Chapter 13 – The Beast Totem (Part 3)
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Chapter 13 - The Beast Totem (Part 3)


"What the hell are they doing to it?" thought Berto as a telepathic message to Mariah, as he dare not utter a word. The creature seemed to be sleeping or at least resting. The Mariner thought about what would have happened if the creature had heard the clanking of his bone breastplate as he ran here. He wondered what guardian angel had protected him from that fate. 

There was suddenly a burst of sound! Hissing screams, war cries and the clanging of heavy weaponry on stone floors. Could those chains really hold it back if it were angered? "Well.. Time to find out!" Berto said and scurried down in a hurry. 

The Koto Nhori's eyes opened as the clammering got closer and closer. It would appear his tormentors had returned to "worship" it further. The proud creature growled under its breath and tried to stand for, what must have been the 20th time just that day. Its strong muscles flexed against the ever tightening chains until it ultimately collapsed from exerting itself repeatedly through the day. It had failed to escape once more and the first of his captors had already arrived. The being that approached it however bore no resemblance to the scaly degenerates. It was a small mammal with soft, pinkish skin, armor similar to theirs and a set of eyes that did not match a predator's.

Berto approached the beast slowly and carefully, drawing his coral dagger. The Quetzalcoatl roared with what little strength it had left and the room echoed with its ferocity. Its heavy breath resembled hot fumes coming out of an exhaust system. "Aaah shit.. Want I doing? This is nuts!".

Mariah: What is the matter User Berto!?

"Mariah.. I.. I don't think I can do this! I came here to kill a monster.. This is a prisoner, a slave! Look at this thing.. it's... It's beautiful! I can't just stab it in the eye while its tied down like this!" answered the young man with a trembling voice. 

Mariah: Would the User rather stab it while it clawed at his face?

"That's not what... Did.. Did you just sass me?!! Don't you SASS me!" Berto shouted back at her, using his actual voice because of his frustration, as the Lizardmen got even closer to the vault-like room. 

Mariah: BERTO THEY'RE COMING!

"Fuck!!" exclaimed the overwhelmed survivalist and knelt beside the great beast, frantically rummaging through his backpack! "What am I doing? What am I doing?!" he went on as he retrieved a small hollow coconut that sloshed with a mysterious liquid. 

"Ok you.. You probably can't understand a word I'm saying but.. I'm not gonna hurt you.." said the young man placing his hand on the beast's head. 

The Quetzalcoatl growled in hostility but could not react. Its eyes met the human's as it stared it down. The small human wouldn't back away. It placed its hand upon it, in a gesture of affection, alien to the tormented captive. "This, should heal your wounds.. some of them at least. Now what I want you to do. And this is very important! Is.. to NOT eat me!" Berto continued as he gulped. He uncorked the makeshift vial and sprinkled the tied down beast with a yellowish liquid that glowed dimly upon contact with the creature's skin. 

"I know all you want to do is get out of here.. so do I! I'm not going to let these things keep you here and drain your blood. So let's make a deal.. I'll cut you loose and jump out of the way and you can bite their heads off, on your way out. Huh?" the Mariner continued awkwardly, dagger in hand. The beast had taken to silence but its eyes never lost contact with the young man's, not once. Berto, hearing the Lizardmen's clatter, estimated they should be arriving any second. He passed the blade of his dagger through a wider ring of the first chain and twisted the pommel. With a metallic *SNAAAP* the first chain came undone and the second followed soon after that one. 

Berto gave a mental command to Mariah to allocate his free attribute points as he knew this was going to be a very close call. He was trapped with a great beast and a hoard of cannibalistic Lizardmen in a confined space. Things were about to get messy! 

The great beast stirred under the feeling of its restraints loosening. Was the human actually doing it? Was it freeing her? She felt his stress through his touch and could smell his fear but he was not deterred. Whatever he had given her had numbed her pain and mended some of her wounds! Even when the first hated, Temple Guardian was running down the stairs the small human still concentrated on breaking the metallic shackles. Its small blade broke upon bending loose the third chain but even then the frail looking creature did not falter. It stood up, grabbed the remaining chain and yanked it upwards for everything it was worth. The Quetzalcoatl, even though unfitting for a majestic beast such as herself, slowly crawled forward, under and out of her final loosened restraint.

Berto saw the Temple Guardian running towards him with malice and a zealous rage, incurred obviously by his hubris. He let the chain go but was unarmed and unprepared to react. With a flash of bright colours the man lost all sensible thought or plan, as the now free beast pounced on him and pinned the survivalist to the ground. He had failed. In his attempt to remain human he had undone himself, as he now lay prone, ready to be ripped apart and devoured. The Quetzalcoatl snarled at him but then growled in another direction. It unfurled its majestic wings and flexed them abruptly, as their glassy feathers rattled like a moving chandelier! A barrage of those same feathers were launched forward like projectiles, turning the advancing Guardian into a macabre and colorful pincushion!

The Quetzalcoatl hissed one final time, directly at Berto's face and then.. stepped off him. The young man opened his eyes to see the great beast run up the stairs with great leaps, running undoubtedly towards freedom. He stood up quickly, not believing his luck and gathered his things. Equipping his longblade, he finished off the heavily wounded Guana, earning the kill for himself. He was crushed to see his coral dagger shattered and kept a piece as a memento. The young engineer also threw in his pack, a handful of gold coins or two before running up the stairs, armed with his crooked sword and bent shield!

The halls of the temple were now in a chaos of blood, growls and fighting! Berto charged ahead with no regard to holding back now. He needed to get out and knew that he could not avoid a straight brawl any longer! He could see the Koto Nhori in the dim light ahead trying to fight off at least five Lizardmen at once. Even the great beast could not manage to hold five opponents at bay however. A Hunter Guana, taking advantage of the confused Toko Nhori, attempted to stab it with its spear. The sneaky Hunter was suddenly struck in the snout by a metallic buckler, sending it, along with a spray of blood and shattered teeth, flying backwards!

Mariah: Shield Bash successful! 21% damage added.10 points of damage dealt!

Berto landed near the cornered Quetzalcoatl and was forced to avoid a swipe from its claws. He then traded blows with a Hunter, his strength finally almost on par with the monster's. He stabbed his blade through its foot and followed through with a Shield Bash, knocking the creature down, before having to avoid a ground shattering strike from a Guardian's greataxe. The brutes were almost 2,1 meters in height and wielding weapons the size of a human teenager! 

The Koto Nhori slashed at its enemies using claws and its bladed wings. At one point the creature was cornered once more and received multiple blows from its pursuers. The Mariner jumped in once more, parrying a heavy blow and the beast took notice of the man's unwavering commitment to helping it. Three hunters were now about to attempt spear thrusts at Berto and the sacred beast, before they were taken aback by the Mariner's sudden explosion. "BRING IT!!" he growled at them while raising his shield and the Guana lost a fraction of their momentum.

The first spear, Berto simply batted to the side. The second he caught with his blade and snapped in two with a shield strike. Finally, after spinning around he intercepted the third strike with his buckler, without budging an inch. He then unleashed another Shield Bash straight into the speartip, shattering the weapon and hitting its wielder in the chest. This time the Skill's, extra effect was activated, sending the Guana straight to the ground!

Mariah: *PING* Skill gained! Shield Master (B) Lv.1 you have faced numerous opponents and held them at bay with a buckler or shield, proving your strong defence can wear down any foe! This skill enhances the User's proficiency with all shields and assists in using them more efficiently.

Berto had no time to stand on ceremony as another barrage of attacks came his way. He danced around the monstrous leopard and blocked almost every clawed hand, fanged jaw and stone axe! 

Mariah: Hit sustained! 9 points of damage! 4 points deducted. 5 received. 

Hit sustained! 7 points of damage! 3 points deducted. 4 received.

Hit sustained! 17 points of damage! 6 points deducted. 11 received!

The last attack came from the hulking Guardian, which had tried to squash Berto with a heavy, overhead blow! The youth raised his shield and blocked but was pushed to the ground and on his knees, that buckled under the weight of the attack! At that moment, the Koto Nhori, with a second wind, lept over the Mariner and mauled the attacking Temple Guardian! Fang and claw rending its flesh relentlessly, the gore terrorising the rest of the Guana. Berto took advantage of the moment and stabbed the second guardian through the knee, twisting the blade afterwards! The large reptilian let out a frightening roar of pain and fell on its back. 

The Mariner grabbed the stone hand-axe from his back and brought it down on its head with a powerful chopping motion, ending its life. The three recovering Hunters looked at each other and fled with cries of panic. With a leap and a roar, the Quetzalcoatl pursued and Berto followed after having retrieved his bent sword from the corpse. Reptiles and mammals, all exited the vile place of worship in a chase. The Koto Nhori, now unrestrained, let loose another volley of glass feathers, killing one of the three fleeing Lizardmen and severely injuring the other two.

Berto followed up by sliding accross the sand and past the first injured Hunter, slicing at its neck as it attempted to stand back up. Once he reached the final hunter he parried a spear thrust, slapped it across the face with a mildly successful Shield Bash and finally pierced it through the abdomen with his now, almost useless sword.

Mariah: Guana Temple Guardian Lv.7 defeated!

Guana Hunter Lv.7 defeated! 

Guana Hunter Lv.7 defeated! 

Guana Hunter Lv.8 defeated! 

Guana Temple Guardian Lv.8 defeated! 

Guana Temple Guardian Lv.8 defeated!

Guana Temple Guardian Lv.9 defeated via Acid Mist Grenade!

Guana Temple Guardian Lv.8 defeated via Acid Mist Grenade!

22/30 Green Scale Clan slayed. 2720xp awarded!! 

*PING* Level up! Level 10 reached! 3 Attribute Points awarded! 1 Mutation Point gained! 65/3500xp required to reach level 11. 

*PING* Intermediate Achievement unlocked! "Slayer" The user has chosen the path of a warrior! Killing more than 20 beings of any species, other than your own, within a 24 hour cycle has earned you this title. You are awarded with 5 Skill Points for your efforts!

Mariah: Skill points can be used to increase the level of Skills User Berto, congratulations!

The young man was completely overwhelmed by all the information and gains! The thing that finally got him out of his stupor was the movement of the leopard. The majestic Quetzalcoatl circled him curiously, sniffing the air around him and clawing awkwardly at his feet. Berto backed away frightened but undeterred, for he had already made up his mind and these awards couldn't have come at a better time! 

He first invested two Attribute Points into Charisma, raising it to 16. He then raised the Skill Tame to level 10 by sacrificing two of his hard earned Skill Points. The results were better that expected! 

Mariah: *PING* Tame (C) has reached MAX level and can be upgraded to Tame (B) would you like to do so?

"Yes!!" said Berto who had raised his arms in a calming manner, trying to discourage a curious Koto Nhori from attacking him! 

Mariah: *PING* Tame (B) Lv.5 Unlocked

*PING* With a Charisma of +15 and Tame (B) you have the requirements for the Beast Master (A) Lv.1 Skill. Would you like to acquire this Skill?

A profusely sweating Berto gave a mental nod and almost tripped over when the beast cornered him against the Temple and a Totem! "Stop!" said Berto finally with a calm but steady voice. "We've already fought side by side.. you know I don't want to hurt you..". The magical leopard inched forward ever so slightly. "If you were gonna eat me you would've done so already so what's keeping you? Maybe you haven't killed me because you're not a monster.. not like them..". 

The Quetzalcoatl sniffed its own fur, smelling only dry blood as its wounds were healed. The human extended a hand, and it smelled it as well. It smelled no fear this time. No malice.. the leopard stared into Berto's eyes and saw a fighter, very much like itself. A lone spirit fighting for its own place, its own strength and a chance for something other than just survival. The Koto Nhori exhaled deeply and truly, for the first time since its release. It lied on the ground and placed its head in a resting position right next to the young man's foot.

Mariah: *PING* New Beast Tamed! Koto Nhori Lv.10 [Juvenile Quetzalcoatl]. Add Beast to Hunting party?

* User : Alberto Ferantelli - Level: 10 *

Available Attribute Points: 1

Available Mutation Points: 2

Available Skill Points: 3

Health: 47/69

Mana: 7/16

Brawn: 18 

Agility: 18

Vitality: 16

Intellect: 21

Charisma: 16 (+2)

Spirit: 16

Skills: 

1) Engineering (B) Lv.6

2) Bypass (C) Lv.1 

3) Pain Mitigation (B) Lv.3

4) Insight (A) Lv.1

5) Craft (D) Lv.7

6) Beast Master (A) Lv.1

7) Harvest (C) Lv.6

8) Shield Bash (C) Lv.3

9) Sneak (D) Lv.2

10) Alchemy (A) Lv.2

11) Shield Master (B) Lv.1

Mutations:

1) Mariner (B) Lv.2

2) Thick Skin (D) Lv.MAX

* Status update complete *

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