NBB3 - chapter 28: Oily ambush

Greggor slunk through the dark city, trying to be as inconspicuous as his massive bulk would allow. He still wasn't used to his new body, not the fact that he towered over almost all other undead and drew far more attention than he liked, nor that he had to be careful with bumping into others.

The image of the small zombie he had accidentally shoved aside with his rotund belly, thrown across the street and into the nearby building, played through his mind.

"Laron," he whispered.

Well, he tried to. His voice rumbled around, causing a deep hum around him.

Kaots, she could have given me a less extreme evolution, couldn't she, Greggor thought.

Still, he was grateful for what he got. He knew full well he wouldn't have managed to get such a powerful evolution without Rella, or Tirella, or whatever she was really called.

He moved around another corner and stared at the dimly lit street ahead of him. There weren't any undead moving around, but scratches on the sides of buildings that led up showed there had been someone here before. He was following a lead he got from one of his contacts that said an undead matching Laron's description was skulking around this part of the city.

Going from guarding the Lethargic ones to searching the city for some undead that is a brain wyrm, he thought as he shook his head.

He still hadn't even had a chance to check if his home had survived the last wave of insanity. With his new evolution, he was keen on draining the orbs he had saved up to increase his power as fast as he could. Something told him he was going to need every bit he could get.

"Laron! Solus asked me to find you," he said, his voice carrying up and around with ease. There still was no response, and he continued forward, wondering why he had the feeling someone was watching him.

If he had looked up, he would have noticed the figure standing atop one of the buildings, staring down at him with a frown.

"Search, search and keep searching," Laron sang as he turned and disappeared across the roof.

--

"^&(* no, Gzin, U)(87, that!"

Solus laughed as he put his nozzle close to the crystal wall.

"Then tell me what you mean," he said, his laughter turning into a snarl.

He was trying hard to pretend to be just as angry as the Kaot Lord on the other side of the purple crystal wall was.

A roar came in response as the Kaot Lord began spitting out the things he'd do to him if he'd get out, but Solus ignored it. Instead, he pulled up his status window again.

> Current progress: 98%

> Current progress: 99%

> Current progress: 100%

> Status-window languages updated

> Random name generated: Guldach added to system languages

> Please find our nearest headquarters to upload the language and get your reward

Sure, Solus thought as he grinned.

"Tear your head from your scrawny Gzin neck and not even bother with your puny mana-orb! I'll have some… what? Why are you laughing?"

Solus sighed as he stopped pretending to be angry and stared at Oytach, as the Kaot Lord called himself.

"Why have you been locked up here?"

The purple crystal wall blocked Oytach's expression, but the Kaot Lord's body language indicated he was stunned.

"Why do you suddenly speak?" Oytach's voice sounded worried. "Are you plotting with Gouldiv? It won't work! No matter how much you try!"

He roared in anger, his words inaudible in his rage.

"I don't know who Gouldiv is," Solus shouted while wishing he had hands to put over his ringing ears.

Oytach either didn't hear or didn't care. Solus gritted his teeth, the long edges grinding across each other, and he projected his voice through the wall and beside Oytach's head.

"Quiet!"

He dimly heard his voice, and Oytach stopped mid-rant as his figure swirled around.

"How did you get in here? Show yourself... No! Show me how you got in!"

Solus sighed. This one reminded him of some of the denser zombies he had met during his travels.

"I'm not in there- it's a skill," he said before projecting a few words inside the prison.

Oytach walked forward and began inspecting the edges of the crystal wall, scratching across them with his nails. A high-pitched screech reverberated through the wall that made Solus want to howl in agony. After a few moments, it stopped, and Oytach moved back towards him.

"How did you do that?"

"I just told you. It's a skill," Solus snarled, his joy at finding someone who might know things gone. "Now tell me, why did they put you in there?"

It seemed like Oytach wouldn't respond, and as the moments passed, Solus wondered if he should threaten the other. With what, though?

"You are not one of Gouldiv's minions?" Oytach asked hesitantly, his voice so soft that Solus wondered if anybody else would have heard him.

"No," he said. "I have no idea who that is. Are his minions those black sludge-like things that caught me and wrapped me up?"

"Those filthy, soft and slimy- GAH!" Oytach shouted, and Solus groaned as his ears took the full brunt of the other's loud voice.

"One day, I'll get out of here," Oytach said, his voice becoming a roar again, "and when I do, I'll squish them all back into that mana-draining purple abomination that spat them out!"

"Stop shouting," Solus projected beside the other's head as loud as he could. Oytach jumped sideways, waving in the air with his thick arms.

"Stop doing that," he snapped, turning back to Solus.

"What can you tell me about this place?" Solus asked. "I'm looking for someone they captured. Is there another area they keep prisoners besides that large area with those tentacles?"

"You are free to flee and instead are searching for someone? Those tentacles must have destroyed your mind," Oytach said in disbelief.

"Do you know if there are other areas here where they bring the ones they capture?" Solus tried again.

"Well… only one," Oytach muttered.

Solus waited for the other to tell him where it was, but Oytach didn't continue.

"So? Where?" Solus snapped.

"Get me out of here, and I'll tell you," Oytach said slowly, placing his hands on the barrier.

Solus stepped back, staring at the shadowy form behind the translucent wall of purple crystal. Although he was annoyed that he didn't get an answer, he understood it, almost expected it, really. If he'd been in that prison, he would have done the same.

However, understanding and wanting to help were two different things. Oytach seemed reasonable, but that was when he was locked away. Solus knew he couldn't fight back in his current form if Oytach decided to attack after he was free.

"Are you afraid?" Oytach asked, his voice a deep low rumble. "If you free me, I'll not harm you! I'll tell you what I know-"

"If," Solus interrupted him. "If I get you out of here, I want you to help me free someone, then find my other friend and free him."

"Friend?" Oytach said in confusion, butchering the word as if he'd never used it before. "What is that?"

Solus stared at the shadowy figure in surprise. Was something malfunctioning with the translations of the status window? No, that seemed unlikely.

Perhaps he really doesn't know the concept, Solus thought as he recalled how he had been after just waking up. Only the sphere's gift had given him the knowledge he had now.

"Someone who you will help to stay alive, and who will do the same for you. Someone who won't attack you for your mana-orb," Solus said, trying to find the words to describe the concept. "Someone who you enjoy talking to?"

"Never heard of it," Oytach said slowly. "Did you make it up?" he asked, sounding intrigued.

"No," Solus said. "It's a normal word where I am from."

"So, you want me to be your… friend?" Oytach asked, barely making the word sound understandable this time.

Solus gazed at the figure in confusion, not sure what to answer. In part, he guessed Oytach was correct, but he also knew there was more to being a friend, things like trust. Thinking it over for a bit, he decided it couldn't hurt, and he did need some help.

"Yes," he finally said.

"Alright," Oytach said as he thudded his hand on the crystal wall. "Get me out of here, and I'll be your friend."

Solus felt an odd emotion bubble up in his mind, and it took him a moment to realize what it was. He felt awkward. It wasn't an emotion he could recall having felt this strongly before.

"Good," he said. "Now, how do we get you out of there?"

Oytach seemed dumbfounded for a moment, then struck the barrier. "You don't know?" he asked.

"Of course not! I've never seen anything like this," Solus responded as he nuzzled the crystal wall. "Can we destroy it somehow?"

"You little- GAH!" Oytach roared as he slammed his hands in the wall. "If I knew that-"

"Something that you can't do because you are inside?" Solus angrily projected beside the other's head before Oytach could start roaring and shouting again.

It was quiet for a while, then the odd Kaot Lord sat down, bringing his head level with Solus's.

"There is only one thing I can think of," he said, sounding tired and angry. "With the damage, I've done to this blasted wall, Gouldiv's minions will be here soon to repair it. If you can stop them, hold them back long enough for me to break through this wall, I can take care of them. I've grown… stronger since they locked me up!"

Solus frowned as he recalled how easily the Slugons had grabbed him. If he was going to do that, he'd need to find a way to fight them. As he tried to come up with a plan, he remembered the wrapped-up Kaots. Those had orbs, and although they might infect him, he should gain some power from that.

What if I give one to Vingria to absorb? Maybe she can break free?

Solus almost slapped himself as he realized he should have tried that before he left!

"I might be able to stop them," he said. "But I'll have to go and get some of those mana-orbs."

"Might be doesn't sound like you are sure of yourself," Oytach complained. He didn't say anything more, though, and got up and faced the wall once more.

"Alright, go do what you need to do. I'm going to break this wall! Make sure you come back soon, or I'll have to start over again, and that will take a very, very, long time."

Solus backed up to the purple crystal-covered corridor. "Don't hold back," he said as he turned around.

"I never hold back," Oytach roared as he began striking the wall.

Solus doubled his speed as his head started pounding in sync with Oytag's attacks.

Let's see if I can even get to those Kaots, he thought as he dashed out of the corridor and into the purple-lit cavern beyond.

It took him a long while to retrace his steps and find one of the bundled-up Kaots hanging from the ceiling. Dim red mana trickled through the tentacle and into the gleaming purple crystal below, showing the Kaot was probably close to ending. Solus looked up at what was a ten-foot jump.

Taking a deep breath and hoping touching those tentacles wouldn't trigger something terrible, he jumped up. He dug his nails in the edge of the tentacle cocoon, ready to let go if something happened. Instead, the bundle swung back, and he barely held on. When it slowed down, he crawled up and looked at the figure wrapped up.

It was a skeleton Kaot with sharp black barbs growing from the sides of its head and eye sockets that held only the barest hint of mana-spillage. His head was the only thing sticking out of the bundle of tentacles, but it was all that Solus needed. Pushing himself up with his hind paws, he opened his mouth wide, easily fitting the skull inside before biting down and ripping. The head gave a bit, and he heard something crack, but that was all. At the same time, he felt the Kaot struggle, and he yanked again. More ripping sounds came, and the Kaot went still as he tore its head free from its neck.

Solus stayed on the edge of the cocoon for a moment, wondering what would happen. He saw the mana stop flowing almost immediately, and he searched for any indication of the mana particles. When the crystal ground remained softly glowing below him, he jumped from the bundle, causing it to sway and spin chaotically. He landed with a soft thud and was about to spit out the skull when he thought better of it. It hardly mattered if he held it, he could drain it like this.

Let's hope I don't go crazy too fast, Solus thought as he steeled himself and started draining the kaot's mana-orb.

A stream of mana poured into his mana field, and almost immediately, he felt like retching at the rancid taint. It took all his willpower to keep draining the orb, which took him only a few moments. It held so little mana it surprised him. As soon as the skull turned brittle and the mana-stream stopped, he spat it on the ground. It shattered on the dark purple ground, and he felt sickened at the sight of the crumbling red mana-orb between the white bone shards. Black patches still stained it, disappearing only when the whole thing turned to dust.

He took a quick look at his status-window

> Mana-field: 261/840

So little? he thought with a sigh. Still, it would help.

What bothered him more was the slight black smudge on the mana field of the body, sitting neatly at the edge of his racial pattern. As soon as he saw it, he felt sickened. Removing it wouldn't work without his real mana-field.

If I continue this, I'll need to find another body afterward, he thought.

Then he stopped and shuddered. What if this had a negative effect on his real mana field? He quickly pulled up his original mana field, but the green-golden field was crystal clear.

Slightly relieved, he continued forward, ending Kaots and draining their orbs. Some of the mana-orbs held a significant amount of mana, while others were even emptier than the first one. It didn't take him long to figure out that the filled orbs belonged to the Kaots on which the tentacles still glowed.

Although it went much faster than he had expected, which was a good thing, he couldn't enjoy it. The thick layer of sludge on parts of the mana field and the occasional bouts of rage were starting to worry him.

As he jumped back down from another tendril-wrapped Kaot, he didn't absorb the kaot-orb. Instead, he turned and started moving to where he thought he remembered Vingria to be.

In the end, he only found her by shouting her name and following her reply. When he finally saw her, he snuck towards her and examined her ragged face. Her eyes were scanning the area, probably searching for him. She was drained and weak. Still, the tendrils binding her glowed with a dull light, showing she was far from finished.

"Vingria?" Solus projected beside her head.

Vingria's eyes looked around, and after a moment, focused on him.

"Why are you back?" she asked, her voice slurred.

"I couldn't find Norg, but I might have found someone that can help us," he said. "But first, we need to try and get you out of those bindings."

Vingria nodded dully, her eyes unfocusing for a moment.

"How?" she finally asked.

The fact that she hadn't cursed or turned angry worried him, and Solus quickly climbed up the web of tendrils. When he reached her, he groaned when he realized what would come next. Angling towards her, he pushed the kaot-head towards the front of his mouth until he could touch Vingria's face.

"What are you doing? That's disgusting!" Vingria hissed, some energy returning to her voice.

"There's a mana-orb inside! Drain it!"

Vingria sucked in a breath, then hissed. "That's a Kaot mana-orb! Do you know what will happen if I absorb those?"

"Yes, and we both know what will happen if you don't get out of here. I need your power to free someone else. It might be the only way to find Norg!"

Solus waited as Vingria mulled over what he had said, then he finally saw the telltale glow of a mana-orb being drained.

"This had better work," Vingria grumbled.

"I'll get you some more after this one," Solus said calmly.

"You will have to. This is barely enough to regain what I had before they put me in here again," Vingria said dully.

Solus didn't reply.

After she had drained the orb, he jumped down, spat the head away, and disappeared to get another one. In the end, it took almost as long to fill Vingria's mana field as it had his own.

"Alright, let's see if this disgusting stuff will help," Vingria said.

Solus spat out what would hopefully be the last head and watched as she drew deep breaths. He could see the muscles on her neck and jaw bulge outwards, and when she opened her eyes, they were burning with orange light. There was no longer any sign of her weariness, but the tentacles were also burning brighter, showing she wouldn't get to enjoy it for long.

"Here I go," she growled, and Solus wondered what she wanted to do.

Then he stopped thinking as steam trickled from her nose. Her lips drew back, revealing her clenched teeth, and a tearing sound came from the tendrils as they bulged outwards. Vingria's face turned to one of rage, and she closed her eyes, roaring as she pushed her arms through the tendrils. As soon as her hands were free, she tore at the tendrils, ripping them away. It went slow at first, but as more dropped to the ground, it went faster until she abruptly dropped and slammed into the ground.

Solus waited from a distance, wondering what she was going to do. He hadn't trusted her to keep her emotions under control before she had absorbed the Kaot orbs, and he prepared himself to flee if necessary.

Vingria remained on the ground for a few moments, breathing raggedly, then she straightened up and raised her arms in the air.

"Finally," she roared and turned to him, a content grin on her face.

"I knew I could break through if I had enough energy! I told Norg, but he doubted me… Right- you said we had to help someone? Can't we just go find Norg?"

Solus sniffed as Vingria moved towards him, ready to dodge if she tried to grab him. Luckily she stopped beside him, looking him over. Although she was big, so was he, and if he raised his head, he could look almost into her eyes.

"I've tried to find him, but this place is a maze. If we had unlimited time, it would be fine, but we need to hurry. I didn't just come here to see another world."

Vingria snorted, then stretched her hand and touched one of the barbs on his back.

"You are big enough to ride," she suddenly said, a wicked grin on her face as she ignored what he had said. "Why don't I just snap these off, and you bring me to where we need to go?"

Solus snarled and bit at her, his teeth flickering a few inches from her quickly withdrawn hand. "We need to hurry. Oytach must be getting annoyed and restless," he said as he moved away.

Vingria stepped alongside him, looking into the darkness. "Who is Oytach?"

"Some Kaot Lord that can talk," Solus replied surly, and Vingria almost tripped. "What? A Kaot Lord? Did that squishy brain of yours break when you turned into that?" she asked in disbelief.

"He is different from the others," Solus said. "You will see when we meet him! Now tell me, how did you and Norg get stuck here?"

Vingria clenched her hands, her knuckles cracking loudly.

"Scathia, that vile, wretched thing… Those Goliarn are her creation, do everything she orders. How she managed to sneak that pattern into the hall, I don't know, but any undead that takes it becomes her minion, her slave."

So the pattern was in the hall? Solus thought.

Vingria spat on the ground before she continued, and Solus listened while keeping an eye on his surroundings.

"We didn't know! I wonder if Drys knows even now, and when we found out, it was too late. They jumped us when we came out of the portal the last time. We were weak, carrying another of those pseudo-mana-cores and-"

"Wait, what?" Solus snapped as he turned towards her. “What pseudo-mana-cores?”

"They are large mana-orbs, like those the wyrms have, and slightly angular, but not as much as a mana-core. Didn't Drys tell you? We sent him three!"

"I know what they are," Solus said, feeling worried. "Are you sure he got them?"

Vingria was quiet for a bit, then spat again, surprising Solus. It was something Norg used to do.

"No. I'm not sure of anything anymore. We managed to flee back through the gate, but Goliarn came after us, so we had to flee further away. Weak as we were, we hid in these puss-laden crystal caves. I don't know how those things found us so fast, but they jumped us within moments. We were too weak to fight them, and they dragged us away. I've got no idea how long ago that was."

Solus quietly thought of what Vingria had just said. He wasn't surprised that she and Norg managed to getaway. What worried him was that pseudo-mana-cores were floating around, at least four if he understood correctly. If Scathia had those, that could be why she didn't seem impressed by what Drys had told her. Perhaps she had the idea she could use those to become strong enough to fight anything? As soon as he thought it, Solus didn't think it plausible. Scathia was a lot of things, but not stupid.

As he pondered, they reached the area where the cave began darkening, and Vingria slowed down.

"Something is different here," she said.

"Yes, and not just the light," Solus agreed. "Something is in these crystals, and it comes to look if something moves through the dark area."

"A thing?" Vingria grumbled as she stopped and looked into the darkness ahead. "What thing?"

"I don't know, but I can see it with one of my skills," Solus said as he looked around and found a topple crystal, leaning against a few others but no longer glowing.

"Follow me, and make sure you climb those broken crystals every time I do. We don't want to get into any more trouble."

Vingria didn't say anything, but when Solus ran forward, she followed him towards a crystal that lay horizontally on the ground between some rubble.

"I don't see anything," Vingria muttered as she crouched beside him and looked around.

Solus was keeping an eye on the ground, but the curious mana-specs hadn't arrived yet. "Let's continue," he finally said as he picked the next target.

They continued for a long time, the purple glow rapidly disappearing behind them until they moved in perpetual gloom.

He stopped every so often, staring at the floor that stayed dark.

Perhaps they are doing something else, he thought when they reached the edge of the damaged area.

"I think you need better eyes," Vingria said as she rushed forward.

Solus hissed as he saw her stand on the ground for a while. Seconds passed, and the specs didn't show up. He relaxed, just as a small spec appeared deep in the ground.

"They are coming," he projected next to Vingrias head. "Get on a crystal. Now!"

Vingria looked down.

"I don't see-"

"Move!" Solus bellowed as he saw dozens of specs rush up from the depths and towards her.

Vingria jumped and scrambled on a nearby group of cracked and broken pillars, and the specs stopped.

"Wait until they leave," Solus hissed as he looked at the lit area. They had almost made it without being detected. The specs stayed longer than the previous time, hovering around, searching for something. When they finally left, Solus sighed in relief.

"They are gone. Let's get out of this area," he said as he jumped forward and rushed to another crystal.

"I still didn't see anything," Vingria grumbled as she followed after him.

Things sped up when they passed the damaged area, and finally, a soft ticking came from far ahead.

If he is still hitting the wall, we shouldn't be too late yet, Solus hoped as they continued.

"What is that infernal noise?" Vingria asked after they closed in more.

"That's the Kaot Lord we are here to get," Solus said.

"Great," Vingria muttered.

As Solus climbed up a crooked crystal that resembled a ramp, he saw movement along the wall leading to the cavern. Two of Gouldiv's minions slid between the crystals, jiggly round blobs with only eyes and no other features.

"Bile," Vingria whispered as she crawled up beside him. "Those are the things that caught us!"

"I know," Solus whispered back as he awkwardly pointed with a paw towards the corridor leading to Oytach's cavern. "And that's where Oytach is. We can't let them get to him before he frees himself."

"What do you think we can do about it?" Vingria hissed back. "How are we going to end them? Fighting them is like hitting air!"

Solus nodded. He had been thinking the same thing ever since he'd freed her. But, in the end, he had come up with a solution—a bad one.

"We don't have to end them, but can you keep one busy?" he whispered hurriedly.

"For a little while, probably," Vingria said. "But you don't look like you can take care of the other one."

"Let me worry about that," Solus grumbled as he got up. "I'm going to draw them here. Get ready to jump one!"

He jumped forward.

This had better work.