Level One God

[Lyria]

The smell hit me first in the makeshift infirmary. It was rot and sickness mixed with whatever ungodly combination of herbs the grommets kept bringing, chewing, and spitting on the wounded.

Wherever Brynn was, he needed to hurry the hell up and get back here.

I pressed my sleeve to my nose as another guinea pig scurried past my feet, carrying what looked suspiciously like a human tooth.

"For the last time," Yolo wheezed, his face gray with exhaustion from hours of healing, meditating, and more healing combined with a desperate need for sleep, "get those things out of here!"

I used the butt of my spear to shoo several of the guinea pigs out of the room, but the grommets from Coil kept scooping them up and bringing them back in.

"Good for healing," a Coil grommet said, smiling wide as he dropped three more guinea pigs in the room. They were finding them in some kind of massive burrow north of our outpost, and all attempts to gather useful materials had been halted as the Coil Gromville focused entirely on guinea pig collection and delivery. The outpost was swarming with them now. "Good for morale," the grommet whispered.

"They are dirty," I said, half kneeling to look the grommet in its eyes. "And we're trying to keep sick people from dying in here."

It stared back at me, unblinking and still smiling. "Yes. Dirty is good. Dirty is connected with the ground. This is… bringing healing."

"It's going to make people more sick," I said. "Please, get them out of here."

"We will bring more. Then you will see." He flashed me a thumbs up with his fleshy pink hand. Protus had taught them that one, and the Coil grommets were constantly giving thumbs up to everything now.

"No more guinea pigs!" I shouted at the grommet, who was shuffling quickly out of the room.

"More! More is better!" It called without turning.

Even as it left, another Coil grommet appeared at the doorway, dropping in a few more confused guinea pigs that immediately rushed for the corners of the room, hooting and squeaking.

"Grimbo, you have to talk to them," I said.

But Grimbo was too busy watching Timbo work with a reverent glint in his eyes. "Coil Gromville…" he said slowly, hardly looking my way. "They have their ways."

"And if their way seems pointless and vaguely destructive?"

"Ohhh, this is good," Grimbo said, not seeming to hear me as he pulled a cluster of roots from somewhere within his hairs and popped them into his mouth.

Timbo had run out of mana hours ago, but appeared to believe hitting people with his stick had some kind of healing power even without magic. The grizzled grommet shuffled next to Ramzi, who was sweating and clutching a wound on his stomach. Black spread from the wound, cutting through his purple skin.

"Hm," Timbo said, leaning over him and looking at the wound.

Ramzi shook his head weakly, his deep voice half its normal volume. "Please, grommet. No more of your stick."

Timbo looked at his staff, then patted Ramzi on the forehead. "I bring you…" Timbo raised his staff with both hands, eyes closed exultantly.

"No…" Ramzi muttered.

"Healing!" Timbo shouted, smacking Ramzi hard on the chest.

The sekmeti let out a grunt and cough as Timbo shuffled to his next victim.

"Hey, Timbo," I said. "Tamrin said he has a headache. He's up on the outpost wall above the main gate. Do you think you could go take a look at him for me?"

Timbo half turned, one eye open and the other closed. He stroked his beard. "Long journey, this… hmm…"

"He asked for you. Specifically."

Timbo's mouth twitched wider. "Ah. Hmm. I must see to him. Yes." The gray-beared grommet waddled out of the room at low speeds, hopefully low enough speeds that it would be half an hour of peace while he was gone. I'd have to apologize to Tamrin later. Timbo probably wouldn't stop until he'd hit the poor boy on the head with his staff.

"Smart," Zahra said, appearing at my side. As one of the few who hadn't suffered a wound during the fighting, she was doing her best to keep the sick comfortable. But the caretakers were all paying a toll now after so many hours. The poison wasn't getting better, either. It was getting worse, and we all knew it.

I had a sinking feeling we wouldn't make it to morning without casualties.

"These grommets are a nuisance," I said, working on knocking guinea pigs off wounded people who were too weak to shake them off. The damn things were pissing and shitting everywhere, including on the wounded. "And they won't actually listen to anyone but Brynn."

"Do you expect him to return soon?" Zahra asked.

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"Wouldn't count on it," Hector said. He sat beside a woman and man who seemed particularly loyal to Hector. I wanted to have a word with Brynn about it, because I really didn't trust him. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before keeping him in our group bit us in the asses.

"He'll be back," I said.

"Good," Grimbo said. "This one is having… a gift for him when he returns." Grimbo giggled softly to himself, then knelt and began petting and talking to a brown guinea pig.

"I need some fresh air," I said, stepping outside and into the courtyard of the outpost.

Zahra followed. Once I stepped out into the night, I could see Timbo still slowly making his way toward the stairs leading to the upper walls. Tamrin waited, leaning with both arms over the front wall with no idea the grommet hero was coming for him. I did feel a little bad, but it was better than Timbo continuing to brutalize the wounded.

The sekmeti woman moved beside me, making so little noise it was almost unnerving. The dark purple of her skin looked almost neon in the moonlight and the specks of silver dotting her skin were like tiny stars. She regarded me, catlike eyes curious.

"What?" I asked.

"I am wondering how you're feeling. We haven't spoken much since the dungeon."

"I'm the one who should be asking you."

Zahra gave a casual shrug, as if their group being captured again and thrust into a tournament was hardly worth commenting on. "I've watched you closely, Lyria. You wish to help him. You wish it deeply."

I considered her words and was surprised to find my thoughts were instead on my parents. I shook my head. "Sort of. Yes and no."

Zahra raised a dark brow, waiting for me to explain.

"I started following him because I wanted to protect him. And then he grew so damn fast I looked up one day and realized I was kidding myself. He doesn't need my protection. I doubt he needs anybody's. And…"

"Now you feel as though you orbit him instead of travel with him?"

I laughed softly, stepping aside as two Coil grommets rushed past with wide smiles and wriggling guinea pigs in their hands.

"Something like that, I guess."

"May I make a suggestion?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

"You've proven to be a capable leader. What if you help him by leading where he can't here? Go to the other outpost. Make sure things are running smoothly there. Otherwise, you will continue to fall into his orbit, I suspect."

I was considering my response when Tamrin shouted in alarm. "Something's coming!"

"It's just Timbo," I said, cupping my hands around my mouth so my voice would carry. But Timbo looked like he had taken a breather, sitting down and gnawing on his staff while he scratched a pair of guinea pigs.

"Not Timbo," Tamrin said. "It's something big. I just saw a fucking tree explode in the distance."

My stomach sank. No. We were barely keeping it together as it was. There was no way we could face an attack. But we'd have to try.

"Grab anyone strong enough to fight and send them to the top of the wall," I said, touching Zahra's shoulder briefly before rushing up the stairs to the wall so I could see for myself.

Breathing hard, I took my place beside Tamrin, following his eyes to a place maybe a mile out.

Sure enough, I could see where a tree had fallen, leaving a bare patch in the canopy. There was also a sound like thunder, and it was getting closer. I could even feel the ground trembling through the wood outpost walls.

"What do you think it is?" Tamrin asked.

I shook my head, weapon held tight. "Hopefully something we can handle."

Footsteps thumped behind us and a handful of aspirants and slaves appeared. One of the slave girls got an arrow ready and nocked it, bow held at the ready.

And then I saw a glimpse of something moving between the trees. Gods. It was moving fast.

"There," I said, pointing.

"Hey!" Tamrin shouted. "We're armed up here!"

Whatever it was didn't hear or didn't care. It kept coming.

A moment later, a bright red beast with a horned helmet caked in more blood stepped into view. Its bare upper body was humanoid but carved with such thick and defined muscle it hardly looked human. Every inch of it was covered in bright red blood. The thing raised a bulging arm as if to wave at us, and the girl beside me released her arrow with a thwack.

The arrow slashed through the air, punching into the blood beast's chest. It cried out, voice distorted and hollow from within its helmet.

"It's me!" the thing shouted, voice so deep and booming I had to fight the urge to cover my ears.

"Back off!" I shouted back. "We have more arrows where that came from!"

The blood beast plucked the arrow from its swollen pectoral, bled briefly, and then seemed to immediately heal.

"I'm Brynn!" It roared in that strange, too-deep voice. "And that hurt!"

I hesitated, eyes narrowed as I leaned over the wall for a better look. That thing was twice the size of Brynn, or rather, its body was. The head did appear normal sized. And if I imagined the helmet minus the blood, it looked a little like the illusion Brynn had used on Voidgaze. But…

"It's a potion!" the thing shouted. "Watch!"

Brynn turned, muscles swelling as fresh blood dripped from his body like sweat, then punched a tree. There was a sound like a lightning bolt and the tree exploded in a shower of bark and splinters, some flying so fast they peppered us atop the wall.

The girl with the bow fired again, hitting him in the back this time. I felt magic flaring beside me and held my hand. "Hold your fire. I think… that's Brynn."

He fell to one knee, swearing as he reached his muscle-bound arm for the arrow in his back but couldn't get to it.

Was that actually him? I turned, running down the stairs behind the wall and heading for the gate. I passed Timbo on my way, who offered a small wave on his way up to whack Tamrin on the head.

I heard more shouting from above and cries of pain from Brynn down below.

"Stop shooting, you asshole!" the Brynn beast roared.

By the time I got the gate opened enough to slip through, Brynn was shot through with four arrows and trying to hide behind a tree, but his massive muscle-body was too big to be shielded. The girl was still firing arrow after arrow.

"Knock it off!" I shouted up at her, jogging to wave my arms and get between her and Brynn.

"Thanks," Brynn said, voice distorted and deeper than usual. "Do you mind?"

He turned his huge back to me, showing two arrows he couldn't reach as he plucked another pair out of his stomach, shuddering with pain.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Getting used to pain. Go ahead."

I pulled out both arrows, watching in horror and fascination and the flesh knitted itself together in seconds.

"Am I allowed to ask?" I said, studying his horrific appearance.

Brynn lifted a bag full of herbs. No. Not a bag. It was his shirt. That's why he was shirtless.

"You went hunting for herbs and… started sweating blood and your muscles got huge?" I guessed.

"I got an antidote for the poison. If that girl would stop shooting at me for a few seconds, I'd be happy to go cure the others."

"Um. Have you seen yourself? Is this whole… situation something you can turn off?"

Brynn looked down at himself, massive arms spreading. He nodded, as if understanding my point. "I think I have to wait for it to wear off. It was a potion. Blood rage."

"I… see…"

"Not sure how long till it wears off."

"Then let me go in first. I'll warn them that you look like something out of a nightmare, but you brought an antidote. Sound good?"

He gave me a thumbs up, still hiding behind the tree. As soon as I stepped out of the way, another arrow whistled past me and thudded into his arm.

"God dammit!" Brynn roared.