"That is one of the carnivorous beastial trees, " Drake told them, pointing at a particularly eerie-looking tree nearby.
The tree was short in height but had a very large girthed stem, so thick that it was almost a quarter the size of a room. Its stem was dark red. The shoot of the tree was unlike any they had ever seen before in their lives. The tree's shoot was broken into pale reddish-pink tendrils, instead of branches and leaves, that intertwined, creating a pseudo-canopy above the tree.
The group looked around and discovered that it was not the only one there. There were a few others sparsely distributed throughout the area. And faintly visible pinkish fog was very close to their stems or shoots.
This part of the plant-dominated forest leading to the mountainous ranges where they currently are has very tall trees resembling iroko, towering over them, with their shoots forming canopies of shade above. Sparsely distributed throughout the area were smaller plants and shrubs of various colors, including yellow, blue, cyan, and pink. Mostly, the colors are different from the default green of plants and trees.
The pathway here was so wide that it could accommodate them walking side by side. The ground was dry, but it had small crevices in most areas. The texture and morphology suggested that it had recently dried after a rain. And the air around them was still morbid and turbid here; however, it was no longer the scent of earth-after-a-rain that they perceived when they crossed the border. It was less pungent but had a distinct pheromonal scent.
The group came to a halt, as most of them, except Apphira, Drake, and Kael, who had never seen such a mystical tree, wanted to take in every detail of it. They marveled at the amazing color and structure of this 'beautiful and cute tree.' However, they couldn't help but think about what Apphira and Drake had described to them about the trees in this place, particularly the captivating, vibrant, and alluring ones.
"It is called the Tendrilwort. It is one of the beastial plants here, although it is not classified among the fatally dangerous ones. The Templar Force estimates that its sensitive field has a range of about 5 meters," Kael announced.
"Those intertwined tendril shoots are their grasping pincers..."
Hearing what Kael said, Lyra's curiosity was piqued. Not just her curiosity, she felt as if something was pulling her towards the tree. Perhaps she would discover something extraordinary about it, and it would become her 'moment.' So, she decided to get a closer view of one of the Tendrilwort trees nearest to the group.
With her wand, gifted to her by the High Priest, she possessed an impervious confidence at this moment. She moved closer to one of them, but she was only a few meters away from the plant. She heard a shout from one of their team, a distressed call that belonged to a woman.
"Watch out for the roots...!"
"The roots can break off from the tree, sprouting from the ground to capture you, if the tree senses your presence.!"
But it seemed like her last warning came a bit too late. As Apphira finished saying this, the group could already see something moving in the ground.
It was at this moment that they also noticed bulging outlines of the tree's roots, which were visible on the ground near the tree's sensitivity field. The actual roots beneath the soil were not visible, but their bulges were. According to Apphira's warning, they now know what was coming.
Alvan, who hasn't experienced the sensation of his powers being accessible to him since the past projection, felt helpless in this situation. He knew that it was his responsibility to keep these people on their team safe. Since his mother had already given him that responsibility, how can he fulfill it when he feels powerless?
All the other team members were tense, unable to imagine anything happening to one of their group. They haven't even completed half of the journey to the Lost Temples yet. They were all left to employ whatever abilities they had to try to save Lyra, as they could already see the ground breaking up.
However, at this moment, a thought about what the High Priest had told him crossed his mind. What if he leverages his emotions now that they are very strong? Saving Lyra should be left to the others. At least they have a seasonal Templar force warrior, knight, and even a guardian, in addition to the others. If he could master and assume control over how and when to use his powers, he could be of greater assistance on the quest journey...
***
Lyra, who had heard Apphira's warning and witnessed the root burrowing underground right before her eyes, hastily attempted to return to the others. But she didn't know why; she was stuck in that spot, unable to move her muscles as if she had been paralyzed in place. Perhaps it was due to shock...
All of this occurred in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, as the root was sprouting itself from underground, a much thicker tendril had wound around her and yanked her away from the target. The black root could already be seen a few feet in the air.
Just as she was yanked off right on time, a scythe flashed before everyone's eyes, swiftly slashing the root that had been flung by the tree into pieces in a single stroke. The scythe also vanished into thin air after accomplishing its mission. But it was not a real scythe made of metal. The group realized this as they saw Drake's figure run past them toward the tree itself in a terrifying
Several other scythes, along with a few swords, took shape and slashed at the reddish-pink Tendrilwort tree. The tree had already flung its intertwined tendrils and breakable rooks in all directions as Drake entered its sensitivity field. Unfortunately, it wasn't given a chance to capture its prey as the scythes formed from Drake's Aura had chopped down its stem.
Its tendrils curled up instantly as the trunk of the tree fell to the ground. And before their very eyes, the reddish-pink color of the tree vanished as it turned black instantly. Drake walked back to the group unharmed and without breaking a sweat. Finally, Alvan understood why he didn't carry weapons around like other Templar Force militants.
Lyra, who had been pulled by Emelda's flexible and nimble tendrils, collapsed to the ground, struggling to breathe. She had thought she would lose an arm or leg to the Tendrilwort a few seconds ago. 'Just because I wanted to accomplish an achievement, be praised by others, and make my father proud of my abilities,' she heaved a sigh with this thought.
"Are you okay?" said Thorne, who had rushed to where Emelda's tendrils had pulled her. He activated his wind element manipulation to propel his speed and save Lyra. But before he got there, she had been pulled away in another direction. So, he rushed over to help her up and make sure she wasn't injured.
Lyra nodded, unable to say a word. Thorne helped her stand by offering her his hand. Afterward, they returned to the others.
"That was a close call, Lyra," Apphira said. "Emelda and Drake, you both did a good job saving her in time." She didn't react much herself, even though she was a guardian. She was still a healer. The only thing she could help with was restoration and revitalization. Not to mention, she was the leader and had many others capable of saving Lyra.
Drake maintained his stoic countenance, even when Lyra expressed her gratitude. To him, he had just done what was expected of him as a Templar warrior, protector of others. Emelda didn't say a word or look at Lyra, who was thanking her as well. She was solely focused on Alvan, who turned to her and bestowed upon her a knowing and approving smile.
"Commander Drake, that was impressive how you handled that massive beast of a tree," said Thorne as he went to pat Drake on the back. On a normal day, Thorne was supposed to show him respect, just like he would to the Supreme Commander. But that was Thorne for you. Since they were in a team now, he assumed that there was no hierarchy or ranking. And Drake didn't complain either.
"Lyra, it's a good thing you weren't wounded anywhere. I understand your purpose here the most, especially since you are an enchantress. But be careful where you set your foot. This is one of the most dangerous parts of these mountain ranges.
"When we have successfully crossed this zone, the next challenge will be the treacherous mountain terrains. With lesser beastial plants but more animals and beasts. So, let's tread with caution," said Apphira.
Alvan hadn't said anything all this while as he was focused on attempting the method taught by the High Priest, which he failed. 'Seems like this is not the moment, probably because I didn't experience stronger emotions. Perhaps I can think about Mom's last moments to trigger my strongest emotions next time to see if it works.'
However, his curiosity was piqued for some reason about the Tendrilwort and the beastial plants at large. So he asked:
"The reason why there were so few animals and beasts here, was it also because of these beastial plants?"
"Yes," replied Apphira. "Those animals dare not enter this zone unless they are courting death," Apphira said, then turned to Alvan. But Emelda was fuming inside. She felt like Apphira always looked at Alvan in a different, more passionate way than she did with the other males on their team. However, she nursed her seething anger and kept it bottled up.
"But are there still going to be some beasts here?" Alvan asked again.
"Yes. Some of these creatures have a mutual relationship with most of the beastial plants here. While others are highly intelligent beasts, who can avoid these plants just as we would avoid them."
With tensions pacified, the group continued their journey deep into the mountain ranges, each with their minds racing with thoughts about the quest. The incident that occurred a few minutes ago instilled fear in most of them about what more treacherous and life-threatening encounters lie ahead. However, some of them were ever-determined to face whatever stands in their way head-on...