"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" I roar with all I have between punches. Smashing away more and more of the snow-covered stone, I quickly find myself slipping forward. I catch myself on the weak rock and make it crumble some more. Pushing myself upright with a flare of agitation, I find myself with nothing more to punch.
Loud blows of steam leave me as the mountain peak violently falls apart, trailing off into an avalanche. Taking a couple of steps, I follow the cloud of powder as the rest of the debris consumes it. A snort forces its way out my nose. I want to drop into what's left of the snow and ice up here, shove it in my face and linger in it. Even watching the effect I have on the land is not doing much to release this energy out of me.
I give out one final annoyed kick, returning to my journey as stained water drips from my foot. Pulling myself up some more mountain, I vault over an awkwardly grown tree. The mountain range starts to part enough that I can look past it and its siblings. There are a fair few lights dotted around the night-covered land. One, however, stands out.
Tryhpeltzweig, the place I have to get back into...
"I should have just told her no and kept on moving." I mutter with a hop to cross the gap between a pair of peaks. My claws dig in and I crawl around the foot-space lacking place. The process repeating over and over, all the way back to town. Well, a peak nearby, anyway. Overlooking it from what I hope is a respectable distance.
This is a bad idea. How could anyone possibly think it isn't? There are swarms of light-holding dots in the town, ones rapidly leaving the town too. All those valley-riders I set out with not that long ago are all hunting me. Thankfully, none of them seem to be aware that I am here. Gods, I have no idea if my magic is going to rat me out.
But, being here now, if I do nothing, then my problems will only get worse. Exponential, compounding growth is certainly something I want to avoid. Still, having someone to help me when I am in trouble is a great stress relief. Watching every single person out to kill me isn't.
"Hang back, otherwise I'd interfere with their ability to sense magic..." I remind myself for no good reason as my thoughts return to the captain man. Henipiotch. He was quite confident about his brag before that brief trip from before. Perhaps he even knows I am up here. He did give me a measurement which lingers on in my instincts. Gods be willing and kind... I am just jittery and it's not my instincts.
Still, if I can find a way, I could lead them on a wild and pointless chase. My location alone is all the assurance I need to know I can cross some mountain ranges to lose them. Though, if Brewbrt left the town to hunt me is hard to tell. So, perhaps I can circle back and sneak my way in...? It might drag Brewbrt out after me.
There's way too much risk to all of my options, but risky is all I have right now. All I can do is try to stay optimistic. Go in, get back Rose-sweerui's things and my stuff and go on our way. Maybe, even, with how on alert everyone is, I will blend in that way? Can I bank on the idea everyone feeling unsafe will shadow my person?
It would make it easier to sneak into town... But... One need only present me with a mirror to smack down and all hopes of a stealth approach. Still, I shake my head, not having the time to think about this any further.
Smacking my mouth together, I go down the mountain and speed up. I leap for the final distance and gouge open the road right in front of the wall. My mind contradicts my body, its worries all over the place while my body knows what to do. I roar with all the animalistic fury I have in an effort to get them to focus on me quicker-
Bullets pop into the surrounding ground. Galloping disturbs the dirt on the far side of my crater. Hunkering down against my cover, I watch lights down the valley road grow in intensity. It worked.
Perhaps too well...
I'm pretty sure all the riders have switched their direction to here. Hundreds of bullets must be flying around right now, spotlights hungry to shine on my shame all about. Some rounds scrape me, doing a whole lot of nothing. Some closure comes to me as this strange comfort returns. I am bulletproof. I am bulletproof.
I've got some leeway and a sense of safety. Now, I just need to hope my back can hold up to everything firing at me properly. Roaring once again, I slap on that certification of them properly being on my tail. Coming out of my crawl, I run and jump all around the valley. My overtake of the riders brittles their charge, warping it the other way.
Their juperse buzz quite horribly in unison, the stampede's direction changing sounds almost painful. Dozens of dots of orange flash. So many bullets, too many even. The faster riders are even managing to keep up enough to hurl javelins. Hopping aside one, it impales deeply into the stone, an ominous glow on its shaft.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Something thwips into my back, drawing a warm sensation out of me. Snarling at the harsh, obnoxious pain, I withhold my urge to pull out the splinter. Please, please let that just be my exposed back bits!
Grabbing hold of a mountain, I climb with all due haste and a bullet smashes through a rock. Growling over something, my eyes snap to the skimmed off chunk of my arm. They have bullets that can hurt me... How am I supposed to tell them apart from the hundreds of other cracks in the air!?
It'll only take them one lucky shot to the face if they have rounds like that. Flinching under this realisation, the stabbing sensation vindicates my fears on my left backclaw. Yellow bug blood flows out from under the cracked and raised carapace. I flick the same wrist, knocking the bullet out, along with some of my destroyed claw.
It hurts so much... But it won't stop me!
Heaving up, I leap away into a dark forest to get out of their lights and keep weaving. These trunks will help keep me safe. No need to be as nimble as Vadei or as fast as Vapooliar. Smashing through what trees I can, I try to mind their collapse so it's blocking where I was. I want them to chase me, not get too close, never too close!
Uprooting and shattering even the thickest of the trees, I safely scramble up another mountain and slide down. Jogging to a stop on the thankfully quiet road, I spot a sign. While I cannot read, my way back with Neeameth has taught me something. These characters, whatever they are, this slab of text means Tryhpeltzweig.
"Thank the gods!" I heave out, all this adrenaline in my system making it a struggle to say much of anything. Turning my eyes along the road, I switch around to look the other way. No one is coming along this way, it seems. Better to not take any chances, though. Hobbling towards the town, I force my way up against the very edge of the walls.
Shuffling under some of the few trees near it, I watch my chitters. Not hearing anything up top, I consider some possibilities. Either they're preparing a trap or all that shooting called everyone over to the other wall. Well, whatever, as long as there are less up here right now.
Digging my claws in-between the brickwork, I hurl myself skyward. Shifting my pose endlessly, I settle for a placebo of getting down quicker. I flinch at all the bricks that break my landing. Rather, what my landing breaks. Spotting one of the town gates, I nod at its secured lock.
Keeping it intact will save me from being swarmed should the riders return. Still... I better get into the shadows now. Now. Slipping down one alley, my erratic haste breaks too much.
Lanterns shine at me from where I had entered and shouts follow with more gunshots. Leaning into the forward wall, I bring it down and stumble into the home of a terrified family. They scream and cry, the father reaching for anything he can grab. Their fears amplify my own and I rush away through another wall.
Yet, it's helping, in a way. The guards are breaking off to make sure the people are ok. If I make it seem more like an attack, will they spread out further!? Well, I better hope so.
Demolishing through what I can, I try to avoid who I can. But I simply cannot be cautious in a situation like this. I keep seeing red in all the dust and mess blurring past me. Coming to a stop at the other end of town, I leap back into the wilderness. A brief barrage of shots hunting me.
Luckily, no bullets are firing down from the walls. I have time until they man them. Slowing down to take it easy, I find myself short of breath for the strangest of reasons. I sigh at the mess in my head and shake it away, running into another mighty and explosive jump. A trail of craterous footprints for them to follow build up.
If only I knew the area enough to try and lead them towards another town or something!
Make them think they have to ride with haste to warn a not-really-about-to-be-attacked settlement. No maps or knowledge for me, however. Just so much clueless jumping before I hide away in a mountain to catch my breath again. Something flickers before my face and I watch it vanish with a sudden shiver. Weird light...
My breathing feels heavy. All of my exhaustion, worries and fears, all of it is in each gasp for air. Bringing my claws around, I survey the damage the special bullets caused. I wince and hiss at the mess made of my left backclaw. It's not hurting too badly, but I cannot tell what is causing it to be so... Different to the sight.
Is my osibindah body like that naturally or is all this magic coursing in my body the cause? It's not enough to hurt me into bawling, yet I feel the urge anyhow. My mind shifts to a dream... No, a memory.
"Should have just ignored Iishar's offer. Just should have stayed the course. The one all of us had to use to go to get up those towers... Wh-Why did I-!?" I struggle to complain properly as these frequent thoughts return once again.
It would have all been so fine compared to now. All I had to have done was not leave work early that day. I could've also forgotten about the whole offer altogether. At the same time, a part of me is telling myself to shut up. Shut up and get going!
This is my life now, so I need to keep going.
Nodding in agreement with that side of me, I still feel knots in my gut, regardless. Knots that are keeping me from moving as the side I agree with demands I move. I feel sick... So sick and tired right now...
"Keep on moving... Keep on moving... Keep on moving..." I chant in repetition, over and over. Backing the words up with slow movements, I clamour for the outside with gentle, nerve-wrecked twitches. Steady and slow, hour-devouring levels of slow. Looking towards Tryhpeltzweig again, I note the night and how it compliments my body.
"Hang in there, Rose-sweerui. Your precious love is on his way..." I whisper into the wind, a quick prayer bringing life back to my slow body. I know I've been gone too long. Just hold on, please. I'm coming back for you... I am.