Warband

Chapter 12. Meet the Beast.

Bursting from the tree line, Silas stopped and looked toward the platform. There, at the top, a blue portal opened, and Buster emerged. The dog shook himself like he did after getting wet, then turned toward Silas and began barking. Silas, gasping for breath after his frantic run, slowly shuffled toward the platform as Buster walked carefully down the stone steps to meet him.

“I thought I lost you buddy; don’t you do that again. You’re all I have left now,” Silas said. A pang of remorse hit him as the dog started licking his face excitedly. Buster really was all he had left. They’d never had kids, though Lisa would adopt the neighbor kids and was always buying them treats.

“Okay, boy, let me check you out and see if everything is still attached where it’s supposed to be,” Silas said, looking over Buster. He wanted to make sure his hip where the spear had hit him was healed up, which it was. Silas also wanted a moment to make sure that the Buster in front of him was the real deal, not some weird clone or something. From the small mannerisms to the way he rolled over for tummy rubs, and his overall demeanor, Silas had to say that this Buster was the real thing.

“How does the System do that?” Silas asked Nebram who was still shadowing him about ten yards away.

“Do what?” Nebram asked.

“You know, bring Buster back to life,” Silas asked.

“It’s not something I’ve seen done before. From what the elders said, under special circumstances, the System can preserve the essence of a person for a time, then rebuild their body and merge the essence into the body. This rebirth is what must have happened with your companion. Be grateful, it is a rare occurrence saved for special circumstances,” Nebram explained.

“My problem remains. I need to find a place that works as a base of operations,” I said. Nebram must have felt a bit more comfortable around Silas as he began to move closer, even reaching down to touch Buster’s fur. Buster gave Nebram a look, but didn’t bark or snap at him. As far as Silas was concerned, Buster not attacking him was a point in Nebram’s favor.

“We could return to my village...” Nebram started to suggest before Silas cut him off.

“Nope, those hotheads in your village need some time to calm down, as do I,” Silas said, still fuming when he thought of the naga killing Buster.

“I know this area well, but not so much the area to the northeast. To the west there is a place that might be suitable for what you’re looking for. It’s a bit difficult to reach, and my people believe it to be cursed, but that would make it easier to defend, wouldn’t it?” Nebram offered.

“Sure, take us there, and let me check it out. I’m not afraid of some curse,” Silas said.

Nebram nodded excitedly and began to lead Silas to the west. The jungle didn’t change and without his internal map, Silas would have worried about getting turned around. His jungle senses weren’t as fine-tuned as they were back in Vietnam, but here, he was beginning to hear the rhythm of the place, learning the sounds of the animal, insects, and plants.

As they walked, Silas had to tell Nebram to slow up a bit. He was feeling better than usual, but his old body didn’t have the stamina to keep the brisk pace that the naga was setting. He could tell that Buster was struggling a bit also. To his credit, Nebram didn’t protest or ask questions, he just slowed his pace to match his two companions.

Nebram stopped suddenly, his head cocked to the side like he was listening for something. Silas and Buster followed suit, with Silas crouching down onto one knee with his rifle raised, scanning the jungle around them. Buster started sniffing the air, like he was trying to pick up a scent that was somehow able to elude him.

It was then that Silas heard it, something was stomping toward them, something that had no issues blazing a trail through the thick jungle undergrowth. Nebram pointed to their left and began to slither away, and Silas followed right behind. Their naga guide was smart, trying to sidestep out of the path of whatever was coming.

Silas didn’t bother to ask, keeping quiet and trusting the naga to speak up if he thought that Silas needed to hear anything. Buster looked toward the growing noise, a low growl breaking their nearly silent movement. A stern look caused Buster to shut up. The noise in the jungle shifted, and it was now heading toward them. Whatever was out there had their scent and was tracking them.

“What is it?” Silas asked.

“I fear it is our doom if we cannot find refuge,” Nebram said, looking terrified and about to bolt away from his slower companions at any moment.

“Spill it, what are we facing?” Silas said, annoyed that Nebram gave some vague answer about doom instead of telling him what was after them.

“I fear it is one of the jungle lords, either Cavanik or Brexund based on all the sound it’s making,” Nebram said, into a small clearing with a stand of the tree-like plants in the center. It wasn’t exactly great cover, but Silas was more than happy to be somewhere that would force whatever was chasing them to show itself.

“Again, what the hell is a jungle lord,” Silas said, his annoyance mounting as he stopped behind the plants with Nebram and checked over his weapons to make sure they were ready to go.

“There are three jungle lords, each a powerful beast considered to be the apex predator of its territory. One of the lords is the Jaguar, Gloam, who is far too quiet to be what is coming for us. The others are a powerful dire boar we call Cavanik, and the final is the great serpent Brexund. Normally, this territory is closer to where Cavanik hunts, so I suspect it is him rather than Brexund who likes to remain in the north,” Nebram said, finally being helpful in his explanation.

“Anything special that I need to know about this big pig Cavanik?” Silas asked.

“It’s hide is as strong as chainmail, and the boar is the size of a wagon. It will not be easy to kill, even with your loud weapon,” Nebram said, pointing toward Silas’ rifle.

“If we are facing something that powerful, it’s time to bring out the party favors,” Silas said, pulling the grenade that he had almost ended himself with from his LBV. He felt a bit of that pain again as they waited for whatever was charging toward them to appear. Silas wasn’t sure how he would make it if Buster left him.

Thoughts of nearly losing Buster were cast aside as a huge figure stomped its way into the small clearing. It was the biggest warthog-looking thing that Silas had ever seen. Easily as tall at the shoulders as a horse, and bulkier than an elephant. Knotty, brown hide with bristly hair covered the beast, and Silas could see a patchwork of scars covering its body from the countless battles this monster must have fought over the years.

Tusks the size of shortswords jutted from its jaw and it sniffed the air like Buster, as it tried to capture their scent. Silas sighted in on the monster, ready to fire at it first to get its attention before chucking the grenade. Cavanik suddenly shifted its oversized head to the east, snorting loudly before charging toward some other unseen target. The boar emitted a loud, sharp squeal that made Silas feel odd and lethargic.

You are under the effects of Cavanik’s Furious Charge. Movement speed is decreased by 50% for the next 10 seconds.

The System words flashed into view then cleared away before they could cause any trouble with Silas’ field of vision. Cavanik flew through the clearing and tore its way deeper into the jungle. Whatever it was after, Silas was glad it wasn’t him.

“What was that charge thing all about, how was it able to slow us down?” Silas asked.

“It’s one of the elite beast abilities, each of the jungle lords have several, but few survive their encounters with the monsters to talk about their skills. We are lucky, and the first I know to get this close to Cavanik and live. It’s after other, more enticing prey, so we should leave while we have the chance,” Nebram suggested.

“Yeah, let’s move,” Silas said half-heartedly. If he was honest with himself, he really had a hankering to try his weapons out against the monster, though the knowledge that it had some strange System ability to slow him down put a damper on his enthusiasm. Something told Silas that this wasn’t the last time that he’d encounter Cavanik, and when they met again, he wanted to be ready for it.