This was evident by the giant lizards surrounding the Jade Jackal Squad as they traveled on one such dirt road. Each was over three feet tall, and some were over five. They had multiple rows of sharp teeth and many were more than willing to show them off.
Dressed in forest green cloaks, Barbara, Wrecka, Irene, and Taiga were a team of mercenaries and their latest mission had taken then into deadly territory. Still, this was hardly the first time they had faced monsters, a common occupational hazard. Of course, each of them could be considered a monster depending on who you ask.
"Come at me, you oversized iguanas!" True to form, Wrecka drew her club and charged at the closest lizard. Back when she was an ordinary goblin, she had used a small studded wooden club, but after she was mutated by Esmeralda the Emerald Witch, she traded it in for an iron club, the type more commonly wielded by oni. The woman was now just north of six feet tall and built like a tree trunk. She swung the heavy weapon and struck the beast in the head, sending it flying into the next one over.
"You could have at least waited for us to get ready." Barbara Bryani groaned. Barbara was also one of Esmeralda's experiments. She was green from head to root, her hair looking like a bush of leaves running down her back. She still had a pair of large leaves sticking up, a sign of back when she was a bunnygirl. Now, she was more like a walking plant than any established race. With her back to her two friends, she cast barkskin, boosting their defense.
A lizard charged at them, but got sidetracked as Taiga Kobayashi dashed to its side. She was an orange-haired neko, a catgirl. Barely over five feet, she was currently the shortest member of the team. She was also the most agile. With her short sword drawn, she slashed its neck, but failed to kill it in a single blow. On the positive, she got its attention, so she jumped onto its back, riding it until she could finish the job.
Irene Weaver was already playing the ballad of speed on her lute. As the bard, her magic was woven into her songs. In this case, she gave her squad members and herself a temporary boost of speed. However, she needed the others to watch her back while she played.
Irene was born human, but thanks to Esmeralda's modifications, she looked more like a mermaid. Her hands, feet, and even ears were webbed. Her skin was covered with lovely light blue scales, and hidden beneath her cloak were her gills.
As a few of the lizards unsuccessfully tried to bite into Taiga, one ran at Irene. As the four-foot tall lizard drew close, Barbara split her right arm apart. It morphed into five vines and wrapped around the beast. Summoning her mana, she unleashed a spray of poison into its face. It didn't care for that and started thrashing around. Once released, it rolled onto its back as it struggled against the toxin.
With the ballad complete, another lizard lunged at Irene, but she was ready for it. Sidestepping the beast, her nails extended and cut into its hide. Her venom entered its body and soon paralyzed it, leaving it to fall to the ground. It wasn't dead, but it wasn't going to get up anytime soon.
Both Irene and Barbara had to duck as another lizard flew their way upside down. Once it passed, Barbara stood and shouted at Wrecka. "Watch where you send those things!"
Wrecka had once again plowed through too many targets at once. Five had gathered around her, while a few more laid on the ground at her feet. Her cloak had been torn off and a few cuts were already crossing her body, a few more gashes made in her leather armor. Still, she was keeping most of them busy.
Barbara pressed her hand against the ground and summoned multiple brambles to slow their opponents, then morphing both arms into a total of ten vines. Channeling her mana through her limbs, she sprouted thorns and struck the two closest lizards closing in on Wrecka as Irene played her next song. "Get back into formation. It's almost time."
Wrecka bashed in another lizard and jumped onto its body. "I can handle them." She kicked another in the face, breaking its jaw.
"Not all of them at once, and the ballad is almost finished. Get back her already!" She let out a cry as one of the lizards ripped off a vine. The other four on that arm struck it in the face.
"Fine." Wrecka kicked the body of one of the monsters into another. She then ran back to the group, clubbing one of the lizards on the way.
Taiga jumped back as she heard the song wrapping up. She threw a knife at her pursuer, striking it in the throat. "Ready."
"Ready!" Wrecka growled.
Irene stuck the final note and let loose the spell. Fire balls rained down from the sky, striking many of the remaining lizards and spooking the ones they didn't.
"Finally." Wrecka stuck a nearby boulder, breaking off a large piece of rock and flinging it at one the last few lizards.
From there, it was only a matter of time before the battle was over. The remaining lizards were soon wiped out. Barbara extinguished the fires that were set before working her magic on Wrecka, healing her latest wounds. She was a big girl and had a thick hide, but the claw wounds she sustained were no laughing matter.
Irene looked over at Taiga as she gathered her knives scattered about the battlefield. "You slacked off. Some of those over blown reptiles got a bit too close to for comfort. You could have taken them all out before they got within five feet of me."
The orange neko turned to face the mock mermaid. "Oh, like I need to go all out against those mooks! I need to save that for when I need it. Besides, it's nothing the two of you weren't able to handle." She smiled as she picked up another knife and cleaned the blood off the blade. She then took out her hunting knife and checked to see if the lizard had swallowed anything of value, as large meat-eating monsters like it have been known to do.
Barbara put her hand on Irene's shoulder. "Let it go. It's been a long day and there should be a village close by. Let's head there and rest for the night."
Irene looked at her squad leader. "Fine, fine." She moved back to the dirt road. "But you are splitting the loot with the rest of us, right?"
"Sure, sure. If you want to help, it will go a lot faster."
Once they had taken proof of kill and all the gold and silver the monsters had on them, they headed back down the road. Esmeralda gave them traveling expenses, but it didn't hurt to pick up a little extra funding when it didn't take them out of their way. Some villages would pay to exterminate such monsters and the coins collected were always worth something.
They had been on this mission for months. Their target was arguably more dangerous than a dozen woman-eating lizards: the famed Carlotta the Amber Blade. It wasn't easy tracking their target, as she moved around quite often. Since the trail was cold when they started, they had to go from town to town, hitting the bars and other hot spots, asking the bartenders and patrons if she had been in.
In the city of Greenmire, they had gotten a good lead. A very tall, amber-haired wolf woman had paired up with a blue-haired human. The two had said they were going to Brittletide. However, the two cities were a few weeks apart on foot. As such, they had to stop at villages along the way. Things had been looking good so far, as each village had someone who had seen either Carlotta or someone matching her description.
An hour after leaving the battlefield, they had arrived at their next stop: Hiroko Village. It was a peaceful riverside trading post. Still, even a peaceful community had its share of defenses. In the case of Hiroko, a wooden wall bordering around the West side with only one gate to enter. An archer was stationed at the watchtower close by.
A raven-haired woman in half-plated armor and chainmail stood by the gate. She looked at the group as they approached, paying close attention to Wrecka. "Welcome, travelers. What brings you to Hiroko?"
Barbara stepped forward. "Just passing through. We are on our way to Brittletide and need a place to rest." She let off a sweet smell of flowers as she smiled.
"I see. We don't get many orcs in here. I think the last time any visited was that raid a few years back."
Wrecka planted her club into the ground. "I'm not an orc. I'm a goblin."
The guard blinked. "A goblin, you say? Well, they are a little more common around here, but I don't think I have ever seen a goblin half as tall as you."
Taiga placed her hand on Wrecka's back and patted her gently. "Easy, Rezee. I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it." The two of them had known each other for years, running missions together long before Esmeralda came along.
Barbara looked back at them for a moment. "She gets that a lot. Don't worry about her."
The guard looked back at Barbara, a little confused as to what she was. "Looks like she has seen some battle. And so do you, from the looks of your cloaks." Each of their cloaks had some dirt on them, and most had cuts or burns from the last fight. Barbara had yet to mend them.
"We encountered some giant lizards on the way here about an hour ago." Barbara reached for her bag and pulled out some green hides.
The guard looked remorseful. "I see. We have had some problems with them lately. Did they get any of you?"
Barbara shook her head. "No, we can take care of ourselves. We were able to deal with all of them, but now we just need a good night’s sleep."
"Well, I thank you. Welcome to Hiroko. Enjoy your stay." The guard stepped to the side.
"You are welcome." Barbara led the way through the wide gate and into town. Their first stop was the local inn. It was also a tavern, so after getting a room for four for the night from the old woman at the counter, they went for something to eat. While waiting for their food, Barbara took out a book from her bag and flipped to the first blank page. She wrote "Arrived at Hiroko village." Closing it, she slid it back into her bag.
Soon, they got their mead. However, their meals took a little longer, especially Wrecka's, as she ordered three whole hams. As for the rest, Taiga ordered smoked and seasoned fish, Irene the chicken, and Barbara a large salad with extra carrots, with an additional glass of water.
As they waited, they kept their ears open. Barbara and Taiga had good ears, but Wrecka also knew what kinds of things to listen for. The other customers chatted about all kinds of things as they drank their mead. Some were talking about how much rain they had been getting, others the monsters to the west, and a few spoke of making wine from the berries gathered from the east woods. Nothing interesting or useful.
The barmaids walked up with their food and started setting them down on the table. In the last few villages, the barmaids had been quite the useful source of information.
Taiga looked up at the closest barmaid and batted her eyelashes. "Mmm, that smells nice." She leaned forward. "I was wondering if you could help me with something. I'm looking for an old friend of mine, she might have passed through here a few months back."
The woman turned and looked at the orange catgirl. "A few months? I'm not sure, we get a lot of travelers through here."
"You might remember her. She is a tall wolf woman with long, amber hair. She is an adventurer, should have carried a shield and axe." Taiga leaned a little closer. Carlotta was known for her sword, but it seemed she had changed up her equipment based on what the last few barmaids had said. "She may have hit on you."
Wrecka spoke up. "Her name is Carlotta. She was traveling with a blue haired hunter at the time."
"Well, a lot of girls hit on me, so I can’t say."
The other barmaid paused and looked at Taiga. "Hmmm, you know, I think I remember her. The two of them questioned the whole tavern one night a while back."
Barbara turned to look at the busty barmaid. "Is that so?" It was a little odd, normally Carlotta tried to take one of the barmaids back to her room, or a woman who was out alone.
"Mmm, well it has been a while and she was only here for one night." The barmaid eyed the silver coin Wrecka started to play with between her fingers. "If I remember right, after I took her order, she changed tables. She moved over to sit with Captain Tsubaki and Kimiko, I think. Yes, it was Kimiko. They talked for a bit before the blue-haired girl showed up."
Barbara finished clewing her current mouthful of veggies. "What did she ask everyone about?"
The barmaid played with a lock of her hair. "I think it was about the local area and monsters. The east woods might have come up."
Wrecka put down her ham. "What's in the east woods?"
"This side of Yuzuki River? Nothing much. They are pretty peaceful. We gather mushrooms and berries from there all the time."
"And what is beyond the Yuzuki River?" Wrecka took another big bite.
The barmaid shrugged. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you. I've lived in this village all my life, but I’ve never stepped foot past there. I can't think of anyone who has."
"Well, what about those people she sat with?" Taiga cut off another piece of fish and ate it.
"Well, Tsubaki is the captain of the guards, but I think she left halfway through. Kimiko would be the one to talk to. She runs a farm on the east side of the village."
"Thank you." Wrecka tossed the barmaid the coin.
The barmaid smiled as she took the coin. "You are welcome." She smiled and returned to work.
The group then discussed what they learned as they ate, but made sure not to say something they shouldn't have. You never knew who could be listening.
"So what do you think? We know she was here at least, but this talk of all those questions was a little odd. The other stops said she just did quick jobs, if she did anything other than skirt chasing." Barbara picked up a carrot with her fork and started eating it.
"We should look into it before we leave. The sun is still up, we could pay this Kimiko a visit." Wrecka grabbed her next ham.
"True, but I don't think we should count this place out just yet. How about Taiga and I go pay her a visit? Wrecka and Irene will stay here and see what else they can find out. There is something odd about those woods."
"Sure thing, Boss." Irene took a sip of her mead.
After they finished dinner, Barbara and Taiga got up and left while Wrecka and Irene ordered more mead.
In the later hours, the village was starting to grow quiet, but there were still a few people around. Soon, the two of them made their way to a small farm house. It was a two-story tall wooden building with few windows. Taiga stopped in front of the door and knocked.
A woman with raven hair opened the door. "Hello. Can I help you?"
Taiga smiled. "Yes. We were hoping we could talk to you about a woman named Carlotta."
The woman frowned. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened to her after they left." She looked down.
"We heard you talked to her about something. Can we ask what it was?"
Kimiko fiddled with her dress. "It was... it was... I hired her and Alexandra to find my eldest daughter. I begged half the people in the village, but she was the first... the first willing to go beyond the Yuzuki River." The woman started to tear up. "I offered to go with, but she said they could handle it. I gave them some food as a down payment and they headed out to look for my child, but they... but they never came back. I fear I might have gotten them killed." She leaned against the door frame.
Taiga patted the woman's shoulder. "What is past the Yuzuki River?"
"I don't know. No one has ever crossed the Yuzuki Bridge and returned. I knew that, I've known that my whole life, but I still asked them to go."
Barbara unleashed the scent of lavender to try and calm the woman down. "Don't blame yourself. Carlotta has always put her life in danger, it's who she is. Why don't we talk about it?"
Kimiko nodded. "I'll... I'll make us some tea. Come in."
"Thank you." The two women soon entered.
***
The Jade Jackals met back in their rented room. It was a small room, containing two sets of bunk beds, illuminated by the crystal hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Their cloaks hung from the hooks on the wall. There was a window, but it was already after sundown so the curtain was drawn.
Barbara sat with Taiga on one bed while Wrecka and Irene sat on the opposite bed. "We spoke with Kimiko. She hired Carlotta and her companion to find her daughter who apparently wandered past the east woods into the area beyond the Yuzuki River. They never came back, and neither has anyone else who has dared to try."
Wrecka scratched her head. "Well, that is troubling. We asked about the east woods all night. We couldn't get a straight answer as to what is over there."
Irene combed her hair. "They all had their theories, but they were nothing more than hearsay. No one had ever seen any of the monsters they claimed dwelled beyond the river. No bodies ever turned up, no attacks on the village, nothing."
Taiga stroked her tail. "Kimiko wasn't very forthcoming with what was over there either, wouldn't even guess. I think she was afraid of picturing what befell her daughter Satomi. What were the theories?"
Wrecka sighed. "All kinds, it was rare to find two people to agree on one. Giant spiders, harpies, dragons, carnivorous plants, poison gas, demons, witches, bandits, werewolves, even a gorgon."
Taiga shuttered at the thought of going up against a gorgon.
Irene continued. "There was also talk about raiders. A group of goblins had been attacking the local villages, but they never hit this one and stopped a few months ago. Come to think of it, that was around the time Carlotta passed through, from the sound of things."
"There seem to be some holes in the theories. For example, if they were wyverns or harpies, there would be nothing stopping them from flying over the river and attacking," stated Wrecka.
"Plants might have some merit that would explain why they never enter the village. If that's the case, I should be able to deal with them. Still, it's odd that no one could escape them after all these years." Barbara sighed. "It seems we can't know what is out there until we go there ourselves." She noticed her hand was sliding closer to Taiga's leg and stopped herself.
"It seems that way. We best get a good night sleep." Irene stood up and started getting ready.
"Very well. I'll update the log." Barbara pulled out the book. "Confirmed Carlotta visited Hiroko Village. She and her companion were hired by a local farmer named Kimiko to find and recover her missing daughter in the woods east of the village. She has not returned." She paused for a moment as she eyed Taiga changing into her bedclothes. It was a simple white dress. "The locals are all afraid of the area beyond the Yuzuki River to the east as none have returned. Threat unknown. We are resting for the night. Standing by for orders." She closed the book and put it back into her bag before getting changed herself. "Good night."
****
Before long, the next morning arrived. Barbara had gone out into the woods north of the village for some privacy. She was on the east side of the Miyu River, as the villagers all agreed it was peaceful. It certainly had an air of tranquility and none she asked had seen any kind of threats.
She stood fully nude in a clearing with a number of wild flowers. On a patch of grass were two travel bags, one containing her clothes. With her arms stretched, she stood in the light and let the morning sun wash over her. Her feet had put down roots and she was gathering nutrients from the soil. "Mmmm, I needed this."
After a while, she heard someone coming. She started pulling her roots back as Taiga and Wrecka came into sight.
Taiga held up the log book. "Hey, we have our marching orders."
Barbara stretched her arm out and quickly grabbed the closest bag. "Just a moment." She pulled out her clothes and soon got dressed.
"Looking good." Taiga giggled as handed over the book.
Barbara blushed and took the book and flipped it open. Below her last entry was a new entry in green letters. "Enter the woods with caution. Recover Carlotta if possible."
She closed the book. "I figured that's what they would be. Let's go get Irene and move out." Picking up the other bag, she lead the way to the Miyu. Once there, she held out her hand and cast a spell, making it glow.
Ripples in the water formed and spread out. Soon a shadow swam upstream, stopping in front of them. Irene shot out of the water and threw her hair back, sending water droplets flying behind her. "You called?"
"Mistress Esmeralda is sending us east."
"Well, at least I had a nice swim." Irene moved closer and stepped out of the river wearing only a pair of bikini bottoms. After drying off, she took her bag and put on her top and cloak. "Well, let's march into the jaws of death."
Wrecka grunted. "Don't jinx it."
The squad then set out, walking through the woods. For a while, there was nothing out of the ordinary. When they got to the Yuzuki River, they soon found a wooden plank bridge with a well-maintained metal frame.
Taiga sniffed. "Well, the bridge looks perfectly stable. Still, I wonder who built it if the villagers won't come out here."
Irene put her hand on the guardrail. "It makes me think this is some kind of trap."
Barbara looked over the structure. "Well, it just might be that. One at a time, girls." She was the first to cross. Fortunately, nothing happened. As her teammates crossed, she communed with the local flora. "O hear me, children of the green, tell me what you have seen."
"We have seen you." "No one has been here." "I saw a squirrel." "It rained the other day, it was nice." "There is a raven on my branch."
Taiga put her hand on Barbara's shoulder. "Do they have anything to say?"
Barbara shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. It seems no one has been here in the past few days." She had the power to speak with plants. Part of it was her druid training, and part of it was her current anatomy. Unfortunately, they didn't have the best memory and typically could only recall events of the past three or four days. "At least there aren't any monsters in this area."
"Well that's good to know. Now what path do we take?" Irene looked at the three dirt and grass roads before them, the largest of which was straight ahead. The other two went off and followed the river in both directions, slowly curving in after a while.
Barbara thought about it for a moment. "Something seems off about this situation. It would be best if we avoid the main road. Based on the maps of the area, there is another village to the southeast of here. Let's go right."
"Good enough for me." Wrecka set off first, with her friends soon following. They set down the trail.
Every now and then, Barbara would talk to the plants, but like the others, they didn't know anything. Soon, the path started to curve to the left. The brush got thicker as they moved farther from the river. Thick, thorny vines bordered the path, some wrapping around the trees.
"Well this is cheery." Taiga looked around at all the thorns.
"It seems a little odd someone cut a path through such a place. This can't be an animal trail." Irene kept her distance.
"They are just dumb plants." Wrecka grunted. She then turned to Barbara. "Sorry."
"It's... NO! Not good. The path is blocked!" Barbara looked behind them. The vines had grown over the trail they just walked and now blocked the exit.
"It's a bloody trap!" Wrecka swung her club, striking the vines and severing some.
"Ahhh!" Irene screamed, a vine wrapping around her left leg. She tried to pull it off as it scratched her, but more attacked, binding her arms.
"Blasted weeds." Wrecka turned to charge, but the vines started to wrap around her as well. She broke them off as they bound her, but the thorns sill scratched her.
Taiga drew her sword and slashed at the vines wrapping around Irene.
Barbara placed her hands together and chanted. "O children of the green, here my plea, cease your assault. We mean you no harm."
But the vines only had one thing to say…
"Unauthorized." "Unauthorized." "Unauthorized." "Unauthorized." "Unauthorized." "Unauthorized." "Unauthorized."
"They aren't listening to me." Barbara ran to aid Taiga, who was losing ground to the vines.
"My leg! My leg is turning brown!" Irene cried out as her light blue scales started turning brown across her left leg. A pattern started to emerge as the change spread, her arms and left leg slowly turning into wood as more vines wrapped around her. It seemed to be spreading from the scratches.
"Can't move..." Wrecka fell over as the vines pulled against her half-wooden body. They start to pull her into thick mass of vines.
"Ahhhh!" Taiga cried out as well.
Barbara turned and watched in horror as the lovely Taiga was pulled back, her arms turning into wood as she dropped her short sword.
As she tried to rescue her squad, the vines wrapped around her as well, pulling her into the bramble. Small scratches slid across her bare arms and legs as she struggled.
"Barbara, h... elp... me." Taiga struggled to speak as a vine wrapped around her neck, her throat turning to wood.
"Taiga!" Soon, Barbara was all that was left as the vines pulled her deeper. She morphed her arm into vines as well and stretched them to grab Taiga's sword from the clearing. She started to hack away at the plants as she fought to return to the neko.
Soon, they were at the border of another clearing. Barbara was able to finally free herself as the vines stopped moving. Once she was out, she cut Taiga's wooden form free of the vines that bound her up. Dragging her into the clearing, she looked herself over. She was covered in scrapes and scratches, yet she was still green. "What is going on here?"
Taiga couldn't stand up, she was on her side when she finished changing. Her wrists were pressed together over her head and she was in mid kick.
Catching her breath, she thought over the events of what just happened. From what she could tell, the transformation was spread from the thorns. Whatever they pierced slowly turned to wood, but they had not changed her. They didn't even attack her until she got tangled up in them trying to help Taiga. "Is it this new body of mine? Maybe it doesn't work on plants." Whatever the reason, she was the only one left who could still move. Picking up the sword, she returned to the vines and cut Irene free before dragging her over to Taiga and repeating the processes with Wrecka.
Irene looked scared, her knees bent but still providing her the ability to stand, at least. Her arms tried to shield her body as the change had taken her.
Wrecka, meanwhile, looked angry. She had managed to break free of each vine as they bound her, but not without them scratching her. The marks had faded into the rest of her wooden skin, but could still be seen on her leather armor. Her muscles were flexed and her iron club had been swung down, throwing her off balance.
Opening her bag, Barbara took stock of her supplies. To her dismay, she had only two doses of restoration salve left. She had needed to make more, but lacked the ingredients to do so. "This better work on this transformation." She soon made her choice.
Taiga's clothes had been torn but still covered her body. Barbara unbuttoned them and slid them up. She then rubbed the salve over her wooden skin. Slowly, she massaged it over her body, her arms, her legs, her tail, and her head. She couldn't help herself around her breasts and crotch. Once she was coated, she chanted the appropriate spell and the catgirl started to glow. The color returned to her body. Her ridged form then went limp and relaxed.
Back in the flesh, Taiga blinked. "What happened? How did we get out of that?" She looked down and started fixing her clothes without a second thought.
"The vines seem to have some sort of toxin that turns whoever comes into contact with it into wood. For whatever reason, it didn't work on me and I was able to get out of there, but not before it moved us somewhere else." Barbara looked over Irene and Wrecka.
"Damn. Well, at least you could get us out and cure us."
"The thing is, I only had enough salve left for two of you. One of them will have to remain like that until I can make some more, which I can't do at the moment."
Taiga looked at her fallen teammates. "Then it should be Rezee. She can carry Irene without any trouble." She rested her hand on her old friend Wrecka.
"Agreed. We couldn't really carry Wrecka and her iron club anyway." Barbara got to work on Wrecka's leather armor, undoing the straps and pulling it out of the way. She then took the last of the salve and spread it out over her wooden body. With another chant, Wrecka was once again green and animate.
The massive goblin shot up and slammed her club into the ground, sending chunks of dirt flying. "Overgrown weeds! I’ll tear them apart!"
Taiga grabbed Wrecka's arm. "Don't do that Rezee. We are out of salve. If they stick you again, we won't be able restore you a second time." She stroked her gently.
Wrecka soon calmed down. "What happened?"
Barbara pulled out her log book and flipped the first open page. "I was able to get us out of there, but couldn't restore everyone. Maybe I could fix Irene if we get her into town, or if could find the herbs I need here. Otherwise, I'm not powerful enough to restore her. As team leader, I say we fall back until I can remedy this." She then started write down in the book. "We were attacked by vines that turned us into wood. Barbara is immune and was able to restore Taiga and Wrecka. Ran out of salve before we could restore Irene. The path we took is blocked off. Will try and find another way into town to regroup."
Taiga looked at the thick wall of twisting vines. "Hey, I had a thought. Do you think Carlotta is in there?"
Barbara closed the book and slid it back into her bag. "It's possible. She doesn't wear much in the way of armor." She moved close to the vines, staying just out of their reach and looked around. She saw a few large wooden animals, but no sign of a wolf woman. "It seems the vines dump whatever they transmute over here. She still might be elsewhere, but under the given circumstances, I think we better look for her later." She turned and walked back. "Wrecka, carry Irene."
"Fine." The large green woman walked over to her wooden friend and grabbed her by the waist, picking her up. With one arm, she pulled her over her shoulder.
Taiga finished cleaning her sword and returned it to its sheath. "Where to now?"
Barbara moved in front of the group. "That's the tricky part. We will have to stay away from thick plant growth for once. Based on the sun, I'd say the other village is this way." She led the way.
They walked down the path for a while, eyeing the plants closely. Suddenly, Taiga stopped. "Wait, someone is here."
They looked around for a moment before Barbara called out to the plants. "O hear me children of the green, who else is here?"
"The big green lady." "I see an orange-haired cat girl." "There is a red woman behind my trunk." "There is a raven on my branch."
"Over there!" Barbara pointed at a tree. "Show yourself."
"Well, well, aren’t you perceptive?" A slender demon stepped out from behind the tree. She had red skin, slick black hair, a pair of small horns, and a pointed tail. She wore black & red light weight armor over a miniskirt dress. A lily was engraved over the left breast. In her hand was a rapier.
"Who are you!?" Wrecka shouted and pointed her spiked club at the demon.
"Why, you certainly are demanding for intruders. I am a guard, and you are all trespassing on my mistress' domain. Surrender and we can end this quickly."
Wrecka set Irene down, propping her up against a tree. "You can hardly take on all of us."
"Looks like I don't need to." The demon giggled as she looked at the wooden mermaid. She then posed to strike.
"Wait, we were only looking for..." Barbara's words were cut short as Wrecka charged the demon.
She swung her club down and missed as the demon side stepped. The next miss crashed into a boulder, shattering it.
The demon backed away. "Well, aren't you a strong one? Mistress will be happy to see you." She thrust with her rapier but Wrecka was able to counter it with her club.
"There she goes flying off the handle again." Barbara sighed as Taiga drew her sword.
"What in blazes!?" Wrecka was startled when she saw her right hand had turned gray.
The demon took this moment to launch another thrust, this time piercing the leather armor and Wrecka's heart.
"Rezee! No!" Taiga cried out as she saw the sight before them.
However, Wrecka didn't fall; she merely became still. With her club swung back over her shoulder, her whole body turned to granite, spreading from her chest out to the rest of her body. It traveled up her arms and down her legs. Within an instant, she was a stone statue. Her left hand was open and stretched out before her.
Taiga ran around the side and unsheathed her short sword, striking at the demon but hitting her rapier.
"Don't get in close!" Barbara shouted in a panic. "I can't lose her too." Her arms split into vines and stretched out. Soon, they closed in on the demon as Taiga jumped back.
The demon swung her weapon, slashing three of the vines, passing through them like they weren't even there. Where she cut turned gray and heavy. It spread down the vines to the tips, but didn't travel back up her arm. Still, the extra weight pulled them to the ground.
The demon then blocked the knives flying at her, one of them nicking her. She then thrust again, striking Taiga's right forearm with her rapier. There was no blood, no cut, but her flesh started to turn gray. The weapon met no resistance and moved around her flesh like it wasn't even there. As she pulled away it spread down her arm to her hand. She dropped her short sword before her hand became immobile.
"Keep her off me for a moment." As she retreated her tail was slashed, half of it turning to granite.
Barbara summoned more vines from the ground. They attacked the demon, forcing her to slash them as Barbara's own vines closed in on her. She then sprayed a jet of poison at the demon, hoping it would still work on her.
As Barbara lost more vines to the demon, Taiga started to change color. Not gray, but green. Her bright orange hair turned dark green while light green fur with dark green stripes started to cover her body and face. Her clothing ripped as she grew taller, her muscles expanding. Soon, she was 5'9" with razor sharp claws on her left hand, her right remaining a stone fist. She then let out a loud roar.
As the demon cut more of Barbara's vines, she turned to look at the weretiger. She moved to counter, but Barbara's last vine wrapped around her neck and the poison didn't help her speed.
With inhuman speed, Taiga shot on three limbs and then plunged her claw into the demon's side were the armor was thin.
"Well, this is hardly ideal." The demon sounded more irritated than angry or pained. Suddenly, she exploded into a poof of black smoke. It quickly dissipated as the armor and sword fell. As if to get one last hit in, the rapier landed on Taiga's left foot, turning it to granite.
"Taiga, are you alright?" Barbara shouted. Her vines fell to the ground.
"Half my limbs are stone. Do I look alright?" Taiga paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, they don't hurt, they’re just kind of numb."
Barbara moved closer. As they were now, she couldn't return her vines into arms. She thought for a moment about cutting them off as she returned to the nude tiger girl. "I'm out of salve. Well, at least enough to fully restore a person. Maybe I could at least get a limb back."
"Can you even get your salves like that?" Taiga pointed to the group of stone vines on the ground. Slowly she started to shrink back down to normal size, the fur receding.
"I still have one left." She slowly slid the green vine into her bag and pulled out the almost empty jar of salve. "Can you help me rub it on your foot?"
"Shouldn't you take care of yourself first?" Taiga picked up the jar.
"With as long as they are, I don't think I have enough to restore even one side. At least you will be able to move."
"I can move like this as well, just not very fast." Taiga opened the jar and started to rub it onto her foot.
Soon, Barbara summoned her mana and chanted the spell. Taiga's gray foot turned green and then back to normal. It was then that she noticed something. It was slow, but the first few vines started to revert back to normal.
"You did it." Taiga wiggled her toes.
"I'm beginning to think I didn't need to. Look closely at the edge. It's slowly receding." She pointed to one of her vines.
Taiga took a closer look. "That's a good sign. Maybe Rezee will turn back too."
"We can only hope. Let me see that sword. Be careful with it."
Taiga picked up the rapier. It had a purple blade and a skull on the guard. Around the base of the handle was a small gold band with a D-ring attached to it. Runes could be seen on the blade as the light reflected off of it. "Weird."
"It must have some kind of curse on it. Mistress would want to study it. Grab the sheath and let's take it with us when we go."
Taiga poked around the pile of armor. "There isn't a sheath, or even that dress."
"That's odd." Barbara sat down.
It took a full hour, but eventually, Barbara and Taiga turned to normal. Well, normal for them anyway. In that time, Barbara wrote in the log. "Encountered a demon with some kind of cursed rapier. She turned to smoke after a fatal blow was struck, but not before she took down Wrecka. The rapier seems to turn whatever limb it cuts into granite, a blow to the heart will turn the whole body to stone. Anything else seems to wear off after a while. Taiga and Barbara are recovering before moving out."
"Let's go." Barbara stood up.
"What about them?" Taiga looked over at the petrified bodies of their teammates. Neither had changed in the slightest in the past hour.
"I'm sorry, but you know we can't take them with us. They are too heavy."
Taiga looked at Wrecka and put her hand on her arm. "I'm sorry, Rezee."
"Look, I know you and Wrecka go way back, but she is far too heavy, even if we could remove the club. Irene, maybe, she is smaller and made of wood, but we will be in a tight spot if we get attacked again. We will come back for them once I make more salve." Barbara put her hand on Taiga's shoulder.
"I understand. They aren't the first comrades in arms I have lost in this line of work." Taiga turned and started walking down the path.
As they moved, Barbara questioned the plants. They spoke of women in black and white dresses walking these paths, but other than the demon, none had traveled here in the past few hours.
While walking on a wide dirt road, they heard something behind them.
Taiga turned and morphed, not holding anything back. Green fur rippled across her nude body and she grew larger once again. Then, she ducked down as rocks flew at them from the tall bushes.
"Come out and face us!" Taiga jumped out of the way of another rock. She zig-zagged as she ran on all fours at the bushes, evading the rocks. However, over halfway there, she pressed down on a small mound of dirt as she ran and it exploded. "Ahhh!" A clear liquid sprayed all over her green form. She didn't change, but became shiny in the sunlight. She stood on her feet and right hand, with her left extended, not moving in the slightest.
"Taiga! Not again!" Barbara cried out. "What happened? It was safe just a moment ago." She turned and looked at the bushes. "What would happen if I move?"
Soon, a shining silver knight emerged from the bushes. Her gleaming armor covered every inch of her, even her eyes were hidden. It was unclear what race she was, but she was humanoid at least. Over her left breast was an engraving of a lily. In her hand, she held a polearm, a large arrow shaped blade at the end. "Sorry about that, but I felt it would be better to lure her into the lacquer mine field."
Barbara drew the rapier and pointed it at the knight. "Have you come to avenge your friend?"
"She is not my friend." She sounded annoyed at the concept of it. "But you have trespassed on my mistress' domain. I am tasked with taking you in. You are the last one. Give up." She walked closer to Taiga.
"Stay away from her!"
"Oh, sounds like she meant a lot to you. Very well, I don't wish to damage her anyway." The silver knight pointed her blade at Barbara and charged.
Barbara summoned vines from the nearby ground, but they didn't last long, as the polearm sliced through them. She split her arms into vines, gripping the rapier and thrusting it her opponent.
The knight blocked it with her arm and smoke emerged at the strike. She then spun the polearm around to knock it to the side. As the vines came at her from all sides, the polearm then morphed into a double naginata. As she spun it, the blades cut through Barbara's vines.
Barbara pulled back, taking the rapier with her. Soon, her vines grew back as she gathered mana from the ground. "The rapier was able to cut through us like we weren't even there before. Is she warded against it? No, it clashed with Taiga's sword. Maybe it just doesn't work on metal. Time to try something else." With a phrase, she summoned poisoned mist and sprayed it at her foe. This didn't seem to affect her either, as she kept on coming.
"You are ill-suited for this task." The silver weapon once again changed, this time turning into a flail. The chain wrapped around Barbara's body, pinning her side.
Barbara summoned a gust of wind and blew it right into the knight's face. When that didn't phase her, she spread her vines again, thrusting the rapier into her neck, trying to get it in-between the cracks. Smoke hissed from the contact and the weapon shook in her grip.
The knight pulled the chain and slammed Barbara into the ground. "That won't work on me."
Barbara shoved the blade into a link and spread her vines, forcing the chain up. Sliding out, she dropped the rapier and her bag. Throwing her cloak over the knight, she ran, fleeing into the woods. "I can't beat her without the others." She grabbed a branch and pulled herself to it. However, a crescent blade on the end of a chain sliced through her arm and she fell to the ground. As her arm grew back, she ran on foot.
The knight chased after her. She launched her blade at Barbara again, narrowly missing her to the left. She pulled it back and shot it again repeatedly. Each time was a near miss, alternating between her left and her right.
Barbara ran into a clearing. She could only move straight ahead, as she every time she tried to turn, she nearly got hit. She looked back to see that the knight had stopped. "What?" Her feet sank into the muddy ground. "What!?" She struggled to move her feet.
The mud came to life, lifting itself up in a crude humanoid form. A pair of hands grab Barbara's arms, pulling her down. More muddy hands grabbed at her, ripping her clothes. As they held onto her, the mud rubbed onto her skin.
"Ahhh, ohhh!" She started moaning as the mud seeped into her skin. Slowly, her body stiffened, slowly hardening. Before it even spread to her head, her mind started to get fuzzy. It cupped her breasts, stroking them and massaging the mud into her skin. The change washed over it. The color drained from green skin, slowly turning gray as the mud, and her body, turned to clay.
~~~~~
Dame Arjean was the silver knight charged with the capture of the remaining intruders. She walked through the woods closer to the mud pit once the transformation had finished.
The plant-like woman had solidified into a clay statue. She was currently face up, supported by her shoulders, elbows, and the balls of her feet. Her hands were on her thighs as her butt was in the air, her legs spread a little. A look of bliss was frozen on her face. It seemed like a good pose, letting her stand on either her back or her knees.
Arjean then looked up at the raven sitting on a tree branch. "That's all of them. You can send the maids out now." The bird then cawed and took flight.
The mud monster pulled back into the ground as Arjean approached. Still, not wanting to get mud on her armor, she turned her weapon into a silver tentacle and wrapped it around the woman's waist, lifting her up and pulling her out.
Once she was back onto the grass, she set the statue down. Once she was sure there was no mud on her tentacle, it morphed into a pair of bracelets as it wrapped around her wrists. Arjean then picked up the glazed clay woman and carried her over to the discarded rapier. Setting her trophy down for a moment, she kicked the weapon. "How long are you going to sit there?"
The rapier rolled about two feet before stopping and remained motionless. Then, after a moment, black smoke started to seep out of the blade. It twisted into the crude shape of a person. Then it solidified into a red demoness. "I told you not to touch me!" She angrily shouted at Arjean.
"It's your own fault for taking so long."
The woman known as Serena picked up the rapier. "You know damn well it takes me a while to generate a new body if my last construct was forcefully dispelled." She pressed the tip of the blade against her left palm, and then it slid inside of her. Even the guard and handle soon disappeared inside of her limb. "Colliding with you over and over again didn't help any."
"Because of your screwup, you got captured and kept the lacquer mines and other traps from going off. So I had to come bail you out of trouble." Arjean folded her arms and tapped her foot on the ground.
"Just drop it already." Serena groaned and started walking.
"Wait, take that one with you." Arjean pointed at the green tiger woman, Taiga if she remembered right.
Serena looked back at Taiga and then at Arjean. "Why do I have to carry her? We can just have the maids do it."
"The maids already are going to have their hands full with the big one you bagged. Between her large stone body and her iron club, she weighs the most, unless you want to carry your prey back yourself." Arjean stepped in front of Serena.
"There are plenty of maids. Get the amazons to carry the brute." Serena glared at Arjean for a moment. "Fine. You're not going to let this go." She groaned and walked back to Taiga. Grunting a bit, she grabbed the inanimate woman by the hips and pulled her up. She then started to drag her down the path until they met up with the maids.
A pair of women were pulling a wooden wagon. Both were dressed in black and white uniforms with gold collars around their necks. One was a catgirl, the other was an elf. They helped Arjean and Serena load the two statues onto the wagon.
Within an hour, all four intruders were safely in the tower. The maids got to work, stripping the wooden mermaid and massive granite goblin. The bunny-like plant girl had very little clothing left. "She looks like she was having a good time." The kitty giggled.
"She sure does." The elf slid her hand down her clay belly.
The pair then grabbed buckets and rags. They washed the hard bodies, getting them nice and clean for their mistress. Whatever fate she had in store for them, they would look pretty for it.
Epilogue
The sorceress Lilly Smith stood in her lab. In front of her were four statues, each under a spotlight. It had been a few weeks since the Jade Jackal Squad had invaded her domain. In that time, she had learned more and more about them. She had found their mutations interesting, as she had dabbled in the field herself. However, whoever did this seemed to know quite a bit more.
Each of the warriors had been restored and offered a collar, but each had turned her down, for now. Given what they could do, she suppressed the magic rather than breaking it, which would have been simpler. This was a wise move, as some of them attacked.
Even without a weapon, the goblin woman charged at her, breaking the reinforced chains that bound her arms. Her assault was short lived as she was quickly turned back into granite by simply cutting off the flow of mana that animated her.
Irene the artificial mermaid had some claws on her. The paralyzing venom was a nice touch. She had even gotten one of the maids with them. As punishment, she was quickly turned back to wood, only now with a cocky smile on her face.
Barbara cared more about her fallen friend Taiga than she did about herself. Still, she wasn't any more willing to take her collar. For now, she was returned to her clay form. She was drugged with an aphrodisiac so she would turn her arms back to normal first.
Taiga was another story. Unlike the others, Lilly couldn't suppress the lacquer coating, so she had to remove it. Still, she turned out to be the easiest to deal with. True, she wouldn't put on the collar, but a little catnip and she did just about anything else. She was still in her weretiger state and in keeping with how she handled the others, she coated her with fresh lacquer while she was in her drugged state.
Lilly flipped through the log book labeled “Jade Jackals”. The entries were short but impressive. She had spotted the enchantment right away. This was part of a set; whatever was written in one appeared in the other. The log's twin was likely in the hands of this Esmeralda woman, the mistress of the four. It seems she had other teams of mutants as well, but the reports on them were vague in regards to their abilities. Something that was handy to know was who they were after: a wolf woman known as Carlotta the Amber Blade. "I just so happen to know where she is."
Lilly closed the book and walked over to the lineup. "I must say, I like this Esmeralda's work. Perhaps I should invite her to the tower. Now how should I extend the invitation?" She giggled as she stroked Barbara's cheek.
THE END?