Beastborne

by James T Callum

  “Wait,” Elora said, leaning forward. “Soul Aeder used to live on Aldim?”

  The barbarian rolled her eyes. “Yes. Is what I saying! How you think I know? Knowledge not come from air! Stupid lowlanders, always with strange thinking. Pobuls live here, before this place sink. Before it called Black Lands. Foolish girl think these lands always so corrupt? Pssh.”

  “I’m not stupid!” Elora snapped back. “I’m ignorant. Big difference. Just because I have no way of knowing something doesn’t mean I’m slow.” She took a deep breath and tried to get back on track. Elaise was looking at her with an appraising eye instead of disdain. “And so because pobuls aren’t bound by a Worldshard’s rules, what? They can just… go between Worldshards?” Elora asked.

  “Savage becomes enlightened savage,” Elaise intoned. “Yes. Pobuls use water, flowing force of life, to move. Can move through Worldshard or within. Cannot catch Pobul, because they always find ways to slip away. Pobul that you see, wants you seeing. Is why I do not steal Komachi and take her to civilized people. Komachi want stay with you.”

  “Wait, what? You were thinking about stealing Komachi?” Elora was surprised at the venom in her voice.

  Elaise shook her braided ginger hair. “Yes, but no. Would make Komachi sad. If one Pobul back, many more Pobuls maybe come. Treat Pobul bad, Pobul leave and no more Pobuls. Pobuls heal Worldshard. We want Pobuls.”

  Elora sat back on her butt and pursed her lips in thought. If Elaise wasn’t just pulling things out of the air, which she didn’t think she was, Elora had a lot to think about.

  So what if Komachi wasn’t a god, she was still a being of power that Elora could barely comprehend. And yet she was so… sweet and cuddly and adorable.

  That lined up perfectly with what Elaise said about those sorts of creations. Komachi seemed a little more cognizant of things but only a little. How often had Elora seen Komachi licking her paw and grooming her muzzle when they talked about horrible, dire things?

  And at other times, Komachi was there with a clinging hug and a loving embrace to cheer Elora up.

  Before she could think on it too much - or worse, head down the rabbit hole of who really was the Wildsmaster and who was the Familiar - a noise perked up Elora’s half-elven ears.

  “Komachi!” she heard the pobul cry from somewhere beyond the hollow.

  “Komachi?” answered another voice, too fast on the heels of the other to be Komachi asking about in her special way for Elora.

  A series of rapid, excited, gleeful chirps and squeaks echoed out into the hollow and both women looked toward the source of the sound just beyond some heavy underbrush above the lip of the hollow.

  Elora rose to her feet smoothly at the same time as Elaise looked back to the dancing white flames of the campfire. She seemed utterly unconcerned, which only drove Elora on to investigate.

  Following the noises of chirps and rapid squeaking, Elora found Komachi standing on her hind paws with two… paper bags? Yes, two paper bags grasped in each paw.

  Just behind her, Elora swore she saw the furry hindquarters of another pobul slip into a half-frozen puddle of water and slip out of sight.

  Komachi looked over her shoulder at it, then at Elora. If she could sweat, Elora knew that Komachi would be doing so profusely. She could sense her nervousness through their bond. “…Komachi?” she asked tentatively, raising the strange paper bags in each paw.

  “Are you well, Komachi?” Elora asked, she only had concern and love in her heart for Komachi.

  “Wut?”

  With a good-natured sigh, Elora walked up to her and hefted her into her arms. “I was worried about you.”

  “Yis, Komachi back now,” was the pobul’s reply. The nervousness in her Familiar steadily dropped.

  Elora looked at the paper… sacks maybe? She’d never seen their like before.

  Before she could ask, Komachi rustled the bags. “Komachi brought din-din, and rare din-din too. You gonna like it.”

  Bringing the pobul back to the campfire, she set her down and looked at the contents of the sacks that Elora had never seen before. Elaise watched with a rapturous expression.

  The symbols on the bags looked… oddly familiar. Where had she seen their like before. One had an image of a black and white bear.

  The other was just a jumble of lettering of some sort in a language she clearly didn’t know. It was layered in bars of color with more white lettering. Yellow, brown, pale green, pink, and on and on with a variety of similar colors.

  “What’s this?” Elora asked as Komachi reached into the crinkly sack. She pulled out small white containers, one after the other. Far more than such a bag should have held.

  Komachi put a paw on a stack of white slightly shiny boxes. “Dessert,” she intoned. “This is Cheesecake Factory. Very tasty. Magical shop, don’t worry about it. This,” she motioned to the other sack with the black and white bear on it. “Panda Express. Also… magical. Yes. Magical. You will like it.”

  And so Komachi took out several boxes of unknown material and handed them out. She showed them how to open them, they made a strange sort of crinkling squealing sound when Elora gripped the boxes too hard.

  But a simple flip of a tab opened the box on a hinge of the same material. Instantly the hollow was filled with the most decadent scents she ever experienced.

  Spicy, savory, with a hint of citrusy sweetness. Inside… the food looked less than edible. It was hard to reconcile the wondrous smells coming from such a gross pile.

  It looked like glossy droppings with long brown worms. “Komachi what is this?” Elora asked, having a very hard time matching up the smells with the horrid sight. At least there seemed to be some sort of leafy green in there, tiny though it was.

  “Orange chicken chow mein,” Komachi said, intense excitement flowing through their bond.

  “I understood two of those words,” Elora muttered.

  Meanwhile, across the campfire, Elaise had done as Komachi showed her. By using the small bendy white fork, she spooled some of the noodles about the tines while spearing a lump of gelatinous covered… something.

  The look Elaise gave Elora was one of rapturous pleasure. The stoic, often dour barbarian woman’s features melted into a look of sheer ecstasy. Without warning, she began to shovel the food into her mouth with hedonistic abandon.

  Elora pet smiling Komachi, delaying the inevitable. Largely because she was afraid it was some magic gone awry. “Did you do the other thing I asked?”

  Komachi nodded, she sat in Elora’s lap and held her own container of food but wouldn’t eat until Elora did. “They know.”

  “Thank you, Komachi,” Elora said. And then, realizing she couldn’t delay any longer took a bite.

  Your Familiar Handling has risen to Level 14.

  +1% Familiar obedience (+14%).

  +5% Familiar HP (+90%).

  She hardly recognized the prompt because the searing heat that assaulted her mouth was impossibly distracting. She reached for her canteen and instead found a round cup pressed into her hand by Komachi.

  Elora looked at the dark liquid with cubes of ice floating within and drank without question.

  It was too much. She gained another burning sensation, this time one that seemed to tickle her nose as well. The beverage did, however, seem to cut down on the food’s spiciness allowing her to taste the strange medley of flavors.

  Sweet and spicy, savory, slightly bready. The drink was sweet - too sweet for her liking - but she could not stop sipping it.

  After that meal was something called “cheesecake” and various dairy desserts that Ashera would have been over the moons for. The lamora had a sweet tooth that never seemed satisfied.

  They ate decadent treats and gobbled up noodles and delicious meats slathered in all sorts of incongruous sauces.

  You eat [Orange Chicken & Chow Mein] (Superb Quality).

  -5% HP.

  +5 STR | +5 DEX.

  Buff: So Spice!

  +
15% Haste.

  +15% AGI.

  Duration: 2hrs.

  You drink [Cherry Vanilla Cola].

  Buff: Sugar Rush.

  +20% MP Regeneration.

  +10% Haste.

  -20% DEX.

  -15% Stealth.

  +20% Evasion.

  Duration: 1hr.

  Elora’s hands were shaky and jittery as she read over the notifications. Her mouth burned but she felt like she could sprint - and deeply wanted to - around the hollow they were in like a little kid.

  She did her best to sublimate those urges, transferring them into love and affection for Komachi instead. She pet her and played with Komachi, rolled her around, and hugged her tight, much to the pobul’s chirping enjoyment. Those stubby little arms clung to Elora with every hug.

  Elaise was watching Elora’s interaction with Komachi with great interest and more than a little approval. Maybe the gulf between them wasn’t quite as wide as she thought.

  Tribe of the Ebonstar Reputation: +1,250 (Struggling Lowlander).

  The Tribe still views you as a “lowlander” but no longer with contempt. You are seen as a toddler trying to learn the ways of the world but still ignorant of them. In their eyes, with much training and tutelage, there may be hope for you yet.

  Elora’s CHR was far from stellar, but maybe she could make some inroads with Elaise - with Komachi’s help of course. By doing so, she might be able to add to the population of the Settlement.

  Something she knew was going to be necessary before long to advance to another Settlement Level. With any luck, she might be able to contribute to their grand plan of making a home in a more meaningful way than fighting the things that go bump in the night.

  98

  Late into the night, Elora talked with Elaise. The food Komachi had brought was an excellent icebreaker, one that Elora wondered about more than a little.

  She was certain there was another pobul there but whenever she posed the question to Komachi, the pobul pretended to fall asleep. Komachi could keep her secrets.

  The Black Lands, as Elaise constantly referred to them, were teeming with horrible monstrosities. Though, as the onset of winter was fast approaching, many of them were already settling in for their long winter’s rest.

  Of course, that meant other creatures came out when the frosts settled in. True to their name, the Shiverglades were already frigid without a speck of white besmirching their virulent green.

  That, Elaise had promised her, would soon change. Once winter properly set in, travel was all but impossible.

  New creatures awoke from deep in their icy caverns or burrows that held them until the first blankets of snow. Any experience fighting monsters within the next month or two would be entirely different than their wintry brethren.

  The cold didn’t slow those creatures down, it made them more vicious and hungry. Just as many of the slithering creatures in the Shiverglades now were able to hide in plain sight, so too could the beasts wreathed in white fur and scale hide within the blinding snows.

  Elora was no stranger to snow, Fallwreath had its share of blizzards and harsh winters. But despite her outward appearance, she spent much of her childhood within the safe, sturdy walls of Sanctum-Fallwreath.

  Once the snows settled in, food would be an issue. Every problem that they faced now would be magnified tenfold. All the more reason for Elora to come out with Elaise to find these wayward barbarian scouts and enlist their aid.

  The less damage done to the Settlement, the more they could focus on building homes and shelters to keep people warm. With fewer people injured or dead from the attack, they would have more hands to work and prepare for the winter.

  It was too bad she had to miss most of the Founder’s Day buff. No doubt most of the Settlement was reaping the benefits of such a powerful buff. Unfortunately for Elora, while the protection of the Manaseed seemed to cling to her yet, the Founder’s Day effect had faded almost immediately after venturing beyond the Settlement.

  Elora didn’t let it bother her much. What she was doing was far more important than any gains she might make in the three days the buff was ongoing.

  She only hoped that Hal could find a way to get the defenses built in time. Elaise seemed all but certain that without these scouts from her tribe, they would be wiped out by whatever was coming.

  Even the haughty barbarian admitted she didn’t know what precisely would be thrown at them. Partly because there were so many vicious creatures that made the Shiverglades their home.

  And so, ever the pragmatic one, Elora beseeched Elaise to give her a full accounting of all the creatures she did know lived in the Shiverglades.

  It was an incredibly long list. The annoyed barbarian halted the instruction less than halfway through to announce she would sleep and Elora would take first watch.

  Elora committed the creatures to memory, particularly their strengths and weaknesses. Aside from their descriptions, those were the most important aspects.

  The night passed uneventfully and when Elaise woke Elora up with a gentle shake, the pair ate a different meal provided by Komachi. One that was still hot and fresh as if it was just cooked for them moments ago.

  Even among the storage magic Elora knew of, that was quite a feat.

  On they went, Elaise leading the way with Elora following closely behind. As they stealthily journeyed, Elaise continued to teach the Wildsmaster about the Shiverglades and its many dangers.

  The sun was lost somewhere among the cloying canopy of the swampy forest. They trekked over squishy carpets of damp undergrowth, the air was cold but still thick with the scent of earth and greenery. And there was something else.

  A faint stench of decay, just on the edge of the scents of life. It didn’t matter where they went, Elora could smell it but when she asked Elaise about it the other woman just shrugged as if she didn’t smell it.

  Bars of light broke through the green treetops above and illuminated a singular, massive tree the size of a house. Its limbs spread out in every direction. The barbarian looked at it and stopped.

  “See root?” Elaise said, stopping by the towering tree festooned with a dozen vines of varying shades of green. Each vine played host to a riot of blooming flowers despite the frigid temperature.

  “That’s a vine,” Elora pointed out.

  The barbarian muttered something and rolled her icy-blue eyes at her. “You see, yes?”

  “Komachi,” intoned Komachi.

  “Yes, pobul one always sees. But lesson is for girl who would walk as woman.”

  Elora reached into her jacket where Komachi was curled up and pet the sleek-furred creature. Her companion chirped sweetly and rubbed her muzzle against her palm.

  An outpouring of love and affection flooded their bond in both directions until Elora could no longer tell where her emotions ended and Komachi’s began.

  Elaise waited patiently. It was the only time she was ever patient with Elora and the Wildsmaster was keen to take advantage of it when she needed to.

  Looking at the vines, Elora knew this was a test. Wasn’t the barbarian just saying something about a vine that, when cut would leak a harmless sap to people but it burned like fire when a troll touched it?

  And just like fire, it would prevent the overwhelming regenerative properties that the trolls were known for.

  But did she say it was light green with purple flowers or dark green with violet flowers? She saw both - and more besides - on that tree.

  “I see it,” Elora said, doing well to keep her eyes between the two suspected vines. [Trollsbane] was incredibly useful considering how hard it was to start a fire without magic. The Shiverglades rarely possessed natural kindling or dry wood.

  They had wood aplenty but it was sodden or moss-covered, if not covered in a fine layer of ice that immediately soaked the wood and made it useless.

  That was something she would need to explain to Hal and the others if Angram hadn’t already discovered it. They would need a stockpil
e of kindling and warehouses specifically designed for the drying process.

  Even with the incredible still-unnamed invention that Elora had created, they would need fire to recharge the chips of [Shardite].

  “Tell which is Trollsbane,” Elaise demanded.

  Keeping her sharp eyes on Elaise, she reached out to the purple-flowered vine and then stopped. Was that a twitch of a frown? As she reached toward the violet flowers, she saw it again.

  Without missing a beat, Elora continued on as if she never intended to grab either of those vines. Once her hand hovered over a vine accented with blue flowers the barbarian gave the slightest widening of her eyes.

  Of course, she would be surprised that Elora would remember. Technically, she didn’t remember. But Elaise didn’t need to know that. Elvish perceptiveness had its uses.

  Elora placed her hand on the vine with blue flowers. “This is Trollsbane.”

  Elaise gave an approving nod when Elora placed her hand fully on the vine. “Lowlander listens,” she said. “Is miracle.” She was about to say something else when a wet sloshing sound erupted ahead of a screen of smaller cart-sized trees.

  The barbarian vanished before Elora’s eyes.

  How does she do that?

  A moment later Elaise appeared high up on a wide mossy branch. Elora hurried to her side, crossing the ground with hardly a whisper and scaling the tree as fast as any lizard might.

  Without looking at Elora, the barbarian pointed at the source of the noise. A rising monstrosity of at least a dozen dark green vine-like appendages that supported a maw which bisected its flat, oval-shaped head.

  Its mouth was filled with three rows of sharp black teeth. Lines of venomous spittle stretched and gleamed between the rows of serrated teeth in the low light of the swamp.

  “You wish to know more of Black Lands?” Elaise jerked her chin toward the creature, a Morbolger. “Show that you can use knowledge given and I will give more.”

  “Alone?” Elora asked, incredulous. The Morbolger was at least ten feet tall.