Chapter 50: 50-Old Man's Cave
A/N- Gonna try and make each chapter ONE BOOK from the Bone series, since I'm itching to get back to My Hero but don't wanna just speed through this that much. I'm having lots of fun writing this and I'm glad all 330 of you enjoy reading it too. Thanks for your support!!
Though we made it down the mountain just fine, we had trouble waiting for us in the valley. We had already been attacked SIX times by rat creatures, we had lost a few people but most were brave enough to take up arms and keep themselves safe while Thorn and I dealt with the rats.
One thing I didn't understand though was why Thorn wanted to help everyone, perhaps it was some notion of responsibility now that she knew she was a princess. I watched and stayed low as she ran across the plains with a family in tow that she had pulled from the smoldering remains of a house.
Just in time too as a moment passed and another band of rats arrived. To make things even better another patrol also arrived and the two stopped. "Hail comrades!" A rat called out as they mingled and shared information. I listened to try and put together what they were up to, from what I could hear they had already moved through this area before and were just doing sweeps. The other group was more concerned about reports from the east, something about Kingdok?
"SHOSS! NESSEN NESSEN!" One yelled all of a sudden as Thorn and Phoney tensed up. "Ik garen, spek nessen!" Now THAT was interesting, I put on my translation necklace to listen. I didn't expect such a rabid race to have their own language for war time, maybe they can be used? I wondered as Thorn shushed Wendell who was threatening Phoney again.
Eventually the rats left towards the east and in quite a hurry from the looks of it as Thorn explained. "They're in a state of confusion. There are rumors that their chieftain has been killed!" I grinned at the thought of that, one less obstacle for me to deal with since I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do.
"How could you understand any of that? Just sounded like gibberish to me!" Phoney asked. Ever calm Thorn explained that the rats were speaking NESSEN, an ancient language reserved for time of war and military emergency. "Oh really? And WHERE did you learn to speak an ancient rat creature military language?" Wendell asked but Thorn shrugged "I didn't. I can just understand what they were saying." Not wasting time on suspicions Thorn organized everyone as we made our way towards the Barrel Haven, or what was left of it.
We arrived by nightfall and the town was nothing but ashes. The walls were collapsed and still smoking, but everything that was inside them was gone. Thorn has them spread out and looks for any survivors, and anything useful while me and her went over to what was left of the tavern. Finding nothing, Euclid tried to strangle Phoney but Thorn and Wendell talked him out of it for now.
Jonathan suddenly came running over clutching a letter. "Look look! I found this in the hollow tree where Lucius and I would leave messages!" Thorn took it and I peered over her shoulder, it was the same letter she wrote to Fone Bone! "Lucius must be at Gran'ma ben's farm." Thorn realized as Wendell and Euclid wanted to go and look for Lucius.
"You go. I have to look for Fone Bone, you coming Carter?" I nodded then she turned to Phoney "What about you Phoncible?" He gulped and peered out into the darkness.
"You mean out there?! gulp s-sure yeah I'll go." He stammered though he still agreed "snort At least you're not a coward." I said as he looked mildly offended. Wendell tried to talk Thorn out of it but Jonathan yelled "Thorn turn around! We got company!"
Right there behind us were a group of four stick eaters. They stood silent in their robes for a moment before they knelt and waited. "Go." I nudged Thorn and she stepped forward hesitant. "Hello? Can I help you?"
"We brought a message from your grandmother. She is waiting for you at OLD MAN'S CAVE. She bids you join her immediately." One of them said as they continued to kneel. "How do I know I can trust you? She asked but they remained silent, she mumbled half to herself that she had to find Fone Bone before going to Old Man's Cave but they repeated their earlier words "Your grandmother bids you join her immediately."
"Help me find my friends FIRST." She shot back. "You have to help me, don't you? It's your duty." I snorted at that, Rose said that they served the VEDU not the ROYAL FAMILY. "We are but guides. You alone may walk your path." They said as they stood up.
"Then guide me. Should I search for my friends or should I go to the Old man's Cave?" The man thought for a moment before answering "Your friend was last seen FAR AWAY in the eastern mountains. He is rumored to have been involved in the death of the mighty KINDOK. Many armies now search for him."
Thorn looked worried at that, as if she was finally realizing how many difficult choices come with being at war. "Remember." they said as they turned and walked into the forest "You have a greater duty to your PEOPLE." "Choose young one, time is short." And they were gone, back into the forest where rats and other dangers lurked.
"What do I do?" she mumbled as she looked at where they last were. Wendell told her that Rose's farm was on the way to Old Man's Cave. We should go that way, Lucius could already be waiting for us." Thorn just shook her head tired. "I'll decide in the morning."
That night as I slept, I found myself back at UA, but things looked different, but only small things. Katsumi was a guy now, for example, KATSUKI instead of KATSUMI. It was strange to see a male version of his friend. There were also other differences, there were a few different faces, some new others the same. They all seemed to revolve around one figure though.
Before I could make out any detail I felt a pull and suddenly I was next to Thorn, in my human form trapped in thorns. "Carter?! What are you doing here?" She said shocked as I looked up and saw Rose? No the body was similar, but the face was different, and younger. Features sharper than Rose, a much younger Lucius stood behind her.
"YOU!!" 'Rose' hissed as Lucius yelled "KEEP HER AWAY FROM THORN, SHE IS EVIL!" He didn't have to tell me twice as I conjured flames to try and burn the thorns holding me. 'Rose hissed as she rushed over. Now free I threw a wall of flames in her way as she shrank back, I tried to burn the ones holding Thorn but they wouldn't budge.
Thorn was still yelling at the 'Rose' in front of her as well as the real Rose who was smashing trees wildly behind them as she yelled for her to not let go of her sword. sword?
"Thorn! Cut yourself loose! I'll hold her back!" I yelled as I made a blade of ice, the fake Rose was stronger than I thought though as she broke my blade in two and tried to slash me with claws. It didn't work though as I formed scales along my body to keep myself safe, I didn't know if injuries from a dream would carry over but I wasn't about to find out. Thankfully Thorn was able to snap out of it as she slashed at the vines holding her, freeing us both from the dream.
GASP! Thorn shot up with cold sweat shaking with fear, that was the closest that any intruder had gotten to her, and she'd never seen them trap Carter before. "We need to leave." She said looking over at me as I slowly got up, "Lead the way."
-------------------------
As we raced through the forest it started to rain so we pulled our cloaks tighter as we ran. Not many words were said since Thorn was busy worrying about Fone Bone and I was keeping an eye on our surroundings, I'd rather not get ambushed in the rainy forest. "Look there they are!" She said suddenly as we came across a clearing, Fone Bone and Smiley Bone were surrounded by rat creatures.
"No words FIGHT!" I told her as I used my flames to propel myself forward and slammed my knee into the back of a rat's head. "DEMON!" The others hissed as the first rat crumpled, I burnt it to a crisp, glad to have more system points and glad to have one less rat to worry about. Speaking of which, how many points do I have now? I asked the system as Thorn arrived scaring the rats as she swung Kingdok's war club around.
[Adding together what you had after buying Shoto's quirk. Plus the points you have accumulated completing the daily missions for almost two decades, plus your recent gains from killing rat creatures . . . you now have 25,690 system points!] (Book magic idk)
Looking at the store there are a bunch more things that I could buy now but the really juicy things like weapons of mass-destruction and quirks like Cathleens quirk and All Mights were still too expensive. Though I could buy Katsumi's quirk. She'd probably try and murder me. I smiled at the thought. Despite closing myself off from them, I still missed my friends even if I'd probably have to kill them eventually . . .
Coming out of my daze Thorn has finished catching up with the Bones. Turns out that they took Bartleby all the way up to the mountains, only to get caught by a giant mountain lion named Roque Jaw, somehow got away from him by hiding in a rat creature temple of all things, only to get chased by the lion and Kingdok again. They even had front row seats to Roque Jaw ripping out Kingdoks tongue.
As I wondered whether or not I could possibly TAME this 'Roque Jaw' Thorn had already figured out the way to Old Man's Cave so we headed off to find shelter and wait out the rain before we moved on.
---------------------------------------------------------
I sighed as I came back to the sounds of giggling. I had left once the storm passed to go and hunt, managing to catch a deer, "And what do I come back to? Giggling children." I say dryly as Thorn and the Bones peer at me from inside the hollow tree. "What sum cranberries?" Smiley asked, holding some out but I shook my head. "Thorn, come light a fire while I sin this deer." She nods as Fone Bone looks worried "Won't a fire attract attention? What if the rats come investigating?"
I shrug "Then I burn them to a crisp, you saw what I did to Kingdok. What makes you think a normal rat could beat me, much less an army." He stops to think about that as Smiley asks him what I did to Kingdok as Thorn freezes. "If you can just spit fire out of your hand . . . why am I starting the fire?" she asks.
"Because I'm the one skinning the deer." I say matter of factly "Then let me skin the deer." she says but I shake my head, "You don't do it the way I like, you always leave unnecessary tears in the flesh, waste good food." I say as I get to work and Thorn grumbles. She lights the fire regardless though as I look at what little supplies we have.
When it was just me and Thorn there was enough water and dry rations for about four days, that got cut in half when we added the Bone cousins. Now it's even less since we've been stuck in the rain for a day and a half. "So what's the plan from here?" I asked as Thorn tended the flames.
"I want to find the hooded one, and stop them." She said, surprising me so much that my knife slipped and sliced my palm open. "YOU WHAT?!" I asked not expecting that at ALL, "What makes you think you can fight them? You can barely defend yourself against them in your OWN dreams." I say but she doesn't back down "I don't trust anyone at Old Man's Cave, nor Gran'ma Ben." She said as I felt my blood pressure start to rise I know see why Aizawa hates us so much, kids are fucking dumb. "Sigh! Why don't you trust Rose?" She looked up from the fire, "She has hidden my past from me all my life, but now things are starting to come back to me. I'm not sure how much of what I know is real, but what I do know . . . is that we had NO nursemaid."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Against my better judgment we found ourselves back at the farm, Fone Bone and Smiley Bone were busy getting more water as I dug through the house for any food that might have been left behind. Thorn was busy going through Rose's things looking for anything useful, so I decided to work on another part of that stupid side-quest that had sent me here.
Since it wants me to make an anchor, I'll make one that won't die for a few decades, and that MOVES making it harder to find. I thought as I turned a pebble into a pair of arm bands, they were small and light, one was made of silver and the other made of gold. Then I got to work etching small runes upon them. I wasn't the best at inscribing rune but I had passed the class and so I was able to get the job done. I placed two runes of strength, one for each band and somewhat hid the ACTUAL rune marker within them, and once that was done I used my animus magic to give them self repairing properties and to hide the runes.
I was the last one to leave the house as Thorn and the Bones had already finished finding what they were looking for. Thorn had managed to find lots of things in Rose's stuff as she looked very different. She had drawn war paint on her cheeks, and sported a red robe that looked awfully like the ones used by the stick eaters. She had also found two more blades, a pair of daggers.
She had given one to Fone Bone and Smiley wanting them to stay at the farm where it was safe, but they had convinced her otherwise, turns out they were orphans as well. So they wanted to help her since she was the closest thing they'd had to a family other than each other. She folded and so we started to walk before I stopped. "I have something for you Thorn." I said pulling out the arm bands, she looked surprised that I had given her something, all her life growing up with me I had never shared or given gifts, especially not food. They had learned that one the hard way.
"They're beautiful, what are they?" She asked, looking at them. "They were supposed to be your gift once you finished your training, but we'll need every advantage we can get now that we're at war." I showed her how to put them on since she had never worn such things before, she adjusted them a little more for comfort then we left.
--------------A/N Thanks Tannermals for the three power stones!---------------------------------------
It took several hours but we finally made it to the ridge outside Old man's Cave. It would have been quicker but we had been evading large groups of rats that seemed to be encircling the cave, and fighting off the smaller patrols that got too close.
"Come on, we're almost there!" Fone Bone shouted as he pushed forward. Despite running for so long he didn't seem that winded so we let him take the lead. Thorn had given him a dagger so I showed him the basics while we traveled. It wasn't much but he should at least be able to not stab HIMSELF.
As he rounds a corner Fone Bone doesn't see where he's going and BAM Runs right into Phoney Bone! As they catch up I feel the ground tremble ever so slightly and so I cut the reunion short. "We got company!" Just as a MASSIVE fucking mountain lion rounds the corner.
"Well. Princess Thorn I presume?" He purrs. This fucking cat is HUGE, almost as big as my Nightwing form! I think as Thorn takes out her sword, Rouge Jaw then turns to me. "Ah, you must be the DEMON that The Hooded One and Kingdok wanted killed. You don't look like much." He said as he crept closer unsheathing his sharp claws.
Flames danced up my arms as I stared down the cat. "And what are they paying you for your services?" He stops surprised, then grins with massive teeth. "More than you can give me, little demon." He says but his body language seems passive and open for discussion, for the moment.
"I can grant you a position in the new order to come. As well as the guaranteed removal of all rat creatures from the Eastern mountains." I say as I start to slowly compress a ball of flames in my palm, facing away from him so that he won't notice yet. "Hmm, an interesting offer. But I do not know you, and I deal with those who can deliver on their promises." He says and I see how he's interested but wants more, A shame I don't give a fuck!
"Then you are useless." I say throwing the compressed ball of flames. He leaps up and hisses, batting at the flames, that proves to be a mistake as it explodes. Rather than run however he yowls with pain before leaping at me with a snarl. I dive out of the way, twice as he misses then swings an oversized paw at me. I throw ice weapons at him but they don't do much so I get back to burning.
Thorn and the Bones scramble to get out of the way as Rogue Jaw's claws leave deep grooves in the rock face. I try to get around him to put myself between him and Thorn but he catches me on the side and I go flying. I land in a tree before burning it to the ground and using the flames to speed back, but I make it just as he runs off with Thorn and Phoney in his jaw.
"DAMNIT!" CRACK I yell punching the cliff, the one thing I had to protect and it gets taken away. "Fone Bone wake up!" Smiley yells as I look to where he's shaking Fone Bone who's hit his head. Near them is Kingdok's war club, broken in half.
I seethe for a moment before starting to walk towards the eastern mountains, GASP Fone Bone wakes up as Smiley catches him up with where Rouge Jaw has taken them. The Eastern mountains are on the far side of the valley, I can see smoke rising from them, a ritual maybe? It doesn't matter since I'm gonna burn it all to hell. "Can you run?" I ask them and they nod as Fone Bone straps his knapsack back on, "Then let's go."
Without saying anything I use my ice to make a road, its smooth surface allows me to slide along it while making more, keeping me above the ground and saving lots of time. Fone Bone and Smiley Bone struggle at first but they quickly pick it up from watching me as they race along behind me. If we go at this pace we should reach the Eastern mountains by tomorrow night, with very few breaks in between, just enough for me to rest my quirk. Though I won't freeze since I can use the flames to warm back up, I just hope I get there in time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The moon is high in the sky when we arrive, it is the color of blood.
Since we are so close to the smoke and I can hear the sounds of THOUSANDS of rat creatures, I stop using the ice bridge as we creep closer. There are dozens of old pillars dotting the landscape, they look like rats so we must be near a holy site of some sorts, won't be very holy once I'm done with it though. As we reach the top I peer over and see what must be at LEAST 10,000 rat creatures, with a platform in the middle of them where Kingdok is present, next to him is the Hooded One, with Thorn crumpled on the ground next to them and Phoney tied to an altar.
I want to rush in flames burning but Fone Bone stops me worried they might kill Thorn if I just jump in, so I wait as the Hooded One starts to speak.
"At last, Starbearer. We have come face-to-face." They rasp as Phoney struggles in his bindings. "You have boldly threatened us, and until now you have evaded capture." "Yeah so?" Phoney asks glaring at them. "It seems your luck has run out, perhaps you are not as powerful a mystic as you thought."
"Phoney, a mystic? That's impossible!" Fone Bone scoffs as Smiley nods, even Phoney denies it which seems to agitate the Hooded One. They try to convince him to help them, "From this moment on your destiny is with me. Together we will FREE our master. The ancient Lord of The Locusts!" They declare grandly as I grin, what a wonderful idea.
"You two stay here and yell when things go sideways, I'll be right back." I tell them before I run to the nearest rat pillar, the Bones are too busy listening and watching the Hooded One and Phoney to worry about what I'm doing.
Taking advantage I slice open several cuts along my arm as blood pours out. [This will hurt, immensely.] The system warns me but I wave it off, if the Scarlet Kings wants more action, I'll give him some action!
As the blood moves onto the stone and starts to melt into the marker, I glance back to see that the smoke has parted and a giant balloon, the size of the ones in that parade Cathleen shows me, bursts through the smoke, it looks just like Phoney Bone!
I grin at the absurdity as the marker finishes forming. "Shit, that hurt." I grimace, falling to one knee as I try and heal my arm using my magic, only to find it doesn't work. [Magic will not heal wounds from placing markers, you must find another way.] The system informs me so I take a nearby rock and turn it into a roll of bandages then wrap my arm, just in time too.
"BRIAR!" A voice yells, it sounds like Rose. I race back to the bones to find them looking up at a ridge, and there is Rose angry as hell. "That Bone creature is not a Veni-Yan-Cari. Let him go!" She yells, surprising me, I didn't think she'd care for Phoney to even bother trying to save him.
"Ah, welcome Rose Harveststar, my sister." The Hooded one rasps as they remove their hood, It's the other body, the one that disappeared. I realize as the robe shifts enough for me to see that there is damage to the corpse.
Rose demands Thorn and I feel my blood run cold as Briar reveals that Thorn is dead, that the future ruler of the valley is no more.
With a roar I leap down from the ledge burning everything that moves, rats scream "DEMON!" As they flee.
As I fight my way towards Briar, Rose tells her how her 'omen' is just a symbol of pride and vanity, and how she has killed the only hope of bringing back her master. Kingdok and the rats closest are enraged as they demand to know why Briar killed her. Before they can do anything the mountain below starts to shake as if the earth itself is mad at her for her error.
Briar calls out for her master to forgive her, but ultimately she falls as a swarm of locusts erupts from her robe and swarm onto Thorn. "BURN!" I scream as I will the mark on Thorns bracers to activate as rats run in every direction trying to flee. It works for a moment but the swarm is back on in an instant as I burn, shove and smash my way towards her.
Fone Bone almost gets run over by a fleeing Kingdok as he makes it to Thorns side, "This is the dragon's necklace, I'm putting it on you NOW!" He shouts and just as he places it around her neck.
POW!
The swarm goes flying as I reach Thorn. "THORN GET UP!" I yell dragging her to her feet, "Can you walk? We have to get out of here!" Rose says as she runs over, "Yes, I'm fine really." Thorn nods, looking a bit dazed as we start to move.
We make it a few steps before Thorn groans and looks like she's about to fall over. Not about to lose her to a stray boulder I pick her up in a princess carry as she complains. "Hey, I feel better! I just had to put my hood on!" She says as I throw Phoney at Rose before grabbing Fone Bone and strapping him to my back. "I don't care, hold on."
A/N- Hey, tell me what y'all think Carters gonna do. Will he give this world over? Will he fulfill his promise to Lunaria about Thorn? Will he help save the valley? Tell me what you think!
Word Count-4375