The Mother of Monsters

Teyva was a little surprised she woke up in the same place she’d fallen asleep the previous night. With everything that happened, she had been under the impression that Yaga Yftha would have pursued them under the guise of wanting to protect Azrael. Instead, she sat up and breathed in the scent of food being cooked over the campfire. Nephral let out a noisy yawn and stretched, doing his best not to dig his claws into Teyva as he roused from his own slumber. Queenie had moved once more from the satchel at Teyva’s waist and found a spot on Teyva’s shoulder. She blinked out bleary eyes and found Azrael looking at her from the side of the campfire.

“You’re awake,” She grunted, looking back down at the fire. Teyva got to her feet and trotted over, sitting down next to Azrael and staring into the flames. Azrael let out a sigh and glanced up at Teyva. “You think I’m in trouble?”

Teyva rolled her eyes and chuckled, “Tons.”

Azrael snorted out a laugh and skewered a piece of meat, “She deserved it.”

“You stood up for me,” Teyva said, “I won’t forget that.”

“You better not,” Azrael snarked with a mouth full of sausage, “I’ll beat your ass.”

The two let out a sigh and leaned into one another, Teyva reaching into the pan and skewering a piece with her hardened fingernail. Azrael shook her head and Teyva smirked at her, snipping off a tiny piece with her pointed teeth as the thud thud thud of The Marble’s powerful legs caught their attention. They both looked back to see a very tired-looking Elat dip in through the opening the mimic had made. He had a bundle of rocks under his arm and froze when he saw the two of them looking at him. “What?”

“Thank you for being there for me last night,” Azrael said.

Elat cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, looking away. The two of them going awkwardly silent. Teyva raised her eyebrows and reached over to sneak another piece of sausage only to have her hand slapped away by Azrael who gave her a bemused look. “Nice try.”

Teyva feigned innocence and Elat burst into laughter, walking over and setting the rocks down next to the fire. As he did Teyva took a moment to compare herself to the big orc. If she had to guess he was about seven feet tall, standing next to him that put her around six and a half. She wasn’t certain exactly but she felt like she might have gained almost a foot thanks to the Titan stone. She was surprised he hadn’t commented on it, though he probably didn’t care as long as she wasn’t taller than him. He sat down with them and rested his arms on his knees. “So what’s the plan?”

“Same as before, we’re going to Osan,” Azrael said, “I need to report to my father and Teyva needs to see the Magi.”

“And Yaga Yftha?” Elat pressed.

“I’ll face that when and if it comes,” She said firmly. “She’ll arrive there before us so I expect she’ll give father her side of the story first.”

“We’ll deal with that too,” Teyva said, clapping her friend on the shoulder. “I’ve got something for you, by the way.”

Azrael raised an eyebrow as Teyva produced her remaining two Aspect Shards. The thin crystals glittered a little against the firelight cast in the dim surroundings of their shelter. She stared at them for several heartbeats before looking up at Teyva. Teyva nodded and Azrael reached out and took them both. “Thank you.”

“We should also see if we can’t find ourselves some rilks to grind on while we’re on our way to Osan,” Teyva said.

“Grind?”

Over the next three days, Teyva gave Azrael and Elat a very practical demonstration of what grinding meant. The three of them going out of their way to find small rilk nests and proceed to lure out the drones into quick and brutal engagements. Teyva had an opportunity to test out her new abilities just as Azrael did hers. When Azrael had used her Aspect Shards on the first day she had been surprised to be able to select an ability from a menu rather than simply being granted one as would have normally been the case.

Her first new ability, [Guardian’s Bond] allowed her to designate a target ally and provide them with a protective shield that warded off incoming damage until it eventually gave out. The second ability she chose, from the Wolf Lord Aspect, was called [Predator] and it gave her a boost in health with every killing blow she dealt. With the two abilities in hand, Azrael quickly turned herself into an outstanding off-tank, pairing well with the newest addition to their party: The Behemoth.

The Behemoth roared, raising its powerful arms and smashing them into the ground. It was a hulking monstrosity a full twice the height of Elat. The grey-skinned creature bore rows of jet-black teeth and claws and snarled as the rilks charged toward it. Its eyes glowed a blood-red as it raised its right arm and activated its [Mimicry] ability. The limb twisted, thinned, and curved until it took the shape of a wicked-looking talon-not too different from the limb of a Rilk Queen. Teyva grinned, it had cost her the rare crafting ingredient but after the Behemoth had attempted to [Simple Shift] it’s limb into a Rilk Soldier’s claw she figured this would work as well.

“Guardian’s Bond up!” Azrael shouted, holding out her hand toward the Behemoth. A flicker flashed over the Behemoth’s body like light passing over glass. With its defenses set it swept it’s arm down in a wide arc, cleaving through the first group of rilks that approached; dicing them like carrots.

As ichor splattered across the ground, Elat raised his voice over the din; “Teyva! Soldier incoming!”

Teyva straightened and turned to look in the direction Elat was firing his arrows. She spotted the bulky Rilk Soldier behind the growing swarm, gesturing and screeching frantically to get them engaged and organized. Teyva pointed in his direction and felt a surge of power rip forward from deep in her chest and her mind. The two flows met at her fingertip and a ripple of pink light crackled across the battlefield; striking the Soldier in the head. [Mind Trap] took hold and the Soldier stumbled backwards, its head rolling and jerking. It’s sudden confusion spread through the ranks of the drones and they scattered about in fright from the wrath of the Behemoth.

With the swarm in confusion, Teyva brought her own soldiers into play. She threw open the satchel and let her swarm rise like a cloud of glittering gold. The angry hum of seventy mockeries was almost deafening. The tiny creatures hurled themselves in the direction of the Rilk Swarm, spreading to as many as possible. Here and there splotches of frost began to form on their bodies and Teyva watched her status bars as the number of instances of [Hungering Cold] soared into the double digits. Arrows flew from behind Teyva, picking off Rilks as they began to limp from the mockeries’ [Chill Touch] [Mimicry].

Teyva glanced around, looking for any Rilks that might have escaped and found none, turning her attention on the two soldiers that were just crawling out of the mound behind the first. She threw out her hand and cast [Grip of Frost], slowing them while she prepared [Pale Bolt]s to pepper them with. Nearby the Behemoth let out a roar of triumph as it cleaved through another group of rilks, their bodies scattering and Teyva’s Mockeries fleeing to their next targets. It finally reached the first soldier just as it was coming out of it’s [Mind Trap] startled, the Soldier tried to double back only to be lifted bodily off the ground by the Behemoth and hurled at its brethren. It crashed into the two slowed Soldiers in the back and went momentarily limp.

Nearby, Azrael danced her way through the crowd of drones, cutting and slicing with almost delighted abandon. She whipped her arm out as one of the drones managed to get out of her reach and roared out an incantation, “Let fly, whisperwind, cold like needles, cut them!” Darts of wind erupted from her fingertips and peppered the creature’s shell, puncturing the hard chiton in places like bullets. Teyva didn’t have time to shout an affirmation, though, as the ground shuddered beneath their feet with the approach of the Queen.

“Queen’s awake!’ Teyva called, opening her satchel and calling back her mockeries, “Time to go!”

The Behemoth roared angrily but obeyed his mother’s command, turning to run as dirt and debris began to spill out into the air. Azrael turned around as well, rushing to the Behemoth’s side and patting its arm. It lifted her off the ground and pulled her to its chest, it’s much larger legs carrying it faster than she could run. Elat and Teyva joined the flight, turning and running past The Marble who had been watching their rear from the beginning. They kept running for what felt like an hour, distancing themselves from the Nest until they stopped hearing the angry shrieks of the Queen in pursuit.

When they finally stopped, Azrael slipped out of the Behemoth’s arms and the creature sat down on the ground, it’s arm shifting back to normal. It stared off into space while Teyva and the others regrouped. Teyva unsummoned the creature a few moments later so it could rest. 

“How was that?” Teyva gasped, leaning on her knees.

“Your best outing yet, Mother,” Nephral said, “I see my suggestion to have Lady Azrael use her [Guardian Bond] on the Behemoth was a success.”

“He’s damn near unstoppable now,” Azrael said, glancing back at the big lug. She turned to spot The Marble stop next to the Behemoth and waved, “Thanks for watching our backs The Marble!” It released a gurgle in response, its misplaced eyes opening and shutting. “He’s a good boy too.”

Elat fell on his rear and let out a breath, “You two are amazing,” he said, “I’m considering signing on with you as a companion just to keep up, Teyva.”

Teyva shook her head, “You’re here for her, not me,” She said, wiping her brow and swatting off some sweat, “How’d we do Azrael?”

Azrael paused and her gaze unfocused, she broke into a wide smile and turned to Teyva, “That’s it! Level six!”

“Fantastic! Check your satchel!” Teyva cheered, sitting down on the ground. She reached up and scratched Nephral’s chin while Azrael went to summon up her bag. “You’re going to be one hell of a strategist, Neph dearie.”

“You humble me, mother, I only wish I could contribute more. I gained an ability with your [Mimicry] but I am afraid that I am of no use in a fight otherwise,” He rumbled sadly.

She stroked his head, “You’re fine, I like you right where you are.”

Azrael let out a gasp and pulled an Aspect Shard out of thin air, turning the shard over between her fingers with a sparkle in her eyes. “What a way to live!” She breathed, holding it out and immediately giving it a squeeze. Her eyes went unfocused for a moment and she seemed to be reading something, her hands moving and touching the air until finally she stopped and the shard dissolved in her grip. She practically beamed, a faint glow coming over her. Teyva had watched Azrael use the other two stones so she knew what it looked like from the outside now but it still felt strange to her.

“What’d you pick?” Elat asked.

“It’s called [Pack Tactics], the more allies I have nearby the faster my stamina regenerates,” She said. Nearby, Elat let out a groan and the two women shot him a look. He grinned in Azrael’s direction and she visibly darkened around the neck and cheeks.

“I wonder if the Mockeries count as allies,” Teyva suggested, clearing her throat, “Can you check?”

Azrael paused and went unfocused again before shaking her head, “No, it looks like summons don’t count. That’s a shame.”

Teyva shrugged, “No ability’s perfect.”

Elat got to his feet and brushed himself off, “How far out are we from Osan?”

Azrael gave it some thought, “If we rest here tonight we should arrive by mid-day tomorrow.”

Teyva let out a sigh of relief and ran her fingers through her hair. She felt like she should have been more excited to see her first city since coming to Orum, but there was really only one thing that crossed her mind. “A proper bed and a decent bath are going to feel really nice.”