Chapter 73

The companions agree, all of them must enter the the supposedly dead god’s heart, with the poisonous air inside, to deal with this new monstrous creature. Attempting to maintain whatever advantage their secrecy might gain, Grindlefoot casts Pass without Trace on the group, improving their stealth and surrounding them with a veil of silence. Bilwin closes his eyes and mutters a prayer under his breath, too quiet for the others to hear, blessing his companions. Moments after the dwarf opens his eyes, an aura radiates from him and encompasses the others; they feel a little bit livelier.

The halfling moves toward the opening and Mond follows closely, mentally preparing for the inevitable encounter ahead of them. Dolor and Bilwin enter behind the halfing and half-elf, with Gven quietly bringing up the rear.

The first chamber’s walls of purple flesh are dimly lit by hundreds of tiny bioluminescent pink orbs that flicker with an unexpected liveliness. The smell of rancid death almost overwhelms the companions. The oval-shaped entry area is divided in two by a translucent wall to their left with an opening through it thirty feet from the entrance. Veering to their left, they pass through to the other side, only ten to fifteen feet beyond, and come to a smaller opening that leads to the vast chamber. The group passes through the opening in single file. Smaller than the main entry, Gven’s broad shoulders still have space to move through freely.

Silently entering the massive chamber, each of the companions turn their eyes upward to take in the gargantuan creature. It’s sleeping while somehow affixed to the petrified stone of the cavernous ceiling, fifty feet above them. Mond moves ahead of Grindlefoot, to the front of the line, while the others fan out on either side of the opening they passed through. The sorcerer takes a deep breath and prepares himself, suddenly a pink lightning bolt blasts from his hand towards the ceiling and the creature. Violently jolted from its slumber, the beast screeches in agony. Its eyes open and the head swivels to the floor, finding the companions and the half-elf sorcerer who caused its pain. The red eyes return the half-elf’s gaze and its mouth opens, revealing hundreds of sharp teeth and it emits a deafening shriek of anger.

Standing behind the half-elf, Grindlefoot concentrates for a brief moment and suddenly a swarm of locusts surround the creature. Thousands of the flying insects attack the skinless lizard-like creature, biting it repeatedly and causing more of a nuisance than much real harm. It shakes its head violently a few times before skittering across the ceiling towards the group.

From this distance, roughly sixty to seventy feet, Gven’s best attack is her javelin. She takes a moment to invoke her barbarian rage before hurling the sturdy weapon at the beast and piercing its armorless body. A gooey substance that must be blood begins to ooze from around the javelin’s protruding shaft.

Noting where the latest attack originated from, the creature quickly moves along the chamber’s ceiling and stops above the half-orc. It drops to the ground behind her, opens its mouth wide to reveal rows of deadly teeth, and bites down on her shoulder. Fortunately, she moved to the side in time to avoid many of its teeth and is left with a mild scratch. Gven senses the change in direction before the creature’s mouth moves toward her again and evades its attempt to grab her. Frustrated at the half-orc’s evasive maneuvers, it lashes out with a foot-long claw as sharp and deadly as any shortsword, slashing at her forearm and leaving a trail of blood. A moment later, its other foot lashes out with claws extended and tears a short rend in her thigh. Gven feels a little woozy, it must have poisoned her with its claw or teeth, or both. Growling at its enemy, the beast quickly turns away, rushes towards the cavern wall, and begins to climb, going higher to gain an advantage.

“Enough of this crap.” Seeing it deftly attack Gven and then retreat just as quickly, Dolor raises a hand and a streak of fire explodes towards the creature. It wails in pain and then scurries up to the ceiling and across to the other side, further from the companions and supposed safety.

Mond attempts another tactic and casts Slow, hoping to remove the beast’s advantage of speed and agility. It looks at the sorcerer and howls in defiance, unaffected by the spell.

Wondering how much damage this creature can take, Bilwin hurls a bolt of light that blasts into its side. This time, an ear-piercing howl of pain erupts from the beast’s open mouth. A floating beer stein appears next to the dwarf and shudders, as though it physically shot a projectile, and a field of force hits the beast, adding to its pain and anger. It scrambles across the ceiling, stopping above Gven, watching it from the floor.

Grindlefoot concentrates for a moment, deciding his next course of action, and the swarm of insects disappear before a beam of pale silvery light materializes on the ceiling, immediately above the creature and encompassing it. It briefly writhes in pain and scurries ten feet away, out of the magical moonbeam’s energy.

Grabbing her second and only remaining javelin from her back, Gven hurls it above her at the creature. The weapon seems puny against the massive beast, yet pierces the side of its body and remains in place.

The beast opens its mouth and hisses a silent roar at the companions, then drops to the ground beside Bilwin. Its attempt to bite the dwarf fails, but in quick succession it attacks with its front claws, slicing through his armor and drawing blood.

From a distance, Dolor takes advantage of the distraction and hurls three quick beams of energy at the beast. The first two connect against its rib cage, in between the muscular legs, the sizzling blasts leaving scorched wounds.

Mond casts Tasha’s Mind Whip and the beast shakes it off, only mildly affected by the dangerous spell. It seizes the moment of inaction to run across the floor to the closest section of wall and begin climbing, reaching halfway to the ceiling.

Bilwin sees that Gven is struggling from the beasts poisonous bite and touches her while whispering a few words. The half-orc lifts her head and takes a clear, deep breath, no longer feeling the poison’s effects. Only loud enough for Gven to hear, the cleric says, “may the beer be with you.”

Following the creature’s movements, Grindlefoot slides the shimmering moonbeam along the ceiling until it reaches its target. The lizard-like beast throws its head backwards in pain. The halfling notices that Gven continues to bleed from her wounds and casts heal; skin grows back to cover the smaller wounds, although the wet blood remains.

Feeling encouraged by the relief from being poisoned and her lacerations, Gven remembers that they’re in the Astral Plane where gravity is different. Looking at the creature on the ceiling, fifty feet above, she draws Tempest Edge and jumps, imagining herself standing in the air by its neck. Within seconds, she’s floating close enough to strike. Her magical greatsword emits a pulsing blue energy as it cuts through the beast’s skinless hide, drawing a surge of blood.

The creature howls in anguish and in a fit of rage, opens its mouth wider than before and bites down on her legs. Before the half-orc can react, the beast takes a large gulp and pulls the rest of her body into its mouth. Gven is suddenly in complete darkness, surrounded and compressed by the sliminess of its throat, gasping to breathe and struggling not to lose consciousness.

“What the fuck? If there’s a creature big enough, leave it to Gven to get swallowed.” Bilwin turns to Dolor, “Is that the third or fourth time something humongous has swallowed her?”

Before Dolor can answer, the beast drops from the ceiling to the floor, landing between the dwarf and tiefling. The first clawed attack misses Dolor, but the second one catches Bilwin across the back, breaking through his chainmail and leaving a deep scratch. Balancing with his tail, the tiefling spins quicker than most can fathom and a green-flamed Gleaming Blade slices through one of the beast’s legs. He quickly disengages and moves thirty feet away, hoping to reach a semblance of safety in the distance.

Now in even more pain, the creature stands taller on its four feet and stretches its lengthy neck upward, undulating it to move its meal closer to its stomach. The companions can see the bulge in its neck that must be Gven. Inside, the large half-orc feels herself move through the esophagus, towards the final destination, its stomach. The pressure is almost unbearable, but she tightens her grip on Tempest Edge, determined to not lose her most prized possession so soon.

Angered at seeing his friend eaten alive, Mond raises both of his hands, points them at the creature, and a sheet of flames erupts. The fiery attack scorches its body, leaving mottled skin and blisters weeping a yellowish fluid.

“Guess it’s up to us now.” Bilwin plants his feet solidly on the petrified floor and bangs his war hammer against his shield. A deafening noise fills the cavern, originating underneath the creature’s body. It pauses momentarily, the red eyes blink slowly, and it turns towards the dwarf and roars. As if in response to the outcry, the floating beer stein jiggles slightly and the beast is hit again by an invisible force.

Once again, the creature lifts its neck and swallows, moving Gven along the path to a certain—and very uncomfortable—death. Some of its wounds begin to slowly heal. Gven is silent in her rage, unable and unwilling to accept this defeat.

Grindlefoot, astounded that Gven has been swallowed yet again, takes a moment to move the irridescent light on the ceiling so that it’s over the creature. Turning to face Bilwin, the druid notices the dwarf’s multiple wounds and promptly heals some of them.

Still inside the creature’s esophagus, Gven feels the affects of the creature’s poisonous bite return—as if being swallowed and digested alive weren’t enough. The barbarian digs deeper, feeling the natural rage boiling from within, up and over its brim. Tempest Edge is pressed tightly against her upper body, but she angles it outward and pushes with all her strength. The finely sharpened point moves easily through the flesh, cutting into it for several feet. She has enough strength remaining for one more attack. Grasping the greatsword tightly in both hands, she pulls and twists violently, ripping through as much flesh as she possibly can in the confined space. In that moment, Gven recalls being gifted Tempest Edge from the powerful storm giant, Veylara, and its ability to call down lightning on an opponent, once a day. Infused with hope, she wills the magical sword to electrify her foe with lightning, only to see the tiniest flicker of blue light and hear the faintest buzz. She closes her eyes, accepting that this would be a good death.

Unbeknownst to the barbarian half-orc, the enormous creature is susceptible to lightning, even the tiniest bit. As soon as it feels the tiny spark, the beast lowers itself to the ground and arches its back, its rib cage begins to slowly expand and contract. The coughing starts off mild, but quickly becomes deeper, as though it needs to be rid of whatever might be struggling inside. It’s no longer aware of the companions surrounding it, focused solely on the battle within its body. A gurgling, gutteral roar erupts from deep within its cavernous throat, and the air instantly reeks of putrid bile and stagnant, acidic juices.

Gven feels the beast react, although she’s uncertain to what. Its neck muscles squeeze her with more power and strength than before, suddenly trying to move her body the other way, to freedom. Stomach bile reaches her feet and continues up her calves, the acidic liquid burning through her clothing. As the barbarian begins to move towards the creatures mouth, she whispers her solemn thanks to Veylara and thrusts Tempest Edge outward with all her strength. The resistance lessens when the tip punches through the outside of the beast. The half-orc picks up speed as she’s being regurgitated and holds on tightly to her weapon, slicing through the creature’s body like butter with a hot knife.

From his vantage point, Bilwin watches the creature convulse in agony and begin to vomit his friend. The glowing blue tip of Tempest Edge suddenly pushes through the side of the beast’s neck. Slowly at first, the blade gains speed as it moves towards the head, easily cutting through the flesh in its path. For what seems like minutes, the dwarf watches the greatsword shear through the length of its neck and emerge at the side of its mouth, held tightly by Gven. With a final contraction, the haggard beast regurgitates the half-orc, hurling her onto the blood-slicked floor. The barbarian is engulfed in a thick, viscid, glistening coat of slime and lies motionless for several minutes.

“Hanseath’s beard! That was one hell of a hairball!”

The dwarf notices a glowing object amongst the blood, guts, and ichor of the creature spreading on the floor around its body. Moving closer, he can see a cylindrical shape underneath the slimy goo. Using Prestidigitation, Bilwin cleans off the artifact used by Captain Inda to power the Lambent Zenith, devoured by the monstrous creature and now revealed in the beast’s explosive demise.

They’ve found the second piece of the Rod of Seven Parts.

The adventurers advance to level 12.