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Blog Post 56: The Adventure Shop: Part 23

3/13/24

“What is wrong with this place?” Xaxol asked as they walked in the strange forest.

The entire sky was covered by the vast expanse of the trees so no light shone. The world in the forest seemed to be made of grays, as if their world had suddenly lost all color. 

There was no creatures that they passed as they strode deeper into these seemingly hauntless woods. No sound of anything alive. The only noise being the sound of their footsteps. And in the distance the occasional crunch of something dead and dried. 

“This is not right,” Mariana noted looking around. She held her head as she seemed to be listening for something that the others could not hear. “There should be a new Mother Tree protecting this place. A daughter who took up the charge. I tried to listen for any of their voices, but…”

Dahlia could tell her friend was in pain as Marianna’s face contorted, and she seemed to be fighting something.

“Marianna, disconnect your connection! Do not maintain your connection to the trees!” Killian shouted.

Marianna stood from her crouched position with a look of horror as she held her throat. She seemed to choke out a throaty laugh. “Ha, ha, ha, ha. ha. Too late, little mice! I have heard you trying to sneak in. Welcome to my forest! What do you think of what I have done?” Marinna asked, but it sounded as if someone else controlled her vocal cords.

Dahlia stepped closer and saw that Marianna was very much aware and conscious, but could not control what was occurring. Placing a hand on Marianna’s throat, she asked, “Are you the Mother Tree?” 

“Ha!” It spoke as Dahlia felt the muscles of Marianna’s throat being moved in unnatural ways. “You know so little! The Mother Tree abandoned this place. Her heir was young and weak. I live in its broken husk.”

Dahlia tried to assess how much power or control it had over Marinna, as Xaxol asked, “And how did you do that?”

 Marianna began to have tears form in her eyes as she seemed to fight the creature. Motioning for something to write, Dahlia fished in her bag for her notebook and pencil. Marianna scrolled onto the paper. “The creature is using my connection to control me. It is a creature that takes over green things. If I don’t keep fighting, it will use me, but until I make physical contact it will not consume me.”

Dahlia wrote, “You need to break the connection.”

“Not until we know more.” Marianna penciled in.

Xaxol kept the thing talking, but Dahlia knew they needed to get it to reveal more information than how it took over the young heir. 

“And who are you?” She wondered if it knew itself or had an idea of what its consciousness meant.

“I’m the one they call disaster. The one they cry out as plague devours the valley. The one they scream is a virus. I am poison. I am death.” 

Killian yelled from Xaxol’s shoulder, “You are nothing but a parasite!” 

“Argh!” Marianna screamed as she fell to the ground, gripping her head. Xaxol practically tossed Killian as he rushed to her side. 

Dahlia felt awful for her friend but knew the only way to destroy the creature was to learn more about it. And that meant getting it to talk more. If working at the Adventure Shop taught her anything, it was that any being’s weakness was in how much they were willing to talk. Get someone talking about themselves and they always revealed more about themselves than they realized. 

“Fine, you are death and poison. You are the plague. Please, don’t hurt my friend. I know you are powerful!” Dahlia feigned distress. Though concerned for her friend, losing her logic to her emotions would not assist this situation. It needed to be a balance, with Dahlia in control of both.

“I am powerful, you silly bugs! I have this whole forest, and all who enter are mine to consume,” it spoke as it moved Marinna’s voice. Xaxol held Marianna closely, rubbing her back supportively. 

“Why did you take over this forest?” 

“Because I need to live. And here I get all I need. These trees may look dead, but they are alive. Enough that I can feed off of all they provide from their absorption of the sun. Any creature that comes into my forest is trapped and passes to me, so I can consume it. I am in all and control all. Even if you tried to destroy one part of me, I would spring up in another. I am death so that I may live!” the voice cried out as Marinna seemed to lose momentary consciousness. 

Xaxol held her as he looked around, and I could see what he saw. Every tree was a threat. “Don’t hurt them,” Marinna said, her voice hoarse and shaky. “Please, don’t hurt them. They don’t want this.” 

“What do you mean, love?” Killian asked, having moved over to–or rather crawle–to the others. He cupped her cheek as she cried. As the only person not on the ground, Dahlia walked a few paces around, watching the trees.

They slowly and silently shifted as she did. Dahlia wondered how much of it was the parasite and how much it was the trees by their own will. Turning back to Marianna, Dahlia walked over and knelt beside her. 

“How much information was it able to get from you? How much information could they get without being connected to you?”

“Not much. I fought against it. The trees are like any other trees. They can sense our presence, they can deter our path if they wish, but they cannot hear us if I am not connected to them.” A sob left her throat. “But, Dahlia, they are in pain. It’s draining them. It will kill this forest. And what it did to the heir. The heir is dead. Even if we were able to destroy it, without a new tree as the Mother of this forest something else will come to destroy it. I…I don’t know what to do.”

The others looked at each other. On this journey with a lack of support, it would be best to leave this issue and continue on their journey. But none of her companions were one to leave a situation that they felt they could help. Marianna sat up and looked at each of her friends. “We need to help them.”

Xaxol shook his head. “No one is staying here. We can come back, but we cannot fight. Killian’s kneecap is shattered. That thing took you over, and who knows if it would let you go next time. Dahlia is hanging on by a literal thread!” Xaxol motioned to her necklace where the moonstone sat, containing the rest of her life force. 

“Actually, this is a chain,” she noted with a smirk.

“Do not be smart. You know what I mean.” Xaxol rolled his eyes. “We are leaving.” He picked up Killian and threw him over his shoulder, hoisted Marianna to her feet, and led her away by the elbow. Marianna fought his grip. “No! I am not leaving them.”

“If we stay we risk losing Killian and Dahlia.”

“I am not useless,” Killian protested over Xaxol’s shoulder.

“Says the sack of flour that can’t walk,” Xaxol noted, tossing Killian slightly and catching him back on his shoulder. Killian landed with an oof and did not protest again.

“You will leave. I can handle this. I can’t leave them. You did not hear them crying.”

“I won’t leave her. Or this forest. Not after what the Mother Tree did for me. If we find the source we can destroy it.” 

“But it said it can’t be removed,” Killian pointed out. “That leech literally said it was able to resurface somewhere else.”

Dahlia paced and thought through the conversation they had with the parasite. “But why would it tell us that it can pop up somewhere else? It was trying to hide something that it feared Marianna would pick up on.”

“Do we respond, or is it rhetorical?” Killian whispered to Xaxol.

“I think it is rhetorical. I think she is asking to make us feel included. Either that or she is an external processor,” Xaxol surmised correctly as Dahlia continued.

“It was boasting because it was scared of something, so instead, it was better in its thought process to scare us. But it thought Marianna would notice.” Dahlia turned to Marianna. “Do you remember anything that it may have reflected to you? Anything that happened when I provoked it?”

“It has to be removed at the roots of the heir!” Marianna cried out happily.

“Yes! That makes sense! It was trying to say if we destroyed the trees it would have the power to still exist because it would continue to live, but if we take it out at the source, we will destroy it.”

Marianna closed her eyes, thinking. “I saw it. I know I did.” Opening her eyes, she excitedly shared what she remembered. “For a brief moment I saw a pink puss in the roots of the heir. It is infecting the root system of all the trees. If we can cut it out, we can destroy it.”

“How do we do that?” Xaxol asked.

“We dig. And keep the trees back in the least harmful way we can?” Killian asked. 

“We? You are in no position to help in any way.” Xaxol shook his head as Dahlia tried to not laugh at the pout that formed on Killian’s face.

Dahlia looked at Killian and rummaged through her bag. It was nice having a bag that could hold whatever she needed. Slowly, she pulled out a long, stick-looking weapon. On the end of the long spear weapon, it held one side that looked like a mace. The other held what looked like an axe, and the end did in fact have a spear tip. 

“Can you hold this?” She handed it over to him. 

Killian took the weapon and began waving it around. “Yeah, this is good!” 

“If you hit me, I will toss you to the trees,” Xaxol warned.

Dahlia rummage through her bag again, pulling out three bottles. “This should technically work to start the process to destroy the parasite.” 

Marianna took one in her hand as she inspected it. “It won’t hurt the trees or the soil, will it?”

“No, it is a natural pesticide with a little magical twist. There should be no effect on the trees. Now, we have to find it.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Marianna walked over to the trees and placed her palm on the bark of one. 

“Marianna, no!” Killian called out to her as Marianna went into a trance-like state. Marianna stood still, her breathing becoming shallow as they waited. 

“Killian, does this look normal?” Dahlia asked.

“In some cases, yes. When she has worked with other infected forests, or the trees were not fond of two-legged creatures, usually it takes her more concentration when she talks. It just depends on the situation.”

“Silence. All of you. You are making it hard to concentrate,” Marianna ordered. They stood in silence and waited. Killian played with his new weapon as he and Xaxol came up with their own plan.

Dahlia watched Marianna’s face to ensure at any sign of distress that she could pull Marianna from her trance. They waited for a while, and Dahlia found herself sitting down and reading one of her books that Hazel had given her on healing. Xaxol laid down and was snoring. Killian was making a wooden house from the twigs that were on the forest floor. 

“I can see you have kept yourselves entertained.” Marianna smiled as she sat down in front of Dahlia. 

“Yes, did you get what you need?” Killian asked as he began working on the roof.

“Of course I did. They will help as much as they can.” Marinna noted, looking up at the trees that had branches that moved slightly in a way that was subtle, but telling.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Marianna helped Dahlia up as Killian worked on waking Xaxol up by throwing twigs at him. Once a grumpy Xaxol had Killian on his shoulder and the girls readied themselves, they moved forward into the woods.

The trees led them one direction as the one’s leading shook slightly as if a wind was moving their branches. They continued to travel as the forest remained vacant of any noise. As they continued, it felt like an unspoken rule that they should not disrupt the silence. 

“Are we there yet? It feels like I have aged five hundred years up here,” Killian complained as Xaxol rolled his eyes.

“You poor thing, it must be a struggle to be carried all the way,” Marianna joked as she walked slightly ahead of the two.

“It is more boring than you would think. All I can see is where we have been. At least you can see where we are.” Killian paused as he saw movement in the trees. “Oh, this is not good!” 

“What is wrong?” Dahlia asked as she looked up at the trees. 

“We should run!” Killian shouted as a creature emerged from the forest. It was not a creature like he had seen before. The creature was the same gray as the rest of the forest, flesh hung off the side and drug on the ground. Pointed teeth gleamed white as the only other pop of color–the other being pink–An eye hung out on side, in the socket a bright pink shown and seemed to move in an odd pulse. The creature, that may have once been a wolf or a bear, continued to run and gain ground on the foursome.

“Turn around! Turn around! Turn around!” Killian shouted as the creature missed his weapon and lunged for Xaxol’s back. 

Xaxol turned with his axe, hitting the creature and splitting it in two with a loud crack. The creature’s halves were launched across the forest floor. Each halve slowly rose, as pink flooded out of the missing sections, creating new legs on each side. 

What looked like the tail started running toward Dahlia and Marianna.

 “Gross! Gross! So gross!” Marianna cried out as she used her ability to pull the roots up from the ground and create a barrier around her and Dahlia. 

Xaxol threw Killian to the ground and charged the halve that had teeth. “Lets smash this beast!” Killian tried to crawl toward the girls. Slowly he stood, using the weapon, but crumbled as he tried to put weight on the leg.

“Killian, do not be stupid! Stay on the ground!” Dahlia yelled, upset he may hurt himself more before he could see a healer.

“With whatever this is? No. I don’t want to.” Killian shook his head before sitting on the forest floor and arming himself with his weapon, looking less than enthused about his predicament. 

Xaxol crushed the teethy half before launching himself at the one trying to get through the barrier Marianna created. Xaxol made quick work of the creature’s end, and they listened to the forest. Crackles sounded throughout the forest as the trees began to move and slowly surround the foursome. Roots sprung up and covered Killian, binding him in place. 

“We must be close!” Marianna called, as she slowly lost control of the vines to the parasite. 

“What do we do?” Xaxol asked as he tried to push back the trees without using his axe. 

“We need to get to the source!” Moving to the other side of the vines, Dahlia began to place a potion on the vines to try to release Killian. “We can’t go with you! Marianna this will be on you. You and Xaxol must stop the creature. I will stay here to keep Killian safe.” 

“But…” Marianna said with doubt in her voice.

“Marianna, you are stronger than this parasite. I believe you can help this forest. Take these,” Dahlia said grabbing more of the bottles from her bag and handed them over to both Xaxol and Marianna.

“Where did you get all of these items?” Xaxol slowly put each bottle into his own bag. 

“I made them with Carnelian while we were there. I got bored. I have a lot of other new potions, balms, ointments, and other fun things in my bag!” Dahlia smiled as she pulled out two other bottles. “Takes these two, but only use them if absolutely necessary.”

“Why?” Xaxol asked as he pushed away a vine. 

“Because they are volatile. They will work on destroying the creature, but will make the ground poisoned. Which is why it needs to be the last resort.”

Marianna nodded and she and Xaxol readied themselves for the next battle. They made their way through the trees as they blocked their path. Creatures, whose lives were gone long before the foursome arrived in the forest, began to rise from the base of the trees.

“I don’t like this!” Marianna called out as she moved the branches, trying to focus on moving the trees. She could feel the strain as she and the parasite fought for control. Connecting to the trees meant she could lose control if the parasite managed to find a way into her mind again. She feared for Dahlia and Killian back where they had left them. Slowly they were surrounded by woodland creatures that once filled the forest. Pink noticeable in the portions where eyes, limbs, and organs were missing. 

Xaxol shook his head and without saying anything, made it obvious that he thought they should have left. “You focus on the trees, alright?” 

Marianna nodded, keeping the vines at bay from trying to capture their feet. It felt foolish now. Trying to save a forest. If it was just the vines, they might have had a chance, but the creatures were straining what control they had in the fight. 

Marianna pushed back, one vine toppling over what looked like must have been a rabbit and squirrel once. Looking away, she hoped she did not have nightmares later.

“Aaaahhhhhhh!” They heard screaming off in the distance. Marianna looked over to the screaming individual to see the creatures flying left and right as they were destroyed by whatever was charging toward them.

“Well, even if they aren’t for us, at least they are helping with the issue now. We can deal with them after this,” Xaxol noted, very much in the mindset of not judging a situation before having all the facts.

Marianna took another chance to see who it was as the screaming banshee of a person got closer. Laughter bubbled up her throat as she saw who was making the creatures fly. 

Her focus was pulled only for a moment by an explosion in the distance, close to where they left Dahlia and Killian. 

Their comrade came up and joined them as the fight slowly seemed to change in their favor. “Miss me?” Brawn asked, smiling with a boyish smirk, as if they were only playing a game, and not trying to fight undead creatures and vines. Marianna and Xaxol shook their heads and only laughed, now the battle seemed to turn in their favor. 

Another explosion went off a little closer as they look to their new companion for explanation. 

“It is Carnelian. She thought it would be the best way to make sure the parasite can’t use the–ugh,” he said with a shiver, not being able to finish his thought due to how disgusting the creatures were. “I came here because I wanted Marianna to save her energy fighting the thing that did this to the place.”

Marianna and Xaxol nodded as they continued to fight. Bart and Mistral fought their way through and together the new team of five gained ground toward their goal. 

Marianna saw the heir before they made it close enough to do anything. The sight stole her breath. The heir was withered, a shell that looked like it might turn to dust with one touch. The way its branches extended out into the forest–reaching–it felt like a final cry for help. Marianna wiped the tears that blurred her eyes as she imagined the pain the heir must have gone through. Today, she would destroy what ravaged it and used its forest as a personal dinner tray. She would bring life back to this place that should have been cherished and ensure no one would be able to abuse it again.

The base came to view as ashen trunk and pink parasite mixed in contrasting colors. This would be her fight now. She had to be strong enough. Instead of waiting to dig it up, she gave instruction on what would happen next. 

“Xaxol, I want you to begin tearing away the roots. Cut off its connection to everything around it, but do not touch the tree of the heir. Dig underneath it. That is where the parasite will be. Leave the truck of the heir as intact as you can.” It did not sound logical, the heir was dead so the best course of action would be to just destroy it with the parasite, but something in her could not do it. Something in her called her to pause and save what she could. 

Xaxol nodded as he and Mistral began to dig around the outer base. Xaxol was the first to get to a parasitic root. He smiled as he pulled one of the least lethal concoctions from his bag and poured the contents onto the limb. A hiss rang out in the forest and Marianna smiled. They could save this place. Breathing deeply, and without telling anyone her involvement in the plan, Marianna placed her hands on the trunk of the tree.

Her limbs felt shaky, the world seemed to spin, as pain erupted from every cell in her body. Breathe, something spoke to her. Breathe. Marianna breathed deeply as she sought control over her mind. She would not let this forest be taken. After every forest in the world was being threatened by over logging, fires, and general lack of careful stewardship, she would not let another fall. 

Another voice oozed its way into her mind, the same voice that stole her vocal chords to use as their own. What are you trying to do? Don’t you know I hold all the power? You and your friends will join the others as I consume you till your flesh hangs off your bones, and you are forgotten by the world that knew you. You have no power here.

Breathe, a soft, small voice encouraged. The voice felt like life—hope. Small and uncertain, but there. A promise of something better if only she would believe.

I am more powerful than you know, Mairanna told the pink, oozy sludge. I am the daughter of the stewards of the forests. I am an ambassador for the trees and a sister to all green life that grows from the ground. You are nothing. You may have been the death of the heir, but I will be yours. 

With that promise, she fought to gain control of the forest. To pull back the living connection that the trees had with her and each other. As she gained ground, she began to feel as if more energy flowed. And as if something increasingly fought with her. 

Jumping back from the tree, she felt a strong slice of pain cut through her as the parasite fought to gain the ground that was lost. It hissed and screamed as the others continued to destroy the roots it had twisted its way into. Pulling on the last bit of her strength, she placed her hands on the trunk and continued to fight the connection. It would not control the trees any longer. 

In the background she heard the rush of twigs and leaves and felt the forest start to possess the ground and fight back against the creatures. You are disaster. You are plague. You are a virus. You are a poison. And now you will be dead! Marianna cried out in her mind and heard herself saying as the tree slowly came up on one side and they poured the contents of the bottles on the roots.

Marianna fought the creature, gaining control of it and forcing it out of the heir’s dead husk. She watched as it sludged out of the roots. It moved in waves and seemed to be trying to go into the ground, but kept running into the pesticide. It hissed as Carnelian came up with a large jar and scooped it up, before putting a stopper on the jar.

“It may not be dead, but now it is stuck with me!” Carnelian smiled proudly as Marianna wished they would have destroyed it. 

Brawn nudged Marianna. “Trust me. For that thing, it will be worse than death.” He laughed as Carnelian glared at him.

Marrian looked around as the creatures began to fall and pink inside them turned to a reddish brown as the extended parasite seemed to die. The trees shook as if finally feeling free to move of their own will again. 

Killian, Dahlia, Psyche, and Bart also joined them as Marianna stilled. Something still called to her. She walked to the heir and placed her hand on the trunk. There was no voice from the daughter tree, but something still told her to search.

“Xaxol, break open the tree,” she asked her friend with the axe. “Carefully, please,” she said, deciding to revise her statement. 

Xaxol took his axe over to the tree and began to split the trunk, being careful not to break as much as split it. The trunk broke open, and Dahlia went to inspect it with Marianna. 

Inside the trunk, hidden in a pocket near the ground, surrounded by barriers of the heir’s rings, was a little tree. Rich brown trunk and bright green, little leaves stuck out amongst the ash gray of the daughter tree’s trunk. Marianna sobbed and slowly reached out for the little tree. A spark lit up her fingers as she smiled.

Hello, little one.

Hello, guardian. My mother told you would come to save us.

Marianna sobbed with hope and sorrow at hearing the little tree’s soft voice. The daughter tree—the heir grew her own daughter. Protecting her and giving her nutrients that the parasite did not seem to know about. Listening to the other trees, it seemed as if they all had a hand in protecting the new heir. A living heir. 

“It’s a Mother Tree,” Marianna told the others. “Or rather a granddaughter.” She breathed out a laugh at the thought. The daughter tree did everything it could to give a last bit of hope to this forest, to ensure even when it was gone that those under its care would still be protected.

Marianna turned to Dahlia. Dahlia could see in her friends eyes that this, for however long it would have to be, would be goodbye. 

“I have to stay here. To protect it as it grows. To help nurture life back into this forest. I have to stay. I am so sorry,” Marriana explained. Dahlia felt tears of her own as she hugged her friend. 

“Of course you do! I would not expect anything less. Protect this forest, and, if I am able, I will come back to see it.”

“When you are able. Not if. You will get your moonstone and your life back.” Marianna hugged her friend that she had made on this journey. 

The others seemed to look at one another as if deciding what they would do. 

“I am going to stay. I can make something to bring nutrients back to the soil and help these trees look a little less monotone,” Carnelian told her friends. 

Bart nodded. “You know your stones and soil. No one would be better to help this forest become healthy again.”

Psyche shrugged. “The Mother Tree has done so much to restore me. I want to stay to repay my debt in helping this new little tree grow the way its grandmother helped me get my life back.” Brawn nodded solemnly and hugged his sister, knowing they would part ways. 

Everyone began to choose the journey they would continue as Killian shouted up from the ground. “Well, you can all just leave me over here then!” They all turned their heads as he sat a few lengths away where he seemed to have been forgotten in the final battle for the forest.

Xaxol went and picked up his friend and sat him at the base of the tree as the others chuckled at him, looking less than please at being forgotten. “You all would have left me if I didn’t say something.”

“Killian, we could never forget you!” Dahlia said as he began to smile. “You are too loud.” Killian pouted as the others snorted out, coughed, and outright laughed at the comment. Dahlia knelt down and hugged him. “Take care of yourself and her.” 

“You take care. We will see each other again.” Killian looked into her eyes, searching for fight that would tell him that she believed it too. Dahlia nodded and stood as she looked up, seeing a little bird flying towards her. It landed on her shoulder, and with Bart’s help, they removed the parchment that was wrapped around its leg. 

Dahlia scanned the contents and laughed. “We should get going.”

“Why?” Rang out a chorus from the group.

“Because Aster and our other comrades are currently in prison, and we need to break them out.”