A Monster Life Ch. 46-48

'Careful!' said Ulric and caught her before she collapsed onto the floor. He sat her down on his lap and wiped cold sweat from her brow with the back of his paw. 'Are you all right, my love?'

She gave him a tired but satisfied smile. 'I undid the the spell. Didn't realise how much effort it took until now.'

Kaui handed Ulric a clean cloth and he dabbed away the sweat in Valdys's face. 'You did a great job.' he said and kissed her forehead.

She looked at Kaui. 'The cube is safe to be handled now.'

'Thank you.' Kaui said, and began by pouring a red liquid she'd composed over the cube. After a short while, red strands as thin as hair grew through the transparent material, and traced a path as erratic as a butterfly in a tornado.

'That actually looks very pretty.' said Ulric. 'Does that mean the cube isn't perfectly solid?'

'Indeed, Master.' Kaui said, and poured a milky substance on the cube. 'The red liquid finds any opening and penetrates all the way inside, and this second liquid mixes with it to create a volatile solution, which I can ignite to crack the cube open.'

'Won't that damage the piece inside?'

Kaui smiled slightly. 'It's only powerful enough to do minute damage.' She took a step back and held up a small wooden device with a stone and metal top, which reminded Ulric of a lighter. 'Stand back, Master.'

He stepped back, she pressed the top of the device with her thumb, and sparks flew in a tight beam from it to the liquid on top of the cube. Ulric expected to see a big flame bursting, but instead the strands inside the cube flashed bright as lightning but in less time than one.

Ulric tilted his head. 'Nothing happened?'

Kaui giggled. 'Give it a knock, Master.'

He knocked it casually on the top, and with the sound of a pile of glass shards falling apart, the cube crumbled into pieces. He chuckled once. 'Damn, that's pretty impressive on a small scale.' he said, and pulled out the ring piece.

It began as a small tremble, then grew as Trixy bolted into the chamber, chittering in terror. 'Seriously!?' said Iphigenia. 'The worms are coming here!?'

'We need to run!' said Ulric. 'Now!'

A loud rumble and crack came from the back of the chamber and the wall burst open, hurling rocks all over the chamber. The mouth of the worm opened and closed as it wriggled in the opening, its teeth grinding.

Iphigenia and Elzbieta rushed to Kaui and Valdys to help pick up Kaui's items and support Valdys when another thrust by the worm cracked open the ceiling, and the pieces rained down.

'Girls!' roared Ulric and stood up over them, spreading his armoured arms to cover them despite knowing how futile it was.

The girls ducked and huddled together as the ceiling crashed down on them.

Iphigenia looked up to see why they weren't hit as expected, and gasped at the huge black wings with red streaks covering them. 'Wolfie..'

Ulric groaned at the weight pressing down on him but rose his wings and rolled the layer of rock on top aside. 'So I did gain wings.' he said in astonishment.

Another shudder through the chamber turned their focus on their highest priority again. 'Iphi, Elz! Take point!' Ulric said as he helped Kaui and Valdys up. 'I'll take the rear!'

Elzbieta rushed into the tunnel and halted in front of a couple of spirits who fluttered nervously. 'I think they want us to follow them.'

'They'll know how to take us out of here safely.' said Iphigenia.

'Then go!' said Ulric as he rushed into the short corridor and looked back at the rest of the chamber's ceiling crashing down, and his wings vanishing. He only spent a brief thought about finding out why they emerged when they were safe again.

'All right.' said Elzbieta, and the party ran after the guiding spirits and the spider golems.

The girls and Ulric ran as fast as they could while the tunnels trembled. 'Honey? What's going on?' asked Conchim. 'The ground is shaking and Isa has no idea why.'

'It's the worms!' said Ulric and turned his ears back when rumbling and the crash of rock sounded close behind him. 'They're attacking us! We're running towards the exit right now!'

'Hurry!' said Elzbieta. 'There's one coming towards us from the front but we can still make it to the side tunnel!'

They rounded the corner into the side tunnel spurred on by the view of a worm undulating forward with its mouth opening wide. With only survival in mind, they ran faster than they'd ever done before and entered the short passage to the stairs when another worm came up from the other end of the tunnel.

Using the wall for stability, they ran up the cold stone stairs without looking back, even when they trembled at the pounding and cracking sound coming up from below.

'We're going up the stairs now!' said Ulric to Conchim. 'We have the ring piece!'

Conchim hurried through Cat's central corridor. 'That's good news, but seeing you safe and sound up here is better.' she said and stepped out of Cat.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw the four strangers standing outside.

***

'Isn't this overkill? The four of us?'

Tarrence sighed internally, but he had no choice other than to become used to working with the team he had formed, and put up with asinine questions. He glanced at Elyta, the succubus and one of the best hunters he knew, even if her damaged wings caused her to fly just as well as the black bird she rode on. The nasr's vestigial wings were just as useless at flight. 'You'll find out once you've seen them, and then I hope you're right.'

'I know you well enough to think they're trouble when you need us to help out.' said Muni, one of the beast folk Ulric would describe as a black panther.

Tarrence nodded and glanced at the lich riding at the rear. He was glad Gigacks only talked when necessary. He was never quite sure whether his voice originated in the skeleton's mouth or where his throat used to be. 'I underestimated their strength. So far they eliminated an orc bandit party and a lord with enough golems to keep tight control of his little country. I advice you not to do the same.'

'You mean that shitty little walled in country we're headed towards?' asked Elyta. 'Why would you leave it to that windbag?'

'I had no other means available. It took the failure here to convince Kullek that I needed people with skills.'

Muni knew fully well how stubborn their superior was. 'What's the deal with them anyway, that you had us join you in such a hurry?'

'The bloodwolf was part of an experiment to make them intelligent enough for use as fighters in the army. I believe the human or elf interrupted whatever the sorcerer did, killed him, and recruited the wolf. They killed a necromancer a while ago and probably took a piece of an artefact with them. And now they're trying to find the other pieces.'

'What's the artefact for?' asked Elyta.

'Opening a portal to the demon lord's residence. It is only to be used in an emergency.'

Muni's laugh mixed with a roar in his throat. 'They'd die the moment they arrive in our territory. Why not let them kill themselves by trying?'

Tarrence frowned. 'Enlightened doesn't want to take a chance of anyone strong enough gaining access to the portal. First priority is stopping them and returning the pieces they have, second is bringing back that bloodwolf and examine him. Preferably alive.'

Muni bared his fangs in a grin. 'Meaning, let's not quite kill him.'

Elyta pointed at the top of a tower sticking barely out between the trees. 'Something's up ahead.'

'Dismount.' said Tarrence. 'There's a good chance we'll find our target there.'

The four moved cautiously through the trees and undergrowth until they laid eyes on the tower and the strange wagons close to it. 'What's that?' asked Muni. 'Some sort of long shed?'

Tarrence frowned when he suspected what it could be. 'I think it's their transport.'

'But it doesn't have wheels.'

'Maybe it can fly with magic, but who cares?.' said Elyta. 'We'll smash it to pieces if they try to flee.'

Tarrence checked for movement behind the windows. 'Muni, see if they're inside the tower. Stay out of sight.'

'Right.' he said, and slipped from cover to cover using his ability of obfuscation to remain undetected from most people and animals, until he reached the base of the tower and peeked inside through a dusty window. He picked up the scent of several people, but no sign of them nor sound. He sneaked back to his party. 'They were in there but I saw or heard nothing.'

'Then they're likely in that weird thing.' said Elyta and looked at Tarrence. 'Attack them there?'

He saw no benefit in waiting for anything to happen and nodded.

They kept to the trees as long as possible, then moved slowly towards an opening at the side of the first wagon.

The sudden appearance of a harpy startled them.

***

Tarrence pulled his daggers. 'Grab her!'

Conchim stepped back the moment the four lunged towards her. 'Four attackers outside!'

Muni reached the doorway first where Conchim had disappeared into but all he saw was a dark void. 'Hold up! Something's not right here.'

Isazea hurried to Conchim after hitting the button that activated another dimensional spell in the doorway. 'They can't come inside now.'

Ulric clenched his jaw as he ran up the stairs. 'Are you girls all right?'

'We'll be safe in here.' said Conchim. 'Be careful when you come out of the tower, I noticed one is a succubus and another is a skeleton.'

"And another obligatory fantasy race showed up." thought Ulric. "I will no doubt see the whole cast in the end."

Terrance sensed a tremble in the ground. 'Fall back! I don't trust what's going on here!'

Iphigenia and Elzbieta appeared first from the tower and took defensive positions in front of the door, Kaui and Valdys came after them, prepared to support them, and Ulric ran out in front of them and halted for a moment to check the situation.

The scent of one of the four strangers moving backwards seemed familiar but there was no time to think about it, the ground trembled harder. There was no damage to Cat or the surroundings, and the four seemed to withdraw from the scene. 'To Cat, all of you!' he said over the link. The girls hurried towards their transport while Conchim stepped out to assist if needed, and he ran after them.

The trembling became quaking, and in a loud cacophony of cracking stone, the tower exploded with a worm shooting upwards.

Everyone dropped down onto the ground and Ulric unfurled his giant wings once more to protect his girls from the flying debris.

Conchim gasped at her lover's wingspan. 'Honey? How?'

Ulric stood straight after the last rock hit his wings and looked back over his shoulder at the worm. Its breath rumbled loud. 'I'll tell you later! You all need to move now!'

The girls hurried again to Cat while the worm turned and locked onto the vibrations heading towards the transport. 'Shit!' said Ulric. 'Isa! Drive away as soon as everyone's inside! It's aiming for Cat!'

'What about you, darling!?' said Elzbieta.

'I'll distract it!' he said and raised his wings as he faced the monster and stomped hard on the ground. 'Over here you oversized fish bait!' he roared.

The worm turned its head towards the source of the loud sound, and reared back.

'Darling! Take this!'

He glanced at Elzbieta, and she threw her sword at him. With a swift turn he caught it. 'Thank you, my dear!' He turned back to the worm, which crawled further out of the remains of the tower. 'Shit. It'll go on a rampage if it's free.'

He bolted towards the crumbled base of the tower, jumped up on the rubble in front of the broken wall, and hew at the thick skin of the worm.

The worm took no notice of the slight cut, and thrust its head at the noisy creature at its side.

Ulric jumped away just in time to avoid becoming worm food and grumbled. 'Its skin is too thick to do any real damage.'

'You don't see any soft tissue?' asked Iphigenia, looking at the scene from the driver's cabin while Isazea backed away Cat.

Ulric looked over the length of the worm. 'I can't see anything.'

The worm opened its mouth to try and catch the elusive prey again.

Ulric looked up and an idea hit him. 'I might have found something.'

The girls cried out when the worm thrust its head down and devoured him.

***

'There goes our target.' said Muni. 'Unless you want to take on that thing and make it spit out the wolf.'

Tarrence frowned. He didn't look forward to relaying the loss of the wolf and failing his mission again.

'Hold on, what's that thing doing?' said Elyta.

The worm convulsed and retched, then gurgled up blood in sickly shades of yellow. It jerked back into the ground, then spewed out a large chunk of blood and sank into the hole.

The chunk rose from the ground and shook itself.

'What the..' said Muni.

Cat returned to the tower, the girls rushed out with buckets of water, and poured them over Ulric as he coughed and spit.

'Did he really just kill that worm from the inside?' asked Elyta as she shuddered her wings in disgust.

'Shall we grab them now?' asked Muni.

Tarrence nodded once. 'Attack.'