WWotWW - Chapter 36 - Sanctuary (Patreon)

It was dark by the time that we finally rode into the clearing that Plays had told us about. If I squinted hard enough I could make out the general shapes of a couple large rock formations along one side of the area along with the creek that ran down the middle of the area, but not much else.

“Can you amplify the magic you’re feeding to the lantern and give us more light?” I asked Clara. 

“I’ll give it a try, but with so much miasma around, I doubt- Oh!” Clara exclaimed as the lantern lit up like a miniature sun, blinding me and causing Nightmare to buck in pain for a minute before Clara cut back on her magic and the light shrank to a more tolerable level. 

“Thanks for that,” I grumbled, patting Nightmare’s neck to calm her while trying to blink the numerous spots out of my eyes. “Did you mean to blind everyone or…”

“I’m sorry about that,” Clara said appoligetically. “I expected the miasma to choke my magic, like it had back in the forest, so I tried to force a lot of magic into the spell to offset the disruption, but the miasma’s influence seems to have dissipated.” 

“We were still knee deep in the miasma a minute ago, I checked,” I said, slipping off Nightmare. “It may be magical in nature, but it acts like fog or mist. It shouldn’t have dissipated that quickly.”

As I wandered towards the edge of the clearing, Plays spoke up. She spouted off what sounded like a long sentence before giving Mary a chance to translate. “Plays says this area is blessed by the spirits; it won’t fall easily to the creeping corruption.”

“I assume ‘Creeping Corruption’ is what her people call miasma,” I muttered.

Clara’s light was bright, but it didn’t quite reach the very edge of the clearing, so I crept forward slowly and cautiously until I could finally make out the miasma in the darkness. The tainted magic wasn’t being kept out of the area with some sort of barrier, as I expected; instead, it seemed like as soon as it got close enough, it was being purified again. 

I reached out and stuck my hand into the purifying section and slowly waved it around for a few moments, trying to feel for a trace of magic so I could figure out how it was done, but couldn’t feel a thing. With a long sigh I pushed myself back to my feet and started wandering back towards everyone else.

“You know, with the number of times that Plays has answered our questions before you manage to ask her I’m starting to suspect she might have at least a basic understanding of english,” I said.

“It’s less to do with her understanding english, and more about her understanding basic human nature. Did you know that every time you run into something you don’t know about, you stare at it for a minute with this contemplative look on your face?” Mary asked. “It doesn’t take a genius to realize that you’ll probably end up asking about those things after a few minutes.”

“Someone’s feeling cheeky,” I muttered. “You must be feeling a little safer now that we’re clear of the miasma.”

“Honestly? Maybe a little bit. While we were in the miasma I had this constant feeling of dread, and now that we’ve left it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” Mary replied.

“It’s the mental strain. When any magic user is exposed to miasma, they subconsciously release their own magic in an effort to repel the corrupting force. Those that haven’t trained tend to release far too much, which takes a toll. You may feel better now, but I suspect you’ll feel exhausted before too long,” I told her. “You should sit down and take a break before dinner.”

“Shouldn’t we put up defenses before we relax?” Mary asked. “Although whatever magic Play’s tribe used is keeping the miasma out, it might not keep out a zombie, or whatever else is out there.”

“That’s true, but leave the wards to Clara and me,” I said. “If you really want to help, instead of relaxing, you can wander around and look for loose wood that we could use for a campfire. Just don’t leave the clearing.”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on it,” Mary muttered before saying something to Plays, and the two wandered off across the clearing.

“What do you think? Are we safe here?” Clara asked once the girls had run off.

“Honestly? No clue. I ran my hand through the perimeter trying to figure out how it was created, and I couldn’t feel the faintest hint of magic, which makes me believe that it might actually have been created with the help of the spirits,” I said. “And while I may have a passing knowledge of spirits, what’s been created here is far beyond the capabilities of anything I’ve read about before. I don’t think it’ll spontaneously collapse while we’re here anyways.”

I paused, then glanced around the clearing. Even though there was a thick cloud of miasma sitting just beyond my view the area gave off a very calm and pristine feeling. Like it was being watched over.

“That being said, we should probably check if her tribe performs and rituals, or leaves any offerings when using this area. The last thing we want to do is to insult whatever spirit is protecting this place, and have them turn on us at a bad time,” I said.

“It wouldn’t do that, would it?” Clara asked.

“Spirits are fickle things,” I replied. “At least the ones I’ve dealt with. It sounds like Plays’ tribe has been dealing with the same group of spirits for generations, so the rules might be different, but even so, it’s always better to err on the side of caution and stay on their good side.” 

“Good point,” Clara replied. She turned and dug through her saddlebags for a minute before pulling out several tiny effigies made of twigs and twine. 

I eyed the little figures up suspiciously. “Do you think the wards will be effective after being dragged through the miasma like that?”

Clara shrugged. “It’s like I told you earlier: these wards are easy to make, simple and effective. The hardest part is forming the patterns when they’re first created, and as long as they don’t suffer any serious physical damage I can always recharge them again,” she said.

“Do you want my help putting them up?” I asked.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to have to check each one before I place them and top up their magic if they’re too far drained; Something you can’t do with your magic,” she said.

“Sure, rub it in,” I muttered before letting out a long sigh. “Fine, I’ll grab all our equipment and see to the horses. We wouldn’t want one of them to get sick or injured out here.”

“That would be a complete disaster,” Clara agreed.

“Would you mind leaving the lantern in the middle of the camp? It’s too dark for me to work without it,” I said.

“Sure, the wards work better when placed in close proximity anyways, so I don’t have to go far,” Clara agreed, placing the small travel lantern on the ground. It was several times brighter than a normal lantern, but it still wasn’t enough to completely illuminate the area. “Is that good?”

“It’ll have to do,” I replied. “Thanks.”

Clara nodded and wandered off to put up her wards. As soon as she left, I turned and walked over to the horses. They were remarkably calm considering the circumstances. Most animals felt a slowly growing sense of dread until they finally panicked and either left the area, or were lost to the various horrors wandering around the corrupting mists. 

Perhaps it was because most of them had lived in the coven, and had absorbed some of the ambient magic and had some resistance to the miasma, or maybe it was because Clara, Mary, and Plays released enough magic to protect them. I didn’t quite know. Maybe I could look into it after we finally got out of this mess and back to civilization.

After pulling all the saddlebags and bedrolls off the horses, I started to undo all the straps so I could pull the saddles off too. I’d just managed to get Nightmare’s saddle off when I heard something: the subtle shifting of pine needles. 

I’d nearly missed the sound over the clacking of buckles, but once I noticed and turned towards the source, it was unmistakable. Something was moving outside the perimeter.

“Everyone, get back!” I shouted, pulling out my rifle. “Something’s moving out in the miasma.”

“What? What is it?” Mary yelled as she pulled Plays back with her.

“Dunno, it’s moving slow and not hiding its footsteps,” I replied, raising my rifle.

Clara hurriedly shoved one of the wards into the ground in front of me before backing up and grabbing her own weapon. “It won’t be able to stop one of those things, but it should be enough to slow them down,” she explained quietly.

“Let’s hope it’s enough,” I replied.

The shuffling wasn’t exceptionally loud, but it was consistent, so when the thing finally approached us I had my rifle trained right on it’s location.

When I spotted something glittering in the darkness I adjusted my aim slightly, focusing on the one thing I could identify. I lightly squeezed the trigger, just waiting for the thing to show itself.

When it took it’s next step and I finally got a look at the familiar oversized muzzle of Plays guardian, I didn’t know whether to sag in relief, or panic.

The massive spirit was absolutely covered in wounds, some of which appeared to be festering, covered in the same green-black substance we’d seen leaking from the first zombie. It just barely managed to limp into our camp before collapsing to the ground, causing Plays to erupt into a panic. 

She rushed towards the wolf, but I grabbed her before she could reach it. “You can’t touch it until we know what happened!” I growled as she elbowed me in the face. “Mary, can you please explain?”

While Mary translated, Clara took a step towards the wounded spirit. Even though she tightened her grip on her rifle, I could still see her quivering slightly. “I think we might need to reinforce the wards tonight,” she said.

I couldn’t say that I disagreed.