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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7499597" data-attributes="member: 143">Oh, it's going to get worse before it gets better...* * * Chapter 209This time they didn’t hesitate.  Even as Jakan spoke, Darethan lifted his bow and launched an arrow at him.Once again, the shot looked to be true, but a sudden, intense breeze swept through the grove.  It caught the arrow in mid-flight and lifted it into the air.  It thudded into one of the thick upper branches of tree.  The breeze faded as quickly as it had arrived, leaving the interior of the grove almost preternaturally still once more.But the lull lasted only an instant.  The tainted Tenders, including Razelle, each pressed a palm against the trunk of their companion trees.  The trees responded.  With a groaning sound of straining wood and collapsing sod they extracted themselves from the ground, dirt spraying around them as their trunks split apart to become awkward but functional legs.  They began to shuffle toward the intruders, their branches sweeping through the air in front of them.Majerion played his lyre, the sharp notes filling the air of the grove.  Flames surged up from the loam, forming a wall of fire that separated them from the advancing foes.  One of the awakened trees was engulfed by the flames, transforming it instantly into a blazing pyre.  The other three recoiled instinctively from the conflagration, lifting their branches in an almost human-like gesture.“That won’t hold them for long,” Kosk said.“I think I can get to the Druid,” Glori said.  “I’m not sure what I can do to help him, or even if he’s still alive, but…”“Go,” Kosk said.  “We’ll keep them busy.”Glori nodded and strummed her lyre.  Her dancing lights faded as she summoned a shroud of invisibility.The dwarf’s first statement was proven true as a wave of arcane power surged through the grove.  Majerion’s magical flames wavered and then faded, leaving behind just a few scattered wisps of smoke that quickly dispersed.  The burning tree remained as a giant torch, illuminating the scene.  The other three, accompanied by the four Tenders, surged forward to attack.Loriellan had drawn his sword, but as he took a step he staggered and almost stumbled.  Tendrils of fresh growth had sprouted from the ground and wove around his boots.  He was able to tear himself clear before more of the probing vines could seize hold of him.“Ware the ground!” he warned.“Let them come to us!” Kosk yelled.“Wait, where’s the Tender?” Embrae said.Kosk looked around, and saw that in the confusion both Brightbriar and Shreskra had vanished.  But there was no time to look for either of them before the awakened trees and their terrible companions attacked.Loriellan had won clear from the entangling vines that continued to sprout from the packed earth of the grove around them, but he was out of position as one of the trees lurched toward him.  He ducked as the branches swept toward his face.  He felt sharp pains as it scratched his flesh but it narrowly missed taking out an eye.  He swung his sword at its trunk but only managed to carve away a fist-sized chunk of bark.Tenaille launched herself at the tree from behind, trying to distract it from her companion.  Her long knives tore at its exposed roots, hacking away several long stalks that caused it to list noticeably as it twisted around.  She got clear before it could unleash another attack, but before she could come at it again she heard a soft, raspy voice from behind her.“Tenaille.”She turned to see Razelle standing there.  The sight of her former companion, her chin and jowls covered with a slight fuzz of green, her eyes vacant, awakened a sudden terror in the veteran Ranger.  Her knives hung limp in her hands as the other took a tentative step forward.“Razelle?”The only answer she got was a sweeping blow that caught her solidly in the chest and knocked her off her feet.Embrae focused her ki as the remaining two trees thudded toward her and Kosk.  A ball of light began to materialize within her grasp that she shaped with her open palms.  The dwarf, seeing what she was doing, held back as the trees came close enough to attack.  Even as they began to sweep their long branches around the elf woman unleashed her gathered power into a spray of white-hot flames.  The fire engulfed both trees and drove them back, but even as Embrae recovered a slight figure leapt forward and landed lightly in front of her.  The altered Tender smacked her hard across the face and she stumbled backwards.  It stepped forward to finish her off, but before it could strike again Kosk barreled into it from the side.  He swung his staff between its legs and used its leverage to flip the Tender onto its back.  The thing recovered quickly, but the two monks were able to use the distraction to get clear.“Are you all right?” he asked.“I’m okay,” she said.“Do you know the Rock and Hammer technique?”“I know that it’s hard on the rock,” she said.“Just be ready with that hammer,” he returned.  They barely had time to get into position before their foes attacked again.The Rangers were being driven back, harried both by the awakened tree and the thing that had been Razelle.  Two more of the altered Tenders moved to flank them, but before they could get close enough to attack Majerion stepped forward to intercept them.  He strummed a whirling melody on his lyre, and as the two Tenders turned a sudden breeze surged past him, accelerating into a violent gale that caught up both of the creatures and lifted them into the air.  They flipped end over end before crashing to the ground a few paces back.  But an experience that would have left a normal man groaning with broken bones barely seemed to faze the two creatures, and they quickly shot back to their feet and charged at the elf.  This time the wind wall barely affected them as they passed through it.“It is possible that I did not fully think this through,” the bard said to himself as he retreated.Brightbriar sobbed as he staggered against the reassuring bulk of one of the Elden Tree’s thick roots.  What had been done to the sacred tree… it was an abomination, even before he’d seen the trapped figure of Celestron embedded in the vile oozing filth that now encrusted the tree.He slowly pushed himself back up.  The tree was sick.  And the darkness that had taken root here would spread to all of the Reserve, if it wasn’t stopped.“What are you doing here?”Brightbriar turned to see Shreskra standing a few paces behind him.  She had her sword drawn.  He could hear the sounds of battle on the far side of the raised root-bank and wondered why she had followed him.“I have to help Celestron,” he said.When she didn’t move, he looked up and met her eyes.  What he saw there almost knocked him down again.  “It was you,” he said.  “You… why?”“You should know better than most,” she said.  “You know how important it is to keep this place pristine.  The Council that let these outsiders come in here… they do not care about preserving the heritage of our people.”In his panic Brightbriar could think of nothing to say in response.  Instead he turned and tried to run.  He didn’t hear any pursuit before something hard slammed into him from behind, driving him back into the solidity of the bank.  He felt pain explode in his back and looked down to see bright red blood staining the dark roots.Loriellan staggered backward, fighting the thin strands of green that were still trying to trip him up with each step.  His right arm hung limp at his side, the shoulder dislocated, and he’d switched his sword to his left.  He looked up to see that Darethan had gotten Tenaille back on her feet, though the awakened tree was still coming after them.The scout turned back to Razelle, who did not seem to be badly hurt despite the arrow jutting from her shoulder and the gaping slash that Loriellan had torn in her side.“Razelle, if you’re in there, don’t do this!” he urged.  “Fight it!”But her only response was another lunging attack.  Loriellan tried to dodge, but his wounds had slowed him too much.  Razelle’s fist smashed into his gut with enough force to lift him off the ground.  He fell to the ground, gasping for air.  The twining vines snarled around his legs and arms but he was too weak to fight them.  He couldn’t even look up as he saw the familiar boots step up next to him.Majerion nearly fell into the thorn wall as one of the Tenders grabbed hold of his cloak and yanked him off-balance.  He managed to spin out of the garment before it snagged him in a choke-hold.  He twisted away only to find the other Tender blocking his escape.The bard played a quick melody on his lyre and abruptly vanished.Kosk and Embrae moved together in a complex ballet of shifting bodies and evaded blows.  The dwarf was at the forefront, ducking and dodging and occasionally sweeping out his staff to block an adversary trying to get past him.  Even though he seemed to be untouched by the two awakened trees and the tainted Tender, that was just an illusion; his robe was quickly torn in multiple places and stained with blood.Embrae in turn seemed to be everywhere at once, unleashing pulses of positive energy at their foes, in some cases passing so close to Kosk that it almost looked as though she’d been targeting the dwarf.Still it looked as though even the adept monks would have to give way before the assault.  The ground was becoming increasingly churned under the monstrous strides of the awakened trees, and fresh tendrils continued to poke up from the furrows, seeking a foot to snare.Finally, all three creatures surged forward together, seeking to overwhelm the two defenders through sheer raw momentum.  The monks immediately darted to the side, but Kosk’s foot caught briefly and he stumbled.  The first tree slammed a branch down at his head, but was hit by a radiant sun bolt that pierced its trunk and knocked it off-step.  The other one immediately pushed past it, while the altered Tender rushed around toward his flank.  For a moment it looked like Kosk would go down, but it turned out to be a feint; as the Tender reached for him he pivoted and knocked it off balance, thrusting the creature directly into the path of the tree.  The two collided, the Tender getting tangled in the tree’s roots.  The tree shook the smaller form free, stomping it a few times for good measure.  The thing that resided in the body of the Tender wasn’t seriously damaged, but the delay gave the two monks ample time to get clear.  Kosk shot Embrae a quick grin as they left their foes jumbled and confused behind them.But then, without any warning, the ground suddenly erupted beneath their feet.  Rocks drove up out of the ground, flinging the pair apart and showering them with a patter of stones.  The two landed hard, now separated as their three foes rushed at them once more.Glori tried not to let the sounds of battle distract her as she made her way to the black tree.  She knew that her friends were outnumbered, but also knew that she had to trust them to hold long enough for her to get to the imprisoned Druid.  She didn’t know that Celestron was even alive, but if there was a chance that he could be freed from whatever dark thing Jakan had summoned then Glori would have to take that chance.She’d had to circle wide around to avoid the charge of the Druid’s minions, but once she was in the cover of the wide fan of exposed roots she felt more secure.  Now that she was closer she could see that the material that coated the tree looked like some sort of fungal growth.  It seemed to have taken root in the substance of the tree itself.  Celestron was about fifteen feet up, out of reach unless Glori wanted to venture a climb.  But that would require her to come into contact with the substance, which she wanted to avoid.“Celestron,” she hissed softly.  The sounds of ongoing battle made for a noisy backdrop, but she was reluctant to be any louder than she had to, invisibility or no.  But she quickly realized that she had no choice but to take a greater risk.She took hold of her lyre and began to play.  She spoke again to the trapped druid, infusing her words with magic.  She became visible as her concentration shifted to this new working, but she remained close to the mass of the tree, trying to use it for camouflage.“Celestron,” she sang.  “Druid, if you can hear me, you have to fight it.  There is a corruption in your grove, you have to resist it.”For a moment it looked as if her efforts had been in vain, but then the entombed figure seemed to twitch slightly.  It wasn’t much of a sign, and it looked as if the Druid wasn’t going to be able to get free without help, but at least it offered hope that it wasn’t too late.But as Glori reached for her sword, a fibrous strand of root twisted around her left leg, pinning it in place.  She tried to draw the blade, but before she could get it clear of its scabbard several more tendrils lashed out and pinned her arms to her sides, dragging her up against the rigid solidity of the tree.“Well now,” came a familiar voice.  Glori could barely twist her head around, but it was enough to see the dark shadow of Jakan striding toward her.  With a violent motion she tore her arm free and strummed a discordant tune on her lyre.  She concentrated all of her rage and terror into an intense pulse of magical fear that seemed to waver in the air as she directed it at the rogue druid.But Jakan barely twitched.  His response was a raised hand and a grim chuckle.  Glori barely had time to tense before a surge of utter agony washed over her.  It felt as though every nerve in her body was trying to tear itself free.  Drops of liquid sprouted all over her body, soaking into her clothes or spattering onto the tree.  For a moment she thought it was blood, but then realized it was water, extracted by force from her body by the druid’s magic.  She almost thought she could feel her flesh shriveling, and a dark blackness began to swell in her awareness as Jakan slowly approached her, laughter continuing to issue from within the shadows of his cowl.</blockquote>

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