As the ranger continued reaping lives something caught his attention. Coming to a halt he glanced around. Bones as far as the eye could see… there wasn't anything that stood out, but that didn't deter the ranger. Pulling out an obsidian dragon scale, he used it to slice open his palm.
Mitt darted out, stealing the blood dipped scale with a chirp of triumph. The ranger leisurely followed the tiny chick. It used mana to glide forward.
Mitt tried to find purchase on the many bones but with his talons full he started to fall. The ranger caught him, lifting him up as directed.
The ranger watched as the small bird used his blood to… trace out a worm? A snake? No… it had legs… The ranger's lips twitched as he realized it was supposed to be… a dragon. Glancing down the halls to make sure no one saw the masterpiece. Before he could get too distracted his ears twitched as the wall of bones made a soft click.
The ranger retreated, bow drawn as the sounds grew louder. Thud, thunk, ssshhhhhhh. Mitt peaked out of the ranger's hood as the wall moved back three paces, then slid to the side.
"Ah, lil bird, what would ai without ya?" The ranger asked teasingly. Then he walked into the darkness. The ranger didn't have a vast repertoire of spells, but he was far from defenseless.
That's what he thought until five minutes ago. Now he was being chased by several corpse lizards. Only arrows of pure mana caused them any harm. Any other attacks smashed them to pieces, but their bodies quickly resolidified.
The ranger was running faster than the human could track, but the lizards relentlessly chased. The longer he ran, the more he passed only for them to also join the party.
Mitt used his talons to slowly crawl from the hood, to the ranger's wrist. As the ranger was going to fire another volley of arrows, Mitt channeled some of Beloved's mana to the arrow tips.
The ranger kept going even as the lizards blocking the way dissolved. Well, what a handy lil bird. He was starting to think legends of dragons had been sorely exaggerated… while birds. Birds were the real ones to be wary of.
The ranger leapt up, flipping as he fired more white tipped arrows at the chasing armada. They looked like a swarm of ants there were so many.
The ranger experimented with weaker arrows. No matter how much mana he pumped into them, so long as the arrow remained airborne the white tipped reaped life from all that it touched.
The ranger glanced at the dissolving specters… those arrow tips were reaping more than life. Glancing at the obviously weakening small bird, the ranger scooped him back into his hood. He didn't know what was at the end of this tunnel, but he couldn't exhaust his only viable attack. For now, he'd just outrun the lizards.
Just when the ranger thought he'd run to the hunting grounds and back he saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
"Ah, lil bird, do ya think that light be ah trap? Or salvation?" The ranger asked as his lungs started to burn. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been winded.
Mitt peaked at the glowing light. He gave a warning trill as he leapt out drawing two bastard swords as he went into his battle form. He was now noticeably broader than Ashton, though not taller. His swords burst into silver flame.
"They hold the heart, they seek to escape, if we don't hurry, our efforts in vain." Mitt warned hearing the weakened dragon song. Weakened didn't mean easily subdued. Even now the song reverberated throughout his entire being. It was a wonder anyone could think with such a loud, mournful, determined, desperate song surrounding them.
The ranger cursed under his breath as he glanced back. Before he could go back for the small bird turned warrior he continued to speak in his sing song tone.
"What I can do is delay, what I can do is support, to defeat the dragon, not a bird must claim the heart!" Mitt warned as he dashed into the swarm of soul bound lizards.
The ranger slid to a halt… not a bird… that was oddly… specific. "Do not tire yeself out lil bird! Escape before ye get injured, donna concern yeself with me."
Mitt grinned as he sliced though two pouncing lizards. "I am not Nix, I enjoy lettings fists swing, but worry not fae, sun blessed know not defeat." Mitt promised. The flames slowly took on the faintest hue of gold.
The ranger nodded, then sped toward the trap. It would be rude to not at least… pop in and say hi after he'd come all this way after all.
It didn't escape the ranger's notice that three, tiny white, silver, and red flames had attached themselves to his bow. He instinctively knew how to activate them. Nine flames… nine chances to slay something human or fae mana couldn't.
Touching the white flame he knew what it could do. It wasn't killing… the white flame purified. The red flames purged. The silver flame… absorbed mana. He was very interested in what the golden flames could do. Perhaps another day.
Using two normal mana arrows to blast open the doors, the Ranger burst in before what was left of the bone fragments even hit the ground.
There was a single… human? And a dozen part dragon, part lizard, part man knights. The human was questionable… its aura, mana, even figure was human. But around his eyes, up his arms, along his neck, his hands all had scales.
Scales fine, he'd seen them before… but not scales from at least six different creatures. Three of the patches looked like different dragon scales… one patch was more leathery, almost lizard like. The other two… could be mistaken for fish scales.
The man's aura felt tainted. The ranger felt goosebumps rise even as he fired three arrows. He fired two more before he landed. Tucking into a roll as he leapt up to avoid three swords aiming where he'd just been.
The ranger didn't want to use his nine chances until he had a better understanding of what he was facing. The knights may have been shaped like humans, but they were dragon sturdy, and lizard fast.
The ranger found himself on the back foot as he cycled through different elements of attack. Most had no effect, most likely because they were part dragon. He slowly increased the tier of his arrows, part dragon meant only partially resistant. Fourth tier arrows had minimal effect. Ice doing the most damage.
One of the knight's arms had fallen off, only for a new only to grow out over the course of about twenty seconds. The ranger glanced at the nine flames. The knights shouldn't be his focus, the mage was gathering up scrolls.
If only there wasn't a solid wall of knights in his way. Their speed kept catching him by surprise given their full body armor. It was a good thing the room was large enough to host a ball.
It was a pity the knights had already destroyed dozens of shelves of scrolls, artifacts, and even enchanted items! The ranger kept away from the shelves lining the walls, hoping to keep the damage to a minimum. The scaly mage was stuffing more scrolls into his bag as he glanced around. No doubt getting ready to escape!
Channeling his mana for another ice arrow, he attached a red flame. Aiming to take out two knights and block off the mage's escape. Hopefully the red flame wouldn't damage the surrounding shelves.
Ignoring the two knights swinging their swords at him, he fired. Both were obliterated. Gaping holes piercing through them, then the flames spread out in the blink of an eye. Engulfing the knights, armor and all. All without a drop of blood spilled.
The mage leapt back just in time to avoid getting hit in the back with his arrow. The flames hit the ground, slowly burning the immediate bone… thankfully not spreading.
The mage cursed as the knights fell back to surround him.
The ranger had 8 flames left. There were still 10 knights, and he wanted the mage intact. Alive would be better, but he wouldn't risk the mage escaping. He just needed the head.
He didn't have enough information to risk a purification flame. If he had them, he didn't want to waste them. If nothing else, he could test them on the dragon cursed enchantments along the catacombs.
The ranger channeled his mana into a lightning arrow. This time he'd try the silver flame.