14. Through The Canopy
The party looked around in awe, wincing slightly at the bright light that now felt unfamiliar.
Up close, the tree branches were dotted with ethereal white and blue flowers and sparse, pale leaves. The flowers shone brilliantly blue. The thick, gnarled branches twisted out from a central massive stump, the tree reaching all the way to the back walls and ceiling.
The cavern was full of the thick scent of sweet honey.
The branches were wide and crisscrossed over each other, forming a flooring across the way. They could barely see the rest of the tree below.
As they walked, a feeling of dread crept in.
“Is it just me or is it freezing here?” Night asked. She breathed out into her hands but she wasn’t able to see her breath. She wore a look of confusion.
“Something is…odd here,” Shadowheart muttered.
Kal snapped his fingers together, trying to conjure a mote of fire. Nothing happened. “What the—“
“OH! An antimagic field!” Night screamed in terror, her hands tightening around her silver staff. She suddenly stopped walking, and stepped away from the nearest budding flower. “It’s coming from the flowers?”
Astor dug into his bag and extracted the book about Underdark vegetation that they had previously looted. He flipped to a page that depicted the familiar flowers. “Sussur blooms. The buds and petals emit an antimagic field several meters out, persisting for days after the flower had been picked.”
Night read over his shoulder. “We should hurry and get through here.”
A mischievous smile crept over Astor’s face. “What’s wrong, Night? It’s just a little bit of antimagic. Nothing to worry about.”
“He’s right, between me and him, we have plenty of physical prowess even without magic.” Kal flexed his arms, making Shadowheart laugh.
Night looked at them warily and started walking, pace quickening.
Astor silently plucked a sussur flower, casually walking with it in his hands. He snuck up behind Night, and tucked it into her hair, behind her ear.
“What are you—“ Night began to say, her hand going to her head.
“My lady, you look beautiful with the flower.” Astor leaned forward, brushing her bangs to the side. “The color matches your eyes.”
“Astor!” Night yelled. Her hands touched the flower in her hair and she yelped, slapping it off and away from her. “Can you stop this?”
Kal wandered over with an amused expression. He raised an arm and grabbed a branch near them, shaking the branch violently. Petals of the glowing flower started flying all around them. “Very pretty,” he said grinning.
Night’s eyes widened as the flower pieces threatened to descend onto her. She clenched her jaw, turned and started a dash down the path. “You two are the worst,” she screamed in distress.
She didn’t get more than a few steps into her run before she tripped over a branch sticking out haphazardly. Falling to the side, she crashed through thin, brittle branches, and falling through the canopy.
“Ah,” Kal and Shadowheart said in unison, their arms outstretched, watching Night drop, but too far to reach her.
Astor was closest, and he darted forwards instinctively. His hands caught Night’s wrist before she completely disappeared from view, but he couldn’t slow down her fall. Instead, Astor was pulled through the hole in the branches, falling through the treetop with Night.
They rapidly descended through the layers of the canopy, Night screaming intermittently, her body thrown against branches, knocking the air out of her lungs. She tried her hardest not to touch any of the flowers.
Her thrashing made it difficult for Astor, who kept a tight grip on Night’s arm, dodging her flailing limbs.
Finally, they broke through the last layer of branches, and their fall straight down was clear. Astor pulled Night against his chest, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He angled towards the thick tree stump, clawing at it.
Near the ground, he kicked off the stump, landing in a shallow puddle with a large splash.
Astor stood in a puddle that glowed faintly blue, his shoes and trousers soaked. He had bloody cuts on his hand where it scraped the rough tree bark, though they were already healing. He held Night in his arms as they both breathed heavily, adrenaline still coursing through them.
Stepping out of the water, he let Night onto the ground. They both took a moment to look around them.
The ground around the sussur tree stump was hilly, shaped by its thick roots that threaded the soft dirt. Between the roots and knots, there were small basins of still water. Pieces of sussur blooms floated in the puddles.
Night winced as she checked herself for injuries. “This is going to bruise,” she mumbled. She turned to Astor. “Thank you, even if it was your fault.”
“Don’t thank me if you don’t mean it,” Astor said, rolling his eyes. “Come on, we need to find a way up.”
Suddenly, his sensitive ears picked up heavy footsteps and grunting. He caught a fleeting glance at the approaching monsters, a group of minotaurs.
He looked at Night, who didn’t seem to notice. She looked ready to launch into one of her complaining rants.
Astor’s eyes scanned the landscape and he noticed a small burrow nearby, deep enough to completely hide the length of his body. Without time to explain, he shoved Night backwards into the hole.
Night gasped in surprise. She was about to yell out, but Astor jumped towards her and covered her mouth with his hand.
They landed in the burrow, the soft dirt cushioning their fall. Astor quickly dragged Night deeper, speaking to her quietly. “There’s a herd of minotaurs nearby.”
His breath brushed her ear. Looking up at him in the dim space, she saw his red eyes glowing with , and she gave a serious nod. He nodded back, uncovering her mouth.
There wasn’t enough room for two in the tunnel, and Astor quickly realized he was pressed on top of her, one knee positioned between her legs, struggling to hold himself up. His hands were on either side of her head, and as he tried to get more comfortable, he hit his head on the ceiling. This caused him to reposition his leg, which crushed against Night’s thigh and she almost yelped before she kneed him on reflex.
He gasped and collapsed on top of her, his head hitting her chest. He could feel the curves of her body under her robes, pressed against his cheeks.
Thinking Night might get angry, he immediately tried to move away, but she wrapped her arms around his head, holding him in place.
The group of minotaurs stalked nearby, the impact of their hooves making heavy, muted thuds against the ground. The monsters spoke in rough, rumbling snorts and growls.
Night held her breath, her arms tightening anxiously.
Astor’s attention was on something else entirely. The sound of Night’s heartbeat in his ears. The warmth of her body under his. The pressure of her arms around his head. The cool smooth feeling of her mage robes brushing his pointed ears.
He wasn’t sure how long they hid like that. Eventually, the minotaurs retreated, and they felt it was safe to come out.
Trying hard not to elbow each other, they clumsily extracted themselves from their hiding spot, dusting themselves off once they stood above ground again.
“I’m thankful for your sharp senses,” Night said, fixing her hair, retying her ponytail. She wasn’t meeting his eyes.
He cleared his throat. “You’re useless in a fight right now so we should avoid combat if possible.” He saw that her face was flushed, and he grinned. “What’s wrong, Night? Was that too close for comfort?”
“Er, I was starting to get claustrophobic in there.” She gave an awkward smile. “Plus in that position, all my blood was rushing to my head.”
Astor laughed to himself. She had been blatantly clinging to him in the burrow. Sure, she could play it off like she was afraid of the monsters, but he knew she wasn’t that scared.
Which meant…that she liked him physically close to her. He filed this information away for later.
He looked into the distance. “Let’s get to the wall on the far side, and see if there’s a way up.”
“Wait!” she whispered sharply. “My staff is gone! I must have dropped it during the fall.”
He glanced around briefly. “I don’t see it.”
“We need to find it, Astor. That staff is one of a kind and priceless.”
“Hm, I would rather not get hit by it anymore.”
“I promise not to use it on you again!”
Astor crossed his arms. He stared at Night silently and arched an eyebrow.
Night looked at him sheepishly. “…I’m sorry I hit you.” She brought her hands together in front of her and bowed slightly. “It would mean a lot to me if you can help me find it.”
“Fine,” Astor replied with a smirk. “Let’s walk to the highest hill over there, so we can see more of the surroundings.”
He started moving, but when he heard Night fall, he clicked his tongue. “What now?”
“Uhm.” She groaned, clutching her boot. “I think I twisted my ankle.”
He raised one hand about to cast a spell. “I can heal—wait, never mind.” He thought for a moment. “Oh, maybe a healing potion?”
“Healing potions use magic so they aren’t effective in antimagic fields.” She patted the bag she wore at her side. “Not to mention, we use Bags of Holding, which are magical, so we can’t access any of our items.”
“Seriously?” Astor sighed. This could not get any worse. “You rest on that root, then. I’ll find the staff, then come back for you.”
But as Night sat down and made herself comfortable, Astor noticed a blue, translucent ooze creeping lazily behind her. He watched as the shapeless mass positioned itself, stretching out as if measuring Night’s size, and then slowly moved to absorb her.
Night did not notice whatsoever. She met Astor’s gaze with bemusement, tilting her head.
Astor reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her forward. Causing her to fall off the root. The ooze, startled, withdrew and slowly moved away.
“Did you not realize there was a slime behind you?” Astor asked incredulously.
“Ah,” Night said quietly. She stood back up and dusted off her robes. “Without access to the Weave, my senses are all jumbled up.”
“You’re truly useless right now,” Astor said with an annoyed grimace. “If I leave you here, I’ll probably find a corpse when I come back.”
Night gave him a pout, then she held out her arms. “Could you…carry me?”
“Ugh. I don’t know,” Astor said coolly. “That sounds tedious.”
She looked at him with wide, innocent, pleading eyes. “Please?”
He laughed at the sight. “Fine.” He knelt down, showing her his back. “Get on.”