A Poisonous Look

[Remedy]

I barely knew what happened. Talen threw me, then caught me, threw me again and then stopped me from sliding across the ice. I pushed myself back up on my knees as he mumbled something about being sorry. The stupid kid, he had just saved us.

At least, he saved me. He collapsed on the ice and I jerked the wand’s light towards him. From under him a pool of blood spread out quickly, horrifyingly quickly. I went to turn him over, but his hand gripped me.

“No.” He said, a small smile stuck on his idiotic face.

It must have been bad. I shudder to think of it now, but his spine was probably revealed through the burnt flesh.

“I need a second.” He said, “Don’t die on me.”

Me don’t die?!

“You’re the one that shouldn’t die!” I screamed, but his body had gone limp. The brat had died on me.

“Shit shit shit!” I screamed.

I stopped swearing only as I heared a growing series of splashes in the acidic water. I turned and pointed the wand through the thick green smog in the direction of the sound and waited. Something loomed in the darkness, an ominous shape lumbering in time to the splashing acid.

Oh shit…

I couldn’t even think the words in that moment. I was about to fight something that was strolling through acid that had killed Talen. The creature stopped, his form lifted and dropped and a spitting sound cut the air moments before the web came. I pressed my hand against the base of my wrist and my blue flames poured out into the air. The web was encased, and incinerated in moments. I didn’t look at the cinders falling to the ice. My eyes were glued on the shiny eyes that were peering back at me from the creature. Eight legs, mostly submerged in the acidic waters shifted side to side. The spider was huge. My heart was pounding in my chest as I pushed myself to my feet. I didn’t know what to do, where to go. Should I run? How big was the ice sheet I was on? I couldn’t turn the wand to the ice to check or I’d risk getting hit by that spider’s web.

Shit shit shit shit shit.

[Hysteria]

Remedy’s body was tense as she edged left and right, unsure which way she should run to escape the spider’s grasp. The creature itself had paused for a moment after Remedy’s fiery defense. The moment didn’t last for long, and the creature pressed forwards. Long black limbs pressed up onto the ice and lifted the segmented body out of the acid. Still cloaked in the green gas, it loomed forwards, drips of acid falling from its body onto the ice.

The spider’s form had been mutated by the noxious gas. Most of it was black, but from between the black carapace white fungal blooms had sprouted. The spider lifted its body up and angled its abdomen towards Remedy.

*shpuch*

“Light it up”

The ball of web exploded in a swath of red fire. One moment Remedy had been standing staring into the face of madness, the next Talen appeared in front of her with one of his pistols still smoking. Remedy tried to speak, but her voice failed and she managed only a gasp of surprise. Talen turned and looked over his shoulder, his tattered shirt was dangling from his arms and his back was bare white skin. From the corner of Talen’s eye, and directly in front of Remedy, the tattoo on the boy’s back glowed.

“Oh…” Said Talen, turning back towards the giant spider as the tail unraveled.

Remedy wanted to speak. She wanted to question how he was alive, why he had a tattoo of the fallen god N’Jal on his back, and why for the love of god was there a spider in front of them. But, she couldn’t. A black tentacle burst from Talen’s back and wrapped around Remedy. She didn’t resist this time, there was no point.

[Remedy]

I was relieved at the sudden reappearance of Talen, but also slightly disturbed by his casual immortality. I felt myself once again lifted by the kid’s power and just let it happen. I’d probably die without him, why bother resisting anymore?

“I’ll stun it, you burn it.” Talen said nonchalantly.

I didn’t have time to answer as I was jolted to the side by Talen’s sudden charge. He bounced left and right as he darted towards the spider, finally he leapt into the air took flight, with me barely managing to follow what was happening.

Talen’s pistols roared like they had before. Cartridges didn’t seem to be expended, but bullets struck the spider from above. They bounced over the creature’s hard armour like stones off a tree. It was then I realised just how cautious the spider had been by attacking from afar. It reared up and brought its front four legs to bear. The sharp appendages cut the air like spears and Talen weaved left and right and I dangled impotently behind him.

A lesser person would have been cut to shreds, but Talen kept moving and releasing quick bursts of shots into the creature when he could. Suddenly I felt the tentacle tense around my waist. I guessed that was the signal, but i did not expect what was coming next.

The tentacle extended backwards, dropping me dangerously low to the acid pool below. The next moment it retract and I shot into the air doing my best not to scream. I arched up, and then down, heading directly down towards the spider.

Talen was weaving between the strikes with more ease than when he was carrying me. His pistol muzzle flashed, but red this time as fiery explosions erupted at the creature’s legs. It stumbled to the side and I saw the opening. I pressed both my hands together and pointed towards the creature’s head. Flames exploded outwards and licked across the spider as I landed with a jolt across its back.

The feeling of spider skin is something not to be forgotten. It was wet and leathery, but the large coarse hairs that poked out from the flesh were the worst part. The creature bucked and squealed in pain as the flames washed over its face and popped its exposed eyes. I felt the creature slip out from under me and I realised I had been thrown backwards. I was so focused on releasing as much fire as I could that I didn’t even attempt to hold on.

The flames dripped to an end from my suit and I turned to see the approaching acid below. An odd peace filled me then as I stared towards my immediate death. I had given it a good go, the last to survive the crash of the airship and against a giant spider no less. I closed my eyes and awaited my fate.

[Hysteria]

Talen darted through the air as his form became more shadow than flesh. The spider thrashed through the acid and legs cut the air. A moment before Remedy plunged into the acid Talen wrapped an arm around her and hoisted her over his shoulder. He changed direction and shot up into the air and away from the splashing spider. With Remedy’s bum beside his head and one arm wrapped around her legs, Talen pointed his rifle down. A single red bullet burst from the barrel and struck the creature in the head. The shot smashed through the apart weakened by Remedy’s attack and exploded. The creature’s head was ripped apart and it sunk into the acid.

“Ugh…” said Remedy, and Talen became aware that his shoulder was pressing into her stomach.

Talen lifted up through the air and away from the spider below. The gas quickly obscured the ground and for a minute the pair were alone in the sea of green. Neither spoke, and Remedy did her best to ignore she was strung over someone’s shoulder.

the pair emerged from sea of gas and into the daylight for the first time in hours. Talen rotated on the spot and looked at the mountains around them that might be used to pinpoint the position of the main acid lake. There was little that would identify the spot and so Talen lifted his gun and fired into the mountain. The shot hit the rock and exploded with a small crack of fire. The boy turned and repeated his action until he had fired three into each mountainside. The centre point of the burn marks showed the spot of the lake.

“Ahem…” Said Remedy as Talen had finished.

[Remedy]

“Ahem…” I said, politely reminding Talen that I was still on his shoulder.

Talen’s gun disappeared from his hand in a puff of shadows and he placed his free hand on my back and pulled me around into his arms. I felt somewhat silly being cradled by the child hovering over the clouds of poison below, but I didn’t feel like I was in much of a position to comment.

“Its safe to take your mask off.” He said.

I nearly ripped it off my head that very moment and for the first time in hours felt the cool breeze against my face. I just sat there for a moment, letting the crisp air wash away the suffocating experience I had just gone through.

“Now... ” I said, gazing over the white peaked mountains.

“Now?” Talen looked around the deserted mountain range.

“That dip in the side of the mountain would make a great forward base for our operation.” I said, turning to look at the child, “Lets talk set up costs.”

[Hysteria]

The light streamed in through the window, casting a warm hand across Talen’s cold features. The youth’s eyes were pointed out the window, though his mind was a million miles away. Talen’s eyes were brought back to the present with a buzzing sound. A fly was caught in a web and a spider silenced it with a pounce. Talen watched the spider tear the fly out of the web and start to turn it around slowly and coat it. The scene was broken, a red robin landed on the windowsill and plucked the spider out of the web and disappeared back into the streets. The dead fly was left dangling in the web, and the spider was gone.

Just a small finishing post.

Requested rewards:
Hysteria:
Mostly the zombie to experiment on later. This doesn't really have a monetary worth... but thought I might as well request it.

Remedy: None!

[Philomel]

Name of Judgement: A Poisonous Look
Type of Judgement: Workshop Submission
Participants: Hysteria and Remedy

Rewards:
Hysteria receives:
1910 EXP
130 GP

Remedy:
480 EXP
65 GP

xp and gp added. - Hyst