Helden grimaced as he pulled his sword out of a boars neck. This is the tenth one already, he said and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Whats going on?
Im not sure, Forster said and shook her head. You only ever see animals panic like this when theres a forest fire. She lowered her bow and frowned. When I was younger, a fire broke out while I was in the woods, and animals were rushing out, disregarding everything in their path. However, they avoided . It wasnt like this.
Are they under a spell? Ingwer asked. Maybe the fairy cursed them to attack us.
Theres no curse that can cause a creature to disregard its life, Forster said and shook her head. After a mont of thinking, she turned her head towards Blau. Right?
Blau frowned. Itd have to be an extrely powerful fairy, she said. However, I dont think its a curse. Theres no hints of discordant mana in their bodies. Its clear theyre running from sothing terrifying. Perhaps the evil beasts are much more dangerous than we first thought? If theyre displacing the local fauna, then it wouldnt be unreasonable for them to beco more aggressive to claim territory.
Claiming territory? Helden asked. If that were the case, we wouldnt have been attacked by deer too. Sothing else is going on. He frowned. Havent you noticed? We havent encountered any corpses despite following our target for so long.
You an were being targeted? Ingwer asked. Should we retreat?
Youre always thinking of retreating, Forster said and clenched her teeth. Do you rember the last two nights? Dont you want revenge for what they did?
Ingwer pouted. It feels like a cat toying with a mouse, she said. And were the mouse.
Helden narrowed his eyes as he marched forward. Were not running. Havent we overco countless challenges? We killed the goblin king, the kobold pack leader, the orc lord. As long as we work together, there isnt anything that can stop us.
Except two dragons, Blau said. You might be able to distract one, but the other one will kill the three of us before coming to the others aid.
Helden sighed. I was trying to say sothing motivational, he said. Think about it, Blau. What are the chances we even encounter a single dragon? How unlucky would we have to be to encounter two at once?
The odds are close to impossible, Blau said and nodded. Didnt the targets companion introduce himself as a dragon though?
Helden rolled his eyes. Do you think dragons walk around in human form?
Well, the field of dragon research isnt very advanced, Blau said. Not much is known about their behavior.
Helden placed his hand on Blaus shoulder. You should learn to lighten up sotis.
Blau frowned. There was a term for adventurers who took things too lightly. Dead.
***
Tafel licked her lips. They were cracked, and the strong taste of iron lingered on her tongue. It had been several days since she had last slept or drank water, but she still hadnt caught up to Susan and Emile. Did the phoenixes not need to sleep? Then again, they could cover much more ground than her per day because of their wings.
A chittering sound caught Tafels attention, and she stomped on the ground. A circle of fire erupted from her body, washing over the ground. Hundreds of insects were turned to ash, but despite that, the scenery didnt change much. The ground was still black, and the gloomy atmosphere returned after the mist settled down, replacing what had been burned away.
A sigh escaped from Tafels mouth. She could always leave by opening portals randomly. The cursed region just affected her ability to set specific coordinates to her portal. However, she didnt want to leave until she found Susan and Emile. She had already spent so much ti here, suffered for so long without sleep, water, or food, but it was looking more and more like shed have to leave and co back better prepared.
Tafel took in a deep breath and forced her feet off the ground. Shed walk for one more day. If she couldnt find Susan and Emile, then shed retreat and take Vur with her. Would she be in this situation if Vurs ocean elental had accompanied her? Maybe. It didnt seem like clean water was possible to create with magic in this area as demonstrated by her previous ice magic.
Hey!
Tafel flinched and looked around, but she couldnt see anything out of the ordinary. Just great. She was starting to hear things too. It didnt help that her eyes were playing tricks on her, showing her faint shadowy people in the corners of her vision.
Over here.
Tafel furrowed her brow. A blue light flashed for a brief mont, drawing Tafels attention. There was a person waving at heran actual, regular-looking human being. Was this also a hallucination? She took out Minervas feather and raised it. Emile and Susan hadnt gone in the direction of the person. However, she didnt need to head over because the person was coming towards her. Tafels horns glowed blue, and a black icicle erged over Tafels palm. She grasped it and pointed it at the person as if she were holding a spear. Stay back.
Whoa, the person said. It was hard for Tafel to tell whether the person was a man or a woman. Most of the persons figure was hidden within the black mist. Im not going to hurt you. Its just that you seem lost. Youre not from around here, are you?
Who are you? Tafel asked. Where did you co from? Why doesnt the black mist affect you?
The person chuckled, and the black mist seed to get thicker, obscuring Tafels view until she couldnt see his or her figure anymore.
Hello? Tafel asked. Her brow furrowed when she didnt receive a response. She waved her hand, and a wave of phoenix flas surged into the air, clearing the mist where the person had been. There was no one there. Tafel pursed her lips. Was she going crazy?
Reviews
All reviews (0)