“That… is a lot of dead penguins…”
“It’s only, like, twenty penguins.”
Tenuk, Nyssi and Ilga all stared at Kayel.
“What? It’s twenty penguins! It’s nature, they get eaten all the time!”
Nyssi crossed her arms and tutted. “Normally the prey gets dragged away or eaten or whatever. Not just left and killed for no reason.”
“Well yeah, most of the time, sure, but there’s creatures like… I dunno what you call them, but the alepudes of the Voidlands, they will kill as many kotops as possible and come back over time to drag them away and bury them elsewhere!” Kayel protested.
Ilga frowned, then couldn’t help but agree. “He’s right. Foxes do that with prey too. And orcas are known to kill larger whales and only eat parts of them, just letting the corpses fall to the bottom of the ocean to feed the depths. Still, twenty penguins is quite a lot, and your statement was rather cold, Kayel.”
Kayel grunted. “I’ve shared pizza with the Silent Blade, I’ve decapitated a corrupted deity and I’ve watched the light fade from the eyes of my fellow Skyans, this stuff doesn’t bother me as much as it should. Still, Nyssi, we can use this to track the Corruptiids, right?”
Nyssi frowned, then continued to tut, before slowly approaching the nearest set of dead penguins. She got down on her knees and took a long deep breath. Almost immediately, Nyssi picked up a scent, and it was definitely not one she liked.
“Ugh…”
The scent lingered in Nyssi’s nostrils. Acidic, bloody and foreign. Slightly rotten too, but not rotten like flesh. Sulphuric. Diseased.
“Alright… scent is kinda weak, but I have one. Follow me.”
Nyssi picked herself up, then marched off, heading up towards the rocky hills. Tenuk stared at Kayel some more, then shapeshifted himself into a large Vrekan and followed Nyssi, and Ilga followed as well.
“Was I too blunt or something?” Kayel asked as he turned to Retvik. “Also, you’re totally not doing the thing you do when you see cats.”
Retvik shrugged. “I think the over-protectiveness is just something we do with fluffy kitties. Things like fluffy puppies and, well, penguins do not trigger us the same way. Also, maybe you were a little blunt? I am clearly not the best person to ask though.”
“Good point…” Kayel muttered. “Anyway, we should try and keep up.”
Nyssi had already trekked quite far, not at all bothered by the terrain, even if her shoes were a bit inappropriate. Being a member of a predator species, Nyssi had technically evolved to be able to cover rough ground even in bare feet. Tenuk though found he was struggling with his Vrekan form, and had changed himself into a Temthan as well, a blue, female version of Nyssi. Ilga had essentially metal feet and no actual toes, so she was completely fine.
“So, these Corruptiids, do you know much about how they nest?” Ilga asked as they walked.
“Nope. We know fuck all about them, apart from the fact that they tend to hunt solo or in pairs at most!” Nyssi explained. “The ones we’ve all seen mostly acted on their own unless threatened.”
“And do they normally attack prey the same way we saw them yesterday?”
“Yeah. Dive-bomb tactics and smashing prey to bits. The ones we killed on Kolasi, they would just break the limbs of Thracks then drag them away.”
Ilga paused. “These Corruptiids hunt Thracks?”
“They’ll hunt anything. Whatever there’s the most of. If there were a ton of Banikans here, they’d probably hunt those.”
“That… is very concerning… I am glad I am heavily armoured.”
Nyssi glanced at Ilga. “Doesn’t matter. Those claws are sharp as fuck. They’ll just peel you open and suck out the tasty flesh underneath, your metal armour coatings be damned.”
The Lanex hesitated, then grabbed an extending spear from her backpack. Just in case.
The group continued to walk, up until they reached a rocky outcrop. Nyssi abruptly paused, then sniffed the air again. She scanned the landscape, then looked around some more.
“Tenuk?”
“Yes?”
“Need your help.”
Tenuk frowned. “It took off, right?”
“Yep. But we’re out in the open, there’s no trees or anything to hide in. Which means there has to be a cave or something around here that they’re hiding in.”
“Alright, fine…”
With a pained grunt, Tenuk got down on all fours, then changed his shape, growing quite large in size as he turned into a Thraki.
“Do you need to ride on my back or what?” Tenuk growled.
Nyssi glanced at Ilga, then at Kayel and Retvik as they finally caught up, before shrugging. “I suppose two pairs of eyes are better than one. Retty, dear, can you keep an eye on Kayel and Ilga as they look out from below, while Tenuk and I do our search from above?”
Retvik shrugged some more. “Of course.”
Nyssi smiled, then climbed onto Tenuk’s back. He had conveniently created two horns above his shoulders for Nyssi to hold on to. They quickly took off and began to circle the area.
“So, uh, what are we looking for?” Kayel looked confused.
“A cave. Or somewhere where a large, dark apex predator can hide.”
“Ah.”
Kayel fell silent, then pulled out his rifle, using the scope as a makeshift telescope. Ilga didn’t need any additional apparatus, she had a special lens built into her mask, but she wasn’t currently using it. Retvik though focused on Tenuk and Nyssi as they flew around. He noticed that they had already landed on the peak of a nearby hill, and stomped off after them.
“He’s pretty quiet today!” Ilga pointed out as she and Kayel chased after the heavy Rethan.
“Yeah, he is, actually!” Kayel agreed. “Retvik’s just in silent protector mode though. Tenuk nearly got hurt yesterday, we’re hunting big beasts and Retvik’s kinda been on edge ever since we got here since he doesn’t like water.”
“Understandable. You also seem a bit off. But I don’t really know Skyavok enough to know if your off-ness is normal or not.”
Kayel hesitated. “I dunno. I feel fine, if I’m honest. But I’m a murderer, heading out to murder some monsters, so of course I’m fine.”
“So you are an actual Phantasma?”
“I am, yes. But I don’t like talking about it.”
“… Understandable…” Ilga fell silent, realizing that maybe she was asking too many questions. Instead, she picked up her pace. Tenuk and Nyssi were waiting for them, and Tenuk had turned back into his normal Spast self.
As promised, Tenuk had found a cave. The entrance was huge and the cave itself didn’t seem that deep at first glance. However, it was clear that the cave was partially submerged.
“I thought Corruptiids didn’t like water?” Ilga was somewhat surprised.
“Well…” Nyssi frowned. “Tenuk had a quick check, the water is kinda just… the opposite of a bubble. A stopgap to protect the Corruptiids’ nest or something.”
“It’s about 20m of water. Not too far to swim through, I can do it in one breath!” Tenuk added. “But Nyssi and I, we can totally smell the Corruptiids. They came this way. And they’re kinda rubbery and slippery and slimy so they can slip through no problem.”
“Shall we then?” Ilga asked.
“Uh, no…”
Everyone turned to Retvik.
“I apologise, but I am not going to swim through a very thin tunnel where I could get stuck. Not without proper and complete diving apparatus.”
Tenuk wandered over and patted Retvik on the leg. “It’s fine! You can stay here and guard the entrance and make sure nothing tries to block us in or whatever. Alright?”
“But… that means… leaving you all unprotected…” Retvik hesitated. “I do not like this at all.”
“We’ll be fine, Retvik. Once we’re on the other side, I’ll turn into a big scary Rethan like you and I’ll protect Nyssi and Kayel and Ilga. Although, if I’m honest, Ilga’s a Lanex, she doesn’t need protecting.”
Retvik sighed, then relented. “I… I am sorry.”
“Seriously, Ret! It’s fine!” Nyssi did her best to reassure Retvik. “You can’t do everything. We’re just going to have a quick look around anyway, we’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Alright…”
Retvik stepped back, away from the water, then watched as Ilga handed the others a small emergency breathing device. The Lanex entered the water first, followed by the Spast, then the Temthan. Kayel glanced at Retvik, checking that he was alright, before climbing into the water too. All four of them swiftly disappeared beneath the surface, and the water swiftly settled down.
With a worried sigh, Retvik stood by the entrance, hoping that his friends wouldn’t be gone for too long.