Chapter 8: - Barrghest Vs Hydra
Chapter 8
The Barrghest did not hesitate to give chase once the Hydra was expelled from the room due to the advanced meteor spell that Aurelius had cast. Almost on cue, the mirage and sound based spell that he used was almost as if Aurelius were giving his new friend the means to escape the room before anything worse occurred.
He finds that the Hydra has crashed through a lower wall of the central room, one that opens up into the descending maze that makes up the tunnel matrix to the rooms within the lab. He follows the trail of debris that the meteor has caused, using his innate magic to reinforce his own strength and to maintain his invisibility and levitation so that no noise can be heard from his approach.
The first wall inside the labyrinth contains a gaping hole where the hydra has crashed through, the barrghest easily fitting through to continue his chase. Very quickly he comes across two additional holes and discovers that the Hydra has come to rest within the massive storehouse at the bottom of the labyrinth. From where he stands, the hydra must have fallen at least two hundred feet and from this distance the barrghest can make out that there is blood leaking from the creature.
The Barrghest hops out into the room and begins slowly levitating down towards the ground. If the creature was killed by the meteor, all the better, though if it still breathes then he will need to end it before claiming his new prize. He looks forward to the new traits that will manifest after devouring the creature.
As his feet touch the ground, he begins investigating closer, only to discover that four of the heads have been severed by massive steel sheets, likely from the above fall. To make matters worse, the blood from the wounds seems to have stopped and the stumps are pulsating. The Barrghest has but a moment to put distance between itself and the Hydra before the creature roars back into consciousness. Very quickly the four stumps sprout into eight heads, and with its eleven total heads, it begins breathing flames all over the storage room.
The Barrghest levitates itself above the Hydra to the top of a stack of large metal storage containers. From the vantage point he unleashes a blast of lightning from his form at the Hydra, followed by a large cone of frost that he had recently developed from taking on the frost wolves genes.
The lightning strikes home and causes the hydra to stagger, the frost breath hitting its mark and dealing a bit of damage before the Hydra has a moment to unleash six of its fire breaths towards the top of the crate.
The Barrghest allows itself to topple off the rear of the containers as the fire melts away the upper section. He takes this moment to turn invisible once again, hearing that the hydra is unleashing the rest of its fire breath on the lower container. To its advantage this one seems to have been enchanted, and does not crumble under the hydras assault.
The beast roars aloud, stomping around the container in search of its assailant. Seeing nothing, the hydra begins stalking forward in search of the creature that had just attacked it.
The Barrghest places some distance between the two of them, allowing its electricity and ice breath to recharge. He knows very well that caution is required to successfully defeat this foe, so if he makes any rash moves then he may very well loose his life.
The Barrghest uses a bit of innate magic to increase its size, then teleports above the Hydra. It charges its own body with electricity and then unleashes a frost breath from directly above the hydra. As soon as the frost strikes the foe, the barrghest falls and begins tearing at the back and necks of the hydra from above.
Between the strength and size enhancement, the barrghest manages to tear through three of the hydras necks before it has a chance to react. The frost breath is critically effective as well, though the healing factor the creature has immediately kicks in. The hydra retaliates by snapping at the creature on its back and unleashing a few breaths of fire.
The bites fail to break its skin but the flames burn. The heat is a bit too much so he teleports off, appearing on top of the enchanted container and unleashing a frost breath to stifle the healing factor of the hydra. With this strategy, he would have a chance to defeat his foe and survive to tell the tale.
Numerous streams of fire arc towards the barrghest, though he drops from the top of the enchanted container and out of range of the flames, turning invisible as he does. He uses his levitation to remain soundless and begins placing some distance between the two once again.
The hydra gives chase, flooding the space around the container with flames. From afar, the barrghest unleashes a stream of lightning that connects with the hydras core. He follows through with a deep guttural howl that shakes the foundation of the room. Fueled by magic the howl staggers the hydra momentarily with fear.
This gives the barrghest a perfect opening, charging forward and unleashing his own frost breath to further weaken and disable the hydra. Once it recovers, it unleashes the remaining eight heads of flames at its enemy.
The barrghest is too quick and teleports behind the creature. It reaches out with both its claws, grips at the base of the creatures tail and lifts it upwards with all of its strength. The massive hydra sails through the air and crashes on top of the enchanted container, crushing it and spilling the contents out onto the floor.
The hydra flails in pain, lashing out with what heads it can and bites at its enemy three times to pin it in place until the flames return and those three heads sear the barrghest with intense heat. A howl of pain escapes before he can teleport out of the hydras grasp, appearing a few feet from where a staff radiating magic lies.
It must've been hidden within the container, and hopefully he can use it to defeat the hydra. Moving from memory, the few times that Aurelius had displayed magic item activation, the barrghest shifts his physical form into that of a humanoid with a mix of human and goblin features, only now the traits of each creature it has devoured up until this point manifest as well. He grasps a-hold of the staff and rolls to his feet, pivoting to face the hydra and unleash the magic stored within the staff.
"Sessvault Arcanum!" He calls out, funneling what magic his form can possess into the staff and triggering its own magic. Flames approach from the hydra, but suddenly dozens of darts erupts from in front of the barrghest. The darts strike the flames and burst out into small explosions, distorting the fire. Dozens more darts break through and pepper the hydra all over its body, small explosions tear apart its flesh and very quickly the spell within the staff ends the creatures life.
The barrghest waits a moment, to ensure that his foe has indeed been slain before letting out a sigh of relief. Holding the staff in his right hand he begins shifting back to his natural form, magic from the staff causes it to meld into his form and vanish until the time that he once again takes a humanoid form. He then trots over to the deceased hydra to claim his meal.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Battousairurik
Battousairurik I’m going to post this up out of order, temporarily, until I can get to my computer to sort out the order they’re posted in
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone