The Stones Of Power

Chapter 1｜The World Changes

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Terico's father had always told him that creatures capable of saving lives were generally just as capable of taking them. Humans were the prime example of this, but at this moment, three levels down an underground cave, Terico felt that the carnivorous pitcher plant worked just as nicely. The monster's roots were needed to heal some patients in the village's clinic—but one wrong move, and Terico would be lying on a hospital bed himself. Or worse—in a coffin.

Father tapped the Nexi stone at the end of his staff a couple of times to cause the smooth, transparent red rock to shine brighter. The light exposed the pitcher plant near the end of the tunnel in its full grotesque corruption. Looming at least ten meters tall, the plant-filled the entirety of the rocky nook it rested in. Thorny vines ran up and down the walls and ceiling, all leading back to a giant bulbous vessel that constantly overflowed with noxious black and yellow liquids. It stank of vinegar and decaying animals.

The stench was overwhelming and made Terico a little light-headed. He gripped his longsword tighter and took a couple of nauseous steps back, bumping into his friend, Turan.

"Watch it, mate." Turan slapped Terico's leg with the flat end of his sword.

Terico shoved the back of his sword's hilt into Turan's stomach, which was well protected by leather armour. Turan let out an exaggerated groan, fell to his knees, and leaned against his sword as he exhaled a slow, dying gasp of breath.

"Pay attention, both of you," Father said. "The moment it feels threatened, the creature will lash out at all of us." He slipped out a green Nexi stone and clipped it into a slot in the center of his sword's hilt. "Best you both stay back a minute."

"You'll need help with this, Dad," Terico said. "I've fought off cavern monsters before."

Father planted his glowing staff in a tight crevice in the floor. "None this big. Not even half this big, unless Turan's... embellished stories of the fifteen-meter flying shark bush is to be believed."

"It was twenty meters," Turan said, still on his knees.

Terico kept from sighing, choosing to maintain focus on the burbling pitcher plant. Some of the creature's vines were sliding up and down the cave walls a bit, and Terico wondered if this was a sign the monster was awake. It was difficult to discern much when fighting against something without a face.

"I can do this," Terico said. "Use your Nexi stone to hold back the vines, and I'll rush in to stab the heart of the pitcher."

"It doesn't have a heart," Father said. "It will take quite a bit of hacking to kill this thing. How do you plan to avoid its pool of acid?"

Terico pulled a light blue Nexi stone from one of his trouser's pockets and held it up for his father to see.

"Where did you get that?" Father asked.

Terico smiled, not wanting to admit he had snuck off on another overnight adventure. The stone was a reward for his efforts, and he was smart enough to save it for such a time as this.

His father glanced to the side and smirked. "You take after me a little too well sometimes... Very well then. Your mother will kill me though if you lose an arm or something."

"Or scar that pretty face of yours," Turan added.

Father turned to Turan. "You watch Terico's back. And mine too, while you're at it."

Turan jumped to his feet and stood up straight, his sword raised in front of him. "Yes, sir, Mr. Obisious!"

Terico clenched his teeth and stared the poisonous, jagged creature down. Have to take it down quick, he thought. Dad and Turan are counting on me... and so is Mother. As the village herbalist, Terico's mother was the only one who could create this particular concoction from the pitcher plant's roots.