Heart of the Forest: Chapter 28

This is the missing chapter from Heart of the Forest. Chapter 28 takes place after the Sunner hostage situation but before the Firlandis attack.

This is my attempt to see if posting chapters here is a good way to raise up the interest.

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Chapter 28: Ashantan break

The adventure came always at a risk, and for Forest, it seemed to happen more frequent than not. She would find it funny how many times she’s captured, weren’t the anguishing memories still being fresh in her mind. Living five years as a monster, captured by highwaymen, digging her way out of a prison, and held hostage around by slave traders. All it sounded quite interesting for someone watching from afar, but to her, it was quickly turning into the source of anger.

The silver lining of this situation came in solace that this wasn’t the worst situation she’d found herself in… but it still as perilous as it could be.

The resident trolls of the Ashantan bog had made sure to soak her clothes onto the swamp water on the way after her capture and leave her hanging so the mud would dry as if it were some sort of seasoning. These creatures were so removed from societal and kingdom structures they were far worse in their intentions than the common band of thieves. Big, burly creatures that could give a minotaur a run for their money with the appetite to match. According to people, not particularly smart, but not stupid enough to let their prey hang up without making sure she wasn’t carrying a particular weapon. 

Now, Forest stood at about two meters above the ground, hanging by a net that was made of the very same material she was looking for, thus making it as resistant as it could, and disarmed with her knife taken away upon capture. At least, not finding any weapon and no showcasing any of her powers to defend herself, she managed to convince them she was pretty inoffensive… in appearances, at least. 

And because of that, they treated her as an afterthought and simply hung her from a heavy iron hook that rested at a ceiling beam, giving Forest a good view of the room, she was in and the fate that awaited her. The scent of mold and blood was prevalent in the air and the sights around were nothing if grim. In the lower corner of the room were packets of meat that were supposed to have been dried by the sun earlier today, with the bones and hide of animals tossed into a corner. Rudimentary butchers’ tools, such as hooks and cleavers rested by a nearby table, though to Forest, they might as well be miles away.

“I’m going to be eaten…” Forest muttered begrudgingly, though knowingly as she shifted around within her hanging cocoon of dark green vines. Fear was probably far off her focus, knowing that her body was the weapon and almost nothing the trolls would do would keep her from breaking free. Though she had to be thankful that her captors had the decency to prefer their meals freshly killed. When she heard the grunts with the rather brutish words that beckoned for some food, she was relieved to see them to reach for the dried-up meat in the corner. With the sun dyeing the world orange in its sunset, that at least told her she would probably have until tomorrow morning, at worst.

“More than enough to manage, I hope.” She said, though she would need to wait for later in the night to try to make her move, all the while praying for the better. Stuck in a net, hanging above the ground with nothing on her that could keep her busy, she found safety in letting her mind drift over to how she got into this situation to begin with.

After acquiring the chokedust samples, she’d set her sights on another of the items on Mrs. Vanet’s list, the ashantan algae. A specimen that grew within the depths of the swamp from its namesake. Capable of stretching without losing any of their integrity. As showcased by Forest’s current cocoon, whereupon she was trapped within the wrapped weaves and, while she could try to push or tear through the links with her bare hands, the algae endured and eventually returned to its original form, with no slack created and no fraying. Although she imagined a knife could do the needed work.

She set off with the horses towards the boglands following her map. These regions, given its inhabitants and the dangers that lurked within, lacked any roads that would make traveling through easier. With the trail as bumpy as it could be and the horses complaining for three straight hours, it wasn’t long before it forced her to stop the carriage.

Not wanting to double back and make another trip on foot, Forest opted to rely on Mrs. Vanet’s assurance that the horses were trained and smart enough to know to wait for her to return. There were a couple of neighed complaints, however they relented and seemed to remain on the spot in waiting for her return.

Forest moved deeper into the lands. By the end of the day, she came to realize that leaving the wagon had been for the best. The marshes ahead were deceitful as the land around was shifty and murky. What sometimes looked like a good point to step on ended up being a knee-deep puddle that would almost have her wallow in the mud.

As Forest moved on, she caught a glimpse of a huge body of water to the side, a wide enough river that flowed passively southward. The placid waters feeding and mixing seamlessly with the low depth of the swamp. It almost made the idea of renting some raft and sailing it down river as favorable as it could. Though she had to remind herself that these weren’t safe lands. Once, probably five or ten years, there was said to be swamp mermaids in the area that would tend to travelers and help them move around the area with little trouble. That kind of mermaid, Forest recalled, was the kind that had their body coated with small scales that gave them a green-ish complexion, looking more like ‘swamp’ creatures, even if the term came across as more insulting than she hoped. 

Still, it would’ve been nice for them to be there. A good part of her wanted to have this job outsourced by the time she made it to what felt like the only patch of dry land she saw. A small hill that grew around a tree that rose itself over the water level. With her boots soaked as well as her breeches, she knew she would be in the deep need for a bath the moment she was done here.

The next day, became more of the same as Forest had to constantly watch her step and her surroundings while circling around the area. Even after she arrived to trails of solid land, there was one wrong step that could send her tumbling into a pile of mud. Huge cobwebs lined the spaces between the branches, dyeing them with a silvery tone while lizards spied at her with curiosity. Fortunately, nothing bigger than a boar was seen around the place, although that didn’t make it any safer. By the time she made it to the evening, she realized that there were two leeches latched onto her, little creatures that she had to urgently learn how to remove.

She knew this was but a preamble to what would be her next step: the hunting of the ivy hydra within the elven glades. 

Her progress was at a snail’s pace as she searched the waters for the algae in the nearby bodies of water, going from pond to minor lake, diving under while using her attunement to feel for the plant she was looking for. Eventually, she came across a fort in the middle of a shallow lake. The murky water surrounded a haphazardly made structure of both rocks and trunks, with what looked like patches of lands that were the access across the makeshift moat. A folksy type of settlement that could only belong to the bogland trolls, the local denizens of these lands.

Trolls were one of those races that were considered too wild to live in a society, but also not savage enough to be hunted all the time. They stood in humanoid figures, most of the time hunched over their broad craggy shoulders, limbs as strong as to lift, and even break, rocks. Hides that were as sturdy as pieces of rock made into plating and a sort of resistance to magic. Forest imagined Ogre had a good chunk of troll in him. Yet despite this brutish appearance, they were capable of speech and reasoning, albeit limited. Most matters would be settled with words, were it not for them being prone to fits of anger as things didn’t go their way…

Needless to say, Forest’s plan was to avoid them. However, temptation got the better of her. Her contact to the plant-life told her of the Ashantan algae located underwater. Deeper in the waters around the moat.

She prepared herself for a dive when a javelin struck earth near her. A sudden horn’s bellow and a couple of trolls snarling a hunting call in her direction.

The lower waters were less of a problem for the three trolls that set off after her, traversing the pathways in her direction, carrying nets and javelins for her capture. 

One of them loaded up a blowdart and blew it with excellent marksmanship, landing on Forest’s shoulder. The impact stung like hell, but that was the extent of the effects as she pushed herself up to run for her life, thinking that there would be some sort of numbing effect or paralysis that would set in.

In hindsight, Forest realized that she’d felt no side effects from it whatsoever, meaning that whatever was in the dart was plant-based.

Spears were thrown back there, landing not far from her steps, unknowingly, funneling her towards a trap. In her rush, she had no idea what she stepped into or how it was set up, but out of the sudden, her world turned itself upside down as the green netting of the trap struck her face. By the time she recovered consciousness, she has already been dragged back to the fort by the trolls. A rather uncomfortable trip that had her body half soaked in the murky waters, and her skin being chafed by the rough terrain.

Now hanging up from the ceiling within their butcher’s room, she had to cook up her escape and find a sample of the vine that would serve the purpose. She thought of using the vines she’d been captured with… however, quickly realized that the nets had been treated to the point that she couldn’t even perceive them as fine samples.

“So, what are my options,” Forest thought to herself in whispers during the brief moments of silence. On her way in, she caught a decent glimpse of the settlement. Sets of stone huts erected around the fringes of the island, presumably to keep the walls in place. There was a center field where a fire was being prepared at the time of her arrival and rudimentary spears organized near a stand, ready for use. The pantry she was in was well within the community. And on the way, she counted at least six to eight other trolls, with many more potentially out or hidden. Brute forcing her escape wouldn’t be enough…

The sun was already setting itself and, judging by how the trolls were going about, they were preparing to lock the place down, which she hoped wouldn’t make improvising any more difficult.

“But first, I need to break this.” She said holding the algae net and squeezing it in her hand. “This won’t be a problem.”  She thought confidently as, with just a nudge of her will, a blade of ironwood grew around her wrist. Granted, wood she produced would hardly beat the sharpened edge of a knife, but this was all she had and hoped it would be enough.

Her legs instinctively closed together, hiding her hand as the knife withdrew under her skin, as she heard the heavy steps of the trolls return. In between the grunts and hints of a conversation, Forest felt as if she could understand the message. One of them, a gruff one seemed to ask for food and the other, slightly less deep, probably a female, retorting with a chastising snort that ended with a hard smack that seemed capable of breaking through a tree. A reminder of what she was facing.

The two trolls lumbered, barely acknowledging her as they both were more invested in their last catch for the day, in a quite literal sense as, wrapped in another algae net, a huge fish tail could be spotted, connecting seamlessly to the torso of a pale woman. A mermaid. Her teal hair visible against the light of the lantern that was casted upon her, matted as she was freshly pulled out of the water, but her breathing told Forest that she was still alive.

The trolls worked fast on their new capture, smoothly undoing the knot of the net to open it and make sure the person couldn’t use any magic. They did something with her as they searched her, one of them produced a runestone and waved it before her. The difference was that whereupon Forest’s examination yielded no effect, the runestone flared up with bright blue light that put some frustration on the trolls… potentially a signifier of her magical ability…

Still, they didn’t kill her, though they were far more thorough with the mermaid’s restraints, tying a rope hard around wrists, and them up against her mouth in the form of a gag. Pulling the fabric so fast and tight Forest thought they were trying to make a fire.

“We want fish!” one of the trolls from outside the building complained as the female, and presumably the cook, spat back.

“Tomorrow”  she seemed to say gesturing at the dried meet from nearby. “We have dinner here and for tomorrow.” She pointed at the slabs of dried meat and then to Forest. The others outside did complain more, but eventually gave up and began to step away as the female was lifting up the net with the captured mermaid and hanging her off the hook next to Forest’s. 

Done with it, the female slowly began to move out of the way, only to stop mid step and turn to face Forest. So far, she’d had been pretending to be the scared adventure caught off guard. She pretended a gasp and a jump while trying to move away, only to get the bag to swing back. She thought her acting was spot on but was worried. This was the first time she’d met with the ‘cook’ and could only be thankful that she hadn’t before, because she seemed more knowledgeable than the average troll.

“You. What in your arm?” she asked with a small snort, making a better effort to vocalize. Disregarding Forest’s potential answer, she reached over to grip her through the netting.

It was the same limb that had gotten severed and was still in the process of regrowing. The flesh was covered by thick bark in the shape of muscle, tending as the flesh regrew underneath. Though it was far than perfect, as flakes of wood were awkward in appearance and jutting onto each other while her fingers were still a work in progress, looking like twigs and vines trying to resemble the actual digits.

The cook’s grip was as careful as a wrecking ball used to ring a doorbell. Her thick fingers were wrapped around Forest’s arm through the net and studied it through the gaps, making her as if she was about to be pulled off the hook and with such strength that she was already hearing the wood crack. “What this?” she asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Forest decided. She was close to speaking up and saying it was a disease, but considering what she saw, they were more likely to throw her into the fire were they to believe her. “It’s a… a prosthesis. A fake arm.” She answered moving her fingers, albeit somewhat painfully for her to.

The female troll snorted, leaning in to give the chunk of wood a sniff with her large nose. Her fingers applying more pressure and getting almost close to breaking the limb. Forest had to brace herself through the pain and, eventually, was let go. 

“Hmph… looks like leech tree.” That must’ve been their way of saying ‘parasite’ “Chop off limb before cooking.” She declared to herself as she left the room, once again leaving Forest and the mermaid alone, though not enough to be comfortable. Not far from where they were coming, the sound of reverie and boasting at the side of the cracking of fire embers. That one appeared savvy enough about her plant knowledge, the idea of poison working felt as unlikely.

Still, Forest allowed herself to let out an audible sigh of relief. Now that she was alone, her focus went back to her escape plan, and if every one of the trolls was to follow the instructions of that matron, they would wait until the next day, which gave Forest rough ten to nine hours, more than enough.

With the light of the nearby fireplace seeping through the patched curtains, it gave her a chance to study her fellow prisoner. Hanging from nearby, was the mermaid with strange characteristics when she’d been under the light. Of pale skin and teal hair, with hints of blue that decorated her tail. Definitely not a native of the zone as those colors stood out within the gloom and green of the swamp… but there was something more to her that elicited some of Forest’s memories.

She was aware that there were mermaids in this world, though ever since she found herself with a new body, she hadn’t come across with them. And even before, as Ogre, his interaction with them had been as limited as they could come. Them being a waterbound specie and Roland finding no interest in whatever they held beneath the waves. There were no encounters… aside from that time the necromancer assaulted a carrier vessel that was just shy to landing on port.

The logic then, as Roland would call it, was to keep the ship from docking just long enough for him to steal or kill what or whoever was below deck. But as luck would have it, the captain seemed to have had hired mermaids as bodyguards and escorts. Once Ogre landed, they began their assault. There were spells that the monster could endure, water whips and slicing gusts of winds that couldn’t hurt the big titan… but were enough to show how magically inclined this race was to compensate for their need to fight on distance… however, they also had powers that affected the mind, charming enough to make Forest feel as if he was being enticed and shrieks that were sending shudders through every one of the pillaged bones within Ogre.

Though regretfully, they weren’t able to stop Ogre. One thing led to the other as Roland’s orders of ‘destroy and kill’ were carried, it culminated with the ship being split in two down the middle and three mermaids dying, two of which perished so close to Ogre’s eyes, making them another image engraved into her mind.

But that didn’t explain the sense of familiarity, instead, her thoughts moved on to the other place Forest had seen mermaids. In the Esther grounds.

Back when Roland was still meeting up with Elliot before his capture, the man would hold meetings within his property, much akin to a mastermind’s lair. He had control over the property and the people using such foul and terrifying magic, that it was almost scar worthy or would’ve if Forest hadn’t been experiencing a similar if not worth situation. There were three mermaids there. A redhaired one, a black haired one, and one that was a swamp mermaid, with the skin being of a hue of green and scaled. At some point, that last one was replaced with another, a younger one that… the more Forest remembered, the more resembled the one that hung next to her.

“Nah… It can’t be…” Forest thought as she got to work, producing knife made out of ironwood from her arm. “She’s just of the same race as that one.”

With that, Forest began to work on trying to cut through the vines. The motion was repetitive, and she couldn’t tell if she was making much progress in the dark, but diligently kept at it. It must’ve been between twenty minutes and an hour when the knife went through the fabric, or at least that’s how it felt, the makings of a long night. About three links cut, she had enough to slip her arm out, and then she heard the muffled and panicked gasps from the cocoon next to her. 

The mermaid struggled within the net, getting it to sway around, stretching her tail and trying to force the limits of the vines, but as Forest had found before her, those things weren’t anything if elastic.

“Hey! Hey!” Forest hissed in a hushed tone. “Easy! Or you’ll draw back the trolls.”

Despite her apparent state of panic, the mermaid had a good head over her shoulders as she stopped making noise and responded with a muffled sound.

“Hmph?”

“It’s going to be okay; I can get us out, just try to not make much noise, okay?”

“Hmth.” She sounded affirmative enough.

“Good… just, hang in there for a moment,” Forest answered, having the feeling that the mermaid was giving her a small roll of the eyes for the poor choice of words. She began to swing back and forth, with her arm producing another ironwood knife, this one serrated. Not that it would do much better as serrated edges were quick to go blunt but would allow her to cut, her restraints faster.

A couple of reckless swings and her arm shot out to grab the mermaid’s net. Pulling her closer and using her rebuilding fingers to keep them side by side, she used the knife to saw fast through the vines to open another gap for her arm to reach through. By then, the mermaid was aware as what was going on, as the first thing Forest felt as her hand slipped in was the fibrous roughness of the ropes. Still, the serrated edge did its work before getting worn off. 

The rope cut between the wrists, and not a moment too soon as the makeshift fingers of her healing hand were already feeling the strain of keeping the two nets together. Pushing in the hilt of a new serrated knife she made into the mermaid’s hands, she let go, having herself swing back into her original position before her digits broke.

“There. Can you move your hands now?” Forest asked, producing another knife from her wrist.

There was frustrated movement in the other net, and Forest could make out the outline of the mermaid’s hands now unrestrained making ripping the rope gag in her mouth. “Gah…” She gasped coughing and spitting the fibers that were stuck in her throat, teeth, and tongue, though did it in the most hushed way she could. “I need some water.”

“Water? Can you survive without it?” Forest asked, half worried that, much like fish, mermaids wouldn’t last long on dry land.

“What? Yeah, of course I can survive without water. I just need to… urk… wash this taste off my mouth.”

“Glad to know you’re not going to dry out.” Forest admitted.

“No, I’m not. Thanks for helping me.” Her outline seemingly fidgeting with the knife she’d been given.

“I did what I could, um…”

“Rylai. You can call me Rylai. Rylai Stevens…”

“A pleasure, Rylai.” The name didn’t ring a bell, though the same could’ve been said about those meetings within the Esther grounds. He’d just gotten so used to tunning out the world at that time. “You can call me Forest. Can you use your mermaid magic to break us free?”

The mermaid held her breath in consideration. “I don’t know any spell that can help us… besides, if I were to cast anything, they would surely notice.”

“I see,” Forest conceded, even now she could at least remember the tunes she heard during her encounter with the mermaids. “Well, I guess we should try to do this the old way.” With that, the soft sound of the knife’s edge scratching and rasping against the algae was heard.

“Can you help me? I can’t walk,” Rylai said as she used the knife to start cutting the net. “I know I might not look like, but I can be useful.”

“You’re asking me to carry you?” Forest answered as she walked snipping one of the knots. In the back of her mind, she made the calculations. She assumed that tail the mermaid was at about two meters long and could only imagine about the logistics of the movement. The logical thing would be to leave this as an ‘each fends for themselves’ situation, but she’d already been helping people before. The escape from last time was a proof of that, she wasn’t going to stop now. “It’s a deal. I’ll carry you out, but I would like to ask you a favor afterward.”

“Whatever you need,” Rylai said with a tinge of frustration, that potentially came from trying to cut the rope.

“Good. Because we have the makings of a long night,” Forest said as, in the distance, they could both hear the trolls bicker into each other and enter into heated yet unintelligible arguments. The fire danced about a good distance away, though still giving them a sort of indirect lighting.

After ropes snapping, there was a frustrated gasp as the knife Rylai had been holding snapped and in the surprise the two pieces she’d been holding fell off to the ground with a solid clank… Fortunately, no one but they heard it, but it didn’t stop them from freezing. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay… here,” Forest answered as she produced another and, repeating the swinging act from before, passed it over to her cellmate.

“Thanks… but honestly, who makes wooden knives?”

“It’s all we have,” Forest said defensively, making a small celebration as she heard another of the links snap.

“What I should’ve meant was, how are you making these? I know these trolls are Neanderthals, but I don’t think they would’ve left you with these on.”

“Let’s just say that this is my power.” Forest said bitterly, feeling her arm cracking. “I’ll have to ask you not to freak out at my arm, though. It’s… somewhat deformed.”

“Sounds like there’s a story behind it.” Rylai answered. Given how they seemed to be working a snail’s pace, a conversation was a good ice breaker, though the only concern was that the trolls would hear them sawing.

“It’s a really long and tragic story. It’s also so weird… I don’t think you’ll believe it.”

“Long, tragic and weird… I’m familiar with that,” Rylai said letting out a nervous laugh.

“Are you from the other side of the portal? The Arwae Nu?”

“Yeah… what gave it away?” Rylai asked. “Is it the last name?”

“That and, I don’t think there’s many people in this world who would know what a ‘Neanderthal’ is.”

“Ah… I should’ve been more careful. I’ve been swimming back and forth running errands to help friends and family for so long, I often times lose track of where I am until I surface.”

Forest had the feeling she was exaggerating but had to ask. “Can mermaids travel between worlds at will?”

“I… what, no? They told me it is impossible to create portals… can you do it?” she asked, her words clearly bearing an inquisitive tone.

“No. Though I happen to be hunting someone who can,” that last comment was just Forest trying to carry on the conversation, but seemingly stopped it dead as the sawing from Rylai’s side stopped.

“You… “Rylai said slowly, even in the dark, Forest felt the gaze locked onto her. “You wouldn’t happen to be looking after a man that goes by, Chris, right?” After the silence, she added more, each punctuated by her trying to saw the net more. “How about Clint? Maybe Roland?”

“How do you know them?” Forest asked at that last name.

“Um… Could be said he was part of the one who gave me that long, tragic and weird story.” Rylai said, and this time, it was Forest who stopped her sawing. “Forest?”

So, it is her, Forest tried to reason. Indeed, the ability to travel back and forth in the portal were exclusive to Roland and whoever had access to that vault of secret knowledge he discovered. That could only mean that, not only was the mermaid aware of those names, some old allies of Roland, but also was the victim of one of them. She had to be one of the hostages from, what the guardians now called the ‘Esther manor incident.’ Hostages that had been privy to Elliot’s secret meetings and were supposed to be in hiding. 

“Sorry… it’s just that, it seems that we have more in common than I thought.” Forest muttered. “All I can say is that, if you’re an enemy of Roland, you’re my friend.”

“How do you play into this?”

“Let’s just say I’m a disgruntled former co-worker-slash-prisoner as you were.” Forest said. 

While stunned by the answer and the implications, Rylai nodded on her side as she resumed her sawing.

“By the way… What brought you here?” Forest asked as she tried to slip her feet off the net, still finding the weaving too narrow to let her out. The question within itself was not relevant, but she half wondered if there was a ploy in play she should know about.

“It’s nothing really. My friends used to have this close friend that… isn’t with us anymore. I didn’t get to meet her, but she seemed like a nice person. Long story short, my friends are trying to console her family for her loss, but it’s turning out harder than I thought. I was told of this place, that these marshes were home to a community of mermaids and that they used to live here. Apparently, when the trolls came, many of the residents had to make a hasty evacuation, leaving behind many of their treasures. I hoped to find them.”

“There really isn’t an easy way to deal with grief. Don’t know if an heirloom would be an easy way to mend a heart, though.” Forest had experienced lost at a young age, but now that she was an adult living her second life, she had no clear idea how the experience of loss must’ve been, her being the one that ‘died’.

“I know.”

“But what you’re doing is a nice gesture.”

“Nice is one thing… but effective is another,” Rylai continued. “I made it here and swam through the muck. Here and found their place, just outside of this fort. I was about to get dive deeper in when I fell into their trap. I really have no argument nor excuse to question how they spotted me.” She waved her tail to emphasize it.

“They sprayed some sort of powder into the water that suddenly made swimming all the harder to me. My body went numb. I would’ve drowned if I didn’t have gills… And as soon as I poked my head out of the water, something stung me in the back of my neck. That was the last I remembered.”

“Despite their impressions, they do seem well versed in poisons,” Forest noted.

“And so, here I am. It was supposed to be a quick and simple job and ended up getting caught… My girlfriend will get worried if I show up late.” Rylai grumbled. “I get stuck in these situations for doing this sort of favors. How about you?”

“Me?” Forest asked.

“Yes. You don’t look like a troll or a mermaid, so what are you doing at their swamps? Are you a traveler?”

“No… I’m here looking for plant specimens. Namely the algae that grow here, the same kind that this obnoxious net is made off.”

“I did spot a lot of algae that grew around the underwater residence.”

“Good,” Forest said, finding herself thrilled as she carved a wide enough hole for her to slip out. “I was actually going to ask you to pluck them out as soon as we were free.”

“As soon as we’re free, I’ll gladly oblige,” Rylai said, her hole was wide enough that her tail was starting to spill out.

“Now, let’s try to be quiet,” Forest said as she forced the gap wide enough, the dead algae ceded, stretching itself enough for her legs to slip through, followed by her hips and her torso until she was dangling by her hands before letting go. It was a two-meter drop that came with the rather subdued thud.

Standing still for a moment, she moved to the entrance to spy the surroundings. Gazing out, there were no trolls standing guard nearby, fortunately. No movement, no alarm, no one the wiser. The walls around were tall and of solid rock, haphazardly enough build so that they would be easily taken apart, though not without making a lot of noise. Scanning along the fringe, she spotted the clearest and most obvious way out: a lookout post with no fence or cover, basically a platform to the river. While not the best of options, it was preferred to the main gate, which was across the field of trolls. And who knew how long it would take before one of them with the midnight cravings would want to help itself with a piece of meat.

Nearby, was the fireplace to the center field, where the trolls had been arguing, making the noise that covered her fall. In between the banging and snorting, a few had drifted off, lumbering around the structures on a halfhearted patrol round. Forest knew she would need to be cautious when facing with these big brutes. Even of, for the most part, they appeared lethargic in their actions, probably close to calling it quits at this time of the night. 

Fortunately, more than a few appeared lethargic and in the process of falling asleep. Curling down on the ground, almost resembling huge boulders against the light of the fire.

“Psst! Forest,” Rylai hissed from back in the room. Her tail was sticking out of the net, dangling as she was now clinging by her hands. “Help me out.”

“On it,” Forest whispered, rushing over to wrap her hands around Rylai and guiding her to the ground. Despite having an average body, the tail was cumbersome to get around. Still, she got to touch the ground without making any noise.

“Thank you,” Rylai said composing herself as Forest knelt near to her.

“I checked ahead, they’re mostly asleep.”

“What about the exits?”

Forest then proceeded to explain the two options she saw. “It’s either we move along the wall to a platform that probably leads to the moat or try to make a run for the gate… We could also do more scouting. But I’m worried that, the more we stay here the more at risk we are.”

“Me too. I know this might sound cliche, but I really feel uncomfortable being out of the water,” Rylai conceded avoiding her gaze while subtly gesturing at her lower midsection, knowing very well what she was about to ask. “Think you can carry me?”

If Forest were a normal human, she knew the task would put her at her limit after a good number of steps, much less make a run for it. But with her shapeshifting body, she felt that she was up to the task. “Give me your hand.”

With that, Forest pulled Rylai over her back, letting her arms wrap themselves around her torso and shoulder, certainly a new experience to feel a woman against her back, though the present situation left the remembering of sensations for another time. Once the mermaid settled herself in position, she wrapped her tail around Forest’s wait just to keep it from dragging them back.

“What happened to your arm?” she asked, now being close enough to notice bark and stringy fingers.

“Didn’t I tell you to not make any comments about it?”

“Right… sorry,” she whispered. “And I’m also sorry for the weight.”

“It’s okay… I said I have a weird body,” Forest said as she felt her own legs and back gain some muscle to make her strides easier. She knew there was no way she could pump herself up to the point of fighting a troll, but this was enough to make the task easier.

“I see,” Rylai said, quieting down as Forest moved out.

Stepping out of the storeroom and kitchen, it felt like a risk. With the dancing errant lights of the torches nearby and the fireplace, there was always the concern that they would be found out in any moment. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“Did you have anything relevant with you?” Rylai whispered into Forest’s ear as quietly as possible. “As in, anything important when you were captured?

“No. You?”

“Nothing relevant,” Rylai admitted.

With fast strides and darting motions, she crossed past structures and hiding behind some of the large boulders in the area. Both of them were attentive and on edge for anything, with Forest making her hand produce a particular powder.

“We’re close,” Forest whispered, within sight were the clumsily put together stone steps that gave rise to the look out. With the water below, all they needed to do was to swim away. The issue was that it was a good distance away, out in the open. They would be noticed most likely get noticed.

Though in that rush of thought, it called the bad fortune as Rylai’s arms clutching around Forest’s neck pulled her attention to the rock behind which they’d been hiding. She was almost close to giving a hushing warning when, upon turning, she saw the yellow-ish eyes of one of the troll brutes. Her eyes adjusted quickly, and she was then seeing a troll that had fallen asleep hunched over sitting down pulling itself up with a furious snort.

Forest’s reaction quick and impulsive, immediately holding out her hand and blowing a blue powder into the air. The effect, as concentrated as might’ve been made, wasn’t enough for the instant effect, instead it had the troll lumber about and clumsily fall down back on its butt as it failed to get up. 

Worried that it might try again, Forest reached over for more dust in her hand only to be stopped by Rylai’s hand.

“Wait!” the mermaid whispered. “Let me get close.”

Though dubious, Forest heeded the advice and leaned in closer while the troll was trying to push itself to fight the drowsiness, and, the more seconds passed, the more it felt like the blue sleeper’s powder was barely a stopgap to that charging machine. Forest had to try to keep its arm and head still enough for the mermaid to do what she wanted.

“Are you hearing me?” she asked, her voice gaining a special quality, as if stuck deep within a cave but subtle enough that Forest could barely note it. When the troll gave a quiet nod with his dropping eyes slowly rolling over, she continued. “Stop fighting, breathe and relax.”

And, to Forest’s surprise, it did.

“What did you do?” Forest asked, mostly to herself as Rylai leaned in closer to the troll’s ears and began to utter words. Unintelligible to her, she could only hear the lingering echo of whatever enchanting magic she was using. The troll occasionally giving a nod or shake. 

It wasn’t a long conversation, but in her state of hyper awareness, when she could be spotted in any second now, it was a whole speech. Peering over the shoulder, she would see some of the trolls slowly stir.

“There,” Rylai said, leaning back on Forest.

The troll before them suddenly started to push itself up, in an almost robotic action, though with the way its body swayed from side to side, it wasn’t hard to notice the somnambulist state. Still, Forest would’ve been ready to attack with another dose of powder hadn’t Rylai reassured her it’d worked.

The enchanted troll clumsily lumbered out of the way, almost acting as if it hadn’t seen them at all.

“I didn’t think I would use that again…” Rylai told Forest.

“It’s… a scary ability.” Forest noted as she took note of how it was still walking towards the center of the field.

“It’s not as strong. A lot of things are needed to go right for it to work. I just told him to walk straight back to his bed and ignore everything around him and he seemed inclined to do that anyway.”

“I see…“ Forest trailed off with a bit of concern. “You might’ve told him somewhat too literal.”

Effectively, the Troll was crossing the field, heading to its hut, and, in its path, was the fire and the other trolls, some of which had already fallen sleep. “Oh…”

Forest didn’t wait for the fight to start and was already picking up the pace in her stride, with Rylai’s silent complains about needing to adjust her tail. 

The reaction was as expected. The troll’s large feet trampled through the fireplace waking it up from the trance with a startled grunt. Jumping away from the flames, its feet came onto the side of another of its kinsmen tripping in a chaotic fall that had it bounce up against more trolls. It wasn’t long before they began to wake up, angry as their sleep was disturbed.

“Dumb!” one of the trolls snapped, throwing a punch against the one that started the disruption. Another one reached down to swing its arm in defense and retaliate. Some that were still drowsy swung their fist around and struck someone else, breaking out into a full-on brawl that made sure none would remain asleep.

“Hurry,” Forest heard Rylai usher as she began to pick up the pace now rushing in their strides, hoping they would be too distracted with their roughhousing to notice the two making a break for it. 

They made it to the steps, but not before going unnoticed. “Fish! It’s escaping!” one of them bellowed, pointing his meaty digit their way. The only three words that would stop the fight. “Fish?” “Food!” the others echoed in chorus.

Though united, they were a good distance away and, as they scrambled to get back on their feet or take the first steps after them, Forest and Rylai were already at the last step off the platform and making the leap down below. To their fortune, just as they’d expected, they found the water of the makeshift moat, a surprisingly deep one.

The splash disoriented Forest as they sunk in deeper, way deeper than they were supposed to. Opening her eyes revealed why. Rather than a shallow pond to slow those that crossed it, it was deep. The murky water in the surface housed a deep trench that that must’ve been about eight stories below. And apt comparison as she began to notice the makeshift windows and doors made off sunken wood and stone, rather homely carved, at least far better than the troll’s work, even as the vegetation was claiming it. 

The sight left her stunned for such a brief second, she almost forgot she had to hold her air. Already she was taking her first strides upwards when she felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her down.

“Stop” Rylai’s voice came in clear underwater, echoing and reverberating as if speaking from the inside of a cavern. ”Down here!” She said yanking her down. The warning came none too soon as spear points and huge bodies were making a splash near the surface as the trolls were throwing themselves to recapture their meal.

Without many options to choose from, Forest heeded the mermaid’s advice and allowed herself to be dragged down, holding her breath for as much as she could.

Rylai was spry and nimble in her element. With her long tail, she pulled Forest along the trench with little problem. Making a ball of light out of magic to give them a good glimpse of the buildings and structures around. It would’ve been a sight she wouldn’t have minded, weren’t for the worry of running out of air, and she was quite certain that her body couldn’t breathe underwater.

Their travel made a quick turn towards her left as Rylai led Forest into one of the buildings. The inside was what she might come to expect, having once seen a recording of the inside of the Titanic. The once still waters swam about with bits of plant life and moss while the pieces of furniture that had been left in, made out of stone rose up a cloud of dirt that threatened to make her eyes sting. The ceiling was high, and many entrances and alleyways were carved on the way, but what mattered was a sort of shimmer that rested atop where the ceiling would be. “There,” Rylai pointed as she immediately pulled Forest up towards it.

The gasp of air was so longed for, Forest ignored the stale air and the dusty earth air that fell from above that their movements were making. It was a built-in air pocket that had a wooden ceiling and a good view into a garden of mushrooms and withered plants. For a second, Forest had been concerned about the lack of oxygen and if the air here was breathable, but after the third gasp of air, as she was steadying herself, it didn’t matter as she was still alive and allowed herself to ease up.

Rylai emerged soon after with a small gasp that felt magnified within the echoing place. “Forest? Are you well?” She said moving over to check on her.

“I am… just didn’t knew what to expect.” Forest answered as she took another deep breath, catching on the fringes of the small garden, a couple of plants still sustaining themselves as the roots nearby made sure that the air remained clean enough. “What is this place?”

“Some mermaid homes have air pockets. I noticed them in some of the buildings before I was captured.”

“Could’ve told me this beforehand…” Forest said.

“Sorry, though neither of us knew where we were going to fall, didn’t we?” Rylai answered, though interrupted by the sound of distant thumping and splashing.

“What do we do now?” Forest asked. 

“I don’t know if they’ll stop looking for us,” Rylai muttered.” Since we’re down here, do you mind if I search for the heirloom I was looking for? I think I read the household name I’m looking for not far from here.”

“Search for it?” Forest said, almost a bit startled. “What about me?”

“I promise I’ll be back.” Rylai answered 

“What if you get captured again?” Forest objected.

To that, Rylai thought for a second. “I’ll be as careful as possible… but if you are worried, you can just say it and I will stay here until the danger drifts away.”

The offer was something she hadn’t expected. Having seen what slave trading was and already imagining part of the worst of people, she half imagined that the mermaid would leave her there to pursue her own quest. It took her a moment to remind herself of the things Rylai must’ve been through and, more importantly, how she survived. “Very well. Search around and don’t get caught. I’ll try to see what I can find… around here.”

Rylai nodded. “It’ll be five minutes. I’ll be back by then.”

“I’ll try to find the algae I’m looking for.”

“There’s plenty around,” the mermaid answer though not before adding “Be careful, okay?”

“Likewise.” And with that, Rylai pulled herself down underwater, though. Even though the water was still murky, she could feel her moving the current, and once it remained still, she knew she’d been left alone.

“Great…” Forest sighed, taking a deep breath as she let herself float on the spot. There were so many fears that would’ve crossed through Forest’s mind, from the trolls finding her to the increasing illusion that the space was growing smaller with each breath she took but restrained herself. “Come on. I can do this…” She told herself as she took in a mouthful of air and submerged back.

Rylai did the favor of leaving behind the ball of light that casted illuminated the otherwise dilapidated household. Now, without the concern for air she began to explore her way around. She didn’t recall having to swim in this form before, but it was a test that didn’t proof that hard. A part of her had been previously worried that her body would either float or sink, turns out, there wasn’t much different to what she recalled.

She did get an edge, though, as her toes grew longer, and a sort of leaf-like membrane grew between her digits. With these, she swam fast enough to make her feel she could venture further out without any problem.

Taking stock of where the air pocket was, she swam towards the exit of the building. Rylai had taken them down to the bottom of the trench and, while it was unsettling to know they were this deep, looking up, she, at least, felt safe from the trolls that were still splashing up above. Still, Forest felt enough freedom to dive lower towards the ground. The light of the orb was bright enough to find the ground but too far distinguishing the plants became an issue.

Still, it became less of a problem for Forest. Despite holding her breath, she managed to tap into the plant-life web and, even in the dark, she was able to make out the algae from dirt, rocks, and sunken wood. And having been able to get a feel of some of the algae around in the netting, she had a faint idea of what she was looking for.

It was within a couple of trips back to get some air that Forest found a prime sample of the algae. She gripped its vine and digging into the earth seeking to get as much of the specimen as possible though found that the root was far deeper than she expected. 

More tries came in as sought to get all of it, up to the holdfast, the thin roots that were keeping it anchored. With them, she thought, she might be able to farm them at the clinic.

A sudden figure moved through the foliage to her side and almost startled the air out of her lungs. Rylai had returned, looking apologetic.

“Sorry,” she spoke underwater. “I found what I was looking for.” She presented a small satchel bag that hung across shoulder, with the contents almost looking sealed in an airtight manner. 

Forest could only give her an acknowledging nod as she went back to pulling the plant before she’d need to get more air.

“Is this the plant you’re looking for?” Rylai asked. 

When Forest gave an urgent nod, she muttered something into her hand and produced another orb of light so they could get a better look. A bit of conjoined effort allowed them to procure the plant, and the two were swimming back into the air bubble.

Forest emerged with a gasp of success that left her almost dizzy, it was either that or that she was using up all the air the plants in this pocket could produce. Not long after, Rylai appeared. “Is that what you wanted?” she asked.

“Yeah, it is.” Forest said. Underwater, she had wrapped the algae around her still mending arm, letting the roots feed off her just so that the plant wouldn’t die. A couple of tugs and the thing was fastened as any rubber-band but far smoother. “We can leave now then.”

Rylai nodded while her finned ears flickered and spread out, glancing up above. “I don’t know if they’re still searching for us.”

“And I don’t think I can spend the night here,” Forest admitted, with the oxygen starting to wear thin in the bubble.

“We just need to get as far away as possible,” Rylai muttered. “I can swim us there. Usually, these places have a connecting point to the river, though I don’t know how long you’ll be able to hold your breath.”

“We don’t have any other options.” Forest resigned herself, to which Rylai nodded, turning around, and presented her back.

“Hold on tight,” she said.

Forest obliged and wrapping her arms around her, pulling herself tight, with one of Rylai’s hand offering itself to anchor one of Forest’s. A reversal from the previous situation.

“Are you ready? It’ll be a rough swim.”

“Just get on with it.”

“If you feel like you’re going to run out, shake my hand, okay?” And with that, Rylai counted up to three before diving back in, letting Forest take in as much air as possible for the hectic swim.

The mermaid had certainly been holding back in her swimming down. With Forest on her back, she sped through the moss and algae at a breakneck pace, deftly navigating through the ‘street’ of the trench. 

She couldn’t see where they were heading nor gage their speed. She hoped that it was giving them a good distance from the trolls that were after them, hopefully, closer to where she left the horses. As they carried on, Forest noticed herself brushing against the vegetation that grew on the side of the trenches more often while making sharper turns. Was the passageway getting narrower? What if they reached a dead end or they had to traverse a tunnel? How long would she able to hold on?

As she circled her thoughts, Forest realized she was running out of air. Desperately, she tugged from Rylai’s wrist and immediately felt her body start to incline for the ascent, and not a moment too soon as she felt her lungs wanting to shrivel.

The two emerged, making it through a crack on the ground and breathing the dense air of the marshes, though compared to the stagnant one of the underwater pockets, it was more than fresh enough for Forest’s lungs. Even as she tried to be discreet, she found herself involuntarily letting out a labored gasp.

This was so tame when compared to being buried alive but felt the lack of oxygen far more than then, she thought to herself crawling closer to the land while Rylai pulled herself to her side.

“Are you alright?” To which Forest replied with a thumbs up. “Good… sorry for that, I tried to go as fast as I could.” She looked around. “But I think we lost them.”

“I’ll feel that as soon as I get back to my cart,” Forest managed to say, now having recovered her breath. In the dead of the night, the air was cold, and she was already feeling hunger start to weaken her. Fortunately, the algae were still wrapped around her arm, a proof that she’d completed her mission.

“I take it that we’re parting ways here?” Rylai said pulling herself up higher. “I’m heading to the river.”

“I suppose we are,” Forest sighed.

“We should contact each other again at some point. If you’re hunting for any of Elliot’s partners, I’d be happy to help,” Rylai said, somewhat saddened by the departure though eager at the prospect ahead. “Though… right now, I can’t really say where I’m staying.”

“I live inland… so I can see how difficult it would be for you,” Forest said. “If you’re ever by Firlandis, contact the guardians and tell them you want to talk to Forest Whitmore. One of them should assist you.”

“I’m not sure where that is, but I’ll remember it.”

“I live in an old clinic, about an hour or so away from the city,” Forest tried to think of the name of the river that ran through the Dein clanlands when the sound of lumbering steps and bushes ruffled brought them back to the current dangers. The trolls had gotten closer to where they stood, with a torch’s light signaling just how close they were. 

“Crap” Forest gasped as they both exchanged looks. The mermaid beckoned her to get back to her, so they could dive back into the trench. She considered it and was crawling her way to meet her when a huge spear landed on the way, just short of pinning Rylai’s arm.

“Here!” the troll hollered already throwing another spear, and at the signals, it almost appeared as if more fires were emerging from within the woods.

“Forest!” Rylai called.

“Just leave! I’ll be fine!” Forest said, stumbling herself back up.

“But!” Rylai said as more falling spears forced them apart.

“I’ve survived worse! Now go!” Forest called out.

After hasty deliberation, she finally conceded. “Be safe.” Before throwing herself down into the seemingly shallow puddle that concealed the trench’s entrance. And with that, she disappeared as more spears landed closer to it, though missing as they all remained at surface level.

Forest didn’t linger longer than a second, instead, her feet took her out of the path. 

Here!” The trolls called out.

“Shit,” Forest cursed as more javelins rained upon her. One came in surprisingly from the bushes to the side, staking itself into the earth just in her step forcing her to stop. But before she could slip to a side, another one came crashing from behind, scratching a good part of her stomach. A killing blow weren’t her body already deft at punishment.

She fell down to her knee, her hand pressed against the wound. She tried to concentrate her body to close it while numbing the burning feeling, but it was stalling her where she stood.

The trolls were coming closer from two sides, she counted four, two of them seemingly out of throwing weapons, while the other one kept his remaining spear at hand. They were lumbering in Forest’s way, making out heavy splashes a from the shallow water. One of them, had their foot sink into the hidden trench, causing him to trip.

“Food!” one of them said, his eyes almost red in frustration. Forest had the feeling that she would be needing to face them head on, even if she would inevitably lose the fight in her current state. She drew, in preparation, from the blue sleeper that she had in her system and began to work on producing the narcotic pollen. Even if she knew it wouldn’t work in their heightened state of mind.

“Aqua Manipula!” came echoing words from the side, Rylai’s same voice she’d used to speak underwater now being uttered at the top of her lungs with a song-like tune. 

She had emerged from between the marches where, under the light of the moon, she had a sort of magical glow surrounding her as her magic worked. And with it, the water level seemed to rise up around the running trolls, making their steps suddenly sluggish and tripping some down in what was a big splash, while conversely, the water around Forest pulled back.

“Alright,” Forest said relieved. Her wound had closed enough to let her move, and just in time to make her leave as the trolls were still pulling themselves up and splashing about. The water seemed to, oddly, keep them down. 

“Fish!” came in a voice from the side, the big troll that had cut Forest’s path emerged from the plant life. Ignoring her, his set his sights for the mermaid, raising up a huge spear with proper aiming. Rylai seemed unaware of it, too focused on trying to keep the others at bay. She would’ve been an easy target.

Forest casted her concerns away and immediately ran over to meet him before the spear could go out. It was like running into a car, painful at first, but her objective was to put her hand, filled in with blue sleeper pollen up into the troll’s nose. It was enough to sap the strength off his throw, having instead the javelin carry on a stunted flight before digging itself into the ground.

With Rylai safe, Forest sought to defend herself from the distracted troll. The blue sleeper wasn’t enough to knock him out and was already reaching over to grab her.

Out of desperation, Forest engorged the fist of her good hand, giving it and her shoulder as much mass and density as it was possible in the short timespan before swinging it against the creature’s head.

It was like striking a boulder. Hard, painful and with the feeling of futility as she was sure the bones in her hand broke, but it was enough. The troll was toppled over, not exactly knocked out but stunned.

“Thanks,” Forest whispered in Rylai’s way as she resumed her urgent run towards the east, around the area where she left the wagon. Though not without casting a glance over her shoulder and seeing Rylai dive back underwater, this time to run off as she intended.

And Forest did her retreat as well.

——

Her strides were fast, almost carrying within themselves weightless as she put up as much distance from the trolls as possible. Even if the marsh waters made it impossible to know if her footing was good, she was still outpacing the trolls, watching the bushes she passed off disappear in the distance behind her and still not seeing a bulky silhouette following her.

She’d made it far, safely.

With just her clothes on, she’d lost what little exploration gear she had, but had emerged from it all with her prize wrapped around her shoulders. The algae were still tightly knit around her while feeding off Forest’s own blood to sustain itself within these conditions.

“I feel faint,” she admitted herself as she allowed herself to ease her steps into a walk. Being captured, almost drowning, and running for her life, she was running low on energy and the night still felt as long. Yet, luck seemed to smile upon her as she spotted the outline of the wagon and heard the horses snort nearby.

The two animals recognized and neighed as if encouraging her to pick up the pace. “Thanks goodness,” she said as she closed up the distance.

As she feasted on the spare rations she carried, she thought about that mermaid, Rylai, and wondered about the story. Knowing where she was while Forest herself was at her lowest, it felt as if they had at least some things in common and, at least, a new ally. The only pity was how the two were forced on separate paths.

All she could hope, was that they would meet again. And something within, reassured her that might be the case.