***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Astra***

“Nothing!” I was beginning to get slightly frustrated after upending the third backpack and finding the contents to be utterly generic survival gear without a hint at the owner or even the supplier. Normally, I would have expected to unearth some insignia that identified the strata these people came from. “Have you found anything?”

Magnus shook his head while he spread out a pile of items in front of him. “Their gear is set up very similarly to ours, but there is nothing in the sense of personal items.”

“How frustrating,” I mused and decided to give voice to my confusion. “The clan hands out standardized equipment to new hunters and the setup of our mysterious hunting group’s gear copies the list. This means these people should’ve been newbies. Experienced hunters add their own touch to their equipment in accordance with their mutations. On the other hand, if they were inexperienced, then what were they doing down here in the Belly with just three people?” I shook my head. “Only trained and tested groups should be coming down here – or those with powerful skills. In any case, there should be some hints at who manufactured the items.”

I took one of the cooking sets and pointed at the scratched spot where someone had removed a craftsman's mark. “They went so far as to obfuscate the origins of their gear.”

Magnus threw away the torn remains of the backpack he had searched. “Maybe you are on the wrong foot, so to speak. What other possibilities are there than an ordinary hunting group? A group of young adventurers who got in over their head?”

I pulled a face. “If so, then they forgot about everything their elders should have taught them.”

“Poachers then!” Magnus threw out another suggestion. “Haven’t you said these hunting grounds are claimed by your family? Are there other groups who would pay some fools a hefty sum to catch them something which the Frosts would only provide at exorbitant prices? It’s in the nature of people to-”

I held up a hand to stop him. “What you are suggesting comes a little too close to what we are seeing here. If this hunting group’s trip wasn’t sanctioned by the clan, then it would make sense for them to take no identifications with them.”

The clan wasn’t big on regulating the lives of our people, but some things had to be supervised to minimize human casualties. Some decades ago, the clan’s hunters young and old would go out and do as they pleased, which meant many never returned – too many.

It lay in humanity’s nature to take foolish risks. Unfortunately, Tirnanog wasn’t a place that forgave mistakes.

Nowadays, you had to be a certified hunter to leave clan-controlled grounds. And you were only allowed to visit certain areas of the mountain. It wasn’t an ideal solution, because it led to the monopoly of power my family’s fortune was built upon.

So maybe there was no reason for me to complain, as Frost’s primary scion. I never had to deal with the harsh regulations which prevented people beneath a certain power level from exploring dangerous hunting grounds.

On the other hand, if the likely fate of ill-prepared fortune hunters was what we found here, then regulations might be the preferable option.

For a moment, I warred internally between duty and my desire to have a fun time with my partner. Then I sighed dejectedly and looked at Magnus with a sorrowful expression. “I am sorry. I intended our excursion to become a relaxed trip between the two of us, but this mess changes things.”

Throwing out my hand, I gestured at the camp around us. “It will likely turn out to be nothing more than an illegitimate hunting trip orchestrated by another strata, but we have to make sure to secure any evidence we can. If we desire a position of power within the clan, then we have to show we can take care of messes like this.

“If we go on as planned and return in a week, all evidence will be gone. And telling the authorities about it without proof is worth just about as much as hot air. It also means we likely won’t get to catch our bloodmantle. We also can’t allow an entire tribe of changelings to settle down right in our hunting grounds. The Belly isn’t too close to the clan, but if the changelings get a firm hold of this territory it will become a problem sooner or later.”

Magnus shrugged in indifference. “We already agreed on you being the leader. I follow when it comes to wilderness exploration. I wouldn’t know how to navigate these caves anyway. And from what I understood, this was a gamble from the beginning. Who is to say we won’t find an equal opportunity elsewhere? The only thing I don’t understand is what else we could do apart from searching the belongings.”

I pointed at a game trail leading deeper into the Belly. “We have to find the bodies or at least some remains to make sure who these people were. Changelings normally leave behind at least some bones and certainly the armour, but there is nothing here. Which means they took the bodies elsewhere. I assume these changelings split off from some larger party and we are going to find our poachers in the bellies of some changelings.”

Magnus made a face full of disgust. “If we find them, I will leave it to you to search changeling guts or poop for something like dog tags.”

“Dog tags?” I asked, not understanding the expression. “Another expression from Earth?” It happened sometimes with Magnus, but I had learned not to be bothered by it.

He gestured at his neck. “Identifications. Military back on Earth has these necklaces with a metal pendant and your name on it. Hence, dog tags.”

“I understand. Fine, then let’s be extra silent from now on.” I went to follow the trail with my rapier drawn. “We should be careful not to stumble into another group of them as we did before. If we can’t avoid it and they are still in their human disguise, we rush them. They are weak while not in their natural form, so we should abuse the opportunity if possible.”

“Aside from that.” Magnus gestured at the corpses. “Do we get anything cool from eating them? Will we be able to change shape? Do they have cores?” He couldn’t help but smile wickedly at me. “I would like to have a woman who can change her three sizes according to the mood.”

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him. Sometimes, too much was too much. He could prove his attraction to me as much as he wanted to, but I still had some hang-ups about my chest. I just wasn’t as large as other girls. No need to point it out!

Magnus quickly understood he had shot beyond the line of a good-natured joke and cleared his throat. “Not that you aren’t perfect the way you are.” He was quick to indicate an hourglass figure with his hands. “Those hips of yours would make any guy lose his head. And that ass… have I told you I am totally a bottom guy?”

I looked down at myself and rolled my eyes. “Alright. Stop it right there before it gets even more awkward. And to answer your question: We would likely get nothing more than an ability to change our colour for camouflage. If you take changeling as a secondary mutation, you won’t receive the full shapechanging ability. You get the whole package only by taking it as a primary mutation – which we already have. So it’s impossible for us. And creatures of this size do not have cores.”

Magnus mimed fainting. “So, no shape-changing superpower for us.”

“I am afraid not.”

We continued in silence, this time paying a lot more attention to our surroundings so we wouldn’t run into another group of changelings.

It took us an hour of travel time, but we finally arrived at another, much larger clearing which was located at the Belly’s edge.

This time around, we didn’t stumble like children into the enemy. Thanks to my echolocation, we were forewarned and had enough time to leave the path and sneak the rest of the distance slowly through the underbrush.

A large root twenty metres away from the glade provided us with enough cover and height advantage to observe the situation without being discovered.

The ground in this glade had been trampled into a circle of dirt almost fifty metres wide and there were about twenty crude structures in the area. They looked like tents made out of leaves, but I knew better.

“I thought those things aren’t intelligent,” Magnus whispered while he peeked over the root from next to me.

“Those aren’t huts or shacks,” I corrected his assumptions. “Till now, I’ve never seen it myself, but from what my father told me these must be the changelings’ version of a nest. Birds build nests and nobody says they are intelligent. Why are you trying so hard to ascribe them intelligence?”

Magnus shrugged. “It’s not that I am trying – or care – but those things are freaking me out. No eyes, no ears, no nose. That’s just not right. How can they even sense us?”

I returned my attention to the clearing. “Some believe they have heat vision through their skin. Now, concentrate!” I bit my lips and observed the area. “They’ve set up a spawning ground right inside our territory. It’s good we found it before they started to hatch. Those things can get out of control quickly and before you know it, you have to launch a punitive expedition with over a hundred paired clanners just to get rid of the problem.”

From what I could count, there were about twenty-two changelings in the clearing – most of them in their natural form. The sleek, reptile bipeds with their silver scales roamed the area, each serving some task. A few had lookout duty, while others were cleaning away the vegetation or tending to the nest structures. They were meticulous in their mission to keep the nests clean and untouched.

At the centre of the clearing sat a huge, bloated figure on a pile of bones as if they were its throne. It was a changeling matriarch – a sight which few hunters had seen and lived to tell the tale.

The creature’s belly took up most of its mass. It was an eerie sight as it moved in undulating motions, giving me the impression of an ant queen in its hive.

“It’s the alien version of the Venus of Willendorf!” Magnus whispered. His voice oozed bewildered fascination mixed with disgust.

“Yeah.” I bit my lip while I ignored his latest innuendo. How should I know who this Venus was? “How much do we bet our proof is inside that thing?”

“Is it a bet if I concur?” He thoughtfully massaged his chin. “But fine, if we find the poachers inside the thing’s belly, you get to be on top tonight.”

“Why do I have to be on top?” I mumbled. Being on top was a lot of work. I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back behind the root while I eased backwards.

“Bottom then?” Magnus asked hopefully.

“All fours,” I finished the argument with a smirk. “Now, let’s talk about how to deal with these things.”

“Too many to fight them.” Magnus had no problem with switching instantly from playful banter to serious mode. “Those things had lookouts and most of them were in their natural form. Your filaments are powerful when it comes to subduing multiple enemies at once, but there are just too many of them. If they swarm us, we will get overwhelmed.” Magnus raised an eyebrow in question. “Do they swarm?”

“Definitely,” I replied. “If they think their breeding grounds are threatened, they will attack relentlessly. But that’s something we can make use of.”

“How?”

“We deploy all the traps and tripping wires we’ve brought with us,” I explained my idea. “Then, once we’ve set up a death zone, we challenge them and retreat. They will mindlessly follow us right into the traps.”

“What if they don’t?” Magnus asked with a hint of doubt in his voice.

“They will.” I patted his shoulder. “Just believe me, these aren’t people. They won’t outsmart us. They might have the wits to figure out a trapping mechanism given a few hours, but they won’t suddenly develop higher pack strategies once they realize they are in a minefield.”

Magnus and I spent the next two hours setting up traps by using the local flora.

The easiest ones to place were the spools with tripwire. It was a pleasant surprise when Magnus revealed he had brought even more tripwire than was normal. And I couldn’t help but smile devilishly when he shared his reasoning with me.

Then I showed Magnus how to set up a tension trap with the reed-like plants which were the local version of trees. Complimented with some prepared spikes, a whipping branch could become a deadly threat.

Another version of the trap was easier to set up with just a snare, but those traps weren’t lethal and could only temporarily disable the target. Once Magnus got the gist of it, he invented some traps of his own, made possible by his incredible strength.

Trap-making was just about learning a few trigger mechanisms and then allowing creativity to run wild.

We worked tirelessly to gain every advantage possible until all the equipment we brought was deployed.

At last, we determined doing anything more wasn’t cost-effective time-wise. We could have dug a few pits, but it would have been a noisy affair. The changelings would hardly allow us to go unmolested if they learned of our presence.

Preparations complete, we approached the changeling camp together. Magnus had several of his throwing spears ready and I brought my throwing stars to the table.

To make sure the changelings would be properly incentivised, Magnus brought two self-made wooden versions of his throwing spears. Covered with oily rags, they would catch fire easily. A spark was enough and two javelins of fire stabbed into the two closest changeling nests.

The changelings took a whole three seconds to process the nature of the attack before they came after us, screeching as if we had committed a cardinal sin.

But we were already running back to our chosen battlegrounds, careful as to not be too fast. We didn't want our pursuers to lose track.

We reached the trapped area and I used my filaments by hooking them into the vegetation’s canopy to swing both Magnus and myself over the traps.

With the death zone between us and our pursuers, we turned once more to stand our ground.

I readied a throwing star and waited, sensing the tremor of multiple bodies crashing through the vegetation.

The first five changelings came bounding out of the underbrush and promptly fell victim to the field of tripping wires. One fell unluckily in mid-run and broke something important because it yowled and didn’t get back up. Instead, it relentlessly drew itself forward on its clawed arms.

Magnus targeted the fastest monster to get back up with his throwing spear, while I sent a throwing star through the torso of another changeling.

But instead of dying, the creature yowled in pain.

I cursed and finished the job with a second star through the neck. My training had included throwing techniques, but I hadn’t realized up till now that throwing stuff with the acceleration technique required its own finesse.

More changelings arrived at the scene and had their charge similarly broken as they got entangled in the wires.

Magnus quickly went through his ammunition as more and more changelings entered the death zone.

One activated a tension trap and caught a case of chest penetration when a branch with metal spikes whipped it with enough force to send the creature flying.

My partner activated his little trap when one changeling managed to get past the first three-quarters of our killing field. Magnus pulled on a piece of rope, which removed several wooden stoppers from beneath boulders hidden high in the vegetation. They had been attached to ropes and could swing freely through the area.

Most missed, but some hit their mark, inflicting as much blunt trauma as Magnus had managed to lift.

“I think it should be most of them!” I went down on one knee and grabbed the two interwoven cords of tripwire which centred on our chosen location like a spider’s web.

Magnus kneeled next to me and placed his hands on mine. Then we nodded in affirmation at each other and channelled as much power as we could.

The tripwires easily transferred the energy directly to any changeling who was caught up in our trap. We only stopped when the wires grew too hot for us to touch, but by that point, many of the changelings had already found their demise.

Magnus picked up his spetum and casually strolled into the death zone.

A few changelings were still standing, but none of them were uninjured. When one got too close, Magnus’ weapon blurred and the creature fell apart in two pieces.

I followed, careful to watch his back. While he dispatched the ones coming at us, I finished off the ones on the ground. Either by touching them with my filaments to give them a final heart-stopping jolt or by stabbing their brains with my rapier.

We were almost done killing the last of the pack when something huge broke through the underbrush.

“Watch-”

It hit Magnus with a meaty paw and sent him flying like a toy. My partner only let out a pained grunt as he landed in some vegetation several metres away.

“Magnus!”

I screamed in outrage and barely managed to dodge the changeling matriarch’s second swipe. How could something so huge move so fast!?

With a howl, I tried to electrocute the thing, pumping enough energy through my filaments to fry a normal changeling. But the matriarch only shrieked and acted as if I had stung it.

It rolled forward on its belly and then its head split open sideways, revealing a lamprey’s maw lined with countless teeth.

The snapping jaws almost got me and I quickly slashed the creature in retaliation, but my rapier only inflicted a superficial cut.

Then Magnus came sailing from above, roaring like a barbarian. His spetum pierced the matriarch’s head and was rammed down all the way when my partner landed with both feet on the sideblades.

The monster bucked and twitched, revealing its belly to me.

I grasped the opening and jumped, ramming the rapier through scales and flesh while I shot out my filaments backwards. They coiled around the trunk of a large mushroom and then I pulled, giving it my best not to let go of the rapier while I pulled it back with me.

The matriarch’s belly was slit open from side to side, allowing organs, guts, and other things to slip out.

It bucked again and threw Magnus off, breaking the tip of his spetum and one of the sideblades.

Both of us quickly increased our distance to the matriarch as it thrashed around, fighting against death till the end. But even a monster like it couldn’t endure such grievous injuries.

With a last shudder, it stilled.

“Magnus! Are you alright!?” I quickly circumvented the corpse to get to my partner. “I thought I lost you! Why didn’t you dodge it? I’ve seen you do so before!”

Magnus coughed and hit the chest piece of his armour. “I wanted to test this beauty in combination with a new technique of mine.”

I scowled at him.

Instead of acknowledging my disapproval, he puffed out his chest, moving it around as some extremely buff bodybuilder would do with his muscles. “I thought if my filaments are yet too short to use them offensively, I could use them instead as impact armour to soften a blow. It takes a little bit of concentration, but the matriarch’s slap felt more like being hit by wool instead of claws.”

Slowly, I let out a breath I hadn’t known I had held. “Warn me next time. And don’t test out new abilities in real combat situations!”

“Sorry, but I was very certain it would work just fine.” He pointed at the corpse behind me. “Shouldn’t we take care of this? Before, you know, it starts stinking even more.”

I turned to regard the mess we’d made. Before partnering up with Magnus, I wouldn’t have dreamed of bringing down a giant monster like this one with just two people.

“Oh, god.” Magnus covered his mouth next to me and turned away. “Why is it still moving?”

I frowned at the huge ‘sack’ which was squirming on the ground next to the matriarch’s empty belly cavity.

Using a filament to cover my mouth and nose, I stepped forward and carefully used the tip of my rapier to slice the sack open.

Then I almost had to puke when the mushy contents spilled out, combined with yellowish digestive fluid.

I was even more horrified when one of the piles of half-digested flesh raised a hand.

“He- help...”