Chapter 174: 174
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
"Excuse me, er, mister, er, tentacle man."
I know, an excellent introduction for myself, but what else do I call such a monstrosity like him without maintaining an air of even remote politeness? 'Big fish boy'? 'Good sir'? Realistically, I don't think any really fit the briefing. There is simply no good way to describe what bony, pallid creature that rises up before me, or the wreathing mass of tentacles that lash out beneath him in fits of raging hunger- no good name, or association, could possibly do him justice.
Apparently not hearing me the first time, I decide on a whim to risk my life further still, raising my voice to an uncomfortable level as I half shout:
"Excuse me!"
The creature almost drops me in utter surprise.
For a moment, the tentacles still, dangling me upside down, bewildered and completely baffled to the prospect of its prey actually talking. I doubt down here, aside from the scarce oddity of larger creatures, this monster would have come across anything that can even remotely communicate, and so for a while it looks over me, as though trying to assess exactly what I am.
Trying my best not to breathe in the putrid smell of decay, I watch as the slimy creature lowers its head to me, grinning a mouth full of sharp white teeth. A pair of chalky eyes wash over me.
"Little fish girl speaks," it grumbles, taking a long sniff of my body, sharp teeth flashing with each word, like the knives of a chef, gnashing and chomping. A thin strand of black, gooey salvia trickles down its chin before lifting up into the water around us, dispersing dangerously close to my face. I try my best to hold back vomit.
This entire situation is nothing short of revolting- perhaps even more revolting than the mangled, maggot infested halflings I wiped out on the floor above, perhaps even more revolting than the sly, perverted Prince himself, Azrael, but I think that would be a little to harsh on the creature here. Nothing quite matches just how disgusting it feels to be in Azrael's presence whilst knowing exactly what it is he would like to do to you, where he would like to put his hands, which part of your body he would most enjoy violating. I don't need to read minds to figure that one out.
"Little fishy girl, what's is you doing down here?" the creature calls, with each word sending a waft of a foul and rotting stench spilling from its mouth, the smell of undigested remains, and decay.
Before I can even get to answering, another voice calls out behind it.
"Food not meant to speak. Food meant to be eaten. Do not converse with the slimy little creature," a high pitched, wailing voice calls out in a matter of factly tone. Starting, I dart my head around, looking frantically for the source of the voice, my mind buzzing with the horrifying prospect that not only will I have to face one monster, but two. But there is only one creature here, one head, one mouth- so where on earth could it be coming from?
The sharp interruption makes the first creature frown, scratching his head with a singular bony digit.
"She called us Mister," the creature sniffs, inspecting me once more, lifting me a little higher now, tentacle loosening, but not enough to let me slip free.
"Maybe she is like sister- maybe we do not eat her?"
Beneath me, I catch glimpses of Kal as continues to slip between the mindless tentacles of the creature, darting in and out to avoid being swiped by the wreathing masses. More time, I need more time…
Once again, the other voice snarls.
"Give the fish girl to me, I want to see her. The mistress says we has to share!" At this, the creature's tentacles tighten around my ankle, constricting the blood in my veins and pulling my skin to a tight purple. He draws me in closer, bony hands warding me protectively from the other voice, his mouth agape, teeth flashing like daggers.
"No! I caught her, she is mine to eat. You just trying to steal her!"
He drags me further up in a sudden rush of movement, and all at once blood rushes to my head, my vision becoming blurred with an impossible dizziness.
What on earth is going on? Who is the other voice?
While not in any immediate danger, content to let the two voices bicker between themselves while I attempt to gain composure, I dangle there for a second, letting my eyes adjust, and the spinning of my head subside. Fortunately, it is rather quick to do so- perhaps due to my new vampiric tolerance, or simply because I have gotten used to being pushed around an awful lot. The vampires sure show their fair share of it.
"Who are you talking to?" I ask the creature woozily, to which the first creature- much to my fortune- draws me back to look at me, squinting through pale, unseeing eyes. Gulping down fresh oxygenated water, I try to settle the heaving discomfort that rolls through my body, the act of being scrutinised so finely by this creature not sitting particularly well with me.
I watch as it folds its arms over its skeletal chest, coughing loudly as it throws its head back indignantly.
"I talk to brother, say maybe you's are like sister, but he wants to eat you."
"Brother..?" I start, but quickly figure out what he means.
In two seconds flat, I fall into a deathly silence.
In the half light of our surroundings, the creature turns around slightly, but instead of seeing the back of its head, another disembodied face floats, only this one's eyes are brown and seeing, filled with a watery disdain for any and all things living. Two heads, two torso's, all joined as one amalgamation by the swirling mass of tentacles beneath them. This is no natural born monster, this is a freak of nature, or experimentation.
A cold, boiling fear rolls at my insides. I knew this place would be dangerous, full of monsters, illusions, and any creature that Azrael could conjure up with his perverted and sickened mind. But this... this is something else.
The other head squints its eyes at me, grumbling, visibly more fleshed out than its counterpart, but covered in the same emulsion of fat and scales. Judging by how pulled apart the creature is from its brother, it would be a fair assessment to say they do not like being together- in fact I think they rather loathe it.
The creature's brother shrieks in horror.
"Disgusting puny little morsel! She glows! You are a fool brother. Fish girl has horns, and no heart- she is poison!"
Poison..?
"But I'm hungry," wails the first head, drawing me back round to face it, eyes scanning me with its deadened eyes, sniffing slightly. Once again, the pungent smell of death and decay hits me like a rock, raising a gorge in the back of my throat. "You lie, brother, fishy girls don't glow."
The second head snarls in disgust.
"Yes they do! How would you know anyway, you has no eyes!"
"You tricks me, you tricks me! You just wants to eat fishy girl for yourself!" it wails, throwing back its head as it clutches its stick-like arms around itself in despair.
All at once, an idea sparks. Upside down, I fold my arms, attempting to appear as laid back as possible, mostly to fend away the nervous wobble of my voice, faking an air of confidence.
"Your brother is right," I tell the first head, clicking my tongue in disapproval. "If you eat me, you will surely die."
The creature blinks slowly, its tentacles only tightening around me and then promptly loosening, considering my words. Carefully, it gives another long sniff.
"Die? You mean you aren't tasty snack?"
Nervously, I glance down at Kal who is pulling out a knife as he draws himself closer to the point of the tentacles' growth. A little longer…
"No no, I am extremely poisonous. Your brother is right, eating me would be a very bad idea."
It isn't a convincing argument, but it is one of the only ones I have. I need to buy Kal time- or at least give it enough reasoning to consider not eating me. And in the knowledge of the fact that this creature doesn't seem particularly bright (even with two heads) perhaps I have a chance after all.
The creatures' bony, withered hands reach out to prod me once, twice, feeling over my body, leaving a slimy residue against my skin that I do my best to ignore. Concentrating, I attempt to bring the heat of my flames to the surface of my skin, letting curls of flaming tongues lick at the water. As soon as the creature comes into contact with one such flame, it pulls away, screeching, flashing gnarled teeth in utter despair.
"It burns, it burns!" The creature howls, clutching its hand in a miserably helpless distress. Desperately it sucks on the tips of its scorched fingers in a futile attempt to stave off the burn, but by the whimpering coming from its mouth, its efforts seem hardly to any avail.
"Stupid, stupid, I told you she was bad, now you have damaged us! Fool, fool!" cries his brother with a long and mournful lament, whipping its head round to stare at me. The other head's dark eyes meet mine, but then, slowly, trail down, right to where Kal is about to stick a knife into the creature's side....
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"Excuse me, er, mister, er, tentacle man."
I know, an excellent introduction for myself, but what else do I call such a monstrosity like him without maintaining an air of even remote politeness? 'Big fish boy'? 'Good sir'? Realistically, I don't think any really fit the briefing. There is simply no good way to describe what bony, pallid creature that rises up before me, or the wreathing mass of tentacles that lash out beneath him in fits of raging hunger- no good name, or association, could possibly do him justice.
Apparently not hearing me the first time, I decide on a whim to risk my life further still, raising my voice to an uncomfortable level as I half shout:
"Excuse me!"
The creature almost drops me in utter surprise.
For a moment, the tentacles still, dangling me upside down, bewildered and completely baffled to the prospect of its prey actually talking. I doubt down here, aside from the scarce oddity of larger creatures, this monster would have come across anything that can even remotely communicate, and so for a while it looks over me, as though trying to assess exactly what I am.
Trying my best not to breathe in the putrid smell of decay, I watch as the slimy creature lowers its head to me, grinning a mouth full of sharp white teeth. A pair of chalky eyes wash over me.
"Little fish girl speaks," it grumbles, taking a long sniff of my body, sharp teeth flashing with each word, like the knives of a chef, gnashing and chomping. A thin strand of black, gooey salvia trickles down its chin before lifting up into the water around us, dispersing dangerously close to my face. I try my best to hold back vomit.
This entire situation is nothing short of revolting- perhaps even more revolting than the mangled, maggot infested halflings I wiped out on the floor above, perhaps even more revolting than the sly, perverted Prince himself, Azrael, but I think that would be a little to harsh on the creature here. Nothing quite matches just how disgusting it feels to be in Azrael's presence whilst knowing exactly what it is he would like to do to you, where he would like to put his hands, which part of your body he would most enjoy violating. I don't need to read minds to figure that one out.
"Little fishy girl, what's is you doing down here?" the creature calls, with each word sending a waft of a foul and rotting stench spilling from its mouth, the smell of undigested remains, and decay.
Before I can even get to answering, another voice calls out behind it.
"Food not meant to speak. Food meant to be eaten. Do not converse with the slimy little creature," a high pitched, wailing voice calls out in a matter of factly tone. Starting, I dart my head around, looking frantically for the source of the voice, my mind buzzing with the horrifying prospect that not only will I have to face one monster, but two. But there is only one creature here, one head, one mouth- so where on earth could it be coming from?
The sharp interruption makes the first creature frown, scratching his head with a singular bony digit.
"She called us Mister," the creature sniffs, inspecting me once more, lifting me a little higher now, tentacle loosening, but not enough to let me slip free.
"Maybe she is like sister- maybe we do not eat her?"
Beneath me, I catch glimpses of Kal as continues to slip between the mindless tentacles of the creature, darting in and out to avoid being swiped by the wreathing masses. More time, I need more time…
Once again, the other voice snarls.
"Give the fish girl to me, I want to see her. The mistress says we has to share!" At this, the creature's tentacles tighten around my ankle, constricting the blood in my veins and pulling my skin to a tight purple. He draws me in closer, bony hands warding me protectively from the other voice, his mouth agape, teeth flashing like daggers.
"No! I caught her, she is mine to eat. You just trying to steal her!"
He drags me further up in a sudden rush of movement, and all at once blood rushes to my head, my vision becoming blurred with an impossible dizziness.
What on earth is going on? Who is the other voice?
While not in any immediate danger, content to let the two voices bicker between themselves while I attempt to gain composure, I dangle there for a second, letting my eyes adjust, and the spinning of my head subside. Fortunately, it is rather quick to do so- perhaps due to my new vampiric tolerance, or simply because I have gotten used to being pushed around an awful lot. The vampires sure show their fair share of it.
"Who are you talking to?" I ask the creature woozily, to which the first creature- much to my fortune- draws me back to look at me, squinting through pale, unseeing eyes. Gulping down fresh oxygenated water, I try to settle the heaving discomfort that rolls through my body, the act of being scrutinised so finely by this creature not sitting particularly well with me.
I watch as it folds its arms over its skeletal chest, coughing loudly as it throws its head back indignantly.
"I talk to brother, say maybe you's are like sister, but he wants to eat you."
"Brother..?" I start, but quickly figure out what he means.
In two seconds flat, I fall into a deathly silence.
In the half light of our surroundings, the creature turns around slightly, but instead of seeing the back of its head, another disembodied face floats, only this one's eyes are brown and seeing, filled with a watery disdain for any and all things living. Two heads, two torso's, all joined as one amalgamation by the swirling mass of tentacles beneath them. This is no natural born monster, this is a freak of nature, or experimentation.
A cold, boiling fear rolls at my insides. I knew this place would be dangerous, full of monsters, illusions, and any creature that Azrael could conjure up with his perverted and sickened mind. But this... this is something else.
The other head squints its eyes at me, grumbling, visibly more fleshed out than its counterpart, but covered in the same emulsion of fat and scales. Judging by how pulled apart the creature is from its brother, it would be a fair assessment to say they do not like being together- in fact I think they rather loathe it.
The creature's brother shrieks in horror.
"Disgusting puny little morsel! She glows! You are a fool brother. Fish girl has horns, and no heart- she is poison!"
Poison..?
"But I'm hungry," wails the first head, drawing me back round to face it, eyes scanning me with its deadened eyes, sniffing slightly. Once again, the pungent smell of death and decay hits me like a rock, raising a gorge in the back of my throat. "You lie, brother, fishy girls don't glow."
The second head snarls in disgust.
"Yes they do! How would you know anyway, you has no eyes!"
"You tricks me, you tricks me! You just wants to eat fishy girl for yourself!" it wails, throwing back its head as it clutches its stick-like arms around itself in despair.
All at once, an idea sparks. Upside down, I fold my arms, attempting to appear as laid back as possible, mostly to fend away the nervous wobble of my voice, faking an air of confidence.
"Your brother is right," I tell the first head, clicking my tongue in disapproval. "If you eat me, you will surely die."
The creature blinks slowly, its tentacles only tightening around me and then promptly loosening, considering my words. Carefully, it gives another long sniff.
"Die? You mean you aren't tasty snack?"
Nervously, I glance down at Kal who is pulling out a knife as he draws himself closer to the point of the tentacles' growth. A little longer…
"No no, I am extremely poisonous. Your brother is right, eating me would be a very bad idea."
It isn't a convincing argument, but it is one of the only ones I have. I need to buy Kal time- or at least give it enough reasoning to consider not eating me. And in the knowledge of the fact that this creature doesn't seem particularly bright (even with two heads) perhaps I have a chance after all.
The creatures' bony, withered hands reach out to prod me once, twice, feeling over my body, leaving a slimy residue against my skin that I do my best to ignore. Concentrating, I attempt to bring the heat of my flames to the surface of my skin, letting curls of flaming tongues lick at the water. As soon as the creature comes into contact with one such flame, it pulls away, screeching, flashing gnarled teeth in utter despair.
"It burns, it burns!" The creature howls, clutching its hand in a miserably helpless distress. Desperately it sucks on the tips of its scorched fingers in a futile attempt to stave off the burn, but by the whimpering coming from its mouth, its efforts seem hardly to any avail.
"Stupid, stupid, I told you she was bad, now you have damaged us! Fool, fool!" cries his brother with a long and mournful lament, whipping its head round to stare at me. The other head's dark eyes meet mine, but then, slowly, trail down, right to where Kal is about to stick a knife into the creature's side....
"Excuse me, er, mister, er, tentacle man."I know, an excellent introduction for myself, but what else do I call such a monstrosity like him without maintaining an air of even remote politeness? 'Big fish boy'? 'Good sir'? Realistically, I don't think any really fit the briefing. There is simply no good way to describe what bony, pallid creature that rises up before me, or the wreathing mass of tentacles that lash out beneath him in fits of raging hunger- no good name, or association, could possibly do him justice.Apparently not hearing me the first time, I decide on a whim to risk my life further still, raising my voice to an uncomfortable level as I half shout:"Excuse me!"The creature almost drops me in utter surprise.For a moment, the tentacles still, dangling me upside down, bewildered and completely baffled to the prospect of its prey actually talking. I doubt down here, aside from the scarce oddity of larger creatures, this monster would have come across anything that can even remotely communicate, and so for a while it looks over me, as though trying to assess exactly what I am.Trying my best not to breathe in the putrid smell of decay, I watch as the slimy creature lowers its head to me, grinning a mouth full of sharp white teeth. A pair of chalky eyes wash over me."Little fish girl speaks," it grumbles, taking a long sniff of my body, sharp teeth flashing with each word, like the knives of a chef, gnashing and chomping. A thin strand of black, gooey salvia trickles down its chin before lifting up into the water around us, dispersing dangerously close to my face. I try my best to hold back vomit.This entire situation is nothing short of revolting- perhaps even more revolting than the mangled, maggot infested halflings I wiped out on the floor above, perhaps even more revolting than the sly, perverted Prince himself, Azrael, but I think that would be a little to harsh on the creature here. Nothing quite matches just how disgusting it feels to be in Azrael's presence whilst knowing exactly what it is he would like to do to you, where he would like to put his hands, which part of your body he would most enjoy violating. I don't need to read minds to figure that one out."Little fishy girl, what's is you doing down here?" the creature calls, with each word sending a waft of a foul and rotting stench spilling from its mouth, the smell of undigested remains, and decay.Before I can even get to answering, another voice calls out behind it."Food not meant to speak. Food meant to be eaten. Do not converse with the slimy little creature," a high pitched, wailing voice calls out in a matter of factly tone. Starting, I dart my head around, looking frantically for the source of the voice, my mind buzzing with the horrifying prospect that not only will I have to face one monster, but two. But there is only one creature here, one head, one mouth- so where on earth could it be coming from?The sharp interruption makes the first creature frown, scratching his head with a singular bony digit."She called us Mister," the creature sniffs, inspecting me once more, lifting me a little higher now, tentacle loosening, but not enough to let me slip free."Maybe she is like sister- maybe we do not eat her?"Beneath me, I catch glimpses of Kal as continues to slip between the mindless tentacles of the creature, darting in and out to avoid being swiped by the wreathing masses. More time, I need more timeOnce again, the other voice snarls."Give the fish girl to me, I want to see her. The mistress says we has to share!" At this, the creature's tentacles tighten around my ankle, constricting the blood in my veins and pulling my skin to a tight purple. He draws me in closer, bony hands warding me protectively from the other voice, his mouth agape, teeth flashing like daggers."No! I caught her, she is mine to eat. You just trying to steal her!"He drags me further up in a sudden rush of movement, and all at once blood rushes to my head, my vision becoming blurred with an impossible dizziness.What on earth is going on? Who is the other voice?While not in any immediate danger, content to let the two voices bicker between themselves while I attempt to gain composure, I dangle there for a second, letting my eyes adjust, and the spinning of my head subside. Fortunately, it is rather quick to do so- perhaps due to my new vampiric tolerance, or simply because I have gotten used to being pushed around an awful lot. The vampires sure show their fair share of it."Who are you talking to?" I ask the creature woozily, to which the first creature- much to my fortune- draws me back to look at me, squinting through pale, unseeing eyes. Gulping down fresh oxygenated water, I try to settle the heaving discomfort that rolls through my body, the act of being scrutinised so finely by this creature not sitting particularly well with me.I watch as it folds its arms over its skeletal chest, coughing loudly as it throws its head back indignantly."I talk to brother, say maybe you's are like sister, but he wants to eat you.""Brother..?" I start, but quickly figure out what he means.In two seconds flat, I fall into a deathly silence.In the half light of our surroundings, the creature turns around slightly, but instead of seeing the back of its head, another disembodied face floats, only this one's eyes are brown and seeing, filled with a watery disdain for any and all things living. Two heads, two torso's, all joined as one amalgamation by the swirling mass of tentacles beneath them. This is no natural born monster, this is a freak of nature, or experimentation.A cold, boiling fear rolls at my insides. I knew this place would be dangerous, full of monsters, illusions, and any creature that Azrael could conjure up with his perverted and sickened mind. But this... this is something else.The other head squints its eyes at me, grumbling, visibly more fleshed out than its counterpart, but covered in the same emulsion of fat and scales. Judging by how pulled apart the creature is from its brother, it would be a fair assessment to say they do not like being together- in fact I think they rather loathe it. The creature's brother shrieks in horror."Disgusting puny little morsel! She glows! You are a fool brother. Fish girl has horns, and no heart- she is poison!"Poison..?"But I'm hungry," wails the first head, drawing me back round to face it, eyes scanning me with its deadened eyes, sniffing slightly. Once again, the pungent smell of death and decay hits me like a rock, raising a gorge in the back of my throat. "You lie, brother, fishy girls don't glow."The second head snarls in disgust."Yes they do! How would you know anyway, you has no eyes!""You tricks me, you tricks me! You just wants to eat fishy girl for yourself!" it wails, throwing back its head as it clutches its stick-like arms around itself in despair.All at once, an idea sparks. Upside down, I fold my arms, attempting to appear as laid back as possible, mostly to fend away the nervous wobble of my voice, faking an air of confidence."Your brother is right," I tell the first head, clicking my tongue in disapproval. "If you eat me, you will surely die."The creature blinks slowly, its tentacles only tightening around me and then promptly loosening, considering my words. Carefully, it gives another long sniff."Die? You mean you aren't tasty snack?"Nervously, I glance down at Kal who is pulling out a knife as he draws himself closer to the point of the tentacles' growth. A little longer"No no, I am extremely poisonous. Your brother is right, eating me would be a very bad idea."It isn't a convincing argument, but it is one of the only ones I have. I need to buy Kal time- or at least give it enough reasoning to consider not eating me. And in the knowledge of the fact that this creature doesn't seem particularly bright even with two heads perhaps I have a chance after all.The creatures' bony, withered hands reach out to prod me once, twice, feeling over my body, leaving a slimy residue against my skin that I do my best to ignore. Concentrating, I attempt to bring the heat of my flames to the surface of my skin, letting curls of flaming tongues lick at the water. As soon as the creature comes into contact with one such flame, it pulls away, screeching, flashing gnarled teeth in utter despair."It burns, it burns!" The creature howls, clutching its hand in a miserably helpless distress. Desperately it sucks on the tips of its scorched fingers in a futile attempt to stave off the burn, but by the whimpering coming from its mouth, its efforts seem hardly to any avail."Stupid, stupid, I told you she was bad, now you have damaged us! Fool, fool!" cries his brother with a long and mournful lament, whipping its head round to stare at me. The other head's dark eyes meet mine, but then, slowly, trail down, right to where Kal is about to stick a knife into the creature's side....
