Chapter 220: On Patrol

Ann was still struggling to come to grips with the dichotomy of how meagre these people’s lives were, yet how content most of them seemed. It frustrated her that more couldn’t be done, but the well-earned societal stigma against Warped was not something that could be undone quickly, if ever. It’d take her a long time to get people’s minds to change. Those who lost loved ones to the monsters most of all. Even Kat’s royal status wouldn’t move the needle much. This was a personal issue to every living soul in the kingdom. The crown just saying that a tiny fraction of the Warped were the “good ones” wouldn’t stop prejudice and discrimination if Eyes was walking through the streets of Korvas.

Ann grumbled to herself, her lips pulling back to show her sharp teeth as the frustration set in. So much needed to be done. She and her party were probably the best display of a Warping taking effect without fully destroying the person, but even then, that was because they had Gods behind them. Even with them, they all had monsters inside of their souls.

Waheela was mostly coming around. Still bloodthirsty and obsessed with the hunt and freedom, but working on aligning those overwhelming drives to Ann’s goals. Rosalyn hadn’t talked much about Xirali for a while, but she seemed to be handling it fine, and Kat’s dragon was a real piece of shit. Then who knew what the phoenix and chimaera would be like? They were still too new to Bren and Lucia’s souls to communicate much.

“So, you truly are the third princess of Korvas?” Alruna asked as their boots crunched through the snow.

“Aye, an’ I’d appreciate it if ye didn’t spread the word,” Kat grumbled. “I fecked up spillin’ it like that.”

“Why would you want to hide such a privilege?” Alruna asked, completely befuddled. She’d taken them up to patrol outside the town. After Kat’s outburst and her plea not to talk to others, their new friend thought it better to discuss out here, where no one else could hear. She had her hood and eye cover back on, but was clearly staring Kat down.

“It’s a lot o’ responsibility?” Kat shrugged. “Ye get so much attention an’ people fallin’ o’er themselves tae do shite in hopes that they get some favour in return. It’s feckin’ exhaustin’ an’ hard tae actually get tae know people. That an’ me… me Da’ wanted me tae be all proper, an’ I was havin’ none o’ it.”

“Hm. From what little I remember of my parents, they were the loving, caring sort. Loving and caring right up until their daughter started changing.” Alruna’s grip on Complacency tightened, her gloves creaking slightly.

“Do you all talk about that much?” Rosalyn asked gently.

“No. It is a time of great pain for many. Physically and emotionally. I… I was twelve. I remember this growing in,” Alruna raised a hand to her fluffy neck. “I remember the fear and confusion, but can no longer see their faces. I remember getting angry. So, so very angry at everyone. I lashed out with all of my tiny strength, and they drove me out. They couldn’t bear to kill me, so they forced me out to die on my own.”

Ann was at a loss for words. She couldn’t imagine what that would be like. Her heart ached with sympathy.

Kat and Rosalyn nodded quietly, while Bren and Lucia remained in respectful quiet. None spoke a word, but their faces were grim.

“I still hate them for what they did,” Alruna sighed, relaxing the grip on her hammer. “It would have been a mercy to end it there. Now, well, now I try to make sure others like me have a place they can truly belong. Eldest of All agrees with this, as do most of us. We’re the monsters to the world. We can find solace in being among other monsters.”

“Gods, this is all so fucked up,” Ann finally let out a sigh. “You and Abigail both? Little kids getting kicked out because they started turning into monsters.” Ann felt her rage bubbling, but she pushed it down. “I fucking hate it.”

“It is the harsh reality of our world,” Bren said gently. “If they had not driven her away, she would be dead. If they had done neither, and she fully Warped, she would have killed her parents and possibly more of the town.”

“Always sad,’ Lucia nodded.

“Yeah. There was a hunter in my town who got got. He hid it for a little bit, but once his face started changing, we all knew what was happening,” Rosalyn said. “He’d been spending too much time near a Seed, and the corruption just got to him. I wasn’t there for it, but Mom and Dad said it was a hard time for everyone. Hunters went out to track him down and put him to rest. Better that than him becoming a threat to the entire area.”

“Aye. But we’re ‘ere tae figure out how tae stop this. Tae make sure this shite doesn’t ‘ave tae happen tae families anymore,” Kat said, trying to get some energy back into the group. “We’ve already found that not all Warped make the full transition. That alone is feckin’ massive.”

“Yup, and that the Warped themselves don’t consider you all allies, but that could also be territorial stuff. From there, we can keep going and guess that whatever makes them see other Warped as Warped is the last bit of the process, which also means mental reconditioning and adaptation to their new status. I wonder if there’s a pheromone component to it? Warped are pretty stinky.”

“Or,” Ann suggested after Rosalyn’s very fast theory, “they’ve got some kind of magical signature that the rest can detect? The Gods can’t see them. What if that interference also lets the rest notice each other? We know they’re not friends. Hell, we’ve seen them attacking others, but it’s an idea.”

“We can not see or sense this either,” Alruna informed them. “I would think that theory sound. Still, Rosalyn, I would think a pheromone signal would be part of the physical transformation, correct?”

“Well, maybe. Problem is the Warped transformation is so chaotic and random we have no clue where anything is supposed to happen besides the start of things and the end. It could be somewhere in the physical changes and just doesn’t activate until the end, but all we’ve found is normal for an animal, including pheromone glands. Though I guess if we didn’t know they were special in some way we’d have no way of knowing the difference between normal and weird, so could be looking right at the problem. This is all going round and around. Too much guessing without proof,” Rosalyn groaned.

“I quite like the theory of a magical aura,” Bren piped in. “Maybe that is how they are able to correctly identify people and turn hyper-aggressive towards them?”

They reached the treeline. It was an old-growth forest. Trees were massive, and the canopy dense. Hardly any light got through the boughs high above them. Ann skipped up and over roots almost as high as she was, watching the twenty-foot-wide trunk pass her by. It was like something she heard of in stories of the frontier days. How anything this massive survived this far north, though, impressed her. Maybe it was a new genus? Dad would love to look into these things.

“Remember, while we are here to make sure there are no dangerous Warped nearby, we can also gather firewood. Small things, sure, but it all helps,” Alruna reminded them.

“What should we be looking out for?” Ann asked.

“Tracks. Scrapes. You see, tell me. Can check. See blood, shout. Probably close,” Lucia curtly detailed. “Broken branches, sticks. Flat leaves, bushes. Fur, skin, feathers, droppings. All signs.”

“Wait, Warped shit?” Ann had absolutely not given the matter of digestion a thought.

“They need to digest something, though I wonder how much is digestion versus assimilation. Rosalyn, what happens if you overfeed a Warped?” Bren asked.

“It gets big. Heck, you keep going, and it gets crazy big and dangerous. Even something like a Chittering Crawler can do it. Never want to actually see that, but it’s possible.”

“Would that work for the snow snake things up on the peaks?” Ann asked.

“Nope. Those are just adaptations to climates and magical interference. Some might have been Warped affecting things subtly, but there are still magical creatures not created by the taint. I like that term. Easier to say than “malediction” or “corruption”. So yeah, those little guys would just get fat. Fat little fuzzy snakes.”

“Aww, kinda wanted to get a big one for a pet,” Ann pouted. “Can you imagine how soft that must be?”

“An’ deadly. They’re venomous. At their size, it doesn’t do shite tae anyone but an Inlon, but if they were bigger, it’d be deadly.”

“I do not enjoy serpents,” Alruna said calmly, looking around the trunks.

“Kinda thought you’d be fine with them considering your body,” Ann replied. “Wiggly people staying together.”

“That is part of why I dislike them. They remind me of what I have become. That and their eyes feel cold and far too keen for what they are. Like little dragons in a body made for nothing but violence.”

“Eldest o’ All doesn’t tick that box fer ye?” Kat pushed a rock over, watching the bugs beneath scatter.

“They did. It took some time getting adjusted, but for a long while I spoke to them with my back turned. Easier to remain polite without fear.”

“That’s an image. Little nun lady sitting on her knees pointedly not looking at the big dragon behind her because snakes scare her,” Ann giggled.

“Nun? What is a nun?” Alruna asked.

The rest of the party looked confused as well.

“Oh, um, I guess it’s my time’s version of a priestess. A specific church had a separation between women and men, and the women were called nuns. Honestly, you dress a lot like them, Alruna. All the black and white, with that white on your forehead? They usually didn’t cover their eyes, though.”

Now that Ann made the connection, she was ashamed that she hadn’t noticed it sooner. The woman was a crucifix and a rosary away from the holy women of old. Sure, her robes were far more practical and padded for her life doing combat and travelling, but they fit the bill. The coif and the… uh… shit, the word rhymed with pimple. She remembered snickering to herself reading it for the first time. Not important. The cloth covering Alruna’s hair in a hooded pattern tucked into the coif. The thing that pushed it closer to fetish stuff was the eye mask blindfold thing. It was pretty hot in a concealing way, even if Ann already knew what was under there.

“Oi, we can take care o’ that if ye need,” Kat whispered.

Ann jumped. She’d been daydreaming.

“Huh?”

Ann followed Kat’s eye downward and saw the bulge pushing up on her kilt. Fire filled her cheeks, and she tried to be subtle, seeing if anyone else noticed. Didn’t look like it.

“I’m fine,” Ann grumbled, moving a hand to cover her crotch.

“Ye sure? What was the daydream about?”

“Nothing.”

Kat’s grin turned predatory. “Oh? Sure was a big nothin’. Ye aren’t thinkin’ o’ breakin’ yer promise, were ye?”

“Nope. Absolutely not,” Ann whispered firmly.

“Good. Cause I’m still not sharin’. Still doesn’t feel… right,” Kat whispered back. “Aranaea was a fun fling, but ugh, still got more o’ that possessive shite goin’ on.”

“Guardian of my heart,” Ann purred back.

“And Rosalyn’s. Gotta protect me girls.”

“Well, we’ll see where things go. Just don’t shut yourself off, alright?”

“’Kay. Don’t go tappin’ the sexy nun until I’m ready, alright?”

“Deal,” Ann returned Kat’s hungry grin. “Even if I ree-ally want to.”

“I can dress up like tha’. Get me a blindfold an’ everythin’.”

“Yeah, but she owns that look. Don’t tell me you haven’t been watching her hips, too.”

“I… well, um,” Kat stammered.

“You can be all jealous, but you’re still my Kat. Can’t take your eyes off a pretty girl.”

“Yeaaah guess not. Damnit.” It was Kat’s turn to blush. “Still, ye need help?”

A strong hand grabbed Ann’s cock through the fabric, squeezing with a gentle stroke.

“Ye absolutely sure?”

Ann was about to hiss her retort, her tail wagging excitedly behind her, when Alruna stopped ahead of them, holding up a hand.

“Something’s in the trees. We have a few known species of creatures that live out here, and some are predatory. It could be a cat or some kind of ape. Should it be a Warped, we deal with it here and now. If it is natural, we see if it attacks. If not, we keep going.”

Ann and Kat’s ears perked as they listened to the forest. Something was scratching at the bark. To the right and left, one ahead. The massive trees made directions hard to figure out.

“We’re surrounded,” Kat said, hand on her toothy sword’s knobbly hilt.

“Smell them. Five. Distance closing. Can’t tell what,” Lucia barked.

“Easy, easy,” Rosalyn chided them all. “If they sense tension in us, it’ll make them nervous too. Relax, and we wait. Just wait.”

“If it is a Warped, it makes no difference,” Bren replied.

“Yeah, but that’s a big if. What if it’s just a big animal that likes to run around in the trees? Could be kinda cool. Sure, we shouldn’t just kill it, but it’d be interesting to study. Wonder what they eat out here? Berries and other animals? Are they omnivores or carnivores? Questions!”

Ann heard a branch break to her right. It was close. She still couldn’t see what was going on. Either they were too high, or staying just out of sight.

“Can’t see,” Lucia growled.

“I know. I can’t either,” Alruna sounded worried. “If this were a creature, we would have gotten something by now.”

More sounds in the trees. Another branch snapped behind Ann, making her whirl to empty branches. A low scraping sound, like sandpaper on wood, came from directly above them. It was gone the moment they looked up.

“These things are messing with us,” Bren said. He sounded as nervous as Ann felt.

“Warped for sure. Dangerous ones,” Alruna agreed.

“Can’t do shite wit’ ‘em up in the damn trees. Stand yer ground, cover eachother. Circle up an’ eyes up!” Kat barked.

They did as commanded. Even Alruna fell into formation. Kat’s authority in a fight just couldn’t be ignored.

Ann caught motion in her peripheral. She got just enough of a glance to see a ridiculously long claw scrape behind a tree. “Claws!”

“Knew that, what’s the scrapin’?”

A shadow darted across a break in the canopy. It was too fast to see, but it confirmed they were right over the group.

“Ye see wings?”

“No!” Lucia called back.

“That makes things easier,” Alruna said. Complacency was at the ready. Both her sleeves were writhing as the worms reinforced her strength.

A whistling came from a tree behind Ann.

A moment later, Kat’s shield thunked. A bone dart was buried in the hard shell, lodging tight enough Kat had trouble pulling it out. Sickly purple liquid dripped out of multiple holes along its length.

“Poison! Bren, cover the rest.”

Two more darts came from completely different angles.

Bren’s shields went up, but shattered on impact.

“Watch out!”

Ann snagged a dart out of the air. Her hands were a blur; they moved so fast. Even then, she only caught the dart because they’d been slowed down by Bren’s shield.

Looking it over, she saw a tip to the wicked weapon, and when she shook it, the liquid stayed inside.

“Impact delivery. Guess your shield doesn’t push back enough,” Ann informed the rest.

“Lucia, Rosalyn, any eyes on ‘em?”

“Not yet!” the pair shouted.

“At least we can keep dodging th-”

The ground shook under Ann’s feet.

Dirt exploded in the centre of the group, blasting them forward.

Ann wiped the soil from her face to see six tendrils reaching toward the sky. Unmoving, they stood like the fucked up petals of a massive flower. Yellow and red patterns played over their surfaces, hiding hooks barely visible under the skin.

All six slammed down on the ground at once as the creature rose. A bulbous head, pulling the torso of the once-human woman back in a painful arch. Her skin was stretched, and her legs dissolved into the tendrils below her. Her bones cracked and groaned as ribs split the skin and opened her stomach like a maw of its own. She did not have arms but rather tentacles that served as her legs.

Bren hung there, struggling against the firm wrap around his stomach.

“Help!”