Up Through the Roots

by RangerOfRhudaur

The Hunted

The shrill music gored her as she entered the void, though the piper was still unseen. She looked around, the hairs on the back of her neck springing up in terror as she beheld the darkness.

And then she saw It.

There were no words to describe It; It was unspeakable, ineffable, beyond the realm of speech. It was the most beautiful and most horrifying thing she had ever seen, looking at it like looking into the Sun. Her eyes watered and her muscles screamed for her to turn away, but her brain was too stunned to give the command; all she could do was gape at the magnificent enormity before her, a praise to creation and a blasphemy against the same.

And It perceived her, too, perceived the puny mortal who had dared to wander into It's realm, who had fallen so easily into It's trap. It perceived her, and not just her appearance; It ripped that away, perceiving her thoughts, feelings, memories as effortlessly as she perceived the leaves of her garden. There was nothing she could do to stop It, all she could do was obey; fall down, roll over, and let It take what it wanted from her.

But then the tattoos Stumper had painted on her flared to life, flooding the abyss with green. It hissed in anger, covering its eyes, and its hold over Wallflower was broken, as well as the spell of darkness.

She gasped at what she saw; ranks upon ranks of crosslegged pipers, playing their dark flutes in an attempt to lure creatures like her to their doom, to an eternity imprisoned in the abyss with them. Filth-covered spirits and flaming demons clawed at the walls of their prison, futilely trying to force their way out. And It itself loomed at the center of it all, the bottom of a deep pit of misery and evil.

Wallflower needed no further prompting, and bolted away from that dreadful pit, that abyss of despair and malice. It stretched out its hand after her, trying to grab her, pull her back, trap her with it and flay her secrets from her soul.

Unfortunately for it, Wallflower's injuries had done nothing to her speed, and she escaped the darkness, It's hand snapping shut frustratedly behind her.

***

She gasped awake in a burning sweat, startling Stumper.

"I don't understand," she murmured. "Everfree's favour should have opened your eyes, let you see through the eyes of the forest, not-"

Wallflower waved her arms to cut her off, then scrambled over to the pool. Dipping her finger in the water, she used it to trace a message on the wall, not wanting to waste time trying to make herself understood through hand-speech. When she finished, Stumper's jaw dropped;

I SAW THE ENEMY

"Which," Stumper haltingly asked. "enemy, doe?"

Wallflower underscored "the" with ferocity.

"Planter have mercy," she whispered. "Did they hurt you?"

She frantically shook her head, pointed at her paint, then made a crossing motion with her arms while sternly turning her head from side to side.

"Everfree managed to protect you," Stumper sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. If you had been lost...it bears not thinking about. Are you okay?"

Wallflower shook herself a bit, then waved her hand in a so-so manner; she was shaken, but nothing more.

"Excellent," Stumper smiled. "If you want, we can take a-"

She frantically shook her head; she couldn't rest, not after the scare she'd just received. More importantly, she couldn't let herself rest now; she'd seen the true enemy, and she would not allow anyone else to. Nobody deserved to witness the horrors she'd seen, and she would not let anyone else fall into that evil pit if she could help it.

"You want to keep going?" Stumper asked, before shrugging. "If that is what you wish, I shall not deny you. For now, let's focus on control..."

Wallflower's ear pricked; she heard something, something other than Stumper's voice.

Piping.

The shrill music that had almost led her to her doom.

She grit her teeth and forced it out of her mind; no one else would fall victim to those pipes. She would find a way to silence them, like those black-cloaked strangers had wanted to silence wherever the third vision had taken place.

Speaking of whom, who were they? Were they connected with the people from the first vision? What were hobgoblins, Trogs, and deep-lairds? Too many questions, no answers, and limited ways to ask them in the first place.

She silently sighed; she really did have a lot to learn.

Comments

[TasermonsPartner]

The story is marked as complete, but will there be a sequel, or more to this series? It ends at an odd point not to.

Overall, it was an interesting fic, though I fear that many readers who are not well-versed in certain folklore or mythology will probably be turned off by it, especially since you essentially dive right in and leave little room for explanation as to who the major players are. There's alotta symbolism here, and a blend of different styles of storytelling. In some places, it's almost poetic, and in others it almost reads as a traditional "epic" tale in which the hero(ine) overcomes challenges, is besieged by setbacks and deep personal loss, only to overcome and challenge the gods.

[RangerOfRhudaur]

10826450
There almost certainly will be more to the series; like you said, this ends at a strange point for a one-shot, and was written deliberately so. Basically, this is a prologue or Chapter 1 of a bigger series I'm planning.

Regarding the confusion, that was partially the point; Everfree is strange, it astounds and confuses you. Wallflower's pierced the veil, and she's reeling from what she's seen. The mystery as to the identity of those she sees/hears, as well as the fragmentary nature of her visions, are similarly caused, her three-dimensional eyes trying to trace the hypercube of magic so to speak. The text seems confused because Wallflower herself was confused, not knowing what it was she was sensing.

[Pete100]

This was so confusing.

[RangerOfRhudaur]

10826780

10826710
As I mentioned to TasermonsPartner, the confusion is part of the point; you're seeing things through Wallflower's eyes, and she doesn't know what she's seeing, either.

[Pete100]

10827911
Ohh.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Okay, Wallflower, you've got one heck of a backstory for your druid, but leave some drama for the rest of the party.

In all seriousness, loving this so far. I'm a huge sucker for "the magic comes back" urban fantasy. This looks like it'll be great stuff.

[Ri2]

Azathoth, is that you?

[Eroraf86]

I really wish I knew more of these fairy tales, but I know a Tolkien aficionado when I see one. I must know more.