CHPT 160: The more you Save, the more you have to Protect.

Claude and Frosty left SkyHaven and headed Northwest in a rush to reach the remote Village that was possibly already completely ravaged by the multi legged Monsters that plagued the area.

While they sprinted through the wilds to reach their destination, surrounded by the sounds of nature and bands of Heroes rushing into Tangents, Claude started to remember things— memories long suppressed about his time spend reading and learning with his Father on warm and sunny weekends.

As painful as it was, it was also beneficial. He hadn't read about the Monsters he was planning to fight at the University yet, so all he had to go on were his own hazy and painful memories.

Arachnoids. Giant spiders with humanoid torsos and hideous faces that resembled something in between the two. Much like Lizardmen and Kobolds they share similarities with their real world counterparts. Unlike the scaly humanoid fiends, Arachnoids level of danger fluctuates based on which kind they are.

The smallest tend to be physically weak with incredibly powerful venom and strong webbing, while the largest tend to be physically dominant creatures that rely on their power instead of trapping or biting their prey.

There were a number of smaller Arachnoids that could thread strings of silk as strong as steel and kill a giant with one bite. But the physical variants always scared and intrigued Claude the most. One of the worst being....

"[Huntsman Arachnoids. That's nasty business, Claude....Erhm. You know the chances of their being survivors are quite low, don't you?]" Arne commented in a grave tone.

"Of course I do. But even if there's one, then some good can be done. And if there's none, there's still room for revenge." Claude replied as he passed the entrance to Leafland Forest and continued east.

"[Ahhh yes. That is something you hold dear isn't it— revenge I mean. Just make sure when your in the process of getting revenge— vengeance, or whatever you want to call it for those village people, that your careful. You have to keep in mind that you have people— and animals, to live for.]" Arne announced, acting as his English accented voice of reason.

Claude listened to Arne's words— immediately finding himself focusing on his link to the powerful PitWolf that ran beside him, but otherwise stayed silent, finding his mind being pulled to a different topic that sprouted from the depths of his mind after he passed Leafland Forest.

The checkpoint reminded him of something else, further solidifying his need to complete the Quest he'd been given. It was a simple realization that echoed within his mind like the striking of a church bell.

The more good he did, the more he had to fight to keep it that way. The more he had to defend, and if that had to be every village and neighborhood living in the wilds outside of SkyHaven then so be it.

***

After traveling East of Leafland Forest for a couple more miles, things began to change— disrupt, the calm dark forestry of the wild.

He found himself following the scent of blood and insurmountable levels of fear down a lonely dirt path that twisted and winded through a small collection of pine trees. Along with the scents of death came something he wasn't immediately ready for. It was a charred scent that flowed through his mask and collected in his throat, causing him to cough. Something was burning.

If the smells weren't severe enough, what followed solidified his suspicions that him and Frosty made it. The village under attack was near. Very near.

Claude and Frosty moved towards the sounds of objects being broken and shattered, followed by inhuman hissing sounds that made his skin crawl. The sound was unlike anything mammalian in nature, missing what could he described as the beastial or animalistic pitch that conveyed the angered and fearful emotions of predators and prey.

This sound was intense, but devoid of all of that. He could almost imagine the hairy pincers on the face of a spider rising to procure such an unearthly noise that ripped through the cool night winds and sent a fresh wave of adrenaline through them both.

"Stridulation. A sound both spiders and Arachnoids make that sounds like hissing or even purring....god damn that sounds nothing like what I imagined." He whispered as he continued down the path.

CRASH!

The sound of wood splitting and glass breaking once again shocked his nerves in response to the proximity of the sound. They were close.

"Someone's alive, Arne." He said after noticing the thrilling scent, knowing that someone was terrified nearby, and made even more so by the Monster breaking things in the village he was closing in on.

"[I think your right. That's a good thing. There are still people alive, which means there are still people to be saved.]" Arne replied as Claude and Frosty picked up their pace.

***

The two walked for a few more minutes when he was suddenly able to see thick wafting spirals of black smoke rising above the pine trees surrounding him. He could hear the flames below, crackling and eating away at the Village buildings like termites.

He followed the sounds of the smells urgently until he suddenly came face to face with the aftermath of the Insectoid carnage that was unleashed on the small village indiscriminately.

The small two rows of buildings and encampments that stretched across the expansive green clearing— that he assumed once looked nice, now were in shambles. Rooftops were caved in, windows shattered and walls were broken through— spitting out bright red flames and thick smoke from the dark remains of the inside of homes was all he could see.

Aside from the hideous assailants who were impossible to miss.

All over the buildings and broken cabins, eight legged Monsters with humanoid torsos climbed in and around the wreckage, spinning weak and silky white webs while others hissed and continued to spread the carnage throughout the village in search of more survivors.

The bright red flames illuminated the area and reflected off of the Arachnoids shining and furry black exoskeletons. The place resembled hell in many ways.

Frosty snarled very quietly next to him before pressing his nose into Claude's hand to grab his attention.

The action caused Claude to immediately pick up on the movements in front of him.

CRASH!

"HKSHKSHKS!"

In the cabin closest to him, he could see the dark outline of a large figure combined with the tiny taps he could only image something with many legs making. The scent of fear came again, causing his eyes to respond accordingly.

The Arachnoid inside the cabin in front of him was searching for a survivor. A survivor was somewhere in the charred and broken remains of the cabin only a couple dozen feet away from him. He found his first target.

Without a word, his muscles expanded, claws extended and canines sharpened to a deadly point as he silently unsheathed his sword and closed in on the cabin with Frosty at his side.

***

Before getting any closer than 20ft away from it, a memory came in the form of his Father's voice, shrinking all other sounds to the point of nonexistence.

"You know, spiders don't have ears right?"

"Then how do they hear, dad?" He heard himself respond in a much higher pitched voice that was almost unrecognizable.

"Hm. You're just full of questions today, huh? That's fine, because I got the answers! Now check it out. Spiders don't hear, they feel." His Father said in a jokingly ominous tone. "They feel the vibrations we all make at an incredibly minute level, which makes spinning webs perfect for them. They're perfect insectoid predators in many ways, but they have poor eyesight. Unfortunate for them, but good for us, am I right or am I right?"

After the message, his Father's voice faded to nothingness and the sounds of burning madness regained existence.

He now had a better idea of how to approach the Monster thanks to his Father.

On his way to the cabin's— broken into backdoor, he picked up the first rock he could find and spoke to Frosty through their link.

The PitWolf responded to the message immediately and silently jogged around towards the front of the destroyed home.

Despite the darkness, he could see just fine. He could see every crack, split and burning ember on the wood of the cabin. He could also see and smell the incredible amounts of blood that soaked into everything around him. The place had already experienced death.

He directed his anger towards the sounds of multiple sharp arachnid legs striking the floor repeatedly as it searched the building intently. The dark outline of the Arachnoid had its back facing him as it smashed another object and used its humanoid arms to throw the useless object out of its way.

After a few seconds, it purred loudly and it's multiple legs struck the ground urgently. The action was followed by the sounds of muffled cries. The cries of a human.

Claude moved on impulse, throwing the rock in his left hand through the doorway and into the cabin.

FWOO!

CRash!

The overwhelming scents of fear caused him to throw harder than he meant, shown by the rock flying through the darkness and splitting wood as it sunk into the wall like a small meteor.

The Arachnoid was stunned by the sudden burst of vibrations, causing its thick wiry hairs to stand on end.

It's poor eyes spun to the source of the noise before its body followed, searching for the source of vibration near the front window of the cabin.

Woo!

SHLCK!

Before it had time to to anything other than move away from the survivor, a short sword burst through its abdomen followed by silent growls that increased everytime the blade twisted and shredded its insides.

It's legs scratched and tore the wooden floor beneath as it fought to escape while it's only free arm fought to remove the sword. It's other arm was held tightly by a veiny hand tipped with shining black claws. Despite the crushing strength of the grip, the Arachnoid was still on the verge of breaking free.

"KSK—CRSHH!" It's attempted cry of defeat was cut short by an invisible force jumping through the window it stood in front. Not even seconds after, a heavy object landed on its chest and sharp teeth closed over its throat, crushing it with unnatural ease.

[+70 EXP]

Neither Frosty or Claude let go until it completely stopped convulsing and simply crumpled under its own weight.

Shlck!

"That's one down." He whispered to himself.

Before he could say anything else, he heard dozens of legs stabbing into the floor outside of the cabin, combined with unsettling hiss's that blended into a horrific cacophony of insectoid commotion.

The survivor in the cabin with him must've heard it as well because a fresh wave of fear surrounded him, causing his transformation to spread across his skin like fire following a path of gasoline.

Outside the cabin window, he could see three Arachnoids climbing out of their previously occupied cabins. They dropped from ceilings, walls and broke through the ground from the basement in a rush to follow the faint source of vibration originating from Claude and Frosty. Their growls shook the earth harder than they thought.

"No....no....please. I don't wanna die. They'll kill me— kill us." A voice said from beneath him.

Claude looked down to the source of the noise and saw a middle aged man in a small room beneath the broken and cracked floorboards he stood on.

The man froze once Claude's eyes fell on him.

"Stay where you are and you'll be fine. I'll go deal with them, but you can't move....they respond to vibrations. Just stay quiet and stay calm.....actually, a little fear is fine." Claude told the man.

The words coming from the— assumed, Hero confused him. But what happened after confused him even further.

He'd never seen Magic up close, so when he saw shadows blacker than the night surrounding them, flow from the Hero's left hand and turn into snarling creatures he almost fainted.

In an instant, the green eyed man in the shadows was surrounded by Wolves that followed him as he left the cabin, moving so silently that he questioned if they were ever actually there.