Echoterra: Rise of the Verdant King-Chapter 91: Treacherous journey [15]

With the battle over, the party of 5 sat down, exhausted, as they reflected on the brutal showdown that they just barely survived.

The fire crackled softly as the last of the Raptor Behemorph’s twisted remains smoldered in the distance. The blood-stained rubble they sat on was barely warm, but the five of them leaned back like it was a throne; bruised, burnt, but alive.

Veyra winced as she pulled a cloth tight over her arm. The bandaged looked like it was one frayed edge away from surrendering.

Still, she managed a grin. "Well, that was fun," she said with a wink. "You’re one of us, secrets and all". She teased.

Her trust was complete.

Clayton smirked faintly, watching the flames twist. "Didn’t realize membership came with multiple stab wounds".

Veyra snorted. "Please. You’re perhaps the most powerful Initiate Ember Awakened that I’ve ever seen. And that says a lot since I’ve been in this business for almost a decade now".

Clayton shifted, glanced at her sidelong, then gave her a more obvious once-over. "Wait, how old are...? Ahem". He stopped himself and cleared his throat, wiping imaginary sweat from his head.

"Never mind. Bad idea. Dangerous question".

’Idiot. You wanna die?’ He berated himself.

He felt like he just survived a suicide attempt.

Veyra laughed at his discomfort, her voice lilting with mischief. "Good think you didn’t ask. But since you were brave enough to almost commit social suicide... I’m 25".

Clayton blinked. "You said you’ve been in this business almost ten years?"

She nodded, sighing like someone unearthing an old wound. "Yeah, you can say that".

"I was born in a nomadic family of scavengers. We moved with the storms, traveling from place to place, survived off whatever the Genesis left behind".

"Learned to shoot by four. Was killing feral dogs by six".

There was a beat of silence. Even the fire seemed to bush.

"When I was 12... I was the only one left. My whole family, gone. Behemorph raid".

"Another scavenger crew picked me up. Saw I could shoot, decided I was worth keeping around".

"By the time I was 16, I already became independent. One day, I just upped and left. Started working on my own".

Clayton just stared at this woman, admiration creeping into his usually unreadable face.

"Damn".

Veyra shrugged, waving a hand dismissively, but the flush that rose to her cheeks wasn’t from heat. "Yeah, yeah. I’m a walking cliche".

She looked at him, eyes narrowing. "What about you, then? You’ve got the whole brooding green forest ranger vibe going on".

"And your skin. I mean... it’s literally green. That normal for you?"

Clayton looked down at his arm, bark-laced, etched with faintly glowing veins of chloroplasmic light, and lifted it slightly.

"This?" He asked, flashing her a grin. "That’s just my Aspect". frёeωebɳovel.com

Veyra raised an eyebrow. "Pretty drastic Aspect shift. Your Aspect is really unusual indeed. Most people don’t end up looking like they photosynthesize".

Clayton’s grin widened. "Well, that’s the thing".

He leaned closer, voice low and casual.

"I don’t just look like a plant".

Veyra blinked.

"...You’re joking".

Clayton shook his head. "Nope".

"You’re a plant?"

"A very handsome one".

She squinted at him. "Like... metaphorically?"

"No. Biologically. Metaphorically, too, I guess. Spiritually? Who knows? It’s complicated".

There was a long pause

Then Veyra burst out laughing. "Okay, okay, you win. Best deadpan delivery. Ten out of ten".

Clayton just smiled.

Veyra’s laughter slowed. She looked at him closer. Closer this time. Her brow furrowed.

"...Wait. You’re serious".

Clayton nodded once.

Silence.

"You’re actually a plant?"

He gave her a half-shrug. "Started as a seed, grew into a monster, fought fungus cults, killed a jackal made of fire, took over an entire forest. Now I’m back. In human-ish form. It’s been a ride".

Veyra’s mouth opened. Closed. Then opened again.

"...That explains so much," she muttered.

Then louder. "No wonder you’re so damn weird".

Clayton’s laugh was quiet, but warm. "I’ll take that as a compliment".

"I’m still trying to figure out if I just fought beside a man, a myth, or a walking shrub with anxiety issues".

"Joke’s on you," Clayton said, standing and brushing moss from his shoulder. "I’m all three".

The rest of the team chuckled. The fire cracked louder this time, throwing wild shadows across their faces.

Veyra leaned back against the wall, still staring at him.

"You know," she muttered, "this world gets stranger every damn day".

Clayton looked toward the horizon, where vines rustled gently in the wind.

"Stranger," he murmured, "and more alive".

...

Day 21 of the 60-day trek to the Scorchpaths.

Clayton led Torren’s team through a fungal ruin, its twisted spires pulsing with Earthcore Nexus energy.

His Shedskin cloaked his Verdant Lord aura as a scavenger’s rags, Regalia of the Verdant Warden in bow form slung across his back, Thornshade Dagger, venom-coated and stealth-enhancing humming at his hip.

His Architect Aspect thrummed, restrained to blend with the team.

Their Mycoglyph-etched pagers flickered, the Nexus’s pulse erratic.

The Aphid Network, 38 minions after losses, hunted sparingly, Spore Plague Lord securing a small Embers gain, one minion lost to a fungal trap.

The Rootsite stood distant, a fortified anchor.

The fungal ruin, warped by the Nexus into a maze of glowing spores and thorns, bore Scorched Clans marks- charred Mycoglyphs.

These days, seeing marks left by the Scorched Clans was a daily routine.

Clayton’s Territorial Sentience pinged Ashen Covenants’ Ember Witches, their rituals a faint pulse.

And then, his Hive-Sight caught movement... six Scorched Clans scouts, all Initiate Ember, waiting in ambush, wielding Ashfang Daggers.

Their leader, a Luminous Seed warrior lashed fiery tendrils as soon as they entered range.

But having warned his teammates ahead of time with a hand sign, they were not caught off-guard this time.

"Attack!" Torren roared, Flamevine Wrath erupting as his pyro-roots snared a scout, the poor guy reacting in shock at how he was discovered so easily.

The rest of the team exploded into action.

BOOM!

This battle won’t be like the one against Veylith.

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnov𝒆l.com Only