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Grumpy Town
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Grumpy Town
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- It was the fourth time Keira almost got fried, and she's not happy about it.
The Viscling rolled over, dodging a stream of flames coming out of the mouth of a reptilian, snake-like creature. Her knife was laying inconveniently out of reach. Her dark fur was marred with cuts and scorch marks, but her orange eyes still held that insane glint they always did. She jumped to one side, dodging another stream of fire. These snake thingies were such belligerent creatures! Keira and Kasdeya just happened to "accidentally steal" their food, and now they've got a whole horde of these creatures on their tails. Well, Keira had wished for the Abyss to be more challenging, and it didn't disappoint. Upon exiting that small chamber with the pool, Keira had found out just why the Abyss was considered the "hell" of Nexxus. She lost count of how many times she'd almost been skewered by spear-like monster claws, and how many times she'd almost been boiled into Keira-flavored stew by a bunch of crocodilian creatures that shot jets of boiling hot water from their mouths. Keira and Kasdeya had a knack for aggravating these creatures. Well... Keira thought as she tackled a snake-like creature before it could shoot fire at Kasdeya from the back. This is what we got for letting me be in charge. Her claws slashed at the creature's scales, but they were too tough. They barely scratched the surface of the scales. One of the monsters began to coil around Keira. The Viscling slammed her two front paws onto the ground. A shockwave of darkness blasted the monster upwards, prompting a series of angry hisses that Keira figured wasn't very polite towards them. The Viscling dashed towards her knife. Grabbing it within her teeth, she felt a surge of energy flow through her. The red gem in its hilt shone. Keira threw the knife at the monster she just blasted. The snake-like monster collapsed to the ground, giving a few twitches before starting to slip towards a nearby pool of magma. "HEY! That's my knife!" Keira shouted angrily, running towards the serpent while trying to slash through everything in her way. She pulled the knife out of the creature just in time. Her paws tripped over the body of the snake-like creature, almost sending Keira tumbling into the magma had Kasdeya not grabbed her. The tall Viscet's eyes regarded the dead serpent coldly, before giving it a kick into the magma in the manner one would kick a piece of trash on the ground.
"We shouldn't waste time here," Kasdeya said with an impatient voice rather than a fearful one, eyeing the reinforcements. No matter how many of these serpentine creatures the duo cut down, more seemed to appear. "Right-o," Keira said, agreeing not to fight for once. Keira would love nothing more than to wipe these miserable creatures who tried to turn her into Keira-flavored toast off the face of this world (or any other worlds, for that matter), but Kasdeya was right. If they were going to face the dreaded King of the Abyss, they should conserve their energy. Keira turned and ran, Kasdeya following close behind her. Keira's knife slashed and cut through everything in their way. Eventually, the two came to a stop right in front of a giant worn-down sign faded words painted on it. Keira could barely make out the word "Town" on the bottom. The name of the town was unknown. Keira tilted her head towards Kasdeya, giving her a quizzical look. "A town?" she asked.
"Yes," Kasdeya said. "Not a very... sophisticated form of civilization, but even the Abyss has some form of civilization." The two glanced at the path stretched out in front of them. The houses were dilapidated, and some monsters prowled around, glaring at everyone in the way. None of them were killing each other on the spot, but there was an aura of tension in the place. Keira was half tempted to use her knife and cut the word "Grumpy" on the sign to complete the missing text. Then again, she figured that once Kasdeya became king, they could name this place anything they wanted. Grouchville seemed like a good option to Keira. Keira stepped into "Grumpy Town", Kasdeya following close behind her. As they walked across the path, the eyes of monsters were drawn towards them, eyeing them with disdain. Keira held her head high. If any of them wanted to pick a fight with those two, Keira was going to show them who's boss!
"I think we should find a place to rest," Kasdeya suddenly said. That got Keira thinking. How much time had passed since they dropped into the Abyss? Being so deep underground, Keira didn't know. There were only glowing crystals on the ceiling and other glowing stuff to provide light down here. Was it nighttime out on the surface? Being a spirit who had been trapped in an egg for a few hundred years wasn't very helpful either. Keira's mental clock had been messed up ever since she became an anomaly, and being trapped in that egg had messed it up even more. Keira could barely differentiate between hours and weeks without the help of a real clock or some sort of thing to tell the time. For Keira, it seemed as if only an hour had passed. However, judging from the way Kasdeya looked, it was as if they'd been there for days. "Yeah, maybe we should," Keira said. She looked around, deciding if there was a chance she could break into a house and kick the inhabitants out. It wouldn't be very dignified of them to rest inside a trash can or something, after all. Besides, there weren't even trash cans around. Trash littered all over the place, and some monsters incinerated their garbage in nearby lava pools. If those lava pools were the trash cans, then there was no way Keira and Kasdeya would sleep in one. A weathered sign caught Keira's eyes. The paint was faded and unreadable in parts, but she could make out the word "Inn". The Viscling's gaze ran over the entire building, her nose wrinkling in distaste. The so-called inn was a building in shambles, with bits of wooden planks sticking out here and there. A cacophony of noises rang out from inside the building. Noises that sounded suspiciously like furniture flying all over the place and a bunch of monsters arguing. Keira didn't know why there would be an "inn" in a place like the Abyss. Perhaps to provide monsters from outside this town a place to stay?
"It could be a trap," Kasdeya warned.
"I'm sure we can take them," said Keira with confidence. She noted the lanterns hanging all over the place. Where there was light, there would be shadows. And Keira governed those shadows. "The thing is, I don't know what monsters use for currency."
"Leave that to me," Kasdeya said. This time, it was Kasdeya who had a confident grin on her face. The two Viscets entered side by side.
The sight of two Viscets entering a rugged establishment in the middle of the Abyss was strange and rare enough to turn the heads of all the monsters in the inn towards them. They eyed them with a sort of greed. Creatures of the surface of Nexxus, especially Viscets, were rare delicacies for the monsters of the Abyss. Kasdeya's head was held high, and she radiated an aura of confidence that seemed to make the monsters think twice about approaching them. Keira walked beside Kasdeya, knife ready to strike down anyone that might lay a claw on them. The keeper of the inn waited for them, eyes narrowed in suspicion. For a moment, everything was quiet. The monsters that had fought abandoned their small quarrel to observe these new morsels that had bravely, or foolishly, entered the building. Keira's orange eyes glared daggers at everyone around her. The message was clear: Touch us, and you'll find out just where the blade of this knife would end up. Inside, however, she wondered how Kasdeya could look so confident in a place like this. Despite all the scratches and burns Kasdeya had, she managed to look beautiful. Every step she took was perfect and elegant. She did not need a knife to intimidate; her aura alone seemed to be warding off the monsters around them. Keira had her trusty knife with her, yet Kasdeya was the one who looked more sure of herself. They walked right up to the innkeeper. Keira slashed her knife in a low arc at a monster daring enough to approach them. It only gave the monster a cut, but it was enough to keep the other monsters at bay. Two Viscets that had survived long enough in the Abyss to get to this out-of-the-way town were not to be taken lightly. Kasdeya lightly placed a paw on the counter. She reared her head in a casual gesture of stretching her neck, but Keira knew she was actually showing off her mane and her horns. For a moment, the innkeeper monster was stunned. He cleared his throat. "What do you want?" he asked in a gruff voice.
"Really, is that the way you should be treating a customer?" asked Kasdeya, leaning on the desk. She gave a chuckle. "But if you insist on getting to the point... I'd like to stay here with my... um... friend here."
Keira noted that hesitation. Kasdeya had always called her a trusted ally and a friend when they were in private, but Keira felt like she had held something back when about to pronounce her a friend. Keira felt a small pang inside. Was it a good thing or a bad thing? Was it that Kasdeya did not consider her as much of a friend as Keira had thought? Knock it off, Keira, she silently chastised herself. Kasdeya is your best friend and you know that. A small smirk formed on her face. It was silly for her to think that way. Like a being with a full, uncorrupt soul. Stop this silly pretense.
After quite some time of talking, Kasdeya finally managed to charm the innkeeper to let them stay... with no charge. The two went to their room and saw... well, Keira wasn't sure how the innkeeper could charge anything for rooms with that sort of quality. The wooden frames of the beds were rotting, and there was a bunch of glowing insects scuttling here and there. Claw marks and slobber stains littered the walls, and the stench! Again, Keira wondered if a spirit could throw up. Kasdeya shut the door behind them. "Well," she said with a disappointed voice. "I put that much work into charming the innkeeper and this is what we got? I hope the castle has much better facilities than this."
"Speaking of the castle," said Keira. "Where is it anyways?"
Kasdeya walked over to the window. She smiled and pointed a paw at the distance. "There."
Keira traced a line from Kasdeya's paw and saw what she was pointing at. A large spire was jutting out in the distance, surrounded by a valley of jagged rocks. However, when Keira squinted her eyes to take a closer look, she saw the small holes carved out in the spire. Windows, probably. Keira wondered what kind of monster would live there. What kind of creature was scary enough to be called the "King of the Abyss"? One that could rule over all these savages? The thought should've left Keira with some doubts. Instead, however, the spirit felt a strange sense of calm inside. She'd lived for a long time, despite her looks. She'd done many horrifying stuff, and was always called a monster or a demon. Yet the first time she'd met Kasdeya... There was no hesitation. Keira had seldom found another creature who could look her straight in the eyes with a complete lack of fear. Even Lithos and all the other spirits back home... Keira had always found a tense sort of expression behind those eyes, no matter how kind and accepting they'd been to her. Not Kasdeya, though. That smirk she had on her face, that calm voice that had scolded her for going too easy on her victim... In all her years, she'd never seen another like Kasdeya. With a jolt, Keira realized that in some ways, Kasdeya was the most terrifying monster she'd known to date. And if even a demon like herself could think that, well... The King of the Abyss stood no chance against her.
"Listen," Kasdeya's voice rang out, snapping Keira out of her train of thought. She was standing next to Keira, her green eyes looking down to meet the Viscling's gaze. There was it again. That complete lack of fear. "We've got to discuss our strategy for killing the Lord of the Abyss." She dropped her voice and explained her plans. The gears turned in Keira's head, and she realized that the Viscet's plans were clever. The way she'd entrusted Keira to lead their way in the Abyss... Suddenly, Keira understood why. In a way, she supposed she was being used to some extent, but Keira didn't mind the slightest. She'd been the one to agree to Kasdeya's plan. She'd agreed to follow her to the depths of hell... literally. Keira never wanted the position and power for herself. "Remember," finished Kasdeya. "The King is my prey. You've had loads on the way here, so give me my turn, okay?" The way she said it was friendly enough, but Keira felt like there was a sort of threatening undertone. Like a sort of... or else. Keira gave a laugh.
"As if I'm the kind of stupid bonehead who would ever consider betraying you."
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Author's Note
We're almost at the end of this story! One more chapter and (possibly) an epilogue to go!
