Path of Dragons-Chapter 62Book 8: : The Veinroot Hollow

So, the second he saw the coral erupt with steady light, he once again joined the current and pushed himself to the limit before finding another alcove.

Like that, he navigated the maze. Another day passed, and he found himself fighting a swarm of squids that latched onto his shell and drained the life right out of him. To combat the much smaller creatures, he was forced to shift into his human form and use Lightning Domain, which was oddly effective in the environment. Once he left the corpses behind, he shifted back into his leviathan form and continued on his way.

And then, at last, he felt the current dissipate. Only a little at first, but over the next few miles, it slowed to a crawl. Elijah swam forward, and then felt the corridor tilt upward. It was barely noticeable at first, but after another few miles, he broke through to the surface.

The second he emerged, something attacked him.

Elijah was so geared up that he never even hesitated before launching himself from the water and clamping down on the monster. His jaws crushed it in a matter of moments, and its life drained away only a second later.

Unfortunately, it was not alone.

And Elijah recognized the culprits.

Hundreds of flesh spiders, each at least as big as the one he’d encountered before meeting the survivors, skittered toward him. Elijah only had a brief moment to catalogue the environment – a large cave, mostly taken up by the pool of water in which he’d surfaced, with fleshy vines covering the walls and slithering into the water where they were meant to trap unwary prey – before he erupted into action.

In the Shape of the Sea, he couldn’t leave the water. Not completely. However, so long as he kept some part of his body in contact with the sea, he could maintain his incredible attribute bonuses. He used that to his advantage, remaining half submerged and attacking like a snapping turtle.

The flesh spiders never had a chance.

Even the largest ones were incapable of bypassing his defenses. Their fangs skipped off his scales without penetrating, which robbed them of their most potent weapon. With their low constitution and mediocre attributes, they were no match for Elijah’s most physically powerful form.

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He killed them all, though he was forced to submerge himself completely to dislodge the monsters that had leaped upon his shell. Thankfully, they were all but incapable of swimming, so killing them in the water was even simpler than doing so on land.

Still, it took him a while to finish off so many, and by the time he managed it, the cave was stacked high with their grotesque bodies. Blood splattered everywhere, and the acrid taste of their flesh filled Elijah’s mouth.

But he had survived the ambush, which was all that mattered.

Hesitantly, he climbed free of the water and adopted his human form. Then, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he let himself relax, albeit only slightly. He still kept an eye on Soul of the Wild, but he otherwise focused on resting. Thankfully, the Ghoul-Hide Satchel kept his belongings from getting wet, so he took the time to eat a grove fruit before finding a mostly concealed corner of the cave and trying to get a little sleep.

It didn’t really work.

As exhausted as he was, the setting prevented him from really resting. So, for the most part, he just lay there in that half-asleep, half-awake state that was the worst of both worlds.

Eventually, he did nod off, but only for a few minutes at a time.

Still, it was rest, which after what he’d been through, he desperately needed. After a while, he pushed himself upright, conjured a rainstorm via Blessing of the Grove, and used his highest-quality soap to wash weeks’ worth of slime and gore away. The replenishing traits of the soap was a godsend, and when he used some cleansing powder on his armor and donned a fresh set of clothes, he felt almost human again.

Even more helpful was his coffee, which he enjoyed with another grove fruit.

That small period of recuperation was enough to bolster Elijah’s spirits and give him hope for what would come next. However, it only took one look at the connected tunnel for those hopes to dissipate somewhat.

At first glance, he’d thought that the vines covering the tunnel were plants, but it only took a little focus with Soul of the Wild to establish that they were monsters in their own right. Stuck somewhere between plant and animal, they were fleshy and thorny in all the wrong ways.

Elijah transformed into Shape of Venom, but to his immense displeasure, he couldn’t use Guise of the Unseen. The flesh vines were aware of his presence, which meant that stealth wasn’t a viable option. Not for the first time, he wished he’d been blessed with an in-combat stealth like Dat had possessed, but he knew that was the difference between a dedicated class and being a jack of all trades.

Either way, he wasn’t going to use Shape of Venom if Guise of the Unseen wasn’t available. So, he shifted into the Shape of Thorn. It was durable and reasonably mobile, so he hoped it would allow him the opportunity to respond to anything that might ambush him.

Once he’d taken on the form of the thorned sentry, he stepped forward. Traversing the tunnel was an exercise in anxiety, largely because he could feel the hunger in the monstrous vines. If he displayed even the slightest moment of weakness, they would pounce.

Or if he put his foot in the wrong spot.

Thankfully, he avoided such a fate as he tiptoed through the tunnel. More than once, he thanked his previous self for diligently sticking to his yoga routine. He didn’t much care about the flexibility, but learning body control in the Shape of Thorn was invaluable. He used that to his advantage as he picked his way past the vines – a path that went on for miles.

Along the way, he was forced to kill a few more flesh spiders as well as some centipedes that tried to disguise themselves as vines. The things possessed tiny stingers across their whole bodies, and they attacked by flinging themselves at potential prey. Fortunately, Elijah was mostly resistant to their venom, though he did thank his past self for choosing Wild Resurgence, which proved invaluable both because it was potent upgrade to Soothe and it didn’t require him to return to his human form in order to cast.

Still, the local wildlife were more of a nuisance than a real danger.

Finally, after what was probably close to ten miles of climbing a steady incline, Elijah reached an opening. It was barely a crack in the wall, but it was wide enough for him to squeeze through.

Of course, the moment he was ensconced in those close quarters, the vines struck, wrapping around him and trying to suffocate him. Fortunately, it only took a cast of Savage Strength to enable him to rip free. After that, he took on his human shape to allow for easier passage. He shimmied through the crack, bursting free a few moments later.

Even as he stumbled to his knees, the vines went wild, waving around in obvious fury. Elijah had no idea if there was any intelligence behind their rage, but if there was, he’d certainly pissed it off by denying it a meal.

Thankfully, they were incapable of reaching him, which allowed him the opportunity to pick himself up and look around.

And for the first time in longer than he cared to think about, he saw the sky. It was difficult to articulate just how much he’d missed it. Certainly, he’d seen it plenty while looking for the entrance to the Abyssal Glassworks, but for whatever reason, he’d not appreciated it back then. Now, though, after spending weeks underwater and surrounded by glass walls, he felt more thankful than ever just to see that blue expanse.

Unfortunately, the rest of what he saw wasn’t nearly as welcome of a sight.

He found himself in the center of a deep ravine lined with more fleshy vines. Already knowing what he’d find, Elijah cast Shape of the Sky and threw himself into the air. As soon as he passed an altitude of ten feet, the vines snaked across the ravine, stretched from one edge to the other to obscure the sky.

Elijah stopped himself before he collided with the tendrils. Instead, he changed direction and swooped back to the ground. Once he had his talons firmly planted, he resumed his human shape. The vines retracted a second or two later.

Clearly, flight wasn’t an option. Not surprising, given his previous experiences in Primal Realms and towers. The system didn’t want him to simply bypass its mechanics. Though Elijah didn’t doubt that there were people out there with classes that fully focused on flying – perhaps an Explorer variant – who could manage flight.

But that wasn’t him.

So, he had no choice but to go forward on foot. Without further hesitation, he did just that, remaining in his human form so he could respond quickly and accurately to any situation that presented itself. As he continued forward, he couldn’t deny just how creepy the setting was. With every step, the vines quivered, and he knew that if he gave them the slightest opportunity, they would tear into him.

Resolving not to let that happen, he kept going, all the while keeping his senses strained for any attackers as well as some hints as to the other dangers the setting might present.