Lead it away!
And the dragon did indeed understand. Showing the enraged creature its tail, it streaked off, dodging nimbly between Griala’s sprouts. The plant monster was still trying to keep the fugitives from getting away.
The rhino forgot the human and the lix completely. All it cared about was the dragon, and it leaped to its feet, dashed off after Tailyn’s companion, and picked up so much speed that the wave of air just about knocked the boy off his feet. But Li-Ho-Dun was able to maintain the distance between them.
Lead it over to the worm!
The dragon executed a swooping turn and flashed off toward the giants. Apparently tired of beating up on each other, they’d stopped their fight, which was presumably why the plant had gone back to work. Tailyn repeated his wave of fire to drive the sprouts back into the goo, waiting for when the pair could move again. In the meantime, Griala was the first to notice the newcomers. Braids flew off toward the dragon in an attempt to knock it out of the air, but the later dodged them all, left the interwoven plants below it, and was even able to use its stubby legs to run along the monster. The rhino was less successful at avoiding the attacking stalks.
And that was when a bright flash lit up the area to the point that it felt like the sun itself had come down to drive back the gloom shrouding Tartila Mine.
The electric strike was so powerful that the remnants even hit Tailyn hard enough to knock a dozen points off his shield. As the radiance died away, Tailyn was able to make out the rhinoceros standing in an enormous scorched circle. There was nothing next to it. At least, nothing besides the lervans lying on their back, legs twitching in delight. Griala had quickly pulled all its sprouts back into its body, but the most important part was that the dragon was still alive. It had flown around behind the worm to shield itself from the electric shock wave.
The rhino snorted, lowered its head, and charged. It had found a new opponent. And if it was able to impale it on its horn, it would have enough energy to last it for years.
Come back!
The dragon was forced to make a wide circle around the field of battle. Once again, the worm froze and began firing off its spittle, one round hitting and even stopping the rhino. The latter roared and flared up as the acid ate though it, but Tailyn tried not to watch. The worst had happened. Griala had decided it didn’t stand a shot in the battle and withered away, quickly squelching into the goo, only Tailyn had no doubt it would soon resurface elsewhere. Downing every last mana potion he had, the boy gave himself and the lix three shield charges before dashing away from the deathtrap they were in. It was better to die at the hands of the ancient security measures in the forest than in the mouth of some monster.
Griala had its mind set on fresh meat. While the rhino did battle with the worm, the plant went back to scanning the area in search of the people, popping up not far from Tailyn not a moment later. It was off to the side since it couldn’t appear right next to the cliff, but it expanded to the point that it was able to send an array of vine arms reaching out toward the lix and the boy. Running was pointless. Griala could move along parallel to them much faster than they could go.
Ka-Li. Different card. Ka-Li.
Tailyn didn’t hold back, pumping twenty charges into his first card. But while even that wasn’t enough to knock the stupidity out of the monster’s brain, his second card helped. It was his first, and really the weakest he’d ever gotten his hands on — electric strike, only it was at least up to level two. Just like his fireball, it stunned the target for two seconds while also doing extra damage. Of course, Tailyn wasn’t looking to take out or incinerate the monster, though he knew he could at least sting it. And it was funny to watch the enormous bulk, one that presumably was afraid of nothing, rush away from the boy, its sprouts twitching uncontrollably. But Griala didn’t go far. It only wanted to find the limit of the boy’s range, and since the card was topped up, Tailyn didn’t stop firing until the monster was a hundred meters away. That was his limit. At that point, he took off running, or at least the lix did. Ka-Do-Gir grabbed the boy and sprinted along the cliff. And while Griala tried to counterattack, Tailyn held it back with bursts of five or six electric strikes.
The cliff ended so suddenly that chills ran down Tailyn’s back as the feeling of free flight rushed over him. But no, the rock wall had just angled off to the side, replaced by thick tree trunks. And while they weren’t anything like the giant Tailyn had once sent sprouting a kilometer and a half into the sky, they were still powerful. The good news was that none of them tried to kill the pair. Both Valia and Valanil were already there, standing right at the edge of the dry ground. They hadn’t made up their mind to go in.
As if sensing that its prey was about to escape, Griala launched its final attack. Shaking and jerking with each hit, the green monster came rushing at the group with terrifying intensity.
“Valia, get out of here!” Tailyn yelled, worried that Griala would get to her and the woman, too. He was at the edge of the goo. The next step, the one taking him onto dry ground, was going to be his last, and he was putting it off as long as he could — he wanted to take the monster down with him. The creature presumably didn’t have access, either. Nearby, the lix stood, prepared to share the boy’s fate. And Tailyn didn’t feel the slightest urge to argue with him. If Ka-Do-Gir wanted to die, that was his choice.
“I’m glad I had the honor of fighting alongside you, Tailyn Vlashich,” the lix said. “I’m happy to meet death in battle, face to face. Thank you for giving me this chance.”
“You’re not dead, yet,” Tailyn snarled angrily as he emptied his wave of fire and electric strike cards. But all that did was slow Griala down. It wasn’t enough to stop the monster, not to mention drive it backwards. “O the count of three, we’re jumping onto the ground. Got it? And don’t you dare die! You have to get Valia and Valanil out of here. Promise me!”
“I’ll do it, Tailyn Vlashich,” the lix said seriously.
“Three!” Tailyn yelled when he saw the green stalks reaching out for them. “Jump!”
The goo was loathe to part with its victims. Tailyn hadn’t accounted for that, and one of the stalks got to him, piercing his right shoulder. But while the pain was agonizing, Griala wasn’t able to hold back the momentum from his leap, and the stalk flew off out of Tartila Mine along with the boy. At least, Tailyn flew off. The stalk disintegrated, leaving behind a hole the size of his fist.
Tailyn crashed down onto his back. Problematic messages began popping up.
Verifying access…
Slave driver or slave marking not detected.
Verification failed.
Activating security protocol…
The world around Tailyn swirled and faded into absolutely darkness. The thought crossed his mind that he’d met his end, his only regret being that he hadn’t made it into the academy or found the dragon’s blood.
Chapter 13
“IS HE DEAD?” Valia asked through her tears, doing her best not to look at Tailyn.
“He’s breathing. His heart’s beating. No, it’s like he’s frozen, so we probably need to stick a slave or slave driver mark on him to get him back to normal,” Ka-Do-Gir said after studying the boy’s body.
“Everyone who showed up here before just disintegrated like Griala’s tentacle,” Valanil replied. “He isn’t frozen. Look at the wound — that monster took out his shield with one blow. From the looks of it, he’s in shock from the pain, so I think we just need to wait until his regeneration finishes working. He’ll wake up then and tell us himself how he survived. Anyway, I don’t want to go anywhere without a map of the area. I don’t like these trees. We’ll wait here.”
Griala didn’t give up, trying time and again to break through the barrier, but its braids just disintegrated in a shower of dark dust. Even a large-scale attack with hundreds of spouts sent simultaneously into the Forest of Desire didn’t do the trick. The location’s defenses were up to the challenge.
The first
thing Tailyn saw when he regained consciousness were the messages. With the world still spinning off somewhere, unwilling to let the boy come back, the System was busy telling him what had happened. And yes, the System. Tailyn had decided to use the god’s real name.
Security protocol activated: cleansing. All creatures without access to the location are to be destroyed.
Activation error! Mission detected referencing General Isr Kale’s tomb: Search for Coordinates.
Finding a solution…
Solution pulled from the archive: share access in order to complete the mission. Number of active creatures for whom this solution has been applied: 2.
It didn’t even surprise Tailyn when he saw the name of the second creature with access to the location. Finally, he knew how Halas had managed to boost himself to unheard-of heights and get his hands on the kind of equipment he had. Having gotten lucky enough to have the location in lix lands, he’d spent the previous few years pulling as much as he could out of the Forest of Desire. In exchange for human lives…
But that wasn’t the last of the messages. Apparently, the System had decided it was time to hand out some bonuses:
You’re the first player in this release to gain access to the General Isr Kale’s Tomb (Forest of Desire) location with just the first initiation step. Great achievements deserve great rewards.
You received access to a remote terminal.
The nearest point you can gain access to has been marked on your map…
***
Matilda level +1 (3).
Crystal +1 (3).
Just then, Tailyn’s consciousness decided it was ready to step back into the real world. The messages swirled, flashed, and disappeared, turning the dark nothingness into beautiful greenery.
The boy woke up at the edge of the enormous forest. Judging by the bright blue sky overhead, the toxic fumes were gone, and the boy pulled back his face guard. A little fresh air was just what the doctor ordered. Taking in a deep breath, his head spun — he’d never enjoyed such a rich aroma. Something in the air was sweet, fresh, slightly tangy, and so delicious that all you wanted to do was keep sucking it in.
Turning his head, Tailyn found himself staring blissfully at Valia. She was lying next to him, a smile on her face, as well. Happiness settled on the boy — his girl was alive. She was okay. He tried to catch her gaze, but it didn’t work, her eyes fixed somehow just to the side. In fact, it looked like she was reading the System’s messages, only her pupils weren’t moving. A few seconds went by, and nothing happened except for the boy’s head beginning to pound from the overwhelming aroma of the forest. And that was when he broke out in a cold sweat. He’d seen the drool seeping out of the girl’s mouth. Pulling himself to his feet with difficulty, and fighting the weakness as he did, Tailyn saw the rest of the group. They were awake, smiling foolishly, and barely moving a muscle. Only the lix was trying to do something with his middle paws, though it wasn’t going well.
Tailyn turned his hermetic seal back on to cut out the smell of the Forest of Desire. The air cleared, and his regeneration timer popped up to show ten minutes. He’d been poisoned. His head cleared, his strength returned, and he jumped to his feet and shook Valia. It didn’t help. He couldn’t turn her hermetic seal on, he couldn’t wake her up, he couldn’t do anything. Fear settled in the boy’s heart, and he ran over to the other two. The lix was moving. But even shaking him just earned the boy a lazy glance and a twitch of his servant’s lower lip.
“Wake up! Wake up!” Tailyn yelled, though that didn’t help. And it was only when he realized that Ka-Do-Gir couldn’t hear anything through the boy’s hermetic seal that he was able to start getting some results. Of course, that came with a downside — the oppressive forest aroma hit his nose, though he knew what to expect and didn’t give in.
“Ka-Do-Gir, I order you to connect your suit’s hermetic seal. That’s a command, lix!”
The stupid grin on the creature’s face was getting to Tailyn, but the boy got lucky. Even in his half-conscious state, his servant remembered his duty, and the face guard slid into place. As the idiotic expression began to evaporate, it turned first into a look of disgruntlement, then surprise, and finally gloom. Another time, the boy would have enjoyed watching the emotions play over the lix’s face. But not then. As soon as the costume restored normal air flow, he spoke into the intercom.
“How are you?”
“No good,” the lix wheezed. “Poisoned. Bad. Hard to talk. Need two hours to get rid of the toxins. Save the rest!”
“Valia isn’t responding!”
“Try Valanil. She’s wise. Reasonable. I can’t help. I can’t even move. Do something, young master!”
The lix’s words stirred the boy into action. He began shaking Valanil, but all he got was the same thing the lix had given him at first. Without waking up, she just continued smiling dumbly and staring off into space. Panic was beginning to settle in, and Tailyn glanced around helplessly. Griala was off in the direction of the mine, still futilely trying to get at the runaways, which meant they couldn’t save themselves from the poisonous air that way. And that just left the forest itself, which was what was intoxicating its guests in the first place. Already grasping at straws, Tailyn looked over at the blinking button for his local map. The system had given him a terminal for whatever reason, and the map told him it was just two kilometers away. Could it have some kind of shelter from the poisonous air?
It was time for the boy’s rope to have another moment in the sun. The job wasn’t the most glorious, however, and Tailyn looked over sadly at Valia and the lix as he bound Valanil’s legs. The woman was the one he needed right then. If she woke up, she’d be able to help with the girl.
“I’ll be back. Wait for me,” the boy said to the lix as he braced himself against the makeshift harness. Dragging the herbalist turned out to be incredibly difficult — it was like she did her best to latch onto every branch and stone lying on the ground. Happily, the grass was thick and damp, and the forest was fairly clear. There wasn’t any underbrush or fallen trees to deal with. Really, it was almost like a well-groomed park, the kind the boy had seen in picture books, and there weren’t any animals around, either. They’d all presumably died from the air. But Tailyn didn’t see any flowers there to give off the smell, either. It wasn’t clear what was giving off the poison, and that made him nervous. Doing his best to focus entirely on the job at hand, the boy worked his way forward, arriving at his destination an hour later. There in the middle of the forest was a stone building looking something like a fortress for midgets — the short boy’s head was on a level with where the roof started. And while the size of the building meant they could fit inside, they had to crawl through a small door. The terminal the System had given Tailyn turned out to be underground just like the last time, too. An awkwardly built ladder led down below, and the boy was forced to lower Valanil down with the rope, only it slipped out of his tired hands. The herbalist dropped like a rock, there was a crash as something hit the ground and shattered, and the boy slid down the ladder on his butt looking to quickly see what had happened.
The floor was littered with the pieces of clay dishware that looked to have been made for dolls. The potters in Culmart often made similar pieces for the girls to keep them busy and out of the way. But in that moment, Tailyn actually felt bad — the dishes had stood there for thousands of years only to be destroyed in one fateful moment by the woman dropping down from above. Valanil was lying amidst the broken pieces, a shimmering dome housing the terminal directly behind her. But the best part was how big the protective field was. At least three meters in diameter, the whole group was definitely going to fit inside. Tailyn strode forward and found himself inside a couple steps later.
Access confirmed.
“Add Valanil Revolt to the access list,” he said. There, under the dome, it didn’t smell like the forest — the boy had turned off his hermetic seal to check.
Valanil Revolt added to white list.
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It had worked, and Tailyn even jumped for joy. Figuring out all the buttons was still an issue, and so he was thrilled to find out that he could just use voice commands.
No sooner had he dragged the woman into the shelter of the dome, than the blissful smile was wiped off Valanil’s face. A minute later, her regeneration started to pull her back, and the still-motionless woman’s eyes twitched. She was starting to regain consciousness.
Group renamed. New name: Go get the other two. I need two hours.
Two hours. What had poisoned them so thoroughly that her regeneration needed the same amount of time it took to heal a hole bored right through a shoulder? Tailyn added Valia and the lix to the white list and clambered out of the cramped basement. The arrow showed him which way to run, but it was right then that his legs gave out. He sat down, overwhelmed by emotion, as it hit him — Valia didn’t have regeneration. She wasn’t going to be able to just heal like the lix and the herbalist.
“I followed your tracks. She’s weak, might not make it,” he heard Ka-Do-Gir say. The boy looked up to see the lix carrying Valia, though he himself was staggering from side to side. While the girl was still smiling, there was foam coming out of her mouth, her eyes were rolled back, and her skin had taken on an unnatural yellow hue. Only her intermittent breathing told the other two that she was still in the land of the living.
Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series Page 18
