Choose Her Path!
Chapter Two
Amaris stood, half-concealed by the brush and half on the dirt road, for a while before she began moving again. The eighteen-foot-tall woman had decided that it would be easiest for her if she kept to the road. And, she thought, I won’t get lost! It was night time, anyway. It was doubtful that there would be anyone out this late, right?
Her lessened anxiety did not last long. As she traveled, further away from Port Phyten and into the increasingly thick woodland, a small throb started in her forehead. And trees all around Amaris had become larger as she had gone deeper into the forest, all the plantlife here older and bigger than any she had seen before. It was also more beautiful, in a wild, dangerous way.
The young woman repressed a shudder and hugged her slender arms across her front as she stepped along the road. She nearly took up all of it, too, she noticed, and grimaced. She didn’t want to think about how much she weighed…though, certainly, she had to be rather strong compared to anyone else.
She smiled a bit. That knowledge provided a bit of security. She had never gone anywhere alone outside of the Port. The fear of rogue mages or bandits had always been the biggest threat engrained into her mind, since childhood.
Amaris rubbed the round indigo tattoo on the center of her brow. She had her spells, she couldn’t forget. She hadn’t tried to cast anything, not even a light spell, but she wasn’t defenseless or witless. She would survive this quest, find a solution to the growth problem somehow—
An arrow, not really of any concern except maybe for her eyes, plinked off of Amaris’ silk-clad hip. The thick fabric, which always grew with her, protected her from another three warheads. In surprise, she flung up her arms, and lost her balance: stumbling back, the mage tripped and fell into the trees, fortunately not impaling herself, but snapping branches and crushing some of the plants beneath her.
“Did you see that?” A rough voiced yelled from the other side of the road. Oh yes, bandits. She’d been caught off-guard, lost in thought, by an ambush! Groaning, Amaris went to sit up, and felt a painful p***k into her wrist. She yelped, and the man cursed. “Be quiet or I’ll have him saw your wrist off!” Not used to pain, threats or seeing a dozen men—so small, though!—gather around her with spears and knives and axes, Amaris did as she was told. She raised her head just a little to watch them, and saw that one had jabbed her with a spear.
While the muttered amongst themselves, Amaris’ turned her brown eyes on the leader, and glared. “What do you want?” She asked, keeping her voice low.
The captain sneered. “Well,” He looked at her neck and fingers, adorned with a choker and rings, “Those look to be worthwhile, being so big. As for you…” At this, he seemed a little more crestfallen, and ran a hand through his scruffy brown hair. “We’ll have to figure you out later. I suppose. Boys! Get over here and pull the rings off!” He called.
Amaris let them try, plotting rapidly all the while. If she could act quickly, she could get free. She didn’t want to cause any harm to the men, however. As wicked as they were, the thought of smushing something, purposefully or accidentally, was not pleasant. Her planning came to a half when the captain began to yell in frustration. They had discovered that the rings would not come off, no matter what they did.
“Cut off her fingers!” One suggested, and three with axes advanced. Amaris’ panicked and her hand twitched, catching the three axemen in the legs and sending them flying harmlessly away. As she began to sit up, another couple arrows bounced off her shoulders and chest, and a spearman slashed at her hand before she brushed him away.
The young mage rose clumsily, looming up over the bandits that remained on their feet. They tried to collect around her left foot, maybe to try and attack it under the captain’s furious orders, but her long robe was too thick and heavy for them to move. Amaris considered trying intimidation, raising her foot or something, but that was too risky. What if she tripped?
Instead, she leaned down in a sudden lunge and plucked up the bandit captain, shook him once—light for her, hard enough to daze him and cause him to drop his weapons, and she straightened with the man in her hands. “Alright,” Amaris brought him near her face, glaring.
“I’m going to leave, and you’re all going to get lost,” She told the ones on the ground. “Get your friends, get your stuff, and go. I don’t want to see one arrow come at me, and if I catch any of you following me, you won’t be happy with the outcome.” She raised the captain, who yelped. His struggles weren’t difficult to contain. She had been right about assuming she had grown stronger.
When the bandits were done scurrying and collecting their fallen, they dashed back into the woods—kept going, Amaris could see. She turned back to the road and, after a ways, placed the bandit captain down, keeping one hand on his shoulder. “What’s your name?”
“Er—Laef,” He responded, stumbling a bit. Now that she had a better chance to look at him, Amaris saw that he wasn’t as old as she originally thought. He wore a dirtied red leather jerkin, but his under-tunic and trousers were much cleaner. His short-sword scabbard was empty, too, and his brown hair a complete mess. “Are you going to eat me?”
“By the Abyss, no!” Become a cannibal? She’d have to eat at sometime, but never a human! “What you did back there, and what you’ve probably done to other people, is horrible. Therefore, you’re going to help me to repay for what you’ve done.”
“What!?” Laef’s jaw dropped. “How? You’re a giant or something—and a mage. Can’t you do enough on your own?”
“Shut up and don’t question me! When I feel that you’ve done enough, I’ll let you go, but until then I need someone closer to human size to get things for me. And don’t try to run. I’ll find you.” That was true. One of the first spells she had learned was known as Arcane Mark: she chanted it now, and touched his chest. A faint purple glow flared up, then died down. Where ever Laef went, Amaris could be able to find him. “Now, let’s get a move on. We’re heading for those.” She pointed to the mountains.
She could just make out the road in the dim moonlight when the warning sign in her skull exploded.
The pain was not as fierce this time, it was more bearable. She did not pass out, either, but remained just on the edge of consciousness. Her body, for a span of maybe thirty seconds, felt like liquid. Her bones grew longer and thicker, her muscles increased, and her flesh expanded to suit the new size of her growing body. The tingling remained after, as it always did, and while weak, Amaris was able to rise and move to lean on a tree, quicker than she had last time the transformation had happened. What surprised her was that she leaned on the tree—not against it. She was…
Taller than the tree! She was not quite forty feet tall!
A cut-off half-scream burst out for an instant, and she quelled it. Laef was covering his ears and swearing like a sailor again. “I’m sorry! Did you see what happened?”
“Your butt got really big, really fast!” He exclaimed, then hung his head. “Sorry. I speak without thinking sometimes. Um. You just… grew. Can’t you control it?”
Amaris pushed off from the tree, feeling more recovered. “Not really. It’s sort of like a test. I need to find a way to stop it, or find out which of these,” she touched her jewelry, “Is the cause.”
The former bandit crossed his arms. “I guess I can help with that. I know how to read and stuff. And I can steal anything, anything at all, that you need.” He looked up with a large grin. “Weird that your robe grew, too.”
“It’s a good thing, or I’d be nude, otherwise.” Oops. The mage wished she hadn’t said that.
“Oh, reeeeeeally…” Laef teased. Amaris supposed he seemed less intimidated, and he wasn’t arguing over assisting her and repaying for his bad acts. A little odd, but she wouldn’t question him if he was going to be agreeable.
The woman smoothed her silk sleeves and began to tie back her dark hair again. “Yes. Really. So,” She nodded, “We’re off.”
Morning rolled around, and a full night of travel was behind her. Amaris found the woods beginning to lessen, changing into low, rolling hills. Laef had complained so much she had taken to carrying him fold at her belt, and the smaller bandit was fast asleep. Somehow. Beginning to feel weary herself, Amaris looked around the clearing she approached.
It was wide, and the rising sun made the grass shine with dew. Best of all, at the far end was a sparkling pool. Possibly deep enough to bathe in? No, she should sleep… but, to be nice and clean! She hadn’t been able to tend to her small cuts from the bandits, either.
Carefully she removed Laef, setting him down. He blinked and rolled up in his cloak to go back to sleep, while Amaris stood nearby. She could join him, lie down and get some rest… or take a bit of a bath while he was sleeping. Both options seemed good. She was tired, but she also felt gritty. And who knows when she'd find a pool suitable enough?
