A deep moan of sorrow was heard through the woods.
"We need to end this quickly. The enemy is asking for help."
Warned the druid.
Neither side was surprised. They both felt each other while still being somewhat distant.
From the west came a band of mounted gnomes, while a great tree stood at the east, shaking slowly as if to show it's annoyance.
But the massive treant wasn't the only one feeling miserable. The gnomes, except for Roselyn, weren't happy with this as well. They hopped for a peaceful journey, which would have allowed them to briefly investigate the mysterious explosion and return home as soon as possible.
Now, however, the battle was an absolute necessity.
Why?
Because such was the current state of relations between gnomes and the fey folk at the moment.
Times of peace among those peoples were long gone, dead and buried. Now they both vied for supremacy over the Azov Forest, locked in a permanent state of war for the last several decades.
As such, their policy was "kill on sight" when they met.
From the moment these two groups saw each other, there was no other choice but for them to engage in combat.
...
While the other three stood behind casting their spells, Roselyn marched forth with her leafrider in a deadly charge.
Her muscles bulged, increasing greatly in size and her pupils became bloodshot red. As she rode, her stone hammer gained an eerie glow and the dry blood on its surface turned liquid once more, flowing down like a small creak.
The treant attempted to intercept her attack slamming down its thickest branches on the ground. But the wolf evaded all of them effortlessly.
From the four mounts of this group, this one was the oldest and the fastest.
Orcs were great riders, taking great pride in being unbeatable on the open field and Roselyn spent a great deal of time learning their techniques.
Now she presented them to their fullest potential. Because this leafrider was to the forest what the warforged horse was to the steppes, a supreme mount.
However, when she was about to clash against some os the treant's roots, Roselyn was thrown off balance by a vicious strike, barely maintaining her position on the saddle.
The treant managed to shake her off at the last moment. But the attack fulfilled its goal.
Now her companions had already finished their preparations.
...
Theodore made a small cut on his hand, spilling blood, and with a gesture, slightly bending two of his fingers, a red light flew towards the tree, enveloping It completely before vanishing without a trace.
The markings on his two swords shone bright yellow, causing Ted to smile. His spell had succeeded, so, unsheathing the weapons, he rode forth to help Rosalyn in battle.
This mount was not as fast as Rosalyn's but, since the treant now needed to divide his attention between several opponents, Ted managed to approach the enemy without many problems.
Rosalyn and Theodore stood at opposite sides taking full advantage of their numerical superiority. The enemy was on the middle being pressed through flanking as these two allies prepared to coordinate an attack.
On the backlines, Adan, the sorcerer, snapped his fingers and a white aura enveloped the treant, restraining it. And as such the pair of melee combatants stroke simultaneously
With great anger, Rosalyn hammered down several important branches of the top, cripplig this enemy, reducing its ability to fight.
Meanwhile, Ted used his twin swords as a surgeon wielding a scalpel. A huge mark appeared on the tree's body and his sword glowed even brighter. This was the spell he used before, taking effect. It was almost as if the marks, both on the sword and the tree were guiding him towards his target.
So, as expected, this strike was very precise, landing on a key spot. From the slashes, a lot of sap was leaked. The treant now seemed much more fragile. After all, this was a great loss in vitality.
...
Suddenly, a lot of vines sprang forth, trying to grasp both Rosalyn and Ted. She escaped duo to her wolf's great speed and maneuverability.
But Theodore wasn't so lucky. Even as his mount evaded this predicament, he did not, being trapped by the enemy.
"I don't understand."
Said the sorcerer with great worry as he looked nervous to their party leader.
"The one who is counterattacking is not the treant. Look."
As the druid pointed out, Adan remembered. Treants, frequently develop a symbiotic relationship with other creatures. Mostly animals that would live on their bodies and in return rise up to defend their homes when necessary.
But it also wasn't unheard of that they would use other types of moving plants that grew on top of them. Those vines wore just that. And since they were not technically a part of the treant, Adan's paralytic effect didn't apply to them.
As the group started to worry, the druid finally sprang into action and the golden seal he had conjured at the beginning of the fight broke apart. Soon after, the white aura of paralysis was greatly strengthened. Not only ending what was left of the tree's resistance, but also enveloping the vines and making them useless.
Theodore took this opportunity to free himself.
Now, he looked very angry. To think that he would be caught off guard like this by an ordinary treant was very upsetting. With one swift motion his blades pierced the tree's body once more and slashed downwards.
After one last cry the enemy fell down defeated. The victory was apparently their's.
....
Nimble sighed deeply and then spoke.
"We need to leave, now. Have you all heard those cries for help? The screams of treants can travel through great distances. Enemy reinforcements are most likely on their way."
Without saying a single word, the other members of the team acknowledged their leader's command and rode away. Since the opponent was down, there was no reasonable motive to stay put any longer.
They pushed their mounts, trying to distance themselves from the fallen foe as much as possible in a short period of time.
But it was to no avail.
...
After running for less than one kilometer, the group found a pair of treants standing on their way with no intention to budge.
This was no longer a chance encounter with an isolated enemy. The treants obviously came to answer the call for help. To the party, it was a terrible scenario. It meant they were stuck in enemy territory with no chances of receiving reinforcements.
With each passing minute, things would get progressively worst for them, since the number of adversaries would continue to increase, while their own power would not.
As such, Nimble gave the order for the group to change their course. Since the leafrider's speed was much greater than the treant's, with their heavy and enormous bodies, speed was still an advantage they could boast.
Those two foes were still very much within the groups battle capabilities, but now time was of the essence. If this region was, like Nimble suspected, treant infested, they couldn't afford to stop moving.
...
Not one. Not two. But three more times the party attempted to change routes only to be stopped on their tracks by angry groups of treants. So, finally, Nimble made the choice to stay and fight.
This was one of the smaller stacks, only two with a medium size.
The gnomes had a simple strategy. Since they were surrounded and could no longer avoid fighting, the group's plan was to divide and conquer. By preventing this numerically superior force to bend together, they hoped to defeat, in quick succession, the smaller stacks.
It was a strategy that played to their strengths, taking full advantage of the fact that their forces were united and coordinated, while the enemy was not.
...
Nimble acted first, giving a sign for his companions that he would take the lead. After accessing the situation, the gnome resolved himself to fight without reservations. With a low tone encantation, white energy enveloped his fingers.
Three quick strokes of the hand followed and, from the air, a mist was formed taking shape according to the druid's movements. As it condensed, the end result made itself clear. Floating around its master there was a small unassuming cloud.
At principle, it's color was pure white but, as it grew, the form was tainted by shades of gray and the originally non-threatening cloud began to brim with static energy.
The treants felt something was off and sprinted towards the enemy, attempting to stop the druid's machinations.
A swarm of flying monkeys that lived on those trees and were trying to defend their homes even took the initiative to act as a vanguard.
However, just as they were about to engage the target, Nimble's mighty cloud triggered.
In one single instant, all of the electricity the gnome had gathered was liberated in a magnificent chain of lighting.
One after the other, all of the enemies within line of vision were hit. It was almost as if the current was using each and everyone as a stepping stone to reach the next.
The monkeys were burned to a crisp, while the trees were severely damaged, twitching and shaking, desperately in order to stop what remained of their bodies from burning completely.
"Damn it."
Nimble painted heavily. He wasn't accustomed to spending this much mana in such a short period of time. What he used just now was his strongest spell. Even at peak condition, he could only use it a few times before becoming completely exhausted. But this wasn't the main reason behind his course."
His friend Theodore also looked very concerned and launched several sharp looks towards all directions around them.
With a grave tone he said.
"Yes. They are here."