'So that's where it ended up.'
When Verd came to in the tree, the first thing that struck him was the loss - where was the makeshift raft? They had been bound together, and it should have been right there with him, among the leaves, but it wasn't. Strange. Now that the raft had finally been found, approaching it turned out to be far more dangerous: the distance from here to where he had woken up was too great.
'What are the chances that someone dragged it here? Though who would even want those rotting bodies?'
The thought seemed absurd, but his brain immediately discarded it. The raft lay too carelessly. Around it were scattered drops of blood and limbs torn apart and feathered.
'No. It definitely wasn't brought here. More likely, I really did fall back there, and the current carried it away.'
Pressing himself against the trunk, Verd stared weakly at his empty hand.
'I need to get to it. Even if it's dull, there's bound to be a blade lying around there. That's a hell of a lot better than walking around unarmed. Besides, I still don't know what those spheres inside the monsters' bodies are. Hopefully I'll find them there too.'
He wasn't sure if there would be anything left at all. Maybe the spheres had fallen out and gotten lost in the mire, or the water had washed them away. But still, hope dies last.
A scan of the area revealed nothing. No movement, no sound. The silence was thick, broken only by the familiar gurgle of swamp mud and the barely audible rustle of leaves somewhere high overhead.
The path to the islet was thorny. The only way to get there was to swim across the water, since it sat on a small patch of land right under the scorching sun. No matter how tall the trees were, the vines weren't long enough to reach.
'Hmph. What a convenient position it has.'
Grabbing the nearest vine, Verd took a couple of steps back, gathered his strength, and jumped. The wind whistled past his ears, and in an instant he was airborne.
From here, he could make out the raft in more detail. The picture was grim. The already flimsy structure barely held together. The bird bodies were torn apart even more violently, as if they hadn't simply been thrown to the ground but dragged across stones. Tufts of feathers and flesh mixed with the dirt, but before he fell into the water, Verd caught a glimpse of dull-glinting metal among the mess.
The fall was short and hard - he splashed into the black liquid. With only one arm, the boy immediately felt the full weight of it and began sinking rapidly to the bottom. It was impossible to open his eyes, so the only option was to move by touch.
'Damn!'
A few seconds later, roughly in the direction of the islet, Verd felt a pair of roots. Gripping them, he managed to make at least some progress. With difficulty, he pulled himself out of the water and collapsed onto the edge of the islet.
'I'm exhausted... Why the hell did it suddenly get so deep?!'
He lay on the edge of the islet, covered in sticky black sludge, gasping desperately for air. Each breath burned his lungs, each exhale came out as a wheeze. Mud clogged his nose, his ears, and grated between his teeth.
With great effort, he rolled onto his side and spat out a lump of mucus and silt. His vision was clouded with dark spots, but he forced himself to focus on the raft.
'Hopefully there'll be more than just a blade there.'
He didn't get up - he had no strength left. He crawled, dragging his wounded leg behind him, leaving a furrow in the black mud. The stench of decay was overwhelming, but he barely noticed it. His entire being was focused on that glinting strip of steel.
He snatched up the blade. The edge was caked with dirt and shreds of fabric, but at least it wasn't broken, even if it had gone quite blunt.
Then suddenly, behind him, came a strange, quiet sound - a barely perceptible 'plop'.
Verd froze. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, he lowered the blade and turned his head.
At the edge of the islet, right where he had just climbed out of the water, lay an object. Round, about the size of a large apple, it emitted a steady, dim glow. It was one of those magical cores, similar to the ones he had found earlier in the mantis or the ice bird. The core lay in a puddle of black water, as if it had just surfaced from the abyssal depths.
It was dry.
'Creepy...'
A chill ran down Verd's spine. The core couldn't be dry if it had just emerged from the water. He whipped his head around, pressing himself deeper into the mud, gripping the blade tighter.
'I'm definitely not alone.'
No one. Only the silent, majestic trees, the black water, and the silence - now broken only by the pounding of his own heart.
'Just like back then, with the trees. My body can feel it - someone's watching me.'
He approached the core with slow, deliberate steps. He didn't grab it right away - instead, he extended the blade and carefully nudged the magical sphere toward himself, then picked it up.
'That's one.'
Suddenly, the water three meters from the islet erupted. Not a splash, but a rough, gurgling upheaval - as if an enormous gas bubble had burst from the very depths. From the black sludge, streaming with thick mud, something hauled itself out.
It was slightly taller than Verd, but seemed far more massive - a solid mountain of gray, wart- and scab-covered flesh. Short, pillar-like legs with wide, webbed feet sank deep into the bog at the water's edge. A small, flattened head sat on a barely noticeable neck. When it turned, its dull little eyes found Verd, and in them ignited a primitive, all-consuming fire of hunger.
A troll.
The creature let out a hoarse grunt, and a trickle of dark saliva dripped from the corner of its mouth. It took a heavy, squelching step forward, clearly not considering a one-armed human any kind of serious threat.
'A monster?! And a huge one at that!'
The plan didn't come all at once - it came in fragments, which his brain instantly stitched together into a mad mosaic. He couldn't win in a straight fight.
The troll, seeing that its prey wasn't running, took heart and lurched forward faster, swinging its short, muscular arms.
When the monster swung, Verd managed to leap back at the last moment. Mud sprayed up from the impact, but the monster's hand got stuck in the ground.
'Compared to those creatures from the cave, this big guy is slow. Plus his arms are short, which means his attack range is smaller too.'
Verd hopped back a step, sizing up the situation. Slow, but incredibly strong. He couldn't let it get inside its range. One good grab, and he'd be crushed like ripe fruit. His eyes darted across the islet: mud, roots, bird carcasses, the core and the blade in his hand.
The troll, yanking its arm out of the ground with a loud sucking sound, came at him again, now even angrier. Its movements were indeed clumsy, but each step sent a dull thud through the earth.
'I can't just leave the islet. If I jump into the water, I'll most likely get stuck, and then it won't be long before he catches me.'
Verd backed up toward the pile of bodies, planting his foot on the slippery flank of one of the birds.
'Which means all I can do is buy time!'
The troll, picking up speed, charged straight at him without looking down. Verd waited until it was just a couple of steps away, then hurled the core - not at the monster, but right under its feet, into a puddle of thick mire.
The glowing sphere hit the ground and bounced, rolling away. The troll, seeing movement near its feet, instinctively tilted its head, trying to make out the shiny thing. Its attention wavered. At that moment, Verd didn't run. He darted sideways, toward the edge of the islet, where a long, slippery, sloping root protruded from the water, leading up to the base of a giant tree.
But the troll had already recovered. With an enraged roar, it spun around and, without a second thought, stepped into the water to cut him off. Its wide foot sank into the mire, and it got stuck again - this time up to its knee. It roared, trying to pull its leg out with its hands, but the mud held fast.
'Idiot!' Verd exulted.
Seizing the moment, Verd dashed not away from the troll, but toward it, along the very edge of the islet. His goal wasn't escape - it was maneuver. He leaped onto the back of the leaning monster and, using it as a springboard, pushed off toward the nearest vine.
The monster, sensing movement behind it, thrashed furiously, trying to turn around, but its trapped leg wouldn't let it. It lost its balance and crashed heavily onto its side, sending up a fountain of spray and mud. Now it lay there, kicking and grunting.
Once on the vine, Verd scrambled desperately upward, feeling his single arm burning with the strain. Below, the troll, dazed by the fall, was already getting back up, making hoarse, rage-filled sounds. It pulled its leg free of the mire and, ignoring the filth, fixed its gaze on Verd swinging from the vine. In its tiny eyes burned pure, undiluted malice.
'I need to get out of here faster. He'll easily reach up and tear these vines apart.'
And so he did. The troll, without hesitation, wrapped its arms around the trunk of the tree the vine was attached to and began shaking it with all its might.
The troll, seeing that shaking wasn't working, roared and started pounding the trunk with its hammer-like fists. Bark flew in splinters, but the tree was enormous.
'And where am I supposed to run from him?'
He swung, built up momentum, and at the apex of his arc - the moment he was farthest from the trunk - he let go of the vine. The flight was short and nerve-wracking. He crashed into a branch chest-first, barely managing to hold on, and with desperate scrambling, hauled himself onto it. The pain in his wounded leg stabbed through him like a knife. He lay on the wide branch, gasping for air, listening to the troll below - who hadn't noticed his disappearance - redoubling its fury as it pummeled the tree.
'Perfect! He's lost track of me. Now I just need to make sure he doesn't see me again.'
Spotting a hollow ahead, he slipped inside without a moment's hesitation.
'I'm safe here.'
But just as Verd peeked out, he saw something he hadn't expected. In the distance, beyond the trees, loomed a dark silhouette. A monster, similar to the previous one, was moving with slow, heavy steps - straight toward him.