Magic Madness™️

Chapter Sixteen: Checkpoint Did Not Save. Start Again?

    Word Count: 1,876
    TW: death, fighting (let me know if I need to add any)

    +10 EXP
    Evalyn smiled as the hot spring froze over. She stepped on it to test it, and motioned for the rest to follow once she had deemed it safe enough to cross. The group followed quickly and uneasily, cautious that the ice would melt very quickly.
    They were almost across the water when Amber jolted and Joan froze. They had been walking into the Pyron territory since that morning, and though they had faced few challenges so far, they were on high alert.
    "Someone's coming," Joan said quickly.
    "Guys, hurry. We need to get away from here right now-" Amber warned, but it was too late.
    Everyone looked up in unison at the sound of shrieking.
    "Run!" Amber shouted. Evalyn made a run for solid ground, and the group followed suit. The last one, Alex, had barely gotten both feet off the ice before he was knocked back onto it by a strong gust of wind.
    The dragon was massive and the gusts of wind each flap of its wings delivered were strong enough to push everyone down. Evalyn focused hard on keeping the ice strong so Alex wouldn't fall through it before he could get back up. As soon as he was in arms distance, Joan dragged him on land and Evalyn finally let the ice melt.
    "Is that one of the Pyron dragons?" Elijah asked, to which Amber nodded gravely.
    "This level only happens when we take too long. We...we may have to start over," Joan worried.
    "Start over? I'm more worried about, I don't know, dying!" Elijah shouted over the beat of the dragon's wings as it got closer.

    Finally, the dragon landed. It bowed its head, and something slid off its back.
    Something humanoid and scaley crawled on all fours toward the group.
    "What do we have here?" She asked with a thick accent that sounded like an odd mix between French and Jamaican. Everyone scrambled to their feet, preparing for some sort of fight.
    "Come now, I knew I was scary, but now you are just flattering me," she laughed darkly.
    "What do you want from us?" Joan asked firmly.
    "That depends on what you're doing on my land, my friend," she replied, standing on only her legs now. When she stood, she leaned forward at an uncomfortable-looking angle. She hovered and swayed in a very traditional creature-like way.
    "We're just trying to pass through. I promise we mean no harm," Joan said honestly.
    "Is that so? Then why do you look ready to fight?" She asked with a smirk that showed her pointed teeth. When given no answer, she pointed at Amber, and the dragon flared its nostrils, blowing out smoke. Amber's hands immediately burst into flames. She was aware it would be extremely difficult to literally fight fire with fire, but she could at least try.
    "See? This young lady here thinks she can harm us with her spark hands," The creature said, speaking about Amber in the same tone most use to talk about a child. She turned to Amber with a smile, "You can't hurt us with fire, sweetheart. I am queen of this fire realm."
    Amber turned to look the creature in the eyes and regretted it immediately. The creature's eyes were reversed from normal eyes: what should have been the whites of her eyes were black, and her irises and pupils were white. Deeply disturbed and quite fearful, Amber made the fire in her hands flare.
    "Do not try that with me," the creature said angrily, waving her hand in a circular motion. Quickly, the fires in Amber's hands were snuffed, much to everyone's astonishment.
    "I own you, feisty one. You have no protective spells. You are no defense, you are all offense. You have nothing to protect you. The only thing you have against me is fire, but lucky for me, that is my element, too, so I would watch your actions before you get yourself hurt," the creature warned.
    "Do not touch her," Evalyn snapped as the creature took a step toward Amber.
    "Ooh, we have two feisty ones!" The creature sounded delighted, "And this one is even smaller. What makes you think you are match to me, child?"
    "I don't know," Eva said sarcastically, and iced the ground beneath the creature, causing her to slip for a moment.
    "What makes you think you can threaten my girlfriend and get away with it?" Eva asked, "She didn't hurt you, and she wasn't going to, until you started...doing whatever it is you're doing, with that attack dragon."
    The creature looked extremely angry for all but two seconds before her expression softened, and she smiled.
    "I like you. What is your name, child?" The creature asked. Eva looked to Joan as if to ask if she could say it, and Joan nodded hesitantly.
    "My name is Evalyn," she said.
    "Mmmhm. Evalyn," The creature drawled. She stalked toward Eva, grabbing Eva's chin with one, scaley hand. Her long claws rested just below Eva's eye, almost as a threat.
    "Get off of her," Amber said urgently.
    "Amber, be quiet," Joan hissed.
    "Get off of her," Amber repeated, louder this time.
    "Amber shut up!" Elijah shouted.
    "Alright! I have had enough of you," the creature scolded, turning her head sharply to face Amber. Evalyn screamed, batting the hand off of her now-burnt face. There was a red hand-shaped mark where the creature had been grabbing her face.