Shakti scrambled to its feet, looking for the opponent that was in front of it just moments ago. It noticed its spear point lying by it before a nub of flesh struck its head. Shakti braced for another attack from above as Cuthbert came crashing down, a rope trailing behind him, riddled with severed hands.
The dismembered hands clinging to the end of the rope struck Shakti one more time as it lay under the sack of human flesh. It managed to crawl away from Cuthbert before grabbing the rope to chew off the undead hands as it walked over to collect its spear.
They tasted foul going down—and would be even worse coming back up.
The rope tensed up under Shakti's claw as Cuthbert jittered and pulled away from the troglodyte. He grabbed hold of anything he could to get further from the troglodyte's grip.
The rain of bones was all the wake-up call Cuthbert needed—his pursuers were still close.
His eyes caught hold of a nearby tree with gaps between its exposed roots, but before he could even get to his feet, the Trog started pulling the rope—dragging him toward the same tree he had set his sights on.
"You're a Troglodyte, correct?" The menacing creature tossed out a quick hiss that could barely pass as a response.
"Let me go," Cuthbert demanded timidly. To his surprise, the creature dropped the rope, allowing him to scamper away toward the tree.
Shakti followed close behind the fear-struck human– his presence like chains dragging around its feet.
His presence– an unwanted mark in its consciousness.
The space underneath the tree was a lot more ample than Cuthbert initially thought, almost as if the surrounding roots were keeping the dirt from getting under the tree. Cuthbert sat himself as far from the entrance as possible while unknotting the rope from his hands.
Shakti entered the enclave only to be greeted by its new master with more demands.
But it was mostly fear that Shakti seemed to notice more than his words.
"Stay back, Troglodyte!" Cuthbert yelled as the Trog, this time there was more confidence behind his words. It stared at him for a while with what Cuthbert assumed to be a look of anger or defiance but he couldn't really tell from the featureless face of the creature.
Yet Shakti stood there in obedience.
"Why are you obeying me?", Cuthbert asked in confusion, although he was already well aware of the hierarchy structure of troglodytes.
"Human beat Shakti"
"Shakti?"
Shakti pointed to itself. "Shakti.", Then it pointed at Cuthbert, "Human"
"Fascinating! I don't ever recall any literature mentioning such levels of self-awareness in Troglodytes let alone them having names. Even 'Social Hierarchies and Pacts', mentions little interest in the complexities of Amphibia caverdytaecapacity of learning. They go as far as saying that the Troglodyte brain is so underdeveloped that the only thing keeping pacts together is because of how simple their means of forming social structures are. A few anecdotes even… work creatures …worthless… mood swings, lack of intelligence, neither efficient nor effective", Cuthbert began to trail off as he started to dissect and question everything he could recall on the subject of Troglodytes.
Shakti's visible agitation grew ever more apparent with each word Cuthbert said. Not because it found Cuthbert's rambling insulting but because it couldn't understand most of what Cuthbert was saying.
Cuthbert was quickly brought back to the present as Shakti started to snap off the splinters from its broken spear using its bare teeth. It ran its tongue over the wood, looking for edges where the shaft would get caught on his claws. The sheer power of each bite reminded Cuthbert that this creature could kill him with ease, especially after watching it fight off the horde of skeletons just moments ago.
The fact that this Trog was sentient wasn't as important anymore to Cuthbert as much as how he managed to dominate this monster without hurting it.
"What happened while I was knocked out?"
Cuthbert tried his best to retrace the events of the night as best he could. His exploration brought him back to the last conversation he had with Christian, to the moment he rolled through the portal.
He remembered why he rolled through the portal.
Shakti looked up at Cuthbert even before he opened his mouth. It could sense the turmoil building inside Cuthbert.
"Kill me." Cuthbert managed to whisper. Shakti stared at him in anger and confusion. Cuthbert looked up to see the troglodyte just standing there glaring at him with its eyeless mug.
"You have to listen to me right? So do it. Kill me!" This time Cuthbert was a lot more confident with his command, forceful. As confident as when he thought the portal was his chance at salvation.
"Shakti is Masters. Master think, Shakti think." Cuthbert sat there confused in his despair. The trog just stood there with no agency.
"Master talk, not think talk."
Shakti's agitation grew more evident as the conversation went on. Cuthbert's lack of authority caused Shakti pain it had never felt before. It felt anxiety and distress from the inner conflict of Cuthbert's thoughts and words.
Shakti had little need to verbally communicate to command its horde of trogs. It only had to think of what it wanted and the trogs were already moving into action. Yet here it stood being told one thing while feeling the opposite.
Shakti stared at the human and thought only one word.
Weak.
It couldn't comprehend how it lost to an inferior creature. There was only one truth Shakti understood.
Power.
Having to follow Cuthbert was such a contradiction to how it perceived itself and what it meant to exist. Shakti never felt so motionless, confused, … powerless.
Shakti walked up to Cuthbert and towered over him. Cuthbert's confidence was short-lived as he looked up at the figure looming over him.
He covered his face in anticipation and waited for the creature to strike him. He winced as something landed on his lap. He took a moment to see what it was and realized it was the head of the spear the Trog had been holding all this time.
"Master, do it." Shakti felt the fear emanating from the human. It felt disgusted as it stood there waiting for what it knew would never happen but it also knew it couldn't possibly kill the person it was fear-bonded to protect and serve. Shakti walked off to the entrance of the hole hoping that Cuthbert could muster the courage to actually kill himself before Shakti felt the urge to protect him.
It took a moment for Cuthbert to understand what was happening. He could feel the trog antagonizing him with that simple gesture. He stared at the point of the spear. Contemplating how he would go about it. He grabbed it and faced the point towards his neck. Shakti watched as it could feel Cuthberts thoughts betray his actions.
Cuthbert's focus on the spear was interrupted by what sounded like the Trog scoffing at it.
'Does it think I won't do it? It doesn't matter if it thinks I can or not. I must!'
You tried before, didn't you? Back in the cage. And you failed. You always fail. What makes you think you'll succeed now?Gwhahaha!
The laughter filled his head, slithering through his thoughts like chains tightening around his throat.
'No, no, no, I can't let this continue. I don't want to serve whoever you are!' He clutched the spearhead with both his hands, closed his eyes and aimed it over his heart and thrusted as hard as he could.
"GAHHHH!!"
Even with all his might he could barely pierce through the small amount of muscle he still had over his chest let alone through his ribcage. The pain coursed through his body but even so he clenched his teeth and resolved himself to push further.
'Stop! What are you doing!?'
He felt the spear stop before he could get any deeper. He opened his eyes to see the troglodyte looming over him again, grabbing its spearhead and yanking it out of Cuthbert's hands. Whatever small amount of resolve Cuthbert managed to muster quickly dissipated behind the echo of the Ap' Ollyon's laughter in his head.
Shakti stared at the pathetic thing as it started to weep and groan in his misery and pain. It had underestimated its master. A strange sense of agony and relief fell upon Shakti as it realized that it was still stuck with this estranged creature that had no intention of being of use.
Relief that his master was safe.
The sound of twigs breaking and a thud outside caught their attention.
A figure entered, an arrow nocked and aimed, but neither Shakti nor Cuthbert looked at them. Their attention was fixed on whatever was screeching above the roots.