Chapter Thirty-Two: The White Balverine of Rosewood
The night would slowly descend upon Rosewood and in the darkness of the night with the rain coming down Connor held up a light spell in his hand heading towards the direction he had sensed the Relic Gabriel spoke of.
"I haven't heard or smelt the others, I'm getting worried Connor," Roscoe spoke shaking the rain from his body making Connor close his eyes and wince when the wet dog water hit him.
"Yeah I'm worried too boy," Connor spoke whipping the wet dog water from his face and looking ahead where they discovered old ruins of the old Kingdom, now completely taken over by Rosewoods.
Looking around Connor walked past many statues of ancient heroes now covered in moss and vines, walking a path till he reached stairs leading to a massive crescent moon structure.
"Is that a moon on a stick?" Roscoe asked tilting his head at the strange structure.
"No, it looks like the structure had fallen apart over the years, it just looks like a moon," Connor spoke looking closely at the mysterious structure.
"These ruins must be ancient," Roscoe spoke sniffing some of the fallen rubble, picking up another scent that made his hair stand up the hound began to growl.
Sensing what Roscoe sensed Connor drew his sword when he saw the glowing eyes of Balverines making themselves known on parts of the old ruins.
"Balverines," Connor growled noticing that these Balverines looked slightly different from the ones he fought before, they seemed more Feral, more dangerous.
"We've walked into their den," Roscoe growled seeing the Balverines growling and staring down at the two intruders in their home.
"Think they'll let us leave?" Connor asked seeing a Balverine land a few feet away from him on the steps to the moon-shaped ruin and roared.
"Yeah, that would be a no!" Roscoe growled getting into a battle stance ready to pounce.
"Figures!" Connor growled ready to defend himself with sword in hand and his light in his other hand.
Racing to their location Ash narrowed her eyes when she saw Connor and Roscoe fighting off the pack of Balverines watching Connor jump over one of the beasts stabbing his sword into another chest then kick the other towards Roscoe who impaled it with Blade spells.
"There are too many, their numbers will start to wear them down," Ash spoke with Merlin floating at her side.
"Then go over there and help them!" Merlin spoke seeing Ash studying the pack of Balverines.
"These are Feral Balverines, they will not stop, not till they are given an order too," Ash spoke removing her gloves and began to undress.
"Ordered by who-what the hell are doing ma'am?" Merlin asked having been watching the fight then looked to Ash who had removed her jacket boots and shorts and folded them behind a tree.
"Listen closely Merlin, I am about to do something 'crazy' I ask that you trust me and please make sure your friend does not try and stab me with that sword," Ash pleaded while stripping down to a sports bra and underwear pausing for a moment to look at Merlin before removing those too.
"Oh," Merlin spoke having noticed the hesitation and then fully understood why once Ash had removed the last piece of garments.
Once fully naked Ash took a deep breath closing her eyes before her eyes shot open the iris of her eyes vanished and her blue-grey eyes then turned a pale-yellow color.
Growling Ash's body began to twist and grow in size, patches of white fur then began to grow on her body all while Merlin watched in horror slowly floating backward from the large shadow that began to loom over her.
"RAH!" Connor yelled killing another Balverines and narrowing his eyes to see more of the Feral's approaching, "they just won't quit!"
Hearing a loud roar all the Balverines turned in one direction where a White Balverine in a tree jumped into the air and landed in front of Connor and Roscoe with its back to them.
"What the?!" Roscoe growled stumbling back when the large White Balverine landed.
Looking back at the two the beast turned to the pack before getting on all fours and roaring again this act made the pack of Feral Balverines slowly back away before fleeing.
"What is happening?" Connor asked confused about what just happened then watched the White Balverine turn to them and he pointed his sword.
"Wait!" Merlin yelled flying over.
"Merlin? Where's Neo?" Connor asked seeing the Balverine open its mouth.
"Taken," The White Balverine spoke in a deep voice then it shook her head and coughed a bit, "Goodness, I hate taking in this form!"
"Connor this is Ashley, she has been trying to help Neo and the others but they were taken, I guess I see what you meant when you said 'She thinks I'm one of the residents' You're a Balverine," Merlin spoke floating around Ash fascinated by the creature.
"Wait here a moment and no peeking!" Ash spoke running away and around the tree, she had left her clothes and started to turn back to her human form.
"Wait let's start from the beginning, who the bloody hell are you and why are you helping us?" Connor asked approaching the tree but stopped and turned around to lean on it.
"It's a bit of a long story," Ash spoke in her normal voice as she began to change back into her clothes.
"We got time," Connor spoke unaware behind the tree Ash was looking at a large nasty scar on her right arm, a massive bite scar that is normally hidden by her black sleeves.
"Gosh it been so long since I've told someone my story, I guess I was no older than seven or eight at the time? I used to live at the lake town of Muddypuddle there I lived with my family, I still don't know to this day why a Balverine came to my village but one did," Ash spoke as she began to get dressed.
"A White Balverine attacked your family?" Merlin asked.
"Oh no it was a regular brown one, anyway, it broke into our home, it slaughtered all of my family, my father had hidden me away and when it found me and sank its fangs into my arm, my father, with his remaining strength shot the beast dead," Ash spoke recalling crying on the dead bodies of her family so long ago, "two things changed that day, the first being that I had become an orphan the other, I was cursed."
"So, you became a White Balverine by luck? Merlin asked curious how one becomes one of many types of Balverines.
"Wasn't luck, there are certain conditions that need to be met to create certain breeds of Balverines, Blood Breeds are created during the night of the Blood Moon, White Balverines are created during the Full Moon, that night was a full moon," Ash spoke putting on her gloves, "I, of course, didn't know that at the time."
"I had heard the horrible stories of victims who were unlucky to not be killed by a Balverine, I didn't wanna hurt anyone, but I knew I must control the beast and not allow it to control me, so I traveled North, there I found the warrior monks temple," Ash spoke trying her boots then came around the tree to place her glasses on her face.
"That explains the outfit," Connor spoke noticing her chosen monk-like attire was a mix of brawler attire with monk colors and hood.
"I trained with the monks for many years, discipline and control, these were the two cores I focused on, under the monks' training I became stronger but I noticed that the beast wasn't trying to take control, that when I learned that I had become a White Balverine, they have the power to transform at will, they have full control, well to a degree, others lose themselves to the power," Ash explained with a shrug.
"What brought you here to Rosewood?" Roscoe asked his presence catching Ash by surprise.
"Oh goodness! A talking dog! That a first!" she smiled petting Roscoe's head, "let see, about a year or two ago I decided that I couldn't stay in the isolated walls of the temple and needed to find a purpose for my cursed lie, I figured training here in Rosewood could give me an idea of what to do with my life."
"You've been alone in these woods for two years?!" Connor asked seeing Ash shrug casually.
"Not entirely, the creatures of these woods have seen me as one of them, well when I use 'THAT' form, I try to avoid using it as much as possible," Ash spoke crossing her arms, "why are you and your friends here?"
"Also a long story, but to make it short, I am the Hero of Brightwall descendant and I am fighting to free Albion from Tirich rule, but to do that I need a relic that was lost in these woods many centuries ago," Connor explained as simply as he could.
"A relic? Hmm anything like that would have been collected by the Lady of Rosewood and taken to her lair," Ash explained looking in the direction where they could sense the dark presence of these woods, "she already captured your friends."
"What?! I have to go save them!" Connor spoke but was stopped by Ash who grabbed his shoulder.
"Hold on! You just can't go kicking open the door to her domain! These are her woods, if you go in there guns blazing she will kill your friends! It's night, she's at her weakest at night, no sun means she can't heal herself, her heart in Darkwoods is the only thing that can kill her," Ash explained.
"How come you never tried to kill her?" Merlin asked seeing Ash raise a brow.
"Why would I? All she wants is to protect the last place in Albion where magic and nature are perfectly balanced, I don't agree with her hatred for all humans but she is still an important figure in this place, the creatures will protect her at all cost," Ash explained.
"If she is truly at her weakest, then we must move now, get my friends, get the relic then leave without a fight," Connor spoke heading in the direction he felt the relic.
"And if she fights?" Ash asked following with a raised brow.
"Then I fight!" Connor spoke with narrowed eyes.
Waking up with a gasp Seth groaned coughing and spitting dirt that had gotten in his mouth brushing off dirt that had gotten onto his clothes he saw he was in some sort of dirt prison with roots for bars.
The last thing he remembered was him Tercero and Jaya together after fleeing the Goodfellows then he recalled hearing a roar then he remembered the vines attacking.
Looking around Seth narrowed his eyes when he saw his sword in a weapon pile with his ally's weapons and then saw they were inside some kind of circular hole in the ground, peeking through the roots he gasped to see massive roots wrapped around massive red rose petals that formed a ball and glowed with a beat of a heart.
Grabbing the roots Seth was about to attempt to try and break out but stopped when a flower formed and pointed a sharp barb at him, slowly holding up his hand the flowers closed and sank back into the roots.
"They're poisonous don't try and break out," Jaya warned in the dirt cell next to his.
"Jaya is that you?! Are you okay?" Seth asked worried she got hurt during their capture.
"I'm fine," Jaya reassured looking past the massive flower heart to the cells across from them and saw Kyler and the other sitting.
"We're fine too by the way!" Kyler called sarcastically.
"Is everyone here?" Tercero asked trying to see through his root bars.
"What is our situation?" Neo asked removing his helmet to try and clean off the dirt from the screen.
"Captured, weapons confiscated and the roots have their own little defense system," Mika sighed looking around, "looks like Connor and Roscoe haven't been taken prisoner."
Looking at the flower heart with each glow Seth could see the inside had the silhouette of a human shape, "it's her heart, the Lady of Rosewood."
"Why would she bring us so close to her weakness?" Jaya asked looking at the heart.
"My guess is she thinks she will kill us before we even get a chance to get even an inch close to her heart," Neo spoke putting on his helmet to scan the area.
"Where is the bitch? Why hasn't she shown herself?" Kyler glared.
"Well, if she some kind of plant spirit thing I guess she only strong during the day?" Jaya suggested looking at the still-raining sky.
Seeing his hidden blade still on his person he approached the roots extending his blade and taping the roots seeing the flower bloom and point at him, testing his theory he moved slowly to the left seeing the flower follow then took steps back watching the flower close.
"Oi ey! The flowers are sensing our body heat," Tercero informed.
"Really?" Jaya spoke going into thought then looked around for her bag of alchemy ingredients then spotted her bag by their weapons, "damn! Tercero, do you still have your grappling hook?"
"Si, what do you need?" Tercero replied looking to Jaya's cell and watching her point.
"My bag! There is a flower inside that can help us, can you get it?" Jaya asked.
"Leave it to me," Tercero spoke pointing his left after with the grappling.
Watching with anticipation the others watched Tercero fire his grabbling hook the tip hitting Kyler's hammer and bouncing away.
"Hey! Watch the hammer!" Kyler yelled watching Tercero reel back his grappling.
"Lo siento," Tercero apologized aiming again and this time managing to snag Jaya's bag, "gotcha!"
"What kind of flower is he looking for Jaya?" Seth asked seeing Tercero pull the bag into his prison and begin to search through all her ingredients.
"Look for the case labeled 'Orange Totsiyaa' The petals are what we need," Jaya explained.
"What will this flower do?" Tercero asked finding the box then opened it up to pull out and examine a single orange petal.
"The flower is mostly used for medicinal purposes, if you were bleeding out for example it slows your heart rate, thereby slowing your heart pumping blood, one petal will do, chew it up and tuck it under your tongue," Jaya instructed.
"Alright," Tercero spoke chewing the flower petal, "bleh! Sabe asqueroso!"
"Yeah, it does have a bitter taste, sorry!" Jaya apologized, "You'll know it working when your body starts to feel cold, wait till you're freezing before attempting to get past the flower."
"So now we wait," Kyler spoke taking a seat and waiting for the flower to work its magic.