To Save a World Ch. 02

Or something.

When the sensation subsided, he realized he was halfway out under the wagon, lying flat on the ground. Again.

And he could hear Lydia screaming 'what did you do' like mad and the other woman was apologizing and trying to calm her down but was also screaming herself, the both of them engaged in an epic screaming fit like they weren't in the middle of a brewing battlefieldtrying not to attract attention.

"Stop!" he yelled, "Lydia! Stop screaming. I'm all right."

Both women shut up like they were slapped.Probably by the stupidity of the situation, he thought,Jesus, people are dying out there.

Lydia rushed over to his side, kneeling on the ground, teary and babbling with worry. With blood running down her nose.

"Did she hit you?" Aaron asked, getting up. The anger boiling violently on his chest surprising even him.

"What?" Her hand went to her nose, touched the blood. She looked at it and almost looked guilty. "No! No - I just... used up more magic than I should have."

"Shit," he heard it curse. "Fuckinganji."

He looked at it, and swallowed. Lydia noticed his attention and went still, clinging close to his back and staying silent.

Being so close, it didn't take long for Aaron to realize that theit was definitely ashe ¬- and he could tell the obvious... difference. The white skin that he thought he saw from afar was actually a pure white coat of fur, dirty and bruised, even wounded and stained with ugly red in some areas, but nonetheless gleaming silver in the fey moonlight. It covered all of her, including her face, only varying in fineness. A thick mane of equally white and dirty hair fell so low to her back that it melded almost seamlessly with her equally dirty-white tail hanging low to the ground.

She was evidently thin, clothed only in rags that covered just the essential bits and nothing else.

"Done staring, human?" She sneered at him.

"Yes," he replied. He watched the woman's eyes widen in shock as Lydia gasped behind him.

"You speak the Forest Tongue" the woman breathed in awe.

"Yes," he replied.Just fucking now. He swallowed again, heart beating crazily and his just-recovered brain whizzing in a thousand directions processing this bizarre development. And with apparently new informationdownloaded directly into his fucking brain.

He grit his teeth as he remembered the old man's words.Three boons.

He felt Lyia grip his arm harder in surprise. "W - what's happening?" she stuttered in confusion.

I don't fucking know either, Aaron wanted to scream. "Ssh," he said instead, trying to comfort her. "I'll explain later."

The unknown woman twitched, her triangular ears atop her head suddenly swiveling in different directions. She tensed. "We must go," she told him under her breath, her strange eyes urgent.

And then Aaron heard a rallying shout. "They're here!" he heard, "The monsters are here! To me!"

He held Lydia's hand, met the woman's eyes, and nodded.

"Lead." He told her.

They exploded into panicked motion, trusting the creature before them as they navigated the maze of wagons before them. He silently thanked whatever distraction the two other beings were causing, allowing them to traverse a part of the camp without encountering any opposition. He threw a glance at the other side of the camp, the tops of the wagons lit by the torch fire of the soldiers gathered there, and muttered a silent prayer.

But it wasn't long before Aaron realized that they weren't heading outside the camp.

"Wait!" he said, catching up and grabbing the woman's arm "Are you mad? Where are we going?!"

"If we are to have a chance wemust free my tribe!" She growled at him vehemently, shaking him off and running straight to another prison box.

Aaron cursed vehemently, but had no other choice but to follow, Lydia his silent companion.

And then they ran straight into an enemy soldier.

They toppled over as he ran right into the bulky man, the hard steel of the mercenary's breastplate transferring the brunt of the fall into his unprotected chest, winding him. Breathless, he struggled to stand - but the man was already stable on his knees, swinging a sword. The weapon glinting in its deadly arc that would end in his face or neck. Aaron could do nothing but stare at death mere inches from him.

And then a mass of fur and muscle slammed into the enemy. The creature that saved them was nothing short of a monster at that point, savagely ripping into the exposed neck of the downed soldier even as he struggled to get free. Hot blood burst from the torn neck like a mini fountain, splashing his face, drenching the dark brown coat of his savior with dark blood.

It was one of the two who first came out of the prison boxes, fighting their way through the camp to provide the distraction necessary for their escape - and it was in bad shape. Blood was flowing freely from a wide gash on his side, and arrow shaft painfully jutting out from a spot on its back, with another in its thigh, the shaft broken halfway but with the metal head embedded deep in its muscle.

The growl that he heard was deep and feral, the ensuing struggle fierce as the monster-like being suddenly on top of the soldier clamped its deadly jaws on the neck, delivering the killing stroke. The creature gulped, and horrified, Aaron realized that it was drinking from the blood of his foe. His eyes met the creature's crazed one, and he jumped as he heard it speak.

"Savior," It growled, its jaw held fast on the twitching man's neck. "Go."

He's going to die, Aaron realized,For us. He came back to reality as Lydia pulled on his arm, shouting at him hysterically to get up and ran.

The woman was feverishly bashing the heavy iron lock of the other prison box as they caught up with her. Wordlessly, he took the weapon from her - the handle cold and sticky in his hand, its deadly, dragging weight so unfamiliar to his arm. He raised the sword and struck.

The sword deflected unexpectedly as it struck unyielding metal, sparks flying momentarily at the instance of contact. The young man's arms shook as the trembling force of the impact travelled up his arm and into his shoulders. 'This isn't going to work', he thought. He raised the sword and struck again.

He brought it down again and again until his arms felt numb, the cold iron of the lock and chain guarding the entrance unfazed by his inexperienced blows.

"Stand aside, Savior." He heard from behind him. Panting, he dutifully moved aside as the woman walked up and laid both her hands not on the iron lock but the wood beside it.

"The spirits of this wood have long since fallen asleep - calling them forth will require all of my power." She looked at him, hesitant "You have already given us a life debt by freeing us. If you keep me safe as I save my tribe, I shall lay down my life for yours."

Before Aaron could say anything, the woman turned to the heavy, wooden door. And then glowed.

Lydia gasped as she pulled him back by his arm, clutching him tight to her chest. "Magic," she breathed, "One I've never seen and felt before."

Aaron also felt it in the air - a sort of warm, tingling heat washed over him, a strong scent of mulch and humid leaves briefly encasing him before it was blown away by a strong gust of wind. He was worried about how she was glowing - the beacon of magical white light a sure target in the dark night.

But his worries momentarily vanished as he watched a small leaf unfurl from the door of the wagon. His eyes widened in absolute shock and wonder as he watched the wooden door of the wagongrow.

Crooked, slight twigs burst out from the smooth surface of the wooden door like the living lightning, arcing their way into the sky as their bases grew thicker. Soon enough the twigs were as thick as branches, and then the branches became veritable trunks - growing branches to every direction themselves, dark green leaves bursting and unfurling everywhere. The joints and nails and iron parts of the wagon groaned and some gave way with a loud, metallic snap, while the tree just grew around the parts too hard to budge.

And it wasn't just growing, either. The trunk of the tree bent and curved at chest level, providing a widening doorway for the trapped prisoners within. It was a testament to the wagon's construction that it remained upright and intact despite the severe warping of its front part.

Soon enough, the trees were as big around as a small person, their height seeming to have doubled and reaching out into the heavens - a thick canopy of leaves blocking the moonlight. The woman stopped glowing, stepping back to observe her handiwork. The trees stopped growing.

Aaron released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Wow," he breathed. Beside him, Lydia said the exact same thing.

If anyone noticed the tree that was suddenly in the camp, no one pointed and charged at it. The sounds of panicked, yelling men and weapons clashing together was maintained in the short distance, the sacrificial distraction working all too well.

They both watched in awe as four more creatures emerged from within the wagon and kneeled in front of the woman. She touched their heads in the middle of their triangular ears, and they looked up. Nothing passed between all of them as they stared at each other avidly, their ears twitching madly in the dark, perhaps absorbing distant sounds too low for human ears to detect. It was an oddly inspiring moment, the kneeling figures looking to Aaron like knights to their queen as they knelt on the grass. And then they scattered silently, the four moving swiftly and fluidly in the dark.

The woman turned to them, her eyes victorious. Aaron was there just in time to catch her as she swayed and lost her balance, her previous magic taking up all of her strength.

"We must escape," She gasped, her eyes half closed. "My kin will free their own - they shall take care of the rest."

Aaron had no time to question how she would know that. He hooked her arm around his shoulder and silently half-dragged, half-supported her, the urgency of their situation lending him strength to carry what was basically dead weight into uncertainty, facing the dark line of the forest in the near horizon.

He estimated it to be about a hundred meters of open space. They would be clearly visible under the lightening dawn, and then it would be too easy to run them over with horses with the slow rolling hills of the terrain. He fervently prayed that dawn was still a way off, and that the distraction would continue to occupy the soldiers in the camp.I'm sorry, he thought, the wounded, half-crazed creature that saved him at the fore of his mind,please hang on a little longer.

Just a little longer. He huffed, the strain on his muscles starting to make themselves known as he jogged as fast as he can in the dark, his eyes straining in the limited light. His breathing came in huge gulps, his arm and legs on fire. He stumbled, righted himself and his charge, and pressed on into the night.

But it was not to be.

"DUCK!" he heard Lydia scream. He dropped to the ground none too elegantly, light and heat passing over his head to erupt into the ground several meters in front of him. He looked back, his heart stopping in terror as he made out a naked silhouette standing crazily in front of a burning tree.

Serry had awoken.

She screamed, her raging voice carrying into the night;"YOU ARE DEAD!"

She raised her arms. A glowing fireball the size of a human being materialized above her. She made a wide throwing motion - and the fireball catapulted into the air. Aaron watched wild eyed at a spectacle that he never imagined he would ever see in all his life; that of a flaming magical fireball sailing in the air like a majestic comet.

Flying directly at him.

Lydia screamed as the magic exploded several meters to his right, close enough for the sudden, momentary heat to wash over them. The light blinded him for a bit, and when he looked back to the woman trying to kill him she already had her hands raised, another enormous ball of fire brewing above her hands.

He cursed, the woman he was holding whimpered, and Lydia started to cry.

"Get up!" He pulled his charge up roughly. "Lydia! Get thefuck up! Run!" He used his other hand to grab Lydia and hoist her up, pushing her away and running himself, the adrenaline supercharging his limbs, making him forget about the strain.

"Run!" he gasped, his lungs trying to keep up "We'll make it!"

Fire exploded to his left, closer to them this time. The momentary light illuminated their surroundings and showed the edge of the treeline. So close. The image gave them hope, the woman he was carrying finding her feet, making his burden easier as they tried to maintain their break neck pace.

He heard the maddened woman scream behind them again. He risked a glance back, just in time to see Serry brought down the fire right beside her, the cruel magic illuminating the spot she was standing on in vivid yellows and oranges - consuming its target. This time, it was a different scream that pierced the night. The woman stopped, slightly ahead of him, and looked back, her eyes terrified.

"Tasheh." She sobbed.

"Go" Aaron ran to her and pushed her roughly. No time for grieving. Not when it was still raining fire.

The treeline was in sight, a vast spread of deeper darkness that stretched to either side of them as far as their eyes could see. They were close enough that the bright sky in front of them seemed to be cut in half by the darkness of the foliage in the night.

They slowed down, breathing heavily, his lungs on fire and his legs seeming like jelly. He realized he could begin to see the details of the trees, how the grass began to grow just a little thicker each step of the way, gradually mixing with larger shrubs and bushes until it was swallowed by the oh-so-near line of forest.

Dawn had arrived.

"We made it" he gasped, his walking unsteady. "But we have to keep moving. We have to - "

Searing pain punched through his shoulder like a thunderbolt, the force of the impact driving him straight to the ground. He heard both women scream this time - and then a falling sensation, and then his face down on the earth. He struggled to turn sideways, to crane his neck to see what hit him, the horror brewing in his gut.

A thick shaft of arrow was sticking out from his right shoulder, buried so deep that an inch or two of the head jutted out in front of him. He stared at the curious feather fletching, the red and black pattern of the feather looking cruelly beautiful for a weapon so deadly.

He struggled to get up, both women pulling on his arm sobbing and crying but successfully dragging him, away from the open space and into the forest. Aaron struggled. His vision dimmed, the pain becoming a dull, all-consuming throb in his body. He turned his head back where they came from.

The last thing he saw before everything went black was the burning wreckage of the slaver's camp, glowing orange in the gathering dawn. In front of it, facing him, was a bulky figure beside the raging Serry, holding a huge, thick bow, staring at them as they disappeared into the foliage. Even from afar, the anger of the siblings was visible.

And then everything faded.