Emerald Forest Ch. 02

****WOW. Biggest delay ever. Major apologies for that, but life has a way of getting in the, uh... way.****

"What the hell happened back there?" Boggins asked as the pair continued their trek through the Emerald Forest.

The young adventurer had been playing back recent events in his mind, and was drawing a blank right after the point where he had sunk beneath a swamp with two comely, yet literally filthy, lovelies.

"I have a bit of a... blank spot between being captured and waking up naked with you looking over me like a shamed father."

"Shamed is the word all right," muttered Octavius.

"You were captured by a prodigium phage, and it would have damn nearly caught me if I hadn't reacted as quickly as I did."

"A prodigium uh... what...?" Boggins looked perplexed.

"Prodigium phage. It's a demonic entity that sustains itself from the building blocks of matter that constitutes living races," the wizard offered helpfully.

It didn't help.

Octavius sighed.

"It can't procreate, so instead it needs to absorb the material necessary to grow new life, and what type of fluid do you think carries that material...?"

Boggins looked lost in thought, before the realisation hit him and he thought the urge to gag.

"...yes... all starting to make sense now, isn't it?"

Boggins looked confused as his brain struggled to get a handle on the new information.

"After I... went under... all I can remember is..."

Ecstasy, really. That's what he wanted to say. The feeling was as if he had been wrapped up in the snuggest blanket, only that blanket was made of pure, sexual delirium.

Outside of that, he really wasn't aware of anything else going on, and at the time, that hadn't bothered him in the slightest.

"You're saying I was inside a demon the whole time?"

"Don't be embarrassed, son," Octavius said, comfortingly.

"You weren't the only person in there, as you know, and once you're in the grip of a prodigium phage, you'll get a whole host of mind-altering chemicals rubbed into your flesh.

"With all the aphrodisiacs and the cocktails for creating sexual fluids that thing carries, it's really no surprise some of them cause mental blocks in its victims."

Victims. Plural. Octavius remembered the other poor souls, trapped in there for how long. An eternity? Until they were digested?

"We'll rescue the others," Octavius said.

"As soon as we fix this, we'll rescue them. They won't be harmed while they're in there – and some of them will have been in there for years, trust me.

"Hang on a minute," Boggins interrupted.

"You said it would be no good, that they were beyond help..."

Octavius sighed.

"I'm sorry, son. The fact is I needed to get us out of there before the next beastie came along. You were obviously intending to stay and I needed to get us moving.

"The thing about the phage is that it's in its interests to keep its prey alive for as long as possible, to eke out as much... food from them as it can.

"With the havoc that wreaks on the human mind, they will barely be aware of what has happened once retrieved, much less traumatised.

"It may not be dignified, but it will be a safe haven for them until we find your brother..."

The end of the sentence he spoke nearly under his breath.

"...and restore the forest."

"I'm sorry, what? Restore the forest?" said Boggins, to whom the last part of the sentence had not escaped attention.

"It seems the logical thing to do," the wizard responded casually.

"I'm getting on – I don't have many more years left in me, but the thing about magic is it only gets more powerful with age. My ability is more potent now than ever before.

"Meanwhile, you are young and strong – if a little naïve about the nature of the enchantments permeating this forest – while Anna is a skilled healer.

"If we can find her and your brother, a skilled fighter by any measure, then I actually think we stand a good chance of driving back this corruption once and for all."

Boggins was sceptical at best.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

Octavius looked triumphant as he answered, as well as a little bit smug with himself.

"Ah... well, the reason no-one's been successful, I believe, is that they've been too focused on one form of combat.

"We've had small garrisons go in and lose every single man. Mage collectives have vanished without trace, but have we ever had a single party of mixed ability tackle it in a single assault?"

The thought hadn't crossed Boggins' mind before, but as he stopped to dwell on Octavius' words, he realised the old wizard had a point.

"That's... kind of true, I suppose..."

"Indeed," the elder man continued.

"What's important to know, as I have learned over the years, is that different threats in this forest must be approached in different ways.

"You saw yourself how weapons were no match for the prodigium phage, but I know there are many magically driven threats in the forest that my spells would simply bounce right off.

"And should we both be stricken by the taint of these creatures, that would be the end of us – unless we had someone skilled in the use of tinctures and tonics to clear our minds and bodies."

Boggins could see the logic, but one thing bothered him.

"Octavius?"

"Hm?"

"How is it you know so much about the forest? If people can't last without a diverse set of back-up, how have you learned so much?"

Octavius' face softened at the question.

"It's a fair question. I've known several people involved in expeditions to try and learn more about the new realities of this forest.

"They passed on what they learned each time they came back from brief trips – that was the trick, to keep them brief.

"But they could never leave well enough alone... And without fail, every single one of them... vanished.

"One day my last contact left for his umpteenth 'research trip' and... never came back..."

Boggins frowned. He hadn't meant to bring up such a delicate subject with the wizard.

"I'm sorry Octavius, I didn't..."

He was interrupted by a glowing from the tip of Octavius' staff, accompanied by a pulsing hum. The wizard practically leapt at the sight of it.

"It's Anna!" he enthused.

"She must be nearby. Follow me!"

Together the two followed Octavius' staff, with the mage gently pulled by the magic pulsing at its tip.

They arrived to find the mage's young apprentice lying on what looked like a gigantic, translucent cushion. The object was gelatinous and completely round, save for the indentation Anna had created by lying in it like it was an oversized armchair.

Octavius wasn't at all worried by the sight – the object was what was colloquially known as a jelly drop. They had arrived in the forest at the time of the enchantment and remained ever since. It was hard to tell if they were residue from a larger being, or even sentient life themselves.

Whatever the case, jelly drops were completely immobile and there had never been any reports of anyone being attacked by them.

As Anna was demonstrating, they did however make for extremely comfortable recliners, giving the user a sensation of sinking into super-condensed treacle, with a snug sensation at one's sides as the jelly pressed against you.

However, Octavius was far more concerned by Anna herself. His apprentice had her robe wide apart and was frantically playing with her sex with one hand while reaching into the folds of her robe with the other.

Panting, she produced a vial of pink liquid and extended it towards her crotch...

"No!" Octavius yelled, flinging his staff forward to project an invisible wave that sent the vial flying into the air.

Anna shuddered with a start, though her movement was hindered by the gentle hold of the jelly drop.

"O-Octavius...? H-help me..."

"What are ye doin' blasted girl? Was that Little Death poison you were holding?"

"S' not my fault," she gasped. "Got caught by a-a limpet trap... it got its... juices on me..."

Octavius rolled his eyes and wandered over to the girl.

"It's just as well one of us has got some sense," he murmured. "That vial coulda' killed ya."

He stamped his staff into the ground once more and closed his eyes. He touched his fingers to Anna's forehead and, as he did so, a glowing white light coalesced at the tip of the staff.

It flowed down the wood into his hand, along his arm, across his chest and down his other arm before settling in Anna's forehead.

Then, with one last flash, it was gone.

Anna blinked and looked round. Folding her robe back across her body once more, she pulled herself out of the jelly drop.

"I've dissolved the toxin," Octavius said. "It shouldn't be bothering you any more."

"Yes... thank you..." said Anna, eyes fixed on the floor. "I'm sorry, Octavius, but that poison had addled my mind. Nothing I did seemed to satisfy my... uh... needs... and it seemed the Little Death compound was the only thing capable of tipping me over the edge."

"Well, er, don' worry 'bout it," mumbled Octavius, cheeks red and eyes roving anywhere that wasn't looking at Anna.

"But I think this is a lesson... that you need to exercise more self-control."

"Yes, master, of course," Anna answered quickly, glad to be back in the formalities of teacher and student.

"Where do we go from here?"

"Well, Octavius here thinks we should team up and take down the source of the enchantment," said Fred, derisively.

"He thinks we should dispel an enchantment that's covered an entire forest for decades, just because he thinks he won't be around much longer."

Anna looked at the wizard, who was staring off into the distance. At a glance, an onlooker could be forgiven for thinking it was steely determination on his face, but Anna knew he was just having a huff.

"Well, much as I hate to say it, I think we don't have much option but to press on – for the time being at least.

"Back the way I came there are limpet traps to worry about, and I nearly got taken out by a roller.

"And from the looks of you two, I can assume your passage wasn't any less eventful?"

"I would... rather not offend your delicate sensibilities, my lady," Boggins muttered, earning a contemptuous snort from Octavius.

"Where should we go from here?" he asked, keen to change the subject.

"Well, in my blind rush away from the limpet trap, I did pass a cave entrance a few dozen feet back," offered Anna.

"I did consider taking refuge while waiting for the creature's toxin to wear off, but thought better of it.

"But if all three of us were to venture that way together, we should be able to protect each other."

"You may have a point," interjected Octavius, who seemed to have rejoined the conversation.

"There are vast labyrinths of underground caverns beneath the Emerald Forest. It should be very simple to advance once we get beneath ground."

Anna nodded.

"Come," she said.

"I'll show you the way."

The young apprentice pulled herself out of the jelly drop and led the group back the way she came.

Behind them, a pink cloud was spreading throughout the jelly drop. The vial of little death poison, so carelessly discarded by Octavius' spell, had seeped into the jelly drop itself and was painting the entire blob a fuchsia coloured tint.

The jelly drop quivered, and gurgled, sending a stream off bubbles through its being. It then rocked gently back and forth, before building a momentum and rolling, silently, along the grass of the forest.

****

Inside the caverns, it was dark, cold and dank. It seemed like a couple of hundred feet of dark, cold and dank, with only the glowing tip of Octavius' staff to guide them.

Luckily, they had only been following a single corridor through the caverns, and the advantage of a fixed route meant it was impossible to get lost.

At least, it did until the corridor opened up to show a wide cavern with a base more akin to an arena than a grotto.

An arena in which hundreds of holes dotted the walls, like a bee hive hewn in stone.

Octavius dimmed his wand, with plenty of light provided in the room courtesy of glowing, hazy orbs clinging to the ceiling.

"What's causing that?" Boggins wondered aloud.

"Magic?"

"Not quite," Octavius answered.

"They're will o' the wisps. They're quite harmless, but they are drawn to darker areas, like osmosis. Which makes them very useful for explorers like us."

"What are they?" asked Boggins.

"Don't know. I've heard people say they're the souls of long-dead travellers. Others have said they're all that remains of a dead demon when the flesh rots away.

"All I know is.... Oh no..."

Octavius stopped mid-stride and the party slowed to a halt.

"What is it?" asked Boggins, as his suit of armour clunked back into a heavy stop.

"Don't... look up."

As if by reflex, Boggins swung his head upwards. On the ceiling of the cave, far off into the distance, hundreds of red shapes were swarming above them.

"What are they?" he asked in wonder.

"Lust sprites. Insidious things, they are."

"Are they dangerous?"

"Perhaps not at first. I know many a man who has enjoyed time between their thighs..."

Anna blushed and turned her back. Boggins simply grinned.

"Well, what's the problem then? If we've got time, I'd like to say hello..."

"Because, idiot, they're lust demons. A human's libido is putty in their hands. The longer one spends in their presence, the more they can twist and shape his mind to their bidding.

"And because they're spawned from those."

He pointed ahead.

Octavius has brought them to a stop at a ridge overlooking a large cavern. The only way ahead Boggins could see was to follow the ridge as it descended down into the cavern itself.

The only problem was the large obstacle blocking their way – a very large, very mean-looking demon in the centre of the cavern floor.

The torso at least was almost that of a human man – an unnaturally strong man, granted, as his arms were muscular tree trunks of sinew, while his torso looked as hard and as sculpted as the iron on Boggins' breastplate.

The demon's head was bald, and his face masculine. The only thing that gave it away as inhuman was that his eyes shone a featureless white with no other discernible detail, while two small, cracked black horns protruded from his temples.

Beneath the demon's waist however, the shape was anything but human. A shifting mass of fleshy tentacles, it continuously coiled and shifted, as if constantly trying to find a comfortable resting position.

The overall impression was extremely intimidating.

"What do we do?" Boggins asked, his voice quavering with fear.

"D-do we fight it?"

"No, lad. Overlord demons have a profound hatred for males of any species. We'd not be within metres of it before it would rip us to shreds and feed us our severed limbs before we expire.

"Anything but the strongest offensive magic would do nought but anger the demon, and your sword would bounce right off it.

"No, we need to distract it."

"And how do we do that?" asked Boggins. "Because honestly, I've never been a natural runner."

Octavius turned to look at Anna.

"Oh no!" she cried.

"No, I've been through enough already! What on earth next? You want to offer me to this demon as food?"

"Calm down, my dear," Octavius said soothingly.

"Overlord demons only harm males. They do so because they see them as competition.

"But what they really take pleasure from is women, especially humans. They see them as delicate toys that they can control.

"All you need to do is go down there and... distract him.

"We can sneak past while his attentions are... diverted, and when we're clear, I'll blast him with a spell of destruction.

"It won't harm him, but it should stun him long enough for you to get clear."

"Should?" Anna retorted bitterly. "And don't think I don't know what you mean by 'distract', you know.

"No, I won't do it."

Octavius held her arm in a gentle grip.

"Anna, please," he said, his voice softening.

"I know you don't want to do this, but we don't have many options. It's either surrender to the beasties that have already attacked us; stay here and surrender to the lust sprites or take a chance with the overlord demon.

"I promise, we'll be ready so you're not held a second longer than necessary."

Anna sighed, and looked at the floor dejectedly.

"Is there anything I need to... you know... prepare myself?"

Octavius shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. You need to understand that once you're within the vicinity of the overlord demon, you'll start to find it very hard to concentrate - it gives off an aura of magic that mentally dominates anyone caught in its radius.

"But don't worry about that. Just go to him, we'll make our way down when he's distracted, nip round the back and set you free."

He paused thoughtfully.

"And pull you off him if we need to."

Anna frowned, before kicking at the stone floor.

"Alright, fine. I'll do it."

She took a couple of steps away from the two men, before turning to look back at them.

"And if this doesn't work, I'll come back to haunt you."

***

After the five-minute walk round the ledge down to the ground, Anna was level with the demon.

His muscles flexed as his teeth tore some red, jelly-like substance from a hard white lump he held in his hands. Occasionally Anna could hear the odd crunch from whatever he was eating as it snapped in his jaws.

Beneath him, his lower body of tentacles writhed like a pit of angry vipers as he continued his meal.

With a single, almost-audible, gulp, Anna swallowed her fear and pressed on.

'Got to play this right,' she thought as she continued to step closer to the demon.

'If I make one wrong move, he could snap me in two with those arms.

'...they really are quite muscular,' the voice in her head went on.

'I bet when I get there, he'll throw me around quite a bit. Make me his plaything...'

Anna's mind continued to wander the closer she got to the overlord demon.

'I've never been taken roughly before...'

It was just when she was wondering if the demon had sex organs behind the nest of tentacular limbs that she caught herself in time.

'What in the Pit am I thinking?!' she chastised herself. 'Just got to focus on getting this over with, that's what I've got to do...'

Her reassurances might have convinced her more were she not beginning to grow wet. This didn't help her situation at all, because without undergarments on, the juices were slowly trickling down her legs, sticking briefly to her flimsy robes with every step they took.

Ahead of her, the demon had finished its gory meal and was about to look her way. Beneath it, its limbs had slowed, perhaps satisfied with the quality of the food.

The demon's head turned her way, swivelling to face her when she was mere metres from the beast.

'Got to be calm. Just give them time to get round...'

Her thoughts swiftly stopped when the demon turned to fix his eyes on her, caught like a Saronian long-toothed rabbit in the focused beam of an illumination spell.

"Who dares venture into the lair of Ashmedai?" he eventually roared, his voice resounding with a deep bass that vibrated through Anna's body. Beneath his torso, his lower limbs came to life.

"I... I'm Anna... sir..." she began, her voice quiet and quaking.

She had barely offered the introduction before tentacles shot out towards her and wrapped round her waist, lifting her clean into the air and holding her mere feet away from Ashmedai, eye to eye.

"Why do you intrude into my domain so?" he bellowed, his lower limbs quickly coming to life once more. His eyelids narrowed as he surveyed the captive trespasser.

"I... was... was looking for a way into the forest beyond... c-couldn't pass through overground..."