Chương 25: Memories

The ancient wisdom, from nine holiest of men; Protect ya neck kid —The Artificer's Guide to Good Music I pulled with all my might, but the vine had worked its way up my arm, firmly entrenching me in place. My hammer caught on my shirt as I desperately tried to free it with one hand before the vine grew any more.

"Watch out, Greg!" Emmie's warning came as the skeletons slowly rose. Like marionettes, they were pulled upward with their heads hanging down, and their arms dangling to their sides. They took a step toward me, oblivious of the others, until Greg smashed his spear down on one's back. A sharp crack echoed amongst the atrium walls, and they stopped. Bony faces rose, and the hollow dark sockets of their eyes focused on Greg. He quickly backed up, tripping on the first step.

Emmie was there to catch him, and the pair readied themselves for the oncoming fight. I untangled the hammer and started smashing it against the vine. It splintered, then redoubled in size, working its tendril up and around my neck. My pack was out of reach, and I couldn't get to the hatchet. I struck again, and again, increasingly more desperate to sever its hold on me, but it was too strong. An arrow thudded into the trunk to no effect, and I could faintly hear Gene's warning shout as I fought with the tree.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Not like this, no, no, not like this! The vine was painfully tight as it wrapped itself around my head, and the sounds of combat and light of the room slowly faded to darkness.

[Child. Be not afraid.]"Who's there!?" I shouted at the disembodied voice that spoke in my mind. [I am the guardian of this place.]"I'm sorry! We didn't mean to hurt you! Can you let us go?" [...] Silence hung, accompanying the dark void.

"Please… we'll never come back here!" [You are not of the Sloan. Where are the Sloan?] It ignored my plea, and I found myself at its mercy, with no options left to me.

"No, I'm not. Can you at least call off the skeletons while we talk?" [I do not hold power over such things…] [Where are the Sloan? Why have my chambers been empty for so long?] It repeated the question, and even through my own panic, I could sense the same feeling of distress, and couldn't help but feel a small pang of pity for the being.

"I don't know. The dead Sloan around you are the only ones I have ever seen… I'm sorry." I wasn't sure if this was the proper response, but it was in my head, and I had a feeling that it would know if I was lying. [Impossible. SHOW ME.] The command sent a racking pain through my mind, and images of our ascent up the ruins bubbled up, unbidden. I overlooked the devastation. The massive forest in the distance stretched as far as I could see, and lastly, mist covered hills to the north. So much time had passed…

How many hundreds of years had gone by since the destruction? I looked down again at the explosion, and the darkness returned. The silence stretched for several moments before the next command came. [SEE.] I felt a shift, and then a great sadness enveloped me, consuming me. A mournful cry escaped my lips as I felt the weight of the death of my people settle onto my shoulders.

I opened tearful eyes and watched from the tree's view as the Sloan went about their daily lives, worshipping me, tending my gardens, caring for their young. Each gave a strange salute as they passed one another, extending their spidery fingers upward. They moved terribly slowly, as if they didn't have a care in the world. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I felt love. Love for the people here, and in return, their adoration.

The view shifted, and the sadness felt heavier. Frantic shouts echoed in the atrium. The vision was moving fast now. The Sloan flew by, nearly too fast to track. A dark bubble appeared in the depths of the cathedral, hiding whatever lay below. It grew, consuming my awareness until I could no longer see past the atrium doors. My faithful servants… Why couldn't I remember what happened? Why was it hidden from me? Through our connection, [Recall] activated, and my mind opened wide. [I remember. I… NO!] I could only watch helplessly as, one by one, the Sloan lay prostrate and surrendered their lifeforce to the protector that had watched over them for so long. A final act to return the kindness they had been shown for centuries. Each time one died, their lifeforce cascaded into me, filling my energy stores. Every impact felt like an act of betrayal, my children giving themselves up despite my desperation for them to cease. Then, only one remained. Priestess Saarek.

She placed a spindly hand on my trunk, and the events grew hazy as I fell into a long and deep slumber. My thoughts cleared, though I still felt the pain of the dying tree before me.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened." I didn't know what to say. [You have revealed the truth to me. I cannot thank you enough.] [...] [I lose myself. Do not let the memory of my people fade to nothing.]"I won't. I promise, I don't know that I can ever know what happened, but I won't ever forget you." And I wouldn't. My heart hurt for the creature and its people. I could only imagine what would force something to attack such a peaceful people. [I leave our memory with you…] A last tendril flowed across the void and tenderly touched my forehead, generating several notifications. > You have been bestowed a blessing by the ancient protector of the Mauduun. > New Title: Last of the Mauduun: Within your mind lies memory of the Mauduun. Allows for communication with a spirit tree. Along with the memories, the tree imparted knowledge that blossomed in my mind. Instantly, the mysterious pulses I'd felt before made sense.

Each wave had blasted mana into the room, flowing into anything willing or able to accept it. > Item Identified. > Greater Concept of Suffusion > Created by a spirit tree's final moments. > Quality: Rare I became aware of my presence back in the atrium as the tree slowly extricated itself from my mind, and a warm sensation emanated from the concept in my hand. Unprompted, it connected with me, to my soul. The lingering touch of the tree guided the action, though I was never out of control.

I allowed it to show me, knowing that it understood matters far better than I. > Combine Concept of Suffusion with [Imbue Item]? > Yes/No I agreed quickly, trying to get past the experience to help my friends, and felt the orb pull flow into me and combine with my core.

> Arcane Artisan skill unlocked: Arcane Imbuement > In addition to imbuing an item with a concept to create magical items, you can also directly infuse objects with mana that can be manipulated to perform a function as long as it is suffused with mana.

The vine unwound itself from me, and the tree died. Sounds of battle arrived, and I quickly realized that the visions I had seen must have only taken a moment.

"Hit them from behind! We're not going to be able to keep them off much longer!" Greg was frantically swinging the spear like a club. It bounced off of a skeleton, only sending it back a couple of steps. Gene's arrows lodged ineffectively into the skulls, only taking one down when it was hit with an awakened fire arrow. I pulled away from the tree and slung my hammer as hard as I could at the towering skeleton above me. I was a fairly tall man and could just comfortably reach its head.

The heavy hammer smashed into the back of its skull and crushed it, causing the body to drop into a clattering heap.

"Try stabbing them in the face with the spear!" I shouted to Greg, just as Emmie's fists flared to life. She dropped her crutches and began swinging, knocking the head off of the one in front of her and into the skeleton behind it. It stumbled, and I took the opportunity to kneecap it. I jumped on top of it and slammed my hammer down, stilling the beast.

"Augh!" White-hot pain lit up on my side as a clawed, bony hand raked at my ribs.

"Fuck! I got you, Logan!" Emmie launched herself up and over a skeleton, slamming a blazing fist down on the top of my attacker's head. The bleached white skull behind her followed her vault, and Greg took the opportunity to stick a spear through it. The last undead Sloan dropped with a flaming arrow entering the side of its head. I groaned and shifted my bag to get a look at my side. Four gashes were opened in my shirt, which was already darkening with blood.

I gingerly sat down on the steps and started to bring out my only other shirt when Gene stopped me.

"Don't need to go wastin' a good shirt, even if you do need a change. Nancy sent me off with some bandages in case something happened." He took out a brown package and unraveled it before wrapping it tightly around my chest.

"Might sting a bit. She's got a coagulant mixed in that don't feel none too good." His warning came too late, and I gasped at the sharp stinging coming from my already aching side. Greg slapped my shoulder on his way down the steps and barked a laugh. Definitely a dick. Held his ground, though… I really wouldn't mind having him along again. I was lucky that the tree had been benevolent. It was a sobering thought that I could easily be dead if circumstances had been slightly different. I wasn't on my own here.

People relied on me, and my actions would need to start reflecting that. I had to be more careful. Favoring my side, I walked back over to the tree. Awakening from its long slumber had proven to be too much, triggering its death bloom. Either that, or it had simply had enough of this life, unable or unwilling to face the future without its people. Multi-colored fruit had matured and dropped from the limbs, and I gathered them, placing six in my pack. I took one last look in the hollow where the concept had rested.

A small, shimmering blue teardrop lay at the bottom of the trunk. I reached in to pick it up.

"You really didn't learn the last time!?" Greg was wide-eyed and pointing his spear at the nearest skeleton.

"It's safe now," I said hollowly, grunting with the pain from my ribs.

"The trees dead." > Spirit Tree Seed > Seed of a fabled Spirit Tree. > Quality: Epic A faint sense of familiarity brushed by me, and then it was gone. I pocketed the seed, wanting to keep something so valuable close by. Ignoring the strange looks from the others, I got my hatchet out and apologized fervently to the tree. I wouldn't make the same mistake this time.

"Sorry, buddy."