Frog of war, p.5
Frog of War, page 5
part #2 of Anura Rising Series
Henry strapped his axe across his back and planted the totem inside one of Kai's attached quivers. It lit a large enough area in front of the Goliath to allow Kai to steer Bug past any obstacles ahead. "Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's keep going."
Kai pushed Bug forward, and the creature responded excitedly, waving tentacles wildly and following Kai's voice commands. Henry found it hard to believe that this massive creature, which he was currently riding, was the same one that had sliced one of his obligates in half with his barbed tongue. Bug was proving to be a worthy addition to their little village, and Henry had to admit that he was really starting to grow on him. Other than the loud snores that echoed across the lake and into his cave, that was. Bug's giant feet landed solidly on the ground, sending mini earthquakes with each step. The colored bands that had marked the sky earlier gave way to darkness, with not a star or any other marker visible in the sky in any direction. The blackness past the totem’s reach was suffocating.
After a few minutes, Henry was lulled into his thoughts as he stared at the grass below their ride. His mind turned to his brother Ben, and how he'd thought he had been with him again. Now that Henry had some time to process his brother's cancer, he thought it would become easier to accept. Unfortunately, it was the opposite. Every time he thought about it, the more he wanted to run, to disappear. A memory that he had suppressed for a long time rose from within. One he wasn't proud of. It had been close to spring time. The weather was changing, which meant the days were getting longer. Henry had just started high school, and Ben was too sick to continue on to middle school. Their family was poor, due to all of the medical bills, so he usually had to ride the bus. Henry hated riding the bus, mainly because of a group of kids who couldn’t keep their mouths shut and took it upon themselves to make his life even more of a hell than it already was. There wasn't a day that would go by where they wouldn't ask if Ben had died yet. "Where's your dead brother? Why don't you just put him out of his misery? Can he even take a piss by himself? With all that radiation, is he even human anymore?" Henry had heard it all. Most days, he would stare out the window of the bus, peering into the swamp while willing the ride to be over. Not that day, though. A particularly husky bucktoothed kid, with his stupid, dirty Dodgers hat worn backwards over messy red hair, started up on Ben. Chad hadn't always been an asshole, and Henry knew he was just trying to get the other kids to like him, so he let it go most of the time. Earlier that day, though, Ben had woken up vomiting blood. Chad couldn't have known that, but Henry was fed up. "You suffocate your brother yet, so your parents can finally pay attention to you?" Henry had spun and jabbed his thumb directly into Chad's eye, ripping it back out and returned to staring out of the window. The others on the bus screamed in horror as Chad held his bloody eye socket. Henry was suspended for a week for that, and he hadn’t felt sorry one bit. After Chad returned to school, his eye was severely bruised, and Henry heard that he had lost nearly all his vision out of his left eye. When Henry told Ben what he had done, Ben shook his head. "You can't let them get to you, Henry. You’re better than that." Henry admired how Ben could still see the best in humanity, although he would have been lying if he had said it didn't annoy him.
A sharp poke in Henry's ribs tore him from his thoughts. He turned to discover Ott staring at him. He swallowed hard, trying to clear the memory out of his head. "What do you want, Ott?"
"You said you found something that may interest me back at Marais, correct? Well, what is it?" Ott's eyes were wide with excitement.
Henry nodded and propped himself against Bug's shoulder, grabbing his bag. It was much lighter, since he'd left most of his stuff back in the cave. He reached in and pulled out the small wooden box he'd found. "Do you recognize this? Somehow, I remember that you seemed pretty interested in what it contained. It was in that shop the day I arrived and you bitched at me about not wearing any clothes."
The shaman's body froze and he licked his lips. "That...it can't be. I tried to find that after the dragodile attacked. I thought it was long gone. Hand it here."
"Wait, I want to know what it is first. Why are you so crazy about whatever is in this box?" Henry pulled the box back and held it behind him, away from the shaman's grasp.
"I will show you. I made a deal with Ameye. He was holding it for me. I’d almost saved up enough coin to purchase it...but then, after the attack, I thought it was lost." Ott lowered his eyes before meeting Henry’s gaze imploringly. "Please, hand it here. It is something that means a lot to me."
The sincerity in the shaman's eyes was overwhelming, and Henry knew whatever it was had to be more than just a low level totem or something along those lines. "Here you go. I hope what you're looking for is inside." Ott reached out for the box and wrapped his hand around it. Henry didn't release his grasp right away. "I swear, Ott, if this is another totem, you are going to need to talk to somebody about your obsession."
"No, no. It is not a totem." He paused as Henry released his grasp. "Or is it..."
Ott flipped the chest over in his hand. The weight of it was a little more cumbersome for him than it had been for Henry. Ott smiled widely and held the chest up to the light. "This is it. This has to be it."
Adjusting himself to find a more comfortable position on Bug's back, Henry propped a foot against one of the handholds to stay in place. "Only one problem."
"What's that?" Ott looked up, his eyes filled with worry.
"I didn't see any keys." Henry shrugged. "I suppose I could try to smash it open. I mean, I've crushed bones with my heels before, so I don't think a box would be much harder."
"No, you mustn't. You don't realize what you may have retrieved. It is something I have been seeking for a long time. This was the reason I came to Marais and agreed to help Ogama. I was kicked out of my tribe, true, but I also heard that the Brugg had been holding onto something that they didn't understand. I found it, and after I showed interest in it, that crooked merchant Ameye hiked the price on me." A resentful scowl crossed Ott's face as he stared at the chest.
Kai perked up at the sound of the merchant’s name. She shifted her attention to the shaman and stared at the box in his hand. "I'm not sure what you are talking about. Ameye was an honest Brugg. One of the best around. He helped me out more times than I can count." She grabbed her bow. "He acquired this bow for me from a traveling merchant. I don't think he was ever unfair to any of the other Brugg either."
"I'm not every other Brugg, though. He knew my kind tends to like their gold and Anurite." His eyes shifted to the ground in embarrassment. "I wish I could say I was different, but I'll admit, I cannot help myself. If I see something I want...well...I fixate."
"That’s an understatement." Kai shook her head and turned Bug to the right along a small stream.
"Well, in any case, I am not sure it is even in that box, but I took a chance." Henry nodded toward the box and readjusted his perch, turning his head to watch the rapidly flowing water that was eerily illuminated by Ott's glowing totem.
Ott smiled and shook the chest slightly. "Oh, it's in there, all right. I can feel it."
8
Henry dismissed Ott’s excitement with a small wave. "Well, I'm not sure how you are going to open it. I didn't see any keys laying around. And if you are not willing to smash it, you may have to hang onto it for a while until you can figure it out or somehow come across a key."
"That's not exactly true." Soriah broke her silence and turned her head slowly toward the others. She reached down to her waist and pulled out a small ring of keys. "Ayden found these the day we arrived at your old village. We found a couple small boxes that we were able to open, but..." She trailed off and looked at the chest. "We didn't find anything like that."
"Oh, well, that makes perfect sense," Ott assured her. "I couldn't even see what it was until Henry handed it to me. Ameye was a powerful enchanter as well. I know that after I arrived, he placed many concealment charms on items to make them only visible to the other Brugg. I don't think he wanted me coming in and buying out his entire stock. Like I said, I like my gold, but I will tell you this much, I like to spend it more than earn it!" Ott chuckled to himself a little before turning the side of the box containing the lock toward himself.
"Wow, a concealment charm? That sounds impressive." Soriah's eyes widened.
Henry nodded and looked at Ott. "I agree. I'll have to see if I can somehow learn that myself."
Ott let out a loud laugh before clasping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but I do not believe you have really done much to increase your knowledge in the ways of magic. It’s not exactly an easy thing to learn."
Henry took offense to Ott's brashness, but he soon calmed himself. "I may have been focusing on strength a little too much. Maybe I will switch it up a little, if I ever get stuck with more greedy kobolds.” He started to reach for his tome but stopped as he saw the ring of keys in Soriah's hand. "Soriah, let me see those keys."
Soriah scowled. Her gentle face scrunched up and her black nose twitched. "You can say please, you know."
"Okay, you're right. Let me see those keys...please..." Henry responded sarcastically. His mom had always corrected him when he was younger, and he couldn't stand anyone else doing it.
Soriah gripped the keys with her curved clawed paws and slung them harder than she needed to toward Henry's head. "Heads up." She let a small grin slip as the keys hit Henry's forehead before they clinked down into his hand. "Uh, thanks." Henry rubbed his head as he flipped through the ring of five keys, sizing up the key hole on the chest in Ott's hands.
The shaman licked his lips in anticipation, his body shaking with excitement. "Hurry, hurry, the key has to be there."
Henry noticed Ott's impatience, so he took his time and examined each key individually, holding it up to the light and slowly turning it before lowering his hand and repeating the process.
Ott squirmed as Henry continued to draw it out. "Come on, just try them already."
"Easy, Ott; I want to make sure we use the right one. I don't want it breaking off inside the keyhole. That would be devastating, wouldn't it?" Henry smirked before finally handing the keys to Ott.
The shaman fumbled with the ring, quickly trying out each one in succession. The last one fit, and a soft click cut through the night. "There we go." A huge smile spread across Ott's face as he cracked the lid open. A soft green glow rose from inside the box.
"Go ahead and pull it out. You have all our attention. Might as well show us what you've got. Even though it is not technically yours." Kai turned atop Bug and held onto a leather rein attached to his helm.
"I do not think Ameye will be missing it any time soon." Ott reached inside the box and pulled out a large oval charm attached to a bracelet. "Thank you, Kana. It is here. I can't believe it. I thought this was lost for good. This will be invaluable in helping me find the remaining shards and completing my quest."
Henry leaned forward and tried to get a better look at what it was. "Let me take a look at it. I will give it back."
Ott pulled it back toward his chest before he reluctantly held it forward and handed it to Henry. The charm was about the size of an egg and had intricate designs carved into each side. Henry held it in his hand and his arm band immediately provided him additional information.
Ott reached forward and grabbed for Henry’s hand. "I don't think so. Give it back!"
"Ott, I need to see what the stats are! Give me a second!" Henry shoved the shaman's head back, nearly sending him flying off the Goliath's back.
Ancient Heirloom of Kana
Wrist
[+5 Intelligence]
[+20% to effectiveness of healing spells]
[Allows four totems to be utilized simultaneously]
[Spell power increased by 10%]
[Allows direct communication to Kana]
[Stats will level in unison with its wearer]
"Not too bad. I bet you wish it had a little better stats." Henry deadpanned, hoping to get a reaction out of the shaman.
Ott didn't disappoint. "Better stats? Better stats?! This heirloom was crafted from Kana's own shell. She allowed a piece to be broken off by a tribe from long ago. They were eventually defeated by evil, and the heirloom was lost." Ott held his scaled hand out and pointed toward Henry in an attempt to request his prize back.
"I was kidding." Henry paused as he caught sight of a marble-sized ball rolling around inside the chest. "Hey, what else is in that box you have there?"
"What do you..." Ott paused as he heard the ball hit against the side of the box, free to roll around after the trinket had been removed. "Oh, wow, this is amazing. It is an enchantment stone."
"An enchantment stone?" Henry furrowed his brow and stared at the small orange stone in the kobold’s hand.
Soriah cleared her throat. "Yes, they tend to be much smaller than that, and they usually offer bonuses like improving your tracking skill or increasing your strength. Orange ones tend to have something to do with a weapon, though." She nodded and faced forward again, sneaking an occasional sidelong glance toward the stone. Henry could tell that she was intrigued, and as much as she may not have wanted Henry to know she was interested, she couldn't help herself.
"I've seen similar rocks before. Augus has been finding many of these types of stones in the mine. I've been holding onto them for him, but none have been this large or well-formed." He held out a hand, and Ott placed the small, round stone on his palm. "Let's see what we've got here." He slipped it into his bag and his eyes went wide.
Rune of Greater Chain Lightning
[Equip in an available weapon enchantment slot]
[Chance on hit to create a blast of lightning that will strike an attacker and all other enemies within ten yards.]
[Damage on successful hit 12-16 HP]
[+2 Vitality ]
[+2 Stamina]
Henry couldn't hide his excitement at the stats he saw. After sifting through the countless shitty rocks that Augus had brought, he was happy to finally see something worthwhile.
"Didn’t that Onikuma axe I gave you have a couple spots for runes?” Ott adjusted the tortoise amulet around his neck and held out his hand.
Henry looked at the shaman’s hand and pulled his axe out to bring the blade into the totem light. “Just tell me how to use it. I’ll take care of it from there.”
Ott slowly lowered his hand and pointed toward the metal blade of the poleaxe. “Right there, where the blade connects to the handle. You will see two indentations. You should find a place where the rune will slip right in and attach itself.”
Henry rolled the stone in his palm before pulling his blade close and slamming the stone inside. “That...should, do it.” He struggled to get it to stay but it eventually clicked into place.
Ott grabbed the axe from Henry. “Maybe use a little finesse. Do you need to nearly smash everything you touch? Runes can be very fragile; you are lucky you didn’t break that one. Once it is in place, they are nearly indestructible.” He turned the head of the axe and examined it carefully while Henry held onto the handle. “Yes, I have a feeling you are going to like that one.” He pointed a long finger toward the second space that was still free. “See that there? You have room for another rune, like the one you just added. I’d probably stay away from using any of those stones that Augus has given you, though. I doubt any of them are worthwhile.”
“Anything else in there?” Kai leaned over and peered into the chest. “I wouldn’t mind using something like that.”
Henry grabbed the box and shook it. A small clicking still sounded within, but when he opened the chest, there was nothing there. “Doesn’t look like it. I guess we can keep our eyes out for other ones.”
“Ah! Wait just one second. If I know my friend Ameye, he wouldn’t have left those as the only things in this box. They typically have a hidden compartment.” Ott held a hand out toward Henry. “Hand it here. I will show you.”
9
Henry shook the box once more before handing it over to Ott.
“Check the bottom left corner. That is where I’ve seen merchants store things before.” Soriah had not shifted her gaze off of the chest since they had found the first rune.
Ott examined the ring of keys and selected the smallest of the five. He ran his hand across the bottom of the box and stopped upon reaching the left side. “Here, feel this.” He held the box up and waited for Henry to take it. Henry reached down and lifted the chest. He ran his finger across the bottom left and felt a tiny indent. “Give me those keys. Let’s see what’s in here.”
Ott handed Henry the ring and leaned in closer to wait for Henry to try the key.
Henry plunged the small key inside the hole and felt it fall into place. He turned it, and a small tray popped out from the front. Inside were several golden coins and two more round runes. “Wow, we really hit the jackpot here.”
Kai leaned over. “What type of runes are those?”
Henry picked up the small stones and reviewed each one, starting with a heavy brilliant orange gem.
Lynette’s Rune of Dexterous Cruising
[Increases archery damage by 20%]
[Chance on hit to poison target, causing 19 HP damage every second for 8 seconds]
[+5 Dexterity]
Henry read the stats aloud. As soon as he finished, an outstretched light green hand obscured his vision. "Don't make me fight you for it. You and I both know you will end up giving this to me anyway." Kai glanced down to her hand and then met Henry’s eyes. Henry nodded and placed the stone in her hand. She pulled it back and slid it along the top curve of her bow until the rune clicked inside. She smiled as the wood of her bow began to glow a dull orange. "This is great. I can't wait to try this out."
