Mythos: Last Stand

  Chapter 23 — Overwhelming

  by Caide Fullerton

  Sils: “After all the blood an’ sweat I put into this mission, ya think I’m gonna let it fail at the first obstacle!? Ya damn Shades can go ta hell ‘fore I let you harm any o’ my men!”

  The fairy’s voice rang out across the splintered battlefield as a barrage of wind bullets felled Shades on all four fronts. At the chime of her shout, Jackie realized the tide of battle had shifted. The Greater Shade had caught them off-guard, but now they would seize the initiative. To that end, they sucked in a deep breath and,

  Jackie: “THE GREATER SHADE’S RIGHT HERE!” They couldn’t telepath all of their comrades, and it’d be difficult to describe their location with words alone; as such, they screamed at the top of their lungs, causing Raffica to flinch beside them.

  The Greater Shade turned its full attention to Jackie, neon eyes dilating. Was it feeling anger or hatred, or was that expression merely a manifestation of its killer instincts?

  It slammed a fist down, causing the ground to erupt forth in a wave of rising and falling columns. Before the wave could reach Jackie, Raffica grabbed hold of them and launched away to the side, her jets carrying them through the jungle.

  The Shade’s gaze followed them as it prepared for another attack. It reared an arm back—then shot away instead, its legs expanding into springs to send it careening between trees. Where it had just been, half a dozen wind bullets converged, each curving in from different angles. They reconvened in a spiral, pursuing the Shade.

  Jackie watched the Shade disappear into the tree line. “Raffica, drop me and hide nearby.”

  * ? *

  The Greater Shade zipped through the jungle, a volley of wind bullets in hot pursuit. No matter; the master had granted it great powers, and with those it would escape the projectiles with ease. It whipped an extending arm forward, coiling its stretchy wrist around a branch from which it swung. The canopy whizzed by as it soared through the air.

  As it reached the apex of its maneuver, it cast an arm out to the side, stretching it far, far, as far as it could go, and gripping the trunk of a small tree. The arm then retracted, yanking the Shade away from the bullets. It swung itself around the tree, sending it careening back towards where it’d last seen the plum-haired Human.

  A trifle. The Shade itself did not know what any of the races of the world were, for that information was not necessary to fulfill the purpose the master had granted it; it did, however, possess the ability to sense power. It was similar to the ability it, and its lessers, possessed to detect life; an extension of it, perhaps. The living were irradiated with the stench of their power, and thanks to this it knew that all of the beings it had launched its assault on were much weaker than it. Among them, the plum-haired Human was one of the weakest.

  The Shade’s feet finally touched back down in the dirt, creating a small ring of columns around it. It bounded forward, springing between trees and the ground in a rapid flurry of movement. The plum-haired Human appeared in its view within seconds, and it launched straight towards them—only for a red blur to come dashing in from the side, ramming a kick into its side.

  It was sent careening away, its body ragdolling across the ground. It slammed both hands to the dirt, forcefully righting itself as it slid to a stop just ahead of one of the crude dirt walls. Its sunken eyes focused on the Alphicca, both arms rearing back—and once again it abandoned its attack, this time bounding high up into the air. Another combatant had phased through the wall behind it, swinging her claymore in a wide arc—the Ghost.

  The Shade flipped backwards as it fell through the sky, crashing down on the opposite side of the wall. It stretched an arm forward for a devastating punch, sending an eruption of horizontal dirt columns at the Ghost. A pointless maneuver, it realized, if she were to remain incorporeal.

  Footsteps sounded behind the Shade; it dashed to the side, whirling around to come face-to-face with yet another combatant—the Zombie, the tip of his blade having found its mark, sizzling with its blood.

  Irritating.

  The Zombie pressed forward with a relentless flurry of slashes, forcing the Shade to pedal backwards. Over the course of several evasions the Shade put distance between them, then dug its feet into the ground. Its legs extended into springs, sending it flying back; at the same time it shot an arm forward, aiming for the Zombie.

  At that moment, the Ghost appeared again, once more passing through the wall. This time she was between the Shade and the Zombie, and she brought her sword down on its extending arm, slicing its spring in two.

  Snarling, the Shade slammed both feet into the ground, forming a ring of rising columns around it as it came to a stop. It bounded high into the air as the columns fell, passing over the wall again.

  That its strategy had been overcome was unexpected, but it did not matter. No, it should not matter. With the power granted by the master, it should be able to kill each of these creatures with ease; instead, they were gaining the upper hand. They had wounded it, even though they were weaker. It was inconceivable. How were they overwhelming it when it alone had been blessed by the master?

  This was just like before. Things that were weaker than it had banded together, gained the upper hand, and wounded it. Therefore, just like before, the correct thing to do would be to flee. If it escaped, it could regenerate, gather new forces, and invent new stratagems. It could discover how the living kept overwhelming it and prevent that from ever happening again. It could fulfill the purpose the master had granted it.

  A volley of wind bullets carved glowing paths through the sky right in front of it.

  It was too late to change its trajectory. The Shade twisted its body, lashing its arms out to bat the projectiles away, but they curved around the crude attacks. Each of them pierced through it, riddling its body with holes. Most missed its joints, but its momentum was halted. It dropped, hitting the edge of the wall and tumbling across the dirt in a tangled mess of splayed limbs.

  When finally it rolled to a stop, it found itself face-down in the dirt. It rose to its knees—and there, standing a ways back with an arm reared back, was the plum-haired Human, a javelin in hand. They flung it forward. The Shade slammed its fist into the ground. A single dirt column shot up in front of it; the javelin slowed as it pierced through, stopping inches from the Shade’s head.

  The relentless assault continued. A sharp whistle of air signaled the Alphicca’s approach, zipping through the air in a zig-zag that brought her behind the Shade’s shoddy cover. She pivoted, charging straight for the shade; it roared, lashing its arm at her like a whip. Her eyes widened and she crossed her arms, kicking her leg-jets forward to halt her momentum. The Shade’s attack sent her tumbling away, but it did not go after her; instead, it turned and bounded away, its spring-like legs carrying it swiftly across the battlefield.

  This was its chance. All of the powerful creatures were behind it, closed within two quarters of the arena. In the remaining two, all of the creatures were weak. It would bypass them and make its escape.

  It leapt over the other dirt wall. Below, charging for the very spot it was about to land as if she’d already known it was coming, was a tall, muscular Human. She lunged forward with a swing of her bastard sword as the Shade touched down; it caught the blade in its remaining hand, caring not for how it cut into its palm.

  How? How had she known it was coming? Why had she attacked it, when she was so much weaker than it?

  Why was it the one taking damage when it was stronger than her?

  An arrow struck it, sinking into one of its eyes. Blood oozed out of the socket as one of its few intact organs was sundered.

  Enough.

  Its maw opened with such force that its jaw snapped, neon spittle spraying forth as it unleashed a furious roar. It forced its way forward, wrenching its arm out to the side and pulling the Human’s sword with it. It would not suffer defeat at the hands of something so weak. It would not fail the task granted by the master. It would not—

  There was a chime, and then its vision lowered. It was on its knees—a wind bullet had soared past, piercing through both of its knee joints. With it now fallen, the Human surged forward, ramming her shield into the Shade’s chest. As it was thrown backwards, she yanked her sword back to her side, slicing through its fingers.

  It fell on its back. Once again the Shade had been foiled by these weak creatures. It would not stand for it. It stamped a foot down, sending a wave of columns after the muscular Human. It did not know if they hit her; it did not care. What remained of its arms thrashed against the ground in a desperate attempt to lift its body up.

  A figure approached from the corner of its vision—a beige-haired girl with a sickly expression. The weakest of all the creatures present, whose very body had contorted when struck by its powers. She cast a wide-eyed glance in the direction of the muscular Human; then, her expression hardening, she turned her focus on the Shade.

  In that moment, her radiance changed. It was no longer the stench of something weak. It grew. She became powerful. She was more powerful than even it, the sole thing in this world blessed by the master. She raised her arms over her head, her flesh bubbling up and losing its shape. It twisted into a handle, then it grew, expanding, until what was grasped in her hands was a heavy iron mallet, its head practically as large as the girl.

  Oh.

  The mallet was swung down, and in an instant the Shade’s skull and shoulders were crushed beneath its weight. The mallet lifted and swung down again. More bones shattered. Muscles snapped and tore. The Shade could feel its power diminishing as its body degraded.

  Oh. It was dying. Was ‘dying’ a thing it was even capable of? It didn’t know; it had never so much as considered the idea before.

  Its being was subsumed by a sense of emptiness as its power faded. One by one its senses disappeared, leaving only an overwhelming silence in their place.

  * ? *

  Lii swung her hammer until her arms grew sore. The weapon in her hands was so large that she’d altered her muscles in order to swing it, only realizing after the fact. She ignored the strain it placed on her body, repeatedly striking the Greater Shade for at least a full minute before she finally stepped back, panting.

  Among the many things that made Shades so unnerving was that they never stopped moving. You couldn’t ‘kill’ one, not really, so even if you diced their bodies to bits they’d continue to writhe for hours until the magics that animated them gave up on the ruined vessel. This held true for the corpses of the two Shades Helena had felled, but the Greater Shade was completely still. Its upper body had been reduced to a multicolored paste, red mixing with the neon green and purple that stained its innards.

  Lii’s mind was a haze. She hadn’t really understood what she was doing, acting off a mix of pure instinct and emotion. Now all the pain in her arms hit her at once. She felt lightheaded. Just being back in control was disorienting, like she’d been spectating her own actions and was only now thrust back into her body.

  When finally she’d regained the strength to stand, the first thing she’d seen was the Greater Shade lunging at Helena. In that moment she’d been consumed by a primal anger, every other thought and emotion cast aside in favor of blind violence. Coupled with the nauseating experience of merely watching her own actions, it was something she had felt many times before.

  It was the exact same thing she’d felt whenever she went on a hunt as a Mimic.

  She felt a strong urge to double over and puke; the only reason she didn’t was that someone was holding her body up, a firm grip on her shoulders. Helena was right in front of her, her hands shaking as she clutched Lii’s body and called out to her. Her voice sounded like a distant echo despite their faces being only inches apart.

  How long had she been staring into space like an idiot? Here Helena was, clearly concerned for her well-being, and meanwhile she was absorbed in her own thoughts. How selfish could she get?

  She swallowed hard to erase any risk of puking over herself or Helena, blinking several times to clear the cloudiness from her eyes. Her hammer was gone; she had no clue when her hands had gone back to just being hands.

  Helena clearly noticed the change in her demeanor. “Lii? Can you hear me?”

  Lii: “Y-yeah. I-I’m sorry, I…” She stuttered more than she’d expected. Why was her voice so shaky?

  Helena: “Are you alright?” Her voice was commanding as her grip guided Lii down to a sitting position. “I tried grabbing you and calling your name, but you wouldn’t respond at all.”

  Lii: “Ah, I...” She sucked in a breath, “S-sorry, I, I just…” She struggled to get the words out as her throat tightened. Why was she sobbing? “I-I’m fine, I’m… I’m fine. It’s okay.”

  She tried to stand, but Helena forced her back down. “You don’t sound fine. Sit. Take a deep breath.”

  Lii nodded, sucking in a few shaky breaths. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face. She didn’t even know why she was crying, but it felt like guilt was clawing her heart open. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I—“

  Helena: “What are you apologizing for?” She grabbed Lii’s shoulders again, holding her still and meeting her eyes. “Just keep breathing. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She gave Lii a moment before continuing, “Tell me what happened, just focus on that. When the Shade’s attack hit you.”

  Lii’s thoughts drifted back to that moment. When the second wall of dirt rose, Helena was in its path, so Lii had transformed and thrown herself in the way. It seemed she’d succeeded in creating an opening for Helena to evade, but everything else had gone terribly wrong. The Shade’s ability had forcibly changed the shape of her body in the same way it had the ground.

  She was used to changing. It was a basic part of her existence as a Mimic, something as simple to her as eating or drinking or breathing. But being forced to change by another’s magic—it was violating, like having food shoved down her throat. It felt like her skin and bones and organs were stretched and rearranged and tossed around. It didn’t seem to have actually harmed her, but it was something she never wanted to experience again.

  Lii: “Its attack, it—it made me feel s-sick. I’m sorry. I-I’m sorry, I—I should have fought with you, but I couldn’t think, I—“

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Helena: “Stop that. You were hurt. Nobody expects you to fight like that. Keep going—just now, what was up with you?”

  Her heart sank. “I’m sorry.”

  Helena: “Why? Are you sure you’re alright? You aren’t hurt anywhere?”

  Lii: “No, I—I just—I-I thought it was gonna hurt you, so I, I-I just.” She ran out of breath, gasping for air, “I-I just got, r-really angry.”

  She knew she was making a fool of herself. She wanted so desperately to be calm, but her emotions took control whenever she opened her mouth. She could hardly speak.

  Helena wasn’t dumb; she’d be able to tell that Lii wasn’t telling her everything. But what was she supposed to say? “For a moment, I became a monster again.” They’d abandon her on the spot—if they didn’t just kill her. She couldn’t even blame them if they did; it’d be the smart thing to do.

  Helena’s eyes narrowed, her brow furrowed. What thoughts hid behind her hazel eyes? What did she think of the sobbing mess of a girl in front of her?

  The Human closed her eyes with a deep sigh. “Alright. Whatever happened, I’m just glad you’re okay.” She rose and brushed herself off. “Sam, make sure she really isn’t hurt anywhere?”

  Sam: “I was already planning to.” His voice came from the side, and at once the world around Lii expanded.

  Blurry colors became a battle-scarred jungle, and a space previously inhabited by only her and Helena was populated by her other companions. Sam approached from the side, kneeling down to check on her. Jahd and Jackie were beside the Greater Shade’s remains, prodding it as they inspected it. Celeste floated behind a tree, peeking over at Lii with concern plastered on her face.

  Lii’s gaze flicked between several sets of eyes fixed on her, and she covered her face, putting everything she could muster into not reddening. How hadn’t she realized they weren’t alone? She felt even worse now, knowing everyone had seen her outburst.

  Lii: “I’m sorry. For—f-for being so useless.”

  Sils: “I wouldn’t call ya useless. I mean, ya did kill the thing.”

  Jahd: “Damn thoroughly, too. Its legs are intact, but they ain’t movin’. Whatever ye did, ye got this thing ta give up completely.”

  Peering out between her fingers, she found Sils hovering just in front of her face, the fairy’s hands on her hips as her wings buzzed behind her.

  Sils: “We might hafta work on all… this, though. Can’t ‘ave one o’ my men fallin’ apart like this after every battle.”

  Jackie: “She usually handles herself fine.” They stood, turning from the Greater Shade to Lii and Sils. “This just shook her up real bad. Give her a pass this once?”

  Sils sighed. “Fine, fine. Can’t exactly be too mean after I watched ‘er cry her eyes out like that.”

  Lii: “Th-thank you…” She croaked. Her voice really sounded terrible.

  Sils: “Don’t mention it. Try an’ take it easy, aye?”

  Lii nodded. A moment later, Sam rose beside her,

  Sam: “She seems fine physically.” He intoned it almost as a question.

  Lii felt two hands fall onto her shoulders from behind. Along with them came a cheery voice,

  Raffica: “In that case, I’ll find a nice spot nearby where she can rest until we get moving again.”

  Sils: “Good idea. Keep an eye on ‘er.”

  Before she knew it, Lii was back onto her feet, Raffica pulling her along with a hand in hers.

  * ? *

  Jackie watched the girls leave with a frown. They turned to Sam and were relieved to see he was already following after them. Raffica had taken two major hits during the battle; she was in need of his treatment, even if she was acting like she was completely fine.

  That reduced the number of problems weighing on their mind by one.

  The first was Lii. They were worried for her condition, of course, but what they felt was even more pressing was the cause of that frazzled mental state. She’d lashed out in a blind, violent rage; even if it was targeted at an enemy, the implication behind it was clear, at least to Jackie.

  That night in the Heap, after they killed the Kumori, Lii had told them that she hadn’t always been who she was now. She wasn’t inherently different from other Mimics; she chose to stop hunting people. She was a steadfast vegetarian now, but her body no doubt still craved meat; holding back her natural instincts was likely something that took constant effort.

  And just now, the stress of this battle had caused her to lose control. Despite all of her effort, she became a monster again. That would explain why she was so distraught, and why she kept apologizing so profusely; in her eyes, she’d betrayed everyone’s trust by failing to maintain control. She hadn’t hurt anyone other than the Greater Shade this time, but if she could lose herself once, it could happen again.

  Next time, would she hurt one of them?

  Jackie didn’t plan on letting that happen. Lii was one of their friends now; they weren’t going to lose her over something like that. The bigger issue was whether Jahd or Sils had come to the same conclusion Jackie had. They had no such emotional attachments to Lii; if she showed her ‘true colors’ as a Mimic, they might very well decide to kill her.

  Sils: “Poor thing.” Jackie’s eyes slid over to her. “Can’t imagine someone else’s magic messin’ with my body.”

  Jahd: “Corrupted magic, at that. Can’t really blame ‘er fer reactin’ the way she did.”

  Jackie let out an internal sigh of relief.

  Sils: “Really, though, what was with that fight?” She turned to face the rest of the group, her tiny face scrunched up in dissatisfaction. “I can’t believe a buncha Shades got the drop on us.”

  Jahd: “I’ll take the blame fer that. In all my years, I ain’t once seen a Greater Shade with that level o’ intelligence.” He sighed, reaching a hand under his jacket and fishing out a bottle of whiskey from Eve-knows-where. “We shoulda been more wary. But that’s just easy ta say in retrospect.”

  He popped the cork off his bottle and took a deep swig, earning a sigh from Sils.

  Sils: “That thing was seriously weird, though. It spent more time schemin’ an’ runnin’ away than doin’ anythin’ Shade-like.”

  Jahd mumbled something incomprehensible into his bottle; Sils scattered his hair with a gust of wind, shouting, “Speak properly, ya damn drunkard!”

  Jahd: “I’d say we’re lucky fer that.” He wiped his lips and pulled his hair back into place. “If it weren’t so worried about its own life, it coulda done far more damage. We got off pretty light, considerin’ how dire the situation was ta start.”

  Jackie nodded. “Your powers were pretty impressive, Sils. We might’ve been done for if you didn’t bail us all out.” They stepped closer, eyes sparkling, “I never did get to ask about them…”

  Sils: “My powers, eh? They ain’t nothin’ too special, but my kind ain’t known ta get along with other races, so it’s a skillset pretty much exclusive t’us.”

  She disappeared in a puff of mist, a moment later reappearing on Jackie’s shoulder. “First, I can turn inta vapor an’ basically become invisible. It ain’t perfect, though—I move slower, I can’t use my other ability, an’ I can only stay invisible fer so long. It’s like holdin’ my breath.”

  Jackie: “I see… And during the battle just now, you conjured a bunch of projectiles.”

  Sils: “Aye. I can control the wind, to a degree. At will, I can’t do much more than kick up a lil’ gust. Fer stuff like my wind bullets, I gotta collect the wind first through movement.”

  Jackie: “Which is why it took a while before you could intervene.” They tapped their chin. “I realized our telepathy isn’t perfect, either.”

  Sils snapped to attention. “It ain’t? That’s why I broughtcha along, y’know.”

  Jackie: “Before, it was almost like time paused while I was using it. But during the battle, it didn’t feel like it slowed down at all. I was talking in real time, and in the heat of battle I could hardly get a word in.”

  Helena: “I was wondering why you never replied to me. But why’s it working different now?”

  Jahd: “Stress, most likely.” He took another swig of his whiskey as everyone turned to him. “Magic’s closely tied ta yer mind, an’ that goes double fer ye. Under all that stress an’ adrenaline, it naturally ain’t gonna work as well as usual.”

  Jackie frowned, scratching their chin, at which Jahd added, “Ye can improve it with practice.”

  The explanation made sense. The mission to save Celeste and Earpiercer before had certainly been stressful and dangerous, but they’d had plenty of time to think. More importantly, they’d been the one in control of the situation; here, the Greater Shade’s ambush had caught them off-guard, and its division strategy had set the pace of the battle.

  They’d become too confident, perhaps. After awakening to a new power, they tried to use it as a crutch without considering its potential weaknesses. Telepathy wouldn’t solve all their problems on its own, especially if they weren’t already in control; they’d need to be ready to tackle problems as they came.

  Jackie: “Well, now that we know that weakness, we’ll be better prepared to work around it.”

  Sils: “Ya better. We shouldn’t dally too long around ‘ere—all the dead shrubbery gives me the creeps, an’ we don’t have time ta waste. Soon as Lii’s stable an’ Sam’s had a look at the rest of us, we’re movin’. Make sure you’re ready.”

  * ? *

  Lii sat down at the base of a tree, though describing it that way made it sound like she had much more agency in the action that she really did. In reality, she was sat down by Raffica, who gave a pleased hum before sitting opposite her.

  Raffica: “There, now you can calm down away from everyone. It’s just us and Celeste.”

  Lii: “Celeste..?”

  The Ghost girl floated into view from behind a tree. “s-sorry, i can… i’ll leave, if you prefer…”

  Lii shook her head. “N-no, it’s fine. I… thanks. I’m sorry. I’m such a mess.” She wiped her eyes again.

  Raffica: “It’s okay! That’s what girl time is for.”

  She cocked her head. “G-girl time..?”

  Raffica: “Ya-huh. Me and Celeste will listen to anything you wanna say, or we can just sit with you while you calm down. I don’t think you’re a hug person, but if you are, I will also hug you.”

  It was then that Sam appeared, looking very awkward as he scratched his neck. “Uh, I don’t mean to interrupt ‘girl time’, but…” He cleared his throat, “Raffica, I do need to check your injuries.”

  Raffica: “Oh, right. I forgot about those.” She hopped up to her feet, giving Lii a thumbs-up. “Okay, I’ll be right back. Just hang out with Celeste for a bit.”

  She sauntered off into another section of jungle; Sam followed, giving Lii an apologetic nod. She was left alone with Celeste.

  Celeste glanced between Lii and her hands, wringing her fingers. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, finding not the words; this repeated several times until she finally spoke,

  Celeste: “i-i heard what you said before, um, over there, but… are you really okay..?”

  Lii: “No.” She answered flatly, stretching her face in her fingers with a long, dreadful sigh as she slumped back against the tree. “I… I did something really bad.”

  Celeste: “you did..? it looked to me like you just killed the shade.”

  Lii shook her head. “It’s not that, it’s… how I did it. I thought… I thought that wasn’t me anymore.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them against her. “I was stupid to think so.”

  Celeste frowned and floated closer, sitting on the ground beside Lii. “i, um. i think i get how you feel. i do the same thing, whenever i fight. b-becoming someone different, i mean.”

  Lii turned to her. “You do?”

  Celeste: “yeah. i… there’s a lot i want to do, you know? i want to be strong, and p-protect the things i care about, and prove myself, but… i-i-i mean, just listen to my voice.” She laughed nervously, “i’m not strong at all. everything terrifies me, and i can hardly even hold a conversation.

  “so, when it’s time to fight, or things get really dangerous, i… i just let myself fade into the back of my mind, and for a while i become someone else. someone who is strong and brave and confident. someone who can do all the things i can’t.”

  Lii looked to one of her own hands, opened it, traced her thumb along her palm, then clenched her fist. “No, we’re completely different. This… other me, it isn’t something I invented. It’s who I used to be. And that person… she’s what terrifies me. She’s awful, and violent, and doesn’t care about anyone else. I don’t… I don’t ever want to be her again.”

  Celeste looked down. “r-right. i’m sorry, i… i guess i wasn’t much of a help after all, but…” She took a breath, “i-i think, at least, that if it really is a part of you, you don’t need to be scared of it. and if it’s something you don’t want to be, then… i think that alone is proof enough it isn’t you.”

  Lii went silent, letting those words hang in the air for a while. She took a deep breath, corrected her posture, and stretched her arms; they still hurt from swinging her hammer. “Thanks. For trying to cheer me up, I mean. You, and Raffica, too.”

  Celeste: “w-well, we’re friends, right?”

  Lii gave her a sidelong glare. “You should be careful about who you agree to be friends with.”

  Celeste: “i-i know that..! but… raffica introduced you, so i don’t think you can be a bad person. she’s a good judge of character.”

  Lii: “Is that really all it takes..?” She sighed and looked up, peering at slim rays of midday sunlight through the jungle canopy.

  She hated to admit that ‘girl time’ had worked.

  ? ? ?

  Jackie wiped a bead of sweat from their brow as they crested a ridge. The jungle was thick as ever around them, and still just as pockmarked with death and decay. They found themself at the head of the group this time, forging a path alongside Jahd and Sils. Ahead, a tall structure came into view, peeking between the trees.

  It was a tower, half hollowed-out tree, half stacks of imposing grey brick. The tree stood taller and wider than any of the others around it, the girth of its reddish trunk only accentuated by the stone reinforcements. The tower expertly mixed nature and architecture, both perfectly complimenting the other. A moderate area had been cleared around the base of the tower to make room for tents and fires and wooden spike barricades.

  Whatever beauty the landmark once had was all but gone. An area twice the size of the clearing around it was wilted and decayed. What were once tents now stood as little more than wooden stakes and tattered rags. A sickening neon green substance spilled out from the tower’s windows, coating its side and pooling in a great writhing puddle before the door. Some parts of the substance seemed to flow like a viscous liquid; others stood hard and crystallized; still others bristled like grass in the wind. It seemed to breathe, never quite still but never really moving either.

  Just looking at it made Jackie sick.

  Jahd: “A checkpoint between Heapwatch an’ Avek Tirion—or so it was, ‘fore a Lich got its hands on it. We stopped hearin’ from them one day, an’ next we saw it was like this.

  “Haven’t touched it since. With the war in full swing, we can’t spare the resources ta fix it. Fer that matter, it’d be easier ta build a whole new tower than try an’ pry off the corruption.”

  Jackie gave a curious glance at Sils, watching her eyes trace the height of the tower.

  Sils: “Another reminder that we don’t got time ta waste. Even without the war, we’ve got more ‘an our share o’ problems.”

  On they went, feet growing sore as they trekked forward, giving the tower a wide berth. Soon the wilted wastes dissipated, the jungle returning to its natural state. They marched on and on, evading great insects and reptiles, until eventually forest gave way to rich fields—rows of neat farmland interspersed with verdant trees. In the distance, the horizon was dominated by an endless blue, its center obstructed by great walls.

  Sam: “Is that..?”

  Jahd: “Aye. Avek Tirion, city of pirates.”

  Celeste: “w-we aren’t really pirates, though..!”

  Sam scratched his neck. “Uh, I was asking about what’s behind it, actually.”

  Raffica: “Oh! You guys’ve never been to the ocean?” She bounced on her heels with each step. “Oh, you’ll love it! Or not, if you don’t like water.”

  Strade peered out at the horizon with narrowed eyes. “Didn’t expect the damn thing to be so big.”

  Sils: “Heh. Just wait ‘til yer on the ship.”

  They pressed on with lively chatter, their formation broken now that they were on something resembling a proper road. Before long, the walls of the city towered over them, the stone painted a glistening pink by the setting sun behind them. Several guards nodded to Jahd and Sils as the group passed through a wide gate.

  Sils: “Right then. As a representative of th’Admiral, let me welcome ya to our humble city—Avek Tirion.”

  liiittle bit of intense mental trauma to make it.

  Chapter Glossary:

  Avek Tirion - The capital city of the Scurvysands, originally founded by the greatest pirate in history, Lucius the Silver. Currently overseen by the admiral, whoever that is.