They decided to split up. Pearson immediately volunteered to go with Ivy, though he kept his reasons to himself. Before leaving, Ivy warned Kaly to be careful, as there may be more of the "hook guy" around. Pearson wasn't really sure who she was referring to, but something about Kaly made him uneasy. When he first saw her, he'd done a double take. Sure, he was a bit naïve about what lay beyond Crater's walls, and every time he ventured out, the world felt surreal. But purple-skinned people? That was new. Then there were the rumors he would hear in the barracks…What truly unsettled him—though he hated to admit it—was the way she fought Scathach, it honestly scared him. Whatever Kaly was, she wasn't human. And whatever she was—she was strong. And very, very angry.
"Even without my energy, I can still sense this. I didn't know some artifact could have energy this strong. Or at all." Ivy said.
"I don't understand why I can't sense anything." Pearson's brow furrowed. They crept along on of the walkways of the sprawling tree canopy village. Kaly decided to move to the left side to look for the artifact, and they decided to go down the middle.
"We're getting closer," Ivy said. She suddenly stopped in her tracks, and Pearson about stumbled into her. "It's gone…"
"What? What's gone?"
Ivy's head shot to the left. "It's over there now…"
"Ivy! Elaborate!"
"I don't know what to say," Ivy shrugged. "The energy I was feeling just, like, teleported."
"Yeah, I knew this wasn't going to be easy." Pearson sighed.
"We should run, it's close to where Kaly was walking."
Pearson's heart raced as they sprinted across the narrow wooden walkway, the planks creaking beneath their feet. The glowing lights flickered above them, casting long, eerie shadows on the ground.
"Ivy, are you sure it moved?" Pearson asked, his voice breathless.
"Yes," Ivy replied, her eyes scanning the treetops. "It's like it's alive or something."
They reached the spot where Kaly had ventured, only to find her standing perfectly still on a massive branch. Her posture was tense, and her gaze was fixed on something ahead. Without turning around, she spoke, her voice low and urgent.
"Don't come any closer."
Ivy slowed, raising a hand to signal Pearson to stop. "Kaly, what is it?"
Kaly took a deep breath, then turned her head slightly toward them, though her eyes remained locked ahead. "The artifact… It's not just sitting here. It's being guarded."
Pearson frowned, trying to see what Kaly was staring at. "By what?"
As if in response, the trees around them began to stir. The branches creaked, and the soft hum of distant voices grew louder, more ominous. From the shadows, figures began to emerge, blending seamlessly into the darkened forest canopy. They were tall and slender, their skin like bark, with faint glowing eyes that mirrored the firefly lights above.
"Kaly…" Pearson whispered, stepping back instinctively. "What are those things?"
"Not sure," Kaly said softly. "Look away!" She hissed at him as she reached her arms up, as her other pair of arms extended. "They're probably some type of tree spirit."
"What?" Pearson looked bewildered. "What does that even mean? A 'tree spirit?' How is that even real?"
The tallest of the spirits stepped forward, its gaze fixed on Kaly. In its hands, it held a wooden staff adorned with glowing vines. Its voice, when it spoke, sounded like the rustling of leaves in the wind.
"Leave this place, trespassers."
Kaly's fists clenched, her body tense. "We don't want to fight," she said, though the edge in her voice suggested otherwise. "We're only here for the artifact."
The spirit's glowing eyes narrowed. "The artifact is not yours to take. It belongs to the forest."
Ivy stepped forward, extending her trident, "We need the artifact for our mission. We aren't here to hurt anyone."
For a moment, there was silence, save for the rustling of leaves and the distant hum of energy in the air. Then, without warning, the spirit raised its staff, and the forest seemed to come alive. Vines shot out from the ground, wrapping around Ivy's legs. Branches extended toward Pearson, who barely had time to duck. Kaly, reacting quickly, dodged to the side and slammed her fist into the ground, breaking the vine's hold on Ivy.
"Oh, so that's how you're gonna be?" Kaly said, her eyes flashing with annoyance. "I was trying to be respectful, here."
Kaly charged at the nearest spirit, her fist crackling with a faint glow of energy, despite her attempts to suppress it. The spirit reacted, swinging its staff toward her, but Kaly was too fast, ducking under the blow and landing a solid punch to its torso. The spirit staggered, its body momentarily flickering like a shadow.
Pearson cursed under his breath, as he closed his eyes, concentrating as a _ energy began flowing around him. The outline of the bell-staff began shimmering into existence in his hands. "I guess we're doing this then," he said as more spirits emerged from the trees, their glowing eyes filled with silent fury.
As the battle unfolded, Ivy's eyes scanned the area. Even over the sound of the bell-staff, she heard a wistful hum. "Kaly! Do you hear that?" Ivy shouted, dodging another vine.
Kaly, in the midst of swinging at another spirit, glanced back. "What are you talking about? Are you talking about the bell?"
"No, it's like a whistling sound." Ivy replied, listening intently.
Kaly hesitated, her aura flickering, "I…I think I heard something like that before you arrived. I thought it was a musical note."
Ivy turned to Pearson. "Do you hear it?"
Pearson shook his head, quickly stepping in front of her to block an incoming strike from one of the spirits. "Why are you so worried about this sound right now?" Ivy dashed forward, her shifting into her eyes as she looked around wildly. The artifact's presence was close, almost tangible.
Then, she saw it. Nestled high in the crook of a massive tree branch was a small, glowing object, pulsing faintly with energy. It was surrounded by thick vines and glowing roots that connected it to the spirits. "That's it," she whispered.
Ivy's eyes widened as she looked closer, her energy brightened her vision as her eyes zoomed in, illuminating the shaded figure that held the glowing object.
The boy was about her age, maybe a bit younger. He swayed calmly back and forth as he saw cross-legged in the tree. He was covered in a thick, wet, dark green mud. He had stuck leaves and sticks to himself as a camouflage. His messy, muddy, brown hair hung to his shoulders. In his hands, the boy held a glowing woodland flute.
Ivy crouched down, energy bubbling around her legs, and she launched herself at the tree.
But as she reached for the flute, the vines came alive, wrapping around her arm and pulling her back. The spirits moved in closer, their eyes burning with intensity. The air around them all buzzed with an angry whistle.
Pearson and Kaly looked up, hearing the long note being played by the flute.
Pearson blinked, following the sound of the noise, seeing the silhouette of the boy in the tree, "How long has that guy been there?"
"Ivy!" Kaly shouted,
Ivy struggled against the vines, twisting and flailing, but she couldn't get much leverage being hung in the air. Her arms were too restricted for her to even use her trident to cut one.
Taking a deep breath, as the vines constricted, choking her, cutting off blood flow to all her limbs.
Kaly watched as Ivy's her face turned a deep shade of purple, and her body was being squeezed and stretched, twisting, testing her flexibility.
With all her might, Kaly sprung up, hanging on to one of the vines, attempting to free Ivy.
Pearson knocked away a spirit, and looked up, 'She's not making any progress helping Ivy. If she doesn't free her soon, she's actually going to die…wait, I might have an idea!'
With a swift motion, Pearson swished the bell-staff wildly in the air, letting its loud ring vibrate through the air. Kaly grimaced, placing two of her four hands on her ears. For a moment, everything went still. The spirits froze, their glowing eyes dimming. The surrounding vines slackened.
Kaly pulled Ivy's head free, and she gasped for air. Kaly decided to sacrifice her own hearing, and place one her hands over Ivy's ears to block the ringing. With her other set of arms, she moved to untangle the vines away from Ivy's body.
'Okay, I thought so. If they can't hear him play his instrument, they won't move. It's not some weird ghost-nonsense, I bet that's just his energy ability!'
Ivy dropped from the vines. As she fell, she pointed, yelling, "That's the artifact!"
Kaly swung from one of the vines, throwing herself toward the boy who was seemingly just coming out of his wistful trance, opening his eyes to see Kaly, with her four arms extended flying towards him.
She yanked the flute from his hands, and pulled him from his spot, flinging at the ground below, head first.
The spirits slowly backed away, their forms dissolving into the shadows of the forest. Ivy exhaled, dusting herself off. "That was close." She watched Kaly lightly fall from the tree, landing gracefully on her feet next to the boy.
The boy groaned softly, lying in a heap at the base of the tree. Kaly crouched over him, inspecting the glowing flute she had just torn from his hands. Up close, the artifact pulsed with a strange, almost musical hum. Its surface was smooth, carved from a wood that glowed faintly with energy, and delicate runes etched along its length shimmered as Kaly turned it in her hands.
Ivy dropped beside her, still catching her breath. "That's definitely it," she said, eyeing the flute.
Pearson, rubbing his ears from the ringing sound of his bell-staff, approached cautiously. "Is he... alive?" he asked, glancing at the boy's motionless form.
Kaly nudged the boy with her foot. He stirred, groaning again, but didn't open his eyes.
"He's alive," she muttered, almost sounding disappointed. "Well, we got what we needed. Ivy, we just need one more!"
Ivy looked at the boy with suspicion. "Do you think he was using the artifact, or is it controlling him?"
Before anyone could answer, the boy's eyes snapped open. His gaze was sharp, and intense, and he sat up quickly, as if jolted awake from a dream. His muddy face twisted into a grimace as he realized the flute was no longer in his possession. He spoke, "Give it b-"
Before anyone could react, Kaly balled one of her fists, and shoved it through the kid's chest.
"Wow! What the!" Pearson stumbled back, tripping on a vine.
Kaly looked back at Pearson, a look of surprise on her face, "What?"
"You just…killed that kid!"
Kaly pulled her arm from the boy's chest. "He tried to kill us…" she gave him a confused look, then looked at Ivy for confirmation.
Ivy stared wide-eyed at the body in front of them for several seconds. She pulled her gaze away, turning, "We should hurry to find the other artifacts."
"We only need one more, right?" Kaly asked.
"Well, no. Two more. Pearson is here."
Kaly gave her a bewildered look, then slowly turned her head to look at Pearson, who was still on the ground, looking a bit queasy. "Okay…" she said, her voice not hiding her uncertainty.