Road to Krakow, day 2

“Same as always, aye?”

 

Vaughn asked aloud, an elbow resting across his knee. He sat next to Beryl, the two contemplating how to wake Kiyomi.

 

“She did say not to touch her in this state, and I don't doubt she'd hurt us in her panic.”

 

Beryl watched on as well, distaste in her voice. The sight they'd both been occupied by was unfolding before them: a demon leaning against a tree, sweating and speaking strange tongues as she slept.

 

“I can never get over those night terrors.”

 

Vaughn grumbled.

 

“Now, it's not so bad, but if the screaming started, we'd have no way to silence her. Some predator would surely come searching for an easy meal.”

 

It was almost second nature as the two readied themselves for the routine that followed such nightmares. 

 

“Ready?”

 

Beryl asked, looking at Vaughn for his signal. He nodded confidently and pulled a small patch of fur they'd hidden for this exact purpose. It was doused in perfume and partially stuffed with the hair of a particular beast-woman. Vaughn approached carefully, holding the fur out and placing it on Kiyomi's shoulder. While Vaughn did this, Beryl moved in with a vial of smelling salts.

 

“Steady– steady–”

 

Vaughn successfully draped part of the fur onto Kiyomi's shoulder, causing her to nuzzle into it as she ceased her murmuring.

 

“Alright, now's your turn--uh-oh.”

 

Vaughn gulped.

 

“What do you mean “uh oh?”

 

Beryl asked. Vaughn’s head turned as if to plead for help.

 

“She's locked down on my hand.”

 

“Mnnn, mama~.”

 

Vaughn's right hand was pinched in between her cheek and shoulder with a death grip.

 

“Beryl– hurry–”

 

Was all Vaughn could make out before being pulled to the ground. He simply couldn't fight it, being forced down beside the tree as Kiyomi sought out the further source of the blanket. Snuggling into him, it was all he could do not to scream.

 

“Help.”

 

Vaughn seemed to squeak, being climbed as if by a small animal seeking shelter. Meanwhile, however, Beryl was struggling to stifle what laughter she could manage. She was snickering wildly, her eyes nearly forced closed as she stumbled in her own way closer. 

 

“I--I'm sorry, I just– snrrrk.”

 

Beryl inched closer, raising the vial.

 

“W-wait, Beryl! We need to switch places! Kiyomi wouldn't think anything of waking up latched to your coils! But me? She'll throttle me!”

 

Beryl bore a grin of merciless amusement.

 

“Now that you have what you'd want, mister lover boy doesn’t seem so confident, hmm?”

 

Beryl made a strange lamia version of a dance, mocking Vaughn as she swayed her body side to side.

 

“I don't think I could take such a bonding moment from you both.”

 

Beryl mocked, suddenly leaning in closely, vial still in hand. Her mouth was a mere inch from Vaughn’s ear as she whispered. 

 

“This is gonna be way funnier.”

 

Was all Beryl muttered, leaning away as she revealed the vial next to Kiyomi’s nose. She sneered, stirring from her sleep with a muffled yawn.

 

“Mnnn– wha?”

 

Kiyomi mumbled for a moment, her eyes glazed with sleep as she stirred. Vaughn was scared stiff, mentally cursing the lamia as she giggled uncontrollably. Looking back down, Kiyomi seemed to be confused at the patch of fur wearing her mother's perfume. Her eyes slowly followed it along Vaughn’s chest until their eyes met. 

 

“Uh… good morning?”

 

They were locked in place for a moment, Kiyomi staring through Vaughn as if she were staring at an insult personified. 

 

“You answered my mercy last night with this?”

 

Vaughn gulped awkwardly.

 

“I'll get you eventually, not now, not in a few minutes. But eventually.”

 

Kiyomi spoke flatly, promptly getting up.

---

“But for real? Can't you even nudge my shoulder? I promise I'm not going to take a swing at either of you!”

 

I rolled my eyes, taking them away from the map I slowly plotted.

 

“Kiyomi, you have the strength to uproot a tree with your bare hands and you have to ask us that?”

 

Vaughn responded from the rear of the group, using Beryl as sufficient spacing to avoid his eventual reckoning. 

 

In fairness, should I chastise them for that? Separation of worlds and realities aside, that was a valid caution on earth.

 

A memory of me shoving the barrel of my pistol into my old platoon leader's mouth ran through my mind.

 

I made the guy piss himself back then; I still can't believe he brushed that off.

 

“I’ll cede you both that, but why the perfume? When did you two start using that? Do I seem like that much of a mama's girl?”

 

I stopped in my tracks, the sudden lack of response raising concerns. Beryl and Vaughn were untouched, but neither could seem to look me in the eyes while answering.

 

“Nooo, it's just– well… somewhat.”

 

Beryl responded with an attempt at another reason, but she couldn't seem to help herself. Sighing, Vaughn began to walk past her and pat my shoulder as he did.

 

“Sorry, I’d miss my mom too.”

 

What the fuck even? Is this what's funny to them?

 

I shook my head, brushing off my own confusion to focus on our work. 

 

“What—whatever, back to the marks. We’re supposed to look for hangman trees along this route and its campsites.”

 

I flicked the map, pulling a pencil from a pouch at my side.

 

“It’s fifty gold per tree core, fifty per wolf-in-sheep's-clothing tap, and another hundred flat for a single viper vine spore bush. While we don't necessarily have to come back with more than one of each, it would cut our profit margin too close for this to have been worth it. Our savings will stagnate, hard.”

 

I gnawed at the end of the pencil, considering my new weekly expense for keeping Lapsha under supervision. Grinding the heel of my palm against my forehead, I cursed myself for not having noticed anything sooner.

 

“The renovation of that temple is gonna cost so damned much.”

 

I blurted out loud.

 

“Still better than it could be. The foundation is sturdy, so the cost of stone is free of consideration.”

 

Ever the engineer, Vaughn spoke his mind, attempting to reassure me. 

 

“While the cost of lumber is up thanks to the constant timbering, it's not as if we’re doing anything other than building creature comforts.”

 

I shook my head, directing his assumption away.

 

“It's not the resources; it's the cost for Lapsha’s caretaker.”

 

I groaned.

 

“By the way, you never did say who you left him in the care of.”

 

Beryl asked aloud. 

---

The arachne stared down at the animal in disgust, the dingy atmosphere that it called home and Kiyomi’s party called a ‘base’ only adding to her distaste for the creature.

 

“Now, listen here, overgrown booger–... If you can even understand me?”

 

Avery grimaced as Lapsha tilted its head like a dog perplexed by some strange phenomena.

 

“I'll be checking up on you every few days, so don't go doing- that- thing? Growing like that? I’ll be sure to bring you what food you need!”

 

Lapsha flopped to the floor, rolling around on the wood as it did. A trail of slime coating the floorboards as it went, beckoning for Avery to play with it.

 

“Kiyomi said the thing seems like it can understand us. Should I have Lorn reevaluate her mental state?”

 

Avery asked, legitimately confused by the display as she backed out of the entrance.

---

“Miss Avery?”

 

Beryl squinted in confusion. 

 

“I mean, it cuts out the middleman for keeping Lapsha fed. And it's discounted. She seems interested in keeping Lapsha within arms reach to keep an eye on him.”

 

I checked the map once more, looking at our surroundings for any points of interest: a painted rock, a busted wagon, a partially melted boulder, or a clearing of campfire remains. We'd come across several points of interest so far, and every single one was free of monsters.

 

“Mm, heads up.”

 

One of the markers was within view, a partially melted boulder, nearly turned into volcanic glass by either magic or a monster. 

 

“Think this one will have anything?”

 

Vaughn asked, stepping into the campground. It was laid out in such a way as to hint that only mounted or foot-bound travelers stayed here. There were no ruts off of the main road, nor the trash commonly associated with larger caravans or parties. Most that was left was the odd forgotten personal effect, feces from pack animals, the marks of foraging from beasts, or long dead fires that left only wood ash. Lifting Wyrmstooth from my back, I placed it atop a log bench as I looked at the woodline surrounding the area. Feeling my buckler, I thought twice about detaching the slab of metal at the notion of undoing the haphazard set of straps.

 

Simpler to keep this on. 

 

“We’ll see.”

 

Supposedly, the trees should put off a mana signature, but so far, we haven't seen a thing. 

 

I reached out with predatory instinct. Almost immediately, the borders of the campground were lit with mana weakly pulsing through them. While the dispersal was so haphazard that it was difficult to track its source, it at least told us we were close. 

 

“Just don't go near any trees without letting the other two know so they can look out.”

 

I yelled, walking to the opposite end where I’d glimpsed a small pile of rubbish. Looking over my shoulders, the other two were rummaging through the campground just the same. It went like that for some time, covering every inch regardless of barren dirt or a shrub. It wasn't long before I heard Vaughn yell our names. 

 

“Beryl! Kiyomi!”

 

It wasn't panicked, just strained enough to ensure we actually heard him. 

 

“Might have something here!”

 

Vaughn yelled, prompting me to follow his voice to a trail leading further from the campsite. True to his word, something was indeed nearby, as the mana became thick within the soil the closer I got.

 

“Do we have our tree?”

 

I yelled, now looking at Vaughn’s back as he leaned each way to observe something. I trudged along the trail, roots prodding upwards from the dirt and the odd patch of mud slowing me slightly. Walking up to Vaughn's side, I nudged him curiously. 

 

“What’s up?”

 

I asked, looking at the tree he’d been so inquisitively scratching his head.

 

“I think we’ve found it? It doesn't seem natural to the area, right?”

 

I stared at the tree, then pointed to its base. 

 

“Aside from that, see the grass?”

 

Vaughn picked up on the more subtle features of our surroundings, a quirk Beryl and I both attributed to his work as an engineer. The grass was matted and discolored in such a way that it seemed starved for sunlight, even more so than what the trees around already blocked. Dry-rotted cloth was clumped together amidst some sticks and rocks and, at further viewing, held the discoloration of viscera and decomposition, brown and mottled red. If it weren’t for those factors already, a more obvious tell was the tree’s unnatural appearance for the location. It would already beg to be avoided as an oddity for its difference in species, looking like a hybridization of aspen and willow, the white and black bark with yellow foliage of the former, with the low hanging foliage and branch structure of the ladder. 

 

I don't like this.

 

As if on cue, the canopy of the forest came to life with noise as wind blew through it. 

 

“Hey, Beryl”

 

I yelled, greeted by silence save Vaughn’s breathing.

 

“Beryl!”

 

I turned around and yelled, refraining from moving my feet. 

 

“Fuck.”

 

I muttered under my breath. 

 

“Hey, Vaughn?”

 

I spoke, looking at him. 

 

“Aye, you noticed it too. That’s why I haven’t moved, we were already under it before we could realize it.”

 

Vaughn nodded upward; yellow vines and branches hanging just below the canopy of neighboring trees. This tree had already grown to such a length that it now parasitized its neighbors. 

 

We can’t move carelessly. 

 

I looked back at the trail. Nothing. 

 

“Beryl!”

 

I yelled, this time moving my left leg.

 

“I’m moving! Just give me a moment! I can’t just stomp around in this forest like you two!”

 

I sighed, thankful that the girl answered, confirming that Vaughn and I were the only idiots caught in its reach. 

 

“Okay, Vaughn–”

 

A blur of yellow began dropping into my periphery. 

 

“Ah, shit! Get down!”

 

He’d already understood my meaning at my swearing, whether intentionally or not. We both managed to crouch low enough to avoid a swinging vine littered with its strangely golden leaves. I instinctively reached for Wyrmstooth, remembering I’d left it at the campground. 

 

Wait, better yet.

 

I thought against the sword in this situation; its large blade more suited for a traditional enemy. I grabbed the carving knife at the small of my back, its shorter, much sharper blade better suited for cutting oneself free of the predatory flora. Vaughn himself pulled his shortsword from its sheath, leaving his shield on his back. Looking at each other, we nodded. 

 

“Disengage or advance?”

 

Vaughn asked, looking up occasionally to adjust his position to avoid being ensnared. I looked up at the canopy, doing the same. The mana flow became much more distinguished, the movement of branches revealing the tree’s waiting snares. 

 

Beryl is our ranged asset here, disengage? That’s quite a way to travel though. 

 

I followed the movement of mana in the canopy further up the trail. 

 

Shit, we won’t have a clear shot. 

 

“Engage. Beryl, hang back! It's reaching through the other–”

 

Shit-

 

I dove forward, landing partially on the grass surrounding the tree, narrowly avoiding a dropping vine. The wood of the hangman tree groaned as its branches shifted and moved to tighten its reach. Another vine swung near Vaughn, nearly catching him on his shoulder, had he not sidestepped and swiped at it. His blade sliced the vine cleanly, fluids pouring freely. 

 

“Think you can catch it with your earth magic?”

 

I rolled to my side, a vine dropping to the ground where I lay seconds earlier, coiling like a loose rope. 

 

“What?”

 

Beryl yelled in the background, propping myself with my free hand while holding out my knife with the opposite. 

 

“I said stay the fuck away!”

 

Vaughn moved forward into the grass alongside me, slowly turning around to watch around us. 

 

“Maybe. Think you can watch my back long enough?”

 

He asked, kneeling and placing his free hand on the ground. 

 

“On it!”

 

I raised myself up, standing over his back and straddling him. I looked about, ducking as another vine drifted by.

 

“I’m starting to see why these can be such a hazard. I used to think you’d half to be a brain short and half the eyes to miss one of these!”

 

I grumbled, dodging another. 

 

Ah, shit!

 

Another vine swung by, too fast in its swing to be dodged. I brought up my buckler arm; the vine swung around the shield-bearing arm, undulating as it tightened its hold. I could feel it raising my arm upward, I yanked against it on reflex but only managed to pull myself away from the ground. 

 

“Shit, Vaughn! Hurry!”

 

I muttered, reaching my knife hand upwards and cutting my shield arm free, narrowly avoiding an additional pair of vines. The soil shifted, the sound of tearing roots and ripping grass emanating from beneath us as Vaughn's mana flooded into the ground. A column of clay and small boulders shot forward at a forty-five-degree angle towards the tree's base. It slammed into the trunk, the sound of splintering wood resounding throughout the forest. The tree was pushed free of the soil, its parasite branches and tendrils ripped free of the surrounding canopy. The tree groaned again, its trunk creaking as its taproot structure was slowly exposed to the air. 

 

“Kiyomi, rip it free–”

 

I lurched forward, intent on pulling the taproot free to kill the tree as quickly as we could manage. The canopy closed in, the atmosphere shifting to a gentle yellow thanks to the reflection of light. At that moment, something yanked sharply at my tail, the exact moment that Vaughn fell silent.

 

“Ah! Fuuuaua-!”

 

I was pulled upward by my tail, the sharp pain originating from Vaughn’s grip while his other hand clawed at his neck.

 

Shit!

 

Another stray vine grasped at my chest, squeezing in an attempt to capture additional prey.

 

Boobs! Tender! 

 

 I was soon hoisted further above Vaughn, his grip releasing me as he scrambled with his other hand to grab at his own carving knife. 

 

Shit! I dropped mine–

 

The tree moved quickly to seize us, another vine managing to clasp around my own neck and tearing me from my thoughts. The vine clamped down tightly, its nature further revealing itself as it slowly squeezed. 

 

“Fu–”

 

I kicked my feet freely in the air, both hands clamping at the vine. It was nigh impossible to grasp at, the material undulating and slipping free from my fingers. To some peace of mind, I could hear Vaughn cut himself free, landing with a thud and a very audible groan. I tried to free myself as well, being able to breathe through its chokehold. Still, my periphery slowly closed in, the world becoming a window of light through my increasing tunnel vision. 

 

It’s doing a fucking blood choke!

 

My whole body tingled from the lack of blood in my brain, my arms feeling numb as I reached above my head for my last ditch effort. I clasped at the vines holding me, refraining from pulling myself up in a vain attempt to free my neck. I opted for a different path, squeezing the vines within my grip. Swelling in response to the increased pressure, the vines around my neck cut out my vision completely. The world went black for a moment, two sensations keeping me grounded: the feeling of something wet showering down onto my head and the sudden feeling as if I was falling, culminating in a very abrupt stop. 

 

“Aauuugh-”

 

I lurched forward, the light of the world flooding in and my body aching as I reached for my now free throat. 

 

“Uuugh, think you broke a rib.”

 

Vaughn groaned underneath me, clasping at his side.

 

“Shit.”

 

He mumbled, still incoherent. We were both awkwardly getting our wits about us as our brains held onto the oxygen they'd just been starved of, Vaughn through his fall and possible broken rib, while I myself was confused at why I had a very off-putting sense of euphoria.

 

Knife– knif–

 

The splatter of fluid onto the ground around us drew me back into the moment, and I looked at my green, chlorophyll-stained hands.

 

Fuck it, Beryl can burn the others out! But you? I’m taking you out with my fucking hands!

 

I lurched towards the exposed taproot, forcing myself under the tree just deep enough to reach the taproot as another vine latched itself around my ankle. 

 

Shit.

 

It pulled in a futile attempt to halt my progress, being unable to overcome my own strength as I anchored myself with the tree’s roots. 

 

“You think I wanted to know that shit about myself? You shitty overgrown succulent! Go to hell!”

 

I swore, pulling myself further under the tree. I grabbed at the root, its flow of mana denoting its vulnerability through coup de grace. With the tap root in my grasp, I braced it with one hand whilst ripping it free with the other. 

 

Is that it?

 

I asked myself, the flow of mana suddenly dying. It pulsed for a moment, mana-rich fluid spilling free from the tap root's base. The tree groaned, its branches going limp and foliage plummeting to the soil. I crawled backward, stumbling back upon freeing myself from under the roots. 

 

“Gods! Fuck– hah.”

 

I panted, sighing in relief at the tree’s demise. 

 

“Owe.”

 

Vaughn groaned, barely managing to sit up. 

 

“Same…”

 

I added, reclining back into the grass.

 

“Only fifty gold each?”

 

I asked quietly.

 

“Guys?”

 

Beryl’s voice was closer, so much so that she must have been where we’d started our encounter.

 

“Ah.”