“A great sloth? What’s that?” Zell asked in reply to Agitha’s announcement of their next mission. They were on their way back to camp from their usual sparring grounds deep in The Tear. They had been training all day every day for three weeks and were due to begin their journey toward home within a week.
“It’s a beast of the inner Tear. It’s huge, slow moving, and mostly docile if not provoked.” She replied
“So why go after it?” Zell prodded.
“It’s not the sloth we’re going after. We’re after an extremely rare type of fungus that only grows on the hide of a great sloth. It’s the ingredient that makes universal elixirs so expensive and what keeps Karakis in my pocket.” Agitha explained.
“Really!?” Zell exclaimed in excitement. “My dad wants to work on a stable universal elixir. We should bring back as much as we can!”
“We will, but it’s a tough job. Great sloths always have a colony of apes that survive by grooming the sloth, and eating the fungi and parasites from the sloth’s fur. The sloth is docile, but the apes are violent and strong.” Agitha said. “We’ll need to work together with you drawing away as many of the apes as possible while I harvest the fungus.” She finished.
“Why not use your demon sword to just wipe out all the apes?” Zell asked.
“This is a no kill mission.” Agitha said seriously. “Unlike the beetles, what we are taking from them doesn’t need to result in death. The sloths are rare and valuable creatures as long as they live, and the apes simply defend them.”
“So am I just supposed to get their attention and run away from them?” Zell guessed.
“Exactly. Fight if you get cornered but only as a last resort. If you get into trouble then call out. They aren't fast on the ground but if they get ahold of you it’s bad. You’ll only need to buy me a few minutes, the sloth and apes shouldn’t even know I was there.” She explained.
“When do we go?” Zell finally asked.
“In the morning. It takes a day to reach the grove where the great sloths live, and likely a day to set up and complete the mission. We should return on the evening of the third day and then we prepare for the journey home.”
“I can’t believe it’s already been two months.” Zell marveled. It seemed like just the other day they had landed on the beach and yet somehow a lifetime ago at the same time.
Later that night Agitha briefed the sailors on her plan, reassuring them that Merc would help protect them in her absence but leaving directions to a rendezvous point if something extreme happened.
Zell inspected his equipment as he prepared for the mission ahead. His once pristine leather armor was now a patchwork of holes and bloodstains. His boot where the thunder beetle had grabbed it was stitched crudely back together and also stained with his blood. His finely made dwarven sword was still in perfect shape as was the pauldron fashioned from the polished black bone of the gorger demon they had defeated so long ago. As unsightly as the ragged armor was, Zell was proud of every tear and stain.
He turned his attention to Goggles, who was now the size of a small dog. The spider was eating chunks of smoked beetle meat, he always seemed to be eating. The spider’s thick fur perpetually shifted colors from vibrant gold to deep purple and every shade in between. An unlikely friendship between Merc and Goggles had sprung up as well in recent weeks partially thanks to Zell’s efforts with magical communication.
Once he was satisfied with his preparations, Zell settled into his hammock and meditated out of habit. He focused on his mana, channeling it from place to place within his body. According to Agitha this type of training was crucial and would some day allow him to survive even the most devastating attacks with only minor damage.
Agitha roused him before dawn, she was a remarkably early riser when she wasn’t drinking. Zell ate his breakfast of thunder beetle meat and fruit, a meal he would be happy if he never saw or smelled ever again. Soon after, they were moving briskly through the rainforest. Zell barely even noticed the weight of The Tear anymore. He jogged easily beside Agitha who was also back in phenomenal shape after her long sedentary winter.
The hours and miles passed quickly and they arrived at the edge of the northern groves that the sloths were known to inhabit just before dusk. They were greeted by distant howls and hoots. The sound was intimidating, and Zell found himself clutching the hilt of his sword tightly as they progressed.
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“We’re looking for freshly stripped tree branches.” Agitha told Zell as she led him deeper into the grove of giant trees. “They like the new buds and leaves the best, so look as high up as possible.”
“They climb these trees?” Zell asked quietly.
“No. They can reach the tops from the ground.” Agitha answered, smiling at Zell’s widening eyes.
After another hour of walking, it was nearly dark when Agitha called for them to halt.
“Let’s post up in this tree for the night.” She said as she hopped to grab a low branch to begin her climb.
Zell followed her up and they each found a relatively comfortable place to wait out the night while watching for signs of movement below. Aside from a family of wandering boars milling about, the night passed without incident. They resumed their search the following morning.
“There.” Agitha stopped Zell in mid stride a few hours into their search and pointed high up on a nearby tree to a huge patch of bare branches.
They made their way cautiously to the base of the tree and discovered more signs including deep strange footprints. Agitha determined the direction easily and they began their pursuit. They heard the sloth, more specifically they heard the pack of apes riding on its back before they ever saw it. Hoots and howls grew louder and louder until the great beast finally came into view, resting in a sunny clearing and basking in the warmth by the look of it.
It was massive, as large as the mammoth Zell had seen before, and covered in shaggy grey fur. Its arms were as long as the trees were tall and ended in three pale yellow claws each roughly the same size as Zell’s entire body. Crawling all over it’s massive form were reddish apes that were probably just a bit smaller than Zell but next to the great sloth looked no larger than field mice.
The troupe of apes seemed oblivious, enjoying their breakfast of parasites harvested from the sloth’s shaggy fur. Agitha pulled Zell further back into the cover of the forest and laid out the plan.
“This one is perfect. There aren’t too many apes and it’s a full grown adult. I’m going to circle the clearing to the opposite side. From the time I leave I want you to count to a hundred. After that walk out into the clearing and make plenty of noise. They’ll all come after you, just lead them back into the clearing as far as you can. They’ll break off the chase after a few minutes and once they do just head back to the tree we rested in last night. I’ll meet you there once I’m done.” She watched Zell’s expression to make sure he had no questions.
“Got it.” Zell said firmly.
Without another word Agitha left, racing through the forest as silently as a wraith. Zell began his count and felt his heart beginning to race in anticipation. One hundred seconds later Zell left the cover of the trees and began walking slowly toward the great sloth. He shouted and banged his sword against his buckler. The response from the apes startled him. As one they howled and bolted toward him.
“Slow on the ground my ass!” Zell blurted as he ran for his life through the trees with a dozen angry apes just twenty feet behind him and matching his pace.
After just a couple of minutes of running, a hidden hole beneath the dead leaves on the ground caused Zell to stumble. Zell knew he had lost his lead and waited for the expected attack as he continued to run. It didn’t come, in fact the apes seemed to be exactly the same distance as they had been. Zell recognized the behavior immediately. He had seen it many times in the early days when Agitha made Merc chase him away from her cabin. They didn’t want a fight any more than he did and were simply trying to scare him off.
He slowed his pace to test his theory, and sure enough the apes slowed, and intensified their howls and hoots but made no moves to attack. Acting on instinct and hoping with all his might that he was correct, Zell stopped and turned. He made his body language as non threatening as possible, keeping his hands low. The apes formed a semicircle about ten feet from him and made a terrible racket but wouldn’t come closer.
He focused on the largest ape near the center of their formation. It had a grey muzzle and silver fur mixed in with the rest of the red fur. He imagined a peaceful scene where he was mingling with the apes clearly, and activated the magic taught to him by Ruthar.
“Nectera.” He said gently, and to his incredible surprise all of the apes fell suddenly silent. A flood of images and emotions hit Zell all at once, ranging from fear to curiosity.
Another impulse struck Zell. He slowly and deliberately took off his pack and pulled forth a large yellow fruit he had been saving for dinner. He set it on the ground and backed up a few feet, sending an image of the large ape eating the fruit. Excitement bubbled up in him as the returning feelings and images from the apes seemed to relax and curiosity overwhelmed the fear.
Trusting in his magic, Zell crouched down and invited the apes to inspect him. The leader showed the most courage and picked up the fruit. It was especially sweet and delicious and only found near the coast. The apes had never encountered such a thing and one bite sent the leader of the apes into a happy little hopping dance.
The large fruit was stolen several times by various apes before it was devoured completely. Zell allowed the apes to surround him and fiddle with his clothes and equipment. They were surprisingly gentle, a few even took turns giving his messy brown hair a good combing through looking for bugs to eat. After several minutes, the leader abruptly gave a hoot that all the other apes responded to immediately. They all took a long look at Zell, seeming to memorize his appearance before quickly making their way back toward their home on the great sloth’s back.
“You’re squirrel shit nuts.” Agitha’s voice reached him once the apes were safely out of earshot. “I was sure that they had mauled you and that’s why I had so much time to gather fungus.” She continued, walking into sight.
“Ready to admit beast communication magic is awesome yet?” Zell was smiling ear to ear.
“I admit that you looked right at home with a bunch of monkeys.” She shot back, but her tone was playful. “Okay fine, dirty druid magic is more useful than I thought.” She finally admitted after a moment of silence.
They camped near the edge of the sloth’s territory and made their way back to base camp the following morning. Agitha had collected a record amount of the rare black fungus and was in excellent spirits as they returned to their companions. Merc greeted them first while they were still a hundred yards from camp and escorted them back with his tail wagging.
One look at captain Fargis stifled her mood. He was grim faced and the atmosphere of the camp was equally morose.
“What happened?” Agitha asked immediately.
“I’d better just show you.” Fargis led her to the opposite end of the camp and pointed down at a troubling sight.
Agitha’s face hardened as she looked down. One of the sailors, a quiet man named Polson was lying dead in a savaged heap. His arms had been torn from his body and his head was smashed to the point of being nearly unrecognizable.
“He wandered off for a piss and we heard a terrible sound. Merc ran whatever it was off but it was too late.” Fargis explained in a subdued tone. “No clue what it was.”
“I know what it was.” Agitha said in a firm tone. “Scythe owl. The only beast able to fly in the tear, it always removes the arms of its prey to swallow whole.”