Randu ran ahead of Elia, leading her towards the location of the imp camp. He made his way to the top of a ridge and looked over the other side, before looking back to Elia and waving that it was clear. He watched her approach, floating for a few steps on her Wind feet, her short blonde hair whipping with each hop, before turning the power off for a while to let her mana top up.
He could see her concentrating on her steps, making sure the mana only flowed from whichever leg was touching the ground at any given time. As a result, she wasn't completely alert to her surroundings, relying on Randu for the heads-up if anything attacked. He shook his head – he was surprised Glory let her take this mission alone.
They approached the location of the hidden camp, and Randu got her attention and waved her back. He wanted to move ahead and confirm that it wasn’t much bigger than it had been hours before. The Speed runes on his legs lit up at the same time that a modified Light rune illuminated the back of his neck. Then he – and his runes – slowly faded out of sight.
Ooh, a Stealth-type Scout, Elia thought. Neat. That Light rune he used to go invisible was quite nice, but its limitation was that you couldn’t maintain that spell for very long. Elia already drained her core rather fast when she was using all her runes in a fight, or when sprinting around; invisibility on top of that might make her nonviable in a tense situation. Though having the option still appealed. Maybe if she ever got a handle on properly focusing her mana flow, she could take that rune.
Elia watched the traces of Randu running about: kicked up piles of woodland detritus that made a trail around the area, leaves shaking as he braced against trees, then a flurry of footsteps in a straight line towards her. Randu came out from his camouflage, his eyes frantic.
Elia tensed up. That can’t be a good sign.
Randu’s runes deactivated and he strode the rest of the way up to her.
“Gone!” he said, exasperated. “They were here not two hours ago, and now they’re totally gone!”
Elia raised an eyebrow. “Ok, that's weird. Usually even if they’re setting up a new camp, they leave a few imps behind.”
Randu lowered his voice, as though something hostile might be near. “I don’t like the feel of this. I think we ought to leave.
Elia's eyes locked onto his with determination. “No way. We should at least take a look around the area, see where it is they went. Can you track them?”
He shrugged. “Sure, I can. But I don’t like the idea of these things learning new tricks. Last time they did that a couple mercs and a Scout almost died.”
“How’s your mana, and potions?”
“Fine, I’ll be able to get away if I need to.”
Elia shrugged. “Well, me too. I have potions and I’ll let my mana start refilling just in case we find the things.” She shook her head and dug a toe into the dirt. “I don’t want to let this job go because it’s gotten a little weird. I should be able to take them as long as the numbers haven’t increased that much; and you said that kind of thing wasn't common for the imps here.”
Randu looked reluctant, but he nodded assent. He moved back to towards the abandoned camp and started scouring for the tiny tracks and refuse of their passing.
Elia followed behind him, feeling so slow now that she was walking normally to conserve mana. But the idea that they might round a corner and find a fight that she could throw herself into relaxed her frustration somewhat.
Randu guided her for another fifteen minutes before he moved back to where she followed him.
“You smell that?”
Elia sniffed the air. A campfire? With roasting meat on it as well. She nodded, and Randu started moving in a wide sweeping pattern ahead of Elia, trying to locate demons' position so he could determine if there was any chance of getting a drop on the enemies they hunted.
He brought them close to the source of the fire, into the range of raucous sounds, chittering and scampering. Voices filtered through the trees towards them, one voice deep and distinct, harsh but respectful; the other quiet and breathy, like a breeze shaped by a mouth of leaves.
Randu froze, invisible, by an elevated grove of trees he’d hidden behind.
Ahead of him, a group of fifteen imps encircled two taller figures. They marched around them, dancing and fighting each other, eating hunks of meat they tore from the roasting spit and arguing with each other in their scratchy yowls.
The tall demon was a lanky, infernal-skinned man. He had large eyes, and thick streaks of red ran across them and around his red irises. His ears, long and pointed, framed a bald head and a mouth of jagged predator teeth. He stood tall, regal in the face of the equally royal monster in front of him.
She was a tall, ancient woman. Her skin was tattered with age, though an intelligent green light lit her sunken eyes. She wore a draping robe of vines, and ivy climbed up her legs and arms. Randu paled – he knew what this thing was. A Forest Queen.
Elia waited, anxiously peering from behind her own trees, eyes curious. She craned her neck, trying to listen to the voices right out of her hearing range, but unwilling to get up and go closer. She hadn’t been too concerned when Randu had told her the imps were gone, but judging by the sounds coming from that camp, exactly the sort of reinforcement that Randu warned her about had taken place.
Keeping invisible, he listened in to whatever he could of the conversation.
The tall demon spoke in a low, crisp tone.
“…And like the imp today, we can bring you others in the future. Pieces of those like you, forest spirits and dead rulers of men, to reinforce yourself.”
The ancient woman answered. “What?” she tried to yell in her breathy voice. “Where from! This Mana!”
The demon replied in a calm tone. “These souls are scattered all around the plains south of here, outside the forest. But you won’t be able to take them without my help. Only the imps have the ability to channel dead souls. We will be raising more like you, but we can feed you those that will not make good allies.”
The Queen growled, angry. “Raise no others! Feed these to me! There can be only one ruler!”
“No.” The demon’s tone did not allow for contradiction. “We will bring some, but you are not enough for our needs. We will need more of you, and quickly. You will become mother to imps, and a ruler over demons. But you won’t be able to do it alone. You will need us, and you may come to need each other as well.”
“FILTH!” The Queen screamed. “They are ALL murderous filth!”
“Of course,” the demon said, sympathetic yet unyielding. “But your kingdom was no different. It also fell for a reason.” He took a step towards her, imposing. “You are also murderous filth. Aren’t you?” His voice cut her.
The Queen stared at the palms of her hands. They shook with a deep-seated rage, but her eyes were sad. She stared into her wasting hands, as though the bloody mass of death she'd caused were balled up in their fingers. She felt herself dropping; felt the tug on her neck; saw the swarm of eyes damning her as her feet swung.
“Yes,” she conceded. She looked up from her hands, and looked around the clearing, as though seeing the imps again for the first time, shoving and fighting each other for scraps of food when they had so much in excess still cooking on the spit.
“Mother,” she breathed. “Mother to imps. Mother to demons.” There was a hint of resigned disgust in her tone. But she looked up at the tall demon, and said: “Yes. We have deal.”
Randu saw so much hesitation in her face. Her agreement to his plan sounded like a last shovel of dirt over a buried dream.
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Randu shook himself. Ok, that’s enough information to scare the pants off of Glory. Time to get out of here. He turned to leave the area around the forest, to escape along with Elia. But as he as about to leave, he saw the tall demon lift his nose into the air.
No way, Randu thought.
And then the tall demon turned to look directly at the trees Randu hid behind. Even though he was still invisible, the demon stared right through his head, and a smile spread slowly across it’s face.
Randu didn’t wait to hear or see anything else. He broke invisibility and sprinted through the trees towards Elia.
“Go, go, go!” he yelled, as his own Speed runes lit up, his steps increasing in pace as he charged towards her.
Elia hadn’t heard the exchange of words in the clearing. She only saw the panic in Randu’s face as he allowed light to bounce off his skin again, heard him yell to her. She turned and started away, her own Wind runes throwing her back, and allowing her to start striding along, away from the growing rumble of agitated demons.
Randu risked a look behind, and saw the imps streaming through the trees in a furious wave, their faces contorted in rage, or manic glee, or wild panic. And behind them, a growing presence. A green light that rose into the air. A hum rustled the trees.
Randu could feel the Queen approaching behind the rushing imps. He turned and faced the way he was running, trying not to let the blown leaves unnerve him. But as wood began to creak and branches began to sway, he was compelled towards a primal fear.
As Randu ran in Elia’s graceful wake, the roots beneath his feet began to tear from the ground and claw up at him, spraying plumes of dirt, trying to ensnare him and bring him to the ground. He had a vision of being tripped and swarmed by grasping imps turned his next few steps into short leaps that carried him over the roots.
Elia turned back a couple of times, trying to make sure that Randu didn’t fall too far behind, but also struggling to think of what she would if he was caught by the imps. She wouldn’t be able to take them all at once, those numbers would overwhelm her easily. As she dodged over fallen trunks, she heard the sounds of ripping roots behind her, another threat on top of the pursuers that already tailed them. Hearing that they were somewhat far back, she stopped atop a large stone and spun around, hand grabbing one of the throwing knives at her vest.
She saw the gaggle of imps chasing Randu, and she pulled her arm back to throw a guided knife towards one of them; but then, through the plumes of thrown dirt, she saw the visage of the Forest Queen for the first time, green eyes of light watching, chasing from behind the trees in the deep background. Elia ignored the more distant threat, for now, and hurled a knife into the group of imps as her rune flashed.
The knife was carried forward, carving through the wind towards the imp nearest to Randu, plunging into its chest and throwing it back into the pursuing mass, tripping several. Another knife drove the second nearest back, giving Randu a little more breathing room. But with that second throw, they were all catching up to Elia, so she turned and started away again, fingers grasping for a mana potion so that she could take it the next time she had a opportunity.
Randu was getting tired. Speed was a fantastic rune, but it didn’t alleviate the stamina drain of running; it just allowed more speed to happen. It was still draining, particularly without any kind of stamina Recovery rune. Luckily, he had a few stamina potions on him. But he needed to get far enough ahead to use one.
Listening to the sounds of angry imps behind him, though, he doubted if he would get that chance. After the two hits that had driven a few imps back, they had redoubled their efforts, as though the attacks had incensed the group so much that they were able to surpass the typical limits of their bodies. Even with his Speed runes, they gained on him again.
And this time, when roots tore from the ground with an organic rend, they caught him, sent him sprawling to the ground with a hopeless cry. Randu turned in the air; frantic, panicked.
So did Elia, though.
She streaked back towards him, all four runes flared white, shooting out of the trees ahead like a shot. Swords flashed as she drew them mid-air, blue potion dripping from the corner of her mouth as she crashed to the ground.
Her right sword glinted yellow and flashed with a red, aggressive light. Her left blade glowed with a white streak.
Elia lashed out with a sideways blow of her left-hand sword, and a white streak of compressed and directed air flew towards the imps, catching them and throwing the front ones back. She didn’t let anyone recover, striking next with her right hand. The red blade flashed as Elia lunged, and with an excessive tug on her core, the powerful sword dragged her, amplifying her forward movement and bringing her right into the attacking horde.
Stupid, she thought as her red blade entered imp flesh. Stupid! She screamed internally as she brought her left sword down, cutting into one imp and sending a flash of sharp air into one behind. Her right arm flashed again, chopping down onto another imp. The group started to recover from her sudden attack; Elia saw them widening their stances to jump at her, saw the dirt begin to rumble as the roots beneath animated. So she jumped away, flinging her arm back and making the sword drag her away from the imps, toward Randu.
He had, thankfully, had a couple seconds to recover. He threw two empty vials to the ground, one green and one blue. As Elia rode her blade back, Randu nodded to her and his runes lit back up. He took off toward the edge of the woods, a hint of bright sky showing through the treetops. Elia caught up to him, but stopped and turned with a knife in her hand, throwing the small blade into another imp, making it crash to the ground.
Elia clenched her jaw. How many dead? she thought. Four? Five?
Not enough.
She flung knives behind her at every opportunity, but the imps kept coming. Even as they dodged around bushes and trees, the imps were able to stay on their tail. The whipping roots tripped up their movement, and even if they didn’t bring the mages to the ground, they slowed them enough for the imps to keep up.
Elia kept her left sword drawn as they ran, and the next few times that a root shot up, she spun around to lash out at the group of imps with a streak of wind. It pressed them back, but didn’t cause too much in the way of damage. A cut on the chest here, a lost limb there, but imps never seemed to care too much about those wounds. They were superficial to these infernal.
But it was enough to keep them relatively at bay.
Slowly, Elia and Randu started to put a bit of distance between themselves and the imps, as the canopy opened up and blue sky invited them to an open field. It was what they needed – a place away from the trees, where the forest Queen’s powers would be less useful, less able to trip them up.
However, as Elia had that thought, she heard a great cracking as a tree ahead of her split apart. Half of it fell directly towards her, and she had to dash around it, as the branches on the remaining half rained down upon her with a flurry of exploding wood.
She heard more trees cracking around, as the Forest Queen realized that they were leaving the range where her powers could harm them. Tree after tree split, throwing splintered fragments of branches and needle-like twigs at both of them. Cuts appeared on Elia’s arms as she made it through the pieces of another collapsing tree. She looked out for Randu as she ran. He was running underneath a tree as it split apart, jagged boughs flying towards him.
The Queen hit him.
Elia’s eyes widened as she careened around towards his collapsing form. The imps were right behind him. She hadn’t even realized that they weren’t following her anymore. She got close enough to see him – and the rough stake that pierced his shoulder, into the dirt.
“No!” she screamed, panicking, and her sword flashed out, a streak of wind flying right at the group of imps, drawing more power from her core than the other shots. The white line of slashing force tore through the imps, cutting into flesh, spraying blood, and scattering infernal bodies.
It also sliced into Randu’s leg.
A spurt of red blood burst from the leg, and Elia winced as he screamed. He kicked himself back with his good leg, trying to get clear of the imps that were already turning to pile on top of him again, fangs bared. Teeth flashing.
Elia drew her right hand sword out of the sheath, forcing mana into it as she pointed at Randu’s struggling form and lunged. The sword pulled her through the air at the imps, and she lashed out with a wind slash from the other. The slash kept the imps back for a moment, but there were still eight of them left standing. Too many.
Randu, to his credit, had seen Elia streaking towards him, and pulled a health potion out of his belt, popping the cork and spilling it over the open leg wound. He seethed as the potion went to work, reknitting the cut veins and arteries, pushing out the dirt from the cut, and sealing the flesh.
Elia tried to keep the imps back, whipping slash after slash into the imps as she reached down for another mana potion, her core nearly dry again since the last time she’d used one.
As she pulled the cork out with her teeth, a shadow flicked from out of the trees. Startled, she dashed backwards away from it, spilling the potion all over the ground, but narrowly dodging a flaming strike that singed her nose.
Wild eyed, she tried to take in the sight of this demon. She hadn’t been with Randu as he’d looked over the camp, and this demon hadn’t shown itself on the chase until this moment.
It snarled in her face, disgust clear in its eyes. Another flame appeared in its hand, and Elia flinched back as another flame struck out. With a shock, she remembered the imps, and took a couple quick steps back to peer around the new demon.
The imps were circling behind their tall protector, eyeing Randu on the ground, slowly making their way around their master, and around Elia, to attack him. Elia gripped the sword in her left hand.
Did she even have enough mana left?
No.
A pit opened up in her gut. The tall demon struck out at her, and Elia raised her blade to block the strike, but he simply knocked her arm away instead, and followed up with a solid punch to the face. Elia was knocked back and blood sprayed her lip. She recovered, reset, tried to strike out. He dodged, leaning to the side, and Elia slashed with her other sword. He demon leaned back and she missed again, though he had to settle his stance after unbalancing himself to dodge.
Come on, she thought, reaching down for another mana potion. The demon struck out at that arm. He knew exactly what she was trying to do. With every step he forced her to retreat, she left an opening for the imps outside the reach of Elia’s sword. She could see the bloodlust in the quivering mouths of the imps.
Randu looked up at Elia. His eyes wide. Terrified. Furious.
Randu wanted to lay responsibility for this situation at her feet; for talking him into pursuing the imps, for cutting him when she tried to save him. But he should have been more careful. He should have insisted on retreating sooner, he just hadn't expected all this. It wasn’t her fault, the cut on his leg be damned. The frustration persisted, but he pushed through it for one last act.
“Go!” Randu seethed.
As soon as he spoke, the imps collapsed on him.
Elia’s eyes shook in horror as the imps tore into Randu, ripping bloody chunks out of his leg as he screamed, thrashing wildly as he tried to take any of them with him. Blood pooled out from him, tendons and veins were pulled taught and sprayed blood as they snapped, new bite wounds appearing as the horde crawled up his body.
The tall demon reached up and grabbed Elia’s vest, shaking her as she tried to stumble back in response. She hadn’t been paying attention, she was watching Randu get…get…
“Now you know!” The demon howled in her face. “Now you know what we are!” The demon threw her back, sending her sprawling onto the ground. “Maybe this time your leaders will listen, when you tell them of our pact. Maybe then you will bring armies.”
The Forest Queen caught up to them, raised her hand as though to strike at Elia – but the tall demon grabbed her hand, pulled her back behind him.
Elia grasped at a vial from her belt, popping the cork and gulping the blue liquid down as she scrambled back, clambering up to her feet. The demon stood back. Watching her.
Randu’s screaming became a liquid rasp, voice rattling as he was torn to shreds.
Elia turned and ran. Heart thumping. Teeth grit. Tears streaming.