I could see the relations between everyone were deteriorating as we moved forward the next morning.
The Speaker kept insisting that talking to the creatures wandering into the forest was pointless while Zecora insisted they should at least try, Scraps was stinking up the village by messing with the materials in his vest for reasons he wouldn't tell me, and Tempest and Speaks with Talons spent more time keeping an eye on each other from a lack of trust than preparing for the day.
Fluttershy was about the only one that was being productive, running through the medical kit that Zecora had left with her, making sure she could reach what she needed and knew what she was working with.
Two tiny emergency vials were secured just on the inside edge at the top of Fluttershy's pack. The last remaining stock of Zecora's healing potions.
Well, at least the potions that the Equestrian military wouldn't accept anyway. All of her potions that were well preserved were eagerly accepted as donations to the war effort, but the ingredients of each recipe she knew were in limited supply and not all of her recipes for the potions could keep indefinitely once brewed.
But she was happy to send what she did have already brewed up, though, as using a potion to heal up a wound magically within a few seconds could very well be the only option in the middle of a battle. She could brew more later if need be, once the crisis threatening the Fey and the forest was over.
Zecora would have been a better battle medic than Fluttershy, but she had to leave to tend the web that was keeping the village safe and would give us a realistic chance to isolate enough of the intruders for our group to approach. Being used so frequently wasn't good for the web and its integrity was vital for the mission.
Just before we parted ways, however, she briefly spoke to me specifically. "Beast-kin, now that you can hear my words there are many things I wish to speak of, but for now we must focus on our task. Know that when you wish to understand the blessing of Animus Mundi the Fey spoke of, you only need find me and ask."
I was already focused on the situation, and wasn't sure of what to think. I wasn't all that fond of her but she was still being nice, so I could only stand there looking confused and stupid.
When Fluttershy saw this, she stepped in, nodded her head and responded. "I'm sure he'd like that, I know I'd enjoy another visit. I'll keep that in mind."
I mentally thanked her for stepping in as we parted ways.
The Speaker guided us to a spot that he said had an isolated group coming in. Apparently his remote connection to the web had been restored with Zecora's efforts the day before and could coordinate with those back in the village on where we needed to be to not get overwhelmed when we ran into one of the groups they were trying to separate.
I recognized the spot where I had first woken up, right next to a small lake. There were even the small remnants of what used to be my crude fire pit, worn away with the passage of a few months weather.
"Alright. This is the best place we have for now. If we take a few of them out, managing the rest will become easier."
A shiver went down my back as my mind broke away from the memories with his words.
"If we can't talk, yes," Tempest corrected, gesturing us to a position of higher ground to wait.
"When we can't talk." Speaks with Talons retorted, flying up to the branches of a thick tree nearby.
* * *
We had just ran through the plan, where we try to speak to them, but if they give resistance, we hit them as hard as we can and take them out fast.
It all seemed well and good until we saw the shapes of four humanoids coming up along the bed of the stream that the lake eventually fed into when overfilled. That's when it fell apart.
"Alright, it's your turn, Moss," Tempest whispered to me, "Go out and see if you can talk them down."
I just looked at her with a dumbfounded face as I pressed my amulet.
"What? Me?"
"They're your kind. Go talk to them. We can't."
"'My kind' have over six thousand different languages, presuming they even are my kind, and I only know one!"
Everybody in the group looked at each other in confusion at this, then looked back at me. Tempest responded back, "Even if that is the case, it's too late now. You're all we got."
I was dreading every step I took out from cover. Even setting the possible language barriers aside, making up a convincing speech on the fly was definitely not one of my fortes. Combine that with charisma being Moss' second dump stat right along with strength, and I could practically see the situation falling apart before it even started.
I took my shield out, slung my arm into it and rested the bottom point onto a rock on the ground. I then stuck the butt end of my spear into the mud of the lake bed so as to have it at the ready, but not actively in my hand. A weapon in hand wasn't the best way to speak peace, but this setup might give them the indication that I want to at least try communication. It took all of my willpower to keep from shaking as they got in range.
But that proved to be the least of my worries as I got a good look at them. One was about my size, but the other three were considerably larger, with sharp teeth. All of them, however, had glazed over eyes and pale, off colored skin.
The thing that terrified me the most, however, was the way they were shambling along. Things I had heard the day prior fell into place.
"The poisons he has used in his traps don't seem to affect them anymore..."
But a part of my mind was telling me to deny that possibility. I needed to at least try.
"He...Hello? You seem lost and sick. If you could-"
I didn't have a chance to finish as I saw them scream and start running at me.
They were quickly closing the gap when I saw something strike one of them in the face, erupting into flame on contact and splashing over onto the one immediately beside it.
By that time my muscles had caught up with my mind and I bolted towards the water. Stupid for any other individual, but for me it was actually a safe haven.
I dove under the water, and had to dislodge myself from my wooden shield after a few seconds so as to move freely and not float to the surface. Behind me, I saw two of the attackers follow me into the water, burning oils of one of them lifting up and setting the surface on fire.
Maneuvering around them was easy at least. They couldn't move well in the water, but I could. Yet, without the spear I left on the shore, I saw no point in trying to hit them back. I wasn't about to try to get in close with my knife without my shield protecting me. It was all I could do just to keep out of the range of my attackers' swords and wait for the oil to burn up on the surface so I could see what was going on.
I didn't even have to let go of my breath and force myself to breathe water before the oil on the surface finally burned out, though. I internally sighed in relief as I surfaced next to my mostly unharmed shield. Switching from air to water breathing was never a comfortable experience for me.
I lodged my shield as a flotation device and swam down the shore line a ways before coming back to avoid the ones that were following me under water. Meanwhile, I saw the others fight the two remaining enemies.
Speaks with Talons had tackled one of them to the ground, swinging his talons at whatever he could get them into and Tempest danced around the other, carefully looking for openings while Scraps threw rocks at a distance.
When I made it to shore, I pushed my shield back onto my arm and immediately shifted into the biggest bear I could remember seeing to join the fight.
Keeping a healthy distance from the shore so as to not get surprised by the ones that I was sure were making their way back from the water, I arrived just as they were finishing up. Speaks with Talons ripped off the burnt head of the one beneath him, chucking it into the water, and Tempest managed to take out the other in a flurried combo of strikes across the torso.
"Huuf ug you to kuop us," Tempest quipped at me in equestrian, my mind only able to recognize a portion of the words with the amulet not actively translating. Her pose wasn't one that a pony would give to an ally, but rather an enemy. I think she wasn't entirely sure if I was going to help or hinder. She still didn't trust me, but that wasn't a big surprise.
As sure as clockwork, the two enemies that were in the water after me came lumbering back up to shore. I put myself in front, along side Speaks with Talons, while Scraps and Tempest were content lobbing stones from behind us.
The enemies went down quickly enough with us mauling at them together. Fluttershy came up to me to treat my wounds, but found that I was unharmed after I changed back, leaving only Speaks with Talons needing any attention.
"What in Tartarus was your little mut thinking!?" Speaks with Talons yelled at Tempest, one foreleg being treated by Fluttershy while the other pointed at Scraps in accusation. "He could have burned down the entire forest with that stuff!"
"He was following a vague order to hit them as hard as he could. I should have clarified." Her horn started glowing momentarily, but she willed it to simmer down before sparks flew. "I'm still not fully aware of what range of substances he can make."
"You had better keep-"
"I will reprimand him my own way, thank you!" She shot him the stink eye. Had he not been restrained by Fluttershy tending the particularly sore cut on his foreleg, I had the feeling he would have been up in her face.
"Scraps! Front and center!" she promptly called out.
Scraps came forward with his tail between his legs and whimpered in front of Tempest.
She took a moment to steady her voice to a calmer, but still stern level before continuing, "Scraps, that was very dangerous for us. The griffin is right that that could have burned down the forest. We're here to protect the forest, not hurt it. So no more stuff that burns or explodes or otherwise could risk a wild fire..."
Tempest shot Speaks with Talons one last ugly face. "...Unless I expressly order it, understood?"
He didn't even speak, he just responded with a meek nodding of his head.
Finally, when the argument had settled down, everyone turned to me looking at the remains of the smaller one of our opponents.
I looked up to them on the edge of a panic that I was barely keeping in check. My mind was going a dozen different directions, with only one question able to escape my lips.
"Why didn't you tell me they were zombies!?"