Chapter 7

My Transformation

(that time I was lost in the ruins of an underground city PART 1)

“We should have stayed back at the hole,” I said in a language all my own. Ajax and Pan looked at me, trying their best to interpret my ‘deer sounds’ but each time they thought I was complaining about walking or being hungry. I was, but that didn’t change anything. None of us had eaten since that morning’s meal and Ajax had forgotten to pack any rations.

Gob was the only one that was satisfied eating random bugs and spiders as we crossed their paths. A giant green beetle here a blue arachnid there, Gob ate anything that moved across the old stones. The three of us weren’t that hungry… but it had been hours since we were lost.

“We should make camp for the night,” Ajax said slowing down, both he and Pan were getting tired and couldn’t walk anymore. We had trekked through several miles of the underground tunnels looking for a way out. I was worried now that we had left the border of Haven. I made ‘deer sounds’ telling him that I agreed and he and Pan laid with their backs against me and Gob made a spot on my back shoulders. Comfortably laying down was a lot easier than walking, which I had finally gotten use to, and realized, that as a deer I still had lots more energy than I would have in my human form. Mom was right, my shape shifting abilities were for more than just fighting.

When I woke several hours later I was embarrassed to say that I was laying naked with Ajax and Pan against side, and Gob sitting on my chest. I was the first to wake up and quickly grabbed an extra shirt from Ajax’s backpack carefully trying not to wake them. His torch was powered by a battery and was still burning around us, keeping the darkness at bay but after I put on a new shirt and pants I realized I could hear something breathing in in the shadows.

My hearing was enhanced, reaching up to the top of my head I felt my ears were completely missing, replaced by two deer ears. I hadn’t transformed back fully.

“At least it’s only my ears,” I said picking Gob off the ground and placing him on my shoulder. His favorite place. I could feel the tiny Tenrec lick my neck as I turned to wake Ajax and Pan.

The light flickered. The battery was beginning to run low. Charged by a solar cell it wasn’t meant to be burning for hours on end, only emergencies.

“Ajax, Pan,” I said.

“You turned back,” Ajax smiled turning over in his sleep.

“We need to move, something is watching us,” I told him.

He shot up, a small bone dagger in hand. It looked like the tooth of a giant monster on a wooden handle. I didn’t even realize he had been sleeping with it by his side. Pan woke up slowly beside him as he kept her close.

“I don’t know what it is but I can hear something breathing,” I said.

“Your ears!” Ajax pointed.

“Yea, I must have started to turn back in my sleep but I don’t know how I did it, I think whatever is in the shadows woke me up,” I pointed.

Whatever it was that had been watching us had moved away, I was sure of that, or it was holding its breath with anticipation of its new meal. Either way I was sure that pressing forward was a bad idea.

“We need to turn back, where we fell through,” I said.

“But we have to be close to an exit,” Ajax argued.

“I was trying to tell you yesterday, my moms will realize I’m missing and check the ruins. I train in that same spot everyday, they will see the giant hole and send a rescue party,” I told him. I was slightly annoyed I would have to walk back the entire way on my human feet, but it was better than kicking the hornets nest. I was hungry now, still not hungry enough to eat a bug but maybe in another ten minutes with my stomach rumbling it was a possibility.

“The light won’t last that long,” Ajax argued.

“Then we make a torch, you have a flint don’t you?” I asked.

“Maybe,” Ajax frowned. He reached for his bag and began digging. “No, I must have left it at home. I didn’t expect us to get lost in some ruins,” he said.

I was cursing in my head. I should have known better. Going out by myself I should have brought supplies with me just incase something, anything happened. In my old life I would have been well-prepared for something like this but with four moms looking out for me I was growing lazy, focused more on learning magic than actual survival.

“It’s ok,” I reassured him, placing my hand on his shoulder and smiling at Pan. “I’ve got an idea,” I told them.

I tore off a piece of cloth and found a piece of stone debris large enough to wrap it around. Casting Fire Bolt I created a torch. The added benefit of having a torch was that it meant we had an extra weapon.

“Wow!” Pan shouted, she began clapping her hands together but Ajax quickly had her stop. He had seen something moving in the shadows just as I cast my Fire Bolt.

“There!” he pointed. I turned the torch towards the darkness but saw nothing.

“What was it?” I asked.

“I don’t know, it looked like a giant spider,” Ajax said.

‘Arachnids,” I frowned. I knew first hand just how deadly and dangerous such creatures could be. Unlike regular spiders, the Arachnids that lived in our region were similar to ants in that they had a hive and a ruler. Not necessarily a queen, but an alpha that killed other males in the area.

“Spiders,” Ajax said worried.

-Bestiary-

Arachnid Worker

Description: Eight legged drone. The Arachnid workers hunt and gather food for their alpha. Their hollow bones make them light on their feet and their husks weak but they more than make up for it by being able to carry three times their weight and paralyzing venom. Workers usually travel in large groups of ten or more. When a worker is away from its hive for too long they become frenzied and feral and will attack without mercy. As a unit the workers are able to hunt down even the largest prey, usually sacrificing their weaker brethren in the process. Like most Arachnids, workers, hate the light and are drawn to the smell of injured prey.

HP: 10 / 10

Weaknesses: Ice, Water, Fire, Lightning, Magic, Sharp / Blunt objects.

Immunities: Poison

“We need to turn back, now, I fear we’re close to a nest,” I told them.

Ajax turned with his electric torch and right behind us we heard a loud screech. A giant Arachnid had been creeping up behind us. It nearly grabbed Pan reaching out two of its large eight legs just before Ajax threw the electric torch at it causing it to flee backwards. They might have been big but their bodies were brittle. I tossed Ajax my torch and began to fire a Fire Bolt, going through the motions my mother had taught me with my hands, keeping control of it and firing it in a small thin line as I placed my fingers together in a triangle. It was a more direct attack that wouldn’t just burn the outside of the spider but burn through it. My mother called it ‘fire sniping.’

“Worked!” I exclaimed as the giant arachnid fell. I had torn a small hole straight through its body. Behind us, another Arachnid screeched. Turning my body I threw out a blast of Fire decimating the ruins. The entire tunnel lit up in flames, still burning, and we could see we were far from alone.

Twenty, maybe thirty arachnids were crawling through the tunnels around us. Some were carrying kills, dead or paralyzed monsters on their backs that they were bringing back to their nest.

We had fallen asleep in the middle of an Arachnid highway.

“Run!” I shout, casting another ball of fire in front of us to light our way. Ajax grabbed Pan picking her up and followed right behind me as we retreated back the way we came.

“Which way?” I said as we came to a crossroad. There were forks we had missed traveling the night before.

“Right!” Ajax shouted. I follow behind him. It was the wrong direction, which wasn’t unexpected. We really had no sense of where we were or what we were doing.

Gob fell down from my shoulder into my hand and I held him close to my chest while holding the torch out in front of us. I could hear running water ahead of us and the footsteps of Arachnids behind us.

My legs were already hurting, I could feel my calves cramping. A part of me wished I was still a deer and could hold the torch in my mouth while Ajax, Pan, and Gob rode safely on my back. We would have been much faster than the Arachnids.

The tunnels began to open up. Larger and larger, they were starting to look more like caves than ruins. Several of the Arachnids were catching up to us when the ground opened up and a giant lizard emerged from the mud surrounding us and grabbed hold of several of the Arachnids with its giant mouth. The underground had its own eco-system, I realized. Moma- Sudra had told me time and time again that even despite the monsters that lurked in the dark there was balance in nature. For every Kudlak there was a Krsnik and for every vampire there was a slayer ready to take on ten.

The other Arachnids continued chase but the giant lizard had bought us some time.

-Bestiary-

Giant Agama

Description: Well-developed, strong legs and arms their tails cannot be shed and regenerate. Their claws are capable of cutting through even the strongest steels however their skin is thin. Many Agama species are capable of limited change of their colors to regulate their body temperature. Capable of seeing in both the night and day Agama typically feed on insects, arachnids, and smaller mammals. They are typically no danger to humans unless threatened, though they can be territorial. With a third eye on the top of their heads it is impossible to get the drop on them. The Giant Agama are known to be excellent swimmers.

HP: 100 / 100

Weaknesses: Ice, Fire, Magic, Sharp / Blunt Objects

Immunities: Water, Poison

Finally, we reached the sound of running water. A cliff overlooking an underground waterfall. With no other choice in the matter Ajax, Pan, Gob, and I all jumped.