Book 1, Verse 23

“Look out!” Vivian shouted.

I jumped out of the way of the monster’s claws awkwardly, then landed sprawled on my back.

We’d left camp that morning reasonably early, and had made good progress through the King’s Wood up until we crossed over a small stream. Once we did, the entire forest had become strangely silent; the sound of birds singing had disappeared, and the gentle rustle of the wind through the leaves was gone.

Niels had told us to be careful, and up until I was nearly gutted by the monster’s claws, I thought we had followed his instructions well.

“What is that thing?!” I yelled as I scrambled to my feet and tried to steady myself.

It was tall and tree-like, but it had long arms with claws like jagged thorns.

“Axebane tree.” Niels said casually as he moved his arms in circles and conjured roots from the ground to wrap around the monster’s trunk-like legs. “Usually they tend to stick in one spot like any other tree. It’s very odd to see one uprooted and wandering.”

I took a few more steps away from the axebane tree by retreating down the forest path we had been following.

Vivian took advantage of Niels restraining the axebane by pulling out a small curved knife and quickly cutting off one of the axebane’s long arms. It fell to the ground with a heavy thud and twitched a few times before becoming completely still.

It shook violently, causing Vivian to leap off it. The roots Niels had conjured tore off the monster’s legs as it began charging at him. He stepped out of the way, barely avoiding the thorny claws of its still attached left arm.

The monster didn’t make any sound as it attacked; it didn’t seem to have any facial features at all. The only noises from this fight were the normal ones of the wind rushing through the leaves and the staggered grunts of Niels and Vivian fighting it.

It was a lot less…

Enchanting than I thought it would be. All the video games and books I’d read made fighting monsters sound so cinematic and grandiose; but as I stood there at a slight distance, watching Niels and Vivian fight for their lives, I realized that it was strangely simple.

The axebane would charge at Vivian; she’d jump out of the way of its attack and Niels would strike it while it reoriented itself. Then it would turn around and charge at Niels, and he would avoid it, then Vivian would attack it.

Maybe it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be, but it was still interesting; like a ballet or a well thought out hypnotism routine.

While I watched it, I realized that, despite me not having any mirra to perform magic with or having done much training, I could probably take down one of these axebane monsters if I had a friend to help.

“Shinko!” Vivian cried out again.

I was too slow this time; I came out of my trance just as the jagged claws of the monster tore at my body.

The sound of fabric tearing ripped through my ears, and because the monster’s claws were thorny, they didn’t go clean through my outfit.

Instead, I was dragged down by its claws getting stuck on my shirt, and my head slammed into the ground.

“God, don’t let me die!” I cried out in pain as the axebane lifted me up with its left arm. Vivian began running towards me as Niels rapidly started moving his arms in patterns again, mirra coalescing into strange arcane shapes along his arms.

I looked down at the axebane as it began running down the path, holding my scrawny body up with one arm.

There was no face on this tree-beast. No look of malice in its eyes. No wicked sneer on its lips.

To the axebane, I was just a threat; something to be killed; it had only attacked me because I was stupid enough to stand still and lose track of it.

It didn’t care about me specifically.

It may kill me for a specific purpose, but there was no intent behind it.

No meaning.

Like getting crushed to death by a falling piano; almost accidental, maybe even comedic, but there was no meaning to the death.

Vivian started running faster, but the axebane seemed intent to escape with me in its clutches. Without warning, it leapt off the trail and started running through the dense trees of the forest. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it almost seemed like the trees were actually moving out of the axebane’s way to allow it to escape faster.

It held me out at its side, still maintaining its firm grip.

And as it ran, it started pounding my body against each tree it passed.

I thought I heard Vivian; thought I saw her still trying to run through the trees, but she didn’t have the same magic the axebane did, and the trees only served to block her path.

My body slammed against another tree.

“G-god, please!”

Another tree. I think I heard something crack.

“Please! God! I–”

Another tree.

“I don’t want to die!”

I hit something else, and it all went dark.

~~~

“Shinko, wake up!”

My vision was blurred, and my chest hurt.

“Shinko!”

My chest hurt; that meant that I could feel it.

“He’s not going to get up immediately, give–”

That meant I was alive.

My eyes slowly fluttered open.

I was lying down on the ground on the side of the forest trail, and there were three people looking down over me.

There was Vivian, who had her blue eyes nearly full of tears.

Niels, who looked relieved.

And another woman I didn’t recognize. She had strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes, and looked extremely shocked, but quickly recovered and looked smug.

“S-see? I, uh, I told you he’d be fine.” The new woman said, quickly regaining her confidence.

“Forgive me for doubting a random alchemist we met in the forest.” Niels said, deadpan.

“Shinko! Thank God you’re alright!” Vivian helped me sit up quickly and looked over my back, checking for bruises.

“W-wait, where’s my shirt?” I realized that I was covered in a blanket, and that it was now the only thing I was wearing.

“Ruined.” Niels said. “The axebane clawed through your shirt and when it brutalized you against all those trees while it ran, your pants were covered in tears and blood. Don’t worry; you can use my extra clothes.” He stood up and took off his pack, then began looking through it.

“Thanks Niels.”

A little cough grabbed my attention, and I looked back at the strawberry-haired woman.

“Really, you should be thanking me.” She pointed at herself.

She had a high-pitched voice that was slightly annoying, and her face was much more angular than any of ours. Her eyes were more oval-shaped than mine, and had a distinctly shifty look to them.

“After all, I did save your life with my potions.” She said proudly.

I looked at Vivian, confused.

She nodded in acquiescence to the woman.

“Thank you for saving Shinko’s life. We appreciate it a lot.”

“Well, appreciation isn’t going to pay for food or ingredients.” The woman replied. “It’ll cost you about, oh, a piece of gold. Mandl gold.”

Niels dropped his pack on the ground with an abrupt thud.

“W-what?!” He sounded outraged.

Vivian scooted away from the woman and motioned for me to change rapidly. I did as she indicated.

“It’s only fair, right? I did save your friend’s life.” She said teasingly.

“You witch! A piece of Mandl gold is robbery! No one’s life is worth that much!” He said angrily.

“Oh yeah sharp-ears? Well maybe you should’ve considered that before begging me to save his life!” She retorted harshly.

I watched as the two of them argued over how much saving my life really cost while I put on Niel’s pants and shirt. Thankfully my undergarments had been replaced already.

Niels and the strawberry haired woman continued to argue after I had gotten dressed. I slowly walked over to where Vivian was standing.

“Wow. They’re really yelling.” I commented.

“Uh huh.” Vivian replied.

I looked up at the sky.

It was already nearly night.

“How do you feel?” Vivian asked sincerely, turning to look at me.

I ran my hand over my chest. I hadn’t looked at it much, but the small glimpse I’d caught while putting on my new shirt confirmed that I had a massive set of scars running down the entirety of my chest; thankfully, whatever magic that alchemist had used to revive me had patched them up so that they weren’t still bleeding.

“My head kind of hurts.” I ran my hand over the back of my head. “But not very much. I should be fine.”

“Okay.” Vivian said hesitantly. “Here, let’s set up yours first.”

We took a few steps away from the arguing pair as we began setting up the tents.

While we did, my thoughts wandered.

I hadn’t died.