He was careless in his choices, absorbed in the looting of the dead. Now he was paying the consequences of his act.
'There's ten – no sixteen…' he counted them nervously, swivelling around as he maintained his guard.
The bask of diallos moved in unison, encircling him tighter with each deliberate step. Their claws scraped against the ground, and their hisses, accompanied by the spiking of red hairs across their necks, grew louder.
Riniock's heart raced as he tried to recall everything he learned of these creatures. Diallos were known for their boldness, attacking even the fiercest of lidthrags if cornered. And their territorial nature made them even deadlier; one wrong move proving fatal.
'Stay calm,' Riniock thought, retaining mental stability as he gripped his wand. With one spell left in his roster, he couldn't risk a direct fight with these beasts, not without a plan – a quick but careful plan.
However, there was no time to think, no time to strategize.
As the diallos tightened their formation, snapping their maws in a coordinated display of intimidation, Riniock braced himself. Their movements were calculated, designed to unnerve and disorient him.
One of the smaller diallos finally made its move, lunging with surprising agility. Riniock didn't see it coming until it was too late. The creature landed on his back, its weight and momentum driving him forward. Its teeth sank into his shoulder, not deep enough to maim, but enough to cause searing pain.
The impact sent him sprawling onto the ground, his breath knocked from his lungs as he struck a protruding rock. The rest of the bask seized their opportunity, surging forward in a frenzy. They piled onto him, claws raking and teeth tearing at his exposed flesh.
Riniock's vision blurred, his senses overwhelmed by the suffocating weight and relentless assault. Pain became secondary to the sheer terror of the moment.
Then it came – a roar, deep and guttural, reverberating through the air. It was so loud and commanding that even the diallos faltered. Riniock couldn't tell where it originated, but its impact was undeniable.
Several of the lizards pulled back, hesitating as their predatory instincts were momentarily overridden by the presence of a far greater threat. The pressure on Riniock's body lessened, allowing him to twist and writhe desperately to free himself. With strenuous effort, he managed to slip out from under the remaining diallos, dragging himself across the dirt with trembling limbs.
Blood seeped from numerous cuts and bites, his body trembling from exhaustion and pain.
Another roar echoed, louder and more primal than before, leaving a sharp ringing in his ears. It was familiar – too familiar. A lidthrag's roar, but this one carried an intensity far surpassing anything he had encountered before.
A sudden thud next to him made him flinch. A lifeless diallos lay there, its body limp and torn apart by a massive bite wound. Blood pooled beneath it, its final jerks of life fading quickly.
Riniock turned his gaze towards the chaos, his breath hitching at what he saw. Towering above the scene, a creature emerged from the shadows, its size utterly dwarfing the lidthrag he had encountered earlier. Its massive frame loomed like a pale nightmare given form, muscles rippling beneath its white furred hide.
'A great lidthrag,' Riniock muttered, his voice barely audible. His heart sank as he took in the monstrous beast, its piercing eyes scanning the area with feral intensity.
'Now of all times...'
A few diallos lay crushed beneath the great lidthrag's massive paws, their lifeless forms a grim testament to its overwhelming strength. The remaining lizards recoiled, retreating from the sheer presence of the colossal predator. Even the largest amongst them quivered, its scaly body betraying the instinctive terror gripping the bask.
Riniock stood frozen, the events unfolding like a waking nightmare.
'Whoever said the crimson glades were safe...well, screw them,' he thought bitterly, the memory of the boastful words from the antechamber flashing in his mind.
Yet, the worst was still to come.
The great lidthrag seemed momentarily at ease until its piercing yellow eyes settled on the slain lidthrag lying on the ground. Its demeanour darkened immediately.
With a deafening roar of rage, it struck out at its fallen kin, its claws effortlessly severing the lifeless head. Then, as if enraged further by the scent of blood, it stomped toward Odrean's remains. Riniock watched as the beast's colossal paw came crashing down, obliterating Odrean's head with a sickening crunch.
And then it turned its gaze to him.
Despite the several diallos still betwixt them, the great lidthrag ignored the smaller creatures entirely. Its focus was singular and terrifying: Riniock.
'No,' he whispered, his voice trembling as panic coursed through him. 'No, no, no, no!'
He turned and ran, adrenaline fuelling his every step. Logic told him escape was futile; a normal lidthrag could close the gap in seconds, and this monstrous version was likely even faster. But what was there else to do?
The ground trembled with the beast's every stomp, its pursuit relentless. The sound of its approach grew louder, its rhythm striking fear deeper into Riniock's soul.
It was close – too close.
He felt its breath on his back, hot and heavy, seeping into his open wounds like molten fire. The sensation sent waves of panic through his body, each one worse than the last.
With desperation sharpening his mind, Riniock remembered the one spell he had left. It was a gamble, but it was his only chance.
At the perfect moment, he skidded to a halt, his momentum halting abruptly. Snapping his wand forward, he cast the spell. A thick layer of ice spread rapidly across the ground ahead of him.
The great lidthrag roared in frustration as its massive paws lost traction. Its momentum carried it forward uncontrollably, sending it skidding down a steep hill. The earth quaked as the enormous beast crashed and tumbled, roaring with rage as it struggled to regain its footing.
This was Riniock's chance.
Without hesitation, he spun on his heel and sprinted in the opposite direction, each step fuelled by raw survival instinct. The lidthrag's furious bellows echoed behind him, but the distance between them grew.
He spotted a dense grove in the distance, the thick trees offering a potential sanctuary. A creature of that size would struggle to navigate the forest's narrow paths. If he could just make it there, he might stand a chance.
Riniock pushed his battered body harder, ignoring the pain that screamed from every wound. Freedom was within reach – if only he could hold out a little longer.
The trees enveloped Riniock in a fleeting sense of security, their dense trunks and intertwining canopies offering a fragile barrier between him and the monstrous lidthrag.
Deeper into the grove he ventured, the shadows thickening with every step. The fading light transformed the forest into a maze of foreboding silhouettes, where the shapes of trees blurred into walls of impenetrable darkness.
The thought gnawed at him: 'If the beast pursues me here, I might not even see it coming.'