Born a Monster

509 Down By the River

The great thing about living in a mobile camp is that it moves from time to time. The day before the next move, I went down to the river with a pile of washed clothing, two towels (water tends to get stuck between scales and skin), a mildly enchanted brush, and a buoyant tray with a pouch of soap powder.

It is important to note that while a good stretch of the river was patrolled by clan guards, I chose to bathe just south, just upstream, of that safe stretch. A spot where the patrolling guards could see, but only at one end of their patrol.

Yes, deliberately. Just hear me out.

My health bar was near full. I had the nutrition not only to keep a day’s reserve, but also to develop some minor evolutions. I had two stacks of three wooden shields, my armor was clean and whole, my swords... okay, they weren’t very clean, but I had two of them, curved cavalry sabers, and they were sharp.

I was working on a problematic point where my jaw met my neck when I saw the first of the archers. They didn’t do anything WRONG. Their shadow merged with the tall grasses nearby, and they kept low and slow. If I hadn’t already marked it as a good place to snipe at my bathing spot, I might have missed them.

But they weren’t GOOD; oh, how do I find the words? They didn’t set up their kill box properly. I’d reserved the mana to be attacked on all four sides, and they set up only on two. Yes, very like an archery range. It was a good enough setup for ambushing a beast that would charge at them, but...

From the corner where the two lines met, five archers in all, emerged two men. Neither was old, and the younger was on that cusp of age where one expects an apprenticeship to be done, but it’s not scandalous were he still continuing.

I splashed some water onto myself, being sure to get all the soap off my flesh.

“Water, daughter of river and stream, it is I, Rhishisikk, both Water Adept and Shaman who call upon you. Please, listen to and grant my familiar request. Just for a while, share your perceptions of the world, let me see through your eyes, smell through your tongue. Mystic Vision!”

.....

And while they had a few enchanted things, it was immediately clear who they weren’t. “Who are you?” I asked when the duo was close enough. “Why do you come to me, armed, while I bathe?”

“Although I do not owe you this courtesy, I am Manup ibn Daresh ibn Sarkon, and this is my son, Darud. I am here to address a matter of vengeance and blood. Tonight, you shall pay for your crimes with your life.”

“Father,” Darud said, “we need to tell him which crimes.”

“Yes.” I said, gently stroking the surface of the river. “Please do.”

“The Fadaan!” Manup screamed out. “The Fadaan and their riders that you have been slaughtering like dogs or cattle! Entire bloodlines lost at your hands, and the rampage ends tonight.”

“The ... Fadaan.” I said. “Hold up a moment.”

I moved closer to the bank, where the water came up only to my waist. “This is about the riding lizards?”

Manup’s face reddened. “The Fadaan are more than lizards, more than animals. They are our companions, more family than friends. They mourn our passing, as we mourn theirs. Tonight, a thousand weeping eyes may be dried.”

Darud reached out, held his father’s shoulder. “Father, stay on dry land. Do not enter the river.”

“Are you my father now?” he snapped. “Shut up! Be silent!”

“No, father.” Darud said. “You were there also when I promised mother to protect you from the worst of yourself.” To me, he said. “You are relaxed, for someone outnumbered and outclassed.”

I had to close my eyes and laugh, head rolled back to view the half-moon. There were clouds, but they seemed to be avoiding it. The light would make Shroud problematic, but not impossible.

I spread my hands, not in helplessness, but to get them clear of my body, should there be mystical backlash. “Do I look outclassed?” I’d meant to put emphasis and volume on the word look, but I pinched my throat too tightly, and it came out more a croak than a deep boom.

Talk about a frog in the throat!

I managed not to smack my lips. There WERE frogs about, and as snack foods went...

No, no. Focus. Posturing before the death battle.

Darud smiled at me. One of those “yes, but I have a dagger in my hand” smiles.

Manud stepped forward, thumping his chest twice. “I have raised four generations of Fadaan, noble steeds for a noble people. My skills as a Monster Breeder give them bonuses, bonuses you’ve no doubt noticed.”

I blinked. “I’d chalked those up to individual developments. As a folk, the Fadaan are more than capable of that.”

“Oh, they do that as well.” Manud said. “But the ones I care for have, pardon the pun, a leg up on the general population. A rating of venom, a ten minute burst of speed...”

“Asha the Blue Flanked!” I said.

“Don’t change the subject!” he snapped at me.

“But yes, she was a favorite of my sister’s, and thus also of father’s.” Darud confirmed.

“Lives.” Manud said. “This is about lives, ended before they could properly begin. Come forth from the river. Come forth and die.”

I scoffed. “That sounds like an excellent reason to remain in the water.” I said, slowly walking toward the bank. “Shape Water.” I cast. “Water Shield.”

To his credit, Manud knew what I now know as the Saber Dance stance.

The color drained from Darud’s face. “Father, we need to go.”

“He’s coming onto land.” Manud said.

“Father. Reticule. Mana reserves.”

Manud’s eyes unfocused for a while, and then he swallowed. “That’s... that’s not possible.”

“Father.” Darud said. “Do you think he beat them with sheer physical power?”

Well, yes, if you were reading, that was most of what I had done. When the fangs and claws are piercing flesh and drawing blood, there just isn’t time to focus on mana as well. Honestly, I’d been preparing to use a [Pounce] to close the distance rapidly, perhaps gain a critical moment or two.

Manud shifted his feet slightly, but did not initially yield.

Darud sighed, pulled a leather sap from his inventory. “Father... we have lost. We lost before we even set foot on the bank of this river.”

“Is my son right?” Manud asked. “Were you prepared for us?”

I shrugged. “I made preparations for the hunter of monsters. I was hoping to finish that bit of business before the camp moved.”

Manud lowered his weapon, and it vanished into his inventory. His shoulders, though, raised and set back, as though holding the rest of him upright. “This isn’t over. Some day, when you have forgotten both myself and my son. On that day, we shall be there. Blood will answer for blood. I swear it.”

He turned his head to the left, and spat.

“Our entire family.” Darud said, “To the last generation.” he also spat to his left.

Their spittle glistened in the moonlight, as though not just reflecting it, but as if they were new sources. The glow suffused Manud and Darud, as well.

I sent.

[Automatic ability usage, Drown Curse, ready to use.]

But there was no curse coming, at least not from them. Their oaths bound them, and their descendants, possibly all those who married into their family. A horrid thing, growing just because people themselves continue to live and share those lives.

“Besides,” Darud said, “It is time for the women’s council to try their hand.”

Manud looked up at the pearlescent moon. “In all of a man’s life, he needs see only one fireball. This, though, I would like to see.”

Darud cleared his throat.

Manud’s vicious smile fell into a scowl. “I have made promises to my wives, though. What is it I should say now, son?”

“Well, that’s a done deal.” Darud said. “Let’s go get something done over this way.”

Manud smacked his lips. “I seem to recall something about meat in the stew tonight.”

“I as well.” Darud said. “What do you think, three button sized chunks?”

“Button sized?” Manud asked, turning his back on me. “I’d be surprised if the chunks aren’t hiding under one of the beans.”

But, noticing the water around me (and my skin) glowing in the intensifying moonlight, I looked up. “Oh.” I said, my Insight finally clicking. “Distraction.”

Hovering in the sky, torso surrounded by the moon behind her, was a woman. Alabaster of skin, raven of hair, and utterly, totally naked. When she spoke, her voice reverberated from the trees, and cast ripples upon the water.

“No longer will you run rampant over the Earth.” she declared. “For I am Mara, and I am here to dismantle you.”

[You have gained your first Nemesis.]

In Darud’s case, he’d actually finished his apprenticeship, and had made an impressive start into his journeyman phase. Honestly, he deserves a few chapters just for how impressive his acumen was.

And this is one of the risks of improvised incantations. If the spirits were feeling mischievous or ignored, or perhaps were just nasal-centric, this same enchantment could have vastly different outcomes.

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