Almost immediately, the abomination lumbered forward towards us. Its wounded legs were riddled with punji sticks it hadn't even bothered to dislodge from itself, giving it a slow form.
"Three heads already down, crippled legs, gas attack and simultaneous movement, presumably some form of mental link…" I muttered to myself, before turning to the others. "Todone! You're our Vanguard! The moisture in the air should make things easier for you to keep mobile, so keep this thing on its toes but for the love of god stay out of its central reach! Stick to the side and back! {Jump}! {Protect from Poison}!"
Immediately Todone sprung forward to meet the necrotic horror, already doing his work to distract the beast and buy me time. "Zaru! I need you to-"
"{Ensnaring Strike}!" He called out as he let loose a knocked arrow, catching one of the beasts just as it was rearing back for a swing at our spearman. It roared out, but could do nothing but struggle against the vines sprouting from the arrow in its chest. Damn it, he already tested it once yesterday, he's got one more shot of that before it's curtains.
"Alright, do your thing but save that last spell! We'll need to keep that for an ideal moment! Focus arrow fire on disabling it, preferably the heads if you can! We need to keep this thing slow and manageable!"
Almost as if to mock my words, the corpse hydra let out a guttural and unified scream, and two of its heads launched forth to claw at the mud with their arms, increasing its speed substantially into more of a charge as it tumbled forward, forcing Todone to dart out of the way and to the side.
"Shit! {Entangle!}" I called out, attempting to wrap it in vines. As the vines rose up it did slow for a breath, however the other heads moved in to slash them down and out of the way. Nevertheless, it seemed to buy us enough time to back off.
"Split up everybody! We gotta keep this thing surrounded on all sides!"
The two seemed content to listen to me for now, and in a way that kind of helped with things. Can't have a moment of hesitation right now. The corpse hydra's heads each stared one of us down, as if contemplating which of us was the juiciest piece of meat worth cutting into.
"Everyone stay cautious, don't give it too much of a reason to hit you! We don't know what else this thing has in its bag of tricks!"
As if deciding that being loud was enough of a reason to go for one of us, it started lumbering towards me. It still kept heads focused on the others, making me realize that unless they could pull an L out of their ass I was stuck with three of them.
"{Spike Growth}!"
Wooden spines shot out from the ground, slowing it down but barely piercing the guts of its mystery body. That gave the creature enough pause for the others to strike. The conditions made it difficult but I could glimpse that at least one of the heads facing them had jerked back in a reaction of being struck. One of the other heads redirected its notice and swung at what was likely Todone's shadow, though it seems the effort was nil. Another low and guttural screech, and the creature's bodies started swelling like balloons again. The one that was restricted by Zaru's {Ensnaring Strike} however, seemed to strain against the bindings of vine before the pressure forcefully relieved itself, causing massive tears in the skin between vines and more or less mulching it. Rotting, bubbling flesh seeped through the cracks, and the corpse's head fell off from a lack of support in the body, resulting in the rest of the neck to fall limp.
"Take cover!" I shouted out, already moving. The creature knocked down my spikes and continued its lumbering, letting the mystery gas loose over the field like loose firehoses.
This time however, it seems to have redirected itself towards Zaru, and just as the gas finished pouring out of the abomination it started using the same charge as it had before, quickly trying to close the distance between itself and the lizard while keeping an eye on us. One of the upsides of having multiple heads I suppose. Not that it would stop me.
I charged forward, thankful that at least it was still slow enough for me to keep up. I can't imagine how fast this thing was in its prime. The head seemed to notice my intent, and with unexpected speed lunged forward, stretching out far more than it should have had any right to. Its sudden and unexpected reach at me made me slide into the mud underneath its grip, and I got a brief glimpse of how it was able to reach out farther than it should have. The rope itself slackened and let the creature go, still attached by the rings on the neck and whatever the hell it was attached to inside the main body, rotting guts and muscle dripping along the connection between the two. I could only give a halfhearted swipe as I rolled to the side as quick as I could, more focused on avoiding its attack as it reeled itself back into the body, narrowly missing my legs in the process. That seemed to at least do something to it, as when it reeled itself back in, a portion of its guts were spilled out from under the seams. It didn't actually seem to be in pain or anything, but the thought was nice.
I launch myself up, already set to bark more info out. "Alright everyone, the heads seem to be the primary source of this things' will! Don't forget to keep an eye on when it gets ready to strike, those necks can extend from out of the body! Anyone need a hand on their end?!"
"No!" Todone shouted out through the rain, and I could see the head focused on him whip itself towards him in the same way mine did.
"How 'bout now?!" I shouted.
"Silence human!" I heard him shout again, the sight of him glistening in the moonlight as he landed on the main body, catching the attention of the others.
They whipped forth in an attempt to catch him as one, but all the heads could do was collide with one another in the middle, Todone making a slash at one as he came down.
"When those things launch themselves forward from the body like that, they're a bit vulnerable! Slash the ropes if you can!"
Before I could continue, the horror stumbled back and started making its way toward Todone now. Grimacing, I tug one of my clay bottles and snap it off with a slosh of its contents. It won't do much against an undead, but it should at least catch its attention. I throw the bottle at it and acid splashes out onto the corpse hydra. Truthfully, I can't tell if that's going to do the job because of the rain, but I have to try something as I can't get too close. It doesn't seem to be slowing down however, so that leaves me with option B.
God do I fucking hate myself for what I'm about to do.
"{Guidance}"
I start charging in the muck, the head facing me hisses angrily, and comes out to meet me. Good. Rather than attempt to fully dodge the attack, using the {Guidance} spell to enhance my capabilities I grapple onto the head, disgusted by the sensation of rotting flesh under my finger tips. The corpse head claws at my body, eliciting a scream from my lips in agony as it rakes through clothes and skin, but I thankfully avoid being outright grabbed and slip around it's back just in time to avoid a nasty bite and inflict my next spell.
"{Ensnaring Strike}!"
I strike it on the back with my blade and watch as vines climb out from the wound to surround the rest of the creature. It gnashes and struggles, but ultimately seems to hold for now. I slide down the neck and towards the main body, fighting down the urge to vomit as the scent of rotting meat reaches my nostrils. Landing on the back of this thing seems to have caught the attention of one of the other heads, and it makes a whipping strike at me.
"{Jump}!" I call out, throwing myself up in the air. One thing I never went to test with this spell however, is whether or not I would receive fall damage. You only live once I guess. Er, twice in my case.
As I reached the peak of my rise, I called out one last spell to hopefully take this head on. "{Frostbite}!"
It worked, and just in the nick of it as well as I was starting to feel an incredible drain on my mana reserves. I started coming down with my brush hook in hand, and the frosted head attempted to greet me in the air. Attempted is the keyword here. However, in my adrenalin fuel brain I hadn't considered what would happen in the collision aftermath. My brush hook, though it met its marked and wedged deep into the creatures skulls, slipped out of my hands as I tumbled off the corpse and to the side harshly, feeling a whole new world of pain in my back with a lack of air and the marsh mud mixing in.
Though I could scarcely breath, I at least saw the corpse go limp. Two down, three to go. I slowly clambered from the beast despite my condition, hoping to lick my wounds for a moment while it dealt with the loss of one of its heads. The one I wrapped up however, seemed to notice this. Though its limbs were still tied, that didn't means its mouth wasn't. It shout out and clamped itself around my leg, forcing a breathless scream through my mouth, cueing my regrets.
All I could do was helplessly bat at the corpse tearing into my calf as it dragged me closer to the horror, scarcely any strength in my arms. My spare knife in hand, I stabbed weakly at the face, even as it began to hold me in the air.
Not today you motherfucker. I punctured the eye socket and slammed the butt of my knife with an open palm, hoping the force would have been enough to damage whatever mechanism was inside. And that was when my breath came to me, and I could vocalize more than a harsh whisper.
"Fuck! I ain't ready to die yet asshole, I still gotta see this bitch through!" I shouted, slamming the knife again, and I felt myself drop from the jaws of the beast. I collided back into the mud, and the corpse head flopped onto my pained body before being dragged away by the beasts rotation. It seems as though it noticed the quick and sudden loss of two of its heads and was re-evaluating things. As much as a violent rage fueled necromancers wet dream could at least.
"{Cure Wounds}" I muttered as I clutched my back, despite the headache and fatigue that came with over extending my mana pool. Or was that the bloodloss? Speaking of, I pulled a plant fiber strip and tied my leg off in a bootleg tourniquet. By no means an answer that would last longer than a few moments, but enough to give me strength.
"Zaru, pop a cap in this bitch! He's got two heads left!"
The beast however, had other plans. In a disgusting maneuver, one of the heads tore out one of the corpses spinal cords, pulling out a long and disgusting pseudo whip. One of them swung it, slashing an arrow out of the air. The other corpse reached around into the main body, and with a disgusting squelch pulled out one of its bones before throwing it like a knife, missing the old lizard by a hair as he leapt back.
"...Now that's just not fair…" I muttered, pulling myself back even further from the main fight. I still had a few tricks though, so I wasn't out of it yet. "Keep this thing distracted! I need to hit up the hut for something!"
I stumbled back and away, eventually thudding against the main door. I really hate how I design the damn thing now, but I managed to wedge it open just enough to climb inside. Crawling and slightly bleeding out, I wash the wound out with some previously prepared water. God that's a lot of mud. I scream as I slap on some healing herb, which while useful was also painful. Then I wrap the wound in cloth, not really capable of stitching it up effectively just yet. Now that I have something a little better than a tourniquet I grab the other bottles of herb I'd tucked away. A bottle of Gali's Spite. Never expected to fight a corpse out here, so its not as though I had it at the ready. I pulled my other bottles off and replaced them, ready to do some more work on this thing.
Limping out the door, I was greeted with the sight of these things dishing it out still. Honestly, with the stages it had you'd think this was a boss fight someone made. Still, it seems they were now distracted by the others, which gave me my opening.
"Hey asshole! Get a load of this!" I shouted out, throwing a bottle…
… only for it to weakly land in the mud. I looked at my arm, and realized I was shaking softly. I tapped my chest and murmured an {Insight Check}.
{Status Effect: Poisoned}
… Fuck me.
"Todone, you got the manpower to spare?!" I shouted out.
"What do you need human?!" He shouted out from the other side. Not an ideal position, but I was sure he could loop around.
"I'm fucking poisoned and I'm out of mana! I got some nasty shit you can use on this abomination but I can't throw for a damn right now! I need you to do the job! Zaru, keep that thing distracted while he makes his way for me!"
"On it!" He shouted out, making his mad dash to the side and towards the back of the corpse hydra. The beast attempted to throw another bone but was shot through the neck. It didn't seem to kill it however, but it at least distracted the dumb ass thing.
The toad boy landed next to me, and I handed him my belt. I winced, feeling my heart starting to beat in my chest uneasily. "Gali's spite, splash this fucker up. Get a bottle to Zaru if you can. Before you go… {Jump}".
He wordlessly grabs the belt and makes his way back out. I smile weakly, and fall against the brick wall, letting myself slowly slide down into the mud as rain pitter pattered down on me. It was up to them now, all I could do at this point was watch and roll the dice. Fuck, maybe I should have saved that mana for another cure wounds? Probably wouldn't matter at this point though, might as well make sure they get to see things through.
Todone made a leap up into the air far above the corpse beast and I could hear the telltale sound of bottles breaking open, and this thing let out an ungodly shriek. The spine whipper swung its weapon around wildly in the air, now intent on seeking revenge. The other head started swelling up with more gas. Huh, I guess these things can do that separately from one another now.
Unfortunately however, the arrow lodged in its throat provided a unique reaction. Without enough space for air to flow out, what was once a lazy spray now proved to be a concentrated stream, something it used to aim at Todone. Luckily however, my prior {Protect from Poison} should have kept the kid safe. I hear another bottle crash followed by more screams, and I can see a chunk of flesh slough off and fly into the air as the corpse head whips itself back. Eugh.
Still, the two remaining heads certainly have a lot more fight and energy than when they were five, and they've shown little sign of slowing down so far. These two need to take down the last two as quickly as they can, because unlike the undead we need to breathe. I can see the old hunting lizard moving surprisingly quick for being an old guy, letting loose one arrow after the other from the bow. Each and every one seems to make quite the mark, landing two in the gut and one in the arm holding the spine. This seems to make the grip slacken slightly, to which Todone takes advantage of and springs forth using one of his martial arts, slashing the arm off with the spear and making a decent gash across its torso.
Now unarmed, Todone lands a bottle into its face as he passes by, splashing more of the paste into its face and making it contort backwards with what should have been a spine-snapping position. It weakly flails and shivers before it goes limp. I chuckled weakly, realizing these guys were gonna make it. The urge to close my eyes was getting heavier by the second, but I forced myself to keep them open, to watch. I wanted to see how they'd take this thing out.
The remaining corpse head seemed to realize it was the last one standing, and screamed violently. It tugged and pulled at the rope under its comrades, and with sickening pops it cut the dead weight off of itself, barreling forward much more quickly than it normally would. It then proceeded to steadily hose out gas as it ran, slowly coating the field in a fog. Zaru was forced to pull away as it gave chase to him, but with Todone's temporary poison immunity he dashed in and landed on the creature's back. It bellowed and wailed, attempting to flail him off.
"Now!" I heard Todone shout, and I heard words come from Zarusosa, though I couldn't understand them.
However, it seems as though understanding it wasn't necessary, as I saw an arrow fly out and land in the creature's sternum. Like a wildfire, vines whipped out and encased the corpse, pinning its arms to its side. Despite this, it was still attempting to pour gas out to no avail, the vines wrapping themselves around the throat. It swole up surely, like one big meat balloon, and that's when Todone wrapped around and leapt, poking at its guts and forcing it to violently expel itself. The intestines dangled weakly like holiday garlands, and the toad boy tossed one last bottle into the opening with a crash, the beast making the same contortion as the other had before falling limp, the herb forcing it's necrotic flesh and bone to sever from the rest of the body, falling to the ground disconnected like the rest of its former brothers.
As if to signify the end of our plight, the rain lightened up, to a point where it was barely considered a drizzle. There was silence in the air, as if they couldn't believe it themselves. Then I got a notification from the System that was… well received.
{Level up! You have three unused level points! How would you like to apply them?}
Holy shit, this thing was enough experience to level me up thrice? What the fuck level was that thing even?
"Guys…" I called out weakly, chuckling. "It looks dead to me. Well, deader than it was".
I saw the spear in Todone's hand shaking for a moment, then I heard him scream with delight. Maybe he was dancing too, but my vision was starting to blur, so I couldn't be certain.
"... over… finally…" I heard from Zaru, noticing that words were fading in and out.
"Uhh… I might not make it…" I tried to call out, but between the poison and the blood loss it may have come out more as a slur.
I saw them stop in their celebrations, and their blobby forms came to me in shock. Huh, did they always have twins with them?
"... ounded badly… ost a… lood… poisoned to… needs…!" I heard Todone shouting underwater. Weird, if we were underwater then how come I could breathe air?
"... idea…" I heard Zaru's voice muttered. "... wed favours… ow a Red E… uid, they ca…"
I slumped back, content to let them do their thing. Fuck it, I saw the end of it, I killed two heads. I deserved a nap. I felt them lifting my body up, and my body swung in the air as I began to fall asleep, delighted in the sensation of being carried like a hammock for some reason.
Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 60 [Neutral]) [14/15 Spell slots used]
Classes: Brawler (4), Ranger (3), Druid (2), Clothier (3). Total Level (12) Unspent Levels (3).
Spells (Druid): Frostbite, Entangle, Create or Destroy Water, Guidance, Jump, Cure Wounds, Dust Devil, Protect from Poison, Hold Person, Spike Growth, Lesser Restoration
Spells (Ranger): Animal Friendship, Speak to Animals, Ensnaring Strike
Gear: Canvas Clothes (Sturdy, Weathered), Oak-Handled Brush-hook, Canvas Coyote Pack of Holding, Bundles of Herbs (Medicinal), Bundles of Chitin, Pot of Tannin, Bundles of Smoked Bug Meat, Dried Deer Hide, Bones, Bone toolkit
Items of Note: {Humble Beginnings}, {Emerald Moon}
Party Members are as follows…
Member One: Todone, Son of Kodrotti, Toadman (Karma: -20 [Neutral])
Classes: Toadman Warrior (9), Brawler (8), Total Level (17).
Member Two: Zarusosa Shaha of the Greenclaws, Lizardman. (Karma: 120 [Neutral-Good])
Classes: Lizardman Hunter (10), Warrior (9), Ranger (6), Total Level (25).