Chapter: 612 – Trust

Tala came down toward the caravan, taking in the rippling, interconnected defensive fields still actively under assault around the outside of the rumbling group of wagons.

Terry was flickering around the outside, slicing through what seemed to be oddly moving mounds of plant matter.

The plant things weren’t leshkin, just as a bucket of blood couldn’t be said to be human, even if it moved on its own. Instead, they were seemingly just some of the myriad other plant-based creatures on Zeme.

Terry’s talons occasionally flickered with the black-purple aspect of void, but the plants just pulled back together regardless.

Rane was hacking a path in the front of the caravan—then kinetically flinging the pieces aside even as they reformed—keeping the way clear for the five-wide column.

While Terry protected the eastern side—the side closer to Tala—the Talons were making a great showing by keeping the odd opponents back on the west.

Odd indeed, almost as if Reality is starting to pick what it sends our way.

-Once does not indicate a pattern.-

…Fair enough.

A couple of Talons were at the back of the caravan as well, executing a fighting retreat. Their job was the easiest, as the vegetative opponents seemed barely faster than the moving wagons, so the very progress of the caravan kept them from attacking very often, and every cut made them even slower.

While Rane, Terry, and the Talons cleared the crowding enemies, it was the barriers of the Mage Protectors that kept even stray vines or attacks from reaching the wagons sheltered within. Without those, the caravan would be in a bad way, despite the powerful Defenders that Tala and Rane had brought along.

Alat finally finished going through their memories and records, coming up with the name of the opponent after a handful of seconds. -Shambling Ivy, and a rather advanced pack.-

No joke. I’m detecting Refined level power from most of them.

-That’s a misassumption. It’s just one creature. Cutting it will never harm it, though it will slow it down and make it less effective until it reconnects.-

Tala grunted. So, it was one creature. Dissolution breath?

-Dissolution Breath.-

As Tala came in, she opened the portal to the already refilled space, sending a line of power streaking out to strafe the edge of the caravan.

Rane’s aura and authority—established by Tala, herself—bent to her will and kept her magics from rolling over the barriers protecting her charges. The last thing she wanted was to slam dissolution into the caravan she was trying to keep safe.

It took twenty seconds to release, recharge, and release again, four dissolution breaths covering the four quadrants, directed and constrained by her and Rane’s aura, backed by Terry’s magical weight along with their own.

Then, she landed back on her wagon, dropping into a cross-legged position, the threat handled.

She reopened the portal into Ironhold, affixing it to the expected wagon so that the Talons could trade out at need.

To her mild surprise, those who were moving to take up their previous patrols weren’t actually the same as those she’d seen when she left.

-Rane shuffled the drained Talons back into Ironhold and moved out their replacements.-

Tala felt a smile pull at her lips. He’d done what needed doing. Her trust in him had been well placed, and she hadn’t needed to explicitly hand off the task for him to do. He’d risen to the occasion as she’d known he would, as he always did.

-I’ve bundled that set of feelings and thoughts. Do I have your permission to deliver it to Enar and Rane?-

Tala quirked a smile. Yes, Alat. Thank you.

-And… done! You’re most welcome.-

Her stomach gurgled a bit, and she dropped her armor, letting the various metals flow away. With the portal open to Ironhold, she couldn’t easily will the food out to her, so she willed herself into her dining room, grabbed an already loaded couple of plates and willed herself back out.

After all, her daughter was coming to join her.

A moment after Tala returned to her wagon-top perch, Lea landed at the back, causing the wagon to rock from the impact. Even so, the various springs and other shock absorbers did as they were supposed to, and the wagon didn’t tip too much before righting itself.

“Mom?” The girl’s tone was a mix of excitement and trepidation.

Tala patted the wood beside her. “Come, sit.”

She moved one of the plates to be in front of that place, even as Lea dropped into a crosslegged position as well. “That was… That was crazy.”

Tala grunted, taking a few bites before swallowing and answering. “It was a rather powerful beast, and things were complicated by having to keep the caravan safe, yeah.”

Lea finished her own bite before giving Tala a look. “So… was it a hard fight?”

“Some? As with all fights, there were aspects that were difficult and some that were easier. It was hardly fair, though.”

“Oh?”

“With your father and Terry here, we were three against one. Those were anything but good odds for the bird.”

Lea frowned. “But… you took it down on your own.”

Tala laughed, pulling up a napkin to dab at her mouth. “If you believe that, you weren’t paying close enough attention. Aside from the fact that Terry and your dad finished the fight by coming back here to take care of the caravan, letting me put it completely from my mind—which is a big deal in a fight—both Terry and your dad cut deeply into the beast, helping to force it from the sky above the caravan. They also engaged it and protected you all while I was sent sailing away. Let me emphasize that. Without them, I’d have effectively lost when I was thrown away. Beyond that, it was only together that we forced it to change forms, allowing me to more easily deal with it in the end.” She huffed. “Honestly, there at the end? Your dad would have been a better finisher than I was. We couldn’t have known that beforehand, and I’m more flexible than your father, so we still made the right call, but it’s worth stating.”

Lea’s frown was growing. “But… you landed the final blow.”

“I did, but that hardly matters.” Tala smiled at her daughter’s confusion. “Let me put it another way. A rather pertinent, ancient saying is: ‘No man is an island.’ Do you know what that means?”

Lea gave a slow shake of her head.

“It means that no one exists on their own. We are all dependent on one another. For me to try to claim that kill as only mine would be as arrogant as it would be incorrect.”

Her shake hesitated, and after another moment’s consideration, Lea began to nod. “I… I think I can understand that, yeah.”

Tala gave her own nod and turned back to her food. “So, what did you learn by watching?”

Lea smiled, her eyes unfocusing slightly as she clearly remembered what she’d just experienced. “Aside from such advanced fights being terrifying?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Tala huffed, then gestured as if to say ‘Beside that, yes.’

“Well…” The next hours passed in instructive back and forth, and Tala found herself quite happy to have the time with her daughter.

No other Paragon level opponents showed themselves, and Tala wasn’t needed to deal with any of the lesser magical beasts that threw themselves at the caravan. Though, that was mainly because of just how capable Rane, Terry, and the Talons were.

It helped that no other ‘slash resistant’ monsters attacked.

That day came and went, and the trip continued.

Their passage garnered more and more magical beasts, but blessedly, no others matched the Roc in pure power.

By the time they arrived at Marliweather, though, everyone was exhausted.

The city and its defenses easily absorbed the large caravan, and Tala spent the first hours analyzing how the City Stone operated differently than her own attempt at a gradient mana-well imposed stoneward of superficial as a fix. After all, with two more legs to their trip, she did not look forward to potentially coming across more Paragon-level threats.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want—or even enjoy—such fights, but with the mundanes and the caravan as a whole behind her, requiring her to be careful and keep them safe as well, it just became much, much too stressful for her to look forward to the next such clash.

After getting the caravan settled in the Marliweather workyards—they had to spread out over three separate yards close to one another due to their size—Rane and Tala sat down for a late lunch, just the two of them, in their sanctum.

Lea was training with some of the Talons, and Terry was off being Terry, likely reducing the population of tasty creatures in the region as a whole.