Chapter 41
"Polka!"
"Hurry, get her back!" shouted Lamy as she finished off the yeti that was trying to take out Botan. Then, she turned to handle the other yeti that she tried and failed to frost over.
Nene's voice rose in crescendo as her pitch went higher and higher, the mountainside beside the climbing yeti exploding and shattering, pelting its entire body with a shower of rock and debris. Yet, its grip held strong and it didn't fall, nor did it let go of the fennec fox girl.
"Let her go!" shouted the archer as she peppered its behind with arrows.
With an angry cry, Aloe shot up and went after the fleeing yeti. Slashing her claws down its back, it roared in pain as it tried to continue climbing. Then, she took her dagger and jammed it into its neck. It gurgled as blood spurted out into the air as she ripped it out, raining down into a fine red mist. As it toppled backward and let go of the monk, she tried to grab her injured friend but she wasn't fast enough.
"No! Polka!" she shouted in horror as she watched the limp body fall.
"Got her!" shouted Botan, the fennec fox girl falling neatly in her arms. Her legs almost buckled under the sudden increase of weight but she held on. Then, she asked frantically, "Polka! Polka! Are you alright!?"
A green glow washed over her. The lion archer looked up. The cleric was still fending off the remaining yeti, her leg bleeding a little. It was the bard that sang the healing word before she moved in the help the cleric.
"You can let me down now," said Polka with a grin.
"Ah," the archer sounded as she let her go. She then picked up her bow and started shooting again.
The yeti roared loudly as her arrows started punching holes in its chest. With another cry, Aloe landed on its chest feet-first and jammed her claws into its throat. As its body crashed to the ground, she pulled her hand out, splattering the ground and its fur with blood.
"Overkill much?" asked Botan.
"Eheh, no kill like overkill," stated the succubus cheekily as she sensually licked her bloodied fingers.
"Now, now, tone it down," chided Nene as she went over and rubbed her friend on the shoulder, Lamy frowning in the background.
"Can we rest a bit before we try and find Choco?" asked Polka as she rubbed her arms.
"Not for long," stated the cleric, still frowning a little at the succubus, "Who knows what that dragon is doing to her. I can only pray that she is still doing her best to survive."
"Alright, let's follow the path," suggested Nene as the archer untied the rope and returned it to the monk, "Maybe we might find a cave or opening that may lead us there."
They agreed and after deciding to head north, they journeyed on while keeping an eye out. Soon, they came to a small path leading up into the range while the other continued on. The snow-swept path was large enough, strangely enough, for a yeti to walk single file. Deciding to take the path, their decision was confirmed when Aloe spotted a small tuft of hair sticking on a blunted rock spike.
Soon, they reached a large cave, the mouth of the cave looking wide enough for a few yeti to stand next to each other with some space remaining. Stepping inside, they traversed down the cavern tunnels. They came across several branching paths. Each time, they had Polka sneak ahead to check around. A few times, they found caves where there was either a sleeping yeti or an empty cave. A few others were openings in the mountain leading to ledges where she could see the path from. It wasn't very high and the yeti could climb down a bit before jumping down. At last, they found an empty cave. The bard set up her hut spell while the rest of the party rested, taking comfort in the warmth of the interior.
An hour later, the tiny ht was dispelled and they continued on their way. Or they would be if Botan suddenly told them to hide. As everyone backed off from the entrance and stayed still, the archer kept her ears peeled. Seconds ticked by and she finally let out a breath of relief.
"I heard something walking towards us. It might have been a yeti or two," she told them before going up the short tunnel and looked around. She then turned to the rest and motioned to follow.
They continued on their way, making it through the tunnels. There were a few close calls and one time the lion archer wondered aloud why there were so many yeti in this place. And the tunnels are getting larger but lesser, which confused the party a little. But, their questioning looks were answered when the tunnel they were following suddenly opened up to a gigantic cavern.
It had several holes in the ceiling that let light stream through, all aimed to a spot further in. There were large and small stalactites scattered around the top as well as four large pillars of stone. The whole place, save for a large area around the entrance to the cavern and the ceiling, was fogged up and difficult to see through.
Warily, they walked up to the clear area, making sure to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
"What in the world is going on?" muttered Nene.
"Hmm, I do not believe we have a way to remove the fog, do we?" asked Lamy in a low tone.
"I don't-"
"Who dares to enter my lair?" asked a loud, growling voice that cut off the bard.
"Who's asking?" called out Polka bravely.
The voice chuckled and said, "Now, why should I tell my name to prey? Prey that willingly come to my lair and serve themselves to me, all ready to eat."
"Please, great sir. There is no need for violence," spoke up the half-snow elf, "We are here for a tiefling cleric. Have you perhaps seen her?"
The voice laughed and replied, "My, what polite prey you are. Friends of that other one. I was keeping her for later. So, it seems that you can join her in my larder!" It then roared loudly... like a dragon.
"Damn it-" muttered Aloe before muttering a curse in her tongue.
Lamy started chanting prayers under her breath while everyone else got ready to attack the first thing that came out of the fog. Without warning, the fog seemed to be sucked in from the northern side before a blast of freezing cold air filled with shards of ice ripped through them. Polka fell, a large ice shard piercing her stomach.
"There!" shouted Botan as she shot at the fog before getting behind a pillar. Her arms and legs were bleeding from multiple cuts.
"Avoid the center!" called out Lamy in a groan as she sent her spectral weapon into the fog and swing blindly. She then ducked behind the nearest pillar.
Nene went near her pillar while throwing a dagger. At the same time, Aloe dragged Polka's bleeding body to the fourth pillar, shouting, "A little help here!"
A loud growl was heard coming from the northern side before moving away. For a moment… silence. Then, the fog started moving again, this time from the western side.
"Watch-aaahh!" shrieked Nene as she got knocked over by the blast of ice when the dragon suddenly showed its head. Meanwhile, the archer, even though she was the furthest away, was also affected as her body slowly frosted over. Unable to handle the extreme cold through the wounds she got from the first breath attack, she toppled over to the side and lay still on the ground.
Letting out a throaty chuckle, the dragon said, "Feed me-ARGH!"
It suddenly roared in pain when a column of radiant fire suddenly broke through the ceiling and slammed on its back. The ones that were still standing gasped when a tiefling with ebony horns and wings stepped out of the fog from the south side. She was holding her side with one arm as she hobbled over while she hugged her shield close with the other.
"You!"
It let out another roar as the spectral sword stabbed it in the shoulder. As it retreated back into the fog, a dagger bounced off its scaly hide. However, Nene, who was healed up by Lamy's healing, was able to stab Anya into the earlier wound before she was shaken off and the young dragon disappeared into the fog.
"Go! Heal your friend! I got this one!" the tiefling shouted out as she moved over to Polka.
"Choco Yuzuki, I presume?" asked the half-snow elf as she ran over to Botan.
"I am," she replied as she knelt down to heal the monk of her wounds.
As the both of them chanted, the bard called out, "Anya! Where are you!?"
"Look out!"
"Die out, overgrown lizard!" she mocked as the succubus' thrown dagger bounced off its scaly hide again as it lunged out of the fog.
It grabbed the tiefling in its mouth by the waist, causing her to scream in pain. She slammed her shield into its nose and it released her. As she staggered back, she blocked its clawed hand twice, the second time causing something to crack in her arm, all the while as it shouted, "Die! Die! Die!"
As it gave her a hungry grin, it roared in pain as the newly recovered archer and monk dished out their revenge on its snout. At the same time, Choco called down sacred flames from the heavens, coming through the hole that her spell made. It slammed into its head, burning and searing it greatly. It let loose an agonized roar, which became even louder as Aloe's dagger finally found purchase in its eye while Nene tried mocking it again.
"So, you dumb lizard, how do you feel getting beaten by prey?" she insulted it.
As it lay bleeding on the ground, it suddenly let out a raspy chuckle, saying, "Not… leaving… alive..."
"Tch, all that noise was calling the yeti," growled out the lion girl as Lamy moved to the center of the clearing to start praying.
"Oh, my goddess. I beseech you, grant this boon to your servant," she chanted as she extended her arms to the side, palms facing up with her eyes closed, "Lend us your aid and healing to your most beautiful protectors."
"Very nice, Lamy!" exclaimed Polka as she moved in to stand in front of the cleric to protect her.
Meanwhile, Botan smiled as she muttered out a chant as she nocked her arrow, the missile glowing faintly. Upon release, it surged straight at the emerging group of four yetis. It exploded the moment it bit yeti flesh with a loud crackle and boom.
As the two clerics sent flashes of bright light at the monsters, Nene hurriedly retrieved Anya from the dead dragon's body.
"Clever girl," quipped the dagger.
"Well, it was hiding, we needed a way to know where it is," the bard stated her reasoning as she ran to help the others.
The tunnel leading to the dragon's lair was not as wide, only enough for two yetis to squeeze through. The one in the front was Polka, who she was intending to help. One by one, they took out the yetis. However, after two of them were killed, the third had stepped forward and almost killed the monk.
"Polka!" shouted the bard in horror as another arrow burst in the middle of the remaining yetis, showering them with much force and wood splinters.
"None shall fall this day!" declared Choco as she raised her shield, her holy symbol glowing with power, "By the light of the moon, your wounds will be cured and your life be restored." A verdant wave of pale white akin to moonlight washed over everyone in the party.
With renewed vigor, they cut down the remaining two yetis. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"So, you've been looking for me?" asked the tiefling cleric as the party turned to face her.
"Yeah… we have," said Nene, "We can talk along the way out? We are injured and I rather get far away from this place."
"Ha… but with the dragon dead, we can just camp here for the rest of the day," suggested Botan with a gleam in her eye, "Plus, who knows how much stuff is here?"
"You just want the dragon head," accused Lamy.
"Er, eh heh..."
After muttering a prayer of healing for them, they explored around the lair. Or they tried. The fog seemed to be increasing, so they decided to set up camp for the night. After setting up the tiny hut, they ate what they could and went to sleep.
The next morning was bright and sunny, and more importantly, fog-free. They were very surprised and thankful that they didn't go into the fog to explore. A large gash in the earth almost cut the lair in two halves, leaving a short land bridge connecting the two halves. The other half had the dragon's small treasure trove. There was quite a lot for a young dragon to amass, at least from what they could see from their half. On their side was the dragon's 'larder'. Several frozen bodies of animals were around the clearing, formerly hidden in the fog.
"Did you wake up here?" asked Lamy, pointing at the dead bodies.
"No… do you see that?" replied Choco as she pointed to a set of natural stone steps leading up to an overhang.
"Up there?"
"Yeah, the dragon stored his more… human-like meals up there," she explained to the party, drawing out grimaces and frowns from the party. "We better go up there to get some disposable weapons," she then suggested, much to their confusion. "You'll see. If I guessed this correctly, we will need them," she said mysteriously as she headed up there. The party followed her without a word, wondering what she was on about.
They collected several worn daggers, a worn sword, and two worn maces. They carried them over the land bridge to the treasure trove. It was beautiful. The sunlight streaming through the holes in the lair bounced across the room, lighting up the diamonds, gold pieces, and silver pieces beautifully. And the majority of it was being held behind ice. Very thick ice.
"What..." muttered Aloe in disbelief.
"I knew it," stated the tiefling with a smirk, "Right, let's get started."
"How did you know?" asked Botan as they took a worn weapon each and started chipping at the ice.
"Mhm, that needs a bit of explanation," she told them as she started slamming her worn mace on the ice, "Firstly, I was with Subaru when the black dragon attacked."
"Eh!? You were there?" exclaimed Nene in surprise.
"I was," she confirmed, "It was after all that which led me to read up on dragons. I rather not get caught off-guard should I ever come across another one. Especially one that would be hunting me or whatever reason they might have. I even visited a friend of mine a few months ago to get a chance to read up more on the subject."
"To go to that extent is admirable, Miss Choco," stated the half-snow elf with awe.
"Things like this are important to know sometimes," she said humbly, "I'm just doing what you or your friends would be doing to keep yourselves safe. Now, let us focus on getting rid of this ice. I want some compensation for all the trouble that dragon put us through."
AN: Hello again, readers. Welcome back.
In this chapter, we have a few close calls. Yetis are no joke, especially when you fail the Chilling Gaze CON save. The dragon, even worse, as you will certainly get hit by the breath attack. All you can do is try to mitigate the damage. None of them have resistance against cold except Aloe. Simulating the fight was very tough on Holo5, but this is where Choco comes in. She was already quite injured when she came in but was able to swing the battle back to their favor through some difficulty.
After that, a fight with even more yetis, but they handled this a little better since they had extra healing power backing them up. Botan might want to get a new trophy after this... but as she will find out next chapter, the dragon head is a bit too battered to be stuffed and mounted. However... she might get something else out of it. As for the others, they shall take some good stuff from the dragon hoard. the hoard is... small. This is a young white dragon after all, so whatever loot they find won't be as much as an adult dragon's hoard. Still, they will find some stuff that will be of great use to clerics as reagents.
Next chapter, it's time to make their way back home. But how? Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.