Part 4: The Order of the Vine

The woman and the boy had brought me back to the Maw of Chaos. It felt like an entirely different place now that I was alive. Each breath of air smelled fresh and the sky was an endless sheet of black that had no effect on how well-lit the world seemed to be. We stood at the edge of a blue-colored forest and when I looked across the nearby field, I could see the dark wood I had visited not that long ago.

My escorts lead me deep into the blue forest and the further we traveled, the more I could hear whispers from all around us.

"Sneaksies be here to helpsies?"

"Bes called by Viktoria. Hopes she is knowing what she be doing in this."

Viktoria: The Lady of the Wood. Now it all made sense, and my interest in my current whereabouts increased. She said she had need of me. I owed her the favor for breaking me out of Costa's dungeon, I just hoped that what she wanted was something I'd be willing to give her.

My escort brought me to a village with huts built right into the trees. There were other natives there, most wearing barely anything but the tattoos on their bodies. They had a lot to whisper about me but it all died down when the Lady of the Woods made her presence known.

"Welcome, Garrett, my honored guest." She stepped out of the tallest tree and approached me as bare as ever. When she saw how bruised my face was, she reached up to feel the swollen skin around my eye. I winced at the contact but looked in time to see her wave over a girl who carried an abnormally large flower bud. Viktoria peeled one of the petals off the flower and before I could object, she pressed it against my left eye. "Hold still."

With my right eye, I could see the green light that traveled through the veins of her body towards the petal she pressed into me. When the light faded from her, the petal crumbled away from my face and I could finally see out of my left eye again. There was still some soreness and bruising when I touched my face but at least it was manageable.

"Much better." Viktoria smiled at her handiwork and gestures towards the large hut. "Come, Garrett. You must be hungry and thirsty after your ordeal."

"I can wait." I had no idea what food would be like in the Maw but I wasn't interested in trying it. "You brought me here because you need me to do something."

She smiled at my directness. "To the point, just like your predecessor." We stepped into the hut, which took us out of the whisper range of her strange clan of followers. She sat on a mossy log and gestured for me to join her. I stayed close to the hanging moss that acted like a curtain in the doorway.

"I am not going to harm you," she said. "I told you that before."

"I don't doubt that." I folded my arms and leaned against the doorway. "What do you need me for, Viktoria?"

"An old friend of mine has become poisoned by his own rage. You know him as the Trickster—a name with such negative connotations. I know him as the Woodsie Lord: One of the gentlest souls to walk the woods of your realm."

I squinted thoughtfully. "Is this the same 'gentle soul' said to enjoy tearing the flesh and eyes from humans that don't like to live the 'Woodsie' lifestyle?"

"Skin, yes, and I am the one who plucked the eye." She admittedly that pretty proudly. "It was only one, and from a very special man who became one of my greatest allies. I was hoping you could be one as well."

"As long as you're not going to charge me an eye for it, we might be able to do business. I am on a bit of a schedule, though."

She smiled innocently but there was a sinister edge to her response. "I know. The Keepers are trying to use you. Either you will do what they want, or they will turn you weak and leave you somewhere to die."

That didn't sound at all like the ultimatum I was given. I started to feel a little more wary of the company I was keeping.

"The Keepers and the Pagans have long held a very uneasy truce. If you side yourself with us, we can protect you from them."

"I prefer leather pants to a leather loincloth," I told her. "Besides, it's more profitable for me if I don't pick sides."

She was amused by my earnest comment. "I suppose it is. Well, you do owe us for providing you with the means to escape their grasp. I trust that you are honor-bound to assist?"

I stood away from the door but continued to keep my distance. "I'm still here, aren't I? What do you need?"

Viktoria reached forward and spread her fingers outward. A long stem grew in the center of the hut and sprouted a large flower with two petals that curved upwards like the eye of a needle. Between them, a haze of pollen displayed images that matched her narration.

"Centuries ago, we lived and died among your people. The Woodsie Lord wanted nothing more than to continuously gift The City's inhabitants with the bounties of nature, and he was struck down for it. I was murdered by an irredeemable band of religious zealots."

The picture between the petals showed a distorted image of a goat man being overwhelmed by a crowd of men and women, then it showed Viktoria screaming while she was being burned at the stake. A twinge in my right eye told me that picture was distorted for a reason. She wasn't telling me the truth, but I decided not to call her on it, for now.

"Recent stirrings awakened us from the endless sleep we were ushered into. While I arose well-rested and ready to resume my duty as a protector of the woods, I am afraid that my fondest friend still walks the nightmare of his rejection and sees only revenge before him."

"All right. So what can I do to stop him from seeking his revenge?" I wanted her to get to the point of her story; after all, I still needed to destroy that door in the ruins and the longer I waited, the more of a chance Costa had to send his friends after me again.

"You must approach the Woodsie Lord and take the Thorn of Vengeance that has lodged itself in his heart."

Now we were getting somewhere. "Is that all you need me to do?"

She shook her head and replied, "It won't be easy. He has powers greater than my own. Even now, his misplaced anger changes our realm for the worst."

The portal between the petals revealed a far edge of the woods, where most of the trees were leafless and bent at the trunk. The grass gave way to a rocky landscape that cracked into inhospitable terrain.

"I am doing what I can to keep his influence from reshaping the forest altogether." Viktoria's words pulled my attention to her face, and I could see the hint of strain in her features. She really did need my help. If the Trickster's powers were greater than hers and she faced him while trying to hold the forest together, she wouldn't stand a chance.

"Where can I find him?"

"Deep within his own anger, plotting against all of mankind for what was done to him." She stood up and lead me back outside. We walked to the edge of the village while she continued her explanation. "The Maw of Chaos can be easily shaped by the emotions of those who are the most attuned to its essence. Follow the trail of desiccation and you will find the Woodsie Lord. Free him from his anger and this nightmare will end."

Everything I knew about the Trickster came from children's tales and superstitious sermons from a few fanatics that wandered the streets. They made him sound like a god, but I always thought that if the old gods did exist, they wouldn't be something that could be hurt or destroyed. Whatever the Trickster was, his tantrum was killing the habitable areas of the Maw. I agreed to the task to settle my debt with Viktoria. Hopefully I wouldn't have to try and kill a god, but if that's what it took to get out of this situation alive, I was holding that as an option in the back of my mind.