Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Into The Cold Wide Open

[Quest Completed!]

[Separate The Marrow from The Steksis Completed!]

[Congratulations!]

[Reward: Truffle Marrow of The Steksis]

[You have been rewarded with Vigor Points]

---

They had made The Steksis another sandwich, cutting the supply of their rations nearly in half but earning them an ally and allowing them to avoid being devoured by a monster. With its hunger satisfied, The Steksis wanted to show them gratitude for the meal and the newfound friendship. It had asked them how it could possibly help them after it had experienced such a special thing as a lovingly prepared meal.

That’s when Nay inquired about the glowing green growth on its back it kept concealed underneath its carapace.

The segments of the carapace opened up like wings, revealing the pale white human torso of The Steksis. There were folds of aged skin. Its exposed torso like a marble statue covered in a coat of melting candle wax. It turned, revealing the source of the glow on its back.

It wasn’t a deformed growth. It was a bioluminescent mushroom. It emitted a green aura. However, it didn’t seem toxic like a poisonous gas cloud. There was something about it that felt safe and inviting, like finding a sacred plant that druids could use for miraculous medicinal purposes.

She knew it was the Marrow that Piero had been hunting.

The Steksis revealed that the mushroom was a source of discomfort for the creature. But, even during a time it was around others, they had been too ashamed to ever ask for help.

It had been so long that they had been alone, that all it could do was let the mushroom grow. On the days when it couldn't ignore the itch caused by the fungus, it used maugrim bones like back scratchers to relieve itself.

The Steksis revealed that it would be a favor for them to remove it.

Nay used her dagger to slice the stem of the glowing mushroom, carefully severing it from the mound of skin on The Steksis’ back. It instantly exhaled in relief when the stalk separated from its skin. Several notifications scrolled by in front of Nay.

---

[Marrow Detected]

[Marrow Acquired]

[Rewarded Truffle Marrow of The Steksis!]

[You have been rewarded with Vigor Points]

---

She took care to wrap the Marrow up in cloth. She set it on the flat stone for the time being. She wanted to research it more and possibly consume it, but it felt odd doing it in front of The Steksis. So she set it here as they all settled in to drink more tea by the campfire.

The irony that they were able to share a meal and campfire with a monster when they couldn’t even do it with a human didn’t get by her. What a strange world, she thought, but maybe not so different from where she came from. There were only humans in her world so the only de facto monsters there were other people. Yet, in both worlds one couldn’t just get by on judgments of appearance.

The Steksis told the tale of how it arrived here on this mountain as the caffeine from the tea got into its system, rendering it in quite a talkative mood.

“When I came through The Scar, I was just a youngling. My mother carried me on her stomach with the other siblings. Her job was to infiltrate the mountain and perform attacks on the city within, causing chaos amongst the small but vicious men who called this place home. Our kind is good for that in such a place because we’re built for burrowing. We’re built for the dark places others can’t go. The Shrilling always commanded my kind. They promised my mother all the bones she would ever want if she did what they said. But she never got to enjoy it.

“The stout men here set off the bright light that took the breath out of everyone in that tomb. Even many of The Shrilling perished, causing the survivors to retreat back into The Scar. They promised me and my siblings they would return and that day would be cause for glory. So we waited but now only I remain. And I continue to wait.”

“You never wanted to leave this mountain?” Nay asked.

The Steksis shook its head. “It’s not safe for me. The light that shines down from the sky burns me. In this mountain I am safe from that terrible burning.”

Nay shook her head, knowing that it was talking about the sun. She wondered what The Scar was. Whatever it was, it was nearby, as Piero had mentioned it too. Did her and Nom also come through this Scar?

“Do people come into this mountain often?” Nay asked.

“Sometimes, I find bauble-pickers looking for shinies. They either leave here quickly, or stay forever.” The Steksis said.

“Stay forever?”

“They turn to bone before I visit them because they fear the cold and have no food. Or I help them along in their bone journey. Such lovely bones, either way.”

Nay swallowed and was glad they were in this thing’s good graces. It seemed like it was territorial and killed anyone that wandered in here, whether for shelter from the elements or for hunting for treasure in the ruins. She wondered how Piero had planned on dealing with the thing.

“Do you know if there are any settlements of people nearby?”

“People? I couldn’t say. But sometimes I sense things, hungry things, dark things, passing by or lurking on the surface above.”

Nay shared a look with Nom.

“Do you sense any of those things now?”

It stayed still and quiet for a moment. As if turning its ear to something far away. “The only howls I hear are of the air.” Then it looked at Nay, its yellow eyes glinting. “But do not worry, you are broodling-safe down here with me.”

It wanted another pot of tea and Nay obliged, making another kettle.

While The Steksis enjoyed more tea, talking to itself, Nay took Nom aside. “We don’t have food to keep this thing fed. I’m not sure it’s gonna stay happy if we run out.”

Nom looked at their remaining rations, a grim look in his Cyclopean eye. “What are we gonna do?”

“When it falls asleep, we need to leave this place.”

“Where will we go? Out into the storm?”

“We don’t have much choice. I’d rather brave the elements than die to,” she nodded at The Steksis, “that.”

“I don’t know,” Nom said, unsure, “I really don’t do well in the cold.”

“We can’t stay in here forever. Not unless you want to become part of its nest.”

Nom nodded. He still looked uncomfortable about the idea, but she knew he would follow her regardless. They had a bond now in their short time together, having survived two deadly encounters, well three if they counted the riftway spider in the Korean church, and if anything, they were decent at keeping each other alive.

She would just have to trust they could survive the next thing that could kill them – the cold.

/////////

Nom watched The Steksis slumber, coiled up like a giant serpent, the tip of its pink tongue sticking out from between its sharp teeth as it gently snored. Nay gathered their belongings into a bedroll and packed as quietly as she could. As she was reaching for their cooking pot, the back of her hand brushed against the tea-kettle and knocked it over. The sound of ceramic tapping stone echoed through the chamber.

Nay immediately froze, wincing. Nom swiveled towards her, staring at her with a death glare.

Her eyes flew to The Steksis. It stopped snoring, rustling in its sleep. Its eyelids fluttered, the delicate skin as delicate as Bible paper. She was pretty sure it was going to wake up, catch them trying to sneak away, and well, that would be the story of them. Strangers in a strange land for not very long.

Cause of death? Clumsiness.

But it let out a wheezing exhale and started snoring again, its eyes never opening. She relaxed and she saw Nom do the same across from her. She quickly grabbed the kettle, wrapped it in cloth, and stuffed it into the leather pack. Then, heel to toe, she slowly walked towards the archway and Nom followed.

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At the archway, they both took one last look at The Steksis.

It looked peaceful and content, sleeping there with a full belly. Nay wondered if it always slept that good, but had a sneaking suspicion her food played a large part. Her mother always used to sigh in satisfaction whenever Nay made her favorite meal, shrimp and grits. The trick to that dish was using different amounts of butter and cream depending on whether it was winter or summer. More for winter, less for summer. Her mother always said she took the best naps after eating Nay’s food.

So, she knew her food improved the quality of life for people, so why wouldn’t it be any different for monsters?

They stopped in the hot spring chamber to fill the waterskins up with hot water. Nay wasn’t sure if they would last long at all, but they could be some source of warmth until they grew cold. Something was better than nothing.

On their way to the cave entrance, Nay gathered up some fresh bio-lichen for fresh torches. She had no idea how long they would provide light outside of the cave, or if at all, but it was worth trying.

The first thing that told them they were close to the exit was the creeping cold they walked into.

The condensation on the wall surfaces shifted to ice and the winter wind whispered through the cave, nipping at their exposed skin. Soon the light of the moon was visible and the blue of the outside world was right in front of them.

Nay was happy to see there was some visibility. There was no white-out storm at the moment and although it was cold, there was no more blizzard.

“You ready, friend?” Nay said to Nom.

“No, but it looks like this is happening anyway.”

Nom slithered out of the cave first, and Nay followed after the tentacle.

/////////

The alpine mountain pass glittered under the strange moon and stars like a blanket of crystals, covered in ice and snow. The evergreen trees rising up along the pass made Nay think of the winter wonderland of the Swiss Alps. But there was a gloom and darkness lurking here that put her on edge.

They were following the decline of the pass, as that seemed the most likely direction they would find anything. Only a madman would try to ascend the pass in these conditions. Either way, her mini-map didn’t give her any clues upon settlements or camps where other people might be. From mountain peak to the valley and lake below, she was still too far away from either to scry any marks that might denote settlements. She wasn’t even sure if her Seer’s Map would mark any of that stuff. It just looked like a cartographer’s map of a mountain range and a nearby gorge cutting through the rock.

“N-n-nay,” Nom chattered. “I’m..starting…to feel…sluggish.”

Oh shit, Nay thought. Was Nom coldblooded? Of course he was, she thought. He’s an invertebrate. Weren’t all invertebrate’s coldblooded? It had been so long since middle-school and earth science, anything that wasn’t about cooking and food had been pushed out of her headspace.

Nom’s normal purple skin changed to a bluish-white and a tiny icicle had begun to form on the end of his beak. Nay grabbed one of the waterskins. It still radiated warmth. She kneeled and pulled the tentacle close, rubbing the warm waterskin over his body. It was like brushing a giant cucumber with a small heat blanket. “Here ya go buddy, let me help you get warm.”

Nom pushed himself into her touch, absorbing the warmth. The color shifted from blue to orange and red where the waterskin touched his body. It was like he was one big infrared sensor. She knew he was pulling a limited source of heat from the waterskin and this might only work one more time before they needed to find a heat source or some shelter to start a fire.

“I really…really…hate the cold!” Nom said, teeth chattering.

“I know buddy, I’m starting to dislike it too,” Nay said.

“Is your world…a cold one?”

“Parts of it. Where I come from, it’s beach weather year-round.”

“What’s beach weather?”

“It’s not too hot, not too cold. I can wear shorts year-round.”

“I don’t know what shorts are but you make it sound nice.”

“They are.” Nay put the wineskin back in their pack. “Alright, let’s keep moving.”

They stumbled on. At one point they slipped on a steep incline and slid down the icy path. Nay lied there and observed the strange stars and the strange moon above them.

The moon in this reality or world was bigger, probably closer to the planet. It had more of a green tint than a yellow one and there was a ribbon of magenta gas swathed across the atmosphere near it. These celestial bodies felt a lot brighter and more clear here, probably because there was less pollution in this world. She wondered if it had to do with her location or was the world itself. What were they going to find out here? Were there civilizations? What would they be like? She wondered so many things before she made herself move, sore and cold.

Nom was turning into a Popsicle. He moved so slow now that Nay had to pick him up. She wasn’t moving very fast herself. They were going to have to build a fire.

Nay picked up Nom, “It’s okay. I got you. You rest now.”

“I’m…sorry,” Nom said.

Nay wrapped him up in their bedroll and slung it over her back in a big sack. She spotted some shelter against a shelf of rock. It would keep the wind away. She set Nom down and got the kindling and flint rock out. It was then that she realized she was going to have to gather wood.

“Keep…moving…” she told herself.

She stumbled into the forest and searched for dry wood. All she could manage were a few branches. She carried them in a bundle and collapsed underneath the shelf of rock next to the frozen, blanket-wrapped tentacle. She cleared the snow away to set the kindling and build the fire. She lay there, striking the flint against the rock, praying for a spark.

Every time a spark shot out, it fizzled out before lighting the kindling.

“Please,” she begged, her fingers raw with the cold. She kept striking the rock, curling her body around the kindling to protect the spark from the cold. “I’m sorry, Nom,” she said, glancing at the frozen form of her only friend here.

Eventually, the cold defeated her.

She fell asleep, her face to the cold ground, her fingers raw and bleeding from striking the flint and rock.

/////////

The heat on her face woke her up. She opened her eyes to see a campfire blazing in front of her. She was hugging the bed roll that Nom was wrapped in like a burrito. The snow and ice around the fire had melted away.

There was a snort from the other side of the fire. She rubbed her eyes, clearing her vision, and that’s when she saw a snout and a pair of dark eyes regarding her.

It leaned into the light, revealing a creature that looked like it had the face of a wolf and a mule smushed together. The alien-ness alarmed her and her first reaction was to scream.

She shot up and scrambled away, screaming. Bells jingled as the creature moved. It was like a wolf but it was the size of a mule. Nay drew her dagger and crouched.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” A male voice said. “That’s no way to say hello!”

A young man stepped between the wolf-thing and Nay. He was wrapped in animal skins for an outer layer and there was a brown robe visible underneath. Nay noticed a strange marking on his hand. It looked like a tattoo of an eye inside of a hexagon. He had short-cropped golden hair that reminded Nay of a Benedictine monk. “You can put the dagger away,” he said. “Karka means no harm.”

Nay turned to him with the dagger, then swiveled back to point it at the wolf-mule abomination. “What the fuck is that thing?”

“It’s a fauglir. What else would it be?”

“I don’t know…a goddamn werewolf.”

He raised an eyebrow, indicating his mixture of confusion and intrigue. “I am not certain what that is, but it doesn’t sound good and I assure you Karka isn’t one of those. He’s my pack animal and friend.”

It was Nay’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “And who are you?”

“My name is Alric.”

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