Little was the sleep I had earned once morning ca. Instead, dawn found outside, already carrying back pails of milk from the pasture. My chores finished, I donned Gareks heavy armor, lumbered past Artyoms still-asleep form, grabbed several bags, and headed for the fields. I would need spores in great asure for what I had in mind.
It required slow, careful work, but I was finished before Ishila ca trudging down the road toward , lost in her thoughts.
The stonemongers pose a continued problem, I grunted in response to her query. I will force a solution.
Id tell you to stay safe, She offered, expression both wry and tired. But I doubt ya need the warnin.
I didnt, but to say I left the sentints unappreciated would be a lie. I spent scarce ti laying out her work for the day, directed her to build scarecrows and mount what stonemonger corpses remained, and then moved to set off. For a mont, I glanced between my remaining bag of spores and the mandrake plants, tempted. Done right, they could offer an imdiate solution to all that ailed . Yet the risk involved was frankly insane.
I was not fully equipped for that, and neither was anyone around , I suspected.
A random train of thought gave pause once more. If killing things was a guaranteed way to level up in this world, these specific plants were a level-grinders wet dream. The image of so maniac strolling into a city with one of these wrung a shudder out of .
Horrifying.
With a vague thought to do sothing when I got back on my mind, I shouldered my pack and set off up the slopes that led to Mount Redtip.
A long, grim day awaited , and I was not about to keep it waiting. Might as well go and get it over with. Scarce as the traffic was, it was still far more occupied than any ti before. Riders trotted along on patrol, and a few other farrs recognized the sa opportunity I had. Carts laden with goods trundled towards the camp, and I silently nodded my own greetings as I t them.
But that was not my destination today. I turned towards Lerishs lodge where the path split, and with due haste, I arrived. The huntress awaited , splayed out peacefully in a hammock. She raised a hand in greeting as I approached, and then sat upright. One bright eye regarded , the other socket empty and scarred.
Not too early, not too late. She grunted in approval. You have everything?
Aye. On my end anyhow. You?
She gestured at a pack that leaned against the wall of her lodge.
Healing flasks. Ergency items. Only what we need in the worst situations. Pray it doesnt co to that. Prepare for it anyway.
This was her way of thanking , I knew. She had little personal investnt in my problems with the stonemonger swarms, yet had offered to guide to their nests.
And I was ready to engage in so good ol shotgun diplomacy.
My eagerness to move was not hidden, I suspect. Yet Lerish wasted little ti. She had grabbed her stuff and was moving towards the undergrowth in heartbeats, with close behind.
I will admit, the huntress was silent as she moved through the overgrown forest. I was not. Branches snapped with every few steps I took, trees were pushed aside to make room and she quickly grew annoyed. I shrugged helplessly as she threw annoyed glances back at . Nothing as large as my fra was made to be quiet.
The entire point of ambushing a stonemonger nest is not to be heard half a horizon away. She hissed as a particularly loud snap cracked through the air. I attempted several more steps, at which point she gave up and stalked back along the trail.
Her clawed fingers touched my form, and everything beca muted. I spoke, but heard nothing.
Mute skill. She spoke. Affects the imdiate area around you. Ill drop it when we get to the first nest. Just follow for now.
Unable to protest, I did just that, and we quietly moved through the trees. Thick blankets of clouds above blocked any possible sunlight and left the forest dull and muted. The undergrowth stretched in every direction now, with no clear sign as what went where. I shuddered and just kept behind Lerish as our path wove up and down hills, into crevices and over streams.
Where exactly we were headed, I had no idea. But without the huntress I would be lost, I already knew.
Vague shapes moved through the trees at the edge of vision, yet whatever was out there did not seem keen to bother us. Instead, we moved in relative silence, save for the sounds of animals in the growth and the shrieks of birds overhead.
Minutes blended together, as did the greenery around us. I had never been a proper sort of outback survivor, and a new world hadnt magically improved those non-existent capabilities. Couldnt improve talent if there was never any there to begin with.
Lerish signaled a stop and, my eyes firmly on her, I obeyed. One hand beckoned forward, and I cautiously approached a break in the trees.
A swarm of stonemongers congregated in a clearing before us. Dozens, perhaps over a hundred of the lanky, rock-scaled creatures moved around. But this was not a primitive, writhing mass. No, sothing stopped whole as we silently watched the scene.
Large, carved stones were clearly the focal point here, gathered in a circle of all this. Adorned with rags and symbols painted everywhere, they stood high above gathered creatures. Many lay off to the sides of this nest, others worked on weapons. I could see several trading, more preparing food. But what was happening in the center truly took my attention.
Several forms stood on a slightly elevated slab of stone, opposite to each other. I could not make out their guttural language, yet I could see the ebb and flow that took place there.
Are they..debating?
Was what I attempted to hiss. Being muted ant nothing ca of it, however.
But yes, to my astonishnt, this was not so primitive tribal system where an alpha or sothing ordered around the rest. The creatures had a large portion of their numbers gathered as several unremarkable mbers debated each other before the stone idols they had erected.
The perspective in my head of these creatures was shifted from a mindless scavenger swarm to one more refined. But being smarter made them more dangerous, gave an edge to their malice. It elevated them from beasts to deliberate evil.
Lerish drew her bow and nodded to .
I had co here for a reason. It took a few monts to harden my heart, but with claymore in hand, I stepped from the trees.
A bag of biter pods flew overhead, slashed open and spilling hungry plants all the while. Lerishs muting skill faded halfway through my roar as I charged from the trees, head down. Relentless Charge and Head Smash carried my forward at the surprised masses. Scaled figure leaped to its feet, only to to gored upon my horns and hurled away as I straightened and roared again.
Brutal Swing and my wide reach cut through a mass of monsters as I continued forward montum. Into the crowds of screaming, hissing stonemongers as their fury sang around . Any blow that managed to reach was stopped by Gareks armor.
Arrows filled the air around as wood and steel whistled from the trees.
Creatures ran from my path as they found attacking futile. Yet I was not here to solely slaughter. My claymore chased down monsters with every swing, and I bathed in the blood of my enemies.
I was not a farr.
I was a berserker.
A god of blood and fury granted a mortal shell.
Lost in the fury, I nearly forgot myself.
Blood beat through my eyes as my mind demanded death to any that stood before . The Gods Above had made all on this world, large and small. But it was I that made them equal in death.
Great was the effort that forced away from the slaughter and towards my real objective. Screeching stonemongers gathered around the stone idols, weapons in hand as one of their kind gestured toward and scread guttural words.
They would die here, bleeding for every step I took. Desperate to protect their gods.
Let them.
The earth shook beneath as I stomped at the last defenders. All hesitation was gone as the sanguine red rush enveloped my being. I was divine, a deity of blood and carnage. Faces I would soon forget died screaming beneath my blade, their attempts to stop futile. I never ceased montum, but carried forward until I stood before their Stone Gods.
Brutal Swing tore through the stone as attacks glanced off my back. One stature toppled, followed by another. I rent their idols in twain, then rampaged through the rubble until they were reduced to pieces, killing all the while.
Screams of fury, anguish and rage rang through the nest, but their spirit was broken. Those that still lived fled into the wilderness, chased by arrows all the while.
I stood panting in the center of it all as the red rage cleared from my mind and I beheld the destruction I had wrought, Yet I refused to ignore it all and look away like a coward. I had this to protect and mine. My face grim, I wiped the blood from my blade and looked to where Lerish erged.
If the slaughter bothered her, the huntress was excellent at hiding it.
She nodded on approach and examined the idols.
Worship their own pantheon. She explained. Every nest is built around these carved rocks. Where there are no rocks, there are no stonemongers.
And you know all the locations in this area? I grimaced and watched a plethora of biter pods gnaw at a corpse.
Most of them. So small ones are well hidden. Big ones are the ones to focus on. Bigger statues, more stonemongers. Simple.
I nodded grimly and sheathed my blade.
Then let us move on. The bloodshed here is done and the nest is cleared.
A long, bloody day lay ahead of us, and who was I to keep it waiting?
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