'Get to cover, now!' Boophis cried.
Boophis and Zimmeri dove into a deep portion of the river on the east side, and swam towards the outpost tower, Fallax sprinted into the house on the west side of the river. Bull, surprisingly, followed him.
The stomps quaked the earth. The trees rustled and the river water rippled. Bursting out from the trees, was the Swamp Queen. Her scaly, bipedal legs blasted water apart as she skidded across the river to a halt. She whipped around - the long tail nearly swiping the tower that Boophis and Zimmeri were hiding in. Her tiny arms flexed, and her massive sand coloured body wound up for a moment, then she unwound, and unleashed a devastating, bone shattering roar. It was so loud, and so mighty, that the trees blew back as if struck by high winds. Saliva scattered between her sharp teeth, decorating the river with cloudy mucus. After finishing, she raised her head towards the sky to roar again, the clouds parted, to make way for light, she was nearly as tall as the tower. The Rex had issued a challenge. From the arrow slit that Boophis was observing out of, it seemed as though they were going to find out what pissed her off.
More stomping could be heard from beyond the treeline, quicker, lighter. It had this moist rubbery noise accompanying it. As it got close, four strange vines crept around the trees, and with a sudden jerk, the trees split apart, creating a gap for the new challenger to step through. This monster was slightly wider than the Swamp Queen, but just as tall. Its two sturdy legs had webbed feet, which waded through the water. Its tentacles released the trees, the two coming out the front of its body coiled around in a menacing defensive posture, and the two behind its legs climbed over up behind its vaguely toad-like body, poised to strike. All three of its eye stalks fixed on the Swamp Queen, whilst its needle-toothed maw grimaced in an uncannily Boggard expression of anger. One of its tentacles caressed an old, hideous bite-mark on its rubbery and pallid flesh before whipping the water and letting out an alien snarl. The Swamp Queen matched its contempt with a snarl of her own, seemingly promising to provide the creature with more scars to mourn.
There was a lull. Both apex predators staring each-other down, one Rex, the monarch of the hunting grounds, and a Behemoth-Toad, a pretender to her throne.
The Swamp Queen lunged forward, but her charge was met with four devastating swipes from the Pretender, breaking apart her scaly hide with whip-like strikes. The Queen was not slowed, she bit down right above the mouth of the Pretender, the Bog shook from the giants colliding, blood oozing between her fangs. The Pretender let out a high-pitch cry of pain, and was forced back a few feet, to counter, the tentacles entangled the Queen, and with all the monster's strength, it lifted her off the ground and pressed on, the Queen still holding her grip. Its march became a sprint, the weight of the footfalls caused the water to part and the ground to quake - but the Pretender was only so strong, it dropped the Queen, she slid across the riverbed, creating a crashing wave which nearly flooded the bottom floor of Boophis’s tower. The shock caused the Queen to release her bite. She was on her side, and desperately started kicking at the pretender, her talons tearing at the Pretender’s underside, as it approached. The tentacles wrapped around again, and with all the Pretender's might, it chucked the queen into the house Fallax and Bull were hiding in, the wall smashed and crumbled under the weight, and the impact spat rocks and debris all over the river.
'No!' Zimmeri cried out.
The Pretender grappled the queen again, lifting her off of the ruin, whirling around, and chucking her back at the tower.
'Brace! Now-!' is all Boophis managed to shout, before the Queen's mass collided with the base of the tower. The impact knocked the Boggards off their feet. A crack appeared along the wall, and the whole building began to list into the river as bog water sprayed up the side like waves crashing against sea rocks. Inside, Boophis had to avoid soggy tomes that flew out from bookshelves as the floorboards splintered and warped, creating sharp needle like protrusions that almost pierced him while he rolled backwards toward the staircase. Boophis saw glimpses above that the ceiling was beginning to sag, and the crack across the wall started to bleed in sunlight as the tower was splitting in two. Boophis rolled back down the staircase - and on top of Zimmeri, who miraculously beat him to the first floor, albeit with a dozen or so bruises. The boards on the upper level broke downwards, like a net made of wood, it absorbed most of the debris from the third floor and thankfully had not crushed them, yet. Outside, the battle continued to rage on, the Queen must have got up again, as the tower stopped leaning, and breaking. As the two Boggards lay atop each-other, they realised they were backed against the wall, and that the crack had formed on both sides of the tower. They could still hear rocky creaking and groaning from shifting, unstable stone.
'Get… off me,' Boophis gasped, his head hurt, but he had no time to check for injuries.
'You first, Bog-Butt,' Zimmeri gasped, attempting to get up, ‘I saw something, by the way.’'
'Yes,’ Boophis shoved her off, then clambered to his feet, his right leg hurt badly, ‘I think it was hard to miss them, moron.'
'No - It was a - '
The slamming of a wooden door alerted them downstairs. Someone had just entered the tower's ground floor.
A tall Boggard waded through the shallow water of the first floor. A hunter dressed in boar-hide armour so shoddily made it still had some fur. This black fleshed, pox-ridden Brute had set down a harpoon on the ground, and began tying one end to a rope slung over its shoulder. Boophis and Zimmeri were above, peering through a large hole in the floorboards. I am really getting sick of today.
The pair glanced at each-other, then turned away, both pausing to think, the sounds of the battle outside still raged on. Boophis looked up along the crack of the wall, then back towards the Toady. Zimmeri jostled Boophis’s shoulder to grab his attention, she covered her mouth with one hand, then released it, imitating a silent whistle. He pointed behind the occupied brute, and she nodded. They both brought themselves quietly to their knees, Zimmeri made a strange gesture with her left hand, and her vocal sac quivered, but no noise left her lips. Instead a high pitch alien sound emitted directly behind the Brute, exactly like the toad-behemoth outside. Startled, they armed themselves with the harpoon and spun around to see it. Seizing the opportunity, Boophis jumped down behind them, splashing on the watery floorboards, his right leg responding with a shock of pain, and he raised his skull-wand to the Brute's back. They snarled - twisting back round with the harpoon raised - ready to skewer whatever prey dared to stalk them. They were met, with the blessing Gogunta had left Boophis this day, a Hydraulic Push. A stream of water erupted from Boophis’s wand, blasting the Brute off their feet, sending them crashing into the crack. The weakened wall collapsed from the pressure, and they crumbled through into a puddle of watery rubble. The wand finished after a few seconds, dripping wet. Boophis was not yet safe however, cracks were forming around the new exit in the tower, and the whole building was now finally starting to collapse. He bolted for the door - barely managing to evade the structure crumpling on top of him - and rolling to freedom. The tower’s own weight squashed the first floor, sat there for a moment, and fell backwards, away from Boophis, crashing mightily across the river as the weakened structure disintegrated, returning to the swamp at last, in chunks of stone and mortar.
Boophis panted, still coming down from the adrenaline. He could not see Zimmeri anywhere, but also could not be bothered to check if she was alive, he fished out the harpoon from the pile of rubble, then looked towards the titanic clash. The giants had moved south away from the treeline, the Queen was breathing heavily, she seemed to struggle to stand, as if she too, had a broken leg. The Pretender was cut and bruised, but seemed to have much more stamina. The Queen was getting slapped backwards by the tentacles, the pretender turning the battle into a favourable war of attrition. Boophis pondered how to get across the river to safety. He stepped away from the rubble, and while his heartbeat was slowing, it suddenly sank. He heard a deep, low, murderous croaking from behind him. He turned around.
That Brute was still alive, wounded, but unbroken. And incredibly angry.
Boophis staggered back and blasted the Brute with a ray of frost, the freezing wind lacerated their dusty flesh, but all it did was catch the bloodied grown-up off guard. It raised its fists to block in a boxing stance, and braced against the magic. Boophis limped down the river banking, heading towards the exit made by the Pretender, it was his only chance to survive. The Adult pursued him, brandishing a brick and screaming bloody murder in Abyssal. Boophis was really starting to feel whatever was wrong with his leg, but thankfully the frost seized up the Adults joints enough for Boophis to get a lead. He looked across the river again, past the giants mayhem, the house was ruined. But there were Boggards moving across the other banking. Were they more Rovagug Hunters? Or were they Fallax and Bull? Boophis had no time to decide, he was desperate - and had to think of something. As he steadily approached the broken treeline, he noticed that there were silhouettes of toad-folk, crouched behind the bushes and undergrowth.
Boophis coiled backwards, and just before reaching the treeline, lobbed the harpoon, then twisted back round and leaped forward - tumbling through the tree branches and rolling over onto the muddy ground. He glanced up to see several Boggard hunters, dark purple skin, nets, and weapons at the ready - staring at Boophis with bewilderment. The sudden alien shriek let them all know, Boophis’s harpoon had found its target.
Bursting through the treeline after him was the Adult, leaping through the air ready to crush Boophis's skull with the stone - everything slowed down. The Adult had blind hatred in his eyes, Boophis thought he was too late, this was it. But something appeared just behind the Brute - a long tentacle flew up and swatted them violently to the ground in front of Boophis. Time resumed its normal pace. The tendril wrapped around them and hurled the Brute back up into the air. The scream of the Adult was silenced as the Pretender caught him mid-air with a chomp, and swallowed him whole. The Monster approached, barely visible through the treeline, till it swiped out with all four of its tentacles and obliterated the remaining foliage. It looked down at them, and made a high pitched wail.
It barely looked injured after killing the Queen.
The Rovagug hunters scarpered, one shooting three arrows into its hide and jumping backwards to avoid a swipe from a tentacle. A burlier hunter was grappled, and dragged into the air - but a quick unsheathing of a sharp blade sliced off the end of the tendril, dropping them to the ground on their feet, they yelled an order in Abyssal and sprinted off east. Two others ignored the orders from the bladed burly Boggard, and became a sufficient distraction for Boophis. The Priest muttered a small thanks to Gogunta under his breath - and limped west as fast as he possibly could. The monster clearly wanted his blood, but it would not have it this day.
It was getting darker, the clouds had returned, the sky began to weep for the loss of the queen. Pain and exhaustion finally caught up to him, Boophis sank his knees into the deep muddy ground and wheezed intensely. He was in some sort of clearing, but struggled to gauge his surroundings, beyond the usual amount of trees and bushes. Had he been running for five minutes? Ten? All he could parse clearly was the pain in his leg, and the hot breath squeezing out his throat.
'Where is Zimmeri?' a calm voice asked.
Boophis glanced up and winced. It was Fallax and Bull, they had minor cuts and bruises, how lucky for them.
'She… didn't… what does it -' Boophis wheezed, '...matter?'
Fallax did not look angry, he did not look as though he was feeling anything. Bull looked past them.
'I could've taken it,' the toad-like Boggard insisted, indignation burning on his face, ‘just too many ticks in my way,' he finished, spitting onto the muddy ground.
'Eat… my arse… wretch,' Boophis was beginning to catch his breath, attempting to stand up straight caused his leg to flare up, and he splashed back down into the sludge.
‘Oh, don’t tempt me -’ were the last words Boophis remembered his brother speaking.
