Part 10
Leaves in the Wind
“Unlike these two I may prove to be a bit more rooted,” said the leader of the brigands and as he spoke a tree on the side of the road began to shake and rise. Slowly, it walked in front of their path.
“A tree?” Ranin asked.
“It seems so,” Namic said. “A Treant, I would say.”
“Before you begin, I would like to know your name,” the man said with a smile.
“In this form call me the Vassal of Wind.”
“Well then, if you will not concede, I have no choice,” the man gestured and the Treant’s limbs sprouted out towards the Vassal of Wind.
The Vassal leapt from the cart, firing two wind arrows before landing. The wind pummeled the Treant but it seemed unaffected. Slowly the Treant’s limbs continued to grow. They reached towards the Vassal but he evaded.
“The longer this lasts the larger the Treant will get,” Namic noted.
“And our friend’s weapon seems ineffective,” Ranin said.
The Vassal released a volley at the closest branch. As the arrows of wind struck against the branch, they buffeted it back sending several of its leaves floating to the ground but left the branch unharmed.
“His attacks have little effect,” Ranin noted.
“Indeed,” Namic said. “This Treant has all the strength of a tree and all the weaknesses too.”
The Treant had almost doubled in size and its limbs were still seeking the Vassal. The Vassal of Wind leapt through the air continuing to fire bolts of wind at the tree before landing on one of its limbs. Even as he leapt off the limb, new branches were sprouting, attempting to ensnare the Vassal.
“A relentless foe,” Namic stated.
“Grab him,” the man said to the Treant and the branches began to encircle the Vassal.
“Sworder!” the girl cried as the Vassal was enveloped within the canopy.
The Vassal fired six shots at one branch forcing it back and then proceeded to jumped through the opening.
“The bolts he fires appear useless but they actually have a useful effect!” Ranin said.
“In this form he is nimble enough not to be caught by this Treant,” Namic said.
More branches came after the Vassal. Rapid firing, he could do little more then knock all the leaves off one branch, before he had to retreat.
“Still in the face of this relentless attack, he can’t hold out forever,” Ranin said.
“Indeed, but he can still harm the Treant, as stated earlier it has all the weaknesses of a tree,” Namic said.
“What weakness do trees have? Fire?” Ranin began. “But what can this form do to stop the thing?”
The Vassal leapt back snipping off a sprouting twig. Two branches pursued him as the one he struck bare earlier slowly retreated growing smaller. Vines and branches swung around the Treant as it attempted to subdue the Vassal of Wind. The Vassal, however, began targeting the sprouting twigs.
“He is attempting to reduce the number of objects pursuing him,” Namic said. “It will buy him quite some time, but eventually it will still grow too large for him to evade.”
The Treant shivered and a smaller branch whipped out at the Vassal as he bound through the air. The Vassal pummeled it with wind shaking it bare of leaves and stopping its approach. The Treant emitted a growl as it withdrew the bare branch and pressed with a much larger one. The small bare branch slowly shrunk until it molded back into the branch from which it sprouted.
“This is strange,” Ranin said.
“It’s the weakness of any plant,” Namic began, “Its leaves.”
“It won’t grow where there are no leaves!” Ranin said.
“Correct, but has our friend seen it yet.”
The Vassal continued his assault on the sprouting branches but he was slowly losing ground. The Treant was growing even larger and its vines were whipping at the Vassal. A vine, suddenly, locked onto the Vassals leg. Quickly, he shot himself free, as another went for his arm. Using his bow he deflected it as he made to escape.
“Time is running out,” Namic said
As the Vassal fought with the vines, ivy was slowly forming on the trunk of the Treant and expanding onto the ground around it.
The Vassal was forced into the air by the encroaching vines when a large branch seized hold of him. Restricted at the waist, the Vassal of Wind pulled back his bow to full draw and held it there taking careful aim. When he released, gale force winds hurled from his bow.
The gale racked against the tree, blowing away the approaching vines and shaking the Treant violently. Then suddenly, the Vassal was released by the withering branch, stripped bare of leaves. The Vassal watched the withering branch before standing and snipping the leaves off the Treant.
Branch by branch the Treant shrunk. It hissed and growled as its leaves were torn off, but the Vassal kept up his assault. Slowly, the Ivy died and the vines withdrew as the Treant withered and became smaller and smaller.
The Vassal lowered his bow after removing the last leaf, but the Treant continued to shrink. Slowly, it became shorter and thinner until it sunk into the ground, disappearing completely.
“Impossible!” the leader said watching the Treant’s defeat, then turning to the two thugs, continued, “Grab your crossbows!”
But with two rapid bolts from his bow the Vassal of Wind disabled the weapons.
“And now,” The Vassal said, calmly as he leveled his bow towards the leader. “The Justice which awaits robbers.”
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