Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

741 - The Fruits of Your Labors

Knowing that this creature was intelligent changed everything.

Despite the shocking degree of personal power that the multi-headed wolf-crocodile thing possessed, Lex had felt confident that if he could just bind it with divine authority, its resistance would crumble. Its animal intelligence had been central to that; a wild beast, realizing that it was overpowered by a stronger force and with no hope of escape, could be cowed into submission. At that point, herding it back toward the Shrine of the Starless Sky would have been a relatively simple affair, especially if those bulettes the Keeper had lent him did their jobs properly.

But that plan was unworkable now. A creature that was capable of cognition wasn’t bound to operate by instinct alone; it would be able to anticipate opportunities to flee – or worse, retaliate – once the initial sixty-second binding was over. Maybe if he strategically employed his few remaining uses of divine authority during the trip back to the Shrine, he could keep the creature properly intimidated, but even that was uncertain. Judging the disposition of other ponies had already been a task beyond Lex’s capabilities; intuiting the mood of such an alien creature was completely impossible.

Which meant that a new course of action was called for.

One idea was to simply abandon all restraint and attempt to slay the thing with his magic. There was no guarantee that would work; in his current state, there was a disturbingly high chance that it would kill him even if he used his thaumaturgical spells to their fullest. Worse, even if he did succeed, the Keeper would doubtlessly refuse to perform the Rite of Sublimation for him. Pointing out that the talking skull had sent him to subjugate an intelligent creature, rather than a mindless beast, would likely be seen as making excuses for failure, something a devotee of the Night Mare would doubtlessly look askance on.

Retreating was another option. Falling back and giving himself time to recover from his wounds, as well as letting his stock of dark magic and uses of divine authority recover, wasn’t an unappealing idea. But that would take at least a day, and would give this monstrosity plenty of time to make its own plans for next time. Whether it would set traps, summon allies, or simply abandon its lair – that last one being the worst possible outcome, since it would make it impossible to complete the Keeper’s errand – would all result in this task being more difficult the next time around.

Not that it seems inclined to allow for a cessation of hostilities anyway, noted Lex grimly as another huge chunk of rock fell from the ceiling. The massive slab of stone struck the force field with a crack like thunder, breaking into a dozen pieces as it shattered without doing any appreciable damage to the magical dome. The fragments joined the numerous others that were scattered around the cracked hemisphere, and while the area was too open for them to potentially bury him under the debris, the rubble-strewn ground would make retreating even more difficult, since he still didn’t dare try changing into shadow-form in his current state.

It was at that point that the creature, apparently realizing the futility of what it was doing, finally let its heat beams go out.

The sudden loss of light was enough to make spots appear in front of Lex’s eyes, his still-active darkvision kicking back in immediately. In front of him, he could see that the creature’s fourteen eyes had returned to their previous luminosity, the flames in its sockets all now shining with equal brightness. Baring its teeth at him, the thing began to stalk about the marred force field, seven growls coming from its throats as it tried to figure out what to do about the enemy that it couldn’t seem to injure.

Knowing that this was likely the best opportunity he’d receive, Lex availed himself of his only other recourse. Because if intimidating it was impossible, killing it was futile, and escaping it was counterproductive, that left only one strategy that he could think of.

Dialogue.

“Can you understand me?” he asked abruptly, not bothering with any introductions or pleasantries. “Are you capable of speech?”

The only response that he got was seven angry snarls from its heads.

He asked his questions again, this time in Koloss. When the creature failed to reply, he tried in Siolbhan, the language that Woodheart had used when she’d spoken to Littleknight. Popularly known as Sylvan, it was the next most common language in the Pony Empire. And yet, after several tense seconds of waiting, the creature still gave no answer, instead circling the force field as it continued growling.

The same questions in another half-dozen languages proved to be similarly in vain, and with each one Lex found his frustration mounting. Interpersonal communication had always been his weak point, but this was ridiculous! Every other intelligent creature he’d come across since he’d come to Everglow, starting with Solvei, had spoken some kind of language, so why didn’t this one?!

Solvei...

The memory of his first encounter with the winter wolf made Lex grimace, recalling how he’d been intent on killing her; it had only been Thermal Draft’s intervention that had stopped him from doing so, revealing that Solvei’s hostility was merely masking her desperation. Now the situation was reversed; he was the one who was desperate, trying to deescalate a situation while the quasi-lupine creature in front of him remained intent on fighting. It was almost laughable.

The irony was enough, coupled with the remorse he felt over how callous he’d been toward Solvei during their first meeting, to prompt Lex to give voice to the thought that crossed his mind then. “Food,” he muttered, remembering what had finally convinced Solvei to trust them. “Stop attacking, and I’ll give you food.”

His words caused the seven-headed creature to freeze in place, fourteen eyes widening as an equal number of ears suddenly perked up.

Its reaction very nearly caused Lex’s jaw to drop. He’d been half-convinced that the thing didn’t understand any kind of speech, and yet it had clearly reacted to his words just now. It understands me! So why isn’t it saying anything back?

Clamping down on the sudden surge of hope that went through him then, Lex decided to confirm what had just happened. “Do you want food? Reply with your voice if you do.”

He expected the creature to say something then, and when one of its heads opened its jaws a moment later, he was ready to hear some sort of intelligible vocalization.

Instead, the creature barked.

Given the creature’s size, the sound should have been deep and resonant. Certainly, its growling and snarling had been. Instead, the sound was several octaves higher than he’d expected, more of a puppyish yip than any sort of heavy woofing. Nor was that particular to that particular head, as the others began barking a moment later, filling the cavern with sounds that could have come from any animal shelter back on Equestria.

It understands what I’m saying, but isn’t able to speak? It seemed odd to consider, but the more Lex thought about it, the more sense it made. Just because its heads were lupine in nature didn’t mean that it necessarily had the same vocal apparatus as Solvei or Akna. Quite the opposite, the thing’s bizarre physiolgy meant that nothing could be taken for granted regarding what it was able to do – as the heat rays from its eyes had demonstrated – and so it was entirely plausible that it was smart enough to understand spoken language but had no way to use it itself.

Of course, that meant that there was no taking for granted what it considered to be food, either. For all I know, it thinks that I’m offering to let it eat me. Which means that I need to find a way to understand it better.

Fortunately, he had just such a means at hoof.

Now if the thing would just let him use it...

“I’ll give you food,” repeated Lex once the barking finally stopped, wanting to reassure the thing of his intentions; just because it was intelligent didn’t establish precisely how intelligent it was. “But I need you to tell me what sort of food you like. Can you do that?”

This time he wasn’t surprised as the creature’s ears flattened back, low whines coming from each of its throats.

“I have a way to make it so that you can tell me what food you like. If I come out from here” – he waved a hoof upward to indicate the cracked force field – “will you be calm so that I can use it?”

This time the creature hesitated, and while Lex couldn’t he sure, he thought it was looking at his upraised hoof. Is it remembering when I tried to bind it before? If so that would be bad, since he needed to use that same power to enable it to speak now.

But his worries were mollified as the creature gave a single, gruff bark before moving back several paces.

Knowing that was the best answer he was likely to get, Lex took a deep breath, then mentally willed the force field to collapse...though he kept the one that he’d prepared, rather than his tulpa, at the forefront of his thoughts, ready to cast it immediately if this was some sort of ruse.

In front of him, the cracked dome shimmered and disappeared.

The wolf-crocodile creature tensed, but didn’t otherwise move, keeping its eyes trained squarely on Lex, who did likewise. Deciding that the thing wasn’t going to pounce on him, Lex took another moment to steady his nerves, then slowly pointed his wire-wrapped hoof at the creature. It growled, but didn’t otherwise react as Lex gathered his will and concentrated, reminding himself that divine authority worked best when he could focus intently on what he wanted to happen.

A moment later, invisible bands of power reached out toward the creature again.

This time there was no sensation of resistance from it. In fact, it didn’t react at all except for one of its heads shaking a bit. Now to make sure that worked, decided Lex, knowing that even if it had he only had sixty seconds to develop a rapport with the creature. “My name is Lex Legis,” he said, lowering his hoof. “Can you tell me yours?”

All his ears heard was another chorus of barks. But in his mind, he registered a boyish voice.

Name...Teyu...Yagua...

Relief flooded through Lex then, realizing that he’d overcome what was likely the most difficult hurdle. “Teyu Yagua,” he acknowledged, causing the beast to yelp.

You...hear...me?!

“I can hear you,” he confirmed. “But this won’t last for very-”

You...hear...me! cried Teyu joyously, his seven heads baying loudly. Happy! Long...want...talk!

Not sure if the creature’s broken speech was a sign of its intellectual capacity or if it simply wasn’t used to forming words, Lex tried to bring things back around to the subject at hoof. “Can you tell me what foods you like?”

Another chorus of excited barks filled the cave. Like...fruit! cooed Teyu. Like...honey!

“Fruit and honey?” muttered Lex, brow furrowing. Given the size of the creature, and its choice of habitat, those were far from what he would have guessed its preferred diet was. “I can make those for you, if you’ll wait a few-”

Why?

The question caught Lex off-guard. “What?”

Why...Lex...give...food? asked Teyu, all of its heads cocking in unison. Try...hurt...before... One of its legs scratched over the stone, its thick tail lashing behind it. Trick...now?

“This isn’t a trick,” responded Lex quickly, keenly aware that their ability to communicate like this was rapidly running out, and that if this talk ended with the creature having a negative impression of him, he’d be worse off than before. “I was under the impression that your cognizance-”

Lex...talk...funny...

Gritting his teeth for a moment, Lex tried again. “I was told that you were just a monster.”

His answer caused Teyu Yagua to roar with all seven of its heads. NOT...MONSTER!!!

“I KNOW THAT!” bellowed Lex, and his shouting back at it seemed to catch Teyu by surprise, eyes blinking as it looked back at him. “I know that now,” continued Lex, lowering his voice.

For some reason, he suddenly thought back to when he and Sonata had met Fireflower on their journey to Tall Tale. Specifically, the morning after they’d captured the aranea, when he’d woken up and mistakenly thought that it – that he – was attacking Sonata. Lex had retaliated fiercely, and even after the misunderstanding had been cleared up, had defended his reaction adamantly when Sonata had pushed him to apologize, as a result of which...

As a result of which, she’d left him. That would have been the end of their relationship if she hadn’t pursued him all the way to Tall Tale, wanting him back. Even then, he’d very nearly turned her away; it was only her refusal to let things between them end so easily that had seen them get back together. All because of what had happened with his mistaking Fireflower’s intentions.

Lex shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he forced the memory away.

“I know you’re not a monster,” he continued, opening his eyes and looking back at Teyu. “I didn’t before, but I do now. That’s why I’m giving you food. To...to make up for what happened.”

Lex...sorry? Teyu’s mental voice was punctuated by a soft whine. Lex...want...be...friends?

“I...yes.” Sighing, Lex nodded. Despite this being what he’d wanted to achieve, for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to feel good about what was happening. “That’s right.”

Teyu, however, didn’t seem to feel the same way. Friend! he called, his heads barking again. Lex...friend! Give...fruit! Give...honey! Happy!

Shaking off the strange malaise that had come over him, Lex mentally prepared himself for what was going to happen next. “I’m going to use my magic to make the food,” he explained. “It will take a few minutes, so you’ll need to wait patiently. Do you understand?”

Understand! echoed Teyu, a few of his heads already licking their chops. The others were panting, tongues hanging out of their mouths in eagerness.

Nodding once, Lex drew in a breath of air, then began casting. He’d already used this bit of magic to create food and water for everyone back in the Shrine, but he’d had the presence of mind to call upon the reservoir of magic in his circlet when he had, retaining the spell. Of course, by itself this would only create oat gruel and water; having it create the fare that Teyu was eager for would require feeding it more magic.

And since he was already suffering from overexertion, that meant that forcing more magic through his body’s natural channels would be very painful exercise.

He was proven right a moment later.

This time he found himself remembering Vanhoover, when he’d tried something similar to this, using a stamina-increasing spell to grant him additional fortitude to in turn cast a heightened stamina-increasing spell, all before creating food for everypony. The recursive escalation in power had proven to be more than his body could withstand, and although he’d been able to finish the casting, he’d almost shredded himself from the inside out, self-inflicting such serious internal injuries that he likely would have died if the medical ponies there hadn’t immediately come rushing to his aid.

This time, the pain wasn’t nearly as bad, but in his beleaguered state it was enough that he very nearly lost control of the magic. As it was, he quickly found himself struggling to pronounce the words through mouthfuls of his own blood, needing to guide his hooves through the proper gestures with his eyes because they’d gone too numb for him to feel their movement naturally. And with every passing moment, the pressure in his head seemed to grow more intense, as though his brain were getting ready to explode out of his skull from all the power he was trying to shove in there.

But compared to all of the pain Lex had endured up until now, both physical and otherwise, this was easily within what he could take.

Ten minutes later, large bowls of honey-glazed fruits appeared throughout the cavern, eliciting howls of joy from Teyu.

Lex smiled at the sight.

Then he fell over, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Author's Note:

Lex manages to communicate with Teyu Yagua, offering the creature food in exchange for ending their fight!

Has he succeeded in befriending the creature? Or will it turn on him once it's done eating?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Monster Intelligence 3 or greater? Or high level Mage etc Awakened once Constructed?

Something went all out making this Guard Dog?

[Alzrius]

11314638 Well, the idea of using an awaken spell on the creature (albeit a variant that can affect magical beasts, like the kind found in Dragon magazine #304) was the Keeper's original plan. It's just that this creature was either always sapient (i.e. having an Intelligence score of 3 or higher) or someone already made it so. Unfortunately, Lex isn't currently in a position to inquire about that.

[Not so New Brony]

Now I can't help but wonder if Teyu Yagua ended up in that place by accident or rather abandoned since I can't help but think it was artificially created due to its odd appearance. Granted, my usual lack of knowledge of D&D and Pathfinder's library of monsters might prove me wrong.

Regardless, Teyu Yagua's preference for fruits and honey is fortunate as it implies that they're either herbivorous or omnivorous with preference for sweets. I can only imagine Pinkie Pie showing the creature a world of pastries if she had been in this situation. It would be surreal but then again, it's Pinkie Pie.

I also find it amusing at Lex trying to befriend Teyu Yagua, even if it was out of desperation but given how doing so stopped hostilities, he might try to be more diplomatic in the future instead of running roughshod over everyone...maybe.

[Alzrius]

11314890 Teyu Yagua's circumstances are a mystery, and given its apparent inability to speak (at least without artificial aid, such as Lex provided here) and its lack of proficiency with language even when it's given that ability, it might be hard to plumb that particular mystery. Of course, I have a habit of giving a backstory and/or development to every character with a name that appears in this tale, so maybe we'll find out where he came from?

That said, I suppose this is as good a time as any to point out that this particular creature is likely to baffle even Pathfinder/D&D aficionados, as it doesn't appear in the former's series of Bestiaries nor the latter's Monster Manual line of books. In fact, this particular monster (whose name I've deliberately tweaked so as to be phonetic rather than use the standard spelling, which is "Teju Jagua"), comes from Legendary Games' Latin American Monsters (and is nowhere near as deadly as, say, the one in the Creature Codex tumblr), where it's presented as being a non-unique type of creature, which (like how the mythological Medusa became the template for medusas as generic monsters) marks it as being different from the mythological Teju Jagua.

None of that helps figure out what this particular creature's backstory is, of course (and, in fact, suggests that the name it's using isn't a personal one, which has some unusual implications), but it can be fun to dig into the inspirations for various creatures, particularly when they're several steps removed from their origins, i.e. mythology -> game stats -> this story.

But perhaps more notable than any of that is Lex trying to actually be diplomatic for a change. True, it's because he has to, but there's something to be said for the fact that he's being bombarded not only by memories of how he met Solvei, but also what happened with Fireflower. It's telling that he's reaching back to look at times when he unnecessarily escalated conflicts as a lesson in trying to do the opposite now. Fortunately for him, it worked...right?