gorgonize
\ GAWR-guh-nahyz \ , verb;
1. To affect as a Gorgon; hypnotize; petrify.
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The cave was dank, and the sound of water dripping from the ceiling
rang out from the depths. Light filtered
in from the mouth, casting an ever diminishing light. No signs of life presented themselves in the
cave, not even a single bone lay strewn on the floor. In many ways, it was even more unsettling
than if there were remains.
“This
place gives me the creeps.” Lars said,
looking around nervously.
“Yeah,
I think that goes for all of us.” Caruss said.
He was in no mood to argue about that one. The cool damp air sent chills through the big
man’s spine. Grena nodded her
agreement. None of them wanted to be
there, and all of them wished to be somewhere far, far away.
The
trio had been enlisted by a nearby town to deal with a particularly dangerous
creature that had taken up residence nearby. The hefty reward had caused them to take the
job without much thought. They had
regretted it immensely when they heard what it was. It was a Gorgon, one of the more dangerous
creatures one could face. The only
reason they didn’t back out immediately was because they had already agreed to
take care of it. At that point, it was a
matter of professional pride that spurred them to action.
They
had taken precautions against the foe they were to face. Lars and Caruss had polished their weapons
and armor to a mirror’s shine, and Grena had adorned herself with accessories that
were just as reflective. All three
carried charms that would remove petrifaction if applied quickly enough, as
well as antidotes to the Gorgon’s poisons.
Most importantly though, they had blindfolds to ward of the creature’s
stone inducing gaze. While they weren’t
coving their eyes at that moment, they were ready at a moment’s notice. The lack of sight didn’t bother them, as all
three had learned quite some time ago how to fight without their eyes.
Even
with all their preparations, it was still a daunting task. Gorgons were considered some of the most
dangerous creatures in the world, and for good reason. Even the slightest look into their eyes could
turn anyone, man or woman, into stone. Their
hair was made of snakes, which were more often than not, poisonous. The main body itself was like one long snake;
powerful coils that could squeeze the life out of even a strong man like a boa
constrictor with a mouse. Atop the tail
was the upper body of a human woman, green skinned and horrid to behold. And, while all of that made them dangerous
alone, they were also intelligent. They
tended to be about as smart as an above average human, and it was this that
made them so deadly. Some of the more
powerful Gorgons were even said to be able to use magic.
They
could be dealt with by turning their own gaze back on them with a mirror, which
was why they had come in with such well polished equipment, but that was a long
shot, since the Gorgon would no doubt know about this, and be looking at their faces,
not at their bodies. And, since none of
them would have the use of their eyes, the Gorgon had an almost overwhelming
advantage, since it could move with all the speed of a striking snake. They’re only real hope of escaping unscathed
was to catch it off guard and take it out before it knew they were there. The only problem was, that it was probably
aware of them, since humans were somewhat less stealthy then other species, no
matter how hard they tried.
“What
was that?” Lars asked, having heard a
noise off in the distance. It was
nothing but another water droplet falling, but they were so on edge that it
still made him go for his blindfold.
“Nothing. I think.”
Grena said, not sure of anything.
“Now be quiet, we don’t want to give ourselves away too badly.”
“I don’t
think it matters right now.” Caruss said, nodding at something in front of
them. It looked to be a statue of a man
in a pose of fear and revulsion. It was
one of the Gorgon’s victims, and told them that it was close. As soon as they saw it, they fitted their
blindfolds over their eyes and stood back to back, weapons out and ready.
Suddenly,
Lars let out a horrid yell while a hissing laughter echoed through the
cavern. The Gorgon was upon them, using
the sound of the water droplets falling to mask its own movement. Lars let out a yell to alert the other two,
but he was trapped by its coils. He
expected to be crushed to death by it, but its embrace was surprisingly light,
only enough to hold him. As the other
two sprung into action, using his voice to guide them towards their target,
Lars felt his blindfold being removed by cold, scaly hands. He shut his eyes immediately, knowing what
would happen should he open them.
He felt
a sharp pain in his side as the Gorgon squeezed him. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get him
to open his eyes out of pure reflex. It
was enough. Before Caruss could get to
him, and Grena could let loose a spell, Lars had been petrified.
Not a moment after, Caruss’
warhammer swung down on where he thought the Gorgon was. By luck or skill, it would have hit the beast
square on the head. However, it was far too
quick, and easily avoided the crippling blow.
The hammer struck nothing but rock, sending tremors through his thick
arms. Grena let forth a wide arch of
arcane energy, engulfing a wide area with the purple light. The spell was designed for group combat,
harming enemies while ignoring those she considered allies. It didn’t do a lot of damage, but it would be
enough to alert them to where the Gorgon was.
Sure enough, an angry hiss echoed
forth from the cave as the spell struck the creature. Caruss wasted no time, rushing in towards
where the sound had come from and swinging wildly. Grena kept firing off the arcane waves as
often as she could, doing her best to direct Caruss by the sound it made when
hit.
As he got closer to the current
location of the swift moving creature, he felt something. It was nothing but a pin prick to him, but he
knew what it must mean. The Gorgon had
used it serpentine hair to bite him, filling him with poison. It made him smile more than it should have as
he felt more and more of the tiny bites hitting him. While it meant that he was being filled with
more and more toxins each time, it also meant that it was close, and not
moving.
He called out to Grena, who reacted
as quickly as she could, switching from the wave spell to an immobilization spell. The blast hit its target, paralyzing the
Gorgon. While she didn’t have enough
time to give the spell any real power, it was enough to keep it still long
enough for Caruss to land a heavy blow with his hammer. The poison had severely weakened him, but he
was still able to cripple it. He
attacked as much as he could, delivering blow after blow to what he hoped was
the creatures head. He soon collapsed
due to the poison, hoping he had dealt enough damage to kill it.
An angry hiss issued forth from its
mouth. While it had been hurt badly, it
was still alive. Grena reacted mostly on
instinct, and launched as many spells as she could towards where she hoped it was,
scattering the arcane energy as wildly as she dared. Suddenly, a great weight fell on her. The Gorgon had reached her, while finally succumbing
to its injuries, and her spells had been the icing on the cake. The beast was heavy, and she collapsed under
it.
She was very much regretting not
having learned any levitation spells. She
tried to move the dead creature herself, but lacked the strength of body to do
so. Suddenly though, the weight shifted
off her, enough to allow her to crawl out from under it. Caruss had drunken his antidote. While he wasn’t fully recovered, it was
enough to move the dead Gorgon.
Once freed, Grena cast off her
blindfold and found Lars, still petrified.
She immediately pulled out the petrifaction cure; a small slip of paper
with magic writing scrawled on him. She affixed
it to Lars’ body and hoped it would work.
“Think it’s been short enough?” Caruss coughed out as he rose shakily.
“I think so.” Grena said, gasping for breath. They waited for awhile to see what would
happen. Sure enough, the stone slowly
melted off him. Lars collapsed once
freed. He looked up wearily at his
companions.
“Did we win?” He sputtered weakly.
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Yeah, I don't have anything to say right now. So yeah, have a nice day and such.
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