"Gggh!"
As the flame continues to spread from the ground, the monster's wormlike mouth rises up again from the soils into Kes' position, trying to eat the one-armed beastkin in entirety, yet even with the existing pain, the adrenaline made Kes still capable of evading the monstrous teeth completely, after the maneuver, he leaned to the nearby tree behind him as the monster's mouth submerges again. Hardy saw all of these at the other side and put his thumbs up at Kes as they've come in an eye contact. With visible effort, Kes growlingly asks,
"You... sure 'bout the plan!?" Kes gritted his teeth.
"A bajillion percent sure in the way I see it!" Hardy nodded with an axe on his hands, balancing his steps at the tree roots that was starting to be consumed by flames "We're gonna play whack-a-mole!"
"It's a dangerous gamble!"
"What gamble?! I'm the best when it comes to making a noise and axing! How 'bout you?"
Kes look upwards towards the tree branches, then to his missing arm, then to Hardy, "I'll try."
Hardy closes his eyes, then did a deep inhalation and exhalation, after which, Hardy opened his eyes and roared out as loud as he can,
"COME ON CREEP, EAT ME!"
Then the ground rumbled beneath him. He could feel it. With his eyes open wide with concentration, Hardy stared beneath him. He raised his axe with his two arm overhead and threw it in a short distance away from the tree roots. As its sharpness of the blade hit the ground, Hardy yelled,
"HERE IT COMES!"
Then the roots where he steps on cracked, and as soon as it breaks off, Hardy leapt and rolled towards his axe and the monstrous mouth appeared beneath where he was. Seemingly, it did not submerge at once as it tries to wag the flames in its mouth like a worm disturbed.
"I KNEW IT! NOW!"
With a quick reflex, Hardy clutches the axe on the ground, raised and spins with it using its momentum and threw its blade unto the side of the monster's mouth. As soon as the blade came in contact to its side, the monster shrieked like a wounded bat and there, Kes leapt from the branches with his one-handed blade on his right arm and sliced its mouth with it from top to bottom. It shrieked louder as its mouth oozes with green blood.
"Ploughing job well done mate!" Hardy rejoiced, "Kes! Let's finish whatever this thing is!"
Kes nodded in agreement and together, they rush towards the shrieking monster. Yet suddenly, the monster rose up from the deep of the ground, throwing Kes and Hardy's balance off and away as they slammed both to the ground. The ground's soil sprinkled in a big chunks randomly, putting off some flames. There, the monster reveal itself as a humongous beetle-shaped with a wormlike mouth. It has no eyes, no wings, had a shelled back, and was thrice taller than Kes but smaller than the surrounding trees and had arthropod legs, three to the left and three to the right, that is almost as tall as Kes. It appears to be confused and its head continues to sway from left and right as if to survey its pesky prey.
"OH WHAT THE-!" Hardy expresses loudly, then too late he realized his own mistake! He covered his mouth as fast as he could, yet the monster's mouth direct itself to Hardy as if its eyes glancing to him. And after a pause, it ran towards him.
"Shite!" Hardy exclaimed, "Kes! Do its legs!"
Kes, gritting in pain, silently nodded at him as he glared at the monster's wormlike mouth, specifically, where his axe fixed itself in. Onward, he positioned himself in front; towards the monster. He opened his arms wide, moved his right foot forward, and lowered his body by bending his knees and arching his back. He then clapped on his hands and taunted the monster with beckoning,
"Come on PUPPY!" He emphasized the last word as loud as he can.
Then, the monster's head strikes down with its mouth stretched and pressed on towards him, like a snake biting its prey, just in a nick of time, he rolled sideway, and forcefully removed the axe stuck in its mouth as quickly as possible. It shrieked uncontrollably again and at that moment, Kes moves swiftly and slashes one its flimsy-looking legs. Then another, and another, making his blade covered with greenish blood.
*Kheeeeeee!!!!*
"Haaaaa-ggH!"
Again, it shrieked like no tomorrow and it fell itself flat.
"Finally!" Hardy yelled. "Take this!"
And again, he strikes the monster's soft wormlike mouth with its axe. And again, it shrieked in pain. But then, before Hardy could pull his axe out, the monster shoves him away with its mouth with great force. Hardy was thrown away and slammed his back into one of the trees. That moment the monster struggled shaking its body. Visibly panicked, it digs the soil beneath it with its broken frontal legs.
Hardy saw this and shouted, "Kes! Finish it! It gonna dug itself again below! KES!"
No response. He tries to find Kes with his eyes, but alas, with his body immobalize, he had no luck.
"KES!"
He tried calling again… no reply. The monster successfully finished its hole.
"no no no no NO! KES! FINISH IT!" Hardy shouted in panic.
The monster attempts to burrow in its hole and tries to enter inside it...
"KEEES!"
Then a bolt of light struck through the monsters mouth, piercing it.
Then, through its head.... piercing it.
It struck hard that its greenish blood bursts out from inside out. And finally, the monster lays flat.
"wha?" Hardy was confused in this sudden assistance of them. Who is them? Or is it she? that irritating Ishnaia?
Afterwards, Hardy heard a horse neighing, and now, he was more curious now about on who delivered that final blow. Definitely not Kes, nor Alister... Is it really the lassie?
"[Dozhd]!"
He heard a female voice, but it had a different tone to the one he was recently been familiar with. It was a spell. It drizzled with pure rain water, killing off the forest fire.
"[Svet]!"
Another cast was made, light came from the ground around where the bolt had been as multitude particles. It was as if fireflies woke up from below. Yet, those things glow more than its ordinary counterpart.
Then he heard hooves coming. There, a princely man in a platinum armor that was shining came to be by his sight. The man is of slim build and with a straight and smooth white long hair that completely covers his upper back. He looked like an elf, but is not. He does not have that pointy ears stabbing from below his hair. This unknown man appears to be saddling a white stallion with some black spots in its body. The man points at him from afar and speaks gallantly to someone behind of him,
"There's one over there! A Hume!"
"Should we off him sir?" asks by a petite girl, covered with light brownish robes from top to bottom who is riding in dark brown mare, her face covered with a hood. It would seem to appear that she's the one casting spells as she had an long ornamented staff with a clear blue crystal laying at her hands in front of her.
"Hmmm…" The man caresses his chin with his fingers, then rode slowly closer to Hardy. Hardy attempts to stand, but dropped in his one knee as he tries to.
He tries again,
but no dice.
He wanted to stand proud, but He didn't know he was weakened this far by that impact earlier. The unknown man's closes himself now at Hardy by a foot. They finally had their eyes met at close. Still sitting in his gracious horse, His eyes shone and speaks,
"Ah! I recognize you!" The man points at Hardy, who looks as if genuflecting at this man, "You're that Little Bogazi!" He turned his sight to the girl behind him, "Pinta! Don't give any harm to this little bogazi! Or he'll sting you with his tiny needle!"
"Spare me the ridicule Elven wannabe." Hardy replied with clear disgust. He had an idea who this is.
The man returned his sight to Hardy and smiled, "I'm surprised that you like my," and sways his hair, "elven fashion!"
Hardy cringed at this sight, "You-"
"Pardon me!" the elvish man clasp both of his hand. "I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Vandaldor Erons! Son of the mighty Eustadd Erons! Tell me, what is Little Bogazi doing in the Deepwoods? Last time I know, this is House Erons territory. Did the king brought you here all by your lonesome I presume? To give offertory perchance?"
Hardy did not speak for a few second, only glaring at the eyes of this man with elven fashion, whose name is apparently Vandaldor Erons. Then he blinks and finally said, "…what happened to Kes?"
Vandaldor tilts his head, "I'm sorry?"
"Kes!" he loudly said, his emotions growing irately, "Didn't you see him!? Don't tell me you didn't see him!"
"Like I said-"
"The beastkin! Me and he was fighting that bastard you've slayed!"
"Ah!" Vandaldor smiles with eyes wide, "that mangy cur with freshly cut arm?" Then he closes his eyes and nodded twice, "Don't worry too much, it's dead. I ended it's painful life by me and myself."
"Wha…" Hardy was shocked at this news that he cannot even fathom what to say. This elvish man named Vandaldor dropped its word pridefully and with no remorse at his voice.
"Now if you had other questions," Vandaldor glared at Hardy, "can you please answer mine first? I will repeat it just for YOU! What is Little Bogazi doing here in our territory?"
"Your Territory?!" Hardy's eyebrow raised, "This is never your territory!"
Vandaldor smilingly snorted, "Why, the King gave this land to our elegant House Erons! Do you dare question the order of the King?"
"Tch!"
"You know what," Vandaldor grinned gleefully, "I don't really care as of why you are here. Because you are still coming with us for helping a criminal!"
"The what now!? Helping a CRIMINAL!?"
"You heard it right."
"YOU SOD!" Hardy tried to stand against this man who held the Erons name, but alas he fails and fell, now landing into both of his knees with his palm pushing the ground. Vandaldor laughed,
"Hahaha! See yourself in the mirror! That position suits you well! Why you ask? Because you think you're one of them!"
"Damn you! You are more ploughing beast than beasts themselves!"
"You jest! But sadly, I don't find it funny." Vandaldor glances at his back, "Pinta! Restrain him!"
The mage girl named Pinta nodded and raised her wand towards Hardy,
"[Sderzhivat]!"
And with that word casted, Hardy found himself stricken by something unto his body. This is bad he thought, and when he tried moving, his body had little to no response; to be exact, it was like his whole body was filled with bricks and lead.
"Shite!"
With no doubt at all, he was paralyzed, and in a shameful position at that!
"Very good Pinta! So little Bogazi, how does it feel to be like a dog?"
"…" Hardy just glared at Vandaldor's face. Vandaldor sighed and turn his eyes to Pinta,
"Pinta, let's move, and let him follow us like that."
"You don't dare!" Hardy protested.
"Oh, I dare!" Vandaldor turns his eyes to Hardy and grinned, "By the way, I forgot to thank you for that Digstran, giving us our free experience points! Pinta!"
Pinta raised her wand again towards Hardy and moved it by swaying it left and right "[Shag]!" she casted and Hardy felt something like an itch to his limbs.
"Good Pinta!" Vandaldor satisfactorily praises the mage, "Now let's go back."
"Sir," asks Pinta, "Shouldn't we go the Tavern first?"
"Why bother? Other's may take care of it! They should work what they are paid for! Moreover, we caught a very very valuable dog here Pinta!"
"True," Pinta nodded, "I hope Sir Eustadd will finally be pleased with this criminal you caught."
Vandaldor closes his eyes and nods, "I hope so too, Pinta. I hope so too."
Hardy could only grit his teeth by this shameful appearance he was forcefully took and the pain that will ensue in a long run. The Erons tread lightly at the woods with Hardy behind them, who was forcefully crawling with his palms and knees as his body moves by its own with Pinta's Spell.
Those solid rocks and pebbles that his knees been pressing on undesirably gave him a sharp twinge, so much that he sometime yelps with pain; Hearing it, Vandaldor, in at times, took a glance back at Hardy and grinned till the edge of his lips reaches his ears.
Moving in a distance, Hardy finally took a glance beside the slain Digstran monster, and saw Kes, lying in his own pool of blood. He closes his eyes at that sight, shook his head, and faces the unceasingly pain forward until it ends.