"Boss!"
Earl rushed forward, looking frantically between Geleb and the stalk of grass suspending him in the air. With nothing sharp on his person, he could only punch futilely at the grass.
"Hang on, boss, I'll get you down from there!"
"Be quiet!" Morne growled. "Did you forget about the *things* that are in here with us?"
"Shut it, necromancer!" Earl barked back. "In case you've forgotten, it's our job to keep the boss safe. So how about you get off your damn high horse and help me get him down?"
"Morne's right," Geleb said in a low voice. "If those monsters find us, I shudder to think what would happen. Get me down, but be quiet about it."
Just then, three roars rang throughout the maze, dripping with bloodlust and excitement. Geleb's face paled.
"Too late for that," sighed Morne, stepping forward and studying the grass stalk
He knew sharp objects would do nothing here. They had learned that at the beginning of this trial. And judging by the way the stalk of grass took Earl's punches without so much as a ripple, they couldn't free Geleb with their bare hands.
Could they use fire?
No, that was too risky. If it went wrong, they'd be trapped in a burning room with no way out.
A Spell? That might work.
Pressing a hand against the tree trunk-sized gras stalk, Morne uttered "Wither away" and dark energy sprang from his hands and sunk in.
He had to cut the Spell off when the beasts roared again seconds later and there had been no discernable progress.
'So Withering Touch doesn't work,' Morne thought, going through his meager list of Spells.
Bone shot wouldn't be helpful here. The grass had already displayed great resilience to physical forces. Marrow Memory and Invigorating Touch were disregarded for obvious reasons, which just left Splinter.
For possibly the first time, he wondered if plants could feel pain. If they couldn't, then this Spell would be useless against them, and he'd truly have no way to save Geleb.
He soon corrected such thoughts. Whether every plant under the sun could feel pain or not didn't matter. The only thing that mattered right now was if these could.
He thought back to the room with the flame and the two serpent statues. By all accounts, his Spell shouldn't have worked on fire, as it had no life force to speak of.
Somehow, this temple's creators had altered the flame to be able to accept Morne's life force. Compared to that, plants that could feel pain didn't seem that far-fetched.
Another set of roars sounded, half as far as they were scant seconds ago, and Morne knew then that he had no more time to think.
Drawing back his hand and pointing a finger at the grass stalk, he reached for his Chimh.
"Splinter shot!"
The blob of dark energy splashed onto the grass's epidermis with a SPLAT! Instantly, the plant recoiled and released its hold on Geleb's ankle, dropping him and nearly causing him to faceplant onto the ground below before Earl caught him.
The force knocked Earl onto his ass just as yet another roar reached their ears and the maze started to shake.
Geleb rushed to his feet and he and Morne helped Earl up. They broke into a mad sprint just as a hint of green rounded the corner, redoubling their efforts when they heard a growl and the rushing of the wind behind them.
Completely ignoring the danger of getting lost, they ducked into turn after turn in the hopes that they would shake the creature, only to double back when they saw a second peek around a corner.
Soon all three monsters were hot on their heels, and they ran until their chests heaved and their legs felt like jelly, and then ran some more.
Geleb, not as athletic as his companions, was the first to slow, prompting Earl to slow as well, determined to defend his charge.
Morne reigned back his pace too. If he left these two for dead, that would mean he'd be alone with three flesh-hungry monsters in a labyrinth, and anyone with a brain could tell that those weren't good odds.
Not long later, Geleb's steps came to a grinding halt as he struggled to control his breathing. His adrenaline had been the only thing keeping him going, but after thirty minutes straight of running, there was none left.
He became acutely aware of the fiery pain in his legs and chest, and had to lean against the wall to prevent himself from collapsing.
"You alright, boss?" Earl asked anxiously, making sure to keep his voice low as he checked behind himself for their pursuers. Other than a slight hitch in his breathing, he appeared to be fine.
"I'm not used to – running that… long," Geleb managed between gulps of air.
"I think they're still after us," Morne said lowly, eyeing the rustling walls. "We need to keep moving."
"What we need to do is stay near the boss," replied Earl. "If he can't keep going, then we can't keep going."
"At the very least, we can walk," Morne shot back. "He can catch his breath while we do that."
"Staying in the same spot for too long is a death sentence until those things give up," Geleb wheezed. "Let's go."
He pushed himself off the wall and staggered forward. Earl had to catch him as he started to fall forward, and the larger man threw his boss's arm over his shoulder.
Though he managed to hide it, inwardly, he was furious. Couldn't Morne see that Geleb needed to rest? Or did he just not care?
That was what they got for hiring a mercenary, Earl supposed. Loyalty that lasted only so long as the coin flowed and the risks were low. Earl would gladly die if it meant Geleb had a chance to survive, but clearly, Morne cared only for his own life.
Earl knew the only reason he lived through the Trial of Dirt was that Morne thought him useful. He knew his master was only alive because Morne required his skills and items. He knew the only reason Morne had slowed was for this reason.
And yet Geleb continuously sided with this man who would abandon them just as soon as help them, as opposed to Earl, who had done nothing but serve Geleb dutifully for years, even when the money started to dry up.
It left him infuriated.