https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fb17TfAF.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/b17TfAF.jpg]
The bush was brushed aside as the large creature stepped into the tight clearing. The iridescent rainbow scales, large lobed fins, dead fish eyes, and massive mouth stumbled its way closer to them in a shuddering gate.
“What the fuck?!”
The large fish from earlier had sprouted human-like legs and taken to land. It appeared to be unfamiliar or poorly built with the appendages as it did not move with the same fluidity as a land based organism would.
“Screw this. Let’s bounce Nurgle.”Despite Drew’s desire to leave, Nurgle hefted his club up and swung it infront of him several times in what appeared to be a challenge to the creature. The pointless bravado that Nurgle had gained was quickly reciprocated as the fish started to charge forward with its ambling gait.
Nurgle matched its pace and started running to the creature in a defiant show of arms. The 5 foot long, 2 foot tall creature versus the shin height creature with a club was not a blood bath that Drew was looking forward to seeing.
“Stop it Nurgle, it’ll kill you! Come back right now you stupid-” Before he could finish his sentence and reach the couple before their contact, the creatures clashed head to head. The fish leaned down with its mouth open to scoop up his counterpart and Nurgle swung his sturdy club at the fish's head.
It was a David and Goliath scene from their diminutive views. The club connected first and hit the fish directly above the creature’s eyes while it crashed forward, engulfing the entirety of Nurgle in one bite.
+45 xp for defeating Walking Gulper [Summon small monster] has inherited the xp in your place. 65/100 xp
“NURGLE NO!” Drew ran over to where the two clashed and lifted the fish up so its mouth wasn’t pinned to the ground and pulled at its slimy lips. They parted with relative ease despite the slippery mucus that covered the creature and Nurgle was nowhere to be found in its gaping maw.
He dropped the creature and fell to the ground with a brand new pit in his stomach. They had known each other for little more than a day, but, to Drew, it was the only friendly force left for him to communicate with. Now he was truly alone again. It was just like when he arrived, but even more hopeless with his newly gained knowledge.
“This blows.” The creature’s lifeless body sat there. The dead eyes stared at him and he stared back. He stood up and kicked the large fish in its midsection to release some anger. “Shit. How did he even kill this thing? I guess getting hit in the head is just a good way to kill stuff.” The body shifted slightly and the throat of the creature started to bulge. “Uh?”
The mouth slowly pried open and the furry arms of Nurgle allowed him out of the large beast.
“NURGLE?!WHAT?!” The small creature threw its arms up in the air, shaking its club it had just used to end the goliath behind him in triumph. Drew picked him up and tossed him in the air like a 1980’s redemption movie. “You actually did it. I thought you were dead for a second there. That thing gave us a ton of experience.”
The walking gulper’s body slowly started to roll off the embankment towards the water. In their excitement, they didn’t notice the creature picking up speed before loudly impacting the water.
Drew sat Nurgle down and looked over to the stream where the fish had gotten hung up on something underwater.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Before he could say anything, the pink fish that it was previously eating darted for the creature and latched onto its body. They proceeded to all spin in sync with each other, tearing off large chunks of meat from its body in a reversal of the earlier situation.
“Guess we aren’t going to be eating fish tonight cause I'm not getting my fingers ripped off for that stupid thing.” They packed up the bindle with the new bottles of water and aimlessly walked along the stream’s bank.
They took wide berths around the partially flooded culverts after the first pair of glowing red eyes and loud hissing in hopes of avoiding more fights in the future. Slowly the stream lost its solid stone bottom and instead sand and gravel took its place. It proceeded to branch off in different directions while the plant life encroached farther towards the sides of the water lessening the space they could walk.
“We’ve gotten pretty far from where we started. You would think we would’ve found something by now.”
The hours of wandering with few interruptions allowed them to travel miles away from their first stop but the foliage slowly became more and more of a hindrance as the banks took on a mudier and less comfortable texture for solid footing. The next animal trail they ran into gave them a reprieve from the jungle’s encroachment onto them. A glance upwards through the dense canopy gave Drew a new fear that never previously crossed his mind.
“Nurgle, where are the buildings?” The skyscrapers of the abandoned city had been replaced with the clouds and blue green sky of the planet. “ We’re lost aren’t we?” The blank stare almost took on a confused look as the small beast looked around the trees mimicking Drew in his frantic attempts. ”You think so too little guy?” The confused look was quickly replaced by a dull look as Nurgle stopped caring immediately. “Of course you don’t.”
The fear of being lost in the woods with no way back to civilization was quickly cooled to an annoyance. What point is there to go back to an abandoned civilization with massive super predators wandering around the streets looking for human sized meals? None in his opinion.
The duo weighed their options. Travel up the animal trail to maybe nothing or follow the stream toward a larger body of water. The only real guarantee would be downstream. And with the deliberation decided, they traveled along the rapidly dwindling bank at a slower and slower pace. The calm sounds of flowing water brought back the earlier serenity.
Pre-fish-attack, the mood had been increasingly somber as his thoughts were allowed to wander, but now they were clear once again. The thoughts of death, home, and family only strengthened his resolve to do everything in his power to complete whatever his purpose in coming here was and return to his old life. The life where death wasn’t crawling up behind you when you slept and your only friend wasn’t a dimwit baby cyclops that is trying to get you killed.
The forest was getting more and more sparsely planted as they followed the stream. The random small waterfalls they had to climb cemented the actual wilderness they had entered into their minds. The previously thick jungle canopy let in more and more light as they traveled along the stream.
Animal noises had been getting louder and louder the farther away from the leftover civilization they traveled. The sounds were almost deafening as he stopped speaking to Nurgle and the incessant noise of insects and birds were interlaced with the random paranoia inducing branch snapping from yards away. Drew’s nerves were never given a rest as they traveled, a problem Nurgle did not share with the lack of worry seemingly being built into his being.
The thinner canopy led to a denser and less comfortable travel as they went on with hip height plants dominating their vision with increasing concentrations. The small creatures hidden in the underbrush scampered away from their foot falls and the ground became stickier than before as the water seemed to leach farther from the stream's bank. The sight lines grew from 10 feet ahead to 20 feet. Fallen trees were becoming more and more abundant as they went on.
Loud sounds of water hitting rocks soon took over the noise making from the animals as it drowned out the ambiance of fear and uncertainty. The pair broke through the tree line and were greeted with a view unlike any Drew had seen in his short life in this fantasy world.
The small stream fed into a lake while a massive waterfall rushed over a cliff that laid ahead. Small birds flew in and out of the water as it fell into the lake while gliding bugs landed on the delicate flowers that sat along the banks. Lizards snapped at the insects when they would land too close and fish would leap from the water trying to catch some creature invisible to Drew’s eyes.
The sand that dominated the lake's banks reflected the sunlight with iridescent colors in the same way the mist created rainbows all around. A beauty previously unknown to them left Nurgles constantly agape mouth opening and closing while Drew stared wide eyed at the spectacle.
https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Ft8CW82y.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/t8CW82y.jpg]
“I think we found our new home, little buddy.”