//------------------------------// // 4: Reload and Regroup // Story: The Earthen Monster // by Rotiyaz //------------------------------// Miles away from any dragon, sea serpent, or cockatrice, deep within many megatons of rock and ore, beneath a snow capped mountain range that has an opening at one of it's peaks where layers of chambers and paths let the slowly melting snow flow down into a collection of pools and rivers, Mud-Skin sits alone. He sits at the edge of his preferred pool with a torch nearby. He pulls a make-shift animal skin bag open. He pulls out a long waxy object that had a hexagonal pattern on it. A translucent golden fluid slowly dripped from the material, a sweet aroma floated to Mud-Skin's nose. He took in the scent with gratitude. It reminded him of home. "Honey was something I ate often back then. It was always available. Now, I have to hunt for it. I suppose it's only fair, now that bee farming and trading aren't things here." Mud-Skin ate the honey greedily, as if it would be stolen if he wasn't fast enough. He licked his hands clean before diving into his bag for more. Once the bag was empty, he sat back and relished the moment of ecstasy he earned. He could feel all of the dopamine passing through, then giving way to a coolness passing through his veins, signaling the transfer of the honey into his body. "So good." Songs started playing in his mind. A song of joy and sadness. A song of bitter-sweetness. A song about enjoying what remains of that which is long gone. A song about remembering. A song about things that could be. A single tear would be allowed to flow from his cheek while he listened to the faded records of the songs he had heard before. Tired from multiple sleepless nights having to watch out for further attacks, fighting strange bear-like chimeras and bees that shoot lightning, and being lulled by the songs of his past, combined with the nourishing honey he ate, Mud-Skin surrenders and succumbs to the embrace and comfort of sleep. ~*~ He checked his wounds again. Rolled the shoulder, flexed the back, squeezed his fists. Everything seemed to be healing at a regular pace, albeit faster than at home. Normally, these wounds would require surgery and thorough rest to even attempt to return to typical function. Here, everything only needs a few weeks to heal. He wasn't sure how long fractures would take, as he was yet to get one. "They'll be back." A heavy voice said to Mud-Skin in his mind. "I know they will. Beasts are usually stubborn that way." Mud-Skin replied to the voice as the new figure came into his mind's view. A vaguely human being walks into view, red in hue, with teeth the size of fingers and limbs as thick as trees. The only thing thicker would be the torso. The marbled, red flesh rippled with muscle and veins. Mud-Skin found him beautiful, though in a different way. "These are not simple beasts, and you know it. Show them no mercy this time. You've already done it twice, and look what you have wrought from it. Kill them. Kill them all. They deserve it. They struck you when they didn't need to and came with friends when one of them wasn't enough. They know now that even five aren't enough. Perhaps you can claim your first ten lives here." The red face of this being twists into an off-putting grin. A grin of bloodlust. A grin Mud-Skin sometimes wore. "No! Please don't kill them, Passion! I know you don't like it when people are bad, but we have be generous! If we kill them, how are we supposed to get along? It's only the second time!" Em emerged from the dark quickly, his pastel colors contrasting against Passion's dark red. "You are always so soft towards our enemies. Don't you recall how many times we've been hurt when we trust the untrustworthy?! I will not tolerate this foolishness! Now get out of my way!" Passion shouted at Em. Despite being much smaller, Em showed no fear for himself, only worry. "No! I won't! We have to be the change we want to see!" Em did not waver. "I'm afraid Passion is right this time, Em." A walking set of armor comes into view, well polished and bronze. "Not you too, Stoic!" Em was struck with bitterness. He seemed to realize the losing battle of will. "I'm sorry, Em. But Passion is right. Where I would normally agree with you, we are not dealing with humans anymore. This land boasts monsters of legend in abundance and has yet to show us a species capable of showing us even a shred of gentleness or mercy. Though our initial entrance was far from cordial, we can only infer that any further contact is hostile until proven otherwise. We must slay in order to stay alive. I pity you, Em. You're a good boy." Stoic walks toward Passion and fades into him. The veins on Passion bulge and shift like long, thick worms under the skin. He grows in size, now towering over Em with a wide, toothy smile big enough to eat Em whole. The skin thickens and hardens, now hiding all but the thickest veins under a layer of hard calluses and bronze scales. "Sit tight, sweet child. We won't be long. This is for your own good." The voice of the new being was profoundly deep, nearing the point of being unintelligible. He gave Em a sloppy lick as a form of alternate kiss. Em resigned himself to The Cage. A place where Passion was often chained in order to prevent overly zealous actions. Passion's blood warmed the Cage and shackles, a testament to how hot his temperament ran. At least it wasn't cold for Em. "Don't get hurt out there, you guys. I miss you already." Em hung his head, defeated. The new being, whom Mud-Skin called War, came to him. War's body opened and took Mud-Skin within. He was snuggly held by muscles, arteries, veins, and sinew. The warmth was piercing and deep, reaching to his bones. No more worry, no more doubt. It was kill or be killed. And there was no question about the choice to make. ~*~ Mud-Skin opened his eyes. He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep. The light of the pine torch was nearly out. He gets up and gathers his belongings to move. He had a lot of work to do. "He's a sweet kid. Too bad he's so trusting." "Agreed." ---~~~*~~~--- "What do you mean, 'You aren't going'?!" Stone shouted fiercely. "I mean, I am not going! Full stop!" Sparks shouted back at Stone, surprising the giantess with his outburst. " I understand that we ought to avenge Obsidian and all, but did you realize that Mud-Skin had gotten stronger from last time I found it! Gods only know how much more powerful that thing will be when we decide to go fight it again! I am not risking my life by walking up to that thing again! No ma'am!" Stone stood at the entrance to Sparks' lair, dumbfounded. Even though Stone knew Sparks to be more brain than brawn, she couldn't believe how adamant he was to not go back to face Mud-Skin. "You have faced that beast twice and survived. Why not make the third the last?" Stone said with a mixture of incredulity and frustration. "Because we barely survived with five of us! Two of which were among the best of our clutch mates! It killed Obsidian! He bled out on his way here! And it nearly killed the rest of us with a piece of your face! It let us go on purpose. Do you realize that creature, that Mud-Skin had been waiting for us? It had a plan of attack. It is intelligent. More than that, it seems to be as strong as you. If it makes traps for us that so much as slow us down, it will just pick us off one by one. I'm telling you. Just leave that thing alone. I've had enough head sickness to last a century." Sparks spoke his final sentence with an air of dejection and hopelessness. "I can't believe you. Right when victory is before you, you give up. Right when I was ready to gather some like minded dragons, you decide to act like a desert lizard. Fine. Stay here and wallow in defeat." She turned to leave, but just before she left, "I expected better from you, Sparks the lightning dragon." Sparks had a bitter taste in his mouth at her last remark. It honestly hurt more to know her disappointment than it did to feel the shame he foisted on himself. ---~~~*~~~--- Mud-Skin made his preparations. Traps laid on the mountains and under the forest floor. Every boulder loosed and moved by hand. Every workable piece of stone fashioned into spikes by striking them and scratching pieces off by hand. He went out of his way to try as many ways as possible to grow more muscle and improve his agility. Using his own body against itself to simulate a heavy object to move and using the heaviest and hardest rocks he could find, Mud-Skin manages to grow even bigger and stronger than before over the course of several weeks. In the midst of this, he also takes the time to hone both his awareness and agility. Avoiding mental distraction and focusing on moving and acting. What were once respectable strikes and commendable footwork had slowly become remarkable and impressive. Mud-Skin had certainly been fast and accurate, but he lacked flow and angle. In these weeks of building strength, his ability to move and willingness to take risks grew as well. A force to be reckoned with was Mud-Skin. ---~~~*~~~--- Slash, and Fireball, on the other hand, make it a point to advertise their goal to other dragons. The threat of a new unknown foe causing the ears of the other young and proud dragons to burn. A new challenge to prove themselves. And against a single target, no less. All to receive the right to say they were the ones to slay this beast that threatened to kill the new hatchlings. The renown that came with such a deed had beckoned them, and it was palpable. Oddly enough, despite the initial chaos from all of the new dragons doing their own thing, the two saw this as a good opportunity. The weaker dragons could soften Mud-Skin's defense and drain his strength. Then, once he had defeated the lesser combatants, they could take the credit for the kill and take revenge at the same time. Though the dragons were still divided by personal interest and foolhardiness, they still fought the same enemy. While Slash and Fireball were not concerned with the lack of having first dibs on Mud-Skin, Stone was furious at the idea. The idea that she would not be the one to land the first and last strike. Though she understood the tactical advantage of whittling down Mud-Skin's stamina, she dared not relinquish her hate for him. Her desire to personally see that beast suffer, to be the one who brought him low, to be responsible for seeing the last light of this creature fade away, it consumed her thoughts. Revenge would be hers. She would make that monster, that Mud-Skin pay. Blood for blood. Life for life. So, to reach this goal, she revised her plan. Stone knew she couldn't just convince each and every dragon that Slash and Fireball informed to change their timing or routines. But she could change hers. Without informing Sparks, Slash, Fireball, or any other dragon, Stone made it a habit to visit Norvos The Ancient. She knew that he had powerful magic. Magic that could make her stronger at a greater pace than with normal training. However, she also knew that Norvos never did anything for free, unless he felt pity. And Stone was not a pitiable creature. Nor was she a very talkative one. So, she was willing to sacrifice her entire horde, if it meant achieving her goal. Unbeknownst to her, Sparks had been following Stone from the sky and from a good distance. He could not stand laying around in his lair after hearing what she said. So, he had decided that seeing what she was up to was the best move. Though he had not been following her for very long, he does know that Stone has been frequenting the Spire of Norvos recently. Sparks was not sure why that would be the case. Norvos almost never does anything for free, as far as he knew. So either Stone is spending a lot of her horde, or Norvos is feeling very attached to her. Sparks was doubtful of the latter option. Nevertheless, he himself had to prepare. There was much work to be done. "Sparks the Lightning Dragon. I will not only live up to my breath, but also my adult name." Sparks said to himself with a bit of pride and determination.