Jackal Among Snakes

Having a preplanned route makes travel all the faster, especially when good terrain is chosen. When traversing uncharted wetlands, such a thing was largely impossible—with Anneliese’s Starsparrow, though, they picked out a relatively flat and dry route devoid of many obstacles. It facilitated quick travel through the northwest… and their destination was not so far, fortunately. The Starsparrow could only scout so far ahead, though, because a great power restricted passage further ahead.

As the day neared dusk, the cold, foggy wetlands bloomed into a scene more befitting a summer retreat, colors of all sort abounding from brilliant, wide-petaled flowers growing off vines and trees and all manner of exotic flora. The temperature of the air did not change, so it was a jarring transition, almost unnatural.

Yet as they proceeded deeper, the little microcosm of beauty was marred. Though it affected plants nowhere else, here, the waxpox morphed what was beautiful into golden brown pock-marked monstrosities that curled and twisted and writhed in unpleasant ways which, though motionless, gave Argrave the impression of bug legs and tentacles.

“Everything goes silent ahead,” Galamon stopped Argrave from proceeding onwards, hand placed before his chest.

Argrave pushed Galamon’s hand off of him. “We’re entering another realm. It’d be stranger if you could hear.”

As they proceeded, the sounds did indeed quiet. The entire wetlands around them had become grotesque—even the roads they had entered to come here were not so ugly. But as they pushed past, Argrave’s ears popped… and a sight of incomprehensible beauty spread out before him, like an illusion shattering.

Before them was a great crater of rushing water laid out in a perfect circle. Water flowed from every bit of this circle towards the center. Great wooden platforms rested atop the rushing water, but they were not built—instead, the bridges were formed of natural-grown trees, and hosted plant life uncountable. There were archways of vines hosting bulbous flowers, golden lily pads persisting atop the swift water, and towering trees with beautiful, myriad-color fruits dangling from their leaves.

There was one thing marring this beauty. A jagged path the same ugly brown rot as the land they’d emerged from cut across the verdant landscape, like a lightning bolt of decay striking at the center of the place. Even despite that, the beauty was incomprehensible, and Argrave took a moment to gather himself. Everyone did.

The game had called this place the Marred Hallowed Grounds. Argrave had been here time and time again.

“If any place could be called a land of the gods…” Durran stepped out, head turning to appreciate the sight.

Anneliese stepped forward, her curiosity consuming her, but Argrave stopped her by grabbing her waist. “Careful. This place is not friendly to us.”

Anneliese nodded, and Argrave released his grip.

scar,” Durran continued, eyes trailing the

“The plague was used for an attack, striking directly at this

foot against the ugly brown mess below his feet. “Suppose I should

shaking their graying fur out. Their fur darkened every day as they consumed the souls of the fallen, and their use to the party grew every day. “I want us to keep going. We have fights

He tapped his glaive against the ground, pulled his wyvern scale helmet off his pack and placed it over

stepping forth and turning around. “The Sentinels of the master of this land roam this place—they’re dangerous. They take the shape of animals, though druidic magic does

in the same motion. Opposite their party of four, a gargantuan white wolf stepped up atop one of the wooden platforms, front paw on the edge. It lowered its head. Part of its face was consumed by the waxpox, leaving one side of its maw slack as it growled. Argrave shifted uneasily. As he did so, the wolf raised its head and howled.

clenched his fist,

can be surrounded on three sides. Head for that bridge—we

Argrave’s command. “Let’s go. Rightward bridge,” Argrave confirmed

wooden platform, splashing into the shallow rushing water and hurtling towards them with a limp. The beast was threatening enough it was tempting to reach for the Blessing

his enchanted greatsword summoned a blade of wind. It split open the wolf’s snout, and it staggered back. Durran pressed forth, using the only C-rank spell he’d learned, [Tempest]. The spell, a great whirlwind meant for blocking projectiles, hovered before him harmlessly, but he swung his glaive through it. The spell clung to the wyvern bone blade, and he carried the swing onwards towards the wolf, slicing it

faltered, Argrave sprinted forth around Galamon and Durran while he conjured the D-rank [Gore Scalpel]. His wrist split open, and his black blood surged out from his glove, forming a dark maroon knife in his hand. He sunk it into the

and Argrave gathered his team with a

their progress would not continue. The four of them ran off the rotted lands and onto the

avoid stumbling over the myriad beautiful flowers in the landscape. As they made their way towards the bridge, a titanic alligator lunged up out of a deeper portion of the water, collapsing onto the wooden platform and shaking it terribly.

shouted, “Its tongue is

until the alligator’s maw opened wide, tongue propelling forth like a chameleon’s towards Anneliese. His warning prepared her, and she managed to conjure a ward with her enchanted ring in time to block the ridiculously fast tongue. The golden shield shook, but held firm, and the

shouted as Durran moved to punish the enemy’s overextension. “I shall clear a

dispelled the ward and stepped forth. She held one hand out, feet braced tightly against the ground. Argrave used Garm’s eyes to view the magic within, and he saw the great roiling black mass of magic within whirl as though a hurricane ran through it. A great bunch of it

before her, each held by a set of frozen arms attached at the shoulder. They braced for a swing, then spun forth, cutting through whatever was ahead like a sawblade run amok. The swarming beetles were blasted away, some bisected entirely. It continued past the beetles, striking the alligator’s tongue as it retracted before cutting into the giant beast itself. When the

supported her. B-rank magic was where things became truly destructive. She used a spell of her

gained her bearings, he said evenly, “Conserve your energy in case it’s needed. You’ve made a path to the bridge, now let the