Hello, Everyone!
Sorry that I've skipped a few updates! I started a new job and adapting to my new schedule has been hard. Plus, there's a BIG moment in the story coming soon and I wanted to be sure it was at its best.
Hope you like it!
Last time in our D&D tale, our heroes had just managed to kill one of the pale worms hanging over the city of Ekoba. After its body disappeared into the sewers, they didn't follow it and spent their morning looking for information and help.
But it turned out that waiting was a mistake. As soon as they exited the building, something invisible bit into Aurum and took him out in the sky.
It all happened so fast! Before Mary could react, Aurum was flying through the air, hurled up by an invisible force that had pierced his chest in a bite-like pattern. He screamed and then the light of his Dimension Door flashed around him and made him disappear. He poof!-ed back next to Mary and Bruno and panted, holding an arm to his bloodied shirt.
"It's the worm! It's ba--" was the only thing he was able to say before being bitten and lifted again.
Neither Mary, nor Bruno could see the monster but they both shot spells at it, a little bit under where the bard was. One of Mary's--and all of Bruno's--made contact, but it didn't let go of its prey. Ord's light washed over Aurum's bloodied body as Bruno used the moment to heal him.
"Stand clear!" Aurum shouted.
He rubbed his palms and shot a Lightning bolt at the worm while it was holding him. The crackling energy spread from his hands and down towards the ground. It enveloped… something, and made it shake violently.
Down Aurum went, and his 'thud!' was not the only one that hit the pavement. He rose to his feet, staggering from the wound in his chest, and rang Saraneth.
Silence fell around them and they saw the lifeless body of the worm slowly get pulled up and behind the inn.
Aurum pointed that way and started running. Mary and Bruno followed, trying to keep into the radius of the silence. They didn't want to be surprised again.
They reached the worm's hole the moment its body sank into the darkness underneath. The trio shared a look. Aurum, still bloody from the creature's initial attack, seemed decisive and angry. He grabbed a rope from Mary's Bag of Holding and tied it to a nearby pole. He nodded to the others and lowered himself into the hole.
"--ait!" Mary said but only the last sound managed to reach her own ears – Saraneth's effect had left them behind.
She cast four glowing butterflies and sent them in the hole to help Aurum find his way. Then, along with Bruno, she climbed down after the bard.
She began hearing the drip-dropping of liquid, but when she reached the middle of the rope, it stopped abruptly. Aurum waved at them with the bell, still active in his hand.
They were in something like a T-shaped crossroad, only instead of roads, it had drainage full of human waste, with banks that seemed only a little cleaner. They couldn't gauge how deep the sewage water went, but either way, they didn't want to have to find out. The smell of human waste made them feel queasy.
Aurum pointed at the drainage. There were three directions to go. Did they have to spread out? Mary shook her head and sent her butterflies one way, then the other. Both times, they reached solid bars. The third way revealed a large pool of waste, a broken-up wall and a hole towards somewhere else.
So, that was the way to go.
Aurum took a few steps back and jumped across the drainage. He gestured for Mary and Bruno to follow him and they made their way above the slowly running waste water. With a sword in one hand and Saraneth in the other, the bard followed the butterflies towards the hole in the wall, and Mary made sure to stay close.
Suddenly, she felt a pull on her coat and jerked up… only to find Bruno who looked worried. He gestured her to stay back.
"I heard voices," he whispered when they were out of Saraneth's range. "It was Rory, I think. He was saying something about being detained? Like someone was questioning him."
Mary strained to hear something.
"He's not speaking anymore," Bruno said. "But you should Message Aurum to warn him."
Mary did. She saw the bard start and look around. He went back, gave Mary the bell and carried on, outside the Silence.
That's when the waste in the pool stirred. It burbled and parted, revealing a mass of pale pinkish flesh.
These weren't worms. They were heads--hairless, gross and perched on long necks connected to a half-submerged in the waste body. Six of those heads swayed in the air, flat teeth bared, black holes instead of eyes still looking straight at Mary and her friends. The seventh head lay lifeless, scorched by Aurum's Lightning Bolt.
Seven heads. Seven worms. Mary had the feeling that those were the exact ones that they saw hanging over the city and singing their song of forgetfulness. They looked much thicker here than they had been on the outside, like they had been stretched thin to cover more ground above ground.
An article in a book, showing the legendary Hydra, flashed in Mary's mind. This wasn't it, exactly, but it resembled it enough for Mary to make the connection.
Three of the Hydra's heads extended and snapped closer. Each of them reached one of the trio and started speaking.
Mary gripped Saraneth in her hand and felt its rim sink into her skin. The speech of the Hydra didn't reach her and in her periphery she saw that Bruno was not affected as well.
This couldn't be said about Aurum. The moment the head in front of him stopped talking, he gripped his chest and slumped down on the nearby wall. Another head slithered up to him and grabbed him in its jaws.
Oh, no! Poor Aurum! How are our friends going to save him? I hope he doesn't get eaten by this 'Hydra'!
Anyway, come back next time to see how the story continues.
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum and Bruno) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.