The amphibians turned to each other as the rough words grated on their ears and they digested what they said.
“It feels nice not having to mime everything we would like to convey. It was absolutely exhausting.” The rat’s mouth flapped away as all of the other skeletons made exaggerated slumping motions.
“You’re still doing it though.” Egosum spoke up as he regarded the lead parasite.
It turned to look at its fellow worms who quickly returned to attention like they hadn’t just contradicted him.
“Nonsense. Anywho, I would like to extend my greatest appreciation to you.” It moved its non-puppet-covered hand to his chest and made a slight bow. “You have no idea how long we were there for. I mean, it had to have been hundreds of years by now. We were really starting to lose hope. Can't give up. That's what I always say. Lo and behold, you came along just as we were starting to worry we wouldn’t have the energy to continue.”
“You talk a lot. Why do I keep meeting people like you.” The toad turned to glance at his friend for a reaction, only to see the glazed-over eyes of a dull frog. “Figures.”
“Hey, talkative company is good company. That little touch you gave us just invigorated our spirits and then you killed and presented a warm body just for us. We can’t be more thankful. If you could show us the way out of here, I am sure we could figure something out to repay you. Whenever we tried to leave by ourselves, we just ended up walking in circles for ever and ever.”
“There was some semi-physical wall blocking the entrance. I guess you can follow if you would like. I’ll show you where it is.” A loud clacking sound rang through the cave as six bony hands smacked into their skulls in tandem.
“Ah, that makes so much sense. If only we weren’t eggs when we were brought here the first time, we would have remembered that important detail.”
The amphibians nodded their heads and headed off in the exit’s direction with the boney boys in tow.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what exactly are you? Never seen anything like you before, which isn’t saying much but still.” The largest skeleton power walked ahead to speak to the pair through the rat.
“I would love to talk about that. We are actually fish parasites. Normally we go after small fish and crustaceans, anything with gills really, but some adventurer types hooked our host one day and had a mighty parasite feast.” The skeletons behind them mimicked various fishing-related actions before returning to normal as the puppeteer jerked his head back to try and catch them in the act.
“Whatever. Where was I? Right! Well, we were in this unfamiliar host for a few days so we thought ‘hey, why don’t we make ourselves at home?’ and guess what. We did. Ate the marrow, let the flesh slough off, and, voila, talking walking skeletons. Pretty cool right?” It turned its head to them and let its jaw hang loose as it waited for a reaction.
“Heh…yeah. So, what are you going to do once you get out of here?” The rapid smacking of clay from the many feet played in the background as they conversed to fill the time.
“Well, we will repay you in whatever way possible of course. What will you be doing?”
Egosum cringed at the reply before thinking about his goal.
The hunt they had gone on turned into a horrible bust that they had very little help of recovering and the dead kid put a real damper on everything back in the village.
‘Will I just move on?’
“I don’t know. I was just going on autopilot for a while and now that things went bad back in the village, I think we might just head out.”
“Then we shall follow you are your quest to… find something to do!” Its raspy voice echoed through the cave before the group fell into a lapse of silence.
The few hours of walking finally paid off as a hint of light peaked around the corner.
“The exit isn’t much further ahead. We will be out in no time.” Egosum picked up the pace and made it to the final bend where the cave mouth opened in its full glory.
“Egosum?” The loud call of his favorite beastman called to them from outside.
“New friends?” The skeletons perked up as the voice broke through.
The large group came hopping out of the tunnel and into the blinding moonlight.
The full moon about and waves of mana stunned him as he finally saw his hunting companions
“Look, he even has Coyotl with him and a bunch of…..” His mouth fell open as the crowd of skeletons strutted out of the cave like a performing act heading out onto a stage.
“We are the parasites. Nice to meet you!” His chipper rat voice brought a fresh silence to the clearing as the two newcomers drank in the oddity.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“Eeep!” An uncharacteristic scream of terror left the boy's mouth as he turned and fled for the closest boulder.
A flurry of leaves scattered in his wake as everyone stared at the spectacle. The amphibians exchanged amused glances before speaking up.
“Thunkar, you okay over there? Why so spooked?” Egosum goaded him into responding.
“There are walking dead people with a blipper stuck to one of their hands! How do you want me to react? “ He shouted out to the clearing from safety.
“We aren’t interested in your body too much! We just want to help out our savior….sorry, didn’t get your name.” The parasite looked over and gestured for the toad to speak.
“Egosum.”
“Ah, what a beautiful moniker. We just want to help Egosum out and then we will be out of your fair, which I might say is quite luscious.” The attempt at flattery was answered with loud dry heaves as the boy doubled over at the thought.
“Come on Thunkar, don’t be like that. They didn’t even want to target the people they were in. Some adventuring humans. They deserve some points for that. I'll tell you more about them back at the village. What do you say?” He tried to convince the beastman to calm down to no avail as rapid breathing was faintly audible from where they sat.
“Can you blame him? It’s his first time seeing a walking skeleton.” She seemed nonplussed by the new additions as she got a closer look at them.
“I am going to ignore the deeper meaning of that and move on. Listen, guys, I don’t think you would be welcomed in the village what with the lack of flesh and the puppet. Preferably, If you guys would just shadow us when we leave the village to help us hunt, that would be more than enough in return for helping you guys out.”
The skeletons huddled around each other and began furiously signing amongst each other. With a loud clack of boney hands, they broke up and the puppet master spoke up.
“That is fair. A few hunts and we will consider the debt repaid. We just need to know where the closest lake is to get some food. We are pretty weak right now.”
“No way are you getting in any water source nearby!” The childish voice screamed from his place of safety.
“Stop it. They won’t do anything to the village. Tell them where they can go to eat and stop being so combative. How about the nearest human water source?”
“That’s...hmmm. Fine. I’ll lead you guys to it but make sure they stay far away. They are not normal.” Egosum held his tongue as the skeletons grabbed their chests in a display of pain.
“Let’s get this over with. To the water and then straight home. We will pick you guys up tomorrow night. Just stay near the lake.
The newly formed mob walked with more confidence now that they had suitable numbers to write off most enemies nearby. Egosum regaled everyone in what he experienced and the creatures he fought to reach the prize.
Cinera took an intense interest in the tunic and wrapped it around her sweater to take it back to the village and free his hands.
The mystery creatures remained as such with Thunkar drawing a blank on the cryptid. It was a rare exception to his understanding of the woods he called home. He slotted it away for future inquiries with Granny before clamming up as the skeletons hopped into the conversation.
They eventually reached the water without any interruptions and marveled at the strangely shaped lake.
“An oxbow! Wonderful!” The rat shouted as the bones rushed to the water and crumpled down like they were puppets with their strings cut.
“We really appreciate this Thunkar! We will never forget you. Just tap on the bones tomorrow and we will answer.” The boy shivered as his name was spoken and watched the talkative monster fall to pieces.
Egosum saw the pink worms slowly condense before boring their ways out of the calcium and plopping into the water. He turned his sight back to normal and observed thin and squirming parasites swimming deep into the water in search of prey.
“Pretty cool right? He turned to his friends and nodded his head.
“Nonononono. Those things are disgusting.” He cringed as he watched the things disappear before jumping as the blipper spoke one last time.
“Rude.” The final parasite wiggled out and away.
“Frick.” Thunkar rapidly distanced himself from them and motioned the amphibians away.
“Woah, big boy language.”
-
The journey was serene beyond a single break to let a large creature pass. The sun was only an hour away when they made it back to the village and into their tents to rest, barely beating the earliest risers.
Egosum quickly drifted off to sleep.
“It's a shame you aren’t more humanoid. That armor wasn’t half bad for this planet's level.” Pangu startled the toad from his thoughtless state of mind.
“Hello to you too.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wanted to let you know that I am impressed again. This time you actually utilized your dense Qi and various techniques in your combat. That was leagues beyond your last fight. I have seen plenty of people swim through stone but never exactly how you did it. Pretty vicious way to go. Suffocating is not nearly as bad as burning, but it definitely isn’t pleasant.” The soil rambled on as Egosum enjoyed his soul-domain scenery.
“I think you might even be ready for the next realm of condensation, smell.” That caught his attention as he turned his head to the dark red glow of his temporary master.
“But I feel like I haven't mastered sight yet and that was just one use of touch with the mud. How will I be ready for another realm?”
The question elicited a whistle from Pangu.
“Wow. Asking good questions is an important part of being a pupil. Thankfully, you don’t have much to worry about. These small realms are nestled into the larger condensation realm for a reason. It takes all of them to combine for you to master any of them.”
“The whole experience just adds to itself. You will become better and better at utilizing them as you gain more senses and then you will coalesce them together for the breakthrough to the permeation realm. In fact-”
“Will all larger realms have these layers to them?” Egosum cut him off as the realization hit him.
“I was getting to that before the interruption. Um, not really. It is more a mass of power and deeper understanding of the dao you choose and less vital expansion of your senses though they will continue to expand as you proceed. That is why this realm is so vital to get a good base in and not to rush too much.”
“I just feel slow for some reason. So much is happening and I am no closer to my goal.” His voice was solemn as he thought about his life up to this point.
“That is absolutely ridiculous. It has been a few weeks and you are already stronger than most things you have encountered. It took me months to get to the point you are now and you are complaining? How unappreciative can you be?” The dirt berated him as he put things into perspective for the toad.