[Copper-tipped Spike] = Copper (Arrowhead, 0.2-0.25kg) + Wood (Hard+1, 0.75-2.3m) + Twine (Hemp+1, 0.1-0.15m) + [Knife] (Stone+2)
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The battle raged.
Though an entire army of spriggs had surrounded Jay and his friends, they had been ambushed by a third party.
Jay gulped, preparing for whatever came next.
Mangy fur clung in tufts to large, humanoid creatures. Many were the size and shape of men, but others towered easily over eight feet tall. Despite his initial assumption that these monsters were werewolves, he could see nuanced intricacies now that they had entered the melee. Some had fangs, others had tusks, others had antlers. As if they were-animals rather than just wolves, they fought the spriggs with a reckless ferocity, cleaving into them at every step.
And there were weapons amongst their ranks, too. Spears, swords, clubs, battleaxes. The smaller ones seemed to rely on these tools most, clattering against the spriggs as they tried to reform their ranks against them. Their larger companions merely used nothing more than their claws and fists.
There was one trait that unified these monsters, more than anything else. Bright, red eyes glinted from the starlight, as if some fell magic powered these animalistic forms. Or perhaps they were just trapped in a perpetual bloodlust, burning crimson like the planet that beamed above.
The Expats clung to the center of this battle on the rocky shore, back to back, as they looked for an opening.
But none could be had. The spriggs might have held a uniform vanguard, but their enemy had them outnumbered two-to-one. The were-creatures hacked and slashed into them, splattering green-tinted ichor about. Their tight organization buckled under the pressure.
It was not a total rout. Though the spriggs had been ambushed, they were quick to adapt. General Gornn barked orders to his subordinates, forming a tighter ring that kept all out. The golems took the brunt of incoming damage, and archers began to down those who could not get through. Crimson blood burst through the air as the were-creatures fell.
Then the other Expats showed up.
Thunder roared from the nearby hills, tearing a sprigg’s head clean off. Naomi quickly reloaded and bent low, using [Deadeye] to find another’s weak spot. A troupe of other were-creatures fired their own muskets too, though with less precision.
A shockwave rolled through elsewhere, knocking the spriggs’ vanguard aside. Desmond laughed like a maniac from within this gap, the runes on his golden axe glowing brightly. Everywhere he swung, more spriggs scattered.
And through those holes created, Sayid zipped through. The foot soldiers gasped where their weak points had been pierced, more ichor gushing as they fell. Some of the golems swung in defense of their allies, but he dodged and ducked with ease. For every hit they attempted, another golem dropped, his rapier glistening with whatever grease he’d applied.
And Jay, Trish, and Hyuk remained where they were, helpless bystanders against this sudden carnage.
Only Gornn remained a threat. Wherever his spear tore through, another of the were-creatures dropped.
But it was not enough. His soldiers continued to fall, and somewhere along the way, Gornn issued a fresh command. The spriggs tightened into a final circle, with the witches pressing their staffs together in the center. Their eyes glazed over, and a low murmur leaked out.
Plants sprouted from the rocky shore, creating a wreath that was large enough to drive a truck through. Verdant light ran along its surface for a moment, but then the center perverted, ripples forming in thin air. Another second, the vision changed completely, now mirroring a dark cave.
The spriggs retreated quickly through the portal, one after the next. First, the witches, then the archers, then the spearmen. Gornn was the last to step through, shepherding his men to safety while the golems held the line. He stared around the battlefield with distaste before entering the wreathe.
It vanished a second later, leaving only petals floating like dust.
The golems became aimless, stumbling against their foes as if suddenly blind. They were quick to be destroyed.
The largest of these animalistic humanoids marched to them. Though he easily towered over all, his head still hunched low. A hump in his back exploded with white fur, with more spilling from his scalp. Green ichor fell from his exposed fangs, and pointed ears twitched against the cold air. The slanted red eyes could have been mistaken for a wolf, but with the shortened snout, elongated whiskers, and braided mane like a beard, this monster looked more like a lion shaped like a human up close.
Yet despite this feral appearance look, the were-creature also wore armor. Padded leather ran along his arms and legs. Metal shoulderpads jutted out, worn and cracked. His chest was covered with a brigandine vest, with metal plates bolted into place with rows upon rows of rivets. This fell well below his waist like a skirt, reminding Jay of a larger version of the medium armor he used.
Sayid and Desmond closed in on the monster’s flank.
“These are the other Expats?” the were-creature asked with a gravelly voice, turning around to face his companions.
Sayid nodded. “Yes, Ezghal. They are those F-Ranks we told you about.”
“Then we have them to thank for this attack’s success,” he said.
“Didn’t get that cunt of a leader though,” Desmond pointed out. “And now he’ll be onto us.”
“So it is then. With the corvette destroyed, they will be unable to contact the Empire.”
“Umm,” Jay said, only now finding his voice. “What the hell is going on?”
The lion man – Ezghal, apparently – bared his fangs with a grin. “Because of your diversion, human, we were able to nip the growing weeds on our island. I humbly thank you for the help you’ve given my clan.”
“I don’t… What?”
Desmond scoffed. “Oy, Ezzy, we’re gonna have to nudge this one along, yeah? Still got the big battle to contend with.”
Ezghal nodded. “You are correct. Harr and his Outriders will slow them down until we’re ready to finish what we’ve started.”
“Big battle?” Jay asked. “There’s more of them out there?”
“Not the spriggs,” Sayid explained.
“Then who?”
“Who is it always?” Naomi answered, now entering the rocky shore too.
Before Jay could probe further, a rattle of howls echoed into their spot, their tone deep and raspy, like branches rustling together. The same dread he’d felt minutes before flowed over him again, now more intense than ever as another army approached.
Jay quivered, knowing this instinct at once.
Natura was coming for them.
* * *
It took well over an hour before they were finished.
Jay wiped the sweat from his brow, his body aching from the prolonged sortie.
Just when I thought I’d seen it all… The Natura force sent after him paled against what had gone after Naomi and the others. Theirs was on a different plane entirely, and featured everything from herds of wooden bison with monkeys riding them to crocodiles big enough to swallow a bus in one bite. The entire valley exploded with activity the second its army came.
Jay had been utterly powerless against this force. He quickly expended his geargun in a vain attempt to turn the tide, but it was like throwing a pebble in the ocean. The higher-Rank Expats ordered him, Hyuk, and Trish to remain behind while they handled the threat.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
But still, that would not have been enough were it not for the were-creatures that fought by their side. They worked with the Expats to see the battle through, and in the end, Natura’s soldiers fell under their collective might.
“Will someone explain where we’re going?” Jay asked to nobody in particular as they trudged through the woods. “Or better yet, anything about what the hell is going on?”
“Your little stunt saved the day,” Naomi explained. “We’d been planning this one for days. It was supposed to be straightforward enough… Wait until the onset of night, trap the Natura force inland to slow them down, and use the cover of darkness to rush the shore before the element of surprise could be lost. That corvette was their only lifeline back to the Empire.”
“You mean that seed-boat-thing?” Jay asked.
“Yeah. The problem was that the little enclave on the shore had gotten reinforced since we scouted it earlier in the day. When the time came and the pieces fell in place, we weren’t sure if we could break through quickly enough to detonate the pod offshore. Not without luring both their main army over as well as Natura. Thankfully, your escape seemed to have pulled every resource they had available, leaving them completely open. That gave us the room to send Ben’s constructs in to blow a hole in its hull. Now, the spriggs are cut off.”
“So you weren’t there to save us?” Jay asked.
She winced. “We didn’t even know if you three were still alive. Those spriggs aren’t messing around. Plenty of Ezghal’s people have been disappearing since they showed up.”
“Ezghal’s people…” Jay repeated. “Who are they?”
“Friends,” a low voice rolled in from behind.
Jay turned and had to blink twice. Though he recognized the brigandine armor with the skirt falling below, it seemed to have swapped into a much smaller owner. The metal plates dragged against the forest underbrush, and the giant shoulderpads were even more comical than before, now with a small human head between.
Jay narrowed onto this man’s face. Unkempt white hair fell in waves over a pale scalp. Wrinkles ran like fissures along his cheeks and eyes, worn with time. Only the tiniest flecks of black remained in his thick mustache and beard, the latter of which was braided with gemstones.
This man’s dark eyes pierced into Jay’s, and he saw that same fire again. Aged. Seasoned. Fierce. A beast which only remained contained by choice.
Ezghal grinned. It wasn’t his best look. “You must be surprised to see us in both our base and primal forms during the same encounter, especially since you are so new to our island.”
Jay looked around and realized that all the other were-creatures had done the same thing. They looked like hardened, grizzled men now, and not animals on two legs.
“Who are you?” Jay asked before thinking of anything else. “Do you live here?”
Ezghal nodded. “Correct. This island has been our home for many cycles.”
“And the spriggs are your enemies?”
“The Empire is the enemy of everyone who has accepted the Grand Bargain.”
Jay gaped. “You guys are Expats too?”
Ezghal shook his head. “No, no. Not for generations.”
“But you were!?” He squinted, trying to unravel this new twist. “What are you people? Some kind of animal shapeshifters?”
“That is one way to describe us,” Ezghal said. “We prefer our own title, however. One that is an homage to our dual lives.”
“Dual lives?”
“Yes. The longer the sun burns, the more we are subjected to our base forms – what you would call ‘human.’ The blood world, however, gives us the strength to access our primal forms. That is the creature you saw before. An incarnation of the brutality present inside all men, only summoned when our home becomes threatened. We exhibit both these worlds.” He beamed. “For we are Beastfolk.”
Jay studied the others more closely. Though they had been demonic creatures with glowing red eyes, these men’s own had solidified into a mix of deep browns and blues, all bordering black under the night sky. Soot and ichor covered many, but they all had human faces, and woven clothing below that. These guys were pretty rugged otherwise, with facial hair that exploded from their cheeks in waves, and narrow, slanted brows.
Jay gulped, not realizing how long it had been since he’d seen a crowd this size. There had to be over a hundred of them, all armed to the teeth, and all studying him back.
“How come we haven’t seen you before?” Jay asked, unsure what else to say.
“We wished to not be seen,” Ezghal explained. “The Grand Bargain is not handed over flippantly, and many Expatriates have brought danger to our community over the generations. Only through these extreme circumstances do we not leave you to grow in peace.”
“Extreme circumstance?” Jay considered, rubbing his chin. “The spriggs.”
Ezghal nodded again. “Yes, this is a most dire circumstance indeed. The Empire seldom sends a Legio into the Mad Sea without reason, and it is doubly more concerning if we consider who leads them. By Liu’Kah, that was General Gornn.”
“You talking about that big sprigg, Ezghal?” Naomi asked, just as perplexed. “You know him?”
“Only by reputation. It is said that wherever the Legio Geminus lands their pods, more weeds grow, until the very sky is blocked and your throat is choked on their spores. No shortage of islands have fallen to his might.”
She scoffed. “I thought you said he’d be easy because of how much sea travel was supposed to weaken them.”
“And I thought so as well,” Ezghal countered. “I did not expect his witches to create a portal in such short haste.”
“Where the bloody hell did they go?” Desmond asked.
“To their cavern base, most likely,” Sayid said. “I caught a glimpse inside before it collapsed.”
“At least we know where to go next.”
“They will not be there when we arrive,” Ezghal said. “It is surprising that one as renowned as General Gornn would come to our island with no more than a single corvette. I suspect he is as surprised as your friends to find it inhabited by my clan.
“But this is to our advantage. With the corvette now destroyed, they will be unable to inform the rest of the Empire of our presence. This will buy us time to defeat them before they can defeat us.”
Desmond stroked his beard. “They didn’t seem too bad. We practically got ‘em during this first bout.”
But the shadow merely collected on Ezghal’s brow as he tilted his head. “No, Desmond. You still do not understand our danger. This battle has gone from unwinnable to tenuous. Our only advantage left comes from knowing this land better than them. But this will not last. The General and his army will only grow stronger with time.”
“Hold on a second,” Jay said, trying to catch up. “Just so I have this straight… You Beastfolk were fine by letting us go on a merry way, but then the spriggs showed up, and so you teamed up with Naomi and her group to stop them before they could get too established?”
“Correct,” Ezghal said.
“So then why not finish them off now? If they’ll get stronger later then we might as well go for them now. I know my way through their cave system, too.” He also really, really wanted to crush Zynth after the torture she inflicted, and hopefully get Dyrk out before they could give him too much trouble..
Ezghal raised a calloused hand. “Much blood has been spilled tonight already, and we will not be able to enter our primal forms again for some time as we recharge them. The weeds have been destroyed, but the roots remain. They will grow and fester, but all we can do is wait for another day. The Empire does not take resistance lightly, and they will be quick to adapt.” He sighed. “But for now, we return back to our homes.”
Jay rubbed his brow, trying to process how much these past few days had turned things around. Up until this point, he had almost only ever encountered sentient, albeit unintelligent monsters. What few intelligent residents who crossed his path only ever hinted of the Spriggs Empire. He did not consider their scope until they hit these shores.
And now it turned out that there was more than just them. These people… These Beastfolk. Not only did they have their own place and understanding of this world which Jay had experienced so little of, but they also showed no outward hostility toward him and his friends.
But this all begged a few questions, and the primary one came to mind.
“Is this your whole clan then?” Jay asked, staring at the hundred Beastfolk soldiers.
Ezghal grinned, the light glistening off his razor-sharp teeth.
“No. Not even close.”
Name: Jay Reis (Copper Age)
Vitality – 55/76 (Wounded+3, (Treated+3), Chilled+1)
Hunger – 46/64 (Chilled+1)
Thirst – 19/24
Fatigue – 9/24 (Poorly Rested+2)
Sanity – 78/110 (Chilled+1)
Main Crafts: Alchemy 2, Armor Crafting 2, Base Building 3, Cooking 2, Jewelry 2, Medicine 2, Tailoring 2, Tool Crafting 3, Tinkering 1, Vehicles 1, Weapon Crafting 2.
Weapon Crafts: Axes 5, Bows 9, Clubs 5, Daggers 5, Spears 5, Swords 11.
Armor Crafts: Heavy Armor 5, Light Armor 5, Medium Armor 8, Shields 6.
Sub-Crafts: Curved Swords 5.
Character Skills:
[Forbidden Knowledge]
Armor Skills:
Heavy Armor: [Push], [Stampede]
Medium Armor: [Recover], [Leap], [Waterform], [Quickstep]
Light Armor: [Dash], [Feather Fall]
Shield: [Brace], [Track], [Break]
Weapon Skills:
Axes: [Chop], [Whirlwind]
Bows: [Sharpshooter], [Longshot], [Scattershot Arrow]
Clubs: [Bash], [Paralyze]
Daggers: [Slice], [Flourish]
Spears: [Thrust], [Sweep]
Swords: [Power Attack], [Slash], [Rend], [Shirk], [Violent Storm]
Cursed Items:
[Vitaberry Bush]
Armor:
[Copperplated Hat+3] (Nightmarish+4), (Buttressed+3), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+2)
[Copperplated Leggings+3] (Nightmarish+3), (Buttressed+3), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+3)
[Copperplated Shoes+2] (Nightmarish+3), (Buttressed+3), (Hardened+1), (Reinforced+2)
[Silver Amulet]: Socketed with [Chipped Tourmaline] (Tempus)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Beryl] (Frigus)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Beryl] (Frigus)
Weapons:
[Pig Iron Scimitar+5] (Affinity+8), (Hardened+6), (Reinforced+6), (Stable+2)
[Treated Bow+2] (Hardened+2): Socketed with [Chipped Beryl] (Frigus)
[Iron Geargun+4] (Heavy+6), (Quick+2), (Thermal+4), (Expanded+1)
Tools:
[Copper Knife+3]
[Copper Axe+3]
[Copper Hammer+3]
[Copper Pickaxe+3]
[Copper Shovel+3]
[Basic Grappling Hook]
Boons:
[Minor (Speed)] (x3), [Minor (Sanity)]