When he came to, which felt like reluctantly waking from a long and comfortable nap, he blinked his eyes open and realized…

He was airborne.

The impact knocked him out, and bounced him up into the air like a ball.

Corpus: 6199

Redmane shook his head to clear it, realized with alarm that the Guardian stood directly beneath him, grinning up at him with yellowed teeth and giant eyes burning with the feral gleam of the beastman. The Guardian opened his mouth, as if to catch Redmane in it and swallow him.

Which wouldn’t do at all. He was the Omnivore here.

At the last second, before disappearing into the yawning chasm of the Guardian’s maw, Redmane caught the thing’s teeth with his outstretched hands and feet. For a moment he stared down into the dark, humid gullet of the giant beastman.

In a moment the Guardian was sure to bite down. He’d have to move, or do something else, very quickly.

There was no time to think. Only to do the first thing that sprang to mind.

Flame Breath

Gnosis: 210

Redmane stared down into the throat of the giant beastman, inhaled deeply, and fed it fire.

The scream it let out made Redmane’s ears ring harder than one of Pavel’s bombs going off right next to his head. It accompanied a blast of spittle and fetid breath, and as the giant began to stumble about, shaking the earth, Redmane leapt clear and landed in a crouch on an adjacent rooftop.

The Guardian held its throat in both hands, tears pouring from its eyes, black smoke billowing from its mouth and nose. Now it was Burning as well as Bleeding, and in an especially uncomfortable place, he surmised.

It blinked its eyes clear for a moment and saw the river. Its salvation.

The Guardian forgot all about Redmane at the sight of it, and went bounding down the street in the direction of the water.

Redmane had to give it his all to keep up. The Guardian had quite a gait. Eventually he gave up on close pursuit and simply let the Guardian out pace him. It wasn’t as though he were in danger of losing sight of it.

When the Guardian reached the river it fell to its hands and knees and dunked its whole head into the water, making a huge splash. Its first breath underwater came up to the surface in a cluster of bubbles that seemed to carry a great sigh of anguish along with them.

Then it raised its soaked head out of the water, cried out in pain again, and dunked it back into the water.

Redmane caught up. And he took his opportunity to shred the Guardian’s ankles.

Bleeding (22)

Bleeding (24)

Bleeding (26)

The Guardian cried out underwater, heaving up another cluster of bubbles, and kicked at him.

Redmane hopped out of the way, twisted around and took a turn slashing up the other ankle.

Bleeding (28)

Bleeding (30)

Bleeding (32)

Now, he felt, it was having an effect.

The Guardian’s attempts to kick at him grew sluggish. The grip of its hands on the edge of the street grew slack. Its whole body seemed to sag with fatigue brought on by excessive blood loss.

Redmane didn’t see a reason to wait until it was dead to begin eating.

Level Up

Level 46 —> Level 47

Quality Points awaiting allocation: 1

Even for him, consuming a body this large took a while. But he got it done as quickly as he could.

Corpus: 7317

Redmane wiped his mouth, pondered his Qualities for a moment.

Might was still ahead, Grace was rapidly catching up. Fortitude remained lacking. He supposed it was why he was getting hit so hard. Fortunately these higher level Monsters provided more Corpus, but such a thing couldn’t be called advantageous unless his gains outpaced his losses.

And Agneszka had almost ended him, in a shockingly quick chain of attacks.

Yes, it was time to start investing in survival.

Fortitude 11 —> 12

He took to the roofs again to return to the plaza of ‘Church Town,’ but on his way he stopped and held still.

There were beastmen coming down the street, a few packs’ worth. And these were no peasants.

They were cultists of Kraal, the ones he’d previously spied patrolling the plaza. No doubt they were alerted by the bellows of the Guardian he’d picked a fight with. Redmane felt a small swell of relief. It was a good thing they hadn’t made it while the thing was still alive, or he might have been in a much worse predicament.

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The bulk of the group, perhaps a dozen beastmen, wore simple linen robes dyed red and wielded knives or sickles. There were four taller, burlier ones wearing fur mantles and carrying great axes and swords. And bringing up the rear were a duo of shamans, with antlers decorating the cowls of their robes and holy symbols of Kraal hanging from their necks.

They looked alert, their eyes all over the streets and alleyways ahead of them, and on the rooftops as well.

Redmane crouched down behind the peak of the roof he stood upon. It didn’t seem like they had spotted him yet.

He’d wait until they passed, and remove the shamans first.

The pack drew closer and closer, moving in the same steady, methodical way Radovid and Irina had. Eventually they passed directly underneath Redmane’s perch, and he stepped off the ledge and fell down beneath them.

He landed in a quiet crouch, and then lunged.

A beastman shaman gurgled and fell as blood sprayed across the backs of his companions.

His comrade, walking next to him, had about enough time for his eyes to widen in alarm and his mouth to open and let out the opening note of a warning scream. But it was too late for the last part. A claw struck his throat so hard it sent his head spinning from his shoulders.

Scream or no scream, the rest were alerted.

Four snarling beastmen in furs wheeled on Redmane, their eyes agleam with murder. The gaggle of cultists were a bit slower to react, and less organized, but they too stopped and turned about with their weapons at the ready, shouting curses and invectives as the whole group of them swarmed around the solitary Hunter.

Fear Aura

Gnosis: 200

Only to stop dead in their tracks.

The four in furs stood frozen, twitching, their eyes gone wide with terror. Many of the smaller cultists simply turned and fled, screaming for mercy, their abandoned weapons clattering to the street. The ones with the valor to stand their ground found that it was all they could do. They were stuck. Trapped like flies in the web of a spider.

Redmane grinned at them, and made it quick.

Then he had another snack.

Corpus: 8409

Monster Skill Learned

—

Dirge of the Devourer

Monster Type: Corrupted (Beastman)

Rank 1 - Evolution Possible

Sustained - 5 Gnosis per quarter hour

The Monster initiates a droning chant in the ancient language of Kraal, forefather of all beastmen. Beastmen of a lower level than the user of this Skill, who are within earshot of the Dirge when it begins, find themselves enthralled by the song, and are drawn toward its sound and held to rapt attention by it.

For every quarter hour the Dirge is performed, enthralled beastmen will be at the absolute command of the caster for one full day, though the minds and temperaments of beastmen are ill suited to tasks unrelated to fighting or hunting prey. Furthermore, the Dirge does not impart knowledge of any kind; the enthralled beastmen possess whatever Qualities, Proficiencies and Skills they possessed before.

Uses of the Skill have a cumulative effect. If a Monster encounters a group of beastmen influenced by the Dirge of another Monster, they may freely command them if the original caster is absent, deceased, unconscious, or otherwise rendered senseless.

—

Interesting.

He could use this like a fishing net for beastmen, if he ever had the need.

A few devious uses for that last function came to mind, he’d have to try them out.

Redmane hopped up onto a rooftop, but before setting out toward the plaza again he closed his eyes to check in on Radovid and Irina once more.

They were running down a narrow street, but nothing chased them. They were drawn by the noise of Redmane’s little skirmish with the Church Town Guardian, more likely than not. The duo appeared to be headed for the plaza, but if they weren’t careful they would run head first into three more Guardians and several packs of vigilant beastmen.

Redmane took off at full speed, so as to meet them there.

Redmane sprinted and leaped his way to the Church Town plaza. A full out run to the edge of one rooftop and then a lunge from there to the next perch, hair and cloak streaming behind him, wind threading between his claws.

Running and jumping filled him with primal exultation. To be free to move about as he pleased, a simple act most took for granted. It was another recurrence of that most pleasant sensation, when he experienced the breaking of his chains, and Redmane greeted it like a friend.

He reached the plaza in time to look down and witness Radovid and Irina come to a quick halt at its edge. They took in the scene, and while they didn’t look pleased with what they saw, they hadn’t rushed headlong into mortal danger.

Redmane jumped to a rooftop near them and let out a whistle to get their attention.

Radovid saw him, and his face registered a mix disappointment and relief. Irina followed her brother’s gaze and smiled when she saw him, gave a little wave.

The Guardian at the south entrance to the plaza, and all the beastmen around it, were no more. Which left the north, east and west entrances to clear out. Redmane pointed at the nearest one, then himself, then he gave a thumbs up and a thumbs down.

Hopefully they would understand what he meant.

Radovid seemed to. He paid attention to Redmane’s gestures, looked over at the hulking Guardian standing watch at its post, let out a low whistle, then looked back at Redmane and gave him a thumbs up in answer.

Thus began their sweep of the plaza.

To avoid interruptions, the Imbued dispatched the patrollers first. Then the bellowing giant would certainly arouse the beastmen milling about in the general area, who may or may not have been standing posts. The Guardian let it all happen, gazing out over the rooftops of the town. Oblivious.

Its senses must not have been especially keen. It either lacked instructions to guard its comrades or was too dim to recognize their value in case of an attack. Whatever the reason, Redmane found himself grateful the thing wasn’t as smart as it was strong.

He leapt to a rooftop next to where the Guardian stood watch, crouched low and drew close enough to leap. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Irina waving to him from the plaza below.

When he looked her way, she gestured for him to hold still for a moment. He nodded.

Satisfied with his answer, she raised her staff in the Guardian's direction’s feet.

Cantaro’s Bands

A sphere of yellow formed in the air, behind and precisely in between the Guardian’s legs. For a moment it hovered there, and then it burst into ribbons of glowing Gnosis, which snagged around the giant beastman’s and drew them tight together lassoing around its ankles.

It bleated in alarm and then fell face-first onto the street, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.

Aelia’s Emerald Rain

Then she used the same Skill she’d used on the beastmen back at the bridge. The pyramid shaped rain of green death. She placed it in the air above the Guardian’s prone back, in such a position that every single cutting shard struck its body.

Tactics worth of a Hunter. Redmane nodded approvingly. Irina noticed him doing so, smirked and bowed.

He waited for the Skill to run its course, before leaping down from the rooftop to finish it off with as furious a storm of claws as he could muster. Radovid leapt in at the same time, to hasten its destruction with his great blade.

Flush with Corpus, Redmane saw no reason to delay. They could clear the whole plaza, and then he could feast at his leisure. So that is what they did, repeating their tactics at the next main entrance to the plaza, and the next. Picking off the small ones, one pack at a time, and then felling their Guardian in a manner most unfair. Their injuries and power expenditures were minimal compared to the damage they dealt in exchange.

Pack tactics. No wonder the Imbued formed Coteries, it was most effective.

Level Up

Level 47 —> Level 48

Quality Points awaiting allocation: 1

Redmane allocated it to Fortitude. It may take a while, but he had to catch it up.

Fortitude 12 —> 13

Radovid and Irina stood over the massive carcass of the final Guardian, both of them looking a bit dismayed.

“Still no sign of her,” said Radovid.

“She must be around here somewhere,” said Irina.

Redmane was already tearing into the Guadrian’s calf. He looked up with a mouthful of flesh, swallowed it.

“The one you call Vella?”

“You said you’d seen her, yes?” said Radovid.

Redmane nodded.

“Where was she last?” Irina asked.

He thought about it. “I don’t remember. But I can look again.”

Redmane’s answer appeared to confuse them, but he did not elaborate. He merely closed his eyes and willed all four of his little birds to converge on Church Town and its surroundings, in search of a Justiciar.