The distance to the village shrunk quickly as they rushed at top speed.
The sounds of shouts and screams echoed through the forest as they got within earshot of their base.
“Stay back, I don’t want them to freak out more than necessary. We will scream if we want you to come.” Thunkar yelled back to the parasites who quickly fell to a slow jog.
The small group broke through the tree line and scanned the village for the attackers.
The mob of hunters was tearing through tents and upheaving everything in sight.
“I thought they were just trying to get a kid?” Thunkar looked at the events with horror painted on his face.
“Plans go to shit quickly. Let’s go.” Egoum hopped over the wooden barricade with his frog companion following while the other pair rushed for the entrance.
The toad leaped to meet the attackers as fast as possible.
They had collected more than half a dozen kids and women and were still searching for more as Punishe tore through tent after tent.
The struggle and screams of the villagers had long since startled everyone awake.
Small families stood to the side, deciding whether to chance the forest at night or hope they wouldn’t be taken
Egosum nearly reached the first hunter when Punishe’s harsh voice yelled out.
“It’s the fucking frog! Use the villagers as meat shields!” He yanked a small girl into the air, holding her struggling form by her hair. “Back off or I kill every person I can.”
His long nails glinted in the moonlight as he pressed them against the child's throat.
He inched closer and closer to the exit with the girl in hand.
Egosum faltered as he scanned the clearing. All of the hunters had frozen at the intrusion, unsure of what to do next and fearful of what Punishe would force them into doing.
The stalemate didn’t last long as Thunkar finally made it to the entrance and made the tough decision.
“Let them leave. At least they will be alive even if they get kidnapped.” He ground his teeth as he spoke, the frustration and hatred nearly bubbling out of him like a boiling cauldron.
“Punishe, I will kill you. Mark my words!” Thunkar shouted out as the hunters fulled past him and out into the forest.
“You’re gonna kill me the same way the humans killed your mom and dad or some other way?” The mock in his tone was sharp and vile as he cackled to himself while dragging away the villagers deep into the forest.
Egosum hopped over to the silent young man but failed to speak. Drops of blood fell from his hands where he clutched them tightly.
Heavy footfalls stole his attention as he looked back and saw Morgal walking forward.
The young beastman turned around in time to watch the old woman pull him deep into a hug.
The embrace was silent for a few moments when a dam finally broke inside him.
Large tears poured from his eyes as she rubbed his back. He wailed quietly as he let the pain and sorrow built up throughout his life bleed out.
Cinera walked around the touching scene and spoke to Egosum.
“The hunters are completely gone. I don’t think they know we found their camp’s location. We should be good to go back and rescue them or kill Punishe if we get the chance.”
“Shhh!” He turned to look at the old woman nearby.
“Oh, come on, you can’t seriously think that she doesn’t know we have been going out at night?” Cinera rolled her eyes before turning to Morgal.
“Yes, I knew all along. You can’t hide anything from me in this village. I may be an old wolf, but my hearing isn’t so bad that I can’t hear you trudging through the village at night.”
The boy pulled his snotty face from his granny’s shoulder and attempted to wipe the mess away before speaking.
“*Sniff* You knew? But you told us not to do it. You could have stopped us a long time ago.” The old woman grabbed a cloth from her side and wiped his furry face clean.
“I..I just wanted you to have some fun. You are the only one your age in the village and without someone here to mess around with, you were just rotting in your tent and sneaking away at night. When the frogs came, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to have some friends.” She held his face as she spoke to him. His lip quivered as she almost fell back into tears.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“We have learned some important information recently. We heard straight from Punishe’s mouth that he-” Egosum was cut off as she whipped her head in his direction.
“I know. He kill Endar last week. I smelt his scent when I first got there. I had smelt human too, but it was obvious what actually happened by the claw marks alone. I am not so delusional that I would deny him capable of such things, especially after what happened today.” She took a deep breath to calm herself.
“I wanted to force you back into the village, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. With Egosum, Cinera, and Coyotl there, I thought that you wouldn’t need to worry about him if he decided to attack you, so I let you keep going out. I was right, but I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen. I can’t keep the village safe anymore. I am lost.” The candor in her voice hurt his ears as the strong matriarch fell silent.
“No, you have done everything you were meant to. You were given a horrible situation and made to work with it. No one here could ever blame you.” He brought her back in for another hug.
“I just feel like there is only one option left. The village can’t take any more than it already has. Punishe needs to go. The bastard has done more damage than the humans ever could have. Every day. He forces our people fathers and husbands to fight some meaningless war for his own pleasure.” She bit her lip before speaking again.
“He needs to die. Egosum, Cinera, um.. Coyotl, I know it is a lot to ask for, but I beg of you, will you please help us?" She bowed her head low to the discomfort of her grandson.
The toad looked at the salamander and then the frog. The answer was clear before he checked and even stronger afterward.
“Of course. I really don’t like that guy myself truthfully. I think we would be doing the world a favor.”
Thunkar looked down at them with a gleem in his eye. Morgal turned to her grandson with complex emotions laid over sadness.
“I know I can’t stop you from going. I just ask that you be safe and…” She looked between the amphibians and the boy. “.. try not to kill any of the other hunters. They aren’t any happier about this than we are.”
Egosum nodded his head before a thought sparked in his mind.
“We found their camp right before we arrived here. It looked like they had been there for a long time. There were about three dozen hunters in the camp. We have a friend that might be able to even the odds out more in our favor. Follow me please.” The toad hopped out of the village with Morgal in tow.
The woman wore a confused expression as they walked through the woods for a short walk when an unbelievable sight startled her.
Her old and dull claws extended from her hands and her cane fell to the ground as she crouched low, ready to strike their mortal enemy.
A group of six humans stood in the clearing, goofing around entirely unaware of the tragedy that had just occurred.
“Hold on, hold on. I wo-”
“Humans!” She growled deep in her chest.
“Stop!” Morgal barely suppressed herself from lunging at the gawking parasites. “These are not actually humans. These are parasites that look like humans.”
Thunkar followed behind and grabbed his grandmother by the shoulders.
“They are filled with worms. They are using the humans as food.”
She turned around at her grandson's voice before looking at the strangely moving bodies.
“Are the humans dead?” She addressed the parasite with a probing tone.
“Dead as a doornail. Well, dead but moving under our persuasion I guess, madam.” The hosts gave theatrical bows to the beastman, waiting for a response.
“Good, now, why did you want to show me them Egosum?”
“How many humans are walking around, infected with your eggs right now?” He looked to the parasites for answers.
“About twenty-five of them we would say. Why? What are you thinking?” They learned in conspiratorially with a glint in their glassy eyes and wry smiles.
“Can I count on you guys to help us take the fight to the hunters? You can consider your debt repaid if you do.”
“Sounds good to us. You will need to give us a day to take over the bodies and we will be good to go.”
“I already asked Egosum, but can you guys try not to harm the hunters? They aren’t complicit with Punishe and don't have a choice in it.” She interjected as the parasites began to turn around.
“Don’t worry. We will tackle them to the ground and squeeze them till they pass out. Well, that is the plan at least.” With another bow, they took their leave.
“Looks like we have an army.” Egosum and the group walked back to the village to begin the cleanup.
The carnage was hard to see for all of the scared villagers, but the work had to be done.
They stood the battered tents back up to return the orderliness that once defined the space.
The women comforted the kids nearby as their homes returned to normal.
Egosum volunteered to stay up all night to look out for anything attracted to the commotion or any more hunters forced to try another attack.
The night crawled by slowly as he watched an uneasy normalcy fall back over the town and the people retreated into their tents for the rest of the restless night.
Morning came as the bright sun blew the lunar mana away from the sky and slowly took hold of the world once again.
The beastmen got up later than normal. They were sluggish in their movements and jumpy at the lightest of sounds.
The children were the opposite of when he first met them. The fearless joy and careless attitude were replaced with anxiety and distrust.
The thought of one of his mentors coming in the middle of the night and stealing him from his eternal vernal pool danced at the back of Egosum’s mind.
He understood their emotions as much as he struggled to feel them. His own insecurities had plagued him into unhealthy patterns in much the same way.
The only difference was, their situation arose out of a bad situation and horrible people. Without the strength to change it, they are just weaklings being played with by stronger forces.
He had denied that reality himself, but it mattered very little when the situation was playing out right before him.
Cinera came out of her tent later in the day to take over the guard duty and allow him to rest before the big fight that night.
The journey to his tent felt long and grueling despite the lack of physical fatigue.
He jumped through the flap and passed out immediately upon digging himself into the floor.
-
“Hello, soon-to-be war hero. I really feel like you should be more excited. It isn’t every day that you have these epic showdowns with armies at your beck and call. Maybe it is a minuscule army, but hey, everyone has to start somewhere.” The gravely voice caused his eyes to pop open.
“Pangu.”