"Still early then," he thought to himself as he stood, looking over at the still-sleeping form of Ishtan.
Brandon decided he needed to use a tree and made his way out of the cave into the night. Looking around, he saw broken saplings and trees, all swaying in the soft wind. The light of the moon shone through a cloudy sky, giving the forest an ominous look. Brandon chose a tree not too far from the entrance, close enough that he could get back if he were suddenly attacked by something. After all, with the last couple of days he'd had, he was taking no chances.
He finished his business and started to make his way back toward the cave entrance, still admiring the beauty of this mystical forest at night. Brandon felt himself growing more confident in this strange world each day, becoming more accustomed to the abnormalities he had faced so far. His thoughts drifted back to Sarah and his desire to help her, but to do that, he knew he had to get stronger. Plus, he had promised to help Ishtan find his sister.
Shaking his head, Brandon walked back to his sleeping bag and lay down. He wasn't sure how long it was until the sun rose, but he imagined it wasn't long, so he tried to go back to sleep.
He was pulled from the drifting state he had entered by a scream coming from somewhere in the forest. Shooting up in his sleeping bag, he looked over at Ishtan to see if he had awoken, though he hadn't.
"Ishtan!" he hissed toward the figure, but received no response. Brandon stood and walked over to shake the man.
"Ishtan, wake up," he said, waiting until the man stirred. Just as he did, Brandon heard the scream once more.
"Did you hear that?" he asked as Ishtan tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes.
"Hear what?" Ishtan said snappily.
"The screaming," Brandon replied, already turning and walking toward the exit.
This got a response from Ishtan. "What screaming?" Though he barely got the words out, they both heard it again. Ishtan shot to his feet instantly, placing both sleeping bags in his inventory, then catching up with Brandon.
"What direction was it in?" Ishtan asked in a low, quiet voice, scanning the forest from the mouth of the cave they had spent the majority of the night in.
"Not sure, hard to tell from in there," Brandon replied, matching his silence.
They didn’t have to wonder for long before they heard the scream again, a fourth time, coming from a direction that would take Brandon back toward the mountain where he had completed the dungeon.
Ishtan stopped him as he began to walk toward the noise.
"The noise sounds suspicious," Ishtan said to him.
"What do you mean suspicious? It’s a scream," Brandon said, trying to break free from Ishtan's grip.
"Damn, he’s strong," Brandon thought, unable to pull free.
"Do you know what a Fleshcaller is?" Ishtan asked, letting him go.
Brandon looked down at his arm, rubbing it instinctively, though it didn’t hurt. "I’ve been here for two days, so obviously I don’t know what it is," Brandon replied.
"Oh, right," was all that came from Ishtan before he pulled out a book and started leafing through the pages.
"What’s that?" Brandon asked.
"When my sister and I signed up as adventurers, our father gave us a book each detailing some of the known monsters that tend to appear in the forest. This is that book," Ishtan said, finding the page he was looking for and turning it toward Brandon for him to look at.
Brandon took the book and looked at the page Ishtan had indicated. He read aloud, "
Fleshcaller
Appearance: The Fleshcaller resembles a wounded human, often lying on the ground, bloodied and calling for help. Its clothes are torn, and it may mimic familiar voices to lure in victims.
True Form: Once a person approaches, the Fleshcaller transforms into a monstrous, emaciated creature with sharp claws, elongated limbs, and a gaping, tooth-filled maw. Its skin appears torn and hanging loosely from its skeletal frame.
Behavior: It uses its human-like appearance to deceive travelers, drawing them in with cries for help. Once close, it reveals its true form and attacks with speed and strength, feeding on fear and flesh."
Handing the book back to Ishtan, Brandon looked around, his frustration evident. "So you're saying not only are there giant, colossus-like monsters roaming this fucking forest, but I also have to be wary of people who look injured? This place sucks." Brandon complained.
"Yeah, when you think of it that way, it’s not really fair, is it?" Ishtan said, placing the book back in his inventory.
"So, what do we do?" Brandon asked, watching the younger man.
"We go towards the scream, obviously." Almost as if on cue, they heard it again. "It’s definitely not a natural scream; it’s like it’s on a schedule. Either way, let’s get moving."
Ishtan finished, pulling his hammer from its spot at his hip and heading toward the line of trees.
"Back to the mountain, I guess," Brandon sighed, pulling out his talisman once more to give them some kind of light.
The two men made their way toward the screaming, a few curses escaping from Brandon as he tripped over small roots in the low light that the massive trees allowed through their canopy. They kept conversation to a minimum to avoid attracting any undue attention, though there was a lot of Ishtan telling Brandon to shut up whenever he swore at the roots he tripped on.
"How are you not tripping on anything?" Brandon asked, his voice quiet, but still loud enough for Ishtan to hear.
"I've been walking around in the forest since I was a kid. After a while, I don't know... I just figured out how it worked," Ishtan replied, matching Brandon's low tone. The screaming had progressively gotten louder until they could clearly make out where it was coming from.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
They came up to a small clearing, staying as low as they could, hoping to hide in the brush and trees until they knew what they were dealing with. Ishtan gestured for Brandon to stay put as he quietly moved closer to get a better look at what was causing the screams.
Ishtan made his way back to Brandon after a moment. "Definitely a Fleshcaller," Ishtan said, a frown on his face.
"Do you think it’s the one your sister and her team came out here for?" Brandon whispered.
"No, too low-level. They were sent out here for something around level 20," Ishtan replied quickly. "Though it's still not good. There are multiple here. They catch a lot of people off guard, as you can imagine," he added.
Brandon nodded in response. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why these creatures were dangerous.
"Do they have any weaknesses?" Brandon asked.
"Fire," was all Ishtan replied with, which brought a smile to Brandon's face.
"I can do fire," he said.
It was getting to the point where the sun was beginning to shine down through the trees, a beautiful sunrise lighting the way ahead of them.
"How do we do this?" Ishtan asked.
"If you can buy me some time to get my whip around its throat, then we’re probably in good stead," Brandon replied. "If we can do it fast enough, we might even finish this before it can transform."
Ishtan nodded, turning back toward the small clearing the beast had claimed, crouching low. "Tell me when you're ready," he said.
"Here we go," Brandon muttered to himself as he cloaked himself in his shield and conjured his whip, though he didn’t infuse any of his elements into it yet, in case it drew attention. He wasn’t sure what Ishtan would do when given the go-ahead, but he found he trusted the man. They had only known each other for a night, but there was something about him.
Brandon crept up to the edge of the brush and peered into the clearing as the creature let out another scream.
Looking into the clearing, Brandon saw the creature. It appeared humanoid, lying in a dirt patch surrounded by blood. He watched as it looked up into the sky and screamed. But up close, he could tell there was no real panic in the scream; it was just a scream.
The creature had a very frail body, and the rising sun illuminated torn shreds of clothing barely hanging from its frame. Brandon couldn’t tell if it was male or female, nor was he sure if it even had a gender. Its skin was incredibly pale, almost as if all the blood had been sucked from its body. From his angle, the only other things he could see were its hands. It had long, skeletal fingers with unkempt nails.
Brandon paused for a moment. "Is my eyesight getting better?" he questioned internally, surprised he could see so much detail from this distance. He scolded himself. "Focus, idiot," he muttered. Deciding there was nothing more to gain from just staring at the creature, he tapped Ishtan on the shoulder.
"Let’s go," he muttered as he infused fire into his whip. "Here we go," he added, muttering to himself.
Ishtan, nodding to himself, stood abruptly, letting out a loud scream as he gripped the broken handle of his hammer, readying it for an attack. He then began to sprint toward the Fleshcaller. Brandon felt a flicker of energy pass through him at the sound, and his resolve hardened. A moment later, he sprinted into the clearing, prepping his whip for an attack.
He watched as the creature, its confusion evident, shouted in a broken, deranged voice, "What are you doing? Please, no!" But this didn’t stop Ishtan. He muttered something Brandon couldn’t hear, and a wall of sheer stone rose from the ground behind the creature. At the same time, Ishtan slammed the side of his hammer into its face, sending the Fleshcaller flying back into the stone wall.
Brandon, only a moment behind Ishtan, flung out his whip. It barely missed Ishtan as it slipped around the creature’s neck. Brandon yanked back, flaring as much fire as he could into the thing. He felt it go limp and crash to the floor.
Panting from the short burst of sprinting, Brandon looked down at the creature, unwilling to let his whip come free just yet.
"Think it's dead?" he asked Ishtan.
Looking back at Brandon, Ishtan readied his hammer and slammed it down onto the creature’s head, sending blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
"Now it is," he muttered, scanning the clearing as his stone wall slid back down into the ground.
Brandon, for his part, just deconjured his whip. "Yeah, that’ll do it," he said to Ishtan, looking at the creature. Now closer, he could clearly see that it was trying to impersonate a female, though it lacked most of the features one would expect.
"Fleshcallers at this low level are rare and kind of shit," Ishtan said, walking up to stand next to Brandon. "They struggle to actually take the form of what they try to transform into."
"Fair enough," Brandon replied, looking at Ishtan. "So, can we both loot it, or is it first come, first served?"
"I don’t have the ability to loot," Ishtan replied. "Only certain people can. Though I can still get something back if I take the corpse to the Adventurers Guild and claim the bounty on the creature. It wouldn’t be much, though, being such a low level."
"So I can loot it, then?" Brandon asked, receiving a smile from Ishtan.
"We'd get the best rewards out of it that way," Ishtan replied. "People with the power to loot are highly sought after in teams. It’s rare, and not something that can be learned, since it's not actually an ability."
His eyes continued scanning the tree line. "We should probably be quick, though. I'd be surprised if other beasts don’t come toward the sound we made."
With that, Brandon focused on the creature.
"You have slain Fleshcaller Level 9. Experience acquired. Would you like to claim your bounty? Yes, No."
"That felt really weak for a level 9," Brandon thought as he ascended to loot the monster.
"You have obtained:
-
2 Tinctures of the Fleshcaller
-
1 Fleshcaller Tattered Cloak
-
10 Gold Coins"
The two men stood and watched as the creature burst into an ethereal flame that radiated no heat or smell. Ishtan was the one to break the silence.
"So, what did you get?" he asked.
Brandon pulled out the items he had received and placed them on the ground in front of them before handing Ishtan 5 gold coins. "Half the coins too," Brandon said, and Ishtan looked up at him.
"You can even get money?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "That’s bullshit," he complained.
Focusing down on the items, Brandon examined the tinctures first. They were small glass vials holding a dark liquid that swirled inside in a way Brandon had to assume was unnatural.
"Tincture of the Fleshcaller: a small potion to restore an amount of energy or health in a tricky situation, though be careful with use," was all the description said.
Brandon noticed Ishtan also examining the tinctures.
"What do you think that means, 'be careful with use'?" Brandon asked when Ishtan looked up.
"Those potions are dangerous," Ishtan replied, his face serious. "I’ve heard of them. The Adventurers Guild normally pays a good amount to take them off people. They give some pretty bad nightmares and can send people insane when they use them. So, if you ever have to use it, make sure it’s a real last resort."
Brandon nodded his agreement. "That does not sound fun," he added as the two men looked at the cloak. The fabric almost perfectly matched what the Fleshcaller was wearing, but Brandon could see it had been enlarged to fit someone of his build. He wondered if Ishtan took it from him, would it resize itself again?
He got an unsettling feeling when looking at the cloak—almost as if it was telling him he was going to die. Examining the item, the description caught his eye.
"Fleshcaller's Tattered Cloak: When worn, the cloak can hide the wearer’s presence, making it easier to slip away from dangerous situations. It grants a sense of anonymity, allowing the wearer to blend into shadows or slip past enemies unnoticed. However, its power is fleeting—after a single use, the cloak deteriorates and falls to pieces."
"That could come in handy," Brandon said as he finished reading the description.
"It could, though you can usually find better options if you know the right people," Ishtan added, not giving the item a second thought.
"How do you want to split the loot?" Brandon asked.
"You can take it all," Ishtan said, attempting to hand Brandon back the gold pieces he had given him. "I owe you, remember?" he added.
"Ish, you don’t owe me. We went over this—I did what anyone in my situation would have done," Brandon retorted, trying to keep the slight annoyance out of his voice after having to go over it again.
"Fine, I’ll keep the gold pieces. You take the rest," Ishtan said, noting the look on Brandon's face and deciding it wasn’t worth fighting over.
Brandon agreed and placed the items back in his inventory. "Alright, where to now?" he asked.
"Well, my sister’s route would have gone the other way from that cave we were at, so probably back there to pick up their trail again—unless it’s gone cold," Ishtan replied, worry creeping into his voice.
"Let’s go then," Brandon added, beginning to walk in that direction, scanning the forest for any danger. The sun was still rising but high enough in the sky now that a lot of the forest was illuminated.