While I wait for the two feline-types to return, I rest and muse over the fight. About Lathani in particular.
Honestly, I’m pleased with how she operated in that battle. River and Bastet between them have filled me in on what happened while I wasn’t able to watch. Though none of them managed to do as much as render a limb ineffective, as River had done at the start, they kept working at it. At best, they hoped to find a weak spot; at worst they would provide a distraction to help me. That was their thinking, anyway, and I agree with it.
Lathani had followed their lead perfectly, using her agility to land blows and bites on the spider creature’s legs. Though none of them had much impact, her physical weight had often shifted the leg off-course, sometimes making the creature over balance by a little. Of course, when it had ten legs, and at least seven which were working, there was no chance of making the creature fall over by affecting a single leg, but her efforts had still had an impact on the battle, however small. Especially after the fire fried some of the danaris’ ability to control its limbs.
She had also moved in of her own accord to help defend Persephone when the kiina had been slammed off her feet by a blow which had hit her mid-back. Actually, the kiina had been lucky not to be paralysed by that attack – the bones of her spine had been damaged but her spinal cord hadn’t been affected. That’s fortunate as, though I think there’s a high chance I could mend a spinal cord, there’s no way I want to be forced to.
Overall, the nunda cub showed a lot more judgement in that fight than she’d shown in our spar not that long ago. She still has a tendency to continue with the same strategy, whether it works or not, but she displayed a lot more willingness to listen to her elders – even when uncoerced by the Bond – than previously and a better ability to react to the situation at hand. Of course, she does have the Bond in place – I wonder what impact that has had.
Oh well, the Bond will be gone in a few hours, and then we’ll be able to see on our next hunting trip together. Assuming that Kalanthia doesn’t kill me for Binding her cub, of course.
But that’s something for later even if it is rather worrying me now.
I sense more than see Bastet and Lathani coming closer, their natural stealth abilities combined with the darkness making them hard to distinguish.
“What did you find?” I ask the pair as they materialise out of the gloom and into the puddle of torchlight.
No more enemies free, Bastet answers my question promptly, Lathani still looking a little subdued. Maybe Bastet had a word with her too while they were out of hearing-range. Many creatures behind white walls.
Well, that matches what I’d got from Fenrir’s own memories, though the fact that all the creatures are behind what I guess are webbed walls much as my Bound is makes it easier. Even if we aren’t here to hurt any of the other animals, if they’d blocked our way to rescuing Fenrir, we’d have had to.
“Is it safe enough to bring the cubs along?” I ask her. She pauses for a moment in thought, then lets out a chirruping sound.
A moment later, a patter of light feet heralds more shapes entering the torchlight, previously invisible in the shadows. I guess that’s my answer, then.
“You were safe?” I ask Stormcloud when she comes to rub against me in greeting. She chirps at me which I interpret to mean ‘yes’, then goes to join Trouble and Ninja in tearing eagerly at what’s left of the carcasses after my other Bound have consumed their share.
They watched the battle from a tree, Bastet informs me. I suppose that’s as good a seat as any. It’s probably the least likely to be vulnerable to attack – unless a snake or bird came along to eat them, of course. Actually, it’s just as well they weren’t anywhere near the danaris and its sedative-soaked web. With their small health pools they’d have probably succumbed to it before I could get them out.
Anyway, that was why they were out of the battle completely. Though, as I take a good look at them, I realise that they probably will be joining us in battles against normal opponents soon enough. That means creatures which are Tier one, not a creature like the danaris, for obvious reasons. My little raptorcub nephew and nieces – or should I consider them cousins – Aunt Bastet? – are growing up fast.
But speaking of growing up fast, the sooner we can get the spawn of that danaris out of Fenrir, the better. As soon as everyone in the group has appeared to have eaten their fill and replenished the energy they used in the battle, I decide to make a move.
“Alright then,” I say to everyone, packing the carcasses back into my Inventory. “Let’s go get Fenrir out.” At least my mana has had a chance to replenish a bit. It would have worked faster with Meditation, but I wanted to spend that moment with my Bound, just eating with them and relaxing in the knowledge that, despite what it looked like would happen a couple of times, we actually managed to win the battle without casualties.
I sense that I have some notifications waiting for me, but I’m more anxious to get Fenrir out than to check them. Whatever it is can probably wait for now – I do focus briefly on shifting my Energy absorption to my debt just in case I've somehow earned enough Energy to level up again. That’s the only thing that’s likely to be time-sensitive. I could probably have checked them earlier, but I didn’t think of it – I’m tired and the night’s not over yet.
Grabbing my torch, we head towards the darker spot in the already-dark terrain. Neither of the moons has risen yet, so we’re experiencing the world as dark as it gets. I even drop into Fade, just to benefit from the better dark vision, though pull out again when I realise that the torch works against me in that state. It’s too dark for me to extinguish the torch and rely solely on Fade, so I guess I’ll have to just be careful when moving.
Entering the cave cautiously, the flickering light of the torch illuminates a surprising number of webbed prison cells. The cave itself is quite bare, none of the half-eaten webbed bundles that I might have expected to be hanging down from the ceiling. Though, on second thoughts, the danaris didn’t really seem to be the type of creature which would be able to climb a wall and hang on the ceiling like the house spiders I’m familiar with from Earth.
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There is a small pile of something odorous that I don’t want to investigate on one side of the cave, but other than that, it’s just a beehive of walled-off cells.
As I try to sense which one Fenrir is trapped within, I wonder idly how this cavern was created. It certainly doesn’t look natural, but unless the danaris had Earth-Shaping or something similar, I don’t know how it could have made this place. And I don’t think it had Earth-Shaping – it certainly didn’t show any indication that it did; wouldn’t it have done so before it died if it could?
So what, did it dig this place out itself? But a good portion of the holes seem to have been made in the stone of the mountainside. It was strong, but surely not that strong. Its legs would have worn away before the mountain did, I would have thought.
Maybe it was some other creature which was either chased out by the danaris or had already abandoned the cave for whatever reason. At least, I hope they don’t use this cave anymore – for all I know, the danaris was in a constant war with some termite-like species that can chew through stone, but not through its web, and some of these webbed-off cells aren’t cells at all but tunnels.
Well, I’m only really here for Fenrir anyway. If I can find him, that is – the Bond tells me that he’s nearby, but not exactly where he is. I don’t want to just start opening up these cells willy-nilly. Not only might I potentially give entrance to the original occupants stone-chewing of the cave, but who knows what other creatures the danaris amassed to be part of its larder?
Then I feel like hitting myself in the forehead. I have a far easier way of finding out information about the world around me. Inspect Environment.
The pulse goes out of me in an expanding ring. For a few moments, I can see all the creatures hidden behind the webbing, the red glow outlining them visible even through it, just like the pylobuses had been visible even hidden underneath foliage.
My eyebrows rise in surprise at just how many creatures are here. At least twenty, though it fades before I can count them all. Not, however, before I take note of the single creature who is not outlined in red, but in blue.
Moving over to the ‘door’ of the cell, I once more employ the same method I used to cut my Bound out of the venom-laced webbing. Within a few moments, the ‘door’ is falling away, an ecstatic lizog almost bowling me over as he leaps at me, making hissing noises to express his happiness at seeing us again.
“Alright, alright,” I say through my laughter, the similarity once more to a typical Earth dog being happy when its master comes home impossible not to think about. “We’re here. Now can you let me up?” After all, sixty kilograms – or more – of solid muscle sitting on my chest is not the easiest thing to shift in the awkward position he has me.
Sending a hint of apology across the Bond along with his gratitude, Fenrir leaps off me and goes to greet the rest of the pack. I push myself to my feet again, brushing off the dust which has coated my new armour. Seeing the patch of white webbing which I cut away to release Fenrir, I pick it up and finger it thoughtfully.
It’s not sticky, that’s the first thing I notice. Actually, it’s surprisingly soft. It’s also pretty strong and thickly woven. Wrapping it around the exposed skin of my hand, I nod unconsciously. It’s also quite warm. As a test, I send a bit more mana into it. The energy is absorbed relatively easily, the material clearly counting just as much as ‘flesh’ as the venom did earlier.
A smile creeps over my face. I think I’ve solved my undergarment situation. Heck, if I do this, I’ll have armoured undies given how strong the material is! It’ll also help with my issue of getting cold in the approaching winter. Honestly, I think this is the best find I’ve made so far this week!
Once Fenrir has finished expressing his happiness and gratitude to all the members of our pack – even the raptorcat cubs, despite them not actually doing anything but being there – I call him over.
“Let’s get that thing out of you,” I tell him, pointing at an area in front of me as I settle down to the ground. I sense Bastet, River, and Hades communicating between each other about who should go on guard and where. Sirocco stayed outside anyway, not liking being confined indoors. Persephone and Lathani both settle near me, Persephone watching the other cells with watchful caution, Lathani watching me and Fenrir with curiosity.
What are you going to do? she asks.
“He’s got something from the danaris implanted in his flank,” I tell her, not sugar-coating it. “An egg, or multiple, is my guess. We need to get it out before it hatches and starts eating him from the inside out.” The nunda cub recoils in disgust.
It did that? Disgusting. Then she looks around at the number of cells and the creatures trapped behind them. Are they…?
“Yes.”
All of them?
“Probably,” I shrug. “Now, let me concentrate, please?” I request pointedly. She goes quiet immediately and turns her attention back to me.
I close my eyes and sink into Light Meditation to help with my mana regeneration, then feed my mind into Fenrir’s body. I’d rather dedicate as much focus to this as I can – I don’t want to accidentally miss any of the parasites if there are multiple.
The visibly bulging area in Fenrir’s flank is still just as painful as when I’d entered his mind earlier. Perhaps more: the wound has actually started getting infected. After all, the deposit the danaris had made in his flesh probably carried bacteria which got into his flesh. In addition, it’s clearly not a part of his body, and he’s been unconsciously trying to reject it, inadvertently worsening the situation.
But it’s OK – it’s nothing I can’t heal with enough time and mana. He’s alive – the parasites haven’t yet eaten anything important.
As it is, there are multiple, but only three. Well, there were three. One has already hatched and cannibalistically consumed one of the others. It’s interesting that it hasn’t yet started trying to eat at Fenrir’s body, preferring to consume its own egg case and the egg case and body of its sibling. The other egg contains a shifting hatchling, but it hasn’t yet hatched.
The baby danarises are ugly things, about the length of my index finger and more similar to fat larvae than the spider their parent was. Though I can see an element of similarity: the larva which has hatched shows a slight definition in its body shape which is reminiscent of its parent’s three-part body. It also has ten small legs, but they are completely dwarfed in comparison to its bulbous abdomen. That it can move at all seems a miracle, but it clearly can.
It has no resistance to my magic as I sweep through its body. At least, I sense that it attempts to, but its resistance is the equivalent of a person trying to hold back the sea with a bucket: useless. The one that hasn’t hatched yet is even less aware and doesn’t so much as attempt to resist.
I sense that I could liquify their internal organs with even less effort than it would take me to heal a papercut. But would that be the right approach here? After all, although I have no desire to leave an enemy at my back, what if I could turn those enemies into friends? Or, not friends but Bound.