Scorpion Dragon Option Aa: Accept His Help
Welcome back to the next part of the adventure. Let’s see if the scorpion turns out to be a friend or foe!
Scorpion Dragon Option Aa: Accept His Help
“All right,” you say, “show me this easier way.”
The scorpion jumps in glee and you flinch back, away from his wildly swinging tail.
“Oops,” he covers his face with a claw, “sorry about that.”
You just shoo him with your hands.
“Right then. This way,” he turns and leads you along the top of several boulders that, thankfully, don’t turn under your weight.
On the fifth such boulder, the scorpion uses a small vine to scamper across and you jump the gap. Your foot touches down and the boulder shifts. You throw your arms wide but there’s nothing you can catch yourself on as everything tilts.
You try to roll when you hit the ground below but the sand sinks, sucking you downward. Your stomach hits your throat. Then the downward sensation stops and you’re hanging with sand still moving downward.
Sand continues to fall but you’re suspended by the sword strapped to your back like a pig over a roasting pit. You take stock and see the sword caught the edges of the hole you almost fell through. Now that the sand’s slowed to a trickle, you make out the trap door and a dark hole below. A chill wind rushes up from that hole, bringing with it the smell of mold and sweat.
“Well, that’s just awkward,” says the scorpion.
“Easier way?” you growl at him.
He shrugs. “It gets you into the castle. I never said how.”
“And where does it put me in the castle?” You watch him scamper off the rocks to circle the trap. He makes his way to the hilt of the sword and gives the end an experimental shove with a claw. Your weight holds the sword in place and his shove only pushes him backwards.
“The dungeons,” the scorpion admits, testing the hilt of the sword again with more vigor. It doesn’t budge.
You sigh in relief. You can’t reach the edges of the hole from where you hang, suspended directly above the center of the open trap door, but at least the scorpion can’t push you in either.
“That just won’t do,” the scorpion says. His words deepen toward the end and you look over in surprise. He used to be only an inch and a half long but, right before your eyes, his body starts to thicken and his tail grows.
He grins at the shock on your face.
“Scorpus,” you realize, the dragon.
He’s still growing bigger. In no time he’ll be large enough to pick you up and drop you in the trap door like a tiny doll…or pick you up and eat you. You sway your weight to see if you can touch the edge of the hole with a little help. Your fingers brush the sandy edge.
Scorpus snaps his claws experimentally. They make a snapping sound similar to the clap of two boards thrown together.
Do you…
Aa1: Swing for the edge?
Or
Aa2: Drop into the trap?
Blessings,
Jennifer
