Hurriedly, a silver haired girl made quick strides with her long legs towards our table. She was the last divine mage left from Suby’s group. The dread in her green eyes replaced by hope with every step nearer to us. A thin smile crept to her lips, she was going to make it! She was violently impacted from behind. Falling face first, she skidded a few more feet towards us crying out for help. Yep, like what foris magister Bryon had taught me, running when in close proximity to a mimic was a really poor choice indeed.

The mimic’s mass, now the size of a large greyhound, writhed and squirmed on top of the woman’s shoulders. Several mouths took bowl sized chunks out of her back while the main maw stretched open even farther, plunging onto her head. There was a slurping sound mixed with sickening crunches as the maw chewed through what had been her head. The ravenous mouths almost swirled around its blob-like body. Several quick successive plops were heard, and six eye stalks appeared at random locations from the mimic’s body. Screaming, wailing, and crying was heard in the background, as well as the quick pitter patter of feet as several instructors ran towards the beast.

“Paralyze!”

“Sleep!”

“In the name of the Goddess, stun!”

Three divine mages all pointed either their wands or staves at the creature and launched their spells. The mimic’s eye stalks shot upwards, the eyes taking in the bright lights and cries from the mages. Oh crap, they really shouldn’t have shouted… Leaping from its original location at an insane speed, it narrowly missed one spell, instead colliding directly with the caster’s face.

“Squelp, crunch, crunch, slurp!”

As their friend’s head and upper torso were gnashed between those yellow teeth, the other two mages repeated the paralyze and stun spells. Of course, they were shouting, Gods, does no one remember their foris magister training? The mimic leapt again, this time onto the floor. The spells collided with the head and shoulderless corpse of their fellow mage. The white glows disappeared instantly, the body becoming rigid as a statue before it thumped softly on the ground. Its arms now petrified in their previous limp state at its sides.

I took my eyes off of the battle to assess something. Our group was located in one of the back corners of the room, Tess and I on one side of the table with Melissa and Courtney on the other. The only exits were a large, padlocked gate behind us and the original entrance. The mimic, nearer my and Tess’s side, stood between us and the entryway. I decided to take a chance.

Tapping Tess on the shoulder I gently whispered, “You wouldn’t happen to have the key to that door there?”

Tess turned and looked at me confused. I pointed several times in quick succession at the door, unfortunately our instructor was too shaken by the monster to understand.

“The door…behind us…key…we get out,” I softly spurted out simple words and statements, trying to get her on the same page while there was still time.

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly. I wanted to shake her like a rag doll and scream at her to snap out of it, but I knew better than to attract that thing’s attention.

“N, n, na, no, no, sob. No…” Tess finally spoke, tears now freely flowing down her cheeks.

I groaned, of course not, why make it easy?

“Squelp, squelp, crunch! OH GODS SAVE ME! Crunch, CRUNCH!” another divine mage went down gruesomely, the mimic consuming her bite by bite from the legs up.

There was only one senior mage left, her face reflecting an acute loss of nerve. All the other divine mages had already fled, and no help came rushing in to save those of us still left. Godsdamn worthless other worlders, maybe if I slapped Tess one would rush in to save us just so that they could lecture me about the proper way to treat a woman. Even if it failed, I’d feel a little better…

The situation was flowing towards one scenario, our table of four versus a murder machine. While Tess might have a spell or two, in her current shocked state that really didn’t matter. I had my spear staff, but would only get one stab into the creature. If I was lucky. When the mimic had just been a murder ball, I was unconcerned. Now that it was over halfway to the size of a murder wardrobe, this was hurtling past concerning... I briefly debated on abandoning my group, crawling alongside the wall as far from the creature as possible. There was a minute chance I could make it… No, there was a VERY minute chance that I could make it.

Listening as the last bit of the second mage was consumed, I had no doubts that my healing would be ineffective. Being shredding into tiny bits before being digested was not a condition one tended to recover from. I took a brief look at the two other worlders. They were shaking, visibly scared, though not nearly to the degree Tess was. I didn’t blame them as I took a moment to calm my own tremoring hands. They weren’t weak, but they were useless in this situation, having neither foris magister survival training nor any defensive or offensive spells.

Melissa looked at me and asked, “Tome, we’re thinking about making a run for it, what do you think?”

Courtney turned to me as well, while Tess’s gaze remained glued to the creature. I sighed, there was nothing we could do, there was however something I could do. In fact there were currently two options open to me. If the girls were to run as a group, the mimic would attack them and potentially buy me enough time to escape or launch a side attack. I laughed, no, that creature would quickly whirl from their corpses onto me soon after either. That plan might extend my pitiful existence by a minute or two, but the odds in my favor were near nil.

No, there was only one viable option, and it was suicidal, what other choice would be given to me? The final divine mage began fleeing, time was running out. I felt for my left pocket and stave, everything I needed was here. Tess still stood paralyzed, good. The beast was preparing to assault the cleric, as expected. Melissa and Courtney? Hmm…

The two of them might be other worlders, but they had not been unkind to me. That, and they understood well the importance of hospitality. Accordingly I made a small change to my plan. It wouldn’t affect anything, so why not give these two a hand? My heart felt lighter now, sacrificing good companions was something only the basest of men would do. My right hand fell hard on Tess’s shoulder, sacrificing a weak fool who was about to get themselves killed anyway? Perhaps there was an ounce of shame to that, but nothing I couldn’t live with.

In truth, my anger at her had long passed due to the current circumstances. My thirst for revenge was overshadowed by the cold hard truth that at least the two of us were going to die. Taking her with me was no consolation, but it was better to die being proactive than cowering or running in terror.

Tess looked at me, her shock temporarily broken. I tried to smile soothingly at her, but I think my intentions shone through. She futilely squirmed to escape my hold. My fingers went deeper into what flesh she had, bruising her as I tightly grasped the collar bone. While I felt a small pang of guilt, I comforted myself in the knowledge Tess had neglected her duties as our instructor and her survival training. Something we were going to rectify, most likely one crunch at a time…

“Melissa, Courtney, when me and Tess attack, run along the wall to the door, QUICKLY.”

“We can h..”

“Me and Tess have more experience, get out and get help,” which would arrive far too late, something they probably realized, “Wait until we charge, then GET OUT.”

“Aaahhhh! Squelp, SNAP, crunch, crunch, crunch!” The mimic bit the last mage in twain at the torso, blood and jumbles of intestines spilling out.

The creature was quicker now. Tendrils whipped at both ends of the carcass, pulling them towards multiple maws on every side. In the span of twenty seconds, only an immense pool of blood and smaller flesh and tendon tidbits remained. The maws busily gnashed over and over again, the tendrils whipping through the blood for any untapped solid bits. I started forward, Tess yelping as I dragged/lifted her by the shoulder. I felt warm liquid on my fingers, my grip on her extremely tight. Blood trickled out where my fingers still dug in ever deeper, couldn’t have my protection falling or, more likely, running away.

“RUN, NOW,” I dragged Tess beside me as I started, not caring if the two realized that she was not a willing participant in my scheme.

There was nearly fourteen feet between me and the mimic, I needed to time this right. I kept all my attention on the rippling mass, still nastily chewing on its last victim’s remains. There was the sound of running from behind me, I could only hope Melissa and Courtney had enough sense to follow my instructions. My left hand dropped into my robe pocket as my feet pounded against the tiles. I sprinted for all I was worth.

Twelve feet, I pulled Tess partially in front of me, off of the ground, while the monster stilled. The crunching, squelching, and slurping had unpromisingly stopped. The tendrils stood out like curly quills while the eye stalks turned from me to what sounded like Melissa and Courtney in the background. Each was adorned with a different eye, one like a cat’s, reflecting the light as though it were night, three black reptilian slits in yellow, purple, and green irises, a beautiful baby blue human eyeball, and a pure black orb dotted by a fiery red pupil. Good, the creature was stuck trying to decide which group to attack.

Eleven feet, I finished pulling my defense into place, staring over Tess’s left shoulder as she finally screamed in terror, discerning what her role was to be. Excellent, I was certain Tess’s screams would result in the mimic targeting us and not the others. The eyes all squirmed an inch upwards as they focused decidedly in our direction. My left hand grabbed into the prepared pouch. My right hand shuddered and exploded in pain under Tess’s weight. Grunting, I used all my strength to keep her in place, her kicking and clawing unconducive to our partnership. Thank the Gods for her small figure, else my plan wouldn’t have been feasible.

Ten feet, the monster balked slightly. It was readying to jump, its tendrils all secured against the floor. My feet stopped their pursuit as my left hand withdrew from the pocket. Letting my right knee fall onto the floor, I angled my left foot behind me. Nearly there…

Nine feet, Tess’s body now completely obscured my vision as I ducked my head down and desperately closed my eyes. I threw the black-reddish powder in my left hand into the air over Tess’s shoulder. My left hand moved behind her left hip, finding purchase. There was a bit of meat on her ass, but the situation prevented me from feeling any arousal. Skidding to a stop, I held my breath, the smell of copper in the air. Tess’s horrified screams changed to ones of pain and agony as her nails proceeded to rake at her face instead of my now deeply gouged hand.

Eight feet, the air changed. There was a sound and the quick whooshing of air. I had managed to get my left foot and right knee fully braced while both my hands held Tess, my impromptu shield, tightly in place. The expected impact, squelching, and crunching occurred, catapulting me back mercilessly. The force was too great, as I flew backwards I lost my grip on my now silent divine shield. I kept my eyes squeezed shut, only opening them once my back hit a table. Pain shot out everywhere, I spit out the saliva in my mouth before bile and the alcohol from earlier followed.

I tried to take a breath, but was still heaving the contents of my stomach. The acid, alcohol drenched bile flooded my empty lungs, so I threw up again, this time from both my nose and mouth. After a few more attempts I managed to get a few mouthfuls of air into my lungs. Quickly I stumbled to feet, my left hand instantly reaching back into the pouch for another handful of powder. I was dizzy, raggedly breathing into vomit tainted lungs. Before my vision steadied, my right hand pulled out my weapon.

By now the pain had subsided enough that I noticed the wailing. The mimic was rolling around, shaking violently on the floor several feet from me. Tess’s mangled corpse lay near the beast, her front half mostly obliterated. Looking back at the creature, I smiled gleefully as it dragged three maws and two eyestalks urgently against the tile floor. I hobbled as fast as I dared in my state towards it. The remaining eye stalks glared at me and several tendrils began scraping the floor, the shuddering began to abate. The brown whips of flesh sluggishly dragged the mimic’s body towards me.

I stood stock still, don’t rush it. The monster’s approach was slow, but determined. The tendrils rose up and undulated in the air, with each vibration they visible grew thicker. Well, this was something new… After ten seconds the tendrils were now each three inches in diameter, and speckled with small suction cups. Tentacles, Godsdamn tentacles. Why did I have to deal with these things again, on land of all places?!

While most of the tentacles pulled, two whipped at me, one slashing vertically into my chest while the other was thankfully too short to reach. I gasped, but held my ground, not there yet. Come on, sure they’re similar to the one that nearly killed me before, but that was just a lucky strike... The longer limb whipped at me more rapidly, my armor barely holding on. When the beast was a foot from me, it struck from a horizontal angle, wrapping around my neck. Gods, maybe tentacles were my bane, like common sense to Kevin.

“Gah!” I choked, quickly slicing at the swiftly tightening appendage.

Its skin was tough as hardened leather, the constricted spear blade barely even scratched it. Those maws were getting perilously close.

“Screw it!” Unable to breathe, I closed my eyes, and threw the powder before falling backwards.

“GWAHHHHHRRRR!”

The mimic roared in unbearable agony. Enduring the horrible squeezing on my throat, my left hand brought forth my trusty cleaver. The mimic’s uncontrollably jerks coupled with my opposing weight, stretched the tentacle taunt, allowing me to messily hack it off after four rapid swipes. Staggering back, I regained my footing, thankful to have sharpened all my blades the day before. Though I had been expecting human foes…

“Always be prepared,” escaped my breath in euphoria.

My eyes and throat stung from the remnants of the powder still in the air. My trump card was a special consignment from an alchemist in Amethyst. Strong pepper mixed with sharp miniscule lodestone shavings, an acid powder or two, and a few other noxious substances that served to blind an opponent. The powder had a second effect of irritating and burning any soft tissues exposed to it, such as the insides of a mouth, or maw. It was extremely nasty, guaranteeing blindness if enough struck the eyes. I laughed, spitting out some more vomit which stole a bit of luster from the moment.

While Tess was a fair shield, medium grade lodestone she was not. Thus I had to use my powder to try to immobilize the mimic when it leapt at us. Her screams from earlier were due to her encountering the powder first, luckily there was enough in the air, and perhaps on her, to affect the mimic. Then all it took was one more dose to finish the job.

It desperately rolled in all directions, howling horrendously. The mimic was now scraping all of its eyes and orifices on the tiles, trying to rid itself of the extreme burning, corrosion, and sharp stabbing pain it was feeling. One sliced tentacle flailed purple blood all around the scene.

“Extend,” the bladed wand became a full-length spear.

I took a stance, both hands near the back of the staff. Quickly I neared and stabbed the mimic, its skin still tough. The first strike failed. My hands moved up the spear a bit and I got nearer, a maw running into my metal greave causing a nasty scraping sound. I could stab into one of those maws, but if the teeth closed, I’d lose the better half of my spear. Quickly I thrust downward onto a section of skin where the black eyeball stalk connected, successfully breaking through its tough skin. There was the sweet tactile sensation of ripping through multiple organs with my weapon.

I pulled the spear out, fighting against the skin from the inside this time. I thrust again, all the mouths screeching in disharmony. I joined the chorus, screaming barbarically as I impaled the beast, hoping my yells would give me added strength. Long after the mimic had stopped moving, I was still howling and stabbing. I was going to be triply sure that an amorphous blob primarily made of huge maws, with sharper than lodestone yellow daggers for teeth, and a terrifying high-speed jump attack, was truly dead.

Stinking of sweat, alcohol, puke, blood, and tangy mimic blood, I staggered away from what remained of the mimic. It had been several minutes since any part of it had even spasmed, hopefully signifying that it was indeed deceased. Turning to the side, I slowly approached Tess’s corpse. It was an ugly half shell of a body, blood and viscera everywhere. I crouched down to what sort of resembled her head. I took a few minutes to catch my breath as I stared emotionlessly at the gruesome sight.

“Rest in peace, cleric Tess, may your next life be better than this one.”

I reached into my coin purse and brought out a few coins. I picked up a small silver, the traditional cost to have a soul ferried to the next world. I looked at the image of the senate, a solitary figure standing inside its columns. I shook my head, exchanging the small silver for a small copper instead, I wasn’t that close to the girl.

“When you see the ferryman, offer him the copper. When he refuses say that you’ll row the boat, he’s not kind, but he is a haggler,” placing the coin onto what had probably been her mouth, I offered the best advice I could.

Gradually I fell to my knees into the bloody muck near the corpse. I pulled out my second flask and took a long draught. Swallowing, the rough taste and burning eased my palate. My eyes swept the room, taking stock of the ghastly fate I had narrowly avoided. There was no elation, no feelings of joy. Only agony that wracked my body, a few mangled bodies, and blood.

So, so much blood…

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Scarce battle won without casualties, scant failure deprived of penalties. Survival and growth require not merely strength, but too loss. The only thought existing, how to triumph? This upon corpses and through tributaries of blood, not purely foe.

Waste not tears on others, friends, enemies, sisters, brothers. Save meticulously for yourself, for they are offered by no one else.

-Gallus Seneca, Chief Foris Magister.