The familiar buzz of the trees surrounded him, slowly enveloping his senses. Emilio did not even notice that his shoulders were raised in tension until they lowered on the familiar, soothing sense of nature. He exhaled softly, feeling some of his anxiety fade.
He turned to his teammates. Thankfully, they had not noticed the brief moment of pause. Well, two of them. He was pretty sure that Evan was glancing at him but right now he was looking ahead.
They weren’t speaking again. Evan and Umrao were visibly keeping a distance from each other. And Clara walked awkwardly between the two of them. It seemed the task of starting the conversation needed for planning fell on him.
“Okay. So, are we going to the plateau?”
That seemed to be the most logical course of action, given what Umrao said. She was right. Team six was a bad matchup for them. And she was pretty sure Viola - the girl she met in the Magical Beasts class - was in that team too. She had a way with animals. So did he but he couldn’t do it without - as Umrao said - losing control. They would have a lesser advantage, that was for sure. All of them knew this, but would Evan agree? Emilio knew from experience how stubborn the boy could be. Another argument would mean the loss of precious time.
“We would be cutting it close since the plateau is further from us than the creek,” Evan started and Umrao opened her mouth to protest. However, Evan continued, “But we should be able to manage it if we are fast. We should be able to get back to the arena with about ten minutes to spare if everything goes well.”
He sighed softly in relief. “Then that’s settled,” he turned to the Princess. “Your Highness, may I take a look at the map? I want to see if there are any shortcuts.”
She paused for a moment before nodding and handing the scroll over. “I did not see any from the quick glance I had but let’s see if you find any. You need to contribute to the team somehow.”
Emilio ignored the snide remark and opened the scroll, taking a look. He frowned as he roamed his eyes over the area. “Well, there are certainly no paths we can take.” he said and Umrao snorted in response as if to say ‘I knew it.’ Emilio continued, “But here. You see this area that shows a swamp? It goes straight to this point, just a few feet away from the plateau. The question is, will we be able to make it? The swamp would slow us down significantly given how soft and muddy the earth there is.”
“Well, if it is a matter of hardening the earth, I can do that to an extent,” Clara finally spoke up. “But I won’t be able to get rid of the water.”
“Well, I can try to dry up with my fire but … I am not sure how successful it would be.”
“It won’t happen if you just throw fire over it or into it,” Umrao said. “You will have to send a controlled amount of fire in thin streams beneath the surface layer. I’ll make a hollow for you to do so. Can you do it?”
“Of course, I can do it!” Evan almost snapped.
“Just checking.” Umrao rolled her eyes, “No need to be so defensive about your… meagre skills.”
“You bi-”
“Alright, alright!” Emilio interrupted the boy before he said something that would lead to another quarrel. “Let us go. We are wasting time. Evan, come on.”
He quickly grabbed the boy’s wrist and dragged him away, momentarily putting aside the awkwardness for the moment in favour of ensuring that he did not offend the Princess of one of their most important allies and their safest trade route to the Shwadheeni Cities
Clara and Umroa seemed stunned for a moment before Emilio glanced back to see them start to follow him.
The brewing storm seemed to have been paused for the moment. Emilio exhaled softly in relief and spoke. “So, are we taking the swamp?”
“It seems to be the logical route,” Umrao replied. “We have the skills to go that route. It would save us time.”
“We would have ten more minutes, at least,” Evan nodded, for once in agreement with the Princess.
“Then it’s decided.” Clara clapped, a habit Emilio remembered that she had since childhood. “Let’s go.”
Emilio sighed in relief. The awkwardness between them did not get in the way as much as he thought it would. Umrao seemed a bit colder to him and Evan than she was to Clara, but considering that one of them is a Laik and the other a commoner, it was not a surprise. Emilio ignored it and followed the map along the road to where the swamp was. That took them a while, especially because Umrao kept sending remarks his and Evan’s way and Evan, the hothead that he is, reacted every few times. What surprised him was that Evan got angry on behalf of Emilio as well. It was… a pleasant surprise. But Emilio did not know how to feel about it at all, especially since he still had not forgiven the boy.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
They managed to reach the place and found the small opening covered by low-hanging branches. Emilio could already smell the wet earth and knew that they were at the right place.
“Alright, let’s go in.”
He stepped inside and immediately felt his feet sink into the muddy land. He almost lost balance but he felt the earth rise up just a bit while a hand grabbed his arm to keep him steady. He turned to look at Evan, who had his arm clasped in his hand and murmured a small “thank you” and sent a small nod Clara’s way. He was almost sure that the raised earth was her doing. Umrao just stood there, her face devoid of emotions.
“Be careful, everyone,’ he said as he put his other foot on the mud and carefully stepped aside to make way for the others.
Once everyone was inside, he looked around. Sure enough, there was a narrow “road” filled with muddy earth, water pooling in patches across the land, surrounded by tall trees as well as bushes. He could also see roots and vines peeking from the inside of the swamp itself. They would have to be careful.
“Clara, can you raise the land so we have an equal surface?” He asked.
Clara tilted his head, seemingly confused. But she had gotten used to him asking her to do random things in Alchemy classes and the results of those things usually turned out pretty damn good. She gave a small nod and raised two fingers. She closed her eyes and then turned them in an upward motion. Emilio felt the already unstable ground beneath him tremble as the land that was slightly below - some even underwater - rose to meet the land above. This occurred until the flare surface reached more than halfway to the visible horizon.
“That’s my range for now,” she said. “I will have to reach that end,” she nodded towards where handicraft ended, “to continue.”
That was impressive. By his count, that was above a dozen metres. Damn, he was surrounded by powerful mages, wasn’t he? He had known it already but seeing it with his own eyes made him feel extremely small.
“Alright, then. Should we get to work?” He turned to the Princess. “Your Highness, I believe it is your turn.”
Umrao stepped forward without so much as a nod and knelt on the ground, staining her pristine trousers without hesitance. She rolled up her sleeves and shoved her hand into the mud until she was inside it almost to her elbow.
“I will be sending wind into the mud to make a hollow line up to that place,” she nodded to the end of the flare surface Clara made, “you can finally send your fire in think streams into the hollow.”
“Alright,” Evan replied.
She did not nod or say anything in reply. If not for the low, whistling sound he heard beneath the earth and the subtle ripple he saw across the soft surface of the earth, he would not have been able to discern when she started using her powers.
After a long few moments, she finally spoke, “Do it.”
Evan raised an eyebrow. “How? Your hand is still inside.”
That was a question he had to ask.
Umrao looked up at Evan as if he was the biggest idiot she had ever seen. “And what do you expect would happen if I stop supplying wind into the hollow? The mud would fall back in place. You have to put your hand in beside mine.”
Evan’s eyes widened slightly and he looked away. “Are you sure you are okay with such proximity with a commoner?” He asked. Emilio could see that his ears were read. He seemed to be the one more embarrassed at the thought of such proximity. Emilio pursed his lips to hide his smile and look away.
“Of course I am not. But winning is what matters, so I will tolerate it.”
Emilio heard a familiar growl in Evan’s “Fine!” before the boy knelt beside her and pressed his hand inside right beside her. The soft earth quickly gave away.
“Find my palm. That’s where you need to place your hand to send in your fire. Be careful. Send very small amounts. I am still sending air through so the fire might get out of hand if you put in too much.”
“I know basic elemental theory, Princess,” he spat the word out as if it was poison.
He did send very controlled amounts into the earth, it seemed. Emilio watched in fascination as the earth slowly dried up and the dryness spread from the centre to both sides as it seemed to run across the length of the surface.
“Stop,” Clara called out. “That should do. If we make it too dry, it might crumble underneath our feet.”
Even nodded and ripped his hand out from the earth, moving away.
“Rude,” the Princess murmured.
Pot, meet kettle.
Emilio did not say that out loud, of course. It did not take long for them to find their rhythm. All three of them managed to find a pace where they could do their work efficiently without expending much of their mana. Clara managed to reach a bit more land every time and Umrao and Evan easily kept up. It made Emilio realize that Clara was probably average compared to those monsters.
At this rate, it would only take them the better part of twenty minutes instead of the original thirty it would have taken for them to reach the plateau the normal way. They were going to save
That was what he thought, until they reached the last stretch and the ground erupted just as Umrao began putting her wind into it. Thin, spiked vines crawled across the ground and the trees around them, using the surfaces to spring towards them at lightning speed. One seemed to have caught the Princess’s hand beneath the ground and she was abruptly lifted into the air, her entire arm wrapped in the vines that dug those thorns into her skin.
“Damnit!” She cursed as she sent sheathes of wind, slicing those vines reaching for her.
They regenerated almost immediately, more of them wrapping around her and trying to strangle her.
It was then that Emilio realized what they were.
“Crawlers.”