《The Flying Griffin》


 Chapter 1

    Maneuvering through the never-ending grove of black Stygian trees, known as the Luna Forest, my leather boots sloshed through the mud. My grey woollen cloak billowed behind me while my short, greasy, black hair swayed slightly. My breathing grew erratic and hefty with a stitch that would not pass. The soles of my blistered feet ached as my legs shook harder with every step. Just a bit further.


    The mana flowing through my veins slowly dwindled to beyond a dangerous point. My eyes burned as the mana coated my pupils, changing the lighting and colours in my vicinity. Grass morphed from a vibrant green to a sky blue. The Stygian poppies distorted from pitch-black to an eye-blinding white. It was nauseating. Even with the help of mana, my calves and thighs were cramping and shaking. I may have enhanced my legs muscular viscosity, allowing for faster movement, but each stride had my muscles tighten; they edged on tearing in two.


    None of these enhancements seemed to deter the creatures who uprooted the trees behind me in chase. Their feet sloshed through mud and moss like they were being pulled beneath it, knocking aside those behemoth trees left and right. Considering woodcutters were only able to chip them, I knew the creatures had to be burly and strong.


    Knowing what creatures could lurk inside this forest, these creatures had to be trolls. The smell of rotten flesh forcefully inserting itself inside my nostrils could only come from such putrid creatures. Have these beasts never heard of a bath?


    Trolls are not usually difficult opponents, since they¡¯re slow, large, and moronic, to put it nicely. My hand hung over the mana potion dangling from my belt¡¯s loops, clanging against the healing potion and poison bottle next to it. I¡¯ll do this forest a favour and remove these beasts. I continued to run like this for a moment, before pulling my hand away. Dammit! If it wasn¡¯t my only mana potion. I should have just bought some off that vendor instead of haggling, but the prick didn¡¯t lower his price by even a Kol. Asshole. Clenching my teeth, I didn¡¯t stop. There had to be another way to fight them.


    My eyes began to dart around the forest. I stared at the Stygian trees that stood taller than dragons, their branches hung thicker than whales, and their trunks were broader than redwoods. But they were no use to me.


    The forest¡¯s trees were interwoven like honeycomb, with only short and narrow paths for me to follow, like a maze. I became erratic, navigating down different and tighter paths to no avail. The trolls still lingered.


    I glanced to the ground for my salvation. The only perceivable things in my haste, other than the mud I ran upon, were patches of damp blue grass. Different kinds of dark and light blue moss encroached on stones and climbed up the trees. Similar moss sat beneath the native poppies, which were strewn along the forest grounds. How any of this grew with the dense canopy above blocking the sun¡¯s light was beyond me.


    My mana deficit was pushing critical as I raced down the identical looking paths. Something had to change, weaving through the trees wasn¡¯t enough. The trolls were breathing down my neck, gifting a chill along my spine. Then something tiny and shining caught the corner of my eye. I took a sharp turn and ran straight to the light. The side of my lips began to lift the closer the light came. This was it, my salvation.


    Finally reaching it, a strip of alliums planted within the mud stood below me. They shone bright, crafting a new path ahead that would lead straight to my friends. Boris, you genius! I gave chase after the alliums, passing one every few steps. Relief had passed over me. My legs had stopped their ceaseless tension, and my breathing grew ever so lighter.


    I ran further, then even further until it dawned on me, I don¡¯t know how far away my group is. The breathlessness and the tension came back in an instant. A tight knot squeezed down upon my chest as my eyes rolled to the back of my head. I drew in a deep breath and cursed. I knew what had to be done. Sure, potentially reaching my group before my legs gave out was a possibility. But from the start there was only one choice for me really.


    I tried a quick glimpse behind myself, but a jagged piece of bark intervened. It gave me a nasty but shallow gash on my right upper arm and tore my sleeve. I drew in a slow and deep breath and felt within my quiver. I must have had ten iron tipped arrows at most. A sinking feeling began to wallow within my gut as I pulled my short bow from over my shoulder and head. Drawing an arrow from the quiver, I took out the half empty poison bottle from my belt and popped it opened. The smell of rot and death wafted from the bottle. I slathered the green acidic liquid and chunks of Maria knows what across the arrow¡¯s tip. Placing the cork lid back in place, then the bottle back in its loop, I loaded my bow with the poison dripping arrow. I yanked back the bow''s rough hemp string. Its limbs resisted my gradual pull. My hands trembled pulling the struggling string. My muscles tensed, finishing the draw.


    I stopped my run and quickly spun around, sliding in the mud, to face the two trolls stomping my way. I held my bow¡¯s string close to my lips, looking for an opening. Their oval heads with snout noses looked down on me. I could feel their eyeless faces glaring at me with ravenous intent. Their slit-like mouths hung open, drooling at my presence. My fingers strained but held firm. Their heads are too high up to hit. I lowered my bow slightly and aimed for their grey, flaky skin.


    My fingers fell slack, slowly drifting off the bow string until release. The string snapped forward, launching the arrow. It whistled on a direct course to the left troll¡¯s heart. The arrow flew high above the trolls¡¯ stubby legs and soared up towards its stocky chest. Higher and faster, it flew. The arrow pierced straight at the troll¡¯s heart, pinning itself right into the troll¡¯s rippling flesh. But despite my wishes, it burrowed no deeper. Going completely unnoticed as they continued barrelling my way. Hopefully, that¡¯ll be enough.


    Turning back around, I hurried into a sprinting. I yanked another arrow from my quiver and slathered the remaining poison onto it. Placing the empty bottle back and reloading my bow, I turned once more. My bow shook as the string¡¯s tension increased. My fingers grew redder the longer and harder I pulled. The string reached my lips again, and I let go, but this time aiming at the right troll. The arrow soared once more, gliding through the air like a missile locked onto its target. While my arrow flew, I pushed the back of my cloak aside. I withdrew two hidden daggers from their scabbards. The arrow slowly dipped down its intended arch, pinning itself right into the opposite troll¡¯s chest. And like before, going no deeper than its flesh.


    I held my position, daggers in hand, and waited. A bead of sweat ran down my brow as the trolls ploughed forward through the tree line. The knot in my chest tightened with each Stygian tree that crashed into the ground. The trolls should have been on me within moments, but they now stumbled towards me like their legs had been stricken by a ball and chain. Defiant creatures, roll over and die already!


    The left troll, who had fallen well behind the other, completely stopped. It planted its legs into the mud. The troll bent its back towards a tree on its side and grasped onto it. All the veins within its back bulged through its rolls. Its arms tightened around the tree. The bark splintered and cried as the trolls arms slowly dug in. The wood beneath the bark tried to hold back the beast, but it too gave way, cracking underneath the immense pressure of the troll. The veins on its back grew larger, bulging out. Visible blood rocketing through them as the troll pulled back.


    The surrounding trees rumbled as ripples flowed through the mud. Tiny wisps sprouted in bursts from the ground, slivering through the mudded ripples. From the wisps grew white, jagged roots that flung high into the air. My eyes stayed on the trolls, assuming these roots were just from the tree he had pulled up. But the roots began to writhe in the mud and air, with one bursting out in front of my eyes and swinging down at me. At me? The hell did I do?


    I sidestepped the root with relative ease. More of the forest¡¯s tendrils burst from below, congregating in front of me. They snapped at me like whips, and I dodged each swipe. They were making me dance like their little monkey. Diving left, jumping up, then swinging from one root to another. The trolls weren¡¯t fairing much better either. The one that continued running had tripped over and was now held to the ground. The other was swinging its legs at the flailing roots. It winced and bleated at the lacerations it received for its lack of obedience. I had heard rumours that this forest was alive, but this was not what I thought they meant.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    My mana was all but gone by now, any further use of it and I would have more problems than roots flinging themselves at me. My singed eyes were thankful for this, though my surroundings were now dimly lit. The alliums slight glow was the only reason I could see the roots swing. But when they pulled back, they were completely out of sight. With only milliseconds to react, every move I made was pure instinct. A tendril slashed down at me, and I dove right. Mud splashed into the air and through it shot another. It clashed against my stomach, clenching onto my body. My feet couldn''t stay grounded. A sting ran across my gut as I flew up and crashed down into the open grove created by the trolls.


    Surrounded by darkness and invisible enemies, I put my arms to the side of my head. Ready for the barrage that would inevitably come. And like clockwork, the roots slashed down at me. They slashed my back, tearing my cloak and tunic in two. They slashed my arms, ripping skin from my flesh. They slashed my calves, sending me sprawling into the mud. The mud seeped into my open wounds, sending them ablaze. My cries were muffled by my hands as I fell, but they didn¡¯t stop.


    With my back facing out, all I could do was cover the back of my head. Tendrils began wrapping around my legs, torso and head to hold me in place. Tightening with every move I made. I tried to stay completely still, but the searing pain from each lash I received on my back made it impossible. I couldn¡¯t hold back my voice any longer. With each new slash came an ear-piercing cry. A yelp so loud I thought it was impossible for me to make. Blood splattered, slashes overcrossed on my open wounds. My body froze, but my cries grew louder. The roots¡¯ uneven surfaces made the pain more excruciating. It was like little knives plunged into my back and dragged themselves across.


    My back felt numb, my mind raced trying to think of ideas. My hands had been tied to my head. The roots holding my body dug deeper into my arms and legs, slivering around and through them. They began trying to dig under my skin, shoving their way through the slits they created. My eyes watered. I couldn¡¯t breathe, I couldn¡¯t see, and my mind was falling blank. I had no idea what was going on around me, I had no idea how to escape, I had no idea about anything. I¡¯m going to die.


    My mind rushed with a flurry of different events in my life. My times as a child, playing with silly toys and sitting around the table with my parents. The last time I saw my parents, when I begged them to find my friend who was gone. Tears overwhelmed me. My eyes closed tight. I had to think of something else, a way to survive. My time in school came next, learning from my teacher on how to be a rogue. Then meeting up with my friends and joining the Dayl guild. These thoughts had to end, my lungs were caving in on themselves, I needed something else. What would Forland do? My clenched eyes opened wide, like the answer to this world had come over me. What would he do? He¡¯d laugh at me. The muscles in my body that had bled profusely and had gone completely numb could feel again. The searing pain scorched my back and arms. He¡¯d make fun of me. My hands dug into the hard ground beneath the mud. My nails slowly scraped off as I tried to grip the surface. Then he¡¯d come in to save the day, pretending that I needed his help. My arms tightened, as did the roots around them as I pushed up. I pushed against the mud surrounding me, against the roots that pulled me in place. With each bit of ground I gained, the roots clenched down. Digging into my skin, sinking further into the ground and dragging me with them. But I would not yield. I don¡¯t need your help and I never will!


    I was¡­ standing? The roots that clung and dug into me descended into the mud, making a gargling noise as they retreated. Darkness surrounded me once more, but not for long. I closed my moist, red eyes and concentrated. Floating little orbs stirred inside my heart. A pathway opening for the orbs, and they rushed through. They pushed past the blood in the stream, flying up higher and higher. A slight tinge pierced my eyes, then they became fully singed. When I opened my eyes, to my shock the tendrils had completely disappeared. In their place came a tree flying at me.


    My eyes shot wide open; my jaw dropped. My face went pale. I blinked again and again, but it was still falling. I hastily turned tail and bolted to the side. The falling tree¡¯s shadow grew larger over me with each bound. My breathing was sporadic, my heart raced once more. My fingers clenched as the tree fell further. My muscles clenched, spitting out blood after each stride. The trees I ran to were close, but the falling tree was closer. I wasn¡¯t going to make it. I had only seconds to make it. My toes clenched; my muscles started to spasm. My arm reached out by itself, my hand opened, grasping towards the trees. Time fell still. I held my breath as I leaped towards the trees. My body swung in the air as the tree crashed down behind me. The wind pressure blew me forward faster than before; I couldn¡¯t stop myself. My face landed straight into a tree. A loud snap rung out as blood strung itself on the tree bark that I slid down.


    Crashing into the ground, there was no longer a part of my body that didn¡¯t hurt. My back stung, my legs were cramping to hell, my nails were gone from my hands. Blood seeped from my nose, and everywhere else, just all over the place. I reached down and grabbed the red potion. Pulling off the glass cap, I swished it to my lips. A red oozy liquid seeped from the glass. Not having time to waist, I violently shook the bottle. The potion cascaded down my gullet, leaving only a hint of cherry and fizz. All my bleeding ceased at once. A snapping noise rang out as my nose snapped back into place. The flabby flesh that hung from my back stitched back into place. The wind¡¯s cold breeze no longer sent prickly shivers down my spine. Nails slowly regrew over the open red puss at the end of my fingers. The bleeding slits across my body intertwined, returning to bumpy pale skin. A stinging sensation still lingered throughout my body, but it would fade in time. Forland had been right to buy the highest quality potions they had, too bad I only had one. Bloody prick! Charging an arm and a leg for a potion for Maria¡¯s sake!


    Two roars in the distance reminded me that I was not alone. Snapping towards the noise, two battered and bruised trolls stood tall. Luckily, they didn¡¯t have anything to heal that off. They weren¡¯t as far away anymore, thanks to the roots knocking me towards them. Bleeding profusely, open wounds oozing, they meandered towards me and stopped close by. Both trolls reached up into the trees, grabbing onto a branch and slowly pulling down. The branches slowly splintered. The cracking of wood sounded more like a cry of pain. The cries only stopped once a loud snap rung out and the branches were fully torn off. The trolls ran their mangled and bloody hands across the branches. Leaves and sticks clung for dear life but snapped away. The trolls¡¯ makeshift clubs were ready.


    While they prepared their weapons, so did I. I switched into the Moskav battle stance. My daggers felt lighter than before. I switched them into a reverse grip, only to find empty space occupying my hands. My eyes bulged as I screamed from the depths ¡°OH YOU¡¯VE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!¡± My eyes scoured the surface of the mud, hoping to glimpse anything shiny or metallic. But all that came to sight was dull grey rocks. That and those damn Stygian poppies that littered the grounds. Somehow unscathed by the carnage. That''s a bad omen. The more searching done; the more blood drained from my face. By the end, I accepted that they were gone. I reached for my bow instead, it may not have been effective, but it was better than nothing. Reaching back and feeling around, I realised my bow and quiver were gone too. The only thing remaining was the remnants of my ripped cloak that still clung to my neck. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as my face grew beet red. Pick rogue, they said. Rogues are cool, they said. Who¡¯d want to be a cleric.


    Staring up at the trolls, clubs in hand, my muscles tightened. My heart raced a mile a minute with a cord tightening around it. My body stayed in the Moskav battle stance ready for a fight, but the goosebumps covering my shaking arms told another story. The trolls stomped over to me. Trying to keep a distance, I took a step back. The rough bark brushed up against my back¡¯s bare skin, holding me in place. The knot that had tightened in my chest now tightened around my whole body. My feet were ensnared by the heavy weight of the mud, my arms were screwed tight into place.


    The club flew high behind the right troll¡¯s head. Its mouth drooled as it eyed its next meal. It swung the club down hard to my stiffened body. Pieces of bark tore from the club as it whistled through the air. The battle was lost, it was pointless to continue. The sound of the club grew louder; the club grew closer. The weight holding my legs vanished with the whistling winds. A flame had been lit in my eyes; I was not about to give up now. The club was but an inch away from me when I leapt into the air. The club swung underneath my feet. For a second, I thought I could win this battle. My hopes went higher and so did I. I was soaring. The pinch against my throat wouldn¡¯t stop me. But it morphed from a pinch to a noose. My cloak had caught on the club and was growing tighter around my neck each second. My face grew purple, my eyes were bulging as I flew up behind the club. Oxygen wasn¡¯t passing through; everything was going dark. My arms fought against the gushing wind, struggling to push past to grab onto the club. My arms wouldn¡¯t go high enough. I grabbed around my neck and tugged. My red eyes bulged farther from their sockets. My body flailed through the air; my vision went black. And as my eyes closed, the sound of metal scraping apart whispered into my ears.

 Chapter 2

    Throbbing pains coursed through my body, jolting me awake. My black and blue throat twitched as I gasped for air. I was groaning and groggy, only able to push short and shallow breaths through my swollen throat. My bruised chest stung as the cold air filled my lungs. Gashes seeped across my body with each breath, causing my eyes to bulge open from pain. A harsh, blinding light seared my mana-infused eyes, forcing them to close again. What? A blinding light? In the Luna Forest? Welp, I¡¯m dead. But I was in fact, not. Whether that was a blessing or a curse was another question.


    Dispelling the mana saturating my pupils, I reopened my eyes cautiously to the harsh, blinding light, using my right arm to cover my eyes. The brightness that branded my retinas slowly faded into a glossy light blue and black blur. The light blue sat above the black, with blotches of white splayed sporadically within, forming odd and unnatural shapes. Three different breeds of birds flew by in the distance, singing a happy little chirp whilst flying clumped together. The leftmost birds had a mixture of black and white feathers. Their beaks were elongated, arching to below their chest, and had skinny legs that grew twice the length of their body. The middle had mainly red feathers with only a strip of royal purple visibly running down its stomach. Its beak was pink and stubby, protruding barely an inch away from its head. The rightmost lacked feathers but instead had luxurious, long flowing, emerald green fur. Their legs were as thick as timber, talons were sharper than even my blades, with narrow, sharp beaks. I didn¡¯t know the breed of the other two birds, but those furry ones were called Harpies. Thankfully, they were far away. I wasn¡¯t about to start fisticuffs with a flock of them, even though I¡¯d win.


    A light breeze rolled in, blowing cold wind through my clothes, making the gaping holes in my garments apparent. The refreshing cold breeze helped recalibrate my brain. My conscious mind unlocked like fitting a key into its hole. Neurons fired on all cylinders, blasting the past few minutes¡¯ memories back into place; the trolls, the mysterious roots and their peculiar retreat. Standing there, heavy in thought, my body began aching. Blood flowed down my sides, dried blood saturated my tunic, but it was no matter. Nothing a simple healing potion couldn¡¯t fix. I reached down, grasping at my belt loop and pulled up an empty bottle with a cork lid. Right, the poison. Placing the bottle back in the loop, I glanced down to see that no healing potion hung on my loops. For a second, mass panic set in. Sweat ran down my body, my jaw locked in place as my whole body froze. My mind raced to catch up to the events that unfolded to remember myself drinking the potion, then getting flung into the air and ending up here, battered and bruised again.


    That healing potion cost nearly all my kol. To think that right after its use I landed back in an injured state¡­ Ignoring my screaming body and collapsing mental state, I turned my attention back to my surroundings like any intelligent person would do in my situation. The blackness that laid beneath me led all the way to the horizon in every direction. They were the same leaves from the Stygian trees, yet they seemed different from above. When looking up, the leaves were like spear heads, with netlike veins running through them. But up here, they seemed more like water lilies, overlapping one another to leave no gaps for sun to seep through. The leaves when I ran past them were rough and prickly. Its scraping across my skin left it with little slashes, but these lilies were soft, fussy and damp. Running my hand across it tickled, like I was grabbing a cloud.


    The lilies rustled against my body as I rolled around on it; it was painful, but worth it. The rustling turned to vibrations as a loud thud repeatedly rang out from below. Maybe the trolls will give up soon? A light sigh pushed itself out from my swollen throat. I stayed in the moment for longer than I should have, trying to draw one final deep breath of fresh air before I returned to the putrid stench below. Another thud against the tree reverberated through the leaves, jolting through my body. Definitely not surrendering. Slowly getting up, I removed my belt and emptied my bags and pockets across the canopy floor.


    Staring at my pile of crap, a problem was apparent, no bloody weapons. No daggers, no arrows, hell, not even a stick. This was bad, my eyes were glancing over everything yet finding nothing of use. Empty parchment and half made maps were the most apparent, littering the canopy. What was I going to do with those though, papercut them to death? Killing them by overloading their brains with geography? That could work actually. Maybe breaking the glass bottles would have worked ignoring the size and shape, but merchants got annoyed if you lived and don¡¯t return the bottles to reuse. There were only two items in the dump I made which were truly standing out, the best of the rest, my father¡¯s quill and my lockpick. My father¡¯s quill was made of a griffon''s feather and was the only thing I had left of him, so I wasn¡¯t about to use that for some measly trolls. This left me with my weapon, the lockpick. The lockpick was long and slim, as expected. It was extremely rusted at this point as it was gifted to me by my teacher, Mrs. Moksav, about nine years ago. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯d be laughing or dumbstruck at what I was about to do with it.


    Blood curdling roars rung out from below as I shoved my equipment back into my bag and pouches, scrunching up papers, tossing in ink pots, and clicking potion bottles back on my belt. Refitting everything to my belt then myself, with the lockpick now clutched tightly in my grasp, I began scouring the canopy for an opening to make my way back down. There had to be one, overwise how¡¯d I get up there? Worse came to worst, I could make my own though, I¡¯m sure the forest would love that.


    My nails dug into my hands through my leather gloves, unable to see a darker hole through the dark canopy. My breathing grew unsteady, my eyes looked for something that wouldn¡¯t appear, so I closed them. The wind rustled into my ears. My breathing grew louder, echoing through my ears, closing out those rustling winds and the roars of the trolls. The deep breaths tingled, cold air ran up and down my throat, being the only noise present to me. My breathing stopped almost automatically, and I could hear the quiet roars from the trolls. The canopy shuttered with each roar, sending shivers up my spine. Walking slowly, the quiet roars began to boom, reaching a point where it felt like I was standing in front of them again, like their deep breaths blew against my face, clinging to me and pushing me backwards. My eyes shot open to see a black hole carved open below.


    My hands trembled as I loomed, the leaves now felt unsteady, like I could slip down at any moment. My heart was racing as an obvious question had remained oblivious to me, but now reared its head in my mind. How do I get down? No action came to mind, my mana had restored slightly, but using it for a descent would have been extremely dangerous. The endless void began glaring at me, mocking me. It knew nothing could be done, that I was doomed to spend eternity above or fall to my death below. My throat started to dry, my eyes grew wider, my mind was becoming trapped in the void. The darkness started to overtake it, fogging it. This is stupid, leaping down with a lockpick, who do I think I am? What would I do, use a slashing spell? The lockpick¡¯s just going to shatter on impact as soon as it hits skin. My trembling legs wandered backwards; my mind still lost in the void even with it moving out of sight. My whole body trembled, unable to overcome this spell, I couldn¡¯t possibly do something so stupid, so dangerous.


    A noise rang out from the hole. This was no roar; it didn¡¯t shake the trees themselves. It was slight, quieter than a whisper and it froze me in my tracks. This couldn¡¯t have been what I thought it was. Then it rang again. From within the abyss the sound of metal clanging against something rang through. The tremors in my body seized, my goosebumps dissipated, and a small grin brewed. The noise came again, there was no mistaking what it was. Before I released, my legs were moving, running towards the black abyss, and with a leap I shot through that hole headfirst.


    Plummeting towards the invisible ground at breakneck speeds, the air pushed against my body slowing me down. This wasn¡¯t fast enough, I had too much resistance. I tightened my body together to form the shape of a pin, my head pointed straight down. My eyes were struggling to adjust to not only the newly found darkness, but the forceful winds blowing into them. The sound of the whistling wind flying past blocked my ears, making the clanging metal fall silent. Being unaware of how far from the ground I was, where the trolls were, and what was making that noise should have had me fearing for my life and safety. Yet my smile kept growing larger across my face. My body was shaking, adrenaline pumping, the hairs across my body were standing on end. This is what I live for.


    A familiar stench invaded my nostrils the further I fell. Oh Maria, please don¡¯t puke. Past the whistling winds in my ears, a troll''s bellow pierced through. This wasn¡¯t a roar of hunger like before, it was more like a cry from pain. Sparks of all colours flickered out from within the darkness, highlighting the two trolls attacking. One was smashing their club against something smaller and metallic looking, and the other was swinging at the air as a burst of light crashed into its shoulder. A few seconds passed before the thunderous sounds of a gong erupted into my ears, followed along by muffled voices. Finally, my eyes became singed once more and the secrets of the darkness opened to me.


    Below me stood my four peers in the Griffin Flock fighting against those hideous trolls. Boris stood tall with his shield raised as the trolls attempted to push past with their clubs. His feet dug into the sludge as he bared his tusks, pushing his shield above his head in a swift motion, flinging the troll¡¯s club into the air. From beneath his shield rushed a streak of metal along with long flowing blonde hair. With a long sword by their side and now being close to the trolls, Forland swung his shimmering blade towards the skies, slicing the troll¡¯s leg open. Blood gushed from the troll¡¯s open wound as it fell back, giving ample space for the other troll to swing down at Forland. With its club raised, Forland stood watching, his sword raised by his side. The troll¡¯s swing barely made it halfway as Sylv raised her birch staff. Lightning came crashing down beside me, MARIA THAT WAS CLOSE, and struck the tip of her staff. The lightning spattered from the green emerald that was trapped inside the birch cocoon, before she pointed it towards the troll. The lightning shot out as fast as it came, crashing into the troll¡¯s side, sending it stumbling to the floor with its arm burning. Forland went to rush in as done before, but the other troll had recovered and swung towards him. Forland quickly rushed back, nearly slipping in the mud, and with a leap, the club clashed with Boris¡¯s shield again, making another gong sound. Alistanna twirled her stone-like staff and pointed it towards Forland. A humming glow emanated him, he slowly rose from the dirt, nodded to Alistanna and turned back to the battle.


    Alistanna turned around, looked straight at me, and shouted ¡°What the hell is that?¡± She definitely shouted something, but it¡¯s hard to tell from those distances. They all seemed to turn their heads to see what she was going on about, nearly causing them all to get squashed into the mud, but they got saved by a quick deflection from Boris¡¯s shield. To show them it was me, I gave them a wave, wait. They can¡¯t tell I¡¯m waving¡­ I¡¯m an idiot.


    With the trolls growing ever closer, I clenched onto my lockpick with both hands, interlocking my fingers and pulling it over the back of my head. The relentless wind rushed through my mouth as a wide grin rose on my face. This can work. Sure, it could. Using a glorified metal toothpick with a piercing attack, what could possibly go wrong. The wind rustled into the crevices of my grip, knocking the lockpick around within my clutches. My hands almost flailing, clutching to my makeshift blade at all cost, a halo dwindled around the tip of it. The halo grew wider and brighter by the second. It began morphing from a white glow to a musty orange, guiding the relentless wind from its path, stabilizing my hands. The halo continued to grow, slowly scaling up all sides of the blade, changing to a brighter orange the further it went. The glowing light stopped once it reached the spherical end of the lockpick, closing together in a bursting light, completely covering my makeshift blade in an orange glow. It was like a burning flame pressed against my palms, almost blistering my skin, nearly melting my flesh; it was like it had welded my hands with the tool for an impenetrable grip. My heart thumped like a drum, my mana continuously rushed through the tips of my fingers into the lockpick, cycling back and forth through my body, but it wasn¡¯t enough.


    The further down I fell the more apparent my distance from the trolls distance became. When I first saw them, they seemed to be just in front of me, barely an arm¡¯s length away, but now they were at least 20 meters ahead. I was too far. I needed to move forward but I was plummeting down, moving too fast to reach that distance. Forland saw it, him and Boris were trying to push one of the trolls back towards me, the beacon of light, but they were also too late.


    There had to be another way, a way to extend my attack, a way to teleport near them, just something to nudge me forward, just a little boost. My eyebrows rose as did a sickening smile. I took my left hand off of my lockpick and aimed it behind myself. All the yelling and roaring below became muffled, the clashing of metal softened as I closed my eyes. My breathing slowed as the air ran through my nose, down to my lungs, and out my mouth. My left hand hung loose to my side, the sweat rolling down my fingertips and then taken by the breeze rushing against it. The mana sweltering in my right hand, concentrated on the blade, seeped back down my blood stream, coursing down my arm, though my back, all the way down to my left hand, then ran back up, constantly relaying itself. The mana at the tips of my left-hand sizzled underneath my skin before igniting and bursting through onto my fingertips. They formed a line above all five of my fingertips, swirling around into each other, spinning into a red and orange scorching hot ball of flames that was half the size of me. It was only a Kiln Fireball, but it was enough. I swung my head aside, facing the fireball, and aimed it at the closest tree. The word tickled my lips, craving to be left loose, all the muscles in my body tightened. The mana in my blood halted, the air filled my lungs, my heart stopped it¡¯s thumping. From the depths of my lungs, a deafening roar came out. ¡°FIREBALL!¡± I cried.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    One blink was all it took. Before I closed my eyes, the warmth of the fireball wrapped around my hand, lighting the area surrounding me and nearly blinding me. Then when my eyes closed, the warmth left my hand, slowly fading away with the light. And when they reopened, a blast of flashing light covered my backside, a ringing stung my ears, and my body began to move. My neck snapped back in a moment of whiplash from the shockwave. The troll who grew stagnant was coming towards me fast, faster than it should have been able to. The skin on my face was being pulled back, my eyes barely staying open to see everything blur past me.  All control over my body was forfeited as it started to spin in circles of its own volition. Nothing was able to come to mind, it was all pushed back thanks to the velocity. My lockpick, which sat barely inches away from my face, had morphed into just another blur with sparks sizzling from its tip. It was erupting. The orange colour from my pick had spread over me, turning me into my own fireball, encompassing me in my own cocoon. Everything was just an orange blur now. No noise pierced my still ringing ears, no smell radiated near me, only a slight tingling sensation wrapped around my body. There was no way to tell the distance between the troll and I anymore, but I had come too far. The bones in my arm cracked and its joints popped as I pushed my pick forward, stretching out my arm to its maximum reach. Spinning faster, moving quicker, my arm held firm as little shards sliced inside of it, shooting pain all around it. My cries rang out yet were buried, even to me, behind the rushing of winds and the echoing sounds of the explosion.


    My eyes closed and reopened again, my body slowed through the air, the orange surrounding me slowly evaporated around me, becoming replaced by a dense dark red all around me, but mostly above. No troll stood in front of me, had I missed? It didn¡¯t really matter as I descended once more. I was mere feet from the ground, there was nothing that was castable with that distance. ¡°Bellowing Winds!¡± A higher pitched voice called out in a panic from below. A quick and precise force smacked into my back, launching me back up two feet before I came crashing back down to the dirt with a splash and a thud.


    My right arm ached; my neck pinched as I pushed it up from the ground. Smiling, I looked over to my group and said in cheerful way, ¡°Hey guys, what too-.¡± A rush of warm liquid crashed against my body cutting me off. My head smashed back down into the muck, resulting in dirt slipping into my open mouth. My arms stung once more from pushing myself back up. A rotten metallic scent wafted under my nose, shrivelling my face. Looking around, buckets upon buckets of crimson liquid and odd-looking grey things had crashed and mixed with the mud beneath, catching me in the crossfire. The muscles in my neck tensed, which annoyingly pinched my neck once more. ¡°What did I just get drenched in?¡± I said tensely; my head barely holding in the steam boiling over. The liquid continued to patter on top of my head as I waited for my answer. A few seconds later, the answer came as a loud thud rung out along with a shockwave from beneath the ground.


    What did I expect this crimson liquid to be? Sap? To think I¡¯ve gone from just being able to smell the wretched bastards, to now being covered in them. Just fan bloody tastic. Can¡¯t wait to get home and spend two weeks cleaning this shit off. Just to find more of it later and START THE WHOLE BLOODY-


    ¡°Well, we were wondering where you had run off to.¡± Forland said, turning his attention to the other troll. ¡°Enjoying your little bathing session?¡± He quipped with a half-hearted laugh. Oh, I¡¯ll show you a bathing session. But there was no time too, vomit began pouring through my throat. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t chunky. Hadn¡¯t eaten much, so it was mostly murky water and troll bits that snuck their way inside.


    Wobbling back upon my feet, legs shuddering as I stood, I glanced over to Forland and sarcastically retorted, ¡°Not my fault you¡¯re all so slow.¡± Gesturing to my new and bloody found surroundings, I continued, ¡°Lucky I found something to keep myself preoccupied.¡±


    Forland smirked, ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. And here I thought you had just lost a fight to some measly trolls.¡± Looking at me through the corner of his eyes, his smirk grew wider. ¡°I guess you had just planned this great sneak attack all along.¡± He swayed his golden locks to the side to make sure I saw his smirking face. A growing knot caught in my throat, trying to push out, but I buried my head into my chest instead and let out a sigh. Jerk.


    Forland turned his attention fully back to the lone troll. While its stature was big and imposing, its cries for what I presume was its partner, went unanswered. The troll¡¯s grip tightened around its makeshift club. The handle splintered around the troll¡¯s fingers; pieces of rotting bark slowly fell apart before the club broke completely. The debris plunged down towards us, flying around in all directions, leaving no spot safe from it. Boris quickly raised his shield above his head, seeing the oncoming debris, and called out in his deep voice, ¡°Skydore.¡± All the surrounding debris lit up like festival lights. Thousands of sticks, bark and pieces of wood came crashing down onto his shield like rain in a storm.


    The trolls raised fist came crashing at Boris, who was stuck in place blocking all the debris. Unable to move, he watched the troll¡¯s fist come rocketing towards him, the hairs on his back stood on their ends. Forland rushed in front of Boris and held his shimmering iron blade tightly around its pristine golden handle, swinging it overhead into the path of the troll¡¯s fist.


    Perhaps irritated or bemused by our actions, the troll did not pull back, but instead let out a guttural roar. The speed of its descending fist grew faster, gaining more speed the closer it came, and its fist was aimed directly at Forland¡¯s blade. Forlands eyes grew slightly wider while watching, his chest compressed slower, and his grip opened. The troll¡¯s fist wasn¡¯t diverting, swinging side to side, or pulling back. It was heading straight for his sword and he knew it. Forland bent his arms back above his head, his blade looming behind. The troll¡¯s fist continued, branches snapped, and leaves flailed in its wake. Forland stood still, his chest no longer moving at all, focused on the oncoming fist. 50 meters, 40, 30, 20, 10. Forland¡¯s sword swung above his head, his grip grew tighter the higher the sword rose. The veins in his hands visually bulged from the rushing blood underneath the skin. The fist collided. A shockwave of compressed air blew against us, with Forland stumbling back two steps; his blade lifting in the process. His hands shook as he pulled his blade back down into place. His arms continued to violently vibrate while holding the blade. Pushing against the troll¡¯s fist, the sword slowly pierced through the troll¡¯s thick hid. But the troll persisted, pushing its fist against it, specks of metal flicked from the blade like sparks. Forlands legs were planted firmly in place now, the gushing wind muted the sounds of his vibrating blade and his battle-cry. His face grew redder, his mouth hung wide, and his arms pushed forward. The blade started to move, from sitting against the hide, red seeped from within, down Forland¡¯s blade. With one last push, the blade sliced through the skin and didn¡¯t stop. Forland broke into a run, his somehow still shimmering blade continued slicing through arteries and muscle. The troll only now tried to pull its arm away, but it was too late, the roots had returned and wrapped themselves back around its fingers, pulling it down. Forland continued his run, the troll stumbled forward, now using its other hand to try and pull free. The troll leaned in closer, its mouth hanging open in an attempt to eat Forland whole. But Forland simply pulled his sword back from within the troll¡¯s arm as it leaped towards him, missing him, and leaving its neck wide open to Forland. Forland quickly manoeuvred his body and lifted his blade above his head. The tip gleamed from the little hole of sun shining upon it. The blade¡¯s whistling swing brought a near silence to the forest. A final heavy breath left the troll before its body stopped struggling, with blood slowly seeping out and encroaching on the muddy path.


    Completely engrossed in the ongoing battle, Slyv, who was standing on my side, had gone unnoticed. Her words were drowned out by the banging and clanging of Forland¡¯s blade and Boris¡¯s shield. Even after it ended, she stood unnoticed. Forland looked down at his shimmering iron armour and crimson cape, realising specks of blood and dirt had beseeched them. But at last, I finally noticed her. ¡°Bellowing Winds!¡± A rush of wind came crashing from my side, sending me flying into one of the nearby trees with a thud.


    Everything around me slanted. The smallest movement swayed my head to the opposite side as the throbbing pains set in. ¡°Ow.¡± Slyv and Alistanna both burst into laughter, Forland chuckled into his hand, and Boris sighed, shaking his head. What¡¯s so funny? When trying to get up, it became apparent. My gelatinous legs quivered with each inch I rose, barely staying mobile. Trying to take a step, my legs quickly and unsurprisingly gave way, sending me toppling backwards into the tree. Their laughter grew louder, something now sat on my forehead. Opening my eyes, a poppy hovered over them. It had landed on my head, twice.


    Slyv leisurely wandered over to my sprawled-out body, hanging herself over it. ¡°Welp, blood¡¯s off ya.¡± She proudly stated. Her freckled hollow cheeks stretched back as she smiled at me. She unnecessarily swayed her short, violet hair aside, staring down into my eyes. ¡°Hey. Are you alright?¡± She asked, her voice quivering.


    My head throbbed harder, pushing against the back of my skull. Any form of thought felt like a blade was being pushed and dragged across it. ¡°Sure.¡± I slowly spoke with my voice croaking. I mean, I was pretty much fine. Nothing to worry about.


    ¡°Normally that white?¡± Boris asked in his deep, shy voice.


    ¡°No, but the blood spouting out of his head¡¯s pretty normal.¡± Alistanna lied. It wasn¡¯t that often, just like every third day.


    ¡°Taros. Are you alright?¡± Forland called out while flicking his sword from side to side, flinging the blood from his blade. ¡°Can. You. Hear. Us?¡± He asked slowly, emphasising each word as if I was knocking at death¡¯s door. He pulled his sword up close to his face as he waited for my answer, gradually analysing for any specks of blood left. I rolled my eyes.


    Forland started walking over to me. His rondels with a griffon insignia on them clanged against his iron chest plate with each step, transforming this fierce knight into an overgrown dinner bell. The noise travelled down the forest, followed by the howling of wolves. Reaching the rest of the group, he stopped and reached down into his boot, pulling out a red handkerchief. Methodically, he wiped down his armour of any blood or remains, then, flipping the handkerchief, wiped his sword down. He stood for a moment longer, repeatedly tapping his metal foot into a muddy puddle. I slowly raised my left hand and gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Damn. What a shame.¡± He sarcastically spat out. The group stifled their laughter as my thumb flipped to a finger.


    I laid down for a few seconds longer. Forland¡¯s face squinted, his foot still tapping the puddle. ¡°Do you need a hand?¡± he asked.


    I laid in the mud for a few more seconds, feeling the aching of my body and throbbing from my head. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡± I replied, ¡°Do you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean you haven¡¯t deci-.¡± Forland stammered his words. ¡°Wait, what do you mean do I?¡± He scrunched up his face and his eyes became slits from pondering my question.


    Alistanna chuckled to his side, deciding to join in on the fun. ¡°You missed a spot.¡± She chuckled.


    ¡°What?¡± Forland was taken aback. ¡°Missed a spot? I don¡¯t- DAMNIT!¡± He shouted. To his disbelief, a tiny speck of blood still clung to his armour. We all burst into a fit of laughter. Forland spat on the tiny speck and rigorously scrubbed it with his handkerchief until it shone brighter than he first bought it. He began mumbling something about inconsiderate trolls. Some knight.


    The fit of laughter slowly died out, and with it left my adrenaline. Like an avalanche, everything came crashing down at once. The throbbing pain from my head pushed against my skull so hard, I felt it would splinter. My muscles all over ached from my singeing cuts slathered in mud. My bones felt brittle, one wrong move felt like they¡¯d snap into two. I tried to ask a question, anything to stop thinking about the pain, but my words minced together and just created a load of unintelligible gibberish. My ears started ringing, vision started fading, and I no longer felt the mud surrounding my body.


    ¡°Oh Maria.¡± Forland chuckled, dinging again from the movement. ¡°Hey Boris, are you alright to carry him?¡± He swiped his cape aside and gestured in my direction. Boris started to waddle over to me, and I tried to wave him away, I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s help. But my arm stayed dormant. Boris continued, his belly bobbing along with the circular metal armour that hung around his torso. His giant plump body blocked the lights from my eyes, much like the forest, as he stood over me. His head sized tusks hid his eyes gaze from view, but his smile was always present. I grinded my teeth as his furry hands reach down towards me. His hands touched my shoulders and legs, and I turned my head away from his. He seemed unbothered by it. Heaving me up from the dirt, he swung me over his shoulder like I was just a sack of bozkt vegetables from the Monulume market, ghastly things. My chest crashed hard into his shoulder armour with an audible crunch, yet none of the others seemed to take heed. Air escaped my lungs just before my head whacked into the front of Boris¡¯s shield he had slung across his back. The little light in the forest dispersed from my eyes. The quiet chatter I could hear between the group was no longer audible, leaving me in alone in darkness.

 Chapter 3

    It was as if time had ceased, like I stood on a watery plane between reality and fiction, a dark abyss void of anything other than myself. No friends to remember, no family, no-one. ¡°Hello?¡± I called out. My call echoed off into the darkness, reverberating on the thin layer of what seemed to be water that flowed beneath my feet. No matter which way I turned, the water flowed away from me. ¡°Hello? Anyone there?¡± The echo travelled along the stream the same as before, slowly dying out, falling into a deafening silence.


    My feet pattered against the water while walking down the stream. The muscles in my hands tensed slightly as my breaths grew heavy. The further I walked the more sweat flowed down my body, conjoining with the water below; the tenser my hands became, the harder it became to breath. The pattering of my feet echoed louder through the abyss with nothing in sight. Not even a reflection of myself was in the water, yet thankfully my body was still visible to me.


    I walked for what felt like hours, my legs had begun tensing with each step, my panting had become unbearably loud. Rubbing the back of my neck, I stopped and looked around more. Nothing had caught my eye, yet I continued to look. The distance was still dark and bleak, my body remained the same, as did my missing reflection. The water¡¯s ripples continued to exude from my position, but the ripples ahead were different now, coming towards me instead of away.


    Pushing myself, I walked over to the different waves to see it focused on a single point. It was like me, water waves dispersing away from this one spot, but nothing was there. The water was too shallow to hide anything of substance, it barely covered the bottom of my shoes. Shaking my head and turning to walk away, more ripples flowed towards me from a spot behind me. My body tensed immediately, that wasn¡¯t there before. Nothing was different on my other sides, just two spots acted the same as where I stood.


    Did I drop something? My necklace maybe? My griffon necklace still hung by my neck. A hole in my bag or pouches? While they were worn, no holes were apparent. What was this? Was it a trap? I had to check to see if something was covered by the water. I got down on my knees and felt no water against them. My pants nor legs felt even a speck even though they were slightly covered. Reaching for the spot, my arm began to shake, none of this made sense, I had just walked through the part I was reaching for. I knew there was a floor only an inch deeper than the water.


    The cold water slowly enveloped my hand as I pushed against it, and felt no floor beneath. The skin of my hand felt ablaze, like it was stuck in a flame. My bloated looking hand disappeared into the dark murky water as I continued to reach down, completely submerging my whole forearm. This didn¡¯t make sense. None of it did, it was like the rules were changing, bending to someone¡¯s whims.


    My arm was frozen in place and yet shook continuously, still submerged by the water, it was impossible to see. The muscles in my fingers started to contract, I tried to move them even just a small amount, but they had stuck in place. That¡¯s it, I¡¯m done. But before I could pull my arm out, something drifted into my hand. My whole body froze over as what felt to be a tangled and damp bunch of string wrapped around my cramped fingers. Looking down into it, I still saw nothing, but it had attached to me. Is it the branches? No, too thin and soft. It feels more like¡­


    My eyes grew wide, my body reacted on its own. My fingers clamped onto it and yanked, pulling it immediately out of the water. Water splashed out along with my hand. The hair clung to my fingers as a human head swayed, attached to the strands. Its hair was dark, and its skin was pale, just like mine. Its eye lids hung open, revealing its empty dark blue eyes, just like mine. Her thin lips sat slightly ajar between her drained yet pink, puffy cheeks, and on her right cheek sat a dimple, right where I remembered it. Mum? The lids of my eyes struggled to hold back the tears that were building up. I pulled my mother¡¯s head in closer to my chest and lent forward surrounding it with my whole body. I hoped to feel its warmth, but only felt the cold of the water dripping down my arms onto my legs. My grip grew tighter as more of her began bobbing up from beneath the depths. Her clammy hands appeared first, followed by her stubby legs, her bare torso, her wrinkled feet, and finally her plum iron shield and purple spiked hammer. My right hand reached out to her, but I pulled it away. My face grew sombre as I turned away. My nose and eyes were flowing like a river, no matter how hard I tried to stop it, I just had to keep wiping all of it away. My throat went hoarse as I cried out. ¡°Anybody! Help! Alistanna! Sylv! Mrs. Moskav! Forland!¡± My eyes grew puffy and red, my voice was now barely a whisper. ¡°Please, save us. Save us, Queen Maria.¡± How could this be real. I don¡¯t want it to be real, do I?


    An air bubble popped from the water behind me. My eyes grew wide once more, the ripple. My head snapped around to see in the middle of the ripple, a single brown and blonde feather bobbed. My unwavering grip loosened, and my arms dropped to my side, causing my mother to roll down my lap and splash back into the water. I rushed over to the feather, not bothering to get to my feet, and dived into the water. It was just as deep as the other, maybe even deeper. My vision faded as I swam further beyond, the cold water grew warmer the further down I got. I was coming, I was going to find him, I wanted to save him.


    My eyes opened to a blinding light, its movements were sporadic, it crackled and hissed, and with it was a dark figure who hung over me. Its head was round, with long and wavey black hair. Its straight, small nose sat between slightly hollowed cheeks, and its hazel eyes stared longingly into mine. ¡°Thank you, Queen Maria.¡± She whispered. ¡°He¡¯s awake! Welcome back, you slept for quite a while.¡± Alistanna smiled ear to ear.


    My head laid on her religious black and red robes, pressing against her soft legs. ¡°Wish I could have slept for a little longer.¡± Or do I? ¡°It¡¯s rare for me to get a good rest these days.¡±


    ¡°Alistanna has been worried sick since you were knocked out.¡± Sylv said, dragging the collar of her white robes to her mouth to cover her giggling.


    ¡°Shut up! Just because I checked on him every once in a while, doesn¡¯t mean I was worried¡± Alistanna objected, moving her soft, smooth fingers away from my hair.


    Forland, who¡¯s own chuckling echoed against his chest plate as he lifted it over head, decided to chime in, ¡°Oh please. Like you haven¡¯t been sitting over there this whole time going,¡± he placed his chest plate down to his side and pushed his leather gloved palms against each other and continued, ¡°Queen Maria, please help Taros wake up healthy as soon as you can. My devotion will grow ever so stronger if you grant thy blessing.¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Alistanna shouted, throwing a stick at Forland, but missed him entirely and instead had it land in the campfire the other three surrounded. Sylv and Forland fell into laughter while Alistanna¡¯s face grew redder by the second. Boris, who was smiling and mixing something in a metal pot, used his furry palm to wave Alistanna and I over to the fire.


    ¡°Thanks for calling for me.¡± I said to Alistanna, placing my hand on her shoulder, causing her already red cheeks to glow. ¡°Come on.¡± Getting to my feet, I extended a hand to Alistanna, pulling her up off the ground. We walked over to the fire and sat with the others on three bits of Stygian tree bark that most would assume as a normal tree¡¯s lumber. ¡°What¡¯s for dinner?¡± I asked, hoping for my favourite, Groarden soup or mushroom pie with Boris¡¯s brownies for dessert.


    ¡°Classic.¡± Boris replied cheerily in his deep voice, rubbing his stomach as he did. Yes, definitely groarden soup. ¡°Bozkt soup.¡± Fuck you.


    ¡°Cool.¡± I said in a monotoned voice, trying to hide my excitement.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Sylv shouted at the same time, shaking so much her short violet hair began tangling itself. Her long and pointy ears were as high as any elves; her smile spread across her slightly hollowed cheeks. Her love for food never seized to amaze me, I mean, how do you like anything Bozkt related?


    Boris stirred the Bozkt around in the boiling pot. Sniffing the pot with his larger snout, his brow furrowed. He reached over to his side and grabbed out salt and pepper, sprinkling them in. He sniffled again, and again his brow furrowed, his chubby cheeks tightened, but then it all smoothed back out as he reached into his short¡¯s pockets, pulling out his special herb, Secria mountains uter, apparently, it¡¯s different to Monulume¡¯s uter. And with just a little piece of thyme and one more sniff, a smile sat on his chubby face.


    Boris stirred as the fire raged on. The fire beneath was made mostly of dried grass, poppies and sticks, with one slab of Stygian bark stuck in the middle for the pot to rest. This was all surrounded by a moat of mud which had nearly turned to stone. This flame will be lit all night. The fiery orange flames popped as the water boiled over the pot, giving a quick burst of heat, and singeing some of Boris¡¯s exposed chest hair, before returning to the soft warmth it protruded.


    ¡°Well,¡± Forland said as he finally finished unbuckling his armour, showing us his old, moist, brown tunic he had worn underneath. Getting to his feet, he wiped down his tunic with his coarse hands while continuing. ¡°While we wait for Boris¡¯s dinner to be prepared, I think it is essential for us to go over battle plans one more time, otherwise some of us may get too overzealous again.¡± He paused as everyone slowly turned their eyes onto me, then quickly back to him. ¡°Now, we will get through the basics quicky. As you know- oops. Sorry.¡± He said, moving out the way of Boris so he could rest his bozkt to the side. Boris then threw a pan back onto the open flame with some meat and oil sitting inside, oh thank Maria. Forland continued. ¡°As I was saying. We are in the Luna Forest, we will be resting here tonight and after we are done with the cave we will rest here again, so don¡¯t pack too heavy tomorrow. Also, Alistanna, we will need a barrier up for tonight, don¡¯t forget to do that. Do not want a repeat.¡± Forland looked down at his left leg and winced, before continuing once more. ¡°Anyway, this cave is routed at the heart of the Forest, and we have been tasked with a simple clear out.¡±


    Alistanna raised her hand during Forland¡¯s little speech and interrupted, ¡°Is this something we really need to go over?¡± Forland¡¯s eyes flicked, from jumping to each of us, to now rest purely on Alistanna. His brow narrowed as his glare burned into her. ¡°I just mean right now.¡± Alistanna back tracked. ¡°Like, we only defeated the trolls an hour or two ago, we have barely had any rest, and Taros literally just woke up. He nearly just died, just to wake up to this. His head¡¯s probably still spinning, can¡¯t this wait until tomorrow?¡±


    Forland stood still; his chiselled jaw hung slightly open. He swayed slightly side to side, his mouth repeatedly opening and closing, his eyes looked upwards as he went from a wince to an open mouth then back wincing. Shaking his head, he replied, ¡°While he shouldn¡¯t have been by himself, I guess you are right. We will talk about this tomorrow, but still don¡¯t forget to do the barrier Alistanna.¡± She nodded. ¡°Well okay then, how long we got Boris?¡±


    ¡°Five seconds.¡± Boris said, taking his shield straps off his shoulders. He then grabbed and poured the Bozkt and meat into the bowls. As he got up and handed out the bowls, looking into mine, I only had one bigger and smaller piece of bozkt and two bigger and one smaller piece of meat to everyone else even two. Looking over to Boris¡¯s bowl, I saw his had an extra bit of Bozkt but a bit of his meat was missing. We locked eyes for a second, I smiled, giving a little laugh, as he gave a little nod. We all looked at our food, picked up our cutlery and-


    ¡°WAIT!¡± Alistanna shouted. ¡°We have to gift our resolve to the meal first.¡± She said, clutching onto the crown crest on her left side, all high and mighty-like.


    ¡°Alistanna,¡± Sylv replied in her soft, kind voice. Alistanna looked over to Sylv, possibly hoping for encouragement, because Sylv¡¯s voice cracked, and she stuttered as she tried to push out a sentence that wouldn¡¯t come.


    ¡°Queen Maria, gift our resolve to this meal.¡± I quickly spat out while taking my first bite. The normally terrible Bozkt melted in my mouth when it contacted my tongue. Boris, you¡¯re a miracle worker. Its normally sour flavour was barely tastable, only enough to elevate the dish to another level.


    ¡°Taros!¡± Alistanna yelped, yanking the wooden spoon out of my mouth, thankfully without any of the food coming with it. ¡°You know that¡¯s not how it works! We need to read a passage from The Alignment.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, snatching my spoon back from her. ¡°You can do that, while we eat. Surely one blessing from a cleric should cover us all right?¡± The others nodded their heads in agreement, then dropping their heads, they began devouring their food.


    ¡°Fine, whatever.¡± Alistanna pouted, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. She sat back down and opened her book up to a random spot, before mumbling to herself about whatever was on the page.


    I rolled my eyes, let out a sigh, and swivelled over to her side, grabbing her book from her hands. She immediately glared at me, her eyes were redder than the flames they reflected, and I began to recite the first paragraph. ¡°With Maria, the kingdom rose. With Maria, the people will go. Maria is strength, she is wisdom, she gives us power and grants our freedom.¡±


    Her eyes softened, a little smile started to take shape, which quickly turned to a smirk as she sarcastically spoke, ¡°I was actually doing this verse.¡± Shoving her finger towards the old crusted page in front of us.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the one about the nymph who birthed an eight-legged horse again is it?¡± I replied, snorting.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Alistanna laughed, shoving me to the side, with a wide smile on her face.


    After gifting our resolve, we dug into our meals, devouring them in mere minutes while also trying to hold a conversation with one another. The chatter and laughter grew louder through the meal as the atmosphere became more comfortable. But then, we all fell silent as Boris slowly stood, he struggled because of his full, protruding gut. He waddled slowly over to his long camping bag, flicked the lock and began rummaging inside. All of our eyes widened, trained on his every move. As his arm rose outside the bag, so did we, straightening our backs and leaning forward. In his hands sat two leaves wrapped around one another. Drool ran down the side of each of our mouths as he started walking back with a smirk on his red cheeked and hairy face. This is it. He sat down beside Forland and Sylv, directly opposite me. Open it. His hands delicately took the top left corner of the leaf, slowly peeling it back from the other. We all lent closer as he grabbed the top right corner, peeling it back to reveal multiple brown and lumpy rectangles, Brownies! YES! ¡°Sorry,¡± Boris said, ¡°Only enough two person.¡± Damnit, it¡¯ll have to do.


    Boris put them on the log towards Sylv and began handing them out, one by one. He took one and gave it to Forland, who gave him a nod in return. Boris turned to give one to Sylv, but she had already grabbed hers and was chowing down on the rich gooeyness. He instead went to Alistanna, who thanked him, and then he turned to me. I tried to keep my composure and not act a fool, but I was bouncing on the spot, vibrating at the thought of eating one after so long. He waddled over to me and placed it down into my open palm. The colouring was perfect, a light brown on the top with darker sides. Its bumpy top, not too thin mid-section. I raised it to my mouth and bit in. The rush of rich chocolate gooeyness overloaded my taste buds, sending me off the back of the log. By the time I got back on the log, the brownie had gone from my hands, and my stomach was aching in anticipation for more.


    When Boris finished his second, he made his way around again. First to Forland, then to Sylv, who already had taken hers again, then to Alistanna, then to me. My hands bolted out in front of me, prepared to take on this second challenge, but Boris¡¯s face went white. His head shot back to Sylv and so did mine to see in her small hand was a third brownie. She can¡¯t do this to me. My voice trembled as I started on this impossible task, disarming the brownie thief, ¡°Sylv.¡± Her beady eyes shot up to meet mine. ¡°Drop the brownie.¡± Her eyes drifted to the brownie in the tips of her right hand, it hung for dear life. ¡°That brownie is mine. You know it is. If this is because of the desert last time, it was a mistake. You know it, I know it. So, let¡¯s just be rational adults and-.¡± Before I knew it, the brownie disappeared from my sight. I looked from her hand, back to her face to see her red chipmunk cheeks covered with specks of brownie. It was over, I lost. My head dropped, my voice quivered as I whispered loud enough to be heard, ¡°You¡¯re the devil.¡± She giggled, then swallowing the brownie, stuck her brownie covered tongue out at me. ¡°DAMNIT, HOW COULD THIS DAY GET ANY WORSE!¡±


    ¡°Hey, she needs it.¡± Alistanna said, while shrugging her shoulders, ¡°I mean, she needs all the energy she can to become an A rank.¡± The smirk that rose on Alistanna¡¯s face silenced the group, her stifled snickering only added to it, being the only thing heard through the crackling flames.


    The three of us, Forland, Boris and I, turned to Sylv, expecting her to be sad with her ears drooping, but to our shock, her face was beet red. Her ears were pointed straight out to the side, a vein visible boldened on her forehead, as she crunched her teeth. We all sat waiting, swallowing any words we thought to say. Sylv drew in one deep breath then blurted out in a snide voice, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m still in B rank. If only I had worked as hard as you.¡± Sylv leaned back on her log as Alistanna stared, both now smirking. ¡°I mean, having to cast one spell is such hard work. My battle is nothing in comparison.¡± Sylv said sarcastically.


    It was like someone put out the fire, all the warmth left once her comment finished. We sat waiting for a response or something. I fidgeted with my hands as my gaze shot between the two, my face tensing with each switch. Forland was sitting, rolling his eyes with his head titled back, mumbling something under his breath. Boris was rubbing the back of his neck, all his hairs visibly stood on end, shaking with each of his heavy breaths. Both Alistanna and Sylv just sat there, no more smirks on their faces, just completely blank. Just say something, please.


    Alistanna¡¯s red lips curled, her unwavering eyes glared at Sylv, she slowly bent down over her knees, her arms wrapping around them. Oh Maria, is she going to cry? Whose side do I take? She started it, but she was trying to be funny, I think? Then I heard a snort. The three of us froze on the spot, all our eyes slowly turned to Alistanna. Then she snorted again. The three of us all looked to each other like one of us would know the answer. I reached out to Alistanna and just as I was about to place my hand on her back, she shot back up and roared with a hearty belly laugh. The three of us immediately shot back as well, all glancing between ourselves, then glancing to Sylv to see her now snickering. ¡°Oh shit,¡± Sylv laughed. ¡°We got you guys good.¡± The three of us gave out half-hearted laughs as we continued looking to each other, unsure of what to do or say.


    ¡°Jesus guys,¡± Forland said, still half laughing. ¡°I thought I¡¯d have to jump in and throw myself under the bus.¡±


    ¡°Cheated Forland. You A rank here.¡± Boris quickly inputted.


    ¡°It was a good bout though.¡± I added. ¡°Considering the guy passed to be an S rank right after your fight, you did a damn good job. Though I wish the guy next to me in the stands would have shut up every once in a while.¡±


    Alistanna¡¯s head perked up at the last comment, ¡°Hey wait! That was me!¡±


    Alistanna glared at me as Sylv said in a snobby voice, overexaggerating every little movement she could, ¡°Yeah, but we can¡¯t have a commoner, especially one using the Valk style ruin the purity of the swordsmen ranking. That would be just unjust.¡±


    ¡°Lucky clerics only care if you¡¯re religious.¡± Alistanna laughed.


    ¡°It really sucks that none of you guys can be a natural talent like me.¡± I said, leaning back on my log, resting my hands against the back of my head and stretching out my legs. ¡°I mean, it only took me one go at my test to get my A ranking unlike you lot.¡± I chuckled to myself.


    ¡°You can¡¯t build tent? And passed?¡± Boris sneakily replied. Forland, who was having a drink at the time, spat out all the water into the fire, causing it to sizzle, as the two girls burst into a fit of laughter.


    ¡°A Boris burn!¡± Alistanna cackled, ¡°I was starting to think it would never happen.¡± The five of us laughed, raising our glasses, we were so loud the wolves around us join in, howling to the night sky, shaking the forest around us. We laughed for hours, only stopping because our throats went hoarse along with our dried eyes.


    Forland stood up and stretched his legs which had fallen asleep from sitting, ¡°Well,¡± He said, ¡°It¡¯s time for us to get some rest.¡± Forland looked my way, placing his hands against his lower back and lent backwards, ¡°So Taros, are you sleeping in Boris and I¡¯s tent?¡±


    My nose wrinkled with my frown as I pulling my head back. I shuddered while bellowing out, ¡°Maria, No! Never again! Not after last time!¡± A slight chuckle slipped through my curled lips. Forland rolled his eyes at me and looked away, going back to his stretches, while Boris trying to hide his red face behind his hands and fur, but he was already redder than a Blood Prot.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Forland spat, now stretching his arms, ¡°Sleep outside on your failed tent again.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said, tilting my head, ¡°Why¡¯d I do that when I can just sleep with Alistanna?¡±


    ¡°HUH!¡± Alistanna screeched. Her face was nearly as red as Boris¡¯s, her mouth hung open with her eyebrows raised, and her arms swaying limply by her side.


    ¡°I mean, you can¡¯t leave me out in the cold alone. Surely that goes against the Alignment?¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± She said, sputtering with each word as she tried to compose herself, ¡°I-I-I su-suppose so.¡±


    ¡°Ehhh, worse comes to worse you can always tent with me.¡± Sylv teasingly said with a wry smirk plastered across her face.


    ¡°ABSOLUTELY NOT!¡± Alistanna barked, her head snapping straight towards Sylv with a fiery fury.


    ¡°Well then it¡¯s settled!¡± Forland interrupted, ending our quick little escapade. ¡°Good night, everyone.¡± With a swift wave and a good night from the rest of us, he turned towards the tents away from the fire and started his stroll of towards them but stopped after a few steps. ¡°Oh, Alistanna.¡± Her head shot up towards him looking like a confused dog but was still red in the face. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to put up the barrier, and when Taros wants to sleep on his own, please help him build the tent. I would say wait for him to ask, but we all know what he¡¯s like.¡± One, I was sitting right there. And two, I was always responsible and asked for help whenever I needed it. Lucky for me, I never did.


    And just like that, Forland had disappeared from our eyesight into the tents. Not long after Boris got up to join him, then Sylv. Leaving just Alistanna and I sitting by the flames. ¡°Well,¡± Alistanna yawned, stretching out her arms above her head. ¡°Guess I better get this barrier up so I can help you build a tent.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m sleeping in yours, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± She giggled, shoving me in my shoulder. Alistanna got up from the log and while reaching down to grab her black staff, she cursed. ¡°Dammit! Look at this!¡± She raised the bottom of her robes up to my face. A mixture of mud and ash plagued her robes and it was hardening, so much was stuck on it I could only see glimpses of the thick red lines that ran across the bottom half of it. ¡°Oh,¡± She whined ¡°This will take forever to clean out.¡± She threw it back down to the mud and started wiping the ash away from her upper half. It was hard to see where ash was and wasn¡¯t, considering it was black. The only obvious spots were the red lines throughout the robe, and the red crown emblem with a red line underneath placed on both sides of her plump chest. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re looking?¡± She said in a cold, monotone voice.


    ¡°Uh,¡± Now it was my face which turned beet red, and to stutter my words. ¡°You see- uh- I was just looking- wait not looking- I mean for ash. I was searching for ash.¡± My bottom lip trembled as I put on a smile, hoping my eyes wouldn¡¯t give it away.


    Alistanna leaned in close to me, staring straight into my eyes. She leaned closer and closer until our noses were pressing against each other¡¯s. I felt her short, heavy breaths push against my dry lips; her soft, smooth cheeks turning pink as her sparkling hazel eyes looked longingly in to mine. The thumping of my heart clouded my mind, staring into her eyes, I stopped breathing. ¡°Shame.¡± She said, ever so causally. Huh?


    Alistanna grasped her staff, pulling it up to view in the fire. It wasn¡¯t anything too special, it was just a black cylinder up until the top where it formed a half-moon. But in between the half-moon was a red crystal and a gold piece forged together, which apparently came from Queen Maria¡¯s crown, and the staff was actually made from the Apostle stone used to make the Apostle statue¡¯s from around the world. But considering how valuable that would be, I highly doubt it. She believes it though.


    Using the staff, she pointed the red and gold crystal towards the sky. Her grip hardened around the staff, and the spell commenced. The crystal spun in place as she held up her staff, its twirling grew faster, the air around it started to whistle as it was slowly pulled into the twirling vortex. The more air it consumed, the faster it spun, which led to more consumption. The branches above creaked and the bushes swayed as the wind blew past, congregating around the tip of the staff, forming a ball of wind that was visible to the naked eye. A soft hum came from within the ball, then Alistanna began her incantation in a hushed voice. ¡°From end to end the light will reach.¡± A shimmer of light refracted from the crystal into her eyes, and a smile blossomed over her face, and her voice boomed, ¡°No darkness shall penetrate the blinding lights!¡± The surrounding trees rumbled from the sudden boom of her voice. From within the ball, the crystal started to glow and detached from the staff. As the crystal ball soared towards the sky, the wind streaked behind. The crystal¡¯s glow grew brighter the higher it flew, higher and higher it went, and then the glow cut out. For a few seconds, Alistanna and I stood watching the tree line. ¡°Kakoonae.¡± Alistanna whispered. Suddenly, a burst of light erupted from the sky, burning brighter than the stars above ever could. This burst of light stretched out around us, contorting itself into a dome, before dimming and disappearing before my eyes.


    A rush of air left Alistanna¡¯s lungs as she huffed. Flicking her staff with her foot, she twirled it around her hand with it smacking onto her shoulders. ¡°Too easy.¡± She chirpily said. She was practically bouncing as she turned towards me with the biggest smile spread across her face. My heart skipped a beat as I raised the side of my lips, giving a half smile with a bit of a snort in return.


    Within the blink of an eye, her light, bouncy self had gone from across the way to only an inch away from my face, looking up towards me. Her alluring hazel eyes kept me gazing inside them. The slight glimmer they had from the fire next to us made them look like they were sparkling at the sight of mine. My lungs felt a heavy load pressing in, my heart had to pump harder to fight against it, it was like every part of my body was on edge all from looking into the longing gaze of her eyes. ¡°Why¡¯d you snort?¡± She asked, in that same cold, monotone voice. The allurement of her eyes faded like it had a screen covering it in mist. My body was brought back to normal, my mind desperately tried to catch up but I had already tried to spit out, ¡°Wind?¡± YOU STUPID BLOODY- I HOPE MARIA SMITES MY DUMBASS!


    Her dead eyes stared into mine a few seconds longer, a cold sweat ran down the side of my head, I gulped as her neutral face slowly drooped from my answer. ¡°Wind?¡± She asked in her same monotoned voice, but this time, it felt more malicious. I slowly shook my head up and down, Welp, may as well stick with it. She stared further for a few seconds more, then started to bring her head closer towards the side of mine. With each little bit she moved, the heavier it became around my lungs, the harder my heart had to squeeze to get even the littlest bit of blood flowing. My face fell white as her lips sat right next my ear, I felt her soft breathes blow through her lips and brush against the inside of my ear. Her warm soft cheek pressed against my brittle cold one. Each breath we shared brushed our cheeks further against each other, with my tiny bristles scratching against her. ¡°Good¡± She whispered into my ears, before pulling back slightly and pecking me on the cheek.


    My body heat rushed from an ice age to the inferno of hell, it was like someone had just lit oil in a blast fire furnace with me inside. My whole body turned beet red as she pulled back and stared back into my eyes, now with both of our faces beaming, and a shimmer in both our eyes. We stared into each other¡¯s warming gaze for a few seconds longer, then I asked in a soft voice, ¡°We better start setting up my tent now, I guess.¡± Her brow immediately furrowed as the lines on her face squished together, all culminating in a deep, ugly frown. Seeing her face warp in such quick succession, a shit eating grin developed on mine, sniggering at her apparent mood. ¡°Fine,¡± I heartily said, ¡°I guess if I have no other choice, I¡¯ll-.¡± But Alistanna didn¡¯t wait, placing her hands firmly against my back and gripping onto my cloak, she pushed against my back. ¡°Hey, I was saying-.¡± But she refused to listen, I guess it¡¯s no fun unless she¡¯s the one laughing. She turned me around, like I was a little kid, and began dragging me by my cloak toward the tents. My heart fluttered as I smiled, slowly being dragged inside of the tent.

 Chapter 4

    Her rosy soft cheek pressed up against my bare chest, using it instead of her pillow. Her mouth hung slightly ajar, her quiet little whispery snores slowly pushed a bit of saliva, please be drool, out from the gap between her lips. Like a spider extending its web, the drool made its way down onto my smooth pale skin, spreading out into a puddle. It was warm like the baths her, Sylv and I used to take as kids, how embarrassing. I combed my fingers through her scrunched-up hair, maneuvering it away from her drool, and parting it on her side. Her face is so beautiful, even with drool pouring out of it. I knew she had a lot on her mind sometimes, worry would cover her face no matter how hard she would try to mask it. Then I¡¯d see her like this, not a single care, just being content, made me feel the same.


    But contentment is an infection that breeds vulnerability. A blade any man can wield that will always leave a seeping wound bound to end one¡¯s life. That¡¯s how Ms. Moskav felt, a lesson constantly beaten into me, for my own survival. The first time I stood up against that thought, argued against it, that while it does have downsides, it also had benefits, she took me away. The academy was told it would be an excursion to benefit my rogue prowess. I can still remember where we went, why we went, everything.


    It was a few years before; I was about fifteen then. We were lucky to not have any trouble on the roads, other than the occasional bumps from a rock or pothole, allowing us to reach our destination quickly. She had instructed me to leave my gear at the academy as I wouldn¡¯t be needing it. Must be a survival exercise. Quite right I was.


    We jumped out of the wooden horse pulled carriage, landing on the muddy road. The night sky was brooding above as a light mist poured in around us. ¡°So, where are we?¡± I asked.


    ¡°An abandoned castle.¡± Ms. Moskav replied. She strutted ahead of me with her hood raised, hiding all but her dark blue eyes. I scampered behind her, pulling up my hood. My lantern illuminated her from behind, showing off her hourglass figure in the dark of night for all to see.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I responded perplexed, kicking a rusty helmet across the mud. ¡°But why? This dump of a castle hasn¡¯t been used in centuries, what could this have to do with training?¡±


    Her answer to my response was short, sending a shiver down my spine. I expected a long-winded explanation, but all that she gave was, ¡°You will see.¡±


    Is this a battle ground for us? A no holds barred battle? No way, she¡¯d kill me!


    We continued to wander through the outskirts of the abandoned kingdom, only when we passed a sign that read, Ordivern kingdom, did I have a clue of where we were. It was hard to imagine this place as a thriving land, one sought after by many, but now left with so few. Buildings which stood tall had been brought down rubble, blending with the stone and grass path we trotted along. The further we walked, the harder it became to process, homes and shelters and animal pens were nothing but ash and fragments of the corpses who ran or hid. They were strung along the paths and buildings, scenting the air with rotten flesh and charcoal.


    By the time we finished passing through these lands, we stopped at the base of a muddy swamp. My eyes couldn¡¯t tell the difference between the muck and the water. Luckily Ms. Moskav stopped me before I could have dived in. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± She said coldly. She had never been a woman of so little words; each word she uttered like this made my skin crawl. But again, my mind rang hollow. This was just a swamp, muddy and murky water flowing around the ripples from the creatures inside, lily pads big enough to hold a grown man¡¯s weight, just any ordinary swamp.


    I turned to Ms. with an eyebrow raised, ¡°Wow,¡± I exclaimed, ¡°a swamp. This is very¡­ enlightening.¡± She cocked her head to mine and copied my thousand-mile stare at her, perhaps expecting more from me.


    ¡°Look again.¡± She said, agitation mixing in with her voice. ¡°I will not ask again.¡±


    Turning back to the swamp, still nothing stood out. Should I just take a shot in the dark? No, she¡¯d see through that. Maybe it¡¯s a resilience test and I¡¯m failing. What if I¡¯m supposed to jump in¡­ gross. Nothing appeared with these thoughts running through my head, no logic, rhythm or reason to be here, to understand.


    ¡°Oh, come on.¡± She spat. Her eyes grew wider, her brow narrowed. What am I missing? My hairs stood on end, my heart started thumping against my chest, trying to push past my ribs. ¡°I thought you¡¯d have some affinity for this place.¡± She said, waving her hand in the air. The air I breathed caught on the cold lump building in my throat, an affinity? ¡°Do you truly not recognise this place? These buildings, these homes, this swamp.¡± A silence stood over us both for a brief second, my mind giving nothing but hot air. ¡°How must I spell it out for you. Last hint, your mother.¡±


    No, but¡­ this place, these buildings, the swamp. Sitting in the water, bobbing around slowly, was my mother. My eyes were playing tricks on me, she was brought home. I saw it. Hacked to pieces like she was here, dumped for anyone to see with no care. My mother. ¡°Never forget this feeling.¡± She spoke. It was like, ¡°That knife wedged into your heart.¡± Wiggling deeper and deeper inside until something pops. ¡°The rage that spills over you from that moment.¡± No one knows what happened to the killers, I didn¡¯t think- ¡°The sadness that drowns you in its waves.¡± She was here. The lump in my throat grew larger as my legs collapsed. Falling to my knees, my face now inches away from the water where she laid.


    ¡°Taros?¡±


    They slaughtered her.


    ¡°Taros?¡±


    I¡¯ll- ¡°Taros?¡±


    My eyes shot open to my dark yet warm surroundings. Lifting my head from my pillow I saw Alistanna¡¯s vibrant hazel eyes staring warmly at me. ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asked in a hushed voice, moving her hand up to the side of my cheek and rubbing it. The lump still lingered in my throat; my mouth opened but only to give a shaky breath. ¡°You¡¯re riddled with goosebumps and your body feels so cold. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Still nothing came from me. ¡°Do you need me to push the bumps back in?¡± She whispered, removing her hand from my cheek and pressing down upon one of the many goosebumps riddling my chest. Her finger¡¯s warmth sunk deep into my chest, wrapping itself around my heart. My cold blood funnelled in and left with a glow, gushing throughout my body. The tide of warmth was overwhelming, only now was the warmth of her body that laid on top of me apparent to me, causing my body to glisten but also causing the cold lump to fade.


    ¡°No. You don¡¯t need to push in the bumps.¡± Even with this dark night, -her silhouette was barely visible due to the ongoing fire- her frown was still apparent to me. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t even be on me if you didn¡¯t keep scuttling away.¡± Snickering and reaching down, placing my hands under her shoulders, I dragged her back up to her rightful place against my chest. She gave a slight, resistant giggle, placing her hands against the tent floor in a false act to stop me. ¡°You can¡¯t get away that easy.¡± I laughed, placing my hand on the back of her head and rolling on top of her.


    A quick flicker of bright light came from the fire, illuminating inside the tent for a brief second. Her rose red cheeks were compressed by her beautiful wide smile. Her alluring hazel eyes pulled my head down close; the humid air floating around us smelt of sweat and lust. My heart was pounding against mine and her chest, my body was riddled with goosebumps once more, but she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me in. Our lips touched, only for a second before she pulled away, but I leaped back in. Her soft, moist lips pressed against mine, everything inside my mind faded, no other thought dared to corrupt my mind, none other than her.


    The morning was dark, darker than it had been through the night. The fire neared its end, the timber had all but burnt to cinders, the hole formed above no longer crafted a beam of light; all that was left was my allium path and the swaying lanterns pitched outside our tents.


    The chatter outside our tent slowly rose louder and louder, starting at a miniscule whisper before reaching what felt to be a mighty roar of laughter and murmurs. Their words remained muffled, but I could assume what their chatter was catered towards. My eyes flickered open, my drowsy and aching body moved to an upright position at a snail¡¯s pace. Drawing in a deep breath, which felt like trying to drag nails down my throat to pierce my lungs, I turned to Alistanna and shook her. Her hair was more frazzled up then mine and drool still ran down her cheek, so peaceful. After continuous shaking, her eyes opened with a dark tinge in them; her angled brow complemented her newfound frown. ¡°What.¡± She barked with venom seeping from her mouth.


    ¡°The others are awake.¡± I said with a calm smile across my face, ¡°Time to go.¡±


    Her murderous intent immediately evaporated, draining onto the tent floor along with the blood in her face. Her eyes widened, losing all colour, she nearly began convulsing, ¡°Oh Maria.¡± She muttered repeatedly.


    Raising myself to my feet slower than your average morfurn, I began dressing myself. Pants? There you are. Socks? Alistanna quickly pulled my socks on herself, her hands shaking as she reached for her shoes simultaneously still muttering the same words. ¡°Those are my socks you got-.¡± Alistanna pulled them off with her jittering hands and haphazardly tossed them to my feet, well tried to. One flew through the entrance behind me, skidding and landing outside the tent, while the other dragged up higher through the air, landing in my mouth mid-sentence. ¡°Taunk ou.¡± Pulling the sock from my mouth and the other back inside, dammit Maria, it¡¯s got mud all over it now, I slapped them on along with my boots before reaching for my tunic which I kept¡­ ¡°Hey Alistanna, where¡¯s my-.¡± But as I asked, the outline of it caught my eye, sitting outside the tent from the entrance by Alistanna. My arm quickly shot over to the tent entrance to grab my top.


    ¡°No!¡± Alistanna said in a hushed whisper, leaping onto my arm in nothing but her socks and underwear. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    My eyebrow rose at this, isn¡¯t it obvious? ¡°I¡¯m grabbing my tunic.¡± I answered with a quizzical look.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She nabbed it from outside and tossed it in to me, it landed by our weapons off to the side of the tent, ¡°There.¡± She continued on, chucking her religious robes on, and with each button she popped in, the stronger my look became. What the hell was that about? Grabbing my tunic and chucked in on, the back of it was now moist from the mud, sending shivers through my body. It¡¯s just a tunic? Why¡¯d she care if I grabbed it? Maybe she doesn¡¯t want me seeing her naked? So stupid. Wait, is it because- No, surely not.


    It took a few minutes, but we were fully ready. Daggers and staff were in place, belt loops and bags were filled, clothes on the correct person. I grabbed the edge of the tent entrance by her and tried to pull it open.


    ¡°Wait!¡± She interjected with her whisper once more. Oh, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me. She flicked a lock of hair to the side, curling it around her ear. Her eyes were bold and moist, the fear flowing through her eyes was apparent. ¡°Yo- you shouldn¡¯t go out that way.¡± Her voice stuttered, like a lump of air got caught in her throat. She looked down to her feet, her body trembling with each word that came. ¡°If you go out this way, they¡¯ll know you and I slept in the same tent, and¡­¡± My head felt hot, but my body felt cold. Staring at the tip of her head, each fibre of hair flowing down softly shook. I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath as she finished. ¡°I just don¡¯t think it¡¯s time for them to find out about us. And if the priests heard about this... You understand?¡± Her half-hearted smile so clearly rung hollow that a piece inside my heart ached just from seeing it.


    Staring at her, trying to keep my composure, I said, ¡°Really?¡± A tone of malice slipped past, causing Alistanna to jump back and her head to shoot up. Our eyes locked, hers were on the verge of breaking, mine were drier than a desert. Staring into each other, my face started to warp, my eyebrows narrowed, YOU¡¯RE SERIOUS! ¡°How long Alistanna? How long until it¡¯s ¡®okay¡¯?¡± My tone grew sharper with each word. ¡°It¡¯s like you don¡¯t even care sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I do care.¡± She sputtered, her bottom lip quivered with each word, snot dribbling down from her nose and caused her to sniffle.


    ¡°I know you do. Which is the problem.¡± I reached down and grabbed her hands, pulling her a little closer. ¡°When we¡¯re together, just us, I know.¡± Moving her hand, I placed her soft palm against my cheek, and my twisted face and sharp tone vanished into the wind. ¡°I know the softness of your hand, the way your fingertips feel as you drag them down the side of my face. The way it feels when you run your fingers through my hairs. I know the smile that grows on your face as you lay your head against my chest to hear my heart beat, the way it makes you feel closer to me.¡± Tears seeped from the sides of her eyes which each sniffle, even now, you¡¯re beautiful to me. Her hand was glued to the side of my face, constantly caressing, even as I pulled my hands away from hers and moved them to her waist, pulling her towards me. Our faces were now inches away, my voice quivered as I finished, ¡°I know this because I love you. I am not afraid to say that to you, are you?¡±


    Between her weeping, she managed to sputter out, ¡°Of course I love you!¡± Her breaths were quick and shallow, there was no time to talk for her, barely any time to breath. But through this, she pushed through to give me a bright smile. She placed her head down on my shoulder, moving her hands to behind my back and clenching onto my cloak with such an intense grip it would have needed to be pried off. ¡°Of course I do.¡± I heard her say, though it was muffled from my cloak and shoulder.


    A few minutes later, we walked out of the same entrance together. Her face was redder than ever, is she going to be alright? But her grip encompassing my hand told me all I needed to know. From ear to ear, my smile hung, joined by an unusual wet spot now staining one side of my cloak.


    ¡°We were wondering when you guys were gonna wake up.¡± Sylv said, standing next to Boris and Forland, clearly all ready to go.


    ¡°We had some things to take care of.¡± I replied, tightening my grip on Alistanna¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Well, we do not have time to dilly dally. Let us get a move on!¡± Forland spouted, drawing his sword from its scabbard and pointing down our path. Ever the overdramatic one.


    Down the mudded path we went, following the alliums I planted the day before. Travelling down, we were all greeted to the joy of Forland¡¯s recap of his recap of his plan for the fourth time. He reminded us of the possible dangers of fighting in a cave, the unsteadiness of rocks, long sword being unable to take full swings, magic being risky, that kind of stuff. He also reminded us about the monsters inside the cave that we were hired to kill, the Shrank Horns, a mixture between humans and cows. Each kind of Shrank comes with its own unique look which allows you to yada yada yada. Is it really necessary for us to go over this stuff so many times.


    By the time he finally ended his long-winded Luna Forest cave system expos¨¦, we were nearing the cave entrance. We still had a few more kilometres to go, but the surrounding trees and forestry told me we were near.


    ¡°So, now that that is over with, are you going to tell us what happened back there?¡± Forland questioned quizzically, glancing over to me.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to talk about?¡±


    ¡°Oh, who knows?¡± He asked, his face growing sterner and his voice growing more sarcastic by the second, ¡°Maybe the fact you decided to run off by yourself when explicitly told not to, added on to that fact that you seemly struggled against two trolls which is highly uncharacteristic. That is assuming you followed our normal protocol for when you scout alone, even if you were not supposed to. Then you come flying from high Skyford to take out a troll with no blade in hand or bow strapped to your back, while missing the health potion on your belt loop. I can probably scrounge a few more things up if you need me to continue?¡± He stared at me blankly, constantly blinking, waiting for a reply.


    Staring back, continuing our breezy walking pace, I replied shortly, ¡°What¡¯re the few more?¡±


    His eyes shot daggers into the crest of my skull, ¡°Why can you not just start with the ones you have already been given?¡±


    A sigh struggled up and out my throat, sounding slightly more like a groan. Forland¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Fine.¡± I said shortly. My mind rushed with the memories of the day before; the puzzle felt incomplete, questions that couldn¡¯t be answered. But they wouldn¡¯t let me go without some explanation. ¡°Well, I think the first one is obvious. My job is to scout ahead. It¡¯s what we¡¯re trained to do; to lead the way.¡±


    ¡°But this place is dangerous.¡± Sylv snapped, her hand clenching tighter around her staff. ¡°This isn¡¯t like the caves and dungeons we went to before where we had maps.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m alive and that¡¯s all that matters. And that I was totally right that I¡¯d be fine.¡± I replied with a smirk. All four of them shared a sideways glance to each other before looking back to me.


    ¡°Taros,¡± Alistanna softly spoke, her hand interlocking with mine and pulling me close to her. ¡°We understand that you¡¯re capable, but that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re right.¡± Her hand began trembling; her grip tightened around my hand. ¡°We are a team. We do things together.¡±


    My cheeks grew pink as her hand clamped down on mine with each word she uttered. ¡°I know, I¡¯ll do better.¡± A meekly response was all I could muster, but the gentle smile that sat on her lips made it feel right. Quickly, to try and get it out the way, I spat. ¡°I also didn¡¯t follow protocol. But the reason I str-.¡±


    ¡°Taros.¡± Boris said, a defeated look sunken into his face. ¡°I need say?¡±


    ¡°How many times do we need to tell you to restore your mana?¡± Forland shouted, waving his hands vigorously. ¡°Seriously! Every mission we tell you to call when you reach a safe point to restore mana. You know? That important thing, mana, flowing through you, keeping you alive?¡±


    ¡°I know what mana is, jackass.¡± I spat.


    ¡°Then act like it.¡± He retorted. ¡°Or else I¡¯ll go on a history lesson retelling you what mana is and how it works.¡± An audible groan came from the whole group at these terrifying threats.


    ¡°Wait, but there¡¯s something else.¡± I quickly interjected, raising an open palm out to stop him. ¡°I had enough mana, I should have been fine, but there was something else.¡±


    ¡°You wanna spit it out for us or?¡± Sylv scowled.


    Is there a way I can put this without sounding crazy? Guys, the trees attacked me I swear. No, not ents. The Stygian trees. ¡°Have any of you heard that one rumour about the forest being alive?¡±


    While Boris was the only one to raise his hand, Forland scoffed at my question. ¡°You can¡¯t seriously expect us to believe a forest of this magnitude is living?¡± Forland asked, his brow raised.


    ¡°I know, it sounds crazy. But why else has no-one mapped the forest?¡± I queried.


    ¡°Size.¡± Forland, Alistanna and Sylv retorted at the same time.


    ¡°Okay, sure. But I was attacked-.¡±


    ¡°We know,¡± Sylv interjected, rolling her eyes ¡°By trolls.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I snapped, causing all their eyes to flick from the path to me as I continued. ¡°I wasn¡¯t just attacked by trolls; I was attacked by roots. They were long and thick like snakes,¡± Forland opened his mouth to interject yet again, but I continued, ¡°But unlike snakes it felt hard and rigid. It didn¡¯t bite me, it just whipped me, dragging me down into the mud. I don¡¯t even remember getting them off me, I just remember standing, bloody and bruised, then having to switch back on immediately to fight those trolls.¡±


    ¡°You sound crazy.¡± Sylv chuckled, rubbing her hand on my shoulder. Alistanna¡¯s eyes glared at her hand¡¯s slow movement back and forth, her shoulders visibly tensed. We walked in silence, mouths opened, eyes glanced to each other, but there was not a note on how to continue.


    ¡°You-.¡± Forland stopped, swallowing his words as they came. His eyes dropped to the dirt; his lips quivered. ¡°Are you sure? Of that? I mean, if the forest was alive, as in alive, why haven¡¯t we been attacked? We were sleeping in it and nothing happened.¡±


    I looked him in the eyes, unwavering, and said ¡°I have no idea.¡± His lips continued to quiver, his arms shrugging by his side.


    ¡°Heard rumours.¡± Boris spoke out, raising his head from his chest, standing a head or two taller, looming over us. ¡°Never believed though. Sounded crazy. Unusual crazy.¡±


    ¡°Well.¡± Forland said, a half-hearted laugh squeezing through his clenched lips. ¡°I¡¯ll have to believe you then this time. For once, you are-.¡± He froze, his brain slowly caught up with what he was saying, and his furrowed brow became prominent as he glared at me. ¡°Wait a minute, you still ran off, you are not off the hook.¡± Damnit.


    The others turned away from me, all continuing to chatter about what punishment they may dish out on me when we got back home. ¡°He should make dinner for a week.¡± Sylv said.


    Forland scoffed, ¡°Why are we being punished?¡±


    Slinking further behind my friends, I grabbed onto Alistanna¡¯s sleeve and gave a little tug. She in turn slowed down and slunk back with me a metre away from our group.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± She asked, one brow raised above the other.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± I retorted, giving her a quizzical look.


    ¡°¡­ It was about you getting a punishment for not lis-.¡±


    ¡°No, not that,¡± I interrupted, waving her off, ¡°that¡¯s trivial. You tensed up earlier.¡±


    Alistanna was taken aback, she placed her hand on her chest and asked, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that.¡± I replied, shaking my head and waving her off once again. ¡°When Sylv rubbed my shoulder, your shoulders tensed and you were staring so hard at that hand I thought it might burn off her.¡± Alistanna crossed her arms and straightened out her back, her shoulders visibly tensed again. Her sweet lips turned sour as they twisted upon themselves along with the rest of her demeanour. ¡°Oh Maria! Are you¡­ jealous?¡±


    ¡°I am not!¡± She growled, her cheeks puffing out and turning a bright scarlet. So adorable.


    ¡°Now you listen here, we only just stared dating and I don¡¯t know if I can handle this kind of thing.¡± I bantered, raising my hands to my side and mimicking her face.


    ¡°Oh, get off you high horse.¡± She scoffed. Pushing her finger into my chest and shaking her head side to side, she continued, ¡°You would be feeling the exact same way if Forland did that to me.¡±


    I stared at her blankly for a few seconds before replying, ¡°It¡¯s not too late to take that back. You and I both know that would never happen.¡±


    Her face twisted once more, ¡°Alright, fair. But Sylv¡¯s a wildcard, we don¡¯t know how she thinks. She could think that.¡±


    I chuckled, looking to the ground and shaking my head, ¡°She would never feel that way.¡±


    ¡°And how can you tell?¡± She asked, pushing her face into mine.


    ¡°The same way I can tell you¡¯re on your tippy toes right now, that your hands are on your hips, and that you feel upset even though you know you shouldn¡¯t.¡± I answered, staring at her with a smile.


    She grimaced at me for a minute, unsure of how to reply. She swung her head back towards the group, swishing her long hair into my face before darting back to be next to them while mumbling, ¡°Stupid bloody rogues.¡± With another chuckle, I quickly followed suit, rushing back up behind the group.

 Chapter 5

    We continued following the trail for an hour more, having a trivial conversation about the forest¡¯s apparent anger toward me exclusively after being the only one to trip multiple times on branches, before we reached the cave entrance. We tried staring down into it but all we saw was the darkness waiting ahead. It was foreboding, my skin was crawling, and glancing at the others, so was theirs. Sylv opened her mouth, stuttering before even saying a word, and asked, ¡°Wi- will the c-c-cave shoot out rock tentacles if it¡¯s alive too?¡± We all froze, Sylv¡¯s words reverberating in our ears. I turned to look at her and she was horror struck, her eyes bulging out in fear, begging for an answer. Forland, Alistanna and I all burst into fits of laughter, clutching at our guts while trying not to topple over each other. ¡°I¡¯m serious! How do we know?¡± Even Boris struggled to stifle a chuckle as Forland buried his face into his shoulder to muffle his laughter.


    ¡°Sylv, dear.¡± Alistanna answered, wiping tears from her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s a very¡­ interesting idea, but if the cave was alive, why wouldn¡¯t it just crush us instead of spouting tentacles.¡± These words were not the calming words Sylv was looking for, which was evident by the second of understanding that immediately after turned her face white with all the air leaving her lungs. Again, for a few minutes more, laughter took over us all, except Sylv who grappled with the thought of instantly being crushed.


    Forland cleared his throat, causing us to fall silent and glance his way. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, deepening his voice and extruding his neck. ¡°Sylv will-.¡±


    We all cut him off, and in a monotoned voice, we all said at the exact same time, ¡°Use her lure spell, which has roughly a five-minute timer, to lure out the enemies when we enter the cavern. Listen to what Forland says while we¡¯re inside the cavern. Go into formation raven. Did we miss anything?¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± He replied, his cheeks slightly flushed along with his moist eyes. ¡°That was an amazing speech. I wish I could have come up with it.¡± He smiled, marching off towards the cave, as we all stared at each other with blank expressions, unsure if he realised if it was his speech or not.


    We followed closely behind Forland after getting over the confusion, and then drifted apart from each other. I maneuvered past Forland, stationed in front of the group. Marching closely behind, shield in hand, was Boris with his ears perched. To my left was Forland. His blade was drawn; he swung his sword around, scratching the roof of the cave, then readjusted. On my right stumbled Sylv on the uneven rocky floor, trying to concentrate long enough to get her spell casted. And in the back was Alistanna, murmuring to herself, most likely calling to Maria.


    My eyes began to sting as the gloomy cavern opened to me. The area was smaller than I imagined, certainly not ideal for Forland. Turning around, my eyes were lit ablaze by the sudden concentrated light peering from within Alistanna¡¯s staff. Quickly, I snapped my head back to the front.


    Boris leaned close to me, seemingly placing his head right behind mine, ¡°Okay?¡± He whispered. With a little nod, I continued to look around the cave.


    The rooftop was jagged and uneven, spanning a neutral grey throughout. No surface was completely flat, they all had some cracks splintering through or edge protruding. A chill ran down my spine the further we wandered with no change in sight. Dust slowly sprinkled down from the ceiling onto my head. Each breath was growing harder to hold onto. Placing my hand to the side of my face, I turned my head to Forland. His light blue skin was the opposite of his expression as he stared at the walls, wide eyed and tight lipped. Turning back and closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and held it for a moment. We¡¯ll be in and out. The creatures are supposed to be in an open space. it¡¯s fine.


    Opening my eyes, a group of skinny black and purple figures were hunched over themselves on the sides of the cave. Immediately, I stopped and drew my daggers from their sheathes. The sounds of footsteps grinding on stones stopped, the whistling of a blade halted, and the sound of buttons popping and scrapping against metal could be heard. Silently, I walked ahead of the group, raising two fingers to my forehead. ¡°In the shadows I lurk,¡± I whispered, running my fingers down my face onto my nose, ¡°for what is held in the darkness is left forgotten,¡± the tips of my fingers pressed against my chin, holding their place, ¡°end cog.¡± The tips of my fingers rushed down from my chin to my side, a warm energy ran down my skin, nestling against my body hair and clenching down onto them. I began my approach.


    Slowly, trying not to stumble on the uneven terrain, I made my way closer. Sitting on their laps laid shields with a crest impossible to see on my angle. Their weapons were placed by their sides, sitting up against the hard wall. They had a range of staffs, swords, daggers, hammers, axes, and even throwable and wearable rings. My approach went unnoticed, so much that I stopped sneaking and just meandered over to the first one and kicked it. No reaction, not surprising coming from a skeleton. ¡°We¡¯re good!¡± I shouted down, echoing off the sides of the cave.


    The group quickly wandered over to the sight of more than a dozen skeletons all lined up with hands in their laps or by their sides, placed against the cave wall like decorations or a warning. Each bone on the corpses were cracked and were decoloured, but more importantly, completely picked clean. Not even a single speck of skin or flesh left hanging from any bone. Once the group were next to me, the energy dribbled out of my glands, fading away from my body. ¡°Wait, these are skeletons.¡± Sylv said, pointing down at one with a confused look sat on her face, ¡°How¡¯d you mix them up with creatures?¡±


    ¡°I casted Lunar sight? You shou-.¡± I said, turning around to her and meeting a blinding light sitting directly in front of my face. ¡°Maria!¡± I shouted, quickly turning away from the light.


    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Alistanna apologised, patting me on the back.


    ¡°Keep your voices down.¡± Forland whispered, ¡°We don¡¯t know how far away we are from the Shranks.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± I chimed back in, rubbing my eyes with my palms, ¡°there¡¯s an opening down there.¡± I pointed down the cave to what looked to be an opening into a larger space.


    ¡°Who are these guys?¡± Sylv said, jumping back after accidentally touching one of the purple stained bones.


    ¡°Yurthmen.¡± Boris replied, picking up one of the shields and snapping it in two with ease. ¡°Old, hand painted crest, rubbish weaponry, and skeletons.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re from during the war.¡± Forland said, examining the miniscule armour on the corpses. ¡°Before their guild made their crest the head of a hydra, their crest was just green with a y shaped tongue on the bottom and two triangle fangs on the top. Never thought I would ever see something like this. A relic lost to time, found by us.¡±


    ¡°But why are they here?¡± Alistanna asked, poking one with the end of her staff, causing the head to topple over onto the floor. ¡°They¡¯re a long way from their guild hall.¡±


    ¡°Who knows,¡± I said, stomping on the skull that fell to the ground, crushing it to dust and fragments, ¡°who cares. They¡¯re gone and they were probably here for the same reason we are. For whatever¡¯s in this cave. I think what¡¯s more worrying is the fact they¡¯ve clearly been placed like this.¡±


    ¡°Meaning there¡¯s either people live down here that fought them,¡± Alistanna jumped in, looking down towards the opening, ¡°or the Shranks are smarter than we once thought.¡±


    ¡°They have always been clever.¡± Forland told to us, moving away from the battalion and now looking down the cave¡¯s path. ¡°They created weapons, staffs too, and have a hierarchy engrained in their blood. It does not change a thing.¡± A glimmer of light flickered in his eyes as he turned back to all of us, ¡°We have a job to do. So, let¡¯s. Sylv, is the spell casted?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± She exclaimed, giving a thumbs up and a smirk, ¡°They should be drawn to us for the next five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Then let us move, I would not want to start a fight in here.¡± Forland laughed, glancing around at the cave¡¯s ceiling then back down to his blade.


    We walked into the open cavern, blades and staffs in hand, to a brightly lit pebbled path. My eyes were lit ablaze walking in until the mana rolled down my cheeks much like a tear. The path had crystal torches strung to wooden rods that stood on the side. The red and blue crystals flickered like flames without embers, and led down to the camp of Shranks surrounding true flames. The Shranks with little or no horns glared us down, clenching their weapons of choice in their hands, while the ones with longer horns sat unfazed, blades and staffs by their sides, staring front and centre. A short brown furred shrank with white tips stood in front of them all, its horns were the longest of them all, twisting and turning in on themselves. Its long, cylindrical snout snapped with each of its barks and roars to its compatriots; with freshly sharpened and shined tusks. His tusks reflected the flames that built inside the Shranks as they stamped their hooves into the rocky floor. The short horned Shranks had stopped glaring at us, and were now giving full attention to their leader.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± I said, looking over the cult like meeting.


    ¡°What do we do here?¡± Alistanna questioned, looking over to their rugged cotton tents bolted into the stone floor.


    ¡°We do what we came here to do.¡± Forland uttered lifelessly, ¡°Eliminate them.¡±


    ¡°Wait what?¡± Alistanna baulked, looking towards Forland with desperate eyes. ¡°They¡¯re intelligent.¡±


    ¡°Which was already known.¡± He stated.


    ¡°Not like this.¡± She rebutted, shaking her head.¡± They¡¯re communicating, they have a hierarchy, and they can resist a lure cast, only humans and other truly intelligent creatures can do that.¡±


    ¡°This is what it takes to be A rank. Did you not see out front, they are a threat.¡± Forland said coldly, looking at Alistanna.


    Alistanna looked right to Sylv, who looked away, and then to Boris and I with wide eyes and curled lips. While Boris looked down to the ground, I looked towards the Shranks to see them all staring at us, as if listening. ¡°Alistanna.¡± I said, looking back to her. Her face lit up as I uttered her name. ¡°This is something we have to do.¡± My nails dug into my hands as her face slowly began to darken with each word I said. ¡°We have rent we need to pay by the start of next week, and we don¡¯t have the funds and we can¡¯t get back and complete a new job by then.¡± Turning away from Alistanna¡¯s teary eyes and looking back at the Shranks, something stuck out on their weapons. It wasn¡¯t the matte finish, or the wooden handle, but the crest dug into the handles. ¡°Their blades and staffs, they¡¯re the same ones we saw on those bodies outside.¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°So,¡± Forland chimed back in, lifting his blade towards the Shranks, ¡°The question is not if their kind did kill them.¡±


    ¡°But if alive when happened.¡± Boris said, straightening himself up and lifting his blade as well.


    Alistanna¡¯s face was still darkened, her hands dug into her stone staff, her teeth clenched down on themselves. ¡°Then Maria will forgive me for killing these haevorns.¡±


    The Shranks, horned and hornless, picked up their weapons and marched towards us, twenty-three strong. The leader pushed from out the back into the front with his soldiers following behind him. They had two lines of eight, all armed with blades, and one line of six behind them with staffs raised. The Shranks stopped as their leader did, staring him down, waiting for a command. Looking back to Forland, he looked around to us all, barely moving his head to do so. He looked at me, then to the leader, and with the nudge of his head, I understood the command.


    The light air passed easily through my body as I turned my head back to the motionless Shranks. Even though the leather handle wrapped around my blade was worn to a thin layer with strands peeling off of it, it still melded to my hands like it had done oh so many times before. A cold ooze dragged itself down my legs, underneath my skin, scratching at the muscle that sat underneath to repair and lighten them. I leaned forward; my left leg slowly dragged itself behind my body. All the weight of my body fell upon my right leg, it dug into the floor as the softened muscles began tightening, reinforcing themselves with one another.


    The sound of a rock cracking shot throughout the cave as I leaped forward, it only took me three bounding steps to reach the leader of the group. They were all so slow. My right hand clenched around my dagger, pushing it across his throat to no resistance. The slice was quick, so fast not a speck of blood drenched my blade. I continued my dash, moving from their leader into the backlines. They tried to react, raising their blades, two even sliced through the air, nearly cutting me, but they couldn¡¯t stop me from reaching their back line.


    In front of me stood six staff wielding Shranks, but only the closest four had realised I had already broken through. While the other two were still casting their spells to heal or enhance their allies, the four stared at me. The skin on their snouts was pulled back revealing razor sharp fangs. They aimed their staffs towards me, but their muscles were too tight to try to make any fluid movement. They wanted to make it believable, that they had a chance and maybe I would back away, but their eyes were filled with a black void swallowing them. They knew what was going to happen. With fluid movement, rushing in and around all six of them, I came out the other side. Looking down, my hands were warm and drenched in blood.


    The sound of seven bodies falling to the floor in quick succession rang through the cave before the Shranks all mighty roar. I turned around to see all but four Shranks rushing towards my friends. These four must be the only ones that notice I made it through. Like their brothers did, the Shranks all advanced towards me, swords in hand. One was ahead of the rest and he leaped forward, sword raised over his head. Can¡¯t expect more from a hornless one. Moving my body slightly to the side, he flew past me into the hard stone ground. Another blade whistled from behind me. My neck snapped my head down to my chest and the blade whistled over. Glancing to the side, the two other Shranks were swinging in unison. Turning myself towards them with my arms crossed, their blades collided with mine. Veins bulged from underneath their skin all over as they pushed their blades against mine, but my daggers didn¡¯t budge. Effortlessly, I flicked my daggers sideways, causing the Shranks¡¯ arms and blades to rise up into the air. Their heads collided with each other as they stumbled forward from putting too much might into one measly attack, causing them to stumble to the ground.


    The sound of a whistling blade passed my ears again as the only competent shrank continued his attacks. I continued to dodge swing after swing, slowly taking steps back. The other three rose from the ground, and like the fools they were, rushed back into the fray. The three of them gave each other a look, and with a glisten in their eye, it was all but obvious what they would try to do. Hornless fools.


    They rushed forward, pebbles flew up behind them as their hooves pushed off the ground. With each bound their swords rose higher and higher until they were raised over their heads. In the blink of an eye, I leapt towards all three, running together. In one step, I landed in front of them. Their eyes widened, they could see it all, but were too slow to react as my blade travelled up through the air and across their body, slicing from one torso to the next. The competent one had turned and began rushing over, but my blade had already guided itself through the stomach of the last shrank. Their blood and intestines gushed onto the stone floor as their bodies fell limp.


    Quickly jumping back, I raised my daggers up to my chest as the Shrank¡¯s sword crashed down into them. Finally, I felt the blood coursing through my veins, up my arms, through my heart. My arms bulged slightly as the Shrank pressed his sword with all his might down on me. Our blades scrapped against each other as we looked into each other¡¯s eyes and I saw his eyes lit with righteous fury and rage. His head lifted up and he swung his horns down. Leaping back, I pushed his blade up, leaving mine by my side, and he leapt forward. His blade raised above me; the crystals above made it shimmer in the light as he swung it down towards me. My blood flew from one end of my body to the other. My eyes were entrapped on that blade. This is it. This is the end. It¡¯s not fair, why couldn¡¯t it go on for just a bit longer. I raised my left leg, catching the blade against the heel of my boots and slammed it into the ground. With my daggers still firmly in hand, I stabbed down into the closest part of the shrank, its head. His skull popped as my blade slithered inside, only stopping once the handle pressed against his skull. His body jittered for a moment, but it didn¡¯t cry or wail. Only a soft moan left his body as the air did his lungs. His fiery eyes fell dark as his body fell limp. His crimson blood with vibrant blue specks oozed from his cranium. May Maria grant thy mercy.


    The clanging of blades to my side subsided as the last shrank squealed before falling in two. Glancing over, Forland was wiping his blade on his cape, Boris slammed his giant sword into the stone and rested his head on the hilt, while Sylv and Alistanna joked and laughed. Walking over, I wiped my blades on the side of my cloak, smearing the blood across the daggers.


    ¡°I killed three of them with a fireball.¡± Sylv stated, swing her staff around much like a martial artist would.


    ¡°So? I enhanced both Forland and Boris, which means I killed almost fifteen.¡± Alistanna countered, mockingly laughing after with the back of her hand up to her mouth.


    ¡°HIGHFIVE!¡± Sylv¡¯s bellow echoed throughout the cave as she swung her open palm to Alistanna¡¯s, smacking her in the face with the gesture. The noise exploded throughout the cavern. Alistanna¡¯s face lit up as she clenched onto her staff, raising it above her head. Sylv broke out into a sprint, running around the edge of the chamber with Alistanna swinging at her from close behind. Forland, Boris and I watched and chuckled as the two continued their bit, interweaving between us with Alistanna still swinging, nearly knocking our heads off.


    ¡°Maria.¡± Forland whispered, a glint hitting his eye after he dodged a swing. ¡°You two, stop.¡± He commanded. They both stopped running, dropping to their knees and catching their breath.


    ¡°We were. Waiting. For you. To say. That.¡± Alistanna sputtered out between gasps of air before collapsing onto her chest.


    Forland paid their overdramatization no mind as he quickly walked to the side of the cave. He ran his fingers across the wall before grabbing a piece of crystal stuck in the wall and snapping it off with a loud crunch. His head tilted down as he pulled the crystal closer to his eyes. ¡°MARIA!¡± He exclaimed, practically jumping for joy on the spot. ¡°CATCH!¡± He arched his back and swung his arm, tossing the crystal through the air directly in front of me. I reached out, grabbing the crystal. It was a clear, slightly scratched crystal. But what made the crystal exciting was the tiny bit of shining light hovering inside the central area of it, moving around inside. Only one crystal acted like this. ¡°ALL OF THE CRYSTALS ON THE WALL ARE LIKE THIS!¡± He shouted over to us. Does he need to shout? the echo would send the message just fine. ¡°HAE CRYSTALS! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT¡±


    ¡°Explains quest.¡± Boris said, glancing over my shoulder at the crystal, his deep breaths flowing down my back.


    ¡°So, how many do we take back with us then?¡± Sylv asked, lunging from the ground at the crystal in my hand and failing miserably.


    ¡°I think we should leave them.¡± Forland answered, turning away from the wall, walking back to us. His eyelids slammed down onto each other; wielding shut. His hands rolled up and tightened into shaking red fists, with sweat beading his face, dripping down off it.


    Boris and I¡¯s heads shot straight to him as he continued his walk. Even Alistanna, who was still sprawled out on the ground, sprung into the air, slack jawed by his comment. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Sylv said, flabbergasted like the rest of us.


    Forland¡¯s teeth clenched together as he looked down towards the ground. ¡°They are not ours to take.¡±


    ¡°You do realise we¡¯re getting paid shit for this right?¡± I spat, my eyes growing wider the more his words sunk into my ears.


    ¡°I thought we all agreed the pay was fine.¡± Forland retorted. ¡°In fact, I thought we were all stoked for our first A rank job.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we were.¡± Alistanna jumped in, beginning to walking over to Forland with us all following close behind. ¡°But that was when it was a clear out. Kill monsters, get kol. But this.¡± She waved her hands up in the air, glancing around at the crystals, refracting off one another¡¯s light. ¡°This makes that amount laughable. They¡¯ll be making at least ten times the amount they paid per slab of crystals. I¡¯ve never. Ever! Seen, let alone heard of anything like this in all my years of school and alignment reading. This place is like a myth told in ancient scripter but discovered to be true. Not only true, but still existing.¡±


    ¡°It is not ours to take.¡± Forland sighed; his face sunken but with eyes wrapped around the crystal in my hand.


    ¡°Take two, who¡¯d know.¡± Boris said, wandering past Forland to the wall decorated with the crystals. ¡°One slab, job done.¡±


    Forland stood aside as we walked past with Boris to the wall, all eyeing which crystal we would take for ourselves. A small smirk rose on Forland¡¯s face while walking by him, then he proclaimed, ¡°Fine. Two and only two,¡± His eyes shot over and glared at Sylv for a moment before continuing ¡°will be allowed for each of us. So, make sure you get at least one worth keeping.¡± He sped up behind us, sticking his hand past us and snapped the biggest crystal on the wall off. He had that picked out from the start, didn¡¯t he?


    We scoured the wall for a few seconds, knocking on crystals, examining how much mana was inside them, and if they could be broken off by hand. Sylv continued to pull on the second biggest one, about the size of my dagger, to no avail. She had both legs pressed against the side of the cave, tugging against it and the crystal wouldn¡¯t even wiggle.


    Walking down the cave wall, examining the crystals for my own perfect one, something caught my eye. To the left was an opening cavern that I didn¡¯t realise was there before, and not only that, a group of rocks sat in front of it. Why is everything flat except that one area? The rocks sitting on the floor jittered slightly as from behind them a large pillar began rising up higher and higher. A loud crash echoed in the cave, dust blew down from the entrance as more stones and another pillar rose from the other side. Oh Maria. Those aren¡¯t rocks. The shining, hopeful light that had flickered in my eyes faded as the creature pulled itself up through the gap. The creature slowly rose from its knees and stood up on its hooves, and though it was at least a mile away, it still towered over us. Its shadow that rose with it washed over my body, holding me in place. ¡°Holy-.¡± I gasped. Pulling with all my might, I dragged my neck to the side to look at my friends. They were all standing in place, their eyes stuck on the creatures, with their faces draining of all colour the longer they stared. The creature snarled while glaring us down. It reverberated through the cave, bouncing off and knocking loose some of the crystals hanging in the cave. We all knew what this was now that we could see it properly, this was no creature, but a monster. A Drynir, an S rank monster. And if we wanted to get out alive, we might have to kill it.