Chapter 53: New employers II

Over the past month, working with different parties had taught Frost far more about runes than he had expected.

Within their inscriptions were sigils that governed power output, energy channelling, and the element involved, though their arrangements varied greatly depending on the caster and the type of affinity.

He had begun to recognise their functions by watching how they behaved during activation and comparing them with the effects they produced.

That didn’t mean he could read them, unfortunately.

Recognising what part of an inscription handled the flow of energy was one thing; understanding the symbols and writings that made it work was something else entirely.

Most of what he had learned remained useless to him in practice, but he was still pleased with the discovery.

At least he now had something specific to study instead of staring at the entire inscription and hoping understanding would somehow fall into his head.

All that remained was to figure out what those damned symbols meant. Even the system didn’t seem able to help him with that.

"Farther in," Daren suggested after their next hunt, looking past the trees ahead. "We’ve barely had any trouble."

Bren glanced at the materials Frost was packing away. "We’ve already got a decent amount."

"And we could get more," Daren replied. "Come on. We’re not going to get anywhere if we keep being scared of everything."

"We’re being careful," Mara said, though her protest lacked conviction.

Daren smiled at her. "And we’ll keep being careful. I’m not saying we should go looking for something we can’t handle."

Eventually, the others agreed, and Frost lifted the pack again with a faint sense of unease.

It wasn’t his place to decide where they hunted, but he had accompanied enough parties to recognise the difference between moving deeper with a plan and moving deeper because one person kept insisting they could.

The trees gradually grew closer together, their branches blocking more of the light.

The ground became softer beneath their feet, and before long, Frost found himself stepping around patches of mud while Veyr’s scales dragged through the wet grass beside him.

They encountered another beast near a shallow pool, and although they managed to kill it, Bren took a hard blow against his shield that left his arm trembling afterwards.

Lena missed her first arrow, and Owen had to move closer than he seemed comfortable with to keep his water restraint in place.

Daren still came away smiling.

"That one was worth more," he said, looking towards the carcass. "See? I told you."

Frost crouched beside Owen to begin harvesting, but his attention kept drifting towards the dark water nearby.

There were reeds growing along its edge, and the ground beyond it looked like more of the same, pools of still water broken by muddy banks and clusters of trees.

"We’re getting close to the swamp," Veyr said, looking in the same direction.

"Then we go around it," Daren replied. "There’s still plenty of ground to cover."

"Shouldn’t we start heading back?" Frost asked before he could stop himself. "We’ll have to carry all this out, and the path’s getting worse."

Daren looked at him, his expression darkening. "You worry about carrying it. We’ll worry about the hunting."

Owen gave Frost an apologetic glance, but nobody challenged the decision.

After another brief discussion, they continued, and Frost could only follow, trying not to dwell on the unpleasant feeling gathering in his stomach.

He couldn’t simply leave.

He had their supplies and harvested materials on his back, and even if he put everything down, making his way out of this part of the hunting grounds alone would be a terrible idea.

By then, they had agreed that the next hunt would be their last.

That should have reassured him, but the ground was growing wetter, and he was having to pay more attention to where he stepped than to what stood around them.

The attack came before any of them saw the creature.

A thick branch swept through the bushes to their left, striking Bren’s shield and throwing him backwards into Owen. Both men went down, and Frost stumbled to a stop as the tree beside them began to move.

For a moment, his mind refused to make sense of what he was seeing. Then the enormous trunk twisted towards them, revealing a deep, uneven face in its bark, while roots tore themselves from the mud beneath it.

A treant, and a rather fucking large one.

"Bren!" Mara shouted, raising her staff as a triagram flashed before it.

A wall of earth rose between them and the creature, but the treant slammed a heavy limb into it, breaking the upper half before it had fully settled.

Lena backed away and fired, a triagram shimmering before her bow as wind carried the arrow into the treant’s trunk. The shaft buried itself in the bark, doing little more than drawing its attention.

Daren rushed forward, triagrams flashing above his body and over his sword, but his flaming blade struck the thick wood with a shallow, disappointing cut.

He pulled away immediately as the treant swept a limb towards him, the confident smile finally gone from his face.

Bren scrambled upright, a triagram flashing above him as he tried to brace his shield again. Veyr moved beside him and thrust his spear towards a descending branch, another triagram appearing over its point as ice spread across the wood.

It slowed the limb for a moment. Then the ice cracked, and both of them had to retreat.

Frost stood behind the others, still carrying the pack, searching for somewhere he could put it down without getting in their way.

Before he could move, a triagram shimmered above the treant’s body, and thick roots surged through the mud towards them.

Owen raised his hand, producing water before his palm, but his stream failed to drag the roots aside. Mara hurriedly cast again, another triagram flashing before her staff as a ridge of earth rose to interrupt their advance.

"Back!" she shouted. "We need to get out of here!"

A heavy splash sounded beside them.

Frost turned towards the swamp, and his stomach sank as something broad and dark slipped from the water. Its long body dragged through the reeds, supported by thick, clawed limbs, while its wide jaws opened to reveal rows of crooked teeth.

It had been lying almost directly beside them.

"Another one!" Lena cried, stumbling farther from the bank.

The creature raised its head, a triagram flashing above it before a heavy jet of muddy water struck the remains of Mara’s barrier. Earth scattered across the ground, and the treant pushed through the opening, its roots still dragging towards them.

There was no way they could fight both.

Frost could see the same realisation passing across their faces.

They had barely managed to hold the treant back, and now Bren was struggling to keep his shield raised while Owen looked between the two creatures, unable to decide where his help was needed.

"Retreat!" Daren shouted. "Everyone, move!"

For once, Frost wholeheartedly agreed with him. He turned towards the way they had come, adjusting the weight of the pack as he prepared to follow the others.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

Frost barely had time to look around before Daren shoved him hard in the opposite direction.

Already off balance because of the pack, he stumbled towards the beasts, his foot sinking into a patch of mud before his legs gave way.

He hit the ground with both hands, the weight on his back slamming down a moment later and driving the breath from his lungs.

Time seemed to slow, and he could only stare in disbelief as he fell top ground...