Smoke rose gently into the oak trees as the moonlight glistened in the plumes. The night had been relatively mild which was a welcome boon after the start of Marcus’ frantic weekend.
“You don’t think we can make it to the village?” pouted Fran. Her fiery red hair complimented the contour of her mighty shoulders. Though she was indeed voluptuous and beautiful, she was also hardy and well seasoned. Clad in furs, she sat with her legs crossed resting on a large felled log.
“It’s not that we couldn’t. It’s is it worth the risk? We can either tend to a fire here fer a couple hours and catch our breath, or we can attempt to fend off golems that reanimate on a whim. That’s not even covering any manner a ley-beast that calls the grove home. I still won’t go north a the village no matter the time a day.” explained Marcus, tending to the small camp fire.
Marcus had seen this before. There weren’t many reasons to stalk the grove at night. Finding a rare ley-touched plant that could save your foster father’s life is one. Investigating a potentially corrupted Ley-Line that has yet to truly manifest is not one. He had some time to spare.
Crouching over the fire, Marcus prodded the logs with a large stick he’d found and tempered in a nearby pond. Fire danced and crackled as the dry wood burned fiercely.
Fran stretched her arms back and shoved out her bosom. Marcus did his best to focus on the fire. He wasn’t particularly ashamed of his attractions, but this one felt off. Fran was someone special to him. He didn’t want to think about her that way. Still, he couldn’t help but feel… things at some of the things she did.
“I suppose that’s true… Guess I’m just impatient. I’d really like to see what’s goin’ on dear. I’ve felt it since we got past the arrowhead barrier. Whatever’s happenin’ is happenin’ soon and it don’t feel right.”
Wrapping her arms beneath her bosom, she leaned into the fire and lost herself in it. Marcus looked in her eyes and saw something he didn’t expect. It was fear. Fran was a force to be reckoned with in battle. What could possibly have her so scared?
Marcus could only speculate as he searched in her eyes for some answer. He didn’t know what he expected to find. It’s not like he could read her mind. Still, he wanted to try. After a moment’s silence, he retrieved a small flute from his side bag. Fran’s eyes lit up. He had played for her once before. Though at the time he didn’t know it.
He searched his mind and his heart for the right tune to play. Marcus was often one to simply play what he felt in the moment. Each song was different, and played only once for a very limited audience. While his friend Jon used music as a way to seek connections with everyone, Marcus saw it as a privilege those he cared for earned.
Fran was one of the few he would play for and that made every time he did special and unique. Playing a slow and quiet melody, the trees around shifted and eased. A breeze tickled them and branches creaked. Marcus stopped playing the moment he felt his heart sink. A terrible feeling gripped his chest. He knew this sudden feeling. This presence.
Fran’s face made a shift Marcus could never forget. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t anger. It was bloodlust. Thrusting her hand into the ground near her, it gave way with ease. She gripped the dirt beneath tightly and let it form in her hand. Earth cracked and shifted beneath them as if the entire grove was clenching it’s fist. Upheaving her arm from the ground she threw dirt and stone everywhere.
In her hand was a great axe made of a warped, pitch-dark metal. Marcus flew backwards into a small thicket with a slew of burning logs as she released a booming howl that echoed across the grove with concussive force.
“You dare invade the sanctity of my grove? I will find you and I will end you for good Aric! You hear me!”
Elder oaks cracked and shifted in the force, while a few small birch saplings were cracked in half from the blast. Coyotes and wolves howled in the distance while birds took to the skies. Fran had made her challenge clear to the entire grove. Hell, Marcus was pretty sure Rianth heard her challenge as well.
Bringing himself to his feet awkwardly amidst the bushes, he tried to assess the situation. While he wanted to think on how Aric may have somehow found a way to re-manifest, he needed to make sure those burning logs didn’t turn the whole grove up in flames. Grabbing an emerald from his pocket, he tried to feed it energy from the nearby Ley-Line while he searched for where the logs flew off to. It was vastly more difficult now that they were more smoldering hunks rather than a bright flaming fire.
Fran still stood breathing heavily and frantically searching the trees for any sign of Aric. She found none. Marcus found a couple logs next to a thicket of bushes that were still smoldering. As he attempted to conjure water from the energy he stored in the emerald, a mighty hand gripped his mouth and drew him in. He stood as still as he possibly could as the touch of cold steel haunted his neck.
“Listen to me boy. If I wanted you offed I’d do it here and now. Savvy?”
Though he didn’t know who had put him to a blade, he had an idea who it could be. He could feel it. Grunting his response, he loosened his stance.
“Ah, so maybe I don’t need a blade to yer neck to get yer attention? Such a good little hero. Here’s the deal, pup: I ain’t the reason ye’re on this little excursion. I ain’t interested in wasting my time on her little broken down village. However, after ye’re done I expect to see ye back at my so-called “tomb”. I’ll not have my legacy tainted by this one-sided farce.”
Steel scraped Marcus’ cheek as he was pushed from behind and staggered forward. He did his best to turn around as he stumbled, only to see a blur of a man disappear into a plume of dissolving red and black smoke.
Cold liquid dripped down his cheek, prompting Marcus to touch his face. Sure enough, blood ran down his cheek. Wiping it clean with the cloth he kept for cleaning his blade, he felt an intense heat by his feet. The logs had smoldered and caught the bushes on fire. Thankfully the crystal he had charged was still on the ground next to him.
Fran trampled around the grove with a terrifying ferocity fueled by a strange ley-induced rage. Marcus did his best to calm his racing mind as he summoned a small stream of water from the crystal to put out the fire Fran spread to the bushes. Somewhere deep down he’d known Aric would return in his life some day. He just didn’t expect it to happen like this.
Unforeseen factors have always seemed to be his lot in life. Some day he had hoped to be used to it. For now, he’ll do what he can.
“Fran!” shouted Marcus as loudly as he could.
She didn’t seem to notice. Getting her attention wasn’t going to be easy while she was in such a fit. Putting out the fire, he searched the area for any more evidence of fire. A heavenly chime rang in his left ear. He knew exactly what that sound was. The spirits of the grove were directing him.
Turning to his left he scanned the brush and tree line in his view. At first glance, there wasn’t much out of the ordinary besides ruffled leaves and some broken branches. Something behind the bushes was moving. A tiny blur of green and brown that Marcus had seen in the corner of his eye while traveling the grove before.
Leflings were mischievous little buggers more often than not. He’d lost his prey while hunting on more than one occasion because of a broken twig or errant gust of wind. Despite their trickster nature, they knew a fire in the grove threatened their homes.
It jumped and waved it’s tiny branch arms. Most Leflings could fit in the palm of your hand. This one was as large as Marcus’ head. A gnarled ball of roots was covered with a single large burdock leaf, with tiny branches covered in different types of nuts. Hollow and seedless acorns clanked against each other, creating a curious array of noises with the rattling of pine cone pods filled with small pebbles.
This Lefling was likely an alpha, or even possibly Ley-touched. Smoke began to rise near where it was signaling Marcus. Gathering more energy in the emerald, he readied himself to conjure water again. He reached the brush where the Lefling happily chimed and danced at his arrival. It’s adornments shook in rhythm to a tune Marcus couldn’t hear. They were cute when they weren’t making your life difficult.
Conjuring an orb of water again, he splashed it over the small brush fire that had begun to take hold. Happy chimes echoed through the grove as he put out the fire. An overwhelming sense of calm rushed into his mind. Looking down at the Lefling that continued to dance, he noticed a small caterpillar on the leaf that made it look like the Lefling was smiling. They didn’t have true faces, just a leaf to cover their core and their noise-making adornments.
Chimes slowly faded out as the rush of calm that swept over him eased as well. They were likely trying to quell the storm that was conjured in Fran.
“Thanks for the assist, mate.” smiled Marcus to the Lefling.
It shook it’s whole body for a hodgepodge of rattling. Marcus got the feeling it was thanking him. Waving it’s little twig arms, it jumped into the brush and disappeared.
“Well, at least I don’t appear to be alone for this ordeal.”
Marcus took in a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. He knew cleansing the Freyan Grove would be just as eventful as cleansing Aric’s Tomb was, but he had no idea Aric could still manifest. Nor did he know why Aric even cared about their excursion to the grove. Better yet, how did Aric know about it?
That left a pit in Marcus’ stomach. He had no inkling to the answer to that question, but he got the feeling he wasn’t going to like it much.
