50. Maze of Branches

The competitors had just taken their first steps (or flaps) forward when a gust of wind burst forth. Isaac’s eyes darted to the screens, where what appeared to be an Old Lands air elemental was cackling in full zoomed in glory. It looked like some Old Lands creatures were participating, after all.

Yelled curses and swears, some in unfamiliar languages, rose from below, which just made the air elemental grin even wider. Isaac grabbed the edge of the table to keep steady as the winds continued to swirl around them, thankful that the booth was apparently sturdy enough to avoid rocking. He got hit in the face by Fable’s scarf and swatted it away like it was a hot potato.

Up in the air, Isaac caught the silhouettes of some flying creatures retreating down to the ground, where the contestants were pushing forward steadily.

Sharil’s familiar form popped up on one of the screens. The demon was frowning and, Isaac squinted, was that Olzu on her shoulder? The imp looked like he was hanging on for dear life, but Sharil gave her wings one mighty flap and pressed forward through the winds with sheer strength alone.

Around her, a few other flying creatures were doing the same. However, Isaac noted that the smaller creatures, like the wisps and sprites, were unable to brute force their way through in the same way and had no choice but to retreat to the ground. None of the wisps or sprites’re making it into the top ten, Fable’s voice rang in his head. He frowned in irritation (he’d rather not have to listen to Fable’s voice in his mind as well, thanks), but it looked like the other Traveler was indeed right, if stuff like this continued.

The winds weakened slightly, enough for Isaac to feel comfortable loosening his grip on the table, but there remained a current of them flowing through the skies, which he guessed was just strong enough to stop the smaller fliers from returning to the air.

Meanwhile, the other competitors pressed forward in staggered packs, the fastest in the front and the slowest runners and fliers straying behind in the back. Isaac caught a brief glimpse of Igor, dressed in his dull armor, slowly jogging up from the very back of the group of competitors. He had a large metal shield out, which he was using to guard himself from the wind. His face was as stoic and serious as usual.

Isaac diverted his attention away from the man when he heard a shout. Peering down at the field, his eyes widened. Originating from a tall tree that had stood innocuously in the center of the course, sharp branches had suddenly exploded outwards, spreading and breaking into smaller twigs that criss-crossed and twisted, lengthening and expanding until a web of twisted branches stood stretching from the top of the barrier to the earth.

From a close up screen, Isaac could see that the gaps were narrow, and many branches had sharp thorns jutting out from their bark. Below, one of the demons attempted to ram into them, only to jump away with a shout. The branches barely even moved, deceptively strong.

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Isaac found his eyes wandering back up to Sharil, who was hovering in place just in front of the maze of branches. She seemed to be speaking to Olzu. Isaac squinted to get a better look, but in the next moment, the two seemed to reach an agreement about something. Olzu jumped off Sharil’s shoulder and landed on the branches. He began to climb through, fully taking advantage of his size, while Sharil flew even higher up.

“Hey!”

Isaac’s eyes darted to the screen, where a fey with hair that grew like grasses atop her head strode forward confidently. She was from the subway, he realized; she’d been the one to tell Yarrow that he was a Traveler.

He watched, curious, as the fey ran straight at the branches. Moments before collision, she flipped into the air, and Isaac watched, wide eyed, as her entire body bent as easily as a blade of grass. The fey’s limbs looked boneless as she tumbled through the narrow gaps, twisting and turning so fluidly it was as though she were made of water. She never stopped, constantly in motion, utterly confident as she wove through the web.

Since the race had begun, stat sheets had been flashing across the tablet screen. Isaac ignored them for the most part, too sleep deprived to try and keep up with all those participants, but at that moment he glanced down. The fey was Aster, he realized—the person he’d bet on. Good. At least so far, it looked like his faith hadn’t been misplaced.

Following after the fey, more creatures surged forward. The previously knocked back sprites and wisps regained their positions, easily slipping between the gaps, while other more dexterous creatures made their way through.

Other beings took a different approach. High up in the sky, Sharil had extended her claws and was beginning to slash away at the branches. Olzu had climbed about halfway through. In the brief moment he flashed across one of the screens, he seemed to be yelling and cursing, which made Isaac smile slightly in amusement.

A few feet above the ground, what looked like a human with some sort of telekinesis ability had her brow furrowed in concentration. She reached her arms out, and the branches in front of her glowed faintly green. She grit her teeth, and slowly but surely, the gaps widened enough for her to hurry through. They returned to their previous state once she’d passed, walling off the people behind her.

On the ground, Isaac did a double take as a Solonell City human proceeded to do what could only be described as detaching his own limbs from his body. Somehow. The man yanked at his arm, and the limb popped right off like a doll arm pulled from its socket. He threw the arm through the web, then bent down to presumably do the same with the rest of him. Well. Isaac supposed that was one way to go about it.

An Abyss creature rose up into the air, then dove downwards to barrel through the ground, sending up a spray of scattered dirt and rocks as it did so. It returned, from the same hole, a few seconds later with a few stray thorns sticking out of it that looked nasty enough for Isaac to wince. Eldritch abomination or not, that shit looked painful.

Now that underground was confirmed to not be a viable option, Isaac could see some of the competitors speed up. The ones trying to break through with strength hurried their slashes, limbs swinging in frenzied motions.

Isaac directed his attention back to the front of the pack, where quite a few creatures had already made it through. Aster was in the lead, Isaac noted, silently pleased. The fey herself also seemed quite happy, as she had on a wide, smug grin as she ran ahead.

The temporary victory was soon interrupted, however, and Aster barely jumped back in time as a spear of water shot past her.