Living Sacrifice

Carn encounters the demon-controlled Dragon for the final time.

26.

Living Sacrifice

 

 

Carn could hardly breathe and stopped to lean against the side of the passage chamber, wheezing and gasping for air through the soot covered cloth that filtered his breath.  He had run for what seemed like miles, but the sounds of the Dragon grew further and further ahead.     What am I doing? He asked himself for the hundredth time.   Even if he caught up with him, Mazzikim’ruhin would not kill him.   

But the demon could injure him - enough so that Carn couldn’t stop him.    Yet it was the only hope they had right now.   It would be too late, even if Aedric’s group did obtain Helios’ spellbook.    They wouldn’t get here in time.

He had to try.   Besides, death by the demon was the only way he would ever be freed from the curse.    Thinking of curses, he wondered how Amala was dealing with her own.

   Only she would see them as that.    She had looked so wonderfully beautiful with her long silvery-white hair.    The Bugbear smiled at the memory.    He had to keep going, so she and her family would have lives that were joyous and full.    Like all life was meant to be.

Not full of shame, fear and loneliness.

Carn pulled himself up and resumed his run down the passageway.

A long time passed, before he became aware of a rumbling noise coming his way.    He stopped, listening closely, and heard something huge running down the passage toward him.

It had to be the demon.    Perhaps Alleania had evaded him.

If she had, then that would mean that she might be out of range with the Gem of the Oscinate.

Perhaps he could use magic.

 

He thought about that for a few moments as the rumbling sound grew steadily louder.    If the Gem no longer neutralized magic, then he might be able to injure the Dragon or drive the demon from the Dragon.   Then again, the Dragon would not be easily harmed.

But perhaps he could be hindered.   

Carn thought quickly, recalling the spells he had known centuries ago. 

None of them seemed to be anything he could use against the Demon.   Certainly he wouldn’t pause and listen to his song-based spells and allow himself to fall under the effect.  

 

 

But what if he could deceive the demon?    It didn’t work before, but with the Gem of the Oscinate out of range - he hoped- perhaps this was something he could do.

As he didn’t have any other idea, and since time was running out, Carn decided to try.   Clearing his throat as best he could in the terrible air, he began chanting a spell-song.   How long had it been since he’d done this?   Certainly hundreds of years, but the memory of the words came to him at once.

A minute later he blended in with the rock of the passage way.   It worked!   Alleania had escaped with the Gem and magic was restored.   The spell did not offer invisibility, only a powerful chameleon-like effect that was extremely difficult to detect.

He immediately began chanting another spell, one used by Bards in performances that amplified and changed his voice into something powerful and rather sinister, as well as masking the direction of his voice so it sounded like it came from all directions at the same time.

Carn pressed himself against the side of the passageway and plotted out what he was going to say.   It was a very risky plan, but he was determined to attempt it.

Only a minute later he could hear the Dragon approaching, his hot breath sending out smoke ahead of him as he slithered up the passage like a huge rat.

It was time to give the performance of his life.

He began by laughing, the sound echoing and bouncing off the walls, even more terrible than the voice of the Dragon.     As the laughter’s echoes died away, he sensed that the Dragon had stopped, listening to the sound.

“WELL, DEMON!”  Carn’s voice boomed like thunder, “YOU HAVE FAILED IN YOUR PLAN!    WHERE NOW IS YOUR PRECIOUS GEM OF THE OSCINATE?   STOLEN RIGHT FROM UNDER YOUR NOSE BY A BAT!   THE MIGHTY MAZZIKIM’RUHIN FOILED BY A TINY BAT!   AND HE IS POWERLESS TO STOP HER!   DID SHE FLEE THROUGH A PASSAGE TOO TINY FOR YOUR MIGHTY DRAGON’S FORM?  FOOL!   YOU WERE BEATEN BY YOUR PRIDE!   YOU THOUGHT TO DESTROY WITH A GREAT DRAGON, NOW YOU SHALL BE DESTROYED BY YOUR CHOICE!”

Again, Carn laughed and the sound seemed to come from all around.    He heard Mazzikim’ruhin roar with rage just down the passageway as he tried to locate the source of the mocking voice.

“YOU CANNOT FIND ME, DEMON, FOR MAGIC HAS BEEN RESTORED.    YOU ARE DOOMED, FIEND!   THE VAMPIRE WILL TAKE THE GEM AND DESTROY IT!”

“IMPOSSIBLE!” The Dragon yelled back.

“IS IT?    THERE IS MAGIC ABLE TO DESTROY IT AND SEND YOU BACK TO HELL.    IT IS RENDEZVOUSING WITH THE VAMPIRE EVEN NOW AND YOUR DOOM IS SEALED!   WHILE YOU SLITHER AROUND UNDERGROUND LIKE AN EARTHWORM, YOUR PRECIOUS GEM WILL BE SHATTERED AND YOU WILL BE BANISHED TO HELL!   YOU ARE POWERLESS TO PREVENT IT!”

“POWERLESS?” The demon howled in defiance, “I AM FAR FROM POWERLESS!   YOU THINK I AM TIED TO THIS MISERABLE CREATURE?  YOU SHALL SOON LEARN THE TRUTH!”

From ahead of him there came a loud rumbling sound and a flash of red light.    There was a sense of a great presence leaving, like a rush of wind or more of a lightening of the heaviness of the air.

Carn knew immediately that it had worked.    The demon had left the Dragon and went out in spirit form, searching for the Gem.

 

Alleania would be in danger, but only if there was some beast near her that Mazzikim’ruhin could physically possess, then cause it to attack her.    That wasn’t likely now with everyone evacuating the Underdark, and the demon could not possess humanoids.

But now there would be a confused, irritated Dragon ahead that was unsure where he was or what had happened.

 

All he had were the two swords he had scooped up that had belonged to the Drow wizard, and perhaps a few defensive spells that he could recall.

Carn heard a rumbling from ahead and decided that a spell would perhaps work best.   At least it might stun the beast long enough for him to think of something else.

He began to chant a spell and that incited a growl from the confused Dragon.    A moment later Carn heard him rushing forward toward him.

He emerged around a bend in the passage.   The tight quarters had caused the huge creature to literally crawl through the passage.   His wings were tightly folded against his body and his legs were drawn in against his chest.   Even his head was kept low, for there was no room for him to raise it.   

As the Dragon saw him, it quickly took in breath to envelop him in fire, but Carn’s spell was completed at the same moment and a bright bolt of lightning shot out of his fingers and slammed into the Dragon’s huge mouth.    The giant reptile howled with pain and instinctively tried to jerk his head upwards, which caused him to slam it into the top of the passage.    It did not knock him unconscious, but he laid there for a few moments, his tongue hanging out, stunned.

 

Carn knew he had to act quickly.   The spell was not enough to seriously injure the Dragon, and there was not time to cast another one.   But suddenly there was someone right beside him " it was the Drow wizard that he’d left dying in the rubble of the ledge, yet he was now restored to health.   How he came up so silently behind him, Carn did not know.

“The swords!”   He shouted at the Bugbear, “Quickly, give them to me while we have a chance!”

Carn did not ask any questions but handed them off to the wizard.    

“Hit him with another spell!   Anything to stun him a moment.”  The wizard demanded, and all that Carn could think of was a simple Magic Missile spell, which he quickly began to chant as the Dragon began to stir.

The missiles hit the Dragon in the mouth - for it filled the narrow passage.    Again he flinched in pain, but had the foresight to keep his head down.    The spell did very little damage against such a brute, but it was what the Drow wizard seemed to need.    As the Dragon opened his mouth to draw in breath, the Wizard leapt into it.

The Drow mage swung and chopped furiously with the swords, rolling as he went, toward the back of the monster’s throat.   

In the pinched quarters, the beast just gasped and tried to work his tongue to expel the wizard, or crush him with his jaws.    But the wizard was more determined this time and stabbed deeply into the roof of the Dragon’s mouth with one sword, then through the bottom of his mouth with the other one.

The cuts must have injured him greatly, for the Dragon yelped in pain and snorted out a small ball of fiery breath which burst the wizard’s robes into flames.    But the Drow man kept working the blades in as he burned.    The Dragon jerked his head around, trying unsuccessfully to get his claws up to his mouth.

But he was too tightly packed in the passage to do this.    In sheer desperation the Dragon drew in a sharp, quick breath and then tried to push his foe out with a jet of fire.    Carn dove to the ground as the flames went just over him, singeing his hair.

The action dislodged the wizard, and Carn heard the sickening crunch of the jaws of the Dragon crushing the life out of the Drow magic-user.

But then the Dragon paused, seeming surprised;  the burning wizard had simply disappeared.    Yet the swords were still lodged in the back of the monster’s throat.    He tried to reach them with his bloody tongue, but could not pull them free.   The great lizard gagged on the blood, sending a shower of red goo all across the passageway.

Carn had no spells come to mind that could harm the injured Dragon.    He coughed and spit, trying desperately to pull free the swords lodged in the back of his mouth.   Blood was flung everywhere, for apparently the wizard had seriously injured him.

But he wasn’t dead yet.  With blinding speed, he snapped at Carn with a low growl.   The Bugbear jerked backwards, but he didn’t move quickly enough and he was ripped and cut as the Dragon pulled him into his mouth.

Carn’s eyes burned from the Dragon’s acidic saliva mixed with blood.   He knew the great reptile sought to crush him, so he rolled backwards toward the back of the monster’s throat.  

His hands flailing blindly, he found the hilt of the sword lodged in the roof of the Dragon’s mouth.    It was white hot to the touch, but Carn grabbed it, yanking with all of his might.    The sword ripped free, slicing through more of the Dragon’s palate.   The beast tried to push Carn forward in his mouth with his tongue, so he could kill him between his teeth.  

But the sudden flow of blood made the Dragon involuntarily cough and gag.    Trying to take in air before forcing the blood from his mouth, the Dragon accidentally pulled the wounded Bugbear toward his throat.     Carn could not see and knew he would not last long.   Unable to breath, he jabbed with the short sword as he was pulled down the serpentine neck of the great Dragon.   

 

His lengthy life flashed before his eyes as the acid in the Dragon’s mouth and throat continued to burn him.    He had no idea if his actions would stop the monster, but he would try one last thing before death took him.   Gripping the sword with terribly burnt hands, he stabbed with all his remaining strength at the lining of the throat.

The sword went extremely deep, and ripped as it (and Carn) slid downward.    Hot blood washed over the dying Bugbear as the Dragon lurched and then violently fell forward to the floor.

The neck convulsed, forcing Carn upward again into the mouth.    He trickled out of the dying Dragon’s mouth along with a river of blood.

Carn knew he should be dying, but as had happened several times before, the geis upon him would prevent the peace of death from taking him.    He would lie there in the Dragon’s blood for perhaps days or weeks until slowly, painfully, he regenerated enough to move on his own.     Then this whole ordeal would be another horrible nightmare.  

In terrible agony, Carn closed his eyes and resigned himself to a long, long time of torment.

 

Reviews

[Elina]

"...he wondered how Amala was dealing with her own?" You don't need the question mark, here.
"His hands flaying blindly..." I think you were wanting "flailing" rather than "flaying."

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina.