it is, we have to find them soon.”

“Why?” Goon was sitting on a dead scorpion.

“I’ll explain but in the meanwhile we need to get off of this island.” Mr. Strider went around searching a way to make a raft.

After argumentation on how to make a raft, they eventually decided it was better to just to build it out of body parts. They eventually built a giant raft out of spider legs, and using Furry’s keen fox nose, they followed their lost comrade’s scent across the Endless Seas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lagalos, Minty and Inferior were now thinking of a plan to escape this island. From their knowledge, the snake general Slitt commands them all. The only reason why the small village was safe was because of a barrier spell that the Khatra master has casted a long time ago.

They were at a handicap this time, Lagalos had neither magic left, nor chi, and his aim is no longer as precise. Minty and Inferior were the only ones who could do anything to take on Slitt and his own private army.

Minty being very reluctant to fight anymore and only wishing to go back to the meadows knew that it was her only choice. She did not have a lot of skills developed from combat; her parents did not see a need for it if she was going to stay in a peaceful meadow forever.

When they drew a battle plan, which consisted of drawing straws to see who lures away all the guards; which Lagalos got, while Minty would set up the trap and Inferior would keep Slitt’s hands busy.

When the night came for their attack, Lagalos was pushed in the right direction as he ran straight screaming out “Free Meat”.

Minty was almost done digging the hole, as Inferior watched Lagalos try to outrun blindly a few dozen snake warriors.

When the shore was free, Inferior casted his chi to strengthen his muscles to move at a horse’s speed. Running through the vegetation, he saw Slitt sitting on his stone throne, picking his fangs with a skull of a past warrior and jumped out at him with his small blades.

Too quick for Slitt to react, he was stabbed in the heart, where he coiled and shuddered still. Blood seeped out as Inferior sighed in relief. Pulling out his blade, he stepped away as a rustling moved the body.

Huh no way, he thought. The a sudden iron grip grasped his throat as he struggled to break free.
“Sss...tupid humansss.... You think ssstabbing one of my three heartssss... will kill mee?” The grip loosened a bit letting Inferior say his last words.

“Oh your kidding me...” Then the grip tightened, slowly he started to feel the world spinning into darkness. All sounds were cut off except for the loud pounding of his heart, trying to break free. Then the pressure was gone and he fell down.

~~~~

Minty finished digging the hole for Slitt should Inferior fail to kill him, and flew up to the mountain cliff nearby to prepare pushing the rocks, creating a rockslide. But after an hour, Minty knew that something went wrong, and flew on her manta to see what has happened.

Lagalos had ran along the shores of the island, to a point where he circled back and knock into Slitt, releasing the grip on Inferior’s throat.

Disorientated, Lagalos felt a scaly limb coil against his torso, where Lagalos pulled out his knife and stabbed it until Slitt howled in pain and released him.

Inferior finally able to see again, staggered away, and tried to scream out to Lagalos to follow, but he was already running towards the encampment.

Inferior led Slitt along with the rest of his private army to the trap where then standing at the edge, he waited for the monster to appear through the foliage before he jumped away.

Slitt appeared and Inferior jumped to the side, but he slammed into Lagalos. Where they both flew back and Inferior fell into the hole with Slitt.

Minty saw Slitt fall in, and then she pushed against the rocks. A large rockslide came tumbling down and buried the pit.

When all was done, Lagalos and Minty couldn’t find Inferior anywhere and then they realized to one horrible conclusion, they had trapped Slitt with him. Going back to the hole, they heard howls of scream and hissing.

“INFERIOR ARE YOU OK?” Minty shouted into the rocks.
“WHY COULDN’T IT HAVE BEEN WITH A GIRL?” Inferior shouted back.
“Ask him how’s Slitt” Lagalos asked Minty. “HOW’S, huh wait why do I have to ask? Why don’t you
ask him?”

“Because you’re younger and louder.”
“What ever... HOW’S SLITT?”
“OH YOU KNOW, HE’S OK AND ALL EXCEPT HE KNOWS YOU WONT RELEASE HIM WITHOUT ME ALIVE. SOO... WANT TO GET ME OUT?”

“WHAT ABOUT SLITT? WILL HE STAY IN THE PIT?” Lagalos looked at Minty giving her a questioning look. “What? Slitt might be nicer than we think.”

“HE SAYS HE’LL ONLY LET ME LIVE IF YOU GO KILL THE SNAKE KING.”
“WAIT WHY DOESN’T HE SAY ANYTHING?”
“SNAKES CAN’T SCREAM TALK.”
“OH.”
“HE WANTS THE PROPER THRONE OF BEING SNAKE KING, SO YOU HAVE TO KILL THE SNAKE KING AND GET THE CROWN TO FREE ME.”
“DO WE HAVE TO? WHY CAN’T IT BE LIKE THE PIGEON KING.”
“I JUST ASKED HIM, AND HE SAYS NO, HE SAYS BRING IT BACK OR HE’LL NEVER LET ME GO.”

“Great... this is why I hate islands, and snakes, especially snakes on islands.” Lagalos said as he and Minty set out to build another raft.

“HEY WAIT YOU DIDN’T ANSWER ME! GUYS? HEY GUYS? Heheh I’m sure they went to get the crown... Oh god I hope they did.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a raft of spider legs, Furry flew her manta with a rope attached to it, dragging it along the sea; Following the scent of others.

“You think that they’re ok?” Goon asked as he looked down at the water.

“Of course, they have Lagalos, if I know that guy, he’s always in something dangerous.” Mr. Strider was looking in the water when he suddenly thought he saw a mermaid. Taking a quick gasp, everyone but the sleeping Stealth looked at him.

“What’s wrong?” Rebel woke up in a startle.

“No no just thought I saw something in the water.” Mr. Strider reassured everyone with his tone that everything was ok.

“I thought I saw a ghost in the water you know... it pushed my arm.” Goon said as he continued to look with a glassy stare.

“Uh huh, I think we’re almost there, the scent is getting stronger.” Furry changed her manta’s direction a bit.

Then suddenly while Mr. Strider had his back to the water, a pair of webbed hands came up and pulled him under. It was so fast that no one had time to react and they all just stared at where he use to be.

“FURRY STOP THE MANTA, SOMETHING’S GOT STRIDER!!!” Rebel started to take off her dress, as Goon no longer was staring at where Mr. Strider was.

Stealth grabbed his axes and let out a roaring scream and the he jumped into the water dragging Goon under.

“Wait I can’t breath undgblubhlubhblu...” Goon protested.

Rebel casted a spell on herself as she finished taking off her dress, leaving her undergarments, looking at Furry she said, “take care of the raft, if we don’t come back keep looking for the others.”

Furry sighed and stroked her manta, “well at least you won’t leave me...”

~~~~~~~

Mr. Strider gasped underwater as he was being pulled and reached for the sword by his side when a strong swirl of water knocked him in the gut. They dragged him down to a small underwater town at a speed where they soon were out of sight from the others.

“oh no my love, not this time.” The mermaid smiled as her two comrades held him tight.

“I’m not interested in you Ariel, I told you I don’t care for you and your kind.” Mr. Strider gave her a harsh look.

“what about your friends?” Suddenly Mr. Strider’s face contorted in pang and sadness. “yes you do want them to survive don’t you, oh sweetum does that mean you’ll be my hubbie again?”

“I’m married.” Mr. Strider retorted with pride.

“I know, that’s why I’ve arranged something special for your wife, a beautiful trip to the sea. I’m sure you’d hate for that trip to turn out horrible, but there’s so much you can do to prevent that.” Ariel swam up to his ear and whispered “like father my child.”

“No I will never do that! Wait how'd you know?” Mr. Strider began to build chi in his body ready to burst free when suddenly Ariel hit him with a high pressure spell; Causing all the water around him to crush his body.

“Tut tut hun, you think I’d fall for the same thing twice? and it was Duke”

“Damn him, but you did fall for it last time I hear.” Mr. Strider taunted her and then Ariel’s eerily perfect face wrinkled a bit. Where then she waved and sent two dozen mermaids away. A few moment later, only half returned with severe injuries, saying that they had successfully incapacitate one of them.

“Oh see, how easily I can crush your friends? I have dozens more at my disposal my dear, now I’m sure they can be on their way if you come back to my place and talk things over.”

“I bet it was the ugly one that was incapacitated.” Mr. Strider smirked. Ariel turned to her maids and they nodded.

“yes milady he was the ugliest man you would have seen, perhaps even too ugly for mating.” Ariel’s face twisted into a hideous bloated fish-like face and picked up one of the guard’s trident and killed the maid.

“very well, it doesn’t matter,” Ariel tried to regain her composure and sweet voice, “I will send the rest of them and kill them all, and for your wife...”

“WAIT...” Mr. Strider couldn’t take that chance, with his friends they could survive perhaps, but now with his wife.

“I’ll... go to your place...” He said unwillingly.

”oh that’s perfect, and if you do not please me in the way I wish, your wife will not have a pleasant trip.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Damnit Goon, are you ok?” Furry was slapping Goon in the face after the others pulled him back up on the raft.

They didn’t say much but that Goon couldn’t breathe underwater, and that he somehow held his breath for ten minutes. Furry still slapping Goon realized that they wanted her to resuscitate him.

“Oh no way, no way am I doing that.” Furry started to punch Goon in his chest until some water started to spill out of his mouth.

“Oh this works fine too.” Punching away for a few minutes, Goon wasn’t breathing, and Furry signed.

“Only so you don’t die... but if you ever make me do this again I will rather watch you die.” Leaning in towards Goon with his mouth filled with seawater, Furry took a deep gasp of her last untainted breath of air.

Plunging down towards his mouth she saw his lips move a bit, and then with her keen ears heard his pounding heart.

“OH YOU UGLY PIECE OF SHIT!!” She started to pummel him with her fists of fury, a famed attack that knew no end.

“Ow ow ow, you can’t blame a guy for trying, ow please stop no I’m sorry stop ow common Furry it’s really a compliment ow stop please.” Goon felt the pummelling worse then the attack of the giant sea monster.

Hours past where then eventually Furry tired out, and stood there, panting for breathe and wiped the sweat rolling off of forhead. Goon lay there, swollen, bloodied and bruised beyond recognition.

“Never.... do... that.... again....” She got on her manta and waited.

Night fell and then emerged was Rebel and Lix but no Mr. Strider.

“Sigh they have some secret place down there, we can’t find it.” Rebel said with a tint of mourning.

“We can still find him.” Stealth said with his axes on the raft. “Remember Inferior? He’s been there; we just need to find him to save Mr. Strider.”

“Ok so now we have to find them, Furry, get ready to... whoa what happened to Goon?” Rebel looked and examined him.

“Nothing, he just looks like that sometimes. So we’re going?” Furry said promptly.

“Yeah but I’m sure he looked better, health wise when we left him here.” Rebel looked at Furry expecting an answer.

“We’re almost there so get ready to land. I think I see the island over in that horizon.” Furry said sitting on her fox.