Of Ice, Death & Monsters

Chapter 115 : For We Shall Head To The City Of Monsters

15 Days Ago.

“Well, butter every corn on my kernel…” Topher muttered aloud as the giant emerged from the ground.

“What in all the green hills are you?” Derek asked up as Dela answered.

“That’s Saunne incarnate. It’s Leshy, in other words, the god of this region. It's the spirit of nature of the very land itself, returning back to its form.”

The Leshy of Saunne bowed its head, staring straight at us with its obsidian eyes. “You have brought me back, for that there could be no thanks I could offer that would ever match such a deed.”

There wasn’t any sound specifically coming from the Leshy, it was more like nature itself rustled and moved, creating the specific noise for us to hear. I looked closer and found it was actually the spirits of nature on the Leshy itself doing such voices.

“I only ask for you to give us a speedy return to Arsen. My work is not yet complete, for we still have quite a way to go. The gods are to return and fill the land once more!” I raised my hand into the air as the Leshy gave a nod. 

They then disassembled, becoming rocks, plants, trees, any sort of natural structure that completely filled the ravine and crevices left by Vladimir. Without any other warning, our bodies were then held in place by several vines before we were rushed across the entire forest, zooming throughout it, akin to a jet plane.

It was all a blur, but with my enhanced senses, I could notice how different everything looked. The swamp lakes became crystal clear waters, and the rotting dead trees became large mangroves. The twisted foliage that once took up the tree line became strong canopies. The stench of death and misery that was caked into the land became more palatable, disappearing altogether with the scent of life and love.

Not much time had passed, perhaps minutes or a few hours, but what mattered most was that it did not take even half a day to finally reach the end of Saunne, where the Leshy finally slowed down, removing all of the vines from our bodies.

“This is as far as I am able to take you. I do not have authority within the region of Arsen. Go and complete the will of the gods. Farewell, Chosen of the Caretaker.”

And with that, as quickly as the Leshy appeared, they left and with them a wave of rolling hills, vines, and foliage. 

I turned around to see how the others were doing, and to my surprise, the golems that Derek and Topher were wearing had been ‘fixed’. Their broken parts were refitted with stone and vines, giving it a look more akin to the ancient clay golems that were made in Balthalem thousands of years ago.

Topher tapped Derek’s back and pointed at the refurbished golems as they admired them the way men did whenever they were around any vehicle. I often found that strange. I never really could understand how they could simply stand there and talk about the specs of a vehicle that they never could afford, but it was always adorable, like children talking about toys.

“Man, look at that, it’s an antique now. I think we saw it in the big city museum once.”

“Yeah, the one BV-7 golem with the makeshift sword system? The one with the Sage Wood to cause a Ritual effect to conserve energy?”

“Yeah, that one, it’s all natural too, or well, a mix of it.” 

“Well, they made BV-7 based on the uh, what was it, Fomo- something, big giant demon guys. So I kinda feel like there’s some overlap here.” 

Topher walked towards his unit, tapping on it. “Soul Reaver, you think this still works as well?” He turned to me. “I ain’t know what this dirt here is made of or if it’s special and whatnot.”

“It’ll hold.” I called out. “It was reinforced with the spirits of life, so it’ll do well enough as the usual armor did.”

They grinned at that. “Awesome. Let’s get going then!” Both of them hopped back into their units, which whirred to life, activating once more thanks to the souls that were moving through them.

“Haha, alright, shall we get moving?”

I first looked at Dela, who was rubbing the cracks in her mask. She nodded, though, once she noticed me. 

“Yes, let’s head forth!”

10 Days Ago.

While we were already within Arsen, the city itself was far away. It wasn’t helped by the sheer number of obstacles in our way. 

Stepping into Arsen was much akin to stepping back to the south of Galfania. I didn’t know which was worse, the fetid and putrid swamps or the unforgiving cold. The snow was everywhere, so packed together that in some instances, they were essentially ice. 

Trees were mere decorative pieces of wood that had not been rooted to the ground; rather, they had been frozen onto it. Jagged mountains and broken hills littered Arsen’s landscape. The only thing that wasn’t completely frozen over was the water, but my theory was that it was simply due to the monsters.

That was right, it was the monsters that I believed ensured that the rivers would flow, only for the sheer purpose of luring those around them to their graves. In fact, my ideas were proven right when I approached the rivers out of my curiosity, sighing in painful realization when I saw a few floating bodies across the streams.

My eyes widened in horror as I saw their clothes. They were old-fashioned, made with hand-knit cloth; one of them was a young girl, her body covered in blood as her remains bloated.

I reached out, as if I wanted to heal them. They were given life… And so swiftly taken away, if only they were sent below, instead of above.

I no longer had the power that the Leshy did; the dead were not within my grasp, and even if I did, that was a special circumstance. It did not simply take my power but also Vladimir’s, literally holding on to their spirit.

There was only one power I knew that could ever get to the dead… Yes, only that boy could do it, and I had to make sure to get him before that whore did.

I felt monsters lurking in that river, they were Bukavacs, another was akin to a large horse with six legs, horns, and a big mouth. They watched me and the others, waiting for the right moment to pounce. 

They were possibly the ones that killed the family here… While they are most definitely monsters, I knew that they were simply cursed humans, still forced to wander this world until slain. So I shall give them the rest they need, or rather, the others shall.

I went closer, raising my hands up for the others to hold still. Instantly, as I finally stepped close to the river, the monster leapt out, howling like a wolf as it tried to grab me by my throat.

However, before any of them could, several autocannon rounds were fired numerous times into their body via Topher and Derek, this time, explosive. They recoiled in pain as their bodies, bit by bit, began to be shredded away at the awesome firepower before they were reduced to a blackened paste.

“May you all rest in peace.” I bowed my head before creating gravestones for the fallen.

We continued on our path, and every second of every minute of every hour, I was so thankful that I had the Caretaker’s blessing. I didn’t have to bother with the cold, and as well, there always seemed to be a clear path ahead that I was able to take, even amongst the snow, mountains, and occasional cluster of trees.

As for the monsters, well, thankfully, none of them were as frustrating or as powerful as the ones in the swamp. However, they were more plentiful, well, when we went out of our way to see them. Thanks to the blessing, we usually avoided monsters.

Sometimes, though, things were different.

“Hey, wait, who’s that darlin over there?” Topher asked as he pointed in the distance towards the hills.

I narrowed my eyes, staring towards the hills as I saw a beautiful woman in a white dress, simply standing by the hills as if she was waiting for someone. I stepped forward to ask who she was, but Dela raised her hand in front of me.

“That’s an Osenya. They’re spirits who mislead others, most especially men, causing them to wander around aimlessly until they’re tired.”

“So, do they fight at all? Should we like…” He makes a shooting gesture.

“No, they only waste time, energy, and money.”

“Just like my old flames.” Muttered out, Topher, as I beckoned them to continue.

For days and nights we marched, no rest needed, no shelter needed. Any supplies needed for Magick, I could help with it. We saw monsters in the distance, usually several ghouls, a pack of Bauk, and most of the other types were by the rivers and lakes. A few times, though, I looked up at the sky, finding fast-moving and flying monsters rushing through the air.

Night was especially worse, with 

But finally, after several days of traveling, we made it to the outskirts of the city. 

It was massive, akin to Alexandra back in Phorash. It had a strange mix between Balthalem’s much more compact, square, and stone architecture, mixed with Galfania’s more noticeable wooden and angular style of building. There were no walls, or rather, if there were any walls, they would have all been reduced to so much rubble and buried under snow and ice that had caked it up for the last thousand years.

The city had a river flowing right beside it that fed into what appeared to be a giant lake to its west; however, we shall definitely avoid that. If my time in Galfania taught me anything, it’s that never trust any large bodies of water, especially ones that were obviously filled with monsters.

Looking further into the city, I could see how the thousands of years have treated it. The only reason all the buildings haven’t been destroyed is that they’ve been frozen solid from the ground up; there were even icicles forming on them so much that I felt like calling them glaciers was apt.

And the monsters, oh boy, there was no denying the density of sheer monsters I felt from it. In fact, not even stepping inside, you could see large beasts such as the Bes wandering around the streets. I saw small goblin-like creatures, similar to the Likho, slinking about in the buildings. 

Many ramshackled complexes were hidden in darkness, and yet inside I could see vague shadows move about with piercing eyes that dim in and out of the blackness. 

It was so prevalent, almost akin to a zoo of some sort. There was no way around it; they possibly had to go guns blazing in this sort of place since it was evident that it was going to take firepower to get through the church, unless they would speed through, but even then, that ritual would take some time.

“Are you all ready? It’s time for urban warfare. Always watch your back and make sure to stick together. Are you all ready for what’s next?”

“Right as rain, Soul Reaver!” Derek shouted out as he pretended to load his cannon.

Dela simply nodded while Topher aimed straight ahead. 

I took a step forward, and before I could even enter into the city… I saw a massive eruption of…

Fire.