Dragon Sorcerer 1- Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Chapter 15- By the Dawn’s Light

The tentacles rushed across the ground while Galbrecht stumbled to his feet. He wheezed out, "Run."

I was in much better shape than he was but was still unarmed. I looked closely at the creature and saw fragments of skin hanging off of it. That confirmed my feeling that this was the same thing as last night, but all that gunk inside had now burst out.

What the reason for the change in form was didn't really matter. I leapt back as one of the tentacles made a grab for me. As I came to a stop I bent down and ripped a rock weighing several pounds up from the ground.

Galbrecht's back was too me so I initiated Fabricate. I quickly worked the rock into a stone hatchet of sorts made in a single piece, handle and head all from the same stone.

The paladin's focus was entirely on the swarm of slithering appendages reaching for him. His blade flashed cutting at them but each time only bits of clear ooze leaked from the wounds which closed just as quickly as they were made.

He had said a horror would be too much for them and it was looking like that. My stone weapon didn't give me much confidence and I began to look around to see if there was enough room for me to transform. My secret wasn't worth anything if I died now but it also wouldn't do to assume my natural form only to be hedged in by trees and unable to move.

Then I felt a wave of nausea pass over me. My stomach turned and it was all I could do to stand up straight.

You have partially resisted Sickening Aura. Debuff gained: Sickened. Duration limited to fifteen seconds.

This time it hadn't tried to control my mind, but the debuff was just as dangerous. I couldn't imagine how bad it would have been if my Durability wasn't high enough to resist part of the effect, or maybe it was just that my resistance lowered the duration.

Anyone who says that sickened isn't a debilitating debuff is simply lying to themselves or downright ignorant. Willpower only carries you so far when your stomach is fighting to climb up your throat and out your mouth.

How humans handle this is beyond me. I fell onto all fours just trying to get some balance. The world around me was spinning and I would have said a prayer begging to either empty the contents of my stomach all over the ground or just plain die, but I couldn't gather the presence of mind for even that.

The waves of nausea hit me again and again, each coming faster and harder than the one before it. My muscles were contracting and then I did begin to vomit.

It brought now relief as I felt like my body was trying to tear itself apart from the inside. Tentacles crawled across the ground and I tried to move my hand then tilted over on one side and rolled away from the tentacles which were reaching out for me.

One wrapped around my wrist. I didn't have the strength to swing the hatchet at it. I trembled and jerked back. My strength was far beyond that of a normal human but not enough to jerk my arm free.

Then my stomach emptied itself all over again. This time nothing but bile came out. A tiny sliver of my mind wondered how long fifteen seconds was going to last. It felt like I'd already been sickened for an eternity.

Then I saw a flash of golden light and felt strength return to my body.

Galbrecht yelled out, "By the Dawn's Light, purge all filth and restore health."

I'd never heard him use a verbal component for any of the magic he used so maybe this one was different. I didn't really care because I was able to leap to my feet. It was as though I'd never even been sick. My power and strength were restored, perhaps they were even improved.

The horror however didn't react nearly so well. The tentacle around my wrist fell away as it blistered and burned leaving charred sections of it until must of it simply lay limply on the ground.

Whatever invocation that was, Galbrecht must have called directly upon the power of his goddess and the horror couldn't seem to abide it.

It screeched and reeled backwards, losing several more tentacles in its retreat. The sphere of golden light only spread out thirty feet from Galbrecht and was already starting to fade. Anywhere it touched the horror it left seared and burnt flesh which didn't seem to regenerate as well as the creature normally did. Yet, this fight was far from over.

The horror still had many tentacles with which to flail around and it used them to shield the central part of its body as best it could. I continued to scoot back to give myself room to work with.

Galbrecht on the other hand walked forward. He was shining like the sun as the very power of his goddess surged through him.

He shouted a few more of his invocations, this time to fortify our bodies and make us stronger.

Divine Strength

Holy Armor

Dawn Shield

I felt my body hum with power, as each buff loaded me up with the blessing of a chosen one. Galbrecht was really going all out and even though the glow was starting to fade, I felt stronger than I'd ever been in my life.

My head twisted and I looked at the sky to roar. This power couldn't be contained within this feeble human form. I felt the overwhelming urge to destroy this creature of darkness.

In answer, the horror let out an even louder screech and I felt that disgusting sense of otherness. It was like a filth covered the light of the world and as I stared at the creature I feared I'd be lost, pulled into that pit from which it had come.

Only the fact that I was transforming saved me from despair. My body began to twist and stretch. In a rush I kicked off my boots and stripped off my shirt and trousers. Even then I ripped one of the pant legs as my body was expanding.

All of Galbrecht's attention was focused upon the horror and I had no idea if he even saw me.

The light emanating from Galbrecht's hands began to pulse faster and harder, making the air around us feel electrified. He was channeling a great deal of energy into whatever spell he was conjuring up now and I knew this one wouldn't be gentle on either of us... or the horror for that matter.

"Be judged by the dawn. You have no place in this realm."

Galbrecht shouted even louder this time and unleashed some sort of divine bolt at the creature. It screamed in pain as it was engulfed in a torrent of magical energy that tore through its flesh like nothing else ever could have done before. Great gaping wounds appeared but it wasn't enough the creature refused to die.

The creature shrieked in agony as another of Galbrecht's spells also found its mark, ripping more of its tentacles clean off. The horror seemed to be weakening now but still wouldn't succumb - whatever dark power was driving it continued to keep it alive despite our best efforts!

I was caught up in the thirty seconds my transformation would take but even then I recognized that Galbrecht's most recent attack lacked some of the punch the previous one had contained.

Galbrecht didn't give up though - he simply kept pouring on more and more divine energy until the golden light around him completely failed and he dropped backwards like a great tree. His eyes stared up sightlessly and I noticed they were milky white orbs.

"Forgive me, Miseria. Grant my remaining blessing to give him speed to flee."

A small bolt of golden light shout out of his mouth as he seemed to breath his last. His chest heaved and then he was still. The bolt curved and then twisted until it hit me mid-transformation. I couldn't even try to avoid it.

You have been offered a temporary blessing by the goddess, Miseria. Will you accept?

My mind raced. The goddess likely knew who I was. It wasn't like my transformation was going to fool a divine being, but so far she hadn't told her chosen paladin. I didn't have time to contemplate what that meant.

I shouted with my half human, half dragon mouth, "Keep my secret."

A woman's voice spoke in my head. It was rich with a melodic tone that put me at ease while warning of dangers beyond imagining. "Stubborn child. Even facing death your kind would refuse to follow the gods."

I don't know where the power to speak came to me but in my mind I roared out. "I am draconis."

"Very well, I'll keep your secret, but in return you must save my servant. I still have use for him."

There was no need for me to speak again as the goddess must have sensed my acquiescence because the power rushed into me.

My transformation was completed in an instant. I felt the power of the blessings which Galbrecht had bestowed upon me earlier. Time seemed to stop as they flashed before my eyes.

Divine Strength: Gain +15 Strength for 7 minutes.

Holy Armor: Gain damage resistance of +10 for 7 minutes.

Dawn Shield: You're surrounded by a bubble of divine power which will absorb the first 200 damage dealt to you and will further reduce all abysmal, cursed, undead, or dark eldritch damage by 50%.

The thread of divine power burrowing into me didn't seem to feel these blessings were enough even with me transformed. Part of me wanted to balk. I was a dragon. With magic like that added to me, I would be unstoppable.

Yet as I saw the horror gathering itself up despite having been scorched by divine fire, I decided to embrace any help the goddess was willing to give me.

I heard her voice. "Wise for once wyrm. Future body, present mind. One minute. Make good use of it."

I felt my body grow. Gone was the 25 foot long young adult dragon. My scales had swelled and my body became massive.

I reveled in the feeling. I was over 200 feet long and realized that I had become a wyrm, one of the ancient of my kind, at least I did in body. My mind didn't feel any different.

The clearing was nowhere near large enough for my new frame but I didn't care. I swung my tail and it was the trees which gave way, as was only proper. All the world should tremble before a wyrm.