"Human, why is this in a… basket?"
"Old tradition of my people. When you gave someone a gift you usually did so with a box or bag. In this case, a basket. Go on, open 'er up".
All three of us were around the table, trying to stay dry and warm during the thunderstorm that hadn't let up since yesterday. When I'd finished up I got the bright idea to do this, so I grabbed one of the spare baskets I made in my free time and put his armor in. It was kind of an awkward fit almost, but luckily I designed the armor in such a way that it came in pieces. Chest and stomach, thighs, and arm pads. Helmet would have to wait unfortunately, as I didn't have enough time and privacy to make it a surprise. Hope he'll understand.
He pulled the lid off with uncertainty, and was surprised to see the armor I'd made. He pulled it out and held it up for both of us to see.
"You… actually made this?" He asked.
All I could really do was shrug and give a half-hearted answer. "Well I mean, yeah, I'm not exactly dressed for the rain myself so it's not like I had much to do inside other than exercise and sew shit up".
There was silence between us for the moment, and then he dropped the armor to give me a hug.
"Woah, shit, easy there!" I yelped out with my hands up, surprised at the sudden affection.
"Thank you," he murmured into my chest, not looking up.
Meanwhile, I was looking to Zaru for advice, mouthing 'help me'. He didn't do anything but smile and shake his head. Realizing I was being left for dead being hugged by the kid, I reluctantly returned the hug. Honestly, it's like the kid's never gotten a gift before. I pat his back and clear my throat, making him back off from the hug. I motion to the gear and give a nod toward it.
"Well go on, try it on! I didn't make it just to look pretty on a stand or something!"
I look away out of courtesy for the sake of the boy's privacy, and gave him the time he needed to change. Should probably get something like a curtain set up in here for that, but I'd probably have to knock a wall out. Or maybe I could just wait for Zaru to leave and we could turn his spot into a changing 'room' with a curtain. Speaking of the old lizard, he didn't bother to look away, but honestly I decided to say nothing. Might just be a human thing with privacy and changing clothes.
"Done," He said simply, eliciting me to turn around and get a good look.
The armor was form fitting, and certainly accentuated his muscle, but at the same note it was certainly flexible where it needed to be. As requested, there was an extra layer of leather and chitin on the stomach, though it made his stomach bulge outward as though it were fat, it should act as a pretty good protection for it. Thick chitin pads adorned his thighs and covered his groin, almost like a kilt, and there were leather straps for keeping knives or stringing a small bag like a coin purse. And finally were the shoulderpads. I settled for a claw-like adornment, with Shearjaw pincers going up along the pads and pointing out in a thornlike fashion. All in all, the armor was pretty much built for the boy, and it admittedly looked pretty damn good. A shame he'd probably grow out of it in a couple years, but it was nice.
"I'd say you look ready to stomp some bugs and take names," I complimented with a grin, giving the boy a thumbs up.
"You never cease to amaze, Nolan. You used the same materials any one of our kinsmen have on hand and made something better than we ever could," Zaru admitted, but something tells me he's still riding on the high from when I enchanted the bow for him.
"I just… made some armor? It's not like I could have the kid out there without tough scales like you have, so it was the right thing to do".
The lizardman laughed, shaking his scaly head. "So you say, Nolan, so you say".
I cleared my throat again, this time hoping to change the subject. "So, Todone, how's it fit? Does it hug anywhere it shouldn't? Maybe you'd like me to make something to hold your spears? Or maybe you'd like it if I could add a bit more coloration to it to make it personal?"
"Colouration?"
"Well, y'know, options are limited and all, but with a few plants from the forest or some ground up bugs I could probably dye the armor to look like a different color. I know hunting's not your strong suit unless it's a creature that'll directly fight back, so bright colors aren't as big an issue for you".
"Can you… make it red?" He asked meekly.
"Sure thing," I replied. "Would go well with your brownish bronze skin actually, good pick. Why red if I can be nosy?"
"It was my father's color…" He trailed off.
"Ah…" Was all I could muster, and I saw it killed Zaru's mood as well. "Tell you what, I'll even work with you to find which tint would work best. I've got a few extra plates of chitin we could work with later to see which one would look right when dry. Deal?"
The toad boy smiled sadly at that. "Deal".
I gave a half hearted chuckle to try and lighten the mood. "Hey, chin up. May not have met him myself, but lemme say as someone that's had to look after his brothers like they were his own kids, you'd make your old man damn proud standing strong as you are today".
He choked on that again and reached in for another hug.
My baby brother sobbed uncontrollably into my shirt, too young to understand the situation fully but just old enough to know his dad was gone. I sighed in sympathy rubbing his back. Wasn't his fault his dad was a drug addict, but that's just how it goes sometimes. We don't get to choose who our parents are and I think too many of the ones making kids take that for granted. I wanna be angry, but I gotta be kind first.
"S'all right kid, he's off in a better place now. Wanna chill outside and wait for the ice cream truck or something? I got a few bucks saved up…"
I felt the tension in my body loosen up in that, and this time I took him in fully. Not sure what kind of a person he was, but I doubt he was a bad guy if the kid's all torn up about it like this. I just hope that wherever he is, he's looking down on his son all proud-like. The boy sat in my arms for what felt like forever before letting go.
"S-sorry… I shouldn't be crying…" He moped.
"Now don't you go sayin' that kid, cryin's a natural part of the healin' process," I comforted him, giving him a light punch on the shoulder. "What good're emotions if we don't use em, yeah?"
Despite his tears he laughed. "You're speaking differently, Nolan".
I realized what he meant and rubbed the back of my neck. "Old habit, sorry. It's a bit of a comfort thing for me".
Clearing my throat, I dust my clothes off to at least get rid of some of the grime of snot. Never knew toads could cry like that, but I guess this is how we learn.
"So, with that out of the way…" I began. "I suppose we outta have a sit down and talk agenda. Zaru, I know you had something to say. What's the word on our mystery monsters?"
"Nothing good, they don't behave like normal animals," The old lizard started off. "I've found the remains of corpses in the forest uneaten, and yet they all suffered the same wounds that they inflicted upon us back at my camp. Whatever they are, they aren't hunting for food".
That was… disconcerting. "Is it possible they could be… demihumans? Maybe a rival tribe that wanted to soften yours up?"
"That wouldn't explain the unused corpses," He brushed off with a shake of his head.
"Not necessarily, some tribes in my homewo- land would sometimes use the corpses of enemies or animals as warnings or even psychological warfare. We can't rule that possibility out, especially since your people don't exactly have any friendly enough relations with the others to know their customs. The fact that whatever these things are, they choose to leave corpses behind which suggests at least some intelligence. Either that or we're facing a truly mindless and bloodthirsty group of beasts here".
The old lizard rubbed his chin in thought. "That is a… disturbingly sound thought. But what about speaking? They spoke no language and yet moved as one"
I gave a brief few flashes of sign language I knew, much to the confusion of the lizardman. I smiled at that, fascinated with the little bit of knowledge that sign language didn't cross our language barrier. Something I'll have to experiment with later.
"Did you know what I just did?" I asked, receiving a shake of the head. "That was sign language, often used in situations where speech isn't something you can use, or even in situations where you're completely incapable of hearing. Granted, not the easiest thing to pull off during combat, but it's likely they may have used some variation thereof. Did you see anything of the like on that night, maybe a brief pause here and there?"
He shook his head. "I cannot say for certain".
"I thought lizardmen had dark vision?" Todone asked curiously, and this little tidbit made me very curious now.
"Yes and no," The old man explained with a sigh. "Fire often interferes with the length of our line of sight, and makes things blur in areas where light and dark meet".
"And considering you lot were smoking a bunch of meat for bringing back…" I trailed off, letting the implication complete the sentence.
"Correct," He confirmed. "We had a couple of our own on lookout just in case, but whatever they were struck far harder and faster than they could respond".
"Almost as if in unison?" I asked.
He was silent at that, realizing there was credence to my words. I let a deep breath leave my chest, and I sat down at the table.
"How far along do you think they are?"
Zarusosa took a moment to think, before making his response. "At worst? Tonight. At best? Tomorrow night. There's the slim chance of these things passing us altogether, but the proximity of the corpses suggest otherwise"
I can't help but sigh at that. "Well, at least we have the traps out in the marsh. Depending on the size and agility of these things it may or may not work, but-"
"Scraaaaaaaaah!" Something visceral from outside yelled in a chorus of voices, not far from our camp. It made us all freeze up, looking at one another for what felt like hours, even though it was really just a moment.
"It's them," The lizard said simply.
That was all the motivation needed.
Everyone moved to grab their things, in a blur of motion. I grabbed my brushhook and a belt of throwable clay bottles, in case I needed to cause some distracting irritation. Todone, thankfully, was already in his armor, and only needed to grab his spears and carry them. Zarusosa was already out the door with his bow and quiver in practiced speed, and we came with him into the thunderstorm. The rain was starting to lighten up, but not so much that we still weren't getting soaked. My eyes took a moment to adjust to the change in lighting, but if there's one thing I'm grateful for in this world it's that things seem to be just a little bit brighter thanks to a lack of pollution.
We heard crunching and more screaming from the treeline, and I couldn't help but notice that the lack of animal sounds in the area was off-putting. Nevertheless, everyone took a stance.
"A little fuckin' well timed, dontcha think Zaru?" I muttered to him, my tongue slipping back into the accent I'd picked up from my dad.
"I'm more impressed it truly came here so quickly…" He replied. "I'd figured we would have had more time at least".
Slowly, the creatures finally made their way through the tree line. One of the smaller saplings on the edge was knocked over by one of the creatures as it made an unusual whipping motion with its body and screamed. Strangely enough, I saw what looked like… tails dragging? No, that wasn't quite right, the way they dragged was all wrong.
And then a brief flash of lightning answered all of my questions, and made me realize how fucked we probably were. I only saw it for a moment, just enough to realize that what we were facing wasn't multiple beasts, at least not in the sense that they all had their own separate bodies. If Zarusosa's gasp was anything to go by, this thing wasn't natural. And in all honesty, yeah that was a pretty fair assessment.
This thing was an abomination, and as if to punish us for some long forgotten folly, the clouds parted just enough in the rain for moonlight to pass through and curse us with the sight of it. Long, raggedy skin, too baggy and shriveled to be considered attached to anything, almost like a shrunken head. Bones poking out from under the flesh as though it were the spines of a broken kite. And the bodies… this thing wasn't alive to begin with, but the bodies. At one point they must have been animated like the other 'heads', but their damaged skulls suggest they were disposed of. Rotting flesh, with the clear sign of maggots pulsing in the remains, even as the rest of this thing moved as one.
The heads themselves weren't even originally a part of whatever this thing could be. They appeared to be sewn on in a disgusting fashion, bronze rings looping cords of bloodied rope between the 'neck' and the rest of its body. The heads themselves looked almost human, but the faintly reptilian features suggest they may have at one point been the 'Naga' that Todone told me about. All in all, it looked like Dark Souls made their own take on what a hydra was. And by god was it haunting to see those eyes that stared at us with lifeless hate.
"By the ancestor spirits…" Todone croaked out weakly, and I could tell Zarusosa was the same in his body language, even if his face itself was hardened.
"Well…" I meekly muttered. "At least we only have to worry about one creature… ish?"
The corpse heads breathed in deeply, their baggy torsos swelling up like balloons as guts and muscle softly poked at the occasional rotting tear in the skin. And then they let out another hellish scream in unison, what looked like clouds of gas or spores bellowing from their mouths. If it weren't for the fact that some of the traps I laid seemed to have done any damage, I would have been scared shitless instead of the simple yet familiar shiver of adrenaline that permeated my bones.
WARNING: BOSS APPROACHING! CORPSE HYDRA!
Nolan Potts, Human (Karma: 50 [Neutral]) [14/15 Spell slots used]
Classes: Brawler (4), Ranger (3), Druid (2), Clothier (3). Total Level (12).
Spells (Druid): Frostbite, Entangle, Create or Destroy Water, Guidance, Jump, Cure Wounds, Dust Devil, Protect from Poison, Hold Person, Spike Growth, Lesser Restoration
Spells (Ranger): Animal Friendship, Speak to Animals, Ensnaring Strike
Gear: Canvas Clothes (Sturdy, Weathered), Oak-Handled Brush-hook, Canvas Coyote Pack of Holding, Bundles of Herbs (Medicinal), Bundles of Chitin, Pot of Tannin, Bundles of Smoked Bug Meat, Dried Deer Hide, Bones, Bone toolkit
Items of Note: {Humble Beginnings}, {Emerald Moon}
Party Members are as follows…
Member One: Todone, Son of Kodrotti, Toadman (Karma: -30 [Neutral])
Classes: Toadman Warrior (8), Brawler (7), Total Level (15).
Member Two: Zarusosa Shaha of the Greenclaws, Lizardman. (Karma: 110 [Neutral-Good])
Classes: Lizardman Hunter (10), Warrior (9), Ranger (5), Total Level (24).
AN: Y'know, out of all the stories I never published in my veritable pile in google docs, this is the first one that's actually breached a hundred pages. Not sure how to feel about that, if I'm being honest. I don't know how everyone feels about the pacing of the story so far either, personally I feel like I might be going too fast with both the sudden approach of a 'boss', so I'd like everyone's opinions on the story as to whether or not I should adjust the speed for future reference.