1-88 Dangers in the north

Gisley carried them north into the mountain crags and up a shallow slope of tumbled hills. The land was covered in pine trees with dense blankets of ferns growing in falling needles. Moss clung to every rock and grew on ancient trunks giving the forest a feeling of timelessness. Gisley wasn't in her harness, as Roric wanted to be sure she was unrestrained in the event of danger. He sat in the front seat of the palanquin while Evalynn, Jaina, and Chandice rode inside.

The air smelled heavily of the forest and carried the crisp coolness of the alpine peaks looming ahead. Rajeen's instructions were to look for a gap between the peaks and follow a goat trail until they reached a stone arch. He wasn't worried about finding the path as they would stumble on it eventually. What bothered him was how far outside the spawn ring they were and what dangers might be hidden in the silent trees.

“I hope this buys Idris enough time to catch us,” Gisley called back as she carefully navigated the trunks.

“I hope so as well,” Roric replied as he considered the woman, now regretting the state they left her in. “She has ten days to catch up, or she will miss us at the portal.”

“Oh, I hadn't thought of that,” Gisley replied as her antenna unfurled. “If she misses us, she will be walking for months to get to the south.”

“We’re not going to leave her behind?” Jaina asked from the palanquin as she leaned out the window.

“A mage portal will only remain open for a short time,” Roric said. “Once Heather has it opened, we can't linger.” He knew that wasn't the answer they wanted to hear, but what else could they do? Heather planned to bring her doors through the portal, cutting off any chance of waiting. He wondered if they told Heather about Idris would she wait a day or two more? It was hard to gauge how much time Idris would need as Gisley flew much faster than a walking pace. They were nine to ten days ahead of her by his estimation, but it could easily be twelve or more.

“If she does reach us, we should consider giving her to Heather,” Chandice cut in.

“Give her to Heather?” Jaina questioned as her girlfriend nodded.

“Remember what she told us about how she wanted to pair up with a necromancer. Heather is her dream come true, and let's be honest, Idris's style isn't going to fit with our forest,” Chandice pointed out.

“No, her medieval village and undead hoard theme doesn't quite match,” Evalynn agreed.

“We told her we would work her in,” Jaina reminded. “We can’t turn our back on her now. Especially after making her go to all this trouble.”

“I am not saying we should turn our backs,” Chandice said. “I am saying we should be kind to her and not bind her to us if she is better suited to Heather. Ask yourself, where will Idris be happier? In a sunny field full of flowers, or the graveyard overlooked by a gargoyle-covered gothic tower?”

“She has a point,” Roric agreed as he turned back to see Jaina’s face. “Idris is very keen on building her adventure.”

“I know she has a point,” Jaina pouted. “And you're right; Heather is a better fit, but I still wanted her to be with us.”

“I do, too,” Gisley added as she darted around a tree. “She is so sweet despite her icky zombies.”

“Well, I think if we love her, we should consider letting her live with Heather,” Chandice suggested.

“I have to agree with her,” Evalynn said. “I want her to be happy.”

“So do I,” Jaina sighed. “Alright, we can free her and give her the choice.”

“Aren’t we overlooking the fact that Heather can’t take slaves?” Gisley asked.

“Idris doesn't have to be a slave,” Chandice corrected. “If she goes to Heather and her group, she will likely become a wife.”

“So you think Blackbast is right about Frank marrying them all?” Roric questioned.

“Frank seems like a genuine and traditional kind of guy,” Chandice replied. “How else is he going to do it?”

It was a good point, but then there was another option. If Frank accepted Blackbast's submission collar, she could collar the other girls for him. Of course, they would have to serve in her temple, and that meant being whores. Roric couldn't see Heather or Frank being thrilled by that prospect and didn't have much hope for Blackbast's chances. The conversation went on for several minutes until Gisley came to a sudden stop.

“What’s wrong?” Roric asked as Gisley fluttered higher and pointed.

“Theirs' a strange river of colors ahead of us,” Gisley said.

Roric stood on his seat and could indeed see a flowing stream of color. He focused his eyes to see it was composed of a vast herd of basketball-sized clumps of fur. The creatures walked on four stubby legs with antenna like gisley and little button eyes. They had a cute appeal, but even from here, he could see the oversized mouths.

“Evalynn,” Roric called, causing the woman to look out the window. “What is that?”

Evalynn held a hand to her brow and looked ahead before her expression changed to one of shock.

“Nillacs,” she gasped. “Gisley, get as far away from them as you can, and don't make any loud sounds.”

Roric nodded to Gisley as she fluttered back and turned them around. She went to move off when a loud crack was followed by a crashing sound. The palanquin was awkward to move in the trees, and she had broken a branch that crashed to the ground.

“Fly!” Evalynn yelled as a hiss filled the air. Gisley took off as fast as she dared, the maze of trunks making it hard to reach her proper speed. The palanquin bounced off trunks in her panic to gain ground, and the sharp turns were tumbling the girls inside.

Jaina and Chandice went to the rear window and looked out to see a horrible scene. It was a tsunami of color as waves of the ball-like creatures washed over the landscape in pursuit. Their eyes were red and they hissed with mouths full of razor-sharp teeth while moving at surprising speed.

“What are those horrible things?” Jaina asked.

“Think like a colony of giant army ants,” Evalynn explained. “They move in groups of hundreds to thousands and kill everything in their path. They never give up chasing food unless it gets out of sight.”

“Well, that’s not likely to happen,” Chandice said as she was rolled to the side in a sharp turn. “The trees are preventing Gisley from getting anywhere near full speed.”

“Then we have to slow them down,” Roric said as he climbed over the roof of the palanquin and held on as it bounced off another trunk. “Chandice, can you put a wall of fire behind us?”

“I can try,” Chandice replied as she was jarred in another impact. She leaned out the side door with Evalynn and Jaina holding on to her to prevent her from falling out. She pointed her fingers and spoke the words, but the rapid twists and turns caused her wall to be placed to the side.

“It missed,” Roric said and ducked as a tree branch nearly swept him off the roof. “Try again.”

“This is very dangerous!” Jaina called as a trunk swept passed the door. “She could get crushed on a tree.”

“We risk it or get eaten by that hoard of evil emojis,” Roric replied.

“Ha, that's a perfect description,” Evalynn laughed and leaned out to look ahead. She motioned to Chandice that it was clear but kept an arm on the woman's shoulder to yank her in if needed. Jaina clung to her waist as Chandice aimed again, this time putting the wall too far to the other side.

“Another miss,” Roric yelled to be heard over the hissing and nearly fell off the side when the disk hit a tree so hard it stripped the bark from the side.

“Gisley, you're rattling us to death!” Jaina yelled.

“I'm sorry!” Gisley called back.” The trees are so dense, and I can't steer the disk.”

“We have to try again,” Roric called, but a branch caught his harness. He was dragged across the roof, barely holding on to the edge as he was thrown over the back.

“Roric!” Jaina cried as he fell over the back window holding on by his fingers.

“I will get him,” Evalynn shouted and went out the side door to climb onto the roof. Jaina and Chandice reached through the window and grabbed whatever they could to help hold him in place. Roric struggled to get his other arm up and was relieved when Evalynn grabbed it.

“Let him go so I can pull him up!” Evalynn shouted to be heard over the hissing.

The girls did their best to push him up as Evalynn pulled with her heroic strength. Roric came over the lip just before Evalynn caught a branch to the back of her head. She went face-first into the roof of the palanquin with a loud crash that made it shudder.

“What was that?” Jaina called as she looked up.

“Evalynn is hurt,” Roric called down as he helped her to a crawling position.

Bolts of fire began to shoot from the side doors as Chandice put two imps to slow the tide down. The wave of color and teeth rolled on relentlessly, slowly drawing closer by the moment. Evalynn shook off the jarring hit and wiped the blood from her brow as Roric encouraged her to stay low.

“We can’t outrun them in a forest this dense,” Evalynn groaned.

“We can’t fight a thousand of those things at once,” Roric argued. “They will swarm over us and strip the flesh from our bones. Chandice is our only hope.”

Evalynn nodded in pain as Roric held her low and tried to look ahead. He ordered Gisley to try and fly as straight as she could to give Chandice a good shot.

Chandice leaned out the side door with Jaina holding tight. Roric looked ahead to watch for dangerous trees as the woman once again aimed her spell. Just as she cast the disk went down a slope, causing the spell the go high. A line of fire appeared across the tree trunks, leaving a gap for the flow of dangerous critters to flow under.

“Argh!” Chandice shouted. “This is impossible.”

“Try again!” Roric urged as the leading edge of the creatures was nearly on them.

“Hold my legs,” Evalynn groaned and reached out a hand to summon her weapon. It appeared in her grasp as she crawled to the back edge and went to lean over it backward.

“What are you doing?” Roric shouted and dived on her legs as she leaned over the side. She was now hanging upside down, facing the onrushing doom as blood dripped from her head.

“Shockwave!” Evalynn shouted and swung her spear in a broad arc.

[lvl 22 Glaive knight skill: Shockwave] A powerful sweeping attack that creates a wave of concussive force that throws targets back up to ten meters.

The nillacs were thrown back in a crushing wave of force. They flew into the air and tumbled back, as the mass kept coming, but precious space had been bought. Roric drew on strength to hold fast as another impact jarred the palanquin. Gisley was twisting and turning around dense trees and rock outcroppings, losing speed with every turn.

“Chandice!” Roric cried loudly. “Try again!”

Chandice went to lean out the door just as a trunk swept one of her imps away. Jaina yanked her back at the last second, and the two women trembled in fear at the desperate situation. Roric and Evalynn saw the imp devoured by a school of piranha-like monsters and prayed they would find some means of escape.

Chandice crawled to the door and looked out slowly. Her heart raced as she realized that she could be swept out to join her imp in feeding the monsters at any moment. Jaina once again clung to her, using her sticky skin's ability to hold fast. Chandice bounced and leaned as Gisley turned, making her aim less reliable. She pushed the fear away and focused on her spell just as they hit a stretch of relatively clear ground.

“Burn you little pests!” Chandice finished as a wall of fire spread out directly behind them. The tide of doom flowed right through it, causing the fire to belch out clouds of thick black smoke as hair burned away. Small balls of flame came bursting through the wall, rolling another dozen steps before coming to a sizzling halt.

“Perfect!” Roric called as he struggled to pull Evalynn up. She was dragged back to the roof as Gisley slowed a little to make gentler turns. Roric pulled the elf woman into his arms, thanking her for saving them once again. Had she not risked her life coming up there, he would have fallen off. Had she not risked it again to sweep the monsters away, they would have been overrun before Chandice got her spell off. He cradled the woman to his chest as they tried to lay flat, telling her how much he loved her.

They ran for a few minutes more until they were certain to be out of sight of the dangerous hoard. Then Gisley stopped, and Evalynn was handed down so Jaina could tend to her wounds. A gentle kiss later, and everything was healed, allowing the panic-stricken group a chance to clear their heads.

“That was intense,” Jaina panted as she held Evalynn tight. “And you were a superhero again.”

“I am a fighting class,” Evalynn explained. “That’s what we do.”

“Hardly,” Roric said as he took one of her hands. “You still acted bravely when others of your class would not have.”

“I am so sorry,” Gisley offered as she looked at the blood on Evalynn's head. “It's hard to guide the disk around trees when you're going fast.”

“I am fine,” Evalynn said and touched her head to see wet blood on her fingertips.

“The wound is gone, but the blood in your hair will need to be washed out,” Roric said.

“I will wash your hair as soon as we find a stream,” Jaina said.

“I’ll help,” Gisley said and rubbed Evalynn’s neck.

“You did good as well,” Roric said as he took the trembling Chandice into his arms. “It couldn’t have been easy leaning out the door when you knew it could mean your death.”

“I just need a minute to calm my nerves,” Chandice mumbled. “How can something so cute be so horrifying?”

“There are lots of cute monsters,” Gisley said. “I have heard of nillacs before, but this is the first time I have seen them. I have heard stories of players walking right up to them, assuming they must be docile.”

“I am sure that didn’t end well,” Jaina groaned and tried not to see it in her mind.

“It never does,” Evalynn said as she enjoyed her attention. “But now that we set fire to half the forest, we should probably move on.”

“This is a good point,” Roric agreed as he sniffed the wind that carried a distinct scent of smoke. “I don't know if the visitors will allow a forest fire to burn a massive area, but I don't want to find out. Come, I need you all back in the palanquin.

“We can’t go back that way,” Gisley said as he helped load the girls into the palanquin.

“We will have to go around it,” Roric said as he loaded Chandice. “Go east a bit. Then we will turn back to the north and head for the gap in the peaks.”

Gisley nodded and waited for him to climb up and take his seat, then flew off, going wide around a pillar of smoke rising from the forest. She moved at a slower pace, allowing her to dart around the trees and carefully drag the disk, hoping to avoid any more impacts. The wind began to carry the scent of burning wood, and three distinct pillars of smoke grew and became darker.

“It is spreading,” Chandice said as she looked out the doorway.

“Should we look for a safe place to wait the fire out?” Jaina asked as she looked over Chandice’s shoulder.

“The safest place will be the mountain slopes in the pass,” Roric said. “We just need to get around the fires and then head away from them.”

“But can we get around them in time?” Jaina asked as she looked at the darkening sky.

Roric felt a twinge of worry, but Gisley was very fast in a clear area. She could race ahead if they could find a stream to fly over or a path to follow. As it stood, she was still faster than walking, but the broken ground and maze of trees had her making constant turns. He watched carefully over the next two hours as the smoke got thick enough to cause Gisley to cough. He told her to veer even more to the east until the sun moved across the sky and reached three in the afternoon.

“It's spreading fast,” Jaina said as she leaned out the door to see the pillars of smoke had merged and were now a wall in the distance. It rose high into the sky, becoming a dark cloud that made the air smell of smoke.

“We are heading directly away from it now,” Roric said. “We will have to find another way around.”

“I can sense water,” Gisley said to interrupt their conversation. “I think there is a river ahead.”

Roric strained to see through the trees as Gisley worked her way through them. A minute later, he could see the break in the treeline where sunlight was getting in. They came out over a broad, shallow alpine stream, tumbling over stones. Roric was grateful they had found a natural barrier to the fire and urged her to turn north again to follow the water. Now they were moving at an excellent pace, with Gisley able to use the stream like a highway. She flew as fast as she could, heading for the distant mountains as a glitter trail followed.

Roric eyed the smoke as they raced along, hoping it wouldn't reach the river. If they could get into the slopes where the terrain was rocky, the fire would find little fuel to spread. Gisley’s legs hung back as she fluttered as hard as she could. She was just rounding a bend in the river when something green rushed out to meet her.

Gisley was wrapped in sticky tendrils connected to a long stem and suddenly jerked away. Roric was thrown from the seat when the disc was dragged to the side rapidly. He hit the shallow water and rocks, bruising his arm and shoulder in the impact. He crawled up to see the palanquin being dragged to shore as what looked like a giant plant attempted to eat Gisley.

“Help!” Gisley cried in panic as her wings and body were trapped in sap that acted like glue. It looked like a venus fly trap with a hinged green jaw ringed by spines. It was dragging Gisley toward the larger mass of the plant where three more of the giant mouths grew. It had sickly pinkish leaves with white centers that were as large as a human and covered in spines. Gisley struggled to free herself from the sticky resin inside that trap, but her wings were firmly stuck.

Evalynn was out the door in a moment, her glaive flashing as she fired a magical copy into the plant's body. She rushed the base to sever the stem but was quickly attacked by the other two mouths. Chandice dropped out of the palanquin and summoned two imps. A hail of fire bolts began to pound the monster, but it curled up its large leaves to use them like shields.

Roric summoned his spear and charged through the water, but something else jumped from the palanquin. Jaina hit the ground as Gisley screamed, her arm sticking out of the closing mouth. Roric grabbed her hand and tried to pull her free, but the glue-like sap held her fast.

“Evalynn, cut the stem,” Roric pleaded as he started to lose his grip on Gisley.

“I can't get to it! Evalynn cried as another mouth nearly dragged her off.

Jaina's form turned gray and began to ripple as she collapsed into a wave of liquid.

[lvl 25 Morphic skill: Advanced Fluid Form] For 60 seconds you can become completely fluid, flowing through small spaces or openings. Once your time is up, your human form reshapes over ten seconds.

She washed over the bulb that held Gisley as the plant let out a tortured wail. A sickening sizzling noise was heard as the green jaw began to disintegrate.

[lvl 22 Morphic skill: Acidic absorption] Your absorption is acidic, eating through organic material at a rate equal to your level compared to the density of the material. You do significant damage to organic materials in contact with your skin. Nonorganic material also burns away but at a reduced rate. Only magical items can resist this effect.

“What is happening?” Chandice asked as Roric pulled Gisley free of the crumbling jaws.

“Jaina is eating it,” Roric said and ran Gisley to the stream to try and wash the sap off. She was crying her eyes out, and her skin looked burned where the sap had begun to digest her. He looked back, hoping for a heal from Jaina, but she was not done with the plant.

The plant thrashed and wailed as one of its mouths completely liquefied, and Jaina's fluid form fell on the main mass. Leaves curled and collapsed, and the other two mouths twitched in pain, allowing Evalynn to finally sever one. A moment later, Jaina's fluid rushed out as it slowly began to resume her form. By the time she reached the river, she was herself again and quickly went to heal Gisley.

“All my skin hurts!” Gisley cried as Jaina bent down to give her the healing kiss. She relaxed as the healing began, the kiss soothing away all the pain. Roric noticed that her wings had been partially eaten, but they quickly began to regrow. In about a minute, Gisley was whole and out of torment, with Jaina using her absorb ability to dissolve the remaining sap carefully.

“Well, that was horrifying,” Chandice said nervously as she waited by the shore.

“Rajeen did warn us this region was very dangerous,” Evalynn reminded.

“I am worried we are out of our league,” Roric said as Jaina finally helped Gisley up.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Jaina said and pulled the traumatized fairy into her arms. “I would never have let that thing eat you.”

Gisley sniffed a few times, then settled into the hug as Roric joined them to trap Gisley between them.

“I will carry you on my back from now on,” Roric said so she wouldn't be all alone up front.

“No,” Gisley replied and wiped her eyes. “I can do this by myself. We travel faster if I can fly at full speed.”

“But I don’t want you to have to take the lead in such a dangerous area, Roric insisted.

“I could probably have killed that thing myself if I hadn't been taken completely by surprise,” Gisley countered. “Besides, I know you guys were coming for me.”

“I still don’t want you out there alone,” Roric insisted.

“Maybe I can help with that,” Jaina said and stepped back. Her form turned gray before two beautiful butterfly wings stretched out of her back. In a moment, she was an exact copy of Gisley, except that she intentionally made her skin blue with white hair.

“Jaina?” Gisley said with a smile.

“I got the ability to mimic wings a few levels back,” Jaina said as she tried to fly but only managed to fall over. “I just need to get the hang of using them.”

“Oh good, I have two fairy butts to whip,” Chandice said with a grin.

Gisley was pleased to see Jaina as a fairy and walked up to help her stand.

“Here, let me teach you how to fly,” Gisley offered as tears still fell from her eyes.

“Oh, please stop crying,” Jaina said. “It breaks my heart to see you so upset.”

“I was just scared,” Gisley admitted. “I wasn't even sure what had happened. One second I was flying along; the next, everything felt like it was burning, and I could barely move. I knew you would save me, but that's hard to accept when you're being eaten.”

“Looks like Jaina did all the eating,” Chandice said as she poked Jaina’s arm. “Your skin can burn like acid?”

“It's my absorb skill,” Jaina explained. “Every ten levels or so, it upgrades and becomes more aggressive. I can eat metal and stone now, but the stronger the material, the harder it is to absorb. I can even make my skin sticky like that plant was so you can't easily pull me off.”

“I keep forgetting my girlfriend is essentially a corrosive slime monster,” Chandice said with a wince.

“Jaina is a very useful class,” Roric said as Gisley demonstrated how to flutter.

It took Jaina a few minutes, but she eventually got the hang of it and, before long, was flying circles over the stream with a happy Gisley.

“Let's hope there aren't more killer plants ahead,” Evalynn said as they boarded the palanquin.

“I am sure there are things ahead that are much worse,” Roric sighed and wondered if finding this succubus was worth it.

“I am ready to go,” Gisley said as she brushed her hair back. “I am sorry I cried.”

“Never apologize for that,” Roric said and took her hand. “If we had failed to get you out I assure you I would be crying right now.”

Gisley smiled and darted in to hug him, promising she would cry too if he died. Then they loaded into the palanquin with a few changes. Jaina was in front with Gisley, and Chandice sat on the roof with two imps. Evalynn sat in the front seat with Roric, her weapon in hand to fight the moment it was needed. Everyone would be on watch from here on out as the dangers continued to grow. What they had encountered so far was just the beginning, and there were worse things to come.

Gisley and Jaina headed out, dragging the disk along at a brisk speed. With any luck, they would skirt the fire and further danger until they faced the witch. What price would she demand of Jaina in exchange for the gift they sought? Would they be willing to pay it? Or would the cost be too high?