Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Running in the Shadows of the Night

Book 1, Volume 5

Chapter 38

Wylla's heart raced as she pushed dangling Serpenvines and low hanging Desparu Tree limbs out of her way; Ignoring the icky feeling of the centipede-like leaves 'crawling' along her skin. Her eyes glowed as her bare feet squelched on the muddy ground as she ran past Porcu shrubs, patches of grasses and clusters of mushrooms. The sounds of her pursuers grew louder as they narrowed the gap between them.

SHOO! SHOO! SHOO!

Wylla's antennae pulsed, her butterfly wings flapped, and she zigged as 3 speeding thorn darts flew past her. She glanced at her HP, Oryn Energy, and Fatigue bars; The top two were a little over 20% full and the bottom one was a little under. I got to make it out of this swamp... this should be the right way... the way I came... SHOO! PHEWT!

“Ouch!” Wylla's body jerked to the side mid-step as a thorn dart bit into her thigh. She stumbled to the right as a silvery-green ball of webbing flew past. Her eyes widened seeing what her foot was about to land on; A crisp SNAP rang out and a moist cloud of jaundiced hued pollen perfumed the air with its vile stench.

Wylla's wings fluttered fast like a hummingbird as she sprung forward, the air currents generated buffeted the smelly pollen away from her body as she raced on, nearly protecting her from all of its sticky touches except for the heel of her foot.

“Eeww! That stinks!” Wylla cried out, fighting the urge to vomit as her eyes watered and nose scrunched. Meanwhile, a half dozen or so closely following spidolls and mounted Kavi Hunters weren't quite so lucky.

No, they landed right smack dab in the middle of the cloud of stench as Wylla heard choking, gagging, and skreeing behind her.

The rest of the pack chasing after her skidded to a near halt as they altered their course, pitter-pattering around the foul pollen cloud that hovered in the air. Wylla took advantage of the unplanned obstacle, her legs pumping hard, gaining distance from her dogged pursuers as she reached behind her leg, just past her wand that was attached to her belly pouch belt, and with teeth clenched pulled the thorn dart out of the backside of her thigh.

A cold sensation rippled from the puncture wound made by the dart; Her eyesight became blurry and the ground seemed to rock side to side like a small fishing boat on rough waters.

Her running became erratic, she stumbled side to side, her body falling towards the ground as she thrust out her hand, slapping the muddy ground with the palm of her hand, pushing herself back up all the while moving forward as her wings pumped furiously.

She felt Oryn Energy flow through her body, fighting the cold disorienting sensations crawling inside her, aided by her Poison Tolerance skill reducing the effectiveness of the poison. Three breathes later her blurry vision started clearing and the grounds swaying calmed as she continued running.

“Oh no!” Wylla's leg planted on the ground, sliding a bit (PHEWT!) as she spun her body narrowly avoiding running straight into a Porcu shrub as some of its thistles lightly grazed her shorty shorts. A half-second later a ball of webbing slammed into the prickly shrub exploding, covering the branches in its sticky embrace.

Wylla glanced behind her spotting a Kavi Hunter with a bloodrose headdress riding a large spidoll that had wooden horns coming out of the top of its barkskin mask. That must be the one... spitting those web balls... gotta keep moving...

Wylla ran side to side and round foliage, not giving the hunters a straight shot at her backside. She focused on getting home, which to her meant the Oryn Tree in the middle of the meadow, and on constantly triggering her Orchid Butterfly Steps and Oryn Spirin Eyes in order to escape her pursuers and help her see in the dark. (ding!)

[ Congratulations Wylla! Your Orchid Butterfly Steps and Oryn Spirin Eyes have upgraded, gaining a new feature. You can now switch them on and off like a light switch. By turning them on a portion of your Oryn Energy bar will become grayed out, reserving the energy within that shaded area to keeping those spells active... I believe you understand the benefits of this new feature so would you like to turn on these two spells at this time? Y/N ]

“Yes! Anari... thanks...” Wylla said between breaths of air while slapping another dangling Serpenvine out of her way. Inside she was very happy with the 'set it and forget' upgrade as she now had one less thing to worry about, putting all of her thoughts into escaping; For she knew that her Oryn Energy regen was more than fast enough to keep those spells fueled and running.

Should be near the spot now... Wylla thought as her eyes searched the pools of swampy water.

SHOO! SHOO! SHOO! PHEWT!

Wylla jumped headfirst to the clearing on her left as her wings wrapped around her body. Her shoulder squelched into the now lightly muddy ground as she rolled back onto her feet as 3 thorn darts and a ball of webbing flew past where she had been running.

Her wings unwrapped from her body sending out a spray of mud. “KAVI! ALU TOKOR ATUK! KAVI!”

By the sounds of their screams and the pitter-patter of spidoll feet, it seemed they had regained the distance they lost earlier due to the Skunkweed Reed cloud.

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“OOOF!” Wylla's cried as the impact of a spidoll's sudden jump hit her backside near her hip. She grimaced as her wings flapped keeping her from falling onto the ground. The spidoll latched itself onto her leg and waist; Its wooden clawed legs biting into her flesh causing gelatinous beads of golden-green blood to seep out from the puncture wounds.

Wylla's brow creased down as she tightened her lips and swung the side of her body with the spidoll right into the trunk of a Desparu Tree WHACK! The spidoll's legs went limp and with a thwump it fell onto the ground, freeing Wylla as she bounced to the side and continued running, her eyes spotting the pool of water she was looking for.

The swampy pool with the glowing orbs floating just above the surface of the water was right ahead of her. The spidolls to the left and right of her were on her heels, nearly within range to trip her as the slower mounted Kavi Hunters were several yards behind.

No choice... hope this works... just like in the movie... Her lungs felt like they wanted to burst, her leg muscles burned as her feet pounded the ground, and her eyes focused on the pool of water... or rather above it.

Her foot splashed into the edge of the pool of water, her wings beat hard, and she jumped high into the air as the spidolls behind her followed her into the air. The water gurgled as more pairs of glowing orbs surfaced above the water following the flight of the little butterfly girl soaring above.

SHOO! PHEWT! SHOO!

Time seemed to slow as Wylla stretched out her arms. All the sounds around her faded away to nothingness as she focused on this crucial moment; her hands felt the slap of a rope-like vine hit her palms, her fingers snapped closed wrapping around the dangling Serpernvine like a vice. The momentum of her jump swinging her body forward as the sounds of plopping splashes broke the silence.

Splashing water, loud skrees, and guttural growls played like a broken orchestra behind her as Wylla reached the top of her swing and released the Serpenvine soaring towards the other side of the pool.

I think I can... I think I can... make it... Wylla's wings flapped; Her body falling closer and closer to the edge of the pool.

Ah! I don't think I'm going to... make it! Wylla's forward momentum came to an end, her body falling as a Swampweed Gator sprung up from beneath the water with a splash, jaws opened wide.

“AIEEK!” Wylla screamed, her feet running on air... the gator's eyes lit up and its jaws seemed to smile. The thought of the tasty morsel falling into its toothy jaws made it so very, very happy.

SNIFF... SNIFF A vile stench slammed into its nostrils at the end of its jaws. Its eyes watered and dimmed, And its jaws snapped shut! No way did it want such foul-smelling meat to enter its mouth!

A split second later, Wylla's foot came crashing down hard on the gator's nose atop its jaws, grinding the stench into its nostrils she kicked off, jumping over the gator's body and landing on dry land. (A mixture of laughter and applause streamed down from above.)

The poor gator made strange crying-like sounds as Wylla, not wanting to stick around to see which side would win the fight taking place in the pool, took off leaving her pursuers behind as the leader of the Kavi Hunters glared on in frustration. It worked... I can't believe it worked... I should be close now... just a little further... less than a football field... I think...

Her cursed and bruised body ached all over. She glanced up at her bars as she pushed onwards; Her HP and Fatigue bars were sitting under 10% full, but her Oryn Energy bar had actually climbed up to around 25%. Wow... my regens really are sweet... without them, I would have lost my Butterfly form ages ago and this darn curse would have killed me by now.

A very short while later, Wylla finally broke through the last of the Desparu Trees leafy curtains, smiling with relief at the sight of the beautiful flowery meadow! (ding)

[ Congratulations Wylla! You have completed the Surviving the Night quest. I'm so very proud of you Wylla. You have accomplished so much on your first day here in Havenscent Meadows. You deserve a nice cleansing bath, a light golden snack, and some much-needed sleep. ]

“Thanks, Anari...” Wylla pinched her nose closed as the wind reminded her of the stench clinging to the heel of her foot. Oh god, that smell really is very, very vile... I'm so lucky my body didn't get covered in it! Wylla thought as she slowed her pace to a jog heading towards the Oryn Tree wanting very much to follow Anari's advice but...

“Anari, won't those Kavi Hunters and spidolls follow me here?”

[ You'll be safe from them by the Oryn Tree Wylla. The aura around the tree will keep you safe from beasties and baddies with such dark natures like holy ground repelling demons and the undead. ]

“Oh, that's so very comforting to know... thanks Anari.”

[You're welcome Wylla. ]