Lurkers Within the Vashner Forest
"Bastards," I muttered to myself as I idly kicked a stray stone at my feet. The stone hit the base of a tree a few meters in front of me, ricocheting off of the trunk before almost pelting me in the stomach. I didn't even flinch. I kept putting one booted foot right in front of the other as I grumbled, "Fools and cheats, the lot of them. Can't wait for the day I see their heads on pikes."
Of course, I knew I wouldn't ever see that day. The miles of wilderness that separated me from the nearest town of Hepstuin would see me dead long before it would see those damned traitors pay for their crimes. I doubted very much that I would ever see the edge of the expanse of trees encompassing me. The lidless eye of the sun above had rarely shed warmth on a man or woman that had traveled through the Vashner Forest alone and lived to tell of it.
I jumped as I heard a sharp snapping sound to my left. Turning, I gazed into an impenetrably thick wall of undergrowth, trying my best to see what had made the sound. Even as I tried to catch a glimpse of what had made the sound, thoughts of thieves, murderers, and Sharash tribesmen trounced their way into my head. Yet, I saw no sign of anything that looked humanlike. With my ears pricked, I thought I heard the faint sound of a low growl like that of a blood-thirsty predator. The hairs on my neck began to prickle as I remembered the tales I had heard of the monstrous beasts that lived within the Vashner forests. People said there were wolves the size of bears that wore their prey's bones as trophies and lizards of equal size with infectious bites who left nothing of their victims when they attacked. While I knew that hearing a growl would likely mean I was mere moments from becoming some creature's meal, at least I would know that I wouldn't be eaten by a Vellarob.
Even as I watched the underbrush, I could have sworn that I saw some of the vines moving slowly, like massive snakes searching for their next meal. Rumor had it that even some of the plants nearest the center of the forest could use their vines to ensnare prey that they would slowly drag down into the soil where they would be allowed to decompose and nourish the ravenous plant. Though I hadn't seen anything like that since I had started living in the forest, I wouldn't be surprised if such a thing existed.
Though I thought I continued to hear growling and see faint movements within the dense cluster of plant life, nothing openly came out to attack me. Eventually, I forced myself to keep moving. Trying to ignore how the hairs on my neck continued to prickle, I began searching for something to occupy my thoughts. Unfortunately, the only thought that came to mind was how I had entered this forest to try and escape my past so I could start from zero when I knew I would be assumed dead. Now, I couldn't help but think that it would have been simpler if I had let Tamarathian law see my head severed from my body.
Another snapping sound rang out through the forest like the crackling of bones. It caused my blood to run still. I bolted in the opposite direction, sweat trickling down my neck, my pulse in my ears. I had barely made it twenty meters when I felt my foot catch on a loose root below me, causing me to teeter. Though I fought desperately to regain my balance, I was far too late to correct my stance. I tumbled forward, flipping over in the air as I did, only to come crashing down on my shoulders and back. I blinked, staring up at the canopy of branches above. Only the light that bled through tiny breaks in the foliage revealed that the sun rode high in the sky. All else was an oppressive shade that stilled the vary winds, hushing them to faint whispers that traveled from tree to tree, gossiping about my misfortune and laughing leafily.
I lay my head back and closed my eyes as I waited for whatever was stalking me to put me out of my misery. After laying on the ground for several minutes, I winced as I began to notice that something was pressed uncomfortably into the back of my upper calf. Rolling over to free it from my weight, I felt the object follow me in my roll, smacking my hip lightly as it did. Reaching a hand to where it rested against my thigh, I pulled out the half-forgotten knife I had been left with. I say half-forgotten, but a better term might be ignored. After all, you didn't merely forget when someone you once trusted let you have something little better than a shiv and calls it a mercy.
Even as I lay there, eyes closed, I could practically see his smug smile Talnac had worn when he had handed me the pitiful excuse for a knife, saying, "Here, take this with you. You're welcome to use it if you'd rather end your own wretched life than be eaten alive by some beast or Sharashman. Call it a mercy from a friend."
"Damn him," I growled, my face growing hot as rage and self-pity flooded me, "Damn him. Damn him. Damn him!"
At my words, I heard the wind move through the trees once more as rustled laughter followed in its wake. The forest knew the truth as well as I did. I could curse Talnac all I wanted, but it wouldn't change a thing. In the end, I was the one damned to die in the heart of this forsaken forest. Perhaps it would be better to take Talnac's mercy and severe my mortal chord of my own volition rather than wait in fear for the inevitable.
No, not like this, a part of me thought as my fingers stroked the hilt of the knife, I won't let the people who betrayed me have any say in my death. A fire seemed to ignite within me at these words. I found myself drawn to that fire and found that more words crackled forth from the embers. Come what may, I thought bitterly, Let this forest claim me if it will. I will not bow to it, though. I will not walk willingly like a lamb to the slaughter.
Grasping onto that thought, I shakily got to my feet. I then began to walk once more, suppressing a shuttering sigh. I tried to focus on what I would need to survive the night as I walked. Judging by how my lips scraped against each other like a boot against a rock, I knew one of the first things I was going to need was water. Fortunately, the Vashner forest was full of rivulets and creeks. Unfortunately, most were where life in the forest often congregated. I knew that running into anything territorial would mean death as I only had a blade that spanned half a palm to defend myself with. Pulling my knife from its sheath, I pressed further into the forest.
I eventually came to hear the sound of rushing water an hour or so later. It was hard to tell with the oppressive shade constantly overhead. I slowed my pace as I drew nearer, doing my best to keep the sound of my footsteps to a whisper. As I reached the edge of the clearing, I crouched down at the base of a tree trunk. I peered out on either side of the tree trunk, scanning its banks for any signs of life. By some miracle, it seemed that I was alone. I cautiously approached the stream, my knuckles white against the hilt of my knife.
The air by the stream was cool and clean. It was more than a little tempting to find a soft spot of ground and relax for what felt like the first time in months. I knew I couldn't risk stopping, though. Too many creatures would inevitably make their way here for the same reasons I had. No, waiting here would be as foolish as waiting in a bear's den for the beast to return. Still, seeing that I appeared to be alone, I did allow myself a small drink from the running waters. The cool water was more refreshing than words could describe. It was a sharp relief from the stifling heat I had endured since the sun had first risen this morning.
Even as I drank, I heard a rustling sound behind me. Whirling around, I looked over my shoulder to see a rat slightly smaller than a housecat darting from tree to tree as it scavenged for its next meal. I watched it warily, my hand on my knife. While the rats in this forest weren't typically a danger save for the disease they carried, I had seen some try and gnaw on the feet of my old crew in their sleep. If the bleeding things were hungry enough, they would even try and snack on us while we were awake, too. This one didn't seem to be too pressed for food, however. It merely scampered to the same river I was drinking from and lowered its head to begin drinking. Less concerned by the rat, I returned to my own drink.
When I finally stopped guzzling water long enough to gulp down some air instead, I found myself wishing that I still had my old waterskin. If I could carry a bit of water with me, I could afford to explore the forest more. I could potentially find a relatively secluded spot to make camp. But of course, I didn't have my waterskin. My old crew had taken it with them with everything else I had owned save the clothes on my back. I couldn't help but grind my teeth at the thought of how unfairly I had been treated. Still, I couldn't let that distract me now. I needed to tend to my other needs now that my thirst had been quenched. If I were going to stand a chance to surviving the night, I was going to need fire and shelter. Both would offer me some measure of protection against the freezing night to come and the creatures I knew would be on the hunt once the sunset. I just had to hope that it was going to be enough to see even just one more sunrise.
Glancing over at the rat to see what it was up to, I was horrified to find that the rat had been replaced by a long coil of scales that was almost double my wingspan in length. Even as I stared at the pile of scales, I spotted its head happily gulping down the lower half of the rat. Getting uneasily to my feet, I slowly backed away from the snake and began walking in the other direction. While I knew I would have to travel along this river to find the resources I would need to survive the night, I wasn't about to get any nearer to a venomous creature like that.
Putting all the survival skills I had acquired over my brief eighteen years of life to use, I began searching the riverbank for signs of glasslike rocks. I knew from firsthand experience that you could find flint along rivulets like this one. The water that flowed through them had a tendency to wear the rocks down to the point that they split open and revealed flint deposits. Sure enough, after almost an hour of searching, I found exactly what I was looking for. I picked up a slab of glassy black shard of rock. It didn't quite span the palm of my hand in either width or length, but it would be enough to strike a spark from. That was good enough for me. It was time to find some shelter.
The trouble with finding shelter was that I knew I couldn't stray too far from the river. I worried that I might not find the water source if I wandered away from it. During the past month of travel and robbery with my old crew, I had seen how easy it was to get lost in the Vashner woods. If there was a time that we had returned to a body of water while traveling through the woods, none of us had known it. So instead, I contented myself to stay just close enough to the stream that I felt confident that I would be able to return to drink from its depths whenever I needed.
That also meant that I wouldn't be able to find any natural shelter from the wind and weather that might come tonight. Having experienced several rainstorms since I first entered the forest, I knew the tangled mass of leaves and branches overhead wouldn't keep me dry. Just the thought of those storms caused me to shudder. Had I decided to fling myself into the river I had just come from and spend the rest of the day swimming, I think I still would have come away drier than I ever did whenever it rained here.
With a sigh, I found a tree so wide around that I wouldn't have been able to wrap my arms around it, I began clawing at a patch of ground that seemed devoid of its python-sized roots. As I pawed at the ground, I felt dirt fill the space between finger and nail and felt my digits protest at the sensation. Still, I continued to dig. When the dirt had completely filled any crevasses in my hands it could find, I felt it begin to chafe and scrape against my flesh, treating holes into it. Even as I focused my attention on the earth I molded beneath me, I saw blood begin to mix with the soil as it welled up like red tears where my skin was torn. Still, I continued to dig. I dug until I had carved out a shallow trench at the base of the tree large enough for me to conceal half of my body's profile if I lay prone. Satisfied, I then got up and began collecting leaves and branches, which I would need for both the fire and to put the finishing touches on my small shelter.
As I collected more materials for fire and shelter, I found myself having to snap off larger branches to supplement the sticks and twigs that littered the forest floor. I didn't bother with my knife whenever I broke these overhanging branches. From the amber color that just managed to permeate the leafy expanse above, I knew that my time was short. Still, the loud cracks that each branch made as it snapped had me looking over my shoulder constantly. I was sure the noise was going to attract the attention of some monster lurking just out of sight. Whenever silence would follow these ominous cracks, my stomach would lurch as I remembered what I had learned the first day I had arrived in the forest. Vellarobs are silent hunters. The only time you'll hear them make a sound is when their chelicerae clacked together. Even as I collected wood for my shelter and fire, I felt a sense of dread creep into my stomach as the feeling of being watched seemed to intensify.
When I had collected as many sticks, twigs, branches, and leaves as I could carry, I returned to my small trench. I set my supplies down and began to sprinkle some of the leaves I had collected into the small impression I had dug earlier, hoping that the leaves would help reflect some measure of heat back up to me in the night, having no blanket to insolate my body heat. I lay several branches along the tree's base and some of its gnarled, python-like roots to create a simple lean-to that concealed the man-sized hole I would be sleeping in that night. I hoped that the wall of wood I was creating would help conceal me from anyone or anything that came wondering my way tonight.
With my small shelter made, I took the rest of the wood and used it to build a small, conical shape that surrounded the kindling I had been able to collect. I then took the piece of flint I had found and began striking it with my knife, eventually shaving off enough sparks to get the fire going. Even as the embers began to rise to meet the rest of the fuel I had gathered, I couldn't help but smile. Now, even if I died tonight, at least I wouldn't freeze to death. But there was another reason I smiled. Even if I died tonight, I would at least be taking a small portion of this damned forest with me. I welcomed the warmth that started to emanate from the fire and allowed myself to relax for the first time since I had entered the forest. What would come would come, and I would meet it when it did.
#
The next thing I remembered was a quiet snap beneath a booted heel. I sat bolt upright, rubbing at my bleary eyes with one hand as I pulled my knife out of its sheath with the other. I cursed myself a fool. I had allowed myself to get too comfortable by my fire and had fallen asleep rather than in the safety of my shelter. I glanced over at the fire and noticed that it still burned, though perhaps not as merrily as it had before I had succumbed to my exhaustion. The flames teetered hither and thither like drunkards at the end of the night, looking for anything to support their lumbering movements. All was still now, save for the occasional crackling of my slowly dying fire. It wasn't right.
I got to my feet, knife raised as I called out into the now darkened forest, saying, "No use hiding now. I know you're there."
My statement was met with a defiant silence.
"Show yourself," I called out again, "Or I promise to plunge my knife right through your hide and into your horrid heart."
This time, there was a rustle from just out of sight. I readied myself, solidifying my stance, knowing I would need to strike hard and fast if I wanted the fight to end in my favor. Yet even as I prepared to lunge at whatever was making its way towards me, I found myself completely caught off guard when my eyes were met not with the painted face of a sharashman but by the fair face of a woman. To say she was fair didn't do her justice. Her features were soft and delicate, without so much as a blemish save a slight peppering of freckles around her cheeks. Even at a distance, her mouth seemed to be the color of strawberry even though it was clear she didn't wear any makeup. With hair the color of blood that complimented a navy-blue dress whose golden embroidery formed the outline of roses all along its length, this woman was the noblest thing I had ever seen in my life. She would have looked even more ladylike if it weren't for the steel spear she carried.
I lowered my knife to my side in relief as I whistled and said, "Well, I'll be skewered and spit-roasted like a pig. If I'd have known that I was talking to a woman as beautiful as you, I wouldn't have threatened to stab you with this pathetic shiv."
"Is that so?" She asked, her eyes narrowed like a hawk's.
"Sure is." I then winked at her and said, "I have something much larger I could use to pierce your hide if that was something you wanted."
At this, the woman lowered her spear and charged straight at me, yelling like a warrior about to fell a foe. I spun out of the way of her spear's tip, wondering what in Nyotal's name I had done to provoke her. Spinning around to face me once more, I could see that the woman's eyes were hard and full of hate. Going for broke, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "You know that was a joke, right."
Rather than reply, she yelled and charged again, running at me as she screamed like a Sharashman performing a ritual. As she ran, I noticed that her form wasn't half bad. I was still able to dodge past her thrust, but it was a near thing. Had I not been as accustomed to fights as I was, I likely would have ended up skewered, and judging by how crazed this woman was, she just might have spit-roasted me if that happened.
"Ordinarily, I would love nothing more than to let you explore my body, but seeing you trying to do it with a spear is kind of putting me off at the moment, "I said as she turned to face me again.
"Is that another one of your jokes?" She asked, her teeth bared.
"More an observation, though a witty one, I suppose."
"More like witless," She said, thrusting the spear on the last syllable. I jumped back to avoid it puncturing my chest. In her haste to poke a hole through me, the woman overreached and almost lost her balance. Seeing an opportunity, I grabbed part of the spear and pulled. The woman clung to the spear, just barely managing to keep her footing as I pulled her to within a few paces of myself.
"Now, now, now," I said with my most charming smile, "I think we got off on the wrong foot here. After all, we're both clearly doing our best to survive this hell of a forest, and I think we could help each other. Why don't we sit down next to my fire and talk things out?"
"Wrong foot?" The woman hist, a stay stand of that blood-red hair falling into her face, "Wrong Foot! I'll show you a wrong foot!"
And she did, kicking at me with her left foot. I caught the kick with my right hand just before it struck my head. I held it there, keeping her off balance as I asked, "I'm sorry, milady, but that pun was terrible. Not that puns are ever good, mind you."
"What's wrong with puns?" The woman demanded, her face flushed, "They require a good deal more effort than sex jokes."
"I don't know about that," I said, smirking, "Some of the best sex jokes require quite a bit of effort. Almost an entire night's worth in some cases."
The woman rolled her grass-green eyes as she sighed, "Mental effort. They require mental effort. They require linguistic knowledge, contextual knowledge, and an ability to blend the two."
"True," I admitted, "Yet most people don't find them funny. Why do you think that is?"
"I have no idea."
"Want to hear mine?"
"Sure," She said in a tone of such utter resignation that I couldn't help but smile, "It's not like I have anything better to do than listen to you prattle on about puns as we grapple over my spear."
I cocked an eyebrow at her at this. The grappling she had described had long since ended. Now that I had her foot in my hand and had her practically balancing on the points of her toes, there was no doubt that I had won the grapple. Still, I didn't point this out. I was having too much fun teasing her. It's funny how confronting your own mortality reminds you just how wonderful it is to tease a beautiful woman. "Here's what I think," I said, adopting the tone my master would often use around me when he lectured, "Puns require a certain amount of wit to be done well, it's true. However, they lack the tension that most other jokes, sex jokes included, utilize. Now, what fun would life be without a little tension."
As I said this, the woman and I locked eyes. We stared at each other. It wasn't until several seconds passed that I realized I was unabashedly gawking at her, drawn in by the way her hardened expression had started to wind its way into the faintest of smiles. I felt a slight amount of color flood my cheeks. I glanced down immediately without thinking. Unfortunately, even as I looked down, I stared straight down at the fine, pale leg I held in my hand. I noticed that where before a dress had covered most of the leg, nothing concealed the bare skin save a bit of black lace.
"What are you looking at?" The woman demanded, her voice a little shrill.
"Nothing," I said, as I turned my head the other way, "I didn't see anything."
Wham! I felt the woman's other leg collide solidly with a spot between my legs. I let go of both her and the spear as I curled up into a ball on the ground. I heard her get to her feet and pick up the spear as she said, "Now I'm really going to kill you."
I felt her come to stand just next to me. Opening a watery eye, I saw that her spear, glinting in the light of the fire, hung just a few centimeters above my head.
"Any last words, scoundrel?"
Even as she spoke, I heard a faint rustling coming from the trees she had emerged from. "What was that sound?" I asked, jerking my head in the direction of the trees.
"You can't be dense enough to think I would fall for a ploy as obvious as that, do you?"
"I'm being ser-"
Before I could finish my sentence, a many-legged monster barreled its way towards us from the trees. Spear-girl sprang back from me in an attempt to escape the monster's charge, giving me just enough time to roll out of its way. Even as I rolled, I caught a glimpse of the creature's horrendous body. The thing looked like some twisted artist's mural to death. It was as long as nearly ten horses lined up end to end and as thick as a city wall. Its entire body was crusted in carapace except for a few segments around the legs and joints, which showed an elastic, oily body underneath. Rolling so that I came up on one knee, I looked back at the creature only to find myself even further disgusted. The carapace that surrounded the creature wasn't uniform. Instead, I could see the outlines of skulls and bones cemented in place all around the monster's massive length. Some of the bones were animalistic in nature, but some were clearly human. These ones were often accompanied by oblong, carapace protrusions that looked like swords and spears.
Looking to see where spear-girl had gone, I was horrified to find that she was standing in front of the things horrible face, staring into its many eyes as it showed her its chelicerae, each one the size of my leg. Before I knew it, I was running straight for the horrible beast that had attacked us, the creature I knew as a Vellarob. I'm not sure what made me run straight for the beast rather than flee the other way. Maybe it was the way spear-girl's spear hung limply at her side, forgotten. Maybe it was the pleading in her eyes as she faced death itself. Whatever had driven me, it was strong enough to force me to pull my knife out, grab a burning branch as I ran, and come to stand between spear-girl and the Vellarob.
"Hey," I shouted at the terrifying monstrosity, waving my burning branch in front of its many-eyed face, "Hey, come follow me. Come eat me. I taste much better than that willowy thing over there."
My words seemed to shake spear-girl out of her trance as she cried, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to save your life, spear-girl. Now, if you want to live, I suggest running."
"Spear-girl? I'll have you know that my name is-"
But before she could finish whatever she had wanted to say, I sprinted to the side of the Vellarob, smacking it in the face with my branch. The Vellarob snapped its chelicerae together angrily. Its head twisted around as it began following me, its body starting to curl up like a snake's. I tried to run the length of it, looking for an escape. Just as I was bout to run past the thing's tail, its horrendous head lunged at me, its fanged chelicerae almost stabbing my shoulder. I felt a rush of movement by it as I ducked out of the way, my heart beating wildly. If one of those managed to break any part of my skin, I knew it would all be over. The Vellarob's bite sent its victims into a paralyzed state so it could swallow them whole, digesting them for hours.
The Vellarob launched at me again. This time, I beat it over the face with my still-burning stick. There was a large crack as my pitiful weapon shattered on the squishy face. The Vellarob backed away, clacking its chelicerae together in annoyance as it sized me up with its ten eyes. I could see myself reflected in those beady, black eyes. I stood with a broken branch the size of my fist in one hand and my pitiful excuse for a knife in the other. It was clear to both the Vellarob and me that this fight was finished. It clacked its fangs together once more before striking at me with the blow I knew would end my life. I sighed and accepted the inevitable. My life had been short and miserable, full of failure. Though I had tried to run from my failures, there was only so far you could run before they caught up to you. Now, mine had.
As I waited for the inevitable sting of the Vellarob's fangs, I heard a strange sound. It sounded almost like a cat shrieking as it chased down a fieldmouse. The sound drew nearer until I finally caught sight of its source. It was spear-girl! She was running down the Vellarob just as she had done with me, her spear clutched tightly in both hands as she let out a shrill yell far more akin to that of a warrior woman than a lady. The Vellarob, too focused on consuming me, didn't notice her until her spear plunged its way into its fleshy face. The creature stopped just short of me, rearing its head as it writhed in pain.
Seeing the moment as a window of opportunity, I bellowed to spear-girl, "Keep this thing distracted for me, will you?"
"Are you nuts?" She asked as she wrenched her spear out of the creature's face, causing the Vellarob to ooze an orange slime from its wound, "We need to run."
"We can't outrun this thing. Just trust me on this," I said as I started running along the Vellarob's side again, "I have a plan."
"You'd better," She shouted back as she took my place in front of the Vellarob, "If you don't, you can bet I fight through the thing's paralysis venom just to strangle you while we're both digested in this thing's stomach."
Grinning despite myself, I ran to where I had seen a carapace-covered spear jutting out of the Vellarob's body. Jumping up to grab onto the spear, I was horrified as one of my hands immediately slipped off the smooth carapace. Holding on with one hand, I reached the other back up to the spear, this time managing to get a proper hold on it. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Vellarob's head arching as it prepared to strike at spear-girl. Knowing I didn't have much time before it eventually managed to inject her with some of its venom, I clambered onto the spear, praying it would hold my weight. Mercifully, the carapace was strong enough to support my weight. Moving as carefully as possible, I positioned myself in the knock where the spear jutted out from the rest of the Vellarob's body.
Knowing I only had one shot, I jumped. I just had enough height in my jump to crest the top of the Vellarob's body with the upper half of my own. I scrambled to find some sort of handhold as I tried to pull myself up, eventually finding some as I grabbed onto the carapace outlines of bones. Once I was safely on top of the Vellarob's back, I sprinted along its long, snakelike body to where its head was, pulling out my knife as I went. As I approached the head, I could see spear-girl dancing for her life down below. Her spear lay abandoned on the ground as she dodged this way and that to avoid being bitten. When at last I was within reach of the beast's head, I knelt down and plunged my knife into one of its ten eyes. The Vellarob arched its back in a silent scream as its eye began to leak that same orange slime. I pulled my knife out and stabbed down, again and again, puncturing each eye with the knife until it was completely blind. Seeing what I was doing, spear-girl picked up her spear and began stabbing every inch of its squishy face she could get to. One of these blows went straight through the center of the monster's head with a sickening squelch. When Spear-girl pulled her weapon from the hole she had created, the creature fell forward, almost crushing her and knocking me off of its back in the process. From there, it lay still.
I lay on my back, too stunned to move, hardly daring to believe our luck. It wasn't until several minutes passed by that I had the strength to get back up on my feet and see what had become of Spear-girl. Moving past the now dead Vellarob, I found her on the other side, cleaning the orange innards off of her spear.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
Spear-girl shrugged, not bothering to look up from her cleaning as she said, "Stick around long enough, and you just might learn." Continuing to shine her spear by rubbing the gore off on the hem of her dress, she said, "Thick as you are, you were right earlier when you suggested coming to some sort of agreement to work together. I dare say the only way we're going to survive this accursed place is by working together."
When at last she had polished her spear to the point of shining once more, she looked up and said, "My name's Vivianna, by the way. Yours?"
"Horace."
"Well, Horace, I don't expect either of us will survive long without sleep. Would you be a gentleman and keep watch first?" She asked, her eyes narrowed as she waited for my response.
"It would be an honor, milady," I said, bowing deeply before going to tend the fire. Even as I fed a stick to the embers of my once great fire, I was still trying to make sense of this strange night. I had finally managed to convince this girl, this Vivianna, I could be of some use, and all it had taken was killing one barn-sized monster together.