D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kat —

“Wait it’s still alive?” asked Kamiko, warily looking at the very dead seeming squirrel thing that Bower had pinned to the tree.

“If I didn’t get its heart? Ya it probably is. I’m a good shot but those buggers don’t have a consistent placement for the thing so best to just keep away from it. Probably leaving that arrow behind as well,” grumbled Bower.

Kat decided that was silly and moved over towards the squirrel thing, summoning some demonic fire. As soon as she got close it tried to lash out but Kat just unleashed her demonic fire until it was frozen. From there she started to carefully remove the arrow while Hunter asked, “Do remember Bower, part of our concern is the constant waves of monsters. That will shake up the ecosystem a good deal.

Is there anything particularly sneaky or powerful we should know about?”

Bower shook his head, “No, most of the monsters either come into being alongside their bubble, or they aren’t major concerns for now. Take Gulpers for example. They are these giant mammals with heads about twice the size of their already large bodies. They like to dig themselves into the ground right at the edges of rivers and lakes then snap shut on anything that tries to drink…

“But we have plenty of water and because of there large size and horrible proportions they find it hard to travel. Getting their head between trees is already quite the issue and running away from something? Basically impossible. So I’d guess that the drake is feasting on them and they still aren’t running.”

“These Gulpers seem like a bit of an extreme example,” stated Hunter as Kat handed over the arrow. “I feel as though there have to be more monsters that roam these woods,”

“And you’d be right,” said Bower. “This place is full of all sorts of monsters but they ain’t all that threatening. For demons such as yourself, even should they catch ya off guard, I just don’t see it being an issue. Take Mist-skippers as an example of those. They are a cross between flying fish and a swordfish.

They tend to explode out of their bubbles instead of staying put, fly through the mist looking for prey and then somehow return to their home bubble.

“Sounds scary right? For a lot of the monsters in this place? They are, because things trend towards the more fragile side here. The Mist—skippers can’t get through my old scales. I just have to watch out around my eyes and I’ll be fine. I expect ya can all handle them a lot better then I can.

“Look, I don’t mean to sound annoyed but there really is too much to go over. If I wanted to instruct ya on everything you’re likely to see here, it’d take me months of works. I’ve lived here for centuries and yet I’d bet my left nut that there are still new monsters I’ve never seen hiding out in these woods.

“I’ll tell ya what a thing is if they show up, but so many of them never will. Maybe if we end up in a particularly hostile feeling bubble I’ll throw out a few suggestions but you lot are too keyed up. I get this is important, I really do. I understand that this might be the end of the kingdom if ya don’t manage to complete this hunt…

“But if so? Then that’s just how it’s going ta be. I trust ya’ll to do yer best and I ain’t going to expect any more than that. You asked for me as a guide, and I’m going to do my damned best to BE that guide. What ya need to understand is that this place has a huge variety of monsters, but the most dangerous stuff tends to be the terrain, or the ambushes.

“I can keep ya safe from both. That’s my damned job here. I’m planning to get ya to the drake come hell or high water. Pinky clearly noticed, so did Snakey and we even talked about this so Catty One and Two better not have missed it. I can’t do my damned job if I die before you even see the drake so trust me this much alright?” Continue reading at

*Are we freaking out a bit?*

[Honestly I hadn’t noticed. I don’t want to say either way… because maybe? You don’t seem super stressed from where I’m sitting but I was asleep until the attack. Which, I woke up really quickly for I might add. It seems that I can go from sleep to awake without being dozy if it’s important. I wonder what triggers that because it’d be great for even normal mornings.]

*I wish I knew. I don’t feel all that stressed either but maybe that’s why we’re asking these questions? I mean, have I ever really cared what I was facing before? We’ve gone through plenty of dangerous areas before with much less knowledge.*

[True but the scale is different. Not only is this perhaps the weirdest environment we’ve ever walked into but it’s potentially quite deadly for everyone other than you despite what Bower is saying. Then there’s the drake itself and well… I don’t think anyone could blame you if you were stressed.]

*Think I should be using my aura a bit then? Not to scare away monsters but to ensure that we keep the panic to manageable levels?*

[Well we’re not really panicking at the moment so is it really fair to say that we’re not already at acceptable levels of concern? Even if everyone is a bit keyed up at the moment this place isn’t all that safe. Bower may have spent centuries of his life getting used to this place but we haven’t. It’s a deadly space warping forest with apparently dozens of biomes.

Being a bit concerned is completely reasonable.]

*You know what? Good point.*

The group got moving again soon after that. Kamiko looked like she wanted to grill Bower for more information, but Hunter stared at her for a bit and that quickly went away. Kat understood the reasoning, or what she guessed was the reasoning. No sense in making too much noise and calling the monsters down on their heads.

Perhaps it wasn’t that major of a concern. Especially when not five minutes later Bower called everyone to a stop. “Hold!”

Every paused, tense and ready for a fight when Bower started to explain. “I can feel the edge of a bubble here. Not sure how large it is, but we’re about to enter into one. Thought I’d warn you all for your first experience,”

“Why are we not just going around?” asked Hunter. “While I am confident in our ability to traverse uncertain terrain, if the bubbles are larger on the inside then they are on the outside would going through not cost us additional time?”

“Eh… maybe?” offered Bower. “Remember, none of the space her plays nice. Even if the bubble is longer then it seems, that doesn’t mean that going around it will take the correct amount of time either, and that’s assuming we don’t end up face to face with another bubble blocking the way.

“Granted, we’re just sort of vaguely heading in what I believe to be the correct direction, so I’m fine with going around if that’s the vote you kids want to make… but I think it’ll be good to get ya used to things. I wasn’t going to go outta my way to find a bubble… but if they’re just handing them over ta me? I’ll take it as a start,”

“Um… but… so… what… err… what’s it going to be like?” asked Kamiko. “Stepping inside I mean…”

“Hmm… how to describe it…” mumbled Bower as he scratched at his chin. “So, because we’re all tied up together one of two things can happen. The bubble might wait for us all to be ‘inside’ before dropping us into place. Though not literally dropping. Ya always end up on the ground if ya were on the ground. So do be careful not to jump.

“Alternatively, sometimes if ya’ll are tied together as soon as I step into the bubble it’s gonna yank me, and the rest of ya by extension, down into the bubble. Not ideal, and might cause ya to loose your footing but something you can recover from quickly if ya know it’s coming,”

“Oh… um… so there’s nothing to worry about?” asked Kamiko.

“Well I won’t say nothin’ it’s not uncommon for whatever monsters are on the other side to sense the intrusion and start attacking the moment ya pass through, but it likely won’t be anything to worry about. Just be ready for the attack and you’ll be fine Pinkey,”

“I… I suddenly feel like maybe going around is the better choice…” mumbled Kamiko.

“Nonsense!” said Bower with a laugh stepping forward into the mist without a care. So of course, Kat felt it would be just like the world to laugh at them in that moment and yank the rest of them along with him. Kat could see the mist rush by even as her feet seemed to remain in place as she was somehow still yanked forward into a stumble.