by Skyler Grant
A head poked into the chamber, then the creature came in, its build slightly different than the last but obviously of the same breed.
"Go, I've got this," Alex said.
Helen didn't argue, moving to the wall and beginning to climb up the stonework. The surface was sharp and rivulets of blood started to flow down the white stone as it cut her hands and feet. Still she worked her way upwards, slowly and methodically.
Alex placed himself between her and the beast.
It was heavily built and must have weighed several hundred pounds. This one had black fur too with a tuft of white along one ear. Yellow eyes were perched above a set of massive tusks that protruded from the lower jaw. Aside from the roars a deafening ringing seemed to fill Alex’s head, a raw note of wrongness that was akin to nails on a chalkboard, scratching the inside of his skull.
Alex's vision blinked in a now familiar way.
Aryx
Alignment: Black
Level: 7
Hitpoints 73/73
Aryx visually appear to be a hybrid of a panther and a deer and are usually found in a state of partial decomposition. They largely feed upon small animals and spawn from larvae they leave in the corpses of the rotting dead. Like most undead they are vulnerable to fire, magic, and dissonant weapons but are strongly resistant to mundane arms.
Aryx has been added to your Grimoire
"You have better weapons. Is your hammer magic?" Alex called up to Helen.
"It says it has an enchantment," Helen said, and paused to remove it from her hip and toss it down.
Alex caught it and sheathed his sword just as the Aryx bounded his way. Alex had seen how they leapt straight at their prey and was already swinging with the hammer. The Aryx was faster than Alex expected and instead of catching it in the head, he struck it in the side as the claws scraped against his arm.
You have hit the Aryx with your Songhammer
Magical
5 Magical Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 3 damage
6 Blunt damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 6 blunt damage
2 Damage dealt
You have been hit by the Aryx
Dissonant Claws
18 Dissonant Damage
4 has been absorbed by your armor
5 Slashing Damage
2 has been absorbed by your armor
17 Damage received
The claws had dug nasty furrows through Alex's armor and into his flesh.
Whatever this combat interface was Alex was starting to make sense of it. The values listed on his armor were directly correlating to what he was seeing here—and that meant he absolutely could not allow this creature to get any more hits on him.
The Aryx wasn't allowing him time to think, already turning sharply to snap at him, which Alex dodged to deliver an underhanded and underpowered hit of the hammer to its lower jaw.
You have hit the Aryx with your Songhammer
Magical Weapon
4 Magical Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 3 damage
5 Blunt Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 5 damage
1 Damage Dealt
Helen had reached the top of the wall, pulling herself over. She called, "I'll be back as soon as I can."
Soon was going to soon enough. Alex wasn't going to win this fight. All he could do was buy time. The hammer was an unfamiliar weapon in his hands. While it might not be as efficient, he could do more with a sword.
Rolling out of the way of the Aryx's next lunge he set the hammer aside to draw his sword once more. Alex wished the blade was longer—with a long blade he could have done far more to stay out of the range of this thing’s claws.
A second Aryx entered the chamber, letting out a roar which the first answered. The noise in Alex's head was worse now, an endless screeching even more intense.
Tactically the sword appeared to be a bad idea, or perhaps it wasn't, aggressive as these things were being. Alex might not have a weapon that could hurt them, but he bet that their claws could hurt each other.
Alex feinted towards the second Aryx, stepping back and away from the first. Positioning was key here, if this was going to work.
Both Aryx charged.
Alex leaped, bouncing off the wall to land away from the two furiously charging Aryx who collided into each other in a fury of claws and teeth. They could definitely hurt each other—black droplets of foul-scented blood sailed through the air as they took savage swipes at each other until one backed away hissing.
Alex lunged behind one, driving his sword blade into its hindquarters. It was almost as if the creature was made of stone, the tip of the sword just barely penetrating the flesh. However it was enough to cause the creature to leap forward startled into a second bout of fighting between the two beasts.
Whatever satisfaction Alex might have been feeling faded when two more Aryx stalked into the room. The screeching in his head was overpowering now, maddening. He wouldn't be surprised if his ears were bleeding.
Theoretically the strategy Alex was already using against two Aryx would work even better against four, but it left him even less room to maneuver and he was starting to feel light-headed from his wound. Fresh blood was adding to the older stains on the armor.
Alex positioned himself behind the fighting Aryx. When one of the newcomers charged, his leap aside sent it smashing into the others. It also allowed the fourth to catch him with a butt of its tusks.
It threw Alex tumbling through the air to crack his head hard against the stone. The dizziness he was experiencing was suddenly magnified. At least all four Aryx fighting among themselves gave him a moment to think and he tried to clear his head.
Unless the situation changed he was going to die here. The situation might change, if Helen came back with a way to get him up to the balcony.
It was a big might. What was the alternative?
The chamber they awoke in contained another Aryx. It may be possible to run back and somehow swap places with the creature, then secure the room. If Helen returned though she couldn’t fight her way through this many Aryx—assuming she figured out where he’d gone—and he would be trapped there unless whatever help that Nya and Vandor thought would arrive actually did.
There was the other direction in the hall. The Aryx were coming from somewhere, probably there, and perhaps through an exit beyond them ... perhaps.
They were all bad options without more information.
"If you're out there and coming back, I need to know it," Alex yelled at the top of his lungs.
It reminded the Aryx that he existed, which wasn't a great move. Alex ducked and waved through the onslaught that came. Another caught him with a swipe of its claws on his thigh.
You have been hit by the Aryx
Dissonant Claws
21 Dissonant Damage
4 has been absorbed by your armor
3 Slashing Damage
2 has been absorbed by your armor
17 Damage received
"We're coming," came Helen's voice.
"What are you fighting?" came a second voice. A woman's.
"Aryx," Alex called as he limped away from the hissing, spitting cat-deer.
The woman called, "They can't see in the absolute darkness like you can, they require smells and sound. Rotblood, the black stuff they bleed. You need it on your exposed flesh to hide your own scent, then wait for us."
That was something that Alex could work with. The first pair of Aryx were still stalking each other near the wall. With a few prods of his sword and some careful maneuvering he motivated them to advance their fight closer to the others.
Their battle had left a pool of black on the floor, the scent was like that of long-decaying, spoiled meat. Reaching down he splashed the fluid on his face, and through the rents in his armor into the open wounds.
Where it made contact with his flesh it burned.
You have taken damage from Rotblood
1 Dissonant
Damage
That done Alex went still. Was it absolute dark in here? With no light sources he didn't have reason to doubt it, but it did raise the question he hadn't pondered much until now. Why was he able to see? Certain things felt familiar—like the sword at his hip—but some things didn’t. The hammer was new, as was seeing in darkness, and the text scrolling across his vision.
The Aryx were done fighting each other and had started to prowl the room, their steps slower now. More cautious, they still lashed out when they bumped into each other.
Alex calmed his breathing and did his best to keep as still as possible, muscles tense and ready to jump. His wounds were oozing blood and the ringing in his ears hadn't stopped. The entire world seemed drowned in noise.
Alex couldn't be sure what had given him away, but the sharp jerk of an Aryx's head in his direction gave him time to roll away just as it lunged. Unlike last time there were no bonus maneuvers. As soon as he was out of the way and against the wall he froze again.
The woman’s advice was working.
Another Aryx sauntered into the chamber. This one was larger than the others, a number of scars speaking of its age and experience. It sniffed the air and turned towards Alex. Whatever protection the rotblood granted him, it wasn’t fooling such an older, experienced hunter.
There was a whistling sound and a glass vial came from above, smashing into the Aryx's face and exploding into a burst of flame.
3
“Sonoric steel requires the forge be fed with the blood of a salamander, dragon, or imp, and the blade must be initially be struck once near the tip, then three heartbeats later one third down, five beats midway, and seven beats at the base. If struck properly you will hear a chime ring out.” Duncan Fogle, A Forgemaster’s Guide
Following the fireball there was a sound of ringing steel. To Alex's hearing it was strangely soothing, it took away some of the edge of the nonstop grating in his head.
A woman leapt down from the balcony. She was shorter than Helen and with a more muscular build. Landing on the back of an Aryx she plunged a sword through its skull. Unlike Alex's experience with his own blade, hers met no resistance, burying it deep before she pulled it free and landed a crushing blow with a hammer held in her other hand to a second Aryx joining the fray.
"Glaive," the woman said, as she pivoted and rolled away from another attacking Aryx. She wore a bracer identical to the one he and Helen had. Her armor was similar too, although in far better condition. Alex focused his attention on her—as he was quickly learning to do.
Yasmine Cinquedea
House of Bats
Respected Standing
Level 15
"Cinquedea," Alex said, trying his best with the unfamiliar pronunciation—and figuring that apparently they weren’t on first-name terms.
"Fast learner," Yasmine said, lunging forward to drive sword through the eye of the older Aryx, yanking it free as the beast collapsed to the ground.
Yasmine hit her sword about one third up its length with her hammer, causing the ringing sound that Alex heard earlier. Another Aryx had entered the chamber. Yasmine didn't seem troubled, lashing out with the hammer to catch the side of another animal mid-leap that sent it crashing against a nearby wall and looking dazed.
"I try. I’d prefer Yasmine," Alex said.
"Your call, but I’m sticking with Glaive. Can you get back to the room with your predecessor’s bodies without getting yourself killed?" Yasmine asked, grunting as an Aryx caught her with a swipe of its paws that sent her staggering back.
"I can, but there’s an Aryx trapped in there. I can't get the bodies out, if that’s what you were thinking," Alex said.
"Would be nice, but not in the plans. Glitch Hunter bodies can turn into some nasty things if not burned, and we're not going to let that happen. Three full turns of the cap left to right and throw it inside," Yasmine said, sheathing her hammer to pull a leather-wrapped bundle from her belt and toss it over.
Yasmine gave every sign that she knew what to do. In fact, she was probably the help that Nya and Vandon had written the message about.
Alex ran—or at least managed a quick stumble with his wounded thigh. Fortunately, he didn't encounter any other Aryx on the way back to the chamber. Halfway down the hall he got another stream of text across his vision.
An Aryx has been killed
Half-share awarded
You have gained 3 black XP
Yasmine must have dispatched the Aryx that he’d tried to stab.
The chamber door was still shut, no longer rattling from within. Alex uncovered the bundle. It was a clay pot with a wooden tab extending from the top.
Alex pressed against the doorway, ready to open it a crack as he twisted the cap. On the third turn he heard shattering glass and a buzzing. The pot began to vibrate in his hands. Alex pulled open the door just enough to fling the pot through.
The Aryx was against the far wall with its back to the door, it looked to be busy with eating Nya's intestines. It looked up at the sound of the pot hitting stone as Alex slammed the door shut. There was a whoosh from inside and the door shook violently.
An Aryx has been killed
You have gained 6 black XP
That seemed to have done the job. Alex made his back to the balcony chamber where he found Yasmine surrounded by corpses and cleaning rotblood off her blade. Helen was looking down from the top of the wall, a rope dropped down.
"Can't believe they left this many right below them. Must have thought they discouraged trespassers," Yasmine said.
"Discouraged us," Alex said.
Yasmine sheathed her sword and extended her hand. "I bet. Yasmine Cinquedea, as you already figured out. I'm your mentor, of sorts. Sorry for all this, I knew you were coming but hadn't known they'd crawled down here to die. Gather your things and let's get back up to Ranseur. We've a way to go before getting out of here to meet the others."
Alex took a moment to clean his own sword and Helen's hammer of rotblood. Yasmine kept watch as he climbed the rope.
"You look like shit," Helen told him at the top.
Alex handed back her hammer "Magic or not, this thing barely dented them."
Yasmine pulled herself over the edge. "Thing barely qualifies as magic. It has one magic sigil attached and it’s for lightness. Pretty common until you get used to fighting with a weapon in your weaker hand. With Glitch like Aryx you want to use a harmonized Songblade to pierce the hide. I know that makes no sense now, give it time."
"Not good with that. We want some answers," Helen said.
"You do," Yasmine said and nodded towards a hallway leading away from the balcony. "Follow me, I'll explain as we walk. Save questions for later when we have everyone."
"Everyone?" Helen asked.
"Pike and Flail are waiting for us above. They're new too. Four of you at once is rare," Yasmine said, setting a quick pace.
The ruins surrounding them were crumbling, but it was still possible to make out lots of ornate stonework of floral and nature scenes.
"Start at the beginning," Alex said.
"So you woke up stark-naked next to a couple of corpses and remember only your name," Yasmine said.
"We pissing know that part," Helen said.
"Believe it or not, you're lucky. Least you had each other, awkward as it probably was, and I was able to find you quick," Yasmine said.
"Any slower and I wouldn't be here to find," Alex said.
"That happens sometimes. I'm glad it didn't this time," Yasmine said.
"So the amnesia?" Helen asked.
"You're from another world, so am I, so are all members of the House of Bats. The amnesia is part of a contract you signed that brought you here."
"And we're just supposed to believe that?" Alex asked.
Yasmine paused to look back at them. "I can't explain how or why it works, I don't know myself. Make a choice, do you believe me?"
Alex still didn’t remember anything apart from his name, bu
t ever since arriving there were some things he just knew. How to wear armor, how to hold a sword and fight. Yasmine's words triggered something from that same part of his mind—he knew she was speaking the truth.
"I do," Alex said.
"Fucking hell. I do too, even if it sounds like a steaming pile," Helen said.
"Why would we agree to something like that?" Alex asked.
Yasmine said, "I don't know for sure. I do know that to become a member of the House of Bats three things had to be true before you came here. You need to have made a justified kill, you need to have made a needless kill, and you need to have killed for coin. It’s paramount that you understand the price of a life before you’re allowed to sell your own."
Again, the words struck a chord of familiarity with Alex.
"So, we're killers," Helen said. It wasn't a question, a flat acceptance in her tone.
"Every single one of us. Maybe you were a soldier, or a thief, an assassin, or an officer of the law. A few of us become obsessed with what they were and go looking for answers. It isn't forbidden, just hard and probably dumb. If it was worth remembering, would we have taken the deal?" Yasmine asked.
"So why does someone hire killers, wipe their minds, and bring them to another world to name them after weapons?" Alex asked.
"Those things I was fighting were Aryx, they're Glitch. You're here to kill them," Yasmine said.
It was the first real, direct answer. Alex appreciated that.
Ahead, Alex started to see daylight. A short distance led them out of a tunnel under an overhang of rock. A river flowed past beneath rocky cliffs.
"The tunnel is why you weren't able to find Nya and Vandon," Alex said.
"Yeah, we're headed for a keep on top of those cliffs. A ways along the river is a path, but I think they must have jumped from above," Yasmine said.