Hero Scout 89 Chapter 17 - Queen Of Thorns

"And I warn you in turn, Witch. Return the heart to us, return the werewolves to their minds, and leave this land forevermore. Otherwise, there will be no respite until your insides are placed in various bowls and your bones handed out like candy to those warriors who butchered at least ten of your abominations!" Kenji roared, a great howl and stamp erupting behind him. The human mob joined in, despite Kenji being quite certain they were not ones for snacking on witch fingers.

"My powers will twist this land into every danger imaginable. My rangers will slaughter you from above, and you'll be forced to bear it and grin. Meanwhile, my 'abominations' are...well, why spoil the surprise?" the cat appeared to smirk, and Kenji began to chuckle.

"For untold years, the spirits of the land have filled our heart with peace. But now we can drink of that soothing dew no more, and return to the fiery nectar of war!" Kenji roared, addressing not the cat but those Furblogs that remained. Roaring loudly, they were mainly warriors or druids of the Path of Thorns, Grandfather's grandson Arti Chief amongst them.

"And so, as High Priest of this dead religion, let me [Awaken Senses] and [Call of the Queen of Thorns] to bless us now, and grant us victory!" A whispering filled Kenji's ears, and a vile power flowed from the clouds to snap into the Furbolgs limbs and fill them with black smoke. Their eyes went unblinking blood-red in moments, muscles bulging beneath bear pelts, as the Furblogs contorted into their true form.

Half man, half bear they appeared. The strange race that was the Furbolg's heritage, the race that stood like a man with the power of a bear, with fanged teeth, clawed hands and bear furs worn like clothes. They roared incoherently into the air, and the [Queen of Thorns] entered their minds.

[It has been, a long time...but I accept. Be blessed with the Thorns of War].

Across Kenji's body th.o.r.n.y vines pulled at him, spreading, hardening, until Grandfather was encased in vine hard as iron. It supported his frame, his power feeding it, and the vine in return making him strong of the body if weak of mind.

Gone was the aching back, banished the weak knees and to the void any sense of a fading mind as Kenji felt the Grandfather's body become truly powerful. No healing light would he be able to work with now, only thorns, twisting and unyielding. In his palms, he produced a [Thorn Spear] that if projected would uncoil into a dozen yard spike before retracting just as fast into his hands, or could be curled around branches like Spiderdude's web from the comics.

"Bearfolk Berserkers of the Thorn, attack!" Kenji roared, firing his vine spear like a lance. The cat narrowly dodged aside, as a rush of iron-hard vine flew pa.s.sed its cheek.

"Really, you NPCs are the worst. Can you not just accept that I have won? In under half an hour my spell will be complete and everything will be mine, my monsters are too strong as it is-" cut off by another spear thrust, the cat was driven away, as the Furbolgs turned Bearfolk charged into the darkened forest.

The humans, Guild and mob alike, charged right afterwards while Kragg flew across the ground as if the wind itself. Together they arrived at the fortified lines of the Witch's domain, rangers in trees letting loose with their arrows, a pair of witch apprentices sending bolts of green to explode through their ranks and a horde of corrupt treants spewed forth to meet Kenji's forces head-on.

With Iron hard vine weapons the Bearfolk crashed into the Treants lines, while the Hero Guild focused on the enemy range units with their own volley's and Kragg hunted down the witch apprentices directly. Thrown into a rage, Kenji found his vision going red as he crushed treant after treant. Small and spry as a certain dyslexic green master from a show called StellarBattles, Kenji became an unstoppable force as he blasted his way across the battlefield.

Wrapping his Thorn Spear across a faraway branch, Kenji pulled to send his little body flying across the battlefield and crash into the rangers' lines. Screaming, he unleashed a barrage of flailing vines to batter the humans against the ground and crush their bones like gla.s.s.

One human threw him back with his s.h.i.+eld, another spearing Kenji's thick armour with her spear and managing to wet the tip of the spearhead in his blood. Surrounded, Kenji was a.s.saulted by a wave of the Bewitched human fighters who knew no fear and fought with a level of strength and resilience far beyond their brethren.

Thankfully Kenji had not come alone.

From behind arrived the Bearfolk warriors, their crimson eyes l.u.s.ting for blood, vine armoured bodies dedicated to the dance and Vine Spears contorting to maces as they crashed into the human's plate. Steel was dented, the bones beneath shattering, bursts of crimson spluttering from painless lips.

Lost in the battle, Kenji kept fighting until all was gore, and his mind was lost in the sweet siren call of bloodl.u.s.t. Too late did he notice the enemies maneuvering, although perhaps he had and just didn't care. Unsouled Werewolves slammed into their flanks, viciously clawing at human, Bearfolk and werewolf alike.

"We need-WE NEED TO GET TO THE WITCH!" Kenji roared above the din of battle, leading those he could further ahead through the enemy lines and trusted his allies to hold the three dozen or so werewolves in place. Breaking through, Kenji arrived at a desolate area, with shattered trees thrown aside and a log building visible beyond. Above the building swirled a dark green cloud that crackled and blazed as it sucked the life from the surrounding land to leave nothing but dead soil and withered flora in its wake.

The ground shook as a creature arose from the forest, and stomped out into the area of ruined trees. Timber splintered with each hooven step, muscles bulged like an ogre as the gigantic creature made itself known.

Like a deer on steroids, it was taller than any ogre Kenji had ever known, with its muscles inflated beyond reasoning and it's a mouth filled with fangs like a werewolf. Its flesh was cracked, oozing and ruined as if the transformation had broken its body almost as much as it had been enhanced.

Nonetheless, the Monsterous Deer lowered its twisting horns and charged like an approaching wall of spikes. Fast as lightning it pinned one of the Bearfolk against a tree, the many sharpened horns piercing several critical organs. Turning the creature readied for another charge, the dead Bearfolk's corpse still dangling amidst the canopy of horns atop the monstrosities' head.

"Tangle its feet and horns, Kragg you get the kill when it's bound," Kenji said without missing a beat, and firing off his Thorn Spear to wrap around one of the monster's ogre muscled legs. A dozen more Thorn Spears did the same around the Monster's body, and even then it's t.i.tanic strength allowed it to slowly pull them around as it thrashed and bucked.

Yet that was all the time Kragg needed to lithely get through and slash at its neck - an explosion of green threw him back, an enraged Witch's Apprentice watching from afar.

"HOW DARE YOU!" screamed the same young witch that had acted as a messenger before, "You will DIE like a good little puppy!" shrieking she sent a green bolt to narrowly miss shattering Kragg's the head. Through the cloud of debris emerged Grankash, who moved like liquid ink as he charged the little witch.

"Leave her to Grankas.h.!.+" He roared as he dodged aside another explosion, shards of rock firing into his side. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, Kragg got himself up and attacked the monster again, even as Thorn Spears began to snap in quick succession as the monster's strength proved too great.

In a moment Kragg had slashed the monster's throat, and yet had to do so several more times to hack his way through the wall of muscle. Blood spewed out in a torrent, and yet the monster remained standing, unphased as it continued to struggle and snap at the restraints holding it still.

"Kragg says DIE ALREADY!" Kragg roared, latching onto the monster's side and slas.h.i.+ng again, and again, and again, until finally, the monster spluttered red, began to sway, and fell to shake the earth. Dirt filled the air, Kenji coughing as he waved it away and charged forward.

From the cloud of dust, Kragg emerged, Kenji having already flown pa.s.sed to find Grankash bleeding heavily as the little Witch laughed. "Die!" She said, directing a potent green bolt to his throat and letting loose enough force to send Grankash's head blasting from his body.

The b.i.t.c.h managed to get a translucent green wall in front of her before Kenji's Thorn Spear could pierce her through the eye in turn. Having the spear end bite into the s.h.i.+eld itself, Kenji retracted the vine and pulled himself towards her. Contorting mid-air, he slammed the Thorn Spear in an axe form into the s.h.i.+eld, shattering it like gla.s.s, to seize the witch's throat.
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"How do I stop the ceremony?" Kenji hissed. "How do I save him?" Kenji suffered a quick look of Grankash's dead frame, the werewolf butler no well beyond saving.

The Witch spat in his face. So Kenji tore out her throat and became her.

The ceremony was nearly complete, and only by removing the main Witch from being the ceremonies axis could it be prevented from scouring the forest of life. The Witch would similarly become more powerful than could be imagined, although not even the apprentice could imagine what she would use all that power for.

Jettisoning the body, Kenji became the regenerated Sun Elf Queen. And immediately realised how much the Grandfather body had soured his mind. As the blood l.u.s.t faded it became increasingly apparent, he had sacrificed so many on the way here without a thought, almost as if some force had been suppressing his ability to think.

Seeing the Bearfolk charge onward, he understood now while they had chosen to forget the Queen of Thorns. Her powers were potent, but the cost was the mind itself. Kenji could change bodies, but for those with only one the prospect of throwing off this power that filled them with white-hot fury...it just didn't seem likely.

Perhaps later he would take the late Grankash's body with him, but for now there was a job to do.

Entering the Witch's lair, he readied himself to fight the end boss and get finally get revenge on behalf of those who could not do so themselves.