NOVEL FROG 209 - The Great Oaks
Wheeling across the height of the continent slaughtering beasts, monsters, and everything in-between invited a certain freedom into Lieze’s heart. She realised that, barring the initial journey towards the Dwarven Mountains, she had accomplished very little travel since leaving the Deadlands all those months ago.
Breaking out from the arid wastelands was a sight for sore eyes. The claustrophobic tunnels of the Dwarves, she feared, were beginning to have a negative effect on her sanity. So many days had passed without a healthy tree in sight that the emergence of emerald foliage in the north appeared somewhat alien to her at first. Beyond the Kanin Delta, the forest grew thick - thicker than any of the shrouded downs surrounding the Sovereign Cities.
More alien still were the Great Oaks - those monoliths of the earth poking the heavens with their canopies. Between the thickets and undergrowth, Lieze could catch occasional glimpses of the oaks, and with each passing hour, they seemed more impossibly tall than before. It would be weeks yet before they breached into Akzhem, and yet the region was already projecting its queer nature into Lieze’s mind.
Upon a bladed precipice in the land, Lieze leaned forward on her seat to observe the oaks while they slipped into view over the far horizon, trunks extending beyond the threshold where sky and soil met to form the edge of her very small world. A grand shadow descended upon the land beneath, marking the entrance into the Elven homeland of Akzhem.
“I take it you can see them from here?” Baccharum stepped towards the cliff’s edge at the wagon’s flank, stopping just shy of careening into the sunken canopy beneath, “I can feel the wind on my skin. I’m sure the Great Oaks seem rather imposing from a vantage like this.”
“What causes them to grow so large?” Drayya took her eyes off the undead steeds to enjoy the view, “And how does anything live underneath? If there’s no sunlight, how does the grass grow? How do the flowers bloom? Will the Great Oaks seed the earth until the whole world is plummeted into the darkness of their shadows?”
“Yes… but it will be many millennia yet before another oak takes root in the soil, and an eternity will pass before it reaches maturity.” The Elf replied, “Shamans commune with the voices in the trunks using their maddening concoctions, and derive wisdom from the visions they experience. Some say the oaks themselves are alive - that the Seiliwichts are messengers borne from the land’s devouring nature.”
“How much of that is pure hearsay and how much of it is truth?” Drayya wondered.
“In a world devoid of sight, we cannot rely on what few shadows we can perceive with our own two eyes.” He said, “The nature of Akzhem is forever changing; always melding, shifting, leering at the failures of we mortal beasts. Those of us who dominate our environment with intelligence have learned to decipher and control magic, but that is not the way it always was. No, magic - true magic - is founded in chaos, and Akzhem is the only land remaining where the ‘chaos’ of survival continues to thrive.”
Lieze attempted to derive meaning from Baccharum’s rambles, but she had trouble taking anything he said as truthful. No matter the region, the world was bound to its physical and ephemeral laws. Even seemingly superstitious practices like magic and alchemy adhered to those unspoken fundamentals. She wouldn’t - no, she couldn’t - entertain the idea that an ambiguous air of ‘chaos’ could change those rules.
New Quest Received!
‘The Black Forest’ - Enter Akzhem
Reward - 4,500xp
Between the supplies they’d pilfered from the mountains and the natural bounty of the land, there was a welcome ease to surviving those verdant stretches of the north. Marché and Roland, having experienced the joy of marching themselves across the deathly landscape of the Dwarven homeland, couldn’t have been more grateful for the change.
The wagons were slow through the wealds owing to a distinct lack of highways or paths. Lieze didn’t care much for how long it took them to reach the Black Forest - more time spent in one place meant more time strengthening the army. While the living slept, the Skeletal Necromancers scoured every nook and cranny within five miles of their camp, killing and resurrecting anything that could possibly contribute to the war effort.
When Lieze awoke each morning, she had a fresh horde of monstrous beasts to sift through. Ever since disembarking onto the Kanin Delta after leaving Tonberg, she’d grown used to the presence of monsters in her army, though she vowed to organise them with more scrutiny after witnessing their disorganised natures during the siege on the mountains.
Thralls that didn’t quite fit any humanoid label, she decided, would be sorted into one of three categories - Nimble, Durable, and Strange. The first was simple enough to decide, stocked chiefly with predators and giant, spindly insects. The second was reserved for heftier beasts capable of taking a beating, including Treants, colossal Beetles, and lesser draconics like Firespittle Salamanders.
The third was - as the name implied - strange. Frankly, there were too many monsters that didn’t fit into either category but were equipped or saddled with abilities that seemed too intriguing to discard.
A rainbow’s worth of Slime species could fit into a variety of roles depending on their colour and physiology: Green Slimes were practically invulnerable to physical strikes, whereas the tar-like residue left in the wake of Black Slimes was inflammable, and the creatures themselves would explode into a shower of boiling oil if ignited. Moreover, their motor functions (however pitiful) remained intact after raising, compared to most humanoid thralls who would struggle to pick their noses without putting an eye out in the process.
All this and more served a greater purpose than to bolster Lieze’s army. Her most anticipated moment of the morning was awakening to scour the battle report from the previous night’s slaughter. A steady stream of thoughtless, effortless experience had been trickling into her [Heightened Potential] pool ever since the killing began.
Heightened Potential Progress - 33,039 / 50,000
It would be nothing short of a miracle to top off the remaining experience before the Order reached Akzhem, but Lieze was hopeful that a few more days of emptying the local ecosystem combined with her lingering quests would be enough to set her on the path to necromantic perfection.
Then there was the issue of Akzhem itself - namely, the trouble Lieze would have to go through to locate the last remaining Scion. The northern peninsula encompassed a territory larger than the Sovereign Cities, and Baccharum had made it plain enough that traversal across its root-cursed ridges and dense woodlands wouldn’t be a quarter as simple as trekking across grassy plains in the full light of day.
The Deathguards had scrounged together every last light source they could find in the mountains, from lanterns to torches to lightning throwers, but Lieze knew it wouldn’t be enough to give them an edge in the Black Forest. The Elves, on the other hand, were masters of the darkness, able to glimpse the environment by filtering what little light pierced the towering canopy with their gargantuan eyes.
“...Transmutation wouldn’t have anything to do with creating light sources, would it?” Fresh out of ideas, she posed that simple question to Drayya on a quiet day of travelling.
“You’re thinking of evocation.” She answered, “-Although I could make an existing flame burn brighter for a limited time. I’m not sure how useful that would be in Akzhem, though.”
“I’m not keen on the idea of marching in blind…” Lieze closed her eyes in thought, “The Elves will have trouble approaching us if we can cover ourselves in light. A candle’s naked flame is enough to blind one. Remember that if you ever find yourself cornered.”
“What if they wear blindfolds? Like Baccharum?”
“All the better. They won’t be able to put up much of a fight with one of their senses muted.” She
replied, “...That said, blindness doesn’t seem to have affected Baccharum much, but that might have something to do with how long he’s been separated from his homeland.”
Drayya rubbed her lips against one-another, “I saw how he fought during our attack on the Royal Delve. Gravewalkers won’t stand a chance against the average Elf if he’s a leading example of their prowess.”
“I know. That’s why I’m trying to incorporate as many of them into larger thralls whenever possible.” Lieze said, “Rot Behemoths, Flesh Elementals, Horrors - we can increase the durability of our thralls to match the situation, but their speed leaves a lot to be desired.”
“What’s stopping you from creating something new?” Drayya asked, “Something faster… something that could leap over the great roots and onto the branches. A predator designed solely for the purpose of hunting Elves.”
The idea intrigued Lieze. She’d been allowing her creativity to stagnate as of late. The Bonecrawlers utilised during the siege on the mountains turned out to be an excellent idea, so why couldn’t she do something similar for Akzhem?
“That would take a while…” She lamented, “Flesh warping, bone placement, muscular arrangement… there would be plenty of trial and error involved in the design, and we won’t know how effective it will be until we reach Akzhem.”
Drayya turned up her nose and smirked, “-Assuming you work alone. It’s very like you to forget that you have other necromancers to rely on, Lieze.”
The concept of relying upon someone else was alien to her. As soon as her difference in natural talent was exposed as a child, she was never given the option of entrusting tasks to her peers. From studying to practical lessons, Lieze only had herself to rely on. Drayya picked up on her hesitation, taking the girl’s silence to mean she’d managed to strike a nerve.
“If you shoulder the burden of this journey, you’ll end up taking all of us down with you.” Drayya warned, “That was Sokalar’s mistake. He refused to believe that anyone other than himself was worthy of leading, and look where that led him. The Deathguards have been given plenty of opportunities to strike out on their own ever since you usurped the Order. Don’t think they aren’t willing to repay that favour if you ask.”
Lieze couldn’t find an answer that satisfied her, “-But I don’t know how to ask for help.”
“That might be the most honest thing that’s ever left your mouth.” Drayya smirked, “It doesn’t need to be you. Give the word and I’ll have these troublesome cultists drafting up ideas for any thrall you desire. They’ll relish the opportunity to contribute something towards the war effort, believe me.”
“Then… could you do that?” Lieze asked, “Like you said, we need something fast and powerful. An apex predator capable of traversing Akzhem’s heights and matching the speed of Elven warriors. The more power you can pack into a smaller frame, the better.”
“I’ll make sure they’re working on it by nightfall.” She smiled, “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Don’t tease me.”
“You’re adorable.” The white of Drayya’s teeth popped out from under her lips, “We’ll have something ready by the time we reach the peninsula. Until then, there’s still the Sage’s tower to visit so you can have your little chat with our incorporeal allies.”
“We’re almost there?” Lieze asked.
“By this time tomorrow, we’ll be able to fly the Manticore over the strait to reach the islet. Once we return, it’ll be another few weeks before we reach the Black Forest.” Drayya swivelled her head, “It’s exciting, isn’t it? All these quiet nights in the countryside are blowing up my expectations.”
Lieze exhaled through her nose, “Don’t let that excitement get the better of you.”