Unlikely Companions

The sun rose over the swampy marsh with rays of gold and orange. The singing critters had retreated and gone silent; their music replaced by the songs of singing birds nestled in nests of twigs on branches unseen.

A few birds, small as most birds were, flew under the blue sky, eagerly searching for the day's breakfast.

The frogs had retreated back into the swampy waters, hiding behind the thick leaf litter and other foliage. The day was no place for frogs to come merrying about. Predators lurked in every corner, eager to snag a morning snack.

It was a bright day for all.

For one unexpected visitor of the marsh, it was maybe a bit too bright.

Arcelius Von Ispios had recovered from some of his injuries. A few broken bones remained but the damage to his organs had been reduced significantly. Healing himself was no easy undertaking, for his environment at least. He had consumed quite a lot of magic over the past six hours he was asleep and the past hour he was awake.

Some of the marshy grass around him had begun to wither alongside some of the leaves and small branches of nearby trees. A few lilies had gone brown while a few vines had retreated from barks. So was the cost of drawing in magic from nature.

Fortunately for the fish and other creatures who called the water home, the marshy waters were full of magic just waiting to be drawn upon and used. Arcelius could see no damage to the water, yet.

He knew that drawing upon the magic that formed within nature would eventually decimate the surrounding environment but the situation he found himself in warranted extreme measures. He wasn't just going to lay around wait a couple of days as his inner magic replenished itself. The risk was too great.

Not to mention he was also in unknown territory. He did not recognize this marsh nor any of the surroundings. Not that he could see far anyway. The marsh itself was covered in a somewhat thick mist that reeked from the murky waters.

He was not alone however, not fully. The frogs had gone but one of the water worms and the reptilian predator stayed. The two creatures were an unlikely pair. One of them was oversized for its nature while the other should've already tried to bite him or the water worm.

Yet the two creatures stayed on either side of Arcelius, locking stares and snarls, occasionally shaking heads.

"What are you so disappointed about?" Arcelius asked the water worm to his right as it shook his head in apparent disapproval.

The reptilian creature to his left snarled and hissed, "And what do YOU want?" He asked it. Arcelius couldn't help but feel that these two knew something he didn't.

Or maybe they were just teasing him.

An hour or so had passed since the sun rose over the eastern horizon. It was time for him to start moving. He had drawn in enough of the natural magic around him to let his inner magic do its thing and replenish on its own. He wasn't planning on leeching off nature all the way.

He stood up and dusted himself. It seemed like the pain of his battered body numbed him to the coldness of the night. He only realized he was naked when the sun basked him in its warm light, revealing his naked self to the waking swamp.

"You're already rusty, Arcelius" he told himself as he examined his body from neck to toe. His sense had been focused on guarding himself from what was beyond and around him thus he was only able to do a health check. He hadn't gotten the chance to examine himself as thoroughly as he would have liked.

His body began to shimmer slightly as he started meditating. Due to his level of divinity, there was no need for him to do any specific posture or position. He just needed to breathe in, out, and focus.

The shimmer of his body died down as he breathed out a puff of golden mist.

"Crap." He said as he took in the information he had gathered.

His senses weren't working well. The keenness of his eyes, the sensitivity of his snout, and the alertness of his mind were all performing way under normal. The magic within him was having a hard time circulating as it was also trying to heal many wounds at once.

Normally such a messy circulation of magic, or mana as it was called when magic was inside a person, would cause bodily shock and then death. Thankfully, he was a Champion and Divine, he wasn't going to die from mana shock.

But there were still negative effects that needed to be addressed. With his senses compromised and far below fighting condition, it would feel like fighting with one eye closed while the other suffered from partial blindness all the while his hands were tied, and legs amputated.

His reflexes should be there but the ability to sense what came after the first strike was almost always as valuable as being able to deduce the first.

"Here's to hoping nobody with ill-intent is roaming round these parts, ey?" He turned his head at his leathery and scaly companions respectively.

The water worm shook its head and the reptilian predator just snarled.

"Don't tell me that's gonna be your response to everything I'm gonna do." The two creatures eyed him intently, "Oh for... you know what, fine. Just don't bite off my leg or strangle me underwater or something. I'll be forced to kill both of you if you do anything funny, or should I say not-funny. To me."

The water worm and the reptilian predator eyed each other between his legs for a few seconds before returning their gaze to Arcelius.

They both nodded.

"Huh. Alright then." Arcelius stepped into the water and began to trudge through, leaving behind a wake of disturbed water.

His two newfound animal companions followed behind him, swimming in his wake. The water worm and the reptilian predator were more than accustomed to the water, but both found the occasional splash of the ripples quite cumbersome to overcome.

"Oh sorry, I'll try to go slower." Arcelius said when turned to look. He did in fact slow down, but it was seemingly not enough.

Thus started their trek through the swampy marsh.

As the minutes went by, Arcelius grew tired of calling his two companions Mr. Water Worm and Ms. Reptilian With Sharp teeth so he decided to name them. It was only right for him to do so, it seemed like they were gonna be staying with each other for quite a while.

"Okay so, calling you both Mr. Water Worm and Ms. Reptilian With Sharp Teeth isn't gonna work. Just saying any of these is a mouthful and, to be frank, awful," Arcelius said. A hiss came from behind him and a violent splashing next, "Yeah yeah I know. The fact you even understand me is amazing. Or that I... understand you. Huh?"

Arcelius stopped and turned to look at his companions. "I actually DO understand you. Well, your actions and snarling at least. That's strange. I didn't know I could do that. I couldn't even do it a few hours ago."

A snarl followed by a hiss was the reply he received, "Well hey now no need to be rude. Look at Mr. Wormy over here, he hasn't said anything mean. He just... seems disappointed in me."

Mr. Wormy violently wriggled at the mention of his less than appealing name.

"See, he approves!" No, he did not.

A growl came from the reptilian and both shook their heads at Arcelius.

"Oh come on. Look, I can't think of anything great yet that surpasses Mr. Wormy so we'll be sticking it with for now," Arcelius glanced at the reptilian, "As for you... hmm.. I vaguely remember meeting one of your kind once. A long time ago it feels. They were much bigger then I think. Menacing as well. But I've forgotten their names, so I'll call you...."

Arcelius pondered for a bit while his two swampy companions waited for whatever crippling name he was gonna come up with.

"Ms. Crock!" He finally said triumphantly.

Ms. Crock's mouth fell from her snout and Mr. Wormy went limp.

"Oh come on it's not too bad, right Ms. Crock?"

Ms. Crock also went limp.

Arcelius sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"We better get going, come on." He turned and started trudging once more.

His two companions recovered and followed close behind. They weren't at all satisfied with the names they were given but it had to do. There was still the chance he would change them. Arcelius said it himself. If a better name came to mind, he'll rename them. Right?

The misty, swampy marsh was bigger than what Arcelius first expected. It seemed like the further they went, the thicker the fog grew. It didn't alarm Arcelius though nor did it seem to bother his two companions.

They continued on their current direction, stopping only to rest. They caught some fish when they did. Ms. Crock was a proficient hunter as expected. Her mighty jaw snapped a few of the larger fish in half when they got caught between her teeth.

Mr. Wormy was less proficient. Water Worms were omnivores as far as Arcelius could remember. They either strangled their prey or ate whatever water plants that lurked underneath. The latter was easier than the former.

Despite this, Mr. Wormy was still able to strangle a fish or two. The violent splashing and rippling in the water made Arcelius worry the first time it happened. He was just about halfway through readying a magic strike when the splashing stopped and Mr. Wormy emerged wrapped around a large looking fish.

"Violent ey? I won't judge." Arcelius said. The Water Worm wriggled in response.

"I tried to... strangle... someone too. It wasn't the right move. Not that It was wrong or anything. It just wasn't the right move when I did it." Arcelius' voice changed, it was now mellow and rife with regret.

The foliage had grown thick and the swampy grass had become somewhat of a hassle to go through. The trees which were few and far between a while ago now formed a significant presence around them like a young forest.

"I'm not usually this chatty, you know? Especially around... animals. No offense," Arcelius briefly turned to look at his companions who gave him reassuring nods in return, "But I'm thankful that I'm not exactly alone here."

Silence reigned and the swampy marsh eventually turned into a swampy forest. Low hanging branches loomed over their heads with bark choked by vines and moss. The mist grew thicker.

He suddenly stopped then turned to face his companions. Mr. Wormy and Ms. Crock looked at him with intent.

"You know who I am, don't you?"

The two creatures looked at each other before returning their gaze to Arcelius.

"Well?"

Mr. Wormy nodded slowly. Ms. Crock, on the other hand, hissed reassuringly. Or so it sounded reassuring. Arcelius himself wasn't sure if he was understanding Ms. Crock's hisses and snarls correctly. It didn't help that the sounds were probably the only things the reptilian predator could say.

"How long has it been?" Arcelius found himself asking. His companions shook their heads. They didn't know how long it had been. He then looked around their misty surroundings. The fog had gotten very thick as if a cloud had descended upon them.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have expected the both of you to know. I mean, do animals keep time? I didn't really take that into account during my travels and conquests," Arcelius sighed, "No time to waste then. Time to keep moving."

The trio continued on their way through the murky waters and shrouded trees. As the mist grew ever thicker, Arcelius' senses began to suspect.

Something was wrong in this marsh. Swampy mist shouldn't be this thick, even in the morning.

The bright day was no more.

His fears were confirmed by his companions as they began to shift uncomfortably behind him.

"Shit."