Warband

Chapter 10. Slithering in the Undergrowth.

Hissing voices broke through the foliage. Silas waited for the strange language thing the System had placed in his head to kick in. Hushing Buster who was about to start barking, Silas finally could make out what the hidden figures were saying.

“The noise was loud, like thunder, but the day is clear,” one of the voices whispered.

“Keep it down, the corrupted ones don’t need any additional incentives to stalk us,” another voice hissed in reply. The figures finally appeared through the jungle undergrowth, on a path that would cross just in front of Silas and Buster. It was another trio of the snake people, but these didn’t seem as crazy as the one that had attacked them.

Each of them wore brown tunics over their upper torsos but nothing covered their serpent-like lower body as they slithered slowly forward. Two of the snake-people held spears with black stone tips that looked like sharpened glass. It reminded Silas of an old history class in school where they talked about primitive cultures using obsidian to fashion weapons and tools.

The one snake guy in the back held a wooden staff. He also had a smaller head and body than the other two. All three of them suddenly looked up into the trees. Before they could fully react, another of the crazed snake guys jumped down onto the one with the staff.

Knocked off his feet, the guy with the staff didn’t try to get up and instead started chanting. His two companions with the spears slithered forward and stabbed at the crazy one. Silas remained still, watching the fight unfold. He’d already been attacked by one of the crazy snake guys, but these three reasonably sane newcomers weren’t necessarily friendly.

Ignoring the spears piercing its scaly hide, the crazed snake man lunged forward, driving its long fangs into the one that was chanting. Silas could see the victims shoulder swell up as the crazed attacker pumped venom into his body. A scream of pain was cut off as the chanter slumped over, probably dead, but at least not moving.

“Well Buster, at least those three can talk, and maybe we can reason with them. Watch your ears, I’m going to take a shot,” Silas said, shifting his aim to the crazed snake man who, while Silas was deciding what to do, had taken down one of the spear bearers. The surviving sane snake man looked terrified and despite the wounds it had taken, the crazed creature kept up its frantic attacks, biting repeatedly at his target.

A loud boom sounded in the forest, and at first, Silas thought he might have missed. Just as he was about to squeeze off another round, the crazed creature hissed loudly once, then slumped to the ground. Silas held his position, still at least partially concealed by the jungle. The only upright snake man looked around frantically, clutching his spear tightly, but was unable to pinpoint exactly where the shot had come from.

Giving up on locating Silas, the snake man instead looked to his friends. A few moments spent with each one revealed they were both dead. Tears began to glisten in the snake man’s eyes, and Silas could relate to the horrible sadness the snake guy was experiencing after losing his comrades in combat. Silas decided it was time to reveal himself.

“Hey there, hold up, I’m not going to hurt you unless you do something stupid,” Silas said as he stood up from his concealed position.

“Who are you,” the snake man said, pointing his spear in Silas’ direction and glancing furtively behind him to see if it was clear to flee.

“I’m called Silas, a human, and this here is my friend, Buster. Now, who exactly are you and what was the deal with the guy who attacked you?” Silas asked.

“A human, here? I thought only my people, and the thrice-cursed gnomes lived on this layer. When did you get here?” the snake man asked.

“How about we do this, you answer my question, then I’ll answer one of yours. Deal?” Silas offered.

“Yes, oh, uh, I’m Nebram, and that used to be one of the folk. Sadly, he succumbed to the call of Bhalkur which drove him mad. As for my question, where did you come from?” Nebram asked.

“I came through a portal that opened up in my garage. The System gave me some quest thingy to deal with this Bhalkur guy. Now that I’ve answered that, what exactly are you, I’ve never seen anyone like you on my world,” Silas asked.

“My people are of the naga, and we have lived here for as long as the pit has existed. Recently, the imprisoned one began to stir from his long slumber, and his efforts are causing chaos throughout the pit,” Nebram explained.

“How many more of these nut jobs are running around the jungle? I had to deal with a whole mess of gnomes that were acting like this too,” Silas said.

“Yes, the gnome tribe were occasionally our trade partners and often our enemies. We haven’t heard from them in some time and feared the worst. I can only hope that some still stand strong and that all have not surrendered their will to Bhalkur,” Nebram said.

“I don’t know how many gnomes there were in this layer, but I’ve had to put down more than a few,” Silas paused, trying to count how many gnomes he’d dealt with. There was three in his garage, three in the marketplace, and five he had fought here inside the pit. “It was at least eleven of them,” Silas said.

“Eleven of the mad, and you with only a spear. You must be quite a warrior. Do you also wield magic, I heard thunder before this one fell dead at my coils,” Nebram said, gesturing with his spear toward the crazed snake guy. No, Silas figured that snake guy wasn’t accurate, they were naga, whatever a naga was.

“I can hold my own in a fight. There’s one more question I have, Nebram. The System wants me to find a base of operation. Do you know anywhere that might fit that description?” Silas asked.

“Perhaps, but first answer this. What do you intend to do once you find this base of operations?” Nebram asked.

“I’m not sure, I sort of figured the System would explain the next step at that point. As far as the ultimate goal, I need to rid this place of Bhalkur and stop whatever is lurking in here from escaping into my world,” Silas explained, pointing toward the body of the crazed naga.

“A noble cause, and the same that my people were tasked with so many generations ago. I can’t guarantee you’ll be allowed to stay long term, but I’d like to offer you a chance to visit my people. Perhaps the elders will see that your quest is honorable and will offer you a place among us,” Nebram offered.

“Lead the way Nebram, but what about your fallen?” Silas asked.

“Despite the corruption in his mind, the fallen brother is safe to eat. Do you wish to claim his corpse? If you do not want to, the gatherers will take your kill when they come for my brothers,” Nebram said.

“You eat your own?” Silas said, more than a little shocked at the cannibalistic practice.

“Of course, why would we waste the meat? This way, their strength will be passed on to the folk, and we will be stronger for their sacrifice. Is this not a practice among your kind?” Nebram asked, curiosity etched on his scaled features.

“No, we tend to shy away from that. Not that it hasn’t ever happened, but it’s frowned upon by my people. I won’t judge your kind based on the practices of my people,” Silas said.

“An odd belief, Silas. Perhaps we should head back to my village. The loud sound of your thunder strike will attract unwanted attention. There are worse things than cursed gnomes and folk in the jungle,” Nebram said, motioning for Silas to follow after he gathered his comrade’s gear. They must recycle the weapons just like they did with the meat.

The journey wasn’t far, and Silas kept tabs on his map as they moved. As they got closer to the edge of the map, Silas could see vertical cliffs rising in the distance. It appeared that this layer of the pit was hemmed in by a massive, stone cliff face. Silas wondered what was on the other side, was it just more of that void that he’d experienced when stepping through a portal, or were the other layers somehow arrayed around them?

“We draw near. My people have not seen outsiders in some time, and with the growing power of Bhalkur, they will be somewhat distrustful of you. Please, do not take offense, I will explain that you’ve helped me, and dealt with some of the fallen gnomes,” Nebram said as they reached a clearing.

A wide, open killing ground had been cleared around a village. The village itself couldn’t be seen other than a few rooftops that peeked over a wall that surrounded the place. Made from lashed together trunks of forest plants, the wall looked rather flimsy to Silas, and he figured that it wasn’t going to do a whole lot to stave off any serious attack.

What might help if this place was attacked were the dozen naga warriors slithering out of the gate and toward Silas. Each was armed and equipped the same as Nebram, and they looked less than pleased with Silas and Buster’s appearance.