Coranna scowled as she slogged through
the fetid waters of the swamp, Ayad, Domo, and Gorlab behind her.
The revelation of the truth about the trees had been necessary but
had the predictable effect of plunging the camp into panic and
depression for the past several days. Every creek and tremor of the
branches set the men in fear, breath fluttering, eyes wide, darting
this way and that like those of frightened rabbits. She pushed
strands of hair that had escaped from her braid away from her sweaty
brow and suppressed a shudder. It was even starting to affect her.
The constant looming sense of being watched that had hovered near
since they set foot on the island had now morphed into the more
immediate and gripping sense that something was stalking her. She
could feel her skin prickle and her muscles twitch with the
instinctive sense that something was following them, keeping pace but
staying just behind. But that could not be right. While it was
clear the trees did move, she had never seen one do so. Either they
were too slow or too cautious to be seen in the act and, in any case,
the sound of an entire tree dragging itself through the water at
close range, fast enough to keep pace with them would make a massive
amount of noise, enough to be heard even over the sounds they were
making themselves.
She held up a hand and the others
struggled to a halt, taking enough time to come to a full stop that
any truly canny pursuer would have been able to make itself concealed
and quiet in that time, though she could not guess if the trees would
be particularly canny, having seen no indication that they were
directed by intelligence, rather than thoughtless malevolence. Even
after the whole party had halted, there was still the sound of the
water, stirred up by their movement, sloshing about and slapping
against the bark and roots of of the trees. She strained her ears,
listening, as it gradually subsided, but heard nothing. Certainly,
there was nothing moving through the water anywhere near. But, no,
very faint, on the edge of hearing, there was another sound, a
scratching, scrabbling noise, as of something rubbing against wood,
most likely no cause for alarm, perhaps an animal climbing in the
branches, or even branches rubbing against each other. True, they
could not feel any wind down here at water level, but, as no one was
likely to forget, these trees did not need wind.
She grimaced as she signaled for them
to move on and the sounds of their labors filled the silence once
more, but the sense of unease did not leave her. She thought
furiously that her mind must be playing tricks on her as she tried to
thrust the idea from her. But was it any wonder? Last night Nemid
had been caught in the grip of some nightmare, thrashing about and
screaming. He had had the whole camp awake before they could get him
to open his eyes, and even then, he seemed not to know where he was
but only babbled about the trees having eyes and crowding around to
smother him. Of course it was nonsense. The trees did not have
eyes, nor could they move that rapidly, an equally valid point in her
present situation...though some might consider the truth more
horrifying. But even if there was no truth in the image, that did
nothing to prevent minds already in a constant state of fear
regarding the trees, to latch onto it in absolute panic, and Coranna
knew she wasn't entirely exempt from that category.
Before them a splash of darker green
glowed in the dull gray surroundings. One of the trees ahead, not a
white one thankfully, but then they did always manage to remain free
of plant growth somehow, was sheathed in a mass of the vines with
thick glossy leaves, the kind that bore the sickly, pale red berries
they had first discovered a few weeks back. Though weak and sour,
these were better than nothing as long as one did not eat too many.
The others un-shouldered their sacks and began filling them. The
slimy swamp fish also liked to congregate around such trees, to feed
on overripe berries falling into the still water to rot and the
others began trying to snare as many of them as possible. Gorlab
made a crack about how they had a wide selection of food, all of
which would make them sick, and there was some scattered laughter.
All the men chuckled but, at a stern look from Coranna, they bent to
their work. Despite her strictness, they respected her. Any good
commander should be hard on his men, but fair and equally hard on
himself. Her willingness to share their labors and their perils
meant her expectations were far from unreasonable, through there were
still grumblings about the hanging fruits.
Now, she bent her back alongside them
to start herding fish into her sack. The ripples on the dark water
were mesmerizing, like black glass, and her whole focus was on this
and the dull shapes of the fish beneath so, when Coranna saw a dark
form flick past the edge of her vision, it scarcely registered at
first. Then, there was a thick, meaty thud, a cry, and a splash.
She swung round and found Ayad, face down in the swamp, blood already
welling from a fresh set of gashes on his back. A rasping snarl
ripped through the heavy air and she saw the beast clutching the
trunk of a tree only a few feet away. It had patchy black-gray fur,
perfect for camouflage in the shifting shadows of the swamp. It's
head was a cross between rat and wolf with ears and muzzle both
sharply pointed, mouth open to display the teeth of a predator. But,
as they watched, the jaws continued to gap wider and wider, until
they seemed to form almost a straight line, displaying an abomination
of jutting teeth and wriggling tongue. The feet were naked like a
rat's but were able to cling and grip like those of a creature
accustomed to life in the trees, yet, being larger, offered a clear
view of the clutching claws, darkly wet with Ayad's blood. The tail,
also naked, trailed behind it, down into the rotting sludge gathered
about the base of the tree.
Never taking her eyes from the
creature, Coranna reached back over her shoulder and drew her sword,
sliding it out as smoothly and silently as she could. Then she
approached the tree slowly, her blade held in front of her. In her
periphery, she could see Domo at her shoulder doing the same. Its
bite was still clearly dangerous and the whip like tail as well but,
nevertheless, it was safest to approach when its claws were out of
action, devoted to holding itself up on the tree. But, as she came
closer, the front feet detached themselves from the bark and lashed
out at her and her instincts only barely enabled her to evade the
un-forseen strike. She expected that, with this action, the beast
would crash forward into the black water at her feet, where she would
easily be able to sever neck or spine with her blade. But the rat
thing remained where it was, snarling and slashing with its claws as
if it were simply adhering to the tree by magic.
Behind her, she could hear splashing
and groaning as the wounded Ayad struggled to his feet. He would
need his wounds cleaned quickly to have any hope of not falling
victim to the filth fever of the swamp. But they could not even
began to head for the coast yet. The beast must be killed or at
least driven off to ensure it did not continue to pursue them and
pick them off as they fled. Beside her she could hear Domo gasp and
whisper, “It's not possible.” To her right, he could see further
around the tree and something he saw was making his eyes go wide the
color drain from his face. Coranna attempted to step to the side to
see it too but, as she did, the creature, sensing her distraction,
launched itself at her. With a cry, she ducked and swerved away,
feeling the wind of the thing's motion as it passed above and to her
left. A sharp pain stung her shoulder as the claws clipped her in
passing but she already knew it was only a scratch, not worth
bothering about. She whipped around, the weight of the water
dragging against her legs, and saw it land, body folding into the
trunk of the new tree.
But, something was not right. The
flurry of black limbs against the pale gray back was too big and
wild. It looked almost as if there were a second creature trying to
grab hold and, as it settled, she could see knobbed joints raised
above its back, like the limbs of a spider or a dragona. But even if
the legs were shaped in such a way, they should be fully extended to
grip the tree. Her mind recoiled from the horrid realization of what
she was seeing. Plainly this was the rat creature Melthas had
described, with jaws that could open to touch the sky and now, scarce
remembered, his words came back to her of fighting back grasping
hands from every side, of feeling like he was battling multiple foes
when he only saw one. Doubtless, his drugged mind had greatly
exaggerated, just as it had the extent of the thing's jaw gape and
yet...in this as well, there was like to be more than a seed of
truth.
©Amanda Hamlin 2025
