Level 2 Fylk Charm
Kaos: 0
Return Arrows
Bone Bow: Strong Sonic affinity
Level 1 L’Gara Charm
Ironskin Potion: 1
Switching Arrow
Bone Bow: Strong Lightning Affinity
Level 3 Fungara Maestro Charm
Enhanced Accelerated Healing Potion: 1
Blessings of Swiftness
Level 1 Ligoran Charm
Potion of Speed: 3
Expand Satchel
Level 1 Great Wyrm Charm
Thunder Arrow
Manipulation:
Level 1 Lurbia Charm
Summon Quiverling
Minor Spellburst
Level 1 Hypnosin Charm
Strong Elemental Affinity
Minor Telekinesis
Level 1 Glurp Charm
Weaponlink
Weigh Down
Bless Boots
Titanic Weapon: Josiah’s Storm
Slayer: 3
Striker: 4
Artillerymaster: 3
Bow-Bond: 2
Munitions Specialist: 2
Damage Rating: 5
Bow Connection
Forceful Hit
Indirect Fire
Gift of Intelligence
Breach Charge Recipe
Weapon Speed: 2
Rage of the Slayer
Unmoving Arrows
Barrage
Partnership
Triggered Charges
Special 1: N/A
Endurance Surge
Agonizing Strike
Range Extension
Special 2: N/A
Snap Shot
All in all, not a bad few additions. Behind me, I heard the bubbling of the cauldron grow louder, more excited. The brew was ready. Time to decide who got the Elixir and time to make a few new potions of my own…
Chapter 12
The infernal sound of the bone cane striking the ground sent chills down my spine. Brimley, up until a few minutes ago, had been kind and chatty. But now, as we rounded the last corner, leading to the outside world, through the secret passage in the mountain, he was dead silent. Silent and grim.
It was daytime. At least, that’s what he had said. But ahead of us was nothing but darkness. Even though there was a clear cave opening, with grass growing on the ground, we could not see anything but shadows dead ahead. I found myself gripping my bow tightly, wondering if Brimley was leading us into some kind of trap. My danger sense had been warning me about him before, but that was probably just about the snare I had been standing in, right? He wouldn’t wait this long to betray us, would he?
Trig sensed the tension as well, and walked as carefully as I, keeping both hands on his daggers. We had discussed the elixir a few times, but in the end, it was Brimley who seemed to be most interested in the item. He paid a great deal of those coins in exchange for the elixir, coins that Trig used to purchase many a blueprint. Coins that I was able to use to buy my new set of armor, flexible, skin-hugging metal armor that was as strong as diamond, but as supple as water.
The armor was so tight that I had to wear my tunic on the outside in order to look presentable, for it outlined my form far too much to wear as is. “It will be your second skin,” the old man had said as I tried it on, away from prying eyes (certainly not believing how poor the man’s eyesight was!). “Eventually you’ll forget you’re even wearing it. Until you take a claw straight to the heart and walk away without a scratch.” At the very least, I’d be able to dive into any monster’s mouth that I pleased without having to strip naked first. That would preserve my dignity somewhat.
The additional benefit of this “Steelskin armor”, as it was called, was that I could wear quite a few layers atop it of regular clothing, perfectly concealing the armor itself. With gloves, slacks, tunic and a scarf, I looked less like a heavily armed warrior and more like a civilian out for a stroll. Perhaps that would help de-escalate tension when meeting new villages. And, it might also lead my intelligent enemies to underestimate my ability to take a hit.
In the end, this trade-off was fair, for Trig and I could not come to an agreement on who got the Kaos. The sheer benefit of such an item on a joint kill essentially meant the other was being robbed, regardless of how the rest of the goods were shared. I wasn’t so obstinate, of course, to insist that I get the elixir, but Trig was equally as hesitant as I. Fortunately, the armor and the blueprints were far more valuable to the both of us, for selling our charms was out of the question. Charms provided too many benefits to give up.
Finally, the old man spoke, breaking the silence that filled the air. I felt my heart nearly leap out of my chest as he began to mutter to us. “We are as far as I’m willing to go. And as far as either of you should go. I don’t know what you want in that forest, but…it’s not worth your lives. You two are quite pleasant and I am fond of your company. A deal’s a deal, yet I cannot help but feel I should have misled you. Claimed to have tricked you. You are both far too good to die for nothing.”
There was no point in arguing. We had not told him a thing about our journey, so he merely assumed we were doing as the other Venators did, hunting and fighting. He did not know the burden we had on our shoulders. Well, the burden I had on my shoulders.
I turned to look at Trig. The boyishness on his face had washed away and all I could see was the grim specter of war and determination. He was not about to be swayed from entering the forest with me. And if that speech didn’t get him to stand down, I don’t think there was anything I could say either.
We reached the edge of the cavern to see…nothing. Nothing but darkness, as if we were standing in yet another tunnel. There was but one thing we could see, the one testament to the fact that we truly were outdoors. Sticking out of the darkness was a gigantic branch, towering nearly a hundred feet above us. The branch was red and full of green leaves, but the sight of it left us scratching our heads.
“Is the branch floating?” Trig asked. “Just hovering in midair?”
I craned my neck, looking up at the sky, but I could only see a great black blanket, as if it were an eternal night—though a night without stars or the moon. “I have no idea.”
The old man unceremoniously produced a light stone and tossed it forward as hard as he could. We watched as the darkness parted ways, revealing the mighty tree the branch was connected to. The darkness seemed to recede from the light, as if it were some kind of fog, driving back by brightness instead of wind.
“Woah,” Trig said, taking out his own light stone and walking forward. He swung it around like a sword, beating back the darkness. The shadows retreated from the stone, but the moment the light was somewhere else, the darkness billowed back over, almost like a cloud.
“Many walk into the dark. None return,” Brimley said. “I know nothing of what lies beyond. But I do know this: you don’t want to be in the darkness. I spoke to a man once who…well, he had the power of the darksight, could see into shadows and even supernatural darkness without a problem. He laughed at my warning and said light was of no problem. Then he ceased speaking. In an instant. One moment we were talking and the next, he was gone. I called out to him…but he did not answer. Did something silent snatch him in the darkness so fast I could barely register it? Or does that darkness consume those without lights? This I cannot say.”
I found myself swallowing hard at that. Was he just hamming this up to scare us into staying? Or…did the darkness really just devour a man instantly, snuffing him out like a candle in the wind?
“It’s probably some kind of monster,” Trig said, breaking the tense silence. He drew his daggers out and cut the air in front of him. “No reason for us to worry. Just keep the lights
on and we’ll find some weakness in it. Not the first time we’ve fought something invisible.”
Trig was right, for sure. There were a few beasts out there that could become invisible, either to the eye or to the mind, but…I wish I had his confidence in this matter. To him, this was nothing more than another part of the adventurous life. I wasn’t quite convinced this would be business as usual. Everything seemed to point in the other direction.
“Well, there’s no stopping us, I’m afraid,” I said, patting the old man on the shoulder. “You’ve been a big help to us, Brimley. We appreciate your efforts to look out for our lives, but we have more important things to worry about. If we come back, maybe we can talk about cooperating more in the future.”
“That’s a pretty big if,” the old man muttered, turning around and hobbling away. “I wish you well. As if wishes could do anything.”
Chapter 13
The darkness had little respect for our meager light stones. In normal circumstances, a light stone functions about as well as a torch, giving us around 30 or so feet of vision. But in this dark forest, it was as if the darkness was trying to push against the light, smothering the effects. We could barely see ten feet ahead of us at any given time.
Trig, for all of his big talk, was unnaturally silent and far too close for comfort. He was nearly pressing against me each step, as if terrified something was going to swoop me or him far away. I preferred my space, of course, but in this circumstance, maybe huddling up would be the best way to avoid someone vanishing.
The ground was wet and soft, as if dew were always present. Whatever time of day it was didn’t seem to matter for the vegetation, because grass still grew, flowers bloomed and trees towered high above us. In an odd way, this perpetual growth reminded me of Maxwell’s Breach. They had an underground forest, one that defied all reality, for it grew great trees without the need of the sun. Perhaps this was the same situation here. But were these forests natural wonders, like a waterfall? Or were they creations from either man or monster?
The snapping of a twig ahead pulled me out of my pondering. Something big was moving ahead of us, but I could see no light.
“Monster,” Trig hissed, his arm grabbing my shoulder tightly, pulling a little on my scarf. I could hear his labored breathing, so hard and heavy that it sounded like he was going to pass out.
“Easy,” I replied, “take a deep breath. That’s an order.” I drew my bow and raised it high, looking around in vain. Something was indeed moving. My senses could pick up on the motion and the sounds of snapping twigs and rustling brushes, but without vision, there wasn’t much I could do.
Sensing my need to see beyond my senses, my little Quiverling woke up and began to do its job, swapping out my strength charm for the Lurbia charm. At once, I activated Tremorsense, granting me the power to “see” based on motion. As soon as the charm activated, the vibrations of the creature’s movements became apparent to me.
“Switch to your echolocation charm,” I ordered, shoving Trig off of me. “Remember? The one I just gave you?”
Trig nodded and muttered something, stopping to dig into his bag for the charm. I crouched down and tracked the motions of the target. It wasn’t too big of a creature, maybe 6 feet tall at the most. It was swift and clearly aware of us, as it was circling around, waiting for an opportunity to strike. I fired a single arrow to where I traced its movements, only to hear the thunk of arrowhead meeting tree. Tremorsense only gave me the outline of a creature’s motions, meaning I couldn’t really see stationary objects. Without a better line of sight, it could hide behind trees, bushes and shrubs that could slow down or just block my shots.
The beast seemed to know this, for it began to dash from area to area as it circled closer and closer. Each shot I fired was rather useless; it struck solid object time and time again. Night vision did nothing here. We were blind except for ten measly feet. Not nearly enough space for an archer to do her work.
“Ahhhhhh!” Trig shouted. I instinctively whipped behind to see that he was standing there, perfectly fine.
“Keep it down,” I hissed.
“I need sound to locate it,” Trig replied. He grabbed my shoulders and twisted me back around. I resisted at first, but realized as he sounded off again, that he could see the trees, using sound to bounce off solid objects. I let him guide me, aiming me like a weapon of his own, until I was facing a small opening, one where the creature was dashing towards.
I waited, feeling each motion of the creature ripple like tidal waves until it was exposed, in between two trees. I fired three shots in quick succession. Arrow met flesh this time and the beast let out a hideous scream, one that seemed to echo all around us. It was unfamiliar, wretched and shrill.
“It’s down,” Trig said, stepping forward slowly. I followed after him, firing a few more shots. The beast shrieked once more and then…nothing. Silence fell upon the Shadewood like a heavy curtain, oppressive and uncaring.
I could sense no more motion. Trig sounded off and stopped walking. “It’s gone,” he whispered.
“That can’t be,” I replied. “I didn’t see it move. Well, feel it, but you know what I mean.”
“I can’t locate it with my sounds…” Trig replied, his voice growing panicked and frightened. “What if that invisible creature got it? Swallowed it whole?”
“We would have sensed movement,” I said. I found my own heart beginning to race. I hadn’t been too nervous facing the single beast, knowing full well that it could have just been a Kinru of some kind. A solitary scavenger that wasn’t even brave enough to make a full charge was nothing to worry about. But…what if it had been swallowed up by that invisible monster? Was it so perfectly stealthy that it didn’t even trigger my motion senses?
“One of us should go check it out,” Trig said. “And that person should definitely be you.”
“Together,” I said, smacking the back of his head. “And put your charms on your belt or something. You can’t just stop in the middle of a fight to go rummaging through your bags.”
“I’ve been using the same charm since I became a Venator,” Trig said. “A winter Kinru charm that enhances my stealth.”
“You should change them up when you need them,” I replied. I looked forward at the dark spot where the beast had been slain. Would there be a corpse? Please let there be one. A body. Just any kind of creature. Even a creature worth 5 Bloodpoints. Just let it be…there.
We slowly inched forward, shoulders pressed together, cautious and careful. The darkness seemed to grow excited as we walked, pressing harder against our raised light stones, so eager and contemptuous that one of our stones started to flicker.
“No!” Trig said, pulling the stone down and shaking it hard. The light dimmed out and then faded completely. The darkness pressed harder on us and I raised my single light stone, keeping it barely at bay. Our vision range faded down to about eight feet.
“I’ve never seen these go out,” Trig said, smacking the dull rock with the pommel of his dagger. “Come on, come back!”
The boy’s worried words faded as our fallen foe’s deathbed came into view. Blood was splattered all over the grass. The dirt had moved quite a bit, as if a creature had fallen and rolled around the ground, unable to get up. And lying perfectly still on the floor were the six arrows I had fired into the beast, small chunks of flesh hanging off the barbs. All that was missing was the corpse of the creature we had killed. It had vanished without a sound.
Chapter 14
The thought of turning the hell around and going home came to both of us at once. Neither of us said a word, but we both looked behind us, as if thinking of bringing up the topic. It was then that the reality struck. With our limited visibility, there was no way we could find our way out. We didn’t leave anything as much as footprints behind, walking with caution to throw off tracking monsters. Without full vision or at least the ability to see the trees ahead of us, how would we ever get out?
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This meant, of course, that we would have to press onward. Though, where onward meant was anyone’s guess. The silence fell between Trig and I, and we walked through the woods, huddled closely together. I no longer minded him being practically atop me. Frankly, if I didn’t need both hands on my bow, I’d be holding his hand as tight as possible, to ensure he wasn’t just pulled away in a moment’s notice. Seeing a comrade die was one thing, horrible yes, but at least it was final. But having a friend just vanish, never to be seen again? It would haunt me the rest of my life.
“We should try fire,” Trig said as we approached a particularly large branch sitting on the ground. The wood was just as black as the darkness around us, even when the lightstone was brought close. “Maybe this darkness is repelled by heat?”
Not a bad idea. The woods were fairly chilly. And at least if our torches were put out, we could light them again. The light stones on the other hand…well, the broken one didn’t seem to come back, no matter what we tried.
I stood guard while Trig struggled to start the fire. “Damn ground is so wet. But not a drop of rain in the sky.”
I glanced upwards, raising my light stone once more, hoping to see something. Nothing. Nothing but endless darkness, more vast than anything I had ever seen before.
“Got it!” he cheered as the flames roared to life. He raised the torch high, causing the darkness around us to recede. The rolling dark mist moved backwards quite a bit, giving us space to breathe for once. It was as if we were standing in a bubble of light, protecting us from the dark energy. Thirty feet might not seem like a lot, but to someone confined in an eight foot space, it was like moving out of a hole in the ground and into a hotel.
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