Chapter Fourteen
“Now this is what I expected,” Fitz announced as he stepped out of the carriage when we arrived in Hud.
There was a clear division between town and forest, like someone had drawn a straight line down a painting.
On one side, a beautiful, cheery morning featuring a blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds.
On the other, trees so tall they blotted out the sun.
Their ancient, gnarled limbs encroached on the beautiful morning like an infection.
The deep shadows between the trees hid a world of unknown dangers. “This looks properly ravaged by evil.”
A farmer passing by scowled and demanded, “What’d you say?”
Fitz hesitated and looked back into the carriage at the rest of us, fumbling over an explanation. “I, um, mean—”
“How’d you like it if I insulted your hometown?”
“I—”
“We do our best here on the edge. We protect our homes, provide for our families!” The farmer grew more agitated as his rant continued, clenching the tool in his hand.
“See how well you do when ghost wolves disembowel your cattle! They don’t even eat it!
Just leave the innards lying around to rot in the sun! ”
I grabbed Fitz’s arm and dragged him back into the carriage, closing the door on the farmer’s anger. “Why don’t we go to the town hall to speak with the person who posed the quest?”
He nodded shakily and passed the instructions on to the coachman.
The town hall was a squat, simple building in the center square. A bright green banner spread over the door proclaiming: “The Trees Will Not Win.”
Maximus and Delilah read the sign aloud at the same time, one with a grim period, the other with a cheerful exclamation point. I had a feeling Maximus’ recitation was closer to the townspeople’s intent.
The building’s interior was a collection of rectangles—one small square at the back, a long rectangle to one side for meetings, and the receptionist’s rectangular desk. They smiled sweetly at us and asked, “How can I help you?”
“We’re investigating the curse on the Grimnight Forest,” Fitz explained. “Do you know who proposed the quest?”
Their eyes widened and they stood up from their desk. “One moment please.” They hurried to the back office and knocked briskly on the door. The door opened just enough for them to whisper our request, then quickly snapped shut.
Wearing a strained smile, the receptionist returned to the desk. “The mayor will be with you in a moment.”
As they finished speaking, the door opened, and a man as squat and plain as the building bustled out.
He was also made up of rectangles, from square glasses to a square jaw, and the way he stiffly held himself.
“Mayor Brando,” he introduced, holding out his hand to each of us in turn, giving everyone the same brisk, two shake greeting.
“Been a long time since we’ve hosted adventurers.
Come with me and we can discuss the details. ”
He led us back outside, walking briskly toward the trees.
“Interesting mix you have here,” he said, examining all of us, his eyes lingering on Delilah’s pointed ears and Angelica’s impractical fluttering blouse and pure white breeches.
At least she’d changed out of her wide-skirted dress. “Where are you all from?”
“Around,” I said before anyone else could answer. The less information we gave him about the Desolated Lands, the fewer rumors would spread from our arrival.
“That’s always the case with you adventuring types,” he replied wistfully.
His expression shifted as we approached the trees, tightening with apprehension.
He stopped ten feet away, refusing to move a step closer.
“If you’re seeking a quest, I assume you saw the notice in The Adventurers’ Weekly Guide to Main Quests and Side Quests.
We can’t afford a large reward, but we’ve pooled together what we can, and you will receive a plot of land within the cleared town. ”
“We aren’t here for the reward.” Fitz straightened to his full height, placed his hands on his hips, and grandiosely announced, “Defeating evil is its own reward.”
I snorted loud enough to pop Fitz’s swelling ego.
He deflated and asked in a less pompous tone, “Can you tell us what the townspeople have already done to break the curse?”
“We’ve done more maintenance and tracking than breaking,” the mayor explained.
“Do you see the white marker there?” He pointed into the trees, at a white stone barely visible in the supernatural darkness.
“We place one at the outermost edge of the forest at the beginning of each month to track the tree growth.
The boundary expands twenty to thirty feet every year.
“If someone tries to cut the trees down, they defend themselves, entangling people with their roots or attacking with their branches. In the early days, someone tried to burn the trees away, and they came back … worse.”
“Worse how?” Fitz asked.
The mayor leaned in to whisper, “The trees grow back evil. They feed their roots on blood and bone.”
“Wonderful, we’re about to fight cannibalistic trees,” Angelica said.
“Carnivorous,” Maximus corrected. “It’s only cannibalistic if they’re eating other trees.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure they care so much about proper terminology.”
“They might if they’re sentient.”
We all looked at the trees.
The mayor shuddered and looked away first, slowly circling around our group so we stood between him and the trees. “We’ve tried other things like digging moats and trenches to slow their growth. Nothing works, the forest continues to spread.”
“Can you tell us about the ghost wolves?” I asked.
“I don’t know if they’re really ghosts or not. Fences don’t keep them out, but herbs and salt do sometimes. They only hunt at night and disappear once their mischief is done.”
“Have they ever attacked a townsperson?”
He shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard.”
“One more thing,” Fitz said. “What do you know about the Lord of Grimnight?”
The mayor’s brow furrowed. “Who?”
The old man would be insulted to learn his nearest neighbors have never heard of him. I suppressed another snort and explained, “The evil mage who cast the curse.”
“Ah, him. Not much. That was all before my time. I was only a lad when the curse was cast, and it took years for the citizens of Traumstead to abandon home and hope alike. I know he turned the city hall into his lair. We haven’t heard anything from him since.”
“Anything else you can tell us?” Fitz asked.
The mayor looked between the five of us, his eyes pausing on Delilah.
She was the smallest and youngest of the group, adorable and sweet when she wasn’t clawing or hissing.
She stared back at him innocently with wide, brown eyes, and his expression softened.
“Are you sure about this, children? The pay is minimal, barely anything, but the curse is … experienced questers have gone into the forest and never returned. It doesn’t feel right to rely on children to save us. ”
“More people than you are relying on us,” Maximus said.
The mayor sized Maximus up, seemed to find him capable of the adventure, and addressed Delilah directly. “Young lady, if you would prefer to stay here, we could find you a room at the inn while your companions continue their quest.”
Delilah blinked and looked at Angelica, who was standing far enough away from her to make it obvious who the mayor was addressing. Delilah pointed at herself and asked, “Me?”
“Yes, I—”
Her lips curled back from her fangs as she hissed.
Startled, the mayor took a hasty step back.
“Between the two of us”—Delilah pointed back and forth rapidly to herself and Angelica—“you think I’m the useless one?”
Angelica huffed. “I’m not useless!”
“None of us are useless,” Fitz began.
“You’re not useful!”
I grabbed Delilah’s collar and yanked her back before a literal catfight could break out. Looking the mayor in the eye, I said with a straight face, “We’re in this together.”
Like a smart man, he chose not to press the issue. “Good luck.” He walked away without another word.
“He definitely thinks we can’t do this,” I said.
We all turned our attention to the forest. The tree branches stretched seeking fingers toward us, ready to snatch us into their depths.
Knots and hollows in the trunks formed ghostly faces, eyes wide in fright, mouths open in silent screams. If we waited long enough, could we watch the trees hunt us down?
Determined to be our strong leader, Fitz declared, “We’ll prove him wrong.”
As eager as everyone was to begin our quest in earnest, we needed to properly prepare ourselves before entering the forest. Magic and the treetops blocked out the sun, making the forest’s depths as dark as night even at noon.
Carrying lanterns or torches would occupy one of our hands, limiting our fighting options, so we had to immediately dip into our potion stock.
Angelica reached into her bottomless bag and pulled out five purple bottles. “According to the shopkeeper, one dose should improve our night vision for up to two weeks. Fitz, yours might wear off sooner, but we have extra bottles.”
I popped the cork and sniffed the potion inside.
It had a pungent, earthy scent, like mud and mushrooms. Wrinkling my nose, I downed the whole thing in one gulp.
Usually, I only ever drank health potions, which were moderately sweet and easy to swallow.
This one was slick and slimy, completely coating my mouth and throat.
“Ugh! That’s worse than swallowing cum.”
Four pairs of eyes slowly turned to stare at me.