Tales of Furlingas - Choose your own story text adventure part 26

Story by sisco on SoFurry

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#26 of Text adventure

Well we have reached the end of this adventure, I just want to say thanks everyone who voted, it has been a lot of fun for me to do this. I hope you have enjoyed reading and taking part.


Aleoric

A

B 11111111

C 1111111111

Kenia

A 1111111111111

B

C 11111

Jarus

A 1111

B 111111111

C 11111

_ _

_Aleoric to take the imps, Jarus to fight the dragon and Kenia to destroy the altar _

The bear looked at the fox and just knew no matter what he said, the fox would be going for the altar and fulfilling the naga's quest. it was a noble goal, against a dragon and imps they may not stand much of a chance anyway. At least they could do some good if they failed.

"Alright, Kenia take out the altar for all of us," his eyes turned to the pony, former slave turned brave hero. "Jarus, if you can keep the dragon occupied then I will take out the imps. I'll drop the shield in a moment, it's been... a real adventure knowing you guys."

Jarus hefted his halberd and his face showed a determined man ready to do his part, so far from the lave boy who cowered n his cage. "Without you guys, I'd be some rich bastard's fuck toy, now I am free to love those I chose. I thank you for this, even if I die today I will not be sad I came."

Nodding to the other two the barbarian smiled, "it's been fun and I look forward to a good fight and a good death. I only wish he'd been here with us. It feels wrong doing this without him."

"When I drop the shield, Jarus you draw the dragon away, do whatever it takes. Kenia I will cover you as best I can. See you guys on the other side," Aleoric muttered and then with a grunt he broke the molten shield, steaming balls of lava flew in every direction.

The dragon laughed as the young pony turned to face him and advanced, halberd at the ready. "Ohh look a little pony with a shiny weapon, do you think you can hurt me with AHHH!" As the dragon taunted the equine Jarus raced forward and slashed as hard as his muscles would allow him. The magic halberd breaking through the dragon's scales and leaving a deep gash on his shoulder.

Screaming in rage the dragon leapt back, spraying fire in all directions. Jarus rolled behind a rock just in time, his tailfur getting singed. Kenia made his run, several jets of dragonfire were sent in his direction, only for blobs of lava, flung by Aleoric, to block them. The bear had made a run for the fire imps, showing no fear and chuckling as they tried to throw fireballs his way.

Eyes glowing red and grinning with intent the bear stood before the imps, drawing their fire to him. It swirled around him as he started to chant, taking his mind off the dragon, off his friends. He focused himself on the task in front of him, trusting his friends to do their job.

Kenia dashed as fast as he could ducking as the dragon swirled around above him. The creatures black blood fell like rain from his wound, smouldering and smoking on the ground as it landed, "foolish, fox, do you think I don't see what you are up to!" Howled the enraged lizard as it thrashed with it's tail, the rock bridge to the alter smashed, leaving only a few floating shards of rock in the river of lava, between him and his target.

Howling with rage the fox turned on the dragon, then an object flashed in front of his eyes and the dragon screamed. A halberd haft was sticking from his chest, the pony had made one mighty throw, and scored a direct hit, leaving himself weapon less. "Stupid pony, I will make you suffer a thousand times as badly as I made you family suffer, and believe me your bitch mother begged for death by the end!"

Kenia looked to Jarus, who gave him a brief nod as he began to back up, the enraged dragon following him. Knowing not to waste time or breath to engage in banter the equine headed to a rock formation, diving behind it just as a blast of flame hit. His left arm caught fire and he squealed in pain. Still he was alive, and the burn was not bad, it would heal, if he lived.

"Oh you can't hide from me little one, I'm going to burn your legs off, but keep you alive so you may watch as a dismember your friends slowly and feed them to my pets before your eyes." Taunted the dragon as he flapped his wings trying to get around the rock. Jarus kept moving, keeping the rock between himself and the dragon. The roof of the cavern stopped the dragon getting high enough to just fly up and burn the pony out. So he faked left and right, trying to force the pony to make a mistake. One little error and the equine would be his.

Un-regarded by all Kenia looked at the altar, the lava river was far too wide to jump across. He backed up as few meters and then turned running as fast as he could, his eyes determined and fuelled more by sheer will than his muscles the fox launched himself into the air and landed, not a quarter of the way across the river on a large floating rock. It bobbed like a cork in water and he grasped at it with all four paws, his sword dropping into the lava.

As he regained his balance he locked around, he could never make the jump back without a run up, all that was left was onwards to the next shard of rock. One wrong move and the vulpine would fall to his death. Still he had no plans to stop, he had committed himself to this action and the only way was onward.

Aleoric dodged and rolled as he chanted, the imps giving up on throwing fire were attacking him with their bare claws instead. He kept his chanting going, the spell he was preparing was long and complex, multiple runs floated around, he winced as with a swipe of it's burning claws an imp scored a hit, clawing down the bear's back, shredding his robes and setting them on fire.

Then he turned and muttered the last few words, the runes glowed fiercely and the imps stood still their claws paused in the act of attacking. The bear turned to see where Jarus was playing cat and mouse with the dragon. Pointing a finger at the huge scaled behemoth the bear commanded, "kill that bloody thing!" The imps turned to each other and then as one the began to run towards the dragon.

Hurling fire as they did so, the imps charged the hulking beast. Their fire splashing like harmless water on his scales, then some fire landed on the dragon's wounded shoulder making him scream in pain and rage. Turning away from the pony he smashed one of the imps as the other's swarmed him. One grabbed the halberd and pulled hard, the huge weapon twisting in the wound before being pulled out. Black blood poured forth onto the floor as the dragon's screams of pain echoed through the cavern.

Still the dragon was millennia old and not about to fall to his former pets. He smashed two more with his claws, just as Aleoric let loose a blast of lightening, catching his wounded chest and making every muscle in his body spasm. A pony paw grasped the fallen halberd and a few seconds later Jarus made a run slashing the dragon from behind, scoring a hit on his left wing, tearing the skin there badly, grounding the huge beast with them.

The sounds of the fight behind him Kenia leapt from rock to rock, his focus purely on getting to the other side. Struggling and almost falling dozens of times, he managed to keep his balance by sheer force of will alone. His mind would not allow his body to fail, with a leap born out of pure determination he reached the other side of the lava. A cry of triumph escaped his lips as he started to charge the altar.

With no weapon left he clenched his fists together into one large fist and then swung with all his might. With a scream he felt several of his fingers bones shatter as he punched into a solid marble altar. Falling to the floor the fox cradled his paws against his chest. The altar was impossible to break without a weapon, he started to look around trying to find some way to destroy it.

Oblivious to the plight of their friend, Aleoric and Jarus faced the dragon on the ground. The beast slashed with his claws and thrashed with his tail, the two found themselves dodging almost continuously. The last of the imps lost it's head to a lash of the dragon's tail. Each blow getting closer and closer, it was just a matter of time before their luck ran out. Aleoric let loose his final prepared spell a powerful bolt of lightening lanced through the dragon making him roar.

Spotting his chance the pony rushed forward and slashed hard, his halberd leaving a deep gash in the beast's neck. Chanting softly the bear began to prepare a spell, however, the dragon was quickly back on the offensive. His concentration broken by the need to dodge, the bear resorted to a quick fireball, which glanced harmlessly of the dragon's scales. Realising he needed a moment or two he ducked behind a rock, leaving Jarus alone as he began to chant, he knew that the best spell to use against a fire beast would be an ice spell. Chanting furiously he concentrated like he never had before, rune after rune appeared around him.

Dancing and rolling Jarus tried to slash at the claws and tail, however his need to dodge first gave him almost no time to swing and he failed to make a mark. Left on his own the dragon pressed home his advantage, the pony was forced to back up step by step as the beast attack again and again. The river of lava growing closer as he retreated, the dragon had steered him away from the bridge without him noticing.

"Aleoric!" The pony cried desperately as the dragon slashed his claws finally scoring a hit, scraping down the pony's left leg, a huge gash running from thigh to calf severed muscles and arteries, the equine's blood spilling out as the dragon laughed aloud with delight.

Jumping out from behind his rock the bear unleashed the powerful spell he had been working on. The ash-filled air turned frigid, their breath coming out in mist. A beam of pure blue light shot out from the bear's paws, it struck the dragon cleanly on the chest making the beast scream in pain. Ice began to form on his chest and he slowed down his advance on the injured pony. Falling down he struggled to stand under the assault, gasping for breath that wouldn't come.

Aleoric felt his strength failing, the ice magic draining him like never before. The beam faltered and the bear slipped to his knees. Gasping his strength spent the bear looked up to see the dragon struggling back to his feet, the ice melting quickly as he returned to his advance on the pony. Jarus lay on the edge of the river of lava, trying to heal his wound, to weak to walk or fight, he could see the dragon as it advanced and where Aleoric sat exhausted, closing his eyes he knew the death blow would come soon.

Kenia heard the pony scream and stood up, as he did so his foot knocked several loose stone down the small island he was on and into the lava where it hissed. The fox turned his eyes going wide as inspiration struck. Running behind the altar he put his back to the altar, planted his feet firmly and began to push. He pushed with everything he had, and just as he began to despair he felt the altar begin to move. Screaming as his muscles ached he pushed and pushed, until suddenly the pressure behind him was gone. With a crash the altar bounced down the hill and into the lava.

"That's for Runo you son of a geko!" Screamed the fox in triumph as the altar sank under the river of lava.

"Oh! Thanks very much I appreciate it!" A familiar voice from above him shouted, the fox turned to see the naga above him standing on the ruins of the other bridge looking down at the fox.

His jaw dropping as he saw his lover back from the death the fox could think of nothing to say but, "you're not dead!"

"Last time I checked," the naga replied with a wink.

"How'd you get up there?"

"Wasn't easy!"

As the altar hit the lava the dragon screamed, the breaking of the agreement he made with Runo's father meant that all the energy he had gained from the agreement was pulled out of him. He thrashed and screamed, his cries turning eventually to gurgles and whimpers and then to silence.

Jarus managed to stop his bleeding and as Aleoric crawled over to him he looked up, "did we do that?"

"Yeah, I think we did," the bear replied as he reached the pony. "I don't know how, but right now it's not important, how is your leg?"

"I'll live, let's go find Kenia," Jarus replied as the bear put an arm around him and a shoulder under his to lift him up. Leaning on each other the two limped across the island to find the fox on a small island of lava and the naga above. They both exchanged words of wonder at the snake was still alive.

"The venom was just a paralysis toxin. I just needed a little while for my body to overcome it." Runo explained, "when I woke up alone I went looking for you, headed through a door with a load of bones around it. There was a massive chamber filled with skeleton sodliers and atop a throne of skulls sat the king, Kafta himself! I made a slither for it the second I was spotted ended up in a maze of corridors. I managed to get far enough ahead that they lost track of me. Then I hear a certain pony scream and I came as fast as I could. Now how the heck do I get down to you guys?"

As he asked the question the entire room suddenly began to shake, the lava boiled up as they all struggled to keep their feet. "The city is sinking!" Aleoric shouted, as he did so several huge stalactites fell from the ceiling crashing into the lava and causing a tidal wave of lava to splash up onto to suddenly stop as the bear took control of it. Waving his paws he parted the lava river leaving a stone floor between Kenia and the pair.

Runo slithered down the side of the bridge and then just dropped the last few meters landing with a cry of pain. Kenia grabbed his paw and the two ran across to their friends. Wasting no words the group turned and ran for the other bridge, Aleoric still holding up the pony as rocks from above crashed all around. The door broke open as they reached the bridge, beyond it they could see None and the orcs. Gar and Bar both had a sack on their backs as the others waved them on.

"Hurry up, the city is sinking, we have to get out!" Bar screamed and then turned to run, back through the plant room and the tunnel he had come in through, his brother following hot on his heels.

None rushed forward scooping the pony up easily, "looks like the city was linked to it's king, it started to sink the second I killed him." The beast explained as he turned to follow the orcs, little Teis scampering after him. Aleoric let Runo and Kenia run last, turning for one last look the bear smiled. They'd visited Kafta and beaten it, he wanted to remember the moment. However, as he wanted to be alive to remember his adventure he only paused for a heartbeat or two before running after his friends.

Through a dark dank tunnel the group fled, praying to every god they could think of that the earthquakes wouldn't collapse the tunnel. After a few minutes they could see light ahead, rushing forward the shot out into the warm sun just as the tunnel collapsed behind them.

Cheering and dancing the group shared embraces and kisses of victory. It was as they did this that Runo sad to Aleoric, "sorry we didn't find any treasure."

The bear's jaw dropped, he'd forgotten all about the reason he came in the first place. However, his jaw dropped further as Bar and Gar told the naga he was wrong and opened the sacks they had been carrying to show they were stuffed with gold, gems and jewellery. "While that bloody crazy demi god took on the skeleton army and it's crazy king we helped ourselves to the royal treasury!"

The treasure was split the two brothers taking a good share, Bar shook hands with the adventurers saying, "a few years ago I let a pony slave escape because my brother fell in love with him. We're going to see if we can find him and this lot will do nicely to set us up somewhere. I fancy owning a tavern and Gar can work the doors while I pull the beer and Teis can entertain our guests. Good luck with your lives and maybe you'll walk in my doors someday, all of you will be welcome." The three orcs hugged everyone one last time and then turned with a wave and headed off.

None healed up the pony's wounds then the group found themselves at a weird moment. Kenia and Runo were planning on heading to the naga's kingdom they would use their share of the treasure to raise and army to usurp the naga's evil father.

"You want to come with us guys? A mage bear, demi god and a pony dragon slayer would be very useful in our fight."

Jarus and None exchanged embarrassed glances it as the pony who spoke first, "None has spent millennia inside one canyon, we're going to go travelling see the world."

The manticore leaned down to whisper something to the pony who nodded and grinned, "of course we could start with a tour of Runo's homeland."

All eyes turned to Aleoric he looked down at the gold and gems that were his share, far more than he would need to set him up as a chief in his own village." I got what I came for," the bear muttered softly and then looked up with a wink. "I also got a lot more, one more adventure before I go home? Why not?"

Well that's the end of my choose your own text adventure so I just wanted to say thank you guys so much for voting and for following this story. I didn't expect it to go this long or be this successful, but I have really loved doing this and hope to do another one someday soon. i hope you have all enjoyed it as well.