Chapter 2
Serosa'ruth was far from wrong. The creature was very unnatural. It was huge -- the size of a tree -- and looked like someone had gone to work with stitches. Patches of skin from many different people and creatures of all colors made up its body. One arm was shorter than the other, and its face was barely there, so badly deformed it was. Male, female? Elf, human? Who knew? It was its own species now.
The creature stared at the trio blankly, then suddenly, sluggishly, lurched forward, swinging its uneven arms about. Serosa'ruth easily dodged the swings, unsheathing his blades in the process.
"Should've known. A Flesh Golem. Gods know my old home had many of them..." he said with distaste. Ky'itae gave him a quick sympathetic look, then withdrew her own weapon and charged forward.
Time to test my new blade already, huh? Saeola chuckled, unsheathing it. She quickly ducked underneath the slow creature's fists and took a swing at its stomach.
Their weapons sliced through cleanly, sending blood spraying into the air, but still the creature moved onward. Serosa'ruth leapt back, resheathing his blades. He brought his gloved hands together, twirling his fingers about in intricate patterns, muttering a Druidic phrase through his covered lips.
Recognizing the spell, Ky'itae quickly sheathed her bastard sword and pulled Saeola back with her, clearing the area around the golem. Pointing his fingers at the ground beneath the abomination, the druid shouted his final incantation, nothing happening for a moment. Then, suddenly, the ground rumbled. The earth opened up beneath the flesh golem, and a geyser of hot steam slammed into it, sending the abomination flying into the nearby distance.
Saeola blinked, a bit stunned by the spell. Magic had never been her strong point. At most, she knew how to start a small fire with a spell. Other than that, magic was something she felt unnecessary. Perhaps, she had told herself, if she found the right teacher, she would learn it. "Not bad," She called to Serosa'ruth, nodding her thanks to Ky'itae for getting her out of the way. "While it's down, any ideas on how to beat it?"
"Golems, even flesh ones, are more susceptible to bludgeoning weapons." The elf male retorted, hacking off an already damaged limb from a nearby tree. "If I was a normal druid, I'd be using clubs already, but I'm a swordsman first and foremost, so this isn't really my kind of preferred fight." He readied himself as the golem slowly regained composure.
"Then I suppose my arrows are useless," Saeola sighed. But swords worked. She bolted toward the Golem, slicing off one foot with a clean swipe. Perhaps the new sword was sharper than she'd originally thought.
The golem stumbled, but managed to pound the nimble half-elf in its descent. Serosa'ruth charged, smashing his branch club against the golem's head. Ky'itae came from the back, also armed with a makeshift club. She clobbered the flesh golem's thigh, throwing it more off balance.
Saeola winced, feeling something in her arm snap as she attempted to dodge the golem's swing. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she used her used her other arm to throw her sword into the golem's side, hoping the force would knock it over.
The golem stumbled, but didn't quite tip. It swung stupidly at the ranger, but finally fell over when it attempted to shift its balance over to its shortened leg. Tumbling over, the golem hit the ground with a thud that shook the surrounding area. Controlling his balance, Serosa'ruth leapt atop the monstrosity and began to attack ferociously with his makeshift weapon, smashing in critical parts of the golem's body.
Saeola, now without a weapon, wasn't about to remain useless. With surprising speed, she dropped her case of arrows from her back and used her teeth as a second hand to notch an arrow. She aimed the best she could and fired it toward the golem's head. Well, it's gotta hit something...
The arrow flew through the air. Serosa'ruth, noticing its movement, quickly swung his foot out of the way just before the missile slammed into the golem's yellowed eye. The creature roared in fury, pulling itself halfway off the ground before Ky'itae climbed up its shoulders and whacked her club into the arrow, driving it deeper into the monster's skull. The golem stumbled, then fell over, soundless.
There was silence all around. The usual chirping birds having long since fled the scene upon the golem's arrival. Saeola sighed, slumping back to her knees, her broken arm hanging useless at her side. "I'm glad that's over with..."
Serosa'ruth tossed his club aside and hopped off the defeated twisted creation. The elven man knelt down by the younger adventurer and extended his hand outward. "Lemme see your arm."
Saeola nodded and turned so that her injured arm faced Serosa'ruth. She watched him carefully, if not a bit suspiciously.
The druid twirled his fingers and once again began an incantation, this time a white glow emitting from below his fingers. The sound of bones snapping back into place cut through the virtual silence, though the actual healing caused no pain. Serosa'ruth withdrew his hand, standing up once more, his black cloak fluttering with the movement. "That was my only stronger healing spell for the day. Make good use of it."
She winced at the sound. Although there was no pain, the sound was sickening and gave her mind the feeling that there, in fact, should be pain. When he was finished, she worked her arm a bit, rolling it in its socket. "Heh... yeah. Thanks a bunch."
"Just make sure I don't use up all my limited healing spells in one day, all right?" The druid's eyes, the only real visible part of his face, closed in a smile before he turned to inspect the golem. "Hmm... Golems usually have some sort of sign or marking on them to show whose 'property' they are... wizards, especially necromancers, are the only ones who make such creatures. What I want to know is... why let such a thing loose in a forest?"
Saeola stood, gathering her bow and arrows, shrugging the case back onto her back. Her eyes follow the druid's gaze. "I don't know..."
"Maybe it got loose on accident," Ky'itae suggested. She then shrugged and poked at the dead monstrosity, "It's a good possibility, ya know. Perhaps following any trail it may have left would give us answers? After all, we do have a ranger here, Serosa'ruth's a pretty good tracker himself, and I grew up in a forest. Tracking shouldn't be hard."
Saeola shrugged. "Sure, I'm interested in this. It probably made a large trail due to its size, so it shouldn't be too hard. I'm up for it if you two are."
Ky'itae finally dropped her club and turned to the others, "Sero and I are adventurers. This is what we do." She grinned widely, her smile almost seeming to reach her elongated ears.
Saeola smiled back, chuckling softly. "And I'm a wanderer. Sounds like this may work out after all." She pulled her sword out of the golem's side and sheathed it. Serosa'ruth motioned the women to follow him, and thus the trio ventured onwards, deeper into the forest.
- - -
The trio easily detected the golem's trail and began following it in relative silence. After a while, Serosa'ruth, still scanning the area with his blue eyes, spoke up. "Have you adventured for long, Saeola?"
Saeola shrugged with one shoulder. "Long enough, I suppose. I've lost track of exactly how long, I'm afraid. And what about you? How long have to two been traveling together?"
Ky'itae counted on her fingers, but before she could speak, Serosa'ruth simply replied, "About a year, give or take a few weeks. Normally we'd make it much further south within that time, but we ran into a lot of minor quests in the local areas that took up much of our time."
Saeola chuckled again, stretching her arms over her head. "Sounds like you both have an unhealthy like of adventures," She teased lightly, eyes watching the suddenly movement of a rabbit scurrying by.
"We're warriors. What do you expect?" Serosa'ruth chuckled, gazing at the sky through squinted eyes, "Any excuse to be out in nature is good enough for me."
Saeola turned her eyes back to Serosa'ruth, watching his back. "I would expect nothing less from a druid. Where do you come from, anyway?" She glanced at Ky'itae, aiming the question at her as well.
"Far away." Was all the answer the druid gave the half-elf. As if sensing his discomfort, Ky'itae quickly brought the attention to herself by answering the ranger's question.
"I'm from a small city... really more of a large town... in the Misty Forest, so I've come quite a distance myself, though we seem to be heading south again, towards my home."
Serosa'ruth's odd reaction did not go unnoticed, but Saeola said nothing of it. She smiled at Ky'itae. "Perhaps we'll stop by your hometown, then."
Ky'itae bit her lip, glancing at Serosa'ruth briefly, "Perhaps, but I'm in no rush. My father's a retired general, and he's not expecting to see me back soon. He knows I have too much of his curious nature in me to return home after such a short time."
Saeola eyed them both oddly, then shrugged. "Just a suggestion." These two sure do act oddly...
"What about you? Where do you come from? I've never seen a half-wild elf before, though from your skin tone and hair color, I can easily tell that's what you are." Serosa'ruth noted, turning his head in the ranger's direction, "The fact you're a ranger is no surprise, but out here in the world of humans, dwarves, and other races? The fact you even exists points to a rarity. Wild elves don't really like contact with the outside world, even other elves."
Saeola chuckled dryly. "Just call me the black sheep of my very small race." Her eyes scanned the land they passed, picking up on every detail out of habit. Details were important to remember as a ranger. "You can imagine," She continued after a moment, "that I get a lot of odd looks for that very reason. Although... I'm not sure you'd understand."
"The only sure thing in a natural world is death." Serosa'ruth replied simply, "Perhaps you should never assume. Of course, we all assume things at least a handful of times in our life, so I suppose it's unavoidable."
She made a face at something across a field before glancing toward Serosa'ruth's back. "Spoken wisely... unfortunately there are the people like me who assume too often. A flaw in my character, I suppose."
"Everyone has their flaws and biases." Serosa'ruth assured, "Not even the gods are perfect."
"Too true... and some are more biased than others." Ky'itae sighed, thinking of the majority of the fey folk's horrid xenophobia to all non-elves.
"Heh, true," Saeola replied simply, glancing away once again to watch the environment. She had always found it ironic that the gods they worshipped were very mortal. Then again, that was probably her thinking too hard again.
Serosa'ruth scanned the area with the ranger as the trio came to a larger clearing, where an ancient ruin lay. Broken statues of idols and heroes lent to the druid's belief that it was an archaic temple of some long dead god. Or, at least, the deity's worshippers had long since moved. He innately sensed something wrong, then finally pinpointed his druid senses detecting an oddity.
"It's... too quiet here. In fact, it's perfectly silent, save for the sounds we're making." He noted, turning to the women. "Do you notice it too?"
Saeola stopped walking as well, frowning. "Yes, I noticed it a few seconds before you said anything. Even the winds have fled this place..." She walked over to a large slab with runes carved into it, every step making a sound that was ten times louder in the silence. She crouched down in front of it, examining it curiously as if she could read it. But she couldn't, of course. "I wonder what race built this place?" She wondered out loud.
Ky'itae examined the runes carefully, but shook her head, also befuddled. "I have no idea." Serosa'ruth huffed to himself, squinting at the markings. His eyes briefly lit with surprise. He ran his fingers along the words, muttering in some foreign tongue, too low for the females to detect his exact words.
"...This... this is an ancient Vhaeraun settlement. It must've been abandoned at least a dozen centuries ago, I'd wager."
"Vhaeraun?" Saeola asked, eyebrows lifting in surprise. "I've never heard of him… is he another long-dead god?" She stood, shifting her bow and case of arrows on her back. Her eyes scanned the crumbled temple. "It still doesn't explain the silence of death surrounding this place."
"Oh, Vhaeraun is by no means dead, my ranger friend," Serosa'ruth answered, "He's the drow god of thievery, deception, drow males, and looks to uniting the entire fey race against all the 'lesser' races. Though he's an unofficial foe of his mother, Lloth, he's still evil and sinister. His followers may be limited in number, but they are devout. I'd say this temple was abandoned to avoid detection by humans or other races moving in too close to the area." The elven druid continued his examination of the place, looking for an answer to the sense of... wrongness choking the field.
The half-elf blinked at his words, then laughed sheepishly. "Right. I knew that…"
"Most surfacers don't know who he is. Dark elves tend to hide their culture as best they can up here. That's what I was taught, at least." Serosa'ruth pointed out, tapping the stone walls with his knuckles. "Hm..." his innate senses told him of a strong magical aura nearby. "I don't know for sure, but I get the feeling that some sort of wizard has converted this abandoned dwelling into a gate to his home. It would make sense for someone who doesn't want unexpected company."
Saeola placed a finger to her chin in thought and frowned, eyes staring into the sky as if it would drop the answers she sought. She perked up at Serosa'ruth's words and snapped her fingers. "You think the person who made that golem used this place?"
"I believe that's exactly where he was leading." Ky'itae commented with a knowing smirked aimed at Serosa'ruth. The druid nodded, still tapping on the walls and sensing the magical energy growing stronger as he moved on.
"It probably needs a password or activation incantation. Very likely in Drow, as some of these runes are fairly new." He pointed at some oddly placed glyphs, unfaded and fresh.
Saeola frowned. "Drow, huh?" She didn't consciously mean for those words to sound disgusted, but she couldn't really help it. Drow were evil, none of them, nor anything of theirs could be trusted. She crouched down beside a larger slab and touched the runes engraved there. "Then unless either one of you know Drow..." She trailed off and glanced over her shoulder at them.
"A Banes phlith, pahntar nindol videnn." Serosa'ruth's voice took on an odd accent as he uttered the phrases just loud enough for both women to hear. He waved his hand over the runes as he spoke, the glyphs glowing yellow as he activated them. They dissolved into the stone, a dull orange portal the size of a half-orc opening before the druid. Serosa'ruth's eyes glittered in semi-smug satisfaction.
Saeola blinked several times before grinning, dropped her hands to her hips. "That was flawless. You've either gotten around or you're a drow yerself." The last part was said jokingly.
"'Know your enemy' as some elves believe. I only know a few phrases myself." Ky'itae answered for the druid, patting the male on the back as he straightened himself. "Well, shall we go?"
"Here's hoping it's not a trick gate meant to trap fools." Serosa'ruth sighed, leaping into the portal.
Saeola chuckled dryly. "Then we die a fools death, right?" And she followed in after them.