Chapter 2: Axiom

The beast roared. “Nigel, take the right. Iris, go left. I’ll attack from under while Jeffery shoots from above,.” Rintra commanded, darting towards the beast. The crew did as they were told, except for Jeffrey. He was petrified. Literally. Slobber from the basilisk contains the beasts venom. I guess you already know where this is going, but when the beast roared, the slobber flew towards Jeffery. Put two and two together. Anyways, Murk noticed this little mishap and decided to ignore it. Keep that in mind. 

While under the beast, Rintra let out a barrage of slices. Yes, he did this with a greatsword. He is the best swordsman of Shult after all. He stabbed his sword into the ground and used his blood- covered hand to draw a rune on the beast’s stomach. It melted the flesh and began to burn the shape in. The beast let out an ungodly roar as its body swelled and cracked as its scales began to bleed and rot.

“Don’t let the slobber get on you!” Rintra commanded, raising his shield. His shield became heavy, turning into stone. “Damn this beast!” he bellowed, taking out two daggers. He stabbed them into the beast’s side, climbing up.

Iris lunged after the beast, in a rampage. She let out a volley of punches, pummeling the flesh as Nigel shot what looked to be dark lightning from his fingertips. The tenderized meat grew nasty blight-like sores, festering and oozing a dark purple viscous liquid. The beast stumbled and fell onto its side.

 Murk stood up, his fiddle hovering in the same spot he played it, playing on its own. He bolted over to the festering spot, stealing samples of blood. When he was finished, he noticed the tail of the beast swinging towards him, so he jumped. He landed on the tree holding the statue of Jeffery. Murk slathered the sludge on Jeffery. The blood cured his petrification, but Murk didn’t expect what would happen when he did this.

Jeffery released his arrow, not realizing he was turned into stone. The arrow flew and hit Rintra in the shoulder. This caught Rintra off guard and caused him to fall off of the beast. “Damn it! Watch where you’re shooting Jeffery!” he shouted as he hit the ground. The beast stood up and one of its feet pressed on Rintra. 

“I could use some help here!” he ordered. Everybody was busy. “Fine, I guess I have to do this,.” he said, drawing the dagger along his chest. The wound began to glow and fade. Rintra grabbed the beast’s leg and ripped it off. He stood up and flipped the beast over. His strength and speed increased in great amounts, matching the beasts.This caught everyone off guard. Rintra toppled the beast with ease, but how?

You see, bloodhunters, like I said, are a monster to fight monsters. He dabbled with the sciences and other otherworldly knowledge and created an ability. If he could slay a beast, couldn’t he take its power? This ability allows him to mimic the power of whatever beast he is touching, but it hurts him. A lot actually. It takes a couple years from his life, but ends the life of what he is fighting. It’s more of a lifeline or last resort. 

Iris grabbed the beast by its tail as Jeffery shot a crazy amount of arrows while Nigel sat back and watched the show. He knew that they reached the final stretch of the fight. Rintra used the beast’s leg to bash its head in as it wiggled around trying to flee. “It’s been fun, basilisk,” he taunted, before shoving the leg through its face, killing it almost instantly. He hopped off the beast’s corpse, shaking the ground as he landed.

“God I’m tired. Iris, grab its leg,.” he ordered, grabbing a huge bundle of rope. She didn’t answer him. The crew gave him a strange look. Murk let out a chuckle. “What?” Rintra asked, looking at his team. He walked past them and grabbed the pole that was stuck in the ground. “Let’s go, I’m not waiting another second.” he said, reaching into the caravan. As he wrapped a bandage around his hand, the party cleaned up the area. All the arrows and blades were picked up.

“So, how long have you been able to do that?” Nigel asked, sitting in the passenger seat. Rintra stepped up and sat by the reins. He signaled to the horses to move and they did.

“For quite some time, but it’s not something I enjoy. If anything, it hurts,.” Rintra replied, grabbing a bottle from his satchel. It contained a strange pink fluid which he downed. A wite aura beamed around the caravan. All the sound the party made was muffled. Nobody outside of the aura could hear.

“It’s not exactly safe, or legal. If any other bloodhunters knew of this ability, I would be burned at the stake. I’m tampering with not only my life, but the afterlife of the creature I’m slaying. It truly is ungodly. So let’s keep this under wraps,.” he explained, sighing afterwards. “Anyways, we are almost to Hexonia, let’s not talk too much,.” he requested. The party nodded and sat back, enjoying the sounds of nature.