Feral Beast Master: A Gamelit Adventure, page 3
“And this Nurav?” Trella asked, for the first time, lowering her dagger. “Is she the chatty kind of goddess? I’ve seen the statues of Varun. Can’t imagine her flip side is a pack of peaches.”
Evelyn turned slightly green and looked like she might vomit. “She spoke to me once, during the offering. ‘Paint the world in red, my child, and you will find power.’ Varun doesn’t ask her priestesses to pray, or worship, or donate. She gets what she needs when people are healed. I think Nurav is the same.”
Sara looked to Kaden. Then back to Evelyn. “I’ll be verifying everything with the GuildMaster. Everything. If what you’re telling us is the truth, we’ll talk about keeping you with us. If it’s not…run. Keep running. I’ve had my fill of ambushes.”
The walk back to the Adventurer’s guild was short, cold, and tense. Kaden kept himself between Trella and Evelyn. Not that it would help if Trella decided to attack. And the truth was, every time he looked at Evelyn, his chest ached along a scar he’d gotten during his first death.
At the guild, the front desk man took one look, a second stare, and rang his emergency bell. “He’ll be down shortly.”
Shortly was in seconds, as the Guild Master Assassin used his version of Shadow Step to appear. But what came from him wasn’t condemnation. Or agreement. Just a long, deep sigh. “I’ll say this once. Daggers away. I can’t threaten that Horror of yours, Miss Scylla, but I could threaten you. I’ll extend my trust that won’t be necessary, and ask you extend some to me.”
And with that, he led them upstairs to the same office where Sarah and Kaden had met him before. The Guildmaster uncorked a decanter of fine brandy and swirled it, before chugging straight from the bottle. “Had a feeling something like this might happen. And for what it’s worth, girl, I said it was a bad idea. We got a guy on Eruvius, he makes dicks explode from your mouth and nose. Always shouting, ‘Choke on a bag of dicks!’ And he’s got Party invites for miles. Adventurers understand bloody. They thrive on weird. They like a little gore.”
“I do not like gore,” Evelyn said. It wasn’t a protest, but a statement of absolute fact.
Sara had refused a chair, and stood behind Evelyn, arms crossed. “You know what Adventurers don’t like? Betrayal. Being lied to. Being double crossed. I want her reassigned.”
“Denied.” The Guildmaster yawned and looked to his jar of brandy. “The Guild here needs no favors, but the guild in her home town can use them. As the child of influential nobles, we won’t be refusing her family’s request. Which is to say, you won’t be.”
“But—”
The Guild Master held up a hand, cutting Sara’s voice off. She continued to speak, without sound. “If you can’t deal with basic backstabbing, lying and betrayal, you aren’t cut out to be Party Leader. Kaden, you want the star?”
“I want it!” Trella said. “He’ll say no because he’s sweet and a little dumb, but I know exactly how to deal with backstabbing bitches. Because I am one.”
“That’s exactly what your order said, but you overplayed your hand, Sister.” The Guild Master waved, and his door opened. “Get out. Bury your grudges, Miss Scylla, or you’ll bury your team members.”
They sat in a meeting room, one that wasn’t reserved, but since Sara said the entire party that had reserved it was dead, they probably wouldn’t complain. Vip tore in circles around the room, leaping up onto the table and back down before turning in a circle and settling into Kaden’s lap.
Evelyn sat on one side of Kaden, and Trella on the other, while Sara paced back and forth, gesturing with her pseudopods as she spoke. “This is on me. No, wait, this is on you. But it’s on me for not figuring it out sooner. Now—”
Kaden took the mana core out of his Inventory, and dropped it on the table. “This came from the alpha. We can argue about which of us lied about our class, or which of us lied about skills, or who lied about being able to heal, or which of us doesn’t really have a last name of ‘Black—’”
“Those are all me,” Evelyn said.
Kaden nodded. “Right. So we can argue about which one of us did all that, or we can discuss how to skip the loot grind. Mr. Dervish said there’s an auction coming up. We auction it off, pay for decent equipment that lets us handle Ice Wolves without getting torn up.”
“I’m not concerned with issues of money,” Evelyn said.
Trella snorted and shook her head. “If that’s true, why are you wearing temple robes in the middle of winter? Mommy and Daddy sending you coins?”
“They are absolutely not. I have the right to stay at the Guild!” Evelyn’s voice fell with each word. “And eat there.”
“Trust me, you are concerned with money,” Sara said. “We’re giving you one more chance—”
“You don’t have a choice. Don’t pretend it’s an act of charity,” Evelyn looked down.
“One more chance?” Trella asked Kaden.
He gave her a thumbs up, and dumped the hide on the conference room table. “One. Sara, you want to handle getting the core on the auction? I’ll handle the hide. It’s supposed to make a decent coat.”
[Ice Wolf Alpha Pelt]
This finely tanned hide is the work of a master crafter. It retains its [Frost Armor] qualities, and is also quite stylish, if wearing the hides of dead animals is your thing.
Trella flipped the top of the head over. “You’re going all Lord-of-the-Beasts, aren’t you? Going to wear its head over yours? That look is really not good.”
He looked to Sara. “Why don’t we see what can be crafted before we divide it up?”
“Handle it. The crafters on the craft floor at the guild are some of the best in the city. Everyone, take the day, get it together. We’ll gather tomorrow and take another run in the morning. I want more monsters like the wolves,” Sara said. “We need to practice until we understand each other’s skills. I’ll see what’s on the board tomorrow. I hope you gain some levels with your skill, because we’re relying on you.”
“Eve.” Evelyn spoke up as she stood. “My family calls me Evelyn. I’d like to be called Eve.”
“If you can actually heal, I’ll call you Varun herself.” Trella stretched. “I’ve got to go back to ShadowVale, report on how it’s going and have my skill tests. If I don’t, they’ll send someone to get me. You really don’t want to be around if it happens. I don’t want you around if it happens. And the Senior Sisters know that.” She turned and stalked straight into the shadows behind the door.
“Eve, will you be all right here?” Sara asked.
“I’m just peachy, like Nurav. Can I—Can I hold your dog?” Eve reached out and Vip leaped into her lap.
“Vip is smart enough to make her own choices.” He handed the mana core to Sara. “How often do these spawn? Forget the regular wolves. We should be farming bosses for their cores.”
One of the Horror’s Pseudopods reached over to make a zipping motion across her mouth—then his. They’d speak when it was safe. Which was back in Sara’s room at the Guild. Little more than a bed with a chamberpot, it was at least warm, and Sara had a rack for her Guild cloak and holders for her armor. “We were lucky with that boss. It was higher level than most of us, and if it weren’t for our titles, things could have gone a different route.”
“So you plan on taking on more of them?”
“I do. I want to do better tomorrow than I did today. Mistakes are owned first by the Party Leader. It’s my job to understand every member and their skills.” One of the Horrors opened its mouth and let out a horrendous gurgle. “I know you could, but even without a body, there would be so many questions. I can’t start killing Party members just because I don’t like being lied to.”
The pseudopod shrank back, its jaws sealing shut.
“Is it worth asking Mr. Dervish or your mom if they’ve met a Transfusionist?”
“Yes. Totally worth it.” Sara spun on her heel and snatched her cloak. “Coming?”
It was a long walk to Beast Control, but Kaden appreciated the cold. He focused on Vip, and a dim image formed. Eve had gone back to her room, and Vip perched on her back, watching the door. There had to be a long distance speech skill somewhere, and he’d find it. For now—Sara broke into a run, and Kaden followed.
The customer service entrance of Beast Control was usually surrounded by surly people cursing about the unreasonable fines. Today, they weren’t cursing, or standing. They were screaming, and fleeing.
4
FOUR - HYDRA-TION
The thing about crowds running away was that running toward something was that much more difficult. Kaden took the lead, lowering his shoulder and charging through people with Sara right behind him. He threw open the doors to the Customer Service entrance, and immediately slid to a stop.
A week or so ago, he’d helped identify the problem with a [Ruby Hydra], which had needed surgery for a hook embedded in not one, but two different necks. The Ruby Hydra was, at best, three feet tall.
At least, it had been.
What stood in the entrance, lashing a barbed tail covered in spines, was at least as tall as Kaden. The skin was no longer a brilliant red, but now maroon, the color of a scab. Before, the scales had been polished to a glow, but now they bulged out with serrated edges. The worst, without question, was the head. Before, three equal size and shaped heads had held a fine dragon shape, with intelligent eyes that faced forward. Now, the central head was six times the size it should be, on a thick, stumpy neck, with no eyes and teeth that jutted from the mouth. The left head was narrow like a snakes, with long fangs and a snout that stretched out. The right head was armored with a rounded bone helmet that housed two separate sets of eyes, and a beak that would give Rocky a run for their money.
[Ruby Tri-Terror]
The term “evolved” does not always mean improved. The rapid changes to this Beast have produced a severe instability and anger issues. This creature has the potential to strike fear into entire cities, but for now, that’s potential.
*Agony.* *Confusion.* *Fear*
And that’s when Kaden spotted the short man cowering in the corner. Professor Treadle.
“Kaden. Would you be so kind as to help an old man?” Professor Treadle spoke quietly. “Mistakes were made.”
Words had failed with the wolf.
Instead, Kaden closed his eyes and focused on calm. On quiet. *Calm*
[Beast Empathy] sent the feeling out. Kaden opened his eyes to find the Tri-Terror had pivoted, all three heads pointing at him.
“Kaden.” Sara’s voice was a gentle whisper. “Tell me you can control it.”
“Keep anyone outside, outside. Don’t send a [Shield] unless you know they can get to the Professer faster than that Beast can stab with its tail.” He tried to send another pulse of calm. “What happened? Tell me what you did.”
The Tri-Teror’s tail whipped up to poise for a stab, then settled down, lashing in a way that left sparks. It tapped thick claws on the floor, gouging the stone.
*Calm*. Kaden winced as feedback struck him. [Beast Empathy] wasn’t meant to be used like this. One head, the thin, snake head, flicked out a tongue that sprayed a drop of glistening yellow venom. Kaden’s skin burned where it landed. “Tell me.”
“It wasn’t healing from the surgery. I gave it a minor growth potion. Almost completely normal. And the stabilization potion to stop the the growth. But it didn’t stop. And the two heads turned on the center one, tearing it apart until it grew back like that.” The professor backed further and further away, shrinking into the corner. “It should have been fine. I used less than a quarter of the normal rage ingredients.”
There was that tickle in the back of his mind. He’d felt it before, and could only hope.
[Ruby Tri-Terror]
*Beast Knowledge - the Beast this is evolved from had two separate digestive systems. It’s likely this one does, too.
“Which head did you give the growth potion, and which did you give the stabilization potion?” Kaden asked.
“I have no idea. It went from disgustingly cute to ravenous in almost no time.”
Kaden didn’t dare risk looking back. The Tri-Terror was one breath away from attacking. “Tell me you have more. Or you can make more.”
“In my Inventory,” the Professor said. He reached slowly, carefully, and drew out a clear crystal vial. It clinked as he rolled it across the floor to Kaden’s feet.
“Sara?” Kaden couldn’t look, but he trusted her.
“Right here.”
“If it attacks, block as many heads as you can.” He slowly began to kneel.
“And if it attacks with that third head? Or its front claws? Or Tail?”
“Then save enough of me to resurrect.” His fingers closed on the bottle, while the breath from the blind third head blew out in his hair, and sticky green saliva drooled down. Kaden focused on [Beast Speech.] “This will help.”
The Tri-Terror looked at him with one head and then another, peering into his eyes. Then it cocked the heavy, bone covered head back and opened a jaw.
This would work. Kaden gently uncorked the bottle.
“Wait!” Professor Treadle said. “That…may be more mutagen. Yes, that’s almost certainly mutagen. It’s a simple mistake, anyone could make it. I should probably label the different odorless, colorless liquids. Yes, hindsight is always clear. Consider labeling the mutagen next time.”
“Shut up!” Sara hissed. “Do you have any actual cure for this?”
Professor Treadle fumbled about a moment, then took out an identical clear bottle, and put a drop on his tongue. “Yes. I’m certain this time. I’ve tasted enough Life-Mana based mutagen to know that isn’t—” Whatever else he might have meant to say was cut off by a scream, as his tongue burst out, covered in green leaves like ivy, and eyes.
For a split second, Kaden thought it might be ok. Then the tongue lashed around the Tri-Terror’s tail. The Beast and the Professor both screamed, for different reasons, as Kaden slammed his head upward, clamping the ruinous middle head’s mouth shut. The Snake head whipped around and slammed into his shoulder.
Sara dove for the tail before it could spear Professor Treadle, but every time her Horror tried to devour the TriTerror, the jagged scales cut into its mouth, and the armored head repeatedly slammed into Kaden’s back.
Kaden shifted to keep one arm around the middle head, using [Fortress of Stone] to ignore the pain in his shoulder from where the other had buried its fangs. Then he waited for a blow that definitely crushed ribs—and thrust the bottle into the beak mouth.
Glass crunched, and the Tri-Terror thrashed, losing control.
“Get Back! Get the Professor!” Kaden shouted, as the snake head tore off. All of the eyes and rolled back.
Sara seized the vine-tongue and severed it with a slash from her Horror, then dragged the Professor through the double doors by the tongue.
Which left Kaden alone with a Beast out of its mind. It flailed back and forth, faster, and faster, until at last, the tremors ceased. Then, it languidly rosed. Eyes that had been wide with pain now looked at him with trepidation.
“It’s ok,” he said. It wasn’t. System messages kept flashing and he couldn’t focus long enough to read them. His Poison Resistance was no where near strong enough to fight off the TriTerror.
*Fear*. *Fear*. *Hunger*.
Each head had its own opinion. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The TriTerror stepped away, looking to the windows from Beast Control, where throngs of people stared, then to the double doors. And it began to dig, tearing chunks of pure stone out, deeper, deeper, until, with a splash, it fell.
The stench that rose up was worse than the Beast Control shit-wagon any day.
You have acquired the status effect Poisoned x7!
Your skill with Poison Resistance has improved!
Your HP is critically low.
You require Healing.
Kaden glanced at his status.
HP: (7/118)
HP: (6/118)
A thought came, and he pulled a salve from Inventory, biting into the tube, since his arm had fallen numb.
You have removed the status effect: [Poisoned].
Your HP is critically low.
You require Healing.
A trio of [Shields] burst in through the door, then gagged and clamped hands over their noses and staggered away. His HP ticked up a notch—then Sara came bursting in with a pair of potions. “This one first, that one second.”
The first potion tasted like tomato juice, but the moment it hit, his eyes focused. Those system messages made a lot more sense. The second potion tasted like chewing on lightning. It hit, and he sat up. “How is Treadle?”
“Mom’s dealing with him.” Sara leaned over to look into the hole. “Did it actually dig through the stone?”
In his less poisoned state, Kaden couldn’t help noticing the broken pieces of claw. The ruby blood all over. The Tri-Tip had mangled itself in a desperate bid to escape. It might die of infection, but there was no way he’d be able to chase it down in this shape. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to do any kind of mission tomorrow.”
“Oh, trust me. Party Leader Sara has already explained how much this is going to cost to Definitely-not-my-mother Mistress Scylla. She actually had the nerve to negotiate!” The Horror’s pseudopods shook themselves as though they couldn’t believe it.
With every moment, his breath came easier. The ringing in his ears lessened. “I need to go find the TriTerror. It’s not at fault. It was crazy from pain.”
“If you even think about heading into the sewers, I’ll go get Mr. Dervish. Do you have any idea what he’ll do? I bet it will be embarrassing.” Sara gave him a hand standing up. “I used to wonder why Adventurers carry weapons everywhere. As far as I’m concerned, from now on, it’s armor and weapons, all the time.”
A few hours later, Kaden and Sara had dropped off the core at the auction house, the Alpha hide with crafters who oohed and argued over what could be made. Then shouted about what should be made. Then took to punching and kicking each other.
Evelyn turned slightly green and looked like she might vomit. “She spoke to me once, during the offering. ‘Paint the world in red, my child, and you will find power.’ Varun doesn’t ask her priestesses to pray, or worship, or donate. She gets what she needs when people are healed. I think Nurav is the same.”
Sara looked to Kaden. Then back to Evelyn. “I’ll be verifying everything with the GuildMaster. Everything. If what you’re telling us is the truth, we’ll talk about keeping you with us. If it’s not…run. Keep running. I’ve had my fill of ambushes.”
The walk back to the Adventurer’s guild was short, cold, and tense. Kaden kept himself between Trella and Evelyn. Not that it would help if Trella decided to attack. And the truth was, every time he looked at Evelyn, his chest ached along a scar he’d gotten during his first death.
At the guild, the front desk man took one look, a second stare, and rang his emergency bell. “He’ll be down shortly.”
Shortly was in seconds, as the Guild Master Assassin used his version of Shadow Step to appear. But what came from him wasn’t condemnation. Or agreement. Just a long, deep sigh. “I’ll say this once. Daggers away. I can’t threaten that Horror of yours, Miss Scylla, but I could threaten you. I’ll extend my trust that won’t be necessary, and ask you extend some to me.”
And with that, he led them upstairs to the same office where Sarah and Kaden had met him before. The Guildmaster uncorked a decanter of fine brandy and swirled it, before chugging straight from the bottle. “Had a feeling something like this might happen. And for what it’s worth, girl, I said it was a bad idea. We got a guy on Eruvius, he makes dicks explode from your mouth and nose. Always shouting, ‘Choke on a bag of dicks!’ And he’s got Party invites for miles. Adventurers understand bloody. They thrive on weird. They like a little gore.”
“I do not like gore,” Evelyn said. It wasn’t a protest, but a statement of absolute fact.
Sara had refused a chair, and stood behind Evelyn, arms crossed. “You know what Adventurers don’t like? Betrayal. Being lied to. Being double crossed. I want her reassigned.”
“Denied.” The Guildmaster yawned and looked to his jar of brandy. “The Guild here needs no favors, but the guild in her home town can use them. As the child of influential nobles, we won’t be refusing her family’s request. Which is to say, you won’t be.”
“But—”
The Guild Master held up a hand, cutting Sara’s voice off. She continued to speak, without sound. “If you can’t deal with basic backstabbing, lying and betrayal, you aren’t cut out to be Party Leader. Kaden, you want the star?”
“I want it!” Trella said. “He’ll say no because he’s sweet and a little dumb, but I know exactly how to deal with backstabbing bitches. Because I am one.”
“That’s exactly what your order said, but you overplayed your hand, Sister.” The Guild Master waved, and his door opened. “Get out. Bury your grudges, Miss Scylla, or you’ll bury your team members.”
They sat in a meeting room, one that wasn’t reserved, but since Sara said the entire party that had reserved it was dead, they probably wouldn’t complain. Vip tore in circles around the room, leaping up onto the table and back down before turning in a circle and settling into Kaden’s lap.
Evelyn sat on one side of Kaden, and Trella on the other, while Sara paced back and forth, gesturing with her pseudopods as she spoke. “This is on me. No, wait, this is on you. But it’s on me for not figuring it out sooner. Now—”
Kaden took the mana core out of his Inventory, and dropped it on the table. “This came from the alpha. We can argue about which of us lied about our class, or which of us lied about skills, or who lied about being able to heal, or which of us doesn’t really have a last name of ‘Black—’”
“Those are all me,” Evelyn said.
Kaden nodded. “Right. So we can argue about which one of us did all that, or we can discuss how to skip the loot grind. Mr. Dervish said there’s an auction coming up. We auction it off, pay for decent equipment that lets us handle Ice Wolves without getting torn up.”
“I’m not concerned with issues of money,” Evelyn said.
Trella snorted and shook her head. “If that’s true, why are you wearing temple robes in the middle of winter? Mommy and Daddy sending you coins?”
“They are absolutely not. I have the right to stay at the Guild!” Evelyn’s voice fell with each word. “And eat there.”
“Trust me, you are concerned with money,” Sara said. “We’re giving you one more chance—”
“You don’t have a choice. Don’t pretend it’s an act of charity,” Evelyn looked down.
“One more chance?” Trella asked Kaden.
He gave her a thumbs up, and dumped the hide on the conference room table. “One. Sara, you want to handle getting the core on the auction? I’ll handle the hide. It’s supposed to make a decent coat.”
[Ice Wolf Alpha Pelt]
This finely tanned hide is the work of a master crafter. It retains its [Frost Armor] qualities, and is also quite stylish, if wearing the hides of dead animals is your thing.
Trella flipped the top of the head over. “You’re going all Lord-of-the-Beasts, aren’t you? Going to wear its head over yours? That look is really not good.”
He looked to Sara. “Why don’t we see what can be crafted before we divide it up?”
“Handle it. The crafters on the craft floor at the guild are some of the best in the city. Everyone, take the day, get it together. We’ll gather tomorrow and take another run in the morning. I want more monsters like the wolves,” Sara said. “We need to practice until we understand each other’s skills. I’ll see what’s on the board tomorrow. I hope you gain some levels with your skill, because we’re relying on you.”
“Eve.” Evelyn spoke up as she stood. “My family calls me Evelyn. I’d like to be called Eve.”
“If you can actually heal, I’ll call you Varun herself.” Trella stretched. “I’ve got to go back to ShadowVale, report on how it’s going and have my skill tests. If I don’t, they’ll send someone to get me. You really don’t want to be around if it happens. I don’t want you around if it happens. And the Senior Sisters know that.” She turned and stalked straight into the shadows behind the door.
“Eve, will you be all right here?” Sara asked.
“I’m just peachy, like Nurav. Can I—Can I hold your dog?” Eve reached out and Vip leaped into her lap.
“Vip is smart enough to make her own choices.” He handed the mana core to Sara. “How often do these spawn? Forget the regular wolves. We should be farming bosses for their cores.”
One of the Horror’s Pseudopods reached over to make a zipping motion across her mouth—then his. They’d speak when it was safe. Which was back in Sara’s room at the Guild. Little more than a bed with a chamberpot, it was at least warm, and Sara had a rack for her Guild cloak and holders for her armor. “We were lucky with that boss. It was higher level than most of us, and if it weren’t for our titles, things could have gone a different route.”
“So you plan on taking on more of them?”
“I do. I want to do better tomorrow than I did today. Mistakes are owned first by the Party Leader. It’s my job to understand every member and their skills.” One of the Horrors opened its mouth and let out a horrendous gurgle. “I know you could, but even without a body, there would be so many questions. I can’t start killing Party members just because I don’t like being lied to.”
The pseudopod shrank back, its jaws sealing shut.
“Is it worth asking Mr. Dervish or your mom if they’ve met a Transfusionist?”
“Yes. Totally worth it.” Sara spun on her heel and snatched her cloak. “Coming?”
It was a long walk to Beast Control, but Kaden appreciated the cold. He focused on Vip, and a dim image formed. Eve had gone back to her room, and Vip perched on her back, watching the door. There had to be a long distance speech skill somewhere, and he’d find it. For now—Sara broke into a run, and Kaden followed.
The customer service entrance of Beast Control was usually surrounded by surly people cursing about the unreasonable fines. Today, they weren’t cursing, or standing. They were screaming, and fleeing.
4
FOUR - HYDRA-TION
The thing about crowds running away was that running toward something was that much more difficult. Kaden took the lead, lowering his shoulder and charging through people with Sara right behind him. He threw open the doors to the Customer Service entrance, and immediately slid to a stop.
A week or so ago, he’d helped identify the problem with a [Ruby Hydra], which had needed surgery for a hook embedded in not one, but two different necks. The Ruby Hydra was, at best, three feet tall.
At least, it had been.
What stood in the entrance, lashing a barbed tail covered in spines, was at least as tall as Kaden. The skin was no longer a brilliant red, but now maroon, the color of a scab. Before, the scales had been polished to a glow, but now they bulged out with serrated edges. The worst, without question, was the head. Before, three equal size and shaped heads had held a fine dragon shape, with intelligent eyes that faced forward. Now, the central head was six times the size it should be, on a thick, stumpy neck, with no eyes and teeth that jutted from the mouth. The left head was narrow like a snakes, with long fangs and a snout that stretched out. The right head was armored with a rounded bone helmet that housed two separate sets of eyes, and a beak that would give Rocky a run for their money.
[Ruby Tri-Terror]
The term “evolved” does not always mean improved. The rapid changes to this Beast have produced a severe instability and anger issues. This creature has the potential to strike fear into entire cities, but for now, that’s potential.
*Agony.* *Confusion.* *Fear*
And that’s when Kaden spotted the short man cowering in the corner. Professor Treadle.
“Kaden. Would you be so kind as to help an old man?” Professor Treadle spoke quietly. “Mistakes were made.”
Words had failed with the wolf.
Instead, Kaden closed his eyes and focused on calm. On quiet. *Calm*
[Beast Empathy] sent the feeling out. Kaden opened his eyes to find the Tri-Terror had pivoted, all three heads pointing at him.
“Kaden.” Sara’s voice was a gentle whisper. “Tell me you can control it.”
“Keep anyone outside, outside. Don’t send a [Shield] unless you know they can get to the Professer faster than that Beast can stab with its tail.” He tried to send another pulse of calm. “What happened? Tell me what you did.”
The Tri-Teror’s tail whipped up to poise for a stab, then settled down, lashing in a way that left sparks. It tapped thick claws on the floor, gouging the stone.
*Calm*. Kaden winced as feedback struck him. [Beast Empathy] wasn’t meant to be used like this. One head, the thin, snake head, flicked out a tongue that sprayed a drop of glistening yellow venom. Kaden’s skin burned where it landed. “Tell me.”
“It wasn’t healing from the surgery. I gave it a minor growth potion. Almost completely normal. And the stabilization potion to stop the the growth. But it didn’t stop. And the two heads turned on the center one, tearing it apart until it grew back like that.” The professor backed further and further away, shrinking into the corner. “It should have been fine. I used less than a quarter of the normal rage ingredients.”
There was that tickle in the back of his mind. He’d felt it before, and could only hope.
[Ruby Tri-Terror]
*Beast Knowledge - the Beast this is evolved from had two separate digestive systems. It’s likely this one does, too.
“Which head did you give the growth potion, and which did you give the stabilization potion?” Kaden asked.
“I have no idea. It went from disgustingly cute to ravenous in almost no time.”
Kaden didn’t dare risk looking back. The Tri-Terror was one breath away from attacking. “Tell me you have more. Or you can make more.”
“In my Inventory,” the Professor said. He reached slowly, carefully, and drew out a clear crystal vial. It clinked as he rolled it across the floor to Kaden’s feet.
“Sara?” Kaden couldn’t look, but he trusted her.
“Right here.”
“If it attacks, block as many heads as you can.” He slowly began to kneel.
“And if it attacks with that third head? Or its front claws? Or Tail?”
“Then save enough of me to resurrect.” His fingers closed on the bottle, while the breath from the blind third head blew out in his hair, and sticky green saliva drooled down. Kaden focused on [Beast Speech.] “This will help.”
The Tri-Terror looked at him with one head and then another, peering into his eyes. Then it cocked the heavy, bone covered head back and opened a jaw.
This would work. Kaden gently uncorked the bottle.
“Wait!” Professor Treadle said. “That…may be more mutagen. Yes, that’s almost certainly mutagen. It’s a simple mistake, anyone could make it. I should probably label the different odorless, colorless liquids. Yes, hindsight is always clear. Consider labeling the mutagen next time.”
“Shut up!” Sara hissed. “Do you have any actual cure for this?”
Professor Treadle fumbled about a moment, then took out an identical clear bottle, and put a drop on his tongue. “Yes. I’m certain this time. I’ve tasted enough Life-Mana based mutagen to know that isn’t—” Whatever else he might have meant to say was cut off by a scream, as his tongue burst out, covered in green leaves like ivy, and eyes.
For a split second, Kaden thought it might be ok. Then the tongue lashed around the Tri-Terror’s tail. The Beast and the Professor both screamed, for different reasons, as Kaden slammed his head upward, clamping the ruinous middle head’s mouth shut. The Snake head whipped around and slammed into his shoulder.
Sara dove for the tail before it could spear Professor Treadle, but every time her Horror tried to devour the TriTerror, the jagged scales cut into its mouth, and the armored head repeatedly slammed into Kaden’s back.
Kaden shifted to keep one arm around the middle head, using [Fortress of Stone] to ignore the pain in his shoulder from where the other had buried its fangs. Then he waited for a blow that definitely crushed ribs—and thrust the bottle into the beak mouth.
Glass crunched, and the Tri-Terror thrashed, losing control.
“Get Back! Get the Professor!” Kaden shouted, as the snake head tore off. All of the eyes and rolled back.
Sara seized the vine-tongue and severed it with a slash from her Horror, then dragged the Professor through the double doors by the tongue.
Which left Kaden alone with a Beast out of its mind. It flailed back and forth, faster, and faster, until at last, the tremors ceased. Then, it languidly rosed. Eyes that had been wide with pain now looked at him with trepidation.
“It’s ok,” he said. It wasn’t. System messages kept flashing and he couldn’t focus long enough to read them. His Poison Resistance was no where near strong enough to fight off the TriTerror.
*Fear*. *Fear*. *Hunger*.
Each head had its own opinion. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The TriTerror stepped away, looking to the windows from Beast Control, where throngs of people stared, then to the double doors. And it began to dig, tearing chunks of pure stone out, deeper, deeper, until, with a splash, it fell.
The stench that rose up was worse than the Beast Control shit-wagon any day.
You have acquired the status effect Poisoned x7!
Your skill with Poison Resistance has improved!
Your HP is critically low.
You require Healing.
Kaden glanced at his status.
HP: (7/118)
HP: (6/118)
A thought came, and he pulled a salve from Inventory, biting into the tube, since his arm had fallen numb.
You have removed the status effect: [Poisoned].
Your HP is critically low.
You require Healing.
A trio of [Shields] burst in through the door, then gagged and clamped hands over their noses and staggered away. His HP ticked up a notch—then Sara came bursting in with a pair of potions. “This one first, that one second.”
The first potion tasted like tomato juice, but the moment it hit, his eyes focused. Those system messages made a lot more sense. The second potion tasted like chewing on lightning. It hit, and he sat up. “How is Treadle?”
“Mom’s dealing with him.” Sara leaned over to look into the hole. “Did it actually dig through the stone?”
In his less poisoned state, Kaden couldn’t help noticing the broken pieces of claw. The ruby blood all over. The Tri-Tip had mangled itself in a desperate bid to escape. It might die of infection, but there was no way he’d be able to chase it down in this shape. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to do any kind of mission tomorrow.”
“Oh, trust me. Party Leader Sara has already explained how much this is going to cost to Definitely-not-my-mother Mistress Scylla. She actually had the nerve to negotiate!” The Horror’s pseudopods shook themselves as though they couldn’t believe it.
With every moment, his breath came easier. The ringing in his ears lessened. “I need to go find the TriTerror. It’s not at fault. It was crazy from pain.”
“If you even think about heading into the sewers, I’ll go get Mr. Dervish. Do you have any idea what he’ll do? I bet it will be embarrassing.” Sara gave him a hand standing up. “I used to wonder why Adventurers carry weapons everywhere. As far as I’m concerned, from now on, it’s armor and weapons, all the time.”
A few hours later, Kaden and Sara had dropped off the core at the auction house, the Alpha hide with crafters who oohed and argued over what could be made. Then shouted about what should be made. Then took to punching and kicking each other.
