Elyndris and Klaw recovered their stamina quickly and were ready to explore. She didn’t know what to think of the bugbear. He was clearly a warrior. Though, a bit scrawny. Not that Elyndris could compare, of course. Perhaps he favored dexterity and speed over strength?
He had also tried to eat her, which showed that he had a spine. That was good. Until she retrieved Anath, he would make a fine weapon. However, he was no substitute for her friend. That girl was far more powerful than she realized.
“So, do you need me to carry you or…?” he offered a hand.
“I don’t NEED you to do anything. I can slither along just fine. Besides, we should be cautious.” Klaw scratched his head with a single claw he extended.
“Why?”
“Because we don’t know what’s out there.”
“So? Gotta fight 'em either way. No use wasting time.” This creature DID have potential after all. How could she poach him for her growing army? She had two potential powerhouses.
“Very well. You lead on, but don’t go too far ahead.” He opened the door and poked his head out. After a moment, they went on together.
“So, Dag is outside. But I don’t know where Zuss went. Probably somewhere in here.”
“Hunter is with your goblin friend-”
“Brother.”
“What?”
“He’s my brother. Not my friend.” There was a lot packed into those two sentences that Elyndris did not have the time to get into.
“Okay, your brother is with Hunter. They should be fine. Hunter’s wounded, but he's not useless.”
“Dag is weak, but also not ENTIRELY useless.”
“Anath is also very strong.”
“So is Zuss.”
“So… they DON’T need us to rescue them?”
“Guess not.”
“Then we can explore.”
“We can loot!”
With their consciences eased, they set out to explore the manor. The hallway they were in was wide and, at one time, impressive. Old faded paintings hung on the wall. A chandelier made of antlers hung from the ceiling. They had fled to the second floor, just past the foyer and beyond the large tree that had grown through the house.
Klaw strolled down the hallway.
“Hey, look at that!” He ran off toward the right. Elyndris pounced forward a few feet at a time. It was tiring but quick.
Around the corner, the hall ended with a window. The window was broken, and a corpse was draped over it.
It was a dwarf. Its wide frame stuck in the window as though someone had tried to shove it through and it got stuck.
Most worryingly, however, were the roots that seemed to grow out of the armor. They crawled from the gaps in the armor. They were moving, slithering towards Klaw. The bugbear was in a low, bestial position. As roots crept closer, he cut them into ribbons.
“Hey, I call dibs on that corpse. You can loot the next one.”
“The roots… are they coming from it?”
“I think so.” He shredded another root as it came closer. “What is it?” With every root destroyed, another grew in its place. It was relentless.
“Not sure… hold on.” She focused her perception. She could feel the vibrations of the root. It had a unique crackling feel to it as it moved. Following the motion, she discovered each root shared a base. The corpse's heart. “You must destroy the heart. Or we can move on; I don’t think it is very fast.”
“No way, I want that armor.”
“That armor is protecting it. You’d have to destroy it to get to the monster. Or…” She assessed the monster. Yeah, she can handle that thing. “Toss me.”
“What?”
“Toss me at it. I think I can kill it.” Klaw shrugged and picked her up.
“Be gent-” She flew through the air with greater speed than her powered-up pounce attack. She hit the back of the armor with a loud splat. She did not bounce. Instead, her body flattened.
Her head, or her worm equivalent, swam. Then she recovered. Roots were inching toward her, spreading over the corpse to grab her. She spat at them and then slipped into the neck hole.
The corpse was old, nearly completely skeletal. It was full of roots, rather than organs. But these were the base of the roots. They needed time to turn in on themselves to catch her. So she slithered and squirmed through the tangle of dead wood until she found what she was looking for. Where the heart should have been was a hollow ball of roots. That was the source.
She knew that if she could see untethered, then a wisp would likely be situated right at the center. But she didn’t have any attack that would target a spirit directly. Instead, she thrashed, bit, and chewed like a wild badger. She was tiny but strong. The roots snapped and fell to powder. Eventually, the roots fell still.
[You have defeated - Death Root, Level 2. Experience Gained.]
So, this was indeed untethered. Monsters cannot devour undead. Instead, they are compensating for destroying them directly by the angels. Still, it was only level two. Not enough to level up.
“You okay in there?”
“Yes. One moment.” She crawled out of the armor. "See? Easy."
“Nice. Now, move. I’m going to loot it.”
Klaw proceeded to remove the body from the window. It took him a couple of yanks, but he wrenched it free. He was stronger than he looked. Elyndris inspected the armor as he ripped out roots and bone from within it.
“What color is it? The armor, I mean.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Kind of a tan… brown? Why?”
“Is it shiny? Heavy?”
“No. And kind of. Do you know what it is made of?”
“Mountain Heart Armor."
“That sounds cool!”
“It has its drawbacks. Forged from steel infused with mountain essence. It’s tough, but… heavy.”
“Well, it’s mine now. This… uh… might take a bit.”
“I’ll go take a look around then. Scream in pain if you need me.”
“You too, worm. You too.” He placed the helm on his head. It fit surprisingly well with all of his fur. It was an open-faced helm, more of a metal hat. She let him get on with it as she wandered away.
One of the doors nearby was cracked open. She slithered in. It was a bedroom, one with a joining nook. There was a window in this room as well, open. Unfortunately, no death root roosted by this one.
Just as she was about to leave, she felt a disturbance. The faintest tremor. A single step from a beast hiding in the shadows.
It was enough warning. Elyndris threw herself to the side as it pounced. It hit the ground lightly, then swept its tail.
The beast had sharp claws and fangs, a long bushy tail, and a single wing. A griffin? No matter. Whatever it was, it dared to attack her.
Elyndris roared her challenge at the monster, and it hissed back. A claw swiped at the air where Elyndris had been a half second earlier. She pounced at the monster, hitting it on the side of the head. She bit down.
The monster shook its head and yowled. The claw on that side of the body was held close to the body, not moving. So the claw couldn’t reach her. Was it bandaged? It was hard to tell; her senses were not accurate. Once she defeated this foe, that would change.
Finally, something gave, and Elyndris was flying through the air. She still held onto the chunk of ear in her jaws. She swallowed it, twisted it in the air, and landed just in time to take a clean hit from the beast's claw.
She felt the catch on her soft skin, but she ignored the pain. The beast slammed her onto the hardwood floor. Again and again, with fast, frantic strikes, she was hammered into the ground. Each blow sent a shock wave of pain through Elyndris’s body.
Steadying her mind, Elyndris waited for the next rise of the claw. It came, but Elyndris flexed and twisted. With all her strength, she slapped the beast in the muzzle. No bones broke, but the beast's head slapped to the side, and Elyndris fell to the ground.
The beast hissed, then focused its eyes on the worm.
“No other challenger has wounded me as you have. I recognize you as a great warrior. But this was your last battle.” Elyndris pounced, aiming for the neck. It didn’t have time to dodge, nor were its claws in position to strike. This fight was over.
Then the beast spread its wing out wide, using it to smack Elyndris in the air. The worm hurdled straight upwards.
Elyndris weighed her options. She was in an uncontrolled flight. She had no limbs, no wings, and no fiery breath.
Elyndris reached the zenith of her upward flight. Her senses were based on feeling movement. She was blind. Falling through a dark void.
Then she felt the beast's jaws close around her as it snatched her out of the air. Elyndris screamed. She could feel it biting down hard. It wasn’t very strong, but the teeth punctured flesh regardless.
“Birdy?” Klaw asked as he checked on the noise. “Hey, put that down. Drop it.” The beast and Elyndris were lifted into the air. “Droooop it.” Finally, the monster released her grasp on the worm. “You okay?”
“What… what was that thing? A sphinx? A greater griffin? Such a warrior it was to best me.”
“Nah, that’s Birdy. Just a cat. Zuss stole him.” He scratched the cat behind the ears. Its purring rumbled through Elyndris’s perception like an avalanche. Klaw laughed. “You lost to a cat?”
“A true warrior is not ashamed of their defeats.” Elyndris did a mental check of her body. She had a couple of cuts and half of her body would bruise. But she made it through relatively unscathed. "But yes, I admit that I lost to Birdy. This will not be our last duel!”
“Oh, you hurt her. Don’t worry. I won’t tell Zuss.” Klaw was now wearing a good amount of the dwarven armor. He was both too tall and too lean for it. The effect was an oversized plate body that stopped at his belly. The helm fit well, however. He also wore the boots, which were plated at the toe, and a pair of gauntlets. The gauntlets were thin metal bars linked by pins. They hung loosely over his hand. So, he could still use his claws. It was a ridiculous look. “Let’s get going.”
With the cat snuggled into his arms, he moved on. A quick check of the other rooms revealed they were all empty of anything useful. More spare rooms.
When they turned the corner, however, a line of monsters silently walked toward them.
Corpses made of wood and bark. Each clothed in tatters. They lumbered towards them, drawn to the noise of the fight.
“Zombies?” Elyndris guessed.
“I don’t know… you stay back. I can take ‘em.” He balled his hands into fists. The gauntlets rested over his knuckles.
“I can still fight! Birdy is an exceptional warrior. These are just shambling corpses.”
“You got your ass kicked.”
“Hold your tongue or I will show you an ass-kicking," Klaw laughed.
“You think you’re so tough? Prove it.” Elyndris scowled. She wouldn’t let this beast think she was weak. Elyndris was only… evolutionarily challenged. At the moment.
“Throw me.” The dead shambled closer; they were only a few yards away. Klaw didn’t seem worried.
“You sure? I won’t hold back.”
“Do it! I am no coward. I can handle it easily!"
“Okay…” he put the cat down, who ran immediately, then picked up the worm. She readied herself. If she timed it juuuust right. She felt the rumbling of his laugh. The cruel laugh of a bully. Her stomach dropped. Maybe she acted too hastily.
Klaw activated burst of strength and then hurled Elyndris at the monster. At the same moment, she used pounce.
The first two enemies didn’t even slow her as they exploded into bits of dried wood chips. The second and third she felt. When she blasted the sixth corpse into pieces, she lost consciousness.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but Elyndris finally came to. Her entire body, all six or so inches of it, hurt.
“Hey, hey… you alive?” Klaw was using a finger to prod her.
“Whaa…?” What happened? Where was she?
“That was REALLY fun. We should do it again. Almost get them all, too. They break apart like old timber with a single punch!”
Elyndris’s mind finally caught up with events. Had she let him throw her? Well, at least he didn’t think she couldn't handle it.
She checked her stats and found she was now level five. YES! Her excitement quickly faded when she realized she couldn’t go through regenesis. She needed to perform labor as soon as possible. Elyndris spat out a piece of wood.
“Easy, like I said.” Klaw picked her up and put her on his shoulder.
“Yeah. We need to get you some more experience.”
“Then what are you standing around for? Onward!" Her new steed cackled and ran forth to find more foes to test their mettle against.
Klaw
True Name: Klaw
Soul: Monster
Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size]
Genbloom: Bugbear [ +3 Str, +1 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Rough Fur; Small Size]
Monster Level: 7
Attributes (0/6):
Strength: 19
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 8
Will: 9
Charm: 8
Feats:
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [Layered feats]
Ability: Mighty Strength
Skills(0/2):
System Aptitude: 1
Burst of Strength: 1
Attribute Boost: Strength (+2)
Notable Natural Skills:
Savagery: Apprentice
Biotraits (0/7):
Base size: Standard [Source: Gremlin]
Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin]
Enhanced Night Vision [Source: Gremlin]
Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin]
Claws [Mutations: Forged, Retractable]
Dense Muscle Fibers
Rough Fur [Mutations: Insulating Fur; Source: Bugbear]
Dense Bone
Transformations:
Drakeheart Form:
+2 strength
+2 constitution
Fire-proof Scales
Claws [Mutation added: Burning]
Notable Gear:
Mountain Heart Armor
Elyndris
True Name: Elyndris
Soul: Monster
Genseed: Larva [ 1 Str, 1 Dex, 1 Con, 1 Int, 1 Wil, 1 Cha; miniscule Size]
Monster Level: 5
Attributes (1/5):
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 6
Intelligence: 5
Will: 5
Charm: 5
Feats:
Encounter: True Angel
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Act: Blasphemy
Skills (0/2):
Burst of Strength
Pounce
Biotraits (1/4):
Base size: Miniscule
Jaws
Enhanced Touch [Mutation: Tremor Sense]
Complex organs
Other:
Curse: Ungenesis