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THE FURRY SIX-LEGGED beast moved in spurts. Its gnarled chitin mandibles were chattering in impatience. As I prepared to meet the monster, I was also keeping an eye on the Lady of the Anomaly. I no longer had any doubts that she was the woman the Woodwose had enlisted me to kill. I considered why the old man called her the Black Widow.
Her demeanor was fairly relaxed. She even sat down on a little rock. She had a world-weary expression on her face. Could it really be that I didn’t stand a chance?
I for one didn’t think so. I had a good couple aces up my sleeve yet. I’m sure she’s in for a surprise or two. And now is the exact right time for the first one. Otherwise, the Woodwose’s potion would soon lose effect and the Lady of the Anomaly would scarf me down whole. So, I have to attack first.
But before that, I’ll take care of this spider.
For starters, I activated Scolopendra’s Sixth Sense. I have to know what I’m dealing with. As expected, I didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the Lady’s mana supply before the spider was a handsbreadth from my face. Hm... To be frank, I was expecting to be more impressed.
When the monster crossed the ten-pace barrier, a lilac wave burst from my hands and, blasted by my ram, it was sent flying back several feet. And the spell left it incapacitated on its back with its furry legs splayed out.
— You have attacked Elder Anomaly Guardian!
— Critical hit. You have dealt 1398 damage!
Inside I was jubilant. How awesome it was to regain control over my spells! Just how did I get by without them over the last few weeks?
The spider’s magic shield drooped a healthy amount. Just crumbs left to go. Which I immediately swept up with a few ice arrows.
— You have defeated Elder Black Forest Anomaly Guardian.
— Your reward:
— Anomaly Crystal “Emerald Forest Mage Aura.”
— Large Anomaly Rune “Concentration.”
— Anomaly Elixir “Speed” (5).
Much to my surprise, the other monsters just looked on dispassionately as their cohort met its fate.
“Bravo, ancient one!” shouted the Lady of the Anomaly and clapped her hands. “You took that one down handily!”
The raven-haired beauty looked noticeably peppier. My victory had obviously come as a surprise.
“A curious sort of magic,” she stated keenly. “Self-taught?”
Much to my own surprise, I nodded. The woman’s calm and to a certain degree trivial tone threw me off. It was as if we had met walking in a park, not in the heart of the very most dangerous place in this whole world.
“I suppose you got your hands on some spells from various schools, yes?”
Black Widow seemed to have a gut feeling. I then silently prepared to attack.
“There’s just one thing I can’t figure. How did you get your hands on them...?” she asked thoughtfully and gently tapped the tip of her pointer finger on her pointy chin.
I meanwhile took what I estimated to be an unnoticeable, careful step forward.
“There’s something on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t figure out what it is...” now her finger took a few loops near her temple. “Well whatever...”
I took another step.
“You know,” she said, tilting her head right and shooting me a wicked look. “You could be the pearl of my collection.”
She pointed at her warband in a slow arc.
“Gaze upon them... Weaklings. They couldn’t withstand being fused with my magic. And several of them could have made rather intriguing specimens. What a pity. But with you it might actually work...”
After saying that, Black Widow sharply extended her hand upward and a frantic lilac-gray whirlwind burst from her fingers. She did it with such lightning speed that all I could do was jump clumsily to the side. But alas, I was not quick enough. The magic whirlwind reached me before my body hit the ground.
I took a short roll and stood back to my feet. I looked myself over in puzzlement and raised my head. Nothing happened.
“So, the wizened old man supplied you with a potion,” the Lady of the Anomaly hissed maliciously through her teeth. “I figured as much, but nevertheless I had to make sure.”
I can’t afford to keep waiting. I dashed forward. Black Widow reacted instantly.
“You want to play a game?” she chuckled, exposing her sharp fangs. “Let’s play!”
Four beasts at once came rushing out to meet me. Ram sent them all flying in different directions like ragdolls. When the Lady of the Anomaly saw the Ysh spirit coiling around my body, she reacted with more applause. It was like she was mocking me. Winding me up. Trying to provoke me.
“You’ll make an excellent specimen!” she shouted sonorously from behind the new wave of monsters racing my direction.
I gritted my teeth. I had been called a specimen once before. Now my would-be collector is worm food.
Lightning incapacitated them as well. Attacking with an Ice Golem’s Breath, I made a gray cloud ten paces wide around myself that would slow down all adversaries by seventy percent and take away their mana.
“Bravo!” I heard Black Widow shout through the sheet of frost.
“My turn,” I grumbled through my teeth and summoned a black armorbug spirit.
Three thousand damage is the best-case scenario. But if it does manage to crit... Let’s see how you like that. The shadow of the giant beetle went racing toward Black Widow.
“Oh! Now where did you get that?!” the Lady of the Anomaly shouted with glee.
Based on the casual notes in her voice, if the armorbug spirit dealt any damage, it must not have been much. A strange situation was coming together. Neither of us could do enough damage to the other. But still she clearly has the upper hand. I’m wasting mana, time, and powerful spells. And she meanwhile is relaxed, just sending her servants to fight for her. She even looks playful. In fact, I’d say she’s having a ball, the brute!
No big deal... No big deal... I wish I could get a little closer though.
I did my very best to try and close the gap. I ducked under furry arms, dodged poison-dripping mandibles, cast ice arrows here and there. Spike had tasted the monsters’ blood a few times already. A few victory messages flashed before my eyes as well as a couple loot drops.
The Ysh was already gone, having given me all the protection it had, as had muckwalker’s aura. Just in case, I activated Forest’s Blessing. The fifty points of regeneration made my energy refill in the blink of an eye.
I decided not to activate the chaos shield. Something was telling me it would be no use against Black Widow’s magic. Too bad I don’t have any orbs left. I get the sense she isn’t a huge fan of dark magic.
Meanwhile, the onslaught of beasts increased in intensity.
“Not too shabby, ancient one!” I heard the woman’s voice encouraging me. “Much better than some highly esteemed mages! But let’s raise the bar a bit!”
The voice came from somewhere off to the left, but thanks to Scolopendra’s Sixth Sense, I knew exactly where she was. Black Widow was no more than a few steps away from me.
“Time to go,” I barked and, dodging the clawed foot of a guardian, activated Blackblood Mother’s Canopy of Invisibility. And an instant later, I summoned a Crusher spirit, creating an impenetrable magic fog all around me.
“Clever!” I heard a hissing voice from somewhere to the right, but the Beast was practically just a step away.
I dashed forward as fast as I could, curving around the bodies and appendages of the disoriented monsters.
And all of a sudden, I found myself next to Her... She was standing with her back to me and making intricate patterns with her hands in front of her. I just had to reach out and...
The Beast whipped around. Her once pretty face had melted away. The thing looking at me now was disgusting. Lots of eyes. Flexing its gnarled mandibles. So that’s what you really are! The old man was right to call her the Black Widow.
I thought she said something else, but I couldn’t make it out. A hissing and disjointed cracking sound came from her ugly maw.
My supply had just shy of two thousand mana points in it. Just enough to execute my plan.
A short step forward. A quick touch.
― You have activated the spell Incineration!
― You have attacked the Lady of the Anomaly!
― Critical hit. You have dealt 106429 damage!
In the following moment, several things happened at the speed of lightning. A red and orange flame swept over Black Widow’s body. For a few short moments she was transformed into a huge fireflower. Back on the plateau, and later in the sleepy cave, I realized why the Lady of the Anomaly had no power there. It was simply because her magic had no power there.
The sound of the roaring flame mixed with a deafeningly ferocious hiss. A light push sent me flying several yards back from the burning beast like a weightless feather. That flight and the subsequent landing cost me fifteen hundred life points. My eyes went dark for a moment. I felt like my chest was being squeezed in a vice. Shaking my head violently like a boxer knocked off his feet, I got up on an elbow and looked at Black Widow.
The flame enshrouding her body was gone, leaving behind an enraged and slightly singed beast. Hissing and chirring with rage, she came racing my direction.
I sent out a lighting, then a ram, but she ignored them. Just as she did an ice arrow. I didn’t even try a regular arrow. I had just one more trick up my sleeve. After summoning the Snow Ghoul Spirit, I thought distantly that maybe I should have actually led with an Earth Tremor and made a localized earthquake. I had enough mana then, after all... But an earthquake in the middle of an ancient forest... Beneath my feet, there was a layer of interwoven powerful roots that had formed over centuries... No. I’m sure I could play that card more effectively somewhere else like, for example, in the middle of a mountain or city. I think I did everything right. Hm... Right. That word isn’t quite appropriate here. I did everything I could. Watching the gray shadow of the ghoul spirit race out toward the enraged black widow, I feverishly thought through what to do next.
Should I perhaps run away? I still had two hundred mana in my supply. Just enough to summon Gorgie and activate lightning or ram a couple times. Even with such a paltry reserve, I could try and make my way to the Place of Power Tiger Fang was talking about. Since when did I have such a high opinion of myself? Thinking I could go toe-to-toe with a Primordial beast?
Hold up! This is neither the time nor the place to let doubts run rampant! The battle isn’t over yet.
Contrary to my fears, the snow ghoul plunged into Black Widow’s chest like a red-hot knife through butter. That took down the beast’s life force by thirty-five percent instantly and filled my life supply to the brim.
The unexpected attack disoriented the Lady of the Anomaly for several seconds, making her reel. A lightning distracted her from a few well-placed Mites. But alas, my infallible tool failed me this time... Honestly though, I didn’t need them. Something else happened.
I found an unexpected ally. The Heart of the Forest.
I must have distracted Black Widow so much that, for the briefest of seconds, she lost control over the true master of this location. The gigantic tree attacked instantly and without mercy. Its thick roots, like giant snakes, burst up out of the ground and wrapped around the body of its tormentor. Paying no attention to the plaintive squealing and hissing, in a matter of moments, they tore the hateful beast to shreds.
Dismissing the victory and reward messages, I looked around awe-struck. No matter where I looked, ravenous roots were popping up out of the ground and racing toward the anomaly guardians, who just stupidly scattered around the meadow. A few minutes later, Black Widow’s army was no more. The Heart of the Forest’s revenge was complete. Its retribution was swift.
What I saw made every single hair on my body stand on end. In comparison with the ancient creature’s fury, I felt like an itty-bitty grain of sand. My former adversaries must have felt the same... But despite that, this tiny grain of sand was the reason the Heart of the Forest was once again free.
And in the next minute, I realized that it could not only be deadly and merciless, but also truly generous.
― Rejoice!
― The Heart of the Forest has been freed of its bondage!
― The Heart of the Forest thanks you for the help!
The giant tree gave a noble teeter, and a huge vine came creeping slowly in my direction. In an unfathomable act of will, I forced myself to remain in place. While the vine curled and slithered in my direction like a giant snake, I saw my whole life pass before my eyes.
Finally, it stopped a step away from me and several items appeared on the stone where the former lady of the anomaly had been sitting just less than an hour ago. Taking a few hurried steps, I bent down over the rock.
― Congratulations! Your reward:
― “Friend of the Forest” Amulet.
― Heart of the Forest seed (3).
I didn’t have time to read the artifact descriptions. Someone cleared their throat behind me, clearly trying to draw my attention.
I turned. The Woodwose. In full bloom. And he was blooming in the literal sense of the word. In his beard and shock of green hair, dozens of brightly colored flowers had burst open all at once.
“You actually did it!” he exclaimed gleefully.
“Yeah, I guess I did,” I shrugged my shoulders, aghast. “Honestly, if not for...”
“I know, I know,” the old man cut me off. “That’s why I sent you here, dearie.”
“To distract her?”
“Exactly,” the old man didn’t deny it. “All on your own, you’d never have been able to take down that wretch.”
I frowned and scratched the back of my head.
“And don’t be mad that I used you and kept you in the dark,” the Woodwose said calmingly. “The Great Forest can see that I tried to talk you out of it many times...”
I sighed and scratched the back of my head. It was what it was. But would it have been so hard to warn me I had an ally?
As if having read my thoughts, the old man said:
“Don’t go thinking about that. What matters is you’re still alive! And you’ve come out ahead! Boy have you ever!”
The Woodwose nodded at the seeds on the rock. There was a smile on his face again, but coldness in his animal eyes. I was getting the impression the old man was not expecting the Heart of the Forest to give me such a generous gift.
“I trust you understand what a great honor has been bestowed upon you?” he asked with a metallic edge to his voice. “Such a thing has never happened before as far as I remember.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m special?” I asked with derision in my voice. “She kept calling me ‘ancient one.’“
“You don’t seem that old to me,” the old man waved it off carelessly. “So, forty-second cousin... Better you tell me what you’re going to do with those seeds.”
As much as I wanted to keep discussing the ancients, I already knew that when the Woodwose changed the topic I’d never get another word out of him.
“I’ll think of something,” I answered evasively. “What’s it to you?”
“He’ll think of something!” the Woodwose was so incensed that the recently bloomed flowers started falling out of his beard.
Pacing around the stone my reward was lying on, he looked like a startled broody hen. I purposely didn’t put the seeds in my backpack. I wanted to see how this crafty Primordial would react first. I must give him his due. He walked around them, clucked his tongue, but didn’t touch. So then, he cannot take my gift. I have to imagine the friendship amulet is playing a fairly big role in that.
“Listen to me carefully!” the old man started talking hurriedly. “The Great Tree has granted you an unprecedented honor – its seeds! If they end up in the hands of someone not worthy, and you’re to blame, take care! I’ll say this – in that case you should definitely keep your distance from the forest!”
Based on the steely notes in the old man’s voice, everything he said was highly serious. I was already not thrilled with the level of responsibility.
“To have such a treasure is both a great responsibility and a great blessing,” the Woodwose continued instructing. “You’ll understand what I’m talking about later. Just remember. Sooner or later, the seed must be planted and give rise to a new forest. At first, like a silly baby, it can both get into mischief and hurt itself. That is why forests need keepers. Preferably wise and experienced ones.”
While running down the qualities a keeper should have, the Woodwose puffed out his chest. It was like a barrel. He jutted out his lower lip.
“That is why I tell you not to give these seeds to anyone else,” said the old man, now noticeably calmer. Then he added one final instruction, staring at me from under his bushy brows:
“Forest forbid those seeds be used for trade. That would land you a mortal grudge.”
He didn’t clarify who exactly would hold this grudge, but it was a no-brainer ― the whole Forest and its inhabitants at least.
Weirdly, the old man clearly thought I was not worthy of this reward, but he didn’t make any attempts to entice me to give up the artifacts.
Watching mournfully as I stashed the seeds in my backpack, the Woodwose breathed a heavy sigh and said with a weary voice:
“Alright, come with me. I’ll give you the reward I owe you. And move quick ― I have lots to do... She made a big mess of this place! Now it’s on me to clean it up...”
