The Vagabond

5. Pain

Kass thought for sure that whatever venom had been on the Balmorhea's tail would fade as time passed. What she didn't expect was for it to get worse every few minutes. Before she knew it, she was floored, unable to move at all because each movement just made it worse. For several hours she laid there, in the cavity of the wall, sobbing as she experienced full body muscle spasticity.

In her entire life there had never been any pain comparable to this. After less than an hour all she wanted to do was die, to let the pain fade away into nothingness, but she couldn't even move to stab herself with the sword if she wanted to. After a time she fell away into oblivion, losing consciousness, her body completely tapped of all energy. When she awoke it was dark again, much like the first time only a day before. The pain was still there, her entire body sore beyond belief, but for the most part the muscle spasms had died down.

Kass had another problem though. Her lips were chapped and bleeding, her mouth dry and spongy. Dehydration kicked in and her head swam, bringing with it dizziness and a terrible migraine. She was miserable to say the least. Instead of trying to move about and find some water Kass just curled up in the fetal position and cried. No tears fell down her face and it only seemed to make her head hurt even more. Let me go home...please... She begged whatever thing had brought her to this place, to this pain. But it was in vain she knew. Whatever or whoever had done this to her didn't care. She was alone, utterly alone, and it was dark. So dark...

Laying there she realized she hadn't eaten for two days either. Luckily she had accidentally swallowed some of the underground lake water when retrieving the sword or else she would have probably already died by now.

Time passed for Kass in a haze. She had no idea how long she lay there, unmoving. Some types of creatures passed through during the dark hours, but from the sounds they made Kass realized they steered clear of her. Probably because of the bloody tail I'm laying next to...or the sword. At some point light reached the crevice and Kass could see again. Feeling a little better from the venom but still very weak from everything else happening to her, Kass tried to sit up. It took more effort than it should have but she made it into a sitting position. Now what?

She knew she needed water ASAP, but the only water she knew of was in the direction she came from, and in between her and it was a long dark tunnel. I can't go back there...I wouldn't even make it, it's too far. She glanced at the dark opening and dreaded the thought of having to go back to that place. But what choice did she have? There wasn't any other water around that she knew of, and she didn't have the time nor the energy to go searching for another source. I don't have a choice. I have to go back. She sighed. A part of her wanted to give in and die, the thoughts returning from before. But she was in a lot less pain now and her instinct for survival far outweighed that of her desires to die.

Mustering some inner strength, Kass pushed herself to her feet. Almost instantly she tipped over, losing balance and almost falling on top of the cat tail. She caught herself though, using the wall to steady her swimming head, the disturbed dirt crumbling and falling to the floor. Kass looked down at the Balmorhea tail unsure what to do with it. It was probably the reason other creatures had stayed away. Either that or it was the sword that had been glowing earlier. Glowing! The freaking sword had been glowing!

She hadn't been disturbed even once... well, that she knew of at least. Deciding she still needed it Kass bent down slowly, retrieving both the sword and the tail. Once she had both she started to make her way back towards the tunnel entrance. Her muscles and body screamed in torment but she pushed through it. I feel like I got hit by a bus...twice.

Looking at the tunnel ahead, Kass thought that she should be afraid, but at this point it was either go in there and die or die somewhere else. At least she was semi familiar with the tunnel right? I mean, my blood is all over the floor in there... Smirking slightly at her own joke and the ridiculousness of the situation she was in, Kass put one foot in front of the other.

Soon she had reached the opening and without hesitation walked inside. Once again shrouded in darkness, Kass held the sword out in front of her and held onto the safe end of the tail, dragging the spiked end across the floor as far behind her as she could, not wanting anything to do with the venom it was tipped with. She felt her way along, carefully shuffling her feet along the rough ground. Occasionally she stumbled, but she caught herself and made sure not to injure herself again. I might just make it! Just keep moving..........Just keep moving...

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The Urun Commander strode forward into the open cavern with his two best fighters next to him. It had been just over a day since the scout had returned with harrowing news of a Death God that fell from the heavens above, smiting down a giant and exploding into light. Not to mention the ripples. The Urun wouldn't stop talking about the ripples.... It had taken the commander several hours to organize a troop large enough to fight off such a being, but they had managed to rally quite a force with such an emergency ringing out through the settlement.

He had run out ahead of the main force with a small first strike team, just in case this terror was already moving towards the clan. He had brought Juruk and Ruren with him, the two fighters that now stood by his side, confident that the three of them could at least distract the monster if they came across it in the tunnels and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

There hadn't been any sign of trespassers though, all of their traps remained untouched and intact. He had sighed in relief once they reached a point near the end of the tunnel where the first of their traps had been set. This meant that the main force would probably be able to meet up with them before they engaged in battle, and that only increased the chance of success.

"Commander Aker," Juruk spoke, pointing at something in the distance. Aker followed the fighter's finger and saw a large, bloated body floating near the far edge of the lake.

"Just as Banuk said," he replied, not taking his eyes off of the grotesque form. What demon could have defeated something so large? The Commander had seen his fair share of monsters over the years, but never before had he seen something so large. The bloated form was humanoid he discerned and probably weighed more than a hundred Urun soldiers altogether. He was suddenly less confident of their ability to rid their territory of such a monster that could have defeated this thing.

Before anything more could be said, noise could be heard coming from one of the side tunnels. The three Urun quietly crouched behind a large rock near their own tunnel entrance, blending in extremely well with their surroundings. Each of them watched the other tunnel intently, the sound growing louder every second. They were a good distance away from it, and Commander Aker felt safe enough to remain there.

Six Urun eyes watched as a humanoid form emerged from the shadows. To Commander Aker it was his worst nightmare. There walked the Death God that Banuk had run into the town screaming about, covered entirely in blood and grime. In its right hand it carried a dark blade that emanated with raw power, and in the monster's left hand, to his horror, the thing drug behind it the severed tail of a Balmorhea, the most feared beast in all of the underworld.

All three of the Urun fought the urge to flee. This being was the most terrifying thing any of them had ever seen. Luckily, the Death God hadn't seemed to notice them cowering in fear behind the rock and instead made its way towards the lake. Without pause, and without fear of disease from the rotting corpse that lay within the lake, the being dropped the Balmorhea tail and knelt, scooping handfuls of water to its mouth. It was all too much to take in. Juruk looked at Aker, eyes wide with fear, and he could see Ruren shivering uncontrollably at his side. He tapped both of them on the shoulder and pointed towards their tunnel. It was time to retreat. It was time to ready the troops for war.