Chương 23: Book 1 - Chapter 23: Cry ‘Havoc!’ And Let Slip The Dogs Of War

What's up there? Dominic wondered tensely. Ask me? Don't know, Leo replied, just as on edge. Maybe baboons. The image of dog-faced monkeys throwing rocks was not a heartening one. Dominic swallowed. Maybe we should go back. Leave the forest and go around it. He glanced that way instinctively, only to see the swaying branches and realise that it wasn't an option. Behind us, Leo warned him, verbalising what Dominic had already noticed.

Dominic breathed in deeply, and then out, controlling his sudden sense of fear at being surrounded. If there were potential enemies everywhere, then he might as well go through, following where Compass directed him. Besides, he told himself, maybe they are just watching me and don't intend to attack. It might be wishful thinking, but it made him feel a little better even so. What do you think, Leo? Find females, Leo told him decisively. Can kill or run if attack. That decided it, then.

Forcing reluctant paws to move, Dominic continued deeper into the forest. Every step increased his sense of unease as the rustling branches and regular outbursts of hooting kept pace with him. He kept a wary eye on the canopy, even as he also made sure to watch where he was walking – for all he knew, they were trying to distract him so he didn't notice an ambush down below.

The alien vegetation was now the least unnerving part of the forest – the creatures in the canopy above seemed to have scared away any other beasts around. Even the birds were silent. Not good sign, Leo indicated uneasily. Dominic agreed – he found the implications disturbing too. Even more concerning was that the bursts of hooting were becoming more frequent – and more enthusiastic. Dominic flinched as another chorus broke out, louder and closer than any he'd heard before.

Flicking his head upwards, he saw flashes of greyish-green skin through some of the broad leaves of the alien trees. They're getting bolder, Dominic realised with a burst of nerves. Stopping, he planted his feet, lifted his head up to the sky and roared. The loud moaning sound that left his throat silenced the hooting. The rustles stopped too, as if the beasts had been frozen in place. Dominic felt a distinct sense of satisfaction as he continued walking with a slight bounce in his step.

Still wish it sounded more like The Lion King, he complained. Not real lions, Leo grumbled. How did you get that reference? Dominic asked, briefly taken aback. Unfortunately, his distraction proved to be at the exact wrong moment. Ow! Dominic lifted a paw to rub at the painful lump suddenly left on his head. A chorus of whoops broke out in the canopy above, not quite the same as those made by the hyenas, but certainly reminiscent – and far more vindictive than the hoots had been before.

Glancing down, he spotted what had attacked him. A nut, Dominic realised as he saw something that looked like a coconut lying innocently on the ground next to him. He glared up at the canopy above – there was nothing to be seen except swaying branches. Hey! Don't do that! The whoops that answered him seemed distinctly mocking. A sudden crashing sound and flash of movement made him leap sideways in instinctive reaction. Just in time – another nut thumped into the ground just a few inches from his left paw.

If he hadn't moved, that would have hit his head as well. Now starting to feel really indignant, Dominic snarled up at the canopy, searching for his assailant. Hearing the crashing of branches, Dominic whipped his head towards the flicker of movement as a creature swung through the treetops, two large objects in its paws. Baboon! snarled Leo as the creature threw one of the objects at them. Even as Dominic dodged the projectile, his mind was already dismissing the thought. Not a baboon.

Not a monkey, either, but not dissimilar. He then had to dodge another projectile that shot at him a moment later. Having been unsuccessful in its attack, the creature screeched angrily at him and then swung away again to a chorus of hoots and whoops from others in the canopy. Dominic watched it go, his thoughts whirling. Even in the brief time he'd been able to inspect the creature, he'd seen it clearly wasn't from Earth – the creature had six limbs.

The not-monkey used four of its limbs to swing easily through the trees as a monkey might, leaving the other two to hold whatever it wished – in this case projectiles to throw at him. Oddly enough, it had no tail. Perhaps six limbs were enough to be getting on with. More than that, Dominic hadn't been able to tell with the quick glimpse he'd had of the creature in between attacks. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Unfortunately, it looked like he was going to pay for standing still when three more of the not-monkeys emerged from the area around him, perhaps having been attracted by the first's screeches. Dodging the projectiles wasn't so easy with three at a time flying at him. By the time the two volleys were done, he'd been hit in the shoulder and on the crown of his head, worsening his headache to head-splitting intensity.

Dominic snarled louder in irritation, glaring up at the not-monkeys which were again whooping, the sound mocking him. After the trial dungeon, Dominic knew that a lion was surprisingly competent at jumping – especially one with an Evolved Translocation domain. In their mockery, two of the not-monkeys had descended low enough that he thought he might be able to reach them. See how you like this, he threatened them darkly, crouching and wiggling his tail behind him.

Leo, just as irritated at their attackers as him, nudged his movements slightly, showing him how to angle himself so he would hit the not-monkey. With as much power as he could coil in his hindquarters, Dominic propelled himself swiftly into the air. The not-monkey didn't know what had hit it before it was already all-but dead. Dominic's jaws clamped around its midsection, biting it almost in half.

It was still moving weakly when they landed heavily back on the ground, the weight in his jaws almost pulling Dominic off-balance, but its eyes were already glazing over. He pulled it into his storage container, then quickly leaped again to snatch another not-monkey out of the trees while they were still frozen in shock, clearly not having expected him to be capable of leaping so high. This one put up a bit more of a fight, screeching and scratching at his face.

Dominic was forced to close his eyes to protect them from the beast's claws, meaning that he misjudged the landing a little. Fortunately, he didn't lose his grip on the not-monkey even as the wind was half-knocked out of him. Shaking his head back and forth, it wasn't long before the creature was limp in his jaws like the first. Opening his eyes now the danger to them had passed, Dominic looked upwards again. Then he swore, pulling the beast into his storage space to clear his jaws.

Clearly the screeching of the beast he'd killed hadn't just been in protest or pain; it had been calling for back-up. Twisting his head frantically to one side and then the other, he saw at least twenty not-monkeys lining the branches around, each with stones or nuts in their two free paws. I can't survive this, he thought, turning his attention to frantically looking for shelter.

There wasn't anything nearby, but he spotted a place where a tree had fallen and caught on another tree a little further off, creating a triangular structure that might shield him from at least some of the projectiles. Focusing on his destination, he sprinted for it, nuts and stones already thumping into the spot where he had been a fraction of a second before, enough probably to have battered him to a moaning, pain-filled lump of himself. They followed him through the trees, whooping angrily.

Some of the not-monkeys were excellent shots – two of them managed to predict where he would be and their rocks hit dead on, one striking his shoulder just above his gorget, the other deflected off the armour that covered his tailbone. He reached his shelter, and took a moment to catch his breath, wincing at the sound of projectiles hitting the wooden trunk above him.

Unfortunately, it wasn't an ideal shape – while protecting him directly from attacks above, it did nothing to stop those coming in at an angle and Dominic winced several times as a rock or nut cracked painfully off one of his bones. Good thing we ate, Leo told him with a hint of smugness despite his concern. Dominic sighed, begrudgingly admitting the lion was right – his bruises and probably cracked bones healed fast as his stomach became ever emptier. He'd need to eat more soon to make up for it.

A rock landed square on the spot where his tail met his body as one of the not-monkeys got in a lucky shot. Even with the armour there, the impact was painful. Dominic gulped as he suddenly had a thought – what if he sustained a serious injury here? Like a compound fracture or a damaged spine. Would the meat heal him? Or would he be permanently maimed? He pushed the thought away. He'd just have to do his best not to be injured enough to test it.

And since the shelter wasn't perfect, that meant taking the fight to the monkeys. Finally, the onslaught ceased – presumably his attackers had run out of ammunition. He carefully poked his head out from under the trunk, looking for the not-monkeys. His gaze met several beady-black eyes staring down at him from above, clearly disappointed that they hadn't got him. Throw rocks at a lion? he thought, snarling at the creatures in the treetops above. Bad idea.

Leaping onto the broad trunk of the fallen tree he'd been sheltering under, Dominic fixed his eyes on the closest not-monkey. Its expression twisted in fear and it made as if to swing away – but it was too late. Pouring power into his muscles, Dominic surged forwards, snatching the not-monkey, biting it savagely, then shaking his head until he heard the crack of bone and pulling it into his storage space. His leonine gaze pinning the next not-monkey in place, he once more pushed power into his muscles.

Surging forwards, he crashed into the not-monkey, then realised with a swoop in his stomach that he'd misjudged how much force to use. His launch sent the not-monkey – and himself – falling to the forest floor. Reaching out his paws instinctively, he latched onto the first object they encountered. His claws bit into the wood, slipping, then catching. It took some effort and lots of wiggling, but eventually he managed to hoist himself onto the branch.

With some disgruntlement, Dominic silently thanked the trial dungeon creator – without the practice of jumping and climbing that he'd had in the jungle there, he probably wouldn't have succeeded. He probably looked awfully ungainly doing it, but at least his jerky movements allowed him to avoid three of the five missiles that were directed at him from the not-monkeys around. Clearly, they'd managed to rearm. The two that hit were ones aimed at areas which stayed relatively still: his head and his shoulder.

Out of those, the one that hit his head was the most painful. Still, even half-stunned, he managed to keep pulling himself up. Though his first couple of attacks had been relatively easy, Dominic wondered whether that was more to do with the thickness of the branches he'd been on, or because his focus had solely been on the not-monkeys – certainly, he was struggling to keep his balance on this branch now.

Whirling his tail like a gyroscope, the heavy weight of the mace head on its far end was actually helpful here, counter-balancing his weight. A rock flying towards him was partially avoided by swinging his head to one side, but that just meant it slammed into his neck instead. His gorget meant that he didn't take any damage, but he still felt the impact. Claws grabbing at the branch below his feet with a hint of desperation were the only reason he didn't lose his balance then and there.

Damn monkeys, Dominic grumbled as he finally felt like he'd got his feet under him. Looking around, he saw beasts staring at him warily. They appeared to be a bit non-plussed with the situation, perhaps not used to their targets suddenly taking to the trees. Dominic lifted his lips away from his fangs and snarled threateningly. Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war, he murmured to himself, his eyes glinting, and gaze narrowing on his prize.