My vision is blurred.
I can barely discern shadows amidst the dust screen that arose in front of me.
My back hurts, my chest hurts, my head hurts, breathing hurts, thinking hurts. Even my pain is in pain.
As my hands scratched the ground, while my body desperately grasped for the air that was forcefully expelled from my lungs, I could only pray for salvation
"Wh....at..."
- Bleeerh. I vomited a vivid red fluid, that smelled as rusted iron. Blood. Fresh blood.
I feel cold, my legs don't have the strength to sustain me, my arms are trembling, as if they were to crumble at any moment.
Heavily gasping, I place my back against the nearest tree, slowly. Each second in pain seemed as if it was whole hours. The world was spinning around me, robbing my feet of the balance they were so proud of.
Soon, the sound of rocks sliding over each other, with a primal and hollow sound made my heart beat even faster. The fear of whatever that was, was enough to make me forget the pain.
I turn my face to the place where the sound should have come, only to regret instantly.
My eyes meet a stone structure, with the same crystalline appearance of the rock I picked up. My fearful eyes are then filled with confusion.
"What in... heavens.... is this....?"
My lungs were learning to breathe again. At least there were no broken bones. Or the adrenaline rush was big enough for me to not feel them. In any case, I should remember to thank my parents for the lucky star they bore me under.
Unhappily, my doubts did not last as much. As soon as I could get back on my feet, the stone structure moved, slowly stretching its legs, thorax and tail. The slow movement under the moonlight refracted the light within it, creating rainbows inside the crystalline armor and revealing the animal inside it.
As its characteristics are revealed, a name crept up to my mouth, from the stories my parents used to tell me before bedtime
"Armored Sting"
A giant scorpion, whose body is covered in an armor of precious stones. A full-fledged intermediate five-stars beast. A monster big enough to lift an ox-cart with a single pedipalp, merely its telson was already as big as an average man. Majestic and terrific.
"Why would a beast that is said to inhabit the sands of the distant deserts be burried in the middle of a green forest?" The thought quickly crossed my mind, dying as quickly as it came. I had other priorities for the moment.
The beast graciously moved, dancing under the moon and above the rubble, creating rainbows inside its crystal armor through the refraction of the moonlight as it climbed the hole it was dug into, turning its body so it could scan the surrounding with those bloody-red eyes.
The carnivorous vines that survived the ordeal, now active one again, slapped and constricted the beast, incapable of penetrating the rock-solid exoskeleton, not even hindering its movement, being no different than an ant facing the incoming wave of the sea.
I slowly limped back away, dragging my leather sack and alchemical satchel as discreetly as I could, which would not mean much. The vines gave me precious seconds I could not afford to lose.
Then, I froze. I realize I don't know where to go. If the beast followed me back to New Opportunity, it would cause a manslaughter even before the guards could organise a party to hunt it. There is no way one of the elite guards would be near a small settlement and the lower ranked couldn't face that thing alone!
Wathever! I must go! I must hide! I must live!
Gathering every strength left in my body, burning any willpower was left only to try ignoring the pain that ached over my body as a thousand rocks hit me over and over.
"Don't look back! Don't look back!" I repeated to myself.
Exactly.
I looked back.
In the fraction of second that my face turned around, I could see the bloody-red eyes of the beast focusing on me, as it stood there, in the middle of torn braches and vines. The pressure it exerted only by being there was enough to silence the nearby forest, not even the wind would dare to blow against its legs. The world held its breath in the presence of such a mighty being.
I missed my step and my leather sack fell, the metallic sound of the sickle hitting the crystalline stone echoed amidst the silence and that was enough to make the beast release a hissing sound, as it started to clasp its chelicerae in anticipation. I am not fool enough to stand and wait what it was anticipating for. I quickly gathered the fallen objects and forced myself to run, even if it was unsightly, survival is something that does not care about appearance if it worked.
The earth crumbles beneath the mighty steps of the beast, as it slowly builds momentum to dislocate its heavy body through the terrain. Dozens of trees gave in, submitted by the beast's unrelenting charge, stalling it for no more than seconds as it chased me. Not even the birds that were nested there dared to chirp back at such astounding lord.
I did not care for what was in front of me. I didn't have the luxury of time, as I was trailblazing the woods, feeling vines, thorns, toxic mushrooms and leafblades rupture my skin and clothes, spoiling more of the little blood I still had in my body. Soon, the beast aligned its stinger with my trajectory and started to puncture towards me. Sometimes missing by a large margin, other times nearing enough to have impaled me if not for a quick roll on the ground or sidestep.
My energy was being drained faster and faster, and the accuracy of the beast grew better as the time passed. I need to find a way to get out of this situation.
As I despaired over, the red of my blood brought back to my mind the red sulphur salt Madam Chai gave me.
I changed my trajectory to run to a nearby gattering of carnivorous vines I had spotted earlier that night, almost one hundred of them were intertwined in a thorny mess.
I quickly draw out the red sulphur salt from my bag. And had to make a dire decision.
As my leather bag contained only the crystalline stone and the sickle, I put half of the powder inside and over the bag, spreading it over and then...
"CATCH!"
I threw the bag on the beast!
The beast staggered for a second, seemingly confused with my actions, before dismissing the bag with a slap that threw the bag into the thorny hole.
It didn't work, I expected the powder to work, but it was an epic failure. Desolated as I saw my last hope drawing a red powdery arc in the air, I stumbled over and fell on the ground, facing the giant beast as it once again flaild its tail over me.
I couldn't muster the bravery to face my own death. I closed my eyes and awaited for the unavoidable moment.
Then, the sound of the sickle scratch the crystalline rock once again resounded on the forest. And nothing happened. And I mean it.
I slowly opened my eyes, only to find myself facing the tip of the poison-dripping sting, as the beast stared at the vine hole, entraced by the sound. Death has never been so close to me.
The beast decided to ignore my presence and quickly went to that place, delicately ripping open my bag, emitting a sound reminiscent of a laughter when it finally held the rock in its pincers. Slowly raising and turning the rock, inspecting every nook and cranny and allowing the light to transverse it.
That sight had me flabbergasted. That kind of delicate behavior amidst the wild tempest of thorns trying to flail the imposing scorpion. The worst was yet to come, that pattern of movement allowed the light to penetrate deeper and I could see a delicate silhouette inside the rock. That was no rock!
"That's an egg...." Those words escaped my mouth as I contemplated that scenery. The nature sure is filled with wonders!
Surely, as life brought many surprises, there was one more
The carnivorous vines, frenzied by the luring action of the red sulphur salt, managed to constrict and penetrate under the armor of the scorpion, making its green blood flow and increasing the vines power.
In a matter of seconds, the beast was almost unable to fight back against those vines, as it was also focused on protecting the egg.
Only then did I notice the blue color on some of the thorns, it was the proof that there were Ancient Carnivorous Vines mixed there, way more vicious, thirstier and stronger than its common counterpart, and a whole congregation of them was a trap strong enough to put even the Armored Sting in danger.
"Oh no!"
There is only one course of action available! I have to help!
Gathering stones, branches, anything that could help!
But I was useless, I can only blame myself for my own uselessness, my own weakness. No matter how much a I hit the branches, without a suitable weapon and enough strength, it was impossible to break the main branches.
"I can't give up!"
So I will simply focus on doing what I can do! Even if I can't harm the main branches, I can still break the accessory branches, weakening even if a little the complex net they were forming.
I reached for the vines and pulled them, with divergent movements that were followed by a cracking noise. At each time, my hands were pierced by the thorns, sending waves of pain through my already exausted body.
The scorpion looked at me and seemed to understand my intentions, using his pincers to slice the main branches as I exposed them.
Both our movements grew slower as the time passed, the beast was sacrificing its own blood to prevent the vines from devouring its egg. I grew weaker due to my own limitations. But we kept exchanging looks, sometimes encouraging each other
"We have to see it through!'
"Hishsss!"
Many hours later, as the moon intended to leave the sky, we composed a bizarre scene. A male figure covered in blood, with vicious punctures and cuts throughout its body, and an Armored Sting, carrying a egg on its back, sat together amidst a circle composed of hundreds of withered vines, whose body withered more and more at each passing minute, as if there was something draining its sap back.
Too exhausted to interact with the other, we simply had this truce declared by external forces.
Soon enough, as the first rays of the mornin shone upon us, I could hear a cracking sound coming from above. Struggling to even look up, I managed to see the egg hatching, giving birth to a small Armored Sting, about the size of a dog, which animously walked around its parent body and I swear they both were showing an expression of satisfaction.
"Congratulations, Miss." Weak words went out of my mouth. Even if my lungs were burning and my blood was not mine anymore, I could die knowing that child would no longer die because of me.
My conscience is fading. My vision is turning black and my body feels numb. Then, I feel the dripping of warm water over me, as if some viscous angel was hugging me, denying the existence of my pain and suffering, only to let me rest.
I look up only to see the tail of the great Armored Sting dripping white poison over me
"You.... must.... be....kidding....m"
I blacked out.