Chapter 243

Jay walked in the middle of his group and dragged a simple wooden sled behind him as he went as he held on to the wooden handles tightly.

The sled was a simple affair that the group had fashioned together and it mostly worked, except for when it didn't and Jay was forced to yank the entire contraption over a root or fallen branch. Still, the sled would happily slide over anything as long as Jay could pull it up and over it.

The sled itself wasn't all that heavy, although the skids were made out of thicker branches than the other parts. The whole thing had been lashed together with branches and rope, and the heaviest part was its occupant.

Veronica was tied to the sled and was laid out on her back. Her head lolled to the side as Jay yanked the sled over a mound of dirt.

Her hands were tied and Aiden had fashioned a splint around her broken leg after he had set it and covered it with his Patchwork Class Ability. It would do for now, but would still need to be seen at an Infirmary to make sure it would heal properly.

There was nothing worse than having a broken limb magically healed incorrectly and the bones fusing at an incorrect angle. For one, it hurt. A lot. Not to mention the fact that it would then need to be re-broken in order to be healed correctly with a second round of healing.

M'redith was at the head of the line as she led the group through the rainy jungle undergrowth. At times the water falling through the trees would form little waterfalls as competing streams joined together and fell to the ground in sheets.

The group had grown inured to being wet by that point and didn't even try to hunch their shoulders in the deluge. Their clothing and footwear had long ago become drenched, and there was barely a dry spot on any of them save for their packs and pouches.

The mud they had all fallen in had worked its way through their clothing and they all could feel a light layer of dirt over their bodies, even under their clothing, and it rubbed at their skin like sandpaper when they moved.

Jay frowned as he felt the sensation of wet sediment between his toes and in his socks as he walked and dragged the sled behind him, each bump disturbing the still passed out Veronica but not enough to wake her.

“I think this is the most uncomfortable I've been since I've arrived here,” Jay mumbled low enough that only the group would hear him.

M'redith chuckled from the front of the group and muttered back, “I think the last time I was this uncomfortable was back in Ashagi. You know – in the poop room?”

Jay could hear Norri and Aiden both make disgusted noises. Jay turned to look behind him and could see that even Carly was making a face like she had heard something disgusting.

Carly had not been there with the group when they had visited Ashagi, but the very phrase 'poop room' had been enough to gross her out.

Jay looked forwards again and almost ran in to Norri in front of him before he came to a stop. He had been pulling the sled for so long that he had stopped even thinking about stopping. Now that he had stopped though he felt exhausted and his arms burned from the buildup of lactic acid.

Jay lowered the sled to the ground and shook out his arms while he waited to hear why M'redith had stopped the group.

“We're here,” M'redith called back with a relieved smile on her face.

Jay heard an audible groan escape Carly's lips a ways behind him and even Jay had to admit that he was thrilled to soon be rid of the sled and a chance to rest for a bit. Jay was tired, filthy, and starving, and had no idea which he would take care of first once they'd gotten settled in.

Not that they had reached the town right away, no, it could be that easy.

“One hour journey my ass...” Norri cursed under her breath as she almost slipped on a patch of mud and had to hold both arms out to the sides to keep her balance.

Jay chuckled but not loudly enough for her to hear. “How do you know this is the place?” he asked as the group passed out of the jungle and in to a wide expanse that went on for acres, hidden in the middle of the forest.

In the center of the cleared area stood a massive white-bark tree that rose hundreds of feet in to the air where it then spread in to a thick, giant canopy that covered the entire open space underneath it.

The tree had a number of rust-red colored lumps attached to it in places, disgusting looking growths that bulged obscenely. The tree would have been beautiful if it weren't for the sick looking things attached to it.

Under the massive tree's canopy stood a number of buildings. Not enough for a city, but too many for a village. Occasionally a glowing off white colored mote would float from the tree's branches and through the air, gliding gracefully all the way to the ground. There weren't that many of them, and they didn't look quite right, as if the motes were dimmer than they should be.

Surrounding the town, for that is what it was, laid a vast array of fields and plants, many of whom appeared to be doing quite poorly. Jay paid close attention as one of the motes fell and landed on a plant. The plant grew visibly but then paled as if it had sickened or soured. The plant might have grown, but it appeared inedible.

M'redith led them on a path through the various fields, all the while moving closer to the tree in the center. After some time they arrived in town, which was spread out while still staying close to the massive white-bark tree.

A man and woman both wearing simple leather armor and carrying spears stopped Jay and his group from moving further in to the town. They had badges affixed to their armor.

“Welcome to Raintree, or what's left of it. Purpose for visit? Pleasure or business?” the female guard asked as the male guard silently watched the group.

M'redith nodded once, “Adventurer's Guild business, here to see the mayor.”

The male guard's eyebrows shot up and the female guard tilted her head to the side as two blonde curls escaped from under her helmet and dangled in the air for a moment before she quickly tucked them back away.

“You guys sure are fast. Mayor sent for help just last night. Go on in, head straight for the tree, and look for the two level building painted white, town hall. He'll be in there,” the female guard said in a business like tone.

The male guard leaned in and gave the group a once over as he took in their filthy state. “Is it true that you can save the tree?” he asked with a worried look.

Norri looked confused and was about to ask about the tree when M'redith nodded her head and cut her off before she could speak.

“That's what we're here to find out. Thank you for the directions,” she said and guided her group away from the guards and towards the town hall.

The female guard stopped the group before they could pass though and M'redith was forced to turn back and face the guard.

“Not so fast. What's with the woman you have tied up? You still haven't mentioned that,” the female guard pointed out with a slight smile.

M'redith smiled and nodded, “She's a woman that tried to rob us. I'm guessing that it wasn't her first time and that someone is looking for her. Going to turn her over to the mayor.”

The guards nodded. That would be the best way to handle it. Neither of the guards wanted to fill out the paperwork for taking in a new prisoner and were only too happy at that point to allow the group to continue on their way in to the town.

“What was that? I wanted to ask about the tree!” Norri complained after the group had moved a bit away from the guards.

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M'redith shushed her before answering, “That would just make us look like we don't know what is going on – which we don't – but it's a bad look. Better to head in, talk with the mayor, and then start asking guards questions if we need to.”

Norri pursed her lips and considered that as the group continued to head towards the giant white tree.

“I hate it when you make sense,” Norri grumbled and Jay could hear Carly chuckle behind him.

Jay was dragging the sled again and his arms burned. His legs burned as well from the constant extra effort required of them. He was so wrapped up in his discomfort that it took him a moment to realize that something had changed.

“Hey – the rain stopped,” he said with a smile.

Aiden looked back over his shoulder before he faced the group again. “Did it? It looks like its still raining behind us – just not under the giant tree.”

“Huh,” Norri said with click of her tongue. “Weird.”

Jay looked about as they walked along one of the town streets. People were out and about, many with bandages or blood-soaked clothing.

Although Jay and his group might be absolutely filthy and covered in blood, guts, mud, and only the Goddess-knew-what-else, they somehow managed to blend right in. Everyone looked like a mess and for the first time Jay wondered if there had been a fight recently.

The group continued on in silence as they reached the center of town – the giant tree.

Finally the white building was in front of them and Jay dragged the sled off of the road and set it off to the side and pushed up against the building. Veronica was still passed out and didn't stir a bit.

M'redith paused. “Is this the right move?” she whispered to Jay, who had moved up next to her when she had stopped in front of the building. “We look like a mess.”

“We fought hard to get here, it would be weird if we showed up looking pristine, wouldn't it?” Jay pointed out.

M'redith sighed and agreed. She'd much rather stop at an inn and get cleaned up first but there was no time for comfort – they were being timed and M'redith was beginning to realize that they might not be the only ones racing against a timer.

Whatever had attacked the town would likely try again, only now M'redith and her group were there. Were they supposed to fight the enemies off? Heal the tree? Or something entirely different, she wondered to herself.

Jay poked M'redith who shook her head to clear her thoughts.

“Right. Let's head in. We're a mess but we got here as fast as we could, that has to count for something, right?” she asked Jay with a smile who nodded in agreement.

They decided to leave Carly outside to keep an eye on Veronica while the others spoke with the mayor. Carly didn't seem too upset about being left outside and if anything seemed relieved to be doing something helpful.

Inside there was an a receptionist who directed them to the top floor. No one commented on their filthy appearance as they walked upstairs and entered the reception area for the mayor's office.

M'redith walked up to the desk and spoke with the assistant there quietly while the others stood around awkwardly.

Shortly after the double doors behind the desk opened and an exhausted looking man waved them in to the office.

“Welcome to Raintree, you'll have to excuse our town's appearance, with all of the attacks lately things don't look quite as nice as they usually do. I'm Abendigo and I must say I'm thrilled that the Guild would respond so quickly. How long have you been traveling?”

M'redith smiled and nodded, “Good to meet you. I'm the group leader, M'redith, and this is Jay, Norri, and our healer, Aiden.”

Abendigo frowned, “Just four of you?”

M'redith shook her head, “Our fifth is outside standing watch over a prisoner.”

“Wait, a what now?” the mayor said with a confused look.

M'redith smiled, “We'll get to that in a bit. Why don't you tell me a little about why you sent for help and what we can do for you.” She spoke with a confidence that surprised Jay – she sounded like she knew what she was doing.

The mayor looked worried for a moment, “No one told you?”

M'redith shook her head, “We've been up since before dawn and have either been traveling or fighting all day. We were told we'd be briefed when we arrived.”

Jay smiled. M'redith sure knew how to handle these things. Jay wouldn't have been half as smooth had it been up to him to interface with the mayor.

The mayor, a thin man, dropped his head in to his hands and Jay noticed that the man had unnaturally long fingers. He would have made a great piano player, Jay thought before he refocused on the matter at hand.

“Well, it's easy. We grow ingredients for alchemy, high end ingredients. Our products are used all over. The reason is the Raintree – it rains luminescent rainbow colored motes that speed up plant grown while also enhancing its potency,” the mayor began to explain before growing quiet for a moment. “Raintrees priceless and are as rare as rare gets, so of course we built up around it.”

“It's beautiful,” Norri commented.

The mayor shook his head, “Now is nothing like what it normally would look like. Wait until you see it when it's healthy. See, that's the problem. The tree attracts pests – big nasty pests, ticks, and lots of them. That is what has been ruining us – the ticks. They overrun our defenses and the wounds are slow to heal.”

Jay made a sickened face as he realized what the bulbous lumps on the tree had been. Massive, giant, ticks.

Aiden nodded, “I can help with healing,” he offered and the mayor smiled in thanks.

“That would be greatly appreciated. Our town healer is down with injuries and we've been hard pressed to treat all the wounded,” the mayor explained.

Jay had grown so used to having a healer around at all times that he hadn't really considered what it might be like to be in a remote outpost of a town without a healer available. It gave him a whole new appreciation for Aiden, and his abilities.

“So you want us to fight the ticks?” M'redith asked in confusion.

The mayor shook his head. “No. Gah. I hate this. How do I explain it... ok. You can't fight the ticks. There are too many of them. What we need you to do is run a dungeon and fetch us an item that can help defend the town. We can't tell you anything about it, because if we do, then it won't work. You can only run the dungeon once, and if you know anything about the dungeon, the item won't drop.”

M'redith shared a look with Jay before they both looked back at the mayor.

“Can you point it out on a map?” M'redith asked and the mayor nodded once before he pulled out a map from under a sheaf of papers and flattened it out with one hand.

“It's right...there,” the mayor said and pointed to a spot on the map.

M'redith nodded at the familiar location and smiled. “Ok. Then what?”

The mayor blinked. “Then what what?”

Norri giggled and wanted so very badly to say 'Then what what what?' but held back. It wasn't the right moment for joking around.

“After we get the item, then what do we do?” M'redith asked.

The mayor frowned and closed his eyes as he spoke. “Whatever it is we've no record of it. All we know is where to get it and the restrictions around the dungeon. The tree has been protected by a massive fire aura for as far back as anyone remembers but a month ago it started failing. Last night the aura failed entirely and the town was overrun. Whatever it is, if you don't find it, we're going to have to abandon the town.”

The group kept quiet as the mayor stopped speaking and the room became still save for the creaking of wood as the assistant outside walked from one spot to another.

“When do you expect the next attack?” M'redith asked.

The mayor looked perplexed as if M'redith were asking the wrong questions.

“Shouldn't you be heading to the dungeon first?” the mayor insisted.

M'redith shrugged. “Trust me.”

The mayor blinked but finally shrugged as well. He'd never had to deal with the Adventurer's Guild so he had no idea what a normal interaction should be like.

“Well, they usually show up every couple of hours and we just cleared a wave a bit ago, so I'd say we've another hour and a half?” the mayor said in a tone of voice that made it clear that he was guessing and not stating a fact.

M'redith nodded. “Ok. I'll need a hammer, can you get me one of those?”

The mayor looked at M'redith like she was crazy, “A hammer? Sure, I can have someone get you one. Anything else?”

M'redith ignored the mayor's hesitant tone and nodded, “I'll need physical access to the tree.”

The mayor frowned, “We're pretty protective of our tree, you can understand I'm sure why. I'll escort you there myself so that there's no issues. Anything else?”

M'redith nodded and smiled but without joy, “Let's talk about our prisoner.”