Part 1: Mobilization

  Chapter 1: The Long Road

  The torrent of rain was never ending. It made Corin’s job ever more difficult. Every step that Corin took was a struggle. His foot would bury itself into the wet mud. All that he could smell was a permeating musty scent that hung in the air all around him. His hearing was awash in the noise of the endless drumbeat of rain that fell around him. The rain would constantly fall into his eyes, distorting his vision as he navigated the lush foliage around him. His sense of touch had been overwhelmed by the constant sogginess he experienced since first stepping foot in the Ririo rainforest. From head to toe Corin had been wet for three whole days since arriving at the rainforest.

  But his prey did not have the same issues that he did. His target had spent countless years haunting this same terrain. The same muddy terrain that Corin currently struggled with, his prey easily slithered over, leaving a trace that would quickly vanish. His target could smell even the slightest traces of a scent with the use of their forked tongues. The rain did not hamper its vision. It was accustomed to being submerged in water. From what Corin was told it had two sets of eyelids that allow them to see despite the heavy rain. The creature’s scales prevent the rain from permeating through and affecting it. This creature was perfectly suited to thrive in this environment.

  In every way Corin was at a disadvantage. But that was nothing new for Corin. In almost every battle in his life Corin had known that he was the weaker combatant. Compared to most other furtives he was small, even compared to other humans like him. Neither was he the strongest. That did not mean he was not a skill combatant, as he was adept with a blade and with a bow, but that was not his strength. Corin had the unique gift only a furtive like him, a being constantly in danger had. He knew how to survive, and he was clever. He had not come into this rainforest to hunt the Hilig without any prior knowledge. He had been warned by Daya of the creature.

  He had heard of its many heads. He knew that it had several long necks, all which appeared as separate beings. But Corin had heard about its main body, its weakness. He had heard of the creature’s penchant for feasting shortly after dusk. He knew this because many survivors had escaped during this time. When the creature feasted its movements slowed, its senses dulled, and some claimed to have even cut off one of the many heads of the creature.

  Corin had seen one of these heads. The width of the head was wider than Corin himself. The creature could easily swallow him in one bite if it wanted to. But Corin knew that is not how the creature operated.

  Thus Corin navigated the rainforest with a lightfruit around his waist. It was dusk now and the ceaseless rain continued pouring down on him. He studied every branch he saw on the ground.

  It pretends to be a fallen branch. Once its victim walks over it, it jumps into action and wraps itself around it.

  So far Corin had not seen the creature directly, but earlier in the day he had seen the partially eaten body of an Etien. A bird that secretes a powerful toxin when in danger. The only creature that could partially eat an Etien and survive was a Hilig. Thus Corin knew he was on the right track. He knew he would soon come across it.

  Corin moved across the terrain. He was careful to not make too much noise. He spotted an out of place branch and he swore he could see it take a breath.

  There it is!

  Corin pulled out his blade. The same one he had been carrying since that fateful day. He lunged at the thick branch preparing to slice across it. His blade hit the target and buried itself within it. But the response was not what Corin expected. He thought he would carve through reptilian flesh, but all he hit was-

  This is just a log! Where is the real creature?

  The sound of leaves rustling behind Corin held the the answer. Corin struggled to free his blade from the log as the Hilig prepared itself. Even from his periphery Corin could see how massive the creature was.

  Corin took the blade out of the log and instantly darted to the side. The log that Corin had mistaken for the Hilig was soon hit by the creature. The Hilig hit it with such force that it split the log in two.

  I guess it does more than just strangle its opponents!

  The impact on the log left the Hilig disoriented for a moment. Corin jumped at the chance, literally, swinging his blade down upon the creature’s neck. In one swoop Corin was able to cut about halfway through the creature’s body.

  The creature howled in pain as its massive head writhed side to side. It knocked Corin over sending him tumbling backwards through the muddy terrain. But Corin rose quickly. He knew that now was the time to strike.

  “Argh!” He yelled as he raised his blade.

  As he brought it down upon the creature’s severed body, something pulled him back.

  He was pulled to the ground in an instant. Corin looked down to see what had gotten him.

  Wrapped around his waist he saw another of the Hilig’s long serpentine bodies.

  Damn it! I was too careless!

  The head of the body wrapped around Corin looked at him. A serpentine face, with deep brown scales, large yellow eyes, a forked tongue and a row of sharp teeth to grip into their victim. The creature hissed at Corin. He instantly raised his blade and tried to hack at the beast, but the beast did not give Corin the opportunity to do so.

  The long body of the Hilig raised high into the air and began thrashing Corin around. As it did so, Corin attempted to strike the beast but could not do any real damage to the beast.

  “You damned ugly thing!” Corin yelled as he swung at the creature while being thrashed.

  Finally Corin swung his blade and was able to damage the creature, plunging his blade deep into the body of the creature.

  The creature howled in anger and bared its teeth at Corin.

  “You are not going to bite me!” Corin yelled at the creature as it prepared to bite Corin.

  He tried to pull his blade free from the creature but could not grip it firmly. The creature held strong onto Corin and kept thrashing him about. But this was not the first time Corin had been separated from his blade. He was prepared.

  The Hilig opened its jaw and prepared to bite Corin. As soon as its mouth was upon Corin, he grabbed a dagger from his waistband and stabbed the creature through the mouth.

  Finally the Hilig let go and Corin fell.

  “Aaaaahhh!” He yelled as he plummeted to the ground holding on to the blade.

  SPLAT!

  He hit the mud face first. He was half buried in the mud, but thankfully the terrain had softened his fall. Had he hit hard ground he would have broken a bone or two.

  He quickly rolled over and got up grabbing onto his dagger.

  In front of him he saw the irate Hilig that he had stabbed. Behind him Corin could hear the thrashing head that he had nearly severed. He took a quick look. He could see the creature’s wound healing fast.

  Well of course it can heal itself quickly.

  He saw his blade still stuck to the Hilig that faced him. He knew that he needed to get the blade back if he was going to survive this encounter. He needed to attack.

  As he stepped toward it, the Hilig did something that Corin did not expect. It raised its head to the sky and emitted a shrill noise. It left Corin’s ears ringing.

  “Aaaaahhh!” He yelled in response as he lunged toward the creature.

  Before the Hilig’s head had come down, Corin lunged towards it and plunged his dagger into its thick body. Corin saw his blade and tried to jump to it and grab onto it. But the Hilig reacted, swinging its body, sweeping a large arc that pushed everything back.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Corin was thrown back, still holding onto the dagger but unable to grab his blade. He looked at the Hilig. He could see its movements slowing down and that it was not fighting as fiercely. Corin prepared to bring an end to it now.

  As he ran to the injured Hilig he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Quick and darting right at him. Corin jumped out of the way at the very last moment.

  Another massive body launched itself right to where Corin had been mere moments ago. He heard the cracking of wood as another Hilig missed Corin.

  More of these? I need to hurry!

  Corin knew it was only mere moments before his original target was back into the fight as well. He needed his blade.

  He moved toward his intended target. The dazed Hilig. As Corin struggled over the muddy terrain and fixed upon his target he saw something that stopped him immediately.

  “So that is what that shrill shouting was for!?” Corin yelled at the Hilig.

  Around the dazed Hilig Corin saw four glistening yellow eyes looking at him. Two more of the Hilig’s heads had joined the battle.

  Corin looked behind him. The head that had just missed him and his first target were now staring at him.

  “Oh great.” He muttered to himself.

  He was now surrounded by four of the Hilig’s heads plus the one that had his blade stuck in it.

  Well I’ve faced worse odds before.

  That much was true. Corin had survived worse encounters. The only way he had done so was by relying on his greatest strength. The support he received from his allies.

  “AAARGH!” A loud voice yelled, catching all of the Hilig’s heads by surprise.

  Corin smiled. Everything was going as planned.

  With two flawless cuts, two Hilig heads behind Corin were severed. The heads fell to the ground writhing in surprise and the headless bodies quickly retreated into the rainforest. The trail they left was quickly erased by the incessant rain.

  “Damn! That was too fast!” Corin yelled when he saw the retreating bodies.

  Part of their plan had been to use the severed bodies to reach the main body of the Hilig. But they did not know that they would retreat so fast.

  “I thought you would have lured more of them out!” Nanaua yelled as she stood next to Corin.

  “More?! Why would you want more of these?” Corin asked.

  Before she could reply one of the large heads launched itself at her and the other went at Corin.

  Corin had to jump out of the way to avoid the collision. But Nanaua met the impact head on. She slammed the butt of her pike into the ground in front of her and the Hilig rammed into it. Her and the pike were sent back several paces before coming to a complete halt.

  “Because this is fun!” Nanaua yelled back at Corin.

  She lifted her pike and sliced the dazed creature across the middle of its face. The creature’s head split open and it fell to the ground completely immobile.

  Before Corin could reply the remaining Hilig went to bite him. As the mouth neared Corin he stabbed the roof of its mouth. This did not seem to deter the creature as it continued to press into Corin.

  “You stubborn snake!” Corin yelled as he held onto the dagger.

  The Hilig continued pushing in, coming close to engulfing Corin in its mouth. As Corin looked ahead all he could see was the deep dark inside of the beast.

  Suddenly his vision cleared. Beyond the snake Corin no longer saw its insides, but the rainforest behind it. Nanaua had sliced off the head from the rest of the body.

  Corin threw off the head and saw a hand reaching out to him. He took Nanaua’s hand and got up. As he looked at Nanaua beyond her he saw the remaining Hilig head launch itself at them.

  “Watch out!” He shouted as he pushed her out of the way.

  Corin tried to move as well, but he was not fast enough. The Hilig hit him on the side, sending him stumbling back. He was thrown down to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Above he saw a glimmering object. His blade stuck to the side of the Hilig.

  He gasped for air and rushed to stand up. As Corin jumped on the body of the Hilig, holding onto his blade, Nanaua swung her pike down, cutting the creature’s head off.

  As soon as the Hilig lost its head, the headless body retreated bringing Corin along with it.

  “Corin! Let go!” Nanaua yelled.

  “It’s leading me to its body!” He yelled in return. “Follow my voice!”

  Corin was thrashed about as the headless creature continued slithering back to the main body.

  “Ow!” “Damn!” “Argh!” “When is it going to end?” Corin yelled as he was dragged through the rainforest. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he held onto the blade. It seemed as if the headless appendage would never reach the main body.

  Eventually Corin had been brought to a large clearing. Here he could see water in front of him. A large body of it. And over the water he saw something unlike anything he had seen before. Shooting up from the surface of the lake there were multiple heads of the Hilig writhing. They all hissed and Corin could also see many more of the long slithering bodies all stretching out into the distance.

  “What a monster!” Corin yelled as he saw the creature.

  He also spotted something else. The large singular body from which all the heads spawned. It was a behemoth, as large as a massive boulder. Corin could see tens of the long slithering appendages sticking out from the main body.

  But how am I supposed to kill it?

  As Corin held to the decapitated appendage he saw that it was pulsing. Little by little the creature was trying to heal the heads that Nanaua had severed.

  I have to hurry!

  Corin pulled his blade. The Hilig reacted instantly, all of its heads roaring in unison and flailing erratically. Corin held onto the blade with all his might. He grabbed his dagger and plunged it into the appendage. Having another hold would keep him from being thrown loose. He knew that the moment he was free of the Hilig he would be killed.

  “Corin!” Nanaua yelled from a distance.

  He couldn’t see her but he knew she had found him.

  “Nanaua!” He shouted back to her.

  “It’s too far in the water!” She shouted at him.

  Corin couldn’t see as he kept being thrashed about but he understood what she meant. She could not swim and fight the creature.

  “Shoot at it!” Corin yelled back.

  As he did the Hilig did all it could to rid itself of Corin. He was being tossed in every direction imaginable.

  Roar!

  The creature yelled in agony.

  Corin looked below as the creature stopped its flailing. He saw an arrow sticking from the side of the creature’s body.

  “Keep at it!” Corin yelled.

  Now is my chance!

  The various Hilig heads around Corin moved toward Nanaua. They were no longer concerned about the annoying pest stuck to its body, but focused on the threat presented by the archer.

  Corin was able to pull his blade free from the body of the creature.

  He used the blade in tandem with his dagger to scale down the appendage. He looked at Nanaua. She was surrounded on all sides by Hilig heads.

  “Nanaua!” Corin yelled.

  “You worry about yourself!” She shouted back at him.

  Corin slid the rest of the way to the body of the creature. On top of the body he got as close to the center as possible and stabbed the creature. Instantly the creature began flailing on all ends. Corin could see all the appendages flailing, and the body itself began to shake.

  Suddenly the body submerged itself. Corin was plunged into the lake as he held onto the body. As the creature continued its descent Corin continued plunging his blade into it. Now it was a battle to see who could last longest. Would Corin drown first or would the Hilig survive the onslaught?

  Despite the situation he found himself in Corin was methodical about what he did. He wasn’t stabbing at the body just for the sake of it. He knew that this was going to be his only opportunity. He had to ensure that he killed the Hilig here and now.

  As he cut into the Hilig he tried to go deeper and deeper into its body, and he cut across a wide berth trying to sever anything within that could kill it. But with no way to see Corin’s task was monumental. This was compounded by the fact that he was running out of air. But he had enough experience from his time in Trinixo in the ocean to stay calm. He had to finish this.

  As he continued cutting into the creature he felt something pulsing in the core of its body.

  The heart!

  Corin plunged his arm into the body, straight into the center of the creature. He stabbed as he went through. The Hilig fought back with less fervor with each passing moment. Finally Corin felt his blade plunge into something large, something that was beating. He held onto his blade with a death grip and began tearing apart the large organ. As he did so, the Hilig’s erratic movements waned, until it no longer moved. Corin finally let go of the creature as it sank to the bottom of the lake.

  He quickly swam up to the surface. As he did so, something wrapped around his body.

  He looked. One of the heads was holding onto him with the last of its strength. Corin might have mortally wounded it, but it was determined to take him with it.

  He grabbed his blade and tried to cut the creature loose. But it was not going to let him go. He was sinking with it. He could see the surface moving further away. It seemed so calm and serene there, as if there was no conflict occurring within the lake. It seemed so alien to Corin now, for conflict was all he knew. But something broke the still surface water. Something that came toward him.

  The being swam right up to Corin and dislodged the Hilig from him. It yelled in his face but he could not understand what was happening. The being grabbed him and dragged him away, toward the no longer calm surface. As he was dragged his consciousness faded.

  Suddenly Corin felt something pounding on his chest. He began coughing up water. The water hurt as it left his system. The shock put him on edge. He shot up, but was quickly back on his knees coughing up water.

  Once he caught his breath he looked to the side.

  “Is it dead?” He asked.

  “It is.” Nanaua replied.

  She put a hand on his back and offered the other to help him up. He accepted. He slowly stood up, still in shock from the preceding events. He was getting too comfortable with near death experiences.

  The two of them stood on the edge of the lake staring at the water. Around the lake signs of their struggle could be seen. Various Hilig heads were strewn near them, Corin counted around seven. He saw destroyed trees all around them. In the center of the lake a large pool of red coated the surface. But beyond that the entire rainforest was still, save for the incessant rain.

  It was Nanaua who broke the silence.

  “Well you just took down your first Seidr Corin!” Nanaua said with excitement. “You did really well!”

  “Haven’t you killed three already?” He replied.

  “Well yes, but we all have to start somewhere.” She replied with glee for him. “And this one was a real difficult one to find and kill!”

  They were both silent as they stared at the lake.

  “How many more of these things do you think there might be out there?” He asked.

  “I don’t know but I hope there’s more of these!” She said. “This is a lot of fun!”

  Corin looked at Nanaua. He knew she genuinely enjoyed these hunts. He could not blame her, it was much more thrilling and rewarding than their other goal. Over two years of searching and they were no closer than they were when they began.

  “Well be that as it may, we’re done here. We can go back and tell Daya about the Hilig.” He told her.

  “Back to it then?” Nanaua asked Corin, her smile fading.

  “That’s how it is.” He said.

  The two of them left the lake, the slain Seidr resting in the lake. A sign of what was to come.