Chapter 332 - Trapped
A/n: an Extra sponsored by @Omnisiac10 .. sorry for being late with it.
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Some may think that the past three months were hellish... actually, everyone will think that way but the only one who will disagree will be the man in question himself, Jon.
How so?
The answer to that question is not really complicated. Within a predicament, one finds opportunity and that's what was it all about, opportunity.
Don't get me wrong, Jon suffered the first few days in his journey anf he would hate to relive those first few days. Torture was a daily routine, not that amateur level torture of an Imperial prison or a Nordic pit, it was a Forsworn torture, the one you would end up a fluidless corpse after a few days of experience... but you are not Jon Dare, are you now?
Oh, right! And by fluidless, it doesn't mean bloodless, it means everything. Ever seen a Draugr? Yep, that fluidless, even the best moisturizer in the world will face a true challenge with you.
Also, one question. Ever wondered how Briarheart warriors are made? Now, let's hope that I piqued your interest.
*3 Months Earlier*
Dropping a mountain on someone is a bit of an overkill, right? Well, Jon didn't die. You probably guessed that by now but don't you think it is wonderful? How in the blazes can anyone survive getting buried to begin with? From the lack of air to how much sand can go in your boots... Don't let the list start, the problems are endless!
But thanks to the enemies of yesterday, Jon was dug up by the Leshen.
Jon regained consciousness a long time after he was dug up. Surely he was locked up in the weirdest way possible. His vision was not clear but concentrating on his body revealed what happened to him. Nope, you guessed wrong. His limbs were all still intact. His only injury was a concussion in his head that disturbed his senses greatly.
"Where the... AARG!"
And here it came, the first setback. Due to his head injury, whenever he tries to talk, a massive headache strikes like a real bitch. Now imagine him shouting a Thu'um... no, wait! Don't. Thu'um is a baaahahahahd idea.
Where were we? Oh, yes. Jon was locked up... in a tree trunk. Not like he was inside of it, no, he was stuck in the trunk from outside as it grew around some of his body parts.
Now you might be thinking: Shouldn't Jon just go kaboom and use his amazing brute physical strength to shatter the mere wood? Well, that sounded like a good idea to him too...
"AARG!... shit!"
Just as he tried to break free, many things stabbed into his body.
Another setback! Brute Force is out of the question.
Most likely the tree itself was stabbing him by a thorny vine warped going around his body.
What about Magic, Battle-Spirit or Godly Blessings? That damn vine was really something, Jon could see that the thorns on the vine have dug through his tough skin draining his Magicka directly. And that's the third setback.
No Magic, no Brute Force and no Thu'um.
Some might think 'This can't get any worse!' but still things are way worse than anyone can think. Jon can't contact the Augur for some reason and Shadow is not picking up. Also, the [Haven Cube] should be with Nefertiti as she used it to take Wulfur away from the fight.
Now, the word 'Stranded' can describe Jon's situation really well but it wasn't all that bad, there is always company. As his senses started to recover slowly, the place around him started to get more visible.
He was in some sort of a grove in a cave with barely any rays of sunlight coming down from the gabs illuminating the hellish place around him. To think that this was Nirn and not Oblivion is a wonder on its own. Well, at least he got some company out of it.
There were bodies, a lot of them! Bodies stuck with him in the trunk of the tree, bodies skewered through its branches, bodies pinned by its roots, bodies hanged by its vines. It was terrifying and mysterious, his rock solid mentality was put to the test for the first time since he was in his own mind realm, thoughts and fears, prayers and curses, panic... Yes, Panic!
This was no ordinary tree, its leaves were blood red and its wood moved like living organs. The tree had strange fruits that seemed to be the reason why such a demonic tree wad cultivated on human bodies.
"Awake! Ah! He is awake! 'God Blood', he is awake!"
A Hagraven came from the entrance of the cave. It looked at Jon and called him a weird name.
As it called, other hags started to come to the cave and kept looking at Jon. Just by their ugly looks, one can learn the phenomenon opposite to having a boner. Yes, it is that bad.
One of the hags went to Jon with an eerie smile on its ever so disgusting face, it pointed one of its claws towards Jon's right shoulder and stabbed in his flesh with it. Sadly for the hag, its claw broke.
"Grrr! Hateful! Hateful!" It started screaming as it tried to put the claw back desperately.
The reason was obvious. Jon's meditative training is in the Jade Skin stage, his skin is that hard. Maybe the thorns on the tree are stronger than the claws of the hags but that doesn't mean they would give up.
Another hag came out with a black dagger that gave of a greenish luster. Even for Jon who was blocked from Magic, he felt that the dagger is pure evil and it would wound him badly.
Jon even recognized the dagger.
'Nettlebane! Shit!'
A cursed and very old dagger that can do terrible kinds of damage, Jon would do anything to not get touched by that blade but sadly there isn't anything thing he can do... no, there was one thing. The only energy that he can control is the Essence-Energy in his body.
He hurriedly circulated the Essence-Energy inside him and created a layer around his bones and organs. He was even to shift his organs to avoid vital injuries.
The hag holding Nettlebane came at Jon and stabbed his shoulder. His skin showed some resistance at first but it was tore under Nettlebane. Jon quivered and groaned in pain but the hag never stopped until the Nettlebane went in an inch at least, it then took the dagger out and licked the blood on it.
The hag turned towards the other ones and shouted in its evil voice.
"GOD BLOOD!"
The hags cheered in Joy.
Jon was trying to stay conscious and get a hint of what is going on. Suddenly calling his blood 'God Blood' is really fucked up looking at how the hags treat the vessel of whatever that Blood is. Still, what kind of situation is that?
God Blood? Maybe because of him being a Dragonborn that his blood is godly or whatever. What other explanation can it be?
Still, that was not the current problem. That hag was raising the blade again.
"Fuck! AAARG! my... head."
The hag started stabbing at other parts on Jon without targeting vitals, it skillfully made Jon bleed and his blood flowed on the demonic tree.
Between his state of discomfort, not being able to cast Magic, head concussion, speaking problems; being stabbed like that was and bleeding a lot was the all drawing his senses away yet he fought it all and somehow managed to survive till the end.
Finally, the hags left him on the tree with the other corpses. All the quivering and resisting made the thorny vines stab him deeper and deeper numbing him from all pain. Still, he was ashen white and his body was cold after the horrible experience.
All that time, he managed to protect his vitals by his inner energy and survived what would kill anyone else.
Just as soon as he released his inner Essence Energy to try to heal himself from the inside, he sensed another energy invading his body.
'The hell!'
Jon directed his Essence Energy towards it and started fighting it away. The invading energy seemed to be very violent and tried to invade his body from all sides. Jon could estimate that this energy came through the vines and it is mostly the tree's energy. Its purpose was to devastate him from the inside and prey on his Essence bit by bit.
Jon was enraged and realized that this evil tree is trying to consume him like the other corpses around him.
Not that he expected any less but the energy of the tree was tricky. If he resisted it too much, the thorny vines would dig in him
Yes, the situation is bad but Jon smiled for some reason. He would laugh if he can too.
Maybe Essence Energy and bodily fluids are the tree's favorite food but Jon found a ray of hope in that demonic tree.
Its energy is Vital Padomic Energy.
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