It wasn’t surprising that it was difficult to run over a pile of corpses. The blood and various oozing bodily fluids made it extremely difficult to get any kind of grip on the stone floor beneath his paws, and frankly, Skrakch preferred not to think about it too much.

After all, the alternative to escape would be fighting a massive Undead monster and that was certainly enough to keep his motivation high, no matter how disgusting his current predicament was. Almost tripping over some poor soul’s femur, Skrakch risked a look behind just in time to see a large wave of bodies being shoved aside by the massive skeletal tail of the beast.

Eyes widening in fear, he quickly dodged to his right, narrowly escaping the huge jaws of the Bone Naga as it burst through the bodies, creating another horrific shower of blood and viscera before it plunged back down into the sea of corpses.

“Fucking Gods damned Hells!” Skrakch cursed, shakily wiping blood from his eyes and whiskers. The beast was quicker than he’d anticipated, if the thing had been just one single inch closer, he’d have lost his head.

“What are ye doin’?” Winifred demanded. She was standing a few feet away, holding up a struggling Meekknuckle by the scruff of his neck. She looked panicked but was trying to keep a lid on her fear. “The beast’s too fast to outrun!”

“And something tells me fighting it in close combat ain’t the answer either,” Zacharias added, suddenly appearing at Skrakch’s side. “We’re gonna need to think of a proper plan,” he carefully watched the now-undulating bodies once more, waiting for the beast to reappear for its next strike.

“I vote you be the sacrifice Squeakers,” Zacharias continued as he dodged the moving mass of bones. “Shit! The bugger’s coming back up!”

The rumbling beneath them started to intensify once more. Before they could move, the Bone Naga burst free, ready for another attack. It moved through the bodies and bones as easily as if it were water. Winifred was right, it would have them in its jaws before they could even get halfway across the cavern.

“Ouch! Ye little shite!” Winifred cried out, letting Meek drop to the floor as she shook her hand. Skrakch could see the bite marks where the Goblin had freed himself. Before the pit fighter could rebuke him, Meek had scrambled away, digging into the pocket of his ragged trousers.

The diminutive Goblin stood in the middle of them and confronted the charging beast, holding a gleaming silver medallion high above his head.

“Maglubiyet! Hear Meek’s words!” He called out, his arms trembling as he held the medallion aloft. “Defend from scary snake-”

The beast, unfettered, opened its jaw wide and started to dive downwards, ready to swallow the Goblin, and the rest of them, whole. Ornn moved swiftly towards his Master but Skrakch could see there was no way the Golem would be able to get there in time…

“Protective Barrier!” Meek shouted, a pulse of divine Mana pouring out of the diminutive Goblin’s Core.

A shimmering wall of light suddenly sprung into existence between Meekknuckle and the Bone Naga. Undeterred, the beast committed to its attack as it slammed directly into the magical defense, its brittle bone teeth shattering against the barrier. Deflected to the side, it let out a roar of anger right into Meekknuckle’s face, before sinking under the bodies once more.

The little Goblin was still bravely holding his medallion aloft, although the use of such magic was taking its toll on his small body.

Gasping, he fell to his knees with blood dripping from his yellow eyes and large nose. Before the exhausted Goblin could sink into the bodies below him, Winifred lunged forward and scooped him up into a princess carry, trying her best not to jostle him much.

Sadly, without its power source, the barrier that protected them started to flicker and disperse, leaving them wholly unprotected once more.

“Leave the little fucker as bait!” Zach yelled, turning tail and running for the exit while the barrier still held.

“He just tried to save us ye callous bastard!” Winifred shouted back. “We’re nae leavin’ him behind, I’ll throw ye to the beast before that happens!” She added, checking to ensure that Ornn was following along, the great Golem trying to stick to his master’s side.

“Best to run quickly, it’s coming back around!” Skrakch called out watching as the barrier finally fully dispersed, bursting into a hundred gleaming shards of light. It had provided them with enough ground to get a head start on the beast. “I’ve got a plan, Ornn I need you to hold back the blasted thing, just for a second!”

Grabbing the scepter from his belt, Skrakch quickly traced the arcane glyphs running down its length with his finger. Magic items tended to need some form of attunement, or at least a certain familiarity with them, but as the desperate Ratling took in the scepter’s design, he was confident that he could use it.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Pushing his Mana into it, Skrakch could feel the scepter hungrily soak in his power, draining nearly half his Core’s Mana into one cast. With any luck, he’d be blessed and the thing would work the same way it had during the illusion.

Thankfully, Ornn seemed to have heeded his words, his large footsteps squelching loudly as he came to stand guard in front of Skrakch. The two of them watched with tensed bodies as the Bone Naga flowed towards them, picking up speed as it readied to engulf them both whole.

Smashing downwards with both of its titan-sized fists, Ornn smashed into the beast with all the Golem’s strength, yet it only delayed the inevitable as the Naga continued its lunge.

As the mighty serpentine beast began to burst forth from underneath, Skrakch used the momentary delay to point his new scepter straight down at the swelling of corpses by his feet. With a curse and a final injection of Mana, the scepter lit up, the arcane runes glowing with a fierce light as the enchantment activated.

The tip glowed a bright white as it momentarily charged up a large orb of fire. Swirling with potent Mana, its effect with a powerful gout of flame, unleashed with a fervent hunger, slamming into the erupting Bone Naga in a rising crescendo of flame and destruction.

The mammoth-sized Undead serpent let out a roar of pain and hatred as its skull cracked from the force of the blow. Reeling off to the side, the Naga narrowly missed Skrakch. However, the flames did not.

Screaming in pain and terror, Skrakch was knocked off his feet by the ensuing explosion as the Naga fell into the sea of bodies. Struggling to put out the fire that was currently burning his fur, he began to sink into the corpses himself when the Ratling felt something grab him by the scruff of his neck. He looked up to see Ornn’s grim face staring at him. The Golem hadn’t escaped injury either, a massive rend had been carved across the length of his chest. It was so deep that it was possible to see the intricate Mana inscriptions that powered him, and Skrakch could see the magical Core that resided deep inside Ornn.

Delirious with the pain, Skrakch watched breathlessly as the Bone Naga swam once more amongst the corpses. Its very essence seemed hellbent on destroying them. Reorientated once more, the unnerving foe was quickly gaining on the scrambling rogues, picking up steam as it sped towards them.

Dragged along towards the only exit, Skrakch barely managed to pat the last bit of fire off him, as he watched the beast get closer and closer.

Screaming out a half-incoherent warning, the terrified Ratling barely noticed as they entered the next chamber, and Ornn slammed the door shut behind them.