User blog:Ore-samma/My Cockatrice (Emerald Moon) (Slight Horror)

Hello Fans, Ore-samma here!

And here is day 10 of halloween one-shots!

Hope you like it!

Ever your Servant-

Ore-samma

“How much longer till dawn?”

The other men from the Scout Battalion of The Order just sat comatose.

“Hey!” Roland cried out, putting every ounce of disciplinary force in his voice. “Soldiers! Stand to! I asked you a question!”

One of the older soldiers looked up and glanced at the position of the constellations. “Maybe five hours, sir.”

Roland shook his head and blew out his breath. “Alright then, looks like we will get to the shoreline before then. It will be a perfect spot to turn it around! No jungle! No bush for those freaks to hide in!” But even as he made his attempt to encourage the men, he felt as empty and hollow as the men looked. Even as he started to get them to their feet and started to move, he felt a certain chilling doom in his heart. Just eight men were left from several forward-unit patrols that numbered fifty were left now.

How in the world did the archmages get the classification so wrong on this island? He cried out in his head

The contested jungle island between The Order and the Mamono Empire was classified as ‘’low threat’’ which meant; No indiginous main races, no large carnivorous beasts, and no monsters. The commanders even joked, stating that his team would have an early holiday and experience a once-in-a-hundred-years Emerald Moon.

Even the Mamono Empire seems they will be celebrating the three-day event! Archmage Vulpes said on the last communication. They recalled all their ambassadors, and closed their borders!

He glanced up as his remaining eight hustled into the dense undergrowth at the shining gemstone in the sky that cast everything in a strange green color.

“Sir!” One of the recruits called out

We all stopped, and gathered around a bundle of shredded clothes, packs, supplies and-

“The communications mirror!” Roland gasped and seized the precious link he had with headquarters. “Everyone, keep a sharp eye, take an extra ration, drink some water, we are gonna get out of here!” He tapped the mirror’s activation gemstone and breathed a sigh of relief as the other mirror activated, thousands of yarbeths away.

The face of Archmage Vulpes appeared, Who is this? He said, looking at Roland as if he were some toddler, Where is Magister Thrull?

“Sir, Magister Thrull, along with the majority of the entire expeditionary force has fallen. I and eight men are all that’s left.”

The Archmage looked at Roland intently and passed a hand over his face.

Turn the mirror to the sky, I need to confirm your coordinates via stellar recognition .

Roland did as instructed.

''Geez, I didn’t realize the Emerald Moon was more intense at that latitude! Okay, let's see...ah to hell with it! Okay solider, that’s good!''

The Archmage nodded. Your coordinates are correct, but….how on earth is there a threat big enough, or dangerous enough to take out the entire expeditionary force?

Roland shrugged. “Everything was going well right up until the first night of the Emerald Moon. We were all gathered in a mini celebration to see this once-in-a-lifetime event. Then, we started to hear clicks and chirps all around us. Then these….things started to growl, roar, and started to take the men, screaming and fighting for their lives into the underbrush.”

He shuddered and shook his head. “In less than two hours, we lost half the group. Commander Akers decided to make a run for the ships, and these things kept coming after us. One-by-one we were taken, screaming into the night.”

I see, what do these clicks and chirps sound like?

Suddenly, as if to answer him, the terrible sound started to emanate in the darkness. As if on cue, the other insects and creatures in the jungle fell silent, leaving only the rustle of leaves, frenzied footsteps, and those terrible clicks and chirps.

“Run!” Roland cried out, taking the mirror under his arm and headed with his men into the wide plains just before the beach, and the waiting boats.

''NO! WAIT! NOT INTO THE LONG GRASS!'' Archmage Vulpes cried out.

The men ran, consumed by panic and terror as they ploughed into the fields with grass that grew up to their stomachs. Roland brought up the rear, with Vulpes still screaming for them to get out of the long grass. A flash of motion caught Roland’s eye and he saw multiple trails racing ahead of his men. The other men quickly caught sight of it and gathered together, swords drawn and mowing down the grass in a small clearing.

''YOU FOOLS! YOU’RE GOING TO BE SURROUNDED!'' Vulpes cried out.

“Shut up!” Roland barked back. “Better to die fighting, and by each other’s side than picked off one-by-one!...Who knows, maybe we’ll take a few of them with us!” Roland propped the mirror on a small sapling. “Can you hear that? Do you know what kind of creature it is?”

''No idea! This is unlike anything I ever heard- LOOK OUT!''

Roland ducked and tried to swipe his sword at the presence but missed.

“THEY GOT ME!” One of the scouts cried out, scrabbling to hold onto the tufts of grass as he was dragged out of the circle, screaming.

The creatures pressed the advantage of the diverted attention and three more were immediately seized, and dragged off.

“HELP!”

“KEEP YOUR BACKS TOGETHER, DAMMIT!”

“DON’T LET GO!”

Roland struggled, but his sweaty grip slipped and suddenly, there were only five left. Him, and four others.

The dead silence was punctuated by the fading screams and cries of the captured men, punctuated by the chirping and clicking of the creatures that surrounded them in the dense grass.

“Sir! I can see their eyes! Look! They’re glowing a little brighter green than anything else.”

Roland looked, yes- there were at least six more of the creatures. Their eyes seemed to jitter and glance chaotically around them, all the while emitting their chirps and clicks.

“Sir? Is the grass creeping closer?”

Roland looked, and his heart sank. The grass seemed to grow, almost aided by the emerald light and started to fill in the clearing.

''Roland! Do you have a visual on the creatures? My sight is obscured by grass! Roland! Roland!''

Archmage Vulpes sighed and sat back into his chair as he heard Roland bark commands and heard frenzied motions and more screaming.

“Damn it!” He mumbled through gritted teeth and wearily rose to see his commander.

(later)

“Well, that was quite a sight to see, wouldn’t you say Ambassador Luna?” Vulpes said to the Hakutaku Diplomat from the Mamono Empire.

She shrugged, “I wouldn’t know. I stayed away from the Emerald Moooon, it has such a disagreeable affect on my type of mamono.”

“Oh? Well, shall we discuss today’s agenda?” Vulpes took out the report he cobbled together with his commander. “Concerning the Island off the coast of Brithamor, we sent an expeditionary force there to scout it. We lost the entire group to some hostile creatures there.”

Luna’s face took on a grimace. “Um….Archmage Vulpes, were these men….unmarried?”

“Yes, why?”

Luna placed her hand to her face and sighed. “Well, you see….there is a small flock of Coctrice Mamono that live there.” She raised her face and took a deep breath. “Which has now just gained…..um….how many men were sent?”

“Standard expeditionary force of fifty, why?”

“Ah yes...well this flock of Coctrice probably has a husband for every flock member that your commander just handed over to them.”

“What- you mean to say that they are alive? And that they are now married to the members of that flock?!!?”

Luna nodded. “Yes. See, the Emerald Mooooon has a different effect on different mamono. See, it absolutely flips the nature and disposition of whooomever is under its light..”

She gestured to herself. “Under the light of the Emerald Mooon, I would be just as dim-witted as I am bright today….and Coctrice’s….well…. As shy, timid, and cowardly as they might be under normal circumstances, they are perhaps the most vicious, diabolical and fearless little things when they are under the Emerald Mooon.”

Luna stood and gave a respectful nod. “If you’ll excuuuse me. I have to report this incident to my superiors. We are going to have to arrange transport, a trading post, or something. The island just won’t be able to support such a large influx of people..”

Vulpes sighed and sat in stunned silence.

After a few moments he summoned his mirror and activated it and waited.

''Vulpes? Is that you?''

Vulpes felt a certain anger and relief rise within him. “That’s Archmage Vulpes, or Master to you! Is that you, Magister Thrull?”

Vulpes clenched his jaw as he saw the happy face of his apprentice shimmer into full focus. The scene behind his apprentice was a small hut. The man had many small nicks, cuts, and scratches all over his body, but his expression was one of pure happiness.

No doubt- the man was already lost, and so would the rest of the force.

''Yes! Forgive me, Master.'' Thrull said, his smile dimming a little. ''Seems like there was a bit of a struggle here. The entire expeditionary force was confronted, engaged, lost, surrendered, and married to an expeditionary force from the Mamono Empire.'' His smile returned as the smiling face of a Coctrice appeared next to his apprentice and kissed him on the cheek. She held up her wing and whispered in Thrull’s ear and dusted his face with her feathers and popped back out of the mirror.

By the way, Master- my new wife, Bellatu says hello.

Vulpes slowly took in a breath and let it out. So you….surrendered?

Thrull nodded, Well, we really didn’t stand a chance, Master.

I felt my temper flare as I saw Bellatu’s  silly, smug face pop back in, give a foppish grin with a double wink and pop back out

“Just what do you think you are- Thrull!” I cried out as his expression suddenly took on a ectatic glean and then- the entire mirror winked out and fully deactivated.