Darklands Prompts

Prompt 2 Information

The Writing

~~————————————~~

Words: 2,858

~~————————————~~

The loud clanging of the bell pulled the group from their conversation as their surroundings quickly became frantic. From the peaceful busyness, just a second ago, things were now in chaos as denizens and adventurers ran from one place to another, some evacuating and some preparing to fight. The cries of the birds as they fled their homes directed their attention to the front of the village where the trees shook as whatever was here moved closer.

Murk spotted a flash of purple as she saw Orion running off to the bell tower, presumably where Helen was, as they seemed to be something like the village leader here. She made a mental note of their positions, hopefully, they would stay put and make it easier to find them in this mess.

“Great, an attack? Seriously?” Murk sighed as she watched everyone frantically running, yelling, giving out orders, and evacuating every corner of the village while her fellow adventurers were already gearing up to assist in the defense. "It feels too soon for this, we've only just arrived."

“A shame. Right when we finally found somewhere quiet and away from prying ears to talk. Just our luck.” Aster laughed. “Murk? It’s your call on what we should do.” He turned to Sina and Russkaya who were looking panicked at the sight of the large approaching creature. “Hey don’t worry, it’s nothing to fret about. This sort of occurrence happens often in such events. Trust us, you can relax. Although I guess that's easier said than done." He motioned to his gray companion who was finishing her snack. "If it gets too bad, Murk will just whisk you two away somewhere safe! Alternatively, you can evacuate with the others too.” He pointed to the opposite end of the village.

“I do not think evacuating will help. No, this must be a creature from Ytuxthotlep! They are the only one with such an ability. They must have found out we left. If this is the case, we cannot hide anywhere.” The blue nabi fidgeted with her hands, her mind was clearly running a mile a minute.

“Ytu-? Er, no I don’t think this is a monster made by anyone… specifically, per se. Unusual creatures are quite common in other dimensions so it’s ok! No need to freak out!” He tried to console them. “This might actually be one of the gods that people have been looking for and so we'll need to help them. It's not always down to a confrontation.”

But at this, they looked slightly more worried than before, if that was possible.

“Hey, different dimension, remember? I doubt this Ytuxth.. uh, person.. has anything to do with it.” The gray nabi added. She looked unbothered but had certainly planned her next steps already. “The odds of such a thing are slim, this is most likely a being from this dimension. Especially since the village seems mildly unsurprised that something is attacking. Well, I guess mild isn't the exact word." She got up from her seat. “They do have a bell tower and evacuation planned, this must have happened at least once before surely.”

'Yeah, maybe not by whatever this is but who could say?' She looked at the two strangers. ‘Clearly not built for battle, we should have them evacuate. But they fear whoever sent this so maybe it’s best to keep them around. No matter, they will do what they want.’

“We can resume our conversation later if you want to, I think I have the jist of everything though, and I’m willing to help you guys out, at least for as long as we’re able.” She looked to Aster for his decision on this matter and of course, he nodded enthusiastically in agreement. “Great, same page then.”

“Ah, thank you kindly for your assistance, hopefully, this will increase our chances, but I fear this current state is more urgent. What do we do about this attack?” Russkaya’s voice was edged with growing worry.

Sina watched the villagers running around, nervously flicking her ears at every unusual sound as she kept looking at the forest. Neither siblings were fighters, they lived in isolation for many reasons, and this was one of them. She could certainly protect but she didn't want to spill blood.

“First we find Orion, who as I can see, is currently running back from the watchtower. I’d go to the chief but Orion is more familiar with the odd bunch here. We’ll inquire with him on what to do next.” She said nonchalantly. “But you guys can evacuate. I’d recommend it. You’re not fit for fighting.”

The monster couldn’t be seen yet, but along with the rumbling of falling trees, a deep and loud voice echoed from within them.

“My.. eyes. MY... EYES!”

They could feel the ground beneath them shiver as it cried out. The trees that once simply swayed in its path were now falling like twigs in a gust.

Murk whistled. “Hoooo they certainly seem.. unpleasant at the moment. Sounds like am upcoming fetch quest." She murmured that last part to herself. "Alright, Aster let's head over and see if we can help at all.”

Watching the two nabis head off filled them with a sense of unease. They had quickly felt they could trust these strangers, feeling safer around them, even if only through their confidence. It looked like evacuating wasn't in the cards today. Sina and Russkaya stuck close together as they followed the gray and orange nabis to the group amassing in the center of the village.

“Murk, Aster, does this not frighten you even a little bit?” Russkaya wanted to know even a little bit, just what these two were thinking.

Aster flashed a sympathetic smile to them and Murk laughed lightheartedly. “Mmm, no. When you’ve crossed death’s door a few times I can’t say anything phases you much. Panicking over an enemy you can’t see wastes energy you’ll need to either fight or run when you actually come face to face with them. But that’s just my experience. Stick to Aster if you’re super worried, he looks harmless but I can attest he knows at least a little bit, how to fight.”

Russkaya nodded, but Sina looked elsewhere, to the sky behind the village.

———-

There was a bell ringing in the far distance, along with what sounded like waves of people yelling. She lifted her head, ears perked to get a better idea of where it was coming from. It may have sounded close but it could very well be miles away. Her hearing was one of the perks she was born with, but unfortunately, they weren’t great at detecting distance. She got up and with two strong flaps of her wings, flew to the top of the largest nearby tree, perching on its branches and swaying perilously as she gained her balance. The sky’s low-hanging cloud cover from the morning had mostly disappeared, but visibility was poor.

She pinpointed the direction, and from her viewpoint, she could see a vague movement of the trees in the distance. One that was quite alarming to look at, in all honesty. Whatever it was certainly didn’t tower over the trees but it was definitely sturdy if it could move them aside so easily.

Glancing to the ground beneath her and then to the distant bell ringing, she wondered where she should head next. Whatever town that was needed help, but that was probably where the adventurers already were. Which in that case, she would only cause problems and set them all back.

'It wouldn't do any good, especially since they’re probably fighting that thing with magic.’ Her attention turned back to the ground. ‘So I should continue to follow this lead, then catch up with them all later.’

She got ready to glide down when another conflicting thought occurred. ‘But then, why did I come here in the first place? Ah no no, it’s fine, we have other representatives from our dimension if memory serves right. And Mictlan said they’ve done a few of these. It’s fine.’ She glided from the top and landed without so much as a sound on the marshy ground.

‘I’ll follow this lead. Then go and join up. I’m sure I won’t be the only person late. But you can’t really be late for something like this.. right...’

Her trail of thought faded out as she stopped in her tracks, noticing a single, large, black feather on the ground. There was clearly a scuffle here, and without thinking too much about the pieces that were left behind, someone got very badly hurt.

Hurt was definitely being generous.

She picked up the feather and examined how it shimmered blue as the sunlight hit.

‘How pretty.’

She stuck it into her mane since she forgot her bag, and continued looking around, but not much gave a clue to the attacker and the victim. Neither set of footprints looked even remotely familiar to anything she’s seen before, and they were large prints to add on. Behind one of the sparse bushes were large drag marks, heading off deeper into the tree line. Some unusual-looking blood was trailing with it, with the clumps eerily reminding her of blood after it came in contact with rattlesnake venom.

An uneasy feeling suddenly settled around her and she realized the smell of that corrupted magic had grown stronger.

‘I should leave, I definitely bit more than I could eat. Curiosity does kill the cat as they say.’

“But satisfaction brings it back, you know?”

She jumped at the low voice coming to her left and whirled around to face a large figure covered in shadows. Shadows that were definitely not cast by the trees.

“Startled? I’d apologize, but I’m not even slightly sorry. I had to get a peek into that mind of yours, I haven’t seen something like you before.” He spoke, his tone was a mix of casual, and she could tell he had a smile, but every word he said made ice run down her spine and his blue eyes were just as cold.

--

Dangerous. Run.

--

“I thought you were all supposed to be at that village, they’re having their own problems you know. You really ought to be helping them.” He snickered, but she stayed silent, eyes locked on to this stranger, watching for every small movement.

“Mm? Is your tongue not working? You have coherent thoughts, I’m sure you can speak and I can’t say I enjoy one-way conversations.” His eyes narrowed as he studied her. She was familiar looking but he couldn’t put his finger on why. He assumed he would find out if he got closer, maybe see her mannerisms, but here he was, and nothing rang a bell. That’s really the only reason she was still breathing, just his curiosity.

They were locked in a superficial stalemate. She stayed silent and still, and he waited to see what clicked. Things were in stasis for what felt like far too long, and his patience began to wane; at least until the smell of blood began wafting over the breeze, and Camazotz broke the stalemate first, taking a few steps back and wincing at how strong the coppery smell was and letting out a hiss, covering her nose.

For a split second, he saw that sad little vengeful Aurusalkar in front of him, and he growled. That mannerism, that face, it was all too familiar. But now, there lay a question, does he allow her anomaly to exist to amuse him at a later date, or does he kill it now, and drag its corpse back as an extra gift to her pathetic little self?

“…Your appearance is revolting.”

She flinched, his voice was nothing but animosity now. Anger bubbled to the surface until she met his gaze again, and that anger turned to a primitive fear. He no longer had that coy smile, and his gaze felt like death waiting to strike. The shadows that originally wrapped around him were even darker now.

“Who are your parents?” He growled. “Depending on your answer, you might live another day to amuse me.”

‘What? How would I know that? And what does that have to do with anything?!’ Her thoughts felt like a jumbled mess, and she tried desperately to reason with herself. ‘Why do I feel so scared, there’s no reason, I’m stronger than most, larger than most even though I’m not even close to my full height, I can even negate magic, and abilities are useless on me, so why am I-?’

“Answer me, you little creature. I am only so tolerant, as many have found out the hard way.” His words had an underlying hiss to them this time, and the tree on the opposite side of the clearing suddenly cracked with a thundering noise. She whirled around instinctively to see the large tree get crushed into itself as if it crumpled like a piece of parchment within seconds. With a last horrendous crack, it completely disappeared, leaving some residual dirt falling from the now empty space.

--
It felt like her mind went blank.

He can’t know!

Know what?

He can’t know he’ll kill you like the others!

I don’t even know who my parents are!

DON’T TELL HIM.

--

She heard him take a step forward and was thrown out of her mind, immediately going on the defensive. “I don’t know! I wasn’t raised by any parents!”

She tried to yell it out but it barely came out as a whisper. She opened her mouth to reiterate it but the footsteps had stopped. Her heart was pounding, and her chest ached so bad she wanted to cry. She slowly looked up, but he wasn’t there anymore. Panic hit her like a wave as she felt the feather get pulled from her mane. He was right next to her, she didn’t even realize it.

“Yes, I know." He let out an amused chuckle. "Your mind is an open book. Amusing but not as fun as hers. I’ll be taking this back.” He held up the feather she had found, and it disintegrated in his hands.

Even now that he was out in the open, she couldn’t tell much of his appearance at all. The shadows were constantly weaving around him, but his limbs were covered in something like a bug’s chitin or dragon scales, all ending in sharp claws that had glints of red.

“You better run along to that little village now. They’ll be in some trouble soon, no doubt, and you still have time. I hope you amuse me when we meet again. I’m sure she’ll try to find you.” A cruel smile flitted across his face, and he walked towards the bloody drag marks, disappearing into the shadows of the forest again.

Camazotz swayed as she started to feel dizzy, exhaling a breath she didn’t realize she was holding as she tried her best to stay upright. Walking was a struggle, and she didn’t dare try to fly, the adrenaline was wearing off, but she needed to leave. And leave now.

Could she go home? Maybe after she rested, but then what? There were others in this monster’s vicinity. He knew of them, would he go after them? She couldn’t say, but Nextli always drilled it into her head. ‘Don’t leave without trying at least.’

—

After deeming she was finally far enough from his general vicinity she dunked her head into the water, the stimulation jolting the floating, foggy-minded feeling away near immediately. Tired, but clear-headed. She can work with that. There was a lot to process but like Mictlan would say, she could do it later when there’s nothing urgent to do.

‘The village. Adventurers, right, there have to be experienced ones in town. Ones who can do something about that person. It’s possibly being attacked right now but I’m confident nothing can be as terrifying as that guy. Not anymore.’ With a deep breath, she shakily unfurled her wings, giving them some test movements. When they finally moved steadily enough, she jumped back into the air, heading to where the sound of the falling trees were.

‘It’s… not there yet? How? I was back there for so long…’ She cleared her head again. ‘Later, questions later. Questions later. I need to find someone.’

As she neared the village, she noticed a particularly bright orange speck seemingly waving at her. Her caution spiked, but curiosity kept fighting through. Anyone was less dangerous. Anyone. She carefully landed on top of the roofs, surveying the area before deciding to make her way slowly down to where this orange nabi was. He was still waving to her and even came up closer to meet her on the ground.

'He is.. unafraid?' She watched him with wide-eyed curiosity. from behind the building she landed on. 'Nobody had ever approached so.. willingly happy.'

"Hey, you're just in time! I'm Aster, and I'll explain on the way over why I was waiting, but come on, Orion's about to give us instructions on our plan of attack and you look like you can fight!"

-------