1-21 “Tree”

It was a very restful sleep, and an early awakening. We all finished breakfast before dawn. The sun must be just above the horizon now. The forest becomes quiet as we approach the place where I had encountered the amalgam. There wasn't a clearing here before.

A sky blue crystal tree at least fifty feet tall stands in the middle of a circle of uprooted and broken down trees. Its branches move regardless of the lack of wind. The area nearby the tree looks somewhat burned. As we approach the tree line, it bends its branches in one massive sweep, scratching the bark off of the trees at the border. It must still be growing if that was the first time it could reach these trees.

The Lords and Ladies start discussing what spells they should use before approaching, and who should stay back. They think those burns look like acid burns, one of them has a spell to protect against that.

Lord Hawkins calls me over, “You all have ranged weapons right?”

“Yes, sir, crossbows.”

“This thing can topple trees, I think it'd be best if you all stayed back and offered ranged support.”

“Yes, sir! You heard the lord, crossbows at the ready.”

I guess now it's time to find out if keeping my bolts in my bag instead of the belt box is a good idea. I reach in to pull out my crossbow and a bolt. It's already drawn and loaded when I withdraw my hand from the magical bag. That's... How does it do that?

Lords Hawkins, Hawklight, and Gimaim, as well as Ladies Maple and Hefthammer all advance toward the tree over the fallen trunks of trees uprooted by the corrupted one. Zilo flips up his hood, and his silhouette begins to fade as his cloak blends with the surrounding foliage, I quickly lose track of him. It's a good thing we can aim high to avoid friendly fire, though he probably knows how to avoid the line of fire if he does this frequently. Sephram stays between Lady Averdine and the tree, holding a defensive posture. Lord Mcgee starts firing arrows from an exquisite looking bow with remarkable speed.

The rest begin to cast spells. Lightning and fire burst forth, streaking toward the tree. Much of it dissipates as it contacts a hitherto unseen field around its trunk and branches. Lady Averdine finishes an incantation that leaves me feeling lighter, and it has obviously affected everyone else as we all begin moving faster.

Lord Alejandro turns out to be a spell-caster as well, I never would have guessed from the full suit of plate armor that he wears. I have heard armor interfered with one's ability to channel magical energy. The globe of fire he throws begs to differ, penetrating whatever protection surrounds the gemtree and leaving large cracks and scorch marks around the point of impact.

The tree makes reply by swinging massive branches down hammering on those that advanced with massive limbs. Those that are hit by these smashing attacks immediately receive healing magic from either Lord Carlmon or Lady Celano. A vine twists around and blasts a large gout of a greenish liquid that mostly dissipates where it contacts one of us but leaves distinct burns in the ground or trees that it contacts with. Lord Alejandro receives a volley of arrow sized splinters from the higher branches of the tree. All of them bounce off of what must be at least grade four armor. Crystalline roots also burst forth from the ground at Alejandro's feet, and are just as ineffective at penetrating his defenses.

The watchmen and I might as well not even be there, each volley of bolts we fire bounce off of the trunk. This thing has less gaps in its crystalline hide, and the gaps keep moving.

The advancing warriors make it to the trunk and begin smashing through the tree. Sword axe and hammer leaving cracks and notches with each swing. Lady Maple's punches are doing just as much as Lady Hefthammer's massive maul. Zilo's form fades back into view near the gemtree, he looks up it perhaps thinking of climbing it. He reconsiders and proceeds to stab at it with a pair of short swords.

More blasts of fire and bolts of lightning are launched. The gemtree seems to feel the warriors are a greater threat though as the root spears and branches are all focusing on them. Leaving only the occasional hail of thorns to threaten us, mostly aimed at Alejandro, whose spells seem to be doing the most damage. Only one even manages to break through the magical armor. It is quickly removed and the wound healed.

One of my bolts actually manages to hit a soft spot and stick, I wonder if that did any good.

Cracks begin to spread along the trunk of the gemtree. The constant hammering of spells and blades leaving the area near the ground looking much like the patch of cobblestone road in the city where a worker managed to spill a wheelbarrow of bricks from the second floor of a building he was working on.

Lady Averdine fires a quintet of small radiant bolts of energy at the gemtree. That was the last straw, the whole thing shatters and disintegrates. While everyone else starts congratulating each other on a good fight, I look for signs of Stanton.

I think I see him.

1-17 “A duck?”

We all approach the glowing wall as Sephram walks in toward where the river still runs through the crystalline ground.

“That's odd, I guess the crystallization has stopped growing,” Lady Averdine indicates where her barrier meets the ground.  “It used to be growing right up to that spot, even climbing upward, slowly trying to overcome the wall.”

Sure enough there's about half a foot between the edge of the strange growth and the barrier’s foot.

Our attention is then grabbed by a splash. We look back toward the river and Sephram. Out of the water have climbed two more amalgamations. One shares the features of a duck and a beaver, or maybe it is just the features of a platypus. It also must have caught a crayfish.  Two large pincers extend from additional arms near its front. The other seems to have the bodily features of an otter, the head of a frog and is slightly smaller than the first.

Sephram, whose motions read of tenseness the whole time he stood near the Lady, now seems relaxed in the face of a pair of slightly more than wolf-sized enemies. His stance is wide and aggressive, each sword held toward one of two enemies.  The amount of time before any of them make a further move is long enough for the lot of us to draw our crossbows.   We begin loading as the first move is made.

The frog-otter, in a motion similar to what I've seen before, launches a spear-like tongue at Sephram. Before I even have time to give warning, he deflects it with the longsword in his right hand. Sidestepping, he slashes a portion of it off before it recedes. The other begins to approach him, its gait rather comical and clumsy-seeming as it totters along.

The frog-otter also begins to run at him, but faster and with less confusion among its limbs.  It leaps at him only to be met by what I can only describe as a whirlwind of steel. Not shifting his feet at all, Sephram brings his blades around in swift circular strokes, each making contact with either a crunch as fractured pieces of the beast’s armor fall to the ground or a softer sound as the blade meets an unprotected section. His speed is hard to follow, as pieces of the amalgam fall to the ground.

The duck-thing has made its approach in this time, despite being hit by a volley of our crossbow fire, most of which bounced harmlessly off of the hard plates covering it. Sephram turns and defends himself from a surprisingly fast barrage of punches and grabs made by the lobster-like claws of the thing. Only one makes it past his guard and contacts despite his dodges. It does nothing more than make him step back a pace with the force. His chest plate takes the blow, not even leaving a dent.

Moving around the beast so as to make it turn slowly leaving only one claw to contend with, Sephram begins his own offensive. Using the longsword  to fend off the closer claw's strikes, he brings his other foreign blade down right where the oddly placed extra arm meets the body. It falls lifelessly to the ground. The more confident of us launch a second volley at the two locked in close quarters. One, probably fired by the rookie, deflects off Sephram's vambrace, the rest either stick in the duck-thing's front or bouncing ineffectively to the ground.

With its remaining arm the creature manages to grab Sephram's leg. Before it can take advantage of this, Sephram severs the limb. He follows with a thrust that goes straight through one eye on the creature's duck-like head, and comes out the other. Spasming slightly for a second or two, it slumps over.

I hear the men exchange coins as Sephram stomps the ground twice and yells, “Any more?!”

1-9 “Enforcement”

“Halt, drop your weapons! You are under arrest. Resist, and I will use force!”

Who am I fooling? All five of us know that this situation is going to turn out violently. Surprised it made them stop a beat before charging, though. Stanton had better reload fast, I don't like three on one odds.

They prove that their skills are as shoddy as their equipment, charging even though there is a fair amount of brush between us and I have a weapon with more reach. I'd go for non-lethal blows, but I'm not in condition to hold back against multiple people that are clearly going to try their best, as poor as that may be, to kill me.

I thrust the tip of my halberd into the chest of the guy on the right and pace backwards to keep distance as the other two vault the bush. I trip one with a sweep of my weapon. I'm slow to bring it back up to defend with this arm wound, but the other bandit catches a crossbow bolt to the neck as he closes on me. He falls and blood begins to pool around him quickly, must've hit an artery. The guy on the ground tries to get up, but I kick him over. I keep him at the tip of my halberd.

“I repeat, you are under arrest. Resist, and I will use force.”

For emphasis I poke him in the collarbone. Must be greener than green, he faints. Stanton walks over while I pull shackles out from my bag.

“Thanks for the save, I think we should tie this guy to a tree by the road for a patrol to find. We are in a bit of a hurry. I'd drag him along if we weren't. Check the guy I stabbed.”

I bind the guys arms behind his back, It'll be a pain to drag him all the way to the road, especially if he wakes up and is uncooperative. Stanton, checks on the first two that got dropped.

“First guy I shot is dead, got a clean shot right into his temple. The other is also dead. The one you stabbed is still alive but is probably going to bleed out before we even hit the road.”

He looks as bad a Stanton says, there wouldn't be any point in dragging him along too.

“Help me carry this one, then. We'll leave a note telling the patrol where to find these bodies.”

We heft the survivor between us and head for the road. We get there without any further issue. I tie him to the side of a tree and secure his legs while I'm at it. He won't be going anywhere without help, and those manacles will be near impossible to get of without the right key, or losing a hand. A patrol passes us as we head along the path back to town. I tell them what to expect down the road. They'll take care of that one.

The remainder of the trip is uneventful, we're back.

1-8 “Way Back”

The path back should be faster than the circuitous trail we had to follow to get this far. It's a straight line north to a road that leads back to town. Following the road should be safe and quick. I doubt any bandits would attacks us on the road. In the woods, though, they wouldn't have to worry about our patrols coming upon them.

It's stopped raining. How did I miss that? The sun is shining brightly. The leaves above us keep the area shady. Perhaps that's what caused the darkness to dissipate before. The mud is still going to slow us down though, and make us easy to track if anyone would want to...

Halfway to the road. Stanton can walk on his own without stumbling now. I hope he can fight. I think I hear a group that could be trouble up ahead. I stow my halberd in my magical bag to keep a lower profile, “Should we go around and hope they aren't going the same way, or should we check them out and try to avoid them after observing for a while?”

We both stop walking, Stanton closes his eyes and turns towards the sound of voices ahead, probably focusing on the sound, “ I think it's a small group. If I weren't feeling so out of it here I'd go check if they were thugs, and then I'd either go around them opposite of the direction they were going or try to make an arrest, depending on group size. Can you sneak up to them do you think or should we trust to luck that they aren't coming towards us or going the same way we choose to?”

“I think I could. Take this and stay close enough to track me, but still be out of sight,” I hand him the crossbow from my magical bag, and my beltbox of bolts. I hope he can still pull the string back with that shoulder wound.

“Right, this looks like a fairly good one, this isn't standard is it?”

“No, it's a hand me down from my father's mercenary days. 'Always keep a ranged weapon on you, you never know when one will save your life,' he would say. How about yours?”

He doesn't respond, I think that subject might be a bit touchy from the look on his face, best leave that until after it's fixed. He draws the string with little trouble. How strong is that bow he's been using? He does fumble with the beltbox a little though, probably used to a quiver.

How has it never occurred to me to just pull each bolt out of my magic bag individually before? FOCUS!

I move ahead. Its hard to keep silent in the muddy ground, but I manage not to raise any obvious suspicion as I creep forward. I can hear them clearly, at least two men talking, they're frustrated by our erratic patrol schedule. Probably at least four from the sound of footsteps, they aren't cautious at all right now. Keeping low, I peek around a thick bush.

Three men, poorly armed. Patchwork leather armor slightly modified to keep brush stuck to it for camouflage. I definitely heard enough footsteps for four before.

The familiar crack of my crossbow being fired, a yell of pain, and a body falls behind me. Knife out, he must have heard me, and decided to check it out silently.

“That came from over there!”

“Sounded like Kestral yelling.”

Good shot from Stanton at least, looks like a fight is inevitable now, though. I pull out my halberd and stand to face them.

1-6 “Slayer”

It rushes at me. Focusing on the pain and my duty to save Stanton, I throw myself to the side. It misses me and continues into a tree. Considering that tongue, I decide the reach of a halberd isn't better than the protection of a shield. I drop the halberd and pull my shield out of my bag, it's already properly equipped as I withdraw my arm.

How does this bag do that? FOCUS!

I draw my shortsword as the beast turns back towards me. One of its antlers must have stuck in the trees, part of it is broken off now. The light sticks are dying strangely early, but for some reason the level of light in the area is increasing, maybe it's had its fill of light and can't eat anymore. I can see more clearly, the joints, and the stomach bulge look more organic. I will focus my swings there.

The amalgam fires its tongue at me once again, I feel the punch of it on my shield, the tongue is deflected. I rush forward and to the side as it snaps at me. First things first, I swipe my sword along its flank. The blade cuts cleanly through. Stanton flops unceremoniously to the ground, still stuck in that position. The thing motions with its head as if howling in pain.

The amalgam kicks back at me with a clawed hoof. I deflect the shot with my shield, my arm wound doesn't appreciate it, and thrust my sword into the thing's knee, crippling blows for against the larger opponent. It staggers as it kicks out with the other rear leg. Again, I catch the shot on my shield. This time, though, the shot is centered and knocks me down, my shoulder flares in pain.

It turns around as I try to get up. I think I tore that arm wound further. I can't put my weight on it, thank the gods it's my off hand. It tries to bite. I shove my shield into its mouth as I pull my arm out of it. OW! I am caught by one of the teeth on my way back, at least it has helped pull me back to my feet.

It tries to shake my shield out of its mouth. I bring my sword down into the top of its neck. It starts seizing, and falls to the side. I go back to my halberd, pick it up and use it to decapitate the beast, no sense being close enough to get knocked out by a random spasm. The spasms stop. That was a mistake, ow, should've used a staunch stick on the wound on my arm first. Actually, should've used a staunch stick on that before fighting further.

Staunch sticks, every watchman is supposed to keep two on him at all times. These things are very nice, you crack one over a wound and it stops the bleeding and helps prevent further degradation. You still need to find a healer or medic to treat it properly, but at least it stops you from bleeding out or, in my case, tearing a wound further. I apply one to the gash on my upper arm that I foolishly tore further already. I should make sure I don't need to use one on Stanton before healing the cut I got from its tooth, they aren't standard issue for trackers.

I move to check on Stanton.

1-5 “Thing”

I reflexively activate and toss one of my standard issue light rods to the middle of the clearing. Usually more effective than a torch, it isn't much help here. I still can't quite make out this things shape in the shadows. It's currently looming over Tracker Stanton, and I'm not about to lose a man to my own uncertainty.

Charging, I bring my halberd forward and down onto the things back. No sound other than the crack of metal on soft rock. I only feel the hide, or whatever this thing is covered in, give way a little. I cant even try to tackle something this big off of someone, its easily bigger than a full grown bull.

“Come on! Off him! Pay attention to me!” I hear a gasp from Stanton. The thing is ignoring me, so I drop another Light rod after a second ineffectual swing. I can see it now, though the darkness lingers, it almost looks as if a sculptor couldn't decide what animal he wanted to carve. Before me stands a translucent crystalline being that looks like a mix of animals. I can see the light being drawn towards and into this thing.

Everything that I see mixed here is native to the region, or one of the missing animals. Deer antlers, a wolfish mouth, bovine legs, a real amalgamation of parts. Are those tiny little chicken wings, I see?

Now that I see a head to attack, I take a swing. Stanton seems to have been stunned by its tackle, only now reaching for his weapon. At this first sign of movement the creature opens its mouth and fires a 'tongue' at him, piercing his shoulder. Stanton freezes, he doesn't go limp, he doesn't yell, he just freezes. I'd cut the tongue off, but I would need to swing so hard I might hit Stanton underneath.

I get a swing into a soft spot, at least this thing has some. It pays me back by jabbing at me with those antlers. I'm slow to duck to the side, and it tosses me several feet back. I get up in time to see it open its mouth impossibly wide and swallow Stanton whole.

When I was young, my father once took me to see the ocean. We went fishing and caught a jellyfish that had caught a smaller fish. I had never thought about what that fish must've been going through until I saw Stanton inside that Creature, its 'stomach' distending with the frozen prey inside.

It turns to me. Its tongue flashes out again. I sidestep, but it still grazes my arm, cutting right through the leather protecting it. I feel it, something trying to wrest my body from my control, keep me still.

This isn't poison, it's magic, I can fight back against that.