as written by Architect and Sentry
The sky above the forest was a murky grey. The rising sun was barely able to pierce the clouds at all. Dew clung to the forest plants as a morning mist floated through the air.
The smell of blood drifted faintly on the soft breeze.
He stood silently among the trees. His name, was Saxom. He was a simple man, he ate bread and he drank wine. He earned coin through the sweat of his brow and the toil of his muscles. His home was humble and modest, a small cabin in one of the suburbs of Lutetia.
Why was he here? Why did he wear a shield on his back, and hold a blade in his hand? Well, he was working. Some villagers had mentioned a pack of creatures ambushed a merchant caravan.
And thus, he was here. Working. Hunting.
____
They weren't just monsters. There were very specific conjurations that showed up in the mind with the word spoken. Shadows and spiders and teeth. However, the creatures that had attacked the caravan and moved on straddled the line of the uncanny valley so confidently that they called it home.
Centipede. That was one word for them. A fitting description at a first glance. A second, more detailed look would reveal that they weren't simple bugs- every appendage that one would attribute to such an insect was replaced with a human arm.
The face?
There were no mandibles there. Instead, a frozen exoskeletal carving at the top of the head with gnashing... human teeth and a pair of antennae hanging from the sides, holding lanterns at the ends. One would imagine, at night, their bobble would seem like a lost passerby.
Several of these large monsters, each about as tall as half a man, swarmed the forest, carrying limp bodies and treasures in the human arms that weren't helping to move their long bodies.
They were moving toward Saxon.
____
Gross.
It was the first thing that came to mind as he pulled the shield off his back. He wondered just how much intelligence they had, it would be dangerous if they were able to organize themselves. He looked around at his surroundings once more; the clearing was small, but if he stood in the center he had a good sized area for the fight. If he felt overwhelmed he could retreat into the trees quickly.
He had his pouches and satchels, filled with tricks and tools to aid him should he need it. All in all he felt pretty confident in his ability to kill these creatures...he just hoped they wouldn't start talking. That'd be too friggin creepy.
____
As a skittering mass of arms and exoskeleton, the human centipedes galloped into the clearing. Instead of going right for Saxom, they took an unusual and wide berth around him. Streamlined, they began to circle the man clock and counterclockwise, alternating in layers.
Closing him off.
It would be a challenge to escape with four of them closing any gaps that another would create passing by. They’d done this before; had practice with the strategy.
Well they seemed to possess some level of intelligence, that was a little unsettling. He much preferred it when these bug type creatures were dumb and predictable. As he stood in the center he raised his shield and slowly turned, keeping a careful watch on how they moved. Thoughts pestered his mind as he played through scenario after scenario in his head. The villagers hadn’t exactly been a wealth of information when it came to these things, but he couldn't blame ‘em.
He doubted anyone would want to spend time looking at the gross creatures.
It wasn't long before the creatures began their assault. One of the centipedes lurched itself over another and dove for Saxom, teeth gnashing.
With a short breath Saxom readied himself, and quickly stepped into the creature’s jump. He tried to slip under it, avoiding it’s jaws and instead aiming to strike at it’s underbelly.
A wash of gore rained down as the soft underside of the creature was struck, its weight falling down atop the warrior.
Without having much time to groan about the guts that landed in his hair, Saxom raised his shield to the height of his head, so that the creature’s body would slide away from him rather than crush him. The damn thing was heavy though, and he had to grunt as he shoved it off of him. However, as soon as the first creature fell to the side, another was upon him, and a second at his back.
He was surrounded.
With a “tsk”, Saxom threw himself into a roll. He was lucky these things liked to lunge the way they did, he feared they’d be far more maneuverable if they’d just stayed on the ground. He got to his feet as fast as he could and readied himself once more.
He always hated being outnumbered.
The creatures were much more streamlined after their initial attack, having to make their way across their injured comrade to get to the man. They parted from their adjacent positions and came at Saxom from both sides, skittering, not lunging.
“You clever little shits.” He grumbled to himself as he put the hilt of his blade in his mouth. He shoved a hand into one of his pouches and quickly threw the small object that was inside on the ground.
From the small package a cloud erupted, it smelled foul like sulfur. The stench was strong enough to make Saxom wish he hadn’t used it. But the smog had two effects that he needed to test. It was thick enough to obscure vision, and the smell would mask his own scent. He pulled the blade from his mouth and waited.
He needed to figure out how these things sensed him.
The soft glow of the lanterns bounced off of the cloud particles around them. There were a few loud screeches after it had gone off, and the soft thumps of hands on the ground as they skittered around, trying to find Saxom.
____
Unfortunately, the smoke wouldn't be doing much. A rhythmic beating was heard from above, piercing the silence. At once, the smoke cleared in a sudden, powerful gust. The sound of singing steel floated through the air and following it, a dying screech.
When the smoke cleared with a rush, the sight before Saxom could have easily been described as heavenly. One of the monsters lay on its side, impaled by several glowing blades. One was attached by a long haft stuck diagonally in the creature's face. Perched atop it, a brunette woman holding onto the hilt, her purple frock billowed out behind her in waves. There was a light behind her, distinct and glorious. It dimmed as she looked up, piercing wine-colored eyes staring into his.
Her voice was low and smooth as she spoke, but demanded an answer, and none too kindly. She inquired, unsure, "... Gambrel?"
____
Saxom huffed as he looked around. It wasn't the first time he'd been interrupted during a hunt, and he doubted it would be the last, but it was always slightly annoying regardless. He wouldn;t have been here in the first pace if he didn't think he possesed the skills necessary to survive...
Well, there was no use arguing about it. He readied his shield once more and eyed the creatures that remained. He didn't like these things. They were far too intelligent for their apperance.
He didn't bother looking back at the woman. She clearly had mistaken him for someone, but he felt now was hardly the time for introductions.
There was one last disgusting excuse for a living creature crawling around, and having seen its fallen comrades, it began to run away. The woman pulled her glaive out of the monster she'd downed and leaned it across her shoulder. Her chin tilted up at the man.
"Were you going to get that?" She nodded to the retreating target.
Saxom sheathed his blade and looked over his shoulder to glance at the imposing woman. She had an obvious air about her, one that Saxom instantly disliked.
Arrogance.
It was probably rightly earned, but that just agitated him further. He didn't even offer her a shrug in response before running after the creature.
The woman slid down to the ground and began to run after him, the glaive streamlined at her side. Her stride was oddly light- like she was walking on air. She so gracefully glided across the ground.
They gained on the monster quickly. After all, it crawled on hands, not a sturdy pair of legs made for running. It spun around defensively, rearing up onto its hind legs with a scream.
It was then that the woman leaped forth, glaive slashing forward for its belly. The move was too slow. The base of the haft was caught in one of the creature's hands, rendering it immobile.
Saxom sighed.
He pulled up short of the creature, and instead of reaching for his blade, instead snatched at his belt. Within a moment Saxom whipped his arm forward, slinging smaller knives at the beast.
The knives drew blood, but the human centipede was too large to be bothered enough to die. It was, however, bothered enough to let go of the woman's weapon. With a lightning flourish, its head popped off and thumped onto the dirt.
The woman stared at it cheerlessly, gaze lifting to Saxom. "Sufficient, if just barely," she said to him. "Which means you cannot be Gambrel. An officer of the Island cannot possibly be so inept."
Saxom glared daggers as he walked over to the corpse and retrieved his actual daggers.
"....I was supposed to track these things back to their nest. Which is why I chased after this one." He huffed, putting his knives back on his belt. "It would've been easier to just follow it. Now I've gotta try and track it down....there could be surviors from the caravan."
He spent no time waiting for the woman's response, immediately turning his back on her to walk away.
"But thanks for the help." He sighed, dripping in sarcasm.
In a blink, she was walking alongside him, chin up. "My pleasure," she hissed back. "Perhaps a set of skillful eyes will help you find this nest. It's all I can do to help those less fortunate."
One couldn't be more facetious.
Saxom sighed as he shot a sideways glance at her.
"...nothing I say will get you to go away will it?"
"No."
Of course he already knew the answer to that. Oh well, the best he could do now was just focus on the job. It wasn't long before they returned to the small clearing. Saxom positioned himself as he had stood before, and quietly looked around as he tried to recall which direction the creatures had initially come from.
____
The woman's eyes swept the clearing, spotting trails where the grass was flattened. She started off in that path, gown skirting the dirt. "Are you from the nearby city?" she asked the man as she walked. "What is your name?"
"The name's Saxom." He said plainly as he continued to follow the tracks left behind by the creatures. "Saxom Acero. I live in a small village, a suburb of Lutetia. It's a nice, quaint little place. Much more...cozy than Lutetia itself."
"And you're fluent in Terran, so you're educated to some extent. The Queran accent is strong." Her own was nearly indistinguishable from a Westeria City accent, but a word here or there betrayed those origins.
"Who hired you to hunt the beasts?" she asked next, storming forward as the trail became more worn.
"I wasn't 'hired' per say." Saxom replied, easing up a bit as she spoke to him. "A merchant caravan had just recently left the village. Some of those caravaners came running back into the village in a panic. They spoke of creatures that had attacked them."
He shrugged.
"They didn't have to ask."
"How noble," she replied. Her nose scrunched at the mention of the word. "You wish to be a hero?"
"Hero." Any hint of a smile faded from his face. "I don't like that word. Im not trying to do anything. I have the power needed to help people, so I do. I could just as easily use this power to steal or extort from them. I'd make much more coin if I were to simply become a bandit on the roads, but it's simply not what I wish to do."
He paused.
"I like killing things. I doubt that's a quality of a hero."
"You are correct. It makes you perfectly human," said the woman with a sneer. "Expectations met."
The ground below their feet, having felt so solid before, suddenly began to hollowly thump. The woman stopped.
____
Saxom immediately returned his opinion of this woman back to his original assesment. She had a rude way of speaking, and it irritated him. But now wasn't the time for that.
He thumped his foot against the ground a couple of times, listening to the sound it made. He looked around, and noticed a large boulder nearby.
Now, where do bugs usually like to hide?
He walked over to the boulder and knelt beside it. He put his shield aside as he fished in one of his satchels. He pulled a small package out, and wedged it between the rock and the ground. Attached to the package was a long, wire-like fuse that Saxom unraveled along the ground. He retrieved his shield and took up the end of the fuse behind a tree a few yards away from the rock. From another pocket he retrieved a lighter, which he promptly flicked open and lit the fuse with.
____
The woman lingered back, eyes on the fuse. She didn't have to guess what was going to happen next.
The fuse burned quickly, and when the small spark reached the package, it exploded violently. Fragments of stone shot through the air as deadly shrapnel, embedding themselves in trees and dirt. Dirt and dust was thrown up into the air in a cloud that soon showered down upon the ground. Sa'ida held up her glaive and spun it, creating an immense amount of heat in front of her to burn any debris that came her way.
Saxom waited. If there were any of those things in there, they probably would come out charging.
One. Two. Three.
The woman looked towards the hole in the ground, foot tapping impatiently. She glanced at Saxom. "Typical for you all to make a mess that heeds no results."
He only shook his head at her as he advanced towards the hole. He stood at it's edge and peered into the blackness below. It was dark, but Saxom could make out that there was a cave hidden under there feet. He guessed the boulder hid the exit to one of the the creatures' tunnels.
He reached into another pouch and pulled out a large stone. He rubbed the stone against his shirt and soon it glowed brightly.
He gave the woman a glance, considering making another comment, but he decided against it. Instead he quietly jumped down into the dark below.
Rolling her eyes, the brunette simply walked to the edge of the tunnel and jumped after him.
It was only obvious that one should look before you leap, especially when one couldn't fly. The drop was a bit more vertical than it had first appeared, sending those down it in a muddy slide. That slide smoothed out, but...
...out onto a drop.
____
Saxom bit back a curse when he saw the impending drop. He tried to grasp at anything that could stop him, franticly flaying his arms as he continued to slide. The edge got only closer and he rolled onto his stomach, and reached out his right hand, which soon begin to glow white.
His legs dropped off the edge, and Saxom swung out as hard as he could.
He felt his chest slip away from the mud and rocks, and then he felt his full weight tug against his shoulder and arm. He struggled to keep his grip as his body slammed aginst the stones once more.
Looking up he saw that his gamble paid off. He held fast to a blade of white light, impaled into the rock.
The woman came swooping over shortly after, but she had no fear of heights. She glided over from the steep dropoff and onto a ledge, where she perched, heels barely on the edge.
She glanced up at Saxom from the tops of her eyes.
"Nice catch."
He glared at her for a moment before looking down. He'd dropped the torchstone in his panic, but he figured he could get a good judgment of how far away the ground was because of it.
It rested far below, it was hard to say just how deep, but it was defintely enough to make him glad he hadn't made the trip.
With a sigh Saxom examined the wall he leaned against. It wasn't as smooth as the initial tunnel had been, it was craggy enough to make climbing down possible. It would take some time though.
The woman closed her eyes and let out a steady sigh. She stepped off the ledge with confidence, her hand grabbing the back of Saxom's shirt.
"Let go," she said, feet standing on air. "You won't fall."
Saxom hesitated for a few seconds, thinking about what she was suggesting. He really didn't want to try and take her up on her offer. He had his reasons. But he would honeslty prefer to have climbed down by hand.
But it wasn't just about him this time, so, reluctantly he did as she said and released his grip on the cliff face.
And so, they didn't fall.
There had been a brief moment where his added weight sank them down, but they certainly weren't spiraling to their deaths.
A breeze stirred around them, and a rhytmic beating echoed out in the ravine. If Saxom looked up, he would see exactly what one would expect. The woman hanging onto the back of his shirt, two vast bronze-blue wings sprouting from her back.
"Keep that light on. Eyes down."
Mumbling incoherently Saxom dug his hand into one of his pouches to produce another glow stone. Soon he had it shining birghtly to lead the way. The white blade in his hand vanished, and he said absolutely nothing on the subject.
He said nothing at all actually, waiting for the flight to be over.
As they descended, the walls of the ravine widened. Soon, the walls vanished altogether, and they were surrounded by darkness. The winged warrior paused and looked around.
"It's awfully quiet for a colony of monsters," she said. "Including yourself. Are you not impressed?"
"I don't like this." Saxom admitted roughly. "I can deal with flying on the back of a wyvern or using a device, but this is too unnatural for me. I don't like unnatural things. I know several associates of mine that can leap off a mountain, drop thousands of feet, and walk off like nothing happened. I get that they've trained their bodies, but it's still unnatural."
The woman scoffed. "Progressive human thinking at its best," she saucily replied. "My wings are just as natural as your own two feet. Had it not been for me, you probably would have died. I'm your guardian angel for now, hunter."
They continued to descend slowly. The self-proclaimed angel thought there would be no end to the silence or the darkness until a faint scratching sound caught her ear. She stopped.
"Can you let me down now?" He asked quietly. He was of no use hanging there precariously in the air. While he did admit they were moving faster than he probably would've managed on the ground, he still was not fond of it.
"On what ground?" she snapped. "We've been going down for a while. If you'd like me to drop you, I could, but I wouldn't be in good graces with my superiors for murdering a human."
Again, she began to fly downward. She wondered just what they'd gotten themselves into- perhaps a pit of nothingness- until a powerful stench flew up to greet them. If one had left vegetables, eggs, spoiled milk, and raw meat in the trash for a month in ninety degree weather, the smell would have been comparable. With a grimace, the angel continued.
The light finally hit something. It bounced off a floor, causing the woman to sigh in relief. Even if the smell was nearly making her sick, at least they had...
... found... the ground...
A moving ground filled with smaller centipedes and cockroaches crawling atop human bones and corpses.
"Still want me to put you down?" the angel asked.
