Secrets & Treasons

Fifth Movement: In the Shadows of the Mists | Blood & mud

Half Moon stood up and looked around. The space had become a real battlefield, glowing with blood, the water murky with slag, grass, bits of cloth, tentacles and scarlet flesh.

Childeric appeared in her field of vision, pulling his sword from the animal's brain, cleaning it with a piece of his shirt as he moved toward her. Gir'Hen and Cyd were moving one of the beast's heavy legs and pulling out Hawkeye, whom was trapped underneath, obviously stunned. The human snatched something from the animal before joining the group that was gathering nearby. In a few strides he had reached them and grabbed Half Moon by the shirt and lifted her to him, shouting:

"Never, never again do you leave without telling us, you brats! Without us you would have died here! Do you realize how dangerous it is in these swamps? There's no way we won't succeed in the Quest because of you!"

Half Moon pulled back and stared at him:

"We were doing just fine! Your intervention only accelerated what was already inevitable! The animal was going to die with dignity!"

"With dignity?! What kind of stupid thinking is that! Look around you Elf! Do you see this butchery? Look at your companions! Two wounded, not counting you! You can be proud!"

"The animal did die with dignity," said Childeric, "but it's true that it could have ended very badly."

Half Moon rushed to Tracker and Hawkeye who had been regrouped to receive first aid. Tracker had a nasty wound on his left leg, where the tentacle had squeezed hard to bring him to one of his mouths. Hawkeye had a bloody right temple and still seemed rather confused in his speech. But at least he could no longer see blurrily and would smile to be alive.

Lord Arkartin was furious and argued loudly with Childeric, unable to accept the irresponsibility of the elves.

Gir'Hen approached them and Cyd pointed out that they were children and that this was the kind of thing one would expect of them.

"Here we go again," said Little Feather.

"Adults get tired of repeating the same arguments over and over," said Agile Feet.

"They have a point," noticed Tracker, who grinned as Stars Rain bandaged him up. "We haven't been very perceptive in this matter. It's actually my fault, I didn't see it coming, that thing."

"It came from underneath, it made almost no movements, it was too weird," confirmed Tracker.

"Really," said White Tiger, "it's not your fault, it could just as easily have happened to any of them."

The two scouts nodded and all the children knew instantly that this was the truth, not a way to ease their conscience: they were gifted with agility and stealth skills. If this beast had attacked them, it was because, somehow, it had managed to sense their presence. It could have sensed anyone else. They had simply stumbled upon a very skilled beast, to its own misfortune as its blood was now spilling into the muddy swamp water.

"Are you alright?" said an anxious voice. It was Half Moon coming to see the wounded.

The people concerned did not have time to answer her, a mental order of surprising power ordered them to remain silent. They complied, surprised. It was then that they felt. It was weak, vibrations coming from below. But it was getting stronger. And like a bomb, a mass rose out of the water, spraying streams of dirty, unsanitary water all around it. It was huge, at least three times the size of the animal they had just slaughtered.