Niko and Skye both looked down over the edge of the spiraling mushroom ledge they stood upon. The climb upwards wasn’t excessively difficult, thanks in no small part to the abundant fungal shelves that grew from the trees, but that was a double-edged sword.
“Seems this one’s closed off, too.” Frustratedly, Niko clicked his beak, glaring out over the endless mushroom growth.
“Yup.” Skye stated, her own gaze scanning the closed ceiling of fruiting fungal bodies overhead. “It’s just a thick, closed sheet for as far as I can sense.”
It had looked promising, considering how easy it was to ascend here. Only a few creatures made their homes up here, as they bored through fungus and created their own nests amidst the fleshy plants. If nothing else, they’d had no issues during their climb, and even the few potentially hazardous plants had left them well enough alone. Regrettably, their map had dictated this area, or thereabouts, as a spot where a massive hole should have been. Yet, whether there was a hole or not at the time didn’t matter, it clearly wasn’t there now.
“We’re going to have to rethink this.” Niko grunted, considering their options. This was taking too long, and Niko didn’t want to rely on luck in trying to find another exit. In fact, there was one possibility that he could think of at the top of his head, but it would most certainly be risky. Not something to rush, that much was certain.
“Let’s retrace our steps at least,” Skye stood up purposefully, “If nothing else, we know that Charlotte’s place is safe in the event of another flood.”
Niko smirked at the name and his own private joke, but didn’t mention it, “You don’t wanna make a base here?”
She picked up on the amused tone and stuck her tongue out at him briefly, “It’s a safe place for us, but…” Skye trailed off, appearing uncertain, “I’ve got a feeling that we should be moving on.”
Even at the safest of times, Niko trusted his own instincts and ‘gut-response’ to give him an early warning. With that said, he was already rising to his feet and stretching when she finished her words, “Alright, let’s hop to it, then. You lead?”
“I’m going to pick up the pace a little.” Skye said just before she took a quick leap over to a lower and farther away section of fungus. It barely even moved when she landed on the plate, while Niko had to use his stealth pattern to try to emulate that. He could tell it flexed under his weight, but his Wyldstrider pattern held true, burning a quick tithe of energy in return for masking his movements beyond what should have been physically possible.
Not a day went by that he wasn’t thankful for that particular pattern. Certainly, his eyes were an incredible resource on their own, but his mobility and stealth pattern was easily comparable to it in quality. The sheer utility the two patterns provided was mindboggling. His Sharp Strike pattern and Clarion and Carrion Call patterns were both useful in their own regard, but almost exclusively combat related. Admittedly, there were times when he’d used his Strike pattern for more mundane tasks, but it was undeniable that they weren’t quite as useful as his Sight nor Wyldstrider pattern.
They tore through the canopy quickly, descending slowly as they went. With the advantage of not having to navigate the many creatures below, their exit from the mushroom biome was rapidly approaching. The two remained vigilant throughout, especially as Niko felt a note of anxiety crossing the mental bridge from Skye. Whatever it was that was bothering her, Niko wanted to avoid it if at all possible. He feared that perhaps it was another flood, but unlike before his own instincts were unusually quiet.
‘What’s setting her off?’ Niko frowned, trying to taste the air, scouring the woods with his eyes. He strained his sense of hearing as well, but he doubted he would detect anything like that before Skye would, being that her sense of hearing was simply better. Still, nothing came across as particularly out of place.
When they finally had to go to the ground, they were near the edge of the mushroom-overgrown forest floor, just at the ridgeline that they’d crossed not long before. Skye stopped there; her face locked in a frown of concentration.
Niko’s head was on a swivel as he sought any sign that something was amiss, before Skye whispered.
“Something’s following us.” She said through their mind connection, “At least, I think something’s following us. Whatever it is, it’s big and strong enough that the mushrooms and trees can detect it. We should evade it.”
“Wonderful.” Niko commented dryly, “Lets go faster then? I’d prefer not to be on anything’s menu.”
Skye assented to that easily, running alongside Niko as quickly as they dared. Neither wanted to run face-first into an ambush predator, but Skye wouldn’t suggest running from something if she thought they had a good chance at beating it.
The forest floor’s flora became more familiar as they went, mushroom rapidly replaced by fern and bush. Roots once more dominated the landscape, forming tunnels, pockets, and a latticework of highways that they traveled atop of, skipping from one to the next in their speed. Niko felt that they were going quickly enough that anything stalking them should have abandoned the chase for easier prey, but Skye’s next words popped that hopeful bubble.
“It’s still following, and picking up speed.” Skye spoke with a wary note to her tone.
“We can still go a lot faster,” Niko clucked, “But I won’t be able to check everything out thoroughly if we do. How bad is it?”
Skye remained silent for a moment, likely trying to get a better feel for her connection with the forest. She shook her head after a few seconds, “I don’t know for sure. It seems strong, though. At least mid-tier four, maybe higher.”
Niko grumbled at that, “Why the cluck is it after us so bad!? We’d barely be snacks for something like that!”
“I’m not sure, but we shouldn’t stick around to meet it.” Skye gestured ahead, “Lead the way now, I’ll try to keep tabs from back here.”
With a negative caw, Niko said, “No, I think you should hop on. I’m faster in a marathon, and I’d rather you keep tabs on the area.”
To her credit, Skye didn’t waste any time, simply grabbing Niko’s shoulder and hopping up with a graceful pull. Niko didn’t have what would be considered a full saddle, but the bags, storage loops, and other things on the Phorus’ body gave Skye plenty of handholds.
Essence surged faster in Niko’s body as he increased the flow of power in his Wyldstrider pattern. In the essence rich environment, he felt like he could virtually run all day, and while he didn’t know where his true limit lay, he was confident at least that whatever was following them would give up after enough time had passed.
He narrowed his field of vision to only just in front of him, changing direction only when Skye directed him, trying to steer them through terrain where the roots constricted just that much tighter, or formed more tunnels. They wove a chaotic path through the titanwoods, doing their best not to serpentine onto the path they had just taken, but enough that their trail might be obscured. They both had a single concealment potion left, but after a brief deliberation, they decided that they would rather save it. If there was a chance they could shake their pursuer the old fashioned way, they would.
Still, after yet another hour of such navigating, following a rough path back to where they’d come from, Skye reported the bad news. “It’s still on us. It might be gaining, but I can’t tell very well, something’s degrading my connection to the trees around here.”
Niko didn’t like either sets of news, “I guess I’ll pick up the pace some more. We might have to use those essence potions after all. Hold on tight.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Skye gripped onto his feathers with her free hands as Niko’s speed picked up dramatically. He was pouring an unsustainable amount into the pattern, but at this point he was almost trying to prove a point. ‘Stop being so pecking stubborn! Stop chasing me! I can do this all clucking day!’
In spite of his internal diatribe, Niko knew that whatever was following them had to have an ulterior motive. The only thing he could think of was that they were being followed based off of scent.
And, unfortunately, he felt that there was only one real reason why that might be.
“Do you think this thing was the owner of that mushroom farm?” Niko asked Skye, ducking beneath several roots and climbing up another set rapidly.
Skye hummed in thought, before grimacing, “Yeah, that’s possible. It’d be just our luck, too.”
“Are these mushrooms even that useful for something that strong?” Niko scowled, “I bet it’d need to eat a ton of these to really matter.”
“Like half of a farm's worth?” Skye commented dryly, “Remember that the concentration these things have are better than creatures at that tier. Great Mother, we could share these with the group and all make it to tier three, and even a good chunk beyond.”
Niko grumbled at that, but he had to admit the mushrooms they had harvested were special, if his nostrils had anything to say about it. Even without his Aether Sight, he found the smell of them divine, and if he wasn’t so wary of everything in the mushroom biome, he might have happily chowed down there and then.
“Well, at worst, we can abandon some of the mushrooms,” Niko said, though the thought of it nearly pained him physically, “Better that than to have this thing still on u—Lookout!”
Niko cried out the warning even as he dodged to the side. As soon as they’d jumped out of one nexus of root tunnels, he’d felt his skin ripple with the prescient warning that only his subconscious could deliver.
A pair of sharp limbs tore into the overgrown forest floor where they’d just been, shearing through the plant life and throwing it up into the air as whatever the limbs belonged too aggressively repositioned. It pulled itself forwards even as another pair of striking, tree-limb sized legs stabbed at Niko and Skye’s new position. He yelped as he jumped upwards, bounding across another root as the strike narrowly missed.
Suddenly a flood of activating essence crackled across Niko’s skin, and even without his sight he knew the sensation of a tier four creature’s power. The roots he climbed suddenly started to move, flexing under his feet, and trying to foul his footing. Luckily, Niko’s own pattern gave him at least some ability to power through, but as he threw himself farther away, he realized that much more was happening all around him.
The plant life all around surged to life, long reaching bioluminescent vines, fronds, and all manner of multicolored vegetation groped and grasped for him. He slashed out with his claws, only barely damaging or knocking away the offending flora.
“Duck!” Skye’s call into Niko’s brain was followed instantly and without question. That was the only thing that saved them from being sent flying by the pair of legs that swept through the air just over their heads. Niko felt the wind whistle in its wake, and couldn’t help but swallow hard as he finally managed to glance backwards at their attacker.
It was a Thimurge, firmly in tier four, with its odd geometric body covered in lush plant growth, much of which was reaching for them, vines with piercing hooks, some glistening with poison, abundant in quantity.
Before he could fully process what he was seeing, Niko was already blasting the creature with a Carrion Call, putting as much power into the debilitating sound-attack as he could. On his back, he could feel Skye reach out to the plants around them with her own pattern, unable to control them herself, but able to at least interfere with the Thimurge’s own influence.
The insect-like thing flinched when Niko’s Call hit it, but it was a far cry from the effect he was hoping for. Niko backed away quickly, scrambling out of the way as essence thrummed in the Thimurge’s body, its four front legs sweeping through the air with sharp points whistling through the wind. Barely, Niko wasn’t speared by the first swipe through, but the second set of attacks scraped by the front of his body. He screeched at the sudden flare of pain, a spray of blood torn free with the wake of the attack.
“Niko!” Skye cried out, her own pattern already fully activated as she did her best to reach out and parry the many bramble vines that attacked from the Thimurge’s body.
“Way out!” Niko called out aloud and mentally, doing his best to not repeat the mistake and ignore the slash on his torso, “Look for a way out!”
Whether they could find one, Niko didn’t know, but every time he turned to flee, the thing scuttled with a preternatural speed. It clearly had a body pattern, but Niko was certain he could outrun it. Unfortunately, the experienced predator must have assumed the same, because it kept him cradled amidst the roots. Niko didn’t dare dash down into any of the tunnels, not after seeing its ability to manipulate them. There was a chance that they were dead-ends, and if he was stuck in an enclosed space against this thing, he knew they were as good as done. His frantic dodging continued, Niko devoting the whole of his concentration to his Aether Sight to try to track the movement of the Thimurge’s body, while his Wyldstrider pattern roared with essence.
Even so, he took another errant strike, this one digging another furrow in his chest. He felt the scrape of bone on that one, and couldn’t help but feel the breath get knocked out of him. Still, he strained his essence body, cycling his power along with his flesh, envisioning the blood clotting and the wound sealing. He felt the itchy tingle of the wound, molten-hot to his senses, magnify tenfold. It nearly made him misstep and take another strike, but somehow he managed to pull himself back in time to avoid it.
Still, the injury seemed to hold, but Niko couldn’t waste time in assessing it. Desperate, he called on the bloody seal in himself, the red haze of energy eagerly leaping at his command. It shrouded his form rapidly, flooding out more by the moment. A hefty amount of it concentrated on the wounds on his chest, and he felt relief as the pain subsided. His senses sharpened, his body thrummed with power, and Niko managed to once more dodge a strike that he was sure would have hit him once more before.
Niko could tell that their predator was getting frustrated, the Thimurge ambling closer as strike after strike missed. He wasn’t even actually certain they could harm the thing, given how tough its body seemed to be.
“There! Up and out through that—no that one!” Skye gestured, and then fed the image of the many arches of roots around them. Niko grimaced at the fact that she’d changed her answer partway through, but it wasn’t as though they had any other options.
He half-jumped, half-sprinted, ducking and weaving through the Thimurge’s attacks. It was growing more annoyed, the silent assailant now hissing and clicking at them furiously. Surely, it was expending more energy than it would get back for the hunt this time.
Still, it would take whatever it could get at that point, though Niko dearly wished it hadn’t bothered with them in the first place.
‘Almost!’ Niko’s thoughts raced as he threw himself forwards, trying to overtake the Thimurge. He was only steps away from the root system when he felt essence flare against his skin, and gritting his beak, Niko pushed his pattern, strained his muscles with blood energy, and hoped.
Air whistled just past his tail feathers, joined by infuriated screeching as he out sped the attack, the crack of wood behind him felt deep in his bones. Niko didn’t dare look back as he felt the roots of the tunnel flex, the ones ahead of them ever so slowly constricting.
“It’s widening the tunnel behind us!” Skye called out, “I can’t stop it, but I’m slowing it down from cutting us off!”
Niko put the Thimurge out of his mind, throwing himself down the tunnel, forced to slow down to clamber over the many roots that flexed underfoot, lest they both trip and be overtaken by the plants.
They would make it, he realized, as he saw the tunnel open up more. The tier four wasn’t able to pin them down long enough to kill them.
Before he let himself breath in relief, though, he heard a very different sound echo through the tunnel behind them, a kind of primordial roar of anger that didn’t belong to the Thimurge. The insect in question screeched, and all the roots suddenly relaxed. Niko blinked in confusion, before realizing what had happened.
In confirmation, Skye spoke, “Looks like our stalker’s got a hold of the Thimurge.”
Numbly, Niko nodded, feeling the vibrations of a powerful impact even from so far away. A part of him had hoped that perhaps the Thimurge was the thing that had been stalking them and had managed to catch up to them. Whatever it was that was following them was either insanely aggressive, or strong enough that the tier four Thimurge wasn’t even an opponent it had to consider.
For the first time, Niko found himself hoping it was the first one. ‘Who knows, maybe if we’re really lucky, they’ll kill each other?’ Even though he had the thought, he didn’t put much stock in it. He refocused on fleeing, following the root-made tunnel back up and out onto the forest floor, fearing they’d only bought themselves a little time, rather than truly shaken their new tail…