World Leapers Book I: The Forest

The Fallen

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Chipper heard the soft crunch of the boots against the forest floor before he saw them. One soft leather boot appeared, planted directly next to his ear where he lay under the log. Chipper turned and stared at it for a moment, then another boot appeared. With his short fingers spread wide for support, he planted one hand very carefully on the ground and quietly twisted his neck to peer up from underneath the log. There he saw a crossbow, a green cloak, and a familiar face.

"Athilda!"

The Magister sprung backwards in surprise, then looked down. "Chipper? Is that you?"

Chipper rolled out from under the log, face covered in dirt and leaves, and mud streaked up and down his plump legs and arms. "I got chased back here. Almost eaten by one o' those nasty things." He brushed his thighs, sighed in relief then looked back towards the battle. "What are you doing here?"

Athilda fumbled with her crossbow, frowning as she groped at the leather pouch at her side for a bolt. "A weapon failure. But the fight is turning. We've had surprise...reinforcements..." Her voice trailed and she looked up to the sky, where the morning sun had suddenly faded. Chipper followed her gaze.

Through the branches overhead, he saw that the sky had indeed turned dark, as though hundreds of insects had blotted out the sun. He narrowed his eyes and focused on a cloud of flying creatures swooping in towards the edge of the meadow near the treeline where he and Athilda stood. "They look like scithrin."

Athilda spat, fitted a bolt to her crossbow and pointed it overhead. "Scithrin spawn." She fired one bolt up at the swarm of winged creatures, then spat again. "These demons should be underground where they belong. I have only ever seen scithrin spawn in the books of the Royal Library - and none had wings like these. This could be very unfortunate."

Chipper took a few steps back. "They're coming much closer."

As if hearing his words, a group of scithrin spawn began to dive down towards where he and Athilda stood. Athilda fumbled with her crossbow, fired another bolt at them and backed away with Chipper. The bolt clipped the wing of a scithrin and it spiraled to the ground like a dying bird, disappearing into the tall grass of the meadow. Athilda fitted another bolt and fired again at three others that were now weaving in through the tree branches towards them. One took the bolt near the back of its clawed spine and spun towards them, breaking several branches as it plummeted through the trees.

Chipper dove in one direction, and Athilda in the other, but the scithrin, nearly half the size of Chipper, crashed into his shoulder. He fell to the ground as the wounded scithrin spawn screamed and clawed at his back, raking its small talons across his spine. Chipper howled in pain as he felt two dagger-like teeth sink into his calf, and a sudden sensation like a thousand pins and needles filling his skull. He kicked as hard as he could, catching the scithrin in the nose, then heard the thunk of a crossbow bolt and felt the creature's body go limp as it sprawled across his back.

Athilda lowered her crossbow and screamed at Chipper. "Run! More coming!" She darted towards him, rammed her shoulder into the scithrin to shove it off his back, grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet as he rolled to the side. They began to sprint and weave through the trees away from the meadow, the loud din from hundreds of flapping wings overhead. As they ran, Athilda looked down at Chipper's leg, which was already swollen and turning a dark gray around the spot where he had been bitten. "If it's like the venom of other young serpents, the poison will spread fast. We must find a safe place to apply a poultice to the wound."