Chapter 12: Claws of Fury

Kylie finished her story as the group came to the entrance of the clinic. She had started by telling the Hoplite about their initiation: being lead deep into the first level, finding a rather suicidal Rebecca in the Labyrinth, and getting ambushed by that bear shortly afterwards. She also told her about how they attempted to defend themselves, but were forced to run from the powerful animal in the end. Ashely had calmed down somewhat on learning the full story behind the bear's rampage, but it was hard to tell. Kylie never knew what she was up to, and seeing her get so angry earlier put Kylie on edge. She still sported an unpleasant look, but at least Ashely seemed to understand, or so Kylie hoped.

"So," Ashely finally spoke up after several minutes of silence, "it was an accident then?"

"Like I said, we were the ones who got charged. We were lucky to get away."

"Especially you. Looks like it almost beheaded you. Don't think I haven't noticed those fresh scars on your neck." Ashely paused with Kylie, bending over her knees to catch her breath. Though she was clearly effecting a tough exterior, it was clear that her injuries and weariness were taxing her, and she sunk to her knees in enervation. "I'm sorry for snapping earlier. I can't expect a rookie to know everything, can I? That… makes me the idiot."

Kylie shook her head, lowering the litter and helping Ashely back to her feet, "You aren't an idiot, Ashely. You didn't know-"

"Don't stop in the middle of the lobby, you dumb peasant!" Eliza barked as she tried to drag the litter further ahead, "Pull your weight already!"

Glaring up from her slumped position, Ashely straightened to her full height and took a ponderous step towards Eliza. Kylie put a hand on Ashely's shoulder, meeting her eyes and shaking her head slightly. Ashely turned and narrowed her eyes at the princess, but said nothing. Her angry frown spoke volumes though.

"I was speaking to Kylie, not you-" Eliza said to Ashely, who raised a hand to silence her.

"Don't disrespect your leader, noble." Ashely growled as she moved towards Eliza, "She may not be your social equal, but that doesn't merit such low mockery."

Eliza narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me how to behave. I do what I want. Got a problem with that?"

Ashely shook her head and turned away from the haughty princess. "I have neither the energy nor the desire to argue with you. You're right: do as you wish." Eliza apparently did not expect Ashely to simply dismiss her like that and seemed at a loss for how to respond. Ashely returned to Kylie, ignoring Eliza's increasingly puzzled reaction. "You have some… colorful guildmates."

Kylie shrugged her shoulders and sighed to herself knowingly. "Don't let her get to you. She snaps at everyone, even her own retainers." Kylie finished hauling the litter to the front of the lobby, where a group of doctors were already waiting to take the fallen explorers to their treatment. "We're heading out to Yggdrasil as soon as we get you settled."

"We?" Ashely eyed Kylie. "Are you...?"

Kylie nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm in a guild now: Nidhogg. I'm the leader. There's only nine of us right now, so I bet we look small to you. You said Thanatos has, what, twenty…?"

"Twenty-eight members including myself," Ashely finished, "We're among the largest guilds in Amaroad. It's just Elijah, Skye, Pandora, Ichiro, and myself in Etria though. I hope the others aren't too worried. We haven't been able to get the word out to Amaroad at all…"

"Excuse me! Make way! Triage, critical patient coming through! I need a room, stat!" Kylie heard Marie's shouts cut through the conversation as the Medic came rushing through the lobby. She and Kyo were maneuvering a stretcher, carrying a prone Ichiro to the back rooms. As the pair ran by, Ichiro raised his head, beamed painfully and gave a weak thumbs-up, then let his head drop again with his thumb still playfully in the air as they disappeared into the treatment rooms.

Ashely sighed in weary relief. "His sense of humor is as unscathed as always, I see. I think Ichi's going to be alright, thanks to your doctor's quick aid. We were lucky to meet you when we did. Thank you, Ky."

"Thank goodness. I'm glad we were able to help." Kylie put a hand on Ashely's shoulder, making the knight look at her again. "I better let you go. I bet you're hurting. We'll catch up later tonight, if you're feeling better."

Ashely had smiled briefly, but her face fell again as she said, "Ky, don't do anything reckless. I don't want to hear that you got yourself killed out there. We'll meet at that adventurer's bar, the Golden Deer, at nine. I'll be there, along with any of Thanatos who's feeling up to it. Do me a favor and at least drop by and let us know you're alive."

"Alright, it's a deal. We'll meet up then. Go get some treatment for yourself, Ash." As Ashely limped away to the treatment rooms, Kylie turned back to her guild, who had gathered behind her.

"You're full of surprises, aint'cha?" Ricardo said, "Who were they? You guys seemed to know each other…"

"Thanatos, I presume?" Kyo asked.

Kylie nodded once as she left the clinic with Nidhogg. "Let's head for the Labyrinth. I'll fill all of you in as we get to the town gates. So, some of you may remember what I told you back at the spring?"

Mathias nodded, "Yeah, that story about the sea monsters and you getting fished out of the sea by a passing guild?"

"Sea monsters?" Alistair asked, "What in the world are you on about?"

Kylie quickly retold her story of being attacked by Nautiluses, then saved being by Thanatos to Eliza, Caleb, and Alistair. "They're the ones who rescued me when my ship was adrift. They're the Thanatos guild, and they're my inspiration for coming here to Etria."

"Hm," Eliza may have been impressed. Or maybe not. It was hard for Kylie to tell. "They seemed far more seasoned than you. Do you think you can catch up to them?"

"Not only do I hope so, I can do so!" Kylie quickly added with confidence, "And more!"

"But they got chewed up by that bear like they're nothing," Caleb shuffled his feet nervously, "I'm kinda worried about what else is there. Etria's Yggdrasil is way scarier than Lagaard's…"

"Speaking of the bear," Kylie paused by the town gates, turning back to her guild, "I need to take down that thing."

"What!" Kyo blurted, "The hell's gotten into you! Did you hit your head or something?! Don't you remember how it almost-?"

"That's the problem!" Kylie cut him off, "We're responsible for what happened. I have to finish what I started. Think about it. If we do nothing, how many more rookies will get mauled, just like us? How many have to get maimed, or worse, before it becomes a priority? Besides, Ash, er, Ashely, said they'd managed to almost kill it. Remember the Furyhorn? We should be able to finish the job if we go before it can nurse its wounds."

"Well, I never. That's quite responsible of you. I commend that. Very well. My rapier is yours." Eliza smiled her conceited smile at her, but this time there was a hint of genuine approval on her face. That was the closest she'd heard to frank, non-Mathias-related praise out of Eliza, and it made Kylie suspicious. "Maybe you aren't entirely stupid after all. Don't muck this up, peasant." And there went Kylie's brief smile. Sure enough, yet more mockery was behind the compliment. She was really beginning to sense a pattern here…

Wait a second, did she just volunteer to come along?!

"Then you know what I must ask next, leader." Alistair looked at Kylie expectantly.

Kylie answered, "I know, you and Caleb want to come, right? Of course. Marie, any second thoughts? Want to change your mind from earlier?" When the Medic simply shook her head, Kylie continued, "Okay, that's settled then. We'll be going-"

"Wait," Mathias interrupted, counting off the members of Nidhogg, "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… where's Becka?"

"Oh hell no, not again!" Ricardo's face darkened to an irritated scowl, "I bet that crazy-ass snuck off into Yggdrasil behind our backs!"

"I hope not…" Kylie looked back into Yggdrasil, but saw no sign of the Dark Hunter. Maybe Ricardo was wrong, maybe Rebecca wasn't going back in there alone again…

Right?

Only one way to know for sure.

Kylie shouldered her backpack. "Let's keep our eyes peeled for her. I'll look out in Yggdrasil. Ricardo, you and the others see if she's in Etria."

Eliza sighed in such a way that it was nearly a snort. "What's the concern? You're hardly her mother, you know."

"She was… suicidal, when we first found her. She lost her original guild to monsters. I hope she didn't…" Kylie left her explanation unfinished, and the solemn looks among her group said that they needed no more words to understand what she meant.


The first two hours passed without incident. Well, without combat incident, at least. Kylie and Eliza were in the lead, and Kylie was keeping a careful eye out for any sign of the injured bear as she mapped the trails. Caleb and Marie were in the back with Alistair, and the kids both looked rather skittish, Caleb in particular. He kept latching on to Alistair's side, even as he shook off his brother a time or two. Marie had one hand on her mace, the other guarding her ever-present satchel as she scouted about in a mix between wonder and anxiousness. Eliza was acting even worse than the teenagers; one moment, she was shrieking at a harmless animal or a random movement of the plants, the next pretending like she'd known about it all along. Kylie herself was keeping a façade of confidence, but memories of the fight with that bear last time were making her heart pound. Every shift in the wind, every raucous cry of a forest bird, every twig she stepped on: all seemed to herald the bear's imminent arrival. Each time, she'd turn to the sounds, the movements, the glimpses, and every time it turned out to be just her overactive wariness. Even so, she couldn't relax to a more lowered guard like she did yesterday. Kylie was far too apprehensive for that. Alistair, in contrast to everyone else, had his crossbow drawn and fully nocked, ready to let loose at a moment's notice should an enemy appear. He seemed less afraid though, and more like he was simply on high alert. At least, if he was afraid, then he was doing an expert job of acting stoic. Kylie couldn't help admiring his cool demeanor, and it inspired her to rein in her anxiety.

A sudden cry from Caleb startled her and made Kylie whirl around and look in an instant. He had frozen in mid-stride, pointing at a patch of undergrowth. She thought she could see something ambiguous twitching in there, but she wasn't certain. Kylie cocked her head, not fully trusting her own senses after all the earlier jumpiness. With her kind of luck, it was just a rabbit.

Not that she was looking for trouble… okay, that wasn't true. She was kind of looking for trouble, just preferably not an ambush. Just then, the bush wriggled again, and Kylie caught a glimpse of two pairs of shining eyes glaring back at her. A strange chattering, clacking noise emanated from the shrub as the creature, or creatures, within issued a clear warning to the intruding humans.

Now she was sure it wasn't nerves acting on an uneasy imagination. Something was in there.

Caleb yelped again and clung to his brother's side. "Alistair, what's that?!"

His elder brother's reaction to the hidden beasts was far more composed. He positioned himself in front of Caleb. "Enemies!" Alistair exclaimed, sighting his crossbow at the rustling undergrowth, "Out with you! Show yourself, beast!"

Kylie unsheathed her sword just in time to meet two man-sized, teal-shelled beetles with a pair of large, claw-like appendages on their backs waddling out from the brushes. The chitinous creatures chittered, waving a pair of scythe-shaped pincers about in intimidation as they spread out from their hiding place. One lowered its front, flitting a tiny pair of vestigial wings in a rather defiant display. Kylie held her sword defensively before her as the two insects sized her up.

The party fanned out into a battle-formation at the emergence of the monsters. Kylie immediately took the lead, and was surprised to find Eliza at her side. She didn't think Eliza would be the front-line type, but the princess' confident stance revealed more skill than Kylie would have guessed. Alistair swept Caleb behind him as they both fell to the rear, with Marie stepping forward to Eliza's other side. Kylie threw the Medic a questioning glance, and she gave a rather nervous nod in return.

"Hmph." Eliza drew out her rapier, glaring at the scuttling foes and looking down her nose at them. Well, she tried to do so; the creatures stood easily as tall as she did. "Clawbugs. I was hoping not to see these today. Their shells are resilient and hard to damage. Luckily, I know a weakness: aim for its joints, especially the head-joint! Or, just flip them like a turtle and aim for that soft underbelly, simple."

"Have you seen the size of these things? I think your first tip's going to be more useful here." Kylie said as she raised her sword to a ready position.

"Um…" Caleb readied his own weapon, adopting a crude, uneasy stance, "I-I-I can fight too! I'm not running if you aren't!"

"Be ready, friends! They're coming!" Alistair warned as the bugs screamed out a battle-cry and charged. His response to the rush was a bolt to one Clawbug's head, which hit the joint between its head and its body. The bug shrieked in pain, recoiling long enough for Kylie to take advantage of its flinch. She ran forward, slashing at its exposed back. Marie joined in from her right, and bashed it on the head with her mace just as Kylie connected. It staggered at the trio of attacks, but remained standing.

Alistair turned briefly over a shoulder, "Caleb! Remember that song you've been working on? Now's the perfect time for it!"

"That one, brother?" Caleb seemed flustered, but resigned. "Okay, but it's not very good yet…" He sheathed his sword, picked up the ocarina hanging around his neck, and started playing a bright, energetic tune on it. The strong beat reminded Kylie of the rowing shanties she heard on the fleet, and felt energizing. She wasn't sure what Caleb was so worried about; she thought it was pretty catchy. In fact, she found herself moving along to the rhythm almost subconsciously.

"Not too shabby. I rather like it." Even Eliza seemed to perk up at the songster's melody, and Caleb was smiling shyly from behind his ocarina, and continued his tune.

Kylie squared up her stance, feeling more energetic than before. She lunged at the first Clawbug, her sword mostly biting into its shell. Kylie was unpleasantly surprised by the hardiness of its armor. She did notice that her strike was much stronger than usual, thanks to Caleb's energizing melody, and she made a mental note to ask Caleb about the song later. She turned over her back with a grin to offer her own praise and saw something alarming.

Kylie's smile fell when she saw the second Clawbug closing in on the distracted bard. She knew Caleb wouldn't be able to respond in time, as his back was to the insect. Acting on impulse, she rushed in to counter it herself.

"Caleb, look out!" she warned as she drew her blade back for a strike. Caleb played a sour note as he looked up in surprise. Kylie threw herself in front of Caleb and swung at the Clawbug with all of her strength. Her blade screeched across the bug's tough shell and glanced off, shedding sparks and carving a deep gouge in its armor but causing little damage to the creature within. It stumbled and halted its charge, but seemed largely unfazed.

"Damn." Kylie's eyes widened in momentary astonishment at the ineffectiveness of her attack. Eliza was right; this thing was annoyingly resilient! The angry beast spun around, redirecting at her instead. It lunged with its pincers, grabbing onto Kylie's right calf unexpectedly and yanking her to one knee. She cried out in pain at the sudden grab, then again as it clamped onto her upper torso with its back-claws. Its grip was surprisingly strong, and Kylie was forced into an awkward, bent position face-down over its back.

Kylie flailed her sword and tried to kick with her free leg in a vain attempt to wrestle free of its disarming grasp. She couldn't maneuver her arms for a proper counter-attack with her shoulders caught in its scissor grip, and almost dropped her sword in her desperation. The beast responded to her struggle by gnawing on her stomach, trying to chew through her jerkin with sharp mandibles. Now she was worried that it may try to disembowel her! Kylie panicked and struggled harder, but she couldn't get the leverage to even budge any of its pincers.

"Someone… help me!" Kylie called as she thrashed about defenselessly.

"Kylie!" she heard Marie cry in fright.

"Stop yelping and help me get this overgrown earwig off of her!" This from an angry-sounding Eliza, "Alistair, can't you shoot it off her?"

"It's too risky, I won't chance hitting her by mistake! Somebody needs to go mano-a-mano! Caleb, keep up that song! Watch your left, milady!" Kylie heard another bolt from Alistair and a keen of agony from the other enemy. Caleb's song resumed, followed by the zing of a swift rapier strike, a heavy thump, and a whoop from Eliza.

"I got it! That ought to be the end of that one!" she quipped, "Have some of this, you filthy vermin!"

Another thin screech and a jolt told Kylie that someone hit the one grappling her. The attack forced the Clawbug to loosen its grip on her, and Kylie took the chance to tear free. She tried to fall back, but crumpled down on one knee when her leg burned in protest at the abuse. Glaring up in irritated pain, Kylie could now see that Eliza's rapier was buried up to the guard in the one standing beetle's back, right in the weak spot behind its head. She tried to decapitate the Clawbug with the backslash, but the weapon slid free from its place before she could finish it. The bug retaliated with a swipe from its pincer, which glanced off of Eliza's breastplate and slashed into her leg. She screamed, grabbing at her injury as the insect tried to grab her with its back-claws in an exact mimicry of the first one's tactic.

"Eliza, don't let it pull you down!" Ignoring the sting in her leg, Kylie forced herself to her feet and tried to strike, only to collapse back to her knees against her will as her right leg gave out yet again. Eliza back-stepped away just in time to dodge a strike from the Clawbug's grappling-claws.

Marie was already rushing to Kylie's side, arms full of yet more medicine and bandages. "Kylie, are you alright?!"

Kylie cursed softly and gritted her teeth. "Not really. I can't stand…"

"Let me look at it." Marie knelt down and examined Kylie's leg. After a quick examination, she drew out a jar of Medica and dipped a bandage in it. She sucked in a painful breath as the doctor tied the salve-soaked bandage around the wound. "That's a pretty bad gash, Kylie. I'll need to put some stitches in that when we get the chance. This should at least take the pain down a little."

The loud click of Alistair's crossbow, followed by another scream told Kylie that he had shot the remaining monster again. Both Marie and Kylie looked up to find Eliza dealing a coup-de-grace to the enemy. She drew out her sword in one pull, freeing it and cleaning it of the bug's blue-green blood simultaneously. When she turned back around to the others, the fierce princess was splattered with the animal's body fluids. Between Eliza's intense appearance and the stern battle-face she wore, Kylie was struck by the mental image of a proud bird of prey upon a kill. Upon spotting Kylie on her knees, Eliza's expression softened to a concerned stare and she came to Kylie's side.

"Leader!" Alistair holstered his weapon and ran over to Kylie and Marie.

Caleb had stopped his tune and was staring at Kylie in wide-eyed shock, both hands over his mouth in astonishment. "K-Kylie…!" he sputtered, "Oh no!"

"Don't look so upset," she said with a comforting smile, "I'm okay, really."

"No thanks to me…" Caleb hung his head, tears welling in his eyes, "You got really hurt and it's all my fault!" He looked back up, and Kylie could see a look between sadness and anger on the kid's face. "I'm such a weakling…"

"Not true," Kylie reassured him, "in fact, your song made all the difference. You did well."

"Not well enough. If I'd been paying better attention, you wouldn't have got pinned." Caleb looked down at Kylie, resembling a puppy who just got caught raiding the pantry, "Um, Kylie? I'm sorry. I won't let my guard down again."

Kylie nodded once. "I appreciate the sentiment, but don't be so hard on yourself. We're all in one piece, and that's what counts most. We need to move on." Kylie tried to test her leg, but was gently pushed back to the ground by Marie.

"Not yet," she warned as she pulled a disturbingly large needle out of her bag, "Let me stitch that, or it'll open up and get infected."

Kylie flinched and stared at the needle in alarm. "That thing's huge! Are you sure that's what you need to use on me!?" She tore her wide-eyed gaze away from the needle and shuddered. "I'll trust your judgment, Marie. Do it…" She looked down at the ground, scrunching her eyes shut and bracing for what she knew was coming. Kylie was pleasantly surprised to find that the medicine Marie applied earlier seemed to have mostly numbed the wound, and found the procedure much less painful than she expected it to be.

Marie had to have seen the grimaces she was making and asked, "Are you afraid of needles, Kylie? Sorry, I should've been more considerate."

Kylie shook off a wave of goosebumps as Marie continued her work. "I'm not so much afraid of them. It's just that I really don't like them. One time, I was fileting a salmon and my carving knife slipped. I cut open my hand pretty badly. My dad tried to sew my hand up, but he was kinda sloppy and it hurt a lot when he did that. It also got badly infected and gave me this ugly thing." Kylie held up her left hand, displaying the puckered, jagged red scar that ran diagonally across it. "Never quite saw a needle the same way since…"

Marie grabbed Kylie's hand, inspecting the mark with a rather appraising frown. "Yikes. Now those are some terrible suture scars. No wonder you hate needles..." She slowly moved to a crouch, not releasing her hand. "I've finished. Want to try standing up?"

Kylie rose to her feet with Marie's aid. She gingerly put weight on the leg, and found it to be as good as new. Well, maybe not quite. It still hurt a bit when she moved the wrong way, but it was a vast improvement over being completely lame. Kylie gave Marie a satisfied nod, and she let go of her hand.

"You are braver and crazier than I am." Eliza suddenly said, her face a little pale. Marie's concern turned to Eliza, who took a step back when she noticed the doctor's evaluating eye on her. "Not necessary," she said curtly, "I'll treat mine with a quick bandage. No needles…"

Marie put her supplies back in her satchel. "Okay, but if that leg wound starts to get hot or bleeds out, let me know."

Eliza nodded once, then turned back to Kylie. "That was a most impressive display of impulsivity, Kylie." She tilted her head slightly, unsure if it was another compliment or a far more common jab. "You show promise, but do not let your proficiency lead to overconfidence. An inflated ego is a quick road to death in Yggdrasil. I can see Etria's is no different from Lagaard's in that respect." She started walking further down the path. "Come. Let's be on our way."

Kylie blinked in astonishment. This was strange. Who was this, and what happened to Eliza? Kylie smiled broadly, relishing the rare moment. That was the second time Eliza actually gave her something resembling approval, and in less than two hours to boot. She had expected an insult about her recklessness or perhaps another stab at her social rank. Instead, she got actual praise, and it felt good to-

"What are you smirking for? I said, move it, you dumb peasant!"

That was short-lived. She narrowed her eyes, groaned softly, and sighed, following Eliza deeper into Yggdrasil as the rest of Nidhogg followed close behind.