The Newt and Demon-8.12 - Eruption

Theo had only gotten a close look at one other dragon in his time on this planet. The creature was intimidating, even without malicious intent. However, as he looked upon this new dragon that burst forth from the pool of lava, he could feel only a deep sense of malice. The alchemist barely released his aura in time, shielding himself from that dreadful sensation at the last moment and preventing himself from releasing a startled scream. The others in his party were raring to go, each hoisting weapons or dashing off to get into position. Jan had already fired a few shots.

The dragon itself looked much like Pogo in many respects. It had four legs, a long slender neck ending in a blocky head. A pair of wings sat on its back, and it had a whippy tail that slashed through the air. But structure was the only thing they held in common. This dragon seemed to be made of lava; its skin bubbled, and molten rock sloughed off in large patches. When it swiped its tail through the air, it lashed forward with a stream of lava that threatened to incinerate the members of the group.

For his part, Theo fell back on his barriers, establishing a small safe zone that would prevent lava from burning anyone to death. He watched as Fenian and Tresk darted off. Twist took his own path while Jan stood behind those barriers, firing shot after shot.

"Is this normal for Fenian's adventures?" Theo asked, stepping to the side to avoid a stream of lava. It was only thanks to his danger sense that he wasn't incinerated.

“Yeah, this is pretty normal,” Jan said as though this was another day in the office. He reloaded his revolver and took careful aim before firing yet again. “I don't think we've killed a dragon yet, but he’s been talking about this guy for a while. I thought it was in a different volcano.”

“Why would you think the lava dragon was in any other volcano?” Theo asked.

“Lots of volcanos in the world, right?” Jan asked. “He normally tells us what we’re gonna kill, so this was a weird one.”

Theo looked back at the pitched fight and tried to decide what he thought about it. Killing a dragon for no reason didn't sit well with him, but this one clearly wasn't on the good team. Even from its general aura, he could tell the dragon wasn't a pleasant being. However, there was more to that aura than just malice, which painted the monster as exactly that. Not just one of the elegant dragons that had graced the mortal plane, but a monster that had been twisted into something else.

Even with that justification, Theo couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the potential reagents.

Tresk wasn't a good team player. She disappeared into the shadows, reappearing many times to strike at the dragon's scales. The alchemist could feel her drawing on more of his power and watched as her visage changed to resemble his own. Horns sprouted from her forehead as her tail thinned out. She gained a few feet in height, and her speed increased, but she failed to notice the openings created by Fenian. His specialty was the rapier, a weapon that allowed him to dig deep into the dragon's scales and expose its vulnerable flesh. The alchemist had to force his will upon the marshling to get her to notice.

Perhaps it was cruel, but the first poison Tresk lashed out with was the Venom poison, the one enhanced with his shadowy abilities. The effect would linger forever and couldn't be banished by anything other than the strongest of curative magics, even if the dragon got away. It couldn't recover. Its fate was sealed, which only drove the creature more insane.

Theo clenched his teeth as he reached out with both hands. The dragon performed a spinning maneuver in the air, coming down in a roll to smack the alchemist with its tail. He barely managed to reach out, infusing his barrier spell with his willpower. The ground beneath his feet cracked, with bubbling magma seeping up and threatening to envelop his boots. Jan held his revolver aloft. The tip glowed, and a bar of pure light shot forth, causing the dragon to back off with a horrified screech.

"Thanks for that," Theo said. Moving his cloistered position away from the ruined ground. He still held a single hand out, fishing into his inventory to retrieve a dagger. With a flick of his wrist he sent it flying. The dagger, imbued with Dragon’s Dance, slammed into the dragon’s face. Blades of pure energy appeared there, dancing like the property’s namesake and raking the monster’s eyes. It howled in pain. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"Huzzah!" Fenian shouted, taking advantage of the dazed dragon to kick off the ground, streaking through the air like a bolt of lightning.

Theo wasn't sure if he would consider any of his fights prior to this one as serious. However, when he had to drink one of his new healing potions imbued with Web, he realized how dire the situation was. Tendrils shot out, wrapping around Twist’s chest and curing the mortal wound he had gained during the fight. The alchemist found himself in a supporting role, establishing barriers and throwing potions to change the pace of battle. His new version of the Freezebomb was effective at dampening the sudden appearance of lava… after he toned down the power by diluting it.

Stolen story; please report.

Even with all those advantages, the fight was close. Twist had a few close calls, unsuited for Theo and Jan. If not for his danger sense, perhaps they wouldn’t have made it. But eventually, the dragon fell. Much to the alchemist's dismay, the moment it was defeated, it exploded in a shower of lava that consumed its body entirely. Whatever reagents it might have held seemed to go up in flames. He eventually breathed a sigh of relief when a few choice bits were left behind. Along with the thing Fenian must’ve been interested in.

“Grab the goods,” Fenian said, pointing at the bubbling mound of lava.

“The goods currently bobbing in the death-giving lava?” Twist asked. “You first.”

Fenian narrowed his eyes and rushed over to the mound of lava left behind by the dragon. He reached in to grab a few items, which he quickly hid in his inventory. He cursed the entire time as he burned himself, while Theo watched in amusement. Once the elf was done, he withdrew another potion and froze the entire mound, casually walking over to chip away at the stone and retrieve the bones he was after. It would have been nice to obtain some scales, but nothing could compare to dragon bones. To his surprise, the dragon wasn't named. The items simply displayed as "dragon bones," showing that this was a very weak dragon, at least compared to the others he had seen or heard about.

“You could’ve done that before I burned my poor hand,” Fenian said, frowning dramatically.

“Did you see that?” Tresk asked, striking a series of heroic poses. “I killed a dragon! A real one!”

“Well…” Fenian trailed off, stopping himself from saying something. “I mean, yes! What an amazing kill it was!”

So, it wasn’t a real dragon. Theo suspected it was a monster of some kind, and not the native dragons he was familiar with. He wasn’t sure exactly how the system’s rules worked, but this creature had been generated. He wouldn’t complain, though. It would be nice to experiment with some more dragon bones.

“Oh, I should say… We need to get out of here,” Fenian said, smiling nervously. “The story is too complex to tell in such a short time, but the creature was bound to the mountain. The volcano is going to erupt.”

“Well, good luck with the escape, guys,” Theo said, pulling his aura out to surround himself and Tresk. “We’ve got some business to attend to.”

Jan’s face went ashen.

"Oh, you little scamp," Fenian said. He paused for a long moment. "You are joking, aren’t you?"

"Yeah, come on, you idiots. Did you guys want to watch the volcano erupt, or did you want to go home?"

“Eruption!” Tresk shouted.

“Seconded,” Twist said, holding up a finger.

They agreed as a group to watch the volcano erupt, so Theo probed the nearby area for a good observation point. He found a spot near the coast and folded the void in on itself. The party vanished from the depths of the volcano and appeared alongside a rambling strand among the tropical trees and the sound of the lapping waves. He withdrew a chair from his inventory and got comfortable. From the outside, it didn't appear as though anything was happening. We only saw the mountain in the distance. It rose above the jungle, emitting a plume of black smoke that rose high into the air.

"This is the fun part," Fenian said. "Many people think the ogres are simply stupid, but that's only true for most of them. There's a caste of highly intelligent ogres that make the entire society run, which means the shaman class will be here at any moment to take care of the volcano."

"Do they know the volcano is going to erupt or something?" Theo asked.

"More than that," Fenian explained. "There are old tales here talking about the eruption of the volcano. That dragon monster has been slumbering beneath it for quite some time now, and none of the ogre's forces have been able to defeat it. Of course, the creature is responsible for the place being active all the time. Since it is leaving, the volcano will enter a state of instability, and it will erupt, completing the prophecy."

“Did we help them out?” Tresk asked.

“Indeed, we did,” Fenian said. “Most ogres would fight against the world’s end if this prophecy didn’t become completed. Once the volcano goes dormant, they’ll be happy to start a new life.”

“Wow. You did a good thing for once,” Twist said.

“I do plenty of good!” Fenian shouted. “You just think of the short-term, as is your culture.”

“You know nothing about my culture,” Twist grumbled.

“Well, we’re all aliens here,” Fenian said. “Twist is from another world entirely. I’m from Iaredin before the switch. Tresk is a native. Jan is from Earth before the fall. And Theo from after. We have assembled an interesting group.”

“No kidding,” Theo said, eyes locked on the volcano. A spout of lava shout a few hundred feet into the air. “I think the eruption is starting.”

First there was the geyser of lava. Many seconds afterward, the sound hit them. The group was far too distant to make out details, but something else happened. It took Theo a while to pick up on the flow of magical energy. It eventually came to him like a wave and he sensed sorcerery.

“Earth Sorcerers,” Theo said, nodding with approval. He eventually saw the shape of the mountain change, even as it was exploding.

The ogres of Slagrot held the mountain together as it spewed lava, reshaping it in real-time. Theo realized it wasn’t a single skilled sorcerer, but many working together. They wove powerful magic over the mountain, eventually reshaping it entirely. The process took hours. The group watched the entire time, barely saying a word. When night had fallen, Tresk finally broke the silence.

“That was awesome,” she said. “This might be my best day of life. We cannot top this, Theo. Sorry.”

“Agreed. It was pretty cool,” Theo said. “Unfortunately, we gotta get the kids home.”

“Wait, are we the kids in this scenario?” Jan asked.

“Come along little Janny!” Tresk shouted, grabbing the man by the arm. “Time to get to bed!”

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