Into The Abyss

Gorrick, Alice, and Lissey stood at the north spire's edge, the cavern's maw still smoking below. The air buzzed with panic—dockworkers screamed, airships wobbled, and steam vents hissed like a city unravelling. Lissey's pendant pulsed against her tortoiseshell fur, a copper heartbeat tugging north. "He's out there," she snarled, glass dagger glinting. "Bleeding, but alive."

"We're not charging blind," Alice snapped, broom sparking as she clutched her now more or less useless map. "That forest's a death trap—Walenciusz'll need more than luck!" Gorrick growled. "And my sword's with him too...what can we do?"

A wiry shopkeeper darted from a gadget stall near the docks, apron smeared with grease, goggles cracked. "Hey, you mad lot!" he screamed, voice shrill over the chaos. "Headin' for the Woods? Only thing'll save ya is something called Glow Juice—it lights ya up, keeps the dark off yer back! Forest can't stand it!"

Gorrick's eyes lit up, slapping his bandolier. "Ha! Got that juice right here—forgot I kept it after that hag's shop!" He grinned, gap-toothed and fierce. "Knew it'd come in handy!" he said.

"Glow Juice, huh? Better work" Alice said, gripping her broom tight. "Protection's our edge—thanks, grease-rat!"

The shopkeeper yelped, bolting as the trio turned north, resolve hardening.

The Enchanted Woods loomed—a maze of gnarled oaks and creeping mist that devoured light and sound. Shadows twisted beneath the canopy, magic thrumming like a predator's pulse. Lissey led, pendant glowing, her husky voice sharp. "Stick close, you lugs! This place'll swallow ya whole!" Gorrick and Alice trailed, the shopkeeper's tip echoing in their heads.

Trouble pounced fast. A snarl tore through the gloom—two demons, sleek as oil with ruby-cracked eyes, burst from the brush, claws sparking embers. "Dinner's served!" one hissed, lunging for Gorrick. He swung his troll claw, smashing its jaw with a crunch, but the second leapt at Alice. "Ventus Sweep!" she shouted—broom flared, gale hurling it into a tree, bark splintering.

Gorrick yanked the Glow Juice from his bandolier. "Time to light up!" He chugged half, his bulk blazing with golden light—demons recoiled, hissing as he smashed the first's skull into ash with his glowing claw-club. Lissey snatched the vial, gulping a share—her fur ignited, pendant syncing with the radiance as she slashed her glass dagger, ichor sizzling. Alice took the last swig, broom pulsing bright. "Forest hates light? Let's make it squirm!" she grinned.

Their glow carved a path—branches shrank, unseen eyes fled—and the trio plunged deeper, shimmering like torches against the woods' malice. "Walenciusz owes me a new sword for this," Gorrick muttered, flicking demon dust off his claw.

Farther in, Walenciusz tangled with a foe of ancient fury. The dragon prowled a misty hollow, midnight scales melding with shadow, its severed claw oozing black blood that hissed on moss. Crimson eyes glinted, smoke curling from its jaws as it snarled, "I'll char you, flea-ridden cur, and claim that ugly hat of yours as a prize!" But the woods wove deceit—mist thickened, oaks shifted, scattering its roars and masking Walenciusz's scent.

He crouched amid tangled roots, Excalibur gripped tight, its starlight a faint gleam. "Can't find me, eh, scale-breath?" he muttered, tophat tilted despite the gash in his flank. The dragon lunged, jaws snapping—he rolled, earth trembling as fangs sank into a stump, wood pulping. He sprang, slashing—a radiant arc grazed its snout, scales cracking. It roared, dark flame surging—hotter than a forge, black as despair.

Walenciusz dove behind a rock, heat singeing his cloak as stone bubbled. "Nice try!" he quipped, darting to stab its leg—Excalibur bit deep, blood hissing, but the dragon's tail whipped—a storm of bone and rage. It slammed him into an oak, bark cracking as he gasped, ribs aching. The blade slipped, and flame roared—mist swallowed it, scattering the heat.

"Tricky woods, huh?" he panted, snatching Excalibur as the dragon thrashed, baffled by shifting shadows. He slashed its wing—membrane tore, and it shrieked, stumbling—but its might held, claws raking air near his throat. Night deepened, stars faint above, and Walenciusz knew—he was too battered to win. "See ya, lizard!" he spat, bolting into the maze.

The dragon roared, wings beating, but the woods defied it—mist coiled, roots tangled, false scents looped.

Walenciusz wove through, breath ragged, until he found a nook beneath a mossy overhang. "Gotta rest," he growled, piling twigs for a tiny campfire—Fire Spark flickered, frail but alive. He flipped his spellbook open. "Mend Flesh—work, damn it!" A dim glow stitched his wounds—slow, sloppy, easing the pain just enough. Slumping against the stone, tophat shading his eyes, he muttered, "That beast'll hunt forever… I'm too beat for this."

The dragon prowled, nostrils flaring, but the woods' magic thwarted it—his scent fractured, his campfire's glow veiled by mist and shadow. It snarled, lost in the verdant labyrinth, fury simmering as night cloaked its prey.

Somewhere else deep into the forest the trio pushed on, Glow Juice dimming as the forest thickened. A lake loomed—black waters rippling under a shroud of mist, eerie and still. "He's past this," Lissey said, pendant pulsing. Gorrick squinted. "Smells like trouble." Alice gripped her broom. "We're wide open—"

Water splashed, and out flopped a bizarre sight—a giant carp, glistening silver, with human arms and legs sprouting awkwardly from its sides. Its fins flapped like a cape, and it posed, flexing its scaly bulk. "Behold me, mortals!" it boomed, voice a wet gurgle, puffing out its fishy chest. "I'm the Lake Lord—beauty incarnate!" Its bulbous eyes locked on Alice, widening with a lusty glint. "And you, hot little b*tch—yer the prettiest catch I've seen in ages! Swim with me, eh?"

Alice was shocked, her broom sparking. "Hot what? You're a walking fish stick—back off!" Gorrick roared with laughter, clutching his sides. "This thing's smitten! What's next, serenading her with bubbles?"

Lissey smirked, glass dagger ready. "Flirt later, fish-face—move it!" The Lake Lord puffed up, offended. "Rude land-rats! I'm gorgeous—look at these fins!" It waggled its human hands, lunging at Alice with a sloppy grab. She dodged, shouting, "Ignis Burst!"—flame hit its scales, sizzling but bouncing off with a wet hiss. "Tough scales, huh? Flatter that!"

Gorrick swung a troll claw, cracking its arm—it yelped, flopping back. "Oi, pretty-boy, hands off!" The Lake Lord swatted with a leg, sending Gorrick splashing into the shallows. "Unworthy oaf! She's mine!" Lissey leapt, glass dagger slashing—scales parted, green goo oozing as it howled, "Not my perfect hide!" It seized her tail, tossing her into Alice with a squelchy thud.

Glow fading, they scrambled as the Lake Lord strutted, flexing. "Marry me, hot witch! We'll rule this lake!" Alice snarled, "Ventus Sweep!"—a gale blasted it back, fins flapping as it splashed into the deep. "Dream on, carp-breath!" Gorrick hauled himself up, dripping. "What a catch—literally!"

Ripples stilled—had it sunk, or was it sulking below? "No time to flirt back!" Lissey panted, pendant dim. "Smoke—Walenciusz is close!" Gorrick dragged Alice up, chuckling. "Move, before loverboy proposes again!"

Too late..."Yer fire's irresistible!" Lake Lord screamed from he deep.

His human arms snagged Alice's waist, broom clattering as it yanked her toward the black depths.

"Alice!" Gorrick bellowed, lunging from the shallows—troll claw swung, but the Lake Lord splashed back, dragging Alice under with a triumphant, "She's mine, ya jealous clods!" Bubbles burst, then silence—Alice was gone.

Lissey scrambled up, pendant dim, eyes wide. "That slimy thing nabbed her!" Gorrick kicked the shore, claw dripping. "Bloody hell—first Walenciusz, now her! What next?!" He spun to Lissey, face thunderous. "We're a duo now..."

"Well, we can't chase both!" Gorrick spat, troll claw gouging earth. "Walenciusz first—he's got my sword! Then we fish that witch out!"

They stumbled forward, lake fading, woods alive with threats.

Far off, Walenciusz's campfire flickered—a frail shield—and as the dragon's hunt faltered, a shift stirred the mist. Its crimson eyes caught a faint glimmer, wings beating toward the rogue's nook, fate teetering on a knife's edge.