Axion stood defiantly before the enormous charging wurm. He raised his axe raised to confront the raging winds of its roar. He was forced back a step by sonic shockwaves. His body trembled with trepidation but he did not retreat. He moved to block the opalescent egg, lifting the axe high toward the wurm while roaring his courage.

The wagon holding the egg started vibrating, growing in intensity until the boards began peeling apart. Nails rattled loose from the wood and turned into projectiles, shooting into the stone walls of the tunnel. Timber splintered into tiny fragments. No longer able to support the weight of the giant wurm egg, it collapsed to the floor of the tunnel, rolling away in the sonic wind. Accompanied by the unbalanced wagon wheels spinning away into the distance.

“Fuck it,” Axion said. He suddenly spun on the spot, swinging the axe toward the egg with full force.

The wurm reacted immediately, rearing away from him and slamming into the ceiling of the cave as it skidded to a halt. Axion’s axe stopped a hair above the surface of the wurm egg, just making enough contact to prevent it from moving further away. The wurm became unnaturally calm, lowering its gigantic head down to peer at Axion reflected through its six cold eyes.

“It looks like we have ourselves a stalemate, Big mama. Dink will have to take care of the rest,” Axion said, patting a hand against the wurm egg.

***

Dink was surrounded by sweltering heat, clinging to a toothy protrusion larger than he was. He was inside the wurm’s throat. It was extremely wide, lined with countless rows of spikes preventing prey from escaping out of the opening. He attempted to saw at a protrusion with his sword but it failed to even leave a mark. Irritated, he lifted his blade and tossed it into the darkness. Watching it descend, it clattered against spikes on its way down. It fell past the twitching figure of the horse from earlier impaled on a spike as it slowly bled out.

“Little Goblin, was this a wise course of action? How do you intend to escape this on your own? I feel myself returning to slumber. The stimulus from that caged creature is wearing off.” Dink spoke draconic in deep guttural tones.

“Go fuck yourself, dragon. You should’ve stayed dead when I killed you,” Dink replied in annoyance.

“Perhaps. It seems that will not be a problem for much longer, Sword Saint. We will both die here without avenging ourselves on those Hags. I have a proposal you may find attractive.” the dragon spirit suggested.

“I’m listening. What do you propose?” Dink asked.

“This body attempts to mimic a dragon’s physique but it has corrupted the most vital part. A true dragon does not store mana, our spirit is one with it. The world responds directly to our command. A world law, if you will. That is why you are only capable of dragon magic while I am awake. What I offer is a change allowing this body to harness the mana within you. It will be a refining of those crude scripts covering your friend out there.” the dragon offered.

“What you’re saying is that you can make me an Attuned?” Dink fervently asked, desperation invading his voice.

“Correct. It is not without cost. I want something from you in exchange, Sword Saint. Your surrender. We will not be able to escape this place with your mana alone. We do not have the time to reclaim the talents of your previous life.” the dragon answered. Dink was silent as he carefully considered the proposal.

“Do it,” Dink firmly agreed.

Intense agony crawled up from the base of Dink’s spine, ripping apart flesh. He let go of the spike he was clinging to, slipping against the surface as he clawed at his back. He tore away his makeshift vest, revealing burning symbols neatly lined up his spine. The script was different from the arcane language, something ancient and far more potent. He plummeted into the darkness, mindlessly screaming in pain.

Black scales prevented him from being injured as he crashed against spikes in every direction. His eyes flew open, radiating blue in the darkness. His scream of pain transformed into a mighty dragon’s roar, reverberating through every inch of the wurm’s body. The wurm’s external reaction was immediate. It forgot about Axion and the egg, abandoning it in an attempt to escape toward the surface.

Dink gripped a spike, halting his fall. He inhaled deeply, drawing in particles of blue mana from every direction. It visibly accumulated inside his throat, illuminating the freshly formed mana tattoos along his spine. He climbed onto the spike. Finding a stable purchase under his feet, he knelt while crossing his arms across his chest.

He suddenly uncoiled his taut body, unleashing a sea of dragon fire. It rushed to fill every crevice and corner of the wurm’s internal organs, bleeding through to the surface in between its armoured segments. The dragon spirit was growing fatigued under the constant stream of fire.

The wurm started screaming in pain and fear, sonic pulses cleansing everything inside its throat. The dying horse somehow escaping the dragon fire due to proximity, was reduced to a puddle of blood and flesh by the sound. Blood started to leak from between Dink’s scales under the strain. It had become a war of attrition to see which of them could endure more.

Dink felt the dragon spirit inside his consciousness become indignant, rousing itself. It swallowed back the dragon fire and roared a challenge. Dink’s face contorted to become bestial in appearance while exposing his vicious fangs. The vibration shifted away from Dink to instead penetrate the wurm’s flesh, spikes collapsed around him as pressure mounted.

Suddenly, the sound became a horrifying keening as an intricate latticework of blue light spread to cover the surface of the wurm. A moment later, an immense sonic pulse burst outward in every direction, exploding the wurm into fragments of meat. Dink was unexpectedly exposed to sunlight. He was plummeting through the air, the ground below covered by gore in a radius surrounding the hole the wurm had emerged from.

In the distance, the shockwave travelled toward Burrowton. Collapsing buildings nearest the blast, dust billowing out in every direction.

[Explicit content Interlewd 2 A Tumble In The Hay found for FREE at Patreon.com/jackofheart]