Chapter Twelve- Trap
Lilliana felt her gaze linger on Mark as his wet clothes clung tightly to him. His muscles weren't massive by any means, but they were defined, and the sight was definitely one she enjoyed beholding. “Have I told you about the palace gardens yet?” she asked, realizing that she really hadn’t revealed much about herself to him yet. When the expected “no” came, she explained further. “My father’s gardens were magnificent. Rows of flowers as far as the eye could see, the most expansive selection of herbs and rare plants on the continent.” “Your father?” Mark asked questioningly. “Yes, my father,” she replied, reaching out and taking hold of his hand. A memory came to her now, swift and sweet. “My mother wasn’t much of a gardener, while she lived, but in the garden she had one plot that she could call her own.” she paused briefly, her voice catching as she thought of her mother.
“She- she had a paya tree. Dad gave it to her, when they first met It grew tall and strong, and produced the sweetest fruits out of any tree in the gardens. “It sat in a little glade, just like this one.” She continued. “I spent so much time there when I was younger.” she sighed and leaned against him. “You were raised in a palace?” he asked. It seemed he had gotten caught up on that, but she supposed it made sense. She hadn’t told him. “My father was king.” “So you’re a princess?” he asked. “I was, once,” she responded. “But now I’m just me.” He scoffed at that, surprising her. “You are far more than ‘just’ you," he responded indignantly. “Princess.” she flushed at the almost sultry tone his voice took for that word. “If you start calling me Princess, I’m going to need an equally embarrassing pet name for you,” she warned.
“Well Princess, you can get right on that,” he said to her, standing with a flourish before executing some sort of strange half-bow that had them both bursting back out into laughter. He dried them off with his water manipulation, and they got to work on the plan that she had detailed to him before.
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A tear in the earth revealed the centerpiece of their plan; the pit they had located on their forced tour of the island nestled in a little clearing between the trees. About 10 feet deep, its vertical stone walls were worn smooth by time. It was perfect. Now, Mark and Lilliana sat by the edge, channeling their magic, while the dragon watched from the sidelines, appearing confused. It was weird, the process of partner casting. The pins and needles ebbed and flowed in a way totally unlike their normal, more constant pressure, as water flowed into the pit from an arbitrary point before them. The curse applied this time was Lilliana’s health drain, and would activate when it was touched by anyone other than the three of them. When about two feet of cursed water had pooled in the bottom of the pit, their mana faltered, and they stopped the cast, breathing heavily.
As he bit deeply into one of two mana regenerating ami roots from the pack strapped over his shoulder, Mark smiled down at the dark, swirling water beneath them. It was darker than it ought to be, the curse adding some sort dark aura. It wasn’t draining, and two feet of water should, in theory, be more than enough for their purposes. Mark thought about the tracks that they had seen that first day; thought about the nightmarish creatures that some of the books had detailed. They’d been so lucky as to avoid them thus far, but he knew that could change at any moment. The pit was conveniently placed within the Ut’Aina forest, which, for what little it was worth, was supposedly the safest section of the island, but the part they were in was near enough to the border of the hawk nesting grounds that the great crowning foliage of the beloab trees could be seen.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Because of this, they were being cautious. As he ate, Lilliana kept her eyes to the sky, and mark kept his energy sensing skill completely focused. There was simply no way he would let such a close call happen again. He finished his tuber quickly, before handing one to Lilliana and taking her place on watch. She too ate quickly, and he reminded himself of their plan. They would fill the pit with cursed water, before attracting the attention of some sort of creature or monster, depending on what they could find in the area. Mark and Lilliana would get its attention, violently, and lead the creature back to the pit, where she would would use her discombobulating curse on whatever nightmarish beast chased them. They would scatter, and hope that the creature would fall into the pit.
As far as plans went, this one did leave a great deal to be desired. There were an infinite number of things that could go wrong, but if the curse was as debilitating to the creature as it was to the two of them, It would work. The small probably that came through his mind was worrying enough, honestly. Then without warning, Mark detected something approaching their trap from the side opposite them. He tapped Lilliana on the arm and tried something he hadn’t yet. “Lilliana,” he thought at her. It didn’t seem to work, and he tried again. “Lilliana?” This time, he got a response.“Mark?” He ushered her down into the bush besides them. “There’s something coming,” he sent, and felt her body tense next to his as she picked up on the signature closing in. As it had in the arena with the scorpion creature, her tail puffed up like a cat’s. She didn’t seem to notice, and he gently grabbed it and pulled it down and out sight. “So soft.” he hadn’t meant to send that stray thought, but based on the embarrassed look she shot him immediately after, he definitely had. It was true, though.
They watched on in silence as the creature exited the treeline with the easy grace of a predator. Standing on four legs, the ursine creature was massive. With tawny brown fur, and the body and bulk of a polar bear, the beast lumbered into the clearing and wandered straight over to the edge of the pit, taking in deep sniffs of the air. Then it looked straight past them and roared at the little ball of blue that was currently bouncing around in the trees chasing a butterfly. “The dragon!” Mark sent to Lilliana. “I’m casting the discombobulate curse now!” she sent him. But she needn’t have worried. Without any warning, their little friend turned on the monster and roared just as loud, right back at it. They clapped their hand over their ears, Lilliana’s curse dissipating into nothing. The bear creature, with no such measure it could take, reared back in surprise… and toppled backwards into their trap.
A loud splash-thud could be heard as the bear struck the bottom of the pit, followed by the sounds of violent thrashing, which quickly diminished in volume until no there were no audible signs of life. All three of them carefully eased up to the edge of the pit, and peered over the side. The bear’s corpse lay still in the pool at the base of the pit. “Um, Mark?” Lilliana ventured, sounding a little overwhelmed. “Yes?” he replied. “How do we get it out?”
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Lilliana moaned as she bit into the juicy ‘bear steak’, as Mark called it. It wasn’t seasoned, or butter basted, or even all that tender, really, but it was meat. The jerky felt as if it had been eons ago, even though it really had only been a few days. Mark had cooked them on a large, flat stone with a fire underneath, and while they were by no means glamorous or pretty, they hit the spot in a way nothing else would. Fruits and veggies were all fine, she supposed but nothing compared to the joy she was experiencing now. She tore into her steak voraciously, with both hands, and Mark did the same with his own. The founder of their feast himself pigged out on one of the best cuts. The little guy did like meat, it seemed- it just had to be raw.