NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59 - Power Washer
I jumped out of the way and hacked down on the giant python snake with my axe. My shield was at ready to protect the kids if the boitatá went their way. The slime on the snake caused it to jerk as it snapped at my shoulder. My shield protected me as I pushed the monster back and swung my axe.
My blade went through the air as the massive creature curled up on itself and rolled. As it went, the gunk stuck in the middle of its body picked up more leaves and dirt from the ground. It stayed tight on itself, and I tried hitting it, but had to avoid the sticky slime myself. One blow would slow the snake down, but I would risk my axe might become stuck in the sticky substance.
I swung at its head, and it reared sideways and took off the moment my axe struck dirt. The boitatá ignored me and went for the easier and smaller prey playing in the mud.
The kids were unarmed.
"Look out!" I screamed as the fang monster opened its mouth to the devour the simplest target: the half-gnome.
As the four fangs reached around his little red hat, a knife stabbed appeared and pierced the roof of the mouth. Naiad made up for my slow movement. It was a critical hit, but nowhere near enough to kill the boitatá.
The monster was at least ten feet long and as thick as my thigh. It hissed as the digger poked up into its mouth and Triangle's hat tickled its tongue. Naiad shook it about, but the snake was pure muscle and larger than her. She was going to lose.
"Triangle move!" I shouted again as I finally got to the crater.
He barely moved a step in the thick mud as I yanked him up and out of the mud puddle. Naiad cried as she lost the tug-of-war to the boitatá and fell forward into the wet mud. As she kicked to get back up and away from the serpent, her foot landed in the bear model, ankle deep, and got stuck.
The boitatá slithered around her neck, but it could not close its mouth as the knife kept it pried open. Its split tongue slithering around Triangle's red hat and the dagger. The blade didn't stop the sharp fangs cutting Naiad, or from it strangling her.
"Stay near me and spray it with Goldy," I instructed Triangle.
The snake stopped briefly, tightening to choke Naiad. Again, it tried to charge closer to her, but was stuck. The green sticky glob around its midsection was grabbing all the mud in the crater and was now larger than a watermelon. I took its hesitation and raised my axe to hit its stomach near Naiad.
The snake couldn't move fast enough. Its attention split between me, the mud-soaked green glob, and Naiad.
And Triangle blasted it in the face.
He also got his sister, too. The water spray knocked her face back down into the mud.
"Great shot! Free her ankle too," I told Triangle as I raised up my weapon to hit the snake again.
It would be better if I were between the snake's body and Naiad with my shield, but it was too late to do that. I had to become a better tank. Triangle listened to my instructions and blasted at the bear clay model by Naiad's foot. Naiad yelled in garbled words in frustration as she tried to pry the snake off her neck and spit the mud out. I continued hitting the boitatá where I could.
It became a rhythm as I sliced and hacked, lowering its health faster than Naiad's dropped. But she was losing air. We had to go faster.
A whistle sounded from the south, where the Lizard-folk were. The boitatá paused its wrestling match with Naiad. I swung to hit it again, and just as my axe came down, a blue smoke bomb erupted in front of me.
Naiad gasped and cried as the sound of mud splashed and sloshed around.
"Naiad!" I dove into the mud toward her and the boitatá before losing my vision completely to the smoke. It was a standard smoke bomb, no additional status effects hit me.
Which meant Naiad wasn't getting anything hurtful, either. It didn't mean she was safe.
My hands swung around in the crater. I felt a wet, firm area, and yanked it closer, to only realize I had clay in my hand, probably from the bear model. Again, I reached out until I felt the tail of the monster. With a hard yank, I prayed I could pull it off Naiad in time. Instead, I received a solid hit in the gut. I grimaced but didn't let go of what I assumed was the tail. The blue smoke made it hard to see.
"Dad, let go of my leg!" I heard Naiad shout at me.
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Not sure what was happening, but with a gulp, I trusted her and released my hold. The splashing sounds reduced down for a moment. Until I got pelted by water again.
"Stop it!" Naiad screamed.
"What's happening?" I asked.
Triangle only roared, "The power washer!"
"Is anyone hurt? Gah!" I couldn't finish what I was saying as more water struck my face.
A gust of wind came around us, thinning the blue fog down. The Carrion of Life stood next to Triangle. One did a water attack at me, and the other a wind. The broad wings of the bird created a gale as strong as a hairdryer.
"Stop!" Naida grabbed a chunk of the muddy bear and launched at Triangle. Decking him in the head.
He fell to the ground with the hard hit. Only five percent of his health dropped from a mud pie. That was an improvement with his new armor. He was still a glass cannon.
"Oh, crap," she said, getting up to go to her brother. "I'm sorry!"
With brown braids instead of her standard pink, she pulled herself out of the mud with a splashing sound and got next to her brother. With dirty hands, she tried to scrape the mud off his face, but only smeared more on his face. "I'm sorry."
"Where is the boitatá?" I asked my team.
The mud in the crater by me was still, the small smoke bomb still fizzled. Thanks to the Kerry's wind ability, I spotted the bomb and shoved it further into the mud to make it stop. Nothing in the mud crater grabbed my arm or threatened to pull me under. Climbing out of the crater was easy and peaceful. A thick trail mixed with blood led toward the valley where the Lizard-folk were and our seed grew.
"It's gone," Naiad answered after hugging her brother.
"Let go," Triangle patted his sister's back. "It's okay."
Mud and clay thoroughly coated the three of us.
"Why did the boitatá leave?" Naiad focused on the original threat we had.
"Kerry, mind going up looking for it?" I asked.
It stopped its flapping its wings, and the gust it created instantly stopped. The vulture shook his head.
Naiad pointed up with a finger. "Go look."
The vulture listened to her and rose in the air above us. With one last glance over, I confirmed the kids were safe, and Naiad was already topping off with a health potion. Once she was ready, I waved for the two of them to follow me as we inspected the tracks. Triangle continued to hold on to his sister's hand, smiling as he squished the mud between their fingers.
"Definitely the boitatá and its mud ball on its body," Naiad explained. "It slithered away over there back up that evergreen tree."
She paused as her eyes glazed over as she connected to Kerry's vision. "Yup, someone carried it from that tree based on the mud that fell on random branches."
"Are they swinging like a monkey? Do you see them?" I looked through the woods, but I didn't see any movement.
"No. Who ever did it wants to be gone with their bond."
"Their bond? I thought the snake was called a boitatá," I wanted more of an explanation.
Triangle ran his hand over his short red hair, oblivious to the conversation going on. "Where's my hat?"
I patted him. "The boitatá took it and Naiad's dagger. Great save there Naiad too. Could you explain what you meant by the bonded?"
Naiad's eyes cleared up as she looked up at the treetops and the sky. "Bonded means it's like Kerry and I."
The vulture circled above our heads, coming only low enough to stay above the treetops, but close enough for me to read its properties.
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[The Carrion of Life, Kerry, Level 13, (rare, bonded)
Description: No longer feeding solely on the dead, this fowl bird is preparing for the next phase of life. It's fostering and growing a home, one that it hopes to thrive in.]
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"You know, you're great at noticing details," I praised her.
"Mom says you rush around too much to see the grand picture and miss the smaller facts." Naiad looked down. "Ah, sorry."
Naiad wasn't trying to hurt my feelings. Just slipped on a random thought. "Don't worry about it. Your mom and I are different, and it's what makes us a great team. Can you help me focus on this? What does the Bonded part mean? Does that mean it's your pet?"
Kerry scoffed above us for being called that term again.
Naiad put a finger over her lips, hushing me. She peeked up to see where Kerry flew off too before slowly nodding her head and mouthing, "He's a pet."
The vulture had a personality of a cat full of pride.
With a bonded animal nearby, that meant there was another player in the woods. With how deep in the woods we were, there could be even more players than one. A threat to our plans.
My finger twitched again. We had to get moving faster and not be stuck in the mud like this. Whoever it was with the boitatá could easily find the seed and dig it out of the ground. Maybe they could take it somewhere else. It wouldn't destroy the seed. Destroying the seed was an impossibly stupid quest.
"Dad," Triangle tugged at my muddy shirt, "Falco said he'd keep it safe."
Naiad crossed her arms, her eyes wide, studying me. Triangle smiled up at me reassuringly. "Also, do you have a hat? My head is cold."
I could see his redirect trick so easily, and I was fine with it. He was right. "I have this one." I pulled out the deep maroon balaclava I had got from Purge.
Triangle sighed at seeing it. "I don't like that color." He pulled out a bright pink beanie with a puffball on top. "Guess I'll muddy up my nice hat."
"You didn't have to put it on." Naiad said.
I laughed and squeezed his shoulder. "I'll wash your hat later. Do you think the lizard-folk can really keep the seed safe? They burned down Clingeo Grove."
"Sure." Naiad said.
Triangle nodded. "They have their own secrets."
I chose to trust them, to follow their gameplay. "Sounds good. What do you want to do?"
Naiad pointed back to the clay bear that had multiple parts of it destroyed by the fight earlier. "Let's finish this to friend the ozo and follow its tracks. Then see if we can lead it here."
Triangle jumped into the mud pit, no longer concerned about the pink hat's cleanliness. With a big glob of wet clay and mud, we patted the body to fix the dent from Naiad's foot. We smoothed out areas where I clawed out pieces by the neck, and then we focused on reshaping the head again.
Playing in the mud wasn't an idea I had, but the weight of the shield sat on my back. It protected me from the game and my thoughts. I got to enjoy playing the game the way the kids wanted to. I got to be with them getting dirty and carving out claws for a bear.