Chapter 25: Serpent's Grove
The arid landscape began to shift quickly as the group approached the serpent’s grove. It wasn’t difficult to see why the name had been given, once Noah could see portions of the forest on his mini-map. The forest path ran like a serpent through the otherwise arid landscape, appearing a lot like a green serpent making its way across the map. Noah appreciated the shade the trees provided as they entered the forest proper, feeling the air become a lot more humid from the surrounding vegetation.
“The path should exit right in front of Windrest. If we keep travelling through the night, we should get there by sunrise,” Aurelia said, glancing towards Noah and Leon.
Noah continued to ride behind Leon, who in turn followed behind Aurelia. The bright summer day had quickly turned to a rather dim hazy path as the canopies of leaves and braches blocked out almost every bit of sunlight from reaching the ground.
“You mentioned you were from Altius, yes? Where exactly is that? I’m still new to these parts, so I’m not really familiar with the names yet.”
“It’s a town to the west of here. Not particularly big, but it’s near the Lost Woods, so we have an abundance of wood.”
“Huh, interesting. So you work as a sculptor in the town?”
“I do. I’ve got a sightly quirky ability that lets me animate my sculptures, so they can be used for a lot of things. And the mayor has kept me around for making watch towers, and guardian sculptures for the town to keep them alerted of any threat that may be coming,” Leon said, before digging out a tiny wooden sculpture from his pocket. Noah saw the small bear of wood shake itself, before it walked around on his palm in wonder.
“That’s so neat. Are they alive, or are you just controlling them?” Noah asked.
“Neither. They’re not alive, but I don’t control them limb from limb either. I give them a command, and the sculptures follow it to the best of their ability,” Leon replied, putting the little sculpture away.
Noah thought about the various applications of having an ability like that. There were likely limits due to mana, but if Leon wanted, he could make an army for himself. All of that from a sculptor based Path.
“How do you two intend to find a C grade healer? Even in Windrest, they’re not exactly common, and those that are there are not cheap,” Aurelia said, glancing back.
“We have a party we’ve been sending letters to, who has a C grade healer. She was kind enough to agree after hearing about our problems,” Shaya replied.
Aurelia frowned at the woman’s words. “Were they called the Iron Fists by any chance?”
“No, I think they were named... Righteous Light, or something similar,” Shaya replied.
Noah snorted at the name, but did not comment any further.
“We’re really grateful to have found somebody,” Leon said, glancing at his son. “Irios has been sick for over a week now, and we’ve been lost on what to do, or why. A lot of other children have also been getting sick around now, and some people are mentioning a curse or a plague.”
“Just the children?” Noah asked, raising an eyebrow.
Leon nodded.
“I’m a seamstress, but I also work as a midwife,” Shaya said, glancing to the side for a moment, before continuing in a quieter voice. “All the births in the last month have been stillbirths. It’s left people unnerved.”
“There’s been more Abyssal Cultists on the move as well, and Hellion’s church seems to be sending priests out,” Leon said.
“It’s all been quite scary. The stillbirths, the elderly and children falling sick. It’s why we’re thinking after Irios is better, we may move to a different city,” Shaya said, brushing Irios’ head lightly.
“I’ve already told you. I can’t just leave the town, Shaya. Not after all the Mayor has done for us,” Leon replied.
Shaya didn’t comment any further, and conversation died down as they moved through the forest.
The forest began to thicken as they made their way. Noah was surprised by just how dark it was. The suns were still out, but it felt like night, and if he didn’t have [Void Hunter’s Eyes] he would’ve been struggling to see.
Aurelia created small sparkling balls of light to keep visibility clear. A loud screech shook the forest, as they skid to a halt.
“Ahead, north west,” Aurelia said in a clipped voice.
Noah glanced in the direction, feeling a shiver run up his spine.
“What was that?” Leon asked.
“We’d rather not find out,” Aurelia said. “Head east, we’ll be stepping off the path.”
Leon steered the horse, following behind Aurelia as they redirected their path. Noah continued to keep his eyes in the direction where the sound had come, before noticing a small blur far off in the distance. He used identify.
[Mothbear lvl - ??]
Noah turned away, trying to not catch the creature’s attention.
The trees seemed to grow taller, the fauna around them almost all-encompassing as every bit of light seemed to vanish. An eerie silence blanketed the forest now, and he could barely distinguish day from night.
“Is it... supposed to be this dark?” Noah asked. He was starting to have a bad feeling. The horse whined beneath Noah, starting to catch on to his nervousness, and he patted the animal.
“No... something’s wrong,” Aurelia said, stopping her horse. “Wait here,” she said, handing Shaya the reins to the animal.
Jumping off, she kicked off the ground, and began to leap from branch to branch, as she rapidly made her way up. The branches rustled as Aurelia vanished into the thick vegetation, only the sound of rustling leaves any indication of where she was.
Silence filled the ever-darker forest, as the temperature began to plummet rapidly.
With a sudden rustle, Noah saw Aurelia jump down, a grim expression on her face as she landed back down. “Get off the horses. We need to get out of here. Quick,” she said, helping Shaya down, before she slapped the horse’s back. The animal reigned back with a neigh, before rushing away. Noah followed along, taken aback but not questioning her as his own horse rushed away as well.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, as they began to rush rapidly through the forest.
“It’s an eclipse,” Aurelia said, not slowing down whatsoever.
A horrified gasp escaped out of Shaya’s mouth, as she clutched her son tighter, covering his eyes. Leon’s expression turned grim as well.
The hoard of undead howled and screamed through the forest, clawing at air, yet none seemed to be approaching near the cavern.
“Are... are we safe now?” Noah asked, watching the monsters standing at a distance.
“I think so,” Aurelia replied, blood dripping down her face. “Let’s move further in. Keep your guard up.”
Noah nodded, turning around.
“Is... I...” Noah heard Leon whimper. Trying to see what was wrong, he turned back when his eyes met the creature’s, and his heart stopped.
[?????]
A giant snake, no, a Wyrm, looked back, striking terror into Noah’s heart. Its emerald eyes shone in the dark, the pressure of its aura crushing Noah’s soul as he fell onto his knees.
You are in the presence of an Ascendant.
Your soul trembles in fear.
[Terror - V] inflicted.
All attributes reduced by 100%
You cannot move.
The creature was massive, its ancient maw large enough to swallow them all at once. Two horns jut from its crown as an overbearing aura that crushed anything in its presence emanated from its body. He tried to reach for air, but his chest refused to move. Even his heart was still under the pressure of the aura.
He was dead. Never had Noah been so certain of his oncoming death than in this very moment. There was nothing he could do to beat this. This was a god. And he was a mere speck of dust in front of it. The Wyrm moved closer, opening its maw.
From the corner of his vision, Noah saw tears flowing down Aurelia’s eyes before she closed them in acceptance.
Leon tried to move, to reach out for his son. He failed. There was no resisting this.
Then, with a piercing cry, Irios cried out.
The boy cried and wailed, his voice echoing through the cavern. Noah saw the Wyrm pause, its eyes resting on the crying boy in Shaya’s hands.
The Wyrm paused before slowly moving its head closer. Noah tried to move, to do anything, but his body refused to listen to his command. Despair clawed at his heart as he watched the Wyrm move towards the small child.
But the cruel end he had anticipated did not come.
The giant Wyrm sniffed at the child as Irios’ cries died down. The boy now reached out at the giant Wyrm, seemingly unaffected by its aura as he pressed a palm against the serpent.
Laughter echoed through the caverns, like summer chimes filled with the joy of a child.
Noah watched in wonder, unable to understand what was happening.
The Wyrm slowly reached down towards Irios, before opening its mouth. Irios reached out, and grabbed a bright emerald green scale from the wyrm, before breaking it off. Laughter echoed once more as bright green light pulsed from the scale, into the boy.
[Terror - V] removed.
Noah gasped, his heart finally beating again as he breathed once more. He coughed, feeling his body revolting against the sensations he had felt. After he’d caught his breath, Noah looked up, and saw the Wyrm turn back further into the cave.
Following the creature’s gaze, Noah looked back, and his eyes widened in surprise.
There was a single egg in the back, almost half the size of Noah’s body. It sat upon a nest made of straw, and the Wyrm’s body was coiled around it. Noah saw the Wyrm’s scales cracked and decaying as mana and life flowed from the giant creature into the egg. The creature was dying.
The Wyrm turned towards the five of them before snorting. A deep rumbling bellow that shook the earth came from its mouth.
“Leave. When the False-night ends.”
With the declaration, the Wyrm turned around, retreating back into its nest.
Slowly, Noah stood up, unable to shake off the daze that came from the experience. One by one, they all walked towards the entrance of the cavern as they waited for the eclipse to end.
The red skies dimmed soon, retreating away from the skies before the light of the sun pierced through. Sanity returned to the monsters as they collapsed from exhaustion, and the dead returned to their graves, running from the light of the suns.
Noah stumbled out, followed by Aurelia, Leon and Shaya, as they walked through the silent forest.
“We should... make camp,” Aurelia murmured, and Noah nodded in a daze.
“I’ll go pick up some kindling,” Leon added.
Noah glanced towards the cave, and the skies above him, wondering if he had just woken from a dream.
His sight went back to the scale resting in Irios’ hand as proof of the reality of everything that had happened.
Perk [Fate Touched] activated.
Luck B9 → A0.
Noah watched the notification before he shook his head and followed Leon to gather firewood.
He really needed some sleep.
