My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

Kon and Helie arrived first, eyes darting around for danger. Lucen glanced at the child's teary face wearily. His tattered clothes were silk and thick cotton, his brown hair was matted with mud, but still looked well cared for.

"What's your name?" Lucen asked first.

"Taragivian, just call me Tara," he said hurriedly, "but forget that. My mom and dad, please—"

"Lucen! The Withmare?" Helie interrupted.

"Dead. My tail had Carama tree sap in it. Its head should be thoroughly destroyed."

Kon found the corpse, lying still against the earth. The Withmare's bone mask smoked and steamed as the bone was eaten by the corrosive sap. The back of its head had been eaten right through and its blood and brains spilled to the earth in a steaming pile.

Lucen released [Tailwhip], the water disappearing immediately, leaving the deadly sap to fall against the plants.

He pursed his lips, unsure what to tell Tara. His parents were most likely dead by now. Withmare were ruthless and brutal, they would sever their heads and carve off the skin, making new bone masks for their children.

Lucen gathered the boy in his arms and began walking back to Blacktail Road.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Tara yelled. "My parents are over there!"

"I know. We're going to get them now, I just need to get you somewhere safe."

Tara sensed something was wrong, though. He fought with every ounce of strength he had. Soon Lucen could see people running down from the roads, weapons ready.

Set saw Lucen and raised an eyebrow. "Who's the kid?"

"His parents were taken by the Withmare."

Set paled, turning to Tara, who was now crying. "Don't cry, it's okay. Were your parents in a caravan?"

"Yes. We had a Knight and everything," Tara wailed, "someone climbed the tree for some fruit and then the monsters came out of the trees. There were so many of them. We have to save the rest!"

"I'm sorry, kid. They're gone. Withmare are terrible monsters. If they just captured your family—"

"No! They're still alive. We've been hostages for more than eight hours. They parade around in the clothes we were taking to Bulwark. Then they kill one of us when they're bored. They're still alive! Please, we have to go before they smash my parents' heads. I'll do—"

Aya walked over to him and took Tara into her hands, pressing his head against her shoulder, and whispering calmly to him. She gave Lucen an urgent look. "What are we doing? We have to go now."

Lucen turned to Set, both of them shared a sad look. The others were whispering among themselves, shocked by the Withmares' behaviour.

"Monsters wearing clothes?"

"Withmare are usually very violent. They never bother taking prisoners."

"How many of them might be out there?"

"Their behaviour could even be caused by a Tyrant."

The opinion was swinging towards just getting the fuck out of here before the Withmares came after them. Attacking them in their home was ill-advised at best and suicidal at worst.

The Withmare forest ran along the Blacktail for a short time. It was just a stop in their journey to the Red Keep. It was mostly deviod of any animals since the Withmare were extremely territorial.

They avoided the Blacktail road and the caravans because they knew how dangerous humans could be. The sudden change in behaviour was unnatural.

"We have to just leave it," Set decided. "We'll be risking our own necks on just the second day of the journey."

It was a reasonable conclusion. Not the easiest to swallow. But the truth. They would lose a lot of people on this journey, but the second day was too early.

"Lucen, he came to you." Aya set a firm gaze on Lucen, who had remained silent. "Do you want to save him?"

Tara's big, brown eyes bored into him, hope burning radiantly in his eyes. Like the very moment when Lucen swooped down from the sky to rescue him.

Lucen turned away. "I'm not in charge here."

Aya stared at him for a couple of moments, but she nodded tersely, respecting his decision.

Tara started wailing again, the sound echoed and drifted somberly between the tall trees.

Lucen didn't like the look everyone was giving him. They all didn't want to risk it, why did they all look at him like that the moment he said he didn't want to?

Did they expect him to go alone, slay all the beasts, and effortlessly save the day?

There were probably multiple Stalkers out there. Withmare Stalkers tended to be smaller than Red Snapper or Bull Wolf Stalkers. But they were still a force to reckon with.

Lucen turned away and walked over to the corpse of the Stalker he killed. It was covered in white fur, six long, gangly arms stretching from its body. The bone mask the Withmare always wore was burned away to reveal a blackened, twisted face and milky white eyes.

Kon placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't fret about the others. They're just being dumb, Set already said we can't win."

Helie looked less reluctant to agree with this sentiment. "I guess it's just sour to say in front of the kid. He's basically said that the boy's parents are doomed."

"They probably knew we would be leaving for our quest today," Elle said, eyes narrowing, "If they wanted they could've waited for us. You can't put blame for their decisions on Lucen."

"I'm not blaming Lucen, relax." Helie stood away. "It just sucks, okay. I feel bad for the kid."

Lucen was examining the body when he froze. He stood suddenly and started to back away. Helie, Kon and the others around the corpse watched him incredulously.

Kon walked closer. "Lucen, what's wrong—"

Lucen's spear flashed into his hand and [Starfall] was used immediately. The spear turned into a luminous bolt of light and skewered the Withmare into the ground.

Lucen's eyes were wide and white. "It's still alive."