Jer Patch
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Chapter 24: Razor Claws
🕑 Added 2025-02-05 16:00:06 +0000 UTCStarving?
The only time I’d seen that was in the jungle, in a fight with a skin-and-bones creature.
The Greater Raptor shifted in its sleep, though its head didn’t point our way. As it moved, more of its body came into view under a patch of sunlight. Scales and rotting feathers covered the creature. Dark red stripes ran up its spine and down its tail, which shifted across the floor.
The smell filling the cavern made me want to gag.
Tasty, my ass.
I pulled my knife out and lengthened it into a spear. The cavern wasn’t flat, so I pointed to a group of boulders near the creature's back and then at me.
Lenna nodded while pulling out her bow. She headed in a different direction, while Hammy stood there staring at the beast with his mouth hanging open. He took a shaky step back.
Rolling my eyes, I slunk to the edge of the boulders and climbed up on top of a pretty large slab of rock. Jagged grooves covered the surface and the edge of the next highest spot. Claw marks covered the area, and a darkened alcove in the wall made me pause. Nothing moved inside the shadows as I snuck a little closer.
It sat empty.
I touched the surface, finding it rough, like something had tried to chisel its way out.
Shaking my head, I turned back toward the center of the cavern. Lenna waited for me to make my move. The same went for Dengu. Who knew what Hammy would do? After a moment, I realized it didn’t really matter. Between the three of us, we could probably handle the starving beast.
I crept to the edge of my ledge and peered down at the creature's back. While I wasn’t right behind it, I wasn’t near its head, and I cared about that.
Then it sneezed.
Feathers went flying in every direction, and the smell got worse, like rotting meat sitting in the sun.
I resisted the urge to gag with the smell making my eyes water.
Hammy failed.
One second the creature was on the floor, the next it had twisted in Hammy’s direction. The poor guy, covering his mouth with a metal hand, gagged again.
The giant raptor slowly climbed to its feet.
Without thinking too hard, I leaped using my skill. I waited until the last possible second before making my crystal tip glow white-hot. My feet crunched into the creature’s back right over its rear legs, instead of my original target near its neck. I slammed my spear tip down at the same time. It sunk in too easily.
It stumbled forward from the impact, but the beast’s head snapped in my direction with sharp teeth. I launched myself backward to get away from the sharp teeth, which missed me by inches. I crashed into the floor before rolling back and hitting the wall, my spear dropping from my hand at the impact.
Nothing crashed into me, giving me a second to scramble to my feet.
Dengu tore into the creature's back, much like he’d done to the turtle. Scales and feathers went flying from his claws. One head snapped at Hammy, who dodged under the beast.
Another head turned in my direction.
It had two heads. What the fuck?
Three arrows hit the head facing me, causing it to jerk away.
I spotted my spear and snagged it as I raced away from my spot. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Hammy slamming a fist into the creature’s ankle, then another. His club still sat on his back.
The creature crouched down.
“Hammy, Dengu, watch out!”
The Greater Raptor leaped directly upward, both heads snapping at Hammy. Yet, somehow Hammy had grabbed his club and it swung out, hitting one of the heads right in the nose. The wood shattered, and the head jerked back, getting in the way of the second head.
Dengu jumped off, landing on the boulders I had used earlier.
Hammy raced toward the tunnel entrance, and the Greater Raptor moved to follow. A streak of red light ran through the air before hitting it. An arrow hit its side, spilling flames along the remaining feathers.
I darted in, aiming for the ankle Hammy had punched earlier, as a head tried to put out the flames. The tip of my spear sunk into the joint connecting the raptor’s foot to its leg. Talons reached for me as I raced away, one slicing into my back. Yet, I didn’t let the pain slow me down. Slow down, and you die. That was a lesson I’d learned a dozen times over.
When I turned to see the state of battle, several more arrows stood out on the Greator Raptor’s back. Dengu raced around as it chased him. I slipped back into the shadows, waiting for a good moment to jump back in. The Greater Raptor ran slower than Dengu. One of its heads hung lower than the other as black blood oozed from the arrows.
Finally, it stumbled on the damaged ankle.
I dove in at the same time as Hammy. We each took one side. I easily dodged the slow-moving head that tried to bite me as I stabbed it. I yanked my spear out then back in, making the head near me whimper. It wobbled my way and I raced out of the way as it fell.
It gave one last shuddering breath, then stopped.
[You have gained bonus experience from combat for surviving against level 32 Greater Raptor.]
Hammy cheered as I stared at the carcass, frowning. Dengu chirped as well. Lenna climbed out of her hidden spot and joined them on the other side. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
The fight had been nothing like the Carnitor battle. It hadn’t worried me at all. Not to mention, the starving condition of the beast had definitely weakened it. I walked around it and joined the others near the opposite tunnel.
I knew I should get its heart, yet the thought made me want to throw up again. There wasn’t a chance I’d eat something off the pitiful creature. I couldn’t.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Lenna. “I need some fresh air.”
I agreed, but didn’t say anything as she led the way.
“Can you guys believe that fight? A level 32 beast and we beat it!” Hammy gushed, talking about dodging between its feet. Eventually, his enthusiasm lessened as we trudged through the tunnel with a bright light at its end.
Lenna paused at the end of the tunnel and waited for me to catch up. In front of her, carved into the pathway was, the same symbol as before for the Path of Claw and Teeth.
“Everyone ready?” she asked.
Hammy stepped forward without answering, a bright smile on his face. “Let’s do this.”
As soon as he stepped onto it, the symbol vanished. Lenna quickly followed, along with Dengu, leaving me behind.
I hesitated, thinking back to the Greater Raptor, and glanced back the way we’d come. It left an unpleasant taste in my mouth, and the air smelled wrong. That was a bad way to go.
“You have a question,” stated the Guide, who flickered into view.
“That was a warning, wasn’t it? The Raptor grew too big too fast and got stuck in that cavern…”
The guide smiled, its sharp teeth almost glowing. It didn’t verbally respond, just vanished with that smile.
Hopefully, that wasn’t a commentary on my growth. Noseen kept urging me to get stronger faster, to be less squishy. My fingers tightened into a fist, then released. I trusted Noseen.
I stepped onto the symbol and then found myself back in the courtyard with the fountain. Lenna stood next to Hammy, who cupped water in his hands. “You need to get back to full health.” She turned to look at me. “The same for you. I saw it snag you.”
The cut across my back was fine, and I wasn’t even hungry. Maybe a little peckish. “I’ll just have a snack and it’ll heal up fine. You should recharge your crystal though.” I noticed a stone bench that hadn’t been there before and sat down.
The fountain had a statue of a Raptor on the very top, where it’d been flat before.
I leaned back and took a deep breath after pulling a chunk of meat out of my inventory. I took a few bites before putting it back. The meat sat in my stomach like a lump of stone. Cool mist rose off the fountain and washed over me.
Lenna joined me after a few moments. “You okay?” She glanced back at Hammy, who’d unclipped from his armor and was studying a few spots in the design.
“That poor creature.” I sighed. “This dungeon is all about lessons. First about attacking others and retreating. Then about the level differences, but that?” I shook my head. “It felt cruel.”
Lenna picked at her fingernails. “I think this dungeon has more to do with my people than normal. These tales are all things we're taught as we grow up. This is a place to see them in action.” She looked up at me, hesitation written across her face. “Plus, all the warnings the elders gave us.”
Dengu lapped at more fountain water, then padded around the courtyard, sniffing at various ferns. He didn’t approach any of the symbols. The Path of the Claw and Teeth symbol still glowed, this time a golden color.
“What did your elders say about this place? I thought you didn’t know much…”
“Not about the dungeon, but all the other warnings they gave us are woven in here somehow.” She picked at another fingernail before realizing what she was doing and putting her hands down.
I let that go, and considered our next move. We needed to pick from Spikes, Scales, or Wings.
“I think we should either do spikes or wings next,” I said, changing the conversation. “Wings is going to be tough, depending on the terrain. Other than your arrows, none of us have much we can do against fliers.”
“I haven’t fought against a flier before,” she admitted. “They aren’t in this area of the jungle very often. Once a year my people go on a trip to the coast, to meet up with my sister's village. Fliers love the beach, and no one is allowed to go on the sands alone depending on the time of day. The fishers need to be careful and have archers with them all the time.”
“I’ve killed a few fliers. It’s tough, since it's hard to reach them.” I motioned to the two of us. “We can do it. I’m not sure about Dengu and Hammy, though.”
“Everyone doesn’t need to take part in each challenge… but only having the two of us might be a bit rough.”
“I only wanted to mention it because we can’t be too tired for that path… And you’ll need plenty of arrows.” I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. “I don’t know how many you have.”
“I have enough.” Lenna chuckled. She held out her green hand and suddenly an arrow appeared. “It uses energy, but I can create them. It’s easier to fix ones I’ve already fired, and it uses less energy, but during each of the breaks I refill my quiver.”
“The fire arrow was impressive.”
“Fire only works as a distraction, or if there is something to burn. Scales usually can resist fire, unless it can get hot enough. My cousin can use cold. It freezes the muscles it hits.” She nodded her head. “I hope he can teach me during the next gathering.”
“That sounds useful.”
“Are you guys ready to go?” asked Hammy, walking over closer to us. He smiled brightly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “My armor’s charged. I think the mist recharged the crystals faster. How about an easier one this time? Maybe scales?”
“Let’s do Spikes,” replied Lenna. “Scales and Hides could go either way. I’d rather not be beating on another armored creature for a fight. Maybe spikes will let us recover without needing to take time to sleep.”
The sun overhead hadn’t moved since the last time we’d been in the courtyard, but I didn’t mention it. I knew time passed because of how much I needed to eat, and how my energy levels felt. But if this kept up, an endless cycle of day until we finished the dungeon? That could be a problem, especially if we really couldn’t sleep, only nap like at the campsite.
My stomach growled on cue. “Let me eat, then let's see what Spikes and Tails have in store for us.”
