“We might want to just give this place a wide berth, I don’t trust that fog.” Lanek whispered.
For a moment, Lanek thought that his companions might object, but sudden bloodcurdling shrieks echoed through the forest. The three of them paled when they recognized the shrieks of gaunts, but this wasn’t their normal hunting cry. No, what they heard were shrieks of agony.
The group unconsciously huddled closer together as they watched a pair of large gaunt impalers break through trees, fleeing from the fog that swirled and followed them. A moment later, the fog surged forward and they could see a silhouette within it. When the fog came into contact with one of the gaunts, there was a spray of blood and a pained shriek as the creature lost one of its legs.
The other gaunt paid no heed to its companion’s plight and pushed itself to run faster. However, it had no chance as another tendril of fog slammed into its chest, launching it back to its crippled companion. More tendrils of fog began to extend from the village ruins, joining the silhouette and making the fog even thicker. Lanek and his companions could see five silhouettes within the fog, all of them with a different shape.
The gaunt that still had both of its legs stood up, preparing to fight or flee. The fog creatures did not allow either action to come to fruition as something dark extended from one of the silhouettes and slammed into the side of the gaunt’s leg. Lanek had heard bones break before, but this was so much louder. Judging from the sound, he doubted that the bone had broken so much as shattered.
The group slowly backed away, deeper into the forest. As they turned to run, the gaunts began to scream. The sounds of tearing flesh and bones being broken followed them into the darkness. They threw caution to the wind as the screams became ever louder and more widespread. Whatever those things were, they were hunting the gaunts.
In their haste, the party stumbled into a clearing and found themselves facing a wall of fog at the treeline before them. When they turned to go around the fog, they discovered that the wall had fully surrounded the clearing. There would be no escape without entering the fog, which they were loathe to do.
They could feel something within the fog watching them. Oddly enough, [Threat Detection] had calmed a bit. The skill still told Lanek that they were in a lot of danger, but not as much as they had been in when they were near the village ruins. The fog came from the ruins, so that was probably their home or lair. Maybe they are less inclined to kill us now that we are away from their home? But, if that was the case, why are they still slaughtering the gaunts?
The fog parted for a moment revealing a creature swaying in place while it stared at them. Lanek could make out the faint outline of an angular head atop a lithe torso with multiple tendrils extending from it. The tendrils, or limbs, seemed to shift in form as he watched. One moment a limb would end in a club-like knot and the next a praying mantis like arm with sharp bones protruding from it to make some hellish form of serrated blade. Instead of legs, the monster had a mass of shifting tentacles supporting it.
Void Shifter
lvl 32
A void shifter is not of this world and can only take shape in this plane due to a summoning ritual. These creatures feed on the pain and terror of their victims, taking great pleasure in hearing them scream before they die. To be caught by a void shifter is to suffer through sadistic torture until these abominations get bored of you. Their nature allows them to manipulate their tentacles into whatever shape is most effective for the situation. Limbs can become a variety of weapons or reshaped with mobility in mind. The full range of a void shifter’s abilities has not been discovered, but no shifter has ever been observed altering any portion of its body aside from its tentacles.
“Shit, this is going to be rough guys. These things are trying to scare us, make us panic.” Lanek rasped out.
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“We’re screwed, aren’t we?” Liv asked quietly. “If all of them are level 30 or above, Ograch and I won’t stand a chance and I don’t like your odds of being able to take more than one or two.”
At this, the void shifter laughed, its tone full of malevolence and sinister intent. All around them, echoes of that laughter came to them from the fog. It was an evil, grating laugh.
“I have an idea. Follow my lead. Kazuma, Sanguineus, help Liv and Ograch.” Kazuma nodded before stepping next to Liv while Sanguineus stood beside Ograch. “Good.”
The creature before them was exuding a sense of amusement, seemingly not concerned about any threat they may pose. Let’s see how you feel after this, you son of a bitch. Lanek turned his right side to face the visible shifter and thrust his hands out, one toward the that shifter and another to the opposite side of the clearing. A second later, Lanek unleashed an [Ethereal Salvo] from each hand.
He spread the projectiles out enough that their explosions overlapped so that the entire treeline surrounding the clearing was covered in explosions. However, to keep his companions safe, he had deliberately aimed a bit behind the fog penning them in. He had not used the skill in some time and his SPI had gone up quite a bit, so he wasn’t sure what the blast radius would be.
As it was, the blast radius from 18 projectiles in such close proximity to one another and the clearing buffeted the group. The explosions blasted away the fog, exposing eight void shifters that appeared to be stunned and bleeding. Lanek’s companions did not hesitate, throwing themselves at the stunned and weakened creatures. There was little thought given to escape as this was a prime opportunity for Ograch and Liv to defeat creatures far above them and reap the rewards.
Liv hefted her shield and thrust her spear at a shifter’s torso while Kazuma danced around the beast, lunging in to swipe his claws through tentacles, damaging some while severing others completely. Meanwhile, Ograch fired arrow after arrow from his bow into another shifter while Sanguineus used his bulk and power to keep it from closing on the hobgoblin.
On the other side of the clearing, Lanek was keeping the shifters at bay with his sabre, while attempting to get a clear shot at the light that represented their souls. Lanek breathed in deeply before charging into the shifters. I can’t let this fight drag on, there are a lot more of these things out there.
At close range, the creatures were at somewhat of a disadvantage. It took time for them to reform their limbs, time that Lanek wasn’t about to give them. Instead of lashing out with his chain whip, he gripped it like a dagger as he had before he had learned to use the weapon. While his sabre fended off a shifter, Lanek ducked close to another and slammed the dagger into its throat and through its soul.
With his mana replenished, he leapt backward. His [Pathfinder] skill putting him well out of range of the shifters and leaving them confused. Lanek didn’t waste the opportunity, sending another salvo right into their midst. While the creatures did not die, they were thrown to the ground and severely wounded. Lanek turned and lobbed another salvo over the heads of his allies, not aiming at their foes but further into the forest to discourage any reinforcements.
He stalked to the injured shifters and harvested another soul. At this point, he watched his companions finish off their targets and join him. He launched another pair of salvos in a wide spread to cover the approach and was rewarded with screams of pain and a few notifications from the System.
Lanek took another soul before gesturing at the others on the ground. “Finish them off and start running. I’ll follow in a moment.” His companions complied, each of them finishing off a shifter before sprinting away as explosions rocked the forest behind them.
A few moments later, Lanek rejoined the party. “I need you two to use whatever skills your Scout classes gave you to find us somewhere safe. I can’t use that skill again, not for a while.” Liv looked at Lanek oddly, before nodding and leading the way to the southeast with Ograch.
Lanek started to follow before coughing and nearly falling. Sanguineus and Kazuma were on him in an instant, supporting him. Ograch approached and nodded to the cat and wolf.
“Go, help Liv find us a safe place. I’ve got him.” The two furballs eyed the hobgoblin as he put his arm under Lanek’s shoulders. Sanguineus’ tail wagged while Kazuma butted his head against Ograch’s leg before dashing off to join Liv.
“Are you okay, Lanek? Are you wounded?” Ograch asked as he pulled Lanek along after the rest of the party.
“I don’t know, this came out of nowhere. I’m freezing and it feels like I’m about to cough up my insides.”
Ograch felt Lanek’s body go limp before he could reply. He looked over in alarm, gasping at the sight of Lanek’s face. His eyes were still open, but they were completely black. Black lines were showing themselves under his skin, spreading out from those black eyes.
Despite the open eyes, it was clear that Lanek was no longer conscious. Ograch lifted his friend’s body and began sprinting to catch up with Liv and their animal companions. As he ran, he couldn’t help but notice that the human’s flesh was cold as ice.