Chapter 225: Rumble With a Warped

Katlyn Farragher

Kat was still buzzing from her fight on the surface. It had been a lot of fun taking the land octopus monster down. The damage dealers had predictably done all of the damage, but she’d been hard pressed to keep the thing still. Dodging and blocking half a dozen tentacles while letting enough damage through to let Bren heal and keep shields up was a rush. Always was. Since Arty and then Ann had joined, they hadn’t needed to fight as scrappily since numbers were less of an issue, so the old feeling was almost nostalgic.

Still, she wanted to keep that thrill going. What better way to do so than to challenge one of this place’s warriors? Tarnu looked up to the challenge. She’d have thrown the gauntlet at Alruna, but the woman did need to work on Alchemy, and she wouldn’t deprive Rosalyn of someone who was interested in her Warped knowledge.

She fought back the worry that they’d do more than share notes. Rosalyn wasn’t like that. She was overeager and distractible but not one to go back on a promise. It was she who was projecting her own concerns onto her lover.

Ssshe isss attractive. The one with wormsss might take her.

Kat ignored the hissing whisper. It was just trying to goad her into reacting. Yeah, Alruna was attractive in a very unusual way, but Rosalyn was hers. They both knew that.

Ssso trusssting, the laugh echoed. Protect what isss yoursss. Keep it clossse or lossse it.

“Shut up,” Kat grumbled to herself.

I know you worry. Can not hide thisss from me. Run to her ssside, make the wormsss underssstand. Conquer thisss place.

The Dragon was stupider than she thought if it thought she could even touch Eldest of All, much less cause significant trouble in this place of all places. The scales on her forehead itched, though. That was always a sign it was kind of getting to her. They didn’t move, but they reacted when some of their desires lined up. It was frustrating.

Alruna had said she’d send Eyes over to referee, but not where Tarnu was. Stopping a couple walking hand in hand, she asked the way. They seemed confused, but pointed her off closer to Eldest of All’s mansion.

Moving through the shanty town in her full gear was getting a lot of attention. Still, she was looking for a fight, so she wouldn’t go in unequipped.

Tarnu was standing by a cloth residence talking with another demi-Warped. The gnarled bear-man with bug parts looked relaxed, and she caught a bit of clattering laughter between the pair.

“Oh, Katlyn! Was just talking about you,” Tarnu waved with his extremely long fingers. “This here’s Jeffrey. He helps maintain our gear and fight when needed.”

“Jeffrey? Normal name fer one o’ ye, no?” Kat laughed, walking up.

Jeffrey was a smaller person, possibly Bultrong when he’d been normal. He was as normal as anyone else in this town. He stood on a cluster of legs that tapped around with human feet and no toes. Kat tried to count them, but gave up after ten. His body was split in two at the waist, then rejoined at the shoulders, leaving a visible gap in his torso where intestines and other organs hung. Despite all of this, his body was mostly normal and quite burly. His face was a friendly one, with twinkling eyes peeking out behind a bushy beard. As Kat got closer, she realised those eyes were actually twinkling in the light. Pink gems had replaced them, but seemed not to hinder his sight. Besides that, he was bald, with dark skin, and had normal, burly arms.

“Shite, ye got yer change stopped last second, huh?” Kat sucked in a breath as she took the man in.

“Ye’re tellin’ me! Blightin’ pain near killed me when this piece o’ shite started openin’ up,” he laughed, waving a hand through the open gap in his chest. “Ye Bultrong born? Been a feckin’ bit since I’ve heard me accent on another.”

“Nae, pure Alfhindur, but me Ma was close tae another family an’ picked it up. Then she passed it on tae me an’ a couple o’ me siblin’s. Some o’ them worked tae hide it, but I dinnae see the point.”

“Ach, good on ye, lass. An’ aye, I kept me name. Better than feckin’ Legs or Almost in Twain. Twain coulda been fine, but I told that big boulder I hated it all an’ he could go stuff it.”

“Hah. Good fer ye,” Kat extended a hand to shake his, but flinched, remembering the general reaction these people had to more normal folk.

“Aye, not good fer handshakin’ unless ye want that hand crushed,” Jeffrey nodded. “What ye come this way fer, warrior?”

“Lookin’ fer a scrap wit’ Tarnu here,” Kat said nonchalantly. “Got in a fight up on the surface an’ still ridin’ that victory. Wanna keep that feelin’ goin’, an’ I love fightin’ new people. That sound good tae ye, Tarnu?”

Tarnu looked at her, a bit concerned. “You know it’s not a great idea to even get close to most of us. You want to fight me?”

“Alruna said she’d send Eyes o’er tae make sure shite doesn’t get bad. We can get rough an’ she’ll beat us intae compliance.”

“Ah, well, I guess I could do for a tumble then.” Tarnu lifted his face to the ceiling and let out a howl mixed with a clattering of his jaws.

Kat watched the town and saw Eyes rise out of the tents, looking around before making her way towards them.

“That doesn’t scare anyone else?” Kat asked as they waited.

“Nah. It’s for the fighters in general. Eyes knows it well, and I usually only use it on the surface. Most of the others are busy and know I wouldn’t be bothering them.”

“Hey guys!” Eyes called as she got closer. “Alruna filled me in on what you’ll be doing. Rosalyn looked super excited to be working with her, too. So, sparring? Full weapons and all that?”

“If you want?” Tarnu offered Kat.

“Aye. I can brawl, but me shield is damn important tae how I fight.”

“I’m not lettin’ ye use tha’ blade, young miss,” Jeffrey interjected, pointing at Kat’s wicked tooth sword. He lifted the cloth and disappeared into the residence. A few clanks later, and he came out with a blade roughly the same size. “It’s old and pretty dull, but you’re not trying to kill each other. Tarnu, you got a blunted spear?”

“Nah, borrow one?”

Jeffrey rolled his glittering eyes and went back inside, retrieving a spear. It was more of a long staff, but it would do the same thing.

They walked to a wider street, enough that Kat and Tarnu could move without wrecking a building.

A couple of people stopped to watch. Eyes drew attention just by standing up, but with two other warriors carrying weapons seemingly about to square off? That’d be a fun sight for most.

“Alright, skills and bodily abilities are on the table. Fight until submission, but do not go for a kill. Friendly fighting, understood?” Eyes asked, her tone unusually serious.

“Aye.”

“I’ll do my best,” Tarnu nodded. “Stop me if I get too wild.”

“Alright, ready, set, go!”

Kat’s boots kicked off the stone, launching her at Tarnu.

The man, just shorter than her, kept his spearhead low and waited until she was in reach. The moment she was, he tried to trip her.

Kat felt the staff clack against her shin armour and grinned. Leg armour was a good idea. The helmet was definitely next. Even with the armour, though, Tarnu was fucking strong. If she didn’t have a skill to keep her feet still, she would have been sent sprawling.

Tarnu didn’t even seem surprised as Kat burst into his space, too close for his spear to be effective. He caught her shield with the haft of his weapon and yelped when it knocked him back a few feet.

Growling, the man came back at her. Blow after blow was either parried or caught on her shield. The staff became two, then three, with how quickly he was whipping it around. It was all Kat could do to keep up with the strikes, and he didn’t even look all that pressed.

Whether or not he knew it, Tarnu was exploiting her path’s biggest weakness. She had a ton of passives that made her tankier, but not many active skills to change the tide. That was all on her own personal training and experience. All Out was a last resort, and she wouldn’t be using it here.

Finally, Tarnu went for a thrust instead of a swing. Kat dodged enough that it went inside her shield, then grabbed hold as it bounced off her side painfully. Yanking with the help of Stand Your Ground, she pulled Tarnu in and clubbed his raised arm with her blunted sword.

She wasn’t ready for the counterattack.

Long fingers wrapped around her sword and forearm in a single fist. Holding onto the spear as well, Tarnu jumped and drove his feet into her chest.

Kat let go of both weapons. Metal screeched against stone as she scraped across the ground. Looking down, she saw visible dents in the metal protecting her stomach. She’d caught that with Reactive Defence! How strong was this guy?

Tarnu didn’t give her a chance to think. Hands grabbed her shoulders, and a knee slammed into her side. Was this bastard a grappler, too? Nope! There was the spear cracking over her back!

Kat got her shield up to protect against the barrage, but Tarnu just pulled it to the side and kept going.

The man’s eyes were wild, and she thought she saw his fur spreading further up his face. Spittle dripped from his mandibles as he laid into her.

“Yield!”

Kat was surprised to hear her voice shouting the word for once.

Tarnu didn’t stop. He was lost in the fight, and Kat did her best to keep herself safe.

The next moment, massive blue-scaled hands grabbed Tarnu around the torso and lifted him free. The bug-bear-man snapped and did his best to tear free, but Eyes just put another hand around his arms and squeezed.

“Tarnu, buddy, you won! It’s ok. Chill out,” the woman said calmly. She put him on his back and held him still, continuing to soothe him with her words.

Kat groaned, still unable to get up from the beating.

“Oi, ye took a beatin’ well,” Jeffrey laughed helpfully.

“Feck, thought I’d do a bit more’n tha’,” Kat groaned, closing her eye. “He kicked me arse like a raw recruit.”

“Against Tarnu? Lass, ye’re a few decades too early tae be takin’ it tae ‘im, an’ that was afore his Warpin’. He’s an’ ol’ bear in all meanin’s o’ the phrase.”

“Get off, Eyes, I’m back,” Tarnu growled from the ground.

“You sure? Not gonna slap me again? That hurt, and I didn’t like it,” Eyes grumbled, her deer head staying as far away from Tarnu as it could manage.

“I’m sure. Told you I was sorry about that. I even got you those chains for your antler when we went into town.”

“I know, but I don’t want you to have to again.”

“I’m fine. I just got heated with her being normal. I’ll stay over here just in case.”

Eyes tilted her head, then let the man stand back up.

Tarnu brushed off his shoulders, far furrier than they’d been just before their fight. His face was darker as well, with noticeable lengthening in his nose and mandibles. As he sat there, the fur receded, and his face seemed to crunch back into shape.

“You ok over there, Katlyn?” Tarnu waved.

“Got more bruises than sense, but I’m fine,” Kat shrugged. “Ye kicked me arse.”

“Yeah, well, you wanted to spar, and I wanted to see what you could handle. What’s your level?”

“Er, twenty-three.”

Tarnu raised his bushy eyebrows in surprise. “That’s high for someone I assume is fairly young. You’re young, right? Can never tell with Alfhindur, and the scar really isn’t helping.”

“Aye, o’er fifty, but still there. Got a lot o’ life left,” Kat nodded.

“You long life bastards. I was sixty when I got turned, just a regular Thrundol, and I was really starting to feel my years. I guess, besides the feral urges, getting Warped like this restored my body a good bit. A fighter with the body of a beast is a strong thing.”

“Ye’re thrundol? Never woulda guessed.” Kat tried to find much of anything that resembled Lucia’s race, but couldn’t. His skin was a light brown, and she couldn’t find the tusks.

“Was. My tusks became these mandibles, and every limb changed. Guess the curse was making a joke when it made my fingers this long. Lose length in my limbs, and it all goes to my fingers. Would have been nice to give me claws or something.”

“Arm weapons are nice, but they hurt when they come out,” Eyes said.

“Half the bones in your arm make up yours. I just wanted claws,” Tarnu shot back.

“Weird, Ann’s claws never caused ‘er problems. Just came out an’ back in,” Kat thought.

“Then she got lucky, or her Goddess helped with that. Who’s to say? Regardless, you’re a good fighter for what you’ve got, Katlyn. Get more levels under your belt, then come find me again. We can have a better match.”

“Thanks, ol’ man. So, ye an’ Alruna head up the forces around ‘ere?”

“Forces,” Tarnu scoffed, his mandibles chittering. “It’s a volunteer thing. Most of us are dangerous in one way or another, but not everyone wants to use that to fight.” Tarnu turned his gaze up at the stalactites in the ceiling. “Up there? Up there holds a lot of fear and bad memories. That’s enough for most of us to stay down here. Who knows if we’ll run into a Warped like you did, or some mercenaries that won’t listen? Every interaction could be death. Alruna and I are just lucky enough that we can hide our nature.”

“Shite,” Kat sighed. “That’s a damn tough thing tae deal wit’.”

“You’ll understand in time if your changes keep going. Soon enough you’ll be seen as an other, and then a threat if you get in trouble. Hell, sometimes the trouble will come for you.”

“I’m no stranger tae danger or trouble. Bren can fill ye in on all tha’ if ye want. Don’t listen tae all o’ it. He makes it sound way worse than it was,” Kat chuckled.

“Old friend?”

“Grew up together. Practically me brother in all but blood. Shite, I call ‘im me brother cause it’s just easier. Been through so damn much together even now.”

“Well, then you can all watch each other’s backs, especially that Annita. Girl stands out in a crowd, and with how Warped she is, that’s a problem.”

“Anyone who tries dies,” Kat snarled. Her heart pounded at the thought of some random jackass hurting what was hers. Ann, Rosalyn, Bren, and, Hells, even Lucia counted at this point.

“Easy,” Tarnu said calmly. “Don’t let it take you.”

Kat blinked her eye, then looked back at Tarnu. “Huh?”

“Ye were growlin’, lass,” Jeffrey told her. He’d taken a step back. “Looked like ye were about tae hit somethin’.”

Yesss! Pride in your fury! They are yours to keep!

“Sorry. Any o’ ye got a voice in yer head? Feckin’ thing that keeps tauntin’ ye an’ tryin’ tae make ye snap?”

“No, can’t say I do,” Tarnu huffed, his shoulders relaxing.

Eyes and Jeffrey shook their heads.

“Well, all o’ me friends do. Part o’ our Warpin, I guess. Ann’s got this wolf, Rosalyn… I dinnae what that even is, I’ve got a dragon, an’ the other two are just startin’. Me dragon’s a right bastard. Always makin’ me feel protective tae a bad point.”

“That’s awful,” Eyes gasped. “You can’t, like, tune it out or make it quiet?”

“Nope! That’s the most frustratin’ part! Once they learn tae be heard, we can’t block ‘em out.” Kat flopped back onto the stone, her armour clanking loudly. “Now I’ve got this lizard hissin’ in me skull tellin’ me I should keep ‘em close at all times, that they’re mine, an’ that I should kill anyone who even hurts their feelin’s. It’s a feckin’ problem.”

“Are they all like that?” Eyes, for as much as a deer head with dozens of eyes could, looked horrified.

“Ann’s is startin’ tae be helpful. Rosalyn’s was from the start! No clue on Bren or Lucia. So nae, it’s just me that’s got the one who makes me life awful. Just me damn luck.”

“Lass,” Jeffrey said, his voice full of sympathy. “Ye tried confrontin’ it?”

“Not since the first time. Ye have no clue how feckin’ terrifyin’ that was.”

“More terrifyin’ than a whole mine huntin’ ye?”

“Scarier than trying to hide when you’re this tall?” Eyes asked.

“You said it preys on your pride and drive to protect. Not bad things in moderation, but taken to extremes?” Tarnu sighed. “I’d talk to Eldest of All. The old boulder knows a thing or fifty about pride and protective urges.”

“He can barely stand me being in the room,” Kat grumbled.

“Well, you are an affront to his pride, but that’s more of a reason to actually sit down with him. I’ll go with you, if you want?” Tarnu offered. “Just so there’s someone who knows Eldest of All in the room to stop things if they get bad.”

Kat lay there for a minute, thinking it over. She was still pissed off at the ancient dragon for being such a coward and scaring Rosalyn. Every fibre in her being told her that avoiding the beast was the better idea. Then she heard the hiss behind the thoughts. The dragon didn’t want it either.

“Aye. Think I’ll take ye up on that,” Kat said, rolling her head to look at Tarnu. “What’s two dragons in me life what hate me?”

“Ach, ye’re not givin’ Eldest o’ All enough credit. Now that he’s calmed down, ye should be fine,” Jeffrey laughed. “Ye all had a rough start, but he’s accepted ye.”

Kat just let the thought settle. If she needed a coach on her pride, who better? Eldest of All was quite literally his name. She’d go and talk to him about her problems. It felt a little shit not to do this with Ann, but the woman didn’t quite get pride in the same way. Sure, she was proud as a fighter, but was shockingly humble in most other ways.

Well, maybe she was proud of being able to fuck so well. With her talents, who wouldn’t be? Girl backed it up with every thrust of that meaty, delicious cock. Gods, she needed that in her. They hadn’t had a chance since they got here, and she was already aching in her core. The simple thought of that cum was making her a bit dizzy, and those new balls she had? She could almost smell them.

Kat shook her head. She’d been daydreaming. Tonight, she was going to ride that cock again, no matter what.

“Alright, I’m going down to the water. I need a swim. My scales are starting to dry out,” Eyes declared, standing to tower over all of them. “Have a good rest of the day!”

Watching the tall fish woman pick her way through the tents, Tarnu shuffled over. “So, want to go do that now, or later?”

“Let’s get this shite o’er with,” Kat groaned, standing up.

Right now, she’d confront a dragon. Tonight, if she got her way, she’d ride one.