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Kernstalion - chapter 62: Search for defenders
🕑 Added 2022-03-12 19:58:23 +0000 UTCI'd almost finished the second tree when the stonites reached the wall. Some staggered into the hole, scrambling across the debris, while others still stood, barely. With shields raised and interlocked, they held back a mass of pushing, shoving, and slashing enemies. How they weren't tramped and swarmed was beyond me.
The screaming Torpels above us deafened most battle noises, and I didn't see Bastian anymore. Libidi was also nowhere to be seen, and both facts worried me.
I backed up to look at what remained of the gaps in the wall. The second tree stood off-center, and I saw my guestimate had been good. There was only a narrow opening to the left. Enough to pass through, perfect to guard, and easy to plug when everyone got through. Less great was that this left a considerably larger opening on the other side. Beyond it, I saw six stonites stagger towards me, barely remaining on their feet and partially supporting each other.
"That way," I roared as I waved and pointed at the narrow opening. "Hold that while I close the other side." My voice only barely managed to be audible above the constant screaming.
One of the Stonites turned, appearing to have heard something above the infernal screeching. Wide-eyed, he nodded and turned to begin shoving the others. The other stonites didn't resist but staggered to the narrow passageway and through. The one who'd heard me and one other remained at the entrance, shaking and tottering, but shields raised, seeming ready to defend it.
I readied myself to create the last vine when something shifted in my peripheral vision. On instinct, I jumped back and snapped my gaze up while raising my ax.
Two enemy soldiers wearing leather armor and wielding shortswords rushed at me from the side of the wall. Beyond them, the division of Stonites was slowly crumbling, more Nailhounds heading my way. Their nondescript black face masks made them stand out amongst the enemies. I caught a glimpse of Bastian, staggering back towards the line, before the two soldiers dove towards me, swords forward.
Although there were two, I wasn't worried. They didn't move as fast as the assassin I'd fought middle of the night, and I saw battle scars showing they'd been fighting already.
Should have made some boltcasters, I thought as I stepped forward and sideways while swinging my ax down on the left one. The soldier's head turned with me, his eyes widening behind his facemask, but he couldn't raise his swords in time. My ax blade dug deep into the side of his head, knocking him down and into the ground. I kept my eyes open for any blood.
A good thing, too, because when I jerked my ax out, a small geyser shot up. Ruddy and filled with small black specks, my hair stood on end. I jumped back, instinctively parrying a short sword aimed for my chest and kicking at a second sword aimed at my legs. The blade slashed through the sole of my boot, pain flaring up as I stumbled back.
Something flashed from the corner of my eyes, and my heart skipped a beat as I tried to react. Then a gray sword buried itself in the neck of the Nailhound. The Stonite that had heard me before stepped forward. Although unsteady, he managed to kick the enemy soldier away and, together with followed by two more, stepped forward. They seemed barely able to stand, but there was no fear in their eyes as they nodded at me and formed a small line.
I grunted, moved to a spot without blood, and slammed a seed in the ground.
"Get ready to run back," I roared as loud as I could.
The Glion Strangling Vine burst out of the ground as I poured my energy into it. It gulped it down as I willed things to go faster.
A clank came from ahead, and I looked up to find the three Stonites fighting with four Nailhounds. Within seconds they had accumulated more wounds, but their armors saved them from being fatal ones. Still, that wouldn't last much longer. I switched my focus between preventing the vines from crawling up my arm and watching the Stonites.
A moment later, the drain stopped, I closed my eyes, and a bright signaled that the Karma version kicked in. I quickly turned back, looking past the rapidly expanding vine, already blocking half of the hole. One of the three Stonites guarding me had crumpled on the ground, but the other two had used the bright flash to bring down two Nailhounds. Sadly more had come, and they backed up from the five enemy soldiers.
Behind them, the line of Stonites had crumbled, and Bastian stood in the middle of the chaotic melee, Libidi flashing around. Her eyes were glowing like blue diamonds, and she seemed to move with rapid bursts of acceleration while holding one dagger. Her other hand was constantly flashing into motion.
I was momentarily surprised to see her there, wondering why she was helping Bastian. The vine grew further rapidly, and within moments only a few gaps remained.
"Behind the vines," I roared, trying to signal the two remaining Stonites.
I repeated it twice before the Stonites noticed above the infernal Torpel screaming. The two took one look back, then, instead of heading my way, stumbled forward and into the melee.
Shit, I thought as I looked at the vine in my hand and the quickly closing space. I wanted to help, but then the vine wasn't finished yet.
The vine quickly grew so dense I could only make out parts of the battle below. The stonites seemed to be withdrawing from the melee, Bastian somehow withstanding the onslaught of an entire army. Still, many stonites were cut down, and I felt my anger flare brighter each time it happened.
Bastian moved out of my view just as the vines on the left closed. Suddenly all I saw was a mass of soldiers on the other side, glaring at me through the gaps in the dense bush. Some stepped forward, but I ignored them, trying to push more karma into the plant. I had no idea how much I had left, but the pings were still coming at an insane speed. Only far to the right was a sliver of a gap left, and to my surprise, two leather-clad, spear-wielding Nailhounds made a dash for it.
Using their spears to push the vine branches away, they moved sideways through the narrow opening, their backs against the remnants of the wall. The Glion Strangling Vine seemed almost asleep, its branches wrapping around the spear points slowly. The soldiers easily shoved them off, moving between the wall and the vines.
They can't seriously make that, I thought as I almost wanted to curse at the vine to grab them already! With an angry growl, I angled myself towards them, keeping one hand on the vine and readying my ax.
Why isn't it attacking, I thought as the soldiers turned their heads from the plants, wicked grins surfacing below their helmets.
They were six feet away from the edge of the vines when something fell from above, startling both the soldier below and me. A torpel the size of an adult's head, with a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, bit into the lead soldier's leather helmet like a bear trap. The leather burst apart, blood spraying everywhere as a cut of scream sounded.
The one behind froze, his mouth hanging open as he looked up. I saw his eyes widen as he began backing up.
Either due to the blood or having finished growing, the vine finally decided to wake up. A torrent of branches shot out, wrapping around the other soldier. The last thing I saw of him was a flailing arm before he disappeared in a mass of tangled branches. A moment later, the last of the gaps closed, and a second later, the mass of leather and blades disappeared from my view.
I waited for another second as the vine became denser, then stepped back. The constant pings slowed to a crawl, which suited me fine. Between it and the Torpels, I had a throbbing migraine.
As I stepped further back and examined my handiwork, I felt a sense of accomplishment. Dense bushes and two trees blocked holes in a city wall! Perhaps I should continue creating more of these vines around the outside walls later? I shook my head, trying not to get sidetracked. I had more important things first.
Where are you, Bastian, I thought as I looked around.
Behind us, a massive army of city defenders stood on the square gazing at the towering trees and flailing vines but showing no indication of coming forth to help.
I hissed in annoyance, wondering how they could just stand there and do nothing! With a final glare, I turned to look around.
Stonites sat or lay close to the narrow corridor, more trickling in one at a time. I ran towards the last opening, looking inside. A line of Stonites shuffled towards me, the remnants of the wall on their left and the massive torpel tree on their right. A few vines had clung around the tree, and the Stonites were weakly pushing them away. This opening wouldn't be a problem much longer.
At the far end, I saw Bastian's massive frame blocking the exit. His weapons were lowered.
Libidi was behind him, sheeting a dagger before turning to me. Her eyes locked on mine, and she shrugged before looking up and covering her ears with her hands.
Yeah, no shit, I thought.
I waited for the Stonites to leave and noticed movement on the square. A man on a Cindermare appeared and was waving at the amassed soldiers. He pointed at a road that would lead them to the main south gate.
Now what? I thought.
As sudden as they had started, the Torpels stopped howling. For a moment, everything was blissfully silent. Then shuffling, screams, shouts, and explosions registered.
"Move! They are breaking through at the south gate," the mounted soldier roared.
A shock ran through the amassed army, and groups of soldiers began running away through the streets.
"They pulled back," a cracked, weak voice said behind me.
Bastian stood there, weaponless, his armor a cracked and destroyed mess, and his helmet gone. Blood and filth caked his weary face, and pain filled his eyes. Libidi hovered behind him, looking at him before turning to me. A long, thin slash marred her cheek, and her leather armor had nicks and scratches everywhere. Still, she seemed relatively unharmed, especially compared to Bastian.
"You need healing," I hissed at the Goliarn as I saw a slow but steady stream of blood leak from a gash in the side of his armor.
"We all do," Bastian muttered. "The Nailhounds left right after you finished those," he waved behind him with a momentary disgust. "-things. From what I could see, they were heading around to the south gate. It's a good thing most of their army was there, or we'd never have lasted this long."
I ignored him and inspected the wounds he had. I saw puffy purplish flesh through the rips.
"Remove your armor," I said.
"Why? We need to do more fighting," he mumbled.
"Not you," I snapped, looking around at the other Stonites. "Not any of you."
"Do you have any healing potions?" I whispered after taking a deep breath.
"Of course not," Bastian said with a groan. He was trying to remove the clamps of his armor, but his arm shook too much to reach it. Cursing my stupidy, I stepped forward to help.
A few seconds later, the chest plate fell away, taking a ragged leather tunic with it. Bastian groaned as parts of his shirt ripped free, and I gasped. Long gashes, bruises, and puncture wounds marred every inch of him. I clenched my jaw and ignored them as I quickly scanned him for any infected demon blood. I didn't find any, but I couldn't be sure with all the blood and filth.
He needed healing, but the only instant healing I could offer was shared lifeforce, and the only plants around were the ones I'd just grown. Besides, I'd been warned by many, including Rathica, not to use that power when someone could see it. In the middle of a city might not be the best time. Looking at Bastian, he didn't seem about to die either, although I couldn't say the same of the other stonites.
Slowly an ethical question began growing in my mind. If it came to it, should I ignore the warnings and just heal them? There was one option, but I'd hoped not to use it here. Besides, I had no guarantee would work. Bastian sighed as he sat down, his head on his knees, his bruised and battered back shivering.
"Can you patch him up?" I asked Libidi, hoping she could do something with conventional means.
"A little," she said as she looked around. "But I need clean water and cloth."
"Find some," I said. The words had barely left my lips when she shot forward, sprinting across the square towards the nearest building.
"We need to help at the south gate," Bastian murmured as he got back up and swayed on his feet.
"Sit the fuck back down," I said as I held his elbow and lowered him back to the ground.
"You talk weird when you are angry," Bastian muttered as he put his head on his knees. "I feel weak. I've never felt like this since finding The Stone."
I frowned. I'd forgotten about the issue with our Deities, mainly because I didn't seem as much influenced as the others.
"Keep your eyes open, and don't fall asleep," I said before I walked a few steps away and looked at the retreating defense army. Most of it had run off through the streets, and none had come to check on the Stonites who had guarded the bloody back on their own.
Bastards, I thought as I took another look at Bastian.
On second thought, he didn't look good at all. Besides, there seemed to be no other Primes that had survived it, which gave me a dreadful premonition. I couldn't believe any Deity would stay put if a dozen of his Primes were slaughtered.
A wet cough came from one of the Stonites, and he slumped down against the wall. A stream of bright blood poured from his lips, staining his ravished chest plate.
Libidi's cloth won't save them. I need to do something, I knew, as more of the stonites teetered on the edge of life and death.
Fine. Antoni had better been telling the truth, I thought. If he had lied, I would have to go back and kick his ass, something I'd not mind doing either way.
I stuck my hand into my pouch and, after a second of rummaging, took out a curiously shaped, thumb-sized seed. It was light brown with a gleaming tip, and like many plants on this world, it was radiating an inner warmth. A quick look showed my karma was at a hundred and twelve, only occasionally increasing. I didn't think the whole city had used my title yet, so something else must be going on that had slowed the spread.
This had better be enough, I thought as I recalled what Antoni had told me.
According to him, this was the seed of a Blion tree, and he hated it when I took it and asked him what it was. It had taken a lot of convincing, eventually threats, before he would tell me what it did, and I hoped he hadn't lied. This was supposedly the only seed from the east in the entire city and exceptionally rare even in its native land. He'd said that sleeping below a full-grown tree would increase one's healing, at the cost of a long sleep. The similarity with my Sleep with the tree's spell hadn't escaped me. Also, eating the fruit it bore each spring worked rejuvenating, although he admitted he didn't know what that meant.
I'd planned on taking it to Steadfast, but looking at the stonites, I couldn't just leave them like this.
Perhaps I can harvest some seeds, I thought as I ran to the center of the square.
I bent over and jammed my fingers between the thick cobblestones, ripping stones away. The dirt beneath was flat, hard, and gritty, and I almost snapped my fingernails as I dug down. When the hole was hand deep, I put the seed inside and cast Sprout life.
The seed wiggled, then a reed-thin seedling grew up. It started out blueish, with silvery veins, but as I continued the main trunk quickly turned a warm brown. As soon as I felt the energy drain stop, I closed my eyes and averted my eyes. A burst of light came, followed by startled shouts from the stonites.
Should have warned them, I thought as the pings of my status began pouring in again.
As the tree grew, I inched back, feeling the smooth bark behind my hand turn rough like sandpaper. Five steps away, I still felt the tree grow, and by now, I was standing in its shade, gawking up. Perhaps I'd used the wrong tree to plug that hole? Ten seconds later, I was worrying if I should stop. I needed to keep some karma, but I also wanted to be sure the tree was fully grown, as that was the requirement. As I continued backing up, the karma-draining pings sped up, and I worriedly pulled up my status.
> 13/200 Karma
> 9/200 Karma
I cursed and pulled my hand back, staggering back. The tree in front of me continued growling for a few more moments, then stopped as I looked at my almost emptied karma. A second later, a ping came as my title was used as it went up by one again.
"Shit…the cost goes up exponentially," I muttered as I backed up to get a better view.
The large open square, its flat stone tile floor previously littered by stone and wall parts, had been ripped open by thick brown roots that arched up half a dozen feet in the air. In the center stood a tree that looked like the sequoia trees I'd read about during history, just not as tall. Its warm brown trunk was so wide I could have plugged one of the holes easily, while its thick blue and silvery canopy looked almost fake.
"Why didn't you put that one in the hole?"
I turned to Libidi, standing behind me, her arms filled with white cloth sheets. Behind her stood two women with graying hair and wrinkles, gaping at the tree.
"I didn't know it would be this big," I said. "Besides, we need it here, not that close to the enemies," I added, knowing I was right. It'd be a bit sad if they also used it on the other side!
"Now, let's hope it does what that slimy salesman said it would."
I moved towards the stonites, seeing that a dozen had slumped down, lying unmoving on the ground. The others were staring at me and the tree.
"Everyone, get up and lie down below the tree," I shouted as I stomped towards Bastian and carefully dragged him to his feet.
"That's a big tree," Bastian muttered. "What's it for?"
I looked up to see his eyes focus and unfocus, his face slack. He looked way worse than only a minute before.
"It should hopefully help you feel better," I said as I helped him forward. "Now it's time for you to have a little sleep."
Bastian shook his head, his eyes focusing on me. "No… the other parts of the city, the need to help, and-"
"Don't worry. It's my turn to play the hero," I said as I cut him off. "You guys are due a nice long rest. I'll take care of the rest."
I had no idea if I could back that up, but Bastian would be no use to anybody if he didn't heal up. He seemed to want to resist, then a shiver ran through him, and his eyes unfocused. I quickly led him forward. The roots lay below a thin layer of sand near the trunk, and I saw there was no spot to lie down without touching them.
That might be how it works, I thought. It made sense as most things that dealt with healing had to do with touching something.
I put Bastian on a large section of root. As soon as his head touched the dark brown wood, his eyes immediately glazed over, closed, and then his body relaxed. I inspected him but didn't see rapidly healing wounds or a magical glow.
Let's hope it works, I thought, suddenly no longer so sure of myself. What if this tree did something else? I inspected it, but I couldn't make out anything that seemed dangerous, not like most trees.
No use worrying now, I decided as I turned and began helping the others.
A few minutes later, most of the paltry few remaining Stonites lay below the tree. I'd even put those that looked dead below the tree on the off chance there was a spark of life remaining. Libidi and the two women moved between the wounded, cleaning up wounds and bandaging them.
"What now?" Libidi asked cooly as I jogged to her. "There is fighting at the south and west gate, and they are being overrun. I don't think making more trees will save this city."
I grunted as I thought of Casiron, and I wish I had the time to make him a big body. As my thoughts turned to that, it was like a light bulb went off in my head. My Vengeful spirits! I turned to the two women, stepping closer.
"Are there any big wooden statues in this city?" I asked.
The eldest of the two, a green-eyed woman with more gray than brown in her hair, frowned.
"Don't ya think this is a bad time to go sightseeing?" she snapped.
I blinked in surprise, then shook my head, trying to keep calm. "Just answer the question, please!"
Her eyes widened, and she snorted. She seemed not the least bit intimidated by me.
"Some of the rich'uns have wooden things from Antoni's," she said.
I shook my head in annoyance. I knew he had those things, but I needed something to bring to life!
The other woman inched forward, looking at the ground. "There's the foreign demon exhibition on the morning call square," she whispered. "Those are all made of wood."
"Where's that," I said, hope flaring up.
The older woman snorted again and pointed towards a road leading away from the square, towards the center of the city. "Just follow that road, and go straight. It'll lead you right there."
"Thanks," I said as I turned to Libidi. "Stay here and guard Bastian and the Stonites," I said.
"No. I'm going with you," she said with a shake of her head. "I've made a pledge to protect you, and I can't do that if you go off into danger."
"I'm not going into danger," I said, which was a bit of a lie, or at least a stretch. "And we can't leave them unguarded."
Libidi's face remained impassive as she shook her head.
"Stay here," I snapped, my temper flaring. "I know you want to protect me, but you will help me more if you make sure no assassin gets past us and kills the stonites while they heal!"
I held her cold glare, and there was a battle of our wills. For a moment, it looked like she would ignore me, then something surged inside my mind. Libidi blinked, then looked down and shrugged.
"Fine, but you are not allowed to get yourself killed."
"I'd not planned on it," I said as I turned.
"What are you going to do then?" she shouted from behind as I began running away.
"Make myself an army," I shouted as I sprinted towards the street the woman had pointed at.
