Death: Genesis

Towering trees stretched high into the sky, their limbs forming a dense canopy through which very little light could penetrate. Zeke had never seen the redwood forests back on Earth, but he’d seen enough pictures to understand how huge they really were. However, the trunks of the trees currently surrounding him were at least three times the size of even the most massive of redwoods, and likely far older as well.

“Legends say that there used to be a race of ents that lived here,” said Eta, who’d come out of the tower specifically to lay eyes on the forest known as The Old Growth.

“Used to be? What happened to them?” asked Sasha. The boarkin girl had chosen to accompany her friend, though she looked ill-at-ease in the ancient woods. Zeke could sympathize with that feeling. Usually, he took his size for granted. Especially in his colossal form. And yet, the ancient trees of The Old Growth made him feel absolutely miniscule in a way nothing since the cyclops back in the dungeon had.

Eta answered, “They were hunted down and used as natural treasures. A few might have survived, but if they did, they will have been sentenced to a life of captivity, displayed in the tiny gardens in some twisted villain’s menagerie.”

That sounded like she had some experience with such a situation, so Zeke asked, “Do you know this for sure?”

“Adontis is not kind to non-humans,” she said. “That is what they do with what they deem curious specimens. I have no idea if an ent would have qualified as such. Or if they would be interesting enough to overcome the undeniable value consuming them might offer. But if any survive, they would likely rather have perished with all of their kin.”

She painted a grim and unflattering picture of the people of Adontis. Of course, Zeke had already been briefed on the Kingdom. Almost entirely human, they were equal parts xenophobic, racist, and overbearing. Moreover, they were a vassal state of a familiar force – the followers of Shar Maelaine that were called the Radiant Host. Zeke had thought himself rid of the Sun Goddess’s influence, but it seemed that she held sway even in the Eternal Realm.

And just like in the Radiant Isles, Zeke felt like he was on a collision course with her loyal followers.

He sighed, then said, “We’re not here to fight them.”

“I understand,” Eta responded.

“But if they stand against us or try to bar our passage, then we’ll show them the same mercy we showed the giants,” he stated. Zeke had no intention of seeking out a war, especially against an established force like the Knights of Adontis. From the centaurs, he’d learned that they were powerful fighters who ruled their little strip of land with an iron fist. From an individual perspective, they were much weaker than the hill giants, but as a collective nation, they were far superior to the forces of Berghem.

Still, something told him that he wouldn’t be given a choice in the matter. The Knights of Adontis were not known for welcoming outsiders, and Zeke knew that if they suspected his cambion nature. They’d hunt him to the end of their endurance. After all, Zeke hadn’t forgotten that he was half demon, which meant that he was likely enemy number one in both heaven and hell.

“I would expect no less,” Eta stated, stepping forward to rest her palm against the giant tree. It looked a bit like an oak, though one blown far out of proportion. She sighed, the leaned her forehead against the trunk. Zeke felt a stirring of mana, but it was gentle and unthreatening. Not at all like a skill.

“It is her attunement,” Eveline stated.

“I’m aware,” was Zeke’s response, though he didn’t utter it aloud. To do so would have felt like an intrusion into something that felt far more meaningful than it appeared to be at first glance.

After a few seconds, Eta let out a long sigh, then pulled away. Tears decorated her cheeks as she turned to Zeke and said, “May I return to the tower now?”

“I’ll go, too,” Sasha said.

Zeke looked at his other companions who’d so far remained silent. Neither Jasper nor Pudge seemed eager to go back to the tower, though that wasn’t unexpected. They preferred the outdoors, though for different reasons. Zeke suspected that Jasper found living in such close proximity to the kobolds uncomfortable. He didn’t dislike them, but he’d fought their kind on enough occasions that wariness was a natural response.

As for Pudge, he enjoyed roaming the wilderness too much to spend more time in the tower than absolutely necessary. More than once, Zeke had heard whispered arguments between the former dire bear and his boarkin…girlfriend? He had no idea if they were officially a couple, but they certainly acted like it. Especially when it came to Sasha’s explicit preference for Pudge’s company. So, to placate her, Pudge spent more time than he probably wanted to within the confines of the tower.

“It’s so cute that you think he doesn’t want to be there just as much as she wants him there,” said Eveline.

“Not discussing this,” Zeke muttered in his own head. “And stop listening in on my private thoughts. It’s creepy.”

Eveline just giggled, which was just about the most dismissive response she could have mustered. Still, Zeke ignored it – mostly – as the two women went back through the summoned gate. Then, they set off through The Old Growth.

Fortunately, the enormous trees were far apart, and little undergrowth survived the murky shade of such a dense canopy. So, traveling through the forest was easy enough. Every now and then, one of the kobold rangers who functioned as the party’s scouts returned to give Zeke a report on their surroundings, but they had yet to encounter any intelligent life.

But there were monsters aplenty – from large, antlered wendigos to a couple of huge, horned hares and everything in between – but they encountered nothing particularly dangerous. Certainly, if they let their guard down for longer than a few minutes, they would’ve been victimized by the monsters of the forest, but so long as they kept their wits about them, they were just fine.

Of course, three days into their forest journey, that all came to a sudden and inevitable end when one of the scouts came sprinting in their direction. Zeke couldn’t remember the ranger’s name, but he’d become familiar enough with the kobolds to recognize that he was male. That was progress, as far as he was concerned.

The ranger skidded to a stop, then bowed low. Zeke immediately saw that the kobold was injured – a large gash on his shoulder – but it hadn’t slowed the small fellow down. That ability to endure was typical of the kobolds, and Zeke thought that they’d gotten it – at least in some part – from him.

“What is it?” Zeke asked.

“Seven men. On horses. Armored,” panted the ranger. “They got Kitik. Don’t know about Leanasa.”

Zeke couldn’t put faces to those names, but he assumed they were the rest of the ranger’s scouting trio. That the ranger had escaped was by design; they hunted in trios specifically so that, if they found something truly dangerous, two could slow the threat down while the third ran away and reported the danger.

“How far?”

“A mile. Less, maybe.”

Zeke looked down at the little ranger, then summoned the tower gate. “Go inside. Get healed. We’ll take it from here.”

The kobold looked as if he wanted to argue, but he clearly thought better of it. The rangers could fight, and in some of the running battles in the mountains, they’d proved themselves worthy combatants. But one ranger wasn’t going to make much of a difference in the coming confrontation, and the kobold knew it. So, instead of arguing, he obeyed Zeke’s order and went inside.

For his part, Zeke was already shifting into his unattuned colossal form. When the kobold disappeared into the tower, Zeke dismissed it, then turned to Pudge and said, “I need to know where they are.”

Pudge nodded, then took off. Before he was ten feet away, he seemed to disappear completely. If it wasn’t for the bond they shared, he would have been entirely undetectable. Jasper started drumming his fingers on his belt and humming a wordless melody, sending a jolt of energy through Zeke.

It was only a couple of minutes before Pudge returned, and when he did, he said, “They’re coming this way.”

“Alright. Jasper, stay out of the way,” Zeke said. “Pudge, skirmisher.”

That was all Pudge needed to hear before he loped off into the woods, disappearing behind one of the large trees. Meanwhile, Jasper asked, “Should we bring some of the kobolds out of the tower?”

“No need. There are only seven.”

“Seven men of indeterminate power.”

“If the ranger escaped, they can’t be that strong,” Zeke reasoned. “Besides, I don’t want to risk the kobolds being discovered.”

“But you’ll risk us?”

Zeke nodded, then grinned at his friend. “You’re an elf. They won’t kill you, right?”

“No – they will do worse. And what about Pudge? They hate beastkin more than any others.”

“If they lay a hand on either one of you, it’ll be the last mistake they ever make,” Zeke vowed, his voice suddenly serious. He could stomach a lot. He didn’t take it personally when people attacked him. But the moment someone took the fight to his friends, then that was when he would stop holding back.

“Fair enough,” Jasper stated.

After that, Zeke positioned himself between a pair of massive trees. Jasper retreated out of sight, and as far as Zeke could tell, Pudge was circling around so he could hit the would-be attackers from the rear.

Finally, he heard the steady staccato beat of horse’s hooves that announced the knights’ imminent arrival. His fingers tightened on the haft of his hammer, and he waited until, a few moments later, the first came into view.

The man astride a snow white horse wore glimmering armor that looked more like silver than the steel he might’ve expected, and it bore quite a lot of embellishments in the form of runic designs. They weren’t active. Zeke retained enough of his runecrafting path to recognize that. It was as if someone had been commissioned to copy the look, but without the magic to back it up.

Another rider followed. Then another. And another after that. They kept coming until there were a full seven knights bearing down on Zeke. They were all similarly armored, and they each carried long lances.

To Zeke, they looked like stereotypical fairy tale knights, though he could practically feel their killing intent as they came to an abrupt stop. One of the horses snorted as the presumed leader flipped up the visor of his helmet, revealing a visage of chiseled masculinity. Zeke instantly hated him.

“What do you want?” Zeke demanded.

“What are you?” the knight spat. “Monster or man?”

“Bit of both, if I’m honest,” Zeke answered. “I’ll repeat – what do you want?”

That was when he noticed the pair of kobold bodies strapped across one of the horses’ backside. Or rather, what was left of them. They’d been mutilated beyond easy recognition, and it looked like someone had tried to skin them.

“No. Never mind. I don’t care,” he said.

The leader started to say something, but he never got a word out before Zeke leaped in his direction, moving so quickly that the knight could offer no resistance as Voromir crashed into him. Briefly, Zeke felt a bit of resistance in the form of a shield of flashing light, but it quickly shattered beneath his might. The knight’s skull followed soon after, exploding in a shower of skull, silvery metal, and brain.

At that moment, Pudge struck.

Zeke had only seen his companion’s newest attack skill from afar, but even then, he knew it was powerful. Still, he was surprised when, out of nowhere, a wave of black fire erupted into being and swept across the horses. Even as it did, the men burst, one after another until, finally, the fire dissipated.

When Pudge reappeared, his claws were bloody, and six knights had been torn practically to pieces. Still, two had managed to survive, though only barely. Zeke wasted no time before dispatching them with his hammer.

It had all happened in the space of five seconds, and seven men had died. Aside from that first shield, none of them had even managed to use a skill.

“Is that all?” asked Zeke, stepping forward to calm one of the horses. The others had already fled. It was only then that he saw another mounted figure in the distance. This one didn’t ride a white horse. Instead, they rode a more ordinary, brown horse, and instead of shining, silvery plate, they wore rustic-looking leathers and wielded a bow.

The moment Zeke locked his gaze on the rider, they wheeled their horse around and sped away. He didn’t even need to tell Pudge to pursue before the bearkin took off through the woods at a blistering pace.

As Pudge did that, Zeke and Jasper retrieved the bodies of the kobold rangers, then laid them on the ground. A moment later, Zeke summoned the gate and sent Jasper to fetch one of the spiritweavers. As it turned out, Kianma was the one who responded, and after shaking her head sadly, she gathered the corpses and returned into the tower.

Zeke watched her go, feeling equal parts impotent, frustrated, and angry. He knew it was unreasonable to feel so powerless. He’d taken his revenge well enough. However, killing those knights had done nothing to assuage his ire. Indeed, it only served as fuel for his frustration.

It wasn’t the first time he’d lost people. The war with the hill giants had claimed its fair share of casualties. And yet, the guilt he felt was still just as potent as it had been the very first time he’d watched one of the kobolds die.

Those thoughts accompanied Zeke as he looted his enemies, then ushered the horse through the gate. It didn’t want to go, but in the end, it acquiesced to his firm hand. Soon after he’d passed it on to one of the former slaves, Pudge returned.

“Too fast,” he said. “Got away.”

“Shit,” Zeke muttered. If Pudge had been incapable of catching the rider, then no one would have done any better. Perhaps Talia, but she was still far away. “Let’s get moving, then. We don’t want to be here when they come back with friends.”