The Hunt for the Anuran Bane and the Opal Serpent

Does your character take the risk?

As Roe was admiring the beauty of the blossoms upon the ancient tree, the silence was shattered by the groaning creak of wood and the breaking of branches. Her head turned to see a large, overgrown worm writhing its way through the jungle, destroying anything that lay in its place. It had Roe in its sights, hissing aggressively and snapping its beak towards her as it slithered along. Panicked, Roe began to look around for options of escape. Only one came up - through the ruins.

With only a second left to spare, Roe dived sideways through a gap in the brick as the monster lurched forward with its mouth wide. Narrowly missing Roe, it headbutted the grand tree, hissing with anger. With a brief reprieve, Roe's mind was cast back to the snoring that she had picked up on previously. The grating noise had ceased, probably due to the fact that the commotion had just awoken whatever was soundly asleep. With no other way, it looks like she was going to discover the mystery behind it. Roe pressed forward through the ruins. Their huge walls acted like a maze and every turn she took, she was only greeted with more dead ends and abandoned crates. Thankfully, she was small and slender which lent their hand to being able to squeeze through some of the smallest gaps of escape.

Behind her, a shriek was followed by an almighty bang as the worm figured out it could simply topple the stony structure with a whack of its own lumbering frame. It was coming for her. Roe darted forwards, thinking she had finally made her escape. However, she was quickly stopped in her tracks by the sight of another. Its big, black body oozed like tar and the sweet stench was strongest here, emanating from the beast. Its mouth sat agape, a bright white light sitting at the back of its throat, drawing her attention immediately. She resisted the urge to approach, pressing her body against the cold brick wall behind her, turning her head away from the hypnotic object.

Behind her, more crashing and banging, getting closer and closer. Roe was cornered in between two monsters. One agile and able to rip her to shreds. The other large and too rotund to move but with the ability to swallow her whole nonetheless. What would happen if they met? Would they eat each other, forgetting their grievances with her? At this point, all she could do was pray for a miracle.

At last, the serpent had reached the final barricade. Roe ducked down, making herself as small as possible. The worm crashed through the barrier, hissing aggressively and shaking its scaly body at the new opponent. It sounded almost musical paired together, like a deadly string quartet. The black beast simply ignored its new competition, however, simply sitting there with its mouth wide, non-moving. No reaction at all. With no threat perceived, the worm gave up its display of superiority and slithered away, minding their own business separately. How...uneventful. Neither seemed to care about the other and that left Roe with a dilemma. They still found her an interesting target and she was now deep within the monster's lair. How was she getting out of this one?