127: The Scourge of Vision Vale
Chapter 127: The Scourge of Vision Vale
RAVHEN
“Why is it called Vision Vale?”
Plume’s chirping question was pretty normal for him. Years after they’d encountered one another, the rooken’s speech was much more clear, but he’d never ceased to ask questions. It was a curiosity that even Ravhen found charming, in a way.
He knew Plume was getting older now, for a rooken. Slower, lighter, less of a fighter. He still had many years left in him, but was no longer an active scout. Much like himself.
Ravhen rubbed at his sore back as he looked out from the watchtower at the seething mass of bugs consuming the crops in the valley. The Scourge were not dumb, they had learned, but neither did they have much grasp of tactics. He’d been looking forward to this day, even if he was too old to participate in the battle, much like Plume. Thrusting a spear, he could still handle a lone bug, but the younger Sylen would last much longer in a prolonged battle.
“I don’t know.” He answered the question honestly, scratching the back of his head. There were more of the Scourge than they’d anticipated, but he had confidence that it wouldn’t matter. This was the largest gathering of cross-species allies he’d ever heard of, and with the new dwarven blades the Sylen wouldn’t be at a disadvantage against the armored bugs.
But he didn’t know why it was Vision Vale. This wasn’t the region he was used to wandering, he didn’t know the associated lore.
The third figure on the platform stepped forward and grasped the rail. “I’ve heard it is because the plants on the slopes would make people in the valley see things that weren’t there. Some kind of natural drug. I’m not from this region either.”
Ravhen glanced to the side, but tried to avoid staring. He wasn’t sure if the Aravel next to him was used to it or not, but she’d been surprisingly timid throughout her time in the watchtower. He knew who she was, of course. She was by now as famous as he was.
Reyth Duskwall, the Dragon Maiden.
As an Aravel, she stood nearly a head taller than him, but her build was delicate and light compared to his own. That didn’t fool him… he knew she’d made the pilgrimage to and from the Duskwall multiple times by now. That sort of journey wouldn’t leave her with a frail constitution, even if she relied heavily on magic. She was also probably older than he was, even if she still looked on the cusp of adulthood, only softened by the slight ageless quality Aravel elves picked up as they matured.
Once again, he couldn’t help glancing at her lifewound bracelet. He knew Aravel traditions well, and her bracelet was unusual for someone of her fame. The base was a fine thread, and nothing unusual, but the bright blue cord that wound through the bracelet was different. It shifted in colors constantly – even now subtly taking on a greenish tint – and was a source of mystery and gossip amongst the elves of the city.
The thread made it very clear that Reyth had a life partner, but no one had ever seen her in public with one. The bond socket on the bracelet also held a flat, grey stone despite this. She was unbonded, and not looking for a bond partner, even after octads of experience.
For an Aravel of her significance, that combination was almost unheard of.
He forced his attention back toward the valley, where the writhing mass of insects had already devastated most of the fields. More and more poured in from the passage in the hillside, only now starting to slow. The faint ripple of a veil over the watchtower barely registered, though Ravhen noted it in the back of his mind. Reyth had a lot of fame, but her veil skills were still barely greater than those of a novice.
Plume glanced up and over, but Ravhen placed a hand on his old friend’s back. He dipped an ear downward in gentle reassurance. “It’s fine. She has other classes.”
“Do you think it will work?” Reyth’s soft voice cut into Ravhen’s contemplations, startling him. It was still so strange to see how the Dragon Maiden, Messenger’s Chosen, sounded so quiet and meek in many ways. He’d seen her stare down the Grand Priest of Kelas without flinching, so he knew she could be fearless. Only right now did she sound uncertain and almost childish.
Ravhen flicked an ear noncommittally. “This is the most casters I’ve seen working together in one place. I helped work on the plan, but plenty of elves more experienced than me helped. It has to work, or we’ll need to abandon these lands.”
The seemingly endless torrent of the Scourge had slowed to a trickle, signaling to the veiled [Earth Shaker] casters further up the slope to collapse the entrance. The insect-people could burrow, but not so fast that they could escape what was to come without using an existing tunnel. The rockslides that this caused crushed some of the insects, but rolling up into their armored shells saved more than a few.
Aravel mages worked in concert to do the next part. Ravhen could sense enough to know that Aqua was being pulled from the mass, surrounding it with a ring of moisture while drying out the middle. This prepared the area for the volley of Flame spells that doused the area, cooking the Scourge from the inside of their plated carapaces. Ravhen shuddered, fighting down a visceral disgust at the loss of so much life.
This had to be done.
Though primitive, the Scourge had a few of their number who could use rudimentary magic. Counterspells and other defenses leapt into action, saving many of the insects, but the bulk of the damage had been done. Their numbers crippled, the Scourge tried to form up and organize in their own amateur way. Ravhen could see the beginning of organization there, confirming again that these were thinking creatures. The thought made him more ill.
He looked away as the line of Sylen and Calen soldiers approached to finish the job. Sturdy shields protected them all, and long spears with dwarven metal tips that could pierce the hard plating of the Scourge bristled outward from the loose formation. This was a tactic the dungeoneers often used, now put to use at scale against a larger enemy.
He did not want to see the slaughter. He was too old for this.
Instead, Ravhen glanced at Plume, who watched in fascination as always. His own people were already harrying the Scourge from above, using slingshots and their own few casters. The rooken didn’t delight in death, but they seemed more willing to deal it out than elves. Worrying, if not for their utter bedazzlement with elven culture.
To his other side, Ravhen saw Reyth clutching at her heart. The Aravel showed the same signs he had… a tremor of her tail, a paleness to her cheeks, and a tightening of her jaw. She looked physically ill, but she did not look away either.
“You don’t have to watch,” Ravhen murmured. “It is not pleasant. We need to cull their numbers or they will slowly kill us, but we don’t have to enjoy it.”
The Dragon Maiden flicked an ear in negation. “No. I need to watch. I need to understand this kind of thing. After all this time, I still don’t, not like she…”
Aravel eyes glowed, hiding the pupils, but Ravhen could still see how the other elf glanced ever so briefly downward at her wrist. It was but a moment, but even at his age, he couldn’t miss that subtle movement. Octads in the dangerous wilderness had honed his senses too much to pass over that sight.
The noise didn’t reach them, but at this point the faint stench of burning insects could reach the trio atop the watchtower. Ravhen’s stomach turned despite all the noxious things he’d been forced to eat during his explorations, simply from knowing what it was. He could see Reyth’s muzzle twitching and her tail curling tight, signaling her own disgust and distress.
Ravhen didn’t dare touch her, but he stepped closer at least. “You don’t have to watch it all. No one should be forced to. I don’t think anyone would ask for you to watch the entire thing.”
She only glanced at him, but the expression on Reyth’s face was suddenly harsh, and her words firm and clipped.
“No one asked.”
Ravhen stepped back in shock, bumping into the squawking Plume. He started to stammer an apology when Reyth’s features softened, her ears lifting in a gentle and reassuring gesture.
“That was harsh of me.” The Dragon Maiden took a deep breath and turned her eyes to the carnage below once again, this time without quite the look of illness she had before. “You were attempting to comfort me. I understand that, but you do not understand my life. Let me be, I will not suffer overly much.”
“Do you think this will work?” Plume cut in suddenly, the small rooken leaping up to perch on the railing of the platform while he looked down below.
To that, Reyth hesitated. Some called her a type of [Dream Speaker], one of those rare classes that could get glimpses of the Great Game of the Dragons and sometimes walked away with strange knowledge. Messenger’s apparently deference toward her hinted at such, but Ravhen had never heard of her actually making a claim.
So he was very surprised when she did, even if incomplete.
“I don’t know.” The honest answer sounded almost apologetic in how she stressed some of the syllables. “The Scourge breed so fast that they will almost certainly recover from this quickly. A few years and they will be back to their old strength.”
Reyth let out a long sigh as she stared down at the battle. The healers had been deployed, doing their best to keep anyone from taking a fatal wound. The elves, with their superior equipment and power, could easily take on ten times as many of the vermin as their number… but there were just so many Scourge. Injuries were inevitable, and each loss of an elf was far more devastating in the long term.
“We can hope that they learn the cost is too high for encroaching on the lands of elves and rooken,” Reyth murmured. “If not… we will survive, but it will be painful.”
Ravhen grunted. “It’s been a very interesting life for me. Not that I regret it. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I’d ignored that first Quest. Or if others had ignored the Quests driving us Dawnward. It’s easy to forget that you don’t have to listen to the System when it offers these things.”
One of Reyth’s ears flicked at that, and she gave him an odd look, eyebrow raised and tail lifting in amusement. The sudden shift from her queasy expression made Ravhen fidget in place.
“What? You’ve never thought about just ignoring the System?” Ravhen tilted his head, and Plume chirped at the exchange curiously. But Ravhen was worried that he’d stepped into one of the true believers who just didn’t think the System should ever be questioned. He knew a few of those.
Reyth’s only answer was a sudden, genuine peal of laughter.