Eupepsia (0/2): Food takes considerably longer to digest, extending your ability to survive. You can consume any organic material, regardless of its health hazards, and survive off it.
Motionless (0/2): You may enter a semi-conscious state where your metabolism slows down to near infinite survival, enabling you to survive extreme temperatures. While in this state, you can only perceive external stimuli. You may end this state at any time.
These were some rare finds! Was Amorphous truly able to remove my weak spots? If so, that would be incredible. Just think about it! Humans were basically composed of nothing but weak points. If I could mitigate the extra damage I was always taking from being stabbed somewhere vital, I’d be more or less unstoppable. I had to test this out right away.
“Stop trying to see if the mud is edible,” I said, finishing up my work on the unfortunately named Glurp Charm. I had fashioned the charm into a long, hoop style bracelet, one that slipped easily over either hand. I equipped the bracelet, turning off my Telepathy charm, and selected Amorphous.
At once I felt a strange shift in my body, as if everything was moving just a little bit. Instinctively, I began to rub my arms, feeling things crawling beneath and then, nothing. Everything felt more or less the same.
Trig wandered over to me with a frown. “I wasn’t eating the mud; I was thinking about eating it. You know, for science.”
“Right,” I said, ignoring the small smear of mud across the corner of his lip. “I want to test something.” I made a V with my fingers. “I want you to jab me in the eyes, as hard as you—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Trig complied with a startling amount of enthusiasm. He poked me straight in the eyes, causing me to instinctively reel back and clutch my face. It stung, of course, to be hit so hard, but it was no worse than being jabbed in the arm.
“Why did you do that without any hesitation?” I demanded, once I realized I wasn’t blinded by the attack. His fingers bounced off my eyeballs like they were solid.
“Because you told me to!” he said. “I mean, how many times do you get the opportunity to just poke someone in the eyes? I’m not going to let that go past me! But uh, did it work?”
I nodded and smacked him in the back of the head. “Yes, it worked. And you should be thankful for that.”
“Why am I getting in trouble for just following orders?” he grumbled as he climbed into the back of the wagon. It was my turn to take watch now. It wasn’t a bad deal; we’d work in 12 hour shifts. One would sleep and relax; the other would lead the cart forward. The only real drawback to the Stabwagon was the fact that it didn’t move very quickly. All of the gear, mixed with the reinforced steel frame designed to prevent larger monsters from eating it, weighed the thing down quite a bit. Our engineers used as much magic as they could to get it moving at a decent pace, but in reality, it could only move about as fast as a human could march.
Time alternated between fast and slow as I traveled along the pathway set out by the scouts. Some days would go by quickly, as Trig would wake up early and be in a chatting mood; other days would drag, as we both found ourselves running out of things to say. At one point, Trig found one of my romance novels and began to read it out loud, to mock me, but ended up becoming engrossed in it just as much as I was. Thankfully, it was one of the few clean books that I had bothered to pack, for that would have certainly been awkward to hear him try and read smut aloud. Discussions of the book broke up the boredom of travel for quite some time, until we finally reached the very edge of our charted map.
“There it is,” Trig said as he leaned over the top of the wagon, pointing to the split in the road. To the right was a basic dirt road, carefully constructed by the exploration corp who had scouted the area. That road would lead in a large loop all the way to Maxwell’s Breach. To our left was a great mountain range with lush, untamed grass nearly as high as your knee. An untamed world beyond our own little corner.
“It’s crazy. Not long ago the entire surface seemed scary. Untamable. But we overtook it and now we have our own slice of the world. So much it feels like it’s home. But…leaving home feels weird, I guess.”
“I think it’s the unknown,” Trig said with a sigh. “Sure, we run into trouble all the time in our neck of the woods, but we know the area and the troubles. Even when we don’t know what troubles we’re facing, it’s like…we still expect something. But out there…” he trailed off and raised his hands. “Who knows?”
“Well, you’ve kept me good company, Trig. But past that mountain range is where the Shadewood lies. And I can’t have you coming with me.”
Trig scoffed at that. “What, you’d make me leave now? Before Miss Chrysanthemum can declare her love for the butler? I don’t think so.”
“You can take the book,” I said.
“You know it’s not about the book,” Trig replied, his voice growing stern once more. “Avery, I’m not leaving you. Higgins asked me to keep you company because he doesn’t want you lonely. But I’m not here to just be your buddy. I’m a Venator, trained and ready to fight on your side. I’m here to make sure you come back home.”
I was torn here. Part of me wanted to give an order and send him straight home. No other Venator was cleared to come with me and the gembeasts had clearly watched Trig perform along with the others when I had shown them our home base. I was the only one they took any interest in. The only one they thought had a slim chance of making it.
But the other part was longing for companionship. Trig’s presence allowed me to rest fully, and use my Telepathy charm to speak to my husband and spend time with him without fearing some beast would catch me unaware. And… it was nice having someone to watch your back. Trig was young, but he was still an adult. He could make his own decisions.
“Do whatever you want,” I said, turning my back to him and making my way towards the untamed grasslands. “Just know that whatever happens to you out there, well, it’ll be on you. I tried to warn you.”
“And like all warnings in my life, I’m just going to pretend like I didn’t hear it,” Trig replied. “Now come on, let’s go find that Vessel.”
Chapter 6
There was an eeriness in the silence surrounding us as our solitary cart rolled up the gravel path. The grasslands had been free of any serious monsters. A few Kinru were here and there, but they were quick to take off when a single arrow killed their leader. Other than that, no monsters around. At least, none we could see.
I had opted out of sleeping today, choosing to sit atop the cart instead, watching for signs of danger. In the distance, at the top of the gravel road leading in between the mountain range, I could hear some shuffling. They were slow, plodding footsteps, purposeless and without aim. My supernaturally-enhanced senses could tell that it was a small creature, restricted to perhaps one single area.
Trig let out a few whistles as we drew closer to the source of the sound. He had heard the shuffling too and had a bomb in one hand and a dagger in the other. I drew my bow and adjusted my position, so that I was crouching atop the wagon. The aimless shifting seemed to indicate this creature was waiting for something. Waiting for us, perhaps.
“Kinru!” Trig shouted as the beast came into view. I raised my bow, but Josiah’s Storm emoted a strong urge for me to stop before I could snap off a round. Not as it seems, the bow shouted. I held my shot and realized that the beast in question was not a beast at all, but was rather a man, wearing the head of a Kinru atop his own.
He was an older fellow, with a long cane made of bone, and the severed head of a Kinru affixed atop his skull as if it were a hat of sorts. He wore long robes made from monster flesh and his scent was curiously missing. Even though the wind blew towards us, I could not smell a hint of his presence, regardless of my enhanced perception.
“Wait, that’s an old man,” Trig said, squinting. “What the hell is he wearing?”
“Camouflage,” I said. “Let me talk to him, but don’t get close
. Not everyone we meet on the road is a friend.”
“Yeah, yeah man is the real monster and all that,” Trig grumbled as he pulled the lever on the wagon to stop it from rolling forward. The gears crunched and groaned as I leapt down to approach the man, keeping my bow low, but still present. Above, the sun was beginning to set, and it would be night soon. Perhaps he had a shelter nearby that he stayed in.
“Greetings,” I said, waving a hand at him.
The old fellow stopped walking and tilted his head up. “Someone say something? Forgive me, but the eyes aren’t so good these days.”
“I said hello,” I replied, trying to keep my voice low enough to avoid attraction but high enough for him to hear.
“Lots of things say hello,” he said, his head sweeping left and right slowly. I noticed that his eyes indeed looked quite dim. “Prove you aren’t a monster. Say something only a rational being would say.”
“What in the hell are you doing out here all alone?” I asked.
This got a laugh from the man. “You indeed are human. Please, come closer, so that I may see you. I promise I am of no trouble. In fact, I may actually provide you with something you need.”
“Is that so?” I asked, not stepping forward. There was something about his calm demeanor that seemed to really send shivers down my spine.
Right as we spoke, there came a horrid ka-snap from behind him. I jerked back to avoid an attack but realized that I wasn’t the target of the trap that triggered. A Kinru was suddenly yanked into the air, having snuck up behind the old man during the conversation. A complex snare trap had activated, pulling the creature high into the sky, between the mountain crags. Once the Kinru was suspended by its leg, hissing and snapping, a twin pair of blades came thrusting out of the mountain walls, stabbing the creature in the head and belly in perfect unison. Both blades twisted up and down, disemboweling and beheading the creature at the same time.
“Woah!” I gasped, watching as a hatch in the mountain wall opened up, allowing the rope to drag the creature into the passage. There was a brief crunching and clicking sound, followed by the wall panels sealing up once more.
“My traps are quite excellent,” the old man said. “Well designed, deadly in their application and best of all, quite cheap.”
“Cheap?” I repeated.
“That’s why you’re here, aren’t you? To purchase one of my murderous marvels?” he asked. A frown appeared on his face. “I can’t think of any other reason you’d be here.”
He was a merchant? Peddling traps in the middle of nowhere? Either it was a cover story, or he had gone quite mad in his old age. Though to be so mad and deadly at the same time…perhaps sanity was overrated.
“My name is Avery Lorne,” I said, making sure not to get any closer. I couldn’t spot any traps in front of me, but I also hadn’t spotted the traps behind the man either. He was quite skilled with hiding them. I didn’t mention Trig, in case this stranger was up to something. “And I’m trying to get to the Shadewood. I was led to believe it would be beyond the mountain range and this trail seemed well kept, so I assumed there’d be people around.”
“That explains the scent that follows you,” he said. “The scent of death. I take it you like to kill these things?”
“I’m a Venator, yes,” I said. The word seemed to have no effect on the man. He merely smiled widely at me.
“Fancy word, never heard of it. The mountain is trapped to hell and back, so you best go around. Unless you want to pay for my services, of course.”
There was that concept again. Purchase, pay, trade. Trent had developed some kind of money system for us back at Hunter’s Hope, but that was merely to stop people from using up all the good alchemical supplies. Otherwise, people didn’t pay for anything. Most folks bartered to get what they wanted, but anything they needed was distributed by a quartermaster or a ration-keeper. Money wasn’t much of a thing underground, though I guess in the world before it was quite a big deal.
“I’ll admit, Mr…”
“Brimley!” he said with a toothy smile. “Mr. Brimley Ward the Third, at your service!”
“Mr. Brimley, I don’t have a clue what you mean by pay. Do you want to trade for food? Or maybe service? I don’t really have anything else. I mean, nothing you could use anyway.”
Brimley chuckled at that. “Come now, Avery, don’t be silly. I know you’re like me. A monster slayer. I know you cut them open and drink of their power, just like me.”
“So you are a Venator…” I said.
“Still don’t know what that means, but it’s clear as day that you radiate Bloodpoints. So does your companion. Thought I didn’t notice him back there? He doesn’t smell as strongly as you. Probably only killed a single Titan. But you? Ohhhh, you must kill Titans all the time. For sport,” Brimley said, snickering.
He could smell all of this? A shiver ran down my spine once more. My danger senses creeped up just a little, warning me about him. Something about him was off. But what? I glanced around once more for signs of trouble or danger but could see nothing.
“I’ve killed two,” I said, puffing out my chest and standing straight up. Maybe he needed to know what he was dealing with before he got any ideas.
“Two Titans!” Brimley beamed. “You are truly an excellent slayer. No doubt you’d benefit greatly from my wares. Please,” he turned to his side and gestured towards a small cave in the distance. “Come in and take a look at what I have to sell.”
“And what do you want in exchange?” I asked, standing my ground.
“I can take some of those little trinkets off your hands,” he said, pointing towards my charm bracelet. “Those sell for very well to the right people.”
“You have other customers?” I asked, my voice quivering from the hope. It was foolish, I know, to trust this man, but the idea of there being people who bought charms from him meant that there were other Venators out there!
“Oh sure, I get a customer who arrives every few months or years,” Brimley said. “Hard to keep track when you can’t really see the sun. They know my blueprints are top notch. Hard-earned and carefully cultivated. Would you like another demonstration?”
At that exact moment, I heard another snapping sound, but this time, it was from beneath me. My enhanced reflexes just weren’t enough. A steel cord snagged both legs at once and the next thing I knew, I was being hoisted high into the air. Twin blades, long curved scythes appeared in midair, as if summoned by magic, and spun towards my neck at full speed. I raised my hands instinctively to try and stop the attack with my armor, but they stopped inches away from me.
“If someone as perceptive as you didn’t notice what you were standing on,” Brimley chuckled, “imagine what it’ll do to those horrid monsters you’re fighting.”
And with that, the rope holding me went slack and I fell to the ground. The blades vanished instantly. “Come on then,” he grunted, hobbling towards the cavern with his cane. “Let’s see what I have in stock.”
Chapter 7
This strange man, Brimley as he called himself, was unbelievably suspicious. But that did not stop Trig and I from following him into his trap-laden cavern. Horrid sounds of razors, buzzsaws and tripwires echoed throughout the tunnel network, followed shortly by the sounds of all manner of creatures dying.
“These tunnels connect to the Shadewood,” Brimley muttered as we followed him deeper into the darkness. I handed Trig a bottle of nighthawk, to ensure we could both see in the nearly pitch black cave. The old man didn’t seem to notice the lack of light, though he was probably accustomed to walking in the dark due to his poor eyesight.
Trig gulped the potion down and gave me a look that suggested the best option would be to go far away from this place, but my burning curiosity was killing me here. I needed to know who this man was and why he considered himself a merchant. More importantly, who was he a merchant to?
“Is that so?” I asked. Another tripwire in th
e darkness, much closer to us. The shrieks of a Fitzon, loud and abrasive, followed by the sounds of skin being flayed.
“Indeed. The wood is where many of these wretches come from. They like the tunnels here. But I don’t much care for trespassers, human, beast or otherwise,” Brimley said, chuckling to himself.
I sipped my own potion, watching as the world around me suddenly turned bright as daytime. The dampness beneath our feet, which I had assumed was simply water, was actually a small river of blood. It was thick, reddish black ooze and was unmistakably monster in origin. Where the flow was coming from, I could not tell.
“So, you want passage to the Shadewood,” Brimley said. “And perhaps some of my wares too, once we get into the shop. Those will cost you. The wares I sell simple enough. Tit for tat, as it were. Everything costs coin. And to get into the wood? I might be willing to take you through these tunnels if you can do what comes naturally to you.”
“You’ve a monster problem?” Trig asked as another yelped echoed through the tunnel, so loud that it bounced past us twice.
“The little ones, Kinru, Fitzons and what have you are easy to kill with traps. But the bigger beasts I usually divert,” Brimley explained as he took us to a small wooden door on the side of the tunnel. He tapped his bone cane against the walls for a second, until the wooden door gave a satisfying thump, showing him where to look for the handle. He grabbed the small brass knob without any fumbling and swung it open.
“They aren’t too smart, you know. I’m sure you have no trouble luring them into all manner of traps. I built a Concave Release System, designed to open up beneath certain weights. Large beasts tumble down and get diverted into big tunnel areas, leading them out of the mountain. All one way and properly baited,” he continued as he led us into the rather expansive shop. “Though recently I’ve got a rather angry plug in one of the holes.”
“Wow!” Trig gasped at the sight of the interior. I myself was impressed, for this shop was quite large, full of tables and shelves as far as the eye could see. Dozens of weapon racks lined the walls, displaying swords, knives and halberds of all shapes and sizes. Armor sat upon those lifeless mannequins I had seen back at the mountain fortress. On the tables were charms galore and encased in a glass counter were dozens of gems, jewels and rings, carefully cushioned on small red pillows.
Monster Hunting 401: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure Page 3
