B2 Ch. 58 Tree Part 3

The sound of multiple screams egged him on as Tilly topped an upward bend in the path, emerging into a scene of fiery conflict.  Seven or eight satyrs were arranged in a writhing circle around a little lump of clothing.  The blue fire was everywhere, originating from another confrontation still playing out twenty yards ahead. 

Tilly's eyes momentarily struggled to make sense of the twisting mass of rootlike appendages surging toward the source of the flames.  In the middle of the inferno was Aurelia, the Priestess.  Her whole body had been set alight as she pushed out wave after wave of fire. 

“YOU THINK THIS IS ENOUGH TO STOP ME?”  A screaming voice called from the twisting center of the mass of roots.  It rolled forward, attempting to push through the waves of fire, as the engulfed form of Aurelia held up both hands in a warding posture. The roots were constantly being burned but were regrowing from within at an equal rate offsetting the damage completely. 

As soon as he registered the enemy, Tilly’s body whipped into action, engulfing his weapons with his mana and sending them whirling toward the enemy’s center mass.  They hit with wooden-sounding thunks, cutting deep into the cloth-bound center of the creature, and evoking a caterwauling scream, before the thing turned away from the Priestess. 

“Hey, you overgrown shower clog! Roll your ass over here and try me on for size!” Tilly called, stepping through the pitiful mewling bodies on the path before him, to stand unobstructed before the thing.  As the expanding mass of dark ropy roots rotated to face him, Tilly saw that nested in between the tightly bound layers of dirty clothing was a face.  One rendered almost unrecognizable by the roots diving in and out of its flesh. 

But the eyes, filled with icy hate, and brimming over with cold superiority, were a dead giveaway.  Behind the creature, Aurelia collapsed, her fire sputtering out as the last of her mana was used up.

Level 56 Seed Corrupted Aristocrat

“Ah!  The cockroach itself!  What a happy circumstance to meet you here at my ascension. I am eager to snap your neck myself before I cut off this pitiful excuse for a Faction from its benefactor!”  The face hovered over layers of cloth suspended by hundreds of roots, emerging from its many folds and rips.  Whatever body had existed under there had been consumed to fuel this transformation.  

Tilly recalled his hatchets, trying not to reveal his dismay as his attack seemed to do little.  The place where his hatchets had lodged in teh creature's side had burnt away and detached from the whole, quickly being replaced by new growth.  

If he was going to take this thing out, he would have to bypass the shifting mass of wooden roots and hit this guy in the face.  Trying to buy time, he called, “I didn’t see it before, but you are the spitting image of your Son.  The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it?”  

Marcellus the Elder chuckled in reply, roots tearing up the ground in front of him, as he advanced slowly, like a hundred-legged spider, “You did me a favor getting rid of that weakling… My true heir was always the eldest.  After this, I’ll bring that pup to heel, and we will take our place at the front of this glorious revolution.”

Tilly peaked behind him considering a short retreat to draw this thing further away from Aurelia, and did a double take.  The little lump in the middle of all the bodies had rolled over and was struggling to get to his feet. 

Cog…

‘Shit, looks like it's here and now.’ He thought to himself desperately, turning back to the slow confident advance of the monstrosity advancing toward him.  His patched-together internal healing felt like it was ripping apart at the seams, but Tilly greeted the sensation with a scowl, shifting his weight to try something else.

“Ah, how the bravado of the ant dies before my stomping sandal.”  Marcellus the Elder chucked to himself.   Tilly responded by spinning in place, releasing and calling back his hatchets in a fiery whirlwind of rapid attacks and feints to try and make it past the layered guard.  But the curtain of roots rose again, absorbing the hits and the small blue explosions that accompanied them, before falling away and being replaced.

Even the lingering embers that would typically do damage over time were shed along with the dead roots, removing their effect on the whole.  As disturbing as Marcellus’ new form was, he was now a perfect counter to Tilly’s burst damage AoE and damage over time.  Expulsion would not work and neither would his thrown axes, not until he got past that guard… 

The roots parted mockingly before him in a twisted parody of a game of peekaboo, as Marcellus’ leering face was revealed from in between his myriad appendages, “Let me show you what true power feels like!”  He cried out in ecstasy as he shed any guise of sanity and the many feelers of his new form quivered in anticipation, reaching slowly towards their prey. Tilly's weapons twitched, trying in vain to figure out how to get out of this one. 

His only chance was to get as close as possible, and activate an Expulsion, hopefully before Marcellus raised his guard back up. Tilly adopted a mask of hopelessness, something that wasn’t much of a challenge in his current circumstance as Marcellus’ root-pierced visage leaned toward him through the curtain of his defense, black ichor dribbling like drool from a too-wide smile.  

Internally, Tilly steeled himself… Kid or no kid, as soon as that thing grabbed him, he was going to activate his new title, [All or Nothing] in tandem with Flame Expulsion and see if he couldn’t take this bastard out.

Then the trees all around him groaned and the ground undulated like a quivering mass of jelly.  For a moment, Tilly was afraid of some sort of new Ability from his opponent, but Marcellus’ leer fell into a grimace, and he plunged more roots into the ground to stabilize himself.

Tilly’s Mana Pathways lit up as he prepared to take advantage of the surprise when the surrounding flora erupted in a flurry of growth.  The ground all around the Seed Corrupted Aristocrat exploded as roots native to this mountain burrowed in amongst their invading counterparts, and tree limbs shot in to tangle the floating curtain of appendages that fanned out all around Marcellus the Elder’s transformed body. 

“What Is This?!”  He cried trying to pull away the entanglement.  Then the combined force of all the new growth simultaneously went taunt, pulling away all of his additional protections, and leaving his center mass exposed.

“Arrrggg!” He cried out in impotent frustration and the beginnings of fear. 

A strained voice rose from behind Tilly, ringing with a finality that sealed Marcellus’ fate, “Get away from my kids, you piece of shit…” 

Not one to waste the opportunity before him, Tilly shifted the Title's focus to his first and simplest Ability.  He inflamed the hatchet in his right hand with 20-30 times the normal amount of Mana and an immense WUMPH went off at his side, as he felt the very nature of his soul-bound weapon shift in response.  Tilly lunged forward, swinging his weapon in a simple downward chop, delivering the blue solar flare strike right into the face of his opponent.

Marcellus the Elder’s corruption-infested expression was brightly illuminated in stark blues, a caricature of shock the moment before the concussive blast of the overcharged Abilities impact turned Tilly’s world white and blew him back through the air. A series of branches attempted to arrest his flight, which ended decisively as he hit the thick trunk of a tree. He fell to the ground, his body finally giving out after seemingly endless abuse. 

There on the ground, he groaned incoherently, trying to muster up the strength to get an arm under him, as his ringing cut through the center of his head.  The blast had addled him and his thoughts fell through his fingers like sand as he fought to impose his will on his body.  It was like the strings had been cut between his mind and his extremities.

“Amelia… Temple…” He muttered to himself, his lips dry and cracked as half of his face dug into the dirt and rocks of the ground he had collapsed in.   His thoughts were disjointed, and try as he might, they would not cohere into a liner plan.

Floating at the periphery of his awareness, the feeling of many small hands grabbed his limp body, pulling him up and dragging him forward, advancing arduously up the mountain path.  Tilly's consciousness flashed in and out as unknown Debuffs fought against his will to stay aware. His Regen struggled to balance out the toll they demanded. His eyes closed slowly, under the weight of the conflict raging in his body.  

Blink

A couple of children moved past, holding Cog’s small, weak, body between them.

Blink

A strong adolescent Minotauress dragged a tangle of vines and branches larger than her body up the obstacle-strewn path.  She was crying and others walked behind the mass of greenery, lifting and pushing where they could. 

Blink

High-pitched voices argued about what to do next as an ornate wooden entrance stood open before the group.  Then they all went silent as a groggy voice muttered, 

“Oh Cog!  Are you OK?”

Blink

Warmth flooded Tilly’s body, knitting together ligaments and muscles that had been operating on sheer will for far too long.  The muddled soup that was his mind clicked back into operation and his eyes snapped open. 

He was surrounded by the same kids he had seen outside Amelia’s shop months ago. At the front of the group stood a frazzled Aurelia, tears streaking down her face, and behind her rested a huge messy tangle of still-growing Flora. 

Tilly’s head looked around in confusion, finding himself in the crystal chamber of the Temple, its steady glow offering comfort to the distraught group.

“I'm sorry Mr. Tillman!  This isn’t something I can fix.  I can barely sense her in the middle of all that magic.”  The whole of the situation crashed into Tilly’s rebooted mind and he lurched to his feet, his still recovering body wobbling uncertainly. 

“Come on, we have to get her to the central chamber.”  He said confidently, not at all sure if that was all that they needed to do, but hoping desperately nonetheless. He stumbled over to the car-sized mass, and grabbed onto a few sturdy-looking branches, hauling it toward the inner hallway, which was just barely wide enough to accommodate Amelia’s increased size.  

He groaned in effort as his healing body attempted to leverage the full weight of his newly increased Strength. The children quickly scampered in around him, grabbing anything they could and lending their collective effort to the endeavor.  The mass began to move, scraping along the walls and floor as they pulled and pushed for all they were worth.   

After a long thirty yards, they arrived at the central chamber.  The fit through the last door was the tightest yet and the effort to get the tangled knot of vegetation through caused the whole group to tumble out into the slightly sloped chamber, as they pulled her free of the impediment. 

Tilly who had been hauling backward, pulling with both hands from an almost seated position landed flat on his back as the resistance vanished and Amelia’s Flora choked form entered the central chamber of the Temple. 

A Roaring flash erupted from the Flame in response to their arrival and Tilly, from his position on the ground facing Amelia, saw a subtle green flash answer it, originating from the center of the mass of greenery. 

A jet of blue fire shot out from the altar, and the vegetation all around Amelia began to wither and die, meeting the flame as dry tender, ready to be consumed. Tilly almost cried out in distress before seeing the flame immediately pull back as the vegetation was consumed, leaving an unharmed Amelia surrounded by a cloud of ash. 

Her eyes opened, and she smiled in relief as green motes of energy so potent that they set Tilly’s teeth on edge emerged from her core and drifted by him toward the waiting Flame. He turned to watch along with every other person in the chamber as music bubbled up all around them, interspersed with the gentle shivering of the Flame. 

As they arrived, the motes orbited the flame, shifting in time with the melody that was just beyond Tilly’s ability to comprehend.  As they drifted nearer the song built, flooding the chamber with an energy so rich in possibility and potential that Tilly felt his very soul start to vibrate in harmony with the Song. 

Tilly saw a thousand ends and ten thousand new beginnings as all of the universe expanded in an ever-evolving pattern of sound and light. 

Amidst the crescendo, a small ember, brighter even than the surrounding Flame, rose up from the center of the altar. The green dancing motes swung around in their orbit and crashed into the ember one by one, combing to make something new, adding to the depth of its multi-hued vibrancy. 

After what felt like hours, but had only been a few breaths, the motes all finished joining with the central ember, and what was left was a tiny perfect Seed.  The riot of energy flooding the chamber damped and steadied along with the Seed’s formation and the urgent vibrancy of the moment faded, eliciting a sigh of loss and relief from its audience. 

The seed floated back down into the flame and slowly cracked open, shooting forth a delicate sprout with two little leaves. Then as if the entire event had been a whisper designed to draw in their attention, a booming notification exploded out from the alter in a tidal wave of green and blue energy. 

Congratulations, You have obtained the patronage of Origin’s Bloom and completed a Hidden Quest.  

Quest Rewards Incoming…