Hello, Everyone!
I’m stil busy, the end of my University semester coming up soon, but I don’t think I’ll have to skip any posts here. I still have some buffer.
Last time in our story, Mary, Bruno and Aurum decided to try and save Fennec. They had the perfect plan and it went super well (Fennec was almost to safety, the dragon was still sleeping), until a lizard person went out and raised the alarm.
Stupid lizard person!
That was the moment of truth. Now everything depended on Mary's magical abilities.
Before Nurvureem awoke completely, she grasped at her component pouch and started weaving a spell around the piece of fleece inside. She created the Phantasm of a screaming dwarf, neck-deep in the pool of acid, and sent it towards the dragon's mind.
She held her breath.
If her spell was strong enough, Nurvureem was going to be absolutely convinced that she was seeing, hearing and even feeling the dwarf just as he was before, and no lizard person would be able to convince her otherwise. But if the Phantasm didn't work, the dragon would find out that her victim was no longer there and the party's escape plan was doomed.
Nurvureem stretched lazily, looked at the yelling lizard, then scanned the acid pool.
Mary's heart was in her throat. She glanced at her friends to see how they were advancing. Bruno and Aurum were just reaching the entrance of the bug-covered tunnel, and Paulina had already rushed ahead, with Fennec on her dire wolf back. She was faster than any of the others and they counted on her to get him to safety.
"I THINK I TOLD YOU TO GO AWAY!" Nurvureem growled. Mary had poked her head above the rocks and she was looking directly at her. "SCRAM!"
A blast of green liquid shot from her mouth and barely missed Mary's head. She dived behind the rocks and silently rejoiced. If Nurvureem was concerned with her, then she didn't know that Fennec was gone.
She jumped out of her cover and bolted towards the exit. She had only one minute before the effect of her spell ended and she didn't want to be there when the dragon found out she'd been deceived.
They ran. The walls flew by, bugs crunched under their feet but they kept running. They didn't stop or hesitate. After all, it was a matter of life and death.
When they heard the earsplitting roar of the dragon, they'd already gone a quarter of the way down the tunnel. A 'SHING!' and a 'CLANG!' announced that Nurvureem had taken out her sword, and her thundering steps echoed down the path. Mary glanced behind her shoulder and saw the giant figure enter the tunnel, black wings scraping the ceiling, green eyes giving out wrathful sparks. The tunnel was too narrow to allow her to fly. That’s why they had chosen it instead of the bigger, more central one.
“I’M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART AND EAT YOU LIMB BY LIMB!” Nurvureem yelled and laughed maniacly.
The ground beneath their feet was getting steeper and they found it harder and harder to keep up the pace. Mary's lungs, not used to such exercise, were already burning, her legs screamed in pain. Her hair had spilled out of its ponytail and was getting in her eyes.
While she was huffing desperately, she saw Aurum fly by her. No, not fly. It looked like flying but he was in fact doing some sick acrobatics, choosing the more difficult parts of the tunnel, allowing Mary and Bruno more room to run on the easier side.
"Stave her off!" Bruno yelled. He scanned the tunnel, grabbed his warhammer and smashed it at a crack so little it was almost invisible. The stone rumbled, the crack got bigger and bigger, until finally, an array of rocks fell from the ceiling and scattered on the ground just in front ot Nurvureem, making her path more difficult.
“IF YOU THINK THAT’S GOING TO STOP ME, YOU’RE HORRIBLY MISTAKEN!” she howled. “YOUR SKIN IS MINE, LITTLE MOUSE! YOURS AND THE BARD’S! I’LL MAKE YOU EAT IT!”
The dragon’s delay helped the party make some progress and even with their decreased speed, they were able to pull ahead. Now they were about half way from the narrow end of the tunnel. If they could just reach it, they'd be safe.
As they advanced, however, they started meeting resistance from the bugs covering the cave floor. They became more and more agitated the closer the dragon got, and they attempted to crawl or jump on Mary and her friends. The party tried to shoo them away and started choosing their way more carefully so as not to get bitten or tripped. It slowed them down considerably.
When they looked back, Nurvureem had already cleared the way and was once again sprinting towards them. She was way closer than she used to be at the start of their escape. If they didn't do anything, she'd catch up with them soon.
“I’M COMING FOR YOU, LITTLE MOUSE!” Nurvureem cried out, her voice giddy with the thrill of the chase. “AND WHEN I CATCH YOU, I’M GOING TO MAKE THE BARD CHOOSE HOW I TORTURE YOU AND WATCH WHILE I DO IT!”
Aurum turned around and yelled a series of insults at the dragon. Each of them had the ring of his bard magic and Mary saw Nurvureem stagger and almost stop from their force. She, too, tried to slow her down, creating a long and deep ditch in the ground with her Eldritch Blast.
They were almost at the end of the tunnel. They saw Paulina peek her head in the opening, see the approaching dragon and go as pale as a ghost. She yelled out a spell and the ground in front of Nurvureem erupted with grasping weeds and vines, which entangled the monster and gave them the few precious moments they would need to reach salvation.
Aurum had already gotten there, Mary was just a few feet away, and Bruno… well, that was the moment Bruno tripped on a protruding rock and sprawled on the ground.
It was as if time suddenly slowed down. They heard the dragon’s hysterical laughter. She was going to have a dwarf to torture after all. Mary gasped and turned around to try and do something, but she wasn’t fast enough.
Aurum rushed past her, his coat flapping behind his body. He stepped over Bruno and rose him to his feet, then faced the dragon.
“Not this dwarf, you spineless lizard!” he yelled and sent out a thunderous boom which shook the ground and echoed through the tunnel.
“YOU THINK THAT CAN SCARE ME?” Nurvureem growled. “YOU DIE HERE, BARD!”
She swiped with her giant sword, making a curve as big as the tunnel allowed. Aurum started to dive down but Mary could see the trajectory of the swing and she knew that her friend couldn’t dodge it. The power of Nurvureem’s strike was so enormous that she was for sure going to cut him in half! Then…
Aurum…
The bard’s foot caught a slimier spot on the ground and he face-planted on the ground. The sword passed above him, as if by miracle, or by very, very strange happenstance.
A lucky break, some would say, especially because in her rage, Nurvureem had managed to get the sword stuck in the wall above him.
That gave them enough time to gather their wits. Mary cast her Dancing Lights in Nurvureem’s eyes to make one final distraction and Paulina helped Bruno run in the narrow space. Aurum managed to crawl after him and they all clang to the walls. Nurvureem bellowed and stabbed her sword through the tunnel opening, striking nothing but air. She backed away slightly and took a long breath.
“I’VE MEMORIZED HOW YOUR FEAR SMELLS!” she screamed, fury building up in her voice. “WHEREVER YOU RUN, WHEREVER YOU HIDE, I’LL FIND YOU! AND WHEN I DO, I’LL MAKE SURE THAT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LITTLE DWARVEN FRIEND WILL FEEL LIKE A DAYDREAM COMPARED TO WHAT I DO TO YOU!”
Almost at the same time, both Bruno and Mary shot their magical blasts through the hole. The dragon stepped back and that gave Aurum the space to do his new bard spell. He pointed at the wall and a loud ringing noise erupted with a great force just beneath the arc of the exit, shattering the rock and making it collapse, leaving the dragon roaring on the other side.
The chase was over.
The chase IS over! Oh, my goodness! That took a lot out of me to write!
What do you think about it? Was it good? Did it feel urgent and scary? Do you have any recommendations for my next attempt at writing a chase scene?
Anyway, we’re out of the danger zone. For now. Next time, we’re going to see how all of this horror has affected our heroes.
See you then!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)