170 Trak

The water's rippling finally gave up and drifted away from the group. Doevm sighed. As the sun retreated behind the mountains, the swamp darkened, the fog thickened, and the air cooled. The cacophony of creatures' calls assaulted their hearing. "Why is it so loud?" Thomas asked from the back of the formation. "I can barely hear my paddle splash in the water."

"It's because of the creatures here," Frey responded before Doevm could even open his mouth. "Most creatures in swamps are nocturnal." He glanced over to a small collection of trees to the left of them, which formed a triangle-like outline. In the center were tangled roots poking out of the soil. "That place looks like a good place for shelter." Before Frey could paddle over, Doevm tossed a rock at the "roots", which promptly slithered away. "Or not," Frey said. He cursed. "I can't see anything in this fog. I wish I had some light."

Almost on cue, a ball of bright light soared high into the sky a couple hundred feet behind them. A thunderous roar echoed throughout the swamp. From the hidden parts of the swamps, dozens of creatures of all shape and size ran out. They went straight past the group without so much as looking at them.

"What is that light?" Thomas thought out loud, holding a hand in front of his eyes.

"It is the artifact General Marble gave us," Doevm said. "When activated, it shoots a ball of light into the air so bright that it can pierce straight through the fog." The group stopped for a moment, staring at the ball of light as it faded from existence. "We should keep moving." Doevm pushed off the water, still heading north.

As they went deeper the water began to lessen, only appearing in shallow patches. The trees the more northern parts of the swamp were thicker, taller, and in denser quantities. That didn't mean safety however, as various creatures of the night jumped out at them only to be met with sharp blades. Their corpses were stuffed into spatial rings. Bugs swarmed around the group, poking into their skin crawling under their clothes.

Thomas swatted the most bugs. His skin went red from him hitting and scratching himself. Elero's gears kept catching on various plants. Doevm constantly scanned the area, readying himself for any threat and searching for shelter at the same time. Frey was quiet.

After more paddling, the area brightened. It wasn't the moon, which was barely more than a sliver through the many thick branches, but insects buzzing around. Their bright cores flickered like beacons. Thomas's eyes lit up as he held out his hand, waiting in vain for one to land on his finger. "What are these things?" He looked ahead, at the hundreds flying around. They shone a soft blue on the green and brown trees, keeping nocturnal creatures, who hated light, back.

Thirty minutes after dark, Doevm stopped right before a line of five trees. Their many branches intertwined like their tangled roots. The group stepped off their Amphiboards and Thomas immediately sank to the ground. "Finally, a break," he said, rubbing his sore arms.

"This isn't a break," Doevm responded as he stepped forward, dragging his Amphiboard and paddle behind him. "We found it, some shelter." He walked around the collection of five trees and clicked his tongue.

The many trees which had grown in a circle around the center area provided a roof of branches, thick with leaves, beginning a little less than a single story above his head. A dense collection of fireflies flew around the space, flickering on and off, allowing Doevm to see around. The trees' many roots stretched outward towards the swamp but not towards the center area. Nothing could grow inside the white stone structure which had long since cracked and sunken into the center area. Only a few sections of the former watchtower were visible. They were covered in dozens of scratch marks, which had faded over time.

Leaning against one of the trees was a long, cracked support beam made of white stone. Before, it and a few other support beams were enough to hold up the entire watchtower over everything in the swamp. As Doevm ran his hand down the beam, memories flashed in his mind.

…

"They're dying!" Arthur called out to Doevm after their sparring session had finished. "Please, can you help us? They found our portal and we can't hold them off for much longer. I know you usually stay out of these things but I am begging you." He bowed his head.

The flames in Doevm's eyes dimmed for a second before coming back to their original brightness. "No Arthur, I will not help."

"But what about the magic academy?" Arthur kept his head bowed. "If it falls, won't you be sad that the study of magic will be set back? Even if you hate their practices, you must admit that they are advancing the field, even if it is just a little."

Doevm sighed and waved his skeletal hand. From a corner of the library came a naked skeleton servant with a board tucked its skeletal arms. "This is an Amphiboard, an invention of mine a long time ago. This might prove useful to you for navigating through the swamp."

"Thank you." Arthur said as he took the board, smiling.

'That damned smile.' "Do you still think this is not enough?" Doevm asked.

Arthur's fingers tightened around the board, and he kept his head bowed. "I'm sorry. I hate asking you for this. I hate myself for being so weak. I know this isn't enough. We just don't have enough men, weapons. I don't ask for spells, a highly deadly weapon, but basic things, weapons, a few Undead. I just…I don't know what to do."

"Arthur," Doevm put a hand on his shoulder and Arthur raised his head. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"And who rules the Acrin Kingdom?"

"The king."

"I see," Doevm's eyes flared, almost engulfing his skull. "The Acrin Kingdom has weapons, more weapons than you think. Look deep, where not even the light from that ginormous light crystal shines. There you will find you answer. Rip it from their hands, take the weapons you need from the people who rule behind the scenes. I have no patience for those who dare to feign incompetence then ask their hero, a boy, to beg for them and to waste my time."

"B-but are you saying they are hiding their power. Why would they do that?"

"Greed, what else?" Doevm asked as he looked up from Arthur, to the girl around his age following behind him. Her face paled as she looked at Doevm. She took a step back. "Who is this?"

"Sorry," Arthur turned to her. "Gwenivier, this is Doevm, Doevm, meet Gwenivier."

"I see," Doevm said. "You should be careful Arthur. There are many who want to take advantage of you, even Kingdoms. Wars will be fought because of your actions. Choose your allies carefully and know who you should really be defending."

"Thank you." Arthur said before leaving with the Amphiboard.

…

'You couldn't have at least been a little more careful when you fought?' Doevm thought. 'Well, I guess you can't be careful when you're facing down an army of demons, can you Arthur?'

Doevm put his hand down into the soil and nodded. "This is perfect. This is where we will be based." As he sunk down, he heard the rest of the group follow behind him.

"Isn't this a little out in the open?" Elero asked. "People will be coming for us, remember? This is like a beacon in the night."

"We will be in danger no matter where we go." Doevm said. "But I am not planning on keeping base here. This is just where we will sleep. We can't keep searching in vain." He cut at some of the branches hanging above their heads. Thomas was sweeping the area clean of dead leaves.

Elero and Frey began to pull the Amphiboards against the five trees and tied them up. Doevm looked up, at the many fireflies flickering on and off. "This is going to be a long week." He looked further into the swamp, using life essence around his eyes. Another artifact shone through the night. 'Or a short one if we aren't lucky.'

…

Trak sighed as he put on his mask and tied the leather straps around the back. He at his reflection in the water, finding that every part of his face was covered with blackened leather. "Trak, what are your orders?" a voice said from behind him.

"For now," Trak said. "Keep those nobles gagged and tied up. I don't want to hear their bitching. Just focus on finding more commoners and adding them to our group. If you can, knock any nobles unconscious and throw them with the rest." He turned around and looked at the dozen or so men waiting behind him, each with a mask of blackened leather. "We are the ones who have been spat on, those who are expected to live and die for those above us without question. I for one, am sick of it. I don't want rebellion, I want strength. For us, strength lies in numbers. Time to show the world what us commoners can do."