The Illuminated Maiden

Chapter XXVI

Night had descended upon the group, led by Siti, who halted from time to time to check on their direction. They had no torches, but as it was an open area, it appeared bright enough, as they trudged their way through rock-riddled fields with scant vegetation. Paglinawan had wrapped a piece of cloth around her mouth and nose, as the smell of sulfur permeated her senses. Kabael tailed behind, his eyes darting from one end to the other, gripping the pommel of his blade as he went on. From afar was the sound gushing of vents in the area and the smell of the odor following each gushing. The gushings began growing louder as they went on walking.

This terrified Paglinawan, who had never heard of such things before. Of course, she wouldn't remember passing by the Varman Wasteland as a child. For another thing, the path through the wasteland merchants and travelers passed would not have been as otherworldly as where they were. At that point, she reminisced about the time during her childhood that she was in Mandalungan. She wished they arrived in Mandalungan and that the entire trudging through the wasteland was but a mere dream.

"Siti," she spoke with a muffled tone, "what are some dangers walking in the dark through this place?"

"None, as far as I'm concerned," Siti answered, kicking a rock in front of her. "Why? Are you worried we might get attacked? Don't fret, Paglinawan. No life, aside from a few plants here and there, would survive such conditions."

"All right." Paglinawan nodded. "I trust your knowledge."

"Have you even walked through these lands after dark, Siti?" Kabael said.

"No," Siti answered, "but I doubt that at this point, anything would jump on us. We've been walking for quite some time now, and—" Yet Siti spoke too soon. From deep within the ground, there came out a hand, smaller than that of normal humans, featuring a root-like texture. The hand clutched and writhed around Paglinawan's ankle, which made her lose balance. In an instant, she fell to her side, slamming her shoulder on the rocky ground.

"Gadis!" Siti turned around, but another hand gripped her foot. She fought to break free, tugging her foot, until she drew out her keris and started hacking at the hand. A compressed gurgling sound followed after she had cut the hand off, leaving a miniature pool of black fluid.

Paglinawan looked toward Kabael and Tayag. More hands had gripped both their legs. Kabael drew out his blade as well, and began chopping at the hands, leaving them in pieces after they let go. Tayag, on the other hand, lost his balance as he pulled his foot away, almost falling to his side, but he unsheathed his blade and hacked at the hand grabbing him, severing it.

There, Paglinawan eyed what was grabbing them from beneath the soil: from the ground came out a creature, standing at a height close to their knees, with skins made of tree roots. Their eyes, flanking their long, massive noses, glowed white, displaying anger and aggression. Other creatures soon came from the ground. Paglinawan attempted to draw out her blade from its sheath, but one of the creatures grabbed her wrist.

Gritting her teeth, she used up the muscles of her arm to break free, but these creatures were too strong, despite their size. She took a glance at the area surrounding them and her heart pounded, as there came more and more creatures rising from the ground, advancing in on them. Some of them turned their heads to their kind that Kabael and Siti had hacked down. Their eyes, from glowing white, turned black, and their expressions displayed fury as they moved in.

Paglinawan gathered her strength once more, and she then pulled her arm, sending the creature gripping her flying across. There, she grabbed and unsheathed her blade. Before her was the creature grabbing her the first time. She yelled out, and then, took a swipe at its neck. It squealed for a moment, but the squealing halted abrupt, as its head fell from its body, its neck spurting out black fluid. "What . . . what are they?" said Paglinawan as she stood up.