Kitahria raced into the keep, after the haggard youth. The squire noticed wounded or dead men stacked along the corridor as she chased after her prey. It didn't take long till she caught up with the stumbling boy who fell as he ran and rolled into a corner. She couldn't believe her eyes, but upon further inspection of her nose she confirmed it was Rasmus.
Kit wasn't sure what had happened. When last she saw the squire she recalled he was the epitome of an untested hero. He was tall, athletic, lean, and with a clear beautiful complexion; he had a chiseled jaw and soft heroic features that still had a certain boyish charm. Kit almost swooned at the thought of the handsome blonde boy and was shocked to find what he had become. Before her now was a haggard disheveled youth with sunken crazed eyes. In her memory, he was standing tall and proud, but now he was simply cringing in the corner, bizarrely scratching at his skin at some phantom affliction. As she looked at him , Kit realized reluctantly that even the will of heroes broke in battle. She shook her head at the sight of how far he had fallen, more out of pity than disappointment.
Kit sheathed her kukris and approached the fallen squire with care. "Rasmus, I don't know what's happened with you but it's alright now," she said while grasping for words of encouragement. "You've won the battle, you held the keep."
" .Stay b. , "gibbered Rasmus as he continued to scratch his skin.
Kit sighed and continued her approach despite his warning. "It's alright, your fight is over now," she said softly.
Rasmus kicked his feet in an almost comical manner as he futilely attempted to scamper further into the corner. "S..Stay b.. ….,"he repeated again.
Kit continued her advance with her hand outstretched to help him. While she admitted she was nervous and apprehensive when she first met Rasmus, the roles apparently were turned around as the disgraced young man cringed at her approach.
"Kit! Stay back! "Commanded a small but stern voice behind the squire.
Kit stopped and turned to see Sergeant Trent on his war dog Fluffy 2. She noted that the Halfling and his men were cautiously making their way through the bodies, careful not to get too close to them.
Kit was puzzled by this behavior, but paid heed to the Halfling's warning and pulled back from Rasmus. When she gauged she was at a safe distance she turned her attention back to Trent who she was shocked to see was now covering the cowering man with his crossbow. "What's going on Trent? " She demanded. " That's Rasmus, don't you remember? Ogela's squire back at Essuria. It's not a heroic sight but even veteran's break under the stress of battle. "
Trent nodded his head in agreement, but did not lower his weapon. "Aye. I've been through the Great War, and more skirmishes and battles then I would have liked. I've seen good men, brave men, break and run from the stress. "
Kit looked on in exasperation. "Then you of all people can forgive Rasmus for losing his will."
Trent paused and looked puzzled briefly. He gave Kit a brief glance and studied her expression before returning his gaze to Rasmus. "You don't understand. I'm not arresting him or anything for cowardice or anything like that. I'm just keeping a close eye on him , in case…in case he changes."
"Changes?" Kit asked as Rasmus continued to scratch at the blemishes on his skin.
"Sir! This one has lumps….and …and they're moving!" shouted one of Trent's men from behind. Kit saw that the men were using clubs and truncheons to forcefully probe the wounded or dead men. Kit thought it was rough treatment, but the soldiers under the Halfling's command seemed more cautious than cruel. Currently they seemed to be concerned over a particular wounded soldier with , from her distance, similar blemishes to Rasmus.
"Careful ! Stay back! " warned Trent as he waved Kit towards the object of his men's attention. " You in the back, go tell Sir Jose what you've seen immediately. The rest of you keep checking the bodies. Kit, you have more experience in this than my men. I want you to examine that particular body and tell me what you see. Treat it like an infectious disease."
Kit smelled no signs of disease, and was puzzled by Trent's caution. Regardless of her doubts she did as he asked, and approached the body with care and examined it carefully with her keen vision.
She saw immediately that the guardsmen were correct. The man did have lumps under his skin, near the neck in particular. They had discolored his skin to an odd shade of bright blue, and with her keen vision she saw they were appeared to be vibrating on their own. From the scratch marks on him, she guessed the soldier attempted to claw them out unsuccessfully before he passed out. She guessed it was some sort of parasitic infection and was glad she was as wary as Trent had suggested. Kit had encountered similar afflictions like this in the past, though not as bizarre or severe as the current victim before her. While her skin was mostly weapon resistant, she knew she was far from disease proof.
"It looks like blue eggs under his skin," she reported as she withdrew. "Do you know what this is?" she asked wondering if it was some sort of biological weapon used in the Great Halfling war, or some sort of exotic disease he had encountered in his long and varied travels.
"Maybe, "replied Trent cryptically. "In the Great War, us Halflings inflicted many cruelties upon each other the likes of which had never been seen. I'm sure you've heard the tales of giant constructs, flights of dragons, controlled purple worms and other horrors, but the worse was the demon summons."
Kit nodded, but in truth knew little about the Great Halfling war. She always thought it was just a bunch of Halflings lined up against each other in the tundra and threw snowballs at each other till one side got all wet. Then the lot of them went home and had hot chocolate or something cutesy like that.
"Well as a ranger which specializes in hunting evil outsiders you should know that summoning one demon is bad enough, but the mages and demonologists discovered ways of unleashing hordes of the monsters," said Trent.
Kit drew her blades instinctively at his explanation and eyed the wounded carefully. She knew some demons were capable of infecting others, but this didn't seem right. Her carefully honed smell and other senses were attuned to pick up the presence of evil outsiders. She didn't smell any trace of them here.
"While demons are amongst the most destructive denizens of the outerplanes, their specialized nature makes them vulnerable to specific attacks. Specifically blessed magic, cold iron weapons, and even wards against evil were used to keep them at bay or minimize their impact. Eventually the summoners began using variation of their magics and instead of bringing forth demons from the Abyss they pulled into this world creatures from other, but equally violent planes," elaborated Trent.
Kit was still skeptical and unsure what he was saying, but decided to do what Sir Jose would do. That was to nod confidently and act like she understood.
"One of the most violent planes in the Great Wheel is that of the ever changing wastes of Limbo. Great frog like creatures called the Slaad use to inhabit that world, and they were pulled into our world by desperate summoners hoping to end the war. While not inherently evil they were a terribly destructive and violent race of creatures," said Trent.
Kit lowered her weapons slightly and felt a bit relaxed. While her knowledge of planes outside of the lower ones was not perfect, she did know a thing or two about Limbo. "Aye I've heard of the Slaad, they're supposed to be an ancient race of frog gods or something. They don't exist anymore , I heard they got wiped out by the Primordials, the chaos snakes that currently rule that realm. "
Trent shook his head. "The Githyanki that we fight exist in mighty Astral Fortresses drifting on the edge of Limbo, but there are just transplanted survivors not natural inhabitants of that chaos plane. Creatures such as Slaad or Primordials on the other hand, are monsters shaped from the very essence of chaos. The Slaad were once as numerous as ants in that world and they wouldn't have been wiped out that easy. Instead, they simply vanished one day and were replaced by the so called chaos snakes, or Primordials that you mentioned. Over night from what I've been told. Such is the unpredictable reality of the plane of Limbo, where an entire species could be replaced in a blink of an eye. "
Kit thought the Halfling was simply babbling now, but decided to humor him anyways. "Well, let's say there are still some Slaad left, and someone was able to summon one here. If it was a summoning the duration of the spell is probably over by now. Are you telling me one snuck in here and had infected these guys with some sort of disease? If so , it shouldn't be a problem , we can probably get Sir Jose or maybe Kaeda to cure it. I don't see any giant frog men now, and I certainly don't smell or hear them. We should be ok if we take proper precautions while handling this infection. "
"I'm not sure about anything actually. I agree with you that if these Slaad were summoned, there certainly aren't any more of them here, at least not of the initial batch. The funny thing about Slaads are that they don't reproduce like normal creatures or create more of themselves like outsiders by transforming souls. They take a more direct approach and implant their eggs under the skins of their victim. It sometimes takes days or sometimes a few hours, but these eggs literally transform their host into one of their own by channeling a chunk of Limbo into them in some bizarre arcane process," warned Trent.
Kit stopped and gave a horrified look to Rasmus. "Wait, if that's true…shouldn't we do something like cure them or ….kill them," she said in a hollow voice.
"The problem is, I'm only repeating what I can remember. I'm not sure if these guys were infected by Slaad or not. I'm just going by the claw marks, the color of the infections, and the guy making ribit noises outside, "replied Trent in frustration. "I'm not sure if they can be treated, and I definitely won't kill them just because of a hunch. Judging by the terrible toll of this siege, I'm guessing our old friend Mayor Gregor released them on the keep. They probably turned on his forces as well, which would explain why the enemy are huddled safely in that square instead of pressing their attack. By their very definition, the forces of raw chaos are impossible to control for long."
Kit understood his dilemma and wasn't sure what to do as well. If it was a demon infestation she knew the proper procedures to exorcise and remove demonic taint. Even if it was some infernal dealing, she knew the correct methods to break the contract and the holy techniques to atone for a sin. Identifying and dealing with the forces of Chaos from Limbo however was outside her element of expertise. She knew the safest course of action would be to kill the host, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Especially since one of the possible victims would be Rasmus.
As Kit and Trent awaited Sir Jose's arrival , the fallen squire began shrieking in pain as he continued to claw at his arm. Kit watched in horror as he scratched furiously at his growing blue blemish and felt sick in her stomach as he even attempt to tear at them with his teeth.
Kit couldn't stand what the boy had become, and though she didn't want to kill him, she knew that ending him now would be an act of mercy not murder. She approached the frenzied youth still huddled in the corner with her kukri and felt her eyes water up. "I'm sorry Rasmus, I didn't want it to end this way, " she apologized as she drew closer. She felt stupid since all she knew of him was his rank and his name. She wanted to say how she regretted not getting a chance to know him better, but couldn't bring herself to say those words. She instead concentrated on the quickest way to dispatch the boy. A quick slash across the throat would be the quickest and least messy she decided coldly.
As she readied for her strike, a roar from behind and yelps of surprise and pain filled the corridor. Judging by the proximity of the sound, Kit rolled to the left and spun to face her opponent. She was rewarded for her quick thinking as a massive warty blue claw struck the spot she had recently stood. Kit recoiled in disgust as she faced a massive blue toad like humanoid standing over the broken body of one of the guardsmen. It was covered in filthy warts and seemingly parts of a man that it had just emerged from. From the exploded corpse, she guessed the creature before her burst through the body , which was strange since its volume was many times greater than the infected wounded man she had observed earlier.
Regardless of how this creature came to being, it lunged at her with its massive jaws while swinging wildly at her with its great clawed hands. Kit wanted to strike back, but it was all she could do to weave and dodge from the attacks targeting her. She evaded the creature's initial strikes and found an opening to slip into as she narrowed the gap between herself and her much larger opponent.
While this massive frog creature filled the corridor, it was incredibly nimble and shifted its weight easily in the passage. Kit noted that it was slightly larger than an ogre, but still managed to move around like a creature half its size. Kit gave the monster a series of quick slashes and was rewarded with several sprays of blood in return. The monster was not immune to her blades and that meant she had a chance. Some the creature's ichorous fluid sprayed on her , and Kit wondered if she would get infected as well from the contact.
Before her mind filled with worry, the monster slammed her into the wall with a broad spike shoulder. Kit felt her frame rattled from the impact of the blow, but was thankful that whatever the creature was made of, it was not silver as the spikes on his shoulder did not pierce her skin. Her good fortune was short lived though as the creature then snapped at her with its oversized frog mouth. While wary of its speed, Kit was still surprised at how quickly it bit her and found herself engulfed in darkness as sharp teeth slammed into her gut. While her skin saved her from a fatal blow, she still felt the force of the creature's snapping jaws as they punctured her back and stomach.
For all purposes Kit should have been filled with fear, but Sir Jose had taught her well. Even as she was being eaten alive she recalled him spouting off something about danger being real, but fear being a choice. She took his chivalric nonsense to heart as she methodically began stabbing the roof the creature's mouth with one kukri and the back of its throat with the other. She felt something long , flexible and slimy wrap around her instantly to restrict her movements , but she still able to jab the inside of the creature's mouth with one of her blades.
Kit felt the muscular undulating appendage tighten lewdly across her chest , throat and face, and knew it was most likely the creature's frog tongue. Confronted by her greatest fear, she felt she would freeze from the grasping, flexible tentacle but she continued her seemingly futile assault relentlessly into the creature's throat. Kit almost laughed at the fact that she had finally conquered her eastern cultural fear of tentacles, now that she was doomed to be frog food.
As the squire prepared for her doom, her world exploded into light as the tongue released the grip on her and she was spat unceremoniously out of the monster's mouth. Kit fell to the ground, but managed to land on one knee. Even though she was covered in creature's disgustingly gummy saliva she could still see from her partially goo obscured vision the blue frog creature stumbling back in pain with a crossbow bolt embedded in its eyes.
Fluffy 2 seized the opportunity and leaped at the reeling monstrosity and began snapping and tearing at its rough hide. The big frog recovered from its blow however and sent a slashing claw into Fluffy's ribs, piercing and pinning the dog into the wall.
As Fluffy whined from its injury, Kit wiped the remaiing sludge from her eyes and summoned the strength for another attack. She leapt at the distracted creature and delivered strikes at its neck and lower spine, hoping that its physiology was similar to most humanoids and attempting some sort of paralyzing strike. Her gamble paid off as the big frog croaked in surprise. It released Fluffy as it fell while its arms and legs lashed out erratically around him. Kit managed to retain enough balance and strength to skip backwards out of its range, but Trent seemed undeterred as he dodged a claw and pushed his way next to the monsters head.
Before the creature could snap up the small Sergeant, Trent thrust the bayonet attached to his crossbow into the frog's remaining eye. The now blinded creature roared again, but was quickly silenced as Trent fired a bolt point blank , piercing the monster's skull. It's entire body shuddered as it quickly collapsed into itself and began to rapidly fade away.
Kit caught her breath and frowned. While most physical traces of the monster vanished, the squire was very disappointed that the mucus and slime that had covered her hadn't. She thought she must have looked like a mess, but then realized the gravity of the situation she was in.
"Trent! I'm covered in this filth! I might be infected too! "exclaimed Kit, hoping to all the gods that she wouldn't have one of those frog things burst out of her.
Trent shook his head, but Kit saw he wasn't smiling. The Halfling calmly loaded his crossbow again and walked to his injured dog. With his bayonet he drew back some of his fur and showed Kit a series of slightly blue lumps on its skin where the monster had pierced him. "Technically these creatures don't infect people, they breed with them. I know it sounds disgusting, and it is really, but this particular strain of Slaad propagates its species with its body spikes, mostly the ones on its hands. "
Kit processed the information, and remembered that the Slaad had shoulder blocked her earlier. She quickly checked where it struck her and breathed a sigh of relief as her enchanted skin had saved her from being impregnated by the monster's spikes.
As the guardsmen returned with Sir Jose and Kaeda in tow, the paladin frowned as he scanned the scene before him.
"We had one transform outside, but we put it down," reported Kaeda sadly.
"I cured all the victims that I could, but I've used the extent of my curative lay on hands powers, " said the paladin gravely.
"I ..I'm a druid. I'm not a healer. I..I.. don't have the means to cure these men in time, "stuttered Kaeda in shame.
Trent nodded and slumped his shoulders. He then scratched the top of his injured dog's head one more time and it whined pitifully in response. "I'm sorry Fluffy 2. You were a brave dog. I'm proud to have you serve me as a mount, "apologized Trent before shooting it through the neck. The dog expired quickly, and Kit morbidly noted that the blemishes on Fluffy faded away as well.
Trent suppressed a tear and then turned to Sir Jose. The paladin returned a nod and the Halfling sighed before facing the guards under his command. " We can't lose any more men battling giant blue frogs. Search thoroughly for infections, and execute any that have signs of it," ordered Trent in a weary voice. "Do it quick , do it mercifully. And pray someone does the same to you if the time comes. "
Kit's heart fell. Normally her blood pumped with adrenaline after a victory, especially against such a terrible foe, but she felt no joy facing the slaughter that was to come. She turned and saw that Rasmus was still curled in the corner.
" bac.k, Stay bback!", he continued to muttered in a dead voice, oblivious to the danger that would soon befall him.