Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 39 - Shadow Walker (Patreon)

The creature standing before Einar didn’t have any fur or pelt like he had thought it would.  Instead, its body was covered in tight skin, almost appearing as if it was starving.  Every bone and ridge stood out as the glow of the flames that trickled down from where the branch had struck it.  Four legs with spikes on each knee joint had sharp claws, each a few inches long on its feet.  The creature’s head had a long jaw with those two black smoky eyes and four massive claw-like pincers perched next to the protruding tooth-filled maw.  Two thin tongues snaked out of each side of its mouth.

“Odin, help us!” Skarf said as he turned and saw the beast Einar had just revealed.

“Get a spear! Support Thorodd!”

Bounding like a professional jumper, the creature came over the four rows of spikes they had created and tried to land where Einar was rising from near the fire.

Jumping to his right, he brought his shield up, feeling the weight of a massive claw striking the shield and dragging along it, tearing out gouges of wood.

Thorodd was shouting, and Skarf was busy digging through their weapons as the chaos began to unfold.

Einar swung his axe at the retreating limb, unable to hit it with his blade, the creature far faster than a normal person.

Its mouth came forward at his exposed hand, and Einar drew it back, avoiding pinching claws and using his shield to protect his flesh.

“Skarf!” Thorodd bellowed. “I need help!”

Unable to turn or waste a moment to see what his allies were dealing with, Einar defended against the onslaught of claws that came slashing toward him and a mouth intent on eating every bit of flesh it could.

A glancing blow from his axe hit the creature's skin on its leg, and a tiny crack came from the blow. An awful stench billowed forth and made his eyes start to water.

The shadow walker shrieked, and the high-pitched noise sounded like a woman or a child who might be in pain. Einar fought against the need to cover his ears as the creature increased the speed of its attacks after being injured.

His shield was starting to suffer, and more pieces were being broken off as the beast continued its assault. 

His axe managed to get a few more wounds in on the beast as the shadow walker stood and slashed and chomped at him repeatedly.  

A thread appeared in his vision, and as he swung, Einar let it guide his axe.  The shadow walker was coming at him again with its extended jaw wide open, those massive six-inch pincher-like claws vibrating.

Einar’s axe glided through the air, and his body shifted just slightly, his shield blocking a clawed strike from the right.  The cracking and crunching sound of metal cutting through what must be a carapace of some sort filled the air, and black blood began to spray from the wound he had just inflicted on the side of the creature's head.

Right under its left eye and across the elongated snout was a good one-inch or deeper cut, causing the beast’s mouth to open and close awkwardly. The left side appeared unable to work as it hung open, and it clawed at its own face, shaking as it screeched in agony.

It stood there, exposed as it leaned back as if the strike had done more damage than Einar believed it would.

His eyes saw that on the ground was one of the wiggling tongues that had been against the outside of the creature’s mouth when he had struck it.  Memories of animals with extra sensitive tongues and noses flooded his mind, and Einar knew something like that must be the same for this monster as it stood there, suddenly forgetting about the man who had just struck it.

His axe sliced from right to left, cleaving through the carapace underneath and opening up a massive three-inch deep gash in its chest.

Still, the creature didn’t seem to respond, almost toppling over as it thrashed around more.  The shadow walker brought its own claws up and began slashing at its own head, chunks of its face torn off as it did.

Praise be Odin!

With a gentle word of thanks given, he went to work, hacking off the back left leg and watching as the creature fell, its mind still focused on its own head.

Black blood sprayed everywhere, making the air thick with an acidic scent, but Einar didn’t stop, grabbing one of the spikes from the ground and yanking it free.  Watching the arms that flailed about, he timed the moment, driving the wooden tip downward and through the creature's open wound of the gut.  It pierced through its back and into the dirt.  

With it seeming immobilized, Einar moved to see if he could help with Thorodd and Skarf.

Both men were panting, some cuts along their arms and shields in bad condition, but their eyes were scanning the area they had been fighting.

Searching through the darkness, Einar saw no sign of the creature.

“Is it gone?”

Both men said nothing, standing there, seemingly in shock.

“Thorodd! Skarf!”

Each jumped out of their skin, their own names breaking whatever hold had been on them.

“Einar!” Thorodd yelled, his eyes wide and his face a shade of white.  “What… where is it?”

The large man was scanning the darkness again, looking for a sign of the shadow walker.

“What happened? Where is—”

A horrible screech that might have shattered glass erupted from behind them, and Einar and the other two spun to see the one Thorodd and Skarf had been fighting, chewing the throat of the one he had almost killed. 

Another ear-piercing sound came as the one impaled on the stake had its head chewed from its neck, the body still shuddering and moving.

Chomping on the trophy, the second shadow walker stood tall, pincers holding the head against its moving mouth, and bolted off into the darkness, leaving a foul-smelling corpse next to them.

[ Rune Experienced Gained ]

“What in the realms was that?” Skarf asked, his neck almost breaking from how his head continued to turn and peer into the darkness.

“A shadow walker,” Thorodd replied quietly. “How… how Einar did you ever see them?”

Taking a few deep breaths, Einar was calm and tapped the empty pouch on his hip.

“Osvif’s gravel trick.  They made noise on a few of them.  I could barely see the outline, but I had no idea what they looked like.  Still… you two seemed out of it.  What happened?”

Glancing down at his arm, where it had been cut, a black liquid was present on the outer edges. Wiping it off, the large man grunted.

“Maybe it's poison? I feel fine now, but before… it was harder to focus and see. Once I got injured, it was… like being in the fog on an early morning… I knew I was somewhere, but where it was, I couldn’t figure it out.”

There were lots of chemicals that altered people’s ability to think and remember, so something like that here was not totally unheard of.  

“But you’re fine now?”

Both men nodded and moved to where their small packs were, retrieving water and a cloth.

“How did you kill that?” Skarf asked, unable to sit still or stop scanning the area.

“A lucky strike,” Einar replied. “I managed to get a hit against its face, and the tongue was cut off.  After that happened, it went crazy, attacking itself.  I’m guessing it’s a weak spot, but then again, if most people never know it’s there…”

As he trailed off, a silence hung over the camp.  Only the wood that cracked and popped made a sound for a moment.

“I guess none of us are going to sleep now,” Thorodd stated.  “You can try if you want.”

Einar shook his head and moved to pick up a few more pieces of wood.

“Everyone staying up and on alert sounds like a good idea. I’m not sure if that corpse will attract anything.  Besides, tomorrow, when we get to the mining base, we can sleep then.”

Grunting, Thorodd moved to where the wall he had built was and sat against it.

“I guess I’ll stay back here since you have better vision than all of us. Skarf can keep you company in case you need someone to toss to the critters that come.”

Both men laughed while Skarf groaned.

***

As the sun came up, the fatigue all three warriors felt began to show.  There was a slower movement on their part, but the night had been extremely quiet near them.  

“I’m almost certain this smell kept everything away.  I wonder if it could be saved for some testing or something.”

Shaking his head, Thorodd studied Einar, who was bent over, inspecting the corpse in the light of the day.

“You would seriously wipe that all over you, hoping it might protect you?”

“Animals have natural camouflage, and something about these creatures makes them the threat they are.  Just like when that woman at the ale house gives you that look, even as big and as manly as you are, you sulk away and hide in a corner.”

Skarf burst into laughter, surprising himself with how loud he was while Thorodd glared at him.

“Fine, but who’s going to carry that thing the rest of the way?”

“I’ll do it.  It’s my prize, and you and I both know getting this back to Bior will be worth something, even if it's half rotten by then.”

Everyone drank deeply from their water and ate a quick bite before strapping on their weapons and shields again.

“You’re certain you want this draped over you?” Skarf asked as the two men prepared to pick up the corpse.

Wrenching the stake from its gut, black blood began to flow again, and that same smell assaulted their noses.

Grimacing, Einar smacked his lips and frowned.

“Part of me wants to say no now, but yeah, let’s get it over with.”

The other two men grabbed the corpse and quickly set it over their obviously foolish friend, both making faces from the stench. 

***

As the gates surrounding the mining operation came into view, Einar was grateful that his poor decision would soon be over.

Every inch of his body itched.  Black blood seeped through his armor, and wherever it came in contact with his skin, it felt like a bad sunburn. By the time they were halfway to the base, it was too late to stop carrying his trophy.  The honor and money it brought would be worth the pain he had to endure.

“Remember to stay downwind!” Thorodd yelled over his shoulder.

Guards were moving along the stone walls that were twenty feet high, and a few bows were pointed in their direction.  Einar almost slowed down, wondering what the men must think seeing the two Vikings running ahead of him.

“Don’t let them shoot me!”

Laughter came from ahead as both the warriors envisioned the sight he had seen in his head.

***

The gates opened slowly, thick ropes being turned on a pulley system as the wood and metal doors swung inward.

“What in Odin’s beard is that smell?” a loud voice shouted as they moved through the inside.

Thorodd started to laugh and saw the bald-headed warrior with a tattoo on his face and scalp holding his nose with two fingers.  

“I could smell you 100 yards away!”

“Lambi Valbrandsson, you beautiful bald bastard!” Thorodd shouted as he moved toward the man and gave him an embrace.  

“Meet Einar, slayer of a shadow walker!”

The man’s face went slack, and his eyes were wider than a giant bread roll at their favorite ale house.  His open mouth showed two teeth had vanished at some point in the man's life. 

“A shadow walker?” he asked, his voice not hiding the disbelief the man must have felt.

More men appeared, and then two shieldmaidens came around, everyone clambering to see the famed creature all travelers feared in the woods.

“Smells like the back side of your arse after eating food you cook,” Thorodd teased, “but Einar killed that one by himself while Skarf and I almost died to the other.”

Murmurs broke out, and a few cheered, coming up to give Einar a slap of congratulations until they got close and got an extra strong hit of the awful stench.

“Is there somewhere I can store this?” Einar asked. “And a place I can bathe.”

Laughing for a second, Lambi nodded as he coughed, the smell overwhelming the man and making him smack his mouth a few times with his tongue.

“Someone take this Viking to an empty cooler and then to the bath house!” he shouted. “Then get us some mead! We’re going to hear a story tonight, I’m certain!”

Cheers came, and two Vikings motioned for Einar to follow him.

Breathing in through his mouth, he was thankful this smell was soon to be over.