Chapter 8 – A Butchers Challenge
The swamp is covered in a stagnant fog and is completely motionless as the party leaves the top of the building just barely peaking out of the fetid soil, Lix wastes no time taking the lead making sure the ground ahead is solid with the butt of his rifle every few steps, the thick vine covered trees crowding around the party making seeing more then a few feet impossible, still progress is steady and nothing but endless variety's of strange plants are encountered as night slowly creeps up on the silent group.
As it becomes dark the party is begins rely on psychic light not daring to stop and waste a second, eventually the party is forced to stop on their mostly straight path reaching a small body of water, as they do a loud splash comes from the other side.
“Move.” Lix instructs keeping his voice down “don’t fire unless you have too.”
The party retreats into the treeline still making an effort to get around the pool of water where they hear Something swimming at a ridiculous speed to where they once where.
A crash echos through the swamp as the party hears the creature jump out of the water smashing a tree, almost immediately the silence of the swamp turns into a cacophony of roaring and crashing as from all angles things make their way to investigate the noise.
“We are going to die, arent we?” Kisla Says in a panicked voice as the group breaks into a run.
“Shut-up and calm down.” Hait whispers putting a hand on his shoulder “The Swamp doesn't know that we are hear yet.”
“Right.” Kisla wispers back right before what can be best described as a tumor covered in spines and teeth in the vague shape of a dog pounces from the darkness right at Green crashing into her shield she raises just in time.
Immediately with his bow in one had Hait unsheathes his cutlass and slashes the monsters head off in one clean motion with his other, the corpse falling to the ground with a dull thud as behind them more of the denizens of the swamp begin to rip into each other.
“Keep moving.” Lix orders, the group making as much distance between themselves and the sudden war-zone as possible, weaving through increasingly common pools of water.
“I don’t like how open this is becoming.” Jack whispers running behind Lix.
“This isn't the normal route for a reason,” Lix responds as Fizz fends off another Tumorous Hound off with his spear at the back of the group “be ready we may have to fight till they stop coming.”
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As if on Que a creature quite like a stretched out lizard, pounces out of the water towards Spinned, with no other immediate option he raises his rifle and fires.
For a split second everything else grows silent, the gunshots echoing throughout the swamp, everyone in the group is feels a twisted psychic presence wash over them and quickly the silence is replaced by a cacophony howls, screams, and what could be mistaken distant laughter.
“Time to show our new friends why House Delltronious rule the soul.” Lix shouts with excitement while he kneels down pressing his crackling hand against the fetid soil.
“Right”~”Right”
Hait pulls out a mechanical looking arrow firing into the fog above before a blast of pressure from Lix pushes the fog and water away revealing the horde of snarling monstrosity's surrounding and fast approaching the group, the arrow explodes into a bright star above halting the warped wall of eyes with its blinding light!
At the same time Fizz rips off his left sleeve and pulls out a metallic looking matchstick from his coat. He runs it along his exposed arm a violent crimson flame following the match engulfing his left side in swirling psychic fire which he then directs around the group catching everything from trees to the foremost monstrosity's in corrosive combustion.
The trios gambit leaves a clear and open battle field for the Fractals who waste no time unloading near perfectly accurate death on anything dumb enough to climb over the burning pile of flesh, still the growing horde is only stalled for a moment as four mantis things fall from above upon the center of the group.
Kislas screams a sound like static and a distant goodbye the four monsters tearing into him looking for anything to consume. “Dammit” Jack yells emptying the rifle into the disappointed Bugs only managing to crack the chitinous exterior. Turning to Jack they stare into him and for a split second he feels deeply hungry.
The rest of the groups attention is broken as Lix quickly reloads his weapon, Fizz fires a venomous arrow into one the cracks and Fizz pierces another’s head with a burning thrust of his spear. The last two barely raise their arms before both their chests explode in collateral carnage.
Psychic static dances off The Silent Massacre as she throws herself into the hoard doing all she can to keep them away from the distracted Butchers she spins a circle of crimson through the indescribable creatures.
Spinned does what he can to give covering fire emptying magazine after magazine with mechanical speed and precision “Jack get your shit together.” he calls out but Jack cant hear him.
Still more monsters throw themselves at the group even with the butchers returning their focus upon them inch by inch they lose ground and the horde and fire creeps closer, ever closer, the light of Hait's star replaced by the writhing hellscape of fire and carrion.
Bones are clearly visible through the inferno on Fizz his clothes long since burned away. with his and greens efforts barely keeping everyone else out of the melee he yells “Lix! Ill see you on that day before forever.”
“Ill be waiting”
The fire begins to turn silver, Lix grabs Green and Jack pulling them to the ground, the rest follow suit. Fizz raises his left arm now just bone and cauterized flesh and as if on command the fire around them begins to swirl into a hurricane forming a silver dome of light around the group. What remained of fizzes body quickly burns away bleeding Ichor like a fountain, piece by piece all that he is disintegrates leaving only his skull floating in psychic fire before it too burns away and all becomes silent once more.