Witch of the Woods 4

Win faces down the large, woman-like figure of the Witch of the Woods. With his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he can make out more of its features. It has sunken eye sockets, and only glowing red orbs within them. Its entire body looks withered, with dried hair reaching the ground. Skin clings to bone. It’s clearly not human.

The Witch swipes at Win with a clawed hand. Its gangly limbs can reach farther than even Win with his sword in hand. Win raises his blade to block the blow. However, he feels nothing. The hand passes through the metal and slams into his side. Win winces from the pain. His mind races. He knows his blade should have blocked the blow, yet it didn’t.

Win dashes forward with the winds to propel him. He lunges quickly, stabbing into the Witch’s chest. He feels no resistance, and his sword falls through the Witch’s torso as though nothing was there. As Win tries to draw back, the Witch slams into him once more. Win still doesn’t understand what might be happening. He doesn’t understand how it’s able to hit him, and he has no ideas on how to win with such a disadvantage.

Win snaps his fingers. A bolt of lightning strikes the Witch. The Witch recoils from pain, but shows only the slightest signs of damage. Win smiles at the discovery. The Witch begins to throw a flurry of blows and sweeps at Win. Win dodges them, and all the while tries to predict how the fight might go. He extrapolates from the paltry damage he dealt with his spell that he would need to use an incredible amount of spells to defeat the Witch. He assumes he would run out of magic power long before his victory came. He already cast a large spell in the morning against the adventurers in town, so he’s certain that he won’t have the energy to do anything significant. Win decides that it’s not worth his time or energy to cast spells at all trying to win. He assumes there must be a gimmick he could exploit somewhere.

Win jumps over a sweep from the Witch’s arm, then uses a small gust of wind to send him to the ground before the other fist reaches him. He sheathes his sword. He draws it once more, the metal now red hot, the fire just barely contained. Win has decided that offensive spells simply do not have enough effect for how costly they are, but he has not ruled out a spell utilizing his sword just yet. He dashes forward and tries to cut through the Witch. Although he is now using magic, he still feels no resistance, and the Witch still shows no signs of damage. Win quickly ends his enchantment as he realizes that it was not as simple as using magic to get past the incorporeality.

The Witch screeches. Win stops in his tracks so close to it. He feels like his eardrums might burst. Win can feel a curse trying to seep into him, but his own magical power is still too strong for such a thing. The Witch seems to realize that he has not gone mad, and instead grabs him. The Witch raises its arms and throws Win straight up into the air. Win looks down at the battlefield and sees Calliope still watching off to the side. The Witch starts to take advantage of Win’s vulnerable state and thrusts its claws into the air. Win pushes himself around in the air with wind magic. Although Win is entirely capable of moving around mid-air, he had never trained his body to be jerked around like this. He loses control of himself for just a moment, and has a shoulder pierced. Win falls to the ground and the Witch turns its attention to Calliope.

Calliope moves deeper into the woods to protect herself. If not for the incorporeal body, the Witch would have trouble reaching her. Win grips the dirt, then launches him straight towards Calliope with a powerful gust of wind. Win spins in mid-air, facing down the Witch once more as he lands between it and Calliope.

“I told you to run. What sort of foolishness possessed you to stay? Get out of here. I don’t want to have to bother protecting you.” Win points a finger towards the Witch and fires a beam of pure light. The Witch, for the first time all night, dodges out of the way of the spell. “I think I found out its weakness, too. If you’re worried, I’ll come see you when the morning comes. I doubt that fake light will really do anything.”

Calliope gently touches Win’s back. He feels some of his energy return, a welcome gift in thinking about what is soon to follow. Win hears Calliope escape deeper into the woods.

“Witch of the Woods, you now face Winfred Lufian, seventh generation master! I’ll make you face the rising sun, and this matter will be resolved. Make peace with your coming death or fight me to the end, it matters not!”

The Witch shows no sign of understanding Win’s words. It lunges forward with another quick thrust of its claws. Win dodges, but cannot retaliate with his blade, his arm still limp. He tries to punch the Witch with his other arm, and to his surprise, he feels it connect.

“It seems I can touch you just fine on my own. You’re some kind of specter then? If you’re the corrupted soul of something, then I’ll put you to rest, damnable fool.”

Win brawls with the ghost throughout the night. His combat prowess far outstrips the Witch’s, and without needing to fear a guaranteed loss from overusing magic, Win is able to heal himself periodically. All that’s left from their clashes are small scuffs and scratches. Every hour or so, Win blasts himself with a mental spell to force himself through any exhaustion. By the time the sun begins to rise, Win feels ready to collapse.

As the sunlight begins to hit the clearing, the Witch begins to writhe with fear. It darts towards the cave entrance. Win snaps his fingers; dirt and rock fill in the opening, blocking the Witch’s way. The Witch then makes for the woods, and Win gives chase. Win follows the Witch closely until he sees the sunlight flitting through the leaves. The Witch slows down as it begins to weave between them. Win swings his sword in a circle around, a blade of wind cutting through the surrounding trees. He blows away the falling trunks with another powerful gust of wind. The sun falls on the Witch and it begins to give off smoke. It turns to dust, and is blown away in the wind.

“Clinging onto your life so desperately, even after you’ve died. And for what? To hurt others? I suppose that’s how humanity is in the end. We’re all such fools.”

Win starts to walk back to the clearing.