"Hmm," Angin said, fingering his wound. He had taken off his goggles, the glass broken. He threw them away.
Liron paled, retching. "Harras's will, Angin… you…"
"Don't worry. It's not that bad."
"Not that bad?! This can't be saved! We will have to cut it off!"
Angin let out a bark, entertained by Liron's apprehension. "Liron, I'm an Alchemist."
"And what does this change?!"
"Liron, we Alchemists are men and women of knowledge. The only thing that limits our capabilities is our understanding of this world and what keeps it together at its core."
Angin rested his arm on the ground, shoving the bone shards back in. He didn't wince, his gaze cool and focused. Blood poured out of the wounds as he pressed his thumb deep into his flesh, getting the piece back to its place. Liron failed to keep it together, stumbling to a tree and vomiting.
"They all react the same way when seeing it for the first time," Angin said, pressing the next shard back into his arm.
"Wh… what…"
"Explaining it will take longer than we have. Liron, be a good helper and take this saw and get me some branches."
"What?" Liron asked, his voice shrill.
"Liron, my boy, we're still in danger, and we need to get away. Don't think that Lance has given up yet. Who knows what he will try next."
Angin glanced upwards. The trees's heads hid the sky, not a bit of the pale blue visible. Thanks to that, Lance couldn't find them, but they had no idea where he was either.
"Come on, Liron. We don't have much time, and I'm busy. Stay very close. The tree next to me is perfect. And… seven branches should suffice."
After pulling his thumb out of the second wound, he handed a tiny saw to Liron. He grimaced as he took it, blood sticking to the handle. Angin's disregard for any danger showed he had survived worse situations. And being the country bumpkin he was, Liron was out of his depth.
He walked to the tree. It was still growing, old enough to carry thicker branches, though. He took off his goggles too, casting them aside as Angin had done. As Liron worked the saw at the branches, struggling with the tool's size, he glanced at Angin. Despite the gore of it, he wanted to see what he was doing. The Alchemist had finished with the bone shards, his arm a bloody mess.
He cleaned his bloody fingers in the snow, rummaging through his backpack for a pouch. He opened it, pulling out a scoop of golden flakes. With delicate care, he spread them equally over his wound. His look shifted, his concentration gaining a trance-like quality. Whatever mindstate he entered, he pressed his hand on the first wound.
Angin kept his hand there, nothing changing. He slid upwards to the next wound. Only as his hand reached the other one did Liron notice that his wounds had vanished. His right arm twitched, coming to life again. Anding stood up, moving his arm around, testing the functionality of his fingers. He clenched a fist, nodding at the result of this work.
Liron stared, the saw hanging halfway done in a branch. "How? Th.. this is…"
"Alchemy," Angin said. "As I said, explanations have to wait for later. What can't wait are the branches."
Liron shook himself, returning to his work. His mouth had dried up, his skin crawling. What witchery was this? He had known that Angin worked as a healer, but he expected someone more educated than the one they had in Eisenrahm. Not performing miracles on the level of a Warpriest. He should have worried more about it, but after the last hour, his mind refused to ponder yet another thing. The banality of his order gave him something simple to do. Something that worked with his blank headspace.
After sawing off seven larger branches, Liron picked them up and walked over to Angin. The Alchemist had spread out the remaining contents of his backpack. He had used up most of his gear, nothing left but three flasks, his rod, the gloves on his hands, and some tiny crafting tools like the saw.
Angin scratched his chin, glancing at the branches. "Yeah, this should work. Now get me as many twigs as you can, please. And by many, I mean many."
Liron frowned but did as he was told, searching the forest's ground like a boar. He collected dozens, using the lower section of his robe as a stretcher. He had dug through the snow to find them, his fingers cold due to it. Angin had sat on the floor, the snow around him red with his blood. He had positioned the branches into a vague shape of his machine. Liron had chosen the biggest branches he could, but the thing the Alchemist had formed looked rather small next to him.
"Here," Liron said, kneeling next to Angin, dropping the twigs next to him.
They were all roughly the same size as a finger. The Alchemist examined a few of them, nodding his approval. For the next few minutes, Angin took the twigs, pressing the ends against one another, holding his hand over the section where they touched. His gaze changed again, the twigs having fused, appearing as they were never apart.
Liron watched Angin work, constructing two wheels out of them. He had made them as thick as possible, using four rows of twigs to create each wheel. Anging checked his creations for their stability, proving them rather fragile. He clicked with his tongue, looking around himself. As his eyes searched over the ground, something clicked inside of him, pressing the wheels into the snow.
Angin filled them up with the inside of the wheels now white. Liron opened his mouth to ask, but his rescuer had told him several times already. The Alchemist touched the snow inside the wheels with one hand each. This time, Liron didn't watch Angin's eyes, staring at his hands. The snow melted, turning liquid for all but a fleeting moment before freezing into ice.
With a satisfied smile, Angin held the wheels in front of him, both filled with ice. He tested their stability again, withstanding his pressure. The wheels were the size of Liron's head, appearing as primitive as they could. Angin placed them in the branch shape, his new machine having gained its form.
Liron rubbed his hands against one another, breathing on them to warm them up. "This is supposed to work? That thing is barely large enough for you? And how can this thing move at all?"
Angin pulled off his gloves, laying them down in front of him. "Oh, it will… I'm certain. But this is not my first choice. I'd prefer to use our legs, but we won't be fast enough. And we don't just have to contend with the two Warpriests, their Fallen Choirs, the population of Eisenrahm that will form a search party, and Lance with his dragon. No, we have to worry about the wolves, too."
"The wolves? B… but why?"
"Liron, you stabbed one in the eye. And in the one on its forehead at that. That must have hurt the worst. Wolves are vicious bastards. Doesn't matter where you go. They are known for their smarts and for holding grudges. The one you wounded and its pack will hunt you down. You and everybody who was responsible for their botched ambush."
To his surprise, Liron's mind hadn't stopped working, pictures of the beast that had killed Dieter crossing his inner eye. The rage and savageness with which it took his friend would pale in comparison to what that monster would do to him. As Liron contemplated the various painful deaths he could face and at whose hands, Angin activated his strange abilities again, touching his gloves.
The runes light up, the metal becoming clay in Angin's finger. He formed the green mass, the symbols never losing form, shifting with the changes. He sighed, pausing to think before continuing. Whatever he created, Angin wasn't too satisfied with it, but it apparently served its purpose.
Angin held the strange machine to his eyes, appearing like a box with several smaller spheres integrated into it, one larger hole at its head and one tiny one at its left and right sides. "This is an engine," Angin said. "It's… the heart of most machines. My bike had one like that. They are usually bigger and… better constructed, but with this we will make it."
Liron nodded, not convinced. Angin didn't notice Liron's lack of trust, fusing the pieces of his bike together. As with the wheel, a simple touch sufficed to graft the branches against one another. He attached the engine at the lower section of the bike, pulling out what looked like chains out of the smaller holes, wrapping them around the wheels and back into the engine. His nearly empty backpack served as the seat, attached onto the bike.
Angin lifted his new bike up, sat on it, and pushed himself forward to test whether it moved like he wanted. It did, but Angin frowned. This thing didn't appear like it would survive any crash or could move faster than a running person.
"Well, not my proudest piece, but it will do. Come on, Liron. As before, sit behind me."
Liron sighed, no sense in arguing about it. He clung to the Alchemist's back, the only thing that prevented him from falling off. The backpack didn't offer much space for him. Liron pulled his legs close, cautious not to get them too close to the chain or wheel. Angin struggled more with the size of his bike. He rested his feet near the engine, his knees raised high like an adult sitting on a child's chair.
Angin opened his pouch, emptying most of the flakes into the hole at the engine's head. He took a deep breath and pressed a button on the machine. It screeched, sounding like a dying grandma. The Alchemist winced, cringing. But the engine did its job, the chains starting to move the wheels.
Slow at first, the bike drove forward. Angin and Liron struggled to find their balance, both coming close to falling over. But after avoiding this fate, they got used to it, Angin stomping his foot on the engine, making them move faster. The bike took the uneven forest ground and snow with surprising ease. Liron glanced downwards, noticing how the chains changed their form in minor ways, ensuring the wheels had no troubles with whatever they drove over. They still had to dodge large obstacles like fallen branches or roots lurking out of the ground.
Angin whistled, grinning like a drunken fool. "I can't believe it! It fucking works! I will not lie to you, Liron. I thought the engine would explode."
"What?!" Liron asked. "Why?!"
"As I said, we Alchemists are men and women of knowledge. Our power stems from understanding, unlike Wizards. But no one can claim ultimate knowledge over their specific field, let alone everything. I have specialized in the human body and the construction of several fighting tools. I barely grasp how greater machines like my bike work. With an instruction, I could build one, but I don't truly comprehend how they work. That this piece of shit functions is a miracle!"
The bitter taste of vomit stung Liron's tongue. At least he had nothing inside his stomach to throw up anymore. "I… understand."
"That's what I want to hear! Liron, be a good helper again and watch the sky for me, will you? The last thing we need is Lance surprising us."
"Yeah," Liron said, keeping his eyes skyward. Angin only glanced up, making sure they drove underneath the thickest areas of the treetop.
"Well, I think you have guessed that I'm part of the Resistance, right?"
Liron blinked. Angin was many things. Subtle wasn't one of them. "I… yeah."
"Great! Ah, it's excellent that I did not misjudge you, Liron. Finding young talent can be rather challenging. So, I know the Empire has fed you and your people nothing but propaganda about us. Don't worry, I will lend you my ear and explain everything to you. Once we're safe.
"Right now, I don't have much of a plan besides getting out of here. Thereafter, we will have to travel towards the nearest outpost. Unfortunately, as we are in the middle of nowhere, I'm the only Resistance member you will find. But the outpost is filled with resources we, or I, need. With them, I can replace my gear. Got that?"
Liron nodded, noticing that Angin couldn't see him. "Yeah."
"Perfect. You are doing great for your first time. You should have seen me. Oh, I was pissing and shitting myself. Hah, I was a crying mess! Ragner and…"
Illaxia's distant roar brought an end to Angin's story. Angin adjusted his path, allowing them to glimpse through the treetop. The Knight Dracon had flown in the opposite direction of them, having guessed the wrong way. Liron laughed, his heart jumping at the sight. Angin didn't rejoice, narrowing his eyes.
The dragon spat out her fire, burning down the trees. She attacked a thick ceiling, having predicted correctly they would have chosen to stay underneath one to hide from them.
"They are burning down Lichtwald just to find us?" Liron asked, horrified. All the beautiful lights would end in a blaze. For decades they had shone only to be destroyed by someone who had never seen their beauty, burning down without questioning what he fed to the flames.
"Aye, just to find you," Angin said. "But that can't be it. There's more to it."
As fire rained down, the first screams of the wildlife reached them. Angin's eyes widened, slamming his foot against the engine, accelerating to top speed. "That smart bastard!"
Liron hissed, losing balance for a moment. "Fuck, what are you doing?"
"Are you shitting me?! Don't you get what this cunt is doing?!"
"Yeah, he's burning down Lichtwald! But we go the other way. He won't find us."
"Solia's tits, are you simple, Liron?! Think! Lance knows that the likelihood of figuring out which path we would take was quite low. So, what could he do? Not just burn down the fucking forest. No, burn down the fucking forest and cause a massive frenzy with the beasts living here! He wants to find us through them!"
As if to emphasize his point, a stampede broke loose from where Illaxia spat out her fire. Knowing what Angin had told him, Liron realized that Lance had chosen the outermost path possible, ensuring that the coming surge would cross them. Among the animals heading their way, the wolves might be there, too.
"Oh, fuck!" Liron cried. "What… what can we do?! We're fucked!"
"Ah, please," Angin said. Despite not seeing it, Liron could sense him rolling his eyes. "This plan isn't even that thought out. Typical Empire. No finesse or wit. But it could be dangerous, yes. Liron, be a good helper and keep watch on what comes running our way, will you?"
Liron turned around, the first animals coming running their way. "Deers!"
"Are they coming our way, Liron? I need to know whether I have to avoid them."
"No, they are run…"
Before he could finish, the deer dashed past them. While fleeing from any fight, they dwarfed them, a single kick by them enough to destroy their bike and kill them. Deer never came close to Eisenrahm. Hunting them worked only a few times, the town having lacked the equipment to bring them down. Their antlers were a gathering of knives, spearheads to gut everything coming too close. Their thick mane protected their necks. Even a wolf would have a hard time penetrating the fur with a single bite.
Liron failed to make out much more. The deer were nothing but a blur that shot forward. Angin muttered something, watching the dozens of them running around them. As the final deer overtook them, the other animals came into view. Liron clawed into Angin's shoulder. "Shit!" he hissed.
"Which direction, Liron?!"
"They're coming from everywhere!"
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
Angin glanced behind him, grimacing. Hundreds of beasts rushed their way, blind panic having overridden all instincts. They pushed and shoved against one another, countless losing balance and trampled to death by the others. Six bears stood out the most, roaring as they blasted through the forest. Whatever these behemoths hit just broke. It didn't matter whether it was another animal or a tree.
The Alchemist dodged the collapsing tree, crashing into the ground near them. "For Solia's sake, we won't make it that way! They are way faster than… oh, I've got it. Liron, is there… like… oh, is there a river nearby?"
Liron had turned away from the horde, closing his eyes as he mapped where they were. He had never truly left Eisenrahm, only making shorter journeys into Lichtwald. But everybody in town had a basic understanding of the forest and area surrounding it. "Ye… yeah. There is the Pader. It… we should be heading towards it."
"Perfect. Liron, I need you to watch the beasts. Find me an animal that can swim. And with that, I mean it needs to be a great swimmer. And it can't be too big. Got that?"
"I… I will," Liron said.
Larger beasts like bears or moose didn't have the speed to catch up, running at the end of the stampede. Rabbits, though, hurried alongside them, snow shooting upwards as they leaped forward. They were too small, barely having Liron's size, and they couldn't swim. Squirrels jumped from tree to tree, pieces of bark falling down as they did so.
But, finally, Liron recognized a mink. A rather harmless beast, no reports of them attacking humans. They had long and scrawny bodies, reminding Liron of depictions he had seen of snakes. Unlike most beasts, minks had no horns, claws, or any natural defenses. Other beasts were not too interested in eating them, their meat chewy and tasting bitter. Their short fur and body shape were perfect for swimming in rivers to hunt for fish.
"There," Liron said, pointing at the minks dashing next to them. "The mink there. They can swim."
Angin studied the beast with a few brief glances. The mink was as tall as Angin's previous bike. "Well, better than nothing. Liron, you have to hold onto me as strong as you can. No matter what happens, don't let go."
Liron had gotten used to not questioning the Alchemist, but this time he wanted to. He didn't get the chance, as Angin took a hard turn, driving towards the mink. As he did, he screamed his lungs out, sounding like a war cry. The mink turned to them as they were about to crash into the animal.
Liron joined Angin's scream, his not filled with the same manic energy as the Alchemist's. Before they collided with the beast, Angin let go of the bike's handles, tearing the engine out. It melted under his touch, spreading over his hands like a liquid, solidifying into gloves.
"Jump!" Angin yelled.
He didn't wait to make sure Liron followed his command, kicking himself forward off the wooden frame. Liron's instincts took the reins, copying Angin. For but a moment they were airborne, the mink staring at them flying towards it. The Alchemist's gloves continued to shift, forming needles held in his fist.
As they landed on the beast, Angin punched down both hands into the mink's head. The needles pierced its skull, the beast letting out a sharp cry. Angin had overdone it with their speed, their momentum nearly tearing them off the mink. They hang at its side, Liron's legs dragged over the ground. Liron pulled himself upwards, holding onto Angin for dear life. Without the needles anchored in the mink's head, the Alchemist would have lost his grip immediately.
The gloves lit up, but they didn't change in shape. At least, the parts that could be seen. Whatever Angin was doing to the mink, the beast didn't die, keeping up its pace. But it yelled in pain, rushing forward like a headless chicken. Angin used all his strength to pull himself and Liron onto the beast's back, its fur wet and slippery. They had to press their legs into the animal's side to secure any form of stability.
Angin moved his fist, twisting the needles inside the mink's head. The beast kept up running, but it stumbled, struggling not to collapse. Its screams came to an end, its mouth hanging open. Somehow, Angin steered the mink. But he had no experience in what he was doing, the mink rushing towards a tree.
"Angin?!" Liron called.
The Alchemist didn't reply, pushing the needles to the right, making the mink move in the same direction. "Hah, I think I've got it!"
While lacking the absolute control he had over his bikes, Angin had figured out how to direct the beast. The poor thing had to go through hellish pain. Liron considered himself blessed he hadn't had to see its face. Angin's joy was short lived, though, Illaxia flying towards them, fire filling the sky and claiming the trees.
In their change of transportation method, they had strayed away from the safety of the treetops. Angin steered the mink away from the dragon's sight. It's difficult to say whether Illaxia had noticed them. Only hawks and other birds of prey had better vision than a dragon. But in all the chaos and her fire, she shouldn't have recognized them. If she had, she would have personally delivered them their execution.
Angin shifted the needles slightly, testing out how to make the mink accelerate. Its motion turned sluggish and uncoordinated as if it took its first steps. Having learned from his previous success, Angin discovered the little twist he had to do to force the mink to run faster.
The beast darted through the snow, catching up to the younger rabbits, not having the speed of their elders. And alongside them, the Pader became visible. The river did not have the magnitude or the current of the more well-known ones in Nordland. A bear might wet its gut in it, but nothing more. The fish swimming through it didn't have the size to be attractive to anything but a mink, one of the smallest hunters in Lichtwald.
"Finally," Angin said, accelerating the mink, its legs struggling to keep up with the Alchemist's demand.
The treetop behind them burst into flames, Illaxia flying towards them. The sheer force of her fire caused entire sections of the trees to collapse, burying whatever unfortunate beast they landed on. Their mink had proven itself faster than their improvised bike, but against a dragon in full flight, it would lose.
"Angin!" Liron said. "They're coming! Lance and Illaxia are burning everything!"
Angin didn't reply, leaning in closer to the beast. With a sharp twist of his fist, he made the mink leap into the air, diving towards the river. "Liron, hold your breath!"
Whatever little air he managed to suck in, the cold nearly drove it out of him. Neither he nor anyone in Eisenrahm knew how to swim as there were no waters nearby to learn it. As the waves crashed in on him, engulfing him whole, his entire body screamed at the sudden assault. The only thing awaiting him in a river like this would be his death. If his hands hadn't interlocked them into Angin's robe, the fabric wrapped around his fingers, Liron would have let go by reflex and tried to struggle his way out of the water.
Instead, he pressed his head down on Angin's back, enduring the freezing water surging against him as the mink swam through the Pader. Steering the beast through water proved more challenging than making it run. The mink slammed into rocks or the ground. The Pader was a shallow river, requiring precise motions. Something that Angin couldn't deliver.
While the water distorted the surface, making it impossible to determine details, Liron could tell a burning tree rushing towards them from a normal one. Angin forced the mink to dodge the tree. The ripples of the aftershock hit them hard, hurling them against the river's wall. Trapped between the mink's body and the rocks, Liron thought it to be over, either dying of another tree falling on them or being popped like a pimple.
Angin managed to jerk around the needles, causing the mink to spasm, freeing them. By its slow motions, the beast didn't have much life in it, but Anign decided to squeeze the rest out of it, making it shoot forward again. Right in time, as half the forest collapsed onto them. Liron's breath running short, he closed his eyes, not wanting to see death coming.
Waves battered them, Angin dancing between the fiery debris raining down on him. He had adapted to steering the mink well, evading death where he could. The barrage lasted only seconds. Seconds that Liron doubted they could survive. Only as the constant assault of ripples ceased and their motion calmed did Liron dare to open his eyes.
He glimpsed behind them. Smoking tree stumps had filled the river's section they had swum through, the flames having died. He didn't feel much joy at the sight, his lungs aching for air. His neck tightened, Liron about to lose control over his body. His fingers had gone numb, but he managed to shake Angin, begging him.
The Alchemist looked upwards, making the mink emerge. Liron somehow kept his mouth shut until his head broke through the water's surface, gasping for air. All thoughts ceased, and his enemies were forgotten. The sweet catharsis of not having drowned all that mattered in the world.
It didn't last long, though. The cold had washed away his strength, exhaustion sticking deep in his bones. Liron wanted nothing more than to close his eyes, but he forced them open. Sleep would bring an absolution from his turmoil that would last eternally. He searched the sky, Lance and Illaxia continuing their path to the next treetop, letting their flames feed on them.
Despite it all, they hadn't seen them. If they had, they would have flooded the Pader with a cascade of righteous wrath that would have evaporated them and the river alike. Liron and Angin exchanged a look, both smiling. If they had had the energy to celebrate their victory further, they would have.