Missteps of Adventure
Chapter 82 – Swamp Rescue
After her talk with Peggy by the river, the two of them returned to the house and Lia tried to get a few more hours of sleep. All too soon however, both Mavi and Kavi made their way around the sleeping humanoids declaring it time to wake up.
It was a quiet morning as everyone prepared for their journey.
Iados did his morning exercises outside, with Mavi copying him as the small fairy hovered in the air.
Ander sat at the table and poured over his spellbook as he mechanically shoveled oatmeal into his mouth.
Both Jennavieve and Lia meditated by the river, preparing their own spellcasting for the challenges ahead. The pink-haired elf included a prayer to Ekolord, but neither of them were certain that it reached the nature god.
Harlin and Peggy concerned themselves with getting the party ready for their journey.
While they’d slept, Peggy had washed and dried their clothes, put together ration packets, and refilled some of their more basic adventuring supplies.
Most importantly, she made sure that they were outfitted. Just a few doors down in a shed with rotten wood, was a collection of weapons. The older woman explained to the group that to keep violence to a minimum, the village had initiated a policy where all swords, bows, axes, and the like not currently being used were to be locked up.
Harlin was the first to step in and went straight for a large greataxe. By the way he handled it, it wasn’t the first time it’d been in his hands.
Jennavieve quickly swapped out her sickle for two shortswords that she expertly strapped to her waist. She also grabbed a longbow and a quiver of arrows.
Iados, with Carric’s magic quiver in hand, started to stuff as many arrows, spears, javelins, and even a lance into the item as it would allow.
Smiling at her boyfriend’s antics, Lia leaned down towards Ander as the two of them stood near the doorway. “Do you think that sword Bymer wants is here?”
The halfling shook his head as he looked up at her, allowing her to see the purple film of magic that covered his eyes. “There’s nothing magical in here except for our stuff.” He did pick up a dagger with a dark blue handle and slipped it into his belt.
Peggy went across to a large trunk on the other side of the room. Inside were several types of armor, from leather to plate. “Help yourself,” she said as she beckoned everyone towards it. “No use in letting this stuff just sit here.”
“Don’t suppose you have a trunk full of magic items?” Ander asked as he watched Jennavieve pull out a chain shirt.
Peggy shook her head. “We did have a small collection, mostly brought in by those who wandered in. We sent almost all of it with those who left.” She held out her hand and showed them a silver band on her index finger. “This is all that’s left of our magic store, and all it does is heat up a single pot of water about every twelve hours or so.”
The halfling sighed and ran a hand through his head. “Do you think Cornelia’s place might have something?”
“Probably,” The woman shrugged. She smiled as she watched Iados and Mavi (mostly Iados) help Harlin into a suit of dented half-plate armor.
Finally, it was time to hit the road, or trail as the case ended up being.
The new party had just entered the forest when the rest of the fairy gaggle returned.
“Ah, decided to join the fun?” Iados chided as the swarm flew closer.
“Not exactly,” The red-winged Hali said hesitantly. The blue-haired Dali and green-haired Vali flew over to Kavi and Mavi, respectively. They both took hold of the younger fairies and began to pull them away.
“What are you doing?” Kavi yelled out, her pink hair twirling around her as she tried to get free. Jennavieve took a step towards her small friend, but the purple-winged Pali flew in front of her and halted her.
“This is on Tali’s orders.” Dali gritted out as she readjusted her grip on Kavi’s arm. She waved Hali over to help pull the pink-haired fairy away from the group. “No fairies are allowed in the swamp.”
“That’s not fair!” Iados reached out and tried to slap the green-haired fairy from Mavi. The hand was quickly pulled back with a wince as Pali sent a purple ray of magic at it.
The purple fairy moved so that he could address the entire group, as the other fairies succeeded in disappearing into the brush with the younger ones. “This isn’t a matter of fairness, it’s a matter of protection.” He explained. “The swamps aren’t safe, and it’s not like us fairies are built for battle.” The small fairy shrugged, and then quickly zoomed off after his family.
The elven cleric cursed as the fairy disappeared.
Lia laid a hand on her shoulder and sent a reassuring look towards the akudaem. “He has a point, I’m sure the last thing the two of you want is to put Kavi and Mavi in danger.”
Iados scoffed. “You don’t think I could have protected him?”
“That’s not what I meant.” She took a step closer to her boyfriend. “We don’t know for sure how hairy the swamp is going to be. I’d rather you be more concerned about your own safety than his.”
The akudaem didn’t answer as he stalked off down the trail.
Lia sighed heavily as she watched his back.
Harlin walked up next to her. “I’m sure he’ll get over it.” He gave her a reassuring grin, before he jogged after the akudaem. Ander rolled his eyes at the whole situation and followed.
The druid sighed heavily and followed after, Jennavieve next to her just as quiet.
In all honesty, Lia was more upset that Iados had chosen to run from her than talk to her. They’d been doing good on the whole communication part of their relationship, sharing their troubles with each other, telling the other when they had good days, or just venting when they had a frustrating one.
Of course, that’d been before her memories had been unlocked. Before she didn’t wake up every night from a nightmare that’d been real or didn’t sleep at all. In the beginning, she had shared some of the memories with him, but quickly she began to hate the look of pity and commiseration that crossed his face every time.
That look just made her feel worse about the realizations of her life. A reminder of how much misery and regret bubbled up every time she opened her eyes.
So, she stopped telling him. And he stopped telling her things.
It took a few hours, but eventually, the firm ground beneath their feet began to give way to mud as the river they’d been following seemed to spread out.
Lia pulled out the crude map she’d been given by Peggy. “Alright, so according to this Tyren constructed a series of stone walkways that zigzag through the swamp.” She showed the intersecting lines all over the map to the rest of the group. “Peggy wasn’t even sure if she had all of them.”
“What are those?” Harlin pointed to a few circled sections throughout the swamp.
“Danger points,” The druid explained. “As it turns out, Tyren liked to play with gates and sometimes would pull in little pets or other fun surprises.”
“It was probably these ‘pets’ that Bymer and his group encountered.” Ander stated. That morning he’d shared the story that the old mage had told him of the blue/green creature that turned people into jade statues and its crystalline drake friend that liked to eat them. Peggy and Harlin had been quick to state that they’d never seen creatures like that in the valley.
“Peggy wasn’t sure exactly what all Tyren had hidden around,” Lia continued. “She did say that the walkways have three entrances: North, South, and East.”
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“She say which one was better?” Iados asked.
The druid nodded. “Last time she was here she said that Tyren suggested the South entrance.”
Harlin clapped his hands. “Alright, South it is!”
No one else shared his enthusiasm.
As the group headed towards the southern entrance, they all came to realize two things: one, the closer they got to the entrance the heavier the fog around them became, and two, they were being stalked.
At all times at least one or two of the Water Women could be seen trailing after them in the water. Iados and Ander recognized them as some of the same ones they’d tangled with earlier. Out of spite, the halfling picked up a rock to chuck at them, but it was plucked out of his hand by Lia before he had a chance.
Either way, it was an incentive for the party to stay on the pathways. With the thick fog making visibility a concern, Harlin pulled out a torch while Ander activated his Driftglobe.
The entrance was nothing special, just the beginning of a ten-foot-wide stone walkway. There weren’t any handrails, and at times the water below was high enough to splash up onto the walkway. Traveling on the stone was easy, except for the moments when it suddenly twisted around a tree, or the spacious ten feet lessened down to only a few from a sudden crack. New branches of the walkway also seemed to just appear without warning.
Between the fog and the curving nature of the overlapping lanes, it was as if they’d walked into a maze. Their map from Peggy was quickly deemed useless as the twists and turns greatly outnumbered the amount documented.
Ander was not quiet in his mumblings about the antics of ‘bored spellcasters.’ Iados made a mental note to not let the halfling ever be that bored.
About a half hour into their expedition, the small party came to a three-pronged fork in the road.
“So, any strong feelings?” Iados asked as he looked skeptically at the identical paths.
Lia shook her head, but her attention was caught by one of the Women who beckoned them over.
“Woah! What are you doing?” The akudaem yelled as he reached out and caught his girlfriend’s arm as she knelt.
Lia tugged her arm out of his grip. “She wants to tell me something.”
“No, she wants to drag you under and drown you.” The former pirate corrected as he tried to catch hold of her arm again.
Jennavieve rolled her eyes. “I’ve never had an issue with the Women.” She knelt down and exchanged a small wave with the watery figure. The cleric looked over her shoulder at the men. “You must have done something to make them mad at you.”
Ander huffed as he crossed his arms. “All we did was follow as they led us straight to the lair of Morgen, who might I remind you tried to kill us?” He looked up at the native. “Have you had issues with the Women?”
Harlin scratched his chin. “Not really, but they generally only hung out with the women in the village.”
“See,” Lia exclaimed. “It’s men they hate, not women.” She turned her gaze back to the Water Woman. “Do you know which path will lead us to Carric?”
The Woman nodded enthusiastically and swam ahead, indicating the path on the far right.
Jennavieve sent a smirk toward the akudaem as she and Lia stood up. “See, it’s men they have an issue with.” The cleric lightly bumped into Iados as she stalked past, taking point.
The former pirate opened his mouth to say something but instead settled on a rude gesture before he stomped after.
They traveled along the path for about fifteen minutes before it opened out onto a hard-packed dirt area. Trees with naked boughs that stretched high into the fog above were scattered around the perimeter of the small island. After the last person walked off the stone walkway onto the ground, the stone sank swiftly into the water, leaving a twenty-foot gap between the edge of the island and the rest of the walkway.
Iados sent a scathing look towards the cleric. “Still think the Women can be trusted?”
Jennavieve didn’t have a chance to answer as a loud buzzing began to fill the air. As everyone’s hands went to their weapons, two large shapes descended out of the fog.
Fireflies, easily ten feet if not more in length, dropped down and hovered in the air above them. The soft yellow light that emitted from their rears bounced off their metallic coloring and lit up the area.
Out of everyone, it was the two elves who held the most fear in their eyes, both having grown up hearing stories about creatures like these. It wasn’t their size that made them the subjects of the tales, it was their appetite for flesh.
Lia was the first to act. She dipped a finger into the waterskin hanging off her waist as she chanted out a spell. When she threw the water droplets into the air toward the creatures, they joined together and froze into a long, sharp icicle. It impaled itself into the body of one of the creatures before it imploded into a freezing mist that caused both to cry out in a high-pitched shriek of pain.
“Great, now you’ve made them angry.” Ander grumbled as he started to prepare his own spell.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure they’re born angry.” Jennavieve commented.
Above them, the creature’s lantern sections began to flash, and they both dropped a pale-yellow pellet down towards the group.
“Hit the deck!” The cleric cried out as the pellets hit the ground.
It was as if two suns had suddenly exploded. Heat like sunburn burned across everyone’s skin, and they all closed their eyes against the blinding light.
Unfortunately, Ander closed his a little too late, and as the light died down for the rest of the group, it was all he could see.
The halfling screamed out in pain as he covered his eyes in pain, unconsciously backing up from a light he couldn’t run away from.
Lia’s eyes widened as she saw him head for the edge of the water, and the Woman that waited for him. “Stop!” She screamed out as she ran over and pulled him into her arms. The elf sent a death glare towards the watery figure.
The akudaem snarled up at the creatures that hovered just out of reach above them. With a running start he jumped off one of the trees and launched himself towards the nearest firefly.
That’s when he discovered that the metallic sheen of the creature’s body wasn’t just cosmetic. He slid off the smooth body and fell with a heavy thud onto the ground below.
Harlin winced and helped the former pirate to his feet. “Good try.”
“Obviously not good enough.” Iados winced as he rolled his shoulder and found a spot he knew would quickly bruise.
“Let me try.” The big man grinned and took a few steps forward. With a strong standing jump, he hoisted his greataxe above his head and aimed for one of the creatures. It was almost comical the ease in which the firefly simply flew just above the range of the weapon.
“Tch,” The elven cleric said as she shook her head at the men’s antics. She flung out her hand and sent a bolt of bright green energy careening towards the target above.
The men’s laughter echoed off the trees as the attack missed and disappeared into the fog.
On the heels of the cleric’s attack, Lia (with Ander down at her feet) threw out a thorny vine from her tattoo. The vine wrapped itself around the large metallic body, and with a jerk the druid was able to pull it further to the ground.
The creature reared against the attack as the thorns cut into its body. Once the magical vine disintegrated and it was free, it turned its beady eyes on the blonde elf. With a speed that she wasn’t expecting, the large firefly bum rushed her and caught her arm in its teeth as it landed heavily on the ground.
The sudden landing caught everyone off guard as they were pushed back so as not to be crushed.
Ander barely managed to avoid being crushed but wasn’t out of danger as he fell into the water, still blind.
Iados ran full tilt towards the halfling, barely avoiding a sweeping wing attack from the second firefly before he jumped into the water. He punched the Woman who tried to grab Ander in the face, before quickly hauling himself and the halfling back to the surface and onto dry land.
They arrived just in time for Iados to see Harlin hurl his greataxe into the creature that still had a hold on Lia. In a single swing the big man separated the firefly’s head from its body.
“Thank you,” The druid said with a wince as she freed her arm.
“We still have another one,” Jennavieve reminded them as she tried to lasso the remaining creature with her own vine. She had to keep ducking and dodging as the creature tried to slice the elf with its razor-sharp wings.
Lia joined with her own whip, and soon both of them had lassoed the creature and pulled it forcefully to the ground. Once there, Harlin and Iados quickly dispatched it.
“Is it dead?” Ander asked as the sounds of fighting stopped. He sat cross-legged on the ground, still blind and now soaking wet. Thankfully, the brightness was starting to abate, and his vision was returning to normal.
Iados knelt down next to the small wizard. “Pretty sure they both are.” The former pirate smirked as he reached out and wrung some water out of Ander’s messy head of hair. Harlin walked over with a blanket and began to use it on the halfling, ignoring the small man’s cries of protest.
Laughing over the spectacle, Iados looked over towards Lia. She’d sat down next to the body of the firefly that had bitten her, running her hands over the metallic body like she was examining it. As the akudaem kept watching however, he saw her put a hand to the injury on her arm, and then the unmistakable soft glow of healing magic.
He walked over quietly and laid his hand on her shoulder.
The elven druid gave a small jump and looked up at him with wide eyes.
“It’s just me.” Iados grinned and held his hands up in front of him.
Lia sighed and gave a small smile. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it,” He knelt down next to her. “You alright?” He took her injured arm in hand and ran a critical eye over it. He could tell that the magic had healed most of it, but the creature’s teeth marks were still visible in the initial stages of a wicked bruise.
“I’m fine,” Lia sent him a reassuring smile as she pulled her arm away and stood up. “We ready to move on?” She asked the group at large.
“Move where?” Ander pointed over to the twenty-foot gap between them and the walkway.
The akudaem walked over to the edge and judged the distance. “I could jump that easily. Could take a rope with me and tie it off on the other end?”
“Then what, the rest of us shimmy across?” The halfling asked. Iados nodded.
“Or” Jennavieve called from across the island. “We could hop to the next walkway.” She pointed out a series of stones that stuck out of the water.
One by one, they all crossed over to the next walkway. Ander, not showing a bit of shame, rode on Harlin’s shoulders. Iados had offered instead, but the halfling turned him down flat.
Lia and the akudaem shared a small laugh as the sight reminded them of Jun back in the real world.
On her turn, the elven druid carefully hopped from stone to stone. Around her, two of the Water Women kept a careful eye on her, which did not help Lia’s concentration.
On the opposite bank, Iados pitched small stones into the water at the Women. “Get away from her!” He cried out, amongst other more colorful phrases.
“How about some encouragement for me!” Lia called out before she hopped to the next stone. Her foot landed on the edge of the stone, and before she could even yelp, she’d slipped into the water with a splash.
“Lia!” Everyone crowded around the edge, with Iados already preparing to jump in after his girlfriend.
Before he could, the elf came up sputtering and gently glided to the others. As Iados and Jennavieve pulled her out of the water, they saw the Water Women hoisting her from the other end.
“See? It is only men they hate.” Lia joked as she sent a grateful smile down to the Women.
Iados didn’t laugh. “Let’s not try to test that theory too much.”
Harlin offered up the still damp blanket, and Lia dried herself off as much as she could before they started off down the walkway again.