Born a Monster-Chapter 542 - 542 Neegling Hunt
542 Neegling Hunt
โOkay.โ Negla said. โSo we need Neeglings, but strapped to our armor rather than just to use on the little bits of taint we have spattered here.โ ๐๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ซโฏl.c๐๐
โAre you LISTENING?โ Nogar asked. โWe. Should. Run.โ
โOr we could burn it.โ Mohr said. โItโs just flesh, right?โ
I blinked. โIt could be a lot of flesh.โ I said.
โHow much flesh are we talking about?โ Doran asked.
Nogar answered. โItโll mass equal to about a squad or two. But thatโs not the worst of it. It will have duplicate organs, which will make it resistant to criticals.โ
Zoltar stroked his chin. โSo itโs a lot of life force all in one place. Itโll take us a while, even blasting it with our greatest spells.โ
โIf the Taint is too strong, then we might not even have those spells.โ Mohr said.
โThus the Neeglings.โ Negla said.
.....
โIt doesnโt work like that.โ Nogar said. โAt best, the Taint will divide between the neegling and yourself. At best.โ
โSo, what?โ Negla asked. โThree or four neeglings each?โ
โShall I start catching neeglings?โ I asked.
โYes, you must.โ Negla said.
โWorthless!โ Nogar said. โI need you here, convincing my circle that this is DUMB!โ
โIs this dumb?โ Doran asked me.
โItโs a legitimate horror.โ I said. โTaint will keep us from using our strongest magics. If we get close, itโs just going to eat us with a touch. If we manage to hold at range, we know of at least one magical ability it has. Iโm not sure how skilled our... allies... are with their weapons.โ
I scratched the right side of my jaw. โIt took us two days to walk here. Could we call for reinforcements?โ
Zoltar snorted. โWe know what the Voice of Rakkal would say about that.โ
โAll right. If we ARE doing this, we need a plan.โ I said.
โTraitor.โ Nogar spat toward me. That curse spiraled, began gathering Taint into itself before...
โBurn Curse.โ Mohr cast, the flames blinding both myself and Nogar.
โI should ask the morlocks for a spear.โ Negla said. โWolf magics arenโt going to be of a lot of use here.โ
Mohr made a gesture behind her back. โYou could summon spirit wolves.โ he told her.
โIโve only got the two of them.โ she said, โAnd... Spirits... Taint...โ
Zoltar scrunched up his face. โCould they ride in the bodies of plains cats? I mean, Iโd hate doing that if I were a wolf spirit, but its better than...โ
โCould we strap neeglings to the back of a plains cat?โ she asked.
โNegla.โ Doran said, โPlease stop with the neeglings. Weโd have to enchant the damn animals.โ
โWait.โ I said. โIs that the problem with using them to help absorb Taint?โ
I drew up the files holding everything I knew about Lifeshaper.
โBad news?โ Mohr asked.
โI have enough Lifeshaper powers to do half of one. Itโs not like feeding them each a healing potion would...โ
Doran slapped his thighs. โPotions! Genius. Negla, Critter. Go forth. See if we can get twelve neeglings.โ
โThereโs only four within range.โ I said.
Negla punched me in the shoulder. โThen we walk and find more. Come. Who wants to do boring planning, anyway?โ
โWell, I do.โ I said, following her anyway.
When we were a safe distance away, she said, โYou have nothing that resembles tact, do you?โ
I shrugged. โTruthspeaker. Titanspawn. People hate me anyway, why should I be nice to those who wonโt be nice to me?โ
โOne catches more flies, as the saying goes.โ
โFlies taste terrible.โ I said, to which she laughed.
โSo why do you think we were sent away just as we were beginning to form the plan?โ she asked.
โNogar doesnโt want the plan at all. Heโd rather us run and leave a horror at the flank.โ
โA horror currently stuck in a building.โ she said.
โWhich will, sooner or later, get out.โ I said. โTrue, Iโd rather face it with an army. And Iโm not enthused about doing it with a bunch of morlocks who might just try to kill us afterward, but it needs to be done.โ
She snorted. โYou think this can be done?โ
โYou donโt?โ I asked. โWhy the insistence on neeglings, then?โ
She rolled her eyes. โIโd rather not get Tainted. As an adept, magic is a good part of my life. I like the idea of my pack hounding something big, bringing it low to the ground. But by the same token, Iโm not a fool. This sounds like something that kill some of us.โ
I whispered. โThis is why we need the best plan we can get.โ
โOh, are the neeglings... never mind, I see them.โ she whispered back.
Now neeglings are a lot like long-eared rabbits. They burrow, they primarily eat vegetation, and they poop everywhere. And, theyโre not like rabbits. They have oily quills among their fur, and claws, and have no problems biting plains cats when there are enough of them.
Oh, and theyโre FAST.
One can be forgiven for thinking itโs magical. Itโs a combination of evolutions. Adrenaline, metabolism, little...
What? I like evolutions. Nature is a wonderful and varied thing.
Oh.
I suppose I donโt want to tell this story, or this part of the story, depending upon how one views things.
But my desires are not relevant to what actually happened back then, are they?
We formed a system group, so that we could share my Beast Senses, plan our movements without risking our voices giving us away.
<Youโre a lot bigger inside your own head.> she sent. <You donโt have to shout.>
<Sorry. > I toned down my sendings. <Iโm used to less sensitive group members.>
Her smile was a thing predatory and fueled by hunger.
<This will take long enough without stopping to cook one of them!> I admonished.
<Are you serious about not taking the Aware ones? Weโre long enough. Weโll be out all day.>
I grunted, and four pairs of ears turned my way.
<Right. > I sent. <Sorry. >
<Is someone there?> the mother sent. <We can hear you, you know.>
I had been crouched, but stood to what height I could.
<We mean you no ill.> I sent. <Those who can ask not to be eaten should be.>
<Thatโs an exception out here.> the father sent. <Not the rule.>
โWhat are you DOING?โ Negla asked. ฦ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐๐๐จv๐ฆl.๐o๐ฆ
โTheyโre sentient.โ I said. โNeedless harm is off limits.โ
โAssfart.โ she replied.
<So, > the father asked, <Why are you here?>
<Well, weโre hunting for a dozen non-sentient neeglings.> I sent. <I donโt suppose you know where we should look?>
The mother sent a wave of [Disgust]. <As if weโd help you do that. You know, even the animals sometimes give birth to Awakened.>
<I thought that was becoming a rarity.> I said.
<Rare isnโt the same thing as nonexistent.> father replied.
<I thank you for your honesty.> I said.
<You might look in the north by northwest.> one of the daughters said.
<Bellflower! > mother snapped. <Do be silent!>
Well, we DID look there, and found a pack of gaunt, mangy plains cats. They didnโt share my religious views, and...
There were seven of them, and even lean, they were about double the mass of neeglings.
โYou canโt be serious.โ
.....
โOf course I am.โ Negla replied.
The pack closed around us.
โIf you donโt kill any of them,โ she said, โI think we can tie them up, put them in bags, and use them the same way the neeglings would have.
I sighed. โThey are aware.โ
โIโm not asking you to DO anything.โ she argued, โOnly to not kill any of them. Weโll do the rest.โ
I lowered my vision, and took in a long blink. Thatโs when the one nearest me leapt at my head.
โThere may be...โ I swatted it to the side with my shield. โA better solution.โ
She snarled, taking on a layer of fur, her hands becoming paws. โIf you can find it, then letโs do that. But Wolf rarely shows mercy to those who would hunt it.โ
I squinted. โIโd never really liked plains cats, given that one of my early encounters one of them had disemboweled me.โ
One of them feinted, so that another could bite my left thigh and tried to pull me off balance.
โThere you go.โ she said. โThey deserve it.โ
โBut they donโt.โ I said. โThese are a different set of cats entirely.โ
I brought a fist down on the skull of the one to my left, turned right just in time to catch another on my shield.
โHey!โ Negla said. โAlive, remember?โ
โEven if you do eventually convince me, theyโre not making this easy.โ I said.
โHiss, hiss, easy. Hiss, hiss.โ she mocked, grasping at empty air where there had been a catโs neck.
<Combination move. Shield Strike. Flip Throw.>
I took note of how my System moved my body, so that I could practice how to do it manually. โI donโt think weโre going to be in shape to do this again. How sure are you that we can improvise muzzles?โ
โI dunno.โ she said. โHow much rope do you have?โ
โYou didnโt bring rope?โ I asked.
โWe came out here for neeglings!โ she reminded me. โI have sacks and twine.โ
I sighed, pulled my dagger from inventory.
โHey, we want them alive!โ she shouted.
โI guess weโll see.โ I said.