by Shawn Wyatt
He cast a look deep into the gloom just outside the Forest Gate. I followed his gaze and shuddered. Something about the look in his eyes, empty and terrified all at once, unsettled me far more than the risk of monsters.
Light flared behind me. Evey had lit a torch and held it aloft. "Seemed like a good idea."
I resisted the urge to laugh and nodded my thanks to the guard. The protective barrier of Grenay shimmered against my skin and vanished, and the damp gloom replaced the sense of safety.
The forest pathways serpentined through the trees, never straight, never consistent. We moved slowly, every step a fight against the thick underbrush and grasping vines that slithered across the path. Bastion walked ahead of Evey and used his sword to cut away the undergrowth.
After a few moments, a thought occurred to me. "Maybe we shouldn't cut our way through the forest," I said. "The Terrawalkers are guardians of nature, right? I doubt hacking away the plantlike will win their favor."
Bastion paused. "You're right, but I'm not putting this sword away. Any extra light under here is worth it." The flames of the sword pulsed in time with his heartbeat.
The canopy overhead tangled together, so dense that no light reached the ground. The entire forest seemed cast in perpetual gloom. Under other circumstances, the setting may have been peaceful. Meditative, even. But with every sense on high alert and the possibility of danger in every shadow, the forest threatened, not soothed.
Though no one said it aloud, I noticed each one of us had our hands close to our weapons. Even Boris seemed more subdued than normal. He walked with his nose close to the ground, nostrils flared, and his ears twitched at every sound.
Every so often, Boris would pause and his hackles would rise. We stopped and waited, but every time, he fell quiet and continued forward. The threat, whatever it was, did not seem imminent. Underneath the darkness of the trees, time crawled. Minutes felt like hours. The lack of sunlight made it impossible to tell the actual time; it felt like night, regardless of whether the sun shone above the trees or not.
"This place gives me the creeps," Bastion said.
"Me too." Bastion's eyes roamed the trail. Every sound that came too close the trail made him jump. I knew he looked for the treant that killed his girlfriend. It would blend in all too well here. "Do you think we would make faster progress if we rode Boris?"
"No, the undergrowth is too thick," Evey said. "We're moving slowly enough as it is. Our best bet is to keep going on foot and start looking for a place to make camp."
"Is it night?" I asked.
"I don't know. I can't tell. But I'm exhausted."
The darkness and tension sapped what little energy we had. "I am too," I said.
By some blessing, it didn't take long to find a place suitable for a campsite. We avoided anywhere that looked as though it had been abandoned, the guards' words still clear in our heads.
The clearing we chose had been created by a falling tree. Its original shape had been lost to time, but splinters of wood and fragments of its size remained. The tree had been large enough that its absence created a small hole in the canopy overhead, where a few stars twinkled through.
Bastion and I went to work clearing branches and debris from the clearing. Evey sat a pile of firewood to the side and looked for a way to mask the flames. Before long, we had turned the area into a comfortable, albeit small, campsite.
It wouldn't work for long-term accommodation, but it would suffice for tonight. I volunteered to take first watch.
The other two were worn down. I could the lines of exhaustion on their faces, made all the more stark by the light of the fire. Bastion put his culinary skills to the test and made a simple stew out of the basic ingredients we had. It wasn't much, but full bellies made sleep come more easily.
Evey curled up against Boris while Bastion used his backpack for a pillow.
I leaned against a tree and listened to the soft snores of my friends and the nighttime sounds of the forest. In the distance beyond the shadows, crickets chirped and night birds sang their lullabies.
The first hint of trouble came when all the sound stopped.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: HAMADRYAD
A silent forest is never a good sign.
This forest lay silent as a funeral. Not one sound dared break the stillness. I closed my eyes and strained to hear any sounds over the pounding of my heart.
After a few long moments of quiet, I heard the snap of a twig. Just a single snap. Nothing else. A few moments later, a the leaves rustled.
On the opposite side of the camp.
Whatever moved beyond the trees did so with unsettling speed. Or perhaps we had drawn the attention of a group of creatures. Or one very large one.
Though Evey had taken pains to hide the flames, some illumination still escaped and reached into the darkness. My eyes jumped from shadow to shadow.
My nerves had been on edge all day, and though I didn't care to admit it, the guard's words had given me chills. There might be nothing in the trees at all, I reasoned. It could simply be my imagination playing tricks on me.
I didn't want to wake Bastion or Evey until I was sure. Both needed to sleep, but if something attacked while they slumbered, it would be trouble.
If only we had used magical firewood for the campfire. I made a note to find a way to purchase some before our next expedition so that this didn't become an issue. It would shield us from the creatures of the forest. I stared out again into the night and debated whether to wake my friends.
The decision was made for me.
Faster than I could see, something lashed out and extinguished the campfire. I had the impression of an enormous shape in the darkness. My cry of surprise roused Bastion and Evey.
Boris roared a challenge. Bastion rose with sword in hand. The flames blazed from the surge of adrenaline. Their glow cast a harsh light against the silhouette of a serpent--an obscenely large serpent.
It slithered into the clearing and lifted itself from the ground in answer to Boris' taunt.
Evey muttered something under her breath. I didn't need to hear what she said to understand the sentiment. I'd never seen a snake that size. I'd never seen anything that size.
The serpent stood at least ten feet tall, with even more length coiled underneath it. Its had the flared head of a cobra and five-inch fangs dripped liquid that sizzled when it touched the ground.
"Get ready," I said. This could be a nasty fight.
The snake surged forward and lunged for Boris, but the bear leapt sideways and avoided the strike. Bastion moved forward to strike, but I shouted for him to stay where he was.
"Your sword is all that's lighting up this area. Stay where you and focus on healing. Evey and I will kill it."
He didn't argue. I couldn't blame him. I didn't exactly relish the idea of going up against this beast. Evey nocked an arrow and whispered a few words under her breath. The tip of the arrow began to glow until I could no longer look directly at it. She loosed the arrow and it found its mark in the serpent's head, but did not fell the beast.
I focused on the monster for a moment. In the air over his head, I saw the familiar, shimmering text of a withered creature. Its HP had barely moved despite Evey's attack.
Withered Hamadryad, Level 14.
It turned its head toward me, its eyes locked on mine. I could almost swear I saw a hint of intelligence there. A whiff of air blew past me, and seconds later, the serpent spewed venom from its fangs in my direction. I dove to the side just in time. The tree behind me had a hole boiled through the center where the venom had hit.
The air was the tell.
"Pay attention to its breathing!" I shouted. "When you feel the air, move. That's the AoE indicator."
Boris taunted the serpent again and lashed out with his claws. He tore away scales from the beast, but again, its HP barely wavered. Either it had an incredibly high amount of hit points or its defensive capabilities were through the roof.
I loaded a Vine Bo
mb seed into my gun and fired. The plants burst from the ground and wrapped around the serpent, but it burned through them with its venom and escaped.
I tried a Lightning Shot round from my other pistol. The bullet arced through the air and slammed into the beast. It's HP flickered and several scales fell from its body.
The serpent lunged toward Bastion and knocked the Priest flat. His sword fell from his hands and the flames went dark.
"Why is it ignoring taunts?" Bastion shouted.
"I don't know," Evey said. Light flared in the direction of her voice as she cast another spell and used the light to fire an arrow at the monster. "But I'm getting tired of it."
"Grab your sword," I said. "We need the light."
The entire clearing lit up at once, the light bright and intense. I thought Bastion had cast a spell, but when I looked up, I saw a firefly the size of an owl hovering in the air over the hamadryad.
From the edge of the clearing, a demon-like creature cackled and charged the serpent, followed by another figure. When the figure stepped into the clearing, I blinked to make sure my eyes had not tricked me.
A girl, maybe five feet tall at most, with a six-inch pink mohawk and the trappings of a 90's punk rocker, held a glowing stone in her hand. She glanced in my direction. "Sorry about that. Snake got away from me. You're doing good to last this long against it, though. Especially for NPCs."
Laughter echoed throughout the clearing. I looked around for its source, but the only creature that could have laughed was the firefly.
NPCs? Snake got away from her? I shot a look at Bastion, but he held the same dumbfounded expression I did. Evey loosed another arrow and gave us both an annoyed look. "Can we deal with the weirdo later? This snake needs to die."
As she spoke, the little imp creature flew through the air and slammed into a tree. Its HP bar dropped to zero and it winked out of existence, with a final shout of, "Later, master!"
The newcomer growled in annoyance. "Stupid snake. You shouldn't fight against me so hard." She stuffed the stone in her hand--now without its glow--into her pocket bag and drew out a piece of bone. If I didn't know better, it had been fashioned into a wand. "Eat this."
She aimed the bone shard at the creature and a bolt of magic erupted from the end of it. Evey and I took the chance to launch our own attacks against the serpent. My attacks drew its ire, or I happened to be the unlucky one with the RNG roll. It turned and spit a burst of venom in my direction. I dodged the first shot, but the serpent followed up with a second attack. Searing liquid landed on my outstretched arm and burned away my shirt.
I shouted in pain and staggered back. Pain pulsed up my arm. I could see the bone of a fingertip where the acid had burned it away entirely, and blisters rose on my hand and forearm. With each beat of my heart, my HP ticked down more.
"Ren!" Evey's shout cleared whatever mental haze I'd fallen into, and I shook my head.
This hurt. This really hurt. I raised my gun to fire again, but I had no bullet loaded, and I couldn't move my other arm. "You're going to have to handle the rest of it without me," I said, teeth gritted.
Bastion lunged forward, slashed his blade across the creature's belly, and rushed to me. "This will hurt," he said. It was all the warning he gave before he grabbed my arm in his hands and closed his eyes. Light whorled around me and a sudden heat flared through my arm. And so did the pain.
As the light hit, I clenched my jaw against the wave of agony slammed into my gut. The light faded, and Bastion cast another spell immediately. It too pulsed in time with my heartbeat, and for each point of HP that ticked away from the poison another returned.
"Sorry, Ren. It's done."
I looked down at my arm. The skin glowed an angry pink, but the injuries had vanished.
"Thanks," I said. "I think." The memory of my exposed bone sat at the forefront of my mind. At this point, it was the most severe injury any of us had taken. I shoved the thoughts aside. I could return to them later. It was not the time to examine whatever lasting trauma the event might cause.
I had dropped my pistol when the attack hit my hand. I reached to retrieve it, but the attack had turned it into a twisted hunk of slag. No way could the weapon possibly be repaired.
So now I had only one gun.
I loaded a Caster Shell into the remaining pistol. Evey and the newcomer had managed to whittle away more of the serpent's hit points, but it needed to die. Fast. The damage it had inflicted on me proved it could decimate our group, and Bastion's mana wouldn't keep up if he had to continue healing like that.
I took aim and fired. The serpent's attention had shifted to the firefly that buzzed around its head, and the bullet caught it in its open mouth. The beast hissed in pain and turned its attention once more to me. It lunged.
And went nowhere. A muffled roar sounded from behind the monster. Boris had sank his teeth into the serpent's tail and engaged it in a vicious tug of war. He refused to let the sane move from its spot, and growled with fury whenever the monster did try to pull away.
It seemed Boris didn't like having his taunts ignored.
The firefly continued to hover in the sky and kept the clearing illuminated. Bastion, Evey, and I attacked and dodged in turn. With the adrenaline that surged through our veins, it felt like the fight lasted hours. A sense of urgency had fallen over the group.
I wanted to finish off the creature before the sounds of combat attracted any more unwanted attention. We barely held our own against the snake. I didn't think we could handle any more monsters in the fray.
Finally, the serpent's HP hit 25%. At the same time, the firefly's light vanished. I had a brief glimpse of movement as the firefly seemed to curl into itself and go dark.
Bastion lifted his blade at the same time the newcomer held up a lantern.
A huge mongoose squared off against the serpent, its fangs bared in challenge. The newcomer shouted at the mongoose. "Remember, I want its soul. Weaken it, don't kill it."
The mongoose nodded. I had no idea what class this girl was, especially since she clearly was not a Beast Keeper like Evey. And I had never heard of a class that could make its companions shapeshifter.
Boris held the serpent in place as the mongoose attacked. It lashed out with its teeth and writhed out of the way of the serpent's attacks. Each blow took several more percentage points from the monster's HP gauge.
The serpent began to show the damage it had sustained. Scales fell from its body and purple-black blood oozed from dozens of injuries. The mongoose continued to wound it. The creature twisted around the snake with such speed that none of us dared attack for fear of hitting it.
I watched as the serpent's HP dwindled down to almost nothing.
At 5%, the newcomer drew a stone from her bag and began to mutter an incantation.
At 1% HP, she flung the rock toward the serpent with an accuracy and speed that would make major league baseball players ache with envy. The moment the stone impacted the serpent's scales, purple light burst from it and enveloped the monster.
The beast wailed with rage and tried to pull away. The last of its strength waned as it struggled against the light, but each time it thrashed the light drew tighter until a translucent outline of the beast was ripped from its body and pulled into the stone.
The newcomer continued to mutter the incantation under her breath, eyes closed and hands outstretched toward the monster. After a few moments, the light faded. The serpent lay dead on the ground. Beside it, the stone glowed with an eerie light.
Light flared over my head. Level 15. I saw the same light from Evey and Bastion.
The mongoose turned to the girl cocked its head to the side.
The girl nodded. "I got it. Thanks." She slumped to the ground with a sigh. "Such a useful ability, but so tiring."
The clearing fell silent for several moments until Bastion spoke. "Does someone want to explain what just happened?"
"Oh, that's right. You probably haven't seen this kind magic," the girl
said. "I can snatch a monster's soul from its body after it's been weakened and then summon it to fight for me later."
"What are you talking about?" Evey asked. "There's no ability like that in this game. I looked at all the classes before I chose. None had the option for something like that."
"I'm an Invoker. Making other creatures fight for me is kind of my thing. And what do you mean you looked at the classes? Aren't you an NPC?"
"Do I look like an NPC?" Evey asked. Annoyance crept into her voice. "I'm just as real as you are, or as real as this digital body will allow me to be."
The girl looked genuinely confused. "You aren't an NPC?"
Evey opened her mouth to speak again, but I held up a hand. "Wait," I said. I turned to the girl. "Have you not visited any towns yet?"
"No. I thought I was the only human player in the game. Since I first arrived two weeks ago, I've only encountered NPCs."
I couldn't imagine what that must have been like for her. I had my own doubts about how real or not the AI in the game was, but they were not the same as a human companion. At least Evey and I had shared cultural references, shared points of reference. Without that, it would be like living in an alien world. "What's your name?" I asked.
"Wish," she said. "I'm Wish."
"I'm Ren. This is Evey and Bastion. The bear is Boris."
From where he stood and sniffed at the serpent's body, Boris huffed a greeting.
"Pleasure," Wish said.
"How can an Invoker have an animal companion?" Evey asked.
"I don't," said Wish. "That's Bell."
"Bell?" I asked.
"Wish, you have to remember to explain the situation when you meet someone new." A different voice drifted across the clearing. "It's a pleasure to meet you, friends. I'm Bellfinidan, but you may call me Bell."
I turned to the source of the voice and found myself caught by surprise for the countless time that day. Bellfinidan was at least seven feet tall, lithe, and had skin the color of freshly-grown grass. His face was wreathed in leaves, and as he gave a stately bow to our group, I saw his fingers resembled the branches of a tree and his fingernails seemed to be fresh sprouts.
