Rise of the Devourer

Book 2: Chapter 35 — Lost

Snow shook off the jarring sensation of the spell, blinking her eyes as the world around her changed. A lush forest surrounded her, with vegetation unlike anything she had seen before. A purple sky hung overhead, peeking from between the canopy. Where was she? And what happened to the others with her?

She looked around, trying to see if she could find anybody nearby, yet her eyes spotted nothing, even when she filled them with void mana to be able to see lifeforce. It seemed like she was going to be alone here. Something stirred in a bush nearby and Snow jumped, walking out of the area before whatever it was decided to come after her. She was not used to being outside like this, and the open forests and trees teeming with life made her eyes spin, and her heart race. Was she going to get eaten?

Shadow rumbled, comforting her. He would protect her from anything that would threaten her.

Snow nodded, calming herself down a little. Focusing on her next steps, she tried to decide what to do now. She had been trying to tell the adventurers not to come here, but Vix’s words restricted her.

Her eyes looked up at the sky, finding the trees blocking her view. Shadow stirred in her chest. They should find a high vantage point to see where to head.

Snow nodded. She had orders to follow to find the Shard, and she didn’t want her collar to punish her. Looking at the tree in front of her, Snow let her claws dig into the bark, getting a hold. Swiftly moving up the tree, she raced up to the top, grabbing on the branches as she pulled herself above the canopy, watching over the forest. The trees extended a great distance forward, before ending in what looked like a swamp from this height. But the greatest thing of notice was the castle standing between the swamp.

No, not standing. Floating. A small chunk of the earth was levitating just a little bit above the ground, holding the entire castle upon it. Snow glanced around away from the castle, and she noticed smoke coming from somewhere within the forest. Perhaps that was one of the adventurers? It would be good to meet back up with them. She would be safer. But what if it was someone else?

Shadow rumbled in her chest.

“I know,” Snow replied. “But I’m still scared.”

Shadow growled in her mind.

“You’re strong and big, you won’t get it,” Snow replied. Shadow protested but she did not argue with him further. He had always thought she was a coward, and she was fine with that. It had kept her alive. Shadow could be the brave one, she was happy living a timid life. Slowly she slid down the tree, thinking for a few moments. It was definitely worth checking out the smoke, if it was indeed her allies. And if it wasn’t, she just had to get away before they caught her.

With a nod to herself, Snow gathered her courage and began to head in the direction of the smoke. It seemed her course of action was decided for now.

***

Snow traversed the forest, making sure to avoid anything that looked even vaguely threatening. Her sense of smell let her know any time something dangerous would come near. Shadow didn’t enjoy it, the wolf was more inclined to growl back at them, and send them scampering, but Snow didn’t intend to let him do that. She would be spent if he came out and vulnerable to anything that decided she was a fitting snack.

…And she didn’t have spare clothes. She really didn’t want to run around naked.

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Getting closer to the camp, Snow heard the voices coming from ahead and slowed down her approach. Using her small build to her advantage, Snow crouched within the bushes, slowly moving closer till she could see the camp and vaguely make out what they were discussing.

It only took a few minutes for her to realise that this wasn’t the people she was looking for whatsoever. But before she turned around to leave, their words caught her attention.

“Are you sure the information is correct?”

“There’s no doubt. The guild, church, lord Krios, and anyone you can find with any semblance of power is competing to get a hold of this thing. They say it’s a Mythical artifact.”

“What even is this thing we’re looking for?”

“No idea, some kind of shard, but I couldn’t find any details on its appearance.”

Snow moved a little closer, paying attention. She hadn’t been told much about what they were looking for, except that it was really important.

“It’s a bit ridiculous but I hear it’s the Shard of a Dead god.”

“Don’t be stupid, Gods can’t die.”

“Well, apparently this one did. And left behind pieces of itself.”

Snow’s eyes widened in surprise. Was that what they were looking for? Did the others know?

Before she could think any further, Shadow growled, sensing somebody behind her. Snow turned, her claws flared out, but she had been too slow. The blow connected as she was thrown back. Snow screamed, and Shadow almost came out, but she held onto control, telling it to stay in. Blood dripped down from her head, and it didn’t take much effort for Snow to pretend to be knocked out, she had almost blacked out from that one hit.

Shouts came from the camp, weapons being drawn and pointed at her. Shadow pushed back against her further, but Snow kept a tight grip on the wolf. She wanted to hear more.

“What’s that?” one of the men asked.

“This thing was sneaking around,” another man said, kicking her lightly with his leg to check if she was awake or not. Snow did not move, keeping her breath even and still. “Slave girl… no clue what she is. Might be something that lives here. Some kind of freak pet of whoever made this place.”

“Should we kill her?” one of the women asked.

“Looks harmless enough. I figure we just tie her up and bring her back with us, send her to the guild or the church. They’d probably give a bounty for her head, especially if she really is some kind of freak magical experiment,” the adventurers said, bending down as he slung Snow over his shoulder.

“So, what’s the plan?” the man asked, walking closer to the camp, as he set Snow down nearby, tying her to a tree. “The whole area ahead looks like a swamp. D or C grade, couldn’t tell. But it’s not going to be easy to get through. Some giant Deidacrocs have made it home, alongside other nasty shit. Then there’s the depth damned cultists. Saw a couple crawling around.”

Snow felt a shiver run down her spine, unable to hold the response back. Shadow growled in anger at the memory.

“How many? Did you kill them?”

“Three. No, I didn’t engage. They were F grade goons. Low ranking members most likely. The cults have been hit hard with the recent orders for the hunts, so they likely don’t have much manpower anywho,” the man said.

“Alright. We head in to the swamp and find a way to enter that castle then. Grab whatever loot we can find, and this Shard,” one of the men said.

Snow continued to listen, all the while trying to get a sense of her environment. Her back was against the tree, arms tied behind her, but her claws were free. Carefully, she started to cut through the thick rope, moving as slowly as she could. She should be able to blend into the shadows and sneak away once she got free.

The men continued to talk, and Snow almost had the rope cut, when one of them walked closer. “What about this slave girl?” one of them asked. “It’d be a pain to leave her here. She’ll also die of starvation most likely.”

“I still think we should kill her. Or it. There’s a bunch of monsters that can shapeshift. I don’t want to risk it.”

“Shut it Merios. I’m going to teleport her out, give me our transfer device,” the adventures said.

Snow felt her heart pick up. Were they going to send her out? Her collar began to heat up a little. No she couldn’t allow that. If she went out without fulfilling her orders, there was no telling what would happen to her.

With a strong pull, Snow tore through the rope, and began to run.

“Oh fuck, she’s awake. Get her!” a shout came, as Snow ran. Her body transformed rapidly, Shadow finally breaking free as Snow felt herself mingling with the void fiend. Her body changed into a wolf as she ran on all fours, rushing through the forest. The men gave chase for a while, but she was fast, leaping through the forests at high speeds as she continued to rush through the foliage towards the swamp, the others would likely be heading towards the castle too, so that was where she would find them, if anywhere.

She really hoped they had some spare clothes.