The Throne of Bones.

15. She who controls Serpents.

"I guess the merchant was right after all then." Minto opened his palm and a rune illuminated, a second later his sword appeared. "A basilisk is as close to a dragon as they get!"

Astrá was looking up at the monster and scraping her brain for a solution to their sudden predicament, according to what she knew about basilisks their venom turned anything it touched to stone, and so far a cure hadn't been discovered, and what's worse these beasts were hot blooded and could exert weeks' worth of insane battle strength before they needed rest.

"Distract it!" Astrá shouted to the others as they all spread out trying to find a way of attack or escape. "Minto, could your magic put that monster to sleep?" She asked, but when she turned Minto was no longer on the ground. "Minto!" Astrá shrieked as she spotted him already making the first move against the basilisk.

It shrieked and hissed when Minto came like an arrow in the side of its head just below the eye punching it so hard the scale his fist came in contact with shattered.

The basilisk's head was thrown back from the blow, but with a body made entirely of muscle it quickly recovered and brought back its head, smashing it into Minto and sending him spiralling out of the air while his sword went in the opposite direction.

As he crashed from the sky Miriá came jumping and catching him before his wings opened up again. "Don't be reckless, you're still wearing Kilokloth!" She snapped at him before her eyes averted to the basilisk. "Dodge!"Miriá yelped as a steaming stream of yellow liquid came rocketing out of the back of the beast's mouth.

Minto held on to her and flew higher upward watching as several dozen trees were burnt before suddenly hardening beneath them. "Damn!" He cussed.

Seeing the monster distracted and shooting another stream of venom at Minto and Miriá, Astrá gathered her wits and unleashed a massive fire-bolt at its head. 

But just as she had expected, its scales were unharmed after the bolt exploded only serving to further aggravate the monster, but that would only leave brute Force and cutting as options, both of which she would not be successful in considering its size and dexterity.

"Blind it, blind it and retreat!" Astrá shouted, then watched as the four elves spread apart and summoned crossbows made of condensed magicule.

They took aim and Drew their hands back then began releasing arrow after arrow at its eye, but surprisingly the projectiles seemed completely ineffective. 

At the base of its body both Wolfsword and Dragonhand were chopping away at its underbelly, but even that was providing no result.

"This body is chipping down my blade!" Gorvak gasped as another chunk of his sword went whisking pass his face.

"Shut up and keep at it!" Wolfsword gritted his teeth and roared as his sword caught aflame with azure fire and he stabbed it into the flesh of the beast. 

The basilisk thrashed its massive body and began turning its head toward them and opening its mouth to spew more venom when a fire-bolt went straight up its throat and exploded.

The ground began to shake as the entirety of its body a hundred plus metres long thrashed, leveling trees and crushing great boulders. 

The elves had to retreat when the body came crashing through the trees at them.

Above everyone Minto and Miriá were a safe range above the current reach of its venom when an idea came to the aforementioned halfling.

He began flying upward with her as he explained the next reckless idea he had conjured up.

When the basilisk stopped thrashing and held down its head again its whole mouth was dripping with venom mixed with blood and its eyes were bloodshot.

Another fire-bolt exploded in its face sending its head reeling backward, as it began roaring.

Wolfsword and Gorvak had both bedded their swords into its body and held on to save themselves from its thrashing, but that became a problem when it raised more of its body to escape another of Astrá's fire-bolts.

The basilisk dodged the next fire-bolt Astrá sent hurling at it and singled her out. It's eyes narrowed as it came back down to the ground roaring, the two Orcs had to abandon their weapons and jump to save themselves from being squashed and rolled under it, but they quickly drew their smaller blades and began stabbing it as it began moving, making for a rather unusual sight.

Astrá whispered a mantra and summoned fire at the base of her feet like an explosion, throwing her upward as the gigantic mouth of the beast came chomping at her, she curved her body in midair and released another explosion in its face the likes of which pushed her through the air and away from its other attempt to devour her whole.

Using small bursts of fire from her hands and feet to keep momentum while declining from the air she landed a few good metres away from its head and fired off another of her Great-fire-bolts that exploded in its approaching face and threw her off her feet and crashing backwards.

"Lady Astrá!" Dariél shouted attempting to save her from the beast's jaws, but it suddenly spun its head and swatted him like a bug creating the first ever flying elf as he soared unconscious through the air.

The triplet were doing all they could but their attacks were being completely ignored and leaving not even a scratch on the monster's body.

"Damnit!" Astrá snapped in frustration, creating another large spark and firing a massive fire-bolt at point blank range, both the basilisk and herself were caught in the explosion, and while it's head snapped back and it screeched and wailed from the loss of an eye, Astrá on the other hand was rocketed backwards and later collided into a boulder cracking it and her skull on impact.

She felt the warm blood flow down her neck and onto her back as her vision became spotted and blurred while she fought to crawl up to her knees, but it was no use, her strength was almost completely gone in an instant.

She held out her hand and a spark appeared, but that was all that she could do.

She lowered her hand with a sigh as blood trickled down her forehead and into one of her eyes, when the basilisk was a mere fifteen metres away a whistling sound she had been hearing for some seconds suddenly grew louder before the basilisk's head was suddenly plunged into the ground and the area suddenly exploded coating everything in a thick veil of dust and debris, she fell unconscious right after she heard Minto's voice.

"I can't believe that it worked." Miriá held up her hand that had been coated in thick dark blood, panting. 

"Obviously it would, I punched and hurt it before, so I figure both of us together would do ten times that with enough speed." Minto patted Miriá's head grinning.

"Lady-Astrá!" Kēéla came running through the dust frantically looking around. "Lady-Astrá!" 

"Oi, what's going on?" Minto called to the panicking elf from atop the dead beast's head.

"Where is Lady-Astrá?" Álēne ran behind her sister.

Realizing the situation Minto spread his wings wide and created a gust with a downbeat, when he finally saw Astrá laid before the basilisk he reached her even faster than the elves could, scooping her up in an instant and creating an area of dense healing magic around them.

"Ah, this is nice." Wolfsword came with Dariél over his shoulder and sat inside of the AOE healing sphere.

Next came Miriá and then the triplet, basking in the warmth and comfort Minto's magic emitted.

"Will she be okay?" Miriá asked resting her hand on Astrá's. 

"She'll be fine with a day of rest." Minto kept his eyes closed. "This happened because I didn't take everyone else into consideration again, had I just listened instead of doing as I pleased." 

"Do not blame yourself lad, your actions saved all of us, sure the lass is a wee injured bug at least she hadn't been eaten like that one's unfortunate hog." Wolfsword pointed at Gorvak.

At the mention of his hog Gorvak clicked his tongue and kicked the dead monster.

"Wretched beast." He poked it again with his blade for good measure.

The day passed by tensely, they had long left the beast and gathered their belongings and Wolfsword's frightened Goliath-horse, but right as they were ready the ground began to quake again, then the basilisk's body began to move.

"It's not dead?!" Gorvak gawked at the sight of the monster's tail slithering away into the forest, but then the whole forest became quiet when a head arose into the air. "By the bleeding gods..." Gorvak whispered as he and everyone else witnessed the basilisk they had killed being swallowed by the mother of all snakes.

Another basilisk had appeared, this one was easily three times the size of the one they had struggled for an hour to defeat.

"We couldn't win against that." Wolfsword broke down in cold sweats. "I don't believe even a lesser dragon could challenge that monstrosity!" 

"Are you responsible for killing the snake?" They heard a woman's voice, then witnessed as the great serpent lowered its head and revealed a woman wearing snake scale armour and holding on to one of the horns on the basilisk's head. "Which of you Idgián warriors delivered the killing blow?" She spoke again as the giant basilisk drew closer.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" Miriá blinked wide-eyed. "A woman rides atop the beast."

It was only when the basilisk was right on top of them that they could see her clearly, she had tall white hair that brushed at her toes, her skin was a pale shade of brown and her eyes seemed to glow a brilliant green, but most peculiar was the lion-like tail that swished from side to side behind her poorly hidden form.

"She is a Fae from the southern Continent, Nimecsta." Minto narrowed his eyes. "A stricter and far more savage race than Idgián Fae."

"What, seriously, shouldn't we run then?" Miriá took aim for the woods behind them.

"Don't bother, we killed her snake, if we run now, she would try and probably succeed at killing us all." Minto wore a nervous grin as the Fae began to descend the monster's lowered head.

"Who killed my snake?" The she asked again with her hand stretched out toward them.

"It was us." Minto spoke up, nudging Miriá, the Halo of healing magic was still surrounding him and he still held Astrá refusing to put her down. 

The Fae looked at him, then at his wings, his skin, and his horns, without caution she stepped into his healing sphere and sniffed him. "Are you Demon, or Fae?" She stepped back and leaned her head to the side. 

"I am neither." Minto replied.

"A half-breed." She concluded before turning her back. "Come half-breed champions, step atop my Nagmar, I have much to discuss with you... both of you."

Minto turned and allowed Wolfsword to take Astrá from his arms then deactivated the aura. "Are you sure you wish to go with her?" Okorak asked.

"You are mistaken to think we actually have a choice in this matter Okorak, but don't worry, we should be fine as long as we don't anger her, just go back to the town and wait for us there." Minto replied as Miriá took his hand nervously.

"Aye." The Orc replied placing Astrá in the wagon. 

"Come, cling to his horns lest you be cast to the sides." The giant basilisk raised its head on her command, and a second later it was gone leaving the forest quiet.

Gorvak turned to Wolfsword when the serpent was out of sight. "You care for each other like a family, and do not seem like heartless creatures like the tales I have heard."

Wolfsword smiled at him and took his seat at the head of the wagon while the elves quietly sat in the back. "Join me, I will tell you how these tall tales came to be."