Chapter 344: The Path Ahead

 

  The sun was shining in the afternoon cloudy skies of the forest city of Undergrowth. Tens of thousands of residents and travelers alike were celebrating the Great Cities Tourney’s finale and the festivities that followed. Yet their revelry and parties were cut short as the armies of Undergrowth stormed the streets; closing off the main roads and arresting and killing countless travelers.

  In less than an hour the streets that had been filled with laughter, drink, and food, were now dyed red and brimming with screams of terror and the corpses of countless foreign commoners, merchants, and aristocrats alike.

  Yet in one of the poorest of neighborhoods, on the outskirts of the city, the streets were not filled with the cries of the innocent or the unsuspecting, but with the blood and bodies of dozens of soldiers. Four Houses had sent their armies into the wretched neighborhood, a thousand soldiers had charged into the streets, and for an entire hour, they searched for a single target. And for an entire hour, they had failed…

  Loh dashed across the burning streets, agility magic flooding her muscles with enhanced speed and lessened weight. Her chest burned from the overuse of magic. Her skin was drenched in sweat and her lungs ached with exhaustion, but still, she ran.

  The shouts of enemy soldiers echoed behind her.

  Loh kept her grey hood up, obscuring her face, and ran into a closed alleyway. She reached into her pocket and wrapped her hand around the enemy’s tracking charm.

  Loh smiled to herself, “Come and get me, you bastards.”

  A company of soldiers spotted her cloaked figure and shouted with pointed fingers before they charged into the alleyway. Loh waited until they were pushing amongst one another, trying to cram into the alley, before she turned around and jumped over the buildings with magical agility. The enemy drows shouted in dismay as her silhouette disappeared across the alley wall. 

  Loh landed on the other side with a roll and jumped to her feet. A sharp pang of icy pain shot up her knee and she stumbled. Her legs began to spasm and she fell to one knee, gasping for breath. The magic’s toll was growing with every second and her body was reaching its limit.

  She grimaced as the pain grew worse, but she bit her tongue and held back her voice. She refused to let the enemy know that they had been chasing the wrong target all along.

  Just a little longer, just hold on a little longer. Stryg and Tauri will be safe if I just hold on a little longer… She repeated to herself like a mantra in her mind.

  Loh clenched her teeth and gripped her aching knee, Please, move, just a little more…

  Another company of soldiers rushed down the street, swords, and spears in hand.

  “Fuck…!” Loh cursed under her breath. She aimed her hand at the incoming enemies and channeled orange mana. A small flame burst to life above her palm and began to grow.

  Stryg suddenly ran past the street in front of her, his pale grey hair flowing in the wind. The soldiers shouted in surprise and quickly chased after him.

  A soul-crushing pain fell over Loh’s shoulders. She fell to both knees in despair. “Stryg…! Why are you still here!?” she moaned weakly.

  “That wasn’t Stryg,” a calm familiar voice said.

  Loh turned around in alarm.

  A dire black bear emerged from behind the corner of a nearby hovel. The bear stood 6 feet tall on all fours and his heavy shoulders rumbled with each step. A leather saddle was strapped over the bear’s back where a drow mage sat. 

  Vayu Glaz looked down from atop his dire beast and smiled empathically, “That wasn’t Stryg, it was an illusion I conjured.” 

  “Vayu…! How…!?” Loh mumbled in shock.

  A grey hawk flew down from the sky and landed on Vayu’s shoulder. Loh didn’t recognize the bird, but the purple glow in its eyes told her the bird was Vayu’s.

  The drow gently brushed the hawk’s head, then glanced at Loh. “After the attacks started, my winged friend began scouting the city from the skies. We were searching for our friends but then I spotted your flame spells…”

  “So you came all the way here… knowing I was surrounded by countless enemies? Are you insane!?” Loh said angrily. “I… I told you we were done! You owe me nothing! So why…” she sniffed, “Why are you here!?”

  “Well, if you were doing something as stupid as fighting an entire army by yourself it could only mean that you were trying to protect Stryg,” Vayu said wryly. “I figured you could use my help.”

  Loh bit her trembling lip, “You… you crazy bastard! Do you want to die!?”

  “If it’s okay with you…” Vayu smiled, “I’d rather not die alone.”

  Tears welled in Loh’s eyes, “You stupid idiot!”

  The clamoring armored feet of hundreds of soldiers echoed down the street, growing louder with each second.

  “They destroyed my illusion… they’re coming back,” Vayu noted quietly.

  “There are too many of them, we can’t fight them all,” Loh said hopelessly.

  “How many mages do they have?”

  “Too many. I already killed over a dozen adepts and a few masters, even a high-master… but more just keep coming.”

  “Damn, they really came prepared to end us…”

  “You know we can’t escape, not even with all your illusions…”

  “Then let’s not try to escape,” Vayu bent down and offered Loh his hand.

  She broke into a smile, “You really are an idiot.” 

  “Trust me, I know,” he sighed wistfully.

  Loh chuckled and grabbed his hand. Vayu hauled her up onto the saddle and sat her behind him. She turned around so that they were facing back to back.

  Countless soldiers flooded into both ends of the street and rushed towards them. The dire black bear glared at his enemies and roared in defiance.

 

~~~

 

  Tauri kept her legs bent and her back low as she ran through the tall grass on the outskirts of Undergrowth. Plum followed behind her as fast as she could, all the while trying her best to not trip over her own feet.

  “Hurry it up,” Stryg whispered impatiently. “The faster we reach the treeline the less time Loh will need to buy us. If we move fast enough she might be able to escape.”

  The blue goblin was running on all fours ahead of them. He had easily passed his two companions and had rushed back to them, urging them to quicken what seemed to him, a horribly slow pace.

  “We’re not goblins you know, if whatever the fuck you’re doing is even a goblin thing,” Tauri grumbled under her breath.

  “You’re right, this is taking too long,” Stryg muttered. He pulled black mana from his heart and channeled it into his shadow. The shadow darkened and two tendrils extended out and wrapped themselves around Tauri’s and Plum’s waists.

  Tauri frowned, “Hey, what are you—!”

  Plum just closed her eyes and held on tight, she knew where this was going. 

  Stryg kept his body low and ran through the pasture with the speed of a wild beast, hauling Plum and Tauri behind him with his shadow.

  The women groaned as their bodies were jostled around, but thankfully after a few minutes, Stryg abruptly stopped. He released the chromatic spell and the shadow tendrils faded away, dropping Plum and Tauri on their hands and knees.

  “Uuuugggh, I think I’m gonna be sick,” Tauri grimaced and placed her hand over her mouth.

  “We’re here,” Stryg said quietly.

  “Of course we are…” Plum muttered angrily. She adjusted her glasses and looked up. They were surrounded by tall trees with fluorescent leaves. 

  Plum glanced back and noticed the tree line was only a few paces behind them. Undergrowth lay in the distance. Pillars of black smoke rose from the city’s outskirts.

  Tauri noticed Stryg’s worried expression. She brushed the grass off her pants, stood to her feet, and carefully wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “…If I know anything about Loh, it’s that she’s as obstinate as her grandfather. She won’t die that easily, especially not to a bunch of Undergrowth mongrels.”

  “...Right,” he mumbled. “My master is strong…”

  “Ah, shit!” Plum groaned. “They’re barricading the southside of the city.”

  “What?” Tauri asked.

  “Look, you can see the mass of soldiers from here,” Plum pointed to the distance. “How am I going to get back into the city now?” she wondered anxiously. “They’re probably already barricading the rest of the city too. Oh gods, I’m screwed.”

  “Well, you could always come with us,” Tauri offered.

  “Huh?” Plum blinked.

  “Stryg said this little trip will only take a few days, right?” Tauri said.

  Stryg nodded, though his mind was clearly still on Loh.

  “Yeah, in that case, why don’t you come with us, Plum?” Tauri said. “Once this trip is over we’ll head back to Hollow Shade and you can stay at my family’s mansion until things calm down over here.”

  “Going back to Hollow Shade…?” Plum muttered.

  “Or you could take your chances trying to slip back into the city unnoticed under the watchful eyes of thousands of violent drow soldiers?” Tauri said.

  “Ah…” Plum smiled sheepishly, “I guess we’re going to a murder cave then, huh.”

  Tauri blinked, then frowned, “Wait. Murder cave? What are you talking about?”

  “Stryg didn’t tell you where we’re going, did he?” Plum asked.

  “No one mentioned a murder cave!” Tauri said worriedly.

  “It’s not my story to tell,” Plum shrugged.

  “Stryg, what’s she talking about!?” Tauri said.

  “Plum, you know Glimmer Grove forest pretty well, right?” Stryg asked.

  “Maybe not as well as Tauri, but I think I can get us to Vulture Woods if that’s what you mean,” Plum said.

  “Perfect,” Stryg nodded. “Lead the way.”

  Plum stared at the forest warily, “Please, let this be an uneventful trip. I really don’t need any more danger in my life.”

  “I’m starting to really regret this trip,” Tauri muttered.

  Stryg took one last look back at Undergrowth. The sun was shining bright in the sky and the night was far from here. Even if it had been dark, he wondered if the Mother Moon would listen to someone like him… Still, for the first time in a long time, he whispered a silent prayer to Lunae, praying for Loh’s safety.

  Stryg turned to the countless trees in front of him, to the path that lay ahead. He lowered his hood, shook his hair out, and took a step forward.