Despite Saila’s excitement for getting going, the prospect of traveling through a rocky pass by the glow of sunset sparked a certain amount of dread in her. Noble had gone to the trouble of getting a lantern just in case, and he assured her that the path was a safe one- and besides that, the instant the sun set down they’d make camp anyway.

She was thankful all the same when they finally reached it and the sun was still high in the sky.

The Thueban Alghisi was a strange thing to witness. Not even a day’s travel north out from Samudr-tat was where it began, the rocky desert terrain dipping into a slope that quickly become a craggy chasm, a precarious path etching deeper into the ground until it became a relatively flat, even footing. There was still a risk of falling, but time and people had at least worn this place smooth.

The walls were pock-marked by cracks and caverns- small ones for the local animals, though Saila hadn’t seen any yet. Rock formations connected the two walls in looping, wind-smoothed patterns. Some were broken, looking like gnarled, shattered teeth, but some held on in a way that reminded her of torn flesh trying to mend itself together- or at the very least keep it from further splitting. Like someone had taken an axe and delivered a thunderous blow onto the world.

Noble said it was likely caused by mining that happened before they could properly access the mineral sea, but she put her money on the axe theory.

Matchsticks’s opinion on the discussion was to neigh grumpily. He didn’t seem to like it here.

“So, where are we going anyway?” Saila asked, scanning the surroundings in hope of catching sight of something other than admittedly cool looking rocks and the occasional smattering of desert plant-life that had grown a home here.

“According to what they said, we should be coming to a fork in the road, then we follow the path through one of the caves- should be marked.”

“Should be, eh?”

“Should be.”

Saila rolled her eyes. “We’re gonna die out here, aren’t we?”

“Yup,” Noble answered, deadpan.

Matchstick clomped along,

“Where do you think all the animals are?”

“Spooked, I’d imagine. Despite the area’s reputation, I don’t imagine people like us show up every day. Most animals are cautious of people, even the scary ones.”

“You mean scary like a really angry lizard, or scary like that scorpion-cat?”

Noble was silent a moment, then “the former. And you should know, monsters like the manticore are fairly rare, and don’t go out of their way to attack people. They’re animals like any other, just a little…”

“Horrifying? Intimidating? Capable of breathing fire?”

“… surprising.”

Saila just scoffed. “What kinda name is manticore anyway? Scorpion-cat makes more sense.”

“Well, it stands for man-eater… you know you may be right, little lady. I…”

Before Noble could finish, they reached the ‘fork’ they were heading for… and stopped in their tracks.

Their path had initially been a simple one, winding though it was. A few slivers of it had branched out to what looked like cave entrances once frequented by foxes or lizards and the like. Now though, the path began to split, widening into five rocky trails- each one less traveled, each one heading off into the embrace of their stone walls.

And smack dab in the middle of it all, as though smashing the path to pieces with its size, was the largest flower Saila had ever seen.

The flower itself- she was sure it was a flower anyway- had a massive, leafy base, with long thick leaves that gently graced the stone it had so violently burst through. The leaves looked prickly like cacti, but not as dangerous as the fruit budding off of it; vibrant pale-purple things with lengthy, fibrous deep-magenta arms that ended in razor sharp hooks.

Each fruit was about as big as she was, each arm as wide as Noble’s own.

“Well.” Noble tipped his hat up to get a better look at it.

“Whoa…” Saila hopped off of Matchsticks. “How’d it get so big?”

“Can’t rightly say,” Noble answered in that simple tone of his. “Best guess, it’s rooted into some mineral-rich groundwater.”

Saila looked at it- a faint breeze sliced by, and the flower twitched in response.

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“You sure it’s not like, a monster flower? Like the scorpion-cat?”

“Nope- and it’s a plant, actually. Teufelsklaue. Believe that’s ‘Devil’s Claw’ in Dulacean. Native to desert plains- and I guess this little gouge in the earth suits it fine enough. We’re lucky too, they take a long while to fully bloom, and we’ve caught it at peak ripeness.”

“You know a hell of a lot about plants, Noble,” Saila laughed.

To her surprise, Noble’s response sounded flustered.

“W- well, it’s always been a hobby of mine. Flowers, plants and the like. They’re… I mean they’re a calming thing, to read about. Always wanted a garden.”

“Nerd,” Saila said, though not without respect. “… do you think it tastes good? We could fry it up with some dried lizard, or some of the preserves we got in Samudr-tat.”

Noble thought for a moment. “Well, I believe it’s often used in folk remedies…”

“Ah. A medicine plant,” Saila sighed, kicking at the dirt dejectedly. The leaves seemed to curl, but she figured it was her imagination.

Then a thought struck her, and she stepped towards it.

“What’re you up to, little lady?”

“If this is used for medicine, we could probably sell it to a doctor, right?”

“I’d be careful about that if I were you.”

Saila laughed to herself, not breaking her stride. “Afraid of a little flower soldier-man? Or is it actually some kinda of man-eater, like that manti-whatever?”

“No, more that you’ll end up hurting the thing- or yourself. Plants can be fragile, even desert ones… not to mention the hooks are there to fend against predators. They can also be home to critters, and one this size would be-”

“We haven’t seen a ‘critter’ in like, an hour. It’s fine.” Saila looked back over her shoulder. “I’ll be careful Noble, trust me. I’m just gonna take the one fruit- not that we could carry more than that anywaAAAH!”

A singular, thick vine of ivy, hiding among the fruits like a wayward limb, lashed out, wrapped around her midsection, and pulled. Saila was in the air in an instant.

“Saila!” Noble shouted.

The world was upside down. Noble drew his revolver with a quick, sudden motion and fired.

Three barks of lightning echoed through the pass.

Whether they hit or missed Saila did not know.

One of the fruits lashed out at Noble, unfurling like a flower.

Matchsticks reared in surprise.

Noble fell.

The vine pulled again, and Saila’s vision became a blur as she was reeled towards the dark.

###

Noble swore as he hit the ground with a heavy thud.

His own fault- he hadn’t properly strapped himself in, on the assumption he’d have to get off the horse quickly if anything bad happened. A part of him had to suppose he had, in a way.

He rose to his feet in time to watch it prance backward, evading another swing from the Devil’s Claw- faux fruits unfurling into flower petals, their lengthy hooks poised and sharp.

“Stay back, horse,” Noble said, taking aim at its center mass.

He fired once- like the earlier three, a second vine lashed out and took the bullets. Viscous sap dripped from the bullet wounds.

His heart beat a steady staccato.

Lashing hooks flew his way in retaliation to his gunfire. He ducked and weaved, the rush of motion whipping past like a strong wind.

As the petals recoiled, he charged it.

He had to get past.

Before he could even get close to the thing, thick leaves from its creeping stem flared out- one of them slammed into his chest as he tried to dodge, sending him spiraling to the ground.

The flower hooks hammered down at him

Noble got to his knees and threw himself forward, just barely evading the fearsome blow- rocks scattered with the impact.

With a quick twist he stood and faced the Devil’s Claw, training clicking back into place; the right option would be to take it from a distance, find an opening. Couldn’t get close, defensive leaves were too numerous to get through. The vine that had blocked his bullets moved at a different pace, did not assist to guard his charge- an offshoot maybe, something that only responds to guns? The damage left in the stone was minimal at best, the plant sensed meat and attacked accordingly. He could use that, he-

The image of Saila being pulled away said “kill the damn thing and get through it, NOW!”

So, he compromised.

Noble dashed forward again, eyes flitting between the flower petal hooks and the defensive vine.

The flower flailed at him. Noble ducked one, sidestepped another- a third hook struck against his gun arm and sent chits of black-silver debris into the air. Just a scratch but enough to stop him in his tracks.

A fourth petal swung for the legs- he leapt, and landed firmly on it, hand stretching out to grab the hook. His fingers dug into its thick, fibrous base, and held with a machine-strength.

With a noiseless shudder the Devil’s Claw flailed about to shake him loose.

Noble’s vision was a watercolour paint smear of brown, green and magentas, but he stayed latched on- the sturdiness of the plant, that could endure bullets, betrayed it.

Suddenly, it stopped flailing, and extended the petal Noble had latched onto. Two of the other petals closed in on him- if wild movement wouldn’t throw him, it seemed it would try tearing him off personally.

With a calm and steady motion Noble aimed and fired at one of the approaching hooks.

The defensive vine lashed out past him to catch the bullet.

Noble let go, and leapt.

The two hooks aimed for him dug into the third petal, rending and tearing.

Mechanical fingers dug into the vine, and Noble swung from it to the body of the Devil’s Claw, landing with a heavy thud.

It thrashed in silent agony, trying to free its hooks from itself. Its undulating body was a difficult footing, but Noble kept his ground, and shoved his free hand down into the plant matter.

This was no proper devil’s claw- he expected wizardry to be involved from the start due to the size, but its movements were too precise for a real plant.

It had to be a puppet- a construct of plant material and magic. Had to have something powering it.

Buried in the plant-flesh was a rotten human ribcage, a root infested heart held gently, beating wildly.

Memories tumble, like stones down a mountain.

Noble shoved his revolver through the fragile bones and pulled the trigger.

The thrashing stopped.

The flower petals, the vine, all drooped as colour faded to a compost grunge.

An echoing noise emanated from the Devil’s Claw, like gurgling mud.

Laughter, familiar on the edges.

“You stay here, horse,” he said, that calm measured tone belaying the intensity in his throat. He spun open his revolver, reloaded, and walked after her.

In the distance, down the tunnel she was taken, he saw a faint glow, like fireflies dancing in the darkness- shadowed creatures serving as their partners. Plant, flesh and bone intertwined; a grim explanation to where all the animals had gone.

With each step, a heavy thud danced up his nerves.

With each step, the human reflex faded.

######