Book 1, Volume 4

Chapter 31

The Witch's staccato chant rose in pitch, the witchfire blazed causing the ancient cauldron to shake and boil as blood green liquid bubbles expanded and...

BOOM!

A blood green mushroom cloud of smoke shot up into the night air. The Witch's eyes shone, her lips curled up as she closed her grimoire and put it away in the satchel hanging just below her curvy hips. She walked over to the work table grabbing her wicked Brair Bloodrose Staff with her right hand and a tin plate with her left; A small yellowish round spongy cake sat atop the tin plate.

She wended her way to the cauldron pouring a drop of oryn energy into her staff as the top shifted shape from a round thorny mace head to a bowl style cup. Using her staff as a ladle she scooped a cup of the blood green gelatinous liquid out of the cauldron and poured it over the sponge cake on the tin plate.

The sponge cake sucked in the strange brew like some type of hungry slime. The witch walked round the cauldron up to the starving and quivering chained lemkey. She dropped the tin plate on the ground with a clatter in front of the small wretch as the cake shook like jelly.

“KAVI!” The Witch commanded slamming the butt of her staff onto the hard dirt ground as the lemkey looked up with big round watery eyes and drooping fluffy ears and tail.

The lemkey's eyes then looked down at the plate, reaching out with shaking hands he grabbed the tin plate bringing it to the nose on his wooden masked face and sniffed; The smell of spicy-sweet fruitcake with a hint of rot greeted him, inviting him to eat as a small trail of drool hung down from under the side of his wooden mask.

Don't do it! Wylla wanted to shout but it was much too dangerous to do so. Yes, she wanted to fight them, but on her own terms, to whittle them down using a good battle plan... once she thought of one.

The lemkey's stomach growled as he repeatedly picked up and put down the plate; the Witch's staff tapped repeatedly on the ground getting tired of watching this wary pathetic lab rat. She lifted her staff one more time, higher than before, and brought it slamming down on the hard dirt ground again! “KAVI!”

Greatly flinching and 'cooing', a small shower of dirt debris rained down on him from the impact of the staff on the ground. Shaking, the lemkey brought the tin plate up to his face, the bottom part of his wooden mask shifted into an open mouth hole and he tilted the tin plate slurping the gelatinous cake down like a thick ice cream milkshake through a big straw.

The empty tin plate dropped to the ground with a soft clang. Scrunching his body up into a little fluffy ball the lemkey's shaking stilled... then a few breathes later his body began to spasm as he cried out in fear and pain.

His spiln hair fell out in clumps, his skin changed darkening into dark evergreen vine textures and hues. All four limbs stretched as he writhed about on the ground kicking up dirt. His tail retracted into his body like a snake into a hole as his head snapped up, large blood-red cat-like eyes staring up into the full moon night.

The back of his head elongated and changed into a bloodrose bud. His wooden mask became feral as the muzzle protruded out a bit and dark thorn fangs grew yet its face still looked oddly cute.

With shaky legs, it rose up off the ground onto its root-like feet. Its toned body hunched, long gangly arms ending in dark blood red clawed hands hung down by its thighs, as it looked side to side. Briar bloodrose thorns grew from various parts of its body and limbs.

Gone was the small cute fluffy lemkey; Standing hunched before the Witch's eyes was a tall lanky fierce battle beast!

“Kavi!” The Briar Bloodrose Witch's lips fully curled up showing serrated yellow-white teeth as her blood-red eyes became like crescent moons. Finally, after many failed attempts she had succeeded in creating a strong swamp thing...err... warrior.

Wylla sucked in her breath; Oh, that poor lemkey... just what did that mean Dr. Jekkyl Witch do to you? She turned you into some kind of dark thorny plant monster... as if swamp thing and pumpkinhead got together and had a baby. But weirdly Wylla tilted her head to the side it still looks cute in an odd Swampy Nightmare Before Christmas sort of way. Hmmm, maybe it's a game feature that 'cutie-fies' everything? Anyways since knowing is half the battle... Oryn Spirin Eyes.

[ Briar Bloodrose Ganglyrot is a Rank 1, Tier 0, Level 0, Stars 4 unique elite demi-human spriggankin plant beast. Created by a dark Alchemic Ritual not much is known about this newly created spriggankin demi-human... so good luck discovering its secrets Wylla! We're rooting for you. ;) ]

All the Kavi guards went on high alert as they tightly grasped their weapons and shifted to wary battle stances. The two Kavi guards that were standing by the side of the prisoner pointed their crude spears at the newly born Ganglyrot as they shuffled their feet on the dirt ground kicking up dust, making their way around the big scary beast to the Witch's sides in order to protect her in case the beast attacked.

The Ganglyrot's big blood-red predator eyes looked around the courtyard, even into the bliry bush behind which Wylla was hiding causing her heart to thump, its muscles tensing and claws lightly clacking.

“Why do I feel like I'm watching a cat staring at a courtyard filled with mice?” Wylla whispered.

[ I'd go more with dire werebeast but you're not far off the mark. Other than the Witch and yourself, everyone else that's not in cages is like mice to it. Be careful not to get on its bad side Wylla. ]

Wylla nodded in agreement. Right now that Ganglyrot's anger and hate are all focused on the Witch and the Kavi as flashes of broken memories told it that they were the ones that did this to it. And there was no way Wylla was willing to shift all that agro onto herself.

The Witch stood tall and proud. Her Briar Bloodrose Staff in hand as her blood-red eyes looked the Ganglyrot up and down and up again, stopping as her blood-red gaze met its big blood-red glare.

The Ganglyrot's knees then bent, its arms stretched out from his sides as his blood thorn claws clacked and glistened with a blackish green liquid which smelled of sweet bloodrot moss. Its head tilted up into the night sky and its fanged wooden mask mouth opened as it let out a loud bestial ROAR!

All the Kavi in the courtyard took small hurried steps back, tightly clutched their weapons with shaky hands silently praying that the thick vine chain would hold.

The Ganglyrot pounced towards the Witch, clawed hands stretch out, seeking to rend her flesh when a fast series of sharp [ dings! ] rang out in Wylla's ears followed by a series of messages:

[ Surviving the Night: Escape the Kavi village tonight without dying. Rewards: 200 XP and 10 lyr. ]

[ What's in the Book? Take the Witch's Grimoire and make it your own. Rewards: 500 XP and 1 Sweet Grimoire. ]

[ Defeating the Wycked Witch of the South: Defeat the Briar Bloodrose Witch in Battle. Rewards: 500 XP and 20 lyr. ]

[ Set My Peopl...err... Spriggankin Free!: Free the Spriggankin caged beside the Briar Bloodrose Witch's hut. Rewards: 300 XP, 10 lyr, and a surprise gift. ]

[ All Quiet on the Southern Front: End the Kavi threat! The Kavi has been hunting the Makai Forest Spriggankin to use as lab rats and slaves. Help put an end to this injustice! Rewards: 1 Tier up, 50 lyr, and Friend of the Spriggankin reputation. ]

*** Courtyard Battle Royale Event ***

[ Unchained in the Night! There's a battle brewing and the newly created swamp thing... err... Ganglyrot is chained up to a stake on the other side of the cauldron! This is so Unfair! As such we [ meaning I ] ask you [ meaning Wylla ] to Set the Ganglyrot free so it can meet its foes in a fair fight on the battlefield! [ Also, a free Ganglyrot makes for a far more exciting Livestream show ;) ] Rewards: 500 XP, 20 lyr, and unlock 2^nd part of event quest. Timed Event: 30 minutes... tick-tock... ]

"YOSH!" Wylla said pumping her fist as she quickly accepted all the quests and the big event! Quickly looking over the quests she mentally organized them in an 'order to be done' list. "Time's a-ticking so let's get a-kicking... butt! Step one, free the Ganglyrot... but how?"

The trees rustling grew as the sounds of feet pattering on the ground rang out; All the courtyard Kavi guards surrounded the angry Ganglyrot as coarse staccato shouts started to fill the air. Wylla's ice-blue silvery moon eyes followed the large taut vine chain that was locked onto the back of the Ganglyrot's harness (Nope, not getting anywhere near its back...). Her eyes continued to trace the vine chain down to the big wooden stake where it was attached like a thread through a sewing needle's head. "Yes, since everyone's busy playing 'Ring Around the Ganglyrot', let's try bashing it."

Summon Rod Form With rod in hand and mission in mind, Wylla left the cover of the Bliry shrub, entering the battlefield and headed towards the wooden stake in the ground.

Storymask

The battle has just begun and Wylla is overjoyed with not only receiving lots of very rewarding quests but also starting her first Big Event! But she better hurry since it's timed and the clock is ticking. Coming up next time big battles in Chapter 32: Kavi and Spidolls and Ganglyrot! Oh My!

Side Notes: Lyr and Cen is Abrynth money: Basically Lyr = Dollars and Cen = Cents.

Also, I'm happy to announce that my niece (with her busy college schedule) sent over a new Wylla Illustration in her Furbee outfit last night. I have posted it up on Storymask.com: Our Illustrator Box section for those of you that can't see it below. She also said that as soon as her workload lessens she'll make a Wylla Orchid Butterfly Illustration... which I'm really looking forward too.