Sarah felt the humid air shift across her fur as her pack advanced through the Fungal Forest in search of prey. The damp rot in the air was punctuated by the musky smell of a large beast nearby, and she could feel the anticipation that filled her pack members, each of them eager for the hunt.
With Eyr’s vision, she spotted the beast they were hunting; a Tusken Bear.
Ras and Mona circled around to flank the bear, under the effects of Prowl, their presence seemingly gone from the surroundings. As they prepared to pounce, Eyr dove, releasing a sharp cry of challenge. Thrill of the Hunt!
As the steely grey bird streaked towards the bear’s eyes, a shadow rose from the marshy soil behind the bear, striking it with a crippling blow before falling back rapidly. Ambush!
The bear roared in fury and pain as it turned to chase Mona’s darting figure, only for its face to be assaulted by burning pain. Rake.
One of its eyes had been struck blind by Eyr’s assault, and the bear reared up in its attempt to swipe at its attacker, only to crash to the ground as tearing agony spread from its hind leg. Ambush!
Ras danced backwards, circling the wounded bear, darting in frequently to nip at it, forcing it to follow him with its sole remaining eye.
As it was overcome by the pain, the bear worked itself into a towering rage as it lunged for the male wolf. With the tendons in its hind legs badly wounded, the bear stumbled in its lunge, swinging its head as it tried to gore Ras on one of its large tusks as it was forced lower, still furious as the wolf remained cautious.
ROAR~!
The bear howled in pain as Mona attacked it from the rear, her teeth and claws tearing at its flanks as it struggled, its breath coming more rapidly as the end neared.
Lashing out suddenly, the bear caught Mona with a backhanded swipe that unfortunately spelt its doom.
As if he’d been waiting for precisely this moment, Ras lunged forward, sinking his teeth into the bear’s now exposed throat, shaking and pulling violently as he tore it open.
Ever cautious, Ras darted back before circling the bear, putting himself between the beast and Mona while she recovered from the strike she had received.
The bear’s roars subsided into mumbles and gurgling whimpers as its blood poured from the wound, before falling still.
Tusken Bear Lv4 slain. Gained 16(18)xp.
Tusken Bear Essence gathered (92%).
Sarah was both grateful and apprehensive, following her arrival at Greywall. She’d found herself a place that she could rest safely, but that safety did come at a cost. The group following her had tried to argue with Alice, claiming the mysterious woman had a ‘responsibility’ to protect them which hadn’t worked out quite as they intended.
In the end, they were given an ultimatum shortly after arrival that if they were not paying guests or residents, they would be evicted from within the fortress, and could find themselves blacklisted.
For Sarah’s part, she’d collected a decent amount of xp over the past week, and had no problem renting a private space for herself and her bonds, and had even been able to gain a new skill with the blessing she’d received at the Lifewarden’s Sanctum, a skill called Lycanthropy.
It allowed her to gather the essences and traits of monsters defeated by her pack, which she could ‘equip’ to her bonds altering and strengthening their forms, and she’d been hunting Tusken Bears on the first layer, working her way up to a completed essence that she planned to grant Ras.
Ras’ and Mona both shook themselves lightly as she returned her focus to the present, Eyr transmitting her the image of another Tusken Bear not too far away.
~
Ras’ figure blurred as he leapt onto the back of the Tusken Bear, positioning his body low as his teeth dug into the back of its neck. The bear howled painfully as Ras gave his head a violent shake, causing bones and cartilage to fracture and fragment.
The bear attempted to roll, hoping to crush its attacker as Mona ran in for the kill. The bear was positioned on its side, with Ras springing away when she tore into its now exposed belly, her maw dripping with blood and gore as she spilt its entrails across the damp earth.
Without wasting a moment, Mona dashed away from the bear as she gripped its intestines firmly between her teeth, dragging them out as the wounded creature struggled to find the strength to stand.
Despite everything she was witnessing, Sarah wasn’t disturbed by the sight. Heart of the Pack subtly shifted her perspective on things, and The Hunt was needed to strengthen the pack. The bear would become a part of that strength, a necessary sacrifice.
Tusken Bear Lv5 slain. Gained 18(20)xp.
Tusken Bear Essence gained.
Seeing the message, Sarah felt the rush of another victory and the power it promised as she mentally scanned her interface. With a great sense of anticipation, she activated her skill, eager to progress further in the Dungeon. Lycanthropy.
Within her, she could feel the essence of the bear and how it resonated with each of her pack members. Even before their bond, Ras had acted as a guardian and protector for his pack, unafraid to place his own body in harm’s way to protect his family. As she pushed the essence into Ras, she felt wolf’s heart race as he underwent a change.
His bones expanded rapidly as his muscles shifted and rippled across his body. His mass expanded rapidly, going from 48kg to nearly 300kg, standing 1.6m in height at the shoulder and over 3m in length. His limbs had become thicker and bulky, and his fur denser and coarse as he underwent transformation, each of his paws now massive with claws to match. His skull shifted, the bone now much thicker, while his jaw reshaped itself to accommodate the massive blade-like fangs that now rested exposed.
Lycanthropy - Tusken Bear Essence applied to Ras.
Semi-permanent effect [Transformation (Moderate): Bladefang Warg] applied.
Skills granted due to Transformation (Moderate): Charge, Savagery, Endure, Intimidate.
Images and thoughts flashed through Lena’s mind, sharing Ras’ feelings about his transformation.
Strong, sturdy, powerful. Those sensations and more, all tinged with an eagerness that she found infectious as she could feel the fire pumping through the warg’s veins.
We hunt. As Sarah sent the thought to her pack, Ras unleashed a howl that would chill the blood of any creature that heard it as his giant form took off in search of prey.
~
Sarah and her pack spent the rest of the day tearing through Redcaps, earning her a nice portion of xp before they finally left the dungeon. She made her way towards the market after cancelling her Heart of the Pack skill, causing her form to materialise once more.
Holy crap Ras is big now. She thought, much more shocked by her bond’s transformation now that they were no longer a gestalt. Despite his large size, he still nuzzled her affectionately, nearly lifting her off the ground as he pressed his face into her body while she held on tightly.
“R-Ras! Come on, cut that out big guy!” She laughed, and could feel his amusement through their connection. Lowering her back to her feet, Sarah thought she was safe until the huge canine pushed her over, at which point Mona joined in with the playfulness, the two working together to keep her off balance.
“Hey! Come on you two, that’s not fair! Are you really going to gang up on me like that?”
Ras released a deep huff as he nuzzled her, careful not to catch her with his massive fangs, and Mona simply looked at her while the much smaller wolf laid across her chest.
“Fine, fine. We can relax here for a bit. Ras, I’m telling you now though. You are too big to climb on me.” She did her best to sound stern as she spoke, but the large warg didn’t seem to car at all as he laid down, resting his massive head across her legs.
“Come join us, Eyr! You all did great today.”
While Sarah and her bonds were relaxing and playing in the grassy park area, a man wearing a large, somewhat futuristic suit of armour and a somewhat petite woman wearing a dark tactical suit with a bow on her back approached.
“Hey there,” The woman greeted. The two came to a stop, leaving a slight distance between them as the wolves eyed the two strangers.
“I’m Jess, this is Dave. We’ve been talking about adding another person to our Dungeon group, wondering if you might be interested.” She said.
As the somewhat petite woman spoke, the armoured man removed his helmet, revealing a man with a friendly face who looked to be in his 30’s.
“Nice to meet you,” He said. “Sorry if I look a little ‘robot death squad’ in the armour. Its way too heavy to carry around if I’m not wearing it. I’m a Mechanist, most of my skills are transferable between being a defender and attacker.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sarah said as she rose to her feet, not missing the way Ras shifted to keep himself between her and the new arrivals. “I’m Sarah. Big guy here is Ras, and this is Mona and Eyr.” She said, indicating each of her bonds in turn.
“Is it just you two in your group?”
“We normally have two more in our group, but the second layer has proved a lot tougher than the first was.” Dave responded with a wry look on his face. “Between the mushrooms and finding ourselves badly outnumbered by the packs of monsters, we figure that it’s safer to look for another person or two to fill out the ranks.”
“Mushrooms?” Sarah asked, curious.
“Yeah, you do not want to mess around with them.” “They have parasitic spores that cause waking nightmares in order to control their victims and attempt to spread. It’s like being trapped inside a horror movie. The spores are pretty weak to cold, though.”
“Uh, well… we just finished for today. Will your group be going in tomorrow? I think we could give it a try.” She said. “My Class is Packmaster, by the way. I can join with my bonds to make them stronger. Ras and Mona do most of the fighting, and Eyr is a great scout.”
“Sure,” Jess answered with a smile. “How about we meet here tomorrow morning… 9:00am? We’ll introduce you to the rest of the team, and we can do a bit of a dry run on the first layer to get familiar.”
Jess gave Sarah her System contact before she and Dave left, leaving Sarah alone with her bonds.
They seem like nice people. She thought to herself, amazed that the group had made it to the second layer already.
