A Vulpine Spanner in the Works

Chapter 48: Neia's Wednesday Part: 1

[Earlier]

[Neia]

Day 33:

Waking up, I found myself startled at the face of a massive raven leaning over me and taking up all of my vision. "Gah!" I found myself crying out and slightly backing away until I realized that it was just Huginn. I still have to get used to the massive bird which was probably going to take a while.

But instead of being insulted by my reaction, Huginn began to make a cawing laugh, "One-eyed girl is frightened, do I see? One-eyed girl is amusing me."

Feeling the racing of my heart slow back down, I pushed myself into a sitting position and gave the raven an apologetic look, "Sorry about that. I'm still not fully used to being around a giant raven just yet." I explained in apology. Huginn eventually stopped his cawing laughter and stuck his beak into a small black portal he conjured before pulling it out along with a vine of berries.

Dropping it into my lap, Huginn made a short hop away to give me space before he sat down and gazed at me with his one eye.

"Thanks for the food." I said appreciatively and picked a few berries from the vine before I began eating them. The moment my teeth crushed into the skin of the berries, my mouth was filled with a pleasingly sweet taste. In between bites, I managed to ask, "What will we be doing today?"

Huginn gave me a cock of his head and a few clicks until he answered, "One-eyed girl will break her fast. Then, by feather and limb, we make to the wall where man attempts to prevent their downfall. Thoughtful One will be with one-eyed girl to aid her in task given by Father, Creator, Odin."

I nodded in understanding and swallowed the berries in my mouth so that I could speak, "Not that I'm ungrateful for you assisting me, but I think that other humans will be a little intimidated at the sight of a giant raven."

A warbled chuckle came from Huginn's beak, "Worry not, one-eyed girl. Thoughtful One will accompany you in one form or another. Only worries one-eyed girl should have is that of being Father, Creator, Odin's voice. Thoughtful One and Mindful One may see and inform, but one-eyed girl is the one that communicates."

"No need to remind me about that, Huginn. I'm still trying to decide on what I'm going to even say to others." I commented after finishing the last of the berries and throwing the bare vine aside. With a breath, I stood up and had to steady myself as it felt strange to walk about with half of my vision missing.

Besides strange, there was also a great feeling of vulnerability that an enemy could hit me in my blindspot and I wouldn't know until it was too late. And besides a weakness in combat, my decidedly average skill with the bow was going to suffer with the lack of my left eye.

This was going to be an adjustment period that I didn't have the luxury to prolong. Kneeling down, I picked up my cloak and slightly fumbled putting it over my left shoulder before I accomplished the task and almost reflexively went for my bow until I remembered that I had lost it at the tree.

With it gone, I went for my sheathed sword and belted it to my waist as my final action in preparation for departure. Then, I turned to look at Huginn.

The massive raven was already standing up and ruffling his feathers as he waited for me. "Come, come, come, one-eyed girl. Dawdle not." Huginn said in a warbled hum before hopping to the cave's entrance. I followed after him and was greeted to the bright daylight that made me shield my eye until I grew accustomed to the brightness.

Looking at our surroundings, nothing about this place seemed familiar to me. There were hills, yes. But the area was also filled with multiple normal trees that I couldn't recall seeing anywhere on prior scouting missions I've taken.

But I couldn't ponder this any further as Huginn stuck his head between my legs and lifted me off the ground, with a yelp from me, until I sat firmly on the back of his neck with my legs hooked on his wings' shoulders. "You could have told me that you planned to carry me!"

Another warbled laugh came from Huginn. "Faster than waiting for one-eyed girl to clamber upon this Thoughtful One." Huginn replied. Yet, before he could spread his wings and take flight, we were greeted to the ethereal form of Odin standing before us with an amused smile.

It is good to see you beginning your journey, Neia Odinspeaker.

Breaking from my surprise at the unexpected appearance of my god, I bowed my head as deeply as I could in respect, "Of course, my Lord. We make for the wall with utmost haste to follow your command." The elderly god nodded in acknowledgement.

Good to hear it. But before you two arrive at the wall, I'd request you to look over the corrupted tree so that we can see if any changes have happened. This enemy is one we must be wary of.

"As you wish it, Father, Creator, Odin. Your Thoughtful One and the one-eyed girl shall glance upon this bastardization." Huginn replied with a bow of his head.

Thank you. I'll be with you watching in great interest, so I wish you safe passage.

With these words, Odin's ethereal form shimmered out of sight, but I could still feel his presence around us.

Huginn then flapped his wings and warned, "Prepare yourself, one-eyed girl. You traverse the realm of wind and sky this day." I found myself gripping his feathers as tightly as I felt was comfortable for the raven, then he quickly beat his wings and launched us into the sky.

I was frightened at the speed we went as Huginn continued climbing up in the sky. My eye watered at the cool winds buffeting my face, but we eventually stopped climbing the air and leveled out into a stable glide, with Huginn flapping his wings every few moments to keep us aloft.

"Look, one-eyed girl, at the kingdom of land! Experience the gaze that the sovereigns of sky look upon each day!" Huginn recommended with an amused joy.

Cautiously, I looked over Huginn's neck and found whatever fear I had previously be driven out by the absolute wonder of the world below. Everything looked so small from this height, so much closer than it truly was. And far off in the distance, possibly a hundred or more miles away, was the tiny white line stretching the distance that was the kingdom's protective wall.

I was lucky enough to be given a sight that most others would never witness in their entire lives.

"It feels small, but so freeing!" I shouted over the wind in my ears.

"Yes, unbound from the earth, one loses the shackles holding them in place, one-eyed girl!" Huginn declared with an excited caw as we sailed through the sky. It was astonishing how what would take weeks, took us less than an hour to get closer to the walls which I was able to look over and see all the forts, keeps, villages, and more of Roble.

Yet, despite this liberated feeling, my mind was drawn back to reality as Huginn made a turn in the air and began to lightly descend until my eye spotted the large patch of crimson on top of a hill. I could tell, even from this distance, that the tree had gotten bigger.

Yet, despite the size of the tree, what I found more worrying were the roots spread out around the tree that now grew above the ground and covered that hill, along with parts of the hills surrounding it. The roots even had a greater number of cocoons than last I saw it.

But my eye quickly trailed on the three cocoons that had once been my squadmates. A great deal of regret weighed on my heart as none of them had deserved the fate they endured. To be little more than nourishment for a horrific monstrosity.

"It's gotten bigger." I commented with a dry tone.

"Like a weed, it grows unwanted, but triumphant against all who would see it felled." Huginn added. We circled the tree a few times more, reinforcing that growing ominous feeling I had about this place.

"I think we've seen enough. Let's leave this place." I said with no further wish to continue subjecting myself to this unease.

Not yet. Something is happening down there.

As soon as Odin said this, the eye of Huginn and I scanned the area until we finally spotted a cocoon that seemed to shiver and shake as the roots forming it began to move like a bundle of snakes until they finally separated and released what they had once held.

And looking at it, I felt an abject disgust well up within me as I witnessed what was once an orc crawl to its feet with roots slithering throughout its form. A few tendrils arced from its back like the stinger of a scorpion while one of its arms had almost broken off from the creature's body, held together by a thick crimson root as the limb trailed at its feet. I watched as its other arm seemed to snap under the movement of a few roots, eliciting a cry of pain.

By all accounts, this creature should be dead with all the roots poking out from its body, yet it managed to persist.

Even hundreds of yards in the sky, we heard the gurgled roar of the creature, like an infant's first cry as it was birthed into the world. Yet, what we witnessed was a perversion of birth. One that twisted, altered, and mocked such an event.

Then, we watched as the creature seemed to gallop into a mass of roots, its legs snapping under it from the movements of the roots covering them, before diving headfirst into the mass without an ounce of hesitation. It was almost like the strangest form of suicide as the roots tore the creature apart in burst of blood, roots, and organs. Then, the roots seemed to pull the pieces deeper into its mass for some unknown reason.

When I managed to finally find my voice, it was after I had to swallow down the urge to vomit up my breakfast, "What was that?"

Huginn and Odin remained silent for a few moments, as if contemplating that same question. Then, Huginn broke the silence, "Thoughtful One believes the bastardization is creating methods to germinate and proliferate. Mayhap the twisted wretch of root and flesh was a failed creation; aborted to save and recoup resources."

If that pitiable thing was a failed creation, what might the final product look like, I wonder?

What a sobering thought to come to. And that caused me to glance at the three cocoons filled with my former squadmates who had still been alive when I last saw them. What horrific mutations must they be going through at this moment?

"Can we leave?" I asked with a hollow voice.

I think that might be for the best. Nothing more can be done right now. We came here to scout out our enemy, and we have learned more than enough about our foe, for now.

Without another word, Huginn veered away from the tree and back towards the wall, flying much lower than he had before. Eventually, we flew low enough for the hills to obscure the wall from my sight until we finally landed. This was when Huginn lowered his head to more easily allow me to slide off his neck and onto the ground.

"What are we stopping here for?" I asked as Odin's form appeared by Huginn.

A warbled hum came from Huginn, "One-eyed girl; foreign she's not. Thoughtful One; a monster they see."

Huginn is not wrong. To those who don't know him, Huginn can appear frightful.

"If that's the case, then where will Huginn go?" I questioned since he and Odin had said that they'd be traveling with me.

"Thoughtful One will go with one-eyed girl. Just in a form that is not as preferred." Blue lightning covered Huginn as he shrank in size until he appeared like a mostly normal raven, ignoring the glowing electric blue eye of his.

Then the miniaturized Huginn flapped his wings and flew over until he landed on my right shoulder. "Thoughtful One carried one-eyed girl part of the way. One-eyed girl shall return the favor, yes?" A thrumming laughter came from the shrunken raven, and I found myself smirking at the joke.

"Appears that way." I remarked before I turned to Odin. "Do you have any recommendation on what I should do once I arrive at the wall, Lord Odin? I'm not certain on where to start with building up worship for you."

Based on what I have currently seen of your people, it would be wise to take it slow on establishing worship. Mortals can be frightful and violent when told something that goes against what they believe. To your people, I am an unknown god from an unknown land. What would be best, for now, is to give your people an enemy that they can understand and focus upon.

Odin put his ethereal hand on my left shoulder in reassurance, filling me with warmth and strength.

I don't fully believe that they will be enough as they are now to fully eradicate this abomination, but it can buy time and delay this tree from spreading faster if left alone. While they do this, you can use that time to focus on building up my faith.

We just needed to buy time. I only had to be convincing enough to my superiors so that they could take this threat seriously. Compared to inspiring worship in others, this should be simple. I couldn't fail, since both my people and Odin were counting on me.

"It will be done, my Lord." I said with all the confidence I could muster.

I know it will, Neia. I have faith in you.

With those words, Odin faded away and left Huginn and I alone by this hill. Taking a deep breath, I turned to the direction of the wall and marched with resolve of what I had to do. I needed to save my people.

There was a tension in my stomach upon approaching the gate of the wall. On top of it, I saw the archers, ballistas, and trebuchets that could all spell certain death if let loose upon me. I doubted that they were prepared for my approach since the scouting party I was with never came back when they should've.

My eye spotted a good deal of activity which consisted of soldiers moving around, likely reporting my appearance to command. I was probably going to have a long day of being debriefed. After all, I was coming back when a paladin wasn't. A captain, no less.

Thankfully, I was able to reach the gate unhindered as the reinforced gate of wood and steel was raised at my approach. Waiting on the other side of the gate was a stern-faced man with short-cropped blond hair and a scar going across his face in dull plate and a blue tabard. I knew him to be Lieutenant Johan.

"Private Baraja, you've returned alone and injured." Lieutenant Johan commented. I spotted a few looks from the surrounding soldier as I heard this. Quite a few of those looks were focused on Huginn who quietly sat on my shoulder and observed everything with an intelligent interest.

Stopping before the lieutenant, I gave a salute. "Yes, sir. There was a terrible incident during the mission and I was the only one to survive, though not unscathed." I replied.

Lieutenant Johan's eyes slightly narrowed at my reply as he gazed at Huginn on my shoulder. "And the bird, Private Baraja? This is not a place for pets."

Huginn's feathers slightly ruffled at being referred to as a pet. "He's not a pet, sir. He saved my life and has been with me ever since. I'm not leaving him… Sir." I argued back, earning a look from the officer that I couldn't understand.

"Then it appears that there's a lot that you'll need to explain in your debriefing. Come with me since the commander will be quite interested in knowing why one of his captains didn't return." Lieutenant Johan commanded. Then, he turned around and began to march as I quickly followed after him.

Behind me, I heard the gate being shut, fully cutting me off from the Abelion Hills beyond. Yet, where once the wall and gate would make me feel safe from the monsters beyond, now, it inspired a growing dread as it simply allowed the monsters to hide from sight until they were ready to strike.

As Lieutenant Johan and I made our way through the keep, I continued receiving looks that I was unaccustomed to. Before, my fellow soldiers would avoid looking at me so as to not meet my ugly gaze. Now, I could feel the gazes upon me. I could hear the whispers as they wondered what happened to my eye, why I had been missing, why Lieutenant Johan was escorting me, what was with the bird on my shoulder?

I couldn't decide which was worse; being ignored by everyone or receiving their judgmental attention?

Entering the keep, we marched down a few hallways and then up a flight of stairs. All the while, I was trying to come up with a way of explaining the events of my miraculous survival. If I lied about Huginn being a 'mostly normal' raven that simply distracted the roots from killing me, then the threat may be underestimated and my report may come into question.

The worst possibility is if my superiors believed that I had abandoned my squadmates to die, and everything I told them was just a way for me to avoid punishment. They may even wave off such a threat as me fabricating an enemy.

But I also couldn't completely explain Huginn's divine nature, as they may label me insane or a heretic, even if Huginn could prove some of what I claimed. It's not like they could see and feel Odin like I could, and I needed Roble to focus on the red tree instead of arguing about religion right now.

What could work is to mix in truth with the lie. Omit the parts of Odin and explain that Huginn is a magical raven that saved me. I wish I could tell Huginn the new plan, but Lieutenant Johan would definitely overhear me whispering. Hopefully, Huginn was smart enough to play along and not go overboard.

A few minutes later and we stood before a door emblazoned with a shielded crest containing four stars. The symbol of Commander Darian Arnold Lockland's family. They were known for their distinguished history as devoted paladins to the Four Great Gods.

Standing on either side of the door were a pair of heavily armored guards that seemed like statues of armor instead of men due to how little I could see of their bodies not covered in plate.

"Lieutenant." The armored figure on the right acknowledged, his voice echoing from his helm.

"Is Commander Darian available? Private Neia has a report about Captain Francus that the commander would wish to hear." Lieutenant Johan asked. The armored figure nodded and opened the door to the office.

"Lieutenant Johan and Private Neia are here to speak with you." The armored man announced.

"Let them in." The voice of Commander Darian replied. With this, the guard stood aside from the door and Lieutenant Johan and I entered inside the commander's office, a place I had never personally been since being stationed here.

Pretty much none below the rank of Lieutenant would ever step foot inside unless they were being promoted, punished, or had information that the commander needed to hear immediately. Even then, while I may be part of the third group, that didn't mean I couldn't also be punished if the commander didn't like my report.

Looking around, I saw that Commander Darian's office was decorated with multiple different iconographies of the Four Great Gods, be it through paintings, or small figurines. In addition to this, there were also multiple weapons decorating the walls, with the most cherished being the orichalcum morning star hanging on a few hooks behind where he sat.

From what I knew, it was a cherished family heirloom passed down to each Lockland since the founding of the Roble Holy Kingdom. It was called Dawnfall, and the two times I've ever seen the commander actually brandish it, something ended up dead.

First time was during a demi-human assault on the wall. The second time was when he executed a deserter by crushing the man's skull into pieces with a single swing of the weapon.

Commander Darian was someone as fair as he was brutal, and it's probably what's been his best trait while commanding this keep.

As for the commander himself, he looked like a golem made from stone and covered in flesh. He was almost seven feet in height, with rumor being that there was a giant in his family, not that any would say it to his face. And said face looked squarish, with gray stubble covering his jaw and tufts of matching-colored hair at the sides of his head, with most of the rest being bald.

Then, there were his ice-blue eyes that made one feel as if the harshest winter was gazing down on you. It was no wonder that most found themselves intimidated whenever they had to speak with him.

And, stepping into the middle of the room with Lieutenant Johan only brought those harsh eyes on me before they looked over to the lieutenant. "Lieutenant Johan. What is it that you wished to tell me?" His voice rumbled.

"One of the scouts of the team sent out two days ago, led by Captain Francus, returned less than 20 minutes ago. I felt it prudent for you to know what happened to your captain directly from Private Neia instead of needing to wait for the report." Lieutenant Johan answered.

Commander Darian gave a gruff nod, "Much appreciated, Lieutenant." His eyes then flicked to mine and bore down upon me, "Private Neia Baraja, give me your report."

"Yes, sir!" I replied as I stood at attention, "Two days ago, Captain Francus led a squad consisting of Jaspar, Antony, and I on a scouting patrol south-east from here. Originally, we found nothing of import, nor were there any demi-humans. But we all had this feeling of unease that wouldn't leave us be, like something dangerous was getting closer to us. Captain Francus planned to have us conclude our mission on top of a hill before heading back."

I couldn't stop my mind from flashing back to that moment as we went up the hill, "The further up we went, the more we noticed these strange crimson roots growing from the ground which none of us could recognize. We discovered the origin of those roots as we crested the hill and discovered a crimson tree devoid of leaves and surrounded by multiple bundles of roots."

"A crimson tree?" Lieutenant Johan questioned aloud, to which I nodded in answer.

"Yes. But it was as we got a little closer that we noticed the absolute wrongness with the tree, and probably the unease we had been feeling the entire time we traveled. We finally spotted the bodies that the tree was growing both into and out of, from small animals, birds, orcs. And all of them were still alive." That caused a slight flicker in the stony expression of Commander Darian before it returned to normal.

"Those bundles of roots we saw earlier? They held still living bodies in them, from the limbs we saw that stuck out of them which were still moving. It was when we tried to leave that this thing struck. Crimson roots burst from the ground and attacked us.

Jaspar and Captain Francus were able to immediately react and block the attacks, I almost failed to react fast enough in time, but Antony didn't and he got hit and impaled by one of the roots." In my mind, I could still hear him scream in fear as he was pulled away.

"He was still alive when it impaled him, and more roots immediately grew off the first root and continued to stab him in different areas. Then, it pulled him away to a mound of roots before cocooning him, all the while screaming. My hesitation at watching this cost me as a root took my eye, but I did react fast enough to pull away before it could grow like it had on Antony and grab anything further." I almost thought that Commander Darian had given me a look of sympathy before I continued.

"The three of us were forced to retreat, with Captain Francus covering our retreat as Jaspar and I cut roots down ahead of us. But there were too many of them, and we had unknowingly walked right into a trap. Captain Francus fought his best, but the roots got him in the end and cocooned him, just like they soon did to Jaspar. I should've been done for, surrounded as I was, especially since Jaspar and Captain Francus were better fighters than me, but my friend here saved me."

I pointed to Huginn who preened his wing for a moment and then fixed an electric-blue eye on the officers. Commander Darian had a narrowed gaze at the raven, but Lieutenant Johan voiced his thoughts on it.

"How did a bird save you from this demonic tree, Private Baraja?" Lieutenant Johan interrogated. Huginn and I shared a look with one another, then I turned back to the officers.

"He's not a normal raven. He's capable of magic."

This finally got Commander Darian to speak, "What?"

I motioned my head to Huginn, "Go on, show them some lightning." I said, ushering Huginn. Said raven gave a warbled click and extended his right wing forwards. The officers gave the display a questioning look, then a buzz of lightning filled my ear as a ball of blue lightning appeared in front of Huginn and I, much to the dismay of the officers.

When the lightning finally died down, both men had widened eyes and I took that as the chance to continue, "He called down lightning for me to clear a path and I escaped the hill. I spent half a day recovering enough from my injury to scout out the hill from afar and I saw that the crimson roots had grown even further than before, then I found out the use of the cocoons. Things caught in it are changed into a horrid hybrid of that tree and the victim's body. The one time I saw it, I think it was a failed creation because it was soon torn to pieces."

I decided to lie about the length of time it took for me to recover to hide the fact that I flew most of the distance back to the keep.

"Then that means that the men who had been captured…" Lieutenant Johan said in an angered horror.

"Are likely being changed as we speak." Commander Darian finished for Johan. "We need to look into this matter further." He then looked back to me, "I'd like to confirm some things if this is the end of your report."

"Essentially, sir. After examining the tree and the hybrid it produced, I ran back here immediately." I concluded as Huginn went back to preening his feathers while taking furtive glances at the two men.

The commander nodded and spoke, "Let's begin with the bird on your shoulder. What is it?" My gaze turned to Huginn who pretended to not notice the attention he received.

"I don't know, sir, but it doesn't really matter to me. He saved my life and has stuck by with me since then, so I consider him a friend." As if to exacerbate the point, Huginn spread his wings out and cawed loudly before moving up my shoulder until he was touching my head.

"Mayhap the gods sought to save you with this creature. It's not for me to judge." Ironically, he was correct that it was by divine providence that I had been saved. It's just that said origin wasn't one of the Four as he was thinking. "What will be done with it?"

"If he wants to stay with me, then I shall let him. I'm not very inclined to separate from him, sir." I answered. Commander Darian gave a hard look to my eye for a moment before finally appearing to relent.

"Take it to Andross to be examined if it is to stay here. Additionally, if it takes any malicious action to the soldiers here, it will be on your head, Private Neia. Do you understand?" The commander asked in warning.

I gave him a nod. "Yes, sir."

"As for the next matter, what would you say was the growth rate of this entity? Following this, what would you estimate the distance of it to the wall?"

"The hill it was on went up a good 40 yards. Its roots visibly went down half of it, with the tree being 10 yards high when I first saw it. Today, when I scouted the creature again, its roots covered the entire hill and was spreading onto the other nearby hills. As for distance, within 50 miles, possibly 20 at the smallest estimate." I answered.

A concerned look appeared in Commander Darian's eyes as he rubbed his chin in thought, "Two days, and it has managed to spread that far. A few weeks, and if it maintains a steady growth rate, it will be at our wall." He shared a look with Lieutenant Johan who shared the same look of concern as the commander.

"We should send out a scouting team to confirm Private Neia's report and if anything has changed." Lieutenant Johan recommended to which the commander nodded in agreement.

"I'm in agreement. From there, we'll need to assemble a strike force based on what is discovered." The commander said as he took out a quill and already began drafting an order. "Private Neia, would you be able to point out the approximate location of this hill on a map?" I nodded, which got the commander to set aside the mostly completed order he had written as he reached from the drawer of his desk and pulled out a rolled sheet of parchment that was opened up to reveal a map of the area by the keep that was within 50 miles. "Can you show us?"

Walking up to Commander Darian's desk, I analyzed the map and drew my finger across it until I landed at the area I thought to be where the tree was. "Around here, sir."

"Good lass. We'll look further into this, but you have done admirable work bringing this information to us." Hearing the commander compliment me was surprising, and I found it impossible to hide the surprise on my face from hearing it. "Lieutenant Johan, take Private Neia to the infirmary and have them take a look at her, especially that missing eye of hers. Then, deliver my orders. Private Neia, after the healers are done with you, head to Andross."

As Commander Darian finished giving these orders, he folded up the order and sealed it in wax before stamping it with his mark. Lieutenant Johan and I gave a salute before the lieutenant was given the sealed order. As this happened, my mind pondered exactly how a trip to the healers would work out. I knew that magic could heal missing body parts if it was powerful enough. The only problem is that if they tried to restore my eye, then nothing would happen.

It made me wonder how I was to explain that, especially since they might make the assumption that injuries given by the crimson tree would be difficult to heal. That could lead to issues if the healers assumed that any who suffered similar injuries needed to be written off as impossible to heal, and therefore left to die since they believed it to be a waste of time and effort.

Since I had no explanation that I could invent at the moment, I would just remain silent for now. Knowledge about my connection to Odin had to be kept hidden until the proper time.

As we turned to leave, that was when Odin took the chance to appear next to me, not that anyone else in the room showed any sign of noticing his appearance. I did my best to keep myself composed as Lieutenant Johan and I, with Huginn on my shoulder, walked out of the room and the god followed beside me.

It is a good idea to stay silent. Instead, we shall establish my presence through minor miracles. Sometimes, belief does not need grand gestures to generate, but minor acts that might touch only a single soul.

I gave Odin the most subtle nod I could, which got the elderly god to smile.

But I think that such an act will be sooner than expected. When we arrive at the infirmary, we should take a moment to look around.

That request from Odin wasn't one that I expected, but I didn't make any disagreement about it while Huginn made a thrumming rumble, earning a passive glance from Lieutenant Johan. It seemed that Huginn enjoyed this attention as he turned his head almost 90 degrees so that his blue right eye could look at the inquisitive officer until he broke gaze with the raven.

After this, there wasn't much else said on our journey to the infirmary within the keep. It was certainly interesting to watch Odin examine every person or place that we passed, his glowing blue eye seemed a constant blur as it hungrily took in everything it saw. But with what I knew of the god's history, he had been willing to sacrifice an eye and hang himself from the branch of a primordial tree for days on end just to learn more about creation.

With this being a new realm for him, he likely wanted to know everything he could about this place.

It didn't take much longer for us to arrive to the infirmary where a priest in blue robes arrived to greet us. Every soldier knew the names of the healing priests since we've all been here at least once during our service. This priest, a man with swept-back salt and pepper hair was named Charon.

"Greetings," Charon said as his gaze fell upon me, and more specifically, the feather eyepatch covering my missing eye. "I can tell that your injury was quite recent." He looked up to Lieutenant Johan and asked, "Is that why she has been brought here?"

The officer nodded, "Private Neia just came back from the field. See what you can do to help her, and make sure to remind her to meet with Andross after she is done here." Lieutenant Johan then looked to me, "I leave you in their care while I go to deliver the commander's order. Once finished here, and with Andross, you can take the remainder of the day to rest."

With that, Lieutenant Johan quickly left me to the care of Charon.

"Come, Neia. I doubt that you wish to stand the entire time it takes to fix you up." I found myself slightly smiling at the priest's offer. Technically, Charon could heal others with one of his spells within a minute or so. This was just his way of allowing soldiers a bit longer of reprieve before they had to report back to their stations.

"Thanks, Charon." I said as the priest led me a little further in the infirmary, where we ended up passing by multiple soldiers wounded on beds. I could see the two other priests, Howland and Anderson, busy moving from soldier to soldier, attempting to heal them, but it seemed that their efforts weren't as effective as they should be.

Eventually, I was led to sit on the edge of a bed as Charon slightly kneeled down to look at me. "Interesting bird you have there." The priest commented, earning a rumbling gurgle from Huginn as the raven focused his blue eye on Charon.

"Yeah, more interesting than you'd believe." I confirmed, getting a chuckle from Charon before he settled down once more.

"Do you mind if I remove the covering?" Charon asked. I nodded and watched as unbound the feather and set it to the side. Since I lost it, I've kept the eyelid closed. "Could you open your eyelid for me?"

I obeyed his request and felt so strange to feel my eyelid open, yet still see nothing. It just served to remind me of what I've permanently lost. But much to my surprise, Charon reached into my empty eye-socket and pulled out ground up plants and moss. How did I not notice that was in there?

"Looks like you did good work on cleaning up your injury and stemming the bleeding. Also appears like it was a clean removal, relatively speaking." Charon remarked before he squinted at something he suddenly found fascinating. "Hmm, what is that?"

"What is what, sir?" I questioned back in concern. He seemed to squint again before he shook his head.

"Nothing, Neia. Just seeing things, is all. Probably because I've been up for 20 hours." Charon replied with an embarrassed smile, "Now, let's see if we can get you your sight back." He then held his hand in front of my eye as a magic circle grew to life before my eye. "[Heal]!"

I felt his magic suddenly suffuse my eye-socket, and there was this strange moment where I could just feel that my eye wanted to regrow, but then it stopped. The magic instead just fixed any of the damage in my eye-socket that hadn't healed. The look of surprise and concern on Charon's face also aided in this.

"What caused this injury? This should have restored your eye, but nothing happened." Charon asked in slight disbelief.

I closed my eyelid on my empty eye-socket and began tying the feather back over it. "A monstrous tree. Root ripped my eye out." I answered.

A look of contemplation appeared upon his face while his brow furrowed. "It possibly left a curse or some kind of poison that is preventing the regrowth of your eye." Charon theorized incorrectly before he stood up again, "I'd be more than willing to work on your eye issue at a future time, but today is not the best day since we've got an entire squad of injured who are taking up all our resources to keep alive."

That explained the many injured in the infirmary today.

"I'll be fine, Charon. Thanks for taking the time to try and heal me." I said in reassurance. Charon gave a light smile at this.

"Take a few minutes to rest here for a bit before you head off to Andross." It was soon after this that Charon left to tend to the other injured here.

With this moment of reprieve, I found myself looking around the area of the infirmary until my eye fell on Odin looking intensely at one of the injured soldiers resting on a bed. What surprised me was when Odin looked over to me and spoke.

Neia, go towards the boy.

"Why is that, Lord Odin?" I whispered silently as I walked to the boy who was covered in bandages soaked in blood. From what I could tell, his injuries were probably too severe for the power of the healers to fix. The stench of blood and some type of rot wafted from the bandages covering him. His wounds were definitely infected, despite everything that had been done for him.

It was more of an impressive feat of willpower that the boy was still trying to cling onto life with how little strength he had left. Yet, even with that strength, I doubted that he'd last another day. What was interesting Odin about the boy?

I watched as Odin's ethereal form walked to the side of the boy's prone body and I walked over to stand next to him. The smile that was usually on Odin's mouth fell into an expression of solemn respect.

In all of Yggdrasil, and of all the gods and goddesses that hold dominion over the realms, there are only a scant few that preside over death. Hel shepherds those who passed naturally, but still oversees all those whose last breath of life echoes from their bodies, my beloved Freyja takes first choice over those who fell in battle and leads them to the fields of Fólkvangr, and finally, I get second choice to take those who I deem worthy to Valhalla as my Einherjar.

Most often, it is my Valkyries who will escort these chosen to my halls, but on rare occasions, I will perform the deed myself. Yggdrasil hasn't fully strengthened the connection she has built, so it will be a short time before the other deities discover this new realm. Souls might only start trickling from this realm to Hel, but my beloved Freyja and I have to pick out those who have fallen ourselves.

I think that the others might forgive an old man for deciding to delay a warrior's end for just a while longer.

I looked over to Odin who continued looking at the boy, "But he isn't dying in a battle? He's dying in a bed in the infirmary." I pointed out to the elderly god. Odin looked over to me with his blue eye and gave me a soft smile.

And what is this if not a battle? It may not be on a field of blood and steel, but make no mistake that this is a battle. He spends every last bit of strength fighting against a venom in his body which saps at his strength. Each moment, he singlehandedly holds death at bay so that he can fight one moment longer. This is a battle, and regardless of if he wins or loses, the boy plans to make death earn its claim on his soul. This is a warrior, and his battlefield may not be a traditional one of ballads, but it should receive the respect it deserves.

This battle is also one that he's obviously fated to lose. But sometimes…

Odin glanced over to me and gave a smile and wink.

Gods can be impressed enough by a mortal's actions that they decide to intervene. May this old god receive your help, Neia Odinspeaker, in rewarding this warrior?

Looking back to the boy, whose face was scrunched in an expression of agony as he continued to hold onto life, I nodded. "What do you need me to do, Lord Odin?"

Just to trust me and remember what is done.

"I trust you." I said with complete faith, getting a warm chuckle as Odin's form then moved towards my body before merging with it. Once he did so, it felt like my body was thrumming with power, yet I also felt almost like a stranger in my own flesh. My movements were not my own as I watched my hand move by itself, clenching into a testing fist before uncurling.

Then, my body leaned over that of the boy's, with my right hand placed over his heart and my left hovering over his forehead. I felt a power move through my body and converge on the tip of my left index finger, while more power covered my right hand.

With great care, my finger traced runes into the boy's forehead, and as they traced onto the boy's flesh, it felt like the knowledge was being traced into my mind. "Valhalla þarf ekki ennþá þig." A voice came from my mouth, but it was not fully my own, yet also not fully Odin's.

As my finger finished tracing these runes, they glowed brightly and wind seemed to blow away from the runes, pulling at my hair and clothes. Yet, my eye remained fixed on the boy's form as it seemed to convulse under my touch. Light seemed to glow from his eyelids and mouth as he made a silent scream.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" A voice cried out from behind me, but I couldn't pull myself away from the task at hand as I watched the sickly skin of the boy turn a rosier hue as power continued to fill him. His almost black hair gained a few white strands while what visible wounds I had been able to see were all closing.

I heard Huginn caw and screech as he flew off my shoulder and to whatever was behind me, but my focus was still trained onto the boy until the runes on his forehead finally faded along with the glow of his now-opened eyes and mouth, leaving a pair of green eyes full of shock that were fixed on my one.

Soon, I felt the power of Odin leave me as the elderly god appeared at my side and I regained control of my body once again. This allowed me to pull away from the boy for a moment before his hand reached out and desperately grabbed my wrist, "T-The Gods! I saw one of the Gods! A-Are you one of their messengers?"

For a moment, I was hesitant at how to answer and glanced over to Odin who gave me a reassuring smile and nod. Then, I turned back to the boy and nodded as, softly, words seemed to just come from me that I was uncertain on if they were mine or some remnant of the traces of Odin's power still within me, "Lord Odin wanted you to live. He saw you as a warrior worthy of a second chance, so he gave it back to you."

"A name. Y-You were granted one of their names?" He asked in astonishment, to which I nodded. He believed that one of the Four told me their names, yet I decided to not disagree with it.

"Yes. But for now, you should rest after your long battle against death." I said in reassurance which seemed to cause the boy's eyes to start fluttering in exhaustion.

Before he could fully pass out, he managed to ask, through sheer force of will against the heavy urge to sleep, "Wh-What is y-your name, messenger?"

"Neia Odinspeaker." I replied quietly. He nodded as his eyes began to close and his hand fell back to his side. Then, he peacefully slept.

It was after this that a flutter of wings filled my ears and Huginn's weight now rested on my shoulder once again. As I turned around, I saw the three priests in the infirmary looking at me with wide eyes as they looked between me and the healed boy that had been written off for death. "H-How did you do this? Ulric's injuries were beyond the capabilities of the healing power granted by the Four. How did you, a normal soldier, manage such a thing?" Charon questioned in astonishment.

Looking at my hands, I wasn't certain on how to fully answer that. "I'm not sure. Something just compelled me to do so." I said in a half-truth. "I-Is something wrong?"

Slowly, Charon slowly composed himself as he walked over to me and gently touched my shoulders. Shaking his head, he smiled, "No. What we just saw was an actual miracle of the Four. One that deigned to work through a humble soldier of the kingdom to save another, and we would be fools to treat such a miracle with ostracism."

As he said this, the two other priests moved past us to look over Ulric. "Please, Miss Baraja, could you tell me if it were possible for you to perform such a miracle again?" Looking down at my hands, I could feel the power still within, waiting to be unleashed through the knowledge that was almost engraved into my mind. A quick confirming glance over to Odin's smile, and I looked back to the priest.

"I believe so."

Charon's smile grew brighter at hearing this. "Would you be willing to look over a few of our other patients? They were part of the squad with young Ulric who had been assaulted by the group of nagas." So, this is what Odin meant. Start through minor miracles that would only touch one soul. I don't think that I could heal everyone, but those that I did would remember Odin's kindness.

They might only think that Odin was one of the Four Great Gods or the minor gods under them at first. But that only meant that people would be more willing to accept Odin. After all, none of the Four had names, only titles. They might just infer that he was one of them until Odin grew a large enough following to shed that connection.

"Take me to them."

I spent the next 20 minutes saving four other members of the squad that had been poisoned by the nagas. Sadly, the rest of the squad didn't survive long enough to receive my aid. But I still saved four more.

Four more who now knew Odin's name and kindness.

[Sergeant Kellan]

Standing before the commander, I had a foreboding feeling in my gut. His order that I had been given was straight and to the point. I needed to assemble a small scouting part of five that should be fully geared up and ready to leave. Then, we had to meet with him in his office for the details to this mission.

As such, I got my best people. Serra, Yorick, Kythion, and Jace were my immediate choice as all of them were quiet, fast, and knew their way through a fight if necessary.

"Commander Darian, I've assembled my four best scouts, along with myself. What are the details of this mission you have for us?" I asked with a simple salute.

The commander motioned us to his desk, and the five of us approached a map of the keep and its surrounding lands. On it was a circular marking that was approximately 25 miles from where we stood. It was there that the commander pointed to. "Sergeant Kellan, earlier today Private Neia returned from the scouting mission that her group had been sent on two days ago led by Captain Francus. She came back as the only survivor."

My eyes narrowed in concern at this news. Captain Francus was a strong warrior in his own right, especially as a paladin. The fact that only a lowly private returned bode extremely ill news indeed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Based on the report, a monster in the form of a crimson tree attacked the scouting squad and took the three other members of the squad to be transformed into monsters." My look of horror must have been obvious enough for the commander to see as he continued, "It's extremely disturbing thing to hear, but from what I extrapolated from the report, this creature captures its victims by impaling them upon roots, keeping them alive the entire time, before dragging them off to be cocooned and transformed. What is more disturbing than this is that this creature has been rapidly growing and expanding its area of influence."

"How rapid, sir?" Serra questioned.

"It covered half of the hill it was on in its crimson roots when Captain Francus' squad first encountered it. A day and a half after Private Neia recovered from an injury she had sustained out in the field, she checked it once more to see that it had grown past the hill and was beginning to cover the other hills around it. Then, she spent the rest of the time running back here to tell us." Commander Darian answered as he laced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them.

Examining the map once again, I could only guess how long this thing might take to reach the wall. Weeks at the earliest, but the radius it would control would be massive. "My squad isn't exactly equipped to take on something like this, sir." I remarked while pondering what had to be done to stop this thing.

"I don't expect any of your squad to fight it, Sergeant Kellan. This creature seems to try and rapidly grow into anything it stabs. That makes melee combat against it a measure of last resort, at best. It this creature is to be fought, it needs to be done from a range." As the commander said this, he stared directly into my eyes, "Your squad is to only observe and report on any changes you see from the creature, such as the range of territory it covers and any potential hazards that Private Neia hadn't seen during her observations."

The commander then set three scrolls onto his desk which I was familiar enough with. They were spell scrolls, but I was amiss on what spell that each had stored in them. "These scrolls are each enchanted with the [Message] spell. I want an initial report to be sent with the scroll as you and your squad remain there to give further information. I will be assembling a strike force with long-range spellcasters along with soldiers to haul oil."

"Oil, sir?" Kytheon questioned.

"I'm going to have the area surrounding this creature be covered in oil and lit up." Commander Darian stated without a hint of emotion in his tone.

"But, sir, that could start up a massive wildfire! Do we have any method to control the spread?" Jace pointed out, to which the commander shook his head.

"No, and even if we did, we won't be stopping it. If this initial strike doesn't work, I want the area around it to be burned, and anything once living there to be chased away. I have no idea on if this monster requires other living creatures to survive or not, but I have no plan on finding out." The commander explained bluntly, without any attempt to soften the answer.

In a way, it's what made the commander respected around the keep. He wouldn't try and lessen whatever actions he needed his soldiers to do with flowery words. He also wouldn't order anyone to do a task that he wouldn't be willing to do himself.

"Are we even certain that Baraja was telling the truth? Could be that she embellished her report to you. Why all of these extreme measures?" Yorick wondered, earning a dry look that could be the closest one could consider to a glare that the commander was willing to make.

"I have little reason to doubt Private Baraja's report, but just as a precaution, it's another reason that I'm sending your group to scout out this creature. And as for my extreme actions? This is far from extreme, it's justified. We have enough to deal with when demi-humans perform their incursions on our lands without adding a newly forming enemy to it. I can already see the immense danger facing our kingdom in the future if we don't take care of this creature in its infancy of power.

Never forget, we are the first line of defense against the monsters that wish to kill, enslave, or eat our people. I plan for us to also be the last line of defense so that they never need to suffer such horror. If something breaches the section of the wall under my authority, then I see it as my own failure to keep up to that standard." The commander's chastisement quickly silenced Yorick as his tanned skin turned a ghostly pale.

"U-Understood, sir."

"I apologize for Yorick's words, commander." I began before Commander Darian held his hand up to silence me.

"You do not need to apologize. Yorick had concerns he wished to be heard. I gave him a thorough response." I gave a respectful nod to the commander. If it had been any other commander, Yorick would probably be getting a lashing or some other equivalent punishment for speaking out against a commander's orders.

"Of course, commander. My team will be on the move within the hour." I stated simply.

"Then I wish you all haste." The commander held out the scrolls for me which I took and stored away into my satchel. "Dismissed."

We gave him a salute before leaving his office.

Trudging through the brush of the Abelion Hills, my eyes made quick note of the sun soon moving to dusk. We likely had two hours of daylight at most. I planned for us to only remain in the area of this monstrous tree before the sun began to set. In the dark, there were too many risks of being ambushed by any unexpected ability of this creature.

But the one thing that both my squad and I noticed as we drew closer to the estimated area of this tree was an ominous feeling that settled in our minds. Some form of wrongness that shouldn't be. This feeling was something I leaned into as my gut told me that this was all due to the creature.

"Sarge, something really doesn't feel right." Yorick was the first to comment after we had spent the past hour in silence.

I looked over to my subordinate and nodded. "We're getting closer." I replied quietly. "From here out, speak only if necessary. The enemy is too close for idle chatter." I received nods from my squad as we continued on in silence.

From there, we continued our silent march for more than 20 more minutes until I saw a red hill in the distance that almost appeared to be covered in thousands of red snakes. Above it was a crimson tree that stretched up into sight above it.

Dotting the red hill were bundles of roots that we could see moving. Looking around, I spotted an empty hill that I motioned the others to move to. It was another 10 minutes from them to reach the top of it and get a good vantage of this creature.

What I saw was…disturbing to say the least. Private Neia had been correct in her report as we could see those writhing crimson roots having spread halfway up a few of the surrounding hills.

"By the Four." I heard Kytheon whisper to himself.

Serra tapped me on the arm and pointed out to one of the root bundles that had begun to heavily shake a move. Then, the roots unwrapped themselves and we watched what had once been an orc stumble out and roar out.

Orcs are already a race which were unpleasant to look at, but this mutated abomination made all other orcs look beautiful in comparison. Tendrils of crimson slithered about its form. One jutted from the poor bastard's collarbone and into the side of its jaw. Another few wormed across its left arm as the roots seemed to crush the thing's fingers into its hand when it attempted to close its hand into a fist.

I watched as a few roots snapped its right leg, eliciting a howl of pain before the very same roots snapped the leg back into place. In comparison, its right arm looked relatively decent as the roots seemed to stretch across its arm like veins under one's skin. It didn't look at all pretty, but the creature closed its hand into a fist without the fingers being crushed.

What surprised us next was to see a few tendrils on its body stab into it as the creature's head twisted and snapped to look at a bundle of roots that it painfully stumbled towards and jumped in, quickly being crushed by the roots of that bundle in a spray of blood and gore.

This was one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen in my career as a soldier. Especially due to what I could see from the eyes of that creature. There was extreme fear in them, one which told me that the original mind of the creature had still been in there, stuck as a passenger in its own body that broke itself apart before committing suicide.

After witnessing all of this, the only thing that came to mind was that the commander needed to bring more oil when he arrived to torch this thing.

We had seen enough.

I motioned to my squad to pull back, and we quickly made our way down the hill and continued moving a bit farther until it I felt that we were a comfortable distance away.

"That was just demonic." Kytheon said with a hollow gaze.

"Seems that Neia wasn't wrong about this creature. In fact, this creature seems even worse." Yorick remarked while sitting on the log of a fallen tree. "What in the hell even was that monster?"

For that, I couldn't give my subordinate an answer. "I'm not certain, but I'm going to report this to the commander. For now, assemble camp. And no fires; we don't want to be spotted out here tonight by anything."

Saying this, I went off to send my report with the [Message] scroll.

After the sun set and stars filled the sky, we made the decision to sleep early in preparation for the commander bringing the strike force that was likely to appear in the morning. Since we were in enemy territory, we would be taking watch shifts for any attacks in the night.

Being the squad's leader, I took first watch and patrolled the edges of the camp. All the while, my mind went back to that tree, and what it could even be. I've encountered many different types of beasts, monsters, and demi-humans, but I've never seen something like that until today.

Where could it have even come from since something like that doesn't just appear randomly out of thin air? All of it left a bad taste in my mouth and a growing pit in my stomach. Nothing of what I've seen today has been the closest thing to natural as the Four intended.

With good fortune, that wouldn't be an issue tomorrow after the monster got torched with all the other poor souls it ensnared into its grip.

That was when I heard a crunch of a leaf and immediately drew my blade and spun around to see a human-like figure approach me with hands raised in surrender. My eyes narrowed, "Who are you?" I demanded, on the verge of calling out to the others.

The figure soon stepped closer as moonlight was able to shine just enough to reveal the smile of a familiar face, yet his eyes had an ominous red glow with slitted black pupils that seemed to constantly ripple and shift. A sense of shock filled me at seeing this face.

"Captain Francus?!"

And as more moonlight shined upon him, I saw a body that seemed merged with crimson roots, covering the man like squirming veins. Then, he opened his mouth.

"Good evening, soldier. Kellan, was it?" He greeted as if this was just a casual encounter between two comrades.