The other rock monster was still alive however. The rock monster suddenly opened up at the top, similar to one opening his or her mouth, and breathed a blast of fire at the group. The fire caught the group off guard and inflicted serious burns on all four of them. The four were still in fighting shape, unfortunately for the rock monster. Thomas finished the creature off with a stab between the eyes. The creature fell apart just as its partner had.
"More fire breath. I guess we should have expected that in a fire cave like this," commented Suzanne, waiting for Thomas to finish the healing rounds.
"I don't think our tricked out armor did much against that breath either," complained Ron.
"Many people have come up with the theory that monsters' fire breath is not actually magic," explained Alice. "It's actually a natural occurrence, such as breathing oxygen is for us. These theories are supported by instance like this, where wards against magic do not protect against fire breath."
"Oh, that's great! How does that help us?" asked Ron exasperatedly.
"There are wards that can protect against breath weapons," said Alice thoughtfully.
"I believe that would be my area of expertise," joined in Thomas. "But, as usual, I don't have the knowledge of magic necessary when we need it."
"Don't do this to yourself again man. There's only so much one man can do. You'll get it soon. Just like you how you got the antidote spell. Just like how your healing just keeps improving," said Ron.
The group was now in another hallway, similar to the one on the previous floor. This one was significantly shorter. It led to a chamber with a gruesome alter inside it. Both the alter and the area around it were covered in blood and human skeletons.
"This must be the sacrificial alter," said Ron grimly.
"I can't help but notice how deep inside the alter is," noted Thomas. "The Orochi probably hopes that whoever escorts the sacrifices inside will be killed by the other monsters. More food for the beast."
"We have to be close then," said Suzanne.
The group went back to the hallway and found it split in both directions midway between the chamber and the stairs. One split led quickly to a dead end. The other split led to a huge chamber almost filled by a lake of lava. There was an island in the middle of the lava lake with a bridge leading from the hallway the group was in to the island. The group quickly made their way onto the island.
The four wound themselves around the various boulders scattered around the island, careful to look for more rock monsters. And then the group found their target.
"Oh goodness, this will be a fight!" said Ron.
"Numerous heads. I pray they can't all breathe fire, especially at once," commented Thomas.
"We can take it!" said Alice confidently.
"It seems happy to see us. I wonder why that is?" noted Suzanne, knowing full well from the sacrifice chamber why the beast was happy to see them.
The Orochi was a green dragon with five heads standing upon four legs. Each head had blue spines running up it. The dragon was indeed happy to see the four. Humans no longer wondered into the cave, too afraid of the beast. To see the four humans wonder in on their own, without the dragon having to do any work, was like a free meal for the Orochi.
Alice created spikes of ice underneath the Orochi. The Orochi hissed in pain, but the group was amazed to see its wounds already closing before their eyes. Suzanne and Ron struck the Orochi with their weapons. Not only did the dragon's scales reduce their weapons' effectiveness, but they could see the wounds they did inflict closing as well.
"Damn! The bastard can regenerate!" swore Ron.
Thomas hung back and cast a spell. The four were engulfed in the bright light of the spell that reduces vulnerability to physical attack. The Orochi brought two of its heads to face the party. One of them gave Ron a good bite to his shoulder. The other let loose a burst of flame at the group. Having expected this, the group was able to use the various boulders around the island for cover. However, they were all still given good burns.
"It can use its heads at the same time! Beware multiple attacks everyone!" warned Suzanne.
Fortunately, Alice had just the spell to overcome one of the Orochi's abilities. Alice had recently learned a spell that greatly enhanced the strength of the one the spell was cast on. She quickly chanted the spell and Ron found himself engulfed in crimson light.
"There! You should be able to get past its scales now!" yelled Alice.
Suzanne and Ron continued their offensive. Alice's spell did indeed aid Ron, as he cut through the Orochi's scales and its hide as though it were butter. The Orochi screamed in rage and pain as Ron cut it. Although the wound was starting to heal, it was grievous enough that it would not heal completely for a little while. Thomas sent his stronger healing spell at Ron, to account for the bite and the burns.
The Orochi still had enough in it to keep up the assault. This time it nearly took Suzanne's head off with a bite from one of its own. It still dealt a decent wound to her shoulder. The other head sent another burst of flame at the group.
"I can't heal all of you at once! I need some help!" called Thomas.
"Alice! Help Thomas keep the healing up!" ordered Suzanne.
Alice healed herself, though she did not have Thomas' stronger healing spell yet. Thomas sent his stronger healing spell at Suzanne. Suzanne and Ron once again struck the beast. Suzanne managed another easily regenerated wound to the dragon's side. Ron once again gave the beast a good slash, almost taking one of its heads off at the base of the neck.
The Orochi was definitely mad now. This was supposed to be an easy meal and it would take a while for its wounds to heal now. It had been a long time since it had felt this much pain. Those humans would be devoured nice and slowly now. The Orochi kept up its same assault: a bite to Suzanne, this time to her side, and another blast of flaming breath. Suzanne suspected that the beast was now focusing more on her due to its sick nature of preferring female humans.
"Alice! Give that enhancement to me that you gave to Ron! I'll help Tom heal for now!" called Suzanne.
Alice did as she was told and soon Suzanne was engulfed in the same crimson light. Suzanne sent her healing spell at Thomas, though hers was also not as strong as Thomas'. Thomas sent his healing spell at Suzanne. Ron was the only one left for offense as he gave the Orochi another wound to its side to hiss about. However, without Suzanne to inflict another wound, the Orochi was soon no more wounded than it was a few seconds ago.
Although the Orochi loved its flaming breath, there was something to be said for simply tearing humans to pieces. The Orochi brought two of its heads at Ron in a vicious double strike. Ron took a bite to his left side and one to his right arm. Combined with his burns, Ron was in rough shape.
"Alice! Heal yourself! Tom! You focus on Ron!" ordered Suzanne.
Alice healed herself while Thomas healed Ron. Ron, although still not in top shape, was looking much better now. Now Ron and Suzanne, with their enhanced strength, launched a great offensive on the Orochi. As the Orochi's heads were about to strike, Ron and Suzanne both struck at one and severed their targets clean off. The remaining three heads of the Orochi screeched a horrible screech of agony and rage. However, the group could see that the two heads were already growing back from the stubs of the necks.
However, the Orochi had been dealt terrible wounds. Too terrible to continue on. The Orochi quickly retreated into the lake of lava surrounding the island. The group gave hot pursuit, but the Orochi escaped into the lake.
"Damn it! The bastard got away!" cursed Ron.
"Maybe not," said Suzanne. "Look at where he went in!"
The other three looked at what Suzanne saw and found something interesting indeed. The lava was swirling oddly where the Orochi had entered the lava lake. In fact, the swirl looked like a red version of a Traveler's Gate.
"I don't think it dipped into the lake. The Orochi probably can't handle that much fire. I think it teleported away!" guessed Alice.
> "We should follow after it!" said Ron, about to go after the Orochi.
"Stop!" shouted Thomas. "How do you know you still won't be burned?"
"We can't let it get away Tom!" shouted Ron back.
"Let's be cautious about this. Tom, finish healing us. Ron, tie yourself up to a rope so we can get you out if you get burned. Then just slowly get in. Try dipping a finger in first, just to make sure," suggested Suzanne.
"Of course, the monster is healing itself as we waste time. Maybe even planning an ambush," grumbled Ron.
"Well, if it turns out that you still get horribly burned from that teleporter, you'll probably get a different view on it," scolded Suzanne.
Ron conceded to Suzanne's point and the group started tying a rope securely around his waist. Ron carefully put his finger into the swirl. The group was relieved when he felt no pain from it. Ron slowly began entering the red Traveler's Gate. When he disappeared without screaming in agony, the rest of the group followed after him.
This Traveler's Gate was different from the others. Instead of spinning around over and over and feeling dizzy afterwards, the group felt as though they had fallen a long ways. Fortunately, the fall was not real, as the group landed without injury.
The four found themselves back in Himiko's room in the city of Jipang. The group was surprised to find that night had already fallen while they had been in the cave. What was more surprising was the scene the group had appeared in the middle of. One of Himiko's aides was desperately tending to Himiko, who had been given terrible wounds. Himiko was definitely still alive, but was bleeding quite a bit.
"Where did you come from!" cried the aide. "Unless you have skill in healing, you must leave now! Himiko has been injured!"
Suzanne quickly called the group into a small conference.
"Does anyone else find it suspicious that Himiko is now suddenly injured, after we injured the Orochi and chased it here?" asked Suzanne.
"Funny how that works," agreed Alice.
"Let's see what he has to say," said Ron.
The four walked up to Himiko, hands on their weapons. Himiko was not only injured, but breathing oddly. Himiko's breath was coming out in inhuman hisses. As the four approached, Himiko gave them a venomous gaze. But it was not the glaring eyes of an angry human that glared at them, but the solid purple eyes of the Orochi.
"So, 'Himiko,' how did you get injured?" asked Suzanne.
"Enough games," growled Himiko. "You are the only ones who know my true identity. And you must know that by now, I've healed enough of your pitiful wounds to easily finish you off. But if you leave now, and don't speak a word of this to anyone, I'll spare your lives."
"I'm afraid we can't do that," answered Suzanne. "We need you to stop devouring sacrifices from this city. But you're not about to do that, are you?"
Himiko gave a great roar, the angry roar of the Orochi. "I shall enjoy devouring you!" it screamed.
The group quickly drew out their weapons as Himiko's form quickly grew and morphed into the form of the Orochi. As the Orochi had said, it had recovered from a good amount of its wounds. Where there had been two stumps left over before the Orochi now had two new heads, though they had not yet grown to the size of its three others.
Alice and Thomas knew that the spells they had cast in their first fight with the Orochi had worn off. Alice recast her spell on Ron, once again enhancing his strength. Thomas recast his spell on the group, giving them extra protection against the Orochi's bites. Ron and Suzanne resumed their offensive against the beast. They were please to see that, besides the small heads, some of the Orochi's other wounds still remained.
Suzanne, not yet boosted by Alice, once again found it difficult to inflict a wound that the Orochi could not almost immediately heal. Ron, however, was once again cutting through the dragon's skin like butter. The Orochi, incensed by the human female that dared stand up to it so, forgot its flaming breath for the moment and brought two of its heads down to bite at Suzanne. Suzanne tried to jump over the attack this time but was sent sprawling to the ground with one good bite in each leg.
Alice cast her magic on Suzanne, so now both the front line fighters had great strength. Thomas sent his stronger healing spell to Suzanne, almost completely healing her legs. Ron tried to go for the Orochi's head again but the creature was ready for the attack this time. The head ducked down and then came violently back up, sending Ron flying. Suzanne managed a strike to the creature's leg, almost severing it. The creature limped for all of two seconds as it let out a burst of flaming breath.
"Alice! Help Thomas heal! We just need to outlast it!" called Suzanne.
Alice healed herself while Thomas healed Ron. In the case of most monsters, the Orochi would have made things worse for itself by throwing Ron over itself, for it was no flanked by Suzanne and Ron. However, a five-headed beast like the Orochi was not at much of a disadvantage with an enemy behind it. Ron tried going at one of the two weak heads with another jumping strike but found them quickly snake away from his strike, leaving him on the creature's back in the middle of the five heads. Suzanne stabbed the beast just under one of its heads. By the creature's roar, Suzanne guessed she had not been far from the creature's heart, or some vital organ.
The creature was definitely angry now. Two of the Orochi's heads took a great inhale and unleashed a double blast of flame upon the group. As Ron was still on the dragon's back, he was not hit by the blast. The other three were badly burned however. Suzanne, Thomas, and Alice were all forced to heal themselves, though there were still good burns on all of them after their spells took effect.
Ron took advantage of his position on the Orochi's back. He got himself into a position similar to horseback riding and brought his axe through one of the dragon's five necks. Ron felt a spine snap as he did so and realized that each of the necks must have a spine. The neck Ron attacked went disgustingly limp and fell to the ground.
The Orochi realized the advantage Ron now had over it but realized it could not get its heads around to attack him. Instead, the dragon tried to buck Ron off its back. Ron tried to hold on, but quickly found himself falling off its back. The creature then tried to stomp on Ron, while one of its heads sent another blast of flame at the other three. Ron managed to avoid the worst of the stomp, but took a crushing blow to his left arm.
Thomas and Alice healed themselves again while Suzanne rejoined the melee. She managed to get underneath the head that had just breathed fire and sent a great upward slash at the dragon. The result had one of the beast's heads on the ground and a stump of a neck left. The creature howled in agony, allowing Ron to get back to his feet and try a daring move of his own. The Orochi was so distracted by its pain, as it was so unaccustomed to feeling, that it forgot to get one of its other heads out of the way as Ron sliced it clean off. The Orochi was now left with one good head and two smaller heads.
The Orochi quickly overcame its pain, channeling it into rage. It brought its good head and one of its smaller heads around to fight the group. The large head threw out a blast of flame while the smaller head snapped at Suzanne. Suzanne managed to block the smaller, weaker head with her shield. Alice healed Ron while Thomas healed Suzanne.
The four knew the Orochi was in its last stages of life. Suzanne and Ron focused on the large head. Suzanne went in low, ready to roll away if the head tried to crush her. Ron went in high. The creature's head was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If it tried to crush Suzanne, Ron would finish his own crushing slash on the neck. If it tried to swat Ron out of the air, Suzanne would have plenty of room to perform another terrible upward slash. The Orochi decided to pick on Suzanne again, as the two humans had come to expect from the dragon.
Having anticipated the attack, Suzanne easily rolled away. The Orochi roared before Ron even decapitated it again, knowing its head's fate. Indeed, there was a third head on the ground. The Orochi now also knew its fate. With only its two weak heads left, it could not hope to put a suitable offensive up. Nevert
heless, it brought its two heads around and sent a double blast of fire at the group. However, the two blasts were only as strong together as one of the blasts from a strong head. But the Orochi knew it was still doing more harm than the two healers could erase. If it could outlast the humans, it could spend the next few months in rest healing its wounds.
The group knew the Orochi's plan. Alice and Thomas healed themselves while Ron and Suzanne kept up their offensive. Ron and Suzanne once again focused on the same head, and the creature was once again unable to dodge the double attack. Another head landed on the ground. The last head sent out one last desperate blast of flame at the group, but this one was noticeably weaker.
Ron and Suzanne finished off the final head and then the entire group went to work hacking the creature to pieces. Since it could heal itself, they could not risk the creature healing back someday. They cut and hacked until they came to the creature's heart. After stabbing the heart, the healing seemed to stop. Blood flowed unabated and none of the stumps tried to grow anymore. The group stopped their bloodbath and took one final look at the beast. The Orochi had finally died.
Chapter 16: Suspicious Soldiers
After the defeat of the Orochi, Jipang went insane overnight. It was much like when the group had liberated the western area of the Romalian Empire. However, there were no riots as there had been in that incident. Between Himiko's aide, who had witnessed his transformation into the beast, and the loud noises of the group's fight, the group did not need to prove that they had not brutally murdered Jipang's leader.
The group was immediately hailed as the saviors and heroes of Jipang. A great celebration was held in honor of their deeds. Along with this celebration came two additional rewards. There was an old Jipangian legend that stated, "From the blood and flesh of the vile dragon comes a blade of magnificent quality. The blade will be bestowed to the hand responsible for the slaying of the dragon."
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