Chapter Text
Johann’s eyes darted between Vius and Toby, running a thousand different calculations as he assessed the situation. Toby’s eyes were not yet glowing red – it was still possible to save them. And in front of them, Vius had his shield held out protectively as he stared up at the Tobi-Kadachi. To anyone else, he might’ve appeared to be the very picture of heroism, putting his own body between predator and prey – but the truth was painfully apparent to Johann. Vius, who had been incessantly talking and asking questions since they’d met, had fallen entirely silent. His skin was pale, sweat forming on his brow, and his legs were shivering. His fiery sword wobbled uncertainly in his hand.
Vius was terrified. Of course he was – it was his first encounter with a Blighted monster. But now was the wrong time to be paralysed with fear – his opponent was still up and about.
Toby’s eyes were wide and afraid, and their body shook as they attempted to fight the shivering claws they were raising. Their pitiful expression, the downturned mouth, the bowed head and pleading eyes... it all communicated only one thing.
Help me.
A heartbroken sob escaped Vius, who immediately dropped his sword and shield to the ground with a clatter and rushed over to Toby. “I... I don’t know how!” he wailed. “I’m sorry... this is all my fault!”
He... didn’t know how...? There was no acceptable context for the sudden outburst, unless... Vius was starting to get it. He’d heard his monster’s voice. He’d received their cry for help, loud and clear.
Vius wrapped his arms around Toby’s neck. “Come on!” he yelled. “Fight it!”
Johann noticed Toby’s claws rising, poised to strike Vius’ vulnerable back. His little swords wouldn’t do anything to stop a blow and would only result in another casualty, and Vius’ shield was out of reach and laying on the floor. Johann sheathed his blades and scanned the ground beneath him, searching for a shadow. Finding a likely candidate was the easy part in these dark woods – the hard part was the manifestation. He wouldn’t finish it in time.
“Adrenna!” he barked. “Protect Vius!”
Adrenna shrieked in response, her ears twitching as she gave him an affirmative glance. He knew what she meant – you got it!
She leapt over Toby, landing gracefully in front of them and wrapping her dexterous tail around their poised claws, immobilising them. Toby screeched in response, and Vius pressed his face against their neck. “Come on! I’m not giving up – you can’t give up either!”
Mother backed away, prowling warily around the edge of the battlefield as she made her way to Johann’s side. He was scowling and gritting his teeth as a shadow writhed and coiled beneath his outstretched hand. “Come on! Work, damn you!”
Between Toby’s screeching and Vius trying to cheer them on, the group had been making far too much noise. They’d likely already attracted unwanted attention – the Makili Pietru would arrive soon. If Toby wasn’t brought to heel before then, Johann would have no choice but to abandon them to their fate.
Mother was now by his side, standing to attention. “Mother... could you gather some honey? Please...” He was never great at giving her orders – he was used to receiving instructions from her instead. Sniffing the air and following the sweet scent, she wordlessly headed over to the hive and stood beneath the dripping honey, gathering some in her beak.
Vius was murmuring something to Toby – a melody of some kind, like how Johann had hummed to them earlier that day. “Beneath the rising smoke and ash, I offer you my sword... no mighty beast nor nights so bleak will part me from my lord...”
Toby continued to thrash and writhe, Vius clinging stubbornly to them all the while. Johann noticed a tinge of red darkening the monster’s orange eyes as great clouds of black fog drifted up from their tail. Cursing, he flexed his fingers as he glared at the shadow beneath him – and finally, with a metallic clatter, a black chain snaked out of it. Grabbing it in his hand, Johann threw it forward and looped it around Toby’s neck, before pulling it back and causing them to crash to the ground. Vius tumbled with them – undeterred, he knelt beside them and continued to sing, gently stroking their snout even as they squirmed and bit at his fingers.
“No Cephalos nor Ioprey will keep me from your side – my life I’ll lay down for your love, to you my fate is tied...”
Really? A love song was the first thing that came to his mind? Johann would’ve laughed at him if the situation weren’t so dire. He settled for shaking his head in disapproval, wrapping the shadow chain around his wrist to keep it in his grip as Toby fought to get free.
Mother bounded over, skidding to a halt in front of her son, her beak sticky and full of honey. Johann fumbled through his pouch, bracing himself as Toby tried to pull him forward, and grabbed a Herb and a Blue Mushroom in one hand. Opening his other hand, Mother spat a mouthful of honey into his outstretched palm. Toby yanked their head back, causing him to lurch forward – losing his balance, he tripped and fell on his face, thrusting his hands out at the last second to prevent the ingredients from being crushed beneath him.
As he struggled against Toby’s strength, Adrenna planted one of her paws on the shadow chain and held it down, allowing Johann to assume a sitting position. Opening his right hand, sticky honey smeared all over his palm, he crushed his ingredients against his open palm and mashed them into a gross, sticky pulp with his fist. The mixture began to take on a verdant green colour.
“Vius!” he yelled. “Mega Potion – now!”
Vius rushed over and grabbed the messy substance, fumbling with it and almost dropping it in his haste. “Thanks! Hey, Toby – eat this!”
He lobbed it like a baseball, and it splattered across Toby’s snout. As they paused to lick it all up, the teeth marks on their tail began to shrink – the scabs flattened and smoothed out, and new fur grew over the affected areas. However, the healing effect appeared to only be superficial – though the Blight no longer rose from Toby’s tail, it was now pouring out from between their teeth as they panted, their eyes beginning to glow a bloody red.
Vius looked desperately at Johann. “Why isn’t it working?”
Johann pursed his lips and turned his gaze away, unable to meet his eyes. He hadn’t had high hopes anyhow, but the outcome was still disappointing. “It was only a guess, really... I don’t know of a foolproof method for curing it. I just thought... maybe I could just try...”
His words were sticking in his throat as his heart sank. He’d been dismissive of Vius, but he’d truly desired to help Toby. He didn’t like watching a monster lose its life if he could help it. But what was this feeling? He’d been Vius’ source of information and he’d been the one to order him around. Johann was the one in charge here, only putting up with this other human for the sake of the monster he’d thoughtlessly put in danger sauntering straight into Elder territory – and yet he couldn’t look Vius in the eyes as a crushing shame engulfed him. He felt lost, scared and overwhelmed with guilt.
He dared to look back at Vius. Johann could see his heart breaking as the hope in his eyes dimmed. “Then there’s nothing we can do...?” Vius trailed off as he watched Toby squirm, trying to break free of Johann’s chain as Adrenna held it down. “What was I thinking? I just wandered off on this grand quest with no knowledge and no plan, and I took somebody else along on this ridiculous journey without thinking... Now it’s my fault Toby’s like this!”
Normally, Johann would have heartily agreed and scolded him severely – because it was partially Vius’ fault. He had been reckless; he’d decided to take off on a voyage without even taking adequate time to learn how to be a Rider, and he’d accidentally lured Makili Pietru to his location by setting a fire and cooking food. However, it was ultimately the Makili Pietru’s bite that had caused Toby’s Blight – much blame lay with it too. And considering Vius knew nothing about the Woods, it was to be expected that he wouldn’t know about the Elder Dragon within.
But, regardless of how much blame Vius did or didn’t hold for his part in the sorry saga, Johann held his tongue and remained silent. Chiding him would accomplish nothing – he was already learning a horrible lesson. Johann quietly wondered if he was growing soft.
In that moment, a soft blue glow emanated from the stone he wore around his neck. As its calming light filled the area, Johann held it up to his face inquisitively. “Again...? But why? Why now?”
♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧
In one moment, Vius was helplessly watching Toby succumb to the Black Blight. In the next moment, they’d completely disappeared – and so had everyone else.
He was in a large square room, its walls built of many dark rectangles like those he’d seen at Johann’s place. A ruin of old? He looked around for Johann, but found nobody. His eyes fell upon a wooden desk positioned next to a rectangular glass pane, which was much larger and more uniform than the glass shards formed from the sand of the Flaming Fields. Through the glass, he could see a verdant and healthy treeline awash in the fiery glow of the setting sun, with no Black Blight in sight.
Sat in a wooden chair next to the desk was a tall, pale man. His glossy black hair was immaculately combed and tied back in a high ponytail, and he was securely wrapped in layers of black cloaks. He was hunched over the desk, icy blue eyes intently glaring at something on its wooden surface like it had personally offended him.
The desk itself contained an assortment of bizarre items. The man was handling a thin, flexible white rectangle that rustled with every movement of his hands, and a giant stack of more rectangles was piled up on one side. In his fingers, he was holding a strange pointed stick adorned with the white feather of an unknown creature. More such sticks were scattered over the desk without rhyme or reason. Whenever he touched the stick’s tip to the rectangle, a dark substance oozed from it and stained the white surface black.
Vius recognised those shapes – those were letters! This man was writing! He was using a different system than Vius was used to – back home at the burrow, everyone just dragged their fingers through the dirt or carved letters into rocks with their carving knives. The Quest Board was just a specific wall of dirt that everybody scribbled their grievances on. In comparison, this seemed more complex. He watched, mesmerised, as the man in black continued writing – occasionally, he would pause to look over his work and dip the mysterious stick into a little container filled with the strange substance.
Outside the room, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Another man threw open the wooden door, which hit the wall behind it with a mighty crash. The newcomer was a huge, muscular man with messy brown hair, wearing a white tank top. A torn and hole-riddled black robe was draped across his shoulders, bearing the same odd symbol that Magna and Luck wore. Was this person affiliated with them?
“Hey!” the newcomer yelled, stomping into the room. “What’s the big idea, eh? Why’d you get Henry to move the base back up here? We needed you back there! You can’t just take half the squad out of a fight without at least warning me!”
The man in the chair sighed, before swivelling around to face his guest. He rested his arms over the back of the chair, hardly blinking as he stared condescendingly at the other man. He reminded Vius of a Nargacuga – cold and calculating, with a strangely prideful air in the way he carried himself. Actually, Johann had the same kind of vibe too.
“Yami, please. It was painfully clear that we were losing. Staying and dying would not have been beneficial.”
Yami scowled. “We’d barely started! Yeah, losing the Anti Magic was a huge problem, but the others are good kids – they can more than make up for it!”
“Does that still hold true when their mental states are hampered by grief? Because in my experience, the opposite tends to be true.”
Yami fell silent for a moment, a pained expression on his face. “That’s why we needed to keep going... to make that bastard pay for what he did. To stop him from hurting anyone else, and make him regret hurting one of my kids. We just needed to surpass our limits!”
The other man’s glare softened into a mixture of sympathy and pity. “I understand the sentiment. However, the fact remains that it was a losing battle. You saw what he did – the capital was almost immediately a lost cause. The other squads have already been wiped out and scattered, and more of those monsters are spreading across the kingdom as we speak. Asta is the only one who can truly stand up to Lucius – and he is in no position to fight right now, given what has occurred. He may never be strong enough again. Meanwhile, Lucius continues to grow stronger. We will not win a confrontation – not as we are right now.”
Yami clenched his fists defiantly for a moment, before relaxing them and sighing. Suddenly, his face seemed weary. “Nacht... do you really not believe in your own squad?”
Nacht shook his head and stood up, striding over to his partner and gently clasping both of his hands. “That isn’t what I said – you misunderstand. I am simply considering the facts of the situation in search of a solution. In truth, I am just as frustrated as you. I too was not strong enough to stop Lucius – and one of my own has paid the price. I couldn’t stomach the thought of this happening to anyone else, hence the retreat. I’ve been turning over further possibilities within my mind – and, unfortunately, we cannot continue as we are if we hope to reach Lucius’ level. But that does not mean I intend to roll over and surrender.”
Yami’s eyes twinkled, a spark of hope returning as he grinned. “Now that’s more like it! What did you have in mind?”
“We’ll surpass our own limits, as you would say. And this time, we’ll pull out all the stops.”
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
As the odd vision disappeared, a sense of calm washed over Toby. The red haze that had been clouding their mind dissipated – it felt as if they were waking up after a long slumber, their mind returning to their body. For a moment more, they felt a warm and comforting presence surrounding them. They felt a hand gently brushing their face, fingers lightly trailing their scales – but nobody was there.
They’d blacked out earlier, and the situation had changed in that time. Yawning and stretching, as if they’d awoken from a long slumber, they took stock of their surroundings. A cold, black object had slithered around their neck, one end of which was in Johann’s hands. Adrenna was standing on it to hold it down, but now she tentatively stepped away, allowing it to loosen. Mother stood by Johann’s side, entirely still as she squinted at Toby, assessing the situation. Vius’ sword and shield were laying abandoned on the ground, and the boy himself was knelt next to their face.
Vius’ hands were trembling. “How did... you’re back? What...” He looked over at Johann for an answer. “Did you see that? But why did it help Toby?”
Toby watched as Johann cradled his pretty stone, scrutinising it as he searched for answers. His icy blue eyes, his chaotic brown hair – his features resembled those of the two males Toby had seen in the vision. Was this the same situation as the last vision, perhaps?
Johann poked and prodded at the stone, scowling. “That’s the third time I’ve seen that vision now. Three times in two days – and it chose to show us again at this moment?” He gazed into Toby’s eyes. “They’re well again for now, but... how? There is no way to quell the Blight, so why? This happened right when we needed it – this is no coincidence. Something made this happen on purpose.”
Vius tilted his head. “It’s shown you the same thing three times? So if I went back to the stone at home, it would show me the same thing it did when I first saw it?”
Johann froze. “You’ve seen this in a different specimen? This isn’t the only one?”
“Yeah! I dunno if you’ve seen it, but there’s this giant blue rock in the Flaming Fields. It showed me something different from yours, though.”
“A blue rock... hmm.” Johann looked back down at his stone. “Mine’s blue too. Perhaps they’re the same kind.”
In the distance, there came an ill-tempered growl followed by the tell-tale creaking of trees being pushed around and knocked over. Vius’ breath hitched in his throat. “Time to go!” he hissed, grabbing his sword and shield. Toby stumbled to their feet as Johann removed the chain, which dissolved into the shadows as it hit the ground.
Adrenna nudged one of the two Jaggi corpses inquisitively, before gently grasping it in her beak. Mother grabbed the second one in her mouth. Johann sighed. “Well, I guess we did set out to find breakfast. Blight doesn’t inhabit dead monsters – these will be safe to eat.”
Vius hurriedly climbed onto Toby’s back as an angry roar shook the trees. “Let’s go, let’s- WHOA!” He clung on for dear life as Toby bolted, desperately seeking to get away before Makili Pietru arrived. Vaulting onto Adrenna’s back, Johann followed after them as they fled, with Mother bringing up the rear.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Toby refused to stop running until they were safely in Johann’s nest. Vius dismounted, his legs shaking. “That was a close call... are the others okay?” He peered out of the entrance to see Adrenna coming to a stop, Mother right behind her. Johann swung his legs over Adrenna’s side and dropped down next to her – though his face remained guarded and unreadable, a tiny shudder of his shoulders betrayed his anxiety.
Johann and his family entered the ruin, bringing the carcasses with them and dumping them in the middle of the nest. Johann prowled over to Toby on all fours and gazed deep into their eyes while they stood uncertainly. “It really did help you... how...?”
“Are they cured?” Vius asked hopefully.
“Nope. Their saliva’s black – but I have an idea for staving it off. Eat with us while we discuss it.” He gestured invitingly to the two Jaggi.
Toby and the Nargacugas began tearing off chunks of flesh without hesitation, wolfing them down. Vius crouched next to Johann, the bones of previous meals crunching beneath his knees. “So how do you usually cook- oh. Um.” Vius trailed off, silenced by horror and fascination as the other boy tore off a piece and bit into it raw.
Johann noticed his hesitation and offered some raw meat. “Don’t be shy. You’ll need your strength.” Though he was attempting to sound authoritative and strict like usual, his eyes were glittering with childlike excitement and he was smiling slightly.
Vius took the offered meat, watching with concern as Johann continued to chow down. “Hey, are you gonna be okay? What happens if you get food poisoning?”
Johann chewed thoughtfully. “I don’t eat poisonous food, so it’s fine.” He genuinely didn’t know about food poisoning – he must not have experienced it. But how? Did he have an iron stomach?
Vius decided not to take chances and conjured a flame on his finger, cooking his food. As it sizzled, a mouth-watering scent wafting through the nest, Johann watched carefully and followed the flickering movement of the flame with his eyes.
“Flame Magic?” he asked.
Vius nodded, biting into his well-done food. “Yep. What was the thing you used back there? It was pretty cool.”
“Shadow Magic. Although as you saw, it takes time and focus. I don’t use it much.” Johann began staring at his stone again. “Toby would be lost if it weren’t for that vision, though I’m not sure how seeing it helped them. The timing, too... This thing has a mind of its own, surely.”
“You said it gave you that vision twice before. When was that?”
Johann hemmed and hawed. “Both occurrences were quite close to you, actually. I saw it once when Adrenna and I came to the Flaming Fields yesterday – we saw signs of Teostra’s presence, so we left rather quickly afterward. It happened again later that evening, right before I met you.”
“Was it love at first sight?” Vius joked.
“No. It was confusion at first sight. I’ve never seen another Rider before.”
“...Rider?”
“That’s what I call it.” Johann tore off another chunk of meat. “Someone who can befriend and ride monsters – although it was mostly hypothetical up until now. I thought I was the only one.”
Vius chewed slowly as he pondered the thought. So, he was a Rider now? He’d managed to become one by forging a bond with Toby in the fires of combat. Had Johann done something similar?
Johann unsheathed one of his swords and dug out a rock from the tangled twigs of the nest, dragging it along the blade’s edge to sharpen it. The blue talon sparkled in the sunlight that was filtering through the ruin’s entrance.
“What are those swords?” Vius asked. “They look awesome!”
“These are called Zakun Twins,” Johann explained. “They’re made from a Seregios that attacked me many moons ago – you know it? Golden dragon with scales like blades?”
“I’ve heard of them in passing. They don’t stop by the Fields often. How did you defeat it?”
Johann pursed his lips, thinking carefully about what to say next. “I didn’t – I should’ve died that day. Fortunately, Makili Pietru was curious about the commotion. It stepped on the Seregios and crushed it.”
“Damn... you’re lucky it didn’t hurt you too!”
Johann stared off into the distance. “Lucky... I suppose so.”
Toby was drooling as they ate – as their saliva dribbled onto Vius’ shoulder, he took note of its inky black hue. “Hey, Johann. If we can’t cure Toby’s Blight, can we at least hold it off for a while? Like, just give them that vision again if it starts getting bad?”
“It’s not that simple.” Johann scowled at his pendant. “I can’t just make it happen, and there’s no guarantee it’ll occur again. My idea was to help you strengthen your bond with Toby over time until it erases the Blight – of course, that is dependent on how long they can hold it off. It may not work in time.”
“Then... what about finding more blue rocks? There was one in the Fields that activated as soon as we approached it. Maybe we can wake up some others that haven’t activated yet? Give Toby more time while we bond?”
Johann shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. It’s certainly better than nothing.” As the Jaggi corpses were finally stripped of meat, he gathered up the bones and shoved them into a corner before crawling over to his shelf to grab five Nulberries. “Well... shall we go?”
“Where?”
“To find blue rocks, of course.”
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Vius followed Johann out, chattering excitedly. “So, I was thinking – if we backtrack, go back west, there’s that big rock in the Fields. Then...” He trailed off as he noticed the ominous black clouds blocking out the sun.
Johann shook his head. “Unfortunately, that won’t be an option. Look.” He pointed to the west.
Vius almost jumped out of his skin as he spotted the giant yellow eye peering out from the trees. Makili Pietru prowled back and forth, patrolling the edges of its territory and eyeing the humans hungrily, yet inexplicably refusing to enter the clearing. After drawing its attention with the earlier incident, it refused to leave them alone.
Toby whined, their tail between their legs. Adrenna’s ears were drooping as she avoided making eye contact with the Elder Dragon. Mother stared steadily ahead, narrowing her eyes.
“Well... what do we do?” Vius asked. “The second we head in there, it’ll come for us...”
“No problem,” Johann replied coolly. “There’s another blue rock to the east. We’ll head for that one.”
“That’s great, but what’s gonna stop him from getting us once we leave this spot?”
Johann mounted Adrenna and began heading east, Mother trailing behind them. Vius followed them on Toby’s back. “Hey, Johann? Johann!”
He caught up with Johann, who turned his head to speak with Vius. “Do you recall last night’s conversation, when I informed you that some regions are home to more than one Elder?”
“Oh yeah! Oh... wait...”
“This is one of them. Makili Pietru may rule the western end of the Blighted Woods, but the eastern edge is beyond its dominion. It knows better than to follow us, unless it seeks a turf war with an equal.”
At the eastern edge of the clearing, more black miasma seeped through the trees – but it was somehow different. Vius could see that this fog was made up of tiny black and purple particles, and it only lingered close to the ground. “Hey, could you tell me about the local neighbourhood horror before we go in? Just so that we don’t repeat my first Makili experience.”
Johann nodded. “Of course. Over here, the Shagaru Magala is in charge – and, like Makili, it spreads an ailment of its own, called the Frenzy Virus. Like the Blight, it drives monsters mad. Unlike the Blight, Frenzy will infect monsters regardless of human bonds – and it always kills them after a few days.”
“That sounds even worse than Makili! Is everybody going to be okay?”
“Adrenna and Mother are used to making this journey. As for Toby, the existing Blight will likely cancel out any Frenzy – Black Blight aims to keep its host alive by purging other ailments. Still, for safety’s sake, keep Toby’s head above the floor and don’t engage with any infected monsters. Frenzy is spread by infected monsters and through tiny scales and hairs shed by Magala – don’t let Toby breathe those in and keep them away from carriers, and they’ll be fine.”
Vius nearly retched at the thought. “Dragon hairs – ewww.”
Johann cracked a smile as he shivered in revulsion. “I know, right? Disgusting.”
As they ventured into the eastern woods, Vius noted that it was far easier to see his surroundings thanks to the Frenzy staying low to the floor. Shards of sunlight splintered through the canopy here and there, but it was tainted – it was a sickly purple colour. A perpetual sense of dread pervaded the area – in the western woods, Vius had been wracked with anxiety due to being unable to see. Now, he feared that the clearness of this area would enable him to be seen all too easily – he almost wished to have the Blight enshrouding him once more. He felt naked and vulnerable.
When he spoke, it was in a whisper. “Hey... what’s the other dragon like?”
Johann seemed to feel it too, as he leaned in to whisper back. “Much smaller than Makili – a bit bigger than Teostra, I’d say. It’s also really, really bright – you see it, you run. We don’t mess with Frenzy.”
“And where’s the rock?”
“It’s... well...” Johann fumbled over his words a little, fidgeting anxiously with his fingers. “It’s in the place where Mother found me after I... um. When I was born.”
“You were born here? She raised you?”
“Yep.” He averted his gaze as an awkward feeling filled the air. Vius could tell he was getting close to hitting a nerve – Johann was clearly uncomfortable. Had he perhaps been abandoned at birth? Had his human parents died? Regardless, Vius decided to back off, as it was clearly a sore subject.
They looked away from each other as awkward silence settled between them. The monsters with them were similarly quiet, alert and watchful of their surroundings. Vius felt Toby’s muscles stiffen with every rustle of the leaves, every creak of the branches of the gnarled, ancient trees. Unlike Makili Pietru’s portion of the woods, these trees were flourishing, their branches heavy with verdant green leaves and their trunks coated in ivy – it was beautiful. It was just a shame that the looming threat of local Elders kept Vius from properly appreciating it.
A pair of Kelbi trotted among the trees – one green male with antlers, and one blue female with ears that naturally drooped. Giant insects buzzed in the canopy, flitting curiously around the group as their red carapaces glinted in the sunlight – Bnahabra, ready and waiting to lay eggs in whatever corpses they happened upon. Though he couldn’t see them, Vius could hear the characteristic shrieking and growling of small carnivores in the distance.
There were monsters nearby – which meant no Elder Dragons. They were relatively safe for now, or at least as safe as one could be in an environment that always housed a few man-eaters.
Vius spotted a huge bear lumbering through the trees, armed with wicked claws and thick spikes protectively covering each arm – its hide was an azure blue on its upper body and morphed to a vivid green further down its back, and its back and sides were lined with yellow fur. Its red eyes briefly met his own, but it didn’t seem interested in him – after all, it already had a meal. Sitting down on its rump, it began happily tearing into a fresh fish it had caught.
“Whoa... what is that thing?” Vius asked.
Johann looked at where he was pointing. “That’s an Arzuros. They can be dangerous, but they’re pretty docile if you catch them at certain times – such as when they’ve already got a meal.”
The brief conversation cut through the prior awkwardness, and they settled into a more comfortable silence as their monsters walked side-by-side.
“This place is real pretty,” Vius remarked.
Johann hummed as he considered it. “I guess you’re right about that. I’ve never really paid attention to it before – I only ever come through here to get to the Forsaken Forest.”
“Huh? Where’s that?”
Johann pointed ahead of them. “If you keep going east, you eventually get out of the woods and enter the plains. Once you do, the forest is northeast. It’s got a pretty big human settlement – they do quite well for themselves.”
“More humans...?” Vius asked. “We’re not the only ones?”
“Nope. And I’ve heard there are more further south – but the folks in the Forsaken Forest have it really good. It’s abundant with resources, and the Elder over there is remarkably docile – I’ve met it myself. The worst it’ll do is play a prank or two.”
“Whoa... Man, I’m jealous. Back home, we’ve got Teostra – he just kills everything, really.”
Toby stopped cold and raised their head, their tail twitching in anticipation as they scanned the area. Adrenna and Mother did the same, their ears twitching. The two humans fell silent as they picked up on nearby rustling accompanied by the snapping of fallen twigs.
Behind them, a little blue raptor jumped into view. Its back was lined with black horizontal stripes, and one toe on each four-clawed foot was larger and sharper than its peers. On its hands were five long, razor-sharp claws akin to fingers, and its bright yellow beak was lined with needle-like teeth. Its head was topped with a dull red crest pointing backwards, and its bright orange eyes fixed hungrily on the two humans as it shrieked at them.
“Velociprey!” Johann hissed through gritted teeth. “Adrenna!”
At his command, Adrenna turned sideways and brought her tail forward at lightning speed, whipping the little raptor across its face. It shrieked in pain, stumbling backward from the force of the blow.
“Wait – Velociprey?” Vius looked nervously between Johann and the carnivore. “Is it like the Ioprey at home? Is it poisonous?”
“Nope. Just annoying.” Johann leaned forward and hissed at the creature between gritted teeth, causing it to back away. “But you want to be careful with these. Like Ioprey, they run in packs led by a larger alpha.”
He engaged in a stare down with his opponent, which was beginning to realise that it was heavily outnumbered. Raising its head, it shrieked shrilly – two more Velociprey appeared to answer its call, slipping out from the cover of the trees.
Mother raised her tail above her head and began spinning it in a circle as she crouched, before launching a volley of spikes at her targets. One of the Velociprey was pinned against a tree by a spike to the throat, gasping for air as blood trickled down its white underbelly. It went limp as its last breaths left its body. The other Velociprey nimbly leapt sideways to avoid the assault.
Toby was about to whisk their tail against the ground, but thought better of it as they examined the Frenzy-inducing sheddings coating the floor. Brushing their tail would just whip up the hairs and scales into an infectious cloud. Instead, they settled for screaming in the face of another Velociprey, prompting it to back up.
The Velociprey attempted to screech back, but it came out as a strangled hiss as it stumbled, its breaths suddenly becoming laboured.
“Uh, Johann?” Vius asked. “What’s up with this thing?”
“Hmm?” Johann turned his head to see. “You mean the-?” His eyes widened as he watched it staggering like it was drunk, before its eyes rolled back and it collapsed to the floor. “Back! Everybody, back!”
The Velociprey’s unconscious body convulsed violently, wracked with spasms as black smoke rose from its beak. Its comrade approached to investigate, only to faint itself as soon as it breathed in the foul substance its partner was producing.
“Vius!” Johann called. “They’re both infected! We need to leave!”
“Shit!” Vius and Toby wheeled around, following the Nargacugas as they booked it further east. Vius risked glancing back as they left the Velociprey behind – as their bodies darkened to an inky purple, they staggered to their feet and faced him, their eyes as red as blood.
Pained howls shattered the quiet atmosphere of the woods as the Velociprey began pursuing their foes, their voices twisted and wrong. Puffs of black smoke poured from their beaks and rose from their nostrils. Vius couldn’t believe how quickly they’d turned – Toby’s Blight, while fairly fast, had been far slower than this.
The other monsters in the area took notice of the Frenzied raptors. The Kelbi couple bounded away as fast as their legs could carry them, and the Arzuros growled and lumbered away on its hind legs, searching for a quieter place to eat. Only the Bnahabra stayed, circling the Velociprey as they waited for the Frenzy to eat their bodies from the inside out.
“Why does this always happen to us?” Vius mused.
“It’s a woodland of nightmares and diseases!” Johann exclaimed. “This is normal – on your right!”
A third Frenzied Velociprey leapt from the shadows, so eager to draw blood that it jumped too high and overshot the target. Vius could feel the rushing wind above his head as it hurtled straight over him, its claws savaging the empty air. Landing hard on the ground, it stumbled to its feet before resuming the pursuit, approaching Toby’s right side and forcing them to move to the left.
Over on Johann’s end, a fourth Velociprey approached Adrenna’s left side, forcing her to move closer to Toby until their flanks were almost touching. Behind them, the first two Velociprey snapped at Mother’s heels – whipping her tail back and forth, she smashed them against the trees in response. Her efforts were for naught – two more Velociprey emerged from the trees to resume the chase.
A seventh Velociprey appeared on Toby’s right, bounding far too close to their flank. Vius unsheathed Djinn and swiped at its snout, trying to put some distance between them. Between his slashes, it leapt directly at him and sank its fangs into his arm, puncturing his flesh as it clamped its beak shut.
Vius couldn’t help but scream in pain as shooting pain emanated from the bite wound, accompanied by a searing, burning sensation. Shaking his arm failed to dislodge the monster, but his shield was on his left hand – he swung it down hard on his foe’s head, causing it to tumble to the ground with a whimper of complaint.
Vius examined the bite, which was now oozing blood as his arm throbbed painfully. For such a little creature, it had some nasty teeth. “How far are these things gonna chase us?” he yelled.
“I don’t know!” Johann shouted back. “The end of the earth? Or...” His eyes widened as he realised what they were doing. “...They’re herding us! We’re headed straight for the alpha!”
“Then what do we do?!”
“Climb the trees! They can’t follow us up there!” Adrenna briefly stopped, her muscles poised, before jumping directly upward. Grabbing on to an overhanging branch, she pulled herself up as Johann hung on tightly. Mother performed the same manoeuvre, scrabbling for a handhold as Adrenna helped her up with her tail.
Vius sheathed his sword and laid flat against Toby’s back, winding his fingers in their fur. His companion leapt to the right, grabbing on to a tree trunk and digging their claws into the bark for a handhold before scrambling up into the canopy. Once up in the tree, they lightly climbed across the tangled branches to join the Nargacugas.
Below them, the Velociprey began leaping as high as they could, snapping at the empty air with frothing beaks. Though they could jump impressively high, they couldn’t quite reach the trees. “What now?” Vius asked.
Johann scowled at the raptors below. “We can keep moving through the trees, but chances are they’ll follow us wherever we go. We can’t head back to the nest – Makili may not enter the area, but small monsters have no such qualms. I don’t want to bring Frenzy back home. The alpha monster – Velocidrome, it’s called – isn’t a huge problem with our numbers, but chances are high that it’s also infected if the rest of its pack are like this. Hmm...”
“Do we just wait for the Frenzy to kill them?”
Johann shook his head. “That’ll take roughly three days, and the Shagaru Magala might find us before then. I need time to think...”
Vius used the reprieve to check on his right arm again. The teeth marks were still bleeding – his blood trickled down his arm and stained his fingers, dripping onto Toby’s head.
Johann sniffed the air as he caught the scent, before catching sight of the wound. “One got you?” he asked.
“Yeah...”
“Are you alright?”
Vius shrugged. “Yeah, of course. It beats having Teostra’s paw on my belly, at least.” He rummaged in his pouch for a Herb and chewed on it to heal his wound.
“I did wonder what that was...” Johann’s eyes shifted to Vius’ belly. “Being marked by an Elder Dragon – it’s not an experience many survive.”
Vius covered up the hole in his shirt with his left hand, blushing fiercely. “Dude, don’t stare. It’s embarrassing.”
Johann hurriedly looked away. “Ah. My apologies.”
Vius looked back down at the Velociprey, who had given up on jumping and now circled the nearby trees, looking for footholds they could use to reach their targets. “Well, if we can’t go back we might as well head for the rock. Maybe we could try and lose them? Where is it?”
Johann pointed northeast. “In that direction. It’s close to the border of the woods – still fairly far from where we are. We could attempt to outrun them as we head that way.”
Vius nodded. “Lead the way.”
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Adrenna leapt between the trees, spreading her wings to glide silently over the woodland. Behind her, Toby had spread their membranes to do the same, and Mother brought up the rear. Both she and Mother were perfectly capable of flying, but Nargacugas preferred not to – and Toby couldn’t fly like them either. Adrenna didn’t want to leave her new friend behind.
She wasn’t sure about this decision, but she trusted her little brother’s judgement. She could hear Johann’s pulse racing, smell the fear in his sweat – he was worried, though he hid it well. That didn’t scare her – he was always such a worrywart, fussing over the smallest of things.
What did worry her was Toby and Vius. They were inexperienced, and not used to dealing with the monsters here. So far, Vius had accidentally lured Makili Pietru and needed to be saved from his own Tobi-Kadachi – not a great track record. As for Toby, they were suffering from Black Blight – though it had been quelled for now, Adrenna had no way to know when it would resurface. She could smell it slumbering just beneath their hide, ready to rear up and strike at any moment – it had a foul scent, like vinegar.
And below them, there were the Frenzied Velociprey, leaping and snapping at Adrenna as she soared far above their heads. They smelled like death – and they didn’t carry the aromatic scent of freshly slain prey. They smelled rotten, like they’d been dead for weeks and were so badly decomposed that they were no longer suitable to eat. Adrenna supposed that was to be expected – unlike Blight, which preserved its host through any means necessary, Frenzy killed its victims within days. She’d seen the corpses of Frenzy carriers – they were hollow and barren, eaten alive as their organs were devoured by the virus until only an empty shell remained. These Velociprey were already having their innards broken down and torn apart. Their fate was sealed.
Indeed, they only became more maddened with pain as time wore on, causing them to lose focus. As the Riders and their monsters bounded from tree to tree, they quickly began to put distance between themselves and the raptors. The Velociprey were now truly losing themselves – where they’d been attempting to herd the group before, they now began to adopt different behaviours. Two of them lost their tempers and stopped to fight, hissing and spitting as they tore chunks off each other. Another broke away from its pack, chasing an unlucky Kelbi it had spotted. One weaker individual collapsed to the ground, apparently more susceptible to the disease than its fellows – it convulsed and heaved, dragging itself along the floor by its hands as it refused to give up the chase, though it didn’t make much progress.
The fifth and sixth Velociprey also broke away from the pack, disappearing into the trees to go who knows where. The seventh stopped, realising it was now on its own, and began calling for its leader. Meanwhile, Adrenna and Johann led the way and sprinted through the treetops, slowly losing sight of their pursuers.
Adrenna had only visited Johann’s birthplace once – the day she and Mother found him. She wasn’t keen on revisiting, because it happened to be deep in the centre of Magala territory. As they approached the destination, more craters and pockmarks became visible on the ground below – old scars from Shagaru Magala’s previous battles. Monsters became scarcer, reducing until only a few foolish and stubborn Bnahabra were left, circling Vius in response to the scent of drying blood. Adrenna now had to glide for longer to reach other trees – the gap continued to widen, for many others had been trampled or felled. The sun was more visible, but it was cold and dark.
She stopped when there were no more trees, looking out over a deep crater that had flattened the surrounding trees. In the middle of the empty, desolate landscape was a huge spire of glowing blue ore, reaching up for the skies and jutting out above the canopy.
Atop her back, Johann patted her comfortingly as she shivered. She hated the eastern woods. Makili Pietru was dangerous, but it was also so big and loud that she could tell where it was a mile away. Shagaru Magala was smaller, quieter and far more cunning. If it was here, she likely wouldn’t know until it was too late. Many supply runs to the Forsaken Forest had included an unfortunate encounter – she used to have more siblings. Now, she had only one.
Behind her, Mother closed her eyes and stood completely still, sensing her surroundings. She’d been tussling with these Elders for over twenty years – she knew better than anyone what signs indicated one’s presence.
Sensing nothing, Mother nodded. Adrenna hesitated, still nervous – but she trusted Mother’s judgement. Looking back at the ore, she froze as she caught sight of a monster.
It was a Velocidrome – an alpha far larger than the Velociprey under its command, with a bright red crest much bigger than that possessed by its underlings. The giant toe on each foot was orange in colour and roughly the size of a Hunter’s carving knife, while the middle claw on each hand was also bright orange and far longer and sharper than the others. However, its scales were dark purple – with every breath, smoke rose from its beak.
Johann sighed. “It found us anyway.”
“What? No!” Vius pointed at the ore. “It’s right there!” He noticed more Frenzied Velociprey arriving below the tree, waiting to strike. “Shit, they’re back! You said before we can’t go back, right? Should we try heading to a different part of the woods?”
Johann shook his head. “They’ve already followed us this far – they’ll just keep chasing us until they drop dead. Spending our time evading them risks drawing more attention with all that shrieking they do, and they won’t let us stop to eat either. Furthermore, they’ll infect everything in their path – we have only one option now.”
Adrenna wasn’t sure about this, given the risks involved. A scratch or a bite would transmit Frenzy to her or Mother, and the risk increased exponentially with so many combatants in the field.
“So, we have to fight?” Vius asked. Toby stepped forward, hissing defiantly. Come to think of it, Toby had Black Blight – Johann wasn’t certain of its properties, but Adrenna could smell what he couldn’t. She could feel the Blight roiling just beneath their skin, repelling and devouring all threats. Frenzy, despite its fearsome reputation, worked like any other disease. Black Blight? It felt the same as Vius’ flames, or Johann’s chains of shadow. It was outright magical, a force of nature – no disease could overcome it.
Toby was immune to Frenzy. They could take on this Velocidrome without risking death from a single touch. She twitched one ear as she turned her head, gazing at Johann – then she stared pointedly at Toby, before nodding at the infected alpha raptor.
Johann understood. “You’re certain...? Uh, Vius – Adrenna says Toby can fight the Velocidrome.”
“Whoa, really? You didn’t seem all that sure before – but she knows that? Monsters are crazy, man.” Vius smiled down at Toby and patted their head. “Hey. We can take a few little raptors, right?”
They screeched back affirmatively. As Vius prepared to jump into battle, Johann tapped his shoulder for attention. “Don’t go thinking we’re gonna sit up here and leave you to do all the work.” He smiled a little. “We intend to join you when the risk has decreased. Take out some Velociprey first, and we’ll be right there with you for the big one.”
Vius nodded. “Right! Hey, Toby – let’s go!”