Disclaimer: I don't own Witch's House or any of the IPs from which my imported characters originate.
Why Cute Witches Should Deal With Outsiders (And Their Lairs)
Chapter 7: The Hedge Maze
Beta: AllForFire
It took the team a while to recompose themselves after the harrowing encounter with the Woodland Goddess and her companions. Though Hans noted with a growing sense of unease that they still seemed to do so unnaturally fast.
The fact this caused him only unease and did not send him into a panic made him realize just how deeply they were being influenced by the House. A fact that should have had him up in arms, but this too was muted. To the point in fact, that he found it difficult to even think about the part of his mind that was screaming at him to flee this place.
Instead, he focused on the mission. Following the self-proclaimed Woodland Goddess' advice, the team had decided to seek out the Gardener in the Greenhouse. Someone who Viola assured them would have a key into the mansion. Said teenager had, still using the directions she'd seemingly gleaned from her strange connection to the House, had taken up the role of guide.
The connection, truth be told, unsettled Hans most of all about this whole situation. Though nowhere near the levels it seemed to worry Marcus and Hazel, and definitely far below the level of concern all of them would have been feeling if the House didn't seem to be actively suppressing their thoughts on this front.
Despite these concerns, Viola proved herself a competent guide. She led them through the rest of the grounds, with only a few encounters with Vermin that were quickly dealt with. He had a sneaking suspicion that the teenager had deliberately circled around some monsters, but whether that was the case or not, Hans was thankful for the relative peace. The team needed a respite before they faced whatever horror the House decided to throw at them next
Though as they found themselves facing a Hedge Maze behind the mansion, standing in their path to the Greenhouse where the key-bearing Gardener supposedly waited, Hans felt certain their break was over.
This had much to do with the fact that the Maze looked like something straight out of a horror movie. Or an arachnophobe's worst nightmare. It was ominously, almost completely covered in thick silken spiderwebs.
At the sight, Marcus wisely signaled a halt and turned to Viola even as the team automatically spread out to secure a perimeter for them to talk.
"Any idea what to expect in there?"
The blonde worked her lower lip nervously for a while before replying hesitantly.
"We'll need to be wary of Root Spiders."
"Spiders? Who'd have guessed?" Frank snorted, but was quickly silenced via a swift kick to the shin by Hazel.
Looks like she's still a little annoyed with him from earlier. Hans noted with a smile. It comforted him that, despite their frankly terrible situation, his team was still able to joke around.
Marcus gestured for Viola to continue and after a brief glance at the Maze, she complied.
"They are a kind of plant monster made out of tree roots that have coiled around themselves into the shape of a dog sized spider."
The boss nodded, but pressed for more. "Do they have any special abilities?"
"They, uh, spin webs which impede trespassers and will lunge out of the hedges in the Maze." Viola said, before pausing for a moment as if trying to remember a half-forgotten memory. "Oh! And they have a paralytic venom too!"
Sounds nasty. Hans thought to himself with a wince even as he kept his eyes peeled for any enemies that might want to ambush them while they conferred. I doubt they will. The House seems strangely accommodating of us when we do our pow-wows.
"Anything else, Viola?" Paul asked, while Marcus digested what Viola had already said. He knew the black man was trying to think up strategies to deal with these Root Spiders when they ran into them.
That's why he's the boss. Always thinking a step ahead whenever possible.
"Uh, yeah." Viola replied to her father. She turned to Marcus, looking to see if he was paying attention. At his nod, she continued. "The House's Hounds also live inside the Maze."
"I take it they're like my hellhounds?"
Viola nodded.
"In that they're monstrous dogs, yeah. The House's are twisted, shadowy creatures that look like German Shepherds though, not fire and brimstone like yours are."
The father nodded, contemplative. Viola stopped, waiting for direction from the man but Marcus waved her to carry on. She shot one last look at Paul, who still seemed lost in whatever had caught his attention, and with a sigh continued.
"They are extremely fast, agile, and can Shadow Travel. But only when not being observed. What else...? Oh right! They're also ethereal, like the banshee we fought earlier."
"So like the bitch the House hated enough to turn into a tortured specter?" Frank asked suddenly, startling Viola.
"Uh, yeah?"
"Well, that sucks." The heavy grunted in annoyance. "That hag was hard to kill."
Hans agreed wholeheartedly. Dealing with one ethereal monster was hard enough, but what would likely be a whole pack of them? That was liable to get them killed. Though that could be said about facing anything in the House.
"Those two monsters..." Hazel cut in, sounding worried. Something that immediately rang alarm bells in Hans' mind. Whatever had the team's smartest person anxious was unlikely to spell good news.
"What about them?" Paul asked, apparently back from his trip into his own mind.
"They sound like they're designed to work together." Hazel noted. "Like the Spiders are meant to use their venom to immobilize prey for the Hounds to finish off."
"I don't know if they were created to do it on purpose, but that's what they do a lot of the time." Viola confirmed. "The Kennel Master taught them to do it."
"Let me guess, this Kennel Master is the boss of the Maze?" Marcus asked with a resigned sigh.
Their guide just nodded.
"You know, creepy as it is, Viola's connection to the House is damn useful." Frank commented.
Hans agreed, but unlike his friend he found he just couldn't ignore his worries about what it could mean. Even with the House helping it along.
"Paul," Marcus said suddenly. "Your file said you can summon Ifrits, correct? Can you?"
The summoner looked confused but dutifully replied, "Yes, but only one or two at a time."
"Then call one up now."
Hans caught on and with a smirk glanced at the Maze, looking forward to the spectacle that was about to unfold.
Paul meanwhile still looked clueless, even as finished a short subvocalized chant.
For a moment nothing seemed to happen. And then abruptly a pillar of flame exploded out of the earth a few feet to the elder Smith's right, like some kind of volcanic emission. It lasted only a second or two and as it cleared, revealed a tall humanoid made entirely of fire.
"Impressive," Hans muttered quietly. It wasn't easy summoning the fire demons, but Paul had done so nigh-effortlessly. Looks like I've underestimated him.
From the surprised look in Frank's eye and the frown Hazel was sporting, he wasn't the only one. Marcus was sole exception.
Then again, if this detail had been in Paul's file, then Hans wasn't surprised. Unlike the rest of them who had dismissed the Smiths as dead weights simply because of their civilian backgrounds, their dutiful team leader would have actually read up on them. Not simply thrown their files into the shredder after a cursory glance like they had.
We should really stop doing that. We can't always rely on Marcus to know his stuff. We've gotta prepare for the chance that we might nee-
Hans' moment of self-reflection was interrupted by Marcus issuing the order he'd been eagerly expected.
"Burn down the Maze."
"What!?" Viola shouted in alarm and turned to Marcus.
Everyone turned to her.
Everyone that is except her father. Ignoring her, he turned to his summons.
"You heard the man," the demon tamer said. "Set it ablaze!"
"No! Stop!" Viola shouted.
But it was too late.
Raising its arms over its head, the Ifrit quickly gathered together a large fireball. From a mere ember, it quickly grew to the size of a compact car. At which point, the demon threw it into the depths of the Maze, unleashing a firestorm that rapidly swept across the webbing-encased foliage and reducing everything it touched to ash.
Viola just looked on in horror.
The reason for which was revealed when a roar of rage came from the depths of the Maze.
"We've done it now." The teenager breathed fearfully as she took a step back.
As if on cue - and Hans was starting to think it was - their latest challenge leapt out from the still-burning remnants of the Maze and landed in their midst with a earthshaking impact.
Thankfully, no one lost either their feet or their cool, and they all scattered away from the monster.
It, unsurprisingly, was a horrific thing. Part of that was due to it appearance, which resembled a massive drider-like creature whose spider parts were made of roots, topped with a humanoid body akin to a fully-transformed werewolf. But most of the horror came from the way it had grabbed ahold of the Ifrit as it landed, and proceeded to tear the fire demon apart with its bare hands!
"Holy shit!" Frank cried out, expressing the team's thoughts on the display.
Ifrits might not be the most powerful demons, but they weren't chump change either. For this monster to treat one so trivially... That spoke volumes about its strength. Enough to send a shiver up everyone's spines.
Not that any of them had much time to contemplate it, as with a howl of victory at the Ifrit's demise, the monster turned its attention to the team. With its predatory eyes gleaming with malice and its lupine jaws twisted in a snarl, it sent fear coursing through Hans' veins.
Even as it eyed the team up as lambs to the slaughter, the shadows cast by the House's eternal twilight writhed and came to life as a pack of dozens of the Hound creatures that Viola described earlier emerged. As if that wasn't bad enough, Root Spiders poured out of the many openings on the lead abomination's abdomen.
"This must be the Kennel Master," Frank, the irreverent idiot that he is, said unnecessarily as he went full auto on the beast.
Joining in pouring shots into the boss monster, Marcus began shouting orders.
"Hans, Paul, take the adds! Viola, Hazel, magical support."
The sniper didn't need to be told twice. In a well-practiced motion he slung his musket into a ready position and shot off one of his magic bullets, commanding it to scythe through the growing ranks of the lesser monsters.
He was pulling the trigger on a second shot when he felt his sense of time slowed as the familiar Haste spell take effect over him.
It proved its worth almost immediately as his heightened perception allowed him to sling his musket and draw his shotgun in time to pulp the head of a Root Spider that was lunging at him.
Ignoring the way the dead creature became a mushy blob, he dove out of the way as one of the Hounds jumped at him with its fang-filled maw wide open and ready to tear his throat out.
Scrambling to his feet and trying to level his shotgun at the monster, he was saved the trouble when one of Paul's hellhounds charged it from the side and the two descended into a vicious dogfight.
I'm getting punny in the middle of a fight. I blame Frank for this. Hans thought wryly as he took a moment to admire the canine battle royale.
Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to fully appreciate it as the enemy pressed their numerical advantage and he was forced to unload cartridge after cartridge of his blessed shotgun pellets into the seemingly unending swarms of Root Spiders and Hounds.
At least the Hounds are following the normal rules of what being ethereal means this time. Hans noted with some relief as his shots actually seemed to hurt the monsters. If they had flouted the conventions like the banshee had, he'd already have become dog food.
That said, as he reloaded for the umpteenth time, he was hit by another troubling thought. Why the hell haven't I run out of ammo?
In spite of that fact, Hans was starting to really feel the pressure. The monstrous swarm was like an endless tide. He must have destroyed hundreds of the creatures already, but the damned things just kept coming.
"Uh guys!" Hans shouted urgently. "We can't hold out much longer! Hurry up and take down that damned boss!"
"It ain't so easy!" Frank shouted back, sounding just as stressed.
For a brief moment, Hans considered offering a prayer to a god he believed had forsaken the world but quickly dismissed it. If they were going to live through this it was going to be by their strength.
That or another Deus Ex Viola.
"It ain't so easy!" Frank shouted back to that damn wannabe cool sniper. Like hell they didn't know they had to take out the boss monster quickly. What did he think he and Marcus had been trying to do the whole damned time?
He had unloaded so much of his magic power into the damned thing that he should be dead from magical exhaustion by now. It was only thanks to whatever trick the House was pulling to keep his magic from depleting that he was even still standing, much less able to fight. Heck his magic hadn't dropped a notch the whole time they were in this accursed place, even after all the crazy fights.
Thanks Ellen! Frank thought to himself only half-jokingly. That's your name right? I think that's what I heard Viola call you.
There was no reply and Frank wasn't expecting one. Not really. He was just joking around a little. Humor, after all, had always been something of a retreat for him when things were going south. A way to keep sane when everything went to shit, you know?
Well, considering how even after hitting the damn drider with enough firepower to take out a tank, the damn thing was unscathed and just sitting there howling up more of his doggy friends and shitting out more spiders…. Frank was in a really funny mood at the moment.
Perhaps sensing his mood, or just because fate or whoever wanted to screw with him, this was precisely the time when things got worse.
Breaking with its pattern of just sitting there spawning more minions, the Kennel Master suddenly raised its right arm over its head and conjured a bloody flaming whip into its hand.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Frank cursed even as the monster snapped its new weapon in his direction.
"Haste!" Hazel's voice shouted hastily.
The spell took effect in the nick of time and Frank rolled out of the way by a handful of millimeters.
It's times like this that reminds me why I put up with that arrogant bitch. The heavy thought with a wince as he inspected his new burns. He might have escaped a direct hit but the beast's weapon was so insanely hot that his close shave still left him with some rather nasty injuries.
Assured by his quick check that he was still good to go, Frank leveled his minigun at the thing's hand to try to disarm it. Marcus seemed to catch on and quickly redirected his own fire to the thing's paw.
Much to their frustration, their shots continued to do absolutely nothing to faze the monster.
Well, they were lucky then that their team happened to have a pretty little trump card didn't it?
With the sound of cracking glass, the Kennel Master's hand suddenly was cut off and fell to the ground to become mush.
Glad Viola's on our side. That girl's getting scary.
Here he and Marcus were doing everything to hurt the monster and accomplishing nothing and she actually amputates one of its limbs in a single spell. That was badass!
Not that the Kennel Master seemed to agree as it howled in agony and clutched the stump of its ruined arm with its good one and summoned another host of his dog minions.
Before he could do any more than that though, there was another sound of shattering glass and the damn thing was suddenly bisected in half.
"Holy cow!" Frank breathed in shock as the two halves of the abomination fell to the ground and collapsed into he disgusting mush that most the House's monsters seemed to.
Taking the hint at their master's demise, the various other monsters immediately turned tail and ran.
"You'd better run!" Frank roared tauntingly, as he shot a burst into the fleeing swarm. "Or our resident little Magical Girl will cut you lot into pieces too."
"Frank! I'm 18!" Viola shouted, an adorable pout on her face. "I'm not a little girl."
"Meh! You're still a pipsqueak to me." Frank told her with a shrug, artfully hiding the shiver that went down his spine when he realized he'd upset the terrifyingly powerful girl.
She didn't seem to notice, instead taking his words at face value and deflating in dismay.
And one more bites the dust!
This was actually quite a fun chapter to write for me. It allowed me to play up how by now everyone knows something is not right with their reactions, their logistics (ammo, magic reserves, etc.) and especially with Viola. Oh, and the growing realization of just how incredibly powerful the teenager really is.
AllForFire: The teenager ends up with the monster-dismembering powers. Ah, a tale as old as time…^^X) ;)
As always I hope I did a good job, but do let me know what you guys think. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone for reading. Hope to see you next time. Till then, peace out!
