The battle erupted without warning.
Franco, a man who called himself a legendary wizard, unleashed his formidable power for the first time when the life of a dragonborn woman was threatened at the altar. He twirled his wand with lightning speed, and blazing fireballs shot out in a relentless barrage, igniting the valley with waves of flame. Seven or eight lizardmen were transformed into writhing, fiery lizards.
Caught off guard, the lizardmen tribe was forced to halt their sacrificial ritual. They grabbed weapons from their lair and charged toward EeDechi's trio with a raucous clamor. EeDechi realized she'd overlooked a critical detail: the enemy's numbers were overwhelming. Her side had only three fighters, while the lizardmen were an entire tribe. This surprise raid might just turn into a desperate fight to break free.
A pack of lizardmen, armed with stone clubs and hide-covered wooden shields, led the charge. Spotting just three reckless adventurers, their fang-filled mouths split into eager, cruel grins, relishing the thought of their clubs smashing adventurer skulls.
As a massive stone club swung toward her head, EeDechi pulled a Constructs Storage Box from her spatial ring. Some tools hadn't been used in so long she'd nearly forgotten them.
BOOM! A stone giant crashed down from the sky.
Its landing sent a shockwave rippling through the earth, shaking the ground beneath the lizardmen's feet. They stumbled, swaying like drunks, unable to keep their balance.
The stone golem glared in all directions with its rough-hewn eyes, towering over the lizardmen who barely reached its knees. It strode forward with massive, unyielding legs, crashing into the lizardmen horde like an avalanche, wreaking havoc.
Faced with the impervious golem's trampling, the lizardmen's assault collapsed instantly. They fled into the valley, leaving behind a gruesome trail of blood and mangled flesh, tossing aside their weapons to scramble on all fours. They cursed their parents for not birthing them as centipedes with extra legs to spare.
The stone golem pursued the fleeing lizardmen. Despite its colossal size, its movements were anything but clumsy. It stomped through the valley's dips and hollows like a child splashing in a puddle, each spray of dirt and gravel claiming the lives of a cluster of lizardmen.
EeDechi found a relatively clean rock to sit on, settling in to wait for the battle's end. Nearby, Barrett leaned on his blood-streaked longsword, gazing into the distance. He'd taken down a few stray lizardmen but didn't bother chasing the stragglers. Barrett wasn't one for bloodlust, and lizardmen—tough-skinned, thick-fleshed, and with parts worth barely a few silver coins—held little appeal for adventurers to hunt.
Only Franco was bouncing around anxiously nearby, fretting that the stone golem, heedless in its rampage, might accidentally crush the dragonborn woman still bound to the stone altar into a pulp with one careless step.
EeDechi trusted the stone golem's judgment. The last time she unleashed it, the golem had grabbed an insufferable kingdom viscount but followed her command, refraining from squashing him with a single finger.
Suddenly, things took a turn.
Where the stone golem's massive foot came down, the earth split open with a jagged fissure. The ground gaped like a hungry maw, swallowing the golem's ankle. Unbalanced, its enormous frame teetered, threatening to topple. But the golem, sharp as a whip, braced itself against a nearby cliff with its arms, barely avoiding a fall.
EeDechi stood, spotting the spellcaster who nearly brought the golem down. Near the stone altar, a lizardman shaman with blood-red eyes raised its hands high, its vibrant, multicolored feathered crest quivering as it hissed strange incantations.
"What kind of magic is that?" EeDechi asked Franco.
"Let me see… Wild Magic," Franco replied, squinting.
The stone golem nimbly balanced on one leg, quickly wrenching its trapped foot free from the earth. Regaining its agility, it charged toward the lizardman shaman with thunderous strides, the ground quaking faintly beneath its weight.
Beside the shaman, mud and gravel erupted like a geyser, a whirling column of earth shooting skyward and slamming into the golem's head. The blow did little damage but clouded its vision. Then, under its feet, the ground caved in, forming a deep pit that swallowed half the golem's leg.
EeDechi could see a faint aura forming around the lizardman shaman, with it at the center. Within this domain, the earth bent to the shaman's will, shifting endlessly and unleashing attacks.
She couldn't wait any longer. EeDechi decided to take matters into her own hands and deal with this troublesome Wild Magic wielder.
But the situation shifted again.
On the semicircular stone altar, the dragonborn woman, bound hand and foot, arched her back with fierce determination. The wooden shackles on her wrists and ankles suddenly burst into flames without any breeze. Bright yellow fire consumed the restraints with precision, leaving her skin untouched. Freed, the dragonborn woman leapt from the altar, her pupils flaring with brilliant golden light as scorching fumes poured from her lips.
The lizardman shaman noticed her movement, shock plastered across its face. Its once-flushed cheeks twisted into a strange expression as it muttered something, mouth agape.
The dragonborn woman flashed a scornful grin and roared in Common, "Stupid lizard, you've been forsaken by the Dragon Progenitor!"
As she spoke, a swirl of dust spun beneath her feet. With her at the center, a wave of searing heat radiated outward, coalescing into a "domain" around her. Plants burned to ash in an instant, the ground dried to a cracked, parched wasteland. Stones glowed red-hot, like smoldering coals.
The dragonborn woman charged toward the lizardman shaman, a raging wave of heat trailing her every step. She opened her jaws wide, unleashing a roaring fire tornado that surged toward the shaman.
EeDechi witnessed her first clash of Wild Magic.
The ground's dirt clumped together, forming a earthen shield to block the fire tornado, but under the blistering heat, the soil began to melt like lava. The ground caved into a deep pit as the shaman tried its old trick, hoping to trap the dragonborn woman. But she was leagues more agile than the stone golem, her long, powerful legs stomping the crumbling shield and launching her into the air toward the shaman.
The lizardman shaman manipulated the earth beneath its feet, sliding itself aside to narrowly dodge her attack. It let out a relieved breath—only to notice a shadow darkening the ground beneath it.
Something was blocking the light above.
The shaman looked up, and the last thing it saw was the stone golem's mud-caked, slab-like sole.
BOOM! The sound of bones shattering into splinters rang out, sharp and chilling.
The golem lifted its foot, revealing a smear of bloody muck, sticky crimson strands clinging to its sole. With a hint of disgust, it scraped its foot twice against a fallen pine tree, wiping away the gore.
The stone golem surveyed the area, confirming no lizardmen remained to resist, then strode toward EeDechi.
At the valley's edge, EeDechi propped her chin in her hand, lost in thought, a bit puzzled. This dragonborn woman was so powerful—how did the lizardmen manage to capture her as a sacrifice?