Chlamydia suddenly came flying out of the fog at great speed. She was holding Damecus’ satchel, so I assume he gave it to her and threw her. She rolled as she landed and started vigorously rubbing her eyes.

  Kiyui rushed over to her, leaving Not Josh with me. Damecus slowly emerged from the cloud, still battling the vines. He was not battling them as he was before however. His eyes were closed and he was swiping his claws wildly.

  Dietrich: “What on earth is that stuff?”

  Damecus: “Stay back until it dissipates! It will blind you!

  Dietrich: “Are you telling me that you can’t see right now?”

  Damecus: “Yes! It is not helpful!”

  The cloud was thinning out, but Damecus was clearly struggling to fight without his vision. He did however, manage to edge himself backwards from the cloud far enough for the others to assist without risk of being blinded. Dietrich and the hammer guy moved forwards. They held the vines back, enabling Damecus to retreat.

  Damecus: “Chlamydia. Where are you?”

  Chlamydia: “Over here!”

  Kiyui was sat with Chlamydia, examining her head wound. He was trying to clean away some of the blood when Damecus arrived.

  Damecus: “Anybody in the vicinity that can see?”

  Kiyui: “I can.”

  Damecus: “In my satchel, vial of blue liquid, should shimmer when shaken. Retrieve it and give it to me.”

  Kiyui: “Understood.”

  I assisted Not Josh to the tree line, away from the battle. When I returned, Damecus was dripping the contents of the blue vial into his eyes. He then handed it to Chlamydia.

  Damecus: “Put this in your eyes. It will take a couple of minutes to work. But your vision will return.”

  The cloud had now fully dissipated. The plant was in a different position to before. It was on its side with the flower pointing towards Damecus’ group. What is it doing? I don’t know what this thing is… I don’t know what its capable of… shit.

  Dwynfel: “Damecus! The plant is on its side and the flower is facing you. It seems to be vibrating.”

  Damecus: “Shit!”

  The plant shot a long sticky tongue like thing forwards. Damecus turned and tried to claw the thing, but his vision had not recovered yet and he missed. The plant was not aiming at him though.

  The tongue crashed right into Chlamydia. The force was so strong that it knocked her back. She dropped the blue vial and tried to pull the tongue off her chest, but it was stuck on tight. Suddenly it started to retract. She was dragged along the floor. Kiyui tried to grab her hand, but he wasn’t fast enough. She still couldn’t see and was clawing at the ground to try and stop herself.

  Dietrich: “Cover me!”

  Dietrich dived towards the tongue and started stabbing it with her fruit knife while the hammer guy attempted to keep the vines away from her.

  The plant screeched as it was stabbed, but it did not relent. The tongue just kept moving. Chlamydia was dragged past Dietrich and Dietrich grabbed her hand. She dug her heels into the ground and desperately held on. She was steadily losing ground however.

  Dietrich: “Smash my left shoulder with your hammer!”

  Knight 3: “Are you insane?”

  Damecus: “Do as she says!”

  The hammer guy shrugged and smashed his hammer as hard as he could into her left shoulder before returning to the vines. I could see the shoulder dislocate from here. Dietrich let out a blood curdling scream. But it wasn’t a scream of pain… more a scream of pure anger. Her eyes furrowed in determination. Her heels started to indent the ground and she stopped moving forward.

  Chlamydia: “What’s happening?”

  Dietrich: “Stay calm, lady. I got this.”

  There were far too many vines for the hammer guy to fend off on his own. One swung at Dietrich’s legs… knocking her over. Then the two of them were being dragged across the floor.

  Dietrich: “Kiyui! Fist spell! Now!”

  Kiyui looked panicked. But he cast the spell instantly.

  Kiyui: “Explosive fist!”

  Chlamydia was dragged inside the flower, swiftly followed by Dietrich.

  Damecus: “What happened? Where are they?”

  Dwynfel: “They got dragged inside the plant thing!”

  Damecus: “We need to get them out of there… now!”

  In that moment, the vines started to flail wildly through the air. They were no longer targeting people… their movement seemed aimless. The plant itself went limp and its side started to split. A horrid looking yellow liquid started to flow out of the split. Then suddenly the entire side of the thing exploded.

  Dietrich emerged from the hole carrying Chlamydia over her non-dislocated shoulder. Their clothes and skin were badly damaged. It looked as if they had been melted in acid. Dietrich turned and kicked the plant.

  Dietrich: “This is my favourite dress!”

  The plant shook from the impact of the kick and fell down into a hole in the ground. Damecus was blinking heavily… trying to make out exactly what was happening.

  Damecus: “Dietrich! Is the lady Vermillion alive?”

  Dietrich: “Barely. She needs healing, now!”

  Dietrich rushed over to Damecus and placed Chlamydia on the ground. As she did, the crowd from inside the café started to emerge. Not Josh’s mother rushed over to him. But as she did, he rushed over to Chlamydia’s side.

  Not Josh: “You gotta save her! She saved me! You gotta save her!”

  Damecus: “Stay back child. You do not wish to see this.”

  Not Josh’s mother arrived by his side and tried to obscure his vision of Chlamydia. But he was having none of it.

  Damecus grabbed his satchel from Kiyui and started rummaging through it. Squinting hard the entire time. He pulled a bottle out of the satchel and thrust it into Kiyui’s face.

  Damecus: “Is this red?”

  Kiyui: “Yes.”

  He bit the cork out of the top of the bottle and began to pour it down Chlamydia’s throat. She coughed slightly, but most of the potion got down. The potion was healing her, but the acid on her body was continuing to cause damage.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Damecus reached back into his satchel and retrieved a tub of… I have absolutely no idea what it was. He opened it and sniffed it before smearing the contents of it all over her body.

  Damecus: “This will stop the burning from the acid.”

  It looked like she was attempting to talk. But she just wasn’t capable of getting the words out.

  Damecus: “I advise we get her to a magical healer as soon as possible. I assume there will be healers at the safe zones. My vision will be back to normal in a moment. Once it is healed, we leave.”

  He raised the tub up in the air in the vague direction of Dietrich.

  Dietrich: “No thanks, I’m good. Pain gives me a kick.”

  Damecus: “I highly recommend you rest and heal.”

  Dietrich: “I’ll rest when we get these people to the temple. What the hell was that thing?”

  Damecus: “Rafflesiopsis. A rather unfortunate and overgrown mix of a rafflesia, a pepper vine, and a Venus fly trap. They are not indigenous to this area. What is going on?”

  Dwynfel: “We don’t have time to explain. But you should avoid the main streets, they are chaos right now. You should travel through the gardens and cross the southern wall to get to the temple?”

  Dietrich: “You’re not coming?”

  Dwynfel: “We need to get to the north gate. I think we have a way to end this.”

  Damecus turned to me. His vision had cleared and he gave me a knowing look. He glanced at my sword and nodded at me. He clearly knew exactly what I was hoping to do. And he clearly knows that it’s the best chance that we have.

  He picked Chlamydia up off the ground and handed her to one of the waiters from the café. He then retrieved his club and shield before peering down the hole.

  Damecus: “This does not bode well.”

  Dwynfel: “What is it?”

  Damecus: “The Rafflesiopsis is not a burrowing creature. It did not form this tunnel. It simply used to tunnel to enter the city.”

  Kiyui: “But that thing’s huge. Are you saying that something bigger is tunnelling down there?”

  Gods… if that is true then we are so screwed. Endless creatures could have got into the city if that’s the case.

  Damecus: “Looks to be a wyrm of some description. Not big enough to be an abyss wyrm. An acid wyrm if the walls of this tunnel are anything to go by.”

  Dietrich: “Great… more acid.”

  Damecus: “The acid patches on the walls may have been caused by the Rafflesiopsis. But I cannot be sure.”

  Knight 3: “A wyrm burrowing under the city would explain how so many creatures got past the outer walls.”

  Damecus: “Indeed. I wish you the best of luck. Now go. There is no time to waste.”

  He moved towards the survivors from the café and took up a position at the front of them.

  Damecus: “Everyone stay close. Should we be assaulted once more, I do not want any stragglers. Understood?”

  The crowd murmured and nodded in response. Not Josh’s mother approached Dietrich with a look of distain.

  Mother: “Do you not think that you should get dressed before we leave?”

  I looked over at Dietrich. I had been so focussed on everything else that was going on, I hadn’t noticed that the acid had continued to melt her dress to the point where it no longer existed. Her mohawk had also melted away… as well as her eyebrows. Large parts of her skin also appeared badly damaged by the acid. She was unfazed by this and stood there ready to fight anything that might appear.

  Dietrich: “None of you guys have anything that would fit me. I shall borrow some armour from the paladins when we reach the temple.”

  She had a sudden look of realisation and rushed off to pick up the knife that she had dropped earlier. She then went to the tree line and picked a pair of rather elegant high heeled shoes. She returned to the group and handed the shoes to not Josh.

  Dietrich: “Had to kick them off before the fight started. Not really practical for an all-out brawl situation. Do me a favour and carry them for me, kid.”

  He smiled at her and gave an obedient nod.

  Mother: “I really must insist that you get dressed.”

  Damecus: “We have not the time. We must move.”

  Damecus started leading the group away.

  Dietrich: “You’re awfully prudish for a criminal’s mistress that works in the café of a clothing optional garden.”

  The woman looked back at Dietrich with a look of shock. She is clearly not used to people talking back to her. Not Josh looked perplexed by what had just been said. You could see the cogs turning his head.

  Not Josh: “Does that mean that I can take off these awful pants?”

  His mother clipped his round the back of the head.

  Mother: “Do not even think about it. You are a bastard child. You will never be taken seriously if you do not look respectable. Even if that means wearing uncomfortable…”

  Dietrich clipped her round the back of the head and the woman instantly glared at Dietrich in fury.

  Dietrich: “Not nice, is it?”

  Not Josh’s mouth hung open. He was staring at the situation in absolute awe.

  Mother: “How… very… dare you!”

  Dietrich: “Nobody cares about bastards anymore, not unless there’s an inheritance. And he’s not going to inherit anything from his father, so let the kid be comfortable and enjoy life. We could all die by the end of today. May as well go out comfy.”

  She knelt down and looked the boy in the eye.

  Dietrich: “You want ‘em gone?”

  The boy nodded and before his mother could object Dietrich had cut his pants off with her fruit knife, revealing what looked like a rather warm and comfortable pair of long-johns. I’m not surprised he was uncomfortable with those formal trousers over those. He must have been overheating terribly. Dietrich flung the trousers into the bush behind them.

  Mother: How dare you!”

  Dietrich: “His body, his choice. We need to go.”

  Dietrich gestured for the boy to walk ahead of her, but as the boy went to step forward his mother’s voice became one of fury.

  Mother: “You are a truly detestable woman!”

  Dietrich: “And you are wasting time. The others are leaving.”

  The deeply irritating woman squared up to Dietrich as if she was about to start a fight.

  Dietrich: “Lady, I’m naked, missing half my skin and only have one functioning arm. I could still take you down in less than three seconds. But we have wasted enough time already, so off we go!”

  Dietrich grabbed the woman and flung her over her shoulder. The woman kicked and shouted. She pounded her fists off Dietrich’s back. But Dietrich didn’t even flinch. She simply gestured for the boy to follow the group and they both started walking off in the direction of the southern wall.

  Dietrich: “Kid… your mother is beyond annoying.”

  Mother: “When this is over, I shall have you arrested!”

  As they walked away, Not Josh continued to stare at Dietrich with a look of astonishment. He is clearly not used to people talking back to his mother… or being allowed any level of personal autonomy.

  Knight 3: “I appreciate your concern for them. But we do not have the time to backtrack in order to ensure their safety. Nor stand here and stare at them until they are out of sight. We must away, now.”

  Kiyui and I looked at each other. Kiyui grabbed my hand and smiled a nervous smile at me. Not his normal smile. He is scared. He is trying to be brave for me. But I can see his fear. And he is right to be afraid. I’m fucking terrified. But courage is not about being fearless. It is about moving forward despite your fear. I refuse to be a bystander anymore. I can end this. Me. I can do this. With Kiyui by my side, I can do anything.

  Dwynfel: “Kiyui…

  I smiled back at him. But not a nervous smile. A smile of confidence.

  Dwynfel: “…we can do this. This is my destiny. It’s why I am here. And absolutely nothing is going to stand in the way of me protecting my family… from protecting you.”

  Knight 3: “For fuck’s sake, we don’t have time to stand around having heart to hearts. Talk and walk guys!”

  She should have a nose ring. Again... AI.