by C E Keene
Arheis suddenly imagined a massive alligator using its death roll to bring a cow under the water. He’d seen one once. A live one, not just one of the dead, stuffed ones they had at museums or creepy roadside stands along the Florida interstate. The one he’d seen had only been about three feet from snout to tail, but it’d been enough to convince him to stay far away from that particular lake.
Now he was apparently going to hunt a creature that was bigger, stronger, and probably much more deadly. Joy.
“You’re letting him hunt a Morditul without knowing what it is?” Mira asked, stopping in a way that made the rest of their party halt, as well.
“I assumed he would!” Zindar said defensively. “They’re common enough in this area. Or the stories of them are, anyway.”
“I’m… not from this area,” Arheis said carefully. “It’s fine. Nothing we can’t handle, right?”
His optimism faded somewhat as he saw the look Zindar and Mira exchanged. It wasn’t quite pity—not on Mira’s end, at least—but it was close enough that Arheis began to wonder what exactly he was dealing with.
“Morditul are extremely aggressive,” Mira said, starting through the boggy brush again. “They fight their clutchmates hours after birth. The strongest one lives, while the others are torn apart.”
“Lovely.”
Not for the first time, Arheis found himself glad he didn’t have any siblings. Maybe he’d just torn them apart and didn’t remember it. That was probably what’d happened.
They walked on, the ground beneath Arheis’ feet growing murkier and murkier. The vegetation changed, and instead of the large, glossy plants he’d come to associate with this area he was accosted by long, vine-like tangles that grew in and out of the muck.
Mud suctioned around his boot, very nearly pulling it off when he went to take a step. Even the trees seemed to sink down, the trunks becoming off-kilter as they rose up from the bog.
He might not have faced a Morditul before, but he already knew this was a terrible place to fight one.
“Not much further,” Zindar assured them—right as Arheis smacked another one of those massive mosquitoes.
The more they trudged, though, the more rank the air became. He thought it was the bog itself, but a generally awful smell slowly revealed itself as the oppressive stench of death when he glimpsed a mostly-eaten corpse half absorbed by the muck.
“Looks like a Nepondus,” Mira reasoned.
Arheis found slightly higher ground and examined the body as closely as he dared. The chest cavity was just gone, as though whatever had killed it had scooped out the insides the way one might scoop out a pumpkin.
He almost gagged, but something in him was forced to look. Whether it was that old car crash fixation humans seemed to have or some other instinct, Arheis’ gaze moved over the poor gutted creature… and found something odd.
Buried halfway in a rib bone were two large teeth.
> Discovered: Morditul Tooth
An excess of keratin allows Morditul to grow and lose hundreds of teeth in their lifetime. While the crushing power of their jaws is incredibly strong, each tooth is not socketed especially well. Tissue never rebuilds properly, and excessive force often causes new teeth to dislodge. The socket never stays empty for long, however, and the new tooth that grows in is sharper than the last.
Fantastic.
And judging from the size of each tooth—roughly half his pointer finger—the creature that shed it was huge.
This wasn’t going to end well. Arheis could feel it in his bones. Bones that were probably going to look a lot like that Nepondus’.
“It has to be in the lake,” Zindar said as he got a look at the mostly-eaten corpse.
And so they continued on, Arheis pulling his spear from his back and holding it in both hands, preparing to take the more offensive route if they were ambushed. Hunkering down behind his shield didn’t seem like an effective option given everything Zindar and Mira had told him.
The lake became visible through the hazy, almost mist-like atmosphere of the jungle, and his fingers curled even tighter around the haft. He used his Hunter’s Perception ability to search for any sign of the beast and found only another set of tracks leading directly into the lake.
“How do we—”
Zindar held up a hand to quiet him, using the other to reach into his pack. He pulled out one of the meat pies, then gave Mira a sheepish smile. “I have one of these for you, too. Just not this one. It was Galen’s, but since he’s not here…”
The Pruvari scooped out a handful, then hurled the pie like a Frisbee. It flew a good fifteen feet, losing some crust and filling along the way before it landed with a smack, dipping beneath the water, then buoying to the top thanks to the fabric it was in.
Arheis held his breath and gripped his spear as he waited. He expected a ripple. A few bubbles. Some indication that the creature was coming. But the water was still and silent… until it wasn’t.
Something burst through the surface of the lake, sending a spray of water flying to either side. Hundreds of teeth flashed in the midday sun, a long, wide jaw opening and then snapping shut to completely surround the pie.
The creature and the pie disappeared underwater, and aside from the initial ripples, the lake was eerily still again.
“I think I’ll pass,” Mira said, sounding a little ill.
“Oh, good. I can use yours as bait, too.”
Zindar pulled out the other pie, dumping what he’d scooped out onto the top of it. Arheis just watched as the creature once again burst through the water, grabbed the bits of food that had fallen from the throw, and disappeared.
“Get ready,” Mira said, stepping a good distance away from the water’s edge.
The Pruvari moved right to it, placing the pie down. Arheis was sure he was about to see his friend lose a hand. Or half his body. But Zindar’s bracer glowed with yellow energy and he jumped backward with unmatched speed and agility—just a few scant seconds before the Morditul burst from the water a third time.
“Get its attention before it goes back underwater!” Zindar called, and already Arheis could smell the distinct odor of ozone as the Pruvari connected with his Fulcorn spirit.
Arheis didn’t have time to process what he was seeing. He had to act, and quickly.
“Why don’t you stop going for easy meals, you lazy asshole!”
Well. That was one way to use his Provoke ability.
He could feel the moment the creature’s attention turned toward him. It was a prickling sensation that had the hairs on his arms and neck standing on end, his stomach tying into knots.
If given the choice, he wasn’t sure he would have tangled with this beast. The Nepondus Queen had been massive and imposing, but this thing was just gluttonously large. Its body was bloated to the point where its rough, scaly hide looked like it was about to burst open. The forelimbs were as meaty and powerful as he’d thought, the feet built almost like shovels with a ridge of hard chitin that extended beneath the claws. The tail was thick, too, and proportionate to the huge body, the ridges that ran down the beast’s back continuing all the way down the tail, too.
But by far the most revolting part of the Morditul was its face. It was some strange cross between an alligator and a frog. The snout was long, but the underside of it ballooned out, the skin almost appearing like rubbery jowls. Its eyes were large and positioned near the top of its head rather than the sides, both eyeballs looking particularly wet and sunken into their sockets.
And the entirety of the beast was covered in a thick, translucent mucus—head to toe, with more of it seeming to flow as the creature opened its giant maw and showed off two rows of newly-grown teeth.
Because it had worked on the Nepondus Queen—and because why not—Arheis thrust the tip of his spear into the Morditul’s mouth.
“Don’t—”
Zindar’s warning came too late. The beast’s jaws closed with a sudden snap, forced down with such power that Ar
heis was sure the haft had snapped in two. It hadn’t, but the alternative didn’t seem much better. The Morditul thrashed its massive head to the side, yanking the spear out of Arheis’ hand.
> You have been disarmed!
No kidding.
The disgusting frog-gator spat his spear out in a shower of thick, sticky mucus—and a few teeth for good measure.
It swung its head to face him again, a deep, guttural growl vibrating its… throat? Chin? Arheis didn’t know, but he did know he only had seconds to get his shield back into position to block the blow.
Instead of fending off the snapping jaw, though, he was broadsided by the creature when it suddenly used its shovel-feet to pull its body around, bludgeoning him with its bulk.
> Morditul slams you for 10 points of damage. (29 deflected)
> You are afflicted with Sluggishness. Reaction speed slowed by 25%.
25%?! That was a massive penalty! And how had he even—
Arheis felt a thick, goopy substance coating his shield arm. The mucus. Of course. It was seeping through his armor and covering his skin almost like a quick-drying plaster.
How did something that powerful also have access to such a debilitating status effect?
“I can clear the sludge, but it’s going to take a moment,” Mira called, and out of the corner of his eye he saw her tamping a crossbow bolt into a mixture of herbs.
“I’ll distract it in the meantime. Get your spear back!”
Zindar pushed off of the swampy ground, gaining just enough height to leap over the Morditul. He landed with a squelch on the other side of it, lightning arcing from his bracer into the edge of one of his hand-blades. He lashed out in a flurry, the blade without the glow seeming to barely faze the beast while the lightning-infused metal caused it to whirl on him, its meaty tail swinging like a club.
Arheis put his shield on his back and moved to fetch his spear, every motion feeling like he was dragging his entire body through neck-deep sludge. Considering his spear was covered in the stuff, he didn’t know how good of an idea it was to pick it up, but what choice did he have?
Closing his fingers around it, he waited for another system message. It never came.
At least status effects don’t stack…
Right after the thought crossed his mind, he felt something smack against his arm, sending a bruising shock of pain through him. It was the same sensation as getting hit by a paintball, from what he remembered, and he glanced down to see a bright yellow substance spreading rapidly over his arm, eating through the mucus. Putting the spear in its path, he was rewarded by whatever it was clearing away the gobs of goo on his weapon, too.
> You are no longer afflicted with Sluggishness. Reaction speed returned to normal.
“I only have a limited amount of this one,” Mira said, “so try to avoid getting slimed.”
Easier said than done, though Zindar was managing it like a pro. He vaulted over the tail swipe and dodged away from the body slam, making Arheis wish he’d put more of his points into Agility. The Morditul barely lost any ground. It slid through the muck with a strange sort of grace, twisting and rolling and aiming jaws, body, and tail at the Pruvari as he leapt about.
That was until Zindar lost his footing. His large, lynx-like feet kept him on the surface of the mud for the most part, but he must have hesitated a second too long. He started to sink, and when he went to leap away from the beast, the momentum just wasn’t there. He fell backward, his bracer held in front of him like his own personal shield.
Arheis couldn’t rely on the Fulcorn to save his friend. That was his role, and he needed to stop screwing around and do it.
Pulling a rock from the bog, Arheis flung it right at the creature’s face, aiming for one of its eyes. It didn’t hit exactly where he’d wanted, but the blow of the rock to the beast’s temple was enough for it to swing its massive head his way.
“Remember me?” Arheis taunted, using his Provoke ability again.
It must have worked, because the Morditul used its big forelimbs to pull itself around and its shovel-guarded feet to propel it through the mud. The gluttonous creature sped toward him, and for a second Arheis wondered just how fast it must be underwater if this was its speed on land. Best not to find out. Instead he concentrated on what he was doing, convincing himself he’d had some kind of plan all along.
He held his ground, spear clutched in both hands, and waited until the last second to dodge. The beast stopped in front of him and planted its front feet in the ground, swinging its body to ram into him again. But Arheis was ready this time. He leapt into the air, avoiding the slam, and drove downward with his spear leading him. The tip of his weapon scraped against the beast’s protective plates, and for a second Arheis thought he was just going to lose his grip on his weapon yet again.
But finally the tip slid between the plates and he pushed as hard as he could with the few remaining seconds he had, driving it in deep, then yanking it back out in a spray of blood as he finally landed on his feet.
> You have learned Plunging Strike. Gain a height advantage over your enemies to use this ability. The greater the height, the more damage done.
> Your Plunging Strike pierces Morditul for 56 points of damage.
“Nice moves!” Zindar said, using the brief window of opportunity Arheis had created to get in a few slices, his blades forced to saw through the thick, rubbery hide of the beast’s jowls. “Damn, I can’t get through. We’ll have to let it go back underwater.”
The Morditul roared, murder in its wet, black eyes as it looked at Zindar. For a second Arheis was sure he’d lost aggro, but the creature fixated on him again, this time bracing its forearms in the ground and swinging its tail over its head like a loosed catapult. Another new move. Or an alteration of a previous move. Weren’t enemies in Apex supposed to have patterns you could learn to predict…?
Arheis wasn’t able to get far enough out of the way before the club-like tail smashed into the left side of his body, with only his shoulder there to “soften” the blow. The blunt force of it slammed through him, and he instantly felt something shatter in his arm—along with his shoulder popping out of its socket. The sharp plates that covered the Morditul’s tail made the hit doubly punishing, raking gashes through his arm that his armor barely seemed to slow.
> Morditul smashes you for 45 points of damage.
> You are disoriented!
“Arheis!” Mira called as he staggered backward.
His ears were ringing, his stomach churned, and he couldn’t keep his footing in the muck. The only good thing about his current stupor was that he couldn’t feel that pain anymore. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, a more effective painkiller than any drugs on the market.
Until it wore off.
For now it gave him just enough mobility to dodge the follow-up slam as the Morditul threw its body toward him, and just enough strength that he somehow managed to hold onto his spear despite the fact that his left arm was practically useless now.
Adrenaline couldn’t fend the beast off forever, though it might just buy enough time for—
Arheis felt a thunk against his left arm that cut through the blissful, pain-free haze his body had put him under. Agony splintered along his shoulder, radiating outward through every cell in his body. A warmth spread through him from the site of what he eventually realized was one of Mira’s sachets. It grew hotter and hotter until it was almost unbearable, and then a sudden cooling sensation washed over his body, and with it a sense of ease.
> You have been healed for 37 points of damage.
> You are no longer disoriented.
It was a good thing, too. The Morditul was relentless, charging toward him with a single-minded fury. Arheis had no choice but to leap out of the way this time, landing with his spear in the muck only a few feet away from the beast as it wheeled around to come at him again.
Arheis grabbed for his shield to at least protect some part of his body, but the pain in his left shou
lder persisted. Mira’s healing could apparently take care of standard wounds, but it hadn’t helped the dislocation. And since he barely had a moment to breathe, let alone try and get the shoulder back in its socket, Arheis had to come to terms with the fact that his shield arm was all but useless.
Which was probably the worst possible thing to realize when he was moments away from having his insides torn out like that Nepondus.
“Don’t move!” he heard Zindar yell over the sudden clap of thunder.
Lightning struck the ground alarmingly close to Arheis, and with the amount of mud readily available to transmit the current, he was sure he was done for. But every bolt that hit coalesced into a solid form he could just barely make out beneath the muck. The Fulcorn. It burst through the ground, meeting the Morditul head-on just before it could reach Arheis, its shining horn drawing bolt after bolt to its barely corporeal form.
The Morditul was struck, electricity arcing through its body as it writhed in agony. Not about to waste his moment to get the hell out of there, Arheis used his good arm to push himself up, discarding his shield in the muck and holding his spear close against his body, almost like a lance. He charged the Morditul and ran his spear straight through the thin membrane that protected the inside of the creature’s mouth, managing to avoid most of its rubbery hide.
> You pierce Morditul for 39 points of damage.
Still not a critical hit? Seriously?
“We’re barely touching this thing,” Arheis called to his companions, wracking his brain to come up with something before the Morditul recovered from the Fulcorn’s attack.
“It’s the mud,” Mira said, taking up a defensive stance beside him, her crossbow leveled at the beast’s face. “It hardens on the body, like a second coat of armor. We’ll have to find a way to break through it.”
Easier said than done. There were only a couple of places on the creature’s hide that now seemed vulnerable to attack. But he supposed that was what happened when you took a quest three levels higher than you. It became a war of attrition until a weakness was exposed. They’d just have to somehow stay alive until enough mud was knocked off to make a dent in the creature’s health.