Chapter 13 Everybody Needs Some Body to Loot

Their new boar “friend” insinuated himself closer to Hala and looked back at Autumnus smugly. At first. Then he decided that a two-legged with horns can't be all that bad. He sniffed Autumnus' hand and gave a small snort. Then he looked up at Hala. She's mine, he thought, as he snuggled close to the elf.

She rubbed his belly. Ah, that’s the spot. The boar closed his eyes in bliss. He half-listened to Hala discuss the boar pack. “My thar karask friend, I do not know what was disturbing this boar and the others, but I am happy to help.” He didn’t really care about the other boars. Now that their leader rambled off into the woods without them, he considered himself a free boar. I bet she has food. Maybe she’ll feed me. He looked at Hala adoringly.

The boar noticed that the cat woman had her ears flat, and looked away from them a lot. She didn’t seem to like his Hala very much. Hmmph. I bet she just didn’t scratched behind her ears like I did. She’s just jealous of my belly rubs.

The annoying guy in the yellow shirt the hoomans called Lou kept looking at the sky. "It's s getting dark soon. We should decide if we going back to town or if we are going to ask the farmers for help." Then he put his hands on his hips and looked around the forest. "Say...where did our beautiful, bacon bounty hunter go?”

Autumnus, Hala’s friend, and therefore, his, looked worried and looked around, too. " I don't know where they ran off to, but if it is getting late we should rest somewhere. Unless, Hala, you know how to travel these lands at night without the threat of monsters.” He said, as he joined Hala in petting the boar’s belly. Ah, yes. This is the life.

Hala tapped her chin, thinking, and frowned. "Well, there is a farm not too far from here where I think we can stay for a bit of coin. I remember that much." She nodded at Lou. "Our siffi friend is right, though, it wouldn't be good to leave anyone behind..I think we should find them first."

“I agree.” Autumnus said. “Let us look for Kylia. Does anyone have anything with her scent on it? Maybe the boar could follow it,” he said, coughing in his hand and looking at Lou.

Lou raised his hands in protest. “No, I swear, I don’t have any more of her underthings.” He looked saddened at the thought. “But, hey, where did that Hafoc guy go? We’re dropping in numbers here. It’s like herding cats.”

Tine shot Lou a death glare. “Oh, well of course it isn’t…I mean, you’re a cat, and you’ve stayed put. Sensible you.” Lou fawned upon the Mutkin in an apparent effort to make amends. “The rest of us, we’re the true cats here. Oh, wait, that didn’t come out right…”

Tine narrowed her eyes and hissed. “Stop already. I get it, you’re sorry. Let’s just find them and get going before it’s dark!”

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Kylia stood very still, listening to see if the bear meant her harm as she tightened her hold on her dagger. Kylia realized she didn’t look very intimidating. When she hid her elf ears under her hair, she was often mistaken as a teenage human girl. She guessed that even someone of Autumnus’ height would intimidate this green, spectral bear; it looked like it was easily 7 feet tall. It continued to stare back at her, and stood on its hind legs, unmoving.

“An’ what’s that?” Hafoc whispered in her ear from behind. Kylia nearly stabbed him in a reflexive move.

Instead, she calmed herself, kept her eyes trained on their foe and said in a hushed voice, “Just a giant, glowing, green bear. Y’know, the usual.” She nodded toward it. “You want dibs on taking it out? I’m sure it wouldn’t be too much for you.”

“Oho, flattery will get you nowhere.” He smiled a greasy smile. “I think we’ll need to tag team this ‘un. Kinda short in the weapons department right now.” He drew his daggers.

Kylia saw the others approach from left through the trees. Hala was patting a boar absentmindedly. Glad not to be alone with the green bear, she whispered to Hafoc, “I wonder of this is what has the bacon—I mean—boars so riled up?”

“Hmmmm…mebbe.“ He touched her arm and nodded to the others. “I don’ like the odds with just the two of us, but…”

“Let’s stall.” Kylia answered. “Or leave it be. I don’t think we would get anything out of this kill.” She started to inch away from the creature, who remained motionless, staring.

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Hala was the first to notice. “There’s something odd about that bear,” she said, head tilted.

Tine scrunched her eyes. “Um, you mean the fact that it’s green? Or glowing, maybe? Yeah. It’s definitely not your normal, run-of-the-forest bear.”

Autumnus paused to consider this. “I think I see what she means, Tine.”

Tine’s ears flattened. Oh, great. It’s been less than a day and he’s like telepathically bonded with her now.

But she looked again. The longer she stared at it, she could see the green aura around the bear shimmer slightly.

“Do you think it’s real?” she asked, turning to Autumnus.

Rhalie, who had been scouting ahead of the group and led them there, shot at the ominous creature with her crossbow. Her arrow passed through it and it began to shimmer and fade into the trees as if it were never there.

The traps and bear illusion are obviously meant to keep them away from here. Tine remembered the Cobra Mutkin. Could this be an illusion like the growl they heard when she escaped? Maybe she's been influencing the boars, too?

She heard rustling in a nearby oak.

The Cobra Mutkin emerged from the tree. She brandished a hand-axe and a club. Her tail moved in a serpentine pattern.

Lou shouted at her and flailed his hands in exasperation. “Just who are you, anyway? Don’t you have a proper home to slither off to?”

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”My good name is Sodkar. What are you doing staying here in your annoying ways?" Her forked tongue flickered.

Lou oozed with sudden charm. “Anyone can be in a forest, my dearest snake sweetheart. C’mon, let’s be friends. Don’t you want to know my good name?”

The membranes on Sodkar’s eyes flickered closed for a moment. “I need to know the good name of living creatures, only.”

Lou pointed to himself, “Hey, I’M a living—AHH!” He ducked as Sodkar hurled her hand-axe at him. He narrowly ducked and it landed with its blade stuck into a tree.

Hafoc shrugged. “I tell you, the blade is always the answer.” He moved into position to sneak attack.

Tine gave Hala a sideways glance. “Hala, is Sodkar a friend of yours?” After all, you both seem to be hanging out in the forest…”Can you call her off?”

Hala shook her head, “No.”

Should we believe her? We did just find her in the woods and decide to be besties. Or Autumnus did, Tine thought.

Sodkar advanced on Kylia and Hafoc, brandishing her club and went in for the attack.

Hafoc is hit soundly on the head and falls to the ground.

Kylia dodged the next blow as Sodkar took another swing. “I. WILL. Make. Boots. Out. Of. You,” Kylia promised, as she retaliated by stabbing at the snake woman with a dagger. Sodkar neatly slid out of the way.

Autumnus cast a ball of fire at Sodkar’s feet, perhaps hoping to move her away from Kylia. The Cobra Mutkin nimbly avoided his attack and stood back for a moment to survey the group with an amused look on her face. "Why, you are being easier to control than the boar pack, from what I am seeing." She let out a sort of hissing chuckle.

Tine noticed Rhalie trying to aim at Sodkar, but she couldn’t seem to get a clear shot with the others in the way.

Hala balled her fists a moment, then reached for her war hammer and, swinging, ran at Sodkar. She yelled as she charged. Tine was surprised at how loud the soft-spoken elf could be when she was angry.

An illusion of Sodkar appeared next to their real foe. Hala took a mighty swing, but hit the identical apparition instead.

Sodkar hit Hala with the club, knocking her back. She was clearly enjoying this; she leaned on her club and laughed.

Lou shook his head, and sighed. He drew his rapier and went in for the attack. ”One of us has to get a hit in sometime, right?” That was right before he tripped on a tree root and landed on his face.

Damn. Tine thought. I guess I’m up next. She nocked an arrow and aimed her bow.

As she was about to let the arrow fly, he boar the Hala healed, charged past her towards Sodkar. He seemed to have the hometown advantage, and knocked her over.

Kylia took advantage of the piggy diversion and moved forward for the kill. Hafoc, half up again now, grabbed Sodkar’s leg and stabbed it with his dagger. Kylia finished her off with a stab to the chest.

Sodkar, gasping, died with a look of resentment on her face. Her forked tongue flicked one last time.

“Finally, someone got her.” Tine remarked, turning red under her fur. I am so useless in battle!

Lou cheered. “Kylia, my sweet serpent-snuffing savior, you have saved us all from death. Or embarrassment at least.” He turned to the others. “You all are terrible. Really.”

Hafoc sat up. “Eh, and what did you do, besides try to woo that damn snake wench?”

Autumnus shifted his weight and held up a finger. “Pardon, but perhaps we should investigate her…person? There might be something that provides some clarity as to why she—“

“You mean you want to loot the body?” Hafoc interrupted.

Autumnus faltered. “Ah. Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that…”

Rhalie grinned. “I sure would! Great idea, big guy!”

At this, Kylia began to examine Sodkar's clothes with care. She discovered a small, cracked orb and a couple of copper pieces in Sodkar's pockets. “Nothing worth anything here, unless anyone wants to use a dead snake woman's clothes.”

Rhalie snorted. “The real question is, who wants it enough to undress a dead cobra woman for it? I mean do hermits wash their clothes often?”

Then Kylia’s keen eyes found a hidden pocket, which contained a vial of poison. She gave that to Hafoc, who seemed fascinated by it.

Lou, Hafoc and Rhalie began to survey the reptilian Mutkin camp to find clues and scavenge from it. Rhalie found a bottle of antitoxin that Sodkar dropped during the fight and grabbed it.

Sodkar’s axe and club were in good shape. Looking around, Tine found the sack of dead snakes and a mess kit near the nest. Her tail bristled and she stepped back. Mut, the rumors are actually true! She shuddered. Tine couldn’t imagine eating a feline. It was taboo for Mutkin to devour any animal that shared one’s ancestry.

While Autumnus checked on Hala, Tine tried to make herself busy, too. She heard Lou cast his spell to talk with the boar again; he was apparently hoping for better luck this time.

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Lou knelt close to Hala’s porcine friend. "Hey, thanks for the help with that inspired head-butt of yours." The boar nodded his snout like, 'you know it' and twitched an ear. He still wasn't sold on this cheesy bard in the shiny, yellow shirt. "It makes me wonder," Lou continued on, "why in all of Rigan, this snake would come here and bully a nice pack of boars like yours...? Do you know what her reason was?"

The boar grunted and deigned to reply to Lou, who translated to the others. ”Boar boy says she would often cut them off from the clearing with the pond, so they had to go by the river near the town for water. Not sure why, but I think she wanted the merchants and everyone else out of the woods, too."

The boar squinted at Lou's bright, blousy shirt. Before the spell wore off, he added, ”She was even more annoying than you.”

Lou turned to Hala. “Kind lady, you’ve been in this forest longer than any of us…do you think the boars who escaped will settle back here now that the Cobra Lady is defeated?”

“Do you know anything about that green bear ghost thing?” Rhalie added.

Hala furrows her bow. “Well, my memory is limited, but I think they might stay out here now that they can access the water without interference. We might leave them tonight and check in on them tomorrow. " She glanced where the bear showed itself. "As for the green bear, my olin cha friend, I do not think we need worry; I perceived it to be an illusion of a magic kind. Made by her, no doubt." She points to Sodkar's body without looking at it. “But danger comes with night here, that I know, for certain."

“Then let us get what we can from these boar and get going. I want some money from all this,” Hafoc grumbled, rubbing his head.

“It is getting late and I think Hala is right, the woods is not a place to be overnight. Gods know we’ve had enough trouble during the day.”

Hafoc went off to clean the meat off the boar they killed before dusk.

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Autumnus found Tine where she sat off in the trees by herself. “Tine, you seem troubled. Are you all right?”

She held onto her stomach, whiskers quivering as she spoke. “No. I’m not.” She looked up at him. “But I’m sure I will be.”

He sat down next to her and put his hand on hers.

“I didn’t expect you to come find me.” She looked down again. “Thank you.” She put her other hand on top of his. “It means a lot.”

“Of course I would, Tine.” He knitted his brow. “I know that we have not known each other long, but I care about you just the same. You’re a good friend.”

Tine nodded. “Friend, yeah.” To herself she added, Why does that make me sad? I wanted friends, didn’t I?

“So, what’s wrong, my Mutkin friend?” Autumnus bent to catch her eyes.

She laughed. “Augh, don’t you start that, too! We don’t need two Halas already!” Then, more seriously, she added. “It’s just—some of the things my kind do make me ashamed to me what I am. Y’know?”

Autumnus nodded and touched one of his horns with his free hand. “Oh, I know. All too well.” He looked down. “Tine, about what you said yesterday, I wish—“

“Hey! LOOVE-birds!” Lou sang from a nearby thicket. “The sun is low, and this you know…get your asses here, before there’s another bear…”

Tine looked up at the forest canopy. Through the trees, she could seethe sun was almost to the horizon. It was getting dark. She heard Rhalie yell, “Hey Lou, try harder! ‘Here’ and ‘bear’ don’t rhyme, dammit!”

Lou's singing continued, “If all gnomes shall die, I won’t cry, my O my…” Lou shouted, “Is that better, my lawn-loving lovely? I aim to please.”

“Sing that again, and I’ll aim for you, Lou.” Rhalie countered. “Tine, Autumnus. Let’s go, already!”

As night rose, the forest began to have a sinister aura. Numerous things moved in the tree branches above, and Tine thought she heard the them move closer under the cloak of evening.

But, worse than any other creature she could imagine, she heard a horn blow in the distance. No, it can’t be…Tine looked to the sky. It was a new moon. She heard footsteps and a cart creaking in the distance. Tine clutched the straps of her backpack. No, not now. Not when I’ve finally gotten away from the rituals, and the death…She looked up at Autumnus. It can’t end like this. I won’t let it.