Samantha’s quest was perhaps less rocky than Hansel’s had been. She had spent some time in Ingrim gathering information on a particularly large nest of Neckers just north of the town. There was also talk of sailors and fisherman drowning just off the coast. Sam glanced at the contract she had picked up:
Warning! Greater Nokken terrorising sailors and fishermen north of Ingrim. Reward will be offered to any man who can slay it.
The Nokken would explain why a Necker nest existed of the size the locals described. Sam took up a table at one of the inns with her two assistants and a third man she had hired for extra protection. They poured over a map of the region.
“The previous hunters who attempted this contract were slain here…” she pointed to the lagoon where the Nokken was suspected to dwell. “But they weren’t slain by the Nokken. They had failed to estimate the threat that the Neckers posed and were driven into the water or killed in some other way.” The thought of being devoured by Neckers made her shudder, and she closed her eyes and forced herself to focus on the map, pointing to the location of the nest. “The plan so far is pretty straightforward. Step one: purge the nest. Step two: eliminate the stragglers, allowing for a clear path to the lagoon. And step three: slay the mother.”
The next morning, they rode after the nest. Sam had no clear indication of how many of the gruesome creatures there were lurking in their burrows, however based on the desolate state of the land surrounding the lagoon, she guessed that there were too many to face alone. The land was swampy and foul. Sam and her companions had to circle around for a while to pick a walkway of solid earth for them to cross. A layer of mist blanketed the still waters.
Having been tricked by a Nokken before, Sam made everyone wear tight rubber bands around their wrists that day, and instructed them to flick themselves with it every few minutes. She found in her research that sudden shocks or painful instances were able to sort of jump-start the mind when under the influence of a Nokken’s illusions, and because a victim wouldn’t usually know they were being tricked until it was too late, doing this regularly removed any risk of being ensnared in a spell. She got the idea of the rubber band from a passage she had read in The Grimoire of Nether: Zemar el un gol men a, or pain is a gateway to The Truth.
Sam carried a hatchet (though she hoped she wouldn’t need it) and so did her hired protector, while the other two carried longswords. Their eyes were glued to the water, searching for any stirring or sign of life. As they neared the coast the waters lapped and gurgled. The enemy did not reveal itself. A cluster of trees in the distance marked the far end of the swamp. “The earth there would be dry enough for them to dig,” Sam announced. “Get ready.”
Sam retrieved from her satchel a leather bag full of explosives that she had prepared, and she gave another to each of her assistants. The devices were basic smoke-bombs; however, she had tinkered with the formula just a little, adding a special concoction in which Daphne Berries were the key ingredient.
“We will have to be quick,” she instructed the others. “The poison may take a while to act.”
They spotted one or two Neckers on the hill as the sun glimmered from their silvery-blue flesh. The little creatures waddled around aimlessly until they noticed the fast approach of the hunters, at which they flashed their thin fishlike teeth and screamed. Sam’s protector decapitated one with his hatchet and clipped the arm of the other one, and it scurried away with blood dripping from the wound. Sam saw the burrows, no doubt connecting to a larger complex underground. “Keep them off of us!” she told her protector, as Neckers began to spring from every direction and attack. Sam ran to one burrow and the others did the same, and simultaneously they lit the fuses and tossed the bombs into the dark holes.
The ground quaked. Toxic smoke puffed up from the nest. “Don’t breathe it in!” Sam said. They all took several paces back. For a while nothing happened. Suddenly they heard an inhuman groan as the Neckers attempted to crawl out of the nest, but were now weak and dying. The group had to execute any that got too close, but Sam looked away as she was forced to drive her hatchet into a dying Necker’s chest. Those that survived the poison gas, or were away from the nest to begin with, retreated towards the lagoon.
Sam ignored the fleeing Neckers (that were being slain by her protector anyway) and made for the lagoon. She and her assistants unslung the crossbows from their backs – going into the water with a Nokken was near suicide, and Rodrick had shown her that this was the best way to go about it. The mist had diminished and the water was clear and cool. Suddenly, Sam found herself face-to-face with Victor. He was laying shirtless in the water, and as Sam stood on the bank he turned to her and smiled. She was stuck, and her heart fluttered. Suddenly everything seemed pleasant. Then she instinctively flicked her arm with the rubber band and the water turned dark as oil, and Victor was replaced by a horrid watery monster. It stood up and revealed its webbed hands and bony shoulders soaked in mud. A crossbow bolt flew past but sank into the water next to it, but then the monster dived below the surface. The water became still.
“Get around it!” Sam cried, keeping the sights of her bow fixed on the water. She was still shaken from having seen such a monster in the form of her best friend. She watched the water. Minutes flew by without a sign and her arms became tired. Then there was a ripple, and a shape, and Sam loosed a bolt and watched it stick the monster. The thing squirmed and the water around it bubbled with red.
“A fine shot!” said one of her companions. “Nice and true! You are full of surprises for someone so young.” He and the other waded out into the water. “There is no need to sully your clothes, we will collect the body.”
They returned to Ingrim successful, and Sam was applauded as she collected her reward.
ns 172.70.126.8da2