A great storm began sweeping the coastal line between the jungle and ocean waves that crashing into the island's cliffside. The water below began turning a crimson red, and the clouds overhead cast a maroon glow upon the land. Below Astral and Awgo, in the ocean coast, was a multitude of shark fins that marked the presence of Dajobasa and his ilk. The sharks began circling around the island, finding a spot to access the island's beach, marking their advancement upon the settlement.
Astral rushed to the goblin camp with Awgo, and from there the two set off down toward the beaches from which Astral first arrived. With the help of Awgo's druidic talent, he was able to bend the jungle's flora around him and Astral, creating a fast and efficient path through the tropical underbrush. The storm overhead made navigating the jungle perilous, as the powerful winds blew trees in unpredicted directions. Astral knew the battle up ahead would be gruesome, so he prepared his Banana Split blunts.
Reaching the island's beaches brought Astral a sight that was quite different from his idyllic paradise when he first arrived. Maroon storm clouds precipitated red-colored rain, bathing the landscape in a deep red. From the ocean's waves crawled monstrosities of spiked grey skin, and muscular humanoid physiques. Their rippling muscles were decorated with flesh-carved tattoos. They possessed terrifying shark heads, with grotesque and jagged teeth that peeked through their lipless maws. Several dozen shark demons now stood before Awgo and Astral, a heavy rain drenching the beach.
"Awgo ... We are severely outnumbered. We're surely courting death if we oppose the demons!" Astral began to think retreat was necessary.
"No. You're him."
Astral looked over to see that Awgo was utterly focused, his hands weaved primal runes that gathered from the nature around him. His magic created a spectral sphere of air around Astral. The wind and rain seemed to avoid the outer edges of the sphere, providing Astral a small air pocket. Astral knew what to do. With the demon sharks slowly covering ground, they were due to reach Astral and Awgo within seconds.
Awgo looked at Astral, and spoke with vigor, "Astral, u need 2 smoke da weed noww!"
Astral lit up a joint by pursing the rolled paper in his lips, and using his off-hand to light it with a Phoenixwood twig. The blunt ignited quickly, and Astral took a long drag. Astral backed away from the impending combat as Awgo defended against the ongoing rush of demon sharks. The demons' advance was halted by Awgo's druidic magic calling forth tropical tree roots to burst from the beach's sands, causing a the area around the sharks to become difficult to tread. This bought Astral enough time to get a good high.
Astral's arcane cauldron frothed over as the THC was converted into pure mana inside his body. His meridians were saturated with energy, and Astral began to focus the mana into spell power. The library of his mind opened, and he found a unique spell that would put his combat prowess to the test: Valandil's Transformation.
Astral's body shone with arcane brilliance as sparks of energy began to fly off of his magically charged metamorphosis. Rings of transmutation magic manifested and circled around his body, endowing it with great endurance, a large dick, and incredible combat finesse. The flashing runes and arcane aura clung closely to his body. Astral flicked his hand and conjured a glowing spectral quarterstaff which glimmered against the storm's rain. Runes covered Astral braced his weapon as he surged toward the demons, his hands firmly grasping the staff, and his lips firmly grasping the Banana Split blunt.
Against the heavy downpour, the group of demon sharks collided with Astral. From afar, Awgo pleaded the primal spirits for aid, and he was lent their power to support Astral in combat. The massive muscular bodies of the shark demons ended in long, finned tails that were pierced with spikes of scrap metal. Their cold eyes were filled with malice, and they hungered for Astral's flesh.
Charging into a group of several demons, Astral braced his quarterstaff and launched the staff into the face of a shark, jamming the staff's head into the shark's nose. This blow caused the monster to reel back in agony, letting out a gurgling wail. Another demon lunged at Astral, and he shifted his weight to his back leg to avoid the attack, then he shifted his body to the side and bashed the bottom side of the staff into the shark's head, knocking the beast off balance.
These demons were strong, and Astral had to keep his distance. He knew that if a demon was able to get past the length of his quarterstaff, then he would be in range of their fanged maws. Splotches of blood on the beach were quickly rinsed away by the downpour. The rain's reddish hue continued to create a raining sepia-colored landscape. Not too far from Astral did he see Awgo fighting off a demon of his own. Astral took a moment to decided whether or not to help his friend, before deciding he'd deal with his aggressors first. Awgo appeared to be in good shape against the demon, despite the grotesque size-difference, Astral could see Awgo's fighting spirit: a ferocious guardian of nature. To be demonic is to oppose nature, and that was his spirit's driving force.
With two of the demons deterred from Astral, several others approached Astral with large opened mouths, snapping their teeth as their approach. Astral crouched slightly with his quarterstaff, and waited for the right moment. He then shot up and spun his staff around, creating a warding wind that caused the sharks to be knocked away. As his enemies were on the backs of their heels, Astral condensed mana in his body and released it into his spiritual quarterstaff, causing the weapon to vanish.
The demons recollected themselves and jumped at Astral!
In a spinning maneuver, Astral took a long hit of his Banana Split blunt, spit out the roach, and shaped the mana into a powerful spell: Steel Wind Strike!
His quarterstaff reappeared in his hands as Astral jabbed it out at his enemies. This thrust propelled a spectral form of his staff at each nearby demon! A multitude of ghostly staffs erupted from the powerful torrent of Astral's blow! In a split second, each demon was knocked prone by the force of Astral's magically-augmented strike.
Astral caught his breath through the wind, rain, and mana-smoke. He quickly surveyed the beach for Awgo, and found him standing on his own amongst two fallen demons. The demons lay unconscious in the sand, crimson rain washing the blood from their gushing noses. Their enemies defeated, Astral wondered why the rain continued, and why the ocean's waves were still red. He was about to approach Awgo, when a large mass began rolling up from the ocean's tide. The dorsal fin of a large shark demon rose from the depths and gave way to a massive bipedal shark. This was Dajobasa.
Ancient scars crossed Dajobasa's body. Ink-poked tattoos covered its torso and arms, consisting of various weapons, sea creatures, and legends recounting slaughter. Dajobasa's eyes were a shining red, the signature mark of a greater-demon. Astral had never encountered anything stronger than a lesser-demon.
The great shark demon revealed two large webbed hands that ended in long claws as sharp as shark teeth. The monster glared at Astral during its approach, and Astral steeled his resolve. Awgo rushed by Astral's side.
Dajobasa's voice was deep and gravelly, with a commanding tone that shook the atmosphere.
"The Rastagabba tribe dies here tonight! Once your blood has filled my stomach, I will consume the legacy of Rastagabba Druidism and become a demonic druid!"
Astral was dismayed at Dajobasa's words. If Dajobasa could eat all of the Rastagabba goblins, then he could absorb the spirit that Marley passed down to Awgo? This was a terrible thought. How gruesome it would be for this demon to slaughter an entire tribe just to consume their power.
"You're gonna consume the legacy of my boot in your ass!"
Astral's words enraged Dajobasa. The demon swung with its two massive claws, Astral barely avoiding the attack and Awgo easily ducking out of the way thanks to his small stature. Astral gripped his quarterstaff tightly and jabbed it toward the demon's solar plexus: a location in the demon's body that has naturally weak defenses. The staff didn't quite reach its mark, but the latent mana inside the staff was enough to knock the wind out of Dajobasa.
The beast stumbled. For a moment the great demon was impressed, but the thought of mortal combat made its mouth water, and now Dajobasa wanted more.
The demon swiped with both its claws!
FWOOSH,FWOOSH
Astral avoided the first attack, but struggled to keep up with the monster's off-hand. Dajobasa's claw slammed into Astral, its dagger-like finger tips tearing through Astral's flesh. The wound was deep, and it caused Astral to lose his concentration.
Suddenly, the spell power of Valandil's Transformation begin to wear off. Astral knew he wouldn't be suitable for close combat if he didn't have the physique of late Archmage Valandil: celebrated muscle-mage and 2 time WWE (World Wizarding Entertainment) champion. Astral's arcane cauldron was beginning to run low, he was beginning to find himself in a dire situation.
Dajobasa sprinted on all fours in a bloodthirsty trance toward Astral, its mouth open and teeth ready to drink blood. Awgo moved quickly and called upon the jungle spirits. The air around Awgo became charged with mana. The storm above continued to circle the beach, and Awgo attempted to control the storm using his magic combined with the spirits.
In a great test of spiritual fortitude, Awgo released his care for safety and allowed the spirits to use his body as a conduit for magic: Call Lighting.
Awgo's eyes became a milky white, as his pupils rolled back into his head. The great spirit of Archdruid Marley flooded into Awgo's system?!
A cylindrical section of storm clouds extended downward from the sky and loomed over Dajobasa, who was within reach of Astral. Before the demonic beast could rip out Astral's throat, a bolt of Bloodtide lightning shot from the lowered storm cloud and pierced Dajobasa's chest from behind. The resulting force caused the hulking demon to collapse upon Astral, followed by a great torrent of sand thrown into the air from the impact.
Moments later, the rain began to cease, and Awgo reclaimed his spirit within his body. He ran his slender fingers down his body. He had never seen or felt the spirit of Marley, yet it felt like he channeled Marley's power directly. This was truly an enlightening experience for Awgo. With a mind still hazy from being possessed, Awgo suddenly remembered that Dajobasa had been struck down. A great wave of relief washed over him. Awgo knew that his tribe, the Rastagabba, was finally safe from the demonic scourge of Dajobasa.
Awgo felt proud of the power he cultivated during his time with Astral. Without Astral, the tribe would've surely been wiped out by the demon.
Awgo took a moment to be truly thankful for Astral.
Wait, where was Astral?