Vermin Tide Quest
Chapter 20
While the State Troopers were running back and forth acquiring the chemicals Balthasar requested, he was going over the layout of the castle with his military advisers. Currently, Karl and Gustavous were arguing over where to put the men found in the dungeon, specifically in where to place them. The smell of bleached and harsh cleaning supplies like lye was thick and heavy in the air of the library, and the scent was something that caused many a wrinkled nose among the Humans inside, which included the Greatswords, Leopold and Heram. Gelt himself resisted the urge to scratch from how his robes irritated his skin, and started to regret not waiting to treat everything until the last minute.
"If we put them back in the dungeon underground, we can bottle neck the Monsters that try to go after them." Karl said, pointing at the one entrance the dungeon had in the blueprints. "A spear wall will more then be sufficient to-"
"Absolutely not!" Gustavous yelled, slamming a hand down on the table they were using. "You may as slather honey on them and throw them over the walls when the Monsters get here! Gelt, we can place them through the upper rooms here, here, and here." the commander said, pointing to several of the spires while Gelt looked down at where he pointed at them. "They may be more spread out, the fact the Monsters designed the castle in a standard fashion means they will be more then effective on keeping the Monsters confined with their spiral staircases, and work to our defense more then that death trap underneath us all."
"But then we will have to worry about aerial Monsters breaking in from the top down. If they do that, there's no way we will be able to save those taken by the aerials before they take of, not to mention the potential of collapse that can occur. The dungeon is the one place we have to place them in, and without worry of multiple angles of attack." Karl countered, waving towards the blueprints in general. A runner then knocked on the door to get the attention of the Humans.
"Patriarch Supreme, we have found both a set of food storage rooms which will help ease our food problems if it is untainted, and a laboratory. The lab has something we may need your expertise on." the Imperial soldier said. Gelt then sighed as he got up from his seat.
"Put half of the men in the dungeon, and spread the other half throughout the castle rooms, but laid out in a manner that will allow them to escape. If the Monsters break us, at least some of them will survive." the Supreme Patriarch said to the two commanders. "The upcoming battle will see many of us die even if we fight the Monsters off no matter what, that much is clear. But I'll be damned to the Warp if we just lay down and die."
"Thy will be done mi' lord." Karl said as he and Gustavous both saluted, both clearly not satisfied with what his order. Gelt then followed the runner along with several of the Greatswords to the laboratory. As they walked, the Gold Wizard spoke up.
"What exactly did you find in the lab?" Balthasar Gelt asked. The Imperial soldier looked at the gold-masked Wizard.
"Well sir, the lab is not open yet. But the door is made of steel, and we were able to somewhat see into the room through a glass window. It seemed to contained a number of uniquely male Monsters." Balthasar stared curiously at the runner.
"Male Monsters? Are you sure?"
"From what we could determine, yes. From what the Human men we freed from the dungeons indicated, there are times of Monsters giving birth to sons, but it is extremely rare, and the culture of said Monsters generally result in their male-equivalents dieing out young while their full potential has yet to be realized due to being hunted like Humans. This lab was found when one of the patrols we sent to investigate a contradiction between the blueprints and actual construction of the castle was discovered from the testimonies of the men held here." Gelt remembered then that the recovering men were learning Reikspiel, and most were learning faster then had been anticipated. "According to them, a nine-Tailed Monster called a Kitsune that was named Tamano was the one behind it all." Balthasar stopped at this, recalling the fox Monster that attacked him and Heram earlier. He scrunched his mouth at the thought of what the Beast-Man could have been doing for whatever 'science' as their kind defines it.
After a brisk walk in silence, they came upon a room which was arranged to look like an armory, and saw one of the weapon racks was moved aside to reveal an opened trapped door, where a ladder and shaft made of metal was being watched over by a Handgunner. Gelt and the runner descended downwards, their footsteps echoing as they entered a hallway with a steel door which had been closed off with some strange device. Thankfully, the Imperials had Balthasar Gelt the Supreme Patriarch himself, who wave a hand as he cursed the metal door with the Plague of Rust, causing the steel to turn a reddish-brown as it began to flake and whither away. After a few seconds, the two Humans stepped over the pile of destroyed metal, and inspected the lab.
Balthasar saw that it was high-tech, to the point that it was beyond even the Dwarfs as far as he knew. This raised a great many questions as he gazed out upon various glass pods, each big enough to hold a fully grown adult man in a liquid of some kind. However, they were all filled with only boys, whose mutated forms all had wires and tubing attached to them while screens and windows showed various information that Gelt maddeningly couldn't even begin to process. However, it was clear many of the creatures could sense the two pure Humans, as they stirred and moved about in reaction to their proximity. However, Gelt noted they did seem to fear him.
Well, they likely know that I'm not one of their accursed kin, and thus are aware I am not planning to devour them. Gelt mused, then stopped upon coming upon one of the pods being empty. Now what is supposed to be in here? He thought, then both Gelt and the soldier with him turned upon hearing a pattering sound.
Drawing his sword, Balthasar gestured to the State Trooper to go around to the other side of one of the rows of pods, while one of his Greatsword escorts went with them. Gelt moved to the far end, pointing out where he wanted the men-at-arms to go, until they had set up a search net. The Humans then proceeded to walk slowly down, each of them keeping within arms reach of their neighbors as they swept the room. Eventually, Gelt saw a tail similar to that of a lizard, sticking out behind one of the containment units and grabbed it, causing the Mutant it belonged to cry out in fear as he brought his sword to its neck, stopping just short of killing it. The Mutant immediately stopped and surrendered in fear with clawed hands up, as Gelt took a closer look at it.
It was more akin to a Skink from his own worlds' Lustria then it did with the Monsters, though it had a shock of bleached hair, and a of teeth and tongue within a reptilian maw that was definitely Human. Its eye were unblinking spheres of green, with black dots for pupils. The Mutant was wearing a simple shirt and shorts of white cloth, while black and brown scales covered its arms and legs. From what Gelts' arm could feel through the shirt, it seemed to be covered in the chest as well, unlike the so-called 'Dragon' Granberia whose scales only covered her arms and legs. Upon seeing that Gelt was not killing it however, the Monster strangely seemed more confused once it realized Balthasar was not a Monster, as a Greatsword walked over. He looked at the creature, then to Gelt.
"Sir, what do you plan to do with it?" he asked. Balthasar turned his head to the Imperial.
"This thing is not like the ones we encountered. I'll check to see if there's more of them." the Wizard then pushed the Skink-like Monster to the Greatsword. "Keep an eye on it. I'm going to see if there's more of them."
"Why not kill it now?" the Skink Mutants' eyes twitched slightly, which Balthasar pretended not to notice.
"In case it has hidden regenerative abilities or some other ability." Gelt replied. Suddenly the creature spoke up.
"No... kill... please." it said haltingly in Reikspeil. Balthasar and the Greatsword turned and looked at the Monster, as it began to shift and change its body.
By sigmar, how fast do these things learn? The Supreme Patriarch thought as the Monster mutated, and turned into a normal Human boy. The Greatsword turned and looked at Balthasar, whose mind was already running with a thousand questions.
"What in the Warp is this?" the Imperial soldier asked.
"Looks like we have a long discussion ahead of us." Gelt replied...
**POV SHIFT**
As Luka stepped off the ship with Alice, the two looked around Natalia Port, noticing the coastal town had a population of both Humans and Mermaids. Luka was mildly but pleasantly surprised, as he heard of how southern Sentora was more anti-Monster, but the Human population gradually becomes more friendlier the further up north one went.
"Hmm.. this place is lively." Alice noted, as the main street which was filled with people, both Human and Mermaids, who moved on land by slowly 'walking'. At this point, one of said Mermaids called out to them.
"Would you like some Mermaid-made grilled starfish?" she asked of the two travelers.
"Uh... Alice?"
"According to the book, Port Natalia is a port town with Mermaids that are considered residents."
"But," Luka said, turning to the Mermaid selling bizarre and strange foods, "your clothes are ragged... is someone treating you badly?"
"Hahaha... no, I am simply not making much money." the sea Monster said. "If you feel sorry for me, you can always buy some of my grilled starfish!" Luka, now noticing that Alice was starting to salivate, bought some and gave it to the Lamia.
"Well, so far it looks like that Humans and Monsters are getting along here."
"Where shall we go to now?" Alice asked, then she bit into the starfish. The next few moments were spent with the two discussing about heading to San Illia, when a Mermaid approached the two.
"Excuse me mister, but would you be willing to listen to my story?" she asked Luka.
"Yes?" he asked, but before the Mermaid could continue, an explosion was heard."What!? An explosion?!" the ground then shook, while a building collapsed somewhere.
"THE SCHOOL! THEY'RE ATTACKING IN THE SCHOOL!" someone yelled, before the Mermaids all began to run to the ruins. Luka and Alice followed, when the tell-tale sounds of certain Imperial weapons being used could be heard, along with shrieks and screams that came from Skaven throats.
BANG! BANGBANG!
"By Illia! How did they get here before us?!" Luka cried out, while horrified screaming acompanyed what sounded like battle. When the two ran over to see, they see the main plaza was turned into a war-zone, where a group of Skaven were fighting the local militia. However, there was a third group that were engaged in the fighting, among them was...
"Saltzpyre?! Lazarus?!" Luka cried out, recognizing Lazarus and Saltzpyre, who were back to back along with several members of what could only be Illias Kruez, wielding a number of weapons and armor, within the same style as Krubers, but with most of the armor pieces missing. However, when Victor turned, Luka saw it was a completely different man. When he saw the Angel Halo, he grew a look of rage, and pointed the strange hand-held weapon in his hand at Luka. Lazarus looked over as well, as his eye widened in shock and disbelief, causing Luka to freeze and hesitate.
"WATCH OUT!" Luka was suddenly tackled by Alice,who screamed out as they were hit in the leg, a crimson hole bursting and bleeding onto the ground as she fell in pain. The man in the same uniform as Victor was suddenly pushed by Lazarus, who turned to the men and women.
"FALL BACK! FALL BACK AT ONCE!" he yelled, and threw it into where the Skaven were most gathered in the plaza, fighting a number of Mermaids and militia-men that were cornered against the ruined school trying to get the Monsters inside to safety. As it exploded, killing those caught in the blast, it then also ignited, leaving a wall of fire that began to burn the rubble of the buildings, and terrified screaming could be heard.
"The school! Someone has set the school on fire!" a bystander screamed, and when Luka turned to where Lazarus and the strange man that tried to kill him were, they had disappeared, the only clue of where they went being a sewer grate that was partially opened. While the crowds
That bastard! Luka thought, as the edges of his vision started to turn red. He had the gall to attack children, all so he wouldn't be caught and made to pay for his crimes! I'll run him through for this, I swear by... by... someone! Luka made a growling sound as he grabbed at his head, causing Alice to become concern, as she was extracting the lead ball that the Imperial shot with her hand.
"Luka!" she exclaimed, seeing the Human boy start to look like he did when the Daemon back in the Treasure Cave. "SNAP OUT OF IT!" she yelled, causing Luka to flinch back into reality. He looked around, and started panting.
"What the... what just happened?" Luka asked, and turned to see that Alice had already pulled out the lead ball the Imperial weapon shot into her. While her fingers were still wet with blood and her leg was still healing, Luka turned to inspect it. "Hold on, shouldn't this heal all the way already?" he asked.
"I slowed it down so no one would notice..." Alice, then hissed slightly as Luka placed his scarf over the wound. "Ah! What the hell Luka?!" she cried out, then turned to see he was tying it over to act as a bandage. While it turned red, Luka nodded
"There, now you can heal without anyone noticing." he explained, "Lets continue on, before he gets away..." Alice suddenly grabbed Luka, as she stood up using him for support.
"No, we rest here. You're too worked up, especially after all of that." Luka then noticing that he was shaking and sweating.
"I'm fine..."
"No, you are not. We're renting a hotel room, now." Alice countered, removing Lukas' scarf. "Lets go clean up first though."
**POV SHIFT**
As Ulreik was dragged away from the surface screaming inarticulately, Lazarus found Ulboro walking to him and the others, meeting up with them as was planned. He stared curiously at the Witch Hunter, and looked towards Lazarus as he rested his blood and gore-covered hammer on his shoulder. The Illias Kruez members came to Natalia Port to kill off a group of Skaven they were tracking down, with Ulboro having split from the group to kill off anything and anyone that was going to get in the way of their planned escape route.
"What happened up there?" he asked.
"Your Witch Hunter friend took a shot at one of my friends' son, that's what happened!" Lazarus yelled. Ulreik calmed down, and he and the Sigmarite Priest exchanged a brief talk in Reikspeil. As it was seen the Witch Hunter was no longer kicking and screaming, the two men carrying
"Ulreik says that kid had an artifact of Chaos with him. It resembled a sword that was made depicting a number of the beings you call 'Angels' being tortured." Ulboro replied.
"The Angel Halo? Yeah, granted it is an unholy abomination of a weapon created from a group of Angels that were melted down, but it is not of Chaos. And if you want to know why, when I went to Hellgondo with Marcellous and..." Lazarus stopped for a moment as various conflicting emotions started to play, while Ulboro watched patiently. "the Angel Halo sword is a weapon that will only kill if the user wills its attacks to be fatal. When I was part of a party of four, we survived being attacked with it by the last Monster Lord, and were only sealed by it. She kept unsealing us no matter how many times we kept attacking her, until she finally was killed. However, we learned later on she had planned it that way, and tried to spread a message of peace and co-existence out of regret." Ulboro raised an eyebrow.
"Something happened then." he concluded, then turned to repeat what was said to Ulreik. The Witch Hunter glared accusingly at Lazarus, and for a moment it seemed as if he was planning to stab him. A quick look from Ulboro quelled any thought of doing so. Lazarus nodded as he replied.
"Yeah, her daughter happened. She attacked us with the very same Halo sword, and with it she slaughtered Merlin and a women named Karen me and Marcellous had a rivalry over. As a result, we founded Illias Kreuz, seeing that there was no chance for peace. As for how Luka fits into all of this, he is Marcellous' son." Lazarus finished, while Ulboro turned to Ulreik and translated what was said. The Witch Hunter then ranted for several seconds, as Ulboro looked back to Lazarus.
"If Luka has the Angel Halo sword, where did he get then? Presumably the Monster Lord would've had to give it to him, and Ulreik doubts that it is something to be taken lightly if that was the case. Even if you were not, the taint of Chaos is one that often subtle, patient, and waits for just the right soul to corrupt. It is entirely possible for the Daemons and their Gods to ignore nine men to corrupt one, and that one they focused on turns out to be the key to drag a hundred to their maw." Ulboro replied. He then set a hand on Lazarus' shoulder, as a look of sympathize sadness creased his features. "I'm sorry, but if it does indeed turn out that the Daemons of Chaos are after Luka, he might have to die lest this world be consumed by the Ruinous Powers. If it comes down to that, we cannot afford to hesitate or have doubts in our convictions. Heed my words, and let your mind and heart accept the truth in them..." with that, Ulboro let go of Lazarus, and the group moved on to their headquarters in silence.
**POV SHIFT**
As Erubetie prepared herself mentally for battle, she stared out at the castle walls. The Slime Queen was hidden in the brush of the forest, which much to her anger was driven back by the Imperials cutting down much of it, where they constructed what appeared to be temporally repairs to the holes in the walls from when Gelt and Promestein fought. The Slime Queen scowled, her anger now driven deeper at the destructive power these Imperials casually waved around.
"Erubetie." Tamano said, causing the Heavenly Knight of Water to turn sharply to the Kitsune. "We need to regroup with the army. If Gelt and his company can fight us off, what makes you think you stand a chance alone?" she asked, while the two Knights watched a couple of State Troopers play some kind of game with a couple of boys who were clearly released from the dungeons. Leopold could be seen with Arnold inspecting the graves of the dead that were buried by him.
"We can't afford to wait any longer." Erubetie countered, pointing out the defensive fortifications. "They have been digging in deeper and further out, such as clearing the trees so they spot us from farther out. They are also putting down various spiked barriers, likely to force any Monster on the ground to go where they want. We don't know about how they plan to fight anybody that comes in from the air, but with their fire-spears they no doubt have some plan to utilize their usual firing ranks."
"Erubetie, we both know this is not about the Imperials." Tamano said, causing Erubetie to crease her eyebrow. "As... belligerent as the Imperials can be."
"Belligerent? The Imperials no doubt will try to exterminate us if we don't kill them all here and now." Erubetie hissed, visibly growing agitated. "I'm not sitting around to wait for them to finish their preparations." Tamano closed her eyes and sighed.
"I am not saying we are running back. Alma Elma is on her way with the army, so at least be patient and let them come here." The Kitsune said, setting a hand on Erubetie, who turned to look at her. "And I've also said it a thousand times already, but you need to not let this anger toward humanity rule over you. Black-"
"Black Alice allowed herself to rage and refuse to let go of any wrong committed against her, blah blah blah..." Erubetie said, though her sarcasm was underlined with her calming down slightly. The Slime Queen inhaled deeply as she looked back to the castle, then her eyes widen as she looked up at one of the windows. "When in the name of Alipheese Fateburn the First did Gelt get into your lab?" she muttered in shock.
"What?" Tamano followed Erubeties' gaze, and her eyes like a hawk focused on the general area of the library, where she eventually saw Balthasar examining a number of male Monsters, a number of the Imperials' knight equivalents acting as an escort. "...Please let it be that Illusionist found us and is just fucking around with us." Tamano muttered under her breath as she channeled the Earth to look for Heram as she recalled Balthasar calling him. Upon locating Heram being somewhere on the other side, she sighed. "Damn... Gelt did indeed break into my laboratory. The Giganto Weapon doesn't seem to have been discovered, as the room I keep it in has not been breached. I'm using the Earth to get a general idea of the state my lab is in right now."
"Any clues as to how Gelt broke in?" Erubetie. "The door was made of Dragonsteel like Granberias' sword, so it can't be that he melted it."
"Well, from what I can tell, he somehow disintegrated the door. I can sense the entire laboratory entrance has been destroyed, but none of the ground around was effected by what he did. The only clue I have is the weight of a large amount of flakes of rust..." Tamano trailed off as she spoke. "...I think it just clicked as to some of the basics of the Magic on the other world works. They might not be using Elemental Spirits."
"What?" Erubetie asked. Tamano spoke up.
"The Imperials do not use Elemental magic, but some ofter form of Magic that works under similar principles since they all follow one aspect and stick to it. For example, Leopold who was willing to send Nanabi to their afterlife. He wields power over death, but instead using his power for necromancy, he ensures and enforces it upon whatever he is casting his spells upon. Heram is using a power similar to Darkness, but it is not Darkness in and of itself. He manipulates the shadows and mind, creating illusions and making his enemies hallucinate to disrupt their cohesion." Tamano explained. Erubetie developed a look of understanding.
"Meaning Balthasar Gelt is a manipulator of metals, maybe even alchemy. Like when he turned entire regiments into statues of gold, or recently by making the door to your laboratory rust away into nothing." she finished. "So the Four Spirits can't even make a judgment call on their magic, because the Imperials are not even using the same system we are using."
"But then if that is true, how is Balthasar able to cancel Promesteins' magical attack when she cast it?" Erubetie asked. Tamano rubbed at the bridge of her nose.
"I have a theory, but it would require the Four Spirits themselves confirming it,and that is we technically are using the same source of magic, but the Four Spirits act as a form of power regulator." Tamano replied. She then proceeded to turn to the Slime Queen to explain further. "From what you seen, that female Fire Wizard was burned severely when her powers ran out of control, right? We know that every Monster is incredibly power, both in physical and magical prowess, and we carry these powers innately from birth. However, the Four Spirits are the ones carry the power of the Elements Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, and thus can control who wields them. At least, that is what we are taught concerning the Four Spirits and they're interactions with this world." Erubetie developed a look of contemplation.
"You think this is only a window into the relationship between us and the Four Spirits?" she asked.
"Exactly that." Tamano replied. "We know little about the Four Spirits themselves or the afterlife, and while it is true that this because we have had no reason to be concerned about such things. Yet apparently in the other world, there are other creatures that are almost a predatory version of the Spirits, which are dangerous enough that at least one of the Gods from the other world has to dedicate itself to protecting the souls of those who die from said creatures."
"The Daemons that the Imperials seem to fear more then even our kind... you think they're related to the Four in some fashion?" Erubetie asked. "How id you come to believe this is so?"
"Well, it more or less started with when Luka was being controlled by one of these Daemons. It was like when I scryed the Hero Heinreich when he had all four Spirits alongside him. However, it was not until now that I gave any more detailed thought, though it had bothered me how the Daemons seemed to able to bond to even Alice so easily. Then, there was the fact Alice described to me how the Daemon that tried to control her was able to seal her magic in an attempt to get her to be assassinated and pin the evidence solely on Luka doing it alone."
"Which was rather half-assed considering that it relied on the Monster Lord dying to a mere Human." Erubetie said.
"As far as we know, that was just their first step in their plans for our world." Tamano said. "It was possible they were invested solely on Luka, and Luka alone."
"Right, because the future sight of Morr revealed that if this Human falls to them, our fates will be to be slaughtered alongside Illias and her Angels at the hands of Humanity after it goes and genocides both of our races." the Slime Queen said, skepticism dripping off of her face. "And the Humans of our world believe the Angels and Illias are their protectors and saviors."
"Erubetie, you really to tone it down." Tamano responded, as the two watched examine the mouth of what appeared to be Andreas, the Lizardman boy that Tamano remembered being brought in. During her time, the Kitsune Knight of the earth had been collecting male Monsters that managed to survive, so that she could try and study how they would grow and mature if they were allowed to reach adulthood. "In either case, we can't let Gelt study the Monster boys for whatever purpose he has in mind, that much is clear. If you can distract the Imperials, I'll evacuate them to the shelter." Tamano said. When she had first purposed this to Alipheese the 15th, the past Monster Lord had a secondary shelter built to house the males if anything happened to her and her daughter, and or someone like Cassandra became the Monster Lord instead and tried to go after the males Tamano found. The Heavenly Knights, with the exception of Alma Elma, were kept in the know about these projects by Tamano and Alice the 16th. The reason Alma was the only one not aware of this was because she and the other Knights didn't trust her not to screw over the research project in some way as par for the course of her idea of fun.
"Alright, so what do I do things hit the fan?" Alma Elmas' voice said. With a sigh of frustration, the Kitsune looked at the Heavenly Knight of the Wind. The Succubus was keeping a outwardly normal look of casual bravado, though she was still tense, likely not wanting to be near the Imperials. "Feria is watching over Granberry, and I couldn't help but overhear the conversation about your laboratory. Did you keep me out of the loop?"
"Yes." Erubetie said, glaring at the Succubus.
"Were the male Monsters the reason you never allowed me to enter at all?"
"Yes. And if you wonder why Erubetie was still allowed to know about it, she does not going around watching the world burn for fun, or twist what Alice said to the degree that you do." Tamano replied. "That has a tendency to cause trust issues." Alma was about to try and refute the last statement, before she closed her mouth and look at the ground.
"Be that as it may, what will the plan be now? I suppose I should mention that the army will be here in about fifty minutes if they keep up the force march to the castle, so we'll need to get them out of there and to the second shelter in less then that." Alma Elma replied.
"You had them force march to speed things up?" Tamano hissed, her fur bristling.
"I didn't know Balthasar was going to break open your lab, let out all the Monsters inside out, and throw in another party that is likely to get caught in the cross-fire once the fighting breaks out doing so." Alma Elma said. When the Knight turned, she saw that Gelt was looking in their direction with a device of some kind. "Um, I think he starting to realize something is wrong." she said, gesturing to the Human Wizard.
"Let's go, before the alarm is raised. It's clear that just running in is not going to work. Not without heavy casualties." Tamano said, and the Knights turned and left. As the two Knights of Earth and Wind were speaking however, Erubetie scowled, and lagged behind.
As Tamano and Alma Elma were conversing, the two were laughing about a joke between them. "What do you think about going to check on Granberry Eru..." Alma paused, and she and Tamano looked around. "Oh bugger." the Succubus said, as she paled.
**POV SHIFT**
As Balthasar examined the tree line with his telescope, he furrowed his mouth. He could have sworn he saw movement just a second ago, and his Witchsight was going haywire in telling him that something was there. However, he saw none of the Monsters' heavily corrupted auras, or any of the heavy and corruptive Black Wind of Dhar that seemed to be magnetically attracted to their souls.
Is this some sort of Monster trickery? Are they trying to evaluate what I do to these creatures, and plan to attack to make it look like they are trying to protect their kin perhaps? Balthasar thought. It would not be the first time he or someone else had political agendas behind the battles they went on. The Supreme Patriarch was not going to let his guard down either way, so as he collapsed the telescope, he spoke to his escort.
"Take these... beings back to the laboratory, along with some of the men in the dungeon, and hide the entrance."
"Mi'lord, have you seen anything?"
"No, but I doubt that I didn't get the sense of being watched specifically from that direction just because I'm paranoid of the bushes there." Gelt said. After the Monster test subjects were taken back to the laboratory, Balthasar was pouring some water into a cup from a nearby pitcher that was set on a desk he was doing some studying on, when he felt the Winds shift, and recognized it as that of Dhar. "Hmm, I was wondering what that sensation I sensed was." he said, turning around to see which of the Monsters it was, when Erubetie tackled him, and he let a grunt as the Monster slammed him into a bookshelf. The blue fluid the creature was made from began to dissolve his clothing, while she hissed at him.
"I'm going to make you suffer the most humiliating of deaths Gelt." She snarled, a glare of rage and hate in her eyes. "First, I- gaahh!" she exclaimed suddenly, and her gelatinous body suddenly recoiled, before she fell over shaking as though in pain. Balthasar then stood up, and spoke while he inspected his clothes and walked to Erubetie.
"Your kind of Monster is made up of some sort of chemical compound given life, that much I figured is known for... whatever you are. From what I could determine, your particular species requires a specific environment to live, which most assuredly require a base of water and other substances. As a result of your unique physiology of a flexible membrane which contains what would otherwise collapse into nothing but a puddle, you and your kin have exceptional shape-shifting and regenerative powers, to the point of rendering conventional weapons useless." the Gold Wizard said, as Erubetie suddenly ejected some of the matter she was made of, trying to purge and cleanse her body of contaminants. Interestingly to Balthasar, he noted that the fluids were heavily discolored, and the Monster let what sounded like a groan of intense pain while doing so, and he leaned down to the shuddering creature. "That also means however, that your kind are weak to having chemicals and other substances that you can't digest if they get into your body, which causes you to enter a state akin to toxic shock. And right now, your body is basically tearing itself apart to reject and get the poison you just absorbed out of your system." Erubetie looked at the golden mask, fear and horror as she realized what had happened. Shaking as she ejected more of her mass, her voice was hoarse and stuttered as she tried to speak.
"What did you poison me with?" Erubetie choked out. The Supreme Patriarch smirked under his mask as he put on a pair of gloves.
"Apparently, no Human villages who had to deal with your kind hunting their populace thought to chemically treat their clothing with, say, lye and nightshade oil with lead powder mixed into it." Gelt said, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a golden ball just about big enough to fit in his palm. As he disenchanted it, Balthasar then asked Erubetie a question. "Do you know, what will happen, if sodium makes contact with water?" as her eyes were raised in fear and confusion, Gelt spoke up. "Let's just say there is a reason I am wearing gloves, and if you think you are in pain, your last few seconds are going to prove that wrong..."
With that, Gelt tossed the small chunk of sodium at the Monster and ran over to a table, and she made a terrified expression as the silvery metal plopped into her center mass. Balthasar then turned around, and proceeded to transmute the Monsters' surface membrane layer into gold with Chamon, effectively trapping Erubetie and preventing her from expelling the metal before it started reacting with her body, as well as acting as a container for the reaction. To confirm that Erubetie died, he knocked over the table and used it as sodium becomes explosive when exposed to water. As the minutes ticked away, he started to see the shell glow red hot at around the waist area, and watched a hole get burned though the gold. Immediately, steam was blown out as well as an orange gout of flames, and Gelt ducked down while he covered his ears from the shrill whistling, combined with what sounded like a scream of agony and pain. Suddenly a shock wave burst out and launched Balthasar away as the statue exploded outwards in his direction like a directed bomb. As the table took the heavy brunt of the attack, Gelt got up with only a ringing sound in his ears, and some disorientation. The table itself had a number of pits and scars from fragmentation, the thick wood it was made from serving well in shielding the Gold Wizard. As his hearing cleared, Balthasar realized he could heavy breathing.
Did she survive somehow? Balthasar wondered, and then a small blob of the blue fluids that made up Erubeties' body crawling away, but doing so sluggishly, and then noticed a small purple object, which was present in all of Erubeties' forms. "Apparently that purple object is more important then I thought." the blob paused, and shifted to reveal a singular eye, which stared out blankly in Gelts' direction. "I take it that as long as that is undamaged, you'll at the very least survive just about about any injury?" he asked while pointing at Erubetie, pulling out a pistol and quickly aiming at the blob. He then pulled the trigger at Erubetie, who quickly extended a tendril of her remaining mass with the object inside in response as it made a panicked cry. However, the pistol was not actually loaded with a ball, and so only shot a piece of burning cloth. Realizing she was bluffed with a burble, Erubetie fled as Balthasar by squeezing through a gap between a door and the floor into a nearby room, moving with a quick burst of speed as the Monster made a screech.
Hmm, so she can still move quickly, but didn't attack me while I was vulnerable, and seems only capable of the occasional vocalization. It is likely, that as long as she does not have time to recuperate from the sodium reaction, that Erubetie is severely weakened without her main body so to speak. What I am chasing is her attempt to retreat and recover. I'll have to finish her off before she accomplishes this, as she will not fall for the same trick twice. Balthasar thought analytically, when several of his escorts burst into the library.
"Mi'lord! What happened?! We heard an explosion!" one of the Great swords yelled out. Balthasar Gelt pointed a finger to them, then gestured with a 'come hither' movement with it as he went to enter the room Erubetie fled through.
"Follow me! A Monster tried to assassinate me, and we need to finish it off before it can heal!"
