A/N: You know, I was concerned that being back in class would have a negative impact on my upload speed. Apparently not. :P My mind has been overflowing with brilliant plot and it needs to be written or I go bonkers. Anyway, be sure to read Chapter 14 before reading this one! A special thanks to FierceDeityMask (I spelled your username right this time!) for editing the first half of this chapter! And thank you to all my reviewers last chapter! Enjoy!
Anna's directions led the party to a small hut, in the same style of carved out stumps as the rest of Greenwood, situated not far from the village altar. The curtains were drawn across the windows, but the flickering light of a fire could still be seen. Moonlight lit the stylized leaf that was carved into the wooden door of the house. The only sounds were the chirping of crickets and a warm wind rustling the foliage of the village.
"Here we are. This is where Priestess Lana lives" Anna told the others. The ranger's face was still unnaturally pale and she leaned heavily against Lance. "'Best not to irritate her, by the way; Old Lana can-and will-lecture your ears off," Anna glanced around at Matt and Lance.
Matt shrugged before stepping up to the door. He rapped his knuckles sharply against the thick door before stepping back. The muffled sound of an elderly woman's voice called through, "Who is it?"
"It's me, Anna, and my friends," Anna called back.
"Ah, Anna, come in, come in! I've just made some tea."
Matt twisted the doorknob and motioned the other three inside before following and shutting the door behind him. The elderly priestess was hunched over a teapot on a metal cooker with her back turned to her guests. She had long slate-grey hair tied in a braid that fell down her back. The four friends stood there awkwardly for a few moments before Matt cleared his throat. Lana ignored him as she poured a cup of tea for herself and set the teapot back down. Lance tried clearing his throat next and finally the woman turned to face them.
"Cold season's started early, has it?" She asked with an arched brow. Matt had the decency to look embarrassed while Lance simply mirrored the woman's expression. Lana chortled at the gunner, "Ho, ho I like this one's gumption! Most young folk start apologizing right away!" Her expression changed to concern as she finally noticed how Anna was slumped against Lance, "Oh, my. You look in poor health, my dear. Come, come: set her down by the fire, boy. You with the cat, be a dear and grab a few more cups for tea from by the cabinet by the window?" Lance grumbled about being called 'boy', but gently lowered Anna onto a cushion near the fire as Natalie set NoLegs down and went to retrieve the requested cups and poured some tea for each of the guests. Lana thanked the mage, settled back in a low chair, and turned a shrewd eye on the four settled around her fire, "Now, then, what brings you to Old Lana in the middle of the night? Do you need healing, Anna?" The ranger shook her head and once again related what had happened from entering the village that morning, explaining that the heroes were not responsible for the theft of Greenwood's Jewel and that Whitefall's had been taken as well, all the way up to Michael's attempted murder. Natalie and Matt chimed in to fill in the part from when Anna was unconscious. The more Lana heard, the deeper her frown became. She released a heavy sigh, "I see. I must apologize on behalf of the villagers; their reaction was inexcusable. I have the upmost confidence that you will succeed in retrieving the Jewels. As for this assault, you came here to ask me to glimpse what might have caused young Michael to resort to such drastic measures?"
Anna's relief at the priestess' faith was clear from the lightening in her eyes. She gave a small bow from where she was seated, "Please, Lana. I don't think this was simply from jealousy. He looked," Anna paused briefly to think of the right word, "fanatic about something beyond being the best ranger in Greenwood."
Lana sighed and stood up, "Well, then, let us be off to the target range. None of us are getting any younger after all; especially not me."
The group returned to the target range, which had been thankfully undisturbed due to the late hour. The four cats that had been with Michael-as well as the man himself-were still strewn about the clearing, their blood staining the ground. Lana released a saddened sigh at the sight before she shut her eyes and held both hands before her, palms up. A white aura of light glowed around the priestess and Natalie suppressed a gasp at the waves of powerful mana that swept over the clearing with Lana at their epicenter. Lance's eyes widened in shock at the strength of magic the old woman possessed. Matt shifted slightly, the power so strong that even he could sense it. Lana's face was serene for a few minutes, but slowly her brow furrowed. Finally, she let the mana ebb away and opened her eyes.
Anna spoke up, "What have you learned? Have we been proven innocent?"
The priestess turned to the four friends with her face filled with concern, "In all my years of using this power, I have gleaned many things the world would keep hidden." She slowly shook her head, "Sometimes the scenes revealed to me are as clear as the winter's night sky. Other times they are broken images, like the reflections on a disturbed pond. However, never before have they been so murky. A great power conceals the actions that were taken here."
Natalie's face fell, "So you can't prove we didn't do it?"
Lana gave the mage a small smile, "While you and your friends certainly are strong, you do not have the power to obscure the writings of the world as these have been." She shook her head, "No, the fact that I cannot see what has happened here clears you four of any guilt." She frowned again, "However, it makes me nervous to think of what could blind my sight so well." She faced Anna, whose face had paled even further at the implications, "Please, continue your search for the Jewels with haste, child. I fear this may be the work of Godcat."
"Lankyroot Jungle is next, right? Let's get going!" Matt said only to be stopped by Lana raising one hand.
"No, you would do well to rest for the remainder of the night and leave at first light. The Jungle is not a place to wander in the dark," Lana cautioned. She waved her hand at Anna, "Besides, your friend is practically dead on her feet. You must travel not only with speed, but wisdom, as well."
Natalie laughed, "Trust me, Lana: you're wasting your time trying to get Matt to be wise." She ignored Matt's put out look.
The priestess smiled, "Well, forgive a senile old woman for trying."
Anna bowed to the old woman, "Thank you, Lana. We'll go first thing in the morning." She glanced back at the clearing, "And I'm sorry for the trouble we've caused."
Lana laid a hand on Anna's arm, "Do not worry, dear. I will send for some Idols to clean this up and tomorrow afternoon I will explain this to the rest of the village. You concentrate on your quest. Be safe." With that, the woman let out a cry that sounded like a bird call and three Idols waddled out of the trees to clear the bodies away. She nodded once to the group before turning to head for her home.
Lance turned to Anna, "You should stay with Natalie at the inn tonight. Who knows if that creep has friends waiting to catch one of us alone?"
Anna opened her mouth to argue, but shut it at the pleading look in his red eyes. She sighed and looked over to Natalie, "Is that okay with you Natz?"
"Sure, they only had rooms with two beds, so you can have your own," Natalie smiled. The four then returned to the inn and retired to their rooms.
DDDDDDD
The morning sky was overcast, making the already dim pre-dawn light almost as dark as night when the party left the inn for Anna's house to pick up her gear. She came out wearing a green and brown dress over brown leggings with her green hair once again done up in pigtails held in place with stylized leaf adornments and large red bow slung over one shoulder. Matt and Natalie had changed out of their fur armor back into their usual attire. Lance, as his army outfit had been destroyed by Godcat, wore heavy black cargo pants and a red jacket open over a white t-shirt with a faded picture of a yellow star with 'EPIC' in red text underneath.
As the ranger guided them to the exit of the village leading to Lankyroot Jungle, she looked up at the clouds overhead with a contemplative frown, "'Looks like it's going to storm today." She sniffed the air, "Smells like it, too. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow to start traveling through the jungle."
Lance frowned, "Why? I mean, we're surrounded by giant trees. Sure, a little water will get through, but it can't be that bad."
"Rain? Pfft, like a little water falling from the sky will stop me! Let's go, Natz!" Matt scoffed and darted down the path a little ways with Natalie chasing after, shouting for him to wait up.
Anna rolled her eyes after them and turned to face Lance, "Yes, there are lots of trees, but Lankyroot is more of a swamp than a jungle. If it rains a little, then there won't be much change to our trip, but if it rains a lot…" The archer trailed off with a shake of her head, imagining the thick mud, swelled rivers and streams, and decreased visibility.
Lance tilted his head and stared ahead down the path thoughtfully before shrugging, "Two of the Jewels have already been stolen, we can't waste time waiting for favorable traveling conditions." He took a few steps forward before turning to wait for Anna.
The ranger's frown had deepened, but she followed all the same. The two caught up to where Matt was waiting impatiently with Natalie sighing at him. And together they set off between the trees. It wasn't long before the overgrown trail they were following narrowed to the point where they had to go single-file. Matt led the way, slashing through the thick vines growing across the path. It was during one of these swings that he knocked a large ball of sticks down and a low buzzing sound filled the air. Two Red Wasps and one Purple Wasp popped out of the nest Matt had accidentally knocked down. The Red Wasps dove at the party, stingers slashing.
"KYAHH! GET IT AWAY!" Natalie shrieked diving behind Matt and grabbing onto his jacket, which pulled the swordsman off balance, causing him to fall backwards into her and sending them both to the ground with matching blushes.
"Stop goofing off, you two!" Lance barked, firing a double shot at one of the Red Wasps. One of the bullets missed, but the other tore through one of the bug's wings causing it to bob unevenly in the air. The Purple wasp that was hanging back released a sparkling powder over the injured bug, healing the wing.
"I'll go for the purple one first, it's a healer," Anna said, raising her Crimson Dragon bow up and firing a Combo Shot. The three arrows all hit, setting the giant insect on fire, which ultimately led to its incineration.
By this point, Matt had managed to extract himself from Natalie and he leapt high in the air, brandishing his Heaven's Gate. He bisected the recovered wasp at the thorax and its two pieces fell to the ground, sizzling with the extra holy damage granted by his sword. Natalie focused on a point just next to the remaining wasp-so she didn't have to look at the enormous bug-and blasted it with an oversized fireball spell.
Lance watched the creature instantly incinerate with a raised brow, "Geez, Natz. Overkill, much?"
"There is no such thing as overkill when burning giant bugs," Natalie defended with crossed arms, pouting when Lance rolled his eyes. "Sorry 'bout grabbing you like that, Matt. Are you okay?" the mage asked. Matt simply nodded.
"I have to agree with Natz: wasps exist just to screw up your day," Anna grumbled, nudging half a dead wasp with the end of her bow.
Lance heaved a massive sigh, before motioning for Matt to take the lead again, only to stagger sideways with a grunt as a blur of black and white flew out of the bushes and slammed into him. The party whirled around to see a cat bounce back a few paces with a small sword and shield held before it. The cat was joined by two more cats, this time with brown fur. All three of them were hissing threateningly.
"Aww! Kitties! I love kitties!" Natalie exclaimed.
"I hate to burst your bubble of happiness, Natz, but I don't think these cats love you," Anna said, nocking an arrow.
"I love cats, too," Matt commented, before drooling, "Especially the way they taste…"
"That's about all they're good for," Lance grunted as he fired a couple of bullets, killing the black-and-white cat, much to Natalie's dismay.
The remaining cats sprang forward, swinging their dagger-sized swords in flashing arcs. Anna loosed an arrow, but yelped, when she missed as her target flattened itself to the forest floor while its companion swung at her leg, causing a shallow cut. Matt charged between the two of them his sword a deadly blur. A few screeches were heard as fur flew and the two cats were slain.
Natalie sniffed as she healed Anna, "Poor cats. I hope you find lots of catnip, wherever you end up."
Matt grinned as he lifted the black-and-white cat by its tail, "I dunno about those two brown ones, but I know this one isn't getting any 'nip because there's none in my stomach!"
Lance sighed while Anna planted her hands on her hips, "Matt, we just ate and we're in a rush. Put the dead cat down and let's go."
The swordsman pouted, but dropped the cat and followed the other three further through the trees. A couple of hours passed and the party broke the tree line to come out on the edge of a river. The four slid down a steep slope to follow the water. A sudden wind rustled the reeds lining the bank and Anna frowned, hearing a rumble of thunder. She looked up at the dark clouds that could be seen sweeping across the sky and opened her mouth to suggest the party head back into the trees and away from the river before the rain hit. "Hey, guys, we need to-" her warning was broken off by a sudden explosion of river water that showered down on the party. A mighty roar echoed through the trees and a massive Blue Dragon was revealed. The dragon turned its head sideways, its enormous blue eye balefully glaring at the shocked party.
Lance recovered quickly and yelled, "Scatter!" just as the creature reared its head back and opened its massive jaws to release a jet of water.
The four scrambled in separate directions as the high-pressure stream blasted the ground they had just been gathered on, leaving a huge crater and sending bits of mud and stone flying everywhere. At the moment of impact, a bolt of lightning split the skies and rain came pouring down, instantly drenching the fighters. Lance began to load six bullets into his gunblade for an Unload, but cursed as he realized the rain had soaked the gunpowder, which would prevent him from firing. Meanwhile, Natalie launched a spear of ice at the dragon, momentarily freezing the monster's jaw shut. The extra weight of the ice forced the dragon's head to come crashing down onto the mud of the riverbank. Matt took the opportunity to slash the creature across one eye, shattering the ice in the process.
The creature's head lashed back and forth as it let out an ear-splitting screech of pain and rage. It lowered its head out of reach of danger and roared, saliva dripping from its massive fangs. Lightning flashed and illuminated the horrific sight of the dragon's face. Blood mixed with rainwater ran in rivulets down its scales from the ruined eye. The dragon's good eye glowed blue and a blast of icy shards flew out of its mouth, pelting the party.
Natalie flung a barrier to cut off the remainder of the blast. The rain was falling in thick sheets and the mage could just barely make out a flash of sparking energy as it streaked in the general direction of the dragon. "Must've been Anna's Spark Arrow," Natalie thought as an angry roar revealed that the arrow had found its mark somewhere on the beast. She made a futile attempt to wipe the rain off of her face as she stepped closer to where the roar came from, hoping to get a clear shot for a Thunderbolt spell. Natalie had a brief flash of the beast's neck as it broke through the curtain of rain and slammed into her. With a scream, the mage flew into the river. The water was slightly higher than normal, but not so high that she couldn't blindly snag a rock in the water to pull herself on top of.
Matt heard Natalie's scream and immediately looked around, trying to spot her through the heavy downpour, "Natalie?! Where are you?" He heard her voice call from the river, barely audible over the pounding rain. Wiping a trickle of blood from a cut on his forehead out of his eyes, he squinted in the direction her voice. Matt could just make out the bright red of Natalie's dress and he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw she was sitting on a rock. Another screech from the dragon forced his attention back to the fight. Another flash of lightning revealed that Lance had lodged his gunblade into the beast's skull and was grimly hanging onto it as he forced it deeper. Another Spark Arrow from Anna stunned the beast long enough for Lance to drive his blade deep enough that the dragon gave a massive shudder and collapsed sideways, dead. Matt heaved a sigh of relief and turned back to face Natalie.
"Nice work, Lance!" Anna cheered jogging forward to slice a few scales off of the creatures hide.
Lance planted his foot against the dragon's head and yanked his gunblade out of its skull. "Thanks, but the paralysis from your Spark Arrow is what let me finish it," he said as he let the rain wash the blood off of his blade. "He turned to peer over at where Matt was standing at the very edge of the water. Looking past the swordsman, Lance saw Natalie sitting on a flat rock in the middle of the river. "Looks like Natz needs saving," he sighed. He blinked in surprise at Anna's gasp and turned back to see a horrified expression on her face as she stared out at the mage, "What?"
"She's in the middle of a river during a heavy rainstorm, that's what! At any second there could be-" a loud rumbling sound, louder and more constant than thunder, rose up over the pounding rain and Anna broke off to whip around and stare upstream. Lance followed her stare and his red eyes widened in alarm at the wall of muddy water sweeping around a bend, coming towards them with alarming speed. "Matt, Natalie, watch out!" the Anna screamed.
Matt took a half of a glance at the water rushing towards them and dove into the river, swimming for Natalie. He reached the mage and managed to wrap one arm tightly around her waist right as the flash flood slammed into them. The two were immediately swept out of sight, caught in the floodwaters. Anna swore heavily as water rose around them and she snagged Lance's arm, hauling him back towards the higher ground beneath the trees. The muddy water was up to their thighs and the swift current tugging at them with every step. The ranger slipped once, but Lance hauled her back upright before she could be pulled away as well. The two scrambled for handholds and footholds on the now muddy slope. A few seconds later and both hauled themselves over the lip of the bank to lay panting and shivering at the base of a huge tree.
A minute passed as they willed their hearts to slow down. Lance sat up, shoulders still heaving, to stare down at the roaring brown water of the flooded river. The situation finally sank into the gunner's brain and he punched the trunk of the tree with a string of curses spilling out of his mouth. Anna sat up as well, silent as she stared bleakly down at the water that had swept away two of their close friends.
The downpour finally slowed to drizzle as the two sat there next to each other. The flashes of lightning became less frequent and the grumble of thunder sounded further and further away. Already the river was receding, although the water level stayed much higher than normal.
Anna stood up, water dripping off her clothes and hair, "Let's go."
Lance stared up at her, "To Goldenbrick?"
The ranger shook her head, "No, to find Matt and Natalie."
"You think they survived that?" Lance asked skeptically, but rose to his feet to stand beside her, equally soaked.
"I know they did. If we can survive falling down a massive chasm, then they can survive a raging river," Anna insisted, sounding way more assured than she actually felt.
Lance stared at her for a few seconds, opened his mouth to state how unlikely it was that Matt and Natalie wouldn't have drowned, and shut it again without saying a word; he didn't want to believe the two had died, either. Finally, he smirked, "Good point. Any idea how far they might have been swept or places where they might wash up?"
"I haven't had many forays into Lankyroot, but I know there's a small lake downstream from here, they might wash up on the banks there," Anna mused.
"Good enough for me. We might find them along the way, too. Assuming they have the sense to stay close to the river, of course," Lance said, turning downstream.
Anna fell in step beside him, "Natz has more sense than that." She frowned as a thought came to her, "I hope they're still together.
"They will be: Matt would never let Natalie go." Lance stated confidently.
Anna grinned, "Of course; even if both of them are blind to that fact."
Lance huffed an amused breath in agreement and they fell silent as they began to search for their lost friends.
A/N: Wasps, Cats, and Dragons, Oh my! I enjoyed writing Lana's dialogue. And Matt and Natalie have being swept away. (does that make e a bad person?) Anyway, I promise they're okay. Mostly. Leave me a review and I'll see you all next time!