Leaving the house a worried Braedon and excited Alice stepped into a landscape utterly transformed. Time, it seemed had allowed nature to truly overtake the landscape and grow beyond imagining. Vines choked what was once houses well trees reached skyward with an unnatural urgency, their branches thick and gnarled. A sense of unease settling over the air thick and humid.
Picking up their pace they hurried towards the greenhouse even from where they were they could see it had undergone its own changes, thick roots reaching out of its walls and a broken front. Before they could reach it though the ground beneath their feet violently shook causing them to stumble and lose their footing as a deafening crack tore through the air from the greenhouse where they watched as it exploded outwards sending bits of its dilapidated walls all over the yard.
From the shattered remnants burst an immense, monstrous entity. It was a terrifying amalgam of intertwining vines and trees with a body consisting of a writhing mass of tendrils and patches of rough bark. At its center, a gnarled tree trunk served as a grotesque snarling face with the mix of bark making it up splitting open into a horrifying, cavernous maw from which a primeval roar erupted. With a sickening thump it slammed a massive vine-arm down where the pair could faintly make out a much smaller figure beneath being pinned down by its immense weight. A network of lesser vines immediately attempting to entangle its struggling prey.
"We need to go over and see what's going on. This seems like a real fun fight and I want in!" Alice declared, a distinct edge of madness and battle lust seeping into her voice. Before Braedon could even utter a syllable, she had already sprung forward, her scythe seemingly materialized from thin air gleamed in her hand. Braedon sighed as he felt a familiar weariness settling over him before broking into a run, hoping this particular brand of chaos wouldn't end in utter disaster like there last.
As he caught up to Alice, he could see she was practically vibrating with anticipation, ready to unleash her thirst for battle against the large creature and possibly even the smaller figure it was attacking. But just as she prepared to leap into the fray, Braedon gripped her shoulder to hold her back making her spin to face him with an annoyed and angry scowl twisting her features. It was only the unyielding steel in his gaze, fixed intently on the unfolding battle as if trying to choose a target gave her pause. Trusting his judgment for now, she remained rooted to the spot and began watching, hoping to be let loose and developing a slightly stronger dislike towards him and wishing John was back already.
The colossal vine creature had the figure pinned, its tendrils visibly writhing and tightening to ensnare its prey completely. They watched as it struggled beneath it, clearly nearing its end. But just as all seemed lost they watched as the figure executed a swift, unexpected maneuver that allowed them to somehow slip through the gaps in the constricting vines and out if it grip before, with lightning-fast reflexes they twisted and rolled away, narrowly evading another lunging, whip-like tendril that tried to grab them once more.
In a single, fluid motion the figure drew a massive broadsword from a sheath on their back. The blade, a striking fusion of silver and gold seemed to glint fiercely in the sunlight before the figure let out a battle cry that seemed to reverberate through the very air as they lunged at the plant monster.
The battle that ensued was fierce and relentless. The figure wielded the broadsword with a strength and precision that defied ordinary human capabilities was making Alice's lust for battle burn brighter, barely managing to keep from jumping into the fray. Each strike landed with a violent crack that splintered the vines and sent fragments of bark flying. The vine creature roared a deep, guttural sound of pain and frustration as sap and vegetal matter splattered across the ground with every impact as its outer bark layer was cut through. Braedon gripped Alice's shoulder almost imperceptibly in an attempt to anchor her.
The vine creature was clearly not an easily defeated foe though as they saw it retaliate with furious energy, whipping its dense vine-like appendages at the figure faster and faster causing its opponent into a desperate ballet of defense, ducking, rolling and sidestepping with every ounce of flexibility they had. The battlefield became a turbulent mess of swirling leaves and scattered twigs, testament to the destructive power of their clash.
The fight continued for what felt like an eternity, the two combatants locked in a deadly and exhausting struggle before, after a grueling back-and-forth the vine creature managed to gain the decisive upper hand as a thick vine coiled around the figure's limbs, catching them off guard as it wrenched them off balance and tore the broadsword from their grasp. The magnificent blade spun end over end before embedding itself point-first into the earth and with a swift, brutal motion, the creature completed its capture, encasing the human in a crude, gnarled wooden cage formed from its twisted vines and clearly making sure it wouldn't be escaping again.
Seeing this, Braedon finally released Alice's shoulder and with a primal roar of determination, she surged forward with a whirlwind of motion. Her scythe flashing and hacking wildly at the wooden prison. But before she could inflict any significant damage, a mass of thick roots erupted from the ground beneath her. They coalesced into a monstrous, grasping hand that clamped down on her that slammed her forcefully to the earth.
"A little help here? Any time now would be good!" Alice yelled, struggling against the slowly tightening roots as she sent a glare at Braedon.
He had faint smile playing on his lips as he watched well strolled closer at a rather slow pace. He casually tapped one of the roots holding Alice captive. "It's probably been a while for you, Elena. Were really sorry about that, but we're back now. Do you think you could share some light on what's happened while we were gone and what changes have happened?" he asked, his voice calm and warm.
Alice's eyes widened, a flicker of disbelief crossing her face. Slowly, from within the monstrous wooden construct a figure began to emerge from its jagged, snarling mouth from which Elena launched herself at Braedon from, tears streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms tightly around him and sobbing uncontrollably.
"It's okay," Braedon murmured, his voice softening to a gentle hush. He held her close, gently rubbing her back. "We're back now. I'm sorry it took so long; we didn't even know that was going to happen. But it's all okay now, we aren't going anywhere anymore, we won't leave you along again so It's okay now. We promise."
"Uhm, not to ruin the mood," Alice interjected, her voice momentarily breaking from the strain of her captivity, "but can you please let me go now? And what's with the giant tree monster form?" Elena pulled back from Braedon, wiping her eyes as she shot Alice a sour look.
"Oh? You're also back? Couldn't it have just been our master?" Elena grumbled, sniffing once and regaining control of her tears, clearly not wanting Alice to witness her vulnerability.
"Yep, you're still a bi—" Alice began to retort, but her words were abruptly cut short by a pained yelp that echoed from the captured figure.
Their attention snapped back to the wooden cage. The figure, previously struggling, was now being pulled tighter, their limbs stretched almost to the point of dislocation by the constricting vines.
"Well, this is familiar," Braedon observed, his gaze shifting from the figure to Elena. "Minus the vine in the mouth part, thankfully. Mind bringing them over and gently loosening the tension so it doesn't rip their limbs off of them?"
Elena, still pouting, gave a reluctant nod. With a subtle psychic command, the wooden prison slowly lowered and was brought closer. The vines, while still tightly binding the person, mercifully ceased their agonizing pull.
Alice was released and back to her usual boisterous self immediately rushed over after dusting herself off. She began to poke the captive with the stick part of her scythe. "Who are you? Why are you here? Where are the cookies? Is the cake really a lie?" she rattled off clearly amused by the confusion she was causing.