Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

919 - Cry Havoc

The hunt had turned into a debacle.

All around him, Loraestil could see the monsters that Lex Legis – the real Lex Legis, not that oversized lug who apparently called himself “Burly” – had brought with him were running wild, turning the battlefield into a disaster area.

The eladrin – celestial cousins of the elves, being planar entities that were both fey and empyreals at the same time – that Thilaera had summoned were currently being pressed hard by two of Lex Legis’s monsters.

The first was a creature that made his blood boil to look at it, recognizing one of the misbegotten traitors to elvenkind known as the drow. Although her proportions were pleasing in and of themselves, the ebony cast of her skin was an outward reflection of the malice that he knew all of their kind harbored within, broken only by her red eyes and milk-white hair.

Far more disturbing were the parts of her that were draconic, however. While her overall shape was that of a humanoid, even a casual glance made it clear that she was of particularly misbegotten parentage, her arms being covered with pitch-black scales from the elbows down, ending in vicious, oversized claws. Her legs were much the same, being draconic below her knees. Even stranger were the arrangement of scales around her torso, spreading across her chest and her groin like a makeshift bikini, the upper part connecting to where a pair of leathery wings emerged from her back, while the lower portion connected to where a tail emerged from just above her backside.

Moreover, none of the limbs were just for show, as she tore into the numerous eladrin facing her, ignoring the wounds she took as scimitars left jagged cuts across her body and rays of energy slammed into her with explosive force. Instead, she screamed in rage, wings flapping as she threw herself forward on all fours, looking more like a wild beast than a person.

“WHEN YOUR FECKLESS GODS RECLAIM YOUR SOULS,” she screamed, ripping the head off of one eladrin as she gutted another, “TELL THEM THAT IT WAS SIRRUSH THAT SLEW YOU!!!”

She didn’t stop as she made her declaration, pausing just long enough to cast a spell – one that Loraestil knew was designed to wrap her in layers of force armor – before roaring as she threw herself toward another group of eladrin.

Nearby, another of the titan’s doxies was advancing on the rest of the celestial elves. Like her counterpart, this one was clearly an unnatural being, being a comely female humanoid with wings and a tail.

But that was where her resemblance to that “Sirrush” creature ended.

This creature was a succubus, a sex demon; the long, thin tail with the heart-shaped protrusion at the end made her foul nature quite clear to an experienced hunter such as himself, as did the mauve-colored bat wings and small horns protruding from her auburn hair.

But even for a creature as foul as a demon, this particular succubus was exceptionally disgusting, her body looking like that of a girl still on the cusp of womanhood.

Barely five feet tall, her wide eyes and petite frame contrasted sharply with her rounded hips and swollen bust, as though she were still in the process of maturing. Moreover, she’d dressed in a way that seemed designed to heighten the incongruity, wearing a childish dress that looked slightly too small for her, the ruffled skirt not quite making it down far enough to reach the top of her stockings while the top had one more button undone than was proper, showing just a hint of burgeoning decolletage.

It was enough that a male of any race would have instinctively given her an appreciative look, only to feel guilty about it a moment later.

That was entirely an illusion, Loraestil knew. Succubi had the ability to alter their looks, and could change their proportions along with other aspects of their physique. Her youthful appearance was nothing more than a façade meant to make everyone around her uncomfortable. Such unpleasantness was like nectar to a demon.

And she played it up as she giggled and waved cheerfully at the eladrin rushing toward her, her wide eyes and broad smile telegraphing her lack of concern that her enemies knew what she was and wouldn’t hesitate to cut her down.

“Hi everybody!” she cheered, sounding for all the world like an exuberant schoolgirl eager to make new friends. “My name’s Spice, and I’m so happy to meet you all!”

Raising her hands over her head, she made a pirouette, deftly avoiding the incoming volley of spells and energy beams aimed at her. “Let me introduce you to my bestest friend in the whole wide world: Sugar!”

No sooner had she spoken than the air in front of her seemed to ripple, as though it were a desert mirage. The eladrin who were charging the demon saw it and swerved, looking to avoid whatever was happening-

But they didn’t have a chance as a forest of tentacles shot out from the shimmer in the air, the mottled brown appendages thick and fleshy and covered in filmy fluid. Immediately, they latched on the nearest eladrin and began squeezing, pulling limbs in different directions even as they started to whip back and forth, slamming their victims into the ground and each other.

A moment later the rest of the creature came through the distortion in space, revealing even more tendrils, all undulating wildly atop a body that was – except for its four stumpy, elephantine legs – completely hidden beneath the numerous flailing, boneless appendages. All of which lashed out to capture more eladrin.

“Aw, Sugar, don’t be like that!” giggled Spice, even as the creature ripped its victims into bloody chunks. “Everyone just wants to get to know you better-”

She didn’t have a chance to finish as several tentacles whipped out and curled around Spice’s small body, dragging her toward its humongous bulk.

“No, Sugar! Bad! Very bad!” squealed the succubus, beating her tiny fists against the tentacles coiled around her waist and legs, sounding as though she were disciplining an unruly pet. “You let me go right this instant, or I’ll get angr-MMGH!”

Her admonishment was cut off as she was abruptly deposited in the center of “Sugar’s” body, where a large number of smaller tentacles immediately went to work, wrapping around all of her limbs and immobilizing them even as a larger one – with a notably blunt head – forced its way into her mouth. Several more bulbous extremities, along with a few that had toothless orifices at their end, began worming their way beneath her clothes, causing the succubus to shriek and struggle even as her eyes rolled back in her head, her muffled cries taking on a decidedly erotic tone.

Sugar didn’t seem to care, continuing to violate its summoner even as it stomped across the battlefield, looking for more eladrin to tear apart.

Nor was it the only reinforcement that Lex Legis’s women had called.

“Is that all you’ve got?!” roared a bipedal tiger-woman, showing off every inch of her amazonian build as she flung her attackers away, her six-and-a-half-foot tall body completely unclad save for a few bejeweled bangles that didn’t even try to protect her modesty.

Though the fact that she was literally on fire might have had something to do with her lack of clothes.

“Dima!” roared the tiger-woman, unconcerned by the flames surrounding her. “You can sit back and file your nails or something! I’ve got this under control!”

She seemed poised to make good on her claim, swinging around a longsword that, like her, was surrounded by flames, cutting down a huge hawk that had been flying in to try and spear her with its talons. Nor did she stop there, as her empty left hand shot out, projecting a ray of flames that engulfed the golden bear and the silvery rhinoceros, wailing screams coming from them as their flesh blackened and burned beneath the inferno.

By herself, she cut an intimidating figure, the flames roiling off of her as her blade and her magic cut down any who tried to approach her.

But that wasn’t the reason that the animals around her all hesitated, intimidation plain on their faces.

It was because the tiger-woman was riding a tyrannosaur.

A tyrannosaur whose body was made of fire.

Roaring like some primeval god of flames, the tyrannosaur strode across the battlefield, its maw scooping up anything that was unfortunate to get in its way, its jaws burning everything to ashes before sending its victims into its fiery gullet.

“You should talk less and fight more, Yamini,” announced a svelte woman – “Dima,” the tiger-woman had called her – with blue skin and black hair, her body having the understated curves of a dancer’s frame, one which her outfit of nothing but seashells and pearls showed off. “By my count, I’ve slain three more than you.”

She flicked a hand out then, unleashing a torrent of highly pressurized water that cut the obsidian badger in half, the creature not even having time to scream as it was killed. Nor did Dima stop there, as the trident she casually wielded in her other hand shot out to impale one of Thilaera’s more recent summons, a gorilla with green fur. “Correction, five more than you.”

Her statement was greeted by a loud clacking from the giant crab she stood atop. It was the size of a small building, but that was less noticeable than the fact that its body was made of water, its form rippling with every motion that it took. Said motions were numerous, as it scuttled across the battlefield in quick motions, claws scissoring out to bisect anything that came within its reach.

The sight made Dima smirk. “I guess cats really are as lazy as they say, for you to fall behind this much this quickly.”

Yamini bared her teeth at her watery counterpart, tail thrashing. “Keep talking like that, and you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of some unfriendly fire!”

Dima sneered, one hand coming up to give her hair a disdainful toss. “You’d get your flames doused if you tried, pussycat.”

“I’ll melt you!”

“I’ll drown you!”

The two continued their bickering as they continued to tear their way through Thilaera’s forces, seemingly unstoppable-

A heavy pulse of almost made Loraestil fall over, his eyes widening as he turned back to look at where the stallion he’d cut down was slowly rising up again, rolling his neck as if to work out a crick in it.

It was enough to leave Loraestil momentarily flummoxed. Uskeche’Kerym had cut his soul from his body; that wasn’t something that simple gravity alone should have been able to touch, let alone repair! And yet now, the titanic lummox was climbing to his hooves as though he’d simply been knocked for a loop, rather than having been slain for the second time.

But Burly didn’t seem to know that, grinning as he looked around at the chaos surrounding him. “Okay, now this looks like a good time! Now, who’s the strongest one here...?”

He glanced around, and when the two of them made eye contact, Loraestil grit his teeth, moving back into the Stance of the Shrieking Jubjub as he prepared to activate the Ghost Blade’s soul-slicing power again. That wasn’t something to be used lightly, as each time he activated it, it damaged his own soul; the injury wasn’t too bad on its own, and wasn’t permanent, but using it too many times in short succession could lead to serious debilitation...even death if he overdid it. Worse, each such activation was good only for a single attack. Hit or miss, that expended the power, requiring him to take another spiritual wound in order to use it again.

But to his mild surprise, Burly only sneered as he looked at him, and then his eyes continued to wander the battlefield, coming to rest where Lex Legis was fending off magic from Thilaera and Vystalaran both as he kept his she-wolf close.

The sight caused a grin to break out on Burly’s face. “There we go.”

But he’d only taken a single step in that direction when a figure moved in front of him. “I’m afraid Prince Legis’s schedule is currently full,” murmured the newcomer. “Since you don’t have an appointment, you’ll need to wait.”

Burly cocked a brow, letting out a low whistle. “And if I say no, what’re you gonna do, toots? File a complaint?”

The object of his simplistic rambling was a redheaded woman who looked as though she’d just stepped out of a librarian’s wet dream. Her hair was done up in a tight bun against the back of her head, not one strand reaching down to the white blouse she wore, her chest generous enough that the garment necessarily left a deep well of cleavage visible. Her black pencil skirt barely reached below her waist, the fabric tight enough that it forced her to place each foot directly in front of the other as she walked forward, hose-clad legs almost rubbing against each other as her high heels click-clacked sharply across the ground.

One perfectly-manicured hand came up to adjust the small, rectangular glasses that sat on her nose, sighing as she gave Burly a disdainful look. “Then I’m afraid I’ll need to alert security.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than a trio of humanoid figures appeared behind her. Lithe and lean, they nevertheless towered above the woman, easily topping seven feet in height. More pronounced were the vicious barbs which covered them, each spine as sharp as the claws that they flexed as they moved to surround Burly, chuckling darkly.

The stallion was chuckling also. “You think a bunch of low-grade devils are gonna stop me?”

The corners of the redhead’s lips turned up ever so slightly. “Not by themselves.”

“Loraestil, we’re ready.”

The whispered murmur from Vystalaran drew the hunter’s attention away from the conflict, glancing up at the apprentice High Mage. “Do it, then.”

He gave an imperceptible nod, murmuring a reply to Thilaera, who immediately cut loose with a spell that filled the area around Lex Legis and his she-wolf with a literal sea of lightning, the bright flash blinding in its intensity. At the same moment, he noticed Vystalaran wave a staff in his direction, casting a spell.

A moment later, the future filled Loraestil’s mind.

“This spell will only reveal the next few seconds’ worth of time to you,” came Vystalaran’s voice in his ear, the words reaching his ears a few seconds after he heard them thanks to the nature of the spell. “Just remember: if you change what’s about to happen, it will show you a different vision accordingly.”

“I understand,” murmured Loraestil as he moved forward, using the chaos of the battlefield and Vystalaran’s spell to disguise his movements.

Loraestil knew that he was proud – justly so, in his own estimation – but he knew better than to let arrogance blind him. As badly as he wanted the prestige that this assignment would bring him, he wasn’t foolish enough that he couldn’t recognize that Lex Legis was a far more dangerous enemy than Burly had been. That, in turn, meant that he needed to accept the help of his allies, even if they were his inferiors.

Shared glory was still glory, and so was far better than the humiliation of having to explain to the Vice Coronal why he’d needed to be resurrected after setting out on his hunt.

Murmuring the words to activate the Ghost Blade again, Loraestil stepped into the Stance of the Breathless Yolubilis – a bird known for waiting for long stretches of time before moving to strike its prey – he slowly crept closer to the titan, eyes narrowing as he foresaw Thilaera’s lightning attack about to end. A glance upward showed that Vystalaran had withdrawn a large, ornate gemstone; the receptacle into which he’d capture the titan’s soul once it was cut loose from his body.

All that was left now was to strike the fatal blow.

Letting the future unfold before his eyes, Loraestil settled into a crouch, readying himself...

Author's Note:

As his new allies tear apart the elves’ forces, Loraestil makes his move!

Against an enemy that can also see into the future, will Lex be able to avoid being cut down by the Ghost Blade?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

The big problem with seeing the future, is that theres so many to choose from.

A very intresting collection of assistants accomanying Lex there. At least any city he runs wont have trouble with heating and power giveing the two steam engine demons. Fire can deal with any waste materials that Sugar wont eat and Water can carve anything required to shape and size? Lex dont trust magic, so having passive material alternates is a big deal?

Has the Librarian demon even had time to assimilate Lexs Library, or just needed to itneract with him to associate his call to Library of Infinities etc?

Burly is getting real cheesed off, no way is that pansy elf gonna take his kill first.

[Alzrius]

11834588 The joke with Dima and Yamini is that they hate each other because they're opposites, i.e. fire and water. That's actually a bit of a reference (one that I'm fairly certain no one else would ever get) to an old AD&D 2E module (specifically, the Ravenloft module RQ3 From the Shadows), where there are bound elementals protecting a particular room...but only two (earth and water, I think) because their summoner found that if he tried to summon all four types, each would naturally try to kill its opposite. It struck me as appropriate here, so I couldn't help myself.

That said, I'm not sure what you mean about Lex not trusting magic; he clearly trusts his own.

And yeah, I don't see Burly not trying to make himself the opponent of the toughest guy on the battlefield.

[Not so New Brony]

So this is Loraestil's other trump card, eh? I suppose it would be quite the useful though I wonder if he'll have enough mental capacity to quickly go through the different scenarios like Lex can and with a time limit to the magic. Of course, all he needs is a good strike to put Lex down...or so he believes.

I almost want to see if Lex would just pop out as his mist form or something similar or if Lex will evade the attack due to his foresight and inner beast's instincts. Regardless, time to see how much Loraestil matches up against Lex.

On a side note: The subordinates Lex has been granted here feels quite a bit like if actual roleplayers were playing them given how...unique they are though given who the lesser titans they served, they're probably somewhat well known in their own circle for one reason or another.

[Alzrius]

11836924 Loraestil is, from what we've seen, quite arrogant. But he hasn't let that arrogance make him stupid, and he's not willing to court death or failure for the sake of pride. He might not like that he was sent with two subordinates, but since they're there, and he's having a much harder time of it than expected, he's decided to make good use of them.

The question now is whether or not that will work. As it stands, the question of the Ghost Blade's effectiveness is an open one, but he'll still need to actually land a hit with it first, which might be tougher than expected.

As for Lex's retinue of beauties, I'm happy to hear that they came across as notable for their differences! So many new characters being introduced so quickly makes for quite the challenge, and it's a relief to know that they were distinctive in their own ways.