EverBright: The Darkness Pool

Interlude:

The beautiful blackness spread further and faster as the Vorlox rested. The ring of death that surrounded its burrow comforted it. It was almost a return to normalcy. It basked in visions of everything becoming as it should be again.

Chapter 10- Vorlox Hunt

The morning of that final hunt was crisp. Autumn was making its slow annual approach, and the forest was full of trees changing the color of their leaves. The morning was matched by columns of soldiers, standing in their equally crisp uniforms awaiting marching orders. The road through the forest was wide enough for them to walk in four columns, each a hundred men deep. Tiernan, Widdershins, Tunny, and Alika were the first soldiers in their respective rows.

Ahead of each column, there were five nobles on horseback armed with bows. Their clothing was garish and foppish, as if they were going on some sort of leisurely hunt, brightly colored, representing their particular family houses. Though he would never admit it, Tiernan felt a touch of jealousy at the sight of those men, proud and sophisticated, sitting comfortably on horses because their wealth afforded them the opportunity to learn from a young age. He knew that he could never have had that life, but he still felt cheated. However, all he did was stoically look on.

In front of the horses, Meister Ryland and Major Druse faced the gathered assembly. Major Druse would serve as Ryland's personal guard on the march to be joined by Tiernan and Alika when and if they got the Vorlox hole. Tiernan's gaze slid past the men on horseback to regard Ryland. He supposed now that this man was his father. He realized though, as grateful to him as he was for helping him and making his mother happy, the word "father" was practically meaningless to Tiernan now. He had no need for another surrogate at this point, living so long without. He certainly felt affection for him, but it was the affection one feels toward a much older acquaintance, befriended due to circumstance. He suspected he would never really love him, but he didn't feel the need to.

In fact, the strongest emotion he felt for the man right now was amusement. Ryland was outfitted like a two-legged pack mule. He wore a vest that looked to be the opposite of his usual robe. Ryland's robes were lined with interior pockets, so that his prepared magic could be secreted away until it was needed which afforded him the element of surprise. This vest though has all of it myriad pockets on the outside within easy reach, and there stuck out from each of them a length of rope. Ryland had called it manila rope.

Tiernan had never seen rope like it before Ryland and his mother brought it back, though Ryland assured him it wasn't all that rare. It was simply expensive, and only used by Meisters and the larger fishing vessels. It was stronger and more durable than the hemp rope he was used to, but the color was different enough to notice it wasn't the same. Also, this was special Meister's rope. Woven into it was a distinctive strand of red silk that drew the eye against that background of brown coil.

Add to this vest the fact that Ryland was carrying a peculiar pack on his back. The pack was narrow and small. It would barely hold a day's journey worth of food if set to that task, but what it did hold was the hope of success in the venture. Protruding from the pack there were four chestnut saplings each taller than Tiernan, making Ryland resemble a bizarre sort of squat scarecrow. Tiernan smiled at the thought of birds attempting to perch in them while Ryland was marching.

"Soldiers," Ryland began snapping Tiernan's mind back from where it had drifted, "This is it. We have prepared as best we can. Now, all that's left is to harden our resolve, determined to come back victorious or not come back at all."

There it was. The assembly held their positions, stock still and focused on Ryland's words. It didn't matter anymore whether they were there for revenge, adventure, or simply because they were following orders. Motivation is a conversation for before and after. During such an endeavor, it's about falling back on the training and preparation for the moment. Not a person there gave any indication that they would shirk their duty. Of course, this was before the danger, and time would tell the tale. Major Druse, however, seemed pleased with the attitudes on display.

Ryland deferred to the Major then. "Formation is vital! Keep pace. These riders have assured me that they can lead steadily. I know you can follow likewise. Move out!."

With that, the horses began their slow, steady entrance into the forest. Ryland and the Major waited until the riders had passed them and took up a position in front of the center two columns between the riders and Widdershins and Alika.

It occurred to Tiernan that all his previous trips, even though as a guard, felt cavalier in comparison to the regimented strides he was taking now. The pace was slower as well. The riders were taking their role seriously, and working to ensure that the soldiers would not be weary before they'd reached their objective.

Each soldier had an unlit torch. These were the first and most important line of defense. As before, soldiers were paired in preparation for shooting flame arrows, if and when, torches alone failed. Tiernan's and Alika's rows were each composed of 100 shooters while Widdershins' and Tunny's rows were there to light arrows. Every pair had practiced the maneuver together for hours on end since the newest soldiers arrived on their ship.

There was no conversation. The only sound was the steady slapping of boots on the road. Every once in a while, Tiernan would sneak a glance at Widdershins, trying to gauge his state of mind. He was stoic, though, betraying nothing, and Tiernan wondered if he was the only one frightened. After a few hours, they began to see how the fall colors of the leaves, and even the bark of the tree was giving way to a grayness, as if everything was covered in a dusting of ash that could not be wiped away. The deep blue of their uniforms stood out, all the more stark, against that monochrome gray background.

By the time the gray completely surrounded them, even the most ardent soldiers were given over to bouts of murmuring amongst themselves.

"I've never seen the like."

"It's the same everywhere."

"There's no more green."

"Did the Vorlox cause all of this?"

Tiernan leaned slightly toward Widdershins. "It's gotten worse since we were here a few weeks ago. The Vorlox seems to be trying to take over."

Widdershins nodded, then Tiernan saw his lower lip trembling slightly. "Got to keep my mind focused on the task. If I don't, I'm afraid I'll turn and run. I can't turn out like Wise."

Tiernan supposed the reminder of Clockwise's condition was more constant for Widdershins since they saw one another much more frequently. Still, he was surprised by the fear in his voice. "Ryland's got a plan. It's going to be alright." At this, Widdershins nodded again but went silent, never looking to the right or left.

As they marched, the gray deepened. It was too subtle to notice at first, but as they reached the clearing, they could see where the foliage had turned totally black. Previously, the black had been stark against a backdrop of green, but it was obvious now that the shift had been a steady gradation beginning with the light ash the first noticed and culminating in the blackness that they now saw before them.

The riders halted at the clearing. This was where the second part of the operation would begin. It was fortunate for them that the blackness was still sequestered to only one side of the road. It meant that, regardless of the size increase since they'd last scouted, the plan would proceed more or less as they had predicted.

Now, the four columns would split, two going left and two going right, skirting the perimeter of the blackness in an attempt to hem in the Vorlox. The riders would scout ahead to determine the size of the blackness and help the foot soldiers spread out in as even a pattern as possible. Then, at the blast of horn, all the soldiers would begin to slowly converge. As they did, they would begin to light their torches in preparation of contact with the enemy.

At the same time, the mounted nobles would also converge but behind the soldiers so that they could try and keep the horses legs away from the Vorlox, and with luck, provide cover fire with their own flaming arrows. Druse and Ryland would again be in the middle until they reached the hole itself when it would be time for Ryland to seal the hole.

After ensuring that everyone remembered the plan, Ryland and Druse headed left in front of Tiernan and Widdershins while Alika and Tunny continued to follow the horses ahead of them.

_______

The steady rhythms of the marching feet alarmed the Vorlox, waking it from its slumber. At first, it stretched itself towards the origin of the marching, hoping to surprise and consume the humans before they were aware of its presence. Even as it did though, it could tell that the stomping feet were spreading themselves faster than it could reach them. It was clear that they would have it surrounded entirely soon enough, so the Vorlox stopped and considered its next move.

They were coming in great numbers, and it was inevitable that they would come with the burning light. Because it was easier to face a few than it was to face many, the Vorlox began to push and stretch itself in all directions. It has worked too hard to reclaim this space and kill this forest to let it end now. This was a number of humans the likes of which the Vorlox had never seen before though, so it stretched, trying to create as much space between its hole and the ensuing fight as possible. There were too many to lure, too many to fool. It must eliminate as many as it could first.

As the Vorlox spread, its normally smooth surface began to bubble. Those bubbles began to shape themselves into the familiar though abominable patterns of the small woodland creatures it had learned to emulate. Those the Vorlox could send ahead faster than its main mass could spread, so in every direction, black squirrels, rabbits, lizards, snakes, and other creatures, all made of the Vorlox itself, pushed ahead trying to buy the Vorlox more time to prepare its defense.

______

The perimeter of the blackened area was much larger than anyone had anticipated, and even though there were two hundred pairs of soldiers, once they were as evenly spread as possible, each pair was too far apart to recognize the pair to their left or right on sight alone.

The riders were bunched around Ryland and the group that would become his entourage now: Druse, Tiernan, Widdershins, Alika, and Tunny. They knew it was their greatest weakness, bunching their most experienced group together, but they also knew that Ryland needed the most experienced, most prepared soldiers leading him to the hole and watching his back while he worked.

Druse addressed the riders and sent them to their next tasks. "Remember, have each pair light their torches, and on the sound of the horn, begin marching inward. Got it?" There were nods all around, and the riders took off. It is unfortunate that the task of relaying this message went to people who were far more accustomed to giving orders than to taking them.

Most of them did their work admirably, but the two riders working their way to the back of the circle at the clearing where they'd begun got it backwards. They sent this message as they rode past those pairs at the very end of the line. "When you hear the horn, light your torches and begin your march!"

_________

The first thing the Vorlox sensed through its advanced scouts was the burning light coming to life. In nearly every direction, the fire was coming to life. Seeking the easiest possible point of initial attack, the Vorlox looked for places that did not have the fire yet, and it found just what it was looking for.

As two squirrels, a rabbit, and a snake neared the road, which was usually the direction humans came from, The Vorlox noticed that there were several humans, grouped in twos, that had no fire at all. It seized these as a target and darted for two of them.

________

It didn't matter how often the threat was described. It didn't matter that multiple victims, wounded by the Vorlox were paraded in front of them to tell their stories. It was never enough to truly convince those who had never seen it of how deadly it was. Two of the soldiers, fresh off the boat, stood at the post, on the edge of the road. Their march for this part of the formation had consisted of three steps, so it's no wonder they weren't engaged in the proceeding as much as they should have been.

They stood, at attention but inattentive, gazing up at the blackened canopy above them. The first move of the Vorlox had been so subtle that the snake, whose oily black flesh looked rotted in patches up and down its length, was all the way up to the soldier's knee before it was noticed. Then, that soldier's scream put everyone in the area on notice.

At the same, the Vorlox snake opened its maw and sank long fangs into the soldier's leg.

As his partner bent to pull the snake from the leg of its victim, one of the squirrels jumped onto his face as it was bent low.

As soon as it hit the soldier's face, though, it lost all of its form, becoming a black mask covering its mouth, nose, and eyes as the dying soldier raked through the mass. It did not budge. It just moved around the fingers and did not let them find purchase.

Meanwhile, the other three creatures worked together to knock the snake bitten soldier, so he could be more easily subdued.

_________

Recognizing its success, the Vorlox sent all of the creatures toward the road now, attempting to exploit the weakness in the formation.

_________

Hearing the screams, some pairs broke formation, and others who had not lit their torches worked furiously to do so. The line was not yet in total chaos, but it was teetering. The horn had not sounded yet, though, so most were holding their positions. Near the road, though, it was clear some were ready to break and run. Not only had they heard the screams but many were close enough to see that a pair near the road had gone down. Knowing that the road was their only sure means of escape was the thing that held them in place.

It was clear that waiting to light their torches now had been a mistake, and most had rectified it which made those torches the only thing between them and the teeming mass of black creatures they could now see bounding their way.

One unlucky pair still had not lit their torch when the first creatures of the incoming mass reached them. One of the two was bent over a torch, trying to make a spark when a rabbit bounded onto his face. The soldier immediately dropped the flint and steel, clawing at his face to no avail.

As he did, Harol came riding up behind the pair. He was no hero, though. He was a pragmatist. Assessing the situation, and remembering his past experience, Harol readied a flaming arrow, and shot it directly into the ooze-covered face of that unfortunate soldier. It sank deep, right into the socket of the eye, and the soldier fell dead as the flame spread over the ooze, burning it entirely.

_________

Oh, the agony. Each time the Vorlox faced the fire, it was a fresh new torment, almost as if it had been forgotten. Its response had not changed either. It did not know how to cope with the feeling. This would not work. It could not stand the pain. Losing part of itself entirely like this was too much to bear.

________

Without prior warning, the rest of the oncoming horde of black creatures turned and retreated. The soldiers felt no victory though because they knew they were following after that mob of horror. As if on cue, they heard the blast of the horn, calling them to begin their inward march. Torches in hand, riders behind, the entire circle began to close in on their foul prey.

_________

The Vorlox gathered the creatures back to itself. The pain was fresh, and it was clouding the Vorlox's judgment. It had to regroup. There was no doubt about that, but it wasn't certain yet how to proceed. The creatures had done their job though. It attempted to push the pain away by relishing in the delight of the destruction it had caused, and the fangs of that snake had been particularly effective. It focused and pondered as it waited for the pain to subside.

They may not have accomplished everything it wanted, but the Vorlox was able to spread itself as farther than it had since the cage had broken. As the creature reintegrated themselves, the air was filled with a piercing sound. The Vorlox did not know what it was, but it did know that it meant that this fight was bound to get even more serious.

______

"That was the horn! Move ou-" Harol's attempt to assume leadership was interrupted with a coughing fit. Most of the soldiers had already begun their march inward, but some who had seen comrades killed by the ooze were roused by his words and got themselves refocused by the mission.

On shaky legs, pairs still intact rediscovered their resolve and turned toward the center of the blackness. Their pace now was slower and more deliberate, betraying a wariness and respect for the enemy that they had not previously known. If the march into the forest had seemed slow, the march now was more akin to immobility. Though they could see other pairs distantly, it did not seem as if their steps were bringing them any closer together.

The blackened section of the forest starkly contrasted with the autumn colors displayed at the beginning of the trip and even with the grayness they'd walked into thereafter. Because it was early autumn, leaves in those areas had not yet begun to fall in any noticeable number. This blackened circle, though, flaunted the death and decay being wrought. The forest floor here was covered in black leaves, and the trees were not just bare, but they were rotting. There wasn't a tree that did not have limbs fallen around it or barely clinging broken and dangling from trunks that were also beginning to split. The insides of the trees that had split wide open were a pulpy, mealy mess.

The forest floor was so covered in rot that clomping of their boots gave way to squelching as their soles began to get coated in dead, black leaves. It did no good to try and scrape them clear. There was very little bare earth visible, and when they did scrape their boots clear, it only lasted two to three steps before the squelching sound could be heard again. It added a tangible discomfort to the emotional distress they were already feeling in the blackness.

It helped to remember that there were comrades making the same march all around and that at the end they would be fighting side by side. That's what Tiernan stayed focused on as they progressed toward their goal. Looking down, he noticed that his feet had gathered so many of the sticky leaves that they were now clinging to the bottom of his pants as well.

Sick of the sights surrounding him and remembering the clear blue sky they'd started under, Tiernan looked up. He was shocked to discover that the effects of the blackness weren't sequestered to the foliage around them. The sky was a gray haze. It wasn't the sort of cloud cover that promised rain. Instead, it was the sort of low clouds that hang in the air on the sorts of mornings where it was nice to stay inside. He felt that blue sky was just on the other side of those impenetrable clouds yet he thought of it like a vague memory or story told to him that he'd never experienced for himself.

The inside of the blackness began to weigh on him. The lack of change, the lack of variety, bogged his spirit and sapped his energy. The march had gone on long enough now though that other pairs were becoming distinguishable in the low light of the overcast sky. Tiernan noticed that everyone he could see walked with the sort of deliberate lethargy that implied a distance ten times greater than what they'd actually traveled. Looks of determination had been replaced by downtrodden expressions.

"This is the work of the Vorlox. The same malevolence that blackened these woods is trying to weigh you down. Don't let it distract you! It knows we're here to stop it, and it will come after us with everything in its power to prevent that from happening." Ryland seemed unfazed by the menacing aura of the blackness, and Tiernan wondered if it was a resistance built into him through his Meister's training or if the proximity of the young, vibrant saplings was helping to keep the darkness at bay. Either way, he was serving as a beacon of light for all of them now. Eyes from all directions fixed on Ryland whose voice was somehow oddly amplified, carrying it farther than he normally could, but also giving it an unintended warble.

"Halt!" Ryland called. They had reached the edges of the Vorlox itself.

Tiernan remembered that first encounter with the Vorlox, and looking at Widdershins, he could tell his friend was remembering too. Then, it had seemed so placid at first, and the size of a small pond. Now, its edges all around were pulsing and ululating, trying to constrain itself. And it was so much larger. Then, it was the size of a small pond, a stone could have been thrown across it with ease. Now, it would be the work of a strong arm to get a stone to the middle of the mass. This was a different spot from then of course, and Tiernan could see the protrusion near the center of the Vorlox that had to be the stump of the previous tree that had caged it. He focused on that spot.

Facing the whipping tendrils of the Vorlox, everyone waited. Though its posture was menacing, it did not look eager to get near the torches at all. Then, as if to probe the circle, the Vorlox sent one of its tendrils out to swat at a torch. The tendril smacked the torch from the soldier's hand away and away from itself. The flame was extinguished as soon as the torch hit the murky forest floor, and it rolled, getting thoroughly covered by the soggy black leaves. Tiernan doubted it could be relit even if the opportunity showed itself. all around the perimeter, the Vorlox stretched its tendrils in the air, acknowledging the successful hit. While it did, archers were readying their bows even as Ryland screamed, "NOW!"

The tension of the moments before collapsed into semi-coordinated chaos. Archers focused their flaming arrows on the ends of the tendrils while the torch bearers used their cover to continue to advance. Here and there, tendrils were connecting, Soldiers were falling and would not be getting back up as they were entirely subsumed by the Vorlox.

_________

The Vorlox struggled to focus in every direction at once. Seeing the fire go out when it hit the ground was very encouraging, and so it focused on this tactic trying to knock torches out of every hand it could. There were just so many, and almost at once the tendrils questing for the torches became the primary targets of the fire flying through the air. It knew, though, that the fire was inevitable. If it wanted to reclaim this land, it had to risk facing the fire to do so.

It made a decision then. It would simply have to make some sacrifices. So, instead of reaching out a lone tendril to swat a torch to the ground, it was sending them two and three at a time. The archers always seemed most fixated on the tendrils that were high in the air, so the Vorlox used those as a distraction, while it kept another low to the ground to specifically knock down the torches.

This worked well in some places. The ground was beginning to look littered with extinguished torches, but the humans seemed to have an endless supply of them, and every time the Vorlox thought it had taken care of an area, a new torch would spring us there. All the while, the singed tendrils were taking up more and more of its mental space. Try as it might ot think about the battle as a whole, the burning was causing its movements to become more erratic, more animalistic, as its sense of reason was being overtaken by the pain.

_________

Though the torches were having their desired effect, the retaliation of the Vorlox was relentless. It also seemed to be getting more clever as the fight went on. It was clear by now to everyone involved that the Vorlox was not just some beast, but it was guided by a malevolent will that desired the destruction of everything living that came near it.

When it began using subterfuge to draw off arrow fire, many of the newer soldiers were shocked into inaction. That shock was enough to see many of them go down to the violent whipping of the Vorlox's many extremities. Torchbearers were gripping with both hands now and thrusting the fire down close enough to the Vorlox's edge to make it pull away. They had one goal in all of the chaos, and that was to force the Vorlox back into its hole. Of course, then they needed to keep it there, with a much smaller force to afford Meister Ryland the time he needed to work his magic.

Even as they walked the Vorlox back, and they were doing that; it was shrinking in on itself, but even as that happened, they were losing containment and soldiers in multiple places. One particular section had been devastated when the Vorlox was able to reach out and grab one of the horses behind the soldiers. It yanked the top-heavy beast onto its side then used it like a broom to sweep up five soldiers into itself then it rose up and folded itself over horse, rider, and all five soldiers at once.

The exposed section of the line gave the Vorlox a means of wrapping tendrils around and attacking archers from behind. As soon as the ploy was discovered, Torchbearer and archer pairs in the area began standing back to back as a means of facing the threat from both sides. Even amidst this new threat, the soldiers were continuing to force the Vorlox in upon itself. They kept touching the fire to it, and everywhere the fire touched, it shrank away.

_________

For the first time in its existence, the Vorlox was forced to face the thought of nonexistence. The number of burns it sustained was incalculable at this point. It knew that the fire could destroy it completely if circumstances were right, and it was unable to completely fight the instinct to flee from it. So, it shrank. It shrank in on itself, looking to its hole for safety. Convinced that it could regroup and protect itself better from its hole, it fled. While it fled though, it thought. It was evident that the human plan went beyond the fire. This was not an attempt to burn it completely. There was more going on here for certain. It needed to wait and watch and plan.

_________

Ryland's scream at the retreat of the Vorlox was triumphant. It was pulling itself into its hole, unwilling to fight further. In fact, it was going so fast at this point that Ryland and his entourage began to jog just to keep it in sight. As they did, the remaining soldiers assumed their final formation.

Entirely surrounding the Vorlox's hole, the soldiers walked, closing the distance between themselves and the hole until all that remained, less than 70% of those they had begun with, stood shoulder to shoulder, torches in every hand, an impenetrable circle of fire. Those downtrodden faces from earlier were gone now, replaced by anger and indignation. This was their final stand, and they would not retreat.

As the entourage got closer to the hole, Tiernan looked at the soldiers who had helped get them to this point, and he was proud to see the resolve on their faces and trusted having them at their backs. Most of them had just faced down the greatest danger they'd ever experienced, and now they were ready to see it through to the end. While they acted as the perimeter, those who had faced this beast the most were within 20 paces of its lair now, hoping to put an end to this terror.

Ryland lifted his hand, a gesture meant to slow the small group in its approach. He regarded the five of them with an expression more grave than any Tiernan had ever seen on his face. "First, we got to have holes prepared for the saplings. The key will be to make sure each is in the optimum position compared to the others. It doesn't matter where the first one goes, but the other 3 must be placed as precisely as possible for maximum efficacy of the spell."

Everyone nodded.

"These kinds of measurements will take some time, and I need you on guard between me and the hole. I need to be completely focused on my calculations. I will be quite exposed, but I am trusting each of you to keep me safe for the sake of everyone here and in the towns we represent that have been ravaged by the tyranny of the Vorlox for so many years."

Again, they nodded.

"Let's go then. I want a wall of flame between me and the hole." At that, they lined up. Tunny, Widdershins, and Major Druse carried torches with Druse in the center. On either side of them, Tiernan and Alika had arrows ready to light, so they could be fired if necessary. "Get within two paces of the hole. Then, I want torches as near the entrance as possible without actually touching it." I will work around you as best I can, but when I need you to move, I need you to move quickly. I cannot risk losing concentration once I've begun." With that, he shooed them forward with a motion of his hand and followed behind, digging his fingers into his vest pouches as he walked.

Tiernan and the other guards stood around the entrance of the Vorlox's hole careful not to peer down into it from directly above, remembering Harol's account of the noble's first encounter. No one wanted a geyser of Vorlox to the face. Instead, they kept the flame of their torches near the entrance. It did not seem, however, like the Vorlox was in any mood to fight. In fact, they could only just make out a gleam on what had to be the Vorlox so far down that Tiernan was sure he couldn't reach it if he stuck his whole arm down the hole.

Behind them, Ryland was setting to work. He took a folding knife from one of his vest pockets and used it to make a small and precise incision in the dirt. Into the incision, he pushed a small rope as if it were seed, leaving only the delicately frayed top sticking up. Tierna glanced back, and seeing the rope, he recognized that it was one that had the red silk strand woven into it. Ryland then took his flint and steel from another pouch on his vest and used it to ignite the exposed end of the rope. As the rope burned, it began to twist, burrowing itself into the earth, deeper and deeper until it was burned out, leaving a narrow hole in the ground that smoked for a few moments as the remnants of the rope floated into the air.

When the thin trail of smoke had cleared, Ryland was ready with the first of the four saplings. Taking another rope, this one with a purple strand of silk imbedded, Ryland began to wrap it around the bottom of the sapling at the spot where the root would give way to trunk and pushed it down into the newly made hole until the only part of the rope that was visible was the excess purple silk which he straightened and placed delicately on the ground.

"Shift!" Ryland's command was terse because he was concentrating. He couldn't even be called polite on his best behavior, so it was no surprise that he sounded rude when he was focused on something else. Regardless, they shifted, and Ryland pulled a measuring device from another pouch and began to determine the best place for the next hole.

________

The Vorlox heard their approach. It could tell that only a few had come forward. It was apparent then that whatever they were plotting was being set into motion. Then, the sound of burrowing became obvious, and the Vorlox suddenly knew what the plan must be. It had to find a way to escape. It couldn't be imprisoned again, so it began to ponder. It remembered the snake and the fangs and how quickly that had taken care of the soldier whose leg had been bitten. The possibilities began to blossom in its mind. It didn't need the form of the snake. It only needed the needle point precision of the fangs and the opportunity. In fact, without the snake form, there was nothing stopping the sharpened points coming from two entirely different angles.

________

Even in the midst of his precision, Ryland worked at speed. Anxious to see the creature bound, he wasted no time or effort, pausing only long enough for two more calls of "Shift!" He placed the three other saplings just as he had the first. After the fourth was firmly in the ground, he pulled a purple silk rope from yet another vest pocket and tied each exposed rope from the saplings to it.

Then came the most dangerous part of the plan for Ryland himself. For the trees to bind together correctly, he had to pull the saplings together with the purple silk directly above the hole. He knew he would be exposing himself. He only hoped that the Vorlox's fear of flame would keep it at bay long enough for him to complete the work.

"Separate!" Tiernan and the 4 other guards spread themselves out, ever vigilant while trying to stay out of Ryland's way. "Now, I want bows at the ready. We have no way of knowing what it might try if it remembers being imprisoned the last time.

________

Various faces kept bobbing in and out of the hole's sightline behind the torches. The Vorlox knew it would have to burst through the flames if it wanted any chance at freedom. Not knowing which human it should target for certain, it honed in on the one shouting at the others because that one was dressed most like the last human that imprisoned it. With two tendrils sharpened like the fangs of that snake, it knew the time had come to respond.

________

Ryland, gripping the purple silk wrapped around his fist looked each of the others in the eye. They were all ready. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed his fist as tightly as he could.

As soon as he began to raise his arm, all six of them were knocked backwards as the Vorlox burst from the hole with two tendril thick as trees at their base and sharp as needles on the ends. Ryland's rooting magic kept three of the four saplings in place as their silk threads were ripped from the rope still in his hand, but one was pulled out by that rope and lay on the ground next to Ryland.

The gigantic tendrils whipped about in sweeping arcs, warding away the would-be jailers. The paths of those tormenting arms were unpredictable. Sometimes swaying in the air, sometimes sweeping along the ground, sometimes battering the ground with nearly their full length, they were not quite long enough to reach the army's outer circle of torches.

Tiernan and Widdershins were the first to get up. They went to check on Ryland as Alika and Tunny tried to stand. They ducked one swipe and then the next of the Vorlox and noticed that whatever Ryland had done to those saplings, the Vorlox would not touch them. When the four of them met together at Ryland, it was clear that he'd hit his head. He was groggy and would not be moving any time soon, but he could speak.

"Here." He groped in another pocket and brought out rope, handing it to Tiernan. "Wrap the sapling here with this, over the rope that's already there. That should make it thick enough to fit firmly back where it was planted. Get it there now. The magic is already in it. You just need to use this rope to bind the four saplings together." Tiernan nodded. He carefully unwrapped the rope from Ryland's hand and wrapped it around his own.

As he was doing this, the Vorlox changed its tactics. Now, not only were the tendrils whipping and slapping, they began lunges and thrusts like a fencer with a blade the size of a tree. And at the same time, Major Druse stood, clearly hobbled, and began to weave his way toward the rest of the group.

He was limping along. His left leg bearing almost no weight, his progress was slow. His usual keen sense of his surroundings was gone and he was solely focused on returning to the group. There was no time for a warning. Alika's scream came too late. Behind Druse, one of the tendrils stabbed his direction.

The needle tip of the tendril exploded through Druse's chest and he was lifted into the air, being whipped about but clinging like the black leaves they couldn't get off their shoes on the march. His body drooped. It was limp and dead, but brought out a collective cry from the soldiers all around.

Bowmen from every direction lifted flaming arrows while torchbearers saluted in one final send off their leader. A canopy of fire filled the sky as the bowmen all loosed at once. Though their target was moving, most of the arrows found their mark, and the body of Major Druse went up in a gout of flames, seventy or eighty arrows, all hitting about the same time.

________

No previous experience with fire prepared the Vorlox for the pain it felt when all those arrows hit it at once. It was forced to pull that tendril back into itself and try to master that pain while it still fought with the other. It could not think clearly through the searing agony though. It's movement, already stunted by these saplings that hurt to touch became erratic and unorganized amidst these new experiences of pain.

________

"Alika and I will provide cover fire! You two get that sapling in place!" Tunny was in charge. Even within the chaos, that realization was bizarre and uncomfortable for Tiernan. However, he'd made a good decision, so Tiernan and Widdershins nodded. They crouched, and as Alika began to send up cover fire, they started making their way.

It wasn't just Alika though. There were far too many arrows for just one person to shoot, and Tiernan grinned, recognizing that the archers in the circle were helping to distract the Vorlox. He even heard Harol's voice shouting, "Don't hit the saplings!" It was a good thought, but Tiernan worried about whether that could be avoided in the chaos. That didn't matter though.

"Widdy, I'm going to plant this sapling. You need to attach this rope to the other three and bring the end to me."

"Got it. Stay low. It seems like we can use those saplings for cover. It doesn't want to touch them." Widdershins replied.

Tiernan nodded. "I noticed the same thing."

With that, they took over toward their goal, paths diverging only slightly. On the way, Widdershins was stopped as a stray arrow caught his uniform on fire. Rolling on the ground to put it out, he found himself behind Tiernan who had made it to spot where the sapling would go. Once the fire was, Widdershins redoubled his efforts and made his way to the edge of the hole and began tying the rope to the purple strands of the first sapling. The next two though did not have enough rope left to work with. So, he resorted to wrapping the length of rope around the narrow trunks, though he was not sure if that would work as well. In the heat of the moment, he made a decision and went with it.

While Widdershins was working with the rope, Tiernan was dealing with his own issues. The hole where the sapling needed to be planted was far too wide now even with the extra rope he had wrapped around it. Like a dog desperate to bury a juicy bone, he worked to fill the hole as quickly as he could. Scraping the dirt to the hole with his hand then packing it down as hard as he could.

Finally, when the sapling stood straight on its own, Widdershins tied the final sapling to the rope. Then, they pulled. Nothing happened. They pulled again, harder this time. One of Widdershins knots came undone, and he had to go back and tie it again.

"Doesn't Ryland know how slick silk rope is?" Fear and stress were causing Widdershins to respond with tetchiness.

"He uses what the magic requires." Tiernan responded.

"Then why isn't the magic magicing?"

As if in answer to Widdershins question, Tunny appeared behind them. "He said they have to touch! The saplings all have to touch each other."

"We clearly can't do it the way he'd intended." Widdershins pointed out, as the flailing tendril, busy swatting flaming arrows from the sky, still prevented them from raising the rope directly in the air as Ryland had intended.

"We're going to have to twist the rope around the circle and bend the saplings until they all come in contact that way." Tiernan told them.

There was enough rope for all three of them to grab hold, though the movement around the circle would be cramped.

"Which way do you want to go?" Tiernan asked with a smirk.

"Well, I mean. He's not here. I think it'll be good for a laugh." Widdershins smiled back.

As Tunny looked at the two of them in confusion, Tiernan began leading the group clockwise around the hole. The saplings were supple and pliable bending without issue for the three of them.

________

The Vorlox had done all that it could. It knew that it would be defeated. It could not bear the touch of those saplings. Their aura was far too strong.

________

As they wrapped around the hole, it was obvious that the Vorlox would not allow the saplings to touch it, and the tendril began to retract. Before it made it all the way back, however, all four saplings made contact, completing the circle.

There was a sudden explosion of green and a rush of wind that put out every single torch and flaming arrow. The inosculation of the four trees was nearly immediate, cutting the remaining part of the tendril off from the rest of the pool. It dropped to the forest floor for a moment, then along with everything else the Vorlox had tainted, it floated up from the ground and dissipated in the air. Everything covered in the blackness was doing likewise, all around them. The leaves already dead were disintegrating with the blackness, and in the distance, behind the ring of soldiers, Harol slumped in his saddle then fell to the ground now brown and barren, and lay there on his back, breathing but in obvious pain.

The growth of the tree these four saplings were creating was not to be believed. Within moments, it had grown so thick that no single person could have put their arms around it. Even though fall was coming on, the green of the leaves was vibrant long enough for chestnuts to grow and fall. When they hit ground, they rolled in all directions on the brown earth, doing the work of reseeding the forest. Then the tree that dropped them turned its leaves yellow and orange and began carpeting the forest floor with them, preparing for winter.

_________

Caged again, and the Vorlox could only think of pain. It was aware that the cage this time was much stronger than the one before. It knew there would be no escape. It would have to wait for outside forces to give it another chance at freedom. All it could do now was endure and wait for the pain of flame to fade and then for the memory to fade as well.

________

In the aftermath, most of the soldiers milled about awaiting their next instructions. There were wounded who needed tending, but for the most part, no one quite knew how to respond. The win brought more relief than triumph and left most in a melancholy mood.

Tiernan went to check on Ryland. He was sitting up now with the help of a couple soldiers.

"Is that about how you hoped it would work?" Tiernan's words were shaky with the adrenaline of what they'd just done.

"Something like that. Of course, if I'd been there to do it, the tree would look much more majestic and much less gnarled." Ryland laughed, and Tiernan laughed as well, not at the joke but at the way Ryland amused himself. "You did good work, Tier. You and that friend of yours both. Now, if we set up a rotating guard around this area, I believe that'll be the last we see of the Vorlox, at least in our time."