The Sword that Binds (Book of Worlds 1) (22 page)

As soon as the spell had finished, Tyrus felt an incredible draw on his power. In an instant he was drained of almost a third of his reserves; more than all he had used combined since Sarena first drew on his power.

Time started again, lurching back to full speed. A flash of surprise shot through the monsters around them.

Tyrus’ spell activated, and all around them the temperature dropped. A shock wave shot outward from the complicated weave of power, followed by a wave of frost that instantly covered everything in sight. The monsters froze in place, all of them turned to frozen statues in the blink of an eye. As soon as the frost appeared, the second wave of the spell started. Thousands of shards of crystal clear ice formed in the air around them facing outward, each one as long and thick as Sarena’s arm and ending in a sharp point.

For a brief moment the shards hung in the air, and Tyrus felt terror pop up in the monsters. It only lasted until the shards burst forward. They were launched with so much force that they shot straight through the monsters and didn’t stop until they shattered upon impact with the tree itself.

Silence reigned around them after the spell ended. There wasn’t a single monster left alive. Well, except one.

“What in the name of Nurazor did you just do!” Uckey screamed. Tyrus had made sure to leave a gap in the spell where he was at. At least, he hadn’t sent any of the ice shards at him. Uckey had already reached the edge of the horde when the spell went off, so all he was hit by was the frost wave.

“Just a bit of ice magic,” Tyrus said innocently. “I thought you would be able to handle the cold a bit better than these little things could.”

“A
bit
of ice magic? How was that a bit! Both parts of that spell were at an Archmage level! Even if you were a Highmage of mana, you should be shattered and gone after using that much power!” Uckey called back as he shook off the layer of frost that had formed on his thick coat. The freezing effect had been too strong for the smaller monsters to resist, but with Uckey’s strength it was barely a hindrance.

Was it really that impressive? I was just trying to make sure I could kill them all without hurting him.

“Really? I think I could manage another one or two spells of that level if I need to. It puts a huge strain on my bindings though, so the next time I try that will probably be the end,” Tyrus answered.

The window he had created was already shrinking as the enchantment worked to repair it. Even though it was weakening, it wasn’t broken yet. As long as he didn’t make another hole in it they should be fine.

“Utterly ridiculous,” Tyrus heard Uckey grumble. “Nobody should have that much power. No wonder that soul binding is breaking.”

Soul binding? I thought Uckey said he didn’t know how my enchantment was made?

A small tremor ran through the tree’s aura before Tyrus could say anything.

“Quickly, Uckey! Help me get Sarena back onto you! More of those things are trying to come out of the tree! The frost won’t hold them back for long!” He shouted in a panic.

Uckey quickly spun back to them and dashed over. Tyrus wasn’t sure how they were going to get Sarena back onto him, but Uckey solved the problem right away. The gnome bent down and bit down on the back of Sarena’s belt, lifting her ungracefully into the air before turning his neck and placing her sprawling across his back.

“Make sure she doesn’t fall this time,” Uckey said as he started running up the tree.

“Right. Let me just use all those arms and legs I have to hold her in place.” Tyrus retorted while himself above Sarena and pressing down. As long as Uckey didn’t make any sharp turns he thought he would be able to manage.

By the time they reached the edge of the frost wave, sheets of thin ice were falling from the walls and shattering on the ground. Tyrus was surprised at how smooth Uckey’s gait was, especially considering they were running up stairs. It didn’t feel like he needed to hold Sarena in place at all, but unless something attacked he didn’t plan to move.

The walls on the inside of the staircase were starting to release more of the green creatures both ahead and behind them.

“What are these things Uckey? Where are they coming from?” Tyrus asked as they charged straight at the gathering crowd ahead of them.

“I don’t know! Maybe the life magic affected the Sky trees also!” Uckey called back.

Uckey’s words struck like lightning, and Tyrus realized what was bothering him about the creatures. They all felt the same. Even though the goblins were all the same race, each one felt slightly different from the other. But these monsters, they were all identical. Even their emotions were in sync.

“I think you’re right Uckey! These creatures, they
are
the Sky tree! We can kill as many as we like and it won’t stop them! Unless we deal with the source, they aren’t going to stop coming!”

“Brilliant! How do you plan to kill the Sky tree?” Uckey asked.

“I don’t know!” Tyrus said, slightly annoyed.

“Then we keep running!” Uckey said as he smashed through the first wave of the creatures. Tyrus felt one lash out at Uckey as they crashed into it, but its claws weren’t able to find purchase on his thick hide.

The ride became much less smooth as Uckey continued to knock aside the monsters. While they were numerous, Tyrus felt that even a normal goblin was more than a match for one of them. Occasionally Tyrus was forced to stop holding Sarena in place to block a lucky swing from a monster as they bypassed it. He could feel the ones they left behind merge back into the tree, while more and more poured out ahead of them.

When they had traveled almost half the remaining distance to the branches, Sarena finally groaned.

S
arena let out a groan as she opened her eyes.

“Seven hells, I feel awful,” she muttered under her breath. “I
really
need to stop doing that.”

Something was pressing hard into her stomach, and her head felt stuffed full of wool. The only thing she could see was a red coarse fur directly in front of her, and the smell was disgusting.

“Ugh! Uckey you really need a bath.” Sarena said as she tried to push herself up. She felt her legs swinging in the air behind her and realized something was off.

“Sarena! Thank the gods you’re awake! Hurry up and sit on Uckey’s back!” Tyrus yelled.

She craned her neck to look up, only to see a blur of green and brown flash by. Drawing on her wind, she used the perfect balance it granted to swing her body back to a normal mounted posture in one smooth movement. Her vision blurred as a wave of dizziness briefly washed through her, and every inch of her body groaned in protest. There were more cuts and bruises on her than she would have thought possible.

When her vision cleared enough to see, her stomach flipped. Ahead of them was a sea of small green and brown creatures, hunched over on short legs. Their arms looked disproportionately long compared to the rest of their body, and the three fingers at the end were tipped with needle-like claws. Every single one looked exactly the same, with a bald head and no ears. The nose was just a small vertical slit, and instead of lips, they had long jagged teeth filling a horizontal opening. None of that was anything to fear for her though. She had seen worse. It was the eyes that sent a spike of terror through her.

Two large, sunken pits took up almost half of the creature’s face. Set deep inside of each one was a spark of red light, and Sarena could
feel
the lifeless hunger that emanated from them. They didn’t see her as anything but food, and she was running right through the middle of the milling crowd. Yet the only sound she could hear was the thumping of Uckey’s hooves and the thud of him barreling aside any of the monsters in their path. The creatures themselves were completely silent.

“How exactly did we end up in this situation?” Sarena asked as she opened felt Tyrus slap against the palm of her right hand. She instinctively grasped him and swung out at one of the creatures as it lunged at her from the side, using the flat of the blade to knock it aside. T
hey’re a lot lighter than I expected.

“The Sky tree isn’t too happy about us climbing it, so it sent these things to try and stop us. Well, eat us is more likely. Or at least you two. I doubt they would want to eat a sword,” Tyrus answered.

“Very funny,” Sarena said as she continuously swung Tyrus back and forth, sending any creature brave enough to jump at them flying. “What are they?”

“Hungry,” Tyrus said.

Sarena sighed.
Since when did he become so sarcastic?

“I guess it’s as good a name as any. At least they’re easy to deal with,” Sarena said.

They continued to plow through the ranks of the Hungry, until finally the crowd began to thin. Only a few scattered creatures were left when they reached a landing leading out on to a branch. Uckey stopped at the doorway while Sarena jumped off of his back and quickly dealt with the Hungry that were there. None of the others further down seemed willing to step any closer, and instead watched them from the edge of the landing with their beady eyes.

She turned away from them and faced the doorway that could have been a copy of the one at the base. It was a simple open arch, large enough for a wagon to fit through. The branch itself was flat on top with smooth bark covering it, making it look like a road made of one solid piece of finished wood. On the edges of the road were solid railings that came up past her waist. There were less of the small glowing lights than on the ground, casting a dim light across the branches.

“Let’s hurry. I don’t know if my binding is going to last more than a couple days. Do you know where to go Uckey? This looks like a maze up here,” Tyrus said.

Sarena turned to Uckey and noticed for the first time that the bag she had made was missing. It hadn’t even been two months since she had made it, but it felt like years had passed. The creatures must have torn it off while they were running through. Even though the bag itself was far too tough for them to tear, the straps used to hold it on Uckey were made with normal leather. A pang of regret ran through her.

Great, now I don’t even have any clothes to change into. I can live without the tent, but I’ll need to do something about the water skin. At least I kept everything valuable in my belt pouch.

“I can’t say I’ve ever actually been here before, but if we head west we will eventually come to the barrier. If we don’t find any elves there we should still be able to cut a hole with Tyrus to get out,” the gnome answered.

“That’s a lot more
ifs
than I’d like to hear, Uckey,” Sarena said while starting forward, hearing the dull clopping sound of Uckey’s hooves behind her. “And which way is west? This canopy makes it impossible for me to tell.”

“Yes, well, about that. We just need to go above the canopy and we should be able to tell. All of these branches connect, so just keep going up and we’ll eventually be able to see the sky,” Uckey said.

Nothing else we can do about that. It’s better than going the wrong way and having to circle back around I guess.

They continued to travel forward in silence. Sarena walked near the rail, looking down at the city below. There was almost no movement from the treants below now.
I guess they just stand if there’s nothing to disturb them.
The city maintained its eerie stillness, with no wind or sound to speak of. A small river flowed through the center of the city, only large enough for individual fishing boats at most.

Wait. A river?

“Uckey, does that river connect to the sea?” Sarena asked.

Uckey moved to the edge and glanced down. “Yes, the name escapes me, but it does eventually leads to the northern sea. Why?”

“Stewrix is in the mountains right? We can just travel upstream of it and at worst we’ll come out on the south side of the city. As long as we don’t have to circle all the way around then it should be faster,” Sarena said.

Uckey’s eyes lit up at her words. “Y-Yes, of course. I was wondering when you would draw the connection. Well done Sarena!”

She rolled her eyes. “We need to take a left at the next intersection then. We’ve been heading north since we left the Sky tree.”

Whenever any branches crossed close enough there would be a staircase connecting them. The first one they came across lead down to a lower branch perpendicular to their own. When they reached the bottom of the stairs Sarena looked back and saw a tunnel leading through the branch they had just come from. Inside of it she thought she recognized doorways on both sides. With a glance she saw more windows along the side of the branch.

I guess people even lived up here. It does come with a spectacular view, but I can’t imagine having to climb those stairs every day.

The pathways above the city were surprisingly easy to navigate. From below they looked like a convoluted mess, but once they were traveling them it became easy. Even though the branches were far from straight, there was almost always another branch to switch to that would continue in the direction you needed.

But still, the size of the city was daunting. Sarena figured almost an entire day had passed since they first arrived in Felaenahona, and they were just finally reaching the end of the path. She could see the edge of the city below them, just beyond the Sky tree that would take them to the ground. Dealing with the Hungry again would be annoying, but at least they weren’t that dangerous.

Her throat felt caked with dust, and every little movement caused some part of her body to sting, but there was nothing she could do about it for now. Once they got out of this cursed city she could deal with it.

I’m really starting to wish Tyrus could still help me out right now. He could at least block the thirst until later. And I wouldn’t have all these cuts and bruises by now. How come he hasn’t said anything all day anyways?

She drew Tyrus as they stepped into the Sky tree, glancing down at him before speaking. “Is something bothering you, Tyrus? You haven’t said a word all day.”

There was no answer.