I didn’t have time to say hi to the Eldritch Horror Moth.

The ghastly fog golem thing had given me the opening I needed, and with the last few seconds of tiger berry crunch still active I lunged forward, claws out and ready. The fog monster sent two more slow fists, staggering the wooden armored knight with colossal hits. My claws met him next, carving chunks out at a time and sending splintered thorns in a wide scatter. Our enemy could not stop his coughing fit, summoning shield after shield to block what hits he could but failing to keep them solid for more than a second at a time.

My tiger form ticked down, 10 seconds remaining. I threw a fist, connecting to his thorned helmet knuckle first. 8 seconds left, and I lashed out with my left claws, slashing down as the fog beast swung down with an enormous pummeling blow. At 7 seconds our foe carved a horizontal path with his ungodly huge sword, catching me in the shoulder and sending me back. 5 seconds came, bringing Fogdahn and his wicked scythe along with it.

He slashed as if he were reaping wheat, a geyser of Canaan Mist blooming out in a puff from the strike. The mist seemed to blanket them for a moment, yet it was quickly wiped away when the strange warrior swung out wildly and without aim. We both shot back to avoid the wild strike from the massive thorned blade, narrowly dodging it while the mist Titan creature tanked it. The beast took the hit, the weapon carving into the fog of its body but not doing much more than clearing out a bit of the mist. It lashed out again, this time triggering a burst of wind energy from its palm that sent the warrior onto his back, the sword dissolving as he let it go.

With only 2 seconds left I scrambled back to where I had dropped my sword, preparing to be nothing but berry Barry once again, while Fogdahn jumped back in with his scythe raised high. A sickening pale green energy formed along the scythe’s edge like an aura, tendrils of the power writhing and wriggling like worms. His cloak rippled and squirmed, and I thought I could hear the shriek of whatever horrible thing lurked within as he descended downward.

“It is the end, Burquinn!” Fogdahn shouted, ripping its scythe down for the death blow.

Burquinn…. Burquinn… where have I heard that name before?

Regardless, the thorn knight screamed just as the scythe was about to carve him in two. A dome of weaved thorn roots burst out from around him, it’s barrier catching the Eldritch Horror Moth before he could end our enemy and pushing both him and his mist golem back. The weaved dome was so thick I couldn’t see through it at all, and just as quickly as it burst forth it began to collapse back in, wrapping the figure in a mummified cocoon state as Fogdahn fell to the ground.

My eyes met the single giant eyeball head of Fogdahn as my tiger form ended, dropping me down and returning me to my normal Calypso Brawler form. It was a gross transformation process, basically causing my blueberry head to fall to the ground which decapitates the tiger body causing it to rot away instantly. It was “disgusting and disheartening,” according to the people who witnessed it during the Foghurdt fight, but Fogdahn didn’t even wince.

I suppose when you’re constantly a gross horror monster not much can bother you.

We both moved toward the mummified mummy guy in his casket of woven thorned roots. My sword and his scythe carved in, slicing through the wood and cleaving through as if we were unwrapping a birthday present. Debris of thorns and wooden chunks rained around us, and the big mist creation began ripping into it as well.

But it was no use. Where the body should have been was simply an empty cavity with churned earth underneath. The Burquinn guy was gone, with no notification of his death.

“He truly is the one who gets away,” Fogdahn said.

“That means something different where I’m from, but yeah. Looks like he got away. Damn it…” I let out a sigh, feeling the adrenaline leave my body as I slumped down. “Thanks, Fogdahn. That was a close one.”

“Hmm. Closer than it rightfully should have been, blueberry. He has grown incredibly weak without his armaments. Interesting that he has lost them…” The enormous pupil of the eyeball head fell on me. “More interesting still that he believed you to be in possession of them.”

“W-what? What happened?” Goomba said as he regained his normal self. ‘‘Twas like I was bound and submissive! Unable to move or speak, simply forced under the will of another. I have not felt such a sensation in a very long time.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Three figures came bounding out of his doorway mouth as Goomba continued to share more innuendos about BDSM than I care to detail at the moment. Foggy barreled forward, nearly losing his footing and collapsing while brandishing his pearl sword and shield. Ak was next, an arrow nocked with swirling fire and frost illuminating the tip. Aeronik, who I forgot was there, walked out last with a sense of caution and self-preservation; couldn’t blame the guy, I would have stuck my neck out for him and his friends either.

“Sir berry! Sir berry!” Foggy screamed, ready for war and blood; and possibly food. “Are you alright, sir berry?”

“Yeah,” I answered with a tired laugh. “Yeah, I’m alright, Foggy. Your nightmare brother over here saved my ass.”

“Fogdahn!” Foggy shouted, noticing his brother only after reaching my side. He gave him a once over, nodding as he did so. “Ah, you have reached your next evolution, I see. Are you now at the Noble stage? Oh! And you have brought Bellbane!”

The mist monster gave him a slow, friendly wave.

“I have,” Fogdahn answered, slinging his scythe back over his shoulder. “And will you, young brother, choose the Noble path as well?”

“I… I believe I will,” Foggy answered as he stared down at his pearl weapons. “It would not do Foghurdt’s memory justice if I should ignore it now.”

“Foghurdt… the traitor…” Fogdahn shivered, then his whole ballsack skin eyelid encased his giant eyeball head in a blink, punctuated with a slurping sound as it separated again. “He and the Icaraz soldiers turned on me, yet in his attack he said they found the Husk… “

“And you fled to get here before them?” I asked.

“No…” he answered. “There are other reasons… yet I arrived to find Burquinn already within the Husk, allowing all manner of beast to follow and partake in the cursed meat of Vacel’s remains. I fought my way through, clashing with Burquinn throughout for hours until the tainted flesh simply retreated through small passages scattered all around us. I have not seen any of the cursed beasts since, yet… worse creatures still live within the confines of this body…”

“Worse things.” I sighed, kicking at a spot of moss. “Worse things, he says.”

“Tis not a problem for us, my friend! We have completed our duty!” Foggy said, laying a hand on Fogdahn’s wriggling, squirming back. “Fogdahn is safe, and we may return him to the castle as such!”

“You will not…” He answered, shaking his… eyeball. “I have not completed my work…”

“Work?” Aeronik piped in. “We must leave this place! It is sacred ground, and we are intruders!”

“I don’t often agree with the bee, but he’s right. Icaraz is defeated,” I shot a glare at Aeronik just to emphasise the point. “And a lot has happened since you’ve been gone.”

“Yes, sir berry is quite right. You see, brother… father, Foghurdt, and even dear Fogetha… they have all passed, I am afraid,” Foggy struggled as he spoke, but like ripping off a bandaid he chose to just say it as quickly as possible. “Fogpeter and Fogmary have assumed control of the throne for now.”

“I care not,” Fogdahn responded, snapping his fingers and ushering Bellbane, the huge mist golem, to follow. “I have greater purpose than the ties of Mothric. Let them rule, let the dead be buried, and let it all burn. Now, come Ak-Lok. Join me and regale me of your adventures. Tell me of your evolution…”

“Wait, what?!” I shouted, walking after them just as Ak began to quietly follow. “Ak! Yo! Where are you going? Don’t just go with him!”

Ak turned back, not seeming pleased but also not showing much of anything. “I must.”

“God damn it,” I said, turning to Foggy and seeing him already follow along. “We’re really going to keep going? We’re really gonna just wander deeper into this dead body?”

“Indeed! Yes we are!” Foggy shouted as he trailed behind Ak and his brother.

Seeing that I was losing this argument, I instead shared a glance with Goomba, knowing I would have to despawn him to continue onward, then looked to Aeronik. The bee had folded arms, an angry scowl, and a stance that said he wasn’t going anywhere. I shrugged, deciding he was better off staying behind anyway if that was the case, then I summoned Scrappy back up on top of my head.

“Goomba, going to have to send you back for a bit,” I called out and approached. “I’ll get you back out as soon as I can. And I won’t forget your quest, man. I’ll find your name. Your real name. But before I summon you or whatever, should we be afraid of whatever this Burquinn guy can do? How was he able to paralyze you like that?”

Goomba huffed, rage and turmoil obvious on his face. “He is a menace who should have never gained such control. My master… my former master granted him some control over me in times of peril. He could even summon me, which I am sure vanished for him once you claimed me as a familiar. The power he just used was one of my defensive skills, which temporarily increases my durability and defense at the cost of speech and movement. It is like being frozen and trapped yet aware. Being bound and powerless as you take whatever is coming your way.”

I groaned, wishing I didn’t ask anything to begin with. Right before I went to unsummon the mushroom house, he decided to speak again, and this time kept a serious, stern tone.

“And as for if we should fear him…” Goomba met my eyes, locking sight with me as if to punctuate his point. “We should, just as we should fear any of the Seven Lords, whether they still retain their title or not. Burquinn was, perhaps even still is in some ways, the Briar Lord.”