The swishing sound of something passing close by was a relief as Alanna correctly sidestepped the scorpion like creature's envenomed barbed tail. She lunged forward with a piercing strike from low guard and the thrust found its way into the humanoid chest as the upper body reared back up from the attack. Her spear entered the chest and pushed through the fourth rib just to the left of the sternum. Alanna darted back and into a high guard while the creature screamed. The scream was almost a sonic attack of its own given the pitch and frequency. Alanna winced and took another step back but the creature did not advance. Yellow fluid poured from the humanoid chest in extreme volumes which caused the creature to fall to the side with its legs and tail curling in around it.
Alanna whipped her head around to see Scáthach's spear piercing another of the massive humanoid scorpion creatures through the head in a brutal but incredibly quick thrust. The spear came back completely clean as the momentum flung anything that would have stuck off the bladed tip. There were corpses of 3 other creatures curled up around the fourth but the woman looked as though she had exerted herself overmuch. Her hair was slightly disheveled from her movement but otherwise she looked like a warrior queen. Fierce and beautiful of course, but also with a poise and presence that demanded respect.
Having learned her lesson previously about inattention on the battlefield, Alanna only briefly took in the warrior's condition to ensure no aid was required then she scanned the rocky battlefield for any other creatures. Which is why she caught another of the creatures rushing forward from behind the one she just killed, before it could enter striking range. She fixed her position to create a more stable base by pushing some of the loose stones. She could see that there were more loose stones kicked up in this area from the battle and did not like the ideal of turning an ankle due to the ground. She took a deep breath and focused on her magical core and called on the growth spell. She shaped its growth into something she thought would help as the creature came into striking range with its tail.
The front humanoid body leaned down as the rear end rose up and the tail shot forward. Alanna slid to the side as the tail shot by her. She was able to maintain her balance with ease and her vine trap pitcher plant shot out thick rope like stems that wrapped the creature's tail and one of its large claw like pincher arms. Alanna rushed forward and thrust the spear toward the creatures humanoid chest but the other claw swung up in time to knock the strike back. It continued its strike and clamped down on the rope like stem that held the other claw which it shred with ease. The pitcher plant recoiled what was left of the stem and then flung it out again like a whip that cracked against the carapace.
The creature's tail was held fast but the plant was being pulled forward due to the strength of the being it was holding. Alanna rushed back in as the creature tried to focus on the binding. She thrust her spear fast and accurately and managed to push through the carapace and into the soft tissue holding the left claw. The spear lodged deep into the joint between the claw and exoskeleton but the enraged scream and subsequent retaliatory strike from the creature forced Alanna to jump back without the weapon. She clicked her tongue in irritation as she backed a few feet further.
She scanned the battlefield again to ensure she wasn't backing into danger and found that Scáthach was standing with arms crossed and watching her with a frown painted on her face. "That is just great." Alanna muttered sarcastically. "Lose my weapon in front of a weapon master. I can only imagine what she is thinking now." With a self deprecating laugh Alanna shifted into her smilodon form and rushed back into the fight. Her size was now nearly that of the massive creature but she was far more agile. She sent a mental order to the pitcher plant to relax its grip on the tail then to immediately pull back hard.
The result was the scorpion trying to naturally position its tail to strike but the quick yank from the plant caused it to skitter a step sideways. It was not much as the plant did not have enough strength to overwhelm the creature. However, as Alanna was already moving toward the wounded claw she was able to bypass its attempt to swat her down. She quickly leapt up atop the carapace and wrapped herself around the human torso allowing her hind legs to rake down its back and into the carapace of the scorpion. Her front claws sunk into the chest as her massive maw enveloped the back of its human head and neck and with a powerful bite ripped it away.
Alanna went into a frenzy and ripped into the creature tearing at it until long after it stilled. She roared so loudly in triumph that it echoed throughout the land scape. She hopped down from her kill and began to rip into the meat devouring the flesh as was her right. "Alanna!" A sharp call came which caused the massive cat's ears to lie flat against her head. She turned to see Scáthach stalking forward with a scowl on her face. Alanna's mind came back into focus from the frenzy and she shook her massive head to clear it. She sat back on her haunches and looked at the warrior with a tilted head.
Scáthach stopped and stared at the massive cat sitting before her. It was far larger than any animal she had ever seen in the isles and would even give the massive Formorians pause. She sighed as she saw the big thing just looking at her in confusion. "Don't eat them they will make you ill." She said with a sigh. She was quite impressed with the transformation and power the druid showed. Even if less so by her ability with the spear. Oh, the woman was not bad. In fact if she had really only been training for a few weeks then she was likely near prodigy levels with the weapon. Of course, if she truly was one of the old ones reborn then less a prodigy. Still, Scáthach would not fault the woman for losing her weapon this way. She was not well enough trained to understand that she should have pushed forward instead of jumping back. That would have severed the arm at that joint and the residual impact from the strike would have been minor. Instead her weapon became stuck and she was forced to result on her magical power.
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There was nothing inherently wrong with that either but as a weapon master the old warrior would have preferred a different outcome. She sighed as she looked at the cat who would be even taller than she was if it stood on its hind legs. "You did well enough but you could have done better. I think I will pick up your spear training in the morning." She turned to walk away but the big cant stepped forward and nuzzled her with its massive head. Out of reflex Scáthach scratched the big cats ears which caused a deep rumbling purr. "Alight, alright change back before you embarrass yourself." The warrior said and shoved the big cat away.
It took a moment but Alanna transformed back into her humanoid body and shook her head to clear the disorientation it always caused. She looked down and saw blood stains on her face and clothes and sighed in irritation. She was glad that her clothes were transformed with her instead of shredding through them but this outfit was still probably ruined. They did not have laundry detergent that was quite as robust as she would like.
The trip had been going well but the day had passed and while they were looking for a decent spot to set up for the night they found a large rocky cave built into the side of the landscape. It seemed promising enough at the time and they both assumed there would be some sort of occupants but for the scorpion like Formorians to be present was a surprise to both. To be fair everything on this trip was a surprise to Alanna, but she had assumed that it was unusual because Scáthach seemed surprised to see them.
She saw the warrior walk over to where she had flung off her pack then pick it up and shoulder it. Alanna looked back over her shoulder to see she still had her own pack on. She had completely forgot about that in the heat of combat. "That was probably not a great choice." She muttered to herself. She thought back to the combat and realized how it had hindered her movements on several occasions and her subconscious wanted rid of it but her mind was to busy trying to calculate the correct actions. "That is going to be a problem in the future. I need to be able to both plan and act nearly instantaneously." She thought. She looked up at the warrior that had accompanied her.
Scáthach was quiet to the point that Alanna assumed she was antisocial. She did not believe that Scáthach held anything specific against her as they did not know one another. Yet a part of her did feel a bit of self doubt after nearly a full day with only grunts and single world answers to the many questions Alanna tossed her way. Now though, she felt a surge of hope fill her. The weapon master herself was going to teach her. That was worthy of celebration. Of course, they would have to clear out anything else left in the cave and get through the night.
The warrior stalked back toward the cave with her spear strapped to her pack and a short ring sword that emitted a faint golden light was pulled from the scabbard at her side. She hefted it in her right hand and in her other was her shield. She turned to see Alanna removing the spear from the last creature and paused to look over the woman. "Use the smaller staff, a sword, or dagger. The spear is to long to use effectively in a cave." Alanna looked up at the opening in the rock face and frowned. "I assumed a piercing weapon would be good in tighter spaces." Scáthach's baleful glare caused Alanna to wince and a faint heat spread up her neck and over her face. "Spear would be fine for thrusting and piercing but how would you defend yourself in tight spaces? We do not know what the interior looks like. It could be open enough for spears and if so great use it. However, we may end up having to crawl in some areas its pretty much useless except to feel around with in that case."
Alanna nodded her understanding and looked away. She did not really know better. Even with her old memories cave combat was not something she did much of. She thought it was fairly reasonable to use a long pointed stick to lead the way into the dark. However, she accepted she was not in anyway an expert. She would have preferred staying in her saber-tooth tiger form for the cavern but it was a bit late for that. "Bet you didn't think of that did you." She muttered under her breath childishly. She regretted it almost immediately. "That was unbecoming of me." She thought and pushed away any semblance of hurt pride her embarrassment caused. Scáthach could have been kinder but that was her problem not Alanna's. "The only thing we can control in life is our reactions." Alanna said to herself as she inhaled deeply then dropped her pack, pulled the dagger out and shouldered it once more.
She followed the warrior as her short sword lit up the cavern. Scáthach held the blade out in front of her shield which was brandished out before her protectively. It allowed the light to shine forth so that the darkened area was now visible and the shield protected the glare from blinding them. It was not something Alanna would have considered had she not seen Scáthach doing it. She was grateful to have such an experienced travel partner. In that moment she had forgotten all about her previous irritations.
The cave opening was large enough for both of them to walk easily into and side by side if they preferred. The ceiling of the tunnel they found themselves in was a bit more than 2 meters in height. The scorpion formorians likely had to duck a bit but the two women found the height comfortable. The tunnel was not overly long but turned sharply left after about 20 meters and opened to a large cavern. The cavern looked as though something dug it out as it was to cleanly done to be natural. There were no other obvious tunnels in the room so the pair split up and inspected the walls carefully so as not to be surprised when they bunked down.
The pair crossed at the rear and then inspected each other's side to ensure no one missed anything. When neither found an issue they dropped their packs around a pit that had been used previously for a cooking fire and prepared camp for the evening. "I'll take first watch." Scáthach suggested after unrolling her sleeping mat and tossing what looked like a sleeping bag over it. Alanna looked toward the entrance and frowned. "I could block off the entrance and part of the tunnel with thorned vines. Anything trying to get in would wake us up long before they made it to us." She offered. Scáthach's frown almost made Alanna rescind the offer but after a moment of thought the warrior nodded. "Ok, that will work." She said then went to her bedroll and crawled in. Alanna sighed and moved toward the tunnel. She could not get a good read on the woman and she did not appreciate the way it made her feel. It was going to be a long trip.