“Before we begin, I will just lay this on the table. We are going to stick around and make sure that the demon either dies or runs off. This is my house now. If you stay and help, then we can work out some sort of payment afterward."
One by one, everyone took a seat at the table. Zuss and Klaw sat closest to Daggat, while Zuss sat next to Anath. Elyndris simply sat on the table. Hunter dragged over a bench and sat on it. Daggat took the seat of honor, as was prudent. He was the one who brought the crew here, after all.
“We have come here to settle, not to fight for goblins,” Elyndris said.
“And we got here first.” He replied, then smiled. “And we are stronger than you lot. You have no choice but to either leave or help.” He considered using hypnotic gaze. But its effects didn’t last long. Once they wore off, how would they react? Once again, he would have to flex his skills in the art of diplomacy and bullying.
“You might be surprised, goblin. Anath could kill everyone in this room if she put her mind to it.”
“What? No, I… can’t do that.” She looked flustered. Her mandibles wriggled nervously.
“Are you threatening us?” Daggat glared at the worm.
“Yes. You did it first.”
“Hmmph. Fair enough, I suppose. What do you propose, then?”
“You two,” she turned toward her companions. “You were with them for a bit. Can we trust them?”
“Uh huh, he made me strong. Showed me what class to pick.”
“HE DID WHAT?!” She hopped and faced Daggat. “What did you do?”
“Relax, worm. Your group doesn’t know the class system; I do. He chose a good one.”
“I did, Elyndris. I can protect us with this.” He summoned his torch.
“You will tell me exactly what you purchased, Anath?” Anath had been quietly sitting there. She looked like she wished she could disappear.
“Um… well… I uh…”
“Spit it out, girl.” Zuss gave Klaw a dangerous look after that comment.
“I guess. Zuss is alright, once you get to know her.” Since Anath wasn’t dead, Zuss was either getting soft or Anath was tougher than she seemed.
“And the bugbear is an idiot, but he also has the heart of a warrior. So, we shall fight with you.” Hunter shifted in his seat, and Anath gave her a dubious look.
“Great. In the spirit of cooperation, let's go around the circle and tell me what you can do.” He looked at Klaw. “Klaw?”
“Huh? What?” Daggat pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Please tell the class what you can do.”
“Oh. Well, I’ve got claws.” He showed them off. “And I am tough. Strong, too.” Daggat nodded at Elyndris.
“I am Elyndris! Mighty future dragon! With my powerful pounce, I can fly through the air with great speed, devouring all in my way!”
“If I throw her, that is.”
“I can jump!”
“Very nice. That is… useful. What level are you?"
“Five.”
“And you are-”
“Still a worm. Yes. It’s complicated, and the angels are dicks. That’s all you need to know.”
“I guess I’m next?” Hunter asked. Daggat nodded at him. “I have a class called Hearth Tender. Any fire I tend is calming and boosts healing, but it also weakens unnatural foes. I can also hit things with my torch… but I would prefer not to.”
“Very useful in our present situation. Anath?”
"I… Um… can’t do a lot. Sorry.”
“That’s bullshit," Zuss cut in. “I fought her. She gets REALLY scary when she is mad. I saw her blend zombies to dust with her eyes closed.” Anath blushed.
“I don’t try to rely on the spider… it just comes out. Oh, and I guess I have poison.”
“You are human, right? What class do you have?” Anath shook her head.
“I’m only level four.”
“We need to get that up. Elyndris, would you like to help us decide her class?” An olive branch never hurt.
“You can help US decide. But that brings us to an important discussion. If we are going to fight this thing, we need a way to divvy up the experience fairly.”
“Oh, Daggat invited me to his party! You can come too.”
“He did what?” Elyndris cried.
“You did what?” Zuss whispered.
“Now, hold on. It was for a reason. Don’t go teaming up on me. I was going to bring it up. Yes. I do have a party. You two can join, and when this place is cleared out, then we can decide what to do after. Even experience, which means you three will get more experience until you reach level seven.” The loss of experience stung, but he would need strong allies if he was going to fight a demon.
“Very well. Invite us, then.” he did.
[Elyndris has joined party: The Crew.]
[Anathema has joined party: The Crew.]
"I'm sneaky and have a knife,” Zuss added after they were joined. “Now that that is over-”
“Hold on. What about Daggat? What can you do?” Elyndris asked.
“I’m the boss. I plan things.”
“So you are useless?” Klaw laughed at the worm's comment.
“Yeah, he’s pretty useless.” Daggat’s eye twitched.
“You would still be scrubbing Gobma’s boots if it weren't for me. You too, Zuss.” She was giggling softly to herself.
“First thing, we need to get Anathema to five.” Anath stiffened as Daggat said her name. He decided he should stick with Anath. That was a worrying reaction.
“No… the first thing is rest.” Zuss looked at him with challenge in her eyes.
“We can’t waste time.”
“Half of us fell through a floor. I got the life sucked out of me. That ogre is still limping, Birdy tried to eat the worm, and you look like you might fall over any moment, too. We need to heal.”
“WHO TOLD YOU ABOUT THE CAT!?” Daggat ignored Elyndris.
“You’re right. Okay. Let’s split into watches. Three watches, one person from each… team.”
“I’ll watch with Anath.”
“No, you won’t. If we have to work together, we need to get to know each other better. Anath, you’re with me on the first watch. We are the least hurt. Zuss, take the worm. Klaw, Hunter, you got last watch.”
“Who put you in charge?” the worm chided and stared Daggat the eye to eye.
“I did.” The worm stared back. For a long, tense moment, there was silence.
“If you said anything else, we might have left. Very well. It takes a strong ego to lead. But we will have a long talk when this is done.” Daggat nodded at her.
The crew, with its new members, gathered to rest at the fire. They had briefly considered leaving the manor and setting up camp outside. But the fire would keep most creatures at bay. Here they could defend against the demon. Outside, there were no walls.
Klaw and Hunter did leave to gather the loot, as well as a few buckets of snow, at the request of Daggat.
As the four others drifted off to sleep, Anath waited and watched patiently in a chair. Daggat kept an eye on her as he set out on his task. It was time for a bit of alchemy.
He melted the snow and brought it to a boil in a large cauldron. Then he considered his ingredients. Two warg hearts, four warg eyes, and four warg canines. His gut told him the canines definitely held beast essence. Hearts, he suspected, contained strength essence. What about the eyes? All in all, it was similar to the drakeheart. That would make it a good candidate for experimentation.
He dropped all the ingredients into the pot and then sprinkled in the dust. The water turned a dark gray. Interesting.
He had another thought. If you let stew continue to boil, it gets smaller. It also gets tastier. What happens here? He watched as it boiled.
“What… um-”
“Gah!” He was so focused on his task that he didn’t notice Anath come into the room.
“Sorry! I’ll go.”
“No, wait. You just startled me, is all. What did you want?”
“Elly says I should talk to people more… so… what are you doing?”
“Alchemy. It’s an experiment.”
“Wow, who taught you that?”
“No one. I taught myself.” They were quiet for a moment. Was the concoction darkening? “So… you are a human. What’s with the spider bits?”
“I’m a variant. I’m trying to get rid of them.” His head snapped toward her.
“So you are a variant. Me too. Do you remember the angel? Vaelion.”
“Yes… I remember.” She looked down at her feet. “Stupid angel.” She added under her breath.
“I got intelligence. As you could already tell, I am sure.”
“What happened to your ear?” she suddenly blurted out. Daggat sneered, and she stepped back. Her spider legs lifted into a defensive posture.
“Got cut off. Same fight that this,” he pointed at the scar on his chest, “happened. Went all the way through, even.” He turned around to show her the back. She gasped.
“How did you survive?”
“Didn’t.” The liquid suddenly turned black. A deep, inky black with wisps of hair-like formations. “Ah, it’s done.”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
He managed to draw out four bottles of the stuff.
He opened the alchemy menu.
[Would you like to record the recipe? Yes/no]
He selected yes. When prompted for a name, he was about to name it Warg Heart.
“Sticking to a theme I see, master.” His assistant drifted nearby. “What’s next? Wormheart? Ogreheart? Spiderheart? Oh, imagine the alchemy that can be done with their corpses. Exquisite.”
“Oh, be quiet.”
He named the potion Night Stalker.
Night Stalker Potion
Primary Essence: Beast
Secondary essence: Shadow, Strength
Effects: Unknown
Interesting, so the eyes held shadow essence. But clearly not enough to overpower beast essence. He looked at the bottles. Four of them. He would need to sacrifice one of them for the experiments. He needed to see what effects they would have on everyone. He found six cups… no. Seven cups. He wanted to see if Birdy would be affected. She was currently sleeping atop the hearth.
“What is it?”
“Night Stalker potion. I just invented it.”
“What does it do?”
“Let’s find out. Anath, stay there and pay attention to me. Tell me what you see.” He drank down his seventh of the potion. It tasted like wet dog smells.
A flash of aggression ran through him. He wanted to run and jump. To feast and tear apart prey. It wasn’t rage, like the Drakeheart potion. Rather, just a primal need to be the top predator.
The room brightened. He could see clearly every nook and cranny. He flexed his arms. They felt powerful and unburdened. Looking down, his chest was covered in black fur.
“Whsh luk… whsh… grrr.” He tried to speak, but something was wrong with his mouth and tongue. He felt his face. A snout? Anath covered her mouth in shock. He lifted his arms in a questioning gesture.
“Oh! You uh… got hairy. And your eyes are glowing yellow… and you have a dog head. Do you have…” She leaned over to look, then pouted. “No. No tail.”
Daggat looked at his stats and found the transformation.
Night Stalker form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Dark vision [Night Vision Enhanced]
Deepen Shadow
He was right to name it Night Stalker. This was perfect for stealth. He felt himself bleed back to normal. That was almost thirty seconds. So… these should last, what, three or four minutes? Much better than his last attempt. Distilling the potion gave him less potion to work with, but longer transformation time.
“Your turn.”
“No, no, no. I couldn’t. Really.” He held out the small bowl to her.
“Come on. It doesn’t hurt. If it works for you, then it might help us fight this thing.”
She rubbed her arm, then hesitantly accepted the bowl. She drank it and made a disgusted face.
Then her form changed. She grew hair, like his. Dark and full all through her body. Even her spider legs grew hair, taking the form of a tarantula leg. Her head became a monstrous combination of wolf and spider. Fangs dripping with venom, her mandibles larger than before, and several spider-like eyes that glowed yellow. He twirled around to allow him a better look. He did a double-take when he saw she DID have a tail.
She also had claws. They were the size of Klaw’s and were obsidian black.
“Well, you got a tail.” She hopped up and down and clapped her hands. There was a strangled sound that Daggat thought was supposed to be a giggle.
After a moment, she shifted back.
“Wow… I don’t like what it does to my head. But wow.”
“So what does it give you? Look at your stats.”
“Strength, dexterity, claws, and dark vision. Why doesn’t it mention the jaws or fur?”
“I don’t know. Some things the system doesn’t think make a difference, I guess.”
He pulled a bottle of wine from his bag of loot and poured him a glass. Anath sat with him at the table.
“You aren’t like the goblins in my stories.”
“Oh? And what are they like?”
“Little, nasty things that steal and scavenge.”
“Trust me, I can be nasty. And where do you think I got this wine? Want some?”
“I can’t, I shouldn’t. I’m just a kid.”
“Only barely. Out here, there is no difference between kids and grownups. Just the dead and those who haven’t died yet.” He laughed to himself, “And then there’s me. C’mon, I don’t see any guards.” He shook the bottle. Anath looked to the left and right. Then she nodded sheepishly. He smiled at her and poured her a glass.
She took a sip, then made a surprised face.
“It’s sweet!” she took another drink. He gave her a sympathetic look.
“I know. You get used to it.”
—
“And then- and then… and then I said to them, ‘Go! Kill for me!’ And it fucking worked!” Anath laughed. Her face was flushed, and she hadn’t stopped laughing for a while. Two empty bottles of wine lay on the table.
“That’s so silly!”
“’ Course, Klaw was the one who made someone EXPLODE. I wish I saw that.”
Daggat made a blow-up noise with her mouth. Anath copied him.
“Then Zuss STOLE HIS CAT!” Anath screeched with laughter.
“WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!?” Zuss was at the door to the kitchen, where the two of them had spent the entire watch. But it was the worm in her hand that screamed. “Did… DID YOU GET HER DRUNK?!”
“Whaaaat? She likes it.”
“You should try some, Elly! You too, Zussy.” She said the last bit in the same tone you would use to talk to a cute animal.
“If you call me that again, you will wake up with one less eye.” Anath giggled. “Daggat, save the revelry for AFTER we are safe.”
“Yes, goblin. You were supposed to keep watch.” They had a point. He had forgotten. But, hey, nothing bad happened.
“Oh, Zuss. Elidro- Alyn- Elinin- um… worm thing. C’mere. Got something to show ya.”
They marched over. Anath was humming a song to herself.
“It’s Elyndris, you slobbering imbecile. Anath, go to sleep.”
“And drink some-”
“No!” Zuss gave the worm an inquisitive look. “She has to learn. What is it, goblin?”
He presented each one with a bowl containing their portion of the potion.
“Drink up!” Anath stumbled off to the other room, then tripped and caught herself with the spider legs. She lay there for a moment, already half asleep. Then the spider legs dragged her into the other room.
“You made another potion?” Zuss set down Elyndris and took a drink.
She, too, transformed into a wolf-hybrid version of herself. She gained an increase in strength and dexterity, scent, and her deepen shadow skill leveled up with a wider shadows perk. When she used it, the whole room darkened.
"Okay, worm. Your turn.”
“Must I?”
“It could make you stronger… C’mon. Just a sip.” The worm sighed and drank the potion.
Hair poofed out from her skin, and she grew a long tail. Her jaws grew much larger, though. Daggat and Zuss snickered.
“What? What is it?” How come she gets to talk?
“You’re fluffy,” Daggat told her.
“Take that back.”
“And you have a tail. It’s kind of cute.”
“Dragons are not cute!”
“What did you get from it?”
“Strength, dexterity, and constitution went up by two. And my jaws became powerful jaws. Useful potion. What did you kill for it?”
“A warg. I killed it, actually.” Zuss pet Elyndris who hopped away and growled like a puppy. Daggat added the information to his notes. He had been trying to keep a tally of the changes; maybe he will learn something.
”Welp… it’s your watch. I’m going to sleep now.”
“Good. Begone, goblin.”
He stumbled into the other room. Hunter was sprawled on his back, snoring loudly. Klaw had somehow ended up using him as a pillow. Daggat hopped onto his chair and put his feet on the table. Then he let himself relax.
The fire was very warm.
Daggat
True Name: Daggat
Soul: Monster
Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size]
Genbloom: goblin [ +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Scavanger; Small Size]
Monster Level: 7
Attributes (0/6):
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 20
Will: 10
Charm: 12
Feats:
Encounter: True Angel
Ability: Mighty Intellect
Act: Fledgling Alchemist
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [Layered feats]
Act: Usurper
Act: Touch of Death
Skills(0/3):
Alchemy: 1 [Source: Fledgling Alchemist]
System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge]
System Assistant: 1
Mind Codex: 1 [Synergy: Mental notes + Copy Tome]
Party Leader: 1 [Source: Usurper]
Notable Natural Skills:
Literacy: Apprentice
Biotraits (2/6):
Base size: Small [Source: Goblin]
Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin]
Enhanced Night Vision [Source: Gremlin]
Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin]
Hypnotic Gaze [Mutations: Dominating Gaze]
Temperature Resistant Skin [Synergy: Fire Resistant Skin + Cold Resistant Skin]
Scavenger [Source: goblin]
Death Sight [Source: Touch of Death]
Transformations:
Drakeheart Form:
+2 strength
+2 charm
Extreme Temperature Resistant Scales [Synergy: Fireproof scales + Temperature resistant Skin]
Fire breath
Night Stalker form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Dark vision [Night Vision Enhanced]
Deepen Shadow
Other:
Variant: +10 Intelligence
Notable Gear:
Strange pure-white sword
Hunter
True Name: Hunter
Soul: Mortal
Genseed: Ogre [ 8 Str, 2 Dex, 6 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Ogre's curse; Large Size]
Hearth Tender Level: 6 [+1 Str, +1 Con, +4 Wil; Invoke Torch, Hearth Fire]
Attributes (1/5):
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 8
Will: 13
Charm: 7
Feats:
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Vile Concoction
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Act: Slayer
Skills (1/7):
System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge]
Invoke Torch: 1
Hearth Fire: 1
Sacred Flame: 2 [Perks: Debilitating Warmth]
Encompassing Warmth: 1
Brilliant Bash: 2 [Perks: Hearth Flame]
Bounty Hunter: 1 [Source: Slayer]
Biotraits (0/1):
Base Size: Large
Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Vile Concoction]
Other:
Curse: Ogre Curse
Zuss
True Name: Zuss
Soul: Monster
Genseed: gremlin [ 3 Str, 4 Dex, 3 Con, 2 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Regenerating Teeth, Rot Resistance; Tiny Size]
Genbloom: hobgoblin [ +1 Str, +3 Dex, +2 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wil; Nimble Fingers; Small Size]
Monster Level: 7
Attributes (0/6):
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 8
Will: 10
Charm: 9
Feats:
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [Layered feats]
Ability: Mighty Alacrity
Skills(0/2):
System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge]
Deep Shadows: 1
Path Finding [Type: Climbing]
Notable Natural Skills:
Stealth: Apprentice
Climb: Apprentice
Biotraits (1/7):
Base size: Small [Source: Hobgoblin]
Regenerating Teeth [Source: Gremlin]
Enhanced Night Vision [Mutations: Dark Vision; Source: Gremlin]
Disease Resistance [Mutations: Rot Resistance; Source: Gremlin]
Improved Body Control [Synergy: Improved Balance + Improved Nerve Conduction + Improved flexibility]
Nimble Hands and Feet [Synergy: Nimble hands + Prehensile Feet]
Cold Resistant Skin
Transformations:
Drakeheart Form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Smoke Aura
Lesser Wings
Night Stalker form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Enhanced Scent
Deepen Shadow+, Widen Shadows
Pet:
Name: Birdy
Genseed: Cat
Attributes:
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 4
Constitution: 2
Intelligence: 2
Will: 2
Charm: 3
Biotraits:
Lesser Wings
Anath
True Name: Anathema
Soul: Monster/Mortal
Genseed: Human [ 3 Str, 3 Dex, 3 Con, 3 Int, 3 Wil, 3 Cha; Standard Size]
Monster Level: 3
[Class] Level: 4
Attributes (0/6):
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 7
Intelligence: 9
Will: 8
Charm: 7
Feats:
Encounter: True Angel
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Vile Concoction
Skills(3/4):
System Aptitude: 1 [Source: System Knowledge]
System Assistant: 1
Skill Boosts: Survival (1)
Notable Natural Skills:
Survival: Apprentice
Biotraits [0/3]:
Disease Resistance [Source: Vile Concoction]
Extra Limb (Arachnid), x4 [Source: Variant]
Venomous Mandibles [Source: Variant]
Multi-eye [Mutations: Magnified, Night Vision; Source: Variant]
Hardened Chitin
Transformations:
Night Stalker form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
Claws
Dark Vision
Other:
Variant: Arachnid Traits
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
Transformations:
Night Stalker form:
+2 strength
+2 dexterity
+2 constitution
Jaws [Mutation: Powerful Jaws]
Other:
Curse: Ungenesis