On the first day the caravan passed through differing landscapes. Edra noticed how fast the landscape changed from hilly greens and golden fields, to more forestry shrubbery, the hillsides turned to jutting rocks and small cliffs, it wasn’t mountainous, but it was definitely rougher terrain than earlier, it only took the caravan a day of travelling toward Brün before the landscape looked completely different than earlier.
The clouds blocked the stars as the caravan set up camp in a clearing next to the road, lit torches cascaded the camp in a warm ambiance, there was a one unique torch in the middle which gave off a small green light, the torch was long and made off of some strange wood with weird carvings on them, when he had asked he had been told it was a warning torch, it wouldn’t provide much light, but if bloodthirst lurked it would turn a blood red and the flame would start crackling loudly as if someone were feeding its fire. Albeit the journey to Brün was relatively long and relatively dangerous for regular people, it wasn’t without a road, and it wasn’t something to be feared for a small caravan, but it was always good to have some precautionary measures.
Bardo and Edra were sitting at a small bonfire in front of their tent, they were roasting some boar that they had caught together with the rest of the caravan. Usually caravans didn’t carry fresh meats with them; on occasions a caravan might have some live animals with that would provide milk or which were to be butchered for food under dire circumstances. Some people could afford a freezing box, which was a magical device, it ran on magical crystals and kept food under zero degrees, but that wasn’t always optimal obviously, and it was very expensive and so was the fuel for it.
“Is it just me or is that guy looking at us?” Edra said while nodding his head in the direction of another bonfire, which consisted of a few merchants and their guards, the man he referred to was a short skinny man with a lot of rings and necklaces, he was flaunting his wealth, which was a bit of a joke considering the head of the caravan was a noble who didn’t.
Bardo nodded slightly “Yes I have noticed this too, I do not recognize the man” Bardo took a big bite of roasted meat as he glanced at the skinny merchant “do you know of the man friend?”
Edra too was digging into the roasted meat with glee as it was very delicious, but as far as knowing the merchant? How? From where? “I cannot say that I do” he responded guardedly “but I reckon that we keep an eye on him just in case, I do not like the look of him one bit”
“What would he do? We are in a caravan, led by a noble, whom happens to be our fellow trainee and a friend of yours, even if he has ill intentions he wouldn’t have the chance to act” Bardo nodded towards the warning torch.
Edra shot Bardo a stern look “Caution friend, it never hurt anyone, let’s just be cautious” Bardo looked Edra in the eyes for a while before he agreed.
The next morning the caravan packed up and continued onwards calmly, silently, no one was really speaking allowing the sound of wheels squeaking, birds singing and grasshoppers chirping to be heard. Once in a while the clouds cleared a little allowing the sun to break through.
“If the rest of the journey is going to be like this it’ll be a cinch!” Edra said whilst walking briskly onward.
Bardo’s jaw dropped for a second “Are you serious?! We’ve barely left, we’re still within the Loktath territory, but within a week we’ll reach the Sjörn and the forests within, that is the real danger!” his voice stern and serious.
“The Sjörn? What is that?” Edra asked curiously.
Bardo nearly stumbled upon the question “Friend where do you hail from! The Sjörn is a large forestry territory, it borders into the Brutsch territory in-between Brün and Loktath, it is only a small outer stretch of the Sjörn, the neighboring territory to the west is largely covered by it, the elves deal with it” The fear when Bardo spoke of the Sjörn was heard in his voice, if only a little.
Where did he hail? What was the point of explaining? Whenever he spoke of the past it would turn into some translation of sorts, and for all he knew he wasn’t allowed to talk about it, would there be a punishment if he did? Edra didn’t know, but now that he was more aware he chose to be quiet, nothing would come of it anyhow “This Sjörn, why is it so dangerous? Are there fierce beasts preying in the forest”
Bardo walked a bit closer “I only know what I’ve heard in taverns here and there and from my parents when I was small” His eyes grew bigger as he continued his account “From what I heard the creatures aren’t the only dangerous thing there, I heard that weird races lives within, that witches and wizards who practice forbidden magic resides there too, and that the fog can split apart a party easily, that the forest can turn into a maze leaving people trapped! And that some of the plants can turn men crazy, thirsty for blood!” He hushed the last part to Edra, almost afraid to speak of it loudly; as if by putting words to the horrors of the forest, it would then truly awaken them.
On one hand Edra considered it superstition, like the sailors of old that saw giant whales and squids, ghost ships and whatnot, on the other hand, he had seen a dragon, a flood in the dessert and magic, hadn’t he just said that they should be careful? He took a deep breath “Alright friend, I understand that it is dangerous, but if it is so dangerous, why can we pass through it? Is it because it is only a stretch?”
Bardo nodded “The stretch is like a finger stretching into Brutsch, it is generally not to be feared by people who have combat related classes as it is only the outskirts” he finished up by grabbing his water pouch and opening it up, taking a big gulp.
Bardo passed it on to Edra, who took a swig too “I understand it is dangerous, but wouldn’t it be easier for the kingdom to just fell the trees and build a village as a halfway station between Brün and Loktath? It shouldn’t be too difficult if it is only the outskirts, right?”
Bardo stopped walking and grabbed Edra by the arms in a tight grip “Listen Edra, do not speak of damaging the forest when we are in the Sjörn!” Bardo waited for Edra to nod before he let go and picked up his pace again “Attempts have been made long long ago, far before my time, according to the stories there once were settlers trying to cut the forest, but the forest retaliated, how? No one knows, none of the settlers returned”
“But surely someone returned to tell the story!” Edra exclaimed “Isn’t this just rumor and hearsay?”
“Not so friend, no more than a hundred years ago the ruler of Brutsch believed the same, and ordered the Sjörn stretch to be cleared, disaster befell the workers, when the ruler sent an army to quell the forest, it too was annihilated, the survivors said that on the last day the forest spoke, warning them to never try and change the Sjörn, and that whoever willfully did would face the curse of the forest!”
“A curse? What kind of curse can a forest cast?” Edra asked inquisitively.
“That is what the kingdom wondered too, but it was not long before the families of the army that was sent, except the children and elderly, all passed away, even the then king met his fate not long afterwards!” Bardo’s face was ghastly as he narrated “Although many don’t know if the king died from the curse, or the fear that it would come for him one day…” It was obvious Bardo was somewhat excited about telling the story, as he trailed off the last part somewhat dramatically. It was all quite interesting to Edra, a mysterious forest with mysterious creatures, it was like the folklore of old, only real, and there was a certain sense of awe and anticipation mixed in with a healthy dose of fear.
Aside from the occasional conversation Bardo and Edra walked silently forward with the rest of the troop, it was as if the Sjörn already affected the caravan, what Edra previously thought had been the people relaxing and enjoying the landscapes, now turned out to be the ever lurking knowledge that they had to pass through the Sjörn.
Edra was practicing with his spear together with Bardo every evening after they set up camp, for the other guards they were simple low level amateurs that got a free ride because they knew the noble, not that Edra and Bardo minded. Honestly speaking it might’ve been wiser to wait and grow in the smaller Loktath, but young men and women seeks adventure, so it was, so it had always been. They never trained too hard; they needed their stamina for the journey, and in case of emergencies.
The following days passed by rather uneventfully, but it was clear that that there was a pressure on the party, they were unusually quiet, and to the point that only a sentence here or there would be spoken. At one point one of the merchants declared that he would return to Loktath, according to him he had done the journey many times before, but this was the first time he got such a spooky feeling! Many of the people who had done the journey before agreed, there was something different this time, as if the Sjörn was watching their every move as if it had something in wait for them. Fear was a powerful emotion and another two merchants left with their guards. Elisa however reassured everyone that her personal guard would be plenty to protect against most dangers around Brün, not to mention the outskirts of the Sjörn.
. . . .
In a small clearing in a densely packed forest, with large pine and aspen trees blocking the sun there was a small pond, reflecting what little sunlight could make it to the forest floor. It was towards the end of summer, so the aspen had slowly begun changing the colour of their leafs, making the majestic forest a colour of deep dark green of the pine, with slights of brown, yellow and red standing out.
There was a young woman reflected in the pond, she was kneeling over drinking the water with her hands, she had no boots on, revealing her moss green feet, her pants went only slightly past her knees, and were made of a loose fitting black silk, on top she wore a simple auburn shirt, it too made of silk, the sleeves long, but tied up with black silk bandages up to her elbows Her hair Deep red, thick and wavy controlled only by a long braid that hung over her right shoulder. Her skin like her feet was moss green, upon closer examination part of her skin looked like bark, her face had fine feature, her eyes a deep set black with golden irises the pupils similarly black. After she had poured the water into her mouth she picked up an old gnarly staff which lied next to her, it was ashen, and made of a strange wood; it glistened despite there being no sun.
She looked around the nearby forest floor with her strangely enthralling eyes. She moved low and took slow and steady, yet silent steps, observing the branches, the earth, the dirt, the mana fluctuations and how the trees swayed. Even to a Game Hunter class it would be difficult to track what she was tracking, an animal, a spirit, a part of the forest. She found what she was looking for, the trees swayed in strange twisting ways, the mana somehow a part of them, a normal person would’ve been misled, regardless of what they were looking for, so was the nature of the creature which she was hunting, it bend the forest to its will, making it go unnoticed and unseen. She lifted her staff, and chanted a spell in an arcane language, a wind came from out of nowhere, it bolstered her, it tried desperately to lift her up, to push her forward wherever she wanted to go, and then she moved, like a ghost through the forest. The only sound she made was the eerie sound of the wind in the trees.
. . . .
“Is it just me or have some of the people become more cold towards us?” Edra asked as he looked around the caravan.
“I would like to say it is the Sjörn, but there might be something else at play” Bardo responded gravely. He opened his mouth to speak again, but stopped as soon as he turned a corner. In front of them lay the Sjörn, it had taken approximately two weeks to get there. There was a large sign that read
Entrance to the Sjörn, pass through on your own volition
Not that the sign was needed, in front of the caravan the dividing line was clear, from sparse tree lines of regular sized trees, they now faced trees twice, thrice the size, although the forest was not overly dense, the size of the tree alone made it seem as so. The road continued onwards, the path within the Sjörn was a natural path, none of the trees had been touched, the road marked by big and small rocks on each side, a path now trodden so often that the flooring was hard and sturdy, easy for the wheels of the wagons to drive through without getting stuck. Yet there was something, something eerie about the forest, it sent a chill through the hearts of the caravan, it instantly made the merchants, guards and Elisa converse in separate groups, it was clear that something was out of the ordinary, that the Sjörn, was not the way it usually was.
As the caravan pulled through the entrance to the Sjörn the animals began getting restless, not enough to lose their cool, but they began being jumpy, a feeling that quickly spread to the men and women with them. It didn’t take long for someone to point out that there was none of the regular noises in the forest, no sounds of birds or insects; all but a whistling in the trees could be heard. With every creaking and squeaking of a branch or a tree, the people in the caravan would look around them; the fear was growing stronger in their hearts.
It was an oppressing feeling to walk through the Sjörn, Edra had a hard time coping with the fact that the journey was an entire month long, it would be difficult to maintain an amicable mood for such a long stretch of time, it was obvious that the rest of the caravan was affected too. Only the guards of Elisa seemed more collected their strength higher, their mentality better forged.
. . . .
Standing on a large ash tree branch the young woman’s dark fiery braid fluttered in the wind ever so slightly, she had never imagined that the hunt would take her so far east, so far out of the Sjörn. It wasn’t an issue, in fact it would generally mean it would be an easier hunt, a safer one, but after travelling through the Sjörn eastward for a month or so she came to an area afflicted, something was twisting the Sjörn there, something unnatural, dangerous and ancient magic, it chilled her to her bones. She was looking into the Sjörn, should she continue? Fixing the Sjörn was not her responsibility, nor was it within her power; in fact this felt so much out of her power that the chances that it’d affect her were minimal. Her decision made, she jumped from up high, towards the ground, her speed increasing with every meter! However just before she hit the ground, a single syllable, and she reappeared further ahead maintaining the velocity of the drop she had just had; if anyone had measured the length she fell, they’d realize that was how far away she had appeared after she dispersed.
. . . .
It had been little more than a week of travelling through the Sjörn, there was tension in the caravan, and it had become especially clear that the people together with the skinny merchant were treating Edra and Bardo coldly and with dismissal. The two walked in the back of the caravan so as to avoid confrontation with anyone. Elisa had talked with Edra about it, apparently the Skinny merchant had known of Bardo’s criminal past, and spread it amongst the merchants and the guards, the specifics of what he had said wasn’t clear, but it was clear that the attitude of everyone except Elisa, Peter and his family and their guards had changed, coupled with the oppressing chilling feeling of the Sjörn it had only become worse. Edra had told Elisa that it would probably be best if they just followed behind the caravan from a short distance.
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Bardo walked with his head low next to Edra, shame was clear in his face. It was obvious that he felt bad about the entire situation, he kept opening and closing his mouth, eventually he spoke up about how he felt “Listen Edra, and let me finish, please… we’ve quickly become good friends, and that’s important to me, but now this with everyone acting like so, and the uncomfortable feeling of the Sjörn, I think it is better if I just head back to Loktath from here, and who knows maybe we’ll meet in Brün someday? I just don’t want anything to happen to you because of me” he stumbled over the words, it was a battle just to say it, and then he turned around, he was quickly grabbed on the shoulder by Edra.
“Now you listen to me, regardless of what people feel, or what might happen, I have no intention of making this journey to Brün alone, either we go back together or we venture onwards together, it is not that difficult” he said unabashedly with a huge smile “hey don’t get misty eyed on me now!”
Bardo laughed rubbing his arm as Edra had just hit him there a moment ago “Just a fly in the eye is all!” They both began laughing, their laughter breaking the spell of the Sjörn, if only for a moment.
. . . .
A large drake walked through the forest floor, sniffing in the air with its tongue, its scales multifaceted, changing to different shades of brown, green and a dark yellow. The drake had smelled prey not long ago, it had moved with careless abandon to be first, under normal circumstances it would never have issues finding prey in its territory, but since the fear had set in, all of the animals had gone into hiding or left for the deeper parts of the Sjörn. Deeper in the Sjörn was not a place for territorial big creatures and animals, not unless they had the strength to be there, the drake did not, however in the outskirts it could hold its own quite well.
It walked around recklessly, too hungry to think, the fear, the fear was strong it clouded its otherwise rational thoughts! Yet it found none, the smell of prey gone. Trees shook as the large drake bumped its heavy body into the trees out of rage, its eyes bloodshot and unfocused! The creature roared loudly in anger and resentment of the fear that clouded its heart and thoughts, but amidst its roar it smelled something in the wind. Its eyes focused into sharp slits, its powerful hind legs kicked off into a noisy sprint, where the creature would normally survey its prey carefully, it was now simply rushing headfirst in its direction, its mind long since lost.
A tree burl flickered on one of the ash trees, revealing the young woman with golden eyes, she was not a hunter, nor did she know what had drawn the drake’s attention, the sooner her hunt would be over, the sooner she could leave this accursed place. She left in almost the same direction as the drake, although her path diverged somewhat.
. . . .
Slivers of sunshine painted beams of light on the path through the forest, the trees swayed in the wind as the only sign of the forest not being dead. The mood in the caravan was depressive, everyone just sort of trudged forward day after day, the usually bustling dangerous forest had proven uneventful so far, and maybe something good did come from the oppressing feeling that marred the forest.
The peace did not last long however, they could soon hear the sound of impact and the breaking of branches coming from far away, the sounds slowly coming nearer, before anyone could think about what it was a notification popped up in front of everyone.
Rank D hunt quest initiated: Wild drake breaks the mold
A wild drake, driven mad by the disease that plagues the forest, has seen itself hungry on your caravan. Defend the caravan and survive the assault.
Reward: Experience
Instantly the guard captain of Elisa’s party yelled orders for the civilians to step back, whilst the combat classes got into formations, Edra and Bardo stood a bit behind the stronger guards, Elisa and Peter next to them, it was obvious that the oppressive feeling of the forest had left a dent in the morale of the warriors there, many were shivering from fear.
The sound of the rampaging drake kept increasing, and then it stopped abruptly. Silence permeated the area; everyone looked at each other in fear, waiting, anticipating. Then it came, a cascade of green gooey rain.
“ACID!” the head guard yelled as he slammed a large shield into the ground in front of him, creating a half dome of fire, burning up the acid as it made contact, it still dripped through at some place though, one guard trashed his shield instantly after it got hit, as the acid just burned it all away, two other guards weren’t so lucky, they didn’t die, but they both received serious damage from the attack. No one looked their way though, everyone simply looked forward with strained eyes. Then they heard the rampaging running begin again.
Edra marveled at the creature, its scales matt in luster, shifting in colour, its size that of two men, the creature looked like an overgrown komodovaran. It had three horns, two slick ones jutting from the side of its head pointing backwards completely yellow in colour, and a short but fat bony horn on the nose, its eyes slit and brown in colour. When it broke out of the forest it didn’t come out and stop there to see who was waiting for it, it simply broke out of the forest and its nose horn instantly impaled an unprepared guard. Everyone stood still for a moment as the guard died, and then they moved, a few archers began shooting their strongest arrows, some exploded on impact, others froze or carried poison, the other guards with shield and sword attacked in a flurry. The first wave of guards were the strongest; the guard captain bashed the drake backwards a few meters with his shield, dazing it for a moment, whereas he chopped down with his sword in a fiery blaze leaving a large gash on the drake’s side.
“ATTACK THE WOUND!” he yelled aggressively.
It was the first real battle that Edra, Bardo, Peter and Elisa had participated in. People were injured or dying in front of them, they felt powerless! The creature was so strong, all of the attacks used on it was stronger than anything they could muster up, yet it had barely been scratched, only the guard captain had managed to break its scales. They simply stood there, awaiting the drake.
‘So much prey! So much food! Stupid humans!’ The drake thought as it thrashed about, slamming with its tail, impaling with its horn, biting with its teeth. It slid to the right slamming its large body into several of the fools that opposed it! It was about to release another acid breath when the annoying human who pushed it earlier began releasing ropes of flame that tied it up, constricting it. Did the man not know that it was futile to fight against it? Its yellow horns began humming and vibrating, on the horns there were tiny dot sized holes, from these holes a mist was released, the first human to be affected was some pesky fool that had been attacking its side, he slowed down, whereas he began yelling in a panic. The drake thought to itself ‘You can’t fight me!’ then it roared out loudly as its poisonous mist spread.
Had the creature been normal, had it not been affected by the forest it would’ve thought more clearly, it would remember that its mist was highly flammable, as soon as the mist touched the fiery ropes it caught fire, a large explosion pushed back both the humans and the beast, but the spores still lingered, the caravan guards were still affected and paralyzed, only the guard captain could move a little, everyone looked at the bloody mess of a drake that was lying in a puddle of its own blood and broken trees. Several guards had died just now; there were not a lot left. Edra observed the drake together with everyone else, relief was evident in everyone’s eyes, the drake appeared dead, yet no one was entirely sure, they were at their most vulnerable now. Edra was struck by a fear, what would have happened if the camouflaged drake had simply snuck up on them, used the mist at night and simply killed them one by one? The thought alone was terrifying. He didn’t have much time to think as the drake slowly began moving, one of its horns had broken off, it was charred on several spots and it was limping with bone protruding from its left front leg, but it still moved, towards them!
It bit the head off of the closest person to it, it was a terrifying sight. The powerlessness was worse than anything! that they couldn’t move was a terrible feeling, if they could just move it wouldn’t feel so bad! Edra roared out of anger and desperation!
Additional abilities has been unlocked for skill: invigorating roar – lessens status effects on affected allies depending on each person’s respective levels.
No more abilities to unlock for invigorating roar.
His roar instantly released the guard captain who flew over like an arrow released! His sword collided with the initial injury of the drake, his sword poking right into its heart, and then he rolled back, his sword still inserted, the drake screaming in pain. The drake did not get its chance to retaliate however, as the sword began humming and vibrating the sounds of cracking metal could be heard, and then it exploded in a blaze caving in the side of the drake, killing it.
D-rank hunt Quest Complete: Grade -
Successfully completed the Wild drake breaks the mold quest.
Based on the damage to the caravan and casualties and participation of the hunt by party Edra & Bardo, there will be no reward.
Edra’s invigorating roar had a defining effect, reward recalculated.
Quest reward: +200exp to each party member.
Everyone felt relieve as they received the notification of the quest ending. Some fell down, others began puking or mourning their fallen comrades. Edra and Bardo both gained a level, but they were too distracted to be concerned with it. Everyone just moved silently as they gathered up and began moving along. The effects of the diseased forest affected them, they didn’t loot the corpse, they only made shallow graves for their comrades, and it was as if a shift had happened in the moment of the drake’s death, the mourning people simply walked with tears streaming down their cheeks. It wasn’t until nightfall when the fires warmed their bodies and their bellies were full that they realized that they had forgotten about the drake, not that anyone was about to return.
Edra sat in front of the flickering bonfire, crackling as it was he looked over his status screen. He had gotten five skill points; he had used two points to increase his stamina with one point, apparently different attributes required different amounts of skill points. Some couldn’t even be increased with skill points, for example his soul-power attribute and will-power attribute required physical actions to be increased, or something to happen to him, he only found out when he tried to increase them just now. The remaining three points he used on strength.
Basic Information
Race: Human Class: Warrior 1/10
Age: 23 Subclass: none
Level: 2 Exp to next: 5%
Active Title Set as
None
Attributes
Health: 25/25
Mana: 5/5
Stamina: 35/35
Vitality: 10
Endurance:5
Intelligence: 5
Magic: 5
Willpower: 10
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 3
Soul power: 50
Resistance
Heat: 5%
Soul: 35%
Void: 50%
Death: 10%
Necromancy: 10%
Chronomancy: 10%
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Active Blessings
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It was then that Elisa, the skinny merchant and the guard captain walked over to Edra. He instantly noticed that she wore a grim look on her face, and that the skinny merchant looked somewhat gleeful.
“Edra, you were invaluable in the last battle, but I’m going to have to ask that Bardo leaves the caravan” Her words were spoken with pain.
“What is the meaning of this!” Bardo yelled “what wrong have I committed?” His feelings were understandable, his anger too, but the guard captain still stepped forward with a stern expression, this wasn’t training camp, and Bardo did not know Elisa the same way Edra or Peter did, therefore he shouldn’t be speaking like so to a noble. He realized his mistake and took a step back looking at the scornful eyes targeting him.
Edra grabbed his shoulders and smiled to him “Elisa, if Bardo goes so do I! what is the meaning of this anyhow?” he beckoned.
“You don’t have the right to question m’lady, regardless of your personal relationship” The guard captain spoke without making a move, but the intent was obvious.
Elisa was about to speak up when the skinny merchant beat her to it “Meaning?” he questioned loudly with evil plastered all over his face, the flicker of the fire only making his facial expression more livid “I know this Bardo, a thug he is, worked with some evil men, and the forest don’t like it! That is why we feel like this that is why the swamp drake attacked us so far from the swamps!” he spat out every word with derision. It was clear that this was the reason for everyone acting weirdly the last couple of days, that is why they got such mean gazes and that there were whispers behind their backs.
Elisa spoke up “I don’t know about this, but I do know that everything has been unnatural in the Sjörn, and that the merchants and guards won’t continue onwards unless we leave Bardo behind, whether he really is to blame or not, I do not know, but if he is! Then that is not a chance we can take” Her words logical, to some extent, albeit superstitious, yet it was clear, that had it not been for the mental influence of the Sjörn she would never have made such a decision “We ask that you keep camp here for two days if you still want to continue to Brün” the guard captain finished. Then the group left Edra and Bardo.
The following morning Edra and Bardo left at dawn walking back towards Brün. Edra hadn’t said his goodbyes to Elisa, he was angry, angry at everyone, and didn’t the first message clearly say the Sjörn was diseased, how was that Bardo’s fault! He had tried to talk with people that night, but none had listened, was he the only sane one around there? Even Bardo was unusually quiet. They didn’t walk long before they came to the previous day’s battlefield. A large ray of sunlight broke through where the drake had crashed into a tree and cracked it. There was something solemn about standing there again, a peaceful feeling, they had lived after all. Edra went over to the drake’s corpse and picked up the broken horn, then he desperately began cutting and pulling to get the remaining horns, Bardo too began working on the corpse, they weren’t very successful, its body too tough, they got a few scales, but most of all they got rid of their frustration, in the end they were simply hacking at the creature until they tired.
“Let’s go to Brün!” Edra exclaimed as they sat against a tree.
“We’ll never succeed” Bardo said silently.
“That’s the forest talking; shouldn’t we take advantage of the silence of the forest? One creature in a week, it might’ve been strong, but it is still one creature, normally we would never have made it this far without more attacks right?”
Bardo’s eyes turned slightly lively “That’s, that’s true, so I’m not cursed after all” he muttered.
“Of course you’re not cursed!” Edra proclaimed “we’ll leave in in two days; I don’t want to run into the bunch of idiots again!”
Two days later they packed up and headed towards Brün once more.