NOVEL NEXT 12. Life and Death
There is a 10.5 bonus chapter in Miu's POV that was intended to be patreon exclusive, but after some thought, I'll release it here as well. It ties in with chapter 14, so it will go live on Monday and 14 on Tuesday.
Bonny grumbled as they walked, one hand still holding the head of her overly sensitive penis. “We could be resting, or sleeping, or fucking. Why are we walking toward more goblins?”
Miu lead them east, not responding to Bonny’s whining. She stopped occasionally to check the position of the sun with her hand. A ‘handspan’, Bonny had learned, was an old measurement of time, based on how far the sun would move. Or other things, as well, but when used by the ancient dryad, she meant travel time.
They smelled it first. The stink of blood, shit, vomit, and smoke marking the battle before they crested the last hill. They crouched behind cover, uncertain of what awaited.
Miu checked the sun again and Bonny was surprised at how accurately the dryad had predicted the distance and their travel speed in the few minutes they had talked. Miu’s skills and abilities with pathfinding meant they traveled much faster than most.
Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Bonny’s ears twitched back and forth, expecting to pick up something, but even the ubiquitous insects were quiet. It was an expectant silence, heavy and waiting.
After a short wait, they eased forward, heads poking over the rise, ears down to lower their silhouettes.
The forest in front of them was ugly and messy. Goblin corpses were strewn about, cut down and abandoned as the battle raged back and forth through the trees and brush. Much of the smaller undergrowth flattened and charred. A few areas still burned, proof that someone was using fire as a weapon.
There were a few lamia corpses as well. Long snake-like bodies, between 15 and 20 feet long, with human torsos and heads. They showed horrific burns and wounds, but for each lamia down, there were dozens of goblin bodies surrounding them.
“Triage!” Bonny activated her new skill, looking to see if there was anyone alive and injured that she could help.
A lamia, to one side, glowed with a deep dark red and black aura that covered her whole torso. Not just a serious wound, a death sentence.
Several goblins were still alive as well. Some dark auras, some lighter. One had no legs, but its aura was a bright red, almost healthy.
“I don’t see anyone moving,” she whispered, then pointed to several bodies. “But those are still alive and injured. They could be a threat.”
Bonny pointed at the glowing lamia. “She’s alive, but barely. I’m going to go see if I can help.”
Miu nodded, then slowly stood and lead the way. Her tail was puffy, showing her agitation as she crept forward. It felt like it took forever, but was just moments before they reached the lamia and crouched down, beside her.
Ch-ch-ch-chhh-bzzzzz! Bonny froze at sudden buzzing, rattling sound and looked around wildly. She’d encountered a rattlesnake once while running and it was a sound she’d never forgotten. Ch-ch-ch-chhh-bzzzzz! It was in front of her, nearby, if she could just step back …
The lamia! Bonny sighed in relief as she realized who was making the noise. “It’s ok, we’re here to help. The goblins are dead or gone.” She spoke in quiet, reassuring tone.
Ch-ch-chhhh. The snake girl seemed to understand and stopped twitching her tail. She blinked up at the two of them, slitted eyes struggling to focus. Her tongue flickered out, a third the width of theirs, but longer, and forked. She tasted the air, tasted them? Then nodded.
Bonny knelt down and examined the girl. She was lying on her back, with her tail twisted in loops around her. Her injuries were horrific, the worst being a huge hole in one side, exposing her intestines. Blood soaked the ground around her and Bonny wondered how she was still alive. Several other cuts and stabs covered her torso, though it was clear she had worn some armor that had mostly protected her vital areas. The armor was missing now, cut away and lost at some point.
The lamia's pattern was dominated by greens and grays, but she had a pattern of black diamonds, outlined by creme colored scales, running down her back. Her underbelly had long horizontal scales that matched the light outlines of her back. The scale pattern continued above her waist, in muted colors, but her skin was soft, human-like, without actual scales. Her breasts were exposed, but flattened out to the sides without support. Fortunately she had no wounds on her upper torso that Bonny could see. Nothing that would damage the heart or lungs, causing almost immediate death.
Bonny thought about her skills and how quickly she had run out of mana the other day with Miu’s relatively minor wounds. How could she ev…
“Miu, you said demonic energy was about trade and sacrifice?”
Miu nodded. “Guide energy, nya. Use little mana.”
“Would it work with goblins? Can I sacrifice them?”
Miu nodded again. “Think so, nya. I get.”
Bonny put her hands on the lamia’s shoulder and waist, avoiding the worse injuries. “Hold on, this will just take a minute.”
Miu dragged the first goblin over. It was breathing, but not responding. That would make this easier.
Bonny moved one hand to the goblin’s chest, hoping the skill would guide her, since she didn't know what to expect. The other skills had been intuitive, but she had been afraid of this one.
“Sacrifice!” A sense of power filled her, waiting, seeking direction. She visualized pulling the goblin’s health out and using it to restore the lamia, like a magical potion. The power seemed confused for a long moment and Bonny feared she had done something wrong, but then it surged down her arm into the goblin. There was a resistance, something within the goblin fighting back, trying to hold onto itself. Bonny pushed, forcing the energy into the goblin and felt a tug inside herself as her mana drained to overcome the goblin’s … Spirit? Soul? Something.
Then the power rushed back across, through her and into the lamia, the goblin’s body disintegrating under her hand. She looked over at the girl to see her visibly recovered. Wounds all across her body had improved a little. The large hole was smaller now, but started gushing blood.
“Oh, no. Miu, hurry!”
Miu was dragging another goblin over and started running at Bonny’s cry. She dropped the body and rushed off again, looking for a third.
Bonny tried something different the second time. “Wound Transfer!” She concentrated on the smaller wounds, certain that the large abdominal injury was too much to transfer. The smaller cuts and punctures had stolen some of the healing effect from the abdominal injury and she hoped by removing them, that another sacrifice heal would work better. She felt the strange tug of her mana forcing the goblin’s body to accept the transferred injuries and sighed in relief.
The goblin hissed in pain and woke up, scratching and clawing at Bonny’s hand. She recoiled in surprise, but slammed her hand back down and hurried on to the next step, “Sacrifical Heal!” After the previous usage, she realized the sacrifice skill was more versatile than expected and she could use a subcommand to help direct it. There was a larger tug on her mana and this goblin also disintegrated, a distant wail marking its passing.
The lamia’s injuries looked much better. The smaller wounds across her torso were mostly gone and the large hole in her side had mostly closed up. The bleeding had stopped and she opened her green and gray flecked slitted eyes and focused on Bonny.
Her tongue flickered out again, tasting? Verifying? “Thank you for your asssistansce. I am Eloisss.” She pronounced it with a hiss.
“Hold on, don’t move yet. Miu, one more." Bonny was starting to feel dizzy, but thought she could handle another.
Miu dragged the next one over and punched it in the head to knock it out. She had apparently noticed the last goblin attacking Bonny and disapproved.
“Wound Transfer!” Bonny concentrated on the large injury now that it was more manageable. There was the now-familiar tug, but it felt strained and the energy transfer slowed. The three of them watched as the injury slowly closed up, while an identical one opened on the goblin. Bonny’s vision narrowed to small tunnels as her mana dried up.
She fell, her vision little more than sparks floating in front of her. She felt Miu’s arms catch her and lower her slowly. “Got you, nya. Rest now.”
Bonny smiled up at her blindly, knowing she would be watching. Then Bonny slept, glad she hadn’t passed out completely this time.
