If the first day was filled with nothing but walking, the second day was different only in one regard. After nearly the entire day spent on this beloved activity of the rcenaries, just as Fen was starting to get the grasp of this specific, strange-looking technique of walking that all the rcenaries used, his landlord suddenly called all the n to a single group before pointing at a direction different to what we were following the entire day.
"Okay, everyone. From now on, we will be stepping off the road and entering the wildlands. Say your prayers now, as later there won't be any ti to do so."
Contrary to the expectations that his words could arouse, the area that Fen's landlord pointed out at was actually pretty empty! All the way up until this point, their group was travelling on the borderlands between an open plain to the left and dense forest just in the comfortable distance to the right. But now, the leader of the entire quest group decided that instead of plunging into the forest to reach the hidden site he had an interest in, the entire group would enter the plain instead!
"Since everyone seems to be ready, let's pick up the pace. If we push ourselves a bit, we will get it over with by today, leaving only the journey back for the next two days."
Shaking his head with no emotion, as if the insane discipline within the unit was sothing extrely common and nothing to be awed at, the burly leader of the entire group made the first step of the road. Soon, the entire group followed while Fen couldn't help but click his tongue at the wording the man used.
'Everything will be all right? You could ask the gods to send a great misfortune on us just as well!'
Shaking his head with disappointnt, Fen could already tell how the entire event would most likely end. Just like back in the forest under Akhaz his teacher claid Fen will only have to practice his basic skills, that situation in the past also quickly turned out to be way different from what the leader of the expedition expected.
And given how Fen was the only arcanist in the entire group, what's more, he was tasked with most likely the crucial elent of the entire expedition, all the misfortune that would befall the entire group, would focus its impact on him and him alone at first!
At least, it didn't happen right away. With the sun already on its way to hide behind the line of the distant horizon, it still took the entire group over an hour to reach the area where travelling turned from normal, daily task to an actual challenge.
It was at this point that Fen also understood how the heck such a valuable site could remain hidden despite a small town lying as far as the eye could see from the point where his group moved out of the road. Just the hills that surrounded the place were already placing a huge burden on anyone willing to conquer them, only to be replaced with marshes, more hills and deep ravines later on.
Thankfully, the group seed to be prepared for all the situations that we were about to encounter. After all, Fen's landlord was leading the entire exploration team without any signs of hesitation, hinting at the fact that he already went through this route at least once in the past.
To conquer the hills, all the entire group had to do was to strain their muscles a bit. But once the entire team reached the marshes, everyone took a slight stop to pull out so kind of special shoes from their bags, quickly proving that no matter the terrain, the group was prepared to cross it!
But even after passing by those wet areas where one could never be sure whether his next step would fall on solid ground or just an area that seed like it, always willing to pull the uncareful victim into the depths of the ground, the next obstacle turned out to not be that easy to cross.
The ravines.
Each deep for at least several tens of ters, wide for only fewteen ters across, but stretching as far as an eye could see to both sides. While for Fen conquering this kind of small obstacle wouldn't pose any troubles, as just two sets of consecutive explosions below his feet should be enough to carry him all the way over, the way in which the rcenaries solved the problem turned out to be quite problematic.
With each of the burly veterans picking up otherwise simple, a wooden plank with sets of strange carvings at both of its ends, Fen had to stand still for a mont to see how the heck those punny little pieces of wood would allow the group to pass this obstacle.
"Woah"
Soon, the group proved to the young man that travelling in this kind of hard territory wasn't sothing new to them. One by one, rcenaries kept connecting each of the planks that one carried so far, locking them against each other by using exactly those strange carvings that made the young man so puzzled a mont ago!
In just a few monts, the entire group ca up with a long footbridge, only about half a ter wide. Placing its one end on the one end of the ravine, a connection was made to its other end, allowing for everyone to safely pass the dangerous fall on a stable foothold.
But the further the entire group went, the width of the consecutive ravines only continued to increase. By the ti only two obstacles were separating the entire group from the area that the group leader called as their target, the rcenaries actually had to use their hand-axes and other weapons to cut the nearby vegetation, as the footbridge made out of their planks turned out to be just a few ters short!
"We are here Finally"
Only once the last ravine was left behind the group's backs, the leader of the entire group dared to relax. On the other hand, Fen could feel the atmosphere around him tensing up. The ti where he would have to prove his worth was coming soon.
"Fen, do you see that hill?"
Pointing his hand at the small earth rise about half a kilotre away from the group, the young man's landlord approached the arcanist.
"Yeah."
While Fen was more used to straining his eyes while in the forest, the long years spent in the wild still allowed him to develop his sight to its limits. And with such a close distance, only soone who never used their eyes would fail to notice the hill!
"As soon as you enter its peak, you will see the place where the flower grows. Starting with the descend, the area turns so hot that none of my n could even approach walking it. So, without further ado"
Lowering his head in a fake bow, the burly man gestured at the hill nearby with the obvious aning behind his actions. Taking a deep breath, Fen dropped all of his bags before pulling out the spear and sturdy knife out of them, exactly the sa ones that he received back in the academy. Grabbing a small piece of salted at that still lingered in the depths of his backpack, the young man quickly swallowed this small al of his before shaking his head and starting to move forward.
After two entire days of travelling safely in the very middle of this group of veterans, going sowhere on his own seed far more dangerous than even living in the damned forest. The only advantage that this place had over lived amongst the woods was that no matter which direction he looked, Fen was able to see far further than the trees in the forest would ever allow him to!
Climbing up the hill didn't prove to be challenging at all. The incline was low enough to make it hard to distinguish the mont when the young man stopped moving on the flat ground and actually started climbing the hill. Only when Fen could gaze down at the peculiar sight on the other side of the hill, did he realise that he already reached the top of the elevated point.
And there was definitely a lot to be awestruck there.
Starting right past the top of the hill, the ground was quickly turning from lush green to brown, as if plants only barely held to their lives. Even further, the ground turned completely back, as if the entire area was a fireplace that so giants made here in the past, turning all the green to the pitch darkness of the soot that was the one thing remaining from said huge campfire. But the truly peculiar thing started only beyond this barrier of black!
Starting to descend the hillside step by step, Fen quickly learned why the rcenary didn't dare to do it all by himself or even with the entire group of rcenaries. Each step that Fen made, turned the atmosphere around him hotter and hotter. With only ten steps separating him from the top of the hill, the young man already had to cover himself in his own fires to counteract the intense heat that the entire area was perated with!
Yet, while the air grew so hot that it would spontaneously combust when Fen reached the part where the ground turned to a charred black, just a single step that took him beyond this barrier of everything burning to the crisp suddenly changed everything.
Fen's surroundings were still hot. There was no denying it, as just by removing his own flas for a mont was enough to cause his skin to scream in pain. Yet, for so reason, the vegetation in this place was actually thriving, as if it was feeding on this demonical heat!
And what was actually way more important, was that right in the middle of the huge open plain filled with greenery, a single, huge flower was growing directly out of the ground. But what's more, it was actually surrounded by a small puddle of water so clear, that even soone living in the wild for the majority of his life like Fen had to admit that they never saw such pristine liquid in their lives ever before!
"I guess its ti to work now"
Shaking his head to dismiss all the idle thoughts of awe caused by the beauty of this area, Fen approached the flower carefully. Step by step, the young man was prepared to invoke his entire power, both using the ans he learned in the akhaz and the ones that Nadia taught him, yet no monster dared to appear!
"Just what the heck is wrong with this place"
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