The Dao of Magic

99 - Shrubs

Bord is sweating. Angeta's fur is matted with sweat and, in places, with blood. Tess looks even worse as she holds her left arm close to her chest, keeping the fractured bones from moving too much. A slender palm tree suddenly twists, knocking Bord flying. Angeta grits her teeth and jumps after the spinning boy, only to get caught up in a dense weave of vines that springs from the ground.

Tess takes in big gulps of air as she bends low, avoiding a small storm of sharp leaves that just shot from a bush in the process. Another deep lungful later, she sinks into the shadows as the jungle goes quiet once more.

Angeta struggles in her bindings, the green glow that previously surrounded her body now only apparent in her eyes. Large swatches of lush jungle are turned from exotic garden into fragmented compost material. Kilometres of vines lie shredded and scattered across broken trees, bushes and grasses.

This trail of destruction can be followed back to the beach, where the trio first set foot on this island. The area affected by the fight grows wider the deeper inland it goes, the forces used by both sides, plant and disciple, growing exponentially as the fight moved towards the centre of the island.

Now the plants lay shredded and the students exhausted and all is still again. All but a single tree. A wooden door swings open where previously not a seam could be seen. Dark green cloth covers a small procession of people as they step outside the large tree.

"They put up quite a fight."
"This is going to take years to regrow. Such a pain."
"WE SHOULD KILL THE FUCKERS NOW!"
"There there, we should praise them for getting this far."
"Noo! The little shits, that crushed tree was planted by my great grandfather!"

A small squabble breaks out as the group find the unconscious form of Bord. Some harsh words are uttered and contrasted by words filled with compassion, but an agreement over who will carry the heavy burden is reached quickly. Angeta is further hogtied with ropes and carried by two robed persons while the majority of the group start carrying Bord.

A dark patch of shadow moves closer slowly, unseen by the green-clad group.

"Angy, can you hear me?" Soft whispers go unnoticed by all, only Angeta's sensitive beast ears catching the sounds. She growls in response.

"Hoo, this one still has some fight in her. Let's beat it out of her!"
"Yes! Fuck this bitch for causing such a havoc on market day!"
"Stop it you two, be thankful the work of our ancestors helped to put down this threat."

The two angry voices carrying Angeta get shushed by a warm voice that sounds out of breath from the task of carrying Bord.

A single leaf falls from the tightly wrapped bundle that is the beastwoman, a near invisible thread still connecting the two. The leaf starts vibrating as the shadow creeps under it.

"What do we do?"

The shadow freezes for a single second. "I don't know. I can stay in the shadows for a few hours now, I will follow and see if we can escape."

"Grrr, fuck this island."

"It was your idea, Angy."

"Can't you just beat these mages?"

"I am nearly out of qi. We have been fighting the plants for hours, remember?"

"Sure, but can't you just kill them? You've got weapons in your ring."

The shadow pauses for a second. "Teach said no killing. And shush, they are carrying you inside a tree. I need to focus to keep up."

Angeta's head knocks against each step as the two mages carry her down the stairs. The group carrying Bord already look exhausted. They drop him the moment they reach the opened tree and unceremoniously kick him down the stairs. The duo carrying Angeta barely get out of the way as Bord bonelessly flops past them as he rolls down the stairs.