We fight and fight until we are no longer buried in mud. Fen breaking out of her shell alleviates some of the pressure. The landscape is a disaster. The whole hillside is a mess of fallen trees, broken branches, sludges of dirt and mud, and boulders placed everywhere. Gone is the forest hill once clad pristinely in uniform trees. Now it is a wasteland covered in raw earth mixed in with the dead and the dying.
Despite the unnatural disaster that just occurred, the demon war is in full force. A few demons and trees avoid the fighting and scour the mud pit. I try to cover myself in shadow once more. The way is still shut. I can access shadow, but my use of it is limited.
As if called over by my use of the shadow mana, the trees and demons turn their attention to where I stand. “We need to run,” I state the obvious to Fen.
The thick bone-clad arachnoid nods in agreement, and together, we dart away from the demons heading further south. The further we head south, the larger the pit in my stomach grows. We must get back to Gene and the rest of the spiders soon. There’s no telling how they’re handling the demons. Hopefully, Gene isn’t as restricted as we are with shadow.
We keep running until we’re near the great lake. The massive blue water is enticing as ever. Not now. I will be back, though. There is enough distance between us and the main host of the demons. I can sense them not far behind, leaving us no room to linger. We follow the lake east remaining in the thick cover of trees up until we reach the river that feeds it.
“Take a moment to rest and recuperate.” I drink deeply from the river picking a spot that runs through rocks and moss. The water is cold, a bit grainy, and has a strong sediment taste. It isn’t a bad flavor, just not the pure waters I expected.
Fen watches me drink from the river before she takes her own sips. Instead of cupping the water and drinking from her hands, she goes face first, mouth wide open. After she drinks deeply, her strong jaw and large lips are dripping with water. She simply wipes the water away before plunging in for another long drink.
We snack silently on some dried meat portions while I keep my senses on the demons infesting the forest. There are no signs of the trees possessed by the dryad; however, numerous demons and wandering the woods hunting for us or any easy fight. The strong are preying on the weak. Demons have come close to our spot a few times. With my perception stretched, we’ve been able to look right past us and keep searching.
I’m ready, Fen says after finishing her third portion of jerky and taking another drink from the river. The arachnoid has grown tremendously in our misadventure. She is about the size of a bugbear now, outsizing me by a couple feet, and she has a solid thickness to her that more than doubles when she plates herself with bone armor. Her once-long hair was quickly cut short into a style similar to that of one of my goblin traveling companions. A goblin expedition that seems like it was a lifetime ago.
We follow the river as long as it travels east, and then we will take a broad approach back to our hill. We should be back with the others before sundown.
And if we are discovered? Fen’s thoughts have no worry behind them. Her words are that of hunger for the opportunity. Her narrow eyes are determined and full of focus.
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We slay them. The uncomfortable words are practical. We need to get back to the others and will not waste any more time than necessary hiding about. If the demons want to pray on us, they’ll become fuel for Fen’s growing power.
Our pace is quick, keeping to the river as we travel through the forest. We encounter a few drakes, shadow cats, and insectoid-like creatures. None of which prove to be problematic. Together we slay the prey, and Fen absorbs them all. Two miles later, we split from the side of the river and headed a little more northeast on our journey back home.
The infested forest is abundantly beautiful. In our quick travels, I notice several wild fruits and plants thriving. Even the common creatures, as well hidden as they are, are more plentiful than anywhere else on this island that I’ve been. When this becomes our home, we will be rich with resources.
Urgency fuels our steps. We no longer stop for encounters, choosing to pick off obstacles with Bo before they even notice we are near. Fen absorbs the bigger prey; my greedy golden core passively absorbs the smaller ones. The mana continues to energize Fen, allowing her to keep up with the grueling speed.
We finally reach the south side of our hill an hour before dusk. Evidence of the landslide is nowhere to be seen. The mountain is untouched and relatively empty of demon presence. We reduce our pace, hoping to avoid conflict with the dryad that could potentially lengthen the time it takes to get back to the top. It already set us back hours when we were so close to returning.
Our gamble pays off, and we finally reach the top of the hill. Fen is gasping for breath, and I hand her a cup of water and a bite to eat. She takes my offer but focuses on breathing before she replenishes her strength.
The hill is empty. Gene and the spiders are nowhere to be found. I can’t even sense them. Picking up on my worry, Fen begins to search the hill frantically. Where are they? All her calm collectiveness is gone.
We scour the hilltop quickly. Rubble is absorbed or removed. The corpses of demons are plentiful. Fortunately, spiders and lycan are not. As I near the shell dome I created for protection, the pit in my stomach that has been ever-present blooms. I don’t want to see what is on the other side and confirm the worry I’ve been harvesting.
Slowly, I walk to the destroyed dome, preparing myself for the worst, hoping that will help. It doesn’t. Spidery exoskeletons can barely be seen underneath the bone plating. Despite my internal mental urgings to stay away, Fen is now at my side.
“No. No. No.” She is shaking her head. Doubt, worry — heartbreak bleeds from her soul. “Not now. Please, not now. We were so close. I... Don’t let this be so. It can’t be so.”
My heart breaks with hers. I can sense the pain and her hurt… her longing for more. My hand slowly reaches over to hers, and I lightly grab hold of it. Again, I lack words to say and offer my silent support. I hold no illusion that my inadequate gesture tips the scale of despair and ache.
Fen squeezes my hand tightly. She turns her body to mine and rests her weary head on my shoulder. “You promised to keep them safe. You promised.” Her words are heavy and hit just as hard as the accusations I’ve already placed on myself.
I let them down. I failed them. Annette. Fen, Noth, Cher, Apper. They all trusted me, and I couldn’t uphold my promise. Kelly and Tress, I failed most of all. “I know.” My broken response has never felt so hollow.