• The Gorgolith's Chase

The Hellbender's eyes darkened and a puff of steam blew out of its nose like a warning. It was ready to attack.

"Run," Jion muttered, cautiously stepping backward. Spheris didn't need to be told twice, him and his raven had already bolted, seeking the cavern's exit to put as much distance as possible between them and the hellish creature. However, this seemed to only agitate the Hellbender, as it straightened its tail, preparing to pursue.

"Run!" Jion yelled this time and the remaining three quickened their steps. Spheris looked back to see them following after him, looking even more terrified than before. He could also see why.

Despite the creature's size, it was rapid. So rapid in fact that it was just on their heels, snapping its jaws as it chased after them with the agility of a wall gecko.

Acko was yelling frantically at the top of his voice, as though his yells served as some kind of speed boost. Jion was the fastest, and Nephta was just after him. Seeing this, Spheris hastened his pace, not wanting to be that close to death as the rest of the team.

However, when he glanced back, he feared it might be his end. Horror flickered in his eyes as the creature's throat bulged, an orange fiery liquid boiling inside. And then with velocity, it spat it out.

"Duck!" Jion yelled. A great ball of magma flew right at the thieves. Fortunately, they all managed to evade just in time, and the spitball hit a wall of the cave, instantly disintegrating it to tiny rocks.

"Arghhh!!!" Acko screamed loudly. The monster's roar followed and the entire cave began to quake. Dust filled the darkness and none of the thieves could make out anything.

"Are you okay?" Jion asked Nephta who was on the ground with him. She didn't reply, she only pulled herself to her feet and turned around.

"Where the hell is the beast?"

Spheris, meanwhile, was a little fazed after landing rough. His head ached and his eyes were foggy as he tried to pull himself up. Talon kept cawing and cawing, hoping to awaken him. "Stop it, Talon," Spheris said with a cough. He held onto the stony walls and got to his feet successfully.

Other than the falling rocks and the suffocating dust, everywhere was a bit calmer now.

"Acko!" Jion called into the darkness. "Shit. The beast must have gotten him."

"It did," Nephta confirmed. "I saw it with my eyes. Just when its jaws closed on him."

"By the Gods. What have we gotten ourselves into?"

They both turned to the sound of Spheris's loud coughing as he slowly approached the duo, the dust settling to the ground.

"Is that the boy?"

"Spheris."

He was holding on to his left hand, a look of dismay etched on his face as he gave both of them quick glances. "Acko is dead?" he asked.

"Yes," Jion replied. "Eaten by the monster."

"We need to find our way out of here," Nephta pointed out. "Problem is the Hellbender has completely damaged this cave and now I can't recall which way it is."

"That was no Hellbender," Spheris spat. "I've faced Hellbenders in the Heaths. They're nothing like that. They're like dogs, with eyes of fire and hard bony skin."

"Those are Grimms!" Jion refuted. "They're Level One Hellbenders and they're nothing compared to that!" For some reason Spheris couldn't comprehend, the thief seemed infuriated. "That is a Gorgolith! A Level Two Hellbender and they live and attack in pairs."

Spheris frowned at this. "What are you saying, that there's another one?"

"Not exactly. But Gorgoliths mate for life and never leave their partners. If this one is alone it means it was abducted and has been in that dungeon for years at most. That Gorgolith is bloodlusted, and we'll be lucky to make it out of here alive."

Silence. The weight of Jion's words hung in the air. Spheris felt a knot tightening in his stomach, his eyes almost betraying the fear that echoed within him. They all continued to glance at each other, unsure whether they were thinking the same or very different.

"Well then, we must find our way out," Nephta said, leading the way. "The creature lurks."

Spheris followed after, Talon perched on his shoulder quietly, and Jion, after a moment of frustration, hissed angrily and joined them.

"I blame that idiot, Dunnam," he grumbled. "How did he plan this heist for so long and never knew that there was a Gorgolith hidden in the dungeon?"

Spheris and Nephta were quiet. Nephta was quiet because she usually was, but Spheris was quiet because he was thinking. What the hell happened to the old Jion? The young man now sounded bitter, hateful and impatient. A very stark contrast to the gentle, calm and intelligent person he was a couple hours ago. Was his mask already fading off that quickly?

His thoughts stopped overflowing when he noticed Nephta was no longer walking. "What is it?" he asked her. He looked ahead and saw what the problem was. "Three tunnels," Spheris breathed. "You don't remember which one?"

"Unfortunately," Nephta replied.

"What do you mean you can't remember?" Jion demanded. "You're the one who broke the Guard Spells and led us down this path!"

"Yes, the path you showed me," Nephta shot back. "Don't you remember which path it was?"

Jion frowned. "It was the left."

"Are you sure?"

A sigh escaped Spheris as he folded his arms. The thought about dying here with these two Gentlefolks worried him. He thought of his mother and how she would feel about the news, if the news ever got to her at all.

Before his mind could journey any longer, a noise caught his attention. It was like rocks breaking from far away in a distant echo. He felt the ground beneath him begin to vibrate, and he glanced backwards, a flicker of concern in his eyes. "Do you two hear that?"

Jion and Nephta also heard the noise and felt the tremor. "What is that?" Nephta asked. The trio shared knowing glances at each other, hearts pounding.

"It's digging through rocks!" Jion exclaimed.

The realization hit them like a ton of bricks, but before they could react, the ground imploded, rocks exploding into the air as the Gorgolith burst out of the ground. Its teeth attacked Jion, almost catching him in one snap but he invaded narrowly as he jumped to the side.

Spheris and Nephta were flung away by the force of the implosion and landed heavily on the rocky ground. But there was no time to lie down, the creature was completely berserk, amped with rage and smashing its powerful tail on the cave walls.

Spheris jumped to his feet, about to speed away but was stopped by a massive magma spitball fired in his direction. He dived out of the way in time and the flaming ball crashed into rocks, shattering into bits. The cavern began to tremble once again, Spheris felt the vibrations beneath his feet as his heart pounded in his chest.

Small rocks fell from above, and the realization struck him: whether the Gorgolith got him or not, he was going to end up buried beneath a heap of stones — killed by his insatiable greed for gold.

"This entire cave is going to fall on us!" Nephta cried. Spheris saw as she dodged another spitball which caused even more damage to the cave. He scurried off to hide in a corner but then, he felt something moist and coarse wrapped itself around his leg. An ominous glint shone in his eyes and suddenly, he was being pulled backwards.

"Ughh!" he cried out as he tried to hold on to any piece of rock that he could. But it was all futile. He was being dragged closer and closer to the beast by its tongue.