Leaf was hidden in the trees. His eyes, suffused with Ether, scanned through the forest brush for signs of movement. Days into their investigation, the archer was able to detect the fel beasts with just his enhanced hearing, but under the suggestions of Merida and Felix, he was now in the midst of training each of his senses individually in detecting the creatures. The plan was dangerous, but under the protection of an Expert Awoken like Felix and Merida, a Fifth Circle Druid, the risks were kept to a minimum.
His eyes narrowed upon picking up the slightest of shifts off into the distance. It was the twitch of a singular branch, but with all senses smothered except sight, it was like a spot of white had been splashed onto a canvas of black.
“They’re here!” He shouted. At least, he believed he did. Speaking while being unable to hear his own voice was still a struggle.
His shout triggered further movement, a dash that abandoned all pretenses of stealth. Four Crawlers leapt through the trees, their sallow frames now stark against the masses of snow and darkened wood. Were Leaf alone, he would have been worried about his shout drawing their attention to himself, but he knew that their instincts would make them go after a different target.
Helbram stood in the middle of a small patch of land that was clear of tree roots and had obvious openings in the trees to reach him. The warrior was in his armor and helmet, as usual, but he was now in possession of a new shield and modified gauntlet. However, despite the oncoming foes, his sword remained sheathed at his hip. This would have given Leaf cause for concern, but he knew that his companion had a plan.
It was dangerous and Leaf called him a fool for suggesting it, but he could only trust that his friend knew what he was doing.
The Crawlers closed in on Helbram’s location, drawn to what they perceived to be a lack of power amongst the group that patrolled the woods. The warrior, knowing of their approach, positioned himself to where none of the creatures would be able to leap at him from his flank or his back. As the four foes approached, Leaf nocked an arrow and infused it with a drop of his Ether. Helbram, for his part, kept his shield raised but also held up his free hand, fingers flexed like they were about to grab onto something.
Two of the Gaunths leapt through openings in the trees, the petals of their grotesque mouths already splayed open. Leaf loosed his arrow at one of them, landing the shot right behind a Crawler’s eye. The impact of the empowered projectile forced the fel beast’s now lifeless body to the side, making it hit and skip across the forest floor. The remaining one continued unabated towards his companion.
A small ball of pale blue light formed in Helbram’s hand, expanding from the size of marble to the shape of a spear. The weapon’s swirled pattern revealed itself once it shed its skin of light, but it did not rest long in the warrior’s hand. He snapped his hand forward and hurled the spear right into the Crawler’s mouth. The weapon pierced into the creature’s mangled maw and its body went limp. The warrior stepped to the side and let the corpse sail past him, his attention focused upon a Crawler that leapt at him from a lower angle
Helbram caught the creature’s charge with his shield, and Leaf could see that his companion was keeping his stance wide and body loose. This resulted in Helbram sliding back from the impact of the Gaunth, but remaining upright and with the proper leverage over the fel beast. The warrior ripped the shield to the side and drew his sword to bring it across the Crawler’s now exposed leg. His blade bit deep into its thigh, forcing it to favor its other leg. This did the creature little good, as the warrior found further leverage to push it off balance and fully expose its chest. He thrust his sword into the Gaunth’s ribcage and, with a strangled cry, the creature went still. Before he could pull his blade free, the final Crawler jumped from the trees and towards his flank.
Helbram dropped his sword and thrust his now free hand under his shoulder. His fingers flexed and light pulsed through his gauntlet. The spear that was impaled through the second Crawler’s body vanished with a snap of light and reappeared in his hand right when the Crawler was within range. The creature impaled itself upon the spear and Helbram dropped the weapon to roll out of the way. It hit the ground and squirmed in pain, its screeches choked as it tried to force sound around the weapon that stabbed into its gullet. Helbram snapped his hand to the side as his gauntlet pulsed with light again. Rather than summoning the spear back, he instead apparated his sword into his palm and drove it into the Crawler’s heart. The last of its life pooled into a puddle of green gore and stained the snow below its body. Light flared from his gauntlet again and the spear disappeared, summoned back into the enchanted gear.
Leaf scanned over the forest again, knowing that they were not out of danger yet. A wave of sickly green Aether tore through the forest and though his hearing was smothered, he still felt it. Cold fingers clawed and scratched over his mind, wavering his vision and twisting the forest into something more sinister. One again he was torn from the snow covered trees and forced into a mess of naked and twisted branches that wrapped around where he was perched. He shook his head to try and banish the sight from his mind, but if anything that only spurred his unconscious psyche into believing that it was real. His heart raced and he could feel a chill stab up his spine, unable to resist the fear that was forced into him. Even with his enhanced sight showing the clearly corrupted Aether poisoning his vision, nothing he did to resist it worked. His sense of control shattered, and the Ether released from his sight, cementing the illusion’s permanence in his mind. The thud of heavy footsteps thundered into his restored hearing, and he had to keep himself from screaming. His “father”, form twisted and bulbous, crashed through the trees, each step pounding into his psyche.
“WHERE ARE YOU, LEECH?” he roared. Leaf knew the words to be false, he knew the pain that they caused was magnified by the sickly energy that was pressing against him. That did not stop it from feeling real, from instilling a sense of sorrow and pain that rendered him inert. He could only shiver and watch his “father” lumber forward, attention focused on the only one in plain sight. When Leaf looked towards Helbram, he expected the worst.
This time, however, his friend was not huddled in fear.
The warrior’s body still trembled, but it moved with purpose. He reared his hand back as he pushed a few strides forward, summoning the spear into his grip. Helbram planted his foot upon the final step and threw the weapon, putting all of his body behind the motion. The spear cut through the air and brushed past the hulking figure of Leaf’s nightmare, and there was a brief moment where the archer had thought his friend missed. This belief was proven false as a pained scream shattered the illusion around him.
Gone were the twisted branches, replaced by the snow covered foliage of reality. Banished was the image of his “father” and in its place, the massive form of a Brute revealed itself. Leaf’s eyes cut to the source of the screaming, the sickly and grotesque form of a Shrieker that flailed in agony from the spear embedded into its chest. The form of Felix appeared right after, cleaving the creature’s head from its shoulders with a swing of his sword staff.
“Leaf!” Helbram shouted, drawing the archer’s attention back to him and the Brute.
The hulking creature’s lips splayed open and it let out a garbled roar, a prelude to the charge that it broke into. Instead of fleeing from the mass of muscle and claws barreling towards him, Helbram charged directly at it. His shield was raised, the runes along its edges glowing with green light. When he was within the Brute’s reach, it lashed out with a swipe of its sword-like claws. A glyph flared out from the face of Helbram’s shield, forming a barrier large enough to cover most of the warrior’s body. Light flared from the ward once the Brute’s claws struck it and it absorbed most of the force behind the swing. What remained was used against the massive Gaunth as Helbram twisted and pushed the blow off to the side. Sword now in hand, Helbram cleaved into the creature’s ankle and skirted around its side to land another blow against its flank. The slashes left shallow cuts along the Brute’s thick skin, but provoked the fel beast into directing all its attention upon the warrior.
Leaf smacked himself to bring his senses back into focus and leapt from the branches. Ether reinforced his legs before landing, allowing him to spring from the ground and clear the distance between him and Helbram within a few paces. The warrior met his eyes for only a brief moment, but that was all it took for them to fall into each other’s rhythm.
Helbram blocked another blow from the Brute with his barrier and slid under its arm to land a blow right at its armpit. Leaf ran to the opposite side of the creature and loosed a shot into the Gaunth’s heel. He heard a pop as the arrow pierced a tendon, but that had not slowed the aberration enough. Both archer and warrior danced around the Brute, whittling the creature down with continuous strikes. With the aid of his new shield, Helbram was able to weather the heavy blows from their foe. His constant strikes forced the Brute to pay attention to him, which allowed Leaf to be more accurate with his shots. More and more arrows pocked the Gaunth’s hide, reinforced by Ether so that they sank deep into the aberration’s joints and tendons.
The massive creature’s movements began to slow with every new wound, and soon Helbram did not even need his shield to avoid its attacks. With a flex of his hand, his sword flashed with light and disappeared. At the same time, he slipped his shield behind him and let go. The small disc of steel at his back flared with green light and pulled the shield towards it. It snapped into place on his back, which then allowed him to grip the spear that he summoned with both of his hands. The warrior ducked a wild swig from the Brute’s claws and stepped in. He drove the spear into the side of the aberration’s knee, which was the final blow that stopped the creature’s legs from moving. Leaf forced a large quantity of Ether into an arrow and loosed it into the Brute’s other knee, shattering its knee cap with a loud crack. A roar attempted to rip from the Gauth’s lips, but it was choked by a branch that wrapped around its throat.
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Yellow Aether surged through the tree limb as it pulled, tearing the fel beast from its feet and slamming it onto the forest floor. Felix appeared right after, his sword staff infused with blood red energy as it cleaved into the Brute’s arms, severing them from its shoulders. Again the creature tried to scream, but that only made the branch around its throat tighten. More reached down from the trees, wrapping around the Gaunth’s legs to keep it in place. When it was unable to move, Merida emerged from the brush. A grim look was in the Druid’s eyes, but she shared a nod with all of the group before they gathered around the struggling creature.
Helbram retracted the spear back into his gauntlet and summoned a dagger into his fingers. Leaf pulled his own from where it was strapped to his waist while Felix cracked his knuckles, infusing his hands with steel gray Ether.
Leaf readied his knife and stepped onto the Brute. “Let’s see what makes this fucker tick.”
The group found themselves within The Tree’s Root and looking over their diagrams once again. The different Gaunth types now had many more labels to them, pointing to different parts of their bodies that frequent clashes had revealed to be weak points. The one image that was sparse of such information was the Brute, but their recent encounter was about to change that.
Leaf picked up a pencil and tapped the drawing’s large head. “First things first, all these shite-eaters are weak inside their skulls.”
“True, but aside from their roaring or when they try to feed, Brutes do not tend to open their mouths very often,” Helbram added. “They do seem to be aware of this to some degree, as the ones that we ran into without the aid of a Shrieker were more prudent about doing such actions.”
“It is good to know, but not entirely reliable if we wish to dispatch them quickly,” Felix said. He tapped a thin stick against the Brute’s chest. “Unlike the Crawler’s, the skin at their front is quite thick, making direct strikes with melee weapons less than ideal if we wish to deal significant damage.”
“I can’t say arrows were doin’ much better,” Leaf admitted. “Even when they were empowered, it didn’t really look like it was havin’ much of an effect.”
“It is due to the plate of bone protecting their hearts,” Helbram said, “when you combine that with their thick hides, most attacks from the front - from those that are not higher level casters or Awoken - will be ineffective.” He scratched the side of his chin. “I cannot say how effective a firearm would be, in this case.”
A shiver trailed up Leaf’s spine as he recalled the amount of cutting needed to reveal a Brute’s organs.
“If it was enough to block an arrow infused with Ether, then a single shot would not do much,” Felix answered. “Camilla’s testing also reveals that the plates along their back and head are much hardier than a Crawler’s. A single shot is enough to break the smaller ones’ armor, but with the Brutes… three to four are needed, and they need to be close to the same place.” He sighed. “A constant stream of firepower would most likely put them down, but we do not have the resources for such a strategy.”
Merida used her staff to tap the Brute’s sides. “Which is why we must focus any attacks at their flanks. Easier said than done, I know, but their skin is thinner in these areas.”
“That, and any bones that may be protecting vital organs are only forward facing,” Helbram pointed out. “If we were to attack their heart from here…” he drew a circle over a spot on the Brute’s flank that was closest to its heart, “then we have a good chance of putting them down.”
“The most reliable method would be with a spear or sword,” Felix said. “Arrows and bullets could do a similar job, in theory, but as practiced as my men are in firearms, there are only a few that could make such a shot. It’s not as if the Brute will stand still for them, either.”
“You are right, but that is still a problem for those trying to get in close…” Helbram drummed his fingers together. “Even if they are part of a hivemind, they are also easily provoked. Someone, or multiple people, could use that to distract the creature while someone sneaks their blade in from the side.”
“They will need to be doing this while also under attack from Crawlers and dealing with Shriekers,” Merida reminded them. “They may have clear stages to their attacks, but that has only been with smaller groups of them. We have little idea how a larger scale conflict will turn out.”
“Right… have the enlightened beasts revealed anythin’ from what they’ve fought?” Leaf asked.
“Only that the Gaunths in the main area of corruption are much more aggressive.” She motioned to the large portion of the map that was shaded over. “The ones that we have been fighting are most likely scouting parties.”
“Hence the sequence of their assaults,” Helbram rubbed his chin. “However, given how much we have fought them, I believe we can conclude that while they have some measure of tactics, they do not have the mental capacity to adjust them.”
“What makes you say that?” Leaf asked.
“For one, their hive mind nature means that they would be sharing all information at all times. This means that even if one perished, the rest of the hive should be aware of how that one died and the sequences leading up to it. With such information, you would be able to come up with some sort of counter strategy. Despite that, the Gaunth’s have continued to attack us as they normally would, which means that their ‘tactics’ do not go far beyond instinctual behavior.”
“That, or they are waiting until they have fully devised a strategy to reveal it,” Felix countered. “Catching your opponent off guard by playing the fool can be very effective when played at the right time.”
“You are not wrong there…” Helbram frowned. “We had best not engage them too much with any strategies we come up with then, in case they learn to adapt.”
“Aye, though we still need to learn more about Shriekers,” Leaf said. “They’re a fragile bunch, but godsdammit if they aren’t effective.” He looked at Helbram, a question building at the back of his mind, but he saved it for later.
“Perhaps we should involve Jahora and Elly,” Merida suggested. “They have just finished fortifying the warehouse.”
Helbram’s fingers drummed against the table and a frustrated expression started to form on his face. He let it go and shook his head. “That makes the most sense, I am sure those two would be able to come up with something.”
“No doubt,” Leaf agreed. He scanned over the map again, focusing on the main area of corruption. “In the meantime, I think it’s high time I got to sniffin’ about.”
“Leaf, I do not know if that-”
“I think I’ve seen enough. I know where to shoot them, and I know how to find them… for the most part.”
Frustration sparked in Helbram’s eyes once again. “You cannot go at it alone, at the very least.”
Leaf scoffed. “I know that, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sneak around if you’re goin’ to be followin’ after me in that clunky armor of yours.” He looked at Merida. “Do you think Geroth can spare some time from defendin’ the perimeter?”
The Druid made an uncertain gesture. “I will have to speak with him about it, but it would be the fastest option…”
Helbram closed his eyes, sighed, then relented. “Just do not put yourself in unnecessary danger.”
“Of course not, when have you known me to be reckless?” He tilted his head. “More reckless than you are.”
His companion shook his head, but did not press any further. “Felix, you and Merida will be with Jahora and Elly, then?”
The Huntsman nodded.
“Then they will be in good hands… I will start to come up with some tactics of our own in the meantime. It would be more expedient for me to do so now.” The frown on his face told Leaf that Helbram didn’t like the decision, but it was the most logical choice.
“I will let Pius know the plan,” Felix said. “It would be best for you to collaborate with him regarding the men.”
“Understood.”
With a plan set, the group stepped away from the table. Merida and Felix left the tavern to do their tasks, leaving Helbram and Leaf alone.
“Leaf… are you sure that you will be alright?”
Reflex almost made Leaf say yes immediately, but he smothered the impulse. “For the most part. I’m still worried about the Shriekers.”
Helbram raised an eyebrow, then motioned for Leaf to sit at the bar. A pot of tea, still lukewarm, sat on the counter, and Helbram poured two cups before handing Leaf one. “What do you see when they make themselves known?”
Leaf swirled the cup. “My father… a monstrous, cruel version of him. The things that he says… they hurt. I know it's mostly because of magic, but it guts me harder than any knife could and,” he scoffed, “and part of me wants to think it’s true.”
“In reality, is it what you know to be actually true?”
He shook his head. “No, it’s furthest thing from it. That doesn’t matter in the moment though.”
“I think it does,” Helbram said.
Leaf gave him a questioning look, but let his friend continue.
“Aether is a powerful force, there is no doubt about that, but often we forget the strength of plain reality. In the face of illusions, it is that truth that is our greatest weapon.” Helbram took a sip from his cup. “It requires a certain degree of will, yes, but so long as we hold the truth in our minds and maintain it at the forefront, then said illusions will crumble before us.”
“Is that how you’re able to stand against it?”
Helbram gave a bitter laugh. “What I have done is not something I would ever tell anyone else to do. In this case, I would say it is far better to do as I say, not as I do. From what you have told me, I do not think that your parents would ever think to harm you with words or otherwise.”
“...you’re right, they wouldn’t.”
“So remember that, Leaf. Despite what other forces would have you believe, hold onto the truth and let that be your guiding light.” Helbram smiled. “With your skills, maintaining reality should be a simple affair, would it not?”
Leaf looked down at his untouched cup. “Sometimes… I wonder if you see a different person than what I see in the mirror.”
His friend clasped his shoulder with a firm grip. “I am merely speaking the truth, and in the face of whatever lies you choose to speak of yourself, my grip over it is ironclad.”
Despite an impulse to disagree, Leaf chuckled. “And you call me stubborn?”
“I do, but I cannot have you besting me in even that, can I?” He finished his tea and stood up. “I should start strategizing, the more ideas I have the better.”
Helbram gave him a pat on the back and walked towards the rooms. Before his friend turned the corner, Leaf had one last question to ask.
“What do you see, Helbram? What does the Shrieker use to torment you?”
Helbram stopped, his hand resting against the corner. He did not back at Leaf, but said a single word before walking out of sight.
“Reality.”
Author's Note: This chapter is mainly just to showcase some more progress against the Gaunths. I didn't want Helbram's struggles and angst to be drawn out for too long since that is 1.) Extremely boring to write and 2.) Is just plain out of character for Helbram. He, of course, hasn't gotten completely over what's happening, but something I don't want happening often for him is to render him useless due to conflicting emotions. He has a TON of them, don't get me wrong, but I never want that to be something that prevents him from acting. That can really slow down a plot, and for an Arc focused structure that Hedge Knight has, that's a terrible move. However, I still wanted to show that he is still not fully over it, since that feels more realistic to me.
Anyways, let me know what you think! Till next update, have a wonderful time!
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