The Revelation of the Vine: Graft

Chapter 24: An Echo in the Veil

  A large, disfigured alpha male led the charge, as the wolves closed in. Their red eyes burned like fire, as ooze and spit dripped from their snarling jaws. They snapped and clacked their teeth at one another as they ran, whipping themselves into a frenzy. All sense of natural wisdom had been ripped from their mind, leaving them nothing more than ferocious abominations. The alpha and two particularly grotesque wolves charged in from the front, as two groups of 3 broke off to the side and circled around us. The stench that hit us was a mixture of rotting corpse and wet dog. "Everyone circle out," I hollered, drawing my blade, "Calm your hearts, focus your minds, and do not Vine Shift until I say-- we don t want to draw any more attention to ourselves than necessary." I didn't have the time to explain that Vine Shifting sent a signal through the Vine, like a tremor of life that every foul creature in the forest would sense and come running to devour. I just needed them to follow my lead. The alpha and his group stopped about five yards in front of us, as the other groups closed in around us and did the same. They barked and snapped wildly at us. The sound was almost deafening, as it roared around us from almost every direction. "Don t give them a chance," I screamed, bringing my blade up, "Attack now." We charged forward, Falkir, Tenbu, and Vhalrin were with me. Jurgen, Teion, Zahk , and Jeizen attacked the east group while the others attacked the west. We may not have been able to kill them without Vine Shifting, but I thought that perhaps the wolves wouldn't heal as quickly as the spiders had. The clash shook the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and smog, as blade met fang and claw met armor. A sudden worry that the wolves may infect the others crept into my head, as I danced a waltz of death with the hideous alpha. His body was mangy, and the patches of fur that remained were slick and sticky, dripping with ooze. His right ear looked chewed, and every so often when the ooze dripped a certain way the bones of his face became visible under a flap of skin that hung below his left eye. He was tall enough for his head to reach the upper portion of my chest when standing straight up, and his length was about 2 yards. Bony legs gripped the dirt, as we danced with blade, fang, and claw. The sounds of slashing blades slicing through flesh and smacking bones filled the air, coupled with the slurp of the ooze as limbs were severed between joints. I managed to land a clean slash on the alpha effectively severing its paw. My thoughts proved true, as I watched the wolf wince and stagger back, almost faltering as it attempted to step down on its missing foot. The paw twitched a few yards away, as long tendrils of the ooze reached out from the cut. They reached for the wolf s leg, as if trying to rejoin, and long tendrils from the wolf reached out to grab them. I slashed at the tendrils causing them to retract, and the wolf reared up on its hind legs to take a swipe at my face. I dodged under and stepped left, taking the opportunity to unbalance my opponent by bringing the pommel of my sword down on the back of its head. The blow sent it sprawling into the ground. "We have to slow them down, so we can make a run for the mountain." I cried, while the wolf regained his footing. "We're still too far out to Vine Shift safely. Take out their legs, and then move!" I stepped forward, and with an overhead slash brought my blade down and through one of the wolf's rear paws, and kicked the stub as far as I could. A crescendo of high-pitched yelps and whimpers rose up, seeming so out of place coming from the monstrous maws of the corrupted beasts. Jurgen and Sol's groups began to flee to the north, as my group pulled up the rear. We sped across the expanse, as the wolves crawled and limped to rejoin their scattered appendages. It wouldn't buy us much time, but we might be able to close the gap to the mountain by a few miles before we had to repeat the procedure. I just hoped that the Corruption destroyed the beast's abilities to remember, and they would not learn from our tactics. The pain in my side flared as we ran full sprint across the dirty plain. It kept me winded and gasping for air, and I suddenly felt more normal than I had in 700 years. The Knights gained distance on me, as they ran without hindrance. Tenbu and Vhalrin looked back when they noticed I was falling behind. Tenbu yanked on Falkir's sleeve as he began to slow down and motioned for him to wait up. I caught up with them, and they slowed their pace to match my faltering speed. "Just keep up with the rest," I yelled over the sounds of our thudding feet and clanking armor. "I'll be right with you guys." I knew my body was having issues, and my speed was keeping us back. The best course of action would be to Vine Skip-- a repetitive series of Vine Surges that projected oneself forward like a stone skipping across the surface of water, only in this case we skipped across the Veil. I didn t have the time to explain how to start it. I just hoped they would figure it out by watching. Falkir, Tenbu, and Vhalrin pushed forward and closed the gap with the rest of the group, as I projected myself ahead of them all. I appeared a few yards in front of Jurgen's group and stopped a moment to catch my breath until the whole group had rushed past, and then I did it again. We were able to repeat the process five times before the wolves were on our trail again. After three more cycles, we had travelled about a quarter of the distance to the mountain. The wolves were closing, but not as quickly or as easily as they would have liked. Jurgen, then the Knights, and a few of the rookies had begun to join me in the Vine Skips, until eventually we all did it. We progressed much quicker, and for a while we were actually gaining distance on the wolves, but a sudden increase in the wolves' ferocity as they watched us shrinking into the distance gave them a burst of speed. When the wolves had finally caught up with us, we were just entering our next Skip, and when we reappeared at the end we turned and held our ground. The mountain seemed so close. I felt that now would be a good time to finish this. "Get ready to shift," I commanded, gripping my sword with both hands, "Now!" The shift echoed our life energy through the Vine, as our bodies flashed from normal to black then brilliant white, producing a ball of light that spread around us for thirty yards. When the wolves entered the radius, the ooze that covered them began to bubble and burst, but they didn't slow down at all. Their feral rage was driving them, blinding them to any pain the light may have inflicted. We all charged forward, not giving them another chance to encircle us, and met them head on in a whirlwind of light, dust, smog, and ooze. Blades flashed in the light, as ooze and blood sprayed and splattered around us. The alpha and I locked in a circling dance of sidesteps, as I slashed and dodged. Claws and fangs came dangerously close, as the wolf ducked and lunged and pounced. The animal's agility was astounding, despite the mangled condition of its body. My heart raced, as the sounds of battle resonated. A sudden flash of lunacy crossed my mind, as I found my lips curled into a smile. The fury, the rage, the adrenaline; the smell of blood, the sounds of flesh tearing and ripping, the stink of decay and rotting tissue all filtered into my senses, and I felt the Corruption turn them into enjoyable experiences. The part of me that wanted an end to this battle, and to get away from these vile creatures, began to shrink. I felt myself reveling in the mayhem, and basking in the chaos of battle, with the warm blood and ooze splattering against my skin. "Ahhhh," A scream rose above the sounds of battle, and pulled me back to my senses. It sounded like Zahk, but I had no time to look, as the alpha countered from a dodge. The wolf lunged forward, but I had my blade ready and plunged it into his chest as he pounced. The weight of the beast pushed into me, and my blade sunk deeper, as I stumbled back. The wolf's paw landed on my shoulder as I struggled to shift his weight to the side. The wolf's body slumped to the floor, as my blade slipped out with a gooey slurp, and I turned to assess the rest of the battle. Falkir and Vhalrin were helping Teion and Tenbu finish off one of the few remaining wolves while Jurgen and Sol had pulled Zahk to a safe place in the middle of the battle. Jeizen, Feng, Atreios, and Rahlix battled two more wolves to the left. I found an opening for a sneak attack and struck one of the wolves that focused on Rahlix. It turned in surprise, and stepped back snarling and snapping, as Rahlix brought his sword down and chopped its head clean off. The rest of the wolves fell with ease, and I turned to meet up with Zahk, Sol, and Jurgen. As I approached, my relief shattered, and the sick bloodlust came rushing back. The fearsome howls of more corrupted wolves rose from the south. They had sensed the shift and were coming to devour its source.