Chapter 27

Dragon Piercer

(that time I slept in a tree…)

Ajax lived up to his name. He was a crackshot at killing game with his slingshot and we ate good day and night as we traveled towards the dock of Maestat. We were a day away, by my count, and could start to smell the salt water in the air. The smell of the ocean, how I missed it. I’d been on the ocean more times than I could count, traveling from one place to another in my past life as my guild took on harder and harder quests. I couldn’t wait to see it now. I had a picture of what the dock looked like in my head. I imagined a small fishing village with a market, fresh sushi, and boats lined up to make harbor, carrying new and old adventurers alike. Since I knew it was mostly run by demi-humans I knew to expect all kinds of beastkin. I worried Ajax might stand out, but we discussed it and decided that he could be under my indentured servant… basically, since I was posing as a yokai, he was my slave and I was his master. In another world this would have been the other way around, it would have been better if we hadn’t had to discuss it at all. Most demi-humans thought of humans as weak, lesser creatures, and demons saw humans as food, always careful not to kill too many as to endanger their livestock. I worried what we might see in the cities on the mainland, our best bet was to find Ajax some kind of disguise.

“If you could be any kind of monster what would you be?” I asked. The two of us were hiking through the woods, our gear on our backs. Ajax was being careful to make sure our tracks were covered as we went by but it was difficult, slowing us down whenever we stepped through mud or high grass. Still, he was persistent, I had to give him that. This journey alone would have been a complete bore.

“I’d be a nine-tailed fox, a shapeshifter, you know, kinda like you,” he laughed. I wished I had thought the question out better. Nine-tailed foxes, far as I knew weren’t real. Legends said they were beasts from the east that could shapeshift into anything: animal, demon, monster, even furniture. I doubted their existence but then a krsnik was also a fabled monster during my time in the past and I was one. I’d already seen and heard stories of so many legends come to life, what was another. “Except,” Ajax paused, “I’d be better at transforming.”

“Its not as glorious as it sounds,” I said. I tried to cover the fact that I really couldn’t shape shift well anymore. My ears for one, never seemed to disappear. Not to mention, I clutched my chest, my core had been ripped in two by Alantris, and I didn’t feel whole.

“What about you? If you could be anything besides a Krsnik?”

I walked in silence for a moment. I thought of my mothers, one a siren, one a fae, one a human, one a krsnika like me.

“Not exactly a monster, but I would love to be human. You know, not different, no destiny, just living for the moment,” I said. It was the truth. I missed roaming free without any regard for the fate of the world. Not that I put too much thought into it now but I knew the battle at Haven had been my fault, and I hated that blood had been spilled over me. I hated that my father had sent me on this quest, that they were going to pretend I was still among them, all to keep me safe.

“Humans are boring,” Ajax said.

“Not all of them,” I gave him a smile.

“Well, not me, Pan, Mori, or your mom I guess.”

“Far from it, everyday with you guys is like a marathon of what could go wrong,” I laughed.

“Not so much what could go wrong. I think humans are just prone to having bad luck… ever since the end of the world and all.”

“What about heroes?” I asked.

“Heroes are like your dad. One in every one hundred. Sure, Haven has a lot of them, but the land outside the walls I’ve heard humans can be worst than most of the demons. Fighting over scraps, raiders, double agents, slave traders, demonic thralls, cultivators of death, battle weary vikings looking to go out in a bang.”

Ajax reminded me of something. Even during my time, when cultivation was in its infancy, I’d heard stories of men who had become immortals alongside great sect leaders who lived hundreds of years.

“What do you think happened to the great heroes of old?” I asked.

“The Demons probably got them. Probably imprisoned them somewhere. I’d bet the really fat ones probably ate them. Demons like the Chernobog.”

“What about good demons, like Belobog? What happened to them?”

“Probably imprisoned in the same place as the cultivators I’d bet, magical prison cells covered in wards. All of ‘em probably sit in meditation everyday just waiting for the day they’ll escape,” Ajax answered. His answer seemed so honest, so wholesome… like he really believed one day it would happen, that the heroes and legendary creatures of light would one day rise up and save the world and all this nightmare would be over. Even if it happened the world would never be the same. Rebuilding alone would take lifetimes, generations would be left in the dark ages just like we are now. I probably shouldn’t have been thinking it but the age of humanity had really come to an end, a cycle of self-destruction, the fall of heroes.

We walked quietly for awhile. Gob even rode on the top of my head between my ears for awhile before retreating to his pocket in my coat. I aligned the pocket with padding so that if Ajax and I ran into trouble the little tenrec would be safe, or at least not get squished while I was in battle. I’d have to be careful that nothing hit me in the chest, but I planned to be careful of that regardless. I commented on the smell of the ocean only to realize I was the only one able to smell it. The only thing Ajax could still smell was me, despite our bathing in a river a couple days ago. It was because of this I realized that my senses had been permanently heightened since I was reborn into this body. Had I been human I would have had to drink special potions to see, smell, and hear like I did. All these great passive abilities I was born with and I still felt weak.

The sun was beginning to set on our journey and we decided to take a break for the night. Traveling in the darkness was dangerous, even more so here in the wilds, close to the docks. The jungle on the isles might have been free of the demons that attacked Haven but there were other demonic entities to worry about, alongside beasts, wolves, and other monsters I didn’t know about yet. Building a fire kept most of the bugs and creatures away. Same with the snares Ajax set up around our tent. This far into the forest we decided not to sleep on the ground though, far too dangerous. Instead we opted for climbing a tree, sleeping side by side with rope tied around our waists to keep us from falling. It was uncomfortable at first but tired as we were we both got use to it. Since we were sure no one from our village was following us we left our fire burning through the night, building a small wall of stones around it to keep the flames contained.

It was past midnight when Ajax woke me up, sliding his elbow into my ribs. I groaned loudly as I told him to ‘cut it out,’ but he insisted I wake. When I did I could smell a boar. I wanted to barf. The boar smelled like it had been rolling around in its own shit all day. Covered in flies and fungus, it looked more like a demon than most demons. Definitely not edible I was sure the fungus had sunk below its skin.

“What is that?” Ajax asked.

“A boar, wait…”

I focused on the boar with my eyes. There was something else strange going on, it had a black aura surrounding it. Something I was sure only I was able to see with my eyes, but Ajax could sense. I used my insight to get a better understanding of the strange four-legged creature and Ajax had been right in asking what it was.

-Bestiary-

Plague Sus

Description: Not a boar, or a pig. This creature might have been one or the other at one time but not anymore. Its body and brain is infested with plague worms. Worms that give it two desires, to eat, and to infect others. Once the Plague Sus detected a living organism it will vomit worms on or near them until they become infested as well. The Plague Sus is not living, all brain function and organ function is gone and the body is completely controlled by the worms occupying it. Eventually, if the Plague Sus does not manage to infect other creatures it will lay down and the worms will enter a state of hibernation, waiting to be eaten by their next host… usually a scavenging boar or pig that is looking for an easy meal.

HP: 10/100

Weaknesses: Fire

Immunities: Poison, Water, Ice

“That’s not a pig,” I told Ajax.

“You use one of your abilities?”

“I did, one called insight that allows me to glimpse pieces of information about a creature,” I answered.

“How is that? I still don’t understand.”

When Ajax said that I remembered something from my past life. A piece of information I had somehow forgotten until now, staring down at the pig.

“A long time ago some humans made a pact with a demon. The genetic trait has been passed down, some call it the system, some the god-runes, others think that it wasn’t a demon but the gods that gave the gift to the first humans after their creation, telling them to use the gift as a way to protect all living things,” I answered. I could remember when I first heard those words. It had been May that told them to me. It was part of a scroll she had collected, inscribed on one of her trinkets. Far as I knew all humans had the ability to read runes but that wasn’t always true. Another scroll she found said that the reason we could was because we ourselves had been descended from the gods themselves. Immortal blood running through our veins, giving us the chance to ascend. I didn’t repeat that part to Ajax, most of it was confusing as it was. All that mattered was that the system gave us both the advantage so long as one of us could use it.

“Just glad you can see with them eyes of yours,” Ajax said. A moment later he asked, “Think we should slingshot it?”

I wasn’t sure, but didn’t see any harm in it. We’d probably burn the pretend tent in the morning anyway.

“Can I give it a go?” I asked.

He handed me the slingshot and I missed several times. It wasn’t like throwing a fire bolt, or even shooting from a bow. I had the strength but not the right amount of focus. I’d nearly wasted all of Ajax’s stones before he finally asked for it back. He nailed the Plague Sus on the forehead. The stone left behind a small indention, cracking its skull open. Worms withered out and fell onto the ground.

“Hit it again,” I said. I wanted to puke. The Plague Sus ran towards our tree and began hitting it over and over, splitting its head open again and again as more worms came out of its body.

Ajax aimed and fired. He nailed the Plague Sus in the eye but it didn’t stop. Ramming its face so hard into the tree it broke its tusks. It’s health dwindled a few points but it wasn’t letting up. It didn’t feel pain, nor did it care that it was killing itself. It kept beating its head against the tree until finally there was nothing left. Its body toppled over. A headless husk waiting to be scavenged by something else… a cycle of repeated destruction.

We slept in two shifts the rest of the night. When the sun rose we climbed down, careful to avoid the ground since it was covered in the worms. They had spread out everywhere in an attempt to find a new host. Thousands of them, wriggling around, tiny white things, like maggots. When we were clear I set the entire camp on fire using a Fire Bolt. I’d depleted half my mana in the attack but rid the world of some nasty creatures all the same so it was worth it. We continued on our way. Hoping we would make it to the docks by the end of the day.