The Bloodforged Kin

Chapter 210 - 204: Troop 276 - A Battle Between Giants

Alex looked up from Emily to meet Jim's warm, hazel eyes. He took comfort from that compassionate gaze, and strength from the hardness behind them. He nodded. Looking around he saw that the dogs had forced most of the cannibals back towards the river, corralling them and harassing any the tried to lash out at them.

There were still six in the center of the camp, looking around in confusion. In the middle was the largest, a beast of a man that stood at least eight feet tall. His eyes met Alex's and he grinned, hungry and malicious. He pushed the others out of his way and began walking towards Alex, his gait slow and confident.

"That dude is big," Jim said, hefting his hammers.

"You get the others. The mission hasn't changed - get them to the water. I'll take him."

Jim cast him a sideways glance. "You sure, man?"

Alex only nodded. Jim shrugged and took a looping path far out of the way of the approaching giant. The cannibal gave him a sidelong glance, then ignored him. Alex reached into his dimensional space and pulled out all of the biscuits Jake had given him. He thrust the first in his mouth and felt a weird, wriggling sensation across his body. He looked down and saw moss growing out of his skin. When the soft growth reached his injured arm he felt the skin close up, healing warmth flooding into it. The giant was almost on him and Alex began backpedaling, thrusting the next in his mouth. Underneath the moss he felt his skin harden as bark grew across it. The giant had reached him and Alex had to duck under a wide swing, falling into a roll between the man's legs. He came to his feet and sprinted away, shoving the next biscuit into his mouth.

A chill like the deepest winter spread through his bones and Alex understood. The giant man was running at him again, bare feet slapping heavily against the stone as he did. Alex lifted his hand and shards of ice sharper than any knife flew from him, sending the man backwards in a stumble and cry of pain. More shards shot out in a barrage, thunking into his chest in a staccato rush. Alex felt the last of the ice powers leave him as he expended their energy.

The huge cannibal swiped his arm down his chest, breaking the projectiles off with a loud crackling sound, the shards tinkling to the stone below. He bellowed again and charged forward, stumbling slightly this time.

Alex jammed the last two in his mouth and chewed the dry biscuits, the combination going gummy and making it impossible to swallow. He choked, slamming his hand over his mouth to not lose any of the sludge. He needed to swallow it!

He ducked again, but wasn't able to come up before the next strike took him in the chest, sending him skidding backwards across the rock. With a groan Alex reached out to lift himself, feeling the moss working to heal his broken ribs. His hand fell on something cold and he looked over at a small snowdrift. He grabbed a handful and jammed it into his mouth, rolling to his feet to dodge a stomp aimed for his head. The snow melted in his mouth and loosed the sludge the biscuits had formed. Alex gulped, the lump painful as it went down.

Something felt… odd. Alex looked around in confusion as everything grew smaller. His feet were further away than before, which they shouldn't be. His arms were thicker than he'd ever seen - he'd always had the thin musculature of a teenage boy who'd survived in the harsh mountains daily, but they'd never been this thick. This strong. Even his hands looked… were they glowing?

He felt a punch to his back and stumbled forward. He spun around to look at the cannibal and realized he had to look down to see him. The cannibal stepped back in shock, its head lifting slowly to meet Alex's. A wicked smile split Alex's face as he stared the now-smaller man down. He raised his fists, both of which were wreathed in deep red flame.

Alex rushed forward, punching faster and harder than he ever had before. His fists were comet trails of light and fire as he did, each hit slamming his enemy like the very strength of the mountain itself. The cannibal gave as good as he got, his overpowered strikes rocking Alex back each time they hit. Neither was a combat artist and their fight was a rough and bloody testament to it. No quarter was asked and none was given. Both knew that this was a fight to the death, and both wouldn't have had it any other way. Their fight ranged across the rock face, everyone giving them a wide berth. Alex was slowly gaining ground, pushing the big man closer and closer to the river.

Another cannibal came at Alex from the side, clamping jagged teeth on his leg, only to find them broken on the thick bark that had covered his skin. Alex sent him flying over the heads of the others to splash into the river.

He went on the attack again, bark and flame against claws and teeth. Despite his rage Alex noticed that something was changing - suddenly the cannibal didn't look so small. A few hits later and Alex was at eye-level with him. A few more and he was looking up again.

The cannibal noticed the change and a deep chuckle echoed from his throat. Alex was on the defense again, arms crossed in front of him, absorbing punishing blows that wouldn't stop. He dropped to one knee, arms above his head, then was forced to both knees. He felt his back begin to strain against the punishment and realized that in another hit or two he would be flat on his back. It was at that moment that the fire on his fists sputtered out.

The cannibal saw the effects of the biscuits flicker away and flung his head back, howling to the moon in victory. This boy would be a delicious treat, and if there was any magic left in him then he would get some of it. He would grow stronger tonight! He reared back, fist held high in a haymaker that would crush the boy's skull.

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A shadow that blocked out the moon flew over Alex and a loud whoof of air was forced out of the giant's lungs. Hank landed hard, skittering on the stone but lifting the cannibal onto his massive antlers. The cannibal cried out in alarm but Hank was having none of it. This was the wolf and the wolf needed to be gone.

Hank plowed through the ranks of cannibals, hooves skidding to a stop just at the lip of stone that ended in the river. With a toss of his head the cannibal was flying through the air to splash far away. Hank trumpeted his success, then stomped in place and turned to face the others. The cannibals looked at Hank, then at the dogs. They knew which way was out.

"Get back!" Liv's voice rang out, her head bobbing just above the water where she'd been hidden in the river. Kristina and Jim sprinted away, Jim reaching down to grab Alex by the back of his shirt and drag him across the outcropping as they ran. The dogs followed and Hank stood in place, snorting a challenge.

"Get your ass back here you dolt!" Sam's voice got through to the moose and it trotted her way, unconcerned.

The cannibals looked around, not sure what to do. They didn't want to rush the group that had decimated their ranks, but there was no way they were leaping into the freezing river - not if they had any choice in the matter.

They didn't.

From beneath the water Liv's badges glowed and suddenly the water rushed upwards, a massive stream of it moving through the air to fence off the cannibals. They looked around in confusion at their watery prison. Some tried to push through but long icicles jabbed out at them, forcing them back before disappearing back into the maelstrom. They looked around in fear as the sound of rushing water reached them, higher than it should have been. All heads craned up to see a wave descending down, washing over them in a tsunami of frozen power.

Liv kept the bubble tight around them as they flailed inside, their desperate attempts to swim to the edge of the bubble rebuffed by frozen spikes. Soon their flailing stopped, and not long after even the twitching stopped. She held it even longer - in this new System world creatures took a lot longer to die than before. She figured that the same held true for humans.

Long minutes later, when it was evident they were all well and truly dead, she dropped the bubble, the bodies within splashing to the ground in heavy heaps. Kristina walked up to them, burying the pick in each of their foreheads.

All eyes were on her as she walked back, but she only shrugged. "Gotta be sure."

They stood around Emily's body, soft sobs the only sound in the night. The dogs licked her face, whimpering softly as they did. Jim gently hefted her onto Hank's back, the big moose seeming to understand, his lips nibbling the edges of her clothing gently as they did. It was a solemn procession that left the outcropping that night, each walking with their own thoughts.

It was almost an hour later and the lights of Idaho City could be seen from their distance. Kristina stepped quietly next to Sam.

"Hey, I meant to ask you. How did you finally get Moosey here to join the fight? He seemed pretty dead-set against it."

Sam's solemn expression broke with the slightest of smiles. "Oh that? I slapped him in the balls."

Kristina laughed. "Yeah, that'll do it."

He floated along the river, coming to a stop when his head bumped against a large stone. He lay there, trying to organize thoughts that he hadn't had since… when? How long? No idea. He'd had a name once, he knew, but it was lost to the fog. He had vague recollections of The Beginning, of something happening. He'd been cold, starving, and… with others? Yes, with others. The icy water brought a clarity he hadn't had in some time.

There had been a group of them, in the woods. In the mountain. They had been trapped. Hungry. Hunted. They had killed animals and eaten them. Had gained some of their powers. As they gained powers they realized they had powers too, which made a grim sort of sense. If the thing you ate had powers, why wouldn't you? If it was strong and you were putting it into your body, why wouldn't you get strong?

It had occurred to him that eating small animals with small powers was a slow way to get stronger. But what if… what if you ate things with many powers? Like people that had gotten many powers from many animals?

People, it turned out, were the greatest sources of power of all. Eating one person was like eating hundreds of rabbits or squirrels or mice or fish. Even ones without powers gave great strength, and if they had many powers it gave greater strength. The strength didn't last long, so you had to keep eating. Always eating.

So he ate, and the other saw what he did and the wisdom of his ways, and they ate too. When the weak were gone they fought each other, until all were too strong to be eaten. Yet he was the strongest, always, since he was the first. He got more of the meat and thus more of the power. They were out of the weak, but there were others that lived in nearby towns. Others who were weak, but provided strength. So they hunted and all was as it should be.

Then these ones came, the ones who were weak but also strong. Not stronger, his muddled thoughts put together, smarter. Together.

Individually they were all laughably weak, barely enough to provide him strength for a couple of days. Even now he felt the strength ebbing from him. Need to eat. Need to get stronger.

Need to get smarter. Need to get others and be together. Alone, even the weak are too strong, but together we can eat the world.

With a groan he pushed himself to his feet, instinctually activating the only skill that came with his class. Seek Life flashed across his eyes and suddenly the world inverted. The trees, brush, and even the water were like glass to him - not invisible, but able to be pierced. Glowing forms showed themselves all around him - the greater their power, the stronger their glow. He took a heavy step out of the water, shaking the water off of his protective fur before starting his hunt. It would be a long road to recovery, but the more he ate, the stronger he would become.

Dawn reached his eyes at the same time that the Cryptid Challenge arrived, and suddenly the woods were filled with lights brighter than any he had seen before.

So much food. So much power.

He hunted.