Assassin and the Ape

As my vision clears I see the Gorgelisk turning a paler shade of greyish green than he originally was and the voice in my head is wheezing in exhaustion. I motion towards Wug to lift the poor creature and carry him with us as we make our way back toward the village, staying silent as each of us are lost in our own thoughts. As we finally enter the village we can see the rest of our group circled around a small campfire made from pieces of the broken buildings around us, the large gorillian glancing towards our small group and a look of joy and amazement lights up his face.

Before we know it the large brute is already dashing towards us, one set of his arms above his head in happiness as the other is used as an extra set of legs propelling him faster towards us before he slides to a stop through the mud and much of the swamp floor. As he stops in front of us he looks at the gorgelisk in Wug's arms and his eyes travel over it's form before nodding in relief before calming down and taking a calming breathe.

"Fuck bro! Can't believe that guy survived all this shit! The suckers crazy but gotta hand it to him he's fun to follow around. No lack of asshats to chop up or excitement to avoid! Anyways these guys say your in charge little man so thanks for dragging my ass out of the fires, names Zadin glad to know ya." The gorillian says in a deep voice as he smiles excitedly towards me while holding out his hand thats clenched into a fist waiting for me with an expectant stare.

After a couple confused seconds I reach out and bump my own fist with his that's the size of my head and he smiles happily before approaching Wug and snagging his friend gently from the ogre's arms before walking back to the fire. As we follow behind him I notice that the large creature barely makes a sound and after thinking for a few more seconds chills run down my spine as I realize the way he was talking isn't the same as everyone else I've encountered in this world. I stay deep in thought and without even realizing and soon walk straight into the leg of Zadin before falling on my ass with a grunt as he looks down at me with a silly grin.

"Gotta watch yourself little man. I'm bigger than a damn truck and built like a steel beam so even smacking into me can hurt. Anyways lets get my buddy up so he can introduce himself as well and then we can figure out where we go from here. I'm probably gonna stick with you folks since it seems you have a few bad asses in the group and your walking straight into a blood bath and I want in." Zadin says in good humor, a slight twinge of sarcasm mixed in as he sits in his original space and sets the barely conscious gorgelisk in front of him before he grabs it by the neck and shoves its circular mouth onto his arm with a grunt.

After a few seconds of nothing we soon hear an quiet slurping sound as the gorgelisk begins to regain some color and its throat begins to rapidly move as the sound gets louder before its arms start to move weakly towards Zadin's arm to hold it in place. I watch the gruesome display for several minutes before the gorgelisk finally releases Zadin's arm with a loud popping sound before glancing around at everyone before the voice in my head returns and apologizes for having to witness its meal. As I smile and shake my head that its ok we wait as the lamprey man finally gets into a sitting position before bowing down low so that his forehead touches the ground and his palms rest on the earth on either side of its head.

"I foremost wish to express my sincere thanks for slaying that vile beast and bringing solace to those he already had killed or corrupted. Furthermore for not only saving my pitiful life but also Zadin's, words are not enough to express my gratitude and if you'll have me I would choose to repay this debt with my life and loyalty. My name is Keeg Bloodstalker and to my knowledge I am the last of the bloodgorger tribe in all the swamp kingdoms." Keeg's voice resonates within my mind as a prompt appears before me.

{A new vassal has offered to add themselves under your rule. Keeg Bloodstalker has vowed to repay a life debt, refusal of his offer will result in him honorably taking his own life in repayment. Do you accept Keeg Bloodstalker as a vassal?}

As soon as I see that saying no will pretty much force him into suicide I sigh and hit accept before I soon learn that Keeg is pretty strong overall as well as a skilled assassin and spy.

(Keeg Bloodstalker Level 22 Gorgelisk Assassin)

Skills: Full stealth-For 3 hours a day user can become completely hidden from all physical senses. Does not hide from mental and magical skills.

Mental Warding-(Passive) All psychic and mental attacks and abilities against user are reduced by 70% due to intense mental training.

Shade Strike- User melds into the surrounding shadows and teleports to enemies blind spot before unleashing a crippling attack.(extremly effective against light based creatures)

Blood Leeching-User can mark a target after biting it. Mark causes victim to slowly lose blood over time while user recovers health at half the loss rate.

After reading on I see several other skills based off of crippling enemies as well as some techniques to both retrieve information from enemies both mentally and physically. As the prompt disappears from my view Keeg looks up at me with respect as he nods once before sitting down normally and trying to warm himself by the fire. A few minutes of awkward silence later I clear my throat and decide to try and start a conversation as everyone begins fortifying our small campsite and getting ready to bed down for the night.

"So Keeg's obviously from the swamps but you don't look like a native Zadin. Where's home for you and what brought you this way?" I ask out of curiosity remembering how the four armed crimson gorilla spoke earlier, hoping my guess is right.

"Ah well I come from a far off land, and from a city called New York. Very distant, very hidden, can't rightly remember coming here as more or less waking up and being attacked by a random monster. After I killed it I just kind of kept exploring til Keeg here ran into me and we struck up a friendship. I tank and he spanks. How about you folks? Your tough to have killed the vine guy so your definitely not from around this area." Zadin says as he tries to change the subject, my heart beating fast as I'm proven right.

"We're creating a settlement for all races a few days travel from here and came for recruitment. But we were attacked and then found this place so figured we'd try to help out if we could. As to myself I come from a land called Earth, littered with assholes but I have heard of this city of yours, I'm told the pizza is large yet not as good as a certain dish that has deeper flavors" I say jokingly and smile towards Zadin as his eyes grow large and his mouth hangs open in disbelief.

"Dude.....Your like me...holy fuck man..." He whispers as tears fall down his face and a fragile smile appears on his face.