Chapter 25 – Mad Dance
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Previously on The Forgiven: Liar is revealed to be inflicted with a fatal curse. In order to treat him, Grimm recruits Nicholas Flamel into the Forgiven.
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"Wait! You're recruiting him?!" Liar exclaimed.
"As an honorary member, yes."
"The Forgivers will not approve of this. I assume you have a plan?"
"Broad strokes."
"That doesn't sound at all vague or ominous." Liar turned to Flamel. "And you're alright with this?"
The crab lifted his pincers into the air that gave an "I don't know" impression. "For once, in a very long time, I'm rather unsure as to what will happen next. How exciting!" he clicked his claws.
Liar palmed his face, and shook his head.
"What's going to happen next, is we need to get you out of this damned forest, and teleport you to one of our safe houses." Grimm stepped next to Liar and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look on the bright side. You got the pet you always wanted." She gestured to the enormous Red Hermit Crab.
"Oh, yes. He's adorable. I love him…." Liar said without emotion.
On the other hand, Norse was now petting Crookshanks, looking pleased.
"Now then, what is the plan for our daring escape?" Flamel snapped excitedly.
"Hate to disappoint you, but it won't be too daring or exciting. The plan is you get outside your shell, and move us down the river until we're out of the forest. The Magi after us shouldn't be able to stop you, if you bull rush them—what with no working magic and all. Plus, they don't even know what you look like. So—"
*Boom…..*
They all heard something explode in the distance, and exited the house. Outside, they could see a long trail of smoke ascending to the sky. Near the bottom of the trail, orange light flickered in its silhouette. The Forgiven sharpened their ears, and could hear some screaming accompanied by more explosions.
"That's coming from the settlement," Liar observed. "If they're interrogating the locals, it won't be long until they've discerned our whereabouts."
"Just perfect. I thought things were going a little too well for us." Grimm grabbed Flamel's giant beard. "What are you waiting for, old man? Get us the hell out of here!"
"Right-o!"
The crab took his place under the shell and began shuffling his legs at blurring speeds. Passengers on the shell jerked from the sudden vertigo, likened to a boat suddenly blasted at full throttle. The only thing keeping them from flying off was their death grips on Flamel's shell.
Liar continued to look out at the trailing smoke shrinking in the distance.
"How did they manage that? It's not magic, is it?"
"It is possible our enemy is resorting to Muggle weapons."
"Maybe, but I doubt they'd really let go of their pride as Magi. We should assume they found some sort of alternative. Nick!" Grimm called to Flamel. "Is there really no way of using magic in this forest?"
"Organic types of magic, such as herbs and potions may still have effect, but nothing to provoke such a reaction you are suggesting. As long as I have been here, I have found nothing in the way of casting spells without interference."
Grimm bit down on her thumbnail, her lip scar stinging a bit. "How are they doing it….?! My bad feeling's getting worse."
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""What bad feeling?"" Norse and Liar questioned her. A familiar sense of foreboding shadowed their words.
"For one thing, Troll Garden united the other Mercenary Guilds into an alliance, which is why they're not fighting each other. That's no easy feat."
"The cowards are banding together."
"It's more than that. They're organized. While I was doing my sweeps, the groups were intermingled, side by side, despite all the bad blood between them. Whoever brought them together, whoever's leading them—they're good."
"…..You suspect the mysterious leader of Troll Garden. Even our information has turned up nothing about his or her identity," Liar piped up.
Grimm nodded and bit her thumbnail harder.
"They might be the one we've been looking for."
"The one after the Sorcerer's Stone."
"Voldemort,"Liar echoed all their thoughts.
Flamel flinched and bucked a bit at hearing the name.
"Oi! Eyes on the road, Flamel! You should get used to us calling him by his real name, we do that a lot," said Grimm.
"Hm hm hm! My word, from the moment our fates first crossed to this very second, you three never cease to provide outstanding circumstance! Vol- Voldemort! Oh, how delightful!"
"So, you suppose he's figured a way to use magic in the forest?" Liar continued.
"Wouldn't put it past him. Asshole almost conquered the Wizarding World and all."
"I will scout ahead," Norse suggested.
The large witch morphed into her penguin form. After adjusting her radio onto her body, the bird leapt into the waters, and swam ahead of Flamel.
They traveled this way for hours. Grimm took on her fox transformation and used her acute sense of hearing as a radar. Liar was inside the house taking inventory of the equipment they had, which wasn't much. Some camping supplies and a few tools to be used as crude weapons. The only thing worthy of note was Flamel's large cache of drugs, which the young man had an idea for.
*MRAW* Crookshanks meowed loudly.
"I believe we should direct our attention above," Flamel suggested.
Grimm, who was tracking their immediate surroundings, never turned her senses upward. Once she did, the fox saw what Crookshanks was alerting them of.
A large flock of Thestrals were patrolling the skies. On the back of the bat winged horses, were witches and wizards wearing the colored cloaks of their guilds. As soon as they caught sight of Flamel's giant body, they condensed into a massive black cloud, and dove towards them like a swarm of bees.
Liar worked furiously to mix the right flammable ingredients together in Flamel's work bench. When he finished, he chucked a large stock of recreational herbs into the house's hearth.
"Best to do this quick, while they're still clumped together! Apologies, Flamel. I'm sure you can prepare more later."
"Not to worry. This escape is most exhilarating!"
"An adrenaline junky in search of cheap, life threatening thrills. Indeed, welcome to the Forgiven."
Liar lit the herbs, and the stock went ablaze in an instant. Out from the chimney top shell came rainbow colored clouds. Heaps of billowing smoke covered the pursuing Thestrals and blinded them. Short moments later, some of the dark horses started dropping like dead flies, out of the clouds and into the grounds with disconcerting thuds.
*Beep Bip Bip Beep*
Not allowing them to bask in their brief moment of victory, Liar and Grimm turned their attention to their radios. They listened to Norse's transmission and cursed in frustration. The Mercenary Guilds' ground teams were informed of the party's location and were working on cutting them off.
Grimm stuck her head out the window.
"Flamel! They're heading this way! Don't hesitate for a second! Run them over, or smack them out of the way. They can't outmuscle you."
"Right-o! I'll show these rambunctious riff raffs a thing or two about tussling with the likes of us!"
"Don't let your guard down! If they really can use magic, take them out before they can cast it!"
At the end of her sentence, as if right on cue, several witches and wizards appeared from the tree line. The mercenaries made their way into the river in an attempt to block the giant crab's path. They drew their wands and took aim at the approaching crustacean.
"Allons-y!" Flamel cried, and bashed through them like a wild bronco. The individuals not in his direct path were sent flying by his outstretched claws. "RAAAHHHAHAHAHA!" the Alchemist let out a roaring laughter.
"Don't get cocky, old man! That was only the scout team. They were just feeling us out!"
Liar looked back at their pursuers.
"Did you see the way they pointed their wands? They were fully intent on using magic."
"I didn't see any sort of trick to it. Did you?"
Liar shook his head.
"Nothing I observed," Flamel added.
*Beep Beep Bip Bip Beep*
A new transmission from Norse told them more enemies were set up down the river. Grimm, Liar, and Flamel, could see shadows moving in the trees. It seemed this time, they were going to attack from the sides instead of directly. Wands appeared from the shadows and behind the cover of the forest. Liar and Grimm instinctively took cover.
Almost all at once, a great many voices incanted. Various colored lights burned and faded in the trees along the banks. Some of the spells backfired, quite a few simply did nothing, but a small number of them produced tangible effect, as magic projectiles flew.
Ice, fire, and lightning whizzed through the air and struck Flamel's hide. Fortunately, none of the spells did significant damage, this time around. It was thanks to the Alchemist's thick exoskeleton and shell the three remained unharmed.
"So that's how they're doing it. Simple shot gunning. Rather crude and unimaginative, don't you think?"
"Maybe so, Liar, but it works. They're making the most out of their superior numbers."
"An exploit of the fact that magic will work a very small percentage of the time. Dubious!" Flamel remarked.
The three passed through another volley of projectiles. Though some were small, one or two were amplified by the forest's effects, and punched with enough force to create cracks in Flamel's armor. The great creature tipped over a bit, almost falling sideways, but managed to tilt himself back.
"That was a close one!"
"How are you doing, Flamel?"
"Not too well, Ms. Grimm. I'm afraid their attacks are not only harmful, but cumbersome as well. My speed is suffering, as a result."
"Shite! The next ambush is coming up!" Grimm pulled several knives and went outside. "I'm taking the left bank! Liar, you do something about the right!"
"Got it, boss! Apologies again, Flamel! These seem to be good vintages too!" Liar said with regret, as he turned the Alchemist's alcohol collection into Molotov cocktails.
A small lamenting sigh could be heard from the crab.
"To your health!" Liar yelled, as he pitched one of the Molotovs perfectly into the face of a mercenary. A burning scream accompanied the flames.
If Grimm listened carefully, she could hear Liar cackling like a sadistic villain. It seemed the young man awoke to his inner pyromaniac. But Grimm pretended not to hear it.
This is one of those things you act like you don't notice….
The small witch bit down on her dagger and leapt off Flamel's shell. Midway through her jump, she morphed into her fox form, and darted into the forest. She didn't bother with killing blows, since she merely needed to prevent the enemy from keeping up with Flamel's speed.
The red blur darted across the mercenaries' legs. With the blade in her teeth, Grimm sliced through their flesh like butter. One by one they fell, clutching their bloody legs in pain.
On the other side of the river, fire roared and sent panic among the magi. Almost none of them able to keep composure to cast spells. The ones who did, had their incantations misfire or rendered null.
No further damage came to Flamel as he continued to make his way to the exit. With the crab's speed, and the interference by Grimm and Liar, the distance from their pursuers widened to an almost irrecoverable margin.
The leader of the Forgiven returned atop Flamel's back with heavy, panted breath. Liar helped her up and then sat next to her.
"Is it me…! Or can I believe…falling back?"
"They're mercenaries…! So they'll lose heart…! If the threat to their life…outweighs the chance of reward."
They both took a long breather to calm their beating hearts.
"…..This isn't the end, is it?"
Grimm knitted her hands and stared out into the forest, as if facing an opponent only she could see.
"Doubtful. I'm sure the mastermind behind this has at least one more play to make. I can see him across the chessboard, waiting to move his final piece," she answered.
"Paints quite a picture. So who holds the advantage in this mental game of yours?"
"….He does. He knows we're following the river. There's going to be a big trap at the end."
"And then, checkmate? Should we consider an alternative route?"
"The river doesn't branch anymore. And if we try to move on land, we'll be too slow, and they'll surround us regardless."
"So we have no choice, but to react to their trap. Wonderful….." Liar groaned.
"Any ideas?" Grimm asked Flamel.
"Regretfully, no. It seems for all my knowledge of Alchemy, I should have perhaps allocated some time to studying military warfare."
"We'll make sure to school you some, old man. Soon as we're out of this mess."
"You assume we will live through this ordeal."
"We always make it through, somehow. We're the Forgiven."
"Hmm…..There is absolutely nothing to base your proclamations on, but I am inclined to trust your words."
"And that's why Grimm's the boss, and we all just work for her," Liar joked.
Grimm elbowed his ribs.
"How's your stamina?"
"Shoulder's blasted from chucking those Molotovs, which we are all out of, by the way. Yours?"
"Spent. I can barely move. So the only ones who can really fight are Norse and Flamel. Things aren't looking too good right now."
Liar lit a cigarette and shared it with Grimm. All they could do was recuperate as much as they could before the final battle.
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*Beep Bip Bip Bip Beep!*
When Norse's transmission came in, Grimm and Liar stared at the radio in disbelief. They wanted to grab the thing and throw it as hard into the forest as they could. The message indicated a trap so far removed from what they expected, Norse repeated the Morse code a few more times to clarify.
Grimm took one last drag of the cigarette before flicking it away in disdain.
"You've got to be focking kidding me….!"
"How the hell did they manage—…! How do we even begin to counter something like that?!" Liar yelled.
"Um…Would one of you be kind as to fill me in on our predicament?"
"Oh, yes, sure. Here's what's happening, Flamel. There's a BLOODY TRIBE OF FOCKING TROLLS waiting for us near the exit!" Liar exploded with a mix of anger and irritation.
"Trolls?!"
"Bloody focking tribe of them…!" Grimm cursed, as she lit another cigarette.
"I believe you were sure of our survival not too long ago."
"Yes, but that was before TROLLS! You know. Big fockers, poor tempers, hard to kill, even with magic."
"With my current condition, I may be able to fight…..one."
"'Troll Garden'. You'd think the name was only for show," Grimm spat.
"Voldemort's always had a way with trolls and giants and the sort. If it is him, that is."
Grimm moaned in frustration.
"And then, there's the whole fleet of angry sods coming at us from our behinds," Liar supplemented.
Grimm moaned louder in frustration.
*Splash*
Out from the water, came a penguin. After a small shake of her body, which sprinkled Grimm and Liar, the witch returned to her human form. Liar took out another cigarette for her and the three smoked in silence for a while.
"I have a plan," Norse signed with confidence.
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"That is the most ballsy, insane play, I've ever heard in my life." Grimm blew a large puff of smoke into the air. "Sounds fun."
"That is madness!" Flamel said with a mixture of fear and awe.
"Heh! Haven't you figured it out, Flamel? Madness and ballsy are some of our group's specialties."
Norse beamed with pride, and rest hands on her hips.
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As the party reached the outer edges of the Betwixting Forest, a number of great looming figures came to view.
Spread across the river were Trolls eleven feet tall. Each of them with their own shabby weapons; blunt instruments, axes, swords, and crude maces. Every tribesman wore tattoos and primitive ornaments to identify their rank and accomplishments.
The Forgiven stopped about forty feet from them and unmounted the side of Flamel's back. The river was fairly shallow now, only reaching up the middle of their calves. All four of the party eyed the enemy Trolls in an intense stare.
Norse scanned them and settled her glare on one in particular. Her target possessed the most adornments and the best weapon of the whole tribe. The blonde witch knew that this one was their Chieftain, and the most dominant warrior of their herd.
With a fierce smile and murderous bloodlust emanating from her, Norse pointed to the Troll Chieftain, challenging him to battle. Her hair glowed as bright as the afternoon sun above. Though the witch was silent, her disposition, her body language, and her posture spoke volumes in speech's place. Like an angry gorilla she pounded her chest, and rushed at the Tribal Leader.
In response to the display, the Troll bellowed an obnoxious roar. He slammed his great axe into the water and dragged it through the river, as he went to meet his foe. The onlookers could only feel a certain sense of awe upon watching the two warriors about to clash.
Norse took careful measure of the space separating them and timed her move with absolute precision. Not only did she have to win; she had to make it look easy, and excessively brutal.
When Norse was close enough, she invoked the Origin Magic that dwelled in her body. The tattoo over her heart shined with the same color and brightness as her hair.
Fortis DEUS FULGUUUUR!
The witch picked up her speed to leap into the Chieftain's guard. Before the Troll could react, Norse positioned herself in the pocket.
She bent her front knee and loaded her whole weight into it. Lightning crackled and yellow electricity could be seen fluctuating along her right leg and arm. Her blood vessels traced with energy like an unstable dynamo.
Norse condensed the spell to its most critical point.
*SNAP*
In an instant, the witch released the built up power inside her. Thunder screamed and a great shockwave caused the surrounding water to pulse.
Norse delivered a lightning fueled upper cut to the Chieftain's jaw. The Troll's head snapped all the way back upon the collision. Its lower face blew completely off, and was sent flying up into the sky.
"Rrrhrrrr," the already dead Chieftain moaned. His head flopped with its tongue sticking out with nothing to keep it in. The large corpse teetered for a while before collapsing into the water. Three seconds later, the mangled lower jaw fell back to the earth and plopped into the river.
No one spoke or moved for the longest time.
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"She just…!"
"Yeah, Liar."
"Did you see—"
"Yeah."
"I mean, we knew—"
"Yeah."
"And when she told us, we said okay—"
"Yea—"
"SHE JUST PUNCHED A FOCKING TROLL!" Liar whooped. "Bloody. Focking….PUNCHED IT!"
"Norse is kind of hot…." Grimm said, in disbelief.
Norse stared back at them expectantly.
"Huh? Oh!" Grimm remembered with a hurry. "OH, YEAH! Remember the plan, you idiots!"
All at once, Grimm, Liar, and Flamel began clamoring and howling at the top of their lungs. While they shouted their battle cries, they threw their arms in the air and swung them as violently as they could. They also pounded their chests like Norse had done before.
Meanwhile, Norse walked over the Chieftain's dead body and removed his head. She lifted it up, like a trophy for all the Trolls to see. Her three cheerleaders in the back howled even louder.
Seeing the Forgiven's overwhelming victory over their leader, and the savage acts that followed, the Trolls started taking involuntary steps backward.
It was a display as old as the dawn of time. Trolls were very much like animals, in that they adhered to a pack mentality. The Forgiven reasoned, if they took out the leader, they would emulate the role of becoming the Alpha, or pack leader–or at the very least, they wanted to instill fear and doubt into the rest of the tribe.
Because truthfully, they would not be able to replicate the event again.
Origin Magic, was a natural ability the Forgiven could perform only once. It burned their body's emergency magic reserves to nothing. Norse wouldn't be able to cast another spell until she had a good night's rest.
So with that in mind, the Forgiven made the biggest bluff of their lives. They hollered until their throats cracked from too much use. Flamel flailed his claws like he was performing an angry crab dance. They stomped the river and splashed water everywhere.
It would have looked ridiculous in any other context, but in the wake of the Chieftain's death, the Trolls were afraid for their lives. Each one of them was personally beaten by their leader into submission. It was only natural, they would be fearful.
And then Norse stepped towards them. Calm, but deliberate strides, the blonde witch stalked into the enemy ranks. Her hair flowed and blazed, like a warrior deity descended. Grimm, Liar, and Flamel put their best intimidating faces on and followed her.
Like parting the seas, the Trolls backed away, and gave them a wide berth. It took them forever to walk through, but they couldn't look rushed or panicked, lest they give their bluff away. So they put up with the excruciating act, as their stomachs did twists and turns.
"What are you Trolls doing?! Catch them!"
The Forgiven turned around and saw mercenaries catching up.
"I believe that is the signal for our departure!" Flamel yelped. He snatched up Grimm, Liar, and Norse; and threw them onto his shell.
"Onwards, noble steed!" Liar declared.
The hermit crab skittered as fast as it could across the water. Some Trolls around them were unsure what to do. A few gave chase, but by the time their doubts dissipated, they were too far behind the speeding crustacean.
"I see it! The end of the forest! WE'VE MADE IT!" Liar cheered.
"That is a waterfall."
"Of course, it's a waterfall," Grimm sighed.
"Hold on tight, my young friends!"
Crookshanks meowed in horror.
Flamel jumped over the edge and fell through the air. As they all plummeted to their deaths, Grimm and Liar had the exact same thought.
While holding onto the Alchemist's shell, they pulled their wands from their pockets and took aim at their pursuers, looking over the waterfall's edge.
"FULGUR MAXIMA!"
"FULGUR MAXIMA!"
Lightning drew a jagged arc and electrocuted the waters their enemies stood on. A last "fock you" before the Forgiven's departure.
"Bodyslide for four?" Liar posed with a victorious smile.
And a moment later, the Forgiven disappeared into thin air….