Not so alone[Alric Wilmot]

[Ssafirsotibones]

55 Spring 512 Bones crept along, his body close to the uneven mountainous terrain... Trying to keep from being seen, and making sure his standing human form was not visible... That would far to easily scare off any possible prey... He was alone... Just him and the land... His clothes on his flesh... The weight of his gladius, as it was strapped across his back... Almost begging to be pulled out of its sheath, to bite into flesh, to be bathed in the life sap of some creature... Bones said a short prayer, asking Caiyha to give him guidance, to once more provide for his bodily needs... To allow him to come out victorious, and to be the one eating at the end of the day, instead of the other way around... Bones took in a deep breath, keeping aware of his surroundings... He could taste it on the air... His anticipation grew... It was only a matter of time, till he would find some morsel of meat... Then he would simply have to prove his worth, to prove why he deserved to live on another day... As he did near every day... Perhaps it would be something small, that he would need to sneak up on... Or something larger, also thinking it deserved to live another day... Those were the most exciting ones... The ones were his blood really got pumping, and he was truly able to show his strength...

[Alric Wilmot]

Did you ever have one of those days? One of those days when you hated the world and everyone in it? Alric never had. But he was coming very, very close. He ran along the streets of Alvadas in a mad dash, chasing after a giggling idiot that Alric sincerely wished dead. Or, at least, not within a hundred miles of him. Alric was dressed in his Speaker robes, and as such was on duty. He was seeing to it that the laws of Alvadas were kept. Alvadas did not have unreasonable expectations for their citizens, but their was always that one moron who found any and every rule unreasonable simply because it was a rule. Enter Kyle Lurin. A man near to Alric's age, going on seven. He was notorious among Alric's Womiyu peers as the 'Urine Lurin' and was known to trespass on private residents, and urinate on them. He had been doing this for quite a while now, and had managed to avoid Alric's master, Lady Jahoma. It seemed as though Ionu himself was trying to keep Kyle from being caught, because every time Lady Jahoma seemed to get close, the city would shift itself in such a way as to let him get away. Jahoma had gotten so fed up with it that she shoved it onto Alric to catch him. And so, for two weeks, Alric had been chasing after 'Urine Lurin'. Alric had thought it fun at first, after all going into a bar and asking about a notorious criminal who's greatest crime was Unlawful Urination was pretty funny. That is,until Kyle had the audacity to whiz on the remains of Wilmot Manor. Alric had lost his amusement at Kyle's antics almost immediately and had been diligently pursuing him ever since. Alric had more luck than Jahoma, as Ionu seemed more inclined to give him a chance. But he still had a fair bit of trouble. Notably, he wasn't physically fit. He could run full blast for about ten seconds, and jog for thirty. Kyle on the other hand, seemed to be on full blast at all hours of the day. Even when Alric had cornered him in a small restaurant, he had been able to run away. Now, Alric had found him once again. It was almost routine. Kyle, with his dong hanging out, would be found by Alric, who was tipped off by a citizen sympathetic to his cause. Kyle would laugh, splash Alric, and run away trailing bodily fluid. It would seem as though Alric had finally caught him, only for Alric to run out of energy, and he would get away laughing madly the whole time. But this time was different. Alric had scouted out the area before confronting 'Urine Lurin', and had asked fellow citizens to block off escape routes. Normally, this would be useless for many reasons. One, was that this was Alvadas, and as such shifted constantly. Another was the general populace usually disliked their law enforcement. However, as Alric had found out soon after this ordeal had begun, Ionu really did give him sporting chances. The city seemed to keep the surroundings relatively stable during their chases. And it was about time Alric took advantage of it. As for citizens normal aversion to law enforcement, this was Alvadas. The Womiyu were lauded as heroes. Needless to say, it worked. Alric was finally going to catch the notorious 'Urine Lurin' and bring him to justice. However, just as Alric brushed Kyle's coat, the city decided to shift. Alric nearly cursed at his patron god, but then noticed that the city had done something far different than it had ever done before. Alric and Kyle stood outside the walls of Alvadas, dumbstruck at the sudden change. However, Alric was much quicker to recover, and grabbed hold of Kyle's arm in a very uncomfortable way. "You are finally under arrest. I am sincerely going to enjoy coming up with a punishment for you." However, as Alric was threatening his newfound prisoner, a loud...bleating sound came from the nearby trees. Alric turned to face the source, only to find a large bi-pedal goat standing beneath the trees, staring at them. It gave off another bleat, showing off pointed teeth as big as Alric's finger. Alric didn't wait to see if it would attack. He ran. Leaving the 'Urine Lurin' to fend for himself.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones had his entire focus honed to a point, working on finding the scent on the air he had tasted... It could not be far off now... But his attention was drawn, as he heard screaming. He supposed he needed to come to there aid, his fellow traveler of the wilds... Upon knowing they were evidently in serious trouble. He leapt up from the spot, hearing movement in the distance, as his prey was spooked and skittered off. Dang screamer... He put his hand to his gladius, and looked around, trying to find were exactly the scream had come from... As he heard a second scream, he went running, going in the direction of it... Besides, even if he did not want to help, he would not be able to catch anything till things got quieter... As Bones was on his way though, he of course did not see the scene that had caused the stir. As the goat man had appeared, letting out its bleating, both Alric and Lurin saw it. Lurin froze up, and screamed twice, a long piercing scream. Alric on the other hand had started racing away as soon as he had seen the thing, and took off leaving him. It was certainly odd... It was definitely a goat... It had big long horns, each one ending in a sharp point, that looked like it could go right through flesh like it was wet paper, and gore someone... It stood on its hind legs, its full height easily higher than Alrics, and just short of a foot taller than Bones when standing. However, its knees seemed odd, since they seemed to bend the wrong way from how a humans did, as it was standing on its hind legs. Its teeth were certainly much larger than a normal goats teeth, each one ending in a point, and the length of a blade from a knife, or a slim daggers blade. As it let out a loud and deep throat-ed bleat though, the most scary thing could be heard... Not that far off, there were several answering bleats, which from there depth of tone, were not normal goats, but more of these goat men... Lurin, of course, was not as fast on the uptake as Alric, but once he got out his second scream, he turned and ran in the same direction as Alric, overtaking him, and passing him by, leaving him in his dust. Alric seemed to have forgotten that he was faster than him, and still outstripped him, while letting out a scream every few seconds. Then the beast bent its knees, in its odd way, swinging what used to be its front feet, which had each become changed into two odd short claw like stubs, from its previous cloven hoof. As it pushed off, leaping through the air, a leap that ate up a good twenty feet of the ground in each bound, it took off after the two. Bones came running right towards the continued screaming, which ended as Lurin ran smack into Bones, bouncing off of him, and crashing to the ground. Bones took out his gladius, drawing the weapon to the sound of leather on steel, as he looked around, seeing Alric coming after him, which only proved to confuse Bones even more... What was Alric doing with this man? What were they running from? And what had all of that bleating sound been?

[Alric Wilmot]

As Alric ran for his life from the oddest monster he had yet to encounter in all his life, he began to wonder if Ionu actually hated him. The mark on his arm said 'no', the sudden appearance outside the city walls said 'yes'. At the moment, the 'yes' was winning. Mostly because it had a strange goat-man on its side. Briefly, Alric thought that he would be able to get away while the goat-man ran after Lurin. After all, Lurin was so fast, he would distract the creature long enough for Alric to escape. Well, if he had ran in a different direction, that is. Instead, the idiot ran right up next to Alric, and then passed him. Alric's eyes widened in fright, and took a glance backward to see if the monster was close. It wasn't. In fact it was right where it was, unmoving save its threatening bleating. Alric smiled a bit, and began to slow. Until, that is, the monster jumped near twenty feet in a single bound. Alric pressed his feet as fast as they would go, but unfortunately, that wasn't very fast. Alric set his eyes forward, not taking the time to look back any more. He spotted Lurin already a dozen yard ahead of him. Suddenly, someone came out of the brush, and Lurin ran right into him. Lurin fell like a stone, but the stranger just unsheathed a sword, seemingly ready to do battle. As Alric came ever closer, he recognized the stranger. It was Bones, the odd warrior who had threatened to kill him if he had ever hypnotized him again. What a welcome sight! Within a few more yards, Alric reached the prone Lurin and battle-ready Bones. At the same time, the goat-man emerged from the thicket... along with five other similar creatures. Alric stayed where he was, though. With a warrior by his side he might actually be able to fend off these creatures. Besides, Alric was quite sure he wouldn't be able to outrun them anyway. Alric panted out a quick explanation to his old acquaintance. "H-hello Bones. Nice t-to (pant) see you again. I was (sigh) chasing after Lurin here, you know, the fully-grown man who doesn't know when to grow up? And then the city deci-ided to drop me off here with those things." Alric pointed at the goat-men who were now forming a semi-circle, getting closer and closer, bleating all the while. Alric finally caught his breath. "Would you like to help me stay alive? I'd duly appreciate it."

[Ssafirsotibones]

Alric... It seemed whenever they met, the man drew in trouble... Why was he always having to protect the man? And when the odd goat man appeared, along with his friends, he let out a deep breath, mentally fortifying himself for what he might have to do... He was not certain his human form would be enough... He did not think he could take them all on alone, and as far as Bones knew, this man did not really know much of fighting. He dropped his pack and his robes were he stood, and kicked off his sandals... And he stared at the nearest goatman, trying to intimidate it. He continued to undress, as Alric quickly went through his story... Loosening and dropping his pants, and his underdrawers. Which would have been a bit ironic, if he had known what this man was guilty of doing... Normally he would not show his other forms unless he had no choice, but he did not want to die here, and he saw little other choice... He spoke, without looking at Alric, but clearly to him. "Can you keep ssem busssy for a moment, ussse your magic maybe? I only need a few sssecondsss, and I can be ready to fight..." This of course would seem odd... How could he get any more ready? He was not clear on that... Though if Alric looked at him, he might find it odd that he had stripped down now, taken off his shirt... All that he had on him now was his gladius sheath, and its harness that wrapped around across his chest, over one shoulder. Then Bones began his change into his dhani form... Perhaps that would help if Alric did do any magic to strike fear into the goatmen, Bones form suddenly changing. His legs and feet, his neck and head, altering, stretching, changing... Into those of a snakes... His head flattening and lengthening... But this would take time, half of a chime to change into his much stronger dhani form... Would he have enough time to do so, before the goatmen attacked? Would Alric be so freaked out, he would not be able to do magic, or would forget to help distract there foes? Bones did not know... He would just have to trust him to do what he had told him... As his legs turned into a long sweeping snake tail, and his head turned into the scaly one of a huge snake. Bones simply stood there, holding his gladius, ready to strike at flesh with it, if any came at him... His tail especially, seemed to just get longer and longer... His tail came up to meet his torso, and swept down to the ground, broadening and thickening as it came to the ground, and stretched out far behind him... His tail alone would grow to be longer than his entire body had been tall, as a standing human.

[Alric Wilmot]

As Alric told his tale, he noticed that Bones began to...strip. Why on Mizahar would he do that? It was then that Alric was struck with how little he knew of the man. Other than his odd lisp, and warrior physique, he knew little. Now that he thought about it, it was possible that Bones was part of some warrior culture that Alric was as yet unaware of. Lurin still lay prostrate upon the grass, unaware of the danger that now approached. Alric supposed that was for the best, it would save him the trouble of recapturing him. Bones spoke then, a fierce look upon his face as he studied the odd goat-men that now approached warily. Almost as if they knew Bones would be far more formidable than the prey they had just been chasing. "Can you keep ssem busssy for a moment, ussse your magic maybe? I only need a few sssecondsss, and I can be ready to fight..." Alric nodded. “Yes, of course. I’ll keep them busy as long as I can. Just, please hurry whatever odd ritual you’re doing. I won’t be able to hold them off indefinitely.” At that, Alric stood straight and wiped the sweat off his brow. He was tired, but he hadn’t used his djed the entire week. So as far as magic was concerned, he was as fresh as one could hope. He held out his arms, at the foremost goat-men at each side of the approaching line. With a flick of his wrist he let out his djed to connect with the minds of the creatures. He hoped that they were dumber than men. Or at least on par with the least respectable of mankind. A while ago, Alric had been a part of a ship called the Reana red, upon which he fought off pirates. He had done so with a method that he was now employing with the goat-men. He sent out a wave of djed into their primitive minds, using the power of hallucination to meddle with their perceptions. He mad the two goat-men see their comrades as Bones and Alric, while Alric and Bones appeared as fellow goat-men. He encouraged these thoughts with feelings of correctness and confidence, but it was straining all the same. Unlike the pirates, it seemed that these creatures required a constant stream of djed to keep up the hallucination, and even then, it seemed like they were fighting it. Alric shut his eyes in concentration, focusing all his might upon the two goat-men. The rest of the monsters slowly came in, unbeknownst to Alric, studying the transformation of Bones. Finally, the creatures accepted what they were seeing, and jumped upon the nearest goat-men, gnashing their teeth in a furious whirlwind of ferocity. Alric opened his eyes then, releasing the hallucination. It was taxing to keep a constant flow of djed going to two minds, and it was no longer necessary. Despite the fact that the hypnotic influence was gone, the fight continued, as the attackers now had to defend themselves from enraged former allies. Alric chanced a glance a Bones, to see if he was done with whatever odd ritual his people partook in before battle. What he saw was unlike anything he had ever expected or seen. Bones’s head lengthened and flattened, his flesh became scaly, and his legs merged into that of a snake’s long sweeping body. He became some sort of snake-man hybrid, and Alric could scarcely believe it. He looked absolutely terrifying, but as he was on Alric’s side (for now) he felt appreciative. The most shocking thing really, was that Bones was some sort of sorcerer. From the last time he and Alric had met, Alric had assumed he disliked magic. Perhaps there was more to Alric’s acquaintance than he knew.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones reveled in the change, feeling the pleasure of his body distorting, the release of a odd tension he felt when staying in one form, though he could not say exactly were the tension was held... If a snake could smile, he would certainly be smiling... Instead, he opened his jaw a bit, darting out his tongue with a hiss, and tasting at the air and his foe... There warm bodies so close to his own, there heat like fires burning in his vision... He could also see in his heat sight, without looking at them, Alric and the man with them... Could taste them and there heat on the air... He could tell a battle was looming, could feel his blood flowing in his body, his heart pounding away... He raised his gladius, and prepared his long tail, energy building up in his entire length, which stretched out now reached over 20 feet long... He moved at the same time as the two goatmen, each of which attacked one of there own allies... This confused him, but he did not linger on the thought, letting it pass, as he delved into the fight. His tail moving, pushing at the ground, he moved in to meet one of the goat men not fighting, with surprising speed for his bulk... He was not as fast as the vipers and rattlers, but with his great strength, his size did not slow him down. He met the goatman, hacking downward, slashing into its body diagonally across its chest. His blade came in at an angle slicing into his shoulder, cleaved through the bone connecting his right arm. His weapon kept on going for another 6 inches, before it was stopped, leaving a long trail or damage and gore. As he yanked his blade out of its flesh, a spurt of blood came with it, and he saw as his right arm went limp, his entire shoulder and arm no longer connected to anything but a hunk of his lower torso and his side... The goat man was letting out a bleat, which sounded oddly shrill... Like a scream off pain almost... Bones did not stop though, and opened his jaws wide, ready to dart in and rip out its throat... But it tossed up its left arm to defend itself, and instead his mouth and jaw closed upon his forearm... Bones bit down, and brought up a hand to grab and clamp down just above his elbow... As he clamped down, a bone broke and his arm ripped, and when Bones pulled back his head, the goatman had a bloody stump, and Bones was holding his forearm and cloven claws in his mouth... His teeth ripped of a bit of flesh, and dropped the rest, and he swallowed the meat... Then turned to his next foe... Blood spattered over his body, and trickling out of his mouth from the bloody meat it had just held... The goatman let out a low mournful bleat, and then fell to the ground in a heap... He moved on... Heading for whomever would fight him next... Gazing deep into there eyes, for that sudden look of fear to rise into them... Seeing him as the monster he was, and rightfully fearing him... Him and his strong arms, that could snap bones and spines... His jaws that could swallow a man whole... His honed blade that could slide through flesh like it was water...

[Alric Wilmot]

As odd as these turn of events were, Alric could hardly believe the ferocity of the now snake-like Bones. He knew the man for a warrior, but to have him use some strange magic that was most unknown to Alric, and then dispatch an enemy with such quickness that it was over before Alric could make out a single detail was beyond even Alric’s wild imaginations. The fight was bloody, terrible, and impressive. Alric had never seen a man fight so brutally before. That was, of course, if Bones could still be considered a man. The remaining goat-men stopped their infighting, the attack that Alric had inflicted upon them now seeming like a childhood scuffle. They eyed Bones with what Alric imagined to be caution and fear. Though in truth, it was impossible to read emotion in the eyes of the creatures. As Alric observed a lull in the battle, he made sure to aid his ally once more. He knew not if it was needed, or even welcome. But Alric was not one to stand idly by when he could be useful. He sat down then and closed his eyes, fixing all his concentration upon his one and only discipline. He could feel his djed within move and stir, eager to do what it had done since childhood. He let his mind remember the delight at altering others' minds. He let loose the power that he held within himself, and opened his eyes so that he might redirect his efforts more accurately. He once more connected his mind to the goat-men, and like before he met resistance. It was even harder this time. While before he was moving through mud, now it was as though their minds were tar. It was a struggle the entire time, and it felt as though they were winning. His brow poured sweat from his efforts. He could not break through. Yet, even though he knew he had not been able to break their odd defenses, he knew the effort would leave them sluggish and distracted for Bones. And so he continued his work, struggling as hard as he could to wield the delicate instrument of hypnosis as though it were a club.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones was only aware of the battle... Of the blood, the flesh, the sweat, the ensuing carnage... Numbers did not matter right then... He had delved far into his snake side, letting his reptilian brain of instinct take over... He did not even now how many there were left to face, he just concentrated on the next one to fall to his blade or fist. It was impressive really that he was even still able to tell friend from foe, and know that he should not attack Alric and the other human... Though he was having trouble recalling why he was not supposed to attack them... Just that he was not supposed to... But there were other foes to fight, so it did not matter... For know... Letting out another hiss, he came at the next goat-man closest to him. He slashed in high, but the goat lowered his head, and was able to deflect it with his horns. They surely were made of hardy stuff, as his blade slid along them, catching at the end. Bones simply brought up his free left hand, and grabbed at the creatures throat... And then closed... Harder... And harder... Till the thing could not breath, and started to flail out at Bones... His other hand with the gladius was still holding back the horns... So he could not stop the flailing of the beast. He let out another hiss, as one of its cloven claws caught on his chest, the twin pair of sharp toes cutting into his flesh, not to deep, but leaving a good foot long pair of cuts across his chest. Finally though it stopped, as it lost the last bit of its air, and Bones squeezed one last bit harder, snapping its neck. He drew out his blade from were it was caught in the horns, and moved a bit back, letting the beast drop. Then he turned to the next foe... Luckily for Alric, his eyes fell upon another goat-man... This time he attacked from a bit afar, twisting his torso, and moving his tail, sending his trunk like limb across the air, and smashing into the goat chest, knocking it off its feet... And through the air...

[Alric Wilmot]

As Bones felled the monsters, the slog that Alric had entered into became noticeably less powerful. The creatures were not like anything Alric had ever encountered. Normally, hypnosis was near useless when discovered, but a connection could still be made. But with these, it was as if they could fight the connection, but once it was made they were helpless. It mattered little, however, as Bones continued his onslaught. He slew two more in a bloody swath that might have made Alric queasy, if he hadn't seen similar acts before. Almost immediately, the bog that he had been trekking vanished. He held the last creature's mind easily, and sent it an image of itself fleeing. He saturated the being with fear, fear of the snake-like Bones who had so easily slain its comrades. As the beast turned, it was cut off by Bones, who seemed to have entered into a frenzy. He used his long snake-like body to send the goat-man into the air. The goat-man flew nearly twenty feet away, and landed in a slump. Alric was almost positive that is was dead, and stood up to congratulate Bones. However as he did so, the creature stirred. It was obviously wounded, perhaps even fatally. But it was still alive. Alric was worried that Bones might have entered into a deadly frame of mind. "Bones, my friend, I believe he's done for. No need to waste your efforts on the inevitable. Why don't you resume your original form? The battle is practically won anyway."