Chapter 23

Wesley surfaced for the fiftieth time. He came up with swamp water and swamp debris sloughing off of him.

“The path turns this way,” he said, guiding us to make a sharp right turn. “My hands are pruning.”

“I can feel my feet pruning,” Antoine said.

We’d traveled on for half the day. The path occasionally changed direction and only once did we miss a turn. Although we hadn’t run into any more monsters, just navigating the swamp was difficult enough. The monotony of the trees standing straight up from the grey swamp was maddening.

“I’ve got a cloak with a drying rune,” I said. “When we find land, we can each wrap up in it and dry ourselves off. Might take a few tries because the rune is only at level 1.”

“If we find land,” Samantah said bitterly.

She’d been unable to maintain her crown of hair and it had fallen into the swamp water several times. She was livid, and seethed behind angry and bloodshot eyes.

By afternoon, we came upon land, drenched from the waist down. I let Wesley use the cloak first and it took seven uses of the cloak’s drying rune to get him completely dry. I could tell Samantha was suffering probably more than anyone else so she was the next to dry off. Her hair required ten passes of the drying cloak before she moved to the rest of her body. At last she was happy again.

I was the last to use the cloak and I was dismayed that the repetitive use had really taken a toll. Much of the seam on the left side was coming undone. My companions were content to give me a few minutes to blind level my cloak to increase its durability. Hopefully that would be enough to prevent it from falling apart even further.

“All set?” Belpheus asked of the party.

It was an absolute pleasure to be out of the water, not having to wade our way forth.

We passed a final line of trees before coming to a circular clearing. The path continued across the way. When we traversed to the center of the clearing, I heard the sound of wood stretching, or rope tightening.

“It’s a trap,” Allmeer said.

The trees beside the path ahead came to life. Their branches stretched to interlock a tight pattern that blocked our way forward. Then the rest of the trees all around us came to life at once, growing and interlocking their branches to completely cut off any escape.

Samantah cast her mana bar in a small circle. All our health bars populated in the bottom left corner. There was a new feature to her mana bar stats that she must have acquired before leaving Klayvale. Beneath our health bars were blue bars, that must have been indicators reflecting our mana pools. She probably acquired a mana lens enchantment.

She wasn’t looking at any of that. Her eyes were fixed on the large red health bar that hovered in the top left of her mana bar.

“This must be a mini boss,” she said.

“Where is it?” Belpheus said, turning circles after flowing his mana bar into a large ring. There was no sign of the boss. Not above us. Not among the trees. For some time we waited, prepared to engage in battle.

“Sitting here isn’t doing anything for us,” Wesley said.

We all slowly let our guard down and wandered about the clearing, peering through trees, keeping an eye to the ground before each and every step, and also inspecting the blocked path forward.

“Alright,” Wesley said, “I’m gonna chop us free of here.”

He took a mighty swing with one of his canine shaped daggers and chopped through a branch. Before he took his next swing, we heard the sound of stretching wood and twisting rope.

“Guys,” Samantah said. “The boss’s health bar just nicked down a few points.”

We were suddenly surrounded by the deafening sound of hundreds of branches twisting and stretching. They reached toward us, forcing us in a huddle at the center of the clearing.

“The branches are all the boss,” Samantah said. “It’s going to squeeze or crush us to death if we don’t stop it!”

The branches kept creeping in with twisting sounds. Smaller branches began sprouting from their parents and soon twice as many were stretching our way.

“This is a chop and slash job!” Allmeer said, rushing forward with his spear held high.

Both anciennes leapt to the task of cutting and chopping. Antoine was using Wesley’s other dagger and throwing his weight behind every chop.

Slashes and chops were awkward for me, but I gave it my all, chopping for all I was worth.

Belpheus made his way with Samantah through the thickening branches towards the edge of the clearing.

“No!” Samantah said, “no fire! Are you crazy?” Then I heard him chanting his necrotic spell. I knew the spell was mana expensive, and I hoped he could keep it up.

It took some time for the mage to cast each spell and when he finished the chant, at least a dozen branches fell apart and rained to the ground in splinters. I continued chopping, but the butt of my flagstaff kept getting snagged on encroaching branches behind me, disrupting my swings.

“I’m casting Vine of Bear!” Allmeer said.

He went silent for a moment. Then the earth erupted near him and an enormously thick vine climbed through the branches. Atop the vine was a large pod. From my view it looked similar to a walnut shell. Now that the vine was sufficiently tall, the shell burst to pieces, revealing the top half of a monstrous bear.

It was almost zombie-like, half decomposed, half plant matter, and the bottom was fused with the thick vine.

Allmeer’s Vine of Bear and Belpheus’s Necrotic Crush were providing some much needed pushback against the branches.

“Boss’s health is nearly halfway!” Samantah called out. “Keep it up!”

Our efforts were a race against time. I assumed Samantah was replenishing Belpheus’s mana because there was now way he could cast that many Necrotic Crush spells back to back. Wesley and Antoine were tiring and I was quickly losing space to wield my flagstaff.

I paused to flow my mana bar out wide. All my companions' health bars were full. Everyone’s health bar had the symbol of an arm and a bead of sweat floating just above. My best guess was that we were reaching exhaustion, or burning too much stamina or something similar.

The boss’s health was surely shrinking. It was nearly down to a quarter now.

“Bher Dheu!” Belpheus said, and a ton of branches splintered apart and rained to the ground. When the boss’s health dipped below a quarter, the branches lashed out with sudden speed. Branches rushed around me, between my limbs, beneath my arms, and around my face. A fork of branches slammed into my throat. Another branch crossed behind my neck, locking my head in place.

“Second phase!” Samantah said. “Stay sharp! Is everyone ok?”

Everyone sounded off that they were ok. Everyone but me.

“Help,” I croaked out. I gulped for air and my larynx scraped against the forking branch at my throat. My eyes watered and I had to lean my head back to catch my breath.

“Tosin? Are you ok?” Samantah said.

They couldn’t hear my pitiful cry for help. I shook the reflexive tears from my eyes and gazed at the myriad of branches crisscrossing before me.

Then I heard my companions cry out in pain. I flowed my mana bar so that it was now above my head, and I could read everyone’s health once again. My health had taken a bit of damage, but nowhere near as much as my companions. I wondered why they were so damaged, until I saw thorns begin to shoot out of the sides of every branch only meters away.

Thorns flicked out with puncturing sounds of wood through wood. A wave of erupting thorns were traveling down the branches and heading straight to me. I tried to wiggle free but my neck was locked in place. I could feel the pressure of the branches gradually increasing.

In mere terrifying moments, the wave of thorns arrived at my location. I heard the thorns burst from the branches right beside my ears. Several thorns pierced my throat. I felt each thorn come out the other end. I helplessly watched my health bar plummet dangerously low. Blood filled my mouth. Blood flowed down my pinned open throat. I rasped and gurgled every breath. My strength left me and my grip weakened on my flagstaff.

“Tosin! Tosin is in trouble!” Samantah said.

“Tosin!” Antoine shouted.

“Get to Tosin!” Samantah said.

I heard Antoine’s hawk shrill a moment later. Potions burst in my vicinity but never reached me.

“I can’t find him!” Antoine said.

His hawk found me. I could feel small waves of wind carry healing magic that gently passed over me. Samantah was desperately firing her lantern’s orbs of healing, but they all missed me. She changed course with every orb, sweeping the clearing from left to right. My companions could not find me through the maze of branches.

“We need to get to Tosin immediately!” Samantah said. “He’s going to die!”

I coughed up blood. The effort of coughing made me jerk against the thorns inside my throat. The ones pinning me in place. The pain was starting to thrum through my body and infect my mind with fear and panic.

I no longer had the strength to keep my grip on my flagstaff. It dropped straight down, smacking against the ground. A section of my mana depleted, then refilled again from Boera’s Flux. All the other spells activated simultaneously. Zekaidean’s laugh echoed hauntingly and I heard his hammer strike with choral voices upon his summoned anvil. Gold waves of light passed through me, keeping me barely alive. Ten of Gryf healed a random ally. I heard Fist of Wind wiffle through branches.

The healing was not enough to replace what I was losing through pain and bleeding and diminishing breaths.

“Tosin!” Samantah shouted.

“Tosin!” Antoine shouted.

“Tosin!” Belpheus shouted.

“Tosin!” The anciennes shouted.

I closed my eyes. A large influx of healing surged through me. It wasn’t Antoine’s Hawk Familiar. It was Samantah’s healing orbs. One by one they absorbed into me. It felt like my body was swallowing bubbles of healing.

With every surge of healing, I felt strength return. I couldn't help but shudder under the tremendous pain I was in, and my health plummeted each time I involuntarily struggled.

“This way!” Samantah said.

She must have seen the orbs bring my health bar back up. She’d discovered my location. I couldn’t see anything past the bleary reflexive tears that coated my eyes and then cascaded down my cheeks. I couldn’t hear anything past the roar of pain and pounding blood in my ears. I tasted only blood. I clutched at the branches trapping me, for no other reason than to hold onto something—anything—for dear life.

Then the world was bleary and everything was quiet. A friend must be arriving nearby, sharing a story I think I’ve heard before.

“Bhel Dheu.”

I knew this story. It’s an awesome story that I was happy to hear again. Gold ripples of light were crashing over me. Were there singing angels buoyed upon that light? Was I feeling the faint comfort of a bird’s flapping wings?

“Sag Dheu.”

Were those gold bubbles of lantern light that I was swallowing? I was feeling calm, though something was itching my throat. I wasn’t able to scratch it but that was ok. I’d get it later. I was too tired to move. I just needed rest.

“Tosin!”

“Dhe Dheu.”

I was blinking slowly. I couldn’t understand why I was needing to use so much effort just to blink. Was I that tired?

“Gwel Dheu.”

Black orbs were floating down around me. Were they the faces of friends? My mom maybe? My dad? My sister? It was Winnie who was telling me a story, wasn’t it? I was trying to say her name, but I think I was eating something. My mouth wasn’t opening. That’s ok, it’s rude to speak with your mouthful anyways.

My family was loud.I wasn’t able to understand what they were saying since I was just resting my head for a quick nap. Someone was kind enough to scratch the infernal itch at my throat.

Hair was falling all around me and I was feeling thoroughly relaxed and calm. The calming presence was exactly what I needed, and I was beginning to breathe more easily.

I was opening my eyes to see whose hair it was. Was it familiar? Did Winnie’s hair grow so long so fast? Instead, I was seeing squirrels cavorting about. There were bears too, and they were climbing trees. The trees were shifting into large acorns. Then the acorns were morphing into birds in flight. No, not birds. They were autumn leaves. No, not autumn leaves. They were rocks in a babbling brook of brown hair. Curls of brown hair.

“Tosin, there you go! Tosin sit up, your health is starting to climb now. We got you buddy.”