Rain's steps come to a crawl once he set foot outside the familiar locale.
This was uncharted territory, rushing in would be his greatest folly.
And so, he skulks his ears pinned, catching the faintest crack or rustle of twigs as they sway under the wind blow.
His fingers coil around the hilt of his daggers, ready to unleash fury at a moment's notice.
Crack!
A twig snaps under his foot.
He tenses, waiting for whatever beast to lunge out from the underbush.
His eyes darts around, analyzing any sign of danger, but after close to ten seconds of inaction, he sighs, relaxing.
Nothing is about to show– and so his journey continues.
The scenery before him changes, becoming more and more rocky with each step he takes.
Skreech!
His muscles tense, ready to dodge at a moment's notice
Skreech.
BOOM.
Skreech.
He dives into the underbush, scanning for the sign of danger.
Before him was a sight he never expected to see!
A green scorpion engaged in a battle to the death with a beast of some kind.
No, a Dire wolf.
Lurking within the underbush, he watches the battle unfold.
Waiting for it to come to conclusion so that he can jump in and reap the life of the weary and worn out victor.
Skreech!
The jadestinger scorpion lunges, pincers swinging at the grey Dire wolf.
Boom!
A black blur flickers, the Dire wolf dodges at the last moment, letting the pincer land on the position he was a split of a second ago.
Lunging mid-air from its dodge, the Dire wolf swipes its claws across the back of the jadestinger scorpion.
Chi.
Its claws drew an arc, tearing a gash that spewed out green ichor.
It rolls with momentum as it lands, closely avoiding a stinger cutting through the air.
Skeech!
The duo circles each other– scanning for an opening to exploit.
Rain holds his breath, watching the green ichor sizzling as it touched the ground.
That would have caught him unaware!
Skreech.
The scorpion lunges.
BOOM.
Rock shrapnel whizz as the pincer blow lands on the solid ground, kicking up a cloud of dust
Blinded from the dust, the Dire wolf retreats, growling – its open maw dripping with foamy saliva.
Skreech.
A pincer swings, drawing an arc of destruction in its wake.
The Dire wolf lunges, at the apparent opening.
A trap.
A stinger flashes at its blindspot, injecting the Dire wolf with a payload of venom.
The fight is concluded- or so he thought.
Instead of the Dire wolf slumping over from the venom tearing through its body, it goes into a crazed frenzy.
Claws swipe across the stinger, severing it.
The severed stinger flies through the air, landing close to Rain's feet.
Skreech!
The green scorpion thrashes, swinging wild blows at the Dire wolf.
The Dire wolf zigzags, the barrage missing it by a hair's breadth.
In its dodging maneuvers the dire wolf was coming closer and closer to Rain's hidden figure.
His blades silently unsheate, ready to deliver a decisive blow.
Skreech!
Their eyes land on my prowling silhouette.
*Oh shiet.*
The jadestinger scorpion skreeches as it charges towards Rain, ignoring the Dire wolf.
His plan had gone to shambles, utterly failing.
Boom!
Splinters of wood and rocks whizz past his ears.
Rain slides at the last possible moment, dodging a blow from its pincer.
Barely surviving from being ground to a splattering paste.
Skreech.
The scorpion makes a second charge.
In its crazed charge, it fails to notice a claw swiping its hind leg.
It rolls and tumbles, almost crushing Rain under its weight.
Rain scampers, taking to the trees, capitalizing on the advantage of highground.
Swishhh.
The Dire wolf lunges, its maw missing Rain's neck by an inch.
He yelps and winces as he feels its claws dig into his shoulders.
Ahhh!
Shiik.
He screams driving his serrated dagger into its armpit and twisting.
He yanks out the dagger, drawing out an arc of blood and viscera.
The sound of squelching flesh and painful snarls from the dire wolf rent the air.
The Dire wolf drops from the perch, shuttling head first into the ground below.
The scorpion on seeing an opening charges– driving a pincer through the Dire wolf.
Its blow carries forth with momentum, splintering the trunk of the oak Rain was perched.
The tree creaks as it angles forward, sending his figure tumbling into the ground below.
He twists and rolle mid-air to slow his falling momentum.
Skrr! Thud.
His body crashes into the ground, squirming and rolling over–air knocked out of his lungs.
He gasps, drawing in a breath
*Is this the way I die?*
Skreech!
The incensed scorpion charges, slightly limping yet fast nonetheless.
His muscles tense as its large silhouette covers his vision.
*Now!*
Muscles uncoil, sending his figure sliding through the ground.
He raise my dagger, tracing its blade through the scorpion's underbelly.
A line of tear traces from its maw to the severed stinger.
Shreeek.
The scorpion shreeks a rain of gore and green viscera raining from its open underbelly.
It thrashes, collapsing under its own weight.
My eyes lock onto its thrashing figure.
[Ding! A soul fragment obtained]
He ignores the chime, his eyes scanning the foliage for the other beast.
The Dire wolf!
Rawr.
A claw swipes from his blindspot,
A quick slide removes his body from its line of fire, barely dodging the claw strike.
It lunges- its last gambit,
Rain attempts to retreat only to realise his escape was cut off.
And so, he feints to the right,
A claw swipe follows,
Rising from the left, He drives his blade into its breast and promptly retreat.
The dire wolf growls, thrashing and clawing in an attempt to get close Rain's figure.
Rain further retreats, silently watching as it drew its last breath.
[Ding! A soul fragment obtained]
An exhale slips from his lungs– his shoulders burning in pain.
*Gods!*
Rain gets to his feet, grabbing a branch and prodding the dead beasts.
He pales watching the flesh of the dead Dire wolf visibly rot from the corossive action of the jadestinger scorpion.
He reaches for his embedded dagger in the Dire wolf's corpse and yanks at its hilt, dislodging it from the carcass.
Accompanying his motion, a sickening squelching of flesh rents the air.
Rain's wrists twitch as he wipes the dagger on the wolf's carcass, bits of flesh and dark blood remain as his dagger is wiped clean– only a faint stain remaining.
Satisfied, he regards the jadestinger scorpion– his gaze lands on the severed stinger on the ground.
*This might hasten the treant hunt*
He muses, grabbing the stinger.
With stinger in hand, he walks off, pausing to regard the Dire wolf carcass.
*I need a sovenior*.
Crack!
The Dire wolf clawed finger snaps under his might.
Puchi.
His dagger slashes off the finger, he grabs it, examining the dark gleam of the claw.
*I'll polish the claw and make a necklace out of it.*
His ears picks up the sound of rushing water in the distance.
His head turns, making for the river in a hurry.
His logic reasoned the he wash the wounds clean, lest they become infected.
As he walks, he uncorks a vial he acquired from the dead enforcer, his throat moves up and down as he gulps down the sweet liquid
It would be wise to stay until darkness has covered the land, at twilight when shadows reign.
The sun was already past its peak, a couple of hours and it would be dusk– then, the hunt will commence.
*From here on, I'll have to skulk.*