39 Cold Season 716
"What!""The!"
"Hell?!"
That was the question Nauta wanted answers for once he returned to Hyran. Compared to the excitement from the Shadows and Faldrun's attack, his journey from Ne'haer was uneventful and he expected his journey from Hyran to be the same. Familiar enough with the tactics and methods employed by Sirothelle, he was sure they would have blazed a trail right to Ne'haer in their offensive which in turn would force the local wildlife keep their distance from civilization for a while- routes between the settlements included.
Nauta was also sure the Aukarian host would not have reached Ne'haer whole enough for their attack hed they run into the same monstrosity he found. He shuddered to think of the outcome had it not been for his scython which fortunately, was alert enough to avoid that. In his disbelief he had to repeatedly ask the Hyrans, "seriously. What the hell? Its bigger than Heart of the World!" although that may have been an exaggeration on his part as he described the impossibly large creature. Nauta had just only seen giants in Oscillus and even those paled in comparison to these Lurkers. He felt fortunate to have escaped the Lurker just as the Hyrans told him he should be.
The Hyrans were strange enough people as Nauta had to point out, "I'm not crazy to get close to those accursed things!" after they suggested to him to try again. Not one more time anyway as that one encounter was enough. The different tastes of Idalos being a pleasure to his life which he would not skip out on, another advantage to his desertion he would miss out on if he remained in Sirothelle, he and his scython were at a bunch of trees of their fruit. One of those trees, the Tus tree as he learned from the locals, was the tree responsible for the Aukari's excitement because of its pleasant scent which led him to find the fruit trees scattered around it. It was quite unfortunate for him he had not found it in the hot season as that was when he was told the tree smelt its best.
At first the sounds were too faint to notice and Nauta continued to pick out fruits and scented branches of the Tus tree with an idea of an appetizing fruit snack with the scented branches. It was the scython to pick up the hint of danger which approached and alerted Nauta to it with a growl at its direction. The oblivious Aukari continued to collect his bounty until the sounds became loud enough that he got worried and packed his haul before he got on his scython; not a moment too soon as he spotted the head of the creature high above the trees.
That was too much a shock, more than any Aukari should have as Nauta felt he could have erupted there and then. The sound of the creature's approach felt loud enough to even move him in his seat- his mount difficult enough already to rein in without the tremors. Nauta never looked back- he did not want to see how close the creature was and focused on his escape. While it too was the scython's priority, its panicked rider would take no chances and forcefully led it through the woods as he shifted his body from side to side. As an added boon it seemed to reduce the effect of the Lurker's tremors, the rider no longer jerked back and forth by the creature's approach as he did the same side to side.
While the bounty he foraged proved worthwhile even as he chewed on his new snack, the one pierced through the aromatic Tus branch which aroused his appetite, Nauta considered if he was mad to even consider another go at the woods. While the Hyrans were sure he was to even ask for alternative routes to avoid the Lurker, they still gave him the information he needed after they failed to dissuade him. Not to make light of their advice, Nauta assured them he would hear the creature first and avoid it, hopefully, and while it seemed to put their mind at ease he actually doubted what he just said.
With his route charted and supplies prepared, Nauta set out from the border of Hyran and the woods a little before daybreak with a quick prayer to any Immortals who would listen- they owed him anyway. The first few breaks were uneventful although it did not mean much; his first attempt had been the same and he still ran into the Lurker. Nevertheless he hoped his peaceful trip would continue as Zida was already quite close into the season and with it, the trials became darker faster. With that thing lurking around in the vicinity, Nauta was not going to chance a trip out there with it in the dark any longer than he had to.
With a new approach, the Aukari headed east which although would add another trial to his journey, would be a lot safer- or so he heard. It would take him through a thick forest but he figured he would be able to use the trees to hide if he did run into another Lurker. After trial or two Nauta would learn this advantage could also work against him and that the Lurker was not the only hazard he might encounter. Another creature which Nauta would come to learn in Ironridge as a Lysorian Skinbane, a grotesque monstrosity like a four-legged spider with tentacles for a mouth, lay right in his path. Thank the Immortals that he had yet to learn the name or he would have been a lot more worried about his find it in the middle of nowhere.
But there were other things which worried Nauta at that moment like how his scython reacted to their discovery. Eventhough the Skinbane was still, Kavelza was already wary and decidedly kept its distance. The fact which alarmed its rider even more was after a few bits, Nauta could tell with the wounds all over it that the creature was not even in top form. The only other thing he could figure as the source of the injuries was the strange feathered cat by the creature although that was highly unlikely. Regardless of the cause, Nauta figured the best idea was to leave which was the reason he never tried to stop the scython.
He himself was done with Ne'haer and its aberrants.
Unfortunately his scython was just as jumpy as he was and reacted to the Skinbane slightest shift. The screech which escaped Kavelza got the Skinbane's attention which lifted itself up; spider legs, tentacles and all. While Nauta could not even assume what went through his scython's mind, it was obvious it was nothing smart as the beast reared up and pounced at its new adversary. With no indication of the attack the rider could not even grasp on the reins to stay in place and fell on the ground with a loud thud. It would have been his end at the tentacles of the Skinbane had it not been otherwise occupied by the scython.
While Nauta would happily flee from the creature as the scython should be glad to die for its master, he was sure he could not make it through the forest intact let alone return to Etzos alone which prompted him to draw his weapon. He matched the scython movements to keep the Skinbane in between them although it was apparent the fight took too long; even with the armour the scython had, it might actually lose to the other which tried to plunge all manner of claws and tentacles right into the scython itself.
Finally once the chance opened up to him, Nauta lunged for the back of the creature. Unfortunately the confidence Nauta had of a mortal strike with a sneak attack while it was otherwise occupied was shattered when as a reaction to the unseen attack, it pushed the scython away and spun to strike the Aukari which suggested taking it by surprise was a stupid idea. A very bad idea now that he thought about it as he had committed himself to the attack too much to back out. Even with the point of his blade extended towards the creature, it did not even attempt to dodge which was lucky for the Nauta as the creature impaled itself on his blade.
Or maybe it had something to do with his own scython's quick enough recovery pounce again and forcefully push the creature at its master...
Nevertheless the force of the creature on his weapon which would pull him down was a cause for unease and Nauta quickly abandoned the rapier to rush back. A good thing he did as the moment the creature landed on the ground, his scython landed on it and pressed on it further which would definitely have flattened the Aukari. A few moments of pause for him to watch the struggle which ensued and Nauta noticed the rapier had went all the way through but the creature was not even shakened. In fact, it was as if the weapon in it only made it more resolute that it would take down its two opponents as it violently shook to try and throw the scython off it.
With the realization that the creature might still triumph if the fight did not end, Nauta drew his knife and while the creature was held in place stabbed into its head over and over, and over and over, and over... It was not until it became still, the entirety of what Nauta assumed was its head completely mangled from the multiple stabs that he stopped. Without wasting any more time in case there was another hazard in the woods like the creature, Nauta quickly hauled his spoils on his scython and rushed for Ironridge after he caught his breath.
When he eventually got there it was the weird feathered cat, the one which tasted bad when he tried to roast it, which worried the inhabitants and not the creature. After he assured them he only found the dead cat trials ago, they allowed him entry which made him feel Hyran was not the only strange settlement. Ironridge included Nauta could safely assume all the other settlements he missed out on were more concerned about the trivials. At least he was able to learn about the dangerous creature which nearly had him and even better, someone willing to prepare it for the trip back home. The alchemist already had ideas despite a few designs he would have to forego all because he had mangled its head.
That unsettling feathered cat he heard about though, he was not going to have anything to do with.
