P-Grove Chapter 44

Read Table of Content | +Kyla Scurchio
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     I was no fool; the empty grove was a trap, a set up to get me to come back in on my own. This way the Acolytes wouldn’t have to search for me. I didn’t care about that though, because the empty grove was part of my own set up; it was just a matter of opinion of who was the one being tricked. I sat in wait on the big stone table facing the entrance. My trap we set up nearby, the runes glowing dimly in the shadows.
     I heard the muffled whispers before I saw the faces of the mice. I stiffened my back and stood as they came through the entrance. The mice paused when they saw me. I felt taller than I ever had before when they ogled at my rune covered skin. They were scared; on some level they knew I was no longer in the dark.
     “Don’t let me interrupt you.” I said smirking. The acolytes straightened and the lich mouse behind them flexed.  I watched as the Wight mouse eyed the stone table behind me. I brushed the top of it with my hand and the mouse twitched. The stone meant nothing to me but to them it seemed to be
important. I smiled as a thought came to me.
     I drew upon the power I had now inside me. I felt it flow freely pulling me in but I stood my ground and kept it from consuming me. Instead I let the magic flow out and form around the air. In doing so I crafted a sword stronger than any in this world. The runic language I spoke wrapped itself around the blade to strengthen it even more. All the while the mice stood still, not even a whisker moved out of place. I winked at the mice and brought the blade crashing down onto the stone slab.
      The rock moaned and then cracked under its own weight. The two halves folded inwards and crumbled to pieces. A wisp of dust swirled around my feet as I let the magic go and the sword vanish. I turned around again to face the now furious group of mice.
     “That was a mistake hunter.” said the Acolyte mouse venomously. “One I’m afraid cannot be forgiven.”
     “I didn’t come to seek forgiveness from the likes of you, vermin!” they cringed as I spat out the insult.
     The acolytes advanced slowly upon me. I watched as the Lich and Wight mouse opened their copy of the forgotten book. The Wight mouse’s eyes glowed in his head as he whispered spells under his breath. I recognized a few of the ancient words and the ones I heard made me shiver. I felt a rumble beneath the soil where I stood and the acolytes split apart leaving a sizable space between them.
     What came from the soil, made me take a step back. The acolytes raised their hands and faced each other. I saw the power ripple through the air as their creations rose from the earth. The stink of death clogged my throat as I stumbled farther back. The mice grew silent and for a second the world seemed to stand still, but only for a second. Breaking the silence were hundreds of undead hands breaking through the soil, digging their way to freedom. I tried to remember my own spells out of the book but horror was all I could wrap my thoughts around.
     I ran to the other side of the stone platform that held the now crumbled table. I didn’t have but a moment before the skeleton mice were on me. They were mere drones but when they come at you in the hundreds they are near unstoppable. I attempted to climb the wall that surrounded the shattered table; stones that were just too high for me to manage. The Skeleton mice were on me, tugging me back to the ground. I felt one bony hand grab my ankle then another and another, a mass of them until I was covered.
     I felt the pressure build upon me as they climbed and piled over each other all trying desperately to reach me. I was overwhelmed with them and I couldn’t think. I couldn’t concentrate and the only thing I had in front of me were a few words of the runic language on my left arm that was being crushed against my face. I was pretty certain it was a phrase for energy, using the words I already knew I formed a phrase that would cause pressure to build up around me and send the skeletons flying. It was a good plan, but not all plans go well.
     I opened myself up to the power ready to release the energy and blast my way out, but my lack of concentration almost caused the opposite of what I wanted. The magic doubled back on me and I felt the pressure close in on my own body. Panic swept through me causing the energy to tighten even more as I squirmed under the masses to get free. I stopped breathing before I finally managed to force the power outward and send the mice flying.
     A boom echoed off the forest walls as the energy burst away from me. I felt heat blast its way across the dying grass and catch a few of the nearby trees ablaze. The skeleton mice disintegrated or were flung so hard that they were nothing but fragments scattered across the grove. The acolytes smiled at me as I took in deep painful breaths.
     “That was very good Plankrun, now let’s see what else you have learned shall we.” and they both began simultaneously swinging their long robed arms through the air in an intricate dance, letting power flow freely between them. It was too late when I realized what they were doing.
     My mind was trapped, mesmerized, by the dance and so crippled from performing my own magic. But at least I was able to move. I took off again but this time into the trees away from the mice and their magic. All the while the Wight mouse spoke in fast breaths too complicated for me to follow. They were up to something and I only had minutes before they would finish; precious minutes that could be my last.
     In the shelter of the trees I was able to clear my mind of the Acolytes power and tried to think only I had no time. I could hear the robes of the Acolyte mice closing in on me. The brush of cloth against the ground taunted me as I sat in my panic. Somehow I had to get them near the trap, after that I had no clue what I was going to do.
     I sprinted out of the trees and felt heat fly by my cheek. The next second a blast hit the stone entrance and sent stones flying. I ducked avoiding the bigger shards and threw my own magic back at them. I heard no squeals of pain or frustration, just laughter. I realized the most important thing I needed to do was get the book from the Lich mouse who had taken over reading the spells, without it the Acolytes would be weaker. I headed towards the mouse that was so preoccupied by his spells he didn’t see me coming.
    I lunged at him and grabbed his head twisting it till I heard the sickening crack. The book dropped and the Wight mouse lunged for it but I was quicker. I scrambled over the dead mouse and took the book in my own hands shoving it into my endless pockets. Panting I looked up and found myself face to face with a very angry Wight mouse. He flung the blunt end of his mace across my face and I went sprawling. I felt hot blood stream down my face as I crawled to my feet.
      When I stood my runes began to glow bright and I felt power course through me, power I hadn’t called for. It rushed through my body, through my veins to my fingertips and the runes glowed brighter and brighter. The mice stopped their attack and stared. The air around me rippled and I grinned. The acolytes took their first step backwards, and I pursued.