Divine Journey

After discussing this, they (Heimir, Kerlian, Nokou, Alco, Trust, Matthias, and May) went into the forest. Finding such a creature was not difficult, even in the dark...

...And the reason for this was that the creature's lair was undoubtedly a small swamp, which these creatures loved so much. The air here was unusual, and the suspicious fumes were alarming. One of the group members advised the lightning mage to refrain from using magic, as it could trigger an explosion.
It seems the creature had been dormant until now - animal instincts warned of the impending danger, and the Hydra quickly prepared for battle. The battle began, and from the first minutes, the travelers took the initiative, thanks to a pre-planned tactic. The melee warriors replaced each other in a timely manner, while the others attacked from a distance. And just when the creature had only a few heads left intact, something unexpected happened. A fiery mark flew across the swamp, leaving a blue flame in its wake, and then causing a huge explosion - a chain reaction in the local air. The Hydra perishes in the flames, and the travelers are thrown back by the explosion, sustaining massive damage. Everyone except Reynold Trust loses consciousness, and he, immobilized, watches as a tall, unkempt man in a torn shirt approaches the dead Hydra and quickly removes the eyeballs from its sockets, placing them in a small pouch while the huge carcass continues to burn. The man leaves, and when the group regains consciousness, they find only the burnt Hydra.
Unnoticed, a dweller of the dungeons observed all of this.