The forest exploded into violent motion. Something burst from the underbrush and fell on the wolves like an avalanche of steel and blood. The pack leader was split in two by a massive axe, and Krosa’s heart almost stopped as she got her first close look at the entity that had made its presence felt on the battlefield the night before, and now moved through the pack of mutant wolves like a thresher. It was tall, with a torso like a barrel, long arms ending in hands that appeared disproportionately large. Corded muscles bunched under mottled, almost scaly skin, covered in scars. The creature wore some armor, bracers covered the thick forearms, and a tattered brigantine protected its torso and upper thighs. The remains of trousers were that covered its legs and its feet were bare, thick toes sinking into the soil like anchors as the monster's mighty legs propelled it through the pack.
Krosa watched in fascinated horror as the man-shaped beast tore the wolves apart like they were made of paper. The parts of the axe not covered in gore gleamed dully as it cleaved limbs from bodies, wielded to ruthless affect. The creatures’ free hand moved like a snake, grasping and striking with blinding speed and unspeakable force. Her heart skipped as she watched that massive, scarred hand, grasp the snarling face of a wolf, and simply…crush it. Like a man crushing an egg, brains and bits of skull and mangy hide bursting from between the fingers.
Within seconds, the wolves were dead. The last, missing both forelegs and the lower part of its jaw, crawled towards Krosa where she knelt in her clearly inadequate fortress. The axe descended, almost casually, and cleanly severed what remained of the head. Krosa breathed, for what felt like the first time since the fight had begun. Shuddering inhales and exhales shook her as she struggled not to hyperventilate. As the axe was pulled from the dirt beneath the fresh corpse of the wolf, she saw that its wielder wore a greathelm that entirely concealed its face. The helm was battered and dented, and even had puncture marks that made it look like something had tried to bite through it. The helm turned toward her, and she saw the glint of eyes observing her through the slits, before the attention of the axe wielder was turned to it’s weapon. It’s first words were to the axe, not her.
“Sloppy work, I know. Should have had its head on the first stroke. Still, you can’t argue with the results I suppose. And it’s been a long day.”
The voice rumbled, and Krosa felt oddly reassured to hear human speech, even if it sounded a bit like an earthquake. The creature continued to ignore her, appearing to have an argument with the bearded axe that it was now cleaning fastidiously with leaves.
“Well, you certainly couldn't do any better, you wouldn’t even be able to lift yourself, even if you weren’t an axe. Which you are, so I don’t even know why we’re discussing it.” A pause. “Well of course she’s going to think I’m crazy, I’m a forest monster that’s talking to an axe, doesn’t that sound crazy to you?” A shorter pause, then a deep laugh came from deep within the barrel-chest. “I suppose you’re right. Might as well get this over with.”
Turning its attention back to Krosa, who had been frantically reinforcing her rootcage and adding spikes, the creature removed its helmet. Long, stringy black hair hung from its head, and a human face was distorted by jaws that held obvious teeth. The scale-like skin from the arms and legs was also present on the thing's face, but the thing that held her attention and calmed her heart were the eyes.
Deep, brown, and unbearably human, they looked at her with an expression of weariness unlike anything she’d ever seen. They were tired, but kind, amber brown that seemed to shine from the bestial face.
“Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Yashik, Baron Zevir, first among the cursed, and leader of the damned. Welcome to my lands, and whatever fate brought you here know that you will come to no harm that I can prevent. We are not far from my home, and I offer you food and shelter there for as long as you're in need of it.” To his axe, “There, are you happy now?”
“I”m Krosa” As she spoke her name, the Baron’s attention returned to her with a startly intensity. He glanced at his axe and nodded.
“Well met, Krosa. I have heard of you, but that is a tale for another time. For now, please come with me. These wolves sent out a call, and it is not likely I was the only one who heard it.” With that said, he reached out and pulled the roots of her cage, breaking them like they were kindling, and offered her his hand. Taking it, she was surprised at how gently he lifted her to her feet.
They began to walk, Krosa trailing the deep footprints left by the Baron. Standing, he was even taller than he’d first appeared. Helm slung from his side, axe carried on his shoulder, Yashik made an imposing figure as he stalked through the forest. Krosa was searching her brain for something to say when the huge man halted abruptly.
Yashik signaled for quiet with a raised hand, head up as he cast about the forest, searching. Krosa gripped her spear, listening intently. The Baron moved so suddenly that she almost stabbed at him, but he was out of her reach in an instant and she was left alone in the near dark. She heard a great crashing sound ahead and gritting her teeth in determination, she advanced towards the noise. Breaking into a clearing, she froze at what she saw. The wolves had indeed been calling for something that could break through her protection, and the Baron was now engaged in a fierce battle with it.
Standing nearly as tall as Yashik, the creature in front of her was twisted just like all the others had been, but she had never seen whatever animal it had once been, only heard of them in stories told around the Lodge when the hunters were deep in their cups. It was a Mountain Ape, hundreds of pounds of teeth and muscle and more intelligence than even the wolves or bears. Large claws grew from long arms, and it moved with a nimble grace that belied its size.
It fought more intelligently than the other creatures had, dodging swings of the axe while taking cautious swipes with its claws that scored ringing hits on bracers and brigandine, and wounding cuts on flesh. As clever and strong as it was though, she thought it unlikely that it would be able to bring down the giant man before he cleaved it with the axe. And she would have been right, had two more of the Apes not emerged into the clearing, hooting eerily and baring their gleaming incisors.
They moved to surround Yashik and Krosa knew if she didn’t do something he would likely be overwhelmed. At the same time, she didn’t want to become a liability in the fight. Running to the side, she slammed her will into a tree, causing it to crash down into the clearing. The tree fell between the combatants and the two new enemies, causing them to leap back. It was a temporary delay, as they quickly recovered and swarmed over the downed trunk.
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Yashik had not wasted the opportunity though. Just as Krosa hoped, the armored Baron had capitalized on the distraction and now the ape he was fighting was missing an arm, and was unable to defend itself when the giant left hand reached out and grasped it by the neck. A short gurgle followed as he ripped the creature’s throat out. As the ape staggered, Yashik kicked it hard in the chest, throwing it several feet back and leaving it to bleed out on the ground. Snarling, he turned to face the two other apes that leapt toward him from the fallen tree.
Claws swept towards him, appearing to Krosa like windmills gone mad, a swirling melee of death. Yashik weaved and blocked, great axe forced on the defense as he held it in both hands. Krosa felt for any roots or vines she could use to trip or bind, but before she could do anything one of the apes changed tactics, and lunged at Yashik with its gaping mouth full of sharp teeth. Instead of avoiding the attack, the Baron accepted it, allowing the monster to close its jaws on his shoulder. The steel plates in the brigandine screeched as they were ground together, and Yashik roared as some of the massive canines made their way through the armor and pierced into his upper body. At the same time, the claws dug into him, tearing great gashes into his thighs and arms.
But it had not been a naive move on the beast-man’s part. Switching his axe back to a single-handed grip, he used his free arm to wrap around the ape that was gnawing on him, seeking his vitals. With overpowering strength, he used the ape as a shield, and from behind it he struck with the axe. A great wound appeared on the other ape as the axe split it open from its shoulder to its hip, throwing it back. The heel point of the axe sank into the head of the ape that still frantically tore at the Baron, and with a final roar Yashik pulled the blade through the creature's skull, ripping it away from him and nearly decapitating the beast in the process.
Great wheezing breaths issued from the huge man, as he dropped to one knee, blood flowing freely down his body and soaking into the torn soil at his feet. Krosa began to approach when the ape that had been cut open sprang from the ground and rushed towards the wounded man. He pulled the axe up in defense, and the jaws of the beast snapped closed on the haft as Yashik was pushed to his back by the weight of the creature. He struggled to keep the gnashing teeth from his throat as the clawed forepaws of the beast struck at his arms. Krosa found herself sprinting towards them, all hesitation and doubt gone.
Gripping her spear firmly, she ran it into the eye of the monster with all the momentum she could build. It pierced deep into the skull of the beast, who pulled back in shock and pain, howling as it swiped at her with bloody claws. But the arm that had been hurtling her way was arrested in mid-swing, as Yashik grabbed it. Straining, he dropped the axe and grabbed the apes’ other arm, holding it in place as it tried to rend the girl that had dared to interfere in this battle of giants. Krosa regained her grip on her makeshift spear that she had grown only the day before, but now felt like years ago. She forced her will into the shaft, telling it to grow, telling it to seek water and sun and nutrients, and to seek those things in the body of the mighty ape.
The ape screamed as leafy branches burst through its skull, shattering bone. Its remaining eye fell from its head as a root tendril curled down its face from where it had sprouted from the shaft of the spear. She felt the butt of the spear sink into the ground, and her vision went greenish-black as she lost herself in the magic. Seconds passed like hours and her awareness of the world faded until she finally fell to the ground and returned to herself.
She had never experienced such a strong connection to a plant before, and as she examined herself she felt a small sense of shock and wonder at what she had just done. Something about this forest, this place, it was almost like she was stronger here, or like she was getting help from the plants themselves. From the bloom she had carried since she had plucked it from the corpse of a mutated cat, to the tree that now stood in front of her. She stared up at what she had grown. The spear had sunk roots into the earth, and branches reached into the open sky of the clearing, which now shone with soft starlight.
The corpse of the giant Mountain Ape hung from the tree in grisly shreds, a soft bloody rain dripping from the leaves onto the still form of Yashik, who lay beneath the roots. His chest still moved with labored breathing, but she could tell even in the darkness that his injuries were grievous. He had lost consciousness, and likely lost a great deal of blood as well, although it seemed that his wounds were already staunching themselves.
She was now facing a dilemma. The Baron had mentioned that the castle was near, but she had lost the direction they had been going in. She also had no way to transport the inert bulk of her protector. Staying in place was not an option, as more of the twisted fiends that roamed the mountains would surely finish the job started by the apes. She pulled herself to her feet, knees shaking slightly. None of that. She thought sternly. We don’t have time for any nonsense, now work properly or we’ll have words. Her knees properly admonished for their shameful display of weakness, Krosa planted her feet and took a few deep, centering breaths, remembering the lessons Dyrik had taught her to calm her mind and marshal her will.
Her thoughts went to the flower that she had returned to her pocket as she considered her options. Pulling it out, she was relieved to see that it still glowed slightly, and its comforting hum still provided a direction. She couldn’t be sure, but she felt that the direction the flower was guiding her matched the direction they had been going before the apes attacked. Well, that’s one problem solved.
She was considering her second problem, that of how to move the Baron, when the problem solved itself. The tree that had grown from the ape began to move, roots twisting and twining, leaves rustling. Startled, she reached out to it with her will but could not make a connection. Something, or someone, was blocking her attempts. She felt a twinge of concern as the roots wrapped around the still body of Yashik, but she calmed as she saw that they were gently lifting and supporting him, pulling him into a cradle that formed under the main trunk.
More roots pulled themselves from the ground, twining together and forming six great legs that thudded into the ground as the tree pulled itself free. When it finally stopped moving, it had transformed into a bizarre insect-like carriage, as horrifying as it was beautiful. Yashik was secured underneath, cradled protectively behind a sheltering cage of roots. She approached the carriage cautiously, she observed that a human sized seat had formed on the back of it, jutting out from the trunk, which had split and thinned to become almost shrub-like above the massive root structure.
Sighing, she climbed into the seat. Because why not. Fantastic, a sentient tree wagon, that’s probably going to carry me back to some kind of lair where I’m going to be digested like an insect in a pitcher plant. In front of her, a small niche opened up in the trunk, clearly waiting for something. Following her instincts, she placed the flower she had carried for so many months into the niche. It immediately sunk roots into the tree-carriage, glowing slightly as the legs began to move. Krosa relaxed in her seat as the carriage stumped through the woods, multiple root-legs churning and providing a surprising smooth passage through the rough terrain.
Well, wherever this thing is taking me, I hope there’s food. And that it’s not me.