• PM To Join • [Vynmur River] Grendel Hunt

[Rey'na]

25th Ashan, 723

Slowly, Rey'na stalked her way through the woods.

Beautiful rays of sunshine broke through the treeline, giving as much light as could be expected in the forest. There was something soothing about the sun after a cold and hard Cylus. Running water could be heard faintly from this far away. There was a beautiful quiet, as was often the case in Melrath's forests. Only broken by the footsteps of the Skadiri as she made her way through the woods, hunting for a prey she knew would prove dangerous. Grendel were infamous in Melrath, when some of them had moved from the mountains and down to the rivers it had quickly become clear that they needed to be dealt with. There was likely a reward, but that wasn't what mattered to the Mortalborn.

All of her life she had been an outsider in some way or another. In Rynmere she was living in isolation, in Desnind she had been imprisoned because of the Mark she had and in Scalvoris she had suffered the worst experience imaginable. But Melrath was different. They welcomed her despite it all, the people didn't care if she was an outsider or not. They ignored her cold and calculating demeanor, the lack of empathy she seemed to possess. Perhaps if they knew the story it would be different, but she didn't hide it from them because of that. She hid it because she didn't need their sympathy. They had already welcomed her without knowing her past, what she had done before was not something she was proud of. But the story she would make in Melrath? That mattered. Protecting these people. Having a home to call her own.

That would be reward enough.

After what felt like Breaks going by Rey'na paused at a clearing, taking a moment to breathe. She had been out here so long and had heard nothing. Melrath was hardly a small place, it would be difficult to find a beast like this until they attacked, by which point it would be too late. She had to find something, some clue that the Grendel was close by. Tracking had never been a strong point for her, there was no use in hunting creatures when she had lived in the comfort of Rynmere, a place where trade came all too easy and humans were the only target she had needed to kill. Perhaps the silence of this area meant the creatures had already left?

That thought was quickly interrupted, however, by a shriek.

Whatever made the noise was not human, the shriek was monstrous and shrill. Like nothing Rey'na had ever heard before. Even with her Spark removed she could still feel fear, albeit faint - and that noise was enough to make her heart pause for a moment. Yet now was not the time for fear, it was time to act. Without another moment of hesitation she pulled Windsong and Sunguard off her back and held them, making her way towards the noise as it echoed across the woods. If this was one of the Grendel then she would need to move fast before it harmed anyone else. So she ran towards the noise, weapons in hand, ready to fight.

[Shure]

Shure was in a sour mood as she went to check her traps along the Vynmur river She’s been having a seventrial of no success with her trapping; losing traps to currents, losing bait or just the disappointment of an empty trap. She could always go back towards Verimeer towards the Dwynmer lochs where she had some modicum of success but if she did she wouldn’t be living with the two-legs. And she has on occasion gone back, this was not to be one of times...yet. It was earlier this morning that Shure decided to expand her hunting grounds and the forest seemed just as likely to hold her prey. She was not unfamiliar with the forest though she has never really ventured far from the Vynmur river or from any of the main connecting waterways, connecting the river to the forest. With a shrug Shure ventured into the forest. She figured that in order to get something decent she’d have to explore a little bit deeper, if need be, away from the waterways and with legs no less.


Pat Pat Pat. The soft ground felt nice on Shure’s bare feet as she moved. Pat Pat Pat she kept her head down as she walked scanning the ground for traces of crustaceans. Pat Pat Pit Pat she stumbled a bit but managed to catch herself with a little help from her bident she used as a walking stick. Pat Pat Squish she stepped on something wet cold and out of place.


“Kaz” Shure signed with one hand but she pressed on.
“You’re leaving the water” asked Kaz responding also in sign. Now fully materialized the 6ft 4in Biqaj towered over Shure making sure she felt his scowl. “You didn’t find anything? You didn’t try”
“Can’t find anything have to go further” replied Shure meeting Kaz’s gaze once before putting her head back down. “Babies not good I can feel the water moving up up” she pointed to small holes on the ground where little freshwater fiddler crabs might be.


Silence would follow. For a whole ten bits silence would follow. She wondered if Kaz understood what she meant but continued along, the only noise coming from Shure’s feet landing on dirt ground as she navigated through the forest and the faint sound of running water. She could feel Kaz right behind her staring daggers at her but Kaz barely made noise so she found the lack of sound a little odd. She figured that she just wasn’t deep enough shrugged and pressed on. As she continued to walk though the forest using game trails or natural pathways the lack of sound grew from odd to concerning, not even a bird was to be heard. Curious and a bit anxious Shure looked up properly for the first time, to take in her surroundings and to get her bearings. She saw how the sun broke through the thick treeline and illuminated what it could given her location and then she noticed a fairly large dark spot in the forest seemingly out of place even. Shure turned to look back at Kaz. She saw Kaz with a serious expression looking at the dark spot. She felt his hand on her shoulder, wet as always. And then suddenly she felt extremely violated.


Panic, fear, anxiety, was what she felt. She was moving sprinting even but she wasn’t in control of her body. She couldn’t feel her legs nor arms that held her bident but she smelled blood. She was breathing heavy but couldn’t feel her heart jumping out of her chest. She could see where she was going but recognized nothing and she could hear an unnatural shrieking sound behind her, not too far but also not too close either. One moment two moments passed and Shure felt like a prisoner in her own body with seemingly her sense of touch gone. Three moments would pass and Shure felt other emotions, not from her though; relief, satisfaction a little excitement even and all she could do was worry. When four moments passed Shure felt the presence of a Biqaj though it felt a bit odd.


Shure didn't hesitate, she sent a telepathic message towards the Biqaj not words but images and emotions she had. She made sure to send the shrill screech as well both as a warning and as call for help. After she sent it she focused solely on the response however broken, soft or unintelligible it might have been.

[Rey'na]

Rey'na had spent little time in Melrath compared to many of the other Skadiri, almost all of which were local to the area. But the one thing she knew too well was the dangers. Rynmere had been a dangerous place in many other ways when she had first lived there, fearing more for the murders and politics than a creature coming to town and feasting on others. Then on her second return it was crazed cultists and mage hunters. But nothing compared to what she had seen of Melrath so far. Mystical creatures like nothing she had ever seen, spirits that seemed as prominent to Melrath as Immortals had seemed to the many religious followers she had known in Rynmere.

What she had heard of Grendels, however, was far more nightmarish than mystical.

The shriek echoing in the distance had proven to be proof of that, monstrous and feral. Rey'na continued to sprint towards it, hoping to the Forest-Mother that she would find nobody in danger. These beasts had taken enough lives and done enough harm. Yet a strange sensation filled her head as she ran forward. A rush of emotions, images and visions - but they weren't hers. She hadn't felt emotions this intense since Rynmere, since...everything had happened. The images were from another, some sort of telepathy? She'd never felt anything like it. But whoever, or whatever, was sending it felt distress. Any hope she had of the forest being empty faded away as her eyes narrowed, turning her head in a quick snap, hearing the shriek in her mind. They had to be close, whoever had sent the message, if they had heard it so clearly too.

She continued to run for trills at a time, ducking her head under branches as she did while her hands clutched a spear and shield. Her weapons glimmered in the sunlight, made of metal far more expensive than she would usually have spent. Yet they cut sharper than any blade she had ever held, making them a true benefit in a hunt like this. She would need more than a simple dagger to take out these creatures. Hopefully, Windsong would be enough. If not, she had other means to defend herself - though she'd rather not resort to them if she could help it.

She broke through the treeline to see the Mer stood before her. At a glance she seemed human, but it wasn't hard for Rey'na to tell what she truly was after a moment of observation. Gills on her neck, pale complexion. It gave away enough, though Rey'na had little to no interaction with Mer prior. Was she the one that sent her the images to her brain? Was it something Mer could do, or was she some kind of mage? Right now it didn't matter. "Behind me, quickly" Rey'na said with no hesitation, keeping her weapons drawn as her eyes darted around the treeline.

"Did you see the creature?"

[Shure]

Shure was well and truly lost now. She recognized none of the forest before her; dark, unfriendly and unwelcoming. The sounds of nature fell silent, only her own laboured breathing, ungraceful form that snapped branches and heavy footfalls broke the eerie silence. It was a miracle she hasn’t fallen yet. Stumbled but not down. She felt extremely vulnerable as her body moved through the forest; without her. Shure was nothing but a bundle of senses with no influence over her own body. She dodged branches with spotty vision, she could see the scratches on her arms and could smell the faint hint of blood, taste it in her mouth even but felt a nothing throughout her body. Just a dull numbness and a chilling realization that she was a prisoner of her own body.

Trills would pass and a growing sense of dread would soon dawn on the young mer. Though she could not feel anything, her body was pushing itself too hard. She could hear her own heart beating in her ears and a terrible thirst began to form; and another desperate attempt to regain control of her body would end in an abject failure. Anger would bubble within Shure and another futile attempt only to be met by the same result. Again and again she tried and again again she was met with much of the same but she never stopped trying though her attempts were slowing down. In this alien environment, the only constant was that presence, distant familiar even, and it moved. It moved towards her frantically desperately even. Friend or foe she did not know and she did not know how to check.

To Shure’s surprise her body began slowing down then her head snapped back and her eyes scanned the scene behind her spotty as it might’ve been. Apart from the broken branches, disturbed ground and obvious path she made; there was no creature behind her. All of a sudden for the briefest of moments a cold, wet sensation would run through her like a wave; her first feeling in trills. It started from her core, moved up towards her esophagus and out through her mouth. It made her instinctively gasp as it moved through her. It was as if the very heat from her own body left her which caused the hairs on the back of the young mer’s neck to stand up on end. A crashing wave of exhaustion and sharp stinging pain would soon follow which nearly knocked her down. The sound of someone talking and to her no less brought her back in the moment. Shure was not out of the woods yet.

“Behind...Quickly” came a stern female voice and Shure turned to see an intimidating woman with piercing blue eyes and weapons drawn opposite her. Immediately the young mer knew that this was the presence she felt. Up close there was something different about this Biqaj, her presence had something a little off with it, the presence was not weaker to any other Biqaj but there was a hint of something else there. Regardless Shure made a quick mental note of it before cautiously, clumsily and under her own volition made her way over.

“...See...Creature?” said the Biqaj which confused Shure for a bit but figured that she must have meant the screech. Shure just shook her head before she hung it down low to catch her breath. Shure could not communicate anything else, verbally though. she did send a telepathic message over but it was more spur of the moment than anything. Could she trust this Biqaj? Like Kaz? She wondered. “Kaz” she mumbled “Do...Don’t?” under her breath. She waited for a response and when nothing came Shure gambled.

Another telepathic message was sent to the Biqaj. It was still images, feelings and senses though a bit sulied as she also sent feelings of exhaustion and pain. This was the the only way Shure knew how to communicate since sign would require both hands and she was not about to let go of her bident in this situation. There were three points that Shure asked.

“It was strangely quiet in the forest I don’t hear anything”
“Can I trust you”
“Do you smell pungent wet dog?”

[Rey'na]

It became quickly apparent that Rey'na had not yet found the beast. Rather, she had found a seemingly innocent bystander. One that could speak to her in her brain? At least she could only assume as much. There was a flash of images that seemed to appear, relaying a message. She had little time to question how strange it was, though. There were more pressing issues. Even if she hadn't found the Grendel yet she knew she was close.

Now a civilian was in the mix, however.

"I heard the silence too" Rey'na admitted quietly, eyes remaining focused forward as her spear and shield were held tight in her hand. The next question caused her pause for a moment. It was likely a fair question, yet it took her back a little. "I'm with the Skadiri, I'm here to kill a Grendel that strayed too far from the mountains. So yes. You can trust me" she spoke softly for a moment. Both the questions thus far had given her a little pause, but not much. But at the third question and with a small sniff of the air - Rey'na froze.

"...Yes. I do" she muttered slowly. Her hand gripped Windsong tighter and she steadied her breathing. Grendel could camouflage, she had been taught that much. But it didn't make the beast invisible. She kept focused and looked around with as much focus as she could muster. Yet her eyes saw nothing, the beast hidden among the thick shrubbery and vast forests. Spotting it would be nearly impossible in these woods. Add in the fact that somebody else was now under her protection and the situation felt suddenly dire.

Even more so when one final shriek echoed out.

As the shriek burst from the treeline to the left of the pair, so did the Grendel, rushing forward with feral claws and vicious fangs. With an immediate reaction of panic Rey'na slashed her spear while sidestepping, keeping her shield-arm outstretched to keep Shure safe. She needed to use her body to protect the girl, even if it ended badly for her. The blade of the spear cut along the face of the Grendel and the beast's momentum was shifted aside, narrowly missing the two girls before scraping to a halt with a feral roar, pure unbridled rage. This beast was primal. There was nothing but the hunt.

With the creature out in the open it was clear to see how strong and hulking it was. It almost felt like watching a Becomer. Seeing a man morph into a bear, halfway between both as their bones snapped and bent into something monstrous. It was a terrifying sight. Something abnormal. Yet this beast seemed just as monstrous and horrific. Gaunt but powerful. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. Rynmere had a fair share of odd beasts and dangerous creatures but never something like this.

Rey'na braced her spear and raised her shield as she kept a firm stare on the beast. Even with the experience of weapons she had the spear had barely cut the beast. It would take a lot to bring the Grendel down. But it was too late to run now. Even if her and Shure were fast enough the beast would find new prey. There was no way out now without putting the beast down. "If you can't fight, stay close to my back" she shouted, no need to be quiet anymore. The beast had found them. Everything was out in the open now.

As the beast turned to slash again Rey'na raised her shield, prepping to block the fast attack.