by Marcus Sloss
“It’s so light,” he exclaimed, lifting the wood single handedly.
“Let me try that.” Jaron joined in on the other side, the tree lifting with little resistance between the two of them.
“I can’t be sure how long the spell will last, but it should be enough to make it back to the village,” Aquina told them, a satisfied smile on her face.
“Sweet! We’ll head back to the village with this one. You guys go help the others.”
We agreed and started heading off in different directions. Argent and Jaron went toward where we had entered, while Aquina, Cera and I went deeper in to search for the others.
The sounds of grunting and slashing were a giveaway as to the location of the others and we quickly found another of the small groups. They were taking turns slashing at the trunk of the tree, already halfway through the width of one that resembled our choice in size.
Vero noticed our presence as soon as we entered their space, directing the others to halt their work.
“What happened? Where are the others?” He asked with a hint of alarm in his voice.
“Nothing is wrong. Argent and Jaron took the tree back to the village. We wanted to see if you could use any help over here.” I told him, his face relaxing at the news.
“You work quick.”
“I had help.” I lit my hand on fire, letting him know we chose the easy route.
He smirked, signaling for the others to step aside. Like the first, I sliced the tree down in a single motion. This time it fell immediately, the uneven strokes of the claw marks unbalancing the trunk. Everyone moved aside, letting it hit the ground with a thunk.
“Good work!” The others in the group celebrated the accomplishment, surrounding the truck as they prepared to lift it together.
Aquina prepared her crystal quickly and by the time the others were ready to lift the tree, the spell was already in place. They easily lifted it high above their heads, having prepared to use their full strength.
They looked at each other, confused by the lack of weight.
“I thought it would be easier this way,” Aquina announced as she showed off what remained of her crystal, answering the questions that crossed their faces.
“Well, that is certainly useful,” Vero chuckled.
“Bran, Gale and Marta, take the tree back to the village. We will stay to make sure the others finish swiftly and then join you in a bit.”
The three wolves nodded simultaneously and started their forward march with the tree in hand. When they were out of sight, we all began searching for the final group, hoping to end the mission swiftly, afraid of losing the sun's light while in the nightmare forest.
We heard rustling in the distance, and everyone turned in the direction of the sound, expecting to find the final group on the other side of the brush. Vero led the group, pulling back the bushes to reveal what was not the final five wolfmen.
Before he let go of the branch he held, the shrubbery covering the scene, I saw a creature feasting on the corpse of the fallen manospider. I didn’t realize we had ventured to the same spot as our previous battle in the forest, the surroundings suddenly feeling familiar and incredibly eerie.
“Everyone backup slowly and try not to make any noises,” Vero said sternly, a look of concern on his face.
“What was that thing?”
The body was black, with a translucent quality, allowing us to see the spider even as the creature stood on top of it, devouring it effortlessly. If I had to guess, it was a slime, but all the knowledge I had gathered from fantasy games on Earth showed that slimes were a weaker variety of monster - certainly not something to warrant the look of dread that remained on Vero’s face.
“It’s a nightmare slime and a big one too. They are fast and practically invincible.”
“Not to mention, if you touch it, your skin will melt off,” the other beastman added, his gaze never leaving the bushes, still expecting the slime to attack.
“We must have stayed too late in the forest. They usually don’t come out until dark.”
I sighed, thankful we hadn’t encountered any such creature during our first stay in the woods.
“We need to find the others and move quickly. Luckily it doesn’t leave the forest, so once we are clear of the trees, we will be safe.”
We turned away from the bushes, hoping we would find the others in a part of the forest further from the slime. As we walked away, we heard the familiar crack of a tree limb falling and noticed the movement behind us. The tall tree fell—-right into the area we avoided.
Shit. No words were needed as we followed Vero who ran toward where the tree would have been cut. As we approached, screaming filled the air, quickening our pace. We met with four from the group who were running in our direction.
Quickly scanning the four, Vero asked, “Where’s Lira?” recognizing her absence.
“It’s too late for her. We have to get out of here, now!” The wolfman leading the pack didn’t stop his run, only slowed down to relay the message, before continuing at full speed toward the exit in the distance.
The other three slowed down beside Vero, panic clouding their reasoning skills, unsure if they should go back or keep running. Not giving up until he saw it for himself, Vero continued forward after telling the others to evacuate.
“Go—I’ll see about Lira.”
They didn’t need to be told twice, bolting in the direction Vero pointed.
“Make sure they get out okay,” I told Aquina and Cera before catching up to Vero, passing through the brush to the site of the attack.
Lira was in a stare down with a blob of murky slime, much smaller than the one we had encountered earlier. I couldn’t be sure if the monster had divided or if this was a new one entirely, but either way it was a problem.
Smoke rose from Lira’s arm, a grimace on her face as the acid ate away at her flesh. The slime lunged toward her again, and I shot a fireball at it, stopping its forward motion.
Vero rushed to Lira’s side, inspecting the wound.
“That thing came out of nowhere, boss,” she told him, straining through the pain.
While he focused on Lira, I engaged the slime, trying to keep it off the beastmen. Fire seemed to scare the creature, but its body absorbed the blasts, making my attacks useless. Still, I hit it with consecutive fire blasts, throwing in the occasional lightening bullet, pushing it back further from where Lira and Vero stood.
I could sense the slime growing frustrated by the way its body vibrated. It sprung forward again, its speed increasing, the zigzag motions becoming harder to follow.
Out of ideas on how to kill it, I settled for containing its movements. Picturing an orb shaped prison, I utilized my firewalls and built a cage around the creature.
It required a few attempts to catch the thing inside the sphere, but finally I succeeded. The slime bounced around inside, colliding with the walls, unable to escape. The threat contained, I walked over to Lira and Vero who sat on the ground piling leaves and dirt on to Lira’s growing wound.
“It’s continuing to spread,” Vero said with concern.
The wound that was once contained to her upper arm had seeped into her forearm, deepening as it spread.
“Do you think Ondra will be able to stop it?” I asked, remembering their village healer and her hut filled with mysterious medicines.
“Maybe, but I don’t think we have time to make it back to the village.”
Lira moaned in pain, writhing on the ground as her arm dissolved in front of us, the white of her bone becoming visible. Blood pooled on her lower lip, her canines sinking into the skin to try and cope with the pain. Finally, succumbing to the pain, she passed out.
“I don’t think we can save her arm,” I told Vero quickly, watching as the acid started to move upward, threatening to overtake her healthy shoulder.
“I don’t know what to do...how to save her.”
I could hear the panic creeping into his voice even while his body
remained still.
“I’m sorry about this,” I said aloud, half to the unconscious Lira, half to Vero who would have to watch.
I didn’t see another way out. The acid was spreading too quickly, and if it reached her shoulder there would be nothing we could do for her. I made a thin blade of fire, much like the one I had used to chop down the trees, but on a smaller scale.
With a decisive motion, I cut through her arm, severing it from her body. The heat of the blade cauterized the wound, spilling no blood.
Inspecting the wound, I found no traces of the acid remaining. The severed limb continued to dissolve, the acid eating away at every piece until there was nothing remaining.
“Let’s get her to the healer,” I told Vero who nodded somberly.
He lifted her easily onto his back and we both headed in the direction of the exit. When we put some distance between ourselves and the slime, the open plain in view, I released my fire cage, freeing the monster.
I breathed easier when we passed the last line of trees, remembering that Vero said the slimes would not come out into the open.
The suns were beginning to set, and we quickened our pace, wanting to get Lira into the village as fast as possible. The others from Lira’s group were waiting by the entrance of the village, Mika standing nearby.
“What happened?” he asked as soon as we passed the gate’s threshold.
“A nightmare slime attacked her. We couldn’t save her arm, but she’s alive.”
“Get to Ondra, quickly.” Mika motioned Vero along, and I stayed behind, knowing I wouldn’t be able to help any more.
“I’m sorry—-it’s all my fault.”
The beastman who was quick to deem Lira un-savable in the forest was on the ground, his forehead in the dirt as he pleaded with Mika.
“I panicked. I should have tried harder.”
Mika stared down at him for a moment, considering before he said, “I am not the one you owe this apology.”
Then he walked away, leaving the beastman still groveling in the dirt.
“I hope she will be ok.” Aquina and Cera said softly, coming to stand beside me.
“Me too.” I nodded, looking out in the direction of Ondra’s dwelling.
“What happened?” Illia, asked, entering through the hole in the gate.
“Where were you?”
She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, her clothing covered with blood and dirt, “I was helping line up the bodies. Did something happen in the forest?”
“Lira was injured by a nightmare slime. Ondra is seeing to her now.”
She nodded, not truly grasping the seriousness of the words. I assumed she was also unfamiliar with the type of slime and how deadly its acid could be.
Preoccupied with her own mission, Illia headed back toward the hole in the gate.
“Where are you going? It’s starting to get dark,” Aquina asked, stepping toward her.
“I just have to bury the bodies, then I will be done for the day. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”
Aquina’s face scrunched in concern.
“I’ll go with her. We will meet you two near the pavilion for dinner in a bit.”
Aquina’s face relaxed with my offer, nodding as Illia and I exited the village. I followed Illia to the right of the gate for a small distance until we came upon the Lezric soldiers, their bodies lined up in rows.
The sight brought with it a sense of dread, the realization that such a small battle could lead to so much death. Lucky for us our comrades were victorious, but I couldn’t help but imagine what would have happened if our opponents had been stronger.
I tried to push aside the negative thoughts, remind myself how much I had grown since first coming to this planet.
I wasn’t the same man that had first fought the Rexco, and when we needed to fight them in the future that man would be different from the man who had just helped defeat the Lezric.
“You alright?” Illia asked, her head tilted in front of me as she stared into my eyes.
“Sorry, yea...just thinking.”
She smiled, turning on her heels to face the mass of bodies in the field.
“That's all of them, Miss Illia,” a lanky wolf boy assured her, his silver tail revealing his nerves as it swished back and forth quickly, his face beet red.
“Good work, Jonny. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“He likes you,” I told her before thinking better of it.
“Oh stop. Tis but a boyhood crush.” She giggled, slapping me gently on the shoulder.
“Are you okay?” My gaze turned serious, trying to gauge the expression on her face.
“It’s a relief—but at the same time, I feel a bit empty.”
I sensed she wanted to talk about her feelings, especially since she had never had the chance to do so in the past.
“I thought it would make me feel better. Ya know—killing those that destroyed my family. But seeing them lying here, knowing that I had a hand in that—I can’t say I feel any better. My family is still gone. My home was still burned to the ground. I still lost six years of my life to them.”
“I’m sorry,” I said because I thought someone should.
She sighed softly then went quiet, staring at the rows of bodies.
“The funny thing is, I’m sure this isn’t what my mother would have wanted. She was always the one to turn to a peaceful solution. A soft-hearted dwarf. My sister and I couldn’t have been more different from her. I preferred to fight, and my gift made that the easy choice. And my sister—well she liked to fight too even if she lacked a mana gift.
“Her and I were more similar than we were different in personality, which made us fight constantly. She was born two minutes before me, and she never let me forget it.
“She always had to be the big sister. Once, some of the village boys teased me because of my hair color, and she sent them all to the village healer.” She laughed, her mind a million miles away.
“She would have done anything for me. I learned too late just how much she meant that.”
“What happened?” I asked the question I felt she was waiting for, needing to get the moment, the memory, off her chest.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay. I feel like someone should know. When I was thirteen, the Lezric came to my village. They were supposed to be there to discuss a treaty between our villages. We were supposed to support each other, be on the same side—help each other.
At the time, the Lezric were behind us in advancements, so the deal was more beneficial to them, but our village needed allies and were willing to accept the uneven terms. The Lezric were all for the deal—at least until they saw something they wanted more.”
“You?” I finished her thought.
“It was my mistake. Helped to fix a toy one of the Lezric children brought—revealing not only my mana gift, but my special ability as well. I didn’t think I needed to hide it and neither did the village elders--we truly believed we were on good terms with the Lezric village.
“They returned a week later with their soldiers. I fought at first, but I was only thirteen and they overpowered me, sealing my powers with the rune engraved shackle. Turns out they were hiding things of their own.
“Death threats sent most of the villagers running scared, not willing to risk the whole village for one oddball dwarf. Can’t say I blame them.”
“What do you mean? They gave you up?” My blood grew hot at the notion, and I couldn’t accept that her own people would simply hand her over to the enemy.
“Really, I’m fine. I have come to terms with their decision—it’s what was best for the greatest number of villagers. If only my family felt that way...maybe they would still be alive.”
I shut up, letting her continue her story.
“The Lezric razed so many houses, trying to show off their strength. Even though they already had me in their grasp, it wasn’t enough. Then we rea
ched my house.
“I remember struggling in the commander’s grasp, just wanting to run to the safety of my home. He hit me—I remember the taste of blood in my mouth. Then my mom and sister were there...pleading. For me—for their lives.
“My mother for my sister and my life. And then they didn’t say anything anymore. Just like that...they were gone.” A tear escaped down her cheek as she continued to stare at the bodies, not bothering to wipe it away.
Her clenched fists revealed her sorrow and her guilt, the wound of that day still fresh. I slipped my hands over her clenched ones, looking into her eyes.
“It’s not your fault. It sounds like they really loved you. I’m sorry you had to lose them that way.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face in my shirt as she cried softly, no longer able to hold back her feelings. I gently stroked her silky hair, trying to soothe the pain she’d kept locked away for so long.
“I miss them. So, so much.”
Not knowing what to say, I remained quiet, hoping my presence offered some comfort. Her small body racked with sobs as I continued to hold her in my arms. When her body stilled, she looked up at me with a sad smile.
She pushed away, wiping the tears from her face as she regained her composure.
“Thank you. I needed that,” She told me, still facing away from me.
Feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her consciousness, she turned to face her task. She scanned the rows of corpses, before raising her hands, palm up, into the air. Deep breath. The earth bent to her will, rising with her motion.
Breathe out. She flipped her hands over, her body rotating slightly to the side. In one fluid motion it was as if the ground came alive, consuming everything on the surface. No trace of the bodies, no blood, the scent of death dispersing with the removal of the deceased.
“You’re really good at that.”
“I’m a prodigy after all,” she said, a bit of sass returning to her voice, a familiar cheeky grin on her face.
“So, when are you going to teach me how to use the earth mana gift?”
The question served to lighten the mood, but I was also serious in my intention. She studied me for a moment.