Rise of the Punch Monkey

Chapter 33

What the hell had I been thinking? Let's just go through a magical portal that we know disappears and see where it leads with absolutely no assurances on how to get back. What the hell is wrong with me?

I plopped down on the ground to think, frustrated at my own foolishness and for some inexplicable reason I could feel Nylix's gaze following me. I turned toward the trees, scanning them.

"And why can't I leave?" I cried out to the wall of green like a madman.

A breeze blew, moving the trees as a lilting laugh was carried on the wind. "Curiosities mostly, entertainment partially, my whims entirely."

"So, you are holding me captive on a whim," I asked.

No response.

"Nylix?" I called out, turning toward the trees. "Nylix! You can't just leave me here, you crazy, naked tree lady! Hey!"

I spent the next few hours screaming obscenities into the air, at the trees, at the rabbits who were no longer there, at Nylix, and generally anything else that I thought needed obscenities hurled at it gratuitously. Rocks were no exception. After my tirade left me nearly breathless and my heart pounding, I flopped down onto the grass, panting and contemplating my predicament. I needed to get a grasp on what I was dealing with. I felt a bit foolish as I actually thought on some of the things I had said, considering how powerful Nylix actually was, although I did not regret any of them. Once I caught my breathe, I decided to search around the immediate area and then set out to explore the meadow in hopes of finding a rabbit or some other way to return home.

It was a fairly large open space, larger than one of the chamber in Solitude's Reprieve. The entire meadow was surrounded in densely packed oak and pine trees that were absolutely massive. I neared the edge of the woods and just looking at them from a distance caused a cold shiver to run down the length of my spine. The trees were lush and towering, their foliage thriving to such a degree that only the faintest slivers of light reached the ground, creating an ominous atmosphere along the forest floor that made me hesitant to venture further. As I approached the tree line a bramble wall burst from within the earth and I leapt back and watched as the thorny barricade race to the tree tops.

"Nylix!" I called out, examining the razor spines among the tangled mess. "Are you serious with this?!"

I looked at the large thorns, their tips dripped some sort of dew like substance.

Viper's Bramble

Description: A large bramble bush native to the Keshuvinya Forest. The thorns secret a venom that drain stamina and can paralyze any it touches.

God damn it, Nylix.

I retrieved a strip of jerky from my pouch and bit into it as I looked over the bramble wall again. I produced an empty reed vial I had made back in my dungeon the collected a few drops of the poison dripping from the thorns and tucked it back into my pouch. Once it was secured, I took a few steps back and the wall receded. I gnawed on my jerky a bit more, thinking, then tucked the rest of the strip away. I took a few more steps back then ran toward the trees and wind stepped into the forest. The wind step carried me across the tree line and into the shadows of the tall oaks and pines. As I came to a halt I looked back into the meadow blinking, a bit surprised that had actually worked.

"Suck it, Nylix," I panted out, completely winded. I turned to move deeper into the woods and took in my surroundings. As I did a massive vine scooped me up around my waist and hurled me back into the meadow. I soared through the air before bouncing to a stop near the clear pool at the center.