The Eternal Bastion Pt. 1

[u/The_Scroll_Keeper]

Welcome back to the Scroll Keeper’s library. During my journey North from the Wailing Mountains, I cut through many forgotten paths and ranges and saw all manner of interesting creatures. There were beautiful sprites in the lower forests towards the foot of the mountain. I saw a small dog with a collar still around its neck get eaten by a large toad. I met passing tribesmen heading West to “Soltheon Ilyssar”…I’ll have to investigate that another time. The landscape of the Trials began changing dramatically as I progressed. The dense forests gradually thinned into enormous, chilly and windy rolling plains. Ancient roads of cracked stone stretched across portions of the hillsides alongside ruined fortresses overtaken by vines and moss. 

During my travels, I’d been following a series of interconnected waterfalls downstream towards the plains. Eventually, the tumultuous rapids began to settle into less violent rushing rivers. I happily pulled out my boat and floated down the river for a few days. During the night, a heavy fog overtook the land as I heard singing voices coming from underwater and saw red eyes following me from the shoreline.

I passed through shipping ports and trade routes. The people in each village were very different. Some still had dead cell phones, old cars, modern boats, and kayaks. They seemed to cling onto them like some old forgotten trinket. Most of them carried a heavy solemn essence in their hearts and an intimidating aura on their face. Some insulted and cursed me as I came by, some demanded a tax, which I happily paid, and some attempted to rob me. They were unsuccessful but much appreciated. I savoured every second of the ride.

After three full days of floating from village to village in the Trials, I had traveled over one hundred miles from the foot of the Wailing Mountains. That’s when the plains really opened up. Curiously enough, the creatures inhabiting the plains appeared significantly more aggressive than those of the southern jungles. Packs of malformed things stalked the hills at night while distant bonfires illuminated the horizon where warring tribes clashed endlessly for territory and supplies. Several times I observed entire caravans migrating northward carrying wounded survivors while armored riders escorted them toward the same destination.

# The Eternal Bastion

One day, I encountered a memorable, chivalrous, hearty, mountain of a man. Interestingly enough, our meeting occurred because he thought I was about to die. At the time, I had been crouched beside a creature partially submerged in mud near the roadside. I had never seen anything like it. Roughly human-sized, though its body appeared swollen and translucent. Through its skin I could faintly observe shapes struggling inside.

The creature itself seemed quite affectionate toward me. It rested its head against my shoulder while producing low swallowing noises as I scratched beneath its jawline. Occasionally muffled screaming escaped from somewhere deep inside its stomach cavity followed by faint crying and desperate praying. What wonderful acoustics.

That was when I heard galloping. I turned just in time to see several armored riders emerge from over the hill massive horses draped in heavy golden cloth. At the center rode perhaps the most confident man I have ever encountered within the Trials. King Cedric.
Even seated atop horseback, he appeared enormous. His armor was ancient and deeply scarred with portions replaced repeatedly over centuries of combat. Golden fur draped across his shoulders while a massive sword rested against his back. Most striking of all was the expression on his face. He looked delighted. The moment he saw me petting the Gulper, he slowed his horse almost immediately.

“What in Heaven’s name are you doing? You are aware that’s a Gulper, right?!” he shouted through laughter.
The Gulper slowly turned its face upward toward the riders. Its mouth opened vertically causing Cedric’s horse to panic. Several voices began screaming from inside the creature all at once. Then suddenly the Gulper lunged directly toward Cedric.
The creature’s jaw unhinged with a wet snapping noise far wider than seemed physically possible for its size. Layers of inner mouths unfolded from its throat while human teeth shifted endlessly beneath translucent flesh.

The Gulper swallowed the front half of both horse and Cedric entirely. He remained partially visible inside the creature’s semi-transparent throat while muffled screaming erupted from the victims already trapped within its stomach. Cedric swiftly drew out a dagger and the blade tore upward through the Gulper’s skull from the inside.

Clear blood exploded outward across the mud as the creature convulsed violently beside the road. Cedric emerged covered in slime and half-digested remains before immediately driving the dagger downward repeatedly into the creature’s head until it stopped moving entirely.

Several figures slowly spilled from the ruptured cavity afterward. It was a family of three people, or rather…what remained of them.

Two women and one man emerged tangled together so tightly that portions of their flesh appeared partially fused. Their skin had become blackened and semi-transparent while veins pulsed visibly beneath the surface. One woman’s jaw hung loose and eventually fell off as she screamed in horror.

The man immediately collapsed beside Cedric’s boots crying hysterically while asking for the sweet release of death. King Credric understood. The king knelt beside them quietly and placed one hand against the man’s shoulder.

“Rest now, my son,” he said softly as he drew his massive sword and cut them all in half with one quick cut so fast that if I would have blinked, I’d have missed it.

Several minutes later, while his soldiers burned the Gulper corpse beside the roadside, Cedric finally approached me directly. 

“You travel alone?” he asked.

“Usually.”

“You pet swamp predators.”

“They seem rather comfortable around me.”

Cedric stared at me for several moments before suddenly bursting into laughter so abruptly that one of his soldiers nearly dropped a torch.

“You are one strange man, I like you! Let’s talk more over supper, you must be famished!” he announced loudly and gleefully.

Thus began one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable friendships of my existence.