The Woodplage

“You really think this is a good idea?”, asked Alex fighting his way through some underbrush.

“Yeah, totally!”, said Violet walking leisurely behind him.

„Shouldn’t we just wait until your grandpas come back? I bet this would be no problem for them, even if that thing gets a bit stronger.”

“Well of course it would be not problem for them. But where is the fun in that? Don’t be so scared dude! You remember how to destroy that kind of monster?”

“Yeah, that thing is the accumulation of curse magic energy. If this happens in a forest it is called a Woodplage. It should have a core somewhere that controls the wooden body and can grow or regrow it. To destroy the Woodplage you have to smash it or it will just regenerate.”

“Your knowledge of monster is as frightening as usual… Okay, so you see this thing is basically just a tree on a mood swing!“

“Basically… yes…”

“Good thing we have your axe and my fire magic. Two things that wood fears. This should be easy then!”

The two of them ventured deeper into the woods. Alex went in front and forged a path through the thicket. Violet followed him.

“Do you smell that?”, asked Violet after a few minutes.

“Sorry…”, answered Alex quietly.

“What?”

“Nothing… oh, now I smell it too! Woah, that stinks! Like something is… yeah look. I think we are on the right track.”

Alex pointed to the body of a big elk. It was nearly completely black from necrosis. Dark wood was protruding out of the body on multiple locations.

“Poor thing… may you be cleansed by the purity of fire.”, said Violet.

She pointed with her staff at the body as she spoke and it went up in flame. A few moments later only ash remained. The two went on. Alex stopped suddenly.

“Do you hear that?”, he asked.

“I haven’t eaten breakfast yet…”, said Violet and held her grumbling tummy.

“That’s not what I meant… that!”

A faint screech echoed from a bit deeper followed by a loud crack. They both looked at each other for a second, nodded and then followed the noise. It wasn’t long before they reached a clearing. A fight was going on, or rather about to end. A huge boar stood in front of the entrance to a burrow bleeding from countless wounds. A few black branches sprouted from its body as well. The animal grunted, lowered its head and charged. What the boar attacked was a somewhat humanoid looking figure. It was about three meters in height and the body consisted of branches and vines. New ones sprouted all over it. Vines whipped crackling around. The boar rushed to the Woodplage with his head held low. New branches and vines sprang from the ground around the animal was it got near and tried to stop it. The boar just smashed and splintered the branches without losing much momentum. They collided soon after. Branches split, wood cracked and something screeched. The boar hit the Woodplage on one side of the body and ripped through it. A green glowing stone in the middle of the monster’s body was revealed.

“That’s the core! There it is… good to know”, exclaimed Violet.

The boar grunted and it seemed to get weaker. Several bigger branches had penetrated the skin on its belly and were stuck in there. The boar freed itself with a violent jerk and hopped a few paces back in front of the burrow. But it bled heavily now. The movement of the animal became sluggish. A new branch came flying towards the boar and slashed a huge gash on its side. Blood flooded the ground beneath the animal and a few heartbeats later, it went down. Then silence came over the clearing. The Woodplage moved slowly towards the boar.

“Now’s our chance! I’m gonna blast it with some fire while it’s distracted!”, exclaimed Violet and stepped onto the clearing before Alex could react.

She waved her Staff around and the gems in it began to glow. The Woodplage immediately sensed her and turned around, he extended what looked like an arm in Violet’s direction.

“Watch out!”, shouted Alex and jumped onto the clearing.

But he was too late. A vine shot across the clearing and coiled itself around Violet leg. In the next moment she was dragged across the flowery ground of the clearing screaming. Alex ran after her. A few branches and vines came his way, but he hacked them aside with his axe. A wall of branches suddenly sprouted out of the ground, and he had to stop, or he would have impaled himself on the pointy wood spikes. Violet screamed as she was dragged through it. Alex breathed deep, gripped his axe tighter and started swinging. With wide and powerful slashes he began to hack at the wood barrier in front of him.

“Help! Alex!”, screamed Violet somewhere behind the branches.

Alex accelerated his swings even more and in a whirlwind of branches he cut his way through. Violet hang upside down from a branch in front of the Woodplage. She had lost her staff somewhere and just wiggled around hopelessly trying to free herself. Alex rushed forward. He jumped on one of the thicker branches and used it like a springboard to catapult himself up to Violet. With one slash he hacked through the branch holding her. Both of them fell to the ground. Alex got to his feet first and pulled Violet on the feet.

“Back!”, he said pressed while hacking at a nearing vine.

“My staff!”, said Violet.

“What?”

“My staff! I dropped it! I need it, or I can’t cast spells!”

Alex looked around. He spotted it a few meters beneath some branches of the Plage.

“Shit, wait here!”, he said and dashed through some vines.

Alex reached the branches. A quick slash with the axe and the branch on top of it was gone. Alex crouched down to pick up the staff. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his side that made him grunt. A branch had hit and slashed him. Next a blunt branch sprang up from beneath. Alex was flung a few meters back after it hit him in the stomach.

“Alex! Are you okay!”, shouted Violet and rushed to him.

“All good! Just some scratches and bruises. Here!”, said Alex and handed her the staff.

“Well done! Defend me while I conjure up some flames for this bastard.”

Alex sprang to his feet and readied his axe. He went in a circle motion around Violet hacking at the vines and branches coming her way. The gems in the staff began to gleam with light. Flames started sprouting around the staff and focused themselves into a big flaming ball in Violet’s hand.

“I hope you like it hot! Burn you wooden bastard!”, she shouted, while literally flinging the ball of flames at the Woodplage.

As it hit it exploded and enveloped the Monster in fire. The Woodplage screeched and tried to put the fire out by flailing around, but the flames ate through the wood. Green light began to shine through.

“Alex! Get in there and smash the core!”

“But there is fire!”

“It’s not gonna hurt you. Trust me”

“Huh? Are you out of your mind?”

“Just do it! Don’t you trust me?”

“Not enough to jump into the fire, sorry.”

“Then trust me more!”

Alex turned towards her wanting to make a witty remark. For a few heartbeats he looked into her malachite eyes and he trusted her more.

“Argh, fuck this…”, he grumbled readied his axe.

“That’s my boy!”, Violet said with a wry smile.

Alex dashed forward to the body of the Woodplage. He gritted his teeth as he jumped over the first flaming branch on his way. To his surprise he felt no burning. Alex felt the warmth of the fire, but it was comforting and not hot. A few meters left until he would reach the core more than just some flames on small branches were before him. The fire in front of his eyes was bigger than Alex himself. He grumbled again and jumped. No burning, just warmth. Alex held his axe high over his head and slammed it into the core. A screech and then a bang. Alex saw suddenly the sky, then the ground, then the sky again. A pain in his lower back pressed the air out of his lung. Then all went silent. Slowly the pain subsided and the air returned. A grinning face with two malachites for eyes appeared above him.

“Good boy.”, said Violet smiling.

Alex said nothing but he accepted the offered hand to stand up. He looked around the clearing. Only smoldering pieces and ashes were left from the Woodplage. Alex and Violet went to the corpse of the boar. It was no normal one. It was way bigger and had four big tusks on each side.

“A direboar.”, said Violet.

“I think it defended something.”, exclaimed Alex and pointed to the burrow.

“What do you think it is?”

“Don’t know… what do direboars keep in their burrow? Their young?”

“Let’s find out!”

Violet went without further hesitation to the burrow. With a quick wave of the staff a light started emitting from it. Alex followed her as she went into the burrow. It went down a bit before the tunnel widened into a small cavern. Clean bones lay across the floor and in a big pile on one side of the room. A sudden movement in the bonepile let some of them rattle down to the floor.

“I think there is something in the bones.”, said Alex.

“What is it?”, asked Violet curiously.

“Don’t know…”

Alex went to the pile and threw a few bones to the side. He spotted something moving. He reached into the pile and grabbed the moving thing. With a jerk he had it out. It was a young dire boar, the size of a normal dog.

“Oh, he is a cute one!”, squeaked Violet as she saw the animal.

Alex put the boar down. It looked scared of them.

“He has something in his mouth.”, said Violet and reached at the small thing hanging on one of its tusks. It was a silver and golden bracelet with a few aquamarines inlaid.

“Oh, that’s pretty… woah, it went onto my arm… Oh shit… Argh! I can’t get it off!”, said Violet panicked as the bracelet clasped shut around her arm.

Alex grabbed her arm and tried to pry the bracelet from her, but he could not.

“Ah shit! What’s happening!”, screamed Violet as a second same looking bracelet formed around Alex wrist.

The aquamarines began to glow. The next moment Alex found himself lying on the ground. Violet lay beside him. Their heads were faced towards each other, and they locked eyes. Alex vision blackened as he lost consciousness.