Yasuji and Vivet stood petrified before Baba Yaga, their breaths shallow and rapid despite their frozen state. The air crackled with Baba Yaga's ancient magic, a tangible force that held them captive. The gnarled staff in her hand pulsed with an otherworldly glow, the source of their imprisonment. Her eyes, cold and reptilian, gleamed with malicious delight as she surveyed them.
"So easily caught," she cackled, her voice like nails scraping a chalkboard. "Foolish children, tricked by an illusion."
Yasuji's mind reeled. The old man, the cave, it had all been a carefully constructed lie. Despair threatened to consume him, but a sliver of defiance remained. "What do you mean?" he rasped, his voice barely a croak.
A cruel smile stretched across Baba Yaga's wrinkled face. "The old man? Dead these many years. A figment, a wisp of magic to lure you in. I've been watching you from the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment." Her bony finger jabbed at them accusingly.
Yasuji felt a cold dread pool in his stomach. Their every move, every decision, had been orchestrated by this malevolent crone. But even in their frozen state, a flicker of hope remained. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was a way out.
Baba Yaga shuffled closer, her voice dripping with venomous satisfaction. "Now," she hissed, "let's discuss the fate of your delectable souls."
Mustering every ounce of courage, Yasuji forced the words out, "The dagger... the one we seek..." He struggled against his invisible bonds, desperate to appear a threat.
Baba Yaga's eyes narrowed. With a snap of her fingers, the very air shimmered, revealing the dagger hovering inches from their reach. Its otherworldly light cast an eerie glow on the dusty floor. But there was something... off. The tip of the dagger, instead of a sharp point, resembled a jagged tooth.
Understanding that negotiation was their only option, Yasuji swallowed his pride. "We'll do anything you ask," he pleaded. "Just give us the dagger and let us go."
Baba Yaga's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Anything, you say?" she mused, a glint of amusement dancing in her eyes. "Very well then. Prove yourselves worthy."
Instead of simply handing over the dagger, Baba Yaga proposed a twisted game – a riddle contest. If Yasuji and Vivet could defeat her in a battle of wits, they would be freed, along with the coveted dagger. However, failure would come at a terrible cost – their very lives.
A tense silence descended upon the room. Yasuji and Vivet exchanged a desperate look. This was their only chance. They had to outsmart this wicked hag to save themselves and Yavuz.
Baba Yaga, relishing their predicament, cackled and posed the first riddle. A mind-boggling challenge designed to test the very limits of their intellect. Time seemed to stretch thin as Yasuji pondered the cryptic words. But just as despair threatened to engulf him, Vivet's voice rose above the oppressive silence. Her answer, sharp and precise, pierced through the tension.
The contest continued, each answer hanging in the balance. Yasuji and Vivet, fueled by a desperate hope, matched Baba Yaga riddle for riddle. Finally, with a flourish, Baba Yaga presented the last challenge.
The pressure was immense. Their minds raced, searching for the answer that would secure their freedom. Just as time seemed to run out, Yasuji and Vivet, in a moment of perfect synchronicity, blurted out the answer.
Baba Yaga's eyes widened in disbelief. All the riddles had been answered correctly. But to their horror, instead of releasing them, she declared, "Foolish children! You may have won the game, but you will not leave here alive!" Her cackle echoed through the room, devoid of any humor, filled only with pure malice.
Just as they braced themselves for the inevitable, Yasuji, remembering the strange inscription from the cave, decided on a last gamble. "Wait!" he cried. "I have a question for you."
Reciting the words with all his might, he asked, "Tu Ga Pinama. What does it mean?"
A look of pure terror contorted Baba Yaga's face. "Stop!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with fear. But it was too late. The moment the words left Yasujı's lips, the very ground trembled. An ear-splitting roar filled the air as a colossal creature ripped through the roof of Baba Yaga's lair.
The creature, the same one Yasuji had glimpsed in the forest, seemed to materialize from the shadows themselves. Its immense form, a chaotic tangle of ebony fur and razor-sharp claws, filled the room with an oppressive darkness. The tremors intensified, sending dust raining down from the exposed rafters.
Baba Yaga, caught mid-transformation into a crow, let out a shriek of pure terror. Her half-formed avian body dangled uselessly as the creature snatched at her with a monstrous paw. The grotesque transformation sputtered and dissolved, leaving only the terrified crone flailing helplessly in the creature's grasp.
Yasuji and Vivet stared, awestruck and bewildered. The magic binding them shattered, and they tumbled to the ground in a heap. Adrenaline surged through them, momentarily erasing the fear that had threatened to consume them.
The creature roared again, a sound that shook the very foundations of the hut. Its colossal head, adorned with glowing red eyes, swiveled towards them. Panic threatened to rise in Yasuji's chest, but the sight of Vivet snatching the fallen dagger from the dusty floor spurred him into action.
He scrambled towards Yavuz's cage, the rusted bars groaning in protest as he ripped them from their hinges. Yavuz, still groggy from the ordeal, emerged from the cage, blinking in the dim light. All three were freed, but a bigger problem lay ahead.