Days later, Arthur and his team found themselves in the first stage of the platform. The goal, for today at least, was a moderate journey within, an exploration and testing of the murderous interior before they searched for the exit and the level's first teleportation platform. Of course, the team knew where it was - they had a map - but it was one thing to see an object marked on a map and another to find it after wading through deep jungle, pushing against ivy and vines and brambles. Only one who had never actually managed to make their way through a proper rainforest would mistake it for an easy task.
On the other hand, unlike most 'normal' jungles, one of the major threats within was the wasp. The giant wasp, the massive insect the size of Arthur's arm from head to tail. It did mean that it was easier to hit than a swarm of its smaller counterparts, but it also meant, rather significantly, that it could - and did - sting much harder.
As Rick, stung in the arm and clutching the bleeding hole that was the entry point, was finding out at the moment. He was rolling about, mouth open in a rictus of pain but his voice and throat so strained that he could not even make a sound. Rather than scream, his entire body was locked in a rictus of pain, warning enough about the danger.
Standing right above him was Arthur, spear held carefully in guard as the buzzing wasp flew up and down, twisting and dodging the sweeping and cautious attacks the man swung at it. All around, in the dense undergrowth, the rest of the team fought their own attackers, with only Mel and Jan ganging up on a single other wasp. Yao Jing was gripping his own attacker by the body, arching his body in a concave twist as he tried to avoid being stung by the twisted opponent while Uswah lay missing, the scout either in a desperate battle of her own or unknowing of their trouble.
"Stop. Moving..." Arthur snarled, though softly. He was more worried about the thrashing man beneath him knocking him over. He was beginning to get a feel for the wasp's jerky movements and with a swing down, he watched the hornet duck sideways and up. With a cut again on the return, he caught it. Almost perfectly, slicing off a portion of the extra large wings rather than the body, exactly as planned.
Spiraling, the hornet fell, angling itself almost to sting Arthur in the leg. Checking an automatic reflex to kick it away - and potentially get stung - Arthur pulled back and swept the butt of his spear upwards, striking the hornet away. It bounced off, its flight still erratic and falling into a nearby tree before it crashed.
Moving swiftly, Arthur struck once, plunging his spear into the creature's body and pinning it to the ground. A yank outwards and then another quick strike ended that threat, before he spun to help. Only to see it unnecessary, as Mel had finished her own attacker and Yao Jing was pounding his wasp into the edge of the tree, repeatedly such that his fingers had managed to dig into the body of the creature. Then, with a twist and turn, he tore gobs of flesh out, wrecking body and wings. A few quick stomps afterwards ended the attack, even as Arthur turned to Rick.
"It hurts. It hurts..." Rick moaned, dark skin gleaming with sweat and arm clutched around the bleeding wound.
Trying to push the hand aside, Arthur cursed. "Let me look, damn it." He rocked backwards a bit on his ankles, then leaned forward and pinned Rick down with his knee against his stomach as he cursed. "Someone help me hold him down!"
Mel came over, helping Arthur hold Rick still as they worked to calm him. It took a while before they managed to pull hand away and pin aside, allowing them to see the wound in its entirety. It continued to pulse blood, though slower now. More worrying were the black veins that spread along the wound, red and inflamed skin all around.
"Shit. Poison?" Arthur said, then shook his head. "Of course it is. Nevermind... Is it lethal?"
"Yes! Please... I need... need.... antidote." Rick blathered.
"No," Mel said, confirming what Arthur had remembered. "He'll be fine. Especially with our technique. He just has to heal it."
Arthur grunted, staring at the wound. "Should we try to suck it out?"
"What?" Mel said, confused.
"You know, in the movies. They always suck out the poison."
"Snake bites, not stings and it doesn't work."
"Really?"
"Yes." She confirmed, shaking her head. "Don't accept everything from TV. Otherwise, you'd think Mexico is all yellow and all Muslims wear hijabs and kill non-believers, screaming about jihad every other sentence."
Arthur snorted at her description but had to agree. Malaysia itself was a Muslim dominated nation, and while certain things were rather annoying - like the lack of porn which was one of the biggest underground markets, along with weed - it was, overall, relatively fine. They seperated ruling for their people and for everyone else well enough, even if it did make certain deliveries tougher. If, somewhat more profitable.
"Alright, you heard the woman. Focus, Rick."
Instead, the East Indian just moaned and groaned, fighting against the pain that tore him apart. Arthur tried, for a few minutes, before he eventually gave up with a frustrated sigh and stood, looking around.
"We can't wait for him to get his act together. Volunteer to watch over him while the rest of us keep finding stones?" Arthur said.
No surprise that no one offered, and in the end, Arthur pointed at Yao Jing. "You're up."
"Eh, woh ah?" Yao Jing said in surprise.
"Yes, you. You can carry him more easily," Arthur said. "If he doesn't get better."
The man frowned, but eventually nodded and with a wave to Uswah who'd returned, the group moved on. It seemed at least their first encounter with the monsters on the fifth floor was less than stellar. Not surprising, of course, but the toxin in the sting seemed to be even more dangerous and painful than descriptions led Arthur to believe. Or Rick was just a wimp. Either or.
Two more fights, including a close shave and save via a wrapping shadow tentacle by Uswah later, and the group ran into the next monster on the list. That was somewhat more amusing for Arthur, for the giant spider that dropped down led to a new realisation about one of his party members.
"Die, die, die!" Jan screamed, finishing with her stabbing at the spider that had dropped on its silk tendril onto her head. She'd battered it away, moments before it managed to inject her with a large trace of venom and then proceeded to use her dagger to stab it to death while pinning it down with her other arm.
Effective, if noisy.
"Don't like spiders?" Arthur said, amused as he tore the monster stone from his own before grabbing a flask. He milked the creature, pushing down on its fangs - the chelicerea - to extract the venom. It took a bit of work, though the extra large size of the creature helped in extracting a few decent drops.
"Don't like it near my mouth lah!" Jan snapped. "Especially surprised."
"Ah, that's probably for the best," Arthur said, keeping a straight face. "Also, try not to smash its head either, will you? You know we need the toxins for the quest."
"Sorry boss."
Arthur shrugged, handing the flask over to Mel who was waiting. He cleaned his hands on the ground, not daring to touch the various leaves around without a better idea of the plant types. Never know what might be poisonous. Mostly, it'd all be mild irritants, but even mild irritation could get very annoying very fast. So, the first rule of going through the jungle held. Don't touch anything you don't need to - and always watch what you grabbed.
"We good?" Arthur looked around, checking on the team before nodding. Time to move on. They had a lot more drops to grab before they were done.