“Uh, boss? What are we gonna do?”
The sugar paper ceiling sizzled and faded away as a gargantuan set of jaws broke through it, oozing with acid. A cool, dark liquid dripped down from massive golden teeth, crystal eyes focused on one single being.
“I think the ship may have cooled down…” Retvik whispered, switching back to telepathy to communicate.
“I think it likes you…” Phovos muttered back. “After all, you are the warmest being here.”
“Should we, like, run or something?” Tenuk asked, trying to hide his small shivers of fear. “Because it looks hungry.”
“Actually, it looks cold…” Retvik paused, then turned to his squad mates. “Here is the plan: Elksi, Tenuk, you get this container to the ship. Phovos, I need you on lookout. Keep the beast from coming towards Elksi and Tenuk, and see if you can spot any weaknesses. I shall create a distraction.”
“Got it!”
Like clockwork, everyone set about their plans. Retvik remained still, since the serpent was clearly fixated on him, while Elksi and Tenuk both telekinetically started lifting the one valuable container, moving it one inch at a time. Phovos essentially disappeared, but they all knew she was watching.
With a sigh, once Tenuk and Elksia had moved the container to the ground, Retvik created a small fireball in his hand, then waved it around. The serpent watched, then slithered closer. Retvik took this as an opportunity to get moving, so he leaped off to one side, making his way to the warehouse entrance. Without any hesitation, the Serpent chased after the fiery being, smashing further holes into the warehouse, before finding both Retvik and itself outside, in the cold void.
“Hey Ret!” Elksi suddenly squeaked via telepathy. “Just a thought, should we leave the ship’s engines off?”
“Yes, keep them off!” Phovos answered in Retvik’s place.
Outside, Retvik found himself dodging various bite attacks from the serpent. It seemed as though it wanted to eat Retvik more than anything else, so dodging was all he could really do. Unfortunately, the golden wyrm was making things difficult by by ignoring all the decoy fire pits Retvik had created.
There was a slightly smaller problem though. The heat Retvik had been generating was starting to make the sugary floor melt, and Retvik had to be very careful, in case he got himself stuck. Annoyingly, the shimmering snake drew closer with every bite attack, and Retvik realized he had not given himself enough space to combat it properly.
In all honesty, Retvik knew he could probably just kill the golden wyrm, but something about it seemed wrong. The creature was moving erratically, as if something was tugging on it. That was until the serpent suddenly struck forward, missing Retvik by only a few centimetres.
However, despite being so close to its target, Retvik was surprised to find that the creature had stopped in its tracks. It closed its massive, toothy jaws, then very, very delicately inched forward and nuzzled Retvik.
“What the…” Retvik was unsure what to do. The creature was acting as if it liked Retvik.
“It was tied up…” Phovos whispered telepathically. “I… undid the chains…”
The golden wyrm nuzzled Retvik some more, before scanning is surroundings. Behind the serpent, a heavy gold chain materialized, then fell to the ground.
It then turned skywards, locking its gaze on what looked like a distant star. The serpent levitated itself off the ground, summoning three pairs of black, tendril-like wings.
“Thank you.”
“Uh, you are welcome…” Retvik replied, somewhat caught off guard that the being was now telepathically communicating with him.
“I shall leave now. Goodbye.”
Finally, the shimmering snake took off, flying into the distance, in the direction of the single, distant star.
An uneasy silence flittered through the air. Until Elksi decided to spoil it.
“Did we win?”
Retvik frowned. “I have no idea.”
“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Tenuk exclaimed. “In case it comes back.”
“Good idea,” Retvik grunted as he made his way back to the ship. “Good idea…”