#ibuck

Nox looked over his shoulder to the rest of their party as he motioned to the seemingly empty area. “Let Igi and I check it out first. Make sure there’s no traps or anything since we don’t have to touch the floor.” He turned his attention back to Igi and squeezed her hand one last time before letting go. He activated his boots, a faint blue magical aura radiating off of them, as he put one foot then another to the wall. Igi flapped her wings and took to the air, taking a deep breath as the claustrophobic feeling she had had in the cramped hallways left her.

The two carefully made their way further into the chamber as the rest of the party stepped just inside the doorway. Nox jumped from the ceiling to land on top of the archway in front of them as Igi moved off to the left side towards the water.

There was suddenly a loud noise as the wall behind the rest of the party slid shut. Ibuck immediately tried to push the rock again but they were efficiently locked in. The sound of water rippling then spilling out filled the silent room as four creatures crawled out from the pools at their sides.

They looked vaguely like crabs, only on two legs and shards of obsidian sticking out from all over their body. They screamed something in a foreign language before they started to charge at them. Igi gripped onto her halberd before dragging the blade across her palm to activate the radiant energy she channeled into her weapon, flying towards the closest pair of… whatever these things were.

One of them ran right underneath Igi towards the other party members while the other climbed the wall to leap towards her. The impact made Igi fall into the opposite wall and she scrambled to knock the creature off of her as it dug its claws into her armor.

Nox drew an arrow and sent it soaring into the creature’s head. The limp body fell from Igi and he turned his attention to one that had figured Squanchy was a good target.

A bright light shone from the dead body that lifted up into the air before going into one of the older looking pillars, lighting up a small orb that rested on top.

The tortle dug his shortsword into the monster as another arrow lodged itself into it’s back. As Squanchy kicked the body away from him, another light flew into the pillar and he narrowed his eyes. He glanced towards the other two monsters who were occupied with Ibuck and Srrow. “Wait! Don’t kill them!” He shouted out, but it was too late.

The sounds of fighting stopped only to be replaced by something scraping against the stone. The walls in the back of both of the outcroppings were pulled back to reveal a short hallway that leads into a room that they couldn't quite see into.

As Ibuck finished her monster off, she felt something creep into the back of her mind. She looked down at her axe as she adjusted her grip to see a strange black smoke emitting from the weapon that wrapped around her hands and crawled up her arms. Her mind went blank and all she could think was attack. Defend herself.

She looked up to those around her, her eyes focusing on Talis’ half elf figure. She took one step forward when the ground below them rumbled and the water from the bigger pool spilled out from the edges. A large skeletal hand reached up from the water before it slammed onto the ground so who or whatever it belonged to could pull itself up.

Squanchy's grip on his short swords tightened as he charged to the front of the group, placing himself between the new threat and his friends as he readied himself for an attack.

Ibuck tore her gaze away from the new enemy and settled onto her smaller target. She charged at the half elf who was too preoccupied to notice. With a yell, she brought the axe down onto Talis and grinned as blood sprayed.

Igi looked back to where she had heard Talis’ scream come from but couldn’t see her. “Tal?” She called out.

“It’s Ibuck! Igi!” Her sister cried out before she was silenced with a resounding thwack. Igi’s eyes widened as she flew closer to where she had last seen Talis. And there was Ibuck with her axe held up ready for another strike standing above her unconscious sister. Igi grit her teeth as she focused on her patron and thought of Talis’ wounds healing. A gentle golden glow radiated off of her that transferred to her sister, some of the smaller wounds starting to close. Talis’ brown eyes flew open again and she tried to back away from Ibuck before her back hit the wall.

“Ibuck!” Igi screamed out as the axe was swung once more, knocking Talis out again.

Srrow watched as the skeletal remains of the warlock Hex’rath stood up straight, eyes an eerie purple glow and a twisted staff in his hands. The undead eyes seemed to train past him and Srrow followed the gaze to see what was going on and shook his head. “We don’t have time for this!” he yelled out as he pulled his harp from his side. He strummed a quick chord and a circle of thorns grew from the cracks of the stone floor to surround the ancient warlock. There was a loud yell as the magical thorns cut into him.

Squanchy glanced back behind him and hesitated for a split second. Without much of a second thought, he abandoned his position and ran towards where Ibuck and Talis were, letting out a flurry of blows as soon as Ibuck was within reach.

Igi’s wings fluttered angrily as she sped towards her orc friend. She crashed into her and knocked them both back a few feet even though it felt more like ramming into a wall. Igi placed herself in between her sister and the orc as the light seeped out of her body and into Talis once more. Talis gasped for breath as she tried to crawl away from the two.

Ibuck’s eyes focused onto Igi and she snarled as she brought her axe around to slam into the aarakocra’s side. Igi cried out in pain the same time Nox released an arrow into Ibuck.

Srrow looked from one threat to the other before his eyes locked onto the newly opened passages. With one last glance back at the skeletal warlock, he took off towards the closest doorway. "Just find the mask and run!" He yelled.

"But what about Ibuck?!" Squanchy called after him just before he was forced to duck his head into his shell to avoid a swing from Ibuck then popped back out again.

Srrow cursed under his breath. "Forget about her!" He stopped in his tracks as there, atop a stone altar, sat the green dragon mask that they had been searching for for months. He quickly glanced over it for anything that looked like it could be trapped before he grabbed it. He took a deep breath as he picked it up, flinching as the ground rumbled again.

Ibuck fell to the ground with Igi, Squanchy, and Nox surrounding her. Igi and Squanchy shared a look before the tortle reached down and healed the orc's wounds. Igi held her halberd at the ready as Nox drew another arrow and aimed it at the waking form of their friend. Ibuck's eyes fluttered open and it took a moment before they focused on Nox, narrowing slightly. Her hand reached towards her Dwarven Thrower and Igi brought the blunt end of her weapon around and knocked the orc out once more.

They would have to deal with her later.

The three turned their attention to the warlock who was now running at them. Igi flew straight up into the air before he got to them and Nox took the opportunity to jump down from the archway in favor of running to the side of the room. Squanchy merely stood his ground and dodged out of the way when the staff was swung towards him. Talis made her way along the wall to put some distance between her and the fight, crawling towards the safety of Nox.

There was a loud roar and then an adult green dragon came soaring out of where Srrow had ran to, slamming into Hex'rath. The unexpected force made the warlock stumble a few steps back as he turned to face the snarling beast. It took in a deep breath and let out its breath attack, encompassing everyone around. Igi watched from above as her friends were assaulted by the poisonous gas, not missing the way Ibuck’s chest stopped moving with her breaths. She had to pull her eyes away from her now dead friend to focus on the threats in front of her.

Nox cursed under his breath as he pulled back another arrow before letting it fly, hitting Hex’rath in the side. He wasn’t sure how much damage his arrows were actually doing against the skeletal man, but every bit helped right now. The puzzle box he wore on his belt felt heavy as a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders. “Now seems like an excellent time to use your last wish. You’re friends are dying, Nox,” the ethereal woman whispered in his ear. He shook her off as he pulled another arrow out of his quiver.

“I don’t have time for this right now.” He mumbled.

The woman shifted around so she could be seen yet still out of his way, arms crossed in front of her chest but a smile on her face. “I can help you like I did last time. Make everyone nice and healthy again, or even teleport you guys out of here. Let me help, Nox.” She persisted. He watched as Squanchy fell to the ground from a swipe by the dragon and he clenched his jaw.

“Fine,” he growled out as he turned to face her fully. “I wish that the dragon was on our side.” The woman’s smile broke out into a grin as she raised her hands. Nothing seemed to change on the battlefield, but suddenly Nox felt sick. It was almost like something was moving inside of him before his world went black.

Talis watched in horror as Nox let out a scream that was abruptly cut off as a monstrous hand erupted from his stomach. The armor and skin split as blood spurted out and some kind of beast crawled its way out from Nox. Talis put a hand over her mouth to try to keep the contents of her stomach in but was woefully unsuccessful. She could hear the sound of the remains of Nox’s body flop onto the floor and then the squishy sounds of whatever had came from him made its way towards her.

Igi looked over to the sounds of screams just in time to see Talis once again fall unconscious. She tightened her grip on her halberd as she held back tears. There was nothing she could do right now; not with all of her healing magics expended and the only other healers currently unable to do anything. She retreated to the far wall as she threw out one of her easier spells towards Hex’rath. The warlock turned to her and casted something back that flew her into the wall and dropped her to the floor.

“Wake up!” A familiar voice sounded in her ears. “Wake up, Igi! You’re not done yet!” Her patron ordered. Igi’s eyes fluttered open and she sat up, her hands automatically reaching out to find her halberd. She felt herself calm down a little as her hand wrapped around the wooden shaft of her weapon. Her eyes scanned the room to see that the dragon seemed to have taken care of the monster that had appeared out of nowhere and was now facing off Hex’rath by itself.

Igi pushed herself to stand up as she reached her hand out to cast another spell. It hit the warlock in the back and he turned around to see where the magic came from. She gave him a smile just as the dragon raked its claws through his bones. The remains of the undead warlock fell to the ground noisily and Igi felt herself collapse against the wall in relief. The dragon turned to look at her briefly before it began to shrink in on itself until Srrow was standing in its place. “What the fuck?” Igi whispered to herself.

Srrow reached into his pocket to retrieve the diamond he carried with him for just an occasion. He knelt down next to Squanchy’s body before placing the gem on the tortle’s chest with a deep breath to try to steady himself. He pulled out his harp and began to strum a few chords as he sung quietly. The diamond shattered as he sung the last word and the last chord of his harp faded out.

They waited for a heartbreaking moment before Squanchy gasped loudly and sat up. Igi collapsed on the floor beside her best friend and wrapped her arms around him, ignoring his complaints of germs as she clung to him desperately.