A Camp by the Roadside

You were busy picking out some items for Slazar from your admittedly small hoard of items. It would do him good to get some better gear and he would definitely appreciate it. You gestured for him to come closer as you whipped out the iron chestplate you just got. Placing it against him, you estimated whether it would even fit considering how much smaller he was compared to it. Slazar tugs at the armour and pulls it out of your grip, slipping his head through the bottom. His head and horns barely got through the collar, yeah the chestplate was oversized, especially for him... To your surprise, it began to shrink to accomodate its new wearer when Slazar decided to wear it anyways, he seemed unphased by this. Was this something that always happened and you just never noticed because you spent most of your time dead? Either ways, you let Slazar pick out a few more useful items, it was not like you could use them anyways. Pulling out the crossbow, he checked the sights before slinging it across his back. He also placed the dagger into his small satchel of goods, a backup weapon was always a good idea. Finally, the two of you were ready to begin the hunt.

The search for the last two fools took longer than expected, you had begun by searching the deeper areas of the forest first. That was quite the poor assumption as they had circled back to the main road and had set up a campsite just off the beaten path. Your duo was hidden up in the treetops as you spied down on the two of them. They were on edge and looked to be stressed out. You could hear them bickering about some agreement for everyone to return back to the main road by nightfall. It seems like they were panicking due to being the only ones to have returned by then. At first, they were not inclined to believe that a single pathetic poison drake had managed to take out this many Heroes. But after none of the other groups returned, they were more than willing to change their tune. After all, nothing else in this forest, besides the Emerald Serpent, could take on a level ten Hero. Especially not this many of them.

Since they were already afraid of you, might as well take full advantage of it. Leaping down without warning, you landed before the two, your wings blowing their tent over as they slowed your descent. Before either could react, you roared at them and thrashed about, kicking their pot over and putting out their campfire. The intimidating display was more than enough to get one of them, a human ranger, running off across the road into the other side of the forest. The last man, a fighter with two axes, stood his ground. You could see his legs shaking though, he was light work and barely even a threat at this point. Rearing back, you pretended to prepare a poison breath, causing the man jump back in fear. As he did so, Slazar materialised behind him, slamming into his back with his Longsword and breaking his invisibility, the **** of which threw the both of them off balance. Seizing the opportunity to attack, you raced forward and grabbed the man by the throat. As you picked him off the ground, you ensured he got a good look at your face, burning it into his memories. Let the other Heroes know not to interfere with your mission. And with that, you threw him into the campfire, scorching his back with the coals and embers that still burned beneath the ash. It took a while, but the man finally expired.

Once the deed was done, you placed Slazar onto your back and began to trail the Ranger into the other side of the forest. He could not have gone far, not with the amount of difficult terrain on this side of the forest. Luckily for you, traversing this kind of place was something you were well versed in. It was not long before you found the man sprinting out of a cave and into one of the many mudpits that littered the area. He struggled to get loose which only made him sink deeper and deeper into the mud. Today was already pretty much a success for you, the last of the hunting party was before you and at your mercy. You readied your claws and prepared to bring it down upon him when you are suddenly stopped dead in your tracks. Glancing up from the man, you peer into the cave from where the Ranger came from only to see two red eyes stare back at you. Oh no, you had not realised it previously, but all three of you had veered off into very dangerous territory. Right at the last second, you grabbed Slazar and roll to the side, barely dodging the blast of green crystals that were launched at you. Turning to face it, you are both greeted by the boss of this zone. Meet the Emerald Serpent.

Your tongue flicked out, tasting the damp air as your mind raced, could you take it on? Glancing up to its title, you see the words "Clover Level 10 Emerald Serpent (Boss)" in red above its name. As you dodged the second shot of crystals, you took in the current situation, you were level 8 while Slazar was level 5. There was a chance that you could beat it, but there was also the possibility of the two of you dying and losing all progress right then and there. What was it even doing out here anyways? It was usually deeper inside the cave, probably sleeping or something. As you leapt to the side again, you are face to face with the Ranger and realised that he must have tried to hide in the cave beforehand. He probably drew its aggression from the boss room when he trespassed too deep, the fool. It must have followed him out here when he started running again. Making a split second decision, you decided that retreat would be the better option as you ducked under a barrage of sharp needles that flew your way. It really enjoyed spamming that did it not? You really did want to retreat but not before claiming what you came here for. The man's head is the only thing visible now, the entire rest of his body having sunk into the mud. With a quick scratch, you slash the man across his eyes, you should still get the experience since you participated in the kill. Having accomplished what you came here for, you threw Slazar into the air and caught him with your wings as you dashed away from the Boss. It should not stray too far from its dungeon, you were safe.

Once you were safe back at the main road, you ushered Slazar off of you as you sniffed the air for anymore trouble. The coast seemed to be clear for now. At the corner of your eye, you can see Slazar hopping on the spot to get your attention, there was still the matter of the horses that were left behind. The majestic animals were simply grazing, not registering Slazar as a threat, perhaps due to his small stature. As you got closer, some of the horses began to eye you up, a particularly large black stallion moves to intercept you, that one in particular was quite the working horse. You contemplated just eating them although you were unsure how horse meat tasted, anything beats the summoned food though. As you kept your distance, Slazar chimed in with his own opinion on the matter.

"Master! These are quite the fine specimens, it would be a waste to kill them. I think it would benefit us to have them act as creatures of labour for our own needs. They can just feed on the grass around the place," he lets you know as he pets one of the smaller horses that was busy chewing on a blade of grass. While he makes a pretty good point, you worry that the forested area would not be suitable for horses such as these. Who was going to raise these animals while you were gone anyways? Not to mention the Blood Moon every month. You count up the number of horses, a total of five as some of the Heroes rode together. It would still be a waste to kill them and you did not wish to sadden Slazar, thus you decided to just keep them for now, at least until you truly needed them for something. The process of bringing them to your Lair would still take a while, Slazar was the only one who could get in close and it seemed like he was not the most skilled at animal handling. Each horse would have to be led one by one towards the vicinity of your Lair, after which they had to be leashed to a tree. You decided to stay hidden along the main road, just in case more Heroes come around on accident or to hunt you down.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful after Slazar had finished rounding up the rest of the horses. They would stay in and around the outskirts of your Lair, where they would graze and Slazar would tend to them. You decided to spend the rest of daylight practicing your "Mold Earth" spell, trying to dig up some dirt and depositing it elsewhere. You were already Level eight now, just a bit more until you reach that sweet level ten. Though you were unsure why, you felt like something really good would come once you broke pass that limit. The Emerald Serpent, Clover, was Level ten too. Clover was a Boss monster, much like Charon who could wander about into different zones. Perhaps you could have connected some of the dots right then and there, oh well, if only you were smarter. Anyways, you made some great progress come nightfall as you were consistently able to shift small patches of dirt around. Now was it enough to dig a hole that could fit your entire being within an hours time? Not yet, but if you were diligent in your practice, you were sure you would be able to alter the look of your Lair in no time. Glancing around, you see that Slazar had just returned, you had not even noticed him leaving actually. He looks slightly beat up and his cloak is singed at the tips.

You consider asking him what happened but remembered that you were unable to speak common. Besides, he did not look like he was in the mood for small talk as he stuffed some of the leftover bread from breakfast into his and Nancy's mouth before sleeping. Well, you might as well follow suit as you crammed the last of the bread down your gullet and laid down. You began to drift off to sleep.

(Twenty-four days to the next Blood Moon)

It was that weird dream again, one of black mist and a searing white door. Except this time, you were one of the creatures locked behind bars in chains. Across from you, there was another creature locked up, a prominent black chain around its neck kept it tied to the wall behind it. It was a small creature, you could only really tell that it had five horns as it remained motionless, perhaps it was asleep. Glancing about, you could see other shadowy figures chained up and behind similar bars. The location looked familiar, it was similar to that of the dream you had a few days ago, except you stood here instead of that spot over there where a creature had fallen through a portal of light. Wait, a creature just fell through the realm of light? You tried to turn your head to see who it was, but the chains kept you stuck in place. It was then when you felt it. The air was still, until it was not, the sudden disturbance of strong gusts of wind blew through all the cages, forcing all the creatures to awaken and panic. Your body no longer felt like your own as you too began to shake in your chains, clawing and biting at thin-air as you roared out in fear. As you thrashed about, you could hear the slight sound of flapping wings and air blowing. Finally, everyone was silenced when the biggest of all the shadow creatures landed, shaking the room in its wake.

The struggling you had done actually helped you out slightly, having turned your head to witness the interaction going on. With your senses returned to you, your eyes adjusted in the dark enough to notice that the five horned figure across from you was also awake. All the creatures were quiet as they observed the latest addition bow its head before speaking. You could discern that it had a slightly red colouration judging from its tail when it passed by the light portal. You may not have been able to hear the words spoken but the gargantuan beast certainly did, forcing a raspy laugh out of the beast. After it was done, it bent down slightly to better loom over the smaller shadow creature. It then spoke.

"You are still a novice, young and foolish. Just because your father was one of my most fervent worshippers, does not mean you too shall receive any of his boons. Do not be mistaken girl, I already have a champion in mind. He has proven himself capable and has just claimed more Hero souls. Do you know why you will never compare to my chosen few at all? It is simple, let me tell you why. It is because you were born with only a womb!" The Giant bellowed matter-of-factly. You recoil slightly at the sudden misogyny, like damn, what did she do to make you this mad? The smaller shadow creature took a step back in surprise of such a statement, revealing more of her body, that of red scales. Mister Five Horn across from you seems to shake in its chains slightly at the sight of the creatures red behind. What was its deal? Either ways, the Red Shadow Creature seemed to yell something back at the gargantuan beast, earning her another lecturing.

"Confounded girl! You are something to be claimed! You are unable to spread your ilk as easily! We are NOT the same, I am a god!" It roared as it slammed its tail into the ground behind it. Everything in the room was currently silent, you could hear a pin drop from a table. The self-proclaimed god continued, "tell me, when you find a group of Adventurers, can you claim the wombs of the female Heroes? No! And what self-respecting female would ever mate with the inferior male Heroes. Your numbers only increase in the rare circumstances you find a worthy suitor! And yet what have you done aside from rejecting all of the ones sent your way? Know this fool, I have half a mind to send my champion to FUCK you back in line," the god's words boomed ferociously throughout the dark room. You had a strange feeling that every creature here was taken aback by such a proclamation from the gargantuan beast. You also seemed to notice one of the Beasts many eyes staring your way, although that could have been your imagination.

The smaller shadow creature has her head hung low in an attempted display of submission. You could tell that she was usually proud and probably a little overbearing in her need to prove something, especially from the fact that she seemed to be the only creature who had talked back to the Beast. The gargantuan beast, seemingly satisfied with the display, placed the tip of a singular talon upon her face. Upon tapping her, it looked like she received some form of magic, not that you could tell from this distance. Once that was over, you noticed that the red dragon was being pulled back into the portal by its ankle, much like you were when you first stood there. Unfortunately, you could feel yourself losing consciousness before the light could fully reveal how she looked like. A shame, the memory alone would have surely made for such great material when you were lonely.

Your eyelids slowly come apart as you sat yourself up, having just woken up. Strangely enough, Slazar seems to have awoken at about the same time, rubbing his eyes. He seemed to be in a state of alarm as his eyes blinked rapidly to adjust to the sunlight. Before you could even try to ask him what was wrong, he immediately spawned in a new batch of food and began chowing down as much as he could. Alright, guess he was just really hungry. You follow suit, picking up a bland roasted chicken and shoving it into your mouth, trying your best to ignore the lack of taste. Once the morning routine was settled, Slazar disappeared off into the woods again. Not that it mattered all too much, you were planning to just practice your magic and use your captive Bard during free time. You were capable of moving about a three feet cube worth of dirt now, easily digging a hole that would somewhat fit you. Nothing else interesting happened that day though as you headed to bed early, your Kobold friend had not returned yet but you figured it was fine. Stretching like a cat, you curled up in your bed and went to sleep.

(Twenty-three days to the next Blood Moon)

Come morning, you felt rejuvenated and eager to show Slazar your progress. Slazar had returned to your Lair at some point in the dead of night and was currently feeding and washing your captive. As you approached him, he turned and smiled, seems like he had his own share of good news too.

"Master Dragon! I see you have progressed quite well with the "Mold Earth" spell! As luck would have it, I too have made some progress with the barrier. First things first, we should go and clear the Snake's Dungeon. You are going to need more strength for this," Slazar stated as he caressed Nancy's cheek with a wet cloth. Oh? Hearing that he figured out something about the barrier was more than enough to get you fired up. You could finally expand your reach beyond this forest, the whole world would soon know of your might! Stretching your back, you decided to scout ahead after a quick meal of leftover meats, leaving Slazar to deal with the chores. With that, you were off to the opposite side of the forest across the road. There was the off chance that you could gain a quick level up before Slazar arrived, that would definitely help when you take on the Boss.

In a matter of minutes, you are already before the cave. Sniffing the air, you could confirm that the Emerald Serpent was nowhere near the entrance. Straining your perception, you tried to figure out the exact numbers there would be inside the dungeon, however your mind is clouded by the hundreds of heartbeats of the forest. There were simply way too many living creatures close by to get a proper measurement. Well, not that it mattered, you were pretty confident you could take on any of the dungeon's minions. Trotting into the cave, you found the air to be cold and still, reeking of blood and some sort of metallic smell. The grey stone floor was cold to the touch at the beginning, getting warmer and warmer the deeper you went. Sunlight did not reach this far in, forcing you to squint your eyes if you wanted to get a better look at anything. It was quite the surprise that you had not met any resistance at the entrance, nothing else had intercepted your path actually. Did this Boss have any minions?

The deeper you went, the darker it got, until it was pitch black. Every step you took resulted in you bumping into a wall or a random piece of stone sticking out of the ground. You contemplated continuing, but feared for sneak attacks, forcing you to turn back and head for the entrance. Upon returning, you are met with Slazar who was dragging along with him a small tree trunk. You eyed him curiously as he finally pulled it towards the entrance. He turned to face you, panting heavily from exerting himself this much already. Struggling for breath, he poked and prodded at the tree trunk, gesturing for you to take over the pushing. You tilted your head to the side in a show of confusion, why would you two need literal deadweight for? He began to explain.

"Ah you see Master- I- realised that- we could not get close- and were **** to dodge- so I thought we could- use this trunk to block- the crystal shards," he stuttered with intermittent gasps for air in-between. Well it would be a fine plan if it were not for the fact that you were way too large to utilise the cover provided by the piece of wood. You tried to crouch low behind it, but your horns and back still poked out from behind the trunk. Well, perhaps you could still use it for something, it would probably hurt if you slammed it into the Emerald Serpent. Moving behind the tree trunk, you reared back and gave the tree trunk a teasing push to test how heavy it was. It rolled pretty far even with the slightest shove, it must be pretty light, would there even be a use for this? Humouring Slazar, you throw him onto your back as you begin to roll the tree trunk into the cave with only one hand. Let fortune be on your side, for now would be a terrible time for your luck to run out.

You headed down the same corridor the light fading as the area got warmer. Slazar mentioned that he was used to being in dark caves since he was a hatchling. Apparently Kobolds had this thing called "Darkvision" which lets them see in the dark, although you were unsure to what extent. He also had the "Light" cantrip spell which caused one of your horns to emit light. The spell was casted when he crushed some moss in his hands and smeared the remains across your left horn, how did that even make any sense at all? Although, you had to admit that illuminating the darkness with the power of light radiating off of you was pretty cool. It immediately proved helpful once you reached the pitch black inner sanctum, guiding you deeper into the dungeon without bumping into the walls. Something odd occurred the deeper into the dark you went, you began to notice random flashes of green on the walls. The colour got more prominent the deeper you went until it was enough to light up a room, luckily for you huh? Kneeling down, you inspected the green rock on the wall, it looks to be similar to the crystals that were shot out from the Emerald Serpent's tail. Guess you were on the right track towards the Boss Room, it was literally just a bunch of straight corridors with the occasional room connecting each one.

As you reached out to pluck some of the pieces of crystal from its resting spot, you are startled when it suddenly moved. Stepping back, you brought your claws out, ready for combat. The crystals began to shift about and rearrange itself into a more humanoid form. You stared in awe as a large piece of crystal spun around before taking its place above the crystal body, its head floating in place. It seemed to be some sort of crystal construct! In fact, the title above its head was "Emerald Golem Level 5", quite a practical descriptor actua- you are launched across the room as a chunk of stone is slammed into your stomach. Slazar had barely managed to get off when you were thrown into more of the green crystals that littered the cave. You leapt back to your feet, your adrenaline pumping as you raced to join Slazar in combat. Slazar took to keeping his distance, ensuring his longsword stayed between him and the golem, although he would have a hard time swinging it in these tight rooms. As the golem was distracted with Slazar, you came up from the side and bit into its shin, thrashing about and injecting as much poison as you could in a single bite. Noticing you, the golem simply slammed into your back with its crystal fists, forcing you to let go. Why was he not slowing? People usually slowed when they were poisoned.

"Err Master, I think it is immune to poison for it has no circulatory system," Slazar stated like as if you knew what a "circulatory system" was. Rearing up, you slammed your tail into the ground in a show of intimidation. If poison would be unable to harm it, then brute **** will have to do. Slamming your two fists downwards in a diagonal strike, you attempted to smash the golem into tiny pieces. As you did so, the golem stumbled about before falling onto its back and shattering, its head rolling away from the main body. Hah! Lets see you recover from that! As you begin to roar your triumphant victory, the golem's leg rearranged itself into a hand, grasping you by the throat. "Okay, that was unexpected," was all you thought of as you were picked off of the ground and strangled. The golem was still moving despite not having a head anymore, the pieces of crystal that were crushed simply reforming itself. This was suppose to be a beginner friendly Boss Dungeon?