Rise of the Blood Weaver - Chapter 86 (Patreon)

Millions of fluttering, buzzing insects flew out from the worm's mouth. Arlo only knew that because he could hear them from all the way at the base of the pillar. It was a harrowing sight. He hated bugs. He hated bugs that buzzed even more.

It was hard to tell what was happening from where they stood, but he could imagine it. Millions of bugs all tearing into whatever was standing on the palm. Then he heard a deep, groaning roar come from the tendril monster. More tendrils appeared like lances as they shot out in all directions. It was hard to tell how many there were, but as they blotted out the sky, Arlo paused.

Fear crept into his flesh as he witnessed the sight of two beings that he had no right being near. If they realised they were here, it would only take a modicum of effort to wipe them off the face of the spirit world.

That wasn’t the only reason to worry. As the fight continued, the light in the sky was beginning to turn dark. They had 2 hours of day-light left, if that. Arlo itched his palms as he glanced at Merc. She had her vision locked above. She looked confident.

Does she know something I don’t? Arlo wondered. If she didn’t, then where was her false sense of confidence coming from?

Thankfully, after 20 more minutes of battle, there was a victor. It was the worm. Arlo heard something slam above.

“Watch out!” Merc said, grabbing hold of Arlo, and rushing to the side.

From high above, a colossal giant was hurtling down. The speed at which it had accumulated was a testament to how high the reaching palm was. Merc, with Arlo in hand, dashed at least 100 metres away. It wasn’t just to avoid the falling creature, either.

As the monster crashed down into the sand, it was like an insurmountable object had splashed in deep water. Sand spluttered in all directions. It was like a water geyser. Arlo barely got a good look at the beast as it was half under the sand, and half above.

It wasn’t actually a giant as he had expected, but… a tree. In the centre of its crimson bark, was an eye. It was dead, but Arlo shivered. He could feel something radiate from it. It was difficult to describe, but it was like it was still looking at him even though its life had been severed. Maybe its core was releasing a latent energy. Whatever it was, the worm was lowering its colossal body. Soon, it would return to the surface, right where Arlo and the others were located.

“It’s time to move,” Merc said, letting go of Arlo. “We’ll begin the climb now. Stay cautious. There are many cracks in the pillar where creatures could be lurking. And Justin, don’t even think about taking the creature’s core. If the worm turns on us because of our thievery, we won’t be able to put up a fight before it takes us down.”

“You think so little of me,” Justin said with a sigh. He tore his vision away from the tree. “Alright, let’s go then.”

Arlo and the others rushed over to the base of the pillar. Arlo looked up. Holy shit, He thought as he gazed at the monumental rock. How the hell could anyone create something like this?

The surface of the rock was rough with large cracks crawling all the way up the surface. At least 25 metres above his head, was a crack large enough to fit at least 3 humans. And judging by the size of the others high above, this crack was on the small side. The whole pillar was at least 2 football fields wide. That’s how big it was. And it was the source of Arlo’s unease as he grabbed hold of it.

Thankfully, his appendages came in mightily handy for climbing.

He stuffed a crimson tendril into one of the cracks and hauled himself up. It was surprisingly easy. He had dreadbane held in his main hand. Without his appendages to attack, he had to defend himself somehow. And just like Merc had said before, creatures of any sizes could be hidden within the pillar.

As he continued to climb, some of the cracks became smaller, making it difficult to get a proper hand-hold. Arlo would have to resort to using his own hands to pull himself up. But as he didn’t have the same strength as others, it was difficult. He was arriving at a section that was void of big cracks. He had to think of something else.

At first, he attempted to form his appendages into hands. But that was difficult. Just like it was trying to form two into one, the control he needed of his blood was high. Instead, he flattened the tips of his appendages, allowing them to contort, and squeeze into areas he wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

Just like that, he managed to scale the difficult parts with ease.

The others were full lineages. They had a lot of strength already in their bodies, so a simple act of climbing was quite easy to them. But the hard part was how far they had to climb. And with only 20 minutes left, they had to rush as fast as their bodies could manage.

The sky was growing dark. Only because of Arlo’s increased dark-vision from his Trait was he able to see.

“We need to pick up the pace!” Merc shouted from above.

Arlo’s heart struck against his chest as he listened to her command. He looked down. He wished he hadn’t. He felt the pit of his stomach rise. He hadn’t realised he had climbed so far. Because it was only one colour of sand down below, it was difficult to tell how far above they were. Somehow, that felt worse than knowing.

Trying his best to ignore his fear of heights, he kept on climbing. It wasn’t long before they encountered their first creatures.

They were rats. From within the cracks in the pillar, they bared their four front teeth. Just from the look of them, they were sharp. Arlo’s eyes widened. He was about to lurch his body to the side when a miniature lance poked out from the darkness, right into the rat's brain.

Arlo glanced to the side. Justin flashed him a smile. Arlo nodded at him.

They continued up. 1 hour passed. Arlo heard a deep rumble come from the far horizon. Only a vague orange was poking out from behind the dunes. It was so dark now that Arlo was having difficulties seeing. But they still had a while to climb. They had to find somewhere where they could rest for the night.

The fact that the rats were staying here meant that they were far enough now that it was safe. Or so they hoped. Merc wanted to climb further just in case. It was a sentiment Arlo agreed with. They had come too far to die because of negligence or placing their trust in a few rats.

10 more minutes, and Merc stopped in front of an enormous crack. It was the size of a cave’s entrance. Arlo squinted his eyes, only for it to be illuminated by Justin’s Eternal Lantern. Within, came bloody screeches. Merc motioned for them to get ready.

It was time for battle.