155 CHPT 155: Thirst.
After Claude and Frosty exited the South Gates and ran through the forests and valleys for a few miles, the odd feeling he noticed when he was around the Midnight Wardens Guildhall faded to a mere memory at the back of his mind— his skin still crawled whenever he thought about it.
The memory was gone completely after the foul scent of death and rot filled his nose and led him to a portion of forest that didn't feel as uninhabited as the rest. He was at his destination. The Darkways were nearby. Somewhere inside the cold spacious forest he walked through.
All he had to do was continue to follow the faint scent of metals, oils, and death.
He passed dead trees and uneven ground a couple times over before he found the entrance.
An old rusted green railing stood out in the forest, covered in vines and peeling paint. It looked so out of place in the scarce forest that he was surprised he didn't see it earlier.
He made his way around the railing to the opened side that revealed the dozens of cracked and crumbling black stone stairs that led down below ground. As he peered into the darkness down the steps, he could hear the unclear skittering of small creatures inside combined with the rhythmic echoes of something falling onto a metallic surface inside.
"[Remember what I said?]" Arne suddenly asked.
"Of course. Don't just look ahead, but above and behind."
"[And?]"
".....Oh! Keep my eyes from anything that might be reflecting or emanating light so they don't have to readjust." Claude replied.
"[Very good.]"
Claude took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. In unison with his long slow exhale, he unsheathed his sword and activated, (Beast Trait).
"Alright Frosty, let's go." He said before taking his first steps down into the Darkways.
***
Once inside, he found himself on a beaten and broken tile floor. In between each individual crack, spiny weeds and vines spilled and stretched out across the floor like an awful verdant infection.
The stained white tile wall behind him looked the same, except there were giant cracks reaching out from points of impact where it looked like something was slammed into the wall extremely hard. Hard enough to kill instantly.
It didn't take him long to smell the old blood that stained the place entirely— telling him of the decades of violence and massacres that took place possibly exactly where he stood.
It was so silent. He could hear his own heartbeat in his ears— picking up speed whenever he heard anything at all in the distance.
The floor he stood on went for miles, but it was narrow, only about 10 feet wide before it was cut off where odd metal beams ran along the dirt floor below for an unknown distance— like thick railings bolted deep into the cold packed earth.
"[Train tracks. This was a means of transportation long ago.]" Arne informed him as he looked at the dark rusted tracks beneath him.
He could just barely make out the footprints of the many species in the dirt between the tracks.
"They must've gone this way." He said before silently dropping down to the tracks with Frosty to follow the prints.
After walking for a while and catching the glowing eyes of tiny creatures hopping across the tracks, the rhythmic sound of something hitting metal became louder. Something was hitting the tracks ahead of them.
Claude strained his vision but couldn't see too far into the distance— his night vision wasn't developed enough to see perfectly. This left him with no option other than to pursue the sound since the Rats were in this direction.
Blip.....Blip....Blip!
The sound was becoming clearer by the second until he was able to realize it was liquid that was landing on the tracks and producing the noise.
"What the hell is that?" He asked as he was slowly able to make out something in the distance, merely a dark outline with tiny portions reflecting the incredibly scarce amount of light.— but still concerning.
He crept closer until he found the source of the sound.
A large hulking metallic structure sat on the tracks in front of him. It had doors and windows like a house— but it also had things similar to wheels underneath that lined up with the tracks supported by rustled old gears and other things he couldn't recognize. Dust dirtied the structures once shining silver sheen and vines broke from the ground underneath to crawl up the hunk of metals wheels and into its broken windows. It had been unmoving for a while.
Hanging out of the doors window facing him was the backside of a Kobold. It's body was lined with cuts and stab wounds followed by a missing foot. As it dangled above the tracks, blood dripped loudly by the ounce from its missing leg. The scent of its blood hung on the air like a thick red cloud.
"What the hell? It looks like it was thrown through the window of this....."
"[Train....and yes. This kill is fresh— whatever it is could still be in the area, be caref—]"
Arne was cut off as Claude heard clawed feet scraping against the solid metal floor inside the train, making its way in his direction.
The sound was followed by deep ghastly squeals and growls that had the train shaking slightly from the large mass inside picking up speed.
Sqursh!
Woo!
The Kobold body hanging from the train door window wiggled as something latched onto it and yanked it completely inside the train, shattering the rest of the glass shards that jutted out from the window.
Claude's nose worked overtime as he tried to figure out what was on the other side of the door. Frosty did the same while he growled silently next to him.
Before he could get anything other than the scent of blood, a muscular mass of greasy brown fur and yellow teeth came flying out the window.
"SKSSKSSHHHHRRR!"
Woo!
Claude quickly dived out of the way, causing the creature to land on the tracks instead of his face. When the creature landed he was abundantly aware of what it was.
A rat in physical build— minus a considerable amount of body fat and anything cute, a DireRat. They were the nightmarish upgrade of regular rats that took a specific liking to human flesh and bred like crazy. All things considered— a DireRat Nest in the Darkways has disastrous potential.
Before the giant muscular rat could react, Claude front kicked it with everything he had— which was more than usual since he was borrowing the traits of the PitWolf fighting alongside him.
Woo!
Crunch!
The bottom of his foot slammed into the rats ribs so hard that he felt bones crush under its wiry fur and stringy muscles.
The bulky rat stumbled to the side where Frosty caught it by the back of the neck with his jaws.
"GRR!" Frosty growled angrily as he whipped his head to the side, flipping the DireRat easily and slamming its side into the hard metal train tracks.
Woo!
Shlck!
Claude lunged in immediately with his sword. The weapon sunk through fur and flesh, piercing vital organs and ripping them completely after he withdrew the weapon.
[+60 EXP]
Frosty released his grip on the creature's neck a few seconds later.
"That DireRat was alone...." Claude pointed out.
"[I wouldn't be surprised if whatever threw that Kobold through the window killed the DireRats.]"
"SSSSHHHRRRKKKSKSKS!"
An incredibly loud squeal echoed through the Darkways and forced him to become amply aware of the giant hole in the wall near the train behind Frosty. Due to the even level of darkness surrounding him, he didn't notice it in the heat of battle before.
The sound of movement from the hole put him on his guard so he was ready when the second DireRat came lunging out of the condensed darkness.
Woo!
Shlck!
His sword stabbed through its skull and brain as he intercepted its attempted lunge at his face.
[+60 EXP]
After killing the second DireRat, he heard a number of footsteps heading towards him through the hole in the wall.
"Here they come."
"Grrr..."
"SSHHRRSKSK!"
***
After around ten intense minutes of fighting, Claude and Frosty took down ten DireRats. The heavily muscled and greasy haired bodies lined the tracks, leaking blood and frothy spittle onto the metal beams under them.
The two victors stood on the tracks trying their best not to breathe loudly while rat blood dried on their claws.
Claude remembered Arne's teaching and began searching the area around him. His eyes peered down the opposite end of the tracks and found nothing looking back at him in the distance, he found the same on the dirty old metal ceiling.
"Ok. It's time to go Frosty, something had to hear that." Claude said before the two went inside the hole in the wall that deviated off the tracks.
Once inside, he quickly realized the trail was made by the DireRats themselves— or this was definitely their main way of travel. He smelled them all along the packed dirt walls and ground as if they were right under his nose.
The trial followed the path of the original train tracks for a few dozen feet before forming a split. One way went right, deeper into darkness and uncertainty. The other path turned and put them back on the tracks.
Claude referred back to his original means of tracking his targets and looked to the ground, squinting and straining his eyes as hard as possible to make out the footprints of the DireRats.
"Left it is." He thought before standing back up and turning onto the path that would send him back out onto the tracks.
Once he was out, the smell of blood and death was back in full effect.
He turned to the source of the smell and saw that he was looking back at the train that was now behind him. The door was gone— ripped off the hinges based on how they looked, and inside he could see the dark outline of shredded and mangled bodies filling the spacious interior of the train. His ears flinched as he picked up on the steady drip of blood coming from the bodies in the train.
After he was done inspecting the train, he turned and continued his path down the tracks.
He silently walked with his senses on overdrive for another 10 or so minutes— finding various monster corpses and body parts, before he heard something that grabbed his attention entirely.
Ahead of him, the tracks veered left, turning back towards south SkyHaven. He could hear them just around the corner, sniffing loudly and scraping the metal tracks with their claws as they patrolled the area.
He smelled them first, but he knew they were learning of him and Frosty's presence by the second.
He silently continued his approach down the twisting path until he found them.
Their dark outlines walked back and forth from between the tracks. The bulk of the group hung by the left wall, which he assumed was a path they made that would possibly lead to SkyHaven or the source of their nest.
"Sksk!" The first DireRat caught on, followed by the rest.
Oily black eyes and grotesque overgrown teeth swiveled in his direction to where they found him standing in the distance with his eyes lighting the immediate area in front of him.
The two growled silently before engaging in combat.
***
Another 5 minutes passed and the tracks were now littered with DireRat corpses, missing their throats or legs— while a couple missed entire faces.
"Huagh!....ack!"
Frosty dry heaved once next to him before spitting out two dirty DireRat incisors, after they hit the ground he growled angrily and kicked the dead rat behind him before trotting over to Claude.
"[Be careful. If this is the Nest location, then the Boss or Dominant DireRats will be inside.]"
"If that's the case, then I'll need to finish it quickly so I don't draw any unwanted attention— if I haven't already." Claude finished as he faced the rat formed pathway in the wall near the tracks.
He reminded himself of why he was doing this one final time to combat the fear he felt before looking to where he felt Frosty standing next to him.
"Let's finish this."
***
After walking only a few minutes in the rat made tunnel, a horrible damp and rotten smell hit his nose— sour almost. The presence of old blood that usually accompanies the smell was barely there.
It was odd, causing him to be more wary and reliant on his senses.
He walked for a minute or so longer when another turn in the path appeared, revealing the source of the Nest— or at least that's what it should've been.
"What the fuck?" He whispered after seeing the dark outline of the nest mother inside, silent and unmoving.
The source of the scent radiated off the creature in heavy waves that made his eyes water.
"It's been dead for a while.." he thought.
"[Go to the body.]"
"What?" Claude asked in confusion.
"[Go to the body. Right now.]" Arne repeated, in an alarmingly grave tone.
Claude complied and approached the corpse.
Thin claw markings marred its fur and flesh. The markings accompanied dents in its fur that could only explain points of powerful impacts— like it was punched.
"Arne, I don't understand."
"[Lift the body....]" He said.
"Ok. Come on. This thing is at least 400lbs." Claude guessed.
"[Try. To. Lift. The. Rat.]"
Claude was becoming uneasy by Arne's tone of voice and requests but followed through anyway by grabbing onto the loose skin at the back of its neck.
"Huh?" He said in response to lifting its upper body completely off the ground.
"[Shit!]" Arne replied.
"I don't understand." Claude said before dropping the body.
"[Stab it please. Hurry. We need to confirm this.]" Arne said.
Claude lifted his sword and stabbed down into the creature's side. When he pulled it out, there was a complete absence of blood on his blade as if the creature had nothing inside it other than dry muscle and organs. In fact, he didn't even hear any liquid sounds from his sword splitting its flesh.
He stared at his sword for a moment in confusion while Arne cussed repeatedly in his mind.
After a few seconds, his brain started putting the pieces together. "Kobold somehow thrown through a window...rotting scent everywhere....Nest mother dead, drained of blo—"
"SSSHHHHHAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
"Aarp!"
"Ahh!" Claude flinched and covered his ears as the most hideous sound he ever heard ripped through the Darkways and attacked his ears. It sounded like multiple high pitched screams tinged by something dark, like the throat it came from was damaged, torn to shreds. The noise made his hairs stand on end.
The sound shook everything, rattling the ground and knocking blocks of dirt from the ceiling over Claude's head.
Before he had time to recover, it came again— only much closer.
"SSSHHHAAAAHHK!!"
The next time Claude came out of the noise induced blindness, he could hear rushed movements just outside the entrance into the Nest he and Frosty stood in.
Speaking of Frosty, the PitWolf stood firmly in front of him growling silently while also shaking, shaking with fear.
"[We're too late. It's here.]" Arne commented once Claude was settled.
"Wha—" His throat closed up involuntarily after seeing what Arne meant.
In the entryway stood something he couldn't fully understand. It was the embodiment of everything dead, ghastly and unnatural.
The thing moved on all fours in an odd stance, like certain limbs and ligaments were broken and healed wrong. Unbelievably pale white skin was stretched across its starved physique that held absolutely no body fat, allowing Claude to see the individual strings of muscle that vibrated with hunger— thirst.
It's face was a nightmare all on its own complete with sunken cheeks that had holes in them where it must've accidentally bitten itself and a missing nose. All that stood in its place were long slits that never opened or closed, it wasn't breathing.
It's face was framed by thin strands of jet black hair that scarcely sprouted from its black vein riddled scalp— failing completely to hide its eyes, its eyes were the worst.
Seas of black interrupted by red discs that made up its starved irises. Completely absent of humanity.
Movement behind it drew his attention to the bat-like wings protruding from each side of its spine that pushed against the thin white skin covering its back. The wings slowly spread, revealing the thin talons at the ends of each finger-like bone lining the wings.
"SHHAAH!" The creature screamed again, causing all the muscles in its body to flex under its thin veil of skin as the haunting sound shook its way out of the things dry and shriveled throat.
Now that it was closer, the sound reached him immediately, surrounding him like a blanket. As soon as he noticed the feeling, the creature hissed and its head whirled in his direction, baring its thin needle like fangs and claws to match.
Every muscle in its body was twitching, jumping, flexing, coming to life— which made it look less starved and more powerful.
While this was happening the creature hissed again and opened its mouth so wide that its cheeks ripped and its jaw cracked loudly. It was thirsty, and Claude's powerfully beating heart sounded like heaven to the creature.
The tight grip of fear around Claude's heart loosened as the animal in him recognized the challenge the vile specimen was presenting, causing his own muscles to burst to life in unison with the transformation.
"Arne, what the hell is this thing and what's the fastest way to kill it?" He asked.
"[To kill it— your going to need to use Bane of the Undead, and even then it's death won't be fast, Claude...that's a Vampire.]"
