by Atlas Kane
She shrieked as the spiny hairs pierced her legs where she straddled it.
The horde spider panicked, its legs writhing in an attempt to free itself. Cade screamed as the leg tore free of his shoulder, but he pushed through his pain and stood.
Cade screamed in pain and outrage as he hefted his weapon and slammed the hammer down on its head. He struck again and again, each attack bursting another portion of the spider’s body. The acid blood sprayed out at him and scorched his skin, but he continued to attack until Minda cried out in a concerned voice.
“Cade! It’s over. Put down your weapon and help me.”
He shook his head, focusing on the moment once more.
His body was on fire.
His face, arms, and the gaping hole in his shoulder all burned with electric pain.
But as he glanced up at Minda, he saw that she was almost helpless to pull herself free. She’d fallen on her knees to stab the monster, and the spines were doing their worst to her legs. She couldn’t reach a leg to hoist herself off, and couldn’t lift off the beast with her hands without damaging those as well.
Coming closer, Cade dropped his weapon and glared at the ugly spider. Then he took off his leather vest and laid it over the spider’s back. “Push down here with your hands. I’ll help lift you. Come on,” he encouraged her, knowing the process would be anything but pain free.
With more courage than he imagined she would possess, Minda pressed her hands to the leather armor and lifted herself off of the spines.
They went slow, his strength acting to guide her. He felt sick as he saw the spines leaving her flesh, her bright blood staining her white fur.
After a handful of excruciating moments, Minda was free. He clutched her in his arms a moment, feeling her panting in relief. Triggering Restoration of the Grove, Cade set her down and pulled out a waterskin.
“Herbs, Minda. Anything you’ve got, and I need them too.”
“Uh…” she moaned, but summoned the healing herbs and shoved some in her mouth. Handing Cade the rest, she closed her eyes, and shook her head.
“That was horrible.”
He had to agree. “Wish I had a big-ass shoe. Yeah, that was… something else.”
Looting the corpse, he stored the yielded items in his Inventory for later inspection. Then he washed what he could of the still-burning ichor. The healing skill he’d used, granted by the amazing buckler they had found in a cave not so long ago, took care of the brunt of their wounds, but his shoulder wouldn’t be back to normal for quite some time, and if he didn’t get the ichor off, it would only damage him further.
Sand ended up being the best solution after all, and he went at his body and face with vigor.
“Hey,” Minda said, the pitch of her voice growing oddly optimistic for how badly they’d had their asses handed to them.
“What? Hungry for some spider meat?”
“Ew, no. We can give all of it to Bellows for all I care. But good news. I leveled up.”
Cade fell to the ground and brought up his UVS. He was now Level 4. “Whooptie-fucking-do,” he groaned, letting his arms flop to the ground, his whole body thrumming with exhaustion.
Level ups were nice, and he knew they needed to grow stronger, but his body still hurt, and fighting demon-possessed horde spiders was hard work.
They needed a break, and then, they were going home.
4
Rest and Riding the Storm
The two did not have long to relish in their relaxation. Rather, they forced themselves back to their feet and double-timed it back to the stream where they’d had the unfortunate encounter with the venomous lizard.
There, they bathed once more, Cade needing to rid himself of the acidic ichor. Minda just wanted to clean her own blood from her fur.
While they were there, Cade wrestled with his options in leveling up.
He surveyed the final choices he’d managed to narrow his options down to. It was either Ape’s Aptitude or Eel’s Bite. Both options sounded amazing. He’d been tempted by Hale as the Horde, the trait given by defeating the spider, but was afraid he’d gain acid blood or learn to shed his body and regrow a new one. And then there was Abyssal, a single-word trait that he’d undoubtedly unlocked after killing the abyss creatures. But there was no description available. It was simply blank.
He read over the final traits once more, hoping to finish the decision as soon as possible.
Ape’s Aptitude: By taking on the ingenuity and prowess of the Earthen Ape, this trait is enough to turn any fool into a battle commander. A layer of dense mana will coat your body, increasing resistance to piercing and blunt damage. If this trait is chosen, your Intelligence will increase by a total of one Attribute Point.
Eel’s Bite: Manifesting the deadliness of the eel, choosing this trait will give your attacks more than a little extra bite. When attacked, your skin will also secrete a slippery film of mana, moderately increasing the chance of grazing instead of direct hits. If this trait is chosen, your Dexterity will increase by a total of one Attribute Point.
Who the hell wants to secrete anything other than sweat from their skin? he thought. But then again, not getting hit is pretty nice. Screw it. Making his final decision, and looking forward to finding out exactly what “a little extra bite” really meant, Cade chose the second option.
As the Dexterity bonus kicked in, his body registered new reflexes, newfound coordination. He felt like sprinting, or having a roll in the sack for that matter.
But he concentrated, pulling up the two skills that were listed as options for the trait.
Serrated Touch: When skill is activated, a row of serrated mana teeth augments the edge of your weapon. All attacks cause additional slashing damage for 30 seconds as well as leaving the target with a Bleed effect. Bleed effect inflicts minimal to moderate damage depending on where it strikes the enemy. 30-minute Cooldown.
Electric Touch: When skill is activated, weapon is filled with an electric mana charge. All attacks cause additional electricity damage for 30 seconds as well as leaving the target with a Spasm effect. Spasm effect makes the target's attacks more unpredictable and reduces overall movement speed by 10% for a total of 20 seconds. 30-minute Cooldown.
How you like me now, Cade thought as he chose Electric Touch and triggered the spell. He slammed his hammer into a nearby tree and watched as sparks of yellow mana arced across its surface. The bark was a terrible conductor, so the skill largely fizzled out, but he had to see what it looked like.
Then, considering what Attributes to assign, Cade dropped two into Wisdom, trying to get his weakest area to catch up a bit, and one more in Strength, Intelligence, and Charisma. Finalizing the choices, Cade bit his teeth, enduring the onslaught of metamorphosis as his body evolved. It felt like light waves were screaming through his muscles, biting at every tendon. But again, like his last level up, this one hurt less and was becoming pleasurable.
He glanced at his Character sheet and grinned.
Name: Cade
Level: 4
Strength: 15
Constitution: 15
Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 16
Traits: Lycan Metabolism, Nilgathi Fervor, Alpha’s Fitness, Eel’s Bite
Skills: Culling the Pack, Wyrm’s Wrath, Alpha’s Call, Electric Touch
“I’m a bad mother—”
“Are you going to wait until the last of the daylight is extinguished before you’re ready to go?” Minda complained. He glanced over and saw her face was impatient, though he could tell she’d noticed the added point to Charisma.
“Yes, of course, my dear. I am ready when you are.”
The two made their way back to the broken path that led down the cliff toward home. It wasn’t an easy journey, but considering it was downhill, and both of them were pumped up by their increased strength, they managed to make it back to camp before nightfall.
As they strolle
d up, Minda gave a shout. It was a high-pitched and keening cry that summoned Satemi immediately.
The tall woman’s eyes flared wide, and she ran toward them. “Oh, thank the gods you are safe! We were just packing for the morning. If you weren’t back by nightfall, I said—”
“I know. And we are sorry. I was injured yesterday, and we had to wait until I healed,” Minda soothed her friend.
“Injured?”
“Bitten by a venomous creature actually.”
Satemi scrunched her face in worry but shrugged it off the best she could. “Well, you are back now, and that is good. Ketzal took Bellows for a short walk. He is eating more than we can provide these days. We had better take him into battle again soon or I am not altogether sure he’s worth the trouble.”
Cade knew she was only teasing. It was strange, but she had grown fonder of the boar than any of them. He had even caught her feeding him late at night after she’d gotten up to relieve herself.
They returned to camp where a fire was burning and a few wild birds were roasting. The smell of it was something close to duck, savory and rich, the drippings sizzling in the fire every few seconds. Cade ate the most, as usual, his Lycan Metabolism fueling his body but requiring almost more than all three women combined.
It was a nice feeling though, to stuff yourself silly and only to receive mock scorn. He could see it in their eyes that they thought his habits endearing. Just hope we don’t run out of food. If so, I doubt I’ll be so amusing then.
Minda gave an extended version of their encounter with the guinea gryph and the subsequent battle with the spider. It was well-animated, and she even stood to give the details. The best part, of course, was when she jumped off of a bench, falling into a deep crouch, her eyes flickering in the orange firelight, and pretended to stab a giant spider in their midst.
“Hold on! Where did you find that spear by the way? You just happened to pick up a hardened bamboo spear while I wasn’t looking?” Cade asked, his curiosity getting to him.
Minda shook her head, still crouching before them, and took a bit of a pear she held in her hand. “I simply enchanted it. If I can make plants grow in the shapes I want them to, then why not a spear? It was easy. Only worked because the shoot was already the right size and only needed a hardened point.”
“You’re a genius, girl,” Cade said admiringly. Then laughed as she stood dramatically and sauntered back to her seat.
Then the two were congratulated on their level up. Cade told them of his new trait and skill as well as the Attributes he’d chosen. He ended it by hoisting his weapon for them all to inspect, showing off the upgrades he’d given Mr. McGregor.
“Inspect it. This thing is becoming a regular Swiss Army Knife,” he encouraged.
Mr. McGregor Blast-Axe Level 4
Primary Weapon System - Battle Axe
Base Damage - 70% of Max Damage
Damage Type - Slashing
Attack Speed - Medium
Mods: Razor’s Edge, Herculean Hammer, Mana Spear
Secondary Weapon System - Blast Staff
Base Damage - 70% of Max Damage
Damage Type - Ether Blast
Attack Speed - Instant
Recharge Rate: 27 seconds (Intelligence score 15)
Mods: Slug Shot, Double Tap, Explosive Shot
Satemi asked to hold the weapon and made a grand effort of seeming impressed. “For an axe, it isn’t half bad. I see it has a baby spear growing on its tip too.”
That drew a laugh, but they all admired the six-inch shimmering spike tipping the axe. The mana pulsed slightly when it passed through the air and was very impressive to look upon. “Here, let me see it. I’ll show you its other delightful quality,” Cade asked, hand held out.
She returned the weapon, and he aimed the blast staff high up on the cliff face and fired an Explosive Round. The projectile was slow, coming out so much like an M40 grenade launcher it filled Cade’s heart with murderous delight. It landed with a burst of pure white, and tiny fragments of rock spilled to the ground several seconds later.
“That would have been nice to use on the spider,” Minda pointed out, and he had to agree.
Then Cade wanted to slap himself on the forehead. He wasn’t the only one with a level up. “What about you though? I got so caught up in my own choices I forgot to ask about yours. Please tell me you chose something combat-related.”
Rather than answer, Minda extended her staff, and after a brief but incomprehensible chant, summoned no less than nine daggers in the air before her. By the looks of them, they were made of wood. Each was suffused and surrounded by glowing green mana. And before Cade could open his stupid mouth and ask the obvious, Minda showed them what she could do with the weapons.
With a tiny flick of her finger, she sent one of the daggers flying towards Cade. It sunk into the log bench below him and shuddered there a moment. “By the drooping balls of my grandfather! Minda,” he shouted, standing up in alarm. “If I was any older, or if it was simply a really hot day, that might have done some damage. You’re lucky my boys are tucked up and away for the night.”
“Yeah, until you are warmed by the furs again. I swear, last time you slept near me I woke up and saw you with your legs spread open. Was like looking at an ancient billy goat,” Satemi teased, her white teeth shining.
Cade laughed too, knowing there must be times when sleeping with a big, sweaty man wasn’t that exciting. “Just no more knives thrown at my junk, okay?”
Minda nodded, then turned toward the wooden storage shed that Satemi had made. With three more flicks, she sent daggers rocketing through the night air. They landed at the same time, forming the points of a diamond a few feet apart. Pushing her palm out, the rest flew in a wave, smashing into a log at the diamond’s center.
When she looked back to the group, her eyes were excited and begging for affirmation.
“Damn, woman! You could kill a flock of birds in a single attack!” Cade noted.
“Or nine golden-fleeced lions,” Satemi growled.
Ketzal flinched at this last reference, and Satemi apologized.
“It’s okay. Just didn’t expect it. He’s… still in my dreams. Probably a side effect of the mind control,” the demoness admitted, shame evident in her eyes.
Satemi’s features grew violent, and Cade thought she might throw out some colorful string of profanity. Instead, she sighed and rested a hand on Ketzal’s back. “Hey, did you have something to show us? Your new Occupation?”
Ketzal shook her head, her silky black hair and golden horns reflecting the firelight. “No. Tomorrow, I will show you all. You’ll be impressed.”
“I’m sure we will. Now, I will take first watch. Bellows and I have some star-gazing to do. Get to bed, everyone. Cade, I’ll wake you in three hours,” Satemi said, and before anyone could brook an argument, she drew her swords and walked out toward the slope that led up to Camp Casmeer.
Cade shrugged. His body was so sore it felt like he’d fucked a football team last night and lived to tell the tale.
He hobbled into the grand sleeping structure Minda had grown for them and climbed into the furs, Minda on his left and Ketzal on his right.
Still nervous about how to treat the demoness, Cade turned his back to her and faced Minda. A thread of silver moonlight fell onto her features, and he swore he saw a thread of anger pass there. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “She doesn’t yet feel welcome. No need to flirt with the poor girl, but throw an arm around her at least!” The words came out like a hiss, and Cade doubted Ketzal hadn’t heard.
He rolled back over, but before he put his arm over her, Cade called out in his mind. Ketzal. Do you mind if I hold you? No response came, so he tried again, this time emphasizing his thoughts. Ketzal! Are you there?
Her body jumped, but shortly after, she responded. Yes, I’m here. What is it?
I asked if I could hold you.
As an answer, she wiggled backward, her backside brushi
ng up against him. Cade wrapped his arm around her waist, and fought not to immediately react. Again her smell filled him with longing. Cinders and incense burning, a hint of clove. How do you smell so good? he asked, knowing she would answer.
Her body shook with faint laughter. I do not try. But I have heard that humans are attracted to a demon in many ways. You have a smell too, you know?
Yeah, I’m certain I do. Sorry for that, Cade admitted. Living in the jungle half naked with a waterfall for a shower and no proper soap wasn’t the best way to stave off body odor.
It isn’t bad. It is… earthy. I will leave it at that.
Cade’s fit of laughter woke Minda behind him, but rather than give him a hard time for it, she pushed her butt against his and went back to sleep. In a few moments, she was purr snoring again.
Why didn’t you answer me last time? And why haven’t you been speaking to me in my mind like you used to? Cade wondered, noting the shift in the girl’s behavior.
He felt her head shake from side to side. Sorry. I want to, but it takes effort now. I feel I have been wounded by Vormer’s mind manipulation. He had compelled me before, pushed at me with his will, but when he controlled my body and mind completely, like he does his city guards, it was different.
Cade squeezed her to him, trying not to focus on the tremendous amount of hip he was holding. She pushed closer once more, and he swallowed, feeling her ample behind press against him. Ketzal was a serious woman. Her curves could make a snake jealous. She was, as Cade had heard growing up, built like a brick house.
Then he gasped when he felt her tail twitch against his leg. He’d forgotten about it entirely. And for some unknown reason, just like her horns and her purple skin, it seemed sexy.