Himinnsormr!: Himinnsormr!

The mists were thick, but little pinpricks of colorful light still pierced through the shroud. The old forest trees had glowing crystals entwined in their branches, each one twinkling with its own hue among the fog. Raoul clutched one of the crystals in his hand, happily munching away as Kaam and Brinjal made their assessments. A large snakeskin was hooked onto one of the trees where Himinnsormr--the great basilisk, the Serpent of the Mists--had scraped it off in her hurry. It glittered with even more colors than the crystals around them.

Kaam sniffed at the remains nervously. “They say she doesn’t shed often. She’ll be bigger now, and ready to eat.”

Brinjal was less familiar with the lore and fables of Vitalis than Kaam, but he recognized the giant snakeskin as a tangible danger. He poked at the thing with his paws, but even in its dry and crinkled state, it felt as thick as armor.

Now Kaam sniffed at the air, but her scent was pervasive in the region with her skin stuck to everything. “The snake herself will be softer after shedding. As hungry as she is, this is one of the few times her hide will be weak. Still…” he looked at Veronika, a brown Harpia that was carrying all means of traps and tricks, “That doesn’t mean she can be easily quelled.”

Raoul finished munching on his crystal and gave Veronika a pat. “It’s alright. If things get too bad, she’ll be tied up enough that we can all escape.”

“Do you have teleportation magic?” worried Brinjal. “A noodle seems like a hard shape to pin down, let alone the Serpent of the Mists.” He had never fought a basilisk before. He needed to hunt something impressive for the sake of his Purity Trials, but this seemed like quite a beast to tackle. He found himself looking to the timid Kaam for assurance, who was a lot calmer than usual. If that scaredy-cat wasn’t nervous, then Brinjal would find a way to deal with his own anxiety.

Veronika shook off her cargo, letting all the traps clatter to the forest floor. The branches were entwined enough that she couldn’t take flight, but she felt comfortable in the presence of the three land-walkers. Two of them had razor-sharp teeth, and the other had a knack for getting out of trouble. She sorted through the traps, scooped one up in her talons, and then offered it to Raoul.

“Perfect,” her rider said happily. He held up the trap to show the others. “Behold, the trap that even the Serpent of the Mists can’t match!” It was a bundle of metal wires, woven into the shape of a net and fixed into place with iron attachments. Despite its material, it was oddly flexible. Veronika and Raoul both looked proud of it. “It took a few days to make, but I think it will work.”

Brinjal shook his head. “I doubt that. Explain to me how you’re going to get that around a huge snake.”

“No need to get it around the snake; All we have to do is snare it. Then, we use this,” Raoul picked up some firewood from the pile. “We set it on fire and use the smoke to disorient her.”

Kaam’s ears pricked up and he slightly wagged his tail. “That’s right! Snakes are sensitive to heavy smells like that. Himinnsormr is big, but even a basilisk would be affected if there was enough smoke.” Veronika happily bobbed her head.

Brinjal wasn’t as easily impressed. Even so, they set up the trap. They dug a huge hole and dumped the firewood within it. They placed the net over the hole, then decorated it with leaves until it was invisible. They set ropes above that would trigger when the net below was moved. Raoul himself would set off the fire as soon as the snake was trapped, and from there, the fight would be even. That was the idea, anyways. Brinjal was doubtful about how successful it would be. He inspected the precarious set of ropes, wondering if it would even trigger properly. Raoul dusted off his hands, pleased with the setup, and Veronika nodded to approve their construction. The blue vayron hesitated as the wizard pulled out his wand and got ready to fire. “As an animated tree, don’t you have something against burning wood?”

The red-haired wizard thought about it, rubbing his fingers over his branches as if he just remembered they were there. “Well...it should be fine. It’s not like I’m burning them alive. You vayron cook rabbits sometimes, don’t you?”

“That’s a completely different species,” Brinjal replied. Still, he supposed Raoul had a point.

From the edge of their little gathering, Kaam barked. “Her smell is stronger. She’s getting closer. We should set up the bait while she can still smell it. Where did you put it?”

He looked at Veronika, who simply shifted her eyes away. Raoul also wouldn’t make eye contact.

Kaam flattened his ears. “You forgot our bait? How are we supposed to lure her over?” Unlike the others, he wasn’t doing this for sport or training or prestige. He wanted to cripple the basilisk before it could reach settlements or nearby towns. If Himinnsormr was wounded, she would presumably stick to prey like deer or pigs, rather than his kindred. He knew she was not easily vanquished.

Raoul shrugged. “It’s not that we forgot our bait...we were just planning…”

Veronika pointed a taloned claw at Brinjal.

“...for Brinjal to lure her here.”

Brinjal’s fur raised in anger. “This is the first I’m hearing about it!”

“That’s too dangerous,” added Kaam. “She’s too fast. We only stand a chance if we reveal ourselves after she’s ensnared.”

Raoul scratched his head, letting a small smile slip onto his face. “You’re saying Brinjal is slower than a glorified noodle?” The vayron perked up his ears. He had taken the bait. Then, to ensure his cooperation-- “And as a reward, I’ll give him some jerky at the end of this. There’s no way he’d fail, and the jerky probably tastes better than snake meat.”

“I’ll do it,” Brinjal said. He stood tall and proud, as if he planned this the whole time. “Which way is she, Kaam?”

Kaam hesitated, recognizing that Himinnsormr could gobble him up in one bite. Would pointing him the right way spell his end? He shook his head. “I’ll go with you, Brinjal. I can’t let you go alone.”

Veronika chirped happily and Raoul petted them both. “I’m glad that’s decided! Both of you fly fast on your feet, okay?” The wizard took out his wand and muttered something under his breath. They felt as if a weight was lifted off their shoulders. Kaam could hear the breeze flowing around him; It was almost as if he was swimming in the air, even though his four paws were squarely on the ground. “It’s a speed spell. Not too strong, since I need mana for later, but it should be more than enough to get past a snake.”

Kaam nodded. “Thank you.”

“I don’t need it, but it couldn’t hurt,” Brinjal said. He was lucky he was born without a tail. The vayron was clearly pleased, but no one could see his tail wag.

Since Veronika lacked the grace to maneuver the thick forest, she didn’t join the chase. Kaam darted through the trees, checking the wind at each turn to see if the scent was growing stronger. If Brinjal didn’t have his own sense of smell, he would have assumed Kaam was trying to lose him. As it was, he also had trouble pinning down the direction of the snake. It wasn’t a problem for long.

A large thrashing noise sounded from the thick of the forest. Some of the glowing crystals dislodged from the trees and lost their light. For a brief moment, the noise stopped--the birds and insects went quiet, and the very wind ceased its movement. Then, all at once, the noise came back--and with it, the roaring chorus of a very angry basilisk. Himinnsormr struck at Kaam, the wolf barely dodging in time. Brinjal barked at her, snarling and baring his teeth. The serpent contemplated its options, decided Kaam was too speedy for her, then rushed towards Binjal. That was her first mistake.

Brinjal barreled through the cluttered forest, dodging in between trunks with ease as the giant serpent bashed through them with brute force. Any time the serpent got too close to his heels, Kaam would nip at her sides and distract her. The two worked in tandem, luring her towards the trap. Thanks to the spell, both of them felt safe enough, though its efficacy was lowering by the minute. They burst into the trap and hopped over the pitfall. The snake quickly followed, triggering the trap and bringing down the wires above her. Her snout smushed into the ground close to the firewood. As she was held in place, Raoul lit the logs at the bottom of the pit. She licked at the air and could only taste smoke; Her heat vents could only see flame. She hissed in frustration and thrashed around.

Unfortunately, pits were not a good shape for containing snakes, especially one much smaller than the creature itself. Even with four of them and a bit of magic, they didn’t prepare a hole deep enough to accommodate a legend. She anchored her tail and drew herself back, easily slipping out of the snare. She glanced at her onlookers, memorizing each one of their faces, then roared in frustration. She would not overlook this slight.

Brinjal leapt on her back and bit at her soft scales, sinking his teeth in and tearing off chunk after chunk of flesh. The basilisk thrashed and threw him off, but Veronika leapt into action. Of everyone here, the dracostryx was closest in size to the beast. She gripped the snake in her talons and squeezed, cutting into the flesh and making the serpent bleed. When Himinnsormr failed to throw her off, she curled back and quickly encircled the stryx. Veronika squawked out in surprise as the snake tightened its grip on her.

Raoul readied his wand and used the flames below to create an apparition of flame. Rather than a wolf-shaped elemental or snake-shaped spirit, it simply looked like an amorphous blob of flame. Nonetheless, it hurtled itself forward with a will of its own and engulfed Himinnsormr’s head. The snake roared and reeled back, but the damage was done. Her eyes were clearly wounded and steam sizzled off the flesh of her face. Brinjal tore off more pieces of her scales, doing his best to bring down the massive beast, but started to realize the task was a bit too big for him. Even with all of them combined, she was putting up an incredible fight.

Kaam jumped up and struck the snake right in the eye. He held his bite and slashed at her until the snake loosened her grip on Veronika. The dracostryx gasped for air and backed away from her. Himinnsormr slammed her head into a tree trunk, trying to pin Kaam between them, but failed to hit her mark. Kaam dislodged himself just before what would have been a fatal blow. She writhed her body until Brinjal lost his grip and fell off, a bit of her flesh still stuck between his teeth. She retreated, roaring with fury, trailing blood behind her. The hunt was over, and they were all still alive.