Fable - Ask The Book Thief

[Darkensand]

Now that was unexpected.

That these Thugs were not only capable of subduing a Behemoth, No.

They also got their Hands on Mythril, there was after all no other Material which could otherwise contain a Behemoth, and apparently someone that was skilled enough to create Chains with it.

Surprise after Surprise, truly what a Day...

And yet even in it's chained State, the Behemoth still succeeded in causing Trouble.

The Thugs were working on somethign but damned be the Behemoth, the Leader of the Thugs was cut off by a Behemoth.

At least he knew that they had yet to finish whatever they had planned and considering she needed her Gang to work faster, meant that she very well still had other Opposition, especially since she spoke of Undead as if they were in a War with them.

Whatever it was, there were a few Options of how to proceed.

The most glaring one was obviously freeing the Behemoth, but even for Darkensand, in his current State to break Chains of Mythril was to risky, it would exhaust him way to much, especially if the Behemoth would immediately turn on them.
Yet there needed to be a Key to the Chains, after all, why else would they have chained it up, instead of killing it?

But getting the Key would definitely prove to be difficult.
Even finding it would not be easy, although it was most certainly with their Leader, there was a Chance a trustworthy Retainer instead held it.
But whoever would try, neither Suchus nor Darkensand were especially suitable for any Kind of Stealth Tasks.


Ignoring the Behemoth altogether was certainly also possible and yet the Enemys were countless and Darkensand could not exclude the possibility that not only they could overwhelm the two, no, considering they did subdue a Behemoth, their Leader may yet to reveal all her cards.

Because of that, Darkensand could also not risk feeling whether the Leader had a Affinity towards Magic, she most likely would feel it if she turly had it, and their Position getting discovered in this very Moment would be extremely disadvantageous.


Ultimately they had two Options, either attack them with the help of the Behemoth or don't.
How the two of them executed the Options, was the bigger Question.

After his little thinking Session, Darkensand decided to hear out Suchus' Opinion on the Situation.

Suchus

 

[Suchus]

Suchus had fewer thoughts on the deeper plans of these people. They were annoying and in the way, is what they were to him. They crushed Darkensand's carriage and Suchus expected they'd only cause more trouble for them the longer they were left walking. His eyes were dabsmack on the lioness woman, the end of his own tail writhed with anticipation of catching her.

Yet he also didn't move from his spot. He'd more than noticed the odds against them too, and he didn't know enough about Behemoths to know if it'd loyally obey this gang lord the way the hoofed beasts did. He was sure that Nagai raiders would find this whole experience very enriching and fun. They could squabble between themselves a plan, maybe lay out some scent trails for notes. In comparison, Suchus wordlessly turned his head to look at Darkensand, expectant, only to immediately notice that the lich seemed undecided as well.

"Guh..!" Suchus grumbled. He rested his head down in the mud and closed his eyes, thinking. The two couldn't make complex plans. He wasn't even sure what was stumping Darkensand, and if it was the same hurdles Suchus was worried about. He put his hands on his head and ran his palms down his scales in one long stroke while he debated their options.

After a minute he put his hands down and opened his eyes. He was looking at Darkensand as he offered quietly. "Sslike catch rabbit?"

He wasn't sure if his words made enough sense. The naga shifted closer to the lich and propped himself up with one elbow. With a claw, he drew a simple cord-and-weight trap in the mud. He then drew a circle a an inch away before pointing at the encampment with a small growl, then the circle again; he meant it to represent the camp and its people.

Suchus continued like this, tracing a line from the camp through the trap doodle he made. As he did so, he made a quiet squeak, as if trying to represent pain. Then continued the traced line more wobbly, troubled, before he dotted it out.

It was some kind of plan to thin the herd of whatever they could first and foremost. Perhaps it had genius tricks to it, but all the naga could do was mud doodles. When he finished, he looked at Darkensand with clear excitement and anger. Suchus was confident in it, but was definitely awaiting his companion's response.


Darkensand

 

[Darkensand]

Suchus was right, Darkensand had considered thinning them out, though he was certain, that would make it impossible to free the Behemoth.

They would catch on quickly, but it was still the best choice, if they choose to go into this Encounter without any more Help.

The two of them would have to wait till night though, any sooner and the success chances would rapidly plummet to the ground.

Maybe Darkensand could try to place down a few Runes that would slowly corrode the encompassing Trees, the more Chaos they caused, the less likely it was, that they had to face an overwhelming amount of Enemies.

"Wait. Night. Weaken Trees. Need create Chaos."

Darkensand would have to immediately prepare the Trees and a few Calculations to determine of when to place the Runes.

Whatever else could help, he let Suchus decide and do on his own.

Suchus

 

[Suchus]

Darkensand responded. Suchus smirked and nodded. After a few minutes more of spying, Suchus left the position to go further into the woods where the two wouldn't have to crouch around quite so much.

Whatever Darkensand did, he was gifted with magic. Suchus had to do things with plain old brute strength. It meant he couldn't weaken the trees quite as easily as Darkensand would; any sound would tip off the gang or their animals. What Suchus could do quietly and efficiently was dig.

He laid out numerous hole traps. Just two did he had the time to make quite large; big enough to catch a whole beast in. The rest were small but deep, like a gopher hole. It wouldn't kill or trap anyone but it'd break their pathetic skinny ankles if they stepped over it. A total of eighteen spread out along the forest path the two had picked out. He couldn't be sure they'd all catch a foot, so better more than less.

The holes were covered lightly but disguised without any real giveaway. It's not like Suchus had to worry about them, so he hadn't even thought about that.

Darkness was beginning to fall, and finished with his work he sought out the smell of Darkensand before slumping down next to a bush to rest. The naga was huffing heavily and covered in mud. He pulled the sheep blanket close and coiled his tail underneath him a few times. With the night, everything was colder. He'd be weaker, slower. He needed to catch his rest while he could, and make sure his movements from here on were all picked wisely.

"Ssoon.." Suchus said to Darkensand. He didn't want his ally to go running off before he himself was ready.


Darkensand

 

[Darkensand]

"I know."

All imaginable Preparations had been made, all but a single one.

Darkensands Companion was clearly, thanks to his Naga Heritage, weakened.

Without warmth any Reptilian Lifeform tended to cool down to fast, which considerably influenced their Movement, such a problem would prove fatal for the upcoming Battle though.

It would certainly take some time, but he could inscribe a simple Rune into Suchus, which should negate the coldness of the Darkness.

The downside was obvious, since Suchus lscked any magical Energy, he coulf not sustain the Rune on his own, so Darkensand would hsve to pour a considerable Amount of magical Energy into it, so that it may not run out.

Darkensand was willing to do it, but ultimately decided to let Suchus decide, it was his Body and he should know his own Body best, as well as how much of a Problem, the cold would prove to be.

While explaining the slight predicament to Suchus, Darkensands thoughts digressed.


Behemoths while not herd animals, were strongly protective of their own Chilf until they reached Maturity, who knows how old the Behemoth they had heard was, maybe his Parents would suddenly srrive and help the two or destroy any Plans they had made prior to this Point in Time.


He snapped Back to Reality and eagerly awaited Suchud reply.

Suchus

 

[Suchus]

Darkensand was willing to do a lot to get Suchus moving again tonight but the naga snorted at his proposal. Suchus tipped his chin up pridefully at his friend. After the display, he was quick to miserably curl up under the blanket once more.

Suchus had a potential option for securing warmth, and without burning up the lich's power. It only rested on the animal lord and her men not using too much magic either; it was night, and they'd need torches to see. As far as Suchus was concerned, a fire could only help them.

"You lead chassse." Suchus suggested. If the naga could stay hidden and pick his moments perfectly, he should be able to stay safe. And if he could warm up, well, then that was game over for the little soft-skinned humans then.

The behemoth posed it's own challenges. Suchus shifted under his blanket in order to stare off into the darkness, towards the camp. It was much too far away right now to sense anything, but he was uneasy enough about that creature that he felt compelled to flex his infrared just in case. Darkness.

"If fasst. They..." Suchus struggled with pronunciation on a few words before giving up and just saying "...Hemoth."



Darkensand

 

[Darkensand]

"I know.
Trees falling, soon."

It was Time, the Trees should start giving in to their own Weight anytime now.
He could feel it, several of their Men had to fallen over Suchus Traps, now with their broken Bones, they would make easy Targets.

Two unlucky ones even fell into one of the bigger Traps, not yet dead, but certainly already bleeding out and doomed to die without help.
It was Time, the Trees started to give in, one after another.

"To the arms!"

Quite surprsingly, their Leader themselve had stayed watch and now attempted to rally her troops together.

But the Chaos that had ensured made clear, their Group was forced to work together and most of them lacked the Discipline to remain calm.
Because of that, the Leader only managed to rally at most a dozen Men, the rest was still running around, frozen in fear, immobile because of broken Bones or Dead.

IT was Time to strike.
"Now!"
He jumped down from their Observationpost.

"Pardon my Interrup..."
Half her men were to eager for blood and apparently assumed Darkensand and Suchus to be an easy Target.

The Leader ordered them to stop, but they either didn't catch it or defied her orders.
Whatever the reason, Suchus seemed ready to show how big of a mistake it was to engage him.

So Darkensand decide to let him take care of the men.
Since the rest of the Bandits and their Leader decided to engage as well, he would have enough to do on his own.

While he was unable to see how his companion fared against his share of the fight, his share certainly did not last long.
Some of them were apparently quite unexperienced in facing a Mage and simply tried to rush him.

It took him but a moment to neutralize the two fools that had chosen such a poor strategy.
The first had the honor to experience becoming one with earth, the other didn't share a better experience.

It took Darkensand but a brief touch to start freezing the Bandit with each second more of the Bandit started freezing while previously frozen tissues got slowly destroyed, truly a painful death for all Beings that can feel Pain.
The rest, either because of previous experience or because of what they had to witness, approached him more carefully and with a more sound strategy.

While 2 Men covered Darkensand in Arrows, the Leader rushed him now, with the other two Henchmen at her side.
While it only slightly differed from the previous engagement, this Time they tried to disrupt Darkensand with the Arrows.

The Arrows couldn't possibly hurt him, but the constant firing did make it more difficult to successfully Target the incoming Enemys with his Spells.
So much that he decided to just hurl a Fireball at the rushing Group.

It did kill one of the onstorming Bandits and the two Archers in the back, however, in the end, the Leader and her remaining Henchmen did reach him.
Now it was all up to Close Quarter Combat, not necessarily Darkensands forte.

Yet they had still miscalculated.
They were now directly in Darkensands direct Presence, close enough for Darkensand to crush them directly with his Magic.

Or at least the Henchmen, as he found out, the Leader indeed used Magic, albeit in a Way more akin to that of a Sorcerer, she still nonetheless instinctively strengthened her Muscles, making it quite easy for her to break free.

Surprised by her use of Magic, Darkensand only barely managed to parry her incoming attack.

Adding to her innate magic usage he now also found out after clashing with her, that her axe was enchanted.

That complicated matters, Darkensand would have to end this fight as fast as possible.

But first he had to parry her incoming flurry of Strikes.
Each one of her Strikes came closer and closer to directly hitting him, especially the last one.

Had he not shifted the weight of her axe, she certainly would have gotten in a clean hit and Darlensand was certainly not keen on finding out, how strong the Enchantment on the axe truly was.

But after her last attack, it was clear that she was shortly brought out Balance.

Enough of a Weakness for Darkensand to thrust forward his Scepter right into her Stomach, while she attempted to dodge, Darkensand managed to hold her down with his magic, long enough for the Thrust to connect.

Amplified by his magic, even her own magical Enhancement couldn't shield her from the Thrust, she was forcefully flung back a few Meters, nonetheless still standing, while, at least following the sound, receiving additionally some serious Fracture.

It was clear to the eye, it took every ounce of magic in her to resist Darkensands blow.

She was barely able to stand, yet started rushing towards Darlensand immediately after getting a hold of herself.

But this Time it was not even the slightest bit difficult for him to block her Strikes, each seemed less to be aimed and more to be randomly thrown in, in hope of accidentally hitting something.

This Time, he would not give her the Chance to recover.

It was surprsingly easy to hit her Legs and in the Process, break them.

Regardless of her Willpower, she soon was incapable of standing and at the end, even got her axe flung to the side in the attempt to block a blow.

Ultimately she was incapable of even swinging her Fist, to paralyzed by the Pain and to exhausted to muster up anymore Strength.

"Now, if you may be so kind, as to answer a few of mine and my companions questions?"

No, answer.

Damn, seemed like she had either passed out or even bled out, just as he wanted to check on her, he heard it.

A roar. The Behemoth was free and quickly approaching.

Suchus

 

[Suchus]

While Darkensand dealt with the leader and her still-walking compatriots, Suchus focused his attention on finishing off the injured. He didn't have any concern for these men, even if many of them were incapacitated. He had no idea what potential back-up plans these people might have and wouldn't risk the possibility of a man with a broken leg dragging himself over to any panic button options.

As he was, Suchus was slow. It made his muscles week but also his reaction time as well. In a hand-to-hand fight, he didn't like his chances of coming out of it without a stab wound. He attacked with his teeth first, and when his venom began its work, then he could finish them off however slowly he needed to.

The men lying beside his smaller traps were easy enough to dispatch. He just made sure to position himself at the best angle to bite before revealing his location to them. He aimed for the heads and necks, and failing a good angle on those, their dominant hands.

One of the wounded men was quick with his dagger and managed to slash open Suchus' cheek before the naga landed a bite on his hand. Irritated, Suchus snarled as his teeth sunk in. A moment later, his hand was limp and he could only try to push Suchus away feebly as the naga raked claws against his throat.

The slice on his cheek was the worst he got from the men who had fallen into his traps but he wasn't otherwise unscathed. Where were shallower cuts he earned from the bandits while taking them out. Doubling back, he went to check the men in the larger holes. One was already unconscious while a few more groaned in pain.

Suchus briefly debated what to do with them; he could get out if he went down there, but did he want to go down there? No, not really.

As he considered his options, he noticed something; the tusked beasts--none of them were caught! Where had they gone?

Suchus' stomach twisted and he immediately went for a tree. He was slow but managed to get up into the boughs without trouble. He laid down there, huffing and puffing, before looking around. Nothing. He could hear the men groaning still but that was it.

After a short breath, he coiled his tail around the trunk of the tree and lifted himself up. With a good view of the land, he checked for heat signatures. Nothing he didn't already know about.

Where were the tusked beasts?

It was then that Suchus heard a loud, bellowing roar. A familiar roar. With it came the terrible CRACK of tree trunks breaking. The behemoth was free and moving around. Suchus groaned.

Perhaps the beasts knew best; they must have fled the moment they sensed the Behemoth's shackles breaking. If they didn't, well, perhaps that was what the Behemoth was currently seeking out; its chance at prey.

Sluggishly, Suchus left the tree and got back down on the ground again. Staying high up wouldn't offer any safety from something big enough to barrel through a forest. Suchus' priority was finding Darkensand and followed the series of magically inclined deaths until he found the lich. At his feet was the lioness.

Suchus felt at ease with that much dealt with. Exhausting as it was, at least they had already dealt with a Behemoth before--if they needed to deal with it at all. Pulling the sheep blanket up to shelter his head, Suchus slithered through the mud to Darkensand's side. His icy blue eyes glanced over at his companion and he opened his mouth to talk.

But he stopped himself. Maybe it was best not to say too much too quickly. Instead, Suchus turned his gaze in the direction of the roars of the behemoth.


Darkensand

 

[Darkensand]

Damnation...
The Behemoth had broken free, the leader was most likely dead and Suchus was missing, truly nothing seemed to go right this day.

Now Darkensand would have kill the Behemoth while still being weakened from all the rain, travel and lack of opportunities to replenish his Lifeforce.

The odds were not stacked in his favor, but then he felt it.

One of his Shards! Here?!
It was in front of him, to be more precise, it was within the leader.
No wonder, she could exert such magical Prowess.

But there was no Time to contemplate how she acquired it, he had to rip it out off her, killing her, if she wasn't already dead, in the process and then absorb it.

All that before the Behemoth would reach him, but what better Option was there?

If the Behemoth did arrive before he finoshed, he would just have to hope that Suchus would understand that he needed some time to 'prepare'.


No more Time to think, the Behemoth came closer and Darkensand would have to start now, if he wished to have any chance of succeding in absorbing his Shard in Time.

So he ripped out his Shard, and her Heart as a side-effect, and started, one may call it attuning to the shard to absorb it.

All while the Behemoth encroached upon his location.

Suchus

 

[Suchus]

Darkensand started to extract something from the fallen leader. Suchus looked on, perplexed and concerned. Not the wellbeing of the scoundrel lioness, but from complete and utter bewilderment to the lich's magic.

Wizards... Suchus would never be able to guess what a wizard was going to do next. Now seemed like a poor time to do anything too; Suchus noticed it as well, the sounds of the Behemoth grew louder and louder. It was coming for them. Every now and again, the naga flexed the pits of his muzzle to sense what was out there.

At first, it was darkness and cold rain, but he began to see flickers of warmth through the trees. It was definitely getting closer. It didn't seem to eagerly charge them, but was meandering and tracking whatever was around it. Suchus assumed there must be scent trails from the bandits scattered all over the place, and the Behemoth would be interested in finding them. Problem with that; all tracks would inevitably lead back here, to their camp.

Suchus had to leave Darkensand's side. Rather than try and puzzle what Darkensand was doing, he slowly slithered towards one of tents and yanked its stakes free. He grunted as he pulled them out, but felt thankful for the wet weather loosening the ground a little. From there, Suchus sought out the bodies of nearby dead henchmen.

He took two scrawny looking ones. It was all Suchus could hope to carry right now, and even then it wasn't for long. He went to a tree several meters from Darkensand, close to the direction of the Behemoth and staked the body up to the trunk by the collar of the dead woman's shirt. Her limp legs dangled, her toes just barely touching the muddy ground.

Once she was up, Suchus smacked another stake he held against the tree, ringing out a hard noise into the rainy night. He didn't wait around to see if it'd attract the Behemoth's attention. He wasn't fast enough to wait, he needed to begin dragging the other body off to another tree. Hastily as the sluggish naga could, he pegged that bandit to a tree as well.

Nearby, he could hear the creak of bending trees. The Behemoth had grown closer, although Suchus couldn't be sure if it was due to his wailing on the tree, or if the thing was still tracking scent trails that'd take him right back to camp--and Darkensand.

Suchus sucked in a breath before bellowing out.

"BEASSST!" He yelled. "COME!"

He could hear the crunching of timber abruptly change directions. The giant creature had heard his call, and mistook it for one of its captors.

Suchus wouldn't be able to outrun it. He tossed aside the comfort of the sheep blanket, tossing it towards the hanging corpse before dropping himself down into the undergrowth just a few meters away. He had a coloration, lacked heat, and smelled nothing of the people that worked here; Suchus only hoped the damned creature wouldn't drop a tree on him in the process of rampaging around.

Close to the cold ground, Suchus began to ever so slowly, exhaustively drag himself further away. Inch by inch.


Darkensand