Aurelion slowly regained his consciousness, drawn back from the infinite Void by a soft, insistent light.
He blinked, the brilliance searing his vision.
He could make out a pale blue, scaled hand suspended in the white haze.
He raised his own hand to shield his eyes and pushed himself to a sitting position. A low grunt of pain escaped his lips as he instinctively clutched his torso.
The light from the blue hand dimmed, and the world swam back into focus.
He was at the entrance of a narrow cave. Kneeling before him was Zura, and just behind her stood Rokar, grumbling under his breath, flanked by the other lizardmen.
"Easy, now," Zura said, her voice soft. "Your wounds were in a terrible state. Don't push your body."
Aurelion looked down at himself. The arrow wounds on his arm and leg were cleaned and expertly bandaged. He touched the left side of his face. The bandages there were far more secure than the hasty work he had done himself.
The obvious conclusion settled in his mind. She treated me, he thought, his gaze shifting to Zura.
A flare of irritation sparked within him, his nose twitching slightly again.
"Never again!", he said internally.
"I'm fine," he said, his voice flat as he tried to stand.
The protest from his muscles was immediate and violent. He staggered, his legs giving way, and fell backward, landing squarely on the dirt.
As he was about to fall, Zura reached out quickly, catching him and gently guiding him back into a sitting position.
"I told you not to make any sudden movements," she chided gently. "You were shot with two arrows, you were poisoned, your muscles are torn, and…" She paused for a moment. "…your left eye…"
"I am aware," Aurelion cut her off.
Zura hesitated. "Perhaps, in the future, you can find a treatment for it. My skills were not enough."
Why is this lizard being so kind? The thought only fueled his growing annoyance.
"That's enough, Zura," Rokar's harsh voice broke in. "You've healed the boy. There's no need to pamper on an ungrateful elf child who hasn't even said thank you. We need to find the Gulper before it moves. We've wasted enough time."
Zura seemed to hesitate, looking back at Aurelion. "This is a safe place. Rest here. And don't push yourself."
Her concern only intensified Aurelion's displeasure more.
As the lizardmen began to turn and leave, he spoke.
"Wait."
They turned back, their gazes questioning.
Ignoring the screaming pain, Aurelion forced himself to his feet. It was a slow, agonizing process, but he finally stood, swaying slightly.
"Don't strain yourself-" Zura began.
"I know where the creature's nest is," Aurelion said, his voice clear and steady. "I can take you there. I fought some goblins there. They might reappear."
As Zura opened her mouth to object, Aurelion spoke again. "Stop worrying. I can manage this much."
Rokar studied him for a short moment, then let out a low grunt and nodded. "So you're not ungrateful, after all," he muttered.
Aurelion didn't reply, focusing all his concentration on the simple act of walking. He moved to the front of the lizardmen party, taking the lead.
When Aurelion stepped out of the cave, he took a moment to get his bearings. The disorienting haze in his left field of vision was a maddening, constant reminder of his failure.
"I'll rip that bastard out of the Gulper's stomach and tear it to pieces" he fumed internally.
Rokar came up behind him. "We found you over there," he grunted, pointing towards a cluster of ferns. Aurelion just nodded and began to walk.
They moved through the swamp for some time. The strain was evident on Aurelion. A thin sheen of sweat covered his brow, and his steps, though determined, were labored.
Zura noticed. "You don't look we-"
"I'm fine," Aurelion cut her off, not breaking his stride.
Zura fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "You were fighting goblins, you said?" She paused. "Your name is…?"
"Aurelion," he answered.
Zura kept her eyes on him.
"I was fighting a few goblins," Aurelion elaborated, his gaze fixed forward. "We got too close to the pond, and the creature you're looking for came out."
This time, it was Rokar who spoke. "The Gulper is difficult to find because they are adept at hiding themselves. They only show themselves when they need to feed. You must have stumbled upon it during its feeding time."
Aurelion, his focus on the act of walking, continued, "It fed on the goblins."
"That explains how you survived," Rokar grunted. "It must have decided it was full and left you alone."
Just then, they reached a massive tree, its trunk violently gouged by what was clearly the Gulper's tongue. Aurelion turned his head to look at the damage.
"It didn't seem very full to me," he said dryly.
The others followed his gaze to the shattered wood. Even behind his scaled face, Rokar's surprise was visible. He looked at the wounded elf child with new eyes in his face.
"You escaped from the Gulper with those wounds, Aurelion?" Zura asked.
"A water creature isn't so deadly on land," Aurelion replied dismissively.
The others said nothing, simply staring at the evidence of the chase.
As they continued, they saw more signs of the brutal pursuit. Splintered trees, massive webbed footprints in the mud and their astonishment grew.
After a while, Aurelion finally stopped, bracing himself with a hand against the trunk of a tree to keep from collapsing.
Zura started to move towards him to check, but Aurelion raised his left hand, the gesture a clear command to stop.
He took a few ragged breaths before speaking.
"There is a pond ahead," he said. "That is where the creature is hiding."
Rokar nodded, then turned to his kin. "Prepare your spears," he commanded. "The hunt of a warrior begins now."
The others slammed the butts of their spears on the ground in a unified, percussive sound and began to advance.
As she walked past, Zura gave Aurelion one last look before continuing.
Aurelion watched them go, his brow furrowing as they disappeared into the dense foliage.
After a while the lizardmen arrived at the edge of a murky pond.
They stopped a few meters from the shore, their reptilian eyes scanning the water. The muddy ground near the edge was scarred with massive, webbed footprints and cracks in the dried mud.
"Gulper is here, that much is certain," Rokar hissed. "Ready yourselves." He turned and nodded at one of his kin, a lizardman shorter but wider than the others, his scales were a dark, earthy brown.
The wide lizardman, stepped forward. He held his spear vertically with both hands, waiting for a moment.
Then, with a low grunt, he slammed the butt of the spear into the ground. A tremor ran from the point of impact, snaking through the earth towards the pond. The surface of the water start rippled from the shockwave.
Then he lifted his spear. "Let's see if it gets angry, as the elders say," he grumbled.
"I would be angry too if someone came and shook up my home Krum," a sharper voice interjected.
It came from a more slender lizardman with vibrant green scales. "We don't need the words of the elders to understand that this will piss off a toad."
A third lizardman, his scales a flat gray and his tail noticeably longer than the others, hissed at Rez. "Show the elders respect, Rez."
"Corliss, don't speak as if I have no respect for th-"
Rez's retort was cut short as the water's surface exploded.
A long, sticky tongue shot out from the depths, lashing directly towards him.
Rez saw it coming and threw himself to the ground, rolling sideways.
The tongue slammed into the spot where he had been standing, spraying mud and water into the air.
As the Gulper retracted its tongue, Corliss lunged forward, thrusting his spear at the retreating tongue.
The slick, mucous coated surface offered no purchase for the spearhead, causing it to slide off harmlessly. Still, the impact was enough to irritate the creature, which let out a guttural rumble as its tongue vanished back into its maw.
Rez scrambled back to his feet, his eyes wide as he stared at the partially submerged monster. "Isn't it a bit too big, Rokar?"
Krum grunted in agreement. "The elders said they were around two meters. This thing's head alone is bigger than what they described."
Rokar remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on the creature, calculating. Then, his voice cut through the tension. "It doesn't matter. We know what we have to do. Its size changes nothing."
The Gulper's massive upper body tensed, its head dipping forward.
"It's coming! Scatter!" Rokar roared.
As the toad launched itself into the air, the lizardmen dive into the murky water in perfect unison.
Zura, who had stayed much farther back than the others, moved further to the side, away from the point of impact.
The Gulper landed with a tremendous jolt on the shore, turning its massive body to scan its surroundings.
As it swiveled, its back now facing the water, Corliss erupted from the surface on its left flank. With a nimble, twisting motion, he drove his spear deep into the creature's side.
The Gulper flinched, instinctively turning towards the new source of pain. At that exact moment, Rokar burst from the water on its right, his technique far more brutal as he slammed his own spear into the monster's other side.
This time, the toad didn't turn. Instead, it lashed out with its powerful right leg, kicking backward.
Rokar, already anticipating the move, dove back beneath the water's surface as the massive foot swept harmlessly over his head.
The Gulper turned and stared into the pond, searching for any sign of movement, but found nothing. After a moment's hesitation, it began to move slowly towards the water.
The moment its webbed feet touched the water's edge, the ground began to tremble again.
The creature let out a furious rumble, quickening its pace, only for its right hind leg to sink deep into the now softened mud. As it tried to shift its weight to its other leg for support, that one too plunged into the mire too.
Gulper struggled, trying to pull itself free, and at that precise moment, four lizardmen burst from the water. Two from the right and two from the left and leaped at the trapped creature with their spears raised.
Just as they were about to descend upon it, the Gulper coiled the muscles in its sunken legs and, with all its might, pushed forward.
It couldn't leap as it had before, but it managed to propel itself several meters, moving into the deeper parts of the pond.
"Krum, again!" Rokar yelled.
As the toad surged forward, the water directly in its path began to freeze over, a sheet of ice spreading rapidly and forcing the creature to slow its advance. As it tried to push through the resisting ice, the ground beneath its feet softened once more, and its webbed claws began to sink again.
Rez swiftly closed in from behind, plunging his slender spear into the monster's flesh. Corliss and Rokar followed, driving their own spears into the beast as it bellowed in rage.
Then, the toad's roar transformed, shifting from a low rumble to a high pitched, piercing shriek that tore through the air.
The lizardmen recoiled, dropping their spears to clap their hands over their ears. Zura, in the water, broke the surface with a cry of pain, her hands clamped over the sides of her head.
Aurelion watched the whole scene from the branches of a tree on the shore, his hands clamped over his ears, his mouth slightly open.
He was still exhausted, but after a brief rest, he had managed to follow the lizardmen.
"It's no wonder these lizardmen are in this swamp," he thought. "They fight better in the water than I expected, and it's clear they came prepared. Every move they've made has cornered the toad, but..."
The piercing shriek of the toad finally subsided and Aurelion start lower his hands.
"...the fact that toads have an irritating cry is a fact, and it seems they were not prepared for this."
"Did they not know about this toad? Why were they so affected by this attack?"
Down below, the lizardmens began to recover. Rokar was the first to grab his spear again, launching it at the toad's head.
The creature saw the attack and ducked its head, pushing off with its legs again. At the same time, the other lizardmen regained their composure and began to move towards the toad.
Then, Aurelion pulled his gaze away from the fight. He looked towards the trees, in the direction of the clearing where he had fought Zid and the others.
"They don't have much time."