ACT 2: Crushing Water Rushing Blood
Chapter 10 – Pyrrhic People
Deep Inside the sinners swamp North of Herons Shore - 4:04 am, Date 123, 516 P.A.
The swamp around the group is gone, replaced by an indistinguishable plane of ash and charcoal as far as they can see, all that remains of Fizz is his spear planted firmly into the ground which Lix takes slinging his rifle onto his back.
Looking over the group Lix takes a deep breath and speaks“ alright, don’t hold me to this but I think he killed every one of those abominations for a few miles, aslong as we don’t head any deeper we shouldn't encounter anything else.”
“What was that?” Jack asks as Spinned helps him up “I couldn’t do anything,.. I …”
“Relax” Lix softly says putting a hand on his shoulder “Or it will happen again. This place preys on emotional instability, lose your composure and it will consume your mind before it consumes you."
“Fuck this shit.” Jack curses under his breath pushing Lix away and throwing his rifle off its sling onto the charred dirt “IM A GODDAMN DEMON!”he yellls impotently into the returning fog, he turns back to Lix drawing his pistols “Never again will I trust anyone when they says these aren't good enough again.”
“Im sorry...” Lix says his demeanor unchanging “Is she okay?” he asks turning to Hait who is injecting various psychic stablizers into the unconscious enforcer
“She almost spiked but shes so augmented that it probably doesn’t matter, the static should clear in a minute and when it does I'll wake her up”
It takes only a few minutes for the party to gather themselves Spinned quietly consoling Jack while Lix and Hait wake up the unconscious enforcer.
With everyone as ready as can be the group begins moving again following Lix's lead, true to his word the party encounters almost nothing else heading south west aside from the occasional ambush of strange ambush predators from the shallow ponds dotting the swamp, the thick fog begins to grow brighter by the time they reach their apparent destination.
ahead of them is a massive still lake, strange fungal structures grow out of ancient concrete buildings at the center connected to the shore by seemingly intentionally constructed fungal bridges, the party can feel they are being watched.
“Stay close, they wont hurt us so long as they are under my spell” Lix whispers to the rest of the party
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“More monsters?” Spinned asks under his breath
“No, more like the only things this place will allow to live in it” Lix replys as the party makes their way to one of the bridges “It also goes without saying, but your not compatible.”
The group reaches the end the end of the bridge connecting to an overgrown doorway to the interior of the structure, in that doorway stands a tall humanoid figure, its body is a translucent yellow and despite seemingly being made of liquid its body forms the vague shape of a well endowed female
It begins to reach out a hand which Lix meets with his own, they touch with a spark of static energy, the creature looks surprised for a second then turns and leaves the group alone,
“The fuck was that?” Spinned asks as Lix leads them through a maze of concrete and fungus doing the same to any other slimy woman the party encounters,
“We started calling them goomen, they aren't all that common over here but in Ruska they where a real problem, we think they are the exact opposite of the fractals given their purely biological motives and all female appearance.”
“But we aren't compatible?” Spinned asks chuckling as the group reaches another long stairway
“Itl just try and probably fail to eat you” Lix reply's bluntly “they lack any spiritual aspect to their form, it makes them very easy to manipulate but otherwise they are soulless predators.”
“So why are you leading us into a den of predators?” Jack asks nervously playing with the hammers on his revolvers, staring down the dark and decrepit stairway.
“Because nobody would be dumb enough to come here looking” Lix reply's starting down the stairway, his psychic light the party's only comfort into the dark fungal abyss.
It doesn’t take long to reach the bottom, the room is a mostly collapsed entrance to an ancient sewer system covered in unidentifiable fungus, some Goomen lay about seemingly feeding on the endless amounts the fungus, they pay the group no mind.
“I take it the butcher houses didn’t heed the order to seal all tunnels to the swamp then.” Green speaks up startling everyone
“Ofcourse not.” Hait responds his expression lightening “Gonna get the enforcers to abjure us?”
Green simply laughs as Lix puts his hand on a clear part of the wall getting a weird look from a nearby Gooman, the wall where his hand rests glows slightly before dropping to create a long perfectly smooth rectangular tunnel.
“I think we hid it pretty well officer.” Lix says motioning the group through the tunnel, they reach the end into a much better taken care of sewer system, behind them the entire thing raises into place as if it never moved at all, they walk down the hallway the sewer warping and opening to a large reinforced chamber with a couple tunnels leading off of it.
“alright time for the plan of action, this tunnel system runs under the main sewers of Herons Shore and maybe under the rest of the soul, we haven't really cared to map them out as much as the fractals, if shit goes bad we meet up right here, this room used to be a bunker and is pretty easy to defend, Im gonna activate the butchers houses if we act fast we can have an organized military resistance ready by the end of the day.”
Jack speaks up, “I have some contacts in the city, Me and Spinned can go appeal to them and see if we can get Haldwake to help.”
“The enforcers are probably compromised but I should still report to my captain, hes counting on me and needs to know whats happening before its too late.” Green adds
Lix responds “Then you should come with us Green we have secure comms at the Butchers Hall, we cant afford a leak before everything is in motion.”
“Oh and Jack, Don't forget who broke the promise.”