As they grew further from the Grove, the land started to decline, getting muddier as they hiked lower still. Gazen’s boots held him above the muck a little better than the Toah’s own feet. Strange, are they frogs or toads? Their legs are clearly that of a frog’s with powerful muscled to jump, ending in large, webbed feet, but they have stout and often fat toad bodies.
“Hey Crota,” Gazen broke the silence, “Are your people toads or frogs?”
“I know not these words, tallwalker.” He hopped alongside the man at the front of the pack, keeping his round eyes peeled all the while, “The Toah are the Toah.”
Perhaps a common ancestor? Since the skyreaver struck, it had been quiet. Crota explained their calls often scared other creatures off, and that went doubly so for their death cries. The young ones quickly bled it, and a few took it over their shoulders for everyone’s next meal. I wonder if a large toad would eat a small bird.
“Why do they call this place the Sunken Marsh?” No trees grew on the muddy incline, but they were halfway to the bottom where it seemed to turn into a bonified swamp. The sun beat down on those taking the trial, making conditions even worse, so Gazen was ready for some foliage.
“Tallwalker of Clouds, Ribbit,” Another Toah had approached from behind—one of the ‘warlords’. “It is said a thousand moons ago a great calamity nearly split this land. When the Sundered Peak did split, revealing the Spring of Endless Moons, croak, our Ancestral Bog fell into the clouds. That is when it became the Sunken Marsh.” His tone became sullen as he explained their history.
“All of the tadlings were lost,” Crota picked it up, “Our people can only breed in spring, and we nearly died out when no one could reach their second, leaving our fate to the scarce young.”
“So, the reason none of the older immortals are still here…” Gazen spoke softly.
“Indeed,” Crota made a wheezing sigh, “They all passed in battle before their hundredth moon… But it is because of our forefathers, ribbit, that we still live. Though we may never reclaim our presence over this land, the spring has given us a chance to thrive as we once did.”
The young artificer was fascinated by their plight. As bad as that sounds, he had never seen a people quite like them. Normally sentient races lived much closer to the span a human would. Gazen met talking wolves a few islands back and they claimed to live more than half a century—far more than your average wolf.
Frogs and toads should both live longer than a year. Maybe I shouldn’t compare them, but it’s hard not to. They only get one chance to bear young in their brief lifetime, then they die, which is something I would expect of an insect. This race is not only mana-intuititive, but sapient. So, what’s going on here?
“Tsssss!” The warlord hissed, holding an arm out to halt them.
Crota asked in a low voice, “What do you see, Ritta?”
“Leapweavers…” Ritta was uneasy, focused to the jungle above them to the left, “They must be migrating. Looks like a whole brood heading for us.” His words were shorter now that there was danger afoot, he turned behind him and signaled the remaining warlord in the back and shouted at the nervous group of spawnlings, “Leapweavers on the ridge! Prepare for battle!”
Just what in all the skies is a leapweaver? Gazen turned his attention to the ridge and readied his crossbow. I was really hoping it wasn’t that…
A bright orange spider appeared between branches at the edge of the tree line. Two points stuck up behind it and swayed as it wiggled its abdomen. There were round patterns on them as if to mimic an even larger predator, but it observed them with eight glassy eyes. I should not be able to see a spider’s eyes from this far. From his gander, it stood a little taller than the Toah. Fire knives it is.
Gazen shot the crossbow already trained on his target, letting loose another stone bolt. These traveled fast, and the momentum from the accelerated bowstring caused him to lurch forward. He could hardly see it travel himself, but in that split second the spider jumped from the branch into the mud. This, he couldn’t see at all. Gazen thought his bolt shot true for a fraction of a second, but it was only an afterimage.
How am I supposed to throw a knife at that?!
More appeared in the trees, leaping down like the other. Bright blues and yellows, reds and greens. They were all a slightly different hue and scuttled through the mud for a few steps before leaping a few yards ahead.
A chorus of croaks and ribbits startled him from his observations as he watched a bright fireball the size of his fist fly up the hill. In the very next instant the spider jumped, but the spawnlings had already thrown their fireballs as well, grouping them to the left and right, then straight in its path. One group hit, searing an incoming spider’s hairs and forcing it to scuttle back, clicks and tisks coming from behind its mandibles.
In tandem with the first successful strike, the other two groups piled in throwing fireballs and jagged stones at its head. Losing an eye with every few stones and Immobilized from the flames, its legs seemed taught as it tried to scuttle away, but the barrage of stones eventually brought it to the ground and the third warlord took the kill with a spearhead like stone through one of its missing eyes.
That was amazing teamwork, but all that just to kill one? There’s only enough of them for two such formations. I need to do something, and fast. As more vibrant spiders poured down the hill, it wouldn’t even be thirty seconds until the horde fell on them. The pattering of countless legs made it hard to think.
Suddenly Crota croaked at him, “Tallwalker… I am sorry if we do not make it out alive. I did not expect it to come to this. Spawnlings!” He cried, “To the marsh! We are in their way!”
The entire brood was heading the same direction, it was only about half that distinctly ran towards the Toah. They had somewhere to be that Gazen couldn’t posit. But now wasn’t the time either. Everyone started running or hopping deeper into the basin, but it would still take them a few minutes to disappear into the trees. “Don’t let up!” Ritta shouted, forcing them to hold their formations while they rushed to escape. They used the airtime between hops to let each spell loose, but at this point it was mostly scattering them.
Gazen found it difficult to keep up with the Toah with their great hops and his slow, awkward gait. The orange leapweaver he shot at first was rapidly approaching with all eyes on him. The spawnlings tried targeting it, but it jumped back and a different spider fell into its trap as they continued forward. Now unimpeded, Gazen faced it down. Two more leaps and he was out of time. Most of his weapons were not made for impossibly fast jumping opponents. They were close quarters or offhanded throwing weapons.
Why did I think this job would be easy? The Toah are completely showing me up right now. I’m useless. Must I rely on sorcery after all? No, not yet. I prepared for this, after all.
Withdrawing a handful of small vials filled with blue liquid from a pouch at his waist, Gazen threw a couple in different spots ahead of him around the distance he thought it would leap to and a flash of mana seeped into the ground, saturating the already wet mud. The spider appeared right behind the quagmire, glaring at him before lurching forward. “You bastard!”
In a panic, Gazen stopped running and threw another vial down just a few feet away in the spider’s direction, and the ground turned into a sloshy muck as the imposing bright orange arachnid appeared before him. Its eight legs sunk into the deep mud as it clicked in fury, its rear horns stood taller than the terrified artificer and wavered erratically. From its mandibles came a grinding sound that pierced his ears as it tried to get its legs out. The best it could manage was a couple at a time before it would drag itself back down.
Gazen didn’t waste a moment in launching a knife into one of its eyes. The leapweaver hissed as the glyphs engraved on the blade burned to life and soon the whole knife was engulfed in flame. Within seconds, fire shot from its maw, and it fell to the ground, slowly sinking into the mud.
Abandoning the knife, Gazen ran, shouting obscenities as he tried to get the canter right with his enlarged footprint. His legs swung wide as he almost found a rhythm lobbing himself forward. He felt like he was skipping but without the skip, and it wasn’t fast enough to outrun the next leapweaver rapidly approaching. By now the herd was passing them by, and scores of the flashy overgrown spiders bounded through the mud and up the opposite ridge like a parade of tropical birds.
I’ll have to ask Crota where they’re going, but how bizarre. I’ve never seen spiders migrate like this. I’m just glad they’re not all after us. Most strays had started going after the Toah, who had gained a great deal of distance from Gazen and almost made it to the relative safety of the marsh. The leapweavers though, had almost made it to them. Hence Gazen’s frustration at his own lack of mobility. If he had more time and materials, he could have jumped like the Toah, but that was neither here nor there.
Here and now a bright red spider approached him and leapt in a wide serpentine as if wary of its comrade’s fate. Gazen had one more trick in his arsenal for a single approaching spider, but this specimen caused him concern. Nevertheless, it was do or die. Among his rings was one that stored a spear, similar to his hammer ring. He had wanted to save mana, but it wouldn’t help him if he was eaten by a spider. Channeling a little into the ring, a spear of heavy iron appeared in his hand, and he positioned himself for a lunge.
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The spear was mankind’s best friend. He’d seen many hunters fell great beasts simply by lying in wait while it approached and holding their spear strong at the perfect time. A bear thrice the size of a man practically charged the spear, only to slide down it when the hunter decided it was time to take the plunge. In the same way, Gazen would hold his spear firm until the spider was before him and jab straight through its skull, hopefully. But is this spider smarter than your average bear? I’m not so sure anymore…
As the leapweaver approached, its evasive path narrowed straight for him. Sweat poured down Gazen’s face as his knuckles turned white. The spear trembled, but its point did not waver. His nerves only grew thicker as the crimson spider’s pace slowed, still hopping side to side, and waving its strangely patterned abdominal horns swayed—almost hypnotically. Gazen felt his eyes starting to lose focus, following them.
For a moment he felt his grip loosen and he let out a shout, “Come on, already!” The fog in his mind cleared as he shook his head, shuddering. Gazen took one step toward the leapweaver and it stopped in place. Taking a gamble, he raised his arm high, preparing to throw the spear. In that moment its mesmerizing horns quivered, and Gazen knew it was too late. No! I should have known!
A thick string of web shot up as the horns pinched together and jolted forward, throwing it through the air like a harpoon. Gazen fell into the mud, rolling to a stop as he struggled to separate his feet. They were bound in a rigid coating of web. “Of course, they’re goddamn spinnerets… Idiot!” Wiping the mud from his face and out of his eyes, Gazen growled at the eight eyes leering back. It watched him writhe on the ground covered in filth. He could see the jittering in its many pointed legs, excited for a fresh meal.
“Fine. I knew it would come to this when spiders appeared.” He pulled the crystal orb from his belt, still covered in mud. Spiders actually have sixteen knees, and when Gazen saw them flex he made his move, “Searing Lance!”
It appeared before him with mandibles already spread, and their dark exoskeletal sheen reflected the radiant lance of conjured flame. The moment it went to lunge, Gazen let it loose. It stabbed right into the leapweaver’s open maw and through its fleshy innards, sizzling until it reached the unyielding chiton. While it skittered through death throes, Gazen sealed the deal, “Crimson Pike!” A light grew from beneath the beast, lifting it off the ground as a red-hot spear grew from the mud.
When its feet finally left the ground he could hear a crunch as the spider suddenly sunk down on the tip of the pike. It would disperse in a minute or so, but he didn’t have time to watch. “I think I’ve proven my point about spears. I need to get back to the others.”
Perhaps it was the trail of dead leapweavers or the open flaunting of fire sorcery greater than a toad could muster, but the herd had stopped breaking off to chase them. Now it was just the remaining group of ten or so accosting the Toah. They were forced to stop running and had taken the defensive.
“How are they not overwhelmed?” He panted heavily, trying to lumber the distance away. It had already been a few minutes since they started running and that was more than enough for them to hop far away. He wondered if they would have been able to put on such a good defense if they made it to the trees, but now he was closing the distance.
The spiders were much less mobile when they clustered up. Even surrounding them, they could only shift side to side. The warlords and a few of the spawnlings kept a ring of spinning fireballs which didn’t do a whole lot more than dishearten the leapweavers, but the occasional stray flame kept them back. Meanwhile the rest pelted them with rocks. The projectiles were ineffective as they couldn’t be aimed, but it still held them at bay. It was a battle of attrition with the odds overwhelming against the Toah.
Now just a stone’s throw away, Gazen let loose another fire arrow that brushed against their ring, startling a few spiders back and sticking into the side of another. Burning through its husk, it couldn’t go far and dissipated quickly, scorching its bright yellow coat. It was clearly injured, but not fallen. “Dammit, just three spells and a quarter of my mana is gone. I really do need to practice.”
“Tallwalker!” Crota’s frantic cries reached him, “I feared you were dead!”
The newest challenge was getting through the encirclement of leapweavers. This was where the various enchantments on Gazen’s leather armor came into play. The weathered scrap had gotten him through too many close calls to count, and normally he would use them for running away rather than charging into a fight.
Barriers were difficult for Gazen as they required an immense comprehension of mana conjuration, which he regrettably slacked on. They were comprised of it in pure form. He had a dream of one day surrounding his roaming island of Breeze Haven in a massive one, but that was far off. For now, he could only activate a small one around his body through enchantments alone.
Channeling mana into his armor, a thin shield of translucent white appeared around the proud artificer. Just outside the range of his stride so he couldn’t be bound again, but he quickly found himself jumping over clumps of web as the leapweavers took notice of him. One thing he could do was convert a little extra fire mana and add that to the barrier. It wouldn’t burn them, but he hoped it would hold them back long enough to reach the Toah.
As he got near, three of them surrounded him, shifting in circles. Gazen started aimlessly shooting his crossbow around him, almost sticking one before it scuttled back. One leapt close and lunged its maw at him, impacting the barrier with a bright flash accompanied by the sound of broken glass. Gazen was sent skidding through the mud towards the center.
Dammit, I’m almost there… His vision was filled with vibrant purple as the spider appeared in front of him just when a volley of fireballs burst in its face, pushing it back.
“Tallwalker!” It was Crota. He’d jumped out of the circle and extended a hand to Gazen, who was more mud than man at this point. He reached out and webbed fingers close around his fist as the mud tried to hold on. “Hup!”
Gazen was release from the ground and entered the air at the behest of his froggy friend, flying in an arc to the middle of the Toah as another spider appeared to bite the space where Crota was.
“Tallwalker, are you harmed?” Ritta helped him stand.
“No, I’m alright. Thanks for the help.” He slapped clumps of mud off his body, trying to shed the weight and reorient himself. There were nine leapweavers closing in, becoming more bold. Gazen noticed some of them looking back nervously now that they were all alone.
They’re clearly smart creatures. Strong and fast enough to outrun most things my size, I would imagine. Why do they look anxious? It couldn’t be… They weren’t migrating. They were running.
“Crota!” He looked down at the Toah with wide eyes, “We need to go!”
The edge of the trees would take him five minutes to hobble back to, but he had no way of knowing how fast it would be crossed by whatever the leapweavers were scared of.
“You have learned something.” Crota replied. “Speak.”
“What are the leapweaver’s natural predator?” He looked at the now ravaged spot in the treeline where the brood emerged from.
A low croak almost like growl came from Ritta, “Terrajaw. If they come, we do not want to be around when they show up.”
“Crooooak,” Crota added, “the leapweavers will not let us move. Can you defeat them, tallwalker?”
There’s nine of them. Even if I use my sorcery, they’ll leap away in the nick of time. I doubt my lightning is strong enough to do anything meaningful past their exoskeletons either.
Birds scattered in the distant jungle, drawing his attention. Between the constant ribbits and smashing rocks, he heard the rapid thumps of heavy feet rushing towards the edge of the marsh. Many overlapped as it grew louder with each passing second.
I don’t have time to work with the Toah and pick them off. We need to go now.
“Crota, if I use all my mana to take the leapweavers out, can you help me restore it once we reach the Marsh?” He started digging around in one of his pouches.
“The Sunken Marsh is lurking with dangers. If we are quick, it holds many medicines, but we are all in need. I will do what I can.” His neck flared up, “Ribbit, we can use the chance to find food as our skyreaver is lost. Can you truly defeat the leapweavers?”
Their numbers showed no sign of dwindling as the spawnlings’s spells started failing, fizzling out into motes of light before ever reaching the bounding spiders. They had grown increasingly aggressive as the ring of fire had begun to thin, leaping forward to try and push their quarry into a tighter cage.
“I can, but I’ll need a hand running away.” Gazen pulled a shimmering red gemstone from his pocket and lines lit up across its surface, forming complex magic circles.
“Very well, Tika will carry you. Rrrrribbit!” A huskier Toah approached—the third warlord. Now the spiders were closing in. One leapt right through the ring and the others were emboldened, falling in on the group at once.
Gazen wasted a little more mana to make his voice louder, because this next step was critical, “This thing in my hand!” It burned with a crimson radiance such that when the startled Toah snapped their heads around they immediately knew what he meant, “If you are not below this you will die!”
They all splashed into the mud, followed by Gazen who let go of the gemstone, letting it hang in the air where he had held it. Not wanting to miss the moment all their prey was distracted at once, the leapweavers appeared above their victims at random as the blazing gem burst, shattering into dust and letting out a potent wave of energy that ruptured the air and pressed Gazen deeper into the mud without any strength left to fight it.
The wave shot out in a ring and grew in the blink of an eye, creating a massive gust with them all in the center. The only sound was sharp series of thuds as if felling a whole patch of trees.
Gazen’s chest heaved as he tried to suck in air and spit out the mud, staring at the bright blue sky without a cloud in sight. That single-use artifact was very difficult to produce, and he had charged it with just enough mana not to dispel his aura. If that happened, he would be bereft of mana for a month or two while it recovered and have to rely on passive artifacts. Something about this trial told him that just wouldn’t cut it.
Expelling so much and leaving so little raised its own host of problems, though. I really hope that worked. If only I could get up and check. His muscles were sore from the sudden strain, as the body was connected to the soul, which held one’s aura. Pins and needles stabbed into his legs a thousand times over and he was reduced to laying in the mud anxiously waiting for time to pass. What if they just leave me? They wouldn’t do that, right?
He laid in his own Gazen-shaped hole in the mud. If fit him snug and fully encased him, threatening to pack into his ears and get in his eyes. He couldn’t tell how long this went on, but eventually a slightly moist hand wrapped around his, and pulled him up. He stared into the face of the third warlord, who looked much the same aside from stature.
“You have saved us, Tallwalker.” The warlord croaked, “Tika will not forget this.”
He hoisted him over a shoulder and began hopping lightly toward the marsh. As Gazen swayed helplessly across the large, slimy back, he looked at the remains of the Leapweavers. His plan had worked. Most were dead, and the others lay clicking uselessly, bubbling in the mud. All of their abdomens had been sheered clean in half while the tops of their legs were cut off, stuck in the ground like bent reeds.
“Do not worry, Tika will protect you until you have recovered.” This one’s voice was much softer, and he felt reassured hearing it. Wait, is this Toah a woman? I was starting to wonder where they were.
“Tallwalker of Clouds truly is a powerful one.” Crota hopped behind him, “If not for you, the Toah would struggle to recover from our loss here, yet no one has fallen. Steel yourself for the path ahead.”
“Tch.” Gazen did the only other thing he could do and rolled his eyes, “Some trial you got here. I didn’t expect to show you my best trick in the first half hour. How far is the Spring of Endless Moons from here?”
“Croak, by the time three suns set, we should reach it.”
As they passed a sheet of vines into the dense foliage beyond, Gazen caught a glimpse of what they were escaping. The pounding of this herd’s feet was overbearing from all the way down the basin, and he watched a reptilian snout peek out from behind the treetops before losing consciousness.