Grand Game 258: Contact (Patreon)

It took me two hours to reach the forest grove.

Although the swamp teemed with life—mostly insects and creatures too small to pose a threat—there were a few larger occupants, but with mindsight to guide me, I was able to detour around them without trouble.

Still, the trip was far from pleasant.

Lacking any form of higher ground to ease my journey, I was forced to wade through the marsh the entire distance. Needless to say, that left me soaked and miserable. The sludge penetrated every layer of my armor, and I could feel things crawling over me.

Repressing yet another shudder, I pushed aside the bulrushes in front of me and took a soggy step forward. I had cause to both thank and curse the marsh reeds. On the one hand, they did a good job of disguising my presence, but on the other, they slowed me down and made judging my position difficult.

Still, I was sure I neared my destination. It can’t be much—

I broke off as I spied a line of green foliage peeking over the top of the reeds. The grove had finally come into sight again. Drawing to a halt, I studied my target.

Just as I’d noted from a distance, the trees forming the grove were giants of their kind, with their upper branches topping even the city’s many high walls. The lower barks of each wooden behemoth were flaked and rotted—courtesy of their dunking in the saltmarsh, no doubt. But the decay did not seem to have penetrated far. The trees’ trunks remained unbent, and their upper reaches bore the unmistakable green sheen of health.

That’s where I go, I thought, craning my neck upward.

Moving silently—no mean feat in the marsh—I waded closer and reached the treeline without incident. Dappled shadows filled the grove’s interior, the overarching trees filtering out the bright sunlight. Placing my back against the broad trunk of the closest tree, I peered around the edge.

None of the hags were around, but that was to be expected; I’d chosen my entry point carefully. No other creatures were visible either, and mindsight reported the waters ahead to be starkly empty, absent even the occasional small life present elsewhere in the marsh.

Oddly, though, the trees themselves teemed with life.

According to my mindsight, each was coated in a layer of tiny unseen creatures. I frowned. More insects? Reaching out with mindsight, I analyzed one.

The target is a level 1 sea worm.

Sea worms are small sea organisms and, though innocuous-looking, can be deadly in numbers. They are usually found accompanying sea hags who oftentimes use the worms’ unquenchable appetites to scrub a region free of life.

Hastily, I stepped back from the trunk sheltering me.

Dropping into a crouch and ignoring the water that lapped at my face, I studied the tree with new eyes. After the incident with the blood flies, I knew better than to underestimate any foe, no matter how small, and the information analyze had yielded made clear what the worms were about.

They were eating the tree.

Running my gaze up and down the massive tree trunk, I tried to spot the elusive sea worms, but they defeated even my impressive sight. Maybe, they’re beneath the bark.

I hesitated, debating my next move. I’d planned on using the trees to strike at the hags from above, but I couldn’t do that until I understood the full extent of the threat the worms posed. Realizing I had no choice, I reached out to the tree and yanked free a rotted piece of bark.

Worms spilled out.

My lips turned down as I watched the dozens of tiny forms wriggling in the water. They were as numerous as the blood flies and appeared just as intent on their ‘prey.’ Twisting their hairless pink bodies around, the worms swam back from whence they’d come. Cupping my palm, I scooped up one before it could get away and drew it closer for a better look.

But the worm wasn’t interested in complying. Quicksilver fast, the creature wriggled through a seam in my glove and vanished beneath.

A sea worm has bitten you for zero damage!

A sea worm has infected you with maritoxin, a paralytic that slows your movements by 0.01% for 10 seconds. Maritoxin is a stacking toxin; further doses will increase its debilitating effects.

“Bloody hell,” I muttered. Pulling off my glove, I shook the worm free before it could do more damage. Plopping into the water, the wretched creature turned back towards the tree.

Such single-mindedness could not be normal. They have to be under the sea hags’ command, I decided. My gaze drifted back to the trees. That made the wooded giants too dangerous to traverse. I sighed. It seemed that if I wanted to proceed, I would have to fight the hags at ground level—and while hip-deep in water.

Not good. Not good at all.

But I wasn’t about to give up just yet. Pulling the shadows around me, I cast my buffs and waded into the grove.

Your Dexterity has increased by +8 ranks for 20 minutes.

You have gained an encumbrance for 10 minutes.

You have trigger-cast quick mend.

✵ ✵ ✵

Whoosh… swish.

My ears pricked. What was that sound?

Drawing to a halt, I listened intently. My advance into the grove had barely begun, and I was less than a few yards beyond the treeline. But what few sounds there were in the lifeless grove carried unnaturally far, and I’d been forced to move even slower than I’d had in the marsh.

A noise came again. Plop!

My brows creased. It sounded as if something had hit the water, and close by too. Was it a falling branch? It couldn’t be anything else. Mindsight reported the area ahead to be clear of life.

But I wasn’t about to take any chances.

Bending my knees, I lowered myself deeper into the water until only my eyes were visible above the surface. Then, moving glacially slow, I slipped into a patch of reeds—there was no escaping the marsh reeds; they were everywhere—and carefully separated a couple of brown stalks in front to peek through.

A hostile entity has failed to detect you! You are hidden.

A solitary sea hag was up ahead.

Inching my head left and right, I checked for more foes but spotted none. The hag was, by all appearance, alone. More worrying, though, was the fact that she didn’t appear in my mindsight.

Her mind’s shielded.

It was the only explanation. That made things more difficult but not impossible. Letting my gaze rest on the hag, I studied my foe.

At first glance, the sea-witch appeared human. Her long dirty-brown hair was tangled and matted, and she was dressed in a seal-skin robe that hugged her hunched-over frame. A closer look at her seamed face and yellowing teeth shattered the illusion, though.

The hag’s teeth were razor-sharp, and she had far more of them than any ordinary human. The seams on her face told a different tale, too. They were not a result of age but formed from the gills that lined her cheekbones.

Then there were her clawed hands and scaled skin. The hag was covered in scales similar to Devlin’s, the Albion Bank’s manager. But where his scales were a brilliant blue, the hag’s were muddy brown and emerald green.

Attempted camouflage? I wondered. The sea-witch was standing stock-still, her gaze roaming attentively over the surroundings. A sentry, I decided. Reaching out with my will, I analyzed her.

The target is a level 121 tidal hag.

Hmm. My target was of a lower level than me, and rightfully, I should have no trouble eliminating her, but in the face of some abilities, levels counted for naught, and I had no idea what powers the hags possessed.

It was a safe bet that the hag had water magic, though, and as some sort of witch, I didn’t expect her to be physically adept. The sea hag didn’t carry any weapons that I could see either, but judging by the length of the claws tipping her fingers, I didn’t think she needed any.

A blitz attack should do the trick, I thought, slipping ebonheart and the stygian shortsword free from their sheaths. Keeping both blades beneath the water, I summoned psi.

You have teleported into a tidal hag’s shadow.

I stepped out of the aether with my target still oblivious to my presence. Rising tall, I raised both swords and stabbed down.

A tidal hag’s spell: impervious ice has triggered, blocking all incoming damage for the next 2 seconds.

Backstab failed!

Backstab failed!

A hostile entity has detected you! You are no longer hidden.

Both my blades bounced back, repelled by the wall of ice that materialized between them and my target. “Goddamnit!” I growled between clenched teeth.

The sea hag spun around, hands outstretched and palms flat. Staggering back, I fled the gleaming claws searching for my throat.

You have evaded a tidal hag’s attack.

My foe wasn’t done yet. Her eyes flashed white, and realizing a second attack was incoming, I stepped to the side.

You have evaded a tidal hag’s attack.

A bar of frost shot by, missing my nose by scant inches. I raised my blades, knowing I had to go on the offensive again, but the water and the muddy ground were slowing my movements, and my foe was already launching her next assault—she didn’t appear to have any trouble maneuvering.

Darting forward, the witch raised upturned palms in my direction. I threw myself to the left, but I couldn’t avoid the attack this time and twin lines of searing cold struck my chest.

You have failed a magical resistance check!

A frost ray has injured you!

A frost ray has injured you!

The force of the magical projectiles flung me backward, plunging me into the marsh. More frost rays followed and, seeming to have no trouble penetrating the murky water, struck me dead center again.

A frost ray has injured you!

A frost ray has injured you!

…

Quick mend triggered!

My back hit the marsh floor, and more ice attacks drove into me, keeping me pinned underwater. I spared the Game messages no attention, though. The frost rays were doing more than injure me—they were also freezing the water.

She is going to encase me in ice, I realized with grim certainty.

Ignoring the ongoing assault and my rising fear, I opened my eyes wide and searched for the hag. The muddy water made it difficult to see, but I thought I could see the hazy outline of a shape looming over me.

That has to be the hag.

Fixing on the blurred form, I shadow blinked.

You have teleported into a tidal hag’s shadow.

It worked, and I emerged from the aether upright and behind my target. The hag spun around, her expression of surprise almost comical as she reorientated her frost-rimmed hands on me.

I was already in motion, though. My movements short and jerky, I thrust ebonheart into the hag’s chest, followed by the stygian blade a moment later.

You have critically injured your target. You have killed a tidal hag!

The light faded from the sea-witch’s gaze as she sank into the water. Chest heaving, I stared down at the corpse. Damn, I thought, that was a tougher fight than I bargained on. I hope—

At a betraying slip of noise—barely heard over the sound of my own painful breaths—my head whipped upward. Other seal-clad shapes, hands rising, were slipping toward me. Not questioning my instinctive response, I dove into the marsh reeds a split-second before a flurry of frost beams could decapitate me.

You have evaded the assault of 3 unknown hostiles.

More hags had arrived.

And this time, they had numbers on their side.