Ch 17: Damsel
Imported from SF2 with no description.
As we journey into the jungle the trees begin to close in and any space left between the trees become overspread with vines, making the gloominess of our surroundings veer in around us. The ground beneath our talons is damp at best, muddy and potentially treacherous at worse, as Inferno leads us she cautions to keep behind her as she keeps an eye out for quicksand or any more potential sinkholes, she's become more alert since the incident in the sunflower forest, not that I can blame her. As Inferno leads I take up the rear, keeping Calamity between us.
As we trudged through the oppressively humid atmosphere towards the stream of water Inferno found earlier, I keep my own eye out, knowing that jungles like these could be rife with more carnivorous variety's of plant life, the potential for danger couldn't have been much higher. Luckily we arrive at the stream with no incident and quickly set about quenching our thirst and cleaning Calamity's wound before continuing.
Inferno kept the lead, clearing the path with her tail machete, Calamity following close behind carrying our food, all the while I'd swear he was trying to show off his ass to me, the way he wavered his hips with his steps, even while injured the oaf was trying to entice me! Though this time, I allowed myself to be delighted by the view, certainly a good distraction from the current circumstances. Although I was trying to stay focused on the many dangers around us.
Despite the distraction, I'd noticed a slight leaf twitch here and there, an occasional barely audible creak or wisp of air as the creatures of the jungle stalked us, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Clearly underestimating our ability to defend ourselves, then again the Nature Realm only followed one rule. The strong survive, the weak perish.
Despite the stalking, nothing it seemed, had decided we were worth the effort, perhaps it was the way Inferno deftly swept away the foliage, like a skilled reaper where her machete acting as her scythe, or perhaps the sheer fact we were carrying the body of a larger beast with us already. After three or possibly four hours pass by, the spacing between the trees widened, the vegetation lessened and we finally reached the end of the jungle. A decent sized clearing of fields lay before us, the Totem Temple just beyond, and the sun beginning its descent, soon to be hidden behind the small mountain the structure rested upon.
Inferno commented on the beautiful scenery. A steep hill would take us from the jungle edge to the fields below. Calamity dropped the apes carcass with the intention of sharing out another meal when a scream was heard below. We quickly located the source; two figures running across the open fields.
Still at the Jungles edge we crouched back to hide ourselves from plain sight, watching the events unfold. A female kobold was sprinting for her life from a metal armoured looking biped. Nothing of which I had seen before. Each limb was bulky yet glinted slightly showing the smoothness and sharp edges. The body had rivets and overlapping plates, the metallic helm like head had a black cross with a single glowing red sphere which shifted along the horizontal line of the cross, at a steady consistent pace back and forth. The metal creature carried a flail, the large spiked ball whisking through the air as it was whirled over it's head, presumedly aiming to strike down the kobold.
“We need to save the kobold!" Inferno claimed. Her feelings of sympathy and dread flooded my mind. Calamity felt anguish and grievance. I…felt nothing.
“No, we need to get to the temple. We have no reason to involve ourselves in matters that don't concern us, the kobold is on her own" I said sternly.
“My Dominion! Love of my life, I plead you to reconsider" Calamity requested with such determined annoyance. I face him only to have his snout shoved into mine. “You are not Sovereign, so please my Dominion, stop impersonating your sires cruel heartlessness" My heart ached for his resolve.
“When your sire passed my loyalties upon you, I was glad, because not only were you more pleasing to the eyes, I was happier to be under your reign than his, I felt you'd be more considerate towards others, less, cold. Was I wrong?" Inferno interjects. I turn to face her only to have her snout shoved into mine. They were guilt tripping me and it is working, curse them! Their emotions of great disappointment swelled into my mind. I crumbled under the weight of their expectations of me.
“Alright, alright, we shall save the kobold" I say, torn emotionally between my lifelong expectations of being the next Tyrant and my mated lovers sympathetic influences over me. The audacity! My pride sank even further. What was I to do, punish them? No. We are a part of a mateship now. I have to respect them as equals, surely? Was I not still in charge of this extraction? Was I now their puppet? I became confused but the loud thunk of the flail hitting the ground and wails of fear pulled me from my tormented thoughts, I had more important matters to worry about now.