Confusion had enveloped Gustav and Arila's senses, ever since they decided to explore this cave. In simple words, they weren't sure what to expect.
Arila was aware of the bad reputation that this cave had, due to the demonic crystals alone, but that was about it. She didn't know what to expect, and why the creatures within this collection of tunnels, were dangerous to begin with.
She never explored anything of this liking, and the villagers were even more oblivious. With that considered, it wasn't a surprise how her and Gustav walked forward with exaggerated caution; They feared that any misstep could get them killed!
"Hmm... okay I think we're fucked." He said, and tried to remain calm.
They've walked down a tunnel which seemed endless so far, and already met with a dilemma. Gustav felt a tight tug on his leg, and this couldn't have been the work of those demonic moles, no!
"What's wrong?" Arila asked, and held on her short-sword a bit tighter.
"Are roots supposed to be squishy?" He followed along, and felt how a frantic step forward which he made, unearthed something weird.
"Those are not roots," She whispered, and peeked at the other's foot.
With a simple forward thrust, she sliced the anomaly in half and then explained. "That was a horned marauder, a worm."
Gustav didn't really know how to answer to that, mostly because he didn't know what a worm was. He was simply happy instead, that this encounter wasn't much of a problem.
After a short wave of silence though, Arila decided to add. "Your kids gotta do a better job, Gussy. That horned worm could have ripped your asshole apart."
"What?" He asked, and was stunned.
In the following minutes, the lady explained how horribly this encounter could've gone. Horned marauders were considered to be red-skinned worms, with an unusual taste.
They fed on mammalian guts, and any other internal organs which they could reach, preferably while the hosting victim was still alive. The easiest way for them to enter a host, was through the asshole of course!
The following feeding-spree would be quick, and brutal. Death was guaranteed within an hour, while the attacking worm would end up fatter by a fourth. Arila only killed a small one, but these creatures are known to grow two feet long; The couple of curled horns on their head, were six inches each and acted as the main weapon!
Anyway, with those horrifying facts considered, Gustav grunted. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? I would've shoved a log up my ass."
"I knew that some of them lived down here, but I didn't think we'd have to fight them right away!" Arila slightly yelled, she too was nervous.
Their frantic chatter however, slowly brought trouble along. They hadn't been entirely alert for a brief moment, which easily lured another species in.
Thankfully though, Gustav did make a smart decision just moments prior. He let those little demonic moles loose, and they acted as extra surveillance within these dark tunnels; They prevented free movement, any approacher would have to be really crafty.
Its use was set solid, once an ear-piercing shriek echoed from a distance, where the darkness was overwhelming. Although it sent chills through their spines at first, the couple of friends were very happy that the threat wasn't in front of them!
"Looks like my friends were busy with something else down there... erg, maybe those crystals aren't that important." Gustav muttered, but he couldn't really back away.
It was obvious that he didn't yet know an alternative option, one which would help the beacon project, progress. With that considered, it was imperative to succeed within these caves and tunnels, so he drew that four-foot-long sword outwards and was ready to slash!
While the couple of friends stomped deeper towards the tunnel, the shrieks got louder and more repetitive. Something struggled against the demons, and these explorers got a good idea of what it was, shortly after.
The torches didn't exactly help them see anything, no. Arila had suddenly become airborne instead, after a pair of arms poked out of the ceiling.
"Oh hell no!" She yelled, and slid that shortsword right above her head.
Much like expected, she was grounded again, and another body fell from the tunnel's ceiling. The drop was anticlimactic, mostly because the ceiling was just a few feet above.
A scream similar to the others, did make the couple of friends nervous though. The body that fell, reacted quite dramatically!
Gustav heaved out a heavy sigh, and was happy that this attacker was taken care of already.
Quite enthusiastically, he complimented. "Must have been a hell of a swing, damn. Its legs are still stuck up there!"
Although she was generally knowledgeable, Arila was stumped. She knew that something was wrong, this kill was too easy.
Once she slightly caught up with the other's words, it was important to add. "I only cut its arm off... this isn't supposed to happen."
Several more of these creatures, struggled through a small battle nearby. Their torches helped provide a small glimpse of them, but Arila knew that if they could attack, it would be pretty difficult to stop them because she didn't really know what to expect!
For that matter, she had to be quick now. There was a dead body near their feet, and she aimed to analyze it well. The torch she dropped just a moment ago, helped them get a better view!
Once Arila looked at the corpse properly, she said. "It's brown? Wow, no wonder they can hide so well. Looks like I got its neck, just look at all that blood!"
Any cave would obviously help such a species, when it came to camouflage. Some degrees of natural adaptability were noticeable, their extensive heritage surely suffered through change!
Another feature which these creatures had, though, made itself violently noticeable just moments later. Four of them suddenly rushed out of the overwhelming darkness, which resided in the deeper section of this tunnel!
They had two-meter long arms, to be exact; Which was difficult to ignore! It helped understand why these attackers didn't need any legs to begin with, and their screams, which only got louder now, gestured to whom the odds favoured.
"Get it together, man. You're a mammoth!" Gustav spoke to himself, as they had to act quickly.
With an aim to free his hands from any burden, he tossed that hot torch against the enemies first, and hit one of them right on the neck!
The next plan was to beam forward, and slash anything in sight; But his plan was quickly put to a halt!
One of them fell down, but not exactly in a way that was expected. An enemy fell flat on its face, and the rest suffered the same fate, just a blink later.
The screams which followed along, gestured that they struggled against something, once more!
Arila was the first to point it out, she hastily said. "Your weird pets got them pinned down, move! Go for the head, kill those weirdos!"
Once that little goal was set, any emotion that held them down until now, had diminished. Gustav didn't feel as nervous anymore, he poked that four-foot sword forward, relentlessly!
An eight-foot tall mammoth would make anyone nervous, those heavy stomps were hard to ignore. To his advantage the targets were still pinned down, so one of them swiftly got its spine pierced!
This brought further issues right away, though, as that longsword was now stuck. Apart from the fact that it pierced through flesh, its tip sunk nearly a foot in the dirt as well!
Paired with how fast Gustav ran before this point, it was inevitable to lose balance!
"Oh shit," He grunted.
This was enough of a problem alone, but he didn't want to trample over those little demons either. Since he couldn't stop whatsoever, it was important to think quickly.
As a simple last resort, he decided to jump. This didn't help entirely, as he violently kicked one of the legless-creatures, but he still managed to avoid his furry children who were likely underground.
"Ha!" Gustav celebrated.
He could only feel that sense of relief, for just half a second though. After he avoided the pile of bodies, he noticed an odd face on the other side!
It was almost human-like, but the piercing anger it carried under a frown, forced Gustav to fear for the worse. He flew towards that face quite weaponless, and could only rely on his big tusks to help deal damage, or send a message regarding dominance!