Chapter 2 - Thith ith not productith

Zeeg briefly assessed her options and decided to take the portal back to the Downs then head towards the keening she could now hear every couple of minutes.  She padded quickly along, the humans naturally giving her the space she deserved as she passed.

She walked through the portal and appeared back where she had been before her mission to acquire free treats.  As she emerged she caught a flicker of something from the corner of her eye and her head snapped round but there was nothing there.  She chuffed and drew in several deep sniffs to taste the air.  She moved over to the wall on which she had thought she’d seen… something.  Something sinister if her instincts were anything to go by and her instincts were always perfect.

She sniffed around and jumped up to rest her paws on the wall so she could sniff along the top.  There was a faint scent of wrongness, the smell of something that should not exist lingered on the stone. She could find no trail leading either to the place the thing had been nor a fear scent as the abomination rightly fled from her brilliance.

The image of green eyes floating above a grinning set of fangs was fixed in her mind.  She quickly checked around the building but there was no evidence of the demons except where it had accidentally revealed itself to her.  Another call for help echoed across the buildings to her ears so she made a mental note to investigate this foul being later and looked to the south.

She faded from view as she matched her colouring to her surroundings.  This was the only other acceptable use of her shapeshifting skill besides altering her throat to allow human speech.  It made her invisible and better able to sneak up on prey as well as steal snacks.  Dad-John had explained that the name of her breed, the pinnacle of divine canine-ness, lurcher came from the Latin word lur which meant thief.  Her breed had been popular with hunters and in particular poachers for their ability to take small game quickly and quietly.

Stealth came naturally to her and while it marred her beautiful coat it was only temporary.  She also activated her other ability and became incorporeal.  She set off dashing straight through the humans homes like a ghost.  She had occasionally pondered why she didn’t sink into the floor when she became incorporeal.  Despite being the foremost canine philosopher in the world she had concluded that the system was simply  strange and badly thought out.  

She could dive into the earth or into solid stone if she wanted to but if she did not want to sink down into the ground when she activated her “ghost mode” then she didn’t.  As far as she was concerned all was right with the world in this regard and she would leave worrying about such things to humans.  They had a strange obsession with things that didn’t matter so were probably the best to look into it.

The self appointed best dog in the world passed quickly through the grubbiest suburb of Wayfaire without leaving a ripple of alarm behind her.  Humans tended to get very excited if they saw her run through one wall and out of another for some reason.  Dad-John had asked her not to scare people like that.  As she was a good girl, the best girl in fact, she heeded his confusing request and did as she had been asked.

As Zeeg reached the edge of the town she sped up even faster, passing through trees and the ruins of the old world as she sped towards her destination.  She slowed down as she neared and took stock of the situation.  

An old farmhouse had somehow survived the waves relatively intact.  It had high walls at the front and seven foot deer fences around the sides.  These must have kept out the worst of the monsters that had taken up residence since the end of the first wave.  Unfortunately the building was under siege and the howls of fear were coming from behind the broken door.  A flying tentacle creature that the humans referred to as “Baby Cthulhu” was attempting to batter its way through the large bay windows at the front of the building.

Snaps and deep snarls echoed out as one of her kind, although likely a lesser breed, was attempting to put up a fight.  They were successfully fending off the tentacles the thing was winding into the windows, it kept snatching them back with ichor dripping from bite marks.

Zeeg used Identify on the monster.

Name: Tentacled Horror

Level: 5

A mere level five?  It was big for its kind though.  Perhaps it was like the rat she had killed earlier and nearing some kind of threshold for change.  She walked through the fence, still completely invisible and positioned herself behind the beast.

She cancelled her incorporeal state and lunged.  Her claws latched around several tentacles and with a flick of her head she flung the monster away from the house.  She leapt after it sank her claws into the main body and she began to tear away its extremities with her teeth.

These things were surprisingly tough and regenerated damaged or removed limbs very quickly.  At level five it was no match for her and in a short time she stood  surrounded by the scattered fragments of the beast.  She briefly became incorporeal and the gore coating her fur fell away then she moved to an area clear of the mess she had made and reverted to her normal form.

She briefly licked her front paws to remove the feeling of the things' rubbery flesh.  Rated a zero on the fluffy scale she was not a fan of dealing with these creatures and usually left them to the humans to take care of.  Alas in this instance she had been forced by circumstance to play the heroine and save her lesser cousins.  Perhaps they would appreciate the tenets of canine superiority?  As fellow dogs, whatever their breed, they must surely be able to grasp the subtle beauty of her philosophy.  

She turned and headed towards the window and looked inside.  Three grey shaggy faces looked back at her, almost as scared of her as they must have been of the monster.  The largest stepped forward and she used Identify on him.

Name: Gandalf (Irish Wolfhound)

Level: N/A

He was an impressive specimen she could not deny.  Far from the disgusting fluffiness of the miniscule Chow Chow, he stood over four feet at the shoulder and his bright brown eyes reminded her of the most beautiful eyes in the world: her own.

“You need not fear, dear friends.  I, Zeeg, the finest warrior poet of our kind, has saved you from certain death.  Bend the knee to me and join my pack so that you can be greatly rewarded.”

Gandalf made a series of chuffs and nose twitches that she understood but hadn’t used to communicate for some time. He was saying he was hungry and had to protect his friends.  Zeeg cast an eye over them.  Two more wolfhounds named Freya and Gryffin.  They stared back and Gryffin stepped forward to toss a rag toy to Zeeg who looked down at it in confusion.

She had once had such a toy but she hadn’t found any satisfaction in such trinkets since she had received her Essence.  The dog wanted to play?  She would play if she must.  She walked through the wall and broken window and stooped to take up one end of the toy in her mouth, offering the other end to Gryffin who jumped forward and grabbed hold.  He yanked and he shook but he couldn’t move Zeeg.  She was thirty six times stronger when she had been a regular pup.  Back then Gryffin would have towered over her and he could have snatched the toy away effortlessly.  Now she sat down and watched as he jumped and pulled, trying to shake the thing free from her jaw.

“Thith ith not productith!” she muttered around the rope in her jaws. She pulled her head to the side and Gryffin barrelled forwards into her.  She gently pushed him back and down with one paw, careful not to hurt the fragile creature, and spat out the rope.

“Please accept my invitation to run with my pack.”  Maybe the please thing worked on dogs as well?  “If you do, you won’t regret it.”

Gandalf and Freya both growled at the sight of her manhandling the playful Gryffin and jumped forward.  She watched as their jaws closed around her leg and they tried to pull back.  Her fur had become like armour a long time ago and she couldn’t even feel their teeth.

She sighed and pondered the best approach to take here.  How did one recruit dogs to one's pack?  After a moment's thought as she watched the two dogs becoming increasingly confused at their inability to even move her leg let alone sink their teeth into it, she made a decision.  It would have to be tough love.

She swept her leg out to the side as she stood and towered over what would normally be some of the largest dogs in the world.  They tumbled to the side and she winced internally, hopefully they weren’t injured.  She stood over Gryffin whose playful eyes looked up at her in fear and she lowered her jaws down with her lips pulled back to show off her teeth.

He yelped and bowed his head.  As soon as he did so he began to grow.  Zeeg jumped back and watched happily as he grew at least in foot height as he stood and shook himself out, slobber flying off to the sides.

Packchat system activated.

Hmm?  The System seemed like it wanted to help for once.

Gryffin? She sent.

Who are you, big dog? he replied.

I am the perfection of our species.  I have come to save you and your friends.  Please would you convince them to join my pack.  They will grow as you have and become much more intelligent but probably not as intelligent as myself.

I’ll try, Gryffin replied uncertainty.

He picked up the rope toy and tossed it to Freya who looked down at it then back up at him.  He moved forward and Freya backed away.  He picked up the toy again and tossed it to her then he bounded forward playfully and tried to nip at Freya’s ear.

He was a lot stronger than he had been before and he bowled the poor dog over, launching her backwards into a settee.  She stood up and growled before jumping forward at the now terrified Gryffin who backed away hurriedly.  Zeeg interposed herself between the two wolfhounds so Freya bounced off and landed on her rump.  Zeeg bared her fangs once more and lowered her muzzle towards Freya who yelped and bowed her head.

The female began to grow as well and soon stood nearly five feet tall at the shoulder.

Who are you?  Don’t hurt Gandalf!  He’s a good dog!  sent Freya.

“I have no intention of harming him.  I want him to join you in my pack.”  Zeeg spoke out loud without thinking.

You speak like a two-leg!  How? asked Gryffin excitedly as he bounded over and began sniffing at Zeeg.

“I was given an Essence by Dad-John and it awakened my latent powers.  I would like to make friends with Gandalf but he seems to have taken a dislike to me.  Perhaps one or both of you could act on my behalf?”

The two now much larger wolfhounds bounded forward and began pushing and nipping at Gandalf playfully.  The stern, patriarchal hound looked at them in confusion but didn’t react further.  He seemed to contemplate the situation for a full minute as Gryffin and Freya became increasingly aggressive in their play.  He tried to push them away but they were too strong and when he tried Zeeg growled, low and deep.

His wise old eyes snapped to her and he dropped his gaze.  As soon as he did he too began to grow.  Zeeg nodded in satisfaction.  Her first pack members were secured and she could bring them back to Wayfaire.  She would educate them on the fine arts of receiving free food, tummy rubs and the villainy of cats but first and foremost: the importance of the fluffy scale.