Beastborne

by James T Callum

  With a hideous screeching cry, the creature broke apart to either side of Hal with an earth-shaking crash.

  Weakness Exploited!

  You hit the [Noxis | Lv.27] for 123 points of damage!

  The [Noxis | Lv.27] suffers 33 points of Bleed damage (Cruel Blade).

  You cast Drill Branch.

  Weakness Exploited!

  The [Noxis | Lv.27] takes 140 points of damage!

  The [Noxis | Lv.27] takes 132 points of damage!

  The [Noxis | Lv.27] takes 133 points of damage!

  You defeat the [Noxis | Lv.27].

  You gain 800 Experience Points.

  You absorb 10 Insect Essence.

  You Obtain:

  80 [Sparks]

  2 [Iridescent Carapace]

  1 [Vial of Beetle Blood]

  One down, three to go, Hal thought, turning about to take in the scene. Angram rode one of the creatures, stabbing his thin blades into the tiny creases in the creature’s armor. Elora was dragging the bloodied body of Ashera off to the side while Mira fended off not one, but two Noxis at once with deft work of her new halberd.

  “You done patting yourself on the back over there, o’ Fearless Leader?” Mira called out. “I mean, take your time.” She shifted the pole to block a sweeping pincer then leaped into the air over the follow-up attack by the second Noxis. “Oh, don’t worry about little ol’ me. I’ll just take care of both of these, shall I?”

  Grumbling, Hal coiled his legs and lunged forward. Thanks to Convergence, his shadow-laced limbs were able to partially tap into his CHR and INT instead of STR and DEX, enabling him to leap through the air in a pale mockery of the Dragoon’s prowess.

  She saw him at the last moment and reoriented herself in the air, above the forest floor. Mira reached a tanned hand out to Hal. He grasped it and she twisted, flinging him back toward the ground. Straight into the waiting pincers of a Noxis.

  Hal lashed out with his chain but misjudged the distance and hit the empty air. He cursed and pulled back on the chain as he went over his options. Bloodrake and Enchainment were out of the picture. He needed to touch the same physical surface as his target.

  He shot out Blinding Spit at the creature, a black gob of ooze that exploded into a bright blinding flash of light. He angled [Brilliance] to fend off any attacks but it was unnecessary. Enraged and blinded, the creature thrashed about in the air.

  Hal fell harmlessly to the soft earth and went on the offensive.

  Angling himself to see Mira’s Noxis, an unstable gob of black ooze shot out of his hand as he cast Blinding Spit again. It crashed into the creature. The effect was immediate and almost comical. The long curved outer edge of the creature’s pincer swept Mira to the side, purely focused on its hatred for Hal.

  Unable to see, it barreled into the other Noxis and while the two were locked up, Hal lashed out with chain and sword. Mira was at his side in an eyeblink. Together they handily destroyed the two creatures while Angram finished off the third.

  You cast Blinding Spit.

  The [Noxis | Lv.26] takes 100 points of damage.

  Additional Effect: Enmity Up, Blind.

  You hit the [Noxis | Lv.26] for 82 points of damage.

  You cast Blinding Spit.

  The [Noxis | Lv.28] takes 67 points of damage.

  Additional Effect: Enmity Up, Blind.

  Mira hits the [Noxis | Lv.28] for 65 points of damage.

  You hit the [Noxis | Lv.26] for 87 points of damage.

  …

  You defeat the [Noxis | Lv.26].

  Mira defeats the [Noxis | Lv.28].

  Angram defeats the [Noxis | Lv.28].

  Your Sword Skill has risen to Level 14.

  +1% Sword damage (+14%).

  -0.25% Sword durability loss (-7.0%).

  Your Improvised Weaponry has risen to Level 14.

  +2% Improvised Weapon damage (+28%).

  +2% Improvised Weapon attack speed (+28%).

  Your Beast Magic has risen to Level 17.

  +3% Beast Magic potency (+51%).

  You gain 2,450 Experience Points.

  You absorb 25 Insect Essence.

  You earn 245 Sparks.

  You Obtain:

  1 [Iridescent Carapace]

  2 [Vial of Beetle Blood]

  1 [Black Pincer]

  Angram rode the beetle’s carcass as it plowed through the earth, toppling small trees and throwing up large clods of dirt. The ranger’s mirth was short-lived, however, because a moment later each of the beetles burst into a cloud of purple-black smoke.

  The telltale sign that they were well and truly dead.

  Normally, they’d compare loot and pool their resources for crafting. But with Ashera hurt, they all rushed over to the downed Sin Keeper. Elora cradled her bloodied body in her arms, working a ball of stringy white wispy light over the wounds like ethereal gauze.

  Elora casts Sparing Touch.

  Ashera is stabilized.

  Elora’s red-rimmed eyes look up pleadingly at Hal. “I can’t-”

  Hal saw the prompt just as anybody else had nearby. The confusion was wiped away a second later.

  Ashera suffers the effect of Broken Faith.

  Additional Effect: Bleed.

  Ashera takes 15 points of Bleed damage (Broken Faith).

  Now he understood Elora. She weaved the spell again, but it was a stop-gap at best.

  Not long after they came to the Feltin Plains, each of them gained a Quest. Initially, it was only Elora and then one by one, the same prompt came to them all. It said nothing more than “Help Elora finish her Quest.” While Elora’s said to find the source of a sound only she could hear.

  This was the second set of monstrously sized creatures they had faced off against. The farther west they went, the larger the wildlife became. Gazelles the size of a small bus, mosquitos as big as Hal’s fist, and of course carnivorous beetles the size of a truck.

  Between the first attack and the second Ashera suddenly fell ill and none of them knew what to do. Out in the wilds, nowhere seemed safe. The simplest of creatures posed a threat that would have killed Hal last month without any effort.

  Hal fell to Ashera’s side, placing a hand on her forehead to sweep away her pale silver-white hair. She wasn’t wounded, not outwardly as they thought. But there was an alarming amount of blood on her that, upon closer inspection, was mostly coming from her nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.

  Her HP was steadily dropping, even though Elora was practically chain-casting Sparing Touch to stem the bleeding.

  She couldn’t keep it up forever, despite Sparing Touch not actually doing any healing, it was an MP-intensive spell. It didn’t matter. Whatever affliction she had simply caused it again.

  Even with his Sympathy with Ashera, he couldn’t tell what was wrong. That meant it was something deeper than a simple debuff.

  Tapping Assimilation, Hal used Empathy to transfer all but 50 points of his SP and MP to recover Ashera’s HP. This time, Hal was ready for the panic-inducing shortness of breath that suddenly stole over him.

  “That bought her some time,” Hal said, trying to steady himself. A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and kept him from collapsing. “But if we can’t find out what’s wrong with her, I’m not sure she’ll survive the trip back. Especially if we get attacked again.”

  “I already used all the potions I had on me,” Elora admitted. “It was the first thing I tried.”

  Hal did his best to hide the disappointment. As the swiftest among them, Elora had over half their stock of [Health Potions]. If she already used that much, what HP Hal had given Ashera wouldn’t last long.

  Maybe if Noth was with them, she would have understood what was troubling Ashera. There was only one path Hal could think of to get to the bottom of it. But it was something he hadn’t used since Murkmire.

  And an ability he never tried to use on a sapient creature.

  “Mira, get to the tallest tree you can find and keep a lookout. Angram, watch
my back. I-” Hal looked over at Elora. “I can’t ask Ashera for permission, so I’m asking you.”

  “What’re you going to do?” Elora asked, her voice cracking.

  “I don’t know if it’s even possible, let alone if I’m capable of doing it but when I Dominated the Wortlings, I could see everything about them. Their stats, their abilities, everything. If I did the same to Ashera, I might be able to see what’s afflicting her.” Hal gave Elora a pained look. “I don’t see any other way. But I will not do it if you don’t think she would agree.”

  Elora scrubbed her quilted leather sleeve across her face to brush the tears away but they fell despite her efforts. “Do it. She’d do anything for me… she already has. I owe this to her.”

  “All right.” As Hal shut his eyes, Elora reached out and gripped his forearm. Hal opened his eyes and looked into her blue-gray eyes.

  “Whatever it takes, Hal.”

  He tried to give her a reassuring smile and shut his eyes, focusing. Hal pulled his hand back from Ashera’s forehead and held it out in front of her. His fingers spread and curled like he was gripping an invisible orb.

  He reached within himself to the Founder’s Sigil and cast Dominate.

  2

  Casting Dominate wasn’t something he was unfamiliar with. Even still, he didn’t remember ever feeling the deep tugging sensation like he pulled a muscle that he did now. It nearly broke his concentration.

  Pushing through, it felt like Hal was mentally parting several sets of heavy curtains. Each set he pierced through became heavier. They were layers of protection against such an intrusion. Controlling a thinking being wasn’t like taking hold of the Wortlings or a mindless beast.

  This was different. It was profane.

  And if he didn’t feel it was the only way he could figure out what was wrong with Ashera and somehow help her, he never would have suggested it. The thought of puppeteering another person twisted his stomach.

  No doubt it was something Rinbast would do if he had the power. Luckily, if Thirty-seven was telling the truth, the very fact that Hal had this Sigil meant that Rinbast couldn’t.

  Wrenching aside the final curtain, Hal felt reality shift around him.

  He stepped into a dark room of black stone. Looking behind himself, Hal could see no way back out. A pool of light illuminated a hunched figure at the center of the room.

  It was Ashera. Naked and vulnerable.

  He was in the most inner sanctum of her being. He wanted to avert his eyes but couldn’t. She was beautiful, and he soon realized that the pool of light was coming from Ashera’s body. She was glowing. Incandescent.

  And she was chained.

  Her wrists were wreathed in golden manacles that draped delicate golden chains across the floor and to opposite walls. Her ankles had similar restraints and a pair of chains that were embedded in the floor beside her. But it was the collar around her neck with its thin golden chain held taut that urged Hal toward her.

  She would have crumpled to the floor in a heap if that chain wasn’t holding her up. It should have been choking her. Hal rushed to her side. Once he was within five feet, a shimmering wall of light erupted from the stone and pushed him back with staggering force.

  Hal hit the hard stone floor and tumbled, caught completely off guard. He laid there longer than he would have liked, recovering from the hit and catching his breath. It felt like he just got hit by a bus.

  “Ashera,” he wheezed, getting to his feet and edging his way toward her cautiously.

  There was no response. She didn’t even lift her head to look at him.

  He couldn’t help but notice her shapely curves, the way her ivory horns without their usual silver filigree curled up above her silver-white hair.

  But it wasn’t her attractiveness that drew his attention. It was the countless small scars, like tiny, razor-thin cuts all over her arms and legs.

  His heart ached with sympathy.

  Was that why she always covered up? Did she do that to herself or was it done to her? Hal shook his head and strode forward, hand outstretched with his fingers curled. He summoned the Sigil to his mind and held it there.

  He knew it was working when he felt the pulling sensation deep within. His fingers met the barrier of light that shimmered and resisted him. It stretched like cling wrap and just as it seemed it would stretch forever, it broke with a loud crack.

  The barrier rippled and vanished all around Ashera, rousing her from her stupor. She looked up with unfocused sea glass green eyes. “Dad…?”

  That stopped Hal cold. He nearly lost his grip on the Sigil. “No, it’s me Ashera. It’s Hal.”

  The Sin Keeper’s eyes focused fractionally. She reached for him weakly but barely managed to get it above her breast before the golden chain snapped taut. “Where is mom? Did I make her leave?”

  Hal fought for each step until he was in front of Ashera. The Sigil’s compulsion gave him an inkling as to what he needed to do next. He resisted it, falling to his knees in front of her until their faces were level. “Ashera, can you hear me?”

  “Please help me,” she whispered, her hands weakly straining against her bonds to reach out to Hal. “Don’t leave me too.”

  He tried to summon [Brilliance] but failed. He couldn’t feel his Beast Magic either. All he had was the Founder Sigil. With no other options open to him, Hal kept his eyes locked with Ashera’s. “I’m sorry, Ashera.”

  His hand came forward under the compulsion of Dominate and wrapped around the gold collar around her neck. It felt so much like the first time they met. But at the same time, it was different. Deeper and darker. Using Mana Investiture wasn’t going to work this time.

  The metal became malleable like clay under his grip. Ashera’s gaze began to focus, moving from incomprehension to dawning realization. And finally to fear as the collar began to crack and warp under Hal’s grip, crushing her windpipe.

  It had to be done. He intrinsically understood how to Dominate another thinking creature. It was a far more in-depth procedure. Made all the more difficult because somebody had already chained up Ashera’s mind long ago.

  While it wasn’t the same as Dominate, it bore a striking resemblance. Enough that the very presence of the chains and the binding magic that laced Ashera’s deepest and truest reflection of herself, disturbed him greatly.

  But that wasn’t enough to stop him. Neither were Ashera’s sudden, fearful pleas.

  Awareness came back to the Sin Keeper in increments.

  “No, stop!” Ashera cried in an uncharacteristic burst of emotion.

  Hal knew he was hurting her but there was no other way to get the collar off. The entire time Ashera pleaded with him. With his grip on her collar, she should have been struggling to speak but it didn’t appear to bother her.

  What did bother her, was the slow and deliberate destruction of that collar. The metal bent and twisted under Hal’s grip. If he let go it would reassert its control, likely ejecting him from this place entirely.

  She begged and cried. When her threats didn’t stop him, she lunged at him but was held fast – ironically – by the chains on her wrists and ankles. Eventually, Hal managed to get his fingers between Ashera’s neck and the metal. With a wrenching twist, he ripped the collar off.

  Like a puppet with its strings cut, the lamora collapsed. Hal reached out, grabbing her and guiding her gently to the ground. While she had stopped fighting him, he immediately went to work on the next manacle.

  The cycle repeated.

  Only when Hal was actively trying to release her, did Ashera rouse from her fugue state and lash out. Seeing the danger, Hal worked at her ankles first then her hands. Sporting more than a few bruises and at least one cracked rib, he was finally forced to subdue Ashera.

  Something he could have easily done… if he had use of his Beastborne powers.

  Which he didn’t.

  Without Convergence boosting his physical prowess, the Sin Keeper was stronger than he was. She scre
amed and wailed like a banshee. She lashed out with knee, foot, fist, and elbow.

  If she was bothered by her nudity and her open display of it while she pummeled her friend, she certainly didn’t show it.

  He was able to finally wrench one of her arms behind her back and sweep out her unchained leg. Seizing on his sudden opportunity, Hal placed a knee on her back to hold her in place and worked quickly to break the final manacle.

  As he broke each manacle her reactions became ever more unhinged from the Ashera he understood. “You can’t do this! You don’t know what you’re doing, Hal! I’ll kill you!”

  The final restraint snapped and fell to the ground with an ominous, clangorous ring.

  Hal leaped back, wiping blood that streamed down his broken nose from a particularly savage elbow. He took a few extra steps back. Hal had a newfound respect for the Sin Keeper.

  Granted, he wasn’t at full strength. But still, she was no stranger to close-quarters combat.

  “Ashera?” he eventually called.

  The lamora lifted her head. Her horns, now possessed of their silvery filigree shone, with inner light like the rest of her body. Was it his imagination or did that seem brighter now?

  She made no attempt to move.

  I’m not falling for it, he thought. No, way. I’m going to get close enough that she could reach me in one lunging leap and then she’ll kick my florking ash. “Ashera, I’m not coming any closer so if you’re planning something just do it and get it over with.”