They moved through the fog silently like apex predators.
Six led the way, her blood scent perception painting the swamp in shades of crimson violence. Every wounded creature, every fresh kill, every dying survivor—she saw them all. And one by one, she and Gorm descended upon them like vultures with very big sticks.
Forty feet, northwest.
A tentacle ball queen—larger than the others, with iridescent flesh and a beak like black glass—was finishing off the last of a rival nest. Six counted six smaller tentacle balls twitching in the water around it, already dead.
"Big one," Six murmured. "Careful."
Gorm grunted and waded forward.
The queen hissed and cartwheeled launching itself into the air!
Gorm dropped his club and caught it mid-flight— something he was particularly talented at and slammed it into the water. Before it could recover, Six was there, Inky singing through the air.
CRACK!
[ -52 ]
[ CONSTRICT APPLIED ]
Tentacles materialized and wrapped around the queen's beak, forcing it shut. The creature thrashed, its many limbs flailing uselessly.
"Siphon!"
The blood-red Mosquito Queen manifestation appeared above the trapped creature, proboscis descending with terrible grace. The tentacle ball queen shuddered as its vital essence was ripped away—a massive sphere of crimson energy that flowed upward and then down into Six.
She shivered with pleasure as the warmth spread through her.
"Gods, that's the stuff."
The queen went limp.
DROP ACQUIRED.
[ Beaked Helm of the Swarm ]
— Armor (Head) —
Rarity: Uncommon
Effect: A chitinous half-helm shaped like a tentacle ball's beak. Grants +10% resistance to grappling effects. When struck in the head, 20% chance to release a disorienting screech that staggers nearby enemies.
Six turned the helm over in her hands. It was ugly as sin—all black chitin and sharp angles—but functional.
"For you," she said, tossing it to Gorm.
The ogre caught it, confused. "For Gorm?"
"Your head is your biggest target. Literally." Six gestured at his lumpy skull. "Put it on."
Gorm fitted the helm over his head. It looked ridiculous. It looked terrifying.
"How does Gorm look?"
"Like a nightmare. Perfect."
Six looked around breifly, "One hundred seventy feet, due east."
Two swamp crows—massive things, nearly as tall as Gorm—were fighting over the carcass of something Six couldn't identify. Both were bloodied, feathers torn, beaks chipped from pecking at each other.
"Together," Six whispered.
They hit them simultaneously.
Gorm's club took the first crow in the chest, caving in its ribcage with a wet crunch. Six phased through the second with Veil of Wanton Shadows, leaving it disoriented and staring at a provocatively posed afterimage.
CRACK!
Inky wrapped around its throat.
[ CONSTRICT APPLIED ]
Six yanked.
The crow stumbled forward, off-balance, and Gorm's backswing caught it across the skull. It dropped like a stone.
DROP ACQUIRED.
DROP ACQUIRED.
Two shimmers. Two drops.
Six's eyes went wide. "Double drop! DOUBLE DROP!"
[ Crow's Eye Marble ]
— Consumable —
Rarity: Common
Effect: Crush to gain enhanced vision for 10 minutes. See clearly through fog, darkness, and light obscurement.
[ Feathered Cloak of the Carrion Wing ]
— Armor (Back) —
Rarity: Uncommon
Effect: A cloak made from preserved swamp crow feathers. Grants slow fall (reduce falling damage by 75%). Once per day, can glide up to 50 feet horizontally when jumping from a height.
Six immediately threw the cloak over her shoulders.
It settled around her like it was made for her—black feathers with an oily iridescence, surprisingly warm, surprisingly light. When she moved, the feathers rustled softly.
"Oh, I look good."
Gorm nodded appreciatively. "My Queen looks like dark angel."
"Damn right I do."
Fifty feet, south-southwest.
Something was dying.
Six moved toward the glow, Gorm at her heels. The fog parted to reveal a creature she hadn't seen before—a massive salamander, easily ten feet long, its skin slick with toxic-looking mucus. It was pinned beneath a fallen log, one of its legs crushed, struggling weakly.
No predator in sight. Just bad luck.
Six almost felt sorry for it.
Almost.
"Siphon."
The Mosquito Queen descended.
DROP ACQUIRED.
[ Toxin Gland Vial ]
— Consumable (Poison) —
Rarity: Common
Effect: Apply to weapon. Next 3 attacks deal bonus poison damage and have a 10% chance to apply [Nauseated], reducing target's accuracy and movement speed.
Six pocketed it with a grin. "Never know when you need to poison something."
Ninety feet, north.
A big one. Really big.
Six slowed as the glow resolved into something massive—a hulking shape lurking in the deeper water. It was a mega-crab, and it dwarfed even the alpha crawdad they'd killed earlier. A true apex predator, scarred and ancient, currently feasting on what looked like three smaller crawdads it had killed.
"Gorm," Six whispered. "That thing is huge."
The ogre studied it, then shrugged. "Gorm is also huge."
"Fair point."
They attacked.
It was the hardest fight yet. The mega-crab was fast despite its size, its water pistol punching holes in the swamp where Six had been standing moments before. Gorm took a glancing blow from its crusher claw that sent him staggering, "GAAAAH!"
Six had to burn two Veil Steps just to avoid being crushed beteen the mega-crabs massive pinchers.
But they were a team now.
Gorm tanked. Six debuffed. Inky constricted.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Slowly, methodically, they wore it down.
When it finally collapsed, Six was breathing hard, sweat dripping down her face, Inky coiled loosely in her exhausted grip.
"That," she panted, "was a boss fight."
The corpse shimmered.
DROP ACQUIRED.
[ Chitin Spaulders of the Depth King ]
— Armor (Shoulders) —
Rarity: Rare
Effect: Shoulder guards carved from an ancient Mega-Crab shell. Grants +15% resistance to piercing damage. When struck by a piercing attack, 25% chance to reflect 30% of the damage back to the attacker.
Six stared at the spaulders.
"Rare," she breathed. "A rare drop."
She equipped them immediately—dark, segmented plates that curved over her shoulders like insectoid armor. They matched the crow feather cloak surprisingly well.
"Gorm. Look at me. Look at me."
The ogre looked.
Six stood in the swamp, wearing her witch hat, the Feathered Cloak of the Carrion Wing, and the Chitin Spaulders of the Depth King. Inky coiled at her hip. Queen's Kiss glinting at her throat.
"Do I look like a final boss."
Gorm nodded solemnly. "My Queen is most fearsome."
Six laughed—a bright, manic sound.
"Okay. Okay okay okay." She scanned the fog again, hunting for more red signatures. "What else? What else can we—"
She froze.
There was a distant glow.
A big one.
Six's blood ran cold as she focused on it—that deep, pulsing crimson at the edge of her perception. It had been over a hundred and fifty feet behind them when they started. Now it was...
Eighty feet.
Seventy.
Sixty.
It was moving faster. Following their trail of carnage.
Following the blood.
"Gorm," Six said quietly. "We need to go. Now."
The ogre followed her gaze, his nostrils flaring. His face went pale beneath the grey-green skin.
"The cold thing."
"Yeah." Six grabbed his arm. "The cold thing. Run."
They ran.