King of Serpents: Concord's Dawn

by nobreiner

The Spriggan

As the memory finished playing out before me, it left behind one thought in my head.

Well, crap. I pissed off the wrong guy, apparently.

Sighing, I cast my gaze about the clearing, as though it would provide any more insight to my situation. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t. Sighing yet again, I considered my options. I was in the middle of a forest, with no idea which direction to go to find civilization. My first thought was that I definitely couldn’t just sit in this clearing. I needed to find Concord! Maybe I could pacify him enough to send me back home. I mean, being turned into a giant snake was cool and all, but I already missed having arms and legs.

I continued to brood on this, I eventually decided to simply pick a direction and walk, or crawl as the case may be. The forest couldn’t go on forever, right? So, filled with a new sense of purpose, I picked what looked like the thinnest copse of trees and stepped toward it.

And was promptly reminded I lacked the necessary extremities as I pitched forward onto my snout. God Dammit! Slowly lifting myself back into a pseudo-standing position, which was in reality just me lifting the top third portion of my body, I twisted my head back to glare at the twisted coils behind me. Stupid body. How the hell am I supposed to get around now? I thought hard, remembering that snakes get around through a unique method of twisting along the ground, moving side to side in an S-shape.

Now just how the hell am I supposed to do that? I thought bewilderedly. Looking down at the ground, I slowly lowered myself until my chin was resting gently on the forest floor. Then, I jerked my body to the right. It didn’t do what I had expected, instead only causing me to turn sharply, without moving forward. I cursed harshly. Why can’t I move!

I continued to experiment for several minutes, flexing my new muscles in every way I could think of, my frustration growing with each resulting failure.

Finally I couldn’t take it any more, and began thrashing wildly, in a desperate bid for motion, hissing and spitting in frustration. Come on, damn it! Move! MOVE!

Suddenly, I thrust downward with my stomach while simultaneously twisting to the right, and found myself being propelled in the same direction I had attempted previously. I mentally cheered. Turning to the left, I repeated the motion, and was rewarded with another surge forward. I was moving!

I continued like this for several minutes, slithering forward and soon leaving the clearing far behind me. My motions were stiff and jerky at first, but as I grew used to the swaying motions propelling me forward, my slithering became more and more smooth. After what felt like an hour of travel, I was making a good speed, and I no longer was forced to consciously force the motions. Instead, they grew natural, and I was able to focus my attention elsewhere.

The first thing I did with my newfound freedom was to observe the forest around me, hoping to find some clue as to where I was. Unfortunately, I knew next to nothing about tree species, and could not even begin to guess what types of trees these were, let alone where in the world they grew.

As I continued on, the forest got noticeably thinner, sunlight peeking more frequently through the canopy and with shorter intervals. I grinned smugly, satisfied that I had correctly guessed which direction to go. As I continued on, however, that grin disappeared, the self-satisfaction replaced with a deep brooding as I pondered my purpose here. The figure in my home, Concord, as he had called himself, had sent me here without any clear purpose or direction, only referring to me as his “champion” without elaborating on the matter.

“Hey down there!” A new voice spoke up, causing me to jump in surprise. I twisted around sharply, searching the surrounding woods for the source of the voice. But it was nowhere to be found; I was alone in the woods.

“Up here!” The voice said again in a bubbly tone. I twisted myself to face upward, and was met with a strange sight.

It looked like a Pegasus pony, feminine in shape with two wings sprouting from its back. At least, that’s what I thought at first glance. Then I noticed its skin seemed to shift slightly as it floated above me, and I realized it wasn’t skin at all: It was bugs.

Hundreds, thousands of bugs covered the surface of the creature, minus its hooves. They formed a constantly shifting shell around it, and through this shell I was able to make out a small glimpse of its insides. They were completely made of wood, as were its hooves. A timber skeleton with an insect skin. I cringed back in revulsion, and the insects that made up the Creature’s face shifted into a frown.

“What, never seen a Spriggan before?” It asked in a peeved tone. Meeting its gaze, I was able to discern more features of the Creature’s countenance. Its face was like the rest of it, made up of a constantly shifting mass of insects, but its eyes were unique. They were a pure shining gold, glowing with some perpetual light. The same light, I noticed, that was occasionally peeking through the gaps in the Spriggan’s chest, near its heart.

As the Spriggan looked on expectantly, I realized that throughout my examination of her body, (NOT in that way, mind you.) she was waiting to hear a response from me. Clearing my throat slightly, I spoke, in a notably raspier tone of voice than was normal for me, “I apologize, but you’re right. I really have never seen anything like you before.” Except maybe in Skyrim. I added mentally.

This seemed to satisfy the Creature, who straightened up and gave me what I assumed was a smile, the lights in her eyes brightening with her mood. “Oh, that’s okay. To be honest I’ve never seen a Basilisk before either!” That drew my attention. Basilisk, huh? Where have I heard that before?

I quickly racked my brain for everything I knew about Basilisks.

My knowledge of Basilisks was extremely limited, unfortunately. Of course, who did have extensive knowledge on a single specific mythical monster? The only information I did have came from the second Harry Potter movie, and a crappy B-movie I saw on the Syfy channel one time.

In Harry Potter, Basilisks were extremely large, much larger than I was currently, and could kill anything simply by meeting its eyes. On top of that, they were also armed with dagger-like fangs and lethal venom.

The Syfy Basilisk, on the other hand, was notably different. It still killed whoever met its glance, but not simply through sight alone. Instead, it spat some sort of liquid from its mouth at its target, turning them to stone. It was also much smaller, roughly one and a half times my own size now.

The one trait these two shared though was their tendency to kill those who met its gaze. I had definitely locked eyes with this Spriggan at least once, yet she seemed perfectly fine. Looking up at where she was floating above me, I could see she was watching me expectantly, waiting for a response.

“Umm, yeah I’m new here.” I said. “I don’t suppose you could help me out of this forest? Maybe take me to the nearest town?”

The Spriggan beamed in response. “Sure! I’m actually heading there myself!” She said excitedly. “The village is about three miles thataway!” She finished, thrusting one hoof in the direction I had been traveling. I followed her gesture, and then gave her a grateful nod, before turning away from the Spriggan and slithering away, jerking my head as a signal for her to follow.

“Wait!” The shout caused me to stop and turn back to the Spriggan, to find her floating towards me, one hoof still outstretched in a halting gesture. “Listen, we should be careful going into town. The ponies there aren’t used to seeing creatures like you, so it might be a little… dangerous.”

I paused to consider her words. She said ponies, so that confirms that I’m in Equestria. Fighting the urge to squeal in fanboy delight, I replied, “Why would it be dangerous? I know I’m not exactly handsome by pony standards, but it’s not like the townsfolk will attack me on sight, right?” Judging by the Spriggan awkwardly avoiding my gaze in response, that is exactly what it was like. I groaned audibly. Great. Just great. A chance to go to Equestria, and I’m placed here with a target on my back.

Fighting to keep the frustration out of my voice, I said, “Well, what am I supposed to do, then? I can’t just stay in this forest.”

To my surprise, the Spriggan seemed to get rather offended by this statement. “And just what’s wrong with my forest, huh?” She said, jabbing my scaly chest with a hoof. “You think it’s too wild, huh? Like those ponies in town?”

Recognizing the building anger in the Spriggan before me, I quickly backpedaled, “No, no, I wasn’t saying that! I’m sure your forest is very nice! It’s just, I’m not very good with this outdoorsy stuff; it’s all new to me.” I chuckled nervously. “I just don’t want to be eaten by a bear or anything.”

The Spriggan fixes me with a suspicious look for a moment, as if searching for signs of deceit, before replying slowly, “Alright, if you say so.” She then floated up close until we were face to face, fixing me with a stare that for a moment made me feel like a certain red dragon, or perhaps a cockatrice, and said, “But if you ever insult my forest again, we’re going to have a problem.” Getting no response other than a shudder as the insects making up her body began crawling across my own, she added, “You got that?”

I swallowed anxiously and nodded. Immediately, the Spriggan’s expression melted back into a joyful smile. “Great! Then follow me, I’ll get you there in no time at all!” With that she drifted past me, towards the town, her personal swarm following her like a buzzing contrail. I followed behind, thinking, Note to self. Do NOT piss off the living, bipolar bug nest.

Comments

[nobreiner]

Welp, got this up faster than expected, but then again it's shorter than I meant it to be as well. Apologies if you were hoping for more, I promise the next few chapters will have much more to them. Stay tuned!

[Farley308]

Considering the mass influx of Chess Game stories I like where yours is going. It's very well written and composed. I'm looking forward to future updates.

[DenzelRamos]

I continued to brood on this, I eventually decided to simply pick a direction and walk, or crawl as the case may be. The forest couldn’t go on forever, right? So, filled with a new sense of purpose, I picked what looked like the thinnest copse of trees and stepped toward it.

You mean slither? Because they don't have the appendages to do that.

[DenzelRamos]

10596193
Oh... well his wording all most got him killed, and he got a bipolar guide. This is entertaining. 🤣