Tide Turns
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Gleaming Obsidian scales, split pupil eyes scurrying to and fro in the hopes of spotting prey and a jaw so wide it could easily swallow the three of us whole.
That was the true nature of the serpentine monster that had just emerged from Lucas’ shadow. In terms of overall width, it was slightly smaller than the monster known as ‘tyrant’ but that inadequacy was easily accounted for by the sprawling length this monster boasted.
The trees in this forest were both taller and wider than tyrant, and this basilisk could easily span more than half of the average length of these trees in a single go.
Basically, it was just a really big snake; the only thing that made it a bit different from the serpentine creatures I was used to seeing were the two violet horns sprouting from either side of its head and the undoubtedly poisonous vapors subtly wafting from the corners of its jaws.
And to think they were hiding this thing inside Lucas’ shadow the entire time....
“T-that’s the basilisk....the monster that almost killed Isaac?” Emma let those absent-minded thoughts slip through her lips, my back was turned to her but I could make a fairly accurate guess as to what she was feeling right now. In spite of all that’s happened, I could only commend her for controlling her emotions to such a tame degree, at least I didn’t have that to worry about right now.
“Captain Owen...why do you have that thing? No...why are you siding with those guys, they’re trying to kill us you know...” she asked in a wailing voice, her disbelief was overpowering the instinctual denial swelling up within her.
It must have been the same for Vreena as well, she couldn’t say anything even after the whole truth had been laid bare before her very eyes.
“Looks like you owe them an explanation, captain~” Ulric mockingly added, his crude comment had in fact inspired laughter from the rest of their party, even Owen was now callously smirking at the thought of his own betrayal.
“Emma, the world of adults is a lot more complicated than you think. I’m doing this for a cause, and I need the rune to achieve my goal, no – I need you to achieve my goal, that’s why I've been biding my time for all these years, but to think the prize was in front of me this whole time, no wonder Isaac was the only one who got seriously injured back then, this thing must have sensed the rune’s essence coming from him.”
Glancing up at the large serpent, he shrugged his shoulders in resignation, that was only something he could do if he was completely unfazed by the current situation.
“That’s why Emma...you should-”
A dull sound resounded the moment Owen began extending his hand towards the weeping child.
“What do you mean ‘achieve my goals’, we’re the ones who figured out the secret behind the rune so back off! We'll be the ones who bring her back, it’s first come first served remember.” Amaris scowled after slapping Owen’s hand away in frustration.
Owen glanced over to Ulric and awaited his input, but the man simply shrugged his shoulders, giving his half-hearted reply only after mulling over the dynamics of his two companions.
“She’s right y’know, that was what we initially agreed on after all.”
“But if that's the case then I’ve been here longer than all of you, and besides Amaris, I’m the one who found this thing after Oliver injured it, so without me you wouldn’t even have your precious pet basilisk right now!” He pointed to the fuming monster in irritation, but Amaris had no intention of accepting his retort.
“This and that are two different things Owen, we both needed the basilisk for this little ruse to work. The original plan was to cause chaos with these monsters and force them to use the power of the rune, but that’s already failed twice so it doesn’t count.”
“Owen!” Vreena’s voiced cut through the stagnant air, drawing the attention of the dysfunctional party.
“.....What is it?” The man begrudgingly answered with a scornful gaze.
“These last five years, this town, your duty....did-did they all mean.....nothing to you?” Her dying voice was practically lacquered in sorrow.
Emma’s angst filled gaze flickered between the two adults in that instant, out of everyone here, she was undoubtedly the one most interested in the answer Owen was about to give.
After heaving a heavy sigh in resignation his expression changed, it wasn’t the usual half-hearted, monotone gestures he often forced himself to muster up, but instead, a genuine change.
It was like the thin veil that had previously been covering his visage for all these years had finally cracked, melting off his face to reveal the true features of the man known as “Owen Ryder.”
“Isn’t it a little late to be asking that? It should've been obvious by now but, you people mean nothing to me. The only reason the majority of you are even still alive is because we didn’t want to get the wardens involved, that’s all.”
Vreena’s arms fell limply to her side after hearing those words, Emma on the other hand seemed to have completely blocked them out, her mind was in the midst of refuting the harsh reality of the current situation.
“Heh- Look at you, acting like a bigshot. I suppose we’ll let you have your moment; this is one of the rare occasions where you actually get to shine for once.” Amaris jokingly added, covering her mouth in a fit of humor as her mischievous eyes glanced over the rogue knight.
“Huh? What was that? You need this rune to level up just as much as I do you little-”
They were supposedly allies and yet the tension between them wasn’t dissipating in the least, taking advantage of their tomfoolery, I steadily walked back over to the despair filled souls now slumped in the dirt.
(Lady Vreena, can you use your any more spells? Even just one is fine but it has to be flashy....) I asked in a hushed tone. She lazily raised her head to glance at my upturned lips. I’d thought a jovial expression was best for this sort of situation, but that faint smile had apparently drummed up a fresh batch more self-loathing inside the old woman.
(“Liam...what exactly are you planning? I’ve never...seen you smile like that before, aren’t you scared?)
Stolen novel; please report.
(“No, I’m fine. These people aren’t all that powerful and besides, I have an idea, but I'll need a distraction to make it work, can you do that?”) Wiping the smile off my face, I matched her wincing gaze with a determined one of my own. It certainly wasn’t normal for a four-year-old to be acting so calm in this situation, but this was an emergency, so the fallacious persona I had meticulously crafted over these last four years would unfortunately have to go.
All bets were off right now.
(“I think....I can, but....what exactly is this plan you just mentioned?) she asked, still grappling with the sudden shift in my demeanor.
(............................)
After I whispered that single sentence to her, Vreena’s eyes widened in shock.
(“No Liam! Absolutely not! There’s...no way I’ll agree to something like that...”) Another one of her dry coughs sent blood splattering across both the ground and my clothes, she clenched her teeth in irritation before slamming a fist to the ground.
(“Trust me, I can handle this. I pulled it off not too long ago even while carrying Emma remember? This forest has a lot more cover, so I’ll be fine.”)
After a few seconds, those words seemed to have cemented themself in her mind.
She mustered up every ounce of strength left in her dying body, then her soul flickered in one last surge of defiance.
Forcing herself to her feet with the aid of that well-worn wooden staff, her eyes once again cast a glimmer of hope.
“My goodness....I really am pathetic, to think I didn’t realize something so obvious even after all these years. Thank you, Liam, you’re one hell of a kid. Julia and Oliver definitely have something to be proud of.”
“Oh? What’s this Vreena? I take it you’re getting ready for one last hurrah?” Ulric asked in a condescending tone, but the old woman simply smiled in response.
“It’s a shame I never really got to teach you a lesson one-on-one Ulric, I’m sure a brat like you could stand to learn a thing or two.” Vreena murmured as she slowly stumbled her way over to the large tree behind us, the footsteps carrying her there weren’t being fueled by anger nor hatred, but instead, pure determination.
“I’ll take you up on that...why don’t you teach me in his stead?” Gavin replied, now coating both of his arms in gauntlets made of bedrock.
She chuckled after hearing his response. “I’m afraid it’s much too late for that child.”
Extending her free hand, she placed it on the well-aged bark of the old tree before silently whispering a command to the winds in our surroundings. This was the crucial part, taking the chance, I moved to the forefront of our gathering, stopping directly behind Emma and placing a hand on her shoulder.
Even while slumped, she was still taller than me.
“Liam huh? What’s with that serious look on your face?” Owen asked in a mischievous tone.
“Ohh that’s right, this brat was that guy’s son....Oliver was it? It’s just coming back to me. That bastard humiliated us a few weeks ago, but this is the perfect chance to get back at him, let’s go sell his kid as a slave.” Amaris enthusiastically added, clapping her hands together in a fit of joy.
“Well, his mother is a druid, so he’ll probably fetch a high price....alright, let’s go with that.” Ulric nonchalantly chimed in.
“Wait, wait, wait....I owe that kid some payback, he almost knocked a few of my teeth loose!”
“Ahhh...well I suppose that’s doable. Lucas you’ll get your chance to redeem yourself but just don’t kill him, we need his body in working condition alright?”
“Gotcha!” Slamming his fist into his open palm, the man nodded in agreement. These humans were actually brazen enough to discuss my own demise right in front of my face, what an amusing bunch.
I inhaled a deep breath before addressing the despair filled child that now seemed to be rejecting the entire world.
“Emma, these people are planning to destroy us for their own gain, they killed your father, injured your brother and now they want you. You have something they want, and they came here because of that. It doesn’t matter if Owen was someone you were close to, he’s your enemy now and that won’t ever change, but......”
She turned to face me with a bit of vigor now being clearly conveyed through her teary eyes. After that brief exchange, I could easily tell that she wanted to respond based on her trembling lips but unfortunately, that reply would have to wait.
“.....It’s not your fault, that’s just how humans are.”
Following those words, I overwhelmed the essence of Emma’s soul with a fraction of my own, knocking her out in the process. It was a risky move and one I hadn’t ever tried before but with this weakened soul of mine, I was able to pull it off.
She fell limply into my arms as I lifted her body and carried it back over to Vreena’s side.
“O-oi Liam....what was that just now?” Owen asked, his tone laced with confusion.
“You can’t escape all of us, there’s nowhere to run, give it up kid.” Ulric spat in irritation.
But just then, as if perfectly on cue, Vreena had responded to him in my stead.
“No, there’s always a way..........I’m ready Liam.”
“Shit! She still had enough strength left to use magic!?” Ulric shouted in disbelief after sensing the abrupt surge in Vreena’s mana.
“Heh-Heh-Heh.....You were right Ulric; this is my last hurrah, so you can bet I’ll make it count.”
A malicious swirl of dense air immediately enveloped us both at the root of the large tree, but this time it was a lot weaker and a lot less turbulent than the spells she’d been using mere moments ago. From behind the barricading borders of the rabid air, I saw the figures of the Brünnhilde members arming themself in response to Vreena’s taunt.
“I really am sorry about this Liam....” Her somber voice was surprisingly clear inside the tempestuous space.
“Heh - Don’t worry about it, I’ll manage.” She shifted her concerned gaze between me and the armed foes on the other side of the barrier, a deep look of hesitation and regret were now present in her listless eyes, but she still decided to press on all the same.
Channeling the last semblances of her built-up mana into the hand she’d been resting on the giant tree behind us, she issued yet another command to the swirling winds.
“Tempest Cutter.”
The swirl of wind previously surrounding us was instantly sucked into the tight space between her wrinkled palm and the large tree, and the moment she applied pressure to her palm, the recoil from her attack instantly spawned a dust cloud around us and an ominous hacking sound followed suit.
The strange noise was in fact coming from the roots of the large tree, it echoed like a creature awakening from a long slumber, but it was in fact the sound of the condensed air digging its way through the century old timber. Within seconds, a large crescent shape hole had been hollowed out on its right side, and shortly after that the gargantuan mass of lumber came tumbling down to the Earth.
“Crap! Take Cover!” That was the only command Owen could give before the slanted tree fell horizontally, creating a makeshift blockade that sectioned off this portion of the forest.
“Damn it, where’d they go!?” Ulric yelled amidst the subsiding tremors, but before anyone could even respond to him, the freshly felled mass of lumber immediately sparked into a bright orange color.
“How......?” Amaris murmured, her jaw now slipping as her mouth fell open in astonishment. “Damn It! Everybody form up, we can’t let them get away!”
Owen once again bellowed another order, but now it was finally my turn to respond to these panicked cries.
“No need to panic captain, I haven’t gone anywhere.”
With the raging flames of the burning timber now bright at my back, I made my way over towards the dysfunctional party with a rather crude looking blade strewn across my shoulder.