Ch 21: Forest Entanglement
Imported from SF2 with no description.
The wind was starting to become more intense, the clashing of tree branches, leaves blowing into our faces and eerie whistling noises being made as the wind whisked its way between the winding trunks of the trees all around. The building roar of the winds was broken up with the occasional thunderous crash of lightning as Quetzalcoatl's furious attempts to strike us down blindly tore up the edges of the forest and guessed the paths we'd taken into the trees. Quetzalcoatl wasn't going to let us go that easily, it seemed.
“We are no safer here than we are out there. We require a more solid shelter." I growl. Checking my navigation attachment and searching our surroundings to gain some kind of bearing, I have a faint idea of where we are currently located. “If we head northwest, towards the cliffside below the temple, we may find a cave." After stating such and taking a step forward, Inferno stops me with an interjection that catches me off guard.
“My Tyrant, please, stop a moment. We need to recoup. We need to know for sure where we're going." Inferno's pleas were not to challenge me. She was correct. I was rushing a little too blindly forward in my panic and I think she could tell. As I hesitate to respond, a meek voice comes from the bundle Inferno was still clutching protectively.
“You're right, my dragon lord." Inferno stepped back and revealed the now conscious kobold we'd saved. She was obviously weak, her voice a little hoarse, but she pushed herself to speak up, “There is a cave at the base of the mountain."
After taking a moment to think about her words, I began to notice a lack of thunderous crashes of the lightning barrage that had been cluttering my thoughts with overstimulating noises. Has Quetzalcoatl stopped? Is he waiting for a sign of life? Or is he brewing up something bigger…I need to see. Without any further hesitation or giving Inferno a chance to intervene with my intentions again, I leap up and launch myself from the ground, my wings spreading out as my talons grab onto a nearby tree trunk, using it to propel myself upwards with enough speed to launch me through the canopy and into the open.
I have barely a few seconds to look around as my legs continue to cycle through the air while I arch up with the momentum of my launch up and back towards the relative safety of the trees. Plumes of smoke rising from randomly struck places in the forest, the mountain to my right and the sky above...nothing. Nothing but building clouds that seemed to be changing hue, swirling and gathering together, slowly taking on a purple colouration. Something was terribly wrong, and it wasn't going to take long for us to find out. Branches and leaves fill my vision once again, breaking and snapping under my weight as I complete my sort of flip through the canopy and spread my wings to buffet my descent to the ground once more.
“What were you thinking?! Why did you..." Inferno was immediately beginning to barrage me with chastisement.
“Not now! We need to go that way." I say sternly, cutting her off. She growls, very obviously displeased, but my confidence told her that I was at least certain of the way now, and perhaps she could tell with our overspilling emotions, my sense of urgency, having seen the coming storm and anticipating whatever was to come.
Inferno stops behind for a moment, putting the kobold she was holding up onto Calamity's back before striding forwards to catch up, Calamity not far behind, keeping himself quiet to preserve his strength, the kobold seemingly doing the same. The ruby dragon pushed up past me, almost intentionally bumping me in her seething frustration, pointing out, as she did, that it would be more difficult without the machete attachment to cut through the thick overgrowth as we moved forwards. Great, as if the thorn of emotions wasn't enough, actual thorns will no doubt be jabbing us on this trek.
The daunting trudge began onwards, squeezing between tree trunks, forcing our way through bushes, trying not to get stuck in the mud or tangled up in dense branches. The humidity levels were building to uncomfortable levels once more. The forest was starting to feel more like a jungle again. The smell of bark rot and flora was overpowering while the looming clouds darkened our path. Inferno leading maintained her vigilance, yet worry and tiredness could be felt from her. Calamity stood beside me, weary with daunting feelings. Afraid we weren't going to make it perhaps? Of course I wasn't making matters better, being angry at myself, ashamed of fleeing and upsetting my mates, yet I knew better. It wasn't necessarily a coward's approach to run away. It was a tactful necessity. There was no way we could have continued fighting after the Sentinel.
Walking onwards, Inferno suddenly dropped to the ground with a surprised yelp. I started to move around her side to check what the issue was when she was yanked away to my right. The rubyesque dragoness' panic surged into my mind as she grunted out strained sounds, being pulled away roughly over the rough dirt and rocks, through plants and low branches. I'm unsure what's happening at first until I remember the boar I had seen being dragged towards a carnivorous plant and realise what was happening.
“It's a carnivorous plant!" I yell to Calamity, leaping forward and chasing after Inferno, catching up with moderate ease thanks to Inferno scrabbling to try and grab onto anything she could, making the plant fight for its intended meal. I search for the vine-ensnaring Inferno and on locating the thick, dark green tendril wrapped around her hind leg, I leap ahead and bring my bladed tail down with swift force, immediately severing the connection. Inferno slumps as she stops in her tracks, taking a moment to breathe and calm her panic before regaining her stance. Calamity had caught up to check on her as I felt her infuriation fill my mind via the emotion-bounding connection. I need to find a way to block these emotions. They are too distracting in times of distress. My thought processing is interrupted as a uproar of dirt is flung upward into the air, followed by a screeching noise of twisting vines.
A massive carnivorous plant lunged upwards out of the soil, the yellow bulb at its core surrounded by four jagged-cut leaves. Several thick vines sprawled out from beneath the plant, which could somehow sense our presence as they wavered towards us through the air. The yellow bulb split open in four segments and launched a red-speckled, fuzzy sort of tongue towards me. Luckily I had plenty of foresight to know this attack was coming, thanks to my research into the more extensive documentation of these plants. My reflexes responded perfectly as I leaped back out of the way. My breath attack was still building from its last use, so it came down to fang, claw and tail. I, of course, was getting ahead of myself, ready to tackle this encounter alone, but before I could lunge for an attack, Calamity placed himself in front of me out of protection. Inferno jumped in from the side and ended the encounter as fast as it began, spewing her flames over the carnivorous plant with some prejudiced vengeance. I took notice, as her spewing breath roared forth from her maw, that it was more intense than I had felt before. The plant coiled up, twisted, a rubbery screeching coming from the plant as it withered and died under the frenzied breath, wildly whipping its tendrils about, most missing with a few hitting Calamity, who took the swipes rather well. The kobold on his back, still weak from her ordeals, managed to slip from his back to avoid the whipping vines till it was over, quickly as she could clambering back up on Calamity as the plant's motions came to a thankful halt.
Despite the intensity of Infernos flame, the fire itself didn't seem to catch the surrounding trees, and the carnivorous plant, after sizzling away its moisture and perishing, was left in a smoking heap, half its size and motionless. For a moment I considered taking a rest when an unfortunately familiar and ever-thunderous roar from overhead reminded me we were far from safety. Quickly we continued our trudge onwards. Even with my express concern of being more cautious, the odds were against us. Linger long enough to fall victim to Quetzalcoatl or rush forward into the unknown dangers of the Nature Realm!
As we walked onwards, the forest became gradually less dense, the trees spacing out more and the shrubbery being easier to step on rather than pushed through. A short while later, Inferno points out the cliff face ahead. Enthusiasm and hope beginning to enter my mind from the other two as caution spreads from mine. As if to tramp us down once again, I hear a hissing sound, followed by a slight pattering and more sizzling, not too dissimilar to the fizzling sound of the moisture being burnt away from the carnivorous plant before. Looking over to the source, however, I notice smoke trailing up from a nearby log, a wetness bubbling away on its surface at the base of the smoke. Another drop of liquid hits the tree beside me, hissing and boring a hole into the bark. Looking up to view the gloomy purple clouds above, my mind clicks as it dawns on me. Purple clouds! Acid rain!
“Acid rain! SPRINT!" I roared out loudly before reaching over and grabbing the kobold by her tattered tunic, clutching it and her in my jaws as the three of us bolted towards the cliff face. Calamity, with his acid-proof scales, spread his wings to give us some cover from the building downfall of caustic rain, though it wasn't perfect cover, both myself and Inferno hissing as occasional drops land on our tails and hindquarters, immediately stinging till we flick or shake ourselves free of the dangerous liquid. The rain was beginning to pour down around us at an even-increasing rate, but just ahead, the hole in the mountain that we'd been searching for! Practically slamming into the stones as we skirted along the cliffside towards the cover, the rush of adrenaline seeing the safe haven surged through all three of us.
Rushing along as fast as we could towards the opening while the cliff face zipped beside us. I felt the kobold's tunic starting to tear as her weight swung her back and forth. Thankfully, I felt her small paws wrap around my neck, helping secure her a little more. Though the thought of disregarding the kobold as she'd started to slip had admittedly come to mind. I knew Inferno would never have forgiven me. I'd certainly done enough damage by disregarding her overprotective nature before when I'd breached the treeline. The flow of the acid rain showering down was increasing. Time was running short. The sting of the rain on my hindquarters was building, but with a leap over as we got to the cave's entrance, the three of us half tumbled, half scrambled inside, myself almost slipping and tripping to turn into the cave. Exhausted, I dropped to the cold cave floor to gain my breath. My mates copied my actions as we turned to watch the acid rain cascade outside. The kobold had let go of my neck as I released her tunic from my jaws. She steadied herself a few steps away to give us space to breathe.
“Thank you…" I say, addressing her help in confirming the cave's existence.
“Lasmis, my dragon lord...and I never need any thanks from you, my lord" She replies, bowing her head humbly.