The fall of a deity

The goo

Ajax rapped his hooked claws against the cobblestone road impatiently. Leukos had disappeared into the nearby Inn to fetch the rest of his equipment, promising to be back in only a few minutes. Ajax had learned over the years to keep everything on him when he could, and he could sleep just about anywhere, so he had no need for a room at the Inn. His Warhammer was in it's traditional place slung over his shoulder, whip and short spear in his satchel and close to hand. The only thing he really wore was his thin, dark crimson cloak. It was hoodless, but a hood would be useless anyway. His dirty white, twisted horns would rip it to shreds, if he even managed to pull it over them. Hoodless cloaks cost less, anyway. A simple loincloth protected his modesty, and his beige satchel hung at his side, bursting at the seams with trinkets, his weapons, and of course, a drawstring purse stacked with gold and silver coins. He was entertaining himself sending little droplets of green-brown acid cascading down the stems of moss and weeds growing from the gravel and watching them wither and blacken when Leukos finally emerged.
He wore a dark grey cloak that made him look almost shapeless, his signature red and green mask shimmering in the sunlight as if he had just polished it, and a pair of greyish-brown baggy trousers, cut at the bottom so they stopped just above his shiny black leather boots so he wouldn't trip. Around his skinny waist was a belt. One side held several assorted hunting knives, glinting evilly, almost as if they were hungry. On the other was a rather impressive short-handled throwing axe. The curved blade looked as if it was a mix of several different metals, creating a swirling void pattern of different shades of grey. Along with the bow and arrows strapped to his back, he looked like he'd be a tricky opponent. Ajax was silently thankful that they were on the same team.
He gave Leukos a mischievous, toothy grin.
"Took ya long enough, kid. I thought I would be the slow one, hmm?"
He caught a venomous glare through Leukos's mask, and he chuckled quietly. It was pretty easy to wind his new partner up. Leukos didn't dignify his snarky comment with a response, stalking off swiftly towards the forest at the edge of town and pointedly turning his back on Ajax, forcing him to move quickly to keep up.
The first thing they noticed about the forest was the quiet. It was late in a sunny afternoon, and despite the sun beginning to touch the horizon, the air was humid around them. There should be birds singing, flying overhead. There should be the rustle of tiny bodies in the undergrowth where mice and voles made their homes. There should be the distant snuffling and baying of wolves just beginning to wake up for a night's hunting. Instead was an uneasy quiet, as if the forest itself was holding it's breath. Well, as quiet as it could be with Ajax's thick, clumsy, armoured tail crashing through the bushes and bumping hard against trees as he walked by. Of course Leukos made a snide comment about his lumbering like a three-legged ox, and tried to play it off as if that was the reason no birds were around. The two laughed, pushing the concern at the silence of the thriving forest away.
They walked on for a little over half an hour. The woods were getting thicker, and the sun was beginning to dip, providing just enough light to see but casting long, looming shadows across the forest floor. It was cooler now, still silent but for Ajax's footsteps, which seemed to boom like a thick leather drum in contrast. Leukos stopped abruptly, and motioned for Ajax to do the same. He put a grey gloved finger to his face, urging Ajax to be silent, and beckoned him forward. He made an effort to keep his tail from swinging, and place his armoured feet down as slowly and gently as possible, making sure to check the ground for anything that could crunch under his weight. He gave Leukos a quizzical look, cocking his head to the side slightly, but Leukos seemed too focused on something ahead, swiftly and silently moving ahead a few metres and stopping near a large oak tree. He peered round the edge as Ajax followed him in a clumsy stealth, eventually crouching next to him and finally spotting what he was being so cautious about. A strong, inky smell suddenly smacked him in the face, and he had to force himself not to reel backwards. A trail of dead, blackened grass came from the woods to the left in a sharp curve. At the end of the trail crouched a huge, black mass. Ajax had never seen such a creature before. It was pulsating and flowing, almost throbbing, seemingly entirely made of  rank black liquid. It made quiet squelching noises as it dragged itself forward a few inches. In front of the thing was the fresh carcass of a large grey wolf. When Ajax looked closer, it shuddered; the wolf was still alive, urgency and pure agony on it's face, struggling weakly as the black mass consumed it's lower half, sucking the life blood out of it. The air suddenly felt colder; the weak sun was disappearing, but the sudden chill in the atmosphere was unnatural. Whatever this creature was was unnatural.
Leukos tapped on Ajax's snout, bringing him out of his horrified trance. The skinny, lithe tiefling easily clambered up a branch, pulled out his axe, and motioned for Ajax to approach the creature. Ajax understood. He stepped carefully into plain sight and very slowly approached the mass. He pulled his spear from his satchel as he edged closer, bracing it to strike. The mass seemed too focused on it's gory feast to notice the slight rustle of his dragging tail. Before long, Ajax was directly behind the thing, and still somehow undetected. Whatever these things are, he thought, it's good to know a good meal can distract them. They're not the only ones, heh. Ajax hesitated for just a moment. He didn't know what this thing was capable of. He wasn't the smartest, he knew that for sure, but everyone in this world knew that the best advantage in a fight is to know your opponent. But the thing had crunched the last of the wolf's skull, and was clearly still hungry. Now it's senses weren't blocked by its meal, it seemed to sense that something was off, and slowly began to turn. The moment Ajax saw movement, there was no more time to hesitate. He brought the spear down, putting all his strength into the blow and driving the spear into the thing with so much weight that it drove into the ground beneath. He definitely felt flesh tearing somewhere within, and smelt the metallic tang of blood. Whatever it was, it could be wounded. But it hardly reacted to the spear through it's middle. Ajax leaped back, leaving the spear in the thing as it turned towards him with cold, hungry, bloodshot eyes set deep in two holes in the black sludge. It shambled experimentally towards him, seeming pleased when he backed off and bore his teeth in a reptilian snarl. Ajax, remembering Leukos, backed up continuously until his back was pressed against the bark of the oak. He made an effort to appear afraid. It wasn't hard. He had built no trust between himself and his new partner. Leukos could have easily climbed down the tree by now and abandoned him, deciding that the reward wasn't worth sharing. The thoughts only became more intense as the thing backed away, preparing to charge him.
It screeched. A horrible, ear-shattering sound, like a pig squealing mixed with metal grating against metal. Then it shot forward, droplets of the inky liquid streaming out behind it. Little things like tentacles were propelling it forward, growing from every place of it's body, flailing and squirming and throwing it forward. As Ajax braced his powerful hind legs to jump over it if need be, Leukos dropped from the tree, axe held aloft and gleaming in what was left of the sunlight. His momentum more than made up for his minimal weight, propelling the axe into the shapeless lump that held the thing's eyes. A sickening crack resounded, and the thing skidded to an abrupt halt. It slid to a stop as Leukos jumped backwards to land nimbly next to Ajax.
The thing continued to flail and squirm in it's final throes, an unnaturally dark waterfall of blood flowing from the wound and painting the soil with the stench of death. Finally the thing lay silent. The hunger was gone from it's empty, bloodshot eyes. Ajax exchanged a grateful glance with Leukos, acknowledging the effectiveness of his plan, and the first flicker of trust. When they looked back, the rank, inky sludge was pouring off the mass like water off a duck's back, revealing short, wiry fur underneath. More and more sludge flowed off the creature beneath, seeming to evaporate into the air when it touched the soil below with a hot, piercing hiss. For a moment, all the two could do was stare at the body below the goo, stunned into silence.

Lying in front of them, skull split apart by the axe, belly pierced through by the spear, and bleeding so heavily it churned the dirt into a thick mud, was the corpse of a young boar. It's body was mutilated with deep purple burns where the goo had evaporated away.