《The other side》


 The ceremony

    The cool early spring wind blew and as it tossed the hair of a young boy around he paused in his actions until his sights became clear again.


    With hair that went below his shoulders they easily wiphed around his face and obscurred his vision , but he had a task he had to complete at all costs.


    Later that evening the great phrophecy would be fullfilled , so he was busy hanging up little flags and festive lines all around the city square.


    Even though the boy was 12 winters old , far from his coming of age ceremony , he had this ceremonious task given to him and he was happy to be of any help. Maybe the other 20 boys and girls his age also felt as proud as him , but he couldnt know.


    As it was he rather read a book or studied in his fathers shop then playing with the other kids his age , which in turned made him a little hard to approach. He placed the last line and climbed down from the short ladder.


    With a quick scan he evaluated his work and was completly satisfied with the angles and height he hung the mood setting accessories. He looked over the other kids work and was at least relieved of them taking this seriously.


    For 1 week the band of kids had been preparing the townsquare with banderols and those tiny flags and they barely managed to finish decorating the 500 square meters gathering point.


    He breathed a sigh of relief and brought the borrowed ladder back to the townhall , which coincidentally was directly across the townsquare.


    " Alexstros , have you finished? " A young elfen maid called out to him as she saw him disappear into the storage room.


    " Yes , mam. " Short and respectfull were his answers , as always.


    Even the elfa knew of this but most females just couldnt help but bother this little kid. He looked incredibly cute. His face was rather round , but already showed traces of transformation into his adult like state.


    Long and velvet like blue hair covered his long and pointy ears. Even though his rosy cheecks and his full lips already made him cute enough , his eyes was what made all females dote on him.


    His eyes were ice blue , border lining on a almost white sheen , and for some reason he always wore a scowl. But then on rare occasions his whole face would light up with a mischevious smile.


    Even the already of age girls knees would buckle , and at that point it became evident. This boy of elfen decent would not have an easy life.


    " Are you excited about tonight? " The elfa asked in hope to see him smile.


    But instead he scowled even harder before he looked at his feet.


    " Well , since our times will change im quite alleviated. " He tried to sound as casual as possible but the elfen girls ears picked up the excitement he could barely contain.


    " Is that so? " She decided to play into his little hands , " Okay now along you go , your father most likely needs help. "


    The small boy nodded and turned around after a light bow. With slow and measured steps he walked out of the townhall but as soon as he rounded the heavy doors he furiously began to run.


    ..................


    He ran home while feeling weightless. His little heart was pumping not only from the strain of running full speed but the joy he felt at the changes that would occur later in that day.


    With a screeching tone he came to a halt on the paved road in-front of a large shop. The sign above the door had a vial drawn on it , and if one concentrated long enough you could see a liquid inside of this vial.


    If one took an even closer peek the liquid swayed with the rhythm of the sign. A nice little trick his father had procurred in his earlier days. Interactive signs , as he called it. Now half of the town shops had the signs that moved in certain patterns.


    With a sound of a angel like bell he opened the door.


    " Father im home. " The young boy said in a loud voice into the empty room.


    Rows and rows of wooden stands were filled with potions , vials and contotions but the boy gave them no second glance , as it was a familiar sight to him.


    With eager steps he walked behind the counter and entered the backroom. The smell of dried herbs and a smell of magical power aggrevated his nose a bit.


    He never could completly accept his mothers side of his blood. Elfen blood not only had they long pointy ears and majestical features but also the ability so smell magical power surges. Especially in his fathers alchemical workshop his nose was always under a constant flood of signals.


    " Your already done , good. Help me , we are preparing a few low level mana and hit potions as gifts. " A familar voice resounded deeper in the dark room.


    A bald man came into the boys view. For a human this man was attractive , as the females of the village claimed. Even his own mother told him various storys about the time she meet his father.


    A loving tale , that made little Alexstros gag at best. To much bitter-sweet emotions ran across his mothers face when she told those kind of storys. When it came to his birth everything became intersting again nonetheless.


    Usually a half-elf would have been born between the pair , meaning either the pointy ears or the ability to smell magic would have been inherrited by Alexstros. But for some reason the little child held both abilitys in his bloodline.


    His mother told him once that the magicians that examined him at birth deemed that the elfen part in his veins was dominant and surpressed the human part.


    So even in elfen societys standards , oh and those guys were really anal when it came to mixed bloods , Alexstros was considered 100% elf. Uncommon of an apperance , definetly. But nothing that made the little boy special. Just another elf.


    Without another word , the boy picked up a few dried flowers vials and sat down at one of the work benches across his father. Without another word , mostly due to the fact his father was already completly absorbed in his life-work , the boy began to grind the dried flowers and gave them into a small glass vial.


    He turned around and grabbed a big bottle of spring water and filled the small bottle half way. With studied expertise he attached a cap to the vial with dried flowers and water. This cap was a little special , as it had a small glass tube attached that extended 5 cm into the air before it came back down in a steep decline.


    Alexstros held this vial over a flame and put another vial directly underneath the end of the glass pipe. The water heated and evaporated leaving a red mist swirling into the tube. Soon it liquified itself and what remained was a clear bright red fluid in the second vial.


    Most of the first vials contents , the one that was heated , became a murky brown. This told the boy the extraction was complete. With glancing over his shoulders he threw the vial into a trash can.


    The vial exploded in a myriad of shards , but as his aim was spot on no glass splinters reached beyond the can. Alexstros took out another bunch of dried herbs and copied the same procedure.


    Now infront of him was a blue and red liquid that filled 1/4 of the vials. He grabbed 20 vials and dripped a few drops into those new vials. With a new bottle of spring water he filled the vials up to 3/4.


    But the most interesting part came now. With a small silver measuring spoon he took out the proper amount of magical grounded powder from a basket on his side and only gave a few grains of said powder into each bottle.


    Quickly he capped them all after he was done and began to twirl them clockwise. A loud noise rang through the otherwise quite dark room. Alexstros stared at the bottles intensly checking for any signs of defective potions.


    He sighed a breath of relief as he noticed the perfect coloration and viscosity and soon slapped a small parchment on each potion. Completly non-descript white sheets now stuck to each vial.


    Alexstros set them aside to make room to create a few more batches of these vials. While he was in the middle of all this a golden light appeared on these parchments that seemed to form a certain cluster.


    - Small health potion.


    Restores 100 hitpoints


    Cd: 1 minute


    Made by a experienced Alchemist.


    .............................


    A whole crowd had gathered that night around the townsquare. Everybody was excited , most men were drinking and laughing happily , the females squealed from time to time and the kids talked in way to loud voices with one another.


    Songs echoed of the walls of building and the lanterns gave away the glassy eyes that came with drinking to much. A festive mood for the grand event that would be occuring in a few minutes.


    Occasionally the whole crowd would be looking up at the moon. Or in this cases the moons. A blue , green and yellow moon hovered close to eachother on this particiular night. Only traces of the dark blue moon were visable at the moment as he was almost completly hidden behind the green one and the yellow one was approaching his brothers quickly.


    The major of town called out as all three of them began to hide behind eachother only to leave the yellow on in sight. Complete silence , that was only broken by the occasional wail of an infant broke the sight that came only once every millenia.


    As the yellow moon covered the other bright flashes of light appeared on the town square and the whole crowd turned its attention to the phenomenon.


    More and more of those blinding white lights expanded on the now filling space. They appeared occasional at the start but soon rapidly multiplied. Hundreds of lights filled the square.


    The intensity of the first light subsided and now clad in a regular brown shirt and cotton pants was a elf just like any other. But the crowd knew this person was differnet. The crowd broke out in cheers at the sight which seemed to frighten the 20 or so people in the middle of the square.


    " We welcome you , oh immortal children of the gods. Finally with your kinds heroic deeds we will be able to take back the infested lands! " The major shouted above the crowd.


    More words were exchanged but it was late at night so the familys took back their over eager children.


    ..................


    Soon Alexstroses whole world had changed. Just like today he would wash his face after waking up in the room he shared with his baby sister. After a light breakfast shared with his mother and a light conversation he would head down to the workshop and start todays work.


    But much to his surprise , just as he was about to go outside in the backyard , to dry some herbs or prepare other ingredients for the potions he noticed a commotion in the selling part of his fathers store.


    Muffled voices came from the front so he took a quick glance.


    " ... only 2. There is no way i can accept more. " His fathers voice resounded.


    Alexstros saw and heard a man clicking his tongue. The burly figure of 7 foot height stalked off with anger following behind. His father sighed a breath of relief as he came closer to the back of the store. Alexstros saw his que and immedialty hurried out the back door.


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    But much to his surprise a male and a female , the male looked like he had seen 24 winters and the female seemed to be around his age , were already tending to the herbs.


    Alexstros was frozen in place until his father slapped a hand on his shoulders.


    " My new apprentices , Gods children. Mirta , Grendel meet my son Alexstros. " His father called out which only garnerd him a quick glance from the pair.


    Grendel only nodded but Mirta on the other hand came running over. Well , even though Alexstros couldnt understand at that point of time she sauntered over. With great familarity she grabbed Alexstros hand and shook it violently.


    " Hello there , masters son. Im Mirta , Adventurer or Gods child as you call us. LoL. Im 17 years old and here to learn alchemy from your father. Class undecided. Hehe. " She said.


    Alexstros , as well as his father , only half understood what the girl had said. The boy , unlike his absent minded at best father , had a complicated expressions of surprise wonder and complete bafflement on his face.


    " Wow , wow , wow , look at this Grendel that expression seems just so real. Man those guys are prolly cashin in millions when the game goes live! " She shouted in an excited voice to her companion , completly ignoring the pair in-front of her.


    Alexstros finally understood the difference between normal people and the Gods children. They were f-ing insane. Even though they looked the same as the rest of the population their minds were out of complete order.


    " Father , since the herbs are taken care of should i mix more Health and Mana potions? " The boy asked completly ignoring the girl in-front of him.


    " Yes , i will oversee how they handle the basics out here. "


    With quite a relieved feeling Alexstros went as far away as he could from those lunatics outside. He shook his head in disgust and cleared his mind in the process to solely focus on mixing the potions.


    .............


    A week passed and much to his delight not many adventurers came by after the first pair left 2 days after their appearance. Alexstros , much to his dismay , handled the other worldy customers while his father worked in the back to clean up the mess the first pair of apprentices left.


    Smashed vials , scorched tables , wasted ingredients but worst of all they completly devasted the supply room. So many failed potions that should have been succesful contotions left the storage of the shop in dire need of restocking.


    His father was making the list while Alexstros was shooing away greedy Adventurers that wanted the potions his father earned his living with for free. This only increased the anger Alexstros held for them.


    But soon this would also change. His father handed him some coins and the list as he sent him on the way to go to the market and acquire the needed things.


    Many many adventurers crowded the streets , but the boy became more and more frustrated at the stench they were producing. Unwashed bodys and unclean clothes was everything Alexstros fine nose picked up from those adventurers.


    A little over 2 hours later the boy held everything that his father needed directly and the rest would be delivered to the store a little later. Alexstros still had a little time and money so he decided to grab a quick bite.


    His father wouldnt mind , he knew this as it had happend before , so he walked over to his favourite street vendor. As he set down the heavy ingredients in a jute bag he flexed his shoulders from the strain.


    " Hey Michael. The usual please. " The boy told the street vendor.


    With a knowing smile and a defiant look towards those adventurers the vendor began to work.


    Loud shouts and the usual business was conducted on the market square , just like any other day so Alexstros scanned the area , out of childish curiosity , while his food was prepared behind him.


    Many adventurers , even though they seemed to be a rowdy , unfriendly and unpolite bunch seemed voiceless all around the market square. Alexstros cracked one of his mischevious smiles at the completly overwhelmed Gods children.


    " Here you go , 7 meat sticks and a extra one your baby sister can chew one. 35 copper please. " Without another word Alexstros handed him the money and received his purchased food.


    WIth food for his whole family he headed back completly overloaded from the shopping and exhausted from the devestation he helped to clean that his fathers apprentices left behind.


    On his way home he stopped a few times to let his arms get their well deserved rest. Coincidentally during one of those stops he was close to the guards barracks and was surprised at the noise coming from the stone walls.


    Much to his delight the gates of the stone structure were opened and he peeked through them. Adventurers were fighting against one another while the instructors , or drill masters , were giving them tips how to fight.


    But one girl caught his attention. She was slightly taller then him and seemed to be of 100% human origin , Alexstros knew this because of the way she smelled. Not common in these parts.


    With grace and little wasted movements she was dancing around 3 burly men giving strikes in rapid succesions to their exposed sides. Naturally this was done with a wooden training sword and besides a few bruises wouldnt leave any marks.


    She shook out her wild mane of amber colored hair after the 3 men gave up and celebrated with a toothy grin. A wild laughter followed and the men left the hall with all the dignity they had left.


    As they walked by , Alexstros noticed their speech pattern and identified them as Adventurers. Serves them right he thought and laughed at the image of 3 dogs , their tail between their legs walking off , that flashed through his mind.


    Quickly he went home and distributed the meat snack he purchased to his family.


    .................


    A winter had passed by while Alexstroses life finally settled down. No Adventurers around anymore. 1 or 2 months after they had arrived even the last one of them had left the city and never cast a backward glance yet.


    With a yawn he was sitting at the counter of the shop waiting for any customers. Out of boredom and lack of sleep , as he was reading books late into the night yesterday , he put his arms on the counter and his head across his arms.


    Within seconds he dozed off only to awake quite a while later. He hurriedly looked around and neither found his mother or fathers furious glare at their now 13 winter old son. He stretched like a cat in the morning sun and took a deep breath to clear his still drowsy mind.


    He inhaled quite a bit of the residue magic floating around but as his body was growing it didnt aggrevate his nose as much anymore. As he was about to stand up and go check up on the drying process of the herbs in the backyard he noticed something out of place as his boot covered foot hit something.


    " Ow , that hurt you know. " A female voice resounded.


    Alexstros looked beneath the counter and found a bundle of amber colored locks sitting there with the same drowsy stare he should have had seconds ago. She stood up and stretched her right arm straight up into the air while her left left arm bent off and lay on her right shoulder.


    Gracefull , pretty and elegant rushed through the boys head but he snapped out of it immediatly.


    " So why were you sleeping here? " Alexstroses short question rang with a angered tone.


    " I saw you sleeping comfortable and i just started to feel drowsy. I have been riding since yesterday morning and let me tell you its not a walk in the park. Everything hurts and a night without rest doesnt help... So i just fell asleep? " She asked rather then answered.


    Weird girl was the only thing Alexstros could think of. But soon his buisness look appeared after all she had to have a reason to come in the shop.


    " So how may i help you? "


    " Ah yes , can you brew up a potion like this? " She asked and handed him a slip of paper.


    With quick motions Alexstros studied the ingredient list of the potion and his eyes widend in surprise.


    " Where did you get this? " He asked excited.


    " In a cave 100 miles from here. When i asked a alchemist in that town he reffered me back to this city. Said something about only the original person that created this potion could make it. "


    " Yes , something along those lines and this is definetly my fathers handwriting and initals on the parchment. Wait here for a moment. "


    Alexstros disappeared in the back of the room and tried to explain everything to his father. He mentioned the name of the potion first and without waiting for another word of his son he rushed out of the room towards the girl.


    " Let me see! " He shouted.


    The girl flinched back slightly but handed the parchment to him. 2 minutes passed as Alexstros father kept studying the list over and over again.


    " YES this is it, my invention! I am so glad you found it. After i created this i lost it somewhere and never remembered how much i used of what. So how can i show my gratitude for you finding this lady ... ? " My father said.


    " I am no lady , just a gods child by the name of Olivia.The best way to repay me would be a zip of this potion oh kind sir. " She said with respect.


    This both amazed me and my father. To polite to remind us of any other Adventurers we met but this was definetly a nice change to all of the rest.


    " Gladly Olivia ... but i dont have the ingredients at the moment and to order Moongrass takes quite some time. In 2 months the order should come in. " My father told her.


    Now a complex expression of grief and inner conflict showed on her pretty face. Immediatly i jumped to her help as i understood she had no such time.


    " Father , maybe there is an alternative. A field of Moongrass in the vicinity perhaps? "


    " Boy you know as good as i do that those patches are protected by some wisps. Its not easy. "


    Now a smile surfaced on Alexstros and her face as they looked at his father. Soon it dawned on him.


    " AHH your right , she is a gods child. But sadly a experienced herbalist will need to accompy you. My bones are a little old but my son seems to burn with desire to follow you. He must remain absolutely safe at any cost , do you understand me girl? " My father told her.


    " Absolotuely sir , even if it costs me 100 lifes your son will not be harmed in any way. " She stated while the boy saw stars sparkle in her eyes.


    " Good now , Alexstros you know where to go. Be careful. " He hugged his son.


    After he had packed a few things from the backroom he came back to the store and hurriedly grabbed the girls hand as he dragged her along.


    " Woah , not so fast! " She said in a futile attempt to shake of his hand.


    But her rising red face just intensified as Alexstros took a peek over his shoulder and flashed a mischevious smile while he ran at full speed.

 First journey

    As it was still before morning we immediatly went along our way. Alexstros was delighted and quite caught up in his euphoria of going through an adventure so he compleltly forgot to let go of her hand and kept draggin her along.


    As they past the city gates he realized what his hand held as the guards flashed him a knowing smile. Only after a few paces his face became beet red , but hiding his embarrasment now took priority. With renewed vigour he doubled the dragging speed and held her hand even tighter.


    The dragging and speedy jog he had taken on lasted until the poor girl behind him finally had enough of it.


    " S-slow down! " She managed to say between large gulps of air.


    During the time he kept dragging her the euphoria took on a whole nother level so his red face had completly disappeared again. As he turned around he looked at the girl being slouched over her hands keeping her steady on her own legs while she kept taking in large gulps of air.


    " H-how are you able to r-run so fast? " She squezzed out between gulps.


    Alexstros just shrugged and immediatly realized she couldnt see this answer , due to her staring at the ground to catch her breath , so he replied instead.


    " Im an elf. "


    Like a whip her posture and head snapped bolt upright and she looked him over. She started at his leather covered feet and wandered up his legs. Soon she arrived at his slender arms and the gleaming skin that stuck out under his short sleeved tunic.


    As she looked into his face a shudder crept down her spine. Especially as she locked gazes with this little boy of 13 winters. The light blue , that occasionaly looked more white , was deep and she felt like he stared directly into her soul.


    She came closer to him and pushed his mane of velvet like blue hair back. Now she understood , sure his skin and facial features had something elfish but now combined with the ears there was no chance for denial.


    " Yes you are , but arent your people scholars and mages? " She asked quizzicly.


    " You are thinking of High-elfs , my mother is a Kagonesti. Or wild elf in the human tongue.  My kind doesnt tire easy when we are surrounded by nature. " He claimed.


    Now the girl , as she caught her breath completly and was able to take a look around , finally noticed that they were completly surrounded by thick , century old , trees. Only shadows surrounded them as they were protected from the hot summer sun by the tight leaf roof they had over them.


    Like one of the royal festivities the trees tried their hardest to reach above all others , dwarfing their competitors in the process. These trees fought for superiority in height to get more of the nourishing sun for themselves and outplaying their brothers in the process.


    But since the girl had time to look now , she found something very odd. While she was dragged she couldnt remember ever tripping over a root or stepping on a twig. Now she looked at the ground and found it completly even with not even 1 leaf sticking out.


    She was completly baffled and Alexstros saw it on her face. A small chuckle escaped his lips , which garnerd him a pair of squinched eyes from the girl.


    " Okay okay. Dont look so mad. This forest was once the home of my mothers kin. A millenia or so ago. Not the trees but the forest as the forest is a single organism , coiv-erin. The living forest. No bad intentions are allowed in these lands due to its influence. "


    Her eyes shined brightly , but what she thought was complelty hidden behind the joyous mask she wore. Somehow or another Alexstros felt uncomfortable at the strange glint in her eyes but he dismissed it ... for now.


    After the short explanation they started to walk at a leisure pace. Alexstros was unbelievably happy as he was surrounded by the forest he had always loved and played in when he was smaller.


    Sometimes he came across certain trees and he heard whispers in the air. He checked if the girl , that was a few paces behind him , heard any of this. Not to his surprise she seemed to be completly oblivious.


    Spirits surrounded one of their far relatives in the form of Alexstros. Wild-elfs , legends had it they were spirits at the start of times and a god took them under their wing and gave them a physical body.


    On other occasions a rabbit or deer came into view. He smiled at the creatures of the forest that were completly oblivious to both their presences. Alexstros saw a glint of light being reflected directly behind him and as he turned around he gasped in surprise.


    The girl had pulled a bow and arrow from no where and aimed it at the poor critter. With amazing speed that was bound in his blood , he rushed over and sliced through the string that propelled the arrow forward with his herbalism knife.


    " Are you mad? " He roared furiously and the deer only perked up its ears , knowing full well nothing could ever happen to it in this place.


    " What is your problem? I just wanted to catch us dinner! " She shouted back.


    Now the deer annoyed by the loud noises trodded off leisurly and the girl watched it. As she turned around she first held a angered glare ready to give the snobby kid infront of her a lecture on how to treat her , but she gulped hard at what stared back at her.


    Completly red faced , anger boiling under his skin and a scowl that defied the 13 winter old face were looking at her like she was some sort of anooying fly ready to be squished.


    " This forest ALLOWS no evil intentions. Dont kill , dont steal , dont forrage , dont anything. Look into a few trees when we pass , there might be a white shine reflecting through the otherwise dense roof of leafes. Guess what that would be?! " He screamed and turned around on his heels.


    " Wha-what what i-i-is tha-that? " She stammerd and fell to completly leveld earthen ground.


    Immediatly he walked back the few paces and stared into the tree she was staring at. A white glimmer shined through and revealed a complelty cleaned of human skull.


    " That is something that broke the laws of this forest. " Alexstros told her while a devious smile appeared around his lips.


    She looked at him terrified and he knew he was looking evil now at the moment , but he also knew that everything that ended this way deserved no better. His usual scowl returned and he reached a hand for her.


    With a shaking grip she grabbed his hand as he pulled her to her feet. She dusted her backside off and the journey continued in silence. Only broken by the sound of wind rusteling the leaves or a sound of a deer or rabbit passing close by.


    " Do you have anything to drink with you? You wouldnt let me fill up my canteen before we left. " She said and even Alexstros noticed the parched voice she asked with.


    Without turning around or replying he turned behind the next tree and walked a even faster pace. His nose was guiding him. A vivid aroma filled the air , even before he could hear it. A few hundred paces after she had asked they arrived at a small creek.


    The light , that came through a gap in the leaf crown , reflected back off the clear waters surface. He went to his knees and scooped out a handful of water. After saying a short prayer to the godess of the wilds he drank.


    Even though he hadnt noticed it before his body held a little fatigue but this was complelty washed away due to the combination of this sacred like protected water and the short prayer.


    The girl crouched down in the same position and drank in the same manner. Even though she most likely hadnt prayed the surprised face she had told Alexstros a little story. He just smiled before he began to speak.


    " This water is ancient and holy. A gift from the forest. "


    " We have 2 choices. My Father knows a good spot where the wisps may give up the grass without a fight. But around here is a large patch , somewhere over that direction. " He told her and pointed his finger across the little stream.


    She furrowed her brows and seemed deep in thought so Alexstros stood up and gave her a little time to think. He placed his hands on a ancient tree and immediatly images flashed before his eyes as he touched the rough bark.


    A time where thousands of elfs gathered around the creek was shown as they celebrated some kind of festival that had to do with the moons. Skanty clothed elfas danced around in the same rhytmn while the males did 4 different dances at the same time.


    Sometimes a image of a absurdly large elfa with green hair flashed into view standing in the middle of the air over the pond. The godess of nature herself graced the humble elfs with her presence.


    The images changed but instead of a new stream of information assaulting his inner eyes his shoulders were shook and that broke his trance like state.


    " You have been out of it for quite some time. Everything all right? " The girl he had been travelling with asked.


    He shook his head to clear it from the lingering emotions the trees spirits had conveyed to him. Everytime he had done this with his mother around she would scold him. The Spirits shouldnt be reminded of better times she always said.


    But Alexstros was always to curious about everything he had no knowledge of and the glorious past of his blood kin was something he was heavily interested in.


    " Yeah im fine. " He replied.


    She couldnt believe him as she saw the sorrow in his eyes , but she had no intention to pry. Instead she answered a pressing question.


    " Lets stay here and gather the ingredients. Not much use to walk even farther. " She told him.


    Alexstros completly agreed with her on this point and pried his hands loose from the old bark. Alot of willpower had to be gathered in his mind to not delve deeper into the spirits past but he knew he couldnt loose himself in it.


    " So where is the grass? " The girl asked.


    " Its Moongrass. Same shape taste and appearance when the sun is out. When moonlight hits it it glimmers silver. Then we have to pick it. "


    " I thought elfs could smell magic , doesnt have it a different smell then normal grass ? " She questionly implied.


    A slight shake of his head and he continued to speak.


    " I am trying but sometimes theres one small Moongrass surrounded by hundreds of normal grass , better just wait till the moons are out. "


    She nodded as if she understood , but Alexstros highly doubted this. He looked up into the sky and saw the first orange lights that made it clear they wouldnt have to wait much longer.


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    He was bored and the girl also seemed to be as she was playing with her clothes. Even though normally he wasnt interested in anybody else he wanted to know something of the girl.


    " You are an adventurer right? " He stated more then he asked.


    She had a suprised look about her and even without speaking Alexstros knew her next question.


    " Your demanor didnt tell me about it. It is more the way you smell to me. I heard about Gods children trying to cover themselves in a normal persons guise and act like us , but i havent heard some truly accomplish this. " He replied to her unasked question.


    " So what do i smell like to a trained wild elfish nose? " She asked while she leaned her head to one side and placing a finger her cheek.


    Rather a cute gesture in Alexstros book , but that didnt off put him in the slightest. Afterall his baby sister hardend his senses when it came to cuteness levels.


    " You smell like books. A mixture of a warm fireplace and the glue books are kept together with. Never smelled a magical aura like this before. A normal smell sure , can find that in most libraries but on a magical level , no. " He told her honestly.


    She seemed baffled at this , which Alexstros couldnt understand in the slightest. Now she burrowed her brows even deeper into her face and her eyes seemed vacant for a while. Her body completly limp.


    For a few seconds she even seemed to stop breathing so the boy came over. He pulled her hand up and felt her pulse. Her arteries were still reveberating with blood being pushed through them but even to his touch she didnt snap out of it.


    He stared at her for a few minutes and noticed her ribcage expanding and retracting , shallow but rhytmically.


    Soon her eyes seemed to flash in a white light and her gaze focused. Immediatly she noticed him and jumped away.


    " Wow , that surprised me. Dont touch my body when im logged out... " She said more to herself then to him.


    Now it was Alexstros turn to be surprised.


    " What is logged out? " He asked curiously.


    She stuttered for a few minutes but during this time the moons had set overhead and small patches of silver appeared between the normal grass.


    " Listen now. Hide behind a tree , the wisps dont like humans and my father just gets tolerated because of my mothers aura sticking to him. Ill talk to them maybe we can take a little bit. " He told her.


    She did as she was told without raising any fuss , Alexstros on the other hand had a hunch that she was more then happy to hide until he had forgotten the buisness with the unusual word.


    A few minutes later the silver light intensified and smoke like things appeared above those patches. Alexstros strode confidently to those patches and stared in the silver mist.


    The smoke began to twirl condense and then expand to a almost human shape in the girls eyes , but to Alexstros the form looked like a elfa around the same age as himself.


    Wisps spirits of deceased elfs , murdered in a brutal way. When their blood was spilled till the last drop their spirit ancestory became evident. Every elf had a little bit of silver divine blood in him.


    While the spirits were made of 100% of this silver liquid. If a elf gets murdered and his blood soaks the earth long enough this liquid appears and soils the earth leaving a vengeful spirit behind. The soul of the elf that got killed.


    " Greetings , oh ancestor. " Alexstros told the wisp in the elfish of the wild forests.


    " Ah one of our decendands , have you come to listen to my sad tale? " The girl said in a ghostly voice that made Alexstros shiver.


    " Sadly no , but some other time i would love to hear your story. Today i wanted to know if you could spare some of your grass for me. "


    Alexstros knew that giving ones grass , was something to these spectres as giving their own life. Some wanted this to find peace. Others wanted to remain in this world and grieve for eternity.


    A half an hour passed while the boy looked at the naked elfa spectre both not ushering any tone. Normally she would either send him away now or allow him to end her eternal damnation.


    But instead she swung her arm at his head. Thanks to his quick reflexes he barely managed to jump out of the direct line of her punch , but nonetheless blood started pouring out a slice on his cheek.


    " You damn blob of smoke! " The girl shouted and came running towards him.


    But somehow she had changed in apperance. Instead of the common shirt and pants she wore a tight fitting leather armor now. Her hands were covered in a thin leather glove and both her arm and shins were protected by hardend leather armor.


    She held a dagger and a shortsword in her hands and made a mad dash for him. But even though her original clothes had disappeared what surprised Alexstros was the golden colored aura she was pulling along behind her.


    Not that he could see it , Dwarfs had the ability to see mana manifest around the people while humans felt the flow of mana , but he smelled the rich and golden color that reminded him of honey.


    As the girl was about to reach the spectre her dagger gleamed golden , and for the first time Alexstros SAW the manifestation of mana infront of his own eyes. This girl was more then meets the eye Alexstros was definetly impressed.


    She drew those pretty golden arcs as she used a series of attacks on the spectre. A thrust started the sequence then she used her forward momentum and pierced the ghost. But the golden glow didnt disappear instead it increased in intensity as the dagger was ripped out of the spectres side.


    The girl performed a piroutte while standing on the ground and the dagger seemed to fly towards the spectres neck. But as her moment of surprise had vanished the wisp turned completly back into smoke and materialized as the dagger left where her neck was seconds before.


    With the momentum and missing her opponent the girl tumbled away. But the spectre immediatly went after her. With the slightest of motions the girl was deflecting the razor sharp limbs of the spectre with her weapons.


    The first aimed at her chest but with a simple flick of the dagger in her right she changed the limbs trajectory off to her side , mere inches away from the sides of her ribcage. If that was luck or skill Alexstros had no idea.


    With the spectres next attack the girl instead turned her body away and in one fluid motion circled her whole body around the wisp. Immediatly the dagger followed aiming in on the unproteced spine. But much to the girls dismay she disappeared into the smokey form once again.


    The golden light that followed the girl seemed to become clearer and clearer in Alexstros side , besides the smell he registered in his nose. Like a gallant dancer the girl kept sidestepping or deflecting the attacks with ease and a golden warm flow followed her every move.


    When she attacked , futile as the last 10 times , the golden aura became sharp as a spear and held determination. Like in one of Alexstros storys she became a hero in this second. Everything fit perfectly the warriors that used mana while attacking with the strong auras the even lead dragons to fear them.


    She was the embodiment of them and now something to idolize in Alexstros heart. Forever this small girl the same age as him had left a mark upon his little world , maybe changing its course forever.


    " What can i do about her ability to turn back into smoke? " She pleadingly asked Alexstros.


    Immediatly he snapped out of his stuppor and grabbed a dagger from his bag that was slung around his shoulders. The grass patch where the wisp had appeared was targeted and immediatly harvested.


    Lucky for them the wisp had attacked first , or else the forest wouldnt have let this happen. With a loud pooff , the spectre disappeared and a silent thank you reached Alexstros ears.


    Alexstros breathed a heavy sigh and then he finally realized he had been holding his breath during the fight. The girl on the other hand collapsed as she wheezed for every gulp of air.


    As both locked their gazes smiles spread across their faces and they began to laugh. Even though it was late at night , and they saw a few more specs of silver misma , they travelled fast towards the city.


    The first lights of day broke through the dark skys as they reached Alexstros home. His father was still up and waited for them eagerly to return.


    Carefully he studied the moongrass they brought him. It took him quite some time and both youths held their breaths as the father inspected it twice or even thrice over.


    " Perfect specimin good job you 2. " He concluded simply.


    As both youths broke out in cheers , Alexstros father had already returned to the workshop and was preparing to start the potion he was about to create.


    " Son , close the shop i wont be available for 24 hours. " A voice reached the shop.


    " Well i guess im off to the next Inn then , i need some quality time of shut-eye. " The girl told Alexstros.


    " What is shut-eye? " Alexstros asked curiously.


    At first the girl stuttered but then a gear seamed to have clicked inside her head.


    " We Adventurers say that sometimes when we need to get a good nights rest. Closing ones eyes , shut-eye. Get it? Pretty clever , eh? "


    For some reason Alexstros had no intention of letting her go so his brain worked overtime , even though he was tired. A solution came quickly.


    " You are a guest of our house , i must insist. " He added.


    Immediatly he ran upstairs and told his mother about everything she definetly needed to know to be confinced of letting the girl stay.


    " Sure , she can stay. Afterall she has brought back your fathers recipie and my son in good health! " She screamed down the stairs so even the girl could hear it.


    Alexstros rushed back downstairs and dragged the girl along her hand , once again , up the stairs into one of their guests rooms.


    A few minutes later Alexstros was done with the bedding and preparations so he left her to her own devices. He was completly out of energy as he stumbled along the corridor and closed the door to his room.


    His mother smiled all the while.


    " They sure age fast ... yesterday he was just a child and today he brings the first girl home... " She said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

 Light in the tunnel , the end of the quiet life

    With reluctance Alexstros rose from his bed. The last crumbs of sleep were rubbed away with his fingertips and he stared outside.


    Bright line shone from there and he guessed it should be late afternoon. As his head cleared more and more chirps of birds and the buzzing of insects were audible from outside the window.


    Even though he was in a seated position he was dozzing in and out of consciousness rhytmically. Not a good start in the day , he knew. With some will power he hoisted his legs on the hard wooden floor underneath his bed and got up.


    While rubbing his stomache and scratching his hair simultainesly he walked along the short hallway to reach the kitchen. As his mind was still boggled with sleepy thoughts he plopped himself in one of the chairs and looked at his mother with puppy dog eyes.


    She snorted as she saw this buf hurriedly prepared some food for him. It took 15 long minutes until something edible was placed infront of him and he shoved the first few bits down his throat in seconds.


    With the new influx of food his mind cleared at a rapid speed and finally he noticed a bundle of amber color directly opposite him. At first he wondered what such a beautiful color was doing in the kitchen but soon his eyes opened wide in realization.


    " Uh ... uhm ... Good morning? " He said in a confused manor.


    His mother began to roar in laughter and the girl held a hand infront of her lips to stiffle her own laughter. From the sides he could have sworn that his baby sister was giggling out of her baby crip.


    With a beet red face he hung his head almost over the plate and shoved the rest of the food down the hatchet that was yearning nourishment. Just as he was about to finish his mother spoke up.


    " Alexstros , your dad wont be finished until tomorrow morning. I hope you havent forgotten your manners and will do something with the guest of our house. " Came the authority ladden tone of his mother across the room.


    For a few seconds he was contemplating the hidden message in her mothers tone , but he dismissed it as just another one of her antics.


    " So what do you want to do today? " He asked.


    " Anything is fine with me. " The amber haired girl told him.


    He noticed the sharp glare from his mother that was directed at him and immediatly discarded the idea of going back to the forest. Sometimes he swore his mother could read minds.


    " Want to visit some shops in the city? " He tried.


    " No thank you , i started my Adventurer in this town. I know my way around already. " The girl replied.


    A few brief moments of silence followed as Alexstros raked his brains. He never was the most eloquent speaker neither the one that could keep up a conversation for long.


    So many places came to mind but he was sure the girl had no interest in them. He noticed another sharp glare from his mother , which sent chills down his spine , but this time he threw caution out of the window.


    " Can you teach me that spell you used with your weapons yesterday? "


    A bright smile appeared on the girls face and a little glimmer of excitment flashed in her pupils.


    " Gladly! " She half shouted.


    Her enthusiastic reply immediatly roused something in Alexstros unconscious mind and he sprinted back to his room.


    After he spilled half of his dressers contents he roar of triumph escaped his lips as he found what he was looking for. With a ringing sound the blade came undone from the scabbard and the reflection of light highlighted the intricate leaf designs etched into the blade.


    With a thunk it disappeared into the scabbard and he ran back to the kitchen , not even pausing for the girl to stand up , but simply grabbing her hand and dragging her along.


    His mother started laughing again as the girl gave a startled yelp to make him stop , but Alexstros had other plans. Rushing down the steps and after a few seconds they finally arrived in the backyard.


    " Slow down! " The girl shouted and Alexstros followed suit.


    " That is a bad habit you have there. " She sounded angry.


    He on the other hand just smiled which made the girl sigh. With graceful movements a few swipes were performed by the girls hand in midair and suddendly her sword and dagger appeared our of no where!


    " How did you do that? " He asked amazed.


    " Uhm ... being a Adventurer has its virtues. " She said not entirely convinced of it herself.


    " Okay listen , that yesterday was a blade art. A set of motions activates the sequence and the system helps my movements and corrects them. " She explained in a matter of fact tone.


    But soon she saw the incredibly huge questionmarks that seemed to float over Alexstros head so she tried a different approach.


    " Listen , you use a certain weapon for a long time and naturally you get better with it. Your world has gifted adventurers with many things and i guess that is one of them. I dont know if you can learn it. " She said apogetically.


    " Show me what you do , maybe ill be able to copy it. " He replied stoic.


    She pulled both weapons and readied her stance. With a flick of her wrist the golden glimmer appeared again and she slashed at imaginary foes before her. Alexstros clapped after the demonstration ended.


    The ringing tone filled the area as Alexstros pulled the elfen blade from the scabbard and readied it before him.


    " Stop. You only use one blade. Let me show you something different then. " She told him.


    The dagger disappeared with a hand motion into thin air and now she only held her shortsword. Her arm was raised up and her elbow angled of so the blade was pointing down to the earth behind her shoulder.


    She flicked her wrist and a blue shimmer engulfed the blade. A almost whistling like sound assaulted Alexstros ears as the sword came down with lightning speed.


    " This is what we Adventurers call a heavy blow. "


    Now she held the sword at her waist level and the elbow behind her. Red engulfed the blade and in a split of a second she stood 1 yard from where she stood before and the blade poised infront of her.


    " Strike. "


    She held the blade slightly above her ribcage and performed a slashing attack from right to left , but in the middle of the slash the weapons speed increased many fold and a green glitter was left behind.


    " The last of the basics , slash. These improved basic patterns substract more hits of the enemy then the normal version. "


    " What do u mean by , substracting more hits? "


    She seemed flustered and shifted her weight from her left to right foot.


    " When you do these , they hurt your enemy more. " She tried to put it in terms i understood.


    For the next 2 hours i tried to recreate her movements but sadly to no avail. Never once my blade left shimmers behind , even though the girl assured me i was doing it right.


    " Let me see your sword. " She told him suddendly.


    He passed it over and in the meantime he used the back of his hand to wipe some weat from his brow. She performed mysterious gestures in the thin air while looking at the sword. With a sudden poof a similiar sword appeared in-front of her.


    " Yeah i figured out what was wrong. Your sword is tagged as a ornament. This sword should help. " She told him and handed him the other weapon.


    Utterly confused at what she was saying he nonetheless gripped the other weapon. Practically it felt the same. Leather grip , long elongated double sided cutting edge and long enough for the use of two-hands.


    Just like any other bastard sword. Except the run down appearance and the rust that covered the iron.


    He lifted the sword over his shoulder and performed the downward slash. As he was about to sigh midswing the blade flared into life with a thin line of blue shimmer. He was so surprised the the blade struck the ground and numerous chunks of earth where scatterd about.


    With joy on his face he looked at the girl and saw a smile playing around her lips.


    " You can keep it of you like. That was the sword i was gifted with by the gods when i arrived here. " She told him.


    Immediatly he clutched it to his chest and hugged the blade tight. Lucky for him it was a rusty sword or there would have been the danger of him cutting himself.


    " Now listen , you may feel strong now but dont think to highly off yourself. When i arrived here i had about the same knowledge as you now. I left town and challenged a few critters and died. "


    She let the information sink in for a few seconds , Alexstros seemed terrified and thus she continued.


    " Nothing beats experience. Your muscles in your arms need the experience. Go to the guards and train with them if you like or forget fighting all together. " She continued.


    For a second Alexstros swore he saw a different girl infront of him. Much older , more mature and wiser then he would ever be. Stunned over this he nodded in her direction.


    " Kids , ive brought you some refreshments! " Alexstros mother shouted from inside the house.


    His mother broke the moment of akwardness and both giggled appropriatly for their age. Chasing eachother they ran up the stairs pushing and shoving one another. At this moment Alexstros knew he had found a friend for life.


    ...............


    Later in the day both lazily sat under a tree and were enjoying more of the sweet herb tea his mother had made up.


    " Tell me about your world. " Alexstros broke the silence.


    She jumped slightly , seemingly startled at the sudden question.


    " I dont know.... "


    " Cmon whats there to fear? You have seen more places in this world then i may ever see and you have more knowledge of the world where your kind came from. " Alexstros pushed on.


    She sighed but after a few minutes of silence she spoke.


    " Our world is ... beautiful in another way then this. Vegetation such as the wild woods around this city are rare to find. But on the other hand we have houses in such extraordinary shapes that you cant imagine. "


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    " Self supplient carriages that run without horses and can reach speed that not even a bird could dream of. Almost no one in our society is poor anymore. There is so much to eat that no one hungers. "


    " Entertainment at every corner and thousands of millions of people in a few citys. We even reached the stars. Machines brought us to our moon , of which we only have one and even further. "


    " Sometimes i have to ask myself , what is better this world or the world where i return to when i am not here. My world is ... crowded loud and stiffling but in this world i am free. Free to do whatever i want. To go wherever. "


    " My people claim that we are free , but we are still bound by the million of rules some people have errected over the millenia. You cant just wander the country. You cant just go hunt to supply yourself with food. .... "


    A long hour passed with more and more descriptions of her world. Not only good ones but bad ones as well. Even though Alexstros only half understood what the girls world looked like he was excited.


    Someday , he promised himself , he would venture her world.


    " Kids , suppers ready! " His mother shouted through the open kitchen window in the second floor.


    Now both of them grinned at eachother and the pushing and shoving commenced once again.


    ......................


    As the next day dawned , much to Alexstros regret , the amber haired girl was gone. For months every day he bugged his father about the legendary potions effects he had brewed for the girl. But he never got to know any of it.


    Another year passed and the monsters in the surrounding lands increased their populations and strength. Merchants were out right bankrupt as no caravans could leave the city anymore.


    Even hunting outside of the city gates was conducted in partys of 20 people. To ensure the survival of at least half of the embarkt group. Soon it became evident what the cause was.


    The high priests of the gods received divine interventions that the gods children have been barred entrance to this world. 6 long years they would be shut out before they would return manyfold.


    But ever since these Adventurers had arrived the monsters werent the relaxed aggressors anymore. They also prepared as they increased their population and strength.


    The kingdom of Mithras , where Alexstroses city was located in was one of the first to fall.


    Numerous fires burned in the city after the hordes of demi-humans breached the high city walls. Screams of children and women filled the once bustling streets. Collapsed and charred houses were the only reminder of the once peaceful city.


    Neighbouring kingdoms sent troops to help all the surviours and stragglers. Only a few thousand of the mithras population survived the first waves of Invasion.


    Today , 6 years later , most regarded old mithras as a occupied zone. Alot of its maps had been destroyed and it became a fleck of land that nobody would venture in without a good reason.


    ..................


    Loud screams and shouts assaulted Alexstros ears. Hyena like laughter followed directly after those painful shouts ended.


    " Take this , run! " His mother shouted as the door buckled under the repeated assaults of the opposing demi-humans.


    His father had died defending the walls just yesterday and after he and many others had died defending the last people inside the confined walls now the sickly , old and the remaining females had to do their best.


    The wooden planks that made up the door finally gave up under the heavy strikes and the harsh sunlight made Alexstros close his eyes for a split of a second. After they had adjusted his ears were assaulted by the mad manical like laughter of hyenas.


    A broad , but comparibly short , 6 foot humanoid being stood infront of him. The head of a dog of sorts with speckles of brown black and red. Its vicious yellow fangs broke the light in a sinister way and reflected it into the dark parts of the Alchemists shop.


    " Run , take your sister and dont look back! " His mother shouted once again.


    Even though he was paralyzed by fear somehow his mother had a deep tone he could not understand yet and forced his legs to disobey his own instincts to huddle up and errupted into sprint.


    The heavy leather straps on his shoulders and the 3 year old girl underneath his arms almost made his magical sprint end as he stumbled quite a few times. After he dashed out of the backdoor and jumped 5 yards into the air over the fence , which he thought impossible , his speed further increased down the deserted streets.


    Just as he was about to round another corner and would forever loose sight of his home he somehow forced down the power commanding word of his mother and turned over his shoulder.


    Explosion after explosion errupted from the ruined house as scores of these half man half dogs errupted out of the hallways. This was the last sight he would ever have of his once quiet life.


    But as he was halfway down the next street a female voice errupted and almost disentigrated his mind into a state of a overripe vegetable. The little crys and wails of his baby sister focused him back to the now.


    With his mothers death the word of power that had controlled his actions ended but somehow he kept running. He noticed that liquid was gathering in his leather boots. By the smell of it his own blood but he could not stop.


    From time to time behind him he smelled the dog like creatures or heard their manical laughter. But the desperation of mothers or fathers that ensured the survival of their offspring held fast.


    More then once he saw a touching scene where a child was pushed out towards the south gates while the parents took up pitchforks , hoes or logging axes to buy their children the last few precious seconds.


    Even while praying to whatever god would hear him to not let these parents sacrifice be in vain dozens of other parents were slaughted right at the edge of his hearing capabilities.


    After half an hour sprint , unlike he had ever done in his entire life , he saw the salvation. Mages forming a circle around a vibration and slurr inside the air itself. Mithrases neighbouring country had sent their mages.


    Just as he was about to run through those rifts in space a loud and wet splash errupted jsut below his ear. He turned around slightly and saw the feathy end of a bolt sprouting from his shoulder.


    The once fast speed was now his doom as he was accelerated even faster towards the ground. With movements no normal human could have performed Alexstros , as the elf blood he had , placed his hand on the ground and launched himself back into a upright position.


    A mage looked at him astounded just to see the mages skull get pierced by the next bolt that came flying. The once 3 portals that were supplied by 10 mages each broke as the beasts had managed to kill a few of each circle.


    Now the mages began to panic and activated their own teleportation magic , but sadly this was meant for 1 person alone. The more mass the longer it would take. A few mages fired bolt of fire , ice or a jet of water towards the incoming beasts.


    Many of them died to this assault but still more kept coming. Only 5 mages of the original 30 were now still around and Alexstros mind was racing. He only came to one grim conclusion.


    With a wide arc he threw Iliya , his baby sister , towards one of the mages that was about to finish his spell. The mages eyes grew wide but the spell focus had no reflux and he caught the baby.


    " Take good care of my baby sister. " Alexstros said as he already dropped the heavy bag.


    His eyes immedaitly hardend , be it from the grim duty that was his now or a sudden growth in matureness nobody would ever know , as he ran towards 5 reloading Gnolls.


    " Altros , dont leave me! " His baby sister shouted behind him as the mage started to chant in the old draconic language that was neccesary for every magician.


    Even though his eyes were hard as steel itself , he smiled a warm smile towards the gnolls at his sisters nickname for him. He knew she couldnt say his full name yet but somehow he found this name amusing.


    One of the sickle shaped swords was picked up by him as he speed by a burned Gnoll corpse. The blackened hands released the weapon without Altros having to slow down. Just as the gnoll crossbow man had reloaded ones head was detached from his shoulders in a green hue.


    The next ones arm was replaced by a overhead strike and a blue hue while his neighbours head exploded while the angled blade came out the back of his head with a red glint. Never was he so relieved he had trained the basics of sword arts , as the amber girl had called them , every day since she had left.


    All of the gnolls were dispatched and he had bought the mage enough time. A man high rift had just formed besides the mage as Altros glanced over his shoulder.


    " Kanai the city of mages , there your sister will be! " The mage shouted as he stepped through the portal just as a bolt was about to pierce his skull.


    His left shoulder still had the bolt inside of it and his consciousness was drifting in and out. Stars danced infront of his eyes he could die in an hour maybe less from bloodloss. Even under these conditions a stranger had wrung him off a promise of sorts.


    As he thought of this a chuckle escaped his lips and he smelled the stench of these beasts he would never forget in his life.


    " Suppose we can handle this peacefully ey? " Altros tried to speak to the beasts.


    The manical laughter resounded once again and a arrow flew close to his head.


    " Guess not. "


    ......................

 Strange blue script

    Authors note: The length is about 3/4 of what i usually post , will make it up to you in the coming chapters.


    Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thoughts and random questions as well


    AND YES i am back , might pick up my older unfinished Fics as well at a later point in time.


    ........................


    Altros slammed the Gnoll blade he held into another goblin and left behind was the blue hue he utilized in the strike. While the detatched head rolled of its shoulders the body stiffened up.


    The elf with blue hair gripped the beasts shoulders and lifted his body weight onto the corpse. Now as his eyes were looking to the ground from 7 foot above the ground he pushed himself of in a way that made the caracapace fly into the next throng of Gnolls that had readied their crossbows.


    He knew that he made a easy target in mid air so he kicked of the next building wall and landed hard on the cobble plastered street. Just in time he rolled out of a assault of bolts , that came delayed due to the corpse he forced towards them , behind a barrol of goods.


    The smell of spices and leather told him he was at the market square , not far from the west gate. Immediatly he ducked into the next alley as new thunks of bolts almost hit him.


    Even though a brick wall rose just infront of him he knew a way to get out of there. A red hue enveloped the crescent blade as it rapidly advanced towards the metal construct beneath his feet.


    A metal on metal pang errupted as the weapon smashed into the sewer gates lock right infront of him. But much to his disgress the blade shattered upon impact. A firey pain shot through his left arm once again as a bolt lightly grazed his skin.


    With no time to spare he lifted one side of the sewer gate and pushed it open to immedaitly squeeze inside of it. Even though his nostrils were assaulted by the foul stench he also caught a wisp of ancient long forgotten magic.


    Now an idea struck him and he followed that lead. Sometimes he heard the manical laughter behind him but he was racing along the completly pitch black cavern like sewer so fast he had no time to mind it.


    A few times he fell along the way just to be assaulted by an even worse stench then just seconds prior but his elfen nose did not lie to him as he finally saw light at the end of the tunnel.


    With speed he never thought possible he escaped the hell of stench and emerged just 100 yards beyond the coiv-erin. There at least he would be safe from the scores of gnolls. He believed in the ancient magic the kagonesti of old had cast upon the forest to protect their people.


    While he had already past the forests borders for a good half a minute he had no intention to stop running. Especially as his ears picked up the cackling laughter that soon died out.


    Even though he should feel pleased as he knew what had happened to the sick and vile creatures he was not smiling but whispering a silent prayer to the nature godess of the forests to grant them a quick death.


    Soon he reached the creak he had spent some time with the amber haired girl , which now he realized he had forgotten to ask her name. His body relaxed and immediatly a pounding pain assaulted his senses.


    The adrenaline that previously rushed through his veins began to subside and now he began to notice the small cuts and tears he had gathered while running through the brush and the worst of all the bolt that was still stuck in his flesh.


    Due to the bloodloose his vision dimmed and he fell face first on the ground. Nothing that Altros could have done now would matter anymore , as he was certain of his death.


    ..............


    Noises aroused him quite some time later. Through half closed lids he saw a wolf scratching itself behind one ear sitting besides a proud stag. But something was terribly off.


    The stags antlers were so incredibly massive that at first he mistook it for another tree. If he had the strength to focus his mind he would need hours to count all the points in which the antlers forked off. A gold coloration was dominant in the stags fur.


    But the wolfs head reached above the 40 yard high trees surrounding it. The coloration at first looked like a grey but with the shimmer of mana that surrounded it the light reflection could only be silver.


    Altros tried to chuckle at the insanity that had have to befallen his own mind due to blood loss. Nobody had ever seen such fierce yet beautiful animals.


    " Told you he was still alive. " A voice as fleeting as the wind that rustled through the forest that surrounded him entered in his mind.


    " Yes the blood he carries is strong. " A new voice assaulted his mind , but this voice was so deep , reveberating and ancient that it built a stark contrast to the other one.


    " Listen child , you may not know yet who we are but in time you will understand. There is a more dire question at hand. Do you want to live? " The serence voice asked.


    Altros was confused , who didnt want to live? Naturally his answer should be yes , but something in his head made him hesitate. His gaze focused on the wolf as the deep voice resounded once again.


    " Truly , someone as promising as him hasnt crossed our presence since ancient times. " The wolf spoke into his mind while his thousand of white teeth as long as a forearm flashed in a vicious carnivourus smile.


    The Stag on the other hand slammed her hoof into the ground , which caused a minor earthquake through the premises , and shook her might antlers.


    " Quickly child , at any time you could die. Think of your sister , alone with a man she will never be able to call blood. " The stag spoke to his mind.


    Images of his sister when she had grown up flashed through his mind. The refined facial features of a full grown elfa in combination with the curvascious lines of a human godess. She was crowded by many males with lust glinting in their eyes , but the mage he had handed her too had the most vile and dark glint of all of them.


    Immediatly Altros body stiffend , anger took over and his stomache twisted. With barely any strength remaining he still managed to clench his fist into a tight ball.


    " Mother , you have felt it. He is not suitable for you. Anger and hate slumber in this one. " The deep voice resounded even in the smallest of corners of his mind.


    As if to overtake the conscious mind of Altros the Wolfs essence began to invade his mind. Deeper and deeper almost the wolf had accomplished to completly overtake his soul but the stag shoved her hoof back into the ground hard.


    " No , you are a savage. Yes hate and anger are your domains. But this one does not relish in blood baths and carnage as you do. Someone... else would have a tighter reign on this one. " The stag claimed.


    The few minutes of silence that followed were a god sent gift for Altros but soon he would be assaulted again.


    " Mother you cant mean .... "


    " Yes i do and she will. Child , the eversleeper will grant you life. It will be hard and only with luck you will become strong enough to survive. " The serene voice told him.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    " But nothing comes free , you will be marked with her symbol. " The deep voice added.


    " Yes , 1 life for one favour. You will not become a slave bound to me , but a mere tool. " This time a new voice resounded in his mind.


    The other 2 voices had hinted to a male and female , but this voice was both and yet none. Deep as the oceans but high as the skys at the same time. What disturbed him the most was the extent of the deep tone.


    Something ... very sinister lurked in that depth and this voice began to fill his mind. A smacking sound filled his ears as Altros soul was ripped from his body.


    " A new vessel will not be neccesary but for the time being i will hold your soul. " The deep and high voice told him.


    A vision of a female body flashed before his eyes with deep black skin. Curiosity took the better of him and his vision began to lower itself until her bare breasts were nothing but a fleeting memory.


    Instead of legs , the eversleeper as he thought this female was , had many tentacles. Dark black smoke that seemed to suck in all the light around it wiggled at those tentacles. He almost wanted to scream but as he was only a soul nothing escaped his lips.


    The female monster giggled very girlishly as Altros vision turned completly black.


    ................


    Altros snapped back into his body. He blinked confused a few times and moved all his body parts. A few bones cracked into place with a ominous noise but all in all he felt better then before.


    He was cautious to think stronger , but that was what he felt. As he reached to his left shoulder he noticed that his previously pierced shoulder was healed. Only a weird scar now filled the place as a reminder of the damage the bolt had done.


    " That is the place my mark is set upon. " The voice of the female monster assaulted his mind.


    As curious as he was his right hand tried to make a shape out of the mark but it just felt like a bunch of scar tissue not like it resembled anything at all.


    " Child , even though we play with the lifes of mortals as we please , we are no oppressors. Sooner or later i will call for your service. Grow strong enough to survive the task and the rest of your life may be spent in peace. Remember this. " The voice told him and immediatly her presence faded.


    Everything still confused him so he scratched his head with vigour. He crawled over to the creak and stared at his reflection. Nothing had changed his long blue hair were still there and his eyes also were the same.


    He lifted his shirt and tried to figure out a pattern on the scar on his back , but much to his frustration he couldnt bent that far and stare at the reflection at the same time.


    Altros also figured that a few days had passed since the female monster took his soul but he had no way of verifiying this yet. With a shrug he followed his nose , as he picked up the scent of burned wood that would surely lead him back to the city he grew up in.


    He arrived sooner then expected but much to his surprise everything around him looked like it had burned down months ago. Buildings that should have been intact had completly crumbled under the weather.


    But what surprised him the most was the sound of trumpets that smashed a fanfare as he entered the city.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> You are the first Gods child to have entered the ruins of Mithras , a once glorious city


    1 week double EXP


    If you manage to kill the boss during this time you will be rewarded with a precious artifact.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Frozen , like he had endured to much cold over months he stood in place. What was this blue construct in-front of his eyes was one of his thoughts. But more importantly had it just told him he was a gods child?


    After half an hour had passed he had gathered his wits and proceeded through the gate , that stood open. He saw signs of siege machinery that had attacked the sturdy metal gate , but in the end under the restless assault of gnolls the hinges had given up and now the once proud gates lay lifeless on the ground.


    He proceeded with caution sneaking from one corner of a building to the next fearful of gnolls that still roamed the city to ambush him. Especially since he had no weapons , supply or anything noteworthy besides his tattered shirt to him.


    Even before his ears could pick up the manical laughter the smell of blood magic assaulted his nose combined with sweat and musk. He rounded 2 more corners and the stench intensified with every turn he took.


    Finally he saw what he had been looking for.


    2 of the Gnolls were huddled together drinking from a ominous flask which smell told Altros that it was a high percentage alcohol. Both of the vile creatures had big bellys and from the look of their arms and hands werent much of a fight , compared to the ones he had killed while Altros had run for his life.


    But the problem was , he had no weapon. His nose told him that the area was clear , besides these 2 relaxed specimens infront of him. A plan rapidly formed inside of his mind and he backtracked a few corners.


    As he had grown in this village , and went exploring more then once in his younger years , he knew all of the alleys and streets. After he had climbed over a few broken down obstacles he arrived at his destination.


    Altros stood directly behind the 2 gnolls and luckily they hadnt noticed his presence yet. His feet , as his blood would indicate , made no sound as he took cautios step after step. But he would make no mistake in overestimating himself.


    Those beasts were drunk. If they were fighters and trained they would have noticed him a while ago. As Altroses hand reached behind one of the beasts one sniffed the air suspiciously. Immediatly he tugged at the sickle formed blade and a green hue engulfed the blade with the flick of his wrist.


    A clean severed head rolled in the lap of the other gnoll. Just as it was about to lift its head and howl for reinforcments the blade went clean through the back of its head.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have killed 2 lvl 5 gnolls


    EXP 110


    Total EXP 110/500 till lvl 2


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Again this weird blue script floating infront of his vision he thought. He treated it like a annoying fly and tried to swat it away and immediatly it disappeared.


    Immediatly the gnolls bodys turned into grey particles and drifted off with the flow of wind that blew from the south. Altros was puzzled at all the events that unfolded in-front of him but after a firm shake of his head he proceeded along the sinister paths of the city he had once called home.

 Let the hunt commence Pt1

    The outer layer of the city , or the slums as Altros mother used to call them , held many make-shift huts once. Now most of them were either burned down or had returned to what they used to be. Sticks and straw.


    But among the few that still stood the cackling laughter of Gnolls could be heard. Even if that hadnt been a direct hint they would have been there Altroses nose picked up their twisted scent of blood , sweat and alcohol. Something he closely tied to the beast headed creatures now.


    At first he wondered why he was in the city in the first place , nothing but destruction and death lingered the once grand city. Soon he realized that he needed supplys to survive the journey to the city of mages his sister should be.


    But after having clashed with 2 more Gnolls that either tried to ambush him or were ambushed he found nothing. No bags filled with supplies or random armor scraps were found on the soon greying out bodys after they fell pray to the sword he carried.


    He remembered a few supply deposits or granarys in the vicinity of the slums but all of them had been destroyed by the initial raid or plundered by now.


    This was the reason why he activly sought out more Gnolls. Where the new habitants were naturally there had to be food of some sort. The hut he was standing besides now had the only traces of the bloodmagic in a 50 yard radius.


    But as if he had no reason to trust his own nose , Altros scouted out 100 yards in every direction. He found no other traces so finally he gathered his courage and stepped through the cloth flap at the wooden huts entrance.


    Immediatly he was greeted by a crossbow bolt that left a little cut on his cheek. But somehow or another he remembered bolts hurting quite a bit more then this. His memory sure was fuzy after he awoke again but the faint traces that remained from the time he ran for his life told him that a cut like this from a tree branch hurt manyfold more times.


    While he contemplated all this he had already raised his sword and moved towards the crossbow armed gnoll that was reloading.


    Altros came to a halt from his rushing attempt as a axe dropped just inches away from his nose. The second of the gnolls had come to aid that was resting in the hut. Just as Altroses sword flared up in a green hue to eviscarate the oponent a mace closed in on his head.


    Immediatly he jumped back just to see a bolt flying right towards his eye. Lifeless like a doll he dropped to the floor , just in time as he noticed the air pressure at the base of his hair.


    He had no time to recover properly as he rolled to the side just seconds before the mace crashed into the floor where his head had been. As he rolled to the side , be it luck or calcualted , he went out of the cloth flap and now was finally in the open.


    In no time he stood once again crouched at the side of the cloth flap. A manical laughter resounded as orders were passed out inside the hut. The axe swining Gnoll came out into the open and with a red hue his abdomen now held a fist sized hole.


    Lifeless the hyena headed creature tumbled to the floor but much to Altros iritation it had no intention of blocking the remaining adversarys approach as it turned into gray particles and drifted off.


    A bolt flew from the opening that went wide off its original mark as Altros jumped sideways. But as he was stuck on the floor once again the Mace wielding Gnoll closed in on him in the split second he needed to regain his composure.


    He barely was in time to raise the crescent shaped sword to block of the attack , but the strength of his opponent was overwhelming. The violent impact shook both of Altroses arms and left behind a numbing pain that could lead to further problems.


    Now the crossbowman stepped out of the flap and immediatly took aim. With no option left the elf rolled of to the side and disappeared behind a corner of the straw hut of recogniseable size.


    Altros got up just in time to jump out of the maces reach and immediatly took of running , making sure to duck behind every corner as fast as he possibly could to avoid death by crossbow bolt.


    After running for a good few minutes he finally felt rather safe as the stench of blood magic had declined. They were near but they had no idea where he was currently. Altros face began to itch so he dragged his palm across his face just to discover it being colored in the deepest black he had ever witnessed.


    The smell of Iron was still there , but he couldnt believe this oily substance was the gnolls blood. He was disgusted in his own skin currently but not much he could do about the blood that covered him now.


    As the Gnolls drew near the blood magic smell intensified and Altroses body tensed up visably while hiding around another corner. The stench became unbearable and he recognized it as his cue.


    Another green hue enveloped his blade as he swung it beyond the corner just in time to hear the gargled last cries of the mace wielding gnoll. Immediatly after he braced himself for the bolt that came flying.


    With his utmost effort he tried to roll back into the saving cover of the corner but he wasnt fast enough. As force propelled him even further away from the last salvation he only minimally registered the pain which seemed odd to him.


    Considering this bolt was firmly attached to his left shoulder blade , directly from the front it had pierced all the way through his shoulder blade rendering his left side unusable.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> You have received a maiming blow.


    - 77 hits ( 100% extra damage to a vital spot. )


    ( 73 /150 HP ) The reminder feature will be disabled at lvl 10


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    There it was the mysterious blue script that hovvered in the air in-front of him. Like the other one he immitated the motion of swatting a fly and it disappeared. Just in time to see the next bolt racing towards him.


    With a slight shift in balance the bolt uneventfully passed over his shoulder and he immediatly rushed towards his opponent. Unusable arm or not , 2 yards infront of the creature a red glow enveloped the blade and with a whistling sound the creatures abdomen was pierced clean through.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have killed 2 lvl 3 and 1 lvl 4 Gnoll


    Acquired 170 XP


    380/500 XP until lvl 2


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Again Altros was amazed as the bolt in his left side disappeared into gray mist as well as the 2 bodys. Even then what really made him gasp in surprise was that the function of his left arm returned in a manner of seconds.


    After he had walked back to the hut , he was glad to finally have found a piece of half molded bread. He used his hands and rubbed of the starting mold to greedily devour it.


    Even though he had no clue about it suddendly he felt how hungry he was as the first piece of bread fell down his throat. Besides this rather ... stale meal he begun to scour the area for more Gnolls to acquire food.


    It took him 20 good minutes before the blood magical stench filled his nose once again , but this time he was careful of the huts interior. He grabbed a pebble from the roadside and flung it against the wall of the building.


    The loud cackling grew even more intense as a rather large specimen poked its head out of the cloth flap. Altros managed a peek around the corner and aimed well with a new pebble.


    With a loud thump it struck home and a slightly more angry cackle resounded. Immediatly this specimen started to stalk into his direction and Altros was relieved to see only it coming towards him.


    Even though these shacks were made with stick they could carry the weight of snow in winter so Altros had no calms about heaving himself up on the roof to lie in wait for the new prey.


    Just as it passed and looked around in a confused manner Altros jumped down while his sword glowed blue while he let it fly down from his shoulder.


    Even though its left arm was dispatched with a spray of dark blood the beast was not yet turned into gray particles. Instead it grunted in pain but immediatly turned around and used his other hand to grab Altros by his long blue hair.


    With a rough jerk Altros body was sprawled out on the earthen ground. Even though the surprise had knocked most of the air from his body he managed to roll away from the crashing boot that was aimed at his head.


    Luckily for him he still gripped the sword and he managed to cover his sword in a green hue. As the sword meet resistance a loud wet ripping sound resounded as the sword entered the leg just above the knee.


    The beast howled in pain , but much to Altros distress the sword was stuck in place. As it didnt budge and inch he couldnt attempt another sword art so he took the initiative and flung himself of the beasts chest.


    As he placed his boots squarely on the rearing enemy he used all the force he could muster and bucked out like a mule. The momentum pushed the hundred of pounds heavier beast away from him and he managed to roll himself into a standing position.


    Its movements had been impaired , not only by the missing limb but also by the sword still firmly attached to it. The continous blood flow from the wound also took its tool on it as Altros saw the pool of black liquid at its boots.


    Nonetheless the beast came limping towards him intent on ending his life. As the beast tried to grapple at Altros he smoothly slipped out of harms way and kicked at the sword handle that was stuck in its leg.


    Another wet ripping sound filled the air as it exited its body. With the nimble ability of the elfs Altros rolled over caught the blade and tried to activate another heavy slash with the preset motions.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Not enough Stamina to produce action.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    He was shocked , but even though the strange blue script blocked his view once again the slashing motion was underway. Even without the added in boost in power and speed of the attack the beast was simply to weak to evade to counterattack.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    The blade sank halfway down in its neck and just as it turned into gray particles the blade became free. Still the black liquid covered its edges like glue as the oily substance was the only reminder of the enemy he had just killed.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Killed a lvl 6 Warrior Gnoll.


    Acquired 60 Xp


    440/500 Xp until lvl 2


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    This mysterious Lvl 2 intrigued Altros so after a short moment to catch his breath he was once again at the hut where he lured the warrior gnoll out. Inside he found another one of the previous kind of Gnoll and dispatched him quickly.


    Just as he thought he had searched everyplace in the straw hut a strange relfection of light caught Altros attention. Underneath a furrag that was used as a carpet of sorts a glimmer of steel showed through.


    After Altros had lifted the rag and stared at it intentally the blue script appeared once again with the loud fanfare of trumpets.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Rusty Chainmail shirt (sleeveless)


    Def+10


    Weight : light


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    He looked at the heavy wollen shirt he was wearing stained with filth , blood and crusts he had no idea of which origin they belonged to and immediatl shoved the shirt over his head.


    After flexing his shoulders and bending his limbs in different directions he noticed the shirt but it wouldnt impose on him in any way. Afterall it was just an ligiment of rings forged together to allow movement.


    ...............


    Night rapidly approached as Altros scoured the area. He still had provisions to last him through the next day so he decided to find a remote area to get some sleep. Carefully he scouted the area close to the outer wall at the gate where he came through.


    He wasn''t surprised to find no lingering scent of the stench the gnolls left behind so he nimbly climbed over some rubble and entered a stone building. As he remiscend over this stone building he remembered it was a station for the towns-guard to rest in.


    While scouring he found a ragged cilt that he dragged along , which now came in handy. He placed it on the floor and sat down upon it untiying the filthy rag he used as a bag and took out a piece of stale bread.


    Silently his mind flashed with everything that has happend today and the events of the citys downfall.


    A pain constricted his heart engulfing him in despair and he began to sob. Rage soon overtook all of his mind and he flung the stale bread away. Afterall he was just a brat. Immature and oblivious on how this cruel world really operated.


    Protected by his family and smoothered at times. During the time he gave his sister away it was a short episode of frantic struggle but even then he was afraid. Now he was just afraid , lonely and frustrated.


    He cursed the gods , the gnolls and his parents. His parents because they had left him alone. Then again for not teaching him how cruel the world is. Then he began to cry , tears streaming down his face at the helplessness he was suffering and the way he had blamed his parents.


    Soon the fatigue took over his body and he slumped back down , not even strong enough to remain angry. Still sobbing and crying he fell asleep.


    Noises woke him from the deep sleep he was engulfed in. At first he looked around suspecting to be in his room above the alchemy shop but soon the realization struck him.


    Silently he wiped away the lines of salt running down his cheeks with his sleeve and picked up the sword. His senses were heightend at the prospect of danger so he crept out of the debris that covered the guard stations entrance.


    The dark night skys were covered in clouds not letting any of the cold moon or starlight touch the earth , so he had close to no chance of seeing anything. But he was an elf. Sniffing the air like a hunting dog he caught a scent.


    Like a rotting egg the stench filled his senses combined with blood magic , but there was something else. Like earth warmed from the early spring rays , just as the snow had melted. Exhilarating effects washed upon Altros mind.


    Forgetting all caution due to the scent that seemed to draw him in he ran along the streets. He even failed to notice the sounds his boots were making. Heavy like rock his hard leather soles hit the cobble stone and made a clicking noise with every step.


    The scent grew stronger and stronger , alas Altros rapidly increased his speed. Even though it was like he had been enthralled by a sirens song he managed to jump away , barely in time to dodge the arrow that flew at him.


    He came to a halt as his knee landed on the cobble stones while his other was stretched out besides him , sword readied. Instead of the ugly visages of the beast faced Gnolls , there stood a girl.


    Just as she knocked another arrow to the string the clouds overhead dispearsed and Altros took a closer look at her. Pointy ears reaching long behind her head , pristine skin that reminded him of the finest of alabaster vases and her facial features were so remarkably elegant that only the gods could have had their fingers in her creation.


    She was dressed in a gray tunic and pants that were of a thin cheap material but even then she had a majestic air about her. The bow was crude and the arrows cheap but she still aimed at him.


    As Altros was about to open his mouth the manical cackle reached across the plaza they were currently on. Her eyes grew wide in fear as beasts burst out of the huts on her right and left. Altros was about to help her as a extremly monstrous of the Gnolls emerged behind him.


    He saw it out of the corner of his eye just in time to swing his body to his right to evade the 2h broad sword. The blade sunk into the cobble stone as sparks skittered about , Altros rose and was about to attack the beast that surely had to use tremendous effort to pull out the sword.


    But his eyes grew wide as the beast simply lifted the sword and uprooted 10 or more cobblestones from the plastered street. He neither had any time be in awe of this beast as it immediatly performed a arc with the weapon which Altros blocked with his own sword.


    Altros was flung back , but the impact had distributed well as he came to a slithering halt along the road. Nonetheless his ears rang from the metallic buzzing.


    Another insane cackle sounded from the beast as he immediatly began to pursuit Altros. But Altros stood his ground , simply turning his body slightly and holding the blade straight towards his opponent.


    Flickers like embers of a dying fire began to spark around the blade , which the beast had trouble noticing as Altros body covered the blade.


    '' Not yet ,come a little closer you gutterborn piece of flith ... '' Altros thought while the embers started glowing brighter and brighter.


    With the next step the big beast came into range but immediatly lifted his nose in the air , he seemed to have sniffed the danger that was befalling him. But it was to late , with lightning like speed Altros body turned to reveal the red glowing blade.


    His feet began to blur as the sword art carried him onward , leaving only the red after glow behind. As suddendly as it happend it also disappeared and now Altros had his sword embedded deeply in the beast chest.


    The sick hatred filled light in its eyes died out and it turned into gray particles.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Killed a lvl 7 Gnoll Captain.


    Acquired 100 Xp


    40/2000 Xp until lvl 3


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have reached level 2.


    Based on your actions you have gained 2 Strength , 1 Dexterity , 1 Wisdom and 1 Endurance.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Just as he swatted the blue script away once again a arrow whisped by his ear , much to close to comfort. He stared and saw 2 gnolls disappearing into gray dust and the girl already aiming at him with another arrow.


    " You were a beta tester , huh? Doesn''t matter tell me how you performed that magic and i''ll let you live. " She almost hissed in his direction.


    Altros was thinking of a way out of this situation , but sadly nothing came to mind. Just as he was about to explain to her how the blade arts worked another mad cackle interrupted them and 2 more Gnolls came rushing towards her.


    Without any remorse Altros began to run away from the scene and soon arrived back at the guard station. His breath was ragged as he had run at full speed , not sure how long it would take the female to pick up his trail.


    After taking a sip from the water-skin he had found in the city before he slumped down on the blanket and immediatly went back to sleep.


    ..............


    He awoke as soon as the first rays of day hit his face and immediatly was awake. The chirping of birds from outside the city walls almost lulled him back to sleep but after a frantic shake of his head his mind cleared completly.


    After a quick meal and packing his blanket into a neat bundle , which he left where it was , he headed out in search for his old home. This was the main reason why he went to the city in the first place.


    He could have avoided the city and head directly west to the city of magic , to retrieve his sister , but as young as he was he wanted to see the place where he spent all of his life once more.


    But there in lay the problem. As his mother and father were richer people , the house was located near the center of town. The place where most Gnolls should be.

 Let the hunt commence Pt2 (fixed)

    Cautiously Altros proceeded further and further towards the center of the city. Sometimes he had to wait for a patrol of Gnolls to pass by and the closer he got the more patrols where scouring the area.


    He soon reached the place where the middle class houses meet those of the higher class. Every 2 minutes a patrol walked by and cackled madly. Even though he hadnt caught a good look at the Gnoll captain yesterday he instinctivly knew these patrols were stronger.


    Not only was their body quite muscular but all of them wore either chainmail shirts , finely crafted weapons or both. But to make the situation worse they always were 4 Gnolls in 1 patrol. Sure Altros could sneak by them , but what if they caught his scent and followed him.


    He was certain that he couldnt handle 2 Gnolls much less 4. At the start he had killed any single Gnoll that came in his way. Mostly because he felt immensly stronger then the day before. The blue script still confused him and the messages it displayed but he knew ever since he went from lvl 1 to lvl 2 he was stronger.


    So the natural course of his actions was to increase his lvl to 3 and thus increasing his abilitys even further. But even then , the patrols stayed together and even while being significantly stronger then all 4 of them he would have to deal with the next patrol 2 minutes later.


    He wasn''t confident to be able to kill all the Gnolls in 2 minutes before the next would arrive and thus leading to an endless cycle. A battle of attrition was out of question. He cursed under his breath and sneaked back to where the slum huts meet with the stone structures of the middle class.


    Along the way back he killed more then 10 Gnolls all around the same level as the Gnoll captain yesterday , but even then he needed 2000 of this mysterious EXP to which every Gnoll gave him between 60-70.


    All in all he had killed enough goblins to earn 1250 EXP and it took him half a day. His mind tried to come up with a way to increase the rate of Gnolls he could exterminate , but once again he just drew a blank.


    There was only one thing he could do. Activly hunting those vile beasts. Altros grinned a evil smile and a plan began to form in his mind.


    ..............


    The sun still shone brightly and it would take some time before the last rays of its warm glow would fall on the earth. Altros was waging the dangers he could face with this plan , but in the end he sighed and disregarded the warning bells that sounded in his mind.


    He was a good part into the middle class housing area , where the patrols were rather sparse and frequently smelled the air for the foul stench. Soon he picked it up only to be greeted with a manical cackle a few seconds later.


    Altros was sick of this. The insane laughter like sounds the beasts made , the waiting he had to endure because he wanted to see the house he was born in once again but most of all the stench.


    His nose had no problems with many smells , even landing face first in the sewer canal couldnt be worse then this , Altros thought from time to time. The patrol came closer as he could hear their ragged breathing.


    He spied around a dark corner and saw 3 Gnolls. 2 in armor with crude wooden clubs , both had a brownish fur and the other one had a crossbow and for some reason or another had white fur.


    Altros was suspicious as to why a Gnoll would have white fur with no-stains on it , compared to the rest that had either so much dirt in it you could barely discern them from sewer rats or their natural darker tones.


    Not only the white fur made this Gnoll stand out but its shape as well. Smaller , lighter and at least not as ugly as the rest of them came to Altros mind as he studied the back of the now passing patrol.


    They rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. Immediatly he rose from his crouched spying position and ran into a alley way. This had been planned , wait for a group of 3 then run after them from a different direction.


    While he ran through the narrow corriders at his full speed he saw glimpses off torn rags and garbage that hadn''t been in this city when it was still filled with people. Altros had no time to further explore the trash so he decided to do this later.


    He rounded a corner and his foot caught on something immediatly pulling him to the ground as he tripped. A silent curse ran from his lips at the vaguely humanoid body that lay on the floor.


    After he stood up he redoubled his effort to catch the patrol. Barely in time he rounded the last corner and saw the grp of 3 rounding another. With more curses silently swore he had missed the perfect timing but he ran after them.


    He smelled the sick stench of bloodmagic as he rounded the next corner on the main path the patrol had taken and he knew this was a dangerous ordeal. Nonetheless he had to increase his combat capabilitys.


    Altros was confused as he came up behind the patrol only to find readied arms waiting for him. They shouldnt have heard him , after all Elfs moved silently even when they ran.


    A poorly aimed bolt flew in a wide arc besides him and immediatly a Club smashed the wall of a building where his head was seconds before. He had ducked by a narrow margin as the whistle of wind past his ears.


    In a crude manner , as he wasn''t used to this motion , he swung the sword diagonally up. The blade ruptured in to the gnolls body just below the ribcage with a yellow hue , he had never seen before , and exited its body above the shoulder.


    Entrails , blood and chunks of flesh were splittered off the now graying Gnoll. Luckily , Altros knew , he had found another blade art that reduced the opponents armor to nothing.


    The second Gnoll swung his club at Altros face , but he on the other hand seemingly shuffled his feet along the cobble stone backwards. He turned his waist and shoulders just in time to smash his sword crudly into the advancing club.


    As the weapons connected with a loud bang the Gnolls weapon immediatly flew backwards with the immense pressure Altros laid behind his own swing. Its arms followed leaving him open to any retilation.


    Altros grabbed the opportunity as his blade flickered red that entered through the creatures abdomen only to exit behind the beast. Gray particles momentarily blinded Altros as the wind carried it into his eyes.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He expected to find a bolt sticking out of his flesh at this point but for some reason nothing came. As he regained sight in his now watering eyes he found the white and different Gnoll haunched on the floor clutching its chest.


    With a few last gurgles it breathed its last and disappeared into gray as well. A sickening stench of damp bloodmagic coursed through the air. So penetrating was the stench that Altros immediatly left.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have killed 2 lvl 6 Warrior- and 1 lvl 5 Slavegnoll


    Acquired 230 XP


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    His breath was ragged as he ran taking more and more of the stench in his lunges that also left a bad taste in his mouth as he drew breath through it. As he finally came into the alley that simply smelled of garbage and waste he breathed every ounce of air he had filled his lungs with.


    His eyes stopped watering as he greadily sucked in the pleasent seeming garbage smell compared to the foul smell of bloodmagic. Altros spat out on the ground as an attempt to clear his mouth of the taste.


    After this he leaned against the wall and the adrenaile stopped pumping. The high endurance sprint and battle had taken a larger tool on his body then he thought. His legs cramped from strain and he almost wished they would come off so the pain would stop.


    His right arm where the Gnolls and his weapon had connected felt limp , almost as if he had no control over it. Altros used his left hand to pry open his own fingers that still clutched the weapon tightly , unable to open it through will-power alone.


    As his back slid down the masoned stone of the building behind him he noticed once again the rags and pills of waste at his feet that snaked to all sides where Altros looked. Not even an army of Gnolls could produce this much waste.


    Minutes turned into hours before Altros was sure enough that his body would respond the way he wanted too. His curiosity picked he would keep a lookout for more of the waste all around the city as he searched for the next patrol.


    ..............................


    2 days has it been since he killed the first patrol and Altros grew bolder while still remaining cautios. Continously he had challenged the patrols in the mid class quarters of the city and succeded.


    During the nights he heard fighting all around him , his mind immediatly wandered back to the elfa with the bow. A shudder ran down his spine , but he slept soundly shortly after.


    As the 4th day dawned he began to challenge the 4 Gnoll patrols in the upper class quarters of the city to find it surprisingly easier then he had thought it would be. These patrols consisted of 2 Warrior Gnolls and 2 Gnolls with white fur.


    After he had taken care of the Warrior Gnolls the other ones simply died a unnatural cause that always made Altros gag. He couldnt get used to the smell of bloodmagic that followed their deaths.


    Altros , as he was strong enough to exterminate the patrols , grew rapidly. Every 3-5 minutes he killed another patrol , sometimes he hid around building to get a surprise attack in. While other times he jumped from a nearby roof and immediatly decapitated his opponent.


    The closer he had gone to the towns center the more intact buildings greeted him and while he rummaged through them more often then not found some bread.


    He also noticed that every alley was completly littered with trash or waste , but not only this the wide streets that lead to the market plaza were also filled with the same disposable collection of rags or rotting food.


    This street allowed the flow of 4 horse drawn carriages on both sides with ample space in between for a throng of people to pass. It was a mystery to him what happend here.


    Altros contemplated about all this and soon heard another mad cackle indicating that the next patrol was coming. He readied his weapon and stood rigid , coiled like a spring to get the first and deceisive swing in that naturally would lead to his victory once again.


    Seconds passed ... a minute passed. Even after 10 minutes nothing appeared in-front of him. Once again he heard the cackle reveberating of the stony structres that lined the alley way , but nothing came in sight.


    Suddendly a realization him him. He couldn''t smell the stench of the beasts. Now his mind worked overtime. He carefully looked around and soon another cackle hit him and then with an almost audiable click his mind made the link he had been missing seconds before.


    Altros gaze firmly fixed in a dark hole that was only covered by a steel gate that was covered in rust.


    " The sewers ... " Altros told himself.


    Carefully he examined the gate that almost seemed like it could fall apart any second due to the heavy coating of rust he saw on it. But his studys with Alchemy told him something else. The 2 inch thick metal bars wouldn''t buckle easily as the rust just covered the outer layer of Steel but the insides were just as hard as if it had just been crafted from a master of the trade.


    There was a keyhole at the edge of the gate and hinges on the opposite side. He studied the hinges and realized it was also thick steel , with a half bolt stuck in between. Incredible noise would be heard hundreds of paces if he started stricking the metal.


    But the noises above ground wouldn''t be a problem , the cavernous sewers would carry the noise hundreds of paces as the noise rebounded of the walls. No , Altros knew this wasn''t a good plan.


    He needed to prepare , he spied deeper into the darkness through the metal gate only to catch a wiff of air he hadn''t expected. A strong earthy and grassy smell entered his nostrils.


    The smell he associated with Dwarfs and Elfs. Something strange was going on , but he couldnt really pin-point it , he had to get down there. He dusted of the garbage littered pants he wore and turned around.


    This time he smelled the stench of bloodmagic just up ahead. He sighed , as he knew what would come next. Afterall he was an Elf , taking life was never something he would enjoy.