Missteps
Chapter 83 – Swamp Fights
As the quintet continued their journey through the walkways, they tried to stick to the paths that seemed to lead deeper into the swamp. They could tell that some of the stones were older in color than others, so those were the favored routes.
However, many of these routes ended up suddenly dropping off or going straight into the water below.
“This is getting us nowhere.” Iados grumbled as they came to yet another sudden end of the walkway. “Why couldn’t Tyren at least have put up some signage?”
“Oh yes, ‘This way to my lair’ would be very practical for a paranoid hermit.” The sarcasm that dripped out of Jennavieve’s mouth was palpable as the group once again backtracked.
Harlin chuckled. “I would have appreciated one warning us of those killer fireflies.”
The elven cleric rolled her eyes at the suggestion as the group set off down the opposite fork from the one they’d chosen previously.
“You know, if I was Tyren and I truly was a paranoid hermit, I’d make it so that none of the walkways reached my home.” Ander suggested. “All this walking could be for nothing.”
The akudaem groaned as he swung his quarterstaff behind his neck and hung his arms from the ends. “That is the last thing I want to think about after all this walking.”
Soon enough, the walkway once again split, but this time it split to curve around the trunk of a large tree. Most of the trees they’d encountered growing out of the swampy soil had been spindly and thin, with trunks five or eight feet in diameter. This one was nearly twenty feet around and had a full canopy of leaves several feet above their heads.
Iados stopped at the foot of the trunk and looked up into the heavy foliage. “We can all agree that this is weird, right?”
“Yes,” Jennavieve concurred as she walked around the trunk with a critical eye.
Ander tapped his chin as he looked up at the thick branches in the canopy. “Iados, think you can climb to the top?”
The akudaem huffed. “Easily, but why?”
“Maybe you’d be able to see Tyren’s hideout from up there.” The halfling suggested. “Or at the very least some other areas to try to avoid.”
“Sounds as good as anything,” Harlin said, giving the small wizard a thumbs-up before turning his attention to the former pirate. “Do you Need a leg up?”
Iados shook his head as he sent the big man a large grin. “Nah, I got it, but if I slip and fall, I’m expecting you to catch me.” Setting his pack on the ground, the akudaem grabbed hold of the rough bark and started to climb. Finding hand and footholds in the bark was easy enough, and he made quick progress.
He’d only gone a few feet when a jaunty flute tune began to float out of the canopy, accompanied by five orbs of soft, white light about the size of a softball.
“Pretty,” Harlin commented as the orbs spread out around those still on the walkway. He reached out to touch one.
The hair on his arm raised, and at the last second, he managed to jerk his hand back as a streak of lightning rushed out of the orb towards him. Similar streaks shot out towards the others on the stone, hitting everyone but Jennavieve (who managed to dodge, but barely).
Lia collapsed to her knees as the shock took the strength out of her legs, leaving her panting heavily.
Ander moved to stand next to her as he cast a wary eye on the orbs. “Might be time to consider going animal for a while,” he told the elf softly as he tried to decide if the orbs were creatures themselves or the product of some spell. The only thing that comforted him was that none of the walkways around them had disappeared.
With a nod, the druid pulled from the magic around her as she changed her shape. Instead of her usual direwolf form, she instead chose the orange and black-striped form of a tiger. With a deep growl, the newly energized big cat swatted at the closest orb, which disappeared with a tangible ‘pop’ under the big paw.
Not far from them, Harlin swung at another orb with his greataxe and grinned as it, too, disappeared with a small ‘pop’. “These things aren’t so tough!” His joy was quick-lived as suddenly, the violet form of Iados dropped out of the tree towards him.
“Have you finally lost your mind, you crazy pirate?” Ander yelled as he watched Harlin barely dodge the quarterstaff, which smacked into the stone instead. The wizard shot an icy pulse towards an orb but missed.
“Seems to pretty accurate!” The big man yelled back as he continued to dodge attacks from the akudaem. The former pirate’s eyes were bereft of any life or spark as he focused on his target. Harlin fought back with the flat of his axe, scoring a couple of hits straight to the akudaem’s torso.
The hits slowed Iados for a second as he swayed unsteadily on his feet. He quickly regained his balance and returned the hit with a hard thwack across Harlin’s face.
As the two men danced, two of the remaining three orbs encircled the small wizard as Jennavieve moved to the other side of the trunk with the last one on her.
Ander cussed as he bobbed and weaved to narrowly avoid the lightning strikes from the annoying light balls. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Tiger-Lia jumped onto the trunk of the tree and began to climb, a move he both agreed and disagreed with.
On one hand this whole mess had started when Iados had tried to climb up, so the cause was surely up in the branches. On the other hand, he did not relish having a tiger turn on them like the akudaem.
The halfling tensed as one of the lightning strikes hit his leg, and he went sprawling.
“You want to play, fine; let’s play.” The small wizard muttered as he sat up. As he started his spell, he focused raw magic into his hands and wound it tight like a spring, continually adding more and more pressure. Just as it reached the point he couldn’t wind it anymore, he let it go.
A thunderous clap echoed throughout the space as the magic force was freed. The arcane power tore through the two orbs, and they blinked out of existence.
Harlin and Tiger-Lia (still climbing the trunk) braced themselves for the impact, but the magical wave merely crested over them like a soft wind.
Iados wasn’t so lucky. Like a rag doll, he was blown back several feet, coming to rest unconscious on the ground. Harlin ran to check on his injured comrade.
“Is he alright?” Ander asked through pants as he leaned over, hands on knees. It took a bit more of him than usual to keep Lia and Harlin safe from the spell.
Instead of answering, the big man instead twirled to face the small wizard, his greataxe already swung back for a strike. The halfling yelped as he felt a rush of wind as the weapon barely missed him.
“What the hell?” Ander backed up to the tree, ducking to avoid another strike. As the greataxe buried itself in the trunk, the wizard gaped at the dead eyes of Harlin, focused on him. He gulped and began to skirt around the tree. “Jennavieve? Lia? I could use some help!”
“Handle it!” Jennavieve yelled back as she danced with two orbs. Her clothes were covered in bark pieces as she narrowly avoided the lightning strikes, as the orbs narrowly avoided her.
Up in the tree, Tiger-Lia discovered the source of the incessant flute.
Nestled comfortably within the crook of two branches was an older man. He had streaks of grey within the mess of brown hair that framed his wrinkled face.
The old man grinned as he stopped playing and slowly brought the flute down from his face. “Nice kitty,”
Tiger-Lia growled and stepped closer.
Back on the ground, the lightning orbs disappeared with the music.
Ander breathed a sigh of relief as the light came back into Harlin’s eyes, and the big man lowered the greataxe. He sat down heavily on the ground and yelled out to the elf on the other side of the tree. “Please tell me you have healing magic.”
“Of course, I have healing magic.” Jennavieve growled as she came around the tree, sliding her swords back into the scabbards at her waist. “You need some?”
The halfling shook his head and pointed towards the unconscious akudaem a few feet away.
The elf’s eyes widened as she hurried over. She held a finger to the former pirate’s throat and gave a sigh of relief as she felt a heartbeat. She didn’t waste another moment before she sent light green energy throughout his torso.
Harlin looked down at the obviously tired halfling. “What happened?”
There was a crashing sound from above, and an older man in leather leggings, a black shirt, and a faded red vest fell out of the tree, almost hitting Ander as he connected with the stone walkway.
Tiger-Lia descended right after, a wooden flute grasped in her mouth. As she hit bottom, she transformed back into her elven form.
“Who are you?” The druid asked the moaning man sprawled on the ground. She handed the flute over to Ander.
The man sat up and heaved a large sigh. “Jack,” he answered.
“Okay, Jack, what are you doing here?” Lia asked. Next to her, Harlin leaned forward, arms crossed on top of his greataxe, hardened eyes fixed on the newcomer.
‘Jack’ gulped. “Listen, I’m just doing my part of a contract that tyrant Tyren forced me into.” He cast a furtive look around. “How about we all climb back into the tree and continue this?”
“Why the hell would we listen to you?” Iados murmured as he got to his feet and walked over. He reached out and used Harlin’s shoulder to steady himself. His ribs and torso hurt.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Do you think I like sitting in a tree? It’s terribly cramped, has no cushioning for the bottom, and my knees don’t work like they used to.”
“Then why do it?” Lia questioned with a raised eyebrow.
The man gritted his teeth. “Because I’m pretty sure one of Tyren’s little pets got loose. I saw it stalking around this morning; hence me hiding in a tree.”
“Are you one of her pets?” The halfling asked as he examined the flute, noting several arcane sigils that had been carved into the wood. “She give this to you?”
Jack shook his head. “Took it off some bloke back home. Was gonna sell it till I realized what it did.” He held out his hand. “Can I have it back now?”
Ander snorted as he shoved the instrument into his pack.
Lia snapped her fingers and brought the prisoner’s attention back to her. “What kind of contract do you have with Tyren?”
Behind the group, Jennavieve had settled down at the base of the tree and started setting up for a ritual with some candles, a bit of chalk, and her holy symbol. Once set up, she closed her eyes and began to chant. As the words flowed over her and the members of her makeshift party, a golden aura flashed over them all, and a sweet heat radiated over their bodies. The heat chased away their aches and pains and brought strength back to their tired bodies.
Jack, who didn’t receive help from the golden aura, shifted uncomfortably on the cold stone. “It’s a basic security contract. I stop people from wandering around the swamps and bothering her, and then at the end, she’ll send me back home through the same portal that brought me here.”
A sad smile crossed Harlin’s face as he stood up straight. “Yeah, I don’t think she was going to uphold her end of that.”
The four interrogators huddled closer together, each of them keeping an eye on their prisoner.
“So, what do we do now?” Lia asked in a hushed tone. “Do we bring him with us?”
“Hell no,” The akudaem growled. “I don’t trust anyone who takes over my mind.”
“As long as we keep him away from his flute, I don’t think that’s something we’ll have to worry about.” The halfling brought up.
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“Let’s just let the poor bastard go.” Harlin suggested. “Tyren’s already pretty much signed his death warrant by just leaving him here.”
“I know; that’s why I was wondering if we wanted to bring him with us when we left the valley.” Lia amended. “He seems to be just another one of Tyren’s victims.”
Iados shook his head. “He willingly signed a contract to work for her, and he must not have been a very good employee if she just left him behind.”
“So, you want to just leave him behind in the valley to die? Not even give him a chance?” The druid argued.
The former pirate shrugged. “I’m just saying he hitched his wagon to the wrong horse, and now he has to pay the consequences. I’d be alright with setting him free in the swamp, sans his flute, of course.”
As the foursome continued to argue (with Lia and Iados doing most of the talking), Jack continued to shift nervously from his seat on the cold stone. He continually cast furtive looks into the shadows surrounding them.
It was Iados whose attention was first caught by the small dark figure that was headed for them out of the fog. “What the hell?”
Before he could point out the mystery to the others, it revealed itself as a small man (no bigger than the size of Ander) who came barreling out of the fog up one of the stone walkways. His hair was ashen, and all askew, his face gaunt and bony, and what was left of his clothes hung in tatters on his thin body.
As weak as he looked though, he obviously wasn’t as he raced quickly towards the small crowd, a large wooden club raised above his head.
Jack’s eyes went as large as dinner plates when he spotted the little man. “I told you something was loose!” He screamed as he struggled to stand up.
The small man screamed as he ran around the foursome and headed straight for the older man. The club was brought straight down onto Jack’s skull with a mighty thwack.
The older man’s eyes rolled up to the back of his head as he crumpled into a heap.
Jennavieve scrambled to her feet. “What the hell kind of pet is that?”
“Add it to the list to ask Tyren.” Iados bellowed, brandishing his quarterstaff as the little man slowly turned to face the rest of them.
A manic grin crossed the little man’s face. He started to whistle, a low, deep, rhythmic tune.
The music seemed to reach deep into Harlin, Ander, and Iados's brains. The three of them grimaced as it reverberated within their heads. Lia and Jennavieve cast worried looks at their companions, feeling no effects of the music at all.
“Cut it out!” The cleric snarled as she pulled out her swords and advanced on the small creature. She managed to cut into the paper skin twice before the small body danced out of range.
The small man snarled, brandished his club, and rushed forward towards the wincing men.
Iados was the first to shake off the effects of the music. As he saw the small man race towards him, he bared his teeth and ran to meet him. The former pirate lashed out with his quarterstaff, catching the small body in the gut. Angry fire raged in his eyes as he reached down, grabbed the small body by the back of his hair, and held him up. “You’re not very nice.” He growled under his breath before he sank a heavy fist into the little man’s abdomen.
The attack only infuriated the small man even more. His scrawny fingers dug into the akudaem’s skin as he pulled himself up. Snarling, he bit down on the violet forearm.
Iados screamed in pain and hurled the small body away from him.
Before the little terror could make another move, a fiery pulse of magic hit him square in the back, and he crumpled to the ground.
Ander slowly lowered his outstretched hand, wincing from the headache that bounded through his skull. Harlin was stretched out on the ground at his feet, lightly snoring.
Jennavieve replaced her swords, her body still buzzing from the quick spurt of adrenaline. She kneeled down to Jack and held her fingers to his throat.
“Well, we don’t have to worry about what to do with him anymore.” The cleric announced as she stood up.
Iados used his quarterstaff to roll over the small man’s body. He knelt down next to it and grimaced as he took in the gaunt features and terrible body odor. “Same with him.” He looked over towards his girlfriend, who’d begun examining the sleeping Harlin. “How’s the big guy doing?”
“Probably a charm spell, judging by how much my head still hurts.” Ander grumbled from his seat nearby, forehead resting in the palm of his head. “If I remember correctly from my old charm classes, he should wake up in an hour or two.”
Jennavieve stalked over to the sleeping form and smacked him across the face with her hand.
Harlin’s face whipped to the side, but he continued to snore softly.
“And what was that supposed to do?” Lia exclaimed as she bent down and examined the bright red cheek more closely.
“Just making sure he wasn’t slacking off.” The elven cleric shrugged before she stood up and went back over to her pack.
Iados sighed heavily as he sat back on his haunches. “Now that we’ve established that Harlin is truly out of commission, why don’t the rest of us just take some downtime?” He looked over at the halfling. “Maybe break out some of the food Peggy packed us?”
With nothing better to do, they spent the next hour snacking and commiserating over their united dislike of the swamps. At one point, Iados took it upon himself to haul the dead bodies into the water. The Water Women threw the akudaem several rude gestures at this action.
Eventually, Harlin’s eyes suddenly snapped open, and he sat straight up, eyes wide as his breath came in huge gasps.
“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Lia murmured as she lightly rubbed arm to calm him down.
It took a moment, but the big man’s breathing evened out, and his shoulders slumped. He brought his knees up and buried his face.
“I take it you didn’t have good dreams.” Iados said as he came over and rubbed Harlin’s back.
The big man shook his head. “He was one of them.”
Iados’s raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘one of them’? Which ‘them’?”
Harlin looked up and locked eyes with Jennavieve. “He was one of the elves.”
The elven cleric gulped and then looked at the water where Iados had unceremoniously thrown the small body. “None of them were that small.” She said softly.
The big man shook his head. “He didn’t used to be small. After the Fey tore his spirit from his body, the Fey pumped more magic into the corpse.” He shuddered. “The Fey took the magic from the swamp, and it was corrupted. So, it corrupted the body, twisted it, and turned it into that.”
“That explains Morgen then,” Ander added, as his mind was brought back to the woman who’d tried to kill him, Iados, and Carric.
“Why would the magic in this area be corrupted?” The akudaem asked as he handed Harlin some food they’d set aside for him.
The pink-haired cleric snorted, “It’s the Crann Arbora, or at the least the half of the one that’s here. Part of their purpose is to cleanse the area and free the magic surrounding them from corruption. If it’s dead, then not only is the land not being cleansed, but it’s probably adding to the pollution.”
“That’s what killing the valley.” Harlin announced, and Jennavieve nodded. The big man looked over at the elf. “Is there any way to fix it? To bring this tree back to life?”
This time, the cleric shook her head.
The big man sighed again and ran a hand down his suddenly haggard face. “Then it really was a pipe dream that I could find some solution out here. You and Aunt Peggy were right all along.”
Lia and Iados looked at each other, hoping the other had something to say to the depressed man. In the short time they’d known him, they’d never seen him like that. Even Ander was silent.
It was Jennavieve who finally spoke. “You just going to sit there and pout? Just sit there and wait around for the end like Peggy and the rest of them in that decrepit village?” She crossed her arms and looked down pointedly at Harlin.
The big man didn’t answer as he chewed on a piece of jerky, but finally, he sighed. “Would you let me hear the end of it if I did?”
The pink-haired cleric grinned. “Never.”
“Then I guess I have no choice but to keep going.” He quickly swallowed the last of his jerky and stood up, wiping his hands on his pants. “We can’t save the valley, but we can at least save this Carric and what’s left of the elves’ sprits.”
“Ever the optimist.” Jennavieve commented as she picked up her pack and led the way down a walkway on the other side of the large tree, Harlin right after her.
The M.A. trio shared small smiles at the sight of a new team taking shape. It made them even more eager to reunite their own.
The quintet traveled for roughly another two hours through the weaving walkways, unintentionally backtracking several times. Ander tried to mark the stone with chalk, but the marks vanished almost immediately, causing the small man to grumble about bored magic-users once again.
Finally, they came to a broad corridor with numerous stone benches set along the edges. In the middle was yet another tree. Like the last one, this one was also markedly different than the other swamp trees.
For one thing, this one resided on top of a large stone pedestal in an earthen pot. Lia was sure that the pot extended down into the pedestal. Secondly, in addition to the sparse canopy, long, thick vines dangled from the top of the tree, many reaching the bottom of the pedestal.
Iados ground to a halt at the corridor's entrance. He raised his quarterstaff and stopped anyone from passing him.
“Now what’s the issue?” Ander asked as he looked over his shoulder to the stopped akudaem.
The former pirate pointed his head towards the tree. “After what we’ve seen in this place so far, you really want to tell me that it’s safe to go prancing past that tree?”
The halfling turned and took a second look at the tree. “I don’t see anything ready to jump out at us in the canopy.” He pointed to the opening on the other side of the canopy. “If it makes you feel better, we can hug the walls.”
“It’ll make me feel better if we all backtrack and take the other fork.” Iados crossed his arms.
“Hate to say it, but I’m with the purple one.” Jennavieve called from behind the akudaem. Next to her, Harlin nodded.
Ander rolled his eyes. Without a word to them, he turned around, faced the tree, and got a bit closer. Using an incantation and hand movements that Lia and Iados had seen many times before, the small man sent a wave of fire hurtling towards the nearly barren tree.
Instantly, the tree went up like kindling.
The halfling turned back to the group, a triumphant look on his face. “See, that wasn’t so hard.”
Before anyone could comment, two thick vines shot out of the inferno, straight for the halfling. One tried to wrap around his leg, but the small man quickly squirmed away from it. He couldn’t squirm out of the vine that wrapped itself tightly around his neck.
Ander could only squeak out in fear while he scratched desperately at the vine that squeezed tightly.
Harlin ran forward with his greataxe and in two swings, severed the vine.
Lia dashed forward and quickly gathered the stunned halfling in her arms.
Before the trio could escape, two more burning vines hurled themselves out of the inferno and latched onto Lia and Harlin’s legs. With a hard yank, both humanoids were dragged off their feet and began inching closer to the burning tree.
Iados and Jennavieve wasted no time jumping into the fray.
As Ander scrambled to his feet, the former pirate and cleric attacked the thick vines. Before they could do any significant damage, two more vines shot out from the tree. One wrapped itself around Iados’s forearm, while the other got Jennavieve around the throat.
The halfling sent three pulses of arcane magic shooting out of his hand: one towards the vine holding Lia, one towards the one on Harlin, and then one into the inferno itself.
The akudaem sent a look of incredulity towards the small wizard as neither of the vines showed any further damage. “In one of the rare moments where more fire might actually be a good idea, you decide not to?”
“Well, excuse me for trying not to barbecue all of you!” The halfling growled, disappointed in himself for how ineffectual the attack was and embarrassed that he had started this whole debacle. He climbed onto a stone bench to try to get a better angle of attack on the tree itself.
As the two argued, Harlin reached down and tore at the vine holding him. After a moment, it finally came apart, and he clambered to his feet, greataxe in hand. “We take out the tree, we stop the vines, right?” He called out to the halfling.
“One could assume so.” Ander replied, not sure he liked the twinkle in the big man’s eyes.
Harlin grinned, readjusted his grip on his weapon, and then turned and ran full tilt towards the burning tree. Seemingly immune to the heat, he quickly scaled the stone pedestal before hacking at the trunk like a lumberjack.
It was quite a sight for the onlookers, his form silhouetted against the burning tree, tiny embers erupting into the sky with every strike of his axe.
The vines wrapped around their body parts broke the onlooker’s attention.
Lia conjured her own vine from her tattoo and used it to snap at the larger one around her calf.
Iados managed to reach Carric’s magical quiver (which he’d insisted on bringing along with the half-elf’s bow) and pulled out an arrow, which he then used to saw through the vine.
The pink-haired cleric pulled a hunting knife off her belt. The vice grip on her throat, though, made her see stars as the strength began to leave her body.
At least, she thought she was the only one seeing the stars.
Small pellets of light started to rain down on the individuals amidst the ash.
As the lights hit Lia and Jennavieve’s skin, they both immediately recoiled. Something about it made their very skin crawl and their Elven blood boil.
Ander and Iados had the opposite effect, as the light lulled their aggravation and anger. The halfling curled up on the stone bench as the former pirate stopped struggling with his arrow as they both fell unconscious.
Harlin, his attention fully focused on his task against the overwhelming heat, kept swinging his axe. He broke through the thick bark, exposing a gooey, pulsing black mass underneath.
He swung right into the middle of that black mass, the black goo pulsing out of the wound and covering him before it went still.
The vines that had held steadfast went limp, but they were still connected to the raging inferno of a tree, and the fire was quickly headed up them.
Lia jerked the remnants off her leg before she again went to the halfling and gathered him and their packs in her arms.
Harlin bounded over and, in two swift moves pulled the vines off Jennavieve’s neck and the former pirate’s arm. He threw Iados over his shoulder, then helped Jennavieve to her feet before clambering after Lia back onto the walkway they’d traveled before.
The conscious members of the group made sure that they had quite a bit of watery distance between themselves and the smoky bonfire before they collapsed onto the stone.
“Think the Fey will notice?” Harlin said as he laid the unconscious akudaem down as gently as he could.
Jennavieve shrugged. “Maybe,” She pulled a rag out of her pack and handed it over. “You’ve got some gunk on your face.”
“Thanks,” Still grinning, the big man tried to wipe at the spot but ended up smudging it instead.
After she made sure that Iados wasn’t in any danger and, in fact, seemed to just be asleep, the cleric reached over and tried to help the human.
A few feet away, Lia was doing her best to rouse the sleeping wizard in her lap. “Wake up dammit,” She murmured as she gently shook him.
After watching the druid have no luck after a few minutes, Jennavieve stood up.
With no preamble, she struck the small wizard across the face.
Ander’s eyes snapped open as his face was suddenly on fire.
“What the hell was that for?” He whined as he rolled out of Lia’s lap and held a hand up to his injured cheek.
“For starting a fight, you couldn’t win.” She growled before she stood up and went to take a swig out of her waterskin.
Lia and Harlin locked eyes as they both assessed the sleeping akudaem.
“Do you want to-?” She gestured down at the violet form.
Harlin held up his hands. “I don’t have a reason to want to hit him.”
“Well, neither do I.” Lia pouted, suddenly mad that her boyfriend’s recent silence hadn’t left anything between them to fight over. She was mad at herself for not being very attentive lately due to her nightmares, but that wasn’t anything she could blame him for.
“I’ll do it.” Jennavieve offered.
“What about me?” Ander barked as he got to his feet.
The cleric scoffed. “With what, those little baby mage hands? I doubt they’d be very effectual.”
The halfling balled up his small hands. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You got ash in your ears?” The pink-haired woman asked as she leaned down closer to the little man. “Exactly what it meant. You mages are all the same, so afraid of damaging those spindly fingers of yours that you leave the real work to everyone else. Add that to your small stature, and I’m not sure you’ve got the oomph needed to wake him.”
Ander’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll show you what kind of ‘oomph’ these little hands have.”
Jennavieve smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Alright, I think that’s enough.” Lia squeezed herself in-between the two combatants. “As fun as it might be to watch you two fight it out, I don’t really think any of us have the energy.”
“Blame that on him, starting fights we don’t have time for.” The pink-haired cleric stood up straight. “We haven’t even reached Tyren’s part of this damn swamp, and already we’re bone tired. At this rate we won’t be any match for the Fey and his shadows.”
Ander opened his mouth to say something, but Lia covered it with her hand. She sighed heavily. “Arguing about it won’t change anything. Let’s just wake up Iados, and get going, ok?”
Before either of the two could answer, a meaty thwack filled the air.
The trio looked over, to see Harlin’s hand up over Iados’s twisted face.
The akudaem was still asleep.
Ander scurried over and brought his hand down on the same cheek with as much force as he could muster. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough as Iados’s eyes fluttered open and he sat up.
“Man, that was the best nap I’ve had in a long while.” The former pirate winced. “Why does my face hurt?”