Introduction
Welcome back to Maledicturs Terra. This is a Chain Story between myself and @lex-zaiya, meaning that we each write the parts alternatively.
If you have not read Maledictus Terra Book 1: Mortis Custos yet, it starts HERE at Part 1 and ends at Part 101 HERE. At the end of the Part 101 post you will find links to all 101 Parts!
The previous part by @lex-zaiya can be found HERE.
Part 21
Mortis stalked his way toward the stables. He had so much on his undying mind that he was actually too distracted to notice how we was not alone by the time that he reached the wizard's special stables.
"Wait here." He commanded.
"Yes my Lord!" The duo of Blaze Knights answered in unison.
He opened the door carefully. Even though these beasts were all a series of nightmarish creatures themselves, he himself was not a being that inspired trust in others. It was likely that some of these mounts were fully capable of rending his physical form badly enough that his usefulness as an undying guardian would be nullified.
He closed the door behind him. He would select a mount before riding it outside. He needed something that would not suddenly eat one of his great-grandchildren or some hapless civilian. He needed a mount that was not afraid of what he was. He was also hoping that whatever mount he found, they would be capable in a fight.
The first stall, closest to the light held an equine figure, strong and noble looking. It stared at him through the viewing hole in the gate. It's wide-eyes gaze fell on him and it snorted. For all intents and purposes, this looked like an ordinary horse. He knew better though. There was no way an ordinary horse could be in this place near these other creatures.
The next stall was rather dark. Mortis was not so foolish as to come closer to the gate than he needed to. Instead, in order to pierce the darkness, he activated his dark sight. His magically gifted vision revealed a coiled serpent and it was indeed ready to strike.
A third stall seemed to be empty. He was not even sure if it were truly empty as there was a latch and some sort of seal of the gate with a rope and a tag that had magical runes on it. Whatever Adiran kept inside that stall was probably not worth his time. He could not afford to waste time.
The fourth was a horse, monstrously large and it mouth was filled with hay that it was chewing as it came to the door of the gate to regard Mortis with a steady gaze. Somehow, he felt that it was aware of what he was, but not terribly frightened. He wondered if this was bravery or stupidity.
Behind the massive equine, there was a scurry of movement, and Mortis' enhanced vision picked out the form of a raccoon. The creature was rummaging around in the horse's feed box and was scooping up handfuls of hay as though looking for something underneath.
The horse did not move initially. Instead, it slowly turned its head, its focus on the raccoon. It took a quiet step forward as though it was sneaking up on the raccoon, which seemed ludicrous with a beast this size. Yet the raccoon remained unaware of the horse' approach, preoccupied with digging around in the feed box.
There was a snapping noise as the horse opened its mouth and disgorged a grotesque tongue like a serrated tentacle a full four feet long connected with the raccoon in a spray of blood. The raccoon had a moment to shriek as the tongue wrapped itself around the critter's body, slicing into its body even as it coiled around it. The tongue lifted the raccoon to the horse's mount and while the appendage hung out of the mouth where canines should be, the incisors of its mouth were plenty sharp and it gave a slow and deliberate bite to silence the creature.
Everything was now still. There had been movement and noises from the other stalls when the raccoon had shrieked. The horse retracted its tongue, opening its mouth wide to allow the whole woodland creature and coiled tongue to enter. It began chewing, a gristly crunching that meant that flesh and bone were ground up indiscriminately. The horse swallowed and then was back to the feeding box and sniffed around.
It took another wad of hay into its mouth and began chewing on this too. As though cleaning its teeth, the tip of the tongue appeared briefly and wiped the incisors clean after this mouthful.
The horse then turned deliberately toward Mortis but this time, it did not seem as though it was stalking. Instead, it was merely as though to come and say hello. It snorted and lowered its head and raised it again, like a bow.
It was an unorthodox beast but Mortis liked its mannerisms. He decided to trust it and opened the gate. The horse moved forward confidently and nuzzled his hand as he stroked its nose and then mane. He noticed finally that its eyes were not usual either. They were the dark brown of a regular horse and it would be easy to miss the shape of its vertical pupil from far away.
This was the one he would take with him. Monstrously large. Omnivorous. Confident. He just hoped that there was not anything else about the mount he did not know about.
Within twenty more minutes he had found the saddle nearby that seemed to have been custom-made for this particular mount. No normal horse would have fitted into the saddle.
He opened the door of the saddle and strode out into the light. The horse did not seem to have any sensitivity to the light outside and though it seemed eager to stretch its legs, it did not give Mortis the feeling of being undisciplined. It waited for Mortis to lead on.
He was less than surprised to find that the two Blazeknights that had shadowed him earlier were already waiting for him, mounted up. Although he had not asked these two to join him, they would also be the two he would have chosen to accompany him on their quest.
"It is good to see that you are ready." He said and cringed internally as he noticed how much his praise lifted their spirits. "Follow me. We have some people we need to go meet."
"Yes Lord!" they cried in unison.
Over to you @lex-zaiya!
Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and here is the current Chainstory Library
Mortis Custos
Sanguifex
| by @zakludick | by @lex-zaiya |
|---|---|
| Part 1 | Part 2 |
| Part 3 | Part 4 |
| Part 5 | Part 6 |
| Part 7 | Part 8 |
| Part 9 | Part 10 |
| Part 11 | Part 12 |
| Part 13 | Part 14 |
| Part 15 | Part 16 |
| Part 17 | Part 18 |
| Part 19 | Part 20 |
| You are here! | Coming soon! |
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