Chapter Thirty-One

“My gods…” Marina gasped as loose soil and rock showered her and Nia both. Nia missed her astonished words as she focused on the wall before her. It took much of her mana to conjure it; the wall of vegetation was the tallest and longest she had ever attempted and was thick enough that she could barely reach the other side if she stuck her arm through it. Hopefully, it would be enough.

She had practiced this against Mister Long and could hold off his attacks for several minutes. Of course, the snake-like golem wasn’t nearly as massive as the monster rampaging about, but the wall would still provide her with more protection than empty air.

Nia let out a held breath and turned to Marina, sweat beading on her brow despite the chilly air. “Do you think we can carry him?”

Marina was still looking at the wall before her and didn’t react to her question.

“Marina!” Nia shouted, catching her attention. “Do you think we can carry Sir Bucholz?”

The towering hedge wall shuddered and snapped as something heavy crashed into it. Its flexibility prevented it from collapsing, but the vegetation was still damaged enough for Nia to have to expend more mana to repair it. This brought her available mana down to dangerous levels, and her legs felt weak from the strain. Nia doubted she would be able to keep the wall standing after another hit like that.

The fear that she was struggling to contain bubbled up inside of her and sent shivers down her spine. But she had faced something like this before, something that caused her to want to seize up with terror… the goblin. She couldn’t let that happen again; not only was her life on the line but Marina’s and her husband’s as well. But what could she do against something like this? Mister Greeny had held the goblin down before her, and it was no bigger than a child; this monster was enormous, and it had taken almost all of her magic to conjure a wall big enough to stop a single glancing blow. She didn’t stand a chance against it.

“We can’t stay here!” Nia wheezed as she grabbed Marina’s arm and dragged her toward the tent's open flap. It was strange to Nia that she was the one taking charge. Marina had given off an air of grace and regal confidence, but now she was frozen just like Nia had been when facing the goblin.

Pulling the older woman along, Nia ducked into the tent. The warmth slapped her in the face, and the burning incense irritated her sinuses with that artificial tang she remembered from the carriage. She wondered why she hadn’t noticed the acrid smell since then, especially because she had just been having dinner inside this very tent. Her mind once again began to drift due to the incongruity, but it was once again pushed to the side as she shook Marina out of her haze.

“Grab the other side of his chair,” Nia ordered in the tone her mother would use when she wanted to get her point across. Her tone was firm and clear but held notes of compassion that kept her words from sounding disrespectful. “We’ll have to carry him out the back.”

With a wave of her hand, Nia conjured a broad leaf with a gleaming edge. It was only the size of her fist, so it took very little mana to create, but she had imagined a wooden knife, not a sharp leaf. It seemed like she still needed a lot of practice. She hurried to the back of the tent and sliced a long slit down the canvas material, the hardened edge of her leaf cutting through it like it was paper. At least she got that part right.

“Are you ready?” She asked Marina as she crouched down and grasped the bracing of the wooden chair. Vincent, the ancient businessman, was mumbling something Nia couldn’t understand over the din of the disaster occurring just outside. She felt sorry for the old man and, for a heartbeat, thought it might be more merciful to leave him behind, but that morbid thought quickly left her head as Marina spoke up.

“I—I am ready.” She had mimicked Nia’s position and taken hold of the bracing. The look in her hazel eyes conveyed her fear and anxiety, but a brimming pool of curiosity and… respect surged just behind those emotions. Nia tried not to think too deeply about it as she braced her legs and straightened her back.

With a grunt, she helped Marina lift the chair and her husband off the ground. He was heavier than his slight frame suggested, and Nia struggled to keep him balanced and from tumbling to the ground. Such a short fall wouldn’t have been a problem for a healthy person, but could easily kill the frail, old man. They took two slow steps toward the rear of the tent and nearly stumbled as another piercing screech assaulted their ears, and the ground trembled. Terrible snaps and pops soon followed as her conjured hedge wall was torn apart as the mammoth beast flopped about. They had to hurry; any moment now, the monster would crush the tent and them in it.

The transition to the frigid night air was jarring, and the lack of light nearly blinded Nia. Still, she and Marina rushed onward without a moment to spare. The Great Wall of vegetation toppled with a splintering crash, sending large chunks of detritus flying into the tent and causing it to collapse. Whooshing air buffeted Nia’s back as the temporary structure fell, whipping her hair and dress and pushing her forward. She tried to keep her balance but couldn’t prevent herself from dropping their precious cargo and falling to the ground.

“You alright?” Nia asked as she picked herself up off the ground. A quick glance showed her that Vincent was still moving, but he could not tell them coherently if he was okay.

“I am,” Marina grunted, rolling onto her side and letting out a sharp gasp as she did so. Nia thought that the woman might have been hurt for a brief moment, but as the sickening sounds of ripping flesh reached her ears, she knew that that wasn’t the case.

She already knew the massive beast was behind them, but what was so astonishing, and nauseating, was what was happening to it. The ground beneath it had turned into quicksand, sinking it so deeply that only some of its back and head were visible. Bits and pieces of the tent they were just in poked up from the liquified ground like half-buried leaves and some of the expensive-looking décor Marina had decorated it with drifted atop the surface like driftwood. The monster was still alive; that much was sure from its agonized croaks, but it wasn’t able to move or get away from the thing tearing into it.

A smaller, albeit still very large, monster had climbed onto its back, clawing and biting at its neck. Barbed vines grew from the monster and whipped about like tails, adding their own violence to the gory spectacle. Nia didn’t think the larger monster would ever die; it was bleeding profusely from grievous wounds nothing should have lived through. Its freely flowing blood turned the ground into a crimson bog, giving off a stench that would spoil fresh fruit, and white bone was visible through the ever-growing wound on its neck.

But, finally, as the monster atop its back bit through its spine, the great beast grew still.

Mister Greeny withdrew the vines burrowing into the monster’s fleshy bulk and reabsorbed them into his body. He had used a sum of mana he wasn’t comfortable with to protect his form from the creature’s strong acid and to reinforce the earth to trap it in place, so he could not waste it. Without venturing back into the world vein, it would take some time to recuperate his losses. That was if he didn’t absorb the monster’s core.

The monster’s core was big, not as significant as his was, but sizeable for a creature unable to utilize magic fully. It was apparent that its time next to the world vein had caused some unexpected growth, and this was fully confirmed to him as he pierced the core and felt the world’s mana surge into his own. It was wild and unprocessed; the monster’s simple mind and weak soul were unable to use the energy given to it, so it had just collected it within itself and pushed its body to unnatural proportions.

It was a wonder it hadn’t died long ago.

Once he had fully absorbed the mana within the core, Mister Greeny looked over to his little one and hopped to the ground. He landed lightly and moved next to her with a sprawling gait. He was still in his Forest Wyrm form, which Nia had seen before, but the woman beside her had not. She scrambled to her feet and was about to run when Nia grabbed her by the shoulder and stopped her.

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“Marina. It’s okay. We’re safe now.” Nia’s words did nothing to soothe Marina’s frantic mind, but the warm touch of her hand did. She took a moment to process the new calm around her and see that the threat to her life had passed.

Marina cleared her throat and smoothed out her rumpled dress in an attempt to regain some semblance of propriety. It was taking everything she had not to tremble in the presence of the strange, looming wyrm. “Right, yes.” She took in a shaky breath. “We should… we should… take stock and see about who was injured. Can you help me with Vincent, Nia?”

Mister Greeny watched the woman with placid, emerald eyes, noticing how she refused to look at him. She couldn’t be blamed for her fear; a lot had happened in such little time, and she had almost been killed. It was only natural. Still, there was no reason to cause her any more distress.

Mister Greeny’s body shook as the verdant leaves and vines making up his form constricted and collapsed. Sounds of creaking timber filled the air like an ancient forest bending in the wind, and the emerald light from his flaring core flashed brightly like an exploding star. When the light faded and the women cleared the stinging pain from their eyes, a wolf stood silently where the Wyrm once was.

The shift of perspective was a little jarring, but it was nothing Mister Greeny could not overcome in less than half a heartbeat. He looked to the blinking woman, Marina, before turning his gaze upon his little one. Are you alright? I am sorry I was not faster; that creature was deceptively quick for something of its size.

Although concern was the overwhelming emotion he was feeling at the moment, there was still a tinge of embarrassment eating away at him. He had drastically underestimated the monster’s resilience, speed, and capability to escape his magic. It was as slippery as it was slimy. He used more magic than he would have liked, and it still managed to reach the camp. His reign as king of his little section of forest was over, usurped by the unknowns within a world he no longer recognized.

“You were chasing it?” Nia asked him, looking over his canine form like a worried mother hen. She knew he was much more powerful than she was, but she still cared for him, and no amount of strength would change that.

I was. He told her before looking back over to Marina. Is she ill?

Nia followed his gaze and saw that all the color had drained from the woman’s face, making it look like she had seen her own death. Her eyes were wide and focused on the verdant wolf. It was the same reaction that the woodsmen showed when they had first exited the forest, and it made Nia a little sad to see.

“Marina… Marina, it’s okay.” Nia stepped next to the woman and touched her. Marian flinched slightly before taking her eyes off Mister Greeny.

“Wh—who are you?”

To her credit, Marina collected herself quickly. The woman realized the dire situation around them needed some direction to be salvaged, and she hadn’t risen into her position without the ability to make decisions. Marina collected the uninjured and set them on the task of finding those who needed help. Unfortunately, her trade caravan had no dedicated healer, so only basic first aid could be given.

That was until Nia stepped in to help.

The young woman had only brewed potions in practice and never with any real consequence as to whether they were effective or not. Now, she had half a dozen men with severe burns from the monster’s acidic mucus and a few of the female attendants with abrasions and broken bones to see to. Two others were in the tent, which they had turned into a healer’s hut. They were lying on their backs and had sheets draped over their forms, and they were well beyond the help of any potion Nia could brew. She tried not to look at them as she stooped over a bubbling iron cauldron.

Mister Greeny sat beside her on his haunches, watching her movements with pride. He hadn’t taught her everything he had learned from watching the other villages, but what she did learn, she practiced with confidence and precision. Of course, she couldn’t have done everything on her own. Many of the ingredients required weren’t available to her on the plains, but with a flare of his mana, he was able to produce the things she needed.

His little one juiced a stinking root of serpent’s tongue, not minding the yellow pigment staining her hands. She measured the few drops needed and gently stirred them into the steaming pot. She leaned over and watched the liquid turn a brilliant canary yellow before quickly fading into something peat-colored and smelling of the earth. It was done.

She gave him a tired smile and nodded; his little one had been at this for a few hours, and the night was growing old. “Once this cools, it should be ready, right?”

It will be. Mister Greeny confirmed. It will prevent rot from setting in and help the body heal with little scarring. You have done a fantastic job.

Nia paused, chewing on her bottom lip as if she wanted to say something but didn’t. She looked around the inside of the tent and at the dozen people waiting for her to heal them. Then, she gathered the courage to ask her question. “Can we just not use your magic to help them? It would be much faster than this elixir and probably do a better job of it.”

You are not wrong; my magic would make quick work of their injuries, but my mana would suffer. He explained patiently. And they are not so far gone as to need my intervention.

Nia nodded in understanding. She didn’t know how much mana Mister Greeny held within his massive core and thought it would be rude to ask, but she knew she was exhausted. She had nearly run herself dry when she conjured that wall of thorns, and repairing it after only one hit almost caused her knees to buckle beneath her. So, it only stood to reason that the forest spirit would be tired as well.

“What should we do?” Nia asked as she used her finger to check the rapidly cooling elixir. It wasn’t the most accurate method of checking the temperature of something, but she only needed to make sure it wouldn’t scald flesh when drunk.

Our goal remains the same. He said, cocking his head. This incident does not change anything.

Nia ladled the bulk potion into clay cups before handing it to a wary attendant assigned to help her. The poor girl looked younger than Nia was and looked utterly lost. She took the cup in both hands, not daring to look at her or the talking wolf made of vines and vegetation, and scurried over to a waiting guard wrapped in bandages soaked in a numbing balm. “I meant about Marina. We need to help her. It’s our fault all of this happened.”

It is no one’s fault other than the monster’s. Mister Greeny argued, his creaking voice causing the poor attendant to jump and spill some potion onto the floor. He found some amusement in that but had to focus on his little one’s words. To lay blame at our own feet would be foolish.

“But it was running from you,” Nia pointed out. Mister Greeny had filled her in on what he had been up to during the time she had been taking care of the injured guards and attendants. She was under the impression that if he hadn’t gone looking for trouble, that monster wouldn’t have found them.

It was, but I did not choose the direction in which it would flee. Remember, I did not provoke the beast. It pursued me well beyond any natural need to feed, and I believe the world’s mana not only affected its size but its mind as well. He had given some thought to what had happened and had come to that conclusion. Mana poured out of world veins, and that much energy could affect creatures in ways he knew nothing about.

“So, it was mad?” Nia asked. “Was it because of the world vein you told me about?”

I believe so, yes. I am a creature of mana; the world vein nourishes me, but the same cannot be said about creatures of flesh and blood. At least, that is what I observed.

Nia looked contemplative as she scooped out the last of the elixir and gave it to the young attendant before thanking her for her help. “Do you think we’ll see more monsters like that?”

No. World Veins are rare and difficult to find, so we would be terribly unlucky if we did. Of course, there were more of those creatures beneath the earth, but I will ensure they do not grow into threats. Mister Greeny said to her before making sure his little one no longer needed him. He would leave her for a time, just long enough to cull the spawnlings growing in that chamber and to absorb some of the world’s mana.