"Dededede..."
"Wah!" I jumped, but my hand was stuck in the threads.
Lady struggled and squirmed, but was stuck just as I was. A large caterpillar-looking thing appeared from thin air. It shimmered in the setting sunlight like it was still half invisible. It didn't look dangerous, but it was way too big.
Lady hated it more than I did, especially since her entire body was trapped in the threads.
"Did you make all these threads?" I asked. "Can you free us?"
I shook my hand, trying to signal to the caterpillar.
"Dededede... dede..."
"HIIIIIISSSS!" Lady hissed.
I again tried to yank my hand free. It was a fruitless attempt.
"Sorry, is this, uh... 'Veilspun Thread'?"
"Dedede..."
Useless! Though maybe it's my fault for thinking I could communicate with a bug...
Suddenly, I heard growling behind me.
It can't be...?
I slowly turned around and saw a large green kitty. Somehow, it had followed me all that way. It charged at me, roaring. The caterpillar went invisible and Lady started screeching, trying to escape the threads.
FIRE WALL!
The beast charged through the wall. It broke through easily. Though its fur had caught fire, creating the image of a flaming hell-beast, it didn't seem bothered by anything but my living existence.
I jumped into the air, my hair still caught in the threads, and dodged the beast's charge. It effortlessly tore through the threads, setting Lady free. I, however, was still stuck.
Lady ran away in fear, and I saw her hide behind a tree.
Thanks for the help...!
Like it was a bull, it charged at me again. I thought I dodged it, but of course, the beast was not a bull, and easily swatted at me instead.
All of a sudden, the caterpillar appeared again and shot a stream of silk into the beast's eyes. It reared and clawed at its own face, but the threads stayed still.
"Thanks, strange bug thing!"
While the beast was blinded, I kicked it in the face. It swiped at me but it was inaccurate. It roared in my face and I nearly puked from the vile smell. I took the opening to cast a fireball into the beast's mouth, and watched as it exploded inside its chest, sending smoke out of its mouth.
It paused for a moment and stumbled a little. It tried to let out a roar, but it came out weak and quiet, then it fell, dead.
"Nya," Lady meowed, rubbing against my leg.
"Now you come out?" I turned to the caterpillar. "I hate to ask since you just saved me, but can I take it? The thread?"
"Dede!"
I think that's a yes?
I grabbed my sword from inside my hat and cut my hand free. Then I took a handful of the thread, unsure of how much I needed.
I waved goodbye to the caterpillar and left. Really, camping next to the caterpillar would've been safer, but I wasn't really... comfortable... I feared waking up in a cocoon.
We wandered through the forest past dark, and the moonlight barely lit up our way. I pawed the inside of my hat, looking for my sleeping sack.
Oh... I wasn't able to grab it from camp. Well, not like I'd be able to sleep, anyway.
"Nyahhh..." Lady yawned.
I swiped her into my hat and continued moving. I was actually completely clueless where to find the final ingredient, 'Starfire Obsidian.' I kind of hoped that I would just stumble into an active volcano like what had happened with the tree and thread.
"Awoo, awoo!"
I'm kind of hungry...
I aimed at the hooting through the darkness and sent a fireball. The owl fell from the tree and hit the ground, fully cooked. I chopped it up with my sword and ate it. There wasn't any seasoning, so it was kind of bad.
As I was taking a bite out of the breast, I heard a whizzing above me. I looked up and saw a falling, flaming meteor spinning through the air. It looked like it was heading straight for me.
Ha, imagine if it actually crashed into me? Haha...!?
I started to run for my life, but obviously I was much slower than the meteor. I jumped and tucked my head into my legs, and the rock crashed into the ground behind me. I opened my eyes and I was falling. The meteor had broken open the ground and exposed an expansive cave.
I exploded fire beneath me right before I hit the ground, though I still crunched onto the ground. I felt a buzzing in my arm, but continued on. I looked up at the still flaming meteor. It was at the top of the layered cave, so I would see it on my way out anyway.
Do meteors have obsidian? I don't know...
I climbed up the cave and tried desperately not to slip. My left arm wasn't functioning as intended, but I didn't have any health potions inside my hat.
"Raaah!"
I pulled myself up a ledge and a skeleton with a sword stood there. Pieces of rotten flesh slid off the bones, hitting the ground with a squish.
"GRaaha!"
Woah!? Something like this actually exists, then?
I was in awe. Monsters were cool. But they were dangerous. It swung at me, and the rusted blade stuck into my shoulder.
I kicked it in the chest. It was frail and fell apart as it hit the ground. The sword stayed in my shoulder, and I took it out and threw it into the dark void of the cave.
Is it already dead? Or, I guess it was always dead...?
The bones started to rattle and come back together. I watched as it came back to 'life' and stood. It clumsily swung at me, and I exploded it into the void with fireball.
Not as scary as I thought it would be...?
I continued to climb, occasionally facing one or two skeletons. It seemed that this place was once a battleground, or that's what I assumed, considering the amount of skeletons.
Finally I made it to the ledge with the meteor, and climbed up. Surrounding the meteor, at least twenty skeletons stood. They were observing the meteor until I arrived, and turned, charging at me.
FIREBALL!
The flames sputtered and smoked from my hands.
What!? Why can't I cast?
I observed the mana flow in the air. A vortex of mana was surrounding the meteor, going in and out in a strange pattern. Any mana I tried to exert was instantly sucked into the meteor and dispersed through the cave.
The skeletons closed in on me. Most of them were bare-handed, so they piled on top of me without doing much damage. I did feel the occasional stab, though even the ones with weapons weren't all that strong.
I was more in danger from suffocation. They completely collapsed on top of me, and I had no way to get them off.
Oh man, how do I get out of this one?
One of the skeletons grabbed my hat and started waving it around in the air. Random things started flying out.
My stuff!
Since I couldn't cast any spells, I decided to try something a little different. I remembered Alwyn's words, that it wasn't our faults that Liora and I could just overpower Mari and Prince with our raw mana.
I exploded mana from my body, not any spell in particular but just mana. The mana pushed the skeletons into the air, and the meteor's mana flow sucked all the mana along with the skeletons into its core.
The skeletons turned to ash in the molten core, and the meteor glowed red. I grabbed my hat off the ground and picked up the few items that didn't fall into the void of the cave...
"Lady? Are you still in there?"
"...Nya."
I put my hat back on and inspected the meteor closely. The molten core was flowing out and around the ground, and I wasn't sure how to collect the meteoric ore.
I kicked at the rock and snapped off a large chunk. I waited for it to cool, then lifted it with all my might and put it in my hat. I thought I heard a yelp from inside...
Damn it... because of the meteor, I can't just fly out like I hoped.
I continued my climb until I was out of the range from the meteor. I exploded fire beneath me and flew. I was getting pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.
I reached the outside grass and sat down for a moment. I went over my injuries.
Wow, I'm actually pretty beat up. I've got all the materials, right? Wasn't that obsidian? How do I get back to camp?
I was reminded of the fact that I had absolutely no idea where I was.