The trembling intensified, and suddenly, the ground ahead of them burst open.
A hulking figure, at least twelve feet tall, emerged from the gaping hole with a body made of twisted roots and earth. Its eyes glowed with an eerie purple light, and its mouth was filled with jagged, stone-like teeth. The creature let out a roar that shook the trees, bits of earth and bark flying in all directions like shrapnel at an ill-advised bonfire.
“Bloody brilliant,” Steffan muttered, already accessing his own Guide. “A Terrakin. Couldn’t be something small, could it?”
“Spread out!” Hild barked, moving forward with Pete to intercept the creature.
Hild’s axe gleamed in the light of Chrissy’s light as she raised it high, ready to take the first swing. Pete followed suit, his shield prepared to absorb whatever the Terrakin threw at them. The tanks were in position, and they weren’t about to let this oversized garden gnome have its way without a proper fight.
Zorrobar wasted no time, summoning a roaring flame in his hands and hurling it towards the creature. The fire struck the creature’s chest, igniting the dry bark that covered its body. The Terrakin let out another bellow, this one of pain, as flames licked up its torso. With a swipe of its massive arm, it sent a shower of dirt and debris towards the group. Pete raised his shield just in time, the dirt clattering against it harmlessly. Hild, not one to be outdone, took advantage of the opening and charged forward, slashing an attack through the air. The blade struck true, carving deep into the creature’s wood-covered leg. The Terrakin roared in response, but it was clear that Hild had done some severe damage.
Kris, watching from the sidelines, felt utterly useless. Without access to any of his magic, he was little more than dead weight. Literally so if the monster actually managed to do him some damage. But, at the same time, this fight might actually be a great opportunity. He knew he had to do something—anything—to prove he could still contribute and start regenerating Adoration. But what?
His eyes darted around, taking in the scene. The Terrakin was focused on Hild and Pete, its movements sluggish as it tried to shake off Zorrobar's flames. For their part, Michael and Michelle were popping in and out of the shadows to crash into the monster from both sides in perfect synchronisation. Chrissy was focusing on healing the tanks, with Steffan offering 'helpful' pointers. If she minded the mansplaining, she wasn’t showing it. An idea sparked in Kris’s mind and he knew it was now or never. He sprinted towards the creature, keeping low to the ground to avoid drawing its attention. As he neared its foot, he saw his target—a cluster of roots that his Guide confirmed was holding the creature together. Without hesitation, Kris pulled a dagger from his inventory and plunged it into the roots, twisting the blade with all his strength.
The Terrakin let out a deafening screech as the roots gave way, causing it to stagger, and that was enough of a distraction for Pete and Hild to move in for the kill. Hild swung her axe with all her might, the blade sinking deep into the Terrakin’s chest. At the same time, Pete triggered his
The forest fell silent, save for the heavy breathing of the adventurers. The monster lay still, its purple eyes fading to dull embers as its body began to disintegrate into the earth. The creature was now nothing more than a heap of twisted roots and splintered bark, a particularly aggressive compost pile.
***SYSTEM NOTICE: Lvl 8 TERRAKIN DEFEATED – 950 XP AWARDED ACROSS PARTY***
As the notification flashed before his eyes, Kris felt a small surge of satisfaction. He hadn’t been the show's star—more like the supporting actor who shows up in the third act to do something vaguely useful—but he’d contributed. And maybe—just maybe—that would be enough to start earning back the respect he’d lost and let him generate some Adoration. At least, it might help stop the metaphorical (and occasionally literal) knives from being aimed at his back.
Almost as he had that thought, Hild wiped her axe on the grass, glancing sidelong at Kris. “Not bad,” she muttered, her tone grudging but not unkind.
“Thanks,” Kris replied, feeling a flicker of something that could have been respect, or possibly just relief, pass between them. He couldn’t tell if it was genuine Adoration just yet, but at this point, he wasn’t going to be picky. He moved the little trickle of energy towards his core, pleased not to be running on empty any longer.
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Meanwhile, Steffan was already kneeling beside the fallen Terrakin, a gleam in his eyes suggested he was about to do something that would make the rest of them uncomfortable.
"Go on," Chrissy encouraged, "you'll feel better once you do."
“Right,” Steffan said, sounding less than enthusiastic but clearly unable to resist. He began to chant, the words of his necromantic spell echoing through the trees. The Terrakin’s body shuddered, the roots and dirt that made up its form twisting and contorting as the dark magic took hold. Slowly, horribly, the creature began to rise again, its movements jerky and unnatural like a puppet with one too many strings. But it wasn’t the same Terrakin that had attacked them. No, this was something else entirely—a twisted, grotesque mockery of its former self. Its eyes, once glowing purple, were now empty sockets oozing a foul-smelling sap. Its body was a patchwork of broken roots and shattered bark, held together by tendrils of dark magic that seemed to pulse with a life of their own. If there was a handbook on how to build nightmares, Steffan’s creation would have been the cover model.
The group watched as Steffan’s creation took its first, lumbering steps, its head jerking to the side as if trying to remember what a neck was supposed to do. It was the kind of thing that would make you reconsider your life choices, or at least your decision to go adventuring in cursed forests.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Steffan said with a grin that suggested he’d had one too many conversations with the void. Chrissy gave him a hug, and that snapped him out of whatever creepy space he was wandering close to.
“Beautiful isn’t the word I’d use,” Michael muttered, eyeing the abomination warily as if it might decide to follow Chrissy’s example and start handing out hugs.
“Useful, though,” Michelle added, though she didn’t look much happier about it. There was a fine line between pragmatism and queasiness, and Steffan’s summons seemed determined to walk it like a tightrope artist at a particularly gruesome circus.
“Well,” Zorrobar said, clapping his hands together as if to brush away the last of the tension, “that was a lovely little jaunt. Shall we get back on the road? Perhaps we can find something a bit less... reanimatable.”
Lorelei, who had been watching the entire encounter from a safe distance, finally stepped forward. She didn’t say anything, but the look she gave Kris was enough. Acknowledgment, if not approval, and certainly not enough to create any Adoration, but maybe a nod towards acceptance. It was a start, even if it was a very small one.
***Help Message***
Just so we’re clear, there’s absolutely no way you are getting any of that XP. I’m all for party members ploughing their own trough during a fight, but standing there with your thumb up your arse is not it. You get bubkiss.
Lorelei dismissed the notification, hardly surprised. She needed to have a think about how she was going to contribute to fights with the Chance’s Gambit debuff still having over a day to run. If – as she suspected – they were likely to reach the location of the amulet just before the debuff run out, the group would be exposed without having her powers to call upon. Frowning, she stooped to pick up some of the debris that the monster had fired their way. The Terrakin had hardly been a tricky proposition and, if she were a more suspicious person, she might think that it had been manifested purely to give Kris an opportunity to be a hero. The System certainly seemed to be pushing his presence in their group pretty hard.
Day 3 was just coming to an end, the last of the sunlight filtering through the leaves, turning the forest into a place that looked almost peaceful—if you ignored the fact that they were dragging along a zombie tree monster. Ent’s reanimated corpse trailed behind them like some sort of grotesque pack mule. There was something deeply unsettling about having it in their ranks, like bringing along a pet that you were fairly sure would eat you if you turned your back.
As they continued their journey towards the amulet, the atmosphere was still tense, but there was a sense of accomplishment. They had faced a new opponent and come out on top. It wasn’t perfect—far from it—but it was a start, and in a world where the System seemed to delight in making their lives as difficult as possible, they’d take what they could get. It was only Lorelei who was suspicious that this encounter was, almost exactly, what they had needed to bring them closer together.
Kris fell into step beside Pete, who gave him a nod of approval. “Ye did good back there, mate. Keep it up.”
“Thanks, Pete,” Kris replied, feeling a little of the weight on his shoulders lift. He still had a long way to go, but for the first time that day, he felt like he was moving in the right direction. If he could keep this up, maybe—just maybe—he’d find his way back into the team’s good graces. And find himself back to being swimming in Adoration.
And, just to the group’s left, hidden within the shadows, a beautiful teenage girl continued to spool out the thinnest strand of thread, watching them intently.