Traps

Even though the winds blew with a force strong enough to rip trees from the soil, Tomita and Izhari were safe. Within her bubbled barrier of glowing white energy, they felt no gusts and no stabbing rain. Izhari had already begun to walk forward.

“Izhari, you did this by yourself?!” Tomita screamed over the noise of the storm.

“Yes!” she shouted back.

Tomita looked at her in wonder. Her body was strained. Her walk was slow and deliberate, but she moved forward. Tomita felt the cart in his hand as he pushed up beside her.

“Here! Get in! Let me push you! Save your energy!” he shouted.

“Are you certain?” she asked.

“Yes! Please, save your strength and focus on the barrier! I will carry you!” said Tomita as he hoisted her body into the cart.

The bubble stayed centered around her frame, and they continued forward. As they walked across the chasm of emptiness, Tomita watched the rainwater striking the bubble and redirecting. It slid around them, uninterrupted in its force. It did not hit their barrier and explode or stop; it instead continued in force.

“You made it so that it curved with us instead of crashing into us?” Tomita asked in wonder.

“It had less impact, and therefore less strain for me, if I did it that way. Otherwise, the force would still potentially throw us off the bridge,” explained Izhari.

“You are incredibly powerful and smart, manager!” shouted Tomita.

Their crossing took over an hour, even with Tomita’s help. He could only imagine how long it took Izhari on her own. Several times during the crossing, he glanced at his master and saw her eyes closed, with her paws clinging to her staff in strain. This was draining her, but it had to be done. Tomita agreed that the rage of these storms seemed intentional, as though they were never supposed to cross. Still, on they went.

Exploding thunder and pure white lightning tore through the vortexes all around them as they walked. At one point, a bolt of lightning struck their barrier, causing Tomita and Izhari to both scream out in terror as the very bridge beneath them shook and threatened to snap. Nothing but abyss awaited them below.

“We are-are-are almost there!” shouted Tomita as he steadied his feet and pushed on.

Up ahead, the bridge ended, and the storm seemed to crash into an invisible wall, causing its swirling chaos to redirect inward. On the other side of the invisible wall was the first large island they would visit. This is where Izhari’s original journey came to an end. Upon arriving on the main island, she was set upon by hunters as she searched for the Summoning Sanctum. In her heart, she worried about what awaited them on the other side now. Yet she could feel Tomita’s strength flowing into her and buttressing her with energy.

Not only was he sharing her burden, he was lending her his stamina so that she might be ready for what was beyond the veil before them.

They reached the end of the bridge, and Tomita paused.

“Are you ready?’ he yelled.

“Yes! Let us proceed!” Izhari commanded.

With that, they passed through the veil and entered the mainland.

As soon as they crossed, they were pulled to the ground by invisible snares. The cart was flipped, and Izhari fell to the dirt with a scream, just as Tomita shouted in pain at the burning harnesses that were binding to his legs. They had walked into a trap.

An enormous weighted net fell from above them, and mechanical devices tried to pin them down, but the barrier was still up.

“Hunter traps! Tomita!!” Izhari shouted as she patted the ground for her staff.

Tomita tried to reach it, but he couldn’t move.

“I can’t grab it! My legs! I’m trapped!” he shouted.

There was a roar from nearby. Snares wrestled and gnawed at Izhari’s paws and feet as she searched.

“No! No! No!” Izhari screamed as her bubble barrier began to crack and the weighted net sank towards them.

Beyond the foggy treeline, a towering figure began to lurch towards them.

“I need my staff!” Izhari shouted.

Tomita focused and remembered the trainings from the glade.

“No, you don’t! It makes it easier for you, but you are strong without it! Use my energy for support instead!” he shouted as his hand flailed forward and grabbed her leg.

“Use me, Izhari!!” he shouted just as a four-armed troll as large as a house rounded the tree line and marched towards them.

Izhari understood and recentered herself. A snarl built in her throat as her claws extended from her fingers.

“Eviscerate! Burn! Burn away! All of you who are here against us! BURN TO ASH!” she roared.

Tomita felt his strength rip itself from his soul and stream into Izhari, as though he were a conduit. All around them, glowing blue flames appeared and swirled in a circle of protection. The net was incinerated instantly. Tomita felt a pain in his very bones as his essence poured out for support.

Izhari forced herself to stand with a roar of hate, and she faced the thundering feet of the beast before them. The troll let out a roar of defiance and rushed forward as it raised its club.

“Izhari! Now!” Tomita screamed.

Izhari let out a scream as her arms tensed into her chest and the waves of blue fire exploded out in a concussive boom. The troll caught fire and screamed out in terror as the flames consumed it from the inside out,e burning it alive. Nearby, several other hidden figures screamed in terror as the fire snaked through the trees and pursued them like bloodhounds. Nothing else was harmed. The world remained intact and undisturbed, save for the infernos that were scorching their pursuers into smoldering death.

The screams were terrifying. Tomita felt a shock in his chest. He was not used to such sounds. All around them, the screams continued for seconds that felt like years. Izhari was undisturbed. Her clawed hands lowered to her sides but stayed tensed in focus. Her fangs were bared and her eyes were burning bright blue. She held her intention until the screams stopped. The flames stopped their murderous pursuit and zipped back to Izhari, who fell to the ground in exhaustion.

The snares on Tomita’s feet vanished, and he pulled Izhari to him.

“Manager! Izhari! Heal yourself! Use my energy! I am fine!” he ordered as he pressed his hand to her chest.

“You are weakened…” she moaned as her eyes fluttered.

“I AM FINE! Trust me! Rejuvenate yourself! We have to continue!” Tomita commanded.

She sighed and nodded. Tomita’s quick thinking forced him to grab the staff and return it to her paws.

“Thank you…” she muttered.

“Heal,” he whispered as he scanned the environment for any more threats.

Izhari inhaled and exhaled slowly.

“Take his strength and give it to me. Let his body mend mine,” she whispered.

Tomita’s eyes burned, and the edges of his teeth felt as though a dulled piece of metal had struck them. His essence flowed out once more from his body and into hers. There was a pause, then she opened her eyes once more as she gasped. She was okay.

“We made it,” Tomita sighed.

“We made it to the beginning…” sighed Izhari as her paw rested on his chest.

“Thank you for your awareness,” she said slowly as she stood.

“Put that on my yearly review…” Tomita groaned as he pressed onto his knees to stand.

“Holy shit, that was painful…” he sighed as he tried to pop his back.

Their contents were nearby, so it was not hard to gather them while Izhari caught her breath.

“I wasn’t expecting hunters this soon. They must have realized I came through The Eversquall and set traps there in case anyone else did…” she noted as she rubbed ointment onto her burned wrists.

Tomita’s hands were trembling now. Terror and a full realization of the immense danger ahead were fully present in his mind now. He took the bottle of etherdrop and downed two sips to suppress his fears and calm his mind.

Everything was returned to the cart, and it was agreed that Izhari should continue riding for a little longer so that she could rest. The path stretched before them, but they knew they could not use it to reach town, in case more hunters were nearby. So they entered the forest and followed the treeline to stay near the path.

For hours, neither spoke. Etherdrop did its job, and Tomita’s mind entered a calmed haze, but he kept his wits about him as he scanned the edge of the forest for any signs of danger. Izhari rested before him as she balled herself close for comfort within the cart. They were looking for a teleportation crystal. That would be their strategy for now. Island hop across the realm until Izhari’s maji intuition could start to sense the extreme concentration of memory orbs. No matter how long it took, this was the only plan they had for now.

Eventually, Izhari walked beside Tomita to give his arms a rest. Nightfall approached, and the two of them moved further into the thicket of the forest. Between the ever-present fog and the dense canopy of trees, they were well hidden from the sightlines of the path.

After a quick consumption of preserved foods, Izhari rested. Tomita’s endurance allowed him to stay up quite a bit longer, so he was on guard duty. At that point, his usual workday would have had at least four more hours left in it, so he was not yet fatigued. Their simple tent was set out so that they could have some shelter from the fog and light rain that was now falling. Izhari used her power to banish dampness from them, so they could dry as they rested.

Izhari fell asleep almost instantly, and Tomita decided against trying to read. He resigned himself to sitting in the darkness, listening for danger and signs of life amid the pattering raindrops. To his relief and slight concern, beyond the rain, the world around them was silent. For the moment, they were alone. For the moment, on their first night, they were safe. 

Tomita prayed that this would not be the pace and intensity of their quest, but the dread in his heart whispered to him that it likely was.