Missteps V.2

Chapter 42 – We Have a Plan

Before Sol could open the door, Jun pulled out their map and huddled everyone up. "As a reminder, on the other side of the door, is a hallway. We've got three doors on either side of the hall."

Lia reached out and pointed to a room right next to the main door they were about to enter. "Does that say 'barracks'?"

Kerri nodded. "Sol called it a dorm, but considering the main fighters of this group sleep in there, we decided to rename it."

"Are we more concerned about the fighters, or Father who has magic?" Iados asked as he scanned the rest of the map. The hallway led into a much larger room that then had three arboretum off-shoots and two doors.

Ander tapped his chin. "Does it really matter?"

"I think Sol mentioned that Ma also did a little magic." Lia looked over at Sol for confirmation.

Sol nodded. "Ma and Father are the only ones besides me who know magic. Everyone else fights. It was Mother who taught Des how to fight."

Iados nodded as he pursed his lips. "So, besides Mother, how many fighters are we looking at?"

"Well, Jun said just to count everyone else as fighters, so around thirteen." Sol started to count on her fingers. "There's Kinnek, Papella, Stimmud, Trutag, Illiao, Stamet, Zhongave, Vokrach, Olyang, Taddau, Tafaress, Brappselle, Hibr, and Drokrow." Sol paused as she realized her mistake. "Oh, I guess it's fourteen actually."

"So if we include Mother, we've got fifteen fighters and two magic users." Jun stared Sol right in the eyes until she gave a hesitant nod. "Okay. So now everyone buddy up. No one goes anywhere alone down here. The main objectives down here are finding Sol's sister, and taking out the tree."

"If it can be avoided, no one dies today." Lia reminded everyone firmly. Kerri and Ander nodded, while Iados, Carric, and Jun exchanged non-committal shrugs. Elaine didn't respond.

Everyone moved to stand with their buddies. Lia and Ander, Carric and Sol, Jun and Kerri, and then Elaine and Iados.

Sol opened the door smoothly. She stuck her head in and did a quick look before she opened it wider. Ander squeezed past Sol to be the first one in. The hallway itself was about twenty or so feet wide. Tables had been erected along the walls and down the middle, barely leaving room to be able to traverse around them. Bowls and buckets of fungi and dark red fruits were scattered all over. On the tables were various preparations of both, with some being chopped, squeezed, or mashed together. Three wooden doors stood on either side of the hall, with the hall ending in a large archway that led into another room. Sconces on the wall were filled with glowing fungi that bathed the whole room in a dim light. The room smelled sickly sweet with a pungent after-taste in the back of their throats.

Lia and Sol walked into the room, with Carric right behind them, an arrow nocked and ready in his bow. Their footsteps were light as they creeped into the room, alert as their eyes scanned the surroundings. Before the second half of their group could enter the room, Carric knocked over a pail.

The pail clanged onto the stone floor, and the round fruits rolled out, thudding as they connected with other various buckets, pails, and tables. The whole group froze and waited with bated breath. They hoped they hadn't just lost their element of surprise.

A woman's voice drifted out of the archway on the other end. "Sol? Was that you?" It asked in elvish. A woman walked into the hallway. Her skin had a grayish pallor to it that complimented her stark white hair that was tied up on top of her head. Her pointed ears were adorned with long stranded earrings. She had on leather armor that was scuffed but still functional. On her waist hung a sword and a large horn. Most noticeably, was how rough her skin was, the kind of roughness that reminded one of tree bark. "How many times have I told you to be careful of the buckets?" The woman's voice died out as her eyes found not only her daughter, but two strangers. Her hand dropped to the horn on her waist.

Sol stepped in front of Carric and Lia, and spoke in elvish as well to this new figure. "They're friends, Mother. They wished to see the Tree, and learn about it." Carric and Lia both found it slightly hard to keep up with the conversation. Both of them spoke in a dialect that was different, and thicker, than anything they'd encountered before.

Ander in the meantime, used his small stature to creep closer to Mother. He'd already been ahead of the others, and in no time he got close enough to the female dark elf as to cast a spell. He grasped the crystal in his hand and brought it up to his lips. Quickly he murmured the spell, his words lingering in the air around the crystal as glowing runes. When he gathered the glowing runes in his fist, they turned invisible. He pitched his handful of magic towards the woman. Mother seemed unsteady for a moment as the spell hit her. She blinked and shook her head slightly. Soon enough, the look of distrust that had been written all over her face vanished, and was replaced with a serene smile as her eyes immediately locked with Ander's. Ander wasted no time in casting a second spell on himself as he stood up and made his way to her side.

"I am very sorry that we arrived with no notice, but Sol described the Tree so beautifully that we could not wait." Ander extended his hand towards Mother, and she took it willingly, and did not let it go. "My name is Ander."

Mother knelt down in front of Ander so that they were eye level. "You are forgiven, Ander. My name is Hoklem, and I understand. Even after all these years, I still am shocked by the beauty and majesty of the tree."

Ander smiled. "Would you please be our escort to this Tree? My friends and I wish to see it with our own eyes." To everyone one else, Ander still spoke in Common tongue while Hoklem spoke in Elvish. The two seemed to have no issues communicating between them. Carric looked over his shoulder at the other half of their group that still hid in the courtyard and mouthed the word 'magic', as he inclined his head towards the halfling. Everyone simply nodded and waited for their cues.

Hoklem nodded and stood back up. "I would be delighted to show you the Tree. Is it just the three of you, or do your companions hiding in the back wish to come as well?"

Kerri sheepishly poked her head around the corner. "We weren't hiding, just waiting for an invitation." She said in elvish.

Hoklem chuckled. "Then consider this your invitation. Please come in, come in."

Iados, Jun, Elaine, and Kerri entered the hallway. Carric used them as a distraction to replace the arrow in his quiver, but still kept a tight grip on his bow. Lia moved towards Ander and Mother, and gave him a small thumbs-up.

Ander grinned and tugged on the hand that Mother still had on him. "Is it alright if we all go and view the Tree now? We would of course be more than willing to pay it any of the proper respects as a thank-you."

"That would be a lovely gesture, thank you. It's been a while since the Tree has drunk so plentifully." Hoklem looked over at Sol. "I'm proud of you Sol. You took what happened to Despove as the lesson it was meant to be, and now you brought new friends to grow the Tree's power." With that, Hoklem turned and headed through the archway with Ander at her side. The rest of the party followed after. Sol lingered back and followed last, with her buddy Carric by her side.

They were led into a large chamber that in another life seemed to be a place of worship. Large stained-glass murals were set into the walls. Many of them were chipped or shattered. Some form of repair had been done on them, but it was hard to fully appreciate the murals in the current setting. Not much reflected off of them from the dim light of the fungi, and beyond the empty panes was a wall of stone. The murals themselves were scenes of nature. Animals of all shapes and sizes frolicking through forests or drinking from a stream. The murals were connected, with each window continuing the scene. Like the sketch had said, three other archways (one at the front the long room and two on the opposite wall) lead into smaller arboretums.

As Hoklem led them through the chamber towards a door in the very back, a small contingent of about eight males made their way lazily out of one of the rooms on the opposite wall. They all had the same dark gray tone skin that Mother had (though their skin was smooth). They wore armor, but none of it was as complete as Hoklem's, and theirs looked much more worn. A smell of smoke clung to them, as they all suddenly came to a stop at the sight of the newcomers. Their hands immediately went to the weapons that were at their sides, or still in their hands. The weapons looked aged and worn, but still capable of doing the job.

"Calm down, they are not threats." Hoklem chided to the men as she waved them off. "They are merely friends of Sol that wished to pay respect to the Tree." Ander nodded in agreement. "Has that fiery pest been dealt with?" The men looked wary, but did as they were told.

One of them, a man with hair that was cut short, stepped closer to Mother. "The creature went down easily enough once it'd been cornered." The man's eyes flitted over each of the newcomers with unease and distrust. "No one is seriously injured, just a few burns and what not."

Lia translated what was being said to Jun and Elaine. Kerri made mental notes on the two's accent for future use, while Carric kept close to Sol.

Hoklem nodded. "Good. Sol will heal those who are injured." Hoklem leaned and peered into the room behind them. Through the archway, everyone could see upended dirt and stone, and scorch marks on the walls. "Clean up the mess, and find out how that blasted serpent got in."

The man nodded. He looked over his shoulder and gave a few brief commands in a harsh whisper. The men behind all nodded and scattered, save for a couple who stayed and kept wary eyes on the group. He turned to look back at Hoklem. "Are you headed for the Tree now?"

Hoklem nodded again. "There really is no reason to keep our guests down here longer than necessary." She looked down at Ander and smiled.

Ander returned the smile. "If our presence is unwelcome, than you merely need tell us. We do not wish to be a bother." Behind their backs, Kerri rolled her eyes at the ultra-fancy tone of Ander's voice.

Hoklem shook her head. "You are no bother, we just have not properly entertained in so long that we're a bit out of practice." The two of them shared a laugh as they headed once again towards a door at the end of the room. The group followed after, while the dark elves glared.

As Sol passed by, the man reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"What is the meaning of this?" He hissed at her. "Who are these people?"

Sol narrowed her eyes. "They are here to do what you wouldn't, Kinnek."

Kinnek's eyes went wide as his grip loosened slightly. "Then you have brought them here to die."

Sol shook her head. "I have brought them here to free us."

"The Tree will never allow this." Kinnek's voice was soft, almost pleading.

Carric stepped forward, and put his hand on Kinnek's hand that still held Sol's arm. "We're not giving the Tree a choice." Carric stared unblinking into Kinnek's eyes. He wrenched Kinnek's hand away from Sol. "Will you try to stop us?"

Kinnek was silent as his gaze moved from Sol and Carric. He looked over Carric's shoulder, and saw that the majority of the group had vanished through a door, but Jun still stood at the doorway, hand on warhammer, watching the exchange.

"Is your loyalty to the Tree truly that great?" Carric asked.

Kinnek's eyes immediately snapped back to Carric. "I have no loyalty to the Tree. My loyalty lies with Hoklem. We stood by her as she vied for power and position, and we stood by her when she was exiled because of it."

Carric cocked his head. "From what I've heard, her loyalty is to the Tree, so do you not stand by her in that as well?"

Kinnek did not answer. Behind him, the two males shifted their gazes to the floor.

Sol reached out and laid a hand on Kinnek's cheek. "I know that your vow to Mother is what stops you from fighting, but we cannot continue on like this. Can you really let what happened to Des go unchallenged?"

Kinnek sighed, reached up, and removed Sol's hand. "Do you think I do not berate myself for what happened to Des? Part of my vow to Hoklem, was to protect those of her blood and name. That day, Despove showed a bravery greater than all of us. Do you think I do not regret not swinging my sword by her side? Joining her in an act that would free all of us from that Tree?" His gaze dropped to the ground. "We had our moment to fight, and we lost it. To fight now would be useless."

"Then don't."

Kinnek's gaze moved back up to Carric's face.

"Don't fight." Carric repeated. "I understand that you can't fight, but Sol already hired us to take out the Tree. What I'm asking now, is to not make us fight you as well. Let us keep the fighting where it truly belongs."

Kinnek narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think you can succeed?"

"Two things." Carric pointed towards a mural behind them, and everyone's eyes followed. This mural was the largest one, and it showed a familiar dark-skinned woman who lounged beneath the pure white-leafed tendrils of a willow tree. "One, I've got permission from a Goddess to destroy it."

Kinnek still looked uncertain. "And the second thing?"

This time Carric smiled. "That little halfling holding onto Hoklem's hand, he's a pyromaniac who's already set one tree ablaze that I know of. I have no doubt that he'll be able to reduce the Tree to cinders."

The dark elf sighed, and was silent for a moment. Finally, he nodded. "We will not fight, like you ask. If you succeed, we shall be freed, and when you fail life will not change so why not let you and your group be fools."

Carric grinned. "Not the vote of confidence I was expecting, but I'll take it."

"There is one thing, however." Kinnek reached out and grabbed Sol's arm again. This time he pulled the girl closer to him. "Sol will not fight. I will not risk the Tree doing to her what has already been done to her sister."

The Half-Elf nodded. "Finally something we both agree on."

Sol tried to wrench her arm free, but to no avail. "This is my fight as well!"

"Sol, the point of hiring people like this man and his friends, is so that you do not have to fight." Kinnek explained.

Sol still struggled. "Let me fight, I can do this."

Kinnek shook his head as he handed the squirming girl to one of the guards. "Take her to Despove, and make sure she does not leave the room until this matter has been settled." The guard nodded, and in one motion had lifted Sol up and over his shoulder. He disappeared quickly into the second door of the room. At the end of the hall Jun made a move to intervene, but Carric held up a hand and stopped him.

Kinnek motioned to the remaining guard to step forward. "Papella here will accompany you down. We have four more of our number waiting in a small office before the grove. Papella will bring them here with the rest of us."

"Thank you." Carric said.

Kinnek raised up a hand. "Do not thank me, I am merely hedging my bets on this matter. Now, in the grove it is the druid Aniksil, his daughter Pova, and Pova's guard and Hoklem's younger brother Drokrow. Drokrow will fight against you. He is as loyal to the Tree as the one's whose skin have turned to bark."

"Good to know." Carric held out his hand. "When we succeed, I'll expect you to owe me a drink, for proving you wrong."

The dark elf clasped the hand. "If you prove me wrong, and do indeed reduce that abomination to cinder, I'll owe you much more than a drink." The two shook hands and went their separate ways. Papella led the way towards the door.

"What's the verdict?" Jun asked as he followed Carric and the elf through the door and into a small room. In the center of the room was as a spiral staircase that led down.

"The guards won't fight against us." Carric informed the berserker in Common as they descended. "To them we don't have a hope of winning, but they also don't have anything to lose by letting us try."

"What's the chance of them fighting with us if the tide turns against us?" Jun reached out a hand and laid it on Carric's shoulder. At the bottom of the stairs was a dark hallway. Their guide didn't hesitate on into the hallway. There were still sconces down here, but they were much more widely spaced than the ones up top.

Carric kept his eye on the ground and navigated them around some of the large stones that littered the path. As they walked, they heard the sound of stones falling from the ceiling onto the dirt floor beneath them. "Zero, on purpose. By the looks of it, they are going to be as far from the fighting as possible, that way they've got deniability if we don't win and they still have to live down here. Can't say that I blame them."

"You seemed to be getting pretty close to that leader guy." Jun chuckled.

Carric rolled his eyes. The path slowly changed and began an upward descent instead. "He's not my type."

"I thought anything 'male' was your type?"

"That is the main criteria, but it's not the only one." Carric informed his friend. "Besides, I'm not so hard up that I'm going to go after a guy who's been living with seven other guys for who knows how long."

"Now you sound just like some of my old military buddies." Up ahead Jun could just barely make out a door. "Perhaps you're not interested in anyone new, because of a certain someone."

Carric looked over his shoulder. "Who?"

"That bookseller guy."

"Chaxelle?"

"Yeah. He seemed pretty interested in you, and you him."

Carric shrugged "Chaxelle is fun, but I don't do commitment. Too messy. I broke it off with him this morning."

"It was that easy to just end things?"

Carric nodded. "I've done it before. It gets easier to do the more you do it."

"Is M.A. going to get the same treatment one day? You just decide that we're too messy of a commitment, and you leave?" In front of them, Papella opened the door, and voices drifted in.

Carric reached up and removed Jun's hand from his shoulder. "This group is different than just meaningless sex. With you guys, I've decided to risk the mess and commit." Carric walked through the door. Jun put his hands on his hips and shook his head before he followed suit.

Inside the room, was an office area just as Kinnek had said. The room was small, only about twenty feet wide and as much in length. It was crowded as Hoklem chatted with Kerri and Lia in front of wooden double-doors, as Elaine and Ander examined some of the books that were strewn upon the small desk. In addition to the books, parchment pages had been tacked into the walls, or stacked upon the surfaces. All of the parchment had scribbles in the same handwriting among them, combined with sketches and diagrams of different fungal fauna. Papella wasted no time in going to each of the four guards and whispering in their ears.

"It's about time you got here." Kerri admonished the latecomers in Common, a smile on her face. "Hoklem was telling us more about the Tree and its mission, and I'm so glad we're going to destroy it."

"We got held up." Carric looked to Hoklem and switched to elvish. "Sol stayed behind to tend to the injured, like you'd said."

Hoklem nodded proudly. "Are all of you ready to enter the grove?"

Ander closed the book he'd been skimming. "Yes, thank you." He scurried over to Hoklem's side, and she once again took his hand.

The dark elf opened the door and led the way through. She didn't see as the five guards exited back down the dark hallway. The doorway led into a patch of sharp brier plants that grew fifteen feet high. A narrow path had been cut through them that weaved through the large patch. The entire group was careful to stick to the path. A few of them acquired scratches to their armor or arms from the patch, but nothing jumped out at them, a fear that Elaine voiced aloud in Common.

"Hoklem says that the briar patch is merely a deterrent." Ander translated for Elaine.

Soon enough they exited the brier patch. The large area was mostly clear, save for more dry shrubs that dotted the landscape, and the occasional patch of fungi. The fungi that grew here was all dark red. The ground seemed to be covered in grass, tough it was straggly and dry. Walking upon it, there was no doubt that there was stone just a few inches past what remained of the soil that fell with the temple. Skeletal remains of trees dotted the landscape. It was as if the life of this once vibrant grove had been sucked away.

To their right, was the windows of one of the arboretums. For the most part, the glass remained in the multiple small panes that made up the larger window. The windows were dirty and cloudy. Lia and Elaine, managed to see the shadows of an audience on the other side.

A twenty-foot tall stone wall blocked off the furthermost left corner. The tree it housed, was much taller. From what they could see, the top of the tree crested a good ten or fifteen feet above the wall. Like the mural inside, this tree had leafed tendrils that flowed down towards the ground. Unlike the tree depicted on the walls, these tendrils were a sickly green that reminded the group more of slime, and its blood-red leaves were small and pockmarked.

As Hoklem led them towards the tree, the group noticed that there was an entryway on the right-hand side of the wall. It was in front of this entryway that three figures stood. They spoke amongst each other, but upon noticing Hoklem's group, they grew silent.

Kerri and Jun led the group behind Hoklem as they walked closer. Everyone was aware that this was where they'd make their stand. In preparation, the different pairs of 'buddies' began to spread out, with Carric hanging in the back, his bow still in hand. Jun stopped about twenty feet away from the group, and he held out his hand to keep Kerri at bay as well. Ander dropped the elf's hand and stayed close to Lia.

Hoklem walked right up to a worn-robed woman. Her long brown hair had been braided into a crown on top of her head. The eyes she used to glare at the group with were nearly identical to those of Sol's. Hoklem snaked an arm around the woman's waist and kissed her bark-like cheek. "I've brought guests."

"I see that." The woman's voice was cold. "What are they doing here?"

"They wished to see the Tree." Hoklem beamed brightly out at Ander.

The robed woman pointed towards the top of the tree as she addressed the group in Common. "There, that's the Tree. Now you can go."

"Now now, Pova." Hoklem chided in Common as she pulled the arm down. "They want to their respects." Her accent in Common was even thicker than in elvish.

"Is that so?" An older man next to Pova chuckled. He was dressed more simply in pants and a tunic, but the elaborate stitched designs that adorned the long sleeves belayed that he was much more than a simple man. His dark hair was gathered on top of his head with a bun. It was hard to tell if the lines on his face and neck were the beginning of wrinkles, or just the bark-like texture of his skin. He spoke in Common to the group. "And what kind of 'respects' were you planning on giving?"

Just behind the trio, seated on an aged stump was a young man with smooth skin and the complexion of a dark elf. One half of his hair was cut short, while a short braid hung down on the other side. He didn't look up at the newcomers as he used a whetstone on his long sword.

Kerri took a couple of steps forward and pulled out her rapier.

The old man gave a full belly laugh this time. "I see. Do you really think you are the first to come here with the intention of stopping the Tree from completing its mission?" He shook his head and pulled out an oaken wand from a back pocket. Next to him Pova pushed her wife away before she rolled up her sleeves.

Aniksil's eyes flashed green as he began to mutter a spell. The tip of the wand glowed the same hue, before it shot a burst of green energy that buried itself in the ground under Kerri's feet. The ground under Kerri and Jun began to rumble as twisting vines wound up and around the duo's legs. Jun grabbed the back of Kerri's shirt and threw her behind him with such force that the vines attempting to hold her in place ripped. She sprawled on the ground away from the vines, as the rest of them made their way up Jun's body and held his limbs in place.

Lia slammed her staff into the ground in front of her. "Leave the druid to me." Through her staff, she directed the magic to travel across the ground and into the space between Aniksil and his daughter. She brought the magic up, and as she did the air was twisted around and around itself. Both Aniksil and Pova gave cries of protest as they were blasted with a fierce wind that was sharpened with bits of sharp rocks, dirt, and broken branches. As they were forced to stagger away from the mini cyclone, the vines that held Jun withered.

"What are you doing?" Hoklem cried as she shielded her face from the flying debris. Her eyes sought Ander, and suddenly her once peaceful expression turned to rage. "You tricked me!"

"More like charmed!" Ander yelled back through cupped hands. He opened his mouth to say more, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a ball of fire rush towards him. Ander skipped to the side and turned his head to warn Lia.

Lia stood rooted in her spot, her magic staff the only thing between the ball and her face. Sweat dripped down her face, and even from his place five feet away, Ander could feel the intense heat. He looked over and saw a satisfied smirk on the druid's lips.

Ander grasped the crystal around his neck and began to mutter his spell, but before he'd gone more than a few syllables, a powder blew into his face. The powder entered his mouth and nose, but instead of being an irritant, it soothed him. His words faded from his lips as he felt his eyes droop against his will. Without even being aware of it, Ander collapsed into a small heap on the ground.

Pova grinned as she lowered her hand. "Not who I was going for, but I'll-" Pova screamed and staggered back as an arrow lodged itself in her shoulder. Hoklem caught her wife, as the magic-user lost consciousness.

When Hoklem looked up, her eyes immediately sought the archer. "That was a mistake." The enraged Tefili fighter ran straight towards Carric.

"Iados, any chance you can run interference?" Carric called as he quickly loaded another arrow and fired, missing Hoklem by a hair.

"He's already gone." Elaine grunted as she pulled Ander's sleeping form away from the ball of fire, the hem of his coat already singed.

Carric glanced over while he pulled another arrow, and saw that the akudaem was in the process of scaling the stone wall. "So much for the buddy system." He muttered under his breath. Before he could fire his next arrow, a piercing wail penetrated the area. Everyone except Aniksil, Pova, and Hoklem winced at the high-pitched sound. Thankfully it only lasted for a moment, but in its wake every shrub in the vicinity of their group sprang to life.

Elaine and Jun were surrounded by the shrubbery, while Kerri watched open-mouthed as several of the shrubs walked right by her on their way towards the berserker.

"What gives? Am I not enough of a threat?" She swung towards the nearest shrub, but only broke a few branches that didn't even register with the plant.

"The shrubs have been commanded not to attack those with elven blood." A deep voice said from in front of Kerri. The fighter from the stump had joined in. "They were put in place after Despove betrayed us."

Kerri gritted her teeth, and laced her next words with her anger. "It looks to me like you're the betrayer." She pointed towards the shadows in the window. "You're the only one who stayed to fight."

Drokrow did not even blink. "You think those cowards mean anything to me? The ones I care for stand here in this grove, as do I." He lunged at Kerri with his sword, but was shoved out of the way by the sudden remains of a shrub that had been batted into his path.

"Are you here to argue philosophy, or to fight?" Jun's voice rumbled, as Kerri saw the verta-kochen creep into the corners of his eyes.

Twenty feet away, Lia managed to duck under the flaming ball and get a view on her counterpart. She tried to hit him again with the mini cyclone, but it seemed to be nothing more than an annoyance to the older druid. With gritted teeth, she clenched her fist and the cyclone died away. She did a few quick hand movements, and the magic from the cyclone twisted and flew towards the druid. She wrapped it around the older man like a cocoon.

For a moment, she thought she'd succeeded in holding him.

With just a beat of his magic energy, the bonds of her cocoon fell away into nothing. He smirked and flicked the balled fire into her side. He hurried over to his daughter, and healed her wounds. As he helped her stand up, he saw the akudaem run across the wall towards him. He whistled.

A giant frog bounded to the top of the wall in front of Iados. He swore and skidded to a stop. This was not going to plan.