As was perhaps a natural consequence of existing in a world populated by monsters that often ranged from the size of the average vehicle to potentially buildings in scale, most of the global population wasn’t prone to living in places that would be hard to defend. The march of technology though did mean it was much safer to make settlements further into the wilds of the world, or in some cases the people of a certain group had the fortune to be situated in a locale that came with easy natural defenses.
But, the threat of magical beasts wasn’t ever forgotten, and even a simple farming town with acres of fields to maintain would no doubt be found within the borders of some region or another that would provide ease-of-defense, or in the case of massive cities like Clearharbor, would have a defensive wall constructed in order to keep more troublesome types from busting in unannounced and making a mess of things.
Of course though, one also had to take into account the Frontiers. Regions of the world that were dense in strong flows of aether, enough that any attempts to actually settle the regions had proven impossible, as the dense aether meant nature would simply overtake any attempts at settling in any serious attempts to be had. And it was in these aether-dense regions that one would find the majority of Magic Beasts, though thinner populations were spread across the continents wherever they may have found themselves migrating too.
These Frontiers were more often than not utterly massive, dominating massive swathes of land that could contain everything from dense forests, storming mountains, harsh deserts, and even stretches of the ocean and its island chains. And each and every one was, sans the intrepid types who made their living monitoring such regions and keeping the populations in check, homed only by the various species of magic beasts that made their territory within them.
It created something of a balance in the world as a result, one in which would occasionally tip as a Magic Beast population settled itself in a region outside of a Frontier, or as those outside of it found new ways to break further ground within one and establish more permanent bases within.
So, it was when the populations outside of the Frontiers started becoming an issue that things had to be managed. For the number of Magic Beasts, that were seen as a normal part of a non-Frontier ecosystem, some of which had even been domesticated to a degree and saw use as livestock or even guard animals, many more were impossible to do such with, and so had to have their populations kept in check or be routed from environments that weren’t the usual for them.
Quite naturally then, these jobs usually found themselves falling into the laps of the Freelancers, running the gamut of the danger scale and what kind of Freelancer would be needed to deal with the issue.
Of course though, it also came with the benefit of study. Magic Beasts were so varied in nature and attitude that any chance to study them in depth through specimens – living or dead – was seen as a welcome opportunity by those engaged in ecological fields, hence why such jobs also often ended up paying quite well.
The short of it, the rarer the Beast one could get a job for, the better it would pay, and the better materials one could likely make use of from it.
Over time, Magic Beasts had, aside from their taxidermic classifications such as Bird Wyvern and Drake, been classified into their own ranking method to categorize and classify their effective levels of danger and what kind of force would be needed to deal with one. It was rather simple compared to the split nature of the Freelancer system, and rather than numerical, Magic Beasts were ranked off a color scale.
The weakest of monsters, in short, the ones effectively harmless to the average person unless sufficiently aggravated – at which point many agreed the poor sap probably deserved it – were rated as White Beasts. The strongest ones, those that edged into the territory of a being like a Dragon in power and scale, were the Black Beasts, which as far as modern knowledge went, were all exclusively within the special Wyrm classification, and all nigh-unique instances so rarely seen it was unsure if multiple specimens existed.
As it were, the Plains Raptors that Syr’s contract were targeted for fell into an interesting niche. Beasts in the Raptor family fell into two sorts: Lesser and Greater.
Lesser Raptors were smaller and easier to deal with, though were also pack hunters and could be sufficient trouble for an unprepared hunter. But individually they were only rated as Green Tier monsters. Dangerous sure, but nothing that couldn’t be dealt with if one had the proper equipment.
Greater Raptors though, were the far more dangerous pack leaders. Larger, fiercer in nature, and all too likely to have some of their Lessers in tow to cause more trouble. The Greater Plains Raptor was in particular rated as a Blue Tier Beast. Need for more preparation, skill of the hunter, and general knowledge of how to deal with its methods, but nothing someone with the proper training couldn’t handle on a good day.
And it was one of these Raptors that was the prime suspect of Syr’s hunting contract, meaning there wasn’t any doubt it would have some Lessers in tow.
But, what did stand out as odd was one of the notes she had seen on the contract when she had found it: Recon has noted odd behavior in the present pack. Request raising threat tier of mission from Blue to Red Tier.
Whatever that request had been for, she certainly hoped she and Soren would find more details about it once they arrived at the hunting location. But… it definitely raised questions about what was going on that a threat increase would even be requested for a Beast type considered quite easy to handle to begin with.
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The hunting location was a portion of the coastal plains just outside of Clearharbor. The surrounding environment of the city was best known as the Emerald Grasslands, a wide stretch of hills, plateaus, and rivers that eventually gave way to mountain ranges or forests at their furthest expanses depending on if one headed northward of southward.
Heading further east along the highways that cut through the natural expanse would lead one through several more cities and rural towns along the plains and forests that made up most of Laguna’s territory on the continent, and eventually, one would reach Aurora, the grand capital city of Laguna that dominated enough territory on its own to warrant maps being redrawn to really show how dominant it was within its territory.
But, Syr and Soren’s task wasn’t quite taking them that far out, despite warranting a trip out of Clearhabor itself.
To Soren’s amusement, the fact Syr had next to never been in a car was apparent as they drove down the highway to their destination. Vehicle chartering was a common enough service for Freelancers, be it tickets for airship travel to go vast distances or even from one continent to another, or simple car rentals for more direct, short-distance affairs such as this request.
Like any other technology in the world, pretty much any vehicle, from the most compact automobile to the grandest airship, was powered by a Crystal-powered ether engine. Meaning that the sedan Soren had rented out for the drive rode in near total silence, only the hum of the ether engine coming from it as it sped along the highway.
There had certainly been a time where vehicles powered by less efficient and clean engines had existed, and Soren knew of at least a couple of collectors who coveted such vehicles for their historical value, but the march of technology and magic had rendered such devices nigh obsolete in modern times. Of course, this also depended on who one was speaking too.
For example, one was quite unlikely to be paying a visit to the Dwarven lands across the sea and find themselves running across ether-engine run devices, or if they were to find themselves among the Orc shamans from afar as well. Technology in their world was something just as vast in scope as the people who lived within it.
“So…” Syr spoke up after they were about halfway to their destination a good fifteen minutes into the drive. “Do you have any idea why it is they’d go request for a danger level increase on a Greater Plains Raptor, of all things?”
“Well, sometimes you get unusual specimens,” Soren said, craning his neck to glance further ahead to some of the signs ahead, making sure they were staying on track even with the GPS active. “It’s not uncommon for a new sub-species to pop up that ends up being more dangerous than the normal version… though I can’t say that’d happen with a Raptor. Those ones tend to be pretty static.”
“So what could have caused the request, if it’s not some previously unknown sub-species?”
“The other cause would be an external factor… something that’s causing it to behave in more dangerous ways… or that made it stronger somehow.”
“Hmm… well, I guess that’s what we’re here to find out, huh?”
“Most likely.”
With that being the extent of the conversation, the rest of the drive was relatively quiet outside of Syr tuning the radio channels to browse what was on the air for her own interests. After a point Soren had to turn off from the main highway, taking them into an area far sparser in any signs of civilization and into a forested area.
When they came to a stop, it was in the parking lot of what Syr could only guess would be the forward observation base that had put out the request. It wasn’t that unusual for these kinds of forward bases to be set around various watchpoints so that Guardian Freelancers could keep track of things like Magic Beast movements and air or land traffic to make sure threats weren’t getting through.
It was a simple enough building, utilitarian Lagunan concrete with some purpose-arranged vegetation on the topside of the building to offer it some camouflage among the tree line surrounding it. Handy when a Flying Wyvern or other kind of aerial Magic Beast decided to come snooping around. A similar cover also stretched over the parking lot, giving some nice shade for the warm sunlight otherwise coming down from above.
“So… do we just go in?” Syr glanced at Soren as he hopped out of the car, leaning back in as he chuckled.
“Hey, this is your job. I’m just tagging along to make sure you don’t get caught in a mess. So, take the lead, Leader.”
“Don’t have to emphasize it like that,” Syr sighed as she exited, adjusting her folded staff in its holder at her waist, taking the lead into the building with Soren right behind her.
The lobby was rather quiet as they entered, only a single Keeper at the desk hurriedly browsing through a terminal in front of her. A young Dynoriath woman, her black hair a scraggly mess no doubt from running her hands through it far too often.
“Uhm… excuse me?” Syr cleared her throat, the Keeper yelping as she was yanked from whatever state of focus she’d been in. “Did we… come at a bad time?”
“W-What? No no, not at all!” The Keeper chuckled as she adjusted the quite thick glasses she wore, her eyes narrowing as she looked from Syr to Soren. At which point she promptly yelped again when Soren gave a slight wave. “W-W-What in the… M-Mr. Ragnvald?! I thought you were still in Vanira!”
“… somehow I am not surprised…” Syr shook her head as Soren stifled his own snickering. “Then again I guess I should just expect that Freelancers would probably know each other.”
“Ahahaha, hey there Rahni,” Soren folded his arms as he stood to the side. “Don’t mind me too much. I’m just here to supervise this one on her first outing.”
“O-Oh, you’re a new member of Amber Dawn?” Syr nodded as Rahni adjusted herself again. “Ahehe, sorry! Things have just been k-kind of hectic out here the past few days, so everyone is running a bit on edge.”
“Well, you’ve definitely got to be busy if this place is so quiet,” Syr looked around the otherwise empty lobby, devoid of anyone else but the three of them. “Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Syr Fleyldis, a new member of the Amber Dawn, as you’ve guessed. I’m here taking the hunting request for those Plains Raptors that was posted back at the guild.”
“A-Ah! The one that got bumped up from Blue to Red! Didn’t think we’d get a taker so quickly…” Rahni cleared her throat as she turned back to her monitor, then glancing at Syr. “Can I… see your Scroll for a moment? I just need to upload some map data to it since its your first time at this base area.”
“Sure,” Syr drew the device and handed it over, then once again scanning around the lobby as Rahni worked. “So… what kind of place is this? I know Guardians make use of forward bases like this, but the full function… well, escapes me a bit.”
“Well, the basics are obvious. Observation and general things in the like, but mostly these bases are home centers for making sure hunting expeditions have a safety net. You know… considering what a Magic Beast could do to someone if they’re unprepared.”
“Yeah…” Syr took her Deck as the device was handed back to her, the screen still on the map, now showing an image of the local area. “The functions on these devices are shockingly useful.”
“There’s a reason they’re standard issue,” Rahni then leaned over the counter, spotting Soren browsing the trophy wall with various mounts of notable Magic Beasts no doubt hunted by the regulars of this spot. “Oi, Mr. Ragnvald! I’m about to give her the details on what we know, care to listen in?”
“I may as well,” Soren stepped over and leaned on the counter, raising a hand palm up. “Let’s hear it.”
“Let’s start with why the threat level was raised,” Rahni opened a new window on her monitor, turning it around to face the Freelancers, showing various images of what were clearly the Plains Raptor pack they were to go hunting for. “The pack you’re hunting down was sticking to their territory, at least until a few days ago… in fact, it wasn’t just this pack. A lot of the Magic Beasts have been acting strangely.”
“Well, that explains how barren this place is…” Soren commented. “Any ideas why the things are acting up all of a sudden?”
“That’s what we’re all trying to figure out,” Rahni sighed. “What we do know is that whatever is going on, the Beasts around here have started behaving much more aggressively, the predators especially. It’s taking all our regular manpower just to manage the situation, but we’re also having more wounded pile up. It’s why we sent out a hunt request to begin with.”
“Are there any signs of oddities in the aether flow?” Syr suggested. “Magic Beasts are incredibly sensitive to shifts in it, so maybe a sudden shift has made them act up?”
“Well… take a look at this,” Rahni upscaled one of the images, a display of foliage. But there was an oddity about it: The array of trees was coated in something. Whatever it was, it looked inky black, tinged by red. “We’ve gotten some samples of this substance while investigating, but we still have no idea what it is. But the assumption is its tied to the sudden aggression.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Odd… not some kind of mucus…” Syr looked at the image closely, taking in the details. “This looks… more like Aether residue? I can’t think of a Beast that produces that though… and its hard to tell from the image alone.”
“Part of this job is going to be investigating what that substance is,” Rahni reached under the desk, pulling out a polymer case and setting it before Syr. With a quick flick of its latches, the top popped open, revealing a set of items snugly laid into the thick foam interior. “This here is a hunter’s kit; you’ll probably want it while you’re out there.”
The first item was set into top of the case in two spots. A large, wide bladed dagger no doubt meant for carving. Syr spotted some runic inscriptions on it, likely to help with its durability and sharpness. In the lower section were three more pieces. Two were identical metallic, leather clad cylinders with glass panels to show the interior, no doubt meant for secure sample collections, the lids sealed tightly by solid looking latches.
The last item was a dark leather pouch with a furled utility belt wrapped around it. Not quite flashy, but certainly sturdy enough for direct field work.
“Well, this all looks handy,” Syr closed the case and lifted it from the counter, glancing to Soren. “You get this too from your first hunting trip?”
“Well, I’ve had a while to fine tune stuff,” Soren drew the right side of his armored jacket away, better showing the black and blue utility belt situated around his waist at an angle, the back holding a clearly custom made carving dagger – Syr assumed it was no doubt forged by Branmek – and a few extra pouches of his personal supplies with the sample containers just peeking out near his right hip.
“The Grand Guild makes it a policy that all Freelancers, regardless of division, are provided standard issue equipment for any situation… handed out on a situational basis whenever they find themselves at a suitable location anyway,” Rahni put a hand behind her head while Syr gave her a bemused look. “Easier on supplies to hand out the gear when you’re heading out for that first job than without context they say… plus bases like this have plenty of spares anyway.”
“I suppose it makes sense,” Syr shut the case and hefted it off the table. “Anything else we may need to know?”
Rahni shook her head.
“The only thing is the location of the Plains Raptors’ nest, but I uploaded that on your map. You should be able to share it with Mr. Ragnvald through the link function. And, good luck out there! And Mr. Ragnvald, do make sure your new friend doesn’t come back a mess. I’d hate to see another newcomer… you know.”
“Don’t worry, she’s more than capable. She wouldn’t have gotten to start at LR2 if she wasn’t,” Soren chuckled as he headed for the entrance. “Well then Syr, reader for your first proper job?”
“Hehe, let’s go,” Syr nodded as she followed after Soren, a glint of excitement and anticipation shining in her eyes.
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For Syr, being able to trot her way through a forest was like getting a return trip home. While it was certain that their current locale didn’t quite compare to the grand, towering trees of her homeland, she certainly found something familiar about being able to bound her way through natural canopies and ground strewn with all kinds of natural vegetation.
And to the Alf’s surprise, Soren was well and able to keep up with her quick movements as she led the way to the destination that Rahni had marked for them within the forest, making their trip nice and swift.
“So…” Syr decided to strike up a conversation. “What’s this region of the plains even called?”
“Can’t really say it has particular name,” admitted the senior Freelancer. “Its not really a big enough forest to gets its own name, its just another region of the Emerald Plains far as most are concerned.”
“That’s surprising, considering a city like Clearharbor and such…”
“Ey. It’s one thing when you’re sectioning off a city to keep things in order, it’s another when you’re talking minute locales in a whole region. Besides, not like every tiny pocket of different biome in Vanira gets a special name either.”
“Pff, it’s just more fun if something has a name of its own!”
“Well, guess I can’t argue that one. So, how much until we reach the search area?”
“Only a bit further. The markings that Ms. Rahni added to my map are getting closer.”
Soren nodded as they continued along, Syr remaining in the lead as they bounded on through the trees.
After some further distance, the dense thicket eventually broke away to a more spread-out region, giving way into a lush meadow split by a clear river and some rock formations of the plateau, painting an idyllic image one would no doubt get joy out of painting were things a lot calmer at the time. The noted absence of any Herbivores to graze or drink was certainly a sign of whatever unease had struck the forest.
“No time to admire the sights, huh?” Syr sighed as she and Soren scanned around the meadow. The Alf approached the river, dipping a hand into the cool water, closing her eyes for a moment. “Hmmm… water is still pure, meaning there’s no corruption or pollution that could be causing the predators to behave oddly. So whatever substance is, it hasn’t gotten into the water supply.”
“You can tell that much just by touching it?” Soren wondered, Syr chuckling as she stood and shook her hand free of any droplets. “I know Alfs have a hell of a connection to nature, but…”
“For us Alfs it comes naturally. We can tell a lot about a region based on what we can feel from it all. The state of the water, the health of the plant life, even the drifts of aether caught in the wind. And, well… we Vanalfs are especially sensitive to these things even among our cousins across the world.”
“Well, if the water is fine… what’re the winds telling you.”
“Let me listen…” Syr shut her eyes, flicking her staff out and taking it into both hands, holding it before her.
Air began to swirl around the mage, a soft glow in the drifts surrounding her as she maintained a steady breathing pattern. And concerningly, while most of the aether drifts gave off a soft emerald glow, some were… tainted. Edged in harsh red and black, just like the mysterious substance that had been shown to them.
“What the… what kind of feeling is this?” Syr’s brow knit together as she tried to hone in on the sensation of it, trying to trace it to something that could show her the source of all of it and why things were going awry. “The feeling of this aether… this isn’t something from-AH!”
Syr reeled back as the flows turned into a sudden spark, jolting back as her concentration was sliced through, the air crackling with black sparks from where she had stood.
“You good?” Syr nodded as Soren stepped over, both staring at the fading sparks of power with concern in their eyes. “I take it that kind of backlash means things are far from normal.”
“Definitely not normal in the slightest,” Syr looked around, her eyes then falling to one tree right across the brook. “There! I’m feeling traces of that strange aether coming from around that tree.”
The two leapt across the river with easy bounds to check out what could be present. Searching around, it wasn’t long before they came across the first of their objectives. As one side of the burly tree was marked in that same, mucus-like slag, darkening the bark it was coating to a worrisome black, and yet at the same time not at all seeming to be rotting it either.
“Well, that’s step one,” Soren was careful as he drew out one of his sample containers and carving knife, taking care to ensure none of the substances came into contact with him as he started scraping portions off the tree and into the container. “Though by the looks of this stuff alone… I’d say we’ve got a few things to worry about.”
“This is… what even is this?” Syr avoided touching the tree, but her fingers hovered just close enough to the darkened bark to nearly brush it. “The aether flowing up through the trunk is… whatever this substance is, while it isn’t rotting the tree it’s… almost as if it’s corrupting it! Not killing it but… changing it somehow.”
“Then I take this sludge here isn’t coming from the tree,” Soren held up his filled container, swirling it around as he viewed the contents through the glass. “That’s… definitely concerning. Can’t imagine what this’d do to something with a brain… like say… a pack of Plains Raptors that hunt the local herbivores that’d be eating the nearby plants…”
“Plants that… are being tainted by this,” Syr finished the thought as they looked beyond the tree, finding a swathe of the black substance stretching across the rest of the woods and even the forest floor in gooey, stretched patches. “… I think we’ve found out what could have caused those Raptors to go up a threat level.”
“So now the question is where the hell this stuff came from,” Soren folded his arms as he and Syr took in the unsettling view, Soren raising his Deck and being sure to take an image of it for later. “If this isn’t coming from the trees, then it means it came from something else entirely. As for what that something even bloody is…”
“We can probably figure that out later,” Syr reached to her belt, pulling out her own sample vials. “Let’s be sure to get as much of this residue as we can before heading for the nest.”
“Gotcha. I’ll keep the eyes and ears open so we don’t get snuck up on.”
Syr nodded as she started getting to work. It was a task that wouldn’t take long of course, but even she knew from prior lessons that the slightest lapse in attention was something a predatory Magic Beast would be keen to capitalize on given the chance. Many an explorer found themselves facing rather tragic – and messy – endings due to a momentary lapse in their focus only to get jumped by something or another waiting in the bushes.
By the time they were finished with their sample collection, Soren paused for a moment as he tried to get a feeling for the ambient ether. While he couldn’t profess to being as good at catching onto the flows as some were, he did have some sense for it at the least. And while things felt obscured no thanks to all of the natural ethers mixing with the corrupted ether from the mystery patch of sludge, he did catch something.
Shuffling his hands around some of the underbrush as his eyes caught what seemed like a wisp of dark red rising from some of the leaves, his fingers eventually finding something much different. Clutching his fingers around the mystery object, Soren withdrew his hand, finding that his find was a beast scale. Never an unusual find during outings when one was looking around areas Magic Beast’s frequented, even quite handy since they were often rather useful in various kinds of crafting and alchemy.
But this one was… unusual.
About the size of his palm, the scale was ebon in color and harshly shaped, the edge a downright blade that would’ve likely cut into his fingers had he not conveniently been holding it by the top edge instead. And even more concerning, it was caked in dried remnants of the same goop he and Syr had just been collecting.
“Hey, Syr… whatever left this weird residue, I think we got one of its scales here,” Soren stood and flicked the scale between his fingers, Syr trotting over as he held it out to her. “No idea what it’s from though, never seen a scale like this.”
“… and the mystery grows further…” Syr held the scale up towards the canopies, just getting enough sunlight through to see how transparent the scale could be. “Well, we have something else to hand over once we’re back. Let’s go and…”
Syr’s ears twitched as she sensed something, and Soren clearly did too, his right hand shooting to his sword’s hilt in an instant while Syr drew her staff.
The two went back-to-back as they heard chattering starting to echo past the trees, subtle shifts in the brush telling them something was prowling around. Glancing to each other, Soren and Syr nodded.
And the moment those chatters turned into shrieking roars, several shapes leaping from the brush to try and pounce on the Freelancers, Syr’s staff was whirling with elemental swirls as she started to swing.
“Duck!” At her yell, Soren dropped to his knees, Syr’s hard swinging turning into a full rotation, sending a powerful blast of razor-sharp winds whirling around the two as a dome, and the would-be assaulters were sent barreling back as the magical winds cut into them, the air filling with animalistic screeches and shrieks as splatters of blood splashed across the grass.
As Soren rose while drawing his sword, he and Syr could now take stock of things. And as it was, the veteran Freelancer couldn’t help but smirk a bit. As their targets had decided to make things easy on them.
Across from the two was their main quarry, the Greater Plains Raptor that was assuredly the pack leader. While circling the two, now wounded thanks to Syr’s quick spell, were three lesser Raptor’s, none too pleased at having had their surprise attack foiled. The bipedal beasts hissed and yowled at the two, their taloned feet gouging into the dirt while thick tails lashed around, razor sharp fangs dripping with maddened spittle.
“Ah… Soren, look at them,” Syr murmured. “Something’s off about them…”
“Yeah…” Soren nodded. “The discoloration…”
While often coming in slightly different shades of colors, Plains Raptors were often marked out for their pale blue and green scales. The colors did well to help them easily blend into the surroundings of their chosen environments of forests and plains well enough, and ones such as the Greater showing leaf-like feather plumage to further add to their natural camouflage.
And yet, these Raptors were literally darker. Their scales had dimmed in shade, becoming dark and sickly looking… and least of all the harsh, almost glowing red eyes that were absolutely not the norm for such beasts.
“And something tells me we’re in for something not quite the norm…”
Before Syr could reply, the Greater Raptor let out a barking howl, launching itself over the river as its pack dispersed. Soren rolled out of the way while Syr shot herself back with a gust of air from her hand. When one of the lesser tried to charge the Alf as she was coming to a stop, she responded in kind by swinging her staff upwards, a flash of light bursting from the gem and forming a blade as she swung, cutting right into the raptor from the neck as Syr dodged its snapping jaws.
Yet to her surprise, what should have been enough to put a beast barely larger than herself didn’t do so. While it had blood gushing from the wound, the Raptor snapped back around more like a being possessed. But before it could lunge again, a blast of bright blue slammed into the raptor, gouging through the dirt and sending the beast screaming into the brush.
Syr looked over to find Soren, his sword hissing with steam as he dodged the two remaining Lesser Raptors trying to jump him. Syr glanced to the Greater to find it taking the chance to prowl towards her and Soren while the latter was occupied with its pack, Syr giving a whirl of her staff and launching a bolt of lightning at the Greater before it could lunge at Soren from behind.
Soren broke off from the two Lessers as Syr leapt towards him, and as the Lessers lunged again, Soren pulled the trigger on his sword. With a flare of light along the panels as Soren dashed forward, his rapid slash carried through both of the lesser in an instant, leaving a v-shaped mark in the air as light straked behind him, the Lessers stumbling forward with seeping gouges that burned from the ether expulsion.
Yet like the first one, the Lessers refused to go down even despite wounds that by all means had to be mortal. As Soren turned to meet the Beasts head on, Syr blasted them down with another quick lightning cast.
“Well, this is definitely making sense now,” Syr spoke now that they had a chance to do so, the Greater Raptor still recovering from her earlier lighting spell. “No way they would’ve kept going under normal circumstances.”
“Yeah… something’s definitely up here,” Soren glanced to one of the bodies of the Lessers, its red eyes going dim to a more typical yellowed shade. “Whatever that stuff is, we can definitely add ‘makes beasts more aggressive and resilient’ to the list of notes.”
“That… or it just makes them go so wild they ignore pain entirely.”
“That could also be the case.”
The two were cut off as the Greater finally snapped out of its stunned state, lunging at them with a wild shriek as its powerful hind legs sent it rocketing forward. As Soren dodged past it, he took a swing with his sword, raking it through the Greater Raptor’s side as the blade ignited, ripping the sword free and carrying the dodge through as the Greater Raptor didn’t at all cease its charge.
And just like the Lessers, despite the large and no doubt deep gash in its side, the Greater seemed completely unbothered as it stopped itself, wheeling around to try and hit the Freelancers with its thick tail. Which Syr responded to by swiping her staff upwards, a pillar of ice rising from the ground and catching the tail mid swing within it.
Soren charged ahead to try and finish the Beast off, yet even as it was struggling to free its tail, the Raptors jaws snapped towards him, Soren just stopping in time to avoid the gnashing fangs.
“I’ve got it!” Syr took her left hand from her staff, swirls of pale green energy arcing at her fingers as the staff glowed. With a flex of her fingers, a volley of energy bolts slammed into the Greater Raptor, knocking it to the ground just as it ripped its tail free of the icy pillar trapping it. “Soren, finish it!”
Soren yelled as he brought his sword down on the thrashing Raptor, aiming for the neck. But the Beast seemed insistent on not going down easy, lashing its body around and kicking at Soren with its talons, which met his blade as the beast trashed around, knocking the blow off course and sending the sword plowing into the dirt.
The Raptor scrambled back to its feet, lunging again as Soren pulled his sword free.
“Soren!” Syr yelped as the Raptor’s lunge was just that bit faster, its frothing jaws looking primed to snap down on the Freelancer mid swing… only for it to hit nothing as Soren vanished from sight, his image ebbing away like a gust of wind.
Instead, Syr now found Soren behind the Raptor as it went tumbling forward, and after a brief moment, a gash split across the Raptor’s side, blood spewing from the wound as it pitched to the side and collapsed. And this time, it didn’t get back up, letting out one final trash before a hissing breath passed through its jaws.
“I’m a Sword Saint, remember?” Soren chuckled as he gave his sword a spin and set it on his shoulder. “Doesn’t matter if it’s hopped up on some stuff like this, a Plains Raptor is still a Plains Raptor.”
“Well someone can be worried, can’t they?” Syr sighed as Soren snickered, giving a v-sign as she approached their now fallen quarry, though she was careful doing so. Just in case the thing was actually playing dead. “Still… things were damn persistent because of that… stuff.”
“We can leave the analysis to the experts,” Soren approached the dead Raptor, making sure as he jabbed at it with his carving knife for a moment. “For now, let’s put in a call back to Rahni so she can send a crew out to come collect the corpses. We can also show them the patch of that slag so they can quarantine this zone for study.”
“Good idea,” Syr pulled out her Deck and got to dialing the base as Soren double checked everything. But, as the device rang, Syr couldn’t quite get the feeling out of the back of her head. “Just what could have left that slag behind? What kind of beast is it… that corrupts things like this?”