Vainglory 3.30 - Under the Tree

Here's your chapter! Hope you enjoy it ;)

-Plum

30 – Under the Tree

As Ward rounded the tree, charging toward the sounds of combat, he was dismayed to see Haley backpedaling, retreating from five squat, lumpy, gray assailants. The monsters were all about four feet tall, but stocky and heavy-looking. Honestly, they looked like giant Claymation figures, grunting and growling as they swung oversized fists at Haley.

Ward charged toward her, scanning for the others, and saw Trent on the ground, pale and broken-looking. Lali was wrestling with another of the clay men, wheezing, gasping, and straining to pin it to the ground as she dug at its chest and face with a long, sharp knife.

Ward didn’t take time to contemplate; he saw Haley’s desperate defense, saw the state of his other companions, and instantly developed tunnel vision—he had to kill those things. He lifted his sword high, charging the left flank of the creatures chasing Haley, and when she saw him come into view, her severe expression of pure concentration broke as she smiled and cried, “Ward!”

“Hang on, kid!” he yelled, smashing his sword down on the soft, thick, clay-like head of one of her attackers. The broad, heavy blade, driven by his powerful arm, split the lumpy head down to the thick neck, then lodged there. Grunting in frustration, Ward yanked on the blade, and the clay man turned with it, growling from its toothless maw as it charged him, apparently unharmed.

“Use your magic!” Haley grunted, leaping back to avoid a club-like fist.

“Right!” Ward slammed his palm against the clay man’s chest and shouted, “Vrakkun khorvek!” White, sizzling flames rushed from his palm, then exploded from the top of the clay man’s head, and it collapsed, inert and lifeless. Ward turned toward the cluster of assailants still tracking Haley and fired off two more Mana Bolts with similar effect.

“Thanks!” she said, slowing her backward movement and effortlessly dodging and slapping aside the blows of the two remaining clay men. “Help Lali! I can kill these!”

“You’re sure?” Ward stooped to yank his sword from the dead creature, and when Haley nodded and waved him off, he jogged toward Lali, where she still wrestled with her opponent.

“Ward,” she grunted, as he approached, struggling to grapple with the creature’s seemingly tireless, oversized fists. “Glad to see—” She gasped and dropped her knife, throwing an elbow up to keep the creature’s growling, toothless maw away from her face. “You!”

Ward grabbed the thing’s legs and yanked, dragging it off Lali. Then he lunged forward, driving his knee into the center of its back, pinning it to the ground. At least, that was his plan, but the creature’s strength was remarkable as it pushed at the ground, thrusting with its arms to try to throw him off.

“Hold him, Ward!” Lali yelled, rolling to her belly and struggling to her feet. She limped toward a long, two-handed sword lying not far away and picked it up by its broken, frayed, wood and leather hilt. Ward drove his knee harder into the creature’s soft, malleable back. He lifted his broadsword and hacked it as hard as he could at the monster’s right elbow. To his great pleasure, the blade cut through the limb, and the clay man collapsed, still struggling to rise with its remaining arm.

“Watch out, Ward! I’m chopping that thing’s bloody head off!”

Ward took the warning to heart and leaned back as the greatsword whooshed through the air and decapitated the monster. The blade cut clean through, clattering and sparking against the flagstone cobbles. To Ward’s relief, removing the thing’s head seemed to do the trick—it ceased its struggles, becoming a roughly man-shaped pile of soft clay. He jumped up and whirled, looking toward Haley, only to see she’d reduced her assailants to one. The other lay on the ground, black smoke drifting up from its charred-looking head.

While he stumbled toward her, lifting his sword, he watched, amazed at her grace, as she almost lazily slapped the creature’s attacks aside, snapping out kicks and punches that made soft thwapping noises against the monster’s clay flesh. “I’m just building up my fire!” she yelled. “I’ll kill it soon—see to Trent!”

Ward stared at her for another couple of seconds, then, faced with the fact that she was clearly toying with the creature, he hurried over to Trent. Leaning close, he thought he could see his chest moving slightly, but the man was pale as a ghost, his lips gray. Trent’s forehead was purple and blue, swollen to the point where his brow looked like that of a troglodyte. “Got hit in the head, huh, buddy?”

Lali shuffled over, limping and wincing in pain as she favored her left leg. “He was saving me when he got clobbered, dammit.”

“Hang on.” Ward reached into his satchel, retrieving a pair of healing tonics. He held one up to Lali, and she thanked him, glancing toward her scattered packs a dozen paces away.

“I’ll pay you back.”

Ward uncorked the other tonic and carefully drizzled it into Trent’s mouth, pausing to let his swallow reflex work several times. When it was gone, he looked up at Lali. “Those things are little bastards, huh?”

“Damn right, they are.” She watched Haley as she sipped her tonic. “Unless you’re little Miss Haley, that is. We’re lucky as a gambler on Rose Night that she was here. She slapped them damn things until they started chasing her, all the while dodging the ones already attacking her.”

Ward nodded, surveying the courtyard, noting several burned-looking dead clay men further away from their current battleground. “Sorry, I was late to the party.”

“Just glad you showed.” As she spoke, a crackle and thud sounded from Haley’s direction, and Ward turned just in time to see the last of the clay men shudder and die, its head smoking as rivulets of fiery energy snaked through its dense flesh. “Nice one, my girl!” Lali hooted, clapping her large, gloved hands together.

To Ward’s amusement, Haley sketched a silly bow, then jogged over. “How is he?”

Ward looked down at Trent, noting the bruising and swelling on his forehead seemed better, but it was certainly not gone. “Not great, I’d say. Wish I had one of those potent healing potions from the challenges.”

Lali leaned close, cursing softly. “Another tonic won’t help, but maybe some salve on that lump. Might help get the swelling down.”

“Yeah.” Ward looked over toward the scattered packs. “Mine’s in my pack…”

“Getting it!” Haley ran to the packs, and Ward looked back at Trent.

“Come on, buddy. You in there?”

“Head injuries can be tricky things,” Lali observed from within the safety of her metal helmet. “I feel bad ’cause, as I said, he was coming to help me when that little bastard clubbed him. Wish you folks would put some helmets on…”

Ward chuckled, shaking his head. “I’d wear armor, for sure, if my wolf would stop wrecking it.”

“Ah! Damn me! I hadn’t thought of that. Still, if Mister Duelist here recovers, I’m going to insist he gets one.” Lali sat down with a grunt, stretching her injured leg out. “Tonic’s helping with the pain, but I think something got busted in there.” She rubbed her knee and then, morosely added, “I’ve seen more than one fighter lose their career ’cause of a knee injury.”

“With healing magic all over the place?”

“Not everyone can afford the types of healing that can fix the insides of a knee.”

“Well, you—”

“Here!” Haley said, running over, holding out a jar of the wound salve. Ward took it, unscrewed the lid, and smeared a healthy layer over Trent’s puffy forehead. He didn’t like the looks of the wound; it seemed to him the man’s skull had to have been cracked or worse by the blow.

“Well, nothing else we can—” He cut his words short as the sound of stone scraping against stone, accompanied by the clank and clatter of gears winding, erupted from the ground in the direction of the tree.

“What have we got here?” Lali asked, craning her neck to watch what Ward had already seen. The pavers were moving down and to the side, revealing a staircase leading downward.

“Is it…” Haley started to ask, then paused as she moved toward the opening, frowning.

“Don’t get too close, Haley.” With a grunt, Ward clambered to his feet, gripping his sword. “Might be those clay men—”

“Golems,” Haley interjected.

Ward frowned. “Might be those golems were just the warm-up.”

“Maybe it’s another challenge,” Lali said, holding out a hand. “Help me up, big feller.”

Ward took her hand and heaved, pulling her to her feet. She hopped a little for balance, but seemed to be able to put some weight on her injured leg. He glanced at her. “Another challenge?”

She shrugged. “Why not? A challenge within a challenge.”

“I don’t think so,” Haley said, now standing just a few feet from the stairway into darkness. “Fitz would have known about that—if there were challenges inside this challenge. He would have mentioned it to me.”

Lali nodded, limping toward her. “Aye, probably true.”

Ward looked at their scattered packs and contemplated mentioning his magical bag. He was fine with Haley knowing, but did he trust Lali enough? He shook his head, banishing the paranoid thought. “I found a magic bag. I can carry the packs. I’m gonna need help with Trent, though.”

“A magic bag?” Lali asked as she limped toward a dead golem with her mace handle standing straight up from its dented head.

“That’s right.” Ward stooped to gather the big two-handed sword Lali had used to decapitate the golem, sending it into his bag.

“Suppose you won’t be wanting to mention that to Fitz, huh?”

Ward hadn’t thought of that. “We can mention it, but—”

“Relax, big man. I’m just having a bit of fun. Fitz pays my salary, but I told him I’d report the loot we gathered. I didn’t see you gather a magical bag.” When Ward looked at her, arching an eyebrow, she shrugged and winked one of her blue eyes at him. Then she hung her mace from her belt and limped toward her discarded crossbow.

Ward just nodded and walked over to the packs, collecting them, one by one, into his magical bag. As he put the last one inside, Grace appeared and whispered, “I’m so glad Haley’s safe! Wasn’t she amazing?”

Ward looked at her, about to ask why she was willing to show herself, then he remembered that Trent was unconscious and Lali couldn’t see her. “Yeah, she was.” He glanced at Haley and saw she was standing at the top of the steps, peering down into the darkness. “See anything?”

“A door, I think!”

“All right. Hang on a minute.”

“I’ll keep hiding—don’t want Haley to tip Lali off. I think you might be able to trust that one, though.”

“We’ll see,” Ward muttered as Grace disappeared, then he returned to Trent’s silent form. “Lali, can you get his legs?”

“Shouldn’t we check it out before we bring our wounded down there?”

Ward pondered the question, looking around the courtyard and into the dimming, blue sky. He turned to the east and saw the sky was streaked with shades of ochre and crimson—sunset had come at last. “I don’t feel great leaving him here. What if that giant bird gets hungry?”

Lali limped over, nodding. “A fair point.” She stooped to grab Trent’s ankles.

“Hang on a second.” Ward reached into his pouch, sifting through his stash of second-hand clothing and accessories until he found a couple of belts. “Tie this around his ankles,” he said, handing one to Lali. Then, he buckled the other belt around Trent’s chest, under his arms. “This way we can carry him while keeping one hand free.”

“Smart man, Ward.” She hoisted Trent’s lower half with her left hand, and Ward did likewise with the upper half. Together, they carried him like a piece of luggage toward the stairwell. When they stood beside Haley, Ward drew his sword and nodded.

“Scout it out carefully.”

Haley grinned, clearly pleased to be given the task, and tiptoed down the steps. Ward and Lali followed a few steps behind. They’d gone down a dozen steps or so when Haley came hurrying out of the shadows. “It’s a metal door and there’s no handle.”

“Really?” Ward continued down the steps as he asked. “No lock or anything?”

“There’s a circular indentation where a handle should be. Maybe we’re supposed to find something—”

Ward immediately thought of the amulet in his pocket. “How big?”

“About like this.” Haley held up her fingers, indicating two or three inches.

Ward nodded, hurrying. When they reached the base of the steps, the diffuse light from above was enough for his lycan eyes to see what Haley had already described: a large metallic door—likely bronze—engraved with all manner of plants and flowers, but with nothing but a circular indentation where a handle should be. Ward set Trent down and stepped forward, reaching into his pocket to pull out the golden locket.

“You found it!” Haley whispered, her eyes wide with surprise. “It looks just like the other—”

“Yeah,” Ward nodded. “Let me see if…” He held the amulet toward the indentation on the door, and suddenly, orange glyphs came to life in the metal, glowing softly.

“I’d say you’re on to something, big man,” Lali whispered, inches from his ear. He glanced at her, startled to find she’d gotten so close without him noticing.

“Knee feeling better?”

She smiled. “Much.”

Ward narrowed his eyes, but turned back to the door and pressed the amulet into the indentation. He felt it pull toward the impression, and when it snapped into place, the entire door lit up with those faintly glowing orange glyphs. He stepped back and watched as, one by one, a series of loud clicks sounded around the door’s perimeter, and then stale, cold air hissed out as its ancient seal was broken. The glyphs faded, and the amulet slid out of the indentation, falling to the floor.

Ward stooped to pick it up, stuffing it into his pocket, and then grabbed the edge of the door, pulling it open a few inches so they could peer through the gap. It was heavy and cold, and as it squealed in its hinges, he saw the metal was a good five inches thick. “Quite a door.”

“Looks like it’d be a real bastard to break down,” Lali agreed.

Haley tugged the door wide, peering into the dim space beyond. “Get Trent, and I’ll take a look inside.”

“Uh-uh, Haley,” Ward said, turning to grab his half of the unconscious sorcerer. “Wait for us. I don’t want that door slamming shut on you.”

“Oh, fine.”

Lali grabbed the other half of Trent, and they all approached the door. Ward could see a low-ceilinged, circular room beyond, lit by a strange, pale ambient light that seemed to emanate from the smooth stone walls. A few steps led down to a depression at the center of the room where a massive, rectangular stone block sat. Ward could see from the doorway that it was inscribed with writing. A low archway led away from the room on the far side. “All right, all together.” He nodded to Haley, and then they all stepped through the door.

His worry that it would slam shut on them seemed to be unfounded. Nothing happened. He stared at the monolithic stone at the center of the room, and saw something small fall from the ceiling toward it, making a soft, wet plap as it hit the stone. Ward squinted at the ceiling and saw a small hole at the center oozing with a reddish substance that reminded him of wax. He nodded to Haley. “Check it out.”

Haley hurried forward, stepping lightly, scanning the ground and the smooth decline of the floor as she went. When she reached the monolith, she circled it and called out, “I can’t read the writing, but there’s an opening in the stone here. You can see the inside, and it’s full of that red stuff. It smells sweet!”

Ward realized he’d been subconsciously aware of the odor the entire time they’d been down there. It was the same smell as the tree outside. Suddenly, it all clicked together. “It’s the sap.”

He set Trent down and walked toward the stone, squinting at the strange glyphs, wondering if Grace’s gift of tongues was going to help him out. He’d been almost certain it wouldn’t work, so he was pretty damn surprised when the glyphs twisted, reformed—suddenly legible, as if written in plain English: From root to blood, and blood to root, awakenings await, though not all sleeping things should be disturbed.

“Can you read that, mate?” Lali asked, grunting as they both set Trent down.

“Yeah.” Ward slipped his hand into his pocket, gripping the amulet, hoping that the entity within it would speak to him, offering some guidance with the cryptic… promise? Warning? Nothing happened, though. The amulet was just a cold, heavy hunk of gold in his palm.

“Well?” Lali pressed.

Ward took a deep breath, shrugging, as he repeated the words carved into the stone. When he finished, Haley looked up at him. “Do you think we’re meant to eat the sap?”

“I mean, yeah, but I don’t know how smart that would be.” He pointed to the glyphs, “Not all sleeping things should be disturbed.”

Haley frowned, stepping closer to him, staring at the stone. “Sleeping where? Do you think it’s talking about bloodlines? It says ‘awakenings await,’ right?”

“Yeah, maybe that’s it.”

“Well, shit,” Lali sighed, sitting down on the bottom step beside Trent and sticking her sore leg out. “I reckon I’ll pass.”

Ward chuckled, looking at the big woman. “First the fountain water, now this? Thought you were an adventurer!”

“I’m a smart one. Tell you what, you two go first and then we’ll see.” She glanced at Trent and added, “Actually, this poor feller’s not looking too hot. Maybe we ought to see if it helps him.”

Haley was quick to object. “We can’t use him as a test subject! I’ll try it!”

Ward hastily grabbed her shoulder, as though she would dive into the sap. “I’ll try it first.”

“Ward, you’re always taking risks—”

“I was the last one to drink the fountain water. Let me do this one first, all right?”

Haley turned toward him and grasped his wrist, pulling his hand off her shoulder and grabbing it tightly as she looked into his eyes. “We only just got you back! I thought you were dead! You haven’t even told us what you got up to when that roc took you!”

Ward nodded, trying to offer a reassuring smile, as he grasped her clutching hand. “Fair enough. Let’s sit down and have something to eat. No need to rush into things. I’ll tell you about my adventure, and you two can tell me about yours.” He tugged her back toward Lali and nodded toward Trent’s sleeping form. “Hopefully, he’ll wake up, too.”

“Tell us about where you got that magic pouch,” Lali suggested.

“I’ll tell you the whole story.” He nudged Haley toward the step. “Sit down, relax. I’ll get the packs out and we can have a proper lunch.” She did as he asked, and Ward pulled his and Lali’s backpacks from his magical pouch. As he and the warrior retrieved their food supplies, he started his tale. “Well, you saw that bird grab me, and you can imagine what was going through my head. I was sure I was a goner—like the damn thing would peck my head off at any minute. Of course, I tried to wake up my wolf, but the bastard was tired and stubborn, so…”