The Other Side: A Second Chance

The Spellbound Rangers

19th Dusk Day, Eunomia, 1883 PTW

It has been a day since the trio began their hunt for the monster known as the Khretenmoss. Deep within the Blythetane Forest, the sweltering heat and humidity worked away at the three of them as they clambered over the fallen logs and cut their way through the thickening underbrush.

"By the gods, this heat will be the end of me!" Slyran cursed as he hacked away at an overgrown bush with his machete. "Why is it that the rest of the region is dead but not this bloody forest?" He complained as he tossed away the loose overgrowth to create a path.

"It's because we're in the Khretenmoss's domain," said Cailynn as she stepped through the recently created path. "It uses the surrounding forest to hide; if it devoured everything, then for obvious reasons it'd leave itself exposed."

Slyran huffed and asked, "Babe, don't you have a spell that can clear an easy path for us?" He swung his blade against a large, low-hanging branch, blocking their path.

Cailynn smirked and glanced at Cyrus, who appeared content even though she had visible heat waves coming off her plate. "I do," Cailynn said, "but I also enjoy watching you work yourself so hard." She snickered as Cyrus sighed and rolled her eyes.

Slyran blushed a bit and refocused on cutting a path for them, seemingly with extra vigor now.

A half-hour later, as the trio progressed deeper within the choking confines of the forest, Cyrus continued to keep watch with her keen, golden eyes. "Cailynn," she said softly as the party stopped so Slyran could rest for a minute.

"Yes, Cyrus?" The mage glanced over her shoulder.

"How are we supposed to find this Khretenmoss?" The cleric asked as her eyes met Cailynns. "The Blythetane is massive and runs along the Alter River; we could be here for weeks or even a month searching for it. We only have two days."

Cailynn closed her eyes and nodded slowly, a gesture that Cyrus was all too familiar with and dreaded, especially when Cailynn looked back at her with a mischievous little smile. "Well, it's easy, Cyrus. I have a plan." She giggled.

Cyrus took a deep breath and nodded. "I hope it's nothing… Messed up."

 

---

 

"I don't know if I agree with this plan!" Slyran called out from the middle of the clearing, beside a massive Sycora tree. "Why am I the bait? Why can't it be Cyrus or you?"

Standing roughly forty gotts away in the safety of the trees, Cailynn responded, "Because you're the least threatening of us."

"I call bullcrap on that!" Slyran said as he clutched his magelock close to his chest and his eyes darted around the scene. "Babe, you hold a staff and dress like…"

"Dress like what?" Her eyes narrowed.

Slyran opened his mouth, then closed it, then bit his lip. "Like a lovely woman." Despite not being able to see his love, he could feel her eyes piercing into him.

Cyrus glanced at Cailynn out of the corner of her eye and asked, "Why did you choose him?"

Cailynn huffed and smiled a bit and said, "A number of reasons, actually. First off, Slyran is loud and makes a lot of noise." As if on cue, Slyran let off a disgruntled moan. "Secondly, his well is much shallower than ours. Monsters, like the Khretenmoss, are magical in nature; similar to dragons, they have a third sense."

"A sense that can detect magic?" Cyrus asked, and Cailynn nodded.

"Yep. That's why I'm not down there. Physically, I may look less threatening than Slyrann, but to a Khretenmoss, I would appear to be a threat. So it wouldn't bother me."

Cyrus frowned. "But if that's the case, wouldn't it be able to sense us up here in the trees?" She asked.

Cailynn frowned a little. "Ah, shit, you're right." She cursed softly.

Cyrus thought for a second and then smiled. "Wait, I have an idea." She pounded her gauntleted hands together. "If the creature can detect magic, what if I use a form of non-detection, the ether-dampening spell?"

Cailynn pursed her lips in thought. "That in itself is magic; it may work, but I don't know."

Cyrus nodded. "It's worth a shot." She brought her hands together. "Madam Slyondra, heed my call and help us in our time of need. Protect us from eyes abroad and hide us from those who do wrong. Non-detection." As Cyrus finished muttering her prayer, her golden eyes shimmered for only a second as the world around her and Cailynn blurred ever so slightly.

"Let us hope this is enough," Cailynn muttered and smiled at the Cleric.

"Guys," Slyrann called out after some time. "This isn't funny anymore."

The elven gunslinger sighed, kicked the dirt with his boot, and glanced around. "Why am I always the one thrown into these predicaments?" He asked himself when evening was settling in, and his stomach gurgled. He contemplated reaching into his pouch to grab his ration but knew if he was attacked while eating, not only would he be in a bad spot, but most likely his ration would get ruined. Something he didn't wish to risk.

Cailynn and Cyrus had also fallen silent. He knew they wouldn't leave him here alone; they were most likely hiding. But now, the worst thing was beginning to happen: boredom was settling in. Taking a deep breath, he stretched his legs and thought of sitting down, but once again, he told himself that was a dumb idea.

"Hey! You big mossy fucker!" Slyran suddenly shouted as his pent-up frustration began to simmer. "Fresh snack for you! Get some flame rounds that'll cook your ass!"

His voice echoed up into the canopy, and a few stray birds, startled by his shout, took off into the air. Though he received no response, grumbling under his breath, he sighed, decided against his conscience, and walked over to the large Sycora before planting his ass on the ground at its base. His legs were sore from standing in place for so long; a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

The sky was beginning to darken; the once pristine blue was now made up of dark oranges and purples. "This better not be a waste," Slyran muttered under his breath as he rested his arm on his knees, just as the snap of a branch caught his ear.

Abruptly, the entire forest fell silent. Any birds or bugs in the area ceased all noise.

Slyran's eyes shot upwards just as a massive tendril resembling that of a tree's branch shot down towards him.

Slyran swore loudly as he dove forward, narrowly dodging the noose-like tendril that nearly wrapped around his throat. Landing on his shoulder, Slyran rolled forward before landing on his feet in the center of the clearing. Eyes locked on the massive Sycora tree, his jaw dropped as he realized this wasn't a tree.

"Oh, that's right." Cailynn's voice came from his left, where she and Cyrus hid. "I forgot. Khretenmoss's are nocturnal predators."

"So now you remember?!" Slyran blurted out, but the sounds of snapping bark and roots being unearthed brought his attention back toward the massive monstrosity.

The creature was vast and nearly incomprehensible. Its body, if one would call it that, was nothing but vegetation and dirt that had somehow camouflaged itself as a perfectly normal tree. Its limbs consisted of dozens, if not a hundred, separate tendrils flailing all over the place. This thing had no face, no eyes, and no mouth. It just was.

If he had to describe it. It was like a ball of yarn dropped in the mud.

Without warning, a stream of fire blasted forth from Cailynn's hiding place towards the roiling mass of weeds, striking the monster's surface and immediately setting it ablaze. Despite possessing no visible mouth, the creature released a rumbling cry of pain. Its tendrils shot out in Slyran's direction, snapping back into focus as the gunslinger dove from left to right, dodging each sharpened limb, though not with ease.

"Fuck! Fuck!" The man shouted as each tendril skewered the earth seconds from where he had been before, over and over. He had no time to take aim or shoot; the creature just wouldn't stop attacking.

Once more, a gout of fire shot forth from the tree line, striking the creature. Dozens of flaming tendrils shot forth toward Cailynn and Cyrus's hiding position, but just as they made contact, they were gone. Taking to the sky, Cailynn soared over the creature with her staff held outwards, her eyes flashed a searing red as she then rocketed herself towards the whirling mound of moss and flame.

Meanwhile, Slyran was feeling fatigued as he endlessly dodged each attack thrown at him. He could feel his muscles beginning to lock up and burn, and it was here that he noticed it. A sharp, flaming tendril fired towards him. Bracing for impact, he knew he was about to get skewered, yet suddenly, instead of piercing pain, an invisible force repelled the tendril just as it made contact. Its physical form disintegrated upon impact.

"Don't stop moving now!" Cyrus shouted from behind Slyran, his eyes wide with shock at her sudden appearance.

The armored woman held her mirror shield aloft, deflecting another tendril head-on, and with her war hammer in hand, she hoisted it up and slammed down upon another one. A flash of light erupted from the hammer's head and exploded the tendril with holy fire. The Khretenmoss roared with agony, its body aflame all over. The creature bucked and rolled as it tried to get away, its tendrils receding into its yarn-ball-like body.

Cyrus turned to Slyran and said, "Now's the time; shoot it!"

Wasting no time, Slyran quickly took a second to check to make sure his magelock was loaded with the right round. I was a flame-burst bullet. Raising his weapon, he aimed right for the beast's core and fired.

A deafening crack echoed throughout the evening sky as flocks of birds took off. The magical bolt of burning energy shot forth from Slyran's gun and pierced the burning core, only to then detonate inside the creature.

Holding her shield up, Cyrus turned her large body over to Slyran, shielding the gunslinger from the explosive eruption of flaming plant debris and charcoal that began to rain down upon them. As the smoke cleared, Cyrus lowered her shield and asked, "Are you okay?"

Slyran cleared his throat and said, "Ye-yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for the assist."

Cyrus smiled as she stepped back and helped the elf up. "As fun as it was watching you dance around. I didn't want to leave you alone—"

Suddenly, a loud and anger-filled scream startled the two, and both their heads whipped toward the mound of smoldering plant matter. Standing amid the cloud of smoke and steam stood a very frustrated-looking Cailynn, her body covered in soot and organic plant matter, her once blue eyes still a searing red.

"Which one of you killed it before me?!" She said angrily. "I was this close to its heart!" She held up two fingers to indicate how close she was. "This close!" she repeated.

Both Slyran and Cyrus chuckled and smiled as the mage sighed and dropped her shoulders. "I did," Slyran said as he took a couple of steps toward her. "Cyrus gave me the perfect shot, and I took it." He hummed

Cailynn took a deep breath and closed her red eyes, and when she opened them, the blue color returned, and she said, "Darn…" She shivered as if experiencing a cool draft. "Kraten's getting to me…" she muttered. "Sorry for getting angry," she apologized as Slyran came over to her.

He stepped over a chunk of the dead monster, yet as his foot came down, something burst forth from the mound and grasped onto his ankle.

Slyran let off a shrill cry. "Holy shit!" he freaked and yanked his foot away.

Instinctively, everyone drew their weapons and aimed them at whatever held onto the gunslinger. "What the hell is this?!" Slyran yanked his foot away again, this time freeing himself from whatever gripped him.

He shuddered and stepped back before calming himself when whatever it was didn't pursue him. "Should I blast it?" Cailynn asked, but Slyran held a hand up. He squinted at the mound of smoking vegetation, and he realized it wasn't a tendril that snatched him.

Taking a step forward, he kneeled and got a closer look. His eyes suddenly widened, and he shouted, "Cyrus, get over here! We have a victim!"

Digging through the wood and vegetation, Slyran and Cyrus gripped the figure buried within the monster's corpse and pulled whoever was free from the monster's body. Out from within came a small child, covered in black slime and moss from what he could only assume was the creature's guts. Cyrus laid the child on their side and pressed two fingers against their throat to check for a pulse.

"They're still alive," she said softly, "but their breathing's shallow." With one hand, Cyrus began to trace the symbols of her divine magic in the air and began to mutter a soft prayer. After a minute, she pressed her hand against the boy, her palm now glowing bright green as she allowed the celestial magic to flow from her body into the kid.

The child jerked and twitched before vomiting the disgusting tar-like slime onto the ground. Slyran had to look away and cringe faintly as the kid choked and sobbed. Looking at his wife, Cailynn kept her head lowered, and she said softly, "I'm amazed they didn't die from the blast." Slyran nodded as Cyrus continued to tend to and whisper to the kid.

After a few minutes, the child calmed down, and Cailynn stepped in to help Cyrus clean them off with a bit of magic. In almost no time at all, the kid was clean, save for their tattered and stained clothes. He was young, probably six or seven years old. Thankfully, with Cyrus's magic, he was no longer harmed, though most likely traumatized.

"What's your name?" Cyrus asked with a big smile.

The boy didn't say much at first, but after a few moments, he muttered, "Albert, I-I'm, Albert."

Cailynn took a knee beside Albert and said, "Nice to meet you, Albert."

The boy stuttered a few unintelligible lines before finally spitting out, "Who are you? A-Are you heroes?"

Cyrus turned to look at Cailynn and smiled. Cailynn sighed a little but smiled brightly and said with a nod, "Yes. We are the Spellbound Rangers." She placed a hand on her chest. "I am Cailynn the Moonweaver." She gestured to Cyrus.

"I am Cyrus the Luminary," the cleric said with a big smile.

Finally, the two of them gestured to Slyran, who was still looking away with his back turned. For a few awkward moments, nothing was said until Cailynn cleared her throat and the gunslinger spun around.

"Oh uh…" He grunted. "I'm Slyran, or, uh, Deadeye." He rubbed his neck. "We should get moving," he said. "Night is almost on us."

Cailynn and Cyrus frowned. "Don't mind him," Cyrus said. "He can be a bit of a butt."

The young boy giggled a little, though the sound of an owl's hoot sent him back into a shivering mess. Cailynn stood up and held her hand out to the boy. "Here, take my hand. We'll walk you back home. You live in the village over there, right?" She pointed with her staff. "Gunther?" The young boy nodded.

Cyrus took the boy by the other hand. "Well, let's go then." She said this as the three of them began to walk past Slyran, who followed beside Cyrus.

The cleric side-eyed him and asked, "Are you okay?"

Slyran took a deep breath and looked up as they began to walk. "I'm fine… I just… don't do well around kids, is all."

Cyrus said nothing and simply nodded as Slyran stretched. "Well," he grunted. "It looks like another successful hunt." He smiled. "I can't wait to get back, get paid, and go the fuck—"

"Language!" Cailynn hissed.

"Sorry…" Slyran blushed. "And go to sleep."

Cyrus giggled and looked forward. "Me too."

 

---

 

Luna Ashflow

As my mother finished up the story she adjusted the dress on my body, and Mr. Shwarz picked up the remainder of it.

"After they returned me home, my mother was so grateful; she had forgotten she was even angry with me." He said it with a chuckle. "She and the army folk had such huge looks of surprise." He said it with a smile. "Not only that, the corpse of that beast had soaked up so much life energy that when it died, it was released back out into the soil."

I remained still as my mother finished buttoning my dress and grabbed a brush. I whinced heavily as she began to run it through my hair, catching all the bits that were knotted together. She frowned and began to move slower so that she could gently untangle whatever got caught.

"That explains why everything out here is so lush now," My mother said, "Khretenmoss's are like living composts. Us blowing it up probably sent all that fertilizer everywhere." She turned to face Mr. Shwarz. "I'm amazed you even survived the blast my husband created."

Mr. Shwarz, whose back was facing us the entire time, chuckled. "I'm honestly surprised myself." He sighed. "Going out into that forest was one of the stupidest things I ever did. Surely, whoever was watching me that night up above sent you all to save me."

Not thinking, I asked, "Why did you go out there?"

"Luna!" Mother hissed at me, though Mr. Shwarz chuckled and shrugged.

"It was so long ago, I barely remember." He sighed. "My mother and I got into an argument, probably over something stupid. I hated the monster, and I don't know why. Maybe I thought I was invincible, but I ran out in the middle of the night without telling anyone. Maybe I thought I could go fight it." He shrugged. "The point is, it nearly got me killed."

It sounds like when I went to the cave… Though I did have that voice guiding me there, speaking of which, Mr. Master, you've been quiet today. I received no response.

After a few moments of my mother brushing my hair, she pulled back and said, "And there we go. All cute and freshened up."

I blinked and looked up at my mother, then back down at myself. "Why don't we bring her out here so she can look in the mirror?" Mr. Shwarz said.

My mother clapped her hands together. "Excellent idea. Come here, Luna." My mother took my hand and gently guided me out of the walk-in closet and into Mr. Shwarz's room.

My mother led me over to the vanity mirror as the older man stepped off to the side, giving me enough space to examine myself. The dress my mother helped me pick out was a dark gray and white dress with a fluffy skirt that reached down to my calves. The dress itself was a bit big on me, though there were plenty of strings and bits my mother was able to adjust on the fly to help fit me into it. She said this was good because I'll grow into it as time goes on. To top off the dress, Mr. Shwarz gave me a bow similar to that of my old purple one, though this was a blue that matched mine and my mother's eyes.

I didn't care for the skirt, honestly; it was so big. All the other ones I wore always went slightly past my knees, giving me ample room to move around, yet this one I felt like I was going to drag along the ground. Unfortunately, it's all that Mr. Shwarz had.

Even though I didn't mention it, my mother could see it on my face. "We can maybe make some adjustments if the skirt is too bothersome, dear," Mother cooed. "Also, look at your hair; it's so pretty. You look really good with short hair like me," she hummed.

I reached up and ran my hand through my hair; after the thorough brushing, it was smooth and soft. I fluffed it out a bit and smiled. "It is very nice," I said, looking up at Mr. Shwarz. "Thank you, Sir!" I gave him a polite bow.

Mr. Shwarz smiled and waved his hand to the side, "No need to thank me. It's the least I can do. If there's anything else, feel free to ask. I'll do whatever I can."

My mother nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." She took a deep breath and stretched before looking at the grandfather clock in the room. "It's nearly noon. Your father and brother should be coming back soon, hopefully." She muttered the last bit. "Want to go try and find them with me?" she asked.

I smiled. "Do I have a choice?" I asked cheekily, and my mother took my hand.

"Nope. I'm keeping you hostage today." She said it with a big smile. "And later, we're cuddling."

I frowned. "Wait, no. That's not fair!" I playfully whined.

"Do you not want my love?" My mother asked with a smile as Mr. Shwarz smiled and showed us outside.