Chapter 261: The Fae & Flower Part 2

“What exactly is this thing?” Sylvie pointed in disgust at the giant snake carcass.

“A viperidae,” Freya said grimly.

“Um, I’m still a little lost here,” Sylvie said. “Are there any more of them?”

“If there are, we may be in trouble,” Callum glanced up at the canopy warily.

Stryg closed his eyes, “I don’t hear any more of them, nearby at least.”

“I never thought we’d see one this close to the city though,” Freya bit her lip. “We’re only a couple of leagues from Undergrowth at best.”

“What do you know about these… Viperidae?” Stryg asked.

“Where to begin?” Freya exhaled loudly. “The viperidae are predators created to hunt down anything smaller than it, which is basically everything.”

“Wait, you said created?” Sylvie asked. “Those things aren’t natural?”

Freya furrowed her brow, “That’s…”

“As natural as beast-kin,” Callum said.

Stryg opened his eyes, “Are you saying the viperidae were created by the Mortem Order?”

Freya shook her head, “This was way before the Mortem Order dabbled with the beast-kin 400 years ago. No, this was over a thousand years ago, right around the time the drows lost the war to the vampires in the Northern Lands.”

Callum nodded, “The story is rather famous in Undergrowth, albeit less so in Hollow Shade, but Freya and I had an extensive education.”

“The drows fled the Northern Lands and escaped through the Rupture Mountains,” Freya said. “Many of them died in those hazardous mountains, but Sientia I managed to win a gamble with a dragon who helped guide the rest of the drows to the safety of Glimmer Grove Forest… or so they thought.”

“I think I know this part,” Sylvie whispered.

“Glimmer Grove wasn’t as empty as the drow refugees thought,” Freya said. “A powerful witch had made her home in the forest and she didn’t take kindly to new guests.”

“So, what? She killed the drows?” Stryg asked.

“Worse,” Callum said in a dark tone. “She created monsters to kill the drows for her.”

“We’re not sure how the witch did it, but she managed to combine several different breeds of the deadliest snakes into one monstrous predator.” Freya pointed at the serpentine carcass, “The viperidae.”

“And from that day on the witch became known as the Witch Queen of Glimmer Grove, or as most people call her nowadays, the Viperidae Queen,” Callum said.

“So these magically enhanced snakes have just been killing people for the last thousand years?” Stryg asked.

“Not exactly,” Freya said. “The viperidae did terrorize the drow refugees, picking them off in their sleep or sometimes in broad daylight. It was only thanks to House Thorn that the refugees weren’t completely wiped out back then.”

“But House Thorn’s mages couldn’t be everywhere at once. There were still many casualties,” Callum said.

“Until a group of brave warriors and mages went on a suicidal quest to put an end to the witch’s carnage. They traveled to the heart of Glimmer Grove in search of the witch… The viperidae ambushed them… It was a slaughter,” Freya said softly.

Stryg glanced up at the hole in the canopy the viperidae had left behind when Sylvie had brought it down with her flora magic. How such a large snake had even managed to get up there without breaking the canopy beforehand, he had no idea.

“It makes sense,” Stryg nodded.

“The story can’t end there… can it?” Sylvie asked.

“Luckily, no,” Callum smiled weakly. “One warrior survived the ambush, by sheer luck or skill, we’ll never know. His name was Parvus.”

“As in the Great House of Parvus?” Sylvie’s eyes widened.

“The very same,” Callum nodded. “But there was no Great House of Parvus back then. Parvus had no House backing him, he had no magic, no enchanted artifact. All he had were his skills as a ranger from his time in the Northern Lands.”

“And yet he managed to do what not even House Thorn’s greatest mages could,” Freya said. “He snuck into the Viperidae Queen’s lair and slit her throat. After the viperidae lost their queen they lost any sense of coordinated attacks. The snakes retreated back deep into the heart of the forest and have lurked there ever since.”

“All thanks to one magicless ranger. If you want to talk about the legendary heroes of old, Parvus was one of them,” Callum glanced at Stryg. “And you knocked out his descendant in an alehouse just a few days ago.”

Stryg shrugged, “How does that saying go again? ‘The apple has fallen far from the tree’?”

“Haha, very funny,” Callum said dryly. “House Parvus is revered in Undergrowth. Try not to make enemies with Damian. You may find yourself with more enemies than you think.”

Sylvie raised her hand, “Okay, so I get the whole Parvus-slayed-the-witch story and all, but if the viperidae retreated into the heart of the forest, why is this one here?”

“That’s what’s confusing,” Freya admitted. “There shouldn’t be any of them nearby. If there were, we'd have been told about it before the Challenge started.”

“Unless this is part of the Challenge,” Callum said.

“Seems a little too dangerous for the first Challenge, don’t you think?” Freya said.

“Who knows? The tourney has always been very dangerous. Contestants have died in the past,” Callum said forebodingly.

“Still this is a little much,” Freya muttered.

“Shh,” Stryg placed a finger to his lips. He closed his eyes and focused on his hearing.

“...What is it?” Freya whispered and gripped her hammer.

Stryg opened his eyes, “I hear crying.”

“Cryi-?”

Before Freya had finished speaking, Stryg clambered up a nearby tree.

“What is he doing now?” Freya sighed.

“Trust,” Callum said.

“What?” Freya raised an eyebrow.

“As leader of this team we have to trust your judgment and orders,” Callum said. “But the same applies to you, captain. You have to be able to trust each member of this team.”

“I do trust Stryg… I just don’t understand him,” Freya admitted.

“None of us do,” Callum smiled wryly. “The trick is to keep Stryg calm. He tends to lose rational judgment when he gets angry. Or perhaps he never really had a great understanding of it in the first place.”

“And how do we keep Stryg from losing his shit exactly?” Freya asked with a whimsical tone.

“Same as most people, mutual respect. Stryg is very receptive to sincerity, you’d be surprised,” Callum said.

“Hmm,” Freya nodded thoughtfully. “Question, how do we calm Stryg down if he loses his shit?”

“There are only two people I know who could do that,” Callum sighed. “...One of them was Clypeus.”

“...And the other?” Freya asked.

“You tell me, you’re the one who met her at the welcome party,” Callum said.

“Plumela, huh?” Freya muttered.

“Hey guys, I think Stryg found something,” Sylvie pointed up.

Callum and Freya squinted and tried to see what Stryg had found, but the trees spanned a hundred paces high, they could barely make out his figure from the ground.

“I can’t see anything,” Freya said.

“We need to get a better look,” Sylvie said.

“Are you suggesting we climb? I’m not particularly a fan of heights,” Callum chuckled nervously.

“Agreed,” Freya nodded vigorously.

“Don’t worry, that’s why I’m here,” Sylvie grinned.

Callum furrowed his brow, “What are you-? Wait, not again!”

~~~

Stryg watched with mild amusement Callum and Freya hold on to Sylvie for dear life as she carried them up the tree. Sylvie had casted a flora spell to act as ropes and strapped Freya and Callum to her back as she climbed. Fortunately for them, Sylvie had left her ax on the ground below.

As they reached the tallest branch where Stryg sat crouched he couldn’t help but smile. “How was the trip?” he asked.

“Piece of cake,” Sylvie grinned.

“Today’s events do not leave this group,” Callum grumbled.

“Agreed,” Freya crossed her arms.

“So, what did you find-…” Sylvie’s voice caught in her throat as she caught sight of the fairy hiding in a tree hollow a few feet from them.

The tiny creature whimpered and tried her best to hide to no avail.

“She looks scared,” Freya said.

“She’s terrified,” Sylvie whispered sadly.

“Why didn’t she just fly away already?” Callum asked.

“She can’t,” Stryg pointed to the fairy’s crooked wing. “I think she broke it when the viperidae attacked.”

Sylvie looked up at the ruined canopy above them, “The viperidae wasn’t here for us… It was after our fairy.”

“I think you’re right,” Stryg said in a hushed voice. “If that’s the case, there might be more of those snakes around. We should get the fairy and leave here quickly.”

“Gimme a moment,” Sylvie said and turned to the fairy. She smiled softly and whispered in an unfamiliar language.

The fairy’s head lifted in recognition. She opened her tiny mouth and spoke tentatively the same unfamiliar language. Sylvie nodded with a smile.

“You speak fairy?” Freya asked, surprised.

“It’s not called ‘fairy’ and yes,” Sylvie winked. “You and Cal aren’t the only ones with an extensive education.”

“So what is the fairy saying?” Stryg asked.

“Gimme a few more moments,” Sylvie said.

After what seemed an hour of chatting to Stryg but had only been a couple of minutes, Sylvie reached out her hand to the tree hollow. The fairy shakily stood to her feet and walked onto her palm.

Sylvie smiled and glanced at her team, “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Mina.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Mina. I am Callum of the Great House of Veres,” he tried to bow the best he could, though the vine straps made it difficult.

The little fairy Mina frowned and muttered something.

“What’s she saying?” Callum asked.

“She hopes a deer stabs you in the gut and you bleed out on the ground as the birds feast on your corpse,” Sylvie said.

Callum blinked, “Um… Huh, well, nice to meet you too…?”

“Mina’s not serious,” Sylvie said. “Fairies are elemental creatures of light and life, they really mean us no harm.”

Mina glared at Callum and stuck out her tongue.

“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that,” Callum said skeptically.

“Mina’s just angry that we kept her in the cage,” Sylvie said.

“You mean the lantern? That wasn’t our fault,” Freya said.

“No one likes being imprisoned,” Stryg said somberly.

The fairy squeaked at the sight of Stryg and hid behind Sylvie.

“She still thinks you’re going to eat her,” Sylvie said.

“Ah… Yeah, I won’t,” Stryg scratched the back of his head. “She doesn’t look very tasty anyway.”

“Not helping,” Sylvie shook her head.

“Can she help us or not?” Stryg asked.

“Well, she wasn’t going to, on account of us keeping her trapped in the lantern, but she is willing to make a deal,” Sylvie said.

“We’re listening,” Freya said.

“Mina says that when the lantern broke she flew back to her home, a Silverbright tree not too far from here,” Sylvie said.

“Wait, as in the Silverbright flowers we’re looking for?” Freya asked.

“The fairy lives on a tree of Silverbright flowers?!” Callum asked.

“Yeah, most fairy clans do,” Sylvie said casually. “I thought you all knew that.”

Freya sighed, “Just continue, please.”

Sylvie glanced at Mina with pity, “When she got back home… Mina’s tree was swarming with viperidae. A few fairies stayed behind and held back the viperidae as the rest of her people escaped. But those remaining fairies are still back there, including their clan’s leader… Mina’s grandmother.”

Mina wiped the tears on her pale pink cheeks.

“Mina tried to help, but she couldn’t. The viperidae almost killed her. She barely got away and hid here,” Sylvie said.

“That’s why the viperidae attacked us,” Stryg muttered.

Mina swallowed hard, she fell to her knees and prostrated herself to them.

Sylvie bit her lip, “Mina says she’ll do anything if we can just save her grandmother and her clanmates.”

“Against several viperidae? Hah, good luck,” Freya jested.

“What choice do we have?” Stryg sighed. “We need a Silverbright flower to pass the Challenge.”

Callum chuckled under his breath.

“What’s so funny?” Freya asked.

Callum smiled wryly, “It’s just like the stories of old. We’re about to venture on a quest to save a fairy queen and her people from the vicious monsters terrorizing their home.”

“Don’t most of the people die in those stories?” Stryg asked.

“Stryg makes a good point,” Freya said.

“Parvus survived and he wasn’t even a mage, just a good ol’ ranger,” Callum said. “And Stryg here is an expert hunter, those two professions aren’t very different, am I right?”

“I failed to become a hunter,” Stryg said.

“What? Seriously? How?” Callum asked incredulously.

Stryg shrugged uncomfortably, “Lots of things happened. Long story short, a lot of hunters ended up dying to snake monsters.”

“Well, our little quest is off to a splendid start,” Freya rolled her eyes.