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Abhorrent Mutation
"… We just got done with previous mission" Bird's flat look could be felt through the lenses.
"I'm aware," Vesli's face was on the grimy table, uncaring if he was infected with whatever horrible diseases this wood surely carried.
"Yet the Heir in their infinite 'kindness' had decided we deserve more… recognition." Calliot was sparking with displeased arcane energy. "Which means we get sent on more missions". The 'unfortunately' in that sentiment went unspoken.
"By the Spirits, it's like we're being punished" Aela's scowl was stormy as she ran a whetstone over her glaive. "But we succeeded! This makes no sense!"
"Perhaps we have made ourselves too reliable." Based on the Doctor's movements, Vesli could tell Bird was displeased.
"Too much of a good thing." He nodded in agreement before his gaze went to the notice that had started the group's unhappiness. It was a copy of the public notice that had been posted about the Hamlet. Announcing that this adventuring party, still fresh from their misadventures with the Shrieker was assigned to clear the way in the Courtyard. Whatever that meant. Rir bristled in Vesli's mind, uneasy at this. Vesli was in complete agreement. He did not feel like this was a good thing. He did not like it. And there was nothing that Vesli could do about it. To defy the Heir was madness in itself. If Vesli wished to remain employed (and quite frankly he did not trust where the carriage went with those who left), he would have no choice but to obey. As did the rest of his pack.
The next day they were stocked up, and the Caretaker handed over an invitation with a demented giggle. And off the quartet went, trekking into the Courtyard. Vesli did not know what he had expected when he first encountered the crumbling buildings. This putrid, festering bog was not what he had imagined. If he was honest, he wasn't sure what he expected. Something similar to the Ruins maybe? Not this stinking wetland. They followed a map, charted by previous teams. They were supposed to clear an obstacle, the location circled in red. They encountered the odd band of mosquito people, but it was nothing of importance. They slogged through the horrid mire determined to deal with this mysterious force that was blocking the way forward. It struck Vesli as suspicious that the only thing they were expected to do was deal with this so-called obstacle. His fingers twitched as they came up to an opening. Water stretched out before the party, cattails swaying with the breeze. It would look almost pretty if this place wasn't so corrupted and setting off all the warning bells. Rir growled in the back of his head. This was all the warning he had before he had to leap back, lunging jaws snapping shut in the space he'd just been.
"By the spirits!" Aela readied her glaive as they got a look at the hideous mutation, "It's unnatural, abhorrent!" the monstrosity chittered at her, six legs scuttling and clacking, quills bristling. The creature clearly took offense to this as it snapped it's jaws angrily, arching it's back as the fleshy openings spread further, mosquitos and red miasma shooting towards their group.
"Hold your breath!" Bird shouted, smashing a vial on the ground as a cloud quickly spread and faded, the bugs falling to the ground with it as the bug killer dissipated rapidly.
"Where'd it go?!" Caillot looked about, eyes peeled for any sign of their quarry, the ripples in the brackish water implying it had submerged to stalk them.
"Reeds!" Bird shouted just as the beast lunged up from the water, maw gaping, jagged ivory teeth sticking out randomly from the fleshy gums, ropes of pink skin binding the upper and lower parts of the mouth like it had started melting and stopped halfway through. As Aela hastily put the haft of her glaive in the way so it couldn't get at her, the creature's long worm like tongue flailed and lashed out at her.
"Help would be appreciated!" Aela shouted, digging her feet into the muck to try and keep her footing, the beast trashing and flailing at her. At her plea Bird began to prepare another weaponized mixture while he and Caillot charged, the Occultist stabbed his knife into the beast, a sharp wrench jerking the blade from the man's hand.
Lashing out with his chains, Vesli struck the beast across the face as it recoiled, finally moving back from Aela before hastily diving back into the water and reeds, Bird's blinding gasses missing by mere moments.
"We need a plan." Vesli snarled, giving into Rir's demands to transform. A larger, and more importantly stronger, frame would be crucial here.
"I'd love to hear one!" Aela panted swinging her weapon to clear away the beast's saliva, the gouges from its fangs still present in the haft.
"Rir!" Bird drew the feral Abomination's gaze "Could your chains restrain it if you get close enough to grab that thing?!"
Rir could do this. This scaley thing thought it was predator. Rir would show this prey who the true alpha beast was. Getting to the water, Rir let out a roar, lashing out with his chains till the scaley thing surfaced once more. Lunging, Rir bit the scaley thing once before deciding death might be a better fate than having to taste it again and began trying to grapple it, the chains from one of his arms wrapping around and getting tied up its teeth. Raking the claws of the arm not chained to the beast, Rir saw its pack charging to help deal with scaly prey thing.
Unfortunately, the Scaly-thing saw them too and dove back down, taking Rir with it. The water was cold, Rir having barely had a chance to get a gulp of air before it went down. Down in its element, the Scaly-thing thrashing and spun, trying to break the chains and get at him.
Grasping the spines, Rir, focused on keeping his grip and not losing his air, his salvation coming from the pack as Aela's glaive got trust into the water. Grasping the weapon, Rir felt the pull from the pack on the surface as they managed to pry him up enough to get a lungful of sweet lifesaving air. As Rir gained air, the pack started fighting back, what Tentacles Caillot could use safely lashed out at the parts of the beast Rir was not upon, the man's knife still stuck fast in the creature's scales.
"Idea!" Bird ran in, roughly wrenching out Caillot's knife as she stabbed her own into a new place, her other hand throwing vials of various assortments down the snapping jaws of the creature, the beast forced to swallow them "Aela, cut off tail! Rir, go for frail legs! Caillot, curse it!" Rir let out a roar, deciding to trust Prey thing Bird this time, swinging at the two front legs, those being the longest and easiest to mangle, the back two too stubby to reach where he was.
"Your idea better be good!" Aela shouted, swinging her damaged glaive at the trashing tail.
The creature, grasping the growing danger of the situation, thrashed and flailed back into the water, Rir able to get a good amount of breath this time as the creature went in, blood rising from the wounds inflicted and into the swamp. Rir reached through the water, finally getting a firm grip on the front leg and jerking as one of the insect-like appendages broke harshly. Rir's confidence was short lived as the beast thrashed in pain, the flailing throwing him off it and into the swamp itself.
In the dark blood-filled water, Rir had trouble seeing but that issue on finding the beast was soon rendered moot. As the beast's teeth sunk into his flesh Rir let out a scream, clawing to the surface as it thrashed and thrashed, allowing itself to be pulled as it worked to mangle Rir's arm. Breaching the surface, Rir had scarcely a chance to breath before a loud crack echoed through the clearing, his arm bent in a way arms were not meant to.
"You fucking bastard!" Aela swung her glaive down at the beast, managing to finally sever the tail as it let go of Rir's arm due to a scream of its own.
"Caillot, use your tentacles to tie it down!" Bird screamed, rushing over to Rir as the pain finally caught up to him and his roars of pain began anew, all the smaller creatures nearby fleeing from the terrifying sounds.
Rir had a hard time focusing on anything but the pain of the torn flesh and splintered bone, idly noting as Aela hacked more chunks into the creature and Caillot kept it from both escaping and getting too close, letting it bleed out even if it exhausted the occultist. "Bone broken, muscles twisted" Bird murmured as she examined the wound. When Rir gave a displeased growl as she examined it, she swat his nose. "None of that. If you don't behave you're going to lose function of the arm, If not the limb entirely. But, I think I can help save it. Will have nasty scars. Supposed to attract females." The last comment managed to startle Rir enough that the creature let the Doctor tend his wound in peace. It was by no means healed. But it was better than nothing. Rir could not change back however. To do such would undo all of Bird's work and cause Vesli even more pain.
"The Hamlet's people will not appreciate seeing Rir" Caillot came over to offer what healing arcane energy he could. Exhausted as he was from the fight with the Scaly-thing, it was not much. "But they will have to deal with it."
"Let them complain." Aela was covered in the monstrosity's blood and viscera, flicking some off as she spoke. "They can take it up with the Heir."
"Come." Bird tugged Rir along, expecting to be obeyed "Behave or will swat your nose again." Rir preferred his nose remain unswatted. His arm hurt enough without adding his snout into the mix. So, with grumbled sound of grouchy pained protests, Rir followed his pack back into the Hamlet.
