Chapter 31: Scraggle (Patreon)

“How long has it been now?” Zed asked, tucking a lock of auburn hair behind his ear.

“An hour,” Ash said. “Now stop being a baby.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re a category three.”

Zed was outside with the team walking through another length of desolate lands of broken buildings and uneven roads. They were already at the edge of the path they walked, and they could now spot the absence of houses and the beginnings of what could one day be a forest of its own. Ahead of them were bushes and growing plants paving their way to become trees. There were even a number of trees severely spaced out as if claiming territories of their own.

Zed walked with the rest of the team, unhappy at having missed a lesson in rune magic with Festus. Once upon a time he’d been unbothered by the way he’d been treated; taken around and moved by their whim. Then he’d had no focus no real aim save waiting for his pocket memory to repair itself and teach him more. Now, he had a focus, an aim. And they were taking him away from it. Regardless, he strolled after the others, a half-step behind Ash. At the lead of their little group, Jason was a stoic leader, walking on with military discipline.

Zed’s complaint continued to come up at intervals. At this point he wished they’d tell him where they were going. All he knew was that they were going somewhere to check on something. It was the vaguest of information.

They’d informed him of the situation after their morning sprint, which was a new constant in Zed’s life now. Instead of retiring him back to the house and finishing their run, Oliver and Ash had taken him straight to another building where Chris and Jason had been waiting for them. They’d exchanged a few words in tones too serious and they’d left the town. Walking.

That was over an hour ago.

In the past week Zed had seen less of the others. He caught the occasional glimpses of Chris and Jason now and again. And if he wasn’t living in the same house with Oliver and Ash, he would’ve said the same thing about them. Even then, he only saw them in the mornings on their runs and in the nights when he got home and everyone was retiring to their beds. Sometimes Oliver and Ash didn’t come back and he spent the nights not seeing them.

“Still not willing to tell me anything?” he asked as they waded through the dwarf forest.

The answer he got came from Ash, and it was abrupt.

“Yes.”

Left with no idea what was happening and the sight of a large domed auditorium in the far distance, Zed’s mind wandered.

In the last few days there had been rumors floating about town. It was on the lips of those that frequented the markets. Women spoke of it like wives gossiping of cheating husbands. Festus often let pieces of information leak in his grumbles, complaining about how Heimdall was trying to rush him into the discovery of a rune Zed didn’t know. Even the children’s gossip Zed mostly got from the few occasions he ran into Cindy were tainted by the shadows of the adults’ gossips.

Apparently, the rumors told of ongoing negotiations with a VHF platoon that had come visiting a while ago. Zed hadn’t seen any new faces, and the little he knew of any platoon nearby did not support the notion of visiting. But there was a part of him that was certain of one thing. The VHF platoon was here and the town was aware.

He wondered how Heimdall felt about the current situation. Considering his dislike for the corporation, Zed had no doubt it irked the man to know his citizens talked about the VHF with renewed hope.

Zed remembered hearing one of the men speak happily about condoms and contraceptives and the joy of never having to be so careful during sex again. The man in question was slim and athletic and looked like someone who actually needed to practice safe sex.

As for the speculations of Zed’s mind as they drew closer to the domed building, it whispered conspiracies of ambush and espionage. Whatever they were doing, Zed was willing to bet his bottom rune-dollar that it involved the VHF.

The team came to a stop a distance away from the domed building and Jason studied the path before them. The others stopped beside him and, like a good follower, Zed did the same.

The building was large enough that it went on as far as their eyes could see on both sides. Standing in front of it they couldn’t see the top even when they looked up, not that they were supposed to. It turned out the building curved into its domed roof as it went up.

The building walls were cracked and overgrowing with grass and other microbes so overgrown they were almost visible to the naked eyes. Insects crawled in and out of cracks in numbers too countless and species too varying to be kept track of, and the building’s walls that had once been white were more on the browner side of things.

Jason took a calming breath Zed did not think he needed.

“Let’s get inside and be done with this,” he said, then turned left and headed down the side of the wall.

The others followed quietly and Zed found himself worrying about what kind of encounter they were supposed to be having with the VHF platoon. Was Heimdall already waiting for them? Was this really an ambush? Did they have backup? Was he ready? Did he really want to remember more about his past and use up the three pocket memories he now had?

All his questions went unanswered.

They covered a short distance, still walking, when a notification popped up in front of Zed.

New Quest: [Prevent a spread]

A nest has sprouted to life not too far from civilization. It threatens the safe zone you have found and others have struggled to build, keep, and maintain. Do not allow the town get overrun.

• Objective: Defeat [Scraggle] 0/18.
• Reward: Mana stone.

Zed read the notification twice, his attention more on the reward, and almost bumped into Ash.

Mana stone, he wondered. Not a mana beast core? What’s that about?

His mind wandered to the skill he’d gained when he’d first allocated his aptitude points, but rather than dwell on it, he tapped Ash on the shoulder. Considering they weren’t very stealthy about their approach he felt it was safe enough to speak.

“What’s a scraggle?” he asked her when she gave him her attention.

“A small monster about this high,” she said, gesturing somewhere just above her stomach but below her breasts. For Zed that was somewhere around his navel, probably his waist. It reminded him of how short she was and his constant struggle not to make fun of it.

“They’re feisty little things with stone arms and rock heads that pack a punch,” Ash continued in a low voice as they walked. “They usually move in groups and are bad for business because they like places with shade or generally just protect them from the direct gaze of the sun.”

“Like how many would you say are in a pack?” Zed asked.

“They can vary from four to six,” Ash answered. “Why?”

“Just asking. Thanks for settling my curiosity.”

Zed pondered on the numbers while they continued on in silence. If there were about six in a pack, that meant there were most likely three packs. And with stone hands, he felt it safe to assume they would be a headache to deal with. He looked up at the dome, unable to guess its height and continued on. His best guess was that most of them, if not all of them, were inside the building.

And with the size of the building and the numbers of the monsters, this wasn’t going to be as easy as he would’ve liked.

“Another question, Ash,” he said, and this time everyone paused to look at him.

“Don’t you ever know when to shut up?” Chris whispered harshly.

Zed shrugged unapologetically and turned his attention back to Ash.

“What’s your question?” Ash asked.

“It’s about rune-dollars.”

“If your cut from the one Chris and I sold when we went to see Abed has finished, borrow from Oliver. I’m not taking care of you.”

“Fair,” Zed nodded. “But that’s not it.”

He’d gotten the hang of how rune-dollars worked and while his question was about them, it wasn’t about his financial state. He still had enough to last him at least another week. Apparently, monster cores were gravelly expensive.

“I’m more concerned about the ecosystem of the town,” he said.

“The ecosystem?” Ash asked, confused. Ahead of them, Jason kept his attention alive, taking heed of everything that happened around them.

Zed could feel it in the soft but uncomfortable touch of Jason’s aura as it spread out, feeling out everything.

• You are under the effect of an ally’s aura.
• You have gained status effect: [Heat resistance].
• Damage taken from light based attacks of a rank higher      and below is reduced.
• You have gained status buff: [Light command].
• You have gained an increase in efficiency of light based      spells cast.
• Light based spells cast will now deal increased damage      but will not pierce rank disparity.

“Ha,” Zed chuckled. “Jokes on you, I don’t know any spellforms.”

“Zed,” Ash said. “Stop saying strange things and ask your question.”

“Oh, right. That. How does everyone in town keep the financial ecosystem running? How exactly are rune-dollars regulated? It’s not like—”

“Ask your question after,” Jason cut him off. “Game faces everyone, I detect movement. And a lot of it. We’re going in, and we’re going in hot.”

“Must be the scraggles,” Zed mused.

“Scraggles?” Jason asked, turning to him in surprise. “No one said anything about a pack of scraggles?”

His confusion was punctuated by the sounds of scratching and a particularly creepy cry that sounded like an infant fighting a dark lord.

Zed shrugged. “I guess now we know why we’re here.”

He hefted his tomahawk as Jason’s surprise deepened into a frown, and they went into the building.

………………………………………….

Inside the building was a forest of its own, an ecosystem with sunlight streaming in from cracks in the wall and a few high rise windows. There were trees that settled at a height of almost twelve feet—as tall as the ceiling above them. The ground beneath the team’s feet was rocky and broken, whatever concrete flooring it had once possessed was upturned and shattered, giving way to the trees that sprouted from it. Whether the trees had been the one that shattered the floor or they had simply taken advantage of the broken concrete was anyone’s guess. With all the bent trees with yellowing leaves and shrinking stems, it was a forest within a massive building. An ecosystem without a sun.

Zed was surprised they hadn’t been rushed when they entered. The sounds of scratching and demon lord infants had sounded extremely close. So close he’d almost commented on it when something hit him like a tossed boulder. Zed staggered back, almost falling to his knees as a heavy wave crashed into him. It was as though a colony of a thousand bees had buzzed into him, their stingers grazing him as they passed.

“What the hell was that?” he gasped. “It was like—”

The expression on everyone’s face told Zed he wasn’t the only one who’d felt it. He was simply the only one who’d stumbled from the weight of it.

“That’s going to be a problem,” Ash said through gritted teeth.

“How far up is it?” Oliver asked no one.

“Two floors up,” Jason answered.

Chris was more on the side of anger than caution.

“Why the fuck would Heimdall send us into this mess?” she scowled.

“Heimdall doesn’t know what kind of mess it is,” Jason defended, expression schooled. “He just knows it’s a mess. And if he sent us, it means he knows we can take care of it.”

“Take care of it?” Chris spat. “We are already surrounded, with at least three Rukhs upstairs waiting for us, and you’re talking about Heimdall’s belief in us.”

“We can do it,” Jason said. “And there aren’t three Rukhs upstairs.”

Zed could feel the auras around them. They were countless, and even though Chris wasn’t worried about them, he was. Each one felt like they were Beta, at least at category two, and worry gnawed at him.

“Did I ever tell you I used to like you, Jason?” Chris asked blandly.

Jason shook his head. “No. But I think everyone noticed. You used to be specially mean to me.”

They conversed as they stalked the forest within the building, cautious and stealthy. Eyes watching and auras searching.

“Well, did I ever tell you why I stopped?” Chris went on, unfazed at the fact that everyone had known she’d had a crush on Jason.

“No,” Jason said.

“Well, I’ll tell you now. It’s because sometimes you’re Heimdall’s pet. The man just sent us to a potential death and you’re talking about his belief in us. Last time I checked, we can’t use his belief to kill three Rukh rank monsters.”

“Four,” Oliver corrected.

Chris turned to him, flabbergasted. “What?!”

“There are four monsters upstairs,” Oliver repeated. “Just saying.”

Chris chuckled darkly. “You’re cute,” she said sacarstically. “And we’re going to die upstairs.”

Zed had a strange feeling surfacing within him. Their bickering, to his surprise, was beginning to annoy him. It was a new feeling, strange but eerily familiar.

He took a deep sigh and shoved the feeling aside. “Should I be more worried than I am?” he asked.

There was a spike in one of the auras hidden amongst the trees around them and Ash grabbed Zed by the back of the head and pulled him down.

“Duck!” she yelled as she went down with him.

A creature the size of an overfed baby zipped through the air, a rocky arm swinging past where Zed’s head had been just a moment ago.

“Did that thing just try to kill me!” Zed scowled, face down on the ground.

Ash stood back up, arms held out to her side and Zed followed.

“What the hell was that about?!” Zed hissed as he watched the creature scramble up a tree and disappear.

• Objective: Defeat [Scraggle] 0/17.

Zed read the notification, slightly confused. The number requirement had gone down.

“Don’t go thinking you’re special, Zed,” Chris said, and her bat came down on something with a loud crack, encased in a soft purple glow. “They were gunning for everyone.”

She swung her bat down again and it crushed the chest of one of the creatures. It struggled in a twitch under her bat then stopped moving. Now that it was stationery in front of him, Zed could see what it really looked like. In brief summary, his earlier impression was correct. It looked like an overfed baby with rocky green limbs with a smattering of stone grey and a rocky head with a flat face that looked like it belonged among the faces of the Easter Island statues.

“Please tell me that’s not a scraggle,” he said.

“It is,” Ash said, looking around. “And there are still more of them. So we’ll keep the question of how you knew we were going to deal with scraggles and deal with this first.” She turned to Jason. “I take it you guys are taking upstairs.”

Jason nodded.

“Good. Then you better hurry. Whatever’s up there, I definitely don’t want it coming down here.”

Jason turned to Oliver and Chris. “Find the stairs.”

“What of the ones down here?” Oliver asked.

“Zed and Ash will take care of them.”

“But there’s a lot.”

“And your sister is more than capable.”

Chris grabbed Oliver by the arm and dragged him along. She didn’t put too much strength in her endeavor but Oliver followed along, reluctant.

“Be careful, Ash,” he said, as he finally turned to follow of his own accord. “There’s a category three among them.”

Ash turned away from Oliver as he and the others disappeared into the trees.

“I’m the older one here,” she grumbled under her breath. “I should be the one worrying.”

Hands still held out to her side, she summoned bubbles of water and they gathered to her like bees to their queen.

Zed stepped up to her side, tomahawk held out in front of him in both hands.

“Any idea why Heimdall sent you guys here?” he asked her.

“No,” she answered. “But something tells me it had something to do with you.”

“Why’s that?”

The auras around them grew wild. They were chaotic and Zed counted at least eight of them.

“It has something to do with you because he asked us to take you with us but not to let you know what we were going for,” Ash said. “I think he either wants to test you or has it out for you.”

A scraggle shot out from behind a tree. Its path came straight for them and Ash shot a fist size bubble of water at it. The shot smashed into the scraggle, pushing it back and into another tree, and it scrambled up the tree.

“Why would you think he has it out for me?” Zed asked, his attention on a tree where a particularly wild aura rested.

“Your hair,” Ash answered.

“What do you mean my hair?”

“Scraggles are known to hate bright colors.”

Zed frowned at that. His hair wasn’t bright.

A scraggle shot out from behind the tree Zed was watching and he swung his tomahawk like a baseball bat. Its blade connected with the side of the scraggle’s rocky arm and the din of metal striking stone echoed through the trees. The monster weighed more than it looked and Zed’s strength was insufficient to send it flying.

It fell down a few inches from him and he brought the tomahawk down on its head. Another din rang through the air and the scraggle staggered back, disoriented.

Zed struck it again.

“What’s it with you guys and always putting me in life threatening positions?” he asked, slightly peeved.

“We aren’t always putting you in a life threatening position. We are always in a life threatening postion,” Ash told him as she shot focused blasts of water at another tree. “Aim for the body.”

“Kinda hard to do when I don’t have a piercing weapon,” Zed said, striking the scraggle once more.

Ash stepped away from where she stood and blasted another ball of water at a tree. The blast struck a scraggle off the tree and it hit the ground with a thud.

Zed struck his scraggle again and a crack ran through its stone head. If it could crack, then it could be broken. He took his tomahawk in both hands and brought it down on its head with all his might. The tomahawk dug half way into its head and buried itself between its eyes. The monster’s stumbling ceased and it just stood there, hands lifeless at its side and held upright by nothing more than Zed’s hold on his weapon. There was no blood, merely stone.

• You have defeated [Scraggle (Beta, category 2)].
• Defeat [Scraggle] 1/17.
• You have gained +39 [Exp].
• Exp to category 2 0462/2500

“See,” he said, with a satisfied smirk. “It just needed more oomf.”

“Yea,” Ash said absently as she shot down another scraggle. “Now put a little more of that oomf into staving off the rest. One’s dead so they’re going to come out in droves.”

Zed’s jaw dropped as the scraggles came out from behind the trees, calm and menacing with faces held in Easter Island statue expressions. It was as if they’d been listening to Ash.

They stalked up to them on all sides like angry children and Zed backed away until his back met with Ash’s. He wondered when they’d started facing opposite sides.

“You know what this reminds me of?” he asked.

“What?” Ash asked, frowning.

“You know that joke about babies?”

“What joke?”

Sometimes Zed wondered if the second awakening had taken away everyone’s sense of humor.

“Never mind,” he said with a sigh. “I guess we get to find the answer to that life long question of who would win in a fight between you or a hundred angry babies?”

There was a pause, then Ash chuckled in spite of herself.

“Alright,” she laughed, “that was a good one. I’ll give you that.”

“Thank you,” Zed said. “I try.”

A particularly angry scraggle Zed had had his eyes on stopped stalking and charged at him. As if it was a signal, the others rushed them, and the battle began.

Somewhere in this chaos there was a category three Beta rank monster. Zed hoped he wouldn’t be its target as he swung his tomahawk and dodged angry scraggles.

……………………………………….

Behind a tree, a particularly vexed scraggle watched the annoying fire of a dark hair and waited to extinguish it.