Chapter 37: It Gets Worse!

The Snail charged Kat and Ann, kicking up what snow remained after its impact. Long arms dug deep grooves into the slopes of the ravine as it pulled itself even faster.

Kat ran in, taking the creature head on, and was rewarded with a strike to her shield. A loud thump resounded as the Snail pushed her back.

Ann took the opportunity and rushed past the Protector on the side of the arm that had just swung. She snuck past the first, longer, arm and ran up the side of the ravine. Kicking off it, she tried her best to angle a cut across the thing’s main body.

A pale, bony hand reached out from the other side of the snail, batting her away. It would have hurt a lot more, if not for a spire of thorns that jutted up to intercept the limb.

Howling in frustration, the Warped turned its faceless stump toward the casters on the ridge. The shell creaked as it shifted and began to blast them with the sticky black goo it used before.

Bren, however, was prepared, and a wall of shimmering force appeared before them, stopping anything that would have hit them.

Rosalyn was busy casting something, but Ann couldn’t pay attention. She’d jumped back to her feet and had joined Kat in dueling the Snail’s hands. One formed a spike, curling its hand to point all four fingers at Ann and thrusting it forward.

Ann barely jumped over it, the claws nicking her back. Using the momentum, she sliced the skin beneath her with the falchion, rewarded with a stream of black blood and a gurgling screech.

Beside her, Kat had sidestepped a slam from one hand, driving her sword into the back of it, before tearing it free through its fingers.

The Snail howled with pain as it pulled its damaged limbs back. Unfortunately, the damage didn’t last as the Warped’s innate healing quickly repaired it. Skin rippled and distorted, restoring severed muscle, while bones snapped and replaced anything that had broken.

“Well, it’s definitely Guardian level. At least,” Kat shouted as she spat a red streak across the snow.

“Wouldn’t have needed help if it wasn’t, right?” Ann called back, preparing for the next trade, watching the Snail be harried by a mess of thorns that had sprouted from the slopes.

“Aye. C’mon. Got a bit o’ a plan,” Kat yelled as she charged the Warped with a mad grin.

Ann was right behind her, waiting for her cue. It came quickly. The Warped tried to slam Kat with its left hand again, seemingly frustrated it wasn’t able to knock her away. Kat dodged again, stabbed the hand, but instead of pulling free, pushed the weapon further in, pinning the limb.

Ann didn’t need to be told what to do. She raced past on the inside, once again trying for the main target.

The snail reared its right arm, preparing to strike, but was halted as a patch of brambled vines sprouted from the dead earth. The vines wrapped around the thing’s arm, holding it at bay as Ann continued her mad dash.

Reaching the center stalk of the Snail she pulled her pistol and fired a Smite enhanced bullet straight into the thing, followed up immediately by an empowered slash.

The smell of burning flesh filled her nose as the Snail reared back, raw red lips parting as it let out its cacophonous scream. Bracing, Ann was still knocked back, but she didn’t feel her ears bleeding this time. A quick check put her health at 200/250. Then 224. Bren’s healing at work.

Refocusing, she saw Kat pulling her sword out of the pinned appendage and returning to her side.

Nodding at each other, the two fighters moved back in.

With a mighty pull, the Snail dislodged its right arm, and part of the hillside, to swing at them. The spray of dirt and gravel blinded them momentarily before the Arm swept through, catching Ann and pulling her back.

“Fuck shit, fuck!” Ann cursed, hacking at the hand as it lifted her high above everything else. Looking down, she saw a spine on the Snail’s shell turn and was immediately blasted with the sticky black ooze.

A gurgling laugh seemed to echo from the creature’s mouth as it made to throw her to the ground again.

Ann braced for a bone breaking impact, but it never came. Instead, the thing’s hand spasmed as a crack of thunder echoed through the ravine. Smoking embers marked a charred portion of the creature’s main body, where Rosalyn had probably used Lightning Crash.

Wriggling, Ann wrenched herself free and tumbled down onto the shell below her. Looking around, she angled herself near a spine, taking a closer look.

It was a seemingly hollow tube, tapered toward the open end, with a ball socket at the base, allowing it to pivot. Almost like a natural version of a battleship turret she’d seen in a book.

Ann took her falchion, wedged it in the space between the main shell and the spine, and shoved hard. She heard something crunch before wrenching the blade free.

The snail beneath her, previously occupied with Kat berating its mother or something like that, lurched beneath her. Thankfully, and somewhat ironically, the ooze it had covered her with had given her enough sticking power she was able to stay latched on.

She repeated the process two more times, disabling three of the six turrets on the thing’s back before a hand reached back and pulled her off. Her claws scrabbled at the shell as she tried to hold on, but suddenly she was flying, the wind rushing past her ears. As she tumbled, she saw Kat’s head snap upwards.

The Protector immediately turned, running beneath her, before tumbling in the snow as she caught her.

“Thanks,” Ann gasped, trying to catch her breath from the impact and exertion.

“Any feckin time,” Kat grunted back as she pushed Ann off, getting back to her feet. Now that there was less firing up at them, Rosalyn could really let go. She made sure to angle her Thorns to take out the remaining spines the best she could, before turning her attention to the main body.

Kat and Ann re-engaged, but were quickly driven back as the creature let out another deafening scream.

Arms reached back as the Snail began to grunt. Each hand took a grip on the opening of the shell, and it began to strain. Drool and black blood dripped from its mouth as it strained, groaning with the effort.

Slowly, horrifyingly, it pulled itself out of the shell. Ann watched as pieces of flesh tore away from its body, muscle and bone exposed as the back half of the creature was slowly revealed. With a final scream, it pulled itself free and collapsed on the ground. As it regenerated, its back half slowly reassembled itself in a mess of tentacles, almost like a squid, with longer tentacles extending past the rest.

Kat and Ann were almost on top of it when its head swiveled up at them and it skittered to the left, up the side of the ravine.

“What the fuck!” Ann cried as she watched it move. It was much faster now that it didn’t have to carry around its shell. “Phase two, let’s get this fucker!”

Rosalyn was already tossing out Thorns left and right, with an Unleash the Storm.

Bren, now that he didn’t have to work on protecting himself and Rosalyn, was standing focused on the fight in front of him, ready to provide healing.

Scuttling down the slope on all four arms and its many tentacles. As it ran, it grabbed rocks in the longer tentacles and hurled them at the two fighters in front of it. Without the shell, it was so fast all Ann could do was get behind Kat before it was on top of them.

Kat stood tall, blocking strikes with her shield and parrying others with her sword. Even then, hits got past her guard. A hit to the leg, quickly repaired by Bren, one to the arm that would have been crippling if both Bren’s shielding and her Reactive Defence weren’t stacked together.

Cursing, Ann moved around to the right, dodging tentacles whipping at her. She took a couple of lashes to her shins, three more to her side, but her armour reduced the impact significantly.

She got close enough to strike at the base of a tentacle, but as she swung, the creature shifted its position deftly to dodge the strike. An impact on her side sent her tumbling in the dirt before she rolled to her paws.

Changing tactics, the Snail turned and rushed up the side of the ravine and bore down on Bren and Rosalyn. Kat and Ann screamed as they rushed up the steep incline as fast as they could, but the monster was far more agile.

Rosalyn leapt to the side, while Bren ducked forward. The experienced healer had apparently made the correct call. He slid down the slope, and under the surprised creature on his back. As he slid, a shimmering wall of shielding appeared over him, blocking or mitigating the thrashing tentacles he shuffled through.

Losing interest in Rosalyn, the Snail turned back to the other three. Gathering its limbs together, it launched itself over to the other side of the ravine. Letting out a hiss, it grabbed at any stone large enough for its tentacles to hold and began hurling them at the party.

Everyone scattered as they dodged the missiles. Bren did his best to deflect anything he could, but he had to be running low on Mind and Absorption at this point.

Kat and Ann ran forward, and the Snail met them with outstretched arms. Without a thought, both women sidestepped the strikes aimed at them, grabbed hold, and pulled as hard as they could. The loose gravel on the slope worked to their advantage as they dragged the thing off balance and tumbling back down to the bottom.

Righting themselves, they nodded to each other once more.

With no time to waste. Ann leapt forward, this time aiming for the creature’s midsection. She watched as muscled rippled beneath pale flesh; the creature preparing to move, before vines snaked up from the dirt. Ann jumped clear of the patch of ground as Entanglement took effect, holding the creature still.

Landing on the Warped’s back, Ann drove her falchion deep into the grisly flesh. Pumping a Smite into the wound, she dug her foot claws in and drew her pistol. Aiming at what she figured was the spine, she emptied the gun and her Mind. After each flash of purple, a hole appeared on the back of the Warped, spewing black blood and smoke.

The shell-less Snail screamed and writhed beneath her. Every limb it had spasmed wildly, kicking up snow and dust. Each screech was loud enough it hurt Ann’s ears through the cotton, but she held firm to her sword. She watched as Kat advanced, shield up in front of her, blocking some of the force of the creature’s screams. Slowly, each step an effort, she reached the front of the creature, dropped her shield, and swung as hard as she could.

As the neck split at the edge of her blade, a crack of lightning sounded as Rosalyn Unleashed the Storm into the other side. With their combined force, the head split free in a shower of blood and gore. The body fell limp under Ann’s feet and she pulled her blade free, drawing heavy breaths.

Slowly, on shaky legs, she walked over to Kat and hugged her. Tension leaving her body for a moment as she leaned on her lover. Kat unfortunately, staggered under the weight, and they tumbled to the ground, sprawling next to the corpse. Both pulled the wool from their ears and sighed as their hearing returned.

“Fuck that thing!” Ann groaned, staring at the sky.

“Aye. Never wanna see somethin’ like it again,” Kat panted.

“Hey! You two! The head is still moving!” Bren called from the side.

“I’m out of Mind for it,” Rosalyn said, sliding down to the rest of them.

“I’ve got it,” Ann groaned, taking Rosalyn’s helping hand as she rose. She staggered over to the wriggling section of neck that made what was left of the thing’s head. Its mouth gaped and hissed, but without its lungs, the sounds were pathetic. Ann pushed her blade down, leaning on the back as she cut it in half lengthwise. Leaving the sword there, she moved a couple of feet away and collapsed again.

“That was absolutely horrifying,” Rosalyn sighed, crouching beside the fighters. “Never seen a Warped tear itself apart. Not like that, for sure. Absolutely grisly. I wonder if that shell was actually part of it, or something it adapted to be part of it? Maybe the goo it shot out was part of the main creature, but that was damaged when it pulled free? I’ve got so many questions. Excuse me. I’m going to go poke at it. Be right back!”

“Be… careful ya twit!” Kat called after her as the Druid walked over to the Snail’s corpse.

“Is there anything you two need patched up? I am low on Mind, but can at least bandage anything needed,” Bren asked the two.

“I swear I broke a leg out there,” Ann muttered tiredly, “but you got it before it even fully broke. I’d be dead so many times over without you.”

“That you would,” Bren said with a smirk. “Someone needs to keep you two safe when you do something reckless.” His face softened. “Well done. Rest now. I will keep watch over you and whatever Rosalyn is doing. Is that a knife? Oh, good. She’s carving into it.”

Ann and Kat laughed at the commentary as both relaxed into the dirt and rested their tired bodies.

————————————————————————————————————————

The team stumbled into Rosalyn’s house, shucking their gear and flopping on the soft furniture.

“So, so tired,” Rosalyn sighed as she sank into her chair, rubbing her horns.

“Ye woulda been less tired if ye didn’t insist on haulin’ a piece o’ the shell back,” Kat laughed, then groaned as Ann cuddled in next to her.

“Hey. Not often you get a chance to look at something like that. Who knows? It might be good for something!” Rosalyn protested. “Armour, a shield? Patching the roof? I don’t know. Something!”

“What is done is done,” Bren said. He was the only one not completely exhausted, and he moved around the room preparing coffee and tea, along with some lighter food, to offset the day’s efforts.

“Done is right,” Ann laughed. “I’m done. Soooo done. Just wanna lay here and cuddle forever and ever.”

“Ye might just get tha’ sweetheart,” Kat mumbled, pulling her closer. “Ye’re so feckin’ warm.”

“Mhm. Cold resistance for the win!” Ann giggled.

“It’s awesome, isn’t it?” Rosalyn piped up from the depths of the chair. “Don’t have to have all those layers, underwear for warmth, all that.”

“So, anyone else level?” Ann asked, lifting her head from the crook of Kat’s neck.

“Aye, actually. Which means Bren probably did, too.” Kat glanced over at the man, who gave her a quiet thumbs up.

“Not me. Though I’m above all the rest of you, so that makes sense. A little more needed for me. So, what’d you all get?” Rosalyn asked as she pulled herself up into a sitting position.

Ann focused, eyes going blank as she pulled up the silver notifications. “Ooh! I got three this time! That means we’re all on the same level!” Reading through the notifications, she took a look through what she’d gotten. There were two skill choices, two per, and the normal stat boost.

Congratulations! Your Path has advanced!

Warrior of Orenous (11)

Please choose from one of the following:

Death From Above: While airborne, increase your attack’s damage by 50% of your Dexterity.

Fade Away: Reduce your presence, becoming slightly harder to detect. Will not effect direct eyesight. Uses: Equal to 10% of your Dexterity, rounded up, per day. Currently (3)

Congratulations! Your Path has advanced!

Warrior of Orenous (12)

Please select a core stat to increase by +2.

Congratulations! Your Path has advanced!

Warrior of Orenous (13)

Please choose from one of the following:

Burst of Speed: Double your physical speed for 6 seconds. Limited to one use. Use resets on the completion of a sexual encounter.

In and Out: Cost: 30 Desire. Enchant a singular bullet to pierce the first enemy it strikes. It will not pierce the second.

“Huh. Those are interesting,” Ann said, looking over her choices. “I’m pretty sure I know exactly what I’m choosing.”

“Oh? What’s that?” Kat asked, sitting up from reviewing her own choices.

Ann laid out the choices to the group, deciding just to take more Dexterity since it seemed like the focus of her Path besides her other secondary stats.

“Wow, that’s pretty strong!” Rosalyn gasped as she read Burst of Speed. "Just a straight increase in how fast you move. I wonder if your mental speed is increased to compensate for reactions? We’ll need to test. Does it increase muscle mass as well?”

“To that point, if it does increase muscles, would that cause damage to them afterwards?” Bren pondered. “It does not say anything about side effects, but I would imagine increased exhaustion from moving so quickly. We will have to experiment.”

“All I know is that it means ye might be able tae fuck me faster,” Kat laughed.

Ann rolled her eyes, but chose Burst of Speed. Death From Above, everyone agreed, was too risky and niche. Yeah, she was getting tossed around a lot, and Kat could launch her, but not something she wanted to do all the time. Fade Away was chosen for two things. It let her move around enemies to take advantage of Rogues Do It From Behind easier. Also, she was going to be famous fairly soon, if General Polaris’ warning held true. Being able to slip away into a crowd unnoticed would be really useful.

Kat was offered a choice between a percentage increase to her Endurance based on her Strength, while her other option provided further Endurance for a moderate amount of Tenacity spent. It would last for three minutes, but Kat decided the permanent increase to Endurance was worth it.

Bren had already made his selection. An aura spell that consumed Mind over time, but restored the stamina of those within twenty feet. It forced him to be closer to the front line, but if it meant Ann and Kat could fight longer, it was worth it. Or at least, that’s what he told them.

“Also three more hours until I need to fuck. That’s awesome,” Ann sighed, relaxing back on top of Kat.

“Yes. That requirement does sound rather inconvenient,” Rosalyn sympathized. Out of the corner of her eye, Ann caught her cheeks going red at the thought.

“Hells, ye don’t hear me complainin’,” Kat laughed, pulling Ann in for a quick kiss.

“I hear plenty, thank you very much,” Bren huffed, though his eyes gave away the joke.

As they talked, the sun had begun to set, amber light filling the room with a cozy warmth.

“It’s getting late. Do we just want to relax for the evening?” Ann asked.

“I’d like that, actually,” Rosalyn agreed, standing. “I could use some time after all the excitement today. I’ll be up in my room, though. If anyone needs me.”

The fluffy haired woman turned and walked up the stairs. Kat and Ann followed shortly, choosing to relax in bed, while Bren settled in by the fire with a book in hand.