“I have a zoology skill I can add, but I don’t have enough points for it,” Clara said. “Maybe you have something like it. It lets me examine creatures.”
The two fighting children were now about halfway between us and the line of trees. Each of the monkey things was about as tall as my knee. At this distance, I realized something was off with their movements. Their tails were doing most of the movement. While their heads and arms and legs did move, the movements seemed sluggish, ragdoll-like. The wrestling was more a match between the appendages and the rest of the bodies were just along for the ride.
“Most my available skills are tracking-based,” I said as I watched, fascinated. “It all opens up when I hit level ten. I have something at level eight called Risk Assessment that’s only one point. But I can’t read the description yet.”
“We can fall back and snipe one and see what happens,” Clara suggested. “If we take out these two here, maybe the others won’t notice.”
That’s what I would’ve done under normal circumstances, but if I died now, I’d end up back in Bast’s large intestine. I did not want to go back there.
“No. Not until we have a better respawn location. We need to be as safe as possible.” I pointed east. “We’ll go that way and see if there’s a way around. This village can’t be that huge.”
“Huh,” Clara said. “One of those things looks like a fae baby and the other looks human. And some of those bigger ones by the trees, they look like nerve agent babies. Look that one is a bug-headed alienist. And that goat one is a viceroy.”
“That’s weird,” I said, examining the babies more closely. She was right. While I didn’t see any worm surgeon babies, several of the other 22 races were represented in the trees. Like Clara had said, the two fighting babies were a fae and a human.
The tail of the fae baby wrapped around the neck of the human baby, and with a quick, efficient squeeze, the human baby’s head ripped right off. Blood spurted from the wound, and the body fell over as the head flew through the air, landing between Clara and me.
Banksy snatched the human baby head up and shook it back and forth, like a dog trying to break the neck of its prey. Then he spit it out, a disgusted look on his face.
“It’s rotten. I can’t eat it.”
“Holy fuck,” Clara said.
I stared, aghast at the baby head. Banksy drool oozed off it.
“Look,” Clara said.
The two creatures continued to fight. Rather, the tails of the two creatures continued to fight. The limp, headless baby bounded along, oblivious to the fact it had been decapitated.
That’s when I realized what was happening.
The tails were the creatures. They were worms, not unlike Banksy. Shorter than he was, but they seemed much more nimble. They wore dead babies on them like snails wore shells.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said, skulking back. I did not want to fight a bunch of worms that were going to throw baby heads at me.
“I think I know what they are,” Clara said as we ran parallel with the edge of the forest. “They call them ‘Night Thieves’ in Medina. There’s a quest to stop them. I think. They steal the babies of the citizens at night, and you’re supposed to go into their lair and free the babies. You gotta choose between saving the babies or getting some sort of powerful upgrade.”
“This game is fucked up,” I said as we huffed along. I couldn’t imagine anyone finding anything like that fun. If I had to make a choice like that, I was certain I’d pick saving the babies. “Okay, I think we’re good.” We turned and angled back into the forest.
“They’re probably not dangerous as long as they have a baby attached to them,” Clara said, looking back. “Maybe we should kill a few to experience up.”
“Maybe,” I said, not meaning it at all. “But first we need to get into the city. Plus, we probably can’t jump into quests midstream. If you do, you usually don’t get all the benefits of it. We need to find whoever is handing out the quest first.”
“Okay,” she said after a moment.
We jogged through the woods, avoiding every creature we saw. Clara had a good sense of when we were near some sort of wildlife.
Soon, a driving rain started to needle its way out of the sky, stinging as it fell.
Small, round bugs zipped their way through the air around us, and Banksy snapped at them, sometimes catching one. I felt the small puff of soul power with each kill. Each individual bug was barely a blip, but after several mouthfuls, I was confident it was enough to keep me topped up if I needed it. To be certain, I cast Reconstitute to replenish the small amount of life that had drained away since we’d fled Bast, and sure enough, about forty bugs later, my soul power bar had replenished significantly. We did not receive any experience for the bugs, however.
Eventually we reached the end of the forest, leading to a small plain that surrounded the sprawling city of Medina, which backed up against an endless ocean of mist.
The giant city was surrounded by a stone wall that glowed blue, indicating an enchantment. On the east and northernmost side of the city, massive buildings rose into the sky, but the tips of the towers all seemed to be cut off at a uniform height, as if the protection of the city ended at a specific altitude.
A flock of black, screeching demons filled the air above the city, swooping down and crying into the wet sky. Most carried flaming weapons such as swords and whips. A constant stream of rocks fell onto the city from above, but even from this distance, I could tell the projectiles were disintegrating against the magic shield that surrounded Medina.
And on the ground, an army stood between us and the city.
“Well, shit,” Clara said.
Chapter 16
“What are we going to do now?” I said, eying the ranks of demons camped out on the plains. Despite the driving rain, hundreds of cookfires trailed smoke into the darkening sky. Nightfall would be on us in an hour.
From our vantage, I could make out at least four different styles of demons. The vast majority were the ant-like humanoids, the same monsters that had burst out of Bast during the character creation process. The four-armed creatures sat huddled in circles, humming in unison, an ominous song that cut through the roar of the rain.
The flying demons were the second largest group. These were smaller and thinner, similar to Clara but with functional wings. Their sleek, black bodies were all sharp angles and spikes. Most of them wore curved swords over their backs, and they also had curved, scorpion tails. Clara couldn’t remember what they were called, but they looked similar to the pazuzu monsters from Dominion of Blades.
The third group was called “dreadnoughts” according to Clara. Each stood about ten feet tall and had two heads. The gray, snarling monsters were all muscle and anger. These were armed with massive guns that looked like iron cannons from old-school warships. Each of the two heads wore armored helms that appeared to be attached to one another with a short length of chain for some odd reason. Most of these guys were congregated in groups at the front of the battalions, closest to the tall walls of Medina.
The fourth group of demons had wings like the pazuzu, but none of them appeared to be in the air. These were hulking, vulture-like creatures, all at least fifteen feet tall. They stomped their way through the camp on the barbed ends of their leathery wings. Black tendrils of oily smoke trailed off them as they patrolled through the camps. There were only about twenty of these demons, but they easily held my attention the most. The air around them seemed to shift and crackle, as if their very skin was boiling.
“Those are called ‘Blood Wyverns,’” Clara said. “They only appear near the end of the game and are some of the most powerful monsters this side of the rift.”
“So we stay away from them. Got it.”
She nodded.
We had more than a quarter-mile of land between us and the city walls.
“What are we going to do?” I asked again. “We can’t just stroll through the camp to ge
t there.”
“I don’t know,” she said, looking back and forth over the army, wide-eyed. “I hadn’t realized they’d be here. Last time I was here, this plain was open and filled with NPCs.”
“What about the ocean?” I asked, pointing at the wide expanse behind Medina. “Can we maybe go around and swim or float in?”
She shook her head. “I’m pretty sure you can’t go in the water at all. It’s the edge of the map.”
“So how do we get in?”
“We can’t,” she said finally. “The only way will be to teleport or burrow.”
The Teleport spell appeared in my menu, but it was only available at level 12. Banksy’s burrowing ability started at level 15. I didn’t know if I could teleport more than myself at the basic level, and I didn’t know if Banksy could burrow any sort of distance at his basic level.
“What level can you do Teleport?” I asked.
Her eyes went glossy for a moment, which I recognized as her searching her menus. “Level 12,” she said.
“Okay,” I said, backing back into the cover of the trees. “We only really have one play here, then. We both gotta level up.” I looked down at Banksy. “You up for this buddy? We gotta be safe. But we gotta kill stuff, too.”
The worm’s whole body vibrated, like he was wagging his entire length. His tongue lolled out. “I’m gonna kill stuff,” he said. “I’m gonna kill it good.”
***
“Can you see any smaller towns or settlements near the city?” I asked.
“I think so,” Clara said. “There’s a bunch of different smaller towns not too far away. The map doesn’t say anything about them, but most of them have race icons over them. The closest has the wolf face of the Lycan people. There’s one with the Dagon fish, and there’s one that has the skull icon of your people, the worm surgeons.”
“Let’s try that one. Maybe we’ll get more help if it’s my people. Where is it?”
“It’s on the outskirts of the big, abandoned city where your kaiju lives. Wait… yes. I put a waypoint on the map, and now I have an arrow.”
“Okay,” I said, “Let’s see if we can get there.”
We started to trudge our way carefully through the woods as the world continued to darken.
The woods were full of creatures, and we had to tread carefully. A few times something growled or howled in the underbrush, and we had to backtrack. Clara’s minimap gave her a rough indication of where the threat was. My minimap held no features whatsoever and was less than useless.
Banksy growled and hissed back at anything that moved. Being stealthy with him was going to be impossible. He did manage to snap up and eat a few mice-like creatures. They gave no real experience, but they did give a small boost to my soul power, keeping me topped up.
I heard the flapping of the wings before I saw them.
One moment we were alone, the next a flurry of noise and activity surrounded us. Wings, screeching, flapping, wind whipping, all around us in a flood. Clara clutched onto my arm, crying out. Banksy growled and snapped, but there was nothing to hit, no target. A blood-red glow surrounded us. Nothing touched us, but the dervish constricted around us like a snake, keeping us in place.
The world settled as we stood frozen. Leaves continued to swirl in the air.
I could finally see them now. Owls. Hundreds, thousands, of demonic owls with eyes like embers sat in the trees around us, unmoving. The trees sagged with their presence, malevolent, terrible. They were coiled, ready to pounce.
And then he was there. Another owl, but with comically-long legs stood upon the ground before us, eyeing us quizzically. Floating over his name in red, burning letters was Prince Stolas followed by a flaming crown.
Shit, I thought. This was some sort of boss creature. A demon prince. We’d walked blindly into something we weren’t even close to being ready for.
We stood there for several moments, staring at each other, neither of us moving. Clara and I exchanged a look.
“Welcome, children,” the owl said finally. Unlike his hundreds of minions, this owl had huge, luminous eyes. They reflected the red, burning light in the clearing.
“Uh, how’s it going?” I asked.
The owl looked up into the sky, blinking. “The heavens are unsettled on this night. This stalemate wears heavy on them.” He looked at me expectantly.
“That’s cool,” I said.
The owl sighed, obviously disappointed with my answer. He turned, as if to fly away, but then paused, looking thoughtful. “I dare ask. Are you familiar with my brother, Prince Andras?”
“Can’t say that I am,” I said. I looked at Clara, who shrugged.
“I was wondering if you could do something for me,” he said.
I relaxed. This was looking more like a quest-giving than a boss fight.
“Sure,” I said. “What do you need?”
“You must find him, and you must kill him. And when you kill him, stuff this in his chest.”
An owl flapped down from the tree and dropped a black flower into my hand. Another flew down and gave a similar flower to Clara.
Quest item. Black Sprout.
My inventory icon flashed, and I mentally clicked on it, pulling up the properties of the flower. The information line didn’t give much additional information.
Plant this in the fallen corpse of demon royalty. Effect unknown. It cannot be sold or dropped.
“Why would we do this for you?” Clara asked, staring at the flower. I examined my flower. It was similar to a chrysanthemum, though it had an odd heft to it. The stem was short, about two inches long with several, hair-like feelers at the end, waving as if they were searching. Holding it gave me an unsettling feeling, like I was holding a body part. I put it in my pack, happy to get it out of my hands.
The owl turned to regard the fairy.
“Do you know why fairies exist, young one?” the demon prince asked.
“Uh,” Clara said. “No.”
“Fairies such as yourself are food for my kind,” he said. He gestured with a wing at the trees, which bristled with activity. “My children have found scant food in this place. At this moment you are more valuable to me than to them. Cease to be of use to me, and that will change.”
Clara edged closer to my side. “So where can we find this Andras guy?” she asked.
“He is here, in this blasted non-world. He may be hunted, or he may be evoked.”
“What’s the best way to kill him?” I asked.
The owl cocked his head to the side. “Do not let him speak, lest he tempt you with lies. He dies like all demons die. If you want absolute certainty, I suggest the removal of the head. Do not forget to plant the flower within him.”
“And what shall we do when we’re done with him?”
“Return to this place, and you shall be rewarded greatly.”
“All righty, then,” I said. “We’ll do this.”
In the upper left of my vision, a small notification appeared. Hell Quest – Kill Andras for Stolas. The quest disappeared into a folder.
“I look forward to your return,” the demon said. “In the meantime, here is something to aid your quest. If you find this useful, you may return for more, but at a price.”
Two more owls flew down and dropped a pair of vials in front of both of us, two for me, two for Clara. I picked them up.
Extract of Colo Colo Menses (Quantity: 2)
I pulled up the description.
This potion has a 50% chance of rendering the user Blind for ten minutes, a 25% chance of giving the user Invulnerability for two minutes, a 24% chance of moving the user immediately to the next player level, and a 1% chance of imbuing all three options. In addition, there’s a 25% chance of immediately teleporting the user to the womb of Guardian Colo Colo. This is a limited potion, and the player may only consume five of these potions in their lifetime. Consumed: 0/5.
“Uh, which one is Colo Colo?” I asked Clara.
“She’s the guardian of the s
hade gremlins, I think,” Clara said. “Giant rat-slug thing with three flaming tails. She’s so fat, she can’t walk on her own, so she floats around with the aid of giant balloons made by the gremlins. Her whole body is covered with gremlin-made armor. She is constantly giving birth to walrus-sized rat monsters.”
“Would you like to purchase more potions?” Stolas asked.
“More of these?” I asked, stashing the potions. Potions that put you to the next level were great and useful, especially at higher levels, but not if there was also a chance you’d end up in the birth canal of a kaiju. They had to be crazy expensive.
“Oh no, I have dozens of potions available for purchase,” Stolas said.
A menu appeared floating in the air, and several pages scrolled by. The cheapest thing on the list was a “Full Healing” potion for 1,000 teeth. I saw I could purchase more of the Colo Colo potions for 250,000 teeth each. I didn’t have any teeth. On the last page there were multiple potions whose price were listed as “Bounty or Quest.”
Most of these potions were random quest items or large stat boosts. Some gave one access to certain game areas and others gave large boosts to base stats. To get them, one had to find and kill certain high-level monsters. This was something we could explore later, but not yet.
“No thank you,” I said. “But we will be back.”
“Very well,” Stolas said. “You may find me here, but only at night.” And with a flap of the wings, he burst into the air. A flurry of screeching wind, and the owls were all gone.
The Lair of Stolas Rare and Exotic Potions added to the minimap. The World Map skill is required before you may use external waypoints.
“That was lucky,” I muttered, watching the branches of the trees shiver. Leaves rained down.
Kaiju- Battlefield Surgeon Page 12