Vengeance of the Vines

[Sol Drugont]

Of the many kingdoms of life on the world, perhaps the most interesting are animals and plants, more specifically the relationship between them. Animals consume plants for energy, yet when animals die, their bodies decompose into the soil which is used by plants. Plants use this energy to create seeds, but some of them rely on animals to spread these seeds. Plants take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen; animals take in oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. The cycle continues endlessly, allowing all life to flourish.

Strange, though, when plants decide to disrupt this order by uprooting themselves and attacking animals. Most would consider this impossible, including Sol Drugont who thought about this strange, unnatural circumstance as he paced around the small village of Vartulc. Vartulc was a simple farming village which lived season to season on the produce of its people’s toils in the soil. Occasionally, a passing merchant would set up shop and trade goods with the people before heading to the next village to do business. Villagers would also gather excess crops and store them for the winter or take them to the closest town or city and sell them to make a profit. It was a simple and successful way of life, but it was also vulnerable.

At that time Vartulc’s defenselessness was taken advantage of by an enemy the farmers had never seen. Every other day or so, be it night or day, a group of humanoid monsters made entirely of vines and branches would emerge from the nearby forest and attack the village. They would slaughter the villagers and ruin crops just by simply touching them. In the past they had fought back with sickles and fire, but the monsters came back all the more ferocious. Fortunately for them, Sol was passing through on his search for his sister. Although they knew nothing of her, the villagers begged him to help defend them from their attackers. He couldn’t say no to their pleas and agreed to help defend them and stop whatever was creating these abominations. In return, the families provided him with shelter and food.

It was his second week in Vartulc and Sol had still not discovered what was causing these monsters to attack the farmers and their families. Even worse, nearly all the children were bedridden with a disease they had never seen before. The fire in his gut told him the plant beasts had something to do with it, but how? He needed to destroy the source of this new plague soon. Luckily, the villagers had sent for a healer a couple days ago. The healer should be arriving any time soon, Sol thought as he paced about, his eyes watching the farmers till the land, making thuk sounds as the hoes struck the dirt. He could only hope the healer would save these children before it was too late.

[Blackjack]

Despite the sun’s rays beaming down upon her the day was fairly cool and so riding in the back of the cart wasn’t nearly as miserable as it could have been. Eager with greenness to get to work on a real assignment Momo was practically hanging over the cart’s edge looking ahead towards the small village up ahead. It was a small village with maybe a hundred or so people. Farming was the village’s mainstay and it was perfectly located for such. Nestled in the center of a spacious grassy valley the village had ready access to fresh water from the narrow river to the East and a subtle breeze from the mountains in the West, and a good source of lumber from the forest to the North. Momo couldn’t imagine why such a peaceful town like this would need to call all the way to the monastery for a monk. Regardless, she was there now. She wasn’t supposed to be the only one there, but it seemed that her superior was running a little behind schedule. In a pigeon message he assured her he’d be there within the week. It was protocol for any newly graduated monk to be assigned easier requests and be accompanied by a superior in order to form a proper assessment of their skills. Once a superior deemed it so, the new monk could become fully fledged and be dispersed to fulfill requests on their own. This was Momo’s first assessment so she couldn’t says she wasn’t nervous, but at the same time she was eager to start putting into practice her skills.

The cart came to a smooth stop, and before the driver could turn around to say “ we’re here” Momo had already leapt out.

“ Goodness,” said the driver, an elderly man. Slowly, with creaking bones he lowered himself from the cart and beckoned for Momo to follow him into the village. All too eagerly Momo followed at his heels wishing he’d pick up the pace.

The inside of the village was just as picturesque as the outside. The houses reminded Momo of the doll houses she played with as a child. They had well trimmed gardens with well framed windows, she expected to see the people of the village dressed in beautiful dresses just like her dolls. But it was strange. She didn’t see anyone at all. “ Where is everybody?”

“ Inside. These days going outside hasn’t got much reason. Here,” he stopped in front of the brick building labeled “ Infirmary”. The porch was wooden and white washed but the paint was chipping slightly, the first signs of neglect. “ Ask for Dr. Knoe, she’ll teach you the ropes,” putting his hands in his suspender pockets the old man turned and went back to whatever it is he had to do.

“ Thanks!” Momo called after him before turning towards the infirmary’s double doors. She was sure her supervisor wouldn’t’ mind if she got a little head start.


Leaving behind the warm sunny spring air Momo carefully pushed open the infirmary doors, exchanging tweeting birds for sounds of children’s wails. Wincing, she could hardly stand the shock, tranquility into chaos. All around her nurses were rushing this way and that with bowls of water and rags in their hands. Their long white skirts were dirtied and their hair hardly stayed up in their buns. Everyone’s face was tired and worn from stress but desperate. The air inside was warm, warmer than it should have been, and much to stale to be healthy. In this kind of temperature disease could grow quickly, didn’t they know that?

“Pardon m- Excuse me! Hey! I’m-!” it didn’t seem like she could get a word in edgewise amongst the hurrying nurses and their shouts to one another.

“ Are you sick, dear?” seemingly out of nowhere a chilly hand pressed itself up against her forehead. Startled, Momo recoiled. The phantom of a woman she saw before he could hardly be a nurse. Her skin was pale and her hair all a wreck. What fueled this woman to even stand was a mystery.

“ No no, I’m not sick. I’m here from the monastery. I’m the one you sent for,” she placed her hand upon her chest and bowed her head. “ My name is Momo Ame.”

“ OH thank the heavens!!” The nurse looked as if she may cry the way her eyes brimmed with glossiness and her hands trembled. She put her own chilly hand upon her tired forehead and gathered what wits she had about her. “ Please, follow me, you’re much needed upstairs with the children.” The nurse beckoned for Momo to follow her up the wooden flight of stairs which led to the loft where Momo could hear moans and groans. Feeling a small bit of anxiety Momo kept her eyes on the end of the nurse’s white dress which swept up the stairs.

The smell was overwhelming but she couldn’t even begin to compare it with anything else. It smelt like illness, that was the only way to describe it. How could they stay in such conditions and have any hope of recovering? The sight was far worse than the smell. Children in beds crammed from wall to wall, at least a dozen and a half. Some were awake overcome by coughing fits, but most were still in their beds. A few more tired nurses passed Momo and her guide, but only one stopped, placing her hand on Momo’s shoulder.

“ Thank God you’re here.”

Suddenly her hand was like a ton of bricks set upon Momo’s shoulders.

Outside, the old cart driver led his ox towards the pin just beside the potato patch. He spoke to the animal as if it understood his gossip. Licking his dry and wrinkled lips he said quietly. “ You know, I wonder what will become of this village if things keep heading this way.” Passing Sol to his left the old man continued. “ Boy I do feel sorry for that monk, dropped in the middle of all this.” the old man shook his head and clicked his teeth.

[Sol Drugont]

Sol’s eyes followed the healer into the infirmary, offering an unsaid gift of sympathy for her. So many children depended on just one woman’s, no, girl’s ability to heal. At first he found it rude that the group Vartulc had asked for help would only send just one young girl. On second thought, though, perhaps this farming village could only afford this kind of…inexperienced healer.

“These unfortunate villagers,” Sol thought aloud. “I can only offer my prayers that this pestilence is removed as soon as possible.”

His sympathetic sentiments were cut short as a disturbing feeling boiled in his gut. It was as if a fire was just lit inside his belly and slowly growing into an uncontrollable inferno. He knew this feeling…he felt it the night of the coup of his family…something dangerous was coming. Following his instincts, his hand gripped the hilt of his sword and darted his eyes over the horizon surrounding the village. It did not take long for the dangerous something to appear from the direction of the forest. The dangerous something was in fact ten dangerous somethings, and not at all unfamiliar with Sol. These were the creatures that attacked Vartulc, the reason he was hired in the first place. They did not have a name, for they were nothing Mother Nature had birthed.

The villagers simply called them “the monsters”, for obvious reasons. Each monster looked human only in shape, and their anatomy was similar as well, although entirely plant-based. If they were human, they would be humans made only of muscle and bone, with dark brown branches making up the skeletal structure and flexible vines acting as muscle tissue. Their elbows were armed with incredibly large thorns, sharp as blades. On each hand was also a set of thorns, not unlike a tiger’s claws. Evil, dark purple lights glowed where eyes would have been. Sol didn’t really see the point of them having these eyes, since removing their heads did not kill them nor inhibit their ability to viciously, and accurately, turn someone into a bloody mess. He had learned this fact from past attacks.

“Monsters!” Sol shouted loudly, cupping his hands to his mouth. “Monsters!” He did not have to repeat himself. At the sound of the word the villagers screamed and ran towards a makeshift shelter Sol had helped construct. Normally the people would have fled to their homes, but Sol realized that if the monsters got inside them, it would be too difficult to stop them from killing due to the small space. Furthermore, the homes closest to the forest were the most endangered. Therefore, Sol had proposed the idea to build a shelter on the side away from the forest to better protect the villagers. He knew that if the monsters got inside the shelter, it would be like giving a weasel full access to a basket of eggs. However, he was confident that he and the men of the village could hold them back.

“Gather together!” Sol called to the men, drawing his sword. Before Sol had arrived, the men of the village had fought off the monsters with sickles and torches. All Sol had to do was organize them and direct their actions. He was no experienced general, but he knew more in the ways of war thanks to his games of strategy with his instructors. He’d have to thank them someday, assuming they survived the rebellion back home.

Counting Sol, there were 26 armed to defend Vartulc. 26 to 10 seemed good at first, but these creatures they were up against did not know fatigue nor fear and could only die if utterly destroyed. This was accomplished by burning them or hacking them into firewood. He was about to order the charge when he noticed something odd about the monsters’ movements. Normally they spread out so as to increase their area of damage to the village. However, they all moved as one entity in one direction. Sol followed their direction with his eyes and took in a sharp breath once he realized their intended target.

“They’re headed for the infirmary!” The young defender gripped his sword tight in fear, commanding his feet to run faster than the plant demons. The men followed, shouting viciously. Whatever fear they had was replaced with a weapon all creatures should rightly fear: a parent’s wrath. These men had children sick in the infirmary. They would rather lose their children to the disease than see them die at the thorns of these merciless devils. Sol had no need to state their objective. The monsters could not, under any circumstance, enter the infirmary. The only deaths today would be the demons’.

“Torchmen! Ready the flames! Burn any who dare to get close!” he commanded. The blazing torches were nothing compared to the fire burning in every man’s eyes. The monsters let out a cry which sounded similar to a cold wind cutting through a tree’s canopy, only the sound threatened to cut the men’s ears. The demons of vine and wood collided with the farmers, some knocking away the torches while one was unfortunate enough to get a face full of fire. Sol swung his sword out to meet the claw-thorns of one beast. The thorns were as sharp as any dagger, making them able to withstand any normal blade in combat. The monster swung viciously at him, its glowing purple eyes damning him to whatever hell it believed in. The sounds of pain as men were slashed by thorns mixed with the screams and cries of the women and children inside the infirmary, turning Vartulc into a village of chaos. Sol’s opponent slashed through his tunic, snagging its thorns in his chainmail. He winced slightly as he felt the sharp tips prick his chest and cursed himself at letting his foe get the chance to even attack such a vital area. Taking advantage of the surprised demon, Sol roared and lifted his blade upward, removing the arm attached to his chest and then swung again in a wide arc, sending the top half of the monster to the ground. Not letting up his chance, Sol then dismembered the creature completely, severing its other arm and head before it considered sticking its thorns in Sol’s ankles.

Sol scanned the battle quickly, assessing the situation. Three of the monsters had been defeated, but nine of their men had fallen already. If only they had been armored appropriately, they wouldn’t have succumbed, but that was asking too much from a simple farming village. His eyes then caught sight of a monster that had slipped past the defense, making its way towards a window. At first Sol considered tossing a torch at it, but he couldn’t risk missing and accidentally setting the infirmary ablaze. He ran for it, roaring loudly to grab its attention away from the screaming children inside. His tactic succeeded in distracting it, allowing Sol to swing his sword while it was still off-guard. Its reflexes were quick, however, as it dodged his attack by slipping to the right. Sol moved quickly to place himself between the beast and the infirmary. Children looked out the window at his back as he stood there, his sword held before him at the ready.

“You’ll have to take my life before you touch any of the children.”

[Blackjack]

Momo had barely enough time to exhale the anxiety gathered up in her lungs before the shouts and commotion from outside reached the infirmary. The nurse who had her hand upon Momo’s shoulder pulled it away and floated to the second floor banister, leaning forward and calling down to her fellow healers. “ What’s going on out there?”

“ The monsters!! The monsters have come!!” cried a nurse who was hurrying to barricade the door with chairs and any other pieces of light furniture. A few other nurses worked together to push the basin washstand towards the door.

“ Monsters?” piped Momo, who’d heard nothing about any of this.

“ Oh you dear girl… They must know we’ve received a monk.” The nurse took Momo’s shoulders in her hands and looked her in the eye. “ Our village has been under attack by these creatures for some time now. The-”

“ Attack? Monsters?” Momo blurted out using her small arms to break the nurses’ hold as her body wiggled out. “ People are gonna be hurt!” with haste Momo practically flew down the stairs, her chocolate pigtails bouncing at every step. She had to get out there to help. Her meager protection spell wasn’t much but it was something.

“ No! You can’t go out there! Come back!” The nurse cried from the second floor.

Momo ignored that nonsense. Already she was at the dark wooden door pulling at the chairs to clear a path for exit. Surprisingly, for her small size Momo was quite strong. “ Help me move this stuff!” Momo pleaded to the other nurses who had just settled to wipe their brows of perspiration from the labor of putting up their barricade. Momo received unanimous looks of bewilderment.

“ What’re you doing? You’re going to let those creatures in here!” The eldest of the nurses pulled Momo away from the chairs, which wasn’t difficult considering her size. But like a ball of energy Momo wiggled herself free again and lunged for the window. This time all the nurses made lunge for Momo to stop her.

“ Go upstairs, children!” Frantically the nurses tried to clear the children away from the windows, though Momo was pushing them aside just as effectively.

“ I need to help them!” Momo’s small fingers unlatched the lattice window and tore the flaps open. Instead of fresh air Momo smelt a terrible stench, almost like rotting vegetables… Instinctively Momo’s hands shot up to her face to cover her mouth and nose from the horrible odor.

“ Ahhhhh!!” screeched on of the nurses behind her. The woman pointed and cried out wide eyed at the beast just feet away from the window. The other nurses joined chorus and one even fainted of sheer fright.

Like a deer in headlights Momo stood in the window, stunned, shocked, horrified, all of those things in one. Her heart wasn’t beating fast, in fact, she didn’t even know if it was beating at all. Never before had she faced such a… scary monster!! The only thing which now stood between her and the monster was a thin wall of human boy and a sword. Human boy! Right!

She had to physically shake her head to snap out of her daze. She was no use gawking, she’d come to help, and help she would. Momo hadn’t the chance to ever use her skills in real action, but she’d practiced enough to be confident in her casting abilities. Like all her training before this she prayed inwardly for benevolent powers from above. Her prayer was answered with a warmness in the center of her chest that she could feel spread throughout her entire body.

“ Protect this boy,” Momo whispered inaudibly. From above Sol, a soft white light gently settled itself upon him like a blanket of transparent armor. Momo could feel the protection prayer drain the benevolent warmth from her body, but that meant everything had gone well. Now Sol would have an extra bit of unseen defense.

“ Okay, I helped.” Momo announced quickly as she swung the window shut and latched it. Eager to get away from the monster Momo scurried away from the window breathing out a long sigh. The other nurses only stared at the tiny monk, for none could quite understand this peculiar girl.