Strange Tales of the Deadslayer #6

Author's Note: Y'all voted for Deadslayer! It's been a little while since the last installment, so I forgive anyone for needing to go back and refresh themselves, but it was a blast getting to revisit this story and world -- I actually finished the whole thing in one day (plus a nap)!

Hoping to get to do this again soon, and I think you'll all see why!

[story] [action/peril/combat]

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‭It’s hard to be more lost than when you’re on a completely different planet, in a totally different galaxy. A place where nobody speaks your language, any food can poison you (even if it hasn’t so far), everything is hostile, and you don’t know where anything is. On top of that, I’m not even in my own body.

Even Thiu, helpful and patient as she is, has little experience outside of the city of Noai, and is barely able to communicate with me. She does her best to act as a guide, but more and more I’m finding her chirps of trepidation don’t necessarily come from a place of knowledge, merely impulse. I’m lost… but at least I’m not lost alone.

Once Thiu and I rested, we started making our way out into the wasteland. It seems crazy, I know, but what are my options? The star-marsh absolutely sucks, as far as I can tell, and I’m sure as heck not just gonna jump off the edge of the world, or… whatever that inky black ‘ocean’ would seem to entail. The last thing I need is to get recaptured by the Xai – even if I can endure whatever punishment they’d mete upon me for escaping, I can’t take the risk for Thiu’s sake. I’m the one who convinced her to come, and I’m responsible for her safety, now. I need to find Ciphia, I need to take the fight to Thodax, and most of all….

I hear my stomach let out an agonized wail from beneath my rippling muscles.

Most of all, I need to find some food.

The wasteland itself, now that I’m getting deeper into it, has a bit more character to it than I’d first assumed. While the ground itself is dry and grayish, it’s coated with a thin layer of glittering, deep blue sand that ebbs and flows into shallow dunes in the wake of slow, warm winds. The only wildlife I’ve seen have been decidedly bug-like, most prominently taking the form of these strange little things that resemble a cross between a spider and a cricket, dull purple in color and about the size of my fist. Thiu referred to one as a ‘vrr-ma-a,’ but I’ve taken to calling them ‘ahhh holy crap get it away get it away,’ which I honestly think fits them a lot better.

There’s some vegetation, too, if not any that really seems edible. Small, dry bushes with dark gray wood and sickly, sage-green petals dot the landscape, seeming to provide little more than shade for bugs, but at least it seems like this place is able to support life. Whether it can support Thiu and I is sort of a different story, but it’s a start, anyway.

“Thirst,” Thiu murmurs at my side. We’ve been walking for the better part of what feels like a day, though the alien sky above us, as always, gives me very few hints as to how time passes here. I’m thirsty too, but more worried about her – my body seems to be able to withstand quite a lot, but Thiu’s not used to this kinda stuff. We need to find something, fast, and the dry, beating heat of this wasteland isn’t making anything any better.

“Hang in there, alright?” I say softly, my eyes scanning the horizon for something, anything, signs of a city or even a mountain range that may suggest an upcoming change in biome. While I don’t see either of those things, I do see something – in the form of a massive, lumbering figure, some sort of alien creature, drawing slowly towards us. If there’s something alive out here, there must be some kind of water nearby, right?

...Right?

“Stay behind me, Thiu,” I say, my voice growing a little more firm as whatever-this-is draws closer. As I start to make out more details of its appearance, I grow more concerned that a confrontation may be imminent – this thing is enormous, but lacks the prehistoric-type energy of the monsters I faced among the Xai. It’s entirely alien.

The creature is covered in shaggy, gray-green fur that hangs all the way to the ground beneath it, obscuring what I can only assume are dozens of short, nubby legs, from the way it gradually crawls along the cracked earth. A head like a hammerhead shark stays low to the ground, and a long, thick tail extends behind it, likewise covered in fur. Its most distinctive feature, though, is its shell, more like that of a snail than a turtle, but colored a dull blue-black, encrusted with thorny ridges all the way along its surface. I feel like touching this thing would be like sticking your hand in razor wire – definitely not something you wanna keep as a pet!

“Hey there, big guy,” I say hesitantly as the thing draws closer. It looks like it’s about fifteen feet tall, maybe thirty long – jeez, is anything here normal-sized?! “Don’t suppose you… talk? Wanna point me towards a water source? Maybe some food, or… a town or something?”

“Ch’rr-at trr,” Thiu chitters behind me in her native tongue, unease obvious in her tone, even if I can’t understand what she’s saying.

“Yeah, something tells me he’s not– move!” I quickly shove Thiu back as the thing rears up, showing off a few caterpillar-like ‘legs’ as it aims its face towards me. Its maw opens, showing off endless rows of sucking, chewing teeth, but those aren’t my concern right now. My concern is the jet-stream of sticky red acid that it’s shooting towards me!

In my desperate attempt to get Thiu out of the way (an attempt that did, fortunately, succeed), I didn’t pay quite as much attention to my own safety as maybe I should have. While I manage to avoid direct contact with the acid blast, it hits the ground beside me and splashes outward, getting my mostly-bare skin with an indirect hit. I gasp with pain, then suck a sharp breath in through my teeth as the viscous red liquid starts to eat through my tattooed skin, not penetrating but leaving a bright, stinging rash. This is the big problem with these monster fights – you never know what they’re capable of until they’ve already done it to you once or twice.

Man, and to think I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to fight this thing, certainly not on an empty stomach! But I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do, and I can already feel my body itching to shove a fist into something. The hard part will be finding a spot on this thing that’s fistable – or, uhh, wait, no – punchable, I guess. I crack my knuckles and dart forward, gritting my teeth and still wondering how I’m gonna hit this thing. I grab onto one of its horizontal eye-stalks, reaching out with my other arm to deliver a huge punch to the eye itself, which causes the creature to scuttle back, only tethered in place by my grip on its head. Thing is, I see it start to inhale, a burbling sound coming from deep within its enormous body – crap, if I stay in front of it, I’m a sitting duck for that acid breath!

I roll quickly backwards and dash to the side, looking for a way to climb or jump onto it, but that shell is a huge issue. It isn’t covered in spikes or anything like that, something I could grab onto or tear off; the whole thing looks razor-sharp. Unfortunately, I’m starting to come around to the idea that I’m not gonna get out of this without some scrapes and cuts, and I’ve gotta take care of this thing before Thiu gets hurt. I leap up, planting one foot on the thing's neck and another on its shell, which is like walking on barnacles – I can already feel (and see!) blood streaming out from my foot as I reach down to grab both eyestalks, trying to yank its head upward and, ideally, all the way off.

That seems like it’s gonna be a no-go sitch. I’m not used to being unable to brute-strength my way through most problems, but this thing has a neck like a bull – well, a thirty-foot bull, anyway. As much as I try to yank, it holds its head steady, and we become locked in a contest of wills that, due to my precarious (and painful) perch, I’m starting to lose. I strain my muscles until they start to burn, but nothing I can do seems able to overpower it. It’s just too dang well-protected, too compact. At least… from where I’m sitting.

Time to use your brains, Allara. Everything about this creature’s physiology is designed to protect its underside, from the fur, to the shell, to the tail, even the acid breath. I need to get beneath it… and I’ve played enough Super Mario 64 to give me the perfect idea.

Landing one last punch of frustration to the top of the thing’s head, I hop down, then make a mad rush to its back side, grabbing hold of its tail. “Alright, you big lug, time to take a trip!” I yank hard on the thing’s tail, hoisting it backwards with all my strength. I can feel it try to cling to the ground, and holy smokes is it heavy! This, though, is something over which muscle alone can prevail, and after a bit of strain, I feel it begin to lose balance, sliding along the sandy ground as I swing it in a low, wide circle.

I clench my teeth, spinning in place – swinging it around once, then twice, then finally feeling its feet lift from the ground entirely. Again, again, again, and the creature’s rotation gets higher and higher with each three-sixty spin, until I finally release it into the air above me. The monster lets out a booming wheek, like a guinea pig pitched down a few thousand times, as it flies skyward, revealing the rows of muscular nubs it uses for feet… and that soft, squishy underbelly.

I’m not far behind, even as I release it into the air. With a thrust of my powerful thighs, I leap into the sky beneath it, letting out a triumphant cry of “ShoooRYUKEN!” as I drive one of my fists up into its squishy underside. The punch is followed by another, and another, before the thing’s even able to fall from the sky, and the agonized bleat it lets out tells me I’m doing the right thing. Before it can land completely, I land and pivot, using my arms to push outwards, forcing the monster to fall on its side, rather than back on its feet where it’d be protected once more.

The thing unleashes a gurgling belch of acid that pools around it as I rain blow after blow on its exposed underbelly, leaving gross, blotchy blood-bruises in the wake of each punch. Finally, amidst the smell of acid, burning fur, and the creature’s own (appalling) natural odor, it falls still, leaving me standing, gasping for breath.

“Alla’ra,” I hear a voice from behind me, and Thiu reaches up to gently touch my shoulder. I flinch, but glance back at her, rage-filled eyes softening as I remember what’s going on, who I was protecting.

“I got it,” I say with a cheesy smile, shaking out a sudden cramp in my wrist, flipping crimson hair out of my eyes with my free hand. “You okay, Thiu?”

She nods, reaching up to gently cling to me, her upper arms around my shoulders, lower arms around my waist – but I can tell from her expression that something’s troubling her. I blink, then follow her gaze… and see what she noticed while I was (reasonably) distracted! Behind Thiu are five women, dark-haired and skin ranging through a variety of tan and olive tones, almost completely human-looking with the exception of slitted pupils, like those of a cat or snake. All of them are clad in pale, flowing garments, eyes rimmed with dark, heavy makeup but the lower parts of their faces concealed with thin, gauzy veils. And – gosh, I wanna be respectful, but – they’re all total smokeshows, too! They look like they could have been swimsuit models back on Earth, with lean muscles and distinct curves, just enough variety between them all to keep things interesting.

“Ummm…” I say, stifling a cough as my dry throat tries to strangle me, “hello… ladies. You uh, come around here often, or…?”

“You’ve slain the Dreadshell,” the one in front says, nodding her head reverently in my direction. “It can now be sacrificed to the Hungerers, earning us many more cycles of safety and freedom. You have done us a great service this day, warrior.”

“The, uh… Dreadshell, huh?” Finally, someone who speaks english! “Yeah, I mean, it was, uh… no big deal, I guess.”

Thiu sheepishly hides behind me, staying close, though she doesn’t seem outwardly suspicious, just cautious. The woman in front takes a step forward, and I take a harder look at her – her black hair is worn long, thick, and straight, nearly reaching her butt, and swaths of magenta fabric wind around her breasts and dangle between her thighs, concealing little while exposing a ton. She’s also the tallest and, dare I say, most well-endowed of her companions, appearing to be unarmed but for a slim, waved dagger similar to a keris.

“Again, my sisters and I are eternally grateful,” she bows her head slightly in my direction. “What do we call you, brave warrior of the wastes?”

“Well, uh, I’m Allara! And this is Thiu, behind me.”

“Krruya-ta’a,” Thiu chatters, reminding me that, in this place, I have titles– a lot better than the benchwarmer I was before!

“Right! The Xai call me Krruya. Others call me the Deadslayer.”

“Our relationship with the Xai is… strained,” their leader says, shooting an uneasy look towards Thiu. Though, considering the Xai’s penchant for capturing and enslaving people, then making them fight giant monsters in arena, can I really blame her? “But a friend of yours is a friend of ours, as well. I am Kana’set – my sisters and I form the Oasis Coven.”

“When you say ‘sisters,’ do you mean like metaphorically, or…?”

She smiles cryptically, but doesn’t answer. “You’re welcome to join us in our lodge, not far from here. A feast, Deadslayer, shall be held in your honor. I take it you and your friend have grown weary from the wasteland?”

Boy, have we! “Yeah! I mean, uh… yes, we have grown… weary from our travels. Any hospitality would be appreciated.”

“Oh, it is not hospitality at all,” the woman says, laying a gentle hand on my belly, looking up at me, “...merely your reward. We shall usher you to the lodge immediately. And, of course….”

“Unh?” I grunt stupidly as she turns, joining the other women and motioning forward, not quite in the direction Thiu and I had already been heading.

“If anything about myself or my sisters pleases you,” she says, her voice growing a little low, a little… seductive, “feel free to request it of us. We shall ensure that your reward is a rich, memorable one.”

Oh man, this keeps getting better and better! I shoot a grin towards Thiu, who still looks a bit concerned, though her expression softens when I don’t seem afraid. “We can finally get some food and water, Thiu! Things are finally looking up.”

She offers a small smile, nuzzling into my shoulder from behind. She keeps close to me, closer than usual, as I begin to follow along behind the five women. It’s cute that she’s still so shy around strangers, but I have to remember to keep her safe, too – I can’t lose her like I did Ciphia. I still don’t know if I’ll ever find her.

My hunger and thirst only seem to multiply as I follow the Oasis Coven, eagerness taking over in the realization that my needs will soon be tended to. We talk across the swirling blue sands, heat of day giving way to chill of night in the wasteland as the sky turns to an inky void, scattered across with rays of lazy silver light and distant motes of pale color. Beside me, Thiu begins to shiver, and I hope we arrive soon.

Fortunately, my desires are quickly met – the ‘lodge’ that Kana’set mentioned is something more akin to a palace, and validates the name of the Oasis Coven. The domed, marble-esque estate squats elegantly near a pool of clear, shimmering water, bluish-green grasses, lanky, bending trees, and technicolor flower-blooms dotted all around, providing an immediate shift in scenery and mood. Warm, twinkling orange light comes from within the un-paned windows, and a sound of casual merriment comes from within (it would seem these five are not all!).

“Welcome to the lodge, champion,” Kana’set says, shooting a smile back to me, “where we shall see all your… needs… met.”

Jackpot! How is it that everyone in this world seems to value killing giant monsters so highly, and it happens to be the thing I’m best at doing? If only ‘lengthy diatribes about game design’ had been in such high demand back on Earth!