"A what?" How is that even human?" Lachlan frowned.
"That thing is a human," the woman said. "Or it used to be."
"What are you-"
"We must depart from this place swiftly. There are more of them approaching." She glanced around as if sensing sothing ominous lurking in the shadows
"You an there are additional beings like that one?"
The woman nodded, her countenance filled with sorrow.
"But-"
However, the woman already started walking. Seeing her hurried steps, Lachlan quickly followed behind.
"What do you an? Will you make things clear? What was that thing? I have never heard of a creature that would turn into ash when destroyed!" Even the beasts that he or the Duke of Wugari fought did not turn into ash.
"We must hurry."
This ti, Lachlan held the woman's arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"I will not follow soone blindly without knowing what is happening. What are those creatures?"
"We do not have the ti."
Before their argunt could escalate any further, a pack of snarling creatures erged from the shadows, their eyes glinting with malice. The beasts, with razor-sharp claws and fangs, closed in on them, their growls filling the air.
Lachlan's eyes narrowed, his resolve hardening. "Stay behind ," he commanded, summoning his fire magic once more. Flas engulfed his hands, casting an intense glow that illuminated their surroundings.
With a swift motion, he unleashed a torrent of fireballs, hurling them toward the approaching beasts. The projectiles exploded on impact, sending flas and sparks in all directions. The creatures yelped and recoiled, montarily deterred by the onslaught of fire.
But they were not so easily dissuaded. The beasts lunged forward, their movents swift and vicious. Lachlan danced around, dodging their attacks while retaliating with bursts of fla. Each strike was calculated and aid at killing the creatures.
anwhile, the woman whose na he did not know watched from the sidelines, her eyes tracing the movents of the beasts with unwavering focus.
"The back of their necks!" the woman said.
"What?"
She frowned. Then the sword once again appeared in her hand. She gripped it and stepped forward.
She frowned, her determination intensifying. Gripping the sword tighter, she stepped forward with purpose. "I said..." With a fluid and practiced motion, she swung her sword, cutting through the air with precision. The blade found its mark, severing the head of one of the beasts. "Hit the back of their necks!" she instructed.
Seeing this, Lachlan nodded in understanding. He tapped into his agility and summoned his fire Blessing, swiftly maneuvering behind one of the creatures. With calculated precision, he delivered a powerful strike to the back of its neck.
Just as the woman said, it was indeed fatal for the creatures.
One by one, the ferocious creatures that appeared out of nowhere succumbed to their onslaught, their bodies disintegrating into ash.
With the imdiate threat eliminated, the two companions locked eyes.
"We need to leave."
Both said the sa words at the sa ti.
They wasted no ti and swiftly set off, their destination clear in their minds.
"Where are we heading?" she inquired.
"To the North," he replied without hesitation.
"Not the South?" she questioned, her curiosity piqued.
"Why would we go South?" he countered. "The South is rife with treacherous individuals." He thought about what happened to him.
"Oh..." The woman's frown deepened. "But aren't we still lost?"
"The rising and setting of the sun provide a compass of sorts. It's not that difficult to determine the directions," he explained calmly.
"But you ntioned before"
"You said we were lost, and I simply chose to believe you," he interjected.
The woman pouted, a mixture of annoyance and amusent evident on her face.
"By the way," he continued, changing the topic. "You have yet to tell your na. I go by Lachlan but feel free to call whatever you like. And what about you?"
There was a brief hesitation before she responded. "My na is Josephine. I co from the forest."
"The forest?" Lachlan's brow furrowed in curiosity. This was the first ti she had ntioned anything about her background. "The black forest, perhaps?"
Her eyes widened in surprise as if he had just uttered sothing extraordinary.
"You are familiar with the forest?" she asked, her curiosity evident.
"I have heard of it," he replied. "The black forest is known to be filled with beasts, making it a forbidden and dangerous place. I have never ventured into it myself." This was not because he was a coward. It was because he thought the beasts were weaker than the ones in the North.
Her excitent deflated slightly at his response.
"So... do you reside in Dreaston or Raston?" Lachlan inquired, referring to the two large empires that surrounded the Black Forest.
Josephine looked puzzled. "What are Dreaston and Raston?" she asked, unfamiliar with the empires he ntioned.
Lachlan paused, realizing that her life in the forest had kept her isolated from the knowledge of the outside world. "They are powerful empires that exist beyond the borders of the Black Forest," he explained.
Josephine shook her head. "No, I don't live in any village or settlent near the forest," she clarified. "When I said I live inside the forest, I ant deep within its depths, right at its heart."
Lachlan's eyes widened in astonishnt, and his curiosity further ignited. "You reside within the forest itself? In its very core?" He thought that place was not livable!
"Yes. Is there sothing wrong?"
"You- Have you been to any place aside from that forest and the North?"
"No," she was quick to answer. "This is my first ti venturing outside of the forest."
"So you do not know how to read a map and this was your first ti coming here. How how did you arrive in the North?" he asked, confused.
"Ah that? That is extrely simple. I just had to pay soone to bring here."
He nodded and said nothing in response. This woman was soone who had been living all her life in a forest, away from people. That should explain her weird behavior. However, Lachlan could not seem to fathom the fact that she left her ho just to go to Wugari.
Why?
Why would a sorceress suddenly decide to go to Wugari?
....
Here is a little bonus chapter as an apology for the missed days. Enjoy and happy reading!
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