116: Aranya Forest (Patreon)

Though Haymi insisted she’d recovered enough to fight, the rest of the party—including Vir—disagreed. While her bones had mostly been mended by the Life mejai, Haymi still flinched when she walked. Powering orbs took concentration, and any distraction could break that. Losing their armor or weapon enhancements mid-battle could very well spell the party’s doom.

But Vir and the rest of Spear’s Edge didn’t waste their time. They continued to train on the shores south of Avi. They’d sometimes fight with Haymi’s magical enhancement, but more often than not, they’d fight only with their own powers to ease Haymi’s burden.

Soon, they’d fallen into a routine. One that Vir appreciated far more than he expected. After a morning meal, they’d head out and practice until late afternoon, trading blows and learning about each other's combat style.

Vir’s was by far the most nuanced, but both Vason and Tia were masters of the Matali school of combat. While Vir preferred to stealthily attack his opponents, leveraging the speed and mobility of the Kalari Arts, theirs focused far more on party-based combat. Whether Tia attacked, defended, or distracted an enemy depended more on what the enemy was doing, rather than some preset style.

Sometimes, she’d be stealthy, and at other times she’d come in charging like a madwoman. Vason was the same. Though his role was defense, his attacks were polished and strong, and he never hesitated to take advantage of an opening.

It reminded Vir a bit of the tactics Mina’s scouts had used against him in the Godshollow, after he’d taken down the Clutch Rachna. Those two had complemented each other perfectly, acting more as a single unit than two individuals.

Though Vir still had a long way to go, he was beginning to learn the basics of fighting that way. It had been an incredibly jarring experience. Sometimes, he’d be forced to let openings go to focus on defending his ally. At other times, he’d opt to take a hit for a teammate, rather than disappearing into the shadows. It was counter to his instincts and training, and so it took Vir some time to adapt.

Tia’s favorite tactic was to have Vir charge ahead using his incredible speed, attacking with an Enhance Speed orb slotted into his katar in a whirlwind of destruction. She called it the ‘Aprabomb.’

Vir wasn’t a fan of the Aprabomb. First of all, the name struck him as dumb—he wasn’t a bomb and he had no intention of becoming one. And the tactic didn’t sit right with him. He really didn’t enjoy lunging headlong into combat, preferring the use of shadows instead. Old habits died hard, and he’d developed that habit for a reason; it had kept him safe.

It took a whole week for Tia to sign off on Haymi’s health. At times like these, Vir felt like Tia acted as the party’s mother, rather than just its leader. She certainly had a tendency to dote on those she cared about.

While some may have found it stifling, her behavior reminded Vir of Maiya, and that always made him feel warm inside.

But time marched on, and Vir stood with Neel and Spear’s Edge at the edge of the Aranya Forest south of Avi. Time was running out for their subjugation contract; Vir itched to put his new weapons to use. Neel felt no different, eager to be around so many people who petted and pampered him.

“Apramor, can I have your blood rods? It’s been some time, and I want to refill them going into battle,” Haymi said, extending her hand out.

The katar’s rod was easy to remove, but the one in his cuirass was less so. It was positioned on his back in a pocket sandwiched between his body and the metal, so he needed Vason to help remove it.

“Thanks. Use these instead,” the mejai said with an embarrassed look, handing him a fresh pair. “Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Not at all.”

Vir still hadn’t gotten used to the idea of carrying around vials full of Haymi’s blood. But the results were irrefutable, so he ignored it.

“Since we’re up against an unknown, I want us prioritizing healing over a specific defense,” said Tia. “We can only protect against one type of damage—piercing, slashing, or blunt force—but a Life orb will heal any wound within its capacity.”

Vir slotted a Grade C Heal Skin orb into his armor, and a Grade C Enhance Speed orb into his katar. All members of Spear’s Edge could use the party’s orbs whenever they wanted, so long as another member didn’t also need that same orb. Luckily, they had multiple copies of most C grade spells, so that was rarely an issue.

“Just remember that Heal Skin can repair cuts, but it won’t mend bones or heal deeper injuries. So please do your best to remain uninjured,” said Haymi.

Even with those restrictions, the power was incredibly useful. Wounds that would’ve forced him to retreat before would only be a small distraction now.

“I want everyone on their guard. Today’s goal is reconnaissance. We’re not trying to attack the enemy, we only want to find out more about it. How does it attack? What are its capabilities? Where are its weaknesses? Apramor, we’ll be relying on you here. With your scouting skills, I’m hoping we can find this monster by the end of the day.”

Easier said than done, Vir thought. The Aranya Forest was massive—easily as vast as the Godshollow. The beast in question was said to make its lair deep within the forest, so they’d need to travel a good distance before encountering it. And the forest was simply too unwieldy to bring their Ash’va, which meant walking.

Even worse, unlike the Godshollow, Aranya was packed full of trees of all sizes, competing for dominance. Critters, moss, and vines covered the ground, while the trees themselves were packed densely. Strange animals made constant sounds, and Prana Vision blazed with a myriad of different affinities. The colors nearly overwhelmed Vir until he learned to tune them out.

The minutes turned into hours as they penetrated through the brush. Vason, Vir, and Tia took turns clearing out the foliage, making for slow progress while Neel followed behind with Haymi. Just a year ago, he’d have fainted from exertion.

As it was, the task was more of an annoyance than anything. With Dance of the Shadow Demon, he could’ve raced ahead, but the others didn’t have that option, and bringing them would be difficult. The shadows weren’t dark enough and large enough during the day to pull others along with him.

“It’s odd,” Vason said upon arriving at a small brook. They’d passed several similar features on their way in—rivulets and sometimes even streams that flowed from the great Legion Mountains into Daiya Lake near Avi. “We’ve seen so much water, and so little in the way of animals. Beasts always hang out around watering holes.”

“I noticed that too,” Tia replied, frowning.

“You think…”

Tia nodded. “It’s likely the Lord of the Forest, thinning out the local fauna.”

“I thought it had made its residence deeper into the forest, though?” Haymi asked. “Has it been moving?”

“I don’t know,” Vir replied, just as Neel started barking. “But I expect we’re about to find out. Look sharp! We’ve got incoming!”

Prana Vision had picked up a group of somethings, headed their way. They were heavily laden with Life and Water affinities. Whether the beasts could use powers from those affinities or not, Vir didn’t know.

“What is it? Can you tell?” Tia shouted.

“One moment.” Vir sank into the shadows. From within the shadow Realm, he gazed at the beasts who rapidly closed in on the party’s position.

For a moment, he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at. The only feature he immediately identified was the sharp pincer claw that protruded from the front of their bodies. But everything else was… it was almost like a Prana Swarm. Indistinct and amorphous. But unlike the Swarm, these beings absolutely had a physical form.

Vir exited the Shadow Realm.

“They’re… blobs? With claws.”

“What color were they?” Tia asked immediately.

“Crimson. A deep red.”

Tia paled. “No. How is that possible?”

“You know what they are?”

“Haymi! Lightning orbs. Now!”

“I only have two Arc spells. Where should I deploy them?” asked Haymi. Vir barely followed the conversation.

“Apramor. Slot his katar with Arc! You wield the other.”

Before Vir could ask Tia to clarify, the first of their enemies burst forth out of the foliage.

“Broodling scouts!” Tia shouted as the rest of its friends emerged. “They’re impervious to physical damage. Only blunt force and magic works. Vason!”

“On it!” the warrior said, charging the enemy with his tower shield while Haymi tossed Vir a C Grade Arc Orb.

Neel was right beside her, sinking his teeth into the nearest broodling. But while his fangs easily sank into the liquidy hide, it seemed to do no damage. The same was true for his claw swipes.

Vir squelched his desire to ask Tia for more details about their enemy. She knew what needed to be said and when—if the information was relevant, she’d say something. His curiosity would have to wait.

Leaping into the fray, Vir joined Tia battling against them. Like Neel’s attack, her spear penetrated their soft bodies easily enough, but left no lasting damage. Vason’s talwar fared no better, but then Haymi fired an Arc spell, lancing right through one of them.

The beast spasmed the moment it was hit, flipping upside down, snapping its pincers futilely.

But it wasn’t dead.

“Apramor!”

Vir slashed through the spasming beast with his katar. The instant before he did, the blade became wreathed with Lightning prana.

It’s like Prana Blade… but made of Lightning Affinity.

Vir’s blade bisected the beast, but instead of dying, each half began moving independently, occasionally spasming from Haymi’s attack.

“Don’t cut them!” Tia yelled. “They can divide and multiply. And stick together! Don’t let them split us up!”

“That doesn’t leave me many options,” Vir said. His Chakrams were useless, as was his katar, which could only pierce. Prana Blade only augmented his katars’ sharpness, and while Haymi’s Arc orb allowed his blade to do some damage, he had to do it without cutting them apart.

Vir thrust directly into a Broodling, careful not to bisect it in half.

Initially, nothing different happened. The Broodling seized up from Haymi’s Lightning magic, spasming uncontrollably. If left untouched, it would eventually recover like its brother had.

Then he activated Prana Blade, surging Ash prana out of his hand, coating his katar. It weaved with the Lightning affinity prana from Haymi’s spell, augmenting it.

The Broodling exploded in a shower of goo.

Vir’s face went white. Did I just make a bunch more enemies?

But no such thing happened. The pieces stuck to trees, bushes, and dirt, but they no longer reconstituted.

Vir moved like a ghost, blurring between enemies, exploding them one by one.

But when he arrived at the fifth enemy, Haymi shouted an order.

“Everyone back! Now!”

While Vir had been dispatching his opponents, Vason, Neel, and Tia had corralled the remaining foes.

Into the stream.

Haymi fired an Arc spell, but not at the broodlings. Into the stream.

“Apramor!”

Vir immediately grasped her strategy and plunged his katar into the water. Lightning prana dissipated through the water body… and spread to the remaining five gelatinous beasts.

They instantly spasmed… but Haymi wasn’t done. She fired Arc again. And again.

By her third spell, their foes spasmed no longer.

“That… was hard,” Tia said, plonking down on the ground as she wiped sweat from her brow.

“Tia, what are those things?” Vir asked. “Those were a little weak to be Ash Beasts, but I’ve seen no prana beasts like that either.”

“I’m afraid we’re up against a Brood Matron, and they are very much Ash Beasts,” Tia said. “The larger their domain, the stronger they become.”

“Balar Rank?” Vir replied, gazing at the blob-like corpses. Their gooey bodies had already begun to lose cohesion, dissipating into the stream. Only their chitinous pincers remained.

“Somewhere between 400 to 700 in the Ashen Realm, depending on their size. And… it’s already dominated this forest.”