Kosoth was a simple man. He was conscripted by the current reigning King Apiks against his will and forced to train tirelessly since the start of his rule. The only measure of respite he was allowed was in the form of tortured sleep where yet again he found himself sparring.
Day in, day out it was all drilling the basics over and over again, even as callouses formed and tears were shed. The moment you took a break either the King himself took notice and shot you a scary look or the Red Hammer, praise be her name, came to talk to you to give you an excuse to rest. Regret filled Kosoth’s face whenever he remembered he’s not a part of her squad.
In the scenario that you dared speak up about the terrible conditions that the military enforced on its members, you would quickly find yourself in the King’s office. Few were lucky enough to leave without an extra bruise and fear in their eyes. When questioned about what transpired inside they refused to speak of it and you could see them shy away from the topic like a terrified animal. It’s those same rebels that became staunch loyalists after this.
It wasn’t all bad though. Kosoth was nothing before his enlistment. He had no trade, no skills to be enviable of and no family. The only thing he was good at was tracking and even that was useless since he was terrible at the stealth required for hunting. The military gave him a place to belong, at least, with similar minded people, working towards the same goal.
He barely sustained himself with gutting fish for a small fishing town in the past, a terrible occupation for a sky-fearful forumite like himself. When the fishing house burned down in an accident, he saw it as time to pack his belongings, which consisted of absolutely nothing, and head to the emigration office. It’s they that paid for his trip to Necrothreat and even housed him for a bit. If only he knew he would have run like a madman.
Which, coincidentally, is also where he got sent to. The den of madmen. Necrothreat was unnatural. Kosoth could swear he saw shadows in the torchlight. He was told that it was nothing out of the ordinary, that it happened. That he also may see visions or be visited by ghosts. Did these people hear themselves? Ghosts, visions and hallucinations were
not normal!
Unfortunately nobody paid him any notice, and he dared not speak up lest he get sent to the King’s chambers. When spring began his worst fears came true. A military expedition was announced, a response to a new forgotten beast that was now prowling the caverns beneath the fortress. Naturally Kosoth – a god fearing man, something now also banned by the crazy King, - picked up his belongings and opened the door, determined to finally leave this place.
What he saw on the other side of the door, however, was the last thing he wanted to see. King Apiks was in front of him with the cursed chainsaw that he never left out of his sight. Apiks threw an arm on Kosoth’s shoulder and hauled him away towards the caverns, bringing the entire military in tow in much the same manner. There was no chance of escaping from the scrutiny of so many trained soldiers. He cursed at himself for not leaving earlier.
When they finally arrived at the entrance to the caverns, the soldiers had to pass by a Forgotten Beast’s corpse. It was the one slain by the King himself a week before he usurped the throne. There was nothing left of the corpse but a gelatinous mush. We took station to the right of the entrance, steeling our nerves for the upcoming fight. Moments later the Red Hammer’s squad arrived and took position to the left of the Entrance.
The King’s second in command then, Doren, briefed us. Apparently the enemy was a glorified feathered slug with a shell. Early reports say that it could even swim since it did not need to breathe. What was dangerous about it, however, is that it breathed fire. Fire was especially dangerous in limited quarters like the ones in the caverns due to a lack of space to dodge towards and smoke filling up the room more easily, knocking out those who breathed in too much.
What Doren said next chilled Kosoth to the bone. The recruits were to engage the creature first, to display the results of their training. Four people, in teams of two would approach it one after another. Kosoth’s name was on the list. The Red Hammer’s squad was to defend the entrance and provide assistance if need be, but try to avoid influencing the other squad.
Kosoth was put in the first team to attack the creature with another man that was conscripted at the same time as he was. They shared a look of bewilderment at the situation they’ve found themselves in and Kosoth let another curse at his luck. Sweat began to form on his forehead as his breathing became more ragged. He had to control himself in front of the King. He couldn’t let that man see him scared. He opened his mouth to say something but a quiet rumbling in the distance stopped him short. His mouth just stayed like that.
Hearing Doren yell to get in position, Kosoth fearfully took the front along with his fellow conscript. The creature rounded the corner. It was a huge feathered slug that defied any logic as to how it could produce fire. It left slime behind its trail. Its main sense must’ve been hearing as when it heard the forumites shouting it went straight for them. Kosoth did not want to be anywhere near the monster.
But that’s what he was forced to do as the order to march was given. He moved slightly slower than his teammate, putting him in front of him as the cavern closed in. A coward’s move, true, but he didn’t have the option to think as his entire mind was dedicated to trying not to turn heel and run. The creature did nothing as we got closer, instead undulating in one spot. Maybe it wouldn’t be that hard after all. Then it spewed fire.
I backed against the wall I was about to round, pushing my armored back against it. Fire came a second later as it singed the very wall. Another second later and a scream erupted. His teammate. Kosoth peeked from the side of the wall and saw his friend on his knees in front of the beast, clutching at his throat. The smell of charred flesh hit Kosoth’s nose and his stomach started moving in rebellion. Flames were still withering on the ground next to the fallen recruit. The rest of his body was fine for the most part thanks to his armor – the only blessing this military gave.
His mind, however, was broken, signaled by the fact he was now backpedaling towards the rest of the squad who merely sat there and watched him. King Apiks raised a hand and the other team of two were sent. They walked sheepishly towards the readying beast before a quick shout kicked them running. Kosoth decided to flank it and went from the other side of the wall. It was starting to be hard to see as smoke filled the area.
He moved slowly, making sure that the creature did not notice him. The stealth he moved with surprised even him. He could see its back now. It was two arms reaches away. Just a bit more and he could launch a surprise attack. His newly discovered confidence was cut short when it spewed fire again.
This time it hit one of the incoming soldiers in the face, making him recoil in pain and horror. His mate cursed and jumped towards him, pushing him to the ground, singing his own arm in the process. The forumite on the ground was screaming with agony as his teammate tried to bring some sense to him. Kosoth’s own teammate was now huddling on the ground, holding his throat and softly crying. At least that’s what Kosoth thought he was doing. It was hard to tell as he couldn’t make a sound without eliciting pain from his vocal chords.
Thinking that the beast would pause to let out its fire again, the only other standing forumite charged the creature, planning to end it before it could immolate us again. He was about to collide with it when the beast swerved around with sudden agility and slapped the charging forumite with his tail, sending him straight to the wall, accompanied with a dreadful crunch.
The spin left it standing directly in front and peering of Kosoth. He dropped his weapon as his loins betrayed him and started backing up as the creature brought its head closer to his with an adrenaline fueled slow motion. His back hit a wall. He had nowhere to run now. It brought its head next to his ears. He could hear it, the slow churning inside it as it prepared its fire. It hissed to him in a horrid manner, putting on his face tears as he screamed a prayer.
“Omer save me!”
A pounding sounded in the background. Two more like it. The pounding came in rhythmic steps, much like how it sounded - the pounding of adamantine boots on the cold cavern floor, echoing in the cavern. The creature reared itself in preparation for the new enemy. Kosoth opened an eye and saw what had come to his saving. He almost wished he didn’t.
Doren was the owner of these heavy steps as he walked towards the beast intimidatingly. Interestingly, her sword, Rosywander he thinks it was called, was still sheathed. What, however, brought dread to Kosoth laid behind the upcoming challenger. King Apiks was drilling holes into him with eyes open so wide it was impossible, a madness glowing in them. Kosoth closed his eyes, pretending that this wasn’t happening. He knew what he had done wrong and now he wished he hadn’t. He had prayed.
Kosoth felt his knees give out and he collapsed to the ground. Opening his eyes he saw another volley of fire come. Doren sidestepped to the side with a trained ease and jumped towards the head of the creature. Kosoth felt his jaw loosen as Doren hit it in the face with her gauntlet, closing up the fiery pits inside. The force was enough to knock its head to the ground, making it squirm like a proper worm.
Wasting no time, as Doren was falling from the jump, she spun with incredible precision and smashed her leg right in the creature’s mouth. It flew towards Kosoth but hit the wall next to him with a heavy thud. Suddenly remembering where he was, Kosoth tried to crawl away from the hideous beast but it was too late. It grabbed him with its tail and secured itself a hostage; it seemed to know what that meant.
It was pointless, however, as Doren ran towards it with blinding speed, drawing her sword in the process. She slashed and stabbed at the tail, puncturing it until she could hack it off with ease before it knew that she was upon it. The creature screamed a retching sound and spewed forth its fire, seemingly at random in response to its pain. One specific burst had the luck to be directed towards Doren, only to fall flat of its goal as she raised her sword which, Kosoth swears, ate the flames themselves.
Entering its final stretch, the forgotten beast lunged towards Doren with a fully open maw which now displayed countless rows of razor sharp teeth and a black liquid inside. Using the momentum of the enemy, Doren fell prone and raised her sword, skewering it from one end to the other, bathing her in its insides.
The adrenaline was starting to wear off now and Kosoth felt total exhaustion wash over him, making his eyelids excruciatingly heavy. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Doren clad from head to toe in a black ink, only the pearly white of her eyes visible, and the penetrating mad gaze of the king. Kosoth wished he was as dead as the beast.
Tapestries hung on the wall of the King’s chambers. The stone table housed most of the business documents pertaining to his kingdom. The top one displayed what was a notice of visitation from an important baroness consort in the region. Other reports hung about including another sighting of the guardian of Necrothreat CarefulRogue, this time in the VIP quarters.
Apiks sat in his chair in silence with Kosoth in front of him, who now moved to leave the room. Once the door clicked close, Apiks stood up and in one motion pushed everything on the desk to the floor with a growl. He moved to destroy tapestry using his chainsaw. A chair flew to the other side of the room, breaking into pieces, splinters covering the ground.
The expedition ended as a complete failure. The recruits faltered at the first sign of adversity. Months of training showcased as nothing but a waste of time. The beast was dead, yes, but the same could be said of the morale of his soldiers.
This could not be let to stand. A complete overhaul of the training equipment must be done, the military zone to be expanded. An absolutely shameful display. Not to mention that his ban on the gods was directly defied in the heat of combat. Complete and utter failure. At least Kosoth was now converted. He would go forth and praise the monarchy for coming to his aid where the gods did not. A small solace, that.
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Topic: NecroThreat IV: Fortress for BFEL, God of Necromancy (Read 513902 times)